#i never really like our main rick but these other ricks ??? i eat em up

[bolly--quinn]

he’s kinda ... *twirls hair* 🥺

[stardust-walker]

High Hopes: Chapter 19

Previous Chapters:  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

word count:2564

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Julian hurried into the doorway; worry written all over his face as he brushed past Lori. "Anything," Glenn questioned the younger man.

Julian nervously chewed his bottom lip for a moment before he shook his head. "Nothing. My car's gone, though. Could've been him," he glanced over his shoulder at Lori. The brunette woman left the doorway without another word. He felt hurt that Hershel had up and left. Julian understood Hershel being upset, but he couldn't believe him; to just leave his daughters there after what had just happened? He placed a hand on Maggie's shoulder before he turned and exited the room.

It felt wrong to be going through the old farmer's things. It felt even more wrong when Shane lifted up the flask off the dresser and waved it around, "Seems like he found an old friend."

Julian let out a heavy sigh. "That was my grandfather's flask. He gave it to my dad when he died," Maggie explained.

"I didn't take Hershel for a drinker," Rick sounded a little perplexed.

Maggie turned on her heel, "He gave it up on the day I was born. He didn't even allow liquor in the house."

Julian's heart sank as he realized where the old man had gone. "What's the bar in town," Rick picked up on it too.

"Hatlin's," Maggie answered, "he practically lived there in his drinking days."

Julian cast a quick glance at Maggie before he spoke up, "You get me a map and I'll show you exactly where it's at. Best way to get there too," he fidgeted as Glenn spoke up.

"I think I've seen it before. It's by the pharmacy, right?"

Julian nodded his head. "Yeah," he cleared his throat as Maggie laid the map out on top of the small vanity. "You're gonna wanna take this side road if the main ones are blocked. I know you've only been getting there on a horse, Mags," he glanced at his friend as she nodded her head. "You can get around onto the main street from here," he pointed his finger on the map, "Should take you right up to the bar."

Rick clapped the younger man on the shoulder, "Got it. Thank you. Let's go, Glenn." He nodded at the Korean man and Julian's eyebrows shot up.

"What? No," Maggie protested. Julian frowned as he watched her try to argue, only to be stopped by Rick's promise to bring him back. As Rick exited the room, he motioned for Julian to follow.

He hesitated for a moment before he followed the sheriff down the hallway. "I wanna go with you," Julian started.

"No, too many people," Rick shook his head and turned to face him. "I need you here. You stay; take care of Beth, make sure Maggie's okay. You stay with your people. I'll make sure we bring Hershel back," Rick insisted. There was something in his voice that made Julian not even want to argue. Julian slipped back into the room with Beth to keep an eye on her as Lori began to argue with her husband in the hallway.

~

Dove laid in her tent and stared up at the roof of it. Carol wasn't back yet; she'd been gone when they got back from the funeral. It had already been a few hours, but she felt like she had to get moving. Her whole body felt heavy as she lifted herself up into a sitting position. Before she left the tent, she pulled her hair up into a ponytail and tried to ignore how bad her hands still shook. She peeked her head out first and only spotted T-Dog sitting outside of his tent.

T-Dog lifted his head up at the sudden rustle from the tent. It was silent between the two friends as Dove slid out of the tent, only to sit down right in front of the opening. Her hazel eyes closed as she allowed the light breeze to sweep over her face. Her thin fingers wrapped around the crystal that still hung from her neck. "Hey," her eyes snapped open at the voice. T was knelt beside her now. "You alright," he questioned and within a second, he's flinched at his own words.

Dove let out a short laugh, "Not sure I'll ever be alright again. I'm not much use layin' around cryin' all day. Might as well get out and do something." Dove shrugged her shoulders as she looked around. "You seen Daryl or Carol around?"

T-Dog just shook his head, "Haven't seen 'em. Daryl fucked off after the funeral, you saw that. Carol…haven't seen her since before in the RV." He placed an arm around his friend's shoulders and pulled her into a one-armed hug. "Don't worry. I'm sure they'll both be fine. Still not sure why you're worried about Dixon though."

Dove shook her head. "Not worried. Just don't want anyone else dyin' today," she blinked back tears before she raised a hand to wipe her eyes. T-Dog studied her face for a moment before he patted her arm.

"Alright, no more questions then," T-Dog mumbled.

Dove let out a snort of laughter, "Well thank you for taking pity on my with your interrogation."

It fell silent before there was a sound of movement behind them. The two turned to look and Dove's heart sank as Carol shuffled her way towards them. T rose from his spot and departed with a nod. Tension was thick in the air between the two sisters as they stared at each other. Without a word, Carol lowered herself to sit next to her younger sister on the ground. Carol's arm was around her now as Dove turned and wrapped both of her arms around her sister. In a weird way, it felt good to not have to grieve alone.

~

Inside the house, Julian felt like a caged animal. Maggie was upset about Beth and worried about Glenn. Beth had a fever and just seemed to be getting worse. What made it worse was there was nothing he can do about it. Jimmy walked out of the room and Julian perked up slightly. The younger boy sighed and took the hat off his head. "Still nothing. Maggie keeps tryin' to talk to her but…" Jimmy shrugged his thin shoulders.

Julian ran a hand through his curly hair as he shook his head, "We can't just stand around with our thumbs up our asses. There has to be something we can do, right?"

Jimmy looked uncomfortable, "I think the best thing we can do is wait around for Hershel."

"It's been hours, Jimmy. Hours. Who knows when they're gonna get back if nothing's happened to them yet," Julian lowered his voice as he stepped closer to the young man. "Now Rick left me in charge of the house. The least you can do is get your girlfriend a wet rag for her forehead. Don't want her to keep burnin up while we sit here just thinkin of something."

Jimmy frowned; his light eyebrows furrowed as he stared at Julian. Then he turned and stomped off towards the kitchen. Maggie stepped out of the room. "You gotta go easy on him, Jules." Julian pursed his lips as he stared down the hallway. "Don't think Beth would like it too much if she knew you were bein' mean to her boyfriend."

The corner of Julian's mouth ticked up in a small smile before he turned to face the slightly older woman. "Sorry," Julian frowned once more. "Guess I'm just a little stressed."

Maggie placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Sit with Beth. I'll go make sure Jimmy's following the rules and…I'll get you some water." She sounded nervous as she walked off down the hallway. Even though Rick had told him to look out for them, he knew deep down that Maggie was in charge. There was no reason to argue with her as he walked through the door and sat down on the bed across from Patricia. He folded his hands on his lap as he sat there and stared at them for a moment.

He was never a person to really pray, but there was no hurting anyone by starting.

~

Dove didn't really want to eat, and she had a feeling that Carol didn't either, but Carol was always good at hiding things. She hid it pretty well as she helped Patricia in the kitchen as Dove tried her best to hide how she just wanted to cry from spending time with Carl in the living room as they waited.

Julian stifled a laugh as Shane got scolded by Patricia for cussing in the house. "Tell 'em, Pat," he whispered under his breath as he walked behind the older woman to take his seat.

"Lori, dinner," Carol called into the hallway.

"She's not in there," Maggie answered almost instantly.

Dove's eyes narrowed as she looked around the room. "Where is she?"

"Carl, when's the last time you saw your mom," Shane asked in an almost too calm manner.

"This afternoon," Carl responded as clear panic began to sink in. Dove placed a hand on top of Carl's head as she shot a nervous look across the table at Dale.

"She went after them," Dale inquired.

"No one said that," Shane stood, "Nobody panic. Gotta be around here somewhere."

Dove pulled back her arm as Carl stood to follow Shane. It made her uneasy how the little boy followed Shane around like a little shadow. Part of her didn't feel like it was safe.

Julian stood up from his seat and pointed to Jimmy. "Go with Patricia. Help with Beth if she needs it, I'm going to help look for Lori." Before anyone could say anything, the young man was out of the room and running off into the night.

Dove rose slowly from her seat as she reached a hand out to Carol, "Listen, I'm sure she's…"

"I'm gonna go find Daryl, maybe he's seen her," Carol turned and was gone before Dove could even finish a thought.

Dove let out a heavy sigh and buried her face in her hands. Frustration weighed heavy on her as she lowered a hand and punched the table. "Damn it," she shouted. A sound from the doorway startled her as she turned and saw Patricia peek into the room. "Ah, sh…oot. Sorry," Dove trailed off as she made eye contact with the woman. It was just a second, then she looked away and followed the path her sister had just taken to leave the house.

