#will maybe draw like.. beth and jerry...

[two-crows]

more of these guyssss.. even if bps the supposed demon in this dynamic no matter what i feel like ricks gonna be more impish

[vhvrs]

something like a headcanon sheet so i can stop forgetting my own.

contextually:

mortys get a lot of physical traits from diane while summers get more physical traits from rick(maybe ill draw one of these for the whole family eventually). versus mortys leaning towards jerrys, summers towards beths. (diane had a gap, jerry has an overbite. idc if thats how genes work)

parallels w morty prime getting put thru the ringer frequently to end up banged around like c137 while evil morty usually used his rick as a bodyguard and thus any damage sustained is mostly from before he brainwashed him.

the palm hand scar is somethingall mortys end up getting in some way like a universal frequent lol.

mostly fresh young clone body prime, no desire to keep up with battle damage or anything new (guy who definitely has gotten his tongue repierced). perma vague 30s-40s.

c137 obsession w keeping important scars and his body feeling like HIS body.

plus vague rick body hcs

[selfshippinglover]

Here's a pic of my Sona for reference and I'll try to draw up a Marty(my Morty OC) one soon: (commission by: (sorrel paws)

i am scared but i am desperate! Time to punch my anxiety into outer space! Fuck it I wanna rp! Rick and Mortty time! Any characters! I don't have a Rick OC but I have a Morty one I'd love to develop :D Love to use my insert! Every Rick ever my beloved! Oc's and other self inserts very welcome! Let's explore the multiverse together :)

i'd prefer to use pm/dms since it's all in one spot and easier to keep track of. Can rp on here or Discord.

Know that I'm working part time so answer times will vary but I have the next two days off so I'm very avaliable rn!

Feel free to just dm/pm if you're interested!

Morty Oc details below:

~Marty

~ Pronouns: He/ They Xe/Xem

Sexuality: Pansexual demiboy with more of an attraction to men

~Age: 20(present)

Family: Rick(dead) Summer(dead) Beth, Space Beth, Jerry, Uncle BirdPerson

Dimension: RK-977

Backstory: A normal Morty all things considered. Has a space grandpa that drives him nuts, goes on adventures, and ends up in a big stand off with the Intergalactic Feds. Things go wrong and people get hurt leaving him and the survivors of his family running throughout multiverse as wanted fugitives.

Family relationships:

Rick: There were ups and downs, bad nights because of alcohol and drugs, and some fucked up things here and there but Rick always put Marty first and has "died" numerous times for his sake. They didn't always see eye to eye on things but his love for Marty was never in doubt. Believes there's no one that can replace his Grandpa Rick.

Summer: A bitch of a sister but one hell of a partner. Marty and Summer were often tasked with taking care of one another on adventures as well as tag teaming. They fought on and off and generally kept a distance at school, Summer did her best to raise Marty despite the circumstances.

Jerry: He and Marty are talking and seeing one another occasionally. He got a divorce with Beth and has been living on his own sense. Stays in that shitty apartment taking odd jobs here and there while trying to make time for his kids. He still has some feelings for Beth but doesn't do anything about it since Beth seems to have moved on. He hopes that he can be a better father to his kids, and maybe even a friend to Beth.

Beth: Divorced Jerry awhile back and went to work taking care of the kids herself, Beth has been doing the best she can do. Jerry can't usually pay the child support so she's stuck working full time at the horse hospital. Tired, hurt, starting to get a drinking habit, and in fear of losing her kids love, she spends as much time with them as she can and leaves Rick to care for them when she can't. She's still processing the divorce and trying to figure out what she wants amidst the war.

Space Beth: A Beth that has been with the Resistance for years before meeting Marty, she ends up on the Smith families doorstep while laying low. despite being there for a short time, she quickly takes a liking to Beth and her family. She is the reason that they end up being pulled into the Feds line of sight in the first place. She's spent most of her life fighting and she continues you to with the addition of the Smiths.

Uncle BirdPerson/BP: Another Resistance member and one of the first to join in the efforts, Marty met BP through Space Beth. They started out on uneasy terms since they just crashed on some strangers couch for awhile to hide from the FEDs. Come to find out, he knew Marty's grandfather and was friends with him when they were younger. Deciding he's trustworthy, he adopts BP as an Uncle figure and frequents his house. BP ends up telling Marty everything he went through with his grandfather and grows close to him.

[cinnachaos]

ok so morgan lore (sorry this is so long , ive had lore cooking for these guys for a while and i never really fully finished it but here it is) (aslo i typed this all out half asleep i kight edit it later but maybe not idk)

warning for death and schtuff below

he lives on an apocalypse-ish planet where there are frequent lockdowns because of the inner monster stuff (refer to that other infodumping post) and unfortunately beth and jerry both got stuck in monster rampaging form and had to be exterminated/couldnt be found or anchored back into human form (they dont currently have a cure but later on with rick and morgan home they make one)

summer has a missing arm from a fucky wucky with a monster so she uses a robotic arm , she also has a shorter cut thats a bit fluffier and she doesnt wear a ponytail

rick has to leave the universe because he had a Monster Momento and fucked with a group of ricks so he wanted to make sure his morty and summer werent brought into it (his original family is all gone, it took him a LOT of tries to find morgan and summer so he cares a shit ton abt them)

morgan goes oh shit what the hell and takes a portal gun his rick stole and tries to find him but miami morty/mimi sees him thinking hes a rogue morty and goes can we keep him pretty please rick and even after he says no shoots a morty manipulator chip at him and drags him home like a wet cat

they go on adventures together, morgan usually wearing headphones and using weapons based off of games he likes because he doesnt like killing things so he does that to make it less AAAAGH for him (ill send my five thousand headcanons for the miamis and canon stuff about the monsters later)

one time he has a Moment with his monster form because unlike rick who at this point has most control over it bc hes coped with his trauma fairly well after mimi and rick get hurt and they have to heal him since his monster form usually damages him a lot (mainly through bruising, and if he uses his spikes or blades, bleeding)

they have a lot of fun unnttiiilll monster rick/his original rick comes to take him home and mistakes them for kidnappers even though theyve been taking good care of him so they both get into a fight and monster rick decides to take him home and keep him in the morty mind blower area of their house until he remembers which causes a huge freakout on morgans behalf

the miamis and monsters (summer and rick) go find him but go oh fuck its those guys and fight and then morgan has to go like guys what the fuck i like both of you and consider both of you family can you STOP FIGHTING so they go oh uh ok and now they have to share custody of morgan /lhj

also yeah monster care/research was prioritized in earth mv87 12 (theres more but i forgor) and it eventually calms down from a mass epidemic to just mildly dangerous

heres an old doodle of them since u got to the wnd of the infodump 🎉🎉🎉 (idk when ill draw sumker maybe later, just probably wont be soon cus im not hyperfixated on r&m anymore even if i still like it😭)

actually fuckit im putting my headcanons n shit here

ok so mv87/monster things

★ morgan wears headphones while on adventures to avoid hearing loud noises like gunshots, usually listens to splatoon music on loop

★ morgan has a habit of doing splatoon win animations sometimes when he successfully finishes an adventure

★ morgan was originally caught by mimi with pocket mortys stuff, he considers both the miamis and monsters his family, also very close to chaos rick and morty (another friends rick and morty) (hyperions-world chars!!!)

★ morgan is very close to his ricks but kind of scared of other ricks, he knows they can be really mean and devalue their mortys and him being really sensitive/fragile he cant handle that

★ morgan iscomfortable with miami mortys (/p!!!) kisses on the head to him and loves physical affection from any of his family members/close friends even if hes like eeeeeeeeehhhh from other people

★ morgan has a bad habit of getting extremely attached to ricks very quickly and is like a nice rick magnet 😭 hes befriended multiple ricks in the citadel like cop rick and enthusiastically waves at them anytime he sees them

★ morgan sometimes sways back and forth like an inkling/octoling idol position and has a few weapons a rick made him based off of splatoon/pokemon that he uses CONSTANTLY and will never go more than 5 feet away from him at all times

★ morgan can and will pull all of his family members into his hyperfixes/sp/ins. he will. hes done it with splatoon and pokemon . he will drag you in eventually/j

★ monster rick is really stoic/apathetic looking but really deeply cares for his family and he doesnt apply to the typical rick "idgaf about u haha fuck u u little pussyfart morty" /LHJ he tries his best to be a good grandpa and guardian even with his traumas and inner monster dealio

★ monster rick is always partially in monster form cus he thinks it looks cool, he also has a tooth gap between his front teeth

★ the mv87s do not know what sleep is. they constantly have eye bags except for sometimes summer because shes the most early bird of them all and she is very responsible

★ morgan is trans , i am heavily debating on making summer trans too. maybe. m a y b e.

miami headcanons

★ miami rick spoils the shit out of miami morty even though he wont admit it to anyone and if morty brings it up rick lectures him on the way home/lhj

★ MIMI FUCKING LOVES MONSTER HIFH AND YOU WONT BE ABLE TO PRY THAT HEADCANON OUT OF MY COLD DEAD HANDS

★ miami rick goes by he/she with close friends/family but he/him or he/they w anyone else

★ miami morty isnt as smart as rick but just about as powerful when it comes to strength and fighting smarts? not counting weapons and stuff

★ miami morty acts like an absolute angel around rick for the most part but is menacing as hell to people behind his back LMAO. oh and hes an absolute girlboss, a diva who could and would throw you out a window like an empty soda bottle

★ miami rick is very protective of morty in the way that if anyone makes him feel uncomfortable because of his outfit or if anyone hits on him or just any creepy things in general rick will hate crime them

★ miami morty likes to jokingly flirt but sometimes will accidentally do it with other mortys and go oh wait thats me oops. well its still funny

★ miami morty also has a habit of platonically kissing his friends on the cheek/head like you would a pet or something and then has to awkwardly explain its not romantic 😭😭 (some fanart relating to pcoket mortys gave me this idea actually)

★ miami rick lets morty paint his nails sometimes, begrudgingly but it makes morty really happy so he acts like he hates it to keep up appearances but likes seeing morty happy

★ MIAMI MORTY USES HIS LOLLIPOP AS A SORT OF ORAL STIM, morgan would probably get him something that wouldnt murder his teeth to have in his mouth n stim with

★ mimi he/any moment

AGH. OK. FINALLY DONE. there. this is all like months old please excuse that i mostly am involved in like sploon and pokemon since theyre sp/ins not just hyperfixes lol

[scoliosisgoblin]

Rip Beth

She doesn't exist in my book :)

[idk-wha-ahm-doin]

@w3irdiy

You gave me two prompts to choose from, thanks for that XD

Since the next prompt to write is also Birdrick, I chose the second one! Beth and the Smith family finding out about Rick's Diane and Beth.

