#I’d say TLOU included

[laligraves]

a wedding in june

cult leader!joel miller x virgin fem!reader

[18+] | wc: ~3.2k summary: You run from Joel on your wedding day. masterlist | AO3

warnings: HBO Joel, TLOU AU, dubious consent (i'm so serious don't read if it makes you uncomfortable), some proofreading, post-outbreak, commune/cult vibes, arranged marriage, mentions of infected/gore/violence, no use of y/n or too many details on reader's appearance, some face slapping, loss of virginity (and some pain associated to that but only a few sentences), outdoors sex, oral (f! receiving), squirting, unprotected sex, creampie

a/n: i promise i have other ideas rattling in my brain besides dubious consent 😭 i have a whole wip chart with tons of ideas that i hope i can write

You run faster at the sound of shouts behind you. Sweat drips down your temples and fear makes your heart beat erratically, but you don’t dare stop. 

The outer gates are only a few more hundred feet away. All you need to do is get past the trees and you’ll be able to escape. You don’t have time to think about how this will be your first time venturing outside of the commune. 

Everything you were taught about the outside, about the orphaned souls and monsters that lurk, none of that matters. Not when you’re more terrified at what your future will bring.

Joel Miller. The man who in just a few months, cleared away the hundreds of infected in the nearby valley. Joel, who in the commune’s monthly hunting trips, manages to find everything from venison to medication. 

The times you’ve been close enough to Joel, to feel the heat emanating off his body, you can almost taste the violence that simmers beneath his skin. Instead of it scaring you, like it would any sane person, it excites you. 

The longing in his gaze whenever he looks at you makes you dizzy. There’s a pulse of heat between your thighs each and every time, one that will only go away after you ride your pillow until exhaustion. Whenever you face him again, after you’ve dreamed of him taking you, you wonder if he knows what you do in the privacy of your room. 

There’s no denying that he’s saved this commune from the brink of starvation. Of course everyone, including you, is grateful for the kindness of a stranger. But in the months he’s been here, their gratitude has turned into pure devotion. 

Your parents practically pushed you into his arms the moment Joel asked about you. Normally quite level headed, your parents have begun to treat Joel like a God. You thought Joel would find their insistence of marriage off putting, that he would be an honorable man and let you choose your own path in this place.  

You were wrong. 

Your parents saw it as an honor that out of all the women in the commune, Joel chose you. The books and pretty dresses he finds on his trips are only a sign of how devoted a husband he will be, at least that’s what your mother tried to tell you.  

And the times you tried to speak to Joel and get him to rethink this marriage? Don’t worry about it, pretty girl, was all he would say before he’d send you off. 

You can imagine him in your bed and fantasize about him in your dreams, but to be his wife? Especially now that he’s been chosen to lead the commune—you want nothing to do with that. 

A denser path to your right has you changing directions, wishing to throw them off your trail. You can still make it if you run through here. 

Except it’s too late. Strong arms grab and push you into the lush grass. 

“No,” you scream, “let me go!” 

“What’s wrong with you,” Joel snaps, “don’t you know what’s out there?” 

“I don’t care,” you scream out childishly, “I’d rather be out there than be with you!” 

He climbs on top of you, grabbing your wrists in one hand and pressing them above your head into the grass. He leans on your thighs to keep you still and grabs your chin with the other hand. 

“Listen to me,” he insists, “you don’t know what you’re sayin’. You know nothin’ of what life is like outside these walls.” 

He digs his fingers into your cheeks and shakes your head slightly since you refuse to look at him. 

“Joel, did you find her?” your father calls out from a distance. 

“Yeah, I got ‘er.” 

“Great, let’s go back and finish the celebration–” 

“No,” Joel calls out. 

“Joel–” 

“Leave,” Joel interrupts. 

He continues sitting on you, putting most of his weight on your trembling body. The white dress you're wearing, a satin piece that he found on their last hunting trip into the town, rides up dangerously close to your panties. 

“I need to teach you a lesson in respect, wife,” Joel growls. 

He stands and just when you think you can escape again, he yanks you up with him. Joel holds your arm tight with one hand while taking off his belt with the other. He spins you around and brings your wrists behind your back, using the belt to bind them together. 

“You wanna see what’s out there? Since you think you’re so tough?” Joel asks, not waiting for an answer and instead dragging you to the gate. “I do everything to make this place safe for you, darlin’. But this is how you repay me? Runnin’ off at the first chance you get?” 

You’re surprised at his words and the sincerity of his voice. He sounds almost… sad. 

“Practically beggin’ to be out there with those fuckers instead of me?” he continues, “The only man who can truly protect you?” 

You reach the gate and your heartbeat picks up again. You’ve never been out this far. In fact, you’re acres away from the actual commune. While the gates are secure and regularly enforced, you can’t help but feel truly terrified that something will grab you just outside these barriers.  

“I’m sorry, Joel–” 

He stops, spinning you around and landing a hard slap, slap, slap on your ass. 

“You address me as sir.”

“I’m sorry, sir,” you cry out, “I learned my lesson. Let’s–let’s go back.” 

Joel ignores you, choosing instead to march you right to the gate. He keeps one hand on your arm and uses the other to maneuver the many locks and wires on the barrier door until it finally opens. 

“No, please! I said I was sorry! I wasn’t thinking!” 

He drags you out and for the first time in your life, you’ve left the commune. Despite only a metal gate separating both sides, this area seems devoid of life. 

He walks and walks until you wonder if you’ll pass out from the panic. You fall to your knees and Joel crouches right in front of you. 

“Your daddy ever tell you about the infected?” Joel whispers, tilting your chin up with his index finger. “How they’ll bite and rip into any part of your flesh.” 

“No, please,” you whimper. 

He drags a finger down your neck and over your exposed collarbones, leaving goosebumps in his wake. Your nipples tighten as he glides his finger over one breast and then the other. 

“Once they’re done with you, if there’s anything left, then you become just as mindless and violent as them. Forever lost–” 

“Sir–” 

His hand tightens around your neck, cutting off your words. 

“It’s not just one, babydoll. They like to travel in hordes. Makes it easier to find their victims.” 

Your air supply thins and blood rushes to your ears. You squeeze your thighs unconsciously as the pulsing between them only grows. Joel ghosts his lips over yours and your eyes flutter closed without thinking. 

“But it’s not just them,” he whispers over your lips, “there’s non-infected out there. People who won’t think twice about hurtin’ a pretty girl like you. Killin’ ya’ just for fun.” 

You’re not sure who kisses who first. It’s not the chaste kiss the two of you shared at the altar. It’s rough and has you pressing your body close to his so you can take every swipe of his tongue or bite from his teeth. He continues holding your neck, lightly squeezing so you have no other choice than to gasp for air. 

You fall back at the push of his hand on your chest. He flips you on your side to untie his belt from your wrists. You attack the moment your hands are free, sliding your hands through his salt and pepper hair and tugging him down.

Joel hisses but returns each of your kisses and bites with his own. You hear the squawk of a crow from above and you're immediately reminded of where you are. 

“Wait, sir,” you gasp, “not here. Take me back to your–our house–” 

He drags his teeth down your neck, rubbing his beard into your soft skin and biting down. 

“Thought you’d rather be out here than with me?” he says, repeating your words from earlier.  

“No,” you whimper, trying to push him off, “not here. I–” 

He reaches your chest and sucks your nipple into his mouth right over your dress. Your words are cut off and you're arching your back, trying to push more into his mouth. 

Joel makes room between your thighs and grinds down as you twist his wavy strands of hair between your fingers. His hard bulge rubs over your pussy and your whimper at the roughness.

He pinches your other nipple between two fingers then leans back to tug down the straps of your dress. Warm, summer wind glides over your now naked breasts and you shiver. 

“Look at these pretty tits,” he groans, “all mine.” 

Joel yanks the skirt of the dress over your tummy and runs a finger up and down your panty-covered pussy. You shamelessly grind down on his hand and cry out the moment he lands a harsh slap. 

“Please,” you beg with what's left of your sanity, “take me home.” 

With the same technique as before, Joel holds both wrists in one hand and uses the other to rip your panties off. You try to close your thighs from the sting of the elastic, but he’s quick to stop you. 

“Christ,” he whispers, “now ain’t that a beauty.” 

With two fingers, Joel swipes through your slick folds and brings them up to his mouth.   

“Mmm, sweet girl. Needa taste of this pussy.” 

“What do you mean—“

You try to remind Joel of just where the two of you are, but he fits his broad shoulders between your thighs and fuses his mouth to your pussy. 

You’re surprised, stunned silent by the heat of his mouth on your most intimate parts. You’re by no means ignorant of what a husband does to his wife—you’ve read enough of the romance books your mother keeps hidden in her bedside table and heard enough stories from your friends to have an idea of what happens on a wedding night. 

But never did you imagine it would feel like this. His beard and mustache only heighten the sensitivity between your thighs. The setting sun and the dense forest that surrounds the two of you should add to your terror, but Joel manages to put your attention elsewhere. 

His tongue lashes repeatedly over your clit and down to tease your entrance. You throw your head back onto the grass and stare through blurred vision at the purple sky, uncaring of where you are and of what creeps in the dark. 

He’s greedy, eating away at you like you're the last meal he’ll ever have. You’re slick and sticky, painting his face with your juices, making it easy for him to push a thick finger into your entrance. 

The stretch burns, but he calms you with a swipe of his tongue on your clit and the vibrations of his moans on your skin. 

“Your parents were right, you are a virgin,” he groans, pushing on the little piece of thin flesh that separates the rest of you. “Gonna be a tight fit, baby.”

You have no time to think about when your parents had that conversation with him. Instead, you're dumbfounded at the size of his fingers. You whine, unsure of what exactly you're asking, but nonetheless chanting more, more, more into the air. 

Joel manages to slide a second finger, curving them and pressing on something bumpy that makes you twitch and see black dots in your vision.

He stretches and scissors his fingers in your tightness, opening you up more and sucking your swollen button between his lips. Just when the heat is about to consume every inch of your body, he stops. 

“No,” you whine, trying to yank his head back to your thighs. 

