A/N: wanted to write some hcs that are going to come up in my next fic!! thank u @taylormarieee ;)
synopsis: all sfw jealous/protective hcs, daryl's a bit angry but we all just love to tease him ;)
when Daryl sees you with another man, any other guy, he's immediately pressed. especially if it's some pretentious fuck like Spencer or Aiden, or a douchebag he doesn't like.
he might ignore you for a little while, just to test the water and see how long you can go without talking to him.
sometimes he looks over at you with a soft, empathetic expression on his face. as a silent way of saying "talk to me, please".
he stares him down with that sultry look. all mean and tough, but you just think it's cute.
he tries to scare him off. grunting in his direction and bumping into his shoulder, especially if you're near.
what he doesn't realise is that you're just trying to tease him, get a reaction out of him.
and it works every time. he always comes back to you, because in truth, he just can't stand being away from you.
one day he'll confront you and ask what the deal is with whoever's taken an interest in you. "What the hell's his deal? Y'all goin' on a date?"
he'll also confront the guy eventually. "Hey. You listen ta' me. If you hurt her, say anythin' to her that hurts her feelins', I will beat yer ass into the ground. Hear me?"
of course, the guy is immediately freaking out. thing is though, you were never interested in him in the first place. you wanted Daryl, wanted him to protect you. and you got your way.
he'd approach and say, boldly; "Hey, Y/N, ya' deserve better. S'much better than tha' piece of shit,"
you explain to him that you never liked the other guy in the first place, and that it was a certain archer that you really have a crush on.
suddenly he goes all flush and tense, fidgeting with his fingertips and wondering "why does she like me?"
"Daryl, I love the way you get protective over me, when you threaten other guys and act all tough and mean. I actually think it's kinda cute."
he's stuttering and nervous, but he's sure of one thing; he loves you.
The alleyway was cold. A chill in the air sent goosebumps along Berdly’s form, his bright blue feathers puffing up as a result. He could hear the beat of his SOUL echoing in his ears, his breathing coming in slow, concentrated breaths. He could not remember being so focused before in his life. All his focus? Locked on the imposing figure that at one point he may have called his friend. Kris.
Kris, who stared him down through their navy blue bangs, with a single red eye visible through the locks of hair. Their expression was unreadable, but the look in their eye sent a shudder through Berdly. That wasn’t like the Kris he knew. This was far beyond one of their usual pranks. Something was wrong. And Noelle...
Berdly’s eyes flicked briefly towards the deer monster, clad in snow white robes, her eyes wide. There was a steady trickle of blood dripping from her ring finger, where he could see a ring of thorns wrapped tightly around it. The way she had spoken before... “It looks like another enemy. Should I freeze them?”
She had sounded so airy and far away, as if in a trance. Then, there was the way she’d screamed for him to run when he’d challenged Kris, who had only said one word: “Proceed.”
Something was wrong. Noelle was being hurt, and Kris seemed to be behind it. So Berdly resolved himself, and chose to FIGHT. No matter what was in their past, he would not allow this to continue. He may not be that smart, he may not be the strongest monster, but he was Determined. Determined enough to stand his ground, and put forth all he could to save his closest friend.
The halbird gleamed in his hands as it transformed into a spear with a swing of his arms, pointing it towards Kris and sending another flurry of bullets their way. To his frustration, their SOUL was barely grazed as they weaved through the pattern of glowing spearheads, and the shards they left behind. Gritting his teeth, he readjusted his stance, his focus barely broken as Kris spoke for the first time in the battle.
One word.
“Snowgrave.”
He missed Noelle’s response, already beginning to calculate his next attack. Maybe if he used his wind magic, he would be able to catch Kris off-guard. Then when they were down, he could reach out to Noelle, and...
“Snowgrave.”
“I’m telling you, stop! I... I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
Noelle’s rise in volume snapped Berdly out of his focus, though he remained in battle stance as his eyes flicked toward Noelle. Her hands clasped together, and she was glaring at Kris. That was good. Maybe she would stand up for herself, and help put a stop to whatever Kris was doing! Come on, Noelle... tell them! Tell them they can’t order you around like that!
“Snowgrave.” Kris’ voice still rang hollow, but there was an undertone of... something that unsettled Berdly deeply. He suppressed a shiver, his gaze turning to Noelle again, watching her response.
She was silent for a moment, closing her eyes, then she glared towards Kris once more. Berdly felt his heart sink as she sounded her reply: “Fine. You want to see what happens so bad? Watch what happens when I cast a spell I don’t know!”
