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d1xonss · 6 months

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Desert Rose

Chapter 26 ~ Reunited

✧ Pairing : Daryl Dixon x Rose

✧ Era : Season 2

✧ Word Count : 6.1k

In this chapter ~ Separated from one another, the group was left fearful of what happened to the others as the minutes turned into hours. But when all hope seemed to be lost, a new light shined down upon them as they all seemed to have the same idea of where to run after everything went up in flames. But the others witness another unexpected surprise, not only that, but Rick reveals the truth about everything. Leaving the rest of them fearful of who he had become.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ THIRD PERSON POV *~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The sun was just beginning to rise into a new day, leaving everyone exhausted from the long night they just had. A night where they had to fight for their lives, to try and protect their loved ones. Although the loved ones that they were all trying so hard to protect, slipped just past their fingertips, leaving them in the dark. Utterly clueless about what happened to them.

Rick, Hershel, and Carl were back on the highway, hoping, praying that everyone made it and would have the same idea they did. It was the only place they all knew well and recognized. The three of them had been waiting patiently, for hours they stood there in silence, waiting for any kind of sound other than the walkers that occasionally came across the road they were parked on. The longer they waited only caused the light in their hearts to dim at the possibility of none of them making it out at all. Though they tried to stay calm, it was almost impossible to do when you think you have nothing left.

Maggie and Glenn were still driving down the long dirt road with no clear destination. No coherent thoughts present in their minds as they were left utterly defeated and exhausted. They hadn't spoken a word to each other since they were back on the farm, back when Glenn convinced her to leave the place behind. Leave her home behind. It was clear to see she was having a hard time processing that, not ever wanting to let that place go to begin with. But she knew in that present moment, she didn't have a choice.

Her hands shook violently as she drove, shuttering breaths leaving her lips as she tried desperately not to cry. She wanted to stay strong, to stay positive, but it felt nearly impossible as she watched her childhood home practically get torn to the ground. Along with the burning barn that stayed present in her mind. And along with everyone else she loved.

"We should head back to the highway...the others could be there." Glenn finally spoke up after what felt like ages.

But Maggie was still in a state of shock, not hearing him at all, "My dad...did he make it? Did you see?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the road.

"I couldn't see, no." he said sadly.

"And Beth, what about Beth? We have to go back and see if they made it." her voice raised as she tried to convince him.

He shook his head frantically, "No, we can't, if they made it they wouldn't be there." he said calmly.

"What about Rose? She had to have made it right? She's smart. God, I hope they're all okay." Maggie whispered.

Glenn's heart started to hurt at the mere mention of his best friend's name. He tried not to think about her as best as he could so he could avoid completely breaking down, but he hadn't seen her since she ran off towards the barn. Something was telling him that she was okay, that she made it out fine. But there was no way of knowing for sure, unless they trailed back to the highway, seeing if the group had made it back there.

After only a few minutes of trying, he finally convinced Maggie to let him drive, turning the vehicle around to speed off towards the center of the highway.

Lori, Beth, and T-Dog were in the bright blue truck, noting but arguing filling the air around them in the small, crammed space. Lori insisted that they turn around to check and see if the others had made it or not, if her husband and child were safe, but T-Dog declined that idea immediately. It was too dangerous to turn back, too dangerous to even check back in on the farm, the place still swarming with walkers. Though eventually, they came to an agreement after Lori managed to get through to the man, deciding that the highway was their best bet. Their best chance.

Daryl was a mess. Though he wouldn't dare let Carol see that. He couldn't stop thinking about Rose, what happened to her in the end. From what he saw, she didn't make it off the farm with anyone else and that worried him beyond repair. The last time he had even caught sight of her is when she took off towards the burning barn. Trying to be a hero or some dumb shit. Though her words seemed to only echo over and over again in his mind- "I will see you again."

His first instinct was to head back to the highway to see if anyone had the same idea, hell maybe the whole group was there by now considering how much time had passed. He didn't check with Carol to see if that's what she wanted to do because in all honesty, he didn't care. All he desperately needed was to see her face again, fulfilling the promise she made.

Rick was only starting to lose more hope back on the highway, seeming as if they were waiting for the others for an eternity. There wasn't a single trace of them, even after hours of getting off the land that was now destroyed. There was still nothing.

It surprised the man nearly enough to knock him off his feet when Hershel began to try and convince him to leave the area. The older man claimed it was starting to be unsafe standing out in the open, waiting for nothing, but Rick didn't want to give up. Not for a moment. Though the more time that passed, the more he understood where Hershel was coming from. They couldn't just stay and wait out here forever, especially since he still had to keep Carl close, protect him with his life. He knew it was unsafe, but that didn't stop his heart breaking a little bit more when he knew it was time to go.

Eventually he found the courage to get down to the boy's level, placing a hand on his shoulder to break the devastating news to him. But the moment he opened his mouth, he closed it back up quickly as his head whipped back over his shoulder at a sound. The vibrations of a motorcycle rumbling towards them.

There they were. Daryl riding in on his bike with Carol clinging to him on the back, Glenn and Maggie driving in a separate car, and Lori, Beth, and T-Dog pulling up in the rusty old truck. It seemed almost unbelievable, but then again it didn't matter. None of it did. They were all alive and safe.

As soon as the vehicles came to a stop, everyone practically flung themselves out, running towards each other with tear-stained cheeks. Relieved laughter and sighs filled the air as they held each other close, finally being able to breathe seeing that the others had made it out safely.

But Daryl's eyes darted around the entire time, looking for the only girl he wanted to see, but she was nowhere to be found. His heart instantly dropped to the pit of his stomach, but before he could even utter a word about where she was, Rick spoke up.

"Where did you find everyone?" he asked Daryl.

His eyes snapped back to the man as he cleared his throat, "Well, uh...those guys' taillights zigzaggin all over the road, figured he had to be Asian drivin like that." he poked.

Glenn chuckled sarcastically with a nod, "Good one." he muttered.

"Where's the rest of us?" Daryl couldn't help but blurt.

"We're the only ones who made it so far." Rick said, a bit of guilt filling his voice.

Lori's ears perked up a bit at that as she stood to her full height from hugging Carl moments ago, "Shane?" she asked him.

The man only ducked his head down to the ground, simply shaking his head without saying anything else. It was bad enough his son had to somewhat witness the man's death, he wasn't ready to open that can of worms with anyone else. He couldn't even begin to describe the feeling, or the things that he had to do. At least not yet.

"Andrea?" Rick asked.

"She saved me," Carol said sadly, "And then I lost her."

T-Dog stepped in, "We saw her go down." he confirmed, leaning against the truck door.

"Patricia?" Hershel asked.

"They got her too." Beth said sadly as she held him close.

Everyone grew silent as they thought of only one person the whole time, noticing she wasn't present with the rest, but nobody wanted to say her name out loud. It was like all of them were quietly waiting to see who would break first and ask the dreaded question that no one wanted to know the answer to. Though finally, Daryl couldn't take it anymore.

"Where's Rose?"

Tension filled the air at the mention of her name. The girl that they had all grown to care deeply about wasn't there with them, and they could only assume the worst.

"She- she saved Carl and I...and told us to run, that she would be right behind us. But...I didn't see her make it out." Rick informed sadly.

He was mentally kicking himself for leaving her there, even if she wasn't taking no for an answer. He should've picked her up kicking and screaming if he had to, to make sure she made it out okay. But he didn't. He only acted fast to save his son while he still had the chance, trying to dodge the many walkers that still surrounded him. The memories hit him like a tidal wave as he brought it up, thinking of all the things he could've done instead.

Daryl's eyes widened, "And ya just left her there?!" he snapped.

"You let her take all of those walkers on by herself? Why didn't you help her?" Glenn stepped in angrily.

"I didn't have a choice," Rick spoke, "My gun was out of ammo, I had to get Carl out of there fast."

Daryl was fuming. Rose could still be out there, and Rick didn't protect her when he damn well could have, knowing fully that he was their leader and they counted on him to have their backs. He wanted to argue back, yell at the man for being so stupid, but he needed to find her. So without another thought, he immediately got on the back of his motorcycle again with the intention of searching for days if he needed to.

"M' going back." he said briefly as he started the bike up with a loud rumble.

"No." Rick protested sadly.

Daryl glared at him, "Don't tell me no! Ya could've protected her, and ya left her there. M' going back."

"I didn't have a choice. She isn't there Daryl, she isn't. She's somewhere else or she's dead." Rick said.

"Don't say that!" Glenn snapped before Daryl even got the chance, "You know damn well we have to find her. I'll go with."

The man then wasted no time hopping on the back of Daryl's bike right along with him, when Rick then tried to stop them again, saying they had to stick together and that only created a whole other argument. Realistically, his point was valid and maybe reasonable. But neither of them wanted to listen to the man that left her behind in the first place, that alone took away from the things he was saying. The point he was trying to make.

The rest of the group stayed still, completely silent as they watched the three yell consistently at each other about what they thought was right. Their heads moving back and forth as if they were watching an intense tennis match.

