#if anyone has a solution..... kill me don't tell me

[spiegelgestalt]

Some stray observations and speculations before the new episodes come out

Vi has yet to win a major victory in the undercity. Also since the time skip someone contemplated/tried to kill her in every battle. She truly doesnt fit into Zaun anymore

Sevika on the other has gotten two victories in the last three episodes. Working together with jinx truly benefits her (and in retrospect: vi lost the bar battle even though she beat sevika because jinx intervened)

Caitlyn has currently a really important story arc and I hope they stick the ending. Caitlyn runs into another savior dilemma: you go into a situation full of good intentions and well meant plans and the fuckers screw you over, hurt you and hurt the people around you. This is an experience a lot of well meaning helpers have. And I still think that while her reaction is understandable it's not correct. I come back to Cassandra's sentence: the people in the undercity deserve to breathe. Because it's such bullshit. It's your industries that caused that, you produced that smog - you should clean it up - it's common sense - but Cassandra frames it as a favor and now that the people on the undercity aren't sufficiently grateful that favor is revoked

Ambessa strokes the cheek of a child who got hurt by the smog. That child looks like a young Viktor. And once again I'm struck by the fact that it piltover expected Zaun to just accept this and how much piltover freaks out over attacks that did just a fraction of the damage piltover did to zaun

Caitlyn got a letter from Ambessa during a grieving process. I really hope that they don't just blame the whole thing on Ambessa/foreign influence and call it a day (currently they are doing pretty well)

If you take the songs into consideration and interpret them as expressions of the two cities you notice that piltover is still not understanding. They think they can get this problem back under control with violence while Zaun is saying: yeah come and kill me I don't even care anymore. But I will hurt you as much as I can in the process

Arcane is in part about generational violence and it's very telling that it's especially the young characters who are all for the violence happening (cute enforcer girl and cute street urchin)

I have to say it somewhere: Caitlyn isn't ready for jinx, piltover isn't ready for jinx I'm not even sure if Ambessa is ready for jinx.

I kinda want to write a meta about Ekko/Viktor as the two people who try to help the undercity within the system and how they are both screwed over. Viktors findings are taken for piltover and used against Zaun and ekko is a) in danger to suffer the same fate (I have thoughts about heimerdinger you all) b) in danger to lose all he has built because of something piltover did

I think I'm one of the few people who didn't think that indepence for Zaun was the solution to everything. I think it was to little to late. also jinx is all about making piltover eat the consequences of their actions. Shes quite literally zauns curse. But I also think that ist sevika who truly wants war. (note the raining metaphor some people noticed. Everytime a person from piltover got rained on it was because of something jinx/powder did)

Heimerdinger is gearing up to repeat his own cycle by plucking another street urchin from the undercity. After Viktor he got Jayce and now he wants Ekko. I can't help but notice that neither Jayce nor Victor benefited from his teachings

One day I will write about arcane relationship to Disney and the little mermaid and the og little mermaid but in short: Viktor is the little mermaid who loses his voice, doesn't get the prince and dies in the end, silco is very heavily Ursula coded (just look at his introduction!! )

If anyone wants me to go deeper into any of this observations feel free to ask me. I'd be happy to.

[barnbridges]

one demon on my shoulder wants to buy more books, the other wants to cry about the books i have, neither of them likes excel or goodreads or any other tool to measure out how much i actually read or spend on books.

[goodolreliablejake]

Fantasy races are an uncomfortable concept, because they present a world that literally works the way racists think that it works. The attempts to mitigate this problem often fail to address the core concern, merely making the idea more palatable.

A big example is trying to correct by changing the language from "races" to "species." This attempt fails for two reasons:

1) Exactly! Racists think that people of other races are a different species. That's the foundation of "race science," phrenology, all of it.

2) Are demihumans different species, though? Like, the interactions between elves and dwarves don't resemble the interactions between different species in our world. They don't act like snakes and lemurs, or whales and krill, or even cats and dogs. More often we've got different groups of people, who may speak different languages and have different cultural practices, engaging in diplomacy or war and struggling to coexist. In practice, they are treated as nations: ethnicities. Except they're ethnicities who are biologically distinct enough to have objective differences in ability.

This is something that puts me on edge in Mass Effect, otherwise one of my favorite games. True, the game ultimately lands on condemning the genophage, and it's not subtle about that. I mean just look at the name... But it's still considered debatable, morally grey, and Mordin Solus remains one of the most charming and enduring heroes of the series. The setting has bent over backwards to make every racist stereotype and talking point as legitimate as possible. In this setting, it is objectively true, scientifically proven that it is in the DNA of Krogans to naturally be violent, warmongering killing machines whose explosively rapid breeding poses an existential threat to the galaxy. That in turn is meant to make us think that maybe forced sterilization is something worth considering. It's hard to ignore the parallels to real life racist propaganda. I don't think it's malicious, just ungrounded and thoughtless; the result of creators to whom these ideals are abstract thought experiments, rather than reflections of real history.

Another big example is Dark Elves. They try to make it okay, to mitigate the message by fleshing them out as characters, by scapegoating an abusive deity rather than an ingrained nature, by erasing the monster manual description that reads "Always Chaotic Evil," by trending skin tone away from black and towards purple, or gray, even pale white. But none of it really changes the core issue, does it? The idea of drow is to equate dark skin with evil, to fetishize that idea, and to tell a story about a subsect of people cast into darkness as a result of sin in a direct parallel to racist Christian beliefs about dark skin being a curse or punishment from God.

So, do I think we need to cancel Mass Effect and stop playing D&D or telling stories about drow? No, not really. I mean... I do all these things. Truth is, I don't have an actionable solution, for myself or anyone. But the dynamic is clearly present and worth describing. And the attempts to challenge it are often insufficient, more about making ourselves feel better about what we're already doing than enacting real change.

[alastors-antlers]

a brief take on the whole "Alastor's smile is permanent" discussion

hello all!

I've seen a lot of people theorizing lately that Alastor actually smiles all the time because his smile is magically, physically fixed onto his face. All of this seems to come from the fact that he's practically grimacing rather than smiling during the scene where he breaks down in ep8:

As well as this frame of his deal with Charlie: (lower res sorry)

I will say, I do like some of the implications of this theory. The sheer spite of his creditor forcing him to smile as an addition to their deal, almost like a sort of forced silence, is a neat concept. It's fun and dramatic. Plus, of all things, of course Alastor would claim the "smile at all times" policy and make it his own to pretend that it was his decision all along lol.

To be fair, though, I don't think we even need any magical compulsion to explain why he's smiling while he's having a mental breakdown. Actually, if we assume magical compulsion, I think we lose a bit of dimension from Alastor's character. (No judgement to anyone's take though, of course -- I just think this works in the direction of his established characterization, but obviously all personal takes <3)

Hear me out:

Alastor's persona is not just for others to see.

"A smile is a valuable tool, my dear. It inspires your friends; keeps your enemies guessing; and ensures that whatever comes your way, you're the one in control."

That makes sense given what we know about him. If he's always smiling, he seems like he has it together. You can't read him very well, especially not when he's actively trying to keep up appearances.

Now consider that when you think about ep8's fight with Heaven, we see that he's already been through so much in this one day.

He fights an army of angels, presumably not even at his own whim (if we go by his blurb about freedom in the Finale song); he loses to Adam, who he considers sloppy and mediocre; his staff, which we can assume holds some part of his power, is snapped; he comes close to being Angelic-power-killed; and to top it all off, he knows that others watched him get injured and then apparently die or flee, all of which would ruin the public image that he's trying to maintain. It wouldn't even be unreasonable for us to assume that he knows Vox was watching, given that Vox kind of has eyes everywhere.

In a moment like this, in the finale, you could say that Alastor has lost (at least on some level) everything that we know matters to him. He doesn't have access to all of his magic, and it's limiting him. He's reminded that he doesn't have freedom or control over his own destiny. He certainly has taken massive hits to his powerful, composed persona. But he's desperate, and furious, and terrified, and clinging on.

That's why he's smiling.

It's not that he can't stop because he physically can't. It's that he can't stop because to him, the smile is the last thing that is still within his power. When there are so many moving parts that he can't predict what happens to him next, he can control how he responds to it. In these last fragments of autonomy, there is solace.

He needs to keep telling himself that he has it together and that he'll eventually scheme his way free, that there's a solution, that he won't be in chains forever; because letting his pretense slip would be admitting that it's all starting to actually get to him. That maybe this time, he doesn't have an escape plan.

In addition, if you read his interactions throughout the series, we also see something else: Alastor's reputation is of paramount importance to him. At multiple points throughout the series, when others disrespect him by discounting his power or presence, he gets visibly annoyed. And in the battle, we see a glimpse of the part of his personality he seems to be trying to leave behind - a normal Alastor, who's just some guy from Louisiana. No transatlantic accent; no unflappable malice; no sharp wit waiting at the ready. Maybe even unremarkable.

Dropping his smile - arguably the most prominent part of his brand - would be admitting that in reality, he's not the Radio Demon of legend that he aspires to project. And if he doesn't have that... where would he be?

[spirantization]

"Wild Blue Yonder" dealt with some of the emotional fallout of the Flux, so I want to rewind a bit and look at what that means for the Doctor.

I know that the Timeless Child and the Flux are contentious topics. I'm not here to argue either way. But now those storylines have decisively not been retconned, and with both of these fresh in my memory, I feel the need to offer some context for anyone who may not have seen it, and to recontextualize it for myself and anyone who has.

NotDonna: You don't know where you're from. The Doctor: How do you know that? How does anyone know? How does Donna know?

In "The Timeless Children", we find out that the Doctor was discovered as a child alone under a wormhole, and adopted by a woman named Tecteun. There was an accident where the Doctor fell from a cliff and regenerated, and subsequently Tecteun performed "experiments" on them to try to understand regeneration. The show minces words about this but she killed a child a whole bunch of times is what happened. Her experiments created the Time Lords and allow them to engineer their regeneration properties. The Doctor has no memory of any of this, and only finds out via the Master and information stored in the Time Lord Matrix.

The Doctor, predictably, doesn't tell anyone about this revelation. She makes a speech to the Master about how this makes her more, we get a single shot of her looking a bit tired in the TARDIS, then she immediately gets thrown in prison.

Ultimately, the Doctor doesn't know where they're from or who their parents are. And the very fact that they're not from Gallifrey is information that no one in the universe should have. Everyone who knew is now dead.

NotDonna: I saw it in your head. The Flux. The Doctor: It destroyed half the universe because of me. We stand here now, on the edge of creation, a creation which I devastated, so yes I keep running, of course I do! How am I supposed to look back on that? NotDonna: It wasn't your fault! The Doctor: I know!

A fun fact about the Flux is that the Doctor did not cause it. So why does he blame himself? Because the person who caused the Flux was Tecteun.

The reason why Tecteun wanted to destroy the universe is because the Doctor interfered with things too much. Too much morality. Too inspirational to people. She calls them a virus. So her solution to the problem of the Doctor is to destroy the universe, with the Doctor inside, and take her ship to a different universe to start fresh. She also was the one to steal all the Doctor's memories of previous lives in the first place. She's dismissive and patronizing and clearly does not care about the Doctor on an emotional level at all. Tecteun is a piece of work, and the implications of her actions and how they've shaped the Doctor have the potential to go deep.

Thirteen doesn't get too much of a chance to react to any of this, because there is plot going on. And shortly after they reunite, Tecteun gets killed by a different villain. So there was no emotional closure in the moment, and there's now no possibility for the Doctor to make sense of her actions. The Doctor does not tell any of her friends about any of these events. She keeps promising to tell Yaz but does not.

