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#rick dragged me back into it with this amazing show
lorethebookworm · 4 months
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Currently in my bed, reading the chalice of the gods (because the pjo brainrot has taken over me once again) while my sister watches the Percy Jackson series next to me.
Things are good.
(in the other room my younger brother is watching the pjo movies but we don't talk about that)
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neonghostlights · 11 months
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Chapter One: A Breakup, a Missing Person, and a Business Trip
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Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader
Summary: Eddie Munson left you behind to chase his dreams before suddenly disappearing. When he shows up 5 years later, will he be able to work his way back into your heart?
Warnings: Breakups, Betrayal, Arguments, Eddie is immature, Missing person, Mention of cops, Annoying flirty coworker, Reader is wearing a dress and heels, Brief mention of anaphylactic shock (doesn't really happen it's just mentioned), Brief mention of a heart attack (doesn't really happen it's just mentioned) Food/Eating, Alcohol, Reader and Eddie are in early 20s in ‘86, are in mid 20’s in ‘91. This series is 18+, Minors DNI
Word Count: 3.8k
Series Masterlist
July 1986
When you were finally able to form a sentence again you took the chance to ask the question at the forefront of your mind.
“How long?”
“Hm?” He hummed like he hadn’t heard you at all. 
Suddenly, shoving clothes into a trashbag was the most interesting thing in the world to him. You knew he was avoiding you; avoiding the damage he was doing. 
“How long have you known you were leaving?” You bit out. Any patience you had for him was long gone. 
“Uh, well, a couple of weeks,” he said, still refusing to make eye contact. 
“When you say ‘a couple of weeks’ you mean-”
“A month. I’ve known for a month.” Finally, he lifted his head to look at you. He stepped away from the half full trash bag and ran a hand through his hair, bangs sticking to his forehead from the exertion of his speed packing. 
It had been a month since Eddie had met a woman at The Hideout who claimed to be a big shot music producer. She had made big promises for him and the band, telling them that if they follow her out to California then she can make their wildest dreams come true. Of course, this had happened on the one Tuesday you weren’t there. 
Of course Eddie would choose her and her promises over you. 
“You’ve known you were leaving for a month and you just didn’t say anything to me? Did the last three years mean nothing to you?” You yelled, rage taking over any ounce of control that you had. 
You had never yelled at Eddie before. You can’t even remember a time when you two had ever argued in the past three years you had been together. 
Patience had always been your virtue. You were patient when he took three years to graduate. You were patient when he would sell drugs for Rick instead of getting a real job. You were patient when he would be late for dates because Hellfire or band practice ran over. You were patient all of the times you dragged him home drunk and belligerent from The Hideout.
You were patient with all things that were Eddie Munson. All you had done for the past three years was give and give during your relationship and he never considered doing the same for you. And maybe that was your own mistake for allowing it. 
Eddie winced at your raised voice, something he had never heard before.
“This isn’t how this was supposed to go,” he muttered, mostly to himself. 
“Oh really? Then what was your grand plan? You dump me and run off into the sunset and just expect me to be okay with it?” You didn’t yell this time, but your voice was still harsh. 
“You’re not listening. I am not just dumping you. This is a great opportunity for the band, for us.” He took a step towards you, you took a step back. He looked at the distance between the two of you and let out a deep sigh. “When I make it big and start bringing some money in then I’ll come back for you. We just need to be apart for a little bit but I promise I’ll come back for you. Go to that big fancy college and just wait for me. I promise it will be worth it.” 
You couldn’t even process the stupidity of what he was saying to you. 
Sometimes it amazed you how both you and Eddie were twenty years old, but the maturity levels differed greatly between the two of you. Eddie was a dreamer, you were more practical.
There was nothing wrong with him dreaming but where it went wrong was how he jumped head first into things without thinking. 
You and Eddie had started dating during your only senior year, his first, and after you graduated you stayed in Hawkins to go to community college. Now that you had your associate's degree, you were going to a nicer university to receive your bachelors. 
The university wasn’t far. Initially the plan was for Eddie to get a real job and move with you while you finished school. It wasn’t your idea but his, and he had seemed excited. So what changed? 
You were so angry. All of the love you two had shared over the past three years was for nothing. All of the times he would tell you how much he loved you and how he planned to marry you one day when he got himself together had been a big fat lie.
You had never felt so betrayed. 
“Grow up, Eddie. You expect me to sit around and wait for you while you live the rockstar lifestyle for a few years and get it out of your system.” You snapped.
“That’s not true,” he denied. “I’ll call you, depending on how busy I am with the tour. We don’t have to be strangers. I’m just asking you to wait for me.”
You stared at him blankly for a moment, taking him in for what was probably going to be the last time. 
A horn honked outside, breaking you from your trance. 
“Don’t bother calling me. I don’t want to see or hear from you ever again,” you said as you stepped around him and headed for his bedroom door. 
“You don’t mean that. I thought out of everyone you would be the most understanding.” He called out behind you with a hint of bitterness in his voice. 
He didn’t chase after you or take it all back as you walked out of the trailer. Part of you still expected for him to laugh and say it was all a joke. But, of course, that never happened. 
Garrett, Jeff, and Grant sat on the porch and eyed you warily as you walked past. The looks on their faces told you that they already knew what had just went down. 
They were Eddie’s friends first, so it doesn’t surprise you that they had chosen him over you. 
But, damn, did it still hurt. 
You didn’t let them see you cry as you pulled away from the trailer. You saved your tears for when you got home and threw yourself into a bedroom that was covered in memories of you and Eddie’s time together. 
You promised yourself as you sobbed into your pillow that night, that you would never ever let someone break you again. 
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 December 1986
Your socked feet danced over the shaggy rug that laid beside your twin side bed. 
You didn’t plan on living in a dorm room for the remaining two years of your degree, especially since you had transferred from a community college and were so used to the freedom that came with that. 
You picked up another piece of clothing from the pile beside you and folded it messily before shoving it into the open duffel bag at your feet. 
The idea of going back to Hawkins, even for a few weeks, was not exciting to you. Your parents had practically begged you on the phone to come home. Your father was even daring enough to threaten a possible heart attack if you didn’t come home to visit. 
It wasn’t their fault you didn’t want to return. Hawkins was an unhealed wound in your heart, the edges tender and throbbing. You feared that just crossing over the town lines would cause the edges to rip apart and bleed ferociously into your chest. 
You didn’t think you’d be able to handle that, but for the sake of the holidays, you had no choice. 
College had been great so far and a good distraction from your troubles. The parties that your roommate, Lissa, dragged you out to during the weekends helped to numb the pain. Lissa had taken you under her wing once you moved in and after a night with a bottle of wine, she got the pleasure of hearing the whole story of why your heart was so broken. 
Ever since then, she had been on a one woman mission to cheer you up. 
You tossed another piece of clothing into the duffel bag, happy that Lissa had already left to go home so she couldn’t get onto you for moping. 
The door to the room was left open. Something about the heating system in this place made the rooms stuffy during the winter. You could hear the happy chatter of people walking past the entrance as they left to go home for the break, relieved that finals were over. 
A ring from one of the phones outside of the room caught your attention for a second. That was another thing that you missed from living at home, having your own phone. Here they had the community phones in the hallway outside the rooms that everyone had to share. 
The ringing cut off quickly, most likely from the person who was waiting for the call. 
You balled up a pair of socks and tossed them into the bag. At this rate, you’d be finished packing by the time winter break was over. You threw your body back with a groan so your upper half laid flat on the bed and your legs hung off at an odd angle. 
You heard a throat clear awkwardly from the doorway. Your head snapped up in surprise to see one of the girls a few doors down standing there. 
“Uh, there’s someone on the phone for you,” she said.
You couldn’t even be embarrassed that she witnessed your little meltdown over packing. 
“Oh? Did they say who it was?” You asked. You didn’t expect your mom and dad to call you since you were already supposed to be on the road by now. Lissa wouldn’t have a reason to call either. 
“Some guy. I think he said his name was Munson.”
You sat up with a jolt. “Munson?” You asked but she had already left the doorway. 
You scrambled off the bed and hurried out into the hallway to see the phone sitting off the hook and waiting for you to answer. 
Eddie had never called you after he left for California. The memory of telling him not to call was still fresh. But part of you hoped he wouldn’t have listened and that he would have called anyway, even if it was just to tell you how amazing his life was now. 
The petty part of you wished he regretted it and that he was coming home to make things right. 
You cleared your throat and wiped your sweaty hands against your sweatshirt before you picked up the phone, praying that he hadn’t hung up yet. 
“Hello?” Your voice came out breathy and weak. You wished you  had pulled  yourself together some more so you would sound stronger and more sure of yourself. Prove to him that college had made you forget about him. 
“Hey, uh, it’s Wayne.” You pulled the phone away from your ear to look down at it for a second, hoping that it would somehow explain to you why Wayne Munson was calling you. 
You and Wayne had been close when you and Eddie were together. But the last time you saw him was before the break up. You had no hard feelings for Wayne. If anything, the break up made you miss him too. 
“Oh. Hey, Wayne,” you said, trying to keep the disappointment and confusion from your voice. 
“I’m sorry to bother you. I know you’re probably busy studying and stuff,” he started off. You fought the urge to tell him you were not busy studying at all. Wayne had been so happy for you when you told him you got accepted into this university. He was even excited for you just for starting out at a community college. “But have you heard from Eddie at all?”
The world screeched to a halt. 
“Eddie? No? Why?” This time, there was no hiding the confusion. 
“He didn’t come home. I don’t know if you heard that the rest of the boys in that band came home a couple of months ago with their tails between their legs. They said something about a scam and things not working out. But Eddie didn’t come back with them like he was supposed to. He ran off instead of going with them and no one has heard from him. He told me when he left he would call but he hasn’t. It’s getting close to the holidays and he has never missed Christmas and it’s making me worried.”
Wayne never was one to show much emotion, but the worry was palpable through the phone. He had every reason to be worried.. 
Eddie leaving you behind made sense, but Eddie leaving Wayne and not bothering to check on him was absurd. He wouldn’t just do that, right? 
“Have you called the cops?” You asked immediately. 
Wayne let out a humorless laugh. “Yep. Called them before I thought to check with you. Hawkins police never cared much for Eddie, as you already know. They said they can’t do anything since he didn’t go missing here. I called the police in the town he was last in and they told me that he’s an adult and he has the right to not call.”
You thought for a second, every horrible possibility racing through your mind. What if he was kidnapped or was in some sort of awful accident? What if he was out there somewhere and needed your help?
“Do you think he’s okay? Should I go out there and look for him?” 
“No. Don’t do that. The last thing we need is you going out there and ending up missing yourself,” he said with a stern tone. You knew it came from a place of concern and not anger. 
As much as you hated it, you knew Wayne was right. You didn’t know much about California. Wayne knew where he was last seen but odds were he wasn’t there anymore. 
You leaned your head against the wall in front of you in defeat. 
“What can I do, Wayne?” You begged. You and Eddie had been broken up for months but it didn’t feel right to just hang up and pretend this conversation never happened. 
“Just wait and see if he calls. That’s all either of us can do for now. I’m sure he’ll come around.”
You sighed in response, not sure what else to say. 
“I tried to talk him out of leaving, you know?” Wayne said after a few beats of silence. “Told him he was dumb to leave you behind. But that boy doesn’t listen when he gets an idea in his head-”
“I have to go,” you announced quickly, cutting Wayne off from whatever else he was about to say. 
You couldn’t listen to it. Didn’t want to relive the heartbreak. 
“Oh, right. Sorry. Take care of yourself, kid. Will you just give me a call if you hear from him?”
“Sure,” you said before another thought crossed your mind. The image of Wayne Munson spending Christmas alone in that cold trailer caused you to speak without thinking about it. “I’m actually coming back to Hawkins tonight for winter break. Did you want to meet up for lunch sometime or maybe even meet up for Christmas if he doesn’t call?” 
“Sure, kid. I’d love that.”
Even though making sure Wayne was taken care of would help relieve some of your guilt, you couldn’t help but think back to when you told Eddie you didn’t want to see or hear from him ever again. 
Seems like you would get your wish. 
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August 1991
August in California was blistering hot. 
From the second you stepped off of the airplane, you were ready to get right back on and head home to Indiana to lock yourself into your air conditioned apartment in Indianapolis. At least there you would have your cat, Junie. Plus, if you went home now, Lissa wouldn’t have to feed and take care of Junie for you even though she was allergic. Honestly, you could make the excuse to get out of this trip by saying you had to save your friend from anaphylactic shock. 
But if you did that then your boss would have your head. 
And in order to get this promotion you really needed your head. 
You had started working for this publishing company straight after college three years ago. You adored working in the business of books and were honestly lucky to get the position that you already had. 
But if sucking up to your boss and attending this stupid business trip in sweltering California would help you climb the metaphorical ladder, then you would do it. 
You fanned yourself as you waited in the hotel lobby for the rest of your group. The crisp white furniture and marble floors made you feel out of place. Never in a million years would you stay in a place like this on your own dime. You wondered how much it would cost for them to mop you off the floor once you melted right out of your heels. 
 You were immediately regretting the black wrap dress you had chosen as you felt a bead of sweat roll down the back of your neck. You wished they would have given you just one night to relax before the day full of meetings and seminars the next day.
Fancy hotels like this were supposed to have top notch A/C, right? The constant turning of the revolving door from sharp dressed business men probably canceled the promise of cool air out. 
You fanned yourself again with another wave of your hand. Was it the heat getting to you or was it the blazing reminder of the last person you knew that came to this state just to never be seen again? 
You shook your head, pushing the thought away from you. If you went too deep down that rabbit hole then you would never find your way back out. Unfortunately, you knew that from experience. 
Even just standing in this hotel lobby made you uneasy. Although he didn’t disappear from this area, you were still on constant alert. 
“You look hot.”
Vance’s voice called out as he approached. The double meaning didn’t go over your head as you continuously fanned yourself with your hand. 
“Yeah, well. It’s hot in here,” you said to Vance as he approached. 
Vance looked as prim and proper as he usually did with his slicked back blonde hair, collared shirt, and shiny shoes. He had started at the publishing company around the same time as you and was quickly determined to be around you at all times since you were both the newest hires. 
Most of the time you didn’t mind it. He was harmless, a little annoying sometimes like a mosquito, but mostly harmless. 
Lissa had heard your stories about Vances flirting and insisted you at least went on one date with him just to try it out. You didn’t think it was the best idea, especially since you worked together. 
You also didn’t do serious relationships and didn’t want to give him false hope. 
You could see the swarm of your coworkers and your boss cross the lobby towards you. 
“Should we go ahead in there?” Vance asked, holding out his elbow for you to hold. 
You rolled your eyes, before grabbing onto his arm and walking into the hotel restaurant together. 
Vance and you grabbed the seats right beside each other at the very end of the table. 
You had immediately breathed a sigh of relief when the crisp, cool air of the restaurant greeted you, cooling your fevered skin. 
The restaurant, just like the hotel it resided in, was very fancy with pristine white table cloths and flawless place settings that had too many forks than you could name. 
You learned over the years at your job that the best thing to do was to pretend you knew what you were doing and usually no one asked any questions. Or, at the very least, follow Vance’s lead because he came from a household that had fancy meals on the regular. 
Everyone seemed mostly relaxed as they sat at the table and started to chat. No one would be able to fully let loose with their boss at the end of the table, watching like a hawk. 
Red wine was ordered and tables glasses were filled as you all looked over the very intricate menu. Half of  these words you wouldn’t be able to pronounce. 
Vance tapped your shoulder to get your attention. 
“Do you think I should get the caviar as a starter?” He asked so seriously that you didn’t even question if he was kidding or not. 
“Do you really want to eat fish eggs?” You questioned him with a raised brow as you skimmed over the menu. “Why doesn’t this place have mozzarella sticks?”
“Because it’s supposed to be fine dining and not your local pizza joint,” he jabbed back. He pointed to an item on the menu. “Get the bruschetta. It has cheese on it.”
“Thank you,” you hummed as you looked over the menu again. 
You fought back eye roll as Vance placed his hand on your arm instead of responding. You resisted the urge to push him off. 
During you and Vance’s talking about the menu, you didn’t see  your waiter approach or hear him introduce himself. 
You were in your own little world until you actually heard him speak to you. He had the voice you had only heard in your dreams and old home videos that Wayne would pull out when he was feeling sentimental during the holidays. 
“Are you ready to order?” 
Your head turned slowly to face him, scared that you would be disappointed by what you were about to see. When his wide eyes mimicked yours in surprise you couldn’t stop yourself from speaking. 
“Eddie?”
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foli-vora · 3 months
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Congratulations on your follower milestone! That is amazing! 💖
May I please request a Rick Flag fic with “The first time you smiled it felt like the universe aligned.” and I would love for you to rip my heart out (since that is an option 😊)
Thanks and I am so excited to read all of these upcoming fics!
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My sweet angel, thank you for your never ending support and love, and thank you for the request! I'm sorry for the major delay getting this done, but I hope you enjoy me ripping your heart out and squishing it under my slipper 💖
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hear me
rick flag x suicidesquadf!reader
word count: 1k warnings: ANGST SUPREME. sad ending. swearing, blood, bullet wounds, death, sad sad sad. rick is cheesy & sad. SAD. ANGST. genuinely teared up writing this bye.
