#catsarecutebutaliens

[sotvtaughtmehowtofeel]

Raider!Joel and Raider!Tess: Torture

cw: literally a torture scene. Joel and Tess are in a dark place.

Joel leaned against the wall, his arms crossed. There was nothing in his stance that hinted at the man tied up and screaming in the next room. Tess stood next to him, just as relaxed, her hands loosely tucked into the pockets of her trousers. Tommy stood in the far corner, as far from the room with the prisoner and as far from Joel as he could get. He shifted back and forth on his feet, crossing his arms, uncrossing them, flicking at his nose with one hand.

The screams died down, the man hissing and panting, and Bonnie walked out of the other room, wiping her fist with a cloth. She looked at Joel and Tess, nodding her head back toward the room.

Joel pushed himself off the wall and followed Tess into the other room. Neither moved with any haste. Tommy averted his eyes, turning his head away from Joel.

Tess walked into the room first, pushing back the open flaps of her button down with both hands as they settled onto her hips. She circled around the man tied to a chair just inside. He was turned to face away from the door, placed in the center of the small room. Joel followed her around the chair but then hung back within the man’s view, nothing particularly threatening about his stance other than his size.

Tess approached the prisoner. She crouched in front him, watching him silently for a moment. He was tied to the chair across his chest and at his ankles and wrists. Blood decorated his face, his lip was split, and a bruise was starting to bloom around one eye.

He glanced nervously back at Joel. Tess followed his gaze, glancing at Joel and then looking back at the man. “You’re worried about him? Good instincts. He’s not particularly patient. He’d prefer to do this quick and painful.” She shook her head, pressing her lips together briefly. “You wouldn’t like it.”

The man glanced back at Joel again, his fingers twitching against the chair arms as he tried to wiggle away from him.

“Look at me,” Tess ordered quietly. He did. “I like to take my time.” She tilted her head, holding his gaze. “Try new things. How does that sound?”

The man glanced back at Joel again. Tess pulled a knife out and slammed it into his thigh in one motion. The man shrieked, and she ripped it out again.

“I asked you a question.” Tess’ tone hadn’t changed at all, still casual, as she wiped the blade on the man’s shirt. She grabbed his chin with her free hand, turning it toward her to meet his gaze. “You will answer any question I ask.” She motioned to Joel with a flick of her head. “Or I’ll let him take over to not ask questions. Do you understand?”

He nodded quickly. A small smile spread on her lips. She flicked out her hand, cutting him across the cheek fast enough that he was confused at the pain rising in his cheek. He gave her a look.

“Why-”

“Oh. You can talk.” Tess tilted her head, shaking it at him slowly. “You’ll use your words to answer me.”

“O-okay,” he breathed out quickly.

She nodded, then turned back to Joel, sheathing her knife at her hip. “What are we trying to find out?”

Joel shrugged. Tess looked back at the man, pressing her hands to her thighs to help her stand. She motioned back to the man with a quick toss of her head as she walked past Joel, heading out of the room.

“Wai- wait!” the man sputtered as Joel started toward him. He struggled in his restraints. “Wait! No!”

Tess ducked out of the room, glancing around for Bonnie. Tommy was huddled in the corner still, casting his eyes down to the floor as soon as he saw Tess. Screams erupted from the room again, and he flinched.

“What do we need to know?” Tess asked.

Bonnie shrugged. “Where they hid the supplies. How many others there are. Where they’re hiding.”

Tess nodded, turning back. Joel was crouched in front of the man, twisting a knife buried in his leg. The tiny grin on his face was unnerving and just shy of unhinged. Tess smiled slightly to herself. She nodded her head to the side and Joel stood, pulling the knife out of the man’s leg. She crouched in front of the chair again as Joel sheathed the knife and took up his position behind her again. Tess pulled out the gun tucked into the back of her trousers and laid it casually on her thigh.

“Where did you hide the supplies?” her voice was calm.

The man’s breathing sounded more like hissing. His leg was throbbing. “Be- below the floorboards in the shed.”

