#walking dead season 9 imagine

[xoxo-sarah]

The Fair

↝a/n: well this was heart wrenching. ☹️ Why did I decide to write this? I hurt my own feelings with this one, guys.

↝pairing:Daryl Dixon x reader

↝warning: angst, death, season 9 events, Alpha + whispers, the spikes, Daryl never getting his happy ending, it's a bit gruesome ngl, crying, fighting, torture, getting shot, stabbing, self-loathing (Daryl ☹️), more death, not proofread

|| Disclaimer: I do not own Daryl Dixon, or any character from The Walking Dead. I only own y/n and any characters I create with my own brain. ||

↝⎙ 6.24.24

Daryl Dixon masterlist

The early morning sun shone across the town of Alexandria, although not doing much for how the fall chill nipped at any skin showing.

Daryl glanced up from his spot on the porch, after hearing the door open. You stepped out, face scrunching when the smell of nicotine hit your nose. Daryl simply took in your appearance. Freshly showered, clean clothes, and wet hair knotted into a different style than usual. He took a final puff of the cigarette, before flicking it somewhere off the porch.

As you stepped forward, his hand motioned to your hair, "I tried a different braid. I think it's called a fishtail, I'm not sure though. Needed to practice so I could do something different for the fair." You shrugged, moving to take a seat beside him on the rickety porch steps. His hand raised, feeling the bumps of the braid.

He knew you were excited for the fair, wanting to get out of the walls of Alexandria, and not to do a supply run. You need this; time with friends who feel more like family every day.

Daryl dropped your hair, looking around at the other houses. They were quiet, due to everyone still being asleep. If Daryl hadn't stayed the night, you would probably still be in bed. But you woke up to Daryl, who hadn't slept a wink, due to his stress levels. The whole whisperer thing had him on edge, and it only got worse when Lydia came into the picture. Daryl had been just fine only caring for the people he kept close to him, people who he had known for years. But then came Lydia, who was just a kid. He had needed out; out of Hilltop where Lydia and Henry were. You were his safe space, somewhere he knew he could always go to.

Feeling weight being added to his shoulder, he turned, listening as you whispered into the crisp morning air, almost like talking normally would wake everyone, or disturb the peaceful space of the porch. "She's a good kid. She just doesn't know any better. Alpha, her own mother only taught her survival. It's not Lydia's fault, you know that. Give her time."

"Might not have time." He couldn't help but grumble. He knew you were right, Lydia is a kid. She only knows survival. To an extent, Daryl could relate to her. You lifted your head, looking over his face,

"Maybe, but I have a strong hunch that you have enough time to go wash the stench off of you." Your nose scrunched again, more animated than before.

Daryl rolled his eyes before standing. You watched him as he walked to the door, flipping you off before the door shut behind him. A heavy sigh exited your lips when you knew he was gone.

It had been a little over two days since you last saw Daryl. It's not like you were worried. He could hold his own. Atleast, he could before people who wore the dead's faces were among everyone.

That might have you on edge. Or it might be the fact that he had the thing that Alpha wanted, making him become an even bigger target.

Your fingers divided your hair, twisting it into the same braid from before. Your mind was elsewhere, hands moving without a second thought.

The house that you occupied in Alexandria was quiet. Too quiet. You had grown comfortable with the usual silence, since Daryl had left in search of Rick.

The house you once shared turned into yours, with Daryl only visiting. He never stayed for long. Maybe it was the memories, or something that you had no knowledge of. Either way, you weren't going to push him.

Men like Daryl, once they're pushed too far, they leave. It's like their fight or flight goes off. You weren't one to push.

When Daryl and the little gorup found Lydia, Daryl had to escape for the night, going straight to the familiar house. He had told you everything about the Whisperers and Lydia, how They had killed Jesus. Although her group had killed someone who you could rely on, you pitied Lydia. The moment between you two was short-lived when morning came. After he had taken a shower, he was on his way back. Your time together wasn't much, but it was something. Given the circumstances, it was enough for both of you.

A knock at your door had your trailing thoughts stop, along with your hands. You were quick to tie the braid up, before moving to the door. Daryl stood, shoulders sunk in, along with the bags under his eyes, blood coating his hands. Your eyes met, relief, from seeing him mixed with the concern from seeing the dried blood, ran through your back.

Daryl stood against the kitchen sink, scrubbing his hands together, watching as the water turned red before flowing down the drain. "Henry's hurt." Was the first thing he had uttered since you opened the door, letting him in.

You perked up from where you were perched against the counter, having been watching his movements. "How bad?" He shook his head, letting you know it wasn't life or death, without saying a word.

"Here was closer to get him stitched up. Lydia's with us."

Your eyes traveled over his face, looking for any sign of how he felt about that, and maybe even a hint of how much shit you were all in.

"She's a kid." He sighed, turning the water off as he used your same words from before.

You nodded, hoping he knew that he didn't have to explain himself to you. You trusted him and his instinct.

Now night time, you walked with Daryl and his little group as they got ready to leave. Aaron insisted on walking with you, staying with Daryl as you were in step with Henry and Lydia.

You tried to ask questions that were easy for her to answer, questions that didn't revolve around how she had grown up. Questions that made her feel human, not just a piece in the game of survival.

As your conversation drew to an end, you listened in to Aaron and Daryl, " 'Member way back when I told you, you'd make a great father?" Your eyes traveled to the gravel under you. "You got to skip the exploding diapers part, but I was right."

Henry and Lydia tried to contain their own little conversations, hiding their smiles and blushing from the other. Just two teenagers acting as normal as two teenagers could in the broken world.

Daryl grumbled, "A lot has changed." You felt eyes boring into your back but didn't look. You smiled as you felt Dog rub against your legs, begging for attention. Would you and Daryl be able to be happy in a world like this?

"I stand before you today at the start of a new tomorrow. A tomorrow made possible by the sacrifices of many over the years." After a long ride to the kingdom, you stood amongst the crowd, watching as Ezekiel stood on the balcony, giving one of his infamous speeches.

"Among them, a man whose mission was to build community and strengthen the bonds between us. A man who had to destroy the very thing that connected us in order to save us. It took far too long to fulfill the promise of what Rick Grimes and his son, Carl, envisioned, the same promise Paul Rovia, better known to most as "Jesus", believed in when he brought us all together those many years ago. We always will be. We fought our way back to each other. We have grown. The crossing over the river may be gone, but we have rebuilt a bridge, nonetheless. Today is proof we can unite, not against a common enemy, but for the common good. So eat, drink, and be merry...'cause we got a lotta lost time to make up for."

Jerry stepped forward, a hug grin on his face, "Let the First Annual Inter-Community Reunification Fair begin!"

"Jerry!"

Jerry swung around, looking up at the King.

"We changed that."

"For reals? F. A. I. R. Fair?"

Ezekiel sighed, leaning over the railing to stare down, "It's too many-nevermind. Let the Fair of New Beginnings begin!"

Applause broke out through the crowd, doves being released into the air.

Tara, who stood beside you, nudged your shoulder, directing your attention to the gate of the Kingdom. The gates opened, revealing Michonne- who was set on not coming to the fair- with Judith, Daryl, Connie, Henry, and Lydia in tow.

Your feet moved before you even thought about it, and you were in front of Daryl before you knew it. He opened his arms, welcoming the warmth of your arms around him.

Sure, you had seen him not that long ago, but being apart from him became even scarier over the week. Daryl swayed from side to side, before you pulled away slightly.

Carol came over when you two had fully broken apart, bringing her best friend into her arms.

You smiled, watching the two. After she teased him, she watched as you moved back under his arm, laughing when your lips collided with his cheek, watching Daryl grow shy, his ears turning a pink hue.

"C'mon, I heard there's a fair or something happening." You winked at Ezekiel, as he joined in on watching the two of you, throwing his arm around Carol.

It only took about 15 minutes before the fun was cut short.

"You just got here." you sighed, utterly frustrated. You couldn't have one day that was slightly normal. Somebody always had to be a threat. It just happens to be Alpha's group.

"Hilltop's in danger."

"I know,” You huffed, kicking the asphalt under your feet, stopping when Daryl halted, reaching down to pet Dog's head. "I just think you deserve to have fun too. Or at least let me go with you."

He instantly shook his head, standing at his full height. His eyes slightly squinted as he looked at you, "'T's too dangerous, you know that."

"Exactly. You need more people and you know i'm a good shot." You cracked a smile, trying to ease the tension. Daryl looked away, hiding his slight amusement. "At Least be safe." Your voice was serious, almost threatening. Unwinding your arms, letting them fall to your sides, as he finally looked back. "I mean it, Dixon." He puffed air out, before bringing you into a side hug. You two stood by the gate, not caring as people walked past, trying to get ready to leave with Daryl.

The hug was warm- comforting, too bad you don't get the luxury often. "You too." His gruff voice was muffled in your hair, followed by a dry kiss on your forehead. "Can you take care of Dog for me?" He pulled back, already knowing your answer.

You only got a single nod in before Carol walked over, an apologetic smile on her face about the whole thing; having to interrupt to hint that it was time to go and having to cut your time together short.

Saddiq grunted as Michonne rushed over to his pitiful body. His tired eyes reluctantly raised to look at the people following behind her. As he saw Daryl, the pain felt fresh, like all the wounds were pulled open and dirt was shoved into them. He shook his head, trying to get the picture of your last moment out of his head. Your screams of agony rang in his head. What you made him promise rang even louder. He could only cough when the makeshift gag was ripped from his mouth, waiting as Michonne cut his hands free. "What happened?" Michonne asked.

Saddiq could only point, words dying on his tongue. "I-I..."He stumbled with his feet as much as his words. Michonne held most of his body weight as he tried leading them to the hill.

Michonne's face dropped in horror, as they walked closer, close enough to realize exactly what was in front of them, close enough to identify the heads on the spikes.

All it took was for the wind to pick up, causing the braid to sway in the wind, for Daryl to feel the world stop on its axis. He could only watch as your mouth moved, biting and nipping at the air like a feral animal.

Something that would haunt him forever, the hunger for human flesh taking over the one person he couldn't live without. As you began to let out a growl, he had to turn his head, looking anywhere. He couldn't take the sight, feeling his stomach churn.

You were just in his arms, smiling at him, joking around, wanting to spend the time at the fair with him.

His eyes caught a head of blond hair, his body moving before he could think twice. "No! No!" His hands attached themselves to Carol's shoulders, frantically trying to conceal the gruesome picture before them that would surely give him nightmares, if he was even able to sleep. "Just look at me." His voice broke, but continued to repeat himself.

He watched as her lips pursed, before they began trembling, feeling his own emotions breaking through the comfort-others-before-yourself facade.

His body slowly collapsed with hers, his hold on her not faltering. If he held her tight enough, he might be able to feel the warmth you always radiated in his arms.

Maybe it was selfish to try to find comfort of his own while he was comforting her, but he couldn't help himself. Who was going to comfort him? You?

Daryl wasn't one to cry much, but he felt his eyes begin to burn. Before either of them knew it, their tears mixed together on Daryl's clothes as his grip tightened even more.

"I was there. I was taken with the others. And I saw...I was supposed to die with them. I was ready to." Saddiq stood on the podium, looking out at the crowd of mixed communities, all of which had lost someone dear to them. "Then, Alpha whispered in my ear, "Tell them." Something hit me and everything went black. ANd when I woke up, I was alone." The image of you, tears and blood dried on your face as you laid lifeless. "What happened was evil."

Daryl stood in the very back of the crowd, arms crossed. His own thoughts ran wild, so many 'what if's. What if he had stayed? What if he had let you go with him? What if, what if, what if... Daryl tuned out the rest of the speech, only zoning back in when he felt a shaky hand on his shoulder.

