#merle au

[violettwrites]

quiet birthdays — trailerpark!daryl

a/n: hi my lovelies ! i actually had a lot of fun writing this, and i really hope you enjoy ! i love writing the trailer park trio so much !!! i also listened to the birthday party by the 1975 while listening to this, but you don't have to ! it just fit the quiet vibes of the story when i wrote it.

as always, if you enjoyed reading this, please don't forget to like, reblog, and/or comment !! you know i always appreciate your support !

summary: anon requested ! reader keeps quiet about her birthday, but the dixon brothers find a way to make it special

warnings: none !

word count: 1,308

resources: divider by @/adornedwithlight

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the sun had already begun to dip below the horizon when you pulled into the trailer park, the air thick with the lingering heat of the day. your limbs ached with hours spent on your feet at work, and all you could think about was getting home, throwing yourself into bed, and forgetting that today was supposed to be special. it was your birthday— though you hadn’t bothered to mention it to anyone. not because you didn’t care, but because you didn;t see the point. it was just another day, another year passing by without fanfare. you honestly couldn’t remember the last time you celebrated, anyway. no birthday parties when you were younger, no birthday cards from family. nothing. so you never bothered anymore.

but as you approached your trailer, something caught your eye. there was a faint glow coming from the corner of the lot where the dixon brothers lived, and you could hear the low murmur of voices. curiosity piqued your interest and you made your way over, wondering what they were up to. as you rounded the corner, the sight stopped you in your tracks.

a bonfire was crackling, the flames licking up into the darkening sky. around it, there were a few mismatched chairs, a cooler, and some string lights that were lazily hung from daryl’s trailer, casting as soft glow over the area. daryl stood by the fire, poking at it with a stick, while merle sat on a lawn chair, leaning back with a stupid grin plastered on his face.

“well, look who decided to finally show up!” merle called out as soon as he spotted you, his voice loud and teasing. daryl glanced up from the fire, his expression more subtle but no less aware of your presence.

“what are you two doing?” you asked, stepping closer, your brow furrowed in confusion. it wasn’t unusual for merle to light up a bonfire randomly through the week and have a few beers, but the slight effort that was present in their set up threw you off. you had just left for work this morning like any other day, and now this?

daryl wiped his hands on his jeans and looked at you, his eyes darting away quickly like he was embarrassed. “heard it’s ya birthday,” he muttered, shuffling his feet a little. “figured we’d do somethin’.”

merle chuckled, leaning back in his chair with a beer in hand. “took ya long enough to get home. baby brother said ya’d be back by five. we been waitin’ all damn afternoon!”

you stared at them, completely taken aback. you hadn’t told anyone it was your birthday, and yet here they were, the two roughest boys you had ever met, putting together a surprise for you. your heart swelled at the thought, and for a moment, you weren’t sure what to say.

“you did this for me?” you asked, still trying to wrap your head around what was happening.

daryl shrugged, his eyes flickering to merle as if he was uncomfortable with the attention and wanted merle to take over. “ain’t much.”

merle let out a bark of laughter. “yeah, well, he didn’t do it alone. i helped.” he gestured towards the cooler. “we got drinks, and daryl here even made ya a cake.”

“a cake?” you couldn’t help but smile at the absurdity of it. daryl dixon, the gruff and silent man you had come to know, had baked you a cake?

daryl looked even more uncomfortable now, and you could see his cheeks turning the slightest shade of pink. oh, now he was blushing. you watched as he rubbed the back of his neck, chewing on his bottom lip for a moment. “well, tried to. merle here ain’t much help.”

merle stood up with a mischievous grin, and waved you over to the small folding table they had set up near the fire. “c’mon, darlin’! take a look at this masterpiece.”

you followed, your curiosity getting the better of you— daryl had baked you a cake, so of course you wanted to see. and there it sat, in the middle of the table. the most chaotic looking cake you’d ever seen. the edges were burnt to a crisp, the middle sagged like it hadn’t fully risen, and the frosting was a mess– half melted, uneven, and smeared across the plate like it had been slapped on with no real plan.

daryl dixon had baked you a cake.

you covered your mouth to stifle the laugh that was threatening to escape. it was a disaster, but the fact that he even tried melted your heart.

