HELLO. Been awhile. Gotta tell ya'll a story.. This popped out of nowhere really. It'll probably run for a couple more chapters then that's it. Essentially. I like to gender swap characters a lot. Because reasons. Also when I gender swap characters, I keep their names the same. Because again, reasons.

Overall, the whole idea of the Dixons' backstory really interests me. Daryl and Merle are my favorite characters on the show and with favorite characters comes a lot of thinking about said characters then head cannons and plot bunnies arise and yadayada whatever. Here we are.

Hope you enjoy it!

3, ElwynClark

Some info…

Characters-

Fem! Daryl Dixon- Age 19

Fem! Merle Dixon- Age 27

Setting-

Pre-Apocalypse in their home in Georgia. And the surrounding woods area for awhile.

This fic will be in Daryl's POV unless otherwise noted.

Ain't been a long time since Merle came around, not since I finished with school. I managed to graduate somehow, not sure how I managed that one yet. Whenever I was in class I was loved by my teachers but bullied by all the other kids. Every day they would call me redneck trash. Homeless. Worthless. Whore.

Because of Merle. At least the last part. She left her legacy at my old school a long 8 years ago. Teachers always remember ya, remember yer family. They knew I wasn't like Merle but they can all tell that I didn't want to be a part of any of this shit. Every kid in town knew my sister slept around. All the boys expected me to do it too.

Back in high school, Ain't a day went by when I didn't get money thrown at me. Expectin' me ta sex 'em up or something. Not my thing. And as much as my family needed the money, I never took any of it.

Family. That's an odd way to put it. I know how it's supposed to be, ain't the same fer me though. Uncle Jess let me work with him in his auto shop, fixing cars and bikes and things. He knew that I did a good job. Wouldn't let me start working till after I finished school though. Merle used to work in the garage with him, and I know he let her work during high school. Donno know why he wouldn't let me do the same.

Merle made me promise her not to be like her, and I didn't want ta be like her. Still don't wanna be like her. Although, she was all I had to look up to. She still made it clear to me, don't do the shit she was doing. Merle got into drugs, a lot of 'em, she smoked a lot, and fer as long as I can remember she'd always have boys over. She always called 'em sleepovers but I quickly figured out she did more than sleep with them. Good 'ol Dirty Dixie.

I stared ahead through the windshield while gripping the steering wheel tightly. Old memories suck. I barely have a handful of even slightly pleasant ones. This trip has the potential to make it to the handful but it could end bad. Wishful thinkin' I guess. My sister was slumped over in the passenger seat her head bopping back and forth, nothin' was gonna wake her up anytime soon. She got piss drunk before we left and barely made it into the truck.

We'd always talked about taking the weekend off for a real hunting trip on our own one day. I always asked her in the letters I wrote when she was away in the military. Don't even know if she got all of them. The only response I ever got was the one saying she'd been discharged, and it was just addressed to the family, not to me in particular.

Since she got discharged last year she floats in and out at home. Goes to the Sons a lot. I hate all of them. They come into the shop a lot, even though Jess won't give Merle her job back, they all ask for her. They always ask me where she is, and I don't know. Jess always has to send them away because they start getting too close and in my face. Little things like that set my temper off immediately, sometimes I feel like Jess is trying to protect me also.

My pick up truck is an old ford, dusty grey. Got it running all on my own and wouldn't trade it for the world. It's the only thing of value to me, apart from my hunting crossbow also. Lucky me I get to use both this weekend. I needed this weekend. Needed to get away from the garage. Away from home and Dad. Merle knows what Dad does to me but doesn't care anymore. Whenever she's home she's either stoned or with another guy, and it's never for a long time. It's a miracle I got her to come with me for a whole weekend.

Practically had to bribe her with my entire stash of pot to get her to come with me. Some weekends I come up alone. Merle would go up with Dad a lot when she was here before the military. She always came back in tears. I remember it was like that every time. Dad sent me with Uncle Jess for the weekend, if he remembered. I'd just go over there on my own sometimes when they would leave.