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They lied. Everyone who had toed that line between life and death, they fucking lied. There was no bittersweet flash of memories before your eyes. You didn’t have a lot, but shit—there’s gotta be something worth showing you, worth reliving, before you close your eyes forever.
The minutes pass, you feel the growing chill along your limbs from the steady flow of blood from the various bullet holes in your torso, and still—nothing. Not a goddamn thing. 
Just Rick.
Rick bolting across the sand with your name falling from his lips. You can’t hear it, there’s a distinct shrill ringing in your ears that seems to be drowning out the chaos around you, but you see the movement of his mouth, the strain of his throat as he yells.
He comes to land on his knees next to you, a shower of cool sandy grains flicking up and dusting your black tac shirt. It glistens under the light of explosions and gunfire, and you briefly wonder in morbid curiosity how much of your blood stains the beach beneath you.
“Jesus. Oh, oh darlin’—”
You hear him then, his broken and strained mutter cutting through the surrounding ambush.
“Hey Colonel,” you rasp with a barely there smile, a sticky hot trail of liquid leaking from the edge of your lips, “how’s it lookin’?”
Those pretty doe eyes dart over the destruction of your body, his hands ghosting over your wounds in what feels like hesitation, anxiety. Which ones can be smothered with a cheap and easy dressing? What one needs the most pressure applied?
Going by the rate your body seems to be numbing, cooling in the breezy night air, they’re all pretty shit. At least there's no pain. Shock, adrenaline - whatever the fuck it is, you're thankful for it.
“Fine,” he mutters, rough gloved hands instead coming to rest on your cheeks, thumbs brushing away the coarse sand and half dried blood splatters covering your skin, “you’re gonna be just fine.”
“Damn,” you breathe heavily, brows briefly coming together, “I never thought I’d hear you lie to me. None of that shit. No, no.... you gotta make it something good, Colonel.”
Confusion pinches his pretty face through the pain, and you give another strained smile.
“The last words I’ll ever hear—make ‘em… they gotta be good.”
“Don’t talk like that, you hear me? You’ll be fine. Backup’s comin’. They’re comin’, and we’ll get you patched up, and you’ll be right to back to bein’ a pain in my ass, okay?”
Oh, sweet soldier.
No.
It doesn't work like that.
They don’t send help for people like you. Suicide Squad, remember? It’s in the name. You knew what you were signing up for. He knew what you were signing up for. This is it. You’re just another classified file thrown through the shredder at the end of the day.
You blink tiredly up at him, “No one’s coming, Flag.”
He shakes his head in firm denial, strong jaw rolling in an effort to remain cool and collected.
“No, they... they have to.” 
“Somethin’ good, Flag,” you remind him quietly, a heaviness now seemingly coming to rest along your limbs.
Is this it? Can’t you just have one more minute? One more minute of him crowding your vision? You don’t need a last minute life montage, not when he’s here, not when he’s carefully dragging you further into his warm embrace.
Please, just a little longer in his arms.
“Okay… okay. The—the first time you smiled, it felt like the universe aligned.”
“Oh, fuck me,” you splutter with a sudden roll of remaining energy, chest heaving and lungs screaming as you choke on a weak chuckle, “that’s a… a new low, even for… f’your s-soft self.”
“Thought you’d like that,” he drawls quietly with a grin.
It’s brief, tainted with agony stricken tears, and falls from his face the second it stretches his lips. No, sweet soldier. Smile. It’s okay.
Maybe… maybe this is why your life isn’t flashing before your eyes. It’s because it’s here—he’s here. You didn’t really have anything before this, before the Squad, before Rick. You were merely a shell of a person in your cell, angry with the unfair world and the hand you’d been dealt from childhood, but when he came along?
He gave you a chance, saw something in you no one had before. He provided you with the Squad, with friends. He got you out of your cell and into the fresh air with a new outlook. He trained you, laughed with you, ate with you in the crappy mess hall despite the frowns from his co-workers.
He saw you.
He saw you for everything you were, not for what people thought you to be.
“Think you’re the… the closest thing I’ve e-ever felt to love, Colonel. Thank you.”
It’s a decent goodbye, you decide with the final beat of your heart, slackening in relief and embracing the call of the abyss with a leftover curl still tugging at your lips. Better than you’d been led to believe you deserved, better than what Waller threatened you with.
You got a good ending.
He feels the weight of you in his arms, sees how unnaturally still your chest has fallen and how your eyes seem to stare just past his shoulder. It shakes him to the core. His heart beats at the base of his throat and he can’t help but call out to you one more time, despite knowing you’d never answer.
“Darlin’?”
You can’t be gone—not yet.
You can’t be gone, because you didn’t get to hear him say it back. He needs to say it, he needs you to hear it. He murmurs those three little words over and over, breathing them into your skin wherever he can reach, willing you to stay just long enough to hear them, long enough to know you were loved.
You need to know you’re loved.
Bile builds in his throat at the thought, but he has to leave you behind; alone, broken and bled out on the sandy beach for a sweep team to deal with later. He wonders as he runs through the dense jungle, but he’ll never know if you did manage to hear his broken, tear filled I love you’s.
He hopes with everything in him that you did.
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easycompvny · 5 months
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i’ve never shared this story time with anyone except my friends and i thought sharing it with BoB fans could be fun (because it was such an amazing experience!!)
GOING TO A BAND OF BROTHERS CONVENTION
i attended the commemorations in normandy back in 2019 bc i’m from france and i REALLY wanted to drag my parents there to show how amazing the whole experience was (and it was the 75th anniversary so yay). and then i discovered that they were doing a BoB convention with some of the actors (shane taylor, robin laing etc.) and as i was exactly in my BoB era, i figured it would be cool to attend. in my 17y-old glory, i went there with no one to help me go through all the tables and signing and talking (reminder i’m french and when anxious, my english is 10 times worse). fortunately, my mother asked a group of lovely girls to accompany me, and they even gifted me a bastogne card for the actors to sign !! (i had a poor piece of paper pls..) they were super fun and thankfully one of them was american, so it was easier to strike up a convo or joke around with the guys.
i’ll tell you their characters’ names but i remember seeing grant, shifty, popeye, penkala, dike, dale dye.. seeing how the guys were so close even in reality, how friendly the whole atmosphere was, seeing how connected to each other they are because they know this tv show will go on through the generations and is still important today is so special, truly.
but then i came around chris langlois, rick (welsh), robin (babe) and shane’s table and omg i could’ve fainted, i WOULD HAVE. doc roe is my fav character (it’s never the same in reality but i got really attached to him, even after rewatching so </3) and meeting the grandson of the real roe was mindblowing.
but here comes the funniest part : it was the american girl’s birthday, rick and robin did not understand that and thought it was MY birthday, so when they signed my stuff they asked how old i was yadayada. and then we took a picture, robin even filmed a video on my phone (that i still have. and my wallpaper is actually him showing rick and shane in the background) for my friend who was as much of a fan as i was back then !! that was so cool of him !! then they finally understood it wasn’t my birthday when we told them and they were making fun of themselves, saying i should hide the card before my actual birthday. coolest interaction ever and they were so chill, i could actually talk a little bit since i was less nervous w/ them !! LOVE THEM !!
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after going through these mountains of emotions, we ate at a restaurant just beside the convention place and i could see all the actors leaving, rick smiled to me and robin did the birthday joke again. and THEN a few days later my friend posted a tweet abt it and robin actually replied so, you know, the fact that he did not forget abt it 10 minutes after was nice lmao.
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once a fangirl, always a fangirl apparently. the fact that i first became a fan at 17 and now i’m 21, oof it hits ya. i truly think i will never live something that cool again, currahee forever or whatever !!
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citadelsanchez · 2 years
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Hi there! I’m not too sure if you take requests but I was wondering if it’s alright with you if I could request a Rick x reader where he gets jealous because the reader is a bit interested in memory Rick? Obviously you take it in what ever direction you like because your an amazing writer! hope your well :)
Hope you enjoy! Even threw child Rick in there :)
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Come on Rick, it would be so cool! I bet the younger you is adorable."
Rick rolls his eyes and walks out of the garage that you two were conversing in, ignoring your propositions and the slight burn in his cheeks.
"I don't think s-so dipshit. I'm not that m-much of a maSOOChist that I want to watch you make conversation with a cringier, crybaby version of me" Rick retorts, heading into the kitchen and grabbing some Wafers from the cabinet.
You sigh quietly and cross your arms, standing in front of him.
"Okay, well, if you let me meet him, I'll uh- tell you the embarrassing peanut butter story from when I was 14," you prod.
Rick shoves a wafer into his mouth and raises an eyebrow. "Oh yeah, really? Been trying to pry that o-out of you forever and this will finally crack the secret o-open?"
You look away, already slightly heated with humiliation at the thought, but knowing Rick wouldn't be able to pass it up. "Yeah," you murmur.
He smirks now, throwing the wafers back into the cabinet and grabbing your arm to drag you back into the garage. "L-let's fuckin go, then."
You finally peaked your eyes open after Rick shoved you through his glowing portal without warning once again. You were in a room with a small bed in the shape of a race car and various toys scattered amongst the floor. Posters of dinosaurs and science inventions lined the walls. Rick was beside you, kind of emotionlessly staring ahead. When you finally followed his gaze, you gasped.
In the center of the room, was a tiny child Rick, sitting on the floor and playing with some levers on what looked to be a metal box. He was humming a tune in concentration and kicking his small feet. You covered your mouth to hide your smile, not wanting Rick to see how sentimental you found it to be. He's so fucking cute.
"Baby Rick," you whispered.
Just as you went to ask Rick why he had put you both this far back in the timeline, someone called from upstairs in the house.
"Rick, sweetheart, dinner's ready!"
Child Rick's eyes lit up and he carefully placed the box down, running out of the room to go downstairs.
"He's so-"
"Shh," Rick cuts you off, motioning for you to follow him as he darts over to the closet.
He flings open the door, and there perched in the corner was Memory Rick, who was startled and screamed in shock.
"Oh, you, hey. What are you doing back here again?" He asks Rick, looking between the two of you.
"It's not by c-choice, I've got a begging puppy here and y-you're just my show and tell piece" he jabs, taking a drink from his flask.
You push him gently out of the doorway and smile at Memory Rick. "Don't listen to him, you probably already know how big of a sourpuss he is. I'm Y/N, it's nice to meet you." You hold your hand out.
He smiles warmly at you and shakes your hand. "Of course. He is me. Or, what I'll become if I ever cross over. Are you his um, partner?"
"Hmm, something of that nature," you respond, ignoring Rick's scowl at the intrusive question.
"Well, he picked a lovely one then. Very easy on the eyes too. Technically I guess you could say I picked a lovely one," he winks and clasps your hand to gently kiss it.
Your face flushes and you giggle a little at the sweet notion that takes you by surprise. You couldn't ever picture Rick doing this with you, and it made your stomach feel home to a butterfly garden.
"Next time r-remind me to dress for a fucking wedding," Rick says, visibly annoyed.
"So, do you live here? What do you do?" You asked Memory Rick.
He shakes his head. "Just visiting. Sometimes I'm here, chilling out with the little bud- our younger self. I have a job at a local game store and spend my days writing songs for my band. We're called The Flesh Curtains."
"Oh yes, I've heard a little bit about you guys. Not much because it's hard to get any info outta this guy," you say nodding to Rick.
This earns a laugh from Memory Rick. "Just me, Birdperson, and Squanchy. We've been performing for a couple of years, a few major arenas and even one stadium. There's really nothing like being on the road and touring."
"I could imagine. I've always thought that would be an amazing experience" you smile.
"It is. Isn't it, Rick?" Memory Rick asks the older man, who couldn't have a more sullen face if he tried.
"Yep" he replies shortly, taking a big swig from his flask.
Memory Rick carefully takes your hand in his again. "Well you know what? I'd love to take you on the road with us one day. Let you live the rock star life, even come on stag-"
"O-okay, party time's over." Before you could blink, Rick pulls out his portal gun and you're being pushed through a swirling green light.
"What the fuck, Rick?" You ask, looking up at the man, furious that he not only cut your time with Memory Rick short but also gave no heads up for the shove back into reality.
"S-sorry, I thought I was gonna vomit i-i-if I couldn't find a way to cut my ears off soon enough," he grumbles, sitting down in his chair by his work bench.
"Why are you such an asshole? We were having a nice time. What is there to be mad about?" You cross your arms, unwilling to back off from this.
"Just wasn't w-worth the time. I've got other dimensions to see about."
You narrow your eyes at him. "I don't see you in them right now. So what's the real reason?"
He shifts in his seat uncomfortably and runs a hand through his hair. "You're like a bug th-"
You suddenly snapped out of it and realized what was actually going on. He's jealous. He's very jealous. And you've only seen this once or twice before.
"You're jealous."
"O-of myself? Sure s-sweetie, I'll be sure to tell my therapist a-about it."
You smirk. "You absolutely are. Can't believe it took me so long to realize."
"I-I'm not fucking jealous, get off your emotion detecting high h-horse. You're wrong."
You relax your face and soften your voice now, intending to break the truth out of him another way if he didn't care to confess.
"Okay, I'm sorry. You're right," you say and he looks relieved for the moment.
"But I would love to go on tour with him soon. I can still feel my hand tingling from his kiss," you swoon and rub over your hand.
Rick's face turns down again and his eyes drop as rage fills his face once more. You can see his clenched fists in his lap. He gets up from his chair and walks over to tower in your face. "Not fucking happening, babe. B-By the way, now seems like a good time to throw it out there that I already know the peanut butter story. Infiltrated y-your memory after the second time you wouldn't tell me. That's why I did this. Last time I do you a nice favor." He stalks out and you smile, knowing you got what you wanted.
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babblydrabbly · 1 year
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Flufftober Day 31 | Rick Flag x Reader
a/n - "And with that the 2022 season comes to an end" ♡
Alright kiddos, I gave @flufftober a shot! This one will be my last fic this year. Have my favorite fluffy trope: idiots in love.
prompt - a sweet treat
fluff - 1000 words - warnings: argus!agent reader. gn!reader. mutual pining. food mention. pre-the suicide squad 2021. admittedly the author's size kink might be showing in this one a little bit what who said that
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It’s been an entire season of missed chances, and Rick Flag is officially sick of it. 
Between his time away on missions and your time away from base, it’s as if the universe is trying to keep him away but not this time.
When he hears word that you’re coming in today, he doesn’t hesitate. Doesn’t want to risk a prison-wide lockdown or an emergency leave getting in the way. 
Today’s the last week of the year— the last week you bake anything for the office— and Rick will be damned if you close up shop before he gets the chance to try something, anything you’ve made for all those morons who don’t even like you as much as he does.
He’s sick of hearing Harcourt and Economos' damn bragging.
Your cookies, your cupcakes, your oh-so-amazing fruit tarts with, quote: “The sweetest berries we’ve ever tried”. 
Harcourt. Rick impatiently hits the open button to the elevator several times before it even stops. Harcourt doesn’t even like sweets. Somewhere in his gut Rick knows she’s just doing it to irk him. Knows that you’re his favorite comms operative and more.
The doors open with a soft chime as Rick steps out into the hallway. 
He pauses before knocking. The smell of cinnamon and other spices he can’t name waft through the door of your small, Belle Reve issued living quarters— and suddenly Rick fucking Flag is nervous.
Did he really just leave Harcourt mid-sentence and march all the way across the facility to come see you? 
Rick swallows thickly and blinks like he’s just realized where he is.
Quickly running his fingers through his sandy hair, Rick clears his throat and knocks before he steps away from the door. 
You ask your unexpected guest to wait a minute before yanking it open. Rick’s eyes widen as much as yours do.
“Oh! Colonel,” You greet with just about as much confusion.
He’s seen you in plenty of different gear, but never an apron and a pair of mittens. You step aside and let Rick into your small space— Nothing much more than a kitchen and a double bed just beyond that. 
He opens his mouth to speak when that smell of something absolutely divine hits him even harder than before. 
“Something wrong, Flag?”
“No, I—” The colonel takes a large step inside and pauses. You’ve never seen the grown man look so sheepish. “I heard you were bringing something in today and I… well, it’s forward. But I figured, I always miss out. Thought I’d catch you before Waller drags me away.”
The tension in Rick’s shoulders eases as your face lights up. You offer him a small laugh before turning to open the oven. 
“Well, you’re just in time.” You say. Rick watches you take a large tray of something out and follows you over to the counter where a towel is waiting. 
You set the tray down atop it and Rick gets a good look at some of the biggest cinnamon rolls he’s ever seen.
“You made all that ‘n this little kitchen?” 
You shrug shyly. That small smile plays on your lips— the one Rick can't help but stare at. “Had to go into town for some things, but yeah.” 
Rick lets you guide his large frame over to the stool which serves as the only sitting place in the entire room. He looks a little funny there— about three times too big for such a small seat. His knee even bends with how long his legs easily reach the ground. 
You make quick work of scooping one of the center rolls onto a plate, but it’s the next part that has Rick locked on you with wide hazel eyes again. 
