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askdarus-thefuture · 5 years

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“If this is the next world...I hope it's good to you guys.” -Paul Rovia

“Hey!” Dwight said, snapping his fingers in front of his face, “I need your team to do something...and keep it on the down-low.”

Nick Kelly looked up at Dwight, who was the leader of the Saviors...and also his step-father. He smiled at the man who had raised him, despite Nick not having his eyes.

“What’s up?” Nick asked, always excited to get outside of the walls, “Need me to pick up condoms again?”

“Laura sent me a message from the factory...Gordon ran off. I need you to track him down and bring him back so he and I can have a talk...before he does anything rash, y’know?” Dwight winced slightly.

Nick grinned, “Road trip? I’ll get Ash and Eliza...I’m sure they’ll be good to go with me,” he said, hopping up from his place in the outpost’s living room. He rubbed his hands together, “I’m taking the truck though.”

Dwight rolled his eyes, “Fine,” he said, digging through his pockets and tossing him a set of keys, including his key to the armory, “Take what you need...but get my kid back.”

Nick rolled his eyes slightly, making sure Dwight didn’t catch him doing it as he looked through the keys, “Will do,” he grinned, twirling them on his finger as he walked down the hallway. He opened another door and walked down a hallway, walking passed the dorm-like doors, going across the doors with his finger until he saw the number he was looking for.

He knocked on the door, “Knock, knock,” he called.

A brunette woman answered the door and she grinned immediately when she saw Nick, “Hey,” he said, leaning down slightly and kissing him on the lips.

“Hello, ‘Liza,” Nick grinned and leaned around her to look at her roommate, “How’s my favorite amnesiac?” he asked, looking at the person lying in the other bed.

Ash had shown up at the outpost one day, a head injury on the hairline of their red haired head. They introduced themself as a person named Ash, who used they pronouns, and were just looking for a place to stay. Nick was the one who met them at the gate and he immediately knew he needed to help them.

“Funny,” they snorted, getting up from the bed, “What’s up, Nicky?”

“My dear step-brother decided to pull a runaway and daddy dearest wants us to find him,” Nick said, “Up for a little road trip?”

“Always,” Eliza said, grabbing her go-bag from the corner with a smile on her face, “Anything to get out of this place. It smells like weed.”

“Might be the weed growing down the hallway,” Ash snorted, grabbing their back from under their bed.

“And the fact that you smoke in our room,” Eliza grumbled.

“You fuck in our room, I don’t wanna hear it,” Ash snorted, slinging their bag over their shoulder, “Let’s go, assholes.”

“RJ!” Michonne called, “RJ!”

“Andrea? Andrea!” Rick called as well.

“JUDITH!” they both yelled together.

“I can’t find them anywhere,” DJ said, running up to them, “All three of them are no where in Alexandria...they have to be outside the walls.”

“They know better,” Rick sighed.

“But that never stops them,” Michonne said, grabbing her sword off of the wall, “I’ll go look for them...you keep looking for them here.”

“Be careful,” Rick said, giving her a brief kiss on the lips, “DJ, you go with her. We don’t want anyone outside the walls by themselves.”

DJ nodded, “No prob, boss. Let’s go find our little rebels.”

“Coltsfoot.”

“What’s it used for?”

“Lung problems...it will be good for Julia’s asthma.”

Judith kneeled down, looking at the small yellow flower, “Do we need the roots?”

“Yeah, I want to plant some in Alexandria so we can grow it back again,” RJ said, reading from a book that he’d gotten from his library. He flipped through the pages, “I think that I also saw some boneset back there, I’m going to go check,” he said, putting the book down a fallen log, marking the page as he closed it, revealing the title.

MEDICINAL PLANTS & THEIR USES: VIRGINIA

BY PAUL DIXON-ROVIA

RJ walked over to the spot he’d seen the plant, carrying his own basket, and he kneeled down, taking out his small shovel that he used for trips like these and dug down his root, doing the best to make sure he got all the roots.

RJ looked up when he heard the familiar sound of growling and sighed when he saw a walker stumbling towards him.

RJ sighed, feeling around his pants and grabbed his knife from his belt, shoving it right into it’s skull.

“You okay?” Judith called from where she was with Andrea.

“Yeah,” RJ called back, “Just one, I took care of it,” he said as he picked his basket up, walking back to his older and younger sister, “Found the boneset,” he said, waving his basket.

“Awesome,” Andrea said, standing up, “I want this stocked up by the winter. I went over all of these with Uncle Paul and Doc Carson, we’re going to start sending these all over the communities once we can get them growing more.”

“Perfect,” Judith grinned and then it fell slightly.

“What’s wrong?” Andrea asked, tilting her head.

“I heard mom and dad talking about something the other day…” Judith trailed off, messing with her hands, “A-And I know we have different biological moms...but it was something dad said…” she trailed off.

“What is it?” RJ asked, putting his hand on her arm, “You’re upset...what happened?”

Judith took a shaky breath, “They were talking about dad’s friend, Shane...and how he would have loved to meet me.”

“So? He would have loved to meet all of us,” Andrea shrugged.

“He said I have Shane’s eyes,” Judith croaked out, messing with her hands nervously, “Why would he say that?”

“Jude, he probably didn’t mean…” RJ trailed off, looking over at Andrea.

“What would he have meant then?” Judith whispered, “I-It makes sense. Dad and Lori weren’t together when she died...when she had me,” she rambled, “What if he’s not my dad?”

“I mean...look at Richie and Meri,” Andrea offered, not looking up from her notes, “Uncle Daryl and Uncle Paul aren’t their bio dads, but they’re their real dads.”

“Why didn’t they tell me?” Judith whispered, tearing up.

“What does it matter?” Andrea asked, “Dad is your dad, mom is your mom. Don’t make this into...a big deal, Judith. We have bigger things to worry about.”

“It is a big deal!” Judith yelled suddenly, snapping at both of them, “It’s only not a big deal to you because they’re your real parents!”

“Don’t make too much noise-” RJ started.

He was cut off by the sound of walkers.

