#my lil guy is growin up

[kvnghs-archive]

i think at this point in liam's life and career it's safe to say he's taken the 'family business' and grown it further than his father's untrustworthy ass ever could. he stays true to his word and doesn't stab people in the back (usually) the way graham was known to do far too often. so i'm getting to the point that liam's rebranded as head of the kavanagh business more or less.

he has so many other people (in my head at least lmfao) working underneath him doing various jobs at any given time that it just makes sense. he's still the guy you come to if you want something done quick and correctly, he's just not always gonna be the one taking the job. BUT he's like the pawn stars guy of the crime world, he knows a guy.

still the same premise, but he's grown it into a legit business again after his father tore it down. i'll set up a little guide of different people who work for him, literally all his extended family because he doesn't trust many other people. still need some outside connections for him if anyone's interested ;)

[sluttybwunni]

a pirates greed (m)

[send me requests i like them]

masterpost : recent

pairing : afab!reader x monkey d. luffy

✸ ... synopsis: after saving an entire country, luffy just needs his favourite stress reliever all to himself

wc: 3.6k

warnings : established relationship, porn w minimum plot, post-wano luffy being a whore !!! absolutely rough nasty nd animalistic, unprotected (cmon yall know better), petty argument, faded law, reader is a lil mean, your captain just loves eating you out! use of devil fruit (canon), creampie, drool kink, luffy has a lip ring, overstimulation, mention of blood, praise kink (both parties), cumplay, semi-public, oral (m rec)

getting severe brain rot from just thinking about how needy and greedy luffy would be during a post-battle victory banquet...

especially after how nicely that black dress outlined your ass.

he just wants to put his hands all over you, but nami's banned him from any physically exerting activity, including dancing since he's still recovering from the damage he took.

poor guy almost begged to have himself buried in your sopping cunt, whimpering and gasping under you because he's been so stressed after all that fighting!

it's only right you help your boyfriend release all that pent-up energy right?

but to his dismay you were busy with traffy, his tattooed hands tracing over the thin fabric of your dress as you two danced.

"damn him." luffy chanted in his head continuously, wishing you'd stop focusing on law and pay attention to him instead.

your captain worked so hard to defeat kaido.. so why are you smiling and spending time with law instead? that's not fair. you should be rewarding luffy with your touch for being so strong all the time, no?

he couldn't even hear zoro's drunken babbling as he fixated his eyes on the two of you from his table. luffy thought it was too polite of you to let law touch you like that... way too polite. no longer able to deal with the ache in his shorts. though what made his heart palpitate the most was how the both of you seemed to be having a jolly fun time. he grazes his teeth over his lips, excusing himself from his best friend before stumbling towards the dance floor to reach you and law.

"actually i already rolled some spliffs, we can go outside n hit some right now if you'd like," law said with a deep chuckle, gazing at you with his half-lidded eyes. "go do that with your side, look he's starin' at you as i speak." you joke, nodding your head in the direction of kidd as law harshly exhales, rolling his eyes."fffucking hell will you drop that? i was zooted outta my mind when i said.." your conversation gets cut short when you feel pair of hands other than law's snake around your waist from behind.

you momentarily freeze— only to find relief when you hear luffy's voice. he's clinging onto you, snuggling his face into the crook of your neck. the threads of his strawhat slightly bent against your skin as luffy pressed himself closer; hiding the stony expression on his face. “(name).. you've been dancin' with traffy the whole time. it's annoying.” luffy whined against your earlobe. your captain continued to press and grind his body against you, something hard rubbing against your ass.

"i know luffy.. but me and law haven't properly hung since we left zou." you responded as luffy lifted his head from the warmth of your body to send law a glare while you both tried keeping balance on the floor as the surrounding crowd of people continued dancing. "so (name)-ya you coming? strawhat can tagalong if he wants." law spoke, putting his hands in his pockets as he glanced towards the exit.

"w--"

“nuh uhn..” luffy shook his head before you could even respond, his face wincing in a grimace.

"luffy, i—"

"no."

"you're supposed to rest lu.. you're still recovering" you softly exhaled, turning in his grip so you could face him. "well ya could've just stuck around me. ion like that you spent time with tra-guy in the first place." luffy continues whining, his voice growing annoyed and impatient.

he seemed restless, his breath uneven. "also ya promised you'd only dance with me." you giggled, scanning the way his pretty lips formed a pout, eyebrows furrowed in disappointment. “don't worry, it won't happen again lu, you're still my number one dance partner.. and i spent all day with you yesterday, n the day before.” you respond, letting another giggle leave your lips.

but luffy doesn't find it funny, he slowly loosens his grip on your waist— tossing his lip ring through his teeth as his obsidian eyes look into yours. "this is the thing with you, ya don't keep your promises (name)." he mutters his voice going a little deeper causing your smile to fall. wait.. huh?

"what's that even mean?" you retort. luffy's feeling all sorts of emotions right now.. but he can't tell why his breath is so shaky, or why his heart was feeling heavy. he'd been so stressed over the past few weeks, the pent-up anger was possibly getting to him.

“you keep breaking ya promises! thats what it means.” luffy snaps. for a second his eyes soften after he realizes he raised his voice, but he doesn’t move from his position, hands still on your waist. law, witnessing the sudden quarrel— decides to walk off leaving the two of you alone.

the tension between you felt heavy. "the fuck? luffy since when have i broken any of our promises. me and law well, dancing just.. happened. it didn't even mean anything we're friends." now you were getting agitated. "that's not even the main problem.." he muttered, luffy's gaze eats you up— and the glint in his eyes almost speak a magnitude of unsaid words.

"..i'm YOUR boyfriend (name), ya didn't like when hancock was all over me so why—" "can you stop bringing that bitch up??" you knew it wasn't great of you to dance with law all while your boyfriend was watching you, but you didn't think it'd be that big of a problem. you trace your hands over his— removing them as you angrily turn around to stride away. but you can never really get away from a man with the power to stretch, so luffy beats you to wherever you thought you were walking off to, stretching his arm and pulling your body back towards him.

“m’sorry… i— (name) i'm just feelin stressed right now. can you please just...” luffy rasps in a softer tone trailing off as his arms cage you. you stay silent for a couple of moments, trying to process the exchange of words you shared seconds ago. but the more he presses your back against him, the more you feel the stiffness between his legs. you don't quite know what to say, so you turn 180 degrees to press a hot kiss against his lips.

luffy's taken aback by the suddenness, but that doesn't stop him from enjoying it. he returns what you gave to him passionately. pulling you even closer, as if he's wanting to get completely lost in the kiss. you hum against his lips when luffy swivels his hips, grinding his dick against your inner thighs.

he seems so eager, so desperate for you and it shows. really lost in the kiss and in the moment, as if all he can think about is being balls deep in your dewy cunt. and who's to say you don't want him just as much. the way luffy's frenching you seems almost animalistic, and you could feel how he's having trouble controlling himself with every passing second that you're pressed against him. trying so hard to maintain his composure.

and when you break the messy kiss, a string of saliva still adjoining your lips— your captain looks at you with a blush, still panting heavily. watching the drool that slowly dripped from the corner of luffy's mouth was something that shouldn't have been so hot to you.

his eyes travel up and down your body and back to your lips. the faint taste of mango luffy had gotten drove him insane. he loved when you slathered your plump lips with lipgloss, regardless of the flavour or color— and he adored making a mess of it, ruining it. his own lips being stained a hint of red.

luffy seems lost again. almost unable to think by himself. he leans towards you once more, seemingly going in for another kiss. but he stops himself for a moment to admire how soft you feel— hands grasping your ass through the flimsy fabric of your dress. your head was spinning, maybe from the shots you took earlier, or the way luffy had devoured your mouth. "i-"

"shut up." you huff out, pulling him towards the nearest slightly secluded space you could find. and luckily, there was a nicely lit room with a thick futon neatly unfolded on the carpeted ground. pressing him against the wall, you brought a nasty, wet kiss to luffy's lips once more. one that left his stomach fluttering. he sucked and drug his tongue back and forth against yours, in the messiest ways he could think of. too lost in your lips to get off of the surface behind him.

he couldn't help the blood that rushed even more to his cock once you tugged hard on his hair. luffy couldn't put it into words, but he was such a slut for the way you painfully grasped his raven locks every time you enjoyed something. he muttered your name a couple of times between heavy breaths before he quickly wriggled out of the red material of his top letting you suction your way down his neck, teeth grazing his collarbone.

and you didn’t need any command to lower your head and place luffy's nipple between your lips. you only bothered to unbutton and drop his shorts low enough to free his aching dick, rock-hard and covered with pre-cum. fuck you wanted to slobber all over his length so bad. though luffy catches you by a fistful of your hair, preventing you from going further.

"stop, i wanna suck." you whine out, but luffy shakes his head, pulling his boxers up just enough to cover past the tip of his cock. pushing his back from off the door- he lays himself on the futon, hauling you with him. "no, i want you t’ sit on my face first." for a second, you stilled, as if the statement shocked you. "you... you want that?" you tested the waters, but luffy didn't just want it. he needed it.

"please… i’ll make ya cum so good (name) just sit on my face." luffy insists, eyes glossed over. face sitting was something he'd yearned to try with you for so long. so impatiently, he pulls you to straddle him, your dress sliding up your thighs. he wastes no time ripping the expensive fabric of your panties— taking a few moments to rub the pads of his calloused fingers along the wet patch you left beforehand.

you nervously let him pull you further up by the hips until your pussy is just above his mouth, the scent of your sweet arousal hitting his nose. “smell so good (name) m’gonna taste you now yeah?” “please do captain” you respond breathlessly. and before you could take another breath, luffy’s making out with your cunt— tongue lapping vigorously over your clit sending a pleasurable shiver up your spine.

you immediately try to raise your hips afraid you’ll suffocate him if you give in to the pleasure, but luffy’s hands grip your thighs painfully, preventing you from squirming away. because luffy doesn’t care if he suffocates as long as he’s got his tongue sloping in and through your folds. and something about knowing how anyone could walk into this room, seeing the two of you sent electricity through your core.

you felt the coolness of luffy's lip ring make contact with you constantly, and you couldn’t quite decipher his muffled words, but you could tell by the way he desperately stuffed his face between your legs that he was in ecstasy. “sso.. mmh feels good lu!” you barely manage voicing out, already close to your on-coming high.

but as much as luffy wants to stay between your thick thighs and fuck you with his mouth, he was restless, and hard. feeling his own heartbeat pulsing right at the tip of his dick. he suctions at your clit roughly, earning a loud cry from you before you’re already cumming— a slightly clear stream of liquid flowing from your cunt.

and of course, luffy being the greedy man he is takes everything you give him, leaving your cunt only after he’s had his fill. “taste n' look so pretty when you cum..” he coo's almost cheerfully before moistening his lips, a more serious look returning to his face as you free your legs from his face.

"here, taste yourself pretty" he whispers, pressing a slow kiss against your lips. though you only manage to come back to your senses enough to comprehend that he's torn off your nice pair off underwear, feigning a faux an annoyed look. "does ripping all my expensive lingerie get you off or something?"

"m'to impatient to take it off slowly.." he pouts, as you drag yourself off of him.

“is that so..? my turn now.” you whisper, before you're on off of him and on your knees tugging roughly at his unbuttoned shorts causing them to slightly tear.

"hey! those were m—"

you cut luffy short before he could complain about your petty revenge, giving the tip of his cock slow kitten licks and a few pumps before sealing your lips around it's pretty head, making him let out a throaty whine as you take or inches of him.

"i'll forgive ya if you open your mouth n take me deeper.." luffy breaths out lowly fully relaxed on his back now. one hand under his head and the other, guiding yours. you part your lips further, warm breaths of air fanning over his flushed tip.

“ahh.. fuckk baby— use that pretty mouth like you do best” luffy slurs, and something in you almost switches like a trigger. his coaxing encouraging the worst in you. especially since it was incredibly rare of him to use pet names with you. so you suddenly take as much his size as you can luffy shuddering in pleasure.

every ridge and vein on his length felt as your drag your tongue, every lick and suck of your mouth on him resulting in obscenity; gagging, wet noises, moaning. everything only making your hole flutter more.

his shut tight. opening them after a few seconds, to admire how your lips sank down on his cock. "gooddd, it's like ya mouth was made jus for— nggh.. sucking off your captain huh?"

"hold on.." you suddenly whisper, causing luffy to whine from the lost warmth. you take something out from between your cleavage. what was so important that you needed to stop? and suddenly he tenses his thighs.. you're scribbling on his cock. it tickles and it’s heaven. luffy couldn't even see what you are creating, but the sensation was fucking amazing. especially since he was so sensitive.

“thereee” you say, admiring your work.

“so pretty.”

“what did you do? i wanna see”, luffy begs, squirming needily. and you raise your hand, waving the wand of your cherry red lipgloss in your hand. luffy glances down to look at his aching cock, to find the words. 'all mine ♡' scribbled in red.

something about that act felt so endearing to him that luffy felt he'd tear up from the gesture— and from the fact that you were teasing his poor friend. he gives you a lazy smile. but as his eyes wander the room, he finds himself making eye contact with the tall mirror that but on a perfect display of your backside. you were almost on all fours now as you slobbered his cock, head tilted down and ass pointed up.

it looked so soft, and you looked ever so stunning. unfortunately for you, luffy was as restless as ever. he could never control himself whenever he saw that damn ass of yours. so you didn't blame him when he tugged on a fist-full of your hair to get you off his cock.

"wait m'not—"

"(name)... i— wanna fuck you from behind, please can't wait anymore.. want ya to put that cute ass on me."

"you're so impatient."

well, who were you to deny captains orders?

with a quick sound rustling of fabric, you'd immediately discarded your dress, pressing your face down into the futon as luffy teased your hole momentarily with the head of his cock. holding you in place by the hips and seconds later, he's already buried inside you— stuffing himself to the hilt. so fucking tight he thought.

luffy bit down onto his lip muffling the whimpers that endlessly slipped from his mouth— to the point that it drew a bit of blood. he pounded like he wanted everyone near to know, to hear how he was making a mess out of you. though he was shameless enough for it, luffy couldn't decide whether he wanted to be the only one that got to see your messy cum stuffed cunny, or if he wanted a live audience as he fucked you to the point of drooling. and who's to say you would mind the latter?

head thrown back in pleasure, his dark hair stringy from sweat, his furrowed eyebrows as you continue to tighten and clench around him, pulling you further onto his cock. he giggles breathily, "l-love when you squeeze me like that" only earning a incomprehensible mumble from you. something about the way he moaned and spoke was so ..slutty.