Though just beyond in the woods, Rose moved slowly as she was utterly exhausted, barely being able to keep her eyes open. Walking all night really did a number on her, slightly limping at the pain she felt in her muscles from fighting restlessly with the dead. She had almost made it to the highway she could practically taste it with how close she became, but stopped dead in her tracks the second she heard yelling, not being able to make out the words.

Instinctively she pulled out one of her knives and was ready to hit whatever stranger that was screaming in the distance, but what she saw then made her gasp. It was almost the entire group together, standing around in a small circle on the road, bringing a smile to her face as she released a breath of air she didn't know she was holding. She then put her weapon back in its place, practically sprinting up the small hill to see all of their faces again.

"We're wasting time! Yer not gonna tell us we can't go after her, after you were the one who left her there! Now we're going back, m' done having this conversation." she heard Daryl's voice yell.

She quickly continued to maneuver in between the scattered cars, making her presence known before they had a chance to take off. Her quiet footsteps then slowed down to a stop the moment she was behind them, smiling in relief that she had finally found them.

"You don't have to go back." she said loudly.

Everyone's heads snapped back towards her upon hearing the sound of her familiar voice, their eyes only widening seeing the state she was in. Blood and dirt heavily coated her clothes and skin, looking absolutely exhausted, but she was alive. That's all that mattered to them.

Beth wasted no time at all rushing right over to Rose out of her father's grasp, wrapping her in a tight hug as she cried, Maggie joining her only seconds later. While Hershel couldn't help himself after a few seconds, stepping in as well for a giant group hug.

"A Greene family hug, it's just what I needed." the girl muttered as she held them tight.

As she finally let them go, she didn't get very far, before Glenn was off the bike in a matter of seconds, running up and wrapping her in a tight hug and slightly lifted her up off the ground. She laughed deliriously and hugged him back, but as he set her back down to her feet, he still didn't let go. It almost seemed as if he couldn't. She assured him over and over again that she was okay, whispering it quietly in his ear as he slowly nodded his head, finally letting her go with a few tears running down his face.

After releasing Glenn from her arms, she did a scan around everyone else, searching for the one man she was dying to see. And as soon as they locked eyes, that was enough for Daryl to pick his jaw back up off the ground and hop off his bike quickly, rushing over towards her. She met him halfway and he engulfed her in a giant embrace. He lifted her off the ground and her legs went instinctively around his waist as he buried his face in her neck, gripping the fabric of her shirt in between his fingers.

She heard him sigh in relief right next to her ear, and that only made her hug him tighter. At that moment neither one of them cared who was there to see because as far as they were concerned, they were the only two people in the world.

After a few seconds of holding her close, he finally placed her back down gently on her feet and pulled slightly away, though keeping his hands firmly on her waist as he stared at her. He seemed to be thinking really hard about something before finally giving in and kissing her.

She was surprised at his actions but that didn't stop her from kissing him back deeply, forgetting about anything and everything as she melted into him. Some people softly gasped from behind them, but they didn't care, they were within each other's reach again and that's all that mattered in their minds.

He pulled away after only a moment or two and rested his forehead against hers while gazing down at her, memorizing all of her features. That is until a loud voice spoke up from behind them.

"I knew it!" Glenn yelled with a pointed finger, and everyone began to laugh, including Daryl.

But he quickly turned all his attention back on her as he gave her sides a gentle squeeze, "I thought..." he trailed off, clear pain lacing his voice as he spoke.

"You didn't," she said, reading his mind as she shook her head instantly, "I'm right here...I kept my promise, didn't I?"

He slowly nodded his head before bringing her in for another hug. They stayed like that for another moment, and even though Daryl never wanted to let her go again, he did. He slowly let her out of his reach, watching her walk over towards Rick who suddenly couldn't find the right words to say to her, but she didn't care. She only shushed him before any words could come out, bringing him in close to a warm embrace, silently reassuring him that they were okay. He did what he had to do to protect Carl, that's what she wanted. She didn't need a single explanation or apology, because in her mind he had nothing to be sorry about.

She then moved over towards Carl, taking the sobbing boy into her arms as she whispered reassuring things to him, which he only nodded in return. He couldn't even begin to describe the worry and guilt he felt built up in his chest when they left her, seeing her again just brought it all out on the table for her to see. But she only held him tight, waiting for him to be ready to finally let her go, before she pulled away fully to greet everyone else.

After everyone reunited with her, they decided to hit the road, away from the rest of the herd that they left behind. Everyone wanted to get as far away as possible, though the thought of starting fresh to find a new place left an uneasy feeling in the air. But they really didn't have another choice.

Rose rode on the back of Daryl's motorcycle with her arms wrapped around his waist tightly, still not really being used to riding it. But she didn't seem to mind all that much now seeing as she almost lost him a few hours ago. Plus she trusted him, and he knew that instantly just by the way she hung onto him, her grip not nearly as tight as the first time. She rested her chin on his shoulder and let the wind hit her face, closing her eyes contently at the feeling. Daryl felt himself smile as he glanced at her in his side mirror, picking up one of her hands and kissing the back of it lightly before speeding up a little down the long road ahead of them.

A few hours had passed just like that, taking off down the narrow streets leading them east, away from all the flesh eating monsters. They didn't have a solid plan, an idea of where they were going to sleep that night, but they just kept moving. In hopes of putting some distance between them and the overrun farm.

Until they heard two honks coming from one of the vehicles behind them, causing everyone to slow to a stop and pull completely over on the side of the road. The group exited their vehicles, Daryl extending his hand to Rose to help her off the bike while looking towards Rick who seemed conflicted about something.

"You out?" Daryl asked the man.

He nodded, "Running low on fumes." he muttered, looking around the area they stopped at as everyone else gathered around.

"We can't stay here." Rose spoke.

"But we can't all fit in one car." Glenn pointed out.

Rick only shook his head, "We'll have to make a run for some gas in the morning."

"Spend the night here?" Carol asked, worry creasing her features.

"I'm freezing." Carl said, wrapping his arms around himself while his mother pulled him close, trying to warm him up as best as she could.

Daryl loaded his crossbow as he spoke, "Ya go out lookin for firewood, stay close. Only got so many arrows. How you doin on ammo?" he asked Rick.

"Not enough." Rick replied.

"We can't just sit here with our asses hanging out." Maggie said bluntly.

Hershel stepped in, "Watch your mouth." he lightly scolded, "Everyone stop panicking and just listen to Rick."

Rick continued with a plan, "Alright we'll set up a perimeter, in the morning we'll find gas and some supplies. We'll keep pushing on."

"Glenn and I can go on a run right now, try and scrounge up some gas." Maggie offered.

Rose glanced over at Beth for a moment who now stood next to her and was shivering lightly. She didn't dwell on it as she quickly wrapped her arm around her shoulders to pull her close in an attempt to keep her somewhat warm. Winter was only creeping up on them quicker by the day, making this horrible timing to lose the perfectly warm farmhouse.

"No, we stay together." Rick responded to Maggie, "God forbid something happens and people get stranded without a car."

"Rick, we're stranded now." Rose said to him softly.

He sighed, "I know, I know it looks bad, we've all been through hell and worse, but at least we found each other. I wasn't sure- I really wasn't, but we did. We're together. We keep it that way. We'll find shelter somewhere, there's got to be a place." Rick finished.

Glenn stepped in "Rick look around, okay? There are walkers everywhere, they're migrating or something."

"There's got to be a place not just where we hole up, but we fortify, hunker down, pull ourselves together, build a life for each other. I know it's out there we just have to find it!" Rick suddenly snapped.

"Even if we do find a place, and we think it's safe we can never be sure. For how long? Look what happened with the farm. We fooled ourselves to think it was safe." Maggie said.

"We won't make that mistake again." Hershel assured.

"We'll make camp tonight over there, get on the road at the break of day." Rick said.

Beth then stepped away from Rose to walk closer to Rick, "But what if walkers come through, or another group like Randall's?" she asked, gesturing with her hands as she spoke.

"Ya know we found Randall, right? He had turned but he wasn't bit." Daryl stated.

Rick then turned a little pale, his cheeks draining of color as he could no longer look any of them in the eye. The thing that he had only kept to himself, was now creeping back up to bite him in the ass. The thing that he hardly believed was possible, turned out to be nothing but the truth.

Lori placed a hand on Rick's shoulder to try and bring him back down to earth, "Rick, what the hell happened?"

"Shane killed Randall, like he always wanted to." Daryl said bluntly, speaking for Rick as he seemed to not hear her at all.

"And then the herd got him?" Lori asked.

Rick remained silent for what felt like forever, thinking to himself before he finally came clean. "We're all infected." he murmured.

Rose's eyes widened as she was certain she had misheard what she had just been told. His voice coming out so quiet and hesitant. But judging by the shocked looks on everyone else's faces, she heard him loud and clear, seeing he was keeping this little secret to himself. One that didn't make any sense.

"What?" Rose asked harshly.

Rick turned to her, "At the CDC Jenner told me...whatever it is we all carry it."

It became silent, so silent that you could hear a pin drop and echo around the space. Everyone was not only shocked at the news they had just received, but the fact that Rick had kept that to himself for so long, not even considering to tell the rest. Rose took a step back to walk away, her frustration building, but Carol's voice stopped her.

