#i think it would have been better if we have seen all the scenes rick and michonne and judith saying we're the ones who live and then after

[cynthiav06]

Percy is a dude from the category of screaming "what the hell did you do!" and solve all the problems in 5 minutes. Everyone would have been dead a long time ago if it wasn't for him.

I have mixed opinions on this. On one hand, Percy is the type of person to wait about for the problem to disappear by itself just so he doesn't have to deal with it. Cause even before he found out he was a demigod, he was 100% done with everyone's shit.

But I do agree that he would be able to solve all problems because through so many books we have seen that no matter how much prior planning Annabeth or the Seven or anyone else does, Percy always does his own thing at the end. And it works out mostly for the better than whatever initial situation anyone else had in mind because Percy thinks almost too well on his feet. Every time.

But Percy has such low self esteem that he sees the fact that he has to make so many improvisations more so as his plans never working as less so as an exceptional ability to adapt. Especially when at times he can easily sense that some titan/giant is too powerful so he maneuvers around a direct fight and ends up defeating them by pure strategy and still ends up thinking of himself as "Oh shit I seriously had no plans. I am so reckless and stupid".

His whole character arc could have been evolving into a more confident and self assured but still the usual sarcastic laid back version of himself who no longer doubts his own abilities and becomes the great leader he showed many signs of being. But no, Rick had to ruin it all because, for some reason, 10+ books later and almost all the characters are still the same, just decorated with even more trauma. Rick being Rick, and instead of showing characters working out their traumas and insecurities, he just slaps a relationship on them, and lo and behold, all is better again somehow.

I am kind of disappointed that we never got to see Percy or any other members of the Seven do any solo missions(aside from Annabeth in MoA) . She almost had the very quintessential realization about she needs others and how her hubris will ruin everything if she doesn't keep it in check only for whatever she was doing in the later parts House of Hades and all of Chalice of the Gods to take away even that little bit of character development.

And cause solo missions working out perfectly well for Percy while most other demigods struggle a bit to make it work might finally make him realize that his plans don't suck and he is actually a really really good strategist and somehow an even better manipulator. (Though more on that and his observational skills later).

Or make characters like Frank and Leo whose unique abilities and perspectives on combat could have been shown off more, making them all become more self-reliant.

And even so we could finally get proper idea of limits of certain characters like Piper (cause charmspeak isn't going to get her everywhere) or Hazel (we so need more scenes of her surprising demigods and monsters with not only her unique jewel abilities and her magic.) Plus Nico's combat limits, Jason's stamina limits (no I am not considering that part of canon, you can't tell me it's true, I refuse to stand by it), Thalia's character development as well as her honing her powers and combat abilities more.

So yeah, we really should have gotten a few solo missions instead of so many short stories and all. And a bit more cross-over highlighting the power levels between the Norse, Greek, Roman, and Egyptian demigods/magicians/Valhalla residents/Valkyrie and so on.

To sum it up, tons of missed opportunities by Riordan and even more tragic and terrible progression of previously great characters who just needed a well-made character arc or even some favoritism. (I am looking at Grover and Rachel, who both could have done so so much if Rick had only realized the awesome potential they had).

I have said it many times that it's #percy jackson supremacy. So hell yes everyone would be dead without him, and he is arguably the best protagonist out of any other fantasy action book series. All hail Percy Jackson, the master of sass, and the most beloved but somehow still the most misinterpreted character in the fandom. Really liked this ask, would love more of these regarding Percy or any other characters.

[whateverisbeautiful]

What would you want to see in a TOWL season 2?

Ooh definitely had fun thinking about this question. 😊 Thank you for asking! First, I love that Danai and Andy have expressed the importance of returning only if the story they tell next feels necessary and irresistible. With a franchise that’s been making content for almost 15 years now, it’s tough to avoid doing something that feels repetitive or superfluous. But it’s certainly not impossible. And if anyone can find the right future story to tell for Richonne it’s the Andy, Danai, and Scott band. I wrote out the rest of my thoughts and what I would want to see in season 2 right below. 💗⬇️

Part of why TOWL worked so well is because the story truly did feel necessary. With how Rick and Michonne left TWD, their story was unfinished, and so TOWL came to give such deserving characters a deserving conclusion.

And TOWL felt fresh because it put Rick and Michonne in situations we had never seen them in before. We’d never seen Rick go that long without family and naturally, the damage from that took a serious toll on him. And we’d never really seen Michonne have to try and downplay the competent woman she is to survive in a new territory. We also had never seen Rick and Michonne have this much conflict between them, which made their beautiful reconciliation all the more moving and rewarding.

The Ones Who Live also remembered that one of the most enticing aspects of the golden era of TWD was interpersonal conflict and relationships. So making Rick and Michonne’s incredible, compelling, and authentic relationship the driving force of the plot was great and it really grounded TOWL, making it focused and captivating.

There are a lot of things I’d love to see in season two. I go back and forth because, on one hand, TOWL’s closing family reunion scene feels like such a fitting final moment for Rick and Michonne’s arc, both together and as individuals. Especially with Rick starting TWD as a man looking for his family, it’s beautiful that his story ends wrapped in the embrace of the wife and kids who love him and who he loves with everything in him. Rick finding his family and he and Michonne finding peace feels like the natural endpoint.

Then on the other hand, I of course would love to see what life looks like for the Grimes family post-reunion. We can always imagine different scenarios in our head, and sometimes future stories are better left imagined, but if they can find a way to show us what came next in the Grimes family’s life without it feeling just like an epilogue that would be nice. If TOWL Season One’s theme was ‘Reunion’, then I could see TOWL Season Two’s theme being ‘Recovery,’ on both a personal and grander scale.

My main thing is I just want them to come back if the quality will be on par with season one or better because I don't want anything to tarnish TOWL after the achievement of Season One. I do think it’s highly likely we’ll see Rick and Michonne again in some capacity, even if brief. So all that being said, these are 7 things I’d like to see if we’re blessed with a season two:

#1: Rick Bonding with RJ & Judith & the Moment Rick Truly Becomes Dad

I would absolutely love to see how Rick and RJ build their tight bond and get to know each other. And Rick being a girl dad with Judith would be great to see too. Whenever I envision what Rick’s return to being a dad to his kids could look like, I always think something that would be really heartfelt is seeing the moment when it’s clear his kids see him as dad not just because that’s his title but because they really do have a close father/child relationship now.

#2: Michonne Reconnecting with Judith & RJ

It would be interesting to see Michonne reconnecting with her kids as well. Especially with Judith being a teenager now and RJ not being her little baby in the same way. Michonne getting to see that she really did raise her kids to be smart survivors would be sweet.

#3: Rick and Michonne Living in Their Love Story & Navigating Parenthood Together

I hope a season two would still keep Rick and Michonne’s love story at the forefront because it really never gets old. I’d love to see them still having personal moments to enjoy their love in all the ways and reacclimating to life at home together. Since TOWL season one mostly showed them operating under the high stakes circumstances of the CRM, I’d love a look into how Rick and Michonne have been spending their more normal everyday life and especially how they are navigating parenthood together.

#4: Any and All Grimes Family Content (& Another Richonne Baby)

I’d love every bit of Grimes Family content they can give us. Like the four Grimes out on some type of excursion together where Rick gets to see Judith’s sword skills and gets to teach RJ to use the axe, that Family Fun Day picnic they filmed, a Grimes family dinner because in the post-Rick era of TWD we saw a few Grimes dinner scenes with that empty fourth chair and I’d love to see Rick finally get to fill that chair and have dinner with his family, and just any Domestic Grimes family moments.

Also, I could see the Grimes family expanding and Richonne having one more kid. If we got to see even just a glimpse of Rick with a pregnant Michonne, that would make me happy. I feel like with the right stakes added, this whole domestic family angle could be done in a fresh way without shifting the TWD tone too much.

#5: Rick and Michonne Reintegrating into Their Community and Saving The World For The Final Time

I know every good story needs conflict so I’d like to see how that plays out through Rick and Michonne reintegrating into their community. Rick and Michonne having a reunion with certain family members like Daryl would be nice, even tho I'm not sure how that would play out with Daryl on a whole other continent now. I also could see Richonne perhaps trying to be in ‘retirement’ but then some major threat (perhaps pertaining to things Beale mentioned in the breifing like spies and the potential fast-approaching threat of extinction) pulls them back into leadership to save the world one last time.

#6: Hearing Certain Words & Exchanges

I’d love it if season 2 included some of the stuff we didn’t get to hear in TOWL Season 1. Like Michonne officially being called ‘Michonne Grimes.’ Rick being referred to as Michonne’s ‘husband,’ Rick and Michonne both directly telling each other ‘I Love You.’ And either seeing or at least hearing that Rick and Michonne did go on to have that wedding ceremony like Rick wanted before. (Also, I personally would not be mad if season two wanted to come along and try to match or break the TOWL Season 1 kiss record lol.)

#7: Rick and Michonne Happily Growing Old Together

The most important thing for me would be that Rick and Michonne’s story still concludes with a happy ending in season two. Like I don’t want to visibly see one of them die or anything tragic happen to their kids. While I think Rick and Michonne wrapped in a family embrace is already such a perfect ending image for them, one that I think could be equally perfect is seeing that Rick and Michonne got to live a long happy life and grow old together. I’d love to know that, especially after losing children, they got to see their kids grow up into well-adjusted thriving adults and even start families of their own, making Richonne grandparents.

Two characters making it into old age and living a calm steady life after everything they’ve been through in this uncertain and often unforgiving apocalypse is a triumphant conclusion that we haven’t seen yet for prominent characters in TWD. And so it would warm my heart to know that Rick and Michonne really did get to love on each other and their family as hard as they could for many years and just truly and fully enjoy the peace they fought so hard for throughout this series.

BONUS: If they could find a way that feels natural and right then I’d love if there was somehow a scene that could include Chandler Riggs making an appearance to reprise his role as Carl one more time.

So those are some things I would like to see if TOWL has a second season. Writing this out actually made me even more grateful for TOWL season one though because they made sure to end the show in a way that is so satisfying to where I don’t feel like I need anything more. Like I love and miss Richonne dearly so I'll be glad to have them back on my screen, but I also am so fulfilled by what we got with TOWL. So even all these things on this s2 wishlist would be nice to see but they are in the ‘want’ category rather than feeling like these things are needed for Rick and Michonne’s arc to feel complete.

Thanks to TOWL, Richonne's story already feels whole and complete. But if the gift that keeps on giving wants to give us even more, I’ll welcome it, and I definitely trust the captains can deliver something special if they choose to return to TOWL. 👌🏽😊 Thanks again for asking and reading my extra self's response!

[veryferaldistributions]

My Favorite Quotes from the “Bride of ReAnimator” Commentary (Not Included in the “Gay” Compilation):

Herbert: “Go. Home.”

Bruce: “Oh yeah, lot waiting for me there. How ‘bout that front room? Pet the dog! Find the finger eye puppet. Have some leftover spaghetti!”

Jeffrey: (about the Bride) “So she’s Meg. She’s Gloria-“

Bruce: “She’s the virgin-hooker with the twinkle toes.”

(Herbert and Francesca are barricading the lab door.)

Bruce: “Why is she helping you?”

Jeffrey: “Because she knows there are creatures out there (laughs) puking Cream of Wheat!”

Herbert: “You’re better off without her.”

Bruce: “Thanks for the advice, Dear Abby!”

(Herbert is talking about the feet of the ballet dancer.)

Bruce: “Y’know, Herbert’s parents made him take ballet for five years…”

(Over the course of the film commentary, they make several jokes about how Chapham is always seen with food.)

Herbert: (at Chapham) “What are you doing in here?”

Bruce: “Eating!”

(EDITED POST TO ADD MORE QUOTES/FIX ERRORS IN FIRST BATCH UPON REWATCH)

(Dan gets stabbed in Peru.)

Jeffrey: “Your kidney’s been lacerated, but you’ll be alright!”

Bruce: (sees his own name in the credits) “Who’s that?”

Bruce: “How did they get down there (Peru)?”

Jeffrey: (dryly) “By a plane, Bruce.”

Jeffrey: (singing to credits music) “Oh MEEEEG, my loooove, where did you goooo my deaaaar?”

(Movie cuts from Peru to Miskatonic.)