"cmonn.. i know ya can talk louder than that!" he sneers, and that was luffy's favourite part about doing this with you. he loved pleasuring you to the point of not being able to speak, knowing he's the only one who can make you this dumb on dick.

he loved the freedom that came with exploring new ways to make eachother feel good, and nothing made him happier than sharing in such freedom with you.

luffy's hands roughly fist your hair, pulling your head up in order to better show you what he's doing to you. "look in the mirror (name), look how gorgeous ya- gaahh, look when you're all fucked out. see? so pretty baby~" he taunts.

"gonna cum, wan' cream all over you!"

"yeah? captain's dick feels that good?" he lets off another breathy moan. "y-ya like it when i stretch ya out like this?" and when you let out a string of praises chanting his name like your life depended, he decided you deserved a treat in return for always being this good for him. so luffy bit down on his thumb and blew until you felt an unfamiliar sensation deep in your guts causing you to mewl out. he was way bigger all of a sudden, and his cock seemed to fill and rub against areas you'd never known could be reached.

"ah luffy thats.. you're- so deep” you almost wanted to sob as he watched you wriggle under him, your senses overloading from the stimulation luffy inflicts upon you. it was crazy how he could be so sweet and caring with you one moment, and the next having every bone in your body tingling from euphoria.

"keep— ah god.. moanin' out like that! let tra-guy know that yer all mine" luffy rasped, only further perusing with his erratic pace. it was ruthless almost— and hearing those pretty sounds from you didn't help the burning sensation he felt in his lower stomach.

"sso- so close!"

"pl-please need you to fill me full with your seed.." you whimper feeling your knees almost buckle when his cock starts to forcefully rub against your cervix.

"i gotcha! gonna.. stuff you up- mmm, so good n watch it spill out.." he laughs between his far from quiet moans, one of his hands tracing your ass until he snakes it down between your legs, rubbing at your clit without mercy. your vision blurred and your fingers gripped at the futon tightly, “ah fuck! L-LUFFY! LUFFY!"

and as you finally cum around him, clenching around his pulsating length once more. "that's it! so good baby, so good..!" he continues to fuck into you, hitting deeply over and over again, pushing you into the softness below— then it's his turn to orgasm. his sticky white filling your womb until it started to leak out. luffy pulls out just in time for your body to slump down onto the cushioned surface.

but he doesn't let go of your hips just yet. luffy's gaze hazily follows the milk colored substance that seeps out of your fluttering cunt as he draws heavy breaths. taking his middle and index working them into your sensitivity— watching the string of cum that shadows his fingers as he pulls them out.

luffy being luffy, couldn't help but want to taste it, because what would be the point of all this work if everything went to waste?

"say ahhh." was the only thing you could make out, before you're being flipped onto your back, a strong hand resting on your chin. through your blurred sight— you watched luffy lick two of his fingers slowly, savoringly before he gathers the drool in his mouth letting it drip down to yours. and you let him, letting your mouth hang agape to accept every bit of his filth.

"swallow... atta girl..!" he smiled brightly watching the lewd expression you made tasting your guys aftermath. he runs his hands back to your ass, kneading it slowly but without any ulterior motive other than that he loves holding it when you calm down together.

"i love you (name) m'sorry i got so mad at you earlier."

"no, i should apologize. you were injured n bored and i wasn't even checking up on you."

"speaking of injuries.. i think still i need some stress therapy." luffy says with a sly grin, laying beside you on the futon.

you catch on almost too quickly, shaking your head— breath still uneven. "no no no, we're done. we can't have any of your wounds reopening."

"don't ya wanna suck me off still? a bit of head can't do any harm!"

"you realize this room has no door right?"

"......when has that ever stopped us?"

oh god.

©2023 sluttybwunni  ‎   you are not to plagiarize, translate, modify or post my content on tumblr nor any other platforms.

... ✸ a/n: i was baked past cloud 9 when i wrote the other half of this but, ion wanna hear noone say shit such as “luffy ain’t slutty like that” nah man he is 🙏 down with sex ignorant luffy !!! #ace luffy is still canon but so is slut luff

tags !! @svanesworld , @selkiemaiden , @dilvcslut , @iluvs-world , @eaves-dropper , @yourmumsthings , @sanjisblackasswife , @roronoaswifey , @movie-enthusiast22 , @luffypedia , @pandoras-box0 , @xxdiaqiaoxx , @girlmeetsbullshit , @n9hida , @w9vyy , @juno443 , @roronoazorohater , @soloplayer0901 , @deathkidz

[yelena-bellova]

Twenty Years Later: Joel Miller x F!Reader - Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight: Someone’s Something

Plot: Joel, Y/n and Ellie meet Henry and Sam, who try to convince them to team up to find their way out of Kansas City together.

Word Count: 7.1k

Warnings: tlou ep.5 spoilers, languge, implied smut, guns, mention of death, sa and loss of a child (16+)

A/N: Happy Valentines, y’all!! My gift to you is some light heartbreak with some fluff to soften the blow 😉

As always, this series is 16+ and I will not be adding anyone to the taglist unless your age is specified in your bio. Gotta look out for younger eyes 👀

Y’all have blown this lil’ ficlet idea up so much, I’m still shocked it’s this loved. I’m so excited to finish out the second half of the season with you guys. Hang onto your butts 🤍

——————

July 1st, 2002. Austin, Texas.

Y/n had integrated perfectly into the Miller’s life. Sarah adored her, Tommy loved her, and Joel couldn’t get enough of her. He’d never admit it to Sarah, but he was thankful that she’d taken matters into her own hands and snuck down to the hardware store that June day.

In the beginning of July, Sarah went away to a two-week summer camp. Joel and Y/n had seen her off on the bus, Joel fussing over whether or not she had everything she’d need. He didn’t do well when she was gone for more than a day, a combination of missing her dearly and parental worry. Y/n had made it her goal over the course of her trip to distract him as much as she could.

They’d made a dinner date at Joel’s house the day Sarah left, the first of fourteen that Y/n had to keep him busy. His days would be consumed by work, but his nights belonged to them. Y/n knocked on the front door of the house, carrying a six pack she’d picked up on the way.

Joel hurried to the door, swinging it open and enveloping Y/n in a hug. She laughed, clinging to his neck as he literally dragged her into the house. Joel’s lips were on her the second the door shut.

“Missed you,” he mumbled between kisses.

“You saw me, like, six hours ago,” Y/n managed to say.

“Way too long,” Joel smiled against her lips.

Y/n chuckled, “Yeah, well, if I die from lack of oxygen,” she wiggled a hand between their smushed chests, “You’re gonna miss me a whole lot more.”

Joel wrapped an arm around her neck, smiling so big his cheeks hurt. That was the effect Y/n had on him. She’d turned his curmudgeon qualities, plying them like clay until they were soft. He was a new man with her in his life.

“Joel,” she said softly.

“Yeah?” He was barely taking in her words, focused on how her lips were starting to swell from his attention.

“What’s burning?”

It didn’t register at first, then he remembered the food was still in the oven. “Shit,” he muttered, letting her go to run back to the kitchen and save their dinner.

Y/n chuckled, kicking off her shoes and heading in to help him.

Joel’s attempt at a simple roast chicken and potatoes turned out slightly crispy, but good, all in all. They’d eaten it at the table, Joel’s hands stretched across the surface to hold Y/n’s.

After their meal, they retired to the living room. Joel turned on the stereo and fell onto the couch, Y/n laying her legs across his lap.

“Well, day one’s almost over,” she said, “How’re you feeling?”

Joel sighed, “She called earlier when they got there. Sounded real excited.”

“And you could not sound happier about it,” Y/n chortled, “Joel, she’s going to be fine.”

“I know that, it’s just,” Joel strroked his hand over Y/n’s calf, “It’s been me and her for…ever. When she’s off it just…”

Y/n watched her boyfriend with soft eyes, waiting for him to say more.

“I know she’s growin’ up, she’s always been independent, but,” he paused staring down at his hands, “It gets easier and easier for her every year to get on that bus. Makes me think about the day she’ll leave for good.”

“You know that no matter where she goes,” Y/n offered, “She’s always coming back here. She loves you too much.”

Joel gently smiled, his fingers brushing against Y/n’s leg. She always knew the right thing to say.

“And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but she kinda loves me too,” Y/n smirked.

“Yeah, well, there’s a lot to work with there,” Joel winked.

Y/n giggled, her eyes drifting over Joel’s shoulder to the corner of the living room. An acoustic guitar sat propped up in a stand.

“Y’know, I still haven’t heard you play,” she said, nodding to the instrument.

For as much as he loved music, he still got a little bashful about his talent. “I sound like everyone else,” he replied.

“Yeah, nice try,” Y/n wasn’t so easily discouraged, “Play me something.”

Much like his daughter, there wasn’t a lot Joel could deny Y/n. If it was going to make her smile, he’d gladly do it. He lifted her legs off of him and went to retrieve the guitar.

“Does the audience have any requests?” Joel asked, settling back down beside her and fiddling with the tuning pegs.

Y/n tucked her legs into her chest, barely containing her grin, “Something sweet.”

Joel finished tuning the guitar and took his position. He hadn’t played for anyone other than Sarah in a very long time.

The first pluck of the strings relaxed them both, Joel settled into the piece quickly. Y/n watched his fingers dance up and down the string, a series of movements only he knew. It sounded like an old folk song, the kind that told the tale of doomed lovers torn apart by tragedy. She had enough musical knowledge to know it was in a minor key. Sweet, it was not, but it was brimming with passion, and the way Joel watched the strings so intensely only added to it. Y/n was taken aback by the simple beauty of him, pouring himself into the music.

When it was over, a few final notes slowing the tempo before stopping entirely, Joel looked over to Y/n, a whisper of a smile playing upon his lips. Their eyes connected, the ever present flame between them stretching the distance between their bodies. In that moment, Joel was thankful they were alone.

In the same set of seconds, Joel blindly set the guitar down to the side and Y/n surged forward, the two of them meeting in a heated kiss. Y/n held both of Joel’s cheeks in her hands while he maneuvered her on top of him, their lips never losing their connection. The sadness of the song had drawn them together, both needing to feel the fullness of each other’s devotion to counter the loss that the notes had grieved. That wasn’t them, they said with each touch, it could never be them.

—————————

September 28th, 2002. Austin, Texas.

Fall had hit Texas, as much as it could affect the south, anyway. Sarah and Y/n were in the backyard of the Milller home. Sarah had her first soccer game of the season that weekend and she wanted to get in some extra practice.

“Okay,” Y/n called from the goal, “Don’t go easy on me.”

“Yeah, right,” Sarah scoffed, she was never afraid to show the full force of her talent on the field. Faking Y/n out, she broke to the left before making a sudden right turn and shooting the ball through the goal.

“Yes,” she exclaimed, pulling her fists down in celebration.

“Alright, alright, alright,” Y/n smirked, coming up beside Sarah as she did a little victory dance, “Don’t get too cocky. Let’s work on your goalkeeping.”

Sarah grooved her way back to the goal, “Okay, but I’m kinda spectacular at that too.”

“Well, we certainly don’t need to work on your confidence,” Y/n remarked. Sarah had the same cockiness, reserved only for things she was truly great at, as her father.

Joel materialized then, coming through the back door and watching his girls from the deck. “How we lookin’?”

“Today, Taft Middle School,” Y/n replied, catching the ball with her heel as Sarah kicked it, “Tomorrow, FIFA.”

Joel smiled proudly, both at Sarah and Y/n. Most women would have kept distance between them and their partner’s child. Y/n had jumped in headfirst, determined to be there for Sarah as much as she wanted her. She was the feminine influence his daughter had been denied all her life.

“Alright,” Y/n announced, “Good?”

Sarah nodded, “Good.”

Joel saw an opportunity and couldn’t pass it up. He carefully made his way down the steps of the deck, sneaking through the grass and up behind Y/n just as she was about to make her shot. As she wound her leg back, Joel wrapped his arms around her middle and lifted her into the air.

Y/n shrieked as she was swung around, “Joel!”

“Sarah, steal it,” he yelled, smiling as Y/n wriggled in his embrace.

Sarah surged forward, avoiding Y/n’s flailing legs as she fought against Joel, and snatched the ball. She moved through the grass effortlessly and landed a perfect kick into the net.

Laughing heartily, Joel finally released Y/n back to the ground. He shared a high-five with his daughter as she bounded back to them.

“You two are awful,” Y/n gave Joel a shove to his chest, her wide grin contradicting her words.

Joel hung an arm around his girlfriend’s neck, pressing a kiss to her temple. “C’mon,” he separated from Y/n and clapped his hands, “Two-on-one, girls vs. boys.”

“We’re gonna destroy you,” Sarah teased, coming to stand beside Y/n.

“I wouldn’t expect anything else,” he quipped, standing in front of the goal.

The three of them stayed out until sunset, practicing plenty, but laughing more than anything.

—————————

December 25th, 2002. Austin, Texas.

The Millers didn’t do anything spectacular for Christmas. A church service on the 24th, a simple dinner on the 25th, and presents.

It had been decided that both Tommy and Y/n would spend the night, it would make waking up and opening gifts easier than waiting for them to drive over. Tommy had taken the collapsable cot, his body was still used to military accommodations, while Y/n had gone for the couch. Joel and her were still hesitant to spend nights together, sleeping over at the other’s only when Sarah was away at her own sleepovers. Christmas didn’t feel like the time to test any boundaries.

Just past midnight, Y/n was still wide awake, tossing and turning on the sofa. There was a light snowfall happening outside and she hoped if she watched the flakes flutter through the air long enough, she’d drift off to sleep. So far, she’d had no such luck.

She took stock of the living room in its entirety. A fresh pine tree sat in the corner, a modest stack of presents surrounding the trunk. Two stockings were hung on the walls, Sarah and Joel’s names stitched across each. The room still faintly smelled like the batch of cookies her and Sarah had baked earlier in the evening. Even in the dark and completely silent, the house felt warm.

Footsteps down the stairs drew Y/n’s attention away from the decorations. She expected to see Sarah tiptoeing in to sneak a peek at the presents. Instead, Joel’s broad shadow entered the room.

“Can’t sleep?” Y/n asked from the couch.

Joel shook his head, “Nope.”

Y/n gave a small nod, pretending like the silence wasn’t as full of asking as it was. Joel’s posture had purpose in it, he wasn’t leaving until he got what he came for.

He tipped his head back towards the stairs, his eyes never leaving Y/n’s. “C’mon,” he said, his voice raspy with near sleep.

Y/n smiled to herself, throwing off her blanket and crossing the room to take Joel’s hand. The two of them tiptoed back up the stairs, trying not to wake Sarah or Tommy. Y/n knew the walk to Joel’s bedroom like the back of her hand, navigating in the dark made no difference. She certainly didn’t need Joel’s hands on her hips to guide her, but she welcomed them anyway.

