#fiction clicker

[hazyaltcare]

Stimboard based on a hero oc x aVillain!Hawks from BNHA where the hero is terrified of heights and Hawks loves to take her into the sky and freak her out thinking he's going to drop her. Visuals of Hawks himself + red feathers/wings + blue skies + vertigo/acrophobia inducing images such as the view of the ground from high skyscrapers or maybe just blurred motion of flying through the air

|| X X X || X X X || X X X ||

Mod StemRoses

[zombiekombi-if]

Zombie Kombi

An interactive story by @josru

DEMO TBA | CHARACTERS

The cities are barren.

Not a soul has been seen navigating North America's metropolitan landscapes in years.

The undead are considered soulless, anyways.

In the late 2040s, zombies have overtaken the greater part of North America. You live on the outskirts of San Francisco, in an old, beat-up, secondhand Volkswagen Minibus. Also known as a Kombi (not sponsored).

You've been alone for as long as you can remember. Your elderly parent is long gone, and you have yet to meet another person, let alone one you're sure can be your ally.

Play as male, female or NB/GNC.

Choose your hunting level. Pick between amateur, alright, and advanced.

Romance one of four potential options (or keep them as friends, adversaries, or enemies, depending on your choices)

Choose your path:

Discover what happened to the world, causing it to be filled with the undead, by traversing to the city.

Find out about the first owner of your Kombi. (#??? videos found so far.)

Navigate conspiracies about a local settlement that seems too friendly.

Howard "How" Ngam

A mid-thirties, quiet, skeptical Thai-American man, How Ngam hates everyone and everything that's happened to him. He's the previous (read: not the first) owner of the Kombi- imagine his surprise when he stumbles upon you, living in a place he was sure he left locked and empty, meant to be his personal solitude.

He isn't the easiest to talk to, but his bristly attitude has it's purpose in this world. He's discovered a lot about the city, and How could take you there, but he's protective of those he cares about, which might include you.

Appearance: Tan-olive skin, deep-set eyes with wrinkles and dark circles, wide nose, prominent lips, shaggy, ear-length black hair, brown eyes, and stubble/mustache going on. About 5'8", fairly lean, some muscle. He's usually wearing a hand-me down, dark green jacket, and a copper-toned beanie. Heavy worker boots. Non-descript pants and shirt.

Dylan Chase

A late twenties, Half-Irish woman, Dylan is always searching for a greater purpose. She's scared, but determined to find herself in the midst of the apocalypse. You could worry that she's read too many self-help books, but she knows herself. Even if she can be a bit harsh about it.

Dylan wants more than anything to be caring, to prove to others that she's not a bad person. She lives in a well furnished settlement, where lack of resources seems to never be an issue. The guilt of being there, when everyone else is suffering, eats at her, but you could soothe her feelings, if you wish.

Appearance: Pale, warm toned, freckly-orange skin, hooked nose, sharply defined, thinner lips, deep red long hair past her shoulders, (basically think of a tomato), green wide eyes. About 5'6", very skinny, long runner legs with muscular calves. Despite the cold of San Francisco, Dylan runs hot and wears jean shorts, cropped shirts, or athleisure like hoodies and leggings.

Gloor

He's a zombie. Gloor's skin is a pallid green-blue, with splotches of beige that reminds you he was human at one point. There are chunks of skin and flesh missing from his body, but he persists on, in the way the undead always do.

He can barely hold a fully fledged sentence with you, but you can tell he doesn't mean any harm. There's something lifelike in his eyes as he stares with you, a strong purpose held in his pupils, untouched by the typical fog that zombies carry. It's even more obvious in the way he seems to still have fine motor skills: he's capable of writing a few letters for you, if you want him to.

Appearance: Green-blue skin, brownish-grey hair that's mostly all fallen out, brown eyes. No nose, lips receding. 6'2", surprisingly wide in the middle due to his ribcage. He's wearing an old, dilapidated suit, and a wrinkly dress shirt, and torn up pants.