“it’s… something,” you said, finally letting out a chuckle.

merle grinned and clapped daryl on the shoulder. “told ya she’d appreciate it.”

daryl shot him a glare before turning his attention back to you. his expression was softer now, his usual guarded demeanor cracked enough for you to see the effort he’d put into this. even if he was definitely no baker. “it ain’t that bad,” he muttered, but there was a hint of a smile playing at the corner of his lips.

you stepped closer to the cake, your chest warm with emotion. it wasn’t even about the cake at this point– it was the thought behind it. the fact that they had gone out of their way to make today feel special when you hadn’t expected anyone to notice.

“i love it,” you spoke sincerely, moving towards daryl so you could wrap your arms around him. you felt how stiff he was underneath your embrace, but he eventually softened, arms wrapping around your frame now. “thank you.”

he nodded his head once you both pulled from the embrace, his face relaxing a little. “glad you ain’t mad we made a mess,” he chuckled softly, his voice low.

“it’s not my kitchen i have to clean,” you teased, shaking your head, looking back at the cake.

merle, ever the one to break the mood, cracked open another beer and shoved one into your hand. “enough with the mushy, lovey dovey crap. let’s celebrate! yer gettin older, and that’s worth drinkin’ too!”

“everything’s worth drinking to with you, merle,” you retorted, rolling your eyes. but you couldn’t help the smile that spread across your face as you accepted the beer. the three of you settled around the fire, the crackling of the flames filling the comfortable silence between conversations. merle kept the jokes coming, loud and brash as always, while daryl stayed quieter, content to sit besides you, occasionally chiming in with a dry comment directed towards his older brother that made you laugh.

as the night wore on and the fire burned low, you found yourself watching the flicker of the flames, feeling something you hadn’t in a long time— contentment. this wasn’t the kind of birthday you’d ever imagined, but it was exactly what you needed. simple, messy, but full of heart.

you glanced over at daryl, who was staring into the fire, his profile softened by the glow of the flames. there was something about him that always put you at ease, even when he wasn’t saying much. you had grown fond of his quiet presence, the way he showed care through actions rather than words, and tonight was no different.

“hey,” you said softly, catching his attention. he looked over at you, his eyes meeting yours. “thanks again. really.”

daryl shrugged, but there was a warmth in his gaze that wasn’t there before. “ain’t nothin’.”

but it was. to you, it was everything.

you didn’t need a big celebration or an extravagant party. you just needed this— two people who cared enough to sit with you by a fire, drink a few beers, and share a burnt cake. and for the first time in a long time, you felt like your birthday truly mattered.

[smokbeast]

a dance with death

[toastydumpster]

me and the abomination I pulled by being madly in love with life. 

[coffinpal]

named after country singers, the teenage mutant hillbilly turtles!

[kristiliqua]

taz x dungeon meshi doodles

if three idiots met five other idiots (real)

[otherworldseekers]

“A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.” ― Coco Chanel

Using some old photos of actress Merle Oberon as reference this time.

[bidaryl]

the walking dead (rewatch) — 1.04: vatos

[transformersweatpants]

Merle is introduced after Caroline’s greenhouse heart event - after the cutscene the player may click on a large bush in the corner and (similar to Krobus) a startled Merle emerges. You’re given dialogue options to either convince him to move somewhere else or keep squatting in the greenhouse. Random dialogue options include him searching in vain for Scuttle Buddy, sweet-talking the tea plant, and attempting to convert the player into a worshipper of Pan.

Magnus lives in the Adventurer’s guild and offers two services: Pet-walking (increases the players <3 with pet) and Protection in the mines (carries the player home if knocked unconscious, guarantee no lost items or medical bills). 2+ Heart Event is him coaxing Dusty (Alex’ dog) out of his pen with a treat. 4+ Heart Event is helping him name his new goldfish! Name options: the lord esquire goldfish, Steven q fletcher the goldfish, steven the goldfish. 8+ hearts with Magnus and he mails you a “questionable fried unicorn.. horn?”