Bruce: “Oh yeah, like those two would be let back in the States!”

Bruce: “(Bride) is the ‘Frankenstein’ of the series. If the second is ‘Frankenstein,’ what’s the first?”

Jeffrey: “…Re-Animator.”

Bruce: “What is with my HAIR?”

Jeffrey: “Well, that was your choice!”

Dan: “Herbert, I have something to tell you.”

Bruce: “I’ve found a new hairdresser.”

Dr. Graves: “Who’d want to steal body parts?”

Jeffrey: “Ohhhhh, I think we knoooow.”

(Herbert is stealing Meg’s heart.)

Bruce: “Like Dan wouldn’t have enshrined that already.”

Herbert: (at Hill’s head in the morgue) “How did you get in here?”

Jeffrey: (mumbling) “…I hate this scene.”

(They both laugh at the puns anyway.)

Jeffrey: “Nice wheels, Dan.”

Bruce: “You bet. All in eight months. Got through customs. Now I’m driving a Dodge Swinger.”

Bruce: “I can’t get over my BeeGees haircut.”

Jeffrey: “Barry Gibb lives!”

(Later in the movie.)

Jeffrey: (singing) “Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Stayin’ alive! Stayin’ alive!”

Bruce: “Of course this house has a basement.”

Jeffrey: “It was one of our requirements.”

Bruce: “One of your requirements.”

Jeffrey: “Well…”

Herbert: “Security.”

Dan: “From what?”

Herbert: …

Jeffrey: “From what?!”

Bruce: “Do I merit an answer?!”

(Herbert is showing Dan the reagent.)

Jeffrey: “DRINK IT! DRINK IT!”

Bruce: “Y’know, Herbert has this nasty habit of shoving things in Dan’s face. Iguanas, reagent, amniotic fluid-“

Jeffrey: “Dead cats.”

Dan: “I’m moving out!”

Jeffrey: “Why?”

Bruce: “Because, I like this heart patient in the hospital MUCH more than you!”

Jeffrey: (laughs) “What, you gonna move in with HER?”

Bruce: “No one will ever get rich overestimating Dan’s bad taste.”

(Herbert is trying to convince Dan to reanimate Chapham, next to the boiling pot.)

Bruce: “Sure…why not?”

Jeffrey: “Lemme have some tea first!”

(Cuts from the basement to Francesca, in Dan’s bed.)

Francesca: “Daniel?”

Bruce: “Why am I down there? WHY? What am I thinking about?”

Jeffrey: “You needed to get another prophylactic from the lab.”

Dan: “Herbert!”

Bruce: “I’d like to have a nickel for every time I’ve said ‘Herbert’ in these two movies.”

Dan: “It helps me to think of you as Meg.”

Bruce: “Betcha that makes her feel good. No wonder she dies!”

(Gloria flatlines.)

Jeffrey: “And that made her die.”

(Herbert and Dan are reanimating the Bride.)

Bruce: “Don’t try this at home.”

(Herbert puts on the gun holster.)

Bruce: “Wild, wild West. Herbie, get your gun.”

Herbert: “There is my creation!”

Jeffrey: “So put THAT in your pipe and smoke it!”

Bruce: (singing Rick Springfield) “I wish I was Herbie’s girl!”

(The Bride is trying to seduce Dan.)

Bruce: “Oh boy. I certainly wasn’t paid enough for this.”

Bride: (to Dan) “You made me?”

Herbert: “I made you!”

Jeffrey: “Yeah! Get that straight, babe!”

Dan: “You’re not Meg. Meg’s dead.”

Bruce: (flatly) “Wow. What a revelation. How edifying.”

Herbert: “Make a note of it, Dan! Tissue rejection!”

Bruce: “You write it down, ya little squirt! I’m tired of taking your notes!”

Dan: “You’re alive.”

(Falls to his knees.)

Jeffrey: “And I worship you!”

[hazelnut-u-out]

Do you think about the whole Rick Prime thing? Did it kinda feel anticlimactic???

Yeeahhhhhh, but... I think that's the point!

At first, I was a little bit disappointed with how they handled the arc. I really thought Prime was going to be the Big Bad! Having the whole climax of C-137's arc with Prime as a mid-season episode felt oddly... dismissive? It was like it wasn't even a major event.

After sitting on this for a bit, I think I actually love how they've handled it. I think this is the first time I've really seen the show take something that perfectly fills a 'Television Run' format (i.e. big events at the ends of the seasons for cliffhangers, and so on) and subvert those expectations into something more like 'Real Life.' In my opinion, a lot of the show is shown as how characters involved view the events, especially in terms of tonality. That's why so much of the show fits these media formulas-- Rick views his life as a show.

I often refer to the majority of the show as 'Rick's Director's Cut' because we get events skewed from his warped perception of his own actions. (You can even think of 'Morty's Mindblowers' as Rick literally editing footage into a better story.) Of course, we see why he's sympathetic. As the viewer, we understand why he's doing what he's doing, even if we don't agree with it. He views himself as the 'sitcom dad'-- comically fucked up and abusive, but secretly caring. Rick believes that he's got just enough heart for his actions to be excusable, forgetting that the people he hides his intentions from aren't getting the 'full picture' like the viewer is. From Morty's perspective, Rick does these things for no reason-- unless you count not liking, caring about, or valuing Morty. Of course, we know that's not the case, but Morty doesn't. His family doesn't.

The Prime arc is fascinating to me because of the contrast between how Rick viewed it versus how it happened from the perspective of the viewer. Rick went into the Prime arc thinking it would be a massive, badass epic where the underdog comes out on top and the audience is satisfied with the conclusion. As the audience, this is probably the first time we haven't really been able to click with that, you know? It was unsatisfying, even for Rick, and now he's sort of saddled with, 'Oh, shit. This is real life. What comes next?'

Sure, they're little guys on our television screens. To them, though... that's real life. Real life is messy. Real life is unsatisfying. Real life is disappointing, the editing is sloppy, arcs aren't linear, and dysfunction and substance abuse aren't silly character traits.

The whole point is: What happens now?

In real life, what happens after your abusive parent passes away or you finally get revenge on the person who tore your life apart? In real life, what happens after you beat the shit out of the guy who assaulted you? Or after your dad apologizes for walking out on you?

There's actually a Malcolm in the Middle scene reminiscent of this concept. Francis was blamed by Lois from the time he was born for ruining their relationship. Throughout the entire series, his arcs deal with their broken relationship. When she finally apologizes, the pinnacle of his hopes and dreams-- the only thing keeping him alive, it doesn't help. It doesn't fix the years of psychological abuse he suffered, or the fact that he's as broken as he is because of her failure as a parent.

Another great example is in Adventure Time, when Finn thinks he's ripped Martin's arm off for causing him to lose his own. The revenge doesn't help. (Sorry, not digging for a link to the scene lmao.)

Those things aren't satisfying on their own. The fantasies and daydreams we barter through aren't feasible cures. That's real life. What happens afterward is what you do next. That can be a tough pill to swallow. There's no quick 'fix-all' for everything that's fucked you up. What helps? Hard work. Dedication. Time. Therapy. Grief. Acceptance.

Rick never really worked through the grieving process, you know?

There was Denial and Anger:

And where he got stuck... Bargaining:

After Prime's death? Depression:

Four decades later, we're finally on the cusp of Acceptance.

That's what that look into the hole was. That's what putting up Morty's picture was. That's what choosing to walk away was.

Acceptance.

In conclusion of my long-winded rant, I liked the Prime arc. Fits nicely into the season after the finality of 'Fear No Mort.'

Well done, writers.

Thanks for asking! <3

[shok-oy]

november. 30, 2024

season 4. carl grimes x male reader. masterlist

✒️ ... illness

y/n and carl were huddled together, a comic book resting carl's lap as they read the book together. they were in the prison, somewhere a bit farther away from the main cell blocks, secluded and secure, where no one could bother them.

suddenly, carl gasped.

"no way! they can't just kill him like that! he's the main character, that doesn't look like an ending fit for a superhero!" carl complained loudly.

"maybe he'll live or maybe he is dead. honestly, we might never know." y/n laughed.

carl groaned, closing the comic book out of frustration.

"unless...." y/n smirks, and carl turns to him. "ta-daa!"

y/n reveals a comic book from behind him, and it was the next volume of the comic they were just reading. carl gasped and grabbed it from y/n's hands.

"no way! how did you- how?!" carl laughed, inspecting the comic book.

"i got it while i was on a run with daryl." y/n smirks proudly, but his expression quickly fades away as he notices the disheartened look on carl's face.

"carl?" y/n asks, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "what's wrong?"

"it's just- my dad won't let me go out on runs, he won't even let me hold a gun." carl sighed. "i feel useless."

"he just cares about you, is all." y/n tries to say, attempting to uplift his friend's spirits

"i know, it just sucks i have to stay here while you get to go out on runs with daryl and the rest." carl confessed.

"if it makes you feel better, i'd rather stay in here and read comic books with you than go out there and sit in uncomfortable silence with daryl." y/n joked, his hands slipping on the comic book on carl's hands.

he gives the boy a smile and opens the book so they could both read together.

~

"okay, gross, can we get back to the action scenes?" carl grimaced when he opens the book to a page where the main character had kissed their love interest.

"what? a little embarrassed over a kiss scene are we?" y/n teased, keeping his hand on the page so carl wouldn't flip it.

"n-no!" carl quickly denied.

"then... why are you so red? have you never seen people kiss before?" y/n asks.

"i have..." carl whispered lowly, his cheeks reddening by the second.

"have you ever... kissed someone before?" y/n asked.

"..." carl was silent.

for a few moments, y/n tried to move close to him, slowly so as to not spook him. but when his hands laid upon carl's own, the boy suddenly shifted, flipping the comic book close with a loud shut. carl quickly stands before speed-walking away from his friend, leaving the comic on the floor. y/n felt as if all the color in his world had washed away, had he just been rejected?

he felt a twinge of pain on his chest, then a squeeze... then, it was as if his heart had stopped beating. he leaned back on the wall behind him and squeezed his eyes shut, thinking, trying to form words in his mind, but nothing. there it was, the end of a two-year friendship with the only boy his age who could possibly know what he was going through.

y/n rubbed his nape, trying to calm down. he shut his eyes, forcing back the tears on his eyes as he tried to relax, to stop thinking about what had just happened. would carl tell his father? if he did, what would rick do? would the man kick him out for his... preferences? would he think he is filthy for... trying to corrupt his son?

y/n stands up, picking up the comic book carl had left behind.

he trudged back into the prison with a heavy heart. he clutched the book close to his chest, avoiding people. he thinks their eyes are on him, he feels their disgust. had carl already told everyone? or did he just tell one person and it somehow reached all over the prison?

he reached his room — his cell — and he tossed the comic book over the top bunk along with the other comic books he collected from his runs with daryl. he kicks off his shoes and lays on his bed, hearing the creaking noise it made had him cringe, or maybe it was the scent that had him make that expression, whatever it was, he was upset and frustrated.

he hears the shuffling of cloth as the curtains that hung over the entrance of his room had been drawn back. daryl stood there, looking down on the boy. he didn't speak for a few minutes, only chewing through his dinner.

"what happened?" daryl spoke gruffly.

y/n doesn't reply. he lie motionless in bed.

"why don't you come on and eat." that wasn't a question, daryl was ordering him.

"don't wanna." y/n replied.

daryl entered the cell, drawing the curtains to cover the room before he sits on y/n's bed, the mattress dipping under his weight.

"then what'd you want?" daryl asks this time.

"i want the ground to eat me up." y/n groaned into his pillow.

daryl scoffed, munching on a piece of bread. he took one large bite before nudging y/n with his knuckles. the boy doesn't move, but he releases a frustrated grunt. daryl nudged him even harder this time, and he kept nudging y/n until he practically hit the wall. y/n slapped daryl's hand away and the older man grunted. he didn't have to do much, with just one arm he held down a struggling y/n.

"you dick!" y/n hissed.

"uh-huh." daryl chuckled.

y/n groaned and finally gave up. daryl was the person who found him and brought him back to the prison. he was exhausted and dehydrated and trapped in a rooftop with walkers crawling below him. daryl managed to lead the walkers away with a noisy, stolen car before he managed to save the poor boy. ever since then, daryl was sort of y/n's guardian, daryl took it upon himself to watch over the boy and care for him, he was y/n's big brother, so of course he would worry if he hadn't come down to eat, or if something seemed to be bothering y/n.

