Tess Miller

Joel Miller, Theresa "Tess" Servopoulos & Ellie Williams in The Last Of Us (2014): The Tragically Brief Family Unit

Tess and Maria are the type that are continually playing a game of chess. Literally. There's a board in Maria's office that they both take turns making moves on anytime one passes it.

LITERALLY GASPED AUDIBLY AT THIS LOVE LOVE LOVEEEEE

reminds me a lot of the main couple from “the glory” if anyone’s watched that show, which like. they are SO mariatess coded. AND BRO A THE GLORY X TLOU MARIATESS AU??? im imagining them as like a longtime spy-duo doing espionage against their enemies to get revenge on people responsible for hurting/targetting their sons (who are JUST FINE, thank u, and literally besties living it up in a private undisclosed safe location) back when they were babies. it turns into a years-long undercover mission against an organization called the fireflies, in which they enlist the help of mercenaries tommy and joel miller

OR like a western-type vibe, something like the brilliance @hypnotisedfireflies is cooking up with The Legend of Charro??? cowgirl murder-wives maria and tess on the run from their lost loves, deputy and sheriff miller?????

OR

in jackson, maria and tess not only have the shared chessboard in maria’s office, but ALSO shared journals that they keep in their respective homes. they’re both constantly at eachother’s places to nap between work, but are both so busy that they rarely end up in the same place to talk at the same time throughout the week. so they leave each other notes in these shared journals to check in and gossip. they both journaled a lot in college and keep their own individual ones too, so it feels like a really familiar source of comfort for them both 🫶🏾

everything’s in them from “today is SHIT” to “left half a joint for u in ur undie drawer, godspeed” “FUCKING THANK YOU THERESA” to “if josie speaks one word at this fucking council meeting, im gonna fucking walk out. one fucking word” to “joels been having nightmares this week. can you go out for a hike with him and try to get him to talk?” “yeah, sure, of course” to “seth’s extra pissy today, im gonna fucking deck him” “okay bet, do it where i can watch” to “if tommy sings ‘im gonna be’ one more fucking time IM gonna walk him 500 miles off a fucking cliff. control ur husband” to “ellie started her period btw, she doesn’t wanna talk about it but keep an eye out” to “hey need a fucking break. wanna hide in the basement tomorrow night for a toke” “me too. fuck yeah i do”

one day joel and tommy find it, read one page, and immediately put that shit the fuck down. they do not wish to die by the hands of their wives

Imagine Joel and Tess renewing their vows

Summery: Joel surprises Tess with the wedding they never had

Word count: 948

"I just want this to be perfect and give her the wedding we never had" Joel explained to his kids and Maddy nodded "it's gonna be perfect, she is going to cry" Maddy smiled at him "that's the goal kiddo, do you think she'll say yes if I propose to her again?" Joel asked nervous and they just looked at him "are you stupid, you guys are married and have kids together she obviously loves you and wants to spend the rest of her life with you" Ellie said looking at the man "i will pay yall if you can get her in a dress" Joel said planning the whole thing out and they nodded "i can get her in a dress for free" Maddy said smiling "getting her in a dress is like putting a cat in water how would you even do it" he asked " I'd just tell her I need her to try on a dress so I can fix the hemline" she shrugged "that is really fucking smart" Ellie said and laughed a little.

Joel paced back and forth waiting for Tess to come come from patrol when Tess walked into the house she was concerned and looked at her husband concerned "Joel what are you doing?" She asked and he looked at her "give me your ring" he said and she glared at him "no!" She yelled and he took her hand and took it "what did I do?!" She asked heartbroken and Joel got onto one knee "you are the love of my life and I want to give you everything in this world. To be honest I have no idea where I'm going with this but I know I wanna marry you so will you marry me Tess?" He asked and she looked at him "I did though" she said and took her ring back. He stood up and kissed her "are you ok?" She asked and kissed him back "I'm fine" he smiled "mhm sure" she said and walked into the kitchen.

"Honey I don't understand why you're making me wear this i thought it was just for hemming" Tess said "yeah but you look really nice in it" Maddy said and put her hair up "is this what having a daughter is like?" She asked and Maddy nodded "why are you guys acting so weird?" Tess asked "we're not" Ellie said and gave her heels " I am not wearing those" Tess said "yes you are please" they said and Yess sighed. She put the heels on and stood up "wow" you look so good. Maddy smiled also wearing a dress and flats. Ellie was wearing a suit and her converse "alright mom let's go" Maddy said and grabbed her arm "I am not going out dressed like this" she said and stood there "come on" Ellie grabbed her other arm and they walked to the town hall with her. Tess sighed and gave in, she walked with her two kids to the town hall. They walked in and it looked like a huge chapel. Tess looked at the end of the aisle to see Joel standing there in a suit with Tommy by his side and Maria was on the other side and when she walked in music started playing. Tess could feel her eyes tearing up as she saw all of it and it started all coming together, her two kids walked her down the aisle then took thier seats. Tess looked around to see all of her friends there, she looked in front of her and there was Joel standing there with a huge smile on his face "hi beautiful" he whispered to her and she started crying "hi" she smiled Joel took her hands in his and the priest started his speech then the time came for their vows "I didn't really plan these out but all I know is I love you and I want to finish my life with you by my side, I knew the moment that I met you, that you were going to be the one and I was going to have a life with you and now here we are almost 20 years later with two beautiful children. And the most amazing woman by my side" he said and wiped the tears from his face, Tess was quietly sobbing while smiling "thank you for everything in my life, thank you for making life worth living and giving me something worth fighting for. I love everything about you and our family, I love how you went behind my back to make this whole thing happen and how you care about me so much, I love you Joel and I always will" she said though sobs, they looked over to see Maddy and Ellie crying but holding thumbs up they put their rings on each other and smiled "i now pronounce you man and wife" the priest said and Tess grabbed Joel by the tie and kissed him passionately.

