#seriously with the Glenn thing though

[freelanceexorcist]

Aaaaaand we get another Ever Crisis trailer!

More scalding hot takes (maybe spoilery):

-So we've got our SOLDIER elites Sephiroth, Genesis, Angeal and...Glenn.

-AND MY MANS IS STANDING IN THE POURING RAIN HOW IS HIS HAIR NOT WET ASADLKAASDFLJA

-Answer your damn phone, Genesis. So rude.

[nat-without-a-g]

If I had a nickel for every time the children of season 1 dads had to be distributed amongst the players— and because one of the 5 aforementioned characters took a sudden one-way trip to the infernal plane, Lark specifically had to be paired off with the missing character’s correlating player— I would have two nickels.

It isn’t a lot, but I like to read into both instances for absolutely no reason. They mean something to me.

[holdmytesseract]

🩷Salut mon amie🩷

I just can't let this perfect opportunity slip... What about a Daryl x f!reader post-outbreak song fic with “So High School“ by Taylor leading your wonderful mind??? 😊

Clandestine Meetings

Daryl Dixon x fem!Greene!Reader

Summary: You sneak out to meet Daryl in the watch tower - the first moment of privacy you share since months.

Warnings: 18+!!! Minors do not interact! veeery suggestive smut/'smut' (not very graphic, but it's there), fluff, we ignore the age, humour?

Set in Season 3!

Word Count: 1,4k

a/n: Thank you for requesting, my friend! I don't know if it fits 'So High School', but that's what my mind came up with. Hope you like it! 🤍

Daryl Masterlist °☆• Masterlist °☆• Echoes of Hope Masterlist

The sun was about to set when you made your way out of the C-Block. Snuck was probably the more fitting word, though. You snuck your way out of the C-Block. To your luck was everybody else occupied with other things, so you had more or less free rein to get unnoticed to your destination... The watch tower. Once you reached the yard, you adjusted the rifle strapped around your shoulder; a victorious smile spreading on your lips.

You crowed too soon.

"Y/N?" A very familiar voice suddenly cut through the air and caused you to stop dead in your motion. "What are you doing out here? Where are you goin'? It's almost dark..." Maggie... Your sister.

"Damn..." You cursed under your breath; now seeing her approaching you, wearing some of the police gear. A bloody knife was in her hands.

You lifted your head to meet her eyes. "I could ask you the same, y'know," you retorted playfully; hoping that you'd somehow get out of this situation. Maggie frowned for a moment; stepping closer. "Been out with Glenn; fixing the fence and gettin' rid of some walkers." "Ah..." You nodded, "Ya sure do look like it." and giggled; still hoping to get away.

"Where are you goin'? We shouldn't walk 'round here alone. Especially at night. Even though the yard is cleared." "I'm not plannin' to walk around," you immediately said; lifting your hands in surrender. "Don't worry, sis." Your sister crossed her arms over her armoured chest; a stern expression on her face - and you knew immediately that she wasn't up for jokes anymore. She was being serious now. "Spit it out, Y/N - and it better be the truth." You sighed defeated; knowing that you had lost. Well, perhaps you were just really bad at lying and keeping a pokerface. "I wanted to go to the watch tower," you finally admitted; nodding towards the tall building at the foot of the prison. "The watch tower?" Maggie raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Since when are you on watch this late?" "I'm not." You shook your head. "But, uh, Daryl is."

Maggie looked at you surprised. "Daryl?" You nodded; biting your lip. "Uh.Huh. Thought I keep him company for a bit." "Keep him company?" "Mhm."

Your sister gave you a suspicious look, before crossing her arms over her chest. "Is there somethin' I should know about?" "No," you said, but the pink on your cheeks was betraying you. "Y/N..." Maggie pushed; your awkward behaviour rising only more suspicions. "Okay, fine!" You sighed once more. Yeah. you had lost. For real now. Maggie wouldn't let you go without telling her the whole truth. She took her sister role very seriously.

"I, uh, I really like Daryl. Have been since the farm and well, uh, we're kinda together?"

A big smile stretched over Maggie's face. "Honestly? I suspected that you two were a thing." You blinked; shocked and surprised. "W-Wha'? How?" Her smile widened as stepped closer; wrapping an arm around you. "The looks you give each other? Him always making sure you're safe? Especially when we were on the road? I noticed, sis. You two were being not quite subtle..." Your cheeks reddened even more at her words. "Hey, sweetie. No need to be embarrassed 'bout it. I'm happy for you, truly. Daryl is a good man - but if he hurts you, I'll still cut off his balls." You couldn't help but giggle; your nervosity finally melting away. "He won't, Maggie. He's a keeper." "I know. I'm just sayin'..." Your sister said and started to walk away. Halfway, though, she turned back to face you; a smug grin on her lips. "Hey, sis?" "Yeah?" "If you need some, Glenn and I can spare a few condoms," she hollered over; winking and causing you to blush once again. "Maggie!" "What?" She laughed. "Wrap it 'fore you tap it." You rolled your eyes and reached inside your pocket; fishing for something. Once you found the little foil package, you lifted it up for Maggie to see. "I know! I'm prepared!"

Your sister's smirk even widened, "See you in the morning then." and winked at you once more. Before she could walk away, you stopped her. "Maggie?" Again she faced you. "Don't tell daddy yet, okay?" Your sister nodded, "I won't. This is up to you." and truly walked away this time.

Your gaze lingered on her for a moment, before you made your way to the watch tower; silently closing the door behind you and walking up the steps to reach the top door. Cautiously, you stepped inside; finding Daryl gazing out of the window.

"Yer late," his deep, gruff voice urged to your ears as he turned with the tiniest smirk twitching on the corner of his lips. "Yeah, sorry 'bout that. I, uh, ran into my sister on the way." He shook his head, "'No need ta apologise, darlin'. Hell, 'm happy ya even came." and put his crossbow carefully down; leaning it against the wall beside you rifle.

You raised a playful eyebrow at him. "Why on earth shouldn't I? This is the first time we have some real privacy since the farm." Daryl shrugged his shoulders; chewing on his bottom lip. "Dunno. Coulda lost interest in me or somethin'." "Lose interest in you?" You asked almost in disbelief, "Daryl..." and stepped closer to the archer. You casually leaned against his broad body; hands playing with the buttons of his ruby coloured shirt. "I will never lose interest in you. I love you way too much for that - and the things you make me feel."

A small, smug smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth. "The things I make ya feel, huh? Tha' good?" You scoffed and playfully slapped his chest. "You know damn well it is."

The archer held your intense gaze for another moment, before he cupped your cheeks and without further ado connected your lips with his; dragging you into a fierce, passionate kiss. A kiss which was enough to light up the fire between you.

With his lips still hungrily moving against yours, Daryl's big hands went to grab your waist and swiftly turn you around in order to urge you forward. When the back of your thighs collided with the edge of a little desk, you knew what Daryl had in mind. Before you were even able to finish your thought, one of Daryl's strong arms engulfed your waist and effortlessly lifted you onto the desk. A soft squeak escaped your lips at his sudden movement, but it quickly faded into a moan as the archer started to latch on your neck; his arm still firmly wrapped around you.

"D..." You gasped and tried to somehow signal him that you were in desperate need of more; arms clinging to his broad upper body. But the man was so lost in you and your sweet scent, that he didn't notice. So, you had to take the steering wheel.

Wrapping your legs around his thighs, you urged him closer; hips colliding with yours. A deep, guttural grunt left Daryl's lips. He pulled back to look at you; pupils blown wide - swallowed by love and desire. Now he got the hint.

Wetting his lips, he made quick work to open your tech-wear pants. "Get rid of 'em, will ya?" He grunted with a nod; now undoing his own rugged jeans. You giggled at his sudden impatience; shedding your pants and underwear, before hopping back onto the desk.

Daryl stepped between your open legs; calloused fingers dancing over your bare thighs, causing goosebumps to spread across your skin.

