an unexpected journey

Daryl still till this day: “You sure you’re okay?”

caryl au: hiding in louvre 

“You think you get used to the destruction, and then…” Carol motioned around them, gazing briefly at the torn paintings covered in blood. “Just shocks you again.”

Daryl shrugged, alert to any danger that might be lurking around the corner. 

“I wonder if Mona Lisa made it,” she said as he cleared the next corridor. 

“She a friend of yours?” he asked and Carol chuckled, catching up closer so she can catch his satisfied smirk. Shockingly, there wasn’t one. 

 "You’re serious,“ she realized, somehow still shocked about the information despite all she knew and assumed about Daryl’s past. "You’ve never seen Mona Lisa?” That got her another shrug and mumbled words along the lines ‘didn’t watch tv much’.

Carol gave the room around her a long look, before finding the remains of a map still nailed to a wall a bit behind them. “This way,” she decided out loud and quickly dissapeared in the opposite direction from Daryl. 

“Carol!" 

-

He found her sitting by a portrait of a young brunette. However, his eyes were fixed on Carol, trying to figure out what was on her mind. They were silent for a few minutes, the air heavy in his lungs.

“I always wanted to see the painting. It’s so small,” Carol said after awhile. 

“That Lisa?” he gestured at the painting. Whatever was going on in Carol’s head, he wasn’t following. And yet, he wanted to see her smile. “I don’t know, I’d rather look at you than her,” came out of his mouth, something he was quite sure he did not mean to voice. Or at least not to make it sound like that.

“She’s the best known work of art, Daryl,” she looked up, not knowing why she had the need to brush his unlikely compliment off. It was still strange for her to entertain the idea someone might like her better than…well, anything really. Damned Ed.

“She ain’t you, though,” he shrugged yet again and smiled down at her. 

“Stop,” she rolled her eyes but smiled anyway, leaning against him as he sat down next to her. 

She's pandering to that fanbase, possibly so it doesn't look like she was just trolling them, but she doesn't actually say Donnie was going to be canon. I don't think that was ever a real possibility even if the people above her like to ship bait.

CAROL & DARYL tragic love story, interrupted, in 3 acts:

#love, set if free #soulmatism #i love you goodbye

On one hand I still have that tiny bit of hope that Caryl will get their moment finally but then again, with what we know about Daryl having his own spin off, I think I’d be upset if they went canon.

Fair warning this will contain presumed spoilers from other eps which have and have not aired as well as theories so if you don’t want to know then this is your stop, time to get off the bus. Okay here we go.

****************

-Gabe chooses to go out and get captured by the Reapers so Maggie/Elijah/Negan can get away from the stash house basement, and meets Pope back at Meridian.

-Daryl goes out hunting with Leah for more info/tracking (maybe based on bad “intel” Gabe gave or they decide to go back to the area where Leah “found” Daryl. All still in the name of vengeance against Maggie yet we still don’t know why (though I think we’ll get tidbits from the reaper POV about why)

-Suddenly Leah pulls up her gun and Magna/Kelly/Carol emerge from the woods, causing Daryl’s eyes to blow wide. He plays along, raising whatever weapon they have him as Leah continues to shout at them, trying to find out who they are.

-Magna/Carol spin a whole story about how they’re not part of a bigger group, just the 3 of them after losing people along the way. Kelly keeps looking around at Daryl confused, signs to other woman about “what’s going on?” and how they need to get out of here.

-Leah yells at her, not knowing what’s going on and Carol responds with that Kelly is dead and then how they are out here trying to find her sister who they lost, but now they have a lead.

-Carol and Daryl keep passing glances(you know they ones), not needing to say anything but she does seem a bit shocked/hurt when he purposefully says Leahs name to let Carol know.

-Leah spots the crossbow over Carol’s shoulder and turns her attention and weapon towards her. Wants to know where she found it (with a few of the questions ‘asked’ by Daryl to keep up his charade).

-Carol gives her some sass back saying she found it and how do they know this is really theirs and that they’re not just going to steal their stuff and kill them, which pisses Leah off more and she steps forward moving the gun closer to Carol.

-After worried looks from Kelly/Magna she says “it’s okay, you can trust me” when in reality she signs as well “it’s okay, I trust Daryl”.

-Daryl shifts and gives that Carol look, obviously a little upset at himself for the situation they are in. Leah tells him to take his crossbow to which he replies “they don’t seem to know anything” and “they should let them go”. All the while Carol stands perfectly still despite Leahs growing frustrations.

-He gives in and goes up to Carol, coming face to face -inches away from the other- and removes the crossbow from her. But in doing so it shifts her shirt and Leah catches a glimpse of the knife she gave Daryl (noticing the engraved hilt) (the camera zooms in on it too)

-Cue the monumental freak out and starts losing it on Carol, yelling at Daryl that they need to take them back even as he tries to say there’s no point (act confused)

-Either Magna/Kelly try to take the gun away from Leah and they struggle before Carol jumps in to distract her so they can get away, and Daryl is too busy “helping Leah” from Carol to chase them. (Lol)

-Carol gets grabbed and Leah passes a dirty long look to Daryl but only says that their taking her with them….how she knows Carol has info they want.

Cue screen fading to black.