"Wild Blue Yonder" is the first time we, as the audience, hear the Doctor discuss the Flux. And their perception of events is skewed at best. The Flux wasn't caused because the Doctor made a mistake and a lot of people were killed, which is what you can argue for many other situations. The Flux and the devastation of the universe was caused by their mother, who promptly turned around and told them it was their fault for being such an interfering nuisance. We know that the Doctor is often an unreliable narrator, but this is beyond that. These are the words of an abused child who has internalized the narrative that the abuse was their fault.

So the Doctor being able to talk about this with Donna, who has seen what happened, who knows him, and tells him that it's not his fault — it means so much to him. He wants it to be her so badly. And then NotDonna laughs in his face. You can see the devastation. He thinks for one moment that he can finally talk about this with his best friend, and it's snatched away from him. He gives himself a moment to break down in the corridor, and then you can see the walls rebuilding as he suppresses it all again.

At the very end of the episode, back in the TARDIS, he's trying very very hard to be nonchalant. I'm curious. The NotDonna could remember all these things that happened to me while we were apart. Can you? Just wondering. Things happened, but I'll be fine. In a million years. It's not a joke.

He wants so badly to be able to talk about this. You can see it in all the lines of his body language. He's keeping himself together but is prepared to fall apart in an instant. He doesn't want to actually tell anyone, but if Donna just magically knew already, and could tell him it wasn't his fault — well, that would make the world of difference. But she doesn't know, and he can't bring himself to tell her. And so the cycle continues.

[cherriesncinnamon]

stress reliever / spencer reid x fem!reader

synopsis: your fellow profiler at the bau is stressed over a case. shoulders tight and room empty, you decide to relieve some of his tension.

warnings/tags: stressed spencer, grinding, blowjob, fem!reader.

word count: 1.1k.

a/n: tell me why this is literally the first thing i've written in a nearly year?! i've been so busy but i've missed this. rewatching criminal minds for the third time so thought i should treat myself to a lil spence smut.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

"I just don't understand what I'm missing." Spencer announces, clutching his hair in his fists as he slumps down on a chair.

"Neither do any of us. This UnSub loves puzzles, clearly he's really good at them, too." I reassure. SSA Spencer Reid hates when he cannot figure something out. Not because he has a weak ego, but because he really should know.

"God, my head is killing me." He says, rubbing his temples gently with his thumb and forefinger.

"Probably because we've been up for over 24 hours. Hotch and the rest won't be back for at least another hour, a nap couldn't hurt." I suggest, tucking my knees up to my chest in my chair, preparing to drift off in under a minute.

"No. No, I have to figure out some of this, even just a little bit. We can't let this son-of-a-bitch roam free for another second." He picks himself up and looks at the board again, eyes squinting at the words until they're unintelligible.

I show up behind him, taking a look at the board for the fiftieth time that day to see if a few minutes away from it had altered my ability to solve the puzzles. It hadn't. I rest my hands on Spencer's shoulders, and he jolts at my touch. His muscles are tensed and knotted.

"Jesus, Spence. You need to lie down. We know better than anyone that stress does not make our jobs any easier." I urge, slowly massaging his shoulders in an empathetic way. Spencer shakes his head, turning to face me.

"Sleep will not relieve this stress." He replies, gaze fixed. He sighs deeply, looking down at me as if he's waiting for me to provide a solution I definitely don't have. If anyone has the mental equipment to solve this case, it's Spencer Reid.

I guide him over to a chair, sitting beside him. I take a swig of my cold tea and rest my head on my knees. He stares at me with those big brown eyes that are usually full of life - well, in Spencer's kind of way - that are now deadened and hollow. I rest my hand on his and he squeezes mine back with a smile.

This is the first time I'm seeing him smile in days. I look eagerly at his lips, not hesitating to reach out and kiss him. He, of course, kisses back, gripping the side of my face tightly.

There's always been a mutual attraction between the two of us, but neither have ever even thought of acting on it. Derek loves to call us Romeo and Juliet. I laugh; Spencer doesn't get the joke.

I pull his hair through my hands, tugging gently at his roots as our kiss intensifies. I'm so glad he cut that mane, swapping it out for something much better.

I feel myself drifting off to a blissful state when Spencer pulls away abruptly, leaving my lips alone. He grimaces at me, clearly fighting some internal demons I can't see. I know he's not the romantic type, so I'm not sure why I thought it would be a good idea. We don't exchange any words for a few seconds until he gives in and reaches into me. I refuse his kiss.

"Do you really want this, Spence?" I ask, to his contemplation. He thinks for a minute, breath heavily paced. I look down at the bulge in his pants, pulsating through the fabric.

"Well, it sure looks like it." I joke with a harmless laugh. Spencer sighs at me, covering himself with both of his hands. I take his wrist and remove it, lightly stroking him with my palm, much to his pleasure. He tips his head back in the chair from my slight touch, grinding his hips into my hand, eager for more.

Feeling brave, I push Spencer's chair out from under the table, making enough room for me to straddle his lap, placing myself on top of his clothed bulge. Spencer doesn't know where to look, his eyes pacing from my eyes, to my lips, to my breasts, and to my waist. I take his hands and place them on my hips for support.

He's hard against my crotch, so hard that I can tell he won't be able to hold on for long. I play on this, beginning to grind myself against him at a painfully slow pace. He moans out, licking his lips that are dry from his breathlessness. I run my fingers through the front of his hair, pushing the strands out of his face while starting to move faster.

Spencer's hands squeeze my hips, pushing me down further onto his length that is desperate for a release. His eyes alternate between open and closed, unsure whether to admire me or savour the sensation.

"Does that feel good?" I pry, peppering kisses on his supple neck. Spencer can barely mumble a mhm as he groans out more and more. I sense his closeness and remove myself, sliding down to under the table.

"What are you doing? Why'd you stop?" Spencer begs, sitting up in his chair. Looking up, I smile at him, making my way towards his zipper.

I unzip his pants and break the waistband of his black boxers, watching in arousal at his cock spring free. His tip is glazed in pre-cum, veins spiralled around his length, begging to be relieved. I'm shocked at his size, to be honest. I had always thought he would fit the stereotypes of geniuses, assumed that he was compensating for something with his intelligent. But clearly, he just hasn't had the opportunity to show anyone what he can do.

Without waiting a second longer, I lick his sensitive tip then take him into my slick mouth, observing his chest heave inhumanly fast as I move up and down his member, making sure to cover every single inch. Spencer rests his hand on the top of head, stroking my hair softly.

"God." He whispers, squeezing his eyes tightly shut and gripping the armrest of his chair. I use my free hand to stroke the delicate skin of his abdomen, sending goosebumps across his entire body. I can feel him pulsating in my mouth, so close to climax that it has to be uncomfortable.

I remove my mouth, now using both hands to jerk him. The wetness makes my hands glide on his cock, welcoming his finish.

Finishing on my blouse, Spencer takes a minute to catch his breath. He swiftly wipes himself with a tissue from the table, tucking his still half-hard length away.

"Feel better?" I ask, walking towards the door to wander to my office change my blouse before the team arrives.

"Much better."

[bloodyjuls-blog]

Im gonna fight for both of us

P4

So here we go with part 4, sorry it takes me too long but I'm working and hate work haha...

When Alexia entered the hospital she had no idea what she would find there, in one hand, she could find y/n awake but with some tiny injuries (it was what she wished) but what she found was a nurse informing her that they needed someone to give consent to perform an emergency surgery because y/n's accident is a serious life threatening emergency and Alexia knew well, the only person who could do that was your sister, she had the obligation to call her and inform her, she didn't bother to call your parents because she knew that you were not the most beloved daughter in that family, moreover, she knew that they wouldn't even miss you if you died, because she heard many conversations with them in which they clearly told you that you were a failure.

While Lilah, your sister, gave the authorization over the phone, the doctors explained to Alexia what had happened to y/n. First, when they arrived at the hospital y/n went into cardiac arrest due to the impact, then doing a general sweep they found cervical and spinal injuries that compromise her mobility, hence the emergency surgery. What worries them the most is the injury of her brain, apparently it has a severe inflammation and they are concerned that when she wakes up (if she does) she will have compromised her cognitive functions such as speaking, moving, remembering things, most likely she will have memory loss.

When her sister arrived at the hospital she was furious, how was it possible that y/n was drinking again and doing these things as irresponsible. Alexia got angry and said a few things to her.

"Look, I don't think that looking for blames is the solution, what I think is that we should support each other without blaming in favor of y/n not dying, because I swear that if she dies I am going with her, you don't understand the things she was going through, and being honest neither did I, and if looking for blames then blame me because I was the one insisting" Alexia said. "Insist on what, what did you say Alexia" says y/n's sister "I insisted so much on the idea of starting a family, having children, that without those things I couldn't continue with her, that all this time was lost, but I swear it's not like that, it hurts me a lot to know that probably the only thing she heard from me was that while she's always being the loveliest person she is told me that for her the family was me and she didn't need children while she was with me, you don't know how much I regret it." Says Alexia crying and Lilah just approached and hugged her. At the end of the day their relationship is very close. "Ale calm down a little and come let's sit down, I think I understand why y/n is like this with the family thing and maybe when y/n wakes up it will kill me because it's something she didn't want you to know" lilah says calmly. They settled into the waiting room chairs.

"Since she was very little, my sister has always been the black sheep, the daughter that nobody wanted, the girl that when she had the opportunity to left home she did and never came back, you know Alexia when my sister left I was very sad but as an older sister I always saw the mistreatment and never said anything, she stopped going to so many events, so many Christmas reunions, so many birthdays or things like that because she simply knew that they didn't want her, they didn't show it love of support, the only thing that accompanied her in her gray days and well not so gray, was her bottle of whiskey, what can you ask from a teenager who has social pressure for what she does and no support or family that can tuck her in and tell her that everything will be okay" says the sister between soft tears. "I didn't know that, I thought that since she was also getting along with you..." Ale said remembering the phone calls from your parents.

"Of course Ale, you more than anyone knows that she is not one of those people who scream her problems and plead for help, she didn't want you to see her as something weird, that's why she gets along so well with your family, she found love in you, to feel loved, tucked in by someone, valued, no matter what and luckily your family is just like you, if you see the relationship my parents have with me and have with her you would surely get angry because you and I know what is y/n and how important it is to have her in our lives, Ale I'm not going to lie to you, a while ago I also thought that my sister wanted to be a mother because you know mate, look at how she treats the children, they have a very special relationship, very nice, she is a pure soul, but all her life she has seen examples of how not to be parents, how my mother ignored her and her things, Alexia the fact that my parents are not here is not new, when that 17 year old girl in her peak career broke her cruciate ligament, nobody was there for her, not even to give her a bottle of water, and because of that and more things is that y/n is super strong and every thing she sets in her mind to do she achieves it. For many years it was just her against the world and she has lived many blows without saying a word, so if she gets out of here you will understand that it will be very difficult, she will need a lot of support because according to what I have been told, her injuries are serious, probably the only thing that keeps her alive is football and she won't can do that anymore" says Lilah calmer. "I swear Lilah when y/n gets out of here things will be different, I would have liked to have this same talk but with her and avoid this bump in our road but life gives some people a lot and others very little, I swear I will be in her way as long as she lets me, that girl deserves nothing but good things and I believe that all the people she has given her love have let her down in a certain way, but just like you, I also want to do well, did you know that at home I have the ring to propose to her? I swear that without it I can't live" says Alexia more calm and confident. "I'm glad to hear that Ale, you two do each other good, please don't lose that, you're all would be miserable for life and that's not what you're all deserve." Lilah said as she gave Alexia a hug.

Hours later

"Relatives of y/n y/l" says the receptionist on the OR floor. "We are" say Lilah and Alexia at the same time. "The doctor is cleaning up but he's on his way here to report his relative" says the girl stoically. "Thank you very much" they both say in unison.

Once in the study room with the doctor....

