#and that Joel loves her but also isn't the best at caring for himself | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

netherfeildren · 1 year

Text

Masterlist:

Updates Blog : Follow and turn on notifications for new writing! All works are 18+

Fear of God : Joel Miller x OFC

Summary : What was monstrousness? What was it, but a certainty that there existed within you multitudes of desires, needs, guilts, impulses – humanity? At the end of the world, when the dust has finally settled, Joel grapples with what it is to take hold of your own monstrosity – your own humanity – and live with it. And what it is to bear that truth in the palm of your hand held towards the person you love, offer it to them, and have it be accepted for what it was. Courage, above all else, it is courage that is necessary to go on.

-OR-

Big bad Joel Miller falls in love and doesn't know how to deal with it.

Someone's Wife in the Boat of Someone's Husband : Joel Miller x F!Reader

Summary: What do you do when you meet a woman, have a child, get married, and then find the love of your life?

-OR-

A Joel infidelity AU

The Cassandra Complex : Ongoing : Din Djarin x F!Reader

Summary: Enter: A man who is not so much a man, but an effigy, a wound of steel and armor and Creed – secrecy and masked faces, above all else.

Enter: A girl who is not a girl, but a creature helmed in darkness and spit out unto the galaxy broken and unmoored.

Enter: the creation of myth.

-OR-

the mandalorian / dark sider au

Pink : Joel Miller x F!Reader

Summary: The story of a son who won’t love you, and his father, who will.

-OR-

the father-in-law AU

Honey, Stomach, Mine : Joel Miller x F!Reader

Summary: Existence is a needful thing. Choice is fickle, nature inescapable. Run to the end of the world, Joel, all those things will still find you.

She'll still come for you.

-OR-

the A/B/O outbreak AU

One Shots :

bétteln : Joel Miller x F!Reader

Summary : You really want Joel to give you a baby. You don’t really care what he has to say about it.

biéten : Joel Miller x F!Reader

Summary : Now that you have his baby in you, you’re Joel’s most special girl.

Kiss, Kiss, Kill, Kill! : Joel Miller x F!Reader

Summary: Joel is a long haul truck driver. One day he finds a pretty girl in a diner and decides he’d like to keep her.

Murder and sex ensue!

Greener Memories of Better Men : Joel Miller x F!Reader

Summary: Best Story of the Day! South Austin elementary school started a “Breakfast With Dads” program but many dads couldn’t make it and several students didn’t have father figures. The school posted fliers at the local YMCA’s for 50 volunteer fathers… 600 different people from all backgrounds showed up…

Joel Miller is one of them.

-OR-

Sarah’s gone and Joel wants to feel close to her again. He reconnects with someone he used to know along the way.

I urge you: Bite me : Joel Miller x F!Reader

Summary: Sometimes love hurts like a split nail, and sometimes we like it like that.

Sometimes Joel hurts like a split nail, you like him like that too.

With Mercy for the Disturbed : Joel Miller x F!Reader

Summary: He's a father and then he isn't, and then he's in the perfect place with the perfect girl, and he's done so many bad things that terrify the both of them. And then, finally, he's saved and there are dancing bears and doors newly opened, and everyone's a little mad at the end of it all.

-OR-

the Hannibal/Alice in Wonderland AU wherein Joel loses his mind

Evermore : Joel Miller x F!Reader

Summary: The Thanksgiving AU

Meet Me in the New Year : Joel Miller x F!Reader

Summary: The New Year’s Eve AU

10:05 PM : Joel Miller x F!Reader

Summary: Joel is exhausted, you’re there to make him feel better.

How to Endure Ardor : Joel Miller x F!Reader

Summary: Joel teaches you how to love him.

At the Restaurant : Din Djarin x F!Reader

Summary: It’s three days til Christmas, and you’ve never known want like this, and his eyes are glossy with emotion and everything he won’t ever let himself tell you or anyone else, and you so badly want to tell him that it’s only that it’s hard to be casual when your favorite bra lives in his dresser, and also that you’re in love with him.

-OR-

the Christmas situationship AU

Forfeiting My Mystique : Ezra x F!Reader

Summary: You're a girl made of golden gossamer, a work of art come to life, and Ezra, well, he's dedicated his life to collecting beautiful things.

-OR-

An Ezra Art Collector AU

Austerlitz : Simon (Ghost) Riley x F!Reader

Summary: The day he left for his hideous war, the dream changed. The house was still there, but now neither of us lived in it anymore. And when he finally came back, if that’s what you could even call it, he was nothing but a Ghost.

-OR-

Ghost goes away, comes back in a maybe dream.

827 notes · View notes

sunshineshobi18 · 1 year

Text

You Don't Look At Me

words: 4.2k pairing: Joel x female!OC, Ellie x female!OC cw: violence, death, weapons, very much just angst ^^, spoilers for episode 8 summary: Lori had been with Joel longer than he had been with Ellie, but why did it not feel that way. As they continue to travel together, his disregard for her manifests into her hatred towards Ellie.

note: I just finished writing this when I post this. It's my first tlou fic, and I was just excited so this isn't the best, nor is it proofread, but I just felt like I had to get my fic in before the last episode of tlou season 1 airs kdsljjf I hope you still enjoy ^^ ps. I'm used to write for oc's so idk if ppl like that very much since ... x reader fics are pretty popular, I hope u guys don't mind

---

She hated her. Ellie. The girl that had forced herself in their lives. Lori had been with Joel and Tess way before Ellie entered the picture. Way before Joel had started caring about Ellie. Or maybe he always did, but the older grumpy man never wanted to admit it.

Lori was Tess’ girl. Although Joel was the one who was incessant on helping Lori out and taking her in, Tess was the one the then little girl was glued to. They were inseparable in a way. It was tough love, but Tess cared for Lori a lot. She protected her, but she also encouraged Lori to fend for herself. They were almost more like sisters than mother and daughter. They both enjoyed it that way.

And then Lori had to watch Tess die. Not long after that, they found out Bill and Frank were dead as well. All the people that Lori cared for, all the people that cared for Lori and took care of her were gone. Now all she had left was Joel… and Ellie.

It all started a few days ago, when Joel had gotten hurt and the two girls had to drag him to safety. It was quieter than usual. Ellie kept on mumbling words of encouragement and hope at Joel while Lori lifted him as best as she could. By the time they reached the town they would be hiding out at, Joel was pretty much out of it. Ninety-nine percent of his body weight was weighing down on the girls as he couldn’t keep himself up anymore. Lori being the taller of the two girls carried the most weight. Whether Ellie realised this or not was something Lori didn’t want to think about. If she did know, Ellie sure as hell wasn’t doing anything to make the weight lighter on her. But that didn’t matter. Lori just wanted to make sure they got Joel to safety.

The next day, both girls tended to Joel’s needs, though not sure of what those were. With his bit of strength Joel had muttered for Ellie and Lori to leave, which they refused to do. Or at least Elli refused. Lori was too focused on the way Joel was only looking at Ellie. He didn’t spare Lori a glance, so she didn’t bother responding to his commands. It’s not like he would see her shake her head anyway.

To rationalise Joel’s behaviour, Lori made herself believe that the reason he would only look at Ellie was because she was the younger of the two girls. Ellie was strong physically, but she needed assurance emotionally. That’s why Joel would only zero in on Ellie, because she needed it. Not because he cared more about her than he cared about Lori.

And then he looked at Lori. Lori was surprised to see Joel’s eyes trained in on hers so intensely that she instinctively moved closer to Joel. “Go to Tommy—”

“Why should I go?” Lori felt her chest contract and tried to hide the quiver in her voice.

“Ellie will stay with me. You can go get help.” His voice didn’t hold nearly the same softness as it did when he spoke to Ellie. “Ellie can take care of me.”

Lori, rather childishly, shook her head from side to side as she stood up. “I’m not letting you send me away. If she’s staying, then so am I.” With a swing, Lori turned around and headed up the stairs to keep watch on their surroundings. She needed a few minutes to calm down before she’d be able to face the two again.

By the time Lori came back, Ellie had already patched Joel up with a dirty needle, which caused an infection. They were sure of it, but they rather have him with an infection than dead.

“I’ll go hunting—”

Lori jumped up from her sitting position against the wall as she watched Ellie reach out for Joel’s rifle. “What do you think you’re doing?” Lori’s voice trembled from not having spoken much in the last few days.

Ellie sighed and pulled the strap of the rifle over her shoulder. “We’re running out of food. If we have to stay here for a while, I think it’s better we don’t starve.” It was clear Ellie tried not to sound scared, but it was written all over her. Lori might not have liked the girl, but she spent enough time with her to figure out these things. “I’ll be back,” she whispered and ran upstairs with the rifle that was too big and too heavy for her.

Hours had passed with no sight of Ellie coming back yet, but eventually she did. Her face was red and her hands were slightly shaking as she announced she got medicine for Joel. Lori watched as Ellie injected the needle in Joel’s flesh, still not having asked where the penicillin came from. She decided not to ask her, too focused on Joel getting better.