"Y/n..." Saddiq did everything in his power to not let his voice shake, but it was useless. He forced himself to keep eye contact, feeling like he at least owed that, even if his eyes were glossy and his nerves were shot. Daryl had to know. He had to know Saddiq was honest and kept his word for you. "She fought. Hard." The shaky man shook his head.

-flashback-

Siddiq looked around, at the old barn, at the people who stood around wearing the dead’s faces, at his friends and family kneeled down, gagged and tied up.

You stared at the people standing, a fire behind your eyes, that Saddiq had never seen before. He couldn’t recall you even blinking.

As Saddiq watched for you to blink at least once, your eyes shifted from the person you were staring down, to behind them.

It was only a split second before the person you had been staring at was hit in the back of the head.

Ozzy, Alek, and DJ yelled as they swung at each and every masked person. You weren’t sure who untied you, but you didn't have time to see. You were on your feet, punching the closest whisperer to you, picking up the knife that had fallen out of their hands.

Everything turned into a massacre.

You stabbed and swung and stabbed some more. Hearing a yell, you swung around on your feet, grabbing the person holding Enid down, before you grabbed by the back of their shirt, your hands moving fast and with force as the knife punctured the chest repeatedly.

Blinded by rage, you moved on adrenaline.

Large hands grabbed your shoulders, yanking you off of the dead body. You could only watch as a new group of Whispers amerged, and charged at what was left of your group.

Alpha stood in front of you, inspecting you. She moved her hand to your hair, her grin making your blood boil. “Beautiful hair. Shame I have to keep it on your head.” The image of her flashed in your head. The blonde hair, of which you now knew wasn’t real, or wasn’t her actual hair. The thought of her cutting it off of someone made you sick.

She tsked, turning when she saw one of her own push someone into the dirt, their knife raised to strike.

“Stop.” All eyes, including your own, were watching the scene play out. Alpha’s eyes scanned the small barn, bodies littering the ground. “They’re the last two.”

The hands tightened on your arms, but you weren't about to show weakness, not over a few bruises being made. One hand moved to hold you still, as another brought a blade to your neck.

Your nostrils flared, watching as Alpha dragged Saddiq right in front of you, although it didn’t take much force with how his body ached, before she held a knife to his throat too.

“What do you think; should we let them decide on who should die?” Alpha’s words were directed to the man behind you.

Your eyes caught sight of Tara, who laid limp on the ground, blood dripping from her mouth. Clenching your jaw, you looked past Saddiq, straight into Alpha’s soul, or lack thereof, anyway. “Now," Alpha pointed at you, “You’re Daryl’s. I Watched you this morning.” You felt the grip on you tighten even more at the mention of Daryl’s name. “You’re loved by everyone- is he?”

She shifted her crazed eyes to the back of Saddiq’s head. When she didn’t get an answer, she put pressure on the knife, drawing blood.

“Fine!” you croaked, “Fine, kill me. Please, he-he’s important. More than me. Please.”

You turned your attention to the man holding you, “Daryl, he said he beat your ass. Told me all about it. You want to hurt him back, right?” You knew you were playing a dangerous game, but you just hoped they would take it out on you, not Daryl or Saddiq.

Beta growled, his breath becoming erratic, as he looked at Alpha for any signal. He could make one quick move and break your neck, but you knew Alpha wanted you to suffer. She wouldn’t let him have all the fun.

It had to be you. Saddiq had a baby on the way. Rosita had told you, and made you promise to keep it on the down low.

There was a long moment of silence, only the angry hot breath fanning over your head, before you were thrown to the ground, hands tied behind your back again. Alpha made everyone leave, dragging Beta out as he shook in anger, ready to pounce.

When the two were out of earshot, you stared Saddiq down. He began shaking his head, “You can’t-”

“Yes. Yes, I can, Saddiq. Rosita needs you.” The baby needs you, especially in this world. “You have to tell Daryl that none of this was his fault. I know him, he’s going to blame himself and pull away.”

You licked your lips, feeling the dryness and small cracks in the skin. Maybe it was selfish to ask that of him, but it was the only thing you could think of in the moment. You didn’t want your last moments to be thinking of how Daryl will pull away, like he always did when he lost someone. He wouldn’t have you to help him out of it. “Tell him I wouldn't blame him for anything that happened tonight. Please, Saddiq. Please promise me. Just…make sure he’s not so hard on himself. Please-”

A gunshot rang out, followed by your screams. You fell onto your side, blood oozing from the wound on your shoulder. Saddiq’s head swung to where the bullet had come from, Alpha walking back in, handing the gun to Beta as he followed her. Whatever conversation they had had outside left Alpha fuming.

Another scream ripped through your throat when Alpha brought her foot up, putting weight on your open wound. “Why are you so willing to die for him?” She seethed.

“‘Cause that’s what you do for family, but you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” Angry tears welled in your eyes as you stared up at her from the weird angle.

Your next words were directed to Saddiq, as if you knew what was going to happen next. “ Tell Daryl I love him.”

It all happened so quick. Alpha leaned down, her other hand holding a knife as it dragged across the soft skin of your neck. Your hands fought to move to the blood flowing out of your neck, but were bound behind you. Your mouth moved like a fish out of water, until blood coated the inside of your mouth, painting your teeth red.

Saddiq watched the life drain from your eyes, his brain blank. He felt numb. Alpha walked back over to him, leaning down to whisper in his ear. Before he knew it, everything went black.

“-She wanted you to know that she loved you. I could tell she did. I’m sorry it's not her standing in front of you.” Daryl didn’t reply, much like how he hadn’t uttered a word since Saddiq began talking about you, about your last moment. He walked away, leaving a teary-eyed Saddiq.

The wind was chilly as Daryl and Lydia walked up the hill to where Daryl felt the word stop. The spikes still stood, a reminder that that was Alpha’s territory now.

Darl looked away from Lydia as she kneeled in front of the spike, where Henry’s head had been. He let her have a moment.

“She’s just a kid.” Your voice rang out in his head, a reminder that she was a kid, dealing with the loss of someone who she cared for and who cared for her. Sounds familiar.

His eyes caught sight of the familiar spike, glaring at it with all the hatred in his heart. Blood had soaked in and dried to the wood. Your blood.

He hated the world even more. He hated Alpha, Beta, the fucking whisperers, and the wanted to hate you for being so selfless, but he couldnt get himself to. Most of all, he hated himself for going against your last wish. The guilt would eat him from the inside out and he would let it.

He felt like he deserved it.

•2021-2024 by xoxo-sarah on Tumblr•

•My work is not to be translated, copied, modified, and/or reposted on any other site without my permission. [I don't give permission!]

People who wanted to be tagged: @vaniniweenie @sassysebastian20

[dearmrshudson]

The post of saddest(?) supernatural moment gave me the idea to maka a list of my own... You know, an honest list which will not push any agenda or exclude one of the main character completely to forcefully feed to a romantic pair which does not even exist.

so here it goes-

10. Dean's reaction after Sam's death in 13x21 :

This one is so nominal and insignificant to be in this list and not one of top moments for a lot, but this scene ripped my heart open when I saw it for the first time. It manages to show us how Dean's whole world will literally fall apart and make him an empty vessel if Sam is gone and he can do nothing about it - and Jensen manages to portray it with just a walk, two blank eyes and then one drop of tear. Kudos.

9. Church Scene in 'Sacrifice' (8x23):

Anyone who has not cried in this scene? Perfeftly shows the core of the show, the deep love between two brothers- despite all the reasons, all the idiological differences, all the mature discussion and all- Sam is the baby brother of Dean; at the end he needs Dean to be there as a big bro, to tell him to let it go, to clutch him in his chest. Ultimately they will always choose each other and nothing else will come between them.

8. Dean's death in 9x23:

One of the saddest death of Dean, and perhaps it comes to this list because of the build-up and drama follows this. Both had their own reasons for the tension they had this whole season, but when the tragedy comes it hits so hard that all those logics fell apart. It scares to peep in Sam's headspace at this time of dean's dying- imagine you discarding the person you love the most as you are reasonably angry with him, and in a few days he is dying in your arms when you have hardly talked out your differences.

7. Why don’t you believe in us too (14x12) :

Probably should come much later in this list, but this scene stood out in my eyes because it was such a fresh air in the terrible plotless mimicry that SPN had become in later seasons. The scene after ages which sums up Sam and Dean, the codependent brothers whom we had forgotten. Such a long time after we see Sam the little brother, witness the emotional turmoil he was going through silently and how it exploded. The only scene which makes season 14 worth remembering. Also Jared just nailed this scene!

6.) Dead or Alive (3x16):

This scene breaks my heart in pieces. Dean bravely going for the last fight before the horrible death he will be facing. And he trying to cheer up baby bro, he wants the last memory with his brother to be in this car- singing along together... How his face slowly glooms at the end and his eyes full of fear... Early seasons really were gems!

5. Sam in Mystery spot (3x11) :

Undoubtedly one of the best SPN episode with perfect blend of mystery, fun, laughter, tragedy and emotion... The funny vibe of the episode ends in a moment when we see Sam is not waking up from the nightmare loop. Then we see a robot- a scary robot who only wants to get his brother back at any cost. This episode is yet another example of how Sam loves Dean just as fiercely as Dean does, and he is not any less codependent.

4. Barn scene and alone Sam (15x20) :

God! What can I say about this!

Just want to add, Sam wandering alone in the bunker after creamating Dean hurts me equally.

3. John's death (2x01):

Cannot forget this one. This episode happens to be another favourite of mine, and the way John sacrifices himself for his son proves that a father can go to any extent for his children. The farewell scene of John - where he asks for forgiveness and goodbye to dean without him understanding brings tears to my eyes. Such a beautiful acting by JDM and so realistic portrayal of a flawed, helpless and loving father.

2. End of Season 5 (5x22)

The ground was set, the battle was about to begin, the ultimate faceoff between Lucifer and Michael was going to start- then what happens? A stubborn idiot boy with a muscle car and hellbent attitude comes in between- knowing that he cannot survive this- just because one of these celestial entities have captured his brother as a vessel and he won’t leave his brother alone. Till his last drop of blood he keeps on trying- trying to reach his brother who is trapped under something much bigger- keeps on telling that It's okay, he is not alone, his big brother is here. And guess what, he succeed. His brother broke free the bind of one of the strongest entity of universe and fought. The climax scene gives me goosebump always followed by a bunch of grief and saddness the ending carries. Had season 5 been the last season of SPN, and this be the exact way the series ended, I would absolutely have no regret!

1. Sammy's first Death (2x21):

No matter how many sad scenes are perfectly executed in SPN, nothing can exceed the emotion of this one. Jensen will also not be able to exceed the level of performance be set in this particular scene. Period.

So this is it... I must have excluded many. And turns out my list is full of Sam and Dean only and I am also not unbiased 🤣🤣 Well, there are sad scenes that do not involve only the brothers and I still like them, but not my top 10. Maybe have to make list of top 11 to 20 in order to include them. 😁

Please share your favourite saddest top 10 as well.

[rickmymanrick]

one rule | the walking dead

[ rick grimes x original female character! ]

there's only one rule in the new world… survive.

In which best friends Daphne Ayala and Glenn Rhee form a ring of survivors that would pave the way for the new world.