In a swift motion, he hooked his palms underneath the back of your knees and pulled you forwards; lips crashing against yours once again. Before your hazy brain was able to catch up, were Daryl's hips moving against yours. All you could do was moan into his kiss and hold onto the archer for dear life.

"D-Daryl..." You breathed; fingers clawing into his angel-winged vest. You could feel him shaking his head against your shoulder. "I-I know, s-sunshine," he grunted; biceps bulging at how tightly he grasped the edge of the wooden desk. You moaned; burying one hand in his hair, which had grown quite a lot in the past months.

Moments later, you fell into the sweet abyss of pleasure together.

The archer was panting hard against your neck; palms now resting on your thighs. "I love ya, too." You giggled and turned your head to press a lingering kiss against his scruff cheek.

Tags: @fictive-sl0th @loz-3 @celtic-crossbow @erebus-et-eigengrau @sweetz1919 @fuseburner @in-this-minute @stitchintimefan @suniloli @mandywholock1980 @mischief-dream @km-ffluv @crimson25 @buttercupcookies-blog @salvinaa @javagirl328 @marvelcasey05

[changingplumbob]

Phoebus: Gillian can you ask Pockets to not eat the pie

Gillian: But why shouldn't he eat pie

Miranda: Because we want to eat it

Glenn: Um, what were you doing earlier with a barrier?

Phoebus: Oh it's a pretty basic spell really, similar to the big one on the property. In essence it's a smaller bubble that will keep sound in and stop and spells or potions traveling outside it

Gillian: He worries I'll run in to more potions and throw off his research

Miranda: Finding a cure for you is serious business Gillian

Gillian: Seriously boring

Phoebus: Would you like me to teach you how to make one Glenn?

Glenn: Yes please. I don't really know what I'd use it for but it could be useful

Miranda: I mostly cast them so my music doesn't travel upstairs in the middle of the night

Gillian: I don't mind hearing it

Phoebus: Maybe but sleep is important at your age

Gillian: *sighs* It's boring being my age

Miranda: That your new favourite word is it

Phoebus got up and motioned for Glenn to do the same.

Phoebus: The important thing is to picture the bubble small first. Specifically focus on what you want to be able to go in and what you want to be able to go out

Glenn listened as Phoebus explained the various things to consider. Sound, light, spells, people. Then he showed how to throw the bubble up and out.

Glenn: Is it okay for me to use a wand

Phoebus: If you find it helps you focus, of course

Glenn gave it a shot. He hadn't done much magic that wasn't nature based, but perhaps it was time to learn. Eventually he was able to cast a bubble that kept sound in or out, but he'd need to practice more before he'd be capable of stopping much else with it.

Phoebus: That's good progress Glenn

Glenn: *smiles* Thanks

Phoebus: Keep working on it though, it's pretty useful to be able to cast a barrier

Glenn went to head home but before he could Phoebus reminded him to check in on some of the other coven members, pointing out their houses through the windows. Glenn did pop home to grab his cardigan before he went to the house that was closest to his own. Trying to grow a thicker skin, he knocked.

Jackson: Come on in unless you're a doofus

Coleman: Or a perv

Jackson: But definitely come in if you're a stripper

Sighing to himself, Glenn opened the door. The twins were relaxing on the couch in front of the TV but sat up when he came in.

Jackson: Oh my gosh is it Glenn?

Coleman: The Glenn?

Jackson: The first loser

Coleman: No man, he could be the second loser because that other one lost to

Glenn: *scoffs* I forgot your names but I guess one of you is Charlie and the other is Chaplin. Or was it Larry and Moe?

The twins stared at him, not getting the joke.

Previous ... Next

[altocat]

Need soft glenn and miniroth headcanons 🥺🥺🥺

Time to ruin everyone's day I guess (with feels) ❤️

Sephiroth and Glenn get into stupid arguments all the time. Glenn is the only one who can influence Sephiroth into acting immature and petty, pouting and sulking whenever he doesn't win.

They make up by way of doing something selfless for one another--aka recklessly defending each other to the death in battle.

Glenn is fond of giving Seph a friendly nudge or ruffling the boy's hair, laughing when Sephiroth glares up at him, pretending to be annoyed and not secretly relishing the attention.

Sephiroth offhandedly copies Glenn's movements from time to time, including some of his mannerisms. The others notice with amusement that Sephiroth occasionally mimes a lot of Glenn's posture and battle stances from time to time.

Glenn brought bucketloads of snacks for the trip to the island. And he wasted literally all of it by shoving it onto Sephiroth to try.

Glenn is the first person to ever refer to Sephiroth as "Seph".

Glenn is also the first person who is instantly up and on his feet during the night whenever Sephiroth has one of his strange nightmares--you know, the one with the red-eyed monster that calls to him from the shadows. Seph's been having that one for a while now. Weird.

Sephiroth has saved Glenn from drowning eight different times. Glenn must have a death wish around water because Sephiroth is SERIOUSLY getting tired of plucking him out of the rapids.

Sephiroth envies Glenn's height. Glenn good-naturedly tells him he still has a lot of growing to do--don't worry! Sephiroth hopes he's taller than Glenn one day. Good news, he will be!

Sephiroth is very interested in Glenn's signature red jacket. Glenn has promised him that once this job's over, Sephiroth can keep the damn thing--it's already a wreck after weeks in the elements. Sephiroth covets the jacket greatly and holds him to it.

Sephiroth and Glenn occasionally train together, though it's mostly Glenn just trying to keep up. Sephiroth really does try to go easy on him.

Other times, they disappear out into the forest together, gone for hours at a time. They're patrolling, in a sense. But mostly just taking a long walk, neither talking. Glenn sometimes notices Sephiroth shuddering, likely triggered on by a bad memory or two. He keeps beside the boy, offers a quiet pat every now and then. It seems to help.

Sephiroth will never, ever say it out loud. But he wishes he'd known Glenn earlier. Being around Glenn is the safest he's felt in years, as well as the happiest. They've known each other for such a short time and yet it means so much.

And as it turns out, it meant more to Sephiroth than he'd ever begun to imagine.

There is a portrait of Rufus Shinra in the lower level of Shinra HQ. Word on the street was that it was vandalized in the quiet of the night, the only investigative clues at the scene being a few empty liquor bottles and the broken remains of a switchblade.

The eyes have been completely scratched out, the frame heavily damaged, a single line of jagged text lacerated beneath the young vice president's image.

M u r d e r e r

[rosy-crow]

I found this old update blurb from Audrey on one of the early EC interviews and it just made me realize what the pattern likely is with these stories.

OG will end and its “part 2” will be Advent Children. Its “part 3” will be Dirge of Cerberus. This one will take the longest to complete then. The whole arc will end with Genesis though lmao.

Crisis Core will end and I am guessing its “part 2” will be Before Crisis. This one may not be totally correct, but it makes sense to me. I’m gonna bet that’s the pattern right now.

Finally, First Soldier is most mysterious, but wouldn’t it be interesting if it had three parts like OG? I can see part 3 dealing with the rest of Glenn’s storyline if part 2 is mainly about Sephiroth getting Masamune. Crisis Core-era Wutai would be interesting to see, especially with Glenn leading the way.

We could see what happened between him and “Sarruf” (Hi Rufus), and I’ll bet by the time it all concluded, part 3 of the Remake would be close to release. That would set us up for Wutai and more answers on the main story:

Also, a lot of fans on Japanese twitter keep saying they think parts of First Soldier will be included in part 3 at the start?? I really think it would be dope to see glimpses of this story on the “big screen” 🥺

It’s seriously my fav spin-off thing besides Crisis Core.

[boygiwrites]

Harley D. Dixon 35

Harley D. Dixon's Pinterest Board!

Harley D. Dixon's Playlist!

📖Chapter List.

Author's Note.

Cue my giddy snickering.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"What crime?"

