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walker-extended-universe · 1 year

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Walker Promo Poster Analysis Time!

It occurred to me that all the promo posters we've been getting lately have different backgrounds and that seems very important to me so I'm just going to look at each poster one at a time and see if I can parse any meaning out of it. Okay? Okay!

Let's start with the first poster we ever got:

Now, the main trait that connects all these posters is the dark clouds on the horizon (likely symbolism for the dark clouds covering everyone's futures and how bad things are going to get), but those are different for each character. Here, Cordell's clouds cover the majority of the sky with only a few places for sunlight to break through. I think this could mean that things are going to get a lot worse for Cordell before they get better.

I also want to call attention to the ground behind him. It looks like the ranch, grassy and hilly, but there's also a house on the right. I believe that's the farmhouse he lives in with his children. This could mean that he's going to actually put in an effort to be more present for Stella and August and put his work on the backburner (for real this time).

Next, August:

(I had to grab this from my blog bc it is no longer on any Walker social medias so excuse the poor quality

A few things I want to point out. August's stance (something else that varies) is mimicking his father's. His cloud pattern is also similar to Cordell's, but it's lighter. I think this could be a sign that, though he has been led astry by his own instincts (sound familiar), he still has time to course-correct and get on the right path. Perhaps even with Cordell's help.

The ground here is also different. There are a lot of trees and bushes and the hills seem more pronounced. There is also a fence blocking him off from the messy, unorganized area. Could this be a sign that his journey back to August the Noble will be a difficult one? And, perhaps, his family (or others) laying down some boundaries will keep him from straying the path?

Next, Abeline:

Abby's stance is the same as Cordell's and August's so I won't touch much on that except to say Family Resemblance.

Abby's cloud pattern deviates from the previous ones. The clouds are placed differently and she seems to have more light than her son and grandson. This could be a sign of her good recovery or that other areas of her life will improve over the season.

Her ground background is puzzling to me. The left and right sides seem to be two completely different properties. The one on the left is the ranch, I believe, with a simple wooden fence. On her right, she has what looks like a garden protected by a white-picket fence and a small water tower in the background. Does this represent the impact she's had on the Walker ranch with her garden? Or will she have to make a choice about something? Perhaps she will have to limit her physical activity because of her recovery and she has to give up something she enjoys to meet that limit?

Liam:

Okay this is where things get a little crazy.

First of all HIS STANCE!!!! It's totally different than everything we've seen so far! He's facing the left instead of the right and he's looking over his shoulder a bit. Could this indicate that he's going to be breaking away from the family going forward?

His clouds are also drastically different. There's actual blue sky! I think Liam's going to make great strides toward healing and bettering himself.

The ground is also interesting. It's very flat and mostly grassy. Clear fields ahead? There's also a horse, which is most likely a tie in to his horse therapy and sanctuary plot. Perhaps this is a sign that he will succeed?

Trey:

Okay, again, the stance. It's very similar to Cordell's but he's facing the camera a lot more head-on than we've seen previously. Something tells me he's got some challenges ahead that he can't afford to back down from.

Also his clouds! They are DARK! These are storm clouds! Something very bad lies in Trey's future.

Also the ground. This is very odd. He has dry grass behind him and overgrown bushes scattered beyond that. There's no house, no fence, no sign of any life or civilization. It looks sort of like that area Cordell and Dan raced through in 2x12. What could that mean? Is he going to have to make some tough choices that land him in a bad position? Is he lost (physically, emotionally, mentally)? There's so much potential here but I can say that things are going to be very tough for the newest ranger going forward.

Bonham:

Okay, again, STANCE

He's facing left, like Liam, but the way he faces the camera is closer to Cordell, just opposite. Could be reading into this too much but Bonham's gonna be having troubles with both of his sons this season.

His clouds are dark and there is some light but we can't see any patches of blue sky. I think Bonham's going to have a lot of hard choices to make and there's more trouble for him on the horizon. With Abby in the hospital and having to face both of their mortalities so harshly, plus troubles with August and Liam, it's no wonder his future is a little stormy.

His ground background is interesting. He has a barbed-wire fence behind him, some grass in the foreground, and trees on the hills in the background. I'm also fairly certain there's a cow on the right. Perhaps Walker Beef will stand another chance? Regardless, the ranch seems to be a focal point for him. It's his home and his legacy.

James:

Okay this is interesting.

I'd say his stance is similar to Bonham's. He also has some very dark clouds behind him but there are rays of sunshine poking through. We haven't seen much indication for what his plots are going to be this season so it's hard to say what this means but he could be making strides towards betterment in a few areas of his life that are overshadowed by larger issues.

His background is drastically different than everyone else's. He's not on the ranch, he's in the city. He has a flat, grassy field behind him with some trees that looks like it could be a public park. We also see the skyline of Austin in the distance. It's interesting to me that he would have a background off the ranch while Trey doesn't. Is this a sign that he's distancing himself from the Walkers? Or does he just have more going on in the city?

Last on- Stella:

Her stance is interesting. She's facing the same direction as her father and brother but, like her uncle, she's looking over her shoulder instead of facing the camera head on. This could be a sign of her trying to break away from the family.

Her clouds are also interesting. There's sunlight! And blue skies! Still plenty of dark clouds but she's got a much better weather forecast than most of the rest of her family. Maybe she really will figure out what she wants with her life by the end of the season and she's going to take strides towards it?

Her background is also very interesting. Like Abby, she's got two very different things on the right and left. She's also the only Walker without anything resembling the ranch in her background. On the left is her mother's car behind what looks like a meta guardrail/low fence. It still hasn't been de-modded but maybe she likes it better that way? On the right is a building I don't think we've seen yet with a white van parked in front of it. Maybe this is where she finds her purpose? Some kind of volunteer center? Or, maybe she finds a new home? The further background also has some different trees than we've seen before. Not sure what that means but if she really is breaking away from her family..... It's interesting.

-Edit for new poster-

Cassie:

Okay we got some interesting details here.

Cassie's stance mirrors Trey's. She's facing the camera head on and not angling to the side. There's definitely some challenges ahead for her.

Her clouds are also similar to Trey's. Not the same pattern exactly but these are some very stormy clouds. There's no sunlight or even a hint if blue sky. It's all very greyed over.

Her background is interesting too. She has the park and city in the back, like James, but the city is on the right rather than the left. Perhaps this is a sign of their differences in opinion and values? I also keep going back to how she and James have non-ranch backgrounds while Trey is in the thick of it. Is this a sign of distance from the Walkers? Could she be looking at a separation from Cordell? It's very interesting....

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Well, that's all the overanalysis I have in me I think lol. I may be reading way too much into this and making some wild claims but it just strikes me as interesting that they would customize the posters for each character down to such detail. It HAS to mean something, right???? Or am I just crazy? Be honest with me, I can take it.

#walker #walker promo #walker analysis #walker speculation #walker theory #cordell walker #august walker #abeline walker #liam walker #trey barnett #bonham walker #larry james #stella walker #cassie perez

32 notes · View notes

convexicalcrow · 1 year

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All The Fkn Lore Drops From Mythical J. Sausage's Empires Stream on Feb 4, 2023

And I mean, ALL OF THEM.

(source: Sausage's Empires livestream 4/2/23)

(commentary is in parentheses)

No time stamps bc this took long enough as it is and my hands would not forgive me if I did anything more. There are some approximate time markers I chucked in as I went but nothing specific.

Also this is Very Long, there are like 3.5k words of notes I took while watching this. I mostly focused on the lore stuff, but there's also a bit of extraneous commentary as well and some suggestive quotes I had to include. But yeah. Mostly it is lore, which says a lot lol.

we (the audience) are the watchers (from Evo lore) watching Sausage

he can see us, bc he can see everything (like Dr Strange apparently idk shit about Marvel stuff tho frfr) and he can communicate with us

he's had these powers for millenia but he's now unlocked them bc he's woken from his watcher slumber. bc the rift gave him his memories back from every life he's ever lived.

he literally said Sir Carlos is dead, everyone's dead, but he's not going over old/dead lore.

(please remember him saying Sir Carlos is dead, bc he gives us some Sir Carlos lore later on that contradicts this)

promises to put signs up for everyone who becomes a member (he will live to regret this at the end of the stream lol)

(sausage after dark needs to happen plz sausage i need the fwimmy fanfics bc ofc he ships fwhimmy lmao)

lore trees! done with magic. based on the Tree of Whimsy. Mini Trees of Whimsy.

suggests stealing the Tree of Whimsy from Bdubs like a normal person lol

he will worship Sun God Bdubs and communicate with him one day

there's Something in the Cathedral that's lore-related that he can't show us (may be in the ep that's coming out today?)

if he goes back in time, he can see The General

gotta shake Sunny's hand when you greet him

Bubbles and Athena have been fighting for two days; she stole Bubble's food lol. Athena guards Sunny.

Eddie always wants to go visit Oli, but Oli's never around, and it's dangerous in the Olipelago.

Eddie's getting Thicccc, been working out a lot lately.

Eddie's going to the Olipelago for two weeks for a holiday. That's Canon lol.

rip Diedre the Dodo ;_; (literally NO ONE spelt her name properly bc Ren's accent is a hot mess. XD)

makes a point of telling Sgorby that he's gonna start making out with everyone on the hardcore server now

he technically knows about the Wither Rose Alliance now. But he's not supposed to tell ppl that he knows, bc it might fuck with things. Black Collar Bubbles told him not to tell ppl. Could rip spacetime.

normal things he does in Sanctuary: he's just walking around, doing some farming, checking the visitor centre, that kind of thing.

leatherworker shop for Maria??

Maria's single and looking for love in all the wrong places.

Just looking for a good time, not to get locked down with anyone. Bunnies are party people.

Carlos has been living in the tavern, hasn't had his trades locked in.

Came in on a boat a while back and been living in the tavern ever since.

Could it be Sir Carlos? Maybe, maybe not.

OG Sir Carlos is long gone in this world.

Hermes is home-schooled, so they don't really need a public school system.

Hermes is the only child in Sanctuary. All the other children are in other realms/elsewhere/not in Sanctuary.

Technically Sunny is a child, 2 wks old, but they're an AI system so. Smarter than everyone in this world.

Technically did you see Sir Carlos die? In lore and in canon? Did you ever see him die at the end of the season? The last thing we saw of him was that he had to leave suddenly. We didn't see him go. He had to leave, go off on an adventure, he couldn't say, had to go somewhere specific. Sir Carlos is cursed, turned into a chicken by some other being. Legendary knight who's been around for a very long time. Is he immortal? Not immortal, but very powerful. Has been known to shapeshift. Technically he could be somewhere in the background. Maybe he came from an adventure somewhere, just showed up. Not as a knight anymore. But maybe, just maybe, be might have found us again, he says, looking at Carlos the villager. Came on boats, both time. Funny that. Sir Carlos of Mythland usually comes on a boat at a dock. From time to time. Whenever he's needed. So yeah. Strange.

(3 hours isn't a long stream, Sausage, not when you watch Cub's speedrunning vods lmao)

Can Sir Carlos dimension jump? He's a special being- er, person. Gods love your boy, and superpowered beings too. They gravitate to him. It's nbd.

We will see more of Sir Carlos later. Sausage has Plans.

Keralis and Bdubs were the first tutorial/series he watched, and he got to kiss them both in lore and in canon

jimmy villain arc fanfic tiem!

jimmy is a toy backstory, then the villain arc.

(i'm only 43 mins in btw lolololol)

jimmy's villain arc, chapter one, by mythical j. sausage:

jimmy's a toy and everyone knows it except jimmy. then he has a realisation. why is my skin so hard? oh, i'm made of wood! D: looks back as a shot fires, and out comes a demon, was it xornoth? No! a western demon, dressed all in black. I cursed you boy, and now you can see. Everyone sees it, open your eyes, boy. I did it, you're gonna do nothing about it. You're right! I was blinded this whole time! Demon disappeared, laughing his whole time. Hit by lightning, the wood starts burning! He starts melting and turns into a pile of ash! The demon comes back. He waves his hands in the air and the ash spews up into the air, all jimmy ashes, and it creates Jimmy from the ground up, but now he's made of ash. Eyes are dead. Yeeehaaaa motherfucker! Cursing up a storm now, and goes around killing everyone. Can fly into the sky like an ash tornado. Demon tells him to murder all the empires. So he goes, and the tornado goes out the door of the saloon. Shoots a gun, has two six shooters now. Goes all the way to Stratos, to kill Joel. His first victim. Jimmy goes to Stratos, straight into the heart of the god's realm, to take out Joel, for all the time he called him a toy, even though he was right. Passes the statue of Saint Peril and donkey Jeremy. Jimmy's cussing all over the place, no longer PG. More lighting! Joel's clapping his cheeks! Just practicing lol. Sausage wasn't around, he was resting under a tree in Sanctuary. Look, it's the stupid little toy! Jimmy's cursing and shooting Joel in the face several times. Empties his guns. Joel's dead. Has just killed a god. Jimmy laughs. Bullets were made with some kind of evil juice that enabled him to kill a god. Then Hermes shoots into the sky! Looks down at evil Jimmy! He's mad! You killed my father! D: You're gonna die now, little man! Jimmy looks up at Hermes flapping his little wings on his feet. Always wanted to kill you! But Hermes doesn't let him finish and shoots him in the eye with lightning and Jimmy explodes into ash. The demon appears and is like, you can't do that! but Hermes kills him too. He's crying now, going down to daddy Joel. Not today, Daddy, and kissed him on the forehead, and Joel came back to life. What happened? The toy's dead, no need to worry about him anymore. Oh, cool! Starts clapping his cheeks again lol. The End. (this is paraphrased in places but that's the gist of it)

it's fanfic not canon, jimmy's a good man.

Empires!Sausage would write his own fanfiction about his friends. It's Canon.

yassify that demon! he says about the western demon he created lol.

(i will Not document the slander happening rn frfr)

(ya boi is procrastinating real hard on the tree clearing ngl)

next fanfic is what evil sausage was doing while he was away

is it gonna be headcanon or lore? who knows?

(one hour in and we have started cutting trees)

(we're tree-clearing for a Lore Build)

("the bush is more important than the sapling")

(he loves False's lore as well <3)

evil sausage can't be the good twin.

s2 Sausage is Extra Good now. s1 Sausage had Issues, did some bad stuff. Mix of good and bad. But this version of him has zero evilness. Nothing bad now. Goodest of the good boys. It's bc Gem in s1 took every bit of corruption and badness in him. There's nothing left. He jokes around, but there's no evil intent. The Other Sausage has all of Sausage's evilness.

you do need a little bit of both though. Being completely good can mess things up in the future. Too much of a good thing can be bad, he says, so keep that in mind. (<_<)

there's no canon on the hardcore server, just killing everyone at the end lol.

"Oh no my chests are gone!" he says as he enters his storage room, before they appear a moment later. "That's lore!" (right, ofc it is)

("This is my one and only junk drawer, don't tell Pearlescent Moon")

Blood sheep are long since gone, and can't come back. They're gone. Been thousands of years since they were last seen. Might be elsewhere but he won't be investigating.

are blood sheep extinct? technically he hasn't seen them in a very long time, but he's also very far away from where mythland would have been so maybe they're around there? but no one's seen them for generations. they're not around here.

all blood sheep are red sheep but not all red sheep are blood sheep - he's talked with all the red sheep he's found around Sanctuary and they're just regular sheep.

The Mythland Song! D: It's apparently now the dimension warping song. He has to warp dimensions every time it comes up now. >_>

(he has sound effects and everything >_>)

(I SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOING SAUSAGE)

(1h 20min in for those keeping check of the time)

Bubbles told him not to do this, but he's here now so.

"I got warped back, it's fine, it's fine, it's fine, it's fine…"

We're just in another realm.

Can't get into the summoning circle tho. >_>

There are blood sheep around.

About an hour before the End Times.

Xornoth could be around, bc he was around at this time, but doesn't know where he is.

Going to look for Bubbles now.

Just minding his own business when he met Xornoth for the first time.

Thinking of warping the blacksmith into Sanctuary bc he needs an autosmelter. It's where he first met Xornoth as well. >_>

Going to see The General. :D

(Bubbles is the ultimate being but forget he said that >_>)

Blood Sheep Lore! After they rained down on Mythland! What caused them to rain down? 1) he sent Evil Sausage into that pocket dimension, an exact copy of this world. It was other blood sheep from that world too, and Evil Sausage destroyed Mythland in that world, including the blood sheep, for absolutely no purpose. They're happy to be sacrificed for a greater purpose. But if there's no greater purpose to their sacrifice, they get angry. That's why they got upset with Sausage. 2) the salmon/cod explosion ALSO caused it, and that triggered the big explosion of blood sheep to rain down on them. They became cannibalistic. Ate everything and everyone out in these realms. General was eaten alive. Villagers dead. Every animal, person, being got eaten by blood sheep as revenge for what Sausage did. Went on for many, many years. He can never save the people in Mythland. He couldn't change it. Ate everything in sight until the only thing left was blood sheep.

He's gone downstairs after seeing House Horse. There are blood sheep down here too. and he looks at the cells and he's like, …wait. am I in the wrong… Mythland? D: is this where-…? wait. no is this where evil me… did he rebuild-? D: i have to leave now. leaves immediately bc that [the bars of the left hand cell I am assuming] were open last time.

we're fine, we're back.

In denial about it being That Mythland. It was probably regular Mythland right? And he wasn't there that long. It's fine. He's fine. It wasn't where Evil Me was. Just coincidence that thing was sealed up.

evil sausage def isn't hanging around looking for a way to get back, trying to cling onto me and find his way back here (or words to that effect, ya boi mumbled that a bit ngl)

(tangent about the mcytblr sexyman polls bc ofc)

(scar is a very sexy man, and sausage is 100% right and he should say it)

(ftr i still kinda don't really get the tumblr sexyman concept even though i have tried to understand it but you do you tumblr <3 i am just enjoying the chaos and the fun and the polls lol)

someone tells sausage that shelby's got a lil skulk thing going on and he's rightfully a lil concerned about that

promising something special with lore in the next ep, very good lore.

is the story over now the crossover's done? well, that was like the mid-season finale for that ep with the crossovers, bringing that arc to a close. Still a lot of stories left to tell. A lot of things and unanswered questions from lore which will be coming back before the end. Pages and pages of written stuff that he's been planning, and we're not even close to getting to that spot. Don't worry, there's a lot to come. Wanted the Pearl thing to feel very special. All the unanswered stuff will be answered before the end. No end date yet. There's story things to get to, and things that are gonna build on that, so there's no end date yet. Things gonna ramp up very soon and a lot of crazy things are gonna happen.

Sausage the matchmaker, pretty much everyone he matches up works out

before all things said and done, The Chart is gonna be a billboard. Gonna get with every new person lol, add all kinds of weird things to the chart. Out of spite, but also out of fun. (i think it was out of fun, it was hard to catch that word)

("wood daddy chopping wood and slandering people in the chat room")

("at least you put it in the back and not in the front")

evil sausage: what is he doing now? is the title of the next fanfic lol

(lowkey appreciating the lack of lore in this part of the stream bc my hands needed a break lol)

invisible axolotls? D: D: D:

the song playing rn is the one where he met Pearl from the crossover and it wasn't Santa Perla and he needed consoling. But he remembers her now.

Pearl's holding her godly powers back so she can be a normal person for once.

if e2!Sausage was an animal, he'd be a lion. like mufasa. he likes tragic characters (yeah I had noticed Sausage lol) big giant mane, furry chest, etc.

wood-chopping sausage with a lil fur on his chest.

(irl sausage would pick a lion as well.)

