#King Ezekiel imagines

[justanoasisimagines]

I don’t want to sleep alone -Preference- Set B

Warnings; Mentions of anxiety and past trauma, typical canon violence, mentions of manlipuation and obsession. A/N; Requests are open! Guidlines are pinned at the top of my page Credit to @cafekitsune for the divider and banner

Daryl Dixon; After you and Daryl reunite after the prison fell, neither one of you wants to be out of each other's sight. Except you are both too nervous to admit it. However, one night before you go to bed, Daryl starts moving your stuff closer to his. He's not always great with words, yet his actions speak for him.

Milton Mamet; It occurs after your and Milton's third date. He drops it suddenly, and you ask him if he's positive. Milton is adamant, he even makes the promise of breakfast with coffee. When you tell him you need to grab your things, he offers to escort you.

Glenn Rhee; Glenn and you are setting up camp on the farm. making sure everyone had a tent and a space to sleep. As you go to put up your tent, Glenn suddenly gets tongue-tied. He doesn't want to sleep alone anymore. He blurts the question at you. You laugh, but ask him where he wants to sleep.

Morgan Jones; Morgan's sitting outside admiring the view. He enjoys sitting back, reflecting on the day's events and the possibilities of the future. When you step out, he immediately turns adjusting in his chair holding his hand out for you. When you tell Morgan you don't want to sleep alone, Morgan tells you, you don't have to, but asks for five more minutes

Ceasar Martinez; Ceasar and you argued. It was over your safety. He didn't want you to go on patrol but you were insistent on attempting to prove yourself. Ceasar's well aware of your capabilities, but he's terrified of losing you. He's trying to fall asleep on the couch when you walk over to him and hold out your hand. Ceasar doesn't say anything as he follows you. He's just grateful he'll be able to sleep tonight.

Ozzy; Ozzy comes to your room after a night full of tossing and turning. He needs his mind to settle and there's only one person to successfully help him. It's you. He doesn't know how you do it. Maybe it's the way you run your hands through his hair lightly tugging or how right it feels when you sleep beside him.

Spencer Monroe; Spencer comes to you after he's completed his chores. Ever since he spent the night with you he's struggled to sleep. He doesn't have anymore on his mind than usual. His body is screaming at him to sleep, but sleep evades him. It's got to be you. He can't be tired like this all the time anymore. So he heads to your place so he can crawl into bed beside you.

Brandon; Brandon is watching you as you slowly begin to nod off. He goes to make his way out of your room when you grab hold of his arm. When you ask him not to leave, Brandon unlaces his boots, shedding his clothes and gets into bed sides you. He pulls you close and quickly drifts off with you in his arms.

King Ezekiel; Ezekiel has a lot of pressure on his shoulders. He has an entire community of people to look after. Naturally, sometimes he needs to be looked after. It's late when you remind Ezekiel to go to bed. Instinctively he begins to protest. You remain firm reminding him, he's no good to anyone if he's dead on his feet. Reluctantly he agrees as long as you come with him

Dwight; Dwight thought he'd lost you. He's walking through the Sanctuary when he sees you. His heart is racing as he approaches you. His mind cannot fathom it's truly you, even after you're in his arms holding onto him for dear life. He's not going to let you out of his sight from now on. Where he goes you go and vice versa.

Aaron; It's your fifth date when Aaron finally asks you if you would like to sleep over. He knows you don't live very far away, but he would like to wake up beside you. Perhaps you could go for an early morning walk before the two of you get some breakfast before your day truly begins.

Tyreese Williams; Tyreese tells you he doesn't want to sleep alone on the first night he arrives at the prison. You're both in a new place with new dynamics. You both need something familiar. Secondly with you close by, he'll be able to keep you safe. Tyreese is still trying to figure out if the prison is a safe place for you all.

Simon; Simon's becoming more and more infatuated with you. You are everything to him. His focus is solely centered on you. He refuses to let you out of his sight. He asks you to sleep in his room so he can keep his eye on you, to keep you safe.

Phillip 'The Governor' Blake; When you approach the Governor tell him you don't want to sleep alone, the governor smirks, explaining you don't have to. Slowly his plan is coming together. Soon he'll have you in the palm of his hands. To access where your old group is currently hiding. So he can move in and take over.

Dante; Dante was supposed to be working on the inside for the Whispers, however, he never intended to meet someone or fall for them. Yet here you were. You walk into the infirmary one day with a smile on your face to ask him if he has any plans. When he reveals he does you ask him if he'd want to stay at yours. He agrees.

Bob Stookley; Bob has a lot of demons. He's fighting to be a better partner to you and a proactive member of the group. Some days are worse than others, so as you go settle for the night he asks you. You don't say a word as you grab his hand and lead him towards his cell.

Aiden Monroe; When you tell Aiden you don't want to sleep alone, he finds it endearing. He knows his parents won't mind you staying over. They adore you. Besides both of you are always so nice, it's nice to spend some time with you, even if you both are technically asleep. Aiden plans to make you breakfast in the morning.

Otis; When Rick's group comes to the farm, Everything is pure chaos. You hadn't been feeling the most comfortable with all the new people dotted around the place When you stepped into Otis's room that night, he was quick to reassure you. To provide you with a quiet space to breathe and accept the changes going on around you.

Paul "Jesus" Rovia; It had been a rough day dealing with the Saviours. Everyone was tired and stressed out. One by one everyone begins to turn in for the night. When you go to head in Jesus entwines your fingers together, asking you to come to bed with him. You nod as he leads you towards his room.

[formylovetodaryldixon]

“Russian roulette.” Daryl Dixon Imagine.

(Not my gif)

The game of killing or dying was too much for you after Richard was about to use you as bait, so you left to not be part of that life. However, it happens that you have a husband who is an excellent hunter, and who swears to you that he would burn everything in his path until he finds you.

A/N: This is an imagine I wrote a long time ago, but that was the first time I wrote smut (I suck at it, really) that's why I never did it, but I tried my best hehe. I realized that I love, LOVE writing Daryl as a husband, that is kind of hot♥ (Sorry if there are any grammatical errors)

From afar, Daryl sees you teaching the children of the Kingdom how to use the bow in the archery area. Some little ones had very good bases to become great archers, to protect themselves and others from the dead, but he sees too how they insist that you show them again how it is done. So you search inside the quiver that hangs against your back, taking an arrow with a red feather in it that shines in the morning sun when you connect it with the bow. With a fluid movement, you raise the bow to the height of your face, pointing towards the target in front but far from you, and your arrow pierces right in the middle of the yellow point of the objective.

Daryl smiles proudly, but decides not to get close when King Ezekiel approaches you. Instead, Daryl walks away from there and crosses the garden and some houses, while, near him, Richard keeps practicing in his own archery area, and watches Daryl as he approaches.

“I’m practicing. I have to start using these more.” He raises the bow close to his face, aiming towards the target, but the arrow hit the black point far from the center. “I know your wife can do much better.”

“She can.” Daryl says, and Richard turns to him.

“Morgan said you’re a bowman.” Richard takes a crossbow from the big box between them, holding a calm expression that Daryl doesn’t trust in, but he takes it, glancing at Richard with suspicion.

“Why?”

“Because we want the same things. And I need your help.”

He is talking about the saviors, Daryl knows it well, so he checks the weight of the crossbow in his hands before he lifts it close to his face, ready to shoot.

Daryl and Richard walk down the empty highway with green trees at the sides and a desolate view. The plan is to attack first, a surprise ambush that would cause a war between the Kingdom and the saviors, to then finally kill them to live safe. So they hide behind a big cargo truck by the side of the road, putting down their weapons and backpacks.

“They ride this road. If we see cars: it’s the saviors. They are coming in bands of 2 or 3. That’s why I need you. I can’t take them down alone.” Richard says. He kneels in front of his backpack, pulling the bottles out of it. “We hit them with the guns first, then with the molotovs, and back to the guns until they are dead.”

“Why the fire?”

“It needs to look bad.” But Daryl doesn’t seem convinced, and walks around Richard with his crossbow in hand, forcing him with just a look to continue explaining himself. “The saviors who discovers what’s left…” Richard gets up and turns around to look at Daryl. “We want them to be angry. I left a trail from here to the weapons cache near to an open field that will take them… to a person who practices near here and that Ezekiel cares about.”

Daryl narrows his eyes, because he was too protective to let a person be exposed like that.

“Who’s that?”

“Just a person that will help.”

“Lives in the kingdom?”

“She practices out of there.”

Daryl stops himself.

“S’ a woman?”

Richard frowns, suddenly becoming impatient.

“What’s that matter? She got more balls than you and me together. She’s not gonna die, but when the saviors come and find their friends dead, they will follow the trail and go to the gun’s cache, then to the open field and they’ll try to attack this woman…”

Daryl frowns, growing impatient as well.

“What’s 'er name?”