Tess nodded. “Good.” She raised the gun, tipping his chin up with the barrel so he was looking at her. “How many others are with you?”

He glanced at Joel again, swallowing hard. “Five.”

She nodded. “Where are they hiding?”

He sucked in a few more breaths, starting to squirm in the chair. Tess frowned, her eyebrows pulling together, as she cocked her head slightly.

“Don’t make me repeat myself.” It was the first time her voice had changed. It was slightly lower, much more dangerous. The man glanced back at Joel, trying to wriggle out of his restraints. Tess grabbed his chin with her free hand. “Do you think you only need to worry about him? Do you think that’d be wise?”

The man looked back at her, eyes widening.

She stared at him, saying, “Joel, I don’t think he takes me seriously.”

“Is that right.” Joel eyed the man, but otherwise made no move.

Tess tucked the gun away and reached into the pocket of her button down.

“I found a bit of mycelium outside.” Tess held up the chunk of fungus. The man eyed it uneasily. “Could be nothing. Some people used to forage for this stuff before. Some people used to eat it.” She twisted the fungus between her fingers, staring at it. Her eyes flicked back to him. “Do you feel lucky?”

The man panicked, fighting against the restraints. His chair skidded back a couple of inches, and Joel stepped forward, circling around to grab the chair from behind and brace it. Tess jerked the man’s face by his chin, shoving the fungus into the man’s mouth, clamping it down and holding his nose until he swallowed. He was trembling when she released him. Joel released the chair, returning to his post. Tess settled back onto her heel and watched the man. He was staring at her, eyes wide, shaking.

“Why- why did you do that?” he demanded.

Tess and Joel watched him dispassionately, both with their arms crossed.

“Why would I tell you anything now!” he shouted.

Tess glanced at Joel, then back at the man. “We could make you vomit it up.” She scratched the back of her head. “You’d have to be fast though.”

The color drained from the man’s face. “But-“ he licked his lips. “You’ll hurt them.”

Tess and Joel exchanged a glance, just eyes flicking to meet the other’s. She shrugged.

“It might be a fucking shitake.” She dropped her arms, starting out of the room.

The man hung his head. “Wait.” His breathing was irregular, could be stress, could be tears. “They’re in the warehouse on the corner.”

Tess and Joel exchanged another look. She nodded her head toward the door, and he followed her out of the room.

“Wait!” the man shouted. “Wait!”

Tess relayed the information to Bonnie. Tommy still stood in the corner, staring at his feet. Joel didn’t look at him. Bonnie left, Tommy following with his eyes still cast down.

“Come back! Help me!”

Tess watched Bonnie and Tommy leave, then went back into the room.

“You said you’d help me!” the man shouted.

“I said we could help you,” Tess replied calmly.

The man fell silent for a moment. “No…” he whispered, licking his lips, “no. No!” He started fighting against his restraints again.

“Should we?” Joel asked, walking up to Tess.

“I don’t know, I am curious what the fungus was.”

The chair squeaked across the floor as he pulled at the restraints. “No! You said- don’t hurt them! Don’t hurt them!”

“He could be lying,” Tess said quietly to Joel.

Joel watched the man struggle. “I believe him.”

Tess nodded in agreement and turned to the door.

Joel shot the prisoner in the head without blinking.

[tloubraininfection]

#thank you for the geography clutch#the more i learn the more im shaking my head at neil and craig like girlies what the actual fuck#did no one in the writers room go uhh hey the US is kinda big heres a map and-#like did craig interrupt that guy and just go no no they have horsie they go fast vroom#??? losing my shit low-key#but thank u

Joel chattering away about Sarah to Ellie because he can breathe for the first time in twenty fucking years get me a doctor

[thebiggestmenace]

people have made headcanons that Ellie, or Joel, finds a stuffed giraffe and she is obsessed with it. I absolutely love that headcanon! I started playing the game again to get all the achievements (I think we're almost there :)) and because of this, I've noticed more of the small background pieces. there's a giraffe plush that just shows up. I do not have any screenshots, but I can definitely go through and get them at some point!

the first one is when Joel and Tess are trying to find Robert. right before you go down an alley, there's a bulletin board with a bunch of wanted posters on it, right? there's a kid near it who's playing with a giraffe plush!

also when Ellie runs to that ranch, there's another one! obviously you can explore that house a bit, I think there's a bigger giraffe plush in one of the rooms. I don't remember which one, but it's a tall boy and it's next to a desk and window!

don't know if there's anymore for the first game because I haven't finished it yet, but there's also one in the second game! at least one. the weed house. right before Dina and Ellie find the basement, one of the shelves in the backrooms has a little giraffe plush on it!