"Aggravated manslaughter."

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

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

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

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

"But I thought you said—...?"

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

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

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

The prisoners share a glance with each other.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Hardy, har."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Okay, Dad."

Breakfast goes by slowly, like any good morning should.

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

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

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

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

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

No. No nightmares.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Oh, my gosh," The woman breathes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"How much is, a little longer?"

"Hm... Five minutes?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Huh?"

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

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

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

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

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

"M—Me?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"I think so."

"I'mma somethin' better'un, I think."

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

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

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

Definitely shouldn't have agreed to be his friend.

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

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

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

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

"Deal."

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

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

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

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

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

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

"He really likes this stuff."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Yeah! Real cool one."

"A slingshot."

Awkwardly, he says again, "Yeah."

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

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

Carl smiles, "See you later."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Agreeing, the dog lets out a, ruff.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Me!"

"Is it that leaf over there?"

"Nope."

"What about that leaf over there?"

"Still nope."

"That leaf?"

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

"So, it's not a leaf?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Stop."

Stop?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"C'mon, chicken," Dad encourages.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Stay with Harley!" He orders.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"You fucking killed him!"

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

"Oh, my God!"

"Who's that behind you?"

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

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

"Put that goddamn crossbow down!"

"I ain't doin' shit!"

"Everybody, shut up!"

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

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

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

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

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

"I said, shut up, Gavin."

Oh.

That voice.

Mer—?

No.

Merle is dead.

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

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

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

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

Our eyes lock, and suddenly ghosts are real.

I can feel myself start to cry, I think.

Merle.

Author's Note.

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

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

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, everyone. 💙

[rottenpumpkin13]

Ello!!! Hope it’s been a lovely day, my friendo! 💕 I can say mine has been made 10x better after reading your “Sephiroth turns invisible” prank 😂❤️ Another golden post by the Pumpkin master! (´∩｡^ᵕ^｡∩`) ♡ Anywho, in light of how much I adored that post, I’ve been inspired to pose a similar ask!! *deep breath* Here goes:

For another prank, as the last one didn’t work out so well (or it can be disconnected all together), Zack decides to pretend that Sephiroth is very much visible, very much there, except everyone pretends that they don’t know who he is. Angeal pretends like he’s meeting Seph for the first time, as do Genesis and Zack; even Cloud wants to join in on the fun/pretends he doesn’t recognize his hero. What they think is a harmless joke to give Seph a break from his fame turns into something rather distressing for the poor man, until he ultimately just breaks down under the crushing illusion that he lost his treasured friends forever. Only then do the gang break the act <33

Really craving some Pumpkin-flavored angst/fuff!! There ain’t anyone who can deliver it quite like you can!!!

Ughhh I owe you Cloud content ˙◠˙ I forgot to include him in this one fhfhfhfh forgive me Pichu 😭💛🖤 But at the same time you owe me tissues for both the brilliant one-shot you write with the prompt I asked you about and the emotional damage this insanely good prompt caused me (seriously, I had to hold back tears because I was in public and didn't want to seem like a lunatic asdfghjk). Enjoy the angst!

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

Jokes were supposed to be funny, that much he knew. Sephiroth recalled a time when he was utterly floored by Glenn’s claim of “getting his nose” after pinching his lightly between two fingers. After he had been confused, the older SOLDIER explained that it was a joke—although Sephiroth was not amused by the concept of stealing one’s nose.

Another instance, during the initial stages of their friendship, involved Angeal's determined endeavor to coax more smiles out of Sephiroth. This pursuit took the form of a barrage of jokes, some of which sailed right over Sephiroth's head at first. "What do you call a fake noodle?" Angeal asked him one day, the inquiry that left the younger SOLDIER utterly flummoxed.

"I'm not certain there's a designated term for—"

"An im-pasta," Angeal interjected, flashing a wide grin.

Angeal then found himself investing the next two minutes in a patient explanation of the joke to Sephiroth, who had mistakenly interpreted the term "im-pasta" as the actual designation for fake noodles. Though he did understand one thing straight away: jokes weren’t meant to hurt you.

It all began one morning when Sephiroth went looking for them. Angeal was nowhere to be seen around the training room or his office, a fact that piqued Sephiroth's curiosity since he knew Angeal didn't have any missions scheduled for that morning. Likewise, Genesis was conspicuously absent from the public archives, his office, and even the break room, his usual spots. Just as Sephiroth was contemplating checking for Genesis at his apartment, he finally caught sight of the duo.

They were near the data room, engaged in lively conversation and laughs.. It was a scene that never failed to warm Sephiroth's heart, for his friendships were the only true source of joy in his otherwise mundane days. He approached eagerly, ready to share the news of beating his personal record in the training simulator.

But then the laughter stopped, and the air immediately soured with a hint of awkwardness as they both looked at him, confused, before turning back to each.. “Do we know you?” Genesis asked, followed by Angeal’s “I don’t think we do.”

Sephiroth paused, confused. “What do you mean?”

His friends provided no answers as they merely looked at each other, laughed, and walked away.

Sephiroth stood there, alone and confused, as a thread of understanding began to weave its way into his mind. He realized why Genesis and Angeal had seemingly disregarded him: he must have done something to upset them.

The remainder of the day was spent pondering over the possible words or actions that could have soured their view toward him. Had he been too harsh on Angeal while correcting his footwork? Perhaps he had been too exhausted from his latest mission to give Genesis the attention he deserved when discussing the new Loveless play he had been invited to critique.

Eventually, after a day filled with distraction and a multitude of potential scenarios swirling in his mind, Sephiroth decided to confront the issue head-on. He found them in the mess hall that evening, seated at their usual table, the aroma of food wafting through the air stirring his neglected appetite and reminding him that he hadn’t eaten since yesterday.

Approaching them, Sephiroth didn't even attempt to take a seat, uncertain if his presence would be welcomed. "What have I done to upset you?"

The response felt like a punch to the gut. They exchanged a glance before fixing their gazes back on Sephiroth. "Sorry," Genesis shrugged, his expression showing a hint of a smile. "We don’t know you."

Sephiroth walked away, his heart heavy. Not only had he upset them, but he had seemingly committed an unforgivable act, risking the loss of his closest friends. He couldn't bear the thought of losing them; his friendships were the very essence that kept him going each morning, the reason that infused life into every waking moment. What had he done to squander it?

That night, sleep eluded him, and the gnawing hunger in his stomach went unnoticed as he lay awake in bed, tossing and turning, replaying every single interaction he'd had with them over the past week. As the clock struck 5 AM, he hurried down to the mess hall once more, determined to seek answers.

Spotting Zack heading in for breakfast, Sephiroth swiftly intercepted him, pulling the younger SOLDIER aside with urgency. "Has Angeal mentioned anything to you about what I've done to upset him and Genesis?" he inquired, his tone clearly displaying the desperation he felt.

Zack's eyes widened, and for a brief moment, Sephiroth thought he detected a hint of amusement.. "I'm sorry," Zack replied, "Who are you again?"

Sephiroth refrained from attempting to approach them again that day, whether it was Angeal, Genesis, or Zack. He had committed some unfathomable wrongdoing, and the guilt gnawed at him like teeth biting down deeper and deeper into his skin. It was exacerbated by his inability to recall what he had done. He had squandered the one good thing in his life.

Then, at once, the reason for why they were upset with him came to mind. And it made so much sense. He hastily gathered his thoughts and made his way towards Angeal's office that evening, the usual meeting place for the four of them at the end of the day.

He didn't bother with the formality of knocking—after all, could he possibly worsen their anger towards him? Sephiroth pushed open the door, coming face-to-face with the startled expressions that greeted him. Genesis dropped the book he had been reading into his lap, his mouth agape.

Zack, who had been perched on Angeal's desk, leaped to his feet, his expression a mixture of concern and alarm. Angeal nearly choked on the water he had been drinking. "Seph, have you been crying!?"