“Shit,” Andrea hissed, taking out the gun from her belt.

The growling was suddenly cut off by the familiar sound of a sword cutting through walkers.

“Now,” Michonne said, stepping out of the brush, “What the hell are you three doing?”

Hershel Rhee drove down the road, the windows down, despite the crisp, fall air. In almost all of their runs, unless it was in the winter, their windows were down.

They were the newest addition to Kal’s teams and one of the most popular. They had been the first team of four, usually Kal made it five, after an incident back in the day when he sent out three alone and one of them died and two of them ended up traumatized.

Usually there were teams of five, but Kal trusted them enough that they were able to be a team of four.

Hershel had grown up with his team; they’d grown together, learned together in school, and trained together. They were neighbors, friends, and trusted allies.

Hershel looked in the mirror, looking at his companions.

First there was Meredith, sitting in the backseat and staring out the window; she was the youngest of all of them, at twenty years-old. She was an expert in archery, especially when it came to her crossbow that had been passed down from her father, Daryl Dixon-Rovia. She was quiet, but always talked to Hershel when he was around. Honestly, she’d actually gladly talk to anyone if they approached her, but most people were too scared to do so because she definitely got her temper from her father, Daryl. Deep down, she was great friend and a really loyal person...just don’t get on her bed side. Getting on her bad side would only happen if you messed with her friends or family.

Next was Gracie, who was sitting beside him in the passenger side, her hand out the window as she felt the cold air on her fingers. She was Aaron Raleigh’s daughter, who was the head of construction in their community. She was probably the nicest one out of all of them...probably considering one of the nicest people in Hilltop raised her. She was older than Meredith by under a year, but still older. She was a lot more social than Meredith though, probably friends with everyone in Hilltop.

Last was Richie, who was in the back with Meredith; Richie was Meredith’s older brother and he was around Hershel’s age, though he was a few months older at twenty one and Hershel didn’t turn twenty one until the end of the month. Richie was...hard to describe for Hershel. He was his best friend, they were the perfect team, they moved in sync of each other when they fought walkers. Richie moved like his other father, Paul, but slightly more clumsy. When he fought, he was amazing...graceful, even. But when he walked and ran? Two left feet.

And Richie was gorgeous, though Hershel would never tell a soul.

“Do you think Henry has changed?” Richie asked suddenly.

Hershel broke his gaze staring at Richie when Richie looked up and focused on the road, “I’m sure he’s still the same prince from before,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“Dad told me they use they pronouns,” Richie mentioned, “Non-Binary male, is what they told my dad. They accept he, but want to start using they.”

“Gotcha,” Hershel said, “I’m sure they’re the same person as before, I wouldn’t worry about it. How long’s it been since they left for the Kingdom?”

“Ten years,” Meredith deadpanned, “We’ve seen them at Christmas once a year, that’s it. There’s no way they haven’t changed,” she snorted.

“Well, I’m sure everything will be fine,” Richie said, “Henry is a really down to earth person, they never let their father being king go to their head,” he pointed out.

Hershel rolled his eyes. Richie had always had some sort of...admiration for Henry when they were younger. He was always following them around and trying to train with them, despite Paul putting Henry in a class above them because of their previous training.

When Richie heard that Henry was coming back, he was ecstatic, and so were Meredith and Gracie.

Hershel wasn’t sure how he felt about it. He didn’t want things to change between the four of them...and a newcomer (despite already knowing Henry) moving in was always cause for a shakeup-

“Look out!” Richie said quickly, pointing.

Hershel slammed on the breaks, narrowly missing someone going down the dirt road on a motorbike. He put the car in park and got out, making sure his gun was loaded.

“Hershel,” Richie groaned, getting out, “Don’t be so confrontational,” he said, getting out as well, the two girls with them following.

The guy with the motorbike shut it off, “Sorry about that!” he called, taking off his helmet.

“Yeah, maybe stay on your side of the road-” Hershel started.

“Gordon?” Richie breathed out.

“Richie?” Gordon asked, his eyes wide, “I...hey…” he trailed off.

Gordon Martin, Hershel thought, was a pain in their side for most of their teen years.

Gordon was the son of Dwight, and a Savior woman named Laura. While his brother, Nick, grew up in the family outpost, Gordon stayed with his biological mother at the factory, which Maggie always said was no place for a child to grow up.

When their meetings first started, when the New Saviors were being developed, Gordon came to every meeting, taking interest in Richie, especially. So much interest, in fact, that when Richie had just turned sixteen, the two shared their first and only kiss.

After that, Gordon never came back again. He never wrote, never sent a message...he stole Richie’s first kiss and never came back.

And it broke Richie’s heart.

And made Hershel want blood.

“Hi,” Richie said in shock, “What are you doing passed mark two? You’re almost...always over there,” he breathed out.

“I’m moving out,” Gordon said, gesturing to his stuff packed up on the back of his bike, “I, uh...was hoping I could hide out at Hilltop for a while, until…” he trailed off with a shrug.

Hershel looked over to Meredith, who was looking at Gordon with a cold, dead stare.

She had been friends with Gordon, until everything happened.

Until he broke her brother’s heart.

“Well, we’d love to have you!” Gracie said quickly, taking over as the nice one. Usually it was the three of them, who picked up new people, introduced themselves, and Meredith hung back for muscle.

But not this time.

“Our recent expansion has finished, so we have a lot of housing up,” Gracie explained, walking up to him, “We were actually going to head back soon, you can...follow us, if you want,” she said, pulling him into a hug, “It’s good to see you, Gordo,” she laughed.

“Gordon,” he corrected as he pulled back, “But good to see you too, Gracie.”

Hershel got back in the car without a word, Meredith and Richie doing the same. He looked back to Richie, “You okay?” he asked.

Richie stayed silent, just staring out the window at the woods.

Gracie got back in a few minutes later, “He’s going to follow us back on his bike.”

“Why did you say yes?” Hershel asked her.