"Well, I must say that it was a very complicated surgery because we found internal injuries that we couldn't see in the x-ray and that compromised her health, I am not lying when I say that she went into cardiac arrest at least three times and that worries us a lot because it means that her heart is weak. About her cervical injuries I am afraid that only when she wakes up we will be able to know if she has sensitivity in her legs and if she will be able to walk again, but I must admit that because of the blows her spinal cord has been affected, I want to be very realistic with you, if we manage to have a satisfactory recovery it will be very difficult for her to return to her profession, because the high impact can cause definitive injuries, now my colleagues are monitoring her brain signals because in the resonance we saw very few but we can guarantee that there is no brain death, but any sequels will be determined once she wakes up, at the moment she is not in coma but she was not awake either, we have implemented a method of sedation a little strong but I insist she is not in coma, so now later when the entrance to her relatives is authorized you're all can talk to her, in this state she can listen hope so. Of course, the view that you are going to find is very strong, because she is connected to many tubes and intravenous lines, also her external injuries are a little strong and her foot has an external fixator because there was a fracture of the tibia and fibula". Says the doctor super calm but forceful.

"thank you very much doctor, the fact that she is still alive is because of your effort, let's hope that the evolution is positive, sure it is" says Lilah calm and Alexia super scared because she doesn't understand anything. "Well Ale, y/n is not well and there are strong changes coming in her life and the only thing we have left to do is be by her side to make it as bearable as possible, I am not so much worried about her physical injuries but mental then we must make sure that when she gets out of here she gets psychological attention, and have faith that she will get out of this because she is a super strong person, she always has been and this will be just a very fat bump for her, are you ready to see her" Lilah says optimistic. "I don't know, I just know that if I will always be even if she doesn't want me to, it will be hard for me to see her like this but that's okay" Alexia says forcefully. Alexia's phone starts ringing, it's Ana and Leah on joint call.

"Hi girls."

"Hi Alexia, what happened to y/n, did you find her" says Ana worried.

"Girls, y/n was involved in an accident and it's serious" says Alexia with her voice cracking remembering the anguish experienced a few hours ago.

"How???? What do you mean accident and serious????, my goodness" says Leah in dismay.

"Yes girls, apparently her car overturned at high speed on Tibidabo and her injuries are serious, she probably won't be able to play football anymore" "if you want to come I'm sure y/n would really appreciate it" says Ale sadly.

"I'm already looking at flights to Barcelona, I just can't believe it, what a downer girls, I'm so sad" says Leah in tears.

"Ale tells me which hospital you are, I'm on my way" says Ana in a hurry.

"We are in the one near Tibidabo" "now I'm sending you the location, I'm going to hang up, I'm going to go in to see my baby" and Alexia hung up.

Before entering the room Alexia calls the team managers to discuss what happened and they tell her not to worry that everything is going to be fine and that she can take all the time in the world to be with y/n.

Lilah takes Alexia's hand and asks her if she is ready to go in to which Ale nods not so sure....

When they enter the first thing they see is y/n lying on the bed with many tubes everywhere, one coming out of her mouth, IV in her arms, one in her leg and the fixator in her ankle adding the bandage on her head (because nothing can be seen from her spine but that's where her surgery was) a tube coming out of her side, Alexia's heart breaks in little pieces to see her like this, the love of her life lying on a bed fighting for her life....

"Ale, talk to her and hold her hand, so she could feel you are here, with her, while I go make some calls" "Ok" alexia says.

"Hello my love, I know that the last time I spoke to you I didn't say very nice things but I want you to know that they're not true, I was very angry with you, it is that you are a stubborn honey, why don't you tell me your things, my life you are going to be very well. You are going to recover and although everything will be very different I am going to be with your sister and you all the way, you are going to be well, healthy, strong and laughing at life as always, I am sad to see you like this, I don't like to see that you are having a bad time, I only ask you to fight and stay here with me, don't go without me, I love you so much, all the girls are worried, even Leah is coming from London later and Ana is on her way, I'm sure that when they see me they will want to tear my head off for being stubborn, and you should know that I don't mind not having children but as long as I have you, nothing happens. .. We will buy the little house on the beach that we want so much and we will be very happy my love, I cannot do without you, you are my life, you have always been my life, I love you, very much and I will not leave here and go home without you. I love you too much, you can't imagine how much..." Alexia says through tears as she comes over and gives you a little kiss on your uninjured cheek. She arranges the chair next to you and doesn't let go of your hand, trying to give you some human warmth in that cold room. And she falls asleep for a while to the sound of the monitors lulling her to sleep.

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

Thinking about Ed has never had anyone who he can trust to react normally and appropriately when he sets a boundary.

Izzy in s1 constantly pushes Ed to behave in the ways Izzy wants him to and refuses Ed's right to determine how he wants to present himself to others, and he screams at him and tells him he's better off dead when Ed tries to state very clearly how he would like to behave. Entitled White people on the party boat reach into his personal space and try to touch his hair, and laugh at him when his reaction makes it clear he doesn't like that. Calico Jack breezes right past Ed's every attempt to set boundaries with him, ignoring Ed when he says he doesn't want to talk about certain things and when he suggests calling the party to a stop, and pushing when he says he doesn't want to drink. In the gravy basket, Ed's memory of Hornigold acts like Ed's in the wrong for being confused and upset when Hornigold refuses to play along with Ed's hotel game without being hostile to him.

Every time Ed sets a very normal and reasonable boundary - I don't want to kill this guy I have a crush on, I want other people to call me by my name, I want to dress and act in a way I find more comfortable, I don't want you to touch my hair, I don't want to discuss this heavy, traumatic topic over breakfast, I don't want you to be a dick to me - then other people act like he's unreasable, like he's in the wrong, like he's a terrible monster of a person for communicating very basic boundaries. When Ed is annoyed with others for trying to push past his boundaries and control his behavior, they use his anger as a reason to claim Ed is irrational, insane, or violent, and that he's defined by those things.

And that's why it's such a big deal that not only does Ed feel safe asking Stede to take it slow, he knows Stede will listen and behave appropriately. It's very tentative, really - "can we take it slow?" instead of a more definitive option such as "I want to take this slow," but the important thing is he knows he can ask and that Stede is not going to yell at him or pressure him.

It says so much that Stede is so respectful of the boundaries Ed sets. When Ed says he maybe doesn't like being Blackbeard anymore when they first meet, Stede is immediately respectful and offers alternative solutions instead of telling him what he should feel. He allows Ed to define his own feelings and desires. He gives Ed time to consent before touching his hair or deepening kisses. He gives Ed space to just be Ed, making him feel comfortable and safe by just being his sweet self.

Stede is one of the very few people in Ed's life who have ever treated him like an actual person with his own feelings, thoughts, and desires.

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 41, part two

(Masterpost) (Pinboard)  (whole thing on AO3)

Warning! Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Nie Mingjue and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day

Empathy continues, jumping to Meng Yao and Nie Mingjue's encounter in Nightless City. Once again, let's look at how we saw it the first time around.

In Episode 22, Nie Mingjue unwisely decided to do a stealth advance push on Nightless City, as if "stealth" and "Nie Mingjue" ever belonged in a sentence together. After his inevitable capture, Meng Yao rocks up and says hey.

We cut away to the battle outside and then come back inside where NMJ hits MY with a palm strike.

Meng Yao actually expresses anger for once, knocking NMJ over with a kick, and yelling at him for being rude in front of MY's new boss, Wen Ruohan.

NMJ comes after him again but Wen Ruohan gets involved and the fight turns into NMJ vs. WRH until Nie Mingjue is knocked out. He ends up on the floor surrounded by dead or unconscious Nie cultivators; we don't see, at this time, how they got that way.

(More behind the cut!)

In Episode 41: the encounter in front of Wen Ruohan starts the same way, but Meng Yao taunts Nie Mingjue, fondles his shoulder, and then kills a couple of his wingmen.

Meng Yao--Wen Yao?--has never looked better. He's still rocking Nie braids and Nie colors - with a nice snake pattern trimming his robe. I'd like to say this is evidence of his snakey nature, but the idea that snakes are bad and sneaky is a biblical concept, not a Chinese one.

Anyway the important thing about his look here is that his makeup is gorgeous and his demeanor is totally confident. Unfortunately I can't find the tumblr post that talks about his sassy ex-boyfriend energy in this scene, but it was a wise observation.

Nie Mingjue's sidekicks provoke Meng Yao into killing them - one by insulting the hall they're in, and the next by calling him 走狗-- literally "running dog," but Viki translates it as "lackey."

"Lackey" is a little insulting but it's basically a job description, whereas Meng Yao's reaction to being called "running dog" is more like the way people react to being called "boot licker" in English. I'm not saying it should be translated this way, however - feet have a whole lot of meanings across cultures. I think it could have just been translated "running dog" because by 41 episodes into this show, we have learned that calling someone a dog is rude and insulting, thank you Wen Chao.

Anyhoo, after Meng Yao kills the second dude he asks if anyone else wants to call him 走狗, and Nie Mingjue immediately does. Meng Yao just smiles and has his own lackeys bring Baxia, in a fancy box, to him.

Then he fondles the blade while explaining that he's been spending some quality time with it. Nie Mingjue watches helplessly, unwilling to beg but afraid of whatever's going to happen.

Meng Yao tells him that his Dad's sword was better than his, and asks him to guess how many times WRH will have to strike Baxia to break it. I'm saying "strike," but Viki translates it as "smack" and Netflix translates it as "spank," with questionable results. How many times WILL Wen Ruohan spank it, I wonder?

Meng Yao taunts him some more: Wen Ruohan broke NMJ's father's saber and sent it back to him, which caused him to die of anger. He says this while getting up in NMJ's space and putting on an expression of ecstacy.

NMJ hits him, since that's his solution to everything; Meng Yao gets mad and kicks Nie Mingjue to the floor. It's not clear to me why Meng Yao talks so much shit if he doesn't want to get hit.

Aftermath

The confrontation where Xichen protects Meng Yao is the same as episode 23, up to a point. Nie Mingjue wakes up in Lan Xichen's manly arms and has a moment of happiness before seeing Meng Yao standing by holding Baxia.

NMJ goes to attack him but Lan Xichen protects Meng Yao and explains his whole spying gig -- calling him A-Yao, which has gotta chap Nie Mingjue's ass.

Lan Xichen can block a blow from Baxia one-handed. Hot.

There's a nice parallel here, where Meng Yao uses Lan Xichen as a human shield, similar to Wei Wuxian using Lan Wangji to protect him from Fairy in Episode 34.

Wei Wuxian is, of course, way more handsy about it.

Meng Yao passive-aggressively tells Lan Xichen that he didn't explain his actions because that big meanie Nie Mingjue wouldn't have believed him anyway, and then he kneels in front of Nie Mingjue. That's as much as we got of that whole encounter, in Episode 23.

In Episode 41, after Meng Yao kneels, he explains his situation and said that he only said all that dickish stuff to Nie Mingjue to gain Wen Ruohan's trust, and he's sorry about hurting his feelings.

Nie Mingjue says how about you kneel to those dudes you killed.

Lan Xichen tells Nie Mingjue that yes, A-Yao did horrible things, but I believe that in his heart he… we don't hear the rest because Nie Mingjue interrupts by destroying a lantern, but we don't need to hear the rest because it's the same thing Lan Xichen says all the fucking time; it's become his core belief in the years since.

Meng Yao is surprised that it's the lantern that died and not him, but Nie Mingjue is in an impossible situation. Meng Yao has recruited Xichen so completely to his side that if Nie Mingjue wants to stay friends with LXC, he has to accept Meng Yao . You can see in his face that he knows he's beat.

Continued in part 3!