"I understand why you're upset with me," Sephiroth began, his voice trembling. "It's because I declined the offer to go see a movie with you all last weekend, isn't it?" His words caught in his throat as tears threatened to overwhelm him. "I'm sorry," he choked out, gasping for air. "I didn't mean to show disinterest in spending time with you, but I was completely depleted after enduring an exhaustive examination session with Professor Hojo throughout the day."

Pausing briefly to compose himself, Sephiroth was oblivious to the tears streaming down his face as he continued, his voice cracking. "I couldn't focus on anything, and I was feeling utterly drained, but I should have made the effort to be there with you all. I understand how you might feel that I didn't care for our friendship," He sniffed, "but I assure you, I do. I understand if you never wish to speak to me again—”

Angeal enveloped him in a hug before Sephiroth could utter another word, the warmth of the embrace causing him to surrender to his emotions completely. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he buried his face in Angeal's neck, his sobs muffled but very much audible to the other two people in the room, who looked at each other, stunned.

"Sephiroth, it was just a joke," Angeal exclaimed, his tone tinged with exasperation. "We thought you knew."

"We never imagined it would upset you like this," Genesis interjected, joining the embrace from behind and wrapping his arms around Sephiroth. "Sure, we expected you to be a bit annoyed, but we never anticipated this level reaction!"

Feeling Zack's hand rest gently on his shoulder, Sephiroth looked up, meeting his friend's gaze. "We're not angry with you,” Zack’s voice shook, his eyes wide. “We never were, and I don't think I could ever be!" Zack gripped his shoulder tighter. "We–we had no idea this joke was hurting you. If we had known, we never would have gone through with it!"

“Never,” Angeal added.

“But,” Sephiroth sniffed, blinking the tears from his eyes, “You Weren't speaking to me, so I thought—”

"Seph, look at me," Genesis gently turned Sephiroth to face him, tenderly wiping away the tears that stained his cheeks, his own eyes glistening with tears of his own. "We were just playing a prank on you, we thought it would be a harmless joke, something we'd all laugh about. We were never angry with you, and I'm truly sorry for how much this has distressed you."

Sephiroth glanced away, his voice small. "You're not angry?"

"No, Sephiroth, no!" Zack's voice cut in, his own tears mirroring Sephiroth's. "I'm so sorry," he sniffled, enveloping them all in a tight embrace.

"Me too," Angeal added, his arms pulling Zack into the hug. "We promise we won't ever pull a prank like this again. We should have realized it could hurt you."

"Can you forgive us?" Genesis asked.

Sephiroth felt himself deflate, his tension dissipating as he melted into the embrace. "But I'm not angry," he murmured. "I just wanted to understand."

Lazard was on his way to deliver some papers to Angeal when he paused outside his office door, his attention drawn by a commotion sounding from the other side. Concerned, he hesitated for a moment before pushing the door open.

What was on the other side made him do a double-take. Sephiroth sat on the floor, flanked by Zack, Angeal, and Genesis, all four of them huddled together on the ground, sobbing as they clung to one another. Lazard was almost tempted to ask if someone had died, almost.

“What a strange bunch,” Lazard muttered, shaking his head and closing the door.

[alyssaforevermore]

Unearthed ↦ Daryl Dixon season two, part seven

Synopsis: Based on the events of The Walking Dead television series, Y/N Grimes, younger sister of Rick Grimes, attempts to survive in a world now inhabited by walkers. Family has always meant everything to her, but in this new world, can she keep her family safe and together?

Show: The Walking Dead (S1-S11)

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x fem!Reader

Warnings: coarse language, violence, character deaths, drug and alcohol references, series spoilers and general The Walking Dead content warnings!

Tags: @1ivinqdeadqir1 @callmeyn @thegeorgiahuntsman @mellxander1993 @bigbaldheadname @cjmonsterwolf @abbi23323 @actuallyklee @lanxsee @livingdeadblondequeen @sweetz1919 @moonmark98 @sarahbaker2010 @ririi-3 @ryoujoking @hayley1998 @crazyunsexycool @gabriella-aesthetic @dixons-sunshine @strqwbrina @beardedstudentsuit

Masterlist

You walked around the barn, checking for any weak spots. There were small cracks in the exterior but you couldn’t find any loose boards or spots big enough for a walker to sneak out of. This didn’t make you feel any better, however. You could hear the groans and clattering going on inside, each sound making the hair on your neck stand up.

Despite Rick’s promise to speak with Hershel, your hopes were low. If he truly believed these walkers were just sick people, there was no way he was going to agree to put them down. 

“My father’s going to kick your people out now, you know?” Maggie spoke from behind you.

You let out a small sigh, turning to face her. “You can’t seriously believe these people are sick.”

“Those people are my family.” Maggie hissed. “If Glenn would’ve just let it go-”

“We deserved to know.” You cut her off. “Look, I get why your father feels the way he does but you guys haven’t seen what we’ve seen. You haven’t seen people being eaten alive, screaming in agony. Sick or dead, they’re dangerous.”

Maggie was silent for a moment. “When Glenn and I went into town yesterday, one of those things almost got me. He saved my life.”

“Then you understand.” You whispered. “Please, help us make your father understand. Maybe we can move them somewhere else, away from where we all sleep. There’s gotta be a way.”

“I’ll talk to him.” Maggie agreed. “I don’t know if he’s going to change his mind but I’ll try.”

You smiled. “Thank you.”

Maggie nodded before turning around and heading back towards the farmhouse. You took one last look at the barn before making your way back to camp.

Hunter sat on a stump, awaiting your return. As soon as he saw you approaching, he stood up.

“Were you at the barn?”

You nodded. “It looks safe enough for now. I wouldn’t worry too much, alright? That’s my job.”

Hunter nodded, though you could feel his discomfort. Knowing what he’d experienced out there, the last thing you wanted was for him to be scared here. You had thought this place was as safe as it gets now and part of you felt guilty having brought him back here. Sure, there were much worse places to be, but you wanted the best for him.

“Listen,” you spoke, crouching down to his level. “I won’t let anything happen to you, okay? We’ll figure out a way to make this place safer for all of us. I just need you to be careful and always stay within eyesight of an adult.”

“I will, I promise.” Hunter responded. After a moment of silence, his face began to crinkle. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.” You smiled.

“Yesterday Carl got to go with everyone else. He got to practice shooting a gun. Why couldn’t I go?”

Your face fell at his question, as you had no idea how to answer it. “Did you want to go?” 

“I don’t know.”

“I thought about sending you with them but I wasn’t sure if you were ready for it.” You spoke plainly. “It’s a big responsibility but if you’d like to learn we can start slow. I can teach you how to handle them safely and we can work our way towards shooting lessons.”

Hunter’s face lit up. “Really?”

“As long as you feel ready. It’s important that you know how to be safe around them. For you and for others. Do you promise to take it seriously?”

“I promise.”

You nodded. “Come with me.”

The two of you walked towards the RV, making your way inside. You gestured for him to sit down at the table while you grabbed a pistol from the bag of guns.

“First, I want to show you how to handle them.” You spoke. “There are two big rules you need to follow when you’re holding a gun. First, never point it at anyone you don’t intend to shoot. Second, keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to shoot.”

You continued to go through all the rules of gun safety, Hunter listening intently. Then, you allowed him to hold one you’d made sure was empty. You could see he was being thoughtful, following every direction and piece of advice you gave him. 

“They aren’t as scary as I thought.” He spoke, slowly handing the gun back to you. “I mean, I know they can be dangerous if you’re not careful.”

“I get what you mean. They’re also dangerous if others aren’t careful.” You nodded. “I’ll send you with the others for shooting practice next time.”

“Thank you, Y/N.” Hunter smiled.

You put the gun away before turning back to the boy, ruffling his hair. “I’m proud of you, kiddo.”