“Because everyone deserves a second chance….even one who was a total bastard,” Gracie mumbled, “And it’s best to keep your friends close and your enemies closer...we need to keep an eye on him. Would you rather him be in Alexandria?”

“No,” Hershel said quietly, “And you’re right,” he said, putting his car in drive, “But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

Henry rode their horse up to the Hilltop Colony, smiling at the sight of the familiar gates. They’d slacked off with their visits, once things at the Kingdom got busy, now that it was no longer falling apart...but it was time for something new.

It was time for them to go out and make something of themselves.

And that started by going to a new community and getting training for what they really wanted...they wanted to be a doctor.

And the Hilltop Colony was the place to be for that.

“Hello!” Henry called up to the person on top of the gate, “It’s me, Henry, from the Kingdom!”

“Henry?!” Lydia asked in shock, waving at them, “Hi!”

“Oh no,” Henry mumbled to themself, but waved back.

They had a history with Lydia...a mild dating history. Nothing serious but things were...awkward. At the time, they’d thought it would be forever, but it was just stupid, teenage love. They grew apart eventually.

The gates opened and Paul Dixon-Rovia was waiting there with Maggie Rhee, smiles on both their faces.

“Hi, Henry!” Paul waved at them.

Henry smiled, getting off their horse and started to take their stuff off, but people immediately came over to help.

“Hey, I can handle it,” Henry laughed.

“Anything for the prince,” Alden drawled sarcastically, taking the bags.

Henry narrowed their eyes, but didn’t say anything. They turned to Paul and Maggie with a smile, “Hey, guys.”

“We’re happy to have you, Henry,” Maggie laughed, pulling them into a hug.

“I’ve honestly never seen Harlan happier than when your letter arrived,” Paul laughed, “He’s eager to teach any new students.”

Henry smiled, “Well, I’m eager to learn...tomorrow,” they said, “It’s been a long journey, I really just want to go to bed.”

“Oh, that’s what we figured,” Paul said, “Since you’re a medical student, we put you in the upstairs of the hospital building. There’s dormitories up there now. You’ll be our first student to stay there!” he said excitedly.

“Thank you,” Henry smiled, “Uh...where’s Richie? I wanted to say hi to him.”

“He’s out on a run, but he should be back soon,” Paul told them, “I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you.”

A few hours later, Henry was settled and getting dressed when there was a knock on the door. Their room was pretty nice, they had to admit. Everything was new and clean...not like the older things at the Kingdom.

Not that they didn’t love the Kingdom, it would always be their home.

But this was going to be a fresh new start.

Henry walked over, shirt still in their hands, opening the door.

Richie stood there.

He looked...different; older...stronger.

“My dad said you were looking for me,” Richie said, smiling, “Good to see you.”

“Hey, c’mon in, dude!” Henry laughed, moving aside so he could come in, “Sorry it’s a mess, I haven’t finished unpacking yet.”

“You should see our place. We finally moved into a house and it’s still cluttered,” Richie laughed, walking in and sitting on the edge of the bed.

Henry finished putting their t-shirt on, “You caught me before I passed out. It’s exhausting riding a horse for that long, I swear.”

Richie smiled, “Yeah, we figured you’d be tired,” he said, handing him a container, “Dad sent some dinner over for you though. I make some killer baked potatoes.”

“Thanks,” Henry sighed in relief, “With all the moving, I completely forget to eat,” they cleared their throat, “How have you been? You look...good.”

“Great,” Richie smiled, “Kal put us on a run team; me, Gracie, Hershel, and Mer. We go out a bunch and work great together. I know you’re here for medical school, but you should come out with us sometime. Usually there’s teams of five anyways, we wouldn’t mind having you a long.”

“I’d like that,” Henry nodded with a smile, “I really missed you, Rich.”

“Missed you too,” Richie told them, looking over at them as well. He cleared his throat, “I, uh...I’ll let you get some rest. See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Henry said, smiling, “It’s good to see you, Richie.”

“Good to see you too,” Richie smiled, walking out.

He jogged down the steps and walked out the front door of the hospital, pausing slightly when he saw Gordon sitting on the porch of the guest trailer, in front of a small fire.

He stared for a long moment before hurrying home.

“Can’t believe he’s back here,” Daryl snapped, “Why’d he choose to come here, huh?”

“Our shining educational programs and wheat,” Richie deadpanned, playing with the spaghetti on his plate.

“Well, I think it’s good he’s back here,” Gracie said simply, “He deserves a second chance. Maybe he wants to make amends.”

“You just said that because you planned Richie’s wedding to him when we were little,” Meredith mumbled around a mouthful of food.

Aaron looked back and forth between Daryl and Meredith; they were so similar. Meredith reminded him of Daryl, back when he first invited him in to eat dinner with him and Eric.

Aaron looked over at Paul and gave him a smile, nodding between Meredith and Daryl.

Paul snorted out a laugh, taking a drink of water.

“What?” Daryl demanded around a mouthful, swallowing his food in a big gulp that, frankly, looked painful.

Paul rolled his eyes with a fond smile, taking his napkin and wiping his husband’s face.

Daryl batted his hands away, “Ain’t no baby.”

“You definitely aren’t, but you eat like one,” Violette deadpanned.

“I have students who eat neater than you two,” Lily added.

Daryl snorted, rolling his eyes and going back to his food, stabbing the spaghetti with his fork a few times, “You stay away from that boy, you hear me?” he asked, pointing his fork at Richie, “Knew he was trouble from the first time he came around and he’s only proved it ever since.”

Richie rolled his eyes, ducking his head so his father didn’t see it, “Yes, dad,” he said simply, going back to eating.