I don't know why, but I love this little detail SO MUCH. will update if there's anymore :)

edit: here's the post for all the ones I found in the first game :)

[ekkoh]

-jennifer s. chang

(inspired by my amazing friends @catsarecutebutaliens and @ellies-little-gun getting in their feels about ellie and riley <3)

[actual-changeling]

As promised, more Uncle Tommy, and this time it is from his POV!

[not-so-mundane-after-all]

Fandom: The Last of Us

Title: Rhythm Is a Dancer

Pairings/Relationships: Joel and Ellie

Summary:

When Ellie gets asked out for a school dance, she worries about her dancing skills. Joel offers her a little practice and reminds her that the most important thing is having fun.

MUNDI IS BACK IN TLOU BUSINESS!!! Oh, it was so good writing for these two again, it felt almost theraputic. I rewatched the season, I only got episode 9 left but I paused to finish this, and I'm going to be watching the gameplays of both games to get the full scope of the story and gain more inspiration. I decided to make more dancing fics because Joel and Ellie dancing is a concept I just can't let go of and my first dancing fic became way more popular than I thought it would so I figured people want more.

Plus, look at this gif. Look at them. They did this for me.

I hope you enjoy this fluff piece!

@skoulsons @nooowestayandgetcaught @therunaway-writer @pawprinterfanfic @groguandin @ellieinfected @ellie-licious @twdaryldix @justxfolio @fallenstar07 @jaredpad @memelovescaps @theantiquarianarchive @sunflower-0180 @tloubraininfection @catsarecutebutaliens @dilf-din @sentientmasstransit @orangechickenpillow @ellies-little-gun @yoursjustasitwas @starchild0985 @sotvtaughtmehowtofeel @jessahmewren

If you want to be tagged/untagged in my tlou fics, let me know!

[ellies-little-gun]

So, the other day I was talking to my friend @catsarecutebutaliens about the scene in episode 7 where Ellie stitches up Joel and they said the following:

The world is going sideways with pain, her face blurring between tears and the sunlight reflecting off of her skin, and all he can think is Ellie, her name a prayer on repeat and the only thing keeping him from giving up.

Which prompted me to write this:

He grabs her arm, feels pain worse than his wound when she says ah, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck in response. He's hurting her, he knows he is. He's causing her pain, so he forces himself to let go. Forces himself to leave his hand on her but not to grip. Forces himself to stare up at her, to memorize her face because he knows he isn't going to be able to see it much longer. Does his best to muffle his sounds of pain because he doesn't want to scare her any more than he already has. Doesn't want to cause her any pain, doesn't want to scare her. He did that to Sarah in her last moments, caused her pain, scared her. He doesn't want to spend his last moments doing the same to Ellie. Doesn't want his death to haunt her dreams the way Sarah's haunts his.

And they responded with this:

The stitches are done, but the pain doesn't subside, sharp and throbbing and blunt all at once, and he has been on death's door enough times to know he won't be able to keep himself conscious any longer. It doesn't matter, though, because Ellie wiped her hands clean of his blood, something he cannot allow himself to think about or he will throw up his guilt and he cannot force her to see more blood today than she already has. She wiped her hands clean and is kneeling next to him, her palms hot against his freezing skin, and when he blinks up at her, he cannot tell if the tears running down her cheeks are panic or relief.

"You'll be fine," she says, prays, and he takes it as a command, "You'll be fine, Joel, okay? You- you gotta be."