Kris gave the order one more time.
“Snowgrave.”
Noelle’s arms raised towards the dark, green-gridded sky, closing her eyes as a brief sparkle of magic flared from her hands. Then nothing. All was still. Berdly held his breath, hoping against hope that it had failed. That she couldn’t cast whatever this spell was. Those hopes were soon dashed as the first snowflake fell, and Noelle opened her eyes.
They were pure white.
Berdly’s stomach plummeted as he watched a flurry begin to form around them, falling from the sky as Noelle rose upwards, magic twinkling around her outstretched hands. His eyes were locked on her, wide with mounting horror as the snow grew thicker. He could barely see her now through the onslaught, and then, from beneath him, he felt himself be overtaken by a chill that felt like knives stabbing through every part of his body. His vision went white, then blue.
He couldn’t even scream. The moment he opened his mouth, his lungs were filled with a cold so deep it felt like his very being was breaking apart from within. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t see or hear anything. All he could feel was the frost permeating his body, freezing right down to his SOUL, which began to crack. Oh, Angel, was this how it ended? He was too young to die, especially like this!
His SOUL quivered, the cracks spreading deeper. Deeper. No, no, no, he refused to die like this, he couldn’t! Noelle needed him! She was in danger! And Kris... someone had to warn the others about Kris! He felt his SOUL pulse as his Determination grew, overpowering the ice cracking it to its core. For a moment, it all stopped. Then blue faded into black as he lost consciousness.
...
...
...
His phone alarm rang.
He could hear voices, distantly muffled. Unable to make out just what they were saying, he was at least able to recognize who was behind them. The soft tones of Noelle, wavering more than usual. The rough, husky voice behind Susie. The eerie silence that he could only assume was Kris.
Come on, Berdly, open your eyes! Let Noelle know you’re okay! It was just a nightmare, that’s all!
But despite his internal urging, he couldn’t move. His eyes remained closed, his breathing coming in faint wisps. The chair beside him scooted back, and he felt a slight breeze as Noelle swept up their books. She said something to him, but he couldn’t respond. Her hooves clacked against the floor, growing more distant. No, wait! Noelle, come back! He wanted to cry, but he couldn’t.
So cold. He felt so cold.
The conversation carried on without him. Noelle’s hoofsteps sounded once more, the door opening and closing behind her. He could hear Susie’s voice raise with some sort of excitement not long after, before she, too, left the room. Then it was just silence.
But he knew they were there. Kris. It was as if he could feel their gaze, staring right into him. Then, confirming their remaining presence, their footsteps rounded the table, stopping behind him. A cold feeling shot through him as they hooked their arm around his torso, lifting him up from the chair. It wasn’t hard for them to lift him, after all, his body light as a bird monster should be. What are they doing?!
They dragged him along the computer lab, before he felt himself unceremoniously deposited in a smaller space, and Kris rummaged around for a while before closing one door, then another. Berdly felt another chill hit him, and a faint crackling sound reached his ears. It sounded almost like... frost forming.
Unconsciousness began to claim him once more, his SOUL shuddering with an unnatural cold. This isn’t right... Kris has pranked me in my sleep before but this feels... wrong. That dream, with Noelle, and Kris... It felt too real. Come on, Berdly. You don’t have time to fall asleep again. GET. UP.
His SOUL burned for a moment with Determination, staving off the ice still creeping into his core, and finally...
His eyes snapped open, and he was met with the darkness of the computer lab closet. He gulped in as much air as he could, suddenly realizing how hard it had been to breathe until just now. Then, giving his wingtips an experimental twitch, he reached into his pocket, and pulled out his phone. That’s odd... why do my hands feel so numb? He wondered, pressing the power button, causing blue light to flood the closet.
It was then that Berdly realized; he could see his own breath, coming out in little clouds. As if it were a chilly winter day, but that didn’t make sense. According to the weather feed on his phone, it was a balmy 68 degrees outside. A reasonable autumn temperature. And his SOUL... his SOUL still felt so cold.
Slowly, Berdly pushed himself up to his feet, pocketing the phone. After a moment of staggering, bumping into the shelves of the enclosed space, he found some sort of equilibrium. He experimentally pushed against the closet door and tested the knob, surprised to find it unlocked. If Kris had been trying to trap him, or hide his body, why would they...?