CAST

Luke Benward as Richie Dixon-Rovia Zendaya Coleman as Meredith Dixon-Rovia Dove Cameron as Gracie Raleigh Ki Hong Lee as Hershel Rhee Tyler Posey as Gordon Martin Luke Mitchell as Henry Carter Ian Michael Nelson as Nick Kelly Liv Hewson as Ash Ileana D'Cruz as Eliza Apte Jacob Artist as RJ Grimes Alexia Fast as Judith Grimes Kiersey Clemons as Andrea Grimes

Tom Payne as Paul Dixon-Rovia Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon-Rovia Lauren Cohan as Maggie Rhee Ross Marquand as Aaron Raleigh

Danai Gurira as Michonne Grimes Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes Matt Mangum as DJ

#cutscene

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asthmaqueeneddie · 6 years

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okay aj, give me some richie angst and this time i won’t yell at you for it being too sad (and this is time i’m requesting of anon)

i literally have 18 asks in my inbox right now but kate takes priority sorry ladies

i present to you; the life and trauma of richard tozier

(also tiny trigger warning: mentions of abuse, sexual assault, self-harm, and suicide)

-alright sanctioned richie angst, my fave.

-on the day he was born, richie’s mother tried to leave the hospital without him. and then tried, again, a day later to leave him at the fire station. luckily (or maybe unluckily) for him, his grandma had called every fire station in town before maggie even gave birth. she never wanted to be a mother and now she has a son.

-at age two richie made his first friend ever, william denbrough. sharon denbrough and maggie were friends in high school, and they both had their sons very young. but unlike maggie, sharon was happy. she loved her son and valued his existence and that’s why she stopped bringing him over for playdates once maggie dropped out of community college and drank away any chance of a diploma.

-at age four, richie got his first pair of glasses. they were expensive, wentworth knew he’d have to work overtime for a month to be able to afford them. but the school was threatening to hold richie back from kindergarten if he didn’t go to the eye doctor, so they sucked it up and took him in.

-at age eight, richie was called ‘annoying’ for the first time. funnily enough, he couldn’t even speak really until he was like 6. and then after he could, he never stopped. stan uris, diagnosed with anxiety when he was three years old, was prescribed a journal to log his day’s events in. in one entry, age 7, he wrote; “today i met a boy with hair like a bald eagle’s nest, he never stops talking but i don’t think i mind”. it was richie’s teacher who called him annoying. he told his mom that day, big tears in his eyes.

“maybe if you didn’t talk so much, she wouldn’t be so mean”

-richie’s dad lost his job when he was ten. wentworth was a dentist who fell into an unrequited love with one of his patients. she sued him for malpractice. nothing was ever the same in that house. it was also at age ten when richie’s father hit him for the first time. he bought him an ice cream cone the next day and never spoke of it.

-richie had to stay with his aunt and uncle for a summer when he was eleven. wentworth found a summer job while maggie was checked into a three-month rehab facility. and every night while he was away, his uncle snuck into his bed and showed him how a father was “supposed” to love a son.

-when richie was twelve, he had a crush on stephanie bildstein. she had green eyes and blonde hair and smelled like vanilla and sunshine. richie drew doodles of her in his notebooks during class. she moved away from derry before the end of the year.

-the summer after richie turned 13, he almost lost his own life but more importantly, he almost lost his friends. he vows to never let this thing hurt them again, to never give up the fight. and he seals the oath with his blood.

-richie turned fourteen and developed a crush on charlie stevenson from down the street. he had brown eyes and ginger hair and helped richie up when he fell in gym class. he wrote him a letter explaining his feelings, but he heard an old woman at the store say that man loving man was a sin. he never delivered the note.

-when richie was fifteen, he started hurting himself just to feel something. his father came home in a rage every night, occasionally using richie as an outlet for his anger. when richie screamed and cried, his mother only turned her Paul Anka record louder. he felt hopeless and used, worthless and unwanted. it wasn’t until his wrists were opened that he felt any semblance of peace.

-age seventeen was when richie gave his whole self over to eddie kaspbrak, for his eyes only. eddie told him he loved him and not in the way he loved everyone else. it was the year mike hanlon found richie on his bathroom floor in a pool of his own blood. it was the year maggie tozier’s liver gave up on her.

-age nineteen, richie vowed in sickness and in health. he thought his luck had changed, things finally started to pick up. eddie was his good luck charm, with their hands intertwined nothing bad would ever fall upon them again.

-and that held true until about twenty years later, when he got the call that stanley uris had taken a bath, never to watch another bird ever again.

-richie had always known, in the back of his mind, that terrible things seemed to follow him wherever he went. that bad luck swarmed around his head like a dark, heavy cloud. and nothing could’ve cemented this fact more, than when he watched his eddie spaghetti mutter his last words and expel the last breath he would ever take.

wow um was that angsty enough??? i hope???

p.s. i reALLY didn’t know how to end that oops

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askdarus · 7 years

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Ducklings || Flashforward Oneshot (Cutscene)

Daryl looked down at the kids in front of him. He was resisting the urge to just yell why up at the sky, hoping whoever was up there would hear him cursing them.

He was used to Richie following him around, it wasn’t anything knew. Their son did that to both him and Paul. Judith had a habit of doing it too, despite being four now, always wanting to see her “Uncle Dawel.” Daryl was always ninety nine percent sure that was Rick or Michonne’s doing. Then there was of course baby Hershel, who was there because Maggie was at a meeting with Rick. Then there was some kid named Gordon, who had appeared when the Saviors arrived for the meeting. Daryl had no idea who the kid was and he didn’t care. He looked to be about Richie and Hershel’s ages of three years-old.

“Whadaya want?” Daryl grunted, looking down at them.

“Daddy told us ta go play,” Richie shrugged, looking up at him.

“M’workin’,” Daryl mumbled, looking down at the four kids, “Go play somewhere else.”

“You ain’t workin’,” Gordon snorted, “You’re just standin’ up there!”

“S’called gate duty,” Daryl said and turned back to watching, “Rich, don’t try to climb up here,” he said without looking back at him.

“Aw, dad!” Richie whined, “C’mon.”

“Gotta watch the place,” Daryl grunted.

He could put up with Richie following him around and Judith…and Hershel…

Okay.

“Daryl, shifts over!” Eric called, looking up at him.

Daryl groaned and started to climb down.

“Hi, Uncle Eric!” Richie chirped, holding up his arms.

Eric picked him up and smiled, “Hey, aren’t you getting too big to be picked up?”

