#(clem has a crush on duck back then)

[spacedlexi]

you said that you "need 2 characters to deeply care for each other and positively impact each other for me to want to ship them" so which of the twdg canon ships do you actually think work/make sense? and by canon ships i mean like actual established relationships, implied relationships or perhaps a character that was crushing on someone else before death.

me immediately blanking on every relationship in twdg upon reading this ask

the only one i stand behind with conviction is clemvi. idk if you need me to explain why i feel like ive done it a million times by now 👀 but yeah theyre the only relationship i "Ship" in regards to the quote where i see them as a match for each other and think romance makes sense for both parties

as for some "in defense of"s

i'll defend javi and kate. my only Real problem with them is how they handle david in it like girl can you at least take off the wedding ring before we kiss 😭 my brother still thinks youre his wife (plus they did push it Really hard.. but like.. narratively i understand why they did. family is a running theme of the series and javi and davids relationship is like the main conflict). but like. kate and javis relationship Makes Sense. she had a shit husband (who wanted to go back to the army anyway). her and javi already had the beginnings of Something before the outbreak even happened. she was left with javi to take care of 2 children that werent even biologically hers (i enjoy the complex family dynamics in twdg as a whole). and together theyve been surviving for years as a family unit. i think javi having feelings isnt up for debate, its more just will he act on those feelings or will he respect his brother? and like.. fuck david am i right? kate was Not happy in that relationship and deserves better, and javi cares about her. but also the pressure from their dad to get along after hes gone. it all works for me even if it couldve been executed better

and i .... sigh .... Understand gabe and clem. BUT!!! i think they have different feelings towards each other and its an important distinction. gabe definitely has a huge crush on her, shes cool as hell, but i think her feelings in return are fueled by hormones and the fact that she hasnt been around anyone her own age since DUCK (sarah was 15 at the time). like. does she think hes cute? yeah. but he can also be kind of a huge jerk sometimes and acts recklessly. i think its those moments that snap clem out of it lol. seeing this response in S4 felt vindicating im taking it as sad loner clem having a hormone induced crush. like girl yes or no?? this is the most direct option??

personally i dont like them together because i Hate tropes where the more mature girl half has to teach the immature boy half to grow up and be capable and thats somehow romantic. ESPECIALLY in clems case where she is literally already raising someone like her hands are full ok. her assuaging his ego makes me 🤢 girl you dont have to take that second gun just because he was gonna cry about it if you didnt. its just not romantic to me. also i think its soooo funny that clem uses the same tactic on gabe that she does on aj in S4 with the "i need you to watch my back" to stop him from complaining about being left behind at the gate LOL. also i just think he loves his dad too much who clem hates more than anyone on earth so like.. theres that

uuhhh who else... alvin and rebecca are fine. like i have nothing to say about them but i believe their relationship and think they wouldve been good parents to aj. hmmm.... i guess thats it for the ones i have defenses for?? the others just like.. exist. like im neutral

[cloudsrust]

Death comes in all colors

And here I come one year late with a few of my deaths’ headcanons for the lm3 ghosts-... in short story form because of course I gotta go the extra step,, TW: death mention and description (duh), bones breaking / asphyxiation , choking, firearm’s wounds, freezing, aneurysm. Steward - “A back-breaking job.” His last task for the day was to deliver the luggage that had gotten shipped to the hotel to the rightful rooms, ready to be found by the guests arriving in the morning. It was late at night and the overfilled bell cart, tucked away in the establishment’s warehouse, had gotten stuck between a wall and few boxes. As he was pulling the unstable mess from the side, trying to free it, the cart inclined towards him. The worn out belts barely restraining the luggage to begin with. A sickening “snap” breaking the night's silence, as the buckle of one of the worn out belts freeed itself from its prong, mercilessly hitting him straight across the face, hands instinctively going to cover his newly acquired wound as everything around him fell apart. The heavy suitcases and boxes completely crushed him, splitting his spine and breaking his ribs. A shard of the latter penetrating one of his lungs, making it burst. Unable to call for help, he slowly died by asphyxiation, the weight of the luggage “mercifully” taking his last breath away before the internal blood loss could. He is keen to both anger and panic attacks because of how he was treated when alive, both of those feeling still stirring in his heart, unable to find rest. Chambrea - “Feeling your heart in your throat.” The butler of the mansion where Chambrea served as a maid fell in love with her. Many letters and flowers were found in her small room in the following mornings, sweet smiles and compliments filling her days. Even though that was the closest thing she could get to one of the romances in her adored love novels and as much as she desired an happily ever-after, now she needed that job more than a stereotypical love story. She kept refusing him over and over, apologetic smiles following offers to pay him back the money the flowers must've costed. The servant, however, just couldn't stand the thought of rejection. Just as a rope being pulled over and over, he snapped. The night the inhabitants of the manor were out for a private party, he killed her in retaliation, strangling her to death. The thought of “if I can't have her, no one will” only made sense until the time to dispose the body came, clarity coming back to him as he dragged her body across the dark street. He hadn't much time to regret his actions, as Chambrea took her vengeance scaring him off the same bridge he was trying to use to dispose of her corpse. Neither of the bodies were ever found. She still loves to read romantic and tragic novels but she doesn’t feel ready for an actual relationship anytime soon. Her heart stuck in her throat every time she talks with a man, remembering her last moments alive. Steward is trying to slowly help her move on, is the least he can do for a friend colleague. Kruller - “A shot in the dark.” He was a night guard in training at the Grand Mall of the city. It was supposed his first night alone in his side of the mall, a more experienced co-worker taking care of the other half. It seemed a calm night like usual, more tiring the stressful. It would've been so if a thief hadn't managed to avoid security during closing time, hiding in the vents. After an hour or so of undisturbed shoplifting, Kruller finally encountered the criminal during the patrol of his side. Taser gun ready to fire in his shivering hands, still inexperienced in field action, the cop still found the courage to stutter a “Freeze!”. That word sealing his fate. A round of bullets perforating his stomach and chest as the mysterious man turned around firing by instinct, shocked by the sudden threat coming from behind him. The thief fled the scene, leaving the mall cop bleeding to death. The other night guard, alerted by the shoots rushed to his position, calling the ambulance at the sight of the blood pooling and running along the floor tiles. But help didn't come in time, Kruller last words desperately trying to describe the criminal, in hope of justice. He has a serious fear of both realistic looking and real firearms and he still has trouble speaking up from time to time, the remembrance of his error still lingering in his mind. Chef Soulfflé - “Best served cold.” Left behind by his trusted staff to make the inventory of the remaining and the needed supplies for the night, Soulfflé was checking the state of the meat in the freeze chamber. A few misplaced cleaning supplies tragically slipped from their grip on the tiled wall, still humid from the cooking vapor, falling on the chamber’s door, slowly closing it. The spine chilling click of the automatic lock making the chef drop the pack of meat he was inspecting. A few minutes passing with him trying to desperately call for help, the leftover hours of his life passed making peace with himself, writing down his will on the ingredients checklist he had with him. His staff only found his body the next morning, various aliments scattered on the floor, the cardboard where they were stored laying on the frozen corpse as a last hope to produce enough warmt to survive the night. He overcooks the meat by mistake: unable to feel warmth, no matter the temperature, for him everything will always be and remain cold. Amadeus Wolfgeist - “A heartbreaking performance.” Entire days and sleepless nights dedicated to that night, the evening of his concert- just for an aneurysm to take his life before he could complete that cursed melody. Slowly feeling his body crumbling from the inside, responding to his will no more. Hands grasping at the piano keys like a stray dog does with a found bone, his hunger for glory, for redemption, pushing him to keep on going. His fingers suddenly stiff, the last note mocking him with its silence as his vision completely faded to black. Falling to the harsh floor of his reality as red curtains covered the stage, marking his demise. His mind is still plagued by that composition, cursed to always rehears it but to never complete it, his hand still phasing through that last note. It is always better to keep an ear out for such music, just to know when is better to not interact with him at all. ...and that’s all- y’all can surely  see how in the last two stories I was just rushing through eh,,  I do want to share the titles and “plots” that where planned for the other ghosts! (Yes, giving titles is usually my fave part ahah)

MacFrights - “A stab to your pride.” Killed by a spear during a jousting tournament. His saddle slipped at the worst moment, letting his opponent’s weapon into the eye hole of his helmet. (My MacFrights’ design as a deep scar on his right eye, a bit OOC I know-) Dr. Potter - “Quiet as a falling leaf.” Died of old age. Came back to take care of the garden of his beloved wife, passed away years before him and now resting in her garden’s greenhouse, now her mausoleum. She already passed on, but Potter can’t let go of the only thing that remains of her, keeping him tied to the mortal world. (I kinda wish to come back to this one, maybe write a bit about it- but it’s a quite slim chance) Morty - “Letting the credits roll." (TW: suicide mention) Commited suicide via sleeping pills. He was the best conductor of his times, always aiming for perfection in every shot. It was when he reached the top that he understood that he could never reach that perfect dream of his, and that all that he was left with were just golden trophies and broken relationships. He let his movie end in hope of a sequel. (Another OOC, I like the idea of him being the complete opposite of what he was in real life, some sort of desire for redeeming himself and truly enjoy his love for movies. I want to write about this one, I really want to expand on this- so I might have a stand alone fan-fic for this.) Ug - “Flesh and bone.” Died of starvation. Not much to say about him- he lived in tough times with scarce food. Clem - “Washing away your memories.” While he worked in the sewers, he drowned after some falling pipes hit his head, beating him unconscious. He suffers from memory loss, not remembering anything from his mortal life- except a deep love for ducks. (Headcanon of mine is that he worked at a farm with his mother and many siblings- he accept a job into the sewer system to help his family in a time of struggle of the farm.) Serpci - “Sacrifices must be made." Offered herself to be sacrificed to the gods, to help his reign during dark times. Lindsay, Nikky, Ginny - “Warming up the audience.” (TW: childrean’s death) One of their fire tricks malfuctioned, ending into an fire enveloping the room they were performing in. They died of suffocation, due to the thick smoke, before the flames could reach them. Lindsay, the older sister, protected her two siblings until the end. Capitain Hook - “Putting salt on a wound.” Eaten by the shark he was hunting for half his life. Fate played the cruel joke to turn him into his most hated enemy once he became a ghost. Johnny Deepend - “Hitting on you.” Hit his head on the side of the pool as he was attempting a complex dive, trying to hit on his crush. It wasn’t his most succesfull move- Phantasmagloria - “Shock! at the disco.” (Yes I’m P!ATD trash thank you for noticing lmao) She was electrocuted by her malfunctioning equipment.

[lukesmachete]

Favorite 3 lines from the series?

There’s too many favourites for me so here’s a few faves from each season

* = convo

S1:

Lilly: Everyone was happy to have me distributing the food when there was enough to go around, but now that it’s running out, suddenly I’m a goddamn Nazi!

*Duck: Daddy says it’s called a salt lick.

Clem: Yeah, but don’t lick it. It’s gross.

Lee: Did you lick it?

Clem: …I don’t know.*

*Lee: I was on my way to prison three months ago.

Kenny: No shit. It wasn’t for touching kids, was it?*

*Kenny: No fucking way! THE INVALIDS?!?

Omid: Their actions, uh, contradict your characterization, but, yeah, the invalids.*

*Omid: If I were you I’d been scared shitless.

Lee: If you were me you’d be a foot taller.

Omid: Hey!

Lee: And about fifty pounds heavier. You, uh, wouldn’t get scared as much.

Omid: With your arm and my leg, I’ll cripple fight you right here, buddy.*

S2:

Clem: I am still. NOT. Bitten. I never was. And you left me out here to die.

*Clem: What am I, a monkey?

Luke: Hey, you said it, not me.*

Luke: Cause I don’t know a dog bite from a mosquito bite from a lurker bite, man.

Kenn: What? No speaka de English?

*Kenny: Supposed to be a big camp up near Michigan.

Nick: Michigan?

Kenny: You got a hearing problem, kid? Yeah, Michigan. Think about it. Fresh water, lots of land and cold ass winters so the walkers get slow.

Nick: Sounds like bullshit.

Kenny: Listen, Vanilla Ice, I don’t know what your deal is, but you’re more than welcome to take off in the morning.

Nick: Well that’d be just fine by me.

Kenny: What’s the deal with these guys, Clem?

Nick: Hey fuck you, buddy.

Luke: It’s fine Nick. We’re not stayin.*

S3:

Javi: No, David! This cousin-fucking dirtbag has the balls to accuse me? He and Badger destroyed an entire town!

Javi: Yeah, what can I say? I fuckin love pudding.

*Gabe: I’m done feeling this way. Feeling… powerless. I can’t be some helpless little boy anymore — I need to be a man. Just like my dad was. He knew how men were supposed to act.

Javi: You’re already a man Gabe.

Gabe: I’m not. But at least I know it now. Next time, I’m not gonna sit back and watch. I’m gonna do something. I have to.*

Javi: Please, God let there be candy bars.

Javi: I hope you choke on your fucking cake.

*Clem: I’m really gonna miss Gabe — I mean, he’s super annoying sometimes, but… I’ve gotten used to having him around. At least someone to talk to.

Javi: Not that he said anything to me in particular, but you know the guy’s got a mondo crush on you, right?

Clem: Agh! He does not!

Javi: Oh my gosh you have a crush on him too!

Clem: I do not!

Javi: Ah, you both have my blessing.

Clem: I’m gonna stab you with those scissors.*

S4:

Louis: Oh my darling, oh my darling, oh my daaaaaarling Clementine. You are lost and gone forever, dreadful sorry Clementine. Light she was and like a fairy, and her shoes were number nine. Herring boxes without topses, sandals were for Clementine.

Louis: Hey, ugly! No, not you. Not you either. Him! Fine. Make this confusing, why don’t you? Hey, look! Got your nose! Got your nose! I’m just fucking with you, you have no nose. Just a rotten hole in your face. All right, someone guess the song. Ready? Nobody? Listen again. Nothing? Really? One more time. No, it’s not “ungghhh”. It’s Jingle Bells! How about this one? Really? Nobody knows that one? You guys are killing me! Bet you can’t grab the chair leg. Bet you can’t grab it! Whoop whoop! Too slow! Haha! You suck! Yes, you do. Your turn. Oh man! WAY too slow! It’s like your muscle tissue is deteriorating or something. What’s that? It is? Oh, I’m so sorry. I hate to break it to you, sir, but I think your eyeball just fell out or your head. Yeah, it rolled off in that general direction. Ma’am, if you could be careful. I believe you’re standing on this gentleman’s eyeball. Any requests out there? No, nothing? You know, I’m going to need a little more liveliness out of you all. You get what you give. That’s all I’m saying.

Louis: Aasim loves giving me crap about having a good time, always telling me I’m not thinking long term. “We need to gurantee our future,” all that horseshit. But I tell him right back, there’s only one gurantee: this moment. That’s the only thing you got, only thing any of us got. Might as well enjoy it.

*Clem: The noise from that bell could draw a lot of walkers. If one of us climbs up there and starts ringing it…

Violet: Louis. I vote Louis.

Louis: Hang on. I’d like to make an alternate suggestion.

Violet: Come on Lou. You’re loud, dramatic, a little annoying… you’re basically a walking distraction.

Louis: I think you mean charming and theatrical. Entertaining is another word that comes to mind. Charismatic.*

*Willy: You guys wanna know why I got sent here?

Louis: Dude, no…

Willy: Chronic masturbation

Clem: *such shock*

Louis: Willy, I speak for all of us when I say nobody has ever, ever wanted to know that.