With a growing frown on his face, Berdly furrowed his brows, and opened the closet door, squinting from the light as he stepped out into the computer lab itself. Sure enough, Noelle had taken his books along with her own, leaving the tabletop bare. Actually, most of the computer lab was more bare than usual. Come to think of it, even the shelves in the closet had been mostly emptied.
What in the world was Kris up to...?
Berdly made his way over to the table he’d been sitting at, relieved to note that his backpack was still there. At least he didn’t have to worry about reclaiming that from Kris or Noelle.
Noelle.
Berdly’s eyes widened as his memory jolted. Remembering the blood trickling from her hand, the tremor in her voice, the dazed, distant look in her eyes before she’d snapped out of whatever trance she’d been in. He had to check on her, make sure she was safe!
Without any further hesitation, he slung his backpack over his shoulder, and threw open the door to the computer lab, surging forward into the world beyond. Into the autumn breeze of Hometown, he ran, ignoring the way his legs ached. He could worry about himself later. Right now, Noelle was his priority.
Hold on, Noelle. I’m coming!
As he bolted toward the hospital, he was too focused on his goal to notice his reflection in the window, his usually blue feathers tipped with white frost, and the tips of his wings and talons darkening with frostbite.
He understood his role as a robot-- he was made to be admired, marveled at, and praised, because look how lifelike he was! Look how advanced his AI was! He could easily be mistaken for a real bird. But he wasn’t. He knew this. He was not a real bird and was not made to be treated like a real bird.
His creator was just that. His creator. There was no emotional attachment, nor was there supposed to be. Mark Beaks was not his father, because they were not family. He was his creation, the magnum opus of Waddle technology. That was all.
So why did it make him cringe when he failed a task and got reprimanded? Why did it upset him when his creator wasn’t paying attention to him? Why did others look at him like that when they saw how Beaks treated him? Wasn’t this how it was supposed to be? Wasn’t he just meant to be a fancy toy to be shown off in public? He didn’t understand.
When the chicken and the brown-feathered duck took him from Beaks, he didn’t understand. They talked about his creator like he was some kind of bad person for how he treated him. Why did it matter? He was just a robot. He wasn’t supposed to be treated like a real bird.
They wouldn’t ask him to do the things Beaks always did. There were no demonstrations, no test flights, no laser shows. The most robotic thing they asked of him was for him to allow the chicken-- Gyro Gearloose --to perform diagnostics on him. “To make sure he was okay”, they’d said.
He didn’t understand.
Why wouldn’t they treat him like a robot? Why did they insist on treating him like a real bird, like a real child? He wasn’t real. He was a robot! He knew this! He didn’t understand, what did they want from him, what did they want?! He couldn’t understand. He lost control.
When they finally pulled him from the wrecked lab, he was shaking. Gyro checked his systems, and Fenton held his hand, once again talking to him like he was a real bird. He didn’t understand. He couldn’t truly cry, but his vocal processors stuttered and hitched when he spoke, finally asking them why they kept treating him this way.
He never forgot the answer-- spoken by Gyro in a gentle tone, that he usually only reserved for his own creations.
“You may not be a real bird, but you have an AI so advanced you may as well be one. You’re a robot, but you have thoughts and feelings just like us. You just need help understanding them. Robot or not, you deserve to be treated with kindness and respect.”
At the time, he still didn’t understand.
Months have passed since then. He’s found his place in the lab family, with Gyro and Fenton, and Lil Bulb and Manny. He’s made a friend in the form of Huey Duck. They still treat him like a real bird, but now, it doesn’t bother him. Fenton looks at him with adoration, and it’s nothing like the prideful smile Beaks always gave him. Beaks only had pride in himself, but Fenton is proud of who Boyd has become.
He’s a robot. Not a real bird. But the family he’s found is very, very real.
He thinks he finally understands.
-------------------------------------
So, I had the idea to write a Boyd Beaks drabble. We still know nothing about the kiddo, but I hc that his AI was formed using Mark’s own neural network. This leaves the poor robot with all the trauma responses and neuroses that Mark has, but with no way of understanding where they came from or what they mean.
Prompt: One November morning, it snows for the first time the hamfam is united in New York. Two weeks later, we initially decided to go sledding in the mountains.
Words: 2247
Warnings: Cursing, sarcastic humor, your dirty mind.
Notes: Now I’m not the best writer in the world and I cannot write endings for the life of me but I love you all so much and I want to express that. Also if I am unsure of your pronouns I just wrote “they/them if you want your pronouns changed let me know so I can edit the story. Also I skimmed over this and didn’t heavily proofread this so there may be errors.