…

Hours passed by, uncertainty still weighing over yourself and the others. You’d seen Rick leave with Hershel and Jimmy earlier, nobody knowing where they had gone. In Rick’s absence, tensions only seemed to be running high and higher within your group.

Most of the group was sitting around the front porch of the farm house, waiting for some answers. Beth and Patricia sat with Carl and Hunter, teaching them how to play chess. Maggie and Glenn sat on the stairs together, clearly having moved past their earlier spat. You were surveying the land, hoping to see Rick approaching at any moment. 

Instead, T-Dog and Andrea were approaching from the left of the porch.

“Do you know what’s going on?” T-Dog asked.

“Where is everyone?” Andrea added.

You and Glenn both approached them.

“You haven’t seen Rick?” Glenn questioned.

“Not since he went off with Hershel.” Andrea responded. “We were supposed to leave a couple hours ago.”

“Maybe that’s a good sign.” You spoke up.

Daryl and Carol now approached the four of you.

“Rick told us he was going out.” Carol said.

“Damn it. Isn’t anyone taking this seriously?” Daryl hissed. “We got us a damn trail.”

Daryl’s eyes focused on something in the distance, causing you all to turn in that direction. Shane was now approaching the group with the bag of guns on his shoulder and a shotgun in hand.

“What’s all this?” Daryl asked.

“You with me, man?” Shane questioned, handing Daryl the shotgun.

Daryl nodded, cocking the gun.

“Time to grow up.” Shane spoke, looking to Andrea. “You already got yours?”

“Yeah,” she responded. “Where’s Dale?”

“He’s on his way.”

“I thought we couldn’t carry.” T-Dog inquired.

Shane shoved your gun into your hands.

“We can’t.” You hissed, holding the gun as if it were live dynamite. “Shane, what the hell are you doing?”

Shane began handing out guns. “I’m doing what needs to be done.”

“Rick is fighting to get Hershel to let us stay. You’re ruining any chances of that working.” You hissed in his ear. “You’re ruining everything.”

You could feel the anger radiating off of him, but instead of continuing to argue with you, he moved on. 

“Look, it was one thing sitting around here picking daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe. Now we know it ain’t.” Shane turned to Glenn, offering him a gun. “What about you, man? You gonna protect yours?”

Glenn reluctantly took the gun.

“Can you shoot?” Shane asked Maggie.

“Can you stop?” She retorted. “If you do this, if you hand out these guns, my dad will make you all leave tonight.”

“We have to stay, Shane.” Carl spoke up.

Lori exited the farm house, placing her arms around Carl. “What is this?”

“Our downfall.” You mumbled.

“We ain’t going anywhere, okay?” Shane spoke. “Hershel, he’s just gotta understand. Okay? He’s just gonna have to.” He then approached Carl. “Now we need to find Sophia, am I right?”

Carl nodded as Shane held out a gun.

“Now I want you to take this. You take it, Carl, and you keep your mother safe. You do whatever it takes. You know how.”

Lori jumped between them, pushing Carl back. “Rick said no guns. This is not your call. This is not your decision to make.” 

“Oh shit.”

You all turned to T-Dog before following his line of sight. In the distance, Jimmy came out of the trees, followed by a walker on a leash that Rick was holding. Hershel was also leading another walker behind him.

“What is that?” Shane asked, before beginning to run towards them.

Everyone began to follow him, including yourself. You could tell they were leading these walkers towards the barn.

“What the hell are you doing?” Shane snapped.

“Shane, just back off.” Rick demanded.

Hershel looked around. “Why do your people have guns?”

“Are you kidding me?” Shane asked. “You see what they’re holding onto?”

“I see who I’m holding onto.” Hershel responded.

Shane let out a small huff. “No, man, you don’t.”

“Shane, just let us do this and then we can talk.” Rick pleaded.

“What do you want to talk about, Rick? These things ain’t sick. They’re not people. They’re dead!” He yelled, circling them. “Ain’t gonna feel nothing for them ‘cause all they do is kill. These things right here, they’re the things that killed Amy. They killed Otis. They’re gonna kill all of us.”

“Shane, shut up!” Rick snapped.

“Hershel man, let me ask you something. Could a living breathing person walk away from this?” Shane pulled out his gun, shooting one of the walkers three times. “That’s three rounds in the chest. Could someone who’s alive just take that? Why is it still coming?”

You were watching in horror as the scene unfolded in front of you. As much as you felt Shane was doing this the wrong way, you knew deep down that he was right. No matter how much you wanted to stop him, you couldn’t bring yourself to. 

Shane shot the walker twice more. “That’s its heart, its lungs. Why is it still coming?” He shot the walker another three times.

“Shane, enough!” Rick screamed.

“Yeah, you’re right, man. That is enough.” Shane spoke, walking over to the walker and shooting it in the head.

Hershel fell to his knees, still holding onto the leash as his face went pale. 

“Enough risking our lives for a little girl who’s gone! Enough living next to a barn full of things that are trying to kill us. Enough.” Shane continued. “Rick, it ain’t like it was before. Now if y’all want to live, if you want to survive, you’ve got to fight for it! I’m talking about fighting right here, right now.”

Shane ran towards the barn, grabbing a pickaxe and beating on the chain lock holding the doors together. Everyone watched on in shock, unsure of what to do at this point. There was no stopping Shane.

Rick begged Hershel to take hold of the walker still alive, but it was no use. Hershel was in shock, his eyes darting between the walker Shane had put down and the barn. 

Shane finally broke through the lock, removing the wood plank also holding the doors together. He began banging on the doors, gaining the attention of all of the walkers inside. Then, he backed up to join the rest of you.

Everyone held up their guns, preparing for what was about to happen. In a matter of seconds, walkers began pouring out of the barn and the sound of gunshots filled the air.

“Maggie?” Glenn asked.

Maggie nodded, tears in her eyes as she held her father close. “Go, it’s okay.”

You hadn’t fired a single shot, almost paralyzed in shock and horror. You knew they were dead. You also knew how much they meant to Hershel and Maggie. All you could think about was if they had been your loved ones. Would you have the strength to do what needed to be done?

Shane turned to Rick, shooting the walker he was still holding onto. Reluctantly, Rick drew his gun and joined the group.

Your eyes landed on Hunter, who was looking at you with uncertainty. In that moment, you knew you needed to set an example. You couldn’t be afraid to do what you needed to do to protect him. Taking a deep breath, you stepped forward and lifted your gun, shooting one of the walkers in the head.

Over a dozen walkers had fallen before no more came out. The gunfire stopped as everyone looked around, observing the scene before them. Nobody spoke, so the sound of groans and shifting feet coming from inside the barn caught your attention.

You watched in horror as one final walker exited the barn. 

Sophia.

As she stepped into the sunlight, you noticed a large bite in the side of her neck. Carol let out a guttural scream, running towards her daughter. Daryl quickly caught the woman, stopping her from getting too close.

“Sophia.” Carol cried, falling to the ground in Daryl’s arms.

Sophia began to walk towards you, stumbling over the bodies laying on the ground, her growls growing more intense. You could hear Carl crying behind you and Hunter began to hug your waist. Throwing your arms around him, you held him closer.

You watched as Rick stepped forward, walking past your entire group to get to Sophia. Her growls only grew louder the closer she got to him. Rick raised his gun slowly as you closed your eyes, a loud bang echoing out through the farm lands followed by a thud of her small body hitting the ground.

