Zombie-Madam

Daily Carzekiel Affirmation.

It didn’t surprise me either!!! I think it could be seen from outer space. Ezekiel always gets such heart eyes and Carol has slowly learned how tot rust and love at Kingdom!!!

Omg I’m living for this little glimpse of behind the scenes!!!

Move been there, having to kiss one of my friends and fellow actors cause our characters were in love. It was soooooo awkward at first and we would just laugh it off.

Eventually we just knew how long to hold it, how to make it seem like it was our very first kiss even though we’d done the show beforehand and rehearsals.

I love that she validates Caryl. Like they are best friends, they are each other’s person, and whatever happens that won’t change!! But you can have your person and also have your hunny!

And they are happy. I’m soooo glad that Melissa says Carol is happy and that Ezekiel is happy and that they are happy together. It cancels out all the fan negativity that has been around the pairing.

THEY ARE HAPPY. CAROL IS HAPPY!

I also love that she having fun playing this part of Carol! It’s a new layer we’ve never truly seen! I love her positivity about Carzekiel! I love her friendship with Khary and I can’t wait to see it brighten Carol and Ezekiel!

Source:

Disclaimer: The Walking Dead And all recognizable characters are property of AMC Networks. This is a work of fiction meant only for entertainment purposes. No monetary/economical gain is being made.

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1.

The first time he asks her if she’s happy they are in the middle of rebuilding the Kingdom’s Garden. She knows he’s been eyeing her for a couple of minutes and she knows that he wants to say something but he is hesitating, or perhaps trying to find the proper words so she continues planting and helping Henry with his own seeds and seedlings.

“Milady,” he finally starts. “have you found happiness at the Kingdom?”

So boys and girls, today we are going to talk about something. And that is FANON vs. CANON. *cracks knuckles*

This idea is a very common thing in fandom, particularly when the fandom or a ship within it becomes very popular. So, a quick personal definition:

Fanon: Fans, often shippers, widely accepting a headcanon as fact, whether that means filling in any blanks with their opinion or deciding the meaning of whatever is happening in a scene or even making up something in their mind.

Canon: WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS WITHIN A NARRATIVE. It is actually kind of cool but also at times perplexing how certain things that are fanon and not canon can be accepted as fact, but it happens all the time. The more popular something becomes the more overlap between the two that there is. That goes for all fandoms too, and all ships, both canon and not.

In the stucky fandom for example: people have accepted certain things as fact even though we have no canon example. Like “Bucky is a cat person and loves cats”. We never see any canon evidence of this in the MCU, yet this is something that is widely accepted about his character and is often written into fanfic. Something like that is a very harmless example of fanon overriding canon without over arching implications on the overall canon itself. Because Bucky liking cats has no real influence over anything that happens to him in the plot or his relationship with Steve or the other avengers.

But then you have examples in c@ryl such as “these two characters harbor romantic love for one another”. Something like that is a significant opinion about the narrative that impacts basically everything we know about the two characters. It is totally OK to have that opinion, so long as you accept that it’s in your own mind/heart and not in canon. But so many people have written fanfic or headcanons or meta that take this as a status quo FACT, that it has permeated the entire fandom of theirs as being something inherently true when we really have no examples or evidence of it.

And that’s the issue. There’s really nothing that can tear their argument down when they come into the conversation with a false or unproven narrative assumption.

Therefore, of COURSE lack of c@ryl screentime is blamed on bad writing or underdevelopment of this clearly endgame ship, because these people are coming into the entire thing with a fanon perspective of “these two are in love and have been for years”. I’m sure to them, it DOES feel like poor writing as a result.

But the GA/non-shipping parts of fandom see Carol and Daryl as they canonically are: Close friends. We aren’t looking at a romantic relationship to be built from their interaction, so obviously when they have less of it we don’t see it as anything harmful to their narrative. We simply see it as it is.

If c@ryl shippers were working from canon and not fanon, they would see this lack of screentime as a sign that these two were not romantic or meant to be. But they’re coming into the scenario having already decided their fanon conclusion is the same as canon fact (C@ryl is in love and endgame) so EVERYTHING they see is run through that filter.

