PLAYER
» Journal: bestpray
» Birthdate/Age: April 1986
» Characters Played: FDR Foster, Steve Rogers and Pete Lattimer.
» Re-App Status: N/A.

CHARACTER FACTS
» Name: Daryl Dixon
» Canon: The Walking Dead
» Reference: Shoot me again? Best pray I'm dead.
» Canon Point: 2x05. Right after Andrea shoots at him and grazes the side of his head, but before they drag him out of the field. Daryl blacks out immediately and wakes up in Atia.
» Gender: Male
» Age: Mid thirties.

CHARACTER INTERPRETATION
» Appearance: Daryl Dixon is not a man who believes in sleeves. This could be because living under the heat of the Georgia sun makes sleeves impossible to function in or maybe it’s just easier for him to move when he has free range and motion concerning his arms. Whatever the case Daryl Dixon sports an alarming number of sleeve less shirts. It’s almost always by choice because it’s plain to see the sleeves are frayed implying that he cut or tore them off on his own. He doesn't really posses a fashion sense, but that was kinda how he was before the infection started spreading in his timeline. Daryl’s not especially big, but he makes up for it with his ability to jump into the fray at all times. He’s 5’10 with brown hair and dark blue eyes that are almost always burning with a passion of some kind. Daryl almost always seems to have a thin layer of dirt and grime covering his face. It’s unknown how frequent showering was for the guy before the apocalypse. His hair is not always clean and was often clinging kinda limp and sweaty to his forehead. His beard is kind of like that of a teenagers. It’s not very full and it’s pretty damn patchy all over. It’s got a slight gray patch down by his chin, but he’d rather you not bring it up if you could. Daryl’s probably got a multitude of other tattoos hidden under his shirt, but the only two that have ever been visible is the two demons on the right side of his back and the devil on his right inner arm. That’s all just surface drama to Daryl Dixon. The real parts of him that define him are his scars. Daryl was beaten as a boy by a rather cruel and neglectful father. He didn’t really escape it until he was able to get away and stand on his own two feet as a teenage boy. He’s also got a number of other scars he’s acquired since the zombie’s started walking.

Daryl’s appearance when he shows up in Atia will be very distinct. Daryl fell down a rocky ravine after a borrowed horse got spooked and bucked him. He impaled himself on one of his own arrows and had to make a tourniquet from the sleeves of his flannel shirt he was wearing. After the second fall and the removal of the arrow his shirt is discarded all together and pressed into the wound. The sleeves are tied together around his waist to keep the bundle against the wound, but the bleeding is still very obvious. He has a two different head wounds he acquired on either side of his head. The first is on the right side up on his forehead from tumbling down the ravine and the other is from a bullet shot from a rifle that grazed the left side of his head. He has blood caked onto most every part of his body along. The most disturbing is probably the blood ring around his mouth he acquired from eating a raw squirrel to get his strength up so he could survive after his fall. The last is probably the ear necklace that Daryl is sporting right now. It has four rotted walker ears threaded through some rope.

» Suitability: Which I assume I should fill in given that Daryl is so awkward around the opposite sex and about sex in general. I feel like it's not the act of sex that scares Daryl. I feel like it's the emotional entanglements that come after. Daryl does not really know how to connect with people like most people learn how to do. He's scared and skittish from his upbringing. Daryl is a survivor though. He's survived the zombie apocalypse by forming himself into the baddesst mother in all of town. I believe he could survive here. He knows what he has to do to survive. Given the laid back nature of this place at times I feel like Daryl could start to form lasting relationships if enough people take interest in cracking through his shell. He needs patience and I believe he'll get that here. He can survive because he has no other choice. Eventually I feel like Daryl would grow to like it here.

» Orientation:

Daryl is probably straight. He doesn't really talk much about women or really seem to have an interest in anything sexual in the show. He's always working or sitting on his own. He does have a sort of friendship with Carol. There could be an attraction there, but that's unknown. Norman Reedus has always said Daryl is straight and that if he was to have sex he'd just be so awkward about it.

