#Rick x Story lord

[luckyshinyhunter]

🏳️‍🌈🧪You have to admit, whether you like Rick or not, the dude sure has a lot of rebounds on his belt!🧪🏳️‍🌈

[d1xonss]

Hi! I was thinking about a run that ends up being too long because of something like a heard , were Daryl and the reader have to stay the night in a library. The reader is a big fan of books and she knows a lot about literature (maybe you can say she was a student of a literature degree back before the outbreak). Daryl is like 'I've never really read any book' or 'noone read anybook for me when I was little' and reader ends up reading one of her favourites to him while he lays his head on her lap and she tuches his hair or something fluffy like that. Some of my favorite books include Carrie, The Picture of Dorian Gray and Lord of the Rings; just if you wanted inspiration for the book that she reads him.

I hope you like the idea!

Bedtime Stories

✧ Pairing : Daryl Dixon x Reader

✧ Era : Season 2 (time jump)

✧ Pronouns : she/her

✧ Genre : Fluff

✧ Word Count : 3.1k

AN ~ This idea is so cute, I love it! But I am sorry to the person who requested this because I took way longer to write this than I usually would. It’s just been sitting in my drafts for a while now, but I finally got around to writing out the idea. Thank you for being patient and I hope you enjoy!

Your lungs started to burn, your legs beginning to weaken as you continued to run as fast as you could, desperately trying to keep up as the two of you quite literally ran for your lives. Somehow the run you both volunteered to take just turned into one giant disaster, one thing falling apart after another.

It was the dead of winter, the group hopping from place to place ever since the loss of the farm, and everything always running low. All the supplies you managed to have saved went out the window in a flash, leaving you with almost nothing when you had numerous people to feed. So desperate times called for desperate measures, leading to you and Daryl leaving early that morning, trudging through the cold weather and into a small town nearby in hopes that they had at least something to bring back for the others. But luck wasn’t really on your side.

There were a couple small buildings the two of you came across, a few cans of food here and there that you could easily toss into your bags. Though none of it was nearly enough to feed all the people you had. The thought alone saddened you to no end, coming to the realization of how complicated everything was now that you were out on the road constantly. You found yourself not even really knowing how good you had it back when you had sanctuary, a safe place to sleep at night, food…it was all very frustrating.

But you knew you were preaching to the choir as everyone else was easily feeling the same way as you, defeated and exhausted twenty-four-seven now. Though that wasn’t necessarily the only thing going wrong at the moment. The group itself was much more tense than it ever was before, the whole atmosphere seeming to change ever since that night Rick broke down completely. The loss of Shane and Lori being pregnant was taking a toll on him that no one else could understand, leading to him taking it out on everyone else. A part of you almost wondered if you and Daryl subconsciously took this run on purpose just to get away from all of that for a few hours.

Though that wasn’t the only reason you wanted to go, another part of you wanted to be able to bring something back. You wanted to be the one to lift their spirits, hoping that you and Daryl would come across something that would bring back that light. But then again, luck wasn’t on your side.

Unbeknownst to the two of you as you searched, a large herd of walkers were slowly limping their way down the streets of the small town, making even more noise the closer they approached. Eventually you both perked up at the sudden familiar sounds, walking out of the building you were once in to see the group coming straight towards you, their jaws hanging and their arms stretched out with the intention to tear into you.

“Go.” was all Daryl said as he pushed you to run first, sprinting down the narrow streets in hopes to find somewhere to hide. Most of the stores you came across were completely locked up tight, and it was too late to turn back into the one you once occupied. So according to you, you were pretty much fucked. 

The two of you looked around frantically as you ran, adrenaline pumping through your system as your heart pounded roughly against your chest. There was close to nothing else around, nowhere else to shield yourselves behind as they slowly crept up closer, surprisingly fast with how slow they appeared to move. It now seemed that last bit of bad luck had wiped out all the hope that was left in your being.

That is until Daryl came across a door neither of you had tried before, tugging at it as it surprisingly flew open loudly. Relief filled your chest as you didn’t hesitate to book it inside the space, Daryl following in close behind you before he slammed the door shut again. The two of you then frantically looked around for only a moment, before shoving a few pieces of furniture near the double doors to block off the walkers that would surely try to push their way inside. As expected, they began to pound on the structure from the outside, sending the two of you flying back a few steps as you caught your breath, making sure they weren’t strong enough to push through.

Though after listening for a few passing seconds, it was clear they weren’t getting inside anytime soon, leaving you able to slightly relax as you hunched over to place your hands on your knees, your breathing still heavy.

Daryl noticed out of the corner of his eye, reaching out to place a hand on your shoulder, “You alright?”

You nodded as you stood back up straight, “Yeah…that was just…too close.” you sighed, running a hand stressfully through your hair.

He huffed, “Yeah…shit’s messy all over the damn place apparently.” he commented, clearly referring to how much had happened in the span of only about a month, or maybe two. You weren’t totally sure, but what you did know was that the whole thing felt like an eternity.

You found yourself wordlessly nodding in agreement, turning away from him momentarily as you grew curious as to where you had ended up. It had grown dark outside with how long the two of you stayed out searching, leading the place being completely pitch black as well. Nothing but a brief glimpse of moonlight shining through the small windows.

You reached back to the side of your backpack, pulling out your flashlight and flicking it on to see a plethora of bookshelves lined up in the large space, your face also seeming to light up in the process. It had been way too long since the last time you came across so many shelves stuffed full of mountains and mountains of books.

But apparently Daryl was less than amused, scoffing to himself as he looked around as well, “Great…we’re stuck inside some damn Barnes and Noble.”

You gave him a look, “It’s a library, Daryl.” you said in an unimpressed tone.

He raised an eyebrow towards you in response, “Yer tellin me there’s a difference?” he asked in amusement.

Your mouth parted to respond, but your mind came up blank as you slowly came to the realization that there really wasn’t much of a difference at all. He chuckled as he watched you grow silent, nudging your side before taking out his own flashlight. “You go ahead and take the left, I’ll take the right. Gotta make sure this place is safe.” he muttered before slowly walking off.

You followed his lead as you turned to head in the other direction, shining your light in different parts of the area to make sure there weren’t any lingering walkers nearby inside with the two of you. Though you couldn’t hear anything besides the corpses still banging on the outside, it was better to be safe than sorry. But everything was eerie and quiet as you passed by the many tall bookshelves, the scene itself almost making you more paranoid that something was going to just jump out at you out of nowhere. The area looked almost untouched however, causing you to smile a little to yourself at the thought of raiders and survivors just passing this place by because well…it was just a library. But you found yourself just the smallest bit excited, always knowing you were a bit of a bookworm at heart.

Your gaze continued to lazily scan the space for any danger, when all of a sudden, a certain section to your right caught your eye and made you stop in your tracks. The sign read in big blocked letters: Horror. That brought a big smile to your face as you found that was your favorite genre to read back when you actually had the time to read. You loved the thrill, the suspense, everything it had to offer as it left goosebumps on your skin. Something about those kinds of books always drew you in, in a way you couldn’t really understand.

The covers and titles easily had you distracted, hovering toward them just to take a peek at what this place had to offer. And to your surprise there were a fair amount of good finds. The Exorcist, Rebecca, Frankenstein, Salem’s Lot. You found yourself going deeper down the rabbit hole as your eyes scanned the spines of them thoroughly, wondering how many you would be able to actually fit in your bag to take back. Because the truth was you missed being able to read, wanting something simple like this again to pass the time like you used to.

“The hell you doin?”

You physically felt yourself jump out of your skin at his sudden presence, holding a hand up to your chest as you let out a shuddering breath. “Holy shit…don’t do that.” you said as you reached over to push his chest gently.

He laughed softly in response as he raised an eyebrow at you, “I can tell ya what yer not doin.” he hinted, “How’s the left side lookin?”

You shrugged, “It seems...safe enough…” you smiled sheepishly.

“Uh huh.” he muttered.

“I got distracted, okay?” you said with a light laugh before your gaze fell back on where you were once looking, “I mean I can’t even remember the last time I saw this many books.”

The man paused for a minute as he watched your expression, how it seemed to light up even more in the darkness as you looked back to all the covers you still had yet to pick through. A sense of fondness washed over him as he watched you obviously gush over something you were passionate about. He wanted you to speak more about it, wanting to listen to your voice go on and on about the things you loved most about them, but he was almost too embarrassed to ask.

Though after a few moments of silence, his frame leaned up against the shelf to his left as he continued to stare, “Didn't know you were a reader.” he commented.

You shrugged as you didn’t break your gaze away from the book you pulled out to look at, “I guess I just never mentioned it…” you trailed off as you read the short summary on the back, before placing it up in it’s place again, “But I used to read all the time. What about you, you got any favorites?” you asked as you looked back towards him with a small and exciting smile.

It was an innocent question really, but all Daryl could do was pathetically shrug, not really wanting to go into depth about the real answer.

But you tilted your head at him as you wanted to know, genuinely growing curious, “Oh come on. You have to at least have one.” 

Daryl scoffed as he looked back up to you, “I…I ain’t ever really…” he trailed off again before letting out a harsh sigh, “Look, I ain’t ever read anythin before, alright? I don’t got no favorite.”

You were slightly taken aback, almost not believing him at first. But his face and tone were nothing but serious, showing you that he was telling the truth about having not read a single book in his life. “...Really?” you asked softly, “Not even in school or anything?”

He huffed out a small chuckle, “Ya mean when I actually went ta school? Yeah…don’t really think readin was at the top of my priority list.”

You rolled your eyes playfully, “Okay, fine. But seriously, no one ever read anything to you? Not even your…”

The two of you froze when you trailed off, though it was obvious what you were about to say. You knew of his past, how hard things were on him when he was a kid, you honestly didn’t even mean to let that last part slip as if you had forgotten. You hadn’t. But now you just wished you could take it all back as you felt ashamed and utterly embarrassed, a part of you also feeling terrible that he had never had that kind of comfort before.

In your childhood home, it was somewhat of a nightly routine that your parents would read you a short story every night before bed. You always loved that part, getting all snuggled up while your eyes slowly fluttered closed, hearing the soothing sound of their voices as they spoke until you were fast asleep. Now realizing that Daryl had never even had a sliver of that, brought a small frown to your face. But in a way, it also made you a little determined to make it up to him somehow.

Your eyes slowly trailed back to the bookshelf for a moment or two, before your eyes widened ever so slightly when you caught a glimpse of an all too familiar title. Carrie by Stephen King was one of your favorite books of all time, the plot being so interesting it left you at the edge of your seat as you went on. It was almost like some sort of sign to you as an idea formed in your head.

“Well…” you spoke quietly as you reached up to grab it, “It looks like we could be stuck in here for a while.” you mentioned, jutting your thumb back towards the doors where the walkers were still lingering. “What if I read to you?”

His eyes whipped back up to look at you, his face almost unreadable as he processed what you had just said. At first he wanted to decline, not because he didn’t want to hear the gentleness of your voice reading aloud to him, that sounded like a damn dream. But he didn’t want you to do something like this out of guilt, like you pitied him for not having that kind of luxury you used to have. It honestly wasn’t that big of a deal, something he hadn’t really thought about until now. But not even he could deny that as he stewed over it, he found himself missing out on something else from his childhood that he could never get back.

“Nah,” he shook his head as he stood up a bit straighter, “You don’t gotta do that, it’s alright.” he assured.

But your brows furrowed as you shook your head, “But I want to. I think it’ll be…nice.” you said honestly, wanting to reassure him that you actually wanted to do this.

He took in a breath as he studied your facial expression, seeing you were truly being genuine and sincere, and that warmed his heart more than you were able to imagine. You truly were the sweetest person he had ever met, constantly treating him with kindness ever since you had first met. And that only made his tough exterior soften in an instant.

“Alright…if you’re sure…” he finally agreed hesitantly.

You smiled brightly at him, “I’m sure.” you promised, nodding your head back for him to follow you to find a place to sit for the time being. Neither of you knew how long you would be trapped in here. A few hours? Overnight? You weren’t sure, but one thing you did know was that the two of you did not want to go back to the group just yet. You could almost feel the tension radiating from all the way over here when they were miles and miles away.

The flashlight in your hand shined down towards a spot where there were a few cushioned seats, causing you to pick the one placed in the corner before you plopped down, removing the bag from your shoulders in the process. As your body was turned away for just a brief moment, you then felt Daryl sit down beside you, before he adjusted himself to where his head was gently resting in your lap. Your eyes quickly glanced back down to look at him, catching the small smile he had on his face as he stared up at you softly. You couldn’t help but smile back, shaking your head a little to try and focus. But it was hard to do when his eyes were piercing, so clearly full of gentleness and care.

“Okay, so this right here is a classic.” you said as you pointed to the cover, “It’s one of my favorite horror novels, and I actually think you’ll really like it.”

His eyes moved over the cover as he nodded along, “Do I get ta hold yer hand if I get scared?” he suddenly teased with a small smirk.

You laughed quietly, “Sure, tough guy, you can hold my hand.”

He chuckled lightly as he nodded, watching you intently as you opened up the book, using the light of the flashlight you placed behind you to be able to see the tiny words on the pages. You squinted a little at first, before your soft voice began to read out loud to him, already feeling himself relax a little more at something so simple. If he was being completely honest with himself, he didn’t really care what you were reading. You could be reciting words from the English dictionary for all he cared. There was just something about hearing your voice in general that sent a wave of peace through him.

Eventually as the minutes flew by with the two of you engrossed in the events happening, your other hand traveled down to his hair, running your fingers through it gently. Daryl felt his heart flutter in his chest at the mindless action, almost as if it was second nature to you, making his eyes involuntarily close as he sighed deeply. He hadn’t felt this calm, this comforted by someone he cared about deeply in quite a long time. In fact, he seemed to question to himself if he ever had this feeling. The realization seemed to hit him then, but he almost didn’t care. He was just happy he had someone in his life now that was willing to give him all of that and more.

You noticed quickly however how his breathing seemed to change as he still laid beneath you, your eyes moving down to look at his face and see that he had fallen asleep after only barely getting through about three chapters. A small smile stretched across your face, closing the book and placing it back down beside you as your hand continued to gently run through the locks of his thick hair. Your eyes moved over the calm features of his face, taking in the fact that you had given him something that you once used to cherish. The unwinding feeling of someone reading you to sleep.

“Thank you…” his voice suddenly spoke quietly, moving to get even more comfortable in your lap as he drifted off.

In an instant your eyes seemed to glisten with tears at the simple gratitude, seeing how precious he really was. “Of course.” you whispered back, blinking away your tears as you hesitated for a moment, before leaning down to place a soft kiss on his forehead.

And after that night you two spent together, you found yourself always trying to do the little things for him to make him feel safe. Because those were the things you found that mattered the most.

~ Thanks for reading!

[accio-lo-ki]

friends? best friends.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan / The Louvre, Lorde / Jennifer's Body (2009), dir. Karyn Kusama / An Ode To A Conversation Stuck in Your Throat, Del Water Gap / Anyone Else But You, The Moldy Peaches / Change My Mind, One Direction / I'm Drunk, I Love You (2017), dir. JP Habac / It's Nice To Have A Friend, Taylor Swift / Love, Rosie (2014), dir. Christian Ditter / You Are In Love, Taylor Swift / Dress, Taylor Swift / Beautiful World, Where Are You, Sally Rooney / X-Men: First Class (2011), dir. Matthew Vaughn / Peace, Taylor Swift / Little Women (2019), dir. Greta Gerwig / 13 Going On 30 (2004), dir. Gary Winick / Lucky, Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat / One Day (2024), Netflix / Funny Story, Emily Henry / Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely / Only Friend, Wallows / X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), screenplay by Simon Kinberg / Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), dir. Joe and Anthony Russo / The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller

[strawberriianime]

School Life

you knew you where the sugar honey ice tea, and nobody had to tell you that. you where entering your junior year of college and you just knew this was going to be a great year.

baseline tw: reader is 21! age gap with Toji. Geto & Gojo in this story are 24 (let’s say there gettin their masters okie!), Nanami is 23, Choso is 25, and Sukuna is 21.

Part 1/? ex!boyfriend sukuna x reader

this parts cw: hinted cheating in the past, descriptions of body parts, sukunas is a little needy, unprotected sex, minor groping, hooking up with ex, creampies, oral sex, squirting, spanking, sukuna talks dirtyyyyy.