"so?" daryl asked as he removed his arm on y/n. "what is it?"

"you can't help me this time, daryl." y/n chuckled sadly.

"what? you got problems with your boy?" daryl asked.

y/n's eyes widened. how did daryl know? his expression made daryl chuckle. of course he knew; apart from carl, who else had y/n spent so much time with? y/n threw an arm over his eyes and groaned loudly, making daryl chuckle.

"can't cage yourself in here forever. come on, get out and eat." daryl stands, playfully clasping y/n's arm. "that boy ain't your life."

y/n finally caved; he stood up and dragged himself behind daryl as the man took another chunk out of the bread he was eating. he forced the leftover bread in y/n's mouth and the teen groaned in displeasure before his hand reaches up to hold the bread in place. daryl walks a few steps ahead of y/n, who was obviously purposely slowing down his steps. daryl rolled his eyes; he really couldn't take the slow steps of y/n any longer. he swung an arm over the boy's shoulders and practically dragged him outside, to the eating area.

a lot of people were outside having dinner. the people from woodbury and from rick's original group sat together, scattered in different tables. y/n caught sight of carl sitting beside his father, the seat to his other side was empty and y/n had half a mind to go sit beside him. but daryl dragged him over to sit beside carol on another table. she was sitting with the parents, chatting about some original recipe of hers. when he was sat, daryl walks off towards the grills to pick up some food.

"ah, y/n, how are you?" carol asks the boy, a sweet smile on her lips.

"i am.... fine." y/n spoke slowly, as if he was unsure of his own answer.

but he was the complete opposite of fine. his reason? the boy sitting a few tables away from him. but carol had always been sweet to him. he was close to her thanks to daryl, and when no one was looking, carol would sneakily give y/n a chocolate bar or two. y/n liked her, so he tried to give her a polite response in front of her woodbury friends. carol felt like something was up, but she didn't pry further as she had turned back to chatting with her friends.

y/n felt a nudge on his shoulder and he looks up to see daryl moving in to sit beside him. y/n immediately scooches to make space for him. the gruff man sets down a plate of cooked venison in front of y/n and motions for him to have his fill. y/n smiles and mumbles a soft thanks to the man before he begins to eat.

~

carl can't help the way his eyes naturally gravitate towards y/n. he was seated between carol and daryl, eating his meal in peace as he listens to the chatter around his table. he felt this... strange, squeezing sensation on his heart every time he steals a glance from y/n.

he probably shouldn't have walked away from y/n earlier... he barely remembers what he was thinking at that moment, or perhaps he wasn't thinking at all. he felt the way his heart sped up when y/n came closer to him, he felt the way his face warmed up when y/n huddled close to him so he could read.

he could feel, but he couldn't think.

then he hears a cough from one of the kids and suddenly he's back in reality.

after dinner was over, he headed back to his room. he bids his father goodnight and kisses judith as she sleeps soundly in her crib. as he was heading back to his room, he finds y/n hanging around the perch on the second floor, where daryl's room was. he coughed a few times, and daryl comes into view, carrying a bottle of water and some meds.

"hey, don't cough it at me, boy." daryl grunted.

y/n chuckled weakly before coughing again, a bit louder this time. daryl quickly supports him with his body before gently setting him down to sit. carl trudged back to his room, he ducked his head and made sure his steps were quiet so the two wouldn't notice him.

~

the next morning, carl heard screams, he heard gunshots, and his father's panicked voice mixing with everyone else's fearful screams.

but when the dust settled and everyone had gone quiet, carl noticed the bodies of walkers, people from woodbury whom he shared a roof with for the past few months. it was some sort of virus or disease, according to the doctor. patrick was found dead, a walker with no bites or scratches on him, but he was bleeding on his nose, eyes, and mouth; a truly horrific sight.

he remembers seeing how horrified y/n looked when he saw the deceased body of the boy. he runs away, holding back the urge to throw up. carl hadn't seen him for the rest of the day.

the council decided to quarantine those who they deemed "infected." first it was karen and david, but they were soon found dead, burned with their bodies nothing but black ash on the floor outside.

more people began to contract symptoms, and soon enough, an entire cell block was nearly half-full with people coughing and wheezing.

y/n would soon join them.

"you can't- daryl, please, i can help!" y/n cried, his hand holding onto daryl's arms as the man led him to cell block a, where they quarantined all the sick people. "let me go on that run with you, just please, please don't put me in there, i'm begging you."

carl was listening from afar, watching from behind a wall. y/n was holding back tears. he'd been fearful of his life ever since he saw patrick's deceased body. daryl placed a hand on his cheek, giving a him a look of assurance.

"just get in there. sasha'll take care of you." he said, gently pushing y/n towards the door.

"i'm gonna die in there!" y/n whisper-yelled. "i'm gonna die knowing i didn't do anything to stop it or- or help!"

"stop. you're sick." just as daryl said that, y/n broke out into a coughing fit. he quickly coughed into his arm. "you're gonna be fine. i'm gonna make sure of it."

daryl hated to see his little brother in pain. he would do anything to ease his pain.

"carl! c'mere."

carl's shoulders stiffened and he attempted to run away, but he heard daryl call him again, louder this time. he inhaled sharply, he wouldn't hear the end of it from daryl if he didn't listen now. he slowly walked out of his hiding spot. y/n quickly let go of daryl and took a few steps back. no, he thinks to himself. he didn't want carl to seem him in such a pathetic state. not again. in a split second, before daryl even knew what was happening, y/n had slipped past him to get into the door leading into cell block a.

he looks at daryl's frustrated glare through the large, glass window. he shook his head, refusing to look at carl. he runs off, probably to find a cell to trap himself in.

"just- i dunno what you two are fighting about, but that boy is gonna die the more he thinks about dying." daryl tells carl.

carl stays quiet.

"look after 'im for me. won't 'ya?" daryl walks away, leaving carl to himself.

~

carl didn't know how to "look after" someone who wouldn't even look at him. he would visit the glass window to cell block a every hour, hand on his gun in case anything happened, but every time he came up to the glass window, no one would come up. he would see a few silhouettes moving in the background, but he couldn't see y/n.

was he pissed at him? they haven't had a chance to talk after what happened and everything was just moving so fast.

was he hurt? he probably was. he walked away from him when he was trying to get closer to him. was he? or was he just trying to catch a closer look at the comic?

what if this was really it? what if daryl and the others come too late and cell block a just turns into a cell block of patrick's? what if y/n ended up like patrick and... died?

carl shook his head; he doesn't know anything and he certainly doesn't know what will happen if he keeps on thinking negative thoughts.

he stands in front of the glass window, eyes glued to the shadows moving around on the other side of the glass. he pressed his lips into a thin line. he shook his head and turned on his heel.

"what the hell am i doing..." he muttered.

but just before he could even take one step, he hears tapping coming from the glass. he turned around; to his surprise,

y/n was there.

he looked pale, a little out of breath, but otherwise alright. carl quickly moves closer to the window, and so does y/n. they were so close, carl felt as if he could hug him. but the glass blocked him. he smiled half-heartedly, worried that maybe he was acting too excited, y/n would find him weird, but the corners of y/n's lips twitched upwards for the slightest moment before he broke out into another coughing fit. carl accidentally slams his hand into the glass out of concern for his friend.

he didn't know it yet, but his heart squeezed with pain at the sight of y/n in so much pain.

when y/n's coughing fit died down a little, he raises his head and looks at carl straight in the eyes. there; it was if they were communicating.

i'm sorry. carl would say.

don't be. y/n would respond.

please don't die. carl wanted to tell him.

i won't.

blood trickled down y/n's nose as he smiled. hershel quickly appears from behind y/n. he pats the boy on the back before helping him back in. carl watched them with worried eyes before they disappeared inside the cell block. carl sighed. he was beyond the glass window, there was nothing he could do now but leave it up to hershel.

~

something happened. the fence gave in, crumbling under waves of walkers. carl and his father managed to gun them all down, burning through half of their cache of bullets in one night. still, they managed. maggie had rushed back into cell block a after hearing multiple gunshots. she initially tried to stay with rick so she could help - they were severely outnumbered - but rick ordered her to go into cell block a and only two more gunshots followed after.

the gunshots worried carl, one might have been a warning shot, but two - then later two more - multiple shots might have meant the situation was worse then they thought. neither maggie nor hershel would fire their guns unless they were truly in danger. then he thinks back to y/n. was he alright? was he hurt? what if one of those shots hit him?

then, a van came into view.

~

carl could finally enter the quarantined cell block after everyone was given their meds. he walked in slowly, observing multiple puddles of blood on the floor and some dead bodies of both regular people and walkers. his heart raced; was y/n one of them?

but after he thoroughly searched through the entire first floor and he didn't find any sign of his friend, he felt hope slightly bloom in his chest.

he came up to the second floor. glenn was resting on one of the cell blocks, with maggie cleaning up the blood on his face. she looks at him, smiling a little. carl returns it with a half-hearted smile of his own.

"y/n?" carl asks her quietly.

"cell at the end, shouldn't miss him." maggie replied.

carl gives her a grateful nod before leaving her be. he follows her directions; he approached the last cell at the end of the catwalk. to his surprise, daryl emerged from the cell. the gruff man gives him a grunt.

"gonna go get 'im some water." was all daryl said before he trudged away, an empty glass cup on his hand.

carl took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself. what was he gonna say again? he remembers practicing apologies, reasons, and whatnot in his mind during his trip to cell block a, but now, everything was gone. carl wanted to leave, perhaps he could speak to him again at a later date.

or maybe he won't. can't. couldn't. wouldn't.

the boy sighed deeply. fine. he was gonna do this now. he removes his sheriff's hat, holding it with one hand as he slowly makes his way towards the cell.

inside was relatively clean. the bunk bed looked creaky and old, and he saw y/n lying there. the boy was resting on his side, blanket over his shoulder. his eyes were closed and he was taking slow and steady breaths. carl kneels on the bedside, and y/n, as if sensing carl's presence, opens his eyes. he blinks a couple times, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

carl smiled awkwardly. "hey." he starts.

"hey." y/n muttered, eyes subconsciously wandering elsewhere in carl's body as if to check for wounds or any signs of harm.

"uhm, how are you?" carl asked.

"fine." y/n sniffles, trying to hide his bloody nose.

"your nose..." carl reluctantly points out.

"oh... yeah. i came pretty close, but hershel svaed me." y/n chuckled weakly.

carl smiles, a genuine smile this time. then he let's out a soft snort. carl wears a gentle expression on his face as he closely observes y/n's face. he plays with y/n's hair with one hand, twirling strands of h/c hair in between his fingers. y/n smiles sadly.

"carl?" y/n calls his name softly.

"yeah?"

"could we... talk about.. what happened?" y/n asks.

there it was. carl knew this was bound to happen sooner or later. he just wished he could've enjoyed the peace he had with y/n a few seconds ago, a little longer. he sighed, his movements had stilled and y/n's face clearly reflected his sadness.

"do i disgust you? or was it what i did?" y/n asked.

"no." carl denied.

i'm fifteen and i've never thought about liking boys before in my life until you came. carl thought about saying it.

"then what is it?" y/n asked again, eyes glued on carl's face as the boy couldn't look him directly in the eye.

"do you... like boys?" ah, what a naive question.

"what does it matter if i like boys or girls?" an even more naive answer.

carl didn't quite know what to think. didn't know what to answer either. what he does know is that he cares for y/n, but in what way? as a brother? as a friend? or... as something more? he was conflicted and it was reflecting in the way he was avoiding eye contact with y/n and the way he was fidgeting with y/n's hair.

y/n could feel this. he sighed, placing one hand on top of carl's, stopping him from playing with his hair any further. he gives him an empathetic smile as carl bit his lip, unsure of what to answer or say.

"nevermind." y/n sighed. "it was stupid of me to ask."

he shifted, well, tried. he tried to shift his position so he'd be facing the wall instead, but carl stops him, hand on y/n's waist to stop him from turning around.