Also I hope this isn’t too much about me because I’m trying to avoid that. The portrayal may be a little inaccurate but I tried my best.
More important notes: If I didn’t mention you personally, it just means that I haven’t taken the time to get to know you. All of you are amazing, special snowflakes!! This is based off of the fic that Ams @sasstran wrote, make sure to check it out for a better idea of what’s going on! It’s worth it, they’re an amazing writer.
Tags: @its-the-hamfam @thatuglydino
@5secondsofhamilton @sasstran @secretschuylersister @musicalmiranda
@psychedemigod @building-palaces-from-paragraphs @starfreckledlaurens
@casual-hamiltrash @hamiltrashtothemax
@piercethemarti @matt10nt
I probably forgot a whole bunch of people sorry!
When I first moved to New York, my mind was blown by the immensely rich culture, the glitzy, flashy lights of Broadway, the accents and the most exciting: the snow.
The first time it snowed when we moved here was two weeks ago. I am usually a heavy sleeper but the honks and whooshes of the taxis, the constant echoes of people taking outside and the unfamiliarity of the place wakes me up every night around three A.M. I figured that trying to coax myself back to sleep wasn’t going to work so I sat up and stared out the window into the city that never seemed to sleep. Something had changed around me, something was not the same. (You catch the Wicked reference? Sorry not sorry)
The drizzling of soft flakes floated down from the heavens and I bolted out of bed. Ecstatic to go scream to my best friends about the snow. I busted open the door to Poppy’s bedroom, sprinted over to her and shook her until she woke up. “POPPY HOLY SHIT IT’S SNOWING OUTSIDE!!’” (I whispered this urgently, I’m not THAT insane) Poppy blinked in confusion and replied: “Brandy, it’s three in the morning and you almost dislocated my left arm to wake me up only to tell me that’s IT’S SNOWING?!!!!”
“Uhhhhhh yeah I mean it’s exciting I guess?” I answered blankly.
A grin crossed Poppy’s face and she chuckled “WELL THIS IS A FUCKING MILESTONE I’LL GET MY CAMERA AND WE’LL TAKE PICTURES OKAY?”
“Okay.”
After getting dressed we decided to not wake anybody else up because last time we woke the entire group up to announce that we were going mini-golfing, Gee practically killed us. Quietly giggling we attempted to tiptoe out of the apartment complex. Yet, another soul was awake in those blissful, shadowy hours. Taylor emerged from her apartment with her arms crossed with a smirk.
“Are you guys trying to sneak out?” She inquired.
“No, it’s just snowing outside and we want pictures labeled: ‘First Snow’.” Poppy explained and Taylor nodded and went back into her apartment. An awkward moment of silence filled the empty hallway. Momentarily, Taylor and Rebekah reappeared dressed in their winter gear and we finally stepped outside into the crisp, frigid air adorned by snowflakes swirling around like ballerinas on a stage.
Rebekah and Taylor sat on the entrance steps and hugged while Poppy started snapping pictures and I simply stared at it in awe. I stuck out my tongue to taste the flavorless, icy flecks until Poppy shook me out of it.
“Earth to Brandy? Time for a group photo!” I sat down next to Rebekah and Taylor and Poppy asked a stranger to take it for us. I’m pretty sure Poppy gave the guy an extensive tutorial on how to take a fucking photo because when he was about to take the picture he said:
“Say ‘Hamfam’!”
We thanked the man and sent him on his way and we chilled on the doorsteps to an apartment where the rest of our family slept until we got sleepy and fell back asleep.
——————————-
November 26, 2021 9:26 AM
That moment was captured and taped into our scrap book to be kept forever but now we were all going to go for a day trip up in the mountains to go sledding. Well at least almost all of us, the rest had work or school related stuff going on so they couldn’t come with us. It took us months to find a date that would accommodate to all of our work schedules but it’s hard when you have fifty people. We all loaded up into three separate cars (with some people sitting on other’s laps) and got comfy for the long drive.
Maaike, Dorian, Gianna, Julia and I all piled into Gianna’s little blue car. Ams, Sage, Hunter, Taylor, Rebekah, Cass, Psy, and Shy crowded into Taylor’s comfy, shiny SUV. Gee, Marti, Poppy, Lea, Ari and Zoe took a cheap Chevy convertible that we all chipped in to buy as a community car. Mainly because we were blacklisted from cab services for asking all the cab drivers to play musical’s.