Dolloping a large spoonful of cream cheese frosting on top of the roll with precision, you smooth it out with the back until it looks like something out of a cookbook. And then you do it— You swipe a lick of the spoon, just a bit. Your pink tongue darts over your bottom lip to catch a bit of frosting and Rick Flag’s pulse skyrockets like it hasn’t in a long damn time. 
You startle when Rick says your name a little too loud. 
“Sorry,” He shifts in his seat. Trying again in a calmer tone, he searches for the words carefully. “I might’ve also come up here to, uh, ask you something, now that I think about it.”
You arch a brow. 
An unfamiliar wave of hesitation washes over the man. Busying himself with the plate in front of him, he cuts off a piece of the roll with his fork and shoves it into his mouth.
“I was hopin’— Well, I was wonderin’— Christ, this is good.” He chokes out gruffly behind his fist.
Quietly, you place the spoon in your hand into the sink and take your time as Rick chews. When he’s finally through his first bite, you place your elbows on the counter and lean in so close Rick has to inch back. It’s a funny image. Like a fawn spooking a big bear.
“Richard, I’ve made something every week for the past three months in the hopes that at least my baking would catch your attention. And every week, something gets in the way. So I really, really hope your question is ‘Will you go out to dinner with me,’ or else I may just have to tie you up and make dinner for you right here instead.”
He blinks at you wordlessly several times. An eon seems to pass as your little bit of bravado fades. Did you really just hit on your superior? On Colonel Flag? You really just went and did it now, didn't you?
You shrink when he finally leans in to meet you, but where you expect more of that stunned look, you find a spark of heat instead.
“Alright...How about I do you one better and make something for you, huh? How about tonight?” 
You arch a brow at him, shocked. “You cook?”
“I grill.” He clarifies with a lopsided smile. “Don’t tell no one, but some of the other boys keep one over by the hangar. For when we get sick’a the mess hall food.”
With that hint of sugar and spice still on his tongue and the look in your eyes as he stands back up to his full height, Rick lets the doubt from earlier roll off him. 
‘I’ve made something every week for the past three months…’ For him. 
Rick reaches up to grasp your chin between his calloused fingers gently.
“Let me do all the cookin’ for you this time, darling,” A smirk forms when he notices the flush creep up your face. “And if you feel like it, y'can still tie me up after if you want to.”
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ithan-holstroms-girl · 3 months
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i agree with the pjo acting post! i think it’s mainly due to how bad the dialogue is written (and then the bad direction and bad editing on top of it) but the actors really did the most with what they had.
it’s especially apparent with luke and annabeth bc they have a really weird, unnatural cadence to their lines where they end each sentence with a hard imperative stop, and i think that’s due to how short their lines are.
and then it’s the opposite effect with the more experienced actors where, echidna specifically, is doing a really well performance until it just gets. too. long. and the editing isnt cutting fast enough. and it gets dragged longer and longer.
which sucks because i’ve seen praises for everyone and the potential is definitely there—but then you watch interviews with the trio,,, and they seem more like their characters than the actual characters in the show :/
plus, directing was just bad because usually, a sign of good direction is if actors do an action as they deliver their lines. it helps with making it more natural, but it also adds more action within the scene itself. the show did none of that, which is why it was so bland to watch (biggest example is when percy and annabeth talking at night in the train. annabeth couldve been fiddling with her hat and percy could’ve been tossing and turning, and even having grover show signs of life and literally breaking up the long dialogue would help people keep attention in the scene—but no, we got boring cuts of annabeth talking. and then percy. and then back to percy.)
like you said, no hate to the actors because they really really did their best, but all the technical aspects failed them completely and it’s so frustrating to watch because we have gems like harry potter and narnia. the dialogue and banter just weren’t as good as it was in the books
you have done an amazing job breaking down the “how” behind this problem than i could ever do. and ur absolutely right! the writing and the directing was pretty crappy. Uncle Rick gives so much hate to the movies for not being loyal to the plot material and then turns around and does this to the show.
thank you for sending this in anon, i love seeing paragraph long messages. they make me feel special <3
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barnavilleemily · 10 months
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Monster pt.2
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Warning: smut, p in v, sort of forced sex, dom!rick, breeding kink
you stood there, shocked. The man you saw as you husband, your life long partner had changed. You handed your daughter to Rosita hoping she would be safe.
“we’re leavin’ now!” Rick roared at you.
you began to follow him out of the house without Judith because you knew what came next.
“what ‘re you doin, go get Judith for fuck sake” he said to you, his tone dead serious.
you nodded not wanting to cause a scene. You walked back in, head hung low and took Judith from Rositas arms
as you two walked quietly back to the house you kept your distance from him. He swung the door open and went straight to the kitchen, pouring himself a glass of scotch.
“go put Judith to bed, I’ll be up in a minute” his words already slurring from the alcohol
You took Judith upstairs and put her into bed. As you closed her door you also locked it, incase anything happened tonight that you didn’t want her to see
you heard ricks heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. Your heart pounding in your chest
“Rick can we please just talk about this” you tried to reason with him
he came closer to you, caging you against the wall of your shared bedroom
“you looked so good tonight with Judith, your amazing with kids so how bout we have another” you couldn’t hear that he was drunk but you knew this was not something he would say sober
“It’s late-” trying to get that idea out of his head
“but baby, look at what you do to me” he grabbed your hand placing it on his cock.
“Rick” your voice barely above a whisper
“I know baby, I know. I’m sorry for everything. I just, I guess I don’t understand you ‘cause your younger than me sweetie and I can’t keep up with you” his breath hot on your cheeks
“rick, your own daughter was terrified of you after she watched you rip a man’s throat out with your teeth for gods sake” you tried to push your way out of his cage but he wasn’t letting you go
“I know, I understand why you took her from me, now let me make it up to you”
“rick your drunk”
“no I’m not, now show me that pretty pussy sweetie”
trying to stay mad at him was hard when everything he did made you horny. The thoughts of him fucking into you ruthlessly made you let out a soft moan, but you came back to your consciousness and tried to walk away
he grabbed your hand tightly
“I’ve been patient with you but you just don’t seem to get it, now your gonna let me fuck you or I’ll shoot you”
“rick your being insane”
he pulled down the straps of your dress, letting your breasts fall out of it.
“fuck, I could get drunk off these tits” his mouth attaching to one while his hand fondled the other
moans falling from your mouth, giving him everything he wanted
without another thought he ripped your dress off your body making it fall to the floor in pieces. Your black lacy underwear now on display for him
“sometimes I forget your so much younger than me” he laughed
your body going against your mind, you began to unbutton his shirt. Now you both stood naked before eachother.
rick forced you down on your knees, coming face to face with his rock hard cock.
“open” he said as he pushed his cock into your mouth.
gagging as it hit the back of your throat. He fucked your face mercilessly. Your hands firmly on his thighs attempting to push him away
once he came in your mouth, you spat it out making it fall all down your breasts.
“normally I’d be mad you didn’t swallow but fuck me, my cum looks good on your tits”
You couldn’t help but blush
he dragged you to the bed, pushing your face down into a pillow, hands on your hips as he pushed his cock into you tight cunt
you let out a scream as he began thrusting into you, not giving you time to adjust. His thrusts ruthless causing the room to fill with skin slapping together. You felt his hand grip your hair, pushing your head further into the pillow to completely stop your screams. He couldn’t keep a steady pace, at times he was going slow and others he was going fast. You felt his thrusts get sloppy, you knew he was close finishing. He began groaning loudly, gripping your hair and waist harder. He finished inside you
he flipped you around to face him and then pulled you onto his lap, his cock still inside you. You wrapped your arms around him and rested your head on his shoulder. His arms automatically wrapped around your waist. You say that way for several minutes.
he got up and left your lifeless body on the bed. He showered and came back to his beautiful “wife” lying on the bed stuffed with his seed.
he bent down whispering into your ear “now you know how much of a monster I can be” before embracing you in a hug
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yanderes-galore · 1 year
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Can't stop thinking about Evil Morty but everytime I want to send in an ask my brain stops 😭, do you have any hcs for him?
Oh, I don't blame you. Easily my favorite antagionist in the show. ESPECIALLY IN SEASON 5, OML- That was such an amazing episode!
Aged up as all my fics are!
Yandere! Evil Morty Concept
Pairing: Platonic/Romantic
Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Stalking, Kidnapping, Isolation, Manipulation, Guilt tripping, Sadism, Murder, Possessive behavior, Jealousy, Breaking of bones mention, Punishment mention, Trauma, Swearing in one line near the end, Forced companionship.
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He says that the only thing that makes him evil is that he's fed up with Rick's nonsense.
Although the many murders, manipulation of power, and murder of anyone who disagrees with you beg to differ-
Evil Morty is Sadistic, Manipulative, Clever, Ruthless, Posessive, Obsessive, Forceful, and overall a threat.
He has the apperance of a sweet innocent Morty.
When in reality he's just as smart as a Rick, willing to get rid of anyone in his way to obtain his goals.
He was clever enough to take over The Citadel.
There's no doubt he has enough charisma to win over many.
That does not make him good to be around, however.
He rules over The Citadel with an iron fist and expects everyone to listen to him.
There's no doubt Evil Morty knows of your presence in the multiverse.
There's many different versions of you, however, he's interested in the prime version of you.
The (Y/N).
The original, not some copy.
It's funny, really... in the entirety of his youth he thought he'd get with Jessica.
Turns out that isn't the case... someone like Jessica just isn't for him.
He didn't think he'd fall for anyone until he saw you around the C-137 Rick and Morty pair.
Was it so bad to be... envious of his C-137 counterpart?
It's normal for him to clench his teeth while keeping an eye on you, isn't it...?
It just feels so unfair.
Why does that Morty get to be happy with someone like you?
A good friend... a loyal companion....
He's enraged... jealous and on edge to the point other Mortys and Ricks are subject to his wrath.
"I want you to do me a favor..."
He commands with gritted teeth, the Ricks at his command standing by.
"Bring (Y/N) to me. Make that C-137 pair suffer while you're at it."
This officially begins the hunt.
It doesn't matter if you care for the Morty of your universe as a friend or anything more.
Evil Morty wants that partnership.
For awhile in the start of the obsession, you're running from The Citadel.
You don't know what they want, as you're not a Rick or Morty, but you refuse to find out.
C-137 Rick and Morty try to defend you, but Evil Morty will be clever about this.
One way or another he plans to remove you from them, prying you from their hands and into his.
The moment you let your guard down, it's done.
You struggle against your captors as they drag you through a portal, treating you mostly as a prisoner.
Although... they aren't too rough.
Almost as if they fear someone greater.
You expected the Ricks ushering you to the main building to be scared of another Rick.
After all, The Citadel was normally under Rick rule, right?
Turns out... no.
You're met with shock when a Morty in a suit greets you, small smile on his face while he leans on the large table in the room.
"Was wondering when we'd finally meet, (Y/N)."
He believed you to be the true (Y/N) because you were so much different than the others.
You had the potential to hold a close bond with him... once he encouraged it out of you.
"Wow... you're so much different than my Morty back home-"
He feels his eye twitch... but lets you off easy.
"Don't bring him up in here, please. It's really upsetting to hear you compare me to any old Morty."
"Sorry... sir?"
Evil Morty plays himself off as calm, collected, and welcoming towards you.
He wants you to trust him.
Due to being so good at manipulation, he tries to come off as a very nice man.
He's more mature and confident towards you.
If he messes this up, then it could make the bond between you sour.
Can't have that, can he?
He plans everything out.
You're given a golden room of your own to rest in, implying your stay will be much longer than expected.
You are still scared and resent him for kidnapping you... although he's convinced such feelings will lessen.
"There's no need to be so bitter towards me, (Y/N). I promise to treat you well here. If anyone gives you trouble... let me know."
Just be aware that if you do let him know, they're killed brutally.
Anything to keep you happy with him, y'know?
His sadism doesn't usually show itself directed towards you unless you somehow anger him.
He'd be a yandere for discipline.
If you fought his orders, he'd take sick pleasure in breaking your emotions... perhaps even your bones.
He can fix everything after, but that trauma would serve as a lesson.
He'll only be nice if you are.
"I won't accept you misbehaving here. Better know who you're talking to."
Manipulative... so very manipulative.
He's still a Morty and can easily pull at your emotions.
If you're too harsh with him, he'll start the sad facade.
He'll start sputtering, sobbing about how he's sorry.
He wants to be better for you!
Why are you so mean!?
Then, once you give in, apologizing and reaching out-
He'll strike.
He'll swap back to his usual persona and trick you into willingly accepting your punishment.
You're just too sympathetic towards him because he reminds you so much of your Morty.
"Oh, you're such a fool.... Even now you fall for such an easy trick."
Evil Morty is clever and thinks things through fully.
He thinks of every escape, every attempt at manipulation, and every plan you try to hide.
He hijacks portals, locks down doors, he does everything to prevent your escape.
Until you're loyal to him... he refuses to let you go unmonitored.
Trackers are inserted in electronics and your skin... cameras watch your every move.
Privacy is limited if you truly go against him from the start.
He knows your every move, he knows just how to be one step ahead of you.
All with a cocky smirk and half-lidded confident eyes.
You can't win against him.
"Better luck next time... now back to your room."
He shows compassion to you when you try to comply with him.
He appreciates every conversation and every touch....
Others, however, are nearly always met with his ruthless persona.
Rick, Morty, or anyone else... they're treated the same.
Ruled by a tyrant and killed if they don't obey.
He likes to talk endlessly about his ideals... how he can create a happy universe with you... no Ricks needed.
In fact, Ricks tend to ruin everything.
They're the reason he can't live a normal life.
He is obsessive over keeping you close to him and often jealous.
He hates other Ricks and Mortys around you.
Ricks because he knows they could use you.
Mortys he hates because he doesn't want you to replace him.
He'd kill them before that happens.
"I'm the only Morty for you! I'm so much smarter than a Rick and superior to any other Morty! Don't you DARE replace me!"
It's like a lot of his obsession stems from a fear of not being enough.
He's so much better than any other Morty.
Superior enough to actually do something about the Ricks and not be a little bitch.
So why doesn't he get a happy ending!?
Why does some other Morty get to be happy while he suffers?
Well, not anymore.
He'll make changes around here.
You're going to be by his side...
He'll show you why he's so much better than any Rick and Morty.
"I'm going to find a better life than this... and you'll be with me through it."
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lazarel-3000 · 1 year
Text
“Hey, No.”
There was so much from this Se6Ep8 to unwrap.
Laughing at the showrunners cheeky episode title Analyze Piss, because oh I’m gonna! I’m gonna analyze and comment the shit out of this!!
TW: Suicide, mental health, depression
Rick Going to Therapy
@tootiredforaname’s take on the possibility of Rick having turned himself into a fly to observe therapy before going in himself is a lot more benign and plausible than my interpretation lol. Because I thought my man Rick was doing that to eavesdrop to see how he could further manipulate the family by mining their insecurities and using them against them—which to my defense seemed like something he would do! Also I read a fic about that too!
Can I just also say how much I freaking love Dr. Wong?! She is so good, like wow – the way she didn’t play into Rick’s bs *chef’s kiss* She like straight up said No to him AND HE LISTENED!! And before that, she was so calm and non-reactive too, found a way to appeal to Rick in a way that didn’t directly connect with emotion because we all know how much he loves that! “Rick, would you be interested in proving me wrong? [...] Show me data.” She said. And of course it was reverse psychology but it worked! This character is amazing.
Rick pacing back and forth, but actually being OPEN to a session with her, I could not believe my eyes and ears. His roundabout way too of asking for her “expertise” melted my heart. Old Rick would NEVER.
And like it works, right? It works for A While.
The Pitfalls of Change
Like mentioned before I was totally expecting this not work and like can we say that yeah this whole process wasn’t the prettiest to watch but truth be told, change hardly ever is. Someone dragging decades long issues behind them is not going to change their mindset overnight. It’s a process that requires commitment and consistency; it’s awkward, uncomfortable and many times painful. Regression to old habits happens, and that’s okay - this episode did really good in demonstrating that.
Toilet Humor as an Analogy: Pissmaster persona as a vehicle of self-agency
People getting grossed out about the toilet humor is understandable I myself thought it was disgusting but going beyond that. Piss is an analogy, or I want to believe it is, because it’s like Pissmaster, Pissmaster, right? You have this guy whose personal life is so depressing that he adopted an entire persona focused on urine to prove others wrong. But then he fails by getting his ass handed to him by Jerry of all people, yet he gets to live nonetheless. Now here, Eugene Michael Piss, the person suffers an emotional break realizing his Pisspersona could not prove anyone wrong - which is all he ever wanted. So now he has nothing
I like how Rick says this to his daughter: “I can tell you for sure if anything happens to me, it’s 100% not on you, it’s my own choice.”
And it’s true, we all make choices every day. Eugene could have chosen something different for himself. He could have chosen to get help, could have re-connected with his worried family, could have not done That, but he didn’t. He looked for a way out.
So then Rick is placed in a position to do something about it, or do nothing at all. So what does Rick do?
He gets off his ass and starts saving the world, and he does it under the pretense of wanting to protect Eugene’s daughter from the crude reality of her father’s death. And finds it that he actually Likes It and Dr. Wong reservedly approves!