“They won’t kill her, but that’s gonna show Ezekiel what he needs to do. He will see she was about to get hurt because of the saviors and just then he will fight.”

Richard’s betrayal begins to unfold in front of Daryl’s eyes, but he doesn’t like what he hears, and as a reflection, his hand tightens on the crossbow.

“'er name. What is it?”

“She’s tough. She will live.”

The pieces of the puzzle begin to fit in and Daryl starts to have a complete view of Richard’s plan, but he doesn't want to act recklessly until he hears it with his own ears.

“Say 'er damn name!”

He needs to hear it to be sure. However, although his threatening look makes Richard almost surrender, he shows no fear, showing all his disinterest towards your life.

“(Y/N)”

Containing himself so as not to kill Richard at that very moment with a single arrow in his skull is the hardest thing Daryl ever did in his whole life. But his body is shaking with pure anger; the blood on his veins freezes as he listens to that man and how he put his wife’s life in danger without remorse. As if your life is worth nothing, as if you don’t have someone to defend you.

“Are ya fuckin’ crazy?” Daryl talks with a low, yet angry voice. “Ya jus’ dared to put in risk ma wife’s life jus’ ‘cause ya think she can handle a group of saviors?”

“You two told Ezekiel that anything had to be done to stop the saviors.”

Again, even when he has the chance, Daryl uses all his strength to not shoot an arrow in Richard’s face, and he walks around him to take his things to leave that place.

“No.”

“She’ll live. Listen… this is how this has to happen. This is how we will get rid of the saviors. You two stayed in the Kingdom for a reason: to prove to Ezekiel we can kill them. Together. So we can all have a future.”

“No!” Daryl passes him by, walking away from him.

“If we don’t do something people are gonna die!” Richard walks towards him and Daryl faces him. “People who wants to live!”

“Get the hell away from ma wife, ya hear me?”

Daryl gets close to him, looking straight into his eyes. Richard backs away, but hearing the roar of the cars that approaches in the distance attracts his attention. Daryl drops his backpack off his shoulder and holds his crossbow, watching the saviors’ path toward them coming down the hill.

There, Richard looks at Daryl.

“It’s them. We can wait for things to go bad, lose people, or we can do the hard thing…” He glances back at the enemy for a few seconds before looking at Daryl again. “Or choose our fates for ourselves.”

“No.”

Richard shrugs his shoulders.

“Sorry.”

He turns around to carry out his plan with or without Daryl’s help, but Daryl drops his crossbow and takes Richard by the collar of his t–shirt to push him to the ground. He tries to fight back, but Daryl holds him with his own arm close to Richard’s neck to punch him, over and over until a river of blood descends from his nose to cover part of his face. Richard whines taking a canteen next to him and hit Daryl, falling onto a side as both crawl on the ground to take their weapons to aim at their faces when they get up.

Richard breathes through his parted and broken lips, and nods towards the saviors.

“There will be more. Or they will come back later, and we will have another chance. But we are running out of time. Your people need the Kingdom to beat the saviors… We have to make sacrifices in one way or another. Guys like us… we’ve already lost so much.”

Daryl sees in his eyes the sadness of a loss, but that would never justify taking the life of another person to win that fight, not that way or any way.

“Ya don’ know me.”

“I know that (Y/N) is stronger than us.”

To Richard’s own surprise, Daryl lowers his crossbow, but the fierce look in his eyes is enough to make Richard take a step back.

“I’ll tell ya this jus’ once: If ma wife gets hurt, she dies, she catches a fever, she gets taken out by a walker, she gets hit by lighting, anythin’ happens to her, I’ll kill ya. Even if she jus’ gets a small cut in ‘er body, I’ll kill ya. So from now on: don’ talk to her, don’ look at her, don’ breathe near her. Fuck, don' even think about her.”

Richard holds his breath, looking at Daryl straight in his eyes.

“I would die for the kingdom.”

Daryl looks back at him, without any fear but with boiling anger.

“Why don’ ya?”

And then, he takes his backpack, his crossbow, and Daryl leaves.

When you turn off the lamp on the table of your room, the light of the night comes in softly through the closed window, and you lay down sideways on your side of the bed as Daryl covers you with the blanket.

“Ya won’t take yer clothes off?” He asks as he holds you from behind.

“No…” You lie. “I’m cold.”

Daryl moves closer to you, his arm holding you against him, giving you part of his warm.

“Don’ worry ‘bout anythin’. No one is gonna hurt ya. We’ll leave this place in a few days.”

You hold his hand on yours, waiting for him to fall sleep.

The anxiety and the fear inside you become one within you as the minutes pass in a dead silence. But suddenly, the world around you seems like a lie because everything is as quiet as if there were no walkers on the other side of the big gates, as if Richard hadn’t tried to hurt you without any remorse. Daryl told you because you already knew that something was happening and because he wanted you to stop going to that open field to practice. He couldn’t protect you without telling the truth. However, what hurt you the most is thinking how a life could mean nothing in the hands of other people: as if they had any rights over it. But the truth hits you hard too; because you did the same thing the first time you defended yourself from someone who tried to kill you for your weapon.

That didn’t make you a killer, too? Then, the guilt falls on you, the harsh reality of a murderer who tries to justifies a murder, just as Richard tried to do, just as you did. Everyone there, good or bad people were doing the same thing. Killing. Taking lives away. And you realized you couldn’t be part of all that. Not because you were weak but because you didn’t want to be the survivor that sees their friends die. And what if you die in the middle of the battle? Dying and causing pain to others, was that worth it? Or to stay alive but live in a constant pain? That life was like playing Russian roulette: none of you knew who could die or live, but all had to play. No exception. But you couldn’t stay and do it, so that night, you left before the game started.

That same night, you leave your backpack on the small bed and look around the place in that cold lonely night. It is a two–bedroom cabin. It is old, small but cozy, much better than a bed in the Kingdom. This is a place you found days ago without telling anybody, not even Daryl. And as you lay down there, you hope that is the last time you start a new beginning far from killing, far from the fear of losing people, even if you had just lost your husband.

In the very early morning, near the garden of the Kingdom, a commotion catches Morgan and King Ezekiel’s attention. They run to the group of people who gathers around a fight, but no one is able to stop a wild Daryl, who is over Richard, punching him over and over until Morgan takes him by the arms and pulls him out of the man before he could kill him. Daryl gets up and breathes hardly through his parted lips, watching Richard still on the ground and unable to move, or breathe.

“What is happening?!” Ezekiel asks, holding Richard and looking around. “Walk away, people. There is a lot to do today.”

The people listen, and Ezekiel glances at Daryl.

“Tell me right now why you did this.”

“That piece of shit did somethin’ to ma wife. She left!” Daryl is about to fall over Richard again, but Morgan holds him back. “I told him to stay away from her!”

Ezekiel gets up leaving Richard on the ground, too weak to get himself up.

“What did Richard do to (Y/N)?”

Daryl looks at Ezekiel, not wanting to say what happened.

“Let him tell ya, I’ll go find ma wife.”

Daryl takes his crossbow from the ground and walks away with big steps towards the gates. Behind him, Morgan is following him.

“Daryl… Did (Y/N) leave a note?”

But he doesn’t stop.

“She wanted to get away from this fight. She doesn’t wanna see her friends being killed.”

“Because she knows that some of us could die.”

Daryl hates the way Morgan talks, like if Daryl didn’t understand that could happen. So, he turns around, giving Morgan a threatening look.

“Don’ talk to me like I was a damn child. Killin’ the saviors is the only way for me to make sure ma wife and friends will have a safe life.”

“Even if someone dies in the process?”

But Daryl doesn’t answer, and he yells at the man in charge of the gates to open it up. He walks out, completely sure he would find you sooner or later.

During a silent and almost deafening sunset, you walk through the forest near your house, with the quiver on your back and the bow in your hand, looking for some animal to eat. Everything is as it should be in the forest, everything there belongs to its place. Except you. But still listening to the birds sing in the long distance, you make your way until you find a squirrel that moves from here to there on the branch of a tree. You pull an arrow from the quiver; you connect it to the bow and lift it to the correct height close to your face, holding the air in your lungs. However, as a sudden sadness covers you because you couldn’t stop killing, another arrow flies close to you and sinks into the animal’s body.

You gasp in acknowledgment, so you turn around to see Daryl walking close to you, with your heart beating fast against your chest. He stops in front of you, looking at you through his head slightly down, just like he did when he was sad. He did that just with you, because just with you he was able to show how he truly felt, without feeling ashamed of feeling weak.

“This is the moment when you ask me why the hell I left you.” You say through the knot in your throat, but he just shakes his head softly.

“This is the moment when I say I missed ya.” He approaches you, almost afraid as if you are not real, and he puts his arms around you to embrace your waist, hiding his face in your neck, at the same time that you let go of the bow to feel him close to you. “I missed ya.”