"And you never said anything?" the woman asked, slightly angry.

"Would it have made a difference?" Rick asked.

Rose whipped back around upon hearing that and stared at him in disbelief, "You knew this whole time-"

Rick quickly cut her off, "How could I have known for sure? You saw how crazy that mo-"

"That isn't your call." Rose interrupted him.

Glenn scoffed as he nodded his head, "Yeah...when I found out about the walkers in the barn, I told for the good of everyone."

"Well, I thought it was best that people didn't know." Rick said harshly before storming off in the opposite direction without another word.

Rose let out a heavy breath and only took this as her opportunity to head off into the woods to clear her head, and to try and find some wood for a fire. Seeing as though they would be spending the night out in the cold. For the past few weeks, to be blunt, shit had been hitting the fan. They couldn't seem to catch a break, witnessing one blow after another. How much more could this group take right now, she had no idea. But for now, she could only focus on getting the damn firewood so they wouldn't freeze to death that night.

Her feet stomped loudly in the leaves as the frustration she was feeling never ceased to end. It wasn't only about what Rick had kept from all of them for weeks, it also had something to do with how he was acting. Seeming as though he didn't think twice and was careless about the decisions he recently came to. She understood that they didn't have a lot of options, but considering the huge loss all of them have faced, in her eyes it should've been handled better.

Though she nearly jumped out of her skin when she suddenly heard the sound of a branch snap from just behind her. Her head whipped around quickly, only to see Daryl standing a few feet away with slightly raised hands.

"Just me." he said in a soft voice.

She sighed, giving him a small smile before turning back to look around for some sticks and large branches. But he only seemed to follow, his footsteps slowly catching up to her from behind as he spoke up again.

"Well, aren't ya gonna hear what I have to say?" he asked in a subtly playful tone.

She turned around again and ditched the small sticks in her hands, "Sorry, didn't know if you came out here to talk, or to just keep me company."

He nodded, "Wanted to talk...bout us."

She raised her eyebrows, "Oh?"

"Yeah just- just listen for a sec, okay? I gotta get it all out there before I start to forget what I wanna say."

She nodded her head as she folded her arms over her chest to protect herself from the cold and he continued. "Look when ya...when ya weren't there at first on the highway, and hell even before that, I was thinkin about ya. Couldn't stop worrying whether ya were...dead or hurt. It just killed me not knowin where ya where and if you were safe. So...I've been thinkin ever since and uh...realized how important ya are to me. So- I was wonderin if ya...wanted to be my girl."

The words he expressed nervously almost felt foreign to him. Daryl was never the kind of man to place a label on things, never cared enough about anything like that in his entire life. But with her, it was different. He wanted to know for sure that she was his, wanting to know that they weren't just messing around for fun, but that there was something real there. For the both of them.

But upon hearing that from Rose's perspective, her heart was almost floating at the feeling that she mattered this much to someone. The feeling then causing her to break out into a huge smile, stepping closer to him to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him gently. He gladly kissed her back, his fingers finding their way to her belt loops again, only pulling her closer.

Though he loved the feeling of her lips pressed against his, he didn't have a clear answer, and a part of him wanted to hear her say it. So, he reluctantly pulled away after a moment, resting his forehead against hers as he looked down at her.

"Is that a yes?" he asked, not stopping himself from placing another small kiss at the corner of her mouth.

She rolled her eyes playfully, "Yes, it's a yes." she laughed.

He smiled back at her softly, pulling away fully to take one of her hands in his own, "Ya make me happy, darlin. And I wanna make sure I can make you just as happy."

She looked at him in shock, "What do you mean? You could make me melt with just one glance, I'm pretty sure that means I'm happy." she spoke.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes," she assured, "Happier than I ever thought I could be."

His eyes glinted with something more than usual as he kissed her again, feeling his heartbeat quicken as she felt butterflies in her stomach. Even though they had just lost the farm, they still had each other. And in the back of their minds, they knew that was all they would ever need.

Hours had passed as it was now completely dark, and the group was sitting around in a circle, trying to keep warm by the fire they started. Rose and Daryl were sitting close to each other as she rested her head on his shoulder, shivering every once in a while from the wind that whipped by harshly. The two of them felt somewhat relieved that they could act normal around everyone else now that the rest knew about their relationship. That didn't necessarily mean they were going to be all over each other all the time, but they could just simply be.

"I never thought I would see a soft side to Daryl Dixon." Glenn voiced out loud, eyeing the two like a hawk as they minded their business.

Everyone chuckled at that except for Daryl who just sent him a glare, "Shut up." he muttered.

Rose only smiled to herself, giving his hand a comforting squeeze before placing a delicate a kiss on his cheek. Some people started to "aww" as they wouldn't look away from them, acting as if they hadn't witnessed affection before in their entire lives.

Rose looked back at all of them, "Shut up."

Glenn's eyes widened, "God, they're already turning into each other."

Rose didn't bat an eye as she pulled away from Daryl momentarily, reaching over to her right as she grabbed a small rock, chucking it at the man to get him to shut up. The others laughed again upon seeing Glenn dodging the flying pebble, before settling down and going back to their own hushed conversations.

That didn't last long however as Rick came back into view to silently check on everyone, before walking away to check the perimeter for about the fifth time since they arrived. Something was off about him now and they could all see it, and some were still upset with him for keeping the secret for so long. It only grew silent as his presence still lingered, leaving everyone thinking quietly to themselves.

"We're not safe with him." Carol suddenly whispered from the other side of Daryl, "Keeping something like that from us. Why do you need him? He's just going to pull you down."

But the man shook his head, "Nah, Rick's done alright by me." he said.

Rose gently squeezed his hand again as if to silently say she was proud of him, because in all honesty, she was. Him being mature enough to move on from that was something you didn't see every day.

"You're his henchmen...both of you," she said, bringing Rose into it too, "And I'm a burden, you two deserve better."

"What do you want?" Rose asked her.

Carol looked over at her, "A man of honor." she said simply.

"Rick has honor." Daryl snapped slightly before turning back to look at the fire, clearly done with that conversation.

"I think we should take our chances." Maggie said, suddenly standing up to her feet.

"Don't be foolish." Hershel said, "There's no food, no fuel, no ammo."

Some rustling then came from the woods and everyone's ears perked up. "What was that?" Beth asked as she clutched tighter onto her father's arm.

"Could be anything." Daryl said, getting up to grab his crossbow, "Could be a racoon, possum-"

"Or a walker." Glenn added.

"We need to leave," Carol snapped, "What are we waiting for?"

Rick's ears only picked up to all of their panicked whispers as he came back around the corner to make himself known. "The last thing we need is for everyone to be running off in the dark. We don't have the vehicles, and no one is traveling on foot." he hushed.

"Don't panic." Hershel commanded lightly.

"I'm not- I'm not sitting here waiting for another herd to blow through. We need to move now." Maggie demanded.

"No one is going anywhere." Rick spoke lowly, almost a warning tone to his voice.

"Do something." Carol pushed.

"I am doing something!" Rick snapped, "I'm keeping this group together, alive. I've been doing that all along no matter what, I didn't ask for this. I killed my best friend for you people for Christ's sake!"

That was it. That was the weight he's been carrying with him since the fall of the farm. He had time to think about it all day and night, now everyone could clearly see that it was eating him up inside, the guilt slowly turning into anger towards everyone else. Rose sat there with wide eyes hearing how easily that sentence rolled off of Rick's tongue. She knew it wasn't easy for him to do, she knew that. But that didn't make the situation any less terrifying.

"You saw what he was like," he continued, "How he pushed me, how he compromised us, how he threatened us. He staged the whole Randall thing, led me out to put a bullet in my back, he gave me no choice! He was my friend, but he came after me, my hands are clean."

Carl then began sobbing in his mother's arms, not only at his father's words, but the such harshness behind them. Rose easily caught sight of his crying state, reaching over on instinct to rub his back to try and help calm him down. Her touch only made him look over his shoulder at her, before crashing into her arms seconds later, the built up of overwhelming emotions seeming to be too much. She held onto him tightly, shushing him to try and get him to calm down as he nearly gripped onto her for dear life.

"Maybe you people are better off without me," Rick then said, "Go ahead, I say there's a place for us, but maybe, maybe it's just another pipe dream. Maybe I'm fooling myself again. Why don't you just go find out yourself? Send me a postcard! Go on there's the door, you can do better? Let's see how far you get..."

When no one said a single word, he continued, "No takers? Fine but get one thing straight, you're staying? This isn't a democracy anymore." he said sternly, before turning on his heel, slipping away again.

Everyone was silent as they watched the empty space Rick had just filled, unable to take their eyes away. Rose still held on to Carl, whose cries had now calmed down a little at the feeling of her soft patterns she drew on his back. Daryl found himself reaching down to give her shoulder a squeeze before quickly moving away from everyone to check out the noise from earlier. If it was an animal, they would need to eat soon, and he also felt trapped and uncomfortable at the tension that was left in the air. Needing to get away for a while.