Once the door shut, their routine commenced. Joel went to his dresser, blindly reaching into one of his drawers and tossing Y/n one of his flannels. Y/n slipped it on over her t-shirt, the sleeves ending way past the tips of her fingers. They made their way to their dedicated sides of the bed, Joel closest to the door because he felt better being a wall of protection between Y/n and the world.

“We have to get up before Sarah,” Y/n reminded him.

“We’ve got a 50% chance of makin’ it down before her,” Joel said, his hands gliding around her body to pull her into him, “Christmas morning, she’s up at the crack of dawn.”

Y/n drew closer to Joel, resting one hand on his chest and the other gripping the back of his neck. Already, she could feel her body relaxing in a way the couch just couldn’t coax out of her.

All the tension Joel had been carrying in his spine went lax the moment Y/n’s fingers grazed his skin. He was finding it harder and harder to sleep without her.

“Thank you,” she said out of the blue.

“For what?” Joel asked.

Y/n’s fingers danced along the line between the ends of his hair and the base of his skull. “For letting me be a part of all this,” she answered, her voice barely above a whisper.

Joel’s heart swelled, he took one of her cheeks into his hand and let their lips drift towards one another. Six months in, and he wasn’t sure if he could fall any harder in love with Y/n. She wasn’t just his, she was theirs. She was a permanent fixture in their home, the house a little less bright when she was absent from it. She had become a confidante to Sarah, a best friend to Tommy and everything to Joel. How could he not want her in every part of their lives?

“‘M afraid you’re stuck with us, Rosebud,” Joel smiled after he pulled back, brushing his thumb across her cheekbone.

“No place I’d rather be,” Y/n returned his grin.

Pressing one final kiss to her forehead, Joel tucked Y/n against his chest, his chin resting atop her head. She let her hand drift around to his back, her fingers spreading across the expanse as she tried to hold as much of him as she could. They fell asleep within minutes, the gentle snowstorm outside creating beauty that would only enhance the magic of Christmas for the Miller family.

—————————

2023. Kansas City, Missouri.

“Eye on me! Eyes on me!”

Joel’s eyes slid to the other side of the room, to the man with the barrel of his gun pointed at Ellie. Her and Y/n both had their hands raised high.

“You don’t have to worry about what to say,” the young man said, “We don’t wanna hurt you. We wanna help you.”

Joel watched him, he was shifting his weight between both feet, no expert marksman was that nervous to threaten someone’s life. Joel felt significantly better about his chances.

“Okay.”

“Okay, um…” the young man paused, “I don’t know what the next step is with something like this, but if I lower my gun…we didn’t hurt you…so you don’t hurt us…right?”

Joel stared him down, “That’s right.”

“That’s a weird fuckin’ tone, man,” their enemy replied.

“That’s just the way he sounds,” Ellie interrupted, first looking to the stranger and then back to Joel, “He has an asshole voice. Joel, tell him he’s okay.”

Joel stared, nearly a hint of a smirk at his lips, “Everything is great.”

“Dude…” Ellie muttered.

“We’re not going to hurt you,” Y/n intervened, looking to the man, “Now drop the fucking guns before I second guess myself.”

“That wasn’t any better,” Ellie exclaimed.

“Fuck! Okay, listened,” the stranger started, his voice practically trembling, “I’m gonna trust you.”

He then stopped to signal something to the child, Y/n recognized it as ASL. They communicated something none of them could understand.

“But if any of you guys try anything,” the man kept his gun aimed at Ellie, nodding to Joel and Y/n, “Yeah? Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Ellie whispered, her heart was in her throat.

The child backed away from Joel and Y/n’s mattress, his aim still firmly locked onto them. Y/n was trying to get her heartbeat back down to a normal range.

“Can I sit up?” Joel asked, his voice was still on edge.

“Yeah,” the stranger conceded, “Slow. Get up slow.”

Joel obeyed, rising to a seated position without any rush. He raised his hands, the left one grazing Y/n’s injured right. Shockingly, the fleeting touch made her feel a little less nervous. If Joel was good for nothing else, at least he was a good fighter. They could get out of this easily, if necessary.

“Who are you?” Joel asked.

“My name’s Henry,” the now-named stranger answered, “That’s my brother, Sam. I’m the most wanted man in Kansas City. Although right now,” Henry finally lowered his gun, “My guess is you’re running a close second. Her too.”

Y/n and Joel looked to one another, that ambush was going to come back to bite them in the ass, one way or another.

“Henry,” Y/n spoke up, lowering her hands and laying them palm up in her lap, “We’re gonna need a lot more than that.”

The five of them ended up huddled around a lantern, snacking on their dwindling food supply and waiting for the rest of the story to unfold. Henry had made it clear that he had to get some food in his brother first. It had been Ellie’s idea to share what they had left.

“Where’d you get these?” Henry asked, chewing on a cracker.

“From Bill,” Ellie answered, “He’s dead.”

Y/n and Joel had been watching Sam, digging into what they’d shared with him as if he hadn’t eaten in days. There was a real possibility of it, or something along the lines. They both wordlessly handed what was left of their portions to the boy, who in return, signed something to his brother.

“He says ‘thank you,’” Henry relayed, “I’m guessing you don’t have much so, this means a lot.”

“How old is he?” Ellie asked.

The brothers talked amongst themselves, with Henry answering, “He’s eight.”

Ellie nodded, “Cool. I’m Ellie.”

“Y/n,” Y/n spoke up, wanting to try and make the child feel as comfortable as the circumstances would allow.

Henry spelled out the names for Sam, who responded with a sign that both Y/n and Ellie assumed meant ‘cool.’

Ellie smiled before smacking Joel on the knee and waiting for him to introduce himself.

“I’m Joel,” he swallowed his last bite, “Look, you ate, we didn’t kill each other, let’s call this a win-win and move on.”

Henry dusted off his hands, “Well, I’m betting that y’all came up here to get a view of the city and plan a way out. And when the sun’s up, I’ll show you one.”

Joel and Y/n thought it over separately before glancing over at one another. If Henry hadn’t killed them by now, he wouldn’t. He already knew their supply was low, the only reason he was sticking around was because he needed something from them.

“Okay,” Y/n answered for them, earning a quick turn and glare from Joel, “Sam can take our bed. As soon as morning hits, you show us the route.”

Henry scoffed, “Just like that you’re gonna trust us?”

“I know the eyes of a liar, Henry,” Y/n leaned forward, resting her elbow on her knee, “And you don’t have ‘em. You weren’t even going to kill us in the first place, and you certainly weren’t gonna make him do it.”

Joel was ready to jump in at any second, but Y/n spoke with such precision and intention, he couldn’t come up with any reason to stop her.

“So how about we get some sleep,” Y/n continued, “And tackle this tomorrow?”

Henry’s eyes focused in on Y/n, someone as calculated as she was was either the most honest person on the planet or so calcuating and conniving, they could deceive the worst of humanity.

“Okay,” he landed on trust, “First thing.”

Ellie and Sam settled onto their makeshift mattresses, while the adults sat against the walls of the apartment. Henry on one side, Joel and Y/n on the other.

“What happened to equals?” Joel asked, the edge to his words undercutting the softness of their volume.

“Would what you have said been any different?” Y/n countered, watching as Joel tried to come up with an answer that differed from hers, “Exactly.”

The two of them stayed close to one another, without actually touching. Y/n was still slightly rattled from waking up with Joel’s hand over hers.

“Although my fucking neck’s gonna be messed up all day,” Y/n mumbled, trying to find a comfortable position to rest her head against the wall.

While they trusted an already sleeping Henry enough not to kill them, instinct told both Y/n and Joel to not leave themselves in such a vulnerable positon again. Sleeping sitting up was the only option that would allow them a little bit of rest.

And Joel hated what he was about to offer.

“You can…” he pointed to his shoulder, “If you want.”

“I don’t want” Y/n quickly replied.

Joel sighed in exasperation, “Forget I offered.”

He crossed his arms and settled against the wall, shutting his eyes and shutting down his momentary lapse into generosity.

Y/n inhaled, trying to get over herself. She was getting way too much up close and personal time with Joel to feel comfortable. But it was either another dose or a hideous day of lingering discomfort without the blessing of Ibuprofen.

She awkwardly scooted closer to him until their thighs were touching, causing Joel to open one eye. He looked down at their parallel bodies and back to Y/n.

“Just don’t grab my hand,” she grumbled, laying her head down on his shoulder and praying that her stomach stayed unaffected.

Joel’s body stiffened as she rested on him, a quick shot of adrenaline running through his extremities. He wanted to pretend to be unmoved, unbothered by her touch, but it was impossible. He would never fully be without affection for the way she felt against him.

“Go ahead,” Y/n said, sensing his discomfort but mistaking it for simply physical.

Joel hesitated a few seconds before shaking himself out of his doubt and resting his head on top of Y/n’s.

When the weight of Joel’s skull fell on hers, Y/n’s natural instincts took over and she almost, almost, tucked into him more. It was by the grace of God that she caught herself before she did it. No matter how hard her mind loathed him, her body would have accepted him back in a heartbeat.

The two ex-lovers sat against the wall, still trying to convince themselves that they were miles apart.

—————————

Just as the night before, they woke up so much closer than intended.

Y/n had fully curled into Joel, snuggling into his chest at some point during their glorified nap. When she woke up to the rough scratch of his flannel agaisnt her cheek, drowsiness did not immediately remind her she was in the year 2023. In her sleep-adled state, it was winter of 2002.

When consciousness pulled her back to the land of the living, she lightly groaned. Why were their sleeping selves making everything so complicated?

Y/n rolled off of Joel, causing him to sharply inhale. He blinked a few times, rubbed a hand over his face and evaluated the room. Henry was still asleep, but Sam and Ellie were already awake and sitting on the edges of their beds.

Y/n was beside him, at least twelve inches of space between them.

“I do anything in my sleep?” Joel asked.

Y/n shook her head, sucking on her bottom lip, “Nope.”

Joel wasn’t buying it, “Then whydya got that look on your face?”

“I know why,” Ellie teased in a sing-song tone.

Y/n let out two loud claps, startling Henry awake, and got to her feet. “Rise and shine, time to work.”

Joel stayed on the ground, watching how fast she moved around the room. Something had happened and it had messed with her. He ran a hand over his right shoulder, noticing that it was warm when the rest of him felt cold. He peered back over at Y/n, rifling through her backpack to find Ellie and Sam breakfast. He watched how she crouched down and handed the kids what was assuredly the lion’s share of her rations. How she held up a questioning thumbs up to Sam, who in return, smiled and copied the gesture. How she cared. She still cared so much.

It was killing him.

But there were bigger things to worry about than the stirring in his heart for the woman who perhaps, hadn’t changed that much at all.

————————————

Once fed and watered, the group of five headed a few floors up to the apartment building’s conference room. Henry had promised it had the best view of the city.

“Welcome to Killa City,” he announced, showcasing the place in daylight through the massive windows.

“No FEDRA,” Joel observed.

“Not as of ten days ago, no,” Henry replied.

“We always heard KC FEDRA was-“

“Monsters? Savages?” Henry finished for Joel, “Yeah, you heard right. Raped and tortured and murdered people for twenty years.”

Y/n looked down at her shoes, “Fucking hell.” It was stories like Kansas City that were one of her reasons for joining the Fireflies.

“And you know what happens when you do that to people?” Henry continued, “The moment they get a chance, they do it right back to you.”

“But you’re not FEDRA,” Joel stated.

Henry paused before answering, “No…worse. I’m a collaborator.”

Joel shook his head, “I don’t work with rats.”

Y/n wasn’t so quick to walk away, Henry had too much of a heart it seemed to be a true collaborator. He had a story.

“Yeah, you fucking do,” Henry said, “Today you do, ‘cause I live here and you two don’t. That’s how I followed you here. I know this city and I’m gonna help you out.”

Joel watched Henry as he spoke, trying to see through him, “Why help us?”

“I saw what you two did,” Henry answered, “The way you killed those men. Now I know where to go, but I don’t know how to make it through alone, not if it’s just Sam and me.”

“You seem capable enough,” Joel replied, “You’re armed.”

“You’re wrong and wrong,” Henry said, “Never killed anyone. And pointing an unloaded gun at you was the closest I’ve ever come to being violent.”

Y/n nodded, no one let their hand shake that much when holding a loaded gun.

“So that’s the deal,” Henry stated, “I show you the way, you clear the way.”

Joel didn’t need anyone else slowing them down or making them more noticeable. And partnering with Henry would only make them bigger targets.

At the table behind them, Ellie and Sam were seated, reading from Ellie’s pun book. The energy was divided down the room; the grown-up side was deathy heavy while the kid’s side was warm and uplifting.

“Haven’t heard that in a long time,” Henry smiled, watching his little brother laugh.

Joel turned back to the window as he tried to put distance between him and the moment. Y/n glanced over at him, watching as the cogs in his mind turned. Her mind was already made up, it would have been wonderful if they could avoid an argument.

“So how’re we getting out?” Joel relented, turning to Henry.

Henry fetched a piece of paper from one of the drawers, office supplies had never been in high demand post-pandemic. He sketched out a square, writing down the names of the roads that cut through the city.

“Highways…” he pointed to one section, “Downtown,” then to the other, “Us. This whole area belongs to Kathleen.”

“And she is…?” Y/n asked, standing between Joel and Henry.

“Leader of the resistance,” Henry answered, “You can see the way we’re bounded by highways. They got people posted all around the inside perimeter. If we get close, we get caught. No question.”

“So how do we get across?” Ellie asked.

Henry banged a fist against the table to get Sam’s attention, signing something to him after. Sam went to drawing on his magnetic erase pad, Joel wasn’t made to feel any better about a kid being involved in the planning of their escape.

Sam held up his pad, having written the word ‘Tunnels’ on it.

Henry snapped his fingers, “Boom.”

“Kansas City has a subway?” Joel asked.

“No,” Henry answered, “But they do have maintenance tunnels. There’s a bunch of buildings all put up by the same developers. And they share these tunnels, including…” he pointed down to a specific section of his sketch, “A bank building here,” he began to draw their route, “So we enter the tunnels here, travel underground, and pop up here. Westside North. Residential. There’s an embankment on the other side of the houses. We head down, pedestrian bridge over the river,” Henry dropped his pencil, “Free as a bird.”

“You’re right,” Joel admitted, “It’s a great plan. So what do you need us for?”

Henry hesitated a moment, “You notice anything strange about this city? I mean, other than the strange shit you’ve already seen?”

