#fic: covermeup

[almostfoxglove]

COVER ME UP

Rating: Explicit (18+ only)

Pairing: Joel x f!Reader OC

Status: COMPLETE (97k words)

SUMMARY: After you spare the lives of two kids who break into your isolated cabin in the woods, they lead you back to their settlement. You intend to get in, trade for valuable supplies, and get out, but end up staying. Four years later, you're a solitary but respected pillar of Jackson's close-knit community when Joel Miller shows up, kid in tow. You think nothing of him or the kid. You like your quiet life. Too bad it won't stay quiet for long. Or: Joel and Ellie make you human again.

READ ON AO3 | masterlist

chapter links & content warnings below the cut!

chapter one | chapter two | chapter three | chapter four chapter five | chapter six | chapter seven | chapter eight chapter nine | chapter ten | chapter eleven | chapter twelve chapter thirteen | chapter fourteen | chapter fifteen | chapter sixteen chapter seventeen | chapter eighteen | chapter nineteen | chapter twenty chapter twenty-one | chapter twenty-two | chapter twenty-three chapter twenty-four | chapter twenty-five | chapter twenty-six chapter twenty-seven (finale)

CW: Description of and reference to canon-typical violence, gore, illness, and body horror. Descriptions of / mention of panic attacks. Explicit smut, allusions to smut. Reference to pregnancy (NOT reader), childbirth (NOT reader), the death of a child, and the death of a sibling.

[almostfoxglove]

thank you for the tags @jolapeno @guiltyasdave @luxurychristmaspudding @sawymredfox @sugarcoated-lame

& @milla-frenchy @mermaidgirl30 @arcanefox207 <3

and of course a huge thank you & credit to @saradika for sharing their gorgeous template I'm in love with all the covers folks have been making!!

in the order they appear:

cover me up (jackson!joel) - series complete

i'll carry you (javier peña) - series complete

lock the gate (qz!joel) - series in progress

see you at three (young!/no-outbreak!joel) - series ongoing

more than letters (frankie morales) - series coming soon

the prettiest (ghost!max phillips) - part two coming soon

block party (no-outbreak!joel) - one shot

an end to drought (javier peña) - one shot

in your eyes (javier peña) - hm... what could this be...?

no pressure tags (sorry if I missed yours already!): @thundermartini @perotovar @secretelephanttattoo @ak-vintage @sixhours

@schnarfer @tonysopranosrobe @pedrospatch @sp00kymulderr @ozarkthedog

[almostfoxglove]

WIP BOOK COVERS

I am incredibly late on these but thank you so much for the tags!! @milla-frenchy @sizzlingcloudmentality @javier-pena @secretelephanttattoo @sawymredfox

we are once again @saradika lovers in this house - these are all made with her gorgeous templates found here!

here are covers for some of my wips (din one shot not included because I couldn't live with myself having 7 photos and messing up the neat grid LMAO)

in the order they appear:

LOCK THE GATE (qz!joel miller) - part III coming soon

THE PRETTIEST (max phillips) - series in progress

MORE THAN LETTERS (frankie morales) - series coming soon

IN YOUR EYES (javier peña) - series coming 2025

ALL IN THE WORLD (maxwell lord) - one shot coming soon

MEANT FOR SOMEONE (joel miller) - one shot coming soon (a COVER ME UP no-outbreak!au)

no pressure tags (and sorry if I missed that yours while I was away!! <3): @ak-vintage @gothcsz @iknowisoundcrazy @javierpena-inatacvest @whocaresstillthelouvre

@clawdee @myownwholewildworld @sp00kymulderr @sixhours @sugarcoated-lame

[almostfoxglove]

COVER ME UP: the final chapter

Rating: Explicit (18+ only)

Pairing: Joel x f!Reader OC

CW: Canon-typical violence, gore, injury, and body horror. Smut. Reference to the death of a child and the death of a sibling. Individual chapters all have warnings.

SERIES SUMMARY: After you spare the lives of two kids who break into your isolated cabin in the woods, they lead you back to their settlement. You intend to get in, trade for valuable supplies, and get out, but end up staying. Four years later, you're a solitary but respected pillar of Jackson's close-knit community when Joel Miller shows up, kid in tow. You think nothing of him or the kid. You like your quiet life. Too bad it won't stay quiet for long. Or: Joel and Ellie make you human again.

series masterlist | almostfoxglove masterlist

read from the beginning on ao3

the final chapter is coming august 29th!

dividers by @saradika-graphics - find a SNEAK PEEK, tag list & some mutuals below the cut!