Despite their differences, Ellie and Lori had something in common: they both needed Joel. They were both naive kids who hoped that the shot of penicillin would magically heal the person they both relied on, but he stayed unmoving on the mattress on the floor.

“How long do you think this shit will take to start working?” Ellie asked and Lori only answered with a quick shrug. In any other situation Lori would’ve answered like that to brush Ellie off, to end their conversations as quickly as they started, but right now Lori was just as clueless as Ellie. She was so focused on micro analysing each movement of Joel’s body and facial expressions, that she didn’t feel like talking. “I hope soon.”

“Me too.” Ellie’s eyes widened as she heard Lori speak in that soft voice she only heard a few times before. She overheard Joel and Lori talk about Tess a few nights after they had left her in that building to die with those infected. Lori’s voice suppressed pain and sadness, just as it did when she told Joel that she lost her second chance for a family when Tess died. Joel hadn’t answered Lori that night and Ellie knew that hurt Lori because it hurt her too. After that night Lori changed into the closed off, stoic person she was now. A big change to the playful yet rough girl she used to be with Tess around.

“I’m sorry,” Ellie spoke softly in the quietness of the basement. Lori hesitantly looked up before asking Ellie what she was sorry for. “Everything…

“For Tess mostly—”

“Joel told you not to mention her,” Lori chastised her.

At the sudden outburst Ellie sighed and rolled her eyes. She dropped the wet shirt she was using to wipe Joel’s sweat off and looked at Lori. “He’s not even able to talk right now,” she motioned at the man they were sitting on each side of. Joel hadn’t moved much in a while, he was probably fully asleep. “You have the right to talk about her as much as you want. She was someone special to you too!”

Ellie didn’t mean to get upset, but she couldn’t help herself. She knew the reason Lori was so closed off was because she never got to talk—never got to grieve—over the loss of Tess. Maybe her outburst came from a selfish place. A place where she wished Lori was nicer to her or at least talk to her willingly and she knew that could only happen if Lori was able to grieve.

Lori stood up slowly with a nod. “You are right about that. She was someone special to me. And now she’s dead, so there’s no reason to talk about her. Tess is in the past.”

Before the older of the two girls could run away again—run away from her emotions—Ellie stood up as well. “The medicine,” she suddenly said, causing Lori to turn back at her. “The medicine, I got it from two men. They have a village.”

“What?” Lori whispered, not sure whether to be angry that Ellie hid such a potential danger and important detail or hope that they could maybe get some help. “Who? Where? Did they do or say something to you?”

Lori was all up in Ellie’s face, but it wasn’t in a threatening manner. She was silently looking Ellie over for injuries, determined to take care of Ellie since Joel wasn’t able to. It was a natural instinct, because she would never willingly take care of her like that.

“I’m… fine, but we aren’t,” Ellie told her with a look of shame, her head tilted down. “They were from the group of men that attacked us and hurt Joel. I’m afraid they’ll come after us.”

A loud groan came from Lori as she threw her head back. She yelled at Ellie, “of course they’ll come for us!”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t know, but they gave us medicine and—this can fucking heal Joel!”

Lori shook her head in disbelief, took a few breaths before placing her hands on Ellie’s shoulders. “Listen here. They’ll probably come for us either tonight or tomorrow morning. You’ll stay with Joel and I’ll be upstairs on the lookout. If anything happens, we’ll board up the basement, you’ll take a horse to one side of the town and I’ll stay back as long as possible to take out anyone coming for Joel. If they are gone I’ll take the other horse and come for you.”

Ellie looked at Lori with wide eyes, the dread now finally settling in. Lori’s plan didn’t sound very convincing, but all Ellie could do was nod her head. There was something about how the older girl talked, so sure about herself even though she probably had no idea what she was talking about, that had Ellie agreeing to her. At that moment she saw a mixture of Tess and Joel in Lori. She felt the leadership and determination that Tess held radiating from Lori and at the same time the comfort she found in Joel was also present. It was weird, but with no one else to rely on—and partly not trusting herself—Ellie was going to blindly follow Lori.

And then it happened, the next day a group of men came to the house. Lori and Ellie followed the procedure Lori established, leaving Joel with a knife to fend for himself—just in case.

Ellie had been long gone, at this point, and Lori decided not to think about the gunshot and the crying horse sound she heard from the side of the town Ellie had left to. No, at that moment, Lori had her eyes focused on one man that was searching one of the houses. She snuck up on him, making sure no one was behind her before kicking the man in his lower back, sending him to the floor. She was about to plunge her knife in his upper back when the man whipped around onto his back and swung the blunt end of his pistol against her face. Ignoring the blood that flowed from her mouth, Lori kicked the man in his lower stomach and inched away from him towards her knife.

“You little bitch,” he spat and tried to get a grip on his gun before she dove at him and he fell back onto his rear. Lori quickly pushed him back by the shoulders causing his head to hit the floorboards with an unhealthy thud. The man had no time to grab his gun or push the girl away, when, through his blurred vision, he saw something move towards him. Lori had plunged her knife in his chest twice before standing up and kicking him against his head. When he stopped moving Lori pulled her knife from his chest and looted his body for his gun and some ammunition.

Lori spent an hour looking around the town, finding no one else before rushing back to the house she and her two travel partners had occupied for a day or two.

Dread set in when she found that the cabinet that blocked the basement door had been moved. “Joel—” she caught herself before she was yelling too loudly. Carefully she moved down the stairs, only for her blood to run cold at the scene. She found a man dead on the floor, close to where Joel had been sleeping, but there was no sign of Joel. Quickly she ran out, scouring the surroundings for Joel, not caring if she was quiet or not, only to find that he and their second—and last—horse was gone. It caused her a bit of relief, because she could conclude he was probably the one that took the horse, but still she was nervous.

Her nervousness was substantiated when someone came up from behind her and pulled her back with a hand covering her mouth. She felt the dull end of a knife carve a small slit on the side of her neck, just sharp enough to cause a shallow cut in her skin. Desperately Lori kicked and punched her limbs back to throw the person off her back. As she looked back, she found a wounded man looking at her with fear filled eyes.

“Where are they?” Lori spoke in a low voice. The man held his hands up and tried to push himself back with his feet. Lori hadn’t even realised she was holding the man’s friend’s gun at him. “The girl and the man your idiot friends almost killed. WHERE ARE THEY!” Lori yelled, pushing the gun closer to the man.

“I don’t—”

“Don’t tell me you don’t know! Where do you guys live?” she screamed again this time placing the gun right on his forehead.

The man flinched, blood and tears mixing on his cheeks as he let out a watery mumble of their village’s name. Lori kneeled down on his stomach and got close to them, demanding directions to the place. “T-That way. Just go straight that way and eventually you’ll see a bunch of buildings behind that forest. I’m sure you’ll still be able to see your friend’s footsteps in the snow.”

As she stood up, Lori hit the man in the face with the gun, enough to make him sputter out some more blood. He probably wouldn’t die of his injuries, but lying in the snow would definitely not help him recover.

By the time Lori had stumbled her way to the village, things had already gone to shit. She could see smoke coming from a building and although that was every reason not to be near it, Lori’s instinct told her to go there. She stumbled closer, feeling her eyes get heavier and feet get slower.

“HEY! What are you doing here?” Lori could barely turn to her left when a brawny man approached her.

“Stay away from me,” she hissed, but her words didn’t come out nearly as threatening as she wanted to. The girl reached for the gun that she had holstered underneath her belt, her fingers fidgeting and shaking trying to get a firm grasp on it.

“Aren’t you the little girl with those other two?” His voice almost sounded amused as he approached her. “I wouldn’t go for that gun if I were you.” Lori didn’t listen and continued to reach for the gun. “This is not going to end well for you, darling,” he told her as he closed the distance.

“FUCK YOU!” She yelled before pointing the gun at him and pulling the trigger. She looked up to find the man still standing, both their eyes widening, before the man’s lips turned into a cruel smirk.

“You done fucked up, darling,” he laughed before grabbing Lori by her hand and pulling her close. She screamed and kicked as he plunged a knife into her side, missing her stomach but still hitting her deep and painfully. “It’s better if you stop fighting—”

A gunshot resounded as the man fell to the floor, collapsing partly onto Lori. He coughed up blood for a good minute or two before his movement stopped completely. Lori looked back down at her gun that had failed her at first, but showed her mercy at last. Though the knife in her side wasn’t pleasant, she was happy she didn’t end up dead.

A few moments passed before she refocused her eyes on the burning building. The flames had grown more terrifying, but Lori continued to crawl towards it, leaving a trail of blood behind.

Suddenly the door to the building opened, revealing a staggering Ellie, seemingly out of it as she walked away from the building. Lori yelled out for her, but her voice didn’t seem to reach the other girl. Giving up on trying to call for her attention, Lori continued crawling.