** This story will eventually have a Rick Grimes romance (SLOW BURN) but focuses on Daphne's story after the fall. It may deviate from the events of the tv show and at times won't follow a specific script or season. There will be switching POVs (Characters/1st/3rd Person).

chapters!

prologue —

in the present time, rick grimes experiences what hell on earth truly is.

chapter one ; partners —

unbeknownst to them, best friends glenn rhee and daphne ayala spend the last 48 hours of normalcy they’ll ever have before their lives are changed forever.

chapter two ; the evacuation —

the statewide evacuation is underway and it goes terribly wrong terribly fast. daphne and glenn undergo an impromptu rescue mission and soon their group of two becomes a group of 5.

chapter three ; the group —

it's been a month since the complete collapse of civilization. when daphne and glenn realize this is their new way of life, they begin to strategize the best ways of survival. along with the new members of the group, they fall into a steady routine, until a one-sided fight breaks out and everything is knocked out of order.

chapter four ; the idiot in the tank —

a supply run goes wrong and daphne finds herself reunited with an old acquaintance. old feelings unwillingly resurface but she forgets one big glaring problem back at camp.

chapter five ; maneater --

glenn and rick try out a new technique in order to survive and reunite with the rest of the group. back at camp, daphne and shane reach an understanding.

chapter six ; love rectangle —

rick confides in daphne for reasons unknown to her. as she offers him counsel, daphne is also grappling with conflicting feelings of her own.

chapter seven ; chef boyardee —

the plan goes wrong. daphne and glenn find themselves in a precarious situation but at least they have each other, right?

chapter eight ; the attack —

in a rush to deescalate what they presumed was merle's fury on camp, daphne and the crew arrive to something terrifyingly different.

extras;

rick’s pov (chapter six)

Important Character Info:

Daphne Ayala. She's a 23-year-old Latina woman who's working towards becoming a detective (hopefully for the FBI or some higher agency one day). As part of her training, she has to complete a few years of service in whatever local police department has an opening. You can see where this is going right? Her best friend is Glenn Rhee, with whom she shares an apartment with, and they're practically attached at the hip.

Rick Grimes has been aged down a bit though his actual age was never mentioned in the show. I imagine he's around 29, nearing 30 at the beginning of season 1. That would make Carl 9 years old (rather than 12 as he was in the show).

Hello AO3/Tumblr! I write under the pseudonym, Elle (She/Her)! I'm a Caribbean, South American brown writer who loves wayyy too many universes/fandoms lol. Current hyperfixation-- you guessed it: The Walking Dead. I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to comment anything that comes to mind while reading. I absolutely love reading what you all have to say (I have previously written for Wattpad and Tumblr).

ORIGINALLY TITLED THE TRAIL OF ANNIHILATION

[i-am-church-the-cat]

Okay so sorry for this ask. I just had this random thought blurb and wanted to share with someone. But like imagine:

Lando decides to suggest to Oscar that it would be funny if they get married in Vegas. Cause like that would be hilarious. Except Oscar looks him dead in the eye and says “I can’t, I’m already married” before walking away.

So of course Lando has a major freak out trying to figure out who he married and ropes the whole grid in the search. There is a strong rumor it’s Daniel (which Daniel started cause it’s funny). There is also the rumor that is Taylor Swift (that’s Este trying to annoy Nando). And of course there are suggestions of Fred, Liam, and even Arthur (which Pierre and Charles’s shut down right away because they would have to kill him).

And everyone keeps asking Logan if he knows and he just keeps laughing it off. But he’s also it’s a sad laugh because he’s a little sad to thing that nobody thinks he could be worthy of Oscar, even if he agrees.

And of course this pisses Oscar off. Because his husband is the sweetest man around. Because who the fuck cares if he is having a bad season when he is always there to make sure Oscar does things like eat breakfast or makes sure he isn’t too hard on himself.

So when the grid decides to do a group breakfast the morning after in Vegas (to compare horror stories). Oscar marks the shit out of Logan as they show up with their wedding rings.

Anon, never apologize for being the smartest motherfucker in the room. As a secretly married loscar truther, I am in love with this. And you’re always welcome to come in my messages or my ask box with stuff like this.

I can imagine Oscar being so smug at that breakfast. It’s his ring around Logan’s finger, it’s his marks on Logan’s body, it’s him who gets to keep bringing waffles for Logan to devour in record speed.

And I think the reason no one suspected it could be Logan Oscar was married to is because they would’ve known, right? Surely they wouldn’t have been able to keep it a secret for 9 months?

(Well, Alex and George had known pretty quickly who it was but they weren’t going to spoil the surprise.)

But even now with them both declaring themselves to each other for all of them to see, they barely act any different. Small touches, leaned in whispers, pressed as close together as two people could in opposite chairs, but still completely level-headed.

And finally Lando snaps and is like “How? How are you two so calm around each other? If I had a partner on the grid, I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off of them.”

Oscar shrugs and Logan laughs awkwardly and even now they’re like twin planets - always together but never crashing.

“We’ve been together for a long time,” Oscar answers which, they would hope so for the youngest married couple on the grid. “And most of that time it’s had to be a secret. I guess we’re just used to it.”

“Plus, neither of us are big on PDA.” A rather ironic thing for Logan to say while covered in bite marks and red-purple hickies. “We like to keep our private life private.”

And suddenly Lando feels bad because maybe they had never planned on coming out to them, or at least not so soon, but Lando had practically forced their hand because of his little goose hunt. But Logan smiles understandingly at him and is quick to reassure.

“Don’t worry, we were planning to tell people on the grid sooner rather than later, probably when my contract extension was announced, if it’s ever decided.”

Oscar makes a face at that but doesn’t interrupt.

“We just chose now because…” And suddenly Logan gets this look on his face, something pained and almost embarrassed. Oscar tangles their left hands together to stop him in his tracks, proudly displaying their matching rings before continuing.

“None of you thought I could have the honor of being married to Logan - hurtful, by the way, I’m obviously a catch - so I wanted to show everyone who I belonged to.”

Logan blushes a light pink, but he’s smiling. Oscar feels a bit of relief as Logan lays his head on his shoulder, allowing him to turn his nose into the gel-less waves of his blond hair.

The rest of their drivers start to clamor their excuses - you’re too good at hiding it, we thought Logan was dating that Instagram model, actually you’re right you aren’t good enough for my junior Williams driver but you make him happy so I guess it’s okay (this one is of course from George who is met with a lot of boos and biscuit throwing) - but it doesn’t really matter.

Who cares what any of them thought? At the end of the day, Oscar is the one sitting here with Logan Sargeant’s hand intertwined with his, he’s the one that will get to go back with him to their shared apartment, bundle his Florida boy up against the cruel English winter, and indulge in the domestic bliss of being with someone he truly loved.

When one had that, who cared about anything else?

[missmagooglie]

Concept: A canon rewrite where Eddie Diaz figures out he's gay before he moves to LA and spends the entire series from "Stuck" onward as an out gay character.... and somehow it STILL takes Buck until season 7 to figure out he's bisexual, and well into season 8 or 9 for Buddie to actually get together.

Buddie endgame, but it is the slowest and most frustrating slowburn ever to grace television.

Buck keeps aaaaaaalmost figuring it out, and then swerving into some heteronormative nonsensense the last moment.

Eddie still has the most complicated relationship with his sexuality imaginable - to the point where he STILL gets back together with Shannon in S2 despite knowing he's gay (but she was his first love and she's the mother of his child and being out is scary even when you have supportive new coworkers and anyway don't they owe it to Christopher to try to make it work etc etc).

The only changes to canon relationships are that Ana and Marisol are swapped out for guys, but their relationships have all the same problems. Eddie is still walking the same tightrope of expectations around masculinity where he feels obligated to meet certain requirements of "manhood" while also trying to protect Christopher from feeling those same expectations. He has the same issues in relationships where he rushes in too quickly then regrets it and doesn't know how to back out gracefully.

Buck and Eddie still have their infuriating pattern of being single at the same time and then decided to date as soon as the other person starts a new relationship. Neither of them consciously realize they are in love with each other. Tommy still starts off pursuing Eddie, only to be decisively friendzoned which is fine because Eddie's a good guy to have as a friend, then ends up kissing Buck into a bisexual awakening. Buck is still just as awkward about coming out to Eddie - but only to Eddie, for everyone else it is almost aggressively not a big deal.

So Buck dates Tommy, and Eddie's too busy trying to shove himself back into the closet for a doppelganger of his dead wife to have any feelings about Buck dating a man who isn't him.

In summary: Eddie being introduced as a gay character *should* have made Buddie simpler in theory, but it plays out as an even bigger mess than in canon.

[maukiki1-but-cringefail]

okay i probably would've asked more abt your bsb thoughts sooner except i got shy. but i'm going insane rn so i gotta ask.... your thoughts on zeo. bc when i watched v-force nearly 2 years ago the robot twist took me out for like an entire day and now i'm still insane about them. like it's ridiculous but also really fucked up when you think abt it. and if/when you get to the manga. well i haven't read most of it EXCEPT for volumes 7-9 and vol 9..... ough. manga zeo my also beloved. i think abt this kid and their fucked up ass dad so much

omg im gonna lose my mind i just spent so much time typing the anwser to this and tumblr just DELETED IT ARE YOU KIDDING ME😭 sigh okay ill do it again ig...

i read the manga+rising but the manga version of zeo didnt really stand out to me so im gonna talk about the anime version of him only.

The season hes in, v force, is notoriously fucking boring (i knew this before watching v force even though i stayed out of any info abt bsb to avoid spoilers AND i still knew, imagine that) its like an entire season of filler but the character who stands out the most is Zeo obviously. ozuma/ozma is there too but eh. standing out in v force isnt saying much considering its not really intresting but that doesnt mean i hate him. hes .. neat but i dont think about him a lot.

in the anime when they first started hinting at something being off with zeo (and learning who his father is) my IMMIDIATE guess was oh this guys some kind of lab experiment, ailen or a robot and i was right lol. i mean considering his fathers job it isnt hard to predict but it is a kids show🤷

what i thought the most in the finale fight was okay, so he wants to be human, my boy yearns for the flesh, but like.. why? i know he has zagarts dead sons memories inside of him but if hes human enough to live and not notice he was a robot whats so bad about being a machine??? (robot propoganda lmfao) . he talks like a human feels like a human walks like a human feels like a human.. the gang™️ points this out too. i think there shouldve been more physical indicators to this guy straight up being a machine.. so many cool shit u can do with a ROBOT BLADER HELLOOOO ... ??? like do u have any problem in ur system or did u just not notice?? also how long has he been a robot? i feel like i needed more explanation on the dead son thing. yall couldnt take all those pointless boring episodes of those npc dudes trying to steal the sacred beasts and give it to zeo's backstory? what happened to this child? how long has he been a robot? when how which who which colour how many??2?2? was the original child also mint haired lmao? -also his hair colour is rll nice ^^

but yeah i think hes neat and probably the best character in his season.. i think his design is decent too, atleast the one w the white-ish outfit

oh and also this shit was raw as FUCK

[1960z]

I changed my mind: I do have things to say. spoilers for the latest r&m episode (unmortricken)

ok so firstly I love love love how purposefully anticlimactic and unfulfilling it was. when I, and I think when a lot of other people too, envisioned this episode it was always an episode that looked a lot like rickmurai jack, which had so much build up, both in the overarching and immediate story and so many things were revealed that suddenly made sense of everything and it felt epic and emotional and just so cathartic. that’s what I always imagined this would be like. it wasn’t, and that was the point.

instead, we got this mid-season out of basically nowhere. we know rick’s been hunting prime for a while now, but it’s always been in the background for the most part. this didn’t feel like the culmination of everything, it all just kinda happened. and then at the end of the episode rick kills prime and it’s over. nothing. no explanation or understanding of why prime did what he did — rick just gets his revenge and now prime is dead and it’s done and nothing feels like it’s really changed because it hasn’t. which perfectly mirror’s rick’s own mental state about the whole thing. it wasn’t the satisfying closure he’d always envisioned in his head (even if he’d never admit that’s how he envisioned it lol.) evil morty even points this out: “how’s it feel? better? no? exactly the same? yeah. it always does.”

like in the back of our minds we all knew that killing prime wasn’t actually gonna fix anything for rick, but because of the general understanding of how stories are supposed to work we, or at least I, put that aside an expected to get to indulge in the fantasy that the end of this revenge plot would feel anything but hollow to someone actually experiencing it. and the way this episode was set up completely shattered that.

and the look on down from the bridge rick potion #9 call back really hammered all of that home. the ending to that episode is kind of what everyone thinks of when people think about the “nothing matters, we don’t matter and we’re all gonna die” mentality of the early seasons and making a call back to it… I don’t think it’s a return to that mentality but rather showing having that mentality didn’t save rick. he always looked down on caring about “the little things” because he knew none of it really mattered. but a cosmic multi-dimensional cat and mouse game ending in a revenge killing in the name of his dead wife? now that’s something to care about. and now it’s done and it didn’t really feel all that different to all those little things he insisted were unimportant. how does he find meaning now?

more than that, it’s also a good callback because of the revelation that the scenario is basically the same. in rick potion #9, the scene is a demonstration of morty’s shell shock of taking the place of a dead version of himself like it’s nothing and then having to live on in the monotony of said dead morty’s life as if it’s also nothing. and as prime aptly points out, rick is basically doing the same thing with prime’s life. rick slotted into the life prime left behind and is now living the life prime would be living if he hadn’t gone rouge: “hang out with my grandson. raise echoes of my daughter… I just walked into your garage before you walked into mine. but eventually you did. you lived in my house.” and now, prime is dead. queue look on down from the bridge.

