#wanna see daryl and aaron remember something lydia said about her life at the start | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bidaryl · 4 months

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time travel fix it au's are done to death in this fandom but also they're my favourite thing in the world so au where the entire show happens as is and it's heartbreaking and inspiring etc but then. restart button. waking back up at the start of the end except only the people that lived remember

wanna think about what would happen when daryl and carol wake up at camp, remembering everything that happened; carol stronger, knowing in her gut that everything that she remembers is real, and daryl fucking terrified, because if everything in his head actually happened, then what the fuck is this

wanna think about a rick dragging a hostile merle and a wide-eyed glenn back to camp, memories completely intact, and running to reunite with his family. not letting daryl go and hugging carol so so so tight, collapsing to the ground with carl in his arms

wanna think about them dragging the atlanta group to the farm, maggie leaving the front porch light on for them, and everyone reuniting. rick seeing hershel again, daryl seeing beth, carol pulling sophia close, and maggie being unable to even breath, looking at glenn

wanna think about them tossing up whether to even go to the prison, but they met important people there, and alexandria's a long way, and if they're gonna survive this time–if they're gonna live–they're gonna do it right

so they go to the prison so they can figure out their next step, and michonne's there and waiting, andre on her hip, and they deal with the governor before the governor deals with them, and sasha and tyresse finally show up, they find the prisoners, and then one day they get a knock on the front gate, and it's negan

negan showing up, no baseball bat in hand but his leather jacket still in place, a sick but alive lucille by his side, laura and doctor franklin behind him, and all he's got to say is at the end of the world, i know which side i wanna be on

the fallout of that, of maggie being against it, of rick never having gotten to see negan at the end, not knowing the choices he made, the good and the bad. daryl and carol looking at glenn, seeing him alive and in love and having no memory of his last moments, and never wanting anything to ruin that, but negan saved judiths life, helped save all their lives. he chose, in the end, and now it's their turn

wanna think about a future where beth doesn't die, but they go on a rescue mission to get noah anyway. a future where tara turns up with her niece, led by eugene with abraham and rosita following right behind him

wanna think about how they'd handle terminus, how they'd handle the claimers. wanna think about them trying to find father gabriel, except gabe made it the first time around, and he wasn't wasting his second chance. he saved his flock, and he led them to alexandria, and he's waiting

wanna think of connie's group searching for hilltop. not finding maggie, or alden, but finding jesus. wanna think about lydia, being a fucking child, and watching her mother kill her dad, and remembering aaron telling her how loved she was

wanna think of the growing pains of them being able to save so many more family members this time, but god, a larger group is harder to keep alive

daryl trying to run interference with merle and everyone else, getting the jack of it one day and telling him he's already mourned him once, and he won't again. if merle wants to stay–to live–then it's up to him. daryl's not gonna babysit him anymore

rick trying to find his footing between lori and shane and judith, with carl, with michonne and andre. michonne looking at a weak but alive lori grimes holding a screaming and crying newborn in her arms, and knowing that she's never gonna be her daughter the way she was before, but knowing she'll always be something to her

carol struggling to be the mother sophia needs her to be, emotions too sharp and constantly fucking terrified. doesn't know how to hold onto someone like that anymore, either gripping too tight or not at all

maggie trying to exist in a world where she has everyone she's ever loved back, so close and so fucking dear, except it cost her her son. not knowing if she'll ever get him back at all. doesn't know how to live with the grief of losing someone she never technically had in this world

they make it to alexandria and it's aaron opening the gate for them, waiting to welcome them home

#posts u type on christmas eve when watching christmas movies #anyway this is too big and too complicated in my head but i wanna dissect it like a bug yknow #wanna see daryl and aaron remember something lydia said about her life at the start #and set off to go find her #wanna see a world where hershel meets aaron and tara #wanna see the complicated blended grimes family in action #want to see princess and tara and rick interact becos i think it'd be so so special #want to see alden and negan interact #want to see how lucille would fit into it all then see how annie would fit into it #wanna see mercer come into it wanna see him go find princess except princess finds him #also just want to see who would believe them when the truth eventually spills out #shane not believing at all that time travel could ever possibly be real and currently happening #but merle believing daryl becos daryl could break his nose daryl could fuck up his bike daryl could raise actual hell.but daryl wouldn't li #at least–not about this #just! wanna see! wanna think!#anyway. merry christmas eve im going to bed now #there are so many characters and points and interactions im probably missing or forgetting but u Get It #m #text

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askjaaryl · 5 years

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Episode #12: Moving Day in the Apocalypse

The process of moving the New Frontier closer to the other communities begins and the leader of the leader of their new enemy, the Free Men, is revealed.