"wait." carl called.

y/n stopped moving, his eyes meeting carl's. he was about to ask him to leave, to return when he settled whatever it was he needed to settle, but then, carl leans in close, his movement, a bit careful as if he was waiting for y/n to push him away or move back, but y/n doesn't, he let's carl capture his lips in an awkward, but pleasant kiss. well — it was kind of awkward, neither boys have ever kissed someone before, let alone another boy, but...it's was pleasant.

a warm spark blossomed when their lips met. they stayed in that kiss for a while, and they separated for air, y/n was tugging on carl's collar, as if asking for another kiss.

"fuck." carl cussed slightly.

"what? did you have an epiphany or something?" y/n asked quietly.

"i don't know if i like boys." carl moved so he was now sitting on the bed, hovering over y/n's upper torso. "but i think i like you."

he leans down again and their lips meet in between. carl was practically smiling into his partner's lips as he deepened their kiss. y/n looped one arm around car's neck, as if trying to bring him closer.

"hah... you think?" y/n mutters against the kiss and he hears a chuckle from carl.

"i worry for you. you're the only person i want near me.... you're the only... person i want to grow old with." carl sighed, leaning in for another kiss. he cups his hand on y/n's cheek. "you're the only one..."

"starved, are we?"

the two boys quickly moved away from each other at the sound of another man's gruff voice. carl nearly hit his on the bottom of the upper bunk. daryl was standing on the entrance to the cell, leaning on the wall, carrying a glass of water in one hand and some meds on the other. carl chuckled weakly.

"daryl! uhh..." carl scratched the back of his nape.

"out. gotta give him his meds." daryl scoffed, lightly shooing away the sheriff's son.

carl scrambled to his feet, picking up his father's hat along the way. he gives y/n one, final batch before scampering away from daryl's gaze. when he left, daryl shook his head. he walks over to y/n, who was covering the bottom half of his face as he watched daryl move about in his small cell.

"doctor said to drink this thrice a day, once when you wake up, once after lunch, and once before you go to bed." daryl hands y/n a pill and the boy accepts it as he sits up. receiving the cup of water in another hand.

"so?" daryl raised a brow as y/n gulped down the pill.

"what?" y/n laughed. "we made up."

"nah, looks like you two made out." daryl snorted.

"shut up."

~ shokoy ☆

[lynxiepancakes]

unpopular opinion on rick grimes

i recently discovered about andrew lincoln size (spoiler: it's not huge /lh, nm) and I think that a scene in twd or towl that fully showed him off would have had a great impact on the perceived masculinity of rick (which is strangely toxic across the fandom??) and his _actual_ masculinity.

Like. Especially between cis men/boys, rick is loved because of his "corruption arc", where he showed the least emotions to get shit done - people still forget that it was always to keep his children safe but ok, because they WANT to perceive his as charismatic ( he is) latin lover (he so isn't) man that could follow other examples of toxic male leads representing mainstream masculinity.

Now, especially after TOWL, we know it's not like this at all: he was completely faithful to michonne during the entire eight years of not seeing her - even though he had no confirmation he would have ever seen her again, he's a WHIPPED man like literally the definition of simp (/pos) who worships the ground michonne walks on, respects her and effectively communicates with her, one way or the other.

We have seen thanks to the sex scenes too that he aint no beast in bed: he's the type to literally have a panic attack through it, slowly go at it, even let her lead the first time.

I think that showing off andrew lincoln's size (+ bonus him eating her 0ut would have been nice to see ngl) would have helped destigmatized one of the biggest stereotypes men - and women are guilty of this too! especially those who write fanfictions/books - continue to reinforce: that you can only be a true Man if you have a big c0ck and ram it inside someone without a care in the world that isn't related to your own pleasure.

Rick Grimes is a good role model as a character, someone guys should and do aspire to be, but they willingly continue to choose his few flaws to follow rather than his entire character built meticolously because fuck media interpretation and literacy right? /s

anyways just my two cents im sure someone did a way better job than me at explaining this lol

[redfish-blu]

An Open Letter to the Danger Days Tumblr Community:

Now that you’ve read that overdramatic title and are wondering who fucked up, I have something to say about the Danger Days Tumblr community: I Love You.

Danger Days was the first fandom I ever posted for on any site. All the way back in middle school (ho-ly shit). And let me tell you what I found out even way back when: this is not an easy fandom to be in.

For one, most people don’t even know it exists. For two, even less know it in the way it’s been cultivated on Tumblr. Almost every single person has such a niche interpretation of every little detail, that it’s impossible to draw a line through any two versions of the story. Which is a fact I personally love, but I also think it scares a lot of people away. You have to work to be in this fandom. Both as a passive and active fan. It requires patience and tolerance for disappointment.

But that’s exactly why I want to encourage everyone who creates and everyone who listens to Keep Doing That. Like I cannot stress this enough, that is what keeps this fandom and IP alive. Danger Days as a universe would be absolutely nothing without fan work (re: the California Comics), especially a decade later. Without fans who care about this story way more than it has warranted us to care, it would be six feet under. And sometimes I really think that’s what it deserves (and maybe the writers think that as well), but for the life of me I just can’t let that happen. I’ve tried to let this fucking thing go, believe me.

And funny enough, that exact feeling is evidenced by the community on this site too. Which has changed faces almost completely from what it was three years ago for better and less better in some cases. And it’s something I still struggle with adjusting to, but I look at the tag daily. I look everyone’s posts and blogs and art and effort. If you have posted even once in the dd tag my eyes have 100% seen it. So even if I still feel a little out of place, like a ghost of fandom’s past, at least I know everybody. And I know people feel the same way: No rest for the wicked.

When I reanimated from my fandom coma I was fully expecting to find that the community had gone extinct. Partially because all the blogs I used to frequent had straight up died in the three years I was gone. But I pulled up to the gates of the Danger Days tag like Rick Grimes outside of Alexandria, fully expecting to be devastated, only to find New People tilling the fucking field. And it didn’t matter that I now had no idea who any of you people were, it was The Most welcoming thing ever.

I’ll be the first to tell you this fandom bares almost no resemblance to the one I left, and I’m not going to lie and say it’s better now, but the foundation didn’t get blown away in the storm. That’s what I find uniquely profound. That everyone here still wants to try. And that makes me really want to try. And I’m sure everyone would agree that there is often little reward for the effort; but that’s precisely my point in saying all this shit. That even despite the not fun aspects, we all still clock in; and there’s a new post, headcanon, drawing, or fic every freaking day. It’s commendable, really.

If you’re lurking, or post sometimes but feel afraid to actually take a leap here because (the fandom is comparatively tiny to the greater MCR fandom) you’ll be way more out there, and the already established figureheads of the fandom will definitely see your stuff: post post post. This is my formal endorsement to Just Post That Shit. And Interact With That Shit. I spent a year gathering the courage to publish the tiniest thing while behind the scenes I literally wrote about 60+ works. You have to respect your own creativity and trust that other people will give it the time of day.

So do not feel crazy or discouraged about your ideas here! Like we literally need them to function, I would not be here if it wasn’t for all the people three years ago who just posted all their thoughts about Danger Days. About everything. Obscure or not. It’s truly a gift that this fandom has attracted people who are willing to work their brains because the original creators let it fall flat. I cannot tell you how much being in this fandom has actually helped me out in my writing and analysis skills.

So yeah. I fucking love this fandom, I love being in it and I love seeing that people are still stoking the flames. I wanted to say all this crap because I knew I’d be able to articulate it for the people who can relate but don’t want to be the first to say it. Which is okay, understandable. As I said earlier this fandom is like yelling your thoughts out into a very echoey room that only has a few people in it. So I’ll shout first and maybe it’ll make other people more comfortable to shout back.

[edgyonporpoise]

Prison of Plastic

Hey so I just finished reading/listening to Prison of Plastic, Epithet Erased’s book continuation, and my heart! Is full! My soul! Is nourished! And there is something spoilery! I have to scream about! Under the cut!

OKaY, so. I haven't seen Anime Campaign and I have no intention to, I wanna experience this story as it releases. BUT. Naven is absolutely 100% the secret final boss, right? They could be doing the whole "You thought the obvious twist villain was a villain, but there's a twist to this twist! Ooo~ooo~oo~~" but for now I'm operating on the assumption that he is and like. Fuck dude, he was so MAD.

In his little (hah, fairy) speech to Molly about talking to brick walls? That right there, is a normal person in a world with superpowers. Silly superpowers, but still, this story is very clear about how dangerous those powers are. This is a speech from someone who has Tried to talk it out, to have Mundie voices heard. He has tried to claw his way up, to build a respectable business run by, employing and catering to Mundies, to shove it in their dumb superpowered faces that normal people are still capable people.

And he is tired of being put down.

Tired enough to swing the wrecking ball through society, to tear down Epithets and everything they stand for. Think about it! Even if he is actually that nice guy we see, think about all the bullshit Epithets can cause. Think about the 17-year-old, so traumatized and scared of herself that she threw a tantrum so hard it took up his entire evening and nearly seriously injured 3 different people! (She threw Molly down a dumbwaiter. She nearly toppled literal tons of cake on him. She DISAPPEARED Rick's HEART!) Sure, it was an evening he had set aside for a speech class, but three hours late to finish it? He's a CEO of a multinational conglomerate. How many cross-timezone meetings did they have to reschedule? The fact that he takes the time out to make sure to urge Lorelai to check the message from Giovanni, even though no-one can see him and it doesn't seem to further any goal for recruiting Lorelai for his terrorist org besides making her feel better, makes me thing there's some sincerity to him. But that makes it all the juicier!

Makes me think of the line where Gio's spouting about people who think they're good but still do bad stuff! Makes me think about how Naven, snarky little pixie who's been playing along with Gio's rambles in any other way suddenly stops speaking at that point and doesn't come back in until after. (And maybe that's just for the flow of the scene but I can just imagine him floating in the background with suddenly flinty eyes while no-one's looking)

Makes me think of the little girl, the little girl he has implied he would kidnap (from what Molly's flashbacks said anyway) if it weren't for the laws holding him back, who crumbles under the weight of the world, of her family's business expenses. Yes, maybe Molly is right, maybe absolutely no-one knows what they're doing. But it is a human instinct to shield the children from the horrors of reality, to give them some small amount of time where they can be carefree. A shitty father, a bratty sister, and Epithets took that away from Molly.

Maybe Naven is just salty at Epithet users for looking down on him for being Mundie. Maybe he thinks he'll be doing the world a service, bringing it back to normal. Maybe he just thinks that these things are dangerous, and should be... Regulated in some way.

Maybe he's right? Even to people who do have these powers. People like Lorelai, who are scared of their own abilities. Or people like Mera, actively harmed by their Epithets. Or the whole IDEA of Ocean Country citizens being farmed for EXP. Damn, the idea of Down With Epithet Society makes a whole lotta sense.

And guys who make you think "Huh, that makes sense." are the most dangerous of all.

Silver-Tongued businessman, indeed.

[itsscatballou]

The End Will Justify It All - Chapter 5

A Negan Series

Chapter 4 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 1

Warnings: adult themes, adult language, rough/slightly violent smut (18+ only)

A/n - my husband got a new video game so my Friday night was wide open to work on this. It's my favorite in the series so far, and I apologize for how long it is. Feedback is welcome! And a quick inspo credit to @green-eyedladywrites - she reblogged this photo of a statue in a sex museum in Korea several weeks ago, which stuck in my brain and brought about this sex scene. I hope you all enjoy! (ps - I was having major keyboard glitches so if there are bad typos I'm sorry!)

Being part of a Savior crew seemed to come naturally to her. It wasn’t a surprise; she’d been part of groups like these before. She’d learned how to work them to her advantage many times over. Simon started her as a grunt, sending her on the errands and tasks no one else really cared to do, but she didn’t mind. Every task gave her more information about the place, another advantage in her planning.

One of the tasks she was assigned was to check on Dwight’s guard team. Dwight and a couple of his guys took shifts guarding Daryl’s cell door or taking him out for his work with the walkers at the gate. She would check in with them a few times a day, bring them meals when they were on duty, and occasionally kept them company for a while. She cherished this task, the chance to be so close to Daryl. She had to force herself not to pay him any attention, but she stole as many glances as she could when his guards weren’t looking.

