can you write daryl and his adopted daughter headcanons when they first arrived at alexandria? i think i really miss rosie and daryl so i’ve might kinda need it <3
yay i love dad!daryl dixon headcanon — 🧸𓏲⋆.🧺𖦹 ₊˚
When he is asked why he wants to be in Alexandria he says “The kid deserves a place to live”
on their first day in Alexandria, he tells his kid to stay by his side at all times. He always stands a little in front of her, holding her hand, making sure no one’s eyes land on her for too long.
When they take away all their guns, he tucks a small dagger into her boot. He taught her how to use it a long time ago and reminds her never to let her guard down.
“Don’t wander,” he mutters, eyes scanning every house, every stranger.
“I won’t.”
“Mean it.”
She sits beside him the whole time he decides to stay out on the porch, her head lolling against his side as sleep slowly takes her. When he finally looks down and realizes she’s out cold, he gently lifts her up and walks her inside.
On their first night, she sleeps pressed against him, clutching his vest just to make sure he won’t slip away. Daryl doesn’t sleep at all.
“You ain’t runnin’, right?” she whispers.
“Where the hell I gonna go?”
“Just checkin’.”
They have a small argument about showering. The kid’s as stubborn as he is, arms crossed, pout on her face, brows furrowed insisting there’s no point if they aren’t planning to stay anyway. So he showers first.
“Ain’t stayin’,” she says. “So why bother?”
“’Cause you smell like roadkill,” he shoots back.
They dress up together for the party at Deanna’s. She isn’t nearly as excited as he thought she’d be. He tries to braid her hair, clumsy fingers and all.
But it’s at Aaron’s house, with her face covered in tomato sauce and a crooked grin while she explains how she can skin a rabbit all by herself, that he realizes… maybe this place could be home.
He lets her wander around the community to get to know it, but his eyes never leave her. She isn’t talkative anyway, so she always comes back bored and gravitates right to his side. Every time he has to go outside the gates, he takes her with him.
And even after they finally move into what’s supposed to be their house, he still sleeps sitting against her bed for a while , just in case, just until he’s sure she’s safe
something about the way daryl dixon is forced to face his trauma over and over again through the end of the world just wrecks me. every time he starts to heal, something drags him right back.
he went to the claimers after losing beth, right when he had finally allowed himself to open up and move forward. and then he’s stuck with men who are basically mirrors of his brother and his dad, the only “family” he ever had and the people he feared most. the ones who made him ashamed of who he was.
then the saviors. right when he finally found his place in a community, he’s forced back into violence, back into being the victim again, back into guilt. they break him down until he’s convinced maybe he isn’t even someone worth saving.
he’s been through hell over and over, and instead of giving him hope, they just keep weaponizing his trauma against him. and it hurts so bad to watch. they lost the plot and just how important it is for many to see a victim of grooming and abuse become a better person and find a home.
i miss daryl dixon so much, but i refuse to get rage-baited by him acting out of character... i’ll still try to watch the episodes he shares with beth, since, in my opinion, those are the strongest when it comes to his character building and development.
he’s just so kind and unguarded there, and we really get to see the extent of his trauma, how it froze his life for so long and how he’s finally starting to take it back into his own hands.
season 4 did a beautiful job constructing his character :(
what are your favorite episodes of him in The Walking Dead or Daryl Dixon series?
a tie in with erase me (glenn rhee) on wattpad and ao3
“Act kindly, be gentle, go softly.”
Character
overview of delilah's character, including personality, appearance and past.
ᥫ᭡. Overview
delilah rose dixon grew up in a trailer park close to the appalachian mountains, as the youngest and only daughter of will dixon and her mother, olivia caldwell, who she never met. she was the product of a very fast paced and quick to end relationship between her middle aged father and a very young waitress at a diner he was at during a bender. nine months later, will dixon was called to the hospital to pick up his daughter after olivia left her behind, and he took her home to her two half brothers, merle and daryl dixon. when she is twenty two years old, the apocalypse hits and she escapes atlanta with her brothers and finds a small camp near the quarry where she finally feels like she has found a home.