“No Infected?” Ellie guessed before Y/n and Joel could.

“Oh, there’s Infected,” Henry replied, “Just not on the surface. FEDRA drove them underground fifteen years ago, and never let them come back up. It’s the only good thing those fascist motherfuckers ever did.’

Joel looked between Y/n and Ellie, “So you want us goin’ into a tunnel?”

“Everyone thinks that it’s full of Infected,” Henry quickly corrected, he sensed Joel’s doubt, “Including Kathleen, which means that we’re not gonna be running into any of her people. But you see, what I know is…it’s empty.”

“You know this?” Y/n questioned, “You’ve seen it? With your own eyes?”

“No,” Henry replied.

Joel took a deep breath, hands on his hips again. Y/n sighed and rested her elbows on the table. Henry was losing them both.

“But the FEDRA guy that I worked with told me that it’s clean,” the young man continued, “Completely clean. They cleared it out. All of it.”

“How long ago?” Y/n asked, shutting her eyes as if it could shut out their problems.

“Like,” Henry shrugged, “Three years ago.”

Joel scoffed, glancing to Ellie as if asking if she was believing this either.

“Okay, maybe there’s one or two,” Henry quickly said, “But you can handle it.”

“You’re making this sound a whole lot simpler than it is,” Y/n responded, looking to Joel, whose eyes were already expectantly waiting on her. “We need a minute.

Y/n pushed open the glass doors, bringing them outside the conference room and giving them a sliver of privacy.

Joel pointed a finger behind them, “You still feel good about this?”

“Not exceptionally, no,” she answered truthfully, “But we don’t exactly have a lot of other options, now do we?”

“If this guy’s gonna endanger our lives more than if we were on our own,” Joel argued, “Then we’re better off-“

“Fighting our way through a city we’ve never been in with targets the size of Texas on our backs?” Y/n finished for him, “Look, I don’t wanna go down there either. But we’re guaranteed a very slow, very painful death if we go it alone. I’d rather have allies and stand a chance, at least.”

Joel wanted to fight tooth and nail, but he knew she was right. She’d always had a talent for being right.

“Plus, it’ll give you plenty to lord over Tommy’s head when we get to Wyoming,” Y/n quipped, her mouth still frowned but her eyes were lit up with humor.

Joel huffed, he’d have laughed if the situation wasn’t so dire. The thought of seeing his brother and his ex together again was a sight he didn’t think he’d ever be ready to see.

Without another word, and a silent concession from Joel, the two of them marched back into the conference room where the debate was still being held.

Henry pointed to Ellie, “She says y’all fought off two Clickers. Is that true?”

Joel and Y/n uncomfortably shifted, the dread sweeping over them.

“And you’re still alive,” Henry stated, “You see? You’re the right people. If it gets bad down there, we turn around, and run right back out the same way we came.”

Joel was about one poorly constructed sentence away from giving the whole idea up, “Oh, that’s your great plan?”

“No, that’s my dicey-as-fuck plan,” Henry fired back, “But as far as I can tell, it’s our only shot.”

Sam signed something to Henry.

“They’re saying,” Henry narrated as he signed back, “They’re going to help us escape,” he turned back to the party, “Right?”

Y/n rolled her eyes, “That was a low fuckin’ blow, man.”

Henry didn’t seem bothered at all by the manipulation.

Joel’s jaw twitched as he thought it all over. Y/n could practically feel his unease. She craned her neck back, muttering more into his body than at him, “Lesser of two evils.”

With every fiber of his being, Joel wanted to fight. But instead, he let his hands fall against his legs, admitting defeat.

—————————

The team got across the city with minimal close calls, every once in a while there’d be a truck or patrol group to avoid. They got to the bank building intact and only slightly out of breath.

“We need to get outta sight,” Joel said, every entrance/exit of the place was structured in a glass wall.

“Uh, I-I-I think it’s this way,” Henry pointed towards one of the halls, the rest of them following.

They trailed through the building till they hit a back door, hopefully leading to the tunnel entrance. Joel and Y/n entered it cautiously with their guns drawn.

“This should be it,” Henry announced, “You ready?”

Joel looked to Ellie, “Get your gun out.”

Rebelling in her own small way, once again, Ellie pulled out the gun from her jacket pocket. At this point, Joel wasn’t surprised in the least that she wasn’t heeding his advice. Him and Y/n marched forward regardless and took the lead. They entered through another door, delivering them into the tunnel system.

“You see?” Henry proved, “It’s empty. The plan is good.”

Joel and Y/n quickly shushed him. “‘The plan is good?’” Joel repeated, “We’ve been down here two seconds. We don’t know anything.”

Henry looked to Ellie, “Your dad’s kind of a pessimist.”

“I’m not her dad.”

“He’s not my dad.”

“He’s not her dad.”

Joel, Y/n and Ellie’s protests overlapped.

“Just point your light forward,” Joel instructed, tightly gripping his own, “And be ready to run.”

Y/n steadied her breathing and began to move beside Joel down the underground maze.

They walked for around an hour, snaking down the sets of tunnels, holding their flashlights and handguns as if they were life itself. Eventually, they turned down a hall with child’s art painted all along it. The door was even painted as castle. All of them examined the walls in quiet confusion.

Sam bounded forward, wanting to go through and explore. Joel threw his hand out to stop him, “No.”

Y/n tucked her flashlight under her chin and gripped her pistol, sharing an affirmative nod with Joel that they were ready. He slowly turned the doorknob and it creaked open, revealing a room that looked…civilized.

The whole place looked like a daycare center. There were toys scattered throughout storage bins, art and books against the walls, small cups, and a faded soccer goal painted across one of the cinderblock walls.

“I heard about places this this,” Joel commented, taking stock of their surroundings, “People went underground after Outbreak Day. Built settlements.”

“What happened to them?” Ellie asked.

“Maybe they didn’t follow the rules and all got infected,” Joel replied.

While Ellie and Sam sat down, playing with a few of the toys, Y/n, Henry and Joel scanned the room. Whoever had been living there, they’d been gone long enough for a layer of dust to settle across everything.

“Hey,” Joel called to Ellie who was being a little too loud, “Keep it down. We’re not out yet.”

“Ah, c’mon,” Ellie groaned, “Can we just rest here for a while? There’s, like, actually shit to do here.”

“Wouldn’t be so bad to wait the light out a bit,” Henry agreed, “Safer in the shadows when we pop back out on the other side.”

Joining Ellie and Henry, Y/n tilted her head in a slight shrug to Joel. It was a smart decision and he was just going to have to get over himself.

Joel shrugged back to the group, raising an eyebrow and going back to checking out the room.

Ellie and Sam occupied themselves by reading comic books and messing around with some of the toys. Henry, Joel and Y/n rested at a table, putting their feet up without actually relaxing at all. At some point, Ellie and Sam switched to kicking a soccer ball around on the makeshift field. Y/n watched carefully as Ellie interacted with the boy, she was so caring and patient. She’d confided that she didn’t have any brothers or sisters, but the glow coming from her radiated big sister energy.

Y/n scooted her chair back and walked across the room. “Can I join?”

Ellie enthusiastically began to switch the ball between her feet, trying to fake Y/n out. Y/n rotated to stand alongside Sam at the goal.

“That’s not fair,” Ellie argued, “There’s two of you.”

“Oh, so you’re saying you can’t do it,” Y/n teased.

Ellie’s determination set in, jumping slightly in place before kicking the ball in between Sam and Y/n’s legs quicker than they could stop it.

“Oh, shit,” she exclaimed, shooting her hands into the air.

Sam and Y/n shared a laugh before Y/n got down on her knees, “Can you teach me something?”

Sam watched her lips and nodded, showing her a sign. To her, it looked like he was pulling something out of his mouth, before bringing his two thumbs up and splitting their directions at his chest.

Y/n mimicked it, “What does this mean?”

“Oh, that’s from Savage Starlight,” Ellie exclaimed, copying the gesture with them, “‘Endure and survive.’”

The three of them continued to sign it over and over. It seemed to make both Ellie and Sam extremely happy, which meant Y/n would do it as many times as they wanted.

Joel and Henry watched from their seats. To say Joel’s heart ached would have been an understatement. His soul was barely holding together, a new piece of it dying off every day. But Y/n and Ellie had somehow kept the last few from withering. It was so subtle, he hadn’t even figured the phenomenon out yet. He was barely self-aware. But seeing Y/n, crouched down on the floor with the kids, still with the innate need to make the world around her better, he came to fully realize his thought from earlier in the day.

She was still his Y/n.

Smiling, laughing, loving, caring, kinder than the world deserved. Underneath all the anger was the woman he had loved with all his heart.

And that fucking terrified him.

As Y/n made her way back to them, Joel pulled himself back to reality, switching gears and channeling his energy into focusing on the kids. Specifically Sam. He was eight years old and in survival mode. No child deserved that. It was making him rethink his stance on the things he’d said earlier.

“If you were collaboratin’ to take care of him,” he said to Henry, “I…I shouldn’t have save what I said. I don’t know your situation. And I’m not sayin’ they should let it go, but all things considered, seems kinda cruel—to send a whole army after you for that.”

Henry waited a few seconds, Ellie’s cheers filling the silence, before speaking. “You know, I wasn’t, uh…exactly telling you the truth before…about me not killing someone.”

Y/n and Joel’s attention turned to him exclusively.

“There was a man,” Henry began, “A great man. You know, he was never afraid…never selfish…and he was always forgiving. Have you ever met someone like that? Kinda man you’d follow anywhere.”

Y/n tensed up, forbidding her eyes from flicking to Joel.

“I mean, I wanted to. Well…I would’ve,” Henry gathered strength for the rest of his story, “Yeah, but, uh…Sam, he, uh, he got sick. Leukemia,” he scanned Joel and Y/n’s somber expressions, “Yeah, anyway, um…there was one drug that worked and, whoa, big shock…there wasn’t much left of it, and it belonged to FEDRA. And if I wanted some, it was gonna take something big. So I gave them something big. That one great man. The leader of the resistance movement in Kansas City. And Kathleen’s brother.”

Understanding washed over Joel and Y/n. All the firepower, the tanks, the trucks, it all made sense.

“Yeah, so, you still think they should take it easy on me?” Henry asked rhetorically, “Or am I the bad guy?”

Y/n stayed silent, weighing morals against necessity. Joel pulled his lips down, barely shaking his head before Henry cut off what he would have said, “I don’t know what you’re waitin’ on, man. The answer’s easy. I am the bad guy because I did a bad guy thing.”

“But you did it to keep him alive,” Y/n spoke up, “You’d go to the ends of the earth for him. That’s not evil, that’s family.”

Henry’s eyes cut through the space between Joel and Y/n, “You two get it,” he nodded toward Joel, ”You may not be her father, but you were someone’s. See, I could tell.”

There it was. The big, dreadful, terrible thing that Joel and Y/n had gotten this far without talking about. It was the unspoken wound, the one deep enough to kill yet shallow enough that it didn’t show. It was a constant phantom pain in both their chests and it broke them all over again to have it brought up.

“You too,” Henry smiled at Y/n, nodding to Ellie, “That is, if she’s not yours.”

Y/n didn’t think the blade could slide any deeper into her heart. She had been something to someone once, and it was as much a part of her still as the air she breathed.

“Uh,” Y/n tearily began, clearing her throat quickly, “No, she’s not mine.”

Joel had had more than he could handle just by Henry’s assumption about him. Referring to Y/n as the word he couldn’t bring himself to utter in that context had sent him over the edge. He picked up his gun from the table and practically jumped to his feet, “We’ve waited long enough.”

Y/n stayed still at the table, holding back her tears took so much strength, it was stealing her ability to move. If she allowed herself to cry in front of Joel, she didn’t think she’d ever recover.

Henry didn’t ask questions, he didn’t bring up the very visible sorrow etched across Y/n’s face. Some hurt was palpable without ever being touched on, and it was painfully clear that Joel hadn’t been the only one to lose a child…

————

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[puppyie-innit]

hewo everyone!! dis is my firs ever time participatin in t-wordtober. i hope you guys like it, will do my best to keep up wif it! the characters thruout dis month will be based off of @jogabsha @jogabsha2 an me! buh yeh, enjoooyy!!!)

t-wordtober day 1: “Ready?”

It was a lazy afternoon, the kind where the sun’s warmth poured through the windows and made everythin’ feel cozy and slow. Puppy was curled up on the couch, her small frame lookin’ even smaller with the way she was huggin' her stuffed animal. Her eyes were heavy with sleep, and she was driftin' in and out of dreamland when she suddenly felt a presence loomin' over her.

Dino, her big brother, stood there with a playful grin, his arms crossed as he watched his sleepy little sis. She looked so peaceful, but Dino was in the mood for somethin’ a bit more fun. He crouched down beside her, his shadow fallin’ over her face, blockin’ the sunlight.

"Pup, you awake?" Dino asked in a soft, teasin’ tone.

Puppy groaned a little, rubbin’ her eyes and peekin’ up at him. "Mmm, kinda," she mumbled, not really wantin’ to leave the comfort of her nap. Her voice was all sleepy and soft, makin' her sound even more like a little pup.

Dino smirked, knowin' exactly what he was about to do. He reached out and lightly poked her tummy. "Are you sure you're awake?" he teased, his finger trailin' up her side, makin’ her squirm just a little.

Puppy blinked her eyes open fully now, already feelin' a slight tingle where he touched. She knew that look in his eyes. It was the look he got when he was about to turn her world upside down with tickles. Her eyes widened just a bit, and she shook her head. "N-Nooo, Dino, I'm sleepy," she protested, curlin' up even tighter like a little ball.

Dino chuckled low in his throat, his hand hoverin' just above her belly now. "Sleepy, huh? Well, that’s too bad, 'cause I’ve got somethin’ real fun planned, lil' one," he cooed, his voice takin' on that sing-song baby talk that made Puppy’s heart race.

He wiggled his fingers just inches from her tummy, watchin' her eyes dart to his hand. “Puppy, are ya ready?” he asked, leanin’ in closer, his grin growin’ wider. The question hung in the air, teasin' her as her breath caught in her throat.

Puppy shook her head quickly, her cheeks flushin' as she squirmed under his gaze. "No, no, Dino, I’m not ready!" she squeaked, tryin’ to pull the blanket over her as a shield.

But it was too late. Dino's hand shot forward, and before Puppy could do anythin' about it, his fingers danced across her belly, wrigglin’ and ticklin' with just enough pressure to make her burst into giggles instantly.

“Ohhh, I think ya are ready! Ready for the tickle monster!” Dino teased, his voice high and playful like he was talkin’ to a tiny pup. His fingers moved faster now, explorin' every inch of her belly and sides, sendin' waves of ticklish sensations through her.