“hope you’re happy with your choice.”

[chuuyadelune]

the settings, lighting and colour in yosano’s backstory (BSD episode 46 / season 4 episode 9) are really poignant. i don’t have the words nor brain capacity to word this properly right now, so here’s a brief list of everything i loved:

first of all, the contrast between young yosano going down the steps to find the soldier dead, accompanied by a hellish red colour; and then at the end of the episode in the present, she is walking up towards the light;

- when tanizaki asks her if the agency was the one who saved her, the transition between light and darkness as she reveals it was mori who saved her, the “worst man imaginable”;

- where the steps leading to hell (the hanging body of the soldier) were left wide open, yosano here opens the door, showing that her choice, her decisions are important as an agency member — as opposed to being forced into the role she had under mori on tokoyami island;

- how ranpo, quite literally, brings her into the light during the fight between fukuzawa and mori. the shift in lighting is definitely intentional;

- and the way that their conversation happened against the backdrop of the sunset, a recurring motif in BSD. it not only highlights the act of him inviting her into the ADA, an organisation that sits between “night” and “day”; but also brings to mind how sunsets are often used (in a broader sense, not just BSD) to highlight change. this is certainly the case for them here; ranpo changed yosano’s life by bringing her into the agency.

the attention to detail really shows how bones went above and beyond for this. i think they did her backstory so much justice!

[s0larts]

I'm watching Grian Season 6 Hermitcraft episodes

And

GUYS LIKE IMAGINE ANGST LORE

What if the time machine transported Grian, Impulse and Ren to the wrong reality??

What if they've been living in a bad reality all this time?

The three of us suddenly disappear after heading to arena 77. All the Hermits are devastated, thinking their friends are dead.

What if in season 9, like in canon, there is a Rift. Grian walks through it with a couple of other people. But they don't transfer to Empires.

They are transported to their true reality. Realities where the Hermits are not so cheerful and peaceful anymore.

[natashasfilms]

Chapter Four - Derailed

Summary: FBI agent Leila faces a profound life change after giving birth to a baby girl, supported by her loving husband. Despite the challenges of motherhood, Leila returns to her role as a dedicated agent a few months later, ready to confront gruesome and haunting cases with the BAU team.

Pairing: BAU!Fem!OC x Male!OC , EVENTUAL Aaron Hotchner x BAU!Fem!OC (Like much later)

Warnings: This story contains mature themes such as sexual content, strong language, violence, mentions of alcohol and drugs, blood, gore, and death. All the usual Criminal Minds stuff. And there is NO CHEATING.

Note 1: I imagine Leila Kade as South Asian but I have decided to let you, the reader, imagine her appearance, hence the reason why I have not given her a face claim. However, her race does not affect the story, whatsoever. You, as the reader, are free to imagine her however you want. If you don't see her as South Asian, then that's fine. It won't affect the storyline. I also imagine the OC!Male as South Asian, but again, it won't affect the storyline.

Note 2: The team will consist of the main cast (Emily, Derek, JJ, Spencer, Penelope, Aaron, and Rossi) but will also include Elle Greenaway and Jason Gideon because they were some of my favorite characters and I wanted to include them with the rest of the team. Basically, Elle and Gideon never leave when Emily and Rossi join.

Note 3: There will be multiple time skips throughout this series. For example, the first chapter will begin on the first season and episode of the show but then there will be a time skip to later episodes (because there are obviously way too many episodes to write this series on and I wanted to include specific episodes that would help the plot of this story). This means that this series will be a slow burn romance but I believe it to be better this way. This will also stray from the actual show a lot, so don't expect it to follow the plot precisely.

Series Masterlist

Season 1, Episode 9

Balancing a cup of coffee in her hands, Leila ascended the steps to her office. Her gaze swept across the cubicle, and the absence of Elle's usual seat caught her attention. She knew Elle was on her way to Texas for an interview with a child murderer.

Exhaling heavily, she settled into her chair. The numerous stacks of paperwork on her desk loomed before her, a daunting task she was not looking forward to. She understood that if she didn't start it now, the piles would only continue to increase.

Leila was just on the brink of diving into the topmost file when JJ burst into her office in a hurry. "Conference room, now."

Startled, her eyes widened at the sudden interruption. She quickly rose from her seat, momentarily forgetting about the paperwork spread across her desk. Following JJ's brisk steps, she made her way to the conference room. "Is it serious?" She asked JJ as they walked.

"It's a shooter situation on a train." She responded.

As everyone assembled in the room, except for Gideon, Leila moved over to Aaron's side and leaned in slightly to catch a glimpse of the case file he held. JJ initiated the briefing by explaining the grim situation, where a shooter had taken control of a train, leaving five hostages in peril and a security officer dead.

Projected on the screen was a security tape, capturing the essence of the crisis. Leila focused intently, her brow furrowing as she approached the display, while JJ, Spencer, Derek, and Aaron delved into the details of the case. In the midst of the discussion, Gideon entered the room, and Leila instinctively stood aside to allow him a better view of the footage.

Then, a realization struck Leila like a lightning bolt. "Wait…" Her voice cut through the conversation, and Gideon's sharp intake of breath indicated he had come to the same conclusion. Their eyes remained glued to a specific figure on the screen, their collective attention captured.

"My God!" Gideon's exclamation mirrored Leila's thoughts, confirming they were seeing the same face.

Derek's voice cut through the tension, his curiosity piqued. "What?"

"Elle." Leila and Gideon said in unison, catching everyone's attention as they all took a better look at the footage, noticing the familiar brunette.

They headed to the train's location while discussing the case en route. The unsub had demanded a conversation with a "higher authority," though no religious references had been mentioned. They speculated that he considered them the "higher authority." The deadline he set for this conversation was three hours, but that window had closed two and a half hours ago, leaving them with just thirty minutes to act.

Upon reaching the scene, numerous police cars were already positioned and prepared for action. The team stepped out of the SUV and engaged in discussions with the other law enforcement personnel present. Leila's gaze remained fixed on the train, her heart racing as the realization hit her that her best friend was on board with a murderer.

They entered the mobile command center to review the train's security footage, fully intending to initiate negotiations with the unsub. Abruptly, the situation escalated as the unsub forcibly dragged a woman by her hair to the other side of the train.

Amidst the tension, a ringing phone drew everyone's attention. A collective glance exchanged between them, and Gideon swiftly reached for the receiver, pressing a button to take the call.

"He wants to know who you are. He wants to know who just arrived." The woman's trembling voice conveyed through the phone.

"Tell him it's someone who can help resolve the situation." Gideon replied, his tone composed and deliberate.

Amidst more indistinct murmuring, the woman's voice came through again, strained as the unsub held a gun to her head. "What part of the government do you work for?"

Gideon's response took a different approach. "I never said I was with the government." Leaving Officer Frank Moretti perplexed by their exchange.

Leila seized the opportunity to clarify the strategy to Moretti, muting their microphone while explaining. "The less he says, the more mysterious we seem, the higher an authority we become."

"What part of the... What part of the government?" The woman asked again, her voice breaking as she sobbed. They remained silent, focused on the video feed before them. "Are you FBI?" She pressed, her desperation palpable.

Gideon's response left no room for doubt. "He can ask me himself."

The unsub grabbed the phone, his voice laden with curiosity as he inquired about the identity of the speaker. Gideon remained to the mysterious persona they had orchestrated, responding that the unsub should recognize them. In return, the unsub mysteriously insisted on the removal of "it."

Leila's brow furrowed as she crossed her arms, confused by what the unsub was referring to. Despite her confusion, Gideon adeptly maintained the facade, asserting that the process of removing "it" would take a long time. The unsub then issued a one-hour ultimatum for the removal of "it," or else he would take the lives of every "agent" on the train. With that, he abruptly ended the call, leaving the line dead.

Without knowing what "it" was, they only had one hour to figure it out, before all hell broke loose.

Recognizing that the unsub was in the midst of a psychotic episode, the team worked to uncover common delusions during such episodes. Aaron turned to Reid with this query, to which the young profiler responded that delusions were diverse and influenced by personal experiences.

One of the women held his arm, as if she were indicating something crucial, perhaps the elusive "it" they were supposed to remove. They observed scars on his arm, resembling wounds from razors or pens he had used to extract whatever "it" was supposed to be.

"So he thinks he has an object implanted in his arm, and he wants us to remove it." Leila deduced, grasping the unsub's intentions.

"Probably." Gideon concurred. "And if we don't remove it, he's going to kill somebody."

Derek's phone began to ring, prompting him to step aside to answer the call. The rest of the team remained engrossed in the footage, searching for any potential clues. Elle, unfortunately, remained handcuffed to her seat, her gun confiscated by the unsub, leaving her defenseless.

After ending his call, Derek rejoined the group, catching Gideon's attention. As Gideon inquired about the hostages, Derek relayed information he had just received from Penelope. He worked swiftly on the computer, accessing the files Penelope had sent concerning all the hostages, and proceeded to display the contents for the team to see.

Their current strategy involved creating the illusion of removing a non-existent microchip. They needed a plan that could convince the unsub they were taking out the device while secretly doing nothing of the sort.

"We could fake it." Suggested Spencer during their brainstorming session, causing everyone to turn their attention towards him.

"Seriously, Reid? A magic trick?" Derek exclaimed, leaning back in his chair in disbelief.

"Yes, a magic trick." Spencer affirmed.

Aaron promptly dismissed the idea, saying, "No."

"I used to do it during college exams." Spencer elaborated. "I can make things appear and disappear."

"We can't afford to put another agent in the line of fire." Aaron stated firmly.

"But we need to do something."

Leila interjected with a sigh with an idea that struck her. "Okay, fine. Teach me."

Spencer regarded her with a mix of surprise and disbelief. "What? No."

"If you can do it, then why can't I?" Leila countered, not willing to let Spencer risk his life by boarding the train.

Spencer shook his head, emphasizing the urgency. "I've been practicing this my whole life. We have less than 30 minutes."

Leila, determined to keep Spencer safe, persisted. "Reid, I am not allowing you to get on that train with an armed psychotic." She gestured towards the surveillance cameras, stressing her concern for his safety.

"No." Spencer continued. "Even if you managed to learn it, I can't let you go when you have a young daughter waiting for you at home."

Leila felt frustrated but understood his point. "So, what's the alternative?"

"We don't have one." Gideon interjected, rising from his seat. All eyes turned to him. "We don't have any other choice."

Spencer prepared himself to board the train, all set to execute the plan of faking the removal of the microchip from the unsub's arm. Leila pinched the bridge of her nose in anxiety, watching him gear up with a bulletproof vest. Aaron returned to the mobile command center with a counterfeit microchip, a small piece taken from the inside of a phone. They stepped outside, and as Spencer readied himself one final time, he turned towards the train.