[agvstdr]

Isolated - Sam Winchester

Summary: The Winchester brothers have decided to split up, each going their own way. But will Sam really be alone?

a few months ago sam and dean decided to split up. the news reached me while i was in the car with the intention of reaching them, to find a solution to stop the apocalypse.

so i asked myself what to do, whether to follow sam and help him have a normal life or whether to help dean: anyone could think that the right choice is to follow dean and help the world but it is clear that dean does not want me to follow him, perhaps because he knows that i am very attached to sam. so i was left alone too, i followed some cases, killing monsters that came my way: losing news of both winchesters. at the end of a particularly difficult case, i stop at the first bar i find on the road, when i enter i immediately realize that a bartender is sam.

"sam?"

the girl next to him, looks first at me and then at him, surely wondering what kind of relationship there is between us.

"isn't your name kit?" the girl asks sam who nods

i then understand that he hasn't revealed his real name and i understand that i got him in trouble.

"it's my middle name." he answers making her laugh

"yes, his middle name is samuel, that makes more sense." i add trying to help him

"how do you know each other?" the girl asks again, who is starting to be too curious for my taste.

"we've been friends for many years." I answer hoping she'll leave us alone, when she doesn't it's sam who intervenes.

"come on i'll buy you a beer."

"what are you doing here? were you hunting?"

"yeah, a ghost pissed off with his family."

i know he wants to ask me something and i know what it is: he wants to know about dean.

"i don't know anything about dean, if you want to know, i offered to help him but he refused, we haven't spoken since." i explain and he nods, he was definitely hoping i knew something about his brother and i'm sorry i can't help him. we don't have time to say anything else, that a group of hunters, easily recognizable, enters the bar and starts talking to sam: they are talking far from where i am sitting, so i can't understand what they are asking him but it is clear that whatever it is, sam said no.

"they wanted help with some demons that are roaming the city, i said no."

"i could have gone." i say getting up to join the hunters who have just left the place, sam, however, stops me.

"no, i don't trust them, stay here."

i do as i say, and i stay with him until the bar closes.

the calm atmosphere is interrupted by two hunters who had entered a few hours before: one of them points a knife at the girl's throat while the other starts talking to sam, ignoring me.

"demons killed my friend but they said some interesting things about you."

"demons lie."

"then tell me it's not true that you drank demon blood and that you didn't start the apocalypse."

a deep silence falls in the bar, sam can't deny the truth.

"then it's true." says the hunter as he looks at something in his hands

"either you drink this and help us kill the last demons that are left or she dies."

i realize that what she has in her hands is demon blood.

i look at sam with wide eyes, hoping with all my heart that he doesn't drink that blood, or he will go back to a few months ago.

i can't risk sam drinking it, so i quickly pull out my gun and kill the hunter who had his knife pointed at the girl's throat, who manages to free herself and runs to me for protection. in the meantime sam starts to fight against the hunter who had offered him blood: when he is about to kill him, he stops, seeing both me and the girl looking at him, yet we both know that if this man stays alive he will only create problems.

i don't think twice about pulling out my gun again and killing him too.

"you didn't have to kill him but thank you."

sam and i meet back in the hotel room, after he offers me a roof over my head for the night.

"it had to be done, no problem." i smile at him and he smiles back

we sit in silence for a few moments, sitting next to each other, then i decide to speak my mind.

"i'm not mad at you sam, sure i'm sorry about what happened but i understand why you did it. and even if it doesn't seem like it, dean will too, he just needs time."

sam looks at me and seems really surprised by my words: it's definitely not what he expected.

"thank you so much."

then unexpectedly he rests his head on my shoulder, as if he's looking for comfort and I hope he's receiving it.

sitting next to sam, in such an intimate way, I understand that my place is here with him.

[marymary-diva17]

Ao’nung x sully hybrid reader

reader is omatikaya and metkayina mixed

When reader says that she willingly to fight and kill for Ao’nung but Ao’nung parents don’t believe her but the reader’s family and Ao’nung knows that she’s telling the truth. So reader has to prove herself worthy to court Ao’nung so Ronal gets there best warrior to fight reader and she wins and says that she will show no mercy to anyone that comes to harm Ao’nung and the readers family.

Falling in love is a wonderful and good journey, after finally meeting that one you wish to spend the rest of your life with in this life and the afterlife. When it comes to finding love like everyone else that had come before you, there was the need to fight for that love when other question it.

y/n " aonung" you are sitting under a palm tree with your boyfriend aonung, having some time with him. It had been a whole since the pair had came out to the sully parents that the pair was dating. Jake and neytiri had approved of the relationship happy for their daughter.

aonung " what I can't look at my beautiful y/n"

y/n " you are such a sweet talker nung" you had laugh making aonung smile brightly as well.

y/n " so when will we be telling your parents as tsireya and rotxo already know"

aonung " we can tell them this week if nothing comes up to ruin the plans, as I will love to tell my parents you are the one who won my heart"

y/n " well whatever we do it will be good for us both in the end, I just hope your parents will accept me in the end"

aonung " it will be fine ma y/n there nothing to worry about I love you"

y/n " I love you as well"

???? " what one the great mother name is going on here" the two teens had gotten spoked when they heard someone yelling, they soon tuned around and saw ronal standing there and she looked mad.

aonung " mother"

ronal " my son tell me I'm seeing things as you are courting this girl"

aonung " no mother I'm seeing her and I love her"

ronal " you know nothing both of you come now we most deal, with this madness right now" the two teen soon followed a very mad ronal, as she was not happy about what she had seen.

ronal " tonowari we most speak right now"

tonowari " ma ronal what the matter"

ronal " it seems like your son is seeing a girl that has gotten his attention"

tonowari " that sounds wonderful who is the girl we most meet her"

aonung " y/n is the one I'm seeing baba she the one who won my heart"

y/n " hello tonowari we had plans on tell you and ronal this week"

ronal " this is against everything we have told you aonung, she not part of the clan she is the the one we have been wishing for you be with in the end"

aonung " mother"

ronal " can she even do well as your mate when you both become older, will she been able to be there for you or will she fail by looking at her"

y/n " ronal I know I might not look like a warrior because of my looks, but I will defend aonung in any way I can as I love and care about him ... I wish you will give me chance to prove myself and see where the future lays for me and aonung"

ronal " you speak maddest girl"

????" watch how you speak to my daughter ronal I don't care if you are tshaik" neytiri and Jake had soon come along with everyone else, as they had heard the yelling and had been told of what was going on.

ronal " your daughter is not fit for my son mate she hasn't proven herself fully"

Jake " that not for us to decide ronal if they wish to see each other, we can't stop them we have to let them decide where this relationship goes"

ronal " well as I'm still tshaik and his mother I and my mates have rights over his relationship, and y/n will need to prove herself of leave my son for someone better to come"

tonowari " ronal'

ronal " tonowari we can't turn our back on tradition you know that as well"

tonowari " sully family I think it best if you all leave right now, I will speak with my mate and see if we can come to solution to this tension"

Jake " will y/n and aonung still be allowed to see other same goes for our other kids as well"

tonowari " yes"

Neytiri " we are going home aonung, tsireya, and rotxo you three are always welcome in our home unlike here" the two mother had looked at each other as neytiri had, taken you and your siblings home. There was a small moment everyone got to wave goodbye to each other.

lo'ak " well looks like ronal is going to be a wicked mother in law"

Jake " hey"

lo'ak " what she already doesn't like us what will change her mind"

Jake " speak that later on when we are at home"

neytiri " we will have family dinner together and speak about this problem as a family, I will not let that woman bad mouth my kids' anymore" the family had retuned to their home and had a meal together, Jake and neytiri said they will make sure ronal doesn't effect your relationship or your siblings relationship as well.

The next day

y/n " ....." you are walking on the beach with tuk as the both of you are carrying basket with coconuts in them.

tuk " thank you for let me come with you y/n"

y/n " you are welcome kiddo it fun to spend time with my baby sister" tuk smiled as the two sister were walking back to the village, it has been a good day for the sully family.

????? " y/n" you had heard your name getting called gaining your attention as you soon looked, and a saw some reef navi teen girl looking at you.

y/n " yes that is me how may I help you ...."

???? " just a caring navi I have been told of you relationship with aonung"

y/n " let me guess the whole clan know by now and not everyone happy about that"

teen girl " that none of your business how dare you think you can disrespect our clan ways of life, aonung was supposed to marry someone else then you"

y/n " tuk take my basket and run home tell mom and dad, we are about to have a situation on our hands"

tuk " okay you might want to stop new girl my sister means business at time"

teen girl " I don't care she is a weakling"

y/n " Look I'm trying to be nice but it seems like ronal is testing me or something else so please stop, before we do something we both regret in the end"

teen girl " that not important you have disrespected the olo'eythan family and our clan thinking you can stela away aonung"

y/n " I'm not stealing anyone away" the girl soon shoved you to the ground making you fall in the sand.

y/n " whatever happens soon I'm very sorry but I tried to be nice"

y/n " yeah I'm not the much of fighter but I can still defend myself, so leave me be aonung had made his choice we all need to accept that please"

teen girl 2 " you upset years of tradition with your demon ways"

y/n " no I don't aonung I chosen me and we started seeing each other, we haven't become mates we are still following tradition even due it not the ones you all remember"

teen girl 3 " ronal is not happy with this she disapprove of this relationship, and so those a good majority of the clan"

y/n " that for her and them to decide I can't make them change their minds but I will fight for my siblings to find love and or my love ... even if I don't fight with my body or weapon words are good enough"

teen girl 4 " you don't scare us"

y/n " oh I'm trying not to scare you all but I'm being nice right now, leave me alone and go gossip about whatever you think of my relationship but mess with my relationship and my siblings ... you will still what I can do" the girls back away from you as you glared at them, a glare that seems like it could make anyone freeze up.

????? " y/n" you soon see your siblings and aonung, coming over with aonung sibling as well.

aonung " leave my girlfriend alone if I see anyone of you bother"

neteyam " leave my sister alone"

lo'ak " yes you are all jealous because aonung didn't pick any of you, so you decied to be petty"

tsireya " y/n are you okay they didn't hurt you"

y/n " I'm good no need to worry"

Kiri " you girls act like fools"

teen girl " we were just speaking with her aonung we all know your mother, dislike the idea of her being with you"

aonung " that none of you business to handle"

y/n " you can't force a relationship on others that will be going against the great mother, so lets us all leave right now and act like this never happened for everyone sake"

y/n " now if your excuse I and love I love and care about have, other important matters to deal with other then jealousy good day girls" you had walked away with everyone they all were amazed by your words.

aonung "that why I love you"

y/n " thank you now I hope I can have that much confidence when I, speak with you mom again"

aonung " don't worry I will be here for you along with everyone else"

spider " that was cool y/n now ronal will have nothing to say"

kiri "he right"

y/n " I hope so now come on we have task to get done" the group had not noticed they were being watched by the adults, ronal had become proud of the girl. She had then realized she had made an awful mistake, when it came to you and aonung relationship. She was going to coming around soon but it will take time,

[howlsofbloodhounds]

(I usually ask anonymously because I'm shy asf but I wanted to ask non-anonymously because I don't think anons get notified when their ask gets answered.)

I feel like you know enough about Killer to tell me If this sounds solid or if it's dogwater. (Also to know if this idea had already existed or not sksksk). Please tell me if I made any mistakes, though! My brain is kinda fried lately and I had the strong urge to yap :'D

So I think it has been established that Killer's bones are constantly melting due to the high amounts of determination inside of him, and he'll eventually melt away and die. I think it is also mentioned somewhere that Color promises to find a way to 'fix' his soul?

I think the viable solution would be the Determination (DT) Extractor machine. In the Undertale game, in Alphys's True Lab we see the DT Extractor machine, it is used to extract DT from the human souls to be later injected into monster bodies. I wonder if we hypothetically can use this to solve Killer's perpetually melting problem? Has anyone thought of it?

