#saving shane for last is keeping me going

[fwoopi]

the funny guys are almost complete !

1 / 2

[swarvey]

Can you do bachelor hcs where farmer is like super hurt? Like blood gushing from their abdomen or smth?? Like basically life threatening

when they think you're not going to make it | sdv bachelors x gn!reader

summary -> how some of the boys react to seeing you come out of the mines unconscious with nearly fatal wounds. warnings -> blood and injuries, panic attacks, harsh language

a/n: basically a more severe version of this series lol, i hope you enjoy!!! <3 alex's is probs the longest bc i was inspired heh, i started with alex and shane, but lmk if y'all want more!

alex

feels like his throat is closing in on itself when he sees you all beaten up in harvey's clinic

harvey has to yell at linus to get him out of the room when he keeps trying to reach you

completely panics at the thought of losing you

he just doesn't want to be alone again

it was no secret alex hated hospitals, and harvey's small clinic was no exception. he always tried to leave his appointments with the doctor as soon as he could, and although he would accompany you to yours, he preferred to stand outside until you finished. everything about the environment was too much for him, too painful.

so when linus — the local homeless guy he never really cared to talk to — caught him on the street and practically begged him to go to the clinic, he wasn't entirely convinced. only when your name slipped off his tongue did his eyes widen, his feet moving before his mind could catch up.

alex hated hospitals, and now he had a reason to hate them even more.

"y/n?"

his voice was barely audible as the world around him began to fade, only focusing on your paled face and the blood-soaked bandage wrapped around your torso. his breath got stuck in his chest, and an all too familiar feeling began to swarm him —images of his poor mother laying in a cold hospital bed, monitors beeping rapidly as the doctors failed to save her.

not again. please, not again.

"get him out of here!" harvey demanded, pushing him away from your body. alex blinked, realizing he'd moved past the doctor and was desperately trying to hold onto you. "alex, you have to step away, or else i won't be able to help them."

"stop it, they need me! let me go," he loudly protested. he knew it was childish; he knew he sounded like the same kid he was all those years ago, begging to see his mom one last time, but he didn't care. this was you, and he couldn't lose you. he couldn't lose anyone else.

despite his efforts, alex was swiftly dragged away by linus's unexpected strength. before he knew it, he was standing outside the clinic in the cool evening air, chest heaving as he tried to breathe.

"take some deep breaths," the older man said, somehow sounding level-headed. "it'll be okay."

"the fuck do you know?" alex snapped, voice wavering. "you don't know anything about what it's like, do you? what it's like to lose someone? to watch someone die?" his voice hitched, tears beginning to well in his eyes before spilling down his cheeks. "i can't do this. i-i can't do this again, not again, not after last time — i can't—"

"hey." strong hands planted themselves on his shoulders, and his panicked gaze met linus's kind eyes. "this isn't the first time i've dragged people out of the mines, alright? trust me, i've seen worse. they'll be okay."

"you don't know that," alex replied weakly. "they might not make it."

"they're strong, you know that."

"she was strong, too. my mom was the strongest person on this planet." more tears blurred his vision. "look where she ended up."

linus sighed, dropping his arms. "she was," he agreed, and alex looked up in surprise, "but this is different, alex."

"how do you—"

"alex." he turned, meeting harvey's exhausted smile. "you can come in now." alex nodded, wiping his face with his sleeve and giving linus a a grateful look before walking in.

your face was still pale and you weren't awake, but it was clear you were much better than before. a new, clean bandage covered your abdomen, and an iv was attached to your arm.

alex let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. "so, they'll be okay?" he asked, sitting on the chair beside you.

"yes, with some recovery, of course," harvey said, sounding just as relieved as alex felt. "though, i would strongly advise not letting them go to the mines for a while. an injury like this won't heal quicky, and it will likely scar. please talk to them after they wake."

"got it, doc. seriously, thank you so much." with another smile and a nod, harvey walked to another part of the clinic, leaving alex alone with you. he kept repeating the doctor's words in his head as he grabbed your limp hand, watching your chest fall up and down with each breath. "you'll be okay," he whispered, though it wasn't you he was trying to convince.

as alex drifted off to sleep next to you, he silently reminded himself to stop by linus's tent the following morning.

shane

he usually acts pissed at you whenever you get hurt, but it's only bc he knows you can handle yourself

usually you can, anyway, which is why he's worried when you don't come home when you said you would

he's quick to leave the house and immediately starts looking for you (tries to convince himself you're just running late)

in complete shock when he sees you in dr. harvey's arms as he rushes into the clinic with maru beside him

shane glanced at the clock for the fifth time in the last minute, frown deepening when you still didn't appear in the doorway. he could practically hear you chastising him for being too dramatic, but he didn't care — you'd never been this late before, and a tugging feeling in his gut told him there was something wrong.

swearing under his breath, he threw on his jacket and left the farm, telling himself that you probably just got caught up at the saloon, or maybe you stopped by the community center. then again, you had mentioned you wanted to get back into fishing—

"maru, get the door!"

a cold wave washed over shane's entire body, making him halt mid-step.

all he could focus on was your bloodied face hanging from harvey's arms as he rushed you into the clinic, maru hot on his tail.

for a second, time seemed to stop.

then, he was sprinting to catch the door and run in after them, panicked words spewing from his mouth before he could even process his thoughts.

"what the— what the fuck happened? where did you even—? are they going to be okay, oh shit, are they gonna wake up—"

"shane," harvey gritted out through his teeth, "you need to leave, now."

immediately, shane stood his ground, jaw clenched. "i'm not fuckin' going anywhere, not 'til they're awake."

"shane," the doctor repeated in a softer tone, eyes pleading with him, "i can't work on them with you in the room. this wound is deep — i need to operate, and you can't be here."

"please," maru added quietly, looking more distressed than shane had ever seen the typically laidback girl. "th-they might not make it."

harvey gave her a look, but didn't deny her words. shane felt his stomach drop.

then, wordlessly, he turned and slammed open the door into the waiting room, forcing himself into a seat as he bit back panicked tears. maru's words kept playing back in his head like a broken record, and suddenly, shane realized he might have to face a terrifying world without you in it.

"fuck," he cursed, letting his head fall into his hands to hide the hot tears streaming down his face. at first, he thought he was angry — he always told you to be careful, that you shouldn't be running around so damn carelessly all the time, you're not fuckin' invincible. you never listened, of course, always spewing something stupid about doing what's best for everyone. after hearing that phrase more than a handful of times, shane thought it was pretty reasonable for him to be a little pissed.

in that moment, though, who the hell was he kidding? he was nowhere near pissed; he was scared.

you couldn't die, not yet — not when he just got better, not when he still had so much left to say to you. the thought of never being able to see your smile again made him nauseous, and he wished he could rewind back to the morning so he could tug you back into bed with him. stay, he would say. you're not leaving my side today, alright?

he knew it wouldn't have worked. he would still try, though.

shane didn't realize how long he stayed in the same position until the waiting room doors creaked open, his head shooting up at the sound. harvey greeted him with a nod, which he returned stiffly as he stood up.

"d-did everything go okay?" he asked, swallowing in an attempt to soothe his rough voice. "are they—?"

"they're fine," harvey replied, a small smile upturning his lips at the sound of shane's relieved swears.

"thank fuck, i don't know what i would've— it doesn't matter, can i come in?" he barely waited for a response before slipping past the doctor and finding your bed.

he caught maru on her way out, giving her another nod. she smiled, wider than harvey's, before making her way to the other room.

shane hesitantly grabbed your hand as he sat down in the chair beside you, scared he might break you if he held you too roughly. when you didn't stir, he laced his fingers with yours and held them to his forehead, pressing a firm kiss to the back of your hand.

"you scared the shit out of me," he sighed, shaking his head. "god, i don't know what i would've done if you— if i couldn't—" he couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence, resorting to giving your hand another kiss. "you better wake up, you hear me? i'll fuckin' kill you if you don't." he half expected you to answer. he could hear your voice in his head telling him to stop acting so tough, that you could see right through him.

instead, the sound of your steady breaths filled the room, and even then, shane felt like that was your way of telling him everything would be okay.

[thebluester2020]

[SDV] "Sins of the Guilty"

Summary: SDV Bachelors lusting over the nun that's recently come to visit Pelican Town Warning(s): Not proofread, Sacrilege of nuns, Sub!Sebastion [Reader is kinda a dom in his part], Sebastion doesn't have active sex with the reader, it's only imagined, I kinda favored Sebastion's part ngl, Dom!Shane [The usual lol], This is the filthiest thing I've ever written ngl, Elliot is the king of making readers squirt fight me on that, Elliot is a simp low-key, Bachelors loosely follow the plot of the verses, Unprotected sex [Wrap it before you tap it folks], Pure filth, Porn with plot. Word count: 8,285 wordsSide note(s): Inspired by the fact that- I like nuns and priests man. Going to religious schools all your childhood will do that 💀. Also, sorry for not including all the bachelors. I mostly wanted to focus on those who I think would struggle the most with being presented with a pretty nun in front of them cause it's more fun that way pfft.

MINORS AND AGELESS BLOGS DNI

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ

Shane - "Hopeless Sinner" 1 Peter 5:8 - Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

♡ - Never in his life had Shane been a religious man.

Too much had happened in his life for him to even consider the possibility of a god, and even if there was such a thing? There was no way that they'd look down favorably upon them, especially with all the sins that weighed down his soul.

And he had a lot.

He was a drunk, he could hardly keep his eyes open half of the time. It was common for him to stink, absolutely reek of alcohol and past missed showers and he far too commonly let his alcoholism get him into frequent situations that he would only come to regret the next day. And to add to that list of sins? He wasn't exactly a people person.

He was rude and curt, saw people as an annoyance and treated them like such. He wasn't open to hearing people be kind to him much less try to suggest ways to change himself. The only time he felt semblances of happiness was when he was with his niece and even then? Those times were fleeting and brief, all because of his aforementioned addictions to the bottle.

And...despite all of that, all those troubles...he wasn't intent on changing.

In his eyes? He was a lost cause, too far gone and there was no point in expending energy on something that was damaged. And he only doubled down on that ideology when rumors began to circulate that a nun was going to visit the town for a little while. He even made it a mission to avoid any places where you could've possibly been at!

The last thing Shane needed was some old woman lecturing on the goodness of Yoba and the sins that came with drinking. How that "he wasn't too far gone" and that he could be "saved", all if he just believed and dedicated himself enough.

At least...until he saw you in person one day outside Pierre's shop on his way to get some cans of beer.

. . .

"You must be Shane, I'm Sister Y/N. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

It was like the entire world paused for the briefest of moments.

Just enough for him to truly take in your features the moment he saw you, right in front of Pierre's shop no doubt.

Your smile alone could have chased away the darkest of storms and replace it with a sun that shined as much as your eyes did. They were as wide and big as a dog looking up at its owner, he thought. As if you were expecting some type of praise or reward for greeting him with so much enthusiasm. You were slender-figured but graced with long legs, your skin appeared smooth and your lips were pink and full. Yet as Shane looked back down, he was shocked that you weren't wearing a long black dress like he had thought nuns wore but...shorts-

"Shane? Are you alright?"

"Huh? Y-Yeah...I'm fine." He cleared his throat. "How in the hell do you know my name anyway?" He continued, surprised when you didn't flinch at his rude tone.

"The Church made sure to brief me on people's faces and names before I came to visit!" Of course they did…though, he didn’t know whether or not to complain at this fact or to allow himself to silently be happy in a way. After all, it wasn’t everyday that someone cute knew his name off the bat, much less greeted him with a smile that didn’t have badly hidden disdain or disgust behind it.

“Anyway…” You cleared your throat. “You should come to service this Sunday! It’ll be my first one in the valley and I’d love to have everyone there, I-if possible of course.”

He clicked his tongue.

At the very most? He’d think about it.

“Maybe,” Then, he walked past you.

. . .

After the two of you first met, Shane tried avoiding you the rest of the week until Sunday passed him by.

But though be was successfully avoiding you physically, mentally was a whole other issue as no matter what he did? No matter how much alcohol he drank, you’d always find a way to squeeze your way into his thoughts. When he cringed at his own smell at times, suddenly he’d would be hit with a wave of grace as he remembered the smell of your light perfume. It was even beginning to infect his dreams.

Dreams that…were far more pleasant as of late.

In his dreams, you’d sit with him and talk out in some meadow somewhere. Perhaps you’d go on and on about the book of Yoba all the while you steadily inched closer and closer to him before you’d place a hand on his arm. Your chest touching him as your sweet words grew more sensual, forgoing the talk of holiness to instead invite Shane to touch you through your clothes.

But before getting to the good part?

He’d always wake up, left with an aching hard-on and his alarm screaming at him to get ready for work.

That was the first and possibly the only time that Shane began to believe that there may have been such a thing as "The Devil". After all, why else would he suddenly have these thoughts of someone who just arrived in town a few days ago? Especially someone so out of his league?! Also, the two of you only met once and you probably didn't even remember his name!

But after the fourth time of waking up, his own brain once again blue-balling him?

He knew he had to see you in person.

Even if it was just to hear your voice again.

. . .

So, the next day, he went to the shrine of Yoba where he knew you'd be.

And the second he knocked on the door, you responded with a gentle "Come in" before he stepped inside. And...he couldn't help but feel like a black sheep amongst all the holy symbols and the gentle sound of a religious choir playing from a phone, suddenly, the paranoia of Yoba knowing about Shane's unholy imagination of you began to glare up. He felt as if he was going to burst into flames as punishment for daring to offend a sacred place with his presence!

Once he had turned a corner and saw you sitting on a pew, facing the statue of Yoba however...all of a sudden, he was calm and he remembered why he was there.

He simply wanted to confess his sins and have someone hear him out.

"Shane?" You said as you turned around, a smile immediately jumping onto your features. "I thought that was you! It's easy to recognize grumpy voices in this town."

He rolled his eyes.

"Can I help you with anything? What's going on?"

When he opened his mouth, he realize that he didn't have a single clue about how to admit that he wanted to confess his sins. Especially when those sins revolved around you (not that he'd ever dare to say that part out loud). "I uh...want to confess my sins."

Your smile grew. "Oh? Please, sit." You scooted over on your pew before tapping the space next to you.

Obediently, he sat down but a considerable distance away from you. His hands started to sweat and shake, how was he supposed to confess that you were the source of his sins?! How was he going to tell the pure nun of the valley that he was struggling not to masturbate to you defiling yourself on his unworthy cock? The imagination of your moans combined with the image of you begging him to fuck you against the shrine of Yoba plagued his mind. And what's worse?

He didn't feel an ounce of guilt for it really...he just wanted to be around you. Be it fuel for the mind or something more, he just didn't know.

"...Something tells me that you didn't come to confess." You spoke breaking the silence and snapping him from his thoughts.

His heart dropped to his stomach. Did he do something to give himself away?

"How do you-"

"I've been doing this for a while, you tend to pick up clues." You chuckled. "So tell me, what's really going on? I'm a good listener."

The moment you turned around and looked at him, his breath hitched in his throat as his dream from the night prior suddenly flashed in the forefront of his mind. Your pretty pink lips soaked and glistening from your spit whilst you panted heavily like a bitch in heat, practically for him to do something to you, anything to you. Already, he started to feel his cock twitch inside his boxers, causing Shane to quickly clear his throat and look in front of him.

He tried to think about anything else to keep himself from getting hard in front of you.

"...I've been having weird dreams." He finally admitted. "Dreams that aren't...good."

You hummed to yourself for a moment before you responded. "Like..."I may do something awful" type of bad or another type?"

"Lustful." He muttered.

Like the flip of a dime, it felt like the atmosphere in the room changed.

"You've been lusting after someone?"

He nodded his head.

"Who?"

"Does it matter?" He said snappily, eliciting a chuckle from you.

"Don't be so snappy, I like a bit of gossip as much as the next person..." You scooted closer. "Though, if you've been struggling with these thoughts then...the correct thing for me to say as a nun is to suggest you to stop. To be tempted by the flesh is a sin, your thoughts should never be focused on such things."

Finally, Shane forced himself to look at you, fully expecting you to look at him with some type of reprimanding disgust in your eyes but...he was shocked when he found nothing of the sort. You looked at him like a tiger would eye a piece of prey. "But...?" Shane said.

"But, I as an individual say that you should pursue this person. Who knows, she may like you."

Now that made him snort, there was no way that you would like a drunk like him. He was certain of that. "I'm the town drunk, why would she— you like me?" He decided to be upfront, to which you met his words with shock for a moment before you offered him a simple smile in return.

"Nuns have needs too, and who said this had to be a permanent thing? I'll only be in town for a few more weeks, all your sins will simply...wash away, stay between us, once I leave."

It felt like his dream was becoming truer by the second. Only...you were naughtier than what he originally assumed based on your appearance, but it added to the charm, and with each sugar-coated word that fell from your pretty lips, the further his mind slipped into depravity and what he wanted to do with you as he felt his cock chub up against his thigh. After all, when was the last time he'd gotten his rocks off? His right hand and his brain could only stave off the longing for a real tight cunt for so long!

And as he watched you start to lift your dress and slip your panties down your legs.

He immediately took the plunge.

. . .

"F-Fuck!" You cried out as your legs were spread, Shane on his knees as his lapped at your cunt like a man-starved.

And he might as well have been.

He felt as if he had been in a desert for months and had finally spotted an oasis, your slick upon his tongue was sweet and dripped from your pussy like a nonstop faucet, something that he wasn't going to dare let go to waste as he alternated between tongue-fucking your sex with his tongue and moving onto sucking your clit whilst his calloused fingers plunged in and out of your weeping hole.

And you couldn't get enough of it.

"Sooooo d-deeep...." You whined as your eyes started to roll into the back of your head.

Shane's resolve would've snapped if he hadn't been so focused on both eating yu out and prepping you to take his leaking cock, the sound of you, a nun sounding so fucked out and horny...practically crying out for his tongue and fingers made him rut into the air to try and alleviate the tight feeling within' his pants.

"S-Shane...I'm- I'm cumming-" Your high-pitched whine suddenly died on your lips when Shane stopped pistoning his fingers in and out of you as he stood and shredded his clothes.

"No you aren't lil' slut, you'll be doing that on my dick." He grumbled, his hands practically shaking from how eager he was to get inside of you before he finally freed his dick from its confines and lined himself up to your entrance, his hand coming up to press against the middle of your leg and push it till it nearly touched your chest.

Your mouth opened in a wide O at the size of him, causing the man to chuckle.

"Never had something this big in your pussy?"

You unconsciously shook your head but, your pussy nonetheless twitched in eagerness for the man's cock. Despite Shane's eagerness though, he made sure to be as gentle as he could be with you as he gently pressed his mushroom tip against your hole, the feeling sending a rush of electricity over your skin at the feeling of a cock touching your pussy.

It was strange and...it felt hot. Hotter than what you expected it to be.

Shane gripped his cock at the base before beginning to press his tip against your hole, steadily inserting it into your hole before thrusting forward a little as he steadily filled you. The man groaned at the feeling of your wet walls clenching onto him, almost as if you didn't want to let him go despite you possibly being the first man you've ever been with. "L-Loosen up..." He whispered, already feeling a knot begin to form and tighten in his stomach.

It seemed he hadn't been laid longer than what he originally thought. It took ever ounce of Shane's strength and will not to fuck you like a toy, to be as gentle as he could be until he was certain you were ready to be fucked into the pew like you were begging him to when he first started to eat you out.

Then again, you weren't going to last long either as you had just recently had your orgasm denied.

"Y-You're too big..." You whispered, trying to relax your cunt like instructed to but it hardly seemed to do anything at all. You moaned when you felt Shane's cock twitch at your words, a cocky smirk crawling onto his stubbled features as he leaned closer to you. "I'm big huh?"

You nodded your head breathlessly, a moan tearing from your throat when Shane finally bottomed out inside of you, his hips pressing against your ass whilst he tightened his grip on your leg to keep you from trying to escape the stretch his dick gave you.