Ultimately, I don’t care who the fuck is doing what. Especially without concrete proof. There is nothing I hate more than someone spewing shit without proof. But, I will say this- there is a special place reserved in hell for someone that steals shit that doesn’t belong to them and then spin it to take advantage of fans that desperately want to hear things that suit them or that they most care about. I watched the cult leaders of Team Delusional do that to their following and I sure AS SHIT will NOT stand for that bullshit in my house. 

It is only at Judith’s request that Carol lets her hair grow.

Though she personally preferred it short as it was much easier to style and better when dealing with walkers and enemies, Judith had begged her to grow it out.

“Long, long, long.” Judith had requested

At first she had grown it back to what Judith was used to seeing, but with a little more cajoling from the little girl she had grown it all the way to her shoulders.

Judith loved to play with her hair. She would style it as best as she could at her five years, learning how to braid and do ponytails. She specially loved to make flower crowns and braid them with Carol’s hair. “You are my beautiful fairy.” Judith once informed her.

So she had let it grow out. They had reached relative peace between the communities so she didn’t have to worry about anyone grabbing her by it to hold her in place, nobody to use it against her. Whenever she went out to clear whatever walkers were roaming nearby she always pulled it back in a half ponytail.

It wasn’t her absolute favorite thing, to have long hair, but it was something she could deal with if it meant that Judith was happy.

What she hadn’t thought she would actually like, though, was other people touching it, specially a man.

She had never feared that Ezekiel would harm her. She knew him. Never did she doubt his intentions towards her. It was still a surprise when one night while they were cuddling and holding each other close after having made love, he tenderly threaded his fingers through her hair.

The movement was small, non aggressive, but she froze for a second. A second was all it took for him to notice the hesitation in her.

“Forgive me.” He quickly said, pulling his hand away.

“No, no it’s alright.” She promised him, settling against his chest once again, her body relaxed. “It’s… it’s not something I can stop.”

Ezekiel was quiet for a couple of heartbeats before he said in a low voice. “I really hate your ex-husband.”

Carol chuckled and agreed with him. “So do I.”

Gathering her courage, she twisted her arm until she was able to catch his hand. Slowly, so that he could see she was inviting the touch, she guided his hand to her hair once more. After a second of hesitation Ezekiel once again began playing with her hair. He started slow, gently moving his fingers against the ends that he could reach. Slowly he moved upward, his fingers disappearing and pressing against her scalp, massaging it.

A shiver ran through her which only made her snuggle further against him. “Cold?” He asked, already moving to cover them with a thick blanket.

“No.” She admitted though she knew eventually her body would fully cool down. “It just feels…”. Her voice trailed off, not knowing how to finish the sentence.

“Good?” He offered.

“Yeah… good.” She couldn’t help but agree. It was foreign, the sensation of a loving touch where before it had only known abuse and hatred, but it felt good.

“I like it.” Ezekiel whispered after they had fallen into silence, Carol had even closed her eyes allowing sleep to slowly claim her.

“Hmmm?”

“Your long hair.” He elaborated. “And no, before you say it, I don’t like it more than your short hair. You are gorgeous with your pixie haircut. I fell in love with you with that hairstyle.”

Carol chuckled but didn’t open her eyes. “Good save there, my King.” She teased him.

“I try.” He grinned. “I also happen to love this style. You look like a fairy.”

“That’s what Judy says.” Carol snuggled deeper into his embrace. “She says I’m her fairy.”

This time Ezekiel laughed, his chest vibrating beneath her which only made her laugh, her face tilting upwards, her eyes opening to look directly into his, sleep forgotten for now. “You don’t mind it?”

“The hair?”

“Not the hair itself…” she paused for a couple of moments, trying to gather the courage to ask what was really bothering her. “The color. Do you mind the color?”

“Why would I mind the color?” He asked, genuinely confused.

“It’s grey… in a couple of years it might be fully white.”

“And..?”

“Well, shouldn’t a King have a wife he can show off? A young wife to bear him children? A wife he can be proud of?”

Now it was Ezekiel’s turn to stiffen beneath her.