Joel dodges your hands and laughs at the desperation written all over your face. He leans down, pressing his wet face to yours in a sloppy kiss, forcing you to suck on his tongue. Riding your pillow doesn’t compare to this.  

Just as before, Joel rips away and catches your wrist right when you reach for him. 

“If you woulda been a good girl, I woulda eaten this virgin pussy till mornin’,” he says while unbuttoning his jeans. “Made you ride my face and cum as many times as you wanted.” 

You barely understand how someone could ride a face, and yet you clench and gush around nothing, wanting his mouth or fingers back. You see the dark, curly hair at his base before he pulls out his length. 

“But for bein’ a brat, I’m gonna make you come on my cock instead.”

The tip is swollen and leaking a white-ish liquid that makes your mouth water at the sight. He lets go of your wrist and gently slaps your face. 

“Are you listenin’ to me, girl? I won’t fuck you if you ain’t payin’ attention.” 

“Y-yes, sir. I’m listening.” 

Joel laughs once again, noticing the dazed look in your eyes. 

“Don’t worry, baby. I’ll make it fit.” 

There’s a craving inside of you, one that has you suddenly feeling so empty, that if he doesn’t fill you with his cock you think you’ll die. You repeat the word over and over in your head. 

You’ve read it more than enough times and heard it through hushed giggles from your friends, yet the way Joel says the word, the way he squeezes and twists his hand over his cock, you finally understand what the word truly means. 

Your fingers and the handle of your hairbrush were never able to give you what you so desperately seeked. You always stopped before you went in too deep, never able to take that final push inside.

He spreads open your thighs and you lean up on your elbows to try to catch a glance at what he’s doing. You see your sticky fluids stuck on your inner thighs and over the tip of his cock. He pushes in just an inch, and you gasp at the thickness. 

“Fuck, tight little thing,” Joel moans. “Need you to beg f’me, baby.” 

“Please, please, sir,” you answer quickly, “please, I–I want it!” 

He sinks in another inch, his face pinching in barely controlled restraint. 

“Say–fuck, say ‘I need your cock, sir’.”

The words are caught in your throat as you try to adjust to his size. Joel doesn’t like that you take too long to answer and slaps your cheek. 

“Answer me.” 

“I need your–your cock, sir,” you whine. 

“Again, fu–again,” he demands. 

You try your best to repeat his words, except he’s too far gone now. There’s a pinch, a rip of thin flesh and suddenly he’s sliding all the way in. You claw at his arms and at the grass to get away but he’s gripping your thighs, pressing deeper and whispering take it, pretty girl and you ain’t getting away from me.  

You feel full, so incredibly full. You’re split open, ripped apart just for him. 

“I know, baby. I know,” Joel coos, “it’ll hurt only for a minute.” 

His thumb rubs tiny circles on your clit and he leans over to press kisses on your eyelids and cheeks, licking away the tears that fall. 

The stretch burns, but his groans of pleasure and his gentle kisses have a warm glow spreading through your body. Joel notices the change in you and glances down to watch your hips move in small circles. 

“There we go, baby,” he moans, “knew you’d like it.”

He pulls out slowly, keeping eye contact with you and watching each pinch of your brow and flutter of your eyelids. 

“Saved this pretty cunt just f’me, yeah?” 

“Yes, sir,” you whisper, pushing away the sweaty curls from Joel’s forehead. 

He picks up the pace, curling his hand behind your knee and pushing it into your chest, arranging you like a doll. The pain now completely gone, you lay there, running hands over his arms and watching the sweat drip down his temples. 

Every slide of his cock kisses the very end of you. Your hips move and twist on their own accord and you have no choice but to cry out into the night sky. 

“Takin’ this–this big cock like a good girl, yeah?” Joel groans, watching his cock plunge in and out of your little hole. “Need you–fuck, need you to say you’re mine, baby.” 

“I–I’m yours, sir,” you whine, feeling a twinge in your core, “yours, yours, yours.” 

You dig your fingers in his neck and drag him down for a kiss. He grunts as you bite deep enough to draw blood. 

The thoughts from earlier, about running away from him, leave your mind. Even if it hurts a little, even if you aren’t prepared to be a wife, this is exactly what you need. And you won’t let anyone else have him.

“You gonna cum, girl? Gonna cum on your husband’s big cock?” 

This time he doesn’t stop you. His hand squeezes your neck and he traps you into the ground, pistoning his hips into your slick cunt. Your oxygen lessens and your cumming, numbness and white heat spreading throughout your body. 

“Just like that, baby,” Joel growls, “soak my cock.” 

You're gushing on him, painting the hair at his base with sticky juices. You tremble in his arms and claw at the hand that squeezes your neck. Joel doesn’t let up, fucking into your limp body, loving the way you mewl underneath him.  

He moves in short thrusts, stiffening and letting out an animalistic grunt into the night sky. He presses his head into your neck, sucking and biting into your soft skin while he spills his seed inside of you.

"Take my cum, baby. Take it, take it," Joel moans.

You clench around him, massage his cock with your inner muscles. Every drop of his cum belongs deep inside of you. 

With the little strength left in your body, you run your fingers through his hair. Joel's hands move to grip your thighs and he grinds down, spilling the last of his cum into your cunt.

"You belong to me," Joel whispers. "Don’t ever run again."

You lay there in the grass, breasts bare and pussy full of your husband's cock.

"I won’t," you promise. 

Joel leans back and slowly slips out. There’s a twinge of red mixed with his cum that he wipes up with your ripped panties. He lays down next to you and brings you in close so that your head is placed on his chest. You listen to his heartbeat and the sounds of crickets around you.

You think about the long way back to Joel's–well now your house too–and then you remember exactly where the two of you are.

"Sir, we're outside of the gates what if something or someone comes–we don't have any weapons–"

“There’s another gate a few miles out," he interrupts, "I installed it for extra protection around this place.” 

You drop your head on his chest from relief and exhaustion. Joel rubs a hand down your back and squeezes your arm. 

“I’d never put you in harm's way, pretty girl.”

-

general taglist: iloved1lfs0

ps: i know that there has been other cult leader!joel fics but in no way shape or form have i copied those works for this. if there is something major in my work that sounds similar to someone else's, it's purely by coincidence. i respect each person who takes time out of their day to write FREE content and the last thing i'd do is steal their storylines 🤍🤍🤍

[hypnotisedfireflies]

Arien's Advent Calendar, 2024

25 days of TLOU fic

ALL CLAIMS FILLED, THANK YOU!

To say a big THANKS for supporting my fic throughout the year(s), I’m doing the Advent Calendar Fic thingamy again!  I did this last year and it became this collection of stories.

From 1 - 25 December 2024 I will be posting a short story (it will be short, I will control myself) as part of a new collection of works from Driftersverse, Making Mirrors, Interstellar Overdrive and Legend of Charro.

Beneath the cut I have a little information about the story to be written each day (universe, characters and date/era).  I’d like to dedicate each to a reader, so please claim one and I’ll write it for you.

I don’t think all days will fill up, but I’d like to give everyone a chance to get one they really like, so at this stage each person can claim ONE day only - I’ll open it up to more later on. You’re welcome to send me a few in order of preference in case someone has already beaten you to the punch on your favourite, and I haven’t yet updated the list.

If you would rather claim as anon, please give me a name or an emoji or something - just so I can identify you against your chosen day and so we don’t get multiple anons muddled up. 

Please send claims via asks so I can keep track of them in one place and if not anon, include your AO3 name (if you have one).

Happy Holidays! (And thanks to everyone who voted and helped me decide what to offer!)

DD – Driftersverse (my TLOU sandbox, Tess lives) MM – Making Mirrors (Snowqueen of Texas/Parallel Lines - no Cordyceps AU) LOC – Legend of Charro (the Western) IO – Interstellar Overdrive (70s AU) AU – Alternate Universe, unrelated

“OC/Canon, any universe” is a new entry this year.  This means I’ll write a story with the canon listed and you can choose either canon or one of my original characters to appear in the story with them, plus specify universe in which it takes place.  (Eg, Frank and Joel, IO).

Please be kind and keep it to characters I am known to write (I may refuse a claim if you start waving Owen or Mel at me) and who could reasonably interact with one another.  I’ve got enough writing to do, don’t break my brain!

“Mystery AU” is exactly what it sounds.  Last time one of these spawned IO so who knows what could happen?

“Crack box” is the one crack fic I’ll write.  Last year’s took me by surprise, but this year I’m reserving a space for it.

Where are all the Tommy/Maria fics?  They’re still getting three more stories to themselves, so that’s coming probably 2025 at this stage. O_O

1. DD Tess/Joel, 2022 @justplainsalty 2. IO Joel and Ellie, 1977 @march-flowerr 3. LOC Tess/Joel, sweetheart years @seethesunny 4. DD Tess/Joel and Tommy, 2005 @dancingonmoonbeams 5. Ellie and OC/Canon, any universe OR IO 1980 (but whom?) @finnelfin 6. DD Joel/Tess 2024 @ belantana 7. Mystery AU @finnelfin 8. DD/MM Joel and Sarah, 1993 @march-flowerr 9.  IO Tess/Joel, 1974 @emilylawsons 10. Maria and OC/Canon, any universe @ameerawrites 11. LOC Tess/Joel, bandit years @adoringhxxd 12. MM Tess/Joel and Sarah, 2005 @ammotraguslervia 13. DD Tess/Joel and Ellie, 2025 @ameerawrites 14. Tommy and OC/Canon, any universe @adhdprincess 15. Crack Box OR third Mystery AU @toomanytookas 16. IO Tess/Joel 1976 @flckrsoflight 17. DD Tess/Joel, Tommy/Maria 2027 @bumblepony 18. LOC Tess/Joel and Ellie, family years @chujo-hime 19. Mystery AU @bignosebushybrows 20. DD Tess/Joel 2011 @betweentwoceremonials 21. IO Tess and Ellie, 1970 @becomethesun 22. MM Tess/Joel, 2004 @bignosebushybrows 23. Frank and OC/Canon, any universe OR DD Tess/Joel 2007 @justplainsalty 24. DD Tommy/Maria, 2022 @bumblepony 25. Mystery Christmas Story @adhdprincess

[jolalibrary]

Hi Jo!