AJ: What’s that mean?

Clem: [protective mom mode engaged] Uh-uh. Don’t you dare.*

*Clem: How were your grades?

Louis: They would’ve been straight As!

Clem: Then it looks like we’re putting in a skylight.

Louis: Thanks, Dad!*

*Louis: Thought I lost you.

Clem: Only for a minute.

Louis: Longest damn minute of my life.*

*Violet: Out of the four of us, who do you think is gonna die first?

Clem: I don’t know, probably you.

Violet: Why probably?

Clem: You asked a morbid question, there’s your morbid answer.*

[nydevine]

College AU. Mini doodles of Clem (20 y/o) taming her curls...and then she cut it herself. Three years being an amputee took a toll on her mind and image. She wanted to grow up being an average teen but life isn’t a fairy tale or rainbows 🌈 and sunshine☀️. Her left ring finger is surgically alter into a short stump due by a car door crushing it. She usually hide both of her legs with baggy clothes but I wanted to practice drawing the prosthetic leg....I need to practice feet though. Lol.

High school AU Sketch in flat color.

Clem (17, jr) a party girl, who somehow gets in trouble in fights, sneaking out the house to be with her friends, secretly get tattoos or piercings with Ava by Jesus, and 🍷drinks. She’s a great student, loves history because of Lee. She just gets ties in stupid teenage stuff, emotions, and peer pressure. She dated Gabriel in middle school but it ended too soon except their friendship. Her gang of friends are Gabriel(18), Duck(18), Ava(18), and Mariana(17). AJ is her cousin, aunt Rebecca is Lee’s younger sister (they have a brother B. Everett. Imma name him Brian), there’s uncle Alvin, and Lee’s parents (I named them Florence and Harold).

Violet (17, jr) is dating Minerva. She the tomboy bada**. Loves bonding with her gang. Talk sh** and always has the greatest come backs. The only girliest thing she do is ballet. Her passion is to dance, her grandmother is a ballet instructor. Everyone always recognized her to be tough and mean but Violet always has a sensitive soft spot when it comes to her friends and dancing.

Brody (18, sr) is a true friend and a bit naive. She got stuck in some mess with past seniors which conflicted her relationship with Marlon. Brody has the hugest sugar tooth. Always sneaking sweets in classes or devouring someone’s pantry of sweet treasures. She loves wearing cute summer theme clothes when the weather is nice. Her family owns a wood cabin and they build a deer sanctuary to live among them without being attack or harming them.

Minerva (18, sr) is a singer and song writer. She only perform in teen clubs as a hobby and part time job. She partnered with Louis all the time in gigs to earn extra money. Her parents doesn’t approve her open homo sexuality. Especially her grandmother who is strictly religious and doesn’t interact with Minnie but Sophie. Beside that, Minerva is the older twin and do anything for her siblings, Tennessee and Sophie. Even though she has a love and hate for Sophie, she won’t hesitate to protect her. At first, Minnie didn’t care what anyone thinks. Later on, it drove her crazy when Sophie messes up and her parents finds out and send them to repeated therapy sessions. Minerva always takes the blame to protect Sophie through therapeutic exercises which later on corrupt her mentally and secretly self harm herself.

Sophie (18, sr) is the most popular girl in school. She loves attention to feed her ego, she’s very fragile about her reputation. Major cry baby and spoon fed if she doesn’t get her way. Painting abstract is her focus. As a crafty person, she is in charge for decorating the school for any celebration. She end up getting in trouble which Minnie covers for her sister image. She never wanted Minerva’s help but let it slide. Sophie doesn’t know how to maintain a relationship without her when she has eyes on Louis. A one sided story when he never look at her the way he looks at Clementine.

Ps: Ruby needs to be done still. Sorry I haven’t posted her when she be done.

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

Since Tenniana is a thing in this AU, does that mean Gabe's around too? And potentially all the other child characters? Because that school has to have a super tall band nerd, right? -Pi

Oh yeah, Gabe’s there. 

Hell, throw Sarah, Duck, and Ben in there, too! What are ages, amirite??

Now that you mention him, I bet Gabe and Clementine would be good friends since Javi’s her coach and everything. They probably still had little crushes on each other back in middle school and grew out of them, but Javi still teases them about it until Clementine’s finally like “I have a boyfriend!"

But Javi’s like “Haha sure you do, Clem.”

“I do! His name is Louis!”

“Uh-huh.”

“He’s adorable!”

“Sure he is, Clem, haha”

Until Louis shows up to one of Clem’s games and now Javi’s like  “...Huh, guess he isn’t a figment of her imagination.” 

Gabe’s a little bummed, but hey, he’s happy for her. 

[mydarlingvioletine]

Just a Puppy Crush - Chapter Thirteen Ship(s): Violet/Clementine, Louis/Aasim, Ruby/Brody Media: The Walking Dead Game (Season 4)

author’s note: finally introducing one of my favorite boyos into this au!! sorry for the late update i hope you like it!

Just on the outskirts of the school, there was a patch of land that Violet had always overlooked, chalking it up as nothing.

        Turns out it was the community garden.

Clementine had pointed it out to her on their way to the corner store, and abruptly remembered that she had to check on her bok-choy and spinach plants.

       Violet waited patiently at the entrance, not noticing Clementine’s expression turn from tentative to mischievous. She turned her head just in time to see Clem reaching over a small fence, plucking a flower from another garden plot.

“Dude, isn’t that someone else’s?” Violet stammered, as Clementine rose to her feet and tucked the red flower behind Violet’s ear. “Can’t you get in trouble for that?”

      Clementine pursed her lips, tugging at the collar of Violet’s jacket with a smirk. “You’re the one who has a shirt that literally says ‘Be gay, do crime’.”

Still bashful from Clem adjusting her collar, Violet huffed and crossed her arms. “Never said I was a role model.”

        Clementine beamed before shutting the gate behind them, and interlocking her fingers with Violet’s. “Don’t worry, they’re Javi’s brothers’ flowers. That guy is kind of a dick, so I don’t feel bad. Child support dodging asshole.”

With a weak smile, Violet walked alongside Clem beside the road, kicking the occasional pebble that she saw.

      “Plus, I don’t think anyone could be that mad if they saw how cute you look.” Clementine chided, happily humming when she saw the deep pink flush across Violet’s face.

Fighting every instinct to bury her face in her hands, her smile became wobbly. “I’m not - I’m not fucking cute. Cute is for puppies and... babies.”

        Clementine huffed, swinging their intertwined fingers back and forth between them. “Fine. Beautiful, then.”

Violet groaned with exaggeration, trying to throw the attention off of the blush she couldn’t control. Being pale sucks when it comes to stuff like that.

      Clem held the door to the front of the shop open for Violet, and a cool breeze met her, along with some borderline emo pop music.

“Benny boy! How’s your shift going?” Clem hoisted herself up onto a bar stool beside the counter top, and swung her legs as she smiled at the lanky teenager at the cash register.

        “Well, this fucking terrifying lady just left about five minutes ago. Textbook definition of a scary soccer mom.” Ben murmured, pushing back his mess of shaggy back hair to glance at Violet. “She was even taller than me. Like, nobody’s taller than me.”

“Glad to see your ego is still intact.” Clementine giggled, patting the stool next to her for Violet to sit down on. Ben smiled wearily, eyes dancing between the two girls. “Did you get Larry to fix up the milkshake machine?”

         Ben softly shook his head, and took two large glasses from table behind him and set them under the spout. “Cheap bastard didn’t do shit. I got it fixed out of my own pocket. So, what can I get for you guys?”

“Two taco bags, puh-lease!” Clem sang out, digging the twenty dollar bill out of her pocket and slapping it on the counter. “Oh, Vi. What flavor do you want?”

       “Flavor?” Violet scrunched up her nose at the question, and Ben pressed a couple of different Doritos bags towards them. “Oh, uh... the best flavor.”

“A woman after my own heart,” Clem swooned dramatically, leaning back in her seat. “That’ll be two bags of Cool Ranch.”

     Violet guffawed and shook her head at the notion. “What? No. I said best flavor, Nacho Cheese.”

Ben beamed, and grabbed the bag from a shocked Clementine, who then crossed her arms. “At least one of your friends has taste. That kid who almost broke my jukebox by sitting on it went for the Supreme Cheddar. Fucking nasty.”

     “It’s Louis-“ Clem interjected, as Ben rolled his eyes and turned the corner to the kitchen.

Violet tugged her knees to her chest, and focused her gaze on the cheesy cat clock in the corner with big yellow eyes. “You take all your dates here?”

     Clementine blinked rapidly, and went to say something when there was a bang in the kitchen, followed by a “FUCK!”

A disheveled Ben rubbed the back of his head with embarrassment as he came back into the counter area, holding two bags of Doritos with chunks of taco meat and lettuce and cheese in them.

        “Bon appetite.” Ben dramatically bowed, passing the bags to Clem and Violet along with a fork. “Is that it?”

Clementine’s eyes landed on Violet, and she pursed her lips while contemplating. After a couple of seconds, she slammed her hand enthusiastically on the counter.

                   “One chocolate milkshake, please.”

Her eyes landed on Violet, and she cocked an eyebrow, her lips curving into a lopsided smile.

                  “Two straws.”

Violet scoffed to herself as they left with arms full of Gatorades and Doritos. Clem held the milkshake tightly in her hand, the water droplets from the sunlight making it slippery.

      “Louis dragged me along after one of our games. He asked Aasim to show up and watch him, and I guess he really didn’t expect for him to actually show up. But, he did and Louis got all flustered and had me be a third-wheel while they were doing all their mushy gushy shit. Definitely was not a date.” Clem confided.

“Oh,” Violet mulled it over in her head before giggling, letting a vulnerable snort slip out. “I can’t believe Louis is really trying to slip into my relationship shit when he can’t even handle his own. He’s.. so dumb.”

        “Relationship shit?” Clem cooed with curiosity, bumping her shoulder against the taller girls’. “Do tell.”

A rush of heat hit Violet’s face at the feigned obliviousness, and she ducked her head to take a sip out of the red straw from their shared milkshake. “It’s nothing..”

      Clementine was about to press further when the calamity of adults screaming hit their ears. With an eye roll, they quickened their pace back towards the ball game, which had just started.

The chanting from the green team was incoherent until they got closer. The time the words were said, and the wires in Violet’s brain short-circuited, Louis and Marlon had dropped their attention from the game, and looked worriedly at the two.

“Let’s go, Delta Destroyers!”

Violet froze in her tracks and scanned the field. Her eyes landed on an uninterested kid who was crouching down and playing in the grass.

        The kid with the burn scar across the side of his face.

“Vi, you good?” Clementine picked up on her change of mood, and brushed against her to snap her back into reality. “Violet?”

     “I’m okay. I’m - yes. Good.” Violet stammered, her eyes dancing nervously across the crowd that had accumulated around the Delta’s side.

She slumped herself down beside Carley and Lee on the bottom bleacher, and tried to channel her focus on cheering for AJ. But she couldn’t fucking stop looking, checking.

    With a concerned frown, Clementine sat herself down next to Violet, and placed her hand on top of hers. Relaxing at the touch, Violet let out a deep, shaky breath. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Violet gave in, her hands wrapped around the milkshake as if it could soothe the racing thoughts in her mind.

       “The private school, Delta.. I’ve got history with a girl from there. Her brother’s out there. Fuck... I hope she’s not here.”

Confirming her suspicions, a shout from the other side rang out that Violet knew too damn well. She flinched at the familiar tone, and tugged her knees to her chest. “Shit.”

      “Hey, we can ditch this if you want,” Clem offered, tightening her grip on Violet’s hand. “I’m sure Ben wouldn’t mind some company.”

Violet shook her head, and pulled the straw towards her lips. “I’m good. Just haven’t talked to her since the whole thing went down. Was kinda hoping it’d stay that way.”

         Clementine rolled up her sleeve and dramatically flexed, bringing an involuntary smile to Violet’s face as the dork next to her kissed her bicep. “Don’t you worry, my darling. You won’t have to. Let me know if I need to kick some ass. Take some names.”

“Clem,” Carley groaned, reminding them of her presence relatively close to them. “Javi can only let so much pass before you get kicked out again.”

          “Again?” Violet softly elbowed the pouting girl beside her, intrigue in her smile. “What’d you do?”

“I didn’t do anythin-“

        “Threatened to shove a foam finger up the ref’s nose and had to be physically held back by Javier.” Lee interrupted, a glint of pride as he smiled down at his daughter.

“That call was bullshit and you know it.” Clem huffed, crossing her arms and shoving a forkful of taco meat and Dorito chip crumbs into her mouth. “Let’s not forget when you got so mad at a call and you accidentally spilled the entire ice bucket.”

      The domestic moment that she got to be a part of brought a sense of peace to Violet, and she let her shoulders relax with a happy hum as Lee and Clem bickered. She shared a glance with Carley, and they burst into a giggling fit at the sight of their sweethearts squabbling passionately over the dumbest things.

A sharp ‘crack’ interrupted their arguing, and everyone’s eyes landed on AJ, who was holding the bat in disbelief, looking at the ball he’d struck almost over the fence.

       Clementine and Lee pushed up against the fence, cheering incoherently and yelling for him to run as the shocked kid just blinked. He tossed the bat aside, and booked it towards second base.

Looking at the kids mindlessly fucking around in the outfield, his velocity was definitely unnecessary but she’d be damned if it wasn’t adorable.

       “Go, AJ!” Violet rose to her feet, raising the foam finger above her head and cheering as the flustered kid made it to third. “You got this!”

The kid beamed at his fans, and sped towards home, letting himself get low to the ground and slide dramatically on the base.

       Carley and Lee’s cheers were quickly cut off by groans as AJ stood up and dirt and dust was absolutely covering his baseball uniform.

“Not it for laundry tonight!” Clem pressed her finger to her nose, and Lee and Carley followed suit. Confused, Violet glanced between them and reluctantly raised her finger to her nose.

     “Technically, Vi was the last one. She’s on laundry duty.” Clementine beamed, slinging her arm around Violet. “Don’t worry, my dirty underwear will not be included.”

Clementine’s willingness to let her in on family outings and secrets and all that stuff meant so much more to Violet than she let on. When she started catching on to inside jokes and eventually creating ones of her own, a sense of belonging just overflowed all of her senses.

       Lee rolled his eyes, and scoffed. “You really need to take a class or something on the proper way to ask someone out on a date.”

He earned simultaneous punches in the arm from both Clem and Carley.

    Clementine huffed, and sat back in the bleachers, watching as AJ high-fived his teammates. “I volunteer James, then. Bastard ate my Cocoa Pebbles.”

The rest of the game went by pretty quickly. Turns out Delta is all bark and no bite. From her past experiences with their students, Violet would’ve never guessed that they couldn’t back up their smack talk.

      The Delta kids - besides Tenn - begrudgingly shook the hands of the home team, and the players dispersed back to their families.

Violet watched as Tennessee slung a backpack over his shoulder, and hopped over the fence to embrace his older sisters.

         It happened too fast. Minerva’s eyes raised up to meet hers, and she seemed thrown off, standing stiffly before she turned her attention back to her little brother, who’d attached himself to her leg.

Her thoughts were cut off by Louis running up to her and squeezing her tight, even lifting her a couple inches off the ground. Over his shoulder, she saw Clementine beaming, and her face went numb as she shoved the tall dork off of her.