The after party consisted of everyone laughing and talking and Ellie playing their song for them on guitar while they slow danced. Tess leaned her head on his chest while they stood close and danced, Joel whispered the lyrics into her ear while they danced. Almost everyone made a speech and Abby and Yara had planned out their honeymoon for them in a cabin Abby had found in the woods that was completely safe. After the after-party Joel and Tess had rode away on horse to the small cabin for their honeymoon and thanked everyone for the great party.

#the big three 🗣

Yeah my life might be complicated but at least me and [fictional character] are living our best lives right now.

The Last of Us - S01E02

I feel a knot in my stomach

There’s something horrifyingly beautiful about Tess’s final moments. In the midst of the most dire chaos, as she waits for her death to come rushing past so she can blow it sky high and give cordyceps a big fuck you one last time, one of the infected stops. It looks at her, really looks. Her own mortality is personified in this infected. It’s death that’s looking at her, and it sees her. She looks her own death in the eye, and the suspense is so high as it approaches. But then, it doesn’t bite her throat out like we all expect it to.

It kisses her. What’s more, it kisses her gently. And I think it was a brilliant choice on the writers part, because it reminded me that the infected aren’t supposed to be evil. Sure, they’re scary as hell, but really, they’re just trying to survive. They’re connected to one another, they can feel each other from miles away. They seek out and want to be close to their own kind, just like the human survivors do. And when they do find each other, they kiss hello.

And after so long apart from a loved one, someone you know and trust with every instinct in your body, wouldn’t you want to kiss them too?

I can’t claim this “The Last of Us” analysis, but I wanted to share it here because it’s a fascinating thought:

Bill in the game was a cautionary tale. He was a model for what Joel should avoid becoming, which was a closed-off, selfish loner who managed to push away the person he cared about the most.

Bill in the show is Joel’s inspiration/model. He is the one who puts into Joel’s head that he needs to stop being a closed-off, selfish loner and that he must do whatever it takes to save the person he cares about the most.

And what’s cool about this is that, even though both Bills are different, they both served the same purpose regarding Joel’s character.

THE LAST OF US 1.02: Infected

#that’s my ellie 

"There was one moment that we had in the game where you can see that Tess is the one that's leading Joel, and Joel is the muscle. [...] She's one of the few that can control him, she's the Joel whisperer. [...] [Anna Torv] nailed exactly what Neil's talking about: the notion of Joel as a little bit of a Frankenstein monster."

HBO's The Last of Us Podcast - Episode 1: "When you're lost in the darkness"

all those emotions aside - something i liked about episode 3 was the emphasis on surviving vs living.

you have people like bill who are survivalists. he's resourceful, stubborn, and self-sufficient - bill knows how to survive, he spent his whole life pre-outbreak preparing to survive. he's not a people person, he doesn't like relying on other people, and he can survive just fine by himself.

then he meets frank - and frank is the kind of person who knows how to live. frank eats meals like he's at a fancy restaurant, and spends just five more minutes in the shower, and sings songs out of key on bill's dusty old piano. he repaints the walls, and waters the flowers, and grows strawberries in the garden just so he can watch bill hide his giggle behind his hands when he tastes them. he uses bill's radio to make friends, and throw little garden parties, and he makes a code out of nostalgic old songs.

the reason bill and frank lived as long and as happily as they did, despite the outbreak and the solitude and frank's health - it's because they had that balance. yes, survival is important - you can't survive an apocalypse without bill's resourcefulness, or joel's construction knowledge, or tess and frank's networking - but surviving isn't living. bill lived and died happy because he let frank in past his (incredibly literal) defenses, because he let him paint portraits and grow flowers and hold him at night.

i saw a youtube comment earlier that i think got it right; in the game, bill was an example of who joel would become if he kept shutting people out, if he didn't allow himself to live. in the show, bill is an example of what joel could have, if he just let himself live and love, if he realised that all his walls and defenses mean nothing if he never has anybody to share it with.

for bill, that person was a husband. for joel, it just might be a daughter.

What about the kid?

ellie williams i would also die for you