"look, that's magic! there's a lore with that" - sausage about a floating vine

there's a cat that's been hanging around ever since he settled in Sanctuary and that cat may be important to the story. (it's an ocelot)

ppl are reporting on jimmy stealing the dragon egg on the hardcore server, and he's like, i'm on Empires I can't go over there and kill him now!

("oh my mouth hole got moistened")

(I am not writing out your fanfics Sausage. Except for summarising them for this post)

the song from Afterlife where Vampire Scott killed Angel Sausage. He came back as the evil wither man. But in order to do that, he had to have the blood sucked from him.

who buried Angel Sausage? Was it Scott? bc he felt bad for killing him? Maybe Oli. Probably Oli. Or Scott. Let's say it was Oli bc it makes sense in lore. After he killed him, he came back to finish the job and suck him dry, and then Oli buried him in the grave. Then he came back as an evil wither man.

then Oli came back and sang him a song while Sausage shot himself into the sun

will it be real lore or fanfiction for evil sausage? we'll have to find out

technically, you know how this area [Sanctuary] is Latin-inspired? For all the ppl who watched Afterlife, what was the first angel Sausage build style? It was Spanish-inspired. A Spanish hacienda. How odd that he would have picked that build style to start out his life as angel Sausage. Hinting that that is the style he wanted to do after coming back from the Afterlife and Pearl sent him down. And what is the first style he did after coming back from the Afterlife? Spanish. Latin. Columbian. Lorelorelorelorelore.

from the beginning he wanted Afterlife to be connected to Empires s2 and his afterlife after s1.

"we've had a lot of lore drops today" looks at my 2.8k words of lore notes that isn't even finished yet yeah just a lil bit o.o

(and now Sausage's new ep has gone up, and I will Not watch it until I'm done with this stream)

(~30 mins to go)

("Oh it's 5am for you? I'm sorry. Have you tried not living in the weirdest time zone?" cries in GMT+8, the Worst time zone ;_; this was not about my time zone I don't think bc I don't have chat on when watching yt streams/vods bc it moves too fast but I felt that so hard)

evil sausage lore/fanfic tiem!

is this actual lore or am i telling you now a fanfiction about evil sausage in another realm? will i say if it's real or not? we'll see what happens.

this is called 'the story of evil sausage a.k.a sausage supreme a.k.a the bratwurst man a.ka. that boi thicc but he evil a.k.a who hurt you?'

back when he was sent back to another realm. he's pure evil. upset. angry over time. after swallowing xornoth and getting all the power that he possessed, he became stronger. still trapped in a pocket dimension. he went to every empire in search of clues to find a way out. days passed, months passed, years passed. his powers only grew as he found many old tomes in old libraries. he needed an outlet to use those powers. blood sheep were still around. but blood sheep weren't the only night creatures out at that time. other creatures too from other realms. every one he found he devoured to get stronger. back then, every single life was sucked away, never to be seen again.

(cue Oli gatecrashing)

the evil bratwurst man couldn't hold it in any longer.

(oli has muted a tab with the stream open and doesn't realise it for a hot minute)

"I'm doing fanfiction lore of my evil self!"

the evil version of me actually did escape one time. how did he do it? he did it by accident. he decided to sacrifice himself like sausage did through the summoning circle. why? bc he couldn't take it anymore. he was done being all alone in a pocket universe and wanted to end his life. so he did it in the summoning circle. where did he end up? in the council with the other bubbles. they didn't know what was happening, freaked out, what's he doing here in the spirit realm? every other bubbles wanted to banish him. but one wanted to give him another chance. so she sent him somewhere else. he left that pocket universe. was it the grey collared bubbles? maybe it was. well, if you're going to let him loose, you have to watch him. so that's why whenever you see him, you also see her. could this be lore? could this be real? or could this be fanfiction? whenever we travelled to see him, all of mythland wasn't destroyed. why would that specific mythland we saw in perfect condition? also wonders what's stopping him from sacrificing himself again and travelling here? idk what is stopping him. is it the bubbles? is he only trapped in that dimension? he's no longer in the pocket universe. the man is on his own. only that bubbles is there to stop him. if anything were to happen to that bubbles, who knows where he could go? she's the meanest bubbles. she's the bubbles that likes to hurt ppl. if something ever happened to that bubbles, or if sausage went there and they joined together, there's many ways he could escape, but he's in his own timeline in mythland. apparently one that there's no one there to stop him. probably why we saw Wither Rose Alliance heads in the dark tower bc maybe he murdered everyone. Is this real lore and canon? Or is this fanfiction? who knows? could be either one! :D

how could be still be alive after 1000 years?

what if he's not in the future, but it's still just the past for him?

never said his timeline matches his own.

can only travel to dimensions he knows.

time has passed but not that long.

if evil sausage joined with sausage would he become his ultimate self? who knows?

some nice juicy lore, or was it fanfiction? :D?

sausage refusing to clarify whether this is lore or not, which makes me feel like It's Definitely Lore bc he was Very Clear about clarifying the fanfic earlier.

(well done, 3.5k words of lore notes, ty sausage DX)

(sausage just wants to eat his bagel and ppl keep becoming members lmao)

And we're done.

collapses

goes to watch Sausage's new ep and then go to bed

16 notes · View notes

twdmusicboxmystery · 1 year

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just saw the dead city trailer and ran here. What do you think about the time jump there with older Hershel playing into everyone reuniting with the CRM? Ready for your FTWD analysis too. also just realized FTWD will probably coincide with dead city. Going into the new phase with low expectations and hopefully a good outcome🤞🏻

Yeah, I saw them. Super exciting! The thing is, I don't think Hershel will actually be significantly older. I seem to remember them talking about a very small time jump, like maybe a few months, but I don't think it will be more than that. The actor who plays Hershel does look older, but that's just because kids age so quickly on film. It's been 2 years since this young man first portrayed Hershel, so of course he'll look older. That doesn't mean he is in the show.

Cailey Fleming, who plays Judith on the show, is kind of an exception here. She's a 14-year-old who still looks like she's ten, lol. But that's not true of most kids. So, I wouldn't worry overly much about there being a time jump.

As for other observations about the two new trailers, here is what I sent my fellow theorists:

@twdmusicboxmystery:

A few things that immediately jumped out at me.

Maggie says someone is “the key” to getting Hershel back. We’re meant to believe she’s talking to Negan, and she may be. But we know they can sometimes splice together trailers in a way that can be misleading. But this is a theme we saw heavily in S4 and S5, including around Grady.

The storyline they lay out for Fear, brief tho it may be, feels like a template for the CRM. People raising an army to challenge a larger organization.

June looks exactly like Leah in this picture:

Any insight into who the guy in the wanted poster is? It COULD be Rick. Doesn’t look like him in particular, but closer to him than to Beth, lol.

I got IMDb to try and confirm weather or not they’re using the same actor for Hershel. I think they are, but none of the spin-offs are listed anywhere on IMDb yet. Not Dead City and not Daryl Dixon. Which is a little strange since fans can edit the pages. It’s odd that no one has added them.

I almost feel like maybe they’re purposefully being kept off the pages for now. Though I don’t know why they would do that.

@galadrieljones:

That is weird about IMDb. I agree it makes it seem like they don’t want the info out there. It’s strange like the spin offs still don’t seem real? Esp the Daryl one.

@wdway:

You asked who we thought was in the wanted poster. I think it is Negan.

I've been thinking about some of the scenes that we've seen in the past seasons that implied that Negan might know something about the CRM but maybe not realize that's who it is and I think that Negan might be smart enough not to question certain things to closely.

When Jadis held him at the junkyard she called the CRM helicopter which he saw. Nothing was ever explained about how he just totally ignored that. At the satellite station they had a room where they were growing pot I wonder if he was growing pot to sell to some group connected to the CMR in exchange for other medical supplies like insulin that we saw with Tina, Sherry and Dwight had stolen when they left the sanctuary.

In Here's Negan there was a lot of open questions about the cancer medicine he got from the doctor in the RV. It just seem to me there are a lot of questions that were put out and then skipped over.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

Great points! I hadn't thought of that. 👍

So, these are our initial thoughts about the two trailers. What does everyone else think?

#beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #beth is coming #td theory #td theories #team delusional #team defiance #beth is almost here #bethyl

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aspiringsophrosyne · 1 year

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Episode 2: The Trials of Vasselheim

What's bad here is going to keep coming into play further down the road, so I wanted to get into it now.

The Bad (or at least not great)

At The Gate

The bit at the gate with Percy and the guard already felt off before I realized what they were trying to set up with Diplomacy. Then it just felt contrived, especially since it doesn't fit well. Remember how Percy wasn't the de Rolo kid who was meant to rule and probably wasn't being taught how to talk to people in an official capacity? Remember that he's been effectively homeless and away from money and the trappings of the aristocracy for what's probably been years? So even if he had been taught, he'd have no reason to be confident in his ability to talk his way into anything?

Yeah.

One way to make this moment more natural is to have Percy mutter as he and Vex walk away: "That always worked when Father/Julius did it." This reminds the audience that Percy wasn't and isn't experienced in this; he's just trying to ape what he's seen. Plus, it adds a touch of emotional depth to what he's meaning to do.

In The Black Powder Shop

I wanted more Victor. Just saying. Also, more context about black powder would've been nice. The world building around it is interesting, and it establishes just how big of a crackpot Victor, Percy, and Anna are.

Also, the fuck was Ripley doing in Issylra? In the stream, she passed through there on her way to Marquet, chasing after multiple Vestiges that could be found there and never returned to Tal'dorei. But here, Ripley seems to have gone straight to Vasselheim from Whitestone, then back to Tal'dorei again. It makes sense she'd go back for the Vestiges if she's after them, but why did she leave in the first place? And the reason Ripley came to Vasselheim couldn't be because she was following Vox Machina, since she bought black powder there before they arrived.

Nitpicks

Vex exclaims out loud that she hopes Keyleth catches them. That feels unnecessary. Of course she would hope that, why do we need her to say it out loud? Maybe something like this?

Vex(whistling): Over hee-ere! Does Polly want a cracker?

Vax: That's parrots, idiot.

Vex: Shut up!

Eagle!Keyleth: *catches the twins*

Meh. Not great, but if the twins have to say something there, that sounds better.

~~~

So they're switching out the Platinum Dragon for the Law Bearer, which is actually cool. She deserves more love and given her domain it might even make more sense….but the place is still called the Platinum Sanctuary? Isn't that potentially confusing?

~~~

This is a pedantic-ass nitpick, but the hell with it, this sounds better to me:

"You're still sticking bits of dead things in your hair."

~~~

As I pointed out in the season one review, we need more badass Grog moments so that when he gets bested, like with Groon, it's more of a shock. Even a background gag of Grog repeatedly showing up bruised or with blood on him to imply he's been in a fight offscreen would be fun. Or maybe just screaming off screen (Y'all ever see the TF2 short with the Sandvich? Like that.) and then Grog ambles on screen. Vax asks him "Have fun, big man?" Grog's like: "Yep."

Osysa And Keyleth

The thing about what Osysa says to Keyleth is…Okay. I could be totally wrong here, but the impression I got watching the stream was that Keyleth having a lifespan that would be way longer than anyone else's was an example of gameplay and story integration.

In D&D 5e, Druids have something called Timeless Body, which kicks in after level 18. For every ten years that an 18th-level or higher Druid lives, they age only one. So they can live for a very long time. So, the idea that Keyleth would live longer than everyone else wasn't inherent to her but something she could achieve.

This could then be a big part of Keyleth's internal conflict. Why she's always so torn between her friends and her people: what propagates her indecisiveness and lack of confidence. She wants to lead the Ashari, but she isn't sure that she wants to be the one that remains, having to endure losing all her friends and family, as she'll outlive all of them.

On top of that, I rather like the idea that achieving a Timeless Body was expected and required of somebody trying to pass their Aramenté; not only do you have to be strong enough to acquire that, but acting as the leader of the Ashari demands someone who will live for centuries and will learn from them to become the wise and experienced guardian that their people need.

If all that was the case in the stream and is the case here, what Osysa says to Keyleth doesn't make sense.

Osysa: Fleeing from your duties again, Keyleth? Tell me, what do you fear more…failing your Aramenté? Or knowing no one will live long enough to see you achieve it?

Because if getting strong enough to pass her Aramenté grants her the story equivalent of level 18 and Timeless Body, she can't keep trying long after everyone else is gone. If she fails to reach that peak for too long, she'll age out of the challenge and die with the other half-elves. She can't take too long and still out live everybody.

Osysa And Keyleth: Redundancy.

However, even if my impression was wrong or they're changing things up, neither of which is unlikely: the line is still redundant. It basically boils down to: "You suck, and you'll never be good enough to pass your trials." Said twice in two sentences. In either case, a better line would be something like this:

Osysa: Fleeing from your duties again, Keyleth? Tell me, what do you fear more…failing your Aramenté? Or failing the people that have come to depend on you on your journey to achieve it?

This is more varied. And it highlights Keyleth's internal conflict: she's being pulled in two very different directions.

Osysa and Vox Machina

And then there's this line.

Osysa: You want to turn your back and run, like you have all your lives.

And this one from Pike last episode.

Pike: I thought we stopped running from our problems.

There's no qualifiers here or questions of lore. This....just doesn't make sense here.

Because, at this point, we've seen at least twelve episodes of Vox Machina running from none of their problems.

Forget about any past characterizations of these guys either in the stream, pre-stream, or the comic book adaptation. The Vox Machina of the animated series has never failed to confront its problems. Not as far as we've seen. They decided to confront Brimscythe, even when they could've walked away and had no reason to believe they'd survive the fight. They chased the Briarwoods back to Whitestone and were ready to die under the Sun Tree until Pike arrived to turn the tide. Even when Grog and Scanlan bring up running before the final confrontation, the idea is abandoned almost immediately and never seriously considered.

They ran from the Chroma Conclave, but any sane person would. And only in surviving that initial attack do they have a chance to stop the dragons now. Osysa could be talking about events in their pasts we haven't seen before this episode...but the only person I could see that being a legitimate criticism of is Scanlan. Because Grog should've gotten out of the Herd, the twins were better off out of Syngorn, and if Percy hadn't gotten out of Whitestone, he'd be dead or a slave like Cassandra. Despite her hesitancy, Keyleth is still trying to complete her Aramenté, and I don't know how Osysa's words might relate to Pike.

The script tells us things about these characters that contradict what we see of them. And this is not going to be the last time, either. This is irksome, especially since it should be an easy pitfall to avoid for professional writers who have so much character establishment to draw from in the original.

That's it for this one. Lot's of stuff to unpack here, and we're just getting started on this season. Grab your coats and don't let your shoes stick to the floor.

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svedupelle · 1 year

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alright. watched all of re:zero. mixed feelings. its got some good highs but a recurring thread of either baffling or boring writing decisions

i like a surprising amount of the characters. though i do not like subaru (yes he is the main character and yes this makes things difficult).

but i found that no matter how much i could enjoy a character, it was really hard to enjoy them consistently. subaru for example oscillates constantly between pretty fun and unbearable, while other characters tend to get progressively worse the more they develop/are explored. characters will be set up with compelling backstories that make you interested in their development, only for it to become more and more boring?

few examples:

- garfield, at first, seems to be struggling with the fact that both his mother and sister left the sanctuary and him behind, while he is incapable of overcoming his trial to do the same and follow them. its revealed that although their mother left them behind for her own sake, frederica left in order to create a new home for the rest of their people, in preparation for when they one day would leave the sanctuary. this is pretty cool! it gives us a good reason to predict garfield being the one who will liberate the sanctuary in place of emilia or subaru, since it could lead to the resolution of his conflict with his sister, which we naturally want to see. and the trials are literally there to help characters overcome their inner turmoils. except wait, their mother never abandoned them, she just died before she could return (to a landslide, leaving no one to blame for it), and also frederica never overcame her trial, she didnt need to because she could leave anytime, and so could garfield??? its so strange. garfield at the start seems like a representative of the people of the sanctuary (who receive exremely little screentime), both to us the audience and to emilia's gang. someone who was trapped there, and had been trapped for years, and had given up hope of ever leaving, unlike his sister; the most natural arc for his character would be to find that hope and help the people he cares about so much to a brighter future. him being abandoned by his mother would be reflective of his people being abandoned by the outside world, while frederica would be the opposite, sort of like a call to action and a test of faith (someone out there is waiting for the day they're all freed, ergo there is hope for them). instead we get garfield's personal conflict being mostly disconnected from his people's and once he resolves it he just leaves it all in the hands of emilia and more specifically subaru. its so fucking boring

- rem, beatrice and ram. im covering all three at once because they have the same fucking problem and i hate them for it: their personal conflicts are replaced/amount to nothing more than them loving some guy. its genuinely the worst part of the show to me. they all suck. rem and ram have a compelling sibling relationship and conflict at the beginning, but once the mansion arc is done rem's character is so watered down and reduced that i dont think she mentions her sister in the entire second half of season 1 even *twice*. instead its all subaru. subaru subaru subaru. its also just dumb? in the mansion her arc seems to be about being able to find value in herself outside of her relationship with her sister and the service she can provide in ram's place, but it just ends up with ram being replaced by subaru in her mind. before she did it all for ram, now she does it all for subaru, so you end up feeling as though she hasnt progressed at all, and unfortunately i dont find her relationship with subaru that compelling.

beatrice is the fucking same: she was abandoned by echidna to look after the library and wait for someone to take her place, which she misinterprets as someone who would "sweep her off her feet and carry her away" or whatever, effectively dooming herself to never connecting with the people around her and also never learning to love herself, until all she wants to do is die (LEARNING TO ACCEPT OTHERS LOVE FOR ONESELF AND THUS LEARNING TO LOVE OENESELF HENCE FINDING VALUE IN ONES OWN LIFE IS THE *EXPLICITLY STATED THESIS STATEMENT OF SEASON 2*) but the conclusion to her arc is completely half assed! beatrice doesnt leave the library because she wants to live and give the world a chance, she never fucking connects or even interacts with another character except for subaru and puck, she leaves the library because she decides to bet it all on subaru because he's the specialest little boy or whatever. even subaru himself doesnt ask her to give other people a chance, he asks her to choose him, specifically. her arc is nothing. its a bunch of whinging about how she cant wait around for a knight in shining armor to come save her forever, until that exact thing happens. and no, i dont think you can disguise this with semantics about how subaru doesnt choose her over emilia or whatever.

as for ram, i honestly really liked her character until the moment she tells roswaal that she loves him. after that idc

with all of this im just reminded of chainsaw man part 1, where a big part of the characters is the multi faceted relationships they form. "love" is not just romantic. in re:zero, however, when a character loves another character it feels like there is seldom any room for interpretation. the exceptions to this are familial love, such as puck and emilia, subaru and his parents and the various sibling relationships. even if some of these relationships are meant to be moreso platonic, like maybe ram & roswaal, the show makes no effort to really convince anyone of this nor explore it in any measure, and since so many of them are very explicitly romantic i dont really end up feeling compelled to investigate the matter either. its annoying since love is a big theme in season 2, but it doesnt feel explored nor multifaceted.

- subaru. the show seems to try to ~subvert isekai tropes~ by not making subaru all powerful, but it feels half assed because he does end up all important. everyone cares about subaru. subaru can convince anyone of anything. everyone listens to what he has to say and he always has something important to say. characters who find him irrelevant at first will end up admiring him, depending on him and liking him after he dies a few times, just you wait!... there's some dissonance here, because the show DOES try to make it clear to subaru that he should consider the people around him just as seriously as he does himself, in the sense that he needs to respect them. but it doesnt feel like the show itself does that, when every character orbits the star of the show. the show is telling you that the side characters arent just npc's, but it has a hard time actually committing to that at times.

- echidna. honestly not much to say here except i was a bit disappointed. i just sort of expected... more? as it stands i dont think i even had firm grasp on what her goal is, and it doesnt feel like she ends up doing much. at the beginning she seems charming yet off-putting, so you naturally expect her to be the future antagonist, but then that role gets delegated to roswaal instead, leaving echidna with.. surprisingly little. i might have to think some more about her idk

im not sure how i feel about the second season tho. it grinds the overall pacing to a halt and spends the entire time on the sanctuary conflict, but said conflict lacks a good, compelling narrative and emotional core. what is it about? the half-breeds who are trapped? roswaal, beatrice and ryuzu meyer? emilia's backstory? the witches? it wants to focus on all of it, but i really dont feel like it does it very well. parts of it are completely unrelated from one another. season 1 at least keeps a red thread with subaru and emilia's relationship, and season 2 kinda does as well, but idk if i like it as much.

man i dont even know. its really hard for me to pin down my thoughts and what i feel the underlying issue is here. doesnt help that it just.. wasnt my cup of tea.

#i dont feel particularly compelled to read the light novels atm either

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fortheloveofwonderland · 2 years

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Not Even Close | S.R

Not my gif

90 Days Chapter 2 coming soon.

Summary - the aftermath of a hostage situation causes you and your least favourite person, Spencer, to grow closer. When you have to reevaluate your feelings for Spencer, you might find you never actually hated him at all.

A/N - set somewhere after Morgan left and Emily became UC, but no specific season. From Anon for the build a blurb asks which I got carried away with. I’m still taking emoji prompts for these. Inspo from 10 Things I Hate About You (you should find readers 10 things throughout the fic) I’m also nabbing this as my Enemies to Lovers Square for @cmbingo 2022.

Pairing - Spencer Reid / Fem! Reader

Category - angst, enemies to lovers, hurt/comfort, smut (minors DNI)

Content Warnings - typical CM case related stuff, mentions of injuries, swearing, making out, arguing, dominant Spencer and bratty reader, oral (fem! receiving), over stim, fingering, penetrative sex, unprotected sex, aftercare, tending to wounds.

Word Count - 4.2k

Masterlist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Derek Morgan’s former office was a sanctuary of sorts for you.

It had started simply because you missed him around the office. Some days when you struggled to focus on paperwork because of the commotion in the bullpen you’d come here so you could concentrate unhindered.

There was a calm about this room when he was here and it continued to be after he left.

It was your safe space, as though these four walls formed some kind of protective barrier around you. And right now, you need that more than ever.

The only problem was, over the years, the rest of the team had discovered your secret hideout. So you weren’t at all surprised when there was a knock at the door.

You were surprised however at the face that peaked around the door.

“Uh…I just wanted to check up on you.” Spencer tentatively stepped inside, scuffing the toe of his converse on the worn carpet.

I hate how you’re so quick to try and be the hero.

“I’m fine.” You spat, not making eye contact with him as you ripped open the antiseptic wipe.

You should have gone to the hospital. Emily had tried to insist both you and Spencer get checked out by a medical professional after this case but you’d both stubbornly refused.

There had been a hostage situation. The car you’d been driving with Spencer in the passenger's seat had been run off the road by the very unsub you’d been chasing.

In the confusion of the crash, he’d taken you both hostage.

In the five hours you’d spent prisoner of a psychopath you’d both been beaten profusely and really Emily was right, you should have gone to the hospital.

But the hospital was the last place either of you wanted to be.

You fumbled with the wipe, trying to reach under your shirt and between your shoulder blades to one of the wounds that had been inflicted there by your captor.

Spencer rolled his eyes, stepping further into the room.

“Let me help you.” He grumbled, not sounding as though he really wanted to help you at all.

I hate how you don’t listen.

“I said I’m fine.” You spat again, harsher than before.

“You are so fucking stubborn.” He growled, forcing you to look at him.

It wasn’t that you hated Spencer Reid. Hate was a very strong word that you reserved for only a select few people. You just hated everything he did and everything he said.

From your very first day at the BAU, several years ago now, Spencer had taken an instant dislike to you. All these years later, you still had no idea why.

He seemed to go out of his way to try and make your life difficult.

Maybe it was the fact that with you around, he was no longer the baby of the team.

Maybe he mistook your confidence for arrogance and it rubbed him the wrong way.

Or maybe you’d just joined the team at the wrong time. If you hadn’t been brought in to replace Emily when Spencer thought she was dead, maybe the two of you could have been friends.

Or maybe Spencer Reid was just an asshole.

“If I needed help I would ask but I don’t. So kindly…fuck!” You groaned, practically dislocating your shoulder in the process of trying to clean your wound.

Spencer rolled his eyes again and came closer.

You looked at him with his split lip, bruised eye socket and the multitude of cuts and abrasions on his cheeks. You knew you didn’t look much better.

He was looking at you sternly, like you were a petulant child and he was your parent about to scald you. But then his expression softened.

“Please,” he held out his hand. “Let me help you.”

Reluctantly you handed over the wipe and he tried his best not to look smug but failing.

I hate your stupid, self-satisfied faces and the way you always think you know best.

He came behind you and you felt the weight on the couch shift as he sat down.

“You’re going to need to take your shirt off.”

“Fat chance of that happening, Reid.” You scoffed.

“Y/L/N, I can’t get to your cut unless you take your freaking shirt off. Trust me when I say, I don’t like it anymore than you do.”

“Then go get someone else. Prentiss or Garcia. Hell, even Rossi!”

Spencer took a few deep breaths to calm himself before he said something he would no doubt regret.

When he spoke you could tell his jaw was clenched.

“Take off your damn shirt.”

You would never admit it, not even under intense torture, but the tone of Spencer’s voice caused a heat to spread between your legs. And it wasn’t the first time he’d elicited that reaction from you.

So you didn’t argue. You unbuttoned your shirt and slipped it off your shoulders so Spencer could get to your wound.

He didn’t warn you before he placed the wipe to your back and you knew that was deliberate.

You yelped at the sting of the antiseptic in your open cut.

“Mother fucker!” You clenched your hands into fists and punched your thighs. “You did that on purpose.”

“Oh just be quiet for once in your life.” Spencer sighed.

He was surprisingly gentle as he cleaned the dried blood from between your shoulder blades. Every now and again his fingertips would graze your skin but if he noticed the way it caused goosebumps to flare over your body, he didn’t say anything.

I hate how you can be so kind when all I want to do is hate you.

Honestly Spencer hadn’t even noticed, he was just trying to stay focused. The second you’d taken off your shirt and he’d seen the black lacy bra you wore beneath, his brain had turned to jelly.

He just needed to focus on the task at hand and ignore the proximity to you and the heat emanating from your body.

He felt a slight shifting in his pants a couple of times and had to will his dick just to stay down.

It was true you weren’t his favourite person in the world, but that didn’t mean he didn’t find you unfathomably attractive.

“I need a dressing.” His voice cracked as he spoke and he hoped you didn’t notice it.

You reached for the first aid kit and fished out a dressing before passing it to him over your shoulder.

You heard the package rip open before he was gently adhering it to your skin.

“Done?” You asked although you really didn’t want him to be done.

“Uh…yeah. Let me see your face.”

“What?”

“Your face. Turn around.” He tugged you by the arm and you turned to face him, momentarily forgetting you were shirtless aside from your bra.

It wasn’t until Spencer’s eyes very noticeably fell to your chest that you remembered.

He almost let a moan slip from between his lips. The shifting in his pants became uncontrollable. God he hoped you didn’t notice.

“Reid?” You clicked your fingers, forcing his eyes back up. “You wanted to look at my face, not my tits.”

That time he definitely moaned but thankfully you didn’t say anything. He knew you heard it though, given the amused smile playing on your lips.

He took the first aid kit and fumbled opening another wipe.

He placed one hand on the side of your face and now it was your turn to make an involuntary sound, more of a whimper than a moan.

I hate the way it makes me feel when you touch me.

He brought his other hand with the wipe to your eyebrow where you’d sustained a cut.

You hissed as it touched your skin.

“Big baby,” Spencer smirked, wiping away the blood.

“Asshole.” You rolled your eyes. “Let’s see how you like it.”

You pushed him away and got another wipe out of the kit.

He sat surprisingly still as you leant closer to him and placed the wipe to his split lip.

He hissed too but it wasn’t anything to do with the pain. Your chest was now pushed closer to him, giving him a perfect view of your cleavage.

You cleaned his lip and then the cuts on his cheeks.

Spencer knew it would only be a matter of time before you realised he was hard.

You finished cleaning his face and went to sit back but we’re surprised when Spencer’s hand clamped around your wrist.

His pupils were blown out and his lip was turned up at the corner.

I hate the way you make me melt with just one look.

You felt your heart beating hard against your ribs. You probably knew exactly what was going to happen a moment before it happened, but that didn’t stop you from being surprised by it.

Still holding onto your wrist, Spencer pulled you into his lap. His free hand gripped the back of your neck and he tugged you closer and crashed your lips together.

He whined, a combination of finally getting to kiss you and the pain from his split lip.

You moaned into his lips and it allowed Spencer to slide his tongue into your mouth.

You could feel he was hard and admittedly you were extremely turned on too, you had been before he kissed you.

He kept his hand on the back of your neck and used the other to run up and down your spine.

You gripped his shoulders for dear life.

All the pain you’d both been experiencing previously melted away in a single kiss. You were so caught up in each other that nothing else mattered at that moment in time.

You were grinding your hips against his erection, thinking there should be much fewer clothes between you.

You started toying with the buttons of his shirt and got two of them undone before a sudden knocking broke you apart.

You sprung off Spencer’s lap and onto your feet, unable to make eye contact with Emily who stood in the doorway.

Spencer stayed sitting, tugging at his pants to try and conceal his arousal.

“It’s really difficult to pretend I didn’t see anything when you're shirtless, Y/L/N.” Emily chuckled a little.

Spencer’s cheeks flushed the deepest shade of red. At least Emily might keep this a secret. Had Garcia caught them, the gossip would have spread like wildfire.

“Uh…sorry Em.” You looked at your shoes, trying to conceal yourself with your arms.

“Go home and get some rest, both of you.” She turned on her heels. “And I don’t care who’s home you go to.”

You both heard her laughing as she walked off down the hall.

You scrabbled to get your shirt back on, refusing to meet Spencer’s gaze.

I hate the way you made me see stars when you kissed me.

You collected up your belongings and were soon heading to the door, tail between your legs.

“Bye, Reid.” You called over your shoulder as you scurried away.

Spencer still hadn’t moved. He was staring at the open door, head still hazy from what had just transpired.

He would never get that kiss out of his head, not that he wanted to.

The question was, what was he going to do about it?

***

You’d had a long shower when you got home to soothe your aching body. You’d given yourself a once over and thought you probably looked better than you felt.