The second Gianna started the car “Alexander Hamilton” stared playing. Gianna was bobbing her head to the beat while the rest of us were going insane and banging our head manically as we drove through the heavy New York traffic. Once “Farmer Refuted” came on Maaike and I thought that Gianna was having a stroke or something because she almost hit a stop sign and almost got into an accident with a taxi. “GIANNA!” Julia screamed into her face as Gianna suddenly snapped back into reality. “Oh sorry guys, I was thinking about Thayne’s butt.” I leaned over to Dorian and whispered: “She hasn’t changed one bit since 2017.” Dorian nodded in agreement and laughed a little.
“BRANDY! SCOOCH YOUR FUCKING ASS OVER I HAVE NO ROOM.” Maaike screeched and the rest was cursing in Dutch. It should be noted that we go ballistic and playfully attack at each other but we never actually fight. I moved and Julia whipped out her Milky Way.
Gianna’s eyes widened and she reached for it and joked. “YOU KNOW WHO LOVED MILKY WAYS? BenNAY WOOOOOOOOOOO!”
“You aren’t getting any from me.” Julia smirked and devoured the entire bar in front of Gianna’s face. “Also, you’re not paying attention to the road Gianna.”
“Oops.”
——————————–
12:43 PM
After a very long two hours of driving and watching the scenery change we reached our destination. A winter wonderland perfect for a group of angsty long-term Hamilton fans who came from Hawaii to Austria. When I opened the car door, a blast of freezing winds pierced my skin and I already started to crave the warmth of the desert sun.
But the warmth of spending time with my family felt warmer than a fire.
Gee looked exhausted from the drive but there was still a spark of excitement under that. Psy and Shy loaded out the sleds from the trunk and we started to search for a nice hill without too many pointy sticks that would impale one of us. Sage and Hunter sang the lyrics to “A Winter’s Ball” and Cass snapped that it wasn’t even winter yet which caused Sage to chuck a small stick at Cass but ended up missing by about two feet. “A Winter’s Ball’ turned into singing holiday carols in like five different languages.
Eventually, we found a damn hill and we all voted that Ari and Zoe got to go first for actually cleaning up their apartments (including their roommate’s spaces). They both mounted the sled and out of the blue, Hunter forcefully pushed them down the hill at full speed. “WHAT THE FUCK!” Zoe exclaimed as the sled almost slapped a nearby tree. The wind whipped their faces as we all gasped in shock. The sled slowed down and they shot us synchronized glares but then they laughed and gestured for another group to ride down.
I have no clue if letting three sleds go down at once is safe but it happened. Marti and Dorian collided and they rolled down and high-dived and Ams was the ultimate sled GOD. They’re taking this sled by the reigns making the hamfam envy them insane-ly!!! With amazing steer and a calm conscious, Ams beat all of us in the first round. I wish I could tell you what was happening in their brain!
It was Shy and I’s turn now and to be honest, I was pretty nervous because the last time I went sledding I had a breakdown…yeah long story. Shy waved me over to join them and then merrily we roll along a huge ass hill. A rush of adrenaline kicked in and I think it was the same for Shy because I felt them perk up a little. The sled raked against the thin layer of snow as we both felt the friction of the snow and the raft building up until suddenly it turned over and I felt myself tumble in the frozen abyss (headfirst into the abyss). I don’t think either of us were Elsa because one, we are not magically immune to the cold, and two, we are both from not-so-cold places. The cold bothers everyone except for Ams because Ams is magical (well yeah and they’re from Finland). I dug my way out and I looked up to see my friends gasping and still laughing from the epic sled fail.
“Are you two alright?” Zoe said, shocked.
“IT’S COLD!!!!!!!!!!!!” I whined and shakily stood up. Where Shy had already got up.
“Okay, sledding isn’t too safe because Marti has a bruise on her forehead and that sled is in pieces…Anybody have ideas for something a little safer?” Rebekah asked. A smirk appeared on Gianna’s face and her eyebrows were raised. This couldn’t be good, I knew that look. Gianna had an idea. “SNOWBALL FIGHT!!!!!!”
Within only a few moments, the entire situation was in turmoil. Everybody was violently chucking humongous snowballs at each other. Cass hit three people in one shot by throwing multiple snowballs at once. Poppy was aimlessly propelling lumps of snow that mostly hit trees. I think Dorian, Taylor and Lea teamed up and approached a small group of people who were huddled up in fear and completely wrecked them. Gianna somehow climbed a tree and was forcefully flinging white balls of mush at everyone’s head. I watched as Rebekah tripped over a stick and Ams ambushed her by lightly putting the snowball on top of her head and they both laughed and hugged.