        “I can’t believe you came all this way to see little ol’ me,” Louis feigned a Southern accent that would make Ruby turn in her grave. “You really do love me!”

Violet discretely flipped him off.

     “We still going to the diner? I can give you guys a ride.” Louis offered, eyes flickering down to his watch.

“Oh, fuck yea.” Clem squealed, tugging on Violet’s arm. “I’d take late night pancakes over a fucking casserole any day.”

       “Pancakes sounds amazing right now,” Violet agreed, shuffling her hands into her pockets. “I’m in.”

The four of them walked back to Louis’ car after Clem said goodbye to everyone, and sneak-attack tickled AJ. Marlon glanced at Violet with his bottom lip pursed, and the weight of the flower on her ear suddenly occurred to her.

         “People are really stupid if they eat anything other than breakfast food.” Clementine chirped, earning a collective sigh of agreement from everyone else in the car.

“Onward! To pancakes!” Violet lightly kicked the seat in front of her, causing Louis to twist himself around and wag his finger at her.

            “I will turn this car around, Violet. Don’t you test me.”

“You kinda have to anyway, to get to the diner...” Marlon noted, earning a stern glare from Louis.

      The cheer of the three passengers crying for pancakes was drowned out by Louis aggressively turning up the volume, and shouting along to the Britney Spears lyrics.

[shipppersrus]

In Another Life- Chapter 2

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

I think anatomy is my new favorite class. Louis and I goofed off the entire time, maybe I do actually have a chance with him. He is nothing like what people make him seem to be, they said he’s arrogant, he mouth’s off, and is basically a fuck boy but he isn’t that at all; he’s kind and funny, slightly annoying but really charming. We exchanged numbers for class and research purposes, but I was hoping that wasn’t the only reason he would be using it. I headed to P.E. for my next class, as I changed Mariana and Brody met up with me there.

“Clem! Clem! Clem! You will not believe who is in my history class!” Brody bounced and giggled.

“Who?” Her excitement couldn’t help but make me smile.

“Marlon!” She beamed.

“Marlon?” My face dropped. “Wouldn’t that mean he’s repeating history?”

“Oh come on Clem, so!” She nudged my arm. “We sit next to each other and he was passing notes to me all class. I think he likes me.”

“Oh come on Brody, don’t be stupid. Marlon’s a pig and he has a rep for being that, don’t fall into his trap.” Mariana spoke.

“Says you! You like Mitch the class dipshit-” Mariana immediately shushed her.

“Brody, talk lower, you know their are people always listening.” Brody rolled her eyes.

“I doubt anyone’s actually worried about who we like, what about you Clem, anything interesting happen in your first class?” Brody and Mariana gave their full attention to me.

“Uhh- no. Come on guys, you know I’m not interested in anyone here.” I lied.

“Whatever Clem, you just don’t want to tell us.” Mariana rolled her eyes.

“If there was something to tell, I’d tell you.” I continued tying my laces as I tried to hide my face.

So my best friends don’t know who I like, I never told them about my crush on Louis because I never wanted to be teased about it. They probably wouldn't tease me but being open and honest about my feelings for a guy that has never even payed attention to me before today is pointless. After I finished tying my laces I immediately made eye contact with Minnie, she mugged me as always and continued walking. There’s the other reason, Minnie, she’s Louis’s best friend and she hates me that’s a mess within itself. The 3 of us headed to the gym and lined up as we awaited coach Lily Payne. She was in the military and always acts like she has a stick up her ass, she tells us we have to yes ma’am or no ma’am her and did I mention she’s my softball coach. She was particularly hard on Minnie and myself because she said we have the most potential but I personally hated the competition it sparked that between Minnie and me. She started to count us off for the dodgeball game, and of course Minnie and i were on opposing sides, which meant she was going to target me. They lined up all the balls and

I peered to my sides to see who was on my team; let’s just say that the odds were not in my favor. Coach Payne blew her whistle and the tournament begun. I ran and got a ball and started throwing at targets who weren’t paying attention getting a lot of core players out early, but it wasn’t long before I was Minnie’s main target. She didn’t stop at all, she was relentless. I hid, ducked, and dodged as I took shots at her that were more calculated. Soon it was us having a standoff as our teams cheered us on. I considered losing to not add fuel to the fire, but I never quit and I really didn’t want to give Minnie the pleasure of feeling like she beat me. We went for about a good 5 minutes as we continued to exhaust ourselves. As we were both about to take our final shot the fire alarm went off, ending the game and causing us to evacuate. We both dropped to catch our breath as everyone else headed out the school then we followed suit towards the end of the line. I met up with Brody and Mariana as they cheered me on.

“That was amazing Clem!” Brody hooted.

“I swore you guys were going to kill each other.” Mariana laughed.

“Hey!” Minerva yelled to me. I glared at her as she approached me. “Don’t think this is over Everett. We’ll have our rematch soon.”

I rolled my eyes at her abrasiveness as we waited till we could go back inside. We’re definitely having a rematch soon.

After P.E. I went to my art history class that I shared with Sophie. We had a new teacher this year and I have to say he was so fine! Duck and I sat together as we watched the girls swoon over Mr. Luke Porter. I don’t know what was funnier, the girls or the fact that Duck was upset that Mr. Porter had Sophie’s attention.

“He’s not even that good looking.” Duck remarked.

“Uhh- yes he is.” I teased. “ He’s hot, like hot-hot.”

“Not you too Clem, you’re supposed to be one of the guys.”

“I’m not a guy Duck, why do you even like Sophie everytime you talk to her she ignores you.” I played with my pencil in my hand.

“Yeah well that’s because I was an underclassmen but now that I’m a junior there’s no way she can resist this face, and all this muscle.” Duck started flexing.

“Alright come on Duck, stop flirting with Clementine and focus in.” Luke eyed us.

“Flirting- with Clem- she’s… well… Clem…” Duck scoffed and I was slightly offended.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I didn’t think I was that bad.

“Oh, no offense Clem, but you’re like my sister. Stop being girly and over-thinking.” Ducks comment still stung. “Oh come on Clem don’t be a baby, I just don’t see you that way.” he patted my head and I smacked his hand away.

“Don’t touch the hair.” I scolded him as he lifted his hand in surrenderance.

“Okay class don’t forget your papers on your choice piece of art due next class.” Luke finished up as the bell rung. Before I could even finish packing up Duck was already out the door waiting to make his moves on Sophie. I took my time getting my things since lunch was next and I wasn’t in a rush. Sophie hung around as she started flirting with Luke about her love for art. I continued to watch as I headed out right before her. I pulled Ducks arm as he pulled to go back the other way to talk to Sophie, I shook my head and dragged him to the cafeteria. I took an apple with some chicken strips and fries then made my way to our table. Duck and I

met up with Mariana,Brody, Gabe, and James; the conversation was normal banter stuff about life, taking over the world, until Mariana brought up a particularly interesting subject.

“You guys know that senior boy Louis?” She asked as she played with her peas and carrots. Most of the table didn’t respond or care except Brody and I.

“What about him?” Brody asked.

“Well he’s in my theater class, and he’s quite the actor, also quite cute as well.” She twirled her fork.

“Ew. Mari the last thing I want to hear is you talking about boys.” Gabe said uninterested.

“Yeah, but not as cute as Mitch, right?” I tried to throw in slyly.

“No way! Not nearly as cute as Mitch.”She threw it out there as I sighed of relief.

“Oh Clem stop you’re going to hurt poor Gabe’s feelings talking about other boys.” Duck teased.

“Shut up Duck.” Gabe pulled his hood down.

“Point out Louis to me, Mari.” Brody said as she slowly narrowed her finger in his direction.

“Oh he’s really cute, oh my gosh! That’s Marlons best friend! I remember him!” She cheered.

“Wouldn’t it be so cute if we went on a double date?” Brody pondered the idea.

“Oh come on guys they don’t even look the underclass man way we might as well just talk about the finer things in life.”

“Like cards.” Duck says. “Come on card man whip them out.”

Gabe pulls out the cards and deals every one a pair. James seems completely despondent.

“James you okay?” Clem ask.

“Charlie’s just been acting weird and it’s making me nervous.” James was very frantic.

“It’s probably nothing dude, just chill.” Duck Said insensitively.

“I’m just gonna go.” James abruptly hopped up and left.

“What’s his deal? I’m sure his brother is fine.” Duck studied his deck.

“You’re such an idiot.” She facepalmed.

“Dude Charlie isn’t his brother it’s his boyfriend.” Mariana rolled her eyes.

“Boyfriend? He’s gay?” Duck looked around confused as we all scoffed and groaned, he can be so slow.

It was finally time for softball practice and it felt great to be back on the field. I grabbed my practice bat and finally put on my cap after not being able to wear it all day and headed for home base. Of course Minnie was pitching, I just felt bad that Mariana was going to feel her wrath, Mariana batted up as she got ready to hit one of Minnie’s curveballs.

First ball, Miss.

Second ball, Miss.

Third ball, Smack.

Mariana immediately went down as the ball hit her leg. She yelps in pain as some of our teammates and Coach Lily approached her telling her to ice it and walk it off, as for me I’d had it with Minerva.

“What the fuck is your problem!” I dropped my bat and approached her.

“I don’t have a problem, your friend sucks at ball.” She started approaching me.

“Purposely hit my friend one more time, and you’ll see how much of a problem I can be.” We were any each other’s face… well more like her towering over me and me standing my ground.

“Girls! Break it up! Go take a lap, now! Each a mile.” Lily got between us, our glares stuck on each other before I headed to take my lap. I was a lot faster than Minnie but she was much more agile. I hated being like that but she pushed me there, Lee didn’t raise me to let people disrespect me and I’m not about to start. Once we finished our mile we headed back over picking up where we left off, my eyes always ready for whatever curveball Minnie would throw.

“It’s out of here!” My teammate Audrey yelled as I did my homerun. It’s going to be an interesting season.

After practice I was ready to head home when Coach called Minnie and I into her office to “talk”. We both each took a seat as she took her time giving us her full attention.

“Ok ladies, the bickering has got to stop. You two play more like opponents than teammates and I’ve had it, you two are no doubt great players but that’s not all it takes you have to be able to work together, especially you Minerva it’s your senior year and recruiters will be looking out for you. So this is how it’s going to be, anymore fights between the two of you and you both will be benched until I say otherwise, potentially the whole season do I make myself clear?”

“Yes ma’am.” Minnie hastily said.

“No problem Coach.” I dryly replied.

“You two are excused. If I hear anything on or off the field both of you will be answering.” She eyes both of us back and forth as we headed out. Minerva’s long legs propelled her much faster than my 5’3 legs could, it’s going to be a long season.

I headed home pulling up just at 6:30 the sunset looked stunning as it was almost about to set. I parked in the driveway and Mariana got out to head to her home across the street. I decided to take a moment before I went in to see my family. I began to get curious about the idea of being with someone, I never had a boyfriend and though I’ve thought about it doesn’t mean I wanted one. Was the reason I never had one is because I close myself off? Or no guy really looked my direction? Mari and Brody say I can be Intimidating and sometimes that scares them away, but even if that were true who wants to be with someone weak anyway. I dropped the mirror go take a look at myself, I stopped wearing my hair down, mostly because I didn’t wake up in time to do it. I never really wore that much makeup though I never leave home without my mascara and lip gloss, and I have a lot of dresses but I saw no point in wearing them at school. All of that just doesn’t matter to me though if I’m going to be with someone I would rather him like me for me and know that if I ever had to turn it on I would, not just what I look like on the outside. I smiled to myself because whether I meet someone like that in high school or not, I’m still me and I’d rather wait than meet someone that wants me to change me. I got out the car and headed inside. The smell of pork chops with mashed potatoes and gravy filled my nose. I headed to the kitchen to see my dad preparing plates, it’s one of my favorites. I studied the pork chops, mashed potatoes and gravy, with green beans on the plate already claiming the biggest piece in my mind. It wasn’t long before Aj came bursting through the kitchen ready to stick his finger in the one he claimed. I got ready to pull a piece from mine but was halted by Lee’s smack to my hand.

“You stink Clem! Go wash up before dinner starts.” He moved the plates away from his as Aj almost poked mr piece.

“Aww dad, it’s just the smell of a hard working women killing it on the field.” I hugged him tight enough to rub my must onto him.

“Mhm. I can tell sweet pea, now stop poisoning the smell of this meal with your hard working woman smell.” He poked my tickle spot causing me to let go of him.

“That ones mine.” Aj kept trying to find a way to poke the food.

“No Aj I already claimed that one.” I crossed my arms.

“You didn’t call dips, so it’s mine.” He fought back.

“You couldn’t even eat all that if you tried.”

“Yes I can stupid head!” He peered over his step stool to try and get in my face.

“Okay, okay now. Aj don’t call your sister a stupid head, look, I have a fair way of solving this. This one is mine and you guys chose from the other 3.” Lee took the plates and headed to the dinner table.

“That’s not fair dad! You didn’t call dibs Aj chased after him.

“I’m the dad, and I cooked it I get dibs on what I want.” Lee handed Aj forks and knives so he could help. “But I’ll let you have all the fatty pieces. Aj beamed and sticks his tongue out to me. I rolled my eyes and headed upstairs to shower and change before dinner. I passed Carley but it looked like she was working hard on some report she was working on. I briefly said hello to her and she greeted me back her eyes not leaving her computer for a second. I started up the shower as I got on my phone to see a message from Brody:

Brody: I have a date on Friday!

Clem: With who?

Brody: Marlon!

Clem: Brody…

Brody: Clem…

Never mind it being him, look my dad will kill me if he finds out I’m going on a date, would you mind coming along?

Clem: Like third wheeling? Brody…

Brody: No! I’ll tell Marlon to bring a friend! It will be a double date, except you guys do your thing and we do ours.

Clem: I’ve never been on a date… I don’t want my first one to be a blind one at that.

Brody: So then don’t think about it as a date, think about it as you helping your best friend get the boy of her dreams.

Clem: …

Fine.

Brody: thank you Clem! You’re the best!

Clem: you owe me.

Brody: oh don’t act like you’re not excited.

I locked my phone and begun to shower, I’m going on a date on Friday… well a double date, but still a date! I wonder who it could be… I started thinking about the slim chance that it was Louis and got all excited and nervous at once. Once I got out the shower I changed and headed to dinner. Of course I got the smallest piece.

“You snooze you lose.” Aj laughed as he ate his meal with joy.

“How was school? Anything exciting happen?” Carley asked me.

“No. Same old, same old.” I mixed up my mash potatoes.

“Hmm. Well I was thinking your aunt Christa, grandma, and I could take you prom dress shopping in these next couple of weeks.” I never even thought about prom.

“I didn’t have plans on going.” I avoided her eyes.

“Even so, I think it’d be nice to have a family girls day. Especially with B getting married and all, it would be nice.” I could hear in her tone the desperation.

“Okay.” I gave in. It’s taken a minute for Aunt Christa to warm up to Carley mostly because of how fast Lee moved on after the divorce. I heard dad and her talking once and she said that he didn’t give himself time to heal and that he’s with her because he’s scared of being alone with a child, but I know that’s not the case. I believe they love each other, besides they’ve been together this long. It also didn’t help that she almost didn't come to their wedding causing a riff between dad and aunt Christa.

“Besides if you get asked you don’t want to be blindsided anyway.” Carley shoves food in her mouth.

“No one's asking me to prom Carley, all my friends are in my grade.” I got a little embarrassed.

“You never know Clem.” Carley smiled.

I felt my phone buzz as I briefly checked it under the table, it was a message from Louis.