Trigger Warning for discussion of past sexual assault in this episode.

Paul yawned as he woke up, feeling someone shaking his shoulder a little bit. He smiled blearily, looking up at Aaron, who already was dressed, looking like he’d showered and gotten ready long before waking him up.

“Morning,” Paul said, staring up at him.

“Morning,” Aaron said, leaning down and kissing him softly on the lips, “Figured you’d want me to wake you up a little early, give you time to get ready before he head to Richmond.”

Paul sighed, running a hand through his messy hair, “How long until we head out?”

“About an hour and a half,” Aaron explained, “Daryl already made breakfast and took Gracie to stay at Barrington and play with Hershel. If everything pans out correctly, we should be back tomorrow morning.”

“Daryl heading out to Montgomery Park with the others today?” Paul asked.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure he’s leaving before us to meet up with them. They just want to make sure everything is cleared out and working,” Aaron explained, “It’s close to Alexandria, but we just want to be sure. Then Rick wants to meet Javi for himself.”

Paul rolled his eyes.

“Be nice,” Aaron scolded with a laugh, “He’s the leader, he has to.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Paul said, stretching a little, “We’re back tomorrow then we’re back in Alexandria at the end of the week for the party, right?”

“Mhmm,” Aaron said, giving him another kiss, “It’s always a celebration with these people...but I think bringing an entirely new community into the council is something to celebrate.”

Paul just nodded, not saying anything.

“A whole new community, expanding our world, because of you,” Aaron reminded him.

Paul just rolled his eyes again, heading towards the bathroom to get ready.

Paul sat beside Aaron in their truck, at the head of the caravan that was heading down to Richmond. They had three large trucks behind the and an old school bus, as well as a few cars filled with different members from different communities.

The plan was to get the New Frontier moved as soon as possible, without attracting attention from the Free Men. The trucks behind them contained many community members, as well as some of Aaron and Daryl’s family; Sasha, Glenn, Michonne, Carol, Carl, and Lydia included, some of their heaviest hitters in case things got ugly while they were there.

Paul put his head on the window, watching as the overgrown fields and trees flew by. He finally looked back up and moved over to sit closer to Aaron, putting his head on his shoulder.

“This is a good thing,” Aaron said, smiling, “You need more friends nearby.”

Paul rolled his eyes, “Playing therapist, dear?”

“Yes, actually,” Aaron said.

Paul raised an eyebrow at him.

“Well,” Aaron cleared his throat, “I’ve been thinking...Enid really has her hands full being a doctor already but I really wanted to talk to Maggie about your idea of getting a therapist trained...what about me?”

“Really?” Paul asked, blinking in shock.

“I mean...yeah,” Aaron shrugged, “I’ve always been told I’m easy to talk to, I’m empathetic, and I’m a quick learner. Some studying and I should be good to go.”

“I mean…” Paul trailed off, “It’s a lot of work, it can be...stressful, I’ve heard. But if you want to, I support you.”

“I do,” Aaron said, smiling at him, “I’ve been helping people since before the end of the world...it only makes sense I continue now.”

Paul waved out the window and the guard on the temporary gates of the Richmond community opened. As they drove inside, he saw that they had most of their furniture, weapons, and boxes all in the center already.

Paul jumped out of the truck and walked over to Javi, shaking his hand and pulling him into a hug, “How’s it going?”

“Fended off another attack last week, but it was before they got in the gates,” Javi said, giving him a tight hug, “Thank you for this...everyone’s been on edge.”

Paul nodded, “It’s a long time coming...you should have been in the council a long time ago,” he said as he pulled away, “I brought along some friends...and a bus.”

“Thanks, man,” Javi said, smiling, “We got everything packed and ready to move, we just need to load it up and we’re good to go. Think your bus can handle about fifty?”

“Capacity on it says seventy two,” Aaron said, stepping up now, “And we all came in the cars, so we should be good.”

“Let’s get moving then,” Javi smiled.

“Where are we going?” Javi asked, “Paul, we need to go, they’re getting ready to move out.”

“One more thing,” Paul said, taking out a can of spray paint and shaking it as they walked inside the old residence hall for the community.

He found the biggest wall and moved the various rollout beds aside and started to get to work.

CLEM, GO TO LAKE RIDGE. FIND BARRINGTON HOUSE. - JESUS & JAVIER

“You really think she’s still out there?” Javi asked.

“I know she is,” Paul said, pocketing the can again, “It’s just the matter of if she comes back here...and if she does, she needs to know where to go next.”