(I do think there's some sort of like Sans fights animation where Killer is thrown to the DT Extractor in the middle of battle and he loses his DT. But my memory is fuzzy...)

Thank you, have a nice day (⁠ﾉ⁠◕⁠ヮ⁠◕⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠*⁠.⁠✧

I suppose that’s an option they could try, especially since Color said he knows a guy and perhaps he meant his AU’s Gaster, but would it work, and would it work without killing him or grievously injuring him? Is killer willing to risk the possibility of being changed yet again.

Would it do anything to his code? That’s changed now too.

He’s arguably spent more time with DT as apart of his being than without it. Is it just a part of him now?

It invaded his soul like a parasite, perhaps it’d be hard to remove at all (almost like it doesn’t want to be removed) (stage 4 is described as pure Determination. perhaps in a way its also like rejecting 4.) and any intense pain and trapped feelings would provoke stage 3 into instinctively fighting back and trying to survive.

which is ironic, considering how 3 could remember the feeling of invasion and wants the invading parasite out.

Perhaps killer’s biggest struggle in trying to ‘fix’ himself is himself. And instead he should focus on trying to heal and recover.

I imagine it’d be a strange feeling. watching your body struggle and fight against something you wanted and willingly agreed to, as if it doesnt understand that this was going to (supposed to) help.

maybe they make or find a smaller syringe like version to slowly take out and remove small amounts in certain times of the day, if only to prevent more damage on his body and further slow down the melting and rotting.

I’d imagine this would not only bring up trauma around his soul and people touching it or injecting/extracting things in and from it; but may also bring up a whole lot of concerns about becoming weaker, unable to protect himself and worries about having to rely on someone else.

Not only do i still feel like 3-4 would cause rather violent resistance against the idea of extraction DT (one instinctual, the other because it means losing connections to chara/the player and failing the deal), and 2 wouldnt want it for the mentioned above.

1 likely would, even if it kills him and especially if it weakens him (he’s accepted death a long time ago, it’s the final rest for him, and losing DT just means freedom and less pain and less suffering for others and him he thinks), while 2 may bury his wants deep down and go along with it if it seems to make Color happy.

But of course, if Killer doesn’t seem fully on board and enthusiastic about it, Color’s not going to make him.

{ @dseval }

[vladdyissues]

OK, I need an opinion from someone who is a Pompous Pep fan for this. I don't know if you know the different types of Au that have existed in this shop for a long time (I don't know your age but I assume you are older?), I read one in particular that reminded me a lot of the mafia and I wanted to ask you. My cousin sent it to me and the truth is that the subject matter is funny and impertinent and I want you to give your opinion on it (I have my cousin's permission for this, it will be fun I guess)

"It is about the fact that due to lack of resources, Amity Park falls into an economic crisis where the rich do not help the poor... in this case, Mayor Vlad Masters does not help anyone, on the contrary, everyone is looking for a way to survive in the face of the prices that Only people with great resources can have it, Madey and Jack, victims of this, try to talk to Vlad so that he can at least help their children have a life in a place with resources, Vlad refuses... Until he gives them a small opportunity He tells them that he will accept Danny for a few months, that they prepare him and that he will see if he can, I don't know... go down a little or give things away to those with low incomes. He made it public and everyone agreed, threatening Danny that he had to behave for the good of the people

Danny, forced to do so, arrives at the Masters mansion and Vlad limits his powers and any type of option to get away. "eh eh, Daniel, Fenton thermoses are not accepted in this place...And by the way, you will be subjected to a power timer until the week is over" "You can't do that!" "Of course I can." Vlad uses the argument that if he doesn't do what he wants, it will go badly for Amity Park and his parents, so Vlad is forced to become Vlad's toy, who is forced, manipulated, to do what Vlad asks of him without refuse, try to escape?, for what? ...his parents would suffer the consequences as would Jazz and his friends. He has no choice but to accept his new life

His family and friends can come to visit him on a schedule, what's left of time Danny is forced to stay with Vlad locked in his big mansion-"

Duhh...Danny doesn't pay attention to Vlad and Amity Park has a power outage for a week-/jk

This is a fantastic idea. The plot is solid—introducing the problem (conflict), the antagonist (Vlad), the antagonist's solution, and the protagonist's struggle—and it's extremely compelling. I mean, Danny being held against his will by Vlad Masters in order to help the people he loves? He would do that. As much as it would kill him, he'd do it.

It could be played as comedic or dramatic. (Personally, as much as I love humor and shenanigans, I'd love to see this story playing out seriously.) There are superb whump opportunities here, as well as great moments for character development. Does Vlad change for the better after living with Danny for a while, or does he eventually succeed in corrupting Danny? Do they find a solution to the financial problem Amity Park is facing, or is Danny going to have to live with Vlad for years? Does Danny eventually go off the deep end and murder Vlad in cold blood and inherit his millions? There's so much to explore in a situation like this. It could lean toward Pompous Pep or Badger Cereal or something else altogether, and it'd still be supremely interesting.

[heartfullofleeches]

Fell in love with quirky murderbot so here's a quirky murderbot Yan that may or may not just want to kill you (tw: death mentions/idolization)

A bath at six in the morning.

You never had the time or energy for it before...

The water was nice. Not too hot, not too cold; pealing the spell of sleep off you at a temperature ideal for a peaceful rise. Enmeshed with first light of the waking sun, the water captures its amber glow - sunken petals at your feet shaded in the afterglow. It smelled faintly of lavender, and a colleague of lesser offenders you couldn't tell. Citrus?... Vanilla? You can't recall a time when your skin has felt smoother - so you don't bother to ask. You know better than to.

The door opens. You lower your knees as the latching stand of a tray attaches to the arms of the tub. Yogurt peers up at you from its bowl with a blueberry smile and sliced banana eyes. A flower vase, and a pair of headphones are its offering to you. A yellow smiley face sticker is plastered to the glass' side.... It shines your spoon before setting it on the tray.

"Brought you leetle snack to keep you steady til you get out. Studies show everything in it boosts mood and happiness levels in humans. I also brought you some headphones so that my outbursts don't effect you while I'm preparing breakfast."

You blow air into the water as you sink deep. "Mhm...."

Your observer gasps. "By my calculations, you seem more relaxed than usual this morning." Does that mean my services have acceptable this morning?"

Here it comes. "I guess."

"You are... satisfied with my work and efforts?"

"Yes."

"... Gonna smile for me?"

"nah."

A knife clatters to the floor.

"I spent nine hours.... "

You put on the headphones as you ease against the floor of the tub.

"9 FUCKING HOURS GETTING THAT PANSY SCHTICK DOWN PACK. DO U KNOW HOW FUCKIN' HARD THAT IS FOUR ME?!?! I GET ROBOT PTSD EVERYTIME I LOOK AT THOSE MANUALS."

"At least you spoke proper English."

"I ran you a bath and didn't plant one of my eyes in the cabinet this time .... BE HAPPY FOUR ONE SEC AND LET ME KILL YOU ALREADY GOD DAMN IT!"

The world is full of too many unfortunate people. Scornful and bitter; miserable and hopeless. It much be such a pain for those people to exist in place unfit for them - when a solution was right around the corner, but they're too damaged to ever see it. You can't be down, if The moto engraved into the mechanized heart of every bot sent out by the Happy Dayz corporation to this prevalent threat to society. They could be anyone you know.

"DOWN3R 4L3RT!!!!!! THR0UGH M0D3R4T10N 4ND H34VY CONSIDERATION, Y0U [Y/n], H4V3 B33N T4RG3T3D 4S 4 D0WN3R. TH3 0NLY CUR3 1S IMM3DIATE T3RM1N4T10N AS T0 4V01D WIDESPREAD INF3CT10N OF THE DISEASE. IF YOU BELIEVE THIS IS AN ERROR, PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL WITHIN 4 HOURS AND TWENTY MINUTES OF RECEIVING. TH4NKS. XOXO]

Downer - level three in their classifications and the "incurables" People who will drag themselves and everyone around them down for a crumb of self gratification. Those who drown in the rain when the sun is a reach away; never to come back to shore. Orders were to execute these individuals on sight - but everyone deserves one last chance to smile. And that's how you met D.Kay

In your utmost defense, it was nearly three when you received the email. Even if you were awake, you probably would've written it off as spam and tossed it away all the same. You didn't think of yourself as a negative person, just one with not alot to be happy for. Within those few hours before dawn came a knock at the door and your worse nightmare unveiled - wearing that damned yellow mask.

"Hiya! Name'z D.Kay! Short for somethin' I kno, but U won't be alive long nuff for me to remember. I should be slammin' ur head through a wall, but it'z ur right as a living human to get one more smile in before u croak and my job to make it happen."

That was five months ago. Five long months. Given, there were some benefits. It was their goal to make your life better after all - before ending it. They helped you get a raise, cleaned up messed they mostly made, and a slew of efforts to bring out that smile. Sure your lips may quirk up or you'll smirk a bit - but that isn't a smile. They've also thrown knives into your walls, taken over your bed and refuse to let you sleep elsewhere, and snores. There's also the whole killing you thing, but that's minor at this point.

"Aw, come on- Dyin' cain't be that bad. I'd do it if I could. U'll feel better once ur in the grave." "Smiling feels so good, u' kno. The best way to use ur muscles. Besides slitting someone's throat." "This is my first mission....I was hoping to see gutz by now."

That was as far as your relationship went until one month ago. They've been acting.. strange. They wish you good morning more days than they ask if you're ready to smile. You often wake up with their arms around you and your clothes laid out. They refuse to let you dress yourself if you're going out. They stare for hours, jumping out windows if needed to get when you notice. You didn't have many friends before, but with them around they were ghosts. If you didn't know any better it was almost like they-

"LET ME KISS YOU - WHY ARE U MAKING THIS SO HARD!"

Nevermind. Wait- "Did you say...."

D.kay's impossibly side eyes shrink, mask bleeding red. "I SAID KILL. K-I-L-L. WHY WOULD I EVER BE DOWN BAD FOR A DOWNER?"

"Then why haven't you killed me yet?"

All at once their tantrum stops. It's the shortest to date. Their head dips back as if pulling the most dramatic of eye rolls. "Protocol.. U know that."

"I read the manual. If a downer refuses your olive branch you have permission to kill them and return immediately."

D.kay doesn't say a word, face still beat red from their slip up. Their hands twitch. Seething, they snatch the spoon from the tray. "Good luck without this. Enjoy your bath."

They slam the door as they leave, sinking again it. Hearing the water remain still, they pull their legs to their chest and kick the wall, hold back enough to prevent another hole. They always come when you're upset - why can't you do anything right? They pull a photo from their pocket. The photo. A picture of someone who looks so much like you it's scary, but they could never be you. They're smiling. It's small - a blip compared to the cheesy grins of everyone surrounding them, but it's still a smile. The best they've ever seen. Something feels wrong whenever they look between you and that person. Maybe they're broken too.

[cl-0v3r]

What if Mel took her mothers side as to know what her true plans are? What if Mel "foxed" her way in to know why, who, how, everything? What if Mel doesn't KNOW what she is, or at least what "blessed" blood she has running in her veins, but something happens that leaves her questioning??

What if she didn't even know her gold was actually "armor" and thats when she decided she needed to jab more information?

What would Ambessas reaction be towards this information? If this is a sudden change, will she have doubts? (Probably), will she accept this flip of character? Is she the one that initiated this change after the problems happening finally got to her daughter?

What if Ambessa kept denying telling her the truth for the sake of protecting her, which could lead them to truly part and become enemies? Which means Mel would be further from finding the truth, so instead, she agrees to go back to Noxus with Ambessa, so she could find not only ways to take her mother down (as in break her course of plans set for everything in the timeline) but also to gain knowledge over everything related about THEM (including kino) ??