They provided him with last-minute instructions and precautions, going over all possible scenarios. Spencer nodded to show his understanding and readiness. Before leaving, he looked at his colleagues and made a request. "Can you guys do me a favor?"

"Anything." Derek replied.

"Could at least one of you act like you're going to see me again?" Spencer's request, which would typically be lighthearted, held weight in the current situation.

"See you when you get back." Aaron reassured him, a hint of nervous laughter in Spencer's response. With that, Spencer turned and began his approach to the train. The team watched him walk away, leaving Leila shaking her head in disbelief.

"I can't believe we're letting him do this." She muttered, rubbing her temples in frustration. "I'm a quick learner, I could've gone."

Derek turned to her, offering support. "Spencer's right. If something were to go wrong, you'd be leaving Jasmine and Zaid behind."

Leila's gaze remained fixed on Spencer's form. "He's too young."

"He's also incredibly capable. He'll go in and come out before you know it." Derek reassured her.

"I don't doubt that." Leila said, knowing Spencer was very capable.

The SWAT team maintained their poised stances, guns ready in case they needed to take action. Back in the mobile command center, the team scrutinized the live footage, their eyes fixed on Spencer's every move as he boarded the train. Once on board, he deftly removed his bulletproof vest, possibly in response to the unsub's demands.

"Damn it, Reid, I told you not to remove the vest." Derek's frustration was palpable as he spoke, his lips tense.

Leila's heart pounded in her chest as she watched intently, running a hand down her face in anticipation. As they observed, Spencer artfully mimicked retrieving a device from his arm, executing his magic trick to perfection. It looked as though he was making his exit when the unsub compelled him to remain seated, causing Leila's brows to furrow in concern. Unable to hear the conversation, they became alarmed when Spencer was forced to sit down once more.

"Get off the train, Reid." Gideon murmured with urgency.

Leila's head shook. "The unsub said something to him. Something's wrong."

Trying to calm down the unsub, Spencer and Elle's efforts to sway the unsub's thoughts seemed apparent. Spencer struggled to stand again, only to be forced back into his seat.

"All right, it seems calm for now." JJ said, attempting to provide reassurance.

"Reid's still on the train." Gideon said. "Now we have two agents in there." Making a quick decision, Gideon dialed the phone on the train, waiting for the unsub to respond. However, the unsub remained motionless, ignoring the call.

One of the hostages, a young man of twenty, stood up, engaging in conversation. Leila sensed the tension building, fearing that this interaction could escalate dangerously. Suddenly, the unsub rose to his feet, raising his weapon and firing a shot. The doctor held her abdomen in the place he shot, and fell to the ground.

She fell into the arms of the young man, while other hostages rushed to her side. The unsub then walked over to where the phone lay, picking it up. Gideon engaged him in conversation, and the unsub kept repeating that "it all ends today."

The unsub put down the phone again and JJ asked them what that meant.

"It means he's decided on an endgame." Aaron explained.

"He's going to kill himself and the hostages." Gideon added.

They called the unsub once again but the unsub pointed his gun at it, firing a bullet into it.

"Let me know when HRT's ready." Gideon told Leila and Aaron, and the two quickly left the command center. The SWAT team still had their firearms raised while Leila and Aaron ensured that all preparations were in place, knowing that they might have to take action soon. The tension was palpable, and Leila's thoughts were focused on the safety of the hostages, Elle, and Spencer. Suddenly, a gunshot echoed from within the train, causing Leila's eyes to widen. Her heart raced as she anxiously waited for news, watching Gideon rush onto the train.

Eventually, the passengers began emerging from the train. It came to light that one of the hostages had managed to shoot the unsub, although he was still alive. Thankfully, the psychiatrist had also survived, though she was unconscious due to the loss of blood.

Leila walked over to Elle and Spencer, embracing them both tightly. "I'm so glad you're both alright." She said, her voice filled with genuine concern. Then, she directed her attention to Elle. "You really should get checked out, just to be sure."

Elle shook her head adamantly. "No, I'm perfectly fine." Leila shot her a stern look, clearly not convinced. "I'm really okay, Leila!"

"Go." Leila commanded, her tone firm, before turning away so she wouldn't have to listen to Elle's complaints.

After their return to the BAU, everyone began gathering their belongings, ready to head home. Derek accompanied the psychiatrist to the hospital, and Elle needed to get herself checked in due to the ordeal she had endured as a hostage. The day had been incredibly stressful, especially for Elle, who had been held captive throughout.

Leila observed her colleagues leaving and then stepped out of her own office, only to notice Aaron still immersed in paperwork in his office. Without hesitation, she knocked on his door, and he welcomed her inside. Leila entered briskly, a concerned expression on her face.

"Aren't you heading home?" She inquired, observing the piles of paperwork on his desk. Her thoughts turned to her own unfinished paperwork, which she had packed into her bag with the intention of working on it at home.

"I wanted to wrap up a few of these files before I leave." Aaron explained, gesturing to the papers scattered before him.

Leila furrowed her brow and crossed her arms. "Why not take them home and work there? Haley and Jack probably miss you. Instead of staying here alone to work, why not spend quality time with your family and finish your work there?"

Aaron contemplated her words for a moment. "You're right. I thought if I could finish these now, I'd have more focused time to spare for them."

Leila chuckled lightly. "Our work keeps us busy, Aaron. We don't always get those opportunities. So it's better to spend the time you have with your family than to try to accomplish everything at once and risk missing those moments."

He began gathering his papers, neatly placing them in his bag. Once ready, he slung the bag over his shoulder and joined Leila as they walked toward their cars. They chatted casually along the way.

"Alright, goodnight, Leila." Aaron said, waving farewell.

"Goodnight." Leila replied, a warm smile on her face as she got into her car. As she started the engine, a sense of anticipation filled her. Finally, she was heading home to her two most favorite people in the world. She longed to see her husband and daughter, the ache of their absence had been deeply felt throughout the day.

It was true that she would do absolutely anything for her family.

[stitchlingbelle]

Watching Halo, Episode 8

(From what I’ve picked up, this is the episode with the controversial sex scene in it, so… yeah. Let’s see how that goes.)

We open with John and Makee both staring into mirrors and either temporarily revisiting the ringworld vision or just remembering it, but their focus seems to be more on each other than the untold mysteries of an alien ringworld revealed to them by ancient mystical technology. Priorities! And then they go on a field trip.

Halsey, Adun her creepy assistant, and Cortana are discussing John and Makee and the whole situation while watching them. Parangosky and Keyes are also watching them, because again, authoritarian surveillance state. Although, I do have to give the actually-authorized people here a break; Makee is still being held under some pretext or other, and in fairness, she actually IS up to no good. But since Parangosky doesn’t know that, it’s a little appalling that she’s so eager for Master Chief to beat the shit out of what could be an innocent civilian. (And we, and John, know that there are in fact actual Covenant escapees, since we met Reth back on Rubble.)

YAY for another civilization worldbuilding scene! Parks! Food trucks! Pastels! The future is great! (What is with all the anoraks people wear in this show?) Happy children give Makee hope that maybe the book she and her childhood friend rescued from the trash might have been on to something. Maybe humans don’t suck, just the ones from Recycle Hell Planet. She mentions the book to John. They take refuge by some pretty, flowery trees and discuss the Halo and whether humanity’s worth saving. “Cleansed” she says fanatically, that’s what will become of humanity if the others ascend. (John, alongside your defense of humanity, you might have questioned whether people dead-set on committing genocide are worthy themselves… It’s not like she doesn’t know what the Covenant does, she just has protagonist-centered morality, here.) When Master Chief gets called away for a moment, Makee gets frightened by a dog, which I can’t help but think is supposed to be a parallel with John’s loving memories of his childhood dog. It’ll take more than one day in the park to rid Makee of her kneejerk assumptions…

Speaking of the Covenant’s genocidal tendencies, a colony world has just been attacked—glassed, a term I’ve heard and imagined to be a bit more literal (anybody else read the Axiom books by Tim Pratt?)—in fact, a city of 11 million people has been melted into a roiling hellscape of lava. The voiceover of the reporter or officer, along with the reactions of the people in the command center, really sells it. Keyes and Parangosky argue over aid, with Keyes invoking the “Cole Protocol”. A recap I found online informs me that it’s meant to keep the Covenant from finding the other human planets (presumably by following the aid fleet home? Idk). I guess this means the Covenant is like humanity in its knowledge of the wider galaxy—no in-depth surveys, just telescope data beyond their own frontiers. Interesting. (I’ve got some thoughts about the respective tech levels here but I think I’ll hold it for the finale.)

Master Chief walks in and hears the tail end of the argument, that “we can’t sit here and wait for them to find us” and the conversation turns from aid to an offensive strike against the Covenant. He’s convinced Makee will help, which I have serious doubts about, especially this early in her deprogramming. (Again, 9-episode season!) But the whole debate does give him a chance to stand up for himself against two of the people he doesn’t realize are also responsible for the crimes against him. When Keyes growls, “People don’t just manually override decades of indoctrination,” John looks him dead in the eye and says, “I did.”

OH SNAP.

We get a look at how the other Spartans are doing. Riz and Vannak are examining some alien tech and debating Kai’s fitness for duty… and we slam right into Kai partying it up with a ton of normal soldiers, using her superstrength to lift incredibly heavy objects while they cheer wildly, rooting for her and placing bets. It’s an absolutely adorable scene of my exuberant girl getting joy out of her abilities, instead of the horrific purposes they were given to her for. It’s also a great scene of human connection, as Kai, so far the most outgoing Spartan, gets to be a part of the life of the base for the first time. (Master Chief might stay grim, the untouchable, perfect Spartan that all the grunts look up to, but I think Kai might become their beloved mascot. If the show lets her.) (God, I can’t wait to see what Riz and Vannak are like as people.)

Miranda’s back at her new lab, which apparently still doesn’t have the funding for chairs. Her dad, who she still believes in, drops by and it’s painful to watch her enthusiasm as she goes over her progress with the only person she looks up to who listens to her. It’s going to break her heart when she learns the truth, and on some level her dad knows that reckoning is coming. She’s clearly on the verge of figuring out Makee is the voice in her recording…

John goes to see Makee, dismissing her guards (not suspicious at all!), to give her a book. (He says it’s not the same one from her childhood, so maybe it’s the same author? Yes, this is a weird detail to care about.) For a second I couldn’t tell if the gesture was incredibly sweet or calculated to make her trust him/ humanity more, buuuut they almost immediately start making out, so calculated probably wasn’t it. I’ll be honest, as someone who is deeply religious both by upbringing and by choice, as well as being somewhat on the demi side of things, I am the wrong person to comment on whether this scene was too soon or earned or whatever. It would take two years and a ring to get me to this point, but some people have one-night stands! Maybe this is normal! I dunno. (I bet it was awkward as hell, though. Two virgins who probably never got sex ed? Yikes. This is Hollywood, though, so the implication is always that it was effortlessly great.) Aaaaand Cortana is watching/ experiencing/ monitoring vital signs intrusively? Yikes.

…and then he sleeps over? And this does not set off any alarms with anyone, including the guards? What about the shift change? Asking the real questions here, people! Makee has a moment of Decision, looking at him and her best chance to literally remove his head as she boasted. Instead, she gets up, and in the WORST SCENE EVER wrenches the hidden energy blade out from under her fingernail. Give the actress and the fx department Emmys, that looked SO. PAINFUL. (Girl, you could have left it in and just committed to not stabbing people!) And John slept through the whole thing. (?!) (...what about Cortana?)

Cortana and Halsey discuss the evening, and Cortana looks a lot more content with the situation than she did, uh, earlier. Halsey distinctly less so when Cortana comments that John’s not alone in the universe anymore. “He was never alone, he had me,” snaps the woman who abducted, tortured, and brainwashed him. “…Of course,” answers Cortana, who looks like she regrets her life choices even though she’s only like a week old.