As you sit down in your little bed, kicking your black boots off, Daryl leaves his backpack on the table in the middle of the room and looks inside for something. But before you know what it is, he throws it at you and you catch it perfectly. It is a peach, because he knows how much you like them. As you clean it against your clothes, Daryl sits in the chair that gives him a perfect view of you, resting his elbow against the wood, holding his chin in his hand.

“Okay, now explain it to me ‘cause I don’ get it.” He makes a gesture with his finger to point around the cabin. “I said I would protect ya. We were ‘bout to leave that place. But ya jus’ walked away in the middle of the night… Why?”

His voice fill with disappointment pierces your ears, but you try to gather your ideas so that he understands your reasons.

“I’m tired. I’m afraid. And I don’t wanna see any of our friends being killed… I realized I can’t neither. It’s too much to handle. I can kill, like, a person because I had to do it before, and that’s what really scares me. I know they killed our friends, but this revenge, or justice, or whatever you want to call it: it will only endanger our people, and we will see more blood. And then we will have nightmares about their deaths, and we will not know what is worse: if sleep only to have nightmares about the way they were killed, or live awake in this real–life nightmare. I know I’m being selfish because they are willing to fight, but I can’t lose you or them.” You feel the tears in your eyes, but you rub your face with your hand to not let them fall right now. “I don’t want to be around if that happens.”

Daryl looks at you, rubbing his finger against his lip, trying to contain his own anger. He didn’t want to act like he used to, he didn’t want to yell at you for leaving him just the way you did. But that was hard for him too, it was too painful, almost impossible to bear the days he was without you, thinking that something bad could have happened to you because he couldn’t protect you. But right there, in front of you, he wants to tell you how scared he was when he didn’t find you by his side that morning, and that he couldn’t sleep the days after that.

“So what?” He says with a raspy voice. “What ‘bout me? M’ yer husband. Did ya think I’d jus’ sit there and do nothin’? That I would jus’ let ya get away from me? That was yer plan all this time? Make me love ya and then leave me?”

Daryl was the strongest man, but the weakest too when it was about you. And you knew, that in that world or in the previous one, love was still a dangerous feeling, sometimes even more dangerous than a walker.

“That’s not true, Daryl: you know it.”

He laughs harshly.

“I realized I don’ know anythin’ ‘bout the woman m’ married to.”

“Ouch… That hurts.” You chuckle tiredly, then sighing until you found the right words. “I think it would be better if you get angry with me, if you kick the chair and tell me what I did wrong.”

Daryl takes a deep breath, trying to calm his wild heart.

“Nah. Ya’re here with me now.” But, suddenly, he stands up, taking off his vest in his way to you, his gaze locked on yours as he begins to unbutton his shirt next. “But I think I need ya to learn yer lesson in a different way.”

Your mouth is dry, and your own heart begins to beat at an alarming pace.

“Daryl… what are you doing?”

As he reaches the edge of the bed, he tosses his shirt aside, while, with the gentleness that didn’t usually characterize him on the outside, his thumb caresses your soft cheek, a warm contrast to his finger.

“Have ya ever been scared of me?”

He’s asking in general, if, perhaps, at some point in your marriage, you’ve seen him through different eyes. Perhaps with a fear reflected in them, a silent fear that would be overwhelming for him. But you shake your head, your gentle gaze on his ocean–colored eyes.

Daryl was a tender lover behind his tough appearance, and you were never scared, not by him.

“No. You know damn well I have not.”

“Not even once?”

His own doubt makes you smile a little bit.

“Not even once, Dixon, I know you have a soft spot for me.”

“Hell yeah, woman, n’ only for ya.” He says, so serious like never before. “So if that’s true, lay down n’ lemme show ya how damn much I missed ya.”

You do as he tells you, your gaze on the wooden roof, feeling the knot in your stomach traveling to your lower part as he unbuttons and unzips your black jeans. It's torturously slow, but you know he's doing it as part of the lesson, because he's never denied you pleasure before. Since your marriage began, he was always a giver, taking your own pleasure as his own. It was like a rule for him to give you all the pleasure, and then give you a little more.

But when he removes all your clothes and his breath and his beard tickle your most sensitive area, your hands look blindly something to hold yourself onto, his long hair maybe, but he just pushes your hands away.

“No touchin’.” He says, dangerously low.

However, when his strong hands cling to your hips, his mouth sinking into you, you let out a tight gasp, your knees bending up. But the way he is moving against you as you move against him, too, makes him feel so needy for you, like he is in a beautiful hell. Your hands still in the air closed almost painfully, eyes closing too, arching your back, and mouth falling finally open.

“Daryl, wait—”

“Shut it.” He warns you, keeping his warm mouth close to your entrance. “Fuck, why ya always taste so damn good? Makes me wanna live in between yer legs all the fuckin’ time.”

He wasn’t normally a very talkative person, but when Daryl was on the right mood he loved saying things that he knew would turn you on, leading you to the edge of being out of breath. He loved playing with you like he does now again, his mouth kissing and licking and sucking, fingers holding onto the bones on your waist. The angry animal inside him woke up when you moan with open lips, sending a painful throbbing to the hardness in his pants.

He sucks hard on you, making you shake against him, holding yourself onto the blanket even when you want to hold his hair. But feeling you so needy for him, and only for him makes him feel about to explode, but he stops himself from lower one of his hand to his pants to stroke his manhood.

Daryl starts to feeling you moving against his face, and he takes pride that he could make you cum without being inside you, yet, because he’s not going to let you do that, hell no. No matter how much he enjoyed torturing you that way, he is ready to give you so much pleasure you wouldn’t think ever again about leaving him, no when he couldn’t live without you anymore.

So Daryl stands up when he feels you so close, removing his hands from your body, giving you the time to catch some air as he unbuckles his belt, like the most erotic image in the whole world. His strong and naked chest rises and falls as he locks eyes with you, his mouth in a tight line as he removes his belt, not ready to smile even a little to you as you bite your own lips, hiding a smile.

“I will never be scared of you, but it scares me a little bit what is coming.”

Daryl is kind of angry, but not with you, but with the idea of being a little bit animalistic, like to roll you over onto your knees so he could hold himself on your hips, maybe even on your hair, pulling it just a little like he has done a few times when you two were getting playful.  

“Ya should be.” He says, so low and dangerous as he unbuttons his pants. “Now take the rest of yer clothes off.”

You swallow the lump in your throat, sitting back down to pull off your black t–shirt, with nothing underneath. The complete view of your now naked body is such a temptation for him, so much that he thinks he would give up soon. But no, he’s stronger than that.

“Lay back down, n’ spread yer legs open for me.”

Fuck. You think that couldn’t get any hotter, but you know it can with that look in his deep gaze, so you lick your dry lip and look back at him as he kicks his boots off, taking off his pants and his boxer next, while, still sitting, you try to look up only, even when there is a whole spectacle at the level of your own gaze.  

“Should I call you sir while I do that?” You smile sweetly at him, playing innocent.

And for the first time in the night, Daryl smiles back.

“M’ yer fuckin’ husband, peach, the same person that’s gonna make love to ya, maybe that way ya won’t leave me ever again. Now do as I tell ya.”

Though you can hear the sadness in his words, his voice doesn’t waver, not when he’s so ready to do what he promised, so with nothing else on your mind, you lay back down on the bed, spreading your legs as an invitation that Daryl immediately takes. He lays on top of you, and you can almost feel his own heartbeat as he sinks into you with one hand, while the other arm holds him up too close to your face. You feel him throbbing inside of you, and he holds himself on his legs, his free hand looking for the softness of your face to hold you there, kissing you deeply.

Your own hands hold his lower back, and this time, he lets you touch him freely. The warm of your fingers is melting him, but when he starts to move, he drowns your moans and his tense grunts in a kiss. His calloused hand grasps your face with a firmness but a sweet touch, as if you are a piece of glass, the most precious in the world, in his world.

Daryl never felt so primitive and he is too drunk with lust, but there is something intense and so erotic in the idea that he could push himself deeper into you, and that you would take everything and even beg for more. So he does, he presses into you deeper, harder than ever but not in a painful way because hurting you wasn’t in his nature, but he’s taking you to the very edge in no time. You called out his name against his mouth as he starts moving faster against you, making you feel the tension building up on your stomach and in between your legs, so hot like hell itself, as intense as the beginning of the orgasm that is about to hit you soon if he keeps moving that way.

But it feels different from other times, short but in a new kind of intense. His thumb caresses your check, his forehead resting on your just a moment before he buries his face in your neck, the same finger sliding over your bottom lip, and that little action is hot. The sounds he starts making against your neck are an arousing melody, sounds he muffles against your hair on his own path to much–needed release.

Your hands hold his lower back even harder, pulling him against you, your mouth against his shoulder, drowning out the forbidden sounds that come from between your lips, the view of the world fading as you close your eyes while letting out a hot cry as he makes you cum.