Tell me what you think. I think it kinda goes off the rails a little.

"Wh-where?" Morty panickingly asked, clumsily fiddling with the portal gun. "He'll follow us into every dimension!"

Gritting his teeth, Rick urged his daughter to run faster by the wrist. "Not every dimension. Give me that."

"You can run, but you can't hide, C-137! Oh wait, I'm C-137! Are anything but a ghost of me at this point?" Mocked the echoing voice.

"Dad!" Voice breaking into a shriek, Beth ran to keep up with her father and son. "What is going on?! I thought we were going to Boobworld!"

"Me too, sweetie." Grunted the old man, entering coordinations he'd sworn not to revisit. "Where's Summer and Jerry? Did we lose 'em?"

"We're here, asshole." Out of breath, Summer announced their presence. Only a few steps behind.

"Hold on tight." With that warning, he shot a portal ahead where they were running into, basically jumping into the first scene of his life where he began to mentally degrade. He wouldn't be surprised if Prime knew of this already.

On the other side, Rick tripped on an uneven part on the sidewalk, leading to all five falling on each other like pieces of domino.

Crack.

Rick tensed under the pressure, more concerned about the noise of something getting crushed under their weights. "What, was, that?" He spelled out, fearing the worst.

His son in law cleared his throat nervously to his right. "Oh, uh, haha. That? That was... uh." Chuckles trailing off. "... H-how long will it take you to fix an um, a broken portal gun?"

"Fuck." Crying out his frustrations in one word, Rick let his forehead hit the cold stones of the ground. Not that repairing it took much effort, but it took time, and time was not something Rick wanted to spend a moment of here.

"Ugh, Dad, get off of me. Why are y'all just laying here like dead fish? Jesus Christ." Summer was the one that urged them to get up. The old man took another moment to grieve whatever patience he had and whatever lunch he was about to lose before reluctantly standing up and dusting off his clothes.

"There are corpses on the street, Rick." Awkwardly waving back to the old man in a kid's bicycle, Jerry pointed out. "Is this the dimension of old people?" Innocently, he asked.

Keen observation Jerry, he wanted to make a sarcastic comment, but something made his brows furrow. "I thought I switched it off." He muttered under his breath.

"Switch what off?" Beth pressed him, having been standing close. "Dad, where exactly did you take us?"

Inhaling the dead odor in the air, Rick's gaze travelled up to the building he once called home. "One place the son of a bitch can't follow us into. You're welcome." He dryly said before taking off toward the house. "All I know is that a Rick lived here once."

"Which was you." Walking close to him, Morty frowned. "Is this your house?" He asked, loudly enough that the rest of the family wouldn't hear him. "It actually screams sad on top of its lungs."

"Maybe stop talking." Rick offered, storming into the garage. "Keep your family busy, will you? I'll make it quick- and oh-" He paused in his tracks. "Don't let them into the basement."

Walking casually past an incredulous Morty, Rick put the broken portal gun on some blueprint he didn't remember drawing. "... Are there bodies there?"

Running a hand down his distraught expression, Rick sighed. "I-I dunno, maybe? J-just don't risk it." He could hear the boy rolling his eyes.

"Hold up, the garage doesn't have a door, the floor isn't fixed after a goddamn explosion and your basement is a torture room. You're telling me you lived here after... s-stuff happened?"

The man pursed his lips, merely staring at the gadget while suffering a blank mind. "Maybe."

Coming to stand next to him, Morty's eyes studied the place. "Definitely like I remember."

"You don't know jack shit." The scientist scrunched up his nose, going through a box.

"I know plenty." Morty glared at him. "I practically lived your life once, asshat. I'm just as angry."

Rick paused in his search, shoulders slumping. "Sorry about that."

"I just think you should tell them." Morty offered with a wince. "W-we're a family now, Rick. Whether you like it or not."

"Fuck off, Morty. Now's not the time for this."

Maybe he needed to search the kitchen?

Grunting under his breath, he opened the cabinets in search of a specific item. "Goddammit, I think I'm out."

"Dad?"

"Jesus!" Jumping out of his skin with a yelp, a pot nearly fell on his head. "Don't just scare me like that, sweetie."

The blonde was sheepishly scratching her arms, her daughter and husband also in the kitchen. Huh, he wasn't really paying much attention. "Sorry, I just... you sure you don't know who lived here or... what happened to them?"

That sentence shouldn't have frozen him the way it did. "What uh, makes you say that?" He couldn't help but drawl it in hesitance as he tried to casually lean against the counter.

The woman's eyes were furrowed in sympathy or worry. Her fingers grazed the horse doodles on the fridge door of his daughter- his daughter, Rick's actual daughter, her small hands held a crayon and drew them one warm evening long ago. It hurt something deep and suppressed in his chest to look at anything in the house at all. Part of why he wished to leave as soon as possible.

"This... a kid drew these, Dad. This is messed up- a-and we saw the garage, it can't be more obvious." Something sank in the depth of his stomach, but he held his indifferent facade. "The me here didn't get to grow up." When she finally tore her gaze apart from the drawings and faced him, they were glistening with tears. "A-and maybe even the whole family didn't survive, who knows?" Voice shaking.

Fidgeting with an empty bottle, Rick tried to play it cool. Sometimes he really wished Beth wasn't so smart. Smart people suffered. "I try not to think about it." He admitted.

"There's something wrong with this universe." Summer raised an eyebrow. "Seriously creepy. No wonder that Rick didn't follow us here."

"Yeah, no wonder." Muttered Rick in an echo, facing away when Morty joined them in the kitchen, probably wearing a scold on his face. Clearing his throat, he straightened his back and continued. "Nothing I can do here, fellas. I have to make something from scratch and I know the perfect lab-"

A familiar chirp cut him off, filling him with dread.

"Rick, baby! Did you come back again?"

The honeyed tone glued his shoes to the floor, turning the blood in his veins into liquid ice. His heart pounded painfully against his ribcage and his mouth dried up.

No, no, no, no.

Now was the worst possible fucking timing for this.

The rest of the family looked confused by the caller, eyes drawn to the other room. Morty's wide stare stayed on him, though. And Beth looked somehow relieved.

"Oh, I'm so glad you didn't kill yourself!" The voice sang with a pleasant sigh. "I told you flying off without coordinates was dangerous!"

Jerry eyed a frozen Rick with disbelief. "Rick, who is that in the house? I thought it was empty!"

"Tha... that's Mom." Beth whispered against her palm. "S-she's alive!" She cried with joy.

"Oh, Rick." It called in a singsong. "Did you finally kill our target?"

Whatever joy and relief was radiating off the family died at that, four set of eyes staring the poor man down.

Noticing the attention was on him, Rick shook his head and narrowed his eyes. "You're uh, the house AI, right? You got the wrong Rick." He lied, hoping it would take a hint.

"If the wrong Rick steps in this house, he'll be blown up to pieces! You thought I wouldn't recognize my own d-d-d-dirtybear?"

Pulling his lips into a strained line, Rick closed his eyes. He felt their eyes piercing holes through him. "Mute." He grumbled.

"You designed me so I can't be muted! Or did you forget that already?" The AI responded cheerfully.

Fuck.

"... No. I-I didn't... kill, the target." Gritting out, every word was forced out and clawed on his throat before forming sentences. "Can you stop- talking to me for a few minutes?" Pinching between his brows, Rick inhaled, trying not to look at anyone of his found family. He would lose all his nerve if he did.

"I wouldn't be a good haunter then, would I? And oh, you brought your new family here!"

The concept of denial forgotten completely, Rick glared at the ceiling and growled. "Don't you even dare, Diane!"

"I'm just doing what you told me to!"

"Well, now I'm telling you to fucking quit it!" He shouted. "I'm giving you new codes! I don't- I don't fucking want to be haunted!" Voice rising as he yelled.

For the first time since its creation, the AI paused. "You made my codes un-rewritable for a reason, Rick! Besides, I'll always be in your head! You said that last time!"

"Ugh!" The man exclaimed with a mixture of rage, exasperation at the ugly truth and stares poking on his nerves.

"If you want to move on, I'm proud of you, baby! I forgive you for getting us killed!" Her voice was so joyous, so full of life, and yet she whispered bites of venom wrapped around a layer of honey. "But before you do, you can kill off the killer's genes!"

"Hold the fuck up- did you just tell him to kill me?" Morty glared at the same spot on the ceiling Rick had.

"No." Innocently replied the AI.

"Wait, the killer's your Rick, Morty?!" Summer suddenly yelled, pointing at him. "You never said anything!?" Jerry and Beth gasped and looked at the scowling brunet.

"I-i's complicated!" Morty shouted back with a streak of panic and defensiveness. "Rick! Help me out here!?"

Stopping for a moment to bite down a harsh retort and a tendency to murder, Rick smacked his hands on the table. "Everybody, shut up!" The yelling quieted down. "For fuck's sake, no one's killing Morty. And Diane, tell me, are we out of Isotope 322?" He demanded loudly. "There's no crack in the main tube that needs immediate fixing, but the fluid still spilled out."

The AI paused for a moment to scan the house. "Oh, there's actually some in the cupboard to your right, sweetheart!"

"Thanks." Mumbled halfheartedly Rick, opening said cupboard and snatching it and a beaker.

"Wow, grandpa. This is..." Summer trailed off after breaking the silence.

"Sad?" Rick snapped, beginning to make more portal juice. "Well, guess what? We know, Summer. We know."

Fucking splendid. Now there was going to be awkward silence and more pity than he could stomach.

He should've thought of another dimension, another solution or even avoided this house. He should've gone straight to the lab.

But no matter how hard he scolded himself, he knew in the back of his mind that the black hole of this building would always draw him in and drown him.

His hold tightened on the beaker as he watched the liquid stir together into a homogenous substance. "Why are you fucks just standing there? Go out- be-be useful." He ordered with a growl.

But his rage didn't last when two arms wrapped around his chest, making him wince. "... For all the times I blamed you for leaving me and Mom." Beth's trembling voice came from where she rested her cheek against his shoulder. "And you let me because- I-I can't even..." She breathed out in utter disbelief.

"..."

"I yell and scream at you about how you don't care about family!" Her incredulous voice rose gradually. "Is that- is that supposed to be a joke?! How many years did you spend out there I- pursuing a vendetta? What was that- a torture robot with Mom's voice?!"

"Sweetie-" Rick started.

"Fo-for all the times I called you a-! Do we even know you?!" She cried.

"Don't take it personal, honey." Rick paused and freed his hands, reaching one to put on Beth's head crown. Then sighed. "Even I don't know myself." He muttered the second part, earning himself a tighter embrace.

A tear threatened to wound his pride by falling down, but he blinked it away. A tender affection for Beth burned in his chest, encouraging him to turn his head and plant a soft kiss on her hair.

