#in a world without shane this is the next best thing

[bayofwolves]

i've been thinking ab abeke x worthy for the last 12 hours... do y'all feel me. could i convince y'all to get on board this ship

[dyns33]

All fine

I'm still not done with Shane.

I did a little Reader!Rick x Shane, even if I already wrote something a bit similar.

"I know. It's fine."

It had taken a long time for Shane to come to Y/N, his eyes indicating that he was finally ready to tell her the truth.

Before, they had been very happy.

They had met at work, at the Atlanta police station, first forced to work together despite their differences, then becoming friends, lovers, then married.

When Y/N had taken a bullet, Shane's face was the last thing she saw before losing consciousness.

"No. Baby, no. Shh. Shh, shh, shh. You stay with me, okay ? It's okay, you stay with me. You're not leaving me. I love you, baby. Stay with me. No, stay with me ! Y/N !”

What happened next, Y/N still didn't fully understand today. She had been taken to the hospital, and Shane had come to see her every day while she was in a coma, and then the dead started walking.

The first thing her husband had wanted to do was go get her, not caring about the chaos and danger. But Y/N hadn't woken up, and moving her would mean killing her, so Shane had barricaded the door so she wouldn't be eaten in her sleep and left, crying.

According to him, he had been a coward. An asshole. He should have stayed in the room with her, until the end, so they could die together, or he should have been there when she finally opened her eyes.

But he was afraid. He didn't want to die.

He had found a group of survivors, including his best friend Rick's wife and son, who had not survived.

Shane had never looked at Lori before. He had always seen Rick's wife, nothing else, and he didn't look at other women since he was married anyway. He wasn’t really looking at her now, even though he thought Y/N was dead. He just felt alone and hopeless.

When Y/N had arrived at camp, it had been over a month since the apocalypse had started, and two weeks since he had been secretly sleeping with Lori.

She didn't want others to know, especially her son, because they would ask too many questions. He didn't want the others to know because he was ashamed. He felt like he was abandoning Y/N again. The fact that she was alive didn't help.

Oh, he was happy she came back. He had kissed her again and again without being able to stop, crying like a baby, refusing to let go and apologizing.

"Everything is fine." she told him, without knowing what he was really talking about.

Nothing more happened with Lori after her return. It wasn't a problem, she wasn't jealous, her son was her priority, and Shane continued to do everything to protect them.

Strangely, it was Andrea who was less accepting of the situation. Not only had she guessed what their leader was doing in secret, waiting to be able to taste him when Lori had finally thrown him away, but she found him too nice, too gentle, since his wife had returned.

"You seemed to have more balls before, but I guess she's the one calling the shots in the couple."

"You know what ? Yeah, exactly." Shane muttered, standing very close to her. "She's the one who decides. She's always been the brains of our duo, and I the muscles. She says, I do."

“And you don’t mind being a good doggie ?”

"Don't think I'm a good doggie. I bite when necessary, and take care of problems without her needing to know."

The threat was clear enough, and Andrea seemed to calm down for a time. Her remarks hadn't managed to disturb Shane, but it was true that the dynamic of their relationship had always been complicated, at work and at home.

Very dependent, very possessive, very jealous, Shane always needed to receive Y/N's approval, to know that she was proud, to feel her eyes on him.

He had done some bad things since the end of the world, but one was worse than the others, and he didn't dare admit it to her, too afraid of losing her.

When he finally found the courage, it had been almost four months, they had found refuge on a farm, and Lori was pregnant.

“I made a huge mistake…” he began, sitting down next to her during her shift. "I thought you were dead. I really thought you were dead."

"I know."

"No, listen. I really need to tell you…"

"Shane. I know. It's okay."

One of the reasons he fell in love with Y/N was because of her intelligence. Her ability to deduce things, which helped her a lot to understand him when he wasn't able to speak.

She had noticed his behavior, Lori's behavior. She had seen the signs. And on top of that, Andrea had spoken to her.

Y/N had known for weeks, saying nothing, waiting for him to come to her. And now that it was done, she promised him that everything was okay, touching his back and smiling.

"… No."

"What no ?"

"No !" he repeated, jumping out of his chair, suddenly furious. "Everything's not okay ! You should yell at me ! Hit me ! You can't act like you don't care ! I cheated on you, dammit !"

“Calm down, please.”

"Hit me ! Insult me ! Do something !"

“Shane…” Y/N sighed as she tried to touch his cheek, continuing to respond with gentleness instead of the violence he expected, that he demanded.

If she had done that to him, he would have gone crazy. He would have killed the guy, and he would have wanted to hurt her, and since he loved her too much for that, Shane would have hurt others, himself, before doing something really stupid.

He had thought she would react the same way, and like when she returned, he was not relieved that he had been wrong.

"You don't fucking care !"

"I do care ! I understand."

"You understand ?! You were rotting in a hospital room for a few days and I was already taking off her panties !"

"You were desperate ! You were alone ! It doesn't feel good, I wish it didn't happen, that we were together, that you didn't touch her, but it happened, I understand why, I love you and I don't want you to torture yourself about it anymore !'

Yes, Y/N had always been the brains of their relationship, and the heart, and everything in between. Shane just felt like an idiot who was lucky to have her, completely clueless as to why she was with him.

Before, she had forgiven him for a lot of things, the outings in bars, the fights, the fits of jealousy. He wasn't perfect, but she accepted him.

Nothing forced her to stay with him, now that society was in pieces, their rings no longer meant anything, and he had clearly proven himself to be nothing but a cowardly bastard.

Despite this, she had chosen him. He had been her first thought, her goal, and she had returned to him without the slightest hesitation, not suspecting what he had done.

“I abandoned you…” he sobbed, falling to his knees. “I let you get shot, I left you in that hospital, I cheated on you…”

"None of this is your fault. Nothing. You were there to help me, you closed the hospital door. I wouldn't be here if you hadn't done that. You held on because she comforted you, otherwise I would have found a group that would have told me you were dead.”

"I'm too cowardly to die."

"Stop it. Please stop. You've been upset for weeks, I see the look in your eyes. Sometimes… Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't have been easier if you'd left the door open."

"Don't say that !" he yelled, grabbing her by the shoulders. "I love you ! I love you so much…I don't want to lose you…"

"I'm here. I love you too. Shane, I love you more than anything. It's okay." Y/N said, kissing him tenderly, pulling him into her arms, like she did after every pointless argument.

"She is pregnant."

"I know. It's okay. We're together, everything's okay."

The world was still shit, and it didn't seem like a quick fix could be found, but Shane decided that as always, he just had to listen to his wife and she would know what to do.

And if that wasn't the case, he would fix the problem without her knowing, and it would be all fine.

[deliciousangelfestival]

I'll be said if you...||Lloyd Hansen-Part 2

Character: Lloyd Hansen x CIA!Reader

Warning: Kidnapping, manipulation, dead Character.

Summary: You got caught by Lloyd.

Part 1, Part 2,-

Main Masterlist || Buy me Ko-fi please

Thank you to anyone who gave a like, reblog, and left a comment. It motivated me to write more. 

Your eyes flutter open to an unfamiliar room. The aftermath of the bomb explosion echoed in your mind. Your surroundings seemed hazy, and the muffled sounds of distant commotion reached your ears. 

As you tried to piece together the fragments of your memory, confusion etched across your face, and her hand instinctively went to your temple, still feeling the residual effects of the fainting spell. 

The room's unfamiliarity and lingering disorientation left you momentarily adrift in a sea of uncertainty.

Lloyd was sitting beside your bed. He looked at you with a smirk. “You have a good dream, sunshine?”

You were too weak to respond; then, you saw the most wanted man standing behind him. It’s him, the person who killed your foster father, former CIA agent Shane. You realize a belt is binding you when you try to move your hand. This bastard makes you his prisoner. 

Lloyd noticed your fearful eyes. He glanced at Shane and looked back at you. “Let's do an introduction first, ooh, like foreplay since we’ll kill each other later.”

You closed your eyes and sighed. “Why wait? Just kill me now.”

Lloyd put his hand on his chest and acted like he was broken. “It will break my heart, sweetheart. At least let’s have dinner first.”

You rolled eyes your eyes and thought, ‘Dear God, please kill me now.’

Lloyd crossed his arms, “Do you want to know why former director Nathan cares so much about you?”

You hummed without looking at him. You have known Nathan since you were a kid; your father and Nathan have been best friends since they were young. 

But the next word that came out from Lloyd's was unexpected: “Because your father, Nathan, and the rest are part of the team who created the Zombie Program. But here's a thing: Nathan and others made a switch kill. When the agents turn 40, they will die.” 

Lloyd pointed at the man behind him. “Only Shane survived.” He looked at the deadliest agent, who had no expression. It’s understandable since he got injected with so many drugs. 

Your eyes widened, your hand gripping the bed tightly. The shocking revelation hung in the air, and you struggled to process the words, unable to accept the truth that had just shattered your world.

“That’s impossible. My father is not a person who is capable of doing this.”

Lloyd nodded. “True. Your father only the typewriter in that program. But in Shane’s revenge book, he is still the bad guy.”

You remembered you and Noah are working together to find out why many retired CIA got killed.

The revelation still does not make you relieved. Knowing the truth that your father knew this program existed and didn’t do anything made you want to go to the afterlife and ask him why he didn’t stop this inhumane experiment. 

Lloyd moves closer to grab your hand and rub it gently. It’s useless for you to move away since your body is trapped. 

“I’m going to need your help to take my revenge… Excuse me, Shane, revenge by killing the other two creators. There were three. It was Nathan, well, R.I.P. for him.” Lloyd made a gun gesture to Shane. “That was a good shot.” 

He looked at you again. “Then Senator Aaron Reynolds and Vice-President Jackson Mitchell.” 

After Lloyd said those names, it triggered Shane to lose his composure.

“Na-ah, I don’t want you to get another seizure.” Lloyd takes a remote from his pocket and presses one button. It made Shane faint and fall to the ground. 

You can’t believe it, Lloyd is still heartless towards his new friend “You…”

Lloyd raised his arms. “It will take a while to explain. Right now, I just need you to be healthy to meet the Senator next week.” “I don’t even know him!!!” You just found out that your father knew two crucial figures of this country. He never mentioned it to you. And what Lloyd just said is that he and Shane will kill Senator Robin. “Sssh…” Lloyd gently put his finger on your lips. "It’s okay I’ll arrange everything. And you will get your revenge too.”

You're left puzzled, not fully grasping the details of his plan or how it involves you. “Me? I don’t have any problem with them.” “Huh?” Then, all of a sudden, Lloyd let out a loud laugh. It’s been a while since he could laugh like this. In comparison, you don’t understand what is so funny for him.

“Oh dear, you don’t know your mother car accident was caused by them?”

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If you want to be removed, you could inform me.

[boygiwrites]

Harley D. Dixon 35

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📖Chapter List.

Author's Note.

Cue my giddy snickering.

"So, what'd you do?" My Dad asks the prisoners, as we're eating breakfast in the courtyard the next morning. "Whose life you ruin?"

All the walker bodies have been dragged into a pile over by the dumpsters and burnt into nothing more than a few lumps of charcoal, leaving the courtyard as quiet as it's been since we got here. With the snarls and growls finally gone, I can hear birds chirping on the roofs of the cell blocks, the beautiful sound of silence beyond them. It might be the first time we've been completely sealed away from danger.

If Rick wasn't still inside with Lori, Carl, and the baby, I think he'd feel the same way.

"Nobody's but my own, man," Oscar chuckles dryly. He shakes his head, spooning some stewed corn and beans into his mouth, chewing absentmindedly. "There's nothing more to it than my people were poor as dirt. Got to be that I was dumb and desperate enough to steal from a Walmart. I should'a been handing my resume in, or something, but no. Sentenced three years over a pack of diapers."

I look up from my bowl to study the regret on his face, finding myself surprised. Shop-lifting diapers?

That wasn't what I thought he was in prison for at all.

"Sorry to hear that," Glenn says sympathetically, exactly my thoughts. "World wasn't exactly fair before all this, either."

"Me, I got caught with, y'know," Axel gestures vaguely, "Drugs and stuff. In my car. I was parked outside a police station, and I ain't had a home at the time. I think wanted to get locked up, if that makes sense. I'd been in and out a bunch of times. Only thing I knew."

"Sounds like someone I knew," Dad scoffs, and I know he's talking about my Uncle Merle. "The dumb bastard."

"So, you ain't, like," I frown at the prisoners in confusion, "Bad?"

Oscar laughs a little. "Not everybody who ends up in prison is bad, kid."

"I know that," I argue as I eat another spoonful of stew. "My Daddy was in prison, and he ain't bad. But some of 'em is."

"We ain't had the best track record when it comes to strangers," Maggie explains to them, putting it lightly. "Or even friends."

"Hey," He shrugs. "No offence taken. You gotta be careful out here."

"There were some seriously bad eggs in there, though," Axel agrees with me. "You bet'cha. Made life a livin' Hell for the rest of us."

Oscar looks at my Dad. "You're her Dad, right? You went to prison, too?"

"Arrendale State Prison," He nods, slurping up the stew in his bowl. "February of '04. I was released far before all this shit started."

"What crime?"

"Aggravated manslaughter."

Axel's eyes widen. "Damn, mister. I ain't sayin' you don't look the type, but I would'a thought you stole a car or somethin'."

Wiping his mouth, he smirks. "Who says I ain't did both?"

"Skills like those sound like they'd come in handy nowadays," Oscar says, "So, Hell. We ain't here to judge anyone in your group."

"You gotta stop saying, 'your group'," Maggie scolds him, smiling. "We got off on the wrong foot, but for all intents and purposes, there's only one group here. We ain't have to be best friends or anythin', and we'll be watchin' you, but you've proven yourselves."

"But I thought you said—...?"

Yesterday, we served 'em a death sentence by forcing them outta the gates ��� Today we're eating stew together. 

"Listen. There was a man named Shane," Glenn levels with them. "He was the first one. He was Rick's best friend for fifteen years and we all watched him go crazy without any power to stop it, until he tried kidnapping Harley. He was shot and beaten to death."

There's the loud, BANG, and the sound of my crying spilling out afterwards. That was one of the worst days of my life.

The prisoners share a glance with each other.

"The second man was Jim," He continues. "He didn't have the best interests of the group at heart and we kicked him out for that. And when we ran into him a few months later, we saw that hadn't changed. He threatened to ruin what we'd built. We hung him in a barn."

That one didn't make much sound at all — Barely a, snap.

"Your friends, Tomas and Andrew. And there were so many others. A group that took over a town near our old farm, people on the road, assholes, thieves. We've got good people here. We're family. But we haven't let our goodness make us idiots."

I'd almost forgotten the violence we'd committed over the past year, the deaths, a hundred little wounds scarred over with time.

Axel and Oscar remain silent as they stomach his words, the underlying threat there — We've killed better men for less.

Shane was Rick's right-hand man, a brother, and one of the most important people to the group, but even that couldn't save him in the end. Jim was a father, a resilient little weasel who worked harder than anybody else back at the quarry, and I saw him die, too. I saw all manner of men die. The prisoners risked their lives by leavin' this place, but they also risked them by comin' back to help us. They chose to do that. I'on know too much about what makes a trustworthy stranger, and I ain't even sure if such a thing exists, but I imagine it's a start. 