The hunting trips with Merle were what I liked the best. Once we'd get there she'd try her best to sober up and help me. Teach me how to use the crossbow. First time I used it was when I was still little. Couldn't do it that well. She did most of the real hunting while I tracked squirrels and practiced throwing knives and things. Then she left for the military and left me with Dad. I'd go up on my own, learn how to use it properly.

I'm pretty deadly now, Merle hasn't seen me use it since before she left a long time ago. She didn't really notice that I put a second crossbow in the back for her along with all the other gear. Before she got piss drunk this time I made her help me at the shop put the cap on the bed of my pickup so we wouldn't have to set up a tent this time.

"Aint such a dummy anymore" was all she could say to me once I actually laid down in the bed to show her it's big enough for sleeping. Drove back home and she got drunk while I packed everything we needed.

I glanced at my sister again and smirked a little, still managed to look like a badass while she was asleep. Ever since I was little she always was wearing leather somewhere. Whether it was that cuff bracelet she always wore or her vest, sometimes she even had black leather pants. Who was I to judge, she hung out with a ton of dudes who ride motorcycles. She does to so it was just fitting the part.

She has a bunch of leather vests, each with a design on the back. My personal favorite was the one with angel wings covering the entire back. When I knew she wasn't around I would wear that one a lot. I knew she would skin me if she saw me wearing it though. Right now she was wearing one that I could just barely see the logo peeking out from behind it. I could just see a "D" on her left shoulder, it was the one that said "Dixie." Under that was the Savage Sons logo, a hellish looking skull with the "SS" logo branded on it's forehead, plus it was smoking a cigarette. It really fit the Sons way too well. She hit the nail on the head with it. I remember she showed it to me a long time ago when it was just a drawing she made on a whim. Next week she shows me the patch on her vest.

One time Merle told me she wants to open up our own bike shop one day. She was totally sober telling me this too. It was right when she got back from the military. Said I can do all the fixing, make 'em run really good cuz I'm good at that. She'd do all the detailing and make 'em look nice. It's a good plan. Just, it's never gonna be more than a plan. Maybe if she smartens up one day it could be.

Merle had a black tank top on and a bright green bra, one of the straps had fallen down. Still managed to push her boobs up to her chin somehow. I focused on the road again then glanced down at my own chest. I'm flatter than a fuckin' board. Doesn't help that I usually always wear a sports bra.

You'd never know we're related, me and Merle. We don't really look the same, body wise and definitely don't dress the same. I had a beaten blue flannel shirt on that I ripped the sleeves off of at work one day and my plain black bra. Some faded pants I usually wear to work, with holes in both knees, and the brown boots I wear every single fucking day. Stole one of Merle's belts though, a black one with a plain silver buckle. She probably wouldn't notice, this one was just thrown in the back of her closet.

Her pants were jet black and tighter than her skin. Also had scary looking black combat boots, which went to her knees and had red laces keeping them tied up. She had them propped up on the dashboard and I was amazed she hadn't moved yet, it looked way too uncomfortable. She had a relatively plain black belt with a big silver buckle shaped like a skull. I'm grateful I made her pack clothes yesterday while she was sober than she could actually go walking around in the woods in. Her hands were riddled with silver colored rings and bracelets, adding to the leather cuff. She only wore one necklace, if I wasn't counting the red spots on her neck. A single chain with a bullet casing on it.

One thing we had in common, we both only had one necklace on. Mine was a thin chain and the charm on it was a pair of angel wings. Took me awhile to save up to get it. Every time I was about to get it, Dad had blown his last welfare money on something and I had to help him. Getting the pick up was different. The owner sold it to Jess after it was almost totaled. Jess helped me get new parts for it but left me to get it working again when I had free time.

A necklace. I scoffed a little and focused on the almost empty road. That's the only thing we have in common. We share a name. I shrugged a little. Ain't much. My hair was much darker and longer than her's, her's has been light colored and short ever since I can remember.