He is taking control in his own way and changing. Remember that recent interview with Justin? Yeah.
The additional point being made too, I like to believe, is that yeah you can be dealt the shittiest hand in life but at the end of the day you yourself choose what you do with it. And if you do good, others are bound to notice. Like the Orb Council or whatever, didn’t care Pissmaster was a literal piss lord! All that they cared about and saw was that he was moving on, he was changing:
“Everyone likes a comeback story...”
Edit: I just rewatched the episode and realized that Rick was not suicidal in the Orphan Island bit, he had planned to autopilot the bomb away before Jerry got there lol
Rick and his inability to make friends
Rick’s inability to make close connections continues to be a theme in the show. After the toilet episode with Tony, I see now how he probably does want to have friends, but is hesitant because it never ever works out. Like every time he’s empathized with someone - Birdperson, Tony and now Pissmaster – something goes terribly horribly wrong. And he’s left alone again. 
I just hope that can change one day, because Rick really needs someone outside his family he can rely on. We all do.
Morty, the secret keeper… not!
Lol I laughed when Morty immediately went to tell on Rick. 
And you know what, I saw some people being angry at Morty for this, but I’m like ‘What did you expect? He’s 14 and has had extensive character growth.’ Also, Rick’s the adult here, let’s never forget that. The reaction has me like ‘???’ 
I really hope ya’ll are super young and don’t know any better. Because if Rick really felt that he needed to tell someone, he could have told Dr. Wong or you know… a friend or even some random at the bar, not his grandkid.
But like let’s take a closer look at this bit. 
Was he self-sabotaging? Like we know he can be pretty self destructive, so I can’t help but wonder if some dark part of him wanted to ruin the good image his family had of him. Like he can’t let them have this, can’t let them be right when he’s always been the one in higher ground. Or maybe part of him feels vulnerable, after being perceived as callous man all this time to then have them suddenly realize that he might have a heart underneath, I can see how that could be a scary thing to someone. Or it could be a combination of both and it’s understandable but c’mon don’t tell your grandkid.
He really needs a friend.
On Closing.
The fact that the episode didn’t end in a happy note and instead had them all arguing in the garage was a good choice imo. Like I keep saying in my ramblings. Change is not perfect. It’s not pretty, and it takes a whole LOT of work to keep it consistent.
Other Comments
I just find it cool that therapy was used a plot point in the story—not many comedy shows can do that without making fun of the concept. I mean the showrunners themselves have also had their own struggles with mental health, so it was nice to see them incorporate it. And like considering the show’s overall tone you would expect it to not be handled well, but it somehow worked! It worked on so many levels!
At the end of the day I hope it encourages those who need it to give therapy a try.
With all that being said:
I loved what we could explore here but it somehow felt off in hindsight. I don’t know it was the dialogue or what, but this episode’s tone felt different. Idk, it’s just my opinion.  
Anyway, whose piss was that anyway?
63 notes · View notes
shanair · 2 years
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Rick and Morty X F!Reader (Platonic) | S1E2
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A/N: I’m back guys! Sorry again for not updating, I got caught up in school and writers block but I’m back! Here is episode 2! I apologize if the writing might seem choppy since I started it a couple months ago and just finished it, but regardless, hope you enjoy!
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Episode Name- Lawnmower Dog
Word Count- 6,492
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Morty and I hang out in our room. We sit in comfortable silence doing our own thing. We both jerked our heads up at the sound of Dad yelling.
"Morty..." I warn. He looks at me, then to the door.
"W-what if there is actually something wrong? Like something b-broke into the house and attacked Dad?" He retorts.
"Okay fine," I sigh, putting the book I was reading down. "but if it's not anything abnormal or crazy, you owe me twenty bucks." 
"Deaaal." He groans. We quickly rush downstairs to the living room. "What's wrong?" He asks Morty. Summer lounges on the couch, an early sign that nothing important is happening. 
"Your idiot dog!" Dad exclaims.
  "Aww, it's just Snuffles." I reach over to him, petting his soft white fur.
"Oh, he didn't mean it, Dad." Morty excuses, coming over to me, petting him also. "Did you, Snuffles? You're a good boy." 
"Don't praise him now, Morty! He just peed on the carpet!" Dad separates us from Snuffles and pushes his nose into his piss spot. "Bad dog! Bad!" I go over to grab him back. Rick pulls Morty and me up by our arms. 
"Kids, come on. I need your help tonight." He starts to drag us off.
"Hey, wait, hold on a second, Rick." Dad interrupts, standing up from his armchair. "You wouldn't by any chance have some sort of crazy science thing you could whip up that might help make this dog a little smarter, would you?" 
"I thought the whole point of having a dog was to feel superior, Jerry. If I were you, I wouldn't pull that thread. Come on, kids." Rick drags us again. Dad grabs our other arms. Summer still ignores the situation. 
"Listen, Rick, if you're gonna stay here rent-free and use my kids for your stupid science, the least you could do is put a little bit of it to use for the family. You make that dog smart, or the twins are grounded!" Dad tugs us both towards him. 
"Aww, man." Morty and I groan. Rick glares at us for a brief moment for our synchronization. But why are we being roped into this? 
"Ha-ha!" Summer calls out. Shut up Summer.
"Boy, you really got me up against a wall this time, Jerry." Rick leaves for the garage. I put my hand out for Morty as noises are heard from the garage.
"What?" He questions, rubbing the arm Rick was holding him with.
"You know what." I smirk. Morty sighs and reaches into his pocket, putting a twenty into my hand. "Good doin' business with ya." I put the bill away. Rick enters the room, a small helmet in hand. He puts it on top of Snuffles. 
"All right, Ruffles. What's his name?" Rick asks.
"Snuffles." Morty corrects.
"Snuffles, shake." Snuffles does so and lifts a paw to Rick and shakes. "Rollover." He rolls over. "Go to the bathroom." Snuffles leaves the room, and a toilet flushes: he then returns. We all marvel in amazement. Now that is cool. Let's just hope his intelligence is limited to only tricks. "Yeah, you're at the top of your game now. Jerry. Have fun. Come on, kids." Rick drags us out of the living room. We walk into the garage.
"That was fantastic, Rick!" Morty beams.
"Yeah, imagine everything else he could do now." I nod along.
"Yeah. If you like that, boy. You're-you're really going to flip your lids over this one." Rick steps to the side of his invention and shows it to us. He shows us a small plug-like device that looks like a USB, needing a magnifying glass to see up close.
"W-w-w-what is it?" Morty questions, we lean away from the object. 
"It's a device, Morty," Rick picks it up, "that when you put it in your ear, you can enter people's dreams, Morty. It's just like that movie you keep crowing about." It places the device in a case.
"You talking about 'Inception'?" He replies.
"That's right, Morty. This is gonna be a lot like that, except, you know, it's gonna may-" Rick belches, putting the case in his neverending lab coat pocket, "be make sense.”
"'Inception' made sense."
"No, it didn't." I snickered. Or I'm too dumb to understand, but Rick didn't get it either so. Didn’t seem to be that smart of a movie anyway.
"You don't have to try to impress me, Morty. Listen, tonight we're gonna go into the home of your math teacher, Mr. Goldenfold, and we're gonna incept the idea in his brain to give you A's in math, Morty. (Y-(Y/N) is fine, but it is so you can, you know, y-you two are gonna help me with my science, all the time."
"Wow, Rick, in the time it took you to make this thing couldn't you just have, you know, helped Morty with his homework?" I comment.
"Th-then what have you b-een d- are you even listening to me (Y/N)? Homework is stupid. The whole point is to get less of it." Rick opens the ship door, and we all get into our regular seats. "Come on, let's just get over there and deal with this thing. W-we're gonna incept your teacher. You're frustrating me." 
. . .
We sneak into Mr. Goldenfold's house, Rick helping Morty and me into his house through the window. Eugh, he lives in a dump. Why is the trash so sparsely scattered on the floor? The small TV continues to play until Rick shuts it off. It was a basic house, the living room was tiny and closed off from the rest of the house.
"Uh-oh! Spoilers!" Rick whispers. "I'm a full season behind."
"This place is nasty." I comment, looking over Mr. Goldenfold's sleeping body on his beanbag. There is a bowl of popcorn on his stomach. How can he fall asleep like that?
"Wow, Rick, I can't believe we're sitting around, standing around in Mr. Goldenfold's house. It's really weird." Morty exhales. It was strange. Other than the one he was sitting in there were multiple bean bag chairs across the tiny room. Part of me believes they haven’t been sat in since he got them.
"It's about to get a whole lot weirder, Morty." I hear Rick respond and a thud following it. I see Morty on the floor and Rick approaching me with the device. 
"Woahwoahwoah! Can I at least get comfortable before you put me under!? Let me sit down or something!" I protest. 
"No." 
"Aww man-" Rick grabs my arm and slots the device into my ear. I go cold for a second before waking up in an airplane. I sit in the window seat, Morty next to me, and Rick in the aisle. We all peer out to the aisle. The lady from that show Goldefold was watching iis the attendant. What was her name? Oh yeah, Mrs. Pancakes. 
"Wheat Thins. Wheat Thins." She calls as she rolled the cart down the aisle. For an airplane, it had a decently wide aisle. Mr. Goldenfold flags her down. 
"I'll take two." He leans out.
"Oh, I think you've had enough, sir."
"You don't know me." They both laugh at his reference to the show. I smile a little at the joke. Yeah, I've watched it. It’s entertaining. Anyways.
"All right, kids, time to make our move." Rick grabs full soda bottles from a random cart conveniently nearby. He straps them to his chest, here we go. He hands Morty and me a cover-up. I don't put it on. 
"I'm not going to help you pull a nine-eleven." I scowl.
"Fine, good job showing concern for your o-own brother's grades." He gets up from his seat Morty behind him. Morty had put the cloth on his head. "Allahu-" Rick belches, showing off the sodas, "akbar! We're gonna take control of this plane. We're gonna nine-eleven it unless Morty Smith gets better grades in math!" Mr. Goldenfold stands up with Mrs. Pancakes. I sit slightly higher in my seat to look. "Hey! I said nobody move, buddy!" 
"The name's not buddy. It's Goldenfold. Nice to wheat you!" Mr. Goldenfold grabs crackers nearby and uses them like ninja stars. 
"Take cover!" It punctures Rick's soda 'bombs' and pierces Morty's arm. I cringe at Morty's wound as Mr. Goldenfold pulls out two assault rifles, firing them in our direction. Rick and Morty cover in seats a few rows behind. I carefully duck under seats and regroup with them. Morty whines as Mr. Goldenfold still screams, firing the two assault rifles. "Goldenfold's got more control here than I anticipated. I mean, the guy teaches high-school math." Rick belches, " I didn't take him for an active dreamer. We've got to take him out so he wakes up, kids, but we can't get killed. If you get killed in someone else's dream, you die for real.
"What?! Are you kidding me?!" Morty and I both yell. 
"Don't be a baby!" Rick responds. "You avoid getting shot in real life all the time. Just do the same thing here, and we'll be fine."
"Reassuring." I groan. "Do you at least have a plan?"
"As a matter of fact-" Rick belches, "(Y/N). I do. We're going to take Mrs. Pancakes as a hostage and trade her."
"This is Mr. Goldenfold's dream. Can't he just teleport her back?" I question.
"The thing is, he doesn't know this is a dream yet."
"Alright, here we go." I sigh. Rick somehow gets Mrs. Pancakes on his side of the aisle. He peers in the middle.
"Goldenfold, we're coming out! We just want to talk!" Rick stays low to the ground when peeking. Mr. Goldenfold halts his assault.
"Why would I negotiate with you?" He questions.
"Because we're both rational adults that don't want anything bad to happen. And because I have a human shield." Rick stands up, with Mrs. Pancakes in a chokehold. 
"Mrs. Pancakes, AAAAAH!" Mr. Goldenfold screams, dropping the guns and cowering down. Everyone else on the plane freaks out in a similar matter.
"Oh, no, kids. His subconscious is panicking." Rick comments, still holding onto Mrs. Pancakes. I hear one passenger scream louder than the others before the emergency door bursts open. Morty and I hold onto nearby seats as people fly out of the plane. My hair gets tugged, and I hear a scream as Morty lets go. God damn it. I let go and smash into Rick at the emergency door. We all tumble out. My arms flail around as I try to gain balance in the arm, Morty screeches before Rick slaps him. I swim in the air to get closer to Rick and Morty. Huh, I guess it does kind of have a ring to it.
"Relax, Morty. Look! Mrs. Pancakes has a parachute. Come on!" Rick points to Mrs. Pancakes, and the three of us maneuver our way over to her. Morty and I grab onto Rick. He pulls Mrs. Pancakes' parachute, and we all hang onto her.
"You don't know me." Mrs. Pancake scoffs.
"Oh, no, Rick, look! Goldenfold landed the plane, and he's created a mechanical arm to pluck Mrs. Pancakes out of the air while he lets us fall into a giant vat of lava!" Morty explains. I look at the contraption Mr. Goldenfold created. He was right. There was indeed a vat of lava and a mechanical arm he was controlling.
"Pretty concise, Morty. Looks like we've merely prolonged the inevitable." Rick immediately comes up with a plan, "That's it, Morty! Prolonging the inevitable! Listen, if we go into Mrs. Pancakes' dream, everything will go 100 times slower, Morty. That'll buy us some time to figure this out!"
"Dying in Mr. Goldenfold's dream is the last I want to do!" I yell, punching Mrs. Pancake to unconsciousness. Morty gives me a flabbergasted look.
"All right, let's go." Rick ignores my sudden aggression and grabs more dream inceptors. He inserts us into the dream of Mrs. Pancakes. We land in a sort of, sex, dungeon? 
"Oh, man, Rick, this is pretty weird." Morty looks around at the multiple different alien-type creatures. Mrs. Pancakes sits on a throne, whipping some of the alien-gremlin things.
"Don't judge Morty." Rick also stares intently at the whipping Mrs. Pancakes.
"Ohh, well I'm totally judging, and I’m not liking what I’m seeing" I smile awkwardly, kind of grossed out. I mean everyone pretty much knew he was weird anyway. Seeing it though is just, yuck.
"Okay. All right. Well Look, Mrs. Pancakes is right over there. I'll just go ask her to tell Goldenfold not to kill us when she wakes up." Morty stands up and starts to walk before getting grabbed by Rick.
"Whoa, whoa, Morty. The trick to incepting is making people think they came up with the idea." Rick pulls off his lab coat and tosses it to Morty. "Listen to me. If we're gonna incept Mrs. Pancakes, we have to blend." Rick takes his blue undershirt off. He then takes his pants off. I look away as mini-sex gremlins rush to him. "I'll talk to you after lunch." Ew, he goes off with them. Another image I will later work to erase.
"What's the plan, then?" I move closer to Morty. 
"I-I don't-" Morty is interrupted by a sex monster rubbing his arm. 
"Ooh, hey!" It greets.
"Ooh, oh! Oh, man." Morty recoils from the monster. More monsters approach us. One starts touching me too. We both get very uncomfortable for obvious reasons and run away. This is soo fucking weird. Two more get a hold of Morty and me.
"Come and join us." It asks.
"Nopenopenope, sorry no!" I push it off, and Morty does the same with his. We run before stopping in front of a large frog woman.
"Ooh, wow!" She lays in a mud bath named 'The Pleasure Pit', "Come over here, you two." 
"We're fine!" I yell out, pushing Morty away. We bump into a human, about time. Whoa, she actually looks- holy shit that's-
"Summer?!" Morty screams out. She walks closer to us, wearing this pink and black lace lingerie. 
"Hey, there, strangers." Summer leans over to us, "What do you think of these things?" She shakes her tits in our faces. It's not the first time I've seen her in underwear but never in this context. I want this entire experience erased from my brain. I cover my eyes backing away. Morty has a more verbal reaction. 
"Ohh! Oh! Gross! Gross!" He cries. I hear a thud, assuming he fell over.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What's the matter with you two, kids? Calm down! You're both kind of killing the vibe in here." I hear Rick's voice, along with chains? Oh god, I don't even want to know what he is wearing.
"I-it's Summer!" Morty stutters.
"Aw, geez. Looks like Goldenfold has some predilections so shameful he buries them in the dreams of the people in his dreams, including a pervy attraction to your underage sister." Rick points out. I reopen my eyes and stand next to Rick, trying not to look at his--attire. I was right. He is wearing this gimp-type chain sex thing. Morty gets from the ground and steps next to the other side of Rick. I try to look anywhere but Rick or Summer.
"Can you blame him?" Summer crawls to us. "Come on, old man, little girl and boy. Let's make an inter-generational sandwich." She traces our bodies with her hands before pulling us together. Rick pushes her away. All of us shield ourselves, overlapping each other.
"Oh, my God. Put some clothes on for the love of God-Summer! Put some-I'm gonna puke! I swear to God I'm gonna puke!" Rick’s voice is the loudest as he backs up from her.
"Oh, my God! Put some clothes on, for Pete's sake! This is disgusting! I can't take it, Rick!" Morty’s voice is screechy as he also backs up.