"Ya ain't idiots," Axel agrees, looking between Dad, Glenn, and Maggie with his honest eyes. "You can trust us."

Oscar puts on a reassuring smile. "We get it, man."

For two fellers who've just been threatened with torture and execution if they misbehave, they don't look so frightened.

I guess they don't plan on it, then.

"Good," Glenn slowly nods at their answers. "This is the best thing that's ever happened to you, by the way. You're welcome."

Axel's moustache skews to the side as he smiles. "Thank you, dudes."

"And it ain't just kiss-ass for a bowl of stew," Oscar warns us, gesturing with his spoon. "'Cause this shit tastes like ass."

"I'll let the chef know," Maggie jokes.

It looks like our group just got a little bit bigger.

"Go on, then." Dad juts his chin out in the direction of the cell block. "My guess is you ought'a get outta them scrubs if yer stayin'. Just ask for a lady, Carol — She can sort that out for ya. T-Dog's old stuff should fit ya, but I ain't so sure about Stringbean."

"'Stringbean'?" Axel complains, looking down at himself.

"Maybe you can find somethin' in Glenny's wardrobe," Maggie smiles, poking him in the ribs. "Ain't that right?"

"Hardy, har."

As they stand from the table with their empty bowls, Axel adds, "We really appreciate it. Thanks for not letting us die."

"Sure. Git," Dad grits, watching as they make their way back into the prison, before looking at me. "What'chu thinkin', chicken?"

Chewing my stew, I garble, "I gesh dey don't sheem sho bad."

"Nah, they don't," He agrees, reaching out with his spoon to clean the dribble off my chin. "You don't gotta worry about 'em, okay?"

I swallow as he pulls away, warning him, "But I'on think Mouse is a fan. He was growlin' at 'em."

"I'm sure they'll figure that out," Glenn reassures me, chuckling. "If that's the only problem they have, I'd say they got off lucky."

"Not if they screw this up, they won't," I exclaim, raising my spoon like a knife. "That happens, I'mma knife 'em in the knee!"

"Hey, and I'll let'cha," Dad jokes as he puts his hand over mine to lower the spoon. "But right now, I want'chu to finish all yer food."

"Okay, Dad."

Breakfast goes by slowly, like any good morning should.

The baby — Until the Grimes agree on a name, that's what I'll call her. The baby — loves to sleep.

I guess being born takes up just as much energy as giving birth, because Lori says until she's a few months old, this is all she'll do. I can't exactly play soccer with her right now, or even teach her to draw a picture, but I don't mind waiting. She's cute enough just like this, with her eyes closed, small tummy rising and falling with softs breaths as she dozes off in my arms, hopefully dreaming of something sweet.

What do babies dream of? Milk? Sheep, prancing in circles? They even got enough memories to form a nightmare, yet?

Watching on with a fond smile, Lori muses quietly, "I told you."

The baby makes a grunt, squirming around in the tightly swaddled blanket before she relaxes, content.

No. No nightmares.

Looking up at my Dad, I ask him, "Was I like this?"

A faint smirk tugs at his mouth, as if he's recalling a memory. "Nah, you was a fiend. Your Momma and I couldn't get'chu to sleep for nothin'. Had to pace around with you for hours on the porch just for a wink. Sing, hum. Let'chu listen to the rain, cars, birds."

"Sounds like she was a fussy one," Lori smiles, reaching out to stroke her thumb across the baby's smooth head.

"I ain't never met a baby who could pull an angry face quite like Harley could," He scoffs. "Had the temper of a stick of dynamite."

Under the weight of his tired gaze, Rick smirks a little. "So, not much has changed, then." 

Sticking my tongue out at them both, I look back down at the baby, gasping as her eyelids begin to flutter.

"She's openin' her eyes," I exclaim with excitement, handing her off to Lori. Her Momma should be the first thing she sees. Not me!

"Oh, my gosh," The woman breathes.

All at once, with her forehead wrinkled against the brightness of the room, she opens her eyes for the very first time. Green. Wow. They're the same colour as Lori's, dark and pretty like the wet leaves on a forest floor, staring curiously up at the matching pair.

Rick scoots closer and grins down at her, a chuckle escaping him as she studies his face next.

Even though I love my Mom and Dad more than anything in the world, and I wouldn't trade them for anybody else, I can still say with certainty that this baby is real lucky to have a Dad like Rick and even luckier to have a Mom like Lori. She got gentle hands, a voice made for telling fairytales, and the patience of a saint. Her smile is the type that nobody could be mad at when they're on the receivin' end of it.

My Gramma Dixon ain't had one of them smiles. In all the photos I've ever seen of her, she had a smile like a row of yellow piano keys, black holes left where her rotten teeth had fallen out from smoking so much and so often, but I had never seen it in person.

When my Dad was thirteen years old, the same age as Carl, the smoke of a stray cigarette caught onto his Momma's bedsheets while she was sleepin' and she, the house, and everything that was in it went up in flames, with a single black smear to prove it ever stood.

That's why whenever my Dad finishes a cigarette, he spends a second longer than anybody else would making sure it's out.

Glenn's got it right — World wasn't exactly fair before all this, either.

Havin' any Mom, let alone a Mom as good as Lori, was a special thing even before the world went to shit.

"She gon' love havin' you as her Momma," I smile to Lori.

And if you were my Momma, I'm too embarrassed to say, I'd be lucky, too.

As if I've just minced her heart between my fingers, the woman pouts, managing a smile. "Thank you, honey. That's nice of you to say."

I don't ever remember dreaming of milk or sheep or soft things with gentle colors, but I'm glad this baby will, even if just for now.

The sound of the toilet flushing fills my ears as I push past the stall door, approaching my Dad who's waiting for me by the sinks. He lifts me by the armpits onto the little plastic foot stool that Glenn found a few days ago, carefully setting me down on it.

"You sure I can't stay up just a little longer?" I ask as I tweak on the water, pumping soap into my hands.

"How much is, a little longer?"

"Hm... Five minutes?"

"I already let'chu finish yer card game with Carl and Beth," He reminds me. "My generous mood's run out, now. It's late, y'know."

"Okay, Captain Obvious," I sigh, scrubbing my hands together under the water before shutting it off.

"Watch it, Captain Smartass." He takes my hand and helps me jump off the stool, leading me through the door and down the corridor, before he randomly comes to a stop. As I turn around to face him, he crouches down to my level. "But I gotta talk to you first."

"About what?" I pout, worried I might be in trouble. "If Carl told you I cheated at cards, it ain't tru—"

"I ain't talkin' about that," He reassures me, raising his brows. "And you're lucky I ain't, 'cause I'on believe you for a second."

"Okay. Maybe I peeped at Beth's cards."

"Yeah. Maybe." With an empty chuckle, his expression slowly dampens, turning serious. "It's about Axel and Oscar."

"Huh?"

"I trust 'em," He begins, but I got no idea where he's goin' with this. "What I always saw in Shane and all the other douchebags like 'im, I'on see in them. Some folks, you can just tell. Axel's a sorry loser just like yer Daddy and Uncle Merle used to be, and Oscar's a Dad."

My Dad's what some people call, a good judge of character. Nodding along in agreement, I let him continue.

"If I thought they was any sorta threat to you," He promises, "Even if it was just breakin' yer favorite crayon, then—..."

"Then, you'd kill 'em," I finish, remembering the sight of his shadow swinging down on Jim's face through the slats of the shed wall, the big, black bag the paramedics wheeled outta the woods, the way Shane's blood pooled out across the dirty tiles. "I know."

"So, I guess this ain't really about them, 'cause they ain't gonna hurt you. It's about you, baby."

"M—Me?"

"You ain't in trouble." He says again, soothing my nerves. "I prolly should'a had this conversation wit'chu months ago, but you know I ain't so good with 'conversations', so it's happenin' now. I need you to know what happened with Shane weren't your fau—"

"Why are you sayin' that?" I cut him off, feeling like it's wrong for Shane's name to be in his mouth. "I d—"

"Just listen to me." He grabs my shoulders, stern and strong. Quips and hot venom brew on my tongue, but I bite it down, knowing that if I lash out, I'll actually be in trouble. I can't stop him from mentioning Shane, violating him even in that way, like he used to do with my Momma's name when he threw insults at her and told lies about her to strangers. I have to remember — Shane ain't my Momma. They was both sick, but only one loved me. I'm pretending to know which one that was. "It weren't. But we could'a done things differently."

Don't talk to strangers, He and Merle always told me. Is that what he means?

"I-I don't get it," I shake my head in confusion. "I'm allowed to talk to Axel and Oscar. They ain't strangers."

"Neither was Shane, baby." He counters. "Spent so much energy teachin' you not to trust assholes like Ronnie, I ain't never taught you not to trust assholes like Shane — Typa guy that makes it past yer doorstep and tries to be yer friend."

I temper my glare. "What'chu gettin' at, Daddy?"

"You know grown men can't be friends with little girls." He explains patiently, his grip on me tightening. "Rick and Glenn, they're different. They's like yer Uncles. Ya get along with 'em, but they're there to protect ya, just like I am. Axel and Oscar ain't like that. You ever meet anybody like 'em, you don't do anythin' that makes you uncomfortable. You don't give 'em anythin' they want. You don't let 'em trick ya."

Shane. I did all those things with Shane. He did all those things with me.

"And you always tell me if any of that happens. Always. Ya ain't never gon' get in trouble for what other people choose to do."

"The prisoners ain't tried to be my friend," I assure him. "And I ain't tried to be theirs. Promise."

"I know. I'm proud'a you for that." His grip loosens, fingers sliding down my arms, dropping in his lap. "But do you understand me?"

"I think so."

"I'mma somethin' better'un, I think."

Frowning, I think. Shane weren't my fault. Dad said that since the beginning. I guess he only wants to make sure it never happens again, like how it ain't yer fault if a dog bites ya, but you can always learn to recognize a violent animal and turn your back on its teeth.

I shouldn't have let Shane corner me in the car while the rest of the group was distracted in that supermarket.

Shouldn't have played into his stupid game, neither, by punching him in the face when he asked me to.

Definitely shouldn't have agreed to be his friend.

Dad's always gonna look out for me, but, "I understand."

"Okay. Good girl. Smart girl," He nods, standing and taking my hand in his, leading me down the corridor. "I love you, chicken."

"Love you, Daddy. But I thought you said I was allowed to knife 'em?"

"You can knife 'em first, and then I'll kill 'em," He jokes. "Deal?"

"Deal."

He chuckles to himself. "Let's get'chu to bed, then."

"Easy, boy," Axel smiles, scratching Mouse's ear as he watches him gobble up the meat in his hand. "There ya go."

From my seat nearby, as I wait to leave with Dad and Glenn for a supply run, I don't bother callin' Mouse over yet. The dog ain't my toy or nothin', but I should still share him with the prisoners. I know they ain't seen one in years, so I let him have the moment.

When Carl walks past me, I ask him, "You sure ya don't wanna come with us?"

"Thanks, but I'm sure. I'm just tired today," He turns to send me a smile, before continuing toward Axel. "Hey. Got more food."

"Oh, thanks, dude," He says happily, accepting it.

"He really likes this stuff."

It's taken almost a full month not only for Mouse to warm up to the new members of our group, but for the others, too.

We ain't best friends or nothin', like Maggie said, but it turns out they're a better fit for our family than I first thought.

Axel really is just a sorry loser with a good heart, who I've learnt over the past couple days wasn't kiddin' when he said he loved dogs. He's almost never more than a few feet away from Mouse, bribing him with treats or scraps of his own dinner, sometimes accidently calling him, Goober, the name of his old dog. When I look at him, I see all the other sorry losers we used to live with in our trailer park, his twangy accent and his stories of punking the police when he was younger weirdly comforting to me. Dad don't seem so offended by him, neither.

Oscar's the type of person who talks a lot around the dinner table, just like Carl and Maggie are. He's always got a snarky, good-natured joke to throw in here and there, or a reassuring tidbit to share when somebody opens up about something in their past.

When it comes to his own past, though, he suddenly ain't so much of a chatterbox no more.

I can only assume his wife and baby are among all the people we've lost, too. I wouldn't wanna talk about 'em, neither.

Rick watches Oscar standing there with a guarded look on his face, my Dad drawing his attention away by nudging his elbow, holding two guns out to him. With another glance at Axel, who's giggling like a small child at Mouse's enthusiasm for the food, he takes them.

"Axel. Oscar," Rick calls out, coming to a stop in front of them. As they look up at him, he offers a gun to each of them.

Axel's eyes widen as he stands up. "You serious, Mister?"

Oh — That's another thing. Axel doesn't call people Ma'am or Mister to butter 'em up. It's just his Southern manners.

"Daryl and Glenn are leaving for a few hours," He explains as Axel hesitantly reaches out for the gun, treating it more like a live grenade. For all the petty crimes he's committed, I'on think he's ever actually held a gun. Oscar takes his slightly more confidently, knowing exactly where to put his fingers, though he don't seem to like it. "With them gone, I think it's time you stepped up, helped us protect this place."

"Sure thing," Oscar nods, checking the mag is empty before stuffing the gun in his pants line. "Happy to, chief."

"Now, you mentioned you got experience," He reminds him, before turning to look expectantly at Axel.

In the silence that follows, the man offers, "I shot a slingshot, once. Busted in some rich old lady's Rolls-Royce window with it."

Rick's expression remains stoney. "A slingshot?"

"Yeah! Real cool one."

"A slingshot."

Awkwardly, he says again, "Yeah."

"Right." Rick gives him a friendly pat on the back, almost knocking him off balance. "We're gonna have to train you up a bit."

"Well, have fun," Glenn muses as he slings his backpack on, with Dad gesturing for me to stand up. "See you guys later."

Carl smiles, "See you later."

"C'mon, boy!" I call out to Mouse, clapping my hands. "Time to go."

"Remember, she doesn't handle the whole-wheat blend very well," Lori warns us, rocking baby Judith in her arms. It's good to finally see her outta bed again, to have her sitting around the breakfast table next to Herschel just like she always used to do.

"We'll look around for somethin' different this time. Trust me. I remember," Dad reassures her as he leads us up the concrete steps and pushes past the exit door, letting it close behind us before he mutters to me and Glenn, "She only threw up on my face twice."

"Eugh," I giggle, walking alongside them down the corridor. "That's gross."

"You ain't gonna talk to me about gross, missy," He jokes. "Who's that kid that spat chewed-up salami into my lap again, Rhee?"

Glenn chuckles at that. "Oh, yeah. I think her name was—...?"

"Somethin' beginin' with an, H, right?"

"Shut up," I giggle even harder as Glenn opens the main door, turning to lock it behind us. "It was an accident!"

"Ha—? Harriet," Dad pretends to struggle guessing, completely ignoring me. "Holly? Harley—?"

"Ohhh. Harley," Glenn exclaims as he stuffs the key back in his pocket. "That was it."

"Yeah, that's ringin' a bell."

"Shut up," I complain again, dragging him over to the gate. "C'mon. Me and Mouse wanna go!"

Agreeing, the dog lets out a, ruff.

This might only be the fourth time I've been on a scavenge this month, but I'd be lyin' if I said it ain't just as excitin' as the first time. Sure, the adults watch over me and Carl the whole time, and we only ever go to the same store, but everybody says we been doin' a good job and it's true. The worst thing that's happened to us is getting spooked by a rat running across our path, and even that was fun. 