Upon hearing about Daryl not going when Lori had asked him too and how this had possibly made her go on her own, her frustration grew. "What a motherfucker," Dove hissed through gritted teeth.

Dale raised a hand at her, "Now calm down. All of us fightin' isn't going to do anything to make sure Lori gets back."

The brunette shook her head before she trudged off back to her tent. Dale was right, but she didn't exactly want to give him the satisfaction of being told that he was right. Despite all of the respect she had for the old man, she was too angry right now to think straight. She was still mad at herself. She was frustrated at Lori for not asking for more help before she left on her own. More than anything, she was angry about Daryl as he had apparently decided to undo all the good he had done over the past few weeks in a matter of hours.

It wasn't too long later that Carol returned back to the tent. Dove picked up on the fact that something wasn't right and followed her inside. "Hey what's wrong?" Carol just sniffled in response. "Carol…Talk to me. What happened?"

Carol lifted her head up and wiped her eyes. "Daryl…I went to check on him again." Dove's stomach turned. "He's right. It's my fault Sophia's gone. All I had to do was watch her and I couldn't even do that," Carol's voice cracked and something inside Dove cracked right along with it. All the anger she felt that day boiled over and she saw red.

She heard Carol asking where she was going as she stormed out of the tent and stomped off in the direction she'd seen her return from earlier. Her hands balled up into fists as she drew closer to a fire. Daryl stood up from his spot by the fire as he caught sight of her as she approached. Any chance he had of starting an argument left as she grabbed one of the rabbits off the line he had it on and whipped it at him. It missed her target but hit him dead center in his chest. "What the fuck's wrong with you," Daryl snarled at her.

Dove pointed a finger at him, "I should be asking you that! You get your rocks off on being a fucking bully or something?"

Daryl took a step closer. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about," he snapped at her and waved his hand in an attempt to dismiss her.

"Oh, I think I know exactly what I'm talking about," Dove's voice got louder as she began to follow him through his small camp. "You feel guilty about what happened so you're taking it out on the easiest target. That makes you a fucking bully." She hissed at him as she stepped in between him and his tent.

"Out of my way," Daryl shouted as he turned on his heel and walked towards the fire again.

Dove let out an angry huff as she stalked after him again. "What? You can't handle it when someone gives it back to you? If I find out that you hit my sister or somethin, I swear to every God that I'm going to push your ass into that fire, Daryl Dixon." She stopped as she came back into the small circle around the fire.

"Didn't do anything like that. The hell you think I am," Daryl actually seemed offended by her words and it made her pause. She opened her mouth in response but couldn't get the words out as Daryl spoke. His voice was lower, but it was obvious he was still in a rage. "All you both had to do was keep an eye on her."

"You think I don't know that? You think Carol doesn't know that? Who gave you the right to say anything like that," Dove pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. Quiet fell over the small camp as Dove reached beneath her shirt. It took her a few seconds, but the second small chain around her neck was off and in her hand. "Here," she frowned as she tossed it at his feet. "Maybe it'll help you find your fucking sense of compassion," she spared one last look at the redneck before she walked back off into the darkness.

Daryl waited until he was sure she was gone before he leaned down to pick up the chain from the ground. He squinted in the dark, the thing glinted in the firelight as he held it up to his face. He let out a grunt before he kicked the discarded rabbit the woman had thrown at him to the side. It was no good anymore, anyway.

 ----

@crossbowking​ @momc95​ @chaotic-gary-king-stan​

[weirdagnes]

💄RUDOLF’S DRAG RACE AU 🏁

ALRIGHT SO this AU originally started in our Yeah We Outlasting discord server, artists started drawing the characters in drag and I WOKE HMSHD real shit man. So I'm making a masterpost for drag au on behalf of the server✊✊

Outlast 1 = Season 1

Outlast 2 = Season 2

Whistleblower DLC = All Stars

All of the characters and ideas for the characters were written in collab with @gothivican, @panopt1c0n, @grahaam and the rest of the lads in the server, y’all have such beautiful brains. So anyways.

Here are the judges:

Rudolf Wernicke. Lowkey bias, literally goes to the backstage and tells Miles to beat Billy Hope in a lipsync because Billy can't continue on the show for some reason. Has favoritism towards Blaire, but was forced to sashay him away by the other two judges. Also this bitch is dying, literally has a breathing tank support behind his chair.

Pauline Glick. A very sharp critic. Wore the same shoes? Call out. Oh that's your signature makeup? UGLY tone it down. Sorry, the colors don't match, you'll be in the bottom two for that.

Paul Marion. The kindest judge. He will give constructive criticism in the nicest non-offensive way possible and compliment them after (because he would feel guilty about it).

Alice as guest star. Supportive as f u c k, huge fan, she cries when meeting the queens in Untucked. She can't help complimenting the queens every 10 seconds, she gives off the Leslie Jones’ enthusiasm.

Lisa Park as guest star. Like Alice, very supportive. She’s an artist, and will break down all the reasons why they are so good from an artist’s perspective. Crushes HARD on Wyssle Blower, she might’ve given her number after the show.

Lynn Langermann as guest star. She’s a judge, and she will judge. Gives out well constructed criticisms to all queens fair and square until she saw Angel Fromm (Blake) and just says “Wow what’s there to criticize?” Sallyzekiel hates her, Valentina and Angel on the other hand loves her very much.

 Here are the queens:

Miles Upshur as Kill-O-Meter. Primarily an insult comedy and rocker queen, and specializes in dancing. She tends to be criticized for a lack of glamour on some of her main stage looks, and is one of the most dramatic, sarcastic and shady queens of the bunch. Can and will stomp on you in latex boots for money. Besties with Wyssle and Chrisel, gets into a little heated talks with (occasionally) Peacock, (frequently) Ricky and Remy. She adores Cheets’ (Pyro) makeup skills. Winner of season 1 babey!!

Chris Walker as Piggy Chrisel. A punk/grunge queen who seems to specialize moreso in dancing and lip syncing. She's a shy, gentle giant, has a little trouble speaking coherently and it affects her in the acting/impromptu comedy challenges. She will call out whores though, she will kick ass when the situation calls for it. Really good at makeup, makeup girl-friends with Cheeto and besties with Kill O Meter (Latrila vibes). Also a perfectionist and hates mess on her work table.

Rick Trager as Ricky Trix. Whore, that's all. This bitch OBNOXIOUS and shady but she's both a glamour AND comedy queen, the other queens are watching out for her since day one. Horror and '80s inspired queen, extremely good at comedy and acting and will literally stomp the competition with nearly perfect impressions and extremely expressive acting. The downfall for her seems to be glam on the occasion and singing. Rivals with Kill O Meter and Miss Tini, kikis with Remy (they throw shade to other queens the moment they get em)

Father Martin as Miss Tini. The oldest queen but she can still serve the cakes. Generally a kind person, coming from a religious background. She’s takes the drag culture religiously. She gets along with The Twinks.

The Twins as The Twinks. Was recruited as two totally separate queens, but both quit on the first episode when one of the twins were to be eliminated. The queens tell the Twinks apart by who’s bald and who’s not. They don’t vibe with other queens except Miss Tini.

Pyromaniac as Cheeto de LaFlammeo. Queen of Makeup, she has some serious skill range on it. Good in the acting department, always plays as the tragic character. Was rivals with Kill-O Meter before, but one time when she had a breakdown, Kill-O Meter was by her side when no one was. After that, they respected each other.

Billy Hope as Billy Willy. CLOWN QUEEN, huge Crystal Methyd vibes. She’s the youngest queen, very energetic, a ball of SUNSHINE but Wernicke was a bias bitch and sent her home immediately the moment she was in the bottom. She was basically Kill-O Meter and Wyssle Blower's drag child. Hailed as Miss Congeniality, is voted by majority to return for a season 2 for going home a little too early than people feel was deserved. Best at makeup and outfits, her mom Tiffany taught her to sew and make dresses out of rags and other unconventional materials and the skill proved to be helpful. Also she likes puns and everyone likes playing with her name like: Silly Billy Willy, Witty Billy Willy, etc.

....