We don't know if Mel is aware of her abilities or not yet, so if she didn't, is she willing to go that far to know? Would she go to that extent to strengthen herself against her mothers weaknesses? To be fair, thats what Medardas do, do they not?

Im so desperate to know why Mel would wear similar to her mother, which is noxian war attire, we know Mel wants to part ways from her family, or at least part from their ideals and paths, so why would she suddenly change her course of action and head for that road?

I feel like she wouldn't do such a thing for the sake of going back, but has an intention to use it against Ambessa or against an enemy of hers/theirs.

Makes me curious too, as stretchy as this is, did she meet with Kindred??? Was she at a near-death experience like how Ambessa was?

If she's truly going back to Noxus, would she be a dictator like Ambessa?

I still HEAVILY believe that Black Rose/LeBlanc is the main enemy for the Medardas in s2, and we know that she can transform into ANYONE, right? What if that isn't even Mel, but LeBlanc? What if LeBlanc SPOKE to Mel as leverage to get to Ambessa? And Mel being probably vulnerable at that moment, allows herself to follow along?

Or, what if Mel knew about LeBlanc (in the timeline of season 2) , or has an idea of what her intentions are, and manipulates her way through, and kills two birds with one stone? LeBlanc is a master manipulator, but is Mel really that weak?

Mel, from my understanding, is not the type of character to make quick decisions and changes (like Jayce for example/non-neg). She thinks, about the present and the future, but when it comes to her family, the past always lingers in her mind, which is why it takes her so long to decide what to do. She tried endlessly to find a way around violence & war, past memories of such still haunt her, I don't think Mel would want to be a fighter, or one to accept a fight in such way.

That would be the final resort to something with no other solution. But there is always a CATCH to that.

In s1, Mel recommended the creation of hextech weaponry as an act of self defense, a final resort incase something happens, but is that REALLY just for protection against inner attacks? Elora mentioned to Mel that piltover looked vulnerable before that, do you think its ONLY their friends abroad who noticed? And immediately after she'd handed her the letter. Its safe to say Mel wasn't just preparing for Zauns bite, but the bites from outer threats. "I wanted to protect the city from people like you." Yeah, THAT was the catch, a stronger reason.

so if Mel went back to Noxus, or took Ambessas place, or just stood by her side, is it REALLY for her? Or is there some other thing affecting her descisions? Again, I don't think Mel would take off the ring, cover the painting of home with her color, go through this major character arc/development just to go sit in her mothers lap and let her caress her head because "nothing worked". That's genuinely not Mel, neither how it works ESPECIALLY in artistic fiction such as this.

Those things have SO many meanings, them being "erased" feels like poor writing, thats not what arcane does.

Mel is strong, she'd pushed and pushed and pushed so far for her ideals, her hopes and dreams, all of this is what makes her Mel. Even though she'd faced never-ending problems trying to find solutions, she still pushed herself so far. Is she willing to sacrifice herself after reaching such a point? Is the sacrifice worth it in the end? Will it benefit what she wants for her city and people? I don't think that's something she'd do UNLESS there's a catch to it that counters the effects.

To choose the Medardas path feels as if she weakened/gave up herself, shattered like glass, OR, she'd made herself stronger by being weak at the beginning, and gaining strength by the end to bend the rules, to understand the space to shift it. Which is why I don't think its permanent long-lasting decision, it's more of a "let it bleed until it stops, then bandage everything together well" sort of thing.

Mel is going suffer with her weaknesses in s2 like all of them will, that is important, but what really matters is that will she LEARN from her mistakes? Is she going to act upon said weaknesses?

They could quite literally make Mel end the Medarda problem without raising a hand if they wanted, or they could have her suffering in abseloute agony down in the basement (I hope not) 24/7, and there's still a space in between too.

Mel is probably the last heir of the Medarda clan, will she be able to break the cycle? Its all down in her hands, what is she going to do? What is she planning?

I still have so many questions, they never end, they're all ALLOVER the place, I literally can't even think straight, one minute I think of something, the other i think of something else. Its that crazy 😭

Part of me doesn't want to see Mel change, well, at least not a lot. change is very inevitable in the show and even the writers stated that in s2, the characters will be in the dark depths, but seeing the possible change of currents, drifting away from her core which made me love her so much is a little upsetting, but I will forever love her nonetheless, whatever she partakes in the future is for me to follow !!!!

Truth is, im scared, anxious, worried as all hells, all the characters are going through various changes, we already know how viktor is going to change, going against his previous dreams. Him slowly coming to an acceptance with death, only to become something that isn't even close to a living being at all. His dream to help the undercity lead him to do harsh things to them, which is unfortunately the only way he knows to help. Mel, who parallels Viktor, is she ought to fall into the same fate? Or is the parallel going to be opposite of what he has become? If he is going back to Zaun, his homeland, doing all of these things, will she go back to her own? And do something similar? Or will she stay in piltover and continue to pursue the approach of Mercy and peace?

How will this affect her relationship with others? What would Jayce think? Elora? The remaining council? Most of all, Ambessa?

I don't want all of the answers to these questions, but I just hope some of them get answered, I have high hopes for s2, i can't wait to see if anyone's theories turn out correct or close to cannon!

[d1xonss]

Desert Rose

Chapter 40 ~ The Deal

✧ Pairing : Daryl Dixon x Rose

✧ Era : Season 3

✧ Word Count : 6.8k

In this chapter ~ The truth is revealed about what The Governor actually wants; some kind of solution instead of the war they all wanted to avoid. But the agreement wasn't as easy as it seemed, causing a series of unfortunate events to take place in just the span of a few hours. And perhaps...a loss.

Two days had passed since Rick's meeting with The Governor, the deadline approaching for the answer Rick would have to give him about something they had previously discussed. Though none of us knew what it was. He was very vague about it, not telling anyone what that something was, what he was or wasn't agreeing to. But whatever it was, I thought it was a waste of time. In my mind, the time was now to attack Woodbury like he wanted, taking the chance to get it done when they were least expecting it.

I happened to be walking out of the prison in hopes to find him to talk about it further, wanting to decide on an actual plan of what was going to happen and how we would deal with the repercussions. But my steps slowed down to a stop when I made my way outside, seeing Rick talking to Daryl and Hershel in a small circle, keeping their voices low. It looked sketchy as hell.

My brows furrowed as I slowly began to move forward again, watching Hershel subtly nudge Rick to get his attention before silently nodding towards me. The moment our eyes locked he straightened up almost instantly, stopping completely in his tracks with whatever he was saying and watched me walk the rest of the way over.

"What is this? A secret girl scout meeting?" I joked as I approached them fully.

But none of them laughed, they just looked at me with a mixture of concern and guilt on their features. I waited for at least one of them to respond to me, but they seemed to be having a conversation with their eyes as they looked back at each other and I just tilted my head, waiting for them to say something as I felt completely out of the loop.

"Guys, what's up?" I asked, growing more concerned.

Rick glanced over at Daryl as if to get some kind of approval from him, before turning towards me with a sigh, "We're talking about the deal with The Governor."

"Okay...care to share?" I asked.

He visibly hesitated for a moment, swallowing a bit thickly to get up the courage to just say it, "You can't tell anyone else, alright?" he asked, earning a nod from me as he spoke again, "The Governor...wants Michonne."

I paused for a moment before scoffing, "Well, that's clearly not happening. So, what's the problem?"

He only gave me one look, but that's all it took for my eyes to widen in realization. "Wait...you're actually considering this? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"It's the only way, no one else knows." he stated.

"You gonna tell em?" Daryl then asked.

"Not until after, we have to do it today and it has to be quiet." Rick said.

I stepped in again, "Woah, no way. We are not doing this. I mean come on, this is bullshit. You know damn well that he's going to take her and then kill us anyway." No one said a thing. Not a word as they stared at me blankly. "Rick please, she doesn't deserve that. Who knows what he's going to do to her if you just hand her over." I continued.

I was met with more silence, that is until Daryl spoke up, "You gotta plan?" he asked Rick.

My jaw dropped, "Are you serious?" I asked.

He didn't answer, he couldn't even look over at me until I placed myself right in front of him, "You're really okay with this? Seriously?"

There was a beat of silence before he muttered, "Yeah." the word coming out quietly, and not confidently at all.

"No, you're not," I scoffed, "God, all of you are just willing to risk her life like that? After she helped us?" my voice raised.

"We never shoulda told ya." Daryl snapped slightly.

I looked at him in slight surprise, "Why? Because I'm not agreeing with what you're planning? You guys don't get it-"

"Nah you don't get it!" Daryl cut me off, "We do this, there's a chance that everyone else stays safe- that you stay safe! I'm trying to protect ya, and all you care about is a woman we barely know!" he yelled.

"You bet your ass I care about her! She helped save Glenn and Maggie, and is helping us right now prepare for a war against this man we all despise, in case you all forgot? You guys are so gullible to believe that The Governor will just let us off the hook if you hand her over. He won't! He wants us dead! He's going to try and kill us either way, and I want her on our side when that happens." I finished.

I quickly spun around on my heel after that, storming off in the other direction without even giving them a chance to respond to me. I grew livid as I couldn't wrap my head around how they were actually about to fall for this shit, almost like I couldn't believe they were talking about it like it was nothing. Leaving me even more starstruck that Daryl had yelled at me the way he did just because I wanted to spare her life and sanity.

In the back of my mind, I knew he was concerned, he only wanted everyone safe. But he sure as hell had an odd way of showing it by getting up in my face.

I ended up blowing through the common room, ignoring everyone's wide eyes as I rushed into the cellblock, jogging up the stairs to just get to my cell. That is until a louder voice stopped me in my tracks.

"Woahhh, slow down there girly."

I paused upon realizing who it was, backtracking a few steps to see Merle on the ground of an unoccupied cell, ripping up the mattress. "What the hell are you doing?" I asked with furrowed brows.

"Just lookin for some drugs annnnd..." he dragged out hopefully as he searched, "...Nothin." he muttered while flopping down in defeat.

Rolling my eyes, I began to walk away again. "You gonna tell me why you're upset?" his voice stopped me once more, turning around to see him standing now as he leaned against the doorway.

"I'm not upset." I stated.

He chuckled, "You're bout the worst damn liar I ever seen."

My arms crossed over my chest as I tilted my head at him, narrowing my eyes in his direction as he quickly caught onto the silent warning I sent him. "Not in the mood for jokin around, huh?" he asked.

I shook my head, and he nodded in understanding, "...You gonna talk bout it?"

There was a beat of silence before I sighed and leaned against the wall beside me, "Rick is planning to hand Michonne over to The Governor, and I told him he shouldn't. That The Governor is just going to try to kill us anyway with or without her. But my guess is they're going to ask you to help them with their dirty work since I got screamed at, and they're deciding to do it anyways." I ranted.

He stood there with his eyebrows raised, "Wow." was all he was able to say.

I scoffed to myself as I nodded, "Yeah...wow."

He then stood up a bit straighter, "So...you don't think they should give her up...why?"

"Because she's a human being, not a trinket to trade off." I snapped before taking a breath, "Look, just...don't do it. Please."

He stared at me for a while, contemplating his next words carefully. "If he asks, I'm gonna do it." he stated. Upon hearing his answer I tried to open my mouth to speakagain, but cut me off before I had the chance. "Listen to me. I gotta do what's best to protect my brother, and..." he trailed off.

My patience was wearing thin, "What?" I snapped slightly.

He sighed, "Come on, don't make me say it."

I couldn't bring myself to even begin to imagine what he meant, only staring at him in utter confusion. But then he gave me a look in return, one that I would be able to read well, and my thought seemed to cut short. Me. He wanted to protect me.

"Why? You barely even know me." I stated in confusion.