"Oh, Jesus Christ! Summer-don't! Just don't do that! Please just put some clothes on! That's disgusting! This really wasn’t worth what we came for!" I yell out under the other two as I fully turn around from her. We came here for a fucking grade. I probably could just cheat for him.
Everyone around us goes quiet. A large-red-headed centaur goes in front of us. We stop our whining as he towers over us.
"Sexual hang-ups in the pleasure chamber are punishable by death! Off with their heads!" He swings his large spear at us. Rick dodges it and rolls over to the centaur.
"Time to go into another dream kids!" Rick grapples his neck, choking him out.
"Don't need to tell me twice." I cringe. Rick puts the inceptors in, and Morty and I do ours.
We drop down into a new area. The room is red, with incinerators behind us. Rick is luckily in regular clothes again.
"What the hell? Why would Mr. Goldenfold's dream version of Mrs.
Pancakes' dream version of a Centaur, be dreaming about a scary place like this, Rick?" Morty queried, looking around. The centaur stands next to us, sucking his thumb.
"Geez, I don't know, Morty. Wha-what do you want from me?" Rick crosses his arms. An annoying screeching sound catches our attention. A figure appears at the end of the corridor. 
"Welcome to your nightmare, bitch!" A weird deformed-looking Freddy Kruger charges at us, screaming.
"Oh, here we go." Rick starts to run.
"Ooohhh! Holy crap!" Morty and I scream. We run in the tight corridors of the industrially looking dream. Rick runs next to us.
"Looks like some sort of legally safe knock-off of an '80s horror character with miniature swords for fingers instead of knives." Rick clarifies as we run.
"I'm scary Terry. You can run, but you can't hide, bitch!" He yells from behind us. We continue to run around, avoiding Terry as he conveniently pops out of every corner. A girl talks in the background.
"'A, B his name is Scary Terry 'C' 'D' he's very scary." The girl echos through the area.
"Holy crap!" Morty yells as Terry jumps out at us again. I pull him up as he stumbles. "We have to escape into someone else's dreams, kids." Rick starts, and we continue running as Terry pops up in areas in front of us.
"I'm not dying over a movie knock-off!" I scream. He crawls overhead us and jumps in front of us. All of us freak out and make a sharp turn. We all locate the creepy girl singing. Rick points at her as she keeps mindlessly singing. Creepy, oh shit right, we're still being chased. 
"The little girl!" He knocks her out. We all intercept her dream. We wake up-in the same fucking dream. The girl continues to sing that stupid ass song. "Are you kidding me? This again? Oh, man, it looks like we've hit dream bedrock here, kids."
"Bedrock?! You mean there isn't any way else to go?!" I scream.
"Oh, geez, Rick. W-w-whoa, this isn't good." Morty whines.
"Nothing but fear from here on out bitch!" Terry appears next to us and we continue running.
"Holy crap! He can travel through dreams. He can travel through dreams! We're so screwed!" Rick exclaims.
"You think?!" I cry out as we continue running from him. Who knew the most stress would come from this adventure out of the rest, just because Morty happens to be a dumbass. The whole stress of the chase dies down as we exit the building. The world is very similar to the nightmare on elm street but redder, very red. Rick skids over a car into the driver's seat. I beat Morty inside, making him sit in the back without a seatbelt. Seems like he is too nervous to protest.
"What are we here for again? Incepting? We're trying to incept-"
"We're trying to intercept me to get an 'A', in math?" Morty interrupts Rick, Rick murmurs an 'oh yeah' and starts the car. Morty screeches and jumps onto me in the front. The two of us scramble as he tries to straighten himself up. Terry pokes up from the back.
"Buckle up, bitch!" Terry leans against the seat. Morty and I once again scream as we all crawl out of the car. The two of us recover quickly before following Rick as we continue to run
"Why does he say bitch so much?!" I yell.
"You can run, but you can't hide, bitch!" Terry yells behind us.
"Hold on, kids. Y-you know what? He keeps saying we can run but we can't hide?" Rick starts as we take cover next to a broken-down house. "I say we try hiding."
"But that's the opposite of what-" Morty starts.
"Yeah, well, since when are we taking this guy's advice on anything?" I nod in approval of Rick's theory, it's dumb, but this is a dream.
"Hey, you know what? You got a really good point there, Rick. Like, if the truth was that we could hide, it's not like he'd be sharing that information with us, you know? I-I-I think it's a good idea, Rick." Morty ponders.
"Worst-case scenario, we're back to running." Rick shrugs.
. . .
After around six dream hours, we traced back to Scary Terry's house due to Rick's plan actually working. We camp outside Terry's house. Apparently, he has a wife and kid as well. We stay crouched in front of the dining room window and Rick nudges the both of us. I snap back to attention.
"Kids, this is perfect. After a little scary coitus, they should be fast asleep, and then we'll intecept him." Off-topic, but he does have a pretty nice-looking house. The three of us sneak inside after they uh, have some 'coitus'. I grimace at their weird-looking bodies and the marks left all over the room. Terry flinches in his sleep.
"Looks like Scary Terry's having a nightmare." Rick prepares the inceptors. 
"Oh, boy, Rick. I can only imagine what horrible things must, you know, scare Scary Terry." Morty watches Rick and we incept Terry's dream. We watch Terry from afar. We are in a school? He went to school? What would he learn? The bell rings and a younger Terry looks up. 
"Oh, no! I'm late to class, bitch!" He shoves his locker close and looks down. "Oh, no! I'm not wearing any pants!" Terry rushes to class as other scary monster girls laugh at him. We join the class he was late for and sit behind him.
"Ah, well Mr. Terry, why don't you tell the whole class the proper wordplay to use when one is chasing one's victim through a pumpkin patch?" The teacher questions, getting into Terry's face. Monster school is weird, why is wordplay important if you're isolating your victim and killing them? Terry mumbles to himself, before answering.
"Oh, uh, um-- 'bitch.'" He answers. The class laughs as the teacher gets off of Terry's desk.
"Oh, come on, Terry. You can't think of a pun involving pumpkins, bitch?" The teacher taunts.
"Hey, leave him alone!" Morty interjects, pulling the attention towards him. 
"Yeah!" I call out, standing out of my desk chair, "You're giving him shit for no reason!"
"This is a bunch of bullcrap. Who cares what stupid pun you make when you kill someone? Why don't you let the poor guy say whatever he wants?" Rick finishes, concluding our defense for Terry. 
"Well, I never-!" The teacher stutters, looking around at the kids staring at him. "I-I see no reason to stand here and take this!" He rushes out of the class. Pussy. Morty stands out of his chair and we go next to Terry.
"You're putting too much pressure on yourself, Scary Terry." Rick rests his hand on Terry's shoulder, "You know, I mean, y-you're perfectly scary enough as it is." I grab some mysteriously convenient pants nearby and nudge Morty, handing them to him. 
"Hey, yo, Scary T, don't even trip about your pants dawg. Here's a pair on us, fool." Morty hands him the pants as I side-eye as he speaks. Why is he talking like that? 
"Aww, bitch. I don't even know what to say." Terry accepts the pants and starts putting them on.
"You don't need to say anything. We got you, dawg." Morty poses as he speaks and I try to hold in laughter. 
"You're our boy, dawg. Don't even trip" Rick puts his arm around Morty and they hug Terry. Rick too? This is so dumb. The thought makes me burst out in laughter as the dream ends. Morty punches me as we wait for Terry to wake up.
"Cool it, he is our only chance of getting out of here remember?"
"Yeah, yeah," I chirp, "just give me a second." I try to calm my smile as Terry's eyes start to open, I guess my smile meshed in with Rick and Morty as he smiles back. He sits up in bed and faces us.
"Oh, hey, it's you guys!" Terry goes on to thank us for what we've done and invites us to stay for breakfast, what a change of heart.
We sat around Terry's table after he gave each of us coffee, bleh. Melissa (his wife) approaches the table as we sit near him.
"I haven't seen him this relaxed in years." She comments.
"If you guys ever need anything, just say the word," Terry adds, resting his sword-fingered hand on Rick's shoulder. 
"As a matter of fact, Terry, there is something you could help us with," Rick responds. Thank god we're finally getting out of the dream paradox hellhole, cannot wait.
. . .
We all sit on Terry's back (uncomfortably) as he goes through each dream, killing the dreamer. We finally reach the original dream and Terry turns into a missile, launching himself at Mr. Goldenfold. This day just keeps getting better I guess.
"This is because you don't give Morty Smith good grades, bitch!" He screams, ramming into him and exploding. The dream ends and we all quickly hide behind the couch, Mr. Goldenfold bursts up in shock.
"Holy crap! Goddamn! I know one thing for sure, I'm giving Morty an 'A' in math! And that's my idea, that is an original thought!" He wanders away from the couch as we all do a trio fist bump. All of this and I could have just allowed Morty to copy off of me. Entering back into the ship we start to fly home. 
"That was a day, I can't wait to lay down and go into my 'own' dream" I sigh.
"Yeah, and now I can relax with my easy A- wait, what the hell?" Morty points outside. A squad of dogs in mechanical suits brings boxes in and out of our house, two of them watching guard. Wow, let me guess. Dad probably caused this.
"Out of the frying pan, dot, dot, dot, huh kids?" Rick says plainly. He probably predicted this the second he made that dog intelligent.
"Oh man, what's going on?" Morty questions.
"I'm assuming no one paid attention to Snuffles as he slowly became self-aware," I comment.
"Always seventy-five percent correct as usual (Y/N). Your dog possibly made modifications on the cognition amplifier, then turned on Jerry, Beth, and Summer after learning about humanity's cruel subjugation of his species, but honestly, your guess is as good as mine." Rick shrugs humbly.
"Let's go save our family then." Our conversation ends as Rick silently lands somewhere nearby. We rush to sit in the bushes behind our house. "Psst, Beth, Jerry, Summer," Rick whispers as we emerge from the bush, he pulls out a device to remove their chains. Wow, the dogs tied them to an inhumanely short leash tethered to the ground in bad temperature. Wonder where I've seen that before. Summer rushes over to us.
"Oh, thank God, Morty and (Y/N)" She hugs us, very, very tightly and I'm just going to say it now that she literally pushed our faces near her boobs and now I want to die. Morty seemed to get the same impression as he awkwardly pushed her off of us. 
"Oh, you're welcome!" He grimaces as Rick comes back over.
"All right, let's get out of here. If we hurry-" Rick takes a swig of his flask, "we can set up camp in a sewer tunnel or something before the dogs completely take over."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. We're not going anywhere." Dad protests, "This is my house. I'm not abandoning it."
"It's all over, Jerry. The dogs are on a path to total world domination. But, hey, at least they know not to piss on your carpet, right?"
"Wait a minute. I have an idea." Dad responds. Of course, he is the only person who gets an idea from the word 'piss'. If you don't know what I'm getting at, Dad's plan is to piss on their stuff. Like a dog- well, an unintelligent dog. And which- he does, then he pulls down his fucking pants and squats. I kind of root for Snuffles here as he shoves his face into his piss. Karma I would say. But who really won in this as I also saw my Dad's bare ass.
"Ooh, great plan, Jerry." Rick groans.
"Bring those two to me." Snuffles points at Morty and me as two robo dogs pull us towards him. As he sits in a lounge chair. Please don't make us the first sacrifice, please don't make us the first- "You both were always kind to me." Oh. "That's why I will leave you, Morty, with your testicles and (Y/N), with your uterus." Ew, but yay? I have no clue what's going on. "From now on, you two will be my best friends and live by my side."
"Th-thanks, Snuffles." We both stutter before sharing a knowing glance and walking to our assigned 'doggy' beds. Morty and I each sit on one side of him. Both of his robo arms reach down and pet both of us.
"Begin phase two." He orders the guard dogs, dog guards? Whatever, the world is being dominated by dogs, I had a dream about this before and it did not end well.
. . .
So, it has been months since that happened. Morty and I both now live in this luxurious building owned by Snuffles-Snowball, as he owns the world now. Morty surrounds himself with women and I sit in silence with immense guilt. Yeah, the human race a lot of times treats dogs unfairly but not all of them, and it just feels unfair to also imprison the humans who never even interacted with dogs. Luxury is kind of nice though, if only it didn't cost at humanity's expense. But, our family is also victims in this. We need to leave, it's not fair. I rush into Morty's room, I make an audible noise of disgust as he sits up in the bed shirtless, the two girls in his bed also sitting up.
"(Y-(Y/N)? What are you doing in here?! Can't you see I'm busy here?" Morty complains, I walk over to stand in front of his bed.
"Morty, we need to leave here. We can't just sit up here as royalty while everyone else is forced into slavery! Think about our family!" I fume, and he waves me off.
"Come on, our lives are so much easier now. And we can do whatever we want. Be selfish for once, not like we can do anything about it anyway." Morty dismisses. Fido, our sort of butler dog, brings a tray of drinks. "Thank you, Fido." I turn to face the dog as it gets knocked over.
"Rick!" Morty and I exclaim, one of us more enthusiastic than the other. 
"I thought you were dead!" Morty continues.
"No, no, no, I was just playing dead." Rick drops his bat. "Good news though, kids. This whole thing's gonna be over really soon."
"Yes!" I cheer.
"What? What do you mean?" Morty stares at Rick as he explains.
"It's a dream, kids. We're in your dog's dream. The night the dogs captured us, after you cried and crapped your pants, we all went to sleep. Then I used my dream inceptors to put the three of us inside Snuffles' dream." And of course, coincidentally, an object we used earlier is now the thing we used to solve the secondary problem going on.
"But it's been like a whole year!" Morty chokes, I cringe at the women still touching him while they talk.
"It's been six hours. Dreams move one one-hundredth the speed of reality, and dog time is one-seventh human time. So you know, every day here is like a minute. It's like 'Inception', Morty, so if it's confusing and stupid, then so is everyone's favorite movie."
"Aw, man." Morty sulks, "I really liked this life."
"I didn't!" I chimed in.
"Well, at least I didn't really didn't crap my pants."
"No, no, that happened before you went to sleep, Morty." Rick starts, and the women promptly start to leave him. "You're sleeping in your crap right now, that was the only real thing that-, you know, is, that you crapped your pants. I mean it's a mess, Morty." I start to audibly laugh at Morty, holy shit Morty how does that even happen. "I got some on my hands, Morty, and then I got it on the dream inceptor, and a piece fell in my mouth." Eugh, gross, still funny, but gross.
"Aw, man, geez! Seriously?" Morty exhales.
"Yeah and some even got on your sister's leg, nasty." 
"What?!" I yell as I feel the smile drain from my face, Rick cuts me off.
"Look, d-d-d-don't worry about it, Morty." Rick sits on the bed and ignores my panicking. "Here, here, take these, Morty. Take these." Rick hands Morty a series of pills and Morty takes them. "You two (Y/N)." Rick grabs more for me to take. I hold them in my hand but don't take them. Morty fucking got shit on me.
"Are these pills supposed to wake me up, or something?" Morty asks.
"Close. It's gonna make your kidneys shut down." Oh well, sucks to be him I guess. 
"What?!" Morty shouts, and Rick holds him before turning to me, "Same with you, y-you both gotta take it." 
"Uh, no. I'm not taking some kidney failure medicine. Morty's the one who shit everywhere, so he has to pay for that." I protest.
"Fair enough, Morty, don't worry. It's necessary for the plan, don't even trip dawg."
. . .
Rick(in a robo dog disguise), Snowball, and I stand around pale unconscious Morty on a medical table. I know this is technically fake and stuff but it's still unnerving to see Morty dying like that.
"It's pretty bad, emperor Snowball. We're gonna need to do another operation." Rick diagnoses. 
"Anything," Snowball puts his robo arm on Morty, "anything for my precious Morty." An Accountant Dog enters the room.
"Sir, as your accountant, I must advise you that these medical expenses are putting you in serious financial jeopardy. You could lose your kingdom." One of the other workers walks up to Snowball.
"To hell with my kingdom Bean Counter!" Snowball pushes all of the papers out of the dog's arms, he holds Morty with his. "I would trade it all for my human's health, and happiness."
"Do you think they would have done this for us?" The dog asks.
"We are not them!" Snowball pauses, I can almost see the mental resolve as he whispers. "We are not them."
. . .
The whole family stands outside of the animal shelter, dogs walk in a line into a portal as Snowball stands in front of us. The shit thing has been resolved if you were curious. That’s all I'm gonna say.
"Taking over the human's world will lead to nothing but more heartbreak, more cruelty. Instead, we will go to a new world and colonize it with a society of intelligent dogs, one that will not make the same mistakes as humanity and one where pet insurance will be mandatory." 
"We're going to miss you, Snowball." I smile.
"You can call me Snuffles, (Y/N). And I'm going to miss both of you two, very much." He walks up to us and we embrace him, Snuffles licks both of our heads before leaving through the portal. I ignore Dad's crying as Morty and I break off to stand with Rick. 
"Wow, who knew dreams had such an impact. And to think if that never happened we would be living in that world right now." I whistle.
"Yeah, but a whole world populated by intelligent dogs. I wonder what it'll be like." Morty speculates.
"I think it will be great, Morty. You know it could be developed in-into a very satisfying project for people of all ages. I mean, I'd watch it, Morty, for at least 11 minutes a pop. You know, may-maybe they'll do it board-driven." Rick rambles.
