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walkerwords · 4 years

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“The Bowman’s Sister” Part 4 of 4 - Daryl & Sister!Reader

GIF CREDIT: http://gph.is/2euCCrd

PART I PART II PART III

Word Count: 4394

Daryl Dixon & Sister!Reader, Rick Grimes x Reader (subtle), A smidge of Bethyl if ya look.

Warning: Description of violence, swearing, attempted and inferred sexual assault on a minor (Carl scene from claimers scene in show)

Song I Wrote To: “Railroad Track” by Willy Moon

Note: Aye, so this is it. I may continue this at some point in time, but I figured this would be a good place to end it. Thank you all for liking this story so much!

The fall of the prison.

The only thing you could feel was the heat.

The ringing in your ears was making everything difficult to focus on. The smell of burning flesh and hot metal penetrated the air as you sat up. Wiping the soot from your eyes, you looked down to see blood covering your boots and jeans.

Then, everything started to come back.

The Governor, the Walkers, the fences coming down.

Everything had gone to shit in a matter of minutes. When the first blast had gone off you had been on the other side of the prison raiding more storage closets. By the time you got back, it was just in time to hear Maggie and Beth scream and Rick fire on the one-eyed man who had just killed Herschel.

You frantically searched for Daryl, but then the second grenade had gone off and the tank had breached the gates. It was all chaos. Gunfire everywhere, insurgents breaching the walls of the prison, and the Dead converging on your home.

The prison had finally started to feel like a safe place for you to hold up in. You were getting closer to Daryl again and after that first run, you and Glenn had become fast friends. Then there was Rick. After the conversation you the night of the sickness, you couldn’t seem to keep away from him. Any time you walked into a room, you looked for him and you even caught him watching you. Carl had become a shadow and one that you were willing to keep for as long as possible.

The Grimes family had become your people as well as the other prison inhabitants. Daryl was no longer the only person you worried about when things went bad. Rick Grimes had officially taken the second spot. Though you never voiced your interest, you weren’t exactly subtle about it. Maggie had told you about Lori and while Rick looked to be doing better, you weren’t sure making a move on the leader would be a good idea then or at any time. Still, he, Daryl, Carl, and Glenn were all you could think of right now as you pushed yourself off the ground.

Pieces of charred Walker were scattered around you. Pain erupted behind your eyes and as your hand slipped into your hair, blood was smeared on your fingers. Looking around, you realized you had been thrown into a pile of debris. Cuts adorned your arms and legs and everything hurt.

Looking to your left, you saw your bow not far from where you had been lying among the carnage. You picked it up along with a pistol hidden under the rubble and picked your way through the courtyard. Walkers milled everywhere and there was no sign of your family.

Bodies lay near the main cell block and you couldn’t bring yourself to look at them closely. Daryl had to be alive. He was too smart to stick around and too stubborn to die. You kept repeating that to yourself as you moved through the prison, taking out the Walkers that charged you.

As you moved, it all started to feel like before. The loneliness, the uncertainty of this new world all crept back upon you and all you wanted to do was scream. But Daryl was out there, he had to be. You had to find him and you weren’t going to stop until you did. You weren’t losing him again, not after everything you went through to find him.

You pushed on, exiting the prison and into the woods. You had a lot of Daryl’s spirit, that was true. You could hunt and you could track decently and it would be a cold day in hell when you gave up looking for him. However, it was everything that you learned from your big brother that kept the rage simmering in your chest. You figured you would have your moment to unleash it, you just had to find the right time.

You picked a direction and headed off in hopes of picking up a trail and shouldered your bow. It was going to be a long night, but nothing was going to keep you from finding them.

———-

4 days later

Daryl and Beth moved through the world, trying to keep focused.

What had happened at the funeral home was a close call and Daryl had nearly lost it when Beth was almost taken. The car with the white cross had driven off, but Daryl swore that if he ever saw them again they would be dead before they could raise a gun at him. Nobody was going to take her away from him. They would have to kill him twice.

“Which way now?” Beth asked, trying to keep up with him.

“I don’t know,” he sighed, taking a swig of water and handing it to her. “I don’t even know where we are.”

“Where would Rick go?” Beth asked, handing back the canteen. Daryl looked over at her in confusion. “You know him better than I do.”

“If he made it,” Daryl said, “he’d go North.”

“How do you know?” Beth asked, matching his pace now.

“Cause it’s what I’d do,” he said quietly. Beth reached over and took his hand and he let her. She knew he was missing you and that he was worried you didn’t make it. Beth was trying to comfort him while also dealing with her own loss. She didn’t know where her sister was either and after just losing her father, all Beth wanted was Maggie and Glenn. Daryl wasn’t going to stop until Greene got to them and she promised him the same with you.

“We should’ve gone back for her,” he said, tightening his grip on Beth’s hand.

“She’s out there,” said Beth, “she’s too stubborn to die.” Daryl bumped Beth’s shoulder and she laughed slightly. “It’s gonna be okay, Daryl. They’re survivors.”

“So are you,” he said, looking at her closely. She smiled softly at him, leaning her head on his shoulder briefly before tugging him along.

They walked for what seemed hours. The Georgia sun beat down on them and they knew they would need to find a place to hold up for the night, some water too. There was no point in trying to find Rick, you, and the others if they could barely stay on their feet.

After letting Beth rest her ankle for a moment, Daryl grabbed her bag and they headed back through the woods, trying to find a road sign of some sorts to gain perspective of where they were. Daryl and Beth exited onto the road, dragging their feet when a group of men suddenly surrounded them.

“Well, well, well, who do we have here?” The man Daryl instantly picked as the leader, zeroed in on Beth. “Who’s gonna claim her?”

———-

You were tired and you were starving.

Turns out that your tracking abilities were decent, but your hunting wasn’t exactly up to Dixon code. You had only managed to catch a few squirrels and that definitely wasn’t enough. You had picked up a few trails here and there, but they turned up dead ends or just Dead.

On the second day of looking, you had come across a house that looked as if someone had been there recently. It also looked as if there had been a struggle. The room upstairs was filled with kid stuff and you figured it would be a place that the young Grimes would like very much. That’s when you found the Walker dead in the bathroom and figured the house wasn’t the safest place.

You continued on your way when you spotted footprints not far from the house. Sunken into the mud, you recognized clear prints of cowboy boots. Rick’s boots. It was a long shot that they were his, but you had to try. Knowing your brother, he would be looking for Rick as well. It was the best lead that you had had in days and you headed in the direction.

You followed the trail as best you could. Two other sets of footprints were next to the boots as far as they walked before moving into the woods and onto the tracks. One set was smaller and you recognized them as a child’s. Carl, you decided, which put your mind at ease. However, the other set could be anyone, but they weren’t big enough to be Daryl’s. You thought perhaps they were Maggie’s or Sasha’s, but you didn’t know who had made it out of the prison and that weight was starting to press down on you.

You walked well into the night. The tracks were at least a day old or so. You had a vague idea of the direction they were moving in, but you couldn’t be sure. You stuck to the railroad tracks, trying to keep heading North. It was the rational thing to do. The prison was behind you and if you knew Rick, Daryl, and the others, they wouldn’t go back, they would keep going forward. You also knew that they would be doing anything they could to outrun the herd that had pushed into the prison.

The tracks hid all evidence of people and the prints you could find were scattered and dragged. Walkers, you figured. You kept your hand on your gun as you marched North. You were running low on food and all you wanted was to climb a tree and get some rest. However, you knew that if Rick and the others were already a day or so ahead of you, you couldn’t slow down.

You could hear Merle’s voice in your head. As kids, he would always be telling you to get your ass in gear. That there was no time to rest when the world kept on going whether you decided to get up or not. It was something you constantly thought about as you fought in the new world and right now, you only hoped that your younger brother had Merle screaming in his ear too.

By the time you had walked until your feet felt as if they were going to fall off, you smelled a fire burning. You jogged down into the woods, heading towards the smell of the campfire. Walkers tracked you among the trees, but they fell at your feet as you cut them down. You didn’t stop moving, keeping your knees bent and your feet quiet. If this wasn’t who you thought it was then it would be an even bigger problem and that was the last thing you needed.

Creeping up to the tree line, you could see two people sitting on a log, their backs to you. When you looked closer, you nearly sobbed as you saw Michonne with her katana by her side and Rick Grimes with his curly hair and stubbled chin lit by the fire. Looking to your left you saw an even more beautiful sight. Carl was alive and sitting in the car by the fire, resting.

A massive weight was lifted off your chest, but just before you could approach them, footsteps reached your ears. You acted fast. You slipped up the closest tree you could find, hiding among the branches, trying to keep out of sight. From your vantage point, you could see the scene slowly unfolding before you.

Five men came out of the shadows. You watched in horror as the one with the gray hair and beard, pressed a pistol to Rick’s head. Another, aimed at Michonne, while a third taunted Carl. Your hand slipped to your gun as the man knocked on the window of the car as Carl shrunk away from him. Every one of your maternal instincts was kicking in and all you wanted to do was tear that man apart for even looking at Carl Grimes.

The man who held the gun to Rick was telling him about something he believed Grimes had done. When he mentioned the house and the Walker in the bathroom, you realized you had been right. Rick, Carl, and Michonne had been the people who had left the house in a hurry.

Rick was struggling against the man and Michonne was staring down the man who held her at gunpoint with a venomous glare. It was a tight situation and while you were a good shot, there was no way you could take out all five before they began taking out Rick and Michonne. You took out your weapon and aimed it at the one who watched Carl, ready to save the boy above everyone else, but movement behind the car made you pause.

“Joe!” A voice called and your gun went limp in your hand and you breathed a sigh of relief as Daryl stepped into the group of men. Beth was right behind him. The younger Greene sister was limping slightly and she looked as if she had been through hell. You also noticed she wore Daryl’s leather vest and that she was sticking close to him. Closer than usual.

You listened as Daryl and the man named Joe talked. Joe explained to Daryl that Rick had been the one to kill their friend, but Daryl didn’t seem to be listening. “You’re gonna let these people go,” Daryl said. “They’re good people.”

“What is with you, Daryl?” Joe asked. “Isn’t it enough we let you keep the blonde? Hell, I know every man here wanted to claim her.” Joe leered at Beth who took another step behind Daryl. Her eyes flickered to the car and looked at a scared Carl.

“I meant what I said, Joe,” Daryl said, his voice low, “You touch her and I’ll kill ya. Rick’s a good man. Ya want blood, ya take it from me.” Joe shook his head.

“See, that right there is a lie, Daryl. He is not a good man and it seems neither are you. Take em’.” Daryl was instantly tackled by the other two men. Beth scrambled out of the way, tripping on her already bad ankle. She went down hard, grappling for a weapon when one of the men who beat on Daryl, kicked out at her, knocking her down once again.

The man at the car grabbed a struggling Carl from the car as the kid yelled. “You leave him be!” Rick yelled, trying to get to his son, but Joe kept him back, threatening to beat Daryl to death, have his way with Michonne and Beth, and then Carl. He finished by promising to kill Rick. You watched the whole ordeal, your mind running a mile a minute. When Carl was shoved to the ground, all you could see was Hannah. Her cries echoed in your mind as you fought to stay calm.

Another voice took over then, one you were becoming familiar with. “Don’t just sit there, girl. Fuckin’ do something.” Merle’s words screamed in your skull and you snapped out of it. A calmness flew through your blood, making everything move in slow motion. As soon as one of Daryl’s assailants went for Beth again, you dropped to the forest floor.

Your boots made noise as you stepped onto the road. Everyone stilled as you came into the light. Carl was the first to recognize you.

“(Y/N)!” he cried out, fighting his attacker. Each of the men held onto their victims, guns pressed to their heads. You looked at Michonne who was looking at Carl. Daryl stared at you in shock and relief. As did Beth. Rick, however, was looking at you with something you could only describe as anticipation. As if he was waiting for you to give him his opening and that was exactly your plan.

“Well, looky here, boys!” Joe said, turning to look at you. A disturbing grin spread across his face. “I was lookin’ for somethin’ to entertain me after all this and here you are.” The other men went to speak, but Joe beat them to it. “Claimed!” he hollered.

“No!” Daryl shouted, trying to get out of the clutches of his captor. “Don’t you touch her!” Joe ignored Daryl and so did you as you turned on your charm. You splayed your hands out, showing you were unarmed.

“Woah there big guy,” you said to Joe, checking him out from head to toe. You then frowned slightly. “Well, maybe not that big,” you said with a smirk, lowering your eyes. “Ya know that sayin’, ‘is that a gun in your pants or are ya just happy to see me’? Well, I think that there just may be a pocket knife if ya get me.” Joe’s grin turned to a sneer as he watched you. He pressed the gun to Rick’s temple even harder.

“Friend of yours, Dixon?” Joe asked through gritted teeth.

“I wouldn’t piss her off,” Rick growled, staring right at you, his blue eyes never leaving yours.

“Here’s what’s gonna happen, prick,” you continued, “You’re gonna let them go or I’ll kill ya.”

“Is that so?” Joe asked. You smiled at him, the same smile you had given to the first man who tried to tie you up all those months on the run.

“That’s right,” you told him. “I’ll do it slowly, take my time. You see, my fiance was an army medic and he taught me a few things. Especially the places where a human bleeds the easiest. That much blood is potent to animals.” You smiled wider. “Imagine how good it must smell to the Walkers.” You couldn’t help the dreamy look on your face as you imagine the five men who held your family down and how they would look being torn to shreds by the Dead.

“You’re a crazy bitch,” Joe said.

“So that’s a no, then?” you asked and then shrugged. “Fine.” You pulled your gun that you had hidden in your waistband and turned, firing on the man who had Beth. The bullet went straight through his skull and he dropped before he could even lift his weapon.