ᥫ᭡. Appearance
delilah is played by american actress maude apatow
she has light brown and naturally straight, fine hair. as a child, her hair was a lighter blonde that eventually darkened despite her daily exposure to the sun. unlike her half-brothers, delilah has hazel eyes that often look both brown and green in different lights. they are similar to the sights of the woods she grew up in, flashes of brown and green like the trees she spent so much of her childhood running through. she is around average height, and her smile is so big that it lights up her entire face.
delilah has a few scars around her arms, torso and legs from the abuse she sustained from her father as a teenager. they are well hidden and she prefers to cover them up.
ᥫ᭡. Personality
delilah is a kind and considerate girl, finding comfort in softness and the smallest joys in the world. as a small child, she would stay awake at night making gifts for her brothers with anything she could find. usually, she made bracelets and crowns with the flowers that she gathered from the woods, which they would accept when she was very young.
delilah is a free spirit who spends all of her free time in the woods surrounding the trailer park. she had next to no adult supervision, but she still didn't choose to stray far from home. she loves being in nature, finding flowers to take home and bonding with the wild bunnies, even trying to find deer to talk with. as she grew up and her dad's abuse started getting worse, it became delilah's solace.
ever since she was a baby, delilah has been sensitive. she is quick and easy to tears, something that comes as a disappointment to her father. when he would take her older brothers out hunting, delilah would cry for the animals that they killed and brought home, especially the bunnies that she loved so dearly. after an incident with their father where he punished delilah for crying, merle and daryl vowed to never hunt a bunny and bring it home again. daryl keeps this promise even years after the apocalypse broke out.
while delilah's trauma is different from her brothers, her father still abused her in many ways. when she was very young, it wasn't as bad, seeing as she was a toddler and the only girl of the family. once the novelty of her existence wore off, her father began to get angry at the smallest things she did, expecting her to be seen and not heard and wanting her to act like how he expected women to act. when she could not fulfill his expectations, he would get violent. this impacted delilah a lot and she became reserved and kept to herself, which only got worse once her brothers left and hardly found time to come back, leaving her alone in that house.
however, despite all of this, delilah has maintained a hopeful attitude. she never knew her mother, but still wrote letters to her every single week that she never found the courage to send. she would pray that her brothers - who despite their redneck appearances and attitude truly loved her - would come back for her and take her away. this is naive thinking, since delilah never considered that living alongside them, constantly moving from place to place and around dangerous people, would be just as bad for her as living with her father where she could at least roam free in the woods. delilah has always had hope that things would get better, counting on her vivid dreams of what her future could look like to get her by. in this way, she is a romantic.
delilah grew up lonely but always wished to experience love like the characters in the books she'd read in the library, always stuck daydreaming in her own head about a life where she is swept off her feet and will never have to remember the horrors of her childhood again.
ᥫ᭡. Past
nine months before delilah was born, will dixon left home to go on a week long bender in atlanta. his oldest son merle was doing a stint in juvy, leaving his youngest son, daryl, alone. he met a young waitress named olivia caldwell and the two of them had an affair before he returned home to the trailer park, never to speak to her again.
on a sunny night in june, will dixon was called to the hospital where baby delilah was waiting for him. olivia had added his name to the birth certificate and left her behind, leaving will no choice but to take her home to his trailer, where her half-brothers live.
as she grows into toddlerhood, delilah became a smiley and happy child who idolises her older brothers. at the age of two, she hasn't quite realised the reality of her situation. she spends a lot of time trailing a seventeen year old daryl around the trailer park despite its dangers, and sometimes on very rare occassions, merle will give her piggyback rides all the way home. her first few years of life are spent a lot safer, untouched from her father's abuse and just seen as the small little girl she was.
she first ran into problems with her father when she turned six and began getting attached to the animals she spent hours with in the woods. she would cry for them when will, daryl and merle went out hunting and returned home with dinner, especially when they killed the bunnies she loves so dearly. the first time she did it, she wept openly and ended up getting hit for it. as she grows up, will expects her to keep her opinions to herself and take care of herself. however, daryl and begrudgingly merle vowed to never kill a rabbit again just for her.
when delilah started attending school, she was excited to finally meet some kids outside of the scary older kids who would taunt her around the trailer park. but the kids at school had already been warned by their parents to stay away from her because of her family, leading to her often eating lunch alone and doing her homework assignments in the library. she instead found solace in the small moments of happiness she could find, especially with her older brothers, who were getting louder and would struggle more often against their father. she spent the majority of her free time in the woods, but would occasionally walk to the market where the old ladies who ran the stalls would feel sorry for her and let her sit with them for a few hours.