"Okay, we're comin'," Dad chuckles raspily, letting me pull him along. "We're comin'."

"What do you wanna play this time, Harley?" Glenn asks.

As Dad opens the gate to the field, Mouse is the first one out, running ahead of us down the path.

I kick a pebble down the hill, thinking. "What about eye-spy?"

He locks it shut. "Didn't we do that one last time?"

"Yeah, but I lost," I argue as we follow after the dog.

"So, a re-match," Glenn says in understanding. "Sure. Who's going first?"

"Me!"

"Is it that leaf over there?"

"Nope."

"What about that leaf over there?"

"Still nope."

"That leaf?"

"You can't just guess every single leaf you see, Harley," Glenn chuckles. "The game would never end."

"So, it's not a leaf?"

"Not a leaf," He agrees. "Come on. You can do it."

Walking down the side of the highway, I look around for anything, Small and green. If it ain't leaves, or any of the hundreds of other things I've guessed so far, I'm screwed. In the distance, the tall sign for the strip mall pokes out from the trees, growing closer.

"Can't just look at what's in front of ya," Dad says helpfully, squeezing my hand. "Hunter's eye's gotta see everythin'."

Humming in concentration, I look down instead, noticing it instantly — The green beetle clinging to my shorts.

A giggle escapes me as I rest a finger near the insect's tiny head, letting it crawl onto me, holding it up to my face. "It was you!"

"Point for Harley," Glenn smiles as we step over the curb, entering the dumpster area behind the strip mall. The forest falls away behind us, making way for concrete and scattered litter. "You were taking so long; I was worried it was gonna fly away."

I turn a suspicious eye on my Dad. "Hang on. Did you let me win?"

"I might'a noticed it a couple minutes ago," He muses.

I flinch as the beetle's pearly wings whip out from under its shell, flickering into a blur, before it takes off into the trees.

"Aw." I pout, distracted by its disappearing shape as we approach the side of the building. "Bye, beetl—"

"Stop."

Stop?

Dad drops my hand. He slings his crossbow off his shoulder, training the sights ahead of us as Glenn grabs me, forcing me up against the wall with him. The warm brick presses against my back, Glenn's thick heartbeat thudding rhythmically beneath my fingers as I grip his wrist. I hold my breath. Suddenly, we're hiding — From what? From who? — and I couldn't care less that we didn't finish the game.

What's wrong, I desperately want to ask them, instead clinging tighter to Glenn, cowering, making myself small.

I try to get a glimpse of what's going on in the main parking lot, but I'm not close enough.

With his shoulders tensed and footsteps light, Dad creeps forward, peeking around the wall.

"It's okay," Glenn whispers to me, turning to scold a growling Mouse, "Shh, boy. Shh."

I focus on the nearby sounds — Someone's car engine idling, boots scraping against tarmac, hushed voices. People. It's people.

As Dad pulls back behind the wall, Glenn asks him, "How many?"

"I count three," He exhales, glancing down at me for a moment, before shaking his head. "We gotta go."

"Okay. Come on." Glenn gently tugs me by the hand, pulling me along with him in the direction we came. "It's okay."

"C'mon, chicken," Dad encourages.

We stick close to the wall, Dad scanning the back parking lot with a slow sweep of his sights, before giving us a nod, letting us know the way is clear and leading us down onto the tarmac. Everything opens up. My gaze darts from the dumpsters pressed up against the chain-link fence, to the trash littered across the ground, to the distant trees, the sky, the back of my Dad's head, Mouse at his heel. 

Dad takes one step back over the broken curb, his boot hitting the grass on the other side.

My fingers tighten around Glenn's as I lift my foot to do the same.

I'm taking a sigh of relief — The forest is right there. We can slip away — but the breath in my lungs is stolen from me. I stumble backwards into Glenn. A man shoots out from behind a rusted car, tackling my Dad, and a gasp escapes me, loud and sharp.

"Daddy!" I shriek, watching him tank the sudden impact with a grunt.

"Boys!" The man shouts over his shoulder. "Over here!"

Squeezing my hand, Glenn draws his gun, acting unsure if he should run with me or stay and fight. "Daryl?"

"Stay with Harley!" He orders.

We watch as Dad shoves the man off him in one powerful movement, sending his stocky body tumbling.

The man lands against the car door. The window cracks under his elbow, glass shattering, tinkling, falling at his feet. He groans like an animal, blood trickling down his forearm as he rears it back again, knife in his hand, about to stab Dad wherever he can.

Dad's crossbow comes down on the man's arm and the knife goes flying, clattering loudly across the parking lot.

"Fuck—" He cries, disarmed, before Dad takes a step back and — FWIP — unleashes a bolt into his face.

The man's legs give out, body slumping to the ground.

"What's going on back here?!" A voice shouts, footsteps approaching. "Eric?"

Glenn whips his gun around, shoving me behind him so fast; I only catch a glimpse of the — two? — men pouring into the parking lot before I'm pressing my face into the back of his shirt, squeezing his hand so tight I think I might break a few of his bones.

"Holy shit," One of the men exclaims as their footsteps come to a stop in front of us. "Eric! God, he's dead!"

"You'll be dead, too, if ya don't back the Hell up!" Dad barks at them, taking a step forward. "Back up!"

"You fucking killed him!"

"He attacked us first!" Glenn counters. "Put the guns down!"

"Oh, my God!"

"Who's that behind you?"

"Hey! You keep yer eyes on us and put'cher fuckin' guns down!"

The arguing, shouting, — Mouse's relentless barking — gets louder and louder with each second, ruminating into one big cloud of noise around me as I squeeze my eyes shut. I only wanted to help them scavenge some baby formula, enjoy the sun and the breeze, maybe win at eye-spy. Home is only a ten-minute walk from here. No, no, it wasn't supposed to go like this. It's never gone like this.

"Put that goddamn crossbow down!"

"I ain't doin' shit!"

"Everybody, shut up!"

The parking lot falls silent. I hear the footsteps of a third man approaching, slow and calm, like an angry teacher.

"They killed Eric," One of them exclaims. "We heard him shout for us."

"And this piece of shit here killed him. I saw it."

The footsteps slow to a stop, and no response comes. I wait for a gunshot or a punch to be thrown, but that doesn't come, neither.

After the pause has gone on too long, the man hesitates to ask, "Boss, what's wrong? Are we killing 'em, or not?"

"I said, shut up, Gavin."

Oh.

That voice.

Mer—?

No.

Merle is dead.

Merle was chained to roof and eaten by walkers and he's dead and he's gone and I mourned him and ghosts ain't real.

My movements in slow motion, I loosen my grip on Glenn's hand, my body going numb as I dare to peek out around his hip. As the scene reveals itself to me, a curtain pulled over a window inch by inch, everything hits me like a ton of bricks, years, names, memories.

The man standing at the front of the small crowd stares, gawking, at my Dad, unbothered by his confused friends.

When he glances down at me, his arm pointing the gun at us falters.

Our eyes lock, and suddenly ghosts are real.

I can feel myself start to cry, I think.

Merle.

Author's Note.

It's Merle! Is there anything more to say? He's back!

I'm going to have my work cut out for me in the coming chapters. Trauma, emotions. Here we come.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, everyone. 💙

[rogerdelgado]

I'm late to the game for my Watcher Top 5 to celebrate Watcher's 5th anniversary. I blame tumblr! But, without further ado, here's to the Ghoul Boys and the rest of the gang that helped me get through the early days of the pandemic. I couldn't have done it without you! (Well, okay, I could...but it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun!)

Also, this turned out to be much harder than anticipated. I didn't even realize I'd watched so many different shows. I am leaving off Pod Watcher only because the OP didn't include it, and that makes it a little easier. Otherwise, it would definitely be in the top 3. There's nothing better than just hanging out, and that's the vibe you get from Pod Watcher.

Okay! Without further, further ado...

My Watcher Top 5:

#5 Survival Mode

I'm a gamer, so this one's a gimme. I love watching Shane and Ryan gaming together, and would 100% watch them play anything. Hoping there's another season of this on the way soon, but if there isn't, don't kill the dream! Would love to see the gang play Fortnite someday.

#4 Social Distanding D & D

I'm also a tabletop gamer! Much of my formative youth was spent DMing (that's Dungeon Mastering) small Dungeons & Dragons games to entertain friends and family, so to see Shane running the show was a lot of fun. Ryan's hilarious half-elf bard Steve still creeps into my thoughts on an almost weekly basis.

I know most people aren't socially distancing now, but Steve needs a comeback, so I'm always hoping for some version of this to make its way back into the production circle. The only reason this isn't higher on my list is because it's not an ongoing series.

#3 Are You Scared?

Who doesn't love a good ghost story? An urban legend? A creepy tale? Are You Scared? is like a grown-up Goosebumps or Are You Afraid of the Dark, only better because we get Ryan and Shane along for the ride! I recently binged the entire run for the first time, and it's so much fun.

#2 Ghost Files

Would I even be making this list if Ghost Files didn't exist? Probably not! This is what brought me into the fold, of course. Like Shane, however, I do not enjoy ghost hunting tv shows as a general rule. Everything typically feels a little too hyped and eventful for my skeptical mind to enjoy. It's the balance between skeptic and believer that really hooks you here, so whether you genuinely believe in ghosts (Ryan) or just like doing stupid things with your friends (Shane), you are represented here!

I've never encountered anything supernatural in my life, but I can get easily spooked by dark, unpleasant places, so I logically side with Shane, while emotionally bond with Ryan on every run. It's the perfect combo!

And, finally, my number 1 choice for my Watcher Top 5 is...

#1 Too Many Spirits

It's Toooo Many Spirits!!!

Okay, okay, a little explanation is in order here. How did two guys reading fan submitted stories around a bonfire while getting increasingly intoxicated make it to the top of my Watcher Top 5 Beatdown? Well, buckle in, because it's...not really all that exciting, but I'm going to tell you anyway.

2020 is here and with it...the plague of the century (so far...I see you H5N1)! I am an essential worker, so I get to go out into the big bad world and be expendable while other people discover sourdough starters. When I do get home and scrub myself into a state of sanity to rest up for the next day, I need entertainment!

So, after revisiting eleven seasons of Cheers (again), I decide I need a place where everybody knows my name, but...like ol' Sam Malone, I just gave up drinking, figuring I need my immune system at its best (which is still not great, but hey, we do what we can). Also, like Sam, what I find is a place where everyone gets increasingly more intoxicated while I get high on friendship! And that place is...Ryan's backyard? Someone's backyard anyway.

Somehow, Too Many Spirits became a way for me to find solace in sobriety while also enjoying the intense nostalgia of drinking with friends around a bonfire. All of this might sound a little pathetic, but it worked for me, and it helped get me through some dark times (along with my actual online friends who were all very supportive, too).

So, there we have it! My Watcher Top 5 Beatdown is complete!

Except..."You didn't mention Puppet History!!!" I hear you scream with rage. Well, that's because I've only recently discovered it! "How is this possible?" I hear you ask, your voice trembling with shock and awe. Well, what can I say, except...life is a process, man. I'm doing the best I can. And, I've found my next binge Watcher!

[rickmymanrick]

one rule | chapter eight

[rick grimes x original fem character slowburn]

series masterlist! prev. chapter • next chapter

summary: in a rush to deescalate what they presumed was merle's fury on camp, daphne and the crew arrive to something terrifyingly different.

notes: my apologies for the overall slow pacing of the story. i promise it's gonna get exciting after we wrap up the first season. and also sorry for the rushing at the end there's not much i can change about the CDC without fucking up the whole storyline after so i'm just trying to get through it fast.

Screams echoed from the rock quarry and every step we took felt like two steps back.

Maybe it was our desperation to get there but it felt like the journey only got longer and longer. I gripped my knife tightly, pistol locked and loaded in my right hand. I led the group through the darkness, my speed being the fastest, but Rick was right on my heels.

"SHANE!" I yelled as soon as we made it over the big hill where we would've parked the truck. Had Merle not stolen it.

What I saw was the opposite of what I thought it was gonna be.

Instead of Merle taking vengeance on the camp, it was a herd of walkers. Biting into members of the group, tearing chunks of flesh clean off the bone as they screamed. Gunshots were flying from every angle.

I spotted Dale with his rifle firing rounds. I rushed over, dodging walkers as they reached out at any living thing.

"Dale! Where's Shane?!" I hollered, shooting off rounds of my own.

The camp was a complete mess, guts and blood all over our sacred place.

"He was with Lori and Carl last I saw 'em," he said over the blasts of his rifle. "By his tent."

I rushed out a 'thank you' before fighting my way to his side of camp, glancing around to make sure Glenn was okay. He stayed by Dale, shooting at every walker in radius.

A pair of hands suddenly grabbed onto my sleeves, roughly shaking me as a growl reached my ears. The smell of death penetrated my nostrils. Swinging my left hand back, my knife went straight into the walker's forehead. I looked back to make sure and then kicked the body away.

I marched forward, a gasp of relief leaving me as I finally spotted Shane. He had Lori and Carl behind him as he shot down countless walkers, a scowl etched on his face.

The scowl eased away as soon as his eyes found mine. His lips parted in shock. "DAPHNE!" He hollered, jerking his head.

I followed suit, sprinting over fallen walkers until I got to them.

"Morales!" Shane was yelling. "Work up here!"

"Get behind me! Come on!" Lori yelled at me, reaching her hand out so I could grip onto it. She hauled me over one of the dead walkers, bringing me next to her and Carl.

I immediately began shooting, wondering how the hell it had gone south so quick. We had the rest of the guns back in camp; there was enough weapons to defend the group against this attack. What the hell happened?

I had no time to think about it. All I could see in front of me were the walkers, stumbling with teeth bared, ready to bite into any one of us.

My arms began to ache the more I shot bullets but I couldn't let up. Beside me, Shane had his back against mine, covering all bases.

"Make your way to the winnebago!" Shane commanded. Carol came breaking through the dead, her daughter clutched against her side. Then Rick and the rest suddenly broke through to our side of camp, where the last of the walkers were attacking.

"CARL!" Rick hollered. "LORI!"

"DAD!" Carl broke free from his mother's grip, sprinting straight into Rick's arms, sobbing in terror.

I set my sights on the last walker standing, sending two bullets. One into its chest, the other into its head. I watched as two more bullets entered its forehead and looked beside me to see Shane lowering his own rifle.

As soon as everything died down, my arms dropped. And my legs suddenly felt weak. I stumbled despite my best efforts, my temples pounding. "Hey," Shane rushed over, grabbing my waist firmly. I tried to look at him but the world was spinning too fast.

"Goddamn concussion," I mumbled as I held back the urge to vomit. It seemed like the hours-long jog and the fight hit me like a truck.

"She got knocked in the temple earlier!" Glenn came running over, his face twisted in concern. I gave him a look, not willing to open my mouth in case I threw up everywhere.

Thankfully, he understood, grabbing my arms and pulling me away from Shane. Instantly, the bout of weakness took over and the world turned into pitch black darkness.

When I woke up, it had evidently been more than a few hours. It was daytime, the sun beating down on us harder than it had in a while.

I was covered in a thin layer of sweat, shielded by the security of mine and Glenn's tent. It was surprisingly spared from last night's attack. I pushed my body up as everything came rushing back to me, ready to run out of the tent.