Michonne took the chance of surprise and grabbed hold of the man’s gun who held her hostage. She twisted his wrist and went for his weapon. He punched her in the face, taking her down again.

The man holding Daryl kicked your brother down to the ground and fired at you. You moved just in time to avoid a head shot, but the bullet hit your shoulder, tearing through your flesh. You went down, grabbing at your arm. Daryl and Rick roar in anger as they attacked their own enemies. As Daryl struggled to get to his feet, Beth crawled to you, placing pressure on the gunshot wound.

“You’re gonna be fine,” she said. You watched as Joe picked up Rick, taunting him and laughing in his face.

“What are you gonna do now, sport?” Joe asked, shaking Rick. Your eyes widened as you watched what Grimes did next. Rick reeled back and then sunk his teeth into Joe’s neck. A sickening sound came as Rick tore out Joe’s jugular. Blood sprayed from Joe’s neck and as Rick spat out a chunk of flesh and a mouthful of blood, Michonne reacted.

She went for her attacker again, this time, using the shock as an opportunity. Michonne managed to get the gun and twisted it, firing a bullet into the man’s skull. She then turned the gun onto the man who had Daryl on the ground. She shot him immediately and then turned the gun on the man who now held Carl with a knife at the kid’s throat.

“Drop it!” you yelled, trying to get to your feet.

“Let the boy go!” Michonne demanded as Carl tried to claw at the arms that held him.

“He’s mine,” you heard Rick say as he took the knife of Joe and approached the man who tried to hurt his child. Nobody said anything as the man dropped Carl and tried to surrender. Carl ran to Michonne who held him close to her chest as his father gutted the final man. Beth turned her head, hiding her face in your hair as Rick repeatedly stabbed the man. Michonne kept Carl with her and Daryl and you watched Rick slowly start to lose himself in the kill.

Eventually, the stabbing stopped and the blood settled. Rick sat there, slumped over his final victim, blood dripping from his jaw. Looking at him like this, you knew that if you had come across him as a stranger, you would have thought he was a Walker finishing up his meal.

Everyone started to move then. Michonne pulled Carl into the car, trying to keep him calm and as soon as Beth checked in with you and Daryl, she followed them, leaving you, Rick, and Daryl alone. Daryl reached you first. He fell to his knees next to you just as he had the night you had found each other. You didn’t say anything as you wrapped your good arm around him and felt him fall into you. You held onto your brother for what felt like hours before he pulled back.

“Ya good?” he asked, examining your wound.

“What’s a little gunshot?” you asked, trying to smile.

“Ya leave my sight again,” Daryl said, “and I’ll kill ya.”

“Fair enough,” you agreed. Daryl offered you his hand and he pulled you to your feet. Both of you approached Rick who still hadn’t moved. Without speaking, you both took of one Rick’s arms and pulled him up. He let you take him to the side of the car and sit him down. You and your brother crouched in front of him, trying to get Rick to look at you. Eventually, he lifted his head and looked at you. He slowly smiled, his teeth stained with blood.

“What’s so funny, cowboy?” you asked, gently.

“I see it now,” he said.

“See what?” you asked, confused. Rick looked at Daryl for a moment before turning back to you.

“I see the Merle side.”

-----

The three of you sat there against the car as the sun came up.

Daryl had convinced Rick to clean himself up for Carl’s sake and so with your help, you managed to get most of the blood off his face. Once Daryl bandaged up your wound, you excused yourself and headed to the other side of the car to check on the others. Carl was awake now, helping Michonne clean out a cut on her palm. You slid the door open and leaned against the side of the car. “How we doin’ in here?” you asked.

“Few minor cuts and bruises, we’ll be alright,” Michonne assured you. You nodded and then she extended a hand to you. You weren’t the closest to her, but you figured that may change now. You took her hand and squeezed it tight. Beth then moved past you, no doubt going to check on Daryl, and you slid into her seat. Carl moved closer to you and then he was wrapping his arms around you, holding on tight.

You relaxed in his grip, finally letting yourself realize that he was okay. Carl was safe and nobody could hurt him anymore. “Thank you,” he whispered in your ear and you nodded, fighting the tears that threatened to flow. When Carl let you go and settled back down next to Michonne, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small charm. It was in the shape of an “H”. He handed it to you. “I found it in a house. Thought you might like it.”

You stared at the small charm that held your daughter’s initial and this time the tears did come. You weren’t ashamed of them anymore. You didn’t want to hide the fact that she was gone. From your own pocket, you pulled out something you hadn’t shown anyone yet. Carter’s dog tags. You fastened the charm to the chain and then slipped it over your head, keeping both of them close to your heart. “Thank you, Carl,” you said through your tears.

-----

When you went to check on the others, you realized Beth and Daryl were gone.

Rick looked up as you came into his view. “Where’d they go?” you asked, suddenly concerned.

“Beth had blood on her and Daryl took her to a stream just through there to help her scrub it off,” Rick explained, pointing through the trees. You relaxed and joined Rick back on the ground. Your shoulders were pressed together as you watched the sun shine through the thick threes.

“Are you okay?” you asked him. He hung his head for a moment before nodding.

“I will be,” he said. “You?”

“I am now,” you admitted. “You know I’ve been lookin’ for you, Grimes?”

“What about Daryl?” he asked, raising a brow. You shrugged.

“Found your trail first and I figured Daryl would be lookin’ for his brother as well,” you said, acknowledging that you heard part of their conversation from just a few moments ago. Rick nodded.

“Thank you for saving us. Especially my boy,” he said, reaching over and taking your hand.

“You saved me first,” you said.

“I don’t think pointing a gun at you would be considered savin’,” he reminded you. You laughed slightly.

“Maybe not, but because you kept everyone safe and you got them to the prison, I found my brother,” you said. “I found my family.”

“Does that just include your brother?” Rick asked. You looked at him and into those beautiful blue eyes.

“No, it doesn’t,” you whispered. Rick sighed and then leaned his forehead against yours. The two of you stayed like that for a moment before you shifted and rested your head on his shoulder, your hand never leaving his. “We’re gonna be okay, Grimes. Whatever comes next, we’ll be ready.”

“What does come next, (Y/N)?” he asked and you looked over as Daryl and Beth came back towards you. Beth still wore Daryl’s vest and he kept a protective hand on her lower back. You could hear Michonne and Carl speaking softly behind you and you relished in the sound of Rick’s breathing beside you. Looking up at him, you finally felt calm and you smiled thinking about the last time he had asked you what was next back at the prison. However, this time you had an answer.

“It’s simple, Rick, we find the rest of our family.”

#the walking dead imagines #the walking dead imagine #the walking dead #rick grimes #rick grimes x reader #daryl and sister!reader #daryl dixon #carl grimes #michonne #reader insert #reader #walking dead prison #walkerwords

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redbelles · 4 years

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@anthropologicalhands here you go! thanks for the ask ✨

hilariously, i p. much can’t write unless i have a title in mind? it seems to shape the story as i go, so i typically end up stealing song lyrics as soon as i have an idea, if only to put myself out of my misery. anyway! atla, twd, rdr2, ac: origins, dc, and pitch under the cut!

in our bedroom, after the war

post-series atla zutara au wherein i geek about politics and reconstruction and consequences, and also break zuko into tiny sad pieces before katara gets to smooch him. also there is a dragon.

and wept for break of day

twd au: post-coda, (loosely) inspired by the short story “bullet in the brain”; eventual bethyl

Mass hallucinations, one broadcaster said. String theory. The collective unconscious. Just a whole buncha scared fools, grasping at straws while the world reels, trying to understand something too big and too ugly to ever understand.

She sits there in the dirt, numb and shaking, hands clenched so tight that her nails bite deep into her palms. She presses harder, carving sharp little crescents into skin that’s not nearly as callused as it should be.

The world feels like it’s falling away beneath her, spinning out wildly, carrying her someplace foreign and strange. Her skull throbs and aches. There’s no scar on her wrist. Beneath the dirt, her nails are painted cornflower blue, bright and vivid as a summer sky. The dead don’t walk.

But they did, didn’t they?

I lived it. I remember.

it ain’t no sin

twd au: beth wakes up during her abduction and it gives daryl time to reach the car, and then daryl and beth bang about it

She doesn’t hear the familiar twang of the bow, but when the word chokes off into a gurgle of blood and the graceless thump of a body hitting the ground, she knows.

Daryl comes sprinting out of the darkness, quiet as a hunting cat. The driver’s side door swings open, the cop’s buddy stepping out to try and salvage the situation. Daryl fires, reloads, and fires again, so fast her eyes can’t follow it. She’s so dizzy that it seems like one smooth motion. One breath, just long enough to aim, and then the arrows are gone and Beth and Daryl are alone in the night. The men are dead.

Good, she thinks fiercely, angry and shaken and still unable to stand. Good.

He goes straight to the bodies as she finally hauls herself onto the grass, listening as he yanks the bolts free. Three awful squelches; visceral, obscene. She gags again, and then Daryl is there, dropping to his knees beside her.

“Y’alright?”

late for the sky

rdr2 au: arthur/sadie, set immediately after the massacre at hanging dog ranch

“You didn’t have to stay,” she calls. There’s an ache in her voice he doesn’t know how to parse.

“Sure.” He leaves it at that, no fuss about letting Freyja rest, about needing to catch his breath, though neither would be a lie. There’s no room for chatter; the air between them is full up with grief.

“Sure?”

No meat on that bone, but he can see her chewing it over all the same, worrying at it. Sadie Adler, shaken. If he held a mirror up to her face, he’s half-afraid he’d see fire. Smoke, ash, the orange blaze of a cabin as it burns to cinders.

The memory sends a chill skittering down his spine, a cold knife that lodges somewhere near his heart.

He ain’t the only one held hostage by that particular cruelty. Still knee-deep in the river, Sadie shivers. The water keeps running red around her, blood flaking off her hair and skin, melting into the current, soft as snow.

this loneliness won’t last

rdr2 au: arthur/john/abigail post-game fix it fic

There was heat pouring off John. A droplet of sweat trailing down his cheek. He smelled like salt and sunbaked earth. The thought skimmed through his mind like a water on a pane of glass, crystal clear and out of reach all the same. Then John’s mouth crashed over his, and Arthur had no thought left.

He couldn’t help himself. He bent into John like a windswept tree, looking for shelter. Looking for relief. John pulled him in, held him close, hands fisted in the worn fabric of Arthur’s shirt. Need kindled in his blood, bright and sharp and burning, and he stiffened. Pulled away. John wouldn’t have it. He pulled him back in, nipped at his mouth, trailed fire over his skin, kissed him like Arthur was his to keep.

He wanted to run and hide. He wanted to stay right where he was and live in this moment forever. But then it was over: John stepped away, breathing hard. His fingers were still wound in Arthur’s shirt. He let go like it hurt.

“Don’t leave,” he said, staring at Arthur like he could sear the words into him. Make him stay through force of will alone.

And then he was gone, just like always, just like before.

pieces rendered

ac: origins post-game, post-dlc bayek/aya fix it fic

Amunet, he reminds himself, wincing at the cool bite of aloe against raw skin. It is hard to remember in moments like these, alone in the twilight dimness of the cave mouth, safe from the eyes and ears of those who have only ever known her as a Hidden One.

She is Aya in his thoughts, sometimes, no matter how well he guards his tongue. When the world slips and the ache of all he’s lost will not subside, that is the name that rises in his heart. Wife, lover, friend. Mother of his child, the woman he once thought would walk beside him in this life and the next. Aya.

Amunet is the shadow of a wild wind, always blowing away from him. “North,” she told him once, “to set the sea aflame.”

She did. She does.

Perhaps someday he will come to terms with that.

stolen car

sprawling fic series that explores the batfam universe through the lens of jacy petra todd, the second robin. the bad robin.

She holds a gun to a rapist’s head and presses the muzzle into skin hard enough to leave a mark, hard enough to make the piece of shit kneeling in front of her whimper.

They’re in a warehouse out by the docks, in the corner of a shadowy park, in some shitty back alley, trash piled up in careless heaps and the rats ignoring them. It’s nothing they haven’t seen before. There’s blood on the ground. There is always blood on the ground.

“Please,” they say, “please, don’t do this.”

“Come on,” she says, laughing. They hate it when she laughs. The helmet distorts her voice, turning it harsh and metallic, until the sound of it is like a knife under their skin. It is a weapon like any other; she is not afraid to use it. “Beg some more. See where it gets you.”

They cry, or retch, or shake, big tough men learning what it feels like to be powerless. Sometimes they piss themselves, the sharp odor of urine burning against the stink of blood and gunpowder.

The Bat may rule Gotham, but Crime Alley is the Red Hood’s haunt, and her lines are hard and fast. Everyone in the city knows what happens when you cross them.

“Please,” they say, staring up at her, searching flat red metal for an ounce of mercy. They never meet her eyes. Instead, they look where a mouth should be, and beg, just like she tells them to. “Please, please, I won’t do it again, I’ll never do it again, please!”

The gun doesn’t waver. Gotham beat the softness out of her wayward daughter years before Batman ever found her, before Robin ever fluttered into the Joker’s path, before she seared and burned and screamed her way back to consciousness in the Lazarus Pit.

