#but I saved the chicken!
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Funny story: today I rescued a chicken.
This got kinda long but it is fairly funny and has a happy ending. Also there is Thunder and Birds involved, but not in the usual way. And I have no one to give the blow-by-blow account of the saga to, and I Need to Tell Story. So dear friends, *drags you to sit around my figurative fireplace* enjoy my tale!
(Minor warning of reference to past animal death.)
Because the universe really does have a sense of humour, this all started when I was sitting outside, because it was a nice sunny day, while reading @gaviiadastra's 'Chicken Dad' series. (its great, Im only 5 chapters in, go read it!)
And then I hear loud chicken clucking noises. Which I am understandably very surprised to hear. There is some *looks at laptop* *looks up again* "What the fuck???"
So I go out to investigate. I find a chicken. A very cute, fairly large black hen with the slightest green sheen to her feathers. In all likelihood a Black Australorp.
Outside my yard, just chilling. And still bok-bok-boking loudly.
And I'm like, "huh." And wow, that was not just my imagination.
Now backstory time: My family used to keep chickens, a small flock of them living happily in our yard. I loved them very much, and I kinda still miss them even though it was years ago now. They also had ridiculous triple-barrel names.
Tragic backstory time: One of our chickens got eaten by a fox. (it was extremely upsetting, the chicken was our friend.)
There are also a whole bunch of outdoor cats around the neighbourhood, and a highway nearby, and generally a lot of dangers to escapee chickens. So I'm understandably pretty worried about this chook, because its also lateish afternoon and will get dark. And just leaving it there really doesn't fly with me.
Time for the rescue plan: I'm going to catch that chicken, then figure out where it lives and return it. Because I vaguely remembered some neighbours keeping chickens, and a door knock around should point me in the right direction. (Or if not, I get to keep chickens again, y'know, if it still needs a good home.)
I put shoes on, because stomping around in my slippers is likely ill advised, grab a crust of bread because it the best chicken attracting thing i can quickly find, and yell to a family member where i'm going, getting the underwhelming response of, "Uh huh, sure."
Plan A: Lure chicken close to me with bread and catch it once it is in arms reach.
There is some throwing of pieces of bread, me making inviting clucking noises (actually one of my talents, I have fooled people with it before,) me staying very still, the chicken slowly coming closer.
Eventually the chicken is pecking the bread piece from my hand. I take my moment. My fingertips brush feathers. The chicken runs off. Note to self: chickens are fast and I'm very out of practice at chicken nabbing.
Takes two through like eight or something: Lure chicken in, gain its trust, wait until it gets really close, then catch it.
And nope. The chicken is having None Of That. It still gets a fair bit of bread bits, thrown out around me. And its having a merry old time, wandering around, pecking at grass, and being adorable. (I really like chooks, they're cute.)
By this point my butt's gone numb and my shitty knees are Complaining. And I've been at this more than half an hour, like seriously, this chicken has mastered the art of 'close enough for snacks, but not close enough to get got.'
And I am Very Patient (in some circumstances, such as these, though not all), but I can also hear thunder as a storm is coming in. And this clearly isn't working. And the chicken is wandering away. And I'm at least ten times its size and supposedly the cleverer one here.
So onto Plan B: Get me close to the chicken. Catch the darned chicken.
I get up, shove the bit of bread in my pocket, stretch, then calmly walk after the chicken. Because panicky chicken could definitely out-sprint me. And we're gonna avoid that. I'm also hoping the whole 'persistence predator' thing pays off.
Additional context notes: I live right next to a park. Sort of. There's several metres of rocky cliff between the row of houses and the park. And a narrow strip of land between said cliff and houses. Which is where me and the chicken are, of course.
So there is the additional difficulty of 1) dont chase chicken off cliff (the chicken would be fine, its only couple of metres high and it has unclipped wings. Also would be new problem of chicken running loose in big park.) 2) dont fall off cliff because i dont want to explain it to family/curious strangers/paramedics that this was all because of a chicken.