-------

AN: Here we are with chapter seven of season two! I hope you all enjoyed this one. We are now entering the second half of this season and I'm very excited. Please remember to like and reblog if you enjoyed <3

[sendmyresignation]

if you wanna indulge me, id love to hear your opinions on sing (all of mine are detractory which i know isnt the complete view of the song)

omg id love too!! sorry this took me a sec to formulate post-work haha. i know we don't agree about sing but honestly that's the beauty of music opinions- I feel like it becomes easier to define what I like about things when faced with legit measured criticism anyway

for me, i want to start with the structure and instrumental since it's usually not mentioned (most of the criticisms of sing are exclusively lyrical or intention-focused). it's so cool. and evocative. and full of tension!! my favorite use of synth on danger days, plus the keys and the drums (man i love the dd studio musician drums lmao), really emphasizes sing as a suspended moment both in the album (necessary bridge, tonally, between bulletproof and planetary imo) and in the track itself- its alllll building up to that bridge and final chorus. but there's all these little pieces- the backing vocals, there's so many hidden guitar parts that riff just under all the noise, that opening like, tambourine. sorry for not having a quote on hand but Ray's said he really loved writing sing and it's so totally obvious to me. especially live- part of the reason I was soooooo excited for sing swarm tour edition is that even during dd ray was like absolutely shredding for sing after the bridge. and everytime time it's so good. part of the reason the lyrics don't bother me is sing could stand alone instrumentally and I'd still want to listen to it. (sing also reminds me of Ray's solo music- the sentiment is more significant that the lyrics and the music is itself a vehicle for storytelling)

also though, i think there's a lot of intention with sing (it's up to the listener to determine if that paid off obv) but within the context of dd the record as a pirate radio station, sing has always read as a trojan horse song. making it a single too, like once a song takes on a life of its own outside the record there's new meaning and circumstance. so both within and outside the killjoy universe sing is a vehicle for not just the bridge but the overall sentiment of dd (how fucking excited was gerard when glenn beck took the glee bait) like, yes, i do agree they could've benefited from another pass over the lyrics (i will always defend keeping "sing it till your nuts" bc its sounds like sing it to your nuts though) but I don't personally get the criticism that sing isn't "specific enough" about what exactly it's against or is too optimistic about "sing it for the world"-- i think there are songs on the album (notably planetary right after it!) which do that job just fine. dd is gerard in arguably top lyrical form so theres a lot of meat in the rest of the record like. sing it for the world is a purposely simplistic art is the weapon. like those are the same sentiments rendered very differently!

also like. i do think there was a very directed target at the younger part of their fan base here (girl/boy) which is sweet. to me. like i did hear sing first when i was a young teen (one of the few dd songs i was familiar with) and it did feel huge and empowering at that moment. my chem are their best when they are navigating the dualities of their specific fame, which includes simultaneously making very serious, adult rock music which is concerned with violence death grief and sex, as well as being a role model for younger people and taking them seriously and neither of these are in rhetorical conflict with each other. so like whatever sing is a little juvenile. but it's still filled with passion! taken as a legitimate project with a creative instrumental and a narratively-driven music video. I like that aspect, it works for me. I'll never call it my favorite my chem song but its certainly not the worst when you add in the bridge (i wanted to prove my point without the bridge but like. damn!! it's a good bridge!!!). that's my spiel.

[imaginesbymk]

SUPERSTORE PREFERENCE

TEACHING YOU TO DRIVE

Characters: Amy Sosa, Jonah Simms, Dina Fox, Cheyenne Lee, Marcus White & Glenn Sturgis

Tags: mentions of drugs & reckless driving

A/N: the relationship between these characters + y/n for this pref is platonic, for glenn it would be familial too - big shoutout to @eddiecabotsmile cos i requested for them to write a reservoir dogs pref about them teaching the reader to drive, and this inspired me to do one for superstore cos them teaching y/n to drive would be undoubtedly funny <3 likes/reblogs/feedback are greatly appreciated!!! <333

support me on ko-fi & feel free to commission me!

AMY SOSA —

Amy's like a mother figure to you, so she helps you in any way she can.

you and Amy decide to use her car because it's more spacious and comfortable.

Amy's teaching abilities when it comes to driving are pretty normal. It's nothing too stressful, but at the same time, it kind of is.

"I feel like you're gonna write me up if I miss a road sign."

Would roleplay as the driving instructor, which makes things so awkward and pressuring for you now

You hit the brakes too hard and she goes flying forward

JONAH SIMMS —

Somehow Jonah makes it about him, telling you he's good at driving, he's helped his friends get their licenses, set up cones to help them practice blah blah blah.

Jonah makes Garrett tag along after he refuses numerous times. "Y/N's gonna drive? I don't even trust y/n on the intercom."

Jonah bribes him, promising him you'll stop for pizza on the way.

He lets you use his car, but once you knock over a trash bin, and nearly rear-ending Glenn's new car, he regrets it. Garrett glares at him with a "what'd I tell you?" face.

Things turn out okay. You listen to Jonah when he tells you what to do. Jonah is calm because you start to get the hang of it, so then Garrett is chill. Everyone is chill.

Then you realized you missed the exit to the nearest pizza place like you promised.

DINA FOX —

At first, she judges you for not knowing how to drive and asks why you didn't get your license sooner.

She agrees to help you, but takes it way too seriously.

"I will make sure all my birds attack you like Melanie Daniels if you ever so make a dent on my van."

Quizzes you on everything, even though you proved to her so many times that you have your permit.

Dina is timing you, yelling at you for going ten miles on a forty mile speed limit, and stresses you out over every small thing.

"GO!! GO!!!!!!! UGH. You could have went, y/n!"

Dina would literally scream at pedestrians or even drivers for going too slow or almost cutting you off.

CHEYENNE LEE —

She would not care if you accidentally hit another car trying to parallel park. As long as she's the passenger princess, she would definitely pass you.

She wasn't lying when she said she has bees in her car. You even glanced at the cup holder and found a baggy of ecstasy.

"Cheyenne, are you sure I'm doing a good job?"

"Hm? Oh, you're a natural! If you were my Uber driver, I'd give you a 5-star rating, or maybe a 4.4 because Harmonica drives her Barbie convertible better than you."

Cheyenne would not even be paying attention, she would just be on her phone the whole time, taking selfies or texting Bo or Mateo.

Hell, she would FaceTime Mateo so he could judge your driving on camera.

She would look up from her phone last minute and be like, "Oh, wait. The exit's here."

MARCUS WHITE —

If he never offered and insisted, Marcus would be over the moon when you ask him to teach you. He has a playlist ready and everything.

You immediately regret it, though, for valid reasons. He's making you use his car when the poor guy doesn't even have doors to his car, plus he's kind of gross.

He's a decent driver but would often ignore road signs, and wouldn't even care if you, the driver, wore a seat belt or not.

Marcus would eventually dare you to floor it down the highway.

Would make you stop at a Wendy's or something.

You only needed help reverse parking.......

GLENN STURGIS —

Glenn is THRILLED.

Glenn allows you to use his car, despite getting a new one every time they get damaged by every circumstance at work.

He sings children nursery rhymes to calm himself down if you go at least five miles over the speed limit, and would grip the handle. Typical boomer things.

"You almost hit Brett!"

"Brett is all the way at the cart corral!"

He would congratulate you for getting one small thing right, as little as checking your mirror or putting both hands on the wheel.

He demonstrates the different types of parking, but takes his sweet time.

You don't end up doing well on the first try, but he insists that you're doing your best — even after almost hitting a mother pushing her stroller at a red light.

[twoheadedcalfsanctuary]

DNDADS ASTRO HEADCANNONS PART ONE

Glenn Close- TAURUS SUN

preoccupied with sensation/tangible pleasures like food, sex, drugs, I feel like music could even be part of this even though it’s not tangible it’s still a sensory experience. Aesthetic informs meaning. More likely to blame circumstance than self.

stubborn. stands up for himself and his friends and accomplishes the impossible through sheer force of will! But,,, also sticks with bad situations, people, and thought patterns/behaviors long past harm is done.

venusian. inclined towards the arts, and has very specific tastes. romantic. as sort of a beautiful reframing of the stubbornness, taurus’ coloring of the Venusian energy is so devoted compared to flirty/flighty libra-He still considers himself married long after his wife is gone and still wears his wedding ring.