But Rose sat there frozen as she thought about what this all had come to. Rick Grimes was broken, there was no doubt about that, but something told her that he would never be the same again. And how could he? He had to murder one of the people who brought him the most joy in his life, his best friend.

They were up to their necks in shit it seemed like, and yet all she could do in that moment was hope that things would only go up from here. But then again, maybe that was just a pipe dream.

~ Thanks for reading!

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cupids-chamber · 10 months

Text

2023/08/23

I'll be on my way now, I'm closing down all my other blogs and ask bin. I'd prefer if no one reached out to me during this time.

I'll be active on my Wattpad account if I feel like writing from time to time, (I'd also like to finish what I started) I've also made an AO3 account, in case I post anything. I plan on posting my Concubine series & Circus au works there as well.

(More info below the undercut)

Hi! This may come of as a shock, and I try not to get too open on this blog, but a month, or so ago. I posted about how I might have DID. (I did extensive research on DID, and reached out to my cousin who had DID for help, and though I will not self diagnose, I match almost all if not all the symptoms for it.)

This Cupid persona has developed into someone of it's own, and I don't feel like I'm the same person as before, and in all honesty I genuinely don't even know who I'm anymore. It's hard for me to focus on my health and mental health, along side simple tasks and even hobbies like writing which I love.

I will say coming into tumblr, the past two years caused me more harm then good. I've realized that though I came into this app being extremely s*icidal and interacting with the users here have made me feel better about myself. It has caused many negative impacts, and I can confidently say that due to me obsessing over writing on time or everyday for tumblr, I've developed an eating disorder of sorts, and recently it seems my body is rejecting food as a whole.

I love writing, and I love that people enjoy my writing, sadly it's the cause of a lot of health issues, mentally and physically. And though I still write from time to time, recently typing or writing by hand makes me feel awful and it's not like those usual burn outs.

I feel like crying as I'm typing this up, and a lot of people may call me dramatic for this but I genuinely feel a pit in my stomach when I go on this app it's not even funny anymore. This blog itself has caused me so much trouble behind the scenes, and though I'm not quitting. I most certainly can't leave something I've worked so hard on, (and this is the place where I met the few people that honestly may not know it, but probably helped stop me from offing myself.)

Like I said, I'll be on different apps, maybe once every 2 weeks or a month, but I'm trying to avoid social media, trying to pick up new hobbies, trying to gain some sort of stability in my life because I'm not stable enough to handle anything right now but like I said, I love writing and I think you guys should at least see it through on the series and tasks I've started.

I'm crying now, and I'm very grateful that you've all supported my work, and allowed me to explore my writing on this platform, I've learned a lot about this fandom. I still find it ironic that people call me a workaholic, I'm genuinely the biggest procrastinator you'll ever meet.

Thank you for supporting me, because without your support and reassurance, I might not have been here until now. Especially to some of my moots, who took the time to chat with me.

So, this is goodbye I suppose. At least on this platform, maybe not forever, but it is goodbye for the next good while.

— Signing off, cupids-chamber

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katy-133 · 1 year

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Rick Sanchez Showing Signs of ASD for 30 Images

(Re-posting this from a previous reblog I posted in. For organisational purposes.)

(Using some notes from CDC.gov and NHS.uk)

“People with [autism spectrum disorder (ASD)] often have problems with social communication and interaction, and restricted or repetitive behaviors or interests. People with ASD may also have different ways of learning, moving, or paying attention. It is important to note that some people without ASD might also have some of these symptoms.” - Signs and Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder, CDC.gov

Similar to the above quote, some of the below examples can be explained through Doylist (meta) explanations (for example, Rick usually wears the same clothes because that's a common trope in animation, due to asset limitations and marketing/merchandise reasons).

With that in mind:

Bad sensory, overstimulation: Rick preferring to eat just noodles (possibly due to texture/taste aversion), instead of having what everyone else in the family is having.

Getting very upset if someone touches or gets too close: Rick pushing Morty away when Morty runs up to hug him.

Stimming (repetitive performance of certain physical movements or vocalisations) by moving his fists in a celebratory shaking motion in multiple episodes.

Gets upset by minor changes. Rick getting mad at Morty for changing the position of his car seat, refusing to leave a dangerous situation until it's re-adjusted.

Rick: "Wait, did you f**k with my seat settings?!"

Having the same routine every day and getting very anxious if it changes: Rick being upset that Morty is busy and can't go on an adventure with him (like in a typical episode).

Gastrointestinal issues (for example, constipation). An episode focuses on Rick needing to go to a custom planet (that felt safe and secluded) to use the toilet and feeling great distress upon learning that someone else found the planet.

Has a safe food that is seeked out for comfort. Rick likes wafers. He's seen getting them from the kitchen in multiple episodes, Beth makes sure the house is stocked with them, and the Citadel of Ricks even has its own factory to produce them.

Referencing good sensory: Rick talking in detail about pancakes covered in syrup, not wanting the pancakes to go bad.

Rick: "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got pancakes back home with syrup on top of them. They're about to hit that critical point of syrup absorption that turns the cakes into a gross paste. And I hate to get all Andy Rooney about it, but I think we all like fluffy discs of cake with syrup on top!"

And Rick enjoying pancakes in S1E10 and S4E2:

Has obsessive interests. Rick becoming hyper-focused on giant mecha collecting and Morty reminding him to not go overboard on his new hyperfixation.

Morty: "Sometimes, enough is... ?" Rick: (Sadly) "Sometimes enough is enough."

Liking to plan things carefully before doing them: Rick keeping various helpful inventions in his lab coat just in case he needs them later (Vindicators episode).

Infodumping (to excitedly share a large amount of information about a highly-focused subject or passion at one time, usually in great detail and length).

Finding it hard to talk about feelings: Rick having hesitation in apologising and explaining his thoughts and feelings to Jerry.

Rick: "If I'm genuinely cool, I should be able to love you. Which I... therefore do."

Avoids or does not keep eye contact: Rick looking away or breaking eye contact with Morty. Image set of Morty calling him out:

Rick breaking eye contact while lying to Morty:

Having a preferred outfit to wear each day (can be cause of sensory issues). Rick wearing the same blue shirt for over 40 years (we see in flashbacks that it was brighter and has faded with time).

Unusual speech patterns, such as stuttering. Rick's stuttering decreases as seasons progress.

Vocal stimming (when someone repeats a specific sound or phrase to produce sensory stimulation). Some autistic children find it easier to make up their own words. Rick repeatedly saying, "wubba lubba dub dub." He will also repeat his own words (echolalia) immediately afterwards.

Delay edecholalia, scripting (when someone "saves" exact phrases and uses them later to make social situations easier). Rick (in The Ricks Must Be Crazy) remembers Morty's comment, "that just sounds like slavery with extra steps" and uses it later to try and win an argument with another scientist.

Not picking up social cues, finding it hard to understand what others are thinking or feeling. Rick making a joke and then realising the other person is in too much distress to laugh with him (has done this with both Morty and Jerry).

Rick: "You're not laughing?" (Expression changes upon realising) "Oh, right. You're dying."

Unconventional grief response, "inappropriate" facial expressions, lack of fear: Rick reacting to burying himself in a less uneasy way than Morty.

"To the point" style of social interaction. Rick often speaks bluntly and is seen as rude by other characters in response.

Rick: "Everyone, f**k off. Morty, I need your help."

Has a terrible memory but can remember ridiculously difficult information if it interests him. Rick forgets his portal gun and leaves it behind, but can remember the formula for various chemical reactions without using a reference (ending of M.Night Shaym-Aliens!).

And finally...

President Curtis referencing Rick's neurodivergency:

Rick's comment:

Rick: "I'm not touching that thing,"

Rick finding a roundabout way to let Morty know that he (Rick) also has ASD:

Rick: "Is this game popular with autistic people?" Morty: "Why would you say something like that?" Rick: "Because I'm starting to love it."

Wish I could have added more examples, but 30 images is Tumblr's current post limit.

(I understand that the potential meme joke by OP is that the "NOT YOU" image is of Rick from season 1, versus his markedly changed characterisation in season 5-onwards, that focused more on coding Rick as neurodivergent.)

I hope this has been in some part educational for a few readers. Happy Autism Acceptance Month.

But now for the disclaimer bit: Don't take it from me, learn more about ASD.

#tumblr won't let me add links sorry.#rick and morty #my text #storytelling #neurodiversity #long post

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ouroboros-hideout · 6 months

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OC INTERVIEW

Thanks for tagging me @chevvy-yates! 💚

Decided to do this with one of the OCs for my fic I kind of introduced a while ago. Hopefully will give me some motivation to work further on it. Sadly hadn't have the time do draw her yet (sad noises no PC no mods for me). Regular character creation wasn't even close on how I want her to look. So no piccy yet :(

Really like your idea of letting the oc answer some questions directly. Will do that aswell.

Note: Not all answers don't fit 100% anymore cause I developed her further since I did this Interview

NAME?

"Alyona Petrova."

She actually gets kinda mad if people call her by her full name. She has a difficult relationship with her family and wants to leave everything about them in the past. Therefore she chose a short nickname through which she can identify herself better. Besides, in her business it is better not to mention official names and go with an alias.