There is so much he wants to tell her, so much to apologize for, but darkness and shadows are dragging him under, and all he can do is weakly grasp her arm and tug - a request. She chases after him, curls up next to him with her hand pressed to his chest and his next exhale sounds like her name. He'll be fine, not because he deserves it but because she does.

So, I wrote the same scene but from Ellie's POV:

The stitches are done. They aren't her best work but they'll have to do. They're painful, she can tell by the way Joel grits his teeth. She's had enough stitches to know they pull something awful. She always hated stitches. She scrubs the blood from under her nails, from off her skin. Tries her best not to think about the last time she did this. Scrubbed the remains of her best friend from under her nails, tries not to think about how Joel and Riley's blood feels the same. Warm and sticky and stubborn. It won't come out from under her nails, no matter how hard she scrubs. Same as Riley's so after a while she gives up. Washes the blood from her skin but leaves it under her nails. Knows that that may be the only part of Joel she can take with her, if he goes to be with Riley.

"You'll be fine," she says, more prayer to a god she doesn't believe in than actual belief, "you'll be fine Joel, okay? You-you gotta be."

There is so much she wants to tell him. About how she cares about him, might even love him. But she doesn't because that feels too much like goodbye. Feels too much like admitting he won't get better. She'd done the same with Riley, hadn't said she loved her until she was gone. She regrets it every day but she still can't bring herself to say it to Joel. Because he'll be fine, he'll be fine. He has to be, because he deserves it, even if she doesn't.

And they responded with this:

When he comes to, nightmares and reality are a blurry purgatory filled with spiking hot pain and ice in his bones, but he is unable to process any of it. Louder than the beat of his dying heart, louder than the slow drip of melting snow from the broken windowsills, is the almost soundless whisper of Ellie crying. Joel cannot open his eyes, cannot move, all he feels is a tiny hand pressed to his chest and a wet cheek against his neck. She never cries loudly, never lets the sobs he can see wrecking her chest actually escape, but somehow he still always knows, still wakes to it in the middle of the night.

I'm sorry, he wants to say. I'm here, I'm sorry.

His fingers weakly twitch against her leg, his head turning the slightest bit as he seeks her out, seeks to comfort her, and when the darkness reclaims him, all he can think is I can't do this without you.

So, I wrote the same scene but from Ellie's POV again:

Ellie is a strong motherfucker thank you very much. She is capable and smart and witty. But she's also only fourteen. She's still a child, despite the fact that she never had any childhood to speak of. So, yeah she is crying right now, what of it? There's only so much one person can take onto shoulders that aren't strong enough to carry the weight before they collapse under it. And Joel is asleep, asleep but not dead. Not dead she knows because she has her ear pressed to his chest. Listens to the somewhat steady beat under her ear, tries her best to keep her sobs in her chest, does her best not to let them escape because she doesn't want to wake him up. It's the middle of the night, and Joel needs his rest.

I'm sorry, she wants to say, I'm here, I'm sorry.

Because she is, he got hurt protecting her. This is her fault, just like everything else. Anna, Riley, Tess, Sam, Henry. All her fault. His fingers twitch against her leg, and she feels his head turn towards her. Feels his cheek come to rest on top of her head. Feels him sigh against her and all she can think is I can't do this without you.

[channelrat]

do you have an ao3? or write fanfiction at all, actually? i was reminded of you when I saw an author with the same side blog user :] (elliemiller) regardless those fics are amazing. I’ve been catching up on the tlou fanfic game—

I do have an ao3 but I've not posted any TLOU yet, I have a silly little oneshot fluff inspired completely by something someone said in a comment of one of my asks & i will tag them when the fic is up, that I'm working on right now. my ao3 is AllHaleOlicity but it'll also be posted on tumblr (@ellliemilller 🖤my beloved unhinged sideblog that i didn't think i would ever actually use when i created the name)

it's very very dry on ao3 right now aside from a collab fic i was part of the other year, im revamping (aka i have this lil au universe for Arrowverse with my friend Kayla and all of the fics I had are outdated and I wanna update them)

HOWEVER, if I may... I do have some amazing writers I'd love to turn you towards until I can post something:

@not-so-mundane-after-all -and ao3

@ellie-licious -and ao3

@skoulsons -and ao3

@sotvtaughtmehowtofeel -and ao3

@catsarecutebutaliens -and ao3

@dilf-din -and ao3

@sentientmasstransit -and ao3

@orangechickenpillow -and ao3

@ellies-little-gun -and ao3

@yoursjustasitwas -and ao3

they're all wonderful i recommend them 10 billion times more than i'd ever even promote my own stuff they're brilliant and talented and they all handle tlou so well whether it's fluff, aus, or canon related storyline and plot. So definitely check them out if you haven't already

[skoulsons]

I would like to thank you for ur wonderful content <3 huge fan on tumblr and also ao3! ur a gift! do you have any fics/content here or there that you DO recommend? Stay safe out there 🫡

STOP IT THIS IS SO SWEET 🥺🫶🏻 kissing your forehead rn anon

Thank you so much!! I can’t believe people actually like my content 💀

Tumblr has deleted this draft multiples times, so I’m getting lazy and annoyed at this point. I’ll link some mutuals (and their ao3s for all the writers), so give them all a follow. You really just gave me an excuse to brag about my friends so

@ellie-licious (Soullikeabird), @catsarecutebutaliens (same ao3), @orangechickenpillow (same ao3), @not-so-mundane-after-all (not_so_mundane_after_all_97), @ellies-little-gun (TheFelineQueen96), @yoursjustasitwas (swear_it), @sotvtaughtmehowtofeel (same ao3), @sentientmasstransit (same ao3), @dilf-din (no ao3, but she does write small drabbles on here!), @vully-andthegoose (vulpecula_et_anser), @novemberrain-writes to end the main writers

^ ALL are safe and normal writers and have some really incredible works for Joel and Ellie, some that are still ongoing 🤭

Some other mutuals and great accounts that I love dearly are @scootkiddo @ellliemilller @elliiewiilliiams @fieldsoftulips @tloubraininfection @pawspaintsnthings (the cutest art) @jarrussyndulla

anyway. there’s even more great writers on ao3 whose accounts I don’t know off the top of my head. Checking bookmarks from all my friends helps me find good ones bc I know they’re going to bookmark and kudo the safe ones. I hope this is what you were looking for 💀

[sherlock-is-ace]

rules: tag 10 people you want to get to know better:

I was tagged by the lovely @thefalconrises Thank you Tara! <3

relationship status: QPR

favourite colour: black, yellow and blue

song stuck in my head: Revolting Children (I watched Matilda the other day and it's been stuck in there ever since lol)

last song I listened to: Black Pink's Shut Down. I heard a cover of it and wanted to know what the original sounded like :P

three favourite foods: ice cream, the strawberries and cream pie my mum makes, fruit salad. (It's too hot for me to think about warm meals right now)

last thing I googled: "Boys Planet english subs" (I'm watching Boys Planet now, hence why I heard Shut Down by Black Pink lol)

dream trip: Honestly anywhere lol There's so many places I wanna go to. The Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam cause there's an exibit I really want to see. The scottish and welsh countrysides, England so I can see the Horne Section live. Portugal because it's absolutely beautiful, Tierra del Fuego if we're keeping it in the country...

anything I want right now: I want it to stop being so hot here! That's the main thing. But I also want to get paid for the work I already finished 😅

tagging: @tabelschnasse @misery99 @catsarecutebutaliens not 10 people but still lol Feel free to ignore <3

[thelastofustvficrecs]

Summary: Tommy didn't mean to intrude, but, in the end, he is glad he did. He respects both his brother and Ellie enough to let them have their privacy despite the urge to catch up on the years apart, keeping their secrets from the world or even each other when they ask him to, and it is not like he doesn't have enough work on his hands to keep him busy. Still, he has a habit of unintentionally watching people more than he should, and it doesn't take him long to realize that as much as Joel is back to his old, pre-outbreak self, his dynamic with Ellie is completely different compared to the relationship he had with Sarah. 