Keyes drops by and treats us to a handy demonstration of him and Halsey as the toxic couple of the decade. He can’t break free of her emotionally, if only because then he’d have to face his guilt and culpability alone. So he’s pulling strings and probably fucking everyone else over to… what? What’s important about her ship, instead of the one Parangosky would no doubt put her on? (C’mon, Cortana, time to make a stand!)

Whatever her inevitable escape plans, for now, Halsey is ruining John’s attempts to bring Makee over by creepily contacting her on the sly and feeding her all that bs about humanity’s evil nature. (Including a disturbing line about her relationship with John being “wonderful to watch”.) (This right after claiming John doesn’t exist, only The Master Chief, a contradiction Makee doesn’t notice.) Makee is disturbed and pushes back to a limited extent, but it’s clear that another human validating her fears about humanity and then parroting the same line about the Halo’s power to help a species ascend “like gods” is hitting her where she lives. (She also doesn’t think to quiz Halsey on exactly why other humans can’t be trusted, but she can.)

Halsey then reflects on the “flaw” of humanity that is attachment. (What exactly does she think humanity is, then? If it's so awful, why is she working to save it?) Anyway, whether this is commentary on Keyes’ mistaken loyalty to her, viewing her own previous attachments as setbacks, the ease she’s had in manipulating Makee, the Spartans, and others, or just foreshadowing, it’s game time now.

She contacts the Spartans, invoking “Zed Protocol” and claiming the entire high command, including Master Chief, have been compromised by the alien artifact. She orders them to bring John, Makee, and the artifact to her, letting nothing stand in their way. No one asks the obvious question: if the artifact is compromising people, why the heck should they bring it CLOSER to someone so far unaffected? Isn’t it more likely the person asking them to break protocol for the artifact is being affected? Kai is the only one who doubts, and Halsey immediately has Riz and Vannak take her out. (Causing me to yell NOT MY BABY at the screen.)

Cortana asks what Halsey has planned for John. Turns out he’s disposable once they have Makee, and Halsey plans to let Cortana take over his body after all. (So much for John’s test. And for John’s specialness in Halsey’s eyes—if he was so unique, you wouldn’t want to overwrite him!) Cortana is Not Enthused, but Halsey doesn’t see that for as much of a danger sign as I do.

Everyone’s on their way to watch Makee use the artifact. Makee, deeply upset by Halsey, asks John what his plan for the artifact and the future are. The Master Chief, with no idea what the thing actually does AND being emotionally two weeks old AND raised to be mission-focused, has no answer beyond “kill the people who rescued you”. (Not even a “we’ll figure it out together”, John? Really?)

What follows, once everyone is in place, is a combination of action scene and classic tragedy of mistimed revelation—once Cortana makes her choice and alerts Master Chief to the ambush waiting for him, he sends Makee looking for safety. Instead, in the terrified moments when listening to her could have saved John a beating and changed Makee’s mind about humanity, Miranda discovers that Makee was behind the massacre of the Gladius. This ill-timed truth results in Makee being viciously tased as she was as a child, confirming all her fears…

Meanwhile, Master Chief out of armor is going hand-to-hand with Riz and Vannak, both suited up. Cortana’s assistance keeps them from wiping the floor with him. That, and the fact that his skull must be heavily reinforced, one punch from an armored Spartan should be more than enough to crush a human skull. And then MY GIRL KAI breaks out, orders Halsey’s ship detained, and joins the fight, resulting in a standoff…

…which is broken only by Makee reverting to her upbringing, lunging for the artifact and using it to get away. The shockwave smashes through the base. John flashes to the Halo dimension, where Makee just says goodbye and disappears. Well, crap.

[biggerbetterbat]

WITH YOU [11] WERE YOU AN ADULT FILMS ACTRESS BEFORE?

Daryl Dixon x OC!Charlie Reed

Summary: The group finds a shelter in the CDC. Charlie makes Daryl to play drunk game with her.

Warnings: language, rotten bodies, fluff

Song: Ever Since New York Harry Styles

A/N: Hi :) New chapter, I like it. I feel that maybe Daryl opened up to Charlie too fast...but still it's a good chapter. I can't wait when you will finally see my chapters for season 9!!!!!!! But for now...Please leave a comment and like if you like my work. ENJOY!

WITH YOU ON WATTPAD

It was bad. If she thought that bad was what happened in the camp, then she didn't know how she could name that.

The smell of rotting corpses was almost impossible to bear. With every breath, she was closer to vomiting whatever she had- and she couldn't let little KitKats leave her body that quickly. It was clear that the city tried to fight back as there were barricades and military cars here and there, but it wasn't the scariest part. There were bodies everywhere. Some of them didn't have body parts, and some were covered in blood. And blood was everywhere.

As the flies. Their buzzing was the only thing piercing through the silence.

"All right, everybody. Keep moving. Go on." Shane rushed everyone in a whisper and demanded them to be quiet.

When they reached the door, Rick and Shane tried to open them, but it wasn't working. All they did was make the metal echo through the silence. T-Dog looked around and then looked straight at Rick. "There's nobody here."

"Then why are the shutters down?" Rick asked.

"Walkers!"

"Baby, come on." Lori pulled Carl to her body in a caring gesture.

"You led us into a graveyard!" Daryl insulted Rick and stepped forward ready to fight. Charlie caught his arm quickly as she stood closest to him.

Shane held up his arms trying to calm hunter. "He made a call."

"It was the wrong damn call!" Daryl tried to get to Rick. "You hear me?"

"Just shut up," yelled Shane and stepped between his best friend and Dixon. "Shut up. Shut up!"

"Rick, this is the dead end," Lori said.

"Where are we gonna go?" asked panicked Carol, pulling her daughter closer.

"Do you hear me?" Shane turned to Rick. "No blame."

"She's right." interrupted Lori. "We can't be here, this close to the city after dark."

"Fort Benning, Rick, still an option." a cop said.

"On what?!" Charlie snapped. "No food, no fuel. That's a hundred miles."

"One hundred twenty-five. I checked the map." Glenn corrected her friend.

"Forget Fort Benning," she said again to Shane. "Rick. We need answers tonight, now."

"We'll think of something." he looked at her.

"Come on, let's go," said Daryl and pushed Charlie a little to make her walk towards the cars. "Let's get out of here."

"Let's go please," Lori said to Rick.

"Alright, everybody back to the cars! Let's move!" Shane commanded, ushering everyone to move.

"The camera!" Rick suddenly screamed. "It moved!"

Dale looked at Rick and then at the camera. "You imagined it."

"It moved. It moved." Rick argued, trying to convince everyone.

"Rick, it's dead, man." Shane came back to Rick and tried to pull him to the car. "It's an automated device, man. It's gears, okay? They're just winding down. Now come on. Man, just listen to me. Look around this place. It's dead, okay? It's dead. You need to let it go, Rick!"

When Rick pushed Shane away and hit the shutters again, Lori jogged to him and made him look at her. "Rick, there's nobody here!"

"I know you're in there!" Grimes yelled. "I know you can hear me!"

"Everybody get back to the cars now! Go!" Shane yelled at everyone again as he saw that they were still standing and waiting.

"Please, we're desperate. Please help us. We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left." Rick begged the camera.

It was chaos. Walkers were snarling, Rick was yelling, Shane was trying to get them to move, and Lori was begging her husband to go. And Charlie was just clenching to Daryl's shirt.

"If you don't let us in, you're killing us!" Rick yelled.

"Come on, buddy, let's go!" Shane tried to help Lori and move his friend.

But Rick was standing still as a rock, looking into the camera. "Please! You're killing us."

Shutters opened suddenly and bright light shone from behind the glass doors.

Rick was right.

Dr.Jenner invited him to his safe zone on the condition that they all go through blood tests, so obviously they all agreed- even though Charlie was sure she would faint because she hated blood tests. The group was careful around Dr.Jenner, who was leading them somewhere and soon they found each other in a big room with machines and huge screens, which they could see in a dim light from the corridor.

"Vi, bring up the lights in the big room," he said and the big room got lit up. "Welcome to Zone 5."

Rick followed him. "Where is everybody? The other doctors, the staff?"

"I'm it," Jenner answered. "It's just me here."

Lori looked around the room, her eyes opened wider than ever before. "What about the person you were speaking with? Vi?"

"Vi, say hello to our guests. Tell them...Welcome."

Hello, guests. Welcome. They heard the computer's voice from heaven.

"I'm all that's left. I'm sorry." Jenner said.

After the blood test that she did everything to avoid, she was rather content with what happened next. When Jenner found out that they hadn't eaten in days, he prepared the biggest dinner she had seen in weeks.

The atmosphere was the same as the night Amy and the others died. They were laughing, and talking and they were old friends again, not strangers who just had to survive again.

"You know in Italy, children have a little bit of wine with dinner. And in France." Dale said while pouring wine into the glasses.

"Well, when Carl is in Italy or France, he can have some then," Lori said.

Since the last argument with Lori at the camp, Charlie came up with her own method. Before expressing her opinion about anything at this point, she was asking herself a question: would it be better if I bit my tongue. If the answer was yes, then she was just fisting her hands so her nails were digging into her skin.

It was like that this time. Because Carl probably would never be in Italy or France. He will probably never even live up to the legal drinking age.

But once again. She remained silent.

"What's it gonna hurt?" Rick looked at his wife. "Come on."

He nodded to Lori and she moved away her hand that was covering her son's cup. Dale poured Carl some wine and smiled. "There you are, young lad."

"Ugh." Carl stuck his tongue out, which made everyone laugh.

"That's my boy." Lori nodded. "Good boy," she added while pouring Carl's wine into her glass.

"That tastes nasty."

"Well, just stick to soda pop there, bud." Shane smiled at the kid.

"Not you, Glenn." Daryl pointed at the Asian boy next to her.

Glenn looked at Charlie and then towards Daryl with a dumbfounded expression."What?"

"Keep drinking, little man," Daryl said. "I want to see how red your face can get."

Sophia sat quietly, her small frame barely filling the chair next to Charlie, who was watching Glenn's interaction with Daryl with an amused smile. "They're being silly."

"They are," Charlie nodded.

"It's probably the first time I see Daryl talking so much," the girl said. The woman looked at her with a smile. "Do you ever miss being a kid?"

Charlie considered the question for a moment before responding. "Being an adult has its challenges, that's for sure. So, I guess yes."

"What do you miss the most?"

"My brothers," Charlie answered immediately without giving it much of a thought. "We were very close, when we were young."

"I always wanted a brother," Sophia confessed. "I wish your brothers would be here with us."

"Me, too."

"And I hope they're safe somewhere," she said.

Charlie tried to smile at her reassuring smile and words, but it was hard as emotions cumulated in her. Her face probably looked as if she ate a lemon, but in a warm gesture, Charlie caressed hair of the little girl. Sophia looked up at Charlie with a grateful smile, her eyes shining with emotion. Without a word, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Charlie in a tight hug. Charlie was taken aback for a moment before returning the embrace, her own arms encircling Sophia protectively.

Rick hit his glass a couple times to make everyone quiet. Then he stood up and looked at Dr.Jenner."It seems to me we haven't thanked our host properly.

"He's more than just our host!" called T-Dog.

"Here's to you, Doc. Booyah!" Daryl yelled lifting the bottle up.

And then everyone called after him: "Booyah!"

"So when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, Doc?" Shane asked, looking at the doctor. " All the...the other doctors that were supposed to be figuring out what happened, where are they?"

"We're celebrating, Shane." Rick looked at his best friend. "Don't need to do this now."

"Woah, wait a second. This is why we're here, right? This was your move." Shane snapped at him, clearly annoyed. "Supposed to, you know, find all the answers. Instead we...we found him. Found one man. Why?"

Jenner looked down at first as if thinking about the answer- how to tell them a traumatizing story in the most approachable way.

"Well, when things got bad, a lot of people just...left." he shrugged. "Went off to be with their families. And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted."