"Hey—"

My hand found the knife that was still strapped to my side, swinging on impulse. I was frightened, traumatized from what I'd seen last night.

"Hey, you're okay!"

The voice registered in my head at once and I dropped the weapon like I'd gotten burnt. "I'm sorry," I gasped, trying to calm my racing heart.

"It's okay, Daph. It's okay." A hand grabbed my shoulder, giving me a gentle shake as our breathing filled the tent. I closed my eyes, willing myself to calm down and listening to all the outside noises.

Nothing but soft murmurs and birds chirping.

I cleared my throat. "How many did we lose?"

Silence was my only response and I dared to open my eyes, meeting Shane's downcast gaze.

"It's hard to tell."

"You're lying," I said instantly. Shane would be the first to know. We were both assumed leaders of our group.

"Ten or so... Amy..."

My head turned in shock. "Andrea?"

Shane shook his head. "Unresponsive."

I figured. There was no one in this entire world she cared about more than her little sister. We sat in silence, remembering Amy and all the others that fell last night. Except Ed.

I spared Shane a glance in my peripheral, trying to see if he was looking too affected. One look at his face and I was reminded of what had transpired yesterday morning.

I clenched my jaw in irritation, wondering whether I should confront him about his shifty behaviors. It was probably the worst time for this but I needed to know why he was still pursuing me so intensely if he had a thing going with Lori this whole time.

I refused to be anyone's side piece.

"We don't burn them!" I suddenly heard someone yell. Glenn. I scrambled to my feet and stepped over Shane, concussion be damned.

Outside there was a complete and utter mess. Walkers and our people scattered in dried pools of blood, random clumps of guts on the ground. My stomach twisted uncomfortably but I marched on, determined to figure out what had made Glenn uncharacteristically lash out.

"You reap what you sow!" Daryl called back at Glenn, helping Morales drag one of our dead to a separate pile they'd created for them.

"You know what?" Morales snapped. "Shut up, man."

"Y'all left my brother for dead! You had this coming!" Daryl spat, storming away.

I walked over to Glenn and he seemed disappointed to see me up and about. "I told Shane to make sure you got enough rest."

"I did. Now I want to help."

Glenn rolled his eyes at Daryl's back. "Pretty sure Daryl and Morales got it covered for now. You shouldn't be doing heavy lifting."

"A walker got him," said Jacqui loudly. We all turned to find her backing away from Jim, who was sweating profusely. His shirt was saturated with blood. "A walker bit him!"

"I'm okay," Jim insisted weakly as he backed away from the forming circle. We caged him in, each wondering what the hell we were gonna do now. Of course Shane, Glenn and I had talked about this type of situation before. But this was Jim. A survivor like us.

"Show it to us," demanded Daryl, approaching dangerously with an axe.

Jim startled, grabbing the nearest weapon in defense.

Shane came marching from my tent. "Easy, Jim."

"Grab him!"

"Put it down, Jim!"

"Grab him!"

We all began to yell over each other, one side trying to diffuse the situation, the other (Daryl) demanding to grab him. T-Dog took initiative, seizing Jim's arms from the back so Daryl could pull up his shirt.

"Jesus," I said under my breath. The teeth marks were as clear as day, a clean bite near the middle of his abdomen.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," repeated Jim nervously. He was clearly in denial and I felt horrible for him. There was no way around this-- he'd die a gruesome death and become a walker if we didn't put him down.

"I say we put a pickaxe in his head and the dead girl's and be done with it," said Daryl as we stood around in an impromptu meeting. We'd directed Jim to sit away from the uninfected.

"Is that what you'd want if it were you?" Shane asked.

"Yeah, and I'd thank you while you did it," Daryl sneered.

Dale shook his head. "I hate to say it-- I never thought I would-- but maybe Daryl's right."

I looked at him in surprise. Dale was the last person I would expect to agree with Dixon. Still, I stayed silent, trying to gather everyone's opinions before putting in my own.

"Jim's not a monster, Dale, or some rabid dog." Rick said.

"I'm not suggesting--"

"He's sick. A sick man. We start down that road, where do we draw the line?"

"The line's pretty clear. Zero tolerance for walkers, or them to be."

I hate to admit it, but Daryl's got a point. I could see where Rick was coming from, but it was pretty damn clear to me that this world wasn't gonna get any better. It would only get worse from here and eventually, we'd have to get our hands dirty.

"I will admit, it feels inhumane to kill Jim but we aren't going to be able to keep him alive. That's a fact. Point, blank, period," I cut everyone off. "It simply isn't in our power. He's gonna die no matter what at the end of the day and keeping him around will guarantee that any number of us will too."

Daryl motioned to me gratefully, looking like he thought I was the only one with common sense.

"Well, what if we can get him help?" Rick turned to me first, focusing his full attention on me. I suddenly felt the heavy weight of leadership within seconds. Everyone looked to me and Rick.

"What?"

What the hell kind of help were we going to be able to get him?

"I heard the CDC was working on a cure."

"I heard that too. Heard a lot of things before the world went to hell," interjected Shane.

"What if the CDC is still up and running?" Rick ignored Shane.

"Unlikely--" "Man, that is a stretch right there." Shane and I spoke at the same time. I gave him a side-eye, wondering how he had the nerve to even speak to Rick right now.

Rick seemed to have the same thoughts as me, giving Shane a hard glare before pointedly speaking to me again. "Why? If there's any government left, any structure at all, they'd protect the CDC at all costs, wouldn't they? I think it's our best shot. Shelter, protection, food."

I waited for him to finish. Shane seemed to be on the verge of exploding next to me so I held a subtle hand up in his direction.

"If there was any government at all, don't you think we would've heard or seen something?" I wanted to be optimistic but it had been too long without a sign.

"You know there's a chance, Daphne," Rick bent lower to meet my eyes full-on. "I know you do. And if there's a possibility that we can stop this from happening again, don't you think we should try?"

I hated the way he was looking at me, as if he knew the exact way to get me to agree. Half of it was the words he was saying, the other half was the way the sun was hitting his pale blue eyes just right.

My lips parted as I struggled to find an argument.

On another hand, I did owe it to everyone I'd welcomed to camp to try. I left yesterday and this happened. It wasn't entirely my fault- I couldn't stop a herd of walkers by myself if I tried- and Shane had stayed behind but like it or not, the both of us started this thing together. We set up camp, we found other survivors, we invited them in.

In a way, this was on me.

I looked between Rick and Shane, who were both staring at me expectingly. Rick with that naive hope in his eyes; Shane with utter and complete disapproval, waiting for me to take his side.

I was trapped. I spluttered slightly, trying to figure out who to fucking choose—

Shane's face dropped in disappointment and disbelief, turning to his former partner instead. "Okay, Rick, you want those things, all right? We do, too, okay? Now if they exist, they're at the army base, Fort Benning."

"That's a hundred miles in the opposite direction," noted Lori.

"That is right, but it's away from the hot zone. If that place is operational, it'll be heavily armed. We'll be safe there."

"We'd still have the same problem," I hissed quietly so Jim wouldn't hear. "Jim would still be sick and I know for a fact Fort Benning doesn't have the same medical capabilities as the CDC."

"You're agreeing with him?" Shane asked incredulously. He obviously didn't give a damn about airing out our drama in front of the whole group.

"Look, what you're saying makes perfect sense, Shane." I quickly tried to diffuse, grabbing onto his forearm without thinking it through. "But so does Rick. The CDC is the only chance this world has at beating this thing. What's happening to Jim and all these people, it's a disease. We'd be running in the opposite direction away from that."

"The military were on the front lines of this thing. They got overrun. We've all seen that," Rick argued with a glare finally directed at Shane. His eyes traveled between his former partner, my hand on his forearm, and me. I realized with a jolt that I was still hanging onto him and let go as if I'd been burnt. Rick's look alone reminded me of all the goddamn lies Shane fed me.

"The military's first response was to try to kill us. Was it not?" I added, glancing at Lori so I could avoid Shane's stare. I know she remembered the day I saved them well, how the army pointed their guns at her and her son. "What do you think they're gonna do when we try to roll up there with an infected person?"

"The CDC is our best choice and Jim's only chance." Rick finished as soon as I did and gave me a grateful nod. I don't even know how we ended up teaming against Shane but I could tell he felt ganged up on.

"You go grab that aspirin you brought," Daryl said to me suddenly. "Do what you need to do. Someone needs to have some balls to take care of this damn problem!" He hollered as he turned around and rushed toward Jim with the pickaxe aiming for his head.

"HEY!" I grabbed the shovel Jim had dropped and sprinted to stop Daryl. Rick pointed a gun at his head and clicked the safety off. Immediately, Daryl froze, weapon raised in the air. Jim heaved in terror, staring up at him like an animal prepped for slaughter.

"We don't kill the living." Rick said firmly. Shane wedged himself in front of Jim as Daryl slowly lowered the pickaxe and turned to eye Rick distastefully.

"That's funny coming from a man who just put a gun to my head."

"We may disagree on some things, not on this. You put it down. Go on," insisted Shane. I could see Rick breathing heavily from my spot next to him, gun still pointed. Daryl threw the pickaxe down and stormed away.

Rick grabbed Jim and began to lead him away from camp so I followed. Shane lingered behind, keeping a suspicious eye on Andrea who was still hovering over Amy's corpse.

I watched as Rick sat Jim down far away. He joined me after, standing by the cars.

We stared at each other in silence.

I was the first one to break it. "You okay?"

His lip curled in frustration, glaring at the sun. He rested his hands on his hips and looked at the ground.

I wanted to ask if he had confronted Lori, but it truly wasn't any of my business. And the answer was pretty obvious.

"Thanks ...for backing me up," Rick changed the subject.

"You're right. The CDC is our best option. If they're not operational, then at least we'll know."

"Yeah, while putting the rest of the group in danger."

What kind of hypocritical back and forth was this?

"We owe it to everyone to try. Especially Jim. Look, Shane's plan would've probably gotten us all killed. You didn't get to see it but when this whole thing started, the military pointed their guns at us first. The living. If the base is operational, there's no way we would've made it past the front gates alive." When did I start defending this plan? "Besides, if it all goes sideways, we'll have our getaway car and more than enough weapons to protect the kids."

Rick gave me a sideways smile, looking a lot less tense. "You're right. He just got me overthinking."

"Well, it's always good to run your ideas by others."

Rick stared at me for a long moment and I started to feel like a bug under a magnifying glass. "What?"

"Nothin', this just suits you."

I snorted. "What does? Putting Shane in his place?"

"Being a leader." He clarified.

"Yeah? Well, I didn't choose to be," I sighed, looking back at the state of our group. Half dead and the other half mingling about, no doubt discussing our two options.

Rick smiled tightly and clasped a hand over my shoulder as he walked past me, heading straight over to Carl. His little face lit up as he noticed his father, cheeks chewing on the multivitamin gummy Carol had handed out to each of the children.

I swallowed thickly. Whether the group agreed or not, we had no other option but the CDC or wandering from one place to the next. Fort Benning just couldn't happen.

Mostly everyone agreed that heading to Atlanta was the way to go. Only Morales and his family had opted out, taking one of the cars and a pistol and heading their separate way.

On the journey, we'd ended up dropping Jim off by the edge of the woods after hours of him pleading and begging.

It wasn't easy. In fact, it was one of the hardest things we'd ever had to do, but it was for the best. Jim knew he wouldn't survive the trip to Atlanta and he thankfully warned us of such. The last thing we needed was for him to die and reanimate on the road.

After, we weren't exactly sure whether we should've kept heading in the same direction but Lori brought up a good point. We were already more than half way there. It would be a waste of gas to turn around now.

We had to cling onto the little hope that ahead of us waited our salvation.

But of course, the world played us for fools.

We found the CDC in the same state as everything else. Deprecated and destroyed, crawling with flies and maggots. The dead scattered by the hundreds and thankfully at the very least, completely dead.

But when the reanimated ones did start showing up, probably from Shane and Rick having a rather loud go, I wasn't sure what would kill us first— the smell or the walkers.

"Shut up! Shut up, you're attracting more of them!" I pleaded as quietly as I could, grabbing a pistol from my belt and holding it anxiously.

Some of the others had began running back to the cars but Lori and I were incessantly pleading with the two men to just give up and run before it was too late.

I could understand Rick's desperation. His family was here, his wife and his boy were counting on him to keep them safe and he'd led them to a dead end. But if he didn't stop screaming at the broken surveillance camera, he would get us all killed.

"Rick, please!" I gripped his arm, trying to pull him away but Shane pushed me back, trying to tackle Rick angrily.

"If you don't let us in, you're killing us, you hear me?!" Rick continued. "YOU'RE KILLING US!"

Shane finally got a good grip on Rick's shirt and began to drag him away forcefully.

"YOU'RE KILLING US!" He kept repeating.

I backed away from the CDC with my heart in my throat, a sense of impending doom as I realized this was it.

Just as we finally turned around, as Rick yelled out in frustration once more, as the numerous walkers began to appear—

A miracle happened.

I could've fallen to my knees if it wasn't for Shane grabbing onto me in shock. Glenn ran to my side, snatching his red hat off and staring at the shutters as they opened and blinded us immediately.

Inside— our salvation.

I wasted no time, grabbing onto Carl and Lori and dragging us into the building with Glenn.

There was a chorus of voices as we all rushed in but my attention was stolen by the stranger who stood pointing a rifle at us. I found it hard to believe a doctor would be handling a gun within this fortress.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked loudly, causing everyone to fall silent.

The man stared at us in disbelief.

Feeling my heart plummet, I shared a weary glance with Glenn. This can't be good.

taglist:

@lovelyygirl8 @aleemendoza2425-blog @catlalice @ho3forchr1sevans

[clinicshamartia]

DISCLAIMERS BEFORE YOU PROCEED!

This is a DELAYED character review. I know what’s going to happen to them in s2. I’m saying this as to say that I’m fully aware of the dramatic irony of some of these character reviews 😭 also this is a transcript from an audio I sent to my friends when I actually finished S1 so I’m sorry if some bits don’t make sense. I’ve edited a bit but not entirely.

TWD CHARACTER REVIEWS - SEASON 1

Rick Grimes: 10/10. He is an amazing person, he’s an even more amazing father. He's selfless, kind, gentle, understanding, caring, protective, loving, brave and so much more. The relationship that he has with people around him is so nice to watch. Him owning up to things immediately without knowing how people react is such a nice characteristic about him that I really hope he doesn't lose. He’s just— ugh I love him. I can’t wait to see how his character progresses and how his relationships change.

Lori Grimes: 9/10. She's an amazing mother. She's an amazing wife. She is a good person who is trying her best. So many people hate on Lori Grimes because she ‘cheated�� with Shane. He was a rebound. If I was in her situation I would do the same. You get told that your husband is dead during the apocalypse, which means he’s DEAD, never coming back, and you’re forced to live in the woods with your only son who only looking up to you in this moment. It is such a devastating situation to be in. You’re mourning and grieving while trying to keep your only son safe in this horrible horrible world and the next best thing to your husband, the closest thing your him, walks up to you to give you comfort, protection and security. Of course she would turn to him. Of course she would sleep with him. I would do the same thing. And the guilt on her face, you know she regrets it so much. She's so kind and sweet and protective. I know it's not gonna be for very long unfortunately but from what we have with Lori Grimes I cannot wait to see her progression in the show a character, as a mother, and as a wife.