(or: Tommy watches Joel and Ellie and experiences a whole bunch of family-related emotions)

—TW: PTSD, grief/mourning

Why I love it: An emotional, sweet, and overall heartrending look at Joel and Ellie’s relationship from Tommy’s POV. Joel and Ellie’s relationship is beautifully rendered. Truly a great read if you’re looking for something soft and warm that centers Tommy.

[tloubraininfection]

You do not get to hide this in the tags @catsarecutebutaliens

People often claim that Joel is unemotional and cold at the beginning of the series and I disagree. It is a bit more accurate when it comes to game Joel, as he is far more detached and angry kinda character with everyone except for Ellie, but Pedro Joel is always one step from having an emotional breakdown and you cannot convince me otherwise. There is always something brewing just beneath the surface. He`s also very observant and attuned to people around him and it only gets worse (better) once Ellie joins the party.

Even at the very beginning, when he was not even really done beefing with her, he still cared enough to cover her with his own jacket at night, cause she’s a kid goddamn kid and she’s not going to be cold on his watch! And then he just keeps noticing things or thinking ahead and factoring Ellie in, because that`s what he does, he cares about people enough to notice little things.

So when they make it Bill`s place and he sees that sad-looking pot plant, all dry and withered, he knows immediately that something is wrong. You can see it in his eyes. He`s been there many times and he knows Bill and Frank well enough to notice immediately that something is out of place.

And this is the part that breaks my heart every time, cause after the initial 3 year time skip Bill and Frank argue, because Frank wants to keep the place nice and Bill is all about the essential. But fast forward another 10 years and Frank has all the art supplies in abundance and Bill is taking care of the space around them, because Frank is too sick to do it himself.

And that`s how those flowers should look like btw

But there is no one to take care of them anymore.

[actual-changeling]

Nothing but happy cuddles and fluffy comfort in this one guys <3

[inevitably-johnlocked]

I eh. might have gotten a bit inspired by that valentines poem, and since it is your fault I decided you need to suffer, too c:

"He's my friend, let me through!"

Was he, though, was he really? John wonders, later, when he watches the blood dry on his hands, body curled up in *his* chair. He couldn't stand to watch it stay empty, even if the smell of him is going to be his death.

They'd been flatmates, living together without even knowing the first thing about who they were. A situation John had stumbled into because, really, what else had there been waiting for him except dragging himself through the rest of his miserable life?

John had been his note, his goodbye, the person he dragged along on his ridiculous adventure, the person to be brought back to life by the force that was Sherlock Holmes.

What had John been to him in return, he asks into the empty flat, the smell of copper almost strong enough to erase Sherlock's from his memory.

A flatmate. A partner. A friend. Someone who will mourn him now that he is gone.

(referencing this post)

OOOF I DON’T KNOW HOW THE HECK I MISSED THIS. 

DAYUM WHY YOU HURTING ME OMG. 

Jeez you guys like murdering me hahahah.

[the-voice-of-night-vale]

Hi! Saw your tags on the Elliot Paige post and can confirm he still uses they/them, too, though seems to prefer he/him for now. I have a link to the whole interview if you want, it's really good.

oh ty!!! that would be cool, so anyone else who wants to see it can watch!

[yesokayiknow]

ok ok inspired by your recent reblog: what if Clara had died in the raven episode but the doctor started hallucinating her afterwards and/or maybe in the confession dial? to both him and the viewer clara would have been alive just to find out over the course of the episode that she died. and he's just desperately clinging to her because he is afraid of losing her and being alone. idk my brain just kinda shot that at me and I'd love to hear your thoughts

i'm sorry i didn't reply straight away but the raw power of this immediately put me into a fugue state so

my thoughts are that i would like to scream very loudly thank you and my brain just cannot touch this right now

HOWEVER

so this happens. clara dies, 12 believes that she's still alive and out there in the universe.

and then we get to s10. and the vault is empty. missy died for real at the execution, and 12 just is unable to accept it nardole is there to look after 12

(and then if u wanted to REALLY twist the knife: bill accepts heather's offer in the pilot, 12 hallucinates that she's still there travelling with him throughout s10)