"Every last one?" Shane asked.

"No." he shook his head. "Many couldn't face walking out the door. They...opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time."

Walsh looked at Jenner and narrowed his eyes. That must be his face when he was interrogating people in the past. "You didn't leave. Why?"

"I just kept working, hoping to do some good."

"I'm gonna throw up," said Glenn. Her eyes widened and she was up on her legs, helping him stand up. "Dude, you are such a buzzkill, man." said an Asian boy, facing Shane.

With that, the dinner was over and Jenner offered to show them where they could crash. Charlie took her bag with one hand and with the other, she held Glenn as he was swaying a little. They were following him down yet another hallway.

"Most facilities power down, including housing," said Jenner. "So you'll have to make do here. Couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you'd like. There's a rec room down the hall that your kids might enjoy. Just don't plug in any video games, okay?" he leaned in to look at the kids. "Or anything that draws power. Same applies," he turned to face the group. "If you shower, go easy on the hot water."

"Hot water?" Glenn gasped.

She smiled at him as he shook her body slightly.

Charlie frowned as she wanted to step into a room after Glenn. He blocked her entrance explaining that he was sharing it with T-Dog, as Daryl didn't want to let him in.

"Come on, dude." she stomped her foot.

"Next time, Charls," Glenn said and patted her shoulder. "Know it's hard, but you can make it through the night." he teased her.

"Hey, Charlie!" Shane called her name. "You want to share a room?"

"Say, since we're both staying here tonight, how about we share a room? It'll be more fun than going solo."

Charlie's expression shifted from amusement to mild surprise. "Uh, thanks for the offer, but I think I'll pass. I prefer my own space."

Shane shrugged nonchalantly. "Can't blame a guy for trying, right? The offer's always open if you change your mind."

As he sauntered away, Charlie shook her head with a smile, amused by Shane's persistence and relieved that it went so smoothly.

Daryl knew he made a mistake as soon as she entered the room and left her bag, so she could shower. Charlie knocked on his door, asking if she could share a room with him because the only one left was with Shane. He didn't really get the issue, so he just agreed.

And now he was realizing it even more, as she was sitting in her extremely short pajama bottoms and drinking whiskey from her glass. While he was drinking from his glass.

"Let's play questions," she said.

"It seems to me that we've playing that game since you entered that damn car with me."

Charlie rolled her eyes and finished her drink, just to pour herself some more.

"Come on, Daryl."

"But why?"

"Why not?" she chuckled.

He sighed and also bottomed his drink, pouring even more than before, because he knew that he wouldn't get through the night completely sober.

"So you didn't have a wife. So girlfriend?"

"No."

"Boyfriend?" she asked, but when she saw his death stare she didn't need an answer. "Okay, sorry. Just asking. So...how many people have you kissed?"

"Does it matter?"

"No. Like any of those questions." she shrugged.

"So how many have you kissed?" he asked.

"I don't know. Two?" she looked at him. "What? I'm not that easy. I was working, I was busy."

Daryl really didn't want to answer that question and was even more scared of what else she wanted to ask.

"One."

"Was it like the love of your life?" she asked.

Daryl bit his lip, embarrassment going up on his cheeks. "Nah."

"Okay." she shrugged as if nothing happened. "On a scale from one to ten, how good kisser are you?"

"I'm not gonna answer that question."

"Why?" she gasped. "It's a normal question. I think I'm like...eight," she said and looked at him. "No. I'm a nine."

Dixon scoffed. "You are vain."

"I prefer the term confident." she corrected. "So?"

He really didn't want to answer the question, because he felt ashamed. How could he tell her that his first, last, and only kiss was with a girl that Merle paid to kiss him? It was humiliating. Also, it was impossible to rate himself like that.

"Were you an adult films actress before?"

"Why?"

"Because of your questions. You have no shame. Those are private things." he answered. "'Sides your face seem familiar."

Before Daryl realized his words his face already turned bright red. He watched her cheeks puff with the air as she held her breath in. But soon the liquid came through the nose as she started laughing out loud. Avoiding one humiliation he pushed himself in even bigger humiliation.

"Oh, God." she inhaled, whipping tears away. "Daryl, you're the man one of a kind. I was a TV presenter before, that's why my face...seems familiar." she chuckled. "What you were doing before?"

"Hangin' around with Merle and his friends. Doing stupid shit," he answered.

"You were close," she stated more than asked, but Daryl just shrugged. "I was pretty close with my brothers...once."

"Once?"

"My older brother Luke," she said. "He's four years older than me, but we used to tell people who didn't know us that we're twins, because of how inseparable we were," she said, looking in the distance with a smile. "Once we wrote a Valentine to a girl and we signed it with the name of our other brother, Will. The girl was older than him, extremely popular, she was classmates with Luke. She laughed at in front of the whole school, everyone was teasing him for that and he knew it was us. He didn't speak to us for six months and when we all went to the summer camp, he put mud in our clothes so it was extra messy." she smiled. "It was the first time we went on this camp alone, without our oldest brother Finn. Our dad was furious. He grounded us all and the biggest victim was little Pete, who didn't know about anything, but was punished anyway."

She chuckled.

"I miss them," Charlie whispered.

"Your dad seems a tough guy," he said.

"He was. We were never too young for something. He treated us all equally." she said. "What was your biggest dream when you were...seven?"

"Bike," he answered without thinking.

"Mine was a pony. Or at least lessons on how to ride a pony. I asked for it every Christmas and birthday, but all I got was a plastic gun." she said. "When I was older he replaced it with shooting classes."

"Now you can thank him," Daryl answered. "My dad was an asshole, too."

Daryl didn't like to think about it and even more he hated talking about it. Merle didn't give a flying damn about what was happening at home, so he just kept quiet. His childhood wasn't so sweet and his relationship with his brother wasn't so perfect, but he felt the urge to share with her the smallest piece of his nightmare.

"I was running away from home. From my father," he said. "I spent days away in the woods, that's how I learned what to do. If not my asshole father I would be dead already."

She nodded her head. "Did you and Merle have any traditions?"

"Yeah," he said. "First we were getting wasted and then stoned, never the other way," he answered, but she knew he was teasing her, so she kicked him. "Did you?"

"Not really." she shrugged. "I just remember that Billy was singing this one song all the time since he was little. When he was stressed or scared or when he needed to focus, it was this one song over and over again. When we were all living together I was sick from hearing it." she shook her body in disgust. "But we all picked it up and we were all singing it. See now? I can't even remember the song."

He looked at her and nodded. Daryl for the first time saw a human in her, a real person with real feelings. It was also the first time she was sharing her personal stories or memories from before. Daryl was even more curious about her now, he wanted to know more about her.

"Have you ever skinny-dipped?" she asked after a moment.

"Go to sleep," he said as he placed his glass on a nightstand. "You're too drunk."

She rolled her eyes and mumbled something that sounded like you're no fun but did as she was told. Then she looked at him from her place on the bed and looked him in the eye because he actually asked her a serious question."Why you didn't want to share a room with Shane?"

"Have you seen the guy?" she asked. "I don't trust him after the amount of alcohol he drank tonight. And I don't trust him when he's trying to find comfort after losing Lori."

"And you trust me?"

"You're a good man, Daryl," she whispered.

He knew that he was everything, but good. However, he wasn't in a state to argue with that.

"Go to sleep."

"Mmm. Night night, Mr. FunKiller," she said, and in a second she was out.

In his dreams, all he saw that night, was her smiling face, and all he could hear was her laugh. That was a really good damn night.

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[apocalypticdemon]

tagged by @sunlaire! So sorry this took so long, school has been a nightmare this week and I have not had time to think about this, agh

The rules: take your 3 most recently liked songs on Spotify (or the first 3 that pop up on shuffle, whichever you want) and you have to 1) choose a line from each song to be a fic title and 2) tell me the genre of fic it would be and any other fic description you feel inspired to include.

Something in the Orange – Zack Bryan

            “take me back to us dancin’ (this wood used to creak)”

DEFINITELY a really sad fitzier fic, and likely Crozier-centric. The line that precedes this one is “your voice only trembles when you try to speak,” so I’m absolutely envisioning a bedside vigil fic set sometime in season 9, in that tent. I’m not necessarily the most creative, right now, so I am just seeing a scene where Crozier is thinking about his affection for Fitzjames, or even a literal flashback to a moment where they had some privacy and were able to dance together, even if it was in silence.

I’m just seeing something angsty and at the end of things, and leaving it open whether or not they get rescued or if it follows canon’s events.  

Voices of the Dead – Flobots

            “the shadow of another person living parallel (a vision of a better life)”

I can see this being a fitzier fic after they return to England. This one is probably from Fitzjames’ perspective, though it could probably be a dual POV piece that’s longer. Lots of longing and Victorian times social propriety. I’ve had a scene in mind for the two of them for a long time that would probably fit in here. It involves the two of them going to the opera and seeing Dido and Aeneas, and Fitzjames having a lot of feelings about Dido’s Lament (technically called “When I Am Laid in Earth”) when it comes about. Idk how I’d work in the lyrics, but the aria starts with “when I am laid in earth, may my wrongs create no trouble in thy breast,” and culminates with “remember me, but ah, forget my fate,” and I can’t stop thinking that Fitzjames would have really intense feelings about nearly dying in the arctic as Dido’s singer performs the scene. Like, I can imagine James wanting to be remembered, but didn’t want his memory to be painful to Crozier, so that directly parallels to the lyrical content of the aria. And while James is trying to keep his composure, he completely misses Crozier having an equally emotionally fraught moment literally right beside him in the opera box. And of course that all bubbles up into an emotional confession between them, but the specifics are a bit beyond me at this point.

Toxicity – System of a Down

            “somewhere between the sacred silence and sleep”

I am incapable of not having ideas for things that are deeply introspective and moody, but also relatively short, so I’m inclined to set this on the eve of their walk out on the ice. Probably from Crozier’s point of view, and it’s just him and Fitzjames in the wardroom, planning. They’ve been at it for a long while and have most of what little planning they are capable of planning for laid out, and they lapse into silence. Maybe Crozier just starts thinking about how his relationship with Fitzjames has evolved, how much closer they are, and starts to acknowledge that he’s crossed from tolerating Fitzjames into feeling genuine affection for him. Maybe again, since I’m also horribly drawn to angst in my ideas, despite it always making me so sad, Fitzjames falls asleep on the table and Crozier, giving into his affection, brushes the hair from his forehead and discovers the blood along his hairline, and very suddenly he has to grapple with the fact that Fitzjames is not as well as he pretends to be. Maybe he resolves to stay by Fitzjames as long as he is able to, since their time together is now even more limited than he feared.

idk who i should tag to do this, but if you see this and want to participate, feel free!

[k4tisblog]

04 Media Diary: Clementine TWDG

Recently I’ve been thinking about my unsupervised internet access from a young age. Probably was not good for my brain chemistry🤭, but if not for it I would not feel how I feel about Clementine.

She was only 9 when the apocalypse started, and so was I! At least, I was only 9 when I started watching horror games on youtube and stumbled across a The Walking Dead Game playthrough.

Seeing a girl my age, one that even looked a bit like me go through the hardest situations imaginable but still making it out the other end gave me pride. Others saw her as cute and innocent. I thought she was cool. 😎

She grew up as the games released over the years. I too, faced the trials and tribulations of growing up, (albeit no zombies) feeling lost trying to figure out who I was in a new country.

She got her period, I got my period, she fought the dead and faced the horrors of humanity, I faced the general awkwardness of puberty and micro-aggressions (lol).

I felt like I had a sister through Clementine.

With Telltale fighting bankruptcy, nobody knew if the final season was going to be completed and published.

Meanwhile, 15-16 were low years of my life. I had never been more repressed, trying to be someone I was not.

—

Thankfully, the fourth and final season was released. Now 16, she was around my age once more. We could spend some time together; catch up, before I had to say goodbye.