This cut too deep.

"Is there like uh, a room for one more?"

Raising his head, he saw Summer awkwardly standing with her arms spread out and a truce-seeking smile on her face. Behind her, Jerry was watching with an open mouth, and Morty had a goodhearted smug look to him, arms crossed.

Eh, fuck it. "All of you fucknuts, bring it in!" He cried.

A moment later, he didn't know whose snort was in his ear and who was trying to tackle him,

But he felt like a part of this dumb group of people bonded together through their experiences.

For maybe six minutes and twenty one seconds, Rick forgot about his haunted mind.

[cloudydreams21]

No Turning Back

Still setting the scene! The first three chapters were part of one big one, but I've decided to operate them into to different chapters for now.

Chapter Song: Them Changes-Thundercat

Check out my Archive of Our Own and Wattpad under the same username cloudydreams21 ☁️

Ricked Cocktails

Chapter 2|Part 2

Rick had settled himself in some bar called 'Ricked Cocktails', hoping to fuel his self-loathing. I mean, if you want to punish yourself, a bar filled to the brim with drunken versions of yourself must be ideal.

The Ricks a few seats over on the circular bar seemed to be engrossed in a conversation, C-149 listened in.

"T-the Rick who works with me, a-after work I saw- I watched him get in a ship with one of them, g-goddamn I was so fucking jealous." The Rick groaned taking a long draw a cocktail called the Rickleberry.

C-149 rolled his eyes. 'God, these Ricks are fucking desperate.' Rick let out a chuckle to himself before tipping his glass of vodka down his throat and ordering another one. Vodka always seemed to be his go to when filling his flask. The bartender, who happened to be a Morty, measured out a double. But before he could place the bottle back behind the bar, Rick had whipped it out of his hands and took a swig. As the Morty began to complain, a bartending Rick cut him off with a stern glare. He then turned to C-149 offering a curt nod, before going back to make more cocktails for the slew of inebriated Ricks.

Rick C-149, happy with this turn of events, continued to eavesdrop.

"I a-always use my interdimensional goggles, at least one-once a week. Only way I can get a peek at that s-s-sweeeeet ass." He snorted as the other Rick joined in.

C-149 was familiar with interdimensional goggles. He had created his own pair maybe seven or eight years ago. After perfecting them he saw through the eyes of another Rick, Rick B-814. He was sat at a dining table for a meal. His adult daughter Beth was there, along with her idiot husband Jerry, Summer who was maybe ten years old and, Morty who couldn't have been older than seven. There was young woman there too, around the same age as Beth was, who sat right next to him. She looked at him with soft smiling eyes and B-184 seemed to return the smile.

Feeling nauseated from his lack of self-discipline, C-149 had ripped the goggles off and cursed himself for his curiosity before locking them away, he didn't need to see their lives. He hadn't even questioned who that young woman was, assuming she was perhaps a family friend. But he couldn't help but notice her strange beauty that had briefly dazzled him. How had he not connected the dots when visiting the Citadel just a couple of years later.

"Yeah, y-you know – I-It's like that body was moulded by Ricks. Mwah!" He paused to chef's kiss. "Christ, I mean if I hadn't chosen to live here."

The other Rick offered a rebuttal chuckling. "Nah seems like a lot of hassle. R-ricks are – we – we're meant to be alone. E-even so most of the Ricks th-that do end up meeting theirs were the ones that didn't abandon their B*ruuerp*eth when she was a teenager. I think most of them- t-they met when she was twenty *ruuerp* or something. Which cancelled out most of us l-living on the Citadel by that p-point. E-either way most of them ended up in some fucked up hateful lover's bullshit, or 'looove'-ing her..." The sarcasm dripped from his lips. "-or-or well, fuck— fuck knows, some never pursued anything with her, preferring to keep their distance, still pinning to this day. They are much worse off than you'd think. Those of us who never met her are l-lucky compared to those poor bastards. C-can you imagine, a Rick, pining? Oh a- and others...I guess some Ricks could still have yet to meet theirs." He concluded, finally finishing his rambling.

Rick C-149 rolled his eyes and got up to leave. He began toppling off his stool but saved himself before he hit the floor. Pleased that the vodka was finally having an effect, he made sure to snatch the bottle off the bar before making his way outside.

[sloppyplanetary]

Holding On to Fate, Chapter One

rating: mature (smut later), pairing: rick sanchez/morty smith, tags: memory loss, angst, summer knows, intergalactic road trip, content warnings: drinking, puking implied,

Morty groaned, face contorting into a grimace as he slowly woke up to a pounding headache. Sleep dragged at his eyelids, protesting the morning light shining through his bedroom window. He really didn't want to wake up- he was having such a good dream. The dream was already fading from his memory, but the warmth of a body, the feeling of security, and lingering rough fingers drawing patterns on his back remained, a much better alternative to Morty's current dry mouth and throbbing head.

But, all good things must come to an end. His mom opened his door and softly called his name.

"Morty? You awake?"

He rubbed his face and cracked open his eyes begrudgingly. "Barely." 

Beth's brow was pinched, face displaying a rare level of concern. She opened the door wider, and spoke quietly. "Hey, if you want to take today off from school, you can." She paused, seeming to debate her next words. "You don't have to talk about it. But remember, I know how it feels." 

Morty held in a snort as she left the room. He doesn't remember much of anything that happened last night, but his hangover made it obvious. Of course she knows how it feels, with all the wine she drinks. 

Morty felt a wave of bitterness. It was nice of her to not bug him about school, but she didn't even question why her sixteen year old son got drunk last night. Wait- why did he get drunk? He tried to remember what happened yesterday, but was hit with a fresh wave of nausea, barely jerking out of his bed and into his bathroom on time. 

Fifteen minutes later, he padded downstairs with a freshly brushed mouth in search of advil. The family was seated at the kitchen table, and their conversation abruptly stopped as soon as he rounded the corner. They all looked up at him, Summer off of her phone. 

"W-what?" Morty demanded, his patience wearing thin from dealing with his pounding head.

Summer raised her eyebrows. "Surprised you're still here."

"Where else would I- would I be? Mom gave me the day off of school." He took a seat across from Summer, noticing for the first time how big the kitchen table was. Surely they didn't need that many chairs- it was only the four of them, after all.

She opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by Beth hissing her name. Summer shot her a glare, and Jerry, sensing the rising tension, spoke up. 

"Well I, for one, am glad you're okay, you’re doing okay. Have some pancakes,” he said, gesturing to the stack on the table.

Morty glanced between Beth and Summer, who were still having an argument through facial expressions only, but he was too tired to deal with this. He grabbed a few pancakes and started eating them, tuning out the room. His mind wandered back to yesterday, trying to grab onto the last thing he remembered, but his head still hurt too much. Suddenly, the chair next to him being empty made him uneasy. He really just wanted to go lay back down and nap. Sighing, he pushed his half-eaten plate away and stood up.

“Wait,” Beth said. She went to the kitchen and returned with a blue gatorade and two small pills, holding it out to him. “Take these and drink this, it’ll help.”

Morty stared at it, a pit in his stomach telling him not to drink it, the color making his head swim worse. “Do we have any other flavors?”

Beth retracted her hand in surprise. “This is your favorite type. It has been for years.”

“Sometimes thing just- they just change,” Morty replied with a shrug.

Beth nodded and switched it out for a purple one. This time, Morty accepted it, and chugged half of it in one go. “Thanks, Mom. I’m going back to bed.” He slowly made his way back up the stairs, pulled his curtains shut, and fell into bed, only to land on something hard. He shook his blanket out to discover a strange small metal flask, the sight of which triggered another throb of his head. The empty flask got tossed across the room into the dirty clothes pile, and Morty finally laid down, sleep quickly reclaiming him.

*****

Morty still couldn’t remember what happened that day, and it made him a bit uneasy, but he wrote it off as getting black-out drunk. His headache faded, and he was back at school, going through the classes on rote. His nights were spent playing video games and watching t.v., but the feeling that something was missing from his routine lingered each night as he tried to sleep. Sleep was hard to come by, and his dreams kept repeating, fading as soon as he woke up but leaving those same feelings of comfort.

Summer was back to normal, Jerry was Jerry (albeit seeming happier for some reason), but Beth seemed like she was constantly tip-toeing around Morty. Her bottles of wine still made appearances at night, and occasionally, Morty would be the cause of an abrupt conversation end just by showing up in the room. It was frustrating, but he tried to ignore it.

One night, Beth cornered him, already a few glasses of wine in. "Listen, I know you don't want to talk about Rick leaving, but it hurt me too. At least he told you to your face, instead of leaving a note."

"What? W-who?" Morty asked, suddenly lightheaded.

Beth just laughed, an airy laugh that felt out of place. "Right. 'Just don't think about it'." She patted his head and walked off, still giggling.

Morty shook his head and retreated to his room. Beth's confusing behavior was worrying him a bit, and he had no clue who she was talking about, but his recurring minor headaches were worrying him more at the moment. It seems like they randomly come and go, without any obvious reason, and he was sick of it.

As he sat on his bed, his eyes landed across the room on the strange silver flask he found in his bed. His headache worsened, but this time he was angry, and stomped across the room the grab the stupid thing. He jerked it up and a splash sounded- it wasn't completely empty like he thought it was.

Curiously, he screwed open and sniffed it. It didn't smell like any alcohol he's ever smelled before, or anything familiar at all, really. It smelled like a thousand things that he's smelled before but couldn't identify now, even though he knew he hadn't. His head throbbed, but he didn't care. He had to taste it

Morty pressed his tongue to the opening and tilted it up, just looking for a drop. He quickly moved his tongue and chugged the rest of the flask when liquid practically melted on his tongue, tasting sweet and warm and comforting and almost immediately making his head stop pounding. He smiled, feeling at ease for the first time in two weeks, and laid on his pillow, empty flask in hand.

*****

Last night after the flask incident he actually got a full amount of sleep, and was staying after school in the library today, when Jessica approached him.

“Hey, Morty,” she said, smiling.

“Oh, J-Jessica! Hi.” Morty shut his book and stood up, waving at her. Maybe it was just a part of getting older, but recently, he hadn’t been getting the same waves of butterflies in his stomach that he used to get any time she came near. “What’s up?”

“Well, I’m free tomorrow, and that new science fiction movie is coming out, and I know you're like, into that stuff."

Morty nodded, confused, not remembering when he'd given her that assumption but rolling with it.

"So anyway, me and a bunch of friends are going to it, and we wanted to invite you."

A weird feeling spread through his body. It wasn't the same giddy anticipation he would've gotten a year ago, and the change threw him off. Did his crush just… go away?

"Earth to Morty," Jessica prompted.