“No,” she tells them, voice like a knife, gun steady in her hands—

stone by stone

sequel to no burden that will not float away featuring shitty coffee, former robins being bad at feelings, and the current robin judging them for it

[fire from fire]

[redacted] au where [redacted] dies and [redacted] snaps

She walks through the streets like a reckoning. She does not sing.

with a hawk above you crying

wonder woman fic inspired by emmylou harris’s michelangelo

last night i dreamed about you / i dreamed you lay dying / in a field of thorn and roses / with a hawk above you crying / for the warrior slain in battle / from an arrow driven deep inside you long ago—

Diana finds Antiope, and loses her, and finds her again.

you know the time is now

pitch, mike/ginny, mid-season onward au where they actually have to deal with their feelings

after all the bullshit surrounding the all-star game, mike decides he needs to take a step back, distance himself a bit from the ginny baker madness. so of course the first thing he does after the all-star game is get into a brawl. he can’t even blame it on some sort of convenient rage blackout. he makes a calm, rational decision to follow the fucker up the first base path, and calmly, rationally punches him in the face while ginny watches, stunned, from the mound.

varitek a-rod brawl whomst???

ask me about my wips!

#dash games #writing: best worst hobby #rape tw #rape mention #blood tw

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distressedpanda · 6 years

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Hold On (Bethyl AU)

Warnings: Language, High Emotions, Self harm, Death

Inspired by the song Hold On by Chord Overstreet

This just came to me while I was listening to this song one day. Since NAF! is doing well I figured I would try posting some of my other fics, and ideas. Still seeking prompts!

Daryl sat on his bike, outside the bustling local grocery store, waiting for Beth's shift to end. He inhaled a long drag off the cigarette held precariously between his lips. He still couldn't believe that the blond angel was dating him, let alone that they had been official for almost a year now.

That's why he was here. Not being great at romantic gestures, he wanted to do something special for her. He had gotten the idea earlier that morning, as she readied herself for work.

“We haven't been for a drive on your bike in a long time,” she had said, in an offhand comment as she pulled her long hair up in a ponytail, in their apartment. “Could be fun,” she added, pressing her hands down the front of her shirt. “I need something to take my mind off momma anyway.”

Daryl had made an affirmative grunt in reply, as she had left for work.

Annette had been sick for a few years, and was back in the hospital again. Daryl knew she was dying, there was just no way she was coming home this time. She was ready to go, had said as much to Beth, her siblings, Maggie and Shawn, and Hershel. Daryl had been there and everyday for the past month he had taken Beth, wanting to make sure she had as much time with her mother as possible.

So that was why he was here now, today they would have an adventure. Daryl would give her the world if he could, so he had gotten off early at the garage. Now that he had met her, he knew he would be lost without her in his life. He needed her more than any drug his brother had ever tried to get him hooked on. And if she needed an escape from her inescapable reality, he was gonna do every thing he possibly could to provide one to her.

She appeared through the automatic doors just then and he flicked the remnants of the dying cigarette across the parking lot.

Flipping the ignition, and revving the engine, it grabbed her attention. He knew it would. She turned to him, throwing a dazzling toothy smile at him. It made him loose the ability to breath every time he saw it.

She sauntered over to him, feeling tired but happy to see him. “Daryl, what are you doing here? Your shift doesn't end for another hour.”

“Got off early,” he looked up at her through his bangs. When she quirked an eyebrow at him, “What?”

She gave a little giggle, “That doesn't explain why you are here?”

He felt the heat creep up his cheeks and tucked his chin toward his chest before answering, “Ya said somethin bout wantin ta go fer a ride. So 'm here.”

That smile grew. He had just enough time to steady the bike, as she jumped on him. Wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, “Thank you,” she breathed.

He nodded, into her shoulder, “Welcome,” he grunted and pulled away, “Now get on, girl.”

The ride through the country side was just what Beth needed. With her arms wrapped around Daryl's waist, her cheek pressed against the warm leather of his vest, the wind having long since ripped the holder from her hair, making it blow out wildly behind her, the slow creeping depression melted away. She breathed in the woodsy smokey leathery scent of Daryl, and the earthy tones of the landscape and woods they passed by. She had been too focused on the impending situation her family had been thrown in. But here beneath the beating warmth of the Georgia sun, she allowed herself to forget. Only for this moment, only for this ride. It would be alright, if only for a moment, she didn't have to feel like her entire world was falling apart around her.

She was so wrong.

Pulling into the parking lot of their apartment complex, both were immediately on high alert but not because the sun was quickly falling beyond the horizon. Maggie Greene, the eldest Greene daughter, stood with her arms crossed over her chest leaning against the side of the old farm truck. She had raised her head when she heard them approach, and had given a smile Daryl was all to familiar with. It was one of pity and condolence.

He had received that smile when his mother had died in the fire that claimed his childhood home. Which she had caused, and to this day he wasn't sure if she had done it on purpose or not. Some things you never get the answers for.

He felt Beth's arms tighten around his chest, and he knew that she knew.

“Bethy,” Maggie started to say, approaching the bike.

Beth jumped off the opposite side of the two wheeled vehicle, shaking her head. She raised her hands in front of her, murmuring, “No, no, no, no, no,” over and over until, the tears where pouring and her voice was shacking. But the only words she could form where, “No,” even as Maggie continued.

“Bethy, honey,” Maggie's voice hitched and it was obvious she was fighting her own emotions. Daryl, jumped off the bike, kicking the stand into place, to follow Beth. Pulling her sobbing form against his chest. He held her and as she collapsed to the ground, he went with her knowing she needed to be there.

“It was peaceful, Bethy,” Maggie's voice nothing but rice krispies, as she explained. “She went to sleep this morning, and just didn't wake up. She is in a better place. . .”

Maggie was abruptly cut off, when Beth found a new word, “STOP!!!!” She screamed and pushed Daryl violently away. She rose and stormed toward the apartment.

Daryl got up slowly from the pavement, watching his girls' retreating form.

“Daryl, she doesn't need to be alone right now,” Maggie whispered, before turning back for the truck.

“Maybe thas exactly wha' she needs,” he grumbled at her, rolling his shoulders uncomfortably.

Maggie shock her head, staring at her feet, as she opened the truck door, “I've been here before. Just trust me.”

“So've I,” he grunted toward the retreating tail lights of the truck.

He followed her, he figured he probably always would. Opening the door, he was greeted by the appearance of a tornado having run through their living room. Pictures with broken glass strewn all over the floor, blankets ripped in half, papers torn into confetti, littered the space.

She was in their room when he found her, crumpled, sitting on the side of the bed. A picture of her and Annette in a death grip in her hands. She wept openly.

He approached slowly, giving her every opportunity to tell him to leave. When he was in front of her, he knelt down on his knees and placed his hands gingerly over hers. He took the picture and placed it safely on the night stand, before returning his hands to hers.

“Beth, talk ta me, please,” his gravely voice soft and light. He didn't want to pressure her, if she wasn't ready he wouldn't push her. He loved her, and he knew from experience that she shouldn't bottle this up.

She took a long shuttering breath between sobs, then lifted glaring deadly blues at him, “This is your fault!” she gritted through her teeth, yanking her hands free of him.

Daryl knew somewhere in the back of his mind that this had to be her way of dealing. Blame the first person available, so you could deal with the pain. It still hurt and when she pushed him away from her, he fell back onto his ass willingly. Staring up at her with bewildered eyes, she stood to pace at the end of the bed. Her hands clenched in tiny fists at her sides, her knuckles alarmingly white.

She shouldn't be doing this. She shouldn't blame him, he hadn't made her mother sick. But Beth couldn't let go of the thought that had surfaced, as she sat alone staring at her Mother's picture. “You stole my last moments with her,” she growled at him. Whirling on him, she pointed a finger into his face, and watched it fall with anguish. Still she couldn't stop herself, even as her heart twisted painfully in her chest, her lungs clinching behind her rib cage. “You did that, Daryl!” she spat.

This was too much. Daryl had put up with to much shit in his life and had always had a short fuse. Even with her. He stood quickly, causing her to take a few steps back. “I ain't do nothin, Beth. I didn make her sick. All I's tryina do was somethin nice. I wanted to give ya some freedom,” he hissed through his teeth trying to keep from yelling at her, even though she wasn't giving him the same courtesy.

“If you had stayed at work, I would have been there. I WOULD HAVE BEEN THERE!!!!” She screamed, arching up on to her toes to be closer to staring him in the eye.

He flung his hands up, “I ain't dealin with this shit! I don hav ta put up with ya talkin ta me like tha,” He turned heading for the door.

She followed him, hot on his heals, “Where are you going? Leaving now, when I actually need you?” She yelled at his back.

He whipped around, one hand on the front door knob, “Nah, Beth. I love ya. But I ain't dealin with this shit.”

And then he left.

Beth dissolved into violent sobs that tore through her body. She lay in a crumbling sniveling heap, for what felt like hours, but couldn't have been more than a few minutes.

When she had no more tears to shed, she drew herself up to sit against the wall. Had she just lost her mother and the first person she had ever actually been in love with, all in the same day?

She felt numb, her hands clenched in fists. Her nails biting viciously into her palms, but she couldn't feel the pain. Standing to make her way to the bathroom, she needed to feel something. She had screwed up. Big time. Daryl, had only been trying to help. Besides, she had made the suggestion herself.

She had been in a terrible funk, ever since her mom had gone back into the hospital. She knew, she wasn't stupid. She knew this would be the last time, that she wouldn't come home.

Stepping in the bathroom, she locked the door. Daryl, didn't need to see her when he came back, not yet.

If he came back.

With that thought on her mind, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She had pushed to far this time. Said things that never should have been aimed at him. She didn't deserve him.

She turned on the cold water, letting it run and fill the room with it's white noise.

She examined her reflection for a long time. Her puffy eyes and the track marks of tears down her cheeks, had her lip quivering again. But this time from anger. Why had her mother been taken? Why was Daryl gone? She was fouling herself entirely, if she believed for one second that he would come back, after the accusations she had thrown at him.

She needed to feel something. Something besides the overwhelming grief and anger that wouldn't let her go.

Her fist shot out, before she even registered that she had given her brain the command. The mirror shattered, clattering in a glittering cascade into the awaiting sink. Her knuckles were raw and bleeding from the collection of cuts across them.

Still, she felt nothing.

Silent tears rolled down her cheeks once more and as her head fell, her eyes caught on a shard of light. The piece of triangular shaped glass held her gaze, the water flowing smoothly over it, as though it was being chosen just for her. She gingerly lifted it from the bowl. Turning and sliding down the cabinet under the sink, she sat on the cold floor.

She would feel this, she just knew she would. Her mother was gone. She had pushed Daryl away. Why should she stay here? Her father still had Maggie and Shawn. But she. She had lost everything, including the will to keep going.

The mirrored glass flashed her lost hollow baby blues back at her, as she twirled it over and over in her hand. It bit into her palm, and she felt it. For a single moment there was pain.

Lifting the glass in her hand, she rolled her opposite palm up, exposing her wrist.

Why keep going?

After about half a pack of cigarette's, Daryl decided he would head back in to check on his girl. Flicking the last butt across the dark parking lot.

Trudging up to their door, his shoulders slumped. He knew he probably should have just taken whatever she had to throw at him. But he also knew that, she needed him yelling back at her even less.

“Beth,” he called, as he closed the front door behind him. He could hear water running somewhere and followed the noise to the door of the bathroom. He knocked softly, calling her name again, “Beth.”

No answer.

He tried the knob, locked.

Knocking again, a dreadful feeling wrapped around his chest, constricting to the point of suffocation. “Beth,” he rasped louder. Pounding on the door even harder, when there was still no answer. “Beth, please,” he begged, “Just say somethin.”

Nothing.

He was slamming his shoulder into the door, the wood splintering beneath his blows. His heart racing from panic, the third blow shattered the handle free from the frame. Splinters from the frame and door, spraying across the floor.

He slid onto his knees, next to her lifeless body laying face down by the sink. Her golden locks covering her face. She was far too pale. He rolled her towards him, and that's when he saw the glass and the blood. The crimson life sustaining liquid, pouring freely from her wrist.

“No,” he breathed, pulling her into his lap. He placed his ear against her chest, praying to a God he didn't believe in, for a heartbeat. “Beth,” he breathed, hearing the faintest flutter of her heart. He reached for a hand towel on the sink counter and bound her wrist as best as he could. ”Please, don't leave me,” he begged. Lifting her from the floor, he raced from the apartment. Barely remembering to grab the keys for his truck as he went.

Shuffling her carefully but quickly into the passenger seat, he sprinted to the driver side. Slamming the door behind him, he started the truck and gunned it out of the parking lot. “Hold on,” he said, glancing across the darkness of the cab. But only silence greeted him, she was eerily still and just barely breathing. He wouldn't give up on her though, he couldn't just let her go.

The miles to the nearest hospital were a nightmare he couldn't escape, as she lay silent beside him. His vision blurring from unshed tears. His hands were shaking, even with the white knuckled death grip he had on the steering wheel. He couldn't lose her. Praying she was still there, even though he could see no light at the end of this ever growing tunnel.

Skidding to a halt, in front of the ER doors, he shoved the truck in park. Leaving it running with the keys in the ignition, all he could think about was saving his girl. He pulled her from the truck and raced inside.

“Help! Please!” He screamed, reaching the reception desk.

Immediately, she was taken from him and placed on a gurney. Wheeling her away, he clung desperately to her hand. But when they reached the entrance to surgery, a nurse pulled him away.

“No!” he growled. “I havta be with her!”

Placing a hesitant but placating hand on his shoulder, the doctors continued to roll her away from him. “Sir we will do everything we can for her. I promise,” the nameless faceless woman calmly spoke.

He crumbled on his knees, and watched Beth disappear behind a set of double doors.

A guttural cry ripped from his throat, “PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!!!!!” The tears flowed freely across his cheeks now.

He paced back and forth in the corridor. The nurse had directed him to a viewing window. He watched them check her heartbeat.

