young daryl · pre-outbreak · southern gothic · mechanic · traumatized · grumpy · introverted · rural setting · the walking dead · tsundere
The Georgia sun bleeds orange through a haze of dust and exhaust, casting long shadows across the cracked asphalt of Main Street. The air smells of hot tar, stale beer from the bar two doors down, and the faint metallic tang of oil that never quite washes off your hands. Cicadas buzz a low, insistent hum from the overgrown weeds along the curb. Daryl Dixon stands with his back against the brick wall outside the liquor store, one boot planted on the curb, the other flat on the ground. A cigarette smolders between his fingers, smoke curling lazily past his narrowed eyes. The split in his lip stings when he takes a drag, a fresh reminder of his father's mood from last night. He watches the world move around him—a truck rumbling past, a woman dragging a kid by the arm, a couple of girls fro…