Puppy’s giggles exploded from her mouth, high-pitched and uncontrollable. She tried to curl up tighter, but Dino's hands were relentless, findin' every little ticklish spot he knew would drive her crazy. “Dinooo! Nooo! I wasn’t ready!” she managed to squeal between her fits of laughter, her feet kickin' against the couch.

Dino laughed, enjoyin’ how helpless and squirmy she was. “Oh, but ya look ready to me! Look at that smile! I think ya were just pretendin' to be sleepy, huh?” he teased, movin’ his fingers up to her ribs now, diggin’ in just enough to make her buck against the cushions.

Puppy’s laughter got louder, and she shook her head wildly, tryin’ to escape his tickly grip. “Nuh-uh! I’m sleepy! I’m sleepy!” she giggled, her voice breakin’ from laughin' so hard.

Dino just shook his head, teasin' her more. "Nooo, silly puppy, sleepy pups don’t giggle like this. Only ticklish ones do!" His fingers danced faster, findin' a sweet spot right at her sides that made her squeal.

“Diiinooo!” Puppy’s face was bright red now, tears of laughter in her eyes as she tried to grab his hands and stop the tickles, but it was no use. Dino was too fast, too strong, and he wasn’t about to stop just yet.

"Oh, what’s that? You want more?" Dino teased, switchin' tactics and wrigglin' his fingers under her arms now, hittin' a whole new level of ticklishness.

Puppy screamed with laughter, her arms flailin', her body twistin' and turnin' as she tried to wriggle free. "Nooo! Nooo! Not more! Not more!" she giggled, her voice gettin' higher and squeakier the more he tickled.

Dino’s grin grew wider. "Not more? Hmm, that’s not what I heard, kiddo. I think I heard ya say more tickles for Puppy!" He added a few babyish raspberries to her tummy, which made her squeal and kick even harder, her giggles reachin' a fever pitch.

Puppy was beside herself now, her whole body wiggling and squirming as Dino kept up his relentless tickle attack. She could barely breathe between her giggles, tears rollin' down her cheeks from laughin' so hard. "Dinooo! P-Please! No more, no more!" she begged through her laughter.

Dino finally slowed down, givin' her a break, but he wasn’t done teasin' her just yet. He leaned in close to her ear and whispered in that sweet baby talk tone, “Aw, my lil' Puppy is soooo ticklish, isn’t she? Ya just can’t handle it, huh?”

Puppy was pantin', tryin' to catch her breath as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "N-No… I can’t," she admitted, her voice barely a whisper between her giggles.

Dino chuckled softly and gave her a gentle pat on the head. "That’s what I thought. But don’t worry, little sister. The tickle monster will be back soon. Better get real ready next time," he teased, boopin' her nose before finally lettin' her go.

Puppy, still gigglin' softly, pulled her blanket up to her chin, tryin' to hide from him. But even though she was worn out from laughin', a small smile remained on her face.

[boygiwrites]

Harley D. Dixon 25

An amazing edit inspired by this story! (Cred to Cora_Line99) Harley D. Dixon's Pinterest Board! Harley D. Dixon's Playlist!

📖Chapter List.

Author's Note.

As always, enjoy reading :) And uuuh prepare yourself.

"There you guys are."

Dale says this because he's been waiting for us. He pushes himself off the crumbled fireplace, anxiously gripping the strap of his rifle like he always does, like he's glued it there and hasn't bothered to take it off. He always looks nervous and angry at the same time.

"Whatchu all the way over here for?" Dad asks, setting his crossbow down by his chair. "Couldn't wait for visitin' hours?"

"Listen, I'm going to be frank here." He mutters, his bushy white brows disappearing under the brim of his fisherman's hat. The adults have always muttered when they don't want the kids listening in on them, but now it's actually working, and I don't like that, so I make a point of sitting on the lip of the cobblestones nearby. I pretend to take off my boots and pour the dirt out, even though they're already empty. "If we don't do something, come dusk," He says in a very important way, "Jim will be dead."

"Ain't that kinda the point?" He deadpans.

Dale hates that response. He scoffs. "No. You're a smart man, Daryl. You can see why this is crazy."

I don't know what he thinks he's doin', tryna convince my Dad to call off the execution. I guess it didn't go over so well with Rick.

"Can I?" He drawls, entirely unconvinced. "Ain't nun' crazy 'bout squashing a bug."

"We're not talking about a bug." He argues. "We're talking about a human being. A human being that's made mistakes, yes, but haven't we all? I mean, how many times have you said something somebody didn't like? That isn't a crime. Certainly doesn't warrant the death penalty."

"Man, save it. You getcher'self in the mix with my daughter in a way I'on like, you get what's comin' to ya. That's just how it is."

"And I— I can appreciate that. You're a family man. You love your daughter. You love Harley and you want to protect her," He reasons, and as he says this, I think, pshh, what does this have to do with anything, which is what Dad must be thinking, too, 'cause he rolls his eyes a bit. "But don't you love her enough to want her growing up in a world that doesn't punish so harshly? Hasn't she seen enough death?"

Sure I have. But like all things we once thought were impossible, it's now just a matter of, what's one more? What's one more dead man in the ground? Jim's death will be a different type of killing, sure, but they're all just bodies in the end. We've done this before.

"Watch yourself." Dad's look turns sharp at that. "Don't tell me what I already know."

"I'm just trying to—"

"Look." He cuts him off. "I know what's best for my daughter. The world I want her growin' up in is one that ain't made'a fairytales. People gotta die, Dale. Already have. And they ain't gonna stop just 'cause one man pulls out his thesaurus and starts cryin' about it. Lil' Jimmy, he's a threat to the group. He's a threat to my lil' girl, and it don't get any more black and white than that for me."

"But does that mean he has to die?"

"It means this conversation's over." He throws a hand up, turns away. "I ain't y'all's Momma. Go talk to Rick about it s'more if ya wanna."

"I already have." He calls after him uselessly, before sighing and giving up altogether. He seems to remember that I'm here too, and sends me a small smile. "Sorry, Harley," He says, "Maybe I shouldn't have brought that up with you here."

"Naw, it's alright." I shrug, joking, "I been through worse before."

That makes him chuckle, despite himself. "You have, have you?"

"But can I tell you sum'?"

He pauses, frowns. "'Course you can."

"Just stop." I say very plainly, in a way I hope he understands. "Just stop. It ain't worth it."

Ain't you just a little pot of wisdom, as Merle liked to say, whenever I told him he shouldn't sniff that white powder so often, or to try lookin' at the sky when he got too angry. Smarty-pants, is what Dad preferred to say. I got a bad habit of tellin' people what to do, sometimes, but it ain't that I'm wise or smart or want a damn medal, do ya. I just don't want Dale doin' what I did, tryna fight things ya can't fight, like with Sophia and Shane. In a way, I guess Jim's right. Ya can't fight death. It's just one of them things ya can't put a knife in.

I know Dale's tryna do good. That's what he is. A do-gooder. That's what Dad used to call the people at church. Always fightin' the good fight. With words and bibles and morals. But that ain't how things work now. I know Dale wishes it was, but it ain't.

From the look on Dale's face, it seems that just by saying this, I've as good as killed Jim myself.

"But-But, honey," He stammers. "How can you say that?"

"'Cause," I wiggle my boot on and stand. "People just gotta die, sometimes."

His lip curls. "Your Dad been teaching you that?"

"Yeah." I don't know why he says that like it's a bad thing. "People die, people mourn, life moves on. That's what he says."

"I don't want to argue with you on this." He shakes his head, hiding irritation. "You're too young to know what you're talking about."

He's like Lori. He wants to live like it was before, back when we had homework and couldn't say fuck, or shit, or fuck-shit. Back when we had courtrooms and judges and churches that were standing. 'Cause back then, Jim wouldn't be killed.

He blanches a little, before calling out to Dad, "You need to re-think what it is you're teaching your daughter."

As he huffs and walks away, Dad sends me a confused look.

"Nothin'." I sigh dismissively, heading over to join him by the dead fire pit, where he's knifed open a tin of baked beans. I stand in between his knees and he spoons some out and feeds them to me. "I jush argued with him a lil', 'das all."

"I ain't tell you to do that." He jokes, wiping sauce from my chin with the spoon.

I garble around my mouthful, "Well, I did tell him Jim's gotta die. Ya did say 'dat."

"Guess I did... But don't worry 'bout old Dale. He's a—"

"—He's a do-gooder." We say at the same time.

He scoffs amusedly. "Yeah. Exactly."

I swallow and open my mouth for the next spoonful, which I munch on with a smile. "How 'bout that deer just now, huh?"

"Pretty cool." He agrees absentmindedly, giving me a small smile back. Only once I open my mouth again does he tell me, "Listen, baby." I snap it shut once I realize he's not going to lift the spoon. For a terrible second, I think he knows about the shed. It's nonsense, of course. Andrea promised she wouldn't snitch, but the thought's still stuck to the back of my head. "About them things I said last night..."

Oh. Right. I don't say anything. I just stand and listen. I gotta get better at that.

"About your Momma givin' up," He struggles to say. "Weren't right'a me. Things are tough right now, but... weren't right'a me."

"It's alright, Dad." I tell him. Not a lot is alright these days, but we are. I forgive him. "You was right, anyway."

My Momma did give up. Whether I like how it sounds or not, that's what suicide means, and my Momma gave up. She gave up on me and Daddy, gave up on fighting, and she gave up on life, too, in the end. Like the rest, she was weak. Like Sophia. Like me.

"C'mere." He sets the tin aside and pulls me onto his lap, cradling my head under his chin. "Don't matter who was right. I love you."

"I love you, too, Dad."

Two I love you's in the same day. What on Earth is goin' on? You'd think the apocalypse had started or somethin'.

He pulls back, holding my face in his big, grimy hands. "I wantchu to stay wit' the women when we kill Jim tonight."

I suck in a breath, asking, "How you gonna do it?"

"I'on know yet." He admits as he smooths down my baby hairs, swipes some dirt from my cheek. "But you don't need t'see it. I know that."

I give a nod. I wish I could see, but that would never be allowed. "Okay."

"Okay." He repeats, kissing my temple. "Good girl."

As I finish off the rest of the beans, I gaze out over Dad's shoulder, watching Dale's tiny figure wander over to the other side of the farm, off to go try convince the next person he comes across that this is all a terrible idea. Off to fight the good fight, which no one's ever won.

The best part of my day is when Maggie slaps Andrea across the face.

It's not that I hate Andrea or anythin' like that, unlike some other people around here, but it's just kinda funny. As I walk up to the house, she holds her reddened cheek with her mouth agape in shock, while Maggie stands over her, totally fuming. I like her even more now.

"Stay away from her." She scolds her hotly. "From both of us. Don't you dare step foot inside this house again."

After struggling to find something to say, she wordlessly turns and hurries away.

"What's goin' on?" I call up to Maggie and Lori, who are standing on the porch.

"Nothing, sweetie." Lori assures me, but she seems heated. She moves to the side to let Maggie storm inside, and follows her in after.

I find Carl past the patch of tall trees by the house, past the overgrown fence and sitting in the seat of an abandoned tractor, fiddling with his hat in his lap. I'm still a little angry with him. For trying to control me like I'm his pet dog, and treating me like I'm some sort of practice run for his little sister or brother. But that don't mean I can't talk to him. I climb one of the big tyres, crossing my arms over the rusty hood.

He glances at me but decides not to say anything.

"Did you tell Maggie about the knife?"

"Yeah." He admits, not surprising me in the slightest. I don't see why else Andrea would be on Maggie's bad side. "What do you care?"

I frown in confusion. "Huh? I don't. I was just asking."

"Oh." He puts his hat on and looks at me. "I thought you came over here to argue some more."

"Nah." I shrug one shoulder, tracing my finger along the cracked ridges of the old, red metal. "Don't wanna."

Gazing out onto the barn, I see Rick through the open doors, pacing the dirt floor and looking up at the rafters with some rope in his hands. I make out a loop on the end of it, and then I realize it's not a rope, it's a noose. He's looking for a place to hang Jim.

"That's how they're gonna do it." I murmur to myself. "They is gonna hang him after all."

"Gunshot would attract the horde." Carl supposes.

Rick takes hold of a wooden banister, pushes on it, checks its sturdiness.

"True. I ain't thought of that."

"He told me we're gonna be sleeping in the house, soon. Because Winter's coming, and all."

That's a funny thought. Feels like just yesterday Rick was begging Herschel to let us stay, and now we're facing Winter together.

"Guess it's good Jim's dyin' now, then," I muse, "So he don't gotta freeze to death instead."

After a couple more minutes, Rick stops pushing on banisters and attaches the noose to the spot he's chosen. I guess that's it, then.

"It's almost time." Lori says to Rick as the sun begins to set, like a ball of orange sand in a glass timer. "I know this isn't easy for you."

She doesn't know that, but she likes saying it, anyway, because she wants to believe it and it sounds nice. But I think we all know that Rick is a little beyond caring about ending a person's life for the good of the group. He might not love it, but it's like Dad says. There's only two options, and when push comes to shove choosing the best one, the one that keeps us safe, things become pretty damn easy.

He nods, knuckles going white as he grips the porch railing. I guess he doesn't have the guts to tell her she's wrong.

Inside, the group are gathering to have what Dale calls a discussion. It's his last-ditch attempt at stopping the execution, and Rick's not happy about it, but he's willing to hear him out. It's pretty obvious we're all just stalling the inevitable, though.

"You don't have to be the one to do it." Lori continues after he's said nothing.

On the deck chair beside me, Dad sits with his elbows on his knees, his fingers interlocked, wriggling. He offers gruffly, "I can do it."

"No." Rick shakes his head. "It has to be me. Bringing him back was my decision. Makes this is my responsibility."

I wonder how you even kill someone using a noose. I guess what they're debating is who's gonna kick the stool Jim stands on.

Dad doesn't argue back. The only person he really wanted to kill was Shane, and he did that. This one goes to Rick.

The door swings open.

Maggie pokes her head out. "Everyone's ready."

Rick takes a deep breath, gives one last look to Lori, and heads inside.

"C'mon." Lori takes Carl's shoulder and guides him to sit in Dad's chair. "I want you to stay out here with Jimmy and Harley."

"But, Mom," He argues, "I wanna listen."

"Uh-uh. Not this time, baby."

Just as Lori goes inside and Dad is about to follow her in, Carl blurts out, "Daryl, wait."

He pauses in the doorway. Confusion pinches his features. I go still, glance at Carl side-long, hold my breath. There's no way he's doing what I think he is. Why else would he stop my Dad? Please, no. Just say something stupid and useless and let him go inside.