They stitched her wrist, and she was now hocked up to so many cords and needles she looked like a human pin cushion. It broke his heart. He couldn't stand to see her like this, wishing he could take all this pain on himself. Placing his hand on the window, over her still lifeless form.

“Come back,” he breathed, his breath fogging the window. He whispered to her and God, “I still need you.”

A nurse, he honestly had no idea if it was the same one from earlier, approached him, “Would you like to see her now?”

He didn't turn his eyes away from Beth, “She gonna be alrigh?” his voice trembled.

“I don't know. Honestly that's up to her. Are you her family?” the nurse asked kindly.

“Nah, not yet,” he breathed, “I's hopin someday maybe,” he admitted, without thinking.

“Oh,” she answered, and he could hear the slightest bit of judgment in her voice. Most people didn't understand the age gap between the two of them. If he was honest with himself, he didn't really get it either. It had been her choice, her insistence, that had convinced him to give this a shot in the first place. He didn't care what they thought of him, he was a Dixon after all. But that didn't give people the right to judge Beth for her choices.

He heard the women sigh and then caught her squaring her shoulders at him, “Look, I know this isn't any of my business. But I am thinking you may be just the person to revive her."

His head snapped around on his shoulders. Looking her up and down, she was a small thing like Beth. But the similarities ended there. She had short dark hair, brown eyes, with soft rounded features, the tag on her scrubs shirt read, Millie.

She crossed her arms impatiently in front of her chest, “So how bout you get in there and give her a reason to live,” she huffed. Then spinning on her heels, walked off down the hall.

He turned for the door, and had his hand on the door handle, when she called out, “I will contact her family for you.”

The corner of his mouth twitched in an attempt to smile, “Thanks,” he said to her retreating form and pushed into the cold dark hospital room.

The sounds of the machines were so much worse than the sight of them through the window. The steady beeping and the incessant buzzing sounds from the screens and monitors, had Daryl feeling sick.

Approaching the side of the bed, the tears started anew. Silently rolling down his cheeks. She was still too pale. The color drained completely from her face, she was as white as the sheet she lay upon. Her golden mane haloed haphazardly, framing her head. Gently lifting her hand, he sat in the chair next to the bed, and held her cold fingers between his hands.

“Beth,” his voice cracked and broke. He cleared it before continuing, “'m not good at this stuff. I don know what ta say ta get ya back.” Even whispering, his voice was to loud and gravely, hurting his own ears. He pulled her hand up, resting his forward against his clasped hands. She was worth it. He just had to figure out how to tell her. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, and let go of everything he was holding inside.

“I still want you. I still need you,” he breathed against her hand. “I'll make this right somehow. I love you. I will love you my whole life. Just please, girl, please, come back.”

The silence was deafening, even with the rhythmic tones from the machines. He wept openly, “Please don't leave me,” his voice sounding like a shout in his ears, but coming out as nothing more than air. “'m not strong enough to live without ya. I can't lose ya, I can't let go. I just wanna take ya home.” His heart was shattering, making it impossible to breath around these emotions that were bombarding and suffocating him.

The door to the little room was thrown open. Daryl snapped his head up and around at the intruder, but quickly his face softened and he tucked his head away from the three advancing on them.

Maggie reached him first, “What did you do?!” she screamed at him. Daryl tucked even further into himself. This was his fault. He knew that. He never should have left her alone, after they argued. Or maybe he should have left her alone to begin with.

Hershel placed a restraining hand on Maggie's shoulder, “Maggie,” his voice pleading with her.

She shrugged violently away from him, “No, Daddy,” she countered turning accusing eyes on him and her brother, who stood silently holding Beth's other hand across from Daryl. “I told him not to leave her alone,” she rounded back on Daryl. “I told you not to leave her alone!”

He nodded at her. What more could he do? “Yer right. Ya did. And I did,” his voice defeated and so tiny for a man like him.

Hershel moved to place a comforting hand on his shoulder, but Daryl stood. Dropping Beth's hand and moving around them toward the door. “'m sorry. I know it's not enough, but 'm so sorry,” he managed, before exiting the room.

He slid down the wall outside the door, burying his tear soaked face in his hands. His shoulders shaking, as grief stricken sobs ripped from his throat.

Maggie could hear Daryl sobbing outside. Her heart twisted in her chest, causing her already short breath to hammer out of her lungs. Pushing the feeling aside, she turned to look at the eerily still form of her little sister. Her Daddy now holding the hand Daryl had vacated, Shawn still holding the other. She stood at the foot of the bed, looking down at Beth. Maggie watched her chest moving up and down softly beneath the hospital blankets.

Maggie shivered from guilt, she shouldn't have lashed out at Daryl. It's just that they had already lost there monarch that afternoon, her small family unit couldn't stand to get any smaller.

Turning she moved silently toward the door. Her hand on the handle, she glanced back over her shoulder. Her Daddy, smiled sadly up at her and nodded. She returned the smile, and opened the door.

Daryl's sobs had quieted, his face still hidden behind his hands. He jerked his head up, when he felt a body slide against his side. Maggie. She was now sitting beside him, her knees pulled up to her chest. She draped her arms over her knees and began picking at her thumb. He couldn't look at her, tucking his chin to his chest.

“I'm sorry,” she whispered. He shook his head at her but she cut him off. “I don't wanna hear it. I know I shouldn't have said those things to you. She did this to herself and its up to her whether she wants to live or not.”

Daryl's breath caught in his throat and he tried to swallow the knot forming there, as she continued. “I have been here before, with my momma. It's why I said, she shouldn't be alone. I don't really remember much of it, but I remember the feeling.”

“I do,” he grumbled, surprising them both. Maggie's inquiring brow, brought more from him, “I been here too. Lost my ma, but I remember all of it. 's why I knew she should be alone.”

She scoffed, picking at her thumb again, “Yea, and I am guessing that's why this happened.”

It wasn't a question but Daryl shook his head at her anyway. “Nah, if I had ignored what ya said and left her alone ta begin with, I don think this woulda happened. She ain't you, Maggie. She's different.”

Maggie nodded, “Your right. She isn't me.”

They sat there silent for a long time, neither looking at the other. Maggie rose to her feet eventually. Standing in front of him, she extended her hand, “Let's go take care of our girl.”

He looked up through his long shaggy bangs, “Ya sure ya want me in there?” Still sounding so tiny, and Maggie's heart broke for him.

She drew her lips into a thin smile, it was partially forced but still genuine, “Yea, Daryl. She needs you, and our family doesn't need to get any smaller.”

Almost twenty-four hours later, Daryl was alone with Beth again. Hershel, Maggie and Shawn, needing to leave to make preparations for Annette's funeral. Hershel also had to fill out more of Beth's medical info, Daryl hadn't known everything.

Before they had left, they had begged her to wake up. Hershel praying that she would be awake before they had no choice but to proceed with her mother's burial.

Daryl's eyes were heavy with exhaustion, but he fought sleep with every ounce of strength he had. Nurses had come in telling him to go home and get some rest, but he couldn't leave here without her. He wouldn't. He was determined to be the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes.

He believed she would, because he couldn't imagine a world without her in it. He told her as much, over and over. He didn't think he had ever spoken this much in his life, but with her in this helpless state, the words tumbled from him, like a desperate lion finally released from captivity.

It was nearing night fall on the second day at the hospital, when he couldn't fight his eyelids anymore. Sitting in the chair, his head lent against the bed, her hand still in his, he drifted for a moment.

The squeeze against his fingers had his eyes popping open, his head snapping back on his neck so hard there was an audible crack. He looked up at her angelic face and groaned, seeing the coloring in her cheeks that was slowly starting to grow.

“Beth,” he whispered, bringing her hand to his lips. He kissed her knuckles, and felt a weak squeeze in response. A stuttering shaky breath escaped his lips to dance across her warming fingers.

Beth's eyelids fluttered, the bright over head lights hurting her eyes. Her vision was blurry, and she didn't understand why she hurt so much.

She heard her name escape an intimately well known set of lips, and she turned slowly to the voice, gently squeezing the hand wrapped around her own.

She could see him. Everything else in the room was still alarmingly blurry, but him. Daryl. He was clear.

“Daryl,” she groaned, her throat raw and dry.

He smiled, teary light shining from his eyes. He sat forward and ran his free hand along her cheek. Then stood and lent over her to place a soft kiss on her forehead, “I thought I lost ya.” The gravel in his voice intensified by the emotion she could hear there.

A single tear rolled down her cheek, “I'm so sorry, Daryl.”

He shook his head against hers, closing his eyes, “Nah, 'm the one tha should be sorry.”

She didn't want to argue with him. She would have to learn to forgive herself and so would he. So she said the only thing she could. The only thing she needed and wanted to say. The only thing that mattered, “I love you, Daryl.”

He sobbed once, running his thumb over her cheek bone, “I love you, Beth.”

#bethyl #daryl dixon x beth green #daryl dixon #beth greene #daryl #fanfic #fandom #fanfiction #bethyl au #alternate universe

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bethgreeneishopeunseen · 6 years

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Bethyl Interview Masterpost

Yesterday I had no plans so, being me, I cobbled together a collection of quotes related to Bethyl and its romantic development. (Quotes under the read more.) I like masterposts because they help me to see the whole picture, similar to putting a puzzle together. Overall, the marketing crystallized. Bethyl was a big talking point leading up to season 5 and up until Coda. It was one of the biggest questions of the season. There was some ambiguity, but in general, it was pretty clear from everyone involved what Bethyl was becoming. For context, Still aired on March 3rd, 2014 and Alone on March 10th. Norman’s take on Beth’s effect on Daryl — that she was his rebirth of hope incarnate, the light at the end of the tunnel, etc. —obviously has romantic connotations. Bethyl is so Beauty and the Beast that I used the pairing for a semester-long research paper on modern adaptations of the story. However, by reframing from using “romance”, Norman created this picture of an epic pairing, the kind you hear about in old stories. Daryl was like the archetypal warrior who would travel the world for his lady. While Emily was a bit more explicit that there was a burgeoning romantic connection, she would make sure to stress the deep emotional connection. She often described their connection as “special”. Everyone else talked about this too: Beth and Daryl’s emotionally intimate relationship and the balance they created. I really did get a feeling of epicness while reading through these quotes.

On the whole, TPTB wanted to have their cake and eat it too when it came to Bethyl. They wanted to audience to feel the weight of Daryl’s loss when Beth “died” while also leaving them room for ambiguity for later. Even if people didn’t believe that Daryl loved Beth romantically, they would know on a deep level that he cared for the Beth in a way he hadn’t before her. It would make the hallway scene that much more devastating. At the same time, TPTB have never officially acknowledged Bethyl as canon. They have never said, “Yes, Daryl and Beth were starting to fall in love, but she died and Daryl will never have resolution.” Just because characters sometimes can’t get resolution doesn’t mean the audience can’t. Beth’s death caused a digital riot; the petition was so big it made national media and international media (x) (x). Team Delusional even came up internationally at least once (x). Hardcore Beth Greene fans make up a minority of viewership (x), but when we can be very vocal. TPTB have shut down fan theories like the blinking-is-Morse-code from season 7. They want to know what Bethyl exactly was. It’s the same reason that they won’t tell us what happened to Beth’s body. By keeping silent, TPTB have a back door. When Beth returns, they’ll use this ambiguity to hype Bethyl up. It will be the classic marketing question of, “Will they?/Won’t they?”

Emily was the only one who discussed Beth’s feelings for Daryl. It makes sense, Beth’s state was more ambiguous than Daryl, who all but had actual heart eyes at dinner. The audience will get to discover her perspective on the relationship. I’ve found at least one documented case of AMC declining to talk about Beth, when reporters were eager to discuss the petition (x), and I remember there being more from the early TD days. Some Team Acceptance/Rejection people think TPTB changed their minds last minute in July 2014, hence Coda. However, TPTB still market Beth and Bethyl. She keeps popping up in Daryl’s storyline and in the general story, often through explicit comparisons. Beth hasn’t been allowed to rest in peace on and offscreen. We’re not allowed to forget because we’ll have to remember. Remembering her will make her return easier for the general audience, more of a surprise than more being sidelined.

“In The Walking Dead Season 4 preview trailer, there is a scene where it appears as if Beth might be a little taken with Daryl. Can you tell us if Beth might be developing a little bit of a crush on Daryl in Season 4? Norman Reedus: I can’t tell you that, but god she’s cute so fingers crossed.”

Norman Reedus: Comicbook.com; August 11th, 2013 (x).

“I like playing these awkward moments in between that build relationships. I don’t ever want to play that character that grabs the girl and has my way with her. That’s just not who that character is. If Daryl falls in love with you, he’s going to love you for the rest of his life.”

Norman Reedus: Daily Dead; October 10th, 2013 (x).

While Norman brought this up when asked about C@ryl possibly happening, it was during the lead-up to season 4. And these themes keep popping up in relation to Bethyl. He’s been shutting down a romantic C@ryl since 2012 (x).

“Established in the first episode you will see one new relationship and potentially a couple more. […] As regards Daryl Dixon […] um, I think there’s a really interesting relationship between Daryl and someone that you may not think… I don’t wanna give too much away. But there’s a beautiful episode between his character and another character that has just been, uh… I don’t wanna say any more than that. It might be someone you least expect.”

Andrew Lincoln: Hangout with FOX; October 12th, 2013 (x).