"Haha, sorry, was trying to- to remember if I had something planned for-for tomorrow or not," Morty lied. "But I don't, so, sounds good!"

"Alright, cool! Well, I have your number, so I'll text you the deets later."

"You do?" Morty asked.

Jessica looked at him strangely. "Yeah, don't you remember that whole Healthy Morty situation?"

He didn't, but didn't want to make Jessica think he was dumb, so he nodded and laughed. "Oh yeah, that's good then! Yeah, just call- just text me whenever. Bye!" 

She waved and left the library. Morty's smile faded as she disappeared out of sight. Healthy Morty? Sci-fi enthusiast? Beth avoiding him, her saying something about someone named Rick, the strange flask, whatever Summer was going to say on that first day before she got cut off- his growing feeling of unease over the past two weeks peaked, leaving only one conclusion.

Something was wrong. Something was missing from his memories, and Beth knew what it was. Probably Summer, too. Jerry was debatable, but Morty figured his best bet was to ask Summer first. 

He grabbed his bag and nearly ran out of the library, eager to get answers.

[littlealeta]

This has been lingering in my mind for quite some time but I really want to address this.

Apparently Rick and Morty has a really weird fear of killing off any main or secondary characters. It has a tenancy to put those characters in situations where they are very close to death and they miraculously survive or end up reviving them for no reason.

Poopybutthole in Total Rickall, Jerry in Interdimensional Cable 2, I don’t even wanna tell you how often this happened with Rick, Morty in Vat of Acid and Mort Dinner Rick Andre and now Birdperson in Rickternal Friendshine of the Spotless Mort.

This isn’t a video game Rick and Morty. You should either kill off those characters permanently or don’t do those scenes at all. Killing off Rick’s friends like Birdperson and Poopybutthole would serve as emotional ways of seeing how he handles them and how he and his family could possibly grow from them. Yes, sometimes death can draw people closer and make them stronger and these kinds of things could help Rick and his family bond with each other more, maybe learn a bit more about each other and grow a bit. I believe that Rick has been through a lot of tragedies which could provide an explanation of how he descended into the mad man he is considering that he was still pretty stable even after his family died but what happens if his longtime best friend dies? He may go off the deep end but assuming it doesn’t kill him, I also think it could give him a chance to become a stronger person.

Now one reason could be because the Disney Death trope has been plaguing shows and movies for almost a century but tbh, this trope really needs to die. It serves no purpose and undercuts any drama or believability for the movie and paints death in a really weird light since death is permanent.

Another reason could possibly be because Rick and Morty is a really episodic series but I just wish that it could have a bit more serialization, where there are actual character arcs and consequences. It’s not good for a serious show like Rick and Morty to have barely any growth or emotional consequences for these characters. Like it can awkwardly jump from being a stupid show to this really serious show and vice versa and it feels clustery. Like you have to find a balance between these two things. Having characters stupidly survive after emotional deaths and having barely any serious reflections or growth after the characters have gone through a lot of consequences for years does not mix well. Even when Morty has just had an alien baby, he just goes “Eh whatever” and then decides to fuck a horse machine. Most teens would feel a lot of guilt over pregnancy because of the sacrifices and hard responsibilities that come with it but nope, let’s just have the baby age to an adult in like one day and Morty and his family just brush it off as nothing even though he’s an anxious child who likely would have a lot of anxieties and sacrifices with parenting. That’s what I didn’t like about the episode following the Wedding Squanchers one, that episode could’ve been a beautiful ending to the series but instead, they wanted to continue it.

Contrary to what one might think, Rick and Morty is what you call a dramedy or a comedy-drama. Yes, it’s primarily focused on comedy but it also has a lot of depressing, deep and serious moments, more than what some primary comedies have. And that is a little harder to write because you have to find a balance between comedy and drama.

Some of the best moments are the reflections or when the characters encounter serious consequences like characters Rick with Space Beth, Unity, and Tony, Morty with the Cronenburg universe and his unnamed girlfriend in the Vat of Acid and at the end of that same episode. Those things have allowed the characters to grow from them and reflect on their actions. Other than that, the characters don’t really go through much growth. You could make the case about Morty but it’s really nothing because he’s a kid hero and most kid heroes are supposed to be badass and independent.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

10x21: Details

Okay, let’s talk details. And most of these will just back up what I’ve already said about these sequences being callbacks to Grady and leaving Beth behind, as well as foreshadows of finding her again.

***As always, spoilers abound below for 10x21. Don’t read until you’ve watched!***

Carol and Dog:

Of course Dog goes with Carol and I noticed that when she gets back to Alexandria, she says, “let’s get you home.” So, home theme, and it’s especially potent because Dog = Beth.

She says to Dog, “For the record, I didn’t need an apology for him.” It’s the ‘for the record’ part that caught my attention, not only because Beth mentioned records at Grady, but Negan said the exact same thing to Daryl about Carol several episodes ago. “For the record, I don’t think she’s coming back.” So, it’s something of a theme.

She tells Jerry the story of the Stone Soup, which to me parallels Rick’s “Rock in the Road” story, which we’ve always thought was about Beth. (X). And I’m not sure how exactly to interpret the rock in either story, but biblically Christ = the rock. So, there’s that.

We see her fixing the solar panels as well. Because of the sunlight angle, that could represent Beth. I’m actually seeing a lot of symbolism here for both Carol fixing Beth in some way and Beth fixing Carol. So, I think this has to do with the template for the future. I think the two of them will come together again, as they did at Grady, and they’ll both be kind of a mess at that point and need to help each other through some stuff. I’ll talk about it in more detail later when I do another forecasting post.

When Dog starts chasing the rat and Carol runs to see what’s happening, he knocks over a lamp. Lamp Theory. And the cord of the lamp has been gnawed on by the rat. So can you see how all these symbols kind of interlock?

When Dog chases the rat and knocks over the pot, Carol has a serious/Sirius mention. She says, “This is serious. We need that food.”

Now, for the record, I think food shortages are going to continue to be a thing, and Beth and the CRM will be the answer to needed resources, so both sides of that sentence are important.

She makes a trap to catch the rat, which I talked about yesterday. Then she goes out looking for more ingredients for the soup. While out there, we see a dragonfly, a blue butterfly, and a spider. All three of those are important symbols. 

They all represent some form of transformation, wisdom, renewal, and fertility.

It’s probably important that Carol uses Leah’s knife to fix the solar panels. Again, just more Beth symbols on top of Beth symbols.

@frangipanilove also pointed out that it’s important that the instant she can’t see the rat anymore, the power goes out. See how that works? Rat (Beth) is unseen and suddenly no sun power.

Carol also says at this part, “there will be more sun tomorrow, right?” That’s super important. Sun = Beth. And ever since AOW, I’ve thought the “tomorrow” theme pointed to the CRM war. So again, just more evidence that this is both a callback and a foreshadow of what will happen with Beth and CRM.

As I said yesterday, Dog watching over Carol as she sleeps = Beth watching over Carol while she’s unconscious at Grady. She also says to Dog, “You miss him, don’t you?” Which is exactly what Beth asked Daryl about Merle in Still.

And then of course she destroys the wall. The next day, Jerry comes to see her, and we get lots of interesting references. There’s the poker, poker face reference. He says, “caring…yeah that’s a problem,” which we’re connecting to Beth’s famous line, “when you care about people, hurt is just part of the package.”

Jerry also says, “2+2=Eureka.” Now, Eureka is an expression which means “a cry of joy or satisfaction when one finds or discovers something.” We’re hoping the 2+2 is a reference to episode 22, and the discovery is that Beth is alive. *fingers crossed*

The song that plays, No Worries by Amateur Blond, has references to dogs in it. And it keeps saying “Oh, oh, oh.”

Of course Daryl returns, Rat gets free, and I especially love how Dog runs to Daryl. Cuz, you know, Dog = Beth. :D

One other thing @frangipanilove​ brought to my attention. The scarf Carol has in this episode can be linked to the scarf she wore in S3. They actually look very similar. Remember that at the prison, when T-Dog died and Lori gave birth to Judith, Carol was wearing a scarf over her head. Daryl found it with blood on it, which led him to assume she was dead. They even created a grave for her. But of course he found her (after finding her knife, btw) soon after and she lived.

It’s just a little too coincidental that this can be connected to a death fake out in season 3, and there’s a major knife exchange going on in the same episode. 

Daryl and Bike:

Okay, so I talked a lot about Daryl yesterday and how Bike = Beth. The part where he gets under the car is really interesting. I’m not entirely satisfied with how to interpret it yet, but I do think it represents leaving Beth behind and stuff that happened during the missing 17 days. 

You could call Daryl’s behavior here destructive. I mean, he crawled under a precariously perched car. And that could represent his depression, to the point of self-harm, after losing Beth. He does find the part he needs in the 3rd car (rule of threes). And that car was somewhat hidden at first. 

He didn’t see it until he’d already reached and checked the first two cars. So, that could represent looking for Beth’s body but there’s an unseen element he isn’t aware of at first. It also parallels the “third man” theory. (X).

When he gets back to the bike, he suddenly realizes he gave the knife to Carol and he needs it. His huge, Rambo knife is just too big to get it into the crevices of the bike to attach the new part. 

I think this is important for the future story line as well. After the spinoff starts, when he and Carol part ways, he’ll give her something and realize he needs it later on. It’s when he goes looking for this part that he’ll run into the CRM and Beth.

I also noticed kind of a cute little parallel here. When he realizes he doesn’t have the knife and he needs it, he sort of does this thing where he brushes his hair out of his face. He did a similar thing in Consumed. 

I just remember a lot of people commenting on how adorable it was. So I thought I’d point it out here as well.

So then he goes looking of Beth, er, I mean a new knife. I talked about a lot of this yesterday: the Beth walker, his limp, the dry river bed, etc. It’s important that he finds the knife with military walkers (probably the CRM). I can’t help but wonder if letting walker fall into the ravine represents him letting one of their communities get overrun with walkers or something. 

I also REALLY want to connect it to when the group did this in Them. In that scene, Rick was almost bitten. Daryl came running up at the last minute and helped him, but I think it’s significant that they were doing the exact same thing there that we see Daryl doing here. I’m thinking it represents something about maybe him finding Rick with the CRM and helping him in some way, or something. Again, just speculating about future storylines here.

But he finds the knife he needs and goes back to the bike. And two more military walkers come at him. Yes, two. You may have missed that, as I and my fellow theorists both did the first time. But one is coming at him from ahead of the bike, down the tracks. 

The other is coming at him from his right side. You can tell because he turns his head to look at it.

Couple of things here. Part of the reason it only seems like one is that they show it weird. We only see him killing the one straight ahead, not the one to the side. I’m sure there’s some symbolism in that, but I honestly have no idea what it is.