Waylon Park as Wyssle Blower. The Mom of the queens, the most well rounded queen, and the most 'fishy' one. Probably the smartest and most humble one out of everyone, she can read through people’s bullshit well. Genuinely looks like a girl in full drag, but always does her best on acting. She's serving you a cute, nerdy and quirky style, but can serve horror when need be. Always wins the mini challenges, she's not as loud as the other girls but she does beat Blaire in a lip sync (lowkey badass lipsyncer). Winner of All Stars babey

Jeremy Blaire as Remy Coco Ainée. Pretentious fake ass queen, even her drag name is just Cocaine in fake French. A pure fashion glamour queen, she serves it at almost all the fashion challenges but there's no more personality out of her other than that and her shady attitude (she will not hold back on the shade). Is extremely horrible at singing (her voice cracks) and acting, goes home against a lip sync with Wyssle. This bitch will FLEX her wins. Kikis with Ricky, mainly rivals with Kill O Meter, Wyssle and Peacock but she made everyone her rivals bc of her bitchass attitude.

Eddie Gluskin as Edna Taylor. Fashion queen, specializes in sewing, acting and singing, but is extremely lacking in the dancing department. Has a one-sided endearment for Waylon, and consistently tries to have her attention. Is extremely manipulative too, trying to consistently trip the other queens up. Also everybody hates her mohawk signature wig but nobody says anything about it because they don’t want to be victim to Edna’s mind games.

Frank Manera as Hanni Canni Bahl. Horror queen, best at comedy and dancing. Though it is prohibited, she’s able to sneak in weed, coke (for Ricky) and snacks in the werk room. Very messy when working, her discarded fabrics are EVERYWHERE and Chrisel is fighting the urge to clean it up. She eats while working when the camera’s off, and it stains the dress she’s working on (Pauline notices it).

Dennis as Denise. Mocked as “Edna’s little helper” as she always helps with her dresses. She’s trying too hard to impress Edna, and helps her get Wyssle’s attention. Very talented in acting and sewing, but bland in fashion, lacking in concept. Her inner conflict is what got her eliminated.

Simon Peacock as Julie Peacock. Rebellious, mischievous, and an ex-glam queen gone horror and campy instead. After being insulted much by glam queens (ahemRemyahem), she just embraced it and became a horror queen, serving the judges her horror aesthetic. Best at comedy, lacks extremely on acting and dancing though. No one is safe from her constructive criticism, and she will never stop ranting to Kill O Meter and Wyssle about Remy and Ricky being bad bitches and favored by Wernicke, she thinks it's unfair.

....

Blake Langermann as Angel Fromm. Singing queen!! Good at singing, but otherwise is moreso well-rounded, she might've been eliminated earlier, hadn't it been for her also low-key successful and iconic lip syncs. But the lucky winning streak didn't last forever, she goes home later in the season because she's slowly falling behind the other queens and can't keep up anymore. Has Rococo aesthetic, unfortunately the outfits can't make up for the lack of character as a queen. Though she needs a lot of improvement, the guest star Lynn adores her very much.

Val as Valentina. Queen of SEX or moreso impersonations and comedy. She’s a terrible tailor, but likes unconventional and simple fashion designs. She’s trans and lowkey Pauline has a crush on her the moment she walked on that stage. Pure rivals with Sallyzekiel, you know that iconic Aja vs. Valentina in Untucked? They had that moment. Probably goes home earlier, not entirely prepared, but still was a season icon. Definitely dropped it low about 10 times on her lip sync.

Marta as ImMartal. GOTH QUEEN, survived about early mid season. Best at her makeup and looks, glam queen, but the judges criticize her for wearing the same wigs/having the same hairstyle for almost every looks.

Nick Tremblay as Nicky Lanterns. Another gentle giant. Very introverted, she has a difficult time socializing with other girls because she’s generally not a very loud person. Really bad at makeup, her fashion sense is somewhat okay but it’s always on the ‘safe’ level. Pretty good at slapstick comedy, writing and concepts tho. It’s a wonder how Nicky and Lard Imp became “friends,” they’re complete opposites.

Laird Byron as Lard Imp. Whore, Exhibit B. Extremely rude, louder than Remy and Ricky themselves, and has a weird love/hate obsession with Angel for some reason. Everyone hates her, even Rudolf himself, and Lard Imp isn’t her original drag name but ultimately they came to a point where they just called her Lard Imp. Constantly denies the judges’ and the queens’ critiques, very delusional about winning the season and that’s why she’s the first one eliminated.

Sullivan Knoth as Sallyzekiel. The Big Bad Bitch of the season. Ultimate rivals with Valentina, constantly bullies Angel. Marta used to be friends with her, but after talking shit on Valentina, she says fuck you and defended Val. Glam queen, has an affinity for shoes but damn girl terrible makeup and padding. Really good with speech, acting and impromptu.

So far, here are the character designs we have made!

(1) Blake and Trager by @/pan0pt1con

(1, 2, 3, 4, 5) Waylon, Chris, Simon, Eddie, Miles and Jeremy by @/gothivican

(1) Billy, Miles, Chris, Wernicke, Pauline, Paul and Alice by @/weirdagnes

[ddixons-angel]

Fated: Season 3

Summary: Gloria Rhee narrowly escapes Atlanta with her brother as the outbreak reaches the city. Luckily, they find a camp outside the city and together, they fend through encounters with the living and undead.

Starts a little before Season 1 and then follows the main storyline of the show.

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Glenn Sister!OC

Warnings: major TWD spoilers, language, violence (the typical TWD stuff), attempted sexual assault

A/N: Here’s another chapter for you guys! I hope you like cliff hangers haha the next will be up on Friday~

Chapter 3

The night air was cool and crisp as Gloria sat on top of the picnic bench, staring off into the courtyard as the stars twinkled above her in the clear night sky. The groans and snarls of walkers in the far distance were drowned out by Daryl’s footsteps as he made his way to the bench, a bottle of water and a plate of food in his hands. He sets the plate and bottle on the table and sits down beside Gloria. 

“Brought ya some dinner, Carol made it.” Daryl says when she doesn’t greet him.

She glances at him, “thanks...” she says in a small voice. 

“Ya alright?” he asks, looking at her with concern.

She nods, “with how everything’s going, I gotta be.” 

“Wha’ d’ya mean?” Daryl frowns, confused.

“When you guys wheeled in Hershel like that today, everyone panicked, no one knew what to do. I had to step up and take charge.” She sighs, “I’m glad he’s fine now, but I hate how much pressure it puts on me that I had Hershel’s life and literally his blood on my hands.” 

Daryl looks down at her hands, noticing that she didn’t bother cleaning any of the now dried blood off them. He takes the red rag he keeps with him out of his back pocket and grabs the water bottle, opening it and pouring some water on the rag. He takes Gloria’s hands in his and starts to wipe the blood off, trying to clean her hands and arms as best he can. Gloria doesn’t say anything nor does she resist, she just watches him. 

“Ya shouldn’ have that kind of pressure on ya. I get why ya do, but I wish ya didn’ have to.” Daryl says, not looking up at her as he continues wiping.

A small smile pulls at her lips, “thank you. I’ll be okay though, it’s what I signed up for when I decided to become a doctor anyway.”

“The world is different now, ya don’t gotta be a doctor anymore.” Daryl tells her.

“If I didn’t do what I did today, Hershel would have died!” Gloria snaps at him, her emotions taking over her.

“Well he didn’t ‘cause o’ what ya did.” he says as he looks at her in the eyes, “ya can do yer job but forget the burden that comes with it.” 

“I really wish it were that easy,” she sighs and looks down before continuing, “when I worked in the hospital, the doctors always felt a sense of responsibility for their patients and whenever anything went wrong, or in the worst case that they died, they’d carry that with them for the rest of their lives. But that never stopped them from doing their jobs and trying to save others.” 

She smiles sadly and wipes a tear away from her face, “I should just suck it up. Hershel’s alive and I should be happy instead of moping around like this.”

Daryl wraps his arm around Gloria’s shoulders, “ya don’t have to hold onto that burden yerself, ya got me to lean on if ya wan’.” he tells her shyly. 

Gloria looks at him, smiling at him gratefully then leans on him, her head on his shoulder. They sit together in silence for a moment, the only sounds being crickets and groans from the walkers outside the fences. 

“I don’t want ya goin’ anywhere near Cell Block D,” Daryl starts, “we found some prisoners in the cafeteria today, lettin’ ‘em stay in that cell block, but they’re-”

“They’re dangerous, I know.” Gloria finishes his sentence, “like you said before, I’m not a nurse anymore, I’ve got no reason to help prisoners. Especially if they’re a threat to us.” 