In a moment that makes me want to put my hands around his neck, Carl says exactly what I didn't want him to.

"Harley snuck into the shed and talked to Jim."

I bite down a thousand curses. Carl Grimes, that little... I can't believe he told on me. Not even Andrea did.

Dad's face contorts into a look of rage, pinning me in place, making my heart race until it's punching against my sternum like a fist. Now I'm realizing just how much of an idiot I was for breaking the rules. All Dad wants is for me to be safe. He's gotta look out for dangers like Jim, but I'm becoming a danger to myself, now, too, 'cause I'm an idiot and I went in that shed like an idiot and spoke to Jim like an idiot.

He grabs the door handle like he's tryna crush it between his fingers and slams the door shut behind him.

The windows rattle behind me and Carl.

I let out a breath, but I'm not relieved for long. I'm suddenly almost as angry as Dad was. I turn to Carl, fixing him with a scathing glare.

"Why in Satan's hot Hell," I grind through my teeth, "Did ya do that for?"

He looks all pleased with himself. "Because I'm responsible."

If I weren't already in deep trouble, and if Jimmy wasn't out here to witness it, I would slap Carl so hard his baby teeth and his adult teeth would fall out his skull. I didn't snitch on him when he wanted to sneak into the woods. In fact, I helped that jerk.

"You know, I'm about sick'a you." I tell him, because it makes me feel better. "You been buggin' me so bad today."

"I've been bugging you?" He exclaims incredulously.

"Ya heard me. First ya tell Carol her dead daughter ain't in heaven, then you start actin' like I'm a baby, and now ya snitch on—"

"Well, you are a baby!" He shocks me into silence with that. "You're a baby, Harley. You might know what a chantrelle mushroom is, and you might shoot better than me, but you're still just a stupid baby, and I'm right for looking out for you. You can't do it yourself!"

Jimmy awkwardly wonders further down the porch, pretending he doesn't hear our argument.

"Well, I hope your baby sister or brother hates your damn guts," I snarl, "'Cause I sure do."

"I'm just trying to set a good example like Dad told me to!"

"Y'know, fuck yer Dad. And fuck you, too. I ain't your test sister. I ain't yer anythin'."

He huffs angrily, rolling his eyes. "Whatever. I'm glad you're not my sister."

"And I'm glad you ain't my brother." I mumble, turning my back to him and crossing my arms. "Damn snitch."

I almost wish Carl never found out he was gonna be a big brother. It's turned his head big. He thinks he can play house with me and act like some hero just 'cause his Dad told him to, but I don't need no damn boy who don't even know how to skin a squirrel to look out for me. He ain't an adult and I ain't a baby. I don't even like it when he reads his comics to me or holds my hand when he wants to take me somewhere or shares things with me or listens extra hard when I'm teaching him something. I meant it. I'm glad he ain't my brother.

Screw him. When his sibling's born, he's gonna forget all about me and I ain't gonna care one bit.

Inside, my Dad's voice is the loudest outta everybody's. To know what he's actually saying, I would have to ask Carl to translate, and there's no way in Hell I'm talking to him right now, or ever. I hear tidbits of Dale's voice, Glenn's, Jacqui's, T's. After a while, I hear shouting.

"If you were so sure you wanted to kill him," It's Dale. "Why'd you cover his face?! I know you have humanity in you!"

It seems nobody answers him, or he just doesn't wanna listen anymore, because the door opens and he steps out.

"Go ahead and slaughter that human being, then." He calls over his shoulder. "I won't be a party to it!"

He trudges down the steps, across the field, ducks into his tent, disappears. The thought that he might be crying makes my chest clench.

After that, the others file out. When I see Dad again, I feel like I might throw up.

He beelines for me, grabs my arm, pulls me off the chair.

"Get up." He seethes.

"What's going on?" Rick asks in concern.

"She messed up, that's what's goin' on." He drags me down the stairs. "Snuck into the shed and talked to Jim."

I hear Jacqui gasp at that. "What? When?"

Rick calls out to us, "Remember what I said, Daryl! If I see a bruise, I'll shoot you dead!"

"Man, whatever!"

He sounds pissed he would even suggest he's gonna beat me, but I don't think Rick really believes he'd do it, anyway. He just had to say it.

When we reach our camp, he throws me onto the stump and I sit there with a lump in my throat while he chews me out.

"Girl, I'on even have words for you." He says harshly, looking at me like I'm a nasty stain on his boot. "What the Hell were you thinkin'?"

"I—I just— I was just so angry, I wanted to—"

"I'on give a shit what you wanted." He cuts me off. "And I guess you don't give a shit what I want neither, do ya? Huh? Tellin' me you wanted to die, that was one thing, but what? Now you're tryn'? I gotta tie you down to stop ya, is that it? 'Cause gimme the word and I'll do it!"

"N-No," I quickly tell him, watching him pace back and forth. "I was just— I was just bein' an idiot."

"You're Hell right, you were bein' an idiot." He notices Merle's knife strapped to my shorts and lunges forward. "Gimme this damn thing."

He tears the button apart and rips the sheath offa me, stuffing it into the back of his pants line.

"You'll get this back when I can trust ya not to open up yer wrists with it." He growls before turning away.

I don't move from the stump for the next ten minutes. I watch him start a fire, heat up a tin of soup and eat it, and by then a whole hour has gone by and I realize I'm gonna be here longer than I thought. The sun goes down. Another hour, and I'm still sitting here. He doesn't talk to me, doesn't look my way. He doesn't even give me dinner. After that, another hour. He makes a few arrows. It gets colder and he gives me his flannel to put on, but after that, another two hours. It's around everyone's bed time when Glenn walks over and tells him it's time.

Dad understands what he means straight away and stands up, because there's only one thing he could be talking about.

"Stay with her." He orders Glenn without room for argument, and marches away.

Glenn watches him go, then sends me a small smile. "Hey, Harley."

"Hey, Glenn." I say a little glumly.

"You wanna come sit by the fire while we wait?"

I shake my head. "I'm in time-out. I gotta stay over here."

He nods and comes to sit in the dirt beside me, hugging his knees. The sounds of crickets chirping fills the air.

"I heard what you did." He muses after a long stretch of silence. "I'm not gonna add insult to injury, but that wasn't cool, Harley."

"So I've heard." I mutter, picking at threads.

"I mean, you could've gotten hurt." He patiently explains. "We don't know what Jim might've done to you in there."

"He hates me 'cause I remind him of his kids, y'know. He says I deserve to die like they did. Thinks it ain't fair."

"Wow." He scoffs to himself. "What a jerk."

"I think my Dad's got some more colorful words for him than that."

"Oh, I do, too." He warns, making me giggle. If Glenn wants to swear, that's how you know it's bad. "But we'll stick with 'jerk' for now."

"I think Lori would appreciate that." After a pause, I ask, "Did you talk to Maggie?"

"Yeah. I did."

"How'd it go?"

"It went good." He grins a little. "I got your advice to thank for that."

Aw. I'm happy for them. "I'll be giving Dale a run for his money, soon."

As we're both suppressing laughter at the thought of my life advice being better than Dale's, the group's wise owl, a gunshot cracks out across the farm. We both flinch. Our smiles fade. He puts an arm in front of me on instinct, looking out into the dark. What the Hell?

"They're hangin' him." I utter, seeing nothing but trees and night, "They hangin' him, Glenn. Why was that a gunshot?"

"I-I don't know." He grabs my hand, pulls me to my feet and keeps me close in case we gotta run. "I don't know."

Then comes the screaming. It's not Jim's.

"Dale," Glenn gasps right as my stomach hits the ground.

Then the group is running across the field and there are guns in their hands and flashlights are cutting through the grass. Glenn takes off running with me, his hand in mine, and I'm thinking that I should be on the stump, I'm gonna get in so much trouble for moving from the stump, but nobody's thinking about my time-out because there's all that screaming and Dale— Dale might be dying.

When we collide with the group, Dad takes hold of me and asks me if I'm alright, if I'm alright, and I struggle to nod.

"What's happening?" I whine, as Lori and T-Dog ask the same thing to two other people. "What happened to Jim?"

"We had to leave him in the barn." He says breathlessly before I'm running again.

There's a mess of running legs and bodies and panicking and then the squeaking of a gate, and then I'm pushing past everyone and then the world stops because there's a bundle on the ground. It's Dale. I hear someone retch. All of him, guts and all, spread out in the grass.

My Dad rushes forward and daggers the walker that's on top of him. "Come on, help! Help, he's— Fuck!"

"Who is it?" Lori shrieks as she runs to us, only to stop dead in her tracks when she sees.

Rick throws himself next to Dale's head. He's cradling his head and muttering things to him, and Dale's moaning and huffing and puffing and wheezing like a half-dead animal as the cavity in his chest pours blood into the grass. I do nothing but stand there in shock, watching it pour, pour, pour. There's shouts for Herschel, shouts for stupid things like bandages and stitches that make no sense and are just so awful, because ain't no bandage gonna fix Dale's missing stomach and his sprawled organs and the bite marks on his neck.

"We're gonna help," Rick's promising him while Andrea cries over his body, "We're here. We're here."

I'm wrapped up in a hug. Glenn. He steps backwards with me, holding me tight, saying nothing.

I was talking to him just this afternoon. I swear I was. He was right in front of me and he was alive, and I was talking to him and now he's laid out and torn open, and his insides are on his outsides, and I couldn't talk to him even if I tried, even if I had words to speak.

Herschel's here. He crouches, hovers his hands because there's nowhere to put them, no wound to put pressure on.

"What can we do?" Rick's asking him, up to his elbows in Dale, our friend's, blood. "We have to move him. Can we move him?"

Herschel stands, eyes bulged. "He won't make the trip." 

"We have to do the operation here," Rick's saying, but it's useless. "We hav— We have to—"

"Rick." He puts a hand on his shoulder.

"No." He cries, turning away, holding his face. "No. No, no, no!"

"Oh, Dale." Andrea sobs, and somehow this is the worst part because Andrea never cries, and neither does Rick or Glenn, but they're all crying, all doubling over and sniffling and no-no-no-ing, because there's nothing we can do. Dale is dying right in front of us, dying in our hands. Carl gapes at the walker laying nearby, and that's when I notice the clumps of mud on its ankles, and I grab tighter onto Glenn and Carl runs to his Momma, because that's the walker from the swamp. The one we didn't kill. Andrea weeps, "He's suffering."

Another groan wracks Dale's mangled body, and we all feel it in our bones, because she's right.

"Do something!" She begs.

God fucking damn it, why didn't we just kill that thing when we had the chance?

It's Sophia all over again. The something is a bullet. Someone has to shoot Dale like we shot Sophia. Oh, God, Jim was right. Dale, my wise old friend, the man who just wanted to go around the country with his wife and his RV and read poetry books, dying in a paddock on the edge of a random farm in Georgia. I wonder if he's scared. Dale's never scared. He's one of the bravest people I know.

Rick raises his gun. I don't look away. I don't cry. I don't feel much of anything except my heartbeat in my mouth. 

"Don't look," Glenn tells me, "D-Don't look."

Jacqui hides her face in Carol's neck. T-Dog turns away. Dad glances at me, tells me he's sorry with just a look.

We all know what has to happen.

He pulls the hammer back.

Dale coughs, looking into the barrel. He knows what has to happen, too.

Rick can't do it. His arm falters. He has to walk away, into Lori's arms, where he doesn't have to see it.

Dad steps up instead, raises his gun.

"Sorry, brother."

A bang.

And then Dale's face is blown to bits and I didn't even get to say goodbye.

Walking back to camp. Dad washing my face. Stamping out the fire, climbing in the tent. I don't really remember any of it, because I'm thinking about the sight of Dale's body wrapped in a white bedsheet and how when I wake up tomorrow, we'll have another funeral.

Dad sleeps beside me tonight. He holds me, soothes my hair, but he doesn't tell me everything's alright.

All of us are in shock. Back at main camp, I imagine Glenn will be sat up by the fire until sunrise, staring into the ashy pit, just thinking, mourning. Carl will be cuddled up with his parents, too. They'll be holding him tight. In the next tent over, Jacqui sniffling herself to sleep. Carol bunking with T-Dog. I don't think anyone's gonna be sleeping in the RV tonight.

Not for any real reason, but because it was Dale's.

I'm the only person awake. Alone with the white sky and my thoughts, I stare out at the tiny oak tree.

For some reason, the only thing I can think of is what we're gonna do with all of Dale's books. It's not important, but it's what I think about. He had Italian poetry, boring old non-fiction, a few thick classics that I saw him lend to people from time to time. Maybe they'll just stay in the RV, in all those nooks and crannies he had them stacked in. I won't see Glenn wasting the afternoon away reading a book on mystery, or Lori rummaging around for a romance book but only finding more poetry. Like I said, not important. But it hurts too much to think of other things.

Like how much I'll miss his chuckle-snort, the way he petted his pockets when he couldn't find his glasses. How he was good.

When Dad steps out the tent, he finds me sitting over here in the grass, still wearing his flannel.

He carefully sits beside me, and we just watch the thick fog roll over the farm together.

At the funeral, Rick talks about Dale's ability to read people, to know who they really are, and how he could always get under your skin by telling you what you needed to hear, not what you wanted to hear. I try very hard not to look at Sophia's grave. I never got to be at her funeral. I wonder what types of things Rick said that day. Something about her love for her Momma, or how she was kind, I'm sure.

When it's my turn to speak, I tell everyone that Dale was a better friend to me than my own Grandpappy ever was.

Maggie makes us all scrambled eggs and sweet-smelling tea after that, because we're sad and she's a sweetheart.

Then there's talk of moving sleeping bags into the house, dividing spare rooms, using the windmill for a lookout post. Others are saying those two gunshots last night are going to attract the horde and that we don't need to re-enforce the fence, we need to leave.

Me, I don't get involved. I sit on the sofa next to Lori and Carl and watch the fireplace dance away.

Then chores to numb the mind, collecting eggs and filling troughs. Carl don't talk to me the whole time. We're still pissy at each other.

Jim's execution is postponed. After what happened last night, nobody thought it felt right, and he got locked up in the shed again. I don't even think about going anywhere near it. I tried this morning to set myself back down on the stump again, but Dad gave me a soft, no, baby, and told me to come get dressed instead. I've learnt my lesson. No more puttin' myself at risk, and no more bein' an idiot.

I'm gonna really miss Dale. He's the smartest old person I've ever met.

I catch myself.

Was, now.

Author's note.

The moment I've been dreading writing. Dale is dead.