As I was trying to escape the chaos I found Ari behind a tree catching up on another TV show on her phone.
“Move over dumbass.” I laughed as Ari rose an eyebrow at me and I felt a cold sensation splatter across my face and I realized that I had fallen for one of Ari’s tricks. I cracked up and I might’ve cried, I don’t know. “That HURT!” I stuttered as I barley held in my laughter. “Your fault…dumbass.” Ari responds with a quick “that was so satisfying” under her breath.
“HE WILL NEVER BE SATISFIED, SATISFIED, SATISFIEEEEEEEDD!” Hunter bellowed.
“NON-STOP.” Maaike yelled.
A couple seconds later the entire group was surrounding us and singing non-stop harmonies.
“I love you guys.” I cried with tears of happiness (and pain from that damn snowball) rushing down my face. It got all corny with agreements and cuddles until Julia piped up:
“I’m hungry, is there food nearby?”
“YOU WERE THE ONLY ONE WITH FOOD!!” Gianna raged in fake anger.
“So??” Julia protested.
“CHILDREN CALM DOWN!” Marti intervened. “It’s been decided by the rest of us silently that we will go down to the lodge and eat food!” We nodded and loaded up the cars and drove a little further down the mountain to a lodge with a heater (thank god) and home cooked meals. We practically took up half the restaurant and we all got hot drinks and ate comfort foods. Some people got fried chicken, hamburgers, baked potatoes and macoroni and cheese. We feasted and it took about twenty minutes to split the check and the waiter got super impatient with us because two glasses were spilled and we treaded snow into the restaurant but we didn’t really care either way. While everyone was having a blast I couldn’t help but watch the snow flutter against the windows with a beauty I was unfamiliar with.
The drive back was full of Gianna’s short attention span, show tunes, and screwing around with friends (you fucking perv not that way!). It was around 10:30 when we got back and after relaxing and unwinding there was a problem. Nobody else was there. It was like Roanoke because there was zero traces of where the rest of them went. They shouldn’t have work this late and even if a couple did overtime it wouldn’t be EVERYONE. Psy called all of us over from the unsuccessful search party and showed us a note somebody had wrote.
“Since you decided to have your own fun time, so did we. We’ll be back eventually ;))))”
“Oh shit.” We all sighed in unison.
——————————–
A check in on the rest of the fam
11:01/ 23:01 PM
There was a local bar called “The Spin” where approximately thirty Hamilton nerds were hanging out for the night. Some of them drank plain old beer, some drank cocktails and the underage ones drank soft drinks (how the fuck did they get in?). Jo raised a small glass for a toast and said: “YOYOYOYOOOOO IT’S BEEN A-MA-ZIIINNNNG TONIGHT!!”
Reiley continued the toast by saying: “WE TROLLED THEM OUT OF THEIR MINDS!!”
“YUP!” Shannon said as they played footsie with Rosey and Grace under the table.
“LET’S GET EVEN MORE FUCKING DRUNK OR SUGAR HIGH FAM!!!” Vanna screamed and eventually the bar owners left while this group of drunk nerds happily sang show tunes and decided to come back in the morning when they’re gone.
One of the owners left the door open and snowflakes crept into the bar. For just a moment, within everybody’s hearts from the steps of an apartment complex to a flashy bar miles away, there was a feeling, a knowing of interconnectedness between every single one of them.
Daryl's never known anybody like you before. for the first time, a person has chosen him. you can make him feel loved just by talking to him, Hell, you can make him glow just by standing in the same room.
he thinks you're so beautiful. if love at first sight exists, which firmly believed it didn't before he met you, then this apocalypse was the best damn thing that ever happened to him.
it took Daryl a considerably long time for him to realise that his uncharacteristically affectionate feelings were love.
before Daryl realised he was in love, his brother used to constantly tease him about the way he was looking at you. he didn't even know he was doing it - "Whatchu givin' that girl puppy-dog eyes for, lil' bro?"
you two were definitely best friends before he confessed his love for you. you grew close during the prison era, and you were the first person whom he let his guard down in front of.
he can't stand to be apart from you. "If she dun' love me back, I can either be her friend or drive a thousan' miles west, an' never see y'all again," he had told Carol once.
his eyes inadvertently follow your movements, as if his subconscious felt like he needed to protect you.
everything somehow always comes back to you. a piece of jewellery he found on a run? Y/N would love that. the heating system in her house at alexandria's broken? he's fixing it tonight. in the meantime, he's at your door delivering a pile of woollen blankets. he spots a deer outside the walls? he's tracking it for days because he knows you love venison.
you love the way Daryl always steps into a situation to protect you. especially if it's another guy bothering you. he gets jealous so easily, and he doesn't even know it, like defending you is instinctual.