“GET OFF OF ME!” Lori didn’t realise she wasn’t looking until she heard Ellie’s screams.

“It’s me. Look! It’s me. It’s me.” Joel was there. He was alive and he was taking care of Ellie, who was also alive. The two mumbled words at each other that Lori couldn’t hear from where she was laying on the snow, but she knew Joel was comforting Ellie. The two embraced each other, completely shutting out the rest of the world.

Lori watched as the two got up. Joel gave Ellie his jacket, making sure she was completely covered. “L-Lori—” Ellie’s voice was breaking, stuttering over the name, but Lori heard it—barely.

“She’ll be fine, she’s strong, she’s fine,” Joel comforted Ellie mindlessly. Speaking like the words meant nothing to him.

Lori hated her. Ellie. She hated her for meaning everything to Joel. Even if she was so close, Joel never saw her when Ellie was around. Just like now. Because his eyes could only focus on Ellie, his mind was always wandering to Ellie and if she was okay and if she would be okay. Lori was Tess’ responsibility, but Tess wasn’t here anymore and Joel seemed to forget about that.

“I’m here,” Lori choked, trying to stand up. “I’m here,” she tried to yell louder as Joel and Ellie started to move away. “I’m here!” With a shrill squeak she fell back down in the snow. The sound caused enough noise for Joel and Ellie to turn around and spot her.

“Lori,” Joel stared in disbelief for a few moments before following Ellie towards the girl. “How did you—”

Ellie pushed Lori on her back, noticing the knife in her side and the wounds on her face and neck. “Joel?” She turned to look at Joel with questioning eyes. “What do we do?”

Joel felt overwhelmed. He was sure Lori had died, not questioning why he thought that way. “I don’t know…”

“Do something goddamnit!” Ellie yelled looking at Joel for help. She was pulled back in time to only a day or two ago when it was Joel on the floor and her and Lori sitting on each side of him. Back then Lori had taken the lead, telling her to help Joel onto the horse, then dragging him all the way to their little safe house. Now, expecting a grown man to know what he was doing, Ellie felt more helpless.

Lori’s wounds were less severe, but she wasn’t as strong as Joel, at least not physically. “You don’t have to take me with you,” Lori mumbled.

“What?” Ellie felt helpless all over again and reached for Lori’s hand.

“Just don’t let me die in the snow, it’s so cold here.”

Ellie took matters in her own hands as she pulled Lori to her feet, supporting the girl with an arm around her waist. “I’m not letting you die at all,” she shook her head and started walking, but only a few steps in, Lori fell back to the floor.

It was then that Ellie realised how Lori hadn’t slept in a few days, always taking watch so that Ellie could take care of Joel. She realised Lori had walked all the way to the village, because Joel and Ellie had taken the two horses they had. She realised that Lori didn’t want to fight to survive.

“Please Lori, we can’t lose you, okay?”

Seeing Ellie’s watery smile as she tried to give Lori some strength, Joel finally stood up and put Lori back on her feet.

Lori was clinging on to him, she’d like to admit it was just because she needed the support, but if she were honest, it was because she needed him. She wanted his touch, to feel the love he had for his daughter at one point, and the love he now had for Ellie.

Once stabilised, Lori rested her head on Joel’s shoulder and looked up at him. “Do you think Tess would be proud of me?” Joel looked down at the girl before scoffing.

“Don’t you fucking do that. Don’t talk like you’re giving up,” he mumbled and turned away his gaze from her. He started walking, practically dragging Lori around, with Ellie on the other side of the injured girl.

“Why do you care,” Lori said while her words became more slurred and unintelligible. “It’s not like you ever look at me. Just like now. Just like earlier, when I was only a few feet away from you and if I didn’t yell out you’d leave me dead out there anyway.”

It was quiet until the three had found shelter for the time being. Joel was crouched down in front of Lori—no eye contact—as he tended to her wound. He didn’t really know what he was doing either, but he clearly was more skilled than Ellie and Lori when they tried to take care of him.

“So… Tess—”

“If you’re thinking about joining her, then fucking think again.” It was almost a threat that was being hissed through his teeth.

“I don’t get why you suddenly care so—”

“I always fucking cared, Lori! Joel stood up and eyed her with desperation. “I’ve cared, before Tess died, I care after she died. I never stopped.”

Lori looked down at her lap, the bloody gauzes still soaking up the blood of a cut in her leg she doesn’t remember getting. “It doesn’t feel like it, that’s for sure.”

“You want to know why?” Lori looked up, nodding her head hesitantly in response. “Because you remind me too goddamn much of Tess. And I failed her and you when I couldn’t protect her and now I’m failing her again if you die and I can’t live with myself if I let that happen.”

Lori felt tears prickle in her eyes when she finally heard the truth, but she didn’t want to show him that. “That’s a very selfish way of looking at it.”

“I know,” Joel sighed, falling back on his knees in front of the girl. He placed both his hands on her knees, one of his hands inching towards Lori’s hand that was resting a bit higher on her lap. “I—” He looked at Ellie, making sure she was still asleep before looking back at Lori. He leaned in a bit more to make sure she looked him in the eyes as he confessed the full truth. “Despite how I act, I’m a scared man. I don’t want to lose you like I— like we lost Tess. And I know pushing myself away from you isn’t doing any more good than it does harm, but I just want to believe that if something ever happened to you, it would hurt less if I didn’t let you get close.”

It was quiet for a while before Lori spoke, “you’re an asshole.”

Joel chuckled slightly, but nodded at the words. “You’re right. I am and I'm sorry. I wish I did everything differently. Just, don’t ever think I don’t care, because I do. I care so much.” He leaned up to hold her face in his hands. “So much.”

“Then why Ellie and not me? Why do you take care of her and not me?”

Joel sighed once again. “Because I’m an idiot. I know you’re scared too, but I can see it in her eyes and I can’t see it in yours. She didn’t have anyone else before this, but you lost so many people… I’m sorry Lori. I don’t know.”

The two searched each other's eyes for answers to questions they didn’t even know they had. Sitting there, for the first time really acknowledging each other and each other’s fears.

“It’s okay,” Lori finally spoke. “Once we get back to Jackson— if I get back to Jackson, I will leave you alone.”

“Lori you don’t have to do that—”

“No, it’s fine. If you continue to search for the fireflies for Ellie or whatever you plan on doing next, I’ll leave you alone.”

“Lori, please—”

Lori gulped down a sob and shook her head from side to side. “It’s okay, Joel. I’ll be safe in Jackson, so you don’t have to worry. I won’t die there. And who knows. I’ll be 18 in a few years,” she chuckled painfully. “Maybe I’ll find someone who really loves and cares for me.”

Joel pressed his eyes closed, suppressing the tears that were threatening to spill and leaned his forehead atop of Lori’s knees. He nodded his head hesitantly.

“If that’s what you want.”

#joel miller fic #tlou fanfiction #joel miller imagine #joel x oc #ellie x joel #ellie x oc #ellie williams imagine #the last of us fanfiction #the last of us imagine #tlou angst #joel miller angst #joel miller x reader #joel x reader #ellie x reader

297 notes · View notes

tubbytarchia · 2 months

Note

I NEED YOUR EXPERT ADVICE. I'm making Hermit designs but I've been kin-assigning them animals because as a furry artist I cannot draw humans. I've been choosing animals based on personality/behavior and not just looks. Do you have any ideas for Joel, Impulse, or Skizz? Gem too if you've got one, I don't want to stick with Just fandom-popular animals (deer/fox/etc). IF U DO NOT HAVE THOUGHTS THAT IS OKAY TOO, TY FOR READING ANYWAYS <3

Oughh this is a good question uhh I don't have many nor the best ideas probably by a long shot but if it can even just help spark some ideas, here's some!!

Joel - Donkey honestly! Hot-headed, stubborn, loud little things. To me, Joel is a heavy hitter not caring for stealth etc and makes himself known. Think of how farmers often get a solitary donkey to protect their livestock because of the sheer ferocity of those territorial things. Donkeys may often be associated with undesirable traits but they kick and bite like pawns of hell, just because they can, not even because its necessary to defend themselves. They will kick to kill and they'll make sure of it. Kinda Joel coated to me tbh, even if Joel isn't always great at getting that kind of job done. Just from the way donkeys are often perceived though I think it fits.. For pretty much the same reasons also, a rooster?? Significantly less deadly (accurate to Joel) but still capable of great malice!! And obviously often seen as very prideful much like Joel

Impulse - this came up in my dinosaur assigning, but bull! Impulse is usually depicted as a bulky guy with a strong build and horns, like a bull! The bull has a bunch of symbolism thrown at it but that includes stuff like strength and loyalty, attributes I think are often assigned to Impulse. And at points, Impulse does showcase these, but he can also become hot headed, arrogant, and he holds grudges like hell. These aren't traits you usually think of with a bull though, lest you think of bull-fighting. I think it fits Impulse because on surface level, and from a lot of people's understanding, you don't think of these less desirable traits. He also seems to think rather highly of himself and doesn't often deem it necessary to prove his loyalty etc when others doubt him. Bulls aren't as hot-headed as the awful bull-fighting sport might have you believe but they are still rather easily aggravated! A lot of animals can "hold grudges" for a prolonged time, but elephants and camels especially, so, something fitting in that too (especially with those once again being bulky large animals. The camel I guess is more lanky than bulky though...)