I love Dale. Especially since I started re-watching the show with some family, who all love him too. I tried fitting in a scene where he, Glenn, and Harley got a final talk together, but it just didn't work. It wasn't realistic. Nobody ever knows when disaster is going to strike, and you don't always get to part on good terms.

And my poor Harley has lost another person she cares for. That being said, she's more hardened than she was when Shane and Sophia died, so this won't be as devastating for her character. It's actually going to be good for her. Good riddance to the suicide arc.

Rest in peace to Dale Horvath, the wise old do-gooder.

Thank you for reading! :)

@poetoflawed

[twilightmalachite]

Raison d’être - A Premature Burial 1

Author: Akira

Characters: Nazuna, Kuro, Mika

Translator: Mika Enstars

"I wish I was hearing those words in a different context, you know!?"

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Season: Winter

Location: Starmony Dorms (Exterior)

The next day. Near the entrance of Starmony Dorms…

Nazuna: Absolutely not…

Kuro: If ya could nod your head with a “yes” instead… Much like a man bowed his head askin’ for help—Nahh, we’re too close for that, aren’t we?

Nazuna: Mhm. I’d love to help you with whatever you ask, Kuro-chin, but I don’t like what I don’t like.

Kuro: Oh come on. Dressin’ up in any outlandish outfit ain’t somethin’ new to you, right, Nito?

Nazuna: You’re right, but…

I’m an adult who is about to turn twenty years old. Sometimes I look at myself wearing cute shorts and I wonder to myself, “What am I doing?”

But I know that’s just the way things are, that’s the type of idols Ra*bits are, and I’m fine with that.

Kuro: Ooh, so then…♪

Nazuna: This is something different! Why’s it I gotta wear women’s clothing made by my friend, Kuro-chin?

Just, no! It makes me feel obscene!

Kuro: T-There’s nothin’ obscene about it! Ya make it sound so bad!

Why’s it you’re so reluctant? I’m just asking if ya can try on an outfit I made for my lil’ sister!

Nazuna: And I’m sayin’ you have some nerve to be asking a guy your age to do that!

If I’m not mistaken, your little sister’s still in primary school, right Kuro-chin? Sure, I sell cuteness, but I’m still a grown man, aren’t I~!?

Kuro: It’ll be alright! It’ll work out with ya, Nito!

My lil’ sister’s steadily growin’ up to be taller and taller just like me, it’ll still be a lil’ short on ya, but you’ll still be able to wear it!

I believe in ya, Nito!

Nazuna: I wish I was hearing those words in a different context, you know!?

Aaalright! We’re done here! I’m uncomfortable, I’m going back to my room!

I’ll let you off the hook this time because we’re friends, Kuro-chin, but go take a walk and cool your head too!

Kuro: C’mon, don’t say that, Nito~…

My lil’ sis recently has been startin’ to take more and more interest in fashion, but all the clothes and accessories she wants are ridiculously expensive.

We can’t afford it with our current economic situation, so I thought to sew it myself. It’d be cheaper that way.

But the thing with clothes is, ya can’t tell if it’s gonna look good or bad ‘til it’s actually put on. So..? Do ya understand, Nito?

I’m beggin’ ya… You’re my only hope, ya know.

I know I’m one to talk, but all the idols in ES have large builds. Your tininess is a valuable asset, Nito.

There’s nobody else in this wide world that can wear primary school girl’s clothes naturally but my friend Nito—Only you!

Nazuna: Buy a mannequin, then…?

Kuro: Whoah!? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen your eyes as cold as glass marbles!

Nazuna: I don’t want my eyes to return to the days where I was a doll in Valkyrie because of a situation as stupid as this…

Mika: …!

Kuro: Ohh? Hey, hey, watch where ya goin’, are ya hurt?

Mika: …

Kuro: Hey… Ya run into me and don’t even say hi? Did somethin’ happen, Kagehira?

Mika: Nnah!? Ahh, my bad, “Ryuu~-kun”-san! My head’s been so blank…!

Kuro: What’s wrong with ya… Somethin’ wrong? If you’re willin’, I can at least hear ya out?

Mika: Nnah? Nah nah, it’s somethin’ unrelated to ya, “Ryuu~-kun”-san—

Ohh, but you are “Ryuu~-kun”-san, aren’tcha?

Kuro: Wha? I’ll be blunt, you’re the only one callin’ me by nickname from when I was a kiddo. It’s been a long time since Itsuki called me that, even.

Mika: That’s right! “Ryuu~-kun”-san is Oshi-san’s childhood friend, right? That’s why yer “Ryuu~-kun”-san, right?

Kuro: What’s this gotta do with anythin’… Is there somethin’ goin’ on with Itsuki?

[ ☆ ]

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[just-bendy]

You do share your treats from fans now and then with your plush son, don’tcha?

Of course! A growin' boy's gotta eat a lot ta grow up big and strong, just like his dad!

The owner already went through all that trouble ta sew him up a cute lil purple sweater, so we're keepin' him in this! Although, they did want it ta be red at first, but had ta redo it in another color. The sweater's perfect ta me anyway and he looks adorable in it! If we could find the right material, then maybe we could try ta make a lil sweater in red!

(( and here's the lil guy himself! 💕💕✨ it's not perfect but i'm still proud of it 😊 it was a lot of work but i loved seeing it come together. the second attempt was way too small and was actually in red but yeah like i said, i realized it was way too small so i had to start over with a different material. i'm glad i did bc this one is soft and stretchy! feels a lot better than the red one and it's my favorite color 💜 ))

[d8nielaa]

ugh i'm obsessed with danxreader being parents to lil june. could you write something where it's her first day of school and reader and dan are both getting emotional bc their little june bug is growing up :(

Authors Note: yess anon! we love june bug 🥺

Growing Up

Dan Berry x fem!reader

My heart felt so full, and by the time I woke up this morning, I felt the tears coming to my eyes.

It was June's first day of kindergarten, and I was a mess.

Oh God, I was a big mess.

I hauled myself out of bed, trying so hard to not think about our little june bug growing up.

But I just couldn't help myself, and I felt the first set of tears rushing out. I stood at the kitchen counter, June's small hello kitty lunch box resting right before me.

I cried as quietly as I could, burying my face in my hands as the morning grew warmer.

I guess Dan heard me, because I felt a strong pair of arms wrap around my waist, squeezing me tightly.

"Shh, shh, it's okay baby. It's okay." He whispered, pulling against his chest as he rubbed my sides.

"She's-she's just growin' up so-so fast." I cried out, tears spilling left and right as Dan turned me around, wiping the fallen ones.

"I know-I know honey. It's gonna be okay, she's gonna be okay."

Before I knew it, June's bedroom door swung open, and she stepped out, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"M-mommy..why are you crying?"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After pulling myself together, multiple times, the three of us managed to get out the door and to June's school.

We got there quickly, seeing as it was only a 5 minute walk from our apartment.

We got to the gate, where they checked us in before guiding us to the courtyard, where all the other kids were.

We found the kindergarten line, and checked with the teacher before letting June on her way.

"Okay, I love you june bug, have sooo much fun okay?" I said, kneeling down in front of her, tears brimming my eyes as I rubbed her shoulders.

"m'kay mommy, I love you too." I smiled sadly, giving her a kiss on the cheek before standing up, letting Dan kneel in front of her next.

"I love you babygirl, don't cause any trouble alright?' He teased, kissing her forehead as she mumbled 'I love you' before running off to the other kids, tapping a lonely girl on the shoulder and starting a conversation with her.

Me and Dan walked back to the other side of the gate, tears spilling from my eyes as Dan rubbed my shoulders.

"It's gonna be okay, honey. She's gonna do great..plus, we have the place all to ourselves now.." He said, a teasing smile on his face.

"God, you horn dog."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Authors Note: hiiii guys!! I genuinely had so much fun writing this piece, its so cutsie 🥺

[homuku]

this fucker lowkey i fw him always on his own shit man i remember this dude always on the grind always lookin for ways 2 rise 2 the top aint letting bitches or hoes get in his way of the rise and shine and grind for that bread bro i fw him hard lowkey see myself as this type of dude really js doin my own thing on here fuckin and suckin my way 2 the top always kinda a niche favorite id say someone always got me as their fave kinda a problematic figurehead of the community id say ngl lowkey i do fw this lil bro tho like hes coolin wit it i can see him like maybe one day when he growin up a bit could be a representative of like im thinkin s carolina not north carolina bunch of pussies up in that shit but like def american i think he stays strapped could have a gun cabinet but in a quiet way lowkey would be like neutral on gun control like recognizes that theres an issue fr but idk man i like him i like lil bro and i think hes coolin straight coolin yeah the yellow one lowkey more dumb than him hes like the brains of the operation and reds kinda like the mean lowkey brains out of the two of them but in like a villainous way i think he could be like evil a bit but on his own shit you know like you dont mess with mfs like this kinda like me like i can be sort of a bad guy sometimes i can kinda be a badboy when i want 2 when shit dont go my way i can kinda be like demons alpha top dog like people dont really mess with me you know what im sayin you feel me man like im a real one in a sea of fakes and snakes up in this shit goddamn makes me wanna bust down a tune in here get the cameras rollin ready im boutta drop nah no the feelings gone man shes been gone for months at this point in my heart and its nothing like it used 2 be when we started seein eachother and linkin up every day im sayin the sparks js gone man like fuck i really dont know what 2 tell her since ive started havin sex with other guys but i dont wanna let my girl down after shes done so much for me fuckin constantly kinda like an angel in my life right like a light in the darkness but fuck i really cant go on like this when she cant be fulfilling my desires no longer you feel me dude alright peace man

this looks like you just spammed the auto suggestions on your phone. hi joey

[astrxlfinale]

@acr3ss-the-cosmos replied to your post “Quite the lovely day he's been having! So lovely...”:

Chenhua fixing up a cycrane in her workshop

​

Robotics happened to be a welcomed familiarity, which naturally extends his interest to it as well. Seeing how her hands performed their dance across circuitry in the good name of upkeep was a sight for the eyes. It wasn't long before Caelus pulled up a chair himself, giving him a proper vantage to see the wonders Chenhua cooked up. Now that he thinks about it! There was something he was curious about.

"Say, Chenhua? Where exactly would the emotion circuit be within' these lil guys? Can't tell if it's my odd stroke of luck or what, but I've come to see a growin' number of these guys have their own brand of 'daily worker' conversations."

[averagedog-writer]

I SEE your "Yuichi Usagi is an adult with a son" and I RAISE YOU "Yuichi Usagi fills the role of Bobby, and his SON is the Sagi in Leosagi"

Tbh this scene is really just a potential concept, I'm playing around with backstory ideas for the fic (but I might be so incredibly off base with it </3), I wanted to include the Usagis somehow

I'm thinking that, maybe (if the fic miraculously goes that far into the story), Miyamoto could be a member of the Men of Letters, Yuichi is his son (or grandson), raising his son, Jotaro, as a single father

So, um, anyway, here's a lil thingy I wrote (@beanstalk-nicholas this is my apology for chapter five constantly Being Late </3)

“You guys are gonna love him! And he’s gonna love you too!” Mikey beamed and jumped to the porch, “Uncle Usagi pretty much raised Raph and I when Dad wasn’t able to, he taught us most of what we know about hunting.”

“Does he live up to his name?” Donnie raised an eyebrow.

“Uncle wise?”

“Oh, no, Usagi. It’s Japanese for rabbit.”

“Oh!” Mikey turned and knocked a pattern onto the door, “you’ll see.”

Leo yawned and stretched his arms over his head, casually letting his eyes wander the junkyard. He thought this was Donnie’s kind of place, rows and rows of scrap metal and machinery, all untapped. Donnie couldn’t bring himself to think the same, his eyes were locked on Mikey. Leo flinched as Raph tensed his muscles, his eyes shot to him as he rolled his neck.

Mikey perked up as the door pulled in. A white rabbit stood over him with a smile, leaning on a cane with a cigarette in his hand. “Thought I told you to call me before you visited.”

“Ojisan!” Mikey held his arms out, laughing as Yuichi wrapped around him. “Sorry we didn’t call, we’ve been super busy.”

“I can see,” Yuichi pulled away and clapped his shoulder, looking past him. “Raphael?”

“Hai, Ojisan?” Raph took a step forward.

“Your turn,”

Leo leaned to Donnie and whispered, “Wish they’d talk to us like that,”

“The difference here is they respect him.” Donnie muttered back. Leo huffed and crossed his arms.

Yuichi pulled away from Raph and tapped his arm, stepping around him and down the stairs. Leo’s shoulders tensed as he got closer, Donnie grabbed his hand. Yuichi took in a breath and held his hands in front of him, nodding a little. The twins each sat their free hands on a paw.

“Yoshi came to me the day you were taken from him,” Yuichi gripped their hands, “I had only met you once. I never thought I would have the chance to meet you again.”

Yuichi led the boys into the house, waving to his right as Raph kicked the door shut. “Please, make yourselves at home, I promise the couch is clean. I was just about to make dinner, I can make it for six.”

Mikey gasped, “So, he’s home?”

“Of course he’s home,” Yuichi passed through the living room, limping into the kitchen, “he should be down soon.”

“Thank you, Ojisan.”

“So, are we related to him, or..?” Leo whispered.

“No,” Raph laughed and fell into the couch, “Pops and Oji were friends growin’ up, they might as well be brothers.”

Leo hummed and crossed the room, standing over the couch as Donnie took an empty spot. Mikey waited anxiously in the doorway, bouncing on the balls of his feet. His arms were crossed over his chest as he stared at the floor.

Mikey beamed and turned as footsteps thundered quickly down the stairs. “Mikey!” Another rabbit jumped off the bottom step, landing perfectly around Mikey.

“Jojo!” Mikey laughed and stomped his feet as he held him back. They were both beaming, squeezing each other as hard as they could.

They finally pulled apart, the rabbit resting his hands on the back of Mikey’s neck, Mikey holding his wrists. They were squeaking and chirping at each other, having a conversation completely unintelligible to the other boys.

[croagunkguy]

What’s your favorite bonding activity to take part in with your pokémon? How did you meet/obtain your partner pokémon?

19. What’s your favorite bonding activity to take part in with your pokémon?

Man lwokey we are not super active people. Me n' the little man like to vibe in Various Locations and Eat Delectable Snackage. Like I said in that last psot, by a body of woter is best so u can soak or do laps for somma that exercise shizz if u really gotta, but just vibing together rocks. I like to graden n grow epic berries, but the Gunk Master Supreme doesn't really dig it. He is the main Berry Eater of the household tho. We all got our individual skills baby.