Alia Jacobs

Named after Saint Alia of the Knife, Alia is a mid-thirties, black woman that absolutely adores pop culture and trivia. She's a massive, optimistic nerd, and maybe one that's a bit obsolete in this current time- nobody really cares to get into escapist fantasies the way she does. Either way, she's got a cabin filled with comics, old video games, and DVDs. You wonder where and how she's collected so much paraphernalia, and mainly why-  and she's willing to share that with you if you don't judge her.

Appearance: Deep cool toned skin, natural loose afro to about the end of her neck, brown eyes, slight smile lines, prominent lips, straight nose. 5'3", pear shaped, hourglass body. She wears billowy, silky tops, and well structured cargo pants. She wears a lot of jewelry like rings, bangles, and earrings.

[tsukiko26]

I can’t be the only one who needs more game Joel Miller imagines right???

[fictionalfoodpolls]

[mizukagami-takamagahara]

By はんくり/hungry_clicker on Twitter.

[sadslay]

- WAITING ⋆☆ 𝐣𝐨𝐞𝐥 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

after all your years of knowing joel miller, there were things you were still learning about his past. he was always telling you stories of what he and tommy used to get up to before you had met him and even before the outbreak. you had known tommy longer, having arrived in jackson a few months prior to joel. quite quickly you and maria became close, learning about tommy's older brother and the hell they had gone through. from an outside perspective, maria didn't seem too fond of joel, but never meeting the man yourself you believed all your stories, building up a picture of the man before he had even arrived in jackson.

the first time you met joel was when he had returned to jackson. compared to the stories maria had told you, you expected the worst. a stubborn violent man that seemingly had no limits when it came to survival. but he was different, and ellie had changed him. although he still had that tough exterior, in brief moments you would notice his gentleness towards those he cared about. and slowly, you became one of those people. weather joel liked to admit it or not he grew to depend on you. you were there in some of his greatest hours of need. you were there when he would wake up at an ungodly hour from a night terror or whenever he had gotten injured on patrols. he needed you, and quite frankly you needed him.

joel had been at the damn with tommy and a small group, doing a routine check on the turbines. waking up to the sound of a fist bashing against your bedroom door, you jolted up from your bed. your eyes sore and scratchy from the lack of sleep and the sudden light and your head pounding.

"y/n!" ellie called, pushing your bedroom door open as she took a few steps into your room. "you overslept again!" she sang.

"ellie please, i just woke up." you groaned, rubbing your eyes as your heart rate slowly returned to normal.

"well you had patrol and guess who covered for you?" she asked, a smirk slowly appearing on her lips as she plopped herself down in one of joel's arm chairs.

letting out a sigh of regret you mumbled, "gene."

"ding, ding, ding!" she chuckled, picking up the guitar sitting beside the chair as she began to run her fingers along the strings. "he was askin' about you as well." ellie grinned.

"fa'fuck sake," you mumbled to yourself, swinging your legs out from under the warm of your rug and planting your feet onto the cool wooden floor. "can the guy not take a hint?" you asked rhetorically. "i mean seriously how many times have i rejected this guy?"

"about five or six times." ellie noted, beginning to play a few chords on the guitar as you walked over to the dresser in search of clothes. "dina, jesse, and i have a bet going to see if it can get to ten rejects," she smirked, briefly looking up at you before focusing back on the guitar.

"those two still together?" you asked, raising an eyebrow as you hoisted up your jeans before doing up the zipper and button.

"barely." she laughed. "i don't get it, they're always fighting but for some reason, they choose to stay together," she mumbled, a hint of jealousy laced in her voice.

"right." you grinned, shuffling through the drawers for a shirt.

pulling out a stained white tight-fitted long sleeved shirt and an old flannel of joels, you began to pull the oversized shirt of joels you had been wearing to bed every night for the past week to reveal the dirtied sports bra that was long overdue for a clean. making the swift change from joel's first to the long sleeve shirt, you then threaded your arms through the flannel. the fabric is soft on your skin but stained after years of use. turning back around to face ellie, you look for your leg harness lying somewhere in the room.

"hey, do you know when joels coming back?" ellie asked, gently strumming her fingers on the strings.