How did you get into writing fanfic?

I’m sorry I’ve sat on this for so long, but I wanted to make sure I answered it with the full attention it deserves. I apologise for the length 😂.

I began this as to how, but then also why? and it got long.

warnings for: jo being overly open, sharing things she doesn’t usually, mentions of mental health, mention but not discussion of sexual trauma poor sleep, and again, oversharing. I don’t think I’ve been this open ever, so be gentle with me.

so, I began writing fanfic in 2015. I discovered it on accident, I was doom scrolling on Pinterest, trying to see if I could make some tree decorations in an insomnia bout (because I’d already completed TLOU - irony I know) and discovered a fanfic.

and I was lost in it, 200k deep and then I read another, and another, and I don’t know why I had an idea to attempt to write my own, but I did, and I poured all of my pain into it. (I eventually took this fic down because it was so freaking personal and painful to have up - and it’s still shared now by several people which irks me a lot). but god at the time? it healed me. and it brought me two people who I still talk to to this day, even if we don’t live in the same timezone.

I stayed in that fandom until 2018 when I left and continued only writing for daredevil (which id joined in like 2016).

and then in 2019 I stopped all together due to bad mental health, and just personal things in my life (I really wasn’t doing that well and wanted a bit of a reset).

it was then I began writing an original story. working on it obsessively, eventually shaping it to show some agents at a writing festival in 2020 (virtually, cause of the rona). and it was good, I met with three and two of them loved it. i had amazing feedback, including requests, and I should have been happy, right?

well, I FREAKED out. my little romcom could be something? I sobbed, I broke down, I couldn’t get out of bed for two days and I was a mess.

now, the reasons as to why, is still fuzzy to me. but I assume it’s because all of my life I’d truly believed that Im not good at anything. and writing was this one thing I had to myself, that I shared but never expected anything. and then, suddenly there was expectations, and the reality that people had read it—people who could do things with it, terrified me.

their nice words had weight, meaning? and yet they felt like iron pokers against my skin. even through therapy I don’t like delving into the why’s the what’s, but I assume it’s a combination of lack of self belief and the foundation I’m built on (and why I struggle with compliments) but also the fact it went from a hobby to something that could be something. and I think I freaked at it.

from here, my mental health took a big hit, I was so anxious I couldn’t leave the house and by the end of that year I was back to where I was in 2019, but if anything, much worse?

I didn’t know who I was. all the trauma i thought I’d healed from, rose up inside of me and it took me ages to finally be able to even think about writing again. I was broken. reset to more than factory settings because I couldn’t even recall what I liked? what I loved (outside of my husband and dog). I was a shadow wandering around, going from appointment to appointment.

and then, because he’s an amazing soul, my husband suggested I write fanfic again. start again, try. and I did. I potted around under a different name and then in 2022 i grabbed mvtthewmurdvck back, and I came back through call of duty.

by the end of that year, I found narcos 💁‍♀️ (javi supremacy) and here we are, 2024.

I say a lot that writing saved me, and it literally did.

and I rarely share all of this, but I’m not ashamed of my story, but sometimes I feel I should have been stronger?

but actually, I’m strong for getting up even when I was knocked down. I rebuilt, I reshaped and I discovered threads in myself I’d never known was there. and that took guts.

I was able to discover my sex drive, a thing I’ve struggled with (even in my loving and brilliant relationship) after some trauma when I was 15 with my boyfriend at the time (iykyk). I was able to write scenarios that I could then bring into my own life, and I wrote an entire fic (ILTWY) that helped me discover that I actually love sex. that I love pleasure in all its forms.

I was able to find my heart again, and write a romcom that made me find people I couldn’t be without now, but also, show myself that I can still write a romcom, and that thing in 2020 was just a blip, it wasn’t a sign and it wasn’t a thing that would define me.

and, even now, while I’m struggling to even smile, and I cried putting my eyebrows on this morning, I wrote my feelings out into a Drabble I’m not sure if I’ll share, that made me feel like I could go to work today and cope.

I say that notes and things aren’t my focus here, but never really explained why, but this, all above, is why. writing is there for me, it’s a crutch, it’s a saviour when the world feels too much. it was a thing that I lived without for a short period, but when I came back to it, it was like returning home.

and the best part? I get to share my words with you, I get to think “maybe this will resonate with people” and find that sometimes, it does. I get to be a comfort, to make someone smile, to make you laugh or even make you feel a little horny hahahah. and that means MORE to me, because when I was lost, afraid and terrified of the voice in my head, someone else’s words did that for me. they held me close, they helped me stop and pause and take a breath.

and that’s how I got into writing fanfic, and why it will forever be something special to me.

an: I haven’t edited this, and I’m shaking, so if there’s spelling mistakes, ignore.

[paigegonerogue]

Here’s why the infected scene in episode 5 of TLOU works so well…

Buildup: As of episode five in the series, we’ve seen infected multiple times already, and every appearance has built up this “threat-level” of them. In the first two episodes we see both the larger scale of the infected and how scary they can be in hordes (like the driving scene and the capitol building, as well as the absolutely brilliant overlook scene), but also how threatening they can be solo (Joel and Sarah in the diner and the museum scene)… also in episode three we get Bill’s little “ehehe” from an infected death which is just as if not far more important as well.

By the time we see the infected come running out of the crater, the writers have already intentionally and precisely given us the knowledge of just how scary the infected can be.

That’s also why I’m glad they only did this type of massive battle once in the series, because once they did it, it becomes impossible to recapture that buildup and almost “unleashing” of the infected, of seeing just how scary they are.

The buildup also includes the more typical rising tension of the episode (which was, like everything else in the show, done absolutely fantastically), and the foreshadowing of the infected by both Kathleen and Henry.

Scale: The infected scene in episode 5 is by far the biggest in scale action sequence of the show. The huge amounts of infected pouring out of the rubble and the massive Bloater, as well as how many people are involved, the fighting in the background, it makes the whole battle feel huge. It leaves you in this sense of almost “awe” that so many great action sequences have.

Horror: In the sequence there are horror elements added in to make it feel scarier (complementing both of the points above). Obviously zombies are already horror-esque, but that’s not what I mean.

I feel like the best example of horror elements being incorporated into the fight is the part where Ellie is in the car. Enclosed spaces are a horror staple. Ellie being trapped in the enclosed space with an infected, and later Henry and Sam trapped under the car, transition this battle beautifully into tension-filled smaller scale sections in this massive battle, with parts so pinprick focused on the people we care most about, and how bloodthirsty and terrifying these monsters are.

We also see it in Kathleen’s shocking and gruesome death, and the power of the bloater, almost reminiscent of the predator or other near-unstoppable horror forces.

Cinematography: The lighting in the battle is so good, with the fire and darkness adding to this scary effect of the battle, as well as this extra layer of dynamism and contrast.

Also, I’m always a sucker for background fight, following characters as they navigate through violence. The way this sequence does it is also incredibly well done, with the background ever-shifting and changing, with the focus of the shot being on someone actively trying to avoid the fight and get past this living mass of gore.

The handheld style of TLOU is something I can write essays about (and I will! Post about cinematography coming soon lol) but in this sequence it makes you feel like you’re on the ground with the characters as the battle rages around you.

Monster Design: This one is self-explanatory, I’d say. The clickers, and the Bloater, my goodness the Bloater, look so incredibly good. And the way that they created this almost alien thing overtaking regular peoples bodies and turning them into monsters is incredibly amazing, and the practical effects make it look so real and detailed (they had the makeup guy who did the Night King and Vecna)

Emotional Resonance: This one’s pretty simple. The battle makes you feel things. Not just fear for the characters, though there’s definitely a lot of that, but also showcasing Joel and Ellie’s growing bond, with Ellie trusting Joel to have her back and Joel desperately trying to protect her.

It was absolutely magnificent, and an absolute feat of filmmaking.

[cordycepsfem]

I’m glad I found this blog because I’ve always had this thought about tlou II and haven’t been able to express it for obvious reasons. But its pretty ironic to me that although the people at Naughty Dog who created Lev as a character were trying to add good diversity to the game (and probably trying to preemptively counteract any accusations of transphobia or “terfyness” from having the main character be a capital L Lesbian without any mention of anyones gender identity) it makes sense to me why Lev would decide that he (using he/him for Lev) couldn’t possibly be a girl and so must actually be a boy on the inside. Out of all the factions we see in tlou world the seraphites have the most intense gender roles, the women have to keep their hair long and many of them, including Lev, are literally assigned to be a “wife” to one of the community elders as literal children. The fact that Lev did not want to spend his life serving some old man most likely contributed to his gender dysphoria and internal reasoning as to why he must be a boy, not that we see much of this in the game, but it’s implied that Lev being assigned as a wife was the breaking point that made him shave his head and run away in the first place. I don’t want to come off as insensitive to gender dysphoria in general, and I know that at the end of the day these are characters made to appease and interest people in the real world, but its just always fascinated me that in a game thats praised for its lgbtq diversity, the one trans character comes from the place that strictly dictates what each woman can and cannot be.

You’re nailing it, Anon. Lev is meant to appeal to all of those diversity-hounds, to check the “trans” box… but yet very few people stopped and looked at *why* he wanted to be a boy. It’s one of the things radical feminists observe girls saying about their desire to transition - that they can’t see themselves growing up into women and marrying men - , and Naughty Dog just put it in a game as backstory. A+ work, ND! Money well spent.

Honestly if they just made a “lesbian simulator” where you got to play Ellie and run around in a sandbox world and be with Dina and run the farm I’d play it 18 hours a day.