There is a lot of very careful manoeuvring. Some tactical retreats because that chicken really likes that cliff edge. An amount of bush bashing. Some strategic climbing of slopey parts where it's not so cliff steep. I run into sticks and tree branches and spiderwebs. I Follow That Chicken.
There is a stand off. A rout. I direct the chicken towards the houses and manage to corner it with a fence. And then I've got an armful of somewhat flappy chicken until I get the wings under control. Then I've just got a chicken. A very sweet chicken who is now pretty chill with being held.
Return of the Chicken: It's the first house I go to. I ring the bell, no one answers. I wander round the side a bit thinking maybe I ended up at the back door with all the chicken chasing. A dog spots me in the window and starts barking. So I stand there to wait for that to get someone's attention because I'm 90% sure its the right house.
Person appears in window. Me: *waves* *points at chicken*
Epilogue: It was confirmed that the chicken belonged there. The person was very grateful for the return of their chicken. And wasn't too put out by a rando showing up at the door with a chicken in their arms. Me in my red chequered flannel and possibly covered in leaves. The chicken did not have a name, I asked. I suggested Jailbreak as a suitable one.
I gave the chicken one last pat then handed her over (somewhat reluctantly. She was a very soft, fluffy, lovely chook) (and I named her.) (I really miss having chickens, if you can't tell that already.)
I went home and after a while it stormed, seriously like right on top of us with no break between thunder and lightning. Very glad I got the chicken before that. And got inside. I also won't tell you how long it took to find the bread still in my pocket but I'm very glad it didn't go through the wash. Now I blogged on tumblr about it.
And so the chicken rescue saga comes to an end, with all parties safe and dry and no one even fell off a cliff. Also I got to hold a chicken and that was a major win for my day!
*THE END*
#thunderfam#chickens#enjoy my ridiculous story and shenanigans!#commentary on my rescue skills is highly encouraged#also i could totally see one of the Tracy's being this silly#but I saved the chicken!
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It was Maid Day today yesterday a week ago so I got struck by inspiration to draw the worsties, and it ran away from me into a whole AU where they’re coworkers at a maid cafe. She’s a med student & this is just a part time job, and this is his depression job while he gets his life back together. He needs something he can be workaholic about to forget what it’s like having a personal life and personal issues. He’s actually the accountant, but the new hire janitor (Izutsumi) doesn’t show up for half her shifts and is a sloppy worker, so he gets the extra work of doing her job on top of his because he’s undervalued and overworked. Of course, janitors also have an uniform to keep the aesthetic cohesion as they go about cleaning the place, of course.
Senshi’s the part time cook you only see slivers off, he’s kind and warm when you do see him and have a chat but most shifts he’s in and out the kitchen without a trace. Laios and Falin are regulars because Falin and Marcille are besties & in the same med school, Laios accompanies Falin as she visits her friend at work and gets hooked on the food. Chilchuck has to remind Marcille to work instead of chatting with Falin for an hour, and next thing he knows she’s distracting him from work too. That’s it that’s the AU. Inspired by this idol AU fanart a bit <3
This was not meant to be birthday gift but well…… Happy bday Chil!!!