"J-Just fuck me..." You hissed, shooting a glare to try and chase your denied orgasm. And the man gladly did as you wished, slowly pulling himself out of you before suddenly slamming back into you, almost knocking the air from your very lungs before he immediately went into a harsh and brutal pace. Shane almost had a mind to tease how you looked, your lips flushed and lips wet from your shared salvia from your earlier kissing session.

Your moans were loud and unbridled, to the point where even he was worrying about whether or not your slutty moans would attract unneeded attention to the shrine!

But as his balls slapped against your ass, the sensation in combination with your cute moans only served to make his balls tighten in anticipation of his impending orgasm. "Oh Yob, r-right there!" You yelped out when Shane suddenly positioned himself to fuck into you deeper, his cock slamming into the deepest part of you with each thrust. Shane then moved his hand down from its position on your leg to your hips, using the leverage to pull you onto his cock as he threw his head back to let out a drawn-out groan.

"Fuuuuccckkkk..." He moaned, his mouth hanging open before he lazily looked back down at you, smiling at your fucked out expression as he spotted drool beginning to dribble out from the corner of your lips.

At that moment, his thumb reached to wipe the drool from the corner of your lips before plucking the digit into his mouth with a smirk at your taste. "Can't believe how lucky I am...Yoba must be real," Shane snickered. "I get to fuck one of his cute lil' slutty nuns...especially one that doesn't know what to do with herself when presented with a real dick in her cunt." He continued as the need to fill you up grew with each thrust.

You nodded stupidly, Shane had an urge to kiss you but...your moans sounded too good for him to risk messing up his position and ruining your pleasure that was causing you to cry out so abashedly.

"C-Cummin-" Your climax hit you like a freight train as your body suddenly went rigid. Your cunt spasmed and clenched impossibly tighter around Shane's cock like a vice grip, nearly making him stutter in his movements as you came around his cock. "Y-Yoba-" He hissed, sucking in his bottom lip as he leaned forward a little at the sheer pleasure your spasming cunt brought him.

Shane only managed a few more thrusts before he spilled into you, his stomach clenching and his body stilling as if it were putting all its remaining energy into filling you up.

A breath he didn't even know he was holding released when he finished and looked back at you. Your gaze was unfocused as your cheeks were flushed red and spit trailed down the corners of your lips.

"Oi, you with me?" Shane said as he pinched your cheeks together with his hand, gently shaking you to try and snap you out of your daze.

You could only respond with a soft moan before you looked at him but not at him. He chuckled, he would accept it for now. He just needed to get you dressed, after all...he definitely wanted to discuss if his confessions with you could be a regular thing, at least...until you left of course.

Elliot - "Forbidden Desires" Proverbs 6:25 - Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes;

♡ - When Elliot and you first met. It was on the beach of all things.

Out on the wooden pier that overlooked the ocean. Frequently, the writer would visit here to collect his thoughts for his writing and try to find inspiration from the gentle waves that crashed lightly against the pier and beach alike. Yet it was when he turned his head to the side briefly, the world suddenly seemed to stop on its axis.

He thought you were gorgeous.

Baked in the backdrop light from the sun, he nearly thought you had a halo on your head. Glowing with your holiness that made all the features on your face that much softer, like the way your hooded eyes looked out across the water almost longingly as if you were beckoning for a wave to come and carry you somewhere else. How pieces of your hair escaped your veil and blew with the sea breeze along with your dress.

The longer he admired you quietly, the more he thought you were an ethereal spirit, completely unaware of how you were tempting him despite your outfit telling him that you were the sister that the town had been expecting for about a week now. It was your job to be a role model as to how not to sin.

Yet...he wanted to do the opposite- "Are you going to keep looking at me, or will you say hello?" Your voice snapped Elliot from his thoughts before he finally noticed you were looking at him with a curious but soft gaze, a smile gracing your features when you saw how his cheeks began to tint red.

"E-Excuse me." He said as he stood up and dusted himself off. "I was just in shock, I wasn't expecting the long-awaited nun to be at the beach."

As the two of you stood side by side, he noticed how you were shorter than himself. "Oh," You said. "Did I interrupt your alone time?" You smiled.

Elliot smiled and shook his head. "Oh no, I don't think you could ever do that." He responded, your mouth hanging open a little as a blush of your own started to coat your cheeks. It was then that Elliot quickly cleared his throat and tried to find a way to apologize. It seemed like he wasn't himself, his thoughts kept coming out before he could fully think about whether he could say them or not!

"Sorry, I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable."

You then turned your body fully to face him. "Oh, you're not doing that. I find your forwardness charming." You were dangerous for Elliot's heart, the way you looked up at him made his mouth dry while equally making him feel as if he were floating amongst the clouds. Up until you caught his attention again with a laugh. "What's your name?"

"Elliot," He answered immediately.

"Y/N." You responded. "It'll be hard for me to come to the beach with my duties and all...you should try visiting the shrine in the Pierre's shop. I'll be there most of the time."

"How long will you be staying in town?"

"Two weeks." He struggled not to immediately frown at that answer, all while he simultaneously struggled to not throw a curse at Yoba for making him feel this strongly about one of his devoted followers. Elliot could be frank with himself, he knew that you would be in his every waking thought from this point onward. All he'd think about is how to get closer to you, get to know you and so much more!

"I hope you'll enjoy your two weeks here then sister." He finally said.

"Oh, I'm certain I will." Then you turned to walk away, your faint perfume tickling Elliot's nose as he was left along with his thoughts, his thoughts settling on the newfound fact that you were his muse.

All of a sudden, his inspiration to write came to him like rushing waves during a typhoon. Stories of how a man fell into a forbidden relationship with a woman, or perhaps a shorter tale of how a man falls in love with a spirit, someone he longed for but knew he couldn't ultimately have. Yet, as all the thoughts flew through his mind. One thing was for certain, you left him with a burning ache in his pants.

. . .

Later that night, he admittedly felt slightly guilty for palming himself over his pants at the thought of you. The pretty nun with the soft voice and heavenly features, although Elliot tried not to think too hard about your words from earlier, to not misunderstand how you phrased your words or how you looked at him as a signal for something more...the image in his head was far too addicting to let go so easily.

The thought of you bouncing on his cock while he sucked at your breasts, planting kisses all over your body as you moaned for more...was it wrong of him to have those thoughts? Then again, surely you knew how you sounded when you spoke to him on the beach! You sounded like you were interested in him! That you may have wanted to pursue something more with—

"Ah...look at me," Elliot murmured to himself, running his fingers through his hair as he scoffed at how ridiculous his thoughts were.

You were a nun.

You were just being friendly!

What he was doing was wrong. To think about a holy sister was potentially one of the greatest sins (at least, to what he knew about the book of Yoba).

Perhaps he needed Yoba more than he realized.

. . .

And that’s what prompted him to visit Pierre’s shop three days later, specifically where he knew you’d be, the Shrine of Yoba.

Elliot’s plans were simple, to confess his sins, receive your judgement and advice, then leave. Of course though, he’s leave out the part where his thoughts revolved around you despite the fact the both of you hadn’t known each other for that long. But once he was standing right in front of the door that would lead into the shrine…he felt like his entire body had frozen in place.

Were you actually a nun or secretly a demon? He thought.

No person should ever have power over another like this. But the moment Elliot’s nerves loosened up a little, he quickly knocked a few times on the door before a gentle “Come in” could be heard from inside, causing him to walk in before he immediately saw you getting up from your kneeling position at the shrine.

You smoothened out your clothes and then looked at Elliot with the same angelic look you gave him the first time you met him. “Elliot?” You said. “You came.”

He nodded his head, keeping his head down just long enough in an attempt to ease his blushing. “I figured I was overdue for confessing my sins.”

“Don’t be silly,” You chuckled. “We all come and confess our sins when we’re ready, there’s no pressure.”

It was easy for you to say, he thought.

You weren’t the one who was losing sleep over imagining the naked form of the person you just met. And as Elliot walked to sit on one of the pews, the more he couldn’t help but think that this may have been a bad idea. Although your attire was similar to what you wore on the beach, he didn’t know if his eyes were tricking him or not but…your clothing appeared…tighter.

Around your chest to be more precise and it was driving him nuts.

He silently begged Yoba that you wouldn’t come close enough to where you’d be able to spot his steadily growing hard-on. And thankfully, you kept your distance via sitting on the pew just in front of him with your back turned.

“Now, you may confess when you’re ready to begin.” You murmured a quick prayer before clearing your throat as a sign you were attentive and listening.

Elliot sighed. "Sister, I've been...well- I've had unholy thoughts as of late. Thought that revolve around a woman that I'm infatuated with."

When you didn't say anything in response, he continued.

"She's the most beautiful woman I've ever been blessed to see. But it would be wrong for me to pursue a relationship with her."

That was when you spoke. "May I ask why?"

Elliot's throat bobbed up and down at the question. "She's a nun."

The silence that followed was so loud that it nearly rang in his ears. Yet, as you turned around to face him, his mouth immediately fell open to apologize until a certain glint flashed in your ears as you looked at him with a smile, a finger tugging at the collar of your uniform.

"And...what do you want to do with this nun?"

"I want to kiss her." At his confession, it was like a string had broken before you and Elliot's lips crashed together. In the writer's mind, it was as if your lips were meant to be with his own, the taste of your mint-flavored lipstick addicting to his tastebuds as he felt around in your mouth. Your breathing became heavier, pressing yourself as close to Elliot as you possibly could despite the pew that still separated the two of you. "What else do you want to do to me?" You panted when you both separated, your breaths labored and heavy as a single string of spit still connected you two.

Elliot silently eyed the rest of your body.

"May I show you, sister?"

. . .

Had you known the man you met a few days ago was capable of this. You would've fucked him right then and there out on that wooden pier.

The position Elliot currently had you in was making you see stars and galaxies behind your eyes, your legs spread out on his lips as he held you tight against his form, almost as if he were afraid you'd disappear right before his eyes whilst he fucked up into you like a man on a mission. Each thrust making his cock assault your sweet spot deep inside you, you felt as if your organs were molding and reshaping themselves just to better fit Elliot's cock.

"Y-Yoba's name..." He whispered hotly against your neck, pressing wet open-mouthed kisses against the side of your neck and all the way down to your exposed collarbones from him hastily pulling down the front of your dress. "Y-You're so tight-" Elliot grit his teeth together as he groaned against your skin.

However, each time he fucked up into you, the sound of your sexes meeting reverberated throughout the small area of the shrine as your slick poured down from your pussy to pool and coat the front of Elliot's thighs, you were starting to...feel something.

A certain coil beginning to tighten tighter and tighter by the second in your stomach.

Compared to the orgasms you've given yourself in the past, privately when you were in your room or in an area you were certain was vacant of other people. This one was more intense and threatened to wash over you with such a force that you worried you'd pass out from the intensity! But, it was hard to voice such a worry when you were being fucked to the point that you couldn't utter a single syllable, to where you nearly had a mind to forgo this life and simply be the plaything of Elliot for the rest of your days.

"E-Elliot...!" You keened as you wrapped your arms tighter around his neck, Elliot's thrusts somehow growing even more ruthless as he tucked his face into the valley between your breasts.

"Shit..." You managed to hear him breathe out.

Your mouth steadily started to form a large O shape as the coil inside your tummy tightened more and more until it finally burst.

Suddenly Elliot stilled his movements to raise your dress higher to witness the wetness that flowed from your pussy like a fountain spewing water, his mouth dropping in shock whilst the lust inside his eyes grew at the arousing sight of your orgasm spewing from your cunt and splattering onto his thighs.

He was only snapped from his trance when he heard your fucked-out moan and your hand tap his shoulder.

"Truly, you are the woman of my dreams," Elliot said with an equally fucked-out voice as if he were the one who just came. "Do that again." Your eyes snapped open as you tried to quickly voice your protest but not before your words were shooed from your lips when the writer fucked up into you again, resuming his previous pace before he gently leaned you back, his hand resting on the small of your back to keep you steady whilst his other went to lift your leg higher so that he had a better view of your cunt.

The squelching noises were like a symphony to his ears.

But all he could think about was you squirting again.

The pew you both sat and fucked on was already dirty...defiled.

It didn't matter to defile it some more.

"Please, squirt on my cock again," Elliot begged. "Will this help my dear? Don't hold back, please." Without a single word of warning, the hand that held your leg up dived down to rub quick circles on your clit with his index and middle finger.

"F-Fuck! Elliot...baby, w-wait- you're going to-" Your entire body shook and convulsed from overstimulation as you struggled to keep your head and thoughts straight, moans falling from your lips shamelessly as you could hear Elliot's raspy moans and throaty groans, the sexy noises only serving to make you clench around the writer's experienced fingers.

Elliot took your pussy getting tight as a sign you were close once again, causing him to speed up both his thrusts and his fingers as they rubbed side to side without abandon on your clit. You tried to cry out for him to slow down, to give you a short break but your moans fell on deaf ears as Elliot only silenced you via fucking you harder to the point your moans took the place of the words you wanted to say as he abused your cunt. "Ahhh...." You moaned in pleasure as you felt something begin to well up inside you again.

"E-Elliot- f-fuck...." You couldn't do anything else but whine and beg, his name slipping from your lips repeatedly as his fingers on your clit sped up whilst he rose you forward a little to plant kisses along your breasts.

"Don't be embarrassed my dear," He whispered against your skin. "Just cum, I got you...please." At the sounds of his begging, that earlier feeling of a coil beginning to tighten started to nearly grow unbearable inside you, your eyes barely staying open as you allowed your body to take all the pleasure your eager lover was bestowing onto you.

"Oh, Yoba...fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck-" Your body once again grew rigid as Elliot's eyes darted to where the two of you were connected, his eyes widening as your pussy clenched onto him tighter than before as a clear liquid squirted out from you and around his dick. Upon seeing that sight, he wasn't too far behind from his climax, managing a few more hard thrusts before his head dropped forward a little as he moaned.

The two of you sat in silence for a few minutes, trying to catch your breath until it was you who broke the silence as you steadily rose your head and slid your hands to rest on Elliot's shoulders with a soft moan and a dopey smile. "You know..." Your voice was hoarse as your hand moved to catch Elliot's chin under your hand before you tilted his head back to make you look at him.

You pressed a chaste kiss to his lips, a sweet lovesick moan leaving the writer's lips before a smile slowly came onto his lips. "We should do this again."

"How..." Elliot took a moment to further catch his breath. "How long will you be in town?"

"Couple of months, we can discuss about this being a regular thing as well as...you possibly taking me out on a date next?"

He couldn't think of anything better.

Sebastion - "Hungry Recluse" Genesis 2:18 - Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

♡ - He had heard about a nun coming to the valley when his mother brought it up at dinner a few weekends ago. And back then? He didn't have a mind to care really.

He was a recluse.

He had nothing against religion but he preferred to stay away from crowds. If a nun was to come to the valley then he was more than certain you would bring a crowd, preaching about Yoba and the likes and he respectfully wanted no part of that.

So, imagine his shock one night when he was outside his home smoking. Only to spot a nun doing the same.

"A nun, smoking?" He nearly choked on his own cigarette. His words catching your attention before you cursed under your breath before you dropped your cigarette and quickly stomped on it with the heel of your shoe.

"Goddamn it..."

He scoffed. "And you curse too?"

You rolled your eyes. "If you're going to snitch to someone, do it now." As Sebastion stared, thinking about how much he wasn't going to snitch to anyone (after all, he believed it wasn't his place nor did he feel like anyone would believe him should he have wanted to do it). He couldn't help but think about how...well, how pretty you looked.

You sported a more roguish look to your uniform compared to what he was originally thinking you'd look like. Clean outfit with a bright smile, maybe a hand carrying a bible or the cross of Yoba perhaps. Instead? One side of your dress was bunched up, exposing quite a considerable amount of thigh as well as the black stocking you wore underneath, and the similarly colored boots that would've typically been hidden underneath.

Your make-up was gothic and you had a septum piercing along with a couple more piercings on the outer edge of your right ear.

And if he was seeing things right...was that black nail polish on your fingers- "Are you going to keep staring?" You said bitingly.

"Sorry," He apologized, quickly looking somewhere else. "I just didn't expect the nun to be-"

"A sinner?" You interrupted with a heavy sigh.

"Different." He finished his sentence.

You clicked your tongue. "Yeah well...that's what you get when you're an unwilling member of the church." You spilled.

Now he was really curious about you. This entire time, he had expected a goody two-shoes sister who would rave on and on about Yoba anytime that they could! Or maybe even some old hag as old as Evelyn was, nagging and constantly haggling people about converting and praying more to Yoba.

But instead? The town received neither.

Only you.

And he was absolutely enthralled by you.

So much so that he found himself unconsciously walking up to you before he cleared his throat. "Do...you want to talk about it?"

"I'm not looking for pity if that's what you're-"

"I'm not trying to pity you." He interrupted. "You just seem to be in need of a confessional as much as anyone else." He shrugged, his words sparking a chuckle that sounded like a melody in his ears.

. . .

And that was the beginning of you and Sebastion's relationship.

One where you two would meet under the guise of night every other day after you had finished your "performance" during the day of playing the innocent nun who wanted to spread the word of Yoba. Something that Sebastion quickly learned was nothing but complete bullshit. The two of you would rant about your lives and how much you two wished you could change things.

Whether it was from Sebastion's dreams of moving away from Pelican Town and into the city, to you ironically praying to Yoba that he'd give you an outing from the church.

The one day you'd be free.

"...Why are you stuck in the church?" Sebastion had asked one day, lighting your cigarette before his own.

You blew a puff of smoke before sighing. "Mommy and daddy had unresolved debts and issues." You said. "To pay 'em off, they got rid of me." You continued.

"Now I wear this damn get-up and play "Good follower of Yoba"." You mumbled a few curses under your breath afterward, ones that made Sebastion snicker under his breath as he considered your situation. Although obviously different, the similarities in your stories were eerily similar. The two of you longed for another life, felt as if you didn't belong in the current one you both lived, and, as much as you both could, you tried to actively change that.

But...where Sebastion could easily pack some things, get on his bike, and head for the city.

You didn't have that luxury.

"Why don't you move here?"

"Unresolved debts remember?"

"I know but...there's a lot of abandoned places here in the valley. We even have an abandoned farm not too far from here. You could live there."

"My cage would be no different then, just a new window to look out of."

A small smile crept onto your features when you spotted an apologetic frown appear on Sebastion's face. One that made you flush a little as his cheeks appeared puffier and cuter. You appreciated being able to talk to him, more than you'd ever be able to convey but...you weren't looking for sympathy or solutions to escaping that only involved you living a life on the run and in hiding.

In truth? Being asked by the higher-ups to visit this small town, meeting Sebastion?

It was as close to a blessing from Yoba as you'd ever get.

Back home, you were a glorified maid if not eye candy for old men. You'd clean for them, cook for them, bring them drinks...it was such a dull life. You hadn't even been able to go to college. You couldn't even do most math but you could damn well recite random passages from the book of Yoba.

You hadn't nor would ever be able to find love!

All talks of boys and falling in love were strictly forbidden, seen as nothing more than a gateway for potential sinning, something you'd eventually learn was nothing but complete hogwash as there were plenty of times you've seen your fellow sisters open their legs for priests when it pertained to the topic of being able to get away with some things. Here in the valley though? You didn't feel that pressure.

You liked it here.

You liked...well, you liked the people. They were nice.

"You should be happy here Sebastion." You said, breaking the silence.

"You have a good life here, it may not be the one you want it's the one that's the best path for you at the moment."

Sebastion rolled his eyes. "Easy for you to say, you don't live here."

"Maybe, but I'd need a million more fingers in order to count how many situations are worse than this." You sighed. "After all...you never know, one day you may find yourself liking it here. Life is funny like that." At those words, you placed a gentle hand ontop of Sebastion's for only a brief moment before you got up and walked away.

An act that only served to leave Sebastion's heart skipping beats and...strangely upset.

. . .

And he must've sat outside for an extra thirty minutes before he finally went inside.

Dinner tasted bland, and all of a sudden Demetrius' snide remarks and insults didn't even make him turn nor lift his head to briefly glare! All Sebastion could think about was you.

You, you, you, you, you.

He didn't know what sounded weirder or more pathetic.