[my-mt-heart]

I don't know whether to start: with the title or the scene in the bath where Daryl tells everything about himself to the first person he sees for 5 min (ofc, a young nun)

Doesn’t matter where you start, it’s all bad. Idc how many shots of Carol were added in post to placate us. Blatantly handing over the fundamentals of Caryl’s relationship to an unknown character is pretty much the last straw for me. I know Carol will be in S2. I want to support Melissa after everything she’s been through. But if they’re not changing the title to include her or bothering to keep Daryl in character, then what am I rooting for? I was so worried I’d resent Daryl before Carol showed up. I haven’t even watched anything and I already feel that happening. The other issue is we don’t know how soon they’ll be able to finish shooting S2 because of the strike. I don’t want to deal with several more months of ship wars or ageist comments about Melissa while AMC shoves a cheap imitation of TLOU down my throat. I don’t want to keep hearing about Daryl saying or doing things that aren’t like him. He was my favorite male character on TV and this just hurts.

[tloujm]

Part XXXVIII: Ellie’s Chapter 

Author's Notes: I should be more organized as a writer because, especially after taking a long hiatus, the timeline of things can get hazy for me. Like what time of year the chapter is in for describing the setting or like Ellie's age. I originally wanted Ellie to come onto the scene in this story as younger than in the video game since this story wasn't canonical from the start. I wanted the open, extroverted personality that we saw in teenage Ellie from TLOU I to come after she got fully comfortable with the Millers, so essentially I planned for her to grow into teenagehood in Jackson. To maintain continuity, I believe she should be about 13 yrs old at this point which I believe aligns with the DLC that includes her and Riley's story.

Summary: Ellie bonds with you and Joel and later finds herself on a nighttime adventure

Genre: Fluff

Ship: Joel Miller x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 4.6k

Ellie loved the space that you and Joel gave her. The three of you spent a lot of time together since her moving in. Even if you all weren’t doing something together, she really enjoyed just being in the same general space as you two. You grew to notice, outside of the hectic environment of the daycare, how clever and independent she was. Giving her this freedom allowed Ellie to open up more, giving you and Joel a glimpse into the kind of person she was before the trauma she faced prior to Jackson. 

Joel came home from a patrol meeting that Tommy tried to convince him was unnecessary to attend. The first thing he laid eyes on when entering the house was Ellie. Surprisingly, it did not take long for him to get used to her living with them. What surprised him was how easy it was to adjust to being outnumbered for the first time in decades. He couldn’t help but attribute that feeling of ease to flashbacks of his own daughter. It would flood him with emotions starting with warmth, then confusion then anger. Joel would try to stop himself from feeling too much before it got past the first phase. He didn’t want to end up lashing out and inflicting emotions onto her that she did not deserve. He figured one day he’d tell her everything about Sarah when the time was right. 

“Hey, Ellie.” Joel greeted her in passing. When she hadn’t responded by the time his shoes were off and jacket hung up, he was taken aback. “Whatcha doin’ over there, Ellie?” Still, there was no answer. His eyes finally stumbled upon you, reading a book in the corner of the living room. “Hey, darlin’.” “Hi!” You responded. Since the night your love life was reignited, you began missing him profusely. You were kind of embarrassed at how you waited for him to acknowledge you and otherwise paid no mind as to why Ellie was not answering him until he asked.  “What’s up with her?” Ellie’s back was to Joel. She was sitting at a desk facing the window. Only her leg was bouncing. Outside of that, she did not move.  You say nonchalantly, “She has her earbuds in. We went to the trading post this morning and she traded for a new cassette tape.” Joel grumbled as he walked up to give you a kiss. “She shouldn’t have ‘em—” “It’s not a big deal. She's smart, Joel.” “I know she's smart, but what if she’s all by herself in her room and someone tries to break in while she has the headphones on?” “She’s safe. I’m here all the time now.” “I know, but still, darlin’...I’m not sayin’ she can’t have ‘em, but just keep one in. I don’t want her to be caught off guard. Why’d you have to give ‘em to her anyway?” “Because she loves music. It’s helped her feel calm and she doesn’t want to bother us with the sound when she’s inside the house. Also, if you forgot, we have a baby on the way, so I’d call it a win-win.” She tried to lighten the mood but noticed the familiar scowl of overprotection was still there. “She won’t get too comfortable with them. She’s too smart for that.” Joel put his hands on his hip as his eyes bounced between the two of you. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He grumbled before walking up to the chair she was sitting in to kick the leg. 

“Oh!” Ellie exclaimed. “Didn’t mean to scare you; I tried callin’ you back there.” “Oh. What is it?” He shrugged and said nonchalantly. “Just wanted to say hi.”  “Hi, Joel.” After a moment of getting settled back into the house, he chose the armchair right next to yours. Before he could pull out his own book to get lost in, you gave Ellie an encouraging look. She spoke up. “Hey, um…do you wanna hear a joke?” “Why not.” He responded, trying to play it coom and hide his true enthusiam. “Do you know what’s not right?” “Left?” He answered with almost no hesitation. “Clearly, you’ve heard that one before.” “I ain’t new to the game, kiddo. I used to be known to crack a joke or two in my day.” He said proudly.  “When?” You asked. “Could’ve fooled me.” Ellie mumbled under her breath in the same sarcastic tone as you. “Yeah, I think you’re confusing yourself with Tommy.” You added. "He's the funny Miller brother." “Hey, hey, now. You don’t remember that clock joke I told you that made you fall back in love with me?” Joel smirked while you blushed. "Yeah but didn't Tommy tell you that one?" You chuckled. “Whoa, wait. You two weren’t always together?” “No.” You simply stated. “It’s complicated.” Joel added, seeing how Ellie looked expectantly at him. “Well, what happened?” Ellie asked with the widest eyes you’d seen on her since climbing the dinosaur statue. Joel coughed and readjusted himself in the chair. “It’s uhh…It's a long story. And not one for kids either.” To that day, he never regretted how things went down because he got what he wanted, which was to protect and have you, but that didn’t make him any less self aware as to how others who weren’t there would perceive him, especially a child. He didn’t want Ellie to think poorly of him or, more importantly, feel like she was unsafe around him. “I may not be an adult, but I’m not a kid either. I’ll understand.”  “Ellie, he’s right but we’ll tell you the story one day soon enough.” “Promise?” Before you could answer, Joel spoke up. “What’s important is that we’re together now and it’s staying that way.” Joel reached over and took your hand in his, rubbing his thumb over it. You smiled. “Can you at least tell me the clock joke that made you make-up anyway?” Ellie curiously asked. You looked expectantly at Joel to recite it. He sighed, still in the mood to move on from the dark memory of being broken up. “What is the downside to eatin’ a clock?” “Hmmm….what?”

“It’s time consuming.” You finished before he could. Joel looked at you in awe for remembering. It was something little but it meant a lot to him. He could still feel the pit in his stomach from how nervous he was to even talk to you that day.  Ellie chuckled. “That’s a good one actually.” “I thought it was corny but luckily for him I like corny.” You teased. “Ha ha, you know you loved it.” Joel mumbled sarcastically. “Got another joke in that brain of yours?” “I actually got it from this joke book a girl named Riley from school gave me. You know, I just saw a joke in there that I think would help you two stay together. It’s educational.” “Oh, Lord.” Joel sighed. “What is the leading cause of divorce in long-term marriages?” “Now, Ellie—” Joel began. “What’s the leading cause?” You asked for the answer.  “A stale-mate.” “That’s not educational, that’s awful.” Joel said. “You’re awful.” Ellie jokingly said under her breath. “Do you even understand what that means?” “Not really; doesn’t matter.” Having not lightened Joel’s mood like she’d hoped, Ellie quickly moved on to another page in the book. “Let me see…Oh! You wanna hear a joke about pizza?” “Sure.” “Nevermind, it’ll be too cheesy.” She busted out laughing almost before she could finish because she knew how bad it was. He let out a short chuckle “Terrible. Remind me to thank this Riley for giving you such a gift.”  “Well, here’s another…A book just fell onto my head. I only have myself to blame.” “I don’t get it.” He said.

“Oh wait! I said it wrong.” She chuckled. “Hold on, let me say it again.” She cleared her throat. “A book just fell onto my head. I only have my-shelf to blame.” You smirked at how playfully irritated Joel was looking by now. “You have any question/answer jokes in there like the first one you told me?” Joel practically begged. “Ok, here’s another one…what did the confederate soldiers use to eat off of?” “I don’t know. What?” “Civil ware” “Uh huh.” “Ok then, what did they use to drink with?” Joel just glared at her at this point, waiting for the answer. “Dixie cups.” Your eyes bounced back and forth between the two, waiting for a laugh or anything. Ellie seemed to have enough stubbornness in her to stare him down. “C’mon, Joel. You don’t think that’s funny? I thought you’d be able to relate?” “Why? ‘Cause I’m from the south?” “No..well I guess yeah, but mostly because you’re old.” “Oh shit.” You giggled as inconspicuously as you could, to which Joel responded with his famous glare. “Believe it or not, the Civil War was well before my time.” He grumbled. “I know, I know.” You could tell Ellie got a kick out of getting Joel’s uptight self riled up almost as much as you. 

The three of you spend the rest of the night in the living room talking and cracking jokes. At one point, you became suddenly conscious as to what was going on around you; everyone getting along as if they’d always been family. It felt so natural. Ellie wasn’t always this open; it was still a journey for her to surpass her past traumas and be a regular kid again but you could see her try. You learned that underneath it all, there was a sassy, sarcastic side to her. You learned that that was how she liked to process her reality.

Eventually, Joel stepped out to find a dvd at the library for an impromptu movie night while you and Ellie sliced potatoes for homemade chips. She settled onto the floor while you and Joel snuggled on the couch. She complained that Joel was hogging the bowl of chips. Joel complained that she was getting too many crumbs on the floor. You hadn’t realized how sloppily you were eating until Joel picked a chip that had fallen onto your bump and popped it into his mouth. 

Joel stretched his muscles as the credits rolled. “Think she’s asleep?” You reached over to get a better angle at her steady form. “I think so?” “Ellie.” He whispered loudly. He was tempted to throw a couch pillow at her to see if she was trying to fake him out like Sarah would do sometimes to get out of doing something, but she wasn’t her and he didn’t want to risk actually waking her up. “Guess so.” “Can’t believe she slept through all that action at the end.” You moved to get up but he stopped you. “Lemme get this dvd out of here ‘fore I forget about it.” Against his wishes, you hoisted yourself up, empty bowl in hand and walked toward the window.  “It’s snowing out.” “You didn’t need to get up.” “I would need to eventually get to bed.” “Is it really snowing out?” He walked over to you and peered out. “It’s comin’ down out there.” 