Louis: Hey Clemster? You busy?

Clementine: At dinner with my family what’s up?

Louis: oh nothing…

Just needed some help with the Endocrine system is all.

Clementine: oh, give me 5.

I could feel Lees suspicion rise as I tried to hide my phone under the table.

“May I be excused?” Lee studied me before nodding. “Thanks dad.”

“Hey Clem.” I turned to him. “No texting at the dinner table.” I smiled and headed to my room.

Louis: it’s been 5… you still there?

Clementine: yeah I’m back!

A/N: I was going to keep going and make this chapter longer but life is getting the best of me! Hope you enjoy! There’s more to come!

[clementineviolet]

Duck and Assim= Bestest brothers for Clem

I love the recent resurgence of AUs where Duck survived season 1 (case in point: https://areallyyellowmango.tumblr.com/post/179092344206/an-au-where-duck-doesnt-get-bitten-instead-he). Clem and Duck’s friendship in season 1 was really understated and taken for granted. It’s really only until Duck is bitten and Clem has to witness his slow, painful death that Clem and Lee begin to take necessary steps to ensure her survival as a child in the apocalypse. If Duck had stayed alive, I wonder what would have led to that moment of realization for Clem and Lee and Kenny... 

But in terms of brotherly relationships, Duck and Aasim seem like total bros Clem would want by her side. Aasim is calm and level-headed, while Duck is goofy and fun (I can’t really imagine what he’d be like if he had survived up to season 4 - he’s stuck in this childlike state for me permanently). I’m really excited to see what the writers will do with Aasim in episode 4. I’m assuming that many of the characters will be determinant because it’ll be the last ever episode of TWDG, but I hope Aasim is one of those characters that can survive til the end so the boarding school can continue to function. I wonder if his crush on Ruby will be addressed after he makes it back to the school safely? 

[clementinexstillalive]

“I was listening to the ocean. I saw a face in the sand. But when I picked it up. Then it vanished away from my hands.” - “Runaway”, Aurora

Clementine was seven, and she was drawing with crayons. She smiled as she filled the blank spaces with color, holding the coloring book up to examine her work. 

“Clementine?” her teacher said softly, interrupting class to call her out. The teacher had a warm smile on her face and Clementine put her colors down and gently returned to Math.

Math was the hardest thing then.

...

“Goodnight, sweetheart. We love you.” Her parents stood at her door, the light from the hallway trickling into her dark bedroom. They shut the door behind them and she slept soundly into the night.

She dreamed of herself as the warrior princess up in her tree house with her sword hiding out from ugly little monsters, only coming down when she wanted to explore.

The monsters couldn’t climb her tree house. 

They weren’t very smart.. 

...

There was a boy once. Sort of.

She was eight. It was right before everything happened. She hadn’t counted it, but as her brain runs away with memories...it comes back to her, vaguely.

“He has a crush on you,” her friend whispered into her ear.

“Gross. He does not,” she said back obstinately. 

Her friend just smiled.

...

The real monsters came later. This was real life, not a game.

Still, she felt like she was in a video game.

Get to this spot, then do this. 

She looked through the glass door at the dead person shuffling along the grass outside her fence, the monster’s face contorted and repulsive. It wasn’t human, she was sure. 

She darted outside and took to her tree house, slamming the door shut. 

She had watched it for a bit. She was pretty sure it couldn’t climb; it couldn’t even run. 

She was faster and smarter.

But she was scared.

Where were her parents?

...

She grew up fast. There was no choice.

She had to.

When she saw her parents as the walking dead, she knew: she had to grow up.

...

She felt depressed after she shot Lee. That never quite went away.

As the last of what felt like a parent figure was gone, she wiped her tears and brushed the dirt off her clothes. She would take care of herself now. People helped her. But inside, ultimately, she was alone. 

Lee had called himself her babysitter when the neighbors asked.

But he had become more like a dad to her. 

And there was Kenny. But Kenny was... unstable... after losing Duck. She loved Kenny, was so happy when she found him again, found a part of her past, his warm arms around her, happy to see her. But she could see the darkness in his eyes when she pulled away.

...

Clementine cleaned her face off, watching the dirt wash away down the drain. When she looked at the reflection in the mirror, all she saw was her own self staring back at her.  

Small... weak... defenseless... she’d been called all of these. 

Funny, she thought.

She’d prove them wrong.

...

Her body changed in ways that her parents had only hinted at when she was seven, almost eight. 

She was still little, but not as little; and people looked at her as strong, a survivor. Definitely stronger than she was.

...

When she shot Kenny... when she made the impossible choice, crying a little bit when he said she’d made the right decision- there was no way in hell she was staying with Jane after the stunt she pulled with AJ in the frigid car by himself. If Jane had taught her anything it was that she could make it on her own. 

She wrapped the baby up in her arms. She became a mother that day.

She would protect him with her life.

...

She’s nearly seventeen. She’s grown so tired. Her body pressed against the bed, looking upwards at the metal bars of the top bunk as her eyes blink open. 

She’s tired of running, tired of hiding, tired of fighting. How many walkers has she killed? Thousands.

She’s killed people, too.

It doesn’t stop. 

The world is at war.

She doesn’t give people the benefit of the doubt.

Won’t hesitate to kill someone that harms her and her little family - nonhuman or human.

She told AJ he was a murderer, without realizing the impact that it would have on him. She was a murderer, technically speaking. Aren’t most people now? The world is at war when they should be working together.

After what they went through, she knows now more than ever that they have to work together, each one of them, to rebuild their lives.

They lost more than just lives.

She lost herself, the warm Clem, the one who always gives people a chance.

But she’s been molded and shifted by her environment. She has AJ now.

And she won’t let her guard down.

But now, she has a home. She has a family. People she can let her guard down with.

If only for a little bit.

[adventuresofdicelee-blog]

The Adventures of Dice!Lee Part 9

This has been a pretty dice-free session, and the player is saddened. But now it’s time for the drugstore’s alarm to call every walker in the city to us. Kenny takes charge and gives orders to the crew. Lee has to give his axe up to Ken.

Lee thanks Doug for telling him that Lee’s a great person, but this isn’t the best time. Carly tries to confess her love to Doug, but is interrupted. Clem runs off to find something to help hold the door closed, and the player is reminded that she was helpful, even back in s1e01

Lee is forced to hold the door shut all on his own, but Clem finds Lee’s father’s cane, and he jams the door shut with it. 

It’s time for one of the first big choices in the game. An odd roll will save Doug, while an even roll will save Carly. Carly is saved with a roll of 2. Dice!Lee throws her ammo to her, and she kills the walker after her, but we have lost our good friend Doug. Poor Carly.

Clem gets grabbed, but Lee crushes the walker’s head in, saving our little girl. Larry holds the door open for her, but attempts to kill Lee, with a punch. Oh Larry, I hope you like salt with that fist.

Fortunately, Kenny comes to the rescue, giving us his hand and calling Dice!Lee a good friend, and the team leaves the Drugstore.

The crew return to the motel, their new home. Clem breaks Player’s heart with her expression.

Duck starts talking Clem’s ear off about comics, but she seems to be contemplating all she’s seen in the past two or three days. It’s not easy for a child like her to take all of this in. 

Dice!Lee approaches Glenn. It’s time for him to go to Atlanta and rejoin the cast of the comics.  Dice!Lee is sympathetic and tells Glenn to go ahead to find his friends. Glenn doesn’t want to leave the crew, but has to be sure his friends are alive. Goodbye Glenn!

Dice!Lee now speaks to Kenny, the two seem to be hitting it off, promising to take care of each other. We’ll see! There are still chances to piss off Ken after all! Kenny tells Lee that he thinks he has what it takes to take care of Clem, so sweet.

Carly is keeping herself busy as Dice!Lee walks over. She has some serious survivor’s guilt, she wants to know if we could have saved him. That’s a choice for ya. She talks about her feelings for Doug, and Dice!Lee dismisses them, saying “You’ll be alright.” To alleviate the awkwardness, she asks Dice!Lee to leave her alone, since she’d like to mourn.

Just as Lee is about to do as she asks, she stops him to ask how he made his decision. He gives the easy answer, saying he was going to help both of them, but he did help her first. She wanted Doug to survive.

Clementine looks shellshocked, as Duck continues talking her ear off. Something about Super Dinosaur or something like that. She contemplates and Lee asks Duck to cool it. Clem is shell-shocked, having been grabbed again. She could have died. On top of that, her walkie-talkie broke.

Dice!Lee tells her that “It’s just a walkie-Talkie.” Which makes the player annoyed at scumbag dice. C’mon Lee, be nice to the little one! In return, Clem gives him an expression better shown than said.

 “It wasn’t just a walkie-Talkie!” He promises to find her another one, but she’s already close to tears.

And now, Larry calls Lee over. Honestly, after what he just said to Clem, the player would be fine if you punched him again. But he just wants to know if Dice!Lee fancies Lilly. Lee tells him that he in fact does. “Yeah, she’s great.”

Larry does not like this answer, and tells Lee to stay away, with a threat that he will tell everyone that Dice!Lee is a murderer.

Lilly approaches Dice!Lee and thanks him for saving Larry’s life. She’s very kind to Lee, telling him that the group is lucky to have him, and not to beat himself up for Doug’s death.

The episode ends with hope, as the military rolls through. You know what, we think everything will be okay!

End of episode 1

Dice!Lee’s choices:

It seems that the Dice chose a good mix of popular and unpopular.

[beautifulramblingbrains]

Crush - Chapter 15. Now You Don’t

Pairing: Eric/OC *Abbey* Fandom: Divergent Rating: M

A memory from Eric’s past plays tricks on him. And it’s all about the girl, Abbey Ainsworth.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading!

Tags:  @iammarylastar  @badassbaker  @pathybo@mimigemrose@frecklefaceb  @beltz2016  @ariwolff14  @lauraaan182 @kenzieam  @tigpooh67@elaacreditava@equalstrashflavoredtrash@murmelinchen @feminamortem

There's a scrap on the stairs.

Mark leers from his desk patiently waiting, clutching his hands that now tremble almost constantly.

When two of his men, and Matt, who is hooked and dragged in their arms comes into view, he smiles at them. "Hello, Matt."

Matt forces the two away from him when they release him, shoving them violently to the side. "You wanna tell me what this is about?" He readjusts his collar and jacket as if he was trying to regain some of his ego and confidence back from being man-handled. He looks at Mark like he was shit on his shoe, but the fearful sweat produced on his forehead speaks differently.

"I'm going to get straight to the point, yes." Mark stands rounding the desk and taking casual steps towards him. "I have something I need of you."

"I'm not doing anything for you. They say you are the resistance, you're scum!" Matt spits. He's feisty, he'll give him that.

"You don't have much choice really, mate." Mark stands directly before him, his eloquent grin still plastered on his face. "I'm sending you to Dauntless with a group. You'll be captured on the roads outside Amity and Dauntless will take you inside their walls." He motions for Matt to sit, "Drink?"

"Fuck you!" For his defiance, a fist is slammed into his gut and he's pushed to the floor, coughing and spluttering.

Leaning down close next to him and grabbing his head, Mark whispers the next words slowly for him to hear very specifically, "You won't remember a thing, and you'll have your chance to get back at Eric." Nodding to his men, a needle is stuck into his neck and Matt becomes heavy, gracelessly dropping to the floor and out of his hand.

"Notify the volunteers, you're leaving tonight."

However, Mark does notice one of his guard's peer down to the shears on his desk, a spark of curiosity igniting before they are quickly caught. His guard doesn't say anything and falls in step with the other.

Eric can hear her laugh from just down the corridor. For a minute he wonders who she's with, but hearing the other soft Amity voices it wasn't hard to guess.

Outside their apartment, he hesitates, leaning up against the doorframe, listening in, mainly to her familiar voice with a half-smile on his face.

"…that was not me. Clem, you stepped on my foot and when I yelled that got me in trouble and they thought we weren't paying attention and playing around. I stood outside the class for the rest of the day and was deducted a point!"

"Yeah, sorry about that…" he hears Clem's nasally response.

"I still remember every move though…"

"Even I still remember every move!" Sandra laughs.

"Madam, would you like to dance?" Abbey puts on a posh accent and he scoffs. But they're not fucking dancing in his apartment, so he forces his way in to intrude.

He's smiling when he finds Abbey bent over, one hand out to Clem and the other behind her back curtly in the position he exactly imagined in his head when he heard her speak. She looks at him and instantly stands straighter. "Oh."

"What are you doing?" He roams over her frilly black skirt and vest, instantly liking what he sees and notices the way she blushes.

The other two women are frozen, staring at him. He still feels a little bit of fear radiating off them when he saw them, mainly Sandra then Clem.

"Just reminiscing about our initiation dance." She skips over and straight under his arm. "Would you like to try it? I think you'd be really good."

"Get lost." He feels like telling the other two to get lost too, but for once holds his tongue. "Clem. Sandra." He nods to them.

"Hello," they say at the same time.

Abbey peers up at him hopefully. "You don't mind that they're here, right?"

He shrugs off his jacket, just to make them that little bit more uncomfortable. "What's mine is yours." All the while he's smirking.

He walks to the couch, grabbing his electronic pad from the counter as he passes, and throws himself down into it, kicking his feet up onto the table. "Don't mind me," he says to Sandra, who can't not touch his arm against hers in their cramped, close proximity.

"So anyway…" Eric watches slightly over his pad. He doesn't want to seem interested, but he couldn't help himself in his curiosity. He listens as she speaks. "That time I was standing outside, I missed the steps."

"It was boring and repetitive, a small child could do it," says Clem.

"I know, but that was the last bit I needed. And do you remember we all lined up and he was practically scowling at me the entire time, waiting to see me fail? Little did he know I just copied his command outside. That guy always disliked me."

"He said you were too 'full of life' to be in his class. Translated out of Amity to a 'pain in the behind'" Clem snorts.

Abbey spins on her heel. "It's because I told him his dancing sucked."

Eric laughs and they look at him. "You can't do any better."

"I have a great spin," she tells him.

"Is that all you had to do in your initiation, dance and sing songs?"

Clem shakes her head, almost insulted, "No, we had labor, then horticulture also. We had to swear over the Amity manuscript to always thrive on life and keep the peace."

"What happened to you then, Ab's?" he sneers.

"Simple, I don't put up with bullshit," she says, scowling at him. Afterward, she floats into the kitchen and flicks the kettle on, hopping up onto the side and kicking her legs.

"Not for me, I'm going to head back," states Sandra and Clem nods. "We'll see you at dinner. Thanks for having us, Eric."

"Always a pleasure." He watches as they hug Abbey from her spot on the counter and drift towards the door. He waits till they leave to stand, watching closely as green eyes follow his every movement.

He's like a lion waiting to pounce, his eyes don't waver, and the thought makes Abbey swallow thickly. "What're you doing?"

Eric reaches her, fingering the frills of the skirt. "Pretty, but it would look better on the floor." He pulls it rather roughly and she bats him away. The movement makes him drop the amusement on his face and sigh, trying to grasp at words to tell her exactly what his plans are. There was no easy way around it, so he goes for blunt. "Listen, Ab's, I'm going back out tonight."

"What? Why?"

"We can't leave Mark in Amity. It's not safe. We'll always be looking over our shoulders." Tenderly pushing back a piece of her hair, her eyes close for the briefest of moments. "And I really wanna fucking marry you."

Her eyes spring open, "I don't want you to go. Something bad always happens when we're apart." She puts her arms around his neck and into his hair, gently scratching against his scalp. He shifts closer to her, settling between her legs.