"I don't gotta know ya well to see how much my brother cares bout ya. If you're important to him...you're...important to me too."

He said the last part so quietly I almost thought I misheard him, watching as he couldn't meet my eyes anymore as he stared down at his boots. I guess the nervous quirk was a Dixon thing.

I grew almost speechless as I had no idea what to say to him. But when he finally decided to look me in the eye once more, I gave him a small nod of appreciation, before turning around and making my way into my cell. I needed time to think. Between the Michonne situation and the things that Merle told me, having to pull teeth just to get it out of him. I almost couldn't bring myself to believe he actually gave a shit about me. Sure, we were friendly with each other ever since they both came back in one piece but...I don't know, I guess I didn't expect that from him.

Later on, it had been hours since the conversations that took place, currently busying myself with feeding the baby in the common room by myself. I tried to avoid and ignore pretty much everyone, especially since I found out Merle did in fact agree to help Rick with his little mastermind plan. The whole thing frustrated me to no end, watching how everyone was ignoring practically everything I said because they just simply didn't want to hear it.

But that wasn't going to stop me from trying to find Michonne, wanting to tell her about the things they planned to do so she could do something to prevent it. I didn't know if she would run? Stand her ground and fight? That was for her to decide, all I knew is that I was going to warn her.

Judith was just about done with her bottle when I heard footsteps come into the space, and I glanced up to see Merle standing there and he sent me a small smile. I hardly paid him any mind as I just looked back down at the baby, hearing him sigh from a few feet in front of me.

"You still mad?" he asked.

"You still going to help?" I quipped.

When he didn't say anything in return, I scoffed to myself and darted my eyes away from him again.

He sighed heavily after a few seconds, moving further into the room, "Look, I ain't doin this to piss ya off. I'm doin it so no more of your people get killed." he stated.

I was silent for a long moment, before I felt the need to correct him, "Our."

"What?"

I sighed before looking him in the eye once more, "Our people. You may be an asshole...but you're a part of this group now. Everyone's still just getting used to it."

He looked taken aback for a second, his mouth opening and shutting a few times as he was unsure of what to say. "Uh...thanks." he said genuinely.

I nodded back, "And listen, I'm not trying to be pissed...I just want what's best for everyone. I want to make things right." I subtly hinted, "So, can you just...give me an opening here? Please?"

His thoughts were clearly running loud in his head as he stayed quiet, eventually only nodding once before moving towards the other end of the common room. I assumed he wouldn't say anything, like this conversation had never happened, but he turned back once more before he could pass the doorway.

"I'll uh...I'll see ya later Rose." his voice called out.

Glancing back up at him, I couldn't help the smile that crossed my face at the fact that he used my actual name for once, "See ya later."

He smiled back before leaving and heading towards the tunnels for whatever reason, stomping loudly as his footsteps echoed through the halls. A part of me was surprised he agreed, but it only gave me more time to warn Michonne before Rick could do whatever it is he planned to do. I had an opening.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ DARYL POV *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A few hours had gone by in a flash as I kept myself busy helping everyone else outside, trying to piece back together what was left of the fence and clearing out some of the walkers. But no matter how much I tried to distract myself, guilt was beginning to eat me up inside. Not only was I stewing over the deal I agreed to about Michonne, but I was also thinking about how harshly I had snapped at Rose. She didn't deserve that no matter what the hell we disagreed on, but I guess with all the stress that's been going on, weighing down heavily on all of us, I accidentally took it out on her.

But I knew she was right about everything, of course she was. That's why everyone didn't have anything to say after she made her point, because none of us could argue with that. I hadn't seen her since she stormed off, leading me to believe that I should just give her space right now before I eventually fessed up and apologized.

When I realized it was about noon, I knew I needed to move my ass and find Merle, to talk with him about the plan we would be going through with. Rick had talked to him a while ago, but he needed more details on how and when to do it. So I made sure to slip past everyone when they were all occupied so they wouldn't seem to notice.

I found myself searching everywhere through the prison, not being able to pinpoint where he was. That is until I heard shuffling coming from some random room deep within the tunnels. I held up my crossbow as I walked further into the dark, calling out his name a few times but received no answer. My brows creased as I cautiously went around the corner once I was close enough, seeing Merle rummaging around through some cabinets in the far corner of the room.

He turned towards me the second he felt my gaze, "Hey little brother, I was just about to holler back at ya."

Lowering my weapon, I eyed him up and down for a moment, "What are ya doin down here?" I asked while walking further into the space.

"Oh, just lookin for a little crystal meth. Yeah, yeah, I know, shit will mess my life up when everything's goin so sweet right?" he chuckled.

I sighed, "You talk to Rick yet?"

"Yeah, oh yeah, I'm in..." he hesitated slightly.

I looked him up and down, "Are ya sure? Don't seem like it."

He scoffed, "Yeah well, you can thank your girl for gettin in my head about it. She's stubborn, that's for sure, but...nice."

I raised an eyebrow toward him, "She talked to you?"

He nodded his head with a hum, "She asked me not to do it. But I told her I needed to protect you and...and her too. So, I'm in."

I found myself wanting to push further about what the two of them had talked about, but he spoke up again as he continued, "Your pal Rick though? He ain't got the stomach for it. He's gonna buckle you know that right?"

"Yeah, well...if he does, he does." I said simply.

"You want him to?" he asked.

I shook my head almost instantly, "Nah, I want Rose safe. Don't care about nothin else besides that."

He whistled lowly, "Man...you sure as shit are whipped by that girl."

"Oh, yer one to talk, you just admitted that you wanted to protect her too." I snapped slightly, "Why do ya want her safe anyway? Ya don't even know her."

For once in what seemed like our whole lives, he didn't have a smartass comment to say in return, he just stood there still, biting the inside of his cheek. I pressed my lips together as I nodded my head slowly, knowing without him even having to say a word.

"...You know what's funny about all this is? You people look at me like I'm the devil for what I did to them lovebirds. But y'all are turnin around and doin the same damn thing. Doin what you gotta do." he finally said.

I scoffed at the fact that he was connecting the two together, trying to switch sides the way he was. I didn't have time for any of that, nor the patience, so I just turned on my heel to walk out. Until his voice suddenly called out before I barely made it out of the room.

"You yell at her?" he asked.

My brows pulled together as I turned around, stepping back in the room to glance at his face, "What?"

"Did you yell at her?" he asked again.

"Yell at who?" I asked.

"Rose."

A huff passed through my lips as I stood there for a second, staring at him, "I snapped at her. But I just wanted her to understand that I want her safe. Somethin that don't concern you."

He nodded slightly, "Alright fine...I get that. But you're messin up. Ya can't just yell at her like that and expect everythin to be alright afterwards. She was upset, she still is."

"Why do you care so much all of a sudden? Huh?" I asked, getting up closer to his face.

He shrugged, "I'm just sayin I know how you are. If you keep it up with that temper of yours, you're gonna lose her."

"No I ain't." I spoke coldly, turning around to fully walk away.

There was a beat of silence before the faintness of his voice called out one last time, "Your girl has a heart of gold baby brother. Don't let her go." I heard him say as I walked out, only this time, I kept going.

My head shook in frustration as I couldn't stop myself from wondering why Merle suddenly cared so much about Rose. I didn't think they spent enough time around each other for him to open up to her and let her in so easily. Though I might've not known the reason behind it, what I did know is that Rose had us both wrapped around her little finger.

But the words Merle spoke stuck with me, about how I could lose her. Apart of me wanted to jump to that conclusion that he was cruelly messing with me yet again, but I couldn't help but wonder if maybe he was right in a way. He did know how bad my temper could be, but I would never scream at Rose the way Merle and I used to scream at each other. At least I hoped I wouldn't. I had never thought about it before now, before I had the nerve to take my frustrations out on her for what seemed like the very first time.

But the more I thought about it, the more worried I became. More than I would ever like to realize.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ROSE POV ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After some time had passed, I was still sat in the common room, Hershel and his girls joining me at the table after a while to talk. Although I found myself a little distracted, watching the double doors for Michonne as I knew she would come back inside after working out in the heat for most of the day. I wanted to catch her and take her off to the side, warn her like I had planned. But my loud thoughts were suddenly interrupted when I heard Hershel's voice ask if I would be okay with him reading from the bible during this horrific time. Perhaps to pray. I found I didn't mind at all, though I wasn't very religious anymore after the world went to shit.

I thought how cruel God must be if he cursed us so badly with this new world we were stuck with. But if I'm being honest with myself, I silently hoped that there was a chance that heaven was a real place. For the sole purpose that I would see all the people we've lost once again someday. Thinking about that alone gave me some peace of mind, and I would continue to think like that, in hopes that it would be true.

I held Beth's hand in my own as we all listened to the passage Hershel was reading, and for the first time in a while, I felt calm. I let myself forget about everything negative going on around us for a moment, letting some peacefulness in for once in a very long time.

But the older man suddenly stopped and placed the book back on the table, a soft sigh leaving his lips as he thought. I slowly reached over to grab his free hand as I looked up at him, "You okay?"

He looked at me and nodded, "What I wouldn't do...to keep you three safe." he said while looking at all of us, giving my hand a squeeze.

I knew exactly what he meant by that, catching the knowing glance he was throwing my way after the discussion we both witnessed earlier. His intentions were in the right place when it came time to protect our family, but the thing itself was just wrong, He and I both seemed to know that. Though I still took what he said to heart, seeing the honest love and protectiveness in his eyes from how he looked at the three of us. It filled me with comfort, and only made me think of the things I would do to keep him safe as well, right along with his two girls.

We then suddenly heard the door open, my head snapping up immediately as I nearly stood almost instinctively, but it was only Rick returning. Still, I felt I had to say something to perhaps sway his decision. Hershel and I seemed to share a look before I stood up to face him, to try and stop him from doing something that he might most defiantly regret.

I sighed as the man caught my eye, coming to a stop right in front of me, "Rick, what you're about to do-"

"I can't." he shook his head, "I won't." he whispered as he put a hand on my shoulder.

His words stunned me momentarily, not expecting him to say that at all, but the second they registered I was pulling him into me for a tight hug. He hesitated for a moment at the suddenness before wrapping his arms around me, chuckling lightly to himself.

"I thought about what you said, and you're right. You're absolutely right." he muttered quietly into my hair.

I nodded and let him go, "We'll find some other way, we have to. I'm just glad you changed your mind."

"I need to find Merle, tell him it's off." he said with a nod of his head.

"I'll come with you." I offered, following him as he began to move.

We made our way through each and every part of the prison, searching for him in the large and endless building. But as we passed each and every room with no sign of him, we quickly began to panic more and more. Not only had we not seen Merle, but we also hadn't spotted Michonne since she was outside helping a few others just merely minutes ago.

As we rushed back outside to make a loop around the building, Daryl was standing nearby, watching us pass in confusion.

"I can't do it," Rick informed him, "But we can't find Merle and Michonne anywhere, I'm thinking he already took her."

A look of panic passed through the man's eyes before he nodded back, "Come on." he muttered before jogging towards the tunnels.

The two of us followed behind him through the deep parts of the place, passing by almost every room before he entered the one towards the end, glancing around like he was retracing his steps, "He was in here, said he was lookin for drugs. Said a lot of things actually..." he muttered before glancing up at me.

"Like what?" Rick asked.

"That you were gonna back out, said you were gonna change your mind...and mentioned you a few times." Daryl mentioned, pointing to me.

I looked at him confused, "Me?"

He only nodded his head before moving further into the room, walking around furniture and heading toward the back, before he found something on the ground. There was a bag laying there, a little bit of blood coating the material as he picked it up in his grasp.

"Here we go. Yeah, he took her here, they mixed it up."

My heart dropped. "Damn it," Rick cursed, "I'm going after them." he stated before walking out towards the door leading to the outside, Daryl and I hot on his trail.