Taako works part-time as the chef for the Pirate Bar on ginger island, and occasionally shows up to work at the Stardew Valley Saloon. When given fried calamari he sighs wistfully and exclaims “brings back warm memories” with a wink. Random dialogue options include him asking if a gift is secretly Gogurt, asking for directions to the wizard’s tower and explaining that he can’t have someone stealing his thunder. When given a Dinosaur egg he inexplicably cries “DUPREEEE”. He eventually teaches magic in the community center (library section) to the kids and the player if cajoled

[sarcastically--optimistic]

Throw back to a couple of months ago when I drew Merle Highchurch as a centaur.

I had plans for Magnus and Taako as well (as well as Angus because he is the coolest character).

[addamvelaryon]

Addam & Alyn as Merlings

Sailors, by nature a gullible and superstitious lot, as fond of their fancies as singers, tell many tales of these frigid northern waters…. They whisper of Cannibal Bay, where ships enter at their peril only to find themselves trapped forever when the sea freezes hard behind them.

They tell of pale blue mists that move across the waters, mists so cold that any ship they pass over is frozen instantly; of drowned spirits who rise at night to drag the living down into the grey-green depths; of mermaids pale of flesh with black-scaled tails, far more malign than their [kin] of the south.

Artist: SpitfireGoBrrr

[umbraastaff]

stuff about the taz atla au:

Taako and Lup are the last surviving air nomads (and by extension, elves). Lup is the Avatar. I established Taako as an airbender but I think it could go either way; if he's a nonbender, he's still got the high-dex rogue-y vibes of an airbender for any fighting.

Barry is a waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe, and the one who finds the twins. He's extremely unnaturally gifted at bloodbending, but shit at most other waterbending until they find a master. (He can bloodbend when it's not the full moon, but usually only to shift someone's balance, shove a limb, etc. Can be very handy when used right, though!)

Lup's hardest element is water. She has the instinct to directly blast stuff, which pushes against the give-and-take nature of waterbending. Once she gets it she likes making huge, scary, ocean-like waves. She's progressively faster at learning earthbending and, of course, firebending comes easiest & becomes a favorite.

Lucretia is also water tribe, probably in the North, though I would love for her to be friends with Barry somehow. She may not be a bender, but she's for sure attuned to spirits, especially the moon. Possibly the whole North Pole spirit imbalance is because of some well-intentioned thing she does while they're trying to repel the fire nation.

Prince Kravitz is trying to capture the Avatar but the Avatar's brother keeps flirting with him and it's very confusing. I don't know if I want to make the Raven Queen be the Firelord but if she's anyone she might be Ursa.

Kravitz is accompanied by Davenport (tell me captain "haven't we earned a little wrath" davenport isn't a firebender), a family member or close advisor who has been secretly a traitor/spy for like a decade. He's mostly coming along to keep his own eye on the Avatar and make sure she doesn't get captured or killed. White Lotus member.

Merle is a swamp waterbender with plantbending and, to everyone's shock in a dire moment, healing powers. He was a good friend of Lup's 100 years ago. Also White Lotus.

Magnus is an earthbender, Julia is a Kyoshi warrior. "Why isn't Magnus the token nonbender" well you see this whole thing is an elaborate AU of that one stretch of SC where Taako learned fighting and Magnus learned wizarding (joke)

Magnus is desperate to interact with spirits but is not attuned to them at all. He's excited to meet Lup because she is obviously the bridge to him getting to pet spirit dogs. Might have a pet dog or bear fusion variant.

[bananafire11]

Some designs for the WoF and TWD AU a friend and I are making.

These bases are NOT MINE. I've only colored them. They are drawn by Joy Aang, also the creator of the cover art for the Wings of Fire book series.

Rick - SkyWing

Shane - MudWing

Michonne - IceWing

Carol - SeaWing

Daryl - Sandwing (NightWing heritage)

Merle - Sandwing (NightWing heritage)

And my own doodles

[smokbeast]

I can’t remember the last time I posted merl,, but a silly of merl and her bitty,,

Petal motti bitty belongs to @mothiepixie ;w; <3333

[toastydumpster]

inadequate

[coffinpal]

silly doodle from a while ago, they put down some tarps and made Dollie's truck bed into a pool thinking he wouldnt notice.

[spirk-trek]

Progressions Fanzine | Merle Decker for "A Learning Experience" by Lanora Moore, 1985