"And it always will until the threat is gone. That's why I need to do this, to keep you safe. Do you understand?" She nods. "I wouldn't go unless I have to."

"Yeah, I know," Abbey says sulkily, her eyes dropping to the floor. "Will it always be like this? … You going away?"

"I want to promise you it won't, but I can't… Not yet."

Pulling him closer, she lets her lips press faintly against his. "I won't say goodbye because I'll know you'll be coming back."

"I'll always come back. I found you again after all these years, didn't I?"

"Just don't make it that long."

His hand cups her cheek, the thumb caressing the side of her face as he leans in again, working his tongue to part her lips and she lets him. When their breath becomes heavy the calmness between them suddenly erupts, their kiss becomes more frantic.

Abbey begins lifting her skirt and when he notices, his hands glide up the sensitive skin of her thighs, pushing her underwear to the side and delving fingers deep inside of her – just the way she liked it.

The gasp is caught in her throat and she pushes her body against his to hold onto him while he works, reveling in the way his lips would brush against the skin of her neck and shoulder. When he begins trying to pull her from the counter, she manages to gasp out, "No, here," and tingles at the way his eyes dilate with lust along with the sound of his belt buckle unclasping.

Eric can't get it in quick enough, and takes her there on the counter, pushing all the way to the hilt. There was something scandalous by having sex partly clothed, the thought flashing through his brain as just 'a quickie', but not as shameful because it was with the person he loved.

He grabs at her ass and scoots her more to the edge, tilting her back till she has to slam her palms down beside her to keep upright. In between, he realizes he's getting close, so manages to pant some form of a coherent sentence. "Get off the counter." She drops down and he roughly turns her around, yanking her underwear down. "Hands on the counter until I say otherwise."

Under his dominance, she reacts quickly, bending forward for him and she moans deeply when he enters her again. Any louder and the whole of Dauntless would know exactly what they were doing.

Smacking her thigh and pulling her hair, he feels her tightening, her cries becoming louder, and then suddenly, she orgasms. Whether she was calling his name or swearing he would never know, as through it all he quickly reaches his own relief.

When they are sated and he puts his dick back in his pants, he smirks to himself, helping her readjust her underwear. "You didn't rectify at what time I should pull out?" he jokes.

She turns towards him, kissing him quickly. "I'll be right back."

He watches her scamper to the bathroom, chuckling to himself while she walks like a fucking duck, and again thinks about how overly lucky he is.

Eric notices the kettle after a minute and remembers she wanted coffee, flicking it back on. "Ab's!" he shouts. "Did you want coffee?" She doesn't hear him as the tap is running so he goes over and bangs on the door, unthinking.

She screams out, a shrill of utter terror, and he takes a step back. "It's me," he says softly. "Ab's open the door. It's me."

"Just… give me a minute."

He can hear her crying from where he stands and he sighs while leaning against the frame. "You should've told me you're still frightened."

"I'm not frightened of you!" she blabs out, panicked. The door unlocks and she stands in front of him, rubbing her eyes. "I'm frightened that it will happen again. I've never thought about taking my own life before, and it… it reminded me-"

"You fucking what?"

"When you were bashing the door in, I thought I'd rather do that than let you… I was about to… I didn't know I had it in me. Then Max shouted out and I stopped," she stutters.

Instead of his normal reaction, which would be to literally scream in her face, he tugs her to him, wrapping his arms around her. "Don't you ever… think like that." He makes sure to grab her cheek gently so she can't look away, "Ever… you hear me?"

He can't yell at her over this, she told him in confidence, she trusted him. He wanted her to tell him everything and never keep anything hidden. He'd guessed there would be some type of lingering feelings from the attack, and at some point, one would become known. But he never expected her reply.

Eric couldn't say that Abbey didn't love him. And he briefly ponders over the scenario of if she went through with it, but he blocks it quickly, something he was good at. It was not worth a spare thought and what-ifs weren't in his mantra.

Heading out tonight will now only be one hundred times worse.

Abbey bites her lip, wiping sweaty hands on her leggings. The control room sits in front of her and she can hear the monitors whirling from here.

There was a specific heat that accompanied this room. It must've leaked off of all the equipment along with a weird dusty smell she couldn't quite think of a word for, but it now settled with a type of familiarity, one that scared her.

The only chicken shit seemed to be her as of late.

She pushes the door and a few people look at her, obviously busy with set tasks while they seem to keep mumbling. For a minute she thinks they'll just throw her out, that they'll say she doesn't belong here, but they don't.

It's the pair of soft brown eyes she's looking for in particular, and they are already onto her before she realizes. With a little smile, she approaches Four.

"Hello, Abbey. What are you doing here?"

"Can I sit with you tonight?" She takes the spare seat next to him. "I don't want to be alone."

He seems to think about it for a minute before nodding, "It's fine. As long as you don't start shouting at me like last time."

"I'm sorry about that. It was just-"

"You were worried, I know." He sits forward quickly, checking between screens before looking back to her. "Has Eric left yet?" Four almost seems hesitant, like he wasn't sure of what to say almost. She finds him pleasantly selfless in that regard, he had a notion for second-guessing how people felt.

"He has." She leans her elbow on the desk next to her and balances on it. "Is Eric going to be okay? I mean, really okay?"

"He does this all the time if that's what you're asking."

"Why him?"

Four shrugs, "He's good at it."

There was one particular question in her mind and whether now was a good time to ask she didn't really know. "What does Eric do to Divergents?" It throws him off a little and he spins in his chair towards her. His lips purse while he thinks and she holds her hand out to him, "It's fine. If you don't want to tell me I get it."

"Have you asked him?" His eyebrows raise, so she guessed he wanted to know how much information Eric had spilled to her.

"He told me he 'blows their fucking brains out'" she quotations her fingers, peering at anything but him for a minute. "I never thought of him that way."

"I believe every one of his words that he does - but it's under orders. Many of the Divergents are in with the factionless and we know how he feels about them." Four smiles at her wrinkled nose. "I wouldn't worry though, his hunting Divergent days are now limited, he has bigger problems and the other factions are setting forth Dauntless to control any dealings with factionless, keeping well away. Which I suppose keeps Jeanine at bay."

"Is she the one who he takes orders from?"

He looks back to the screen before meeting her eyes again. "Suggestions or orders… Dauntless doesn't have to take orders from anyone. I guess that's why he gets so much hate from the factionless. He's the main usurper when it comes to foiling their plans and potential people. But I can't fault him, he's good at what he does – the answer to your original question."

She chuckles lightly, "Yeah, sorry. Went a little off topic there."

"No prob-" He's cut short as a small Dauntless woman leans on his shoulder whispering something. His face is immediately burrowed into the screens and he uses a device to zoom into one of the cameras. Four men stand at the Dauntless check-point, hands cuffed, heads sunk to the floor. The Dauntless around hold their guns to them, and one gets pushed to their knees.

Abbey inches closer, realization sweeping her brain and she pushes Four's arm out of the way. "Wait a second! I know him!" she points to the one of the farthest right. Four zooms the camera more on his face and Abbey suddenly feels sick. "Matt?"

Eric feels lumbered with equipment, his jacket heavy, the rifle slung over his arm, and every now again his knife would bounce on his thigh. He throws himself into some brambles, shouldering the rifle and stares down to the lights of Amity. He's joined by three others, the young boy Caden, Noah and Luka.

They look at him expectantly and he motions two to the side and Caden with him. "No time for fuck-ups," he whispers to Caden. "You stay low. Follow my lead, you got it?" The young boy nods.

Eric makes light work of the west field of Amity, but his thighs burn from the crouching position which instantly causes a thick sweat and his shirt to stick to his skin underneath his outer clothing. He lets the sweat drip into his eyes, if he got distracted even for a second the mission could be compromised.

A foot-patrol is idly chatting among themselves, walking close to where they are situated and Eric waits patiently until they pass, barely taking a breath. One strip of light from a nearby building beams on his face through the foliage and his gray eyes shimmer as they mark his next trail of passage. As soon as the foot-patrol disappears, he pelts across the dirt path, shimmying up against the barn.

"Foot-up," he hisses at Caden, pointing to an adjoining roof and guttering leading to the small window.

Caden's a small guy, and for a minute he shakes under his bulky weight, but once his grip is secure, he pulls himself up easily, quietly, and full of intent.

There's lighting in the office, dull lighting, dull enough it won't cast his shadow. And he leans his back against the wall taking a minute. Caden's stood back on the path, looking up at him and Eric gives him the go-ahead.

Caden sprints up the path, shouts, and fires his gun erratically. Further in the distance Noah and Luka react and begin their own similar assault. At the same time, Eric smashes the window and jumps through, holding his gun up to the back of Mark's head.

"Hello, Mark…"

"Matt's a good guy," Abbey says to Max in his office. Four had brought her here after she recognized him. "He would never be involved with the factionless. He liked his faction. He had plans-"

"You can't really trust anyone these days," Max bluntly says from behind his desk with an exhale.

"They've done something to him!" She finally relents to her frustrated anger, throwing a hand into her hair.

"The matter is, he is only asking for you. I will not permit you to see him; it's too risky and if Eric finds out-"

"Four can come with me."

"He wants you alone. He thinks we're fucking stupid," Max waves her off.

Four is busy rubbing his face when he asks, "Who are the others?"

"Unknown, randomers. They say they managed to escape Amity and want refuge." He laughs, "They must think we're fucking Abnegation."

"Matt knows me; I know him really well. He's probably fearing for my safety right now," Abbey says quietly. "Surely if I speak to him we can find out more. How they escaped and why?"

"I'm sure you could but you won't." With Max's words final, she looks at Four, then storms from the room.

Max must dismiss Four as after a few seconds he comes running up behind her. "Where are you going?"

"To the guards. To see Matt."

He shakes his head. "They won't let you in."

"But they will you," and she grips his arm and drags him with her.

Eric doesn't give Mark time to turn or say anything, and with craved delight, he squeezes the trigger.

The sound echoes throughout the room and into the streets. Mark's body slams forwards from the force.

The rippling wave of karma floods Eric almost instantly. He lowers his gun, admiring the hole in the back of the guy's head before approaching. It was a relief, but a dissatisfied relief. He thought maybe Mark would've seen this coming or at least had a few guards to throw into the mix… that in itself seemed strange.

He nudges him with the nozzle of his gun and the body slips to the side floppily and hits the floor.

Eric's half-mast smirk vanishes from his face as the certainty of the situation becomes known.

The man isn't Mark.

An indescribable feeling takes a hold of him, a knowing one, one that tells him he should get back to Dauntless, and now. His radio crackles, throwing him back into real-time. It's Luka, "The guards are Amity, not factionless. Something weird's going on here, man."

He pelts from the room through the window. Dropping to the ground, his ankle twinges from the fall, but he ignores it, and thunders across the field and towards the wall where the truck is, disregarding the men he's left behind.

Through the whipping of the foliage and vegetation, he grabs at his radio, directly contacting through to security.

He has to get back to Dauntless.

Abbey still drags Four a little, but he's more willing than the first time she mentioned it. The guards at the door look at them and Abbey pushes Four forward, motioning him to tell them.

"We need to see the young one, Matt."

"Under who's orders?"

Four looks at Abbey and she pleads him. "Eric's," he lies, the words tasting like grit in his mouth as he spoke them. "Now let us through." He suddenly plucks up his tone of voice and barges past the two guards, Abbey trailing behind him.

When they turn a corner, he grabs her shoulder. "This is the last time I ever do something like that."

"I know, I'm sorry, but I know this guy."

Four sighs and begins marching the corridor. "How do you know him?"

"He's my ex."

Four stops again. "You made me lie… over an order… of Eric's… because of an Ex?" he says disbelievingly. "Eric's going to kick my ass…" he rumbles off and begins walking again, laughing incredulously to himself.

"If it makes you feel any better, he'll probably kick mine too."

"You're not funny," he throws out over his shoulder, but he doesn't stop her passing him and running to the room where Matt is sat with his head between his legs.

"Matt! Matt, it's me!" She slams against the glass of the contained room, then looks for the control panel. "Four, open it!"

Matt moves to the reinforced glass and touches his hand where hers is on the other side. "Thank god you're safe."

"I'm fine. Four, open it!"

"No, you can talk here," Four folds his arms.

"What happened to you?" She gestures to Matt's face. There are marks and dirt patterned across it.

"Casualty of the escape," he smiles. "Had to get out of there."

"Four, open the damn door!" she shouts. And after a minute of him contemplating, he keys in a code quickly.

But everything happens so fast.

Matt grabs Abbey the moment the glass disappears and drags her into the room with him, her back against his chest and hands to her already sore throat. Four pulls his gun but he won't shoot, and the whole room is still.

"Quite the predicament," another voice sounds from one of the many containment cells behind Four. "And much easier than I thought."

Abbey glances towards the voice. "Four! It's Mark!" But Matt's hands tighten on her throat, making her gargle out his name.

"Open the door or Matt will snap her neck. Shoot at Matt and you risk shooting Abbey." Matt moves forwards on Mark's words making Four back-up to the control panel of Mark's cell. Matt's hands are set a particular way now against Abbey's head and neck that he couldn't doubt him. "So what's it going to be?"

"Fuck…" hisses Four. Then as Mark slams his body against the cell glass to cause a distraction, Matt moves forwards and grabs his gun, pointing it at Abbey. The movements were not that of an Amity but something that only a trained professional could counter with.

"Now open the cell door."

Eric arrives at Dauntless in a hurry, almost ramming the checkpoint, and he leaves the truck directly outside the entrance and still running as he jogs inside.

He hits the control room first and that's when he learns of the commotion down in the containment area.

It takes him five minutes to join the guards at the door of the holding area. They all stare inside and he can hear Max talking. He barges past a group on standby and nudges until he gets to the front, almost falling in his desperation. He spots Mark instantly, free from his cell and next to Matt who holds Abbey. For some reason, Mark's head is shaved and he frowns.

"Let her go," he says calmly. "Matt, I don't know if you're under simulation or not, but you don't want to do this. I promise you, you won't live beyond tomorrow if you don't let her go," he growls the last part. "If you want to hurt someone, hurt me, not Abbey."

"Write down the codes to Dauntless and allow us free passage and we'll let her go," says Mark.

Eric realizes now that this is a desperate move. Why surrender? Why be in the basement of Dauntless? He drifts to Max and talks quietly to him, "His men are nowhere to be seen from Amity to here, keep watch…"

"Why get yourself caught?" Max asks Mark with a raised eyebrow. "Why get yourself back into Dauntless with nothing but idle threats?" Eric recognizes this tone, this a mocking, playing tone he's used a hundred times over in the past.

Eric looks between them, then to Abbey who is clutching at Matt's hands and wonders if this was how he looked when he had attacked her. Her eyes are shimmering, her cheeks wet, and when she notices him watching, her mouth trembles. "I'm sorry, Eric. It was my fault. I forced Four to let me see him."

"Shut up!" Mark spits to her.

"Just shoot him!" she wails and Mark lashes out, slapping her on the cheek.

Eric lunges forwards and Max stops him. "Easy…" Max whispers coolly, gripping his shoulder, only releasing him when he limbers.

"Nothing but idle threats? What makes you think they're idle and that I'm alone?"

"Because you're a little bitch, Mark," Eric says through his grinding teeth.