-

Stretching your limbs oh so freely, you hit snooze on your alarm. 6:30am giving you just enough time to get yourself ready for the day. You slipped on your bedroom slippers, making way to your bathroom. Grabbing the toothpaste, you where quick to brush your teeth. Skincare, Hair and Makeup following shortly after. Taking a step over to your closet you wanted your outfit to be perfect! This year is going to be the highlight of your life and you mean it. Picking out a cute mini skirt, graphic tee, ricks & your jewelry. You doused yourself in the perfect amount of perfume of course after your moisturized your skin. You grabbed your shoulder bag and took a couple flicks in the mirror saving them to post later. Making your way to the door, you made sure to lock your apartment up (you have valuables in there!) and made your to JJTI.

The walk there wasn’t too far, it was maybe a good 10min with light traffic today. Luckily you had been gotten familiar with the school, so you know your way around pretty well. Today you only had 2 classes just to your luck which means you could take a gooooood nap when you get home. Scrolling through your insta timeline you bumped into someone dropping your phone and causing you to fall onto your butt.

“Hey you might want to keep your head up a beautiful face like that should be show off to the world.” a smooth voice rang out. Looking up you where met with a set of icy blue eyes.

Before you could react, you felt someone picking you up from the ground. You turned to be met with another tall handsome guy. dear Lord this school must be SWIMMING with sexy men this year???? or maybe i’m dreaming ???

“Uh thank you i’m sorry for running into you.” you said dusting the little specks of dirt that stuck to your legs.

“Missed a spot” you felt a rough hand brush whatever dirt was on your behind.

“thank you??” it came out more as a question.

“Hey you take cute pictures, how come i’ve never seen you around?” the one with white hair spoke making you notice he was scrolling through you phone.

“You can’t just go through people phones without their permission!” you snatched your phone back making sure to lock it and place it deep within you bag.

“you might to be careful launching at people like that one more wrong move and your whole ass would’ve been out.” the other guy chuckled crossing his arms.

“do you two just get a kick out of bothering people?” you huffed fixing your skirt once more.

“only if they’re really cute like you” the white haired one teased making you take a deep breath.

“whatever i’m going to be late to class so excuse me” you brushed passed them making your way to the center of the school. Taking you phone from out of your bag you checked the time, shit! you where late!! ugh this was not a good look.

Just to your luck you where able to slide into your class silently yet swiftly enough not to draw any attention to your self. Pulling out your class materials you begin taking notes only for your phone to ding.

690-367-1793: lame asf Sotaru.

690-802-6199: hey there cutie remember me? 😏

sukuna 🫠: hey baby, can we talk later?

Instagram: 2 new followers! @s.gojo @s.geto

Tch, he wants to talk?? For what??

You: for what…

sukuna 🫠: to talk duh

you: boy about what

sukuna: let me pull up 😒

you: mmmmh, come after 2.

Putting your phone up, you continued taking notes. Classes for the day went by smoothly, and you where ready to go home. You decided to catch up some messages, and scroll down your media.

690-802-6199: cutie you should be out of class now because we are for the day~ 👀

690-802-6199: let’s meet up this weekend!🥂

690-367-1793: Satoru ur gonna creep her out 😒

690-802-6199: Nu uh 🖕

You: Nah, he’s rigth how tf did you get my #?

690-802-6199: when you dropped your phone you where clearly so distracted that you didn’t see me putting our numbers in 🤣

You: mmcht, anyways.

690-367-1793: so how about introductions, since i’m the only rational person here… i’m Geto

690-802-6199: you can call me Gojo 😋

You: K. Im __.

“Ah just in time.” You where so into your phone you didn’t notice that Sukuna was standing right at your door.

“You scared the shit outta me!” you hit his chest taking your keys and unlocking your door. Pushing the door open, you allowed him to come inside making sure to lock the door behind. He was oh too familiar with your apartment as he sat down on the couch.

“I’m gonna take a quick shower, stay right there.” you pointed at him. Making way to your bedroom you quickly discarded your clothes changing into a pair of shorts paired with a pink tank top. He was sitting scrolling on his phone when you sat down next to him getting his attention.

“So, talk.” you faced him scratching your head slightly.

“I wanted to talk about us.” he said boldly.

“Us? What do you mean us? There is no us.” you asked crossing your arms.

“Come on baby, I missed you.” He scooted closer rubbing his warm hands along your leg. Sukuna knew you had a weak spot for him, he was your first boyfriend when you got to college.

“Baby, I know you missed me. I miss us together.” he got even closer, running higher up your leg.

“Sukuna, you know we’re not going to get back together.” you sighed against his touch his warm hands making his way up to your shorts.

“Come onnn, let’s work some things out. I’m sorry for all the shit in the past.” he said making you squint your eyes.

“Just let me make you feel good” his lips ghosted over yours before placing a soft kiss on your lips. Although your mind was telling you fuck him, you really wanted to fuck him.

He deepened the kiss pushing his tongue into your mouth, warm tongue circling your own. He stood up, yanking your body up pulling your body close into his own. Your hands traced his tone chest, as his own made their way to your ass. Palming the plushness, he tapped your ass twice a signal that was oh so familiar from the many nights you two spent together. You jumped causing him to catch your thighs allowing him to deepen the kiss even more.

“Let’s go to the bedroom” he breaks the kiss momentarily to make his way to your use to be shared bedroom. Placing you gently on the bed, he begins peppering kisses along your neck intentionally trying to leaves lingering marks so others can ask about them.

He runs his hands up your curves caressing each part of your body before stopping at your breast. He removes your pink talk allowing your perky breast to bounce free, a mouth watering sight. He fondles both breast in his hands making sure to pinch and twist at the hardening buds begging to be nibbled on. He lowers his mouth to one of your nipples sucking on it, rolling the bud along his warm tongue. He’s quick to rotate to your other nipple giving it just as much attention sucking in the perky bud like a baby looking for milk.

With a pop, he’s making his way down your body leaving kisses along your stomach all the way down to your shorts. He’s quick to discard your shorts leaving you in your cream lace panties, a favorite of his. He places soft kisses around your area, taking his index finger teasing the damp spot that had formed in your panties. Using his teeth, he rolls your panties down your legs as your quick to shake them off. He kisses up your leg before stopping at your warmth. He uses his hands to push your legs open, rubbing a finger up and down your slick gathering the juices that once held your folds together.

“Baby girl you’re nice and wet for me” he said rubbing at your clit causing a slight moan to escape your throat. Using two of his fingers he circles them at your entrance before slowing pushing them inside making you arch your back off the bed. He begins thrusting them in and out, causing a slight squelching sound to fill the room.

“Soaking wet just like I remembered. Now let me get a taste.” he’s quick to use your thighs as leverage before pulling you into his face making you grip at the pink strands of hair. If Sukana couldn’t do anything else, he could definitely eat pussy.

He’s sucking roughly at your clit, lapping at your folds as if it’s his last meal on earth. He grips your thighs extra tight as he’s focusing on satisfying you, tongue thrusting in and out out of your hole begging to be stuffed. He knows your on the verge of coming once you’re gripping his hair as well as your legs quivering on both sides of his face.

“I want you to cum on my face baby, I want to taste every last drop don’t hold back.” he mumbles into your cunt lapping at it with more speed.

“Ah-fuck!” your back arches off your bed, fingers deep into his beautiful pink locks. You try to catch your breath however Sukuna is still lapping at your heat just shy of overstimulating you. He lets your legs go, smirking licking his lips slowly.

“Can’t nobody eat your pussy the way I do.” You felt his hardness poking at your entrance, slightly pushing at your opening.

“Uh not so fast do you gotta condom?” you push at his chest slightly.

“Come on baby you know I like to fuck you raw” (use condoms kids this is fan fiction!!!!!!) he says smugly before sinking himself fully into you.

“Ugh-fuck you’re lucky I’m in the mood” you sigh out feeling the familiar stretch of him stretching you out.

“Fuck I missed this pussy, so wet and so tight” he groans with one hand on your headboard pulling out and slamming back into you. Pussy so good he gotta take a quick break in it. You spread your legs wider allowing him more room to thrust into you. His thrust are moderate, deep and hard.

“Sukuna….more” you whine out clawing at his chest. Begging to get more of him to fill you out.

“My baby want it rough?” he stops his thrust looking down at your needy eyes. You nod your head, seeing that familiar smirk once more.

He’s quick to throw your legs over his shoulder, allowing himself to sink much deeper into you. He leans in to kiss you as he begin pulling out only to thrust back into you. The kiss is passionate (almost like you two are back together again), your legs shaking once more as the new founded feeling was almost too much to handle. His body is pressed into yours leaving you no wiggle room. He’s thrusting at such a speed that your legs fall from his shoulders, only to end up wrapped around his waist pulling him in even deeper.

“Fuck baby, you know I like when you do that.” his dick twitches inside of your indicating he was near his release. You’re holding him tight, nails scratching at his toned back. At this point he’s in deep, i’m talking deeper than the ocean.

“Ugh you’re fucking me so good” you moan throwing your head back allowing him room to lick and suck at your neck.

“Yea baby you like this dick, this the best dick you ever had huh?” he’s smug about it, kissing at your neck taking one hand and rubbing at your clit eagerly.

You didn’t want to say it because Sukuna has a huge ego but you can’t lie it was the best dick you ever had. “Mmhhhh yea the best.” you whine feeling your orgasm build up.

“Fuck i’m about to cum” he’s pumping into at a more steady pace still rubbing at your clit, he knows your body overly well so he knows your about to cum too.

“Fuck…fuck….fuck-ahh”

“Mmmhhn fuck nut on this dick”

Your eyes roll back feeling his warm cum fill you up, chest heaving his exhausting. He doesn’t pull out just yet, but lays on his back pulling you into him hand running up and down your side. You both are catching your breathing the room is silent, but a comfortable silence.

“Quick.” you tease to break the silence.

“Well, if you knew what it felt like to be in some good pussy you’ll understand.”

“And that’s just the starter now flip over.” he’s quick to have you on you knees. Honestly you thought this was going to be a one round thing, but hey.

You flipped over now propped on your hands and knees, Sukuna still never pulled out making your extra sensitive. He gripped your hair roughly, pulling you back into him as he began thrusting roughly.

“Fuck Sukuna!” it’s almost too much to handle but you know you can take it.

“Make sure to keep that back arched mmkay” he smirks gripping you hair tightly as your tried to maintain the arch, hands digging into your white sheets. He takes his free hand and begins slapping your ass quite roughly, causing a loud SMACK to rumble through your home definitely leaving a bruise. He decides to let go of your hair, and roughly pushing your back down to get back into position.

“Didn’t I say keep your back arched? Tch can’t even do that.”

“Mmmh throw that ass back”

You kept a steady pace, making sure to match his jagged thrust ass jiggling with every thrust causing you to bite your lip. Rocking your hips you felt another harsh sting on your ass turning around to see the pink haired culprit smirking once more. He removes his hands from the headboard to rest tightly in your hips. He begin moving your body along his dick as he fucks roughly into you.

“You like it when I beat this pussy up?” he said thrust getting more sloppy by the second. When you don’t respond he’s quick to slap your ass again.

“Fuck-mmhah yeah!” you grip the sheets feeling your release build up once more.

“Now who’s pussy is this?” he’s quick with that one. This time he doesn’t give you a chance to reply. “Ah baby you’re clenching on me…..and so fucking wet. You’re tight as hell as if we didn’t just fuck!”

“Even when we’re not together this pussy is still mine <3” with that final statement you’re quick to feel your orgasm once more but this time it feels more…wet? His orgasm came as well filling you up with even more cum than before. Looking down at your bedding you noticed it’s soaked.

“Oh baby I made you squirt.” he pulls out of you cum oozing from your hole.

“You relax i’ll clean it up.” he’s quick to get you your robe. You roll over to check your phone to see missed text messages. Hmm from Gojo and Geto..

[skywalking-through-life]

hope you're doing well 💗💗💗 would love to know your favorite books and the ones that have inspired you as a writer <3

Hello my darling! 💙 What a wonderful, wonderful ask, because there are SO many I could list off! All of my writing is always an amalgamation of every book, fic, movie, TV show, piece of music, article, and life experience I've ever had, but there are definitely some writers whose stories and/or writing styles have stuck with me more than others.

In general, I was very influenced by the fantasy, science fiction, and historical mysteries that I read when I was younger, and look back on all the things I read then with great fondness! Some of my favorites as a kid/teenager were: Susan Cooper (The Dark is Rising), Tamora Pierce (everything!), JRR Tolkien, JK Rowling (I know, I know - but I can't go back and unread them), Diana Wynne Jones (but I preferred Chrestomanci over Howl's Moving Castle), CS Lewis, Rick Riordan, Robin Hobb (The Blue Sword), Lloyd Alexander (Prydain), Ellis Peters (Cadfael), Lindsey Davis (The Silver Pigs), Candace Robb (The Nun's Tale), Timothy Zahn (Star Wars - Thrawn), Aaron Allston (Star Wars - X-Wings), Michael Stackpole (Star Wars - X-Wings)...I could go on for awhile here, lol. I read constantly as a kid, both things I should and things I shouldn't have been reading, so much so that there were weeks when I was reading a new book every day! I also loved myths and legends, so I read Le Mort d'Arthur, The Odyssey, Gilgamesh - all the usual suspects.

As I got older I mixed fiction with nonfiction and poetry, and started reading a lot of subject-specific academic material in undergrad and in my master's program after that. Quite a few writers from that time now influence me as well, building on the foundation of everything that came before: James Baldwin, bell hooks, Barbara Brown Taylor, Anne Lamott, Mary Oliver, Henri Nouwen, Kate Bowler, William Stafford, Howard Thurman, Audre Lorde, Wendell Barry, Rachel Held Evans, Thomas Merton, Nelson Mandela...there are also too many to name here, lol, and if you follow the common thread that unites all these folks, you'll probably learn a lot about how I see the world. And that, too, is something that always makes its way into my writing! 😅

I'm sort of inspired by everything, haha, but I've tried to give a pretty good list of authors, so that maybe they'll inspire you, too! 💙

[canecorset]

whitelist

Scream, The Witches, Hocus Pocus, Beetlejuice, It, Corpse Bride, Coraline, Gremlins, Goosebumps, Breaking Bad, Fallout, Air Buddies Spinoffs, Pup Star Movies + Puppy Star Christmas, Men In Black, Ghostbusters, Venom, Jumanji, Paddington, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, Vampire Dog, Supernatural, Zootopia, Any Monster High Media except the newer ones, Yo-Kai Watch, Back To The Future, Rick and Morty, Powerpuff Girls, The Matrix, Fight Club, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, The Ring, The Shining, Good Omens, Needy Steamer Overload, Sucker For Love, Class of '09, Any Chilla's Art game, Any Puppet Combo game, Genshin Impact ( i will give any natlan or sumeru character their melanin back ), Honkai Star Rail, Zenless Zone Zero, Pokémon, Kirby, Any Legend of Zelda game, Animal Crossing, Doki Doki Literature Club, Five Nights at Freddy's, Tuck Everlasting, The Outsiders, Lord of the Rings + The Hobbit, Pirates of the Caribbean, Doctor Who, MCU, DCU, My Little Pony, Frankenweenie, The Nightmare before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, Alice in Wonderland, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, The Grinch, Phantom of the Opera, Disney ( i do not support the company, it is merely ingrained in my childhood and i enjoy the whimsical stories of old school Disney ), Smile, The Mandela Catalogue, Possibly in Michigan, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Hannibal, Vtubers ( no nijisanji ), OCs ( must provide artwork, if it was drawn by someone else, tell me who ), Demon Slayer, Jujustu Kaisen, Bungou Stray Dogs, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Sailor Moon, Death Note, Chainsaw Man, Reverse: 1999, Resident Evil, The Last Of Us, Call of Duty, Red Dead Redemption, God of War, Devil May Cry, Detroit: Become Human, Doom, Madoka Magica, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Nier: Automata, Spy x Family, Darling in the Franxx, Panty & Stocking, Toilet Bound Hanako-Kun, Overlord, Wuthering Waves, Dark Souls, Halo, Fundamental Paper Education, Final Fantasy, Vocaloid, A Land Mine Vampire's Overbearing Love, I Wanted to be Hurt by Love, Zom 100, The Case Study of Vanitas, Sanrio, Cherry Crush, Danganrompa, Mean Girls, The Walten Files, If It's Not On This List Or Blacklist, Ask First!

blacklist

The Coffin of Andy and Leyley, Boyfriends Webtoon, Dori ( genshin ), Makima and Himeno ( chainsaw man ), Homestuck, South Park, Mori ( bungo stray dogs ), Anything Pedophilic, Incestuous, Abusive, etc. Anything With Toxic or Harmful Intentions ( stalker x victim, etc. )

greylist / restricted

Any non-SFW media but if i'm able to find some content that isn't explicit, i suppose i can edit it. I won't do ship or Hu Tao related content unless we are moots.