Carl Grimes: 10/10. I'm pretty sure I teared up a bit when I first saw him on screen because he's just so little he's just a baby it's just a little baby boy he is so small. My maternal instincts kicked in fucking immediately when I saw him on screen. He's just a little kid and this is what I love about Carl Grimes. He is accurate representation of what happens of what would happen if you put a child in the apocalypse and then them having to go through puberty during the apocalypse. I am so fucking excited to see his character progression. I cannot wait for him to be sassy. I love him mwah.

Shane Walsh: -10/10. I know we need characters like him in these types of media, and I know that he was an important part of the plot, and I KNOW that he is a well written character, but I hate him so much. The only time I want him on screen is when he’s dying. The only time I want to see him open is mouth is when he’s screaming in agony. I hate him. Disgusting filth.

Daryl Dixon: 8/10. He's a very very funny character with a lot of baggage but he’s so loving and caring, just in his own ways. You can really tell that he wants to protect everyone there and that his act is just an act because he can’t admit to loving anyone. He’s a complex character and I like it a lot. Also, the way that people treat him in this season is so horrible. You come back after hunting for the group of people that you have decided you were going to look after and you see this guy rock up and he says “yeah your brother? yeah I left him for dead after I locked him up to a metal pipe on the top of a roof in the sweltering heat surrounded by zombies LOL. I'm Rick Grimes by the way” and people get upset with him getting angry at that? Then, people are saying you shouldn’t go and find him because no one likes him. And then you go after him anyways BECAUSE HES YOUR BROTHER and you find his SEVERED HAND instead. And then you come back and your camp gets attacked by walkers and one of your camp mates get bit, and when you say you should kill him to prevent any pain or suffering, people call you crazy and weird. WTF! Wtaf. Daryl is getting so much hate from them like what. Anyways I love Daryl, I can’t wait to see how his character develops and how his relationships change, and how he adapts to the new environments and people (because we all know what he’s like).

Glenn Rhee: 9/10. Glenn is an amazing guy. He's funny, a bit stupid and has some great lines as well. He's very smart, very valuable and his humanity and compassion is what really makes me love him. He saw a random stranger surrounded by zombies and instead of doing what he was supposed to do he took time out of his mission time out of that situation to save him. What could've very much gotten him killed to help the stranger. And then the stranger comes back and makes him do something that he really doesn't want to do (covering yourself in blood and guts and gore and walking through a street of zombies which could very much kill you in a second is not something he wants to do) but he does it anyways because he does it for the people that he cares about. Then he comes back to camp and the whole ambush happens and they're about to burn one of the camp members bodies and he yells at them and he says “we don't burn our people we bury them”. That line made me so so emotional and it means so much to me that they added that in because it is such an emotional and beautiful line for me. It honestly really highlights him as a character and the humanity and compassion he carries even after everything. I really loved him again. I can't wait to see his character progression, I can't wait to see how his relationships progress as well and how his skills are able to be used in the long run.

Dale: 8/10. I really love him. He’s a great guy doing his very best to try and teach and help the group. He is the word of wisdom, he is the one you look to for guidance. I absolutely adore him. Although, dragging Andrea out of suicide was not great, didn’t like that. Can’t wait to see how he’ll help the group in the future.

Andrea: 6/10. She is a little bit annoying, but she seems quite smart. I don't like how she treats certain people though. Like, I can't explain it but the way she goes about some things just urk me really bad. I think she has a lot of room for improvement, but right now she's okay. I want to see what she can bring to the table though.

Carol: 9/10. BAD ASS BITCH. She is amazing and funny and trying her best. I cannot wait to see her healing process and how her relationships change and how her skills develop. I love her.

T-DOG: 7/10. He's cool, I like him a lot. You can tell that he's trying his best and he has a nice voice. I think he can do a lot of good for the group in the later seasons as we can see that he's already helped quite a bit. Also, his loving and caring nature is really nice to see. Merle called him a racial slur and threatened to hurt him and still he went back to chain the door shut so he could have a chance to survive. He's super cool.

[miu-senpaii]

Shane's One True Love-(Shane x Reader) Oneshot

Synopsis: Shane calls for a divorce after you insult his chicken

Notes: Totally not satire (because I 100% see Shane doing this), features cursing and mommy and daddy fighting 😔

When you walk in sweaty from a long day of working your ass off on the farm, you are greeted by the sight of your husband cuddled up on the couch with his chicken Charlie while munching on pizza rolls. I feel a pang of jealousy in your heart towards his feathered friend at being able to live your dream of snuggling up in Shane's beefy, warm arms every day. Meanwhile, you're outside getting your butt scorched by the sun with sweat uncomfortably dripping into your asscrack. Talk about unfair.

You suddenly feel the urge to ask your husband him a very life-changing question, so you walked over and sat next to him on the couch.

"Shane, would you still love me if I were a chicken?" you asked with wide, innocent eyes.

Shane slowly turns to face you with a puzzled expression, and you swear you see the chicken side-eye you.

"Aww, of course," he coos, "I would feed you the best corn every day and cuddle you just like I'm doing with Charlie."

However, you have yet to be satisfied with his answer. There has been one question you've been hesitant to ask all these years in your marriage. You trail your eyes down to the chicken in his arms. Its beady eyes stare into your soul, taunting you with the fact that you could never compete with it no matter how hard you tried. It was the one that owned Shane's heart, held him by a leash, getting your husband to heed to its every cluck.

Your hands ball into fists, and your body tremors as you ask the big question, "Shane...do you love me more than Charlie?"

Your husband instantly freezes. His eyes nervously dart around the room, looking everywhere except into your firey orbs. Cold sweat drips down his face as the seconds pass, and the tension thickens.

Finally, Shane breaks the silence with an awkward chuckle, "Haha, that's a silly question...how could I compare two things that are so different?"

You let out a warning growl through clenched teeth, "Don't play with me, Shane. Answer. The. Question."

Shane sighs, "Well, Charlie is cute, cuddly, playful, loving, amazing, extraordinary, and you are...well, you."

You leap from the couch, seething in anger as you shout, "Are you kidding me?! I work my ass off all day long to support you! What does Charlie do?! All that little shit does his poop and eat, and he gets pampered by you! How could you love a fucking bird more than me?!"

Shane looked up in a rage, pressing both hands to the sides of Charlie's tiny head, presumably to cover his ears, "Blasphemy! Charlie's mere existence is a gift from Yoba! Just looking at him fills my heart with warmth like the springtime sun! Every feather on his body, every claw is carved to perfection by the greatest sculptor! He moves with grace, each step with his tiny talons puts runway models to shame! Even his poop is shaped like perfectly round pellets resembling the heavenly spheres in the early Greek models of the universe!"

Your jaw drops, momentarily stunned at how your husband suddenly transformed into Elliot with the words that spilled out of his mouth.

Shane's chest heaves up and down as he faces you with narrowed eyes.

"You've gone too far," he pauses before uttering the words that shatter your world, "I'm getting a fucking divorce."

You stop breathing. The entire room feels like it's spinning as you barely register Shane picking up Charlie and pushing past you toward the door. You call out to him before he leaves, "Wait! Are you really throwing all of this away? Just because of this?!"

Shane turns his head to give you one last glance with those same icy, emotionless eyes you saw when you first met him. "I know how you feel now. You insulted my chickens, my blood, my life. I'll manage on my own without you, but I can't without my chickens."

The last thing you hear is the slam of the door and Charlie's happy cluck. You're left standing alone in your home, which is now eerily silent. You feel wetness run down your cheeks as you watch Shane's retreating figure, walking in the direction of the Mayor's Manor. At that moment, your heart aches, not just because of the divorce but because you knew...

Shane loved his chickens more than he had and could ever love you.

[rapturousfrog]

the beginning of the end pt 2.

summary: daryl and his childhood best friend (maybe more) until they have a falling out, until she meets shane, until they are reunited when the world ends.

lmk thoughts!

daryl dixon x female oc (eventually)

warnings: painfully slow burn, lots of cursing, drugs, mentions of abuse. not super family friendly!

pt 1.

after that night, daryl didn’t let himself think about it too much. he simply carried on the way things were- the way they had always been. sipping cheap beer by the creek on friday nights, smoking cheaper cigarettes. wandering in the woods, trying desperately to teach her to hunt and track. it’s not that she wasn’t good, but to him something could always be improved. then back to his trailer to sit around a campfire with merle and listen to his bullshit, long after their fathers had passed out and they could breathe a little easier. 

the thought had crossed daryl’s mind more than once, had she told herr father about college? they both knew no matter what she did, lily would wind up taking out a loan and working like a dog to put herself through four years of disgustingly overpriced education. it wasn’t like her father would throw a dime her way, but he wondered what the bitter old man thought about his daughter leaving. 

her mother, he knew, would offer a warm proud smile, maybe a hug through the haze of the pills. it pained him to see how alone she really was in that house nowadays. still, he thought, things could be worse.

it was after daryl threatened to bash her father’s skull in that he stopped hitting her when he would come home at night, smelling of perfume and slurring his words. daryl wasn’t threatening him- nothing about it was an intimidation tactic. he stood there in her living room one night, fists curled and house empty except for the three of them. rage radiated off him in fucking waves, lily sat on the floor with blood pooling down from a gash on her cheek. nothing about it was posing when he told her father- in an eerily calm way- that the next time daryl found out he put a hand on her, he would come in here and beat him to death. 

her father had not touched her since. 

she simply tallied it onto the long list of things daryl dixon has done to make her life better. 

daryl didn’t really think twice of it. didn’t question the fact that he had absolutely 0 hesitation to stand up to her old man, now that he was physically capable of backing up his threat. (not that 15 year old daryl didn’t throw a hell of a punch). 

but he didn’t question that he threatened death without a second thought over treatment he couldn’t stand for, then went home to the exact same thing and said nothing. 

because through the years, lily would sometimes find daryl at the water’s edge with the back of his shirt ripped up and soaked with blood, tears slipping silently out of his eyes. through the years, she would silently sit behind him with a soft rag, washing his back with water from the beat up metal bottle she always had with her. putting a comforting hand on his shoulder and squeezing when he hissed from the peroxide she had to pour over it. and doing it all with a touch so foreign and so soft that made him question if she was even real. 

it made the hellish events of his life less hellish. 

he simply tallied it on the long list of things lily maxwell has done to make his life better. 

—-------------------------------------

when the envelope came, she started at the postmark from new york for maybe a good 45 minutes, sitting in front of her mailbox and not moving a muscle. 

he found her like this, eyed the envelope with the "nyu" in the corner and made a quiet move to sit next to her. she didn’t turn her head, and they sat there for what seemed like forever, both of their thoughts running fucking rampant. 

out of nowhere, she swiftly picked it up and tore it open carefully. her breath held tight in her lungs. 

he had grabbed a pizza and a shit ton of alcohol that night, sitting around the fire as zeppelin poured out of the beat up stereo they cherished. this was supposed to be a celebration- daryl felt like it was his last night on earth. he knew the last three months she had would go by quicker than he could even fathom. he knew he was watching the door slowly close on the last few years of their lives. 

[hopefulatrocity]

From The Ashes Chapter 4

Note: Next chapter Daryl and Pheonyx see each other for the first time. Reviews and reblogs are appreciated! The song is Lost Boy by Ruth B

Dividers by:

@firefly-graphics

&

@omiyours

Banner by: @liminal-creations 

CW/TW: Anxiety, beginnings of anxiety attack, canon character death, PTSD symptoms. 

Prev Next

After Maggie left, Hershel came in and told Pheonyx what was happening. Apparently Carl needed surgery, and Shane and Otis were heading to the FEMA center at the local high school to get the needed supplies. The one that was overrun with shadows. When the older man told him their plan, Pheonyx stood up so fast the chair he was in was knocked over. 

“What?!”, he exclaimed. “That place is a deathtrap! Otis has almost no experience with those things, Hershel! How long ago did they leave? Maybe I can catch up with them.”

Hershel sighed and placed a hand on Pheonyx’s shoulder to stop him from rushing out of the room, “I know, Nyx. But he needed to do this. He has the EMT experience so he knows what we need. The likelihood the boy survives surgery without the anesthesia and manual respirator is almost zero. And I need you to stay here, he’s going to need another transfusion in less than an hour. We have to have faith that Otis will make it back to us.”

Faith was something that Pheonyx lost many years ago. But he chose not to say that to Hershel. He hated that his stepfather was right, though. He couldn’t leave. Carl needed him. So, he just nodded and righted the chair that he tipped over. Sitting down, he leaned his elbows on his knees and placed his head into his hands. Hershel patted him on the back and left the two boys alone. 

The chances of Otis making it back were slim. While Pheonyx was never close with the farmhand, he had sworn to protect everyone that lived in the farmhouse. Stomach roiling with guilt and fear, he tried to clear his mind and took a deep breath. 

He grasped the young boy’s hand again, noting how much smaller it was compared to his own. “When I woke up in the hospital, I was pretty much catatonic for a while. Didn’t move or talk to anyone. But there was a nurse there, her name was Meredith, she would come in on her breaks and sing to me. It helped bring me out of the hole I was in. Now, I’m not the best singer in the world, the animals are the only ones I’ve sung for, but maybe it can help you too. If not, you won’t remember any of this so I won’t have to be embarrassed. That’s a bonus.”, a soft chuckle escaped his sun-chapped lips. He took a moment to try to think of an appropriate song to sing to an 11yr old boy. When he had one in mind, he began to sing, his voice barely above a whisper. 

“There was a time when I was alone

Nowhere to go and no place to call home

My only friend was the man in the Moon

And even, sometimes, he would go away, too

Then one night, as I closed my eyes

I saw a shadow flying high

He came to me with the sweetest smile

Told me he wanted to talk for a while

He said, "Peter Pan, that's what they call me

I promise that you'll never be lonely"

And ever since that day”

At some point, Kismet had nosed his way through the shut door, drawn by his owner’s voice. He padded into the room, and sat by Pheonyx’s side. A furry nose pressed into the man’s unoccupied hand.

“I am a Lost Boy from Neverland

Usually hanging out with Peter Pan

And when we're bored, we play in the woods

Always on the run from Captain Hook

"Run, run, Lost Boy", they say to me

"Away from all of reality"

Neverland is home to Lost Boys like me

And Lost Boys like me are free

Neverland is home to Lost Boys like me

And Lost Boys like me are free

He sprinkled me in pixie dust and told me to believe

Believe in him and believe in me

Together, we will fly away in a cloud of green

To your beautiful destiny

As we soared above the town that never loved me

I realized I finally had a family

Soon enough, we reached Neverland

Peacefully, my feet hit the sand

And ever since that day”

Occasionally, Pheonyx felt a twitch of the boy’s hand against his fingers. Just a whisper of a movement but it urged him to keep singing. 

“I am a Lost Boy from Neverland

Usually hanging out with Peter Pan

And when we're bored, we play in the woods

Always on the run from Captain Hook

"Run, run, Lost Boy", they say to me

"Away from all of reality"

Neverland is home to Lost Boys like me

And Lost Boys like me are free

Neverland is home to Lost Boys like me

And Lost Boys like me are free–”

A creak of the floorboards had both Kismet and Pheonyx whipping their heads to the doorway. Rick’s tall frame filled the entrance. His hat had been taken off at some point and a bit of color had popped back into his cheeks. Not much, but he no longer looked like he was about to pass out. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt,” his voice was still rough with tears and shock. The sheriff moved farther into the room, walking around the bed to reach his son’s other side. His hands were settled on his hips, thumbs hooked in the holster belt. “Lori used to read him Peter Pan before bed all the time. We got him so many books but he always wanted to read that one. He went as Peter for Halloween 3 years in a row.”