Him chasing after you like he was in some chick-flick, exclaiming how he wanted to be with you despite only knowing you for going on close to a week now. Or if he said that you were the only person in this entire town who seemed to understand him! The only one who made him truly happy aside from the small yet rare-found joys in his life! He could introduce you to his friends, Sam and Abigail, he thought you'd get alone well with them.

Maybe you could teach Sam to play new songs? He remembered you mentioning how you knew how to play the guitar a little. Or maybe you could simply be another girl added to the group, someone for Abigail to hang out and talk with.

As Sebastion sat on his bed. His mind further diving into his racing thoughts that concerned you, so many situations revolving around the question of 'What if?' that he could barely keep track of them all! He wondered then about what if you'd be another addition to the farming community here. If you would actually take over that abandoned farm.

What would you grow, would you be good at it or would you only prefer animals like Marnie?

Or...maybe you'd be something else?

A writer like that one guy who lived at the beach with Willy.

Or maybe an inspiring somebody like himself or Sam?

Another member to the Adventurer's Guild perhaps?

He considered it all but the one scenario that made his heart strangely ache the most was...if you were with him.

You made him smile the most out of everyone here. Sebastion enjoyed your curt personality that blended well with your shockingly soft tendencies. You were pretty and when your lips weren't covered in dark lipstick, they shined a surprisingly glistening red. Your eyes were the most gorgeous underneath the moonlight ad your figure (if he couldn't guess from the first moment he met you) was something that made his jaw drop every single time.

Suddenly, there was a throb in his pants at the thought of what you'd look like underneath your clothes.

But no, even if you stated you didn't want to be a nun.

He'd give you the respect all the same. He wouldn't dare to do anything inappropriate with your face in mind. It wouldn't be right.

. . .

But oh...did he think it would feel so right.

It wasn't a bad thing to touch himself to the thought of you, was it? You weren't there and so long as you didn't know then technically sin would have ever been committed! At least, that's what he comforted himself with as he furiously jerked himself off underneath his covers, breathless moans leaving his lips as he imagined it was your hand stroking him off rather than his own.

And as he did so, he swore he was more turned on than he ever had been in his entire life.

He imagined you were wearing your dark lipstick as your hand went down to massage his balls, your lipstick leaving smudge trails up and down his cock as you flattened your tongue to trail along the prominent vein that ran on the underside of his cock. Yet as you did so, you kept a firm eye on him as you looked at him through your lashes.

"You must've been so pent up Sebby..." His cock twitched at the nickname. "Waiting for me to do this to you, you must've been thinking about this since the day we've met. Huh?" A whine left escaped him at your words, his vision beginning to blur from both pleasure and growing embarrassment as his cock began to leak more and more pre.

"Not going to answer~?" You purred. "That's okay, you seem to be way more talkative down here than with that mouth of yours."

"P-Please..." He whispered.

Your smirk grew as your hand quickened in its pace, your face leaning in closer to his to the point he could almost imagine your breath gently blowing on his face. "Please fuck me..." He moaned. "R-Ride my cock, j-just do something more with me."

"Such a good boy~"

As you sat up, you licked the tips of your fingers clean from his pre as straddled him to where your pussy hovered over his cock. He twitched at the feeling of your heat, his eyes glued on your dripping pussy before your finger tipped his head to look back up at you. "Keep your eyes on me." You ordered before swiftly pressing a kiss to his lips. A choked-up moan escaped Sebastion's lips when you suddenly sunk yourself onto him. Your hips immediately started a fast pace that made his eyes roll into the back of his head.

Until you suddenly slowed down. "W-Wha...?" He said dizzily, looking back at you. "Why-"

"Eyes on me Sebby~ or what? Is my pussy too good for you to listen to me?" You suddenly slammed your hips down, Sebastion's hand gripping the bedsheets with a loud moan before you resumed your original pace. "You should be following what I say more diligently than this Sebastion" You pouted. "A holy nun is giving you her untouched pussy, the least you could do is look at her~"

"Y-Yes!" He moaned. Tears flowed down the sides of Sebastion's face as he kept his eyes on you, the sounds of his balls slapping against your cunt echoing throughout the room as a familiar knot steadily started to appear in the pit of his stomach. His cock twitching inside your warm pussy as the feeling of your walls nearly drove him to insanity.

Your moans, your face contorting in pleasure as your hands roamed up and down his chest underneath his hoodie. Everything about you made him want to exclaim just how much he had developed a crush on you, something that he wanted to take farther rather than just simply have sex with you. Yet, as the heat in his belly turned white-hot, his moans sounded closer to wails as he begged to cum.

He had to remind himself that this wasn't real.

You weren't even here.

Something that was slapped into him the second he felt his cum pool over the top of the hole he made with his hand rather than feeling it fill you up.

"Y/N..." He moaned as if you'd magically appear before him.

Tomorrow, he would definitely confess his feelings. Religion be damned, he knew that he wanted something with you.

[lilypadeater]

Break Me Down

Rick Grimes x Fem!Reader

Summary- Rick and Hershel's oldest daughter can't keep their eyes off each other. They go to retrieve some walkers for the barn. Rick is kind of an asshole so ig this is angsty too. Enemies to loves

Content information: unedited, 18+, smut, p in v unprotected, choking i guess, enemies to lovers, age gap (mid 20s and early 40s), angst, plot, asshole rick, flirting, pet names, making out, fluff, some walker killing

Your eyes scanned over Rick as he helped your father with farming chores. You already disliked the idea a group of strangers living on the farm, but their leader's cold behavior towards you made you hate it. You didn't understand why Rick was so harsh to you compared to the rest of the family. He treated your younger sisters, Maggie and Beth, completely normal. But whenever you tried to strike up a conversation, he would try to immediately end it or give you dry responses. He wasn't like this with anyone else, so you couldn't understand why he was like this with you.

The strangest part of it all was how he would look at you. Was is in a murderous or flirtatious way? You couldn't tell. What you did know though, was that you found him attractive. Guilt ate at you whenever you caught yourself staring at him.

'He has a wife and a son. And I'm pretty sure he hates me.' You remind yourself when you noticed you'd been glancing at him too much. He was cleaning the stables with Daryl. You decided to take one more look at him before directing you attention back to feeding the chickens. But as you took your last peek, you accidentally lock eyes with him, making it obvious that you were staring. You quickly turn your head and go back to sprinkling seeds around for the chickens.

Rick's eyes roamed over you as timidly looked away. A smirk was plastered on his face when he realized you'd been staring. Hershel would probably kill him if he found out how much he wanted fuck you. Rick would never risk his group getting kicked off the farm just for some girl.

The problem was, in his eyes, you were a diamond in the rough. You weren't just some girl. Seeing you help Carl when he was shot, caring for the animals with so much love, and your kindness towards everyone made his realize just how rare you really were. This kind of naiveness wasn't something you could find in the apocalypse. You were beautiful inside and out and you were the perfect distraction from Lori and Shane.

When you finished up feeding the animals, you were approached by your father. "I was gonna show Rick how to retrieve the sick and put them into the barn, but it's much too hot for me. You're the oldest of your sisters and most experienced at this, so I need you to take him down to the swamp and rescue our neighbors." He explains.

You sigh in irritation. You disagreed with your father when it came to the subject of walkers. You believed they were no longer the people they used to be and they couldn't be saved. You've tried to explain this to him multiple times, but it always ends in an argument. "Fine," you agreed. You hated having to go near the walkers, but on the bright side, you were going to be able to spend some time with Rick and find out why he didn't like you.

You led Rick into the forest with the leashes. There was an awkward silence between you two. "I know my dad explained his version of the world to you already, but I just wanted to tell you that I don't agree with his ideology." You announced, breaking the ice.

"At least you have more sense than him." He replied. You nodded and guided him to the swamp that had trapped with two walkers with it's mud.

You took the leash and carefully approached one of them. You began to explain how to catch one, "You have to get it around their neck, and hold them about and arms width away otherwise-'" You slipped on the mud and and accidentally let the walker loose. It immediately lunges for you but Rick shoots it. It falls into the mud and you scramble to your feet. "Oh my god, thank you." You tell him with a panicked and breathless voice.

"Was that a part of catching them?" He mockingly asks. He crosses his arms in impatience and watches you get up.

You furrow your eyebrows in disdain and and feel you face flush with embarrassment. "Yeah it is. Probably the most crucial part." You reply sarcastically. 'He looks so hot, such a shame he's dick.' You thought to yourself as he took his leash and captured the second walker.

Rick loved getting under your skin. Seeing your flustered face made his heart race and forget all about Lori and Shane. Your witty remarks back to him would make him forget that the world's gone to shit. He decided to further your irritation and say, "So all you do is look pretty and feed the animals?"

Your heart jumped when he called you pretty. You retorted, "You just sit around while your wife get knocked up by other men?" You realized what you said was harsh and might've crossed a boundary, but you were sick of his attitude towards you.

"She ain't my wife anymore." He mutters, keeping his focus on the walker he's leading.

Guilt crept up on you. Sure, he was an asshole, but you weren't. You couldn't swoop to his level, so you sigh and say, "I'm sorry. That was rude of me, I was just bothered by what you said."

He smirks and shakes his head. "S'alright."

You tried to walk the rest of the way in silence, apart from the snarls of the walker Rick had on the leash. But the question of why he was always cold to you played in your head. 'If he wanted to murder me, he would've let the walker eat me. Is there a chance he might be, interested in me?' Now you just had to know.

You came to a sudden stop and turned towards him. He was confused by your actions and stopped along side you. "Why'd we stop?" He asks, annoyed with you.

You ignore his question and ask him, "Why do you hate me?"

He was taken aback by your bluntness and shrugged. "I don't hate you," he replies and takes a step closer to you, meeting your doe eyes with his piercing blue ones. "I think you're beautiful."

Your eyes widen with surprise and your cheeks heat up. You glance to the ground then look back up. "Then why are you so mean to me?" You quietly asked.

He smiles before leaning in closing to you. "I like seeing your pretty face all red." He replies as he pushes a strand of hair away from your face. "I hate that I can't have you." He mutters as he kisses your forehead.

Your body is rushing with adrenaline and serotonin. "You can." You whisper before wrapping your hands around his chiseled face and kissing him. His free hand wrapped around your waist as he deepened the kiss, but the snarl of the walker brought you both back to reality.

He back the walker up against a tree and smashed its head with the metal part of the leash. "Whoops." He said as it fell to the floor.

"Why'd you do that? My dad's gonna be pissed." You complained, ready to scold him, but he grabbed your head and crashed his lips onto yours. You lean into it and gasp when one of his hands traveled from your face to your thigh. You could feel yourself getting wet as his hand creeped up to the hem of your shorts. You break away from the heated make out session to catch your breath. "Fuck, let's go somewhere else." You tell him in between breathes and he lifts you into his arms.

You directed him towards a nearby abandoned cottage. He checks the area out to make sure it's safe before taking you inside. You push him onto the bed and climb on top of him. You pull his shirt off and admire his toned body. "You had your turn," he smirks and flips you over so that he's on top. He takes you shirt off and it reveals your bare breasts. He leans in and kisses your neck, slowly making his way down. You shivered at the feeling and your hands gripped his back.

His hands slid down to the waistband of your shorts, making your skin tingle under his warm touch. He pulled your shorts off in a swift motion and looked amused when it revealed your soaked underwear. “S’this all for me, angel? I barely touched you and look at all this.” Rick teased as he yanked it off you and threw it to the the side. You whimpered in response, blushing in embarrassment and wrapping your hands around his muscular torso.

His fingers went up and down your slit, causing you to whine in anticipation before he began rubbing your clit. The new sensation produced whimpers and moans from you, but he was clearly going slow as a form of torture for you. You tried you grind against his fingers in order to reach your release but his other hand quickly held you hips down. You squirmed around but his hold on you was strong and he took pleasure in seeing you hot and bothered. You cry out in frustration, craving more friction and speed.

“Use your words, sweetheart.” He mutters with a sadistic smile. Two fingers enter your pussy as he continues to tease your clit with his thumb.

You breathlessly manage to whine “I need you in me” as he edges you. He feels his cock throbbing in his jeans as the words leave your mouth.

“You’re gonna be grateful I’m getting you ready for it” he hissed and added a third finger, stretching your needy cunt. You arch your back and moan loudly as your pussy clenches around his fingers. After you come down from your high, you sit up and your hands quickly work to undo his belt. Your eyes widened when you saw his rock hard cock under the denim of his jeans. It was massive. Before you could unbutton his jeans, he grabbed you and flipped you onto your stomach.

You hear the sound of his jeans falling to the floor as you get onto yours knees and elbows. Your pussy was on display for him. His large hand wrapped around your waist as he brought the tip of his cock to your entrance. You turn your head to see and nearly gasp when you see how large he his is. “There’s no way in hell it’s gonna fit” You whine and squirm.

He comfortingly rubs your back with his hand and replies “it will, baby. It’ll only hurt a little, but I’ll be gentle.” His words gave you some comfort and he slowly pushed into your drenched cunt. It was uncomfortable and painful when he stretched your walls with his huge cock, but the pain was eased as you adjusted. He filled you up completely and groaned when he felt your tight count wrapped around him. “I’m gonna start moving, ‘kay baby?” You nodded in approval and be began slowly thrusting. He gripped your hips roughly as he rammed into you, definitely bruising you. You moaned in ecstasy as he met your g spot in every thrust.

Rick had thrown his previous statement out the window as he roughly fucked you into oblivion. He wrapped his hand around your neck and it sent chills down your spine. It sent you over the edge as your walls clenched around his cock. Your legs trembled and gave out, but his hand quick grabbed your hip and held you up.

“Fuck, you’re so tight” He hissed, his thrusts becoming sloppy. You mewled at the overstimulation of being fucked through your orgasm and clenched around him again. His thrusts finally stopped as he finished inside of you, filling you up with his cum. He pulls out and you stretch out the bed, exhausted. He lays next you, gently stroking your hair.

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

this is my first time writing smut

HOLY FUCK THAT WAS SO MUCH IM NEVER GONNA BE THE SAME

give me requests!

[boywivloveficrecs]

CAN SOMEONE HELP ME FIND THIS DARYL FIC !!

So I don't know if anyone will see this and know where to find this fic or if something happened it it but it's been driving me crazy trying to find it under every tag and searching key details into Google but if anyone knows who the author is please tag me where to find it !!!

So the summary as much as I can remember is PRE APOCALYPSE y/n and her friend go to a party that Daryl and merle are also attending or hosting ? I remember the friend and merle are dating so she drags y/n with her, her friend gets her drunk and she ends up having a one night stand with Daryl and ends up pregnant, when she tells Daryl he is adamant it's not his and shuts the door in her face, and it turns out her friend isnt much of a friend and her and merle are quite rude to y/n and get in Daryl's head that shes sleeping around. She's pretty isolated and ends up making her pregnancy work on her own, feeling pretty hurt by Daryl.

When the outbreak starts Daryl drags merle and friend to y/ns apartment only to find it cleared out and only non essentials are left, but daryl finds a polaroid of y/n and her newborn daughter left, he keeps it because theres a small doubt in his mind that friend was lying and its his kid, hes always felt guilty about how he shut her out when she told him.

Readers "friend" is pretty shitty and her and merle are toxic using most of the time, and y/n was super hurt by her friends abandonment.

SEASON 1

Y/n and daughter who is still a baby find their way to the quarry I think Shane and Lori are the ones to meet her on the highway? And she eventually settles with the camp, and runs into Daryl, her friend isn't with him and merle is on the Atlanta run, there's alot of tension, and Daryl ends up saving her from being locked in a car with baby while walkers attack the camp,

They eventually head to the CDC and y/n asks Jenner if he can do DNA tests with the blood samples and she has proof that daughter is Daryl's kid, but is hesitant to show him, eventually Daryl finds the results before they leave the CDC and he's now confronted that the child is his, there's an argument but also alot of soft angst,

After the CDC the friend ends up making an appearance and that's the last chapter I read, I think the friend is called Stella? Starla? It's something like those names I'm sure

But I've been trying to find this fic on tumblr for ages but I can't find it no matter how hard I look does anyone know which fic I'm talking about ?!?!

[topazy]

Tomorrow's promise

Pairing: Daryl Dixon × OC, Rick Grimes × sister OC

Warnings: Swearing

Chapter: 3.09

While ducking behind a crate of wood, you use the scope on your rifle. You keep watch for any signs of an attack while waiting on your brothers, Daryl and Hershel, returning to the prison. Somehow Andrea had managed to arrange a sit-down between the governor and Rick, something you were highly against.

“Any sign of my brother yet?”

Hearing Merle’s voice, you roll your eyes and say, “No, not yet.”

“Hmm.” He leans against the fence, making himself an easy target. “Listen, girly, what happened before—kidnapping you and all—it was strictly business.”

“What’s done is done.”

“You’re a lot more snapper than Rick; anybody ever tell you that? I bet Shane did. Yeah, I remember that judgmental deputy well. I never would have pictured you two together. Oh well, at least we are all one big happy family now, right?”

You glance up at him, and it annoys you how amused he is. You got the impression that Merle thrived on chaos and was just trying to get under your skin. “You know, if my brother hadn’t gone back looking for you in Atlanta, I would never have found him again. I guess I’m lucky T-dog dropped the keys.”

“You really are something else.” Merle snorts out a laugh. “I noticed you’re the only one who didn’t protest about me staying. I guess that means all is forgiven.”

“No, I still think you’re an asshole, but Daryl wouldn’t leave you behind.” You go back to looking through the scope for any movements, “but for this to work, we all need to be singing from the same hymn sheet.”

“I’m on whatever side my baby brother is, and fortunately for you, it’s Rick’s side. You didn’t seem surprised when we swooped in and saved your brother's ass from walkers.”

“I knew Daryl would come back because he’s one of us.”

“Yeah, I see that.”

A few beats of silence pass before you speak again. Merle had already gotten into a few altercations with Glenn. “You do anything that hurts.“

“Yeah, yeah,” he says sarcastically. “If I hurt your brother, son, or precious little friends, you’ll point that rifle right at me.”

“You do anything to hurt Daryl, and I’ll pull the trigger.”

“Well, ain’t I glad to know my brother has a guard dog?”

“Shh!” Seeing a vehicle approaching, you point your gun in its direction, ready to fire if it’s an enemy, but thankfully, it’s your people returning. “They’re back.”

—

Something was going on between Rick, Daryl, and Hershel; they were keeping a secret from the rest of you. Your issue wasn’t with being kept out of the loop per se, but you didn’t like the atmosphere it was causing. Both Daryl and Rick were avoiding you, and Hershel constantly looks like he’s about to start crying.

Rick told you the governor was gearing up for war, but you knew he was holding back.

“You want to go for a nap?” You kiss Jace’s cheek multiple times before placing him in the travel cot. Michonne, Carl, and Rick got on their last run. “Sleep tight, baby.”

Having a cot meant you got to sleep better during the night; instead of worrying, he’d somehow crawl out of the cell. They had also brought back a few toys and clothes for him and Judith to share. Knowing he had something other kids had before the world went to shit made you feel better, more hopeful that one day he would have a better chance.

You go to the cellblock where all the supplies are kept and start separating ammunition into different piles. Glenn has come up with the idea of hiding a few boxes of bullets outside, so if anyone got pinned down, they wouldn’t run low. You lift your head and smile when Daryl walks into the room and says, “Hey.”

“Hi.”

It gnaws on you that Daryl avoids making eye contact with him. “Did you do it?”

He looks almost alarmed by the question, “W-what?”

“Michonne’s idea? Putting down barbed wire will slow down any vehicle. I’ve got a few ideas I want to pick her brain about later.”

Daryl gulps it down nervously.

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah… no.” He finally lifts his head to look up at you, and he seems to be torn. “I… fuck, I’m not supposed to talk about it.”

“Is this about the governor?"

Sighing, he sits down beside you and holds his head with his hand. “The governor offered to make a deal with Rick; we hand over Michonne, and he’ll leave us alone.”

“But my brother wouldn’t do that,” you say, looking over Daryl’s shoulder at the doorway at the same time Rick walks in. “Tell him you wouldn’t do that.”

“Lily.”