Read from left to right
#Dungeon meshi#delicious in dungeon#Chilchuck tims#marcille donato#spoilers#dunmeshi au#Maid cafe au#Marchil#Workwife marchil save me. Kabuholm in the background bc i said so lmao#i think people forget marci n chil are coworker worsties first and foremost. Ppl should capitalize on it more#The orange hair swag that makes him look like a marketable idol more#You can tell idk how to draw maid outfits. I hate those hats sm I will miku miku beam them out of existence#Marcille does change her hairstyle everyday btw#they don’t get back together btw she goes you haven’t talked to me in 4 years and he immediately goes YOU haven’t talked to ME in 4–#i mean ehem i’m sorry haha… while Marcille is like 4 years?! 4 years…#Mei only did it bc Fler has been getting jittery again kept sighing#I wanted to draw Chil with a car key at his belt but it wasn’t meant to be#idk if marchil ever gets together in this one it’s an eternal summer coworker with tension situationship au#romance is when you slowly deteriorate his work ethics so he starts skipping on his worktime to spend it at the front messing around w you#once he’s blessedly in the office and he hears this huge crash and the Marci just goes ‘…… Chiiiiiil?’ cue sigh and having to repair#the coffee machine. So many lil comics i couldn’t indulge myself to draw save me#shoutout to the time as a cashier in training at a convenience store I was left by my coworker who was supposed to wash the greasy chicken#oven but didn’t so I had to clean it for the first time myself while I was alone in the store and was also supposed to man the front#Shoutout to my convenience store’s accountant helping us with cashier duties often when there was less job to do ty ty#Understaffed struggles are so real#People also call Chil a manager because the boss is most often away so he just does everything#There’s no union but maybe one day he’ll get to overthrow the boss idk#The pay IS good at least#Modern au
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BAWKtober Day 3 - Cider Press
Can't wait for a sippy sippy~
If you'd like to support my BAWKtobering by buying a commission or a treat for my spoiled, spoiled chickens, all my links are in my pinned- *i am immediately mobbed by a flock of chickens and dragged off stage in a cloud of feathers*
#Kinda late cuz i'm trying out some new hatching brushes i got for ivy's feathers and it took a little to get the hang of#but once i do i think it will save my hands#normally i'd do hatching by hand but my joints are at the point where i'm like Work Smarter Not Harder#and i think it turned out nice! it gives nice texture#it'll be fun to experiment more#still haven't found an easier way to draw poppy's and i fear i never shall this is my fate#okay anyways#BAWKtober 2024#BAWKtober#cider press#makenna made a thing#chickens#tiny fluffy dinosaurs#the BEST animals#chickenblr#birdblr#october art challenge#drawing prompts#autumn#fall#artists on tumblr#daily drawing#apple cider#why did i practically paint render the dripping cider in this that was so unnecessary lol#i am possessed but the spirit of BAWKtober
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historical queer payneland because why not (ref)
#art#dbda#dead boy detectives#payneland#tltl art#edwin payne#charles rowland#my art#dbdshow#dead boy detective agency#save dead boy detectives#renew dead boy detectives#painland#paineland#chedwin#paynland#edwin x charles#edwin paine#the alt title for this one is tiddy grab#i chickened out of the other grab tho im sorry#it's a thigh grab instead#image id in alt text#dbda fanart#dbda art
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Dragon with a metal as fuck (literally) prosthetic wing!!
More Prosper content :D I feel an indescribable amount of love for this dragon. And the cool ass wing designs I can give her.
Even though the entire concept of this prosthetic functioning is quite literally impossible, I still put some actual thought into the design’s fictional functionality (hey that was alliteration).
The wing is piloted with a rod that is connected to her remaining organic wing that synchronises the movements (think Toothless’ automatic tailfin). The fingers of the wing are connected together at the top and don’t all independently move, it’s based on a rig that is controlled by the very outer finger. If that one is half folded in the other 5 fingers will correspond with that, if it is fully extended the other five will correspond with that etc etc. The fact that her wings have to by synchronised is by no means easy to operate. She cannot do most basic manoeuvres in the air, even turning to the left/right whilst in flight is extremely dependant on her secondary hip wings and her tail fins. It is nowhere near having a real, attached to her body wing, but it still gives her the ability to fly again. And long distance flying is still a pain in the ass because the massive scars all along the right side of her body get irritated after a while.