A small smile played over the man’s face as he stared down at his son, “He started crying at his 6th birthday party because he didn’t want to get older. Said that Peter wouldn’t let him be part of the Lost Boys if he did.” 

The smile on Rick’s face was contagious and Pheonyx felt his lips turning up as well. “Your son has good tastes. It was my favorite story growing up too. My first tattoo was actually a quote from the story.”

Rubbing a hand over his sweaty face, Rick reached down to hold his son’s other hand. His warm blue eyes lifted to look into the younger man’s green ones. “Thank you. I just– Thank you. For giving him blood. Sitting here with him. Talking to him. I can’t thank y’all enough.” 

Pheonyx shook his head. “You don’t have to thank me. It’s the right thing to do. Carl’s strong. I may not know him but I have a gut feeling. He’s going to make it through this.”, there was a brief moment of silence, “Maggie told me there is a little girl missing? I’d like to help find her if that’s okay? I spend every day in those woods and I’ve gotten pretty good at tracking over the past couple of months. I’ve also been working with Kismet on scent tracking. So, anyway we can help, let us know.”

Kismet’s ears perked at his name and he looked over at the sheriff, giving a small woof. Obviously, giving the man his qualifications for tracking. Pheonyx hushed the dog and patted his head. A look of relief filled Rick’s eyes as he processed what was said. 

“Yes please. Any help is appreciated. We have an experienced tracker in our group, Daryl, but we lost her trail earlier. We got held up by a herd yesterday, and Sophia ran into the woods, walkers on her tail. I managed to find her and hide her so I could lead the walkers away. I told her to keep the sun over her left shoulder and head back to the highway. But she got spooked by something and her tracks turned around at some point.”

“We’ll find her, Rick. You just focus on Carl right now. He needs you the most.” 

Rick nodded. Pheonyx glanced out the window and saw Maggie riding Koda towards the house. A skinny brunette woman rode with her arms wrapped around his sister. 

Pheonyx tilted his head to the window, “I think your wife is here.”

The next hours passed slowly. After giving the couple some time alone with Carl, Patricia and Pheonyx came back in to hook him up for a second transfusion. He stayed with the boy while Hershel talked to Rick and Lori in the dining room. Kismet kept him company, which ultimately meant the dog was passed out on the floor, snoring. The rhythmic whistling and fluttering of the dog’s lips was oddly comforting in the silence of the make-shift hospital room. When the parents returned, Lori placed a warm hand on his shoulder and thanked him for donating blood. 

“It’s no problem ma’am.”, Pheonyx said, trying not to flinch when she touched his shoulder. The woman was kind and motherly. He knew she wasn’t going to hurt him, but his body still worked on instinct. Strange touches sent jolts of fire through his pores, made fear flow through his veins, and caused his muscles to tense. She must have noticed the brief flare of panic in his eyes, because she pulled her hand away and gave him a comforting smile. Silence reared its head again. 

Day turned into night and every minute that Shane and Otis were gone just increased the worry floating through the house. Rick tried to insist on going after them but Lori tried to pull him back to earth, reminding him he needed to be with Carl. The sheriff was insistent though. Patricia was about to hook Pheonyx up for a third transfusion but he stopped her. He stood up from the chair and approached the bickering couple. 

“Rick, I’m actually feeling a bit dizzy, maybe you could do this unit?” Pheonyx lied easily, knowing the man’s urge to help his son would override his worry for the two men. The ruse worked and Rick allowed Patricia to insert the IV. 

Lori mouthed her thanks to Pheonyx and he gave a small smile in return. He made his way out the door, needing to get out of the room. The fear and anxiety in the room was stifling. Admittedly, a good portion of it was from him. He hadn’t even realized his hands were trembling. It could have been from the blood loss but more than likely it was the feeling of panic closing in on him. Kismet followed beside him, leaning against the man’s leg as they walked through the house to the porch. The dog was better than any therapist or anti-anxiety meds that Pheonyx ever had. Just the presence of his furry companion was a balm to his soul. The screen door squeaked and shut with a loud thud as the pair walked out into the humid night air. 

“Needed a break?”, Maggie’s voice sounded from beside him, and he jumped slightly. She was seated on a rocking chair, knees to her chest, in the dark corner of the porch. Kismet’s tail began to thump against his leg at the sight of the young woman. 

Pheonyx patted the dog’s head and moved to sit beside his sister on the porch. “Yeah. Too many people. Too many emotions. I was 2 minutes away from an anxiety attack.”, he leaned his head back against the house, letting it hit with a soft bang. Kismet laid beside him, placing his head into his lap. 

“You’re doin’ good. I’m proud of you.”, Maggie reached over and brushed some of Pheonyx’s short brown hair from his forehead. She was one of the only people that he could stomach touching him. He even felt comfort in it. “You goin’ to be okay searchin’ for that girl tomorrow? Rick said he wants you to work with one of his people. I know all these new people are alot for you..”

“I’m not going to let my anxiety get in the way of finding a lost kid. We both know I’m the best person to help these people, anyways. I don’t have much of a choice.” Pheonyx pet Kismet’s head, finding solace in the soft fur on his ears and neck. “I’ll have my boy as a social buffer anyways. Right, Kizzie?”, he spoke in baby talk to the pup, who wagged his tail harder at the attention. 

Maggie knew her brother well enough to know he was trying to change the subject. Before she could point it out, the noise of a car coming up the driveway distracted them. A small bit of hope filled both of their chests before they realized it wasn’t Otis’s truck pulling in. An old station wagon pulled up and two men stepped out. One was a buff African American man who looked as if he’d seen better days. Sweat ran down his face, which looked paler than it should be. The other was a younger asian man, probably close to Maggie’s age. They looked nervous and questioned whether they should knock on the door or not, obviously not seeing the two Greene siblings in the dark corner of the porch. 

“You close the gate when you drove up?”, Pheonyx spoke up and smirked when the two men jumped. Kismet leapt to his feet and wiggled his way over to the new people. He panted happily as the men each scratched his head and smiled at him. 

The younger man’s eyes were locked on Maggie as he answered, “Uh, Hi. Yes, we closed it. Did the latch and everything.”, Pheonyx watched him visibly gulp as he looked over his sister. Maggie noticed the attention and placed her feet on the ground, leaning her elbows on her knees. 

Oh this should be interesting, he thought. 

“Hello, it’s nice to see you again. We, uh, met before, briefly.”, the man rambled, his face getting sweatier than it already was. 

Saving the other man from his embarrassment and also needing to get away from the influx of people, Pheonyx stood up. “Maggs, I’m going to head to the stable, start planning the search for tomorrow. If they need more blood, come get me?”

His sister nodded and stood up to give him a kiss to his cheek. “Of course. Try to get some rest, please? Kismet can stay here, give you some time to yourself.”

“Yes, ma’am.”, Pheonyx said sarcastically. As he moved to the brick steps, he noticed the bloodied bandage on the pale man’s arm. Instinctively, his hand moved to his cutlass and adrenaline filled his veins. Noticing the movement, the Asian man moved in front of his friend and held up his hands.

“It’s not a bite! He cut himself on some glass.”

Relief filled Pheonyx and his already-tired body felt even more exhausted. He patted Maggie’s shoulder and inclined his head towards her, “Maggie will show you guys inside. Get you something to eat. I’m sure Patricia can help with that arm of yours.” 

With that, he left the men in the capable hands of his sister and headed to the stables on the other side of the house. The building was one of the newer ones on the property. The original stables for the farm had burned down in the early 90’s during a particularly dry summer. No horses had been harmed, thankfully, but the whole building had to be rebuilt. And now, since the world went to shit, Pheonyx considered it his base of operations. All his supplies for hunting, making traps, and killing shadows were stored in one of the empty stables. There was a property map that was centered on the wall where the tack room was located. That one was nearly the same as the one he gave to Maggie to give to the group on the highway, just much larger. Every mark he had made on this map, he made on the other one as well. It paid to have a backup copy if something happened to the one hung up. Every important location was marked on it: shadow traps, safe walking trails, abandoned farmhouses, supply caches he had buried, danger zones, safe drinking water sources, and even areas where game frequented. The map had taken over a month of heavy work and scouting. Not including the time it took to set up the traps themselves. He had several maps of the surrounding towns, each one marked and sectioned with the types of businesses that the area contained. 

Pheonyx’s legs felt heavy as he passed each stall in the dark building, giving each horse a small pet on their fuzzy noses. In order to keep his family in the dark about his work on eliminating shadows, he did all the work in the stables so they wouldn’t see the supplies and maps. Everyday, he fed and watered the horses, made sure they were groomed, and led them to their designated pastures. In turn, he had gotten close with all of them. He knew all their quirks and strengths. Maggie was the only other person who went in the stables, as she often made trips into town. He was pretty certain that, up until earlier when he confirmed it, she chose to remain oblivious to all of the other work regarding shadows that he did.  It was going to come out sooner or later, and he had a feeling that–with the arrival of this new group–Hershel would be the next to find out. It was something he was dreading. Pheonyx hated fighting with his stepfather, but it was inevitable in this case. He walked to the end of the stable and opened up the empty one he had claimed as his own sleeping quarters. It was nothing special, all he did was sweep out all the hay from the floor and place a camping cot in the corner. One of his grandma’s old quilts was crumpled on top of it along with an old pillow. Placed alongside the cot was a small table with a battery operated lantern. He didn’t bother turning it on before crawling onto the cot, which gave a loud creak from the movement. He kicked off his worn Timberland boots, letting them fall to the floor with a thud.

Despite the exhaustion floating over his head, he didn’t fall asleep. He stared at the ceiling of the stables, his eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness around him. Minutes passed. Maybe hours. He wasn’t too sure. 

The loud sound of Otis’s truck coming up the drive had Pheonyx shooting up from the small bed. He didn’t even bother putting on his boots before he ran out of the stables, stopping right at the front. Even from a distance, he could see only one person exiting the vehicle. A person who was definitely not Otis. Shane exited the truck and handed off the bags of supplies to Hershel. His heart plummeted. It didn’t take a genius to know what happened. Otis was dead. He may not have known the man very well, but he was still a part of the family. There was a sharp stab of grief in his heart, followed by nauseating guilt. It was irrational, he couldn’t have stopped Otis from trying to right his wrongs, even accidental ones. If Pheonyx had gone in his place, he could have been killed instead. Or Rick could have died from donating too much blood in his stead. Which would mean that Carl would have died as well. Rationally, he knew he wasn’t responsible for Otis’s death. It still didn’t stop the darker parts of his mind from placing the blood on his hands.

Pheonyx probably should have gone to comfort his sisters, or Patricia, but he didn’t have the emotional energy to handle it. Kismet was with them, so he knew they at least had someone to cling to. So, he just headed back into the stables.

And just how Pheonyx always dealt with his emotions, he packed away the grief and put all his energy into distracting himself. In this case, it was planning the search for the little girl. He studied the large map, one that showed all the elevations of the property, on the stable wall and scrubbed a hand over his face. Turning on the lamp that hung by the tack room, he sighed and got to work. 

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Taglist: @yoongibaybee​ 

[heartsoulrocknroll]

AEW Dynamite 4/10/24

Swerve attacks Joe before his scheduled eliminator match with Dustin Rhodes and spears him through a table!!

Adam Copeland (c) vs. Penta El Zero Miedo for the TNT Championship -- Penta goes for Fear Factor on the apron, but Copeland blocks it and pushes him into the ring post. Penta runs at Copeland, who catches him with a powerslam on the apron! Copeland goes for a spear outside, but Penta moves and he hits Alex instead. Penta lands an avalanche Code Red inside, then snaps back Copeland's arm, and covers for two! Penta springboards off the ropes, but Copeland takes him out of midair with a spear for the pinfall!

Solid match here with Penta getting a lot of offense in. Kinda dragged on for me though. Rating: 3

Body King and Julia Hart surround Copeland after match. Willow comes out to help.

Renee is with Jericho, Hook, and Shibata. Jericho says Hook and Shibata will sit under the learning tree of Chris Jericho. Lmao. He lays out what they need to do to beat Shane Taylor Promotions. After Jericho leaves, Shibata uses Google translate to ask what Jericho's deal is. Then he tells Renee that he likes her necklace. Lol.

Renee is now with Copeland, Willow, Stokely, new ROH World Champion Mark Briscoe, and Eddie Kingston. Stokely suggests that Copeland defend the TNT Championship against Willow, which I think is a phenomenal idea that should absolutely happen. But they agree to a mixed tag team match against Brody and Julia.

The Bucks are backstage with a screen to show the All In footage that AEW has been hyping up all week. God. They mention the altercation between Jack Perry and someone who tried to make everything about himself, someone who is a friend of FTR. Nick suggests that FTR is behind the whole thing. Matt says they can't make accusations without proof, which is an obvious sarcastic shot at the Punk interview. Matt says they had to be EVPs at All In and had to neglect being professional wrestlers, so there should be a big asterisk next to FTR's victory over them that night. They show the footage of Punk shoving and choking Perry backstage, before the people around them stop the fight. Matt says that isn't the worst part. The worst part is filling a building with the most people ever at a wrestling show, only to be distracted by something so stupid that you lose on your big night. And FTR had the balls to stick their hands out and ask them to shake hands. Nick says at Dynasty, they're not shaking hands, you pricks.

Where do I begin? I think blaming the Punk/Perry fight on FTR and using that as an excuse for the Bucks being distracted and losing to FTR at All In is a fine angle. But obviously, the only reason this is being done at all is to give AEW an excuse to show the footage, because Tony got his feelings hurt by the recent Punk interview that no one will shut up about. I think it's a bad look for AEW to still be dwelling on this eight months later, as if they need to rely on this drama for ratings, or need to prove something to someone. Although I am not sure what Tony thinks this footage proves, as it only shows exactly what Punk said happened and only gives Punk, the well-known attention whore, more attention. This company cannot keep acknowledging every shot someone takes at them. It looks pathetic. Tony Khan is a huge man baby and needs to hire someone else to run this company and make the decisions, because he clearly isn't capable of doing it.

FTR come out to the ring with a mic. Cash asks why the Bucks are showing this footage, other than to have an excuse for losing. They are ready to move on and put this in the past. Despite the fact that AEW is now doing some of their best shows ever, they are still showing footage from eight months ago. At Dynasty, FTR have to win, not for their legacy, not to be considered the greatest of all time, but because they are sick of these "petty little bitches," the Young Bucks.

Dax says they have eclipsed the Bucks as the best tag team on the planet. At one time, the Bucks cared about the three letters AEW, but now, three other letters have taken over, and they only care about what is best for the EVPs. Dax says they are building AEW so that wrestlers can have a choice. They are building AEW for hard-working people who spend their money on tickets. And if the Bucks don't want to be part of that AEW, they can go home, because FTR have got this. Dax says the Bucks may have laid the foundation, but FTR are going to put the roof on top of the house, just to blow it right back off!!