Your stomach drops upon seeing the look on your brother's face; he had actually considered it. “Tell him, Rick, tell me you wouldn’t do that. You wouldn’t hand a woman over to that man!”

“Keep your voice down.”

“There is no difference between Merle snatching me and Glenn off the street and handing us over to the governor than there is you doing it. Is this what the three of you have been whispering about? Trying to figure out the best way to do it without the rest of us noticing? That man terrorized me and Glenn.”

You glare at your brother as he comes and sits down on the opposite side of you. “I’m not going to do it... I did consider it. But we can't, and I can’t. It’s not who we are.”

You shake your head in disgust. Rick knew exactly what the governor had done to you, and whatever he had planned for Michonne would be a thousand times worse. Tears of anger begin to form.

“Don’t, don’t do that,” Rick sighs. “I’m going to tell Michonne the truth. About the deal, about... how I thought about it.”

“How could you even think about it?” The difference between people like us and people like them is that we protect our own.”

“That’s exactly what I was trying to do. If I had to choose between saving a person I barely know and my family, I’d always choose my family.”

“Siblings, huh? I can’t live with them; I can’t live without them. But at the end of the day, you’d do anything for them.”

Daryl shakes his head when his brother sits at the table with a smug look on his face. “Shut up, Merle,” you say. “I’m going to check on Judith.”

—

Looking around the prison yard, panic starts to set in. You notice your brother and run to him. “Rick, Rick!”

Seeing you panicked, he runs over and meets you halfway. “What’s going on?”

“Somethings wrong; I can’t find Michonne or Daryl.”

“I know,” he says, looking down at the ground. “Merle went through with it; he took Michonne, and Daryl’s gone after him to bring her back.”

“He’s gone out there alone.”

He nods.

You rub at your face and say, “Damn it. If the governor finds them, he will kill all three of them.”

“Daryl is a survivor. He and Michonne will be coming back through those gates in no time.”

Tears start to build up. “You really think so?”

“Absolutely, both of them have better chances of surviving out there than either of us.” Rick was right; they would be fine. “I just want to say, before... I wasn’t thinking clearly. I would never have turned her over. I was just grasping at any chance I could to try and save the lives of my people, but you’re right, Michonne is one of us now.”

“I shouldn’t be so quick to judge when it’s not me in the position to make that choice. Hell, I’ve done a lot of questionable things.”

Rick hugs you tightly, and you squeal a little when you feel the pressure against the flesh that had been grazed by the bullet. “From now on, there is only one secret we keep: that night on the farm, and that’s it.”

“Agreed.”

When you start to walk back towards the prison, a hint of a smirk appears on Rick’s face. He puts his arm around your shoulder and says, “I need to ask you something, and I need a completely honest answer.”

“Okay?”

“For a while there, I was hearing things and seeing things that weren’t there. So I need you to tell me, did I really see you kissing Daryl with a dead possum at your feet, or did I imagine that?”

“Let’s go find the others.”

—

Your brother stands in front of the remaining members of your group in the courtyard while you sit around a picnic table. He looks stressed, scared of how the others will react. Admittedly, you were horrified when Daryl told you, but you don’t believe him; Rick or Hershel would have actually gone through with it.

“When I met with the governor, he offered me a deal. He said he would leave us alone if I gave him Michonne.” Rick’s jaw wobbles slightly as he talks; he was struggling to hold it together. “And I was going to do that... to keep us safe. I changed my mind. But now Merle took Michonne to fulfill the deal, and Daryl went to stop him, but I don’t know if it’s too late. I was wrong not to tell you. And I’m sorry. What I said last year—that first night after the farm—it can’t be like that. It can’t. What we do, what we’re willing to do, who we are—it’s not my call. It can’t be. I couldn’t sacrifice one of us for the greater good because we are the greater good. We’re the reason we’re still here—not me, all of us. How we live, how we die—it ain’t up to me. I ain’t your governor. We chose to go. We chose to stay. We stick together.”

Nobody knows what to say.

“We vote. We can stay or fight, or we pack up stuff and leave.”

“I’m proud of you, Rick.”

[a3risbaby]

what we whispered in the dark [m]

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 stardew valley : sam x afab!reader (no pronouns)

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 Between the sneaking around and him nearing cumming in his pants from a heated kiss, you don't feel like a pair of twenty-somethings who are three and a half seasons into their relationship. And something about that makes your heart soar. He always finds a way to make you fall in love like it's the first day all over again.

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 smut (minors dni), fluff, established relationship, face-sitting, vaginal fingering (barely), cross-posted on ao3 | 1.9k words

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 my first x reader smut! i was going to continue, but i figured that this was a good stopping place. let me know if you liked it :)

On your first day in Pelican Town, you tried to greet everyone, introducing yourself as the new farmer taking over your grandfather's dilapidated farm. The reactions varied from the gruff Get the fuck out of my face (Shane, your favorite grouch) to the stand off-ish Oh...you're not what I was expecting (Jodi, who's warmed up a little) to the pleasant Nice. I'll see you around (Alex, one of your fastest friends).

And Sam? Sam was sweet, you realized immediately, and your impression hasn't changed since. With his bright hair and even brighter smile, he always passes you with a chipper wave, kicking off on his ever present skateboard, and you find yourself saving all of your fished-up Joja Cans just to see his face light up. Sam is sweet and kind and nice and just a little dumb and funny and currently doing a really shitty job of sneaking out of his house.

"Can you be a little quieter?" you hiss from the bushes, wincing as his knee hits the windowsill for the second time.

You're not worried about Kent. In fact, he's watching the two of you right now from his usual spot underneath the front yard tree, the smallest frown marring his features. The last time you were rushing to avoid the 2AM fine, you made a point of stopping and asking Kent for his blessing. Less because it mattered and more because he often sat here until late, and you weren't sure if you could avoid both his insomniac habits and the town's curfew.

"His mom leaves the house around ten," Kent murmurs. "Make sure to set an alarm before you get distracted with playing your video games."

"No worries, sir, I'm up by sunrise," you say, eyes not leaving your boyfriend. He's finally making his way down the makeshift rope ladder. "Can you please teach him how to sneak out properly next time?"

Over your shoulder, Kent snorts softly. "Sure."

It's been years since either of you were a teenager, but Sam breathes a youthful energy back into you, taking your hand as soon as he hits the ground and running off with one last glance at his dad. You keep up with his long strides, the wind whipping at your straw hat and clothes, and have to suppress a giggle as he nearly trips over a rock. He's really bad at this. You slip an extra glowstone ring onto his thumb.

"That's the first time I actually made it out undetected," he says, a laugh bubbling in his chest. "I need to tell Seb tomorrow."

"How does it usually go?"

"Well, I barely get out the front door—"

See? A little dumb. You bite back a silly comment, shooting him a smile that he returns instead.

The journey from his house to yours isn't far—go past Leah's cozy cabin, take a right at Marnie's expansive ranch, follow the newly laid stone path until you see the telltale stable—but it's long enough for your floating moods to sink into something akin to anticipation. At the stoop, you drop your keys once, then twice. It doesn't help that Sam's trailing his fingers along your sides, dropping kisses along your shoulders.

"You should just leave the door unlocked next time," he suggests when you finally get the key in. You barely managed to pull together the plan for tonight, and he's already talking about next time. "No one's out here this late."

"Except us."

"Except us," he echoes.

You kick your shoes off, but you're not sure where they land because Sam has you pressed against the closed door, lips moving against yours, clumsy in his haste. His hands are tight on your hips as he pulls you into him. You're tempted to lose yourself in the urgency.

"Sam, wait," you manage. He hums in acknowledgement, moving to brush his nose along your jaw. "I need to take a shower first. I've been foraging in Cindersap all day."

"You could be covered in slime goop, and I'd still find you hot," he says with so much sincerity your knees almost buckle.

"Thanks, but it's not a matter of whether or not I'm attractive." You push his shoulders squarely. He yields. "I feel gross. It'll take five, ten minutes tops. You can wait upstairs for me."

"And what if I get lost?" He raises his eyebrows. "I feel like I should follow you to the shower."

You roll your eyes. "Heel, boy. I'll be right there, okay?"

His excitement is endearing. Between the sneaking around and him nearing cumming in his pants from a heated kiss, you don't feel like a pair of twenty-somethings who are three and a half seasons into their relationship. And something about that makes your heart soar. He always finds a way to make you fall in love like it's the first day all over again. As promised, you're done washing off in seven minutes. For a second, you entertain the idea of walking into your bedroom with only a towel, just to gauge his reaction, but you throw on a tank top and shorts instead, foregoing underwear since it'll all be gone anyway.

You find him on the edge of your bed, sorting your mail into two piles on your nightstand. He looks up with a smile.

"JojaMart's having a sale on seeds," he reports. "You can use my employee discount and get a little more off."

"Yeah?" You step between his open legs and brush blond hair away from his forehead. Your beautiful, radiant boyfriend. "How much off?"

"I don't remember. Like 10%, I think?"

"Just ten?" You shimmy your shorts down an inch. He follows their journey like a hawk. "I thought it was more than that."

"Maybe it was twenty, I'm not sure."

"That's all? A shame." You push them down further, exposing your hips, and his eyes light up as he catches on.

He wets his lips and says, voice strained, "No, it was 100%. Definitely completely off."

You let him tug your shorts down, and when they pool around your ankles, you kick them off. His gaze flickers between your exposed skin and your face, impossibly reverent. He doesn't pray to Yoba like his family, but his expression, here and now, is one of a worshiper. Devoted and devout until the end of time.

He pulls you in for a kiss, mouth open to swallow your moans, and falls back onto your sheets. Your legs straddle his hips, and you whimper as he ruts his growing bulge against the apex of your legs. The material of his sweatpants drag against you—you definitely need to throw it in the laundry before he leaves.

"This wet already, baby? The night's barely started," he mumbles against your lips. Under normal circumstances, the stain on his pants would embarrass you, but anticipation thrums in your veins. The hands on your waist force you to still, and it's pathetic how close you are to begging him to keep going. "As much as I love it, I'm not going to last long like this and I want to finish in you tonight. Okay?"

"Okay," you manage, "but you better keep your word."

He laughs. "I always do. Now how much of a discount do I need to promise if I want you to sit on my face?"

.

.

You're a sight that Sam can never tire of. He isn't the wordy kind of person, but if he was, he'd likely wax poetic about how beautiful you look right now. Something about how the crescent moon spills from the open window and falls over your skin like liquid silver.

Huh. That actually wasn't bad. Maybe writing lyrics for the band has made him better at this sort of thing. He settles on the pile of pillows on your bed, murmuring encouragements as you shift forward and straddle his face.

"Are you sure?" you're asking for the third time, and he has to hold back from rolling his eyes.

He tries his best to look you in the face, which is hard considering everything else tempting his gaze. Yoba, this is a perspective that he needs to get more often. "Babe," he says, trailing kisses along your thigh. "Seriously. I already said it before, but this is exactly what I want. You're stunning. Amazing. Perfect. I'd rather die between your legs than anywhere—" And the rest of his argument is lost on his tongue as you finally take a seat and Sam considers quitting his day job at JojaMart to do this forever.

He inhales the dampness of your pussy, flattens his tongue, and basks in the way you keel forward, fingers curling around the headboard to keep steady. A shaky breath from you and he sets out in earnest, one hand digging into your ass, the other skimming its way up your body until it lands on your chest. He's not the type to curse much either, but fuck, your tits are amazing. He grasps at them firmly, just how you like it, until you yank your top over your head and he can finally get a full view.

His hands move again, this time to spread you further apart as his tongue laps at your dripping cunt, and if your growing cries are any indication, he's proud to say that he's gotten good at this lately.

Can you be a little quieter? he's tempted to echo the complaint you had at his house earlier, but he holds back from teasing for two reasons. One, he actually hates it when you bite back your moans. Your volume is exactly why you can't do this at his place, and he relishes in the way your noises go straight to his dick, currently straining to be freed from his sweats. And two, truthfully, he doesn't think he can separate from you long enough to say anything.

So he expresses his pleasure with guttural groans and pants as you grind down into his face, your clit clipping his nose in a way that has you squirming in his hold. You're fucking amazing, and he hopes you know this. He feels like he doesn't tell you that enough.

"So good, a-ah, Sam, fuck...just like that. Keep goi—oh my—"

Your pace stutters when his lips finally suction around your clit, and his name becomes a breathless mantra on your tongue as he unravels you on his. You rock against his face, previous hesitation forgotten as you chase after your high.

"'m so close," you whimper, your hands kneading your chest desperately. "So, so close—Sam, please—almost there."

Without warning, he sinks a finger into you, the metal of his glowstone ring cold against your flushed folds, and it's enough to send you over the edge. A flurry of broken curses spill over as you ride it out, and Sam swears he can drown in your pussy, lapping at your orgasm until you push off of him and slide onto your back.

"You're too good at this for a newbie," you insist, voice petulant as you catch your breath.

He wants to kiss you so bad, make you taste yourself on the slick that runs down his chin, but he cleans himself up and waits beside you patiently until you tug at his hand. A sign that you're ready for him to make good on his promise.

[d1xonss]

Desert Rose

Chapter 22 ~ Scars

✧ Pairing : Daryl Dixon x Rose

✧ Era : Season 2

✧ Word Count : 5.4k

⚠️ TW : Mentions of attempted suicide & SH scars

In this chapter ~ When Rick and Shane decide to take Randall away from their people to drop him and fend for himself, things seem to go wrong on the other end. Beth becomes suicidal after witnessing the death of her mother just days prior, leading Rose to comfort her in a time of need. However, the heaviness that followed was a lot more than she anticipated, though luckily for her, Daryl helps her pick up the pieces.

It had been about two days since they brought Randall back, and he eventually woke from his unconscious state. Since then the place had been chaotic.

The group was constantly going around and around in circles about what to do with this guy, so much so it gave me a pounding headache. Because most of the time the arguments wouldn't go anywhere. People would just repeat the same things that had already been said, causing us to feel stuck in the same place as no one really had a solution.

Until Rick just made the final decision to do what he wanted to since the beginning, take the man far away from the farm and drop him off on his own.

So now that the man was finally able to walk and balance decently on his own, Rick and Shane took a car to drive him out in the middle of nowhere, leaving the rest of us nervously waiting for their return. Everyone eventually seemed to agree with the plan despite the possibilities of him coming back, but it's not like we had much of a choice.

I for one was trying to keep myself busy all day, helping Lori with some laundry, staying to keep watch on top of the RV, I even made a run into town earlier that morning with Glenn. We had found a few different stores in a small part of town that had some useful things in them. But there was a little something else I found that I was extra excited about besides the food and supplies.

When we walked into the last store, I saw it. The perfect thing to give to Daryl. I had never gotten him something in return when he gave me my sketchbook and watercolors, but now I had something that I thought would suit him quite nicely. It was a black leather vest with stitched angel wings on the back.

In my mind, I hoped he would really like it and I had planned to give it to him later that night. Once we all knew Randall was taken care of.

Currently I was washing dishes with Maggie, occasionally talking about random things, trying to get our minds off of what was happening today. I could easily tell she hadn't stopped thinking about it since it happened either, the anxious feeling of the man somehow making his way back to her own home couldn't have been easy to deal with. But I had hope that everything would work out just fine and things would begin to move smoothly again.

She wordlessly handed me the last plate that was in the sink, water dripping off of the edges as I took the towel in my hands to dry it. She leaned her back up against the counter as she stared down at her shoes, the sound of me stacking the final plate in the cabinet brining her out of her thoughts as she glanced back up to me nervously.

"Can I talk to you about something... more serious?" she asked.

I only nodded my head as I listened, throwing the towel back down on the counter to give her my full attention as I copied her stance.

"Well, Glenn's been avoiding me lately, and he told me that when he was out there trying to fight those guys, he froze at one point. He was saying that since I told him I loved him... that's the reason he froze, and my dad had to save his life. He said he was afraid to die... thinking about how it would affect me." she finished almost a little shamefully.

My eyes widened a bit as I was a little thrown off and not expecting that, but I was still quick to respond and reassure her. "Listen, I know that it might not feel too great that he's avoiding you, but the truth is he loves you too. I don't think he should be avoiding you, I think he should be cherishing these moments he has with you, but y'know he's a guy." I pointed out, giving her a look she would be able to read.

She laughed quietly to herself as she nodded her head in silent understanding, "But he'll come around, I promise. You just gotta give him a little time." I finished.

She pressed her lips together and nodded gratefully, "Thank you." she said, "I feel like I can really talk to you ya know? I'm glad you're here."

I smiled, "Yeah, me too." I spoke, opening my mouth again before closing it back up quickly. My dumbass almost slipped up and said something about how I was glad that I stayed, but I bit my tongue before it could come out.

My eyes then absentmindedly panned over towards the tray of food that Maggie had set off to the side a few minutes ago, "Is this for Beth?" I asked, quickly changing the subject.

She followed my gaze and nodded, "Oh yeah, I was about to bring that up to her when we were done."

"Oh I got it, I was going to check on her soon anyways." I said, moving towards the counter.

She smiled gratefully, "Thank you. You know Beth really likes you. Ever since you taught her how to play those few songs on the guitar it's really all she can really talk about. I think seeing you would cheer her up."

"Yeah, I had fun teaching her, I'm sure she'll be ready to learn some more in no time." I reassured her.

Maggie nodded her head and I fully picked up the tray in my hands, walking out of the kitchen to head upstairs and into Beth's room. It seemed quieter than usual as I made my way up the familiar stairs, something seeming a little off. But I mostly blamed it on Rick and Shane's absence, still not here even after leaving early this morning.

For some reason the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth, sensing something might go wrong out there, not necessarily with Randall. But with each other.

After what happened with the barn and the whole fight that came after that, the two had been at each other's throats ever since. It was way far off from how they used to act around each other, seeming more like brothers than friends. But something just clicked and now they almost acted like strangers. Though it was none of my business, I still noticed.

Pushing my thoughts aside, I made it up the long staircase and lingered by the closed door, knocking softly a few times before I entered. To my surprise, I heard her soft voice from the other side invite me in, causing me to open the door as best as I could with the tray still balanced in my hands.

"Hey hon, it's just me." I announced as I walked in, "I brought you something to eat, and to see how you were doing."

Her gaze panned over towards me, and my breath hitched slightly in the back of my throat. I knew that familiar look all too well. I tried to not let it affect me too much in case I was wrong, but I had a feeling I wasn't. She looked utterly broken and depressed, much more pale with bags under her eyes from the lack of sleep. She had just lost her mom, I came to find out that she was the walker Beth ran to after everything happened. I'm pretty sure I couldn't have felt worse for her after finding that out, now more than ever seeing her like this.

"You can just set it down here." she said, pointing over towards the side table next to her bed.

I did what she asked and stood there for a moment as she stared at the sandwich on the plate, "Do you want me to stay, or do you want some space."

"Some space. If that's okay?" she asked.

"Yeah of course," I said immediately, "Just...call if you need anything." I finished with a smile.

She barely gave me a noticeable nod before I turned on my heel to give her some time alone, but I couldn't just brush off the vibe I picked up. It again could be nothing, just being paranoid over something I was reading too much into. But in case I was right, I didn't just want to keep it to myself.

I ventured back down the stairs, peeking in the kitchen again to see if Maggie was around, but the room was empty by the time I got back. A sigh left my lips as I turned back around to try and find her, but I managed to spot Lori entering the house right as I was about to come down the hall.

"Oh hey, Lori?" I called out as I approached her.

She turned towards me with a small smile, hanging up her jacket, "Hey, what's up?" she asked.

My eyes glanced back up the stairs momentarily before turning back to her, slightly lowering my voice, "I just...I'm worried about Beth. She just seems a little off and I was going to find Maggie to let her know but-"

"I can tell her." she offered with a nod, "I'll keep an eye on her until she comes back."

"Yeah that would be great." I spoke gratefully, "She's just up in her room and wanted to be left alone... but I don't know I think Maggie should know."

"Absolutely." she agreed instantly, "I'll tell her the next time I see her, okay?"

I nodded, "Thanks." I said with a small smile, passing her as I moved to exit the house.

