#Caryl fanfiction

[lola-andheruniverse]

🎄 Caryl Fanfiction Rec - Christmas Edition 🎄

Merry Christmas, my beloved carylers! Here we are for another round of sweet stories filled with the Christmas spirit (you can check the 2023 rec list here). I hope you're all feeling warm and loved today, wherever you are, whatever you're celebrating; and that this year's fics renew your love for Carol and Daryl. Read, rejoice and, please, review! Let's not forget to thank our authors for writing these precious little gifts, okay? Love you all. Caryl on, caryl on! A Christmas Sweater Collection by @spanishrose2002 [ 9Lives | AO3 | FF.net ] Summary: Caryl, AU.  Oneshot.  The man doesn’t look like the kind of man who wants a Christmas sweater collection, but Carol knows better than to judge a book by its cover—or a situation at first glance.  Rated for language. Rated: M Published: August 28, 2022 Evergreen by @subversivegrrl [ 9Lives | AO3 | FF.net ] Summary: Set between Seasons 2 & 3. The gang is on the run, finds a temporary haven, and decides to celebrate what they still have, while they can. Hints of developing Caryl relationship. Rated: T Published: December 11, 2015

Fourth Time is a Charm by @sira01 [ 9Lives | AO3 ] Summary: Daryl and Carol develop their own kind of Christmas tradition after the world breaks apart. Rated: T Published: December 26, 2016

Silent Night by Kenzieboyd08 [ 9Lives ] Summary: Carol and Daryl share a quiet Christmas moment at the prison. Rated: M Published: December 05, 2016

[angelwings-crossbowstrings]

I absolutely love writing Daryl as being captivated, even discreetly so, with Carol. Just…with the desire to give her everything, worship her. And she’s just as enthralled with him but neither of them realize the extent of the other’s devotion.

Idiots. Both of them. I love it.

[alatariel-gildaen]

Carol Peletier and Daryl Dixon as Vault Hunters.

.

.

.

Vault of the Savior

[ninelives2]

Happy September! Fanfiction Challenge, Fundraising!

We start September with two big announcements. Firstly, below you will find the details of our first fanfic challenge in several years - we hope you will be inspired to take part.

The second announcement is that, while we have been incredibly fortunate to have had enough funding to keep us going through the Caryl dark years, sadly funds are now running low. 

Our last funding drive was in 2021, and the money raised then and since has paid for upkeep costs through 2024!

We are incredibly grateful to those who have donated to the site in the past, and those who have set up a regular donation - you are seen and appreciated, friends! 

However, In order to continue Nine Lives as an active site, we need to ask for your help to boost the funds and keep the site going.

We want to keep being the Caryl safe haven you love and need through the next few years, so if you can help contribute to the running costs of the site, please click the donate button on the home page.

Thank you in advance for any donation, however small. 

FANFIC CHALLENGE - REUNIONS 

Reunited and it feels so good… After a long hiatus - enough time to take a slow boat to France and back - the Nine Lives Fanfic Challenge has returned!

To celebrate Carol’s return to the Walking Dead Universe, and the premiere of season two of TWD: Daryl Dixon The Book of Carol, we invite you to participate in the challenge by writing a fic on the theme of “Reunions”.

Just as we are reuniting with challenges, many fans are being reunited with The Walking Dead - all because we know this fall we will be witnessing another epic Caryl reunion, as Carol travels to France to find Daryl.

Your fic can be your imagining of the upcoming French reunion, or it can be any other kind of reunion. Maybe AU Caryl are attending their high school reunion? Maybe you want to expand on an already canon reunion between Carol and Daryl with new insight? Maybe pirate Caryl have a reunion on the high seas? 

Whatever kind of “Reunion” takes your fancy, here are the rules if you wish to take part in the challenge:

Challenge Dates - Submission date is September 28th; Posting date is September 29th (fics will be posted ahead of the Sunday evening premiere, to give you something to read as you wait.)

Open to - Fan Fiction (Caryl)

The Prompt - Write a story that deals with the theme of Reunion. Please remember, however, as this is a Caryl archive, the story must feature both Carol and Daryl prominently.

The Deadline - All submissions must be turned in by midnight on September 28th, Pacific Standard Time (PST).

Send a PM to tarascarol, subversivegrrl, or ikkleosu on the Nine Lives site that you want to enter the challenge. Even if you’re not sure you’ll have anything ready in time - let us know you’re planning on it. *YOU MUST DO THIS TO BE INCLUDED*

WRITE! Stories must be at least 100 words.

Multiple entries are allowed (and so veryyyy welcome)!

Do not upload it yet!