A lot of the thought behind the design came from how odd it felt that httyd 3 just… got rid of Toothless’ disability? Like yeah he was still missing a tail fin but it might as well just have grown back. He has a new, fully functional, doesn’t need to be taken off, apparently doesn’t even need maintenance, fire proof and extremely durable prosthetic that just allowed him to function as if he wasn’t disabled? In the Viking age as well?? Even in the modern day we don’t have prosthetics that can fully restore permanent, none skin irritating, doesn’t need to be fixed up ‘replacement’ limbs. Yes there are some very high quality prosthetic limbs that can restore a lot of functionality and give a very good quality of life, but it is not a new limb. It’s a prosthetic. It doesn’t change the fact that there is a missing body part. It doesn’t completely replace every single functionality of a real limb? The film just entirely disregarded that fact that Toothless had a disability. Just slap a technologically impossible bit of gear work on his tail and BOOM he’s fixed. No that’s not how that works you fucking idiot 😭 His skin would get irritated, the fin would eventually need to be repaired because again IT WAS THE MEDIEVAL ERA. I know Hiccup was smart but girl he was not smart enough to invent an indestructible replacement body part. We can’t do that in 2024, let alone 1000 or whenever the fuck httyd is set.
Anyway going off that rant, whilst Prosper does regain the ability to fly, it is very limited, not for long periods of time and kind of painful. Because that’s what happens when you get a whole ass limb torn from your body. It tends to hurt and not be ‘fixable.’
#The more I think about it the more I hate it#They ‘fixed’ Toothless’ disability#god I hate that film so much#I believe I have said this before but#you could not pay me to watch that film for the second time#Walked out of that theatre in 2019 and took a sacred oath to never graze my eyes across its hellish fuckery ever again#except that one scene of Hiccup dancing like a fucking chicken#that was the only good part#what a fucking moron#I hated all of the characters in thw#honestly I think Stoick would’ve saved it if he was still alive#this post was originally about my oc and her cool mechanical wing#huh#httyd#how to train your dragon#hiccup#hiccup haddock#Night fury#httyd 3 slander#httyd thw#thw salt#night furies#oc#art rant#art#digital art#my art#my artwork#hiccup httyd#httyd hiccup
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yandere Shigaraki x gaming reader imagine
note: yandere, stalking, kidnapping implications
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Oh, to be an unknown gaming streamer who dresses up in Lara Croft cosplay and streams the remastered Tomb Raider games, only for a very bored Shigaraki to stumble on your stream with a grand total of 1 person watching (the 1 person is him) and at first he's bored, thinks you're some dumbass who probably didn't even play the original games...
But after a while.... hey, you're pretty good at this, aren't you? And he thinks it's kind of cute when you get flustered with Lara's shitty controls and huff out impatiently. He offers you tips, though you don't always need them--turns out you did play the original games, though you never beat them, so he's more than happy to offer you advice on the higher levels.
And since he's the only one on your stream, you talk to him pretty eagerly. Especially when he starts donating, and he gets to see how shy and happy you look when you thank him, and tell him what you'll buy with the donations. Eventually you grant him access to a voice chat so you two can chat more organically while you play.
It's almost like your friends, he thinks. Even if you only talk to him while you stream, and you haven't given him your real name or email or have even told him where you live. (Not that he needs them. You were easy enough to find.)
The first time you giggle at something he says is when he knows he's in love.
The first time you wear an outfit he purchased for you from your wish list is when he knows he has to meet you in person.
The first time someone else shows up to your stream and you give that person just as much attention as Tomura is when he knows he's going to kidnap you sooner rather than later.
#yandere shigaraki#yandere tomura shigaraki#yandere bnha#yandere my hero academia#yandere#afterwitch writes#I wanna save up to get the Remastered games but also I was too chicken to really play the games outside her manor.#I got scared at her manor too but at least there weren't tigers or dinosaurs.
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We saved your chicken.
#cobra kai#ck#cobrakaiedit#ckedit#samantha larusso#robby keene#demetri alexopoulos#myedits#i dont tend to gif the kids but we saved your chicken has been popping up in my mind
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As someone who doesn’t speak a lick of Chinese (and really struggles to distinguish tones), I have some question for any fluent Chinese speakers.
It’s a common trope in SVSSS fanfiction where Shen Qingqiu and/or Shang Qinghua use terms for modern technology and the PIDW natives around them are puzzled by it.
What sort of homophones (or near homophones) are there for words like “airplane,” “cell phone,” “television,” “refrigerator,” “microwave,” and so forth? In other words, what might PIDW natives think they’re hearing while trying to listen in on the transmigrators? Are there any (near) homophones that depend on the dialect being spoken?