“Nah,” Richie giggled.

“Make a new friend?” Eric asked, looking down at Gordon.

“Yeah,” Richie nodded quickly, “That’s Gordo.”

“Gordon!” the small boy snapped, looking up at him.

Richie stuck his tongue out at him in response and immediately reached out for Daryl when he jumped down.

“Givin’ me back problems, kid,” Daryl grunted, taking him from Eric, “Thanks, man.”

“No problem,” Eric said, smiling at him before climbing up the ladder to the top.

Daryl sighed, looking at Richie and then down at the other kids, “Where’s your daddy?” he asked, looking at Richie

“Talkin’ with Aunt Maggie an’ Uncle Zeke, an’ Uncle Rick,” Richie shrugged, “An’ some dude.”

“My daddy,” Gordon snapped.

“Watch the attitude, kid,” Daryl muttered to the kid with the messy blond hair. He sat Richie on the ground, “Go play.”

“You gotta play too,” Richie said, clinging to his leg, “C’mon, please.”

“Please, Uncle Daryl?!” Judith asked loudly, grabbing onto his other leg.

Hershel followed her lead, toddling over and grabbing onto the leg Judith was holding onto.

Gordon apparently had no interest and just stood there, his arms crossed.

Daryl sighed, looking up at the sky. It was starting to cloud up. And his shoulder was starting to hurt.

Probably going to rain.

“‘Kay, let’s go play inside,” Daryl sighed, putting Richie on his feel and walking in the direction of their house. The others let go the moment he started to walk.

He wasn’t about to deal with four drenched kids.

He looked behind him and rolled his eyes when he saw the kids following him in a little line.

Damn kids.

He didn’t even sign up for one, let alone four.

Richie was an exception though…he loved the kid…well, and Judith, since he’d been with her since the day she was born…and Hershel too.

Okay, he just didn’t like the grouchy one.

“M’hungry,” Richie whined, pulling on Daryl’s sleeve, “Daddy, s’lunch time.”

Daryl tried not to groan. Paul cooked. It wasn’t that he didn’t do any work…but Daryl didn’t usually cook food that Richie would like

Kid was like his dad and refused to eat the damn squirrel.

“I want food too,” Gordon whined.

Fuck.

“Alright,” Daryl said, leading them into the house, “Rich, go show ‘em where ta wash their hands…m’gonna find some stuff.”

Daryl watched down the hallway and made sure they went into the bathroom and sighed, running his hand through his hair. Before he met Paul, he’d never dream of telling some damn kids to wash their hands like he was…

Well, a dad.

He was a dad.

Daryl looked through their cabinets quickly and found two jars of applesauce. They always had extras because Eric would give them the ones they got with their share.

Aaron hated applesauce so much that he didn’t want it in the house.

Daryl searched through their cabinets and found plastic bowls, throwing them onto the counter and pouring it in the bowls quickly. He winced when he heard giggling in the bathroom, “Don’t sound like hand washin’!” he yelled and the giggling stopped.

Daryl looked out the window, in the direction of Rick’s house. He just wanted them to hurry up and get back over here, damnit.

Gordon walked out first and pulled himself up to the stool on the counter by himself, glaring at Daryl.

“What the hell ya want, kid?” Daryl snorted.

“My daddy called you a little bitch,” Gordon snickered.

Daryl glared at him, “Who the hell’s your parents?” he demanded, “What’s their names?”

“Dwight and Laura,” Gordon pronounced their names slowly.

Daryl looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath.

Fucking perfect.

“Eat your damn applesauce,” Daryl grumbled, shoving the bowl at him.

Paul owed him big time.

“I don’t like applesauce,” Gordon said, looking down at the bowl in disgust.

“Don’t care,” Daryl grunted before walking around and helping the other three up onto their stools as well.

“Thanks, daddy,” Richie chirped, starting to eat with the others.

Daryl sighed in relief, running his hand through his hair as he looked out the window again.

“My daddy says you’re really far up Jesus’ ass,” Gordon said.

“DADDY, HE SAID THE A WORD!” Richie yelled.

Daryl sighed, trying not to just bash his head off of the counter, “Ya’ll done eatin’?”

“Yeah,” Judith said, her mouth full of applesauce.

Daryl looked at Hershel and saw he’d just made a mess on the counter and all over his face. He grabbed a rag and wiped the kid’s mouth, ignoring when he whined and squirmed away.

“I wanna play hide and seek,” Hershel said after Daryl stopped wiping his mouth.

“…’Kay, fine,” Daryl said cautiously. He and Paul had played with Richie and Judith before. He didn’t see the harm in it. It was just a kids game.

“Now, if I can’t find ya and I start yellin’ your name, ya gotta come,” Daryl said, trying not to sound nervous in front of a group of toddlers, “No playin’ if ya’ll don’t agree.”

“Okay,” Judith, Richie, and Hershel chirped.

Daryl looked at Gordon and raised an eyebrow.

“Fine,” Gordon huffed, crossing his arms.

“Hide in twos,” Daryl told them, “Buddy system.”

Judith instantly grabbed Hershel’s arm and Daryl got it…kind of. The two never got to really see each other with Hershel living at Hilltop. Judith saw Richie everyday…and probably didn’t want to be partnered up with a kid she didn’t know.

“M’only countin’ ta ten, so get goin’,” Daryl said.

The kids instantly took off running.

Daryl sighed and started counting.

He found Judith and Hershel almost instantly. They were hiding in the bushes outside of the house.

He couldn’t find Richie and Gordon though…and it was starting to scare him. He didn’t want to give in so easily and he wanted to find them…but he didn’t like that Richie didn’t stay close by.

“We saw ‘em run that way,” Judith pointed into the direction of the steps going towards the basement across the street.

Daryl felt his heart drop into his stomach.

“Judy, go get your dad,” Daryl said, “Go with ‘er, Hershel.”

The kids took off running in the direction of the house and Daryl took a shaky breath, running as fast as he could to the basement.

“Daryl?” he heard Paul asked, coming out of the house with the others. He didn’t say anything, he knew he’d follow.