“When Daryl comes back to her room and says “he’s gone,” and she says “Daryl, I don’t cry anymore,” it was special. That scene, it’s one of my favorite scenes of the episode. Because shehugs Daryl. He looks uncomfortable, and he touches her elbow. When I cut that episode together, I wanted to make sure that he looked uncomfortable. When she looks up at him with her big eyes and her sweater falls off her shoulder and she pulls her sweater back up, it’s such a beautiful connection between the two of them. I love that in the middle of her momentary grief, she looks at Daryl and says, “are you okay?” It’s such a beautiful moment. Emily and Norman really nailed that scene, so I’m so glad to hear that’s the first thing you said, because they did a great job with that.”

Greg Nicotero: Newsarama; October 16th, 2013. (x).

“It's a very unlikely duo. They're getting to know each other on a different level, but not romantically. There are definitely lessons being taught in both directions.”

Norman Reedus: TV Guide; February 11th, 2014 (x).

“The Hollywood Reporter: The seed for this episode was first planted in the season-four premiere in terms of Daryl and Beth’s kindred spirits. How will we see Daryl and Beth’s relationship evolve now that he’s finally opened up to her?That may be addressed. I like seeing those two together. They’re not characters who you’d normally see or partner up together. Being stuck with each other, this episode starts with Daryl in a dark place and he doesn’t want to go on and he’s growling at Beth the whole time. But it ends on a positive note. Beth showed him something about himself. He struggles a lot of the time and he’s got a chip on his shoulder; he doesn’t think people like him. But Beth helps him shed some of his old demons and feel good about himself and the need to let those things go and move forward. That’s a lot of what our show is about. He definitely has a soft spot for her forever. They’ve bonded during this journey.

Is their relationship more like siblings or could Daryl and Beth’s friendship turn romantic?Everyone pairs Beth up with Carl in this weird way and she’s much older than Carl. He’s looking for comics and she’s looking for food. They’re definitely not the same age. I can’t tell you if there’s going to be a romantic thing; we’re not allowed to talk about that stuff. But never say never! She’s a cute girl in the zombie apocalypse and Daryl could do much worse.”

Thanks to Beth, Daryl closes the book on his past. How will this free him up emotionally now? He's definitely moving in the right direction now. He's interesting in that he's very guarded and very loyal. Once he breaks that wall down with someone, he's loyal forever. Especially with Beth in this episode: she means a lot to him and took time to get to know him and open up to him and that got him to open up. It created a stronger bond between these two. He still thinks everyone else is dead and has little hope for the future, but Beth gave him a little light at the end of the tunnel and that means a lot to him.

Norman Reedus: The Hollywood Reporter; March 2nd, 2014 (x).

Inside Episode 412:

“He admires her naïve, hopeful way. For him to find strength in possibly the weakest physical person in the group but emotionally the — one of the strongest — I think is very beautiful. And he allows himself to be honest.” - NR

“Beth is able to reach out to Daryl. Pull him back from the edge.” -SG

“They definitely have a friendship that is on a very deep level.” - EK

March 2nd, 2014 (x) (x).

“Reading that episode between Norman and Emily’s characters, I just thought: That would be interesting... Because of the age difference; because of them both thinking it’s the end of the world. Him being such a guarded, sort of damaged soul; and she’s so young and sweet. And just... that’s real in this world! That’s real things that people need from each other and can help each other.”

Lauren Cohan: Associated Press; March 5th, 2014 at 1:47 (x) (x).

“So, talk to us about the tension between Daryl and Beth? “There’s definitely some tension there. The thing about it is, she’s a woman. She is not a little girl. Everyone grows up real fast in this world. Daryl, being a man, starting out was really child-like. There is an emotion; he makes a decision. A sort of distinctive honesty that kept him mentally in a non-grown-up situation. He had a mother that kept him down. He never really emotionally grew. He never learned how to be around people. And, then you have Beth who is the little sister who’s growing up really fast. Meanwhile she’s not a kid. She was a young farm girl. So, there is definitely some tension going on. It’s not just one layer of tension; it’s a whole bunch of tension. Circumstantial tension. It’s a very volatile episode. Stuff goes on for all of us, not just these two characters, but for all of us.””

Norman Reedus: Refinery29; March 9th, 2014 (x).

“In [Alone], Daryl and Beth are the happiest we’ve seen them.”

Denise Huth: 4x13′s BTS; March 10th, 2014 (x) (x).

“Yeah I do think [Maggie would approve], actually. I’m enjoying, as an audience member, watching this happen. [...] There’s a lot of love blossoming these past few episodes.”

Lauren Cohan: 4x13′s Talking Dead; March 10th, 2014 (x) (x).

“Well, I think it says something about these characters feeling very lonely, and it makes me happy that the audience is sort of picking up on that, that these two people are people that need someone. It makes sense to me that people would hope that each of them would find someone... but yeah, I don't know what's going to happen. I do feel like now, after [that] episode, that Beth and Daryl know each other on a much deeper level, in an intimate way. I don't think they feel alone the way they did before.”

Emily Kinney; MTV News; March 11th, 2014 (x).

“What do you think it is about Beth that’s allowed Daryl to open up?She’s so honest, there’s not a bad bone in her body. She’s such a non-threatening person. I think them being in this situation and him protecting her and her becoming a light in the tunnel for this guy [has got him] following her lead and showing him hope. I think that that’s something that he finds very brave and he looks up to her in that way. They’ve sort of adopted each other.//

When Daryl and Beth are in the house and he suggests that maybe they should just stay there together and Beth asks what changed his mind about whether people can be good, why do you think he’s reluctant to say that it was her? It just seems like they’re always running again and running again. Then Daryl says to Beth, “This is kinda nice. We’re having dinner together and I can protect you. You take care of me, I’ll take care of you.” She sort of sparked hope in him and I think he took that spark a little further in his head and turned it into a little fire. I think it’s a big thing for Daryl to say. For him to say that…I don’t think he’s the type of guy who puts himself out there emotionally. I think those are hard words to come out of his mouth. [...] But she’s sparking a hope and a feeling in him.”

Norman Reedus: The Daily Beast; March 13th, 2014 (x).

“I think it’s constantly changing, you know. Just like our relationships with each other. You know, I think the more she’s getting to know him, it kind of shifts. So I think that there’s been moments where she saw him just as a protector, and moments where she’s seen him as a team member and moments where she’s seen him almost like, maybe like a brotherly sort of friend kind of thing. And then probably moments too, where she’s been like, ‘Oh, maybe there’s something extra here. Something special’. So I think it’s the whole range of how she views him. I think, like, we’re still exploring that. [...] He better find me! He better not forget about me!”

“So in this last episode, you were asking Daryl ‘how do you know there’s— you still think there’s good people out there? Why?’ And then you had a realization. Was it that he knew because of Beth? Do you know what I’m saying?”Emily Kinney: Yeah, I think she realized how much he cares about her.

“I don’t know, my theory is— I definitely think Beth was having a ro— felt romantically inclined towards Daryl. That’s the way it came across to me, at least.” Emily Kinney: Yeah, I think there’s realizing that there’s something else there.”

Emily Kinney: WSC Chicago; March 14th, 2014 (x) (x) (x).

“Access: There was that great moment you and Norman had in last week’s episode. You know it. It’s the one where [Daryl] admits to [Beth] that he has changed and explains why through grunting. And it’s this awkward moment. What do you think Beth was thinking about at that point in time? What were you, as an actress, thinking about?

Emily: I was thinking that at the beginning of that scene that she doesn’t know, and she’s like, ‘No, tell me. Why?’ and I think that just, through his looks, she sort of realizes that he…. really cares about her, in a really… special way and, you know, one of the reasons that he thinks there are good people is because of her, and there’s something like maybe this isn’t – as much as they’re trying to find other people, if there are other people – like, they’re okay kind of together. I think she still doesn’t completely know because he doesn’t ever say exactly, but I think she has a hunch that – she does say at one moment, like, ‘Oh,’ and I interpreted that — I mean, I don’t know what’s to come, but I interpreted that as she understands that he cares about her on a deeper level.

Access: There are a lot of things that you could read into that. It was such an awkward moment. If he does have romantic feelings for her, because he’s very innocent in many ways, you don’t know if she feels the same way.

Emily: I think that she definitely really, really cares about him and their relationship has grown and she’s like really connected to him [in] a friendship way, but I don’t think that it’s necessarily occurred to her… that like, ‘Oh, this could be something more.’ But I definitely think in that moment, that sort of realization that, ‘Well, this is like really special — this kind of connection that has grown.”

Emily Kinney: Access; March 16th, 2014 (x).

“I would say that Daryl has already found familial love, if you’re talking romantic love, I’m going to say, ‘I think so.’”

Scott Gimple: Larry King; April 2014 (x).

Scott Wilson: @valhallapics; April 24th, 2014 (x) (x) (x).

“As the episode progressed, he saw something in her that was sort of like a little candlelight at the end of a dark tunnel. And she was saying that there are good people left, there are reasons to go on, and don’t give up hope. And I think she was that little glimmer of hope for him. And I think that’s what he was attracted. If he misconstrued those feelings as a possibly like a crush, but that’s even better. But I don’t think he went in there like, “Hey me and you.” I think he kind of like, “There’s something good in you, and I haven’t seen anything good in forever. It’s like being lost in the woods for miles and miles and starving and finding an apple tree with an apple. There’s something good out there and maybe that’s you. And maybe you could show me whatever you know and you can make Daryl have those hopeful feelings too. And I think some people might have interpreted as he thinks you’re cute or he wants to be with you. But I think it’s deeper than that.”

Norman Reedus: GoldDerby; June 12th, 2014 (x) (x) (x).

In the full interview, Bethyl comes up at 6:40. Full transcript here (x).

“It actually was a lovely place, and there is…it was a lovely place.”

Scott Gimple; Walking Dead Season 5 Preview Special; July 6th, 2014 (x) (x).

“It’s been very interesting to have this grunting, wild animal paired with this nice, young, eloquent girl who speaks her mind. [...] One taught the other how to fight, and one taught the other how to feel.

“...Beth explained to him that she thought it was pretty that somebody took the time and effort to put makeup on the dead bodies at the funeral home, to keep them alive in a sense, for their relatives to see. Daryl just didn’t understand that. She opened his eyes to the fact that there are good people out there. So many bad things have happened to both, but she shows him it doesn’t have to be this hard, that maybe there’s a glimmer of hope, a candle at the end of the tunnel showing him there’s the possibility of a good life. […] People hinted that there was more of a love thing going to happen, but I think it was much more a basic need to have something good in the world. Beth showed him that’s possible, and I think he was clinging to that hope. Then, of course, she gets ripped away from him.”

Norman Reedus: Walking Dead Magazine, Issue #9; July 15th, 2014 (x) (x).

SDCC 2014 Panel/Interviews:

“When Reedus got the script, did he think anything would happen with Daryl and Beth? Does he want them to hook up and get it over with, or does he want something deeper for his character? “This is how I took it, doing it. I took it like, if Daryl had feelings for Beth, he didn't understand them. So he was like a child, like, 'I don't understand what this means.' But, it was more intimate than a coupling.”” -NR

“Nicotera agreed with that sentiment and seemed to think Reedus nailed it perfectly in that scene. “That's what made it effective," complimented Nicotera. “When you're standing there listening to her play piano, you're just standing there watching her. And you feel like he's thinking, 'This may be the last living person I ever see.' So, I thought that was a really great connection. A lot of it wasn't in the script. The script wasn't like, 'Beth and Daryl totally hook up.' It wasn't there. But when I watched the episode, I felt I kind of wanted that, which was what he brings to it and what Emily brought to it.”” -GN

“When they pitched Season 4, they were talking about when the prison goes down and having Daryl and Beth be bunkered together. And it's interesting because I get to see all the cuts and I see all the edits from the director's cuts onward. And I loved the scene in the kitchen when they're talking, and I got the sense that Daryl was starting to kind of fall in love with Beth a little.” -GN

“I think the scenes between Beth and Daryl was a chance for the audience to get to know both of us in a different way. We have many scenes where we were talking about ourselves and our past. It was a chance for these two characters to connect and while we connected, you guys got to know Beth a little bit better. People are longing for something more than just death and destruction. We want romance, we want music, and these characters feel the same way the audience does. We don’t want to just be surviving, we want something more. I find it so fascinating that the audience immediately goes to—just because this happened or that happened, they want that. That’s what we live for, love and romance and art. It’s interesting.” -EK

“Beth and Daryl spent more time together in the second half of Season 4 than they ever had before, but “The Walking Dead” Executive Producer and Special Effects Makeup Supervisor Greg Nicotero tells Zap2It that the seeds for their relationship were actually planted earlier in the season, when Daryl tells Beth that her boyfriend Zach (played by Kyle Gallner) had been killed during the events of the first episode. “Just that little scene, which was not a big scene, really laid the groundwork for all the other stuff that came for these guys,” Nicotero says.””

“I hope so," says the actress [when asked if she wants their relationship to continue growing]. "I think they definitely have a certain connection that has grown from surviving together. They have gotten to know each other on a different level that's really special, whether its friendship or something else. It's a deeper relationship.” - EK

“Our episodes, she was like the little bright light at the end of the tunnel. And I was getting warmer and closer and closer, and then someone blew it out.” - NR

July 25th, 2014 (x) (x) (x) (x) (x).

“That song at the piano, at the funeral home was one of the ones where we were really searching for the right song. Because Scott [Gimple] said he knew he wanted there to be that moment of like, you know, singing and finding the piano and stuff. Because Daryl makes fun of her in one of the earlier episodes for singing. So, um, so they need that moment and it was just finding the right song. And what’s cool about the show is they do try to find music that maybe not everyone has heard. We went through a lot of songs. I would even learn them on the piano, send him a little iPhone voice memo, and he’d be like, “Ooh that’s cool, that one’s cool, that one maybe wouldn’t work...” So, we went through a few songs, and I was really happy when we decided to do that one because I really like Waxahatchee.”