Daryl nods, “I heard one of ‘em say they were in put in here for murder.” 

“Why didn’t Rick just kill them, then?” Gloria questions.

He shrugs at that, “Guess it’s ‘cause they haven’t done shit to us yet.” 

“It’s only a matter of time before they do,” she sighs and she feels Daryl nodding in agreement, “are you gonna be near them?”

“If I gotta be.” Daryl says simply.

“Be careful.” Gloria tells him to which Daryl hums in acknowledgement. 

Another moment of silence passes by them as Gloria’s words of concern remind Daryl of his conversation with Glenn just a few hours ago. He chuckles at the memory making Gloria look up at him, an eyebrow raised as she looks at him questioningly.

“Ya know, yer brother talked to me 'bout ya today?” Daryl says with a side smile.

This news causes Gloria to groan as she sits up, “God, he didn’t give you the big brother talk, did he?” she asks in embarrassment.

He chuckles at her reaction, “Nah, he just said that if I did anything to piss ya off ya’d kill me.” 

“Well, he’s not wrong.” Gloria smirks then lightly nudges him, making him scoff at her. 

Daryl glances behind him, remembering that he brought Gloria dinner, “hey, ya haven’t eaten at all, have ya?”

She blinks at him then shakes her head, “I forgot, I guess.” 

He shakes his head as he takes the plate and passes it to her. She gratefully takes it and starts to eat, humming happily at the meal. 

“Ain’t it cold by now?” Daryl eyes her as she eats.

“It’s Carol’s cooking, it’s good even if it’s cold.” she grins at him and Daryl rolls his eyes at her. 

“We should head back in when ya done, it’s gettin’ late and chilly.” he tells her. 

Gloria nods as she eats, enjoying the food and company of Daryl. It isn’t long until she finishes her dinner but she doesn’t say anything, wanting to spend a little more time with him outside under the stars. She couldn’t deny it anymore, her feelings for him were growing more and more as each day passed. 

---

The next morning, Rick, Daryl, T-Dog, and Carol all went out to the courtyard to clean up the bodies of walkers. Daryl looks around for Glenn but doesn’t see him anywhere. 

“Yo, where’s Glenn, could use some extra hands.” he questions to no one in particular.

“I think he spent the night in the watchtower.” Carol tells him.

“Watchtower?” Daryl looks at her then up at said tower, “Yo, Glenn!” 

The others look up at the guard tower as they see movement in the windows. A shirtless Glenn comes out of the tower, awkwardly struggling to zip up his pants. 

“H-Hey guys!” he says, completely embarrassed, “w-what’s up?” 

“Ya comin’?” Daryl grins.

“What?” Glenn says as he pulls on his shirt.

He chuckles then repeats himself, “Ya comin?” 

“Oh, y-yeah! Hang on!” Glenn, now fully clothed, rushes down the guard tower to help the group clear the bodies. 

Gloria walks out from the prison building, making her way to the fence as she watches the group load up bodies onto the back of one of their trucks. She waves at Daryl who’s now sitting on the back of the truck as they start driving out of the courtyard to dispose of the bodies. He raises his arm, waving back at her. Gloria watches them leave then wanders around the prison walls. She frowns as she spots a shadow going around the corner of the prison.

“Carl?” she calls out, wondering if it was the boy sneaking around the place as she knew how much he loved to explore. 

When she doesn't get any response, she rounds the corner but gets even more confused when she doesn’t see any sign that anyone was here. Gloria tilts her head in confusion, there wasn’t even a walker in the area. 

“Did I really just hallucinate?” she chuckles at herself. 

Shrugging, she decides to go back to the picnic bench and sit there to wait for the others, but before she could turn around, she feels something move quickly behind her. Unable to react in time, Gloria feels a blunt pain to the back of her head. Her vision goes blurry and she falls to the ground and blacks out. 

---

When Gloria comes to, she finds herself in a cell. The back of her head thumps with a dull pain. Getting up, she looks around and finds that the cell wasn’t hers. In the hallway outside the cell, there are people talking, or rather yelling at each other, voices that she couldn’t recognise. 

“We shouldn't be doing this, Tomas! Just let the girl go!” 

“Shut up, Oscar! You’ll get a chance with her too, so don’t worry, yeah?” the man, Tomas, sneers at the larger man, Oscar.

“Yeah, we deserve this anyway. Those assholes think they can just come in here and take our cell block from us like they own the place? Hell nah! They owe us this much at least!” another voice chimes in.

Oscar shakes his head, “this still isn’t right...” 

Judging from their conversation, the men outside were the prisoners Rick had found in the cafeteria and the girl they were talking about had to be Gloria. Instinctively, she reaches down to grab a dagger from her belt but finds that her belt had been removed from her. Looking around the cell, she finds it empty as well. She’d have to rely on her fists with this one. 

“Finally awake?” Tomas says as he walks into the doorway of the cell, blocking light that was coming into the cell. 

Gloria looks up at him and recognises Tomas as the man who smirked at her the day Rick had found them. Knowing that she’s outnumbered, Gloria decided it was best for her to play dumb. She nods at his comment and gets up from the bed. 

“Yeah, now that I’m up, I’m just gonna head back to my cell block. Thanks for helping me out there.” Gloria forces a smile on her face and attempts to walk past Tomas.

Of course, he doesn’t let her through, holding an arm up to stop her from moving further, “I don’t think so.” 

Gloria looks him dead in the eye, not showing any fear of the man, “please, don’t make me have to hurt you.” 

Rather than taking her words as a threat, Tomas laughs at her, amused. His laughter causes the smaller man on the outside of the cell to also snicker. 

“Oh princess,” Tomas shakes his head, “you ain’t gonna do nothing to me.” 

Her blood boils when he challenges her and doubts her words. She lets out a small breath and quickly swings her arm, punching Tomas in the face, making him stumble back. Gloria’s about to walk out of the cell when she hears the cocking of a gun. She looks to the smaller man and sees that he’s holding a gun to her. Tomas snarls as he gets back up, wiping the blood from his now split lip with the back of his hand. 

“Oh, now you’ve just pissed me the fuck off, you bitch.” Tomas glares at her, rage and fury in his eyes. 

She looks at him then glances at the man holding the gun to her and she just laughs, “you two are just pathetic, you gotta rely on a gun to take me down, a girl no less. What kind of men are you?” 

Gloria knew that provoking them wasn’t the smartest thing to do, hell, she knew it was probably one of the dumbest things to do since they were holding her at gunpoint. Something inside her though told her that the man with the gun wasn’t going to shoot her, they didn’t want to kill her, they wanted to do ‘other’ things to her and they couldn’t risk doing that with her dead. From what she learned in the past, she had to get them riled up and angry because people generally didn’t think well on their feet when they were angry. 

“I’ll show you what kind of man I am.” Tomas growls at her then quickly lunges towards her. 

He tackled her with all of his body weight so that even as Gloria tried to push him off her, she wasn’t able to as he was too heavy. Fuck, she did not expect this. She landed with her back on the bed and Tomas on top of her, gripping her wrists with one large hand, he pins her arms above her head, making it even harder for her to move under his body. 

“Fuck you! Let me go!” Gloria screams, struggling and squirming from under him.

Tomas growls as she struggles, as if her struggling only excites him more. He forcefully leans down and starts roughly kissing and biting Gloria’s neck and chest, causing her to scream more.

“Tomas, stop!” Oscar shouts from outside the cell, but he’s unable to do anything else as the man with a gun points his gun at him. 

“You shut up, or I’ll have to shoot you too!” he threatens. 

Oscar watches helplessly, feeling guilt as he anxiously looks to the door of the cell block, “come on, Axel...”  

---

Next Chapter

And we’re left with a cliff hanger! Please don’t hate me~! You’ll get the new chapter this Friday! Please let me know what you thought about this chapter and how you think the next one will go~ I love hearing from you guys!

I hope everyone stays safe and healthy, please don’t panic, we will get through this!

And as always, I would really appreciate any comments left for me! I’ll be replying to any comments in a new post because this is a sideblog!