_____

NICKNAME?

"Aon. I prefer that."

It's pronounced like A-On.

_____

GENDER?

Cis Female

_____

STAR SIGN?

"I won't tell you my birthday. And all of this astro-shit is a waste of time anyway."

Would say she's a Capricorn? Don't know much about astrology tho :/

_____

HEIGHT?

"1,70 m. Pretty average. Like those questions."

Her size and figure allows her to fit into fairly narrow and tight spaces. Unlike many of her workers, mainly large men with big muscles, she has the advantage in the construction and assembly of complex machines.

_____

ORIENTATION?

Hetero

She and Kurt have thing going on no one else knows about. So never ask her about anything pointing in that direction. Since they don't see each other that often in person things can go... out of hand. And she would be embarrassed if someone knew about that since their friendship can be described as very strong, but is also characterized by a lot of teasing and professional distance if you look at it from the outside.

_____

FAVORITE FRUIT?

"Fruits are plants, right. Tobacco is a plant, too. Does that count? Tzz.. I don't know. I like to put frozen berries in my drink sometimes. So berries then."

She has a smoking problem. Not like chain smoking, but on a regular base. Alcohol, on the other hand, is really more for her to enjoy. Frozen fruits in drinks instead of ice cubes is a life hack tho.

_____

FAVORITE SEASON?

"Doesn't really matter, as long it's not too warm. I can't stand a lot of heat. If possible I'll always sent some of my workers for jobs in the warmer regions. Of course only if they are capable of doing the job."

Most of the work is done in her workshop in Russia anyway, but occasionally it is easier or more efficient to work on site with her clients. If possible, she always tries to avoid this.

_____

FAVORITE FLOWER?

"Pfff.. I don't care. Some of them are pretty, sure. But if you want to impress me, give me something usefull and not some plant that'll die within a few days anyway."

_____

FAVORITE SCENT?

"The scent in my workshop. Thick oil, warm metal, rubbery, a hint of CHOOH2, a little dust in the air. The fresh and cold air outside, after a long day of work is really refreshing, but I wouldn't want to miss that smell."

You know that smell when you enter a car workshop? That.

_____

COFFEE OR TEA?

"Coffee. If I want to drink water I prefer it cold. And without taste. Something stronger would be even better."

_____

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP?

"I try to stick to a good routine. 6-7 hours. My people say I'm even more unbearable when I don't get a good night's sleep. And I can't stand a bad mood at work. Please kill me if I have a jetleg. That's the worst."

She's a very disciplined person.

_____

DOG OR CAT PERSON?

"Cats. Dogs are fucking exhausting. They want your attention all the time and can't handle themselves for longer than a few hours. I had a cat at the workshop once. He catched his own food, he got out of my way, came for a pet now and then. His name was Bill."

She always teases Kurt that cats are so much better than dogs.

_____

DREAM TRIP?

"I have been all around the globe and nothing really sparked that much joy yet. But I don't have time for vacation or silly little trips anyway. I like my home. Why go anywhere else."

There are place she hasn't been too obviously but like she said: she rather stays at home if she has some free time and pursues her interests or just rests.

_____

FAVORITE FICTIONAL CHARACTER?

"Beatrix Kiddo. When I was a child my mother moved in with a man she liked. Different story, won't tell that now. I never liked the capital or big cities in general, but there was a little thrift shop at the corner of the house we lived in. The owner, a really old but really sweet man showed me his age old collection of movies. VHS, DVDs, bet no one these days will remember what those are. I came there once a week and we watched a movie togehter after he closed the store. He was such a big nerd. Tarantinos movies where my favorite. Probably not the kind of stories you should show to a child but I loved it. Kiddo is a badass women and I always wanted to become strong and fierce like her."

Who doesn't like Tarantino?

_____

NUMBER OF BLANKETS YOU SLEEP WITH?

"One...? What kind of stupid question is that?"

_____

RANDOM FACT?

Besides forging knives she recently started getting into distilling her own spirits. She came up with a decent gin and will refine the recipe.

_____

No pressure Tags. If you see this and I didn't tag you feel free to do it anyway if you like.

@cybervesna @cyberholic77 @olath124 @dustymagpie @aggravateddurian @theviridianbunny @bumble-v @pacificaisstillpacifica @wanderingaldecaldo @streetkid-named-desire

#oc interview #oc: aon #cyberpunk 2077 #cyberpunk 2077 oc #project garmr #cyberpunk 2077 fanfic #tag game

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1ore · 5 months

Note

smash or pass; subjects of emails i have received in the past week: Uncaught bounce notification, arrival and parking, Registering ASAP, Flicker Film Screening, ITS Ticket #xxxxxx, Re: Water, us, PHYSICAL PLANT WORK ORDER - STATUS UPDATE, Advisor, ADD TO MY 416?, Image, Weather Alert: Frigid Temps Expected This Week; Employee Use of Space Heaters Prohibited, Eternal Waitlist, Undeliverable:, senior needing one class, No Subject, Todd's office door, SWOOP, Hanging metal pipe rods, "Software" update

Uncaught bounce notification

Oh hell yes. lost in transmission. It's not that I can't hear you, it's that I can only make out your unintelligible screaming in the vacuum of space. Verdict: Smash

arrival and parking

no thank you I want to be a nonpracticing motorist again Verdict: Pass

Registering ASAP

The one time i was written up at my old job was because I had failed to develop "a sense of urgency," which was a completely fair assessment and I won't argue with it. Anyway Verdict: Pass

Flicker Film Screening

There are at least 3 different films named some variation of "Flicker" and they all influence my opinion differently.

Verdict if it's "The Flicker" (1966): It's a visual hallucinatory aide that apparently made some viewers vomit. Smash.

Verdict if it's "FLicKeR" (2008): A documentary about a completely different visual hallucinatory aide that employs the same mechanics. (ok, so a trance generator, but still.) Smash.

Verdict if it's "Flicker" (2009): Low-budget horror film about a woman who gets into scooby doo antics with a bunch of cycle paths. Could be fun, but when it comes to horror, I'm more of a "incomprehensible jpegs" kind of girl than a "kooky slasher"-liker. Pass.

ITS Ticket #xxxxxx

If this is a response back, then that must mean something is getting fixed. Sadly time and time again I have been shown to be avoidant even of emails that I know are good. Verdict: Pass

Re: Water

Don't think this needs an explanation. Verdict: Smash

all lower case? TWO LETTER SUBJECT LINE? either the trailhead for an ARG or someone having one-sided problems with our relationship that were caused by projection. Verdict: wait and see

PHYSICAL PLANT WORK ORDER - STATUS UPDATE

Don't think this needs an explanation either. Verdict: Smash

Advisor

Advisor? I barely know her! Verdict: Pass

ADD TO MY 416?

This is either a class code or a government form or a gun. Answer is the same either way. Verdict: Pass

Image

Verdict: Smash

Weather Alert: Frigid Temps Expected This Week

<- thinks chilly and cold are the same thing Verdict: Pass

Employee Use of Space Heaters Prohibited

<- THINKS CHILLY AND COLD ARE THE SAME THING Verdict: Pass

Eternal Waitlist

Are you kidding me. hell yeah. Verdict: Smash

Undeliverable:

The bounce notification implies that the transmission will come eventually, but girls this one's just gone. absolutely Verdict: Smash

senior needing one class

On the off-chance that this is a senior student that only wants to take one (1) class this semester I may reconsider because girl. same. Verdict: Pass

No Subject

The email equivalent of me checking out the symol hole in neopets knowing full well nothing is going to happen. Verdict: Smash?

Todd's office door

I want to open this because I want to know, but I don't want to follow through with whatever it is, you know. Verdict: Pass

Hanging metal pipe rods

Many Are Saying This. Verdict: Smash

"Software" update

Scare quotes doing more than most 2-sentence horror stories. Verdict: Smash

#no foreword we die like men #THANKS i can't believe you receive ARG trailheads 3 times a day

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ailelie · 2 months

Text

Rec: How to Disappear Completely

I am finally listening to How to Disappear Completely.

Y'all. I am in love.

Go. Listen.

In, oh, 2007 or 2008, I listened to How to Disappear Completely on PodioBooks (amazing website, sadly terrible now) and adored it. Theo, one of the leads, was living in a foreign country and trying to figure out what her life is supposed to be. Meanwhile, I was also living in a foreign country and utterly at a loss. I didn't even feel homesick then. Instead, home felt like a cursed prophecy I couldn't avoid. I couldn't make myself call home for fear I would get sucked into mundane low expectations.

The author, Myke Bartlett, was recording and releasing chapters as he wrote them. I had a few concerns with later storyline about people with no history, but otherwise, it was one of my favorite stories.

And it has remained so, but a podcast book no longer online is hard to share with people. Bartlett later released a set of short stories (that I adore), but these were sequels to an unreleased revised version of the original novel. Also hard to explain to people.

Then, I learn he has rewritten HtDC and, more than that, he is releasing it as a podcast again.

Initially, as excited as I was, I didn't listen. Spotify didn't have the first episodes and I let that be my excuse, but really I feared the possibility that the story wouldn't live up to memory.