Darryl Wilson- SCORPIO SUN

allergic to vulnerability (but expects it from the people around him)

once those emotions are uncorked though, they are INTENSE

fitting for a barbarian to be ruled by mars, the planet of ACTION and RAGE

Scorpio is the sister sign to taurus and is said to be just as devoted!

I’ve also heard it said before that scorpio is just cancer in a leather jacket- I feel like that really fits the parallels Darryl has with Grant, who I’d list as a Cancer sun, because they’re similarly guarded, but Darryl is still this intimidating figure to Grant and it kind of accounts for that added angle of how well either of them are able to adhere to traditional masculine standards and how that effects the way Grant sees Darryl.

Henry Oak-Garcia- canonically a GEMINI SUN if I remember correctly!

genuine love for exchange of information and ideas combined with a love of hearing himself talk and being seen as intellectual makes for a lot of ideological rambling

friendly and sociable!

air sign emphasis on communication.

Mutable energy that can mean struggling a lot with identity and dissonance-conscious morals needing to be abandoned under disparate circumstances, repression and disowning of how he was raised and where he comes from, and sometimes just a straight up inaccurate perception of self (presenting as laid back, and occasionally believing it himself despite being very high strung. The points when self hatred and/or sense of moral righteousness clouds his ability to be as nonjudgmental as he says he is)

Ron Stampler- PISCES SUN

head in the clouds

sensitive

ruled by neptune, planet of dreams and illusion- homie has symbolically significant dreams and is sliiightly less tethered to reality than most hahshshhshsb

and CANCER MOON!

empathetic

relates to others by sharing personal experience, attempts to show evidence of understanding

insecure, defensive

Vibes of a cartoon character. Those “Drake the type guy…” memes also apply to him

CAPRICORN RISING

very important to him that he is taken seriously, particularly in his career and fatherhood, two things frequently attributed to the archetypal capricorn

Played by Beth May, real life capricorn

With his rising opposing moon, the way he thinks/makes decisions/internally reacts to things makes it difficult for him to actually be taken seriously. This fella is deeply silly In a tragical way

[good-realtor-bad-realtor-dynamic]

A whole piece on our Glenn being underrated and overlooked!

The article gets into some of his school days, Juilliard and his perspective on acting, his work on Sunny, leaving Sunny after season 12 when he'd thought the show should end (can't wait for that podcast conversation in 3 years or maybe even in Season 6 if they ever address Glenn Howerton Burnout No. 1), and later coming back, continuing to push his boundaries in acting in season 15 with the Ireland arc, and working with director Matt Johnson on Blackberry.

(Gonna use colours now to better distinguish screenshots of the article from my stuff for anyone not using dark mode)

A lot of it is quotes from Charlie and Rob, who are properly frustrated that he's been so overlooked (them, the original Glenn girlies!), his wife Jill, Megan and other people he's worked with, like an old drama teacher from school and Mike O'Brien from AP Bio.

(ok seriously who airbrushed and smoothed the shit out of his beautiful old wrinkly face in this photo, they need to be flogged)

There's also quotes from people, like the Lost writer who's a known Sunny fan and also co-wrote The Hunt, who watched him do his thing in Blackberry and think it's finally going to get him the recognition he's deserved all along.

CALL. THEM. OUT.

Honestly, all of this is just giving me a lot of respect for Matt Johnson, who was looking for comedic actors to play dramatic roles, specifically wanted Glenn to play Jim in Blackberry and had to fight to get him the role because Canadian productions with Canadian funding don't like using outside actors. This guy saw the vision and he was cool with Glenn getting that stupid haircut too.

Apparently, when Glenn received the script, his first thought was why me, shouldn't some bigshot do this role... he's such an idiot.

Something we've always known and the article confirms again is about how he's clearly grateful for the opportunities they have with Sunny, the kind that few writers/actors ever get with that level of creative control (something they get reminded of by other people in the industry a lot) but he's also been the most stifled by it of anyone in the cast because of his goal of being an actor more than the others, and so it gives him these mixed feelings about the longevity of the show.

I don't know if they've ever confirmed that RCG talked about ending the show around season 12.

He's not wrong. We know that once he came back to season 13, he did his rewrites on all the scripts featuring Dennis even though he wasn't fully back to writing yet. I personally don't think they should continue the show if any of them leave. They're better off taking longer breaks between the seasons like Curb does.

Good on you Rob. You tell them.

Seriously, they'd better now give him something good and interesting, so that it's not just us Sunny stans screaming into the void like usual.

[atopvisenyashill]

HELLO pls pls share ur aegon and carl thoughts 😭😭😭 but only if u want to..

okay because the lil fandom joke is they’re both the last man standing right? they get put through insane physical injuries - aegon suicide swan dives TWICE and lives, carl gets shot in the face - they outlive most of the other characters in the story, and live through it with cockroach like luck until the very ending of their conflicts, left physically scarred by what they’ve been through, with nothing but a daughter they can’t connect with and a world that is already forgetting about the danger & horror aegon & carl have just lived through. and before they can really figure out what the good thing to do is, the story ends.

i think there’s a lot to be said for how both of their violence is enabled as children for different reasons. obviously talking mix of shows & comics/books here but we get alicent, viserys, & criston (probably otto too tho we don’t see that as much) modeling abhorrent behavior, and rick, shane, to a lesser extent lori, all modeling Heroic Violence, then smothering aegon and leaving carl unsurpervised so when they start acting out the violent behavior they’ve had modeled, no one tries to stop it from continuing. aegon is enabled by the fuedal society he lives in, carl’s by the apocalyptic breakdown he’s living through. To see the world as Us vs Them and to react with violence at any threat to Us by Them.

the main difference here being that both lori & rick are vastly superior parents than alicent & viserys are, and carl’s violence & callousness scares the shit out of them (rightly, he’s out here murdering unarmed kids!!!) and carl is eventually in a place (like a literal place, the prison specifically) where other adults (again vastly superior parents & people than the ones aegon is with) like hershel, maggie, daryl, tyrese, and glenn, are all at least attempting to keep an eye on him while rick loses his mind and lori, ya know, dies.

but most notably, the thing that carl has that aegon doesn’t, can’t ever have, is a parent who actually parents him. carl’s saving grace, the thing that saves carl’s soul is his stepmother - obviously in the comics it’s andrea but i’ve always found the michonne/rick/carl story line in the show to be superior in this case. michonne who has all this maternal love and nowhere to put it, carl with the desperate need to be a child and no one to look after him. like, michonne literally entering the story holding baby bottles and formula so rick’s child doesn’t starve to death. rick can only trust michonne once carl gives the okay, michonne can only start to love rick once carl accepts her presence at the prison. “if you’re okay then i’m okay.” michonne has to become carl’s mother and best friend before she can become rick’s lover and partner. it has to happen in that order because even though rick is the main character, carl is his reason for existing. and michonne, already a mother, can see that. many people see carl as a tool to get to rick but only michonne sees carl as a child in need of love. but no one ever looks at aegon and sees a child in need of saving or a young adult in need of help. so while carl ostensibly gets to live in the new world and help make it better, aegon has to die because no one ever gave him the tools to ensure he could live. he doesn’t have a michonne. he can’t for the story to work.

there’s also the gender thing too - i tag carl as “carl grimes patron saint of agender children everywhere” i feel so seriously about carl the they/them. aegon’s whole life “being a force fem” but the thing is so is carl’s. aegon is the ignored daughterson being puppeted by his family forced into a marriage he doesn’t want and to have children he doesn’t want all so his family can social climb, but in order for rick grimes to be the hero of the walking dead with this world ending, all consuming, death defying love for his son, his son needs to be the damsel in distress forever. so bad shit just keeps happening to carl so rick can be the hero and rick can grow as a person and carl is beaten down over and over again-until rick has this world built on The Terrible Things He Did For Love and therefore can’t exist in this world of love, and finally carl has to live with the one brutal trauma he can never get over - his father’s death.

because carl isn’t the main character in his own story, it’s rick. and aegon isn’t the main character in his own story, it’s rhaenyra. so once rhaenyra & rick die, they have to keep going to make the tragedy go on because the tragedy is the point. they can’t even be the tragedy of their own stories! because aegon usurps his sister then is left with just a daughter he can’t name as his heir, and rick builds a haven made out of corpses to save his child only for someone else’s child who he orphaned to make an orphan out of carl, and now carl can’t even show his daughter his entire face out of fear and grief.

rick dies and carl’s story has to end soon after, rhaenyra dies and aegon’s story has to end soon after. they are the last man standing but they are not the main character, and they do not get to have catharsis. they just get to be over.