Taglist (please let me know if you’d list to be added/removed!):

@twdeadfanfic​ | @fandomfanatic97​ | @crossbowking​ | @watchmeaspire​ | @spidergirla5​ | @kamieshep​ | @letsstarsfalling​ | @molethemollie​ | @alicewinchester99​ | @neilox​

[siancore]

@richonnefics Richonne Rom Com Fanfiction Challenge Day 4: Perfect Strangers

 Presently…

The melody of the music swirled around the couple as they swayed in time with the beat. His hand felt safe and strong as it encompassed her soft, slender one. Her head rested gently against his shoulder, as his arm held her body close to his; they each had their eyes closed, relishing in the overwhelming feeling of joy that the other aroused. Michonne lifted her crown from its place of repose, and then found Rick’s gaze; she offered him a sweet smile, as he brought his hand up to caress her beautiful face. He shook his head slightly, as if he could scarcely believe the woman standing before him was real. With a tiny grin, Rick closed his eyes, leaned in, and pressed an unhurried kiss to her lips; their first for the evening.

 Twenty-four hours ago…

“Here. Just sit ‘em up there,” said the widowed farmer and single father, Rick Grimes; his twelve-year-old son, Carl, did as he was told and placed the basket of eggs on top of the wooden table. Their stall was almost ready to go. They were just adding the finishing touches: Fresh, locally grown produce straight from their farm. Rick had even given Carl a little space to display his small, hand-carved creations, in hope that those attending the Harvest Festival might purchase some. The boy was so excited the evening before the event that he could hardly sleep.

“Right,” said Rick, as he stood with his hands placed at his hips and examined their set-up. “I think we might be ready. How’s your stuff lookin’?”

“Good,” replied Carl. “It’s gonna be a good day.”

“Oh, yeah,” Rick said with an optimistic smile. “You can count on it.”

There was a slight freshness to the air, even though the sun was bright and the sky was clear. The three cousins walked side-by-side through the main entranceway of the County fairgrounds. The elder two were thoroughly amused by the youngest’s apprehension at attending the event. Their family had all gathered in King County for their grandmother’s eightieth birthday, and were currently spending time with one another.

“It’s one of the highlights of the calendar year, you know that,” said Jacqui, who was a local doctor; Sasha, a firefighter in Atlanta, rolled her eyes at her oldest cousins reasoning.

“We could be somewhere sipping on cocktails,” Sasha complained. “I never get to see either of you anymore. Let’s not waste time here…”

“I like it,” Michonne, an art history professor in New York, replied. “I remember going a couple of times as a kid with Gramma. I’m interested in seeing the craftwork.”

“You’re not here to research, ‘Chonne,” said Jacqui, with her brow raised.

“I’m not,” she insisted. “I just remember that there’s some really cute stuff for sale.”

“Yeah, I’m not buying it,” Sasha offered. “I got the feeling you’re gonna find a vendor, and then talk their ears off. You’ll want to know all about how they learned to make the items; if the handicraft was passed down through their families; what cultural significance it holds, etcetera, etcetera.”

“Oh, Sash,” Michonne replied with a grin. “I’m so glad you’ve taken note of my research methods.”

“I haven’t,” she admitted. “Not really. I just know how you are; you like to talk to strangers.”

“Hush, you,” said Michonne as she hooked her arm into Sasha’s. “Strangers like talkin’ to me, too.”

The atmosphere of the event was festive; country music from a local band wafted across the site; the faint smell of fresh produce intermingled with the scent of homemade candles and marmalades. Carnival food from various sellers tempted people; and children’s laughter could be heard in every direction.

Michonne smiled at Sasha as she tried on a few different hats at a clothing and accessories stall. The younger woman’s naturally curly hair made it a little difficult to find one that fit her well. She opted, instead, for a headband.

“These are cute,” said Jacqui, as she held up a pair of beaded earrings for Michonne.

“Ooh, I like those,” Michonne replied, taking the set from Jacqui. “Look at the detail. They must’ve taken a good while to do. Excuse me. Hi. These earrings…”

“Hey there,” said the young woman tending to the stall. “Those are only ten dollars.”

“Thank you,” said Michonne. “But I wanted to know who made them?”

“Ah, okay,” she replied. “I did. I made all of the jewelry and my mama made the clothes.”

“That’s amazing,” said Michonne. “You’re very talented. Did your mama teach you a lot about crafting…”

“Here she goes,” sighed Sasha. “I may as well buy a few things; we’re gonna be here for a while.”

“Jacqui, come on,” Sasha pleaded. “Just one corndog.”

“Sash, you can go and get one, but I’m getting something a little healthier than that,” she answered. “I’m goin’ to check out what these farms have been growin’.”

“What about you, Michonne?” asked Sasha. “I’ll treat you to some cotton candy.”

“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Michonne replied with a grin. “Jacq, we won’t be long.”

After garnering provisions that were far from nutritious, Michonne and Sasha found Jacqui at Rick and Carl Grimes’ stall. Michonne was immediately interested in the products of handicraft that the boy had on display, and soon sparked up a conversation with the younger Grimes, as she admired the small wooden carvings he created.

“These are really great,” said Michonne, gesturing to his creations. “May I?”

“Sure,” said Carl.

Sasha rolled her eyes, making an eating gesture to Michonne with her hands, before she scampering off. Michonne nodded to her cousin, and then Sasha was gone.

“These were made by hand?” she queried, turning a carving of a small turtle over in her hand.

“Yeah,” the boy replied. “I made them all with my pocket knife. Took a little while, but I don’t mind.”

“What an incredibly talented young man you are,” she offered admiringly, holding the piece up in the afternoon sun briefly, before turning it over once more.

“There ya go, Doc,” said a male voice, drawing Michonne’s attention from the item that sat in her palm; she saw a good-looking man pass a package over to Jacqui.

“Thanks, Rick,” Jacqui replied with a smile.

“Aww, don’t mention it,” he answered, his eyes darting over to the beautiful stranger standing near his son; their eyes met.

“Let me introduce you to my cousins,” said Jacqui, snapping Rick out of his temporary trance.

Only Michonne was there; Jacqui gave her a questioning look. Michonne placed the turtle back down on the table, excused herself, and then stepped over; she gave the man a shy smile, which he returned.

“Well, it looks like one of them has run off,” Jacqui joked. “But this is my cousin Michonne. Michonne, this is Rick Grimes.”

He smiled widely and extended his hand to her; she responded in kind.

“Pleasure to meet you,” he drawled; his kind blue eyes twinkling.

“Likewise,” she answered; her bright smile lighting up her entire face.

“You here for Miss Pattie’s birthday?” he asked.

“Yes, I am,” Michonne replied. “It should be good.”

“That’s great,” he supplied, nodding his head. “She’s a real great lady.”

“She is.”

“Yeah,” he said. “So’s the Doc. She’s great. You seem great, too. I’m sure your whole family’s, ya know…great.”

He could have kicked himself; he wanted to keep talking to the pretty woman, but he was coming across as blithering. Michonne noticed that he seemed a little flustered; she found it cute.

“Well,” she said with a smile. “You’re only saying that because you probably haven’t met our cousin Willie.”

This caused Rick to laugh out loud.

“Oh, no,” he corrected. “I know Willie very well. Booked him a few times when I was a cop.”

Michonne looked at the stranger a little surprised, before offering a small chuckle.

“You were a cop?” she questioned, wholly interested in the man standing before her.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “For a good twelve years. Until I took a bullet. The Doc here saved my life.”

Rick and Jacqui shared a knowing smile.

“And he’s been giving me eggs for free ever since,” said Jacqui, holding up the goods Rick had gifted her with. “Which reminds me; I’m gonna get these to the car. You coming, or…?”

“Ah, you go on,” said Michonne, her eyes quickly looking back at Rick. “Sasha’s gone to look for more food, if you, ya know, wanted to go and find her, or whatever. I’ll catch up with you both later?”

Jacqui glanced between Rick and Michonne, then gave her cousin a little smirk before raising an eyebrow.

“All right,” she answered. “I’ll see you later.”

“So, Carl learned to whittle from your daddy?” Michonne asked Rick.

“Right.”

“But you never learned?”

“That’s right,” he answered, glancing over at Michonne. She was sat in the younger Grimes’ seat while he went to explore the Festival. She and Rick had been talking for the better part of the hour.

“It’s such an interesting part of folk art and culture,” she mused. “Your son’s very talented, too.”

She picked up the small cat carving.

“I especially love this one,” she offered in earnest. “It’s too damn gorgeous.”