"Did you check the back of your truck, Eric? Did you really think we wouldn't see you coming? … And what the fuck gave you the idea I was Mark?" He begins laughing, laughing so much he grips his stomach. Then from behind them, more people begin joining in. The Dauntless guards draw their guns, equal parts conflicted on what way was best to turn.

Eric pulls the hand-held on his thigh, aiming it at Matt, checking whether he could get a clean shot. Then he moves towards the new acquaintances behind him and lands on – with surprise - another Mark. It makes Eric chuckle to himself. How could he be so stupid? "Twins?" Eric says, still highly amused. "There's more of you welps?"

"Give us the code and perhaps this won't end in a bloodbath," Mark, the one in his gun-line, pointing his own weapon directly at him, speaks. Eric now knows that this is the Mark he's encountered before, just by the slight glint in his eye. His head is shaved too, probably to keep him unrecognizable and similar to his twin. It only makes him appear that much more desperate. And Eric knows desperation does stupid things to people.

"You won't be able to kill us all before we get to you," Eric sneers.

"No, but you wouldn't want an innocent getting caught up in the cross-fire," he motions his head towards Abbey. "Now, the codes… I'm beginning to run out of patience."

Eric looks at Abbey, and everything slows down. She nods at him… nods… and he can't decipher her intentions until she chomps down onto Matt's arm causing him to yell out.

Mark's twin, by the cells, points his gun at Abbey as her arms only just throw themselves into the sprint to get away.

Max moves forwards, faster than Eric can comprehend.

And Eric aims his gun at one of the Mark's on instinct.

Two shots ring out.

[vanilla--blossom]

***WARNING: SPOLIERS AND A SUPER SUPER LONG COMMENT!***

I loved this episode, it was an emotional roller coaster. Although this post is going to include thoughts on the whole series in general, mainly on Javier’s relationship with Kate and with David and Gabe too. Also just opinions of the characters individually. (It’s going to be a long post, sorry). The ending I got was Javier, Kate, Gabe and Conrad surviving (thank god) and David being bitten so Gabe has to shoot him to prevent him from turning. I chose to save Tripp in episode 4, therefore Ava came along with the group before she died, which was pretty much the only scene I didn’t like in this episode, it was very sudden and I think my game glitched so it cut some dialog or really small scenes so it was over very quickly.

It’s sad because I did like Ava and it was a hard decision on who to choose to be shot (when it came to that scene in ep 4, I didn’t choose either the first time and then ended Javi ended up getting shot lol, I DIDN’T WANT EITHER OF THEM TO BE KILLED AH and I was so shocked when Joan ended up killing the opposite person you wanted to save, such bullshit).

Anyway, on Kate and Javi’s relationship, when I started playing this season I was completely against the intimate/romantic relationship between them, every time some dialogue came up where you could flirt back with Kate, or kiss her or whatever, I didn’t choose those options and when it came to either rejecting her or sharing her feelings, I rejected her. She’s married to David, like you don’t go for your brothers wife? They’re brother and sister in law, bit incest? What about Gabe too? Bit weird for his uncle to start dating his farther’s wife? Plus I knew that David would NOT be happy when he found out, I kept rejecting her so David didn’t have any reason to want to fucking kill Javier and I always saw David’s good side so I wanted to be a good brother to him.

All that changed though when I watched a YouTuber’s Let’s Play of the episode. I don’t know, as soon as I saw them kiss I was just like yes. Instant support. Maybe it was Kate’s awkward confession, and her little excited, “oh my god! Really!?” reaction like she actually couldn’t believed Javi shared her feelings? Ahh it was just too cute. I went back and replayed the season, keeping all other choices the same expect the romance between them. It got me thinking, Javi and Kate have been on the road together for years, they thought David was dead, it was more than hinted that David was an abusive husband as well and Kate was really unhappy with him. They’ve been raising Marianna and Gabe all this time like they were practically their own children and have you seen the way the interact with each other? They have a great dynamic, Javi is so sarcastic, he’s got great banter and Kate can handle it and give it back, they’re always making each other laugh and smile and feel better and clearly they’re just way better suited for each other than Kate is with David. I chose the option for them to kiss after their reunion at the junkyard when I replayed and all Marianna says is “Gross.” Like she’s not at all bothered or angry her step mum is smooching her uncle? Because she can see how much they love and care for each other. Plus it’s a fucking zombie apocalypse, if you love someone, go for it, because you don’t know when your last moment will be with someone, no matter how fucked up the situation is, they were both really really happy in that moment at the junkyard and in the van, plus at the end of the episode too.

This brings me to David and Javi’s relationship. Apart from the Kate thing, I still tried to be a good brother to him, I took his hand after the fight when their dad died, I supported him in his decision to go to the army and promised to watch over Kate and and the kids. I hugged him in the quarantine cell, I stuck by all his plans (not to mention about Marianna & to stay and fight in Richmond, not siding with Kate), I even shot Joan for him. David was a fucking arsehole I admit that, but I did have a little soft spot for him, I always wanted him to redeem himself and for him to show the good person I believed he was inside, I get really attached to the characters, and I think the main way to enjoy the walking dead game is to not focus too much on the lack on character development with a few of the characters or the crappy pacing, even the bad dialogue selections sometimes. I try to put myself in each and everyone of the characters shoes and feel what they are feeling and try and understand.

So when it came to the scene when David found out about Javi and Kate’s relationship and started beating up Javi and was trying to kill him, I chose Javi to say “I love you” 3 times. The final “I love you brother” absolutely broke me. During this fight I was literally crying my eyes out, I could not stop crying, it was so intense and so emotional, it hurt me so much inside because Javi does love his brother and deep down, David loves Javier too. I started crying after the first “I love you”, because of David’s reaction to Javi saying that. He looked so shocked, like he couldn’t believe he heard that from him, which leads me to believe that was the first time Javier ever told David that he loved him. What makes it even more sad is that was the last time he ever said he loved him and also the last thing Javier ever said to David was “I love you brother”.

Other things that made me cry even harder during that scene, when Gabe rushed in to try to get his Dad to stop and David just hits him with the wrench. Like could you imagine your father doing that to you? Especially how much Gabe respected and loved his Dad, Gabe stuck up for David and was on his side throughout the whole season, and then to have everything you thought about your Dad to be proven wrong? After all that, he still chose to go with David because he is his Dad. He is family, he is blood. It’s heartbreaking. Also the little notification that you get if you choose to say I love you three times “you kept your promise to be a good brother”, like holy fuck shit. There I go, I was already broken in half, now I’m broken into quarters. Fuck my life, I was emotionally unstable.

I know a lot of people hate Gabe, just like they hated Duck in season 1 and I just don’t understand why? For both of them. Duck was just a special little boy, he didn’t understand everything was going on, in my opinion I think he had some sort of mental disability, or he was just really dumb who knows. But he was just a little kid, who talked too much and made bad decisions but how was he supposed to know what would happen? Being so young, so naive, he was such an energetic optimistic boy, ignorance is bliss they say right?

Anyway, enough about Duck, back to Gabe. Gabe was 14 years old, he was growing up and going through a really tough time, he has to deal with puberty, hormones, mood swings, testosterone levels are soaring, he wants to grow up. He doesn’t want to a little kid anymore. But the thing is he doesn’t know how. And imagine how hard it would be in a zombie apocalypse to do that. He thinks he’s saying and doing the right thing but he’s not, he wants to prove himself capable, he wants to prove that he’s smart and he can fight and protect himself and protect others, he believes he can. No one else does and so obviously that makes him frustrated that no one will take him seriously. It’s especially hard for him because his role models are Javier and David, two badass, lean mean fighting machines. He wants to be like them and he wants to be like them now but he can’t. Bless Gabe. He was an annoying little shit yeah but he’s a good annoying little shit. It’s all about seeing things from his point of view, imagining if you were him.

Which leads me to Gabe and Clem’s relationship. Disregarding the crush they both have on each other for a second, pretend that doesn’t exist. I love Clem and Gabe’s relationship. Oh my god, how can you not? I’m sorry but how long has Clem gone without a friend her age? Since fucking forever that’s how long. The only kids she’s ever been with is Duck and Sara throughout the entire series. Clem has been through so much shit, she’s been through hell, she’s lost Lee, Kenny, Luke, AJ, all the most important people to her throughout the series, she’s the toughest little girl in the world, she was forced to grow up so much quicker than she had to. Lee taught her to shoot a gun at 8 years old okay. She’s more intelligent and strong and brave and mature than anyone ever has to be at 14 years old, if it weren’t for her appearance you would think Clementine was a fully grown adult. She raised AJ, a toddler, thought of herself as a mother, a real mother to AJ and she’s just still a kid herself.

This is why I fully support her friendship with Gabe, in the van and they were playing euchre together, Clem just got to be a normal teenage girl for a couple of minutes having fun and joking with a teenage boy. Like Kate said it’s just so normal? It’s nice to see, and I can’t remember who said this in the game but “life doesn’t mean much without people you can relate to”, Clem and Gabe relate to each other, they’re in the same boat, Clem understands Gabe and makes him feel better as Gabe does with Clem. I’m sure all of us know how it feels not to be understood and when someone comes a long and shows you that they do understand it’s a relief.

Back to the crushing part between the two, it’s again NORMAL AND FUCKING CUTE! It’s a little harmless crush, of course they’re going to have a crush on each other, it’s the first teen girl Gabe has ever seen since the outbreak, and Clem is really pretty and nice, of course Gabe is going to have a crush on her. It made me smile at the end when Javi was like to Clementine “you know the guy has a crush on you right” and he was all like “oh my gosh you have a crush on him too!!” and then Clem got all embarrassed and flustered and exclaimed “I DO NOT!”, again this is so funny and just adds a bit of lightheartedness and normalcy to the game, yes they’re in the middle of a zombie apocalypse but characters get to be happy once in a while and just pretend that world hasn’t gone to hell. All in all, loved the season, especially loved this episode! Phew what a rant, you have reached the end, props if you read all of it.

[mydarlingvioletine]

Just a Puppy Crush - Chapter 8

Ship(s): Clementine/Violet Media: The Walking Dead Game (Season 4)

Clementine set up Brody and Louis in the guest room just beside her own room. Louis had plopped himself down onto a big, comfy chair. The kind Violet definitely recognized from her grandparents house. The one with the lever on the side where you could flatten it out, and kick up the footrest.

        Brody turned down Louis’ attempts to cuddle, and threw herself down on the couch, curling up like a cat. Knees nuzzled up to her chin, she only took up one cushion.

It was a really cute habit that completely threw Violet off guard the first time they had a sleepover.

         Violet unrolled her sleeping bag, and went to set it on the ground when Clementine stopped her, frowning.

“I’m not letting you on the floor, Vi.” Clem insisted, swiftly pulling the clumsy blonde behind her, into her room. Clementine knelt down, and pulled the covers back from her bed. “You take my bed, I’ll take the chair.”

       Violet’s gaze landed on the corner chair, stiff and uncomfortably vertical. Her back ached just at the sight of it. “It doesn’t.. look very comfortable.”

Clem nodded, shyly ducking her head as she attempted to sprawl herself out on the chair, bending herself uncomfortably. “It’s Lee’s old crossword puzzle chair.. We brought it all the way from Montana just for Carley to buy him a brand new one. We’ve been keeping it because James said he’d take it in his new apartment.”

       “I’m not letting you sleep on that thing. Scooch over, I’ll sleep here.” Violet attempted to lug her away from the chair, but Clementine was solid, eyes glinted with amusement as Violet tried and failed to lift her up.

“Your spine’s already at a 70 degree angle. No way I’m pushing you over the edge.” Clem teased, causing Violet to straighten her posture involuntarily.

           “Is not!”

“Is too. I’m the daughter of a math teacher, I know my shit.” Clementine giggled, happily staring up at a pouting Violet.

      Violet rolled her eyes, defiantly crossing her arms across her chest. “Clem, I’d feel really fucking bad if you had to sleep there. Take the bed.”

Clementine’s phone buzzed noisily against her dresser, and she picked it up.

            New Message from Beautiful Best Friend.

       When the fuck did Louis have time to change his name across her phone? Sneaky bastard.

          [BBF] Cut the bullshit and share the damn bed.

Clementine rolled her eyes, hearing the muffled giggles from the other side of the thin walls. Vi cocked her head at the laughter, oblivious.

       “How about this?” Clementine proposed, rising to her feet. “We both sleep on my bed and nobody has to suffer at the hands of this chair. Or should I say.. the arms of this chair.”

Violet couldn’t hold back a little snort laugh at the joke, one that sent Clem’s heart to her throat.

       “Yeah, okay,” Violet feigned an attitude like she was being held against her will, trying to hide her nervous excitement from sharing a bed with Clementine. “You’re not a blanket hogger, are you? Louis always pulls that shit.”

Clem shook her head, a careful grin on her face as she tucked herself under the covers, back against the wall. “I guess you’ll find out.”

         Violet groaned, tugging the knitted blanket Brody had made for Clem close to her. After turning to her side and attempting to make herself comfortable, she sat up abruptly.

“You okay?” Clementine asked, a yawn straining her husky voice.

      “Just not really used to sleeping like this, I guess.” Violet admitted, arms uncomfortably held to her sides. Clem responded by pulling the sheets back, and patting a spot closer to her.

“There’s some give in the middle of the bed, since I usually sleep there. It kinda molds around you. Try that spot.”

        Violet swallowed hard, lips pressed tightly together as she inched herself closer to the center. Some give was an understatement. She slumped into the mold Clementine’s body left, hands instinctively across her chest.

The snug fit of the mattress around her brought a sense of warm and safety, and she let out a content hum. Clementine pursed her lips, trying desperately to hold back the smile that crept over her lips, while looking down at Violet, as comfortable and secure as she’d ever seen her.

      She fit. In her spot on mattress, on the cork board, in Clementine’s life, in their family dynamic. In everything Clem was never able to tell there was something missing, it changed in an instant when she saw the warm, woodsy green eyes. Then on, she was fucked.

Acting on its own volition, her hand reached out from under her pillow, lightly brushing a blonde stray piece of hair strewn across Violet’s forehead, gently tucking it behind her ear.

       Violet’s eyes opened, her cheeks red and her expression panicked at the contact. The evidence was there, Clem’s hand still rested by her face. On impulse, Clementine raised her finger and bopped her nose.

“Um, gotcha.” Clementine squeaked, before turning so she faced the wall, burying her face in her pillow.

                Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

She felt a shift in the weight beside her, and froze up, eyes wide as Violet sat up beside her.

        Clementine’s veins ran ice cold at the feeling of Violet leaning over her, then a quick motion sent her heart into overdrive.

“Boop! Gotcha back.” Violet giggled, pressing her finger gently against the tip of Clementine’s nose before settling back down into the pile of blankets that had accumulated.

       A sense of relief washed over her, and Clementine shifted onto her back, staring up at the stars above her. Stickers of constellations that created a little galaxy on the ceiling.

Violet’s eyes shifted towards them as well, and she stretched her arm out, pointing at the collection of stars directly above their heads.

       “Oh, sweet. Didn’t notice that.” Violet mused, letting her eyes trace across the patterns of the stars.

“Carley and Lee put them up back when we first moved here. My old room had a skylight, and the first couple of nights, I really missed it. So they set this up for me,” Clementine smiled up at the stars, the ends of her lips pulling upwards in a lopsided manner. “Well, Carley did. Lee isn’t that good with... gravity.”

        A giggle escaped Violet’s lips as she tried to imagine Mr. Everett cursing and getting upset at a task such as menial as putting stickers on the wall. Geometric proofs? No biggie. A little home renovation project? Fuck no.