Finally, Daryl spills himself inside you, breathing through parted lips as he catches his breath.

After a long minute, or maybe two and when you can breathe again, you speak softly.

“I’m sorry, I never wanted to leave you alone, or make you think that I don't love you.”

Daryl raises his head, getting lost in the way you ask for his forgiveness with your eyes, too. But in that moment, he knows everything will be alright.

“So ya won’t leave me again?” He asks softly, but, too deep in your own sadness to speak properly, you just shake your head. “Good. ‘Cause ya got to know I’ll chase ya to the end of the fuckin’ world, peach, burnin’ everythin' on ma way ‘till I find ya.”

[storywriter12]

How they cuddle you🥰

Rick⬆️

Daryl⬆️

Negan⬆️

Simon⬆️(just imagine hims coming home from a long day)

Glenn⬆️

Paul rovia "Jesus" ⬆️ he will always be away and you will miss him so everytime he comes back you will drop everything and jump into his arms and he will catch you

Abraham ⬆️he likes to hug you from behind he dies this in the mornings when you are making breakfast he woukd sneak up behind you and wrap his arms around you, you will jump "shh it's only me" he would say in your ear and kiss you on the cheek then your neck.

Dwight⬆️

King ezekiel⬆️

[whateverisbeautiful]

Olá 👋 gosto muito das suas análises dos episódios de richonne. Como vc acha que o rick vai reagir quando ele souber que o Ezequiel beijou michone? Se o andy não gostou nada quando soube imagine o rikc?

Hello! Thanks for reading these posts and for this question. 😊 Andy’s response to Ezekiel kissing Michonne was hilarious and I think maybe the character of Rick would have some similar thoughts or questions deep down lol. But I’ve gone back and forth on would the Ezekiel kiss even come up, and if so in what way, and what Rick’s reaction would be. But then something hit me that made me think the kiss would be addressed and also that Rick would have a more understanding approach than initially thought. I wrote my thoughts on it below ⬇️💗:

I think the kiss could come up but not in a way where Michonne feels like it has to be “confessed” because truly it was not an exchange to be concerned about. I think how it would go down is that when Rick got back home, he’d obviously learn that Ezekiel and Carol are no longer married, and he’d be curious to know what happened especially since he was rooting for them as a couple. And so Michonne would tell Rick why they split and that might lead her to also explain that Ezekiel had some additional tough circumstances thrown at him which led him to a very dark space afterward.

She’d probably just let Rick know that in that dark and depressed space he was about to end his life and she stepped in to quite literally talk him off the ledge and in the heat of those high emotions he kissed her. And while someone kissing his wife wouldn’t be ideal, I think what would resonate most with Rick is that he too knows what it’s like to lose your love and be in a dark depressed space that has you ready to end things permanently. It’s the very space he was in at the beginning of TOWL.

And so I think he’d have empathy for Ezekiel. Plus, Rick's relationship with Michonne is so secure that he wouldn’t feel threatened by it. Now, knowing that Ezekiel is attracted to his wife (because had just any woman helped him off that ledge he probably wouldn’t have leaned in to kiss them) might make Rick keep an eye on the king a bit more lol. Like he's still not going to like that Ezekiel kissed Michonne, so he might give the king an occasional...

But ultimately I think Rick would react in a way that is understanding. And I think, similar to Danai in that special, Michonne would maybe mention to Rick that right after the kiss she just ended up talking about how much she misses him, which I think Rick would appreciate even tho Andy thought that was “even weirder.” 😂

[paintyoureyeswithavividmind]

close to home | chapter forty seven

close to home | chapter forty seven

plot: the reader arrives at the Kingdom

series masterlist

Pairing: Eventual Daryl Dixon x f!reader Word Count: 1,502 Warnings: violence, blood, typical twd A/N: thank you for reading!!! I'm going to Boston this weekend to see 5sos and won't be home till Monday, so I won't be updating again until early next week--sorry lovelies!! Gonna try and update twice today if I can

When the horse led you through the gates of the Kingdom, you truly did feel like you were entering one. You felt more level-headed when they’d given you food and water on the ride back. 

There were people around, and you tried to take in as much as possible. Gardens and schoolchildren were sitting outside. There was a choir singing somewhere. And there was laughter. So much laughter. 

When you saw Morgan standing with a blond haired boy, you wanted to cry at the familiar sight. You climbed off the horse and set Tora down before running to Morgan. 

“(Y/N),” Morgan laughed when you crushed him into a hug. You were never particularly close to him, but he was a part of your group and your family. 

“Dianne said Daryl was here and supposed to stay here. Where is he?” You asked desperately as you pulled away from the hug. 

But the look on his face was enough to tell you he wasn’t here. “He left this morning. I’m sorry. “

You laughed, though, for the first time in a while. “It’s okay. It’s okay. He got out. He went to Hilltop, right?”

Morgan nodded and smiled at you. “Yes. Come on, we need to have the doctor look at you. And you will need to meet the King.” 

You looked at Morgan in confusion as he wrapped his arm around your shoulders. “The who?”

***

After getting an all-clear from the Kingdom’s doctor, and scarfing down as much food as you and Tora possibly could, Morgan led you to where the King was. You learned his name was Ezekiel, and he was a bit out there. 

But Morgan vouched for him, so you followed him into the ‘throne room’ with Tora by your side. When you walked into the room, your eyes widened, and you grabbed Morgan’s arm at the sight of a tiger. 

“What the fuck?” You breathed out. 

“Fair maiden,” King Ezekiel shouted, “I am honored to have you a guest in our fair Kingdom. I welcome you. And your furry beast.” 

You glanced at Tora, and started jogging up to catch her before she ventured too close to an animal that could kill her in a second. “I uh, um, thank you, sir. Your honor. King.” You stumbled over your words. 

“Our dear friends from the great Alexandria told me of your situation, and what happened. Although the Kingdom did not play a part in your troubles, you have its sorrow and thought.” King Ezekiel said. 

“Thank you,” You said, running your hand through Tora’s fur and trying to keep her settled. “I like your tiger.”

King Ezekiel smiled, “Her name is Shiva. And yours?”

“This is Tora; she’s been with me since before. Shiva?”

“The same as you,” The king said. He stood up and quietly told the man to his right something. You assumed it was to put Shiva somewhere because the man took the chains and led the big cat out of the room. 

Then he gracefully jumped from the stage and approached you. You got a better look at his face and admired it for a moment as he scratched Tora behind the ear. “I invite you and Tora to spend the eve with us here at the Kingdom. I can imagine you must want to get to the Hilltop as quick as you can. But I insist you take the night to recover.”

You glanced at Morgan, and he nodded, so you did as well. You were almost friends. You knew it. You knew in your bones that you didn’t have anything to fear from the Kingdom or its people. Morgan was here; he obviously liked it here. You were with friends. And that made you smile the biggest smile. “We can stay.”

***

King Ezekiel requested your presence after Morgan settled you in a room across from his. You opted to leave Tora in the room for a little while because you weren’t sure where the tiger was and didn’t want to risk it. 

Dianne came by with the message from the King, and she also brought you a fresh set of clothes. You’d never been more thankful when she told you to wash up first and brought you to the showers. 

So now, twenty minutes later, you were dressed in a black tank top and a flannel, leggings, and a near pair boots.They were used, but it made it better, because they were already worn in. 

The King sat across from you, and Morgan and a guy named Jerry sat with you. 

“Tell me, miss (Y/N), how you came to be with your group? I would love to know your tale.” 

You didn’t have any hesitation about telling him. Aside from the fact that you already considered him a friend, you felt like you could trust him and this place. So you told him about your life before and after the world's end. You told him about the prison after it ended and watched their horrified expression as you told them about Terminus. 

You didn’t tell them about the people you lost because even though it’s been some time, all the wounds reopened when discussed. 

And then, finally, you told them about Alexandria, how you got there, and what happened afterward. 

Your story took you through dinner, an assortment of chicken, and the freshest vegetables you’ve had in a long time. It was mouth-watering. You made sure to fold plenty of the chicken into a napkin, so you could take it to Tora. 

“Your journey is of greatness, and I am honored to have such a warrior amongst us,” The King said. 

“Do you like cobbler?” Jerry asked you. 

“Jerry,” The King said. 

Their exchange made you laugh, and you looked at Jerry, “Yes, I do.”

***

You sat with the King, Morgan, and Jerry for quite some time before the King suggested he give you a tour. You weren’t sure there was a point to it because you would be leaving in the morning, but you accepted because he made you feel like a friend. And with Sherry gone and not seeing your family in weeks, you desperately needed it. 

King Ezekiel showed you around the Kingdom, with Jerry and Morgan following closely behind. He pointed out the gardens, the apartments where most everyone resided. He should you the wells for water, in case you needed some, and the training ground for their ‘royal army’. You could see how proud he was. You believed him to be an accomplished leader. 