DNI

Basic DNI, anti-mspec / "contradictory labels", radqueer, safequeer, aggressive stans, misandrists, deny transandrophobia, "irl yanderes", demonize PDs or believe in narc abuse, etc. TERFs, if you're here to start discourse, ed / sh blogs, femcels and incels, NSFW blogs, nasty people.

prioritize

Transmasc, Transsexual ( masc, male, etc. ), Sappillean, Gaybian, Boygirl, Demigirl, Black Exclusive Labels, Rabbit Hole Miku, Vampire Miku, Ghost, Fairy, Water, Dark, Fighting and Flying Type Miku, Indie Kid, Kidcore, Lovecore, Dark Academia, Weirdcore, Horror, Clowncore, Americana, Morute, Southern Gothic, Biblical Imagery, Vulture Culture, Cybercore, Scenecore, Nonhuman, Otherkin, Otherhearted, Bat Related, Bug Related, Monster Related, Loser Related, Freak Related, Mutt Related, Aro + Ace Related, Anything Cute, Aquatic or Fluffy, Mean Girls, Desaturated Colors, Occult, Cyber Y2K, Hippie / BoHo, Low Poly, Forensics Aesthetic, Feminine Masc, Austism Related, BPD or AVPD Related, 80s Aesthetics, Burlesque Aesthetics, Gender Non-Conforming, Drag, Deadpool, Wolverine, Batman, Moot Requests.

things i'll do

tumblr layouts, character pride icons, mogai flags, aesthetic carekits, dual flag + music suggestion, rentry graphics, dividers, blasian / darkskin edits upon request.

things i won't do

alt system terms, discord or twitter layouts, rentry directory graphics.

[mysteryverse6]

So I'll make an important digression on my comic and now I'll answer a few questions.

1:yes this is indeed a remake of the first episode but unlike the original there are some differences, for example the addition of new characters namely Kris Dremurr and Susie and many others.

2:Why are Susie and Asriel people I will answer: because I made all the characters from deltarune people so that there would be more riddles and secrets in the comic, but don't worry in the dark world all the characters from deltarune will become monsters this is an idea I took from the original source that Toby Focus was interested in the idea of making everyone people in the light world and monsters in the dark

3:Will there be Marvel and DC in the crossover: No, sorry, but if I add it, it will be some kind of a mess and I will have to make other stories. I understand the Marvel and DC multiverse, so for the mystery kids multiverse, they will be fictional, like a movie, series, cartoon, game, and comic.

4:the second episode will also be like the original: No about the second one will be dedicated to Gideon Gleeful from the unreleased episode Mystery Kids: Mirror of Nightmare well there too it will be a little different as well as the third episode about the beldam but the following episodes will be referred to different films series games and books most often horror for example The Ring, Cujo, Friday the 13th, The Bay, others and yes these episodes will be inspired by the Russian YouTuber on the Lynch channel and three series The X-Files Charmed and Supernatural.

5:What else will be in the crossover: Well, I can tell you about the books. All the works of Stephen King, Percy Jackson, the Harry Potter franchise and the fantastic beasts, Keeper of the Forgotten Cities, All the Days to Come, I Have No Mouth But I Can Scream and Blood Meridian.

Based on anime: Dragon Ball, One Piece, Ranma 1 & 2, Houkago Shounen Hanako-kun, Dandadan, Boku no Hero Academia, Kaijuu 8-gou, Nanatsu no Taizai: Ensa no Edinburgh, Kill la Kill Specials, Hanma Baki, Fullmetal Alchemist, Undead Unluck, Spy x Family, Shiki, Black Clover, Jujutsu Kaisen, Shuumatsu no Walk��re, JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken, Maimashita! Iruma-kun, Chainsaw Man, Made in Abyss, RWBY, Shaman King, BNA, Enen no Shouboutai, One Punch Man, Bleach, Gurren Lagann Just Remembered, Soul Eater, By the Guide of the Lord God Only to an Alternate Universe, Death Note.

by animated series and cartoons will be: gravity falls, coraline, paranorman, amphibian, owl house, star vs. the forces of evil, fungbone, bakugan first generation, yu gi io first generation, blade also first generation, transformers, rick and morty, space frontier, gargoyles, super robot monkey, monkie kids, tarzan only in flashbacks, adventures of jackie chan, members super teens (danny phantom atomic puppet american dragon jake long randy cunningham super ninja kim five plus ben ten lady bug and super cat generator rex saturday mystery juniper lee ruby gillman: young kraken city of heroes the life and adventures of a teenage robot total space el tigre: adventures of manny rivera shezow zak storm: super pirate strong players ghostforce farion double rose pixie girl gayajin moonlight Hunters) with greetings from the planet, hotel transylvania, signs and molly magicians, antlandida only flashbacks, htf, (all characters from disney and pixar only concerns fairy tales and kingdom hearts will appear special edition and once) nightmare before christmas, toy stories, super family, addams family, casper, inside out, i'm blushing, invader of winter, the fairy tale patrons and continuation, mlp, adventure time, beyond the garden wall, ppgd, steven universe, evil, the grim adventures of billy and mandy, scooby-doo, ok ko hero, infinity train, my loud house, evolution of the ninja turtle 2019, courtney crumrine, beetlejuice cartoon, victor and valentino, groyband, growing up creepy, hildy, samurai jack, erma williamsarcane, invincible, courage cowardly dog,Long Gulch,Sonic,Mario,Pacman,(Voltron Shira,Hyman and Thundercats will appear only in the epilogue)

According to the film and series will be: X-File, Charmed, Supernatural, Ghostbusters, Monster Verse Godzilla, Pacifica Rum, Ultraman, Horror, Kids Games, Doctor Who, Friday the 13th, The Ring, Stranger Things, Jumanji the Next Level, Hour of Thrilling Adventures, Dune, Trick and Treats, The House with a Clock on Its Walls, Saw, Goblin, Sleepy Hollow, The Conjuring Universe, Dark Universe, Dark Crystal, Artemis Fowl, Evil, Evil Dead, some I don't know yet.

on the web channel will be: hotel hasbin, hell boss, killer drones, amazing digital circus, love death and robots, Eddsworld, blood bunny, killer bob, meet bob, 13 cards, Mystery Skulls, ena, Spooky Halloween, bad end frends, Creepypasta, scp, Trevor Henderson.

in the game will be: deltarune, nine sols, fnaf, fnf, bendy, A plague tale innocenceтэ only concerns flashbacks, biomutant only in the uuu dimension from adventure time, borderlands, celeste, cuphead only in the dark world, dark deception, danganronpa, yandere simulator, windblown only changes 32 (a number I made up for the animal dimension), ultrakill, tattleail, megaman, spore, shovel knight (also uuu dimensions) sally face, rival of aether (also but 32 dimensions) Rayman origins, Poppy playtime, plants vs zombies, ori, omori, monster prom (also but 5 dimensions), kirby, little nightmares, killing floor, madness kombat, lucius 3, lies of p, life is strange before the storm, just shapes beast, guacemelee, geometry dash, genshin, siren, fear, evil west, don't starve together, cult of the lamb, hyper light drifter, hollow knight, nuclear throne, dead by daylight l, this is all for the 5 question if some films, series, cartoons and games I don't remember, so they didn't make it onto the list if you remember then tell me.

[kitkatpadywaks]

My Wips, Works & In-Betweens

Organised by Series/Love Interest (Warning: There's A Lot - 55 & counting)

Key: 💥Currently Writing - 💭Planning/Outlining - 🧠Was Writing, Doing Extra Planning - 💤I'll Get To It

TVDU:

💥Seven Days - Klaus Mikaelson x Lucy Danica(OC)

💤Sweet, But Psycho - Elijah Mikaelson x Aspen Blake(OC)

Erik Lehnsherr:

💭Goddess - Erik Lehnsherr x Cassandra Narvaes(OC)

Quinlan:

🧠The Thing In Her Mind - Quinlan x Amara McKenna(OC)

💤Destinies - The Thing In Her Mind AU - Quinlan x Amara Romano(OC)

💭Guardian Angel - Quinlan x Damaris(OC)

💭Follow The Ravens - Quinlan x Kira Michaels

💤The Stranger - Quinlan x The Stranger(OC/Reader)

💤The Siren - Quinlan x Alessandra(OC)

💤Dark Curiosities - Quinlan x Ness(OC)

💤To Love A Beast - Quinlan x (Unnamed)(OC)

Morpheus/Dream:

💤To Love An Endless - Morpheus/Dream x Mika(OC)

💤Forgotten Lives - Morpheus/Dream x Aurora Dunham(OC)

🧠La Mechancete De La Vie - Morpheus/Dream x Life(OC/Reader)

Lord Of The Rings:

💤Deadly Instinct - Legolas x Medea Darkmoor(OC)

💭Through The Stars & Sea - Thorin Oakenshield x Valencia Sitara(OC)

Prince Caspian:

💭Worlds Away - Prince Caspian x Mira Williams(OC)

Twilight:

💤The Elders - Jasper Hale x Corvina(OC)

💭The Monster Within - Carlisle Cullen x Raven Marwood(OC)

(Untitled) - Paul Lahote x (Unnamed OC)

Oberyn Martell:

🧠The Creed - Oberyn Martell x Ayanna(OC/Reader)

💤(Untitled) - Oberyn Martell x (OC)

Rick Flag

💭Angel - Rick Flag x Lenore 'Leo' Accetta(OC)

Rio/Christopher

💤(Untitled) - Rio/Christopher x (Unnamed OC)

Bucky Barnes

💤(Untitled) - Bucky Barnes x (Unnamed Stark!OC)

Leonard 'Bones' McCoy

💭Legends - Leonard 'Bones' McCoy x Captain Reagan Jenkins(OC)

The War Against God:

Multiple Names, Same OC

🧠Dancing With The Devil - Klaus Mikaelson x Celeste Gilbert(OC)

🧠Devil May Care - Spike x Celine Astor(OC)

🧠In Another Universe - Morpheus x OC(Won't name here cause spoilers)

💤The Offer - Rick Flag x OC(Won't name here cause spoilers)

💤(Untitled) - Thorin Oakenshield x OC(Won't name here cause spoilers)

💤(Untitled) - Quinlan x OC(Won't name here cause spoilers)

The Quinn Chronicles:

Quinn Darnell(OC)

💭More Than Meets The Eye I, II, III - The Doctor x OC x River Song

💥Aliens Of The Earth - DI Joseph Chandler x OC

💭New God Rising - Quinlan x OC

💭The Aftermath of Wanderlust - Captain Hilary Becker x (OC)

💤Child of Eternity - Legolas x OC x River Song

💤Amongst The Stars - Leonard 'Bones' McCoy x OC

💭Memories - Short Story - Klaus Mikaelson

Family of Shadows:

Nyx Brennan-Itzal(OC)

💭Light In The Dark - Rick Flag x OC

💭Creatures of Shadow - Adrian Chase/Vigilante x OC

🧠Into The Darkness - Morpheus/Dream x OC

The Original Ripper:

Astraea Mikaelson(OC)

💭Stranger In The Dark - Quinlan x OC

💭The Survivors - Erik Lehnsherr x OC

💤Dreams of the Past - Morpheus/Dream x OC

💤A Hybrid's Tale - Legolas x OC

💤Tender Hearts - Carlisle Cullen x OC

The Reaper:

Nya(OC)

💭Il Mietitore - Rio/Christopher x OC

💤(Unnamed) - Luke Alvez x OC

A Walk With Wolves:

Aurora Hale(OC)

💤They Walk Among Us - Luke Alvez x OC

💤Claws & Crossbows - Daryl Dixon x OC

💤Trauma Bonded - Joel Miller x OC

💤To Be Seen - Patrick Jane x OC

💤To Be Wanted - Marcus Pike x OC

TBN

Arabella Winchester(OC)

💤A Deal With Death- Quinlan x OC

💤 The Occult - Dr Lance Sweets x (OC)

💤 What We Deserve - Paul Lahote x (OC)

💤(Untitled) - James ‘Bucky’ Barnes x (OC)

💭Hell Or High Water - Gadreel x (OC)

[locke-writes]

2k Writing Challenge

Sign Ups Open: March 24th, 2023

Sign Ups Close: April 25th, 2023

Writings Due: July 15th, 2023 (can be posted before the due date)

Rules:

Send an ask letting me know that you’re joining

Let me know the character that you are writing for. Must be a character I am familiar with so feel free to ask ahead of time if you are unsure you will be able to write for characters I know

Choose between 1-3 prompts from the below indicating whether they are dialogue or song prompts. You may mix and match between the two (ie. 1 song prompt + 1 dialogue prompt). I’ll then put your url next to the prompt/s you’ve chosen so you can reference this post.

There is no minimum or maximum word count

AUs are more than welcome, just let me know if you’re planning an AU

Make sure to include trigger warnings in your post if they’re needed

Tag Me and DM me a link if I don’t like the post within 24 hours of it being up. Sometimes tumblr is fickle and doesn’t like to notify me of being tagged

You may sign up to write more than one thing however you can’t use the same prompts (ie. if you sign up to write X character with song prompt 3, you can’t use that prompt if you want to write Y character)

Additional questions can be sent through the inbox. Prompts are below

Song Prompts:

Boris - Lo-Fang

People Watching - Conan Gray

If I Get High - Nothing But Thieves

Fair - The Amazing Devil

Saint Bernard - Lincoln

And She Was - Talking Heads

Bulletproof - La Roux

Pierre - Ryn Weaver

Washing Machine Heart - Mitski

brutal - Olivia Rodrigo

Fast Car - Tracy Chapman

Jessie’s Girl - Rick Springfield

Happier Than Ever - Billie Eilish ( @nekoannie-chan / Steve Rogers )

Vienna - Billy Joel

Come Along - Cosmo Sheldrake

Kiss Me - Sixpence None the Richer

Seventeen - MARINA

Sofia - Clairo

Your Stupid Face - Kaden MacKay

Toxic - Britney Spears

All These Things That I’ve Done - The Killers

Movement - Hozier

Motion Sickness - Phoebe Bridgers

End of Beginning - Djo

Liability - Lorde

Little Lion Man - Mumford & Sons

bad idea! - girl in red

The Adults Are Talking - The Strokes

Just Like Heaven - The Cure

9 Crimes - Damien Rice

Dialogue Prompts

“I couldn’t stop loving you, even if I tried. And I did try for some time. But it didn’t work.

“We all have secrets, don’t we”

“After all you’ve done, how can I trust you?”

“I trust you. I just don’t trust them.” ( @nekoannie-chan / Steve Rogers)

“You’re the only person I would do this for”

“I know this isn’t what you want to hear”

“What are you doing with that knife?”

“I think you need a hug”

“I smell something burning. Are you sure you don’t need help?”

“Don’t worry, you’re safe with me”

“Didn’t I tell you to bring a jacket?”

“No! You are not getting me sick!”

“Can I kiss you?”

“Excuse me, that joke was terrible”

“Let me get the first aid kit again”

“You aren’t dying, you just stubbed your toe”

“Who made you cry and where can I find them?”

“Go to bed, you need sleep.”