“You forget I am no king and who says that I am not proud of you?” He asks her , his finger moving beneath her chin in anticipation to her not wanting to look at him. “But if I really were one, grey or white hair wouldn’t matter to me. It’s just color. Some go grey earlier than others. Some have a hard time going grey. It’s just color.” He repeated. “Carol what matters isn’t your hair color, or your age, or whether or not we can have children.

She was about to say something but he quickly placed a finger on her lips. “Let me finish please.”

When she made no move to continue speaking, he pulled back. “What matters to me is what is in your soul; your caring nature, your love for our family, the way you are fiercely protective of Henry and Judith, the way you will run yourself to the ground if it means that everyone in our community is safe and sound. I love the little things you do like joke with Jerry and put up with my Shakespearean wannabe flair, or grow your hair out because Judith asked you to. I love waking up and seeing your face first thing in the morning, seeing your hair wild and all over the place. I love the kisses we share before starting our day. I love how you let me hold your hand or pull you close. If your hair bothers you, we can do something about it, I am sure we’d be able to find something, but don’t ever feel like you have to change or should be ashamed of anything because of me.“

Carol could feel her heart beating wildly against her chest and his, growing with the love she felt for this man. She wanted nothing more than to kiss him and show him how much she loved him, so she went ahead and did it.

“I love you.” She mumbled against his lips.

So. 3x01 “Seed” and infamous ‘Carol flirts with Daryl’ scene. Please keep in mind that while I am not a Caryler-er that I am; A massive Daryl fan and a massive Carol fan. I am not making this argument in an attempt to bolster a different ship or attack Caryl shippers. What I’m doing is correcting a misconception about a scene that is so backwards that it makes the angels cry.

For those who want to avoid my on-coming word vomit, I’ll simplify the entire thing right here: This scene was classic one-sided flirting. Key phrasing here being one-sided.

For those who haven’t seen that episode in awhile, I’ll remind them that this was the season 3 premiere. We’re coming into it knowing that about 6-7 months have taken place off screen, and the changes in relationships and interpersonal dynamics are being established in this episode.

Fun fact: I left season 2 convinced that something romantic was going to build between Carol ad Daryl. This episode? This exact scene? This was what made me go “Whoops. Nope. That is not going to be a thing.”

And it all boils down to the fact that Daryl is blatantly uncomfortable for this entire exchange.

Read that again. Absorb it. Blatantly uncomfortable. If you watch this and see him as flirting, I’m genuinely worried about your understanding of human interaction and by proxy, your understanding of consent. (Which is an admittedly big jump, but still relevant.)

Let it be said that I love both sides of this interaction. Carol has finally shed that meek little bird shell she was stuck in after well over a decade in an abusive relationship, and recovering from losing her child. She’s more open and relaxed and playful than we’ve ever seen her. There’s a subtle suggestion in this interaction that this probably isn’t the first time she’s made a pass at Daryl. And hell, who can blame her? She respects and admires him, he’s attractive, and she’s a woman who is reclaiming her personal agency for the first time in years. She’s at a point in her life where she can look at and admire a man without fear of repercussion from her abuser. She’s allowing herself to be selfish and pursue something (or in this case, someone) she wants and do so freely. So during that missing winter, I get the impression she’s made suggestions and flirtations in Daryl’s direction. To the point where it’s almost an in-joke between them, but with that open invitation for him to reciprocate.

But in this scene we see very clearly that Daryl isn’t going to.

When their eyes meet during the shoulder-rub, there’s two kinds of tension. One from Carol that is suggestive, and one from Daryl that is uncomfortable. He immediately drops his hands and backs away. He tries to diffuse the situation before it can head in a direction he’s not looking for. But then Carol makes that totally-joking-unless-you-want-to proposition and you can pretty much see that moment he goes ‘Ah fuck, I was trying to avoid this.’ Still though, he laughs it off and she laughs with him. She’s ready to tease him but not push.

And she does tease him. He gets exasperated but not angry. Hell, if it had been daylight I’m sure he would have been blushing scarlet. Once again it’s been reduced to a joke. Making it into a joke makes it easier for Daryl to handle than having to outright tell her that he isn’t interested. And Carol, who I have no doubt was very interested at the time, was willing to concede to that.