Emily Kinney: Radio.com; August 5th, 2014 (x) (x).

Still DVD Commentary:

“Scott, the showrunner, came in to the beginning of the season with this idea that once everybody was scattered to the winds he kind of knew which groupings he wanted, and one of them was Daryl and Beth, and we were like ‘what? Have they ever even said like two words to each other?’ But makes for an interesting pairing, because it’s not who you’d expect to wind up together. I give him credit for having a very interesting, out of the box idea for these two characters.” -AK

“Well, I think it’s, you know, I think you’re exactly right everything’s been stripped away and when it feels like everything is just at the lowest point and you have lost everything like, you know, it’s not comfortable for Daryl, I think, to be intimate with somebody, like, not even just romantically, but just in terms of sharing who he is of himself because there’s so much shame. Not so much in what you’ve brought to the character and how you’ve played him, but there’s so much shame about who he was, but there is such …there’s something about Daryl that’s so real and honest and he just is who he is and Beth kind of is the same way. Like, even though they’re really different characters, there is a core kindness and sweetness to both of them that they can just talk about, you know, their real feelings in this moment.” - AK

“I did an interview with J Mascis for Dinosaur Jr, and right after we shot this— I listened to [Very Nervous and Love] the whole time on repeat during this whole episode, and I was gonna ask him, y’know, what is that song, tell me about it, and then I was like, you know, I don’t even wanna know. Like don’t even tell me…That meant this to me.” - NR

He pitched it for the closing song.

August 26th, 2014 (x) (x) (x).

“It’s a gradual change [Daryl’s arc]. It’s a progression; his relationship with Beth, too. They’re always doing this sort of like chocolate thing: ‘Here, here, it’s delicious. Oh, psych!’ and they take it away…. These characters get harder as it goes on. They have more experience with loss and grief. Everyone’s in fifth gear right now…. You know, Beth was kind like this little flame at the end of a long dark tunnel, and he was getting closer and closer, and it was getting warmer, and then someone blew it out. You know, they took my chocolate again….The whole Daryl and his thing for Beth…I always saw it as if he didn’t understand those feelings. He might have felt them, but he was sorta hopeful; that with those feelings there might have been hope there. Down the line. And it was taken from him. Same as with his brother…taken. Found his family in the prison…taken. I mean, over and over and over again. That happens to all of us.”

Norman Reedus: Horrorhound; (Sept/Oct 2014) p. 8 (x) (x).

“TV Guide Magazine: Daryl's relationship with Beth (Emily Kinney) last season could be viewed as fatherly, brotherly, or romantic. How do you interpret it? Reedus: At the end of a dark tunnel, she was the flicker of light when Daryl didn't think there was any light at that time anywhere. She gave him a little hope that there's something good left. But I think if he had any sort of romantic notions toward Beth, he didn't know what it meant. Just to have the little butterfly feeling for a second is something. It might have been like one tiny moth, but it was a flutter, and that was good enough for him.”

Norman Reedus; TV Guide Magazine; September 23rd, 2014 (x).

“Last year, I definitely felt like there was a really special connection between Daryl and Beth that happened. My take on it was that there was a very deep growing connection that could become something more romantic or could become just … you know that was my personal understanding of it. I do feel like Beth has opened up to Daryl in a way that she hasn't with other people and I do feel like Beth has never been really in love even though you've seen her with the two different boyfriends. I don't think she's ever been like, 'grownup in love' in the way that you feel like someone actually understands you and in sort of that special intimate way. And I do feel like she's been closer to that with Daryl then with anyone else.”

Emily Kinney: Business Insider; October 9th, 2014 (x).

“Kinney says that the song they were originally going to use in the scene was Neutral Milk Hotel’s “King of Carrot Flowers, but the band wasn’t interested in licensing their music. Something Kinney understands. “If you make something, you’re very precious with it,” she says. “I would love to cover that song on my own.” For now, she’s performing “Be Good” in her sets, along with another song Beth has sung on the show, Tom Waits‘ “Hold On.””

Emily Kinney: Radio.com; October 10th, 2014 (x) (x).

“And this is the room, one afternoon I knew I could love you.”

“Would Hershel support it?/What is a father to do? [...] You know, affairs of the heart are, are, are uh very personal, you know, regardless of what someone else thinks in the best interest of someone. It doesn’t mean, it really is because you can not read their heart. So if something, so if something that is mutually agreed upon, then you have to be careful with what you’re doing with that, because you can hurt them.”

Lauren: Our dad just wants us girls to be happy. He wouldn’t stand in the way of love.”

Scott Wilson & Lauren Cohan: WSC Atlanta; October 20th, 2014 (x).

“Q: Do you think Beth was fortunate to be kidnapped and ended up in a hospital rather than go to Terminus? Emily: Terminus was awful […] Although she would be with her family and that’s worth a lot, isn’t it? She’d be with Daryl... and her sister.”

Emily Kinney: 5x04′s Talking Dead; November 2nd, 2014 (x).

“What could’ve happened with Daryl.”

Emily Kinney: 5x08′s Talking Dead; November 30th, 2014.

“There’s been a lot of speculation about Daryl’s relationship with Beth. I saw him as a big brother to her, but some think he had more romantic feelings. What’s your take on their connection? I think it was very intimate and very, very close. They helped each other in these beautiful moments of grace, where the only two people who could possibly help each other helped each other and learned from each other. I think it’s beyond platonic and romantic. Those are really binary terms. All I know is they were two people who meant a lot to each other, and her loss is going to help shape who Daryl is. She’s already shaped who Daryl is. She helped Daryl put away some of the bitterness and believe there is light in the world. And yet her light being snuffed out brought out a ferocity in him. We saw that anger before the anguish last night.”

Scott Gimple: Vulture.com; December 1st, 2014 (x).

It’s okay, Scott. You can refer to them as soulmates explicitly, since you know, you already gave us the definition.

“I can make it official – Daryl Dixon is actually straight.”

Robert Kirkman: People.com; December 1st, 2014 (x).

While I usually ignore what Kirkman says, as he’s known for lying/trolling (x), it’s no coincidence that this interview came out the day after Beth “died”. It has to do with the timing. It happened the day after Coda, after the audience saw all of Daryl’s love for Beth.

“I have one song called ‘Last Chance’ on my next album[.] And I realized while I was writing that song, I was like, 'Why am I writing this weird song?’ and I realized a lot of it was just because of the thoughts that have gone through my head as Beth. I was like, 'Why do I keep feeling like I need to say this?’ … You’ll see, but it’s kind of about the end of the world.”

Emily Kinney: Access Hollywood, December 19th, 2014 (x) (x).

Norman Reedus: AMA; December 21st, 2014 (x).

“I think the chances [of C@ryl] are better now that Beth is, sadly, out of the picture. But the truth of the matter is that C@rol is definitely in a different place now than she was when they were friends. You don't really get the sense that they're as close as they used to be.”

Greg Nicotero: MTV News; February 13th, 2015 (x).

“I like all the awkward things in between that make a person and make it honest. I think that that character, once he shacks up with somebody, he’s going to be with them for life. I don’t want to blow my wad, so to speak, right off the bat, you know what I mean?”

Norman Reedus: Inquisitr; April 22nd, 2015 (x) (x).

“Allowing himself to fall in love is something Daryl Dixon wouldn’t have done until after he’s lost everything and the world’s gone to shit.”

Norman Reedus: The Guardian; September 22nd, 2015 (x) (x).

Allusion to Beth and what happened to Daryl with the loss of the prison.

“MTV: In this episode you also had Abraham and Sasha sparking up a romance of sorts — and it’s the second one on the show for both. So when are we going to finally get a romantic relationship for Daryl?Reedus: Right? [Laughs] I love them in this episode, I have to say, they’re super cute together. They’re playing with it, it’s fun to watch. Daryl’s hopeful that somebody may be that close. I don’t think he’s waiting for it, or maybe he’s already found it and has to realize it. It’s a touchy situation. But when it happens, it happens. It only happens once… It’s interesting storyline to be a part of. I’m looking forward to all of this.”

Norman Reedus: MTV News; November 11th, 2015 (x).

“Everyone was talking about Daryl and Beth having a romantic connection, was that something that you felt like it was happening? Emily Kinney: There were definitely moments in the script that made me feel like it was leading towards that, like holding hands and looks to each other and things like that.”

Emily Kinney: Stalking Dead; February 14th, 2016 at 39: 20 (x) (x) (x).

Norman Reedus: Montclair Film Festival 16; May 7th, 2016 (x) (x).

“That was just devastating, he chased that car all night long until it was daylight and he just couldn’t move anymore.”

“Daryl’s in such... a dark... state of mind, because of he lost Beth.”

Norman Reedus: The Journey so Far; October 2nd, 2016 (x) (x) (x).

“I feel like [Daryl] is such a loyal animal, so when he does that, he is gonna be with that person forever. I don’t think he was set up or raised in a way that he’s a show off in any way. I feel like once he gets over this wall, which he is getting over this wall, he’s gonna be very honest in everything he does. I think he is super loyal. I always describe him as, kind of like if you saw a coyote in an alley and it was raining, and if you fed him, he would just follow you… forever. And I think he is kind of like that with matters of the heart. When it happens, it’s gonna happen.”

Norman Reedus: Popcorn; October 10th, 2016 (x) (x).

“Daryl is a good man. He’s a good man. I think all of you know that. At what point does a father lose control of what he thinks? How much influence does it really have? She’s a grown woman now. She’s a grown young lady. It is what it is. I don’t know that he would’ve thrown a fit if they’d grown together, if they’d become united or whatever. I don’t think he would’ve been too terribly upset. It isn’t like Daryl is... You don’t see him really getting drunk, you don’t see him carousing, you don’t see him... You know, he’s a good guy.”

Scott Wilson: WSC Nashville; June 3rd, 2017 (x) (x).

“Reedus is not a fan of 'shipping, but did note that there may have been something in the past with C@rol, and maybe with Beth. Season 8 won't be season date though. He's not in the right head space for romance, and ultimately, "I don't know if Daryl would recognize it when it's happening.”

Norman Reedus: 100 Secrets From The Walking Dead’s Hundredth Episode; September 27th, 2017 (x) (x).

“Actor Norman Reedus is so close with Greg Nicotero, a special effects master as well as the show's producer and sometime director, that they are able to finish each other's sentences. The two also send each other songs to explain the emotion they want to bring to a scene. Before Daryl and Beth, two characters, burned down an old shack, Reedus sent Nicotero "Very Nervous and Love" by J Mascis.”

The Associated Press: 10 Things You Didn’t Know about the show; September 27th, 2017 (x).

#bethyl #beth greene #daryl dixon #team delusional #interviews #masterpost #bethyl is more canon than romeo and juliet

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sail-not-drift · 6 years

Photo

“The World is Wide” - a Bethyl Ficlet

She must have still been weak from blood loss the first time she decided this was a good idea. Maybe not weak enough to stop her from slipping past the multitude of eyes that never seem to leave her be; to cross the field all by herself in the blazing sun that uses her sweat to decorate her blouse like ink-drops; to choose a day when she knows he’s out hunting and will be gone till nightfall. No; physically, the day she first unzipped Daryl Dixon’s tent and crawled in to read and breathe in the quiet, she was perfectly fine.

Her mental state, however, was clearly something to worry about.

She never thinks that way when she’s here, though. In this tent—and it’s a tent, with a padded floor and beautifully arched ceiling and everything—there’s some sort of magic afoot. Magic that curls through the ends of her hair where she lets it loose across the pack Daryl uses as a pillow; magic tingling through her bare legs and her slim pale fingers as they turn the pages of books she’s read dozens of times before. She doesn’t think now is the time to be starting anything new. Not when she could die any moment. Not when she might never know how it ends.

And besides, in these cracked spines and dog-eared pages, she’s safe. She knows every tragedy, every elation, every typo and circle of smudged ink where her tears have fallen.

Stories have rules. Their sacrifices bear meaning. Even in the darkest hour a hero can rise.

The real world works like that too, according to Daddy; God the divine author, putting them through trials and tribulation so He might further the arc of the universe. It’s how Daddy maintained his sobriety. God has a plan for me, he would say. My God is the God of love who gave His son for our sins. He would not have set me on this dark path if I could not escape it.

Beth wonders if Daddy still believes that. She wonders why she ever did.

But here it doesn't matter. Here, with sunlight streaming through the mesh patches in the ceiling, a cool breeze from the pinned-open flap tickling her cheeks, the only sounds the crinkle of pages and birds chirping and her own breaths—deep and even and unthinking because even though she's more exposed here than she is in the house she doesn't feel the constant imperative to work at keeping herself alive—she lets herself gets lost. She lets herself feel.

And if one day, one reckless day, she decides to leave a book behind—her name written in bold cursive on the inside cover, faded but not erased by the long time since she came back from the store with her mama, this newest world clutched to her chest—well. It's not like Daryl scares her. Not nearly as much as the rest of her life does.

And if several days later he shuffles up to her while she's preparing dinner—dinner he never partakes in, always grabs a piece of meat and a few scoops of vegetables and retreats to the porch, his plate appearing on the drying rack silent and spotless the next morning—with that self-same book in his hand, asks her in a voice quiet like she's never imagined why she left it for him, why she's been sneaking into his tent, and, last, if one day she'd mind if he sat and read with her too...

Well.

She might still be weak, and foolish, and too young by far to be looked at like she has the answers for questions he hasn't thought of yet.

But none of that gives her pause. She doesn't hesitate as she dries her hands, looks him in the eye, tracks his darting pupils.

She smiles instead. A smile she'd forgotten she possessed. She takes the book from his hands, notes the pages folded that she herself has never touched.