You wrapped your silk robe around your body and made a beeline for the kitchen for the bottle of wine that was screaming your name.

Halfway to the kitchen, there was a knock at your front door.

The last thing you needed after the events of today was to entertain company.

You sighed as you walked to the door, unlocked it and threw it open.

For the second time today you were met with the same face on the other side of a door.

“Oh super,” you sighed. “Just what I need.”

Spencer ignored you and without waiting for an invitation that would never come, he pushed his way inside your apartment.

It didn’t surprise you that he remembered where you lived. He’d only been here once, years ago when you’d been new to the team and invited everyone over for drinks.

He’d been lucky you hadn’t moved since.

He slammed the door closed behind himself, glaring at you.

“What do you want, Reid?” You groaned, folding your arms over your chest.

“You are the most stubborn, pig headed woman I have ever met in my entire life!” He sounded exasperated.

“You came to my apartment to tell me that? After the day we’ve just had? You really think I need-“

“Shut up!” He cut you off. “Jeez, can you ever just keep your mouth shut for two minutes?”

You swallowed, his tone frightening you a little.

“You are stubborn and you are pig headed. You are so fucking infuriating and you drive me up the freaking wall.” He took a few large strides closer, closing the space between you. “But my god Y/N, you turn me on like I’ve never been turned on before.”

Your eyes widened and your arms fell back to your sides.

Of course you’d felt how much you’d turned him on but you’d thought it was just the heat of the moment. You could have been anyone and he would have been turned on.

You were frozen to the spot when Spencer cautiously placed a large hand on your hip as if testing the waters.

Your robe left very little to the imagination and the silk felt glorious beneath his fingertips. Not as glorious as your skin had felt though.

“I hate myself for wanting you.” You whispered and Spencer dared to place his other hand on your bruised cheek.

“But you do…want me?” He sounded unsure of himself which was not something he usually sounded when he spoke.

Spencer was always confident with his words, but that was usually only because it pertained to facts and figures. Affairs of the heart, or the loins, were not an area of his expertise.

“Do I really have to say it?” You huffed a little.

Spencer’s eyes went dark in an instant and his hand trailed from your cheek to your hair. He balled your wet locks up in his hand and tugged your head back sharply.

“If you really want me, Y/L/N, I’m going to need less of the back talk.” His pointed tone and the roughness he was showing made you dizzy.

God how you wanted him to destroy you. So you decided to play the brat and see what it got you.

“I will never beg for you, Reid. I’m not that desperate.”

He let out a dry laugh and gave your hair one last tug before letting go.

“You’re going to make this difficult for the sake of it, aren’t you?” He growled at you. “If you don’t want me, I can always just leave.”

He let go of you and stepped backwards, calling your bluff.

You tried to keep your face expressionless as you looked at him. You didn’t want to give away just how much you wanted him.

“I didn’t ask you to come here. You showed up at my door. I think it’s quite clear who wants who, Reid.”

You’d barely gotten your sentence out before you found yourself being shoved back against a nearby wall.

You gasped at Spencer’s sudden show of dominance.

He grinded his hips against you, showing you exactly how much he wanted you. Feeling how hard he was caused you to gasp again and this time Spencer took the opportunity to plunge his tongue in your mouth.

He pinned you to the wall as he kissed you frantically. You lost the ability to think so your hands must have moved of their own accord to his shirt buttons.

I hate that make you me completely dumb.

His hands were wandering your bare thighs as you worked his buttons. His tongue was hungrily exploring your mouth with vigour.

Once his buttons were undone he shrugged the shirt off his shoulders and let it land on the floor. Your hands soon found his belt buckle and helped him undo his trousers.

He pulled back, gasping for air. If it had hurt his split lip, he didn’t say anything.

He pulled his slacks over his hips to reveal he was straining at the front of his boxers.

You gulped as you took in the sight of him.

He had a bruise forming on his left pectoral and a few more abrasions littering his torso, mostly confined to his ribs.

He’d taken several kicks to his side from the unsub, he might have even broken a rib or two. But that was the furthest thing from his mind right now.

He reached for the belt of your robe and untied it quickly. He pulled it open and hissed loudly seeing you wore nothing underneath except your own set of bruises and cuts.

“Fuck.” He groaned, taking in every inch of you.

You let the robe fall from your body, joining Spencer’s shirt and trousers on the floor.

You stared at each other for a little while, the air heavy with lust.

Eventually Spencer slid his fingers into the sides of his underwear and dragged them down his legs, kicking them aside.

He came closer to you and took hold of your jaw tightly.

“Get on your knees.” He grunted his instruction.

“And if I don’t?” You sassed him, wanting to piss him off.

He squeezed your face firmly, eyes practically black.

“On. Your. Knees.” He repeated slowly as though you were an idiot who couldn’t understand simple English.

“No.” You folded your arms across your bare chest and cocked an eyebrow at him. “You get on your knees.”

When Spencer advanced on you, you didn’t know what to expect. You yelped when you felt your feet leaving the floor and seconds later your back collided with the couch cushions.

You were looking at Spencer in a daze from where he’d sat you on the couch as he dropped to his knees in front of you.

“You think that’s a punishment for me?” He chuckled dryly, parting your thighs with his palms. “Oh Y/L/N, I love to eat pussy.”

You whimpered pathetically at his words, wondering if it would be possible for you to come from just his words alone.

But you didn’t have long to muse on that as Spencer pulled you to the very edge of the couch and quickly buried his face between your legs.

You were soaked and Spencer moaned into you as he lapped at your wetness before settling on your clit.

You squeezed his head between your thighs as he started his ministrations, drawing loud moans from your lips.

You knew it would take no time at all for you to come. You’d been on edge since your kiss in the office and Spencer’s tongue was like nothing you’d ever experienced before.

You tried to stem the impending orgasm because you didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing how good he was.

You dove your fingers into his messy locks as you writhed on the couch.

It was probably less than a minute of Spencer swirling his tongue over your sensitive nub before you came, pulling hard on his hair and muttering his name like a prayer.

Spencer smirked to himself but made no attempt to move from between your legs.

He kept you in place as you tried to push him away with his strong hands on your thighs. He drank in every drop of your orgasm, delirious with the taste of you.

“Spencer,” you whined, shoving his head. “Spencer! It’s too much!”

He didn’t respond, not with words anyway. He continued his movements with his tongue as you flailed beneath him.

“Spencer!” You screamed, your body trembling and tears pricking at the corners of your eyes.

He still didn’t respond, instead he moved one hand from your thigh and let it join his tongue between your legs.

He thrust two fingers inside of you which caused a few tears to overflow. Your words had become incoherent as you mumbled and rocked back and forth on the couch.

Your nerve endings felt as though they were on fire. You were hyper aware of every little movement.

Spencer stayed between your legs, fingering you roughly, never letting his focus on your clit falter.

Your second orgasm was much more intense than the first and you’d have to avoid your neighbours for weeks given how loud you screamed Spencer’s name.

Tears streamed from your eyes and your body was practically convulsing. Finally he sat back, withdrawing his fingers and wiping his hand over his mouth.

“I told you, I love eating pussy.” He smirked at you.

“Fuck,” you were panting, head flopped back agaisnt the back of the couch. “Fuck.”

Your eyes started to close but you were soon being pulled to your feet.

“You think we’re done?” Spencer scoffed, having to hold you up right as your legs were shaking.

“I…I…” your head was too hazy to form a sentence.

He took hold of your hand and moved it to his dick.

“Now it wouldn’t be fair after I gave you two orgasms, for me to go without, would it?” He growled at you.

You only whimpered in response.

Spencer rolled his eyes and soon you felt your feet leave the ground again.

He carried you through to the bedroom where he tossed you on the bed like a rag doll.

He knelt on the mattress and rolled you onto your stomach. His hands clutched your hips, tugging you up onto your hands and knees.

I hate that you have this kind of hold on me, like I can’t think straight when you’re around.

“I guess I’ll have to do all the work.” He grumbled, giving your ass a firm squeeze.

He gave you a brief warning by pressing the head of his cock at your entrance. And then he thrust hard inside of, making you moan louder than ever.

If it wasn’t for his strong hold on your hips you would have collapsed back to the bed. But Spencer kept you on your hands and knees as he started thrusting.

He pulled his hips back before snapping forward sharply, each time almost sending you flying.

The sound of Spencer’s flesh hitting yours, his grunts of pleasure and your occasional whimpers filled the room.

You were sore already given the day's events but you’d been in agony after this. But you knew this was a good kind of pain.

“Fuck it’s not fair how good you feel.” He panted, slamming into you repeatedly. “It’s not fucking fair at all.”

“I fucking hate you.” You whined in response which seemed to spur him on to go harder.

“Right back at you.” He spat, digging his nails into your hips.

When you came for a third time, you could no longer see straight. Spencer came in sync with you, filling you with his orgasm before roughly pulling out of you.

You immediately toppled forward on the bed, eyes heavy and body aching.

You felt the bed shift as he got up and you assumed he would leave with no goodbye.

You were surprised to say the least when he returned, gently rolling you over onto your back. He cleaned between your legs with a wet cloth making you shudder.

He used another wet cloth to dab at the bruises on your face where they were starting to swell. You hummed at his touch, so soft in comparison to how he’d been not long before.

You took the cloth from him and reached towards his face, gently wiping the open wound that ran vertically through his bottom lip.

He groaned at little as you wiped the cut, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, you were staring at him.

“Do you have any ice packs?” He whispered.

“Top drawer of the freezer.” You mumbled in reply.

He took you both by surprise when he bowed his head and placed the softest of kisses to your forehead.

You were left confused as he vacated the bed again, returning a few moments later with a couple of ice packs.

You forced your tired, aching body to sit a little in the bed, not caring that you were still naked.

Spencer sat next to you, also still fully undressed. He drew your face closer with his finger under your chin and placed the ice pack to your swollen cheek.

He held it there, even when you placed your hand on top of his, he kept his hand on the pack on your cheek.

You took the other ice pack from him and cautiously placed it to his swelling eye socket.

You sat like this for hours in silence.

The dynamic of your relationship had changed today, that was for sure. But only time would tell if it was for the better or worse.

Eventually you’d both fallen asleep on top of the sheets, the ice packs discarded somewhere.

And when you woke in the morning, despite the pain coursing through your body, you smiled at the messy haired, sleeping man lying next to you.

Because the thing you hated most about Spencer Reid was how you didn’t hate him. Not even close. Not even at all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taglist - All ships & genres -

@muffin-cup @andiebeaword @measure-in-pain @takeyourleap-of-faith @spencers-dria @sexy-dumpster-fire

SR x reader -

@frickin-bats @dreatine @adoringanakin @dr-spencerr-reidd @sleepretreat @spenxerslut @sweetandsunny @bellaswanismysoulmate @mcumorningstar @dontcallmekittens @kuolonsyoja @radtwinkie @drayshadow @lytrc

@nani-2305 @rainsong01

@this-is-doctor-and-its-calm @safespacespence @shemarmooresfedora @pastelbabygirl19 @matthew-gray-gubler-lover @people-whatabunchofbastards @justreadingficsdontmindme @smurphyse

#cmbingo22 #spencer reid #spencer reid smut #spencer reid fanfic #dr spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x you #not even close #criminal minds smut #criminal minds self insert

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justsomeectoplasm · 2 years

Text

So you want to fire fireworks in sky but don't want to bother people

Hey. I'm Ghost. I'm a newly appointed dreams veteran. I've been around sky for some time and the firework staff discourse has always been a thing ever since joining this fandom. I'm making this post because I've realised that not a lot of players know why the firework staff is a bit of a problem, and I'm here to explain and help.

Now the main problem with fireworks is the bright lights that they make. For people whose eyes are not fit to handle bright lights or have conditions that make looking at bright flashing lights dangerous, the firework staff has sort of become an enemy for us. For me, continous flashing lights and extremely bright lights can cause some eye strain for me when I look at them for too long. So much so that I actively avoid areas in the game that has these bright lights (abyss area, season of flight area and so on)

But I assume that you don't have either of the problems mentioned above, since this post is specifically directed to people who do not have these problems, but would like to know how they can fire fireworks without causing these problems.

I have compiled a small list of do's and don'ts that would help you.

Don't (most of them are in dark places)

Fire fireworks continously in dark areas. This causes them to be even brighter than before. Realms where you should avoid doing this are vault, wasteland and Valley and Forest to an extent (although some areas are more brightly lit which doesn't make it a problem. Just see how bright your candle is in these areas)

Fire fireworks in small dark areas that either have a seasonal quest waiting or is a wax spot. For example the ancestors table and the boat in wasteland where people can't really exit or leave because either they were waiting for the wax or doing a seasonal quest

Fire fireworks continously in dark areas. Setting off one firework in a dark area isn't the end of the world, but setting off countless can be a problem. I had to desperately try to emote to two players who wouldn't stop firing fireworks to stop because my eyes were hurting.

Do's

Set off fireworks in brightly lit areas. The light appears dim or non-existent when you set off fireworks in these areas, which makes it completely harmless. Areas can be: daylight prairie, the above water abyss area, sanctuary islands, valley's ice rink (not underneath it), season of flight area, maybe enchantment ark.

Set fireworks off when alone with friends who don't have a problem with the staff.

Set fireworks off when alone in general. Just make sure there aren't a hoard of players in a dark room with you and you're fine.

I encourage veterans to help add more tips to this post if they have any that I haven't mentioned.

Edit: Corrected grammar mistakes. I apologise for that.

#sky cotl #sky children of the light #sky: children of the light #I'm tired of people firing fireworks while I'm meditating or staying at the ancestors table.#Please stop

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theteasetwrites · 2 years

Text

The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning

Chapter 59: Human Nature

❧ Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Reader ❧ Era: Season 9 ❧ Pronouns: she/her ❧ Warnings: scary situation, blood and gore, violence, mild swearing, tad bit steamy ❧ Word Count: 7.3k (I got carried away)

❧ In This Chapter: It's been a month since the failed run in D.C., and since then, Rick has spearheaded a major repair of a nearby bridge, recruiting Saviors to help despite the bad blood. Still, Daryl's temper lands him in hot water when he gets into a fight with a particularly antagonistic Savior. Problems continue as Aaron suffers a severe injury.

❧ A/N: Spoiler alert (I mean if you're reading this you've probably already watched the show lol but still), this covers the episode where Aaron loses his arm. So sad. Also, it is not lost on me that both Daryl and Reader have older brothers who lost their left hands, which is very morbidly funny to me. Anyway, there's also some Reader and Daryl cuteness/sauciness in here to make up for it so it's not too hard to read. Oh, and we love the scene with Aaron and Daryl on the bridge bein' cute little dads (kind of). So cute. They are the best boys.

The cool morning sun was just beginning to pour through the blinds in your bedroom. You shivered a little, pulling the several layers of blankets closer to your face and clinging to them tightly. November was always such a chilly month in Virginia, though it was one of your favorites, with its frequent cloudy, rainy days and misty mornings.

Half asleep, and aching for more warmth, you flipped yourself over to snuggle into Daryl’s warm chest, but he wasn’t there.

Curious, you thought. Daryl had been sleeping in a lot more whenever he did sleep, ever since he came home with you a month ago, and relinquished control of the Sanctuary to Carol.

Then, the scent of bacon wafted through the air, accompanied by the sound of sizzling, and you smiled to yourself, knowing he was just downstairs making breakfast.

Still, you were cold, and lonely. Being pregnant seemed to make you even needier than usual, and all you wanted was to be around Daryl.

“Good morning,” you yawned as you walked into the kitchen, a fluffy blanket wrapped around your body.

Daryl turned to look at you as he cracked an egg over the pan. “‘Mornin’,” he said, then turned back to see his egg had landed on the stove. “Goddamnit,” he muttered angrily.

Amused by his mistake, you looked over his shoulder and giggled at the sad little egg, splattered on the surface of the ceramic stove. “Oh, baby,” you said sweetly as you rested your chin on his shoulder and wrapped your arms around his waist.

He hung his head in shame. “That was the last egg,” he said. “Was gonna fry it up for ya. Kept breakin’ ‘em all mornin’.”

You sighed. Daryl was never great at eggs. He was too rough with them, and he never properly learned how to crack them so they always ended up with shells. Still, you didn’t mind. It’s the thought that counts.

“Eggs are overrated,” you said before kissing his cheek and squeezing his sides. “How about we make those famous Dixon blueberry pancakes, huh? Those are your specialty.”

He looked at you with a small half-smile. “That what ya want, baby?”

You clasped your hands around his face and pulled his lips to yours, leaving a short kiss followed by an exaggerated, “mwah” sound.

“Mhm,” you hummed. “I want something sweet, and you’re the best at sweet things.”

You’d only been pregnant for a month, but Daryl was already having a hard time keeping up with your cravings. The first week or so, anything sweet made you nauseous, and meat was the only thing you would eat. He could do that, he practically lived on meat himself. Then, you went off the meat for a few weeks and only ate rice and beans. This week, you were back on the meat, so Daryl was making bacon. He supposed you must’ve wanted meat and sweets now.

“Still want the bacon?” he asked, gesturing to the plate sitting by the stove, covered with a greasy paper towel and emanating a lovely aroma.

“Mmm,” you hummed. “Yes, and pancakes. I’ll help you make them.”

You turned to bend down and rummage through the cabinets for pots and pans, but Daryl quickly stopped you, grabbing your waist and pulling you away.

“Nope, no way,” he said. “You sit down. Ain’t havin’ ya strain yourself. I’ll make ‘em myself.”

“Oh, it’s just pancakes!” you laughed. “I’m barely even pregnant, I’ll be fine.”

He shook his head. “Nah, sit. That’s an order.”

You rolled your eyes, but kissed him nevertheless. “Okay, boss.”

Daryl got to work making the pancake batter, with fresh blueberries from the garden and flour from Hilltop.

You sat and watched from the little dining table, where Daryl had already set up plates for you and him. Daryl didn’t always make breakfast for you, a lot of times he was too busy to even eat breakfast by himself, but when he was home, he tried to do it at least once for you.

Watching him effortlessly throw together the batter, which he had done so many times at this point that he had his own little process, you admired how good he was to you, and how he’d do anything to make you happy. He’d been proving it already within the last month, always making sure you were well-fed and well-rested. At the first meeting with Siddiq regarding your pregnancy, he’d informed you and Daryl that you needed to be in tip-top shape to have a healthy pregnancy, and that eating well and getting enough rest would be paramount to ensuring the health of the baby and you.

After all, pregnancy was essentially like having a little parasite inside of you. Though you didn’t think of it that way, biologically, that little month-old bundle of cells was going to start taking up a lot of your nutrients, and you needed to fuel your body to be up to the task.

Daryl cut off your thoughts when he used a spatula to fling a few pancakes onto your plate, and then a few slices of bacon. Then, he brought over plenty of homemade butter and syrup to accompany your meal, as well as a large glass of orange juice.

“Thanks, sweetie,” you said.

He crossed back over to the counter and served himself up a handful of bacon. “Don’ mention it,” he said, then returned to the table to sit across from you. “Gotta make sure you’re eatin’ good. Doctor’s orders.”

You didn’t hesitate to cut up a large bite of pancake, drenched in maple syrup. “Mmm,” you hummed, then swallowed the sweet, buttery, blueberry-infused goodness. “Wonderful as usual, cutie pie.”

He grunted in agreement, using his fork to sneak a few pieces from your plate and tossing them in his mouth. “Real good,” he said, then pointed his fork at your plate. “Now eat that bacon. You need the iron.”

You shook your head before picking up a piece and taking a bite out of it. Daryl had also been reading up on pregnancy, and he was now almost annoyingly informed about the process, but you mostly appreciated his involvement.

“You know,” you began, “if you’re leaving again to work on the bridge today, I’m not going to have anyone to make sure I’m getting my iron.”

Daryl had been helping out with Rick’s pet project, rebuilding the bridge that had given out around the time you went on the run into D.C., and he’d return home every few days, but it still seemed like no matter what, Daryl was busy doing something for others. He was good like that, trying to help out in the community, and supporting Rick, even when he didn’t agree with him.

Daryl wasn’t particularly keen on the bridge idea, half because he didn’t think it was worth the potential dangers, and half because he just wanted to stay home with you, and maybe do some hunting, but other than that, he didn’t want to leave Alexandria, where his most important responsibilities (aka, you and his unborn child) were.

He huffed, knowing that you were using your ability to sway him with your words to do your bidding. “You want me to stay?” he asked.

You shrugged as you finished chewing your bacon. “Of course,” you said. “But I know you can’t. That bridge is important.”

“Ain’t as important as you,” he corrected.

You smiled sweetly. “Well, thanks, but my point is that you should go back. I’m just going to miss you a whole lot, that’s all.”

He sighed. He was going to miss you, too. In fact, he was worried sick about leaving you alone the last few times he had to work on the bridge for a couple of days. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust you to take care of yourself, but rather that he just liked to have some semblance of control over things, to feel like he was keeping you safe.