God forbid another man lays his hands on you. that motherfucker is already dead before you can object in the slightest.
Daryl is the only man you trust to talk about your issues with. he'd never pass up an opportunity to listen to your voice, but some of the things you tell him break his heart like nothing's ever done before.
you'll sweetly ask if he'd just hold you. and he wraps you up in his big arms and lets you cry softly into his chest while he places a hand in the back of your hair. rubbing sweet circles into the back of your neck. nothing could make you feel safer than Daryl's embrace.
after countless intimate moments like these, you start to wonder if he's like this around anyone else. surprise, surprise: he doesn't. and a part of him wishes you knew.
oh, but how much you adore him. you wonder if he knows how pretty he is; and how much you want to show him. his unkempt chocolate waves that perfectly frame his face, how much you'd like to tangle your fingers in them and kiss him all over.
you feel as though you owe him for all the times you've cried into his large, comforting figure. he occasionally brings up his past, his brother, his parents, and how much you want him to let it out. to hold him and wipe his tears away while you press soft kisses over his eyelids and cheekbones.
maybe one day, underneath some lucky constellations, you'd let each other.
summary: While out looking for Sophia, Y/N is attacked in the woods by a group of men. After managing to fight them off, she heads towards the farm and is noticeably... changed.
Your ears were ringing and your vision blurred. Four bodies lay on the ground in a formation that was anything but neat. From head to toe, you were covered in a thick layer of red. Unbeknownst to you, who stood motionless in a bloody trance, you could've easily been mistaken for a character in a cheap horror movie.
You blinked, once, twice. What the hell just happened? You inspected the nightmarish scene and suddenly it was coming back. You had been searching for Carol's little girl... what was her name? Sophia, yes. The last thing you remembered was a dirty hand covering your mouth before you reached for your knife... and the rest was a blur. Upon closer inspection, it became clear that you shot two of the guys with your short-range pistol, one in the head and one in the neck. You scrambled for your knife, which should've been tucked away in its holster, but instead, you spotted it plunged deep into the skull of one of the sickos who came at you. There was a single body left. The largest of the four men bore a filthy grey t-shirt, camo pants and combat boots. You rolled his limp body over to discover a big pool of dark red blood. You had... you had slashed his neck open. Suddenly you felt a pit in your stomach rise to your mouth and- you were about to be sick.
After expelling the only energy you had left in your body, you realised at once what that familiar growling meant, coming from a few metres away. Shit, you thought, you had to get out of here now before the men you killed start trying to kill you again, in a much more gruesome way.
You ran and ran, and could only hope you were going in the right direction. Collapsing beneath a tree, you glanced at your clothes and noticed your loose white tank top was stained completely red. After a little while the adrenaline wore off, and your stomach hurt like hell. Lifting up your shirt, it revealed a nasty cut from one end of your torso to the other. Immediately, the pain spread throughout your whole body and the excessive bleeding was almost unbearable. One of the guys must have slashed at you with a knife in an attempt to get you off of them.
Your thoughts were fading away, and it was getting harder and harder not to pass out right there. Suddenly, you heard a faint voice in the distance.
"Sophia? Sophia!" You could barely hear the voice, let alone tell who it was. Hell, for a second you couldn't remember your own name. A man appeared in your sight, and you didn't know whether to be scared or thankful. Were you hallucinating? As he approached, you noticed that the man was wielding a crossbow... it was- it was Daryl.
"Y/N? Shit, Y/N! Can ya hear me?" you looked up at him, and he could tell just by looking that you could barely keep your eyes open. "Hey, hey, it's alrigh', it's alrigh'. I'm gon' get you back and Hershel's gonna fix you up, I promise."
Hearing Daryl's voice was like a lifeline. Setting down his crossbow on the ground, he helped you up and held you with your arm draped around his shoulder. As you headed back towards the Greene Farm, warm sunlight began to filter through the trees. It felt like your brain was moving at a quarter of the pace it should be, and the sight of the Greene house in the distance, though beautiful, felt like a million miles away as you and the archer trekked towards it.