The sun was nearly set when the tour ended outside the building you would be staying in. You thanked both Jerry and the King profusely. 

“In the morn, I will have Dianne pack your supplies for the road and give you a weapon. I cannot, in good conscience, let you go out without one.” King Ezekiel said. “And, of course, my people know the way to the Hilltop. I will have a map provided and see if they can get you a car.”

“I don’t know how to repay you for this, but thank you, King Ezekiel.” You told him. 

He and Jerry bid their goodnights, and you and Morgan entered the building. 

“I feel like I’m in a fairytale here,” You playfully joked. “But I actually like it. It’s fun.”

“Many people do, I think that’s why they go along with it,” Morgan told you as you walked. 

When you got to the doors, you looked at Morgan. “Rick was here to get them to fight, wasn’t he? And the King said no?”

Morgan nodded, and you could see the contemplation on his face. “The Hilltop stands with Alexandria. Rick asked me to talk to the King about joining, but…”

You nodded, knowing how he felt about killing. “I think he will. He just needs to be pushed. Goodnight, Morgan. I’ll see you in the morning.”

***

Dianne brought you a bag with more than enough supplies in the morning. Enough to last you for at least a week. You made her take a decent amount of it back. You couldn’t take advantage of their hospitality like that. 

You met with the King for one last meal together, and while he tried to persuade him to stay, you wouldn’t budge. So he led you to the front gate, where a few guards were waiting. They succeeded in bringing you a car. 

“Thank you, King Ezekiel. Really.” You said. “I don’t think I’ve met someone like you for a long while. I really hope I get to see you again.” You told him. 

The King smiled and bid his goodbye, and you gave Morgan and even Jerry a hug. Then you and Tora climbed into the car. With one last look in the rearview mirror, you left the Kingdom, and headed towards home.

[alliamistrash]

Why is The King and The Paladin so qijiu coded?

Just imagine Shen Jiu amassing all this power, getting his retribution against his enslavers and just being convinced that Yue Qingyuan betrayed him and that he is ruining his life by forcing him to marry him but unable to let him go.

And then Yue Qingyuan is just in the corner having a great time being consort. Super proud and deeply in love with his girl boss, gaslight, gatekeep Xiao Jiu.

Legit the only difference between YQY and Ezekiel is that Ezekiel is happy to explain the past and offers multiple times to meanwhile YQY would still have guilt over failing to find SJ and say there is no point in explaining

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

The Oracle of Nineveh

1 The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

2 A jealous and avenging God is Jehovah: an avenger is Jehovah, and full of fury: Jehovah taketh vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.

3 Jehovah is slow to anger, and great in power, and doth not at all clear the guilty: Jehovah, his way is in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

4 He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.

5 The mountains quake before him, and the hills melt, and the earth is upheaved at his presence, and the world, and all that dwell therein.

6 Who shall stand before his indignation? and who shall abide in the fierceness of his anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken asunder by him.

7 Jehovah is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.

8 But with an overrunning flood he will make a full end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.

9 What do ye imagine against Jehovah? He will make a full end: trouble shall not rise up the second time.

10 Though they be tangled together as thorns, and be as drenched from their drink, they shall be devoured as dry stubble, completely.

11 Out of thee is gone forth one that imagineth evil against Jehovah, a wicked counsellor.

12 Thus saith Jehovah: Though they be complete in number, and many as they be, even so shall they be cut down, and he shall pass away; and though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more.

13 And now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds asunder.

14 And Jehovah hath given commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy god will I cut off the graven image, and the molten image: I will prepare thy grave; for thou art vile.

15 Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth glad tidings, that publisheth peace! Celebrate thy feasts, Judah, perform thy vows: for the wicked one shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off. — Nahum 1 | Literal Emphasis Translation (LET) The Literal Emphasis Bible is in the public domain. Cross References: Genesis 8:1; Exodus 19:16; Exodus 19:18; Exodus 20:5; Exodus 34:6; Leviticus 23:2; Deuteronomy 7:10; 2 Samuel 23:6; 1 Kings 19:11; 2 Kings 19:36; Job 13:9; Job 18:17; Psalm 2:1; Psalm 107:14; Psalm 109:13; Psalm 118:12; Isaiah 9:4; Isaiah 10:7; Isaiah 10:16; Isaiah 10:33; Isaiah 13:1; Isaiah 13:10; Isaiah 28:22; Jeremiah 51:64; Ezekiel 7:5; Ezekiel 11:2; Matthew 8:26; John 10:14; Romans 10:15; 2 Timothy 2:19; Revelation 6:14; Revelation 6:17

Commentary on Nahum 1

[thurifer-at-heart]

Perhaps the most significant character in any story of resistance is the prophet.

Biblically speaking, a prophet isn’t a fortune-teller or soothsayer who predicts the future, but rather a truth-teller who sees things as they really are—past, present, and future—and who challenges their community to both accept that reality and imagine a better one. "It is the vocation of the prophet to keep alive the ministry of imagination," wrote [Walter] Brueggemann in his landmark book, The Prophetic Imagination, “to keep on conjuring and proposing futures alternative to the single one the king wants to urge as the only thinkable one.” The prophets directed their most stinging critiques at the leaders of their own community (see Ezekiel 16:49). … Even the religious elites were not exempt from prophetic critique (see Amos 5:21-24). Alongside ... cries of anguish and anger, condemnation and critique, the prophets deliver what is perhaps the most subversive element of any resistance movement: hope. Employing language and imagery charged with theological meaning, the prophet asserted, despite all evidence to the contrary, that the God of Israel—the God of slaves and exiles and despised religious minorities—remains present and powerful, enthroned over all creation and above every empire.

—Rachel Held Evans, Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again, p. 119-122

[carniv0reev]

ezekiel’s intro post !!

general !

hellooo you can call me zeke if you’d like! i’m 20 and trans, i go by he/him pronouns and i am questioning my sexuality. i am currently single so feel free to flirt with me genuinely or just playfully lol.

interest !

warrior cats, true crime, wings of fire, avatar, atla, the legend of korra, jjba, mha, demon slayer, american horror story, supernatural, marvel, the arcane, godzilla, jurassic world, chucky, dsmp, the boys, star wars, stranger things. lord of the things|the hobbit, the walking dead, beastars, danganronpa, detroit become human, attack on titan, saiki k, fnaf, the conjuringverse, dinosaurs, insects, marine biology.

i loveee alice in chains, mitski, nine inch nails, ALEX G, the cure, the smiths, the neighborhood, modern baseball, current joys, imagine dragons, LORD HURON, DEFTONES, black sabbath, kings of leon, tame impala, 21 savage, odetari, the weekend, lana del ray, billie eilish, weezer, pantera, adrianne lenker, tyler the creator, hoizer, artic monkeys, melanie martinez, mother mother, childish gambino, glass animals, missio, unlike pluto, barns courtney, local natives. that’s all i’ll put for now

boundaries/triggers !

i honestly don’t get triggered so i can say i have no triggers, and it’s hard to upset me. all i ask is to not joke too harshly about me and my interest, just treat me how you’d want to be treated. don’t disrespect me.

obviously don’t flirt with me if you’re a minor LOL we can be friends ofc just no flirting bc that’s just weird

other things

i am a inf/tj, i say that bc i get both whenever i take tests LMAOO. im a questioning osdd system, im a capricorn.

i’m very adhd my memory isn’t always the best bare with me, but please talk to me about your interest!! i love to hear it, and i know people always want to share their interest with others.

i have my own fish tank and a blue tongued skink named dune !!

[garfieldbussys]

sooo how is season seven going so far now that you’ve watched ep one 😁

praying for you honestly because i dont think it ever calms down unless its for a few eps once in a while tbh

goodluck queen 😘🫶

mentally, i haven’t recovered.

i’m on ep 4 and i HATE that negan is funny. plus hes jdm?!?! how am i supposed to hate the glenn killer when he’s saying ‘little pig, little pig’ and ‘freaky deaky.’

AND THE AMOUNT OF TIMES THEY PLAYED EASY STREET IN LIKE EP 3?! i couldn’t it was seriously getting to me. i can’t imagine how daryl felt 😭😭

and king ezekiel has a whole ass tiger?!?! like WHAT?? season 7 is just genuine chaos so far and i just dk how to coherently place this all together 😭😭

and thank you ml i think i’m gonna need all the luck i can find 🙈💝

[uboat53]

A thought occurs, SHORT RANT (TM) time? No titles or sections on this one, it's more of a stream-of-consciousness rant.

We talk a lot about the way that Christianity interacts with politics, but has anyone else noticed the sheer arrogance of fundamentalist/evangelical Christians here in the US?

I'm not talking about normal arrogance, the kind that we have day-to-day. Heck, I'm sure many of you think (and some of you accurately) that I'm pretty arrogant myself! No, I'm talking about a deep and abiding arrogance beyond the realm of man. Can you imagine telling someone that you have perfectly understood the mind of God?