But here’s an interesting thing. He finds a second knife on that second walker. It doesn’t do a close up on the second knife, so it’s easy to miss. But there are actually 2 knives.

Not entirely sure how to interpret that, but remember that in Still, there were two knives. First, Daryl gave Beth his, but between rooms in the golf club, she found her bone-handled one that she always carried after that, and gave his back to him. So it might just represent Beth and Daryl and their 2 knives.

He also finds military rations (food) on one of them. As I said yesterday, I think TF is going to get to the point where they desperately need resources. Where food is scarce and even water becomes undrinkable. It will be part of the CRM plot. So I think him finding food on military walkers hints at that. They will need the CRM’s resources to survive.

The other thing I’m curious about is what he says. He says, “You’ve got to be kidding me.” To me, that’s a weird reaction. There are walkers all over the place in these woods. And neither of these two are a massive, immediate threat to him. So his reaction doesn’t make tons of sense. But again, I’m sure it has something to do with a future storyline that simply isn’t clear here yet. 

Also, the walker he takes the knife from is missing his leg/foot. That’s part of the missing foot/shoe symbolism, and just proves in my mind that this is symbolic of something to do with Beth. 

He then sets to fixing his bike. But it takes a while and it’s dark before he finishes. This was super cool and something I missed the first time through. While fixing it, he hears a wolf howl. And they draw attention to it by having Daryl turn his head toward it, as thought acknowledging it. 

Plus, the captions say it’s a wolf, not a dog or a coyote. So, this is wolf symbolism. And I think what they’re trying to say her is that when Daryl finds and “fixes” Beth, the wolf symbolism will be in play. I’ll talk more about what the means and how it MIGHT manifest in coming days.

Finally, he gets the bike fixed and started and heads back.

@wdway​, as usual with her eagle eyes, noticed something about this shot. In the sky above him, we see three stars. They look suspiciously like the “spoon” portion of the Little Dipper. And guys, at this distant, stars wouldn’t even register on camera, which means they were put in purposely with a computer. Daryl is riding toward the spoon/star/Sirius symbol. Just saying. 

The only other thing I noticed (other than all the stuff I talked about yesterday, anyway) is that there is some missing time here. Daryl fixes his bike at night and we see him drive off into the darkness, but by the time he gets back and talks to Carol, it’s late afternoon or early evening, and he’s talking about going to bed. I don’t know if he could have gone out far enough for it to take him that long to get back. Of course, maybe he just looked some more the next day and didn’t come back right away. Maybe I’m reading too much into it. But it’s something I noticed.

So, yeah. I think that’s all the details I have. Anyone notice anything I missed?

[womanfromblackwater]

Modern AU Tattoo Headcanons

Dutch has a lion wearing a crown on his chest. It’s cliche and a little bit silly, but he is very proud of it and thinks it represents him perfectly. He also wanted the whole gang to get matching tattoos of a stylized “VdL,” but he was the only one who actually went through with it. 

Hosea has a super old-fashioned, Sailor Jerry style mermaid, with the face and hair designed to resemble Bessie. He got it a long time ago and still cherishes it. 

Arthur has a portrait of copper on one bicep. That dog meant a lot to him and he was devastated when he died. He has a stag on the opposite forearm that was done from one of his own drawings. He definitely believes in quality over quantity and is happy with two really good ones. 

John’s has full sleeves, and there is definitely at least one super-detailed wolf portrait on there. He’s not a stickler for style, though, and his are noticeably sloppier than Arthur’s. Epilogue-era John probably gets a wolf cub added for Jack. 

Charles has a deer, but instead of a stag like Arthur’s its a doe. He also has a forest treeline, and is looking to get more nature-themed tattoos. His fight promoter tried to convince him to get more aggressive-looking ones, but Charles is very picky about what goes on his body. 

Javier has a knife with an elaborate handle. The level of detail in it is insane, and he’s very proud to show it off to anyone who will look. It’s an exact replica of the first knife his father gave him. He wants some kind of music-related image, but hasn’t decided on one yet. 

Sadie gets something that was meaningful between her and Jake, and refuses to explain to anyone else what it means or why she picked that image. It’s their special thing and she doesn’t want to share it with everybody.

Lenny has a pocket watch on his forearm so he can feel like his father is always with him. He’s not really into tattoos, but after the watch itself got lost he wanted something permanent. 

Micah has lots of gun and bullet themed tattoos. He thinks it makes him look tough. He’s not really creative, so he just gets whatever he thinks is going to look badass from the pre-drawn flash.

Karen would be into the bold lines and bright colors of traditional tattoos, and I could definitely see her with a tattoo of a gun on her thigh where her holster sits. She might also go for the pinup-style sleeves connected across her chest. 

Mary-Beth would have been a bit hesitant about getting inked, then gotten a delicate flower in pastel colors on her wrist or ankle. It’s soft and feminine, and she likes that it looks romantic. If she got another it would probably be either a favorite book quote or the cover art from a classic. 

Tilly also likes more feminine designs, but goes bigger and bolder than Mary-Beth. She likes bright colors that complement her wardrobe. She would get hers on her back and upper arms, because she likes to choose whether to show them off or not. 

Abigail definitely has an old-fashioned rose with Jack’s name, birthday, or both on her arm or shoulder, somewhere she can see it. I could also see her having gotten a lower back tattoo when she was younger, but being really embarrassed of it now. John is the only gang member who has seen it.  

Grimshaw has an elaborate, old-fashioned birdcage on her forearm. She likes the Victorian style, and even though she got it when she was young, it’s an elegant design and she’s still very happy with it. 

Bill has a tattoo from when he was in the army, but it was done by one of the guys in his unit so it isn’t super well-done. It’s on his upper arm in the “classic” spot for military tattoos, and Bill tends to be judgy of people who have their ink in other spots. 

Sean was super close with his dad, so he has a giant celtic cross tribute tattoo on his back. He also has shamrocks scattered over his body. He is the most likely to get a tattoo on his face. 

Kieran has the most detailed horse portrait that’s ever been done, and he loves it. It’s on his chest where there was lots of room for the design, and just looking at it makes him feel calm and happy.

Trelawny has a rabbit coming out of a top hat on the back of his shoulder blades. He tells the gang that it looks a little off because the artist was drunk, but really it was drawn by his kids and he wanted the ink to exactly match the drawing. 

Strauss did not want a tattoo at all. Sean and Karen got him drunk one night and got a gold dollar sign with diamonds around it tattooed on his ass. He never brings it up and sometimes they wonder if he even knows it’s there. 

Swanson has a bible quote on his chest that is surprisingly beautiful. He got it before his addictions took over, and after he cleans up he feels connected to it again. 

Pearson has old-fashioned navy tattoos. Anchors, compass, maybe a whale. He loves to show them off and makes up stories about why he got them, but really he just loves the nautical aesthetic. 

Molly loves the “permanent jewelry” trend, and has intricate, fancy chainwork on her wrist as a bracelet. I could also see her getting a garter tattoo on her thigh because Dutch thought it was a good idea. 

Uncle says he has a tattoo, but won’t say where or what it is. Everyone is too afraid to ask.

[ramheavenandhell]

The Mortys and their Stories – Chapter 3: Super Morty Fan Morty

AN: As always, it's advised to read chapter 4 of "The Lines between Ricks and Mortys" first. Warnings: surprisingly none for this chapter despite the Morty that it is about (other than that it is kind of lame as far as background stories go)

The Mortys and their Stories – Chapter 3: Super Morty Fan Morty The first time that Morty met his grandfather, he had been confused by the man. Rick had been so delighted – excited – to finally meet him. Why that was, was something that Morty hadn't understood for a long while. At first, the boy had been a bit weirded out by the scientist since his grandfather treated him as if he was some kind of celebrity. He wore a ski hat that had the form of Morty's head, some badges on his lab coat that looked like his head or had a big red 'M' in front of a yellow background and a t-shirt that also had his face on it. There was also a red dazzler with a big 'M' around his neck, a yellow belt buckle also in the shape of an 'M' and he had a doll that looked like him that spoke weird sentences in a recorded voice that sounded very much like Morty's. Morty truly didn't understand why his grandfather did that or where he even got all of his merchandise. However, after a short time, he stopped caring about that. He actually enjoyed all the attention that he got from the crazy scientist, being the only one that was invited to come along on his adventures. Usually Morty had been below average and aside from the school bullies no one had ever paid him any attention – not even his own family. So, obviously, he was overjoyed to have finally found someone that he considered as a friend, albeit a crazy one that was a hell 'a lot older than he was, but he wasn't one to nitpick about something like that. Things however began to change drastically when his Rick brought him to the Citadel of Ricks for the first time. It was finally at that point that Morty understood where his grandfather had gotten the merchandise but not only that. He was met with the realization that his grandfather wasn't the only Rick there was, but that there were plenty different versions of him throughout the entire multiverse and so many of them were gathered here in this one place. However, this was only something that he took notice of one the side because even more he realized that there were also many different versions of himself. Normally, one would expect that the boy might have felt offended about this, seeing himself so often that he would feel like he was insignificant and nothing special, but that was not the case. In fact, he was in awe as he saw all the many other versions of himself. While most of the Mortys looked exactly the same as him, there were also ones who looked completely different. Like the Aqua Morty who looked like a fish and had to wear a helmet with water inside it so that he could actually breathe on land. Or the Cyclops Morty who had orange skin, pointed ears and only a singular eye – he actually looked a bit intimidating and dangerous. The Robot Morty looked also very interesting. And there was even a Morty whose head was in the shape of a hammer. "Woah! There are so many of them and all they're all different!" Morty said to his grandfather with starry eyes. His Rick could only grin and agree. It was at this point that Morty himself became a fan of Mortys because even though they were essentially the same as him, he thought that they were really awesome and cute. He completely fell in love with them. Loving every chance that he got to interact with them. Also loving to just watch them. So, from this moment on, he also started to dress himself in a similar fashion as his grandfather: He wore a hat in the form of a Morty head, a backpack in similar shape on which he put all of his badges that he bought on the Citadel and a t-shirt with a Morty's face on it. A similar red dazzler to that of his grandfather hung also around his neck, he also wore the same 'M'-shaped belt buckle and he even thought about getting himself a fancy tattoo, but so far only drew 'MORTY' and a heart on his stomach and abdomen. Morty and his Rick seemed to have gotten even closer than before, having now something to talk about excitedly the entire time like all the different looks or lifestyles that Mortys from other dimensions could have. Of course, those new changes didn't go unnoticed by the rest of his family for long. Especially as Jerry found one questionable fanart that the boy had drawn – he had started to actively draw and write fanfictions, too – his parents knew that they had to do something. "I don't know what we should do with him, Beth! Probably admit him to a mental hospital or something because what he does is anything but healthy!" Morty could overhear his father yelling. It wasn't rare that his parents argued with each other, but it was one of the rare times that he was the topic of their argument and they somewhat agreed that things were not okay with him. "A mental hospital, Jerry?! Really?!" his mother argued back. "I don't think that it's that serious that we need to look for medical help. Maybe we can just try to talk with him." "Not that serious?! Have you even looked at the picture that he had drawn?!" was the counter argument. "The boy is narcissistic! A little friendly talk won't just fix that magically! This probably would have never happened if he wouldn't hang out so much with your crazy father!!" "Keep my dad out of this!" "No, if anyone is at fault that our son has developed such a weird tendencies than it's Rick's!" His father thundered and didn't let his mother get another word in. "We should have never allowed him to stay with us! It's only because of your fucked up father complex!! You're probably not even going to care when the old weirdo ends up sexually molesting or even raping our son, do you?!" Morty had heard enough. He was just fed up with everything. He was fed up with his parents trying to stage an intervention – even wanting to go so far as to lock him up in a loony bin. And on top of that they wanted to place the entire blame on his grandfather and would try to kick him out of the house now. His brilliant Rick who had opened his eyes to a whole new world – a whole new level of existence even! No, he wouldn't stand for this anymore. Morty felt actually a little bad for what he was about to do, but he didn't have any other options. He had packed his Morty backpack to the brim with snacks, his block and pencils for drawing his fanart and some of the Morty merchandise that he was able to fit inside. It was in the middle of the night that he secretly snug in the garage. His grandfather had fallen asleep in front of the TV so he knew that it was save to go in there without getting interrupted or stopped by anyone. The boy grabbed his grandfather's portal gun, which rested innocently on top of the workbench. He put in one of the view coordinates that he had memorized – the ones that would bring him to the Citadel of Ricks. Maybe it wasn't the wisest choice and Morty knew that his grandfather would know where he went from the coordinates, but then again since it was the Citadel, maybe he wouldn't find him so easily. Opening a portal against the wall of the garage, Morty put the gun back where he picked it up. Slowly he moved closer to the rip in space and time that presented itself visibly as a swirling green vortex. Morty took one last look back towards the door. He really felt bad for what he was about to do. Not because of leaving his parents and sister behind, but because he was leaving his Rick despite knowing how much the man loved him. It had to be done though. In Morty's mind this was the only option to protect them both. So, he faced the portal again, took a deep breath and then walked through it. The portal closed, leaving no trace behind that it was ever there to begin with. It would take a long while before anyone in the house would rose from their slumber. It would take an even longer while before anyone would notice that Morty was gone. And it would take even longer before Rick would notice that his portal gun had been used. But who knew how long it would take before he would find his boy again… if he ever would.