when delilah was eight years old, merle and daryl left the trailer park for good. she didn't know it at the time, but they would move around from place to place, causing trouble and holing up wherever they could become it was better than staying at home. merle had already done this thousands of time in the past, but this time he took daryl with him and left delilah in the trailer with their father alone. they would be around if she ever needed to find them, but they hardly stepped foot in the trailer again. because of this, will dixon's anger and violence as a result of his drinking was purely focused on delilah, and her abuse got much worse. later on in life, daryl was never able to forgive himself for that.
when she could get him on a good day, delilah would ask her father questions about her mother and he would answer as honestly as he could, but nothing could ever quench delilah's curiousity and belief that if her mother had taken her home that night of her birth, her life would've been so much better. she starts to write letters to her mother that she never sends, dreaming of this reality.
delilah studies her way through elementary, middle and high school hoping to get herself into nursing school so that she can get out of the trailer park for good. she gets the best grades she can, staying late until the school librarian kicked her out to keep her grades up. she gets into nursing school but not on a scholarship, meaning she would have to defer for a couple of years to pay for the tuition herself. she finds herself a job at the florist in town and manages to finally move out of the trailer park at just nineteen, scraping her way through with the bare minimum just to escape her father.
Family and Friends
the people delilah is closest with. contains spoilers for chapters that are currently out and future chapters.
ᥫ᭡. Glenn Rhee
glenn rhee is the first person delilah ever grew close to outside of her own family, the first person to ever accept her for who she is, and not for who her family is. delilah found solace in glenn from the day they met. when he would go on supply runs, glenn would look for things to make delilah happy, such as a little brown bunny plushie after she told him she's never had a stuffed animal before. they both fell in love hard and fast, developing a soft and gentle relationship that changed them both for the better. their love is young and simple, becoming exactly what delilah needed after a lifetime of abuse and abandonment from her father.
ᥫ᭡. Daryl Dixon
daryl is closest to delilah out of everyone in her family. when she was a young child, he would give her piggybacks and allow delilah to follow him around the trailer park like a little duckling. when daryl grew older and decided to leave home with merle, he left delilah behind, something he will regret for the rest of his life. daryl sees delilah in everything soft; in the rabbits he won't kill because of her sensitivity, in the flowers that bloom even through the apocalypse, in people like beth greene who change him for life and become his second chance he never got to make things right with his baby sister.
ᥫ᭡. Merle Dixon
merle has always loved delilah, but he was never able to show his love in any way she would understand. he left when she was very young, never seeing her in the woods the way daryl would, and even after the apocalypse, removed himself from ever bonding with her again. their relationship will always be complicated, especially once glenn became involved with delilah.
ᥫ᭡. Amy Harrison
amy and delilah are the only girls relatively close in age in the quarry camp, so they became pretty close friends. delilah has never experienced friendship before, and finds herself drawn to amy's carefree personality. when amy loses her life in a walker attack, delilah is devastated.
ᥫ᭡. Will Dixon
delilah's father never truly wanted her. he was left with her after her mother fled from the hospital following her birth, and didn't spend a lot of time trying to raise her. as she grew older, will grew tired of her, often taking out his anger on her because her brothers weren't home and she was the only one there. will cost delilah her childhood, something priceless that she will never get back.
Plot
a summary and recap of events that happen in delilah's life during the story. contains spoilers for chapters that are currently out and chapters coming in the future - do not read if you plan to read the fic.
ᥫ᭡. Erase Me
delilah's story opens on her living her daily life as a twenty two year old woman living on the outskirts of atlanta. she is spending the evening in her apartment when she gets a call from the hospital that her father has taken a fall. she is kind and generous, and despite everything in her urging to hang up the phone, delilah leaves to pick him up and take him home. she does just that, leaving shortly after dropping him off with two broken legs from a night out drinking.
a couple of days later, the idea of her father unable to get out of the trailer plays desperately on her mind, and against her better judgement yet again, she drives to the store and picks up a couple of groceries for him. however, when she arrives at the trailer, far away from any other civilisation, she finds her father dead and turned into a monster that she can't explain. just as her father is about to lunge at her, an arrow shoots through the air and hits him right between the eyes. daryl and merle had come back to save her, explaining that there was some sort of epidemic going around.