» Personality: Daryl Dixon is not an easy soul to get to know. His childhood and his older brother kind of molded him into the hard edged sword he is today. He didn't have much guidance and his only role model within shouting distance was his brother Merle and his father. Daryl and Merle grew up in a a pretty closed off area that didn't have too much diversity. Merle's attitude towards other cultures kind of rubbed off on his baby brother. For lack of a better term Merle is a racist. Even when the shit hit the fan with the apocalypse Merle still held onto his old ways. Daryl was a follower when it came to his brother so he adopted his brother's philosophy in that regard. For some time he talked down to people of color and used offensive nicknames when the mood struck him. This is seen in the way he speaks to T-Dog and Glenn in the early seasons. He never got physically violent like his brother, but he certainly wasn't a peach around them. Merle was the only influence in Daryl's life at such a young age so it's easy to see how he could be that influenced by the man. Daryl's parents weren't looking to be there so it was up to Merle to raise his "worthless little brother" up and then kick him back down again.

Daryl has no real attachment to his parents. He doesn't get choked up when talking about the death of his mother. At some point in his life was a young boy he probably cared about her a great deal. He probably was very upset when she died, but these days he sheds no tears for his mother. This doesn't mean he'll talk bad about her. She fell asleep after what was probably some heavy drinking with a cigarette and burned up. It was irresponsible behavior and it took him a long time to see it as such. He doesn't much talk about her. He'll only go as far as share the story if it needs telling. Like how he told Carl of how she died shortly after Lori died in the prison. He doesn't offer it up otherwise. His attitude towards his father is different. His old man had no interest in being good to his children even before his mother's death and without that male influence Daryl lacked guidance. Merle was in and out of juvenile detention so he had no moral compass. Even then Merle was a bad one to have. Daryl had no male role model to tell him not to do something or not to make fun of those kids. He had no one to teach him to wrangle in his anger when he was pissed. There was no one to teach him how to act around women or how to even speak to them without being a dick. No one taught Daryl to respect a woman or anyone for that matter.

The abuse he suffered as a boy at the hand of his father and the tough love given to him by his older brother when he popped in was brutal. Daryl's self worth coming into the apocalypse was pretty damn low. He was never in charge of his own actions and he almost always had Merle whispering in his ear to do something. Often in the past Daryl would just do as Merle told him. He was going to rob the Atlanta group because Merle said they had to. He even went after Merle into Atlanta despite the fact that his brother was always a sonuvabitch to him. Daryl even leaves to go live with Merle because Merle is all he's ever known. Merle is his brother. Daryl doesn't understand at this point that blood don't make you family. Eventually after spending time alone with his brother after being with the Atlanta group for so long Daryl learns that his brother isn't everything. He returns to the group eventually. As he got older his brother kept him isolated from people with his words and that turned Daryl into a volatile man with a confrontational attitude. He almost always found fault with something and often flew off the handle. He often felt smothered under his brother's shadow which made him lash out at strangers. For some time before the apocalypse the only person that Daryl was ever around was Merle and that was exactly how Merle liked it. His baby brother was puddy in his hands and he knew he could mold him into any weapon he wanted him to be.

Daryl does have a softer side that's hidden under all the scars, cursing and harsh comments. It only comes out when he feels safe and secure enough. Growing up with Merle didn't leave him a lot of room to be soft. If he did get soft then Merle wasted no time ridiculing him for being that way. He didn't hesitate to poke fun at his baby brother's insecurities and so that made Daryl close the soft side off. This soft side has only ever made an appearance around Sophia and Carol. Though he had no real direct interaction with the little girl he didn't hesitate to go out into the woods and risk walkers to find her. A lost little girl was a bitter reminder of how he went missing for nine days. He didn't stop looking because it just reminded him of how no one in his family even noticed he was missing. Merle was away in juvenile detention and his father was off on a bender. No one even worried about him until he finally found his way home. It's because of that which softens Daryl in a way and makes him go look for Sophia. His past trauma has done some good.

He can be more than a little skittish around people. People are probably the scariest thing to Daryl Dixon. Walkers were incredibly easy for him to navigate. It was straight forward and simple. They didn't lie to you, manipulate you, use you and then discard you. Walkers had one motivation and you knew it from the get go. Daryl naturally distrusts anyone he comes into contact with. They often have hidden motivations that are designed to look out for number one. He's aware because before he got invested with his group that was exactly what he was doing. Him and Merle were looking out for number one so why wouldn't any other person he comes into contact with? Him and Merle were going to rob the Atlanta group, but when Merle went missing Daryl stayed with them and formed a family. If people do somehow manage to prove themselves to Daryl then you can bet he will protect you with his last breath. He's willing to stay behind and watch the exit. He's willing to put his life on the line to bring home your little girl. That's what you get when you get past a number of Daryl's emotional walls. You get a man that'll risk life and limb for baby formula for a kid that's not his. You get a man that will turn a walker infested prison upside down looking for you.