20. How did you meet/obtain your partner pokémon?

The way we met is like, lowkey a dark story ngl, so a lil warning ahead of time fer the more sensative bloggers out there, u can skip this paragraph if u need to bb no shame<3 . I was not always the chill guy I am today, hmoie. I had some major league issues growin' up, and to make a long, sad story as short as possible, I kinna went into this swamp in Sinnoh to take a Fat Dirt Nap if you catch my drift. Gunkie saw me floatin' face down in the water and had to put an end to that shiz. Gave me a whole new lease on life ngl. The Gunk Boi really taught me a lot about like, how to chill out and not be such a dick head all the time. We became super besties after that, an' now I am the Vibingest Guy.

I kinna try to spread that love that the Gunkster showed me, ya know? Hell I'd be smackin' ass in the afterlive with Arceus or some shit if it was not for him. U gotta pay that forward wherever u can, man. So now I take care of the world, take care of ppl who r down on their luck. Just Giving a Fuck about others can really change the game for someone, you feel me?? Get ON that shit fr.

[emily-puppet]

Trigonometry is fun. Fight me.

So I'm a pretty notorious slacker k? i wait till deadlines and push em' as far forward as any story or excuse will take em'. Most of that came from my reluctant love of math in school.

I'm a hobbyist programmer. I code games in my spare time and i fucking love it. Solving problems is some of the most fun I can have on my own.

Growin' up as a boy you are kind of pressured to not give a damn about school. I was a very geeky kid and would always be made fun of for it cause you were the only guy on the honor roll. So Id get my stuff stolen n stuff, mostly cause people thought I was a Pencil-Pushing NERD (I was; I wore a Pencil in my ear before I got glasses which also didn't help because they are the same pair I draw on my lil character)

So I crashed and burned in high school. I hated being there because every time i got way into the subject or even raised my hand i was cut off by someone getting a quip out or antagonized after school for answers to peoples work. So this previously "Gifted" kid failed every class freshman and Sophomore year.

During that summer I did online summer school and realized how much I enjoyed education. I enjoyed tests and exams. Math was always my strong suit cause I was really good at distilling problems.

So I went into online school and never looked back. Not hating my life every day was what lead to me being able to explore myself; eventually finding Emily buried underneath all the resentment for the world.

Ahhhhh If only I could talk to my Conservative-because-I'm-deeply closeted-and-afraid-of the-world self today.

He'd Hate my guts lol :3

Well there goes my Tumblr break! Time to get back back to the stuff I was working on!

[afikaandthefandoms09]

Monster School (My AU): Plant Alchemy

Characters:

Herobrine [Fallen God, Male, Status: Teacher] Endo [Enderman, Male, Status: Student] Zeno [Zombie, Male, Status: Student] Skerrow [Skeleton, Male, Status: Student] Crane [Creeper, Female, Status: Student] Senko [Slime, Male, Status: Student] Zack [Zombie Pigman, Male, Status: Student] Winter [Wither Skeleton, Male, Status: Student] Gina [Ghast, Female, Status: Student] Entity 303 [Grim Reaper, Male, Status: Student]

{In the normal day at Monster School, all of the monster students are doing their own business at the moments until the bell rings and they go sits into their own desks and herobrine appears infront of them all and the lesson starts....}

Herobrine: Alright Class, The Lesson for today, we're going to do... an Alchemy.

Zeno: Oh man...

Zack: Oh... darn it...

Senko: Oh dear...

Entity 303: Oh dang it...

Herobrine: But, this one is different... We will be doing an alchemy, to make... a new plants!!

All Students: . . . .

Crane: what do you meant, Teacher?

Herobrine: you see, in this world... the nature has came to bring us a something to help us, and yet... i feels like there something that the nature didn't created yet, so... why don't we make our own new plants, like using the potion or any kind of something to make a new plants... *Clap his hand once the Plants Alchemy image came into the whiteboard* and you guys... will be make a new plants to grew in your place or anywhere else in the overworld

Gina: Umm... what that means... if we done to make our own plants, we can grew ourselves with it seeds?

Herobrine: yup, that correct... you can take the seed from the plants you make to plant it, as long the plant you guys made is safe to you guys and the others...

Gina: oh nice, now i can making and planting my own Plants now, yeay!

Herobrine: okay, without any further ado... *claps his hand once the brewing stand in desk and chest that plants seeds and potion's ingredients at the side* The lesson began...

And then, all of the students starts to make potion for the plant seeds, starts with Endo that using Sweet berry, Blue dye and some ingredients into the brewing stands to make water Breathing potion and put it into the pot with the seeds, and then it suddenly is growing up into the bush with a berries that had Water Breathing and Water Resistance Effect and it been called as Hydro-Breath Berry.

Endo: Wow... now i can use it for all endermans who need it though

And then, Zack using Brown Mushroom, Glow Squid Ink, Coal and some Dyes to make glow-in-dark colorful liquid and put it on Pot with the seeds, after for awhile... it starts to grow a big glowing mushroom with a colourful liquid came out with a small one following it.

Zack: Cool! At least it can make alternate slime and some fresh mushroom

Senko See Zack's Works and got some an idea, he put light blue dye, bone meal and Cherry blossom's petals to make purple petal and put it on the pot with the seeds, and then the lavenders has growing and bring a nice scents to Senko and Crane at the side of him.

Crane: wow, it had amazing scents... alright, let's do it!

And then, Crane use torchflower, Glowberry And some Firework star to make Firework's blast potion and put it on the pot with the seeds, after for a moment... the plant is growin but it was unbloom... yet, until the plants is like goes to explode and it only come out a lil light with pop sounds and it blooms into the Beautiful Glowing flower with a yellow glow vines on it to.

Crane: Hehe, i called Starfire Bloom cuz it seems like going to explode like TNT but it actually just only came out the pop sound

And then, Zeno use Charcoal, Some petals of Wither rose and Regeneration potion to make Crimson Liquid Potion and put it on the pot with the seeds, with suddenly... it grow into the Crimson Willow Tree. to knows the effects of the tree, Zeno take a dead Silverfish that he got in the way to school from his bag and buried it at near of Crimson Willow Tree with suprisingly that silverfish is revived but with more darker skin and red spike on it to...

Zeno: Woah... *petting the Crimson Silverfish and grab it* your my friend now, and i will called you Crimson.

After that, Skerrow using Lily on valley, Amethyst and Honey from the bottle to make the Lily's Nectar potion and put it on the pot with the seeds and then... the Amethyst Lily has grew and blooms with its petal glowing like a beautiful amethyst and it also had nectar that ready to take.

Skerrow: well, maybe with this i can find out to make a honey candy... but i'm still used for bee farm if i had one...

Entity 303 was starting to using Dark Oak Saplings, Nether warts and Twisting vines to Make Unrotten Willow potion and put it on the pot with the seeds. but instead of dirt, he replaced it with a soul sand... after a few time, it suddenly grew into a big Undead Rot Willow Tree, almost familiar with Crimson Willow tree but it kinda a bit over grown and had warped fruits to but Herobrine stops the growth with his power cuz he afraid it would made a bit problem for school...

Entity 303: Sorry Teacher...

Herobrine: *sigh* Entity, you must becareful for next time or you made the ceiling destroyed...

Entity 303: Okay...

Winter sighs about what happen with Entity 303 but he starts to using a sample of vines, some honey liquid and plant sac to make Insect eater Potion and put it on the pot with the seeds and it starts to growing a Nepenthes plants...

Winter: it might seems pretty normal but it can eat any bug expect for spiders

And finally, Gina using the Daisy's petal, Nether Star and Gold Nugget to make Starlight Petal Potion and put it on the pot of seeds, for a few minutes it finally grew but the flower wasn't bloom, and it makes Gina Sad and Winter stroking her back to cheers her...

Herobrine: Okay, Class dismissed students... y'all can go home...

And then, all student get out from the class and go back to home, all of the students put their pot at the window (expect for Entity 303 cuz his plant was putted at greenhouse at back of school so he a bit late to go home) before they go home. At outside, Zeno go home with Crimson the Red Wither Sliverfish since they become friend along with Skerrow, Endo teleported sooner at outside and go into the bus halte with Winter, Senko go home with Zack and Crane, Gina flies alone while Entity 303 goes into the portal to the Darkness Realm to go home. at night, Herobrine go to check out all of his students plants to rate it, when he checking out Gina's Pot, he suprised with a beautiful Starlight Flower that finally bloomed, following from the light of the fullmoon and herobrine seems kinda like it to and the result is...

• Endo - B+ (Pretty regular but unique once it had water resistance effect on the berries, are you planning to make all Endermans can goes into the water?

• Zeno - A+ (Amazing but it could be dangerous if it used for a wrong thing, but at last it approved to revived the mobs, right?)

• Senko - B (Not that bad but not really suprising to, but it can be used for parfum's scent recipe or colour dye

• Zack - B- (Glow in dark & Slimy Mushroom? Where did you get that idea?)

• Crane - B (Okay, Great Flower... but please stop scares me with your explosion pun, pls...)

• Entity 303 - C- (Thankfully, it not gotta breaks the ceiling, you got too much OVERwhelming things)

• Winter - C (Okay... maybe i would be fine to had one plants that you made though)

• Skerrow - D (Not that Great, but it would be perfect as garden Decoration and making some Honey storage for awhile)

• Gina - A+ (You might be can't see your flower that you made bloom at day, but you can see at night if you're not tired, trust me and you will see :) )

~°•●{THE END}●•°~

[paleparearchive]

The Secret to Popularity Is... Rock!?

Delacroix's Valentine 3★ 1/2 ( 1 - 2 )

Location: museum hallway (morning) ; museum entrance (morning) ; reception (morning) | Characters: Delacroix, Raffaello, Jan, Hubert, Mucha, Aoi/MC

Aoi: Good job on the production, Delacroix-kun! You made the client very happy.

Delacroix: No wonder. It's a work of art that I put my soul into. The guy who commissioned it knew rock too, so I didn't get bored.

Aoi: Come to think of it, when you handed it over, you were both talking passionately about rock.

(They eventually exchanged firm handshakes, so I guess they must have been very much on the same page.)

You've got the whole day off tomorrow, so get some rest.

Delacroix: No, I'll help ya with the museum. Ya said we got more customers after the Valentine's Day live painting, right?

Aoi: Uh? But…

Delacroix: We're shorthanded anyway, right? The other guys seem to be on a schedule, too. Hell, you're even busier than usual, right? It's times like this when ya can count on me.

Aoi: Hm… Thank you. I guess I'll ask for it then.

Delacroix: Yeah, leave it to me.

Aoi: (Delacroix-kun tends to get passionate when it comes to rock… This is how he looks after people.)

???: RAFFAELLO-SAMAAAA!~

Delacroix: Huh? What's with those voices? Are they comin' from over there…?

—

Raffaello: Welcome. You girls… You have never been to the museum before, have you?

Raffaello's fan 2: Right! We all came to see your paintings, Raffaello-san!

Raffaello: I appreciate that. Since I have some time today, I can give you a tour.

Raffaello's fan 3: Kyaaaa!~ I can't believe Raffaello-sama is giving us a tour…!

Delacroix: … What, the heck?

Aoi: Since he has been the leader in the live painting, Raffaello-san's fan base has grown even more. Fans often visit the museum, too. However, it just seems to be a bit of a challenge with even more people calling out to him on the street…

Delacroix: Amazing…

Well, Raffaello's always been popular, no wonder he's got a growin' fanbase.

Aoi: Huh, didn't you know? The number of fans of everyone who was at the Valentine's Day live painting has increased.

Delacroix: Huh, for real!?

Aoi: You didn't realize it because you had a commission, Delacroix-kun. The truth is–

Mucha's fan 1: KYAAAA!!~ Mucha-saaan!~ Good morning!

Mucha: Good morning. Fufu, you are a very energetic group of customers. However, this is a museum. Once you are inside, please be quiet.

Mucha's fan 2: Alright, got it!

Jan's fan: Jan-kun, you're sooo cute!~ Look at meee!~

Jan: Coooming~♪ Did you call me, ladies? Do you wanna play together?

Hubert: No, Jan. We were supposed to work together today, remember? If you finish today's work properly, I'll play with you.

Jan: Hooraaay!~ I'm gonna play with Bert-niii!~

Aoi: (As expected from Hubert-kun, he was quick to intervene! As usual, his guard against Jan-kun is still up.)

Delacroix: You were serious 'bout the growing number of fans.

…

—

Delacroix: The flyer was... Here. Aight, that's it.

Still, there's a lotta customers today. At this rate, I wonder if the additional flyers're gonna run out soon. I'll see how it goes a lil' more, and then I'll add some more…

Delacroix's fan 1: E-Excuse me, are you Delacroix-kun?

Delacroix: Huh? Yeah, but…

Delacroix's fan 2: Kyaaa, so cooool!!~

Delacroix: …! The hell, you…

[clintbennet]

What is/was your favourite pet or one you always wanted?

Aw man it's a tie between my two dogs; Rusty, my childhood dog that we rescued, he was abused before we got him, so he had a lot of issues but he was completely attached to me, he was supposed to be my brother's dog, but I spent way more time with him so he became my fat little familiar. Then there's Fae, my current dog, she's so great, she's such a habit centered animal, she has her little schedule and a great personality, every day when I get home from work we both take an hour long nap with each other, she reminds us when it's time to go on a walk and knows certain words she just explodes at, she also flops on her back when you point a finger gun at her and go "BANG!" So yeah, top shelf doggo right there.

When I was a kid I really wanted a horse, I wasn't like a horse girl or anything like that, but the thought of being able to ride a horse around and taking care of one (Minus scooping the poop) was always a fun thought. I also wanted a monkey when I was a kid to an early teen, my dad would tell me I could have as many monkeys as I want when I have my own house, then I learned about the face tearing off thing and realized that probably wouldn't jive with me very well.

My husband and I are thinking of getting some land for him to grow his tropical fruit stuff on, we were talking about getting some farm animals, he wants to get some chickens, I want some ducks, and we're both thinking maybe a couple goats, maybe one day not too far in the future, but I think we probably want to finish traveling first~

BECAUSE EVIDENTLY THIS WAS FOR CLINT~~And I'm a ~dingdong~

"I never had no pets growin' up. Closest thing to it was a brown anole I named Ted who didn't run away fer a few minutes when I was sittin' on a dock as a kid. Ted was a pretty cool guy with some stripes runnin' down him n' liked to bob his head. A few minutes seems like a lifetime when yer a kid starin' down at a lizard, until I moved a lil' too sudden and he skittered under th'dock. The thought of takin' him home and hidin' him in my room crossed my mind fer a hot second, maybe he sensed that. Used t'want t'get a dog after I left th'foster system, but didn't think I woulda been able t'take good care of it, 'n now I got Luna who was worth th'wait."