[yellowstarwater]

Okay everyone I woke up randomly at 3AM and instead of going back to sleep decided to binge watched Part Two of Inside Job which spoiler alert only has eight episodes this time?!!! What the fuck?!!!! Any way these are some of my takeaways from this season. I will be doing an episode by episode analysis later but for now theses are my initial thoughts!

Spoiler Warning!!!!!!!!Seriously do not read if you don’t want the season to be spoiled!!!!

First let’s get the biggest part of the season out of the way the Reagan and Ron relationship(romantic relationship) And I know I might end up pissing off some shippers, who might have ended up liking them together. But they were doomed from the start and this was hinted at from the start of their relationship. I will go into more detail when I do the episode by episode analysis but if you look at it objectively it’s true. Now let me admit to you now that I am a Breagan shipper(and yes I will be talking about the few good moments we got this season) but the running theme for most of Reagan and Ron’s relationship was one them both wanting different things when it came to their careers and two stuff going wrong whenever an issue about their relationship came up. Ron made it clear from the beginning that he wanted out of working for the shadow government. He was tired and guilty and only stuck around longer because he fell in love with Reagan. He doesn’t want to stay and change things for the better because deep down he doesn’t think it is possible. Reagan in the meantime resents her job but deep down isn’t ready to give it up completely. She believes that she can change things for the better and wants to be in charge of making those changes happen. And even though she would be much better off walking away and forgetting her job and just being with Ron. She knows that she’ll never be able to completely stop because that’s who she is. And this is why their relationship would probably have never worked out. They were not on the same page from the very beginning. I do believe that overall this was a good relationship for Reagan to have in the long run but it was never healthy even Mothman pointed it out!

Now for the next important part of the season Rand’s progression and eventual downfall. While we can all agree that Rand is an asshole. This season goes out of its way to tell you that the reason for Rand’s behavior is because he wants what he believes to be his old happy life. To the point of rebooting reality just to get to a universe where both his ex-wife and daughter still love him. The downside is of course that nothing he does brings him what he wants it’s brings the gang to some of the things they think they want but they end up being wrong. And betraying the shadow government makes him end up in jail. This was a great example of how trying to make thing’s perfect for yourself could actually make everything else a lot worse. As for JR I would feel sorry for him if he hadn’t been willing to blow up the universe because he didn’t get an alternative perfect life. I do get why he is the way he is though!

Next we have the Reagan and Gigi friendship. No notes I loved it even though they try to explain away the change by pointing out that Reagan has no female friends. I thought it was sweet that Gigi was there for Reagan, giving her advice and helping out when needed. I hope their friendship continues.

Next Glenn, Myc and Andre, I’m grouping them all together because yes they have some good new developments here and there but they don’t really change overall. We just understand Myc slightly better after his High School reunion.

And now for all the Breagan shippers out there! I was worried going in that with Ron as Reagan’s love interest that there wouldn’t be any good Breagan shipping moments but god was I glad to be wrong! From Brett trying to get Reagan to go to therapy for her own good to Reagan being there to help Brett at least stand up a little to his family. To Reagan also deciding to keep her best friend out of danger and to Brett encouraging her to leave even though he would miss her was just pure shipping gold. (Again I will go into more detail in the episode by episode analysis) If the writers goal was to get me to ship them more then they succeeded! Because Reagan and Brett continue to have the most solid relationship of anyone in the show!

Final thoughts, while I know a lot of people were turned off by Ron I do think he was needed for Reagan’s journey(which wow kind of sounds missed up that way) I do like that he was a red herring, where I’m sure we all thought he was secretly a villain (or Reagan’s secret brother) we were all expecting him to turn on Reagan but he never did and that is nice. While I’m not sure if he would ever come back I think his ending made sense for what we learned about him. And despite being heartbroken right now I hope that Reagan will still eventually try to move on with someone else(cough Brett cough cough) I would hate to see her not trying to have a New Romantic relationship because she thinks Ron is the only person who could ever love her.

PS

Tamiko did you really just break up with Keanu Reeves because he was older than you thought!!!😤 That is so stupid but in canon with the idea that I had that Tamiko only dates younger men.

PSS

If anyone is wondering when I’ll update my story ‘Probably not a good idea but we were drunk’ I just want to say that I was waiting for the new season! So that I could add elements of it to my fanfic. Plus I have a ton of other fanfics, plus I started working on my Master’s degree this month….plus I have a YouTube and a TikTok account for tarot readings! The point is I am only 32 and am doing a lot! I will update soon….or at least before the end of this year I just got to rewatch this series again!



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Hello again :) Like many I'm still hyped by the FF7 compilation and especially the many AUs possibilities and potential, and I've been wondering something ... If Cloud had been the one to die instead of Zack on the wastelands when they reached Midgar, how would this had affected Zack ? Would he have become more hatefull, angry and resentfull against Shinra ? Even willing to commit to revenge ? Would he have become depressed after failing to save somoene once again ? Somoene he cared for for one year and who he cared deeply about ?

Would Zack have met Tifa and told her of Cloud's fate ? Would Tifa had been filled with even more grief and anger against Shinra ? Or even against Zack because he would have failed to protect Cloud, someone Tifa once fell for and who could have been the last thing she had left from her home and childhood, only to be brutally taken from her before she could even met him again.

Would Cloud's death had been of consequence to Sephiroth's plan to get the black materia ? Cloud was still the most capable of Sephiroth clones, and Zack seems to not be affected by Sephiroth or Jenova's influence despite also being an host of S-cells. Or could Sephiroth just have been able to wait for our rag tag group of heroes to get the black materia, and then taking it from them after the collapse of the Temple of the ancients ?

Would Sephiroth had been cruel enough to toy with Zack's heart by using an illusion of Cloud with his clones like he seems to be using an illusion of Glenn to mess with Rufus in Rebirth ?

I think, for the most part, that while Zack would probably suffer from untold amounts of trauma/likely depression in the aftermath of Cloud's death, he'd keep going. Losing Angeal was probably the worst thing that happened to him. And it seriously fucked him up...but he survived. I think he'd survive this as well, albeit struggling to maintain a level of optimism about the world.

I think his relationship would be decent with Tifa--especially if he tells her how hard he fought to keep Cloud alive. Tifa has her limits in forgiveness, but she also is rarely openly aggressive, even to people she hates. I think she and Zack were on good terms during Nibelheim. I think that for all her faults with Shinra, she wouldn't hold it against him, at least not in a way that comes off as her being openly resentful. She struggles to FORGIVE Zack, but she also can't hate him either. They'd probably build a more genuine friendship over time, even though Zack knows there are emotional boundaries. Part of his atonement, I guess.

As for Sephiroth, I think he'd honestly not be terribly interested in Zack. As far as he's concerned, especially after merging with Jenova, his relationship with Zack is over. It's meaningless. Cloud was the only one that mattered because Cloud was the only one who ever actually defeated him. So he'd just use Zack's S-cells to his advantage and then dump him like trash. And if he can't do that, he can always use more pawns at his disposal.

There's a tradeoff though--Sephiroth's sense of identity is tied to his relationship with Cloud. I actually think his identity would start to fracture a lot quicker. And, in the event of his defeat, I don't think there'd be much in the way of him returning without Cloud's memories.