All the guys in the crew took to her quickly. They began including her in jokes, games, often inviting her for drinks after their shifts.  Simon especially seemed to enjoy her company. They soon had a rapport full of banter and laughs. It didn’t take long for her to move out of grunt work, although she suspected being a wife helped her rise in rank, too. No one wanted to be the one sending Negan’s wife on dumb errands and risk his anger. As her status on the crew rose, Simon began asking her advice. Much like Negan with Rick’s group, he was looking for the best ways to exploit the weaknesses of  leaders of the communities he collected from. It was unsettling to her how good she was at it. She had always been good at reading people. She’d used that in the past to survive, but this was different. This was no longer survival, this was… dominance. She couldn’t deny there was a part of her that found naming a stranger’s weakness and using it to get what the Saviors wanted somewhat thrilling. The more Simon asked that of her, the better she got at it. It became a point of pride for her amongst the crew. After a few successful runs, Simon started asking her to stay behind. They would spend hours debriefing or discussing the next run, sometimes over drinks.

It was during one of these after collection debriefs with Simon that she noticed a shift in him. She was sitting on the edge of the back of a refrigerated truck where Simon was leaning against it right beside her. They were laughing about one guy that wet his pants when she had gotten in his face, whatever threat she made hitting the nail on the head.

Suddenly Simon wasn’t laughing, he was staring at her. An intense look in his eye, like he’d just seen her for the first time. She squirmed shyly and nudged his arm gently with her shoulder.

“We make a good team, huh?” she grinned at him.

“We do… but I think it’s more you than me.” He replied, nudging her back.

She heard boots crunch in the gravel nearby. She put a hand on Simon’s arm and leaned a little closer as she said in a low voice, “I’m glad Negan put me on your crew.”

A Savior appeared from around the corner of the truck and both she and Simon quickly separated, attempting to look as casual as possible. The Savior stared at them for a moment, seeming to debate saying something. Finally, he informed them, “Negan called a gathering in the warehouse. He wants everyone there, you especially,” he looked at her. “You should find the other wives for this.”

She did as she was told, finding where the wives were standing, and making her way to stand beside Sherry and Amber. Amber looked pale and gaunt.  Y/n raised an eyebrow at Sherry to ask what was up with Amber. Sherry jerked her chin to show her. Following the direction Sherry motioned, she saw a handsome guy strapped to a chair, in front of a blazing fire.

Oh no. Mark. Amber’s lover. They’d been stupid – they’d been caught. She’d tried to warn Amber it was a bad idea – Negan only had one rule for the wives: do not cheat on him. She was honestly amazed only Mark sat before the fire now. Someone must have done some convincing to get him to let Amber off… She looked around, seeing Dwight at the fire with the poker – her blood boiled. She already despised him, but the more she learned of him from Sherry, and the more she saw how he treated Daryl, her dislike had transitioned to blind hate. Her eyes moved from Dwight to the person beside him and she nearly gasped when her eyes met Daryl’s. They locked eyes and she instinctively began to move toward him.

She was stopped short as Negan entered then, walking forward to talk to the crowd. She didn’t hear a word he said, though, as she saw who came in behind him. The Sherriff’s hat gave him away first, and her heart stopped. Why was Carl here? When had he gotten here? Had Negan taken him?

Her eyes shot to Daryl, and she found him still looking at her. What the fuck? She mouthed at him. He subtly shook his head, and she turned her attention back to Carl, willing him to look at her. His face changed at something Negan was doing, she felt Sherry move to Amber and saw her embrace her, so she turned her attention back to the spectacle. Dwight was pulling the hot iron from the fire and Negan was gloving his hands to take it.

She couldn’t let this happen. Mark and Amber had been dumb, but they didn’t deserve this. Amber was not the strongest, she wouldn’t handle this well at all. And Carl… Carl didn’t need to see this. How could she stop it?

She didn’t know what drove her to do it, barely registered her own voice as she called to Negan, “wait!” He put his outstretched hand down and looked at her, fury building behind his eyes at the public challenge. If she shut up and sank back now, he’d probably let this go. That would be the smart thing to do. She felt all eyes on her as her body did the exact opposite and she found herself standing in between Mark and Negan. Idiot. What are you doing?

“I’ll take it. Burn me instead.” She heard some gasps and murmurs from the crowd. She refused to look at Daryl, who was no doubt readying to fight off every Savior in this building for her.

Negan tilted his head as he asked, “Now why would you do that? Why would I do that?”

“Mark is an incredible shot, way better than I’ll ever be, and very valuable to his crew. If you burn him, he’ll be down healing for weeks, and you’ll be lucky if his aim is ever the same going that close to his eye” she pointed at Dwight’s scarred eyed. “I’m barely more than a grunt. If I’m down a few weeks, the worst that happens is Fat Joey doesn’t get his sandwich delivered and he has to go get it himself.” Some guys chuckled behind her.

She could feel the crowd lean in, could feel their pity, and their gratitude – Mark was beloved by a lot of these people. He was a good guy, that’s why Amber liked him so much. And she’d made good points – his crew needed him. They were already short-handed with the redistribution of men following Rick’s massacre at the satellite station. Losing another one from their barebones crew would hurt. They would not be happy about it.

“That’s so very noble of you, sweetheart,” Negan cooed at her. “But what lesson would that teach Mark? How is he going to learn the importance of following the rules if someone else can just step in and take his consequences?’

After a long pause, Negan reached again for the hot iron and added, “and your face is plenty hot enough as it is.”

Someone grabbed her arm and pulled her back to the crowd as Negan advanced toward Mark. She stumbled back with them, and as the screaming started, she turned and left. She could feel the rage of the crowd behind her as she exited. She walked until she reached Negan’s apartment and sat down against the wall outside his door to wait.

She didn’t have to wait long before Negan and Carl approached. She stood as they neared Negan’s door and gave Carl a hard look.

“Carl,” Negan drawled, “I don’t believe you have met my new wife!” Carl scowled at her at the realization.

“Negan, could I speak to you?” she asked him, glancing at Carl pointedly, “privately?”

“As much as I would love a little romp in the sack with you, I am a little busy right now.”

“Negan.”

He moved closer to her, a cat on the prowl. “I said not right now.” He leaned in close enough to whisper in her ear. “I’ll find you later. I have some things to discuss with you too.” His breath on her neck tickled, causing goosebumps to rise. He gently kissed the area, and she saw Carl tense and clench his fist. Negan left her in the hall, leading Carl into his room.

Frustrated, and still confused about Carl being here, she stomped back to her room to wait.

-----

Her time with Negan since the night he held her while she cried in her room had been, well, confusing. He called her to dinner again the following night and they played their question game again, both seeming to ask more interesting questions about the other. She’d learned a lot about him that night, his softer side. It surprised her. She’d also been given a gift, a “reward” he’d called it for such good information about Rick.

“Anything thing you want, ask. A new, badass gun? A bottle of the whiskey we took from Hilltop? Name it. I am in a giving mood, and you earned a good gift,” he’d told her, flirtatiously but genuine enough.

“Do I have to name it right now, or can I think on it a bit?” she’d asked.

“My generosity does have limitations, but you can take the rest of dinner to think on it.”

After dinner, and a few shots later for each of them, she’d chosen what she would ask for.

“I know what I’d like my reward to be,” she declared after he downed his 4th shot, dodging a question about his love life before the old world fell. He smiled at her and nodded in invitation to ask.

“I would like…” she said, drawing it out to tease him a little. The three shots of Whiskey she’d taken had her in a playful mood. He raised an eyebrow suggestively at her. “Oh, you wish,” she fired back. “No. Nothing like that. What I’d like is, well... 5 free questions. I let you know when one of my questions will be the free pass, and you have to answer, 100% truthfully, with no option to back out by taking a shot.”

She quickly saw the loophole in her request so she added, “and I can use them whenever I want, no time limits.” She replayed her words in her head, making sure they were airtight. She felt like she was dealing with a genie from a fairytale.

Negan studied her, a mix of pleasant surprise and something else behind his eyes. “I will give you 3.”

She grinned at him, about to agree when he added, “but I get 3 of the same.”

“Wha- how is that a gift if you get it too?” she whined back.

“Because the gift is from me, and those are my conditions. If you’d like to change your choice to that gun or something a little more… intimate, I will allow it.” He bit his lip, and something in her heated. Stupid whiskey.

She knew it wasn’t a good idea, it was risky to commit to that.  But the thought of him having to answer her with no possibility to back out was too tempting to pass up. She prayed the reward would be worth this risk.

“Deal.” This was the second deal she’d made with the devil in a week.  

The following nights were unpredictable. She wasn’t invited back for dinner for a few nights, and by the third, she felt unnerved by it. Not afraid, just... bored.  On those nights she’d make her way down and usually found Simon eating outside by a fire, where she’d sit and drink and talk with him until she felt tired enough or tipsy enough to go to bed.

The nights she did have dinner with Negan were the same: eat, questions, drink. Sometimes she’d ask to play a boardgame, and they’d continue their game of questions over Scrabble (which she always won and let him hear about it).

One night, after a brutal placement of the word “quiz,” she used her first free question.

“Negan,” she approached it gently. He looked up from his scrabble tiles with curiosity. She didn’t use his name often. “I’d like to use my first free question.”

He slowly grinned at her. “Alright,” he agreed, “let me finish my drink first. I’m sure I’ll need it.” And he downed the remainder of his whiskey in one go. “Okay, shoot.”

“We’ve had a lot of these dinners together,” she prefaced, “and at our first one, you said as a wife I would have to perform ‘wifely duties.’” She paused.

“There a question in there?” he teased her.

She took a deep breath, suddenly nervous to ask this. “Well, you haven’t, um… touched me. At all. You haven’t even asked to… so I guess my question is, why not?”

Negan chuckled. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. It’s not your looks, if that’s your concern.”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head at him. He knew that wasn’t what she was asking.

“Fine. No, I haven’t tried or asked, but it isn’t because I don’t want to.”  He winked at her. “In fact, I want to so bad it drives me crazy when you leave here at night. None of my other wives leave here until I’m satisfied… but I knew from the night you came in here and told me to make Rick hold Lucille that you wouldn’t be like my other wives.”

She raised an eyebrow at him, encouraging him to continue.

“You’re different. I want it to be different with you. I told you before, I have enough obedient dogs. So as badly as I want it, I will not touch you until you want it too. And trust me, darlin’, you will want it,” he purred in that Negan arrogance.

She would never want it, she told herself. She told herself so many times she started dreaming it. But no matter how much she told herself she would never want it; it didn’t stop a part of her from heating every time she thought of those words.

She was invited back the next night, where instead of their typical drinking game of questions, Negan upped the ante with a rousing game of strip questions. If they didn’t answer a question, they had to remove an item of clothing.

She was thanking her lucky stars she’d come straight to dinner from a collection with her crew, so she had a lot more clothing on than she normally would at dinner.

With such high stakes, the questions got very personal. “Where is the craziest place you’ve ever fucked?” started it off, and it moved into first loves, worst heartbreaks, hardest kills, and eventually biggest fears.  They were both on the couch, him sitting a little too close to her, and both down to their underthings when he used his first free question.

“Free card question,” he stated, leaning a little closer to her. He kissed her bare shoulder, and it sent goosebumps down her arm. Tracing circles with his finger where his lips just were, he asked in a growly tone, “why did you really volunteer to come back with me that night in the woods?”

Uh oh. She sent a silent thank you up to whoever was listening for not being three shots deep into this game. She paused a minute, what could she tell him?

“What?” she flirted, buying some time to think, “you don’t think you impressed me enough for me to want to go with you?”

“No,” he replied, still tracing circles on her shoulder. “I knew when the words left your mouth it wasn’t true. I’ve been trying since then to figure out why you’re here. I thought maybe it was to spy, help Rick take us down from the inside. But you’ve proven to be working against him, and other communities, over and over since then.” She cringed inside at that. Had she gotten that bad? “Then I thought, maybe you were just biding your time to get close enough to kill me. And that could still be true, but the way your body is reacting to my every touch right now, I am doubting it. So, I’d like to know now, what was your reason?”

Think, y/n. Think. It had to be believable. She obviously couldn’t tell him the truth. She feigned a little nervousness, hoping it sold her story.

“I… well…I wanted to kill Dwight,” there was plenty of truth in that. “Honestly, I still wouldn’t mind doing it. I thought my best bet was to get inside here with him.”