He sighed before turning his gaze to Ellie. Walking over, he bent down to wrap her arms around his neck. She leaned instinctively into him. He groaned, feeling it in his back as he picked her up. He thought against braving the cold to put her to bed in the garage. Instead, he carried her upstairs and laid her onto the couch in his craft room. You brought in some pillows and blankets as he watched her peacefully sleep by the doorway. He thought about what her background story was again, knowing her childhood was nowhere near as normal as Sarah’s. 

*******

Ellie jumped up at the sound of faint growling near her ear. Adrenaline kicked in, waking her out of her dream. Barely gathering her barings, Ellie worried if her worst fear was coming true. She’d been in the thick of it before, but had hoped it was all behind her since they let her into the settlement. The almost daily worry that she’d get bitten while she was wandering the country took a toll. What such luck that she’d get bit after living under the protection of the legendary Miller family. 

She went for the knife that he suggested she keep under her pillow when he gave her a tour of her new room. You were apprehensive about giving her a weapon because her trauma wasn’t yet fully resolved. She appreciated that he trusted her with one; he only agreed to it because she wasn’t sleeping inside the house itself. With the blade switched out in one hand, she felt around her neck with the other for any blood or bite marks as her eyes adjusted to the little light peeking through the windows. 

“Riley?” “Ow!" Ellie punched her arm. “What the hell! I thought I was bitten.” “I know, it was kind of funny.” “No it wasn’t. You don’t know what it’s like out there. You’ve only grown up here.” “Look, I’m sorry. I guess you’re right.” Riley’s eyes wandered down to the blade still out in Ellie’s hand. “But you’re not gonna kill me over it, are you?” “ 'course not…” Ellie shook her head as she put the knife back, still trying to root herself in reality. “Are we cool?” Riley asked genuinely. “Yeah…What are you doing here anyway?” “I want to go on an adventure. Want to come with?” “Riley, it's almost morning and I have school, then Joel is giving me riding lessons right after.” She watched as Riley walked around her room looking for something. “Did you hear me?” She tossed something Ellie’s way, barely catching it. “Just put some pants on and your coat and lets go. I promise it won’t take long. I just…I couldn't get to sleep tonight.” Ellie sighed “You promise? I don’t want to get in trouble with (Y/N) or Joel.” “When have I ever got you in trouble?” Riley asked halfway through the door. Ellie had to admit that whenever the two of them did anything together, they’d never gotten caught. But she'd also never snook out before. Riley wanted her to while she lived at the daycare, but sharing a room with so many other kids made it impossible for her to even try. 

In Jackson, there was never a curfew, but it was expected for people under a certain age to be inside after dark. The only places that really had people at all were the guard towers and The Watering Hole. Not wanting this to get back to Joel, she made sure to stay out of sight and dip into the shadows, pulling Riley with her, if anyone was walking by. 

“Where are we going anyway?” Ellie asked. “Nowhere in particular. I just wanted to take a walk until I got tired. I generally do this by myself but wanted company tonight.” “Where’s the adventure in that?” “I had to make it sound enticing to you. Besides, we might just discover something not meant for our eyes and it'd be cool to have a secret just between us, wouldn't it?” “Yeah, I suppose. You can’t sleep at night often?” Riley shook her head. “No, but let's talk about something else.” “Like what?” Ellie asked.  “Where did you come from?” “I'm pretty sure I was born in a quarantine zone in former Utah” “I didn’t know there were any QZs left on the west coast.” “There aren’t any now. That was the last one. They got ambushed by a group of rebels from the inside. They didn’t want to replace FEDRA’s control; they just wanted to end it. The whole QZ turned into a war zone and everyone scattered. I didn’t know where to go.” “You were by yourself?” Riley asked in disbelief. Ellie nodded her head. “I don’t remember my parents. I only have a picture of my mom, but never met her. Maybe she died in childbirth. No one ever really told me anything. Me and the rest of the orphans were raised in military school.” “You were being trained to be a soldier?” Ellie nodded again. “Our main enemy were the Fireflies and a couple of smaller factions on the west coast. I didn’t know why we were meant to be fighting them, but FEDRA gave me a bed and prioritized us when food was rationed, so who was I to complain?” “My mom was a firefly.” Riley confessed. “What?” Ellie gazed at her for the first time in a while during their walk. “Obviously, she’s not anymore. She knows Joel’s brother, Tommy, too.” “Wait, what?” Ellie exclaimed, feeling like her world was getting smaller and smaller all of a sudden.

“My mom, Tommy and a handful of them left the fireflies because…well my mom told me that their beliefs were no longer the same and didn’t want to kill all willy nilly anymore; But that’s why they left the QZ to join them in the first place. By then, I was real little and the only kid apart of this runaway group. I barely remember that time of my life. I remember Tommy playing with me sometimes, probably trying to keep me calm or whatever. Apparently, he heard about Maria’s settlement through the grapevine. It was much smaller than it is now. He thought it would be a safe and unassuming enough place to raise a kid, so we made the trek there. Maria and her dad let us in. He fell in love with Maria and my mom fell in love with my dad, who had already settled there, and the rest is history.  “Wow. To think if things hadn’t changed and we’d stayed where we were—” Ellie began.

“We would be enemies.” Riley finished. They walked in silence for a few beats. “I’m glad we live in this universe where we’re not.” Ellie smiled and playfully nudged her shoulder. “You know,” Riley began to lighten the mood. “There’s this rumor that there is an unguarded gate on the east end of the settlement. First, they were short staffed of watch guards volunteers and then had to basically draft people to do it. It was the least active of all the directions because it faces the mountains, so people got bored and stopped showing up for their shifts. It's supposed to be kept locked, but we should be able to find a way past it. Rumor has it, your new mom—” “She’s not…I mean…I don’t know.” Ellie struggled. She didn’t know how she wanted to see (Y/N). Most days, you felt like an older sister and others you came off as more maternal, two things she had never experienced in her 12 years of life.  “Sorry. My dad has always felt like my dad, but I guess that's different because I was so little and remember almost nothing before him. Well according to the rumor, (Y/N) was able to sneak out through the east gate a few years back because it wasn't guarded then either.” “Nuh uh. Why would she need to sneak out? She could just tell them to open the main gate and leave whenever she wanted to.”

Riley shrugged. “Maybe she wanted to get away from Joel. He looks so intimidating. I’m sorry but I'll take Tommy over him any day.” “Looks can be deceiving; I learned that the hard way out there. Joel really isn’t all that bad.” Ellie shut down her claims by defending him, but her thoughts still lingered on why you would sneak out of an unoppressive settlement. She almost confided in Riley concerning what she learned earlier that day about your and Joel's breakup. “Well, It's all just hearsay. Who knows if that even really happened.” “What else do you know about her?” “I’ll tell you what I know if you go out with me.” Riley bargained. “Out there? Beyond the walls?” “We won’t go far. We’ll be back well before the sun comes up and no one will know that we were gone. That’s if the rumors were right and that we can make it past.” “You promise we'll be back soon?” Riley held out her pinky. “I promise.”

“What are you doing?” “Its called a pinky promise. My mom taught me this and we do it all the time, at least when she wants to make sure I won’t get into any trouble.” She chuckled. “It basically means that the promise is real and true.” Ellie understood but still stood there not knowing what to do. “Look,” She felt Riley gently grab her hand. “Stick your pinky out like me and we lock them together just…like…this. Then we both say ‘pinky promise’ to seal the deal.” “Ok. Pinky promise.”

Ellie and Riley bounced around from point to point like ninjas, deftly evading any lingering grownups, until they made it to the east gate. They cautiously scoped out the area for any on duty guards. Riley said “I told you so” after they both confirmed it was clear. There were only two ways out: to climb up and over the wall with a rope or pick the lock to the heavy metal door on the side. Neither one of the girls knew how to pick a lock, but after a good 5 or so minutes of trying and almost giving up, they succeeded. 

For the most part, they kept quiet, not wanting to attract any runners or clickers. Along the way, they picked up some bricks and a lead pipe for protection. Ellie had never left the walls of Jackson since she arrived over a year ago. While being outside the walls brought back memories and emotions, she kept them at bay to stay alert. She knew that she was more experienced than Riley and wouldn’t know what she’d do if she got hurt. 

“Hey Ellie, help me lift this.” Riley was crouched down near a steel I-beam. It was clear that she wanted to move it to use it as a makeshift bridge as they were met with a shallow but wide sink hole.  “Okay…” She wasn’t too enthused but gave it a try. It was heavier than they both thought and lifting it shifted all of the rubble on top. Following creaks and rumbles, it started to come crashing down. Scaring them, the two girls ran away to a safe distance. “I say let’s find another way.” “I agree.” Ellie replied.

They kept walking around until they found an abandoned building with a door barricaded from the inside and a busted out window up high. Riley volunteered to go through and find Ellie a way in. Once Ellie boosted her up, Riley yelled that she made it through fine. While scoping out the area to make sure infected weren't around, Ellie heard some scuffling as if something large and heavy was being dragged against the floor, then silence. She called out to Riley but not even crickets could be heard as it was too cold outside for them.

Ellie tried the door and this time it gave way. Walking inside, she was immediately greeted by a large green creature with a creepy grin on its face. It didn’t scare her in the least. There is nothing scarier than a bloater, she thought. As soon as she took a step further inside, Riley popped out of the shadows with a killer clown mask on and growled powerfully. 

Ellie playfully punched Riley in the arm for scaring her a second time that night. She had never seen a place like that before and questioned its purpose. Why were there so many plastic things made to look scary sitting on shelves? Riley pointed out a mask that Ellie attributed as half wolf, half man. There were drawings of spider webs on the walls and shelves behind actual cobwebs. Not all of the masks were scary, however. She found one of a green bird with a backwards hat on that she adored the silliness of. The two of them stayed a while and looked around, pocketing whatever little thing was of interest. 