Submission Day is Saturday, September 28th – post your fic. It will not appear on the archive, but will enter our validation queue. Make sure you submit it under the Nine Lives Challenge category! Just like in challenges past, we will be suspending automatic validation for that day for all authors who enter the challenge. (This is one of the main reasons why you need to let an admin know you’ll be participating.)

Publication Day is Sunday, September 29th – We will post the master list and all of the challenges entries so everything shows up at once.

Any challenge fics posted before September 28th will be deleted. IF FOR SOME REASON you are unable to post on the 28th, please send a PM to one of the challenge mods - we will work with you.

Any questions? Post here or privately to one of the admins. Happy ficcing!

[theresnosafeharbor4myships]

Fandom: The Walking Dead (DD/TBOC), Caryl Title: Christmas Reminisce (Also on 9L)

A/N: This was my 2023 Caryl Secret Santa fic. I realize I never posted it here, so you get it now, for 2024. Merry Holidays!

Daryl bolted upright, heaving breaths through his nose as his dream world slipped away. He turned immediately to his left, but the spot beside him was empty.

“You okay?”

On his right, Carol stood at the window, the blue-white moonlight filtering in, lighting up her face just enough for him to see the concern written on it. She'd wrapped her too-large, calf-length sweater around her, her arms crossed to help ward off the cold seeping into the monastery walls.

“Mmm,” he hummed noncommittally, throwing the covers away from his legs, grateful to leave the nightmare that haunted him behind.

The chilly air immediately stole the warmth of the bed from him as he moved to stand behind her, and he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back into his chest. They stood in silence for a few minutes, slightly swaying to a slow rhythm and staring out at the frigid night, the frosted ground, the icy waters.

He'd never intended to stay in France, but he was grateful it'd turned out the way it had or he'd be fighting off the winter elements in parts unknown, and Carol...well, she wouldn't be in his arms right now, he knew that much.

On a good day in the Before, he never could've imagined visiting France. And while it wasn't home and it'd been a treacherous journey through the country, being here in a once-famous monastery was something he and Carol would forever share: the two of them—having separately traversed an ocean—found each other and ended up here. Together.

“Wanna tell me about your dream?” Her voice came softly, quietly, and without demand.

He dropped a kiss into her hair just above her ear. “Some other time.” Another kiss. “Same thing got you up?”

Silence for a few beats, then she murmured a 'no' on a sigh. “Just thinking about home. Hoping Jude and RJ aren't giving Aaron and Gabriel too much trouble.”

He waited for her to continue, and when she didn't, he asked, “Sure that's all?”

He saw her quirk one side of her mouth up in the window's reflection. “Remember our Christmas at the prison?”

He nodded. “Yeah,” he answered, an unusual sense of nostalgia washing over him. He didn't often let himself think about what had been—either the good or the bad. Both hurt too much, and he had enough on his plate on any given day without the added weight of memories. But for a few moments, holding Carol and remembering together, he let himself reminisce. The tree Carl roped Glenn into cutting down. The ornaments the kids made to decorate it. The songs the others had sung in hushed tones that echoed throughout their cell block. The smiles and laughter that accompanied them more on that one day they'd chosen to celebrate as Christmas than any day that'd come before for their group. How he'd felt like an actual part of that group of people.

“We barely had anything to make it an actual Christmas celebration, but it worked somehow.” Carol paused, and he wondered how she remembered it, which moments had solidified in her mind. “Those ugly ornaments the kids made,” she chuckled. “That bitter chocolate Hershel found in the warden's desk drawer that we made into hot choco-yuck.”

Daryl huffed a laugh, remembering Carl's name for the silt water they'd all pretended was cocoa.

Carol didn't continue, and he waited, the cold seeping through his pajamas along his back a sharp contrast to the warmth he felt with her against his chest.

“I wonder what the kids are doing this year.”

He felt more than heard the heartache in her words and wished, like she did, that they slept at home, with the kids and the rest of their family nearby.

The Nest leaders had been promising the kids in the commune a Christmas celebration, albeit a simple one, for the past week. Daryl had ignored the hype, much like he'd done with Christmases in the Before, but he'd noticed Carol's contemplative nature earlier at dinner. He'd sat next to her, deftly fending off the few attempts at conversation others threw their way. He hadn't asked her what was on her mind as they'd readied for bed, instead waiting for her to reveal what bothered her. It didn't surprise him it had to do with the kids. He missed them too.

“Hey,” he said softly, unwrapping his arms from around her and gently turning her to face him. “We're gonna see 'em again.” He cupped one hand along the side of her neck, just below her ear, his thumb running back and forth along her jawline. “Soon as the snow melts and it's safe to sail again, we're goin'.”