"uhm, he was meant to be back yesterday." you shrugged, finally spotting the leg harness hung over the back of the chair ellie was sitting in. "hey, pass the harness for me," you instructed, lifting your chin to motion behind her.

ellie turned back to grab the brown leather harness before throwing it in your direction. as you caught the harness you stepped through the main loop, pulling it up to your waist where you began to tighten the buckles before taking a seat on the bed behind you.

"what're ya puttin' the harness on for?" ellie asked as she watched you buckle the secondary loops around your right thigh. "gene covered you remember?" she teased.

You scoffed at her comment, standing back up to load up the harness with your weapons. "i am going to take genes patrol this afternoon. i do not want to owe him anything." you sighed, shoving your pistol and needlepoint pen into their designated pocket.

"you know, if you just told joel he was botherin' you he'd handle it." ellie mentioned, still continuing to play a few chords.

"that's exactly what i don't want happening." you laughed, beginning to head towards your bedroom door. "i can't have him going all commando on this guy, causing some unnecessary fight," you explained, motioning towards the door.

ellie put the guitar down, before skipping towards the door, following you out into the hallway. "i'd like to see it." she chuckled, trotting down the steps beside you as you headed for the front door. "the guy needs to be knocked down a couple'a pegs." she mumbled.

"i can handle it." you smirked, admittedly agreeing with ellie's statement. "i'll see yer later alright?" you smiled, as you pulled open the front door.

"i'll be over at five to take advantage of ya cookin'!" she cheered, strolling down the porch steps before heading off further into town.

with little luck trying to switch jobs with gene you returned home as you prepared dinner, planning on slow cooking some meet that had just come in the day before. by the time the sun had dipped beyond the horizon, you had been pottering around the house all afternoon catching up on some spring cleaning. admittedly, you were a little tired by the time ellie arrived. ellie devoured the slow-cooked venice served with a roasted potato before entertaining you for a few hours. she went through her day, and explained the dynamic between her and dina before trying to teach a few chords on the guitar. she ended up leaving close to ten o'clock leaving you starved for sleep. your eyes were so heavy and your muscles ached, making every movement feel like a chore.

once you'd reached your bedroom, you kicked off your shoes and left them by your door before sitting down on the edge of your bed. undoing your harness strapped around your leg before shuffling out of her pants and leaving them by her feet. pulling off your flannel and then the dirtied singlet before searching for joel's shirt you bed been wearing each night. it still smelt like him which brought you some sense of comfort. the darkness of the room gave your eyes some relief as you laid back onto your pillow. all you could think about was joel, your mind riddled with unsettling thoughts of all the possibilities of what joel might be up to. but as your thoughts became fuzzy, your blinking became slow and sluggish, each link lasting longer and longer until you could no longer keep your eyes open.

jolting up to the sound of the floorboards squeaking, you reached down for your knife, grasping onto it tightly as you noticed the dark figure closing the bedroom door. your heart was beating a million miles a minute, too many times this week you had been abruptly woken up. as your eyes tried to adjust to the minimal lighting the figure's hand began to rise, reaching for the light switch. as the light flicked on, you scrunched up your face, your eyes squeezing shut as the bright eyes made your head hurt. slowly opening your eyes, you finally saw him, a smile almost instantly appearing on your lips.

"m'sorry i woke ya up." he smiled, dropping his riffle and backpack to the ground as he began to walk closer to the end of the bed.

without thinking, you quickly crawled to the end of the bed where you were met by joels arms. he wrapped his big arms around your torso, to the point you almost couldn't breathe. your arms wrapped around his neck, on of your hands cradling the back of his head. his head nuzzled into the crook of your neck and he let out a sigh of relief.

“it’s okay.” you smiled, lifting your head from his shoulder to plant a kiss on his dirtied, peppered cheek. “how come yer back so late asshole?” you asked, your tone slightly changing to be annoyed, although you couldn’t stay mad at him for long.

joel shrugged, his arms beginning to loosen as his hands fell to your hips. "we left later than expected." he mumbled, not wanting to give you the gory details of how he almost died after a close encounter with a group of clickers. “but i’m ‘ere now.” he smiled weakly.