But. I finally started listening. And I am in love.

HtDC is a time travel story. The time travel is not really explained until chapter 8 and so you'll spend those first seven with folded over events, people meeting and it is the second time for one and the first time for the other. People appearing where they can't be. Future events folding back and causing past events. It is a tangle. I love it, but I know not all do.

Accept that, though, and you'll get a fantastic story. Theo Jones is a prickly, stubborn woman who is certain her life was supposed to be better than this. When her boyfriend disappears, she is the only one to remember him. Refusing to just let the matter be, she decides to find him, more out of guilt than love. Her quest leads her to Kilbey Salmon and one of my favorite characters of all time, Nero Dusk.

Nero is the best. If you listen to this podcast for one reason at all, listen for Nero. He's a grump with a gigantic heart. He's Kilbey's muscle, minder, and best friend. Kilbey thinks he has the brain cells in their relationship, but really, he can only conjure his own during chaos. The rest Nero loans out as needed.

Kilbey is the face and the mouth of their operation. He's all calculated charm pasted over a rather big secret and a deeper well of care than he'd like to admit exists. I think Kilbey would love to not care about other people, but he can't not. So he just pretends really hard that he doesn't instead.

14 episodes are out. I'm on 8. I am so so happy this story has been revised and is being released again. I am so incredibly thrilled that the writing not only holds up, but is improved, and that the characters are still recognizable and interesting. I cannot believe I can finally share this with people again.

Go listen to How to Disappear Completely. You won't regret it.

#htdc #how to disappear completely #myke bartlett #salmon & dusk #nero dusk #is the best

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dark-side-blog3 · 10 months

Note

I’ve never heard of your OCs!!! If you’re feeling it, can you tell me ab them? Like, what’s their type, what kind of yandere are they, etc. I tried to search em but nothing came up so I guess they’re from the old blog lol

-Jojo

They are from the old blog, that is right! I've still got to update my tag post I've been using for searches on there-- but I'll post that and it should make it easier to read up on them! I'll reblog some stuff too!

I have two OC's and a third bastard child I never developed past like a couple of concept posts, and their names are Cyril and Dalton!

I thought it would be funny to name the idiot character "Dalton" Because of the insult 'dolt' -> 'dolt one' -> 'Dalton'.

And Cyril is named as such: 'see, here's eel' -> 'see, e're eel' -> 'Cyril'

Dalton came first, and he is a jellyfish merman based off the pink meanie jellyfish found of the gulf of Mexico. He has translucent pink skin that can change colours depending on what he has eaten, long messy hair, human hands, and a massive skirtlike membrane at his waist that acts as the natural fleshy cover for his thousands of thin tendrils-- each loaded with extremely painful toxin.

The venom is fast acting and makes your skin slough off from chemical burn damage, and if you don't treat the stings, you could potentially die from blood loss (not the venom itself). Dalton is dumb as a sack of bricks (inspired by the fact that jellyfish don't have brains), obsessive, delusional, and sadly for you: extremely affectionate, with a touchy disposition. He'll cling to you every chance he gets.

Dalton is so stupid that he cannot feel pain-- for most merfolk, walking on land is agonizing. Dalton can't fathom this, and just continues to beach himself until he can crawl, his fragile membrane and tendrils drying out and ripping, spilling vital goop as they shift into legs. Each step would be extremely painful, but Dalton can't understand what he's feeling, or what's causing it. And because he doesn't know walking is what's causing it, he'll continue to walk, searching for his "best friends" who must have gotten lost. Dalton believes that Cyril, and you, are his best friends. And you must have gotten lost on your way to find him again. So he'll go out and find you, and everything will work out in the end.

Cyril is a smarter, yet sadistic merfolk, based off of the electric eel found in South America's Amazon River and Oronocio basin. Cyril, unlike Dalton, is a freshwater merfolk, and is capable of being drowned in the brackish water Dalton prefers. And unlike Dalton, Cyril can comprehend the pain in drowning. As well as the pain in being stung by venomous tendrils, and walking. Cyril has chronic pain (as most merfolk do). If he can avoid walking, he will.

He has long, greasy black hair-- washing it does him no good, as getting wet just turns his body back into his natural form, which causes him to secrete slick mucus. His skin is opaque, unlike a jellymer. If he doesn't show you his true form, you might just assume he's a lazy but bougie guy, adorned in gold jewelry he's stolen from other's homes before having to flee the scene. Despite his inactivity, Cyrils' body is on the leaner side due to his high metabolism. He has no visible muscle, but who really needs that when you're an ambush predator that can stun others anyways?

Cyril has worked many odd jobs that helped him live a more lavish life than just hunting and eating whatever got close enough to the river bank. He's acquired a taste for grapes, sliced and microwaved. Any hot fruit would do, but grapes are his favourite. This has become an integral part of his lore, because once Cyril learns of fruit, and then heating the fruit up, and all the devices you can use to heat food up (not just fruit, though he thinks its the height of luxury), and where those devices are stored... It's how Cyril ends up breaking into his darling's home in the first place. They have shelter, water, and all sorts of devices with which to make hot meals. And he needs for this to be perfect is someone who he can force to fetch him things from other rooms once he finds the couch.

He probably doesn't even like you at first. You're just someone he's bluffing out of his ass to let stay here. Cyril will use whatever tactics needed to make you let him stay. He'll go the pity route-- he's a poor misunderstood man, kicked out of housing, turned down everywhere because people don't agree with his life choices... He just wanted to crash here for the night, he didn't know you were here, he thought you were on vacation and he could squat here.

If that doesn't work, he'll resort to threats. He doesn't want to hurt you, he wants to mind his own business here, but if you call for help or tell anyone he's here against your will, he will kill them and you, before eating you. As much as it pains him to walk, he'll trudge over to your bathroom with you in tow, to show you his transformation in your shower/tub. He's a dangerous monster, and you don't know what he can do! His long tail wraps around you, slime secreted from his skin soaking through your clothes, constricting your ribs as he slowly crushes you, before you get hit with a painful shock-- knocking you to the ground and convulsing with painful spasms. Life for you will be easier if you just do what he says. It's not like he's asking for much anyways.

And at first, he's not. He's just asking you to fetch him some food every now and again, or to refill the cup he's been using for water. To buy him a laptop so he can work from home-- this way he'll pay for his own food, and you're not against that are you? Unless you like him mooching off your budget.

Cyril slowly gets more possessive as time goes on. It's not that he likes you; he likes your things, and he likes making you serve him, and he likes hurting you when you do something wrong. That's completely different than liking you. And you were three hours late coming home the other day. Cyril had to get himself a glass of water. Scandalous.

And while he thinks of it, he's not really a good threat if you start thinking you can stay out of the house, and avoid him. How is he supposed to hurt you if you're not around?

He should add a new rule: You have to start staying home with him more, and you have to be in the same room. And if you don't... Then he's going to start breaking your things, changing your password on everything, texting everyone your compromising photos and destroying relationships...

And if you refuse to come home... Then he's just going to have to get up and go hunt you down. You may have forgotten he can actually walk from how little he does it, but if need be he can track you down to the ends of the earth. Eel merfolk have a heightened sense of smell, so Cyril can track you down.

Dalton may stumble upon either you or Cyril one day-- a terrible mix of fate, because the idiot has just been wandering following Cyril, and you know Cyril, which means you're going to all be best friends.

Dalton doesn't mind you doing your own thing, he just wants to watch. He follows you everywhere, forcing himself through doors that you'd closed until they bust down so he can watch whatever you're doing, holding your hand, a grip on your legs, or resting his chin on your shoulder. If you leave the house before he can know where you are, there's a chance he'll go out to look for you-- you must have gotten lost again!

But if he has faith you'll come back, then Dalton will spend his days exploring your home. What happens when he sticks his hand or face in your oven? In the freezer? Through the window? What if he puts your sheets in his mouth? What does your soap smell like? Taste like? Dalton wants to know. And he'll find out everything about you.

Including you. Dalton is clingy, but he's exceptionally touchy. It's not enough to have you next to him, he needs to constantly touch you. Holding your hand is a large part of his day. But his fingers will find their way to your gums to inspect your blunt teeth and bumps on your tongue. Your eyebrows. Dalton opens your eyes with his fingers as he stares at how your pupils shrink and grow in response to light or the air he blows onto them. Bending your fingers and legs as far back as they can. He doesn't mean to hurt you, Dalton is just curious.

Dalton and Cyril can maintain human forms if they stay dry, but if they get significantly wet, their body shifts back into their true forms. A full shower will have Cyril a writhing mass of a slimy tail. And getting caught in a thunderstorm will have Dalton crawling around, ripping his fragile bell membrane, ripping out his tendrils. And while Cyril can intentionally use his ability to shock you regardless of if he's in his true form or not, Dalton's tendrils are only a danger to you if he's soaked and in his true form... Something he rarely thinks to do. All he cares about is following his favourite people around and being close to them. But if Dalton ever gets in a body of water and you're in arms reach, he will drag you into the water, wrapping his tendrils around you, the pain making you pass out in the bloody water...