“I’ll miss ya too,” he said. “Won’t be gone long. Rick’s pushin’ them workers hard, might be able to get the bridge done sooner. Hope it’ll be done ‘fore the baby gets here.”

You nodded. “Me too. I can’t take both you and Aaron there.”

Of course, being the nice guy that he was, Aaron stepped up to help too. At least they both came back together, so you had both of them for a while when they visited, but it just wasn’t the same as having them there all the time.

A thought occurred to you then, but it was certainly going to be a tough sell. “How about I go back with you and Aaron today? Help out at the bridge camp?”

He clanged his fork against the plate as he dropped it and shook his head vehemently. “No, no way. Ain’t happenin’. You’re stayin’ here where you’re safe. Out there, in the middle of the woods… That ain’t good for ya.”

You tilted your head. “Daryl, there are plenty of armed guards, and enough people drawing away herds to keep that place safe for months. Besides, it’s not like I’m going to be doing anything strenuous. Just thought I’d help out around the camp, make food for the workers. Most of all, I just don’t want to be alone.”

He huffed, staring back at you and becoming lost in those doe eyes. He simply couldn’t say no to you, and he did sympathize with you. Though you had lots of friends in Alexandria, all of the most important people to you were going to be at that bridge, helping out. Of course, Maggie and the Hilltop weren’t going to be there, on account of having executed Gregory a month prior, an event which only added to an even more tense relationship between Maggie and Rick. Still, your family was there.

“I don’t know, (Y/N),” he said with a slow shake of his head and a deep breath. “If somethin’ happened to you, to the baby… I couldn’t live with it. When you’re home, I know you’re safe.”

You shook your head. “No,” you said. “I’m safe when I’m with you. You’re my home, Daryl. Please, let me go with you. I promise to be careful.”

He was silent for a while, but when he spoke again, he relented. “You ain’t goin’ on the bike,” he said. “You’re goin’ in the truck with Aaron, and you ain’t leavin’ the camp. I want ya where I can see ya at all times, ya hear me?”

You squealed and jumped up from your seat, running around the table to Daryl and planting yourself on his lap before kissing him. “Oh, thank you! I love you so much! This is going to be great, I can write down all the events in my journal, maybe even take some pictures of the bridge with that camera you got me. For the records.”

He grimaced in mock pain as you smooched every square inch of his face. “All right, all right,” he said with a laugh in his voice. “Don’t get too excited. Lots of asshole Saviors on the bridge crew. Don’t want ya anywhere near ‘em. Justin’s there.”

You sighed and stopped kissing him. “I’m sure Rick has it under control,” you said, not entirely believing your own statement. Rick hadn’t been, in yours and Daryl’s opinion, the best leader as of late. He had lost sight of a lot of things since Carl’s death, and he was trying desperately to unite people who just didn’t want anything to do with what he was trying to build. Some of the Saviors were getting along, but a lot of them were just causing problems, not wanting to follow Rick’s rules. It was getting messy, and the joining of forces for the construction of the bridge was only making things more tense.

“And I’m sure we can handle them,” you said, combing your fingers through his silky hair. “I just can’t wait to see you getting your hands dirty. I always did have a thing for construction workers.”

He was going to say something snarky, but you cut him off by kissing him again, this time with much more passion and an open mouth that begged for him. Adjusting yourself on his lap, you reached down to rub him over his jeans, but he slowly, reluctantly, removed your hand, and leaned away from your hungry kiss.

“Gotta leave soon,” he said. “Already later than I said I’d be back.” He nudged your nose with his. “Go get dressed, crazy woman.”

You pouted. “Oh, but Daryl,” you said, “can’t we do something really quick? I’m… very horny,” you said, almost embarrassed of your admission.

He raised an eyebrow. “Ain’t we been screwin’ every night this month?”

“Well, every night you’re home,” you said, as if it was obvious that that wasn’t enough for how easily aroused you would get lately.

He shook his head with a smile. “Man, pregnant women are hard to please.” He trailed his hand from your cheek down to your breast, where he gently massaged it, causing you to close your eyes and moan sweetly.

“Mmm, that feels nice,” you said. Your breasts had been getting more swollen and tender by the day with all the hormones running wild inside of you. Daryl had not missed the opportunity to massage the aching tissue every chance he could get. “Just a little?” you asked sweetly.

He threw his head back with a groan. “You’re killin’ me, princess,” he said. “Tell ya what, you go get ready to go to camp, and tonight I’ll give ya whatever ya want in my tent, sound good?”

You snuggled into his shoulder. “Fine,” you said. “Sorry for being so demanding.”

He pulled away to look at you. “Girl, I ain’t complainin’. Nothin’ better than doin’ it with my old lady, but right now I gotta get to that bridge, so if you’re comin’ then get a move on.” He gave you a light pat to your ass. “Come on,” he said, beginning to lift you up off of him. “‘Fore ya give me a hard-on.”

Once you were packed and dressed, it was time to hit the road to the camp that the bridge crew was using as a base for construction. Just as Daryl said, you rode with Aaron in the truck, behind Daryl as he led you on his bike.

“So, names,” Aaron said, keeping an eye on the road as he drove. “We’ve got to start talking about names.”

You laughed. “No,” you said. “Too early. This baby’s not even a fetus yet. I mean, I hate to say it, but who knows. Something could happen. My book says that miscarriages are most common in the first trimester, and—”

“(Y/N),” Aaron said seriously, looking at you with a straight face. “Don’t even think about that. You’re taking your prenatals, Daryl’s doting on you, Siddiq’s got you coming in for weekly check ups… The baby’s going to be fine.”

You huffed. “Well, it could’ve been an issue with the implanting. If the pregnancy is ectopic, or something just didn’t go right…” You trailed off when Aaron gave you another look. “Okay. Sorry, I just don’t want to get my hopes up. Daryl’s already so excited about this baby, too, so I’m worried about getting him worried.”

“Isn’t he reading the books too?”

“Yes,” you said. “But it’s weird, once he knows I’m worried, that sends him over the edge. I don’t know why.”

Aaron laughed. “It’s because you’re his strength, (Y/N). You keep him… light. So quit being a worrywart and tell me your name ideas.”

You sighed. “Okay. Don’t make fun of me, though.”

“I won’t,” he said, fully intending on making fun of you if you came up with some ridiculous name ideas. “Let’s hear ‘em.”

You leaned down to reach into your bag between your legs, and Aaron eyed your sudden movement. He shook his head when he saw you pull out a neatly written list of baby names. “Jesus Christ, (Y/N),” he said. “Thought you weren’t getting your hopes up?”

You elbowed him in the side. “Shut up. We had too many names, needed to write them down. That baby name book is huge.”

Aaron removed one hand from the steering wheel and gestured for you to read them.

“Okay, do you want boy or girl names first? And do you want middle names, too?”

“Boy,” he said. “And yes.”

You cleared your throat before you began to read. “First on our list is… Milo.”

Aaron smiled, trying to hold back a laugh. “What?” you asked.

He shook his head. “Nothing… It’s just… Well, didn’t we have a dog named Milo?”

Your eyes widened. “We did?”

He burst into laughter. “Yes! Little Jack Russell. He was a shithead, too. Always jumping on me. You don’t remember?”

You shook your head. “I think I was too young, but I’m not naming my son after a dog.” You reached for your pen in your pack and crossed off the name. “I’m just gonna read off the others at once.” You took a deep breath. “Jasper, Arthur, Ian, Oliver, August, Quinn, Elliot, Roy, Perry, and Owen, after Dad. Some I’m thinking more for middle names.”

He nodded as he processed the list. “Solid list,” he said. “Lots of old man names in there.”

“Shut up,” you said. “I’m not good with boys’ names.”

“So, I’m assuming you suggested all those names then?”

You huffed. “You want to hear the names Daryl suggested, right?”

He chuckled. “Oh, that’d be spectacular.”

You shook your head and began reading off the three names Daryl wanted to put on the list. “Ozzy, Iggy, and…” You took a deep breath. “Harley.”

Aaron looked at you with wide eyes, then burst into another hearty laugh. “Oh, man. I really hope you don’t have a boy.”

“At least they’re interesting,” you said. “But I don’t know if I want to name my son after Ozzy Osbourne or Iggy Pop, or a motorcycle.”

“Well, I think I like… Oliver Iggy Dixon, or Jasper Owen Dixon. It’d be nice to have Dad’s name in there.”

“Mmm,” you hummed in agreement. “I was also thinking about naming him Daryl Junior, but Daryl hated that idea.”

“Gee, I wonder why.”

You hit his shoulder. “Daryl is a fine name! You know, it’s French, and means ‘beloved.’ Isn’t that adorable?”

He shook his head. “Get to the girls’ names please, before I throw up.”

“All right, all right. Ahem… Iris, Penelope, Ada, Daisy, Agatha, Frances, Eleanor, Sybil, Astrid, Harper, Lily, Rosalie… Tell me when to stop. I have a much longer list for girls’ names.”

“Well, I know Frances is after Grandma,” he said. “Lots of flower names in there, as to be expected from you. Agatha is for Agatha Christie and Sybil is from The Picture of Dorian Gray, I’m assuming. I think I like Daisy. It’s got the alliteration thing, Daisy Dixon. Maybe Daisy Frances Dixon? Or Daisy Eleanor Dixon?”

You shook your head as you looked down at your list. “I don’t know. None of them have that spark to it, you know? None of them seem… right. It’s got to be something understated, but unique, and it has to flow together. Plus, Daryl seems ambivalent towards most of them. I want something he likes, too. He couldn’t even think of any girls’ names.”

Aaron shrugged. “Maybe something will come up naturally. Just from everyday stuff. You’ve got plenty of time.”

When you got to the camp, you were surprised to see how well-built it was. There were tents everywhere, with guard posts all around and even a little outhouse. From the outset, it looked quite homey.

Daryl took you to his tent first thing to drop off your stuff. Just as you expected, the tent was made from scratch, with waterproof canvas and thin tree logs as tent poles.

There was a small cot towards the back that looked like it had barely been slept in, but it looked quite cozy. He even had a little bedside table and a lantern, along with a chest to put his clothes in.

“This is nice,” you said as you put your pack down by the chest. “Just like old times.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What, like back at the farm?”

You rubbed his shoulders and pressed your chest against his. “Mhm,” you hummed, and he rested his hands on your waist. “Remember, our first night together, when you first made love to me?”

He huffed, trying not to remember too vividly in order to not get himself worked up in the middle of the day. “‘Course I remember it. One of the best nights of my life. Ain’t ever gonna forget it.”

You closed your eyes and leaned forward to kiss him, but he only kissed your cheek. “Not now, baby,” he said. “Get yourself comfortable, lay down and take a nap if you wanna. I gotta help out at the bridge ‘fore Rick rips me a new one.” He kissed your other cheek, then lifted your chin to look at your disappointed face. You hated how needy you were being, but it was almost like you couldn’t help it, like all you wanted was Daryl’s attention. Still, you knew he had work to do, and that he was needed elsewhere, no matter how much you wanted him to yourself. “I’ll be back in a bit,” he said. “You need me, I'll be at the bridge. Aaron’s gonna be there, too. We ain’t far.”

You nodded. “Is Carol here?” you asked.

“Sure is,” he said. “You should go see ‘er. She’s been askin’ about you and the baby. Woman won’t stop houndin’ me, makin’ sure I take care of ya.”

“Aww,” you said. “She knows you take care of me. She’s just teasing you, cutie pie. You’re fun to tease.” You kissed his nose, to which he grimaced in faux displeasure. “Go on now, Bob the Builder. I’ll come by later and make sure you’re working up a sweat.”

Shortly after Daryl headed to the bridge, you left the tent to go find Carol, who was already running up to you with a big smile when you did find her. “(Y/N)!” she cried jovially before giving you a big bear hug. “Congratulations! I’m so happy for you, hon.”

You smiled over her shoulder. “Thanks, Carol. I see Daryl wasn’t lying when he said he was going to tell everyone.”

She pulled away and laughed. “He’s so proud. He’s trying to pretend like it’s no big deal, but I can just hear the excitement in his voice. You’re going to be parents!”

“I know! I still can’t believe it.”

“Hey,” she said, turning around to clear a space from one of the folding chairs in front of her tent. “Sit with me.”

“Thanks,” you said, taking her offer.

“So,” she sighed as she sat across from you, “you here for a few days?”

“Mhm,” you replied. “Well, until the bridge is done. Daryl said Rick’s got everyone working hard so it should be done soon.”

Carol nodded. “Yeah, but lots of our Savior workers are going on strike.” You frowned at that. “I think they’re just fed up with having to work with us and not getting enough food from the Hilltop to keep them going.”

“Maybe he could talk to Maggie,” you said. “Get her to send a bigger shipment. That could help morale.”

Carol sighed. “I don’t know, (Y/N). Maggie doesn’t even like the idea of working with the Saviors, let alone feeding them. That’s why she hasn’t sent anyone from Hilltop to help. Things just aren’t like they used to be. Everyone’s… split.”

“Yeah,” you sighed. “The world’s getting more and more complicated again. It was always going to happen, though. It’s just human nature.”

“Well, Rick told me this morning that Michonne was heading to Hilltop to talk to Maggie. Maybe they can work something out. In the meantime, we’ve got a lot of grumpy Saviors.”

That was an understatement.

On the bridge, Daryl and Aaron were lowering the last floor beam needed to solidify the deck, and Aaron was doing what he usually did: talk. This time, he was going on and on about his adopted daughter, Gracie (yours and Daryl’s infant niece), and his misadventures in navigating parenthood.

“So,” he sighed, “I go in after her nap, and pick her up, and the diaper just… explodes all over me.” He gestured to his chest to explain more visually.

Daryl listened as he placed a nail in his teeth and picked up his hammer. “Sounds like good times,” he mumbled.

“Oh, the best,” Aaron confirmed, beginning to hammer his nail into the beam as well. “You’ll see.”

Daryl looked at him with a crooked grimace, then shook his head as he returned to his work.

“What?” Aaron asked. “You’re gonna make a great dad.”

“Yeah,” Daryl replied, somewhat sarcastically. Though he had made a point to inform everyone at the camp whom he cared for about the pregnancy, he was still nervous talking to Aaron about it.

Though he considered Aaron amongst his best friends, he still saw him first and foremost as your brother, and by definition, his brother-in-law. Even the notion that the two of you had sex was something Daryl preferred to keep away from Aaron, out of courtesy.

But still, he supposed the baby was going to be Aaron’s niece or nephew, so it made sense how excited he was, and Daryl was trying his best to entertain him.

“I still can’t believe (Y/N)’s going to have a baby,” Aaron continued, shaking his head with a smile as he looked down at his work. “I wish my dad was here, just so I could see the look on his face. He always wanted grandkids.”

Daryl huffed, chewing on his lip and nervously grabbing another nail. “Yeah,” he said. “Jus’ hope everything goes right… with the pregnancy.”

Aaron looked up at him and wiped his brow with his forearm. “It will,” he said with a nod.

He knew from prior conversations that Daryl was worried about something happening to you, like with Lori when she died giving birth to Judith. It terrified Aaron, too, but he also tried to reassure Daryl that Alexandria was much better equipped to deal with pregnancy and childbirth than your group was at the prison. There were doctors, people who had been trained to deliver babies, equipment scavenged from nearby hospitals, and generators to power them. You already were much luckier than Lori.

“It’s like I said,” he continued. “(Y/N)’s in good hands, and she’s healthy, strong. The baby’s gonna be healthy and strong, too.”

Daryl nodded, comforted by Aaron’s words. “I know,” he said. “But I ain’t gonna stop worryin’.”

Aaron patted Daryl on the shoulder. “That’s what being a dad is all about. Worrying. See, you’re already great at it.”

Daryl raised his head and shared a small smile with Aaron, who was a better brother to him than his own brother ever was.

The moment was cut short with a thud from the other side of the bridge. Aaron and Daryl looked up to see that Justin had pushed Henry, the young boy from the Kingdom whom Carol and Ezekiel had adopted, onto the ground.

From context clues, Daryl garnered that Henry was doing his rounds, carrying a water jug and allowing each worker to pour themselves a cup. Now Justin was holding that jug overhead and pouring the water directly into his mouth. The asshole never liked following rules.

Daryl and Aaron began rising to their feet, making sure Justin wouldn’t hurt the child again.

Instead, Henry rose up from the ground and used his fighting stick to trip Justin, causing him to fall.

“Back off!” the boy said between his teeth.

A raucous burst of laughter exploded amongst the group, most of whom found the situation quite humorous.

“What was that?” you asked, hearing the loud thud of Justin’s body hitting the deck, and then the hearty laughter coming from the bridge.

Carol shrugged. “I don’t know. Why don’t you go see? You said you wanted to watch Daryl work, anyway.”

You stood up from your seat and made your way to the bridge, passing by a few familiar faces from Alexandria and the Kingdom on the way there.

The moment you set foot on the road before the bridge, you saw Daryl grabbing Justin’s arm as he was about to storm off in the direction of the boy.

“Hey!” you heard him say to the man. “Kid’s just doin’ his job. Get back to work.” He glowered at Justin, and was much too close to him, with his chest puffed up, than you liked, so you stepped a little closer with your arms crossed over your chest.

“I don’t need you people telling me what to do,” Justin replied. “You’re not my babysitter anymore.”

Just then, Daryl brusquely grabbed Justin’s arm as he began to walk away, making him turn around and swing his clenched fist at Daryl’s face. You flinched when he struck, but the blow never landed, as Daryl quickly dodged his hit and punched him in the nose with so much force that Justin was thrown back and landed on a large pile of sand.

You were already beginning to jog your way over when Justin flung a handful of sand in Daryl’s face, then tackled him to the ground.

“Hey, stop!” you yelled, but the plea fell on deaf ears as Daryl lifted himself up and began to fight back, now with the two men throwing punches at each other. “Goddamnit, Daryl!” you yelled, mostly to yourself, then began running back towards the camp to find Rick. You weren’t about to get yourself in the middle of the fight, but Rick was in charge (and he wasn’t pregnant), so you decided to try to find him.

Carol saw you running through the camp, and quickly stopped you with a grip on your shoulders. “(Y/N), what’s wrong?” she asked.

“Fight on the bridge,” you panted. “Where’s Rick?”

Just then, Rick and Eugene emerged from the woods. “(Y/N),” he said. “What are you doin’ here?” He must’ve not gotten the memo that you had arrived.

You swallowed hard. “Daryl and Justin are fighting on the bridge,” you said, and Rick and Eugene immediately followed you there.

As you grew closer to the bridge, the sound of cheering and jeering grew louder, and soon you noticed that the workers had formed a ring around Daryl and Justin, and were either tremendously entertained by the fight, or yelling at them to stop.

Aaron had even joined in, fighting off another former Savior, Jed, who was trying to help Justin.

Great, you thought. My brother’s an idiot, and my husband’s an even bigger idiot.

“Hey! Hey!” Rick yelled as he ran forward. “Break it up!” You both pushed through the crowd, with Rick continuing to yell at them. “Break it up right now!”

Justin threw a hard hit at Daryl’s face, and you wanted nothing more than to kick that asshole in the balls, but you stayed back as Rick yelled at you. “I got this, (Y/N!)” he yelled, and you nodded as you stepped back.

Rick jumped in between the two enraged men as Daryl tried to get at Justin once again, but Rick pushed him back, and Justin was being held back now by a few other men.

“I said enough!” Rick yelled. “Enough,” he reiterated to Daryl, who then wiped his mouth before spitting out a stream of blood which made your head swim with worry.

Daryl stormed off the bridge towards the camp, and Rick called a meeting with him and Carol immediately after, but you were going to be waiting for him in his tent when he was done, fully intending on giving him an earful.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” you asked him. “Aren’t you ever going to get tired of fighting? Aren’t you forty years old, Daryl Dixon?! I swear, sometimes you act like such a shithead little kid! I can’t believe you were fighting like that. You could have gotten yourself killed with the way that jerk was acting, or you could have killed him and gotten ripped apart by the other Saviors!”

“That asshole swung first!” he yelled back, pacing around the tent. “Pushed a little kid, too. Was about to beat him up if I didn’t do somethin’.”

You folded your arms over your chest. “Well, you didn’t have to get physical. You should have just used your words.”

“Words ain’t enough for douchebags like that,” he said. “Only thing they understand is fightin’.”

You shook your head and grimaced at him. “All I know is you better start figuring out how to control yourself,” you said sternly. “I don’t want you ever acting like that in front of our child.”

He froze and looked at you, an unreadable expression on his face. “You think I’d do that?” he asked quietly.

You closed your eyes and sighed, rubbing your eyes with your hands. “No, I didn’t mean that. I know you wouldn’t, but you scare me sometimes.”

He lowered his head, letting his messy hair cover his face. “Would never hurt our baby,” he said. “Or you.”

You frowned and went over to him to lift his head by his cheeks. “I know,” you said. “I know you’d never hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it. Mostly I just hate seeing you get hurt.”

He scoffed. “That asshole didn’t hurt me. I’m tougher than him.”

You rolled your eyes and snorted as you checked his face to make sure he wasn’t too hurt. Justin got in a few good punches but not enough to give Daryl a black eye or make his nose bleed, which you were thankful for.

“You’re too tough for your own good,” you said. “Do you have any idea how scared I was?”

“Sorry,” he said. “Won’t do it no more. Promise. No more fightin’.”

“Good,” you said before leaving a kiss on his forehead. “You’re getting too old for that.”

He pinched your side. “Shut up.”

Daryl returned to working shortly after that, this time with Aaron and a handful of other men in a clearing in the nearby woods that was being used as a labor site, where trees were chopped down and prepared for use in the bridge.

There, Daryl was sawing off some branches, and Aaron was helping pile up logs, pushing one up the ramp with the help of Jed, who was holding the rope it was tethered to.

Soon, a commotion broke out amongst the mules, and Daryl stopped his work to find a few walkers coming his way, which he quickly put down with a severed branch.

Then, he saw the herd coming.

“A herd’s comin’!” he yelled to the others. “Bug out, now!”

“Oh, Jesus,” said Jed, looking at the herd as he held the rope. “We gotta the hell out of here.” In a panic, he let go of the rope holding the heavy log, and it would have hit the man helping Aaron if he hadn’t pushed him away.

“Look out!” cried Aaron, and the pain of what he felt after that was the worst he’d ever experienced. He cried out in a strained groan as his left arm was pinned to the ground by the log.