Skizz - Of course Skizz just makes me think of lovely birds when I try and assign something to him. Immediate thought was swan but... Swans are ferocious fighters and Skizz is... not Mayhaps an albatross instead if we stick with birds - they're also birds known for their love and conviction, but also the fun rumor that killing an albatross will leave you cursed. That kind of makes me think of Skizz's "I only kill those who deserve it" mindset. Harm him and he will (try to) get back at you Maybe even a crow, for how social they are but also how capable of remembering faces If we want non-birds, I think any animal that's passive and chill but valiantly protective of their own could fit? Or because Skizz is kind of always friendly, could lean into that and assign him the capybara, which I can't imagine is much good at fighting much like him. Or maybe an animal that has an unimpressive and maybe laughable defense mechanism to a human, like the way raccoons or red pandas stand on their hind legs to try and threaten you, the same way Skizz on his red life will dye his hair red or wear a red speedo

Gem - Surprisingly tough... I love the usual deer themeing with her so I automatically wanna assign her another herbivore that is thought to be very passive or docile but one that could very much fuck you up. Honestly... I know it doesn't make for good hybrid material at all but..hippos... just for how fucking murderous they are. Maybe a good ol horse instead? Because horses especially are widely domesticated and people very often make the mistake of getting too close etc only to get kicked in the face. Gem doesn't listen to anyone man she's her own boss!! A cow works for similar reasons. Deadly beasts even if often seen as totally docile... I love this kind of idea because it draws so much attention to how spearheaded Gem is But I could also imagine her as a predator like an ocelot etc. She very much acts like one I think. That's why it's so tough, so much stuff fits her!!

#blabber #thinking about donkey Joel a lot now

21 notes · View notes

thewritersaddictions · 1 year

Text

Drabble: Joel Miller- Dad Jokes

Did Joel always have such a rough exterior? Yeah, he did with people that he didn't know, or while he was trying desperately trying to keep himself protected.

Joel was a creature of habit. A set of things that made him comfortable, but now that had been taken and ripped away from him. Right in front of him, in his arms, he had the joy of life sucked out of him.

He stayed cold for many years. Cold to the touch and cold to the heart. Nothing not even what you thought he was supposed to sound or feel like was Joel anymore.

Joel tried for the longest time to keep emotions and anything that would or could hurt him at bay. emotions of his daughter dying in his arms. Shove that deep down in his chest, away from the burning light of the next morning sunrise. Knowing that he wasn't able to protect Tommy from joining the Firefiles. He shoved that one down too. Everything that was hurting him was shoved further and further into the pit of his stomach. It left Joel feeling heavy and angry.

The pain didn't stop there though. He turned numb and just like that he was trusted back into the realm of love and friendship. Tessa, god she was so damn straight with Joel. She was the sweetest person that Joel had met since his daughter Sarah. She was everything that kept him going even though he wanted nothing more than to be with his daughter once more.

But love is a bitch and she takes even the best things from people who don't deserve it. Tessa bit, too many emotions clouded Joel's mind as he tried to figure out how they had gotten here. How he had somehow ended up with a girl not far from Sarah ages when she passed away. How had he gotten here back to taking care of another person.

Sure Joel had tossed the idea around in his head. Was Ellie more than cargo or was she just that. Had Ellie and Joel's time together meant anything like his time with his daughter. There was that but there was also something different, For years Joel had yearned for that role of a protector all over again. He wanted someone who he could protect to make up for the loss of his daughter. Not a replacement but for forgiveness.

Maybe Ellie was that forgiveness, Maybe Sarah had in some god-like way Ellie in his path. Maybe Sarah was trying to help him come to a realization that the anger and self-pity could be turned into something worth it again. Something that would make a difference in the bleak world they now lived in.

It took longer then excepted for Joel to come around. For Joel to be comfrotable with Ellie being around him. Relying on him, wanting to learn more about the world that she had been lied to about by FEDRA

He gathered his thougths when he went to Bill and Franks. He didn't want to let her go, not to the tw ofo them. He was good friends with Frank and Bill, but he had been taking care of ellie for to long already now.

"Joel?" Ellie asks him softly in the dark night. "What Ellie?" "Do you have any dad jokes?" Ellie asks. She tired it's in her voice but still she asks through her long yawns. Pushng sleep away, Joel can't help but think back to sarah. his heart squezzes a little at the thought.

He remembers a few. A few of Sarahs favorite that her dad used to use on repeat. Sarah would laugh loudly. A hand on her stomach as it ached from laughing so damn much. Joel smiles at the thought of his daughter with a wide smile on her face, bright eyes that loved him. "yeah I think i've got a few in my back pocket. Why do you wanna know?" Joel asks Ellie. It rough on the extorit his question. He doens't mean to sound like an asshole that just how he sounds nowadays.

"Well will you tell me a few?!" Ellie says. Joel looks over at Ellie. The truck isn't that big but he's been looking up at the roof of the truck. When he turns Ellie looking at him with those child-like eyes. One that are waiting for adventure, ones that are waiting;yearning to grow up quicker then they have to.

"Cool it kid, but yeah." Joel says he gives a few seconds for the air between the two of them to cool down. "Have you ever heard the chocolate record player?" Ellie brows scuch together. Joel has to push down the smile growing rearing it ugly head. "It's pretty sweet!" Joel says finsihing the joke.

Ellie rolls her eyes. "Come on Joel you've got to have better ones!" Ellie complains. So, Joels thinks. "How do you make 7 even?" Joel asks. He's letting in the happiness spark by spark. 'Oh I know this one." Ellie says. Surpisingliy to Joel she get's it right. It reminds him of Sarah always a quick wit. "All you have to do is take the s away!" "Shit kid, you actually got that! Are you pulling my leg with these dad jokes?" Joel asks Ellie. She smiles and for a second there's a whole different person in the passenger seat next to him.

"Maybe Joel, but can you tell me one more?" Ellie asks a yawn interuptting her towards the end. "Sure kid." joel says. He starts thinking.

He's trying to think of one that will get a laugh out of Ellie. A deep, belly aching type of laugh out of her. He wants to see that same smile on Ellie face that he hadn't seen in more then twenty years. Joel wants to feel like he isn't here in the truck waiting and listening out for clickers or anything else that might be hauntig the both of them.

he wants to live in a dream for just a little longer. Joel wants to think and beilive that he's just driving across the country trying to find allthe best features that the country has to give. "okay Ellie, one more. Here we go," He looks over at her once more.

"I once got fired from a canned juice company. Apparently I couldn't concentrate." Joel can see the qucik looks cross over Ellie face, and then she's laughing. For what reason Joel doens't care. She laughng probably something she's never done not like this. She's a pure child, and for the first time in forever and a decade.

Joel feels happiness wrap around his cold heart.

Completed on: 02/22/23

Posted on: 02/22/23

Last Of Us-

A/n- This got out of hand, but I hope you enjoy a cute father x daughter between Joel and Ellie

70 notes · View notes

etamoz · 2 years

Text

Thoughts on soulbounds

What if soulbounds are meant to be just a little bit off?

Like Joel and Etho, they get along great, they truly do. And although Etho was skeptical at first, he can't deny that Joel's jokes make him laugh and they seem to share opinions on a lot of things, even if Etho doesn't really talk about it and he feels comfortable in his presence. It really made him think that they were platonic soulmates. However, whenever Bdubs is around, whenever he hears his laughter and him proclaiming that he is happy with Impulse, he can't help but feel jealous. Because he wants to be able to call Bdubs his partner again, because he cares about him so much more than he should for someone who is clearly not his soulmate, because he just wants to be close to him.

And Bdubs does too. He loves Impulse, that's not a lie, yet when they talk about who to get on their side his eyes linger on Etho's name and he immediately states he wants him, because… well, he does, even if that wasn't the best way to phrase it.

And later, when he tells Impulse he doesn't love anybody more than him, Etho comes to mind and suddenly there's the bitter taste of lies on his tongue.

When Etho's around, his smile gets brighter and he feels happy and he doesn't want him to leave again, doesn't want that feeling to fade and doesn't want to give him up to Joel.

Still, Impulse makes him happy and he doesn't mind being called his husband and would do almost everything to keep him safe.

Impulse loves Bdubs as well. Hell, he's the one making most of the couple remarks. But it's still odd to be his soulmate. Because he knows how close Bdubs and Etho are and also because while he cares about Bdubs, he really isn't as close to him as he is to Tango. Sure, he wouldn't make a majority of the romantic comments with Tango, but the guy is still his best friend and seeing him banter with Jimmy does hurt.