They won't say it like that, but that's what they mean if you put the pieces together. They say that they're just reading the Bible, but how many people do you know who agree on exactly what every single passage of the Bible means after studying it for a lifetime, let alone just reading it a few times? I can tell you, as a Jew, that the parts of the Bible that are shared are not remotely agreed upon by Jewish scholars even after millennia of study and debate. They also say that the Bible is inerrant, but how do they know which version? Is it the King James Version? The New International Version? Is it the version that the Council of Nicea agreed upon? Is it the few scraps and passages that have survived in the original Aramaic from the first century CE?

And even when they do get a little bit of focus and clarity, they don't use it to pursue a deeper understanding. They'll say that the story of Sodom and Gomorah tells you that God rejects homosexuality, ignoring the passage in Ezekiel that describes the sin of these two cities as refusing to use their wealth to help the poor and needy. They'll say that the story of Onan and Tamar in the Book of Genesis tells you that God detests masturbation, ignoring the scholarly consensus that Onan's sin was actually his refusal to fulfil his obligation to Tamar and his brother's family line by providing her with a child.

And, despite all of the issues with how they arrive at their perfect understanding of the mind of God they're not shy about enforcing any of it. These things they've perfectly understood from the mind of God aren't just things that they think that Christians should do, they think that the force of law and the violence of the state should be brought to bear to force every single person, regardless of their beliefs, to follow their understanding of the mind of God as well. After all, if they've perfectly understood it, then why shouldn't it be enforced with all possible power?

And that's the arrogance of it. It's not just that they think that the mind of God is perfectly understandable or that they think that the will of God should be enforced, it's that they think that they and only they have perfectly understood the mind of God and, therefore, their understanding must be forced on everyone else no matter the cost.

Even at my worst, I'm not that arrogant.

[justanoasisimagines]

Dear Y/N

credit to @cafekitsune for the banner and the divider

Requests are open, requestiing guidlines are pinned on the top of my page.

I am writing to you on this fine day, to ask if you would like to join me on a walk through the Kingdom. I can promise you a scenic route with tantalizing conversation. At the end of our walk, we shall enjoy a picnic with my special homemade lemonade.

If you would like to attend, meet me in the courtyard around noon. I look forward to seeing you, Ezekiel.

[formylovetodaryldixon]

"The way to heal a heart." Daryl Dixon Imagine.

(Not my gif!)

When his heart can’t stand the pain of a loss, you discover why Daryl ignored you all those days. But there, you tell your husband the way his heart can heal.

A/N: Based on the conversation between Maggie and Daryl after Glenn's death. (Spoiler alert: also Daryl briefly threatening a poor guy for touching you, because I don't like things to get too serious TT–TT) Hope you like it. Thank you!

The small and cozy cabin loses the amber glow that the fire of the small chimney caused when Daryl throws the sand on the hot embers, extinguishing all the flames. Lying on the small bed, you watch silently as the place loses its color, but the heat is still impregnated in the air and on the walls, and you feel it as a little shelter for your husband and for you, far from the walkers and the world in general.

When Daryl reaches the bed, he kicks off his boots, taking off his vest next, his shirt and his pants, leaving them on the floor to get in the bed too, where the heat of his body wraps you as he puts his left arm around you, resting on his right side to stroke your belly under the covers.

Living there was good, but that wasn’t the reality and you two had to take a step to it, so tomorrow you two would go to the Hilltop.

“I wish I had said good–bye.” You say. King Ezekiel didn’t offer his help to fight against Negan, but you would always thank him for his help towards Daryl. “I think we should leave the Kingdom in the right way.”

Although Daryl didn’t like that the king hadn’t helped you all, he recognized Ezekiel’s gesture towards him.

“We can come back someday. Kids were crazy ‘bout ya.”

Even if you trained them to protect themselves during your stay, they kept the innocence within, intact and bright, despite how cold and grey the new world had become. But the future was uncertain for them and for you two, and you worry about what would happen next.

“Do you think we’ll be okay after all this?”

Daryl was never a person who thought of the future either, the difficulties of his life took him to live one day at a time, without great plans or big expectations. But he found you there, as a light of hope, and then he found himself wanting more. He didn’t dream of impossible things, but simply asking to have one more day with you.

“As long as we’re together everythin’ will be fine.”

“Do you really believe that?”

“I want to.” He says, looking softly at you. His doubts and his negatives had consumed his life in the old world, but he had to find himself falling too deep to then realized that he wanted to live in this new one. “Close yer eyes, peach. We’ll leave early tomorrow.”

The hours pass when you fell asleep and it feels like being on a cloud, far from the fear of dying or losing your people. There is no heavy guilt on your shoulders, no recollections of who you are and who you had to become to survive, no walkers, no blood, without a world painted red. But suddenly, your heart starts feeling heavy, and your body sinks into a complete darkness, fear and weeping. Your closed eyelids move, trying to wake you up from that high fever, until finally, you do. You sit on the bed, taking a big breath of air, back in reality where the cabin is no longer warm, but then you realize the nightmare isn’t yours. It is not in your head, but in Daryl’s.

“Daryl, hey, wake up…” You shake his shoulder. Lying still on right left side, his body moves against the bed, his hair covering his face as he complained. “Daryl!”

The last push finally awakes him, and for a moment, Daryl finds himself looking to the void, in a place far away from there as he sits down too and breathes through his parted lips, his gaze lost and his chest rising and falling sharply.

“Hey, it’s okay, it was just a nightmare—”

“No… it was somethin’ else.”

“What?”

But Daryl remains silent for a while, never saying what it really was. The cool night air helps him to calm down, and Daryl finally comes to be himself after he was lost in his own memories.

“Ya should… lie down again.”

He looks at your side of the bed with his head down as he did when he was ashamed, and without saying anything else, he lay back down with his back to you. In that moment, you realize Daryl is suddenly far gone again, but you don’t want to force anything with him, so you just lay sideways too, your gaze fixed on the scars on his back.

It takes you some time to fall asleep, but the hours pass in a few seconds when you do, and then, it is day again: the birds are singing a sweet song, and it is time to leave. The muscles of your body are tense, and you find yourself staring at the wooden ceiling after you rub your burning eyes with your fists.

“Time to go, peach…” Daryl is standing next to the table, already dressed as he packs his backpack and yours. “Get yer pretty ass outta bed and get dressed.”

He seems to be in a good mood that morning, so you decide not to press him to speak and wait for him to do it first.

There are no walkers around the forest near the Hilltop, and the group of future archers had improved greatly in the previous days since you and Daryl got there. But when the afternoon falls slowly, there are only two people with you, a young man and a young woman, twins. They are the best in the group; they are the strongest too, especially since they are not afraid to fight for their freedom.

“Have you been married for a long time, (Y/N)?”

Sean is a good man, young, brave, handsome, determined, but blushes when Mary, standing in front of you two, chuckles to herself before shooting her arrow that hit the target perfectly. She and her brother live in a trailer and they gave Daryl and you a place in their home.

“Sometimes it feels like centuries.” You chuckle at him, and then, you look back at Mary. “That was amazing, Mary, well done. You are getting better every day.”

She smiles at you.

“Are you flirting with (Y/N), Sean?” Maggie’s voice behind you makes everyone turn around. The knife–throwing lesson group is already moving away in the distance to get back home, and only Maggie and Sasha are left. “That’s a very bad idea.”

“If Daryl finds out I don’t want to think what he would do.” Sasha chuckles, making fun of him. “He doesn't like people getting too close to his wife. He just wants (Y/N) all by himself.”

Suddenly, Sean looks frightened, because he had met a very silent Daryl. That scared the strangers.

“Thank you, Sasha.” You say, but she just laughs as you look at Sean with a soft gaze. “They're kidding, Sean, please, don't listen to them.”

Maggie chuckles.

“Okay, it’s time to go, guys. Get your things and go home.”

Everyone on the Hilltop respected Maggie, so the twins take their things and walk in the same direction as the other group after saying goodbye. You walk towards the tree and pick up the arrows. They are firm against the trunk, and you think how easy it would be to embed it in the body of the enemy. But that is a dark thought, so you push it away and go back with the girls to walk through the woods.

“Is Daryl okay, (Y/N)?”

Your gaze moves from the front and you look to your left without stopping. Maggie waits, her eyes looking at you with concern. You know where her question is going, because since you and Daryl came to that place, he couldn’t look at Maggie in the eyes.

“Yeah. He is.”

Your short answer makes her nod, thoughtful, but she is not satisfied with it. Maggie loved Daryl, she worried about him, and you knew nothing had changed for her.

“He seems distant these days.”

You knew perfectly well that Daryl was being distant with everybody. He disappeared all day in the forest and barely spoke at night, and the only one who seemed to be able to approach him was Jesus. It hurt you to think that Daryl didn’t lean on you as your husband, but he was like that and you knew it when you married him, and now, you can’t complain.