“Come look at this.” Riley beckoned her over.  “‘Skele-seer: ask Skele-seer a question and shake for your fortune.’ Okay…” Ellie did as she was told. “Are we going to die today?” “Really?”  “Wouldn’t you want to know?” “Well what does it say?” “Um….” Ellie looked at the eyeballs on the skull and thought the answer would be revealed there, but alas. “Nothing.” “You gotta turn it over, genius.” Riley replied. “Oh! Well, it says ‘dreadfully unlikely’.” “Phew! What a relief.” They both laughed.  “Will I ever get good at riding a horse?” Ellie whispered to the skull then shook it vehemently. “‘I feel it in my bones’. Joel will be happy to hear that. Okay…let’s see…Am I ever getting boobs or what? ‘The spirits are quiet.’ Ugh, of course they are. Thank you so much, spirits.” “Hey, do you hear that?” Riley abruptly began walking toward another door. “Wait, Riley, I think we should head back. We're probably pushing our luck if we go any further.” She pivoted back to face Ellie. “You sure?” “Are you getting tired yet?” “I suppose by the time we make it back I will be.” She nudged her. “C’mon, let’s go.”

The two girls began back tracking their steps. It wasn’t long before a pit grew in Ellie’s stomach. Without a word, she signaled Riley to stop and listen. The screeches of Runners could be heard in the distance. Ellie saw the panic in her eyes but commended her on not acting out on it. Stealth was the name of the game as the two of them didn’t have ideal weapons. 

Unfortunately, the ledge of some scaffolding they were climbing up crumbled. Not only did the crash knock the wind out of them, but it attracted a fair sized group of infected. Riley was the first one up and immediately pulled Ellie onto her feet. With every ounce of energy that the adrenaline could give them, they ran. Ellie could feel her heart beating through her chest and wondered if Riley felt the same. Of course she is, she thought to herself, we’re about to die; the Skeleseer lied. 

After a little while of zigging and zagging through the night, Ellie realized that they’d lost them. That hadn’t stopped their legs from continuing on until they hit the east gate. Ellie and Riley felt like their bodies were about to explode now that, on the other side of the heavy metal door, they could rest. Ellie fell to her knees, huffing and puffing until the adrenaline began to subside. Riley slid her back against the now locked door, then rolled over to lay flat on the cold, hard ground.

Riley broke the silence. “You okay?” “Yeah…” Ellie replied, still out of breath. She decided to lay flat next to her. “You?” “Yeah, oh my God.” Riley laughed. “That was wild.” “You wanted an adventure.” “I’ll always remember this night.” She turned to look at her friend. “Thank you for coming out with me. I wouldn’t’ve without you.” “You definitely shouldn’t have done something like that without me.” Ellie turned to face her in return. She could see most of her face now that the dark sky was beginning to brighten. “You’ve been out there alone, though.” “I had no choice. I had nobody.” Riley slid out her hand. “I know, but...you have me now. I’ll always be here.” Ellie’s smile reached her eyes. “Pinky promise?” Sliding out her own hand, she stuck out her pinky. Riley locked her own in place and they stayed like that. “Pinky promise.” 

Once her body cooled down and the cold ground began to bother her, Ellie scooched over closer and closer to the girl that helped her escape the Runners. They held each other's gaze for a solid minute before chuckling again. Sounds of the jovial moment were broken by Ellie closing the gap between their lips. 

“Sorry.” Ellie said immediately after pulling back. Despite the apology, she couldn’t help the little grin that twitched at the corner of her mouth. Even if friendship would be all they’d have, she was proud of herself for going for it.  “For what?” Riley smiled even bigger.

Ellie could only count on one hand how many people in her life she felt comfortable around and was the happiest she’d been in a really long time to know that Riley was still one of them. 

[emilylawsons]

Fic Writer Tag

Tagged by @hypnotisedfireflies. Thank you, lovely! Always an honor to have you read my work. ❤️

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

13 right now

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

119,911

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Right now, pretty much TLOU and Fringe

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Of Artists and Architects - TLOU

The Alphabet (Peter & Olivia’s Version) - Fringe

Peter & Etta’s Excellent Adventure - Fringe

Cracks in Your Mask - TLOU

To the Moon & To Saturn - Fringe

5. Do you respond to comments?

Always! I might be slow, but I see and respond to all of them because I appreciate every single one.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Fading and I’m in the trees, I’m in the breeze both end on dark, sad notes, so one of those.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

This is a cop-out, but most of my Polivia stuff. The Peter & Etta fic above, or most of what’s in my anthology. Etta’s Sunrise and as long as you love me so are also both incredibly tooth-rottingly sweet. It’s 90% fluff because I think they went through too much shit to not have happy moments. But also…I did write a Tessjoel wedding in Bone of My Bone, which was pretty happy.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

So far, not since I was 17 and posted the most godawful Castle fic on FF.net that got roasted on a hate blog. (It deserved it, but that shit hurted.) In my adult writing ventures? Never.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes, but it’s mostly very vanilla. (I am incredibly boring and safe, I know.)

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not my thing, and I doubt I ever will.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope. Thank goodness!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but it would be an honor!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not yet. I’m such a lone wolf. I’d have to find someone I can gel with creatively to make it happen.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Don’t ask me that because I’ve gone through so many stages. Right now, Tessjoel and Polivia are the ones I’m into for different reasons. Tessjoel is fun because they lend themselves so well to different genres and AUs. Polivia is pure soulmatism and love with soul crushing angst at the best of times.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

A&A is the only WIP that I’ve got. I’d like to think I can finish it, but sometimes I wonder if I’m going to give up before I do.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I get easily discouraged, but I keep coming back

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I get easily discouraged

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

If I had friends that I talked to enough to help me and I found a good place to incorporate it, I would do it. I admire people who take the time to include other languages.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Castle, like a billion years ago

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

My confidence in my writing fluctuates too much to answer this properly. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to look at my work and definitively say “I’m super proud of this.” I’m getting there. But right now, I can’t say there’s one that’s my favorite.

Tagging: @elialys @bumblepony @seethesunny @tessaservopoulos @wreckedtodeathandback @electricbluebutterflies @melusine0811

[the-beskar-alchemist]

Episode 2 thoughts

Here we go with more of my ramblings!

(Also just a reminder, I’m including game canon information so heads up if you need to bypass this post to avoid spoilers)

Thoughts below the cut....

It appears they’re making Indonesia “Ground Zero”, I don’t know if this is a result of Indonesia having a surge of fungal infections within the last few years, or if their environment would be considered potentially hospitable for the cordyceps. There’s also the fact that in-game the cordyceps seemingly started in the U.S. before spreading worldwide.

I’m not quite understanding the physiology behind the mouth tentacles thing, but I’ve seen enough hentai that it’s creepy either way

There’s a running theme of butterflies surrounding the girls (Sarah and Ellie)

Ellie’s sarcasm is on-point again, Bella really did bring our precious babygirl to life on a level that makes me so happy

I have to wonder about Pedro having to do things like move furniture, considering his poor back

So not anything significant, but I really appreciate that the leaning building from the game was incorporated into the background shot. A little sad that they didn’t show them going through that building like in the game, but I guess it would’ve been an issue of set design costs/extra film time.

Ellie actively avoiding mentioning Riley (“Matter of fact, let’s just keep our histories to ourselves” ~ Joel in the game), so that figures

Okay they moved up the hotel scene where Ellie pretends to be checking in, originally this took place in Pittsburgh at a later point in the summer, not Boston. And it was AFTER the thing with Tess.

Joel and Ellie’s awkward conversation-turned-moment of bonding, and her asking about Joel/Tess? Joel shot that shit down so quick lol

So they’re basically saying that the infected only last for 2-months, but they’re still some that last for years. This sounds like the infection not only deteriorates the brain but maybe the body temperature is so high for so long that the body eventually burns out….?

The infected have a connection, kind of like the hive-mind situation in Stranger Things. In-game the infected would just spawn out of nowhere even if an area looks clear (it’s a game so that’s a normal thing), it seems that this was their way of bridging the gap of how a clear spot would suddenly become overrun. Games like TLOU and Left 4 Dead had what they call “event doors”, or pathways that when taken would suddenly trigger hordes

Clickers!!!! But seriously they did a good job with the acting during this scene, I’m wondering if they did a “zombie school” type thing, kind of like TWD.

“You can’t deny that view” - so glad they kept this, it’s such an important moment for Ellie because of [redacted]

So Tess name-dropping Frank is interesting, unless in-game Tess knew about Frank and just didn’t tell Joel (HIGHLY unlikely), because in-game Joel doesn’t even know Frank exists, let alone have any contact with him specifically

Annie Wersching does a really good job of capturing Tess’ nuances, and the part where she’s foreshadowing her infection by acting defensive? Love it

Tess/Joel’s relationship being kind of one-sided isn’t much of a surprise. I’d imagine Joel prefers not to get romantically close to people because of past trauma

So the hive-mind connections trigger a horde, forcing Tess to sacrifice herself. In the game the military shows up and she holds them off while Joel/Ellie escape through the capitol building. To me the horde makes more sense because I never quite understood why the military suddenly went on a field trip outside of the QZ to coordinate an attack on a couple runaways when they could easily have left them to their fate with the infected and not waste time/supplies (same thing applies if they were going after the Fireflies outside of the QZ)

I’m enjoying the unfocused camera shots of the infected, it helps to leave some things to the imagination and makes it more scary/intense

The mouth-tentacles “kiss of death” thing is weird. It’s like the infected are coherent enough to want to actively spread the infection instead of just eating people. I’m also getting the impression that, kind of like in World War Z, they can sense when someone else is infected.

Definitely enjoyed this episode, the acting was really good and the story is moving a bit faster now. Still a lot of ground to cover because of [redacted]

Endure and survive!

[foiblepnoteworthy]

uhh psa about the last of us

Well I'm replaying The Last of Us and it comes out on Sunday so imma write a little trigger warning list for anyone who might need it bc it is a kinda dark game and the show looks like it's gonna be faithful. Might not all be accurate to the show, but here's how the game goes down. 