When you wake up, perched on top of his bell membrane, Dalton apologizes-- he didn't mean to hurt you! He just wanted to swim with you! He doesn't even know how you got hurt! Maybe you just need to be held tighter? A cracked rib is a small price to pay if it keeps you awake, and in his mind, happy.

As far as merfolk go, they're both disasters. As far as yandere's go, they're completely useless. You'd be better off with literal leeches than these two bleeding you dry.

#keep in mind my rules for how monster biology work may be different than other established canon. So like how I see cyril working is #not how the tweels from twst work. they aren't displayed to experience chronic pain. But I wanted one of my characters to have chronic pain #yandere mermaid #yandere merfolk #cyril my oc #dalton my oc #my writing!#yandere exophilia #jojo anon

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raineehavenday · 10 months

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Sky Cotl Daily Quests! Aug 10th

Happy Thursday! Today, sadly, we face the Golden Wasteland in Sky Cotl. Let's try not to loose any winglight! It's best to do this with a friend, however I just did it on my own so it's not impossible! Just a lot harder. But I believe in you! Also, I finally got the event shorts! Anybody have any ideas for what capes go well with it? Please let me know by commenting or reblogging with your ideas!

Today's Quests!

Relive a Spirit's memories

Knock over 5 Dark Creature Crabs

Collect Red Light

Relive this spirit memory from Golden Wasteland (Crab Whisperer)

As I said, today's quests can be found in Golden Wasteland. There is no other place you need to go today.

From here, make sure to run through the first entrance area, and get to the start of GW.

After falling on your face, start flying forward.

I'll send the locations of the seasonal candles, and hopefully they can help you find them. All four are in this area, and can be found by walking along the middle. From there, to the left, there is a seasonal candle on top of the tubes, and to the right, the last one is just past the caved building. See below for visual help.

Now go to the sides mentioned above. On top of the tubes:

And on the other side of the building.

(See the location next to the building)

I'd like to mention you can easily obtain the quest, "Knock over 5 Dark Creature Crabs" in this area. Crabs can be found around the middle path through this location.

Here is also a clear view of the base of the building, and the tubes in the distance in order to find the seasonal candles. Just press and hold on your character / the button on a controller related to the calling feature for your character to deep call. This knocks over all crabs in your reach. All you need is 5. There will also be more crabs in other locations, if all of your crabs are already knocked over by other people.

Now go through to the next area! Be sure not to get krilled.

You'll want to go through this large door on the other end of the area. Avoid the krill. The best chance to go is right after the krill attacks the manta. Or, go right after the krill passes directly in front of the doorway, as it will be moving in the opposite direction. go through there, and see my next directions!

Go through this entrance, or find the hidden tunnel above which leads to the same location.

You'll find yourself here! You can see the red light, but I recommend waiting until you've finished the other two quests related to reliving spirit memories. Seeing the tubes on the left-hand side of the picture above, look inside to find our spirit.

Hello, crab whisperer! (The second photo is taken from the crab whisperer's location in order to help you if you can't find it.)

Now I warn you. Just like yesterday this spirit might cause you pain and suffering. You might die, you might cry. This spirit is one of the spirits you have to stay in the shiny devil circle and not lose it. However, add krill and multiple jumps that are difficult to keep the light with. However... I did it... somehow. See below.

(You can't tell in the picture, but go inside of the boat from there)

Continue inside the boat until you reach the area shown below. Once there, go outside of the boat (I find this to be the easiest way) and then jump onto the platform where the spirit is located.

Now comes the hardest part.

You'll need to jump across until you get onto the flat-ish ground above the ship. Once you get there, you'll have to jump again. Be sure to not get krilled, as the krill sometimes looks in this area. Also, be sure to watch out for cracks in the floor. The light will slip through and cause you to do this all over again. (Totally not from personal experience)

Horray! You've made it past the frustrating part. Time for the second frustrating part.

This looks a lot scarier than it is! When you fall off of the side of the ship, the light should fall with you. (Make sure to knock over crabs, they will attack you!)

Now you have to parkour up this area to the top of the cliffs. It looks worse than it is as I said! Just beware of cracks and don't move too fast or you'll lose the spirit!

This should complete two quests for you! Just make sure to fully interact with the spirit, and go through it's final scene.

The last quest is the Red Light

Find the light and come into contact with it to finish this quest.

From where you found the spirit, you can see it over the boat (You may have gotten it while doing the spirit, if so, congrats! if not, fly back there. I didn't do it until i finished the spirit, since the spirit was timed!

Hello Mr. Krill! Don't mind meee!

And there it is! Today's quests. It was a bit difficult to describe today, so please give me feedback on how to make this better and easier to understand! Thank you so much for reading!

Happy flying!

(I was unable to add a cute picture since today's quests used a lot of pictures and I reached the max, however I'll try to post some nice ones later today, stay tuned!)

#sky children of the light #sky cotl #thatskygame #moth #daily #daily quests #tutorial #guide #help #thatgamecompany

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bonginspector · 1 year

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My friend Sara is facing homelessness and needs your help, im posting on her behalf. She hasn’t asked me to and doesn’t know I am, I’m just someone who has been homeless and cares about other people. Below is the bio of her go fund me, she’s had a very rough year. Rent is due, y’all know how it is. Link will be at the bottom.

Hi all.

It is with a heavy heart that I am starting another fundraiser. Less than a month ago I started a fundraiser after an incident on December 23. My car was damaged when I ran a flat hitting a pothole, and without cell phone reception or a jack. As I was up a mountain on a forest road I was left with no other option than to drive on the rim to get to cell phone reception. This broke not only one but two axles on my car and rendered it with more mechanical damage and cosmetic issues. Devastatingly, yesterday January 11, my insurance company came with the final verdict: my car, not even a year old to me, has been deemed a total loss. I am now completely without wheels. I work a job that pays $7/ hour with barely any tips. I am walking 20.000-40.000 steps a day walking to work, walking at work, from work, doing errands, and walking my dogs, and it is all breaking me. This car loss comes atop a very traumatic half year. At the end of August, my husband and partner of 20 years abandoned me with no means. I was left unable to pay rent as I was a student only working part-time making 960/month and my rent is $1600. Then, a month later, my stepfather died suddenly and unexpectedly. As if that wasn't enough, my childhood friend killed himself in November, and my car got damaged in December. I've struggled to find a reliable roommate, and the one I had turned out to not be, and he broke the lease in December. I can not make this rent alone. My current job doesn't pay enough for me to sustain myself on my own.

The picture above is from dinner on my graduation day this past May, 2022. You see a pin on my blazer. That's a Phi Theta Kappa pin that I got when I graduated with the highest honors from the graphic design certificate program I attended. As a continuing student, I am still at a 4.0 GPA and with major scholarships. Sadly, this new situation is causing me to forfeit my school and scholarships. The only person who has offered to help me by providing a roof over my head and a safe place for me to rebuild my finances and self is my high school friend who lives in Morgantown, West Virginia. This fundraiser is created to help me avoid homelessness that will inevitably come if I can't get myself and my pets to Morgantown. I am needing to pay for a shipping container to move a small number of my belongings there. I will also need to rent a car, and pay for hotels/motels along the way. I am begging you and everyone you know to help me so that I don't have to give up my pets and move into a homeless shelter. Please help me get to my safe place — My friend's house in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Kindly but regretfully,

Sara

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goldenmetstli · 9 months

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Buzz Romantic Headcanons (Lightyear version)

So, my idea was to write a couple of headcanons just like the ones I made for TGMD but I don't know at what point this got out of control. It's... So long 🥲 I don't even know how I was able to write this much, but if you are like me and haven't found anything related to Lightyear I hope you like it!

Important note: This is a mix of general Safe For Work headcanons and reader insert based on the 2022 movie Lightyear. Reader Insert is gender neutral. Under Read More because, like I said, this one is long oh god.

★・・・・・・★

✦ I headcanon him to be in his late 20s (28/29).

✦ I don't think he has experience at all. He was so focused on being the best, working as hard as he possibly could, and interacting just the necessary with others (with the exception of Alisha) that having a relationship was never in his mind. Is mission first, enjoyment later.

✦ He considers himself okay-looking, but to be honest it is not something he thinks about. One of the few times that he thinks about his appearance is when he puts on his space ranger suit, he thinks he makes him look strong and brave.

✦ Okay, but does he have a physical preference? Not really. I truly believe he's a guy that doesn't really care for physical beauty. He can acknowledge someone is beautiful but you won't catch his attention just by being attractive.

How would he react if he discovered you like him?

✦ Just like anyone, knowing someone is interested in you makes you curious. If you two are in the same room, he would look at you without you noticing it. If you end up catching eyes oh God he would quickly look the other way and start doing something else, he makes it so obvious that he's embarrassed.

But there are two scenarios for this:

✦ 1) You two are strangers or just know each other very little (coworkers): His first instinct is to push that situation away, avoid you to all costs, but spend some time thinking about it cause is both kind of exciting and awkward. He would drown himself in anything job-related that would help to occupy his mind.

✦ In the past, there were some awkward interactions when he was a cadet where people showed interest in him, but again, he outright wouldn't pursue any relationship because, in his mind, it was inappropriate and his duty was first.