He should be happy and he is, having Bdubs by his side, but it feels different, there are still things he wouldn't tell him that he would talk about to Tango in a heartbeat. And aren't you supposed to want to tell your soulmate - platonic or romantic or anything else - everything? No hesitation?

Tango also gets along with Jimmy, better than he had expected to be honest, after their very…chaotic… Start. Not that they're any less chaotic now, absolutely not, but maybe that's the reason they get along so well. They barely think before they act and Tango finds himself appreciating Jimmy's company and smiling whenever he's there. But he still misses Impulse's more organized chaos, misses the talks about redstone contraptions and blowing themselves up while building them. He even misses dragging him to bed after he had gotten lost in one project or another and forgotten to sleep. And the fact that one of his fellow Team ZIT members isn't his soulmate does make his heart ache, even though he truly considers Jimmy a friend.

And Jimmy understood Tango surprisingly well surprisingly quickly. He appreciates his redstone and "lack of" Building skill (the guy's builds are amazing, though he insists on not being a builder). And when Tango was close to burning Scar's house down, he put his hands on his shoulders and managed to calm him down with reassuring words and calming smiles and all the friendship and closeness he felt. However, he can't keep his eyes from lingering on Scott's cottage, can't help himself but go to him whenever he needs anything, even if he knows Scott doesn't have it.

Martyn and Cleo's relationship is complicated but he still tries to win her over even if he doesn't really know why. Not when Ren's around and he finds himself close to him for some reason.

That's why there's so much Chaos.

That's why Scott bullies Jimmy so much because Jimmy clearly doesn't care about him if his soulmate is someone he's barely talked to before.

That's why Martyn acts the way he does. Because Ren would have been impressed by him getting nether resources this quickly and saying he could protect him, because Ren would have probably found gestures like the heart funny. So why isn't Cleo impressed? Why doesn't she find it funny? And what's the point in their relationship anyway when she clearly doesn't want him and no matter how hard he tries to convince himself, he doesn't want her either.

The soulmates are plausible, that's why it upsets the people who expected to be soulmates so much.

Then there's Grian and Scar. Them being soulmates makes perfect sense yet Grian doesn't want to be bound to him and instead looks to Bigb.

#double life smp #bdubs #ethoslab #double life tango #tangotek #double life jimmy #trafficblr #double life grian #double life gtws #scott smajor #bdoubleo100 #double life etho #long post #Honestly this could be read as platonic or romantic or whatever #I have no clue

135 notes · View notes

actual-changeling · 10 months

Note

So my brain finally let me make an account for AO3, and of course I got my invite today when the website is down. 😭 The even bigger crime is I can't even catch up on your Silhouettes fic (probably for the best because I've got dumb adult shit I REALLY gotta get done).

But for the past three or four weeks, my brain came up with an Ellie hc that I've been going back and forth of whether it's too ooc or not and I wanted to share it with you: So Ellie struggles with going to school at first, right? Joel ends up cutting a small square (3"x3") from one of his flannel shirts he doesn't care too much about to give to Ellie so she can hold/fidget with it in her pocket when she's anxious at school. It obviously doesn't solve all her problems, but it makes school just a 🤏liiiiiittle🤏 more bearable. Bonus hc: Joel isn't great at stitching fabric, but he tries his best to reinforce the edges of the square with a running stitch so it doesn't fray as bad (it still frays just because Ellie fidgets with it so much). (The tips of his fingers were sore for the rest of the afternoon from accidentally stabbing himself multiple times in multiple fingers.) (PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF THIS IS OOC BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN BOTHERING ME FOR FAR TOO LONG. 😭)

Also, just wanted to mention the bits of fanfic you post on here and your tlou edits you make really help my tlou brain rot. Thank you for your service. 🫡 It is always appreciated. ☺️

Definitely not OOC!

Honestly, I think it's definitely canon in some way that Joel gives Ellie something to remember him by and to make the transition to not being glued together 24/7 a bit easier. A piece of clothing she can have in her hand whenever she needs to is honestly perfect. Maybe Tommy can teach Joel how to do embroidery (cause he's such a grandma in my universe) so he can stitch some things onto it like his name, stars, whatever brings her comfort.

Ellie stealing his clothes in general is just 👌best thing ever, I love it. On her worse days when she still needs to leave the house, Joel straight up gives her one of his jackets or shirts so she can have him literally around her at all times.

AO3 being down was a STRUGGLE, I'm so glad they figured it out again. Silhouettes is like. haunting me currently, I've been thinking about it constantly but my last few weeks have been such a fucking mess I couldn't write at all.

I'm happy people enjoy what I do post though!! Always super helpful and encouraging to hear.

#alex answers asks

6 notes · View notes

wonderlandleighleigh · 1 year

Note

What was the brain child for The Fine Art of Being a Zeyde

I think it really started with the idea that while Midge is similar to both of her parents in varying ways, I feel like there had to be someone in her family (other than Noah, who pointed out in season 1 that Midge has always been funny, and funnier than Joel) who encouraged her to be herself.

She's...kind of odd. And that's not something Rose would have encouraged, and while Abe probably finds it charming, I don't know that he'd encourage it too much either, especially with Rose there, raising Midge to take cues from her.

Neither Rose nor Abe can cook. Zelda does those things for them. Who taught Midge to make that amazing brisket? Or those killer latkes she boasts about in the first episode? We know Shirley's cooking leaves much to be desired (cabbage, onions). We know Joel doesn't cook. We never see Moishe do anything in the kitchen. Zelda is an option, certainly, but she has a busy job, taking care of the Weissman household.

Who taught Midge to do that? Cooking is a skill. Sure, you can follow a recipe, and your food will probably come out pretty good, but consistency and quality take time to master. She would have had to have started learning before she went to college at some point, because girl went straight from college to married life, do not pass go, do not collect $200.

It wasn't Abe or Rose who taught her that when you're homesick, food is best shared with the people around you, even if you don't know them very well, like when she cooked for the Shy Baldwin tour. That's a value that's taught. Something learned.

Since ASP refuses to give us more Weissman family members, which, to be honest, is bullshit, I decided that it would make the most sense to be Abe's father. Someone who knew Midge from when she was an infant, but passed before the series started. We know Rose's family (The Lehmans) are out in Oklahoma. We're given to believe that they don't have the time- nor do they care enough - to visit Rose and her family. She's a woman, and of no consequence to the family fortune or business.

The first Chaim Weissman, who Noah and Astrid name their son for, makes the most sense. Noah doesn't seem like someone who would name his only child after someone he's never met, so I'm given to believe there's some affection there at least.

From there, Chaim wrote himself. His being a rabbi makes Abe's atheism ring as a sort of rebellion against his father's life, which all children go through. His reliance on facts and science is so solid because he grew up with someone so steeped in religion. When Abe grows into a man, and his mother, Chaim's wife, passes, Chaim decides to go back to Europe and study there. He comes back to the states mostly because he suddenly has two grandchildren he wants to know and be present for, but also because if you were paying attention to Germany in the mid-30's, and weren't in such deep denial (many, many Jews were. They had prospered in places like Germany for many yeas, and were utterly blindsided by their fates), you knew something dark was coming.

Midge's girlhood is spent in the shadow of World War II, and she watches things play out across the Atlantic, often seeing those events through Chaim's perspective, because we often rely on our adults to help us parse out difficult information when we're young.

When he's not eaten up by survivor's guilt, or feeling maudlin about the way the war plays out for the Jews of Europe, Chaim is a jovial, thoughtful man, who adores his grandchildren, and sees a spark in Midge that Abe and Rose know is there, and they like it (though Rose will say she's too strange), but they don't nourish it the way Chaim does. Chaim loves that his little granddaughter is funny, and smart and giving and driven and a little weird.

Sadly, when Chaim dies, there isn't really anyone around to remind Midge that those things are good and not something she should have to hide. He wanted so much for Midge to be the unique person he knew she was. If he'd lived to see her wedding day to Joel, he likely wouldn't have been super thrilled.

If he'd lived longer - much longer - he would have like Susie. And even Lenny.

While he would probably be kind of shocked at Midge's blue material, he'd get the jokes. He wouldn't sit there stone-faced like Abe, or progressively get more drunk like Rose.

He'd laugh. He wouldn't be able to help himself. The jokes are funny. They're shocking, you know. To a man likely born in the 1870's, but they're funny.

Anyways! Thank you for asking this question! It's one of my most favorite things I've written. <3

#fic stuff #the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel #headcanon #fic #Chaim Weissman 1 #Midge Maisel #ASP is a coward who won't give us more Weissmans #This got long

20 notes · View notes

seas-storyarchive · 6 months

Text

Carly grew up to be a mechanic and owned her own successful auto repair shop. She also has a domestic partner, Sandra.