“i was beginnin’ the think yer ran out on me.” you laughed weakly, your fingers still gently playing with joel's hair.

one of joel's hands moved from your hip to your cheek, his thumb gently running over your cheekbone. “i ain’t ever leavin’ you darlin'.” he smiled warmly.

you couldn’t help but smile at joel's comment, leaning forward to connect your lips with joel's. although you were still tired you put every ounce of energy into the kiss. your arms slowly unwrapped themselves from around joel's neck, your hands stopping at the base of his neck. the tips of joel's fingers beginning to play with the hem of your shirt, slightly tickling your skin.

as you felt the kiss grow more heated, your breaths beginning to run short you pulled away, causing joel to furrow his eyebrows. he was worried he had overstepped, making you uncomfortable but when you let out a laugh, joel let out a breathy chuckle of concern.

“when was the last time you had a shower miller?” you giggled, playing with the collar of his dirtied shirt.

joel scoffed, playfully rolling his eyes. “i’ll have one in the mornin’.” he muttered.

you fell backwards, sitting near the head of your bed. joels hands fell by his side as he began to unbuckle the holster attach to his thigh. walking his way around the bed, placing his knife and leather holster on the bedside table. you smiled as you watched him peel back a few layers of clothes, leaving him just in his dirtied shirt and jeans before he climbed up by your side. his arm lying on your pillow, slowly curling around your shoulder as you nestled into his chest. his hand playing with your hair as your arms wrapped around his torso.

"ellie was askin' about you this mornin'." you whispered, your fingers playing with a loose thread on his shirt.

"mm." joel gruffly mumbled.

since the pair had returned from jackson after ellie had run off in the middle of the night the energy had shifted between the pair. you had never pressured joel for answers as to why ellie had stopped talking to him upon their return however you soon got the answers you needed from ellie when she had confided in you. she had explained every little detail from the moment of her bite right to the present. in fact you were reminded of the moment you had confronted joel and the argument that had come from it. but you had quickly come to understand joels reasoning behind his actions. when you had gone to ellie, trying to repair their bond you failed to convince ellie time and time again. as weeks and months go by you had finally noticed your efforts weren’t for nothing when ellie had asked about joel or even mentioned him for the first time in what felt like forever.

"she doin' alright?" he asked quietly, bringing you back to the present.

"just ordinary girl problems." you smiled. “she’ll be at the tipsy bison tomorrow.” you noted causing joel to let out a breath of air. "m'glad your back, i can finally sleep." you joked, letting out a soft yawn as you got comfortable.

"yer couldn't sleep?" he asked, his head jerking up with concern.

you let out a breathy laugh, your voice still horse and tired. “you were gone for longer then you’d said.” you shrugged. “i couldn’t eat or sleep.” you spoke a little sadder realizing how much joel had meant to you.

“you haven’t been eatin’?” he asked, his head still pulled up from the pillow to make sure you were okay.

“it’s okay.” you smiled, not wanting him to feel guilty for leaving. “i’m okay,” you reassured him allowing his head to slowly fall back.

"well, tomorrow mornin' i'm gonna make sure you eat somethin'." he mumbled, your eyes barely able to stay open.

"mmhmm." you hummed, the need for sleep slowly beginning to consume you.

you could feel joels head pull up from the pillow again, and you could practically sense the smirk growing on his lips. his hand began to play with the ends of your hair only making you more sleepy as he nestled his head closer to yours.

the following morning you woke up to the feeling of joel pressing a gentle kiss onto your forehead. you smiled as your eyes began to flutter open, everything still a little blurry as you tried to adjust your eyes to the morning light.

"mornin' sugar.” joel mumbled in a raspy voice, looking down at you.

"morning." you smiled weakly as he planted a kiss on the top of your cheek. "yer ready for patrol?" you asked, stretching out your legs as you began to sit yourself up.

"hold on!" joel grumbled, pulling on your arm causing you to fall back down into his arms. "what's the rush?"

you let out a chuckle as you looked up at joels eyes, momentarily leaning upwards to connect your lips with his. you could just melt as joel's calloused hand cupped your cheek.

"come on." you smiled into the kiss. "we... need to... get to... patrol." you grinned, planting a kiss between every couple of words.

"fine." he mumbled, both of you pulling yourselves up as you began to get ready for the day.