I felt a little bad not telling Maggie about it myself, but knowing someone else would keep an eye out for Beth gave me a little piece of mind. I didn't want to hover over her or pick up any overprotective instincts even though in the back of my mind I knew it was inevitable. I just wanted her to be okay.

The rest of the day passed by slowly, leaving nothing much to do around camp and everyone simply doing their own thing for the day. After not being able to find Maggie, looping around the farm a couple of times, I assumed she was back in the house at this point. So I took the much needed time to myself.

A few hours passed by with me just laying down in the yellow tent trying to relax as best as I could. Spending most of the time reading the book Daryl had stolen from me when he got hurt and it actually turned out to be pretty good, only drawing me more in with each chapter. The details were amazing and I loved the plot. I didn't plan on giving this back to him anytime soon.

I hadn't seen him for most of the day because he decided to go out hunting fairly early in the morning, leaving camp before the sun even rose. He offered for me to come with him, but I declined as I needed to go out on that run with Glenn to get some things for myself, and he understood. I just hoped he would be back soon along with Rick and Shane who continued to be gone for far too long.

Damn it was like everyone was missing today.

After closing in on the last chapter, I finally shut the book after what felt like forever, blinking my eyes a few times to adjust them. For hours I had been reading tiny words on these pages and I felt that it was time for a break. So, I placed the book back in my bag, standing to leave the tent and walked outside a little to stretch my legs, leaning from side to side as I was hunched over for many hours.

I glanced around the small camp to see who was around, before my eyes suddenly stopped on Carl sitting by the RV. He seemed distant as he glanced at the comic book sitting in his lap, barely reading over the pages as he sloppily flipped through them. A pain in my chest suddenly dispersed upon seeing him like this, knowing that he hadn't been the same since he witnessed Sophia coming out of that barn. But who could blame him?

He was grieving in his own way, separating himself from the others as much as he could for just some time alone to think. I hadn't had a proper conversation with him since that day everything went wrong, keeping my distance as that's what he seemed to wish for. But I shook my head as I began to walk over towards him, wanting to talk to him for the first time in what felt like too long.

"Hey kid." I greeted him.

He glanced up and gave me a slight smile, "Hey." he spoke as he closed the book to give me his attention.

I moved to take a seat next to him on the ground, "So, what're you reading? Tell me about it." I said.

His eyes lit up "Really?"

I chuckled a little, "Yeah, why not. Who's this?" I asked, pointing to some sort of superhero.

His excited demeanor never faltered as he went on to tell me everything that was happening in this comic book. Who all of the characters were, what their powers were, and what their mission was. This was one of the first times I had seen him get excited about something in what felt like forever, and it warmed my heart at just the sight. He began to slowly open up a little bit more the longer we talked, changing the subject a few times to talk about his favorite cartoons he used to watch before the outbreak.

I enjoyed watching him smile, it felt like it had been some time since it last happened, and I was just glad to distract him even if it was only for a few minutes. A kid his age should never have to go through half the shit that's he's been through, though he was tougher than I ever could've imagined.

After we finished talking for a while, I left him to read it in peace after that. I wanted him to have his space too, and I never wanted to overstep any boundaries, especially when it came time to grieve someone.

I found myself heading back into the house to grab something to eat afterwards, but as soon as I walked in, I jumped a little as I suddenly heard screaming from just up the stairs. I didn't hesitate for a second before I was rushing up the steps two at a time, jogging into Beth's room to see Maggie and Lori were yelling and banging on the bathroom door.

"Woah, woah, what's happening?" I asked.

Maggie's head whipped around to face me, "Beth...Beth tried to kill herself and now locked herself in the bathroom, I heard glass." she spoke quickly, continuing to pound on the door, pleading with Beth to listen.

Panic flooded through me. She tried to kill herself? And was now attempting again? I stood in the doorway frozen in shock as I felt as though I couldn't move a thing. But then my eyes quickly darted around the room, looking for something to get the door open. Lori had moved to search the room for the key, frantically looking through her drawers as fast as she could, but I spotted a metal rod sitting in the corner of the room. I didn't think twice about it as I stepped forward, picking it up in my hands before telling Maggie to move out of the way quickly and she jumped back.

Sticking the thing in between the lock and the wood, I pushed on it as hard as I could in an attempt to pry it open. There was a sudden crack after a few seconds before the wooden door suddenly flew open, revealing Beth standing there with her hand over her wrist, blood pouring out of it. Her head whipped over to us frantically as soon as she heard the door breaking, tears streaming down her face and her heart no doubt racing out of her chest.

"I'm sorry." she sobbed, and Maggie didn't waste anymore time as she went in to pull her close.

I ditched the metal rod in my hands, stepping inside the bathroom only to realize how severe the cut actually was. Blood was now running down her arm and onto the tile floor, the amount of pressure she was putting on it clearly wasn't enough. I quickly placed my hand on Maggie's shoulder to get her attention, gently pulling Beth out of her hold.

"Go get your dad, he's going to need to stitch this up." I said, trying to hide the panic in my tone.

But she caught it even though it was disguised, quickly nodding her head as she left right along with Lori to try and find Hershel as fast as possible. Beth looked up at me and opened her mouth to speak, but only a sob came out as she ducked her head, causing me to immediately shush her and bring her into a hug.

We all had different experiences with mental health, everything was dealt with differently, but I somewhat knew how she was feeling. I had been in her position not that long ago and seeing her standing there when I first opened the door, brought all the memories back, so fast it was like a tidal wave. The whole situation nearly knocked me off my goddamn feet.

After standing in place for a while as she sobbed into my arms, I slowly started to bring her back into her attached bedroom, sitting her down on the bed so she could try to relax and focus on her breathing as she put more pressure on the wound.

Hershel frantically came in soon after that with a needle and thread and started to stitch his daughter up as she cried. I stayed by her side the whole time, holding her hand to offer her some type of comfort I was able to give. Though it was heartbreaking hearing her cry, and even more heartbreaking seeing Hershel try to pull himself together as he worked. I tried to think over the right things to say to her when the time came, but I felt that there was no right thing to say. What could you say after something like this?

After Hershel was done he said he would talk to her later and soon left the room in a hurry to no doubt let a few tears fall, leaving Beth and I alone again. She slowly laid down on the mattress after he left, her cheeks still stained with tears as she tried to calm herself down, with me rubbing her back towards the end of the bed. The silence slowly becoming deafening.

"Are you mad at me too?" she suddenly asked. I could feel the pain in her voice.

I whipped my head to look at her, "Oh my God honey no, I'm not mad at all. And neither is Maggie or your dad, they just love you so much. Seeing you like this... it hurts them, you know?"

She sighed as she shook her head, "I just feel so alone in this, like they don't even understand. Nobody does." she muttered.

"You're not alone." I said with a shake of my head, "I can promise you that."

"How do you know?" she was quick to ask.

My breath caught in my throat as I thought back to my own experiences, so different, yet so similar to hers. I debated in my head for a long time in the dead silence, letting the seconds turn into minutes if I really wanted to do this. I had never dared to show anyone the things I kept only to myself, ashamed of what others might think if they caught a glimpse of them. It made me feel vulnerable, weak, and that was something that I hated, but I needed to show her that someone here understood what she was going through.

So with a heavy breath, I hesitantly lifted my shirt sleeves to reveal my deeper scars on my wrists, trying to ignore the twist in my stomach as the cold air hit my arms. Her eyes followed my movements, immediately seeing them and I watched her eyes get wider with each passing second.

"I know." I assured after the agonizing silence.

She shook her head in disbelief, "You-"

"Yeah." I interrupted her, almost like I didn't want to hear her say it.

"It was uh... at a really hard time in my life. I won't bore you with the details but someone in my life was making me feel worthless. He told me that so much I started to believe it myself, and I got really depressed. Eventually I thought that... doing this was my only option so I... tried. But I regretted it as soon as I saw the blood, kind of like you did. So I called for help and I... saved my own life that night."

She stared at me so intently, listening carefully to every word that came out of my mouth. I knew I could trust her to not say anything to anyone, just as she knew I wouldn't judge her for trying to do what she did. It was like a silent agreement that we had at that moment.

"Look, my point is I don't know exactly how you feel and I never will. But we were in the same boat you and me, we're fighters and I know you'll make it through this. You just proved that today when you stopped yourself." I said.

Her eyes refilled with tears as she looked at me with utter sadness, "I didn't realize...I'm so sorry Rose."

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat, not wanting her to see me cry as I smiled sadly, "I'm sorry too." I whispered before bringing her into a hug.

She clung onto me tightly as the new fresh tears fell down her face, sobs erupting from her lungs. All the emotions mixed with the exhaustion was truly taking a toll on her body, but I was prepared to hold her for as long as she needed. Just like I wished someone had held me.

Once her cries quieted down after a few minutes, I spoke quietly to her, "I am always going to be here for you, okay? You're never alone in this. Never." I assured as I held her tighter.

"Okay." she whispered, hiccups building in the back of her throat.

Although I couldn't see her face as she spoke, I knew now that she believed me, and knew that I wasn't going anywhere. Hell, I would be at her beck and call always if that meant saving her life. I somehow knew then that everything would be okay, maybe not at first but it would be. Beth was strong and I could see that so clearly, even if she couldn't see it yet herself, she was going to be okay.

After I knew for sure she was okay for the night, her assuring me multiple times, I said my goodbyes and walked out to send Hershel back in the room to talk to her. Nothing could've probably prepared him for the things that man had to do today, but I just couldn't get over the look on his face. It was like he had seen a ghost when he first burst into the room, and it was devastating.

After I walked out of her bedroom, I found him just sitting a few feet away outside, telling him he was good to head in, but before I could walk away he caught my arm to stop me.

"Thank you for...comforting her at a time like this. I just... I don't know what to say to her once I go in there. But just know I appreciate you Rose, thank you so much." he said with visible tears in his eyes.

I took his hand off my arm, squeezing it tightly, "Just be there for her, okay? Let her do the talking first. And it's no problem, I care about all of you so much."

He nodded and then suddenly did something I didn't expect, he hugged me. I sighed to myself before I was soon hugging him back for a few moments before letting him go after a few short seconds so he could talk to Beth. After watching him go, shutting the door behind him to leave only a crack, I made a beeline down the stairs and out of the house. I practically jogged all the way back to the tent, tears threatening to fall from my eyes as I desperately tried to keep myself together. But the moment I zipped up the entrance, finding myself completely alone, I let it all out.

Seeing Beth like that was too much for me, but I wouldn't dare let her know that. She needed me and I was going to be there for her, however it just brought back painful memories from my past that I so desperately tried to avoid. I just sat there and cried quietly as I hugged my arms around my middle from the slight chill in the night. Rethinking everything that had happened today, I couldn't help but wonder how it could've been different if I had just stayed inside that damn house. How I could've prevented something from happening if I had tracked down Maggie myself. Maybe things could've been different.

But suddenly the zipper of the tent was being opened quickly, and Daryl was making his way inside as he finally returned from his hunt. I quickly looked away from him while frantically wiping my eyes, knowing he hadn't heard me crying, not even noticing I was in here at all at first from how silent I had been.

"Oh, hey." he greeted once his eyes raised from his boots, "I was bout to look for-" he then stopped himself noticing immediately the state that I was in, "Rose? Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, coming to kneel in front of me.

I tried to pull myself together, "Nothing, I'm okay." I said as I looked to the side, basically anywhere but his face.

I couldn't look at him, I just knew I would break down if I did. I could already feel the new tears building up in my eyes as I felt him gently take my hand in his and rub the back of it lightly with his thumb.

"Talk to me." he said in a soft voice.

I didn't say anything. I didn't even know where to start, today had just been painfully long and all I wanted was to go to sleep so it would be finally over. It seemed like we couldn't catch a break. And as if it couldn't get any worse, I saw out of the corner of my eye Daryl's eyes were staring down at my wrist as he still held my hand in his. I froze with widened eyes and suddenly didn't know what to do, I couldn't move.

"Rose." he said softly while looking at the scar, moving to take my opposite hand to see the other. But I quickly pulled both hands away from his grasp so he couldn't get a better look.

"Damn it." I cursed silently as I pulled my sleeves back down harshly, wiping my eyes with them as I tried desperately not to look him in the eye. I didn't know what I wanted, for him to leave or stay, when all I could feel now was just utter embarrassment.

He made no sudden movements for what felt like years, until I felt his finger and thumb gripping my chin gently to lift my head to look at him. His thumb rubbed softly on my chin as I finally brought myself to look into his blue eyes.

"Talk to me." he repeated.

That's when the sudden floodgate broke loose, my tears only falling more freely than they did before. I couldn't stop them, there was just so many emotions I was feeling about everything, and I couldn't get all of it out before he came back, so now he was witnessing it firsthand. I felt mortified about crying so much lately, it seemed like all I was able to do, like it was all I was good for these days.

His hands then moved to my cheeks when it began to be too much, his thumbs gently wiping my fresh tears away. He leaned in close to place a soft kiss on my forehead, waiting patiently for me to start talking whenever I was ready. And I did.

I told him what happened with Beth and how she tried to end her life. I ranted about how I should've been there sooner and not just sitting in the tent all damn day, but I didn't know. I should've known, the feeling I had alone was a good enough reason to stay close, but I truly didn't know. Regrettably I also when on to explain my situation as well, seeing as I couldn't really avoid it because of what he barely saw through the darkness.

I told him almost every bit of the conversation I had with her, though it made me the most uncomfortable, I didn't want her to believe she was alone in this. Informing him also that seeing her like that brought back too many memories for me and that's why I had been crying in the first place...and then we sat there. There was just silence. He didn't try to talk one time. He just listened.

After seeing that I was done, not having anything else to say, he finally broke the silence, "Yer one of the greatest people to walk on this earth, ya know that?" he asked.

I was slightly taken aback at what he said, a scoff leaving my lips as I shook my head, "Believe me I'm far from that." I responded, no longer looking at him.

"Look at me." he said softly.

I slowly tore my eyes away from my hands and met his again, almost burning under his gaze. I almost couldn't believe how much I was cowering away from someone I truly trusted, but then again this conversation was one that I didn't want to be having with anyone.

"What ya did for Beth, bein there for her, that's the best thing you can do for her. And showin her she isn't alone through all this, it's amazin what ya did for her today...now about you..." he trailed off, looking back down at my hands sitting in my lap.

He then gently grabbed both of them and slowly rolled both of my sleeves all the way up to the middle of my arm. I tensed when he did this and he noticed, but yet he didn't stop. He raised my left wrist up to his lips, and began to leave soft kisses over every inch of the scar. Then moved to my right wrist and did the same exact thing, leaving goosebumps on my skin, but a warmth in my heart.

He held both of my hands tightly once he was done, looking back up at me as he spoke again, "Yer so strong, and ya never have to be ashamed of these. They're just marks on yer body to show that ya made it, even when things were really hard. I get yer ashamed of showin em, but you don't have to be. Not with me." he finished.

I stared at the man in front of me in awe. Nobody had ever spoken so beautifully about me like this before. Nobody had ever complimented the thing that I was the most insecure about. No one had ever kissed the places I had once hurt so badly. Nobody except him.

Tears built up back in my eyes, but this time for a completely different reason. I was quick to take my hands out of his, wrapping my arms around his shoulders to bring him into a hug as I felt I could finally breathe.

I heard what sounded like a sigh of relief come from him as he quickly wrapped his arms around me as well. Maybe he was worried about what he had said upset me, but it did quite the opposite. It made me relieved. Relieved that someone cared enough for me to not only see the good side of me but also the bad.

But with the way he spoke, and the way he was hugging me back so tightly, it almost made me question if he knew the feeling as well. The feeling of being ashamed or insecure because of something marking you from your past. And maybe he did. But I wasn't going to ask. I would wait until he felt comfortable enough to tell me, like he did for me just moments ago.

~ Thanks for reading!

[daichinom]

LAST REFUGE

chap. 7

Daryl Dixon x Grimes Reader

Season 1

⚠️Warning: spoilers, blood, mentions of death and suicide, medical terms, angst, typical TWD violence and gore, vomiting, child injury, allusions to gunshot wound

You were handing out the freshly washed clothes, walking around the camp, you nodded to Carol, -"hey Y/N��� I don't want to be nosy but… I found this.."- Carol said timidly, you approached with the basket in her arms, and then you saw that she showed you a grenade, -"keep it… just in case…"- Carol looked at you doubtfully, as she hesitantly kept it, -"sure?"- She asked, to which you You nodded, as you continued your journey.

When you finished you sat parallel to Lori, who was putting away Carl's clothes, she looked at you, but you just looked down, -"do you hate me?"- she asked, literally looking at your skull, -"why?"- you asked to her question, -"because of Rick"- she said, seeing it from a mature point of view, it was not her fault, what would they know that Rick would wake up from the coma or if he was even alive.

-"I don't hate you.. I just.. can understand you.."- you said, only to be silenced by the screams of Sophia and Carl, who quickly ran wildly towards the adults, the men quickly left, and then found a walker.

-"Are you hurt Carl?.. Sophia?"- you asked the children, who denied, at least they weren't bitten, everyone's muscles tensed when they heard Daryl Dixon's voice, who called the missing idiot, - "Merle! Get your ass here" - everyone stood on the sides, Carl hugged your hip as they watched the Dixon approach.

-"Daryl, calm down, there is something we need to talk about Merle"- Shane said, automatically drawing Dixon's gaze.

-"Wha´?"-

-"There was a problem in Atlanta"-

The silence meant one thing, but it became dense and almost at gunpoint.

-"Did he die?"- he asked, looking at everyone.

-"It's not easy to say so I'll say it"- Rick intervened,

-"Who are you?"-

-"Rick Grimes"- your brother said, Daryl couldn't help but look at you out of the corner of his eye.

-"Rick Grimes?.. From Y/N, Lori and the boy Grimes?"- He asked, in an attempt to verify, your brother nodded.

Nobody knows at what moment, but suddenly Daryl out of desperation wanted to lunge at your brother, who was quickly thrown to the ground by Shane, caging him in a key.

In the end, everyone organized to go look for Merle Dixon, going by the truck, apart from Merle they were going to look for some weapons, so there was a real reason to go, you didn't want Rick to go.

-"I have to go, Y/N… It's my fault that man is tied there like an animal…"-

-"And what about us?.. We just got you back.."- You said, trying to persuade him.

-"No one deserves to die like this Y/N… You know this more than anyone"- Rick said, you had nothing more to debate with.

-"Aunt Y/N.. I don't want dad to leave"- you heard Carl, who was looking at you, you knelt at his height, -"my boy… your father is going to save a man, and I hope he will serve you as a lesson, because one less life in this world is one more of those things you found this morning"- you told him, trying to get him to find something good, even if it was Merle Dixon's garbage.

It didn't take long for you to return to your tasks, -"I'm going to go wash clothes"- you told Lori who was going to collect firewood, -"do you know where Carl is?"- She asked you -"with Shane, remember that they were going to hunt frogs" - you told her, going down the rock path to go wash the clothes.

When you approached, the women welcomed you, to which you greeted, while they made a space for you to do it, you washed your clothes until the last, so sometimes you didn't have time and without realizing it there were moments in which you barely and You had a clean pair of underwear left.

You saw in the lobby how Lori took Carl away from Shane, for a moment you saw that Shane saw you watching him, so you quickly went back to your business.

-"Why do we do slave work?"- Jacqui said, making us all silently agree with her, -"because that's how it should be"- Carol responded submissively, while she handed Jacqui a pair of wet clothes. He put them to dry, suddenly he took out some reddish panties, immediately the girls started to smile, you looked up and saw that they were yours.

-"Will you ask for a passionate night Y/N?"- Jacqui asked jokingly, getting a giggle from everyone, -"God, stop that"- you said without being able to hide her smile while the others chuckled.

To finish, they began to say what they missed about the old world, Amy her computer and her cell phone, Jacqui her coffee maker with double filter, Carol her labadora, Andrea her car and navigator, -"I miss the vibrator.."- you murumated, trying to be discreet because Carol's husband was behind you smoking, everyone smiled and gave daring glances, but general laughter broke out when Carol said she missed him too.