“Did I tell you about the time we went to a water park and he spent like a minute looking directly at a huge puddle, then slipped in it?” Clem snorted, a tired and rasp embedded in her voice.

       Violet raised her arm and pointed up at an amalgamation of stars, pursing her lips while trying to make something out of it. “It’s a sheep.”

“Oh, it kinda does look like a sheep,” Clementine noted, looking at the stars above her head in a different light. Violet had that effect on her, with every new perspective that Vi would point out to her. Now, Clem couldn’t see the blob of stars as anything other than a sheep. “Up in the corner, there’s a spider.”

       Violet gasped, tugging the blankets over her head with more urgency than Clem’s ever seen in her. “A star spider, not a real one.”

The blonde girl’s wide green eyes peeked over the blanket, gaze darting nervously from Clementine to the corner.

       “I can’t believe you accused me of being a blanket hog.” Clem teased, as Violet wrapped the blanket around her like a tight cocoon.

Violet scoffed and rolled her eyes, but couldn’t cover the smile that tugged at her lips or the pink that colored her cheeks. “Shush.”

        Their gazes returned to the wall, two pairs of eyes eagerly scanning to make something out of nothing, an excuse to keep hearing each other’s voices. To make the other one laugh.

“Oh, there’s a mushroom!” Violet chirped up, gently turning over to Clementine when she didn’t get a response. “Do you see it?”

      Her breathing even, like a melody Louis played on the piano. Her eyes gently closed, hushed and still.

Once Violet was sure that Clementine was asleep, she felt around for her bag at the base of the bed. Grasping the familiar leather, she opened the pouch, and quietly pulled out her stuffed bunny. A sense of tranquility washed over her as she held the soft plush in her arms, stroking the matted fur.

              “Aw, cute.”

The sound of Clementine’s faint whisper stopped her in her tracks, grip tightening on the bunny. She went to pull it into her blanket cocoon, but Clem had sat up, her eyes on it.

            “What’s it’s name?”

Violet’s posture stiffened at the sensation of Clementine brushing against her, slouching her arm around the rigid blonde’s shoulder.

      “Um.. Thumper.” Violet admitted sheepishly, running her fingers along the plushie. “My grandma gave it to me when I was born. Can’t sleep without it.”

Clementine’s expression turned solemn, as she reached under her pillow, revealing the stained, worn old hat that had been resting on her dresser previously. “I... can definitely relate to that.”

        Violet quizzically glanced at her, watching as Clem held the brim of her hat with a tight grip, eyes focused on the tear at one of the seams.

“It was my biological dad’s,” Clementine clarified, setting it on her lap. “It’s too old to wear anymore, but I like keeping it near me when I can.”

        With a grim nod, Violet leaned on her shoulder, her emerald green eyes piercing through Clementine. “It’s nice. Having something to anchor yourself with.”

Clementine pursed her lips together, with a quick nod. She set the baseball cap on the corner of her bed, it’s presence giving her the confidence she needed for her next statement.

         “Violet, I-“ Clem managed to sputter before a soft snore cut her off. She hesitantly glanced down at a passed out Violet, a puddle of drool forming on her pillow. Her grip on the plush had loosened, and it sat comfortably in the crook of her arms. Slow, deep breaths that made her lanky body rise and fall, her eyebrows furrowing and twitching occasionally.

With a sigh, Clementine lowered herself back down, turning herself back towards the wall. “Goodnight, Vi.” She whispered over her shoulder, before wrapping her arms around her own pillow, hugging it tightly to her chest.

         The rest of the night was silent, other than the occasional flickering of the porch light and the raindrops that hit the roof. That and the soft, slight snore that came from Violet, and the sound of crickets in the distance.

[mydarlingvioletine]

Just a Puppy Crush - Chapter 3

Ship(s): Violet/Clementine

Media: The Walking Dead Game (Season 4)

      Violet stood nervously at the bottom of the steps leading to the porch, a gulp forming in her throat as she held tightly onto her backpack.

“Here goes nothing.” Violet took a deep breath, and walked up the stairs, the wood creaking under her feet from the weight.

        She heard Louis and Clem’s voices before she even knocked on the door. It sounded like playful arguing, which was interrupted by a familiar and soothing voice. Mr. Everett. His voice was followed by a soft and raspy female’s voice, most likely Carley.

Violet raised her fist to knock on the door, it swinging open before she got the chance. Face to face with a shocked Clementine, Violet’s eyes widened and her breath got caught in her throat.

       “Hey, there you are!” Clem exclaimed, throwing her arms around Violet’s shoulders, squeezing her arms to her sides. “I’m so happy you made it.”

Violet grinned at the contact, then looked over Clem’s curls to see Mr. Everett, a glint of.. something unrecognizable in his eyes. Carley was clinging onto his arm, a wide and genuine smile on her face. Violet cleared her throat and ducked her head, as Clementine stepped back, taking her pack from her hands.

      “You must be Violet.” Carley broke the silence with a bright, almost blinding smile.

         So that’s where Clem got it from.

“Here, let me take your bag. Karaoke machine is all set up, Lee’s gonna start working on the fire any minute now so you can make s’mores,” Carley cleated her throat, jabbing Lee lightly in the side for emphasis.

      Once he feigned exhaustion and started towards the fire pit, Carley clasped her hands together, looking down happily at Violet.

“I’m gonna give your dad a hand with the fire,” Carley beamed at Louis, nudging him with her elbow. “Get it? A hand?”

      “Very good, my grasshopper,” Louis chuckled, holding his forehead as if he had a headache. “You’ve definitely got a leg up on Clem.”

Clementine groaned, detaching her prosthetic leg to wack Louis in the chest. “Can’t believe you dragged my mom into this shit. Cmon, come look at the cake my uncle Omid made for me.”

        Clem led them into the kitchen, and the fresh smell of pancake batter and bacon hit Violet like a pile of bricks. The pale yellow walls were barely visible under a bunch of family pictures, newspaper clippings, and post cards plastered on the wall.

Violet’s eyes landed on a picture that couldn’t have been more than a year or two old. It was Lee, with AJ hoisted up on his shoulder. AJ was cradling a gigantic trophy, which Clem was cupping her hands underneath, to make sure he didn’t drop it and shatter it. She figured Carley was taking the picture. They all looked so happy.

       “My brother’s tournament,” Clem’s soft voice interrupted her thoughts, reeling her back into reality. “Last summer, we had to go on this super long road trip across the coastline. Stayed in all these fleabag motels, pretty much ate fast food for an entire month. I still get stomachaches sometimes.”

“Did you visit any beaches?” Violet asked, her eyes slowly taking in all of the decoration on the wall. Much more different than the minimalist style she had going on at her trailer. It was a lot more home-y.

       “Yeah, whenever we could. God, it was so fucking fun... Oh, don’t bring that up in front of Carley though,” Clementine’s eyes twinkled with recognition as she giggled to herself. “She got burnt... so bad. Would hardly go outside for the rest of the summer.”

“Speaking of beaches and sun burn,” Louis interjected, looking down at his phone as a couple pings came through. “Brody’s gonna be here soon.”

     Loud thumps from upstairs shook the house, leading down the staircase. Clem seemed unbothered, pulling the cake out of the fridge.

It was huge. Like a wedding cake. 3 layers of blue frosting, sides decorated with white and blue flowers, speckled with darker sprinkles. On the top of the cake was a candle in the shape of a C, for Clementine.

      “I call first taste!” A young voice behind them interrupted, revealing the young boy in all the pictures. He dragged the chair to the table in what seemed like seconds, but Clem’s reflexes were quick enough to grab him before he got to the cake.

“AJ, we’re gonna have it later, okay?” Clementine held the sulking kid under her arm with as much ease if he was a football. “This is my little brother, AJ. Kiddo, these are my friends Louis and Violet.”

        “Ah, the famous Alvin Junior,” Louis knelt down to be eye level with the kid, who crossed his arms and looked past him, towards the cake. “Heard you got my buddy Marlon good.”

AJ’s expression softened for a moment, and Clem put her hand on his shoulder, lightly squeezing it in reassurance. “He’s really sorry about that. AJ has a thing about people sneaking up behind him.”

        Louis gave an understanding nod, before straightening his posture.

“Don’t ever do it.” AJ’s voice was raspy, clearly trying to be intimidating. It brought a smile to Violet’s face, reminding her of a younger version of herself.

      “Loud and clear, little man.” Louis snorted to himself, his gaze turning towards Violet. “Vi, introduce yourself to the little lad.”

Violet’s face turned hot at the sudden shift of attention on her. She shakily outstretched her hand, a grinning Clem in the corner of her eye.

          “I’m-“

“Violet,” The kid’s demeanor changed completely, dropping his crossed arms to his side. “Clem told me about you. We got chicken nuggets in the fridge for you.”

     “We have chicken nuggets in the fridge for you,” Clem corrected, earning a soft nod from AJ, who’d gone back to doing the little hand stimming motion that she was so used to Tenn doing. “They’re dinosaur-shaped.”

The doorbell suddenly rang, and AJ booked it out of the kitchen and towards the door. Clem sighed before following behind him, shooting Violet and Louis an unreadable glance.

      Louis took advantage of the privacy to swing his arm around his shorter best friend, grabbing Violet’s arm and spinning himself while she stiffly stood there, trying her best to keep her feet planted on the ground.

“Didja hear that? Karaoke, Vi!” Louis pressed, trying his best to dip himself without falling on his ass. “So, Bop to the Top or You’re the One That I Want? I call Sandy’s part, though.”

     Violet snorted, shoving him away just as the soft, melodic tune that Brody’s voice carried out throughout the halls.

“Brody!” Violet practically threw herself into the arms of her auburn-haired friend, who was timidly taken aback, but returned the hug anyway. “Here, Brode’s got a much better voice than I do.” Violet had turned the tall, flustered girl around and nudged her towards Louis.

     Brody’s smile turned bright as she and Louis started discussing all the possible duets they could do.

Violet turned back to Clementine, who was leaning against the doorframe, eyes narrowed as she looked down at the floorboards. Violet pressed herself up next to her, snapping Clem from her daze.

      “You okay?” Violet asked, watching Clem as she fiddled with her hands, pushing back her cuticles.

“Yeah,” Clementine breathed out, a faint smile crossing her features. “It’s just... my brother. Not AJ, my older brother. He’s away at college and last time I talked to him, he said he wouldn’t miss my birthday for anything, but... Lee told me he and his boyfriend are going through a really bad breakup. I dunno, I’m just worried.”

      Clementine took a picture frame that was lying on the kitchen table, and held it so Violet could see. Her finger landed on a tall, lanky kid, who was affectionately giving AJ and Clem noogies. He had brown, shaggy hair that was pulled back into a loose ponytail. Clementine smiled down at the picture, her eyes welling up at the corners.

“Uhh... fuck.” Clementine put the picture back on the counter with more force than she meant to, knocking over a box of graham crackers. “Shit.”

      Clem knelt down quickly, trying desperately to scoop up the broken graham crackers off the ground. Violet knelt down beside her and started helping out. Her brain short-circuited when she brushed hands with Clementine, but she quickly snapped out of it, dumping the cracker fragments into the trash.

“We have a couple other boxes, don’t worry.” Clem reassured her, opening the drawer parallel to her head to reveal a bunch of s’mores ingredients. “Thank you, Vi.”

     Violet smiled at the girl in front of her, the light reflecting from the window above the sink illuminating the right half of her face. In the new contrast, she noticed a faint scar across Clementine’s nose, almost completely invisible in any other setting. The amount of visible freckles across her nose and cheeks multiplied in the light, like an intricate pattern or a constellation.

“Vi?” Clementine’s soft tone interrupted her musings, and Violet stepped back on impulse, hands instinctively returning to the pockets of her sweatshirt.

      They both now noticed that Brody and Louis had left the kitchen, and were now sitting around the lit campfire with Lee and Carley. “Cmon,” Clem grabbed the boxes of graham crackers and held them to her chest, using her free hand to grab at the jumbo marshmallow bag.

Violet reached for the Hershey’s bar, following Clementine down the porch and towards the fire pit to join the others.

[mydarlingvioletine]

‘Just a Puppy Crush’ - Chapter Six

Ship(s): Violet/Clementine Media: The Walking Dead (Season 4)

          Clementine’s name snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked up at Brody, who was smiling down at the journal in her hands. Violet had moved back to her original position, sitting stiffly with her eyes on the trophy case. 

So, she blacked out for the entirety of Violet’s origin story. She was having a bone thrown at her to learn more about the mysteriously cool blonde to the left of her, but she dropped the ball.

         Real good detective work, Clementine.

She knew bits and pieces. That her dad was a drunk and that she barely spent time with her mom because she worked a bunch of jobs. To pay for her husband’s very expensive habit. That Violet had a “someone” in her past, named Minerva. Louis brought her up once, but dropped it because Violet was visibly upset. That was the last she’d heard about her.

       “‘A girl and her brother arrived here the other day. Her father got a teaching opportunity here, so they moved across the country. Mr. Everett’s cool. He’s a good teacher. His wife is really nice, too. I went in for pre-session and met her. She brought in coffee and an omelette for Mr. Everett, and told me that she had a daughter around my age. Clementine. She warned me she was a little grizzly, but had a big heart and could use a friend right now.’“

“Carley..” Clem scoffed to herself, pinching the top of her nose with a mix of frustration and adoration. “Did she pay you to talk to me too?”

        Brody giggled, shaking her head and flipping the page. 

“‘I met Clementine today. She’s a sweetheart. A little bit standoff-ish, but really kind. We passed notes during math class, and she doodled flowers on the bottom of my classwork.’“ Brody held out the journal, finger on a scrap of paper with a couple detailed flowers, taped to the page. “‘She’s talented, really really talented. She’s even better at realistic stuff.’“

      Clementine’s smile dropped in an instant, noticeable to Violet and Louis. Brody, oblivious, kept reading, skipping a couple pages ahead.

“‘I didn’t mean to do it. I don’t have heavy footsteps, I just walk quietly on instinct.’” Brody’s eyes flickered towards Clementine, who nodded, biting down on her thumb. “’I saw her drawing in a sketchbook, and leaned over her shoulder to look at it. It was so, so realistic. It didn’t even take a full glance for me to realize who it was of. I told her it was really good, but she was embarrassed, and got mad at me for sneaking up on her. She made me promise not to te-’”

         “-Um, have you guys seen Captain Marvel? Carley works at the police station and she was able to snag an illegal version of it.” Clementine interrupted loudly, quickly rising to her feet. Brody took the hint, and clasped the notebook shut, upset with herself that she’d almost broken her promise.

“No, yeah, let’s watch it.” Brody stammered, shoving her diary back into her bag so it couldn’t hurt anyone else. Louis and Violet exchanged a worried look, as Clementine rounded the corner and darted up the stairs.

        She couldn’t find the movie. Carley had lost it or dropped it somewhere, and she had to go back to them empty-handed. Stalling, she took solace in James’ presence, standing beside him to help with the dishes.

They had a routine that dated back to when Clementine first got here. Clementine washed, James dried. AJ usually spot-checked, but he’d gone to sleep hours ago. They both worked in silence, both wracked with nerves and concern. 

       “James?” Clem broke the silence, soaping up the inside of a glass. 

“You okay?” James asked, setting the bowl down to look at his younger sister, her face struck with something sad that anybody other than her family would have missed. 

      Clementine cleared her throat, scrubbing the frosting off of the cake-covered plate. “I’m good. I just.. good.”