Part 12 of Entricked Fates

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Part 1 of Entricked Fates: Gotta Catch Me Some Morty

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Part 2 of Entricked Fates: Mortyfied and Rickfused

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Part 3 of Entricked Fates: Ricking the Routine

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Part 4 of Entricked Fates: Ricks will always be Ricks

oneshot

Part 5 of Entricked Fates: The Morty-Lover

oneshot

Part 6 of Entricked Fates: Second Chances AKA The Rick One For Me

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Part 7 of Entricked Fates: Rickvestigating the Morty Disappearances

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Part 8 of Entricked Fates: When the Morty’s away, the Rick will play

oneshot

Part 9 of Entricked Fates: It’s Not His Ricking Fault!

oneshot

Part 10 of Entricked Fates: I Ricking Hate My Life!

oneshot

Part 11 of Entricked Fates: The Lines Between Ricks and Mortys

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

[psychoanthrowalker]

Thoughts and speculation about Carol/Ez/Daryl

I’ve had some thoughts since I first viewed the most recent episode (9x11- “Bounty”).  It concerns speculation about Carol and Ezekiel’s relationship and Carol and Daryl’s.  This is kind of lengthy, so I’m putting this behind a read-more.  There are spoilers (or most probably confirmed spoilers), so read at your own risk.

           I saw a lot of people commenting that they thought Carol was very out-of-character.  Oddly enough, I saw it in quite the opposite way.  To me, this episode showed Carol being very in-character.  Her internal struggle (which showed outwardly on her face) when there was the “side quest” to retrieve the movie projector light bulb was very in-character.  Just look at the expression on her face as she’s asking Ezekiel if it’s worth it; Is it worth these mothers and fathers possibly making their children orphans?  She clearly questions the merit of going after the light bulb, given the risk (with a herd coming by soon) and with the fact that the Kingdom is just struggling to hold on right now. 

She very sheepishly agreed to it, but she looked really perturbed with how easy going other Kingdomers (especially Jerry) looked as they were playing the music to draw the walkers out.  It was as if she was thinking, “How can you all be so lax about this?  Am I really the only person who questions whether or not this is worth it?  Am I the only one who recognizes that people could die in this situation?” 

This is also very in-character with Carol and in fact it reminds me a bit of Carol’s skepticism about the Kingdom when she first arrived in season 7.

           Later, Carol is skeptical about Ezekiel’s hope that Michonne will come around and bring her people to the fair and sign the charter between the communities.  She is very pragmatic and she knew from her talk with Michonne that Michonne was not inclined to come and that she probably wouldn’t change her mind.  Ezekiel, with his blind optimism, tells Carol he can’t wait to see the look on her face when he proves her wrong.  

           Then there was the interesting conversation about talking to Jesus about relocating to Hill Top if they need to.  To me, there seemed to be a pained look on her face as Ezekiel said something along the lines of “what better place could there be than the Kingdom to stay?” 

I think it was painful for her to see how unrealistic Ezekiel is about the state of the Kingdom.  We saw that the Kingdom is basically being held together with duct tape and they aren’t growing anything with any success.  I think Carol has been holding back internally about how worried she is about the state of the Kingdom and how it is not sustainable, so it’s probably very frustrating to her how optimistic (and unrealistic) Ezekiel is.  

           Though Carol is skeptical and pragmatic, she does give in and seems satisfied and optimistic about getting the light bulb. I would say that Carol has been struggling with balancing her pragmatism with her desire to hope for better things. Living at the Kingdom, where it’s been peaceful (though they have their struggles), I think she wants to give in to that optimism.  And that’s what we saw by the end of the episode.

           But this will not last long.  Based on the spoilers strongly suggesting that Henry will end up with his head on a pike as a result of his own rash decision to go after Lydia, I think that glimmer of optimism is going to be absolutely snuffed out for Carol.  I am speculating here, but I wonder if after everything comes to a head (no pun intended), Carol is going to be extremely angry with Ezekiel.  I wonder if she’s going to have this feeling that she is just waking up from a dream and seeing reality again.  I wonder if she will blame Ezekiel for Henry’s “dreamer” qualities that arguably lead to Henry to act in a way that lead to his own death.

If Kang wanted to have some sort of parallel between the very first episode and the last episode of the season, she might have a moment of Carol seeking out Daryl in the middle of the night. After the Kingdom moves to Hill Top, maybe he’s smoking a cigarette and standing watch on the wall.  Just imagine Carol going there, and instead of snuffing out Daryl’s cigarette, she asks him for a cigarette.  In juxtaposition with Carol telling Daryl about Ezekiel proposing to her in the first episode, maybe she’ll tell Daryl that she broke things off with Ezekiel because she couldn’t take how unrealistic he is. 

In no way do I think that this will be a romantic scene between Carol and Daryl. I think Carol is going to be in a horrible state of mind and will probably start showing a brutality in season 10 that scares herself.  I think Daryl is going to be that person who brings her back from the brink (kind of like how Carol brought Daryl back right after Beth’s death).  I also think there’s going to be an interesting parallel going on in season 10 between Alpha and Carol (something many others have brought up already), where Daryl is the Beta to Carol’s Alpha.

I would love to hear any thoughts about this!

[nuka-nuke]

| Jack Euler |

Name: Jack Philip Lee Euler

Nickname: None

Age: 31

Birthday: August 23, 2046 (Virgo) 

Height: 6’

Weight: 190~ lbs

Specials: Str 10 - Per 4 - End 10 - Cha 3 - Int 1 - Agi 10 - Luck 1

Eyes: Hazel blue

Hair: Dark brown and very long, always kept in a ponytail because he gets overwhelmed by it getting all over the place.

Body type: Lanky and skinny with broad shoulders and huge feet.

References: Here

Status Pre-War: A mechanic working for a local garage, married to the love of his life who was the more successful out of the two with her job as a lawyer. He moved to Boston for her, originally being from rural Pennsylvania.

Status Currently: An agent with the Railroad struggling to find his way in the wasteland.

Relationship Status: Widower

Spouse(s)/Partners: Vivia Loreña-Euler (deceased)

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Gender: Male

Ethnicity: American

Family:

Vivia Loreña-Euler, wife (deceased)

Jerri-Lynn Kristiana Euler-Oliver, sister

-Roscoe Oliver, brother-in-law

Bianca Oliver, niece

Marina Oliver, niece

Roscoe Oliver Jr., nephew

Jolene Mari-Ella Euler-Wilson, sister

-Ezra Wilson, ex-brother-in-law

Lorna May Ellis Wilson, niece

Aberdeen Lora-Jo Euler, sister

Rosanna Cecila Ophelia Euler, sister

Josephine Arlandria Penelope Euler-Slonina, sister

-Waylon Slonina, brother-in-law

Quentin Leyton Slonina, nephew

Woodrow Reggis Slonina, nephew

Sam Christopher Slonina, nephew

Francis (Ford) Lee Albert Euler, brother

Philip Albert Stanley Euler, father (deceased)

Luanne Georgina Euler, mother (deceased)

Languages: English 

Disabilities/Illnesses/Injuries: None, he is fairly hardy. Mild PTSD from his time in the war and social anxiety which sometimes gives him panic attacks.

Allergies: None

Scars: He has a long scar crossing from the bridge of his nose down and under his right eye, an injury acquired during combat in the war when he was bashed in the face with an enemy rifle, breaking his nose in the process. The man who inflicted the damage was then beaten to death before his eyes by one of his platoon members, which was the first time he had ever witnessed the murder of another person. Jack always feared the inner monster a person could become under trauma from that point forward and hoped to never see himself become that.

Other facial scars include a long scar below his left eye which crosses down his cheek and over his lips. He was working in the garage cutting exhaust pipe with a cut off wheel on an angle grinder, negligently not using a face shield, when the wheel shattered and a piece broke off and embedded into his face. Luckily Ford was there and was able to get him to the hospital, and saved the heckling until after they ensured he wasn’t going to die. He never lived that one down for as long as he and Ford worked on cars together.