-"What are you laughing about?" - challenged the man, taking a drag on his cigarette, -"we tell each other war stories Ed"- Andrea responded, the man gave a pathetic look at what we were doing, this only made you scrub the clothes a little faster, you hated the way the man treated Carol and the girl.

-"Any problem Ed?"- You asked looking at him, -"it's none of your business, concentrate on your work"- he said, as he stood behind Carol's crouching figure, keeping an eye on her.

Andrea made a gesture of indignation and you just shrank in place, enduring the discomfort. -"You know what Ed? If you don't like how we wash the clothes, I invite you to do it yourself"- said Andrea, handing him the garment, Ed threw it back to her, -"a college bitch doesn't tell me what to do"- she said , and then pulled Carol's arm, the girls resisted and there began to be a lack of control, drawing Shane's attention.

Suddenly, Ed slapped Carol's face hard, making you stand up, hitting him and pushing Carol away from him, Shane moved quickly, grabbing Ed and starting to slam him into the ground, smashing his face, in a way for comfort you hugged Carol, who was crying profusely.

[jesterofcrows]

I feel like tumblr would eat this story up:

So I haven't owned Stardew Valley for very long. Like I bought it almost a week ago so I'm not like.... THAT experienced. But I know from what a friend told me that if you're friends with Marnie, then she'll give you feed in the mail sometimes, so I was giving her as many gifts as I could bc I was worried about not being able to BUY enough feed from her to keep my single chicken happy through the winter....

Anyways I was bringing my LAST piece of corn I had to give to her but I hadn't checked the time and it was too early so her place wouldn't be open anyways but yk... Adhd... I don't pay attention to CLOCKS. What do you take me for? Punctual?

So I clicked on her door but the exact SECOND I clicked on it, Shane walked out and I accidentally clicked on him instead. I didn't see him there bc my sprite was in the way. So all I saw was his dialog box going "This is great, thanks!" & I was like "Wha- No! That wasn't for YOU?!"

Motherfucker stole my corn. My. last. corn.

And like.... I walked after him to talk to him & give him a piece of my mind and this bitch told me to fuck off. Bro was hostile as always. Probably being territorial over the corn he stole.... so I watched him leave (this is important. I. Watched. Him. Leave.) Then I opted to at least TALK to Marnie even if I didn't have a gift for her.

So I walked in.... AND IT TRIGGERED SHANE'S HEART EVENT. DUDE.... YOU LEFT WITH MY CORN AND HAVE THE AUDACITY TO SHOW BACK UP AND PUT ME IN A CUTSCENE?

Anyways I have beef with Shane for that reason.

I planned to make a separate save file so I can romance him, but not anymore. I'm still mad about the corn.

[the-name-is-z]

SKELETONS | ch. 6

daryl dixon x f!oc

masterlist

a03 link

Summary: Dr. Jenner shares his views of the world with the group, and they find it imperative not only to disagree, but to escape. Warnings/Information: AMC's The Walking Dead OC Insert | 18+ Advised | strangers to lovers; the slowest of slow burns; gore; angst; horror; humour; m/f; descriptions of explosion, violence, threat of violence, suicide, entrapment, ethical arguments

Chapter 6 - Time Runs Out

“The basement generators— they run out of fuel.” Jenner replied simply.

“And then?” Rick asked, dejected. Jenner didn’t answer, making for the doorway. “Vi, what happens when the power runs out?”

“When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur.” 

“No thanks. I’m not interested.” Iris stated, glancing around at her companions. “I’m going to find the generators.”

“Let’s go.” Rick agreed. Iris followed a map left on the hallway wall, Rick, Shane, T-Dog and Glenn following down further and deeper underground.

“Decontamination? What does that mean?” Glenn asked worriedly.

“I don’t like the way Jenner clammed up.” Shane grumbled. “The way he just wandered off like that?”

“I had a bad feeling about this place.” Iris muttered.

“What’s wrong with him? Seriously, man, is he nuts? Medicated, what?” T-Dog asked.

“He’s not crazy. He’s just given up.” Iris replied, shoving open a heavy metal door. Shane and Rick held up their flashlights before the motion sensors flicked on the overhead lights. The room was filled with drums of fuel, haphazardly left on carts, likely from when Jenner set them up.

Shane and Rick went to one side while Iris, Glenn and T-Dog went the other direction. Pipes, wires and electrical panels filled the room, large stickers warning that it was all flammable.

“You know what it reminds me of?” Iris muttered, brushing her hand over a wire panel.

“What?” Glenn asked.

“A time bomb.” She replied simply. He and T-Dog exchanged a look as they explored. The lights went out, save for a few small bulbs against the walls.

“Emergency lighting on.”

“What the hell?” Shane’s voice carried. They ran to meet each other, finding Rick and Shane next to a fuel barrel hooked up to the generator.

“It’s preparing to shut down.” Iris grimaced. “Power conservation.”

“Anything?” Rick asked.

“Yeah. A lot of dead generators and more empty fuel drums than I can count.” T-Dog replied.

“Rick, look, I don’t think we should waste any more time. We should get out while we still can.” Iris said quietly, looking between him and Shane. They glanced at one another.

“It can’t be down to just this one.” Shane muttered, shining the light on the empty fuel dial. 

“We have 45 minutes.” Iris stated, checking her watch. “Rick—“

“Let’s go.” He agreed. They all raced back upstairs, sprinting down the hallways.

Everyone poked their heads out of their rooms at the sudden shut down and Jenner walked down the hallway, wearing a suit and a lab coat. He gripped a whiskey bottle tightly in his fist. Daryl’s voice carried as he chewed out the doctor, everyone waiting for some sort of explanation. Desperate for him to deny what they were all thinking.

“Rick?” Lori called as they ran into the main room. Jenner walked down the stairs and the group followed.

“Jenner, what’s happening?” Rick pleaded, gesturing for the group to stay put.

“The system is dropping all the nonessential uses of power.” He explained. “It’s designed to keep the computers running until the last possible second. That started as we approached the half-hour mark. Right on schedule.” He took a large swig of whiskey.

“Okay, you all need to grab your things. Pack. We have to go.” Iris whispered, urging them back to the stairs.

“What? What are you talking about?” Carol asked, frowning.

“You heard her. Come on, let’s move.” Shane urged. Jenner turned, offering the whiskey back to Daryl, who snatched it from his hands.

“It was the French.” Jenner mused.

“What?”

“They were the last ones to hold out, as far as I know. While our people were bolting out the doors and committing suicide in the hallways, they stayed in the labs until the end.” He explained. “They thought they were close to a solution.”

“What happened?” Jacqui asked.

“The same thing that’s happening here. No power grid. Ran out of juice. The world runs on fossil fuel. I mean, how stupid is that?” He laughed.

“Let me tell you—“ Shane jumped up, lunging at him.

“To hell with it, Shane. I don’t even care.” Rick snapped. “Lori, grab our things. Everyone, get your stuff. We’re getting out of here, now!” They finally lurched into action, ducking down the hallways in a hurry. Everyone stopped as a loud alarm blared over the speakers.

“What the hell is that?” Iris hissed.

“Thirty minutes to decontamination.”

“Doc, what’s going on here, man?” T-Dog pleaded.

“Everyone! Y’all heard Rick, y’all heard Iris, now you’re hearing me. Get your stuff and let’s go! Go now! Go!” Shane yelled. The door to the room slid shut with a pressurized hiss and Iris drew her knife on the scientist.

“Did you just lock us in? He just locked us in!” Glenn cried.

“Open the fucking door.” She warned, holding the blade to his neck. He shook his head, turning on one of the terminals with a webcam.

“We’ve hit the 30-minute window. I am recording—“

“You son of a bitch! You locked us in here!” Daryl screamed, lunging at him. Shane and T-Dog tore him away.

“Unlock the door. Please.” Iris begged.

“There’s no point. Everything topside is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed.”

“Well, open the damn things!” Daryl snapped.

“That’s not something I control, the computers do.” Jenner shook his head again. “I told you. Once that front door closed, it wouldn’t open again. You heard me say that.”

“You son of a bitch.” Iris muttered, sheathing her knife. 

“It’s better this way.” He insisted.

“What is?” Rick asked, tilting his head with a snarl. “What happens in twenty-eight minutes?” Jenner refused to answer, turning back to the computer. “What happens in twenty-eight minutes?”

“You know what this place is?” Jenner cried, standing abruptly. “We protected the public from very nasty stuff! Weaponized smallpox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you don’t want getting out! Ever!” He paused, wiping a hand over his face and sitting back down. “In the event of a catastrophic power failure, a terrorist attack, for example, H.I.T.s are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out.”

“H.I.T.s?” Rick asked.

“Vi, define.”

“H.I.T.s, high-impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosives consist of a two-stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen between five thousand and six thousand degrees and is useful when the greatest loss of life and damage to structures is desired.”

“It sets the air on fire.” Jenner stated. “No pain. An end to sorrow, grief, regret, everything.”

“You’ve condemned us.” Iris muttered, shaking her head in disbelief. “You want me to speak in your language, you depressed, philosophical bullshit motherfucker? You’ve condemned us. Obliterated any chance we might have had. Any hope left. Hell won’t suffice for this act of murder. Of damnation.” Jenner huffed a laugh, nodding. Daryl cried out in frustration, chucking the whiskey bottle at the steel barrier.

“Open the damn door!” He yelled.

“Out of my way!” Shane cried, running at the door with an axe intended for emergency escape in the event of a fire. Not this. T-Dog tossed another up at Daryl, the two of them striking the door with brute force. Sparks rained as they pounded against the door. The children were crying into their mother’s chests, huddled against the wall as they waited for the clock to count down. Iris shoved a hand into her pocket, pulling out the tattered patch she kept there, running her fingers over it.

“You should have left well enough alone. It would have been so much easier.” Jenner muttered to himself as he sat at the desk. Dale walked over to him. If anyone could appeal to someone’s better nature, it would be him.

“Easier for who?” Lori asked.

“All of you. You know what’s out there. A short, brutal life and an agonizing death. Your- your sister. What was her name?” Jenner asked Andrea.

“Amy.”

“Amy. You know what this does. You’ve seen it.” He turned to Rick. “Is that really what you want for your wife and son?”

“I don’t want this.” Rick replied emphatically.

“Can’t make a dent.” Shane huffed, tossing the axe to the side. Jenner rolled his eyes.

“Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher.” He stated.

“Well your head ain’t!” Daryl screamed, throwing himself at the doctor with the axe. Dale, Rick and Shane shoved themselves between them, keeping Daryl back. The doctor didn’t even flinch from his seat.

“You do want this.” He told Rick. “Last night you said you knew it was just a matter of time before everybody you loved was dead.” They all stopped, everyone going silent.

“What, you really said that? After all your big talk?” Shane asked, narrowing his eyes at Rick.

“I feel as if we all are not prioritizing, here.” Iris threw her hands up.

“I had to keep hope alive, didn’t I?” Rick defended.

“There is no hope. There never was.” Jenner said pointedly.

“There’s always hope.” Rick snapped. “Maybe it won’t be you, maybe not here, but somebody. Somewhere.”

“What part of 'everything is gone’ do you not understand?” Andrea asked.

“Listen to your friend.” Jenner implored. “She gets it. This is what takes us down. This is our extinction event.”

“Just because you sorry assholes have given up doesn’t give you the right to take that choice away from someone else.” Iris snapped. “From all of us.”

“This isn’t right.” Carol sobbed. “You can’t just keep us here!”

“One, tiny moment.” Jenner shook his head. “A millisecond. No pain.”

“My daughter doesn’t deserve to die like this!” Carol cried.

“Wouldn’t it be kinder? More compassionate to just hold your loved ones and wait for the clock to run down?” Jenner asked. Dale gaped at him. Shane cocked his shotgun, moving toward the doctor.

“Shane, no!”

“Out of the way, Rick!” He aimed the shotgun between Jenner’s eyes. “Open that door. Or I’m gonna blow your head off, do you hear me?”

“Not much of a threat when he’s waiting to die.” Iris muttered, moving to the control panel he punched the numbers into. Some code would unlock the door. All he had to do was tell them the numbers. Shane yelled in frustration, unloading the shotgun into a few terminals and the lights in the ceiling. Everyone ducked while Rick pried the gun from his hands, knocking him to the floor.

“Are you done now? Are you done?”

“Yeah, I guess we all are.” Shane hissed. There was a long silence while everyone listened to the quiet thrumming of the generator. 

“I think you’re lying.” Rick accused.

“What?” Jenner asked, narrowing his eyes.

“About no hope. If that were true, you’d have bolted with the rest or taken the easy way out. You didn’t. You chose the hard path, why?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter. It always matters. You stayed when others ran. Why?”

“Not because I wanted to.” Jenner said firmly. “I made a promise to her. My wife.” He said, pointing to the screen.

“Test Subject 19 was your wife?” Lori asked, mouth opening in shock. Daryl walked back to the door and started hitting it with the axe again. The loud thuds echoing through the room ominously.

“She begged me to keep going as long as I could. How could I say no?” He continued. “She was dying. It should have been me on that table. I wouldn’t have mattered to anybody. She was a loss to the world. Hell, she ran this place. I just worked here. In our field, she was an Einstein. Me, I’m just… Edwin Jenner. She could have done something about this. Not me.”

“Your wife didn’t have a choice.” Rick said slowly. “You do. That’s… that’s all we want. A choice. A chance.”

“Let us keep trying as long as we can.” Lori pleaded, clutching Carl close. Jenner sighed.

“I told you, topside’s locked down. I can’t open those.” He walked over to the keypad, meeting Iris’ gaze as he typed the code in, scanning his card. The steel blast door slid open and Daryl dropped the axe.

“Come on!” He yelled. Four minutes and thirty seconds.

“Let’s go! Come on, let’s go!” Glenn yelled.

“Move it! Move it!”

“There’s your chance. Take it.” Jenner said.

“I’m grateful.” Rick replied.

“The day will come when you won’t be.” He looked at Rick sympathetically, with pity, but Iris felt nothing but disdain for the man. She brushed past him as she sprinted for the door.

“Let’s go. Let’s go, Jacqui.” T-Dog ushered her toward to door.

“No, I’m staying. I’m staying, sweetie.”

“That’s insane!”

“No, it’s completely sane. For the first time in a long time. I’m not ending up like Jim and Amy. There’s no time to argue. And no point, not if you want to get out. Just get out. Get out.” She pleaded, putting her hands on either side of his face. 

“I’m staying too.” Andrea said solemnly.

“Andrea, no!” Dale called. She turned away, sitting down and waiting. “Just go, go!” He stayed behind in hopes of convincing her, but Iris was unsure. Dale would be a loss to the group, but since Amy, Andrea didn’t seem like she had much left.

Iris kept her grip on her emotions as they ran up the stairwell. She had everything important on her person as they threw themselves into the doors. Daryl and Shane attacked the windows with the axes. T-Dog grabbed a chair. Shane even tried the shotgun, but the glass held.

“Rick, I have something that might help.” Carol called, fishing in her purse.

“Carol, I don’t think a nail file’s gonna do it.” Shane grumbled.

“Your first morning at camp, when I washed your uniform, I found this in your pocket.” She explained. She pulled out a hand grenade and Iris’ eyes went wide.

“Holy shit.” She muttered.

“Look out!” T-Dog yelled as Rick grabbed the grenade. They all took cover as he pulled the pin, released the trigger and ran. It exploded, the single pane of glass shattering with the impact. 

They all ducked out of the window, sprinting across the courtyard toward the caravan of vehicles. Everything was still there, including the walkers littering the lawn. They didn’t bother with the noise, using their guns to take care of any in their way. Iris practically dove into the truck beside Daryl as he chucked the axe into the back. They turned forward only to see Andrea and Dale running out of the building at the last moment.

There was a breath of silence before the explosion wracked their bodies. Daryl and Iris ducked below the dashboard. It was the loudest thing Iris had ever heard, the wave of head blowing outward across the courtyard, the roads. The building crumpled like paper, the entire thing falling inward on itself and deep underground. There was rubble and debris of course, and fire. But nothing was left. Daryl blew out a breath as the flames loomed ahead of them, the air burning just like Jenner explained.

Iris huffed, panting as she leaned her forehead on the dashboard. Daryl shook his head as he put the truck into gear and followed the RV, the van, the Jeep and Carol’s station wagon down the road.

[pussydestroyer10110]

I decided to grow some balls and write something I pray to Jesus that no one I know knows this is me

Starting off slow I'll grow with time

Sorry if this is shit, I don't know if anyone is reading but I'm just gonna have fun and pretend I'm not deathly embarrassed by this.

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How Daryl Dixon would react to you giving him a flower

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You've known Daryl since the farm -since you'd been friends with Maggie since before the fall- he was quiet and brooding in the beginning but seemed as though his heart was in the right place. You'd seen him going out day and night to try and find Sophia so you blamed his grumpy nature to that.

One day you were helping Hershel with treating Patricia who had burnt herself cooking breakfast that morning (Hershel had been sharing his medical knowledge with you since the fall) when you heard a shot go off outside. Hershel told you to stay there and finish of wrapping Patricia's burn while he went to see the commotion outside.

You were tucking in the end of the bandage and telling Patricia to keep it clean and try not to get the bandage wet when the door to the bedroom turned infirmary was nearly kicked off its hinges. In walked the leader of the new group that arrived last week and the man who went on a run with otis to save that little boy; but the reason they were here is because of the limp Daryl in between them, his arms slung around each o their shoulders.

Your newly found medical instincts ushered Patricia out the room and moved the small bedside table so Daryl could be lifted into the bed. Once he was lying in front of you you began to assess the damage: stomach wound; twisted ankle and a gash tearing the side of his head near his temple.

You stepped back a bit and let Hershel do what he did best but after they cut his shirt off and Hershel was dealing with his stomach, you were told to treat his head wound. He was unconscious so you slightly turned his head to the side. A bloody streak ran from the corner of his eye to the side of his ear.

You grabbed the glass vial of disinfectant and a clean rag, you poured some of the solution on it and started to dab the wound with utmost care. Just as you were cleaning the rough edges of the graze his eyes fluttered open and his head jolted up. Rick and Shane held his torso back down as you asked him to relax for just a little while longer.

When he laid his head back on the pillow he looked up at you through pain glazed eyes, you could see him slightly wincing as you gently pressed the cloth against the now bleeding wound. You apologised to which he told you not to worry.

You couldn't help but flush slightly under his curious gaze.

Hershel had finished up leaving the room with Rick and Shane, leaving just the 2 of you.

"What happened?" You asked

"Clumsy bitch shot me in th' head." He replied

You couldn't help but laugh slightly at the spiteful tone hww used for Andrea who you hadn't liked from the start. You put a small bandage on his head and repeated what you had told Patricia to do to him, yet when you pressed against the bandage to secure it he winced again.

"Sorry..." You apologised again.

"Ain' got nuffin to be sayin' sorry for, Andrea should be the one sayin' that." Again you smiled at that and he felt confused about why he liked the way your face lit up when you smiled.

You eventually left him to rest for a while going to help with dinner due to Patricia's current predicament. However you got shooed away by Maggie who told you to relax after a long day.

With your new found time, you decided to wander around the perimeter, with a hunting knife don't worry. It was on your walk you found a small cluster of purple and yellow pansies.

For some strange reason they reminded you of Daryl and his wild yet sometimes soft nature. Without thinking you picked a handful of them and began to trek your way back up to the house.

With your pansies in hand you found a small unused vase that you filled with water and arranged the pansies in, you thought about if Daryl would like your gift you were about to give. Since you'd arrived at the house at dinner time you made up a portion of food for Daryl getting a bit of everything because you don't know what he liked yet.

You had a plate of food in one hand and the vase of pansies in the other, you knocked on Daryl's door with your foot before hearing a gruff 'come in'. It was as struggle to open the door but you eventually managed.

There Daryl was sprawled put on top of the covers with a new shirt but his shoes off after Patricia scolded him for having them on the white linen. You approached him with a smile to which he returned a small grin, you brought around the hospital bed table (you know the ones that roll over so you can eat in bed). You placed the food on the table.

"Thank ya." He said.