"You know, that's a real comforting idea, Rick."
"Is it though?" I remark.
"What do you know, Morty?" Rick sighs and shakes his head, "What do you know?"
"This is great and all, but can we go home now? I'm hungry." I announce. Everyone seems to hum in agreement as we go home and eat dinner at the table. 
"So that happened." Mom starts, cutting into her food. "Anything anyone wants to say?"
"That we should never get a dog, or any type of pet in that matter, especially one with advanced intelligence." I begin.
"Well yeah, but at least I got to see Dad cry like a baby" Summer snickers.
"Hey! It was a very emotional moment, excuse you!" Dad pouts, sinking down slightly in his chair.
"That was pretty funny to see." I chuckle. 
"L-like you didn't cry your eyes out once we got inside." Morty points out. I feel my face flush as everyone turns to me.
"Pfft- Naah, I didn't-crying? Me? Never." I hastily shove more food in my mouth so I would shut up. 
"Come on Morty. We all know you were the one to cry the most, t-that's why your shower took four minutes longer than usual today." Rick keeps his focus on his food as he talks. I grin at Morty, mainly because of how Rick covered for me. 
"Huh?! Are you timing the time it takes for me to shower?" Morty rises defensively.
"I don't know, Morty. Maybe I'm not, maybe I am. No need to pass the blame around, geez." Rick gets up from the table. "I'm heading to the garage, see ya." Morty springs up from his chair.
"What?! Rick! You can't just drop a bomb like that and-" Morty's voice drowns out as he follows Rick to the garage. The rest of us at the table slightly shrug and continue eating. Just a regular day with the Smith family.
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boygiwrites · 8 months
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Harley D. Dixon 15
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An amazing edit inspired by this story! (Cred to Cora_Line99) Harley D. Dixon's Pinterest Board! Harley D. Dixon's Playlist!
📖Chapter List.
Author's Note. As usual, please enjoy reading, everyone :) <3
Title might give it away, but we've all been waiting for this chapter winky wink
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"How long's this girl been lost, exactly?"
"This'll be day five, now."
This'll be day three of my Dad bein' unconscious, I muse to myself solemnly, sitting nearby. It's the next morning, now, and with Dad's treatment more promising and Glenn taking iron supplements to help replace all the nutrients he lost from the blood he gave, people have decided that it's time to resume the search for Sophia. It's not gonna be an easy task, no matter how you spin it. By now, she could be anywhere. If I had five days to walk anywhere in the world, I could be halfway across the country already.
As I watch a brown butterfly flitter elegantly along the edge of the truck bed, lost in thought, Rick smooths a map out across the hood.
"Country survey map." He announces. "It shows terrains and elevations for fifty miles. We'll grid the whole area; search in teams."
"Finally get this thing organized." Dale hums, nodding.
"So far, we've covered this lower region, here, all the way up to this part of the river." Rick drags a finger this way and that over the page. "This is 'round about where we found Harley, down by this slope. Carol said Harley told her she followed this whole bit here and found Sophia's doll somewhere close by. Maybe around this part, here. Between everything that's been goin' on, we haven't gotten a chance to check it out until now, but I'm thinking we start today. Should take about a couple hours to cover, I reckon, with two people."
"And who are you suggesting goes with you?"
"I was thinkin' Glenn, but he needs rest. How 'boutchu, Shane?"
Shane, who's been mostly staring at the grass this whole conversation, looks up.
"Nah." He shakes his head. "My ankle's still pretty busted, man. Best if I hang back on this one."
"Okay, sure."
"Looks like it's just you, then, Rick." Herschel says.
The butterfly chooses this moment to fly away, leading my gaze up, and then onto Shane. His ankle's fit as a damn fiddle. I saw him doin' push ups this morning, but I don't say nothin'. He's been hovering around me since yesterday afternoon like a little insect that I just can't shake, staring at me, pokin' around. Something about Rick's return with the supplies seems to have affected him in a way I can't place.
Few days ago, I would've felt so safe having Shane this close to me, but now I know that's like a bunny feelin' safe around a coyote.
"Actually," Rick butts in, "Harley?"
I snap out of it, suddenly, meeting his eyes.
"Yeah?"
"You wanna come with me?"
"Huh?"
I didn't expect him to ask me that, of all things.
"I could use your help, y'know." He adds. "You'd recognise more of those woods than any of us will."
"That's a good idea." Dale agrees aloud, mainly just for the sake of convincing me. "Doctor, you think she's good to do some exploring?"
"As long as she doesn't put too much strain on those stitches," Herschel nods, "I don't see why not."
"Perfect. What do you say?"
Wow. They really wanna get me outta here today. I guess a few hours away from the house won't be so bad. I'm sick'a Shane breathin' down my neck, anyways.
"Okay," I eventually decide, "I'll go."
Shane suddenly looks like he's regretting his decision to stay here.
"Attagirl. You don't need t'be cooped up in that room, worrying all day." Rick smiles. "Your Dad might even be awake, time we get back. You wanna go getcher hat?"
Dale nods. "Hot out."
"Okay. I think I left it by the well when I was playin' this morning."
"Go take a look, then."
Herschel and Dale help me hop off the truck.
"We'll leave in five minutes, okay, Harley?"
"Okay!"
I make it across the dry field, where Carl is peering down into the pit of the water well.
"Hey, Carl," I say, approaching. "You seen my hat 'round here?"
"Harley! C'mere!"
"What is it?"
"Down here. Look." He leans over the cobbled wall, and I follow his pointing finger into the stinky, murky depths below. "You see it?"
I don't, at first, but then I get a whole big whiff of rotting meat and dead insect-mush, and I make out somethin' moving around down there in the dark, which makes me squeak a little in disgust. Might be an ogre down there. Ogres are gross. I saw in a movie that they pick their noses.
"Hell's that?" I ask, scrunching my nose. "Stinks."
"A walker, I think."
"A walker?!"
There it is. I see it, now. Those shiny things are slippery limbs, and those lumpy ones are big, gross pustules.
I cringe loudly. "Eugh!"
"I know, right?" Carl exclaims, somewhat excitedly. "I think it fell in somehow."
"Well, we best not mess with it."
He straightens, only now registering why I'm over here. "Wait, where are you going if you need your hat? You wanna play tag again?"
"No. I can't. Your Dad's takin' me out to look for Sophia."
He looks confused.
"What? Not Shane?"
I make a face. "No. He's stayin'."
"Aw, man. Why didn't Dad ask me?"
"I'on know."
"Well, can I come, too?"
"No, Carl."
We both spin around to face Rick, who holds up my flimsy green bucket hat in the air as he approaches.
"It's just me and Harley today. Sorry."
When he's close enough, he fixes the hat onto my head.
"You found it?"
He nods.
Carl whines. "Why can't I come, too, Dad?"
He helps me drag the little bauble of the jaw-string all the way up under my chin, since it's kinda tough to do with little hands.
"Harley's goin' through a bit of a tough time right now, Carl. She could use some time away from the house. You're good right here."
Carl pouts.
"Besides," Rick shrugs, "Who's gonna protect this place while we're away?"
He rolls his eyes. "Be serious."
"I am serious."
"No, you're not. Dale's the one who keeps watch. Not me."
"Well, how 'bout you go ask him if you can join him today, huh?"
His eyes widen. "Really?"
"Yeah. I'm sure he'd appreciate that."
As Rick stands up, Carl considers the offer.
"Yeah, okay. I'll do it." He sticks up a finger. "But only if I get a gun."
"Woah. No, no, no. One step at a time, okay?" He laughs, nodding me back toward the gate. "Come on, Harley. We're goin', now."
Carl stomps his foot.
"But, Dad!"
"No. Go ask your mother!"
I can't help but snicker. Poor Carl.
"I can still be useful, you know. It's never stopped me before."
When we make it back to the main gate, where a few of our group are waiting to send us off, we walk into a small argument between Herschel and Shane. We stay out of it for the most part as Andrea hands Rick a backpack filled with useful supplies and one of our rifles.
"You push your ankle now," Herschel warns, "You'll be laid up in bed for a month, no good to anybody. I thought I made that clear."
"You did." Shane nods, playing along to get what he wants, "But I just feel like they could use an extra pair of eyes out there, that's all."
Rick raises a brow. "Thought you said you would hang back."
"Well, compared to what Harley's got, this is nothin'. Just a... a damn twist." He laughs it off. "Should be fine."
"I'm not comfortable with that." Rick firmly states, going back to loading the gun.
Shane just stares at him, annoyed with this conclusion.
"How about you take the car?" Herschel suggests. "It's better than walking. You can head back to the interstate; search for Sophia that way."
He sighs. "Yep. Yeah, okay. That's fine."
"Alright, then. And remember, no guns on my property."
Rick nods. "Loud and clear. We're guests here. We understand."
"Cute hat." Maggie grins, pinching the brim.
I giggle. "Thanks."
"Okay. We're off." Rick slings the bag over his shoulder. "If we're not back by dark, start worrying."
"Sure thing." Andrea smacks his shoulder. "Be safe."
Lori gives his cheek a kiss.
"Look after her, and be careful."
He smiles, nodding as Maggie opens the gate for us. "I will."
Even when we make it all the way to the treeline, I can still tell that Shane is pissed.
"Step over this rock, here. You got it?"
"Yeah."
"There we go. Nothin' stops you, does it?"
"Nope."
"Thought so."
Hiking with Rick ain't all that bad. We make our way into the woods, trailing the creek together for about an hour, before I start to recognise some of the oddly shaped tree trunks, mushroom clusters, and peculiar boulders out here. It reminds me a little of hiking with my Dad, especially when Rick stops to make me drink some water every once in a while, or tells me to watch out for a hole or snag in the ground. I never thought Rick could be like this, but he is a Dad, after all. He's got Carl. Everything I've found Shane's tried to do with me, Rick does it a hundred times more naturally.
He doesn't even make me uncomfortable when he does it, neither. It's almost like this is what it's meant to feel like, all this time.
"Good to be away from the farm for a bit, ain't it?" He muses, avoiding saying, away from Shane.
Up ahead, I notice a log caught in the stream.
"Hey, Rick."
"Yeah, Harley?"
"I saw this." Some frogs hop into the water when we reach it. "Yeah. This is where I found Matilda. She was in the water, right here."
He glances at me.
"Who?"
"Matilda." I repeat. "Sophia's doll."
"Oh. Right. Yeah. I knew that was her name."
"Did ya, really?"
"Not a clue. Let's look around a bit, huh?"
We spend some time combing the dirt and mud near the creek for tracks, but most of the imprints we uncover either belong to woodland animals, thirsty birds, or me, from when I was lost. We can tell 'cause when I step on 'em, the size and patterns are a perfect match to my boots. Just by pure luck, we eventually find some different, slightly bigger markings that could belong to Sophia, hiding under leaves.
We follow them into the trees.
I feel bad for not doin' this the day I came across the doll. If I did, we might've found her by now.
As we walk, I think more about Shane, and how Carl got made to stay behind today, even though he's older, and he ain't even hurt.
"How come you didn't bring Carl with us?"
Rick looks back at me.
"I just thought you could use some time away from everybody; get your mind off everythin' for a while, that's all."
"But you could'a done that without takin' me out here. Maggie did. We went peach pickin' in the orchard yesterday."
"I know." Rick sighs, reluctant to elaborate.
"But?"
"Well... One difference between the orchard and these woods is that there ain't no way for Shane to bug you out here like he can back there."
I almost trip over a pebble, but I save myself just in time.
"Soon as he brought up that ankle of his, I thought it would be a good opportunity." He raises a brow. "You know, don't think I haven't noticed all'a this. Not just the recent staring and the... the whatever-else he's been doin', but something's been goin' on there for quite some time now, I think. Maybe even before the CDC. I don't know. Whatever it is, I wanted you away from it for a few hours."
I always knew Rick was sorta smart, but I guess he's been paying more attention than I thought.
I don't say nothin', so he prompts, "Am I right?"
Yes, he's right. I wish he wasn't, but I can't change things like that.
"Yeah." I awkwardly shrug. "I guess."
"Care to clue me in?"
"Not really."
"Your Dad said the same thing when I brought it up with him. What? Is it some deep, dark, Dixon secret I'm not allowed in on?"
I giggle a little. "No. Not that."
"Then, what is it?"
"I don't know. A different type of secret."
"And what type is that?"
"A..." I put some thought into it. "It's a big secret."
He glances at me again.
If he's having a hard time navigating this, or he's feeling uncomfortable, then he's not letting on at all. In fact, I think he planned this.
"A big secret, hm?" He muses casually. "What makes it so big?"
"Because if I tell you even a little, tiny bit of it, then you'll need to know the whole thing, and I'm not allowed to tell you that."
"No? How about you try?"
"What? Tell you a little, tiny bit?"
"Just a little, tiny bit."
Something tells me no matter what I say, Rick's hanging on my every word and he's gonna remember 'em. I guess this is it, then — The moment I finally tell someone. His back is turned to me, walking just a couple feet ahead, which makes it much easier to treat this like it's nothin'. Wonder if he's doin' it on purpose. I never imagined it would be him I'd talk to about this, but here I am, anyway.
Okay. Just a little, tiny bit. Here I go.
"I think Shane did something really, really, bad."
I wish I could see Rick's face.
Unconfident, I stammer, "There you go. That's a little, tiny bit."
I think Shane tried to murder my Dad. I think he shot him. He shot him for beating on me, but that's another little, tiny bit for another day.
"Okay." Rick says, like he's digesting everything he's thinking; everything he's assuming, concluding, planning. He nods. "Okay."
Shane did something really, really bad, and so did my Dad, and so did I.
"Can I ask you one more question, though, Harley?"
"Yeah?"
"What would happen if you told me the whole secret?"
Oh, that's easy.
"Something even worse would happen."
We make it to a church.
An old, knobbly tree leans over the side of it.
"This the one?"
"Sure is."
When I told 'em about the faint ringing of church bells I heard that day, they explained that there really was a church out here, and that they even stopped at it for a while that afternoon, thinking one of us girls must've been causing the noise, but we weren't. The sound is on a timer.
The door creeks sorely as we step inside, immediately struck by a wall of pure dust and the smell of mothballs.
"Pleh." I mutter.
With a quick look around the barren room, it's obvious that Sophia isn't here.
Never one to be discouraged easily, Rick sets the bag down on one of the wooden benches, and gestures for me to take a seat.
"Trail ends here, I suppose. Maybe we can pick it up again later." He sighs, passing me a cloth filled with pear slices. "You gettin' tired, yet?"
"Not so much. Sittin' on this bench-thing is helpin', though."
He chuckles, "You mean a pew?" 
"Pew?" I exclaim. "Pew, as in, like, a gun? Goin' pew-pew?"
"Exactly like that."
"Weird. Why not just call 'em benches?"
"'Cause churches like to be fancy."
"Well, I ain't fancy."
"Nobody is, anymore. Except maybe Herschel."
He settles down beside me on the pew, and we take a short lunch break together. I unwrap the fruit and begin eating the slender pieces of fresh pear, which are kinda warm from sitting in the backpack all morning — Ew — while Rick snacks on his slightly lesser portion. I look around the church. It's much smaller than the one from our hometown. Ours had a classroom and a foyer and everything, but this one's more like a really big, dirty bedroom.
"Did you ever go to church?" I ask Rick, for no reason other than I want to. "Back when you could?"
"Sometimes," He answers, "But not always."
"We did. They used to give out free stuff. Every time we went, Dad was sure they was gonna tell us we had to leave, but it never happened."
"Did you enjoy going?"
"No... The other kids were always lookin' at us funny."
He smiles sadly. Then he says, "Carl didn't like going, either. He hated having to dress up."
"Did he ever pray?"
"Not really, no. I don't think he believes in all of that."
I don't know what someone like Carl would need to pray for. I bet he had a whole heap of toys, and all the friends he could ever want.
Rick catches me staring at the statue of Jesus at the head of the room, a dull hunk of wood more than anything, lent a pretty, fractured spotlight by the stained window behind it. Carol told me she prayed here, for me and Sophia to be found. She said she convinced my Dad to pray, as well.
"Do you think he's lookin' after everybody?" I ask. "That's what they say, ain't it? Up in heaven?"
"I like to think so. It's a nice thought."
Sophia might be there already. That's a not-so-nice thought.
"Morales, I reckon he's in heaven, 'cause he lent me his toothpaste tube one time."
Rick chuckles. "Yeah. He was a good man."
"And our dog, Tank. He's in heaven, too. I know so, 'cause the vet sent us a letter sayin' he was, after he died."
"Did they?"
"Yep. I don't get how they found out, but that's where he is."
"Must be. All pets go to heaven, you know that?"
"Not all people, though."
"No. No, not all people."
My Uncle Merle's gotta be in Hell, if he's anywhere. I love him, but just 'cause you love someone, it don't make 'em a saint. Uncle Merle used to kick Tank, sometimes. He enjoyed tricking people for money, and he was in jail a lotta the time. I remember one time he was there for somethin' so bad my Dad had to sell his guitar and the TV so he could pay to let him out. I was real mad when he got home.
You ain't happy to see your old Uncle Merle, baby?
No. I ain't got no cartoons no more 'cause of you.