Great delivery by Dax here. I am not sure what to make of this, as FTR basically said everything I was thinking about that All In footage being shown. It's kind of strange to show the footage, and then have someone else on the show acknowledge why showing the footage was a stupid thing, as the reasoning for why it was stupid can be applied to the real-life "man" Tony Khan as easily as it can be applied to the kayfabe Young Bucks characters. Weird to acknowledge that you knew it was a stupid thing to do, but you chose to do it anyway. I don't know anything anymore.

Ospreay comes out to the stage for an interview with Renee. He addresses the recent comments that Triple H made about not wanting people who want to work a lighter schedule and who don't want to "grind" in the WWE (comments which were obviously about Ospreay). He says there is a rumor going around that he is afraid of the grind. And he is not sure where that comes from, because he is flying back and forth from the UK to the US every week and delivering some of the best matches the world has ever seen. Normally, he wouldn't rise to this type of bait, but seeing as the person who said it is "only in the position he is in because he was grinding on the boss' daughter," he will. Ospreay says he is in no position to tell Ospreay what the grind is all about.

I have a lot of thoughts about this. I think Triple H's comments were completely asinine and unnecessary. Who wouldn't pick the lighter schedule and more money?? An idiot?? But regardless, we're back to tonight's theme of this company being unable to ignore shots taken at them and let their own programming speak for itself. I kind of get the feeling that this is all coming from Tony Khan, and isn't necessarily what these guys want to be showing or saying on TV. But who knows. It's a mess either way.

Ospreay then moves on to Danielson. He mentions Danielson saying that Ospreay is stronger and faster, and his only chance to win is to ground Ospreay. Ospreay says healthier, younger, and better men have tried and failed. But Danielson is a living legend. And Ospreay can't call himself the best wrestler in the world until after he pins Danielson. It is time for him to show everyone why he is the ace of AEW.

Yeesh. So we are back to cringe Ospreay promos after a couple of unusually good weeks. I hated every second of that. Lmao.

Chris Jericho, Hook, and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shane Taylor, Lee Moriarty, and Anthony Ogogo -- Jericho lands a lionsault, then a top rope rana on Moriarty early on. Shibata tags in with nasty elbows and a nasty round kick to the back of Moriarty!!! Huge lariat from Taylor to Hook! Hook and Taylor trade elbows, Taylor takes Hook down with a headbutt, Hook lands a German suplex on Taylor!!! Wow! Beautiful Shibata hot tag action, as he comes in with boots in the corner, rapidly alternating jaw jabs and chest chops, a running corner dropkick, then a nice snap suplex for two on Moriarty! Shibata lands a back heel trip and goes for a tag, but Jericho pulls Hook off the apron, yelling about the plan and the learning tree. Lmao. Shibata gets a sleeper on Moriarty, but Taylor comes in with a big right hand to Shibata to break the hold, then Moriarty lands the Fang on Shibata for the pinfall!! Wtf.

I really enjoyed this match. I thought everything was done well here. Shibata looked awesome as always. Really sick of Shibata eating losses left and right though. Rating: 3.25

Dustin is with Renee. He says his strategy doesn't change since Joe was attacked. It is always grit, passion, and glory for him, and tonight will be no different.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Cristiano Argento -- Okada lands the knee neckbreaker, a dropkick, and a Rainmaker for the pinfall and looks so bored 💕❤💕. Rating: AWESOME SQUASH

Okada gets a mic and calls out Pac. He says he accepts Pac's challenge and will see him at Dynasty. HELL YEAH!!!!!!!!! Pac heads to the ring! The Bucks come from behind to attack Pac. FTR come out to even the odds. They set Matt up for Shatter Machine, but Okada grabs a chair. The Bucks go nuts with superkicks. Okada swings for the fences with chair to Pac's head. Damn!!! I CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS MATCH!!!!!!!!!!

Bullet Club Gold promo about what happened at Supercard of Honor with the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn.

Renee is with Thunder Rosa and Toni Storm for a "champagne toast" that Storm has organized. Storm just throws the champagne in Rosa's face and partially wipes her face paint off with a towel. Purrazzo comes out to try to help, but Rosa pushes her away. This was a really weird segment.

Anna Jay vs. Mariah May -- They trade overhand chops. Anna with a nice blockbuster neckbreaker, then a neckbreaker over the second rope. Mariah lands a headbutt. Anna with a back elbow then a spinning heel kick in the corner. Mariah lands a missile dropkick off the top and a hip attack for two. Anna gets a couple of nearfalls with a hook kick and a back heel trip. She goes for something else, but Mariah reverses into a roll up for the pinfall.

This was alright. Not much to it. Rating: 1.75

Anna chokes Mariah after the match. Mina Shirakawa comes out to help Mariah. She feeds Mariah champagne and kisses her on the lips. Mariah is very happy about this. What is going on.

Alex Marvez has a sit-down interview with Mercedes. Mercedes says AEW made history with their first pay-per-view in Vegas, and she wants to make history again this year at Double or Nothing. Julia and Willow are both some of the best. She has been in the ring with Willow before. She talks about losing to Willow for the New Japan Strong Women's Championship and getting injured. She hates to lose. But she always has a plan, and she is on a mission. The lights go out. There is commotion. The lights come back to reveal Mercedes on the floor.

Samoa Joe vs. Dustin Rhodes (AEW World Championship Eliminator Match) -- Dustin with right hands outside. Joe sends Dustin face-first into the ring post. Dustin's head is busted open. Joe with jabs, elbow, chops, Manhattan drop, big boot, running back senton, and a cover for two. Dustin with a powerslam. They trade rights hands. Dustin with jabs and a bionic elbow, then Code Red for two! Joe blocks a bulldog attempt and pummels Dustin with a huge lariat, sending him outside. Dustin grabs the belt and thinks about hitting Joe, but then throws it aside. Dustin lands Cross Rhodes for two. Joe with a huge STO in the corner! Joe grabs Swerve's steel chain. The ref takes it and hands it outside. Joe grabs the belt while the ref is distracted and nails Dustin in the face, then covers him for three.

Perfectly fine match. Just short with an obvious result. Rating: 3

Joe locks in the Coquina Clutch on Dustin after the match, but Swerve comes out to break it up with a House Call kick, then lands a right hand to Joe's head with the steel chain!! Security comes out to get between them. Nana hands Swerve the AEW World Championship.

[anna-hawk]

Title: Us, Character: Shane pls I am in desperate need of more Shane content

Send me a character or ship + a title

“You gonna come with me?”

It had been one week since Shane had asked you that question. One week since you'd said yes. And yet, the two of you were still here, at the farm.

With every additional day going by, Shane felt more and more antsy. He and Rick had come to a sort of truce, but both men knew that the rift between them had grown too large to be mended. Shane couldn't help the pang of sadness at losing his best friend after decades of them going through thick and thin. Times had changed… Everything had changed. Them included.

While Shane was cleaning his rifle on the porch steps, he watched you talking animatedly with Maggie, Dale sitting on his beloved RV and adding a comment here and there as he was wont to do. Shane couldn't hear what you were saying, but he still smiled as you burst out into laughter at something Maggie said. The smile fell from his face a second later, replaced by a contemplative frown, his eyes lowering to the weapon instead. Contrary to him, you got along with almost everyone. You'd clashed with Dale a time or two, and the way you rolled your eyes at some of the older man's comments had Shane snorting in amusement each time. The person you got along with the least, though, was Lori. It wasn't so much that you fought a lot, although you'd had a few heated arguments in the months since you'd joined the group, but more that you and Rick got along really well. She obviously didn't appreciate the fact that he kept looking for your input on things, no matter if he didn't like what he heard. Lori's jealous side would have made Shane laugh if he hadn't been feeling the same way. Because while Lori was the person you liked the least, Shane was the one you spent the most time around. You might agree with some of the things that Rick said, but you still shared Shane's opinions. You had from the day you'd joined the group back in the woods.

The thing was that while the attraction was clearly mutual from the get go, neither of you had tried moving things along. Shane didn't really know why, but the timing just seemed off every time. Which was ridiculous, to be honest, considering what the world had become. It wasn't like he could ask you on a date. Your lives were hanging on by a thread if you weren't careful even for a second, so he should have just gone for it the couple of times you had come close to kissing.

It had been with this in mind that he'd decided to pull you aside after announcing to everyone that he would be leaving the group soon. He had expected you to think about it for a while before giving your answer, but you'd surprised him by agreeing on the spot. Just like that. As if it should have been obvious to him.

As he reloaded the rifle, Shane sighed to himself as he thought about how well you fit into the group. He looked up again to see you flip Dale off behind his back, which had Shane smiling. It felt bittersweet. Because he realized that he couldn't offer you anything by asking you to leave with him. Granted, nothing was certain anymore, but at least here you had some sort of stability. People to count on. The possibility to survive. Going with him into the unknown suddenly felt like too much to ask of you.

Putting the rifle next to him, Shane lifted his hand in a small wave as you turned around to see him watching you and waved at him with an impish grin and a roll of your eyes in Dale's direction. Shane chuckled despite the leaden feeling in his gut at the decision he'd just taken as you followed Maggie to the other side of the field.

He spent the rest of the day preparing his departure. He chose to leave without telling anyone, since he'd already said that he'd leave. The only one he went to was Rick. If only to ask him to say goodbye to Carl for him. The boy would be his only regret. Shane purposely didn't think about you as he thought about regrets.

Car loaded and ready to go, Shane waited until close to sunrise before leaving. As he neared the car, he came up short at the sight of the figure leaning against the driver's side, their arms crossed loosely.

“So you were really just going to leave without me.”

It was a statement, not a question. Shane opened the back door and slung the backpack into the car before closing it again.

“Listen-”

“Don't you dare,” you cut across angrily. “Don't you dare serve me the bullshit you came up with that made you think that you had to leave on your own.”

“I have nothing to offer you,” Shane yelled in frustration and definitely a note of despair. “They do.” He pointed at the farm.

“Then why ask me? Why ask me to come with you if you were just gonna leave without me in the end?”

“'Cause I was a fuckin' idiot, and I thought…”

“What?” you asked as Shane didn't continue.

Shane rubbed over his shaved head and heaved a long sigh.

“I thought I could be enough,” he paused for a second. “Here? You have a chance, sweetheart. You're safe. You fit in with them… I don't. Not anymore. But I can't ask you to leave all of this behind for me.”

You didn't say anything for the longest time as you just watched him. You finally pushed off the car and came to stand just a few inches away from him.

“Has it ever occurred to you that I only stayed with the group because of you? Yeah, maybe I fit in, as you said, but…” You looked away for a brief moment before looking at Shane again. “I trust that Rick will do his best to keep them safe. But if we leave together, I know that we will keep each other safe. Us safe.”

Shane's breath got stuck in his throat for a moment at your words. How could that tiny word change everything?

“Us,” he croaked, and saw you smile as the first rays of sunlight hit your face from the side.

“Us,” you breathed, lifting your hands to cup his face and finally pull him in for a long kiss.

[news365timesindia]

[ad_1] Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah at the SCG Nets (PC: Debasis Sen) Amid the pyro of colours as the country celebrated Holi on Friday, an update on Jasprit Bumrah was a bit concerning. The fast bowler is said to be still recovering from the back injury that saw him miss the Champions Trophy. And he is set to be ruled out of the first few matches of the 2025 IPL as well. Bumrah is expected to join the Mumbai Indians squad by early April. Bumrah is Indian cricket’s most valuable player by a distance and there’s no question of rushing him back. The medical team at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru will not allow that. Without him, MI will have to make do in the first few games of the IPL that starts on March 22. In the grand scheme of things, however, there’s something that is far more important. Bumrah’s fitness can put the BCCI/selectors in a Test-captaincy quagmire. Bumrah led India to a resounding win in the first Test against Australia in Perth, as Rohit Sharma took a leave of absence for the birth of his second child. Then, India lost two out of the next three Tests under Rohit’s charge and Bumrah had to assume the responsibility again in the final Test in Sydney, with the regular skipper standing himself down due to his poor form with the bat. A BCCI review meeting that followed the Australia tour, took a decision, according to sources, that Bumrah would be India’s red-ball captain in the next World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, starting in June with a five-match series in England. Bumrah went down with a lower-back stress injury in Sydney and couldn’t bowl in the second innings. He is still recuperating from that and there’s no confirmation as regards his date of return. The 31-year-old underwent a back surgery in March 2023 and according to Shane Bond, the former New Zealand fast bowler who worked with Bumrah at MI as the team’s bowling coach, another injury at the same spot could be potentially career-ending. “You would be looking at five Tests in England, I would not want to be playing him in any more than two in a row,” Bond was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. “That is hard because he is your best bowler, but if he has another injury in the same spot, that could be a career-ender, potentially, because I am not sure you can have surgery on that spot again,” he added. From the selectors’ point of view, that queers the captaincy pitch. Workload management has become imperative to ensure that Bumrah’s career is not aborted abruptly. That would be an irreparable loss for Indian cricket. At the same time, someone who is unlikely to play all the matches in a series couldn’t be considered to lead the side. This might force the BCCI to take a regressive step and retain Rohit as the Test skipper. His stock has risen after India’s Champions Trophy triumph. Also, a match-winning 76 off 83 balls against New Zealand in the final has given the 37-year-old (he will turn 38 on April 30) enough leeway to rubbish the retirement talk. But Test cricket in early summer England is a different ball game and picking Rohit for the tour of the Blighty and further burdening him with captaincy on the basis of his white-ball achievements could be fraught with serious risk. As a batsman, Rohit has lost his defence and out there in the middle he resembles a blithe 16-hole golfer these days, aiming for the pin. Through over-hitting and under-hitting, sometimes he would eventually hit it. The approach is still serving him OK in the ODIs, but the red ball will move in the air and off the deck, and it might once again reduce Rohit to a walking wicket, a la the Australia series where he scored 31 runs in five innings at an average of 6.20. Before that in the home series against New Zealand, he had made 91 runs from six innings at an average 15.16, as India suffered a humiliating 3-0 whitewash. A section in the BCCI seemingly wants Rohit to continue as the Test skipper. “The leadership of Rohit Sharma – all kudos to him, salute to him.