Just because he'll risk his life for you does not mean he will share personal information. He doesn't talk about his abuse with anyone. The only person he's ever discussed it with is Merle. He has several scars on his back that are from his father. Some are rather deep and brutal looking. He does not discuss their origin with anyone and if you touch him don't be offended if he flinches or shrugs off your hand. The shrug will mostly come with a pissed off look and an angry question as to why you're touching him. He just doesn't trust many folks to see that deep into him.

It's important to point out that during the apocalypse a lot of folk are making it a point to "hook up", but Daryl has never gone that route. In the beginning in the camp it could have been due to his attitude and how he spoke to women, but Daryl seemed to get along with the group better than Merle. Daryl isn't great when women flirt with him though. This is seen when Carol casually does make a pass and Daryl just shrugs it off. He's not a big talker and doesn't hit on women at all. If a woman was to make a pass at him though it'd be safe to assume that he would freeze and tell them to stop it. He'd most likely walk away afterwards to avoid the flirting. He has absolutely no game with women and he's not willing to learn any time soon. He's fine watching everyone else run around hooking up. He's got better shit to do.

Being with the Atlanta survivors helped Daryl overcome a number of issues. His racist comments have died down a lot and he's starting to respect that not every Asian is from China. Though he still makes jokes directly to Glenn who isn't too bothered now that the jokes aren't said in malice. Women are just as strong and good in a fight to Daryl these days. He watched Andrea get stronger and Carol as well until the incident with Sophia. He's more accepting of his group and who they are. It's hard to get out of a racist head space when your entire life and existence was based around that. Daryl is trying his best though.

Atia will have a positive influence on Daryl. It has a number of different people who are different ethnicity's. He could probably learn a thing or two from them. The fact that the world isn't covered in zombies is probably a good thing to Daryl. A chance to rest and relax would be helpful. This doesn't mean that he'll trust anyone at all from the beginning. He's not a trusting guy by nature so he'll be openly hostile for a bit until he starts to calm down. He'll probably break a lot of stuff because he has some tantrums if he's particularly pissed off about something. He might actually loosen up a bit because of Atia.

» Re-App Changes: N/A.

SAMPLES

» First Person Sample Choice:

[ Daryl's not an idiot. He knows how to work a cell phone. He never liked them before the end of the world. As far as he could tell it was nice not having to worry about them anymore. He's been told they work here though. It ain't like home where they're pretty much just overgrown paper weights now. These things broadcast messages to other folk and maybe that's helpful. He still don't understand what's the point of everyone seeing your goddamn business all the time. He figures he oughta try it though.

The feed comes to life and Daryl is sitting on the edge of his bed. The thing is aimed up at his face. There's always something about Daryl. He may be cleaner than he's ever been since walkers showed up, but he looks like he's been through Hell and back. He shifts his weight on the bed and groans as the stitches pull just a touch. ]

Name's Daryl. Didn't even know this thing worked when I first saw it. They don't work back home no more. Some folks have been saying I should talk to you all. Dunno what good it'll do me. I ain't liking this collar stuff. Makes me feel like an animal.

[ He lifts a hand and idly scratches behind his ear. Finally he rubs his chin and drops his hand completely out of frame. ]

They just expect us to start rolling around with each other?

[ Daryl really doesn't know how he feels about this forced sex situation. People say these collars are gonna tighten up and just choke the life out of him if he doesn't after two weeks. It all sounds fishy and like bullshit if you ask him. He doesn't know these people. Daryl hasn't properly been with a woman in quite some time. He doesn't know if he wants to choose now as the time to do that.

Sex has never done anything good for Daryl. It just makes people wanna get gooey and start trying to plan a life. Then the life falls apart and it's back to the beginning. Daryl's gonna survive though. He pulled himself outta the ravine on his own and he made it back to the others without dying. He can survive this. No walkers. No one's looking to take what's his. No one's shooting at him--that he knows of. He'll make this work. He's gotta make it work. ]

» Third Person Sample Choice:

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