Sandra, who doesn't know much about cars, is more than happy to learn and support her partner.

Gordon and Betty are.. on the fence about this. It's Carly, so they were used to her strangeness, but they were learning to adjust. Joel is cool with it, volunteering at the shop and bringing his girlfriend Camille over too.

Vera is beyond happy for her, as Carly is her favorite nibling.

Frank and Natalie don't like the fact that Carly is with Sandra, Ken doesn't care but he is a momma's boy. Frank even getting himself and his family kicked out of their house because he makes a comment about their relationship - and Carly fired back asking why Ken looked nothing like Frank at all or why she'd never seen Frank hold Natalie. So yeah, that bridge got burned so that not even ashes were left.

Carly wants nothing to do with Max. Nope. Verdona also isn't welcome, given how they ignored her when she was a kid and treated Frank better.

Carly and Sandra, thanks to going to a clinic, are expecting. They have two kids: their twins Gwen and Ben.

Gwen is the more mature of the two, but she isn't a control freak like in canon. Ben is still a bit of a "ruffian", but it's within reason. The two get along, as twins do. Ben doesn't get the Omnitrix, he never felt like his life was boring.

They have a young daughter named Eunice, when Ben and Gwen are 15.

The kids grow up being happy, loved. Being the best people that they can be.

#multiverse picking #ben 10 au #ben 10 #carly/sandra #i will not let go of frank being the golden child and carl being a spare #because that's how it looks to me #female carl tennyson au #carly tennyson #sandra tennyson

2 notes · View notes

softlyspector · 6 months

Note

i saw this gifset ( https://www.tumblr.com/perotovar/732538405675810816/sara-evers-the-last-of-us-2023-101-when?source=share&ref=_tumblr ) and it made me think:

joel may be the natural protecter, the natural caregiver but his daughters also take care of him.

sarah literally saved his life.

the way he was holding her against his chest made the bullets that would be fatal to her save his life.

and ellie watches over him.

she didn’t have to. she could’ve woken him up or even stayed asleep but she knew he needed to rest, she probably realized somewhere along the line that he wasn’t sleeping at all, driving his body to its limits.

and i find that beautifully tragic.

it doesn’t matter how much he wants to avoid it, to always be the one who sacrifices himself, his girls are always looking after him. and it brings me to another point: i read honeyed quite quickly when it came out and the first thing that hit me was how one of the biggest tragedy of joel’s life was that two of the most important people for him never met. the world was so unfair, so cruel that although he had his girls to also take care of him, it was always one or the other but never both of them. and you actually gave joel that. you have him the chance of having both his daughters. of being taken care of by these two amazing, strong, smart, funny girls who loved him more than anything else. and that’s just beautiful.

lastly, it’s very late and i’m exhausted and i have my plane tomorrow but all i will say is that your honeyed!joel is the most joel joel and i have no idea what that anon was talking about. there’s not one un-joel line in that fic. it is absolute chef’s kiss. a masterpiece that feels like a warm blanket and a cup of hot cocoa after a cold rainy day. it has just enough grumpiness on the surface to hide that mushy, gigantic heart of gold on the inside that shines through his actions and very clumsy words. he has that warmth, that gentleness you wouldn’t expect at first glance. you want to take shelter in those big arms. you know the world could turn to shit (let’s say a zombie apocalypse) and he would have your back, make sure you eat, walk you to your front door and not leave until he’s assured everything is safe, that nothing can hurt you. because that’s joel at his core, apocalypse or not: all he wants is for you, his brother, his daughters to be safe. doesn’t matter if he has to drive miles in the middle of the night to get you or if he has to risk his life in a forest while infected attack you. it doesn’t matter how you look at it, which au you’re in. in all the different universes, joel is a protector, a fierce force of nature who will do anything for the ones he holds dear and you’ve got that perfectly in all of your stories

-M

I think it's also worth mentioning that Joel is very much saved by Ellie, too. She saves his life by being tenacious enough to provide for them when Joel is stabbed. The first thing she thinks to trade with David for is medicine for Joel that ultimately saves his life. She sacrifices a lot so that Joel lives.

Ellie watches over Joel as much as he watches over her, and the same can be said about Sarah, making sure Joel eats in the morning, reminding him that just coffee isn't good enough, he needs vitamins.

You're very much right, as much as Joel tries so hard to avoid is, his girls take care of him and sacrifice in much the same way he does.

In regards to Honeyed, when I first sat down to write it, I was only going to include Sarah because it was a no outbreak au. But there seemed to be this hole that was kind of left, and I thought, why not have both of them? Why not let Joel get both his kids? And, of course, he takes care of them, but I think its really clear they look after him too. Of course they do.

I'm happy that you feel that Joel is in character in Honeyed. I knew the AU was kind of far fetched and not one of the tropes commonly associated with him as a character, but I did my best with it, and it had become a little bit of a safe place for me as much as it is for Honey and Joel.

Anywho, I think you sum it up pretty well, so I'll just quote you here.

it doesn’t matter how you look at it, which au you’re in. in all the different universes, joel is a protector, a fierce force of nature who will do anything for the ones he holds dear

Thank you for such a thoughtful, kind ask <3

#bec talks #honeyed fic #m anon

4 notes · View notes

tothearrk · 1 year

Text

Live tlou reaction season finale

Spoilers, obviously

---

- holy shit honestly I know Ellie doesn't know or remember what happened with her mom but shit man

- Joel just trying to get her to smile and a bit happier after everything just to be nice

- HIM WANTING TO TEACH HER GUITAR I'LL SOB

- Joel joking with her... he can tell something obviously is wrong, I'm sure she hasn't told him what happened yet fully but man

- him just making himself joke around and be nicer just to try to help her in some way is such a sweet dad thing I love it so much. He knows she isn't fully there right now with what happened but he's trying his best... I love it so much it's so good with how this shit actually goes UGH

- her getting so distracted too oh my god I love her getting excited tho and him getting so worried

- A GIRAFFE

- HER FEEDING IT AWE

- THE WAY HE IS SMILING AT HOW SHES ACTING SO HAPPY AND EXCITED NOW

- he is THE father uGh

- him being so supportive of just not doing this and being close to her, he just wants her safe :( I love her 100% wanting to be with him and shit THAT IS HIS DAUGHTER!!!!!!

- JOEL TRIED TO KILL HIMSELF? OH MY GOD

- he really just is such a dad I'll kill myself

- I love this moment FUCK

- I'm lowkey really hoping this episode is when Joel goes crazy and kills all the fireflies

- NAHHHH FUCK YOU LEAVE THEM BEEEEE NOOOO

- OH I THINK IT IS THAT EPISODE

- nahhhhhh fuck this bitch

- they seriously don't understand what science is this is so lame y'all are fucking kidding talking about killing a little girl

- "fate if the world" type shit. Nah I don't careeeee sorry humanity is fucked at that point. Just chill with the time you have. Fuck off bro

- oh wow so spooky "he tries anything shoot him" he can kill you with his bare hands

- i can't tell if I kin Joel or Eli more

- SHOT HIM IN THE DICK LMAO

- REAL ASF

- THAT WINDOW SHOT OH MY GOD

- HE LITERALLY IS SO COOL OH MY GOD

- he seriously doesn't care about anything besides getting her I love it. Good for him seriously

- he really said "no one is taking my daughter from me again"

- I love the soundtrack in this fucking show oh my god

- I need to play this game

- he's so real

- HIM LYING ABOUT THIS OH MY GOD OH MY GOD

- where people hurt? God. Kill me

- OH MY GOD. This shit hurts so bad

- i really do kin Joel fuck dude

- he's so real for that "you'd just come after her" HES SO REAL ABHHHH

- I feel like him comparing her to Sarah sucks but also i understand why he is talking about her

- they really would be friends <3

- her opening up to him... I'm gonna vomit. Her telling him. Ugh...... her feeling so guilty god. I get it. Man. These characters are so well written, and Joel fucking... ugh...

- him swearing fuck man

- he's so right for it though fuck

That episode was so good oh my god. Well done. Love love love. I can't wait for s2. Hopefully I can at least get the first game b4 the next season

#last of us #joel tlou #the last of us #ellie the last of us #joel the last of us #tlou show #tlou spoilers

10 notes · View notes

andiinaraethtash · 2 years

Text

Chapter 14: What Have I Become, My Sweetest Friend? (Everyone I Know Goes Away in the End)

Notes:

As you may be able to tell, I've switched to updating on Saturdays. This just works better for me (mostly because of my work schedule). Anyway! Loved y'alls' reactions to Pearl being the traitor. Just remember that she is being coerced, but none of the others know that. TW: None, really, just that Sausage isn't in the best place mentally. It's not from his perspective, so you don't see the worst of it, but he's in shock, and dissociates pretty badly for a minute or two. And Scott isn't the kindest to himself either. Again, none of this is from their POVs, so you don't see the worst of it, but it's there, so be careful. Please. I love you all too much to want to accidentally trigger you. Chapter title form Hurt by Nine Inch Nails

It’s safe to say they’re all in shock. Lizzie is fairly certain Sausage is the first to move for several minutes, at least, and even then, all he does is drop his sword and collapse to his knees, staring into the void where Pearl had been just a short while ago.