If the PIDW natives saw the words written, rather than heard them, what meanings might they come up with based on the characters used?
I can guess at some possible interpretations by looking things up in Yabla’s Chinese English Pinyin Dictionary, but they’re rough guesses at best.
I’d be delighted if someone actually knowledgeable could provide some insight on what Mobie-jun and Luo Binghe might think their husbands are talking about when they hear them use words and phrases “from their hometown.”
Edit: Apparently my homophone guesses weren't nearly as terrible as I'd feared, so I'm going to edit this and stick some of them under a read more for fun.
Native speakers please feel free to bully me if I screw up!
Airplane (飞机, fēi jī) "Flying Machine" 飞, fēi: "to fly" ● 机, jī: "machine" Possible Homophones: ● "Flying Chicken" (飞鸡) We definitely need fics where everyone thinks SQQ insists on calling SQH a chicken for some reason.
Cell Phone (手机, shǒu jī) "Hand Machine" 手, shǒu: "hand," "to hold" ● 机, jī: "machine" Possible Homophones: ● "Head/Chief Chicken" (首鸡) ● "Hand Muscle" (手肌) Does Shizun need a hand massage, or miss the "top-dog" chicken he grew up with? Who knows!
Telephone (电话, diàn huà) "Electric Talk" 电, diàn: "electric" ● 话, huà: "language," "speech," "talk" Possible Homophones: ● "Palace Talk" (殿话) ● "Shop Talk" (店话) The most likely guesses seem to be that the phrase has something to do with situational modes of speech. How one speaks in a palace hall, or how one speaks in an inn/shop.
Television (电视, diàn shì) "Electric View" 电, diàn: "electric" ● 视, shì: "to look at," "to regard" Possible Homophones: ● "Court Examination," "Imperial Exam" (殿试) ● "Think on/Remember a Matter," "Worry About Things" (惦事) Why demon lord husbands would pine after imperial exams is anyone's guess.
Refrigerator (冰箱, bīng xiāng) "Ice Box" 冰, bīng: "ice" ● 箱, xiāng: "box" No homophones needed. Meaning is obvious. Huzzah!
Microwave (微波炉, wēi bō lú) "Tiny Wave Stove" 微, wēi: "tiny" ● 波, bō: "wave," "ripple" ● 炉, lú: "stove," "furnace" Possible Homophones: ● "Power Sowing Furnace" (威播炉) No great options here, so they'd likely assume it's some special pill furnace variety.
Car/Automobile (汽车, qì chē) "Steam Vehicle" 汽, qì: "steam," "vapor" ● 车, chē: "vehicle," "chariot" (archaic) Possible Homophones: ● "Qi Chariot" (气车) ● "Near Vehicle" (汔车) A Qi powered chariot sounds pretty neat actually. The phrase could mean something like "whatever vehicle is nearest" though? Or a short range vehicle? (Google translate interpreted 汔车 as "car racing").
Courtesy of @hopingforbrain
airplane's full name can be heard as 'beating (up) flying chickens to the sky'. not in the wanking way, but actually throwing hands with the poultry.
#SVSSS#Scum Villian’s Self Saving System#Shen Yuan#Shang QingHua#* I did see one person suggest ‘Airplane’ could be interpreted as ‘Flying Chicken’ which is hilarious#* We have canon misinterpretations of ‘Cucumber’ too#* But I don’t know if my guess that ‘Cell Phone’ could be interpreted as ‘Boss Chicken’ is legit or not#* And does ‘Television’ actually sound like ‘Court Examination’ or are my ears lying to me?
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happy stubborn kitten day!