SNEAK PEEK

You dip your canteen in the river, sunlight bouncing from the water in silver petals. A yellowed leaf tendrils lazily from above, shed by a branch in the shelter of trees that has lost their green, and lands in the stream to be swept away. Behind you Joel chuckles, and you swear you can hear the dimple in his cheek. That real, whole smile.  “I’m serious,” you say, laughing. “Can’t picture it,” Joel says. With a practiced flick, you screw the cap back onto your canteen and stand to turn around, looking down at Joel where he sits on a stump by the riverbank. “I wasn’t raised by wolves,” you snark.  Dappled light patterning his flannel, forearms licked by dirt, Joel shrugs as if to say could’a fooled me, and you roll your eyes, slumping onto the moss-sponged ground beside him to dig in your pack. He moves his knee to press against your arm: a quiet offering. “Shut up,” you mutter. 

@thethirstwivesclub @la-vie-est-une-fleur29 @hediondoamor-blog @goodgirlwannabe @heartstoptrying

@ak-vintage @wannab-urs @thundermartini @evolnoomym @sweetpascal

@guiltyasdave @undercoverpena @sixhours @tonysopranosrobe @joelalorian

[almostfoxglove]

COVER ME UP: THE FINALE

chapter twenty-seven: SISTER

Rating: Explicit (18+ only) | Pairing: Joel x f!Reader OC | Word Count: 9.1k CW: Descriptions of canon-typical violence, gore, and injury. Brief reference to smut (piv). Description of and reference to and the death of a sibling and the death of a child. Discussions of death.

read from the beginning | series masterlist | masterlist

CHAPTER SUMMARY: Your sister watches you as the years paddle by.

READ THE FINALE ON AO3.

dividers by @saradika-graphics - tag list & some mutuals below!

@thethirstwivesclub @la-vie-est-une-fleur29 @hediondoamor-blog @goodgirlwannabe @heartstoptrying 

@ak-vintage  @harriedandharassed @noisynightmarepoetry @itsokbbygrl @jessthebaker 

@pedgito @wannab-urs @evolnoomym @sweetpascal @thundermartini

@guiltyasdave @jolapeno @sixhours @tonysopranosrobe @joelalorian

@luxurychristmaspudding @yopossum @ppascalrain @moonlitbirdie @perotovar 

@morallyinept @spacelatinos4life @milla-frenchy @sizzlingcloudmentality @pastelpinkflowerlife 

@ozarkthedog @for-a-longlongtime @love-on-my-side @jeanvanjer @melancholyy-hill

@kyberblade @ihatehughgrant

[almostfoxglove]

❤️‍🩹 wip wednesday

ty for the tag @evolnoomym !!

hi pals. the final chapter of cover me up coming at you this week, here's a PEEK of our finale, titled SISTER - which, well. is told from the perspective of our sweet little ghost, Merry, of course. her memory isn't what it used to be, but we might get a special appearance from another girl we love? perhaps? hm!

I'm popping under the cut since it is the last chapter. so SPOILERS BELOW! (but not any big plot ones, I don't think.)

npt: @joelsgreys @guiltyasdave @burntheedges @clawdee @maggiemayhemnj and anyone else who wants to share! tag me, so I can gush? <3

[almostfoxglove]

COVER ME UP

chapter twenty-six: MINE

Rating: Explicit (18+ only)

Central Relationship: Joel / Reader OC

Word Count: 5.3k

You and Joel find each other again. CW: Smut, cockwarming. Reference to canon-typical violence, injury, the death of a child, and the death of a sibling.

SNEAK PEEK

"Need another, darlin’," he growls, and with one fluid motion tugs your tank top up and over your head, tossing it across the room. Now bared to him, you keen in his lap, sink all the way down on his girth, rewarded when he throbs inside you and your clit drags against him. Joel licks at the spot he’s nipped at before trailing, dragging his stubbled chin harsh across your chest as he lifts your breast to his mouth.  Your cheek falls against the crown of his head while he circles your nipple with the dart of his tongue, sending a parade of goosebumps across your flesh. "Can’t," you sigh, and chuckle breathily. You grind your hips down again and the hand on your hip tightens. "Too fucked to come," he teases, voice whispered and muffled against your chest. He pinches your nipple gently, testing you, and you twitch, dizzy. "Can’t have that."