✦ 2) You two know each other or are friends: Oh, this one is trickier. The surprise would be even greater. For strangers, he kind of understands maybe why they like him, is canon that he does have some ego so he assumes that that person admires him, they are probably confusing their feelings since they don't really know him.

✦ But if you two are friends and he discovers your feelings for him oohh boy. It wouldn't compute in his head. His first question would be "Wait, what?!" Is not that he's insecure, is just that that part of his life is so pushed away that when romance is brought to the table he's confused and nervous.

✦ He would look at you (from far away) with more intention because he's trying to decipher what the hell is going on in your head. Is it true? Do you give any indication of having romantic feelings? When did this happen? Is sitting next to him an indication of anything? When you both talk, are you flirting and he just doesn't know?

✦ He also questions himself about his feelings for you. I can picture him looking at the ceiling trying to sleep but he can't because there's so much going on in his head. Of course, his instinct is to ignore the situation in hopes it just disappears, trying to convince himself that is not appropriate to date anyone from his team... But he can't deny it's on his mind.

✦ Sadly, he would be the kind of guy that would change his behavior around you. Not looking at your face, trying to avoid you at all costs, denying he's acting weird...

✦ It sucks. But he's just trying to figure out what the hell is he supposed to do. Being a space ranger has been his entire life, he knows where he stands, what are his duties, and expects the unexpected. But feelings? That's out of his range of knowledge and has to ask the really hard questions; Does he want a relationship?

✦ Basically, you would send him into a crisis lol

✦ Sox would notice right away. He would embarrass him by stating in front of the team (and you, of course) that his heart is beating fast and his stress levels are higher than usual.

✦ Would he ask his friends for help? God no. Never. In a million years. This is his problem and he has to find the solution himself, right? But others would also notice his odd behavior.

✦ Their collective reaction is "Oh we already knew they liked you, we thought you knew too".

✦ In that case, Buzz would try to compose himself and explain that he doesn't agree with the situation since the Space Ranger code prohibits any relationships with your peers, but they would stop him in his tracks and remind him that the code changed years ago.

✦ Izzy also has no experience, but she takes inspiration from very old magazines and books she was given by her grandmothers when they lived on Earth. Needless to say, her advice is not that useful.

✦ Mo would tell Buzz about that time a guy hit on him and he was so nervous that he spilled his drink on him and never saw him again, so his advice is don't spill your drink on them.

✦ Thank god for Darcy because she is the only voice of reason. She is the one who asked the hard-hitting questions, taking no bs from Buzz when he tried to find excuses to just ignore the situation. Derby advised him that if he's not interested, then he should let you know. After all, he's hurting you more by avoiding you.

✦ But that's the issue... He doesn't know how to navigate these feelings.

★・・・・・・★

Anyway, this is so long so I have to stop here. Maybe I would do a part 2. If by any this inspires someone to do a reader insert HC please, please tag me🙏🏼it's been so hard to find any fanfiction of this movie!

#lightyear 2022 #buzz lightyear #buzz #pixar lightyear #lightyear movie

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linkedkeysau-official · 2 years

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Whumptober 2022- Linked Keys Edition

Day 17- breaking point (+ art)

"Anything?" Warriors asked.

"No… He's still unresponsive." Legend shook his head sadly as he exited the room.

"What's this make, two weeks? He should have woken up by now or at least showed some sort of sign that his condition is improving."

"I know he should have, but he isn't! He isn't getting any better, and—"

"Legend. Calm down. Getting fired up like this won't help anything."

"...You're right. I'm sorry. I'm just… I'm scared."

"We all are. He is our brother. I'm sure it hurts everyone to see him like this. I just wish we could figure out what exactly poisoned him, so we know how to avoid it in the future."

"If there is a future for him…" Legend grumbled under his breath.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Warriors asked. Legend didn't answer, "Legend. You aren't giving up on him, are you? I would have thought you had more faith in our healer."

"I do, it's just…" Legend bit back a sob, "Not only has he not been getting better, but I think he's actually getting worse, Wars. The… the doctor is saying he might not make it. That was a really strong poison, it wasn't like those mushrooms Wind and Future ate that one time. It had to be deliberate, someone was trying to kill him."

"...And an assassination attempt isn't something a lot of people get out of alive." Warriors nodded in understanding. He himself had witnessed quite a few of those targeting him, Zelda, Impa, and even Mask a few times, "Still, we can't lose hope. There is still a chance. We've all beaten the odds multiple times throughout our adventures. We need to trust that Hyrule can pull through this."

The two spoke quietly so as to not be overheard by one of the younger heroes in the adjacent room or cause needless panic among any of the others. Unfortunately Wild, on his way to check on Hyrule himself that evening, had heard the conversation anyway. Might not make it? Strong poison? Assassination attempt?! The words echoed through Wild's mind as the champion stood there in shock, listening in from around the corner. And yet one single thought made it through the dizzying storm of panic that began to swirl inside of him. Hyrule was dying… His friend was DYING.

"Wild? What are you doing up? I thought you would have gone to sleep already." Warriors asked as he and Legend walked past him, suddenly shaking him out of his thoughts.

"Oh. I was just…"

"You okay? You look like something scared you." Legend asked.

"I'm fine. Just, uh, tripped and almost fell. Yep. It startled me." Wild lied, "Actually I was just going to see how Hyrule was doing."

"Well don't let us hold you up. Someone should be keeping an eye on him anyway. Twi could probably use the company too." Warriors said. Legend shot Wild a suspicious look, but seemed to shake it off as he and the captain headed back to their rooms.

"Goodnight." Wild waved to them before hurrying to the room where Hyrule lay, still comatose. Twilight was seated on a stool beside the bed, his gaze pulled upwards from fiddling with his horse whistle necklace when he saw Wild walk in.

"Cub! What're you doing here this late? I thought I had volunteered to watch Hyrule tonight." He asked.

"Couldn't sleep. Figured I'd come check in on him." Wild said quietly, approaching the two. It may have just been the moonlight streaming in through the window, but Hyrule looked super pale. Horribly pale. He could even be mistaken for being dead, with how still he lay, exactly where he had been for the past two weeks, clutching that doll of his. Wild actually had to put a hand to the healer's chest— feeling it rise and fall slightly with every slow, shallow breath, feeling his weak, yet present heartbeat beneath his fingertips— before he could feel calm in the knowledge that Hyrule was in fact still alive.

He's alive, but for how long? A voice in the back of Wild's mind asked. He looked so much worse than he did a few days ago, the last time Wild had stopped by. At least then, he still had some color in his skin. One didn't need to be right next to him to see that he was breathing. He had a mild fever for the first week, sure, but at least that was a sign that his body was trying to fight off the poison. Now he almost felt cold… It didn't take a genius to see that he wasn't doing well, and Wild knew that even if this was one of those cases where it would get worse before it got better, but the question was just how much worse could he get before his body just failed? How much worse could it get before the poison finally killed him? It couldn't be much more than this, Wild thought,

Goddesses, no… He's really dying. He's really going to die! And there isn't anything I can do! My friend is dying and all I can do is watch, just like before!!!

"Cub?" Twilight asked with concern as a sob finally escaped Wild's lips and he sank down to the floor, burying his face in his arms as he curled up in a ball.

"Cub, what's wrong? Talk to me." Twilight appeared at Wild's side, rubbing circles on his back to try and calm him down.

"I can't do this anymore… Not again…!" Wild sobbed.

"Listen to me, Cub. Hyrule is strong. He will be okay. If his body doesn't fight off the poison on its own we'll probably have found a cure already. Everyone is trying to figure this out. Everyone. Understand? He will pull through this, and so will you."

"How can you say that? How do you even know? He's looking worse every day, and I don't… I CAN'T LOSE ANOTHER FRIEND, TWI!!!" Wild wailed, "...I just can't…!" He had managed to keep his composure thus far, albeit barely. But this was too much. Seeing his friend this way, barely even alive anymore while there was still poison coursing through his system, still working at finishing him off… And Wild, being unable to do anything about it. Unable to do anything to save his friend's life… that sent him over the edge. Wild had reached his limit of just how much pain he could take before he broke.

"I know, Cub… I'm sorry. Just wish I could say for sure that he'll be okay." Twilight wrapped his arms around Wild's trembling body, pulling him into a tight hug. Wild leaned into it, letting the warmth of his mentor's embrace wash over him and soothe the emotional turmoil that was still tearing Wild up on the inside. Wolfie was always great at being there for cuddles when Wild was struggling, but he had to admit it was a lot nicer having that same softness and gentleness in someone that could actually hug him back.

It wasn't long before Wild managed to drift off to sleep, still leaning against Twilight with the latter's strong arms still wrapped around him tightly. He now prayed that Hyrule would wake up soon, not just for Hyrule's sake but for Wild's as well. Because Twilight was certain that Wild truly wouldn't be able to take the death of another loved one.

#linked keys #loz au #LK #whumptober2022 #not lu #LK Hyrule #LK Wild #LK Twilight #LK Warriors #LK Legend #tw: poison

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