I can't remember how long I had been driving for, I knew sundown was gettin close and was hoping I had remembered how to get to our spot. Finally the scenery grew familiar again and I smiled.

"Ain't bad fer the first time driving and navigatin' " I muttered under my breath and pulled off the road onto a dirt road into the woods. The sudden change in terrain jostled Merle awake finally.

"We're fucken here?!" She barked and whacked my arm. "Why'd ya let me sleep bug?"

"Yew were drunk and passed out, bitch." I responded and glanced at her quickly. She glared at me. " 'Sides, ya know how long we gotta go on this road."

"Fuckin' forever." She muttered and squinted at the sun when it came into view, we were headed exactly west, directly into the sunset. "Ya have to drive right into the sun Darlene?"

"Ain't any other way there Merle." I growled softly and she shut up for a little while.

My old ford puttered down the dirt road for a long while. Turning left and right unannounced, still always going west right towards the sun. Merle grumbled every time I turned sharply. I assured her I definitely wasn't doing it on purpose… The clearing in the woods appeared suddenly and I circled around to a stop, parking and cutting the engine.

"Shit still looks the same lil' sis." Merle said as she slammed her door behind her and looked at me standing near the hood of my truck. I shrugged and slammed my door.

"Same game, same people. Ain't nothin too excitin."

Merle shuffled around in her vest as she walked around looking at the camp area. I smiled a little, she would always do this. Scope out the place first to make sure it's safe then declare it's safe and come back over. Figured I'd start sorting through equipment and opened up the back of the cap and the tailgate on my truck. The skull on the back of her vest mocked me smoking the cigarette. I went back up to the cab of my truck and opened to door, grabbing my box of cigarettes out of the door and my lighter out of my pocket. Lit one up and slammed the door shut with my foot.

"It's safe!" Merle declared and turned back to face me. She wiped near her nose a little bit a sniffled. I frowned a little bit, she just got high. Merle just smiled as she sauntered back across the clearing to me. I focused on getting the stuff for the fire pit when I felt her hand grab my shoulder, she had her arm around me. "Safest it's ever been dear sister." She laughed hoarsely and actually started to help move stuff out of the truck. I took a long drag from my cigarette and held it in my mouth and unearthed a milk crate with supplies.

"Whatever Merle. Ain't like something is gonna attack us or something." I muttered and undid my belt and reached for my hunting knife I stowed into the milk crate. Took my cigarette for a second and exhaled a little then put it back into my mouth. I put Merle's knife on the tailgate next to me then fixed my belt again. "Grab yer knife." She noticed it sitting there and swiped it off the gate, immediately fixing it onto her belt.

"Where's my bow girl?" She asked me and I kept moving the camping supplies around.

"Ain't important right now, gotta get camp set up first." I said and immediately regretted speaking. I took my cigarette out and exhaled again.

"Well I'll be. Who died and made yew queen of the camp?" Merle threw her words at me and I stared at the bed of my truck. I ground my cigarette into the tailgate putting it out then threw it on the ground, stamping on it again to be safe. A couple quivers of arrows were sticking out of a box in the bed and Merle reached for them, pulling the box out. "I want my bow." She takes one out of the box and points it to me, arrowhead a few inches away from my face. "Where is it Daryl?" I flinch a little and stare at the arrow.

"In the truck bitch, jezus." I pulled myself up onto the tailgate and crawled into the bed of the truck, being mindful not to hit my head on the cap. Towards the cab end I tossed a few blankets to the side revealing the two crossbows. I sighed and grabbed her old one and lifted it up. I picked my way back to the tailgate again slowly and handed it to her. "Happy?"

"Yeah." Merle nods a little looking at it. "I am." She throws it over her shoulder and starts to walk towards the treeline.

"Where ya goin dumbass?"

"Ta find firewood nipslip, that ok with yew?" Merle smirked and I rolled my eyes letting her keep going, leaving me to set up the rest of the camp. Her comment rolled through my mind finally and I looked down at my chest, completely covered.

What a twat.