continue reading on ao3.

read from the beginning on ao3.

series masterlist | almostfoxglove masterlist

tag list & some mutuals below!

if you'd like to be taken off this list, pls don't be shy, just let me know <3

@thethirstwivesclub @la-vie-est-une-fleur29 @hediondoamor-blog @goodgirlwannabe @heartstoptrying

@studioghibelli @thundermartini @burntheedges @evolnoomym @ozarkthedog

@sizzlingcloudmentality @sixhours @ak-vintage @littlemisspascal

[almostfoxglove]

Dear Freya,

A TikTok sound that I had stuck in my head while I was reading Cover Me Up popped back up on my fyp today and hearing it made me think of Merry. I cried a little. And then laughed at myself. And then cried a bit more. 😂

I quieted the ache by doodling a version of one of my favourite Tiffany lamp styles and thought I would share it with you. I hope it’s one that Cel would like!

ily ✨

🌸 M @toomanytookas

M BABY @toomanytookas DO YOU HEAR ME SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS BECAUSE I'M SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS

I started crying the second I saw this and I had to go lie down and clutch my chest like I was suffering cardiac arrest for a minute (my husband walked in on me doing this and was genuinely concerned someone had died and I could not explain myself HAHAHA)

this is for real so fucking beautiful and there are not any words for me to accurately describe how touched I am that you thought of them and then MAKE THIS INCREDIBLE PIECE OF ART I just???? oh my god I'm gonna start crying again.

thank you so much M 😭😭 seriously I can't say enough how much this means to me just thank you thank you thank you. cel would be fucking obsessed with this are you KIDDING look at it??? it's perfect 😭😭

and there you are AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I love you so much sweet friend 😭 you are incredibly talented and I'm incredibly lucky <3 <3

[almostfoxglove]

Oh dear Freya please tell me all about “meant for someone” 🥺💕

hi sweet erika!! tysm for this :,)

MEANT FOR SOMEONE (no link yet, she's still cookin) will be a bonus one shot for my jackson!joel series COVER ME UP that I wrapped up in august.

here's the summary of the original series: After you spare the lives of two kids who break into your isolated cabin in the woods, they lead you back to their settlement. You intend to get in, trade for valuable supplies, and get out, but end up staying. Four years later, you're a solitary but respected pillar of Jackson's close-knit community when Joel Miller shows up, kid in tow. You think nothing of him or the kid. You like your quiet life. Too bad it won't stay quiet for long. Or: Joel and Ellie make you human again.

but meant for someone will be a no outbreak!au, where we'll see joel & our girl cel cross paths without any of the ruin of the cordyceps outbreak. which means, of course, that sarah is alive, as is cel's sister merry :,) a lovely reader (hi pep if you see this ily <3) requested this one shot and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it!!

behind the title: the title of the series (cover me up) is a jason isbell song that has always been a Joel Song to me. meant for someone is a lyric from the first verse:

A heart on the run Keeps a hand on a gun Can't trust anyone I was so sure What I needed was more Tried to shoot out the sun The days when we raged, we flew off the page Such damage was done But I made it through, 'cause somebody knew I was meant for someone

I thought it was fitting for a little alternate life / soulmates one shot :,) I love them so much and am stoked for this one!!

🌟 fic titles ask game

[almostfoxglove]

okay i am so sorry to the lovely ao3 reader who bookmarked my fic for sharing the screenshot of your bookmark tags but they made me CACKLE

AUTHOR TOOK ME OUT BACK AND SHOT ME LIKE A DOG/POS IS ACTUALLY CRAZY like I'm gonna lose it that's so fucking funny thank you so much for this oh my god

[almostfoxglove]

so some lovely people have been reading through cover me up for the first time and anytime I see comments in the chapter 15-17 range I go hehehe and then they get to chapter 18 and I just.... wait... for them to get to 19 like.... 😳😳😳

[almostfoxglove]

hi lovely! could I please ask about meant for someone? 💖

hi angel!! tysm for this <33

MEANT FOR SOMEONE (no link yet, she's still cookin) will be a no-outbreak!au one shot for my jackson!joel series COVER ME UP that I wrapped up in august. I talked about the title a little bit here, so let's chat more about the fic!