He waited for her to continue. “He killed the girl I was seeing. The doctor in Alexandria. Shot her through the eye with Daryl’s crossbow.”

“Wow,” Negan replied. “You play for both teams? I did not see that coming!” He laughed. “I will remember that for our future. As for Dwight… well, I don’t hold a special place in my heart for him, but I’d like him to stay alive for the time being. If or when that changes, you will be the first to know.”

He seemed satisfied with her lie.

“I’m glad it wasn’t to kill me,” he purred, leaning into her neck, “I think you would have missed things you don’t want to miss…” his hand found her knee and began slowly trailing from up her thigh. His lips found skin again, this time on a tender part of her neck.

No, no, no, no. She thought, though her body was responding differently. She franticly searched for any sort of distraction to stop where this was headed. Her eyes scanned the room, anything to ask about, to suddenly find fascinating enough she needed to look at. Then she saw it, leaned against the wall under a window.

“I have a question now. A free one.”

“Mmhmm?” he moaned out, still kissing her neck in a way that was making her quiver.

“Lucille,” she said, putting a hand against his chest and pushing a bit. “Where did you get the name?”

He froze, his lips no longer on her skin. He didn’t seem to breathe for several long seconds. Then he was standing, putting on his pants, and walking toward the door.

“We’re done here,” he said firmly, holding the door open for her.

She stared in shock for a moment, and when it was clear he was not joking, she quickly grabbed her clothes and fled his room.

That was the last time she’d seen him, until now, with Carl in tow. It had been days, maybe a week. What she’d thought was an innocent question had really struck a nerve.

-----

Negan didn’t send for her until late in the evening. She’d had supper already, a bath, and was about to settle into bed with a book when the guard knocked on her door.  She didn’t bother dressing up, she decided her leggings and cropped sweatshirt would be just fine if he was pulling her out of bed. She had half a mind to tell him he could see her at a decent hour tomorrow, but she desperately wanted to know what was going on with Carl.

She didn’t knock when she got there, she just walked right in, to find him sitting on the couch with a drink in one hand, and the other hand dragging down his face in exhaustion.

“Long day?” she quipped, looking around for any sign of the Grimes boy.

“You could say that,” he replied, humorless.

She decided not to waste any time with flirting or working up to her questions.

“Where is Carl?” she demanded.

He stared at her, and she was not sure he was going to answer her at all when he finally said, “he’s back home with daddy and baby Grimes, safe and sound.”

Relief washed over her. “What was he doing here?”

Negan chuckled. “He was here to kill me. You weren’t lying when you said the kid was reckless. I like the little bastard.”

“He just showed up to kill you?” she asked, surprised but not shocked. It was a very Carl thing to do.

“He snuck in on a supply truck earlier today. Killed two of our guards before we got to him.”

She didn’t let her face show the pride she felt.  “And you just let him go?” she accused.

“I don’t think you’re in any position to question anything I do,” he replied angrily.

“What the hell does that mean?” she challenged. He’d shut her out and ignored her for a week now, she’d lost any desire to filter her annoyance with him.

“I think you know exactly what it means.”

She glared at him, at a loss. What was he accusing her of?

“Tell me,” he said, standing up and taking a few slow steps toward her. “How many people were you screwing in Alexandria?”

“What?” she asked, incredulous.

“Carl seemed real pissed when he learned you were my wife. I just wonder how many people in Alexandria you went through before coming here to expand your selection. Rick, obviously. Your little girlfriend, who else? The redhead? The mullet guy? Spencer? Yeah, I met that douche bag today. Is there anyone else I should know about? I hear you’ve gotten mighty friendly with Simon. Practically throwing himself yourself at him, touching all over him, going to him every night, not days after licking your lips and batting your lashes at me. Anyone here you got your eye on?”

She heard a slap, Negan’s face turned abruptly to the side, she felt a sting in her palm, and a redness began spreading across his cheek.

She’d slapped him. Shit, she’d slapped him.

She bit down the terror of the realization – she’d seen very bad things happen to people who’d done a lot less to him. She willed her face into a rebellious glare, daring him to retaliate, promising hell if he did.

Negan’s stare was just as hateful, never breaking eye contact as he rubbed his cheek and flexed his jaw. Suddenly he sprang toward her, his hand was on her throat, and he was shoving her backwards, she could barely keep upright they were moving so fast. Her back slammed against the concrete wall. Negan’s face was within an inch of hers, she could feel his warm breath on her mouth as he growled, “that. will. not. happen. again,” pausing on each word like a forceful bite. She was prying at his hand with both hands, trying to loosen his grip enough that she could take a breath, refusing to show him the panic rising in her.

He let his grip loosen a bit. “Do you understand?”

“Yes,” she breathed out as she gasped to fill her lungs again. He did not remove his hand from her throat or yield even a centimeter to her.  He continued to stare daggers into her eyes, but there was something other than anger behind them. What is that?

Desire, she realized. Animalistic desire.  It was then she noticed just how close their bodies were, his hips pinning hers in place against the wall, her feet barely touching the floor. She could feel his growing erection pressing into her. She felt a tingle in her core, her body betraying her. Her breath suddenly felt heavy, her chest heaving against his. An image of their naked chests pressed together flashed in her mind, it was as if she could already feel his bare skin. Did she really want this? From him? After all he’d done? She knew she shouldn’t, but with him pressed against her, hand still on her throat, and looking at her like that… she couldn’t deny the desire growing in her, verging dangerously close to need.

He must have read that on her face, because suddenly Negan’s mouth was on hers, crushing her lips with his, his scruff scraping her chin and cupids bow as he sucked, unrelenting. His tongue began forcefully pushing against her lips, like a battering ram, demanding entrance. She conceded. He tasted her mouth like he was eating for the first time in a week - hungrily, greedily, but savoring the taste of each section of her mouth he explored. Then she was kissing him back, just as greedily – no, angrily. It became not a dance of lovers, but a battle of opponents. His tongue pushed, hers pushed back in turn. Her lips sucked, he fought for dominance with his. She bit – not gently- down on his bottom lip and slowly dragged against his lip until it was free. He pulled away from her face at that and his eyes met hers, amusement dancing in them now. He’d met his match. He grinned at the realization.

Their noisy, shallow breaths filled the otherwise silent room, awakening her from the trance his tongue had put her in. She fought to stay above the fog, forcing herself to remember the things he’d done, to remember Daryl, but the memories would not come. All there was in this moment was him - his body, and hers. His dark eyes held her stare a moment longer, and then they were closed, and his lips were crushing hers again. His hands began lifting her sweatshirt from around her waist, his fingers trailing up her stomach. He explored with gentle fingertips, caressing up and down her sides, his knuckles grazing across her lower abdomen, leaving no patch of skin untouched, a trail of goosebumps in their wake. As his hands creeped up her torso, his touch became fiercer. He reached her breasts, found them bare under her shirt, and groaned into her mouth as each hand took a full palm of breast and began massaging. He was not gentle, but she did not pull away. He backed away from her only enough to allow room to remove her shirt and expose her fully. His lips were back on hers in an instant, no less demanding than before. They moved to her neck, and she felt one of her traitorous hands move to the back of his head, tangling her fingers in his short hair. She hadn’t planned on encouraging this, but she gripped his hair harder as he his trailed his lips down her chest, finding a breast and softly biting down. An involuntary moan purred in her throat. He moved to her nipple and began a rough pattern of sucking and biting, causing the heat between her legs to flare.

Again, it was as if he read her mind, as he worked her breast with his mouth, he quickly pulled down her leggings, taking her underwear with them. She was thankful she had not put on shoes to come here tonight, providing no obstacle to kicking out of her pants as he sank to his knees and began moving his lips down her stomach. Further.

“Jump,” Negan growled against her stomach.

“Wh- what?” she barely stuttered out.

“Jump.”

She hopped slightly, then she was being lifted her by her backside, her thighs placed on either side of his head, her bodyweight now shared between the wall and his shoulders. He did not waste time kissing those thighs, or staring lustfully, or slowly working his way to her center. Hungrily, almost angrily, he dove straight for her, parting her lips with his fingers to make way for his tongue. He lapped at her liked a parched animal at water, and found she was just as wet. She arched away from the wall in response. His warm tongue hitting her clit at every angle as it moved. He sucked, and her eyes rolled back in her head as she cried out. Both hands now in his hair, gripping in response to each flick of his tongue, encouraging his rough movements. She rode his face, rolling her hips, her thighs unapologetically pressing in on his head. She wouldn’t last much longer; she could feel her climax building quickly. Now his tongue was at her entrance, teasing as he gently licked around it. She pushed his head into her, needing him to be inside her, desperate to be filled and to find release. He plunged his tongue in, flatting it as he found the underside of her clit, and slowly dragged it back out and up, never breaking contact. He plunged in again with no pause. Dragging, plunging, dragging, plunging. He worked her with expert pressure, she was all but screaming at the sensation. On the last slow drag of her clit, he swept up as he exited, an unrelenting pressure on her sensitive bud, sending her orgasm exploding through her. She threw her head back and did not recognize the noise that escaped her open mouth as she came against his face. He lightly flicked his tongue against her until he was sure she had fully completed.

Before she knew it was happening, she was back on the floor, and he was walking away from her.

“You’re dismissed,” was all he said as he moved to open the door.

She gathered her clothes – she would need to have a word with him about this new habit of sending her from his room undressed – and made for the door. She paused in front of him and turned to meet his eyes, letting him see a twinge of hurt in them.

“Since you asked, and I am counting this as one of your free questions, I did not sleep with Rick or anyone else in Alexandria. And I have about as much romantic interest in Simon as you do,” and with that she made her way back to her room, naked but not caring who saw her.

Back in the dorm, she raced to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before vomiting. Sherry must have heard her, because moments later she was sitting beside her, holding her hair back. Sherry sat with her until she was finished, and then let her lay her head in Sherry’s lap while Sherry stroked her hair.

She didn’t cry. She didn’t shake. She wasn’t traumatized. She hated herself. She hated herself because she knew then she didn’t hate Negan, and she didn’t hate what they’d just done. She hated herself because she wanted more.

It’s time, she vowed to herself, tomorrow we leave, even if we have to burn this place to the ground to get out.

[puppypopcornpizza]

Nicholas

Warnings ➳ death, descriptions of violence

Pairing ➳ Daryl Dixon x F!reader

Word Count ➳ 457

The screams scratched at her brain, replaying a scene she thought only possible in horror movies. Snarling and tearing, the utter fear in his eyes that burned into her. She couldn't imagine how Glenn was feeling. 

"Nicholas!" 

"Stop."

"Don't let go." 

Her limbs ached at movement, legs shaking as she moved to the porch. She felt the panic build in her chest but it never came, crying seemed impossible. 

"Hey." Rick's boot came up next to her, all his weight onto his knee. He looked tired. 

"Deanna can 'exile' me if she wants to, he fucking deserved it."

"Nobody's gettin' exiled, I'm just checking on you." 

She had him at gunpoint, she could have pulled the trigger. Noah wouldn't be back but she would have felt better, Glenn too. They should've left him. 

"We should've left him-" 

"Yeah, but you ain't like that. You or Glenn." 

Rick's features went soft, the kind of look he reserved for Carl or Judith. She didn't need to be coddled, he knew she didn't. 

"He just needed to wait." 

"I know." 

Glenn looked how she felt. Sunken eyes and hair disheveled, blood stained into his clothes. He looked like he'd seen too much. He had. 

"Daryl was looking for you."

"He'll find me." 

The conversation fell into silence, emotions heavy on their shoulders. Her throat burned with words unsaid, weariness sinking into her bones. They both felt it. 

"He's with his dad now, Glenn." 

"He shouldn't have to be, he was gonna do things for this community. Didn't you see the book?" 

"I saw the book," her jaw tensed.

"And fucking Nicholas gets to live while Noah doesn't, how is that fair? " 

"It ain't." 

The archer's arms crossed over his chest, eyes on Glenn. She watched the energy drain from his eyes as he stood and mumbled something about finding Maggie. 

"He's angry." 

"Yeah," Daryl took Glenn's place. "Ain't the only one."

"I should've shot him," he held out the cigarette box. 

"That ain't you." 

She scoffed, smoke in the air. Daryl's gaze wouldn't leave her. 