Note that after that scene? She doesn’t flirt with him anymore. She teases him and is affectionate and every wonderful thing, but she stops directly flirting with him. That scene was a taste of the relationship we didn’t see during the missing winter and it was a closure to it. They were wrapping that part of the relationship up and leaving it behind. Basically Carol gave it one last go, probably because they had genuine safety for the first time, and it was the last attempt to see if he’d reciprocate her interest. And he didn’t.

Honestly I think that’s why we later saw Axel’s crush on her. Whether or not Carol had any interest in reciprocating we will never know, but it was obvious she enjoyed the attention. It was a direct contrast to her relationship with Daryl, where we got to see the flip side. Carol got to feel sexy and interesting and desirable from a man who genuinely was interested in her even if she might not have felt anything more than friendship towards him.

From the moment Carol was wheeled to the stage and laughed at the knockoff king, I knew it was only a matter of time. Trying to persuade her into sticking around? Predictable. Random visits bearing fruitful gifts? Transparent. Opening up about his insecurities? No need for a town crier, that one bellowed for itself.

The interesting part? Carol’s reaction to each and every gesture. His kingly-ness acting all majestic and prophetic? She laughs. Him spewing out nice “gospel-y” phrases trying to excite bravery from his people? She calls him out on acting fake……but eventually accepts that his role is VERY important and that the people need him to lead. Showing up constantly to her house despite the fact that she specifically said to NOT? Annoyed…..but she still took the food.

My point: She resists at FIRST but ultimately gives in…..meaning she’s ALWAYS had feelings for him, but she never went down that path because she had more important things to worry about.

The MOST important thing? Being a strong, independent character who is powerful and fierce, and doesn’t require a love story to be interesting…….now……on to Daryl.

My man has had eight seasons……EIGHT…..FUCKING……SEASONS…….and still he does NOTHING. That should be a fucking CLUE by now. When I think of Daryl in terms of his emotional responses, I think of Dean Winchester……(yes I’m using Supernatural as an analogy, deal with it).

One thing that Dean and Daryl have in common is they both grew up believing they were safest when they kept their emotions to themselves, with little to no room for vulnerability because survival was more important. Now that both characters have found more fulfilling “families” outside of their painful upbringing, they’ve gradually evolved into these somewhat closed off but still well-to-do guys who realize that opening themselves up to relationships (friendly or romantic) just might be worth a shot.

HOWEVER……they’ve each had MULTIPLE opportunities to try to make those relationships a reality, but never made a move……they didn’t even make a PASS. My friends….seriously….sometimes playful banter is just that….PLAYFUL BANTER. Granted their insecurities and struggle with their self-worth needs to be taken into consideration, but these are not cavemen, they are intelligent men who know what they want……and if they’re not going for it than it stands to reason that it was playful banter reflecting a close bond and that was the end it.

I’ve been saying for YEARS that if it was going to happen than it would have early on. At this point all I see is Carol being motherly/sisterly (yes I fucking SAID IT……MOTHERLY) to Daryl and really nothing else. That “fool around” joke? Dead and buried. The “pookie” thing? Cremated at this point, ashes have been spread. Update: Mom-friends exist and sometimes friends flirt with each other regardless of gender identity. You don’t have to have a wide age-gap to have a mom-friend, I say this from experience. Hell there are even GRANDPA friends, its 2018 for godsake.

I’m just saying I don’t understand the confusion, TPTB have been working up to this Carol/Ezekiel thing for years now……you can’t tell me you didn’t see it coming. Carol is smart, she knows what she wants and she very obviously doesn’t want Daryl and HAS NEVER wanted him in that way.

Does she love him? Yes. Would she die for him? Yes. Will she go wherever he goes? Since they’ve each left the other behind at some point to pursue separate lives I’d say no.

Its 2018, its ENTIRELY possible to have amazing connections with other people WITHOUT it being romantic.

Also I thought tumblr was all about inclusivity and representation, so if Daryl is actually gay/aro/ace it’s okay so long as he makes out with Carol in a CLEAR display of fanservice sellout?

If you’re here because you ship Carzekiel, please feel free to scroll past this post. But for the people who don’t and keep creepin’ here I have some questions. The most prominent is why? Why do you care if I don’t see your ship the way you do? Does it bring you inspiration to see that my ship sailed? That yours can too one day? If that’s the case, inspire on. But that’s not why you’re here and you know it. Read every post I’ve made here, screenshot where I’ve torn apart you, your characters, your ship, your part of the fandom. I’ll wait.