“It’s not breaking and entering if I have a key”

“Can’t believe I let you drag me into this” ( @kjs-s / Foggy Nelson)

“If the sun isn’t up, then I am not up”

“Trust me it looks worse than it is”

“Act like we’re dating, I see my ex” ( @kjs-s / Foggy Nelson)

“It’s always going to be you”

“Please don’t set off the fire alarm again”

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“No way, you’re taking a break and that’s final”

“You take care of everyone but who takes care of you”

“We promised not to tell that story to anyone”

“Stay there, I’m on my way”

[budgiesunset]

•Welcome•

Hi please call me Budgie,

I love writing. I mainly post X reader stories. Also for privacy reasons I’m not going to be showing my face or saying my name hope you understand but I did find this picture that sort of looks like me which is my profile picture. And I will be going by the name Budgie since it is apart of my username. My favorite color is yellow and I am learning Spanish at the moment. I have two pets a Jack Russell called Luna, a German Short Haired Pointer (GSP) called Milo and a Budgie called Rio. My favorite subject is Science and my favorite book series is School For Good And Evil which has come out with a movie on Netflix BUT my favorite movie franchise is Fast and Furious and a close second and third is Lord Of The Rings and The Hunger Games.

Requests Open

•Who I Write For• -Avatar (mainly way of water)

>Lo’ak >Neteyam >Spider >Kiri >Anuong >Sully!Reader

-Fast and furious

>Torreto!Reader >Vince >Brian >Dom >O’Conner!Reader >Roman

-Narnia

>Pevensie!Reader >Caspin >Edmund >Peter >Susan >Lucy

-Anne with an e

>Gilbert >Jerry >Cuthbert!Reader >Billy >Moody

-Marvle

>Wanda >Nat >Clint >Thor >Peter >Pietro >Stark!Reader >Barton!Reader >Parker!Reader >Romanoff!Reader >Maxinoff!Reader >Marvle Cast

-The hunger games

>Finnick >Peter >Katnis >Everdeen!Reader >Malark!Reader >Gale

-Lord of the rings / the hobbit/Rings of Power

>Aragon >Legolas >Elf!Reader >Theo >Galadriel

-Maze Runner

>Newt >Thomas >Minho >Gally >Frypan >Winston >Aris >Chuck >Brenda >Harriet >Sonya

-Wednesday

>Wednesday >Enid >Xavier >Tyler >Ajax >Addams!Reader

-Mighty ducks

>Adam >Charlie >Avermen >Guy >Rick >Connie >Julie >Luis >Dean >Fulton >Kenny >Dwayne >Bombay!Reader >Conway!Reader

-The sandlot

>Benny >Yeah-Yeah >Phillips >Kenny >Phillips!Sister >Yeah-Yeahs!sister

-Bondi Rescue (aka best show of all time)

>Any of the life guards >Child!Reader

-Willow 2022 series

>Elora >Jade >Kit >Boorman >Graydon >Airk >Danen!Reader >Tabthalos!Reader

-Harry Potter

>Ron >Bill >Fred >George >Charlie >Ginny >Herminone >Harry >Mattheo >Luna >Seamus >Oliver >Black!Reader >Malfoy!Reader >Granger!Reader >Riddle!Reader >Potter!Reader >Weasley!Reader >Lovegood!Reader

-Surviving Summer

>Baxter >Bodhi (Fem!reader) >Ari >Marlon >Griff. >Torres!reader. >Gibson!reader. >Sousa!reader. >Tetanui!reader. >Mecer!reader. >Radic!reader

-Girl meets world

>Lucas. >Farkle. >Zay. >Maya. >Riley. >Smackle. >Josh

•What I will write•

-Fluff. -Fem!Reader. -GN!Reader. -Angst. -Sister!Reader. -Daughter!Reader. -Child!Reader

•What I won’t write•

-Smut or anything NSFW. -Abuse of any kind. -Anything Racist or Homophobic. -Yandere. -Male!Reader (If there is a request involving this I must politely decline sorry)

And if you have a request for a character or fandom not on this list don’t be scared to ask.

[synbiote]

✨Request Rules!!! ✨

Please read all rules before sending a request!

Kin Calls : Always Open!

Mood Boards : Open! (4/4)

Stim Boards : Open! (4/4)

Self Care Kit : Open (2/2)

Kinspace / Shift Kit : Open (2/2)

Activities / Source Immersion : Open (2/2)

🕷️ 🕷️ 🕷️ 🕷️ 🕷️ 🕷️ 🕷️ 🕷️

📝 General Guidelines 📝

Remember to include your characters FULL NAME (first middle and last where applicable) along with any alias. (If you're a Otherkin/Therian just be specific with your species and appearance! Ref pictures/info is much appreciated.)

Example: "I am Peter B. Parker/Spiderman from the

Spiderverse."

I need your source :) It doesn't matter how popular your source or character is, and please no abbreviations!!

Example: "I'm Freddy from the first Five Nights at Freddy's

game..."

Remember to mention what kind of request you're making!

BE SPECIFIC!! Send me a paragraph if you need to! The more detail the better the product, trust me! (Also don't be afraid to tell me what you dont want.)

🕷️ 🕷️ 🕷️ 🕷️ 🕷️ 🕷️ 🕷️ 🕷️

▪️ Blacklist ▪️

Michael Myers

Helluva Boss

Hazbin Hotel

Killing Stalking

American Horror Story

Anything Avengers: Endgame Related*

Homestuck **

Cookie Run **

Danganronpa **

Any anime not listen in the "Sources" section! **

*Avengers are fine I just never saw Endgame

**Unfamiliar but popular source.

🕷️ 🕷️ 🕷️ 🕷️ 🕷️ 🕷️ 🕷️ 🕷️

☁️ Sources A-Z ☁️

Batman (All Media)

Bobs Burgers

Black Butler

Death Note

Death Stranding

Detroit: Becoming Human

Devilman Crybaby

Devil May Cry

Doom

Fruits Basket

Gotham (TV Series)

Gravity Falls

Halo

Howls Moving Castle

Hellsing (+ Hellsing Ultimate & Abridged!)

Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit

Marvel Comics/Cinematic Universe

My Neighbor Totoro

Overwatch

Princess Mononoke

Red vs Blue

Resident Evil

Rick and Morty

Scrubs (Tv Show)

Solar Opposites

Star Trek: The Original Series 1960s

The Spiderverse

Suicide Squad 2016 (Especially El Diablo and Killer Croc)

Tokyo Ghoul (Season 1 ONLY)

Undertale/Underswap/Underfell

Vampire the Masquerade/World of Darkness

The Walking Dead (TLC)

X-Men (Comics and Shows/Movies)

Yandere Simulator

+ more! Don't be afraid to ask!

Your source does not have to be here! These are just the sources

I'm most familiar with!

🕷️ 🕷️ 🕷️ 🕷️ 🕷️ 🕷️ 🕷️ 🕷️

Formatted for Mobile

Please don't hesitate to message with any questions!

[killerandhealerqueen]

Thanks for answering my ask. If you don't mind me asking (again), can I ask, what are your top 10 (or top 7) favorite media (can be books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series)? Why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......Thanks....

Not at all!

Alright, top 10 favorite media...

1. Killer and Healer (cdrama)

I've explained many times why I love this drama and to sum it all up, it's one of the greatest love stories I have ever fucking seen in my life and they have set the bar too god damn high in terms of relationships, communication, everything

2. Lord of the Rings Triology Extended Edition (movie)

Can't go wrong with the Lord of the Rings. Love the Lord of the Rings. It's such a good movie

3. CSI: Miami (tv show)

My favorite of the CSI franchises. I've seen every season, and at least every episode at least twice (maybe more). I just really like police procedurals and this has always been one of my favorites

4. Percy Jackson (book series)

You cannot go wrong with the Percy Jackson series now, come on. It's fucking Percy Jackson.

5. The Kane Chronicles (book series)

Now this is also written by Rick Riordan but instead of Greek mythology, it's Egyptian mythology and as someone who wanted to study egypt mythology and be an Egyptologist when I was younger, this shit appealed heavily to me. Still does. Love this book series

6. NCIS: New Orleans (tv show)

Out of the NCIS franchise, I like this one the most. I think it has the best cast, the best cases...I don't know, I just like this one the best

7. Hawaii Five-0 (tv show)

I never got the hype when I lived in Hawaii (yes, I was born and raised in Hawaii, no I'm not military or a missionary kid, I was born there) but once I went to the mainland for school, I started watching it and I understand why everyone really liked it. Also McDanno...great couple. I love their relationship

8. HiGH&LOW: THE WORST X (movie)

My favorite of the HiGH&LOW movies. I don't know what it is about this one but it's just...it's just my favorite. I think the characters and the relationships were all great and it was able to build off of the previous movie HiGH&LOW: THE WORST. And most sequels don't really work but this shit worked. And it's good. And the fighting? I'm an action girlie and these movies have some of the best fight scenes like ever

9. The Fiery Priest (kdrama)

One of my first kdramas that I've ever watched and oh my god. It's both funny and serious and the concept of the whole drama is just hilarious. I have never cackled so hard while watching a drama before. Love this drama

10. Danger Zone (Tdrama)

Oh my god, this drama. Oh, it's one of the only taiwanese dramas I've watched but holy fuck is it dark. It's so good but it's so fucking dark. It's another police procedural but the relationships in the dramas are really good. But it is not a drama you watch late at night. It's not. But it's so good

[ryanstillwrites-if]

What are the ros favourite movies and tv shows?

Adelaide: the exorcist, nightmare on elm street, evil dead, alien, the craft, practical magic, slasher, x-files, sons of anarchy, the walking dead, resident evil, american horror story

Hayden: fantastic mr fox, howl's moving castle, life of pi, the wizard of oz, austin powers, hocus pocus, the grand budapest hotel, bojack horseman, new girl, the office, fleabag

Gabriel: top gun, jurassic park, lethal weapon, gone in sixty seconds, the terminator, tomb raider, the matrix, gladiator, kill bill, breaking bad, rick and morty, the witcher, snow piercer

Jordan: the dead poets society, a clockwork orange, mulholland drive, one flew over the cuckoo's nest, seven pounds, the pursuit of happiness, the crown, bridgerton, peaky blinders

Mavis/Maverick: lord of the rings, the rocky horror picture show, night at the museum, the addams family, treasure planet, the mummy, scooby doo, spirited away, love death + robots, wanda vision, santa clarita diet

[manmetaphysical]

Scorpio People: a Phoenix Rising from the Ashes

3: Art for Pain’s Sake

Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe (4/11/1946) took his sexual appetites to the ultimate level by cataloguing the fetish interests of the New York gay scene with his camera lens. He placed his black and white male lovers into his photographs which exposed their naked bodies in a stark, cold manner. He had Pluto conjunct Saturn in Leo which might explain the powerful effect of his images, how they tell a story not told before about a subculture that is usually hidden. This is especially true as that Saturn/Pluto is sextile to Neptune which rules photography in the sign of Art, in Libra. He brought a classical pure style to the subject matter such as the stamens of calia lilies and male members but he also catalogued some of the seamier BDSM fetish practices, leather, chains, knives, bondage and even torture practices. Some viewers and sponsors found this distasteful, fuelling more controversy over his exhibitions.

The debate as to whether his work is porn or art or somewhere in between still goes on, but certainly since Mapplethorpe, we are more accustomed to seeing naked male flesh and his influence on UK photographers such as Rotimi Fani Kayode (Taurus) was evident. His ex-room mate and good friend Patti Smith wrote that he “worked without apology… Robert sought to elevate aspects of male experience, to imbue homosexuality with mysticism. As Cocteau said of a Genet poem, “His obscenity is never obscene.”

With fashion designer Rick Owens (18/11/1961) there is sometimes a focus on genitalia. His 2015 Autumn-Winter catwalk shows had the male models fully clad in black with just their naked members visible through a peep hole. Needless to say this no underwear let-it-all-hang- out- trend did not really catch on. But is that a Scorpio obsession? Probably not, since everyone who looks is also part of the obsession. A voyeur is like vital food to an exhibitionist- the one can't exist without the other. Yet it is interesting that the idea to focus on the penis came from a Scorpio designer whose middle name is Saturnino and who has been called 'Lord of Darkness'.

Owens, incidentally is the favourite designer of that other Scorpio, the originator of Twitter and billionaire Jack Dorsey (19/11/1976). Dorsey has Mars conjunct the Sun at 28° and does things his own way. He is aloof and difficult to pin down, hiding behind a beard which makes him a dead ringer for Aleister Crowley in his mountaineering phase. He loves fasting, ice baths and saunas and making billions. He has now set up a rival to Twitter/X called Bluesky. Whatever he is up to is anyone’s guess as he seemingly evades detection of his motives- the more you look at him, the less you know.

Mapplethorpe was among the few who are also ‘double’ Scorpio lending that extra umpf of Scorpionic charm. These are the ones born early morning when the sun is rising on the Ascendant. Some others include Sai Baba (23/11/ 1923), Hilary Clinton (26/10/1947), Neil Young (12/11/1945), Chloe Sevigny (18/11/1974) and pop star Adam Ant (3/11/1954) who even wrote a song about it called ‘Scorpio Rising’. Both Sun and Ascendant in the sign of Scorpio would mean some of the Scorpionic traits would be visible in the way they look, most likely in the face or in their general physical presence having a visceral effect on others.

Pablo Picsasso (25/10/1881) famously had very intense eyes and his gaze could be unsettling. Although he was not a double Scorpio, his Sun at 2° of Scorpio is on the IC (4th House cusp) and opposite Saturn. Anyone with Jupiter conjunct Pluto would also tend to have an expanded intensity and since the eyes are ‘windows to the soul’ that would be revealed in the gaze.

Scorpio is the sign associated with transformation and that includes all elements of that physical, emotional and psychological- this is inner work and mostly hidden, but occasionally it happens in the full glare of world publicity. Again no one sign has the monopoly on self transformation, it can be a reality for anyone with a prominent Pluto in their charts, but there are a couple of well-known figureheads who happen to be Scorpio sun signs.

One is the ultimate drag queen and glamazon Ru Paul (17/11/1960). The Drag Race TV show became much more successful than anyone could have predicted making Ru Paul a household name and almost an industry. That could not have been achieved without huge levels of hard work and focussed drive. He has Saturn opposite Mars and a triple conjunction of the Moon, Neptune and Mercury in Scorpio which points to a shifting sense of inner identity and glamorous presentation. 

And then it is hard to ignore one of the most well-known male-to-female transexuals Caitlyn Jenner (28/10/1949). Starting life as William Bruce Jenner, nicknamed ‘Bruiser’ marrying three times and fathering several children (Kris Jenner, his last wife, is also a Scorpio) and then becoming a successful gold-medal winning athlete, then becoming Caitlin Jenner. She has lead the way for trans rights due to her level of fame, (Mars and Pluto in the 10th House) but she is often controversial and outspoken.  It is hard for Scorpios to reveal their secrets so this has been a major and very public transformation of great interest to the collective (Pluto trine to Venus but sextile to Neptune and square to Saturn) at great cost to her personal life. She claims in spite of it all she is still a very private person.

How did such a transformation become so fully realised? They say the Moon represents many shifting moods- first you see it then you don’t- so it is fascinating to me that Eros and Psyche are conjunct the Moon in the very first degrees of Aquarius in Jenner’s chart so they are ruled by Uranus. But also there’s Neptune conjunct Mercury and the South Node in Libra making the story of shifting inner identity confusing. She says it is ‘about your soul’.

[ao3-diablofic]

by GAGGINGVIEGINA

A story of a young man secluded from society and trying to make ends meet… that is until he meets someone that would change his life forever. English is not my first language

Words: 136, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: South Park, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, The Outsiders - S. E. Hinton, Wings of Fire - Tui T. Sutherland, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS, เด็กใหม่ | Girl From Nowhere (TV), Seikon no Qwaser | The Qwaser of Stigmata, 原神 | Genshin Impact (Video Game), 呪術廻戦 | Jujutsu Kaisen (Anime), 呪術廻戦 | Jujutsu Kaisen (Manga), Dead Poets Society (1989), 崩坏：星穹铁道 | Honkai: Star Rail (Video Game), Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats - T. S. Eliot, U-KISS, 魔道祖师Q | Módào Zǔshī Q (Cartoon), 天官赐福 | Heaven Official's Blessing (Webcomic), Cthulhu Mythos - H. P. Lovecraft, Jeeves - P. G. Wodehouse, Dark Souls (Video Games), Maya y los tres | Maya and the Three (Cartoon), 地縛少年花子くん | Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun | Toilet-bound Hanako-kun (Manga), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, Sentence (Guts United Video Game), Pocket Monsters: X & Y | Pokemon X & Y Versions, Berserk (Anime & Manga), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien, Aubrey-Maturin Series - Patrick O'Brian, Green Creek Series - T.J. Klune, 娘娘腔 - 水千丞 | Níang Niang Qiāng - Shuǐ Qiān Chéng, B.A.P, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015), Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat, F-Zero (Video Games), G.I. Joe (Cartoon), I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again (Radio), Z-O-M-B-I-E-S (Disney Movies), Diablo (Video Games), ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Magnum P.I. (TV 2018), 痛いのは嫌なので防御力に極振りしたいと思います。| BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt so I'll Max Out My Defense. (Anime), The Rocky Horror Show - O'Brien, House of Night - P. C. Cast & Kristin Cast, Anne with an E (TV), W.I.T.C.H., The L Word: Generation Q (TV)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: Other

Characters: Craig Tucker's Parents

Relationships: Joe Biden/Donald Trump

Additional Tags: Angst with a Happy Ending, Class 1-B Shenanigans (My Hero Academia), Earth C (Homestuck), Jeanne d'Arc | Joan of Arc References, E-mail, Threesome - F/M/M, Ratings: G, Inspired by H. P. Lovecraft, Quote: I've got red in my ledger; I'd like to wipe it out. (Marvel), Space Dad Hank Henshaw | J'onn J'onzz, Episode: s03e06 K.I.T.T. vs. K.A.R.R. (Knight Rider 1982), Les Amis de l'ABC - Freeform, Minor Kon-El | Conner Kent/M'gann M'orzz, N Things, Jack-o'-lanterns, Q (James Bond) is a Holmes, Minor P.I.X.A.L./Zane (Ninjago), Ratings: R, Original Character(s), Protective T'Challa (Marvel), Midoriya Izuku Does Not Go to U.A. High School, Kim Taehyung | V & Park Jimin are Best Friends, Good W. D. Gaster, Nen (Hunter X Hunter), Pocket Monsters: XY | Pokemon the Series: X & Y, Jaskier | Dandelion Loves Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/56417563

[lunagb]

A Plague of Sleet and Rot (ASoIaF x The Walking Dead fanfic)

BOOK 2 - A Road of Snow and Grime

CHAPTER 3: Sanctuary

Masterlist

Relationships: Daryl Dixon x Carol, Rick Grimes x Lori Grimes, Carl Grimes & Sophia, and basically a friendship tag with Jon Snow & Everyone else [except Shane].

Summary: A month has passed since Jon Snow awakened on a highway outside of Atlanta and joined Rick Grimes and his fellow survivors. His memories of his death have returned and our alien world is beginning to make a bit of sense. Ever since the loss of the CDC, surviving in the apocalypse has been a daily struggle. The group is on thin ice. Supplies are dwindling. Hope is fading. The dead are walking. And their only chance for life may be a run-down farm, an old man and his daughters.

Chapter Summary: As the group settles in for their first night on the farm, Jon worries what effect Carl and Sophia's injuries have had on their morale.

Time Frame: Farm Arc - TV Variant Adjacent

Featured Characters: Jon Snow, Ghost, Mormont's Raven, Rick Grimes, Carl Grimes, Lori Grimes, Daryl Dixon, Carol, Sophia, Dale, Glenn Rhee, Andrea, T-Dog, Edwin Jenner, Shane Walsh, Beth Greene, Maggie Greene, Hershel Greene

Warnings: gore, vivid descriptions of dead bodies, child mutilation

[Art above is a piece by Art.of.Azrael. You can support them here: https://linktr.ee/Art.of.Azrael ]

Any notes are appreciated!

Laughter and lavender sweetened the air. The group and their newfound companions sat around Dale’s plastic long-table. They dined on rich onion, radish and potato stew. Drank clean, cool water from cups of glass. Laughed of a better past and hope for a better future. Ghost skulked behind the stools, hunting fallen scraps. While the raven circled above, cawing for, “Stew!”

For the first time in three weeks, food filled their bellies to bursting. Water quenched their dry mouths. Soap banished their perpetual stink. All the results of Hershel’s charity. All which Jon appreciated. Smiles, genuine smiles, not feigned fragile hope, warmed the faces of his companions. So, he went along with it. He ate. He drank. He even joined in a spot of laughter from time to time. Dale headed most of the laughter, supported in earnest by T-Dog. The two men shouted japes across the table, spurring on the laughter. Andrea sat at Dale’s side, smiling at his stories and laughing at his jokes. Sometimes, their eyes met and for half a heartbeat, Andrea blushed like a maid. Dale beamed like a green boy. Shane sat opposite Dale, T-Dog and Andrea, at the table’s other head, smiling but silent. Jenner sat beside him, too focused on trying to eat with a stitched mouth to join in on the laughter. Hershel and his daughters sat across from Jon, Glenn and Daryl. Hershel smiled courteous smiles when Dale and T-Dog brought upon a gale of laughter. Otherwise, the old man kept a Lord’s face. Maggie and Glenn made unsubtle eyes at each other across the table. While Beth made much the same eyes at Jon. Jon kept his grimaces to himself. Daryl did not. Nor did he eat, or smile. He hadn’t even washed. He bore a scowl into his bowl. Each of the raven’s shrieks for “Stew!” caused his scowl to twitch.

They’d set up their tents in a huddle around the table, off in Hersehl’s field. Only the rusted fence of scarp protected them. Jon kept his eye on it, that and the house. Rick, Lori and Carol had not joined them. Jon knew why. They all knew why. Rick too weak. Lori too fearful. Carol too tired. Carl and Sophia’s injuries hung over all, Jon knew. He felt it in the air. Saw it as eyes chanced a glance towards the house. Heard it during the rare silent lull among the chorus of laughter and chatter. Death loiters in their minds. Daryl wore the truth on his rugged, lined face for all to see.

“She might wake up before she passes,” Jenner had told Jon on the highway, at most a few hours ago. It felt a lifetime ago.

A lie. A kind lie. Sophia hadn’t opened her eyes and Jon suspected that she never would again. Hershel knew it too, Jon knew. When he’d bandaged her stump, after saving Carl’s life, he’d consoled Carol with sweet words but hollow eyes. The sort of eyes a commander gazes upon a dying soldier with. Eyes that bricked up tears, only to release them during the sleepless night to come. Jon had put on those eyes before. He imagined he’d have to do so again.

Dale’s voice cut above the chatter. “To our gracious host!” He thrust his glass up high.

“And his miracle hands!” T-dog added, standing and raising his glass.

They all joined them; Andrea, Glenn, Jenner, and even Shane. Maggie and Beth joined into, smiling; broad and shy respectively. Jon raised his glass and forced a smile. Daryl scowled. Hershel hesitated. He shook his head and waved his hand.

“Ain’t nothin’ gracious about helpin’ those in need,” he said.

“Especially when you owe us,” Daryl said. Venom soured his voice. He glared at Maggie.

The smiles vanished around the table like night fires snuffed at first light. Silence festered.

“Owe!” The raven cawed.

Maggie’s broad grin retreated into pursed lips and downcast eyes as Daryl’s glare bore into her.

“Daryl!” Dale exclaimed, aghast. “Hershel, I apologise for him. I assure you, no one blames you or your daughters for the accident with Carl.”

“Fuck you, old man!” Daryl erupted from his stool.

Andrea erupted from hers. “Say that again!”

Daryl’s nostrils flared. “Fuck! You! Y’all are fuckin’ lyin’ to yourselves!” Daryl flipped his bowl of stew. Onion, radish, potato and broth splattered the blue plastic of the table.

Andrea stepped towards him, fists balled but Dale caught her arm. Her fists unclenched. She huffed and turned from him. Daryl whipped a glare of disdain around the table and marched off to nowhere in particular. Cawing, the raven landed in the spilled stew and gobbled it up greedily.

Dale cleared his throat. Pink flush warmed his wrinkled cheeks. “Hershel, I’m sorry. He’s just… upset is all.”

“No, no. It’s alright,” Hershel said. “He’s upset. It’s only natural.” He glanced at Maggie. A hint of a frown flashed across his lips. “Forgiveness takes time. If any of y’all need to console with the Lord, I have a bible on my nightstand. Feel free to ask for it. While your children heal, what’s mine is yours.”

“Heal!” The raven cackled. “Heal, heal, heal!”

Everyone’s glasses lowered. Glances shot around the table, accompanied by frowns.

“And after?” Jon asked for them.

Hershel’s eyes hollowed. “We’ll discuss y’all livin’ here later. No offence, but right now, y’all are strangers.”

Dale smiled. “Best we familiarise ourselves then.” He raised his glass. “To becoming friends.”

The others raised their glasses. “To becoming friends,” they echoed, Jon among them.

The raven gobbled down a chunk of potato and flapped its wings. “Friends! Friends! Friends!”

Glasses clinked and chatter resumed but not for a moment did death stop its loitering.

*** Dusk gave way to twilight, the group prepared for the first proper rest in weeks and Jon stood before Beth’s bedroom door, hesitant to enter. Death awaited him. The beginning, at least. You can do this. You must do this. Face what you have done, for the sake of what remains of your honour, you meagre bastard boy. Jon seized the door handle and took a long, deep breath. A coolness flowed through his veins. He opened the door.

“Carol? It’s Jon. May I enter?”

A wisp responded. “Yes…”

Jon entered the pink room. Atop a bed of pink blankets lay Sophia. With flesh pale and taught, she looked half a corpse already. An IV bag and blood bag fed her arm through plastic tubes, for all the good it did. Pillows suspended her feet. Bandages covered her stump. Carol sat by her side on a hard wooden chair, hunched and withered. She should have never given the blood, plenty could have done it in her place, Jenner had said as much. But she’d hear nothing of it. Grease matted her short mess of brown and grey hair. Heavy bags hung beneath her eyes, dark and swollen. Sophia’s bear sat on a nightstand, pink and fluffy. A row of neat stitches cut across its chest where Longclaw had pierced it. An uneaten bowl of stew accompanied the bear.

“If you’ve come to apologise, don’t bother. I don’t blame you.” Carol kept her eyes on Sophia as she spoke a little above a whisper.

Jon ought to have been relieved. Yet, his gaze avoided Carol’s all the same. Stupidly, he felt a boy all over again, standing before Lady Stark at Bran’s bedside.

“You should eat. Especially after-”

“Come do what you’ve come to do. Then leave me alone.”

“Aye… As you wish.”

Jon composed himself. Ice hardened his pounding heart. He marched to Sophia’s bedside, knelt and took in her face. A head of lazy, blonde curls had turned to straw. Cheeks once rosy and round, sunk into her face. Eyes so often fearful and downcast gazed unblinking and hollow at the ceiling. Lips so often void of smiles, drew a dried, flaky line across her face. A raspy wheeze whistled from her nose in long, delicate breaths. Jon resolved to remember every detail. A new face among a horde.

“Are you done?” Carol asked, stern and curt.

“No…” The time had come. “Carol, I-”

“What did I tell you about apologising?”

“Sophia will turn when if she dies. We’re all infected. Jenner said as much.”

Carol’s gaze found him, cold and unflinching. “Oh. Okay. Thank you.” She drew her knife from her belt and placed it on the nightstand.

“Carol…” Jon touched her knee. “You understand what I’ve told you, yes?”

Carol brushed his hand away. “What’s there to not understand?”

Jon considered the woman. The look on her face echoed some strange familiarity. Dull, expressionless and vacant. It did not belong to any one face, but many, Jon realised. The look that had followed stalked him all his life. T’was a look that spoke of duty and tears unwept. His father had looked at him in such a way when he bid him farewell for The Wall, so soon after Bran had fallen from the tower. Quorin Halfhand, as he commanded Jon to slay him. Ygritte, as she died in his arms.

“Her brain must be destroyed as soon as she passes. It would serve to have someone watch over her with you, in case she passes while you sleep.”

A limp smile tugged at the corners of Carol’s mouth. “I won’t sleep. Not until she does.”

Jon believed her. A foolish thing to do. But, he did so anyway, at once. “I believe, I may have misjudged you.”

“Maybe. How do you judge me now?”

“Strong enough that I do not need to you like you are some witless child.”

For a brief, pleasant moment, a smile graced Carol, a proper one. “Thank you.”

“I apologise for myself and Rick. Glenn and Jenner wanted to tell you. We kept the truth from you. A truly misguided thing to do. You should have been told the moment Sophia’s life came into doubt.”

“What did I say about apologising?”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to grant me that one.”

“No. I think you owe me now.”

“What would you have of me?”

Silver glinted the corners of Carol’s eyes. She scrubbed it away. “Bring Daryl here.” Her voice wavered. “Ma-Make him say goodbye. Before he loses his chance.” She ran her hand through Sophia’s tangle of straw. “It’s what she would have wanted.”

“Aye. Of course. On one condition.”

Carol raised an eyebrow.

“Eat your stew,” Jon said. “I don’t care if it’s cold.”

“Fair enough.” A hint of light crept its way into Carol’s voice. She scooped up a chunk of boiled radish and popped it in her mouth.

***

Many stops and conversations awaited Jon that night. There was much to discuss after a day of such loss. Two children lay grievously injured, one sure to die, the other clung to life by a thread. It troubled the group, all of them. Jon could see it, no matter how much some tried to hide. He intended to find out how bad the damage to morale was. The first of his stops after Carol was Rick and Lori.

Jon found the door to Carl’s room open ajar. Inside, Rick sat by Carl’s bedside alone. Hunched, pale and weathered, Rick held his son’s hand. An empty chair stood beside him. Carl looked as healthy as the day Jon had met him. As if Rick’s life force had been siphoned into him. I suppose it has, in a sense. A tangle of brown hair flowed past Carl’s eyes, like a pair of parted, greasy curtains. Flush pinked his cheeks. A cream glow warmed his skin. Closed, sleeping eyes stared at the ceiling. His shirt had been removed, exposing a wide, white bandage that stretched from one side of his belly to the other. Intertwined tubes of clear, IV water and red, blood ran from his arm to their bags suspended on a coat rack. Carl’s hat sat on a nightstand. Its golden star twinkled beneath the strange, electric lights of this world. Alongside it were two empty bowls.

Rick greeted Jon with half-open, vacant eyes. “Jon.” He nodded.

“Rick.” Jon stood at Rick’s flank and watched Carl. “He seems to be getting better.”

“That’s what Hershel keeps tellin’ me.” Rick squeezed Carl’s hand.

“Where’s Lori?”

“Toilet. Just missed her, I’m afraid.”

“No matter, what I have to discuss is perhaps best suited to a private conversation.”

Rick nodded. He clutched his chin, partially covering his mouth. “I was hopin’ to talk to you too. Tomorrow. But, we can do it now. Shut the door.”

Jon shut the door. “I’ve-”

“Hold on. Sit.” Rick patted the chair beside him. “I hate lookin’ up at people when they talk to me. Bring your eyes to my level.”

Jon preferred to kneel before a man like Rick, but he followed the command and sat.

“Alright. You were sayin’?”

Jon nodded. “I’ve told Carol the truth.”

Rick’s nose wrinkled. “What? Why? I thought we agreed to wait. Hell, waitin’ was your idea in the first place.”

“I’ll be plain. This may well be Sophia’s last night. If not, tomorrow night. Carol won’t leave that room any easier than you will this one. I’d rather we deal with one corpse instead of two.”

“But, Hershel said she’s strong. I heard him.”

“Aye, as did I. But I saw his eyes too. His words were sweet, nothing more. The man hasn’t the heart to tell a mother, a widow no less, that there’s no hope for her only daughter.”

“No. You can’t know for sure she’ll die. Back before all this, I read a news story about a rail worker bein’ hit by a train. It cut him in half but they saved him. Sure, he had to live in a wheelchair, but he lived. What’s an arm compared to that?”

“You aren’t naive enough to truly believe that. Think about what you said. That was then. This is now. You haven’t seen her, not in a while anyway. She looks practically a corpse already.”

Rick sighed and held his head in his free hand. “Okay… yeah. How’d Carol take it?”

“Better than expected. She believes herself capable of doing what must be done when the time comes. Still, it’d be best if someone waited with her. I’ll retrieve Daryl from wherever he went. I trust you heard about his tantrum at dinner?”

Rick chuckled. “I heard it happen. His voice carries.”

Jon smiled. “Aye, it does. A useful thing when it counts.”

Rick lifted his head. His brow furrowed and his jaw clenched. “Alright. We tell them tomorrow. They should know before we have to explain a stab wound in Sophia’s head.”

“Aye, as you command. I’ll let Glenn and Jenner know. I plan on visiting them anyway once we’re done. The others too. We’ve suffered quite a bit recently. Best make sure they’re all keeping their wits about them.”

Rick clicked his tongue and dodged Jon’s eyes to look at Carl. “You shouldn’t have to. It should be my burden.”

“Aye, it’d be better if you did it. But it wouldn’t serve to have you collapse in front of everyone. If they are losing their wits, seeing their leader collapse will only worsen things. And besides, the first thing Carl will want to see when he wakes is your’s and Lori’s faces. Stay here. Let me handle things for now.”

Rick scoffed. “Leader. Don’t know why you all think I am. You, Glenn and Jenner, make plenty of decisions. Even Dale and Lori from time to time. And Daryl doesn’t do anything unless he wants to anyway.”

“Aye, all true. But they call you a leader all the same. They want you to lead. So, you’ll put your head down and get on with it. For their sakes.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“You’ll know. Now, tell me. How goes Lori? What does she make of Carl, Sophia and this place?”

Rick pursed his lips. “It scared the hell out of her. All of it. But… she’ll be fine. She’ll put on her strong face and soldier through it. Always has.”

“You’re certain?”

“Yeah. It’s how she acted before when our marriage-” Rick shook his head and waved his hand. “Doesn’t matter. I just know she can be strong when it counts.”

“Aye, okay. I’ll take your word on it. She’s well suited for this world. Harder days than this will come and we must be prepared to do what is required of us.”

Rick’s face darkened. He stared at Carl and clutched his hand. His foot tapped a fast, erratic rhythm. “Jon.” He spoke in a curt, sharp voice.

“Aye?”

“You told me you’ve killed before.”

“I did.”

Rick sighed. His foot stopped tapping. He let go of Carl’s hand and ran his own through his hair. “Why? How many of them? Did you have a good reason?”

Ice coursed through Jon’s veins, clenching every muscle. “Those answers depend on whether you think me mad.”

“You’re no crazier than the rest of us.”

“But do you believe me? About Westeros?”

Rick paused. He stared at the ground for a handful of heartbeats before meeting Jon’s eyes.

“If you’d have asked me before all this- shoot, if you’d asked me before the CDC, I’d have said no. But, I watched you break blast-proof glass. I’ve seen the way Ghost behaves, the way he seems to understand you as no dog should. I’ve seen the wounds on your chest, the one over your heart. And that damn bird. No way you just happened upon a talking crow that knows your full name by coincidence. So, fuck it, yeah I believe you. Everything you’ve told me and anything you tell me goin’ forward.”

Jon sat tall. “I’ve killed countless. Men, women and children. I’ve been to war. I commanded men to kill. Every man or boy or woman who died by my command, I count. So, hundreds most like. They all blur together into a nameless, faceless mass. But there are five I remember clearly. Four men. One woman. My first kill was a freefolk man named Orell. He attacked me so I killed him to save myself and my brothers of the Night’s Watch. After him, a ranger of the Night’s Watch named Quorin Half-hand commanded me to kill him so I might convince the enemy that I’d turned traitor, to avoid my own death. I did as he commanded. The man who watched me kill Quorin was my next kill, The Lord of Bones or, Rattleshirt. I did not kill him for sometime, however. I killed him years later, so that a better man may live. A man named Mance Rayder was to be executed in retribution for laying siege to The Wall. But I had further uses for the man, so I swapped him and Rattleshirt, and allowed Rattleshirt to be burned alive in his place. The last man to be killed by me was a man named Janos Slynt. He undermined by authority as Lord Commander multiple times, openly questioned my command and aimed to sew derision and discord amongst my men. So, following the traditions of the First Men, I beheaded him with Longclaw for all to see.”

“The woman…” Jon swallowed his grief. His voice trembled despite himself. “The woman was named Ygritte. We were lovers. She a freefolk warrior, me a crow of the Night’s Watch. A match for songs and fables. It was a boy’s love. But that didn’t make it any less real. To speak truly, I do not know who slew her. But she died in a battle of my creation; a battle I fought in; on the opposite side. So, it may as well have been my arrow that found her. She died in my arms. Of all the faces I’ve seen pass into the cold embrace, hers is one I shall never forget for however many of my namedays remain.”

“And now, in this world of yours, I have killed two more. I ran Longclaw through the back of a man called Dan to save Jenner’s life as well as my own. And I killed Sophia trying to save her.”

A haze lifted from Jon’s eyes as he finished speaking. He noticed tears on his cheeks. The folly of boys. He wiped them away and forbid any more from appearing.

“Jesus…” Rick stared at him. Eyes wide. Mouth agape.

“I lived during the long night’s twilight years. Such hardships are to be expect-”

Rick seized Jon’s hand with both of his. He squeezed and bore a moist, determined stare into Jon.

“What are you doing?”

“Jon, as long as I’m around, you’re never gonna have to do anything like that again? Understand?”

“Fool. You can’t promise that.”

“I can and do. You ain’t got parents to protect you, so I will.”

“I don’t need a new father. Let go of me. Has the transfusion taken your wits?”

Wetness trickled down Jon’s cheeks. Perplexed, he wrenched his hand free and wiped the tears away. But new tears replaced the old. Jon wiped them away too, but the stupid, stubborn things kept coming anyway. He tried to speak but his voice caught in his throat. Fire burned in his chest.

“I-I’m a man grown. I don’t need a new-” He choked.

“No. Fuck.” Rick buried his forehead into his palm. “That ain’t what I meant… I ain’t tryin’ to be your dad. You’re too old for that. Just know, that the things you went through, no kid should ever have to go through. If you ever need to talk about it, or whatever, I’m here.”

Jon scrubbed his boyish tears away with his sleeve. “Y-Your world’s sensibilities are different to mine. My life was hardly any crueller than any others. Plenty had it worse than I. I’m highborn. I grew up in a castle. A master of arms trained me. A maester taught me sums and history and all sorts. I went to bed every night warm and with a full belly. That’s more than most could boast.”

“Yeah sure, still doesn’t change the fact you fought in a war, and killed four men and your girlfriend before you finished puberty.”

“Boys half my age saw their entire families killed in the War of The Five Kings. And she wasn’t-”

Rick waved his hand. “Don’t care. Shit you went through was fucked up too. It ain’t a fuckin’ competition.”

Jon stood, without command to do so. He’d had enough of all the folly. “I have much to do tonight. I wish Carl well.” Before Rick could respond, Jon marched out of the room.

The door slammed behind him. An accident but Jon didn’t feel ashamed for a moment. Shame only reared its head as he caught his reflection in the widow of the front door. His boyish tears smudged little river tracks down his cheeks and puffed his eyes, giving him Ghost’s gaze.

“Fool,” he muttered to himself as he marched up the stairs for the bathroom.

He needed a strong face for tonight. The others needed a man to shoulder their fear, not a snivelling, puffy-eyed boy. Jon flung open the bathroom door. A scream greeted him. Lori gawked at him from the toilet. Her trousers pooled around her ankles as she held some strange stick between her legs. Jon’s face flushed.

“Sorry!” He slammed the door shut and stepped away from it.

Fire seared his chest, his heart thundered and he felt a bigger fool than ever. The faint flushing of a toilet penetrated through the door. Followed by the streaming of running water. The door opened.

Jon couldn’t meet her eyes. “I apologise. I had no intention of-”

“Quiet,” she hissed.

Jon met her gaze. She looked worried, rather than furious. Lori looked left and right down the hall before grabbing Jon’s wrist.

“Come in. Quickly.”

“What? No.”

“Just do it,” she snapped.

Jon stepped into the bathroom at once. Lori shut the door and pressed her back to it.

“You can’t tell Rick,” she said.

“Have you lost your mind? Can’t tell him what?”

Lori looked as confused as Jon felt. “The pregnancy test.” She pointed to the sink.

On the sink’s counter, sat the strange stick Lori had had between her legs. More strange medicine, Jon assumed.

“You’re with child?”

Lori’s face dropped. Her shoulders slumped. She kneaded the bridge of her nose. “You don’t know what that is, do you?”

“I have an idea now. That stick tells you if you’re with child? How?”

Lori sighed. “I don’t know. Just does. Please don’t tell Rick. You’ve kept my secrets before. I’m asking you to do it again.”

“I didn’t agree to keep your secret. I agreed to let you tell Rick yourself. Which you still haven’t.”

“I’m getting around to it. There hasn’t exactly been a good opportunity.”

“I suppose not, aye… who’s child is it?”

Lori pursed her lips and avoided Jon’s eyes. “The morning sickness started a few days after the CDC.”

“I see. Why the test then? You should have a bump… I think.”

“I just needed to be certain.” Lori placed her hand over her stomach. “You won’t tell, will you?”

“No. It’s not my place. That’s your burden.”

“I know.” Lori met Jon’s eyes and smiled. “Thanks.”

“Tell him now.”

“Wha-”

“Best your words tell the truth than your body.” Jon gestured to her stomach. “And it should be the whole truth. He deserves as much.”

Silver welled in the corner of Lori’s eyes. She wiped it away, only for more to replace it. “Damn it,” she whimpered. “Why do you have to be right about everything?”

Jon offered his hand. “Come. I’ll escort you.”

Lori nodded, sniffled and took his hand. Together, they made their way downstairs. With each step, Lori’s grip tightened until her grip turned to steel. They stood before the door of Carl’s room.

“He’s gonna kill him,” Lori said.

“Not in his condition, he won’t. And even if he could. I wouldn’t let him.”

Lori nodded, took a deep breath and put on a strong face. She let go of Jon’s hand, stood tall and opened the door. Jon closed the door behind her and lingered outside. Even great men weren’t prone to taking such news well. Rick wouldn’t hurt his wife. But still, Jon prepared himself to break them apart. Faint murmurs seeped through the door. Jon tensed and gripped the door handle. Two murmurs conversed. One soft. One deep. After a few faint exchanges, a silent pause loitered. The deep murmur spoke. The soft responded. Another pause; longer than the last. Silence gave way to soft sobbing. The deep voice murmured. Jon heard the gentle smack of a kiss, followed by faint, tearful laughter.

*** “A horse? What do you need a horse for, son?” Hershel asked. The old man raised a white eyebrow at him across the kitchen bench. One by one, he packed away the bowls and cutlery of that night’s feast into various draws.

“A night patrol. I won’t have our people sleeping outside without some kind of watch,” Jon said.

Hershel nodded. A smile warmed his wrinkled face. “Alright, fair enough. Maggie’ll help you get set up. She’s out on the porch, last I saw.”

“You have my thanks.” Jon turned to take his leave.

“Son, hold on.”

Jon faced Hershel again. “Yes?”

“If you encounter any of them, you’ll treat them with respect, won’t you?”

“Aye, I respect them. We all do. We lived among them for a month. Without that respect, we wouldn’t be here.”

Hershel grinned. “Glad to hear.” He rounded the counter, stood before Jon and analysed him with a look. “You and your people… I think you’re good people. Sorry if I came off as harsh or… unwelcoming before. Just can’t be too careful nowadays. Seems like the moment this sickness spread across the world, morals went out the window. I’m happy to see you people are an exception.”

Jon hid his scepticism behind a face as calm as still water. The words spoken, Jon trusted came from a true place. But no matter how genuine the old man was, he reeked of weakness. Jon nodded and offered a handshake. “It’s a good thing we found each other in all of this.”

Hershel accepted the handshake. “It is.” He reached into his pocket and retrieved a small, plastic object that looked vaguely like a musical instrument. “If any wanderers get over the fence, blow on this. Okay? We’ll come help you deal with the situation.”

Jon took the plastic thing and gave it a light blow. A sharp, high-pitched whistle screamed out of it. “I appreciate it, but I assure you I’m more than capable-”

“I insist. This is my land. Any poor souls who wander onto it are my responsibility.”

“Aye… as you wish.” Hershel’s tone unnerved Jon.

“Oh, also. Don’t stay up all night. Have someone switch with you eventually. A boy your age needs a proper night’s sleep.”

“Aye.” Jon snapped on his heels and headed outside before the old man felt the need to swaddle him and tuck him in too.

Outside, darkness veiled all. Fields of black and grey rolled off into the distance to meet the looming forest, a wall of shadow sentinels. A campfire twinkled on a field of black, like a fallen, orange star. The shadows it cast played queer tricks with Jon’s eyes. They danced upon the camp, turning the tents into far-off mountains and the vehicles into peaceful, slumbering giants. The fence of rusted scrap hid among the dark, only visible if one were to squint; a thin black line. Jon squinted and watched for shambling shadows. He saw none, but Glenn’s words rang in his head. Threats are everywhere. Then, another voice whispered. The night is dark and full of terrors. Jon wondered if Mellisandra was still alive. If Sam was still alive. If anyone was still alive.

He shook his head at once. Stop that. You know better. Jon pushed the thoughts away and looked about the porch for Maggie. A single lantern hung from a rafter, dousing the empty, white porch in a golden light. Jon stood alone, relieved. He’d rather not have to talk to the woman. She struck him as rather incompetent, headstrong without any true skill to back it up.

Instead, a far more welcome companion joined Jon. Ghost, silent even on the uneven boards of the rickety stairs, joined Jon’s side and nuzzled his waist. The direwolf smelt of lavender soap. The lantern light gifted him a golden coat and speckled his red eyes with flakes of gold. They gazed up at him, unreadable, the way Jon liked them.

“Come, boy. We’ve got tonight’s watch.” Jon scratched Ghost behind the ears, getting a wag out of his tail.

“Watch!” screeched an unwelcome companion.

The raven fluttered into the rafters and hung from the lantern, upside down, like some sort of feathered bat. It stared at Jon with its pale, scarred eye.

“Bah, shoo. Do you have nothing better to do than pester me?”

“Corn!”

“Appears not.” Jon sighed. “Fine. Come along, if you must. Let’s see if we can’t find you some corn.”

“Corn! Corn!” The raven let go of the lantern, dropped, opened its wings and fluttered onto Jon’s shoulder. The creature had lost some weight without the comforts of the wall. But still, the large bird weighed on Jon’s shoulder enough to be irritating. Bloody, hawk in raven’s clothing, I swear.

As Jon crossed the gravel lot to head for the stables, he watched the moon. It hung above the barn atop its hill as a slither; a pale, crescent dagger. The barn afforded Jon an inkling of hope. Spacious and tall, it’d make for decent housing. Even if it meant sharing with farm animals. Sleeping among cow shit sounded far better than sleeping out in the open, like a buffet for corpses. The raven stared at it too. It muttered nonsense words.

“Quiet, you. We’ll find your corn, I promise.”

“Sick,” it muttered.

Jon ignored the creature and pressed on to the stables. A golden light spilled out of the stables, casting shadows upon the gravel. As Jon drew near, faint sounds wafted through the air. A woman’s giggles danced with a man’s laughter. Jon made his way down the corridor of pens, past the weathered donkey and stocky workhorse. The giggles turned to moans and the wet slapping of flesh. Jon froze. His cheeks flushed. What are you doing? Get a move on. It’s nothing you haven’t seen before. Jon pinpointed the source. The sounds of fucking spilled out of the vacant pen beside Nessy’s, blocking Jon’s path. Jon grimaced. He could turn back and take the workhorse, but a brave horse would be best to confront the dead. For all he knew, the workhorse would throw him at the mere scent of rot, not to mention how it would react to Ghost. Bloody hell. Jon bored his eyes into the ground and hurried past the empty pen.

Moans turned to screams. “Jon?!” Glenn shouted.

Jon stopped. He needed to talk to Glenn, to tell him of tomorrow’s plans. Taking care to not let his eyes wander, Jon met Glenn’s eyes. Glenn and Maggie scrambled to cover themselves with whatever clothes were nearest.

“Sorry. Can I borrow you for a second?”

“Can it wait?” Glenn asked, panting.

“No.”

“Dude… come on…” Glenn’s eyes glanced at Maggie.

“Dude!” the raven cackled.

“N-No, it’s okay. It must be important. Besides…” A sultry tone coloured Maggie’s voice. “I ain’t goin’ anywhere.”

Glenn sighed. “Fine. But this better be life and death shit, man.”

“I’ll give you some privacy to dress,” Jon said.

He made his way to Nessy’s pen with flushed cheeks. Nessy greeted him with a snort and a flick of his tail.

“Nice to see you again too.”

Ghost eyed Nessy. Nessy eyed Ghost. Even warhorses, broken and hardened for the heat of battle reared at the mere sight of Ghost. Nessy only snorted and turned his snout up.

“Corn!” The raven flew from Jon’s shoulder and landed on an open bag of fodder. It pecked at the dried straw greedily.

A short wait later, Glenn emerged from the empty pen, dressed in unbuttoned jeans and a little more. Lantern light played golden games on his bare chest’s olive skin and wispy, black hairs. “This better be important, dude,” he grumbled.

“Rick and I have agreed that we tell the truth tomorrow.”

“Shit. Really?”

“Aye.”

Glenn clutched his chin and nodded. “Alright. Good. I reckon we do it first thing, around the table. That way everyone knows at the same time, and we can answer any questions right away.”

“Aye, and quell any sort of panic.”

“Yeah, that too. So… this place is it then, right? Rick thinks we’ve found a new home?”

“Rick believes so, yes. But that isn’t the only reason for telling the truth. He and I agree that it’s better they find out from us than have Sophia’s death explain it for us.”

Glenn’s eyes widened. “Sophia’s dead?”

“No. Not yet.”

“Not yet? Come on, man. Have a little hope. She’s got proper medicine now, and two doctors to take care of her.”

“Have you seen her? She’s practically a corpse already.”

“Yeah, I saw. I know it looks bad but I’m not giving up on her.”

“You’re only setting yourself up for greater grief.”

“Maybe… but so be it.”

“So be it then. I can’t chastise hope. Foolish as it may be.”

Glenn chuckled. “Yeah, okay. Whatever you say, dude.”

They shared a merry laugh. Glenn smirked and punched his arm.

“If you ever interrupt me like that again, we won’t be laughing, dumbass,” he said, grinning.

Jon chuckled. “Sorry. It wasn’t exactly pleasant for me, either.”

“Bullshit. Did you see her?” Glenn whistled. “I didn’t think I’d ever meet a girl that hot again, dude. And guess what?” His voice dropped to a whisper. “She came onto me!”

“I’m afraid I kept my eyes above the shoulders, but good for you.”

“You boys done?” Maggie poked her head out of the pen.

“Aye, my apologies. I’ll let you get on with it. Keep your clothes on for a bit, will you? I’m taking Nessy out for a patrol.”

“Wait, hold on.” Maggie stepped out; wearing only a half-buttoned shirt and her undergarments. “I wanted to talk to you, actually.”

Jon averted his eyes from her immodesty. Glenn laughed and smirked at him. Maggie stood before him, unashamed.

“I wanted to apologise,” she said. “For Carl.”

“No need. Your hospitality has more than-”

“Just let me do this, kid. Geez. I suck at this shit. Let me practice on you so I don’t fuck it up with Rick and Lori. Okay? Look, when I saw the… the… uh, corpse and the kid so close I just didn’t think. I pointed and shot like it was a reflex, you know? Like when your hand touches somethin’ hot and you just gotta pull away? That’s what it was like. You get me? God, I’m ramblin’. Look, I just wanted to say I didn’t mean to hurt him. And I feel like a complete idiot for shooting… it… through the stomach of all places. I completely forgot what it was I was shootin’ in the moment, you know? If I hadn’t, the bullet would’ve passed right over Carl. So that’s on me.”

“It! It! It!” the raven cawed.

Jon blinked at her. “Aye… you’re forgiven.”

Maggie clenched her jaw. “Thanks, but I gotta do more to earn that. I’ll talk to my dad about lettin’ y’all stay here. Among other things… We need people like you if we’re gonna rebuild what we’ve lost.”

Jon nodded. “I appreciate it.”

Maggie spat on the palm of her hand and stuck it out to Jon. “Let’s shake on it.”

“Let’s not.”

“Nope, you’re shakin’. Spit shake it sacred. An unbreakable oath.”

Jon sighed, spat on his hand and shook hers. She squeezed his hand tight. He squeezed back. Once they finished, he wiped his hand on his jeans.

“Alright.” Maggie grinned and grabbed Glenn’s arm. “Come on you.”

She dragged him back towards the empty pen. Glenn laughed, seized her waist, flung her over his shoulder and carried her, earning a squeal of a laugh.

Jon saddled Nessy and thought about Glenn’s stance on Sophia’s death. He’d expected grief, despair, and even anger but not hope. A little whisper of doubt plagued his mind.

“Mayhaps, I have misjudged these people once again,” he whispered to no one in particular.

“May-Haps!” The raven cawed.

*** Jon left Glenn and Maggie to their fucking and trotted off into the field a top Nessy, towards the camp. Ghost padded alongside, silent like always. Nessy marched alongside Ghost undeterred. As if Ghost were nothing more than an everyday hound.

Jon stroked his mane. “You would have felt right at home on the wall.”

“Wall!” The raven shot overhead towards the distant night fire; a black arrow on a star-spangled sky.

It’d been weeks since they’d lit a night fire. Its orange twinkling filled Jon with queer nostalgia. The trip from the stables to the camp took longer than Jon would have liked. Dale had insisted they set up a fair distance away, to afford their hosts some privacy. Jon had been alone in his disagreement, so the camp had been lain in the centre of a field, rather than in the gravel lot. Jon counted the minutes from the stable to the camp. Seven, if his counting rhythm had stayed steady. Far too long.

Jon rode Nessy through their camp. A short trip through a corridor of tents and vehicles. The wall of tents and the wall of vehicles sat on either side of Dale’s plastic long-table. Jon manoeuvred Nessy alongside the table, pressing right up against the RV. Atop, Jon spotted Shane. He watched the treeline of looming, shadow sentinels from his plastic hair.

At the end of the long table, Jon found the fire pit. Dale, Andrea, T-Dog and Jenner sat around it, chatting and roasting nuts. The raven hopped around their feet, eyeing the nuts like a hapless beggar.

The grime of travel had vanished. Dale’s hair was white as snow, Andrea’s shiny and golden, T-Dog’s black like dragon glass and Jenner’s a pale cream. The beards of tangled hair once sported by the men were gone in favour of smooth, hairless chins. Except for Dale, who had trimmed his down to a fine, silver stubble. T-Dog and Dale sat across from one another, japing across the crackling flames. Andrea basked in the warmth, clinging to Dale’s arm, half-asleep. Jenner sat in silence, focusing on mashing chestnuts into a paste with the hilt of his knife. Nessy’s approach drew all four pairs of eyes on him.

Dale laughed. “Bit late for riding, isn’t it, Jon?”

“Aye that it would be. I’m heading off for patrol.”

“We’ve got Shane for that, man.” T-Dog grinned and patted his log seat. “Come join us! Fire’s nice and toasty, and these chestnuts are lookin’ mighty fine. I think.”

“Shane can only watch so much at once. We’re open from all sides out here and that fence isn’t sturdy enough to trust our lives too.”

Andrea nodded. “Makes sense. I’ll take the second shift.”

“Can you ride?” Jon asked.

Andrea shrugged. “Can’t be that hard.”

T-Dog scoffed. “Can’t be that hard. You seein’ the same horse I am? Look at him, he hates you already.”

Nessy snorted. The muscles in his neck turned to steel. Jon stroked the stallion’s neck and the muscles softened. “Aye, he’s not new rider material, I’m afraid.”

“Whatever, I’ll just go on foot then,” Andrea said.

“Or maybe, just let Shane. He’s already keeping watch anyway.” Dale placed a hand on Andrea’s knee.

Andrea smirked at him. “Please, you just don’t want me to leave in the middle of the night.”

Dale rubbed the back of his head and laughed. “Yeah, guilty.”

“Don’t worry, old man. You’ll have plenty of me before I leave.” Andrea planted a kiss on Dale’s cheek.

T-Dog bellowed a belly laugh and clapped his hands. “Can’t argue with that, man!”

“No.” Dale took Andrea’s hands into his. His eyes softened. “No I can’t.”

Andrea and Dale shared a smile and a kiss. T-Dog turned his grin on Jenner.

“How’d the old guy find a girl before us? Huh?” He asked, laughing.

Jenner responded with a glare. He pulled his stick from the fire, placed more chestnuts in a bowl, poured some water onto them and mashed them into a paste with the hilt of his knife. A bandage covered his cheek. A white square, spanning from jaw to cheekbone, secured by tape.

“How do we fare tonight?” Jon asked.

Dale tore his eyes away from Andrea to beam at Jon. “Never been better. Look at this place. About as close as we’ve got to heaven nowadays.”

“Yeah, man,” T-Dog said. “We can really make something here. You know? We can finally put all this shit behind us and start rebuilding.”

“Couldn’t put it better myself,” Dale said.

Jon nodded and watched the other two. Andrea smiled a tight, thin smile and stared at her feet. Jenner mashed his paste with a scowl.

“I’ve checked on Carl. Seems like he’ll make a recovery,” Jon said. Best to ease into the hard talks.

“Kid’s tough,” Andrea said.

“Gotta be, after the things he’s seen.” A rare scowl darkened T-Dog’s face. “So fucked up man… those kids’ll never get these years back.”

“One of many tragedies.” Dale pulled his chestnuts from the fire and began cracking the shells. “But, better days are ahead. For us and the kids.” Dale found Jon’s eyes again. “I’ve been meaning to ask. How are you coping, son? We’ve been so preoccupied with the kids’ injuries we never stopped to check in on you.”

T-Dog’s chin dipped. Andrea raised her head. Even Jenner stopped what he was doing to stare.

“Fuck.” T-Dog whispered. “True. Sorry, Jon. I didn’t even think- I mean you had to-”

“I’m fine. I did all I could to save her. That’s all I can ask for.” Jon’s burned hand ached.

Dale and T-Dog smiled meek, sullen smiles. Andrea frowned.

“Whatever happens, know it wasn’t your fault,” she said.

“I know,” Jon lied. For their sake.

Dale laughed an awkward laugh. “Come now, you’re talking like Sophia’s gonna die. You heard Hershel, she’ll pull through.”

“I know sweetheart…” Andrea smiled a thin smile and kissed Dale’s cheek. “I heard him. I mean, if Daryl or Carol or Sophia hold it against him, that he shouldn’t feel bad.”

“Oh.” Dale held Andrea’s hand and smiled at Jon. “I’m sure they won’t. Well, Daryl might. But he isn’t exactly friendly, to begin with. Never has been. Him or his brother.”

Jon gave him a nod and smiled. “Aye, I’m sure you’re right.” He glanced at T-Dog. They had gone quiet. Shadows veiled his face as he stared at the ground. Best to keep an eye on him.

Jenner clutched his cheek. “Jon-” He winced. “Can we speak alone?”

“Aye.”

Jon dismounted and led Jenner away to the tents. Ghost padded after them. Nessy wandered off to graze. The raven remained to beg by the fire. The others resumed their chatter.

Jon ducked inside Jenner’s tent. An empty space with a blue, plastic floor and a huddle of scavenged blankets to sleep on. They had no lights so the night’s dark consumed all. A silhouette that must belong to Jenner slipped through the tent’s flap after him and sat down. Ghost sat outside, guarding them on his haunches.

“Before we speak, you should know. We’re revealing the truth tomorrow,” Jon said, a little above a whisper. “Rick and I believe the time is right. Glenn agrees.”

“About time.” Jenner clutched his cheek as he spoke. His wound muffled and gurgled his words. “Have you told Carol?”

“Aye… I made that decision alone.”

“And?”

“Better than expected. Far better. She has a certain strength to her, that one. She accepted the truth at face value.”

“Not unexpected at all, actually.”

“We’ll see.”

“We will.”

A tension lingered between them.

“What did you want to speak about?” Jon asked.

“The walker. It planned out an ambush. Used a weapon. Reacted to your attacks. The dead can’t do that.”

“No… they can’t.”

“Yet, it was dead.”

“Undoubtedly. Surely you have some idea. This is your area of expertise after all.”

“Only a hypothesis… nothing concrete.”

“It’ll have to do.”

“Alright, well, Candice had this theory of a third mutation wave. The final step in the wildfire virus’s conquest. Essentially, once it got settled into the second wave and established a strong presence of roaming hosts, the virus would start to reactivate the strongest neural pathways of the brain. If true, hypothetically speaking, the virus could perform more complex tasks that its host performed on a day to day basis. Stuff that’d been committed to instinct. Our walker was a cop, right? It’d track that fighting with a baton and recognising potential attacks from an assailant would be drilled into their memory through training.”

Jon understood enough of what Jenner said to follow. “I saw walkers climb ladders and use rubble to bash windows. And Rick told me about a child walker he met at the start of all this carrying a toy bear around as well as one that tried to open a door. Could that be the third wave as well?”

“Yeah, definitely. First-wave and second-wave walkers can only roam or lurk, nothing more.” Jenner winced and smiled. “I guess Candice was right.”

“It appears so. Did she come up with a name for these variants?”

“Just that, actually. Variants. A proper name was still pending.”

“Variants it is then. Best we inform the others of their existence tomorrow, along with the truth about the virus.”

“Agreed.”

Jon gummed his lips. “Also… Rick believes me.”

Jenner’s stern gaze brightened. He winced as a grin spread across his face. “All of it?” He clutched his cheek.

“Aye. All of it. At least, he says so. He wanted to know about the people I’ve killed. I suppose he wanted to make sure I wasn’t a crazed killer. So, I told him about Orell and Quorin and Rattleshirt and Janos Slynt and…”

“Ygritte?”

Jon nodded.

“How’d he take it?”

“Foolishly. He tried to comfort me like he thought to be my father. I was all quite… uncomfortable.”

“I’d call that a pretty reasonable response, Jon.”

“Aye, you would. A queer lot, the pair of you.” Jon shook his head and waved his hand. “Let’s talk no more of it. I just thought you’d like to know you have someone to discuss your notes with.”

Jenner’s smile faded. “Thanks.”

*** Jon left Nessy to graze and climbed the RV’s ladder. Ghost waited on his haunches at the ladder’s base and gazed at the dagger moon with lazy red eyes. Atop the RV, Jon found Shane in his plastic chair with an empty, scoped rifle in his lap. A thorough wash had returned the cream to his skin. And the curls to his head of black hair, pitch like a starless night sky. And although the wash rid him of a sour stench, it did naught for his sour face. A perpetual scowl honed in on the distant, looming, black sentinels of the forest. He paid Jon no mind as he set foot atop the RV.

With one hand on Longclaw’s pommel, Jon stood beside Shane and stared out into the forest. “We need to discuss what transpired today.”

“Ain’t nothin’ to discuss.”

“There is. You’re trying to turn Rick’s people against him.”

“I ain’t tryin’ to do shit. Just told it like it is, that’s all. Rick’s the leader. Leaders take the blame.”

“Don’t take me for a fool, Shane. What you covet is plain for all to see.”

Shane’s grip tightened around his rifle. “Jon, get the fuck away from me.”

Jon stood between Shane and his view of the forest. “You ought to regard me with kindness.”

“Yeah, and why the fuck is that, kid?”

“Because I’m here. Talking to you. While the others pretend as if you don’t exist.”

Shane’s scowl wavered. The grip on his rifle loosened.

Jon squeezed Longclaw’s direwolf pommel. “After everything you’ve done, you ought to have been exiled or executed. Don’t think for a moment we didn’t discuss it. I argued against it. Because for all your faults, you’re strong. We need strong men in times like these. So, for your own sake, don’t make me regret that decision. Keep your head down and do your part.”

A thin smile spread across Shane’s lips. “So, you didn’t kill me. That meant to make us friends now? You wanna braid dandelions into each other’s hair or somethin’?”

“Even if these people did turn against Rick, they’d never turn to you next. Not after what you’ve done.”

“No… they wouldn’t.” Shane thumbed the hilt of his rifle. “You’d be next. Wouldn’t you?”

“I couldn’t say.”

“I can. Fuck, look at yourself, kid. The cloak. The sword. The wolf. You’d have to be fuckin’ retarded to not listen to what you have to say.”

Jon raised an eyebrow. “So, you’re listening then?”