"It's no problem when it's for my favourite patient, also I got you something." You said in reply.

Then you placed the pretty vase of pansies on the table as well, a stupid smile on your face.

A genuine smile made its way onto his face, it was small but it was there. Meanwhile Daryl felt the unfamiliar glimmer of joy bubbling inside him.

He stared at the hardy flowers he'd seen many times before whilst hunting, he'd always thought they were quite pretty and even though he would never admit it they would always interest his flower loving heart. Therefore seeing you give him his possibly favourite flower it made him happy.

He stared at them for a little while longer before speaking.

"You didn' have to do this ya know."

"I know, but I saw them and thought of you."

When Daryl heard that you thought of him in unrealated taskd he felt something he hadn't felt in a long time, hope. He hoped he would have a better future and escape the drunken curse the seemed to follow the Dixon men and now with you he saw a chance to get out of the stereotype.

"Thank ya." He said it quietly like he was embarrassed of how he reacted to a simple flower.

"No problem."

It was getting dark now and you knew your patient should be getting some rest now so you bent down and kissed his forehead and started to walk towards the door.

"Goodnight"

"Goo'night"

Then you left your cheeks flushed and little did you know you left poor Daryl a blushing mess in the bed.

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I know it's not much but please feel free to give any pointers or requests if you want xx

[bayofwolves]

Rereading Rise and Fall

We're back unusually early to recap the penultimate, and my personal favourite, Spirit Animals book. If you don't know by now, these posts are essentially my notes from rereading the Spirit Animals books -- interesting details, stuff I missed and how I would change certain things. This is all part of my divine plan to revise and expand upon the series. Let's get into it!

This cover is one of my all-time favourites, apart from the short-haired Conor jumpscare (he has long hair in my universe). It's interesting how he is never shown with the axe he wields, only the shepherd's staff. I suppose they're striving for the most accurate portrayal of their characters on the covers, and Conor will always be a shepherd before he is a warrior.

Abeke's opinion of Shane seems to have deteriorated somewhat. In her first chapter, she doesn't think of him as a friend, only as an ally, and her attitude towards him is quite cold. This is most likely due to the fact that he is her jailer at this point. However, it got me thinking... it would have been kind of neat if Abeke's friendship with Shane slowly deteriorated over the course of these first six books. Perhaps because of what she sees him tolerate from his fellow soldiers, perhaps what she sees him do with his own hands. Perhaps both. She sees him do good, yes, but she sees the bad, too, and it makes her start to doubt him. When he saves her from the Conquerors and expresses his wish to switch sides, her faith in him soars -- of course he would do the right thing, she always believed he could -- only to come crashing down when he betrays her days later. I just think it would be more realistic if Abeke had some doubts about her Conqueror boyfriend as the war dragged on (she's not completely stupid, after all). If she chose to put them aside and trust in him, it would make his betrayal of that trust hurt all the more.

"Abeke struggled to keep her composure, but when she thought of that day at Mulop's grotto, frightening images passed through her mind..." "Then Abeke saw Meilin, and her eyes widened in fear." "Without meaning to, she lifted a hand protectively to her throat." Abeke having a lasting fear of Meilin could have been such a rich concept to explore. Of course, we're made to believe that everything is fine and dandy between the Four after the war is over, but what if it wasn't that simple? Like, Abeke loves her friend and knows none of it was her fault, but she can't help but flinch away when she comes near, remembering those cruel fingers around her throat. It takes some time and therapy for her to feel entirely safe in her presence... and for her to truly let go of those memories of how she treated her before. Abeke and Meilin's relationship had the potential to be so complex after the first arc, but they took it nowhere, and I'll always be disappointed in that.

In the Spirit Animals game, Iskos is much, much larger than he is described in the text. I wish they made him gigantic in the books, too. My headcanon is that Stetriol, as the fantasy version of Australia, has a whole array of giant insects and arachnids. Iskos would be one of these.

"Not much to look at, are they? But then, I knew from the moment I met Abeke that we had nothing to fear from her." Oh, it's gonna be so good when Abeke kills Zerif and the Wyrm in one fell swoop in The Burning Tide rewritten. The fact that Zerif has always underestimated her, only to be brought down by her in the end... for her to prove to him that she is a force to be reckoned with.

Rollan says Concorba was hot, which prompted me to flip back to the map and realize that his city is almost level with Okaihee. This is surprising to me; I always imagined Concorba as being farther north in Amaya and having a continental climate, with mild summers and harsh winters.

Rollan thinks of Conor as his best friend. Awww.

It's stated that Rollan has only recently learned to see through Essix's eyes, but he actually first experienced this all the way back in Blood Ties.

Enter one of my favourite characters ever: Irtike! Oh Irtike, I love you so much. The authors realized you were too powerful and shelved you, but I never forgot you.

I can't believe I almost forgot to mention such an important detail, but in my universe, Chinwe is Abeke's aunt, and Irtike is her cousin. Chinwe and Ikenne, Abeke's mother, were sisters. Abeke always had a good relationship with her aunt, and was devastated to learn of her death. However, this means that when Abeke cuts off her father and sister in The Evertree, she still has one family member in Irtike. I've had this headcanon for so many years that I think of it as canon.

I love Rollan's perspective on Soama, and the implication that she only appears more beautiful than Abeke because unlike her, Soama is treated with love and care. It breaks my heart.

Pojalo straight up disowns Abeke. This is actually unforgivable. Him refusing to say that he loves her, declaring that she is dead to him... the fact that they made up after this is absurd. What were they thinking?

A nice little bit of foreshadowing is when Meilin fights the Devourer in a dream and can't see his face because he is covered head to toe in armour -- she can only stare into the "gaping black eyeholes" of his mask. Come to think of it, it would have been cool if Conor had cryptic dreams about the Devourer during his group's time in Nilo. He could have been plagued by them all the way through the book, disturbing visions of the Devourer night after night that he cannot decipher. When they discover Gar dead, Conor thinks this is what the dreams were warning him of. But then they realize the truth.

I always wondered how Shane didn't notice Abeke was injured when he came to get her and Meilin, but it's possible Jhi was able to heal her bruises and scratches that quickly.

"Meilin could sense Abeke's softness... Even if Shane was the kindest of their captors, Abeke needed to be using him, not falling for him." This line always gets me. Abeke's feelings for Shane being on full display, but she herself remaining oblivious to them is something I can't get enough of.

Cabaro and Suka are canonically the strongest Great Beasts -- which makes sense, given their species.

I'm assuming it would be impossible for Cabaro to sire cubs with his lionesses, but all the same, are they his mates? Would a Great Beast even look at a common animal that way? It's an interesting thought.

If Halawir hadn't convinced him to remain neutral, Cabaro might have fought alongside the Four Fallen in their last battle all those years ago. I wonder, was Halawir was going around changing the minds of any others he felt would be sympathetic to their cause?

Cabaro mentions that Briggan was the only one the Great Beasts all trusted. So despite being formed by the same disaster and walking side by side for eons, the Great Beasts still had reservations about their fellows? Interesting...

Cabaro makes a good point about the Greencloaks and their spirit animals, and mankind overall. I wish we could have known what Briggan and Essix were thinking during his speech; for a series called Spirit Animals, we barely ever get inside their heads! Especially when it matters, like now! I want to know how the Four Fallen feel about being spirit animals. Is there any resentment there? Any feelings of being trapped in their new, lesser bodies? Any wishes to return to the greatness and independence they knew for millennia and leave their human partners behind? A conflict revolving around the Four Fallen themselves and the complexity of being tied to humans would be intriguing as hell.

"...Drina, as beautiful as her brother, Shane, was handsome..." To me, this is proof that Abeke is bisexual. She totally has a crush on both of them.

Gerathon is canonically Abeke's biggest fear. Can't fault her for that.

I hold the belief that neither Drina nor Shane knew she was truly going to die that day. The way I see it, the Conqueror leaders originally planned to stage a fake death, in order to give Abeke and Meilin a reason to trust Shane. Both siblings were aware of this... but Drina's death unexpectedly turned out to be real, making her terror and his anguish all genuine. Gerathon and the Conqueror leaders could have decided to kill her because she was putting up too much resistance to Gerathon, and they feared defiance from someone in such a powerful position would cause dissent among the rest of the Conquerors. (In ARHoE, I took this idea and expanded on it a little more. Drina believes she should be leader and queen instead of her brother, and attempts to stage a coup. Her reckless campaign divides the Conquerors -- some are loyal to Shane, some to her. Naturally, Gerathon rewards her treachery with death.) That's just my opinion though, because to my knowledge this whole conspiracy is never fully explained. I love Drina, and wish we got more clarity on what happened here.

I don't think Abeke was meant to hear the whispered exchange between Gerathon and Shane. I think that was her reminding him, in the face of his shock and anger over his sister really being dead, to go ahead with the plan and not flake out now -- lest he meet a similar end.

Meilin wielding a sword in each hand is metal as fuck.

Irtike rides bareback. I don't know much about horseback riding, so I'm not entirely sure why she would remove the saddle, but it seems like a power move.

Conor literally stuck an axe in a Great Beast's back. Holy hell. I want to see him telling this story to a group of excited children.

Meilin being unwilling to fight that Conqueror boy because he could be in the same situation as she is was such a good layer to her internal conflict.

Gerathon bites Cabaro on the leg, but her venom doesn't seem to have any effect on him.

I like how they gave Shane's family similar features. Gar and Drina are both described as having large eyes.

"As they approached the spot of scuffed earth and open air that led down to the oasis, a nameless dread overtook Conor." Conor's bond with Briggan giving him not just cryptic visions of the far future, but little premonitions of the near future, is something I would have liked to see.

We don't get to see Cabaro's reaction to his oasis being levelled, which is a shame. Also, wow, even with half the team the Greencloaks bring destruction wherever they go, this time to the animal kingdom.

Why did Gar summon a wolverine, anyway? From what we've seen, people only call up animals that are native to their homeland. In the real world, upon which Erdas is painstakingly based, there are no wolverines anywhere close to Australia. They live in the northern forests of Canada and Eurasia (Amaya, Eura and Zhong on Erdas). So... what's the explanation for this? Are there wolverines in Stetriol, despite the arid climate being nothing like what they are used to? Or did Gar somehow manage to summon a spirit animal from another land?

Sundown has to be my favourite chapter of the book -- possibly even of the entire series. It's the calm before the storm, and a beautiful look into a friendship that will never be the same again. The romantic implications for Shane and Abeke are as clear as day here: The way she keeps noticing how he looks (the sun lighting his face, the lids of his eyes, his arm when she lays her hand atop it), him huskily calling her amazing and her blushing and looking away. I love how it's not fully spelled out, either, and it's up to the reader to deduce that there is love there from the observations she makes, from the words they say, from the way she thinks about him. Their romance is so slow and gentle and bittersweet. This is the last tender moment they'll have. It's sad to look back on it.

My theory is that Shane was letting Grahv out of passive state while they were on the ship, to swim around in the water out of Abeke's sight. This would explain Shane's ease around water, which isn't, to my knowledge, a natural trait of his -- his crocodile is lending him his abilities. Shane is also mentioned to have been diving into the sea without a shirt on, and Abeke would surely have seen the tattoo if Grahv was in passive form during this. Shane could have explained Renneg's absence by saying he was below decks, since the sight of the water made him queasy, and told Abeke not to disturb him because he was resting. This theory is technically invalid because Abeke says Shane hasn't summoned Renneg the whole voyage, but I truthfully don't know how else he could walk around shirtless.

I don't like that Irtike goes right back to Okaihee at the end of the book. What happened to the Irtike who told our protagonists "my heart lives outside of Okaihee now"? She deserved to go with Conor and Rollan to Greenhaven, be present at Tarik's funeral, become a Greencloak in-text and live at Greenhaven thereafter. After all, the Greencloaks probably have more need of her powers than Okaihee at the moment, since the village's failed crops mean it is no longer a target of the Conquerors. At the very least, she should have been one of the returning characters from previous books who travel with the team to Stetriol in The Evertree. (To tell you the truth, I just wanted a whole lot more of Irtike. What do you mean they created a character who is no doubt one of the most powerful people on the planet and then never used her again?)

"Shane turned to face Abeke, his expression unreadable." I just know Shane is gonna have nightmares about Abeke's shocked, disbelieving, betrayed face in this moment for the rest of his life.

"Essix shrieked, and Halawir cocked his head toward her, listening." I love how the Great Beasts seem to be able to understand the Four Fallen, even in their diminished forms. Like they are the only ones who can still hear their voices.

Poor Abeke. She has only just been able to prove that she was not secretly a traitor all along, only just been able to hope for her friends' full trust, and now she has unsuspectingly paved the way for the Conquerors' ultimate victory. She must be fearing that she is farther from acceptance than ever before. My poor, poor girl.

It would have been great if the team managed to hold onto the Slate Elephant as well. One talisman for each of them. I'll have to reread The Evertree to examine how the events of that book would change with the Slate Elephant, and see if it would be feasible to incorporate into ARHoE. I only fear it would make their journey across Stetriol too easy; they could all just clamber onto Great Uraza's back and be at Muttering Rock within a day. But the mental image I have of Abeke riding Great Uraza in the Battle of Muttering Rock, her raw heartbreak manifested in the giant leopard's wrath, is incredible.

I like Conor's character development into a strong leader and think it was needed, but it happened much too fast. Instead of laying the necessary groundwork for this change early on and building from there, these authors seem to prefer having their characters do a 180 in the span of a single book or even a few chapters. That and the way they handled Irtike are my only major complaints about this book, though.

Did Rise and Fall stand the test of time and remain my favourite? Well, yes! I enjoyed this book from start to finish. There were so many things I loved about it: The introduction of badass one-timers Irtike and Drina, Abeke and Meilin among the Conquerors, all the sweet Shane and Abeke moments, and the fact that we got three new Great Beasts in one book! Most of all, I loved all its ups and downs. I remember being absolutely blown away reading Shane's betrayal when I was ten; that whole plot point was executed very well. Meilin and Jhi surrendering themselves to the Conquerors, Meilin in manacles, Jhi embracing her, made me inconsolable. And of course, Tarik's death was a gut punch. Even with all these losses, though, the book ends on a hopeful note -- the team still has two talismans. They still have a chance against their enemies, however slim. They've hit rock bottom, but they're still looking up. It's a powerful ending, and one that's always stuck with me.

This is part of an ongoing series.

Wild Born | Hunted | Blood Ties | Fire and Ice | Against the Tide | Rise and Fall | The Evertree

Immortal Guardians | Broken Ground | The Return | The Burning Tide

Heart of the Land | The Wildcat's Claw | Stormspeaker | The Dragon's Eye

Tales of the Great Beasts | The Book of Shane | Tales of the Fallen Beasts

[final-girl96]

Broken World: Chapter Fourteen

Everyone was working to help clean up the bodies. Any walkers were hit in the head with a pickaxe before being carried to the fire. Andrea still sat beside Amy in front of the RV. It was only a matter of time before Amy turned. Everyone was tired, dirty, and sweaty from the hot sun beating down on us as we worked. Lori was the only one not working as hard as the rest of us. She did try to talk to Andrea; to be gentle with her and explain that we needed to take her so we could bury her. But Andrea just sat there, staring at her dead sister.

Rick walked back to the fire pit where some of us stood. I had my hands on my hips looking at Andrea. "She still hasn't moved?" Rick asked. We shook our heads and he walked over to her. As soon as he went to bend down beside her, she pulled her gun and pointed it at him. "I know how the safety works," she said. Rick stood back up and backed away. "We have to do something," I said. Daryl walked over and stopped beside me. "Y'all can't be serious. Let that girl hamstring us? The dead girl's a time bomb," he said.

"What do you suggest?" Rick asked. "Take the shot. Clean, in the brain from here. Hell, I can hit a turkey between the eyes from this distance," Daryl told him. I nodded in agreement. "He's right. Amy is going to turn eventually. Is Andrea even going to be able to put her down when she does? We need to do it now. Daryl can hit her with an arrow. Quick and clean." Lori sat down on a log and said, "No. For God's sakes, let her be." I raised an eyebrow and looked at her.

"Fine. But when she turns and if Andrea can't put her down and gets bit or anyone else gets hurt, that blood will be on your hands. Which by the way, maybe you should use those hands and get off your ass and start helping around here." With that I walked away. "You left my brother for dead! You had this comin' to you!" Daryl said and went back to work. Everyone looked at him then went back to work. Glenn got upset when they tried to throw someone they didn't realize was from our group on the fire. Then Daryl let Carol use the pickaxe on Ed. Once she got one hit in she went for a few more, crying, and letting her frustrations out.

Eventually Amy did turn and luckily Andrea took care of it, but she continued to sit in the same spot. The only person that had been successful at going up to her was Dale. He had that kind of presence about him. He's the reasoning of the group when we have a decision to make and everyone has their own opinions on what to do. He talks sense into all of us, keeps us calm, and makes us think about what we are talking about. Just like now, while we argue about what to do with Jim. Turns out he was bitten while fighting off the walkers last night.

Daryl wanted to just put him out of his misery, as he put it. Shane and Rick were against that. For Jim's safety Rick led him into the RV where he stayed. We buried our people and continued our fight about the CDC. He was so sure there was someone there; that they were working on some kind of cure. "There is no one there, Rick. The people that were there left and are dead. The military could not protect it after the city was overrun!" I said sternly. "There has to be someone still there. They would do everything possible to protect that place!"

"Oh, my god! Were you not listening to me?! There are hundreds of bodies laying around that building. I have been in that city since before they bombed it. I lived in that city. There is nothing and no one there." Nothing I said convinced him that it was a waste of time. It was all said and done. We would be leaving for the CDC in the morning. I understood Rick wanted to save Jim, but there was no saving him. He was already feverish and coughing up blood. It would kill and he would turn. There was no cure and probably never will be.

Not if there weren't any scientists to make a cure. They probably didn't find out what caused all of this in the first place. It all happened so fast. People started getting sick, hospital emergency departments were flooded with people. Crimes started going up, calls from people saying they had been attacked. It just got worse and worse as the days went by. When the city was bombed they thought it was the best option, that it would kill all the dead. But it didn't…obviously.

That night I was in my tent making sure everything was packed up. I didn't have much so it didn't take too long. Packing light was the beat choice in these kinds of situations. The kind of situation where you always have to run. I also needed to figure out who I was riding with. After I had everything packed up and set by the tent door I laid down on the cot and tried to get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a long damn day. We need to break all the tents down and pack the cars up, and a lot more.

The morning came and we started taking everything down. Andrea was sleeping in the chair though, which I didn't blame her. She sat beside Amy all night and all day until we had to bury her. There was nothing to eat so we just took a break before loading the cars. Once everyone ready, Dale woke up Andrea, loaded the cars, and then Rick and Shane handed out walkies. They explained the so called rules if someone needed to stop or was having trouble.

I still didn't know who I would be riding with. I had my pack on my back and a duffle in one hand. Morales and his family decided they were going to try and find family instead of going to the CDC. That was smart and not so smart at the same time. They would be alone that was the bad part, but they wouldn't have to be disappointed when we got to the CDC and nobody was there. Rick gave them a gun and some ammo, and we said our goodbyes.

"How about you ride with me," Shane said, coming up beside me. Before I could answer my duffle was being taken out of my hand. "Nah, she's riding with me. Let's go." I looked over at Daryl and then back at Shane. "Thanks for the offer," I told him and went over to Daryl's truck. Merle's chopper was in the bed, which Daryl set Mt duffle beside it with other stuff he had back there. It's been a long time since I have rode in this truck with him.

[hannahssimblr]

Chapter Fourteen

College is cancelled as the snow gets worse, so Claire and I spend the week in our apartment hanging out with each other, just like we used to during the long weekends of our 6th year, nobody but each other. We agree to leave the heating on all day because it’s a weather emergency and I try not to think too much about the bill, justifying that if I’m not going out to bars and clubs I’m saving money, so I can funnel it into keeping our cold feet warm during the storm.

We take her big feather down duvet from her bed and watch nineties chick flicks on the couch all day, eating through every last morsel of food in the apartment so that we don’t have to brave the weather to get supplies from the nearest supermarket, which has already been raided of all its bread and eggs as the hysterical Irish have once again entered panic mode over five inches of snow. 