He has countless smaller scars on his hands and wrists from mechanic work over the years. Notably he has a large burn on his left elbow which mangles one of his tattoos, from accidentally leaning on a weld seconds after finishing welding something. Various other scars all along his knees and shins (from being clumsy and falling over his giant feet all the time) and one gnarly puncture wound on his left shoulder from a Red Widow bloodbug which he hit with his bat just a few moments too late.

Physical traits: Jack has a birth mark on his forehead that is mostly obscured by the amount of freckles he has all over his face, which continue all over the rest of his body as well. He has an American traditional style eagle tattoo across his chest and a sleeve of random flash-sheet kind of American traditional tattoos all over his left arm, acquired from his time living out of his car and traveling all over the states and adding a tattoo from every town he stayed in. He has wrinkles between his eyebrows from years working in the sun and focusing way too hard, and often looks exhausted due to the creases around his eyes. He has a scruffy beard and extremely perfect eyebrows that always made his sisters jealous.

Voice: Jake Gyllenhaal, but only as Jack Twist.

Clothing: Pretty much hasn’t changed out of his vault suit since leaving Vault 111. Like ever. He added a coat, though. Also he always wears his holotags from the military, his wedding ring, and his pipboy which is painted red.

Fashion Style/Lifestye: His fashion sense is pretty much “how long can I get away with wearing the same disgusting, dirty outfit before Bambi finally requests that I change and do laundry.”

Weapon of Choice: “The Fuck ‘Em Up”, a chain wrapped baseball bat, also painted red, or a bladed tire iron.

Skills: Strength, combat, situational awareness (in nonsocial situations), mechanics, artistic

Weaknesses: Easily stressed out in social situation, has a hard time explaining himself, can be kind of slow, spaces out a lot and daydreams. Very scatterbrained. Often sees things way too literally.

Poor skills: Computer technologies, verbal communication, stealth (too clumsy).  

Affiliations: The Railroad, Acadia

Former Affiliations: None

Enemies: The Institute

Neutral Affiliations: The Brotherhood of Steel, the Minutemen, Nuka World Raiders

Religion: Agnostic

Likes: Cars, working on cars, collecting random trinkets, drawing and writing in his journal (mostly to Vivia), digging through junkyards and scrap and planning how to build a new Corvega one day. Also enjoys cooking and making new recipes for the various types of wasteland animals he kills.

Dislikes: Pre-war food, Nuka Cola Quantum (the radiation makes him extremely sick), most sweets 

Hates: Spiders, radscorpions, insects of any variety. Vivia was the bug killer of their household.

Friends: Deacon, Piper Wright

Acquaintances: Ilya Valle (pre-war), Nataniel Valle (pre-war)

Former friends: None

Enemies: None that he is aware of, maybe there are some out there. Don’t know.

Pets: Sometimes junkyard dogs hang out with him at Hub City. But really none.

Fallout OC friends/family: Brook Cecil, Benjamin Reese, Andre Torres, Bambi (Beth), Sirius Tillinghast, Katherine Vance

Personality: Jack is overall pretty laid back. There isn’t much that can make him lose his temper, and even if he does, he ends up feeling bad about it and apologizing later. He is terrible in social situations and uses his awkward sense of humor to try to bridge conversations, which sometimes works, as in the case of how he scored Vivia’s phone number.

Favorite color: Green

Favorite foods: Radstag jerky, mirelurk cakes, literally everything his mother cooked when he was a kid.

Favorite drinks: Vim!, Vim! Quartz, Gwinnett Lager

Favorite Sweets: If anything, he might have some gum. Overall, not a fan of sweets. 

_____________________________________

Thanks to @madddraws for letting me use their character profile layout!

[scramblingminds]

@syrabylene you know I will always try to write anything you ask for! Maybe not very quickly these days but I try!

I hope you like this one, I was writing when I noticed it was working with the prompts for the #PaulRoviaDeservesBetter2k18 challenge and I kinda tweaked it to work with it too. So, even if it deviated a tad from your prompt I hope you can still like it, since your fill is now also a chanllenge submission :D @desussquad

Warnings: nothing much, some fluff and a sprinkle of angst. Rated M.

~Paul?~

“So, pookie, have you thought about it enough?” Carol nudged Daryl drawing his eyes to her.

He almost had to shake himself, he hadn’t realized just how zoned out he had been. It wasn’t often that everyone from the old group got to be together anymore. It had been Michonne that suggested they all make a trip to the Kingdom, to all be in the same ten-mile radius for the first time in months.

It wasn’t a party, those were a very distant thing from the past, it was more like a reunion. Rick, Michonne, Judith, Tara, Rosita, Eugene, Aaron and Gabriel coming from Alexandria. While Daryl, Enid, Jesus and Maggie with little Hershel trekking from Hilltop. Carol and Jerry had been beaming when they met everyone at the gate.

It was nice, peaceful and almost like how it used to be. Talk and banter came easy, as well as plans for new crops and finally getting a windmill up at the Sanctuary. It would be so easy to get comfortable if it weren’t for the ghosts that though unseen seemed to linger.

Daryl could almost see Glenn’s arm wrapped around Maggie’s waist as she bounced Hershel. Sasha and Abraham could have easily been standing between Rosita and Eugene as Tara cracked a joke. Worst of all, it was like at any moment Carl would appear at his father's side and take Judith up onto his hip. Hell, if he tried he could fit Beth and Hershel in at Maggie’s side. Andrea and Tyresse would definitely be deep into whatever conversation Aaron and Gabe were having.

That was part of their lives now, they were all just drifting through the holes left by those they lost. Daryl figured that was why the last time Carol had visited Hilltop she invited Daryl to come stay at the Kingdom. Daryl knew part of the reason Carol was so comfortable there, beside that damn theatrical king, was because nobody there knew all she had lost. It had been like a fresh start for her.

When people saw her they just saw Carol, for the true badass she was. Daryl couldn’t help but think he caught glimpses of wheat blonde hair and freckles whenever he saw her. Just like he knew she saw a high and tight haircut and could almost hear Merle’s guttural laugh.

He had thought about it, rolled it over in his head when he laid down on the couch in Jesus trailer that night after she left. It would be nice, maybe, to live at the Kingdom. It was very different from all the places he had live since the world went to shit. Those few days he had asylum there showed the Kingdom to not be too bad, plus Carol was there.

Then Jesus had come back, sweeping into the trailer with happy conversation and a swing of bun-freed hair. Daryl hadn’t thought about leaving again after that. It was by Carol asking him to move, for him to try to find some peace that Daryl realized he had already found it. It was the Hilltop, helping with the crops or going hunting. It was afternoons watching Hershel as Maggie strategized, rocking Glenn’s son for hours. It was night spent talking with Jesus, talks that before he knew it had somehow turned to flirting.

Flirting that the back woods part of his mind almost wanted to refuse, if it didn’t make the starved for positive attention side of him so freaking content. Jesus who was all warmth and kindness, actually seemed to be interested in someone as damaged as him. Daryl knew nothing at the Kingdom would make him feel as at ease as he did at Hilltop, as the colonies scout did.

Hell, before she had snapped his attention to her Daryl had been full out staring at the damn man. Jesus had been with Jerry and Ezekiel when Dianne had approached him. Daryl wasn’t eavesdropping but heard her ask the man if he minded sparring with her, she was trying to improve her hand-to-hand skills. Jesus, being who he was, had agreed. So, Daryl had spent the last who knew how long watching them spar.

Daryl could tell Jesus was going easy on her, pulling his punches and being deliberately slow. He was still outmatching her by a lot though. She even rolled her eyes when Jesus would give her suggestions, like how to properly be in stance or which strikes to use. Daryl was impressed by how fast Jesus dodged another punch when Carol had him tearing his eyes away.

“Yeah,” Daryl stretched the back of his neck, catching the edge of his lip between his teeth for a moment, “Thanks fer the offer but I’m good.”

“You’re good sleeping on a couch?” Carol questioned but Daryl could tell by the gleam in her eye she already knew the answer.

Daryl shrugged, nudging her back, “It’s a pretty good couch.”

Carol nodded with a hum, pressing her lips together to hide a smile, “Is it now?”

Daryl just chewed his lips as his throat flushed and Carol leaned against his side, “Do you know why I decided to stay here?”

“Ya really like Shakespeare?” Daryl chuckled when she pinched his arm.

“Haha but no,” She tilted her head up to scrunch her nose at him, “Well, maybe but it was more like I felt like I had been saved here. Not just from my wounds but like I could be myself again. I know you hate cheesy stuff but I think Ezekiel saved me.”

Daryl could see how much she meant every word, how much love she had for the king and all he could do was nod, “Ya saved his ass a time or two, too.”

She smiled at that, “Isn’t that the truth.”

Daryl let her loop her arm through his, resting his head on her. He really did miss her, missed having her and all her wisdom close by. She almost didn’t seem to mean to say it out loud as she breathed, “Jesus saved you, too.”

Daryl could feel his neck going warmer, but almost jumped at a loud thud a few yards away. He and Carol turned back to see Jesus standing over Dianne, who was flat on her back and trying to sit up.

“I am so, so sorry,” Jesus had meant to just tap her leg but she had tried to lunge toward him, putting her too close and he had accidently swept her feet out from under her, “Let me help you up.”

Dianne was red face when she finally got sat up, slapping his hand away as she awkwardly got to her feet. She tried to brush the dirt off the back of her pants as she grumbled, “Think you’re so great, wow, you can knock women around, so impressive.”

“Woah,” Jesus blinked and shook his head in disbelief, “You asked me to spar, not the other way around. What did you think was going to happen?”

“I don’t know,” Dianne threw her hands up with a scowl, “To not get my ass kicked, or maybe you would go easy since it was supposed to be just for fun.”

Daryl didn’t even remember standing up and untangling himself from Carol, much less closing the scant feet until he was nearly next to Jesus. It wasn’t until he noticed everyone was looking at Dianne and Jesus, seeming to equally edge into the tiff, that Daryl was aware of his own placement. Jesus wasn’t someone who needed protection but Daryl’s instincts always had him moving to do so.

“If ya don’t wanna get beat, don’t ask a damn ninja to spar.” Daryl spoke when it seemed Jesus was at a loss for words.

“He could have tried to be a little easy at least.” She glared at Jesus, the man still seeming gobsmacked by her words.

“Ya really think he wasn’t?” Daryl had to suppress a snort, “And not many folks will pull their punches out there beyond these walls. Yer lucky Paul was, so stop belly aching and try to do better next time.”

She seemed to deflate at the words, mutter an apology as Jerry suggested they go get some food and steered her away. Jesus turned to Daryl, a hint of a smirk on his face, “Thanks for the backup there, Dar.”

Daryl rolled his eyes at the rhyme before it was like a bomb went off everyone was speaking at once.

“Hold up, since when is it Paul?” Tara grinned.