While I am waiting let’s get through some more questions. In an eight year time span there have been more than enough photos, manips, fanfics, etc. of your ship to fill all the blogs ever - why don’t you post the things you love about your ship vs. what you hate about others? Isn’t that the point of shipping? How is it fun to talk about destroying obstacles that are “in the way” of your ship? Who cares? Talk about what you have and want not what you’re “entitled” to. 

Another question (a big one for me tbh). I keep seeing “I stopped watching X seasons ago” or “I only watch my ship characters’ scenes”. How could you possibly judge what chemistry, story line or relationships others have if you have never seen them? I have my opinions and thoughts formed on what I have seen, in front of me from the opening credits to the “On the next Walking Dead” prompt - season after season, year after year. 

Another semi-big one. I ship Carol with Ezekiel. Again you’ve lurked my blog, but yet I’m met with “ABC/ABD Shipper” “It’s sexist!” “”Ageist” “You don’t even like Carol!”

Ok let’s work this out. The ABC/ABD thing was invented by your ship. It doesn’t make it a thing. Stop trying to make fetch happen. Carzekiel shippers don’t want Carol with Ezekiel to keep her away from Daryl. Carzekiel shippers don’t see a romantic bond between Carol and Daryl. It’s a simple fact that even though you don’t agree - IS a thing. The actors have said it themselves, so it’s okay. ABC meaning Daryl should be with anyone but Carol? Sure, some Carol hating Daryl Dixon fans may say that but search our bunch - ain’t us. Again, see making fetch happen reference above. 

Carol and Ezekiel has been written, foreshadowed, presented, accepted, and canon. Speaking for myself? I didn’t even know who KP was prior to TWD. I don’t read the comics so Ezekiel was pretty new as well. But I saw their connection and story line. I saw the relationship building with each other. I didn’t cheer NOT DARYL YAY! I am a Daryl fangirl FFS. I didn’t cheer NO DARYL WITH CAROL YAY! Because if for a second past what, season 2? 3? I saw any spark and it was what I thought these two needed I would be on that ship til it sank. But I didn’t purchase that ticket. Guess what? That means more tickets for y’all, maybe even a better price like Travelocity sale time. Don’t know, don’t care. 

Speaking of the Daryl and Carol relationship, I adore their friendship and actually criticized right beside you when they were no longer spending time together. I could list all the reasons I like their friendship but would ya believe me anyways? It’s a shitty thing to do - outcast fans who even though only see a friendship - aren’t good enough fans if they don’t see a romance. Nobody tells me how to fan, or to ship. Breaking news: You can be fans of Carol and Daryl, but not their ship. Daryl and Carol didn’t need to spend time apart for Carzekiel to sail. Daryl and Carol, and all of Carol’s other relationships while we are at it, benefit from the changes Carol has made in her life. The chances she has taken, the healing she has finally gotten to. Just because she didn’t unburden her soul to Daryl doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. It HAD to happen, she deserves closure of her most painful memories.

Carol loves Ezekiel. She’s married to him. If Ezekiel dies someday, which for some reason some people are panting for, could Carol love again? Yes, of course she could. Does that mean she never loved Ezekiel? Of course it doesn’t.

I personally don’t see TWD doing that, simply because this relationship had a full two seasons of build and development and now s9 will have canon and further development (marriage). I just don’t think there’s the time to end this relationship and then have yet another, not after the focus this has gotten. The show seems to be winding down and I don’t see it lasting past s10 unless they do a merge or something. But I would never deny the possibility, though I don’t think it would be until the very end of the show if it does happen.

What I do not accept is that Carol isn’t in love with Ezekiel now. That she’s committing herself to a man she doesn’t really love or want to be with. That she’s harboring feelings for someone else and using Ezekiel. Because if that were the case, it would speak really poorly of Carol as a person. We aren’t talking about a friend with benefits here. We are talking about a serious, committed relationship/marriage with a child involved.

“…and like a Magnolia tree, we will weather this world together.”