“Keep it,” Rick insisted.

“How much?”

“No charge,” he smiled.

“Oh, no,” she replied. “Carl should be paid for his efforts. How much?”

“How about we wait until he gets back, and he can put a price on it,” Rick smiled, knowing that would keep Michonne around for a little while longer.

“Okay,” she answered, beaming brightly as she secretly hoped the boy would take his time in returning. “I’ll wait.”

Almost two hours had passed, customers had come and gone from Rick’s stall, Carl was still off galivanting with his young friends, and Michonne and Rick were still engaged in conversation. It was as if they had a special connection; while they were ultimately strangers, they felt a familiarity with one another.

“Let me get this straight,” said Michonne. “Georgia’s famous for peaches, you own a farm and are a fruit grower, yet you don’t grow peaches?”

“Nope,” he said plainly. “I like apples better. Plus, ya know, I’m not a cliché.”

She grinned, “Definitely not.”

“And you’re an art history lecturer who’s writing a thesis on American folk art?” Rick queried.

“You got it,” said Michonne. “And I am definitely a cliché because I came here today with these…”

She reached into her purse and retrieved a notebook and small recording device.

“…With every intention of getting some research done,” Michonne continued.

“And how’d you do?” Rick asked, a little flirtatiously, but genuinely intrigued.

“Mmmm,” said Michonne, a playful glint in her eye. “I think I got more than I bargained for.”

“And that’s a good thing?” asked Rick as his gaze shifted from her eyes to her lips.

“Definitely a good thing,” she offered.

“So,” said Rick.

“So,” Michonne replied.

“I had a ball with you today,” he admitted. “It was real nice to spend time with you.”

She smiled, “Yeah, I really enjoyed hanging out with you, too.”

“Can I see you again, while you’re here?” he asked, not wanting to miss the opportunity; Michonne felt her face grow warm as the fluttering in her stomach grew more intense.

“I’d like that,” she said softly; Rick’s heart was racing as he beamed at her.

“Me, too,” he agreed.

The pair stared into one another’s eyes and wondered where this newfound connection might take them. Michonne felt that his sweet nature, and the kindness that radiated from him, was singing a song directly to her soul. He was familiar, like a long lost friend, or someone she had met in another lifetime. Rick was certain that she was the most interesting, charming, beautiful, and funny woman he had ever met. Just being in her presence invoked in him a sense of belonging that he had not felt in some time; when she smiled at him, it felt like home.

They may have only just met, but there was something else drawing them together; they may not have a future together that was promised, but they silently swore they would make the most of the time they did have.

 A/N: I struggled with this; I guess that’s why it’s called a challenge! Anyways, I hope someone out there enjoyed it. Thanks.

[vampirepatrickau]

hmmmmm hmmmmmmmmm i wonder whos been too unfocused to actually write hmmmmmmmmmmmmm anyways heres a drabble

Joe opened Patrick's door hesitantly, stepping in once Patrick was aware that it wasn't some rando coming in. “Have you never locked a door before, Patrick? Jesus Christ, man,” He said playfully, closing the door and locking it behind him. The vampire didn't move from his place on the bed, only gesturing slightly to sit down. “The party is shit, by the way, everyone's too wasted to be fun.”

“You're not drinking?” Patrick asked quietly. “I would've liked a beer if you grabbed me one.”

“I can go get you one if you want.”

“No, don't. I don't feel like getting drunk if you have to leave. Why aren't you drinking, though, I thought you'd be enjoying yourself, 'n’ shit.”

“I was actually kinda, kinda thinking about sneaking out with you and going out on some sort of date, tonight, right?” Joe reached into the pocket of his hoodie and pulled out his keys. He jingled them, a goofy grin on his face. “If you want to, of course.”

“What kind of date are you, like, are you considering?”

“Something cheap, like, like, we go to a park and walk around or something, then go 'n’ get a quick bite to eat, or something, then go home.”

Patrick thought a moment. “Sure, Joe. Does—does Andy know?”

“Yeah, Andy knows.”

“Okay, that's good, I don't want us to get, like, hurt or anything, and for him to not know that we're out at all.”

“We won't be getting hurt, man.”

“What if we do? I mean, there aren't any, any local hunters out, they're all here, so who's to say?”

“We won't get hurt, promise. I'm not gonna let anything happen, we can drive pretty far out, so we're out of range for most gangs, okay?”

“Okay, babe. I'm not gonna not trust you, y'know, but…”

Joe wrapped his arms around Patrick and kissed him, pulling him upright. They separated slowly. “You're cute, get dressed.”

“That sounds like a bit of an oxymoron, Joey,” He teased.

Joe scoffed. “Yeah, whatever.”

Patrick threw on jeans and a sweatshirt, then kissed Joe. “Okay, I'm ready, how are we leaving? Through, like, the window, or..?”

Joe took Patrick's hand and escorted him through the apartment, out the front door.

It was a pleasant drive, the two of them singing along to Queen as they got to whatever park Joe was going to. It went by all too fast, really, there was a sense of camaraderie that being around Pete and even Andy couldn't provide. Maybe it was because they were, like, dating. Or whatever.

They got out of the car and Patrick immediately went towards the bunk, opening it and pulling out two stakes. “You don't need to,” Joe mumbled. Patrick shook his head and threw one to Joe, then grabbed another.

“Just in case.” He said, testing his hold on the both of them before shoving one in his pocket. “Okay, so, like… was the party actually shit, or what?”

“I don't necessarily like Pete's friends, man. They're too try-hard. I'd rather spend time with you.” Joe closed the bunk, then took Patrick's open hand. “You're nicer, anyways.”

“Are you just saying that 'cause they hate my kind?”

“No, I'm saying that 'cause I hung out in the bathroom with Andy the whole time.”

Patrick laughed. “Are you cheating on me, Joe? Cuz it seems like, like….”

Joe chuckled. “If I were, I wouldn't tell you,” He replied, kissing Patrick on the cheek. “Seriously, though, of course not.”

“I know, I know. You're an absolute sweetheart, I don't expect you to.” Patrick thought a moment, then stuck out his tongue. “Dummy.”

Joe laughed. “Hey! You're mean, Rick!”

“It’s a vamp thing, if you don't suck blood, you wouldn't understand. Hey, Joe, can we not just hang out in front of our car the whole night?”

“I…” Joe rolled his eyes. “Yeah, let's go walk around.”

It was a nature park, entirely trails, and Joe expected it probably wasn't actually open that late at night. But, whatever, they could hopefully deal with the ticket, if Pete remembered to renew the license. Joe glanced at the plate, and the numbers didn't look off, at least. Joe half-pulled, half-walked-with Patrick to what seemed to be the main trail. The air was crisp, slightly too cold, but it felt nice. It was kinda hard to… to see, but Patrick could probably see fine, so it didn't matter. Patrick pushed up against him, his head against Joe's shoulder. So Joe put his arm around Patrick. They didn't actually talk much, mostly just enjoying each other's company, It was really nice.

“Something's off,” Patrick said out of completely nowhere, under his breath.

“What?” Joe felt too loud.

“There are… they know I know, I think. I think.” Patrick glanced around. “Yeah, yeah. Grab your stake, babe, there's maybe half a dozen.”

“How do you…?”

“It's like cat eyes, Joe, cat eyes. They shine a bit, maybe it's too dull for you, but I can see it.”

Joe looked around, moving away from Patrick slightly and pulling out his stake, finding himself seeing a rather dull glitter around them. “Fuck,” He whispered.

“If they won't fight, don't try to fight, Joe.”

“I'm not a dumbass, Rick.”

They kept walking.

And it took until they got back for any vampires to show themselves. Specifically, two were sitting on their car, one trying to open the back, and all three of them talking loudly to each other in very fake British accents. They quieted themselves, though, looking to the couple. They had a rather smug attitude about them. Patrick took a tentative step closer, grabbing his second stake. “Get away from my fucking car,” he hissed, then took another step forward. They didn't move. Patrick glanced to Joe, making sure he knew that they were about to fight. But Patrick didn't use his speed to go forward, surprisingly, instead going just into the brush and killing a vamp, or at least, causing a scream of pain to be cut off in a way that Joe could only assume was a vampire being turned to dust. It took Joe a few seconds before he followed suit, adjusting his grip on his stake, and looking to his side, then back, and identifying a rather close vampire. He ran towards it, hopefully taking the thing by surprise, and then threw the stake.