#khaotung thanawat#gmmtv boys#gmmtv actors#thai actor#bibi gifs#only friends the series#home school the series#moonlight chicken#the eclipse the series#55:15 never too late#a tale of a thousand stars#tonhon chonlatee#2gether the series#blacklist the series#because you're my boy#there's no favoritism in this house if one got the bare minimum so will the other#i was kind of devastated bc i couldn't find footage of charming stepmom tho#the gifs in yellow were a coincidence i only noticed they had that in common when i was about to save them#unfortunately i don't think ayan or paul ever used anything yellow otherwise i could have made it sunflower themed#since sunflowers are in my head since first posted his congratulations on instagram
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gemini & fourth (in every universe) ↳ heart vs. tinn vs. kongthap + pictures on their phone
"Let’s take some photos...to remind us of our first date."
#moonlight chicken#moonlight chicken the series#my school president#my school president the series#my love mix up#my love mix up th#my love mix up thailand#asianlgbtqdramas#tinngun#tinn x gun#heartliming#heart x li ming#kongthapatom#kongatom#kongthap x atom#geminifourth#gemini norawit#fourth nattawat#gemfourthmulti#mygifs#look at heart's 'ming ☺️' and tinn's 'chinzhilla baby ♡' 🥺#i hope we get to see what kongthap saves atom's contact as#knowing him it'll just be 'atom' lmao
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toji is so dad sometimes it's so hot
#sees you do everything even when he's not looking#always knows when you're lying#gives you lectures about how you'll catch a cold if you don't wear proper clothes#does the proper dad pose while watching tv#says he's just resting his eyes and then falls asleep#can fix everything and everything#does not fuck around about his meat#like beef and chicken get your mind out of the gutter smhhhh#anyway#lip bite emoji#nobody question me i can't think too deeply abt this or my brain will melt away#save me papa toji save meeeeeee:333333333#mayor of loserville
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I drew this as a joke but at the same time it helps me cope
#My handwriting#is chicken scratch#Loll#also I like the lil cloaked ancestor guys in the rise finale#They look like angels#Rottmnt#Save rottmnt#christian rottmnt#Donnie just like me fr#bowdoodles
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Physical letters are done! Calling these my Christmas card Trojan horses...😏
Please take the time to participate in the letter-writing and email project! Things like this are pivotal in showing presence and demand to Netflix and Warner Bros. The more of us that do things like this, the better!
#also I did my best with my handwriting but it's still kinda chicken scratch lol so ignore that#save dead boy detectives#letter project#dbda#dead boy detectives
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This is the Pinterest board of a person who's completely normal about the chicken man
NONE OF THESE ARE MY ARTS JUST PINS FOR MY DREAM BOARD ABOUT MY CHICKEN BOY
#sdv#sdv shane#stardew valley#stardew valley shane#sdv memes#sad chicken man#obsession#pinterest#i see shane i click save#fanart#most pins from this board probs come from tumblr
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whoever this beloved anon was I am so touched by your kindness! You definitely didn’t have to do this but I am so happy you enjoy this idea and I will happily expand upon it for you!
this is just a collection of word vomit bullet points for the time being but I will happily answer any and all questions about this pair!!
warnings: violence, angst, child death (Sarah Miller), foul language, the same warnings that apply to tlou, reader is Sarah's mom and described as having similar features to her.
So the general Idea is that you and Joel are happily married before the outbreak.
You had been Sarah's mother, his high school sweetheart he got pregnant when neither of you were old enough to have any reaction to the pregnancy test other than a fucking panic attack in one another’s arms. but you made it work
you both worked but made time for one another and your sweet girl, going to museums every other weekend and joel insisting on swooping you off for a date every now and then
nothing special. He knows you’re more of a diner gal than anything too fancy that makes you both feel out of place.
On his birthday in 2003, you had planned to tell him that you were pregnant again. But the memories of your own fears of motherhood from all those years ago begin to swirl through your head again and you get cold feel. deciding to tell him the morning after
it is his birthday afterall, you want to focus on him.
but when you’re woken up in the middle of the night because tommy needs to get bailed out, Joel kisses you sweetly one last time before promising he’ll be back and you can’t shake the feeling that something bad is happening.
its you that shakes sarah awake that night. shouting at her to put on her shoes when she’s still rubbing the sleep from her eyes because you’ve been listening to the radio for the past two hours, calling joel again and again and again praying for him to fucking pick up but to no avail.