She peered up at him, her eyes full of trust and tears. “I know. Just feels like forever away right now. We've been gone so long...”

“Sorry I got caught up in stuff I shouldn't have. I didn't mean—”

She raised a finger to his lips. “I'm not sorry I came looking for you. And certainly not sorry I'm here.”

He nodded, believing her even as guilt sat heavy in his gut.

With a hand to the back of his neck, Carol drew his face toward her until his forehead touched hers. He closed his eyes for a minute, listening to her breathe, feeling her fingers ruffle through his hair at the nape of his neck.

“I'm so glad I found you.”

Daryl felt the breath of her words against his face and tangle in his heart. “Glad you came lookin'.”

She eased away from him a few seconds later to look into his eyes. “It's a miracle we didn't miss each other.”

“Oh, I missed you plenty,” he stated, feathering her hair away from her forehead with one hand. A smile lit up her face. “More'an you know. Never shoulda left you.”

“Now's your chance to never do it again,” she teased.

“Yes, ma'am.”

Carol shivered, and Daryl rubbed his hands up and down her arms to lend her warmth. “Head back to bed?” he asked, head nodding towards the large bed with layers of blankets on it.

She took a final glace out the window at the cold night and nodded. “Yeah.”

She waited for him to settle into the mattress before sliding under the covers and pressing her back against his chest. He draped his arm loosely around her waist as she tucked the edges of the blankets around her body, sealing the frigid air out and cocooning them in warmth.

“G'night.”

“'Night.” Daryl dropped another kiss into her hair and closed his eyes contentedly, the best Christmas present he could ever wish for wrapped in his arms.

Forever tag: @madwomanlexie @mel-loves-all @memcjo @suellenalmeida @chey1995 @itsmymeaningoflife Message me to be added or removed.

[thegratefulsouth]

From the woman who gives us all the recs, @lola-andheruniverse I have to recommend 50 days and Countdown, which I've just consumed with a little straw because they are so decadent with longing and intricate detail. I have left very spoilery reviews. Set after the finale, so perfect timing for a read with TBOC so increasingly imminent!

50 Days on Nine Lives

Countdown on Nine Lives

Thank you Lola for all your recs, and your writing, you do a wonderful job 💖

[spanishrose2002]

Does anyone happen to remember the title to the sequel for "Love Child"? Thanks!

[fictionlovingnerdgirl]

LOOKING TO DO SOME ONESHOTS / FICS!!!

I am primarily looking to do...

Carol x Daryl (No zombies AU or zombies)

Xmen x reader (Kurt, Scott, Logan, etc!!)

Christmas or thanksgiving cozy fics maybe??

Maybe something with my OC harpy if y'all are interested

Headcanons people !! Give me characters and I'll throw the craziest headacanons ever at them

Reminder!!! ->

I am not obligated to do your request, I am busy and new-ish at this kind of writing and get burnt out easily. You'll just have to wait and see if I get to your request.

[clairenovaking]

give me something i can feel (give me something real)

In the wake of finding Carol in the solitary cell, Daryl and Carol spend a night together.

A s3b Daryl/Carol canon divergence AU.

[nooowestayandgetcaught]

We Ain't Dead

read on AO3

~1k, Daryl Dixon/Carol Peletier, G-rating, S2 Canon AU Summary: Before Daryl picks up the trail in the middle of the night, he and Carol stargaze inside of Dale's RV.

[lola-andheruniverse]

AU Thursday - Caryl Fanfiction Rec

Dear fellow carylers, today's rec is of that kind of story that leaves you on the edge of your seat in the first chapter and keeps you there until the end. The plot is interesting, the pacing is engaging and Carol and Daryl are just fire together. I also love Mac, one of my favorite original characters ever. Please read this one, you won't regret it! Unseasoned Hearts, written by EnglishPoet18/ @scenglishpoet is posted on 9Lives and AO3.

Summary: The trouble with men is that they never knew when to quit, never knew quite when to flip the switch on their brain to mouth filter. It was a cold Sunday, a miserable, rainy, kind of day. The kind where you just wanted to stay inside and never leave the comfort of your bed. 

Rated: E Word count: 71.406 (35 chapters) Published: January 17, 2015 - complete

[angelwings-crossbowstrings]

Working on Blood Ties, a Caryl one shot, and some incorrect quotes.

It’s been one helluva week (surgery recovery, a car accident, illness) but it’d be nice to get something out there for you guys.

Thank you for hanging in there for me. Sorry it’s taking me so long.