Javi nodded, clapping him on the shoulder, “C’mon...let’s get out of here-” he started.

“RICHMOOOOND, VIRGINIA!” a voice over what sounded like a loud speaker yelled, “COME ON DOWN!”

Paul ran over to the open window, looking out. He swallowed when he saw their group in a standoff with what looked to be the Free Men.

“No,” Javi gasped.

Paul ran out, not waiting for Javi to follow. He grabbed his knife from his belt as he walked out.

“You’re outnumbered,” Michonne was saying, “Just leave.”

“We have the numbers nearby,” the man said, “This is the new world, we don’t need your laws or your damn council.”

“Good thing you weren’t invited,” Paul said as he walked over, standing beside Aaron.

The man behind the gas mask laughed, “Oh, you’ve gotten be joking,” he said before reaching back and unbuckling the straps before pulling it off.

Paul blinked a few times, his eyes stinging at the face of his ex-boyfriend, all the way back from college. It had been years since he saw him, but the wounds were still open like it was yesterday.

“Can’t believe you made it, of all people,” Brad scoffed.

“Jesus, you know this guy?” Glenn asked, gun still aimed.

“No,” Paul said immediately, putting on his best confused act.

“Oh no, he knows me,” Brad laughed, walking closer, not even phased at the immediate caulking of several guns when he did, “He ruined my fucking life, lost me my scholarships...I lost everything because of him.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Paul said simply, “But I suggests you take a step back from me...like she said, you’re outnumbers. We’re just leaving with our friends.”

“See, before we hated you because of what you stood for...the rebuilding of old mistakes again,” Brad chuckled, “But now it’s personal.”

“You don’t want to mess with us,” Paul said, looking him dead in the eyes, “Others have tried...we strong together, we always win, in the end.”

“We’ll see about that,” Brad said, smirking and looking at Javi, “You can go...for now. But just know, this isn’t over.”

“We’ll be ready,” Michonne snapped, “Trust me, you don’t want a fight with us.”

“Oh, believe me, honey, I do,” Brad said, walking backwards from Paul, whistling a song he knew all too well as he walked away, leading his group, putting the gas mask back on as he did.

“What the hell was that about?” Javi asked.

“No idea,” Paul said simply, turning back to the group, “Everyone load up, we need to get to Montgomery before sundown.”

“You wanna tell me what that was about?” Aaron asked.

“I told you, I don’t know what he was talking about,” Paul said simply, staring out at the sunset as they drove back, this time at the back of the line.

“Paul...communication and trust, remember?” Aaron asked.

Paul took a shaky breath, “Not right now, okay? Later.”

Aaron stared at him for a moment before nodding and Paul sighed in relief.

Paul jumped out of the truck immediately when they got to Montgomery. He looked up at it with a smile. Alexandria had done amazing work on their new walls, the posts were made of thick, sturdy looking wood, and the walls were made of metal, just like Alexandria’s.

“Ready to introduce me?” Rick asked when he saw him, Daryl at his side.

“Pretty sure you’re an adult and more than capable,” Paul said, running on autopilot, “Where’s Ezekiel?”

“He’s here to witness the signing,” Rick said, looking concerned, “Pretty sure he’s inside the main building. Why-”

Paul didn’t say anything, walking passed them both and hurrying in. He saw Ezekiel, who was talking to a few of the members of the Kingdom who were helping. He quickly walked up, “You’re majesty, I have some private matters about the party I’d like to discuss with you,” he said formally.

Ezekiel stared at him for a moment before nodding when he saw the expression on his face. He nodded to the two soldiers he’d been talking to, “It seems our new friends’ caravan has arrived...go help them unload their items and then turn in for the night, we leave first thing,” he said before turning back to Paul, “C’mon, we got an office set up over there for the one in charge, no one’s in there.”

Paul walked into the office quickly, sitting down on the couch and putting his hands behind his neck and ducking his head a little, releasing the pure hyperventilating breaths he’d been holding in as he did.

“Paul? Paul!” Ezekiel said in shock, closing the door and running over, sitting down beside him, “Hey, hey, hey, in your nose out your mouth, we don’t want you to pass out, man.”

“I-I can’t,” Paul said, feeling himself succumb to the impending panic attack as his hands shook, keeping a tight grip on the back of his neck.

“Paul, you’re having a panic attack,” Ezekiel said slowly, “You’re safe, just slow your breathing,” he said, rubbing his back, like he’d done many times before, but it didn’t seem to be slowly down this time, “Paul, look at me.”

Paul stared up at him, still shaking, his eyes a little glassy.

“Can you name five things you can see for me?” Ezekiel asked, still rubbing his back.