Daryl couldn’t hear the screams at first, on account of him having to put down several walkers, but when he did, he turned to see Aaron writhing in immense pain.

He dropped his stick and went immediately over to Aaron. “Get them mules out of here!” he yelled to one of the other workers as he ran to help Aaron. “You!” he screamed at Jed, who seemed to be more intent on running away than helping. “Get over here, right now!”

As Daryl, Jed, and another man tried to lift the log from Aaron’s arm, the herd began closing in them, and the whole scene gave Daryl an eerie reminder of that day he was trapped in the car with Aaron, and he almost gave his life to save him.

“Go!” Aaron yelled. “Get out of here! Go!”

He was in the most pain he’d ever experienced in his life, and he pretty much already accepted that he was going to die, but he wasn’t going to let Daryl die for him. He wasn’t going to do that in the car, and he wasn’t going to do that now, especially knowing he needed to be there for you more than ever.

“Keep on him,” Daryl said to the other men as he raised to his feet and pulled out two knives, both he used to plunge into the nearest walkers’ heads before turning back to help Aaron again.

Jed had managed to wedge a sledgehammer underneath the log, and was making progress lifting it off of Aaron. When the log was lifted enough, Daryl pulled Aaron by the shoulder out from underneath the weight of the tree.

Daryl had seen a lot of blood and gore in his life, but the skinned and bloody arm of his friend, his brother, was unlike anything he’d seen before. Aaron looked dumbfounded and frightened at the injured arm, and Daryl didn’t waste another minute before beginning to sling Aaron around his shoulder and lifting him up.

“Come on,” he said, trying to get Aaron to help maneuver his body weight. “Get up!”

He began to trudge along with Aaron, trying to escape the incoming herd. “Come on,” he continued to say to Aaron. “You’re gonna be just fine,” he said, as if trying to convince himself.

Just then, a walker grabbed Daryl’s shoulder, and came dangerously close to taking a bite out of him when Beatrice, one of the women from Oceanside, shot an arrow through its skull.

The rest of the crew appeared shortly after her, with you looking wide-eyed at Aaron’s arm.

“Aaron!” you shouted, your voice breaking as you began to cry. You ran over to him and Daryl. “Oh my god! What happened?!”

Daryl panted as he helped Aaron move. “No time!”

You led the two of them back to the camp while the others continued to fight off the herd.

As you moved with them, you tied your flannel overshirt around his arm, and cried profusely as you saw the exposed bones and tendons. “Oh, Jesus,” you cried.

“He’s gonna be fine,” Daryl assured you both. “Gotta get him to the medic tent. Siddiq will know what to do.”

You nodded frantically, then pulled the door of the tent open when you got there. To your shock, Siddiq was nowhere to be found. Instead, Enid rushed to her feet. She had been apprenticing for Siddiq, learning medicine and surgery, but she was still so young.

“Where’s Siddiq?!” you asked as Daryl laid Aaron on the closest cot.

Enid ran over to Aaron and began untying the shirt from his arm. “He’s gone, it’s just me,” she said to you.

You huffed and leaned down next to him to better see what had happened. When Enid pulled away your bloody shirt, the arm was even worse than just a few minutes earlier, at least, to you. You covered your mouth in horror, and felt the tears soaking your face and hand.

Enid looked between you and Daryl on either side of her. “I have to amputate,” she said.

“What?” Aaron asked shakily.

Your eyes widened at Daryl, and you couldn’t say anything. You were rendered speechless.

“There ain’t no other way?” Daryl asked desperately.

“The only way to stop the bleeding is to amputate and cauterize the wound,” she replied.

“What?” Aaron asked again, utterly confused by the whole situation. It all happened so fast, and he didn’t even have time to comprehend what had happened to him.

“Here,” Enid said as she handed Daryl a tourniquet, and he began wrapping it tightly around his upper arm, just above where the wound ended.

Aaron grabbed your hand with his good one. “Wait, wait,” he cried.

“Aaron,” you sobbed, trying not to look at his arm. “Y-you’re going to be fine.”

He threw his head back and groaned in agony.

“You got somethin’ for the pain?” Daryl asked Enid gruffly.

“It wouldn’t kick in fast enough,” she said, preparing the knife as fast as she could. “We have to do this now.”

“Sorry, brother,” Daryl said, then looked at you sternly. “(Y/N),” he panted. “Get outta here.”

You gave him a wide-eyed look and shook your head rapidly. “No,” you said, still shaky from crying. “I’ll help hold him down.”

He pulled the tourniquet tighter and looked at you seriously again. “You don’t need to see this,” he said firmly. “Go. I got this.”

You exchanged a look with Aaron, who seemed to be calming down just a little bit, given the circumstances. “Go, (Y/N),” he said. “I love you.”

The rest of that afternoon was a blur. You retreated to Daryl’s tent and did the only thing you knew to do—you cried. You cried so much your face began to hurt, and your eyes were so wet they became dry.

The day’s events had proven stressful beyond comprehension. The bridge, to you, was not worth the blood, sweat, and tears it had caused everyone, and the violence surrounding you was overwhelming.

You knew that was how it was, that the world would always be like this—bloody and complicated and cruel and rife with social conflict, but you still wished, and hoped, and dreamed, that it could be different.

Maybe that was what Rick was trying to create with the bridge, a new, peaceful world. You knew that was what he wanted, and you wanted it, too. Everyone wanted it, except for the Saviors.

You found out from Daryl when he came back to the tent that Justin was indirectly responsible for the herd running through the labor site. He was in charge of redirecting it, but he failed due to his lack of caring. He didn’t tell you that he beat the man with a frying pan, but he felt that would upset you more, and he was ashamed that he already broke his promise to you. Still, the man deserved it.

That evening, when Aaron’s surgery was over and he’d been stabilized, the first thing you and Daryl did was sit by his side until he woke up from his pain-induced slumber.

He woke up with a sharp inhale, and immediately sat up to hold his hand. “Are you awake?” you asked him quietly with a sniffle.

“Unfortunately,” he replied weakly, then looked down at his left arm with one eye open. He let out a quiet groan when he noticed he only had three-quarters of an arm left. “Shit.”

You brushed your other hand over his forehead. “You need anything? More blankets? I can bring you some food.”

“I’m fine,” he said, opening his hazy eyes and looking up at you, then over to Daryl. “I got my family. That’s all I need.”

You smiled weakly at him, a few tears falling over your cheeks. “Enid did good,” you said. “She says you’re gonna be just fine. Except for the, um… arm.”

He closed his eyes and smiled. “Yeah, I figured as much.” He cleared his throat, then opened his eyes at Daryl. “Thanks for saving me.”

“Don’ mention it,” he replied. “Like you said, we’re family.”

“I’ll remember you said that,” Aaron said with a snort, and you couldn’t help but let out a little laugh.

Daryl shook his head. You and your brother were the cheesiest, corniest people he knew, and he should’ve known you wouldn’t let him return the sentiment without a little teasing.

“I’m sure ya will.”

Thanks for reading! Likes, comments, and reblogs of any kind are always appreciated!

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crossbowking · 3 years

Text

More Than Anything (Part 1)

Summary: (Set mid-season 6) The reader's feelings towards the archer evolve, but a supply run that goes south threatens to destroy it all.

Request: "I'd love to see something w protective Daryl and some angst, maybe set at the start of their time in Alexandria w an established relationship?" - @pulplorrd

A/N: Thank you all for the love regarding "Honey & Whiskey" - I loved writing that story, but I'm also super happy to finally be able to move onto something else! I very rarely write established Daryl x Reader stories, so this one was super fun to do!

This is part 1/2.

Happy reading!

xx Jess

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Sunlight trickled in through the open window, a gentle breeze rousing you from an otherwise undisturbed sleep.

Cracking an eye open, you squinted against the sun rays streaming over your features as a soft sigh escaped past your lips. Burying your face into your pillow, you extended an arm out across the mattress, your brow furrowing when you felt an empty space beside you. Pushing up onto your elbow, you rubbed your eye with the heel of your palm before glancing over at the vacant spot.

“D?” you murmured softly, voice still thick with sleep. You cleared your throat, twisting onto your side as you surveyed the rest of the bedroom. “Daryl?” you called out once more, feeling a familiar pinprick of worry when no response followed.

You flipped onto your back with a huff, taking a moment to stretch out your tired muscles before untangling yourself from the sheets and climbing out of bed. Fighting back a yawn, you padded across the floor and out into the hallway, listening for movement. When you heard a sudden clatter, followed by a rasped cuss, the corner of your mouth quirked up.

You made your way towards the noise, feeling some of the tightness in your chest fade with each step you drew near.

The end of the hallway led to a small, yet quaint, kitchen. When you reached the entryway, you faltered, observing the scene before you — Daryl was crouched down, one hand wielding a frying pan, the other scooping up a small mound of partially cooked eggs from off the floor and tossing them back into the skillet.

You stifled back the laugh building up inside you. “Hi,” you remarked, making your arrival known.

The archer’s gaze snapped up to meet yours, a flash of what looked like embarrassment flitting over his features before he ducked his head back down, effectively concealing his face with his hair. “Mornin’,” he rumbled, quickly wiping up the rest of the egg residue with the sleeve of his shirt.

A small smile pulled at your lips as you crossed your arms over your chest and leaned against the doorway. “Whatcha doin’?” you singsonged playfully, eyebrows raised.

Daryl’s brow furrowed as he stood, staring down defeatedly at the frying pan in his grip. “Cookin’,” he finally sighed, shrugging a shoulder up.

“I see that,” you laughed softly, crossing the length of the kitchen as the archer placed the skillet back onto the stovetop. “Smells good,” you remarked, coming to stand at his side.

“Dropped the —” Daryl spat out another curse as he attempted to scrape the burnt egg bits off the bottom of the pan. “— the damn — the damn thing,” he growled exasperatedly, waving at the pan with the spatula he held.

“It’s okay,” you reassured. “No one expects you to be Gordon Ramsey,” you teased, thoroughly amused.

But the reference seemed to go right over Daryl’s head as he turned to give you a confused look.

Your brow furrowed. “You know…Gordon Ramsey,” you reiterated pointedly.

“Huh?” the archer grunted, clearly at a loss.

“Oh, come on, you don’t — you’ve never heard of Gordon Ramsey?” you asked incredulously. “You know, Gordon Ramsey! The mean British chef!”

Daryl scrunched his nose up before shaking his head. “Ain’t never heard a’ that,” he rumbled, focusing back on the frying pan.

“Wow,” you murmured in disbelief. “That is so…so devastating,” you sighed, mockingly dramatic.

The archer snorted a laugh, the sound eliciting a rush of warmth through you. “Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled, gently nudging you with his elbow.

You grinned cheekily, leaning over and resting your head against the curve of Daryl’s shoulder. He froze for a moment, old habits reappearing briefly before he relaxed beneath you and continued stirring the eggs.

An overwhelming sense of calm rushed over you, a feeling only the archer ever seemed to evoke. You closed your eyes, breathing in the comfort he so effortlessly exuded — and it wasn’t in anything he said or anything he did, it was just purely and wholeheartedly who he was. He was grounded, he was stable, he was here.

You’d missed this — you’d missed him.

The past month hadn’t been the easiest — Alexandria was still recovering from the destruction the dead had caused — but things were beginning to look up. The hundreds of slain walkers had finally been removed from within the community, Carl was recovering from his gunshot wound, and the wall that’d been destroyed was almost entirely rebuilt. There was a sense of hope, of purpose, in the air — your people had stared death in the face and prevailed.

But supplies were beginning to wear thin.

Most were hesitant to venture outside the walls, to leave the sanctuary that was Alexandria, and honestly, you didn’t blame them for that — especially after the attack brought on by the Wolves. You’d seen what other horrors existed outside those walls — hell, you’d lived through it. There was a big, bad, scary world just behind the scraps of steel and metal welded together surrounding the community — there was the dead, the undead, and the living.

The latter was most terrifying.

Still, there were mouths to feed, injuries to tend to, and somebody would have to leave eventually. It wasn’t much of a surprise when Daryl volunteered himself — that was just the kind of man he was. Aaron had decided to join him, determined to continue his search for any other lost souls seeking asylum.

But the supply run had taken longer than expected.

They’d only planned to be gone for three days — but after the fourth, fifth, sixth day that rolled by without any sign of return, you were nearly beside yourself with worry. It wasn’t that you thought they couldn’t handle themselves out there, you just wanted them home — you wanted him home. The tightness in your chest expanded with each day that passed, unease gnawing at your insides, fear settling like an anchor in the pit of your stomach.

Then just yesterday — day seven — right before sunset, Daryl and Aaron had come marching through the front gate. Apparently, their intended route had been cut off by a horde, which led to some rerouting, which resulted in an empty gas tank, which forced them to abandon their car, which meant walking the near-fifty miles back home.

“I was so worried,” you suddenly murmured, drawing yourself back to the present as you lifted your head off Daryl’s shoulder and glanced up at him.

The archer’s eyes flashed towards you for just a brief second before focusing downward, turning off the stovetop, and pulling the frying pan off the heat. “I came back,” he finally rasped after a long pause.

“Yeah,” you sounded, nodding your head absently, his words not making you feel all that better.

Daryl caught your gaze once more before he reached out and placed his hand against the side of your neck, his thumb brushing over your cheek. “C’mon, let’s eat,” he rumbled, pulling away a moment later.

You made a soft noise in protest, savoring the rare show of affection and earning an amused eye roll from the archer as he turned away — though you noticed the tips of his ears redden in the slightest.

When you’d first arrived at Alexandria, Deanna had provided two houses to be split amongst your entire group. As time went on and the safe haven had proven to be just that, slowly but surely, everyone began branching out and finding their own homes to settle into. Part of you had reservations about moving into one of the empty brownstone apartments, just you and Daryl, but things had been going well between you — really well, actually.

You settled atop one of the stools lining the small island in the middle of the kitchen, resting your elbows against the smooth marble countertop as you watched Daryl move about. He grabbed a plate from the cupboard, along with a fork from the utensil drawer before swinging around and sliding the items towards you. It was almost eerie how natural things felt in that moment — like a glimpse of what life might’ve looked like had the world not ended and the dead had stayed dead.

The archer grabbed the frying pan, turning towards you once more before using the spatula to dish out a hearty helping of eggs onto your plate. A smile tugged at the corner of your lips at the look of intense concentration masking his features — as though diffusing a bomb and not simply serving breakfast.

Daryl glanced up at you from beneath his hair, doing a quick double-take. “What?” he grunted defensively, appearing increasingly self-conscious all of the sudden.

“Nothing,” you quickly shook your head, letting out a soft laugh and picking up the utensil. “Thank you,” you grinned, gathering up a forkful of eggs.

“Mhm,” he grumbled in response, drumming his fingers against the counter as he carefully watched for your reaction, his nervousness evident — and incredibly endearing.

You took a big bite, humming a noise of satisfaction soon after. “Mmm,” you sounded around the mouthful of food before swallowing. “Chef Dixon,” you remarked cheekily.

Daryl scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Yeah right,” he rasped sarcastically, though you watched him visibly relax. He remained standing opposite of you, opting out from using a plate and eating the remaining eggs straight from the frying pan instead, scooping up a handful with his fingertips and shoveling them into his mouth.

A comfortable silence settled over the kitchen as the pair of you continued eating, sneaking glances at one another while the other wasn’t looking. You couldn’t help yourself — he was just so damn captivating. Even standing before you, devouring a panful of eggs with his bare hands like some kind of wild animal, you couldn’t help but feel your stomach flip-flop.

You’d never felt this way about anyone in your entire life — even before the end. But now…well, now you’d live this terrifying life a thousand times over if it meant finding him.

The sudden realization of what exactly you were feeling hit you hard, catching you off guard and causing you to choke on the mouthful of eggs you were chewing. Daryl’s head snapped up as you abruptly coughed, covering your mouth as your eyes began to water.

The archer was at your side a moment later. “Hey, ya alright?” he rumbled, gently patting his hand against your back.

You quickly nodded, attempting to wave him off as your cheeks tinged with embarrassment. “Yeah — yeah, no, I’m —” you coughed once more, the eggs finally dislodging from your throat. “I’m — I’m good,” you managed weakly, wiping at your eyes. “Jesus,” you wheezed as a sheepish laugh slipped past your lips, your coughs finally dying down.

“Ya sure?” Daryl pressed as he pulled his hand away from your back and rested it on top of your shoulder instead.

“No, no, yeah, no, I’m fine,” you quickly brushed him off. “Just went down the wrong pipe,” you lied, hoping your excuse sounded convincing enough as the feeling of vulnerability threatened to consume you.

If the archer was suspicious, he kept his expression neutral. He nodded once before softly squeezing your shoulder and pulling away — though he lingered nearby instead of moving back to where he’d originally stood.

“Anyways,” you pushed forward, clearing your throat, desperately wanting to ignore the revelation you’d had. “We, uh — we almost finished rebuilding the wall while you guys were gone. Rick’s got a crew working on dismantling the old one, too.”

Daryl watched your expression for a second longer than necessary, like he knew something was up but wasn’t exactly sure what. But after a moment, he relented. “Saw it on the way in las’ night,” he murmured, leaning down and resting his forearms against the edge of the counter. “Looks pretty solid.”

You nodded, huffing a breath. “Abraham’s leading the team — I’m pretty sure you couldn’t drive a tank through that wall.”

The archer scoffed. “Damn right,” he rasped before lowering his gaze, wringing his hands together atop the counter.

You studied his demeanor, feeling a pinprick of unease. “What is it?”

Daryl glanced up, flicking his hair away from his eyes with a quick jerk of the head. “M’, uh — m’ headin’ out again today,” he finally confessed, standing up straight.

You tried to keep your expression indifferent despite your stomach dropping. “Oh,” you voiced dishearteningly. “But — but you just got back,” you pointed out softly, hoping you didn’t sound as disappointed as you felt.

“I know,” he said, staring down at the counter, avoiding your gaze. “Jus’ a day trip, is all — Tara heard ‘bout a motel strip, maybe fifteen miles from here. Shouldn’t take more than a couple a’ hours. We’ll be in an’ out.”

You nodded slowly, pushing around the leftover eggs on your plate with your fork. “Alright,” you straightened up on your stool. “Well, I’ll come —”

Daryl started shaking his head before you could even finish your sentence, his eyes meeting yours. “Y/N —”

“Come on, Daryl,” you interjected, already figuring his response, swiveling in your seat to face him head-on. “I’m losing my mind here, okay? I’ve gotta get back out there and — and actually do something for this place.”

“Ya do enough already,” he shot back vehemently.

You fought back the urge to roll your eyes as you slid off the stool. “And besides, we’ll cover more ground faster if there’s three of us versus two,” you continued brusquely, gathering all the stray dishes on the counter.

“That ain’t the damn point,” Daryl growled, following you towards the kitchen sink.

“Yeah, and it's also not your decision," you finally snapped.

When the archer didn’t respond, stiffening beside you instead, a wave of guilt washed over you.

Exhaling a heavy breath, you gently set the dishes down in the sink before turning to face him. “Look, I get it,” you murmured softly. “I get it, D. But I can’t just hide out here for the rest of my life,” you explained. “Especially when you’re the one risking yours.”

Some of the fire in Daryl’s gaze diminished, replaced with a heaviness that wasn’t there before as his shoulders drooped.

You felt something tug at your heart as you stepped forward, reaching towards him and brushing away the hair that fell over his face. “I just got you back,” you whispered. “And I’m not ready to let go of that yet.”

When another long moment passed without a response, you were almost certain Daryl was going to object once more — but then, despite the tension in his features, his eyes softened.

“Alright,” he finally rumbled, the word seemingly caught in his throat — as though it physically pained him to say it.

A small smile tugged at the corners of your mouth. “Alright,” you reiterated with a resolute nod.

Daryl sighed, shaking his head as he nudged you forward. “Well, go on an’ get some shit together before I change my mind,” he grunted.

You quickly straightened, imitating a soldier’s stance. “Yes, Chef,” you saluted the archer, breaking the tension.

Daryl narrowed his eyes, shooting you an unamused look. “Shut it,” he rasped — though you noticed his lips twitch up a moment later as he turned on the kitchen sink, picking up one of the dirty dishes.

You stood up on your toes, pressing a soft kiss against the archer’s cheek, the skin where your lips touched tinging pink soon after. “Just give me two minutes,” you said, squeezing his arm as you brushed by him.

Daryl cleared his throat gruffly, caught off guard by the gesture. “M’ countin’!” he called after you.

“Yeah, yeah!” you shouted back, allowing the warmth that filled your chest to carry you the rest of the way down the hall.

Within the hour, you were on the road.

A cool rush of air swept through the passenger side window as you tilted your head back against the headrest and closed your eyes, basking in the sun's gentle rays. The wind danced amongst strands of your tousled hair before settling them back down against your features. Tucking away the freed wisps behind your ears, you opened your eyes, studying the scenery flashing by.

Rows and rows and towering trees lined either side of the long and winding road you found yourself on, a seemingly endless forest just behind it. The car hummed beneath you, passing by long-since abandoned vehicles and scattered debris, continuing to barrel down an otherwise empty highway.

It was strange — there was something somewhat comforting, something sort of nostalgic about being back on the road. Like a glimpse into another lifetime.

“— and I swear, this dude was like, six feet tall. He was one of those, you know, typical chauvinistic pricks, thinking every woman he meets at a bar wants to have sex with him,” Tara’s voice rang from the backseat, drawing you from your reverie. “But you should’ve seen the look on his face when I knocked him on his ass — priceless,” she jeered, an air of pride in her tone.