I love you all. 🩵

[alatariel-gildaen]

Strangers - on AO3

[ninelives2]

Countdown to TBOC!

Just over a week until the premiere of (the increasingly awkwardly named) The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon - The Book of Carol (Season 2) and I'm sure we're all working on those reunion fics for the Nine Lives challenge... right?

If you're thinking about it but haven't signed up yet, you've still got plenty of time to get inspired and throw your hat in the metaphorical ring - we'll be turning off author validation late on Friday 9/27 in prep for everyone to submit their challenge fics on Saturday 9/28. Advance signup is required to participate. Just send a PM to us here, or to any of the admins on the Nine Lives site, saying that you want to submit a story for the challenge. We'll do the rest. (see the pinned post here for challenge details.)

And while you're at it, you might consider clicking on that "donate" button on Nine Lives' front page, to keep our little Caryl corner of the world running for the next few years.

We are, as always, grateful to all of you - for reading, for writing, for donating, for supporting us.

[my-mt-heart]

Kicking off 2024 with something fun(?) for a change. If you remember my minisode days, you may or may not remember one where I wrote Caryl beginning their relationship as enemies. One dear friend really loved it—why, I don’t know 🤷🏻‍♀️— but a year later, I wrote some additional scenes for her as gifts. She encouraged me to post them publicly, so now here I am doing that. Enjoy the links below along with a sneak peek 🫣

Stupid Bitch Part 1

Stupid Bitch Part 2

Stupid Bitch Part 3

[ikkleosu]

What was Daryl doing before he was taken?

Oh look, it feels like 2015 again and I’m combining evidence into one post for a theory. Bring it back for the remix. Okay so let’s go back to the script leak to start this theorising...

So, this tells us many many things about the set up. It tells us that Carol is looking for Daryl, and has thus discovered he is missing. Her finding his bike cannot just be a random “Carol’s out for a walk and finds Daryl’s bike”. It is MOST likely they have an agreed place where they meet or leave stuff for each other. At the end of season 1 filming, there was a location that was made to look American. It appeared to feature a garage and a bathing station.

That seems a reasonable place for Carl and Daryl to meet up - especially the bathing stations SCREAMS Carol. So lets assume that’s what this is. Now, again, having Carol just rock up and Daryl’s not there, or his bike is and he’s not, with no background to it doesn’t really work (but this is TWD so it might happen but... assuming not). They need to establish that they have this meeting place, or exchange post or whatever it is. To do that they can either show Caryl there together in a flashback, or them separately there collecting and leaving letters and goods for one another.  Obviously the former is preferable, but whatever. We know Norman filmed at this location in his pre-France clothes, and with his bike:

So at the very least we will see him there and not just proof he’s been there before. And presumably what happens is Carol shows up expecting to find him, and only find his stuff and proof he’s been there. But with this info in mind, let us look at the promo for the season and a theme that is emerging:

On it’s own, Daryl deserving a happy ending, is a bit “so what”. Particularly as it appears he went looking for it someplace not at home, and without the looming presence of Carol, it might be a very sucky thing for us Carylers. BUT it isn’t, and this is where it gets interesting...

I’m sorry, what did you just say??? “He was SO CLOSE to getting what he wanted” BEFORE he was taken. Well that’s interesting.

Obviously when Daryl left, they were very vague about why and what he was looking for. Maybe it was Rick, and maybe he was close to finding Rick - but the “being where he wanted to be”, that doesn’t sound like Rick related. It does - of course - make me think back to Leah (*spit spit*) and “where I belong” . And it must be remembered that Daryl was clear in Find Me he KNEW where he belonged, and it was with his family. So we have a discord here - he knew he belonged with his people but he went out looking for something, and at some point while out looking he gets CLOSE to finding what he wants.

There’s only IMO one way to square that circle, and it comes clear when we go back to the idea of Daryl deserving his “happy ending” and spending the spin-off DESPERATELY trying to get back home. From that we can only assume home is where he wanted to be, getting what he wanted. 

Thus, he had changed his mind. He was coming home. He had realised what he wanted was there, and always was. He was going home to CAROL. SHE is what he wanted. 

And it is possible that Carol knows that, and THAT is why she is on his tracks so fast. Because maybe at that meeting place I mentioned at the start, Daryl had told her - either in person, or in a letter, that he was coming home and she was what he wanted and where he wanted to be was with her, wherever she was. He just had to go do this thing first. 

So, when he didn’t turn up, she knew it wasn’t just that he���d met someone, decided to settle someplace else. She KNEW he was coming home and him NOT meant something bad had gone down, and when she finds his bike - well bad luck anyone who has been involved in Daryl’s absence cos they are about to be dead.