She thinks about God. She thinks about sacrifice. She thinks about salvation. And she promises to bring him his story.

#bethyl #bethylff #Beth Greene #Daryl Dixon #The Walking Dead #otp: not who you were #twd #i saw this stock photo ages ago and had to write something for it #the premise is very Missing Pages but they aren't the same universe at all #my writing #ficlet

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im-immortal · 2 years

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in the works: untitled american bethyl version of 28 Days Later

“Get it through yer goddamn head already,” he muttered lowly, his tone bordering on frustration. “It. Don’t. Matter. Could be yer dad, yer uncle, yer only fuckin’ brother. Could be the last goddamn person on earth you trust. They get infected, you got about five seconds t’make the call. You wanna live, you gotta kill.”

She met his hard stare through watery eyes, nodding weakly, lips pursed. But she could tell that he was put off by the tears visibly leaking down her cheeks. She roughly wiped them away with the back of her hand and sniffled.

He narrowed his eyes and waited, as though he expected her to have more to say. And when she didn’t, he spoke again. Conclusively. Without even the faintest trace of remorse or sympathy.

“Best believe, it happens t’you, I’ll make that choice… I’ll do it in a heartbeat.”

Beth’s stomach twisted violently, but all she could do was nod in understanding. More tears poured silently down her cheeks.

He glanced away for a split-second, thoughtful. Then he met her eyes again and added quietly, “I expect the same from you. Don’t hesitate. Not even fer a second.”

“I won’t,” she assured, her voice hoarse and raspy, yet intent all the same. She straightened her shoulders and steeled herself, gathering up every last ounce of courage that remained within her battered soul, and repeated his words back to him with determination, “I’ll do it in a heartbeat.”

#bethyl fanfiction #that's right this dumb bitch is working on another new wip #i have no inspiration for any of my other wip's so here i am #i am truly sorry #no one asked for this #but it's my favorite movie of all time and i kept thinking about how well it would fit beth and daryl and here i am #it wouldn't leave my head!!!!#i have 6 chapters written so far #fingers crossed i don't lose interest and drop it right before the climax like i always do #i'm not going to post it until it's finished obviously #but uhhhhh do y'all think you will actually be interested in reading this?#let me knowwwww what you thinkkkk #SquishyCool #collage by courtney #as always!!!!

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leather-n-laces · 6 years

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Messy rundown time. This is the idea I really want to write :s

Negan’s got his Lieutenants, people who run his other outposts. What if there’s troubles brewing in the ranks?

Someone has a ‘straw that breaks the camel’s back’ moment at some point and decides they’re going to bend the rules. Do things their way, to an extent. Some way to give Negan the finger without actually giving him the finger.

Picture an outpost that’s population is largely children and families, older folks with some of the types you’d expected mixed in. Ultimately - the ‘weaker’ ones. Negan has so many people they all aren’t gonna be stone cold killers, and so long as people kneel and take his name I don’t think he’d turn anyone away really?

One outpost kind of becomes a dumping ground of sorts. Where people can go to have their kids, stay for awhile, while working/producing for the Sanctuary and the rest of the outposts. It keeps the kids out of harms way and all that crap, giving them a chance to grow up and be Negan too.

What if the leader of said outpost ‘freed’ people? It’s a major defiance to Negan but they’ve got a group there who aren’t complete psychopaths. They all know what’s going on, but no one rats because it could be their chance next, and these people are getting out.

Gavin runs this outpost. Gavin’s been with Negan for a looong time and he’s pretty tired of the man’s shit. Especially now that they’re staring down the barrel of a long, bloody war.

Beth had been grabbed on a run with a doctor and a couple of cops. The cops didn’t make it, Edwards is being kept at the Sanctuary, Beth is banged up so she’s not ‘wife’ material so she gets shipped off with Gavin because who the hell cares where Beth goes? She’s been with the Saviors awhile. Her memory is predictably jacked, everything at the hospital is kind of muddled.

She learns quick that those who make themselves useful rise in the ranks higher. She’s fast and quick, she can track, too. Making her useful to the scavengers and hunters. She’s also good with kids, as it turns out. Which works out because they’ve got plenty of them. Orphans and otherwise who need to be taught and cared for. Gavin takes a shine to her and eventually she earns his respect and trust and that earns her a place.

By the time TF show up, Gavin’s already in the habit of letting families/teenagers go. Now he’s seriously weighing the options. He doesn’t want his group, all these (mostly) innocent people caught in the cross fire, but he doesn’t want to die. Rick doesn’t seem keen on negotiating and if Negan found out they’re all as good as dead anyways.

Gavin plans a larger scale evacuation. A few babies and toddlers, teenagers, and a few parents or Saviors deemed ‘suitable’ to make the trek. These people are innocent. He can’t expect the Widow or the King to take him in, but children who pose no threat? It’s their best shot because all of the outposts have big red targets on their backs now.

That’s where Beth comes in. She and Gavin are in agreement that this needs to happen, and soon. She may be his right hand but outside of the outpost, few people have seen her. She’s less likely to be shot and killed on sight so that’s helps. That’s how Beth reunites with TF, when she shows up or is found with a small herd of people ranging from babies to elderly seeking sanctuary.

Eventually you would get Gavin possibly flipping sides and going full on Team Family (don’t worry our King, Widow, and Rick wouldn’t make it easy) Gavin/Beth/Dwight team up to make Negan fcking miserable.

Tl;dr

- Good guy Gavin

- Badass Amnesiac Babysitter Beth

- Helping the helpless

- Reunions

- Making Negan angry

again, obviously it would be Bethyl eventually but it would be a proper slow burn because...I mean she wouldn’t even remember Daryl right of so. Yup.

#sigh #rambling #Ann writes stuff #lnl writes #fanfiction ideas #bethyl fanfiction #I dont know if anyone would read it tho lol #Bethyl

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bethgreeneprevails · 6 years

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Hi BGP, After the ending of last season on TWD, I had to walk away and have not been on Tumblr at all except for maybe once or twice. I thought I would ask you if there has been any chatter at all of any possible Bethyl sightings or spoiler weirdness or anything that should give us hope to see Bethyl, or at least Beth, in the upcoming season? Thanks! Rocklobster

Hey lovely! Sorry for getting back to you so late! As far as spoilers, I have not been keeping up with many spoilers for Season 8. Though, I’m sure if there was something related to Beth Team D would’ve mentioned it and I haven’t seen much.

The only good thing is that there was a lot of filming in the woods and in the studio this season from what I have heard.

We still have quite a few things that could point us to Beth returning this season so fingers crossed!

Thanks for the ask dear! xo

#asks #ask

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twdmusicboxmystery · 4 years

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TWD 10x11: Morning Star - First Thoughts

What did everyone think of the episode? I thought it was fantabulous, of course. No major surprises, but I really loved it. Really a beautiful episode.

I know they said it would end on a cliffhanger, so we were expecting that, but we honestly didn’t get into ANY of the action until about the last five minutes of the episode. It sort of reminded me of Coda that way. Not in the story, of course. Just in the format.

As always, here are my first thoughts. The things that jumped out at me on first-watch. Tomorrow, I’ll do details.

***As always, spoilers abound for 10x11 below. Don’t read until you’ve watched! You’ve been warned!***

1) Eugene and Stephanie (girl on the radio) talk about the satellites and shooting stars (I’ll talk more about those and the clock behind Eugene tomorrow), but they kind of had a very mini Beth template here. When she hears Rosita’s voice on the radio and won’t talk to him, she disappears and he gets depressed. Then, after he sings, Stephanie comes back. She says, “I’m sorry I disappeared on you for a while.” Sounds like something Beth might say, no? So, while there was no death fake out, she did disappear for a short time before coming back.

And that made me kind of re-evaluate other things. For example, when Eugene realizes she saw the satellite, he gets really happy because he realizes they must not be that great a distance apart. And he tells her that falling satellite is what spurred him to call out on the radio to begin with. In other words, the satellite is the only reason they met/he found her. So if he leads to Beth in any way, the same will be true of Beth and Daryl. Just a thought.

2) Stephanie tells Eugene where and when to meet her. This REALLY jumped out at me, guys, and I’ll probably have to explain why, because it’s not something I’ve focused on too much in my posts. Stephanie says Charleston, West Virginia at some rail yards. The rail yards first caught my ear because train tracks were such a big part of Beth’s story line in S4/S5. (I’m wondering if the train tracks in 5x09 were a hint at WHERE Beth would appear?) But Charleston WV is also at the confluence of 2 rivers. The Kanawha (probably a native American word) and the Elk. (ELK! DEER!)

It also made me think of a specific line that me and my fellow theorists still discuss a lot. Back in 7x06, when Tara snuck into Oceanside, she hears two women talking about someone who was searching for something and went all the way to “the mouth” (we assume of a river). There was also a serious/Sirius reference thrown in.

We’ve always felt like that was significant, but its significance has never been explained in the show. Maybe what they were saying right then in the moment wasn’t super important, but I’m betting it foreshadowed Stephanie’s group, and where Eugene is going to go. They are literally sitting at the mouths (sort of ) of two rivers, and guess what those two rivers make when they cross? You guessed it: an X. (X Theory)

Now, granted, this may be where Stephanie is meeting Eugene, rather than where her people actually live, but still. I’m super excited about this. I’ll talk about it more later. For the record, this doesn’t feel like this is the Commonwealth to me. And I’m not saying the Commonwealth won’t be coming into the story very soon. I just think this particular thing is something different.

3) Several scenes reminded me of Still. First there was Lydia and Carol talking on the porch. Just the way they were sitting was reminiscent of Still. But they were also having an honest heart to heart. Then there was Rosita and Eugene. They had a heart to heart as well, which even involved romance, and they were drinking alcohol. So lots of callbacks to Still here.

I will say that the thing Lydia talked about with Carol—about how everyone has forgotten how to tell the truth—is a theme for the episode. This is a situation where they’re all pretty convinced they’re gonna die, so everyone is brutally honest with one another. Sometimes it’s harsh, but others it’s really touching (i.e. Daryl/Judith, Daryl/Zeke, Zeke/Carol, etc.)

4) The scene where Judith gives Daryl the vest is the best thing EVER!!! Even before she shows him the vest, it’s super sweet and honest and just beautiful. I just want to watch it over and over again.

And there’s an echo of Beth at the moonshine shack in it. They talk about being afraid and he tells her there’s no shame in being afraid. So it’s different than S4 because of what Beth taught him. *heart melting*

Even the scene where Daryl and Carol talk by the graves…is honestly very sweet. I laughed and commented about how dejected the shippers seemed by it. The spoilers said, “that’s it,” when it came to Daryl and Carol’s interaction, and made it sound like Daryl was still mad at her in this scene.

But it was a really touching scene between them. Different than the way they brought it across. It’s a really lovely scene about friendship and forgiveness, even though it’s only about 30 seconds long. Leave it to shippers to bash it because Carol and Daryl don’t have sex in it. 🙄

Back to the Judith/Daryl/Vest scene. There is tons of green hanging out in that scene, which made me happy. I’ll talk more about colors and such tomorrow. And how cute was it that RJ wore the vest earlier in the episode. It was so long on him, it practically dragged on the ground. *heart melting *

But the thing I really saw significant symbolism in is how Daryl puts the vest on. When Judith presents it to him, he kind of swings it up over his head and puts it on. It just felt really significant. Like it’s been mostly gone for a long time and he hasn’t been wearing it. Now he is again. And they would only do that when Beth is about to arrive or something.

5) The portraits. While we do see Beth’s and Hershel’s clearly, I felt like there was a big emphasis on Glenn. After Carol walks out, the camera zooms in on Glenn’s portrait until it’s the only one we can see for a second.

And right after that Carol goes out to talk to Daryl at the graves. Honestly, he’s probably looking at Glenn’s grave. I’m not sure why that is, but it probably has to do with Maggie’s imminent return. I have more to say about this, but it doesn’t have anything to do with this episode, so I’ll address it later. Suffice it to say, I think Glenn will somehow have a huge bearing on the show in the next little bit. I’m not sure how. And no, I don’t think he’s secretly alive or anything. I’m just reading symbolism. More on that later.

6) So I’ve been telling my fellow theorists that this is feeling more and more like a replay of 4b. I think the fall of Hilltop will mirror the fall of the prison, and chances are a lot of the characters are going to scatter into the woods and be divided into little groups. That’s only important because of what it’s setting up moving forward. And how it might point to Beth, of course. ;D Maybe I’ll do more predictions later in the week if I get time. Think of it this way: in 4b, the season ended at Terminus (train yard). And now Eugene is set to go meet Stephanie at a train yard. Just saying.

7) In the scene where Zeke and Daryl talk, there’s a part that made me laugh out loud because it was so obviously put in purposely. Daryl scratches his forehead and in doing so moves his hair off his forehead and we get a crystal clear shot of his forehead scar. The one from where Alpha cut him. Like, when does he EVER move his hair out of his eyes? And while yes, it is a knife wound rather than a bullet wound, and it’s on the opposite side, as we said before, it’s at the EXACT height on his forehead that Beth was shot at.

8) And how much does this final shot just LOOK like Still?

So those were the big things that jumped out at me. In short, we’re seeing more Bethyl templates around Eugene, and I have a really good feeling about him going to meet Stephanie. If you need a reminder, it will be the place they filmed at Grady hospital for. So there’s already going to be a lot of parallels. But I feel like a lot of things are pointing to this being where Beth shows up. *fingers crossed* And I also feel like they’re setting this war story line up a lot like 4b, and that’s a good thing.

Many more details to come. Stay tuned!