Aw. Sappy little thing, ain't ya? Always told you, you're too soft on her, Darylina.
Rick can tell what I'm thinkin', 'cause it weren't no secret back then that my Uncle wasn't anybody's favorite person in camp.
"I told you before," He takes a chance at saying, "But I'll say it again. I'm very sorry for what happened to your Uncle."
A long time ago, I would've gotten angry at that, but there's not much of that left in me, anymore.
"It's okay." I utter, pleased with how good it feels to say; with how two words can take two tonnes off both my shoulders.
He smiles fondly. "You're not gonna wish death on me, this time?"
"This is a church." I scoff. "I can't do that."
"I won't push my luck, then."
"I'll take some of your pear, though."
"Okay, there. Now you're pushin' your luck."
"Not even half a slice?"
"Fat chance, Dixon."
When we've packed up and are just about to head back out into the sun, I take a last look at the statue.
"You got somethin' you wanna say to him?" Rick suggests.
"Yeah." I decide, and then I shout loudly, "You best wake my Daddy up soon, you sum' bitch!"
A rat scuttles away under the floorboards at my sheer volume.
"Okay." Rick ushers me out the door, trying not to snicker. "Come on, now."
"I got shot in the stomach, too, once. Did you know that?"
I glance at Rick as we step over a rock, sceptical. No, I didn't know that.
"Did ya? When?"
"About a week before I turned up at the quarry." He tells me. "It was a work accident. Put me in a coma for quite a while."
I was too busy hating everybody — hating Rick, especially — to ever really ask about what happened before that day, but there's my answer.
"Don't need to ask if you survived, then, I guess."
"I guess not." He smiles. "No, I'm still kickin'."
"You think that'll happen with my Dad?"
"I'm sure of it."
For once, I want my Dad to be a little like Rick, the man I used to want dead.
When we break through the treeline some hours later, we see Jacqui at the top of the hill, waving her arms around.
"What's she shoutin'?"
"I don't know."
Rick starts jogging forward on instinct, pulling me closer with one hand and grabbing his revolver with the other.
"What?" He shouts back, shaking his head. "What is it? What's goin' on?"
She calls out once more, and this time, her words are clear.
"Harley! Get over here! Your Dad woke up!"
Rick stops running all at once.
We look at each other, astonished, until I start to let the realization sink in, and my eyes well up.
"Go on, then." He nods, excited for me. "Go, go, go. Get up there."
I turn, running all the way to Jacqui.
"When?" I ask. "When?"
She grabs my hand. "About twenty minutes ago."
"Is he okay?!"
We hurry toward the house together, setting off small droves of orange and brown butterflies that were resting in the grass.
"He's okay." She grins. "Threatened to burn the whole farm down if I didn't bring you to him right away, though! C'mon!"
"Dad!!"
I race up the porch steps, squealing.
"Daddy!!"
The door to the Greene house almost falls off its hinges when I push past it. It smacks into the wall with a loud, loud bang, and the next door that stands in my way receives the same treatment. If I burst holes into the plaster, I'll just have to apologise to the Greenes later. As soon as I see my Dad — Awake and breathing, and even sitting up a little in the bed — I throw myself onto him with the force of a thousand lifetimes. He tries to say my name, but grunts when he catches me. He recovers from the pain almost immediately, wrapping me up in the biggest darn hug he's ever given me. All them times I ever waited for him to come pick me up from school, or I thought he didn't turn up for one of my tournaments — That's nothin' compared to this moment. I thought he was dead. Dead and gone, forever, but he's not. Glenn, Rick, and Andrea saved him.
They got me my Dad back.
I sob like I've never sobbed before, overcome with relief that consumes me like a tidal wave, hiccing, moaning, coughing into his shoulder.
I can't believe it.
"He's awake?" I hear Rick asking in the foyer, panting slightly from the walk up the hill. "He's alright?"
"He's going to be sore," Herschel answers, "But yes, he's alive."
"He woke up?" Shane asks, sounding almost offended.
"Yes. Seems those supplies really helped."
My Dad buries his face into my neck, shushing me gently as he soothes my back.
"Dad." I bawl, like he's about to leave me again at any moment, and I have to will him back into my arms. "Daddy-y-y-y."
"Shh, sh, sh, baby." His voice is hoarse in my ear, but it's the best sound I ever heard. "Daddy's here, baby. I'm okay. I'm okay."
I just keep wailing it over and over again until he's crying, too.
"Daddy's here, baby." He shudders, then, mutters, fuck, in embarrassment. "I— I'm here, baby. I'm here. Lemme get a look atchu, huh?"
He pulls back with a kiss to my cheek, steadying me with both his hands.
"You hurtin' bad, still?" He asks. "Your stitches?"
"I thought you was dead, Dad."
His chin crumples ever so slightly as he looks at me, and then wordlessly, he embraces me again. I'm cocooned tightly in both his arms, my ear pressed up against the faint buh-boom buh-boom of his heart. He lays back into the pillows, taking me with him, shushing me some more. I should be a little more embarrassed about how hard I'm crying, but he don't mention it.
If there was ever a time I'm allowed to cry, it's now.
The IV tube gets tangled up a bit, and I think I'm hurting him, but it just makes him chuckle between tears.
"Careful, chicken." He sniffs. "You're gonna— Gonna mess me up, here, in a second."
Herschel comes in to fix it up a bit.
"I'on know what the fuck this is. Sorry." Dad mutters as he tries to help him, clumsily de-tangling all the equipment. "Here. I'on know."
"Gave your little one quite the scare." Herschel smiles over the sound of my ear-piercing cries. "Gave us all quite a scare, I think."
"You're Herschel, right?"
"Yes. Herschel Greene. This is my farm you're sat up in. Did Glenn tell you everything?"
He nods. "Think I owe you my life, if I heard right."
"Well, it wasn't your ears that got damaged in the accident, young man."
"Da-a-a-ad!"
He turns his attention back onto me at an especially pained sob.
"Shhhh. It's okay." He jokes, "I'm right here, girl."
That makes Herschel chuckle. "I'll give you two a moment, then."
Dad lets me cry as much as I want in the privacy of this little room. He smooths down my hair, tucks it behind my ears, plays with it, kisses my scalp, all the while murmuring sh, sh, sh, like I'm a newborn baby needing coddled. I let him rock me side to side. I let him hum little tunes to me quietly, and smack firm but soothing pats through the back of my shorts. After what feels like forever, I calm down, reduced to whimpers.
"You know, I thought I told you not to go nowhere." He tries making me laugh, cradling my face as I look up at him. "Remember?"
"Shut up." I complain, struggling to breathe properly. "You al-al-almost died."
"I know, baby. I'm sorry."
"Every morning, I was so scared you wouldn't be breathin', no more. I had to check."
"Everybody take good care'a ya?" He asks. "Nobody needs a whooping?"
"Maybe T-Dog." I sniff, playing with his chain necklace. "He ate all the pretzels."
"Did he, now?"
"Yeah."
"When I'm all better, I'll sort him out for ya, then."
"Uh-huh." I mumble. "You better."
I can only hold back on asking the question I've been wanting to ask him since the moment I heard that gunshot for so long.
"Daddy, what happened out there?"
He pauses for a moment. I expect him to rat Shane out without a moment's hesitation; to get angry, to want justice. But that's not what happens. He doesn't swear, or shout, or even get that little, glinting look of fire in his eyes. It seems to have fizzled out, somehow, leaving only a wispy hint of what used to burn there so violently and for so long. It's strange to me, this tranquillity. It's like a biting dog that's given up his tricks.
"Baby," He sighs, stroking my cheek fleetingly. "How much you figured out?"
I've figured out lots of things in the past month — Enough for a lifetime.
I've figured out that being beaten by your Dad is wrong, but only to some people, and only if they happen to walk in on it. I've also learnt how to think for myself, a lesson taught by someone who promised I could trust him but ended up just another liar. I've learnt the feeling of a kill; the name for benches in a church. I've learnt my Dad is two people at once, like a mirror with a hidden edge. He's him, but he's all the men that came before him, too, all echoing their last laugh through a swing of his fists. I've learnt that loving your family above all else is a hereditary disease.
"Almost all of it." I settle on saying, thinking of all the things life has yet to throw at me. "Almost all of it."
He chews his bottom lip. Then, he pinches my cheek.
"You're my smart girl, huh?"
I smile under the weight of everything.
"Well, one thing at a time. Your old man can't hardly keep up." He lowers his hand, returning my faint smile. "For starters, it was Shane that shot me." I feel like I've been slapped. "I don't know what he's told you, or... or y'know, what yarn he's been spinnin', but it was him."
"Wh-Where? How?"
"I left that day to look for Jim. I didn't tell nobody where I was goin', 'cause I was— I was gonna kill him, baby." It's a tough thing to admit, but it's nothing I ain't heard before. When they first told me Ronnie was dead, and that my Daddy killed him, all I wanted to know was when I could see him again. "I's gonna ask you where his camp was that day, but seein' yer— yer little face, all fuckin' sun-burnt an'— I'on know. Plan changed. I asked Shane instead. And uh... Some walkin', I almost made it. I knew he was followin' me. He walks loud as Hell. Like a fuckin' Yeti."
I giggle. Shane don't got my Dad's finesse when it comes to slinking through the woods.
"I guess I's kinda hopin' he'd..." He takes a deep breath. I wait patiently for him to continue. "Anyway, he did."
"You lured him."
"Yeah. I walked 'bout two hours out before... 'fore I knew I'd waited long enough nobody would find us straight away, and then I spun around, and I tackled him to the ground. I could'a shot him, point-blank, but I wanted it to... W— I wanted it to hurt."
"'Cause he's a bastard cop?"
He falters when I ask this, pinching the bridge of his nose, like this is physically hard for him to get through.
He finds the courage to look at me again. "Yes, Harley, 'cause he's a bastard cop. 'Cause he made things difficult for us, and I wanted him to suffer for it. I got his nose again; fucked his ribs up. I was about to shoot him in the brains when he snatched the glock off me."
"And then he—?"
"Then he shot me."
"And... you didn't get anywhere near Jim's camp? You didn't see him?"
"That what he told you?"
"He said you got into a squabble wit' Jim, and that he shot you, 'cause he was mad about bein' left behind. But at first, he said it was Otis."
"Who the Hell's Otis?"
"He was a man that lived here. He was a hunter, like you. They said he mistook you for a deer, or sum', while he was out there."
Recognition washes over him. "Chubby fella?"
"You see him?"
"Yeah. Gunshot drew him over to us. I guess he was out huntin', then, like they say. Shane was gonna leave me there to bleed out, but with this guy fussin' all over us, that weren't really an option, no more, so he made up some fuckin' fairytale about how it was an accident, and he was new to the group an' they'd never take him back if they found out, and he pressured him into takin' the fall for him. I passed out 'round 'bout then."
"Why ain't he just own up to it? Tell everybody he shot you, plain an' simple?"
"'Cause you wouldn't wanna keep bein' his friend if you found out."
My skin goes cold. "You know about that?"
"Yeah, baby. I know. He rubbed in my face so much I ain't never gon' forget it."
He must see my lip wobble, and the way I'm too scared to even blink, 'cause he gives my hair a kiss. I've been dreading this moment ever since I told Shane, Fine, I'll be your friend, and now I've finally been found out. I'm a liar. I betrayed my Dad. Oh, he's gonna pull his belt out right now.
"I'm sorry, Dad." I shake my head, already pulling away, trying to stop what's to come. "Please, Dad. I'm sorry."
"Harley—"
"He tricked me. He made it seem li-like I had to be his friend. I didn't want to, I swear. He j— He just said a whole bunch'a things, and then—"
"Harley, baby, I ain't mad."
"And he— He—? What?"
"I ain't mad." He repeats himself, raising his brows. "I ain't."
"W—?"
This is like finding out the Earth is flat, or the sun is a square.
"I promise you, baby, I ain't mad at you for that. Not even a little bit. Never, ever." He promises, grabbing my shaking hand. "That man, he's... It ain't your fault. Might feel like it is, but it ain't. Nothin' he says or does is your fault. I should'a ended this shit a long time ago. You shouldn't even have to worry 'bout things like this, Harley. You can be friends with whoever you like. Don't fuckin' matter what I say. Don't listen t'me."
Don't—? Don't listen to me?
"Dad—?"
"I know." He says. "Just... I know. Sometimes Dad says confusin' shit, don't he?"
I nod vigorously.
"Well, I mean it. How am I supposed t'be mad atchu for just doin' what you're told? The way I raised you, ain't it?"
"Yeah, but... I mean, you hate cops."
"For a long time, yeah. Every time I watched 'em drag your Uncle Merle away, I hated 'em a little more'un the last time. They ain't very nice in prison, neither. Lots of rules. They got power over you in there. Makes 'em turn into assholes. But that's me, baby. My bullshit is my bullshit to handle, and Shane — Leave him to me, too. Askin' to be your friend an' shit, that's sum' wrong wit' him. Not you. Not your bullshit."
"If I told you this, like, a week ago, you would'a..."
You would'a beat me.
The unspoken words hang pungent in the air, weighing down on him.
"I—" He clears his throat; sighs deep, and hard. He mutters, "I— I probably would'a, yeah."
I've never seen him talk this away about a beating. He was never proud of it or nothing, but he was never proud about washing dishes, either.
It was just a part of life, but for now, I guess, it's not.
"So... you're not mad?"
"No, sweet girl, I'm not. C'mere."
I lay back down on his chest.
"I knew it was Shane," I murmur against him, "'cause the bullet was round."
"They took it outta me, huh?"
"It was real scary. You wanna hear the whole story?"
"Yeah, baby. I'm all ears."
I tell him about the gunshot, and Maggie on the horse, and how Shane and Otis went out for emergency supplies, but one came back empty-handed, and the other didn't come back at all. I tell him about the night of the surgery, and the funeral. I tell him about the chickens, too.
"They got eggs here, Dad. Lots of 'em. Scrambled, too." I smile. "You're gonna love it."
"Haven't had an egg breakfast in months."
We used to go to the diner, sometimes, and get eggs on toast when Merle wasn't around. Those were the best days of the week.
"They don't burn 'em here or nothin'."
He chuckles. "What 'bout two-dollar coffee? They got that here, too?"
"Only if you wanna fight for the last of the coffee beans."
"It's on." He scoffs. "I could use some good coffee right about now."
"You tired?"
"Baby, I'm exhausted." He smiles. "Keep talkin', though. I wanna hear everythin'."
"Okay. You wanna hear about the walker me and Carl found in the well?"
"The what?"
Herschel comes back in a while later to perform a check-up.
He's an animal doctor, but he's still got a real stethoscope hanging around his neck, and a little light he can shine in my Dad's pupils. I hold his hand as Herschel checks over the IV, the baggie of donor blood, and the smaller scrapes and bruises all over Dad's neck and face.
"Looks like you got into a brawl with a bear." He comments, dabbing his slashed brow with a cotton pad. "This'll sting a little bit."
He hisses. "Weren't so far off as you'd imagine."
Herschel drops the wad into the tin tray. "That about does it for now, I think."
"When can I get outta this bed?"
"When you're better." He deadpans, packing up. "Which should be in about a week. Walking, I'd say, would be reasonable in one or two days."
Dad glances at me, unimpressed.
"Doctor's orders." I shrug.
"Listen to my best patient's advice, Mister Dixon." Herschel smiles. "There's a reason her wound's healed up so nicely."
"I'm guessin' it ain't the fishin' line."
"No." The med-kit clicks shut. "It's not the fishing line."
"I can play outside with Carl, now." I tell Dad, proud. "I been takin' it slow. You gotta, too."
He kisses my knuckles, too tired to answer, but agreeing.
As he's about to leave, Herschel notices something on the ground by his feet, and bends to pick it up.
"Is this yours, Harley?"
He holds it up.
Much to my discomfort, it's the shredded get well soon card.
"Yeah." I take the piece he hands to me, confronted by its obnoxious colors. "It was meant to be a card. Not lookin' so good, now, though."
"Lemme see it."
Reluctantly, I angle it so my Dad can take a look.
"It's just a corner." I murmur. "I ripped up the rest of it."
"That looks real pretty, baby. You made it for me?"
"I don't know..." I muse, unsure. "Shane kinda helped me with it."
"That why you ripped it?"
"Yeah. I was angry at him. I didn't wanna look at it, no more."
"Well, I do." Dad squeezes my hand. "How 'boutchu make me another one?"
"But you're all better, now."
"I don't know about that." Herschel chuckles. "It'll be a while before he's one hundred percent again."
I consider this. "How about I just draw you a picture this time?"
"Sure. Draw me anythin' you want."
"I'll get you some crayons and paper." Herschel offers, stepping out the door. "I'll be back in a moment."
"Good to see you awake, man."
T-Dog, along with Rick and Glenn, walks into the room while I'm leaning against my Dad's side, working on the drawing set up in my lap. I got a clipboard to lean against, and a whole bunch of different colored crayons to use. Rick sits in the bay window, near Glenn, who rests in the rocking chair in the corner. T-Dog smacks Dad's shoulder.
"Thanks." Dad nods, joking, "What's this I hear 'boutchu eatin' all the pretzels, though?"