Daryl ran down the steps to the makeshift prison quickly and grabbed Richie away from the cell, surprising his son. He’d apologize for it later.

“Gordon, shit!” Dwight yelled, running down the steps. Daryl looked over and saw Maggie, Michonne, Rick, Ezekiel, Carl, and Paul all following as well.

“Damn, what did I miss?” Negan laughed from the cell.

Paul ran over and took Richie from Daryl quickly, “Sweetie, we don’t come down here, okay?”

“How’d you manage that one, Dwighty boy?” Negan asked, “Doubt Sherry’d go back to you.”

Dwight ignored him and took Gordon upstairs quickly.

“Aren’t you guys just the cutest?” Negan chuckled, looking at Paul, Daryl, and Richie.

“Enough,” Rick said, “C’mon.”

“Come back and visit soon, kid,” Negan called.

“Okay!” Richie chirped, obviously not knowing what was going on.

Carl threw a glare at Negan before following everyone up.

“Thought you were watching them, Dixon!” Dwight hissed the moment he walked up the steps and closed the door.

“I was!” Daryl yelled, “I was lettin’ ‘em play hide and seek-”

“It was my idea,” Gordon mumbled against Dwight’s shoulder, “Sorry, daddy,” he said, resting his head on his shoulder, “Didn’t know.”

Dwight swallowed down his anger and looked down at his kid, “Nice meeting…see ya,” he said before walking away quickly.

Daryl glared over at where Paul was holding Richie, “We’re goin’ home,” he said, walking in the direction of their house. He glanced back and saw Paul giving Maggie a hug goodbye and then hugging Hershel.

He was in the house a good five minutes before Paul came in with Richie. His husband took one look at him before sighing, “Richie, you want to go play with your toys for a while?”

“‘Kay,” Richie said, toddling back in the direction of the other room.

Paul waited until Richie was in the room before he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

“Had no right ta send them kids ta me,” Daryl gritted his teeth, “I-I didn’t know what ta do. I can handle Richie and maybe Judy but…I didn’t know what ta do without ya.”

Paul pursed his lips, “That’s okay,” he said softly, putting his hand on his shoulder, “I shouldn’t have sent them over without asking.”

“M’a bad dad,” Daryl choked out.

“Oh, sweetie, no,” Paul said quickly, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him into a hug.

“Can’t even keep track of ‘em,” Daryl took a shaky breath, “Now he knows-”

“That doesn’t matter,” Paul told him, “He’s never getting out. The prison is secured. Don’t worry, okay?”

Daryl put his forehead on his shoulder, gripping him tightly.

“We’re safe,” Paul whispered, kissing the side of his head, “All of us, okay? We’re safe.”

#cutscene #flashforward cutscenes #this got emotional at the end it was supposed to be funny #set after negan is in jail #not necessarily canon to the spinoff if things change

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honeyspawn · 4 months

Text

Some ideas about Paul's family:

Option 1: Jon Matteson Fmily Tree - full-transparency, the Jon Matteson family tree has never really been my personal favorite, or at the very least, the idea of Paul specifically having a big chaotic extended family has never felt very "Paul" to me. Paul has always struck me as such a solitary entity in Hatchetfield, or at least until Emma shows up. That being said, I won't deny that the idea is fun. That being said, I think if we're gonna go with the whole Paul is Richie's uncle thing, I don't think he's literally the brother of one of Richie's parents. I think "uncle" in this case is used in the general way a kid refers to an adult relative, and he's more of a distant cousin. I don't really know how to explain it, but I simply cannot picture Paul with siblings. Overall though, to me, I think I prefer the idea of Gary and Boy Jerry being Richie's uncles, and Paul is just kinda separate.

Option 2: Generic Retirees - I've mentioned this in another post, but something about Paul having no relatives in Hatchetfield even though he's lived there his whole life there feels very "Paul" to me. I suppose you could conclude from this that his parents are dead, but seeing as he's only in his early 30s and that implies his parents probably died kind of young (probably somewhere in the 50s-70s range depending on how old they were when Paul was born and when they died), I like the idea instead that the explanation is the most boring one possible; they retired in Florida. Their names are Arthur and Martha Matthews, or something similarly generic. They are the most boring 60 year old couple imaginable. Arthur likes to garden. Martha likes bird watching. They have no other hobbies. They visit Paul a couple times a year. They are constantly trying to convince Paul to move to Florida. They are the Matthews family. They are boring.

Option 3: Crack Theory Time - This is insane, and I don't really believe this theory, but the idea came to me one day and I the thought wouldn't leave my head, so I need to share it. So the idea behind this is Paul is such a singular entity that it's almost enigmatic, or at least it would be if anyone cared that much. Paul never talks about his family to anyone. He never really thinks about his family, and he feels like he's been on his own for a long time. That's not to say he doesn't remember having a family. He had a mom. She was nice. It was a shame she passed away 15 years ago. And when he starts dating Emma and she asks about his family, that's all he has to say. "I had a mom. She was nice. It was a shame she passed away 15 years ago." He remembers having a mother, but he doesn't really remember anything that specific about her. He's not sure why. He never thinks too deeply about it. He's not sure he can properly recall her face unless he's looking at an old scrapbook. It's strange, though. As soon as he puts the scrapbook back on the shelf, it's like he forgets again. All that really sticks is he had a mom. She was nice. It's a shame she passed away 15 years ago. It's not like he didn't love her, of course he did, she was his mom. And she was a good mom too, he's sure of it. One thing he does remember though, is before she died, she had a long talk with him. He can't remember about what exactly, but he knows it was important. He's pretty sure she was saying goodbye. If you've watched nightmare time, you may have guessed where I'm going with this. I don't really know where this idea of mine that Miss Holloway is Paul's mom came from, it just kind of seemed like Paul being a mysteriously solo entity in Hatchetfield makes sense, and this seemed like an interesting explanation. It also would tie into the fact that Paul might have a slight latent resistance to the LiBs. In tgwdlm, Paul has a whole musical number where he resists the Hive while being infected, while the only other times anyone gets infected on stage, it's a matter of seconds. Paul is also one of the only adult characters who sees through Tickle-Me-Wiggly; even Emma thinks Tim would want a Wiggly "more than anything." Do I think this is all some insane foreshadowing? Absolutely not. This seems extremely unlikely to me, and a product of my own over-thinking, but it sure is fun to think about anyway. (Also, I've never seen anything about this online before, but if this is an existing fan theory, please let me know. The Miss Matthews theory, if you will)