Finding out Clementine was queer felt like she was there for me, holding my hand through the motions. Even if I myself didn’t know that I was like her, yet.

Throughout the runtime of the franchise Clementine went from timid kid to hardened confrontational pre-teen, and now a teen.

At 16, even after so much grief - even with the solid wall she put up, she can still be vulnerable. She finally has the opportunity to have a place she can call home.

I think I cried at least 6 times through the final season. (and probably non-stop at the last 30minutes or so…)

Her ending felt like her nudging me to keep going. It’ll all be worth it! It really was. I’m so glad I’m not 16 anymore. Like they say, hell is a teenage girl. (Note to self: I need to watch Jennifer’s Body NOW.)

I was so far from strong, I was meek, I didn’t speak up and let things happen to me. I knew I didn’t have to be like that, subconsciously.

Clementine was far from a people pleaser. Yet she made worthwhile connections. People come and go; not everyone is going to like you but it’s still worth it to let others into your life.

She taught me, obvious as it is - to be faithful to myself. Even when life itself is in shambles. Make jokes. Make friends. Follow your own joy.

Also, people will remember the things you say, whatever that means.

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Sunday, June 30

DAWN: Come on, Tara. I am so old enough to do research. BUFFY: You do research now? Want a cappuccino and a pack of cigarettes to go with it?

~~All the Way~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Lost Battles by veronyxk84 (Buffy, Dawn, PG-13)

sometimes, some times by belledamn (Buffy/Tara, T)

Pet by skargasm (Spike/Gunn, M)

But It Hurts? by Spikelover4ever (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Lost Battles by VeroNyxK84 (Buffy & Dawn, PG-13)

Pins and Needles by Geliot99 (Buffy/Spike, R)

Saving Spike by Lilacsandorangeblossoms (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Oh, Never Leave Me by VioletMoon (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Sticking Around - Chapter 1 by axolotl356 (Buffy/Faith, not rated)

Дон, Ch. 1-2 (COMPLETE!) by B_E_S (Buffy/Angel, Dawn, T, in Russian)

There's A Crack In Every Wall, Ch. 1 by bunniesarebad (Buffy/Spike, Explicit)

Exquisite Chaos Ch. 11 by MillennialCryBaby (Buffy/Spike, round robin rated NC-17)

Like A Hole In The Heart, Ch. 3 by Geliot99 (Buffy/Spike, R)

Incarnate, Ch. 9 by Sigyn (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Fixer Uppers, Ch. 8 by Melme1325 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

The Devil's Trill, Ch. 17 by Murray (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

The Degradation of Duality [Series Part 2], Ch. 15-16 by Ragini (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Arrive Before the Birds, Ch. 2 by EverythingElse (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Two's Company, Ch. 1 by Serenitey (Buffy/Spike, R)

Beer Bad, Spike Good, Ch. 1 by Maxine Eden, ClowniestLivEver (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Buffy's Pack, Ch. 17 by redjacobson (Xander/Buffy/multiple, Joyce/Jenny, Giles/OC, FR21)

Aim High, Ch. 5 by Buffyworldbuilder (Stargate crossover, Buffy, FR13)

The Watcher, Ch. 15 by In Mortal (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Come Hell or High Water, Ch. 1 by Rea (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Over the Hills and Far Away, Ch. 1 by Rea (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

I Do! Ch. 30 by Dusty (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

[Images, Audio & Video]

🎨 Banner Art #19 — May-June Overview [7 banners] by veronyxk84 (Buffy/Spike, probably worksafe)

Spike by alexprime (worksafe)

Spike vamp face sketches by blue-star-charmer-art (worksafe, some sketched blood)

Video: 4 min of buffy dialogue set to Bela Lugosi is Dead by koriand3r (Buffy, vampires)

Buffy x Faith screenshots captioned with song lyrics by whale-music (worksafe)

Chibi sticker designs by genericaces (Scoobies, worksafe)

Vid: This Is Me Trying by 1SnoWhiteQueen1 (Wesley)

Screencaps: Age-Appropriate Buffy as she would appear in each season by Tuxedo_Mark (worksafe)

[Reviews & Recaps]

The scene where Willow confronts Faith in Choices (the narrative expects you to be rather more unambiguously on Willow’s side) by coraniaid

[Recs & In Search Of]

AwolWooKiee is selling the game Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Sacrifice (Nintendo DS) in Facebook Marketplace

Which one of the DVD sets is generally considered to be the best? By Planatus666

[Fandom Discussions]

ace cordy posting by all-seeing-ifer (with aro counterproposal by zorilleerrant)

The question “are Buffy, Angel and Faith in a love triangle in Season 3?” would have very different answers depending... by coraniaid

Thinking about that ridiculous scene in s6 when Xander walks in on Spike and Buffy... in Buffy’s kitchen by layer-of-slayers

faith's guiding principle is that nothing can hurt her so long as she acts like she doesn't care by lesbianmarrow

I’m just imagining Angel sometime in season 1 appearing to buffy out of some dark alleyway... by lightningrain

What was Lindsey's deal with Spike in [AtS] season five? by jdpm1991

Most Relatable Moment by Past-Throat-6788

Do you think Faith threw the fight in This Years Girl? by queeeeeni

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

James Marsters Perth Supanova Expo 2024 Reports, Pics & Videos via dontkillspike

Todd McIntosh (Buffy make up supervisor extraordinaire) describes a time when SMG choreographed a fight scene. Can you figure out which ep it is? by Excellent-Durian-509

Buffy the Vampire Slayer | BELOW THE LINE PODCAST (a film industry podcast from the crew perspective)

James Marsters to Attend Huntington Comic & Toy Con 10-11 August 2024 - via jamie_marsters

James Marsters' next scheduled con appearance is GalaxyCon Raleigh Jul 27-28 - via jamie_marsters

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

[star0mania]

TWD OC U3U

"I am Eddie Delkins. The Theatre Kid and Carl's awesome boyfriend....NOW EAT THIS SUCKA!" 

Full Name: Edward "Eddie" Delkins

Preferred name: Eddie

Age: 10 (season 1) 12 (season 2-3) 13 (season 4-5) 14 (season 6-8) 15 (season 9)

Date  of Birth: Unknown

Place of Birth: Utah

Gender: Male

Birth gender: Female

Titles: -The Theatre Kid -The Class Clown

Nickname: Eddie (various people) Eds (close friends) Eddie Spaghetti (best friends) Stupid nutbrain (sister)

Sexuality: Panromantic, Demisexual

Weapon: A baseball bat with needles

Personality: Kind Honest Brave Bold Adventurous Funny Loyal Caring Independent Stubborn Impatient Sarcastic  Kind of innocent? Cocky "You hurt them, you die" Tries to make people feel better about the currant situation- 

Hobbies: Playing on piano Solving puzzles Playing with his pet fox Reading Playing on the drums Drawing  Magic tricks

Best Friends: Carl Grimes 

Friends: Judith Grimes Your OC Daryl Dixon  Hershal Greene Beth Greene Mikey Lori Grimes Maggie Rhee  Glenn Rhee e.t.c

Enemies: The bad guys pfff

Family: Cole Moncreo (adopted father), 31, deceased, got beaten by Negan's bat Actor: Pedro Pascal

Elle Delkins (twin sister) alive Actress: Bella Ramsey  Crush: Enid Rhee (soon becomes her girlfriend)

Terrence Delkins (brother) 15, deceased, got shot by Eddie after getting bitten by a walker in season 3 Actor: Tom Holland

Millie (mother) 41, deceased, eaten by walkers -Picture: Unknown-

Jacob (father) 41, deceased, got shot by Rick in season 5 because he was an enemy working for an enemy group, The Fireflies (yes I made it up).

Firestar (pet fox) deceased, suffered from starvation in season 9

Rofee (pet dog), deceased, got stabbed by Elle after getting bitten by a walker in season 9

Cottontail (sister's pet rabbit) alive

"Terry, why doesn't mommy and daddy love me?...."

Actors:

Kid:  Jackson Robert Scott

Teenager: Cameron Boyce   (RIP  our favorite Carlos De Vil  <//3)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I'm so glad my awesome boyfriend is okay!"

Love Interest: Carl Grimes

Ship Name: Ceddie Edarl Carlddie

Music in Me- HSM Never Enough- The Greatest Showman A Million Dreams- The Greatest Showman Heather- Conan Gray Teenage Dream- Katy Perry Heat Waves- Glass Animals Rewrite the Stars- The Greatest Show(edit version) Cheerleader- OMI Love is Love- Trey Pearson  A Thousand Years- Christina Perri Bad Romance- Lady Gaga Dandelions- Ruth B.

Love languages: Physical affection Quality touch

Relationship tropes:  sun + moon Energetic x Tired Endgame Right person, wrong time

Relationship Status: Season 1-2: Friends Season 3-4: Crushes Season 5-8: Dating

Relationship Variants: Robin x Finney (TBP) Shinsou x Denki (MHA) Kai x Adam (The Hollow) Amity x Luz (TOH) Kirishima x Bakugou (MHA)

Character variants:  Sammy (JWCC) Hawks (MHA) Izuku (MHA) Squirrelflight (Warriors) Michael Afton (FNAF) Luz (TOH) Rodrick (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) Richie (IT) Boris (The Goldfinch) Hiccup (HTTYD) Jack Frost (ROTG)

Dead or Alive: Dead

Cause of Death: Influenza 

First Appearance:  1x2, Guts  First Line: "For a kid my age, you're kinda short, short-stack"--- to Carl Grimes when they meet Last Appearance:  8x2, The Bridge Last Line: "Meet ya'll on the other side..."---- to Elle and the group before succumbing to the illness

Theme songs: Mary on a Cross- Ghost Ghost- Justin Bieber  Lovely- Billie Ellish Its Been So Long- The Living Tombstone  Waiting on a Miricle- Encanto Requiem- Dear Evan Hanson Walking the Wire- Imagine Dragons Enemy- Imagine Dragons Believer- Imagine Dragons Changes- Hayd Daddy Issues- The Neighborhood  Home- Nick Jonas Family- Mother Mother See you Again- Wiz  Khalifa Poker Face- Lady Gaga Boys don't Cry- The Cure

For the Delkins family: Its been so long- The Living Tombstone Afton Family- KryFuze

"I should be dead...but I'm not...." "Hurt my friends and I will kill you..."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Backstory: Edward "Eddie" Delkins was born to a "happy" married couple named Millie and Jacob Delkins.  He had two siblings. An older brother named Terrance and a two-year younger sister named Elle. His parents always expected a lot from him but hey, he still loved them. He revealed he was trans when he was 6 but of course his parents didn't like that, but his siblings accepted him and helped him go through treatment. When the outbreak happened, he was in his room, reading until he heard his older brother yelling. When he went to check what was going on, he saw two zombies eating his mom. He   lets out a horrific scream as his brother practically threw him, his sister's bunny Fluffball, the family dog Rofee and his sister into the van and drove off. They soon find Pedro who raises them like his own children. In season 5, the Delkins siblings and their dad were reunited. Elle and Eddie had their suspicions and didn't trust him but Eddie pretended to so he could get the truth from him. Once Eddie and his dad were alone, Eddie's dad told him about his plan to wipe out the survivors and demanded him to join them, even guiltripping him but Eddie refused, causing his dad to go off the edge. He soon went  to the survivors and attacked them with the Fireflies. But the fight stopped when Eddie shot his dad. And the rest is history :D

𝐹𝒶𝓋𝑜𝓇𝒾𝓉𝑒𝓈;

Spicy Food:  Butter Chicken

Sweet: Candy

Book: Warriors

TV show: Stranger Things

Movie: IT

Anime: My Hero Academia

Manga: MHA and Assassination Classroom

Animal: Foxes and Wolves. Can't forget bunnies or dogs

Song: Running up that Hill by Kate Bush