After that, it’s Joey, who screams in rage as he whirls and chucks his axe directly into one of the dark oak trees surrounding the area. They all jump, all seven of them (Joel and Scott are probably back in their homes, if that’s where they set their spawn last, and with Pearl and fWhip gone, and Gem dead… their numbers are dwindling).

Shrub shifts, then slides off the Mother Wolf and goes to stand next to Joey, hesitating briefly before resting her hand on his arm. Surprisingly, he lets her, at least for a long moment before he shrugs her off and stomps over to the tree he embedded his axe in.

The sound of him freeing his axe snaps Lizzie out of her fugue. Blinking, she takes a deep breath and marches over to where Joel had died. He’d dropped his sword when he had, and she scoops it up and loops it into her belt. Not the best place for it, but it’ll do for now.

That done, she goes over to Sausage, who’s still staring numbly into the middle distance, and nudges him to his feet. “Come on, we can’t stay here.”

Katherine nods, but she looks distressed. “Where—where should we go? To our homes?”

Lizzie shakes her head. “No, we should stick together, head to Rivendell to check on Scott. This… this must have hit him pretty hard.” She looks down at Sausage as she says it, her concern morphing into worry when she sees that he’s still not responding to anything going on around him.

She’s never been particularly close to Sausage; his continuous picking on her little brother kept them from forming any friendship beyond mutual respect and trade agreement. But even she isn’t blind to how hard this has got to be hitting him. He’s just lost the last of his closest friends, and in one of the most painful of ways possible. He might not have been physically wounded like Scott and Joel had been, but he’s still hurting.

Pix clears his throat. “We should… we should get going. It’s nearly midnight, it’s not safe out here.”

Nods all around, and Jimmy grabs a nearly ruined torch from the rubble, lights it, and hurries over to where Scott had dropped his sword. As soon as he gives her a nod, she nudges Sausage again.

He doesn’t move, and she sighs, waves the others on, and kneels to be closer to his level. “Sausage, talk to me.”

Finally, his eyes focus on her face, and he opens and closes his mouth a few times before managing, “Pearl…” He cuts himself off as tears start building in his eyes.

“She made her choice,” Lizzie says, as gently as she can. Part of her wants to be bitter, wants to be scathing mad, but she also knows that wouldn’t exactly be helpful. “It’s not your fault.”

“But—but she—”

“I know, Sausage, and really, I’d love to tell you that things will be alright, but honestly I don’t have a clue what we’re going to do now. All I know is that betrayal always hurts, and always comes from where you expect it least.”

At that, his head snaps up. “No.” He says firmly, and she frowns.

“No, what?”

“No,” He repeats. “She didn’t betray us. I refuse to believe that. She’s got to be up to something. She’s got a plan, I know she does.”

Lizzie can’t help the way her eyebrows creep upward. She wants to believe the same—her heart immediately clings to the hope his statement creates—but she knows to go in believing that is going to result in someone getting killed. And she’s seen quite enough death, thank you very much.

So, slowly, she shakes her head. “I know why you want to believe that, but Sausage, look at the facts. She killed both Joel and Scott, and she’s put countless people in danger by working with Xornoth. And did you see her face after she stabbed Scott? That wasn’t the look of someone who was even slightly remorseful.”

He looks up at her in disbelief. “You really think that? How can you have so little faith in her? She’s your friend!”

“Well,” she answers, without really thinking, “betrayal never comes from an enemy.”

He actually physically stumbles back at her words, and she grimaces. “Look, Sausage, we should get going. We can have this discussion later, with everyone present.”

He stares at her for a long moment, hurt and disbelief plain in his eyes, before finally he nods, takes her offered hand, and picks up his sword. “I still think you’re wrong,” he says hoarsely.

She sighs. “I hope I am.”

_______

As soon as they reach the dark oak forest that borders Rivendell from the west, there’s an issue, namely that there’s a winter storm surrounding the mountains Rivendell is built on. The wind whips around, faster than a hurricane, carrying with it shards of ice and heavy flakes of snow.

Within a minute, the others are all shivering, as none of them are really dressed for winter. Jimmy’s not too bothered by the cold—something about his cod-biology has him mostly immune to it—but the force of the wind is making flying impossible, and he’s reminded starkly of the storm that was blowing through the valley he’d found Scott hiding in his self-imposed exile. They’re undoubtedly from the same source, but this one… this one is so much worse than the other.

Finally, they reach the plateau on the mountain the village sits on, with blue lips and trembling hands, only to find that there is no one to greet them. The homes are quiet, boarded up, with no smoke coming from the chimneys, and Jimmy feels his heart sink. They’re running out of empires that are safe to house their people. The Gilded Helenthia, the Grimlands, Rivendell… they’re all deserted, or have been abandoned by their rulers, and Jimmy’s not sure which is worse, that the rulers have given up on the kingdom, or that the people have.

The snow drifts threaten to swallow them whole, getting thicker and deeper as they press on, getting closer to the lodge Scott has called home for as long as most of them have known him. Jimmy takes the lead from Sausage, who’s most dressed for the weather, as they reach the cover of the awning far above them. It doesn’t stop the bitter, biting wind, or the sharp frigid cold of the air, but it does mean the snow is slightly less thick, and the others are able to lean against the structure for a moment to catch their breath while Jimmy works on clearing the door of snow.

As soon as the door’s cleared, he starts banging on it, as loudly as possible, with such force that even he’s surprised the door doesn’t break down.

There’s no answer.

He bangs again, louder, calling out at the top of his lungs, “Scott! Scott, you in there? It’s us, are you alright?”

The wind steals his words. There’s still no answer.

Jimmy swears under his breath, trying to tell himself that the sinking feeling in his gut has nothing to do with the lack of answer, before someone nudges him aside and suddenly Pix is picking the lock with shaking hands, which is just… Jimmy didn’t even know Pix knew how to do that. Shaking off his surprise, he waits until Pix stops and nods at him before readying himself to kick the door down.

A hand on his shoulder stops him, and he turns to see his sister standing over him. She’s leaning against her trident, but she straightens when he meets her eyes, jerking her head off to one side to tell him to move. Hesitantly, he obeys, and she braces herself and slams against the door.

The wood breaks apart, but it somehow stays upright, and Jimmy glances over at Lizzie, whose eyes mirror his own confusion. The door should have fallen in—unless there was something propping it up from inside.

Hurriedly, he starts prying the wood away, getting help from the others as they start realising that their best chance at getting out of the cold is inside. As soon as the first plank of wood is being tossed aside, Jimmy swears again, a sentiment echoed by most of the others, because the thing that had been propping the door up is a solid sheet of ice, so thick light is barely making it through. There’s no way they’re getting through that.

Beside him, he sees Pix squeeze his eyes shut and mutter a prayer. Letting out a heavy sigh, Jimmy steps back—stumbles, really—and his shoulders slump. Cod, he’s exhausted, and sore, and covered in viscera that has frozen to his skin. He needs a bath. And a nap. And a nice, hot meal.

But he’s getting none of those things until he knows Scott is okay.

There’s a blur of motion, and Jimmy winces as a loud thud rings out. Sausage has charged at the opening, probably bruising if not breaking his shoulder with the force he rammed into it with. As Sausage recoils, making small, wounded sounds, Jimmy cautiously approaches the doorway, spreading his hands against the ice. There’s no give, no slickness that would indicate some source of warmth.

“Oh, Scott,” He whispers, because what else is he supposed to say? Pearl and Scott had been getting close, becoming better friends since the Rivendell festival, but now… now she had turned on them, and they had no clue what to do next.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Shrub pull a pickaxe out of her bags, and he quickly pulls out his own. Giving her a nod, they alternate dealing blows against the ice.

It takes several minutes, but eventually they manage to chip away a hole, about as deep as Jimmy’s arm is long, and almost tall enough for Shrub to step into. She doesn’t try to, though, instead looking to Jimmy, who nods and steps closer to the opening.

“Scott?” He calls, projecting his voice as best he can. “Scott can you hear us?”

There’s no answer for a long moment, then something that sounds like a whisper drifts through, and Jimmy cocks his head, trying to decipher what was said.

“What?” he says, and this time he can hear the answer loud and clear.

“Leave me alone!” Scott screams, and a spike of ice erupts from the hole they’d painstakingly carved, nearly spearing Jimmy’s eye and definitely carving a line along his cheekbone. He stumbles back, hand clutching the spot that instantly starts bleeding, the warmth of the blood shocking to his frost-numbed fingers.

“Scott!”

“Jimmy!”

The various rulers seem torn as to who they’re more concerned about, but Jimmy waves his sister off.