The hunter thought he missed his mark, but the vampire didn't get a time to retaliate before he started to turn to ash. He ran up to it, pulled his stake out of the vamp's stomach, and properly pushed it through its heart. He turned, and another was practically on top of him. His attempt at stabbing it with his stake went about as well as he thought it would go, that is, his stake was now out of his reach in the underbrush.

He managed to get his foot to connect, though, and kicked it just hard enough to trample his way into the brush, trying to find, at the very least, a sharp enough stick to work as a stake, if not his actual stake. Joe tripped as he tried to run, but managed to keep himself from fully falling into anything, hanging onto a branch to balance himself.

Branch.

He snapped it off of the tree, pointing it like a spear towards the vampire. It appeared to back off slightly, like the longer distance was more dangerous, even if it was a less sharp edge. He stabbed it at him, realizing that the hunter would be no match against the sheer speed that vampires could possess.

The gunshot that rang out from the parking lot told him that Patrick was probably having a significantly more difficult time than he was. It was almost tempting to run out and see if he was okay, it really was, but he had his own life to account for. After a few minutes of trying to dodge the vampire, Joe managed to land a hit, likely off from the heart. After all, only the vampire's arm had dissipated, the rest of it seemingly fine, although that was likely just due to the weapon Joe was using. He stabbed again, missing, and then again, landing another hit and a strangled cry, despite the fact that he only hit the thing's shoulder. He had to run, at that point, moving through the brush as quickly as he could.

And he was on the ground, face in the dirt. Shit.

What was interesting was that he wasn't being turned, or attacked at all. He flipped over, and saw the vampire pinned against a tree, struggling against Patrick.

“Who's gang are you from?” He asked, voice low. The vampire just struggled, so Patrick repeated himself.

“The—the Dandies, sir,” The vampire managed, still speaking in that all-too-fake accent.

“Who leads?”

“Mister Beckett, sir, please—”

Patrick shot him in the jaw, and the vamp was now a pile of ash. He turned slowly to Joe, and helped him up. “Silver bullets, must have some humans in their cohorts.”

“Who the fuck are the Dandies?”

“No clue. Must be from somewhere else, I've never seen such tacky costumes in Chicago. But they're all dead, now, I hope, so it shouldn't be a problem.”

“I thought you didn't like killing 'em. Vamps, I mean.”

“Did you see their skin, their eyes? They all seemed so feral, a bit older than most gang members, um.. I've done a, a good job of keeping myself sane, over the years, but they sure as hell haven't.” Patrick shivered slightly. “Let's get home, yeah? I don't wanna deal with more of these creeps.”

“Yeah, yeah, let's go.” Joe hooked their arms together as they walked back to the car.

It was four in the morning when they got back to the apartment to the start of a stern talking-to from Andy, followed by confusion as to why Joe was covered in mud and both of them were covered in scratches. They shrugged it off, citing their tiredness as a reason not to talk about it, Patrick cleaning up his cuts as well as possible while Joe took a shower to wash off all the dirt.

[ddixons-angel]

Fated: Season 3

Summary: Gloria Rhee narrowly escapes Atlanta with her brother as the outbreak reaches the city. Luckily, they find a camp outside the city and together, they fend through encounters with the living and undead.

Starts a little before Season 1 and then follows the main storyline of the show.

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Glenn Sister!OC

Warnings: major TWD spoilers, language, violence (the typical TWD stuff), major character death

A/N: Wow we’re already halfway done Season 3, I think I’ll go back to posting once a week after Season 4 is done, mainly because I really like Season 3 and 4 hehe today’s chapter is gonna be a little rough, but we get a super cute scene! Probably my all time favorite moment of Daryl~ Enjoy!

Chapter 5

A few days after Gloria’s incident with Tomas, she had worked up the courage to apologize to Carol and Maggie for running away from them when they were only trying to help. Of course, they never held it against her, understanding that she was going through trauma. With everyone’s encouragement and care, Gloria had returned to her normal self again, much to Glenn’s relief. Daryl and Gloria had made it a regular thing to share the perch at night. Oscar had brought it upon himself to return Gloria’s daggers that were still in Cell Block D. Glenn, Daryl, and Rick were going in and out of the courtyard, getting rid of more walker bodies and gathering wood. Carol, Maggie, and T-Dog had moved cars into the court of the prison for easier access, and Gloria, Beth, Carl, and Lori had just come out from the cell block, assisting Hershel with his crutches. 

“Hey, Hershel, wanna race?” Carl calls out with a grin.

“Just give me a few days and I’ll take you on, young man.” Hershel chuckles.

Their small banter on who would win brings up the mood. A warm and peaceful moment is shared within the group. Lori looks out towards Rick, the couple share a loving look. Just then, Carl looks behind his shoulder and gasps.

“Walkers!” he yells, backing up and pulling out his gun from his belt, shooting at the closer ones.

“Beth! Take your dad and get him to a safe place!” Gloria orders the young girl and then she pulls out her daggers, rushing to kill the walkers closest to the group. 

Rick, Daryl and Glenn all rush back towards the prison once they see the ambush of walkers, yelling at everyone to get back inside. Carol and T-Dog shoot at the walkers, rushing towards the gate that’s been opened, allowing the walkers to flood out. Maggie had ushered Carl and Lori inside the prison while Beth and Hershel rushed their way up a set of stairs to a gated block.

“Daddy!” Beth calls out when she sees a walker right behind Hershel.

Gloria looks in their direction when she hears the girl’s cry and rushes to them as Hershel struggles to hold up the walker. She swiftly sinks her dagger in the back of the walker’s head and tosses it to the side, allowing Hershel to climb up the stairs freely. She gets inside the gated block with Hershel and Beth, locking it from the inside. 

Suddenly, an alarm starts to blare, drawing any walkers towards the prison. Daryl and Glenn are quick to get to work, shooting at any speakers they see in attempts to stop the alarm but it’s no use, the speakers are all over the prison building. Rick spots Oscar and the blonde prisoner, Axel, walking towards the group from the courtyard.

Rick angrily storms up to them and yells, “how the hell can this be happening!?”

“I-it has to be the back-up generator, there’s three that’s connected to a diesel tank, okay? A-and each one controls a certain part of the prison. The hacks shut 'em all off when the prison was overrun.” Oscar explains with his hands up, in case Rick decided to shoot him. 

“Do you know how to stop it?!” Rick yells over the blaring of the alarm.

“I’ve only worked there a few days, but I can try!” Oscar tells him then Rick pushes him forward to lead him to the control room. 

Rick, Glenn, Daryl, Oscar and Axel rush to the control room while Gloria is with Hershel and Beth in the gated block. After a while, the alarm stops blaring and Gloria turns to Beth, giving her one of her daggers. 

“I’m gonna go find the others, you stay here and protect your dad. Remember, aim for the brain, through the eye is the easiest way, okay?” Gloria instructs her, she then smiles at her when Beth takes the dagger and nods, patting the younger girl’s hair, “I’ll be back soon.”

Gloria opens the gate and shuts it behind her, heading off to find the rest of the group. She finds Rick, Daryl, Glenn, Oscar and Axel in a dark corridor. 

“Hey, what happened?” she asks, slightly out of breath. 

“That damn prisoner Rick chased out the other day... he did all this.” Daryl huffs, angrily.

“Where is he?” Gloria asks, her hands balling into fists.

“Dead.” Rick says as he walks by her, “Oscar shot him.”

He leads the way out of the corridor when they come across a body of eaten flesh. They recognize the body as T-Dog’s. A dark silence surrounds them as they reminisce their fallen companion. Gloria glances to the side and her eyes fill with tears as she spots Carol’s scarf on the ground. She lets out a shaky breath as she picks it up, biting her lip to try not to cry, now was not the time for that. Daryl puts his hand on her back and guides her out with the rest of the group. Hershel and Beth make their way out of the gated block as they see the others coming back. 

“Did you find them?” Hershel calls out. 

“Carol and T’ are gone.” Daryl sighs, looking at the ground.

“But that doesn’t mean the others are, we gotta find them. Maggie, Carl, Lori, we-” Rick’s words are cut off when they all hear the cries of a baby.