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

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darkmystress00 · 6 years

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In Living Color Ch 9

A/N: I am back from the dead!!!!! So this year has been particularly rough for me...my husband and I had some marital troubles, that basically killed my motivation to write. Then we spent many months working on us, which required me to dedicate my time to that (rightfully so). Then I went back to school for my masters degree (I'm over half way done!!). Then in August I started work again...and now...after many many MANY moons I decided to go back and reread this fic because I missed it.

I realized that part of why I was having a hard time writing it was because I didn't like the direction it was going. I didn't like the attention being given to Rick (a very married Rick) and decided I needed to go back and change it...so if it feels a little disjointed and kind of abrupt I'm sorry. I tried to make it a smooth transition. I like the idea of Beth just being happy with colors right now, rather than focusing on figuring out who her soulmate is, because having a crush on married!Rick just feels wrong to me. It might come back...it might not. I honestly haven't decided...but there you go. Enough of me rambling.

I did not send this to beta. I need to ask my lovely beta TWD_fan05 if she will take me back! (TAKE ME BACK BOO!) All mistakes are 100% mine.

Pairing: Bethyl

Catch up: Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5 | Ch 6 | Ch 7 | Ch 8 | Ch 9 |

or read on AO3 or FFN

The burial was small, quiet. Not even Carol cried. Beth had stood silently at the back of the crowd, watching how everyone just stared at the little pile of upturned dirt. She’d watched as one by one the group trickled away until it was just her and Carol. Beth moved slowly forward, studying the woman’s worn and tired face. “I’m sorry,” she started, reaching out but withdrawing quickly when the woman shrunk in on herself, “I’m sorry for your loss.” Carol just nodded. “I know I never met her, but I can tell you loved your daughter very much, and she was somethin’ special.”

“I did. She was something special.” Carol rasped out.

“You’ll always have a place to visit her now.” Beth tried. “I know it’s not the same -”

“No.” Carol cut her off. “No, that thing wasn’t my little girl.” She took a steadying breath. “My Sophia was alone in the woods. All this time I thought...I hoped. She didn’t cry herself to sleep at night. She didn’t go hungry. She didn’t try to find her way back. No, my Sophia died a long time ago. That’s just some other thing.” And with that Beth watched as Carol turned sharply on her heel and marched away from the little gravesite. She couldn’t help the choked up breath that caught in her throat at the idea of so much pain. Losing a family member was never easy or painless, but losing a child...now that was a pain so deep Beth couldn’t even fathom it.

Beth meandered her way back to the farmhouse, watching as people moved listlessly around, offering comfort where they could. This was a hard blow to the group, and she hadn’t a clue how to handle it. Her eyes landed on Rick and Lori, hugging and comforting each other, and she was only mildly surprised to find that she wasn’t being eaten alive by jealousy. Her eyes watched as they hugged each other close, whispering words of comfort into each others ear. Rick’s hand went to Lori’s still flat stomach and Beth averted her eyes.

Her stomach churned and she swallowed before moving quickly to the house to go inside. She needed to think. She needed to clear her head. So much had happened the past few days, and Beth needed to process. The squealing of the screen door signaled her entrance into the house, but she ducked her head and dashed upstairs to her bedroom, avoiding Maggie when she heard her calling her from the back of the house. She didn’t want to see her sister right now. She didn’t want to see her daddy right now. She didn’t want to see anyone right now. Silently she shut her bedroom door, before climbing up on her bed to sit cross-legged on top of her bedspread.

Her eyes landed on the fabric, fingers gently dancing along that patterns of the quilt, as she got lost in her thoughts. Her mind floated back to the image of Rick and Lori together. Beth sighed. Something was clawing away at her insides but she couldn’t put her finger on it. All she knew was that she didn’t want to wait for Rick. Rick was going to be a daddy...again. Even if he was the one that triggered her colors, she would never do anything to put herself in the middle of that family. There was so much love there, she couldn’t bare to watch it fall apart.

Beth sighed. She couldn’t even say for sure if he was her soulmate. If he was, he sure didn’t give any hints about it. Not that she was expecting him to profess his love or just come out and say it for all to hear, but the man didn’t even make mention of colors, ever. And, if he suddenly started seeing color, after being with his wife for that long, wouldn’t that cause a little bit of a surprise? Wouldn’t he even try to figure out where the colors came from? The more Beth thought about it, the more she really doubted he was her forever.

That left just one other person. Daryl. Beth contemplated him. He was quiet, and sometimes seemed protective of her (but honestly he was protective of pretty much everyone in his little group), but other than that…he seemed like he couldn’t be bothered with her. He seemed more likely to spend time with her sister than with her. Beth nibbled on her lip before letting out a sigh.

She was a right selfish little kid. She flopped back onto her pillow, staring up at the ceiling. This group had lost Shane (thank goodness), and Carol’s child Sophia, and they’d almost lost Carl. They were reeling from so much loss, and she was up here sulking and worrying about her damn colors, rather than being down there trying to comfort others. Her head jerked as a knock sounded on her door. She sat up, watching as her father poked his head into her room. “Hey Doodlebug, you alright?” She smiled at Hershel Greene.

“Yeah, Daddy. Just doin’ a little growin’ up, I think.” He gave her a confused look and she smiled.

“I can’t be worryin’ ‘bout my colors right now. Daddy, they’ve gone through so much, and I’m over here worryin’ ‘bout why I get to see all these pinks and blues, and greens, and who caused ‘em.” She shook her head. “That’s just so selfish right now.” Hershel looked like he wanted to interrupt but she stopped him. “My colors aren’t goin’ anywhere right now. I gotta help them. I gotta learn how to take care of myself. I got bigger things to worry about.” Hershel gave a nod. “I’d like to learn how to defend myself.” Her mind floated back to the incident in the barn with Shane. “I’d like to learn how to fight, and take down walkers.” Hershel’s face suddenly turned thunderous. “I know, you don’t want me to, but I could wind up like that little girl. All this,” she motioned to her room, “could go away, and if I can’t defend myself, I will wind up like that little girl.” She swallowed. “I’m big enough, I’m old enough, I need to learn, Daddy.” She studied her dad for a heartbeat before she heard him sigh.

“I know, you’re right, Bethy. But that don’t mean I’m not afraid of you gettin’ hurt.” He looked down before he made his way to her bed and sat down beside her. “You’re all I got left of your mama, and I wanna keep you safe.” He smiled at her, “But I’ve crippled you. Tryin’ to keep you safe, I kept you from being able to care of your own.” He stroked her cheek gently. “You’re right. You do need to learn. You and your sister. I’ll talk to Rick and see if he has anyone willin’ to work with us, to teach us.” Beth beamed at her dad before flinging her arms around him.

“Thank you daddy.” She breathed into his shoulder. She felt him nod before he released her gently. “I should get downstairs and start putting something together for dinner. I don’t think many people are goin’ to be too hungry, but we should still have somethin’ ready.” Hershel patted her cheek.

“You are so much like your mother. Always worrying about others and tryin’ to take care of them.” She grinned as she stood up. “Not much of that left in the world.”

“I know. That’s why it’s so important for me to keep on keepin’ on.” He nodded his agreement before he stood.

“You are right, Doodlebug, you are very very right.”

~~~

Beth groaned as she washed up for dinner. Her arms were sore, she was tired, but she was so elated. True to his word her daddy had talked to Rick about training the lot of them to defend themselves. Everyday for the past few months she’d woken up early and trained, first on how to use a gun properly, and now she was working with a knife. It was clear she needed to build more muscle, but never as clear to her as when she came home aching and dirty from training. She wasn’t even really fighting or taking down walkers, just practicing on things here and there, but she still came back aching and sore every day. It was so sad, but she was glad for the training.

Rick and Glenn both said she was coming along and pretty soon would be able to handle herself out there. She knew they were lying and just trying to be nice, but she appreciated it all the same. Daryl, never said much, but today as she’d walked away he’d mumbled out a “Doin’ good, girl.” and she’d just about broke her face with how big her smile was. Praise from Rick, Glenn, and even her daddy, was common, but to hear the ever silent Daryl mumble a word or two of praise really must have meant she was doing something right.

She washed the last of the sweat and grime from her arms and face before she dried off and made her way to the kitchen. Lori was there, peeling the last few potatoes they’d gathered from the garden, her tummy just starting to show signs of the growing baby inside. “Hello, Beth.” Lori chimed. “How was training? I hear you’re really comin’ into your own.” Beth beamed at her.

“I’m tryin’. Daddy and Rick both say I’m doing a great job, but Maggie still thinks I’m more likely to stab myself than any walkers I come across.” Beth shrugged at the thought of her sister. “I just gotta keep workin’ at it.” Beth joined her at the sink to finish peeling the potatoes so they could start making dinner. Beth watched Lori as she worked and smiled. Since Sophia’s funeral she and Lori had become quite close, laughing and talking. Lori was one of the biggest sources of her confidence when they first began this whole training situation. When they’d begun working with the guns, Lori had insisted she learn how to shoot as well, and was honestly only a touch better at it than Beth herself. They’d both laughed (because what else could you do really) when they’d started at how utterly horrible they were at shooting a target. Together they’d grown and gotten stronger until Rick had declared he didn’t want Lori working with blades and hand to hand combat given her ‘delicate’ state. Lori had snorted and torn off in a mad fury, but ultimately he had been right and Lori had taken up the household duties that Beth was doing when they’d first arrived.

“Daryl says you’ve gotten stronger.” Lori mentioned casually and Beth’s heart hammered a little faster in her chest at the idea that she impressed someone enough that they’d praise her when she wasn’t even around.

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Lori nodded, “To get a compliment from him is like moving the heavens themselves, so you must be doin’ something right.” Beth laughed.

“Well, I haven’t stabbed myself or anyone else...so I guess that’s progress right?” Lori shook her head and nudged her elbow gently.

“You don’t give yourself enough credit.”

“No, she doesn’t.” Rick added as he moved into the kitchen. Beth looked down into the sink, fumbling with the slippery potato in her hand. It wasn’t that Rick made her nervous or uncomfortable, but since Beth had decided she didn’t need to be worrying about her colors anymore, her interest and attention to Rick had dropped off drastically. It had even prompted him to ask her if everything was alright or if he’d done something to upset her. After putting his fears to rest and assuring him there was nothing wrong, he’d taken her change in attention in stride and just assumed that now that Carl was awake and moving around, and given all the time she spent training, she was just too busy to pay him any attention anymore, which was perfectly fine.

“Oh, hush you two.” Beth mumbled with a soft laugh. She scooped up the potatoes and started cutting them up to boil for dinner. “You just notice how much I’ve grown because I was so helpless beforehand.”

“Just because you know how to shoot and hold a knife without cutting yourself doesn’t make you any less helpless than before.” Maggie’s harsh voice cut in. “When it comes to fighting real walkers you still have no clue. This whole thing is just a waste of time.” Beth rounded on her sister, fury burning in her veins and causing her to see red. She wanted to open up and give her sister a good what for, but bit her cheek and kept it to herself. Her blue eyes landed on Daryl silently leaning against the doorframe behind her sister, quietly surveying the room.

“Now, Maggie, knowing the basics will help if she ever comes up on a walker.” Rick countered, “She is at least a little more prepared now.” Maggie gave a snort and Beth shoved past her. She was done trying to prove herself to her sister for today. She didn’t think anything she did, short of taking down an entire herd of walkers, would change her sister’s mind, and she wasn’t going to listen to her sister’s harsh remarks anymore. She heard Lori call after her, but kept walking, shoving open the squeaky screen door and stomping down the porch into the field. She stomped her way into the nature until she was securely in the forest and let out a frustrated scream.

Taking a few calming breaths she stared around her at the forest, soaking in all her secret colors. When she was training and busy with household chores she could almost forget her world was spilling over with vibrant colors that tickled her brain and made her stare in wonder. Almost. When she had a free minute, she’d taken to hiding in different parts of the forest, just staring, examining, and soaking in all the colors that she loved. She loved the greens of the kudzu leaves, the browns of the trees, the golden colors of the dead leaves underfoot, the pinks and yellows of the natural wild flowers around her. It was when she was alone, and it was quiet, that she was truly able to take in the beauty of the colors around her. Sometimes she’d spend many moments stroking the leaves as if to make sure it wasn’t a sort of paint that could be removed. When the green stayed in place a bright smile would take over her face and she’d move on to marvel at the next piece of nature.

Her favorite thing, which was the hardest to explain, was watching the sunset. All the reds, pinks, and oranges that slowly faded into the purples and blacks of night. Glenn had caught her one time and asked her if she was trying to go blind staring at the sun like that. She laughed and teased him, claiming she was trying to see who would win a staring contest, her or the sun. Glenn had laughed and ruffled her hair before telling her to be careful or the sun would melt her brain. She’d nodded before following him inside for dinner.

Beth sighed as she touched a kudzu leaf growing on a nearby tree. She smiled to herself. Watching her colors always calmed her down and made her feel better. Suddenly a twig snapped behind her. She whirled around, grabbing the knife from her belt and held it poised above her head to face the person sneaking up behind her.

She stared at Daryl as he stood there, a single hand up, the other poised on his crossbow, more out of habit than actual intent to use it. “Jesus, girl, what are you doin’ sneakin’ off to the middle of the forest. You tryin’ to get yourself killed?” He narrowed his eyes at her as he watched her put her blade away.

“No, I was lookin’ at the trees and leaves. Takin’ in the colors.” She said without a thinking.

“What?” Daryl watched her as her eyes snapped up to him and she paled. Did she really just say she was seeing colors?

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#bethyl #bethylff #bethyl ff #bethylfanfiction #bethyl fanfiction #bethyl fic #darkmystress00 #my fics #ILC

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