James nodded, not wanting to push her past her point of comfort. He took the plate from her hands, rinsing it off as her focus set on the window, vines from the garden flowing down the side of her house like her own curly hair.

     “You have no idea how good it is to see you,” Clementine breathed out, swiftly wrapping her arms around her brother, burying her face into his college sweatshirt.

James returned the hug, resting his chin on his little sister’s head. “Back atcha, kid. I really missed you.” Clementine stepped away from her brother, her eyebrows shooting up as she heard Louis singing off-key from downstairs. “I’ll be here all break, you know. C’mon, don’t miss out on your own birthday.”

        Clementine pursed her lips, and let out a hearty sigh. “Hey, James?”

“What’s up, Clem?”

“You don’t have to answer. It’s kinda dumb, but... I’m just curious. Were you sure Charlie liked you when you asked him out?” Clementine whispered, resting her elbows on the kitchen counter.

         A soft smile crept over James’ lips, and he softly shook his head. He turned towards her, and held out his pinky. “Promise you won’t tell Mom.”

Clementine nodded, wrapping her pinky finger around his. They shook on it, and James pressed his back against the kitchen counter, hands gripping the railing as he started recollecting.

     “I didn’t know, Clem. All I knew was that I was tired of carrying it on my back and just wanted it out there. And with the help of my good friend, Mr. Alcohol, I was able to say ‘fuck it’ and just go for it.” James smirked, sternness crossing his face after a couple seconds. “Don’t take this as advice. I also took a whole bite out of a pumpkin that night.”

Clem giggled, her stress lifting into nothingness as she laughed. “You’re telling me, James Abbott, honor student, class president, star of the lacrosse team and salutatorian, drunkenly asked a guy out and took a bite of a pumpkin, all in one night. Illegally, might I add.”

     James playfully shushed her, slinging his arm around the little sister he cared so much for. “Why are you asking, exactly?”

Clementine’s shoulders stiffened, and her cheeks turned pink in an instant. “No reason in particular.”

             “It’s Violet, isn’t it?”

Clementine grabbed a spoon out of the sink, and pointed it threateningly towards him. “Shut your fucking mouth.”

       James looked down at the adorable, rosy-cheeked kid who he’d made an internal oath to do anything for, the day he met her. The day of Lee and Carley’s wedding, she dropped her hat into the lake, and he jumped in without thinking, completely ruining his suit. 

He didn’t care though; Clementine’s relief and smile as she put the sopping wet hat back on her head was reward enough.

       “Honestly, Clem, it’s almost impossible to know for sure. Even if you were 100% sure your feelings were reciprocated, it’s human to be nervous and unsure. But..” He paused, pursing his lips together in thought. “You won’t know if you don’t act on your feelings. I think you’ll be okay, Clementine.”

Clem huffed as James pulled her into a side-hug, crossing her arms tightly across herself. “Thanks, weirdo.”

         “No problem, weirdo.” James paused for a second, then grabbed at his backpack, strewing the contents across the kitchen table. He gave a short “aha!” before cupping his treasured picture of him and Charlie in his hand, leaning it towards Clementine so she could see. “The risk is worth it.”

With a solemn nod, Clem started back down the stairs, opening the door to the lounge room. Louis was on top of the coffee table, holding a hairbrush as if it were a microphone, screaming the lyrics to American Boy by Estelle. Clem internally thanked whatever was out there that the soundproofing was good in this room.

        He wasn’t alone though. Brody was laying across the couch, holding her phone high as the music played. Her eyes landed on Violet, who took Louis’ hand and allowed herself to be twirled around the table. She was singing too, though it was almost impossible to hear over Louis.

Louis’ eyes landed on Clementine, and he stopped in his tracks. Violet didn’t get the memo though, swaying happily, a water bottle in her hand being her choice of a make-shift microphone.

“Like the way he’s speakin’, his confidence is peakin’ Don’t like his baggy jeans but I might like what’s undernea- SHIT”

Violet clasped her hands over her mouth, wide eyes on Clementine, who she’d just noticed was standing in the doorway. Brody quickly struggled to pause the music, and Louis stepped down from the coffee table. 

    “Uh, so you mentioned karaoke earlier but you left, and Brody has a karaoke app on her phone so we just... uh,” Violet stammered, crossing her arms tightly across her chest.

Clementine rolled her eyes, grabbing the hairbrush from Louis’ hands. “You were really singing an Estelle song without me? In my house? On my birthday?”

      “Uh... happy birthday?” Louis squeaked, ducking just in time to dodge a pillow Clem flung at him. She cleared her throat, and climbed onto the coffee table with Violet’s help.

“Brody, if you will,” Clem stretched her arms over her head. Brody happily hit the play button again, and Clementine jumped in right in time for the chorus.

          “Take me on a trip, I’d like to go someday”

Clementine reached down for Violet’s hand, and twirled her as she sang. Taken aback, Violet’s movements were stiff and cautious. It didn’t take long before she melted into the rhythm, singing along, her voice hardly over a whisper.

          “Take me to New York, I’d love to see LA”

Clementine hopped down from the table, the floor shaking beneath her impact. Her grip on Violet’s wrist, she slung her free arm across Violet’s shoulder, dropping the hairbrush to the floor.

           “I really want to come kick it with you”

Violet took in a deep breath, cautiously placing her hand on Clementine’s shoulder. An encouraging smile from Clem was all she needed to calm her nerves, her volume almost matching Clementine’s. 

           “You’ll be my American boy”

They fit well together. Violet’s slight rasp and gravelly voice complimented Clem’s smooth, silvery tone in an intimate way. Violet’s breath tickled her nose, reminding Clementine of how close they were. Inches away from Violet’s face, she pondered how easy it would be to just press their lips together. She knew she couldn’t, though.

               “La, la la, la la eya~”

Fuck it. Clem’s hands found their way to the small of Violet’s back, and she took a prominent step forward, dipping the flustered blonde as far as she could, given her prosthetic.

        Brody and Louis were clapping and hollering at the performance. Clementine pulled Violet back to her feet, and dropped her hands back to her sides. With a lopsided smile, she turned towards her friends and bowed. Oblivious to the breathless Violet behind her, Clem grabbed her water bottle off the table and took a huge gulp.

Once the song petered out, Violet set foot back in reality. Eyes wide and lips parted, she let go of the breath she’d been holding in when Clementine placed her hands on her back. Holy shit.

     The confidence that struck Clementine disappeared as quickly as it entered her life, leaving her stunned. The spark that hit her when she took Violet’s hand was still sizzling through her nerves, her stomach warm and full of butterflies.

She turned on her heel to say something, anything to Violet, but she had disappeared.

[mydarlingvioletine]

Just a Puppy Crush

                     Chapter Five

Ship(s): Clementine/Violet Media: The Walking Dead Game (Season 4)

Lee had brought down a couple bowls of snacks to the kids, earning an angry hiss from Clem when he stepped between her and the projected movie. Louis wasted no time digging his hands into the bowl of Cheetos, orange dust covering his lips and the tips of his fingers.

     Brody looked over at her friend as Clementine turned the lights back on, sighing before taking a napkin and wiping his face. “My God, Lou.”

Violet felt herself yawn before she could stop it. The warmth from the huge fluffy blanket that Carley had brought down to them plus the warmth of Brody and Clementine beside her was enough to put her to sleep there.

      She rubbed her eyes, blinking furiously to wake herself up. Clem watched her with a tired smile, softly humming as she wrapped the blanket around herself.

“Nope. It’s not even eleven, you guys can’t go to sleep yet.” Louis lightly shook Violet’s shoulders, and she gave an annoyed hum, eyes opening reluctantly.

      Brody groaned as Louis started rummaging through his bag, pulling out a deck of cards. “Let’s kick it off with a classic. Truth or dare.”

Violet rolled her eyes, but took a card from the top of the pile when Louis passed it to her. “You don’t use cards in truth or dare.”

          “You do in this version,” Louis grinned, raising his eyebrow at his card. You’d  never expect it, but Louis had a pretty good poker face when he wanted to. “Highest card gets to ask. Lowest card has to answer. You only get one question or dare per turn, so use it wisely.”

Violet looked down at her card, and her heart dropped. A four. A lump formed in her throat as Louis started waggling his eyebrows, mischief in his smile.

       Brody smiled down at her card, slamming it down on the table once Clem had taken her card. A queen.

Louis cleared his throat before lightly setting his card face-up on the coffee table. A King. Brody scowled.

     Clementine reluctantly placed her card down with a comically adorable pout on her face, raising her eyebrow at Louis as to challenge him. “Do your worst.”

Louis’ glance flipped between Violet and Clem, stroking his nonexistent beard in thought. He raised his finger victoriously in the air. “I got it. Dare, obviously. I dare you to....”

      Violet and Louis met eyes, and her heart jumped in her chest. Oh, god.

What was he going to do?

             “Get me some of James’ hair.”

As weird as it was, Violet exhaled in relief, her muscles relaxing as Clementine scoffed, and kicked his shin under the table.

      “I’m not helping you clone my brother,” Clem rolled her eyes, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes. “Pick something else.”

Louis huffed, disappointed. He pursed his lips in thought, then dropped his eyesight on Violet.

           “Truth, then... Ever have a boyfriend?”

Clementine couldn’t cup her hand over her mouth fast enough to stifle her cackling, pulling her knees to her chest.

        “No- no, no boyfriend...” Clementine managed to utter between laughing fits. “Absolutely not.”

Louis cocked his head, cupping the sides of his face in sudden interest. “How about a girlfriend?”

       Clem rolled her eyes, picking up the deck of cards and setting her other card in the center of the table. The other kids followed suit. “You said one question per turn. Your rules, not mine.”

She passed the deck down to Brody, frowning down at her card. Brody was undeniably jubilant, holding the Ace between her fingers for all to see.

      Violet took a card from the stack, eyes flicking down to it. She twisted the card away from Brody, who was making obvious attempts at looking at everyone’s cards.

Clementine reluctantly set her card down on the table, crossing her arms and tapping her foot impatiently.

      “Oho, what are the chances?” Louis teased, picking up Clem’s two, a big shit-eating grin on his face.

“Howzaboutit, Clem? Have you ever had a girlfriend?” Brody asked, chewing on the edge of her card.

     Clementine’s expression dropped, and she let her head rest on her knees. She closed her eyes for a second before taking a shaky breath.

Violet nudged an already regretful Brody, who’s goofy demeanor quickly changed as she saw Clem lose her spark. “I’m sorry... you don’t have to answer, I’m really sorry. How about... um... what’s your favorite color?”

     Clem raised her head, a soft smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “Don’t sweat it, Brody. I’ve never had a girlfriend, either. There was.. this girl I liked back at the home I was in, a long time ago. Her name was Sarah.. Her biological father regained custody of her before we could really get that close.”

Violet pursed her lips, before she set her card down on the scrap pile in the center. “Purple.”

         “What?”

Clementine rolled her eyes, shifting into a criss-cross applesauce position. “You asked about my favorite color. It’s purple.”

      Violet felt a kick under the table, and didn’t have to look up from the card in her hands to know it was Louis.

Brody snorted, taking a card from the top of the pile. Clementine groaned, throwing her card over her shoulder. “Your cards are fucking rigged, Lou.”

     “The cards just aren’t in your favor, Clem.” Louis sneered, placing his Jack down on the table. Violet grimaced as he held up the card she’d tossed. A three.

“Just get it over with.” Clementine sighed with annoyance, resting her head on her hands.

      Louis brightened up instantly, his posture straightening as he tapped his finger on his chin. His gaze flashed towards Violet, with a quick wink.

“Clem, you’ve been at Ericson’s for a little while. Anybody here you like-like?”

      Violet scoffed at his word choice, taking the pressure off of Clem as she stared at the card in her hand. “Seriously? ‘Like-like’? What are you, six?”

“Seven, thank you.” Louis grinned, resting his hand on his leg and tapping his knee.

      Clementine’s voice was soft and cautious, but almost a little bit exhilarated, like she’d been waiting to say something.

“Yeah, I’ve definitely got feelings for someone.” Clem practically whispered, before scratching the back of her head.

      “Oho! Who is it?” Louis pretty much squealed like he won the lottery, and a quick smile that Clementine couldn’t hide took over her face.

         “Nope, not telling.”

She said that, but there was an overwhelming feeling in Violet’s stomach that she already knew who it was, and that someone was sitting across from her, twirling one of his dreadlocks in his fingers.

       Violet cleared her throat before taking another card from the pile, hiding her disappointment behind a phony smile. “I win.” She set down her Ace card.

“And poor Brody loses.” Louis noted, nudging the red-headed girl beside him. Brody smiled encouragingly at Violet, hands folded together.

      “Alright, I’ve got one,” Violet said, tapping her nails on the coffee table. “Brody, you document everything and you’ve been here the longest. How about you tell us what you thought of us when we first got here? First impressions, that kinda stuff.”

Brody brightened up, digging into her backpack and pulling out a diary, so worn out you couldn’t even make out her name on it anymore. Louis winced, ducking his head as she started flipping pages.

      Brody, barely able to hold in her excitement, cleared her throat, her finger tracing one of the first pages of her journal.

“First up, Louis,” Brody grinned, holding the journal under the light so she could read the old, scraggly handwriting. “‘A new kid was dropped off today. He seems nice. Kinda loud, but it’s not his fault.’” She flipped a couple pages forward.

     “‘So, the new kid is... interesting. They let him on the announcements because he said he was going to advertise his idea for a new music club. I guess they trusted him enough to let him in the room alone. Marlon was taking him under his wing, and the faculty trusts Marlon. So, he locks the door behind him, right?’”

“Then, he says ‘This one goes out to Mrs. Bradley for failing me on my math test.’ Then all of the sudden, this really profane song blasts through the speakers, while he screams along to it. You could hear everyone trying to get in, yelling and pounding on the door. It cut off with the sound of the door slamming open and a really girly scream. I like the new kid.’”

        Violet and Clementine couldn’t hold in their laughter, as a flustered Louis groaned into his hands. “Marlon got in so much trouble for that. It was dumb of me.”

“Oh, Mrs. Bradley totally deserved it, dude. I stayed post for her, and she refused to be alone in the same room as me.” Violet recalled, ancient anger sparking alive in her eyes. “She found out I was gay, and said she wasn’t comfortable being around me.”

       Louis scoffed, his eyes narrowing again. “In that case, I don’t feel bad for her. Glad her ass got fired.”

Clementine pursed her lips as Brody flipped through a couple dozen pages, tapping the page once she reached an excerpt from January.

        “This one’s about Violet,” Brody explained, squinting her eyes to focus on the chicken scratch. “‘They stuck me with the new girl, and now we’re rooming together. She’s tough and kinda angry, but who wouldn’t be?’”

Clementine’s eyes landed on Violet, Brody’s words sounding like a distant murmur as she studied her features. How she raised her eyebrows at points she recollected, how she chewed on her bottom lip when being reminded of her past self. Her eyebrows knit together, the birthmark that was only visible because she was in a T-shirt.

     Violet’s eyes snapped upwards in a second, meeting hers, and Clem craned her head to the side, feigning interest in Brody’s story. Through her peripheral vision, she saw Vi take a deep inhale, one that moved her entire body. She saw her lean her head on Brody’s shoulder, a small smile on her face as she read aloud.

Clementine wasn’t listening anymore. She was focused on the way Violet tucked her forehead into Brody’s collarbone. She was talking but Clem couldn’t make anything out. They both laughed.

        Fuck.