T-Dog laughs, leaning against the wall. "Girl, you snitched on me about that?"
Swallowing down a giggle, I just send him a cheeky glance.
"Whatever, man. Lock me up, then."
"I think I still got my handcuffs in the back'a our car." Rick offers, mock-serious. "I can go get 'em right now."
Glenn interjects. "Woah, woah, woah. Innocent until proven guilty, guys."
"He told me he ate 'em all." I butt in. "That's proof."
"Verdict's in, then, buddy." Dad shrugs.
"I ain't never delved into all'at court stuff or nothin'," T-Dog holds his hands up, "But I'm pretty sure that's hearsay."
Rick shakes his head, changing the subject.
"How you feelin', Daryl?"
"Sore. Stiff. Like shit."
"Gettin' shot in the stomach will do that to you."
"It's a miracle you survived." Glenn adds. "You lost a lot of blood. Thirty percent, I'm sure Herschel said. Something like that."
"You said you been givin' me yours, didn't ya?"
"Yeah. We weren't sure about anybody else's types, so we had to make do with what we had."
"I got Chinaman-blood runnin' through my veins." Dad laughs. "Hell's that mean for me, now?"
Glenn scoffs. "That you're slightly less of an idiot."
"Man, it's prolly true." T-Dog snickers. "What's the capitol of Russia?"
Dad sticks up his middle finger.
"What about you, Harley?" Glenn asks. "How's your side doing?"
I look up from the paper, where so far, I've drawn some spikey, green grass and colored in half the sky.
"It's a little better." I smile. "Y'know, I'm sorry for yellin' at you yesterday."
"It's okay. Don't worry about it."
T-Dog tsks, "What was all that about, anyway? What's up with Shane lately?"
"Maybe he's just feeling guilty about Otis." Glenn suggests.
"He's got a whole long list of things to feel guilty about." Dad says with distaste. "You wanna know who exactly it was that shot me?"
"No way."
Rick sighs. "I had a feeling."
"Why'd he go and do a thing like that?" T-Dog questions.
"'Cause he's off his fuckin' rocker, that's why." He retorts. "He hated my guts, so he went and shot 'em."
"Man, you think—? You think he left those supplies on purpose, then?"
I never thought of that. It would just add another layer of horror to that night.
"That poor guy Otis, man."
"Nothin' we can do about it, now. 'Less you think he's gonna do somethin' like this again, Daryl?"
He shrugs. "I'on know. Wouldn't put it past him."
"For now, I wanna keep this sorta thing to a minimum. I'm gonna ask Herschel again today about our arrangements here."
"We're only staying a week or two, right?" I pout.
"Until we find Sophia." Rick tries to smile. "But I'm gonna try change his mind."
"You still ain't find her?"
"No. Harley found her doll, but that's about it. We're gonna start grid-searching properly tomorrow."
I look back down at the page again, sad.
"Drawing done, now, chicken?" Dad asks, trying to lighten my mood a little. "Wanna show it?"
Nodding, I grab the sketch pad and turn it around so that they can all see. It's done. I drew me and my Dad in a field of flowers, but we're not holdin' hands or nothin' — We're killing walkers together. I don't think I got the crossbow exactly right, but I tried my hardest.
Dad laughs. "It's perfect, baby. That me?"
"Yeah. And me. That's the sun, and flowers, and a dead walker right there."
"Badass." Glenn approves.
"What that thing in the background?" Rick asks.
"Oh," I happily answer, "That's Dale. He's so scared, he ran away, and now he's just a little dot."
They all chuckle to themselves.
T-Dog offers to sit it on the chest of drawers, and it stands anew against a vase of real flowers, looking like it's belonged there all along.
Author's Note.
Finished this chapter at 5:49 AM 😣 Uuuuuuuuugh
Long author's rant below.
I got a comment the other day about how Shane was being really annoying, and I sort of agree. At first, I actually felt that way about Daryl, but now he's shown regret and apologized, and Shane's still a raging asshole set on taking Harley for himself. I guess he has good motives? Or HAD, at least... considering they've shifted from wanting to help her out a dangerous situation, to now being selfish. Then again... if I walked in on a man about to hit his 8 yr old daughter, I'd go apeshit, too.
It's going to be so satisfying when Shane gets what's coming to him. (I've been excited for it since the very beginning of this book. Rest assured, Shane will not see the light of day come Season 3.)
Started out as Daryl as the villain and Shane as the hero... Kinda switched.
Sophia's still missing... and Jim, he's MIA. Get ready for him to pop back up again.
Also, Harley is finally on good terms with Rick!! Took forever and a half but we got there. I chose to do this so he could replace Shane's role as pseudo-Uncle when the time comes. Glenn's already sort of there... but what's the harm in having TWO pseudo-Uncles? 😌
Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed reading this chapter.
Please leave your thoughts and feedback below. Sending lots of love!! <3
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Text
My Stadium Tour Experience
I finally saw the Stadium Tour after so long(I was 14 when I bought the tickets and I’m 17 next week so…). Anyway, here’s the quick summary
So I arrived like right when it started so I didn’t see Classless Act much, only one and half songs :/
Joan Jett
Ageless queen
Seriously she looks amazing for someone with her style and her age
And her voice….memorizing
I want to be Joan Jett when I get older
I sadly can’t recall the first song she played but the second one was Cherry Bomb and the stadium went wild
For an act that was 45 minutes it was so fun and I wish she had longer
Poison
So bands will play songs before they start to get the crowd hyped…they chose Welcome to the Jungle
Bret Michaels came run out onto the stage and went wild
I loved his energy so much
“Pretty Shiny boy Bret Michaels”-The ladies behind us
Y’all he had a harmonica solo and it went harder than it should have
C.C DeVille got his solo and the stadium was chanting his name
Did I know there was chance he would play Eruption and lead into Fallen Angel? Yes. Was I still prepared when it happened? Not at all
Every time you blink Bret Michaels has a different hat on
Something to Believe In *Mwah*
What was really cool was how Bret interacted with the fans. He let them touch his guitar and waved to them, and when he was driving back into the stadium, he stopped the golf cart and went and gave a few fans high fives
Mötley Crüe:
I saw tits
Okay yes I don’t like the Crüe much themselves but they know how to put on a show
That magic was kind of lost once the giant statues of women appeared and the focus was on the dancers….first portion was just pure rock and I loved that
There were two people dressed like 80’s rock stars, like, Party City kind of costumes and I thought it was funny
Nikki Sixx’s daughter was there and they showed him playing while engaging with her and yes, it was cute and every woman over forty went “awwww”
Nikki Sixx:* Talking to the crowd and has a towel* “Want this towel? Here, it’s like the one I gave your mom in 1986…that’s probably true actually*
Back to the tits, yes it was even Tommy was speaking and they were shown on the screen
“Three pairs of titties in Houston of all places…oh there we go.”
That was kind of funny because he looked like he had just been released into society after being locked up
In other news the guy next to us was a little too drunk….his friend were literally dragging him
I know Vince Neil can’t sing but…oh it was bad…The backing vocals and the crowd saved him
MICK MARS MY MAN! He was just rocking in his corner and I love him for that
Def Leppard
There was a timer and that was the longest ten minutes of my life
They started with Take What You Want and I would have sang along if I didn’t become paralyzed in awe and excitement
It never felt real. The whole thing was like the best dream of my life
Sav*does the thing* Me: HE DID THE THING
Joe Elliott I luv u 🥺
Sav wasn’t shown enough on the screens :(
They started playing Armageddon It and I went ballistic
*This Guitar* My mom: this is so good why haven’t you play me this song :(
I will mom I will I promise you
RICK ALLEN THE THUNDER GOD AT THE FRONT OF THE STAGE GOING AT IT AND THEN AGAIN A FEW SONGS LATER IN THE BACK
I did not expect Promises for some reason so I was shocked when they played it but it was BEAUTIFUL
Y’all Hysteria had clips of them ove the years and newspaper headings on how awesome they were and I got teary eye
Two Steps Behind>>> And when it was just Joe at the end oml he’s an Angel the lighting his voice amdbaldnalshwpdbd
They love each other so much it’s adorable I want that kind of bond and I hope I have it with my friends
Rick walking around with his little maraca ❤️❤️
Rick:*epic solo* Me: THATS WHY IVE WRITTEN THREE ESSAYS ABOUT THEM
“From my head to my…” I got that on video fyi
“Rick has something to say” “Gunter Glieben Glauchen Globen” *Chaotic screaming*
There were two drunk girls dancing in front of us and they weee just having the time of our life and it was cool to see
Did not expect them to end with Photograph…but it was an amazing ending
They could have gone on for hours and I would have enjoyed every single moment
They played Kings Of The World on the speakers when it was all over so it was a giant stadium just singing along…beautiful
I could go on and on but I won’t I might upload some photos and videos
In all, the best concert I’ve ever to. The crowd was much fun and you can tell everyone wanted to be there. I didn’t know if I wanted to be a rockstar or a middle age woman reliving her youth with her friends. Seeing Def Leppard was so surreal and unbelievable, and everyone was amazing(Vince…Vince tries. He tries).11/10 experience
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magicalgirlagency · 1 year
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Since adults are the topic of the hour, I want to know which adult animations are your favourite. I know, not in topic with your blog, but I'm really curious!
Well, to maintain this blog's tradition, in the Magical Girl department, there are only three adult series that I liked:
Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt (basically, Japan making fun of the US and its gross western animation, with its own unique twist. Was supposed to have a second season, but the folks at Gainax couldn't keep their promise);
Bee & PuppyCat (if you ignore the lack of plot coherence and handle Toast's annoying antics, it should be fine for you to watch, I guess);
Super Drags (this one's brazilian! Yeah, it's rather crude and generic as an adult show, but it has some interesting queer topics to check out!)
Now, for the non-Magical Girl ones:
Inside Job (if you're depressed after seeing Velma's rendition of Fred Jones, Brett Hand will serve as a great palate cleanser for you);
Bojack Horseman (it starts off weird, but it solidifies as the time goes on and it gets quite philosophical, too);
Aggretsuko (yes, the one from Sanrio. Y'know, the kawaii empire behind Hello Kitty? Yeah, that's the one);
Tuca & Bertie (from the folks that have brought you Bojack Horseman);
The fifth and final season of Samurai Jack (the finale sucked, but the video game, Battle Through Time, has acted as damage control);
Harley Quinn (Velma tried to imitate this one, and failed so hard at it);
The earliest seasons of Rick & Morty (Seasons 1-3, imo. There's something about this show that tickles my wanderlust);
(Dis)Enchantment (haven't seen the later seasons just yet, but I loved it so far);
Daria (you'd be surprised at how relatable it has become in modern days. And people used to shame me for being cynical back then);
Futurama (haven't seen the new episodes, though. I'll stick to the classics);
Scoobynatural (ignore the fact that it's a Supernatural crossover. Seeing the Mystery, Inc. Gang have an existential crisis is always a treat);
Rob Zombie's The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (this one's a movie. Described as an "X-Rated Scooby-Doo", and you get to see nazi zombies being exterminated, predating South Park's The Stick of Truth);
Venture Bros. (again, this could act as a great palate cleanser if you've watched Velma);
Bob's Burgers (it's a better Nuclear Family-type of show than The Simpsons and Family Guy. 'Nuff said.);
I also remember watching Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, Home Movies, The Critic and John Callahan's Quads as a teen, and they were quite solid from what I remember.
I haven't seen these ones, but I'm surely interested in Primal, Superjail!, Del Toro's Pinocchio, Solar Opposites, Peepoodo and the SuperFuck Friends and The Boondocks. I also wanna see Mortal Kombat's newest animated movies, they look so amazing!
Despite having S-tier animations, I absolutely hated Devilman Crybaby and Castlevania. Major buzzkill, those shows.
And I'm sure, positive and certain that Sam & Max: Freelance Police could've made a really neat adult show if Steve Purcell and crew weren't stuck dealing with censorship sensitivities (they were held back by Fox Kids censors back then).
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histronic-gizmo · 1 year
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I made this post a while ago, but I changed my mind about creating reviews for all the episodes. This one is completed so thought I'd share it
S1E1 - Pilot
Got all set up for a marathon tonight! Small bowl of takis, a coke, a caprisun, and lights dimmed. Let's fucking go!
I'm gonna do this by reviewing directly after the pre credit scene then do the rest of my thoughts on the episode afterwards.
OKAY, so, the pilot's opening!! I love this scene. I still remember the first time I watched this episode, it was the first thing I ever saw of Rick and Morty. That's a wild ass introduction to a show lmao. The first thing you hear is *RAPIDLY APPROACHING FOOTSTEPS* and then a drunk old man drags a teen boy out of his bed and into a ship made of garbage, I can't-
The way Morty kicks Rick in the face is so funny too. And Rick just straight up lying and passing out after he grabs his flask? 10/10. My jaw was on the floor the first time I watched it. I had to pause it on the opening titles and lay down and ask myself what I was getting myself into lolol
"Or you were out all night again with Grandpa Rick", IT SOUNDS SEXUAL, WHEN I FIRST HEARD THAT I WAS LIKE "AS IN SLEEPING WITH HIM ALL NIGHT???"
And Rick's quote about sleeping and school? Definitely relate. Not in highschool anymore but it was only 2 years ago and it haunts my nightmares fr plus college is hard af
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"Dammit!" "JERRY" "Beth D:" instantly knew their dynamic with three words
Love the immediate introduction to Rick's cynicism with his "There is no god" comment, this ep really set it all down. Which makes sense, it's what pilots do lol
Morty's "rename them...?" comment is underrated by the way, gets me everytime
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Also, the amount of trauma Frank Palicky smashing to pieces must've caused Summer :skull:
I love the type of humor thats the scene with Morty and Frank. It's a bit cheesy and some media overuses it, but I fucking love it!
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Poor Morty, always getting manhandled by his grandfather. I'm sure he likes it though :smirk:
My heart flutters when Rick saves Morty from, you know, almost getting stabbed. He acts like he did nothing, but I'm sure deep down he got pissed, why else would he just leave the guy frozen? He was maaaaad!!
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He totally bumped into Frank on purpose. Look at him, already being possessive over his 14 year old grandson. GRRRR unstable old men, I love them
Here comes my favorite quote from the entire show:
"Oh man, Rick, I'm looking around and I'm starting to work up some anxiety about this whole thing."
LITERALLY ME ON A DAILY BASIS, ITS CONCERNING
And Rick saying that the way you handle new situations is to charge into them like a bull? Manic episode me fr, also just me generally being reckless
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*shoves morty into the danger*
I adore Rick's mad scientist vibes in this early season 1!! Makes me pleased, I love mad scientist and jaded genius Rick equally fr
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I wonder a lot about Rick going into a "future dimension". He said he was there for a while, when he was there for 30 seconds on the screen. Does time move faster in there or something? Cause otherwise, wouldn't he have come back instantly? Hmmm
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POV: ur grandfather asked you to put too large seed up your ass for him
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The 'airport' scene is AMAZING ofc, we get out very first "Don't think about it!" in the series >:]
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Morty getting traumatized everyday :skull:
Now come on Morty, we have to get those seed out of your ass >:[
Rick is forever albert ein-douche to me, Jerry is an amazing angry father / improviser. I'd kiss him. Wait, am I attracted to Jerry? I think I'm just attracted to all the main characters in this show :skull:
Overall rating:
9/10
I rate it only 9 because I've watched it too many times to introduce it to my friends so it's hard for me to watch cus I overused it :pensive:
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Yeah, book two in the Buffy Gatekeeper Trilogy is definitely my favorite... which is weird, because I feel the second in a trilogy is rarely my fave. But it was just so good (for reasons I wrote about in another post).
I think the first one is my second favorite. That one is also amazing. The only thing that makes me knock it down a peg from the second, is when we get to the Gatekeeper's House... and the rooms keep changing, and Buffy, Giles, Xander, and Cordy keep finding themselves in danger from supernatural beasts in the ever changing rooms, etc.... it's really cool. Don't get me wrong. But I just feel it drags on a little too long? And a part of my brain feels like that whole thing belongs in another series, not Buffy the Vampire Slayer (though maybe that's just me). But when I can ignore that voice in the back of my head--and when the Gatekeeper gets there and settles things down--book one really is superb.
My issues with book three were... at first I thought they were trying to juggle too many PoVs, but that didn't really end up being the case. I kind of feel like they ended up focusing on the wrong PoVs too much? Kind of like what the Rick Riordan "The Blood of Olympus" book did. And there were times I did feel like this book could have ended earlier than it did, and where I was kind of starting to get tired of the conflict and the main villain. Though it did mostly keep me entertained and on the edge of my seat for most of the trilogy, which is no small feat.
I also think the epilogue should have gone on way longer than it did (that's one of my small gripes about some of these novels in general, where I feel the epilogues should sometimes encompass more characters than they do and show us their closure). It just has Giles, Buffy, Joyce, and the new character Micaela, and that's it, when Willow, Cordelia, Oz, Xander, and Angel all also went through hell in this saga. Like, this apocalypse was actually more intense than anything we ever got in the show. I would have liked to see them dealing with it all, too. So for all of those reasons, that's why book three is my least favorite. But still a really solid trilogy overall, that I thoroughly enjoyed.
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