"Y/N? Oh my God, Daryl, is she okay?" said Andrea as the two of you approached the house. You were a frightening sight to see, especially for certain members of the group that hadn't quite immersed themselves in this brutal apocalypse.
"Rick! She's got a- a nasty gash underneath her shirt. Hershel better take a look at it."
Right in that moment you collapsed on the ground, falling limply out of Daryl's strong arms. The tall grass of Hershel's pasture enveloped your body, and you could no longer hear the great commotion that was taking place. Despite the incredible amount of pain you were just in, sleep was heavenly.
First came a flurry of voices. Then, the white ceiling appeared and several blurred countenances around the room. Strangely, you couldn't remember a thing about how you got here.
"D-Daryl? Where's Daryl?" you asked, innocently. Suddenly, every face in the room turned to look at you. You were pale, very pale, yet you sat upright in the makeshift hospital bed resting on your forearms.
Following a sudden rush of people turning to surround your bedside, you blacked out again.
"Everyone, I would strongly appreciate it if we could give the girl some space," spoke Hershel, calmly.
"Ya think I could stay?" said Daryl.
"Alright, then. Just don't make a big fuss."
This time, you awoke to a cool breeze through the wide open window and noticed only two figures in the room. It looked like... Daryl and Hershel?
Hershel approached you and placed a hand on your forehead, and though you felt extremely hot and clammy, he seemed to deduce that you were going to be fine.
The door swung open and in entered Shane, Glenn and Hershel's youngest daughter, the blonde one... Beth. That was it.
A wave of confusion passed over you suddenly, as if, in a second, somebody has swiftly erased your memory. "Wh- Where am I? What are you doing here?" You sat upright once more and removed the rest of the covers from yourself. Your eyes were wide and a little bloodshot, and your mouth was shaped by a distinct frown.
"Y/N, Y/N, it's alright. Daryl tells me something happened out in the woods. I just need you to tell me the story. It's okay." said Shane, leaning into you.
"What story? What happened?" Tears began to fill your eyes as you spoke and it was like your whole body was consumed in a state of fright. Immediately, you began to hyperventilate as images of mutilated bodies clouded your mind.
"What's happening?" said Beth.
"She's in shock. Everybody out!" announced Hershel.
When you awoke later, you got out of the bed in the back room and entered the living room. Everyone was gathered around, seemingly waiting to find out what on earth had happened to you. Daryl relayed the story countless times to the likes of Dale, Rick, Shane and Maggie. Just like before, they all turned to face you as if you were some lost child, or a deer in headlights. Daryl captured your eyes and noticed how they seemed... different. The same cheerful, good-spirited girl suddenly appeared before him, pale and cold, and with a new thousand-yard stare that didn't go unnoticed by a single member of the group. If they didn't believe how harsh the new world was before, they certainly did now.
"Y/N, sit down," said Dale. His manner was kind yet you couldn't help but feel threatened by anyone who tried to communicate with you.
"Tell us what happened," spoke Rick.
"I- I don't remember..." you declared. Your legs were shaking and you held you face in your hands as you wracked your brain for anything, any trace of a memory of the event that occurred earlier that day.
Bodies.
How many bodies?
"There was... four. Four bodies. Which meant... four guys, I guess?" you looked up at this statement, this time receiving several pitiful looks from around the room.
Shane was about to speak when Rick raised his hand slightly, "Let her talk."
"I don't know- I don't know! There was... blood, there was so much blood," you began, trying to muster up anything you could. "Please can I go back to bed?" At this request, Daryl practically jumped up from his seat to help you and guided you back to the bedroom to rest.
A heated debate had broken out in the front room. How many more of these men are there? Are they dangerous? Is she even telling the truth? For some members, they feared the worst and assumed that this incident would be the first of many to come, involving a new threat; people.
(one day later, at dawn)
You sat with Daryl on the white porch, facing the sunset behind the trees. The trees, in fact, that the two of you had ventured out of the previous day. Although you hadn't known him long, you decided that you enjoyed his company most of all.
"You know, I think I'm going crazy, Daryl," you said, somewhat wistfully.
"Oh yeah, why's tha'?" he drawled.
"I was just walking 'round here, over in the woods. Saw some freak stumbling around. Went to look a little closer, and this sicko was dressed up like some kind of corpse! You know, fake blood and everything. Guess he was just trying to scare little kids or something."