It’s awesome. It’s wonderful,” cricket board vice-president Rajeev Shukla recently told reporters. Now, if the incumbent captain has the backing of the BCCI, then it would be very difficult, nigh-on impossible actually, for chief selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir to initiate a change of guard. That Shubman Gill is yet to establish himself as a Test batsman, especially in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) countries where his average is 26.72, might also work to Rohit’s advantage. The post Bumrah’s fitness may create Test-captaincy conundrum appeared first on Sports News Portal | Latest Sports Articles | Revsports. [ad_2] Source link

[news365times]

[ad_1] Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah at the SCG Nets (PC: Debasis Sen) Amid the pyro of colours as the country celebrated Holi on Friday, an update on Jasprit Bumrah was a bit concerning. The fast bowler is said to be still recovering from the back injury that saw him miss the Champions Trophy. And he is set to be ruled out of the first few matches of the 2025 IPL as well. Bumrah is expected to join the Mumbai Indians squad by early April. Bumrah is Indian cricket’s most valuable player by a distance and there’s no question of rushing him back. The medical team at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru will not allow that. Without him, MI will have to make do in the first few games of the IPL that starts on March 22. In the grand scheme of things, however, there’s something that is far more important. Bumrah’s fitness can put the BCCI/selectors in a Test-captaincy quagmire. Bumrah led India to a resounding win in the first Test against Australia in Perth, as Rohit Sharma took a leave of absence for the birth of his second child. Then, India lost two out of the next three Tests under Rohit’s charge and Bumrah had to assume the responsibility again in the final Test in Sydney, with the regular skipper standing himself down due to his poor form with the bat. A BCCI review meeting that followed the Australia tour, took a decision, according to sources, that Bumrah would be India’s red-ball captain in the next World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, starting in June with a five-match series in England. Bumrah went down with a lower-back stress injury in Sydney and couldn’t bowl in the second innings. He is still recuperating from that and there’s no confirmation as regards his date of return. The 31-year-old underwent a back surgery in March 2023 and according to Shane Bond, the former New Zealand fast bowler who worked with Bumrah at MI as the team’s bowling coach, another injury at the same spot could be potentially career-ending. “You would be looking at five Tests in England, I would not want to be playing him in any more than two in a row,” Bond was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. “That is hard because he is your best bowler, but if he has another injury in the same spot, that could be a career-ender, potentially, because I am not sure you can have surgery on that spot again,” he added. From the selectors’ point of view, that queers the captaincy pitch. Workload management has become imperative to ensure that Bumrah’s career is not aborted abruptly. That would be an irreparable loss for Indian cricket. At the same time, someone who is unlikely to play all the matches in a series couldn’t be considered to lead the side. This might force the BCCI to take a regressive step and retain Rohit as the Test skipper. His stock has risen after India’s Champions Trophy triumph. Also, a match-winning 76 off 83 balls against New Zealand in the final has given the 37-year-old (he will turn 38 on April 30) enough leeway to rubbish the retirement talk. But Test cricket in early summer England is a different ball game and picking Rohit for the tour of the Blighty and further burdening him with captaincy on the basis of his white-ball achievements could be fraught with serious risk. As a batsman, Rohit has lost his defence and out there in the middle he resembles a blithe 16-hole golfer these days, aiming for the pin. Through over-hitting and under-hitting, sometimes he would eventually hit it. The approach is still serving him OK in the ODIs, but the red ball will move in the air and off the deck, and it might once again reduce Rohit to a walking wicket, a la the Australia series where he scored 31 runs in five innings at an average of 6.20. Before that in the home series against New Zealand, he had made 91 runs from six innings at an average 15.16, as India suffered a humiliating 3-0 whitewash. A section in the BCCI seemingly wants Rohit to continue as the Test skipper. “The leadership of Rohit Sharma – all kudos to him, salute to him.

It’s awesome. It’s wonderful,” cricket board vice-president Rajeev Shukla recently told reporters. Now, if the incumbent captain has the backing of the BCCI, then it would be very difficult, nigh-on impossible actually, for chief selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir to initiate a change of guard. That Shubman Gill is yet to establish himself as a Test batsman, especially in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) countries where his average is 26.72, might also work to Rohit’s advantage. The post Bumrah’s fitness may create Test-captaincy conundrum appeared first on Sports News Portal | Latest Sports Articles | Revsports. [ad_2] Source link

[shanecompany]

Become a Best-Dressed Wedding Guest with Classic Jewelry Essentials 

You’ve said “yes” to the wedding invite — now it’s time to check off other important things on your to-do list. When it comes to dressing for a wedding, jewelry has the power to elevate your ensemble. Fine jewelry is especially desirable for ensuring your place on the best-dressed guest list. The key to choosing the right jewelry for a wedding is to keep it elegant.

Classic and contemporary pieces can easily complement your outfit without overshadowing the bride. From sparkling tennis bracelets to subtle gemstone earrings, you deserve to shine bright, too. Carefully selected pieces will help you accessorize perfectly. Let the following jewelry essentials be your guide. 1. Pleasing Pearl Necklace Full of classic sophistication, pearls are the quintessential accessory for any wedding. Pearl necklaces exude elegance and add a touch of refinement to your ensemble. Whether you choose a cultured freshwater pearl strand or take this timeless look to the next level with gorgeous cultured Tahitian pearls in a peacock color, a graceful pearl necklace elevates your outfit. A beautiful pearl necklace looks effortless and is a worthy investment, especially if the pearls are hand-selected for color and luster by a fine jewelry brand. 2. Elegant Diamond Tennis Bracelet If luxurious diamonds are the look you’re going for, you can add a touch of subtle elegance to your wrist with a stunning tennis bracelet. Gold diamond tennis bracelet styles are among the most popular, followed by elegant white gold diamond tennis bracelets. You can choose beautiful lab-grown or natural diamonds that are responsibly sourced and available in every price range. For a pop of color, a gorgeous gemstone tennis bracelet with gems like sapphires and rubies might be the perfect touch to your wedding attire. 3. Delicate Gemstone Earrings Your fine jewelry collection isn’t complete without at least one pair of gemstone earrings. Simple yet stylish gemstone earrings have a distinct way of brightening any outfit. You have so many versatile, eye-catching options, from natural aquamarine studs with a natural diamond accent for a dash of extra sparkle to pear-shaped amethyst drop earrings set in rose gold. The key is choosing gemstones from a brand that specializes in finding brilliant, vibrant gemstones and crafting each piece with care. Let your earrings take center stage. 4. Chic Stackable Rings You could rock a single cocktail ring or build a lovely ring stack (or both!). Ring stacks never go out of style, although you may find new ways to stack your rings as you acquire new pieces. For a playful ring stack, choose a ring as the focal point and build around it. Promise rings are often stackable with other rings and come in a variety of styles. Promise rings set with diamonds, sapphires, rubies, and semiprecious stones are chic options for creating a stack. From timeless elegance to contemporary styles, let your promise ring become the centerpiece of your customized ring stack and secure your place on the best-dressed list. About Shane Co. Family-owned since 1929, Shane Co. makes expertly crafted fine jewelry to help everyone shine their brightest each day. Capture life’s most beautiful moments with jewelry designed in-house and hand-finished by on-site jewelers. You’ll discover truly unique pieces for a one-of-a-kind present, a milestone anniversary gift, a perfect engagement ring, or a beautiful gesture to yourself. Shane Co.’s passion for loose diamonds and colorful gemstones from around the world goes back four generations. The brand responsibly sources and hand-selects stones, cutting each to the highest standards. Their jewelry is not mass-produced and offers many options for customization, ensuring a truly personalized piece meant to last a lifetime. Shane Co. welcomes everyone and is proud to be your friend and jeweler. For jewelry crafted with the greatest care, including womens wedding rings, Shane Co. is your trusted source for fine jewelry. Add sparkle and shine to your wedding ensemble at https://www.shaneco.com/ Original Source: https://bit.ly/4boVFi2

[wqbytop100]

WQBY

TOP 150 for the week ending March 17, 2024 22 New this week. 22 off No Re-entries

You're Hired --NEIKED, Ayra Starr -9

Outlaw Love --Brooke Eden (Dave Aude remix) -7

Slide Out --Life On Planets -10

Houdini --Dua Lipa --12

She's On My Mind --Romy -6

I Don't Wanna Worry --NEEDTOBREATHE -2

Monster --A7S, ALOK -20

Weak ---Vintage Culture, Maverick Sabre, Tom Breu -1

When I Wake Up --Lucas & Steve, Skinny Days -133

Weight Of the World --Bonnie X Clyde -5

Jet Plane --R3HAB, VIZE, JP Cooper -3

Reckless Child ---Milky Chance -4

Dirty Desire--- Vicetone -8

Heart Still Beating --Nathan Dawe, Bebe Rexha -14

Never Be Friends --Jost, Minogue -16

Make Me Your Mrs. --Mae Stephens --114

Give Me --Will Clark, BURNS -13

The Afterhours --Kyle Watson -11

Before You Go --Seeb -21

Low Again --Bakermat -146

Anyone--Morgan Page -27

Lonely Dancers --Conan Gray -15

Waterslides --Tiesto, Rudimental, Absolutely -24

Texas Hold 'Em --Beyonce -17

Ride --Grant Brett -75

Graveyard --A R I Z O N A (Shoffy remix) -18

Kissing Strangers --USHER -61

Mr. Useless --Shygirl, SG Lewis -25

Close Your Eyes --Lucas Estrada, Tribbs, Stephen Puth -28

Kill Anyone --Two Feet, Ari Abdul -23

It's Love (If We Get It Right) --Anthony Russo -19

One On One ---Sofi Tukker -22

Both --Tiesto, 21 Savage, BIA -36

All Fok'd Up --Kapuzen -34

Feels Like Us --GT_OFICE, ALWZ SNNY, Robbie Rosen -33

You --Svidden, Seeb -35

Bad Blood --Theresa Rex -37

Spicy Margarita --Jason Derulo, Michael Bublé -30

Yes, And? --Ariana Grande -52

Next Years Light --Elliot Moss -39

U Miss Me --Vicetone -31

Dark Skies -- A R I Z O N A -32

Flex --Tony Dark Eyes -38

Lift Off --Dombresky -43

Diamond Therapy --Diplo, Walker & Royce, Channel Tres -46

Do You Feel It --VAMERO, Cyril M. Mougleta -51

More Baby --Chris Lake, Aluna -44

Good In Goodbye --Frank Walker, Trivecta -40

Cutting Loose ---Disco Lines, J. Worra, Anabel Englund -47

Rhythm Machine --Westend, Max Styler -49

Dizzy --Sick Individuals, LOUI LANE -50

Other Boys --Marshmello, Dove Cameron -41

Forever (Stay Like This) --Armin Van Buuren, Goodboys -129

ADHD --Mae Stephens -86

No Reason --The Chemical Brothers (Chris Lake remix) -56

Lullaby --Britti -137

Triumph --Bishop Briggs -128

How Do I Say Goodbye --Adventure Club, Delaney Jane -42

I Got Time --Brittney Spencer -139

Lie To Me --Jubel/KIDDO -52

Underwater --Dubvision, Afrojack -70

You Know It --Gorgon City -85

***Without You --Disco Fries, Lavish Life -(new)

Venemo --Sofi Tukker, &Friends, Mari Merenda -76

Home --CamelPhat, RHODE (Vintage Culture Remix -90

Fire ---Alan Walker, YUQI, JVKE, (G)I-DLE -26

Take A Moment --ATB, David Frank -29

Easy ---3LAU, XIRA -45

Spend the Night --BJ the Chicago Kid, Coco Jones -48

I'll Be There ---Robin Schulz, Rita Ora, Tiago PZK -54

Sorry Ain't Enough ---Michael Gerow -55

Hangin' On -- A R I Z O N A -57

Mirrors --Caravan Palace -58

Dreamteam ---Galantis, Neon trees -59

Body Moving --Eliza Rose, Calvin Harris -60

Powerful Women --Pitbull, Dolly Parton -62

Purple Irises --Gwen Stefani, Blake Shelton -63

Young & Foolish --Loud Luxury f/Charlieonafriday -64

Wanna --Paul Dally -65

Stress You --Lucas Estrada, SUPER Hi -66

Sorry Now --A R I Z O N A -67

Strangers --Kenya Grace -68

Say it Right --Dubdogs, Farfetch'd -69

Space --Shane Codd -82

Raccoons --Carvan Palace -94

Lil Tune --Gus Dapperton, Electric Guest -81

In Your Arms --Jess Bays, Jem Cooke -111

Progressive Heart --Pat Premier (Dave Aude Remix) -84

Beautiful Things ---Benson Boone -73

Some Kind of Static --Neil Francis, Alan Braxe -87

Me Before You --Bleachers -88

Dreams --Ali Farben, Maurice Lessing, Emma Wells -96

Might Just --Walker & Royce, James Patterson -112

She --Karin Ann (Benny Benassi Remix) -109

DFHMPU --Ari Abdul -95

***Come With Me ---Claptone -(new)

***Soultrain --Tripolism, Nandu, Radeckt -(new)

***Feel This Way ---Victoria Nadine, R3HAB -(new)

***My Body ---Illusionize, Y&M -(new)

***Life Goes On --HU -(new)

***Best Of Your Love --Ownboss, LAWRENT, Ekko - (new)

Public --Mike. -71

A Day in the Life --Apollo LTD -72

Good For You --Dimitri Vegas, Chapter & Verse, Goodboys -78

Run Free (Countdown) --Tiesto, R3HAB -79

High and I Like It --It's Murph, Evalyn -80

Spirit of Thunder --Yung Lean, DVRST, Riff Raff, Bladee -83

Lucky --Dermont Kennedy -89

Somethings Gunna Workout --Jai Piccone, 1tbsp -91

Murder on the Dancefloor --Sophie Ellis-Bextor -92

Fantasy --Cosmo's Midnight feat/Frank Moody -93

Ohh LALA --Idris Elba, Sasha GiGi -98

What Do You Do for A Living? I Do My Best --Iamnotshane, EMME -99

Lead Me On --FLETCHER -100

***Sleep Tonight (This Is The Life) --Switch Disco, R3HAB, Sam Feldt -(new)

***Everything You Do --Afroki, Afrojack, Steve Aoki, Aviella -(new)

***Love Me --INNA -(new)

***Need Your Love --Llkay Sencan, KALUMA, Adam Woods -(new)

***Kettle's Up --Mahmut Orhan, Axelax, Botan -(new)

***Cutting Through the Country --Medium Build -(new)

***Premeditated --FETISH -(new)

***What If We Met --Ali Gatie -(new)

***Regret The Morning --SILK, Mali-Koa -(new)

***Gravity --Matt Hansen -(new)

***I Still Believe -- Lecrae, for King & Country -(new)

***Kiss Me Better --Julie Bergan -(new)

***Anthem --Diplo, Sharam, Pony -(new)

***Without Your Love --Deorro, TELYKAST, Catello -(new)

***Out Loud --Cage the Elephant _(new)

Alive --K-391 -102

Follow You --Return of the Jaded, MELLY OHH -103

Everybody Knows I'm High --SHAED -104

Never Be Lonely --Jax Jones, Zoe Wees -105

The Tower --Future Islands -106

Loneliness --Pet Shop Boys (radio edit) -107

Pictures Of You --Anyma -108

Hustla --Francis Mercier, Emmanual Jai -110

Beautiful Drug --Zac Brown Band (Avicii Remix) -113

Lonely Nights --Papa Beats -121

Taking It Back --DJ Minx -122

I Don't Remember --Walker & Royce, VNSSA -130 >>>

Dance Is the Answer --Dubdogs, RUBACK, Ticon, Raja ram -131

Burnin' --Rinzen, Shallou -134 >>>

Missing You --Frank Walker, Nate Smith -138

No Man's Land ---Marshmello, Venbee -140

Mas Que Nada --Oliver Heldens, Ian Asher, Sergio Mendez -143 >>>

Mirrors --Caravan Palace -144

Run --ATB, Nu Aspect, Orem -145

Pull You Closer --Sistek, Sadie Rose Van -147 >>>

Checking In -- for Kind & Country, Lee Brice -148

22 New on the Chart this week #63 Without You #96 Come With Me #97 Soultrain #98 Feel This Way #99 My Body #100 Life Goes On #101 Best of your Love #115 Sleep Tonight #116 Everything You Do #117 Love Me #118 Need Your Love #119 Kettle's Up #120 Cutting Through the Country #121 Premeditated #122 What If We Met #123 Regret the Morning #124 Gravity #125 I Still Believe #126 Kiss Me Better #127 Anthem #128 Without Your Love #129 Out Loud