You shifted in the passenger seat, the corner of your mouth quirking up as you looked back at her. “So, is that when you realized you wanted to join the police academy?” you asked curiously.

“No,” Tara shook her head, a smirk toying at her lips as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back. “That’s when I realized I like women.”

A laugh bubbled out of you at her response, Tara’s smile simply widening as she shrugged unabashedly, picking up the map splayed out across her lap. As your laughter died down, you started turning to face forward — though you’d only made it halfway when Daryl caught your eye.

The archer sat in the driver’s seat, one hand resting casually on top of the steering wheel, the other propped up against the door. His window was rolled down, the breeze from outside stirring the hair that hung just above his eyes. But what grabbed your attention were his eyes, glinting ocean blue as he glanced over at you, the corner of his mouth faintly lifting.

God, the way he looked at you…

You fought back a smile as you faced forward, wondering what you could’ve possibly done in your life to deserve to be looked at like that. The feeling you’d shoved away earlier at breakfast came rushing back, setting your senses ablaze as you worked on controlling your thrumming pulse.

You loved him.

A heaviness grew in the pit of your stomach as you squeezed your eyes shut.

Fuck.

“Here’s the turn,” Tara’s voice interrupted your spiraling thoughts.

The motel came into view, set back behind a mass of trees, partially hidden from the main road. The car jostled side to side as Daryl drove it down the gravel driveway, leading to the complex. There was a handful of abandoned cars parked sporadically throughout the small parking lot, some trash and debris littering the area, and four lone walkers ambling aimlessly.

Daryl pulled the car off to the side, parking it near the trees and out of sight from the main road, the engine drawing the dead’s attention. “I got ‘em,” he rasped, unsheathing his hunting knife and sliding out of the car in one swift motion.

Your lip quirked up as you watched him dispose of the dead, as quickly and effortlessly as breathing — he’d been made for this world, you were sure of it.

“You coming?” Tara’s voice broke through your thoughts once more, the hint of a mischievous smile ghosting over her features — she’d clearly been watching you ogle at the archer.

You felt your cheeks flush at the scrutiny. “Mhm, yep,” you nodded quickly, shaking away the embarrassment and climbing out of the car.

Daryl crossed back towards you, wiping the walker blood from the blade of his knife onto his jeans and flicking the hair from his face.

“Show-off,” Tara smirked, adjusting the straps of her backpack as she passed him, heading towards the stretch of rooms just ahead.

The archer simply scoffed a breath, rolling his eyes, though you spotted the hint of amusement in his gaze as he waited for you to catch up.

“It’s so weird seeing you without your crossbow,” you remarked, nearing a moment later.

Daryl grunted a breath, swiveling around and falling in step beside you, neither of your momentum’s faltering. “Jus’ wait ’til I find that asshole,” he grumbled, recalling the man he’d met in the woods all those days ago.

“We’ll get you a new one someday,” you smiled, unsheathing your own knife as you approached the motel. “Or you could use the RPG and blow more shit up.”

Daryl snorted a laugh.

“So, how do we wanna do this?” Tara called from up ahead, pausing in front of the center of the strip.

“Room by room?” you suggested, stopping at her side. “One of us can stay on watch, maybe check these other cars for supplies?”

“I got it,” Daryl offered with a nod, re-holstering his gun. “I’ll see if I can get any a’ these guys up an’ runnin’, bring ‘em back home.”

“There’s also an empty gas canister in the trunk,” Tara motioned towards their car. “Salvage what you can,” she shrugged before turning on her heel and heading towards the first room.

You moved to follow, only stopping when Daryl reached out and grabbed your wrist. You turned, spotting the worry in his gaze he tried to hide. “Ya be careful, ya hear me?” he rasped, sliding his grip down and squeezing your hand softly.

“I will,” you nodded, squeezing back, feeling your heartbeat pick up a fraction.

God, you loved him.

The three of you moved quietly and efficiently — you and Tara swept through each room, working your way down the entire motel strip while Daryl picked through the parking lot. The building had been left practically untouched — and besides the supplies you’d managed to scavenge from the motel itself, you’d even found luggage and suitcases left behind by guests who’d apparently vacated in a hurry.

By the time you'd made it halfway down the strip, the packs you brought had been filled to the brim.

“Holy shit-balls, this place is a goldmine,” Tara huffed, tossing her backpack down beside yours in the trunk of your car.

You let out a laugh in disbelief. “I can’t believe it,” you shook your head before scanning the parking lot for Daryl — you spotted him hunched over the hood of a car, his hands buried in the engine, tinkering around. “We should use some of the suitcases we found for the rest of the stuff,” you continued, focusing back on Tara.

“Cool beans,” she shot you a thumbs-up before motioning towards the center of the strip. “Wanna check out the front office before we hit the other half?”

“Sure,” you nodded, slamming the truck shut and falling in step with her as the two of you headed back towards the motel.

When you felt someone watching, you glanced over your shoulder, catching Daryl’s eye — his furrowed brow softened, the corner of his mouth twitching as you sent him a wink and turned back around.

God damn it, you loved him.

Dividing either side of the motel strip was the front office, built just beyond a large swimming pool. There was a tarp draped across the pool, covering most of the swampy green water, though debris floated around the murky edges. Your nose scrunched up as you passed, a funky smell wafting from the mucky water.

“Gross,” you mumbled, mostly to yourself before you glanced over at Tara. “So, you and Denise, huh?” you asked curiously, waggling your eyebrows.

Tara huffed a breath, but you didn’t miss the blush creeping over her cheeks. “I could say the same about you and Dixon,” she shot back, fighting off a smirk.

You rolled your eyes despite the laugh that bubbled out of you. “Oh, come on —”

The rest of your sentence died away, falling from your lips when a sudden growl sounded, breaking the otherwise silent air. You stopped short, Tara halting just beside you. Your breath caught in your throat as you strained your ears, listening for where the noise had come from.

Sure enough, a moment later, a lone walker stumbled into view, coming out from behind the front office.

You let out the breath you’d been holding, feeling Tara do the same. “Hang on, I got it,” you motioned for her to stay put as you jogged ahead, pulling your knife from the holster around your waist. You braced your arm against the biter’s throat, plunging the blade of your knife into its skull in one, swift motion before it dropped at your feet.

But just before you turned to head back, you heard it again — snarling.

Except for this time, it wasn’t just one.

Your stomach dropped as a small herd, about a dozen dead ones, suddenly rounded the corner behind the office, their sights set on you.

“Oh fuck,” you swore, stumbling backward, vaguely aware of Tara yelling your name. But when you spun around, you realized that she too was no longer alone. “Look out!” you shouted, motioning to the two additional walkers quickly approaching from behind her.

As she turned away from you, fighting off the dead that’d snuck up on her, you took off into a sprint, putting some distance between you and the horde.

Tara stabbed her knife into the temple of the first, though the second was on her just as soon. It gripped its fingers around her forearm, pulling her flesh closer and closer towards its snapping jaw…

Just before it could sink its teeth into her skin, you managed to grab it, twisting a fistful of its hair around your fingers and yanking its head backward. You drove your blade through its decaying forehead, stilling it instantly.

But as its grasp slipped away from around Tara’s arm, the walker’s deadweight, in turn, collapsed against you.

You lost your footing and fell backward.

Except the solidity of concrete never rushed up to meet you.

Instead, you were embraced by water, the tarp that’d laid across the motel pool coiling around your body as you sunk deeper and deeper into nothingness.

A/N: EEEEEEK! Y'all know me and how much I love cliffhangers :)

P.S. Feedback is incredibly important. I write for my own happiness, but I also write for YOU. So don’t be afraid to shoot me an ask or leave a comment with your thoughts! It truly motivates me and helps move along the writing process. Also, please consider donating to my Tip Jar. Every little bit helps!

P.S.S. I can no longer tag people on this account, so my tag list has been transferred to my side blog @crossbowking2. If you'd like to be added/removed, please let me know!

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seriouslysnape · 3 years

Text

The End of the Week

Cedric Diggory x Fem! Reader

Warnings: Language. Slight sexual implications.

Word Count: 1,856

A/N: Requests are still being written! I’ve just had this idea foreverrrrr. I gotta show my golden boy some love. I don’t even know what to name this.

“Hey! It’s just hot in here.”

Cedric was as perfectly content as he could possibly be in this moment. He couldn’t even begin to imagine something better than where he was right now. You were curled up next to him, and the way your head was nuzzled into his neck was spreading extra warmth all over his body with each gentle exhale through your nose onto his skin. The Hufflepuff common room was as still and quiet as could be, considering that everyone else had gone to bed for the evening.

It had been a hectic week for the both of you. Your schedules had been overcrowded with long Quidditch practices and impossibly difficult exams all while trying to throw in some social time into the balance. You hadn’t seen much of each other that week, only sharing loving glances when you passed in the halls or stealing quick kisses and small conversations between classes.

The end of the second term was just around the corner, which meant that your workloads would only increase until it was time to leave for summer break. Cedric had made it a priority to spend every free moment that he had with you. He was hoping for you to spend summer vacation with him and his family, but in case his plans fell through, he wanted to be sure to see you as much as possible.

Friday night had presented a break in the week’s chaos, both of you jumping on the opportunity like a hungry cat on a frightened mouse. Cedric basically snatched you out of your last class of the day when his Quidditch practice was canceled, which opened up his entire evening. The two of you were practically running hand in hand as your feet involuntarily made their way to his prefect room, the serenity and silence of it was calling your names.

Cedric had tossed you onto his bed, attacking you with sweet kisses and doing everything he could to draw laughter out of you. Not being able to be with you or touch you over the course of his stressful week had been killing him. You were his comfort, his single source of solace when life became too much for him. He always felt a little piece of himself missing when he strayed from you for too long.

Cedric had shown no mercy when your waist was between his knees as he tickled and teased at your sides and wherever else he knew you were ticklish. The sound of your happy giggles were music to his ears, which is how he could never bring himself to stop until your lungs were gasping for air and you were desperate with your pleas.

“Ced, stop!” You shrieked through strained laughs.

Cedric’s smile never left his face as he withdrew his hands, chuckling lightly as you wiped the tears of laughter from the corners of your eyes.

“I’m sorry, sweet girl. I’ve just missed you.” He admitted, lowering his head and kissing you again once you had caught your breath.

You smirked under his soft lips, bringing a hand to cup his cheek. His heart fluttered at the feeling of your thumb stroking his slightly flushed skin and the way you pushed him onto his back to deepen your kissing.

“I’ve missed you too. I hate this time of year.” You remarked, resting your chin on his chest.

Cedric’s hand was resting on the back of your thigh, his fingertips fiddling with the hem of your skirt.

“Oh, come on. You love springtime.” Cedric corrected.

“Yeah, I love seasonal allergies that kick my ass every year,” You grumbled sarcastically; “I mean because we hardly see one another this time of year.”

A knowing sigh fell from Cedric’s mouth, allowing his hand beginning to run lazily across the exposed skin on your leg.

“I know. But we have summer to look forward to,” He mewled; “You know it gets so hot at home that you have to strip down to next to nothing...” Cedric purred.

With a shocked gasp, your arm swung out to playfully smack his shoulder at what he was insinuating.

“Cedric Diggory!”

He laughed with his usual hearty, light voice, gripping you under your arms and pulling you up next to him from where he was lounged up on his pillows.

“What? I can’t think about my pretty girlfriend wearing nothing but her knickers?” He teased, kissing softly on your neck.

“Not if we’re going to be staying with your family. You have to keep your hands to yourself when they’re around.” You instructed.

Instinctively, your hand came to the back of his head and your fingers buried in his fluffy hair to direct him to your more sensitive areas on your neck. Cedric hummed happily, securing that you were flush with his body and entwining one of your legs between his.

“Quick nap before dinner?” Cedric suggested, noting that dinner was in an hour and a half.

You perked up at that, eagerly snuggling up to him ever further and draping the covers over the two of you. You and Cedric were exhausted. You could feel the tiredness creeping its way into your bones, and even Cedric’s muscles were much more tense than usual. A small power nap was definitely in order.

“Yes, please.”

Cedric wrapped his arms around you, his warmth cascading over you in a heavenly way. You were out like a light, your eyelashes fluttering every few minutes or so. Inky darkness had begun to paint the sky over Hogwarts, making the half-moon much more visible as stars began appearing alongside it. Cedric had to wrestle you out of bed, fighting your begs for five more minutes under his warm sheets, because he knew good and well you’d stay curled up for the rest of the night if he didn’t get you up now.

Once you were dragged away from your slumber sanctuary, he persuaded you to follow him to The Great Hall for dinner, walking with your fingers interlaced and whispering sweet nothings to one another.

You and Cedric had very well become the power couple of your year. If Cedric was around, then you likely weren’t far away. Adolescence wasn’t an easy stage of life for anybody. Cedric considered himself lucky every single day that he had someone to take the journey with him. You and Cedric had blossomed into incredible young adults together, braving the wizarding world with the other in tow.

Cedric’s future revolved around you, and there wasn’t a single aspect of his life that he hadn’t made sure you were a part of. He had decided long ago that he wanted to marry you soon after graduation. Later down the line, he wanted to have little Diggory kids running around with your eyes and his hair. His life was yours, and yours was his.

You had protested going to dinner because staying cuddled up with Cedric sounded much better than choking down chicken for the fifth time in a week. But Cedric told you that he wanted you to get some food in your belly before any more shenanigans, so denying you kisses until you had eaten supper was the only way to put his foot down.

He swept you away once you had both eaten, carrying you off into the Hufflepuff common room. Cedric usually would hang around the common room after dinner to make sure that no one was out after curfew, or until he was too tired to care anymore. Cedric never put too much energy into keeping an eye on mischievous Hufflepuffs, considering there weren’t many anyways and they were always far sneakier than Cedric could keep up with.

Hufflepuffs of all ages straggled in and up the separated staircases to their dorm rooms, some of them sauntering past you and Cedric and some stopping to rant about their stressful week. Turns out that you weren’t the only ones who had been through the wringer.

It was late now, you and Cedric being the only ones still up and energized from your nap a few hours ago. Cedric was soaking up every second of this moment, not wanting to forget this feeling in his heart. If he could end every day like this then he’d be the happiest man on Earth.

“It’s a Hogsmeade weekend,” You announced, carefully breaking the silence; “You want to go tomorrow and I’ll buy you a Butterbeer?”

Cedric snorted and looked down at your huddled frame, amusement clear on his face.

“Since when have I ever let you buy me anything? As long as I’m breathing, I pay for meals.” He proclaimed.

“It’s a Butterbeer. I’d hardly consider it a meal,” You said; “I just want to spoil you like you do me.”

The bubbly laughter that came from the Hufflepuff boy’s chest sent a flash of care through your cells, your heartbeat speeding up at the sound of his joy.

“Oh, but I love spoiling you. I have to take care of my favorite girl.” He confessed.

A hot rush went straight to your cheeks, a shy smile appearing on your face that Cedric couldn’t possibly miss. His lips left a small kiss on your cupid’s bow, his voice lowering in the sweetest way.

“After all these years I still know how to make you blush.” He noted with a grin.

“You are very charming, Ced,” You complimented, fidgeting with the collar of his sweater; “And handsome.”

Now it was his turn to blush, his cheeks flooding red with a bashful smile. He caught your look of entertainment, and he was quick to defend himself.

“Hey! It’s just hot in here.” He half-lied, motioning towards the crackling fire in the fireplace just a few feet in front of you.

“Is it now?” You laughed, crawling over and placing a knee on each side of him. Your hands rested on his shoulders, a shudder going down your spine at the feeling of his grip on your hips. Your lips just barely brushed over his, a new mood taking over the room; “It is getting rather warm in here...”

Cedric let out a groan of temptation when you kissed him and rolled your pelvis into his, creating the most delicious friction. It didn’t take long for Cedric to dominate over you, pushing you into the cushions of the sofa and pinning you underneath him. His lips were hot wherever they sucked or left kisses, his aura and familiar feel was your favorite thing ever.

“I’ve always wanted to make love to you here.” He mumbled, removing his belt from his pants before pushing your skirt up past your hips.

His hair fell onto his forehead in soft tufts when he lowered himself again to look down at the girl he had fallen so in love with. The only person he’d ever truly love with every ounce of his being.

“I love you.” He murmured passionately as he always did.

“I love you, Ced.” You returned.

His kisses and touches resumed, arousal growing and hearts beating with one another’s. It was a perfect moment.

And an even better way to make up for lost time.

#cedric diggory #cedric diggory x reader #cedric diggory x female reader #cedric diggory fanfiction #cedric diggory x you #cedric diggory x y/n #cedric diggory imagine #cedric diggory blurb #cedric diggory oneshot #seriouslysnape

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princessfbi · 3 years

Note

I saw you wrote a Now You See Me fic and I was wondering how you would do a NYSM AU for the 911 characters? Maybe how would you dress them too?

*gasps* NONNIE THIS IS A GIFT!

So the thing about that movie is that it's a Robin Hood heist type of movie. Ok so Bobby would definitely be the Dylan role. The one that's pulling all the strings but isn't actually on stage with the others. But he can pull off pretty much any magic trick imaginable. Athena would be an FBI agent and they met when she had to call Bobby in to help her solve a case. They fell in love and got married and it took Athena all of ten minutes to figure out that Bobby was involved in some... less than upfront business. But she knows her husband and she knows that sometimes the rules don't often help people when they should so as long as she doesn't see it, she doesn't need to know about it.

I'd make Eddie the daredevil. He's the escape artist who can pretty much break through any lock. He drives fast cars, motorcycles, and walks through fire. He'd also be a fighter (but the more like healthy way like Ryan does in real life where it's a release and it's about endurance/mindfulness and not the poor coping skills to deal with his trauma that Eddie had in season three) His life is high stakes, high paced, and locked in speed which would be a really awesome parallel to his calm demeanor. I'd pretty much keep him in the same clothes he wears now but like a shit ton more of those v-neck shirts. Give me all the v-necks. Season 4 hair FOR SURE!

Hen would be the animal tamer. Literally there isn't an animal that she doesn't connect with. She has so many pockets and literally there's just animals hanging out in them. Like it wouldn't be uncommon for her to just be talking to someone and then randomly out pops a baby bunny like it's nothing. The ferret definitely hates Chimney. Her and Karen would also have an animal sanctuary where they take care of animals that have been abused or abandoned by hack jobs, circuses, and magicians who didn't realize the care and work that comes with working with animals. I think I would keep Hen in the same style she is in the show but I would let her have a bolder lip and wild glasses like Aisha has in real life. Karen is already fabulous so we will not be touching a hair on her head.

Chimney is absolutely the mentalist. He's been on talk shows, he's been a consultant on failed TV shows, he's even almost had his own show on TLC. But nothing sticks. He has the perfect charisma to be a front man but things just keep falling through. But he can read a person from halfway across the room without a blink. He is very good at his job. Literally one of the best. I'd keep his scruffy Chimney look from S4 but I would stick closer to Kenny Choi's style at premieres. He's always ready to be on if the occasion arises so he wants to look good. Button down, slacks, possibly a chest. I mean talk about dreamboat Chimney with him in a three piece suit but no tie and the sleeves of his button up rolled up his forearms! OH MY GOOOODDDD!

And finally, the newbies. The Buckley Siblings. They ran away young and haven't stopped running since. They're pickpockets. Buck is a prodigy at sleight of hand and Maddie is one of the best grifters no one knows about. Buck has the fastest hands Bobby has ever seen as he watched Buck nick about five wallets, a watch, and someone's phone in less than two minutes. Maddie has a keen ability to blend in almost anywhere. She can catch your attention one second and then blend into the crowd the next. Like we're talking full on Megan Fox doing a costume change in the middle of Grand Central in TMNT. They're good kids though. They never steal more than they need and they keep their targets, if they can help it, to business people with three piece suits and Rolexes that cost more than any apartment Bobby's ever had. But Buck's fingers are young and restless and Bobby watched Buck lift a woman's wallet only to drop it back into her purse when he heard her talking on the phone about how her asshole boss had screamed at her in front of everyone. A noble gesture but the quickest way to get caught. He corners Buck knowing that picking the younger of the two will bring out Maddie (she's very protective of her brother and she could give Marvel's The Black Widow a run for her money) and offers them a job. We'd keep it to the Buck S1 looks (GIVE ME THOSE RIPPED JEANS PLEASE) because he'd be still very young during this but keep the S4 hair but Maddie would be all JLH's style because stunning. STUNNING I say! And she would have the most versatility because it's just constantly changing.

I'd probably go a more Leverage style in regards to the heist rather than get too complicated with all the stuff about The Eye but there'd be so much Madney and Buddie and Bathena and Henren love happening because when you're a drifter the family you find is so important. So it'd be a lot of Found Family Vibes. There'd be a bit where they're disguised as firefighters of course. Perfect opportunities for hurt/comfort too! I think I would do Eddie Whump though this time around (I know! But imagine that like the baddie sabotaging Eddie's locks or something and they can't get to him) OH MAYBE THEY CON DOUG OR SOMETHING.