✩｡:*•.───── later that evening ─────.•*:｡✩

“m’gonna grab another round of drinks.” you announced as you had finished your third drink of the night, nothing but melting ice pooling in the bottom of your drink. “the usuals?” you asked, beginning to pull all the empty glasses toward you.

a mixture of thanks you came from around the table as tommy and joel continued to talk about their patrols for tomorrow morning. walking through the interior of the tipsy bison, fairy lights strung up across the ceiling and music filling the space. weather you liked to admit it or not is was one of the few things you had missed. having an excuse to drink with your family and friends just celebrating life, not having to think about tomorrow or the looking threat of infected outside the walls.

as you approached the bar, your hands full of empty drinks you had noticed the server behind the bar tending to a familiar face, gene. letting out a soft sigh, you bent down a little, placing the glasses on the sticky wooden surface before waiting for the server. you had never particularly liked gene or the people he hung out with as they were misogynistic assholes always trying to soften their insults by calling you angel or princess or some other variation of a ridiculous pet name.

“what can i get for ya?” the server asked as gene turned to face you as you patiently waited on a bar stool.

“four of the same.” you smiled weakly, spinning around on the seat so your back was now pressed against the bar.

“hey honey.” gene grinned maliciously as he slid closer to you, his elbow resting on the bar while the other held a drink. “wanna help me with patrol tomorrow mornin’? i heard joels pairin’ up with tommy again.” he noted causing you to furrow your eyebrows.

the news of tommy and joel doing the longer patrols had travelled around jackson fast. you briefly looked over genes shoulder to see the server taking his sweet time with the drinks making you internally regret your decision to come over alone. gene had continued to inch close as you flashed him an awkward smile.

“i uh- i think maria might be takin’ me off patrols.” you mentioned, forcing a downturned smile as you anxiously waited for your drinks. “m’gonna start teaching self defence ‘n stuff like that to the kids.” you shrugged.

“shame.” he frowned, switching the glass to his other hand before lifting his now free hand to play with the hem of your jacket. “i was lookin’ forward to our time alone together.” he pouted.

you tried to adjust your shoulder so his hand would fall but he continued to play with the sleeves of your jacket, his eyes tracing down to look at your barely exposed chest and the rest of your figure. you could feel yourself shudder internally as you peered over his shoulder again to see the server only half way through pouring the drinks.

“sorry gene.” you laughed nervously, trying to hide the disgust and discomfort on your face. “maria’s orders.”

when genes hand suddenly dropped from your side as he took a large sip you looked around to find joel walking towards you, his eyebrows furrowed as his eyes were fixated on your shoulder that had been touched by gene.

“joel!” you sang, relief washing your your voice as joels hand crept around your waists bringing you an unimaginable amount of comfort.

“everythin’ alright?” he asked in a low whisper, looking deep into your eyes to make sure you were alright. “thought you might need some help bringin’ the drinks over.” he grumbled, eyeing gene as he shamefully sipped on his drink.

“m’kay.” you smiled as you had noticed the server walking back other with the four drinks. “finally.” you mumbled under your breath. “thank you.” you forced a smile as you took the drinks from the server.

as you took all four drinks into your hands, you had noticed joels glare towards gene. nudging your elbow into joels side causing him to look down at you, you flicked your head back in the direction of where you had been seated with tommy and maria.

“come on.” you mumbled.

you began to walk back towards your table when you had noticed joel still standing a foot or two away from gene, who had now turned himself towards the bar to avoid joels stare.

“you ever touch her again, i’ll break your fuckin’ arms.” he spat.

“joel!” you called causing the man to turned around his stare still lingering on gene before turning his full attention back to you. “i had it handled.” you muttered as you handed two of the drinks to joel before continuing to walk towards their table.

“he’s suck a dickhead.” he mumbled, taking a sip from one of the drinks. “he needed to be put in his place.” joel spat bitterly as he watched you walk a few steps in front of him as you weaved your way through the small crowd of people.

“no.” you giggled. “you just wanted to remind him that i’m yours.” you laughed as you placed the two drinks down on the table, sliding them over to tommy and maria.

“do i even wanna know what you two are talkin’ about?” tommy asked as he took the drink from your hand.