Option 4: He Doesn't Have One - Paul does not have a family. He is just Paul. It's not important for Paul to have a family because they are not relevant, and therefore, they simply do not exist. This also seems very possible to me, and tbh feels appropriate, both for Paul, and for Hatchetfield. I mean heck, according to Curt Mega his shopper character in Black Friday is literally named "Shopper No. 4". Paul just straight up not having a family because he's Just A Guy™️ feels right.

Wow, this was a lot, actually. If you read this whole thing, thanks for letting me infodump, and I'd love to hear what you think.

#starkid #team starkid #tgwdlm #black friday #npmd #nightmare time spoilers #nightmare time 2 spoilers #nightmare time #nightmare time 2 #paul matthews #jon matteson family tree #richie lipschitz #miss holloway

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askdarus · 7 years

Text

Cutscene: Back to Alexandria

“More than half,” Daryl mumbled, watching Paul pack his books in a box. That was their agreement, since they’d be living in two places: half the shit in one house, half the shit stays in the trailer. By shit he meant all the books Paul never read.

Paul glared at him and Daryl hated that he found it cute. They’d been packing all day and his husband looked slightly disheveled. His hair was up in his tight bun on his head and a few strands had fallen out and were falling in his face while he tried to fit more books in the box.

“I have needs, Daryl,” Paul said and shoved another book in the box, a satisfied smirk on his face.

“Don’t know why ya need all that,” Daryl mumbled, holding Richie in his arms as he watched him, “Ya don’t read half of ‘em.”

“But I might need to,” Paul told him, taping the box closed. He picked it up and went to go out the door.

“Here, hold the little squirt for a while,” Daryl said, standing up, “Ya carried enough. My turn.”

“Daryl,” Paul rolled his eyes, “I’m more than capable-”

“I know,” Daryl said, passing Richie over to him, “So am I. Ya carried the last four.”

Paul smiled slightly and looked down at Richie, “Hi, baby boy, did you miss me?” he asked softly, sitting down.

Daryl watched them for a moment before grabbing the box and walking outside to the truck. He put them in the back and winced when he sat up.

Too old for that shit.

He smirked when he saw Alex and decided to engage in his favorite activity: pissing off the nurse.

“Hey,” Daryl said, walking over to where he was standing on Avery’s porch, “Poker night?”

“Yes,” Alex said simply, “Are you packing?”

“Yeah,” Daryl nodded, “Headin’ out tomorrow.”

Alex crossed his arms, “You’ll take care of him?”

“Always do,” Daryl snorted.

“You know he’s nervous, right?” Alex narrowed his eyes, “He really wants your family to like him.”

“Already like ‘im,” Daryl told him, “Ain’t worried.”

“Just treat him well,” Alex said, going back in the house.

Daryl rolled his eyes.

That wasn’t any fun.

Okay, now, Daryl was starting to feel a little guilty. It started first thing in the morning when the sun came up. Avery was at their door, demanding to spend time with Richie before they left. And sure, the old man was annoying as hell and treated Daryl like shit...but he felt bad for the guy. He hadn’t had a grandson for very long and he was always used to being close to his son.

Daryl watched as Avery sat beside Paul on the couch, Richie in his arms. Richie wasn’t too fussy this morning and he just gurgled and giggled as Avery and Paul talked to him.

“Gonna go say bye to Aaron an’ Eric,” Daryl mumbled, pressing a kiss to the side of Paul’s head and walking out.

“Be safe,” Maggie told them both, her arms crossed.

“Seriously,” Sasha added, “Be safe. Don’t do anything stupid...like backflips,” she said, eyeing Paul.

“I did one one time-” Paul started.

“Okay,” Maggie pulled him into a hug and then hugged Daryl as well, “Enough. Richie’s gonna get fussy soon if ya don’t get goin’.”

Paul sighed, “Send a message if you need anything, okay? Any of you.”

“We’ll take care of it,” Maggie smiled at him, “Don’t you worry about a thing.”

Daryl sat in the front seat, watching Paul load a few guns and shove them throughout the car. They couldn’t be too safe right now and Paul had taken all of his guns from his stash after giving Maggie one.

He glanced in the mirror and saw Richie was napping in his carseat, smiling slightly. He reached over when Paul was done and held his hand as he drove.

“Don’t be nervous,” Daryl mumbled. He still wasn’t good at comforting or anything. He was trying to learn, since he was a father and husband now. He needed to learn how to do this stuff.

“I’ve met them before,” Paul said, looking away awkwardly, “I’m not nervous at all, Daryl.”

“Lyin’,” Daryl grunted, “Don’t lie. I get it.”

Paul smiled slightly and unbuckled his seatbelt, scooting over to the middle seat and curling up beside him.

“Paul, get the damn seatbelt on,” he grumbled under his breath, gripping the steering wheel slightly harder.

Paul rolled his eyes and dug out the middle seatbelt and buckled it across his lap, putting his head on his shoulder. He smiled, “I love you, Daryl.”

Daryl swallowed and released his grip on the wheel slightly. He moved one of his hands from the steering wheel so he could wrap his arm around Paul.

Paul reached down and went to unbuckle his belt.

“Christ, Paul, no,” Daryl batted his hands away quickly.

“Oh god,” Paul croaked when Daryl flashed the lights at the gates. They’d gotten back around dusk and suddenly Paul’s heart was thumping wildly. He didn’t know why this was driving him so crazy. Was this how Daryl felt around his father all the time?

“Y’okay?” Daryl asked, pulling inside the gate and putting it in park.