Anyways thanks Nonnie cus now I'm gonna be thinking about this all day.

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infinitewarden · 3 years

Text

Osiris isn’t Savathun.

Great! Now that I have your attention:

Man you guys tire me out about Osiris. If you truly believe this is Osiris I don’t mean to sound like That Guy that’s like “you don’t know what you’re talking about” but... You don’t know what you’re talking about.

So.

Let’s talk about how much Osiris cares about the City and humanity and why the Osiris in Epilogue is not actually Osiris.

Alright. Let’s start off with context. I think it’s super important to see what we do know as Osiris’s views. From my heavy analyses of him since 2020 I can confidently say these are what he views as the most important things a person can do:

Keep promises

Speak their truths

Protect the City & Humanity

Know that the Vex are true Evil.

Now, I won’t be doing a breakdown of each one individually but I will be talking a great deal of how important honesty is to Osiris, the City, and his views of the Vex.

Speaking honestly and bluntly.

I don’t know how many of you were into Destiny before Beyond Light, so if you were unaware of this it’s not your fault. However I’ve seen a very strange change in tone when it comes to how people view Osiris. Before Season of Hunt people hated - and I mean hated - Osiris. Why? Because he was blunt. They viewed his bluntness as rudeness.

To see a sudden switch to him being secretive and scheming is... alarming, to say the least. (And to see people think that this is the norm is also alarming but in other ways.)

The Osiris before Hunt was not secretive and scheming. He sought knowledge openly. He sought, specifically, the truth. I must stress just how open he was about his plans. First I’ll give you a few in lore examples:

I admit, I found your questions divisive and disloyal, and I feared you might be capable of breaking our unity when the City's position had grown so tenuous. Why divert attention away from the Traveler, our only hope? And then it got worse, dabbling in thanatonautics, Ahamkara-lore, chasing after Xur and the tricks of the Nine. Launching expeditions into the Reef and beyond at a time when ships were irreplaceable. Your quest split Guardians along ideological lines. This was your greatest crime: Hunters chose to pursue your visions instead of protecting refugees, Titans assembled teams to chase the legendary Vault of Glass instead of striking the Fallen, and Warlocks turned away from the study of the Traveler in favor of your ultimate obsession... learning the exact nature of the Darkness. ... Perhaps what drives a Warlock to madness is truth.

Osiris.

"Do not romanticize this burden. We wield a weapon." The Speaker shakes his head. "The Light wields you, Osiris. You are what you make of it. A glorious extension of its majesty, in many directions." Osiris paces at cadence with his words. "Then it would do well to speak clearly. To better direct me." The Speaker cocks his head. "Without will? Then it would be no better than the Darkness." "I am asking only for guidance; it is a delicate game we are playing." Osiris's voice, distressed. Regal again, the Speaker motions to the stone garden. "Will you sit with me?"

13: Margins Part II.

And, while I don’t particularly like using the Fall of Osiris comic as a source, it does have very important lines on his viewpoints that I find relevant yet.

Fall of Osiris #1.

Hell he was open about his plans to fuck with time itself to bring Saint back.

Sagira narrowed her eye at the rogue Lightbearer and lowered herself to Osiris’s shoulder. “Why’s he here?” she asked quietly. “I asked him to consult on the engineering work,” Osiris replied, crossing his arms. “You sicko,” the other man declared, walking a circle around the Warlock, his eyes darting along every surface of the Sundial around them. ... “Just one more question, then. Why all the fuss?” “I owe him.” “I owe a lotta people, Warlock. You’re opening the gates of hell with a Vex key.” “When the Traveler brought me back, I had no friends. No family—” “No one had anything in the Dark Age.” “But Saint was always there. And I saw him grow from neophyte to demigod.”

The Sundial.

"You haven't left the Forest in years," Ikora said to Osiris, the only one to address him directly. "I need help," Osiris replied. "I know," Ikora responded, hands clasped behind her back. She stared intently at her former mentor. Back in her Crucible days, that uncompromising gaze was often the last thing her opponents saw. Aunor glanced sidelong at her superior. Harper coughed and looked down at his datapad. "Two years ago, Guardians entered the Infinite Forest," Osiris continued. "They aided me in defeating the Axis Mind Panoptes, preventing a Vex apocalypse from befalling this system. "In the process," he looked between each of them in turn, "Some Guardians reported a body they found in the Forest depths." Ikora sighed. "Saint-14 never came back from that last mission to Mercury. We finally knew why. I reacted to it the only way I knew how."

Desperate Times.

“I do not understand all of this code. This is Geppetto’s specialty,” Saint-14 says while standing bent over a wide desk covered in data tablets. Holographic images of the Lighthouse shimmer in the Hangar lights. “We could use the Crucible right now. Your trials. This will be very helpful. You mean to stay, yes?” “I will. Long enough to show you how to implement the simulation; but tonight, I must disembark,” Osiris says. “So soon?” Osiris tenses his jaw in forced silence. He twiddles with code. “I’m worried about what Vance found.” Saint places a heavy hand on Osiris’s chest. “Let go of your obsession. Do not leave chasing phantoms again.” “Phantoms… You think the Darkness is satisfied? This is just the first move. I need to know the next before it’s made.” “If there is something you fear, let me help you. We face this together.” Osiris’s mind drifts to the Dark anomalies. Saint doesn’t need another burden. “The safest place for you is the Tower, Saint. Time... tends to renege on its gifts.” “So, your mission is dangerous?” Osiris considers lying. “Potentially.”

Immolant I.

There are many more sources I could list on his bluntness and honesty but there’s honestly too much. What is important to extrapolate from all of it is this:

OSIRIS SPOKE THE TRUTH NO MATTER IF IT GOT HIM IN TROUBLE. IT IS ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS HE GOT EXILED.

Protecting the City & Humanity

Idk where people get the idea that he’s abandoned the City and humanity. And I don’t understand where people think it’s “typical Osiris behavior” to choose to put the City in danger.

I want to make something very clear here:

Osiris was exiled. He did not abandon the City. And though others view him as abandoning it, that wasn’t his intention. He never intentionally abandoned it. Everything he did was in pursuit of a brighter future for humanity. Let’s look at one of his lines from the Sundial activity during Dawn.

“By the time I left the City, many believed my practices to be sacrilege. But my methods have prevented countless futures not unlike the one you walk now. When it is laid out before you, would you not sacrifice anything to see this future shut?”

The Sundial.

He left because he weighed his options and he saw that humanity would have better use of him if he left. He cares A great deal about the City. He cares almost too much about it. He would never give Lakshmi the technology to cause it harm, especially knowing that she’s unstable. And I’ve seen some people think he’s playing 5D chess? In what world would he ever choose to bring harm upon humanity for some sort of... agenda; which I’ve already cleared up earlier, he’s open about his plans.

Let’s look at more known lore about Osiris’s feelings of the City & humanity.

"You've wrapped your mind around an idea of your own making. I have always tolerated this fawning 'movement' of yours, but this is a step too far." Osiris seethed. Brother Vance was awestruck. He stared blankly at Osiris, unsure of what he could say to quell his anger and dissolve his frustration. "What I have discovered…" "…is dangerous enough to destroy every man, woman, and child in existence. You're meddling with forces outside your grasp," Osiris reprimanded. "I warn you here and now, remove yourself from this Lighthouse. Find a simple life. Start a family. Write music. Leave Mercury and this fool's errand behind."

Chapter 8: Idolatry.

Osiris was furious to find out Vance was experimenting in his name by endangering people for his goals. And he was especially mad that he would dive into such dangerous areas so much so that it had the potential to destroy humanity.

"It's truth." Osiris considers this. "Truth seems subjective these days," Osiris says, finally observing his entourage for the first time. Among them, a small group of men and women, stand two wayward Guardians—Warlocks, it appears—and a child. Their forlorn faces resonate with him. Castaways and believers. The weeks since his departure from the Last City have worn on him. He was used to working alone, knowing he could fall back to the City's resources should he need them. Now, adrift in the expanse of purpose, he finds himself longing for a place he could return to. A sanctuary.

Chapter 2: Postexilic.

Here’s a few lines from Season of Dawn:

“The Traveler, mutilated. Mercury, a desolate warzone. This is the bleak future the Cabal wants for us all. We do not know what has become of humanity here. I hope we will not find out.”

“There are many terrible futures, but I have not grown numb to seeing them. The future the Cabal wish for is a nightmare for humanity.”

“If the Traveler fled the system, there is a chance that the Darkness would ignore our region of the galaxy entirely. It would sacrifice our second awakening, our ability to wield the Light, but potentially continue our Golden Age. There are too many variables at risk, but it's a variant path worth investigating in the Infinite Forest.”

“This battered Mercury is a blueprint for our system. Lightless, bowed, and nothing more than fuel for an endless war. It must never come to pass.”

The Sundial.

There are many. Many. More lines I could put here about how much Osiris doesn’t want to see humanity suffering. And especially how he doesn’t want the City to be at risk. But I think you get the picture.

Know that the Vex are true Evil.

So. We all know Osiris as “the Vex guy.” His whole thing is on fighting the Vex. However it seems people think that he’d be okay with using them for grounds of a higher purpose? Or something? I don’t know, everyone I see rebuffing Osiris’s actions with Lakshmi don’t seem to be interested in explaining this one.

So anyways. Let’s talk about how Osiris views the Vex as true evil compared to other species.

“The Fallen are not so different from us. How hard would you fight if the Light were taken from you?” “Those stories ring false to me,” said Saint. “They are not a noble people. I’ve fought them, and so have you.” “I have not fought them all,” the Warlock replied, pulling his hands apart to create an intricate web of hovering cubes and points of light. “They are nothing, no threat—not like the Vex. Not like the Darkness.”

Vanguard Commander.

[u.2:06] Have you spoken to the House of Light, like I asked? [u.1:07] I would rather not speak with Fallen. [u.2:07] They may need our help. Their cause is just. [u.1:08] What happened to “trust no one?” [u.2:08] What happened to your sense of right and wrong, hero?

Maintenance Operations Log 30037.

The unenlightened wonder at my so-called "fixation" upon the Vex. They believe our gravest existential threat is the Hive, for those beings have made a pact with the Darkness itself via the medium of the Worm Gods (according to Toland, at least, and I see no reason to doubt him in this). But Darkness is not merely absence of Light. Darkness is an entity unto itself. Put simply, Darkness is not Nothing. But the Vex? The Vex seek neither Light nor Darkness. They seek Convergence, the reduction of all life to its simplest, most meaningless form. An entelechy of zeros and ones. "Evil" is a word for sentimentalists and fools. But, in the ontology of the sentimental, the Vex are more deserving of the term than the Hive. Given a choice between Darkness and Convergence, I would choose Darkness. It is a logical choice. Yet for this they banish me.

Kairos Function (Hunter).

This one is important because Osiris doesn’t subscribe to the idea of “good” and “evil”, and that he would go so far to say that the Vex are Evil shows just how much of a threat he views them as.

It’s just. Mind boggling to me that people think that Osiris would be okay with a Vex invasion. That Osiris would encourage Lakshmi to open up a rift to “send the Fallen away” (Despite being one of the earliest sympathizers!) Osiris isn’t ineffable, he’s just a man trying to do his best to help humanity. His actions aren’t difficult to understand, they have been written to be very clear and with understanding his motives.

Saying that it’s natural for him to be secretive and have contradicting opinions and actions is just. Wrong. It’s not him. It’s not how he’s supposed to be understood. Even in Curse of Osiris I don’t think his actions didn’t make any sense.

This is going to sound very mean but I want to be 100% clear: If you think that Osiris would actively choose to put the City in danger of the Vex, if you think that he would actively choose to stand calmly and watch as his lover was about to die to the very things he spent millions of lives to save... You don’t understand Osiris. Go back and reread his lore.

I leave you with this:

The Vanguard is dubious of our intent and ability, fearing corruption and displacement. They do not trust me. You were held in similar contempt for speaking your truth and empowering free thought. You know what it feels like to be chastised and labeled a traitor. We are mere steps away from a disintegration of our institutions, and they cannot see destruction staring them in the face. ... For so long, we have clung to the Light, denying the strength offered by the Dark. By using Stasis, we will end this war. We see this contest for what it truly is: a game, played by our adversaries. And we have been the pawns. We are pawns no more. This is not a battle I want to wage without you, although we may not have a choice in the matter. Wherever you may be, please come back to us.

To Osiris.

#theus.exe #lore.exe #osiris #destiny osiris #osiris destiny #destiny spoilers #long post

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spencer-reid-in-a-pool · 3 years

Text

All Cream, No Sugar

Author’s Note: Hello everyone! Here is my sfw fic that was submitted to my friend @writing-in-april for the 4th Fic Swap on @imagining-in-the-margins ‘s Discord! Not my best work because I have been struggling to manage time lately and balance everything with my school and personal life. But I hope it is enjoyable nonetheless!

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It was Thursday. Possibly the worst day of the week. Even more awful than Monday. It always felt like a barricade between the beginning of the week and the weekend. The glorious, lazy weekend. Honestly, now that I think about it...Thursday has the same kind of feel as November.

I chuckled to myself as I left my apartment. My mind was a special place, and I guess today was no different. Better than thinking about my finals, though. Literally anything was better to think about instead of final exams. That’s why I’m treating myself to a break at my favorite coffee shop. I deserve it, really, after the studying I have been doing all day. At least, that’s what I tell myself so I feel okay about spending all this money on coffee.

The car ride over there was quick enough. I lived on the outskirts of the city, but this place has the best coffee, and I would drive a ridiculous amount of time to get to it. No matter the distance, it would be worth it.

And maybe...just maybe…I would see that guy that comes in sometimes. The one with the messy hair and the sweater vests. He was so intriguing. I don’t even know his name, but I always notice when he comes in while I’m there. It was pretty much impossible not to. Hopefully one day I would work up the nerve to talk to him. Maybe that day would be today.

I walked in the building, and the smell of coffee and sweets immediately hit me. It was so comforting. Almost like a tiny sanctuary away from home, and I was always so appreciative.

As soon as the little bell on the door rang, the barista behind the counter looked up and shot me a smile. They recognized me quite often.

“Hey, (Y/N), the usual?” she called from across the floor.

“You know it,” I said with a wink.

I took my favorite seat in the shop and looked around. It was pretty empty today, which was just the way I like it. It means less time to wait for my coffee and I can sit in peace. The only thing that would make it better is if that guy came in and I got my big girl pants on to ask him his name.

After a few minutes, my coffee was brought to me and I handed the waiter some cash for my order, with a good amount leftover for a tip. His smile was bright and thankful, and it made me hopeful for today.

Each time the door opened and another person walked in, my heart skipped a beat. I stopped counting when I got to 10 people that turned out not to be him. It irked me more than I care to admit.

I was starting to lose hope, staring daggers at the dregs of my leftover coffee. Perhaps I thought I would find him there? I just wanted to see him.

A tap on my shoulder drew me out of my thoughts. Well, it startled me out of them more like. With a gasp, I jumped and looked up at the person who tapped on me. It was the barista who greeted me and made my coffee. Sophie. My favorite barista to spill all my problems to.

“You okay? You look like you’re really thinking hard about something.”

I sighed and almost smiled at how ridiculous I was being.

“Yeah, I’m okay. And I was thinking about something. Can you sit for a minute?”

She nodded, “I’m on break, thankfully.”

Once she took her seat across from me at the tiny table, I wrapped my fingers around the now room temperature coffee cup in front of me.

“So, what’s up? What could you possibly be thinking about that’s got you looking like that?”

“Um, well. There’s this guy…”

Her eyes widened and she leaned forward a bit, as if to ask me to continue.

“You might have seen him in here before. He comes in as much as I do, which is why I noticed him.”

“What does he look like?”

“Well, he’s tall. He wears sweaters a lot...um…oh, his hair is kind of messy, but in a cute way. And he has this dumb little satchel he carries sometimes-”

“Does he look like that guy?” Sophie asked as she pointed behind me.

I followed where her finger was pointing by the door and sure enough, he was there. But he was there with another girl I had never seen him with before. She had dark hair and striking eyes, along with a certain air about her that just gave off badass vibes. Of course he would have a girlfriend. And a gorgeous one at that.

I turned back to Sophie quickly before he noticed me staring.

“Uh, yeah. That would be him. But I’ve never seen that girl before. It figures, though. Just my luck.”

The pair began walking farther into the shop, talking quietly as they approached the counter to order. The more they talked and smiled at each other, the more my heart seemed to falter.

“Oh, (Y/N),” Sophie said quietly so only I would hear, “I’m so sorry.”

I didn’t respond to her. I didn’t have to. The look in my eyes was enough to let her know what I was thinking and feeling.

Her break was about to be over, so she placed a hand gently on top of mine, and with a small smile, left me there.

Well, there was only one thing left to do. Get another coffee, and maybe something sweet to drown my sorrows in.

I took a deep breath and stood up, grabbing my empty cup to throw away when I got to the front to order. I didn’t see them anywhere now. They must have ordered already and found a seat. But truthfully, I didn’t look around for them long. I didn’t want to.

I ordered a black coffee and a doughnut, and waited for a second for them to hand me my order instead of going back to my table to wait. Sometimes they put too much creamer in the coffee, so this way I could go over to the cream and sugar stand and make it myself.

Coffee and doughnut in hand, I made my way over to the small fridge they left out for customers to put in their own creamer and milk. I wasn’t really feeling the flavored seasonal creamers they had, so I just grabbed the half and half and started pouring. I didn’t really want any sugar either. I had my doughnut, which I probably wouldn’t even eat to be honest. My stomach was in knots.

A sudden voice behind me knocked me out of my thoughts.

“All cream, no sugar, huh? I’m the total opposite.”

I was so startled that my hand seemed to seize up, causing me to jerk the carton of half and half away from the cup. Now there was liquid all over the counter.

“Oh. I’m so sorry- Here, let me. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

I still hadn’t looked at who was talking to me, so when the footsteps got closer and I felt someone next to me, I decided I should finally look up.

It was him. The guy. The one I came here for. Except now he was standing right next to me.

He grabbed a handful of paper towels and started wiping up the mess on the counter while I stood wide-eyed and in shock. I should probably say something.

“I’m so sorry. I was...thinking about something and you startled me. I feel so clumsy.”

He looked up at me with a hint of a smile on his face.

“No, it’s really my fault. I’m not good at talking to people.”

Once he had finished cleaning up, he threw the paper towels away and turned back towards me.

“What’s your name? I see you in here sometimes. I guess you could say we’re both regulars.”

A lump formed in my throat that I had to swallow down forcefully. He saw me in here sometimes? He noticed me? Did he ever see me looking at him? Oh no.

“Um, my name is (Y/N). I see you in here sometimes too. The coffee here is really good, yeah?”

He smiled again, but bigger and more pronounced this time. Nodding his head, he shifted his bag and looked back at me.

“My name’s Spencer. It’s nice to officially meet you.”

Now it was my turn to smile. This was going pretty good, all things considered. It’s too bad about that girl he’s with, though. Speaking of the girl, she was walking towards us right now. Fantastic. Just what my anxiety needed.

“Spencer, we just got a call. Did you not pay attention to your phone?” the woman said in a hurry as she came closer.

Spencer jumped a bit and started to dig in his pocket for his phone. He pulled it out and laughed nervously.

“I have it on silent. Whoops.”

The woman rolled her eyes and then seemed to notice me standing there.

“Ohh, I see. You had it on mute so you could talk to this girl you were telling me about, hmm? Better hope I don’t tell Hotch”

Spencer opened and closed his mouth a few times, and I was simply shocked. He wanted to talk to me? Like, on purpose? He told this woman about me?

“I’ll meet you outside, Emily,” Spencer groaned at her.

The woman named Emily smiled at me and winked before leaving. So now it was just me and Spencer, standing awkwardly together. Great.

“I, um...ignore her. She’s a colleague from work...and apparently my wing woman now.”

I couldn’t help but sigh in relief. So she was just a friend. I had gotten myself all sad and anxious for nothing. Honestly, that’s typical for me though, so…

I could only smile. So much so that it made my cheeks hurt.

“So, do you have to leave? For work or something?”

Spencer shifted his weight nervously.

“Yeah, I um, yeah I’m sorry. I really would like to stay and talk more. I hope you don’t find it weird I told her about you, by the way. I just notice you in here a lot and I think you’re really pretty and I just-”

He cut himself off suddenly and looked at me sadly.

“I have to go, but here.”

Hurriedly, he pulled out a scrap piece of paper from his bag and a pen. He leaned over the counter and quickly wrote his name and number on the paper and handed it to me somewhat forcefully.

“Text me or call me...you know, if you want. Um, I really have to go. I’m sorry.”

He turned on his heel and began walking towards the door.

“Spencer!” I called across the shop.

Spencer stopped in his tracks and turned to look at me, almost with an excited glint in his eye.

I held the paper he gave me gently in my hand and took a deep breath to calm my pounding heart.

“I noticed you, too.”

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