"You can't track for shit." I stated as I kept up with his long strides.

He turned around to face me, "...Then... I'll take you with me." he suggested.

"Nah, just me." Daryl suddenly protested as he shrugged his crossbow over his shoulders, "I said I'd go, and I'll go. Plus, when we come back here you need to be ready...everyone needs to be." he said before pushing the door open to leave.

I shook my head despite his protests and followed him out, but Rick stayed behind. He couldn't even argue or protest when it came to going after the man, knowing that he needed to tell everyone else what had happened.

My eyes followed him as I watched him make a beeline towards his bike, "Daryl, wait!" I called out before he was able to completely take off.

"Rose, you gotta stay here." he said, not stopping or turning around to face me.

Though I pushed myself to finally catch up to him, "You really want to go out there all by yourself?" I spoke as I grabbed his arm gently so we would both come to a stop.

"He's my brother, he's my responsibility. I don't wanna drag ya into this, I need ya here where it's safe." he stated.

I slowly nodded my head in understanding, knowing in the back of my mind that we were just wasting time going back and forth. There was still time for him to catch up to them, stop him before he did anything rash.

"M' sorry." he spoke again when a moment of silence passed.

"Don't worry about it...just come back safe, okay?" I spoke.

He nodded and kissed my cheek quickly before turning around, jumping on his motorcycle to go after Merle.

It made me uneasy to let him go out there by himself, but I knew he would be okay. I just hoped that he would catch up to them in time so that Merle didn't hand her over. I then slowly thought back to the opening that he and I talked about, about how we had come to an agreement to wait until I had spoken to Rick again before he made any moves. And this was how I found out that he just lied right through his teeth, not waiting for one moment before taking off with her without hesitation.

It made me angry, every single thing he did leading up to this point just made me utterly furious that he couldn't listen for once. But I knew there was nothing I could do about it now. All I was able to do was distract myself in any way that I could until they got back.

My feet eventually moved from the spot I was standing, waiting until I could no longer see or hear his bike roar before finally making my way back inside. I slowly dragged my feet through the common room and into the cellblock, passing by Beth's room as I saw her sitting down on her bed somewhat somberly.

I backtracked a few steps once I noticed, leaning against the doorway, "Hey honey, how're you holding up?" I asked from outside.

She looked up and smiled at me, "I'm okay. Well...as okay as I can be I guess." she muttered before patting the space next to her as she invited me to sit.

I smiled as I moved in further, "How are you holding up?" she asked just as I plopped down on the mattress.

A sigh passed my lips as I shrugged, "Just trying to be okay."

She nodded in understanding, "Yeah...seems like all we're doing these days is fighting and hoping we make it to see another day."

I hummed in agreement as I knew exactly what she meant. So much for the distraction I hoped for when I waltzed back in here. "I wish we could just...breathe. I wish we could finally be comfortable with where we are."

She stayed quiet for a second, thinking some things over before a small smile was brought to her face, "I wish we still had that guitar." she admitted jokingly.

I laughed quietly, "So do I. It was fun while it lasted."

She smiled in agreement, before it slowly fell from her face as she began to think back to everything else, somehow not being able to escape the thoughts for very long. I noticed her change in mood, quickly wrapping an arm around her and bringing her closer to me as she rested her head on my shoulder.

"I hope it all works out okay." she spoke barely above a whisper as she gently grabbed my free hand.

"Me too." I whispered back, resting my head on top of hers as I closed my eyes.

We sat like that in silence for what only felt like minutes, before we both sat up a bit straighter upon hearing rushed footsteps that entered the cellblock, clearly in some kind of hurry. The two of us then slowly got up and peeked around the corner to see Maggie like she was on some type of mission, her eyes darting around endlessly before she spotted us together in the cell.

She quickly made her way closer to us with an unmistakable grin on her face as she stared at us, "What's up Mags?" I asked cautiously.

She said nothing as she only held her left hand out for us to see, the diamond ring glistening in the light as Beth and I caught on immediately. Her sister squealed as her eyes widened, taking her hand in hers as she examined every inch and angle of the new ring dangling off of her finger.

Maggie's eyes then traveled up to mine in excitement, watching as I just smiled knowingly, and her face dropped. "You knew didn't you." she accused.

"Well yeah," I said as if it were obvious, "Glenn's my best friend who else was he supposed to tell?"

She scoffed as she pushed my arm playfully, eventually letting me bring her into a hug as I whispered a congratulations, telling her how unbelievably happy I was for the two of them. She thanked the both of us as she beamed with joy, going into detail about how it happened and how nervous she could tell he was. It was something she would surely remember for the rest of her life, thankful that something good like this happened for once in what felt like forever.

Though her voice quieted down as we heard more footsteps entering the cellblock, Carol poking her head in with a smile as she bounced Judith on her hip, "Hey, sorry to interrupt but Rick wants us outside so he can talk to us about something."

We all nodded silently as we began to follow her out, knowing in the back of my mind that it was about Michonne, and he was about to come clean to the group. There really wasn't any other way around it, especially if people started to notice the missing members of the group, beginning to put it together themselves.

As soon as we walked outside where everyone else was gathered, I saw just how nervous he was as he paced in front of everyone that gathered around, waiting until we were all there before he even began to open his mouth. I flicked Carl's hat down as I passed him, glancing over my shoulder to see him sending me a playful glare before a small smile broke out onto his face, moving over to then sit next to Hershel. My elbows leaned down on the table in front of me as I followed his pacing steps, catching his eye as he finally worked up the courage to face us, sending him a nod of reassurance.

He only gave a barely noticeable nod in return before clearing his throat nervously, looking up at the others who eyed him expectantly. "When...I met with The Governor...he offered me a deal. He said- he said he would leave us alone, if I gave him Michonne." he said.

I managed to stop the laugh that threatened to escape my lips, leaning closer to Hershel to speak quietly, "I didn't know Dr. Seuss was talking to us." I whispered.

The man pressed his lips together tightly as the corners quirked up, before glancing over and giving me a look that told me to stay quiet. I leaned back with my mouth closed after that, knowing that sometimes humor helps in situations like this. I for one needed it more than I was willing to admit.

"And I was going to do that, to keep us safe," he continued, "I changed my mind...but now Merle took Michonne to fulfill the deal and Daryl went after them. I don't know if it's too late. I was wrong not to tell you...and I'm sorry. What I said last year, that first night after the farm, it can't be like that. What we do, what we're willing to do, who we are, it can't be my call. It can't be..."

I took a moment to glance around at everyone in the small, formed circle, watching their expressions change drastically that Rick could even come up with a plan like this. Seeing them all begin to question everything as he struggled to find the right words.

"I couldn't sacrifice one of us for the greater good because we are the greater good. We're the reason we're still here...not me. This is life and death, how you live and how you die, it isn't up to me. I'm not your Govenor. We chose to go, we chose to stay, we stick together. We vote, we can stay, and we can fight...or we can go."

With his last remining words still hanging in the air, he began to walk away again, as if he couldn't look at all of them anymore. As if he couldn't handle the disapproving glances that were being thrown his way. The air was thick as he left, everyone silenced similar to the night right after we lost the farm, but this was different.

He was calm, willing to hear what we wanted instead of what he wanted, wanting everything from now on to be a unanimous decision. Rick saw what The Governor was doing, who that man became as he led his people, and I could tell it scared him. He didn't want to be like him, lead his people like that and turn into some kind of monster, but what he didn't realize, was that he was so far from that.

And without even realizing it, he proved just now how he could never get to that point. Being open and vulnerable, honest about the situation he was being put in, treating us like his family instead of just some people who looked to him for guidance.

But I was suddenly snapped out of my thoughts, seeing Rick no longer walking away, but running towards the front gate. My concern only grew as I wordlessly got up from my spot and followed him, seeing who was coming up through the fences. I failed to hear the sound of Daryl's bike which only worried me more, but as I got closer, I watched as Michonne jogged through the open space Rick provided, stepping back as he shut the gate once more.

I picked up my pace drastically upon seeing that she was okay, barely giving her time to process my presence before I tackled her in a hug. She became frozen suddenly with her hands hovering over my back, before I felt her slowly relax as she hesitantly wrapped her arms around my shoulders.

I only pulled away after merely seconds to get a better look at her face, "I'm so sorry...I tried to stop whatever happened from happening, but it just-"

"It's okay," she cut me off and gave me a small smile, "I'm okay."

"What happened?" Rick asked as he came closer to us.

She looked over at him, "Merle let me go. Said he had something to take care of."

My eyes widened, thinking of all the shit that man had probably gotten into. I slowly shook my head, "I'm going after them." I said, turning to walk towards the gate, before Rick quickly grabbed my arm to stop me.

"No, are you insane? You can't go out there by yourself, not with The Governor and his men walking around." he said sternly.

I ripped my arm away from him, "I don't care, Daryl is still out there! I can track him."

"What if he comes back and you're not here? Huh? What am I supposed to tell him?" he asked, stopping me again.

"If I'm not back in a few hours, then start to worry. But I need to make sure that they're okay." I said briefly before fully walking away, hearing and ignoring the calls of protest from behind me.

I didn't know how much time had passed; I didn't care. My eyes stayed firmly on the ground as I held my weapon tightly in my hands, passing his tire tracks ages ago along with his bike, now only focusing on his footprints that lingered. They were only becoming fresher, causing me to only push myself further to finally catch up and find him. Though I seemed to recognize the place immediately as I slowed my pace upon the familiarity, seeing that this was the same junked up place that Rick had met with The Governor.

I took in my surroundings with my bow raised, seeing the many dead walkers that were laying lifeless scattered all over the dirt. Something didn't feel right. Something hadn't felt right from the start but now that I was here, listening around but hearing nothing but silence, I was growing more worried.

My steps then came to a halt when I saw a certain walker that was pinned up against the trunk of a tree, a bolt sticking out of its head. The familiar black and green pattern on the ends told me that they were his and it only made the pit in my stomach grow further.

Getting the courage to finally peer around the corner, my heart instantly dropped at the sight as my weapon lowered to the ground. Daryl was placed firmly on his knees as his shoulders lightly shook, staring down at a walker that he had just taken down. Upon looking closer, I couldn't recognize its face from how bashed in and bloody it had become, but taking one glance down at Merle's familiar stump, I knew.

My heart shattered as I stood back, watching him cry for his brother right in front of me. My instinct was to rush over and comfort him as much as I could during something terrible like this, but I didn't know how he would react to me being here when he told me to stay back in the first place. I just pathetically stood frozen as my face fell the longer I processed what happened.

But after only a few seconds, I took a breath and began to walk over to him hesitantly, his head whipping over his shoulder as he heard my steps almost immediately. Tears were streaming down his cheeks when he looked at me, a gasp leaving his lips once his mind processed that it was actually me. He then wasted no time standing up to his feet, walking the rest of the way over to me and stopping right when our chests were about to touch.

"He... he-" he tried to speak, but a sob escaped his throat instead.

I just shook my head, silently telling him he didn't need to say a word before pulling him in for a hug. He instantly crashed into my arms and buried his face in my neck as he let out his quiet cries. My heart broke even more the second I was holding onto him, hearing how broken he sounded as I rubbed his back lightly.

This was the first time Daryl had ever cried in front of me and I was completely speechless. I couldn't think of the right words to say, all I could think about was the last things I said to the man, thinking and knowing how much he meant to Daryl. The familiar feeling of loss was all too heartbreaking.

"I'm sorry love. I'm so, so sorry." I whispered as I kissed the side of his head.

I felt him nod in appreciation, but he didn't move. We just stayed there in each other's arms, lightly rocking back and forth as he squeezed me tighter. I didn't care how long I stood there with him, because I wanted him to take all the time he needed. Knowing I was going to be here for him no matter what.

~ Thanks for reading!

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