the three of them travel through the cover of the woods, trying to figure out their next steps. within a day or two, they discover a camp set up nearby a large quarry, reclusive enough that walkers could be kept out. while merle and daryl were planning to wait it out and rob the place for all it had, delilah found herself drawn to the camp and the people living there.
delilah grows closest to two people at the camp. one of them is amy harrison, who becomes her best friend. the two of them exchange stories and bond over their struggles to adapt to life without society. the other is glenn rhee, who never fails to make delilah's stomach do flips in his presence.
delilah and glenn fall in love quickly, spending every day together. they would go on dates by the quarry, kiss under the water and have splash fights, hold hands over the fire at night. one time when glenn was on a supply run, he found her a stuffed brown bunny and brought it back as a gift, and she fell for him even harder. her brothers watched all this happen from a distance, finding it strange to see their baby sister so happy. however, merle was still convinced that they had to rob the place and get out.
merle never gets the chance. he goes missing on the rooftop and before delilah even has a chance to grieve, walkers attack the camp and kill amy right in front of her. she clings onto glenn for a day and a half following the attack, her eyes glimmering with tears everytime she thought about the loss of her friend.
the group don't leave the camp right away, and while delilah is staring at the site of graves, she decides that she wants to do something to help the group, which she has grown attached to. she begs glenn to let her go on a supply run with him, and after a lot of convincing, glenn agrees.
but something goes terribly wrong. they're both distracted, they don't notice a lone walker creeping up behind them. before either of them can make a move, it grabs delilah and bites her shoulder. glenn can do nothing but hold onto her as she dies, begging her to stay with him and listening to her final words as he sobs. he forces himself to take her out once she passes, picking her up and taking her home one last time.
when daryl realises his baby sister is dead, he is shattered, overwhelmed by regret and grief and horror. glenn is never the same, losing the girl he loves so violently and completely blaming himself. merle doesn't find out about delilah's death until he catches up with andrea, and he blames glenn and seeks out his revenge.
ᥫ᭡. Protect Me - Delilah Lives Au
protect me is an au in the works where delilah doesn't die from a walker bite, and lives all the way through the show.
introduction to protect me (in the works)
ᥫ᭡. Teenage Au
oneshot series exploring an au where glenn and delilah knew one another as teenagers, currently in the works
Resources
where you can find more about delilah and her story
"Didn't wanna stay with your boyfriend for any longer?" Daryl asks as you join him at the gate, ready to head out for a run.
"My boyfriend? You mean the new guy who hasn't stopped bothering me since he got here?" you raise an eyebrow, laughing softly. Just the thought of looking at a man other than the one in front of you feels ridiculous.
"Yeah. You two been spendin' a lotta time together. And he's your age" he says.
"He's nice i guess. But he's not really my type." you reply, still a little weirded out by the idea.
"You got a type now? Can't be too picky when most of the population's been wiped" he points out.
"I don't think the grumpy men with southern accents have gone extinct just yet. They seem to be pretty good at this survival shit. And lucky for me I already know where to find one" you smirk and watch the hunter in front of you get visibly flustered, a hint of pink creeping up his neck.
~~i've been getting lots of support already despite being new to this game. i'm so so happy that people enjoy my silly little writings. ty >< <3
Headcanons for Daryl feeling overwhelmed in Alexandria.
Since you asked so nicely @darylsdelts
When the group first settles behind the walls, on the night they all spend together in the same house, Daryl doesn’t trust it. He doesn’t sleep at all. The quiet hum of normalcy, the laughter of kids, the clinking of dishes, the faint music from someone’s porch, it all sets his nerves on edge. Instead, he lets you lay your head in his lap, and when he’s sure you’re fast asleep, he makes you comfortable before stepping out of the house, just to make sure everything is still there.
When you finally move into your own house—just him, you, and Carol—for the first few nights he sleeps on the floor with his crossbow close, boots still on. He doesn’t join you in the shower no matter how much you tease and ask.
He refuses to wear any new clothes, even when you’ve already gathered and washed some that could still feel like his. Some nights he lays in the bed beside you just to please you, but when you wake up in the middle of the night, he’s up, looking out the window, fingers tapping on the knife in his belt. You get up, rubbing your eyes, and walk to him, hugging him from behind, holding tight around his waist. You leave a kiss on his shoulder before resting your head against him.