The amber light from the lamp on the picnic table glows in the dark and cold night as you and Jesus play cards. You are sitting down on the wooden chair while resting your elbows on the table, having a good time with him, but you didn’t tell him that you only stayed up so late because Daryl hadn’t yet returned.

Time passed and you worried more.

“And… straight flush!” Jesus throws his cards on the table feeling like a winner. All his cards are hearts: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. “Beat that, (Y/N).”

You chuckle.

“It is impressive, Jesus, but you don’t win with that…” You push your cards on the table, too, five cards of spades from 10 to ace, without feeling like a winner though. “I think this is a Royal flush. And it means I win.”

Jesus leans his elbows on the table as his expression falls.

“If this was not ordinary poker I would have lost all my clothes by now.”

You laugh, and for a moment, that seems like a very distant memory. Jesus begins to laugh with you, but his smile dies as the gates open and he looks back. You both look in the same direction and see Daryl coming in with his crossbow around his body and a canvas bag that seems to be heavy, so surely he had hunted some animals.

Jesus turns again and picks up all the cards as Daryl walks towards you two. The distance is long so Jesus speaks freely, but softly.

“He’s just having a bad time, (Y/N), but don’t worry about him.”

It was impossible not to worry about him.

“I know his personality is… special, but it’s a bit hurtful that he still can not talk to me.”

“It’s not that he doesn’t want to do it, it’s just that Daryl doesn’t want to worry you. He doesn’t know how to do it, too.” He sighs. “Should we play again?”

You are still not sleepy and being awake turning on the bed is not a tempting idea, so you nod while finally, Daryl reaches you two.

“Shouldn’t ya be sleepin’?” He asks, his voice low and hoarse.

He cares about you, he always did.

“We’re playing cards.”

“I’m playing; (Y/N) is kicking my ass.” Jesus chuckles, handing out the cards. “Do you want to play, Daryl?”

“Nah. I’ll go to sleep.”

Daryl just passes you by and walks away. You feel that your body falls when you exhale, but you take the cards to forget the matter, at least for a while.

After about 30 minutes, you call it a night when your eyelids start to feel heavy, so you say goodnight to Jesus and walk back to the trailer. You didn’t sleep much anymore, but sometimes, under the apparent protection of the gates surrounding you, you could lay down for a while, to stop thinking.

Inside and on the other side of the trailer, Sean and Mary are sleeping too, so you quietly take off your boots before lying down on the bed. From his side, Daryl sleeps with his back to you. However, lying on your left side and as you drift off into a light sleep, you feel Daryl rolling over in bed, blindly searching for the warmth of your body, pressing himself against you, because that reminded him that he is still alive.

In the Hilltop orchard, you are glad to see the vegetables growing perfectly. The days were good in that place because the people accepted you two so fast. Mutual help was what increased the trust between the community and the new guests, and until then, everything went well.

Squatting, your hands become dirty as you remove some soil.

“Normal people would wear gloves, (Y/N).” Sean chuckles, appearing in front of you as you stand up.

“Are you calling me weird?” You tease him and run the back of your hand down your face to scratch your cheek. “I thought you were practicing with the bow.”

“I was going to go now, but I thought you were going with us.” He smiles a little bit, kind of shy.

You smile a little bit too.

“Not today, Sean. My arm hurts.”

The bowstring used to scrape your skin every time you released the rope, and the friction was starting to burn, but the truth is that you are tired mentally after last night.

“(Y/N)…” Sean chuckles, again. “You have some dirt on your cheek.”

Your first reaction is to clean it, getting even more soil on your face. Sean tries not to laugh, and you wipe your hands on your jean before trying again.

“I think I should have worn gloves. Guess you were right after all.” You chuckle. “But don't tell Sean, I don't want him to think he's always right.”

He smiles.

“Here… let me do it for you.” Sean hides his hand on his long sleeve to help, and he wipes your face gently. “We don’t want you to go around here with your pretty face dirty.”

But there, just as in the romantic books you used to read before the world went to hell; Daryl has to arrive at the wrong time to misunderstand the situation completely, and in that moment, he takes Sean’s arm and pushes it away from you.

“Keep yer hands off ma wife or I’ll break ‘em, kid. I ain’t gonna say it twice.”

You feel terrible, because Sean is still young and easy to scare.

“Daryl…” You call him in such a firm voice that he turns to look at you. The fire inside is suddenly burning, but Sean is not the one to blame for anything as you look back at him. “Sean, leave us alone, please.”

He looks at Daryl and then at you, wondering if you would be okay. But, even scared of Daryl's horrible silence the past days, Sean remains in his place.

“(Y/N), are you sure?” He whispers, and his small words are enough to make Daryl narrow his eyes, giving Sean a look full of anger.

“Are ya fuckin’ thinkin' m’ gonna hurt ma wife, kid?” But before Daryl can take a step towards him, you block his way with your body, causing your husband to stop dead in his tracks, however, you can’t stop him from keep talking. “Ya better walk away ‘fore I start beatin’ yer ass.”

“Daryl, shut it!” You say firmly again, without raising your voice because that wasn’t in your nature, sadly, and you look at Sean. “Sean, leave. In any case, I would hurt him first so don’t worry. Go, please.”

Unsure, Sean walks away, but it's your confident words that keep Daryl looking at you. However, before you could say anything to him, you hear the man on the gates screaming that the saviors are coming.

“(Y/N)! Daryl!” Enid shouts running toward you from the gates, and you two run towards her and meet halfway. “You two must hide. The saviors should not know that you two are here.”

“Wait, no…” You say quickly. “We must find Maggie first. She’s in the woods with the others.”

“Jesus went to warn her. She will be alright. Come on!” Enid runs toward the building behind and you two run after her.

The sound of the cars become clearer and the gates open just as you all surround the building. Enid stops at the wooden doors that would lead you two to a cellar in a small basement, but it doesn’t feel right, not while the others are exposed with the saviors there.

However, Daryl opens the door and waits for you to enter.

“I will come for you when they are gone.” Enid says behind you.

Against everything, you walk down the stone steps and open the wooden door to enter the cellar while the place sinks in the darkness the moment Enid closes the doors above. The vegetable baskets are stack on shelves, and you push one to the side, which had enough space for you to hide in case someone come down. But, when you turn, you see Daryl staring through a hole in the door with his knife in his hand.

“Daryl, this is not the right time…” You whisper. Your mouth is dry and you feel your heart as tight as your stomach. “Please, don’t do it, not now.”

The plea in your voice surprise him, so he turns around and you both hide. The shadows of the basement serve as protection as he pushes the shelf back into the right place. It is not long before the outside doors open again, and the light enters through the cracks in the wood. You hold your breath when one of the saviors comes in, watching everything around him and then taking a basket. The place is full with food and the savior begins to collect the vegetables, piling them near the door.

And again and again, he turns his back on you, unprotected. Daryl lifts the knife in his hand, squeezing it hard, so close to kill the savior. But, even if you know he could handle one of them, they are too many outsides for you to make it alive, so you raise one hand and close it around his wrist, soft but firm, and at then, he finally looks at you after days. His blue eyes hold your gaze, and you slowly shake your head to stop him.

Fortunately, the savior takes his things and leave. Your heart feels less heavy and you breathe again as Daryl and you step out of that little hiding place. Doubts return to you, and you wonder how much harm those people could do, and how much harm you could do, and you ask for the time when you only had to worry about the walkers.

“I could have killed him.” Daryl grunts with his back in front of you.

The hatred to them for having kept him in that cell was never going to disappear.

“I know well you could. But you didn’t think about the consequences.”

Through his shirt, you see his back tenses.

“I never do it, do I? That’s why people die… ‘cause of me.”

The guilt you hear in his voice takes your breath away. Daryl really believed that, and his voice was so sincere and broken that it breaks your heart. The guilt is on his shoulders, you can see it more clearly know, so heavy that he can hardly bear it.

“Daryl…” You say, preparing to say your best friend’s name. “Glenn’s death was not your fault.”

Daryl turns, head down and part of his hair covering his face. His strength is destroyed, and he sobs before he speaks.

“It was… I have nightmares 'bout it. If I had not been so stupid—”

“Daryl, no…” You try again, taking a deep breath first. It is hard for you to hear his words, because they are not true. “Things happen, people die and we can’t help it, but we can honor their lives, fight for the things they believed in. They are not here but we are, and now I understand that we owe them this because they deserve it. Glenn was brave, kind, strong, and had a beautiful heart like no one else. He stayed true to himself, he didn’t lose part of him in this world, and he loved you so much because you and he were exactly the same.” Silent tears are about to fall from your eyes, but you stop them for a moment. “Talk to Maggie, okay? Listen to her and believe when she tells you that she loves you so much because she wouldn’t lie to you. The way she sees you has not changed at all, but you have to forgive yourself even if you are not guilty of anything. Be stronger and fight for Glenn, make him feel proud. It’s the only way you can live in peace.”