We send Shane on a mission to Marks & Spencers on Henry Street to get fancy food to make up for the miserable offerings of the local Tesco Express, but even the trains have stopped by now, so he has to cycle from Clonskeagh. When he arrives hours later we rejoice. Claire kisses him all over his face while I dive for the carrier bags, pulling out the fancy oven dinners we requested, huge bars of Dairy Milk chocolate, Percy Pigs and gourmet crisps with fancy flavours like flame grilled steak and sour cream and shamrock.

“I’ve another thing for you as well, Evie.” He says, and throws something at me which I fail to catch. “Happy birthday.”

I dive for it, a small soft packet that’s ended up under the kitchen table. “You shouldn’t have.” I say. “What is it?”

“Well you’ll find out if you open it.” He says. 

“Right.” I rip open the clumsily taped paper and there’s a cute little knitted hat inside. It’s red, my favourite colour, and I gasp with surprise and hug it to my chest. It’s so warm and soft to the touch. “Oh wow! Did your mam make this?”

“I asked her to yeah. You said you needed a new hat so…”

“I love it.” I pull it over my ears and pull a model face for Claire who laughs. I don’t get up and try to hug Shane because I know how much he would hate it, so I settle for beaming at him until he goes a bit red instead. “I always wanted her to teach me how to knit.”

“She’d definitely do it, just ask her sometime.”

“I can see it, me becoming someone who knits stuff, like big ugly lumpy scarves and horrible mittens.” I sigh. “I miss your mam.” 

“I’d say she probably misses you as well.” 

Our conversation is interrupted by my phone buzzing in my pocket and my heart instantly does an anxious skip when I feel it, but then I’m just frustrated to see another message from Dean. 

Bored. Do you want to hang out?

I sigh and stuff it back into my pocket. I’ve been trying to ignore him all week but he’s texted me three times now, and the more he sends the more obvious it is that I’m trying to avoid him, which I’m sure he will consider some sort of childish drama.

“Who’s that?” Claire wants to know, and I admit to her that it’s Dean, which makes a muscle twitch in Shane’s jaw. 

“What’s he want off you?” He asks tersely.

“Just to hang out.” I say. 

“Are you saying no, or?”

“Well, I’m saying nothing at all. I don’t know how to approach it, you know, like, giving him a hard ‘no’. It seems harsh.”

Shane takes the bag from the table and starts unpacking the groceries. “It’s spelled N O.” He explains. “Very easy.”

“Yes but I feel bad, like I couldn’t explain to him why I suddenly don’t want to see him, because really, it’s out of pure awkwardness, and I just can’t face him at the moment.”

“Can’t you say ‘I don’t hang around with boys who… do drugs’?” Claire offers, delivering the word “drugs” in that uncomfortable way that a mother would. I shake my head. “Well, no, because I’m embarrassed that I didn’t know that already, considering how obvious it apparently was.” I sigh, flashing back to the vigour with which he was rubbing his nose at my party. “I suppose it’s not really him, it’s me.”

“Nah I’d say it’s him, probably.” Shane says as he shoves the crisp packets into the cupboard beside the oven. “Just leave it, don’t talk to him anymore.”

I lope over to the couch and flop down onto it heavily. “It must be very easy to be you, Shane.” I say. “Able to just say whatever you’re thinking to anybody who annoys you.”

“As can you.”

“I couldn’t.” I insist, because whenever I do something that causes somebody to dislike me I feel the desire to move towns to get away from seeing them. Or I wish I was never born. Whichever. “I don’t want any conflict.” 

“You know that sometimes conflict isn’t a bad thing, don’t you?”

“Shh.” I say, grabbing the remote and turning up the volume of whatever movie we had playing in the background. “I’m watching TV.”

 The next day, Friday, I finally venture out of the apartment in pursuit of a coffee, also to stretch my legs and get some exercise after being entirely sedentary for the bones of four straight days, but mostly for a coffee as I’ve got wind of a rumour that a café on Dame Street is still open. 

The outside world is crisp, clear and shockingly bright, a thick white shawl over the city, shaken out of the arms of the trees and grown on the roofs of buildings like moss. It crunches underfoot as I make my way past the park where a group of children are taking turns on a plastic sled, and further up the street where the paths have been salted and the snow has turned into slush there are more of them building a lumpen snowman that is more brown than white, snow mixed with the dirt from the ground.

One boy yanks another out of my way as I pass them. “Get out of the way of the lady.” He scolds, and it makes my eyebrows shoot up my forehead. Since when do people see me as a lady? It’s freaky to think about a society that is increasingly thinking about me in terms of being a woman when in fact I feel as much like a girl as I ever have. I shuffle on towards the promise of hot coffee. 

It turns out that the rumours were true, and a small café and bookshop is miraculously open despite the weather. The snow outside has been cleared from the path and the icy ground salted so the whole thing is this inviting haven, the smell of coffee beans wafting out into the frosty air as I approach it. 

I order a flat white, which is this new, fancy Australian coffee that all the hipsters are into, and I settle into a soft armchair at the window, cradling the little cup in my cold hands and looking out over the flurries of soft snow that have begun to fall outside.

I look at my phone then, lingering on the messages from Dean again and I realise that this whole situation makes me feel a bit sick. I’m confused. It’s clear that he made a fool of himself at my party, it’s clear that my friends vehemently disapprove of him and it’s also clear that I deserve better than him and yet it’s hard for me to shake the feelings I have for him. It’s not like I’m in love with him or anything, not by a long shot, but I haven’t felt much of anything for anybody in what feels like the longest time. It’s hard to let it go. My thumb lingers over the keyboard, almost ready to tell him that I’m free and willing to see him again, but then I stop myself and take a book from the shelf behind me so I can keep my hands distracted. 

The caffeine leaves me feeling a bit jittery and anxious when I leave the café and head back outside, so I decide to take a brisk walk down the street and into the Christchurch Cathedral grounds, where the same flower beds that bloomed with tulips last week are covered in a thick sheet of snow. The roof of the cathedral is dusted in white and gives the entire building the quaint, nostalgic appearance of a gingerbread house, an ostentatiously festive scene considering it’s early spring now. I do a lap of the grounds, my feet sinking into the virgin snow with a satisfying crunch. 

Prev // Next

[sunshinerapmonster]

The Saregeant's Daughter - Chapter 15 Jay

"I was wondering if you could help me."

Chicago PD S7 EP16: Violence Part Two

"This is the one incident we know about," Hailey said placing a picture in front of her, "but there have been a lot of others, haven't there. Ones that you were too afraid to report," she said placing more pictures.

I sat behind Michelle looking at the pictures as Hailey placed more and more pictures of her injuries.

"Ones that you were ashamed of. I know how hard it is to leave him. I do. You built a life with him. You love him. But deep down, you know you gotta get out" Hailey said.

"Shane's not perfect, but he's not what you think," she said looking at Hailey.

"He's a violent criminal who beats women. What are we missing?" I said softly trying my hardest for her to see he isn't a good guy at all.

She shrugged her shoulders, "Shane's a good guy. He's a great father. He's just been under a lot of stress" she said.

Hailey placed the last picture of Michelle of all the injuries in one picture, Michelle took a deep breath and looked away from the picture.

"And you know what happens when he's stressed, don't you?" Hailey said closing up the empty file, "Or in a bad mood. Thinking he saw you looking at another guy. Maybe you left the dishes in the sink"

I moved from my spot behind her to sitting next to Hailey," This is your chance to get out, Michelle. To get out of going to prison. To get out of a really bad marriage" Hailey said.

Tears started sliding down her face, "Why were you at the check cashing store?"

"What were you doing there? Just tell us" I said.

"I am, I am. I'm....I-I overheard Shane talking on the phone. He was talking about a job at the Gordon Gardens strip. I knew what that meant. So I went there to stop him" she said nodding her head, "I didn't want him to go to prison again. I-I just wanted us to be a normal family, for Tina's sake"

"Did you actually see him in there?" Hailey asked.

"No. I was looking for him, but I didn't know where he was as exactly. I just knew he was somewhere on the strip. And then I heard the shooting"

-

"We need Michelle to wear a wire to get a confession," Hank said walking out of the room with Vanessa behind him.

"Yeah, I think she might do it too. We're breaking her down and she knows what's at stake" I said leaning up against the wall.

"I'm not so sure about that," Hailey said crossing her arms against her chest, "I've been behind those closed doors when I was a kid, and I know what it's like. When you've been abused like her over so many years, you give up hope. Right now, she just trying to stay alive, and the police are a threat to her survival"

"All right, so how do we get her to cooperate?" Hank said.

"Give her hope. A concrete, tangible escape plan" Hailey said, "She needs to see what her new life will look like, proof that it's possible that she and her daughter will be safe, and that he can't come after them"

"I've got my contact at Social Services who might be able to help," Vanessa said.

"Okay"

-

I opened up the door to the safe apartment for Michelle and her daughter.

"So the city keeps some of these apartments for special circumstances," I said standing in the living room.

"Is this like a safe house?" She asked looking around the apartment.

"No, not technically but you'd be safe here. There's a 24-hour doorman downstairs. Nobody's coming up here" I said nodding my head.

"Mm, so what would I need to do?"

"You would need to help us. You have to wear a wire. Get an admission of your husband's guilt"

"Then you can move in here, transition into your new life," Hailey said

"Well, what about my daughter? She'll want to see her father"

"She can see her father on visiting days at Stateville Prison," I said.

"Shane's going down no matter what, Michelle. The question is, are you going down with him? Hailey said as we both looked at Michelle, "This is your chance to save yourself and your daughter"

-

Hang on a second, honey. I gotta take this call.Yeah? What have you got? After what happened? I trust the truck driver

"Who's the truck driver?" I asked looking away from the window to look at Hailey taking pictures on the camera.

Me and Hailey were using an apartment behind the Sullivan resident that had a view our their backyard and back door.

"I don't know"

Only if he says the store is fat. Look, I'll call you back.

Who were you talking to?

None of your business

It is my business. You said you weren't gonna go back to that life

Who says I'm going back?

Where are we getting all this money from lately?

I told you. I'm working on construction.

Shane, come on. Just tell me the truth.

What are you talking about?

I followed you

You followed me? Where?

To the check-cashing store

I didn't like where this was going right now, she was being too pushy with the questions.

You were at the strip? What the hell? What did you see?

"We lost visual," Hailey said looking through the camera.

Somebody got killed

I don't know anything about that

You know, I do all of this for you, so you can be happy, and you follow me? You ungrateful bitch!

Daddy stop!

Get out of here! Go to your room!

"This thing going off," I said jumping off the table.

"We can't go in there. Not yet" Hailey said as screaming was heard through the mic.

"We're supposed to just sit here and wait?" I said pointing at the window.

"Yeah, we don't know what this is," Hailey said.

"I know what this is," I said as soon as glass was heard being broken.

I grabbed my gun and put it in the holder on my waist, "hold on, hold on, hold on" Hailey said.

Damn it!

"There she is," Hailey said as Michelle came out of the house with her husband behind her.

I'm so sorry, baby. I'm sorry. I love you. Please. Come on, baby. Let's go inside

"Jay, I know this is hard. But we have to let it play out, which means we have to keep Michelle under"

"I know," I said shaking my head, "it sounded like he was hurting her"

"I know, I get it. But they were just yelling, and arguing. Which is hard to listen to, and even harder to know when to intervene. But we're cops, so we also have to think about the family of the guy who got murdered. And that is the person responsible for it"

-

"The wire didn't get us a confession, but it did introduce us to a possible fourth member of the team," Adam said walking with Hank.

"Okay"

"Someone's who knows when the stores are fat," Kim said.

"That's right, that all these cash stores that got robbed have in common are deliveries from Conserva Armored Security," Kevin said.

"We called Conserva, and they sent us over a list of all the drivers that did cash deliveries on the days of the robberies," Antonio said opening up a file, "There's only one driver who delivered to all of the stores right before they were hit"

"This guy, John Franklin. He's age 35. He's got zero priors. Lives at 324 maple avenue in canaryville"

"Take him," Hank said holding the picture in hand along with an empty coffee cup.

-

"That son of a bitch Brady goes to the same church as Franklin. Knew the kid was struggling to pay his mom's medical bills, so he temps him with a way to make some extra cash" Hank said walking out of his office and stopping at Kevin's desk that was across from Adam's.

"The good news is, Franklin confessed to being an inside man handing off info on cash drops. The bad news is, guys a cutout" Adam said sitting at his desk.

"I mean, he can't connect us to the crew," Antonio said.

"Well, that's Brady's MO. Outsiders are kept outside."

"Hold on a sec. They don't know that we arrested Franklin, Brady, and the crew. They think he's still in play" I said standing next to Voight.

"Hank, Franklin already sent that text saying he was driving a fat truck tomorrow," Antonio said sitting on his desk.

"Yeah, Sarge, this heist can still go down," Kevin said.

"Yeah, so let's keep this heist in motion. Pull Franklin out of the lockup, get him back into play" Hank said looking at Vanessa and Kim, "Jay, you and Hailey monitor Shane. Let's lay a trap, catch this crew in the act"

-

Who just called you?

I'm going out to meet a friend

Which friend?

None of your business. I gotta go, you seen my keys.

"We got eyes on Shane. He hasn't left yet" I said into my radio.

What are you doing? Get out of my way.

I just— I don't want you to get in trouble. We can do this a different way

"She's changing her mind. She doesn't want him to do the robbery" I said looking at Hailey.

Where are my keys?

Please don't go

Did you take my keys?

"Sarge, we have a situation," Hailey said into her radio, "Looks like Michelle flipped. She took Shane's keys"

"I got Brady over here right now waiting for him," he said back.

"Yeah, well, he hasn't left the house yet. She won't let him go"

My keys were on the table! Did you take my keys?

Shane-just lease listen

Where are my keys?

I don't know!

I want my keys!

"That's not just arguing"

"Jay, we don't know what this is yet. Let it play"

Shane, stop it!

Then glass is heard breaking.

"I'm going in"

Stop!

We got out of the car and ran towards the house. I knocked on the door.

Michelle opened the door, "What are you doing here?" She asked confused.

"We got a call of a domestic disturbance," I said.

"What? From who? Nobody here called" she said.

"What the hell is going on?" Shane said walking up towards the door.

"Chicago PD. Stay where you are" I said looking over at him.

"You're a cop? This guy a cop?" He said looking at me as he remembered seeing me at the flower shop.

"Just keep your hands where I can see them"

"There were sounds of violence coming from the house," Hailey said.

"I got frustrated and I broke a vase, is that against the law? I never touched her" he said.

"Is that true?" Hailey asked her.

"We were having an argument"

"Did he physically hurt you?"

"He grabbed my hand"

"Get up against the wall," I said as we walked inside.

"You were holding my keys!"

"Stand up against the wall. Put your hands behind your back. Don't move. You're under arrest" I said handcuffing him.

"For what? For arguing with my wife?" He yelled out.

"No, for domestic assault," I said tightening the handcuffs.

"Michelle, tell him. Tell him it's not true. Tell him" he yelled out as I walked him outside.

-

"Huh," Hank said walking out of the lounge.

"Sarge," I said taking off my jacket.

"Uh-huh"

"I know we would've had him on the murder, but I just couldn't sit there"

"So what did happen?"

"You talk about being in the moment all the time, I was in the moment, and the noises that I'm hearing coming out of that house. I know she's in danger, so I acted" I said.

"This an apology?" He said sitting down on his chair.

"No. I would do it again"

"Huh. Look, Jay, I mean, I know how you're wired. Through the heart. If someone's in trouble, you just go. That's part of what makes you you. I made peace with it. I don't think you could be any other way. So where's Shane Sullivan now?" He asked.

"He's in lockup," I said.

"All right, good. We still got one last play left" he said standing up from his seat.

"Let me take a run at him," I said following him out of his office.

"No, I got this," he said.

-

Pulling up the Sullivan household and getting out of my car.

I knocked on the door and it was cracked open a bit, I opened the door the whole house was torn down everything was thrown onto the ground.

I pulled out my gun and called out for Michelle. I saw her up against the wall behind the dining table.

"Michelle. Michelle, are you okay?" I said rushing towards her side.

She nodded her head, "Is he still in the house?" I said. "Okay, and your daughter?"

"She's at her cousins," she said.

"Okay. Please come with me right now. Please just get up and come with me. Come on. Let's go." I said helping her up.

As I turned around I saw Shane coming down the stairs.

"What are you doing in my house? Get away from my wife" he said.

I stood in between them so he couldn't hurt her, "you take another step closer, I'm gonna knock your ass out" I said.

"She's not going anywhere," he said walking towards her.

I pushed him and he tried to swing and I blocked his punch and did an undercut and slammed him against the wall, then I grabbed him and pushed him onto the coffee table he fell onto the ground, and climbed on top of him and pushed him so many times till I lost count.

I heard the series in the background and they arrived at the house.

-

I arrived back at the apartment with my bloody knuckles all bruised up from punching him.

I didn't wanna get treated by the paramedics, but before I left. I made sure I bought tickets for her and her daughter for them to get away from him. I looked down at my knuckles and thought about Madeline.

"Fuck it" I mumbled

I parked my truck made my way towards her place and knocked on the door. She opened the door and stood in front of me dressed in a black silk robe.

I held up my hand, "I was wondering if you could help me?" I asked her.

"Jay– what happened," she said grabbing my wrist and pulling me inside, and slamming her door shut.

"Work, yeah work happened," I said standing by her kitchen island.

"Let me go grab the first aid kit from my bathroom unless you wanna get it fixed in my bathroom?" She asked fixing her robe.

"Uhh bathroom to make it easier," I said.

"Okay, follow me," she said sending me a smile.

She opened her bathroom sink cabinet bending down to open it and grabbed the first aid kit.

"Already Halstead what happened that made you get hurt, and these injuries look like you punched somebody," she said opening up the kit.

"Well my partner Hailey called me saying our suspected was let go and he was arrested for domestic abuse on his wife, so I rushed towards her house," I said letting out a groan as she used a wipe that alcohol to clean the wound.

"Sorry, I should have warned you," she said looking up at me.

"No, it's fine. Anyways so when I got to the house the door was cracked open and the house was destroyed and I saw her leaning up against the wall with a black eye, and then he came down he was walking up towards her and he tried to punch me but I blocked it and well you could guess the rest" I said as she finished up warping my knuckles in some white bandaid.

"Well Jay you did something good for her, you protected her when she needed it," she said putting away the first aid kit.

"You think so?" I asked her.

She looked up at me, "Yeah you did," she said chucking.

I sent her a smile and placed my hand on her cheek, her cheek turned a light shade of pink and I smiled at her, "Thank you doctor Sanchez" I whispered

"It was no problem, Detective Halstead" she whispered back and smiled at me.

I placed my hands on her neck slowly leaned in and kissed her. Her lips were soft and I could taste wine on her lips sweet. She parted her lips and I slipped my tongue inside and fought for dominance. I moved my hands from her neck placed them on her waist and flipped us around so her back was up against the sink.

Our bodies pressed up against each other, as the kiss got heated her hands moved up and she pulled at my hair and I let out a small groan. I pulled away from her lips and started kissing her jaw leaving kisses she tilted her head to give me more room as I licked and sucked on her neck.

"Jay" she moaned out.

I gripped her waist and picked her up placing her on the sink and kissed her again. Her hands traveled down my chest and she started to unbutton my shirt, I pulled away from the kiss both our lips swollen from the makeout session.

"Holy shit" I mumbled.

"What am I bad kisser?" she said.

I shook my head, "You're an amazing kisser" and kissed her lips again, "But I don't wanna rush you to have sex with me"

"I wouldn't mind getting fucked by you detective," she said biting her lip.

I threw my back and let out a groan, "You're making it hard"

She laughed and grabbed my shirt pulling me towards her, "I like to be fucked rough and like to be submissive in bed" she said.

"Well, I can make your wish about being fucked hard true"

"Don't start anything you can't finish detective" she said sliding her feet up my leg and stopping at my dick and she smirked at me.

Jay Master List

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