“You’re fine?” you ask.
He just nods. “Mhm. Yeah.”
The first time he showers is the day of the welcome party at Deanna’s house. He says he’ll go with you. You shower together, he joins once you’re already in, shy at first, but then he lets you wash his hair. You help with the dried blood stuck to him and press your lips over his scars. He smiles at you and kisses your forehead before helping you wash your hair. He never arrives at the party that night, but at least you know that whatever is happening, his love for you has remained the same.
You try to coax him into comfort, offering him dinner, small talk, or a quiet space beside you on the porch at sunset. He doesn’t say much, has never been talkative, but now he’s awfully quiet and sometimes doesn’t even meet your eyes. You sit beside him on the porch and light up a cigarette for him, taking the first drag before passing it. Then you hold his hand, resting your head on his shoulder.
“We’ll be fine,” you promise every time when his eyes finally meet yours. He presses his lips together and nods.
One evening, after a long day outside with Aaron, he walks into the house and just stops. The smell of soap, the flicker of candlelight, the way you’re humming softly in the kitchen, it’s all too much. He stands there frozen, throat tight. He doesn’t even realize he’s shaking until you turn around and see the tears in his eyes.
Daryl tries to brush it off, muttering, “’m fine, just tired,” but his voice cracks. You cross the room slowly, cautious, like you’re approaching a wounded animal. When your hand brushes his arm, he just breaks. His shoulders cave in, a small, muffled sob escaping before he can swallow it down. You open your arms, and he hugs you, resting his head on your shoulder. You hold him and run your hand over his hair, hushing him.
He apologizes even as he cries over and over. For being weak, for not fitting in, for not knowing how to live in a world that isn’t on fire.
“Ain’t supposed to be this easy,” he mumbles, tears soaking into your shirt. “Don’t feel right.”
You just hold him, one hand in his hair, the other on his back, grounding him. You don’t tell him he’s safe—he’s already heard that, and he wouldn’t believe it yet, but you tell him it’s okay to feel lost, to miss the woods and the noise and even the pain, that some nights you miss it too.
You both sleep together that night, and he changes into what are probably his first pajamas ever.
the death of Beth Greene was the death of hope in humanity, the death of a better future where people were kind, the way she died, so suddenly and unfairly, felt almost as if she had led herself to the fate that awaited her. that’s why she never gets a funeral, even after an entire chapter set in a funeral home, where she talks about how beautiful it is for people to preserve death as something sacred as if honoring death is what keeps us human, we don't see being laid to the ground, because hope can’t be buried, or the future is lost it shows in the way Maggie and Daryl keep searching for her on the road, even when she’s forever out of reach :(
Daryl and Beth represent cynicism and hope even in the smallest way, their story arc was always about her changing the way he moved in life.
Daryl hunts and eats the snake while Beth takes a break from searching water to look at the ladybug, something so pure in this way of seeing their character.
Yet again Norman Reedus denied any intention to make Caryl a real thing. It's so obvious how much they value their friendship and for me what makes it so unique and important is that it doesn't have to be any romantic intention for them to be each other's life partners.
I never lose. Live, laugh, love long life friendships that aren't ruined by fandom pressure
Daryl sighs like a tired dog as he firmly wraps his arms around you, burying his face into your chest as casually as he would if you were his mattress. He’s heavy, but not heavy enough to crush you. His hold on you is tight, but he’s not squeezing you.
You smile a little, gently combing your fingers through his hair which earns a small hum of acknowledgement from him. He nuzzles his face closer into your chest as his shoulders relax. His breathing steadies and becomes more calm, his ribs flaring in and out slowly with each breath.
“Keep pettin’ me.” He grumbles into your shirt. You huff out a small laugh.
“Petting? Are you a dog?” You tease. He scoffs and picks up his head to rest it on your shoulder, his hold on you tightening.
“Maybe.” He replies in almost a whisper. You oblige his request nonetheless, continuing to play with his hair and gently scratch at his scalp. The poor man needs it after the long, exhausting day he’s had. You’re his escape from everything ugly and cruel, the only thing that saves him from having to endure it all. His warm breath tickles your neck, his touch soft but needy.