*! mild spoilers for cover me up (this doesn't spoil anything plot wise I don't think, but it is from the second to last chapter of the fic) !*

in cover me up chapter 26, we get this moment between joel & our girl celas they look in on the living room of another jackson resident as they walk by:

In a bay window at the end of the block, blinds screech crookedly up as you draw near, hanging slanted. Beyond them, a woman is rocking a toddler in her arms, her cheek pressed to the side of their head.  A low hum behind you—Joel’s caught you watching, and as you pass the bay windows his reflection too is looking at the mother and child. You catch each other’s eye in the translucent mirror and for a moment you lose yourself to wondering. Picturing him thirty years younger, cradling a child as she fusses, unable to sleep. How must he have been then. How often had he smiled—were those grins that come so rarely now, so sweetly, once handed out with bottomless abundance. That weight Joel carries everywhere hasn’t always needed carrying. There must have been, you think, a time in which he held himself at his full height, chin up, not in the way he does now—a necessity of his survival, intimidation or stoicism—but in the easy way that comes with youth. Contentment, maybe even pride. His daughter held small in his arms, alive.

sooooo... with that in mind, I think meant for someone will have two sections. one, the first time cel & joel meet in the no-outbreak world, and then when they run into each other again, two decades later.

the first meeting, when they're young, will echo cel's musing in this excerpt :,) and I'm probably gonna sob the whole time I write it lmao!!

🌟 fic titles ask game

[almostfoxglove]

I just began reading Cover Me Up and girl I’m obsessed! I can’t believe how you can pack so much description and understanding into chapters that are so relatively short. Great writing :)

scrEECH! hello omg you absolute cutie pie!! this is so kind of you to say / send holy cow. my heart's so full rn - I'm so glad you're enjoying cover me up so far!! that story's real close to my heart :,)

thank you so much for sending this it made my morning. I really hope you like the rest of their story <3 I'd love to know what you think at the end (or at any point tbh) :,) tysm for reading & being so sweet!! ah!!

[almostfoxglove]

I just finished Cover Me Up and I am DEAD I AM DECEASED I SIMPLY CANNOT HANDLE ANYTHING I AM FEELING RIGHT NOW.

your use of slow burn was exquisite, your ability to make these characters feel so FLESHY and REAL is insane. the final chapter has me crying into my bathtub.

bravo, bravo

UHM HELLO AGAIN YOU SWEET SOUL THIS IS SO KIND??!! I can't with this it's too nice omg :,) I'm so happy you liked cover me up!! that fic has such a special place in my heart since it was my first one <3 thank you so much for reading that behemoth ahhh - it means so much you liked the finale too :,)

KISSIN UR CHEEK OK this is so sweet ty ty ty <3

[almostfoxglove]

I binged cover me up yesterday and I think I'm still alive???

I have this tendency to not leave comments on a series I'm reading for the first time (because I'm usually too eager to get to the next chapter 😂) so I'll need to go right back to chapter 1 and scream into the comments LOL

cel and joel 😖😖😖 they can take my heart and stomp on it all they like because they got me feeling so many things. had me crying one chapter then kicking my feet in delight the next 🤣

anyway, ellie, sarah and merry buddy comedy next? 🤣 just them being "little rats"

OMG you absolute cutie this is so sweet!! I'm glad you're still alive post-read :,) and that you enjoyed the fic ahhh - cel & joel are my bABIES so I'm so happy you liked them <3 they can stomp all over me too tbh, whatever they want I would accept :,)

thank you SO much for reading (would absolutely love to read any screaming comments if you ever do want to reread, which is so sweet) and sending this - it made me grin SO BIG <3 you're the best. thank you thank you angel!

p.s. MY GOD can you imagine the hijinks those three would get up to?? like ellie + merry would be DEMONS together and I just knowww sarah would be secretly running the show. MY HEART CAN'T TAKE IT oh my god. I have plans to write a no-outbreak!au one shot for cel & joel in which obvs merry & sarah would be alive and thinking about all of them interacting is gonna make me weeeeeep :,,)

[almostfoxglove]

Hii, I am gonna read it, but can i learn the characters ages if it is okay

https://www.tumblr.com/almostfoxglove/752571255057711104/read-cover-me-up-on-ao3

hi sweet anon!! I'm so touched you wanna read cover me up <3 of course you can ask!!

reader/cel is 40 at the start of the fic (in the fictive present, not the first flash back), and joel is the age he'd be when he & ellie first arrive in jackson (if I've got the numbers right), so in his mid 50s! and ellie is 14 or so, however old she is at the end of part one <3

I hope this helps!! if you have any other questions don't be shy ok? ily!! I hope you like the fic :,)