“Paul, huh?” Rick teased as Michonne crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow.

“Is there something you need to share, Dar?” Rosita smirked.

“I’m really happy for you guys.” Aaron beamed.

“You two are too cute.” Carol winked.

“C’mon, it’s his fuckin’ name.” Daryl tried to protest but no one was buying it. If anything his defense, along with his flushing face, just made it worst.

“Didn’t you all know?” Jesus raised his voice to make everyone quiet down, Daryl raising an eyebrow as he watched the man’s smirk grow, “Daryl, has been madly in love with me since the first day we met.”

Daryl could just throttle him; his face was on fire as his family erupted in laughter around them. Daryl knew that they all knew better than to believe that, even if it was maybe the very smallest, tiny bit true. Jesus didn’t know that though, or Daryl didn’t think he did, the ninja was always just a dramatic little shit.

Daryl watched as Paul’s smirked slipped into a smile, the one that made his eyes crinkle and cheeks dimple even under his beard. Even as everyone was joking and cracking on him and going on about happy endings and shit. He could feel the love in it, it was all good-natured. They were all family, that meant some teasing but it also meant they would always be there for each other. That might be why it was so easy to reach out and grab Paul’s hand and pull the smaller man to him.

“See, told you guys.” Paul lifted their joined hands like it was a trophy but Daryl was close enough to see the red filling his high cheek bones and feel the gentle tremble of his fingers.

“Shut up, Paul.” Daryl leaned in to press his lips to Paul’s, to make him do just that. Maybe Daryl might also have just a little flair for the dramatic too.

[hoodoo12]

Full Disclosure

I’ve had a few requests, so this is for my nonbinary readers. I love you! 

SFW. Meeting the family. Swearing. Sliding close to panic attacks. Confessions. Rick admitting something about himself. Comfort and care.

⁂

“Summer, Morty, Beth, and . . . Jerry.”

Rick pointed to each of his family members in order, around the table, as if you couldn’t figure out who each of them were. He introduced you too, adding,

“She’s the one I’ve been seeing.”

“Seeing, Dad?” his daughter asked skeptically.

“I’m sleeping with her, if that’s what you’re asking. Fucking her—“

Jerry gave an overly loud and obviously fake laugh, and cut his father-in-law off. “Courting her! I’m sure Rick just meant to say courting her!”

That started an awkward argument between several of them. You don’t care about the exact labeling of your relationship with Rick, but you do correct the group of them quietly with,

“Them.”  

No one pays attention to you, as caught up as they were in what was and was not appropriate language and conversation at a dinner table.

In the eye of the maelstrom, you softly say,

“They’re.”

“No, right here!” Jerry replies, not paying attention to what you’re actually saying. “This here is my house, Rick, and you flaunting your sexual, your carnal . . . your, your hedonistic . . .”

Jerry rummages for the right word, and the entire table waits in anticipatory horror at what may finish the sentence.

“. . . capers!” he says triumphantly, as if he’s made a rousing closing statement.

Everyone is silent for a moment.

“You’re a real-real wordsmith, Jerry,” Rick says sarcastically.

Jerry stands up and slams his palms on the table. “You think you can just bring her here, like it’s all cool and normal? Like she’s your girlfriend? Like she’s—“

Once more, you quietly say, “They’re.”

Rick looks at you, finally, really looks at you. His eyes roam over you. His attention is laser-like in intensity, and you feel very small, even as you try to ignore him. You concentrate on controlling your breathing, since you’re tip-toeing closer and closer to a panic attack. Before he can say anything in your defense, however, the rest of the family turns on Jerry.

“Jesus christ, Jerry!” Beth exclaims.

“You’re so rude, Dad!” Summer says at the same time.

He looks wounded. “But Beth! He’s just here, flaunting her—“

“Them,” you whisper. No one but Rick seems to hear you.

“—and don’t tell me you think it’s okay, he’s your father, Beth, your elderly father—“

“I think he’s an adult and she’s an adult and—“

Your lips form the word “they’re”, but you don’t actually say the word this time.

Suddenly Rick grabs your hand and hauls you up out of your chair as he stands. Both of your chairs screech loudly on the floor. It’s enough to stop his daughter and son-in-law from fighting, for a moment.

“Well, this was a pile of horseshit,” Rick announces. “I’d say thanks for the dinner, sweetie, but we never even got a chance to eat it. Come on, let’s go.”

The last line was directed at you, but his grandkids look up hopefully.

“Sorry Morty. Sorry Summer. Maybe later Grandpa’ll take you out—we’ll go get ice cream, okay?” apologizes Rick, before he looks pointedly at Jerry. “We have some unfinished fucking to get done.  ”

Before anyone can respond, Rick drags you out of the dining room, leaving his family behind. He doesn’t tell you where you’re going; doesn’t ask how you’re doing. He just pulls your by the arm out to his vehicle, makes an impatient wave of his hand to get you inside, and takes off.

You’re glad to just be away from the noise. It’s easier to breathe, here, too.

After a while, it’s apparent he’s flying around aimlessly. You say,

“We didn’t really get a chance to eat, before all hell broke loose. I’m still hungry. Any chance of getting some food?”

Rick gives you a side glance. “You look a little different tonight,” he replies.

That’s a confusing reply. You can’t think of what to say to that.

“You—are you wearing a binder?”

Your jaw drops. You were, but you’d never told him about it. And the shirt you’re wearing is kind of loose, so it should have helped disguise the fact you weren’t wearing a bra. Lots of different scenarios run through your head, and for a moment, you’re frozen.

“I’m sorry,” Rick says, and for the life of you you have no idea exactly what he’s apologizing for. “I shouldn’t have introduced you as ‘she’.”

That paralyzed feeling doesn’t go away. In fact, your dread comes barreling back, steamrolling you and suddenly, you’re crying.

“Hey-hey—what’s this now?” Rick exclaims. He shifts the ship into neutral and turns to you.

You can’t control your sobs.

“I-I-I—“ you stutter.

The vehicle is too wide for him to do anything but put a hand on your shoulder. “Baby,” he soothes. “I—“

“I didn’t know how to tell you!” you sob.

“Baby, it’s—“

Now that the floodgates are down, however, you interrupt him again. Your voice is wracked with choking sobs, but you can’t seem to stop. “I wanted to tell you! I didn’t want to lie! But, but, but it’s so hard, and people don’t understand and sometimes it’s hard for me to understand too and I just, I don’t know, I was worried, and-and, I was worried about telling you and now I’m worried that you know, and I’m sorry! I’m sorry, Rick! I tried to keep it under wraps, but tonight, I don’t know—just everyone saying “she” and “her”, and it just, just set me off! And no one paid attention, no one ever pays attention—“

You run out of breath and have to take a giant, weepy gasp. Your throat is tight and sore, and your eyes haven’t stopped leaking. You must look a mess and that’s not helping anything—

“Baby! Sugar, it’s fine,” Rick placates.  He lets go of your shoulder and strokes your hair.

“It’s n-not-not fine!” you contradict loudly. “I should have told you, you should have known so you had the opportunity  to, to . . .”

Your voice trails off, and it’s not because of the crying this time. Rick prompts,

“To what, baby?”

Although your eyes feel swollen and you know you must look like hell, you look him straight in the eye and say,

“To know the truth so you could break it off with me.”

That hard nugget of terror, the one that lodges in your stomach whenever someone expresses an interest in you, has now been verbalized and is out in the open. It seems to expand in your gut, and suddenly, you can barely draw breath.

The panic that has been sniffing for an opening pounces. Your sobs take on a dry, heaving quality, and mindless that you’re not on the ground, you scrabble for the door handle. You need to get away from the disgust and confusion you can imagine is etched on Rick’s face.

Instead, you find yourself awkwardly hauled out of your seat again. This time you’re forced into the back bench seat of the vehicle, situated between Rick’s long legs, your back to his front. He holds you tightly. He may be rocking, but then again, it may be the vibration from the ship in neutral.

For a long while he doesn’t say anything. He just keeps you wrapped up in his arms and legs. At first you want to struggle away from him, but eventually you just feel weak and tired. Your tears have finally stopped; you’ve run out, you think. You just want to go home and collapse under a blanket and never come back out.

“Take me home, Rick,” you croak. Your throat is raw.

“Why, baby? Aren’t you com-comfortable here?”

You are, actually, on the lumpy backseat of his vehicle, surrounded by him. But that doesn’t override the fact that he’ll never want to see you again, so it’s better to rip that bandage off now. You tell him that.

He snorts, a little, and it tickles your ear. “Why do you think I wouldn’t want to see you again? Do you think I-I take the time to calm down every sobbing wreck I have in here? Christ, I’d never get anywhere if I had to stop and talk to Morty about his crying fits all the time.”

That’s kind of funny, and kind of mean, and all Rick. A tiny chortle escapes you.

You sigh. Rick’s hand tightens on over top of yours.

“I give literally no fuck about labels,” he tells you quietly. His voice is low, and very serious. He doesn’t move his lips from the side of your head, and it tickles you again. You shiver as he continues. “I don’t mean to brag—or astound you with my sexual, my hedonistic capers—“

A laugh breaks loose from you, as he uses his son-in-law’s terminology. Rick stops and you feel him chuckle a moment too.

“—but sugar, I have been with women, men, hive minds, individuals of species who don’t have genders, a gelatinous cube alien that I’m pretty sure was more intent on absorbing me than getting it on, and once or twice, even another Rick. So you being you? That’s exactly what I want.”

Your breath catches again, but it’s not in panic this time.

“I’m sorry I called you she,” Rick apologies again. “I should have been more observant.”

“It’s okay,” you forgive. Your throat still hurts, and you swallow to relieve it.

“And this—“ he says, running fingers down your side and feeling the fabric of your binder under your shirt. “You tried to keep it under wraps? That’s the worst pun I’ve ever heard. Did you come up with that on the fly, or were you just waiting for the ab-absolute perfect moment to drop it?”

You laugh again and elbow him lightly in the ribs. He shifts his hands and slips them, still on top of your shirt, down the front of your chest. It feels nice.

“You look good,” he murmurs in your ear. “I like this.”

“I don’t . . . I don’t wear it all the time,” you tell him, suddenly self-conscious about it.

You can feel him shrug. “I know. Either way, I like it.”

You shift around between his legs. He’s serious. You kiss him, and it’s as fiery as it was before everything came to a head tonight.

“Come on, baby. I’m starving. You want ice cream instead of dinner? We’ll swing by the house, pick up the kids, and head back out to the best ice cream place in the galaxy, okay?”

You agree, and although that feeling of terror hasn’t dissolved completely—you still have to deal with his family, although you imagine his grandkids are going to be fine—it’s much, much smaller, and you can breathe again.  

 fin.