“Need a little therapy after today?” You joke, your voice as soft as a lullaby when you speak to him.
“Fuck off.” He huffs, but there’s no real anger behind it. He’s just trying to cover up the fact that he so badly wants to say yes. You giggle quietly at his response before pressing a little kiss to the top of his head, the gesture almost nurturing.
“I got you.” You whisper sweetly. You were always such a safe space for him, which was something he needed so badly. Daryl finds himself soaking up all of your affection whenever he gets the chance. He needs it like oxygen.
Daryl’s mind gradually starts to get fuzzy as he gets more and more tired, his voice lower and his words more vulnerable. He’s not entirely there, and his usual tough facade is replaced by the needy and loving part of him that he always suppresses. His fingers gently grab at the fabric of your shirt, bunching it up in his palms a little, like he’s trying to get closer when he’s already lying in your arms. His eyelids are heavy and he’s never felt more at peace.
“Stay like this.” He murmurs, his voice barely audible.
“I wasn’t planning on moving.”
“Good. I wanna sleep like this.” The loving words feel like a dangerous confession to him, his face going slightly pink as he speaks.”
“Sounds like a plan, sweetheart.” Your words are gentle. You’re always gentle with him. He feels as fragile as glass in your arms. There’s a few seconds of silence that feels generations longer than it actually is, before Daryl speaks one more time.
“You’d be a real good mom.”
You furrow your eyebrows at that, pausing for a second.
12 years of Beth showing Daryl that grieving and being vulnerable is okay. This scene is so beautiful because it feels so intimate, the way she looks at him, full of hope and trust, and the way his voice cracks when he admits he’s tired. Right before she hugs him, her cardigan slips off her shoulder a little; the way he wants to hug her but only holds her arms, letting her be the one to close the distance… my beautiful angels.
we should all collectively ignore that for the sake of what was canon in the flagship show.
it can’t be true. it makes no sense. Merle left when Daryl was a young teenager/kid to earn money and get out of the abusive household. doing so he left daryl behind in a vulnerable state and that’s critical for daryl’s character development.
they’re fumbling around and destroying so much about the source material it’s actually insulting and makes me incredibly angry
Literally, Daryl’s struggle to grieve Merle comes from the fact that he was so young when Merle controlled his life and made him do awful things. It makes no sense with everything we’ve learned about his childhood even the story about his mom dying while Merle was on the bike and Daryl was running behind him points to a much younger kid. It completely contradicts the way their bond was built, and honestly, it really annoys me.
Wait what? In the recent flashback in twddd Merle looks like he's around 16-18 and Daryl is like 9-10 max. Who said that?! Did the showrunners say that? Cause how the hell does it work well with their "I was pretty young when all this started" which was already a stretch. This would only make Daryl older, not both Merle and Daryl younger cause no way Rooker could have passed as younger than he actually was back then
Apparently, the script for the flashback says Merle is 13 and Daryl is 10. That makes no sense to me at all , not with how Daryl’s character was developed, and definitely not with the way his dynamic with Merle is portrayed.
Hi! I was wondering if you could write some Glenn comforting reader headcanons! I love your writing styles <3
Glenn Rhee Comforting Reader Headcanons
Fem Reader
Thank you so much for the compliment <3
Glenn is incredibly attuned to your emotions and can sense when something's bothering you.
He immediately stops whatever he's doing to pull you into a tight hug.
His first focus isn't on what's upsetting you, but on making you feel better.
He'll make a silly joke to make you laugh and stroke through your hair and whisper sweet nothings into your ear until you laugh.
If you're crying, then he'll sit down and hug you until you feel safe enough to stop, even if it takes hours.
Once he's made sure that you're okay and stable, then he'll pull his attention to what's bothering you and he'll ask you to talk to him about it.
He's an incredible listener, no matter how long it takes for you to tell him about what's going on, he will sit there and listen intently for every single second.
He'll do his best to talk you through it. He may not have every solution and all of the answers, but if there's anything he can do to make you feel better, he will.
Just the sound of his voice and his presence is comfort enough most of the time.
He will attach himself to you, hold your hand as you walk so that you know he's right there with you.
Glenn makes sure you're taking care of yourself. He'll bring you food and make sure you're drinking enough water and if he can, he'll bring you something from a supply run just to make you smile.