They all turn in the direction of the sound and see Maggie walking out of the prison, tears staining her face and blood staining her hands as she holds the baby in her arms. From behind her, Carl walks out with a solemn expression. The sight gives Rick the realization that his wife is gone, she had died during childbirth. Not wanting to accept the reality, he walks towards Carl and when he sees his son’s face, Rick starts to cry, breaking down at the loss of his wife. Glenn walks over to Maggie, trying to console her sobs as best he can as Carl goes over to her and takes his little sister from Maggie. 

“Let me see her.” Hershel calls out to Carl.

The boy brings the baby to him as he checks on her. He nods as he sees that she’s healthy. Daryl goes over to Rick who has fallen over from grief to check on him, unfortunately, he is unresponsive to his calls. Without saying anything, Rick gets up and grabs the axe that’s laying on the ground and rushes into the prison, seeing red and ready to massacre any walker he comes by. Daryl sighs as he knows he can’t do anything to help Rick, he’d just need to let him go through what he’s feeling. He goes back to the rest of the group.

“Yo, we got anythin’ a baby can eat?” he asks them all.

Gloria shakes her head, “she’s gonna need formula, otherwise she’ll starve.”

“No, not her, I’m goin’ out for a run.” Daryl says, slinging his crossbow on his back. 

“I’ll come with you.” Maggie says, following him.

“Me too.” Glenn joins in, following the both of them.

Daryl nods then turns to Beth, glancing in Carl’s direction, “hey, kid’s just lost his mom.” he whispers to her.

Beth nods, understanding what he’s trying to tell her, “I’ll look after him.”

He then turns his attention to Gloria who’s staring off in the distance of the door Maggie had come out of, he pats her shoulder in concern, “ya gonna be okay?”

She looks at him and nods, “I’ll be fine, just go. Hurry.”

Daryl purses his lips and nods, then turns to run to his motorcycle. Glenn had stayed behind in the end because of the wreckage on the road and Daryl could only take one more on his bike. Maggie insisted on going with Daryl as she said it was the least she could do for Lori. Gloria and Glenn were in the courtyard digging graves for Carol, T-Dog and Lori. Oscar and Axel walk up to them, silent, but wanting to help in any way they can. 

Gloria glances at them but doesn’t stop shoveling, “should we watch our backs with you guys too?” 

“N-no, we wouldn’t do anything, I promise you.” Oscar says, furrowing his eyebrows together.

She glares at them now, stopping her task, “Rick should have killed all of you the day he found you.” 

“Gloria, stop, they helped us.” Glenn pleads to her, although he understands her point. 

“We don’t know what the hell these two have planned behind their backs!” she snaps at Glenn then turns towards Oscar and Axel, “what is it, huh? You gain our trust then slit our throats in our sleep?!” 

Anger and grief was blinding her judgement, deep down she knew that they weren’t at fault and they did indeed help the group, but Gloria was just so upset and distraught. She throws down her shovel and storms off towards the prison. Glenn sighs as he watches her leave, he then gives Axel and Oscar his and Gloria’s shovels so they can help dig. Gloria runs into her old cell, curling up on the bed and starts to cry for their losses. Her and Lori weren’t very close when they first met, but as she kept checking up on her and the baby, Lori had become a good friend to Gloria. T-Dog had saved her and Glenn when the outbreak first started. He had become her second older brother and the protector of the group. Carol’s loss hit her the worst, Gloria had always seen Carol as an older sister, sometimes even a mother figure and she loved her dearly. She was the only reason Gloria could be strong after losing Sophia. Sobbing, Gloria looks down at Carol’s scarf that was wrapped around her right hand. 

‘Can you stay strong for me? Can you do that?’ Carol’s words echoed in Gloria’s mind. 

Taking a deep breath, Gloria nods as if answering the voice in her head. Wiping her tears away, she goes down to check up on Hershel, Beth, and the baby. After seeing that they’re doing fine, she walks out to the main area right outside the cell block where she sees Oscar and Axel. 

“Hey...” she calls out to them as she walks up to the two, “I’m sorry about how I was before. I wasn’t in my right mind and I-” 

“No no no, don’t apologize, we get it.” Axel is quick to interrupt her apology.

“Ya’ll just lost three members of your family, ‘course it’s gonna be hard on ya.” Oscar says, a sympathetic look on his face. 

Gloria sighs and nods, “thank you for understanding, I still feel kinda bad though. You two have saved me not only once, but twice now and instead of a thank you, you guys get me telling you that we should have killed you first.”

Oscar shakes his head, a small smile on his face, “Listen, I really hated what Tomas did to ya, and I’m genuinely sorry that it happened. I’m gonna do whatever it takes to protect ya and your people.” 

“Me too.” Axel says confidently puffing up his chest. 

“Thank you, really.” Gloria smiles at them, “you’ve both earned your place, but we’ll have to see what the others think about you staying in our cell block.” 

Later on, Daryl and Maggie have come back from their run, bringing back supplies and formula for the baby. Gloria quickly prepares the formula for the crying baby and hands the bottle over to Daryl as he’s holding her in his arms. Gently, he feeds her and her crying instantly stops. 

“She got a name yet?” Daryl looks at Carl.

“Not yet, I was thinking... maybe Sophia? Then there’s Carol, too. Andrea... Amy... Jacqui... Patricia... or Lori. I don’t know.” Carl says, his reminder of the fallen females of their group brings the mood down drastically. 

Seeing this, Daryl looks at the baby, “Yeah... you like that, huh? Lil’ Asskicker.” he glances around, the mood lifting slightly at his suggestion, “Right? Tha’s a good name, right? Lil’ Asskicker, you like that, huh? You like that, sweetheart?” 

As Gloria stands beside Daryl, she affectionately places her hand on his arm, smiling lovingly. He glances at her and gives her a comforting smile. Later on that night, Beth had taken it upon herself to care for the baby. After making sure Beth is doing fine with the baby, she goes to check up on Maggie who’s sitting alone on the bed in her and Glenn’s shared cell.

“How’re you holding up?” Gloria asks softly as she walks into the cell. 

Maggie sighs then looks up at Gloria, “Have you.... have you ever had a patient die... right in front of you?”

“I have...” she answers, “after trying so hard, doing whatever I could to keep them breathing, I couldn’t stop it from happening. No matter how many other nurses or doctors told me it wasn’t my fault and that I did the best I could, it always felt like they were lying.” 

“How’d you deal with that?” Maggie asks, her voice breaking as tears run down her face. 

“I just do...” she sighs, knowing that answer wasn’t helpful at all, “time helps, your friends and family help too, but there’s always going to be that guilty question in your gut that what if you could have done more to stop it.”

Gloria sits down on the bed beside Maggie and holds her hands, “I wish things were different, I wish it wasn’t you that had to bear this responsibility.” 

Maggie sobs at her words, Gloria wraps her arms around her and lets her cry on her shoulder. She does her best to comfort her, rubbing small circles on her back in an attempt to soothe her. Gloria knew that Maggie needed to let it all out, she would feel better that way. After a while of Maggie crying in her arms, Glenn comes by the cell to check up on them. His heart breaks at the sight of Maggie in her broken state, Gloria looks up at him and nods pointedly to her, signalling him to take over. Glenn nods as Gloria pats Maggie’s back gently, then gets up from the bed and goes to the door of the cell. 

“Thanks.” Glenn whispers to her, patting her arm as he walks into the cell. 

She nods at him, giving him a small smile before making her way up the stairs to the perch. Gloria sits down on the bed and sighs heavily, tugging at the few loose strands of Carol’s scarf. Daryl comes up the stairs to find her and sits beside her. 

“Ya alright?” he asks, looking at her hands fidgeting with the scarf.

Gloria shakes her head, “it’s not fair... we couldn’t even give Carol a proper burial...” 

Daryl wraps his arm around her, pulling her close, “I’ll go in the mornin’, clear out the rest o’ the prison and find her. I will.” 

She nods and doesn’t say anything else, just resting her head on Daryl’s shoulder. He holds her like that until she ends up falling asleep. He had to find her body tomorrow, Daryl told himself, it’s the least they could do for Carol. 

---

Next Chapter

All the angst in this one! But at least we have Lil’ Asskicker now, and yeah I had to put that moment in because I love it, and I am sure I am not the only one. Next chapter comes out this Friday!! 

I hope everyone stays safe and healthy, please don’t panic, we will get through this!

And as always, I would really appreciate any comments left for me! I’ll be replying to any comments in a new post because this is a sideblog!

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