He takes a moment, but finally, Daryl nods: he wipes his face and tries to hold your gaze.

“M’ sorry for leavin’ ya alone these days. M’ so sorry, peach.” He says softly, and you walk to him to put your arms around his shoulders. He clings to you like his life depends of it, arms around your waist, holding your body against him. His beard tickles your bare neck and he takes a deep breath before looking back at you, but without letting you go from his side. “And I would never hurt ya, never, y’know it, right?”

You let out a sigh, knowing that from there, things will get better.

“I know, love, but you still have to apologize to Sean.” You smile a little bit just to lighten the mood, pushing away a few strands of his hair out of his face to look into his eyes, but at the same time letting him know that you are serious. “If not, I'm going to have to hurt you, like, seriously.”

Daryl smiles softly, and he nods, hugging you again.

At that very moment, he’s letting out all the pain that was hurting him all that time, but that is the first step to healing. And you know everything will improve over time. Hearts healed at their own pace but they did eventually. And right there, your hearts are regenerating, closing their wounds and beating harder than before.

[haggishlyhagging]

Sexuality is a very complex phenomenon. At once social and physical, "nature" and "culture," it defies categorization. Pagan religions saw sexuality as part of the natural order, part of the same generative force that ultimately resulted in fertility. Erotic attraction had an integral place in the workings of the cosmos. Sexuality could be sacred, part of the continuation of the cosmos, as in the Sumerian sacred marriage ritual. In this ritual, the expression of sexual emotions could be associated with the experience of divinity, and the songs and poems connected with the sacred marriage provided a religious setting for the expression and celebration of sexual desire. Even ordinary sex could be seen as godlike, for the stories of the sexual adventures and misadventures of the gods provided a divine parallel for sexuality. These stories showed that gods also felt these drives and performed these acts. Sexual behavior did not make people less like the gods; on the contrary, it reinforced their resemblance to the upper orders of being. The male gods could be models of male virility and sexual potency, their behavior paradigms of proper (and sometimes of improper) sexual activity.

Ancient pagan religion also portrayed the sexual impulse as a goddess of sexual attraction. Male gods, figures of potency, can express sexual activity; they cannot fully express sexual attraction in a predominantly heterosexual, androcentric society. The figure of Inanna/Ishtar provides a way to conceptualize the erotic impulse, a vocabulary to celebrate its presence, and an image with which to comprehend the human experience of sexual desire. Sexual desire comes from the presence of Ishtar. When she is absent,

The Bull springs not upon the cow, the ass does not inseminate the Jenny. In the street man does not inseminate young woman. The man lies down in his (own) chamber the woman lies down on her side.

Sexuality was part of the divine realm, most specifically of the female divine. Even when other functions of goddesses were absorbed by male gods, sexuality could not be absorbed into male divinity. Ishtar remained the representative and divine patron of sexual attraction and activity.

All of this religious dimension of sexuality disappears in biblical monotheism. There is no sexual dimension of divine experience. Instead of gods and goddesses interrelating with each other, there is only the one God of Israel. YHWH, moreover, is a predominantly male god, referred to by the masculine pronoun (never by the feminine), and often conceived of in such quintessentially masculine images as warrior and king. In the earliest biblical poem, the Song of the Sea, God is "man of war." God is also king, the prime metaphor of mastery. This, too, has a masculine connotation. But these masculine qualities of God are social male-gender characteristics. The monotheist God is not sexually a male. He is not at all phallic, and does not represent male virility. Biblical anthropomorphic language uses corporeal images of the arm of God, the right hand of God, God's back, and God's tears. God is not imagined below the waist. In Moses' vision at Mount Sinai, God covered Moses with his hand until he had passed by, and Moses saw only his back. In Elijah's vision, there was nothing to be seen, only a "small still voice." In Isaiah's vision (chapter 6), two seraphim hide Gods "feet" (normally taken as a euphemism), and in Ezekiel's vision (chapters 1-3), there is only fire below the loins. God is asexual, or transsexual, or metasexual (depending on how we view this phenomenon), but "he" is never sexed.

God does not behave in sexual ways. In the powerful marital metaphor, God is the "husband" of Israel. But this husband-God does not kiss, embrace, fondle, or otherwise express physical affection for Israel, even within the poetic license of the metaphor. Such reticence is not demanded by rhetorical usage, for in the other erotic metaphor, that describing the attachment of men to Lady Wisdom, there is no hesitation to use a physical image, "hug her to you and she will exult you, she will bring you honor if you embrace her." Wisdom is clearly a woman-figure, and can be metaphorically embraced as a woman. But God is not a sexual male, and therefore even the erotic metaphor of passion reveals a lack of physicality. God is not imaged in erotic terms, and sexuality was simply not part of the divine order.

God is not sexed, God does not model sexuality, and God does not bestow sexual power. God, who is the giver of fertility, procreation, abundance, health, does not explicitly give potency. God does not promise the men of Israel that they will be sexually active or competent. Biblical thought does not see sexuality as a gift of God. To the Bible, the sexual and divine realms have nothing to do with each other. Indeed, the Bible is concerned to maintain their separation, to demarcate the sexual and sacred experiences and to interpose space and time between them. God would not reveal godself or God's purpose on Mount Sinai until Israel abstained from sexual activity for three days. This temporal separation between the sexual and the sacred also underlies the story of David's request for food during his days of fleeing from King Saul. David assured the priest Ahimelech that his men were eligible to eat hallowed bread by asserting that they had been away from women for three days. Sexual activity brings people into a realm of experience which is unlike God; conversely, in order to approach God one has to leave the sexual realm.

-Tikva Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake of the Goddesses: Women, Culture, and the Biblical Transformation of Pagan Myth

[apenitentialprayer]

tsêlâ, from the verb tsâla'' means...

side or rib?

In theory, it could mean both, and I believe that is the stance that Strong's Hebrew takes on it. It is often translated as "rib" in Genesis 2, where Eve is made from Adam's צֵלָע.

If you want, we can look at the other contexts in which צֵלָע is used. For example, the word gets translated as "sides" in Exodus 25. In this context, the author is describing how to create the Ark of the Covenant, including where the gold rings should be installed - two on one "side," and two on the opposite "side." Exodus 26, which describes the creation of the tabernacle, also uses צֵלָע in the sense of "sides." Exodus 27:7 also talks about placing poles on the "sides" of the altar, and later instances of צֵלָע also have it translated as "sides," as the later uses of the phrase are in passages describing the actual creation of these objects rather than the blueprints describes in the chapters I mentioned.

1 Kings also uses צֵלָע in a context of constructing things - this time, Solomon building the Temple in chapter 6. And again, it is translated as "sides" in most of the earlier part of that chapter. But then something interesting happens - צֵלָע starts to refer not to "sides" in the sense of the abstract concept, but to the wooden panels and boards that actually support the structure. In 6:16, these panels enclose the Holy of Holies, while in 6:34 two "panels" are hinged together to construct doors.

Ezekiel also uses צֵלָע in reference to architecture; how about we move onto how it's applied to living things?

Besides Genesis 3, well, we have Job 18:12 and Jeremiah 20:10. Translations of Jeremiah 20:10 seem to read צֵלָע as "slip" or "stumble," which is very different from the senses it was used in the previously mentioned instances. Job 18:12 is variously translated as "calamity is at their side" or "calamity is ready for their stumbling," so.... ???

I do not know enough about extra-Biblical Hebrew texts to say whether there are contemporary uses of the word צֵלָע to mean "rib." You could argue that the panels of a structure are analogous to "ribs" in the anatomy of a creature, but that seems like a bit of a stretch.

The Greek Septuagint translates צֵלָע as πλευρά, which means "side" - but in the way that it's used in the New Testament, πλευρά can also mean ribs. After He dies, Jesus is pierced in the πλευρά, which gets translated as "side" in most translations, but we're imagining His heart (and, presumably before that, His ribs) is getting pierced.

Peter also has an angel appear at his πλευρά, his "side" in the abstract sense (i.e., the angel appears beside him), but when πλευρά is used to refer to a corporal, bodily part, it seems that ribs would be a fair translation. And the translator of Genesis into the Greek chose πλευρά to render צֵלָע.

[mey-rin-is-fabulous]

I did it. I finished Hidden King. I started rereading it months ago but just never finished it. God that ending is so satisfying but it does leave me with questions about Asa and why the change of heart. Manfred being chased by the Flames as leopards is hilarious and exactly what he deserved. I can just imagine Lyell, Amy and Charlie going home to number 9 and Lyell slamming the door open and being like 'mother I'm home!" But knowing Grizelda she's probably not there and is with her sisters because much like Ezekiel Bloor she is also a terrible person, a bad parent, a bad grandparent and an awful sister. Paton is the only valid yewbeam and I hope Emma's aunt gives him all the kisses.