“s’nothing.” you smiled, taking the glass from joel’s hand as you took a seat at the table. “genes just been a little touchy like usual.” you joked.

“usual?” joel almost choked on his drink as he placed it on the table. “he’s touched you before?” he asked, his voice laced with concern.

“genes always covering her patrols ‘n offering to do her work.” maria chuckled.

you looked over at joel and saw the mortified look on his face. you could tell that joel was filled with rage causing you to place one of your hands on joels thigh.

“he’s nothin’ i can’t handle.” you smiled, taking another sip of the whiskey, the ice clinking around in your glass. you squeezed joels thigh a little causing him to wrap a hand around your lower waist. “so, what’d i miss out on while i was gone?”

“maria was just suggesting the types of classes you could be doin’.” tommy mentioned. “self defence, gun handlin’ that sorta stuff.” he shrugged.

“sounds good.” you nodded, taking another swig of your drink. “m’gonna miss patrols.” you laughed, earning chuckled from around the table.

“you’re always welcome to take my spot.” tommy added, the laughter around the table continuing. “he’s a pain in the ass when you to are apart.” he snickered, tipping his chin up to motion towards joel.

“well she isn’t much better.” maria laughed, avoiding your eye contact by having another sip of her drink. “pair of ‘em are useless without each other.”

“hey!” you chuckled your hand squeezing his lower thigh earning a genuine grin from joel.

just before the conversation could continue you had heard seths voice coming from behind you. he sounded aggravated causing you to spin around, joel following your actions. watching the grumpy old man shout out insults as ellie and dina walked away hand in hand. as seth called out to the pair, ellie spun around pointing her finger causing joel to quickly stand up from his seat.

“hey!” joel yelled, running right toward the action as he pushed seth away from ellie. “hey, get the hell outta here.” he snapped.

you stood up and walked over to the argument, knowing that both ellie and joel were hot headed at the best of times. tommy and maria not too far behind you.

“get your hands off me.” seth argued, turning his attention to joel as ellie and dina stood a few feet away.

“hey!” you called out, maria quickly joining your side to defuse the argument. “enough.” she spat, pushing the pair away from each other.

“get him outta here.” you mumble to maria.

“come on you.” she mumbled, grabbing a hold of seth as tommy stood by her side ready to escort him outside. “lets go for a walk.” she suggested.

“what about them?” seth slurred, it now becoming apparent that he had been drinking.

“you worry about yourself.” maria instructed, continuing to push the man towards the door.

“lets get you some fresh air.” tommy added, walking along side maria.

“jesus.” you mumbled under your breath as you turned back to joel who had turned to ellie.

“you alright kiddo?” he asked.

“what is wrong with you?” ellie snapped, causing you to furrow your eyes at the sudden aggression coming from her.

“he had no right.” joel spoke, his hand briefly pointing back in seths direction as you came to his side.

“and you do?” ellie grunted, throwing her hand towards joel causing his face to sadden. “i don’t need your fucking help joel!” she snapped.

joel turned to you, unsure of what he should say or do as you looked at ellie. “right.” joel mumbled before turning around as he headed for the door.

dozens of eyes from all around the bar were staring at ellie. you stood a few feet away from her with dina only a few feet behind. you looked at ellie and saw how stressed she had become. you furrowed your eyebrows before turning to look back at joel who as just walked out the door.

“yer alright?” you asked softly.

“i’m fine.” she huffed, her voice laced with regret at her sudden outburst.

“we’ll chat tomorrow yeah?” you asked, your tone still soft and kind as you wanted ellie to feel better. ellie nodded her head before turning back to dina.

“i’ll see ya after patrols.” you smiled, spinning around with the mission to calm joel down.

spinning around, heading towards the door that had just been closed by joel moments later. you could feel a few eyes following you as you walked back into the cool winter air. grabbing the edges of your jacket, you wrapped them around your torso covering your skin from the crisp night air. in the distance you saw joel marching back towards the home you shared together causing you to let out a breath of air.

“joel!” you called, causing the man to spin around, a cloud coming from his mouth as he exhaled. “hey, are you alright?” you asked, jogging up to his side.

“m’fine.” he grