#but I don't see how he could possibly be *worse* than Negan. like he's *as bad* at the most. at the very MOST.

[lab-gr0wn-lambs]

All the "Rick became worse than Shane" this and "Negan was actually the good guy" that-

Y'all forget that Shane SA'd Lori and was willing to kill his best friend to keep her, not even giving a shit how she feels. Rick would never. And he would never burn his own people's faces off for being 'disobedient'. He was a total dictator at times but to a group who actually love and care about eachother. A family who aren't glorified bandits thinking they're entitled to everybody's stuff and would kill you if you didn't give it. Dude was very trigger-happy for a while there, but he brought it back. There's a lot of similarites between Rick, Negan and Shane but the differences are key. Can y'all stop tryna be so transcendent?

[ssa-montgomery]

Playlists

Hi there I make way too many playlists for shows I enjoy so I thought I'd share them here for all of you to hopefully enjoy too! I'm actively adding to a lot of them so they will be regularly updated :D

Grey's Anatomy

it's a beautiful day to save lives. - A general Grey's Anatomy playlist

nothing is worse than missing an opportunity that could have changed your life. - An Addison Montgomery playlist

I just want someone to need me as much as I need them because I'm always the one who loves more. - An Addison/Mark, Addison/Derek playlist set in the affair era in New York

what a plot twist you were. - An Addison/Meredith playlist

if you love someone, you tell them. - A Mark Sloan playlist

Criminal Minds

wheels up in 30. - A general Criminal Minds playlist

I know what the world can do to a girl who only sees beauty in it. - An Emily Prentiss playlist

sit down and shut up. - An Aaron Hotchner playlist

you, my fine furry friends, are welcome. - A Penelope Garcia playlist

this is calm, and it's doctor. - A Spencer Reid playlist

I am constantly surprised by the longing for you that never quiets. - A Jemily playlist

talk to me baby girl. - A Derek Morgan playlist

I never told you what I should have said. - A Hotchniss playlist

the unsub, or unknown subject. - An Unsub playlist

Supernatural

family don't end in blood. - A general Supernatural playlist

the very touch of you corrupts. - A Destiel playlist

driver picks the music. shotgun shuts his cakehole. - A Dean Winchester playlist

if you can't stand the heat, get out of hell. - A Rowena Macleod playlist

Hannibal

betrayal and forgiveness, are best seen as something akin to falling in love. - A Hannigram playlist

killing must feel good to god too, he does it all the time and are we not created in his image? - A Hannibal Lecter playlist

Arcane

it's been real, cupcake. - A Vi playlist

oil and water, wasn't meant to be. - A Piltovers Finest playlist

Detroit: Become Human

i'm the android sent by cyberlife. - A general Detroit: Become Human playlist

Resident Evil Village

rest while you can, because I will hunt you, and I will break you. - A Lady Dimitrescu playlist

Stranger Things

friends don't lie. - A general Stranger Things playlist

The Umbrella Academy

"get up, we're going." "where?" "to save the world." "oh is that all?" - A general The Umbrella Academy playlist

Lucifer

ain't no rest for the wicked. - A general Lucifer playlist

The Walking Dead

we are the walking dead. - A general Walking Dead playlist

damaged people are dangerous. they know how to survive. - A Daryl Dixon playlist

little pig, little pig, let me in. - A Negan playlist

I ain't nobody's bitch. - pov: getting railed by Daryl Dixon.

Once Upon A Time

the queen is dead, long live the evil queen. - An Evil Queen/Regina Mills playlist

Shadowhunters

for shadowhunters, the descent into hell is easy. - A general Shadowhuters playlist

Moods/Miscellaneous

am I a villain in your story? - A playlist to make you feel like the villain of the story

I feel like a side character watching my own story play out. - A playlist for when you feel like the side character

live like your the main character of the story. - A playlist for when you feel like the main character

girls like girls like boys do. - A playlist for the sapphic vibes

two souls don't find each other by simple accident. - A playlist for romantic/fluffy feelings

the worst possible yearning is missing the person who is standing next to you. - A playlist for the yearning

you are too young to feel like you're running out of time. - A playlist for when you're feeling angsty

they were utterly intoxicated by each other. - A playlist for smutty vibes

I want to break things. - A playlist for when you're feeling angry

it's a pirates life for me. - A playlist for pirate vibes

you say witch like it's a bad thing. - A playlist for witchy vibes

this is halloween. - A playlist for those spooky Halloween vibes

you'll never know how you broke my heart. - A playlist for when you've had your heartbroken

"they hate each other." "no they don't, not really." - A playlist for the Enemies to Lovers vibes

money, money, money must be funny in the rich man's world. - A playlist for being a rich mistress/mafia plotline

the ropes have been unbound, I hunt for you with bloodied feet across the hallowed ground. - A playlist of songs that make me feel like a feral animal

music is a window to the soul. - A playlist of songs that make me feel a little too seen

oh i'm sorry, did you forget I was better than you? - A playlist of songs that give me a god complex

somebody come get her, she's dancing like a stripper. - A playlist of songs that make me want to dance like a stripper

i'm not interested in being polite or heterosexual. - A playlist for Pride 2022

heavy is the head that wears the crown. - A dark royalty playlist

I had all and then most of you, some and now none of you, take me back to the night we met. - A best friends to enemies to lovers trope playlist

though we don't share the same blood you're my brother and I love you that's the truth. - A found family trope playlist

distance means nothing when someone means everything. - A playlist for long-distance relationships.

you've just found religion, nothing more dangerous than that. - songs that describe love or sex as worship or devotion to a lover in the ways of religious undertones.

something in the orange tells me we're not done. - For when you meet the right person, at the wrong time.

"black sabbath, motörhead, metallica, it's the greatest hits of the mullet rock." - The best of dad rock over the years.

you don't think I know what you've done, but when you call me baby, I know i'm not the only one. - For when you'll never quite know the truth, but you know enough.

it's always have and never hold, you've begun to feel like home. - Songs that sound like they're about a break up but are really about losing your comfort show / comfort character.

[jay-and-dean]

Worse

Dean x reader

Summary : Is it possible to love someone so much, you just wish you’re lucky enough to die first ?

Warnings : This is ANGST. I’m not kidding, this is panic attack, suicidal thoughts, grieving, light thought of murder, borderline domestic violence angst. This is kinda Dark and be careful that it’s not too triggering for you, please.

Wordcount : 1.8 k

Note : This is my fic for @negans-lucille-tblr​‘s 6k “roll the dice” writing challenge. My genre prompt was Angst (I think you got it by now) and my prompt was “I’ve been pulling you close but pushing me further”, it’s blod in the fic. 

December is a harsh month for me, so here is a harsh fic.

Jay’s Masterlist

_____________________

           Dean did it again.

           He swore on his life he wouldn't, you should have known that it meant nothing.

           How fucking ironic it is ? Dean Winchester swearing on his own life that he will try to protect it, that he won't shield every person on Earth with his soul and body.

           You're holding your painful chest, sitting on that stupid bed in this stupid motel room where nothing makes any sense anymore because your world is crumbling again. And your mind is going all the way down its own spiral of pain, the worst there is.

           Your breath is short and your thoughts go so fast, a super computer giving you all the details of the movie that will be your life once Dean is gone.

           The silence.

           The implacable silence in the bunker, the void left by the end of his voice, the kind of silence that hurts so much it could kill you, harassing cruelly, again and again, with no break at all until you're ready to open your skull on a wall to make it stop.

           That kind of silence.

           The empty bed back home, the empty room. Your mind makes emptiness rain on you : Empty kitchen and no bacon, no joy ever, no sex, no one holding you and telling it's going to be okay. No one really understanding you and no hero on Earth, no butterflies ever again. No reason to live. Empty heart. Empty life.

           Empty fucking world.

           In the middle of this chaotic din, you think of his toothbrush, of throwing it in the trash because he won't need to clean his cute, going slightly inward, teeth ever again. Of his clothes waiting on the closet forever, and how fast the smell on it will fade.

           You think of the nights spending screaming for him to come back because nothing is bearable without him, nothing... Screaming until you can't, strangling yourself with sobs, knowing it won't help because begging, threatening and bargaining won't change a thing.

           And the days being even worse.

           You think of the moment you will manage to forget the loss just enough to breathe, for a second, sitting on your bed, imagining he is just gone to the bathroom and that he will show up, pass this door again... Then remember he will never look back in your eyes again, fall even harder... And now you want to die.

           Right now.

           Even if all this is not real yet, even if Dean is still alive, you just want to die. You need to stop feeling anything forever now, just not exist because you don't want to be here when all of this happens.

           And it will happen.

           He just proved it. Your love for him doomed you and you're done praying that anyone listening would let you take his burdens...

           Your thoughts shatter when he opens the door of the motel room and walks in with his heart beating and his chest breathing, blood running through his veins... But seeing him is not a relief this time, not anymore, and the deafening fear is still compressing your ribs with its vise talons.

"Baby" he sighs and you whimper at the pain of thinking one day you won't hear it anymore.

           Everything hurts.

           Until now, you always managed to calm after Dean almost died. It always took a few days being extremely anxious, living in the shadow of fear, feeling like nothing had any meaning anymore, but he always managed to make you whole again. With empty promises that he won't leave you, that he will always be by your side...

           Bullshit.

           Last time, the unbearable despair of knowing he will go before you didn't leave you completely, and you still suffer this horrible void caused by the idea that nothing worth living, if it is not forever.

           This time, you know it, that horrible sorrow won't leave you. Not ever.

"Dean, it's over."

His big green eyes widen and his large body comes in front of you. His beloved body that you will have to burn one day, watching it as flames eat his freckled skin and flesh, as they turn to nothingness the man you love.

"Don't say that" he groans. "Baby, look at me. I didn't know for the metal thing."

You close your eyes, seeing the vampire impale him on this stupid bar again and again and it's like the spikes goes through you too.

"You know this one is not on me" he sighs. "It's not like I did it on purpose !"

"This one" you mutter his words in echo. "Maybe if you hadn't worn my heart out with all the times it was actually 'on purpose' like you say..."

He squats in front of you but you can't look at him. He was ready to say goodbye... Again. He was ready for you to lose him, who cares if you are ready or not.

"Don't say that..." he tries to touch your cheek with his fingers, the ones you held while performing that horrible spell to save him at Death's door.

To save him against his will.

           But you flinch away and repeat.

"It's over. I won't watch you die."

"I won't, Baby" he tries again but those lies are hollow and your soul burned out.

You get up and pace the ugly room, unable to bear his face so close after seeing it turn dead pale once more.

"You know how lucky you are ?" you say in a broken voice, way too sad to cry. "You're obviously ready to die, to leave me. You will be the one leaving first and th-that is the luckiest place..." he looks down and takes a loud inhale. "You're so fucking ready to quit."

"I'm not" he states but you ignore his words, they are just wind now.

"But I'm not" you continue, seeing tears fill his perfect eyes. "I can't... O-one day I will have to burn your body, Dean... How selfish is it ? Have you ever thought of what happens after your stupid blaze of glory ?" he keeps his eyes down without saying a word and you could hit him, you want to but instead you let out a desperate strangled scream of pain. "HOW FUCKING SELFISH ARE YOU ! YOU'RE WILLING TO SAVE EVERYBODY BUT ME !"

The burning rage rises in your soul, in your body, and it's like flames were consuming you too, like you were on a stake. Your skin is burning, blood boiling and your heart feels like ember.

"Y/n" he tries, paralyzed by his inability to face this paradox :

If he keeps trying to save you and everybody else with his life, it will kill you ; but if you die, he still burns.

           Is it possible to love someone too much ? Is it possible to actually die of love ? Is it possible that it is too late, that you're already dead...

"I CAN'T SLEEP BECAUSE YOU" you scream and a costumer of the motel yells for you to shut up behind the wall, you couldn't care less. "FUCK YOU DEAN WINCHESTER !"

He walks to you but the blazing pain is killing you, and you push him violently, making him step back in a huff.

"It's the job, Baby, you know that" he tries but it feels like gasoline on the pyre of your heart.

"Those suicidal shits to talk to Death ! Fucking OD on meds !" you feel tears roll on your face, down your chin and chest, but you don't think you're crying, or maybe you have been all this time... "Michael ! HELL ! THE MA'LAK BOX ! I NEVER FORGAVE YOU FOR THAT !"

"Y/n... I'm trying..."

"You should have tried harder ! I have been there, following you everywhere, accepting your stubbornness. I've been pulling you close but pushing me further. I'm dying of loving you Dean... I have to go."

You turn to put your clothes in your bag.

"You can't leave" he states, coming closer.

"WATCH ME !"

With hunter speed, he wraps his arms around you, hard and fast, with all his strength, preventing your every moves. All you can do is scream, and hit his arms to get free like they were enemies.

"You... You're not leaving me Y/n" he states through tears while you're fighting like you can. "You can't leave me... You're the meaning of my life... I love you more than anything in the world."

"LIAR !" you sob, hitting him with all you have, hitting him with your pain and your panic, with the despair that is consuming you.

You're fighting in a desperate last attempt to survive, like it was your last breath but when he squeezes your weak body harder, you hit and scratch every parts of him you can reach even more.

"I could die for you" he sobs.

"DON'T SAY THAT ! LET ME GO" you scream again, your voice hoarse and throat sore.

The neighbor knocks on the wall... And your eyes catch a glance at your gun at reach.

           You grab it with the speed of rage and point it to Dean's temple. Nothing matters anymore, and maybe if you both died in that dirty room, you would end up together in Hell...

           He doesn't move. You look at his tears soaked face, this face you love more than it is healthy to, to his tired wrinkled eyes, so red that the green seems greener... You cry at how beautiful he is, and press the barrel harder on his temple.

"I could kill you..." you mutter with clench teeth through your blurred mind.

"Do it" he orders. "DO IT !"

His shouting makes you flinch when his nose grazes yours at how close he is.

"WHY IN HELL WOULD YOU SAVE MY LIFE TO LEAVE ME AFTER ! I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOU !" he screams and presses his head harder on the gun. "LEAVING OR PUTTING A BULLET IN ME ARE JUST THE SAME ! SO GO ON ! DO IT !"

           You fall.

           His arms catch you and keep you up, but every crumb of your will just fell. The gun slips from your hand...

           A few years ago, you swore to love Dean forever, even if it meant death or Hell or even worse... So you will stay here, just here in his trembling arms until you have to burn him, for you neither can face that cruel paradox.

           You know you will walk on that pyre, that day, and hold him until the end. You will burn, but you will stay...

           Because this is it.

           This is worse.

_________________________

FEEDBACK IS SO IMPORTANT TO ME

Tags : @parinarain​​​ @mogaruke​​​ @masterof-agony​​​ @rainflowermoon @tftumblin​​​ @deans-baby-momma​​​ @roonyxx​​​ @thefaithfulwriter​​​ @vicariouslythruspn​​​ @emeow1496​​​ @daryldixonandfrogs​​​ @holylulusworld​​​  @cocklesbelli @sandlee44​​​ @screenchingartisancashbailiff @donnaintx​​​ @stormchasingchick32-deactivated​​​ @akshi8278​​​ @magssteenkamp​​​ @sister-winchesters99​​​ @neii3n​​​  @lyss-dw79​​​ @im-a-shrub @sadwaywardkid​​​@hopelesslydevotedtoyou1912 @slyqueenj​​​ @i-love-superhero​​​ @waywardsisterandpie @sunsetsandbooks​​​ @mrspeacem1nusone​​​ @stylesismyhubs​​​ @deanwanddamons​​​ @jawritter​​​ @peridottea91​​​ @chelsea072498 @chocolateheart​​​ @vicmc624​​​ @teresa-67​​​ @jessie-michael​​​ @doctor-hp-mcu​​​ @hawkerz12​​​ @mariaenchanted​​​ @hobby27​​​ @wirdbeimaufhebengebunden​​​ @thoughts-and-funnies​​​ @suramyaa @yasreadsfics​ @brilovesdeanwinchester​

[hailthefreakshow]

Risk ➸ Simon X Reader: Chapter 2

Paring: Simon/You

Word count: 1,240

Other chapters: Chapter 1 , Chapter 3

Chapter 2: Relent

You smile in return as your cheeks were stuffed with large helpings. You then notice and embarrassingly cover your mouth in order to swallow. "Hi," you say, trying not to seem like a pig while enjoying your meal. "I'm-"

"Y/N. Negan told me on my way here." Simon bluntly interrupted. "I see you've woken up after two days."

"Two days?!" you repeated, nearly choking on the water that you were in the middle of downing.

"Yeah," he spoke with long exaggeration. "You got knocked out pretty damn hard back at that farm."

Farm? You thought to yourself; no connection being made by this afresh news. "What happened to me? How did I end up at The Sanctuary?"

"You don't—Negan didn't tell you?" he asked in almost amusement while rubbing his mustache, raising an eyebrow.

"No, he said that he would explain things later...Could you at least enlighten me on what the hell is going on?" you retorted.

"Well, I wasn't there when it took place. All I know is that you came from a small farm nine miles south, and found unconscious. Brought here and resided knocked out for roughly forty-eight hours. Negan could enlighten you on more specific details, if you'd wish." he spat.

Everything commencing to sink in like a boat whose hull ripped to shreds. Unpleasant pains surged through your stomach as you grew uncomfortable standing in the kitchen, now knowing bits of the story. The way these strangers 'kidnapped' you scared you more than anything. How they could've easily diverted you from something great. Did you have a group before? Were you alone? Did they steal you? Or possibly save you? No matter the case, you froze in shock. You weren't really the type to express fear, but you looked as if you've seen a ghost.

"Hey!" Simon's voice causing you to regain eye contact. "You okay?" 

"I don't know..." you whispered.

"Let's get you to Dr. Carson." He wrapped a large arm around your body and led you into the hallway. You became sick, agitated, legs feeling weak; unable to identify if this was an effect from unconsciousness or the terrorized fear you indulged. Either way you felt like shit. Simon, on-the-other-hand, seemed to be an asshole due to his tone and body language from moments ago. You immediately weren't fond of him and wished he would disappear.

***

The two of you trekked through different corridors and even ascended a flight of stairs, until you reached an office filled with medical supplies. The door was wide open for anyone to enter. Simon knocked against the frame; alerting a gentleman who was seated at a desk. "Oh, she's awake!" the man exhaled in relief.

"Carson, this is Y/N. She woke up thirty minutes ago and started to look uneasy." said Simon.

"It's nice to meet you." you smiled lightly.

"You as well," the doctor grinned back. "Please sit. I need to do a little check-up."

You climbed to the top of an old hospital bed—feet dangling which barely lingered above the floor. Dr. Carson scooted closer, almost face-to-face as he observed you in the poorly lit room. After several minutes of no talking, you notice Simon went missing. You didn't care about his absence, only relieved he was gone for the time being.

"I'm sorry this happened to you." Dr. Carson spoke breaking the silence.

"What exactly?"

"You experienced blunt force trauma to the posterior portion of your cranium, which resulted to a two-day coma."

"Do you know what caused it or how?"

"I can't say for sure. You were rescued from a farm and quickly brought to my aid. Saviors rushed in explaining how you were found nearly dead on top of a bale of hay." said Carson. "Can you remember anything from the farm or after you woke up?"

"No. I have zero memory. I don't know if I was even alone or with a group...I did wake up in another room on the ground—you knew I was in a coma, why didn't anyone put me in a bed?"

"About that," Carson started. "On the day of your arrival, we had no rooms available. You see, we recruit and lose Saviors almost daily and not everyone has a bed to sleep in. I was instructed to carefully place you in one of our storage facilities—Lucky for you, a new room has opened up today."

"Why was Negan there when I got up?"

"Every-other-hour different people would check on you. To make sure you were alright and breathing. The time you regained consciousness, it happened to be the leaders shift."

***

Later in mid-conversation, a voice suddenly interrupted you and the doctors chat. "How is she doc?" a hint of concern in their tone.

You glance behind Carson to see Simon, who returned and is leaning against the doorway. "Oh-uh, she is okay for now, but needs bed rest for the remainder of the day and tomorrow."

Simon stood up-right and placed his hands around the belt encircling his waist. "Y/N's room is all tidied up and clean."

"Great. She'll need someone to watch her. After a while she should be good to go." Carson said, now bringing his attention to you. "If you need anything, I'll be here in my office."

Simon helped you off the hospital bed, seeing how weak and dizzy you were. You managed to tell Dr. Carson thank you and started heading out where you'd be established. You both walked five rooms down from the infirmary and entered a well-sized living space which contained: a double bedded mattress, side table, kitchenette, and small open area.

"This is it." Simon smirked.

"It's nice." you spoke softly, taking in the scenery, and acknowledging insignificant details on the furniture.

"It was someone else's, but it's all yours now."

"Thanks for helping me get here, to the room, I mean. I know I can hardly walk." you laugh quietly at the end.

"It's no problem. Boss insists I look after you until you're well."

You gave Simon an indecisive look, not fully trusting him since the two of you just met within the past hour. Including his first impression of coming off as a slight dick didn't help the situation.

"I think I'll be fine. I'm not a little kid Simon!" you huffed.

"Just taking orders." he raised his arms in a playful surrender.

"I don't need a babysitter! I'm perfectly fine."

"Sweetheart...you literally woke up from a damn coma not too long ago."

"Alright." you gave in knowing you wouldn't win this fight.

Simon's brown eyes fixed onto yours; a genuine smile beamed across his features. The two of you grew lost in one another's stare, until you started coughing. It caused your head to hurt worse than it already did. "Get some rest. I'll come back in a while—Oh and one more thing before I go." He leaned towards you and whispered essential advice about The Sanctuary in your ear that could come in handy later. But before you could even sit down on the rickety mattress, there was a knock at the door. You nod to Simon to open it. When he approached the exit you couldn't see anyone, only hear his and a woman's voice.

"Arat?" Simon questioned.

"Negan wishes to speak with Y/N now."

[hatnews3-blog]

The Walking Dead Recap: What You Don't Know Will Hurt You

Psst — can you keep a secret? Yeah, me, neither. So the following recap of Sunday’s episode of The Walking Dead includes two big reveals, one even more surprising than the other, and details the turn of events that seems destined to bring crashing down Rick’s bridge over troubled water. Now that you’ve been forewarned, do you still want to proceed? Read on, then.

‘THANK YOU… FOR YOU’ | After “Warning Signs” began with a zombified Justin rising to join the ranks of the undead, we flashed to the morning after, at which point Rick got up early to leave a fresh-picked tomato fit for the cover of Bon Appetit at what I assume was Carl’s grave (not that Carl could possibly appreciate its magnificence — that was one hot tomato). Upon returning home, Rick thanked Michonne for all of her hard work on the charter and beyond, then, with a twinkle in his eye, asked her to put aside that work. “You want me to stop creating the foundations of a new civilization?” she asked. “I can think of another way to build for the future,” he replied. Yup, they were gonna try to get pregnant. Which, honestly, seemed like a pretty bad idea, considering that at that moment, Maggie and her delivery of food were being held up by Jed and a bunch of hostile Saviors who were out looking for Justin — aaand thinking that maybe “the widow” was behind the string of recent disappearances. Jed even went so far as to steal a tomato. (And seriously, special props to the show’s tomato stylist — those things are gorgeous!) Only moments after the situation was defused by Laura, who I never dreamed I’d kinda like, Maggie spotted down the road — what are the odds? — the walkerized Justin!

Back in Alexandria, all hell was breaking loose. In other words, Rick Grimes was on all fours playing horsey-race down the hallway with Judith as a part of the family fun day that he and Michonne had to promise the moppet to get her to see Siddiq about her cough. Alas, the trio had just begun the reading-The-Wizard-of-Oz portion of their day when word reached Rick that Justin wasn’t just dead, he’d been murdered. Quicker than you could say “panic,” the Saviors at base camp for the bridge project were looking ready to riot. First Alden, then Carol tried to break it up, but that was easier said than done. Jed, clearly Season 9’s answer to Jared, up and dared her to just shoot him already rather than make him wait to get it in the back. In no time, fingers were being pointed at likely suspects. Daryl, for one. “Garbage lady,” for another. For a second, it looked like the Saviors were willing to go through Gabriel to attack Anne. Luckily, that was when Rick rode in to lay down the law. As soon as the crowd dispersed, Rick questioned Gabriel, who insisted that he’d been with his new lover for the duration of the previous evening.

‘I LIED TO HIM… FOR YOU’ | Next, Rick was approached by Alden, who suggested that, if at least a few key Saviors had guns, they wouldn’t be so scared. No dice, so Alden turned to Maggie. “You trust me, don’t you?” he asked. “How about trusting a few other people who’ve made a change?” Ultimately, Rick agreed to think about it — after he solved Justin’s murder. Which, given how much like an arrow wound the deceased’s chest injury looked, he might have already done. “Go ahead,” said Daryl when Rick sidled up for an uncomfortable interrogation. “Ask.” When Rick did just that, Daryl said that he could prove that he was innocent — because “if I’d-a killed him, I’d-a killed him in plain sight.” Again, Rick made his sales pitch, arguing that the future belonged to all of them now. Not Glenn, Daryl pointed out. Not Abraham or Sasha. Cornered, Rick admitted that he’d wanted to slaughter the Saviors, too. “But killing each other when the world already belongs to the dead, it’s not the way, not anymore.” Furthermore, if Daryl would try — just try — to play nice, maybe people could see what was possible. It might even turn out to be one of the best decisions he’d made since “not killing a guy who left your brother on a rooftop to die.”

Meanwhile, Gabriel, feeling conflicted about lying to Rick about being with Anne all night, asked his girlfriend if she’d seen anything when they were apart. “You think I’m hiding something?” she replied. And his silence spoke as large a volume as her answering a question with a question. While that romance was hitting a rough patch, Maggie and Cyndie were among the pairs out looking for walkers in the woods (lest anyone besides Aaron lose an arm to a sneak attack). When they spotted a couple of zombies loitering around, Cyndie revealed that there was a house nearby — she knew because her family had lived in the area before Oceanside — and suggested that maybe the walkers were being drawn to it. Lo and behold, a bunch of the undead were trapped in the residence, and their argh-ing was attracting more of their kind. There wasn’t a whole lot to this, aside from it giving Daryl and Cyndie another chance to bond when he arrived suddenly and saved her from walkers who broke out of the house faster than expected. The real point of the side jaunt was that Daryl’s rescue party shouldn’t have arrived before Bea and Arat’s. (If you could remember who Bea was at this point, good on you!)

‘I JUST WANTED TO END IT BEFORE IT BEGINS’ | Soon, the search party found Bea knocked out but not Arat. Did everybody notice that Bea’s weapon looked like it could have made the same kind of hole in Justin as an arrow? Daryl certainly did. Anyway, since the Savior’s gear was left behind, Maggie deduced that whoever had whacked Bea now had Arat. At a subsequent bigwigs’ powwow, Carol reported that the Saviors thought that Arat was on watch overnight. If the main characters didn’t find her by dawn, Rick would lose his worker bees, and the unfinished bridge would come tumbling down when the waters rose again. Before they set off to look for the missing person, Jerry had an important question: When they found the guilty party, who’d decide their fate? And what about the punishment? “Is it gonna be a Gregory or a Negan?” Later, searching the woods with Rick, Carol admitted that she’d badly wanted to shoot Jed. What’s more, she was sure that the disaster they’d narrowly averted that day wasn’t going to stay, you know, averted. In response, Rick confessed that there was a point in every day when he just wanted to go finish off Negan. “But then I remember everyone we’ve lost… and I know I need to honor them — to build life, not take it, because it’s us or the dead, and every life counts now.”

Searching for Arat with Daryl, Maggie wished that she could see things Rick’s way. She even acknowledged that “what [he’s] doing is right for the future. It’s better for Hershel.” Just then, they found another Savior who’d been offed like Justin, and Columbo — sorry, I mean Daryl — announced, “I know who took Arat.” While the twosome set off like a post-apocalyptic Hardy Boy and Nancy Drew, Anne snuck back to the Heaps. There, she took out a hidden radio and, having spotted the chopper the night before, made a call. “What do you have, an A or a B?” asked the man who replied. “I paid my share,” she insisted. But when it became apparent that that wasn’t going to get her what she wanted — presumably, a ride out of danger? — she asked what it would take. “An A,” the guy answered (and suddenly, I remembered that, when Jadis had held Rick hostage, it had been in a container marked A). No sooner had Anne said she’d have an A tomorrow than Gabriel appeared and demanded the truth. Turned out, she’d been trading people for supplies for the Scavengers. That was what she’d been going to do with Rick and Gabriel. Now, given her spot at the top of the murder-suspects list, she was giving up on the new leaf she’d turned over and wanted out. “There’s another place that’s far from here,” she said, “but if we go together, we can get there.”

‘IT’S OVER’ | Though Gabriel took Anne’s hand, he couldn’t agree to her terms: Don’t tell anyone, and help her with “one small part of the deal.” He’d have to tell Rick. “And all this time,” she said, “I thought you were a B.” With that, she knocked him out. As if trying to have an even worse night than Gabriel, Carol got herself grabbed in the woods by Jed, who held a knife to her throat and threatened to Ginsu her if Rick didn’t hand over his gun. See, the Saviors are “vamoosing out of your little pet project,” he explained, and they needed protection for the trip home. “You do this, there’s no going back,” Rick warned. Trouble was, there had been no going back for Jed and the Saviors once they’d lost Justin (who must have been much more delightful at the Sanctuary than he ever was outside of it). As will happen when a fool threatens Carol, she turned the tables, stabbing Jed with her own knife. “Why not just take me out?” he cried, defeated. “‘Cause every life counts,” Carol spat as if the words left an aftertaste in her mouth.

Finally, Maggie escorted Daryl to the place where Cyndie’d once lived. There, they found Cyndie, Bea and another Oceansider menacing Arat — not without cause. The Saviors had murdered Cyndie’s mother, her 11-year-old brother, Bea’s husband, countless others. “We’ve all done things,” Arat protested. After the war, Cyndie continued, she and her fellow Oceansiders had gone along with Rick’s plan for unification because they didn’t think they had a choice. Then Maggie had hung Gregory. “You showed us the way,” Cyndie told the Hilltop’s leader. “It was time.” For a moment, it appeared that Maggie and Daryl might intervene on Arat’s behalf. Then, Cyndie recalled how Arat had smiled when killing her kid brother. And what was it that the Savior had said? “No exceptions.” So Maggie and Daryl turned and walked away, leaving Arat to be murdered while screaming that she’d changed. The following day, as the Saviors all left behind the bridge project, Maggie told Daryl that Cyndie had shown her the way, too. “We gave Rick’s way a chance,” she said. “It’s time to see Negan.”

So, what did you think of “Warning Signs”? Did you guess who was killing the Saviors? Do you suspect that the people Anne’s trading with are using her victims as lab rats in hopes of curing zombie-ism? Hit the comments.

Source: https://tvline.com/2018/10/21/the-walking-dead-recap-season-9-episode-3-oceanside-killing-saviors/