Sarah, bless your little girl’s bleeding heart is the one who insists you check on the adler’s against your better suspicions and when you find the eldest looming over her daughter, blood and sinew dripping from her mouth, you grab your daughter hand and burst into a full sprint until something slams into your back and sends you tumbling onto their front lawn
its how joel finds you, struggling to keep the once sweet old woman, whose now nothing more than dead eyes and gnashing teeth straining to snap at your pulse point as you push against her while sarah shrieks before your husband runs forward and cracks her skull with a wrench.
there’s hardly a moment of pause, just enough for him to pull you up and into his arms before he’s ushering you both into the car with an urgency.
when the truck crashes, you get separated from them. Perhaps at Tommy’s side when the flames rise and create a wall, separating you from your husband, or maybe pulled into the mob of chaos when trying to escape from those already infected-
all joel knows is that you promise you’ll find him: just get sarah to safety and you’ll meet him at the river
Poor thing is already so frightened, held in her father’s arms with tears streaming down her face insisting they can’t leave you they just can’t but her father kisses her forehead and reassures her its going to be okay
“we just need to be brave, okay babygirl? Your mama’s real tough, she’s gonna be alright.”
he isn’t sure if he’s saying it to his daughter or himself.
but when he comes to the river you aren’t there. Only a soldier who points a gun at the scared little girl in his arms and then he loses everything
its when the light is gone from his daughter’s eyes that he realizes. His voice cracked and raw from sobbing that he looks around to see his brother with drawn in shoulders and tears in his eyes but his wife is nowhere to be found.
Tommy says you got lost in the chaos. Everything was so loud, so sudden that he turned around and suddenly you weren’t there.
Joel wants to go back but its Tommy that stops him, that dulls the red in his vision to a sad faded pink because his brother points at the orange horizon not too far from them, so much of the city is already in flames.
“We’re gonna find her, but not there.”
So Joel searches. for the first year spent in the world post-outbreak its all he did.
He became a smuggler because of it.
Information came at a price and he needed to be able to fucking pay it, whether it be in blood or ration cards. He was willing to do anything to find you or any thin thread that lead your way.
But it’s Tommy that asks him to give up. Not in those words of course.
The youngest Miller knows better than to say something so cruel that would make his brother, the only person he has in this world turn on him.
But his voice is worried when he asks him one night in Boston when he hasn’t even had the chance to wash the blood from his knuckles
“You think she would have wanted this for you?”
the fight that followed his words was brutal. Vicious insults and scarred fists slamming against each brother until they're both too tired and bloody to continue. Each leaning against a wall for support and Tommy’s wavering voice breaking the silence.
“I don’t know where she is, Joel. But I do know you're gonna get yourself killed if you keep lookin’ for her.”
All he can do is nod.
It’s a few days later when he meets Tess. Who has heard plenty of stories about the elder miller’s brutality and wants him to put that muscle to good use for some extra profit.
It begins his new life. One that empty and cold but one he can live.
Until of course, Ellie comes along. The sweet and incredibly opinionated girl that makes him become something akin to the man he thought died twenty years ago.
its when he’s traveling with Ellie, that it happens. When a warm familiarity has settled between the two because so much blood and pain has been shared he can’t help but see her as something close, something bright even though all he can force himself to utter in her reference is “cargo”
when theyre traveling through the woods as Ellie chatters away, probing his memory about a movie that may or may not have existed thirty years ago because her descriptions of the plot are incredibly odd he hears a voice shout for them to stop and finds himself staring at a man- no, a boy- pointing a gun at them.
Ellie stills, but Joel can see enough to know that from the lanky figure and dimpled face that he’s young. Maybe twenty, twenty-two at the oldest, but his eyes dart from Joel to Ellie with a pinprick of fear that allows Joel the time to charge forward and slam him to the ground before wrestling the gun from his hands.
He has enough to time to tuck it under the stranger’s chin before he hears the sound of the safety being turned off and finds himself looking up and seeing a gun just inches from his face.