But what more could she say? Her breathing stopped while she watched her friend die and the person responsible got a nap out of it. 

"He didn't deserve that, Daryl. Glenn didn't deserve to see that."

"And you?" 

"Me?" 

"D'ya think you deserve the weight of carryin' it all? You saw how Sasha got, don' wanna see that happen to you too."

"She got a pretty sweet character arc out of it, though." 

"M'serious." 

His eyes pleaded with the words he couldn't think of, begging behind a dark curtain. She knew what he wanted her to say but the words sat in her throat. 

"It should've been an easy run." 

"That ain't on you, sunshine." 

[phinamina]

hi guys this is jusy me complaining abt pjo tv

so um errrr scroll if u domt like im not arguing w anyone abr this i js want to share my opinion on my blog

first thing im gonna start off with saying, i ahve nothing against the actors . they did an amazing job and i love them all . (except dior, reminder shes a zionist)

but, the inaccuracy of the show compared to the books is insane and it makes me mad actually🙁

so many people will defend it by saying ‘ricks working on the show too!’ man idc actually we were promised a book accurate show and we did not get it . im not talking about the appearances of the characters, im talking about the events . i didnt get the changes of a lot of things, and the changes take away from everyones character .

we couldve seen percys street smarts and annabeths fear of spiders, but they settled for scrapping the first thing and instead telling us that annabeth is afraid of spiders . this has happened multiple times

more on telling us instead of showing us, the amount of times this happens in frankly annoying, it acts as if the viewer is stupid . ohh yes annabeth is your sister, show us luke 😇i dont believe uou😇 can i have an example😇ARGHEHHHH

it also removes already good dialogue and replaces it with mid dialogue .

also, percys claiming scene….. i domt like how they didnt have them bowing or whatever because it removes the severity of the situation and the impact that him being the son of poseidon is important and not just like oh yeah that guy is yhe son of poseidon .

rip it was a big bathtub

rip the book

the removal of humor in the story makes it quite frankly boring, and removes more character from everyone . everyone is too serious in the show and its like watching paint dry .

the only memorable part that could be seen as funny was percy dancing instead of being ready at capture the flag

and sighhhhh annabeth being there when luke was revealed to be the traitor means she had to of had a suspicion of him in the first place which is . um . annabeth spent four whole books denying luke being evil

rip pit scorpion

and the . THEM MISSING THE DEADLINE . IN THE BOOK IT SAYS PERCY WOULD BE KILLING FIRST AND THAT DID NOT HAPPEN !! ITS REMOVING FEAR FROM THE GODS !!!! AND PERCY CONFRONTING ZEUS WAS STUPID BECAUSE IN BOOK ONE IT SAYS,

“I dared not look up. My heart was racing. I could feel the energy emanating from the two gods. If i said the wrong thing, I had no doubt they could blast me into dust.” Page 340 …. die actually

percy is scared of zeus and poseidon in book one . the removal of this also adds more to the gods not being a figure that is scary.

and annabeth sassing the gods is unreal . annabeth in the books thinks disrespect=surprise surprise, get smote!

anyways im just mad and theres probably more but i havent watched in a while so this is all ur getting

[adamwatchesmovies]

Refuge (2023)

The best thing I can say about Refuge is that it has its heart in the right place. Though the evil in this horror film comes from Afghanistan, writer Ben Sztajnkrycer and director Renny Harlin really want to make it clear that not all Middle Easterners are terrorists and that the Afghan immigrants living in the United States are our friends. That’s admirable but it doesn’t make up for a lack of scares or a story you’ve seen so many times it’s more likely to put you to sleep than give you nightmares.

After a tour in Afghanistan, Sergeant Rick Pedroni (Aston McAuley) returns home after a strange incident. His wife, Kate (Sophie Simnett) hardly recognizes the quiet, cheerless man before her now. After sudden fits of violence, nightmares and events that can only be described as "supernatural", Kate reaches out to Ibrahim (Raza Jaffrey), an Imam at a nearby temple, for help.

Some trivia I read claims producer Gary Lucchesi was inspired by the 2017 National Geographic Article “Behind the Mask: Revealing the Trauma of War”, detailing a type of art therapy that has veterans use masks to express the way they feel on the inside. I was stunned to learn this because while watching, you’ll swear the mask therapy stuff is all made up. Every person we see at the clinic wears something that would be at home in one of the “Purge” movies, except for Rick, whose mask looks like a paper bag soaked in dirty water. The evil spirit possessing him eventually spreads to the clinic's other patients, making the guys already wearing creepy masks act creepy. I was going to criticize the film for doing the obvious thing… but the masks in the article are creepier than they aren’t, so it’s merely taking advantage of a real-life unsettling visual. If anything, that's a strength.

Continuing down this line, we can see why this film was made. We know soldiers come back from armed conflict with PTSD. Rick’s father, Sebastian (Jason Flemyng), still has nightmares and it’s been decades since he saw combat. The idea of your loved one returning as a different person is scary enough. What if what everyone assumes is PTSD is something even more serious? Something… satanic? That’s a good idea but unfortunately, the creativity stopped there. Everything in this film you’ve seen before and better. The demonic possession scenes aren’t shocking or frightening, they don’t showcase any new visuals, say anything interesting about the human psyche or reveal anything about what war does to people. The “exorcism” performed is pretty standard, with the key to defeating the wicked spirit being the kind of thing that makes you go “I guess that’s clever… but it also seems way too easy”.

I mentioned the film’s good intentions earlier. These are showcased primarily in the scenes with Ibrahim, his wife Rasha (Mila Lyutskanova) and their teenage son, Farid (Shervin Alenabi). There’s tension between the men because Farid has been getting into trouble. The police officer who keeps bringing him back home hasn’t been too subtle about his racist views. Farid is fed up with the hate he encounters. When Kate comes to them for help, Farid sees her as just another white woman who didn’t care about them until she needed their help. He thinks the evil spirit isn't their problem. Ibrahim wants to help and his wife is like “Well, is helping these people you don’t know really worth it?” For the wife of an Imam, she’s not very sympathetic, particularly this isn't some charity handout she's asking for, it's an exorcism. The best thing I can say about those scenes is that their heart is in the right place. It doesn’t make them any less clichéd.

The performances in Refuge are not strong but in the actors’ defense, the material they’ve working with is forgettable. Writer Ben Sztajnkrycer doesn’t have a lot of credits to his name but he's been working on feature-length films since 2006. As for directory Renny Harlin, it's time to accept he’s not the same director who made Die Hard 2 anymore. Among its many flaws, Refuge isn’t scary and even when it’s genuine, it feels phony. (October 2, 2024)

[whateverisbeautiful]

So I'm kind of a new-ish Richonne fan who only watched TWD this year and kind of binged it at that so it felt like to me the whole Jessie situation kind of interrupted a natural flow of turning Rick and Michonne's relationship from platonic to romantic. Like I get that it was supposed to be "oh, I like this person" moment on the couch but I think I would have preferred if they at least didn't include Jessie at all. Do you think that arc was necessary at all? Or do you think the lead up to Rick and Michonne's first kiss could have been better handled?

Hearing that people are experiencing TWD and Richonne for the first time this year makes me happy. 😊 Glad you're here! I too would have preferred if the Rick and Jessie arc wasn’t included at all and I wrote out more of my take on these questions below (that somehow ended up being essay-length again 😅) ⬇️💗:

The stuff between Rick and Jessie is one of my least favorite storylines in the franchise and really didn’t feel necessary imo. I remember even when I was watching seasons 5/6 live and hadn’t yet realized that Rick and Michonne were meant to be together, I found Rick and Jessie’s storyline to be forced and like it was taking Rick in an unnatural direction all for the sake of honoring the comics. And then after going back and seeing how Rick and Michonne were so obviously on the trajectory to becoming a couple pre-canon, the Rick and Jessie storyline worked even less. Especially after The Distance (5.11).

It’s like they wanted to do a Comic Rick storyline with a TV Rick that had already fallen for Michonne so the whole thing ends up feeling off and hamfisted in. Especially because any time Rick and Michonne had scenes together during that arc it was clear that the love and attraction between them was still very much alive and not being put on pause at all to accommodate the Jessie storyline. I always love seeing how Andy still played Rick as a man whose heart had already been captured by Michonne. 

To me, Rick could have still been involved in the Anderson situation and had it contribute to his spiral without having that added romantic interest included. Like he’s convinced Alexandria can’t be as safe as it seems and then he learns Pete is abusive and that confirms Rick’s heightened suspicions about the place and makes him hellbent on fixing the situation or something.

I’ve seen some argue that Rick needed to go through that stuff with Jessie for his heart to be fully ready for Michonne but I’ve personally always disagreed with that take. While Jessie’s presence led Rick to finally have to confront some buried baggage regarding Lori, I don’t think Jessie was needed to aid Rick and Michonne’s love at all. Even tho it was still deep in their heart, Rick and Michonne had already fallen in love with each other before they even walked through the gates of ASZ. And I think all they really needed was just time to breathe and for the world to finally slow down and stabilize a bit for their feelings to be realized and acted on. Once they could enjoy a stretch of normalcy without having to be so on edge, one of the first things they did was make their feelings known.

When it comes to the lead-up to Richonne’s first kiss, I do always feel that in an ideal world, the Jessie stuff could have just been cut entirely or at least wrapped up a whole lot quicker and that time could be spent showcasing more of the buildup between Rick and Michonne finally being ready to take the next step in their relationship. However, something I always appreciate about their canon ep 6.10 is that the second we see Rick and Michonne together that morning, living this comfortable, happy, domestic life together, whatever else happened before just instantly falls to the wayside as it becomes so undeniable that this is always where their hearts were leading them and always who they were meant to be with. 👌🏽

[dadvans]

20 questions for fic writers

Tagged by the lovely @rcmclachlan!

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

37 + 2 Orphaned Works on main (and two fics that have been removed from AO3 but reposted on Tumblr) 3 under a sock account 1 on a shared account

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

256,810

3. What fandoms do you write for?

All current WIPs are either Hockey RPF or Supernatural

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

five theories about victor "my husband" nikiforov (+ one fact) [YOI]

Family Dinner [The Old Guard]

Lonely Hearts Club [YOI]

the warmest part of winter [YOI]

Modern Marvels [Rick and Morty]

5. Do you respond to comments?

I try to, but get overwhelmed pretty quickly. I'm trying to be better about this!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

the blue house [Hockey RPF, SidGeno]. I would consider it an ambiguously optimistic ending instead of unhappy, but it definitely was written for an angst fest!

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

the warmest part of winter, which is at risk of being too cutesy.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I've never seen anything specific on AO3, but I know some people got pretty annoyed with some tropes I helped popularize in Yuri On Ice fandom (Victor Nikoforov Has a Foot Fetish, Yuuri Katsuki is a Huge Slut)

9. Do you write smut?

I sure do!

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you have written?

Sort of. Some people have considered Not Just Nothing [SPN] a crossover instead of an AU. It's a Ken Doll AU.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I've seen

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, and it is honestly the biggest compliment in the world

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I don't know if I should be revealing this, but I was definitely one of the people who wrote Popular Slut Club under the SturgeonGuy29 name 🤫

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

What an impossible question! Probably SidNate, considering they've been making me see shrimp colors for 6 years now.

15. What is a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Oh god, I don't want to jinx anything here. I really do intend to finish everything I start writing. I have a doc called Starz 4Ever, where Geno becomes a porn star out of spite.

16. What are your writing strengths?

When my dialogue is good, it's really good. I think very highly of my characterization.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Finishing shit!

18. Thoughts of writing dialogue in another language in fics?

I used to do this, and I meaningfully don't anymore unless it's crucial for the plot. I was actually embarrassed going back to a Yuri on Ice fic to see I had written some Victor dialogue in Cyrillic.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I want to say I was writing Seiya/Usagi for Sailor Moon in like, 1999 or 2000, but I couldn't tell you what it was about or where to find it.

20. Favorite fic you have written?

I'm really fond of Say When. Sid/Nate/Andy feels so personal to me at this point. It has my favorite sex scene I've ever written, and I'm eager to post more for the universe.

I also am still proud of we should be stars and perfect tens (Rick and Morty, heed the tags), which is a little rougher with age but I think the execution of two parallel narratives both written in second perspective is well done, and the blue house considering the subject matter.