“I’m fine, it’s nothing—”

He’s interrupted by the storm picking up in intensity, causing a nearby tree branch to crash down. The wind picks it up and throws it against the lodge’s walls. As one, they all wince, and Sausage shouts something that’s stolen by the storm.

Katherine must catch on, though, because she’s hurrying forward almost immediately and tugging Pix down so she can say something in his ear, where it’s less likely to be torn away by the wind.

Pix looks for a moment like he’s going to protest, but a look from Katherine and a glare from Sausage get him moving and he’s pulling out a few packs of TNT which he sticks at various points in the wall of ice before twining the fuses together and lighting it.

AS soon as the spark takes, they all back off, Jimmy covering his ears, which ultimately does nothing because he can barely hear the explosion over the howling wind. But the goal is accomplished; there’s now a hole big enough for even Lizzie to slip through, if she ducks.

Jimmy immediately charges through, nearly slipping on the ice-coated floor, and he whirls around, looking for Scott, but something else grabs his attention first: the hole they’d blown is fast sealing itself back up, icy spikes driving across the gap and thickening to form another wall. Jimmy shakes his head as Pix pulls out more TNT, but he’s not sure they see it before the hole is completely sealed over.

Either way, he’s now trapped inside with a walking snowstorm, and he has no idea where said snowstorm is.

“Scott?” He calls, vaguely concerned at how quiet it is in here. The blizzard outside is barely audible, making the entire scene feel slightly disconnected from reality.

“I said go away!” There’s another blast of ice, this one missing Jimmy entirely as he tries to dodge, slips, and lands hard on his hands and knees. But he did see where it came from, and looking up, he spots Scott hiding in the rafters above the storage area of his lodge.

Jimmy sighs, stands, and puts his hands on his hips. “No, because I’m worried about you, and we need to know you’re okay. With everything going on, we can’t lose you too!”

“What, like we lost Pearl? Or maybe like how we lost Gem, or maybe fWhip?” Scott’s voice is shaking, and it’s clear he’s been crying—or is still crying, Jimmy’s not sure. “How do I know you’re not working with him, too?”

With that, Jimmy’s temper snaps. “What, like how you didn’t know if I was the one working for Xornoth back before, in Mythland? I saw that look you were giving me, you and Sausage both. You know me, Scott.”

Scott’s head snaps up, his gaze sharp and cold even from this distance. “I knew Pearl, too,” he says, and Jimmy has to shift his weight to avoid slipping on the suddenly jagged ice.

Even the layer coating the walls and ceiling has turned spiky, and Jimmy can distantly hear someone—it sounds like Katherine—shriek in alarm. The weather outside probably just took a turn for the worse.

Bracing himself, Jimmy stands as straight as he can, looking Scott directly in the eye. “Then we obviously didn’t know her. But we’re here, and we’re here to help you. So let us do that. Let us help you.”

Slowly, Scott shakes his head, and the ice smooths back over. “You can’t. You can't help me, not when I’m the problem.”

“You’re the—what?” Jimmy can honestly say he has no idea what Scott is talking about, but it sounds like he’s blaming himself.

Scott lowers his head, hiding his face in his knees. “I’m the problem. It’s my brother that I couldn’t beat, that I couldn’t contain. I went to Gem for help, and she died. fWhip went after me, and he got possessed. I made friends with Pearl, and now… now she’s turned her back on us. It’s me, I’m the common denominator.”

Jimmy gapes for a moment, the anger quickly replaced by disbelief. He really thinks—

“Now that’s just absurd,” he’s saying aloud before he can think better of it, and Scott peeks over his knees just long enough for Jimmy to notice, his expression one of faint confusion.

Jimmy presses on. “We could just as easily say it was all Sausage’s fault, because it was all his friends that are gone, and he was the one who helped Xornoth last time he was out, or we could blame Joey for helping him, or we could blame me, because I was the one that led the Codfather Alliance into the End to kill the Ender Dragon. But we don’t. And we don’t blame you either. Right now, we just need to figure out what we’re going to do next.”

“What are we supposed to do now?” Scott asks, sounding utterly lost. “We’ve lost… we’ve lost so much. My people are gone, Pearl has turned on us, Gem… fWhip… they’re all gone.”

Jimmy would love to say he knows exactly what to say to that, but he doesn’t. He just knows Scott is hurting, and he doesn’t know how to fix it.

So he does the next best thing.

Quietly climbing the stairs up to the loft, he glides over to the rafters Scott is perched on, careful not to slip on the ice-covered beams. Scott looks up as he lands, looking startled, and Jimmy settles as close to him as he can, grabbing his hand and squeezing it while trying not to wince at how cold he is.

“The rest of us are still here, though,” Jimmy says quietly, just loud enough to be heard of the muted howl of the wind outside. “And your people might not be in Rivendell anymore, but they’re alive, and they deserve a life free from Xornoth’s corruption. So stop wallowing; fight for them.”

“I can’t!” Scott cries—literally. He’s got tears streaming down his face, and Jimmy’s heart clenches. He hates seeing him in pain. “Every time I fight, I lose, and I’m so tired of losing, Jimmy, I’m so tired. I don’t want to fight anymore.”

“Yeah,” Jimmy says, still with that soft tone of voice. “Me too. But you know what?”

Scott meets his eyes warily. “What,” he asks wearily, and Jimmy smiles ever so slightly.

“I’m still going to fight. Because some things are worth fighting for.” He takes Scott’s other hand, squeezing both gently.

Scott stares at him for a long moment, clenches his jaw, then takes a deep breath. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Jimmy asks, confused, and Scott nods.

“I’ll keep fighting. But Jimmy,” Somehow his expression becomes more serious, “Xornoth and Pearl both know intimately how I think. How Sausage thinks, too, and we were the two main leaders. We need someone else to step up if we want to have a chance, and besides, I need to get these powers under control.”

“I know,” Jimmy says, wondering where Scott is going with this. “We’ve had this discussion before.”

Scott purses his lips. “Yeah, well, it didn’t seem to register for you, because you were still looking to me to lead.”

“Well, who else is supposed to lead?” Jimmy asks, because he genuinely can’t think of anyone who is as well suited to leading a military effort as Scott and Sausage, and like Scott said, neither of them are options anymore.

Scott gives him a familiar, exasperated look, and Jimmy knows he’s missing something important. “It’s called the Codfather alliance for a reason, Jimmy.”

He stops breathing for a second, and when his lungs kick back in, it’s so that he can stutter out, “What?”

Scott repeats himself, somehow sounding more exasperated than he had before.

“I know, I heard you, but seriously, what? You want me to lead? After what happened last time I tried to lead a fight?”

“The Ender Dragon was not your fault, Jimmy. All of us were there, and none of us stopped it.”

“Not all of us were there to stop it, either,” Jimmy says, aware that he sounds petulant, but Scott either ignores that or just doesn’t care.

Instead, the elf just sighs. “Jimmy, we need you to step up, because if you don’t, no one will.”

Jimmy shakes his head. He doesn’t know what to think or what to say. “Pix—”

“Isn’t a warrior, and you and I both know it.”

“Neither am I, Scott!”

“You’re more a warrior than you think you are. Besides, you’ve got a natural charisma that we all would follow to hell and back. None of the others have that.”

“Lizzie or Joel—”

“Same problem, they’re not warriors. And besides, they’re both too attached to you to effectively lead us all in battle.”

“What, and I’m not attached to anyone?” Jimmy would be offended, but really, he’s too surprised. This is not how he expected the conversation to go.

Scott rolls his eyes. “You’re attached to all of us, so you’d do everything you can to keep us all safe, while Lizzie and Joel just… aren’t. You’re their family, that’s as far as their attachment goes, and thus they’d put your safety over the safety of the rest of us.”

Jimmy groans and buries his face in his hands. “Why are you so insistent on this?” He grumbles.

With a soft scoff, Scott leans back. “Because you’re the only other person I would follow into battle without question.”

There’s a long moment where Jimmy can’t say anything, just opens and closes his mouth like the fish he is, and Scott manages a half smile. Right when Jimmy finally comes up with something to say— That’s sweet, Scott, but I’m really not the right person for this— the elf frowns, tilting his head slightly.

“You hear that?”

Jimmy stops, listens, and realises that he can’t hear the howling of the wind anymore. The silence is eerie. After so long with the sound in the background, the absence of it is startling.

Scott sighs and pushes himself up to his feet. “Aeor, I hate these powers.”

With a shrug, Jimmy follows him. “Useful, though. You were able to hit Xornoth pretty hard.”

“But not good enough to stop him,” Scott says as he glides down to the floor.

Jimmy also jumps down to the floor, spreading his elytra at the last second to prevent himself from breaking his ankles. “But maybe enough to slow him down. And that could be just what we need to take him down.”

#empires smp #empiresblr #fanfiction #creative writing #scott smajor #jimmy solidarity #lizzie ldshadowlady #mythical sausage

5 notes · View notes