𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 , 𝐫. 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬

character talking dead -

being almost halfway through season 7 calls for one thing, a q&a on the characters and book

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based off of frequent questions/topics i want to address

🖇 when did grey and carl become friends?

— i like to think they knew of each other from living in the same neighborhood, but didn't really become friends until the summer before grey entered high school. they held their friendship close to their hearts even when it started to weaken as most friendships do throughout teenage years.

🖇 did rick watch grey grow up?

— no. i've always thought maybe the kingston's didn't move to their house in king county until 2005, five years before the fall. besides, rick knew who they were, but he was always busy working nightshifts and making up for his absence at home to his wife to really get to know any of them.

🖇 did rick ever like grey before the world ended?

— no, rick was too much of a family guy to ever look at another woman who wasn't his wife. it took an affair, an apocalypse, a child not being his, murdering his own friend, and the death of his wife for him to even notice another woman; that woman being grey. yet even still, he was hesitant.

🖇 was shane closer to the kingston's than rick?

— yes. i think the way shane helped lori and carl when the fall happened was the same way he helped grey and her mother years before. shane, although unhinged in the later days, was levelheaded and had a deep hatred for coward men, aka elijah kingston, and wanted to protect anyone who fell victim to assholes like that.

🖇 does daryl have feelings for grey?

— yes, and they've been growing ever since chapter 1. i've been quietly sprinkling his feelings for her throughout the book. they're only now beginning to show on the surface because although daryl would rather bite his tongue so hard it split into two than admit he has feelings for his friend's girl, it's hard to keep a secret like that in.

🖇 with the age difference, how did grey and carl ever have anything in common?

— grey is someone who was tough, cool, and liked by many, as beth picked up on, but grey never saw herself like that. she did the things she did because she wanted to, not because she wanted to look a certain way. carl, although younger than her, seems to have always known her the best; known the real her. they also share a love for comic books and sci-fi novels; nerds.

🖇 was grey a bad influence on carl?

— probably. i think carl tried to be like her. when you're young and look up to someone, you want to be like them. he definitely snuck out of the house a few times through his bedroom window after grey told him how she did it. he'd go throw rocks down the street or buy a soda from the gas station. he never snuck out to see grey, she was always off doing "adult things" aka, partying.

🖇 what would lori think of grey and rick now?

— grey would be on lori's hit list. but since the world ended, she'd probably feel grey is good for her ex-husband. she wouldn't want him to be lonely, and although grey would've been her last choice if she had one, if her son and rick are happy, so be it.

🖇 if the world never ended, would grey and rick still have ended up together?

— no, probably not. if the fall never happened, i'd imagine rick and lori would've gotten a divorce at some point. maybe rick and grey's paths would cross a few years later and a drunk one night stand would occur, but after that, they'd probably move on like it never happened.

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at last, this will hopefully answer the taboo-based questions the first few chapters always get.

i tend to write my stories backwards, as most do, with all the nitty gritty details and character backstories coming out later in flashbacks. so if you've made it this far, thank you.

chapter sixty three will be published this weekend!

if you have any questions, i'd love to answer them either in the comments or i can create another q&a in the future!

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1-10-23