I tried to limit the spoilers but i did not do a good job, as there were times I thought it best to be very specific. If you read this you will basically know who dies in the game and how (ie i say ‘x’ happens to the gay man, well, there’s not many main character gay men).

I’d still advise checking out the first paragraph or so if you’re the sort to read trigger warnings

feel free to send me an ask if you want more details on anything, and apologies if i forgot anything

also here’s a link to the ‘does the dog die’ page for tlou game, in which people have asked about and discussed triggers in the game. might work better for you.

Preface: 

The biggest triggers are gun violence and suicide. They appear a lot throughout the game. There is also an attempted grooming of a child. 

If gun violence or suicide are triggers you probably shouldn’t watch it. The grooming will likely be confined to one episode, which you may be able to simply skip. If you don’t think any of these will bother you at all, maybe best leave this list so you can avoid spoilers, as I’m going to go into a bit more detail for anyone on the fence.

The game is pretty diverse, for a video game at least, which means that there are gay characters, women, and characters of colour being hurt. This is more because this is a story where people get hurt than because of biases of the writers I would say, but it's open to debate. If you’re sick of seeing characters who are like you dying horribly, you might wanna leave it. A lot of people die horribly in this story, including children.

(Notes: 

There’s a good chance I’ve missed something. I may have forgotten something that happened, or a common trigger. There may be things in the show that didn’t appear in the game. 

I’ve included headers to help navigate and skip spoilers if you wanna look more closely at just one of those topics.

There is an ‘other’ section at the bottom if you’ve got something else you’re concerned about, or you can check out the ‘does the dog die’ page. There shouldn’t be too many spoilers there.

I will specify race, age, gender, and/or sexuality of characters when relevant here. I.e. I think it’s relevant to say when a child specifically is harmed, or a black character specifically is threatened with a gun. I hope this is the correct and respectful way to do this, I’m open to critique.

I am being blunt in my descriptions. 

I am not trigger starring any of my words. 

When I say a character is ‘named’, I mean that they’ve been on screen for a bit and the audience probably cares about them.)

Guns and violence:

There are lots of guns, naturally. Not only are zombies shot at but people too, lots of people, by the protag and his allies, and there is an organised militia killing people. 

There is a scene where the character discuss the military deliberately killing masses of unarmed civilians seeking refuge (bodies onscreen).

In the opening scene a soldier shoots and kills a named child. There is a later scene where a named black boy is shot and killed by another named character. 

Joel is notably proficient with killing, and has killed innocents in the past. He frequently kills zombies and gangs trying to hurt him. He may fire first or attack people unaware - this is usually out of self-defence, after being given reason to assume they will hurt him if given the chance. 

There is a scene where Joel threatens to shoot a named defenceless black man. There is a scene where he does shoot and kills an unarmed named black woman. 

A named character once pointed a gun at Joel while visibly very mentally unstable (shock, not mental illness).

There is a scene wherein Joel tortures two unnamed men.

Characters see bodies quite often and find notes from them the player can read. They’re set dressing, they’re just there in the street, a lot of them go unburied, and they also feel like real people due to the notes. 

There is a grave of a very small child. 

Grooming:

A character attempts to groom Ellie while she’s separated from Joel. 

He seems genuinely trustworthy at the start - I liked him when I first played it, and I saw his first untrustworthy moment, wherein he had pretended he didn’t have a gun when he secretly did, as kinda funny/charming. It made sense in context okay

He is genuinely unsettling. Exactly what he wants from Ellie is unspecified. The groomer is also a cult leader and a cannibal, and after she refuses him and breaks his finger he decides to eat her. They have a very violent confrontation.

Suicide:

The named characters committing suicide include a woman (death mostly offscreen, technically was a self-sacrifice but also not really, discussion of her intent onscreen); a gay man (death offscreen, method, body and note onscreen); and a black man (death onscreen).

The first kill of the game, should the player choose to accept it, is a mercy kill of someone who has been infected. 

There is a scene wherein an unnamed man leaves a recorder with his note and also some valuable intel and Joel skips past his note, clearly annoyed at the man, to get to the intel. The man’s body has decomposed to a skeleton and there is a clear hole in his skull.

There was a scene where Joel and Ellie saw the bodies of people who had killed themselves and discussed why people might do it in a post-apocalyptic society - fear of a horrible death, essentially, from zombies, infection, starvation, or gangs. Depression was not mentioned but could be considered implied as a reason - it could be taken as an implication that Joel had considered it before.

Joel finds a note from someone who was hiding children from infected. With no way out, they killed the children, covered the bodies with blankets, and killed themself. The bodies are onscreen.

A named character killed himself as a knee-jerk reaction to the death of a loved one. 

A(n implied) gay man killed himself because he was infected, which I don't think was intended as a parallel to aids but it can be read that way.

Other:

There are moments where the zombies are somewhat humanized - the Fireflies wear dog tags, meaning that after killing a zombie you can sometimes find out their name and figure out who they were. Maybe you even read a letter belonging to them earlier. Idk this is just kinda fucked up, creeped me out.

Death of a horse (onscreen, named, violent)

Animal hunting (for food) 

The zombies are genuinely quite creepy

idk the university holdout kinda upset me, these kids were waiting for people to come for them and no one bothered and now they’ve been dead for years. 

A lot of the architecture is ruined and dangerous, might bother people with a germ phobia (I doubt anyone’s had a tetanus shot in ages), or with claustrophobia or agoraphobia. 

I’ve probably missed something. 

[hypnotisedfireflies]

Arien's Advent Calendar

25 Days of TLOU fic

All claims now taken, thank you!

To say thank you to everyone who has been so supportive of my fic this past year (where I rather explosively started writing every day again after a long slump) I’d like to invite you all to the Arien Advent Calendar!

From 1 - 25 December I will be posting a short story (it will be short, I will control myself) as part of a collection of works from Driftersverse, Snowqueen and The Legend of Charro.

This is where you guys come in! Beneath the cut I have a little information about the story to be written each day (universe, characters and date/era). I’d like to dedicate each to a reader, so please claim one and I’ll write it for you.

I don’t think all days will fill up, but I’d like to give everyone a chance to get one they really like, so at this stage each person can claim ONE day only - I’ll open it up to more later on. You’re welcome to send me a few in order of preference in case someone has already beaten you to the punch on your favourite, and I haven’t yet updated the list.

If you would rather claim as anon, please give me a name or an emoji or something - just so I can identify you against your chosen day and so we don’t get all our anons muddled up.

Please send claims via asks so I can keep track of them in one place and if not anon, include your AO3 name (if you have one).

Happy Holidays!

Driftersverse Tess and Joel - 2012 - pktralkgirl

Driftersverse Joel and Ellie - 2024 - bumblepony

Snowqueen Tess and Joel - fluff - adoringhxxd

Driftersverse Joel and Sarah - 1995 ilovecats491

Driftersverse Bill and Frank - 2014 - bumblepony

The Legend of Charro Tess and Joel - “sweetheart” years - chujo-hume

Driftersverse Tess and Maria - 2026 - ameerawrites

Driftersverse Tess and Joel 2004 - bignosebushybrows

Mystery AU - beerandyarn

Driftersverse Tess, Joel and Tommy - 2006 - peppermint-smile

Driftersverse Ellie and Tess - 2025 - emooni

Snowqueen Tess and Joel - smut - kokureno

Driftersverse Maria and Tommy - 2024 - mariamillerstan

The Legend of Charro Tess and Joel - “bandit” years - glitter-gecko

Driftersverse Tommy and Joel - 2003 - belantana

The Legend of Charro Tess, Joel and Ellie - “family” years elizabethpickett

Snowqueen Tess and Joel - angst - carol

Driftersverse Tess, Joel, Bill and Frank - 2011 - betweentwoceremonials

Mystery AU - justplainsalty

Driftersverse Tommy and Tess - 2005 - be-an-echo

Driftersverse Maria and Joel - 2026 - ameerawrites

Snowqueen Miller family - ?? - bignosebushybrows

Mystery AU - pktralkgirl

The Legend of Charro "What if?" - glitter-gecko

Mystery Christmas story - beerandyarn

* strike-out denotes a claimed day

*purple donates an alternative option

[something-tofightfor]

tlou anon from last night:

answering under a cut! 

We definitely seem to disagree on a lot of things, and I think that that’s one of the most interesting and exciting parts of watching or consuming any form of media. 

Everyone’s going to take something a little different away from it, and people will always look at it from varied perspectives. 

I think we all expect something (or a lot of things) from the content we consume especially when it’s content based on something we know well and already love. 

I would argue that Ellie lost her innocence at the Lakeside Resort, didn’t actively act on it until after she lost Joel. Sure, she killed David - but that wasn’t violence for the sake of violence nor was it thought out and planned; it was “in the moment, him or me.” Still violent, but very different than the violence that we see from her in Pt 2. 

Show Ellie doesn’t really seem like she likes violence, just that she appreciates the effectiveness of it and hopes to someday be as capable and confident with weapons as Joel. I think we’re going to learn a lot more about why she behaves the way she does during the Left Behind episode. 

I’d also argue that the level of violence and the things they do in the game are unchallenged, too. Joel and Ellie kill a TON more people in the game than in the show, and there’s really no repercussions for that until Joel’s accident in the University, and then Abby’s group finding them in pt 2.

I think that they’re (both in the show and in the game) trying to make the point that for most people, violence is just another part of life, and there really aren’t people left to challenge others (outside of QZs and places like Jackson anyway). If you’re not good at it, or willing to be violent, you won’t survive long. 

I don’t know much about Druckmann or his politics, so I can’t really comment on that, but I do believe that even though he had some input on this, Mazin had more of a final say on everything so there was definitely some push and pull on what was included and how. 

From what was leaked while filming was going on, there seems to be a ton that was cut and changed, especially in the Sam/Henry segments, and even in the first two (first) episode. That makes me think that there was probably a lot more that we also didn’t get to see that might have gone deeper into these questions and changes, but for whatever reason, they eliminated them. 