Tagging: anyone who wants to do it!

[sunbeamstress]

i jumped on the Walking Dead train really late, but i got to finish the show with the fans and i thought it was excellent. it also marks the second or third time i've binged a piece of acclaimed media that became noteworthy for fucking over its fans - the last time was when i beat the mass effect trilogy, a decade late. i thought that was excellent too.

of course it's a lot easier when the game you're playing already has the patched-in ending option and all its DLC, and walking dead was definitely easier to get through since when season 5 ended, i could go right into season 6 without The Cliffhanger

it's clear that the show i watched wasn't the show that AMC presented. scrubbed of its social media gaffes and godawful pacing, it was honestly a thrill ride. it takes a little time to stumble its way through the first two seasons, and the third is definitely more of a slow burn of dread, but if you can punch your way through those you're rewarded with a tense thriller that rarely wastes its time - every scene demands your attention and reveals something new. the moment my life settles down again i want to binge-watch it all over again with a friend.

in my early/mid twenties, i'd fallen in love with an artsy little tech-fetishist webcomic about a few kids struggling to avert the end of the world. you might have heard of it, it was called Homestuck. it would go on to balloon into a very different sort of work from the one it began (i miss the Amiga graphics and quotes from poets/novelists), but also it was the first time i looked around to realize i was in the middle of a fandom. and in those days it wasn't a lovely sight.

my problem was i hadn't been inoculated against this sort of thing yet. from the moment i discovered the MSPA forums, it was impossible for me to experience homestuck without also crossing over to get a life feed of how the fans were enjoying it, and that was uhh, complicated. i have a lot i could say about Andrew Hussie as a creator and maybe one day he'll get his very own rambling not-quite-essay from me, but i maintain that i didn't get to enjoy Homestuck the way it deserved because i am the sort of person whose opinions can be influenced by others. you are too, don't judge.

i hold fast to my conviction that the best way to enjoy something is to enjoy it pure and alone, or with at most perhaps two friends whose tastes you can trust. all too often i've seen people try to make it through the walking dead, or better call saul, or mass effect, or homestuck, or anything, while tapped into the overwhelming torrent of fandom opinion.

it actually makes things worse.

as the internet is fond of saying: the walking dead was a hell of a lot better without a bitch in my ear telling me it sucked.

there's a lot to say about how they reused the same ol' same ol' plot: zombos force the crew to move, they get settled in, then they solve some zombo-related problems until the newest batch of Desperate And/Or Corrupt And/Or Treacherous Humans comes to prove that actually we were the monsters all along

except it's fucking dope? they bare-knuckle brawl a shitload of walkers in a prison and take it over? and then they fight a war with the neighboring town??

Terminus, to me, is a singular point in the show that stands out in my mind. it was the moment i was like "oh shit. i think actually like this show." nevermind the way they began cranking up the horror factor (watching them slit that guy's throat in the horse trough was wild), but then Carol shows up and fucking Judge Dredds the place?

and then we see Rick turn from do-gooder cop to feral den mother who is willing to rip a guy's throat out and fjksdhgfjkhgjkhg oh my GOD how did you people not like this show

and then:

it was genuinely incredible watching Rick's role in the universe transform. we see him as an agent who is only ever acted upon: first by the emergence of walkers, then by a revolving door of people he can't trust, people he shouldn't trust but does, and people who have a funny way of doing the right thing just when you expect them to fail you the most.

but it's no way to live a life after the world has ended, and he has to get tough. his role changes, quite quickly, from agent to actor, and now he is the one with the control. he's the one sniffing out your bullshit, doing that unhinged lupine head-cock of his, and sending you to hell at the end of a colt python.

maybe if i was a man, i'd feel a little of what the fans seemed to have felt when Negan showed up. maybe i would have put myself in Rick's place, and found a little vicarious pleasure in the feeling of being a respected leader, building a new home with my bare hands; maybe i would have experienced disappointment or defeat or whatever the moment a bigger guy with a bigger gun shows up.

but what i saw was a hornet's nest being stirred; the natural reaction of a world much bigger than you just when you've begun to think you might control some of it. negan wasn't some Bigger Guy, he was a symbol, a walking metaphor for how things are always going to go when men like rick try to purchase peace with violence. if it wasn't Negan it was going to be someone else. i adamantly believe the fans hated negan because negan was holding up a mirror to them.

when i go on about this show, i genuinely do love all of it (even the nightmarishly slow seasons 9 and 10), but the images in my head all come from season 5, especially when they raid the hospital back in the city. the walking dead does not disappoint with aesthetics. the sets were phenomenal.

long, dramatic shots of broken chain link fences, sun-baked highways, half-abandoned urban streets with boarded windows and nothing left but graffiti. honestly feels a little like my childhood. i'm an urbex bitch at heart and i never wanted ANYTHING so desperately as the chance to get in there with Carol and Aaron and Maggie et al, and go plumbing the tombs of Atlanta for rocket launchers and medicine.

and while i never want to see backroads or quaint country towns ever again in my life, i won't deny that the backdrops of rural georgia and virginia gave the walking dead a unique visual language, a kind of run-down western vibe that really helped cement the feeling that these were just regular salt-of-the-earth people, forced to do extraordinary things. most of my dreams now usually have the same hickory and pine trees that dotted the countrysides.

i don't really know what i was trying to accomplish when i began this post (it's the only way i know how to write baby!) but to summarize, i fucking loved this show. i genuinely hold it to be one of the seminal works of modern zombie horror and also just an incredibly good survival soap opera about what it means to be alive in a world that has violently rejected you. i'm genuinely glad i gave it a chance and i'm so grateful my brother recommended it to me. i love you, bro.

[summersmithlatinxgyatt]

Okay so I did watch some of Bethic Twinstinct but it did not dissuade me. Even if the episode was good, I would be more mad because of missed potential and falling off. So let's not have that as a suggestion against me because this episode was HORRIBLE. I will try not to ramble and still provide enough information for each argument

Bethcest is awful and toxic. I think there's no saving it without fundamentally changing the entire dynamic and Space Beth, meaning it's not even the same ship at that point

Let's start with Space Beth herself. She has almost no unique attributes. What I hate is how she's useless most of the time. All of her dialog is just slightly raunchier and meaner/sarcastic but it just comes AFTER Beth speaks and has the same message behind it. Why even bother

And when was the last time she contributed so much to the plot or was even at the center of the conflict?

She feels way too similar to Beth. It feels so weird seeing this completely different Beth just adjust to living in the household kinda fine? I wish there were more episodes where she’s the center of the conflict because it must’ve been hard to live with a woman like that. It feels wrong to see someone like this…do nothing most of the time? She doesn’t even really have a personality outside of being a slightly edgier Beth, like I said. Her dialog patterns reflect that and she rarely is seen alone without Beth

Not to mention that I feel like The ABC’s of Beth did this topic WAY better. We got to see Beth embrace bloodshed AND trying to realize that her flaws come from herself as well, needing to embrace that and take some level of action against it. I always see Space Beth and Bethcest as a whole as an embodiment of that episode. The only difference is that episode was actually good

I’ll detour quickly to talk about how Beth’s character has changed over the show. Season 3 did SO MUCH FOR HER and I’m glad it even exists. The Rickshank Rickdemption shows her drinking her sorrows away and later on choosing Rick over her own husband. And as much of a meme Pickle Rick is, that episode shows that Rick refuses to change mentally and emotionally - yet will change his entire body and willingly put himself into situations where he doesn’t change his MINDSET, just his body. And Beth allows it to happen because she holds him to a higher regard than anyone else in the family. Again, there’s The ABC’s of Beth that continues this theme of Beth and Rick’s relationship

I really wish that Space Beth would’ve instantly been at Beth’s neck for this. Beth has been trying to move away from this level of relationship by changing how she thinks. To get better, she has to change her way of thinking AND her relationship with Rick. So why is it okay to have her date a clone of herself? That is literally making things worse

Bethic Twinstinct has that scene of them in space where they claim that they’ve been more emotionally tied together and growing together, but we rarely got to see that and it’s already episode 3. And I fucking hate how, to illustrate how close they are, they just start talking about how they find themselves attractive and attracted to each other. It just shows that this is a sexual relationship, not a romantic one

To tie things back to Jerry, it would be retconning the relationship Jerry and Beth has by implying that sex was the void in the relationship. That retcon stays consistent because Beth pursues a sexual relationship with Space Beth and eventually ropes in Jerry. It doesn’t help how most of the time, the cliche of a woman cheating on her partner with another woman is less about sexuality afterward and is more about trying to fill in the void - even though in the moment it’s just yearning for sex and understanding. And even worse, it portrays the sapphic relationship as ONLY being sexual. This is another stereotype and YET AGAIN, this is so fetishistic in so many ways

By having Beth love herself this way, we already are retconning the faults of her relationship with Jerry. But even worse is the fundamental idea happening. Everyone points out that “It makes sense since she’s so self-absorbed”. But she ISN'T. Beth RUNS AWAY FROM HER FAULTS, when has she ever fully embraced them? She is known for drinking and dwelling in sadness before acting like it didn’t happen. She also stays around Rick to fill that void he left so many years ago and upholding him higher than the rest of the family she built and regrets (for the most part). If she was so self-absorbed that she wanted to have sex with herself, then why does she follow Rick around the most? If she was so self-absorbed, why is one of her traits being ignorant to her own faults without first mentioning that they apparently aren’t flaws? This is such a small thing people overlook. Even if the idea that she’s narcissistic and deflecting applies to this dynamic, there’s still more that would contradict it and her character

I would have LOVED it if Space Beth was actually ruthless. She feels so watered down and just stands in the background. Here’s my approach:

Try to build up the relationship in brief interactions or even having it be a subplot at first. I don’t think Space Beth can even interact in a family in any healthy manner. She would probably be trying to remove all of Rick’s failsafes to replace them with her own. She’d be trying to take the kids to school. In fact, she’d probably stand there shellshocked at the SIGHT of Morty and Summer because it’s an overwhelming sight to see the other Beth having kids

Even if she settled differences with Rick, the dynamic should persist if you want to make the character different. I would’ve loved to see Beth and Space Beth actually be a thing. YES. As much as I hate this and have listed its issues, it can be salvaged a bit

Imagine if the plot started with Space Beth and Beth having an actual romantic moment that’s interrupted with Space Beth saying something about her and Rick’s relationship. Maybe while saying she loves her, she says she wishes she could stop being around Rick all the time

Or maybe, as Rick takes Morty and Summer out for an adventure, she says they cannot go with him and instead offers herself, leading to her and Rick having a quiet yet tense drive in his ship because she doesn’t want the kids hurt and wants to watch him closely

These two ideas would serve as ways to start the conflict of the episode. To show she’s different, MAKE HER DIFFERENT. Have her actually hate Rick and be so protective of the family actively. This would lead Beth to try to step in, but here’s the thing - Space Beth is right

The internal conflict for Beth would be having to change for herself twice over, because she’s appeasing a clone. In trying to fall in love with Space Beth, she’d have to be better for herself, LITERALLY. That’s the entire point. Maybe she changes how she interacts with Rick but also tells Space Beth that everything will be okay. That would be the wake-up call for her. Yeah, maybe it’s very late to do this kind of thing, but you can insert it with any kind of conflict that would normally be fine with Beth and divide Space Beth

If she’s going to date herself, she’ll change herself. She needs to change

Space Beth needs to be VERY distinct. She needs to serve actual narrative purpose. Also, this relationship can stop hinging on sex because it completely changes Jerry and Beth’s relationships and even characters. Finally, CAN THIS NOT BE FETISHISTIC AND FOLLOW HOMOPHOBIC STEREOTYPES? Not to mention have such a random build-up to just drop the idea over the course of several episodes?

That’s all. If you ship Bethcest, I don’t hate you. But I hate the actual dynamic shown in the show. This could be WAY longer but this is more condensed. I just want her to not have a boring character and serve a bigger purpose to the show and Beth

Because honestly, we could use a sweet sapphic relationship if Sumncy doesn’t happen. I WANT them to succeed, but none of it feels genuine at all. It's so much missed potential I can still go on about

Oh and also i fucking hope that this level of bad writing doesn’t happen to summer.