“Uh…” Paul trailed off, still breathing heavily, “Th-The walls.”

“What color are they?” Ezekiel asked.

“Dark blue,” Paul said as he exhaled, “Th-The desk.”

“Nice one, huh? We polished it up from an old office at the Kingdom,” Ezekiel said, helping him sit up a little more properly, “The third?”

“B-Books,” Paul said, calming down slightly, “Are those my law books?”

“You never read them,” Ezekiel said, “A fourth? What color is the floor?”

“Gray carpet,” Paul said, moving to grip his friend’s hand tightly.

“And a fifth?” Ezekiel asked.

“Nice sunset picture,” Paul breathed out, “Nabila paint that?”

“She did,” Ezekiel nodded and ran a hand through his friend’s hair, “Good?”

Paul took another shaky breath and wrapped his arms around his neck, burying his face in his shoulder.

“Paul, c’mon, what’s goin’ on?” Ezekiel asked in shock, but still wrapped his arms around his friend as he felt some wetness where Paul’s face was.

His friend was crying.

“The Free Men,” Paul breathed out, “Their leader…”

“Did you run into them? Is anyone hurt?” Ezekiel asked immediately.

“We ran into them, but no one was hurt,” Paul whispered, “But their leader...it’s Brad, Zeke.”

Ezekiel stared at him in shock, “No, that’s not possible…” he trailed off in shock, “It can’t be.”

Paul shook his head, tears still in his eyes, “He knew me...I think him seeing me with them made things worse,” he choked out another sob, “It feels like just yesterday that it all happened, as soon as I saw him it all came back.”

Ezekiel held him close, rocking him slightly, just like he had back in college, all those nights filled with nightmares; he never got annoyed or angry when Paul woke him up screaming. Ever.

“We will get through this,” Ezekiel assured him, “We always do. I’ll kill him myself.”

Paul didn’t say anything for a moment before sighing, “I’d like that,” he whispered, his head on his shoulder.

“Shiva will assist,” Ezekiel chuckled, his arms around him as he fixed his hair, “Are you okay?”

“Just tired now,” Paul said quietly, “Sorry for freaking out...I-I didn’t know who else to tell. I acted like I didn’t know him when he was ranting and raving about how I ruined his life and lost him his scholarship,” he scoffed bitterly, “Aaron knows what happened, but…” he trailed off, shaking his head.

“I understand,” Ezekiel said quietly and stared at him for a moment, before sounding more serious, “Paul...if he finds out here you are...don’t hesitate to come home.”

Paul nodded, still a little teary eyed, “I know,” he said, taking a deep breath and wiping his eyes on his sleeve, “I should get out there, help them-”

“No, no,” Ezekiel said instantly, “There is more than enough help. You’re going right up to a guest room and lying down.”

“Zeke-” Paul started.

“No,” Ezekiel said firmly, “You need to rest...you’re going to be exhausted.”

Paul laughed weakly, standing up, “Okay...send Daryl and Aaron up when they’re ready?”

“I will,” Ezekiel said, standing up as well and touching his cheek briefly, “Paul...this is coming from me, you need to talk to them about this...both of them. You can trust them.”

“I know,” Paul whispered, “I know I can.”

Paul wasn’t asleep when Daryl and Aaron came into the room.

“Ya okay?” Daryl asked immediately, pulling him into a hug, “Aaron said ya wasn’t actin’ right.”

“I didn’t say that, I said I was worried something was wrong,” Aaron said quickly, looking around and putting their go-bags down. The guest rooms didn’t have much furniture in them yet, but they had a bed and that was what mattered.

“I’m…” Paul trailed off, staring at their concerned faces, “There’s something we should talk about...both of us,” he said, nodding to Aaron, “I told Aaron on one of our runs, but...I never told you, Daryl...it’s about me and something that happened in my past,” he took a shaky breath, “Somehow, I feel like you can probably guess what it is...but I need to tell you.”

Daryl let him go, sitting beside him, Aaron taking his other side and taking his hand in his.

Paul took a deep breath, “When I was in college, I had a boyfriend named Brad,” he swallowed, “That relationship was abusive...and...at a party one night, he drugged my drink,” he explained quietly, “And...he raped me,” he said, looking down at the floor with tears in his eyes, “I never saw him after that; I left college and made sure to avoid anywhere I knew he’d go,” he took a shaky breath, “I never saw him again until today.”

“Paul,” Aaron breathed out in shock.

“Small world, huh?” Paul laughed weakly, though there was no humor behind it and tears were coming down his face, “The leader of the Free Men...it’s Brad.”

#cs;

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