“Yeah, yeah. I am. Fuck. I ain’t dumb. I see how things are. Before, the things I said about Rick, that shit was just heat of the moment. You know? The kid’d just lost an arm. Daryl and the dog were at each other’s throats. Things looked like they were fallin’ apart and no one was doin’ shit about it. I got emotional. Can you blame me? You ain’t gotta worry about me, Jon. I’ll just stay out of the way, where I can’t bother people by beein’ seen. Swear it on those I’ve lost.” Shane put his hand over his heart, over his golden, sheriff's star.

“Aye… okay. Good.”

Shane offered Jon his hand. “Thanks for the second chance, man. I owe you. For real.”

Jon shook his hand. “You can pay back the favour by staying true to your word.”

“Deal.”

Jon nodded. “Aye, okay. I’ll leave you be, then. Enjoy tonight’s peace for however long it lasts.”

“You too, man.”

Jon crossed the RV’s roof and approached the ladder. But before descending, he looked over his shoulder at Shane. “Shane, if you’re lying to me, I’ll execute you myself.”

“Yup, heard the threat the first time.” Shane waved to him over his shoulder.

Jon watched Shane for a moment before descending the RV’s ladder. Below, he found Ghost waiting patiently. Jon smiled.

“Good boy.” He ruffled the direwolf’s ears.

Ghost’s tail went to wagging and he caught Jon’s hand in his teeth. He nipped. Jon tugged. The wolf tugged back, gently. If Ghost so chose, he could take Jon’s arm off with little trouble. His mouth could fit Jon’s whole head. It made his hand seem that of a child’s between his teeth. But, Ghost only nipped and tugged; hard enough to make it fun but never enough to cause harm. Jon chuckled and pet him again. Ghost let go and together they went to find Nessy. Nessy hadn’t wandered far and when Jon mounted him, he made no fuss.

With Ghost in tow, Jon headed off for his last stop before he began that night’s patrol. On the other side of the field, the lonely, pointed silhouette of a tent sat nestled among black and grey grass. White light flickered within the tent, dim and pale, like a heavenly beacon.

Jon trotted Nessy across the field to Daryl’s tent. Ghost skulked after him through the grass. The raven glided overhead, casting a winged silhouette against Georgia’s night sky. A night sky like no other. The Westerosi night sky housed thousands of twinkling pale eyes and countless constellations. Jon knew all the important ones by heart.

The crone’s lantern, the galley, the ghost, the ice dragon, the cradle, the moonmaid, the shadowcat, the sow, the horned lord and the sword of the morning. Seven wanderers patrolled the night’s sky, each sacred to the southern faith of the seven gods. Jon hadn’t bothered to learn their names. Nor should he. Even if the seven were real, they were lies, the same as the old gods. No afterlife awaited them. Only the cold embrace. Yet, Jon knew the name of one of the wanderers all the same. The red wanderer. Ygritte had told him its true name. The thief. Oftentimes, when hardships saught to test Jon’s command on the wall, he watched the sky for the thief. The little red dot filled him with a queer peace.

But that’s all there was in the Westerosi sky; wanderers and stars and the moon or the occasional comet. Georgia’s night sky sported a band of celestial clouds that slashed the sky. Like a heavenly wound that bled starlight. No matter how many nights Jon had spent beneath it, it never failed to amaze him. Jenner called it the Sagittarius Arm, named after the word for “archer” in the dead tongue of Latin. But Jon preferred to call it “the wound”, for that’s what it looked like. He basked in its yellow and blue light all the way to Daryl’s camp. The majesty of the wound gifted Jon pause. He pondered his approach towards convincing Daryl. Direct, plain and calm, Jon decided as he arrived.

“Daryl? May I enter?” Jon asked as he dismounted.

A grunt responded. Jon had heard enough of such grunts to recognise it as a “yes”. He left Nessy to graze outside and ducked inside the tent. Ghost sat guard on his haunches. The raven followed Jon inside. Daryl sat cross-legged in the corner of the tent, whittling crossbow bolts from sticks under the light of a torch held between his teeth. His hair, the colour of mud, hung over his eyes, greasy and tangled. Dirt, sweat and all manner of unwashed filth smudged his skin and stained his clothes. The light played queer tricks on his face, enlarging his already prominent eye bags and bunny lines. He regarded Jon with a curt glance, never once pausing his whittling.

“Can I trouble you to free your mouth so we make speak?” Jon asked.

“Speak! Speak!” the raven cried, strutting about the tent’s blue, plastic floor.

Daryl spat out the torch and scowled. “What’re you doin’ here?”

“I might ask you the same.”

“What’s it look like?”

“Hiding.”

Daryl’s upper lip curled. “Fuck you.”

“Carol needs you. Yet, here you sit.”

Daryl scoffed. “Yeah? She tell you that?”

“Aye, she did, actually.”

Daryl stopped whittling and avoided Jon’s eyes.

“I’ll ask you again,” Jon said. “What are you doing out here?”

“She don’t need me. A miracle’s what she needs.”

Jon sighed. “Daryl… only three people could ever get Sophia to smile. Her mother, Carl and you. Why you of all people, I have no idea. But the fact remains that she liked you nonetheless. Only one of the three people that that girl cared anything for is by her side. Carl’s got an excuse. Where’s yours?”

“Kid… you don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”

Flames danced in Jon’s chest. “Listen, go say goodbye before she dies and you lose the chance.”

Daryl threw down his bolts and pointed his knife at Jon. “And who’s fault is that?! Huh?! They were yours to watch over and you let her run!”

“Run! Run! Run!” the raven cried.

Jon took a deep breath, ran his fingers through his hair and dulled the flames in his chest. Cool, calm washed over him.

“Daryl, we’re all infected.”

“The fuck you talkin’ ‘bout now?”

“It isn’t the dead’s bite that turns us into them, it’s death itself. If- When Sophia dies, she’ll turn and if Carol’s up there alone she’ll have to put her down.”

Shadows played games upon Daryl’s face as his rugged features dropped. “What- What makes you think that?”

“Jenner confirmed it to me. I told Rick. Rick told Glenn. And together we decided to keep it from you all. A mistake, I’m starting to realise. I apologise for that. And more. For Ghost’s attack. For letting Sophia run. For allowing the dead to bite her…” Accursed tears invaded Jon’s cheeks again. He scrubbed it away and forbade any more to well. “The blame for her death falls squarely on my shoulders. That’s my burden to carry. So, let me carry it, pack up your stuff and go say your goodbyes.”

The torchlight glistened in Daryl’s, silhouetted eyes. He wiped his hand over his face. “God dammit,” he muttered. He set down his knife. “Thanks, man. Sorry for hittin’ you. I shouldn’t have.”

“No, you should’ve. I deserved it.”

“No, god dammit, you didn’t. Fuck… there ain’t never no reason to hit a kid. Fuckin’ never. I’m an asshole for hittin’ you and a total piece of shit for pullin’ that fuckin’ knife.”

“I’m no child. I can take a hit.”

“Yes, you fuckin’ are. Shithead. That beard don’t fool me.”

“Shit! Head!” the raven cawed.

Shadows danced upon Daryl’s lips as a smile crept across them. “You better hide that bird next time we run out of food. He’s first on the menu.”

Jon chuckled. “You’re more than welcome to him.”

Daryl’s grin broadened as he let loose a belly laugh. He squeezed Jon’s shoulder. Jon squeezed his back and laughed with him. The raven cawed as if to protest.

“Can I trouble you with one more request?” Jon asked once his laughter died down.

“Sure.” Daryl tripped on the last of his laughter. “What is it?”

“Well, two, actually. Don’t tell anyone about the true nature of the virus. We’ve planned to let everyone know at the same time tomorrow around breakfast.”

“Not even Carol?”

“Carol knows.”

Daryl nodded. “Alright. Sure thing. What else?”

“Take a bloody shower. You smell like sour milk.”

Daryl smirked and clutched the back of his head. “Fine.”

*** Once Daryl set off for the house, crossbow slung over his shoulder, Jon finally began his patrol. Nessy trotted him around the perimeter of rusted, scrap sheets. Ghost padded ahead, a fair distance away, stalking imaginary prey through the wheat stalks and long grass. The raven rested on Jon’s shoulder, queerly silent. The patrol started parallel to the house’s front door. Jon counted the minutes until he arrived there again. A trip around the perimeter took thirty minutes, more or less, at trotting speed.

Landmarks inside and outside the fence were few and far between. Outside, black and grey fields of wheat and grass rolled over boundless hills, void of anything else. But inside, the barn loomed overall atop its hill on the western side of the property. When Jon passed it, Ghost drew closer and glued his red-eyed gaze on it while the raven muttered under its breath. It was of a great size and a perfect distance from the farmhouse. Quite suitable for more permanent housing than their camp in the field. Better to sleep among hay and dung, than sleep open to the dead. To the east, a giant oak mirrored the barn’s height. Tall and broad, like an oaken drum tower. As Jon passed it, Ghost skulked off to relieve himself on it while the raven fluttered into its canopy to strut along its branches. If it’s bark were white and its leaves red and hand-shaped, it’d make a fine heart tree for a gods wood.

Darkness hindered Jon’s ability to see all that far but as far as he could tell, all was peaceful. But as Jon finished his first lap, Glenn’s words rang in his head. Threats are everywhere. He set off on another lap. The second of many. Hopefully all peaceful.

However, no sooner than Nessy had taken two steps, did a shadow dart from one of the house’s second-story windows. Nimble as a cat, it darted across a lower roof, leapt onto the gravel and bolted out into the field, making for the towering oak. At once, Jon dug his heels in and snapped Nessy’s reins. Nessy whinnied and galloped for the tree, cutting a line as-the-raven-flies through fields of wheat and tall grass. Ghost raced alongside, silent and sure-footed, while the raven cackled from Jon’s shoulder. The shadow darted behind the tree, out of sight. As Jon drew near, he unsheathed Longclaw and drew in a breath. He opened his mouth to bellow a warning to the would be intruder. But a high, sweet melody gave him pause. A woman’s voice wafted through the air. A Georgian accent twanged the song’s vowels and silenced its Rs.

“By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond Where me and my true love will never meet again On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond”

Atop Nessy, Jon rounded the tree and found Beth knelt before the tree. The moonlight glimmered in her golden hair, tied taught behind her head. Two wooden crosses stuck out of the ground at the tree’s base. “Beth?” He asked, sheathing Longclaw.

“Oh!” Beth started, cutting of her singing. Her eyes, wide and blue, snapped to Jon. The fear vanished. She smiled. “Oh, hello Jon. What are you doing out here?”

“I might ask you the same. You shouldn’t be out here alone. It’s not safe.”

“Well, I asked first and that is my horse you’re sitting on, so…”

“My apologies. If I’d known, I’d have asked you directly. But the fact still remains that you shouldn’t be out here.”

“Why? We’ve got the fence. Plus, you’re out here.”

“It’s too low and too shoddy. I’m unwilling to entrust the lives of the others to it. And, I’m not alone. I have Ghost.”

Beth shrugged. “Well, the fence done a good job so far.” Her eyes found Ghost by Nessy’s side. “So his name is Ghost? What made you choose that?”

“How about we discuss his name back at the house?”

“You can protect me, can’t you?”

“I can but-”

“Then we’re just as safe here.”

Jon sighed. He had no time for children’s games. “He’s named Ghost because he never makes a sound. And because his fur is white.”

“Makes sense. How about your bird? What’s its name?”

“It doesn’t have on. It isn’t a pet.” A pest more like.

“That ain’t right. It’s gotta have a name.”

“Daryl likes to call it Little Bastard.”

Beth furrowed her brow. “That’s not nice. He’s only a bird. What’d he do to deserve that?”

“Nice!” the raven cawed. It eyed them from its perch on a low branch.

“Be a nuisance.”

“Well, if he ain’t your pet. Why’s he follow you around?”

Jon stiffed. He racked his mind for a lie. He decided on a half truth. “He belonged to a friend. A man called Mormont. He raised ravens. This one was his favourite. I found it out on the road a few weeks ago, eating the flesh from a dead man’s face. I assume Mormont died, or let the birds go. Either way, the raven recognised me and has been following me ever since.”

“Then he definitely deserves a name. To honour your friend.”

Jon sighed and said the first name that came to mind. “Bloodbeak. Because of how I found him.”

Beth curled her lip. “That’s a horrible name.”

“Blood! Beak!” the raven flapped its wings. “Blood! Beak! Blood! Beak! Blood! Beak!”

Jon smirked. “He seems to like it.”

Beth tried to keep her frown but a giggle broke her resolve. “Okay, well if he likes it, Bloodbeak it is then.” She held out her hand to Ghost.

Ghost padded to her, passed her hand and nuzzled her face. Giggling, Beth ruffled his fur, sending Ghost’s tail to wagging.

“Are you ready to go back now?”

Beth glanced at the crosses. Her smiled faded and her shoulders drooped. “Not yet… I haven’t prayed for Nan and Pa yet.”

Jon shifted in his saddle. “Your grandparents?”

“Yeah.”

“Sorry for your loss. We’ve all lost people. You’re not alone.”

“Oh… no, they died before all of… this. Tonight marks two years since their passin’. My family’s been pretty unscathed by everythin’, truth be told. Thank the Lord.”

“Is that what that song was? A prayer?”

Beth raised an eyebrow. “No, it’s Loch Lomond. Nan used to sing it to me. Her Nan used to sing it her, back in her old country. It’s about two Scottish rebels held prisoner by the English. One’s to be executed. One’s to set free. You haven’t heard of it before? Aren’t you Scottish?”

“I’m afraid I haven’t. I… didn’t grow up there.”

Beth shrugged. “Neither did I. But, whatever. It ain’t important.” Beth’s eyes drifted away. Flush warmed her cheeks. “I-I’d like if you prayed with me.”

“Sorry, I don’t worship any gods.”

“Oh. Well, would you care to just sit with me then? I could use the company. These past weeks have been quite lonesome. Don’t get me wrong I love my family, but they’re grown. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever see someone my own age again.”

“Your own age? How old do you think I am?”

“Seventeen? Jenner told me so. How old do you think I am?”

Jon found himself flushed. “Oh… well…”

Beth laughed. “Just messin’ with you. I know how I look. I get it from mom. She has a baby face too. But no, I’m seventeen. Like you.”

Jon’s nose wrinkled. “Has? I haven’t seen your mother around.”

“Well, yeah. She’s in the barn. Most of my family are. The farm hands and the neighbours too. Even Mayor Lewis. We found him not to long before you arrived. Wandered right up the fence.”

“What? Do you speak of the dead?”

“Dead? No. They’re still alive. I’m talkin’ about the sick ones. You know, the whole reason we’re in this mess to begin with? I’ll show you if you like.”

“Aye, I think you best.”

Beth’s face brightened and she got to her feet. “Great! Oh, you better leave Nessy here. He’s brave, but he refuses to get close to the barn.” Beth shrugged. “Guess even he’s afraid to get sick.”

“Sick!” the raven cackled.

“Aye… I imagine he is.”

Jon tied Nessy’s leading rope around the oak’s trunk and followed the mad girl across the fields. As they approached the hilltop-barn, the dagger-moon ducked out of sight behind its peaked roof, casting them in a moon-light shadow.

Shadows veiled Beth’s features as she looked over her shoulder at Jon. “Keep quiet,” she whispered. “Sound gets them all riled up.”

Jon nodded. He tightened his grip on Longclaw’s pommel. Ghost skulked beside him, red eyes locked on the barn. The raven glided overhead, muttering to itself. Beth led them around the barn to its back. It’s red, wooden walls loomed high over Jon’s head. Jon checked for cracks, gaps or any breaches. The walls were solid from ground to roof. Jon listened closely, ever so closely. Faint shuffling feet and gurgled breathing nagged Jon from beyond the walls. Behind the barn a ladder leaned against the wall, leading to a square, man-sized opening. Beth stopped before the ladder. Moonlight glimmered off her pale skin and golden hair as she faced Jon with a smile.

“Mom’ll like you.” Her face flushed. “I mean… I hope.”

Jon motioned for Ghost to sit. He sat guard by the ladder’s base, staring at Beth. The raven perched atop the ladder and stared inside the barn, muttering endlessly. Slow and steady, so as to keep noise to a minimum, Jon climbed the ladder until he got a look through the square-hole. Below, huddled in a lazy clump, a small army of corpses shuffled to and fro. Death’s rotten stench festered in the air.