Paul nodded, swallowing nervously as he got out of the car. He was immediately greeted by a confused looking Rick Grimes.

“Hi,” Paul choked out quickly, looking up at him.

“Hey,” Rick said and looked over Paul’s shoulder to Daryl, a questioning look on his face.

“Got a lot ta talk about,” Daryl said and leaned down, taking Richie from the back.

Paul looked nervously at Rick before following Daryl into the house he went in.

“Ya wanna go get ‘is crib while I talk ta Rick?” Daryl asked quietly once they got inside the house.

“I’ll hold him,” Paul told him, “I don’t want you to have to do this alone.”

Daryl smiled weakly and leaned over, kissing him softly before Rick walked in. He pulled away when he heard Rick walk in and they went in and sat in the living room, letting Richie settle in his arms and smiled when he let out a big yawn.

“So…” Rick trailed off.

Daryl smirked when he saw how awkward his friend was being before he cleared his throat, “Where ya wanna start?”

“The baby,” Rick said, still seeming shocked.

“This is Richie,” Daryl shrugged, “My baby.”

“Your...baby?” RIck asked carefully.

“Yeah,” Daryl said bluntly, “Paul’s my husband now too.”

Paul felt his cheeks heat up at the bluntness of his husband and ducked his head slightly.

“Your husband?!” Rick sputtered, causing Paul to jump slightly at the volume of his voice.

“Yeah,” Daryl said, narrowing his eyes, “Got a problem?”

“S’barely been four months, Daryl,” Rick said, “How did you…?”

“My friend, Crystal, had Richie,” Paul said, speaking up for the first time, “She died and asked us to take care of him. So we did.”

“Who’s the father?” Rick asked.

“We are,” Daryl gritted his teeth, “Other guy don’t matter. It’s all us.”

Rick nodded, not pushing it further, “Okay,” he said awkwardly and looked at Paul, “If you hurt him, we’re going to have a problem, ya got it?”

“Got it,” Paul nodded quickly, “I’d never hurt him.”

Rick looked over at Richie and smiled, “So his name’s Richie?”

Daryl ducked his head slightly, feeling his cheeks heat up, “Yeah,” he mumbled, “Richard, I mean...after you,” he said awkwardly, “You’re his godfather...if ya wanna be.”

“‘Course I wanna be,” Rick smiled, looking down at the baby, “Can I hold ‘im?”

Daryl nodded, handing Richie over instantly, “Gonna go get the crib, okay?” he asked Paul, “Be right back,” he said, kissing the side of his head.

Wait, shit, don’t leave me, Paul thought, his eyes wide as Daryl walked out the door. He turned back to Rick, his eyes wide as he watched him hold Richie.

“Judy’ll get along with ‘im,” Rick smiled, “She’ll love havin’ a friend around.”

“It’ll be a while before he can keep up with her, I think,” Paul smiled slightly, moving over to sit beside Rick and looked down at Richie, “He’s a kicker though. He’s going to run fast.”

“Good thing,” Rick chuckled when Richie started to kick his feet, “I see what ya mean.”

“I’m really not going to hurt him,” Paul said softly, “I know this is crazy and fast, but I love him and he loves me...and we love Richie too.”

“Long as he’s happy,” Rick told him, “Ain’t never seen ‘im look at someone how he’s lookin’ at you.”

“Where we parkin’ this thing?!” Daryl called loudly, walking in with the pop up crib.

“An’ uh...this is my room,” Daryl said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, “‘Til we get a house organized, we can stay here,” he shrugged and dropped the crib down on the floor.

“Ya like your Uncle Rick, huh?” Daryl asked, looking at Richie who was in Paul’s arms now and the baby kicked his legs happily when Daryl took him.

“I’ll set up the crib,” Paul smirked, “Apparently we’re staying with your parents.”

“Shuddup,” Daryl grumbled, watching him put the crib up easily. He flopped back on the mattress that was lying on the floor, holding Richie up in the air, “Fly, little man.”

Richie squealed and giggled, kicking his legs.

Paul smiled softly after he set up the crib. He leaned his back on the wall, watching Daryl with Richie.

“Rick’s gonna have dinner with everyone tanight,” Daryl said, not taking his eyes away from Richie, “Get ya acquainted with these guys. You’ll love ‘em and they’re gonna love both of ya.”

Paul smiled, resting his chin on his knees, “I hope so,” he mumbled. He was out of his element now. Hilltop was his home, despite always being out. He’d been putting down roots in the town after they got Richie. He enjoyed the company of his friends and his father. Well...friend...and he wasn’t sure he could count Alex as a friend.

Maybe he could make some friends here…

He’d never been too good at that.

Paul looked up again and saw Daryl now had Richie lying on his chest. He got up and moved, lying down beside him, “This will be good. Change is good.”

“You’re gonna love it here,” Daryl grinned, “I do.”

“So how has Tara been?” Rosita asked instantly when Paul and Daryl sat down at the table.

Paul grinned knowingly, “She’s been good. She got a big bed in Barrington House.”

Daryl elbowed him, throwing him a glare for good measure.

“And Maggie and Sasha?” Rick asked quickly, “What about Aaron and Eric?”

“They’re all good. They kept warm in the winter, we made sure of it,” Paul reported, “We’ve been stockpiling everything we found and hiding it. Negan will think we have less and take less. We even found weapons.”

“Where?” Carl asked eagerly.

“Well, my father and I found a closed up weapons store and then Daryl and I raided a locked up clinic,” Paul explained, “I also found some others.”

“Where did you get the others?” Rosita asked, crossing her arms.

“No where special,” Paul said simply, taking a bite of his spaghetti before she could ask anything out.

“He is just adorable,” Michonne said, cutting off the conversation before a confrontation could begin.

Paul smiled, looking over to where Richie was in Michonne’s arms, “Watch out, he’s a kicker.”

Daryl’s hand slipped into Paul’s under the table.

Paul gripped his hand in return, smiling at him.

#cutscene #i almost didnt get this done #i didnt proofread it either #fffffffff #anyways

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