I don’t know that I’d say the show is being simplified - I definitely think that it’s easier for a TV audience to see the characters and their emotional changes and challenges - specifically Joel, and hopefully soon with Ellie when we get inside her head for longer than we have so far. 

I also actually really like that they aren’t leaving as many things open to interpretation as they did in the game. By telling and showing us what we’re supposed to think and feel here, Mazin is saying “this is what I want you to take out of this episode and what you should be focusing on, instead of making fifteen different potential conclusions from this one thing”. 

I hate to say it, but the average viewer wants to be entertained, and not delve too deeply into the backstory and background the way gaming (or even comic book) fans do. 

I’m surprised that you don’t think the show looks good - I have yet to be upset by anything that I’ve seen in terms of set design or lighting (I think the way they’re using lights and individual item symbolism across episodes is really smart), and I think that it looks really high budget. I got so used to shitty Netflix adaptations and CGI and what they consider quality over there that this feels like winning the lottery - but even as a standalone show, it’s fantastic IMO. 

I especially appreciate that even the dark-lit scenes aren’t overly dark, and there’s no question about what’s going on in them, which has been a huge issue for HBO in the past. The costumes are very fitting, the prosthetic and practical effects have looked fantastic, and the score has been spot on throughout the first five episodes, too. 

I’m really sorry that you’ve felt let down by the first five episodes, and if you continue to watch, I hope that you find something redeeming about the last four! 

[anchoeritic]

the amount of blatant racism that is being thrown around just to attempt to defend 2 people is INSANE

this is the only thing i’d like to say about this situation: i do not and will never condone the racism & negativity that has been thrown in and shared amongst the tlou community. this used to be a safe space and now it’s nothing close to it.

i will not speak of this situation again as i do not want to included in this argument. please respect that. thank you.

[papurgaatika]

Are you going to answer my ask or you so self righteous that you hide behind posts and think you can get away with your performative activism?

Don’t worry I’ll ask it again.

How can you claim support Palestine and all your Joel fics includes an author's note about TLOU and Neil Druckman being a Zionist but you still write for Joel? Palestinians have said that that doesn't cancel it out and have said people should stop writing TLOU fanfiction. Other writers who have the same stance have completely nixed writing for Joel. How come you don't? /gen

Hi friend! I’m sorry that you felt like I was ignoring your ask, I can assure you that I was simply thinking of how to reply with good intentions and a clear mind.

I’d like to first address the fact that you think I’m self-righteous. I can promise you that is truly not the case and that that’s kind of a crazy accusation to tack on to saying my activism is performative. My writing for Joel includes my author’s notes with resources on druckman’s zionism, along with donation and boycott resources, it isn't just a one off statement so that I can continue to post. My activism, both in acknowledging the zionism in the second game, and in my personal life, is not performative to my knowledge. I've been active in trying raise awareness for Palestinian liberation since I was at least 13, so almost ten years now. I find it a little bit insulting that you're trying to insinuate that I'm only doing this for?? recognition??

I haven't stopped writing for Joel because I haven't ever been told I needed to stop. I'm not actively promoting the new season of the show, the remaster, or the second game, because that is what actually gives neil money. However. I am always open to being educated and working on bettering myself, so if you have any resources or posts about people talking about why writing for tlou is problematic, please go ahead and send them my way.

Lastly, and this is a personal point, you're being aggro for no reason. I leave anon on because I'm also shy and have definitely used it to send things in, but you sending me two of these asks in the span of 24 hours and being, quite frankly, antagonistic about how you go about it is not a reasonable way to expect change from people. There are many ways to have conversations with people, this was one route, but I can promise you, there were better ways to do this.

Anyway, you're welcome to send me resources or posts in my DMs if you wish, or you can put them back in my asks.

Peace and love from me regardless.

[coppermarigolds]

DYW Letter

Hi, Yuletide writer! Apologies for the delay in getting this letter complete. Thank you for your patience, and for whatever you write this year! (I am also perfectly happy to receive treats.) Here are a few notes on my fic preferences:

What I like: Genre-wise, pretty much anything goes–angst, romance, fluff, humor, etc. I love fics that dig into characters’ heads: what they’re thinking and feeling, what drives them, how they interact and react to the world and the people around them, and so on. I also love female characters being awesome. That doesn’t have to mean being physically kickass, either. It could be anything from a witty line of banter to a thoughtful conversation to a creative problem-solving method, just to scratch the surface. I particularly enjoy female characters being assertive and taking charge in romantic relationships. Smut is very welcome, though I typically don’t read anything more hardcore than some light bondage–please no watersports, etc.

What I’m not so into: Rape/non-con is my biggest DNW. I would prefer for character death to be avoided if possible, unless the story deals with the ramifications of a canonical character death. Also, while I’m fine with an angsty story, I tend to avoid fiction that goes full-throttle bleak and hopeless. Angst with a happy–or at least hopeful–ending is much more my jam. Finally, if writing smut, please avoid anything with a female character being dominated by a male character. (Femdom, on the other hand, is encouraged!)

Merge Mansion "What's Grandma Hiding?" Ads, Tim Rockford

Admittedly, I requested this because I love me some Pedro Pascal, especially in that tight white shirt. However, I'm also addicted to the mobile game itself, and am fully up-to-date on the story there, so feel free to include characters and/or story elements from the game as well if you want. But as far as Rockford goes, feel free to take him and his story in any direction you please! Is he a good guy who genuinely wants to solve crimes, or a shady cop who collaborates with bad guys (or somewhere in between)? Does he have a partner/kids at home? (I am, of course, fully here for single-dad-Pedro a la Mandalorian or TLOU if you choose to go in that direction.) How does his job affect his personal life, and vice versa? What's his backstory, and why/how did he get into police work? As far as the mansion-related crimes and mysteries, feel free to go in any direction you want there, as well. I love mysteries of all kinds, so you basically can't go wrong (aside from, as mentioned in my DNWs, no rapes please).

Midnight Mass, Warren Flynn, Leeza Scarborough

I found the ending of this show to be absolutely perfect, and yet I also really want to know what happens next for these two sole survivors. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to be a teenager and lose not only your parents, but your entire home and community–and to be unable to talk about it with anyone, because how do you say, “the entire population of my hometown got turned into vampires and burned alive?” In a very real sense, all these two have is each other. How do they explain to the authorities what happened? Are they detained, or at least under suspicion, and how does that turn out? Are they able to stay together, or at least in contact, after the fact, or do they get shuffled off to relatives or foster care? If they do get separated, do they meet up again years down the line? Do they get together/stay together romantically? There’s so much potential to dig into here, and I’d love a story about any or all of it!

Star Wars: The Acolyte, Jecki Lon

I love Jecki and was gutted when she died in canon, so I'd love a story where that just...didn't happen, lol. You could reimagine the rest of the canon events with Jecki surviving, or take the story in a whole different direction. Or, if you prefer to remain canon-compliant, that's fine too! I'd be equally happy with a story set in her past prior to the events of the show, which we of course know very little about. I'm a big fan of mission-fics, if you wanted to write a story about her going on Jedi adventures, with or without other characters. If you want to include other characters, I'd be particularly interested in something focusing on her master/apprentice relationship with Sol, diving deeper into what he's like as a master and how Jecki responds to his methods. I'm especially curious about how he would have approached being a master to another young female Padawan after his fraught experiences with Osha, and how that would have affected Jecki, especially once Osha comes back into the picture. I also love Yord and his relationships with Jecki and Sol, so feel free to include him too if you like. As far as shipping goes, I'm totally down for Jecki/Osha--it was disappointing that they hinted at a possible attraction between them only to immediately kill Jecki off. (Platonic Jecki/Osha friendship would also be completely welcome!)

Star Wars: Outlaws, Kay Vess

I haven't actually finished this game yet, but I'm making good progress on it, so I hope to have it done by Christmas! I absolutely love Kay and would be happy with literally any story about her, past, present, or future. I love how she has so much earnestness and bravado, yet also is dealing with some very real abandonment issues, all while making things up as she goes along, forging through a very big and very messed-up galaxy. A story expanding on her relationship with her mother, whether pre or post-game, would be very welcome. I'm also totally down for mission or heist fic centering on any thorny situations she gets herself into. As far as shipping goes, I don't have any hard-and-fast preferences, but would be very open to Kay/ND-5 (I love his dry sarcasm with her) or Kay/Vail.

True Detective: Night Country, Rose Aguineau

I thoroughly enjoyed this whole season (full disclosure: I have only watched Night Country, not any of the previous TD seasons), and I found Rose particularly fascinating. I would have happily watched a whole show about just her. I'm a huge fan of stories about compelling older women, especially older women who aren't relegated solely to wife/mother roles. And Rose has clearly lived a very interesting life. How, for example, does she know exactly where to go on the ice to dispose of a body--and how to prepare the body so it doesn't resurface? Exactly how many bodies has she been involved in hiding, and why? I'd also love anything relating to her ability to see the dead. Does she ever see any of the people she's killed (or whose bodies she's dumped)? How does she relate to them, and vice versa? What was her reaction the first time she saw a dead person's spirit? If you want to go even further back to her pre-Alaska days, that would be welcome too. I know in the show she says she used to be a professor, but was that really true? And how exactly does one go from professor to ghost-whisperer-body-dumper in the middle of nowhere, Alaska?

I hope these prompts are enough to get some inspiration going, but if you have ideas different from anything I've listed here, please don't feel constrained. I'll enjoy whatever you write. Thanks again, and happy Yuletide!

[unhinged-summer-fun]

just realized “I’ve written a prophecy” is hilarious when talking about farmer Joel because the prophet Joel tells a story of redemption and judgment day and purification and restoration and bounty and fruitfulness and hordes of armies that destroy and consume hundreds of times over and the wrath of a god who is vengeful and awesome in that old testament kinda way

in the context of this story, Joel absolutely refuses the call for several years even though literally everything is like. PAY ATTENTION DUDE PLEASE

if I end up calling this fic ‘the book of joel’ literally express ship a fist to my jaw