Joel’s head whips around when Ellie’s voice calls out his name in fear, he turns to see another stranger holding her a gun point, shoulders drawn back and a shadow cast over their face by the had obstructing their identity.
“You hurt one of mine, I hurt one of yours. That a fair deal?”
Its takes him a moment to recognize you. It’s been so long since he’s heard your voice, the sweet tease when you would poke at him each time he woke up late despite the fact that you reminded him to set his alarm the night before, the times you’d chide him with a harsh “Joel Miller!” whispered in public anytime he was able to grab you a bit too passionately to be appropriate in public but the laughter in your voice let him know you were never truly mad at him. You didn’t know how to be.
But that sweetness is buried under a cold rasp that cuts through the air as you point a rifle at the scared little girl in front of you.
“You think I won’t?” You’re older now, skin covered in scars from a life he didn’t know you got the chance to live and your eyes are cold as they regard your husband. “Put the gun down and get the fuck off of him, I won’t repeat myself.”
Joel mumbles your name in awe. The woman he loved, the woman he mourned the one he fought so hard to find stands before him like some sort of hallucination and suddenly the world feels like its spinning until you bark orders at him again.
“You’ve got five seconds Joel, make a fucking choice before I make it for you.”
He looks down and realizes the boy under him, the one with the bleeding nose and snarling face has your eyes and his dimples.
“One.”
The one above him has Sarah’s hair. Soft brown curls that shine under the sun.
“Two”
Wait. No, they both do.
��Three.”
Twins. Jesus fucking Christ you had twins.
“Four.”
Joel holds the rifle up above his head and the one boy standing snatches it from his grasp, tossing it to the ground and kicking it far from his reach. He slowly stands, allowing your son- dear god your son- to scramble to his feet.
Your voice softens just for a moment. “You okay, Duke?”
Blood stains the bottom half of his face from where Joel slammed his fist into the boy’s nose just moments before, but he nods nonetheless.
Now, they both stand on one side of you and he can see the resemblance clear as day the same way he would whenever Sarah was by your side.
When you order him to hand over his bag, he does so without question before telling Ellie to do the same.
She watches him with wide eyes, her hands still up in the air but gaping at her companion as if he had grown a second head.
“Joel!” “Just do it, alright?”
He doesn’t miss the way you watch their interaction with narrowed eyes until she tosses her bag to you and you slowly lower your gun.
“Now, you want to tell me what the fuck you think you’re doin’ at my home?”
#joel miller x reader#joel miller x you#i had an idea of something similar for tommy but on outbreak night he uh. abandons you instead of getting separated from you#because. angst :D#people say nice things#this was incredibly generous of you anon thank you so so much!#i may get myself a little starbucks drink this week now because I havent had starbucks since like january 1st lol#joel reeling from taking in all this information and also realizing he suckerpunched HIS OWN KID#id like to apologize for all the grammatical issues with this. this is just a bulletpoint word vomit to get my thoughts on the page before-#-beginning the actual fic. also I have to do a midterm tonight and this is my treat to myself hehe#but yes. joel getting separated from his wife on outbreak night and having to accept that shes probably dead#meanwhile youve lived this entire life without him because you think HES dead ad raising your boys all on your own#which just- further digs into his insecurities about failing in his role as a protector#he couldn't save sarah. he can't save ellie and he couldn't even save you#he thinks about you pregnant and alone. fending for yourself in a world full of infected and raiders and his chest grows tight again#this is all followed by Ellie going >:O 'you KNOW THIS PSYCHO?'and then joel immediately snapping at her to WATCH HER MOUTH#because that kid has no filter and he has to explain that youre his wife#anyways joels wife is a badass mfer who also maybe has a little garden and some chickens that you and your boys take care of <3 yeah .#reunion tag#ill be using that for this specific couple because I dont have a fic title yet but if anybody has suggestions!
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$10 to the one who guesses who my favorites are
#hi guys hi men#i have to get them out of this series I have to save them#randal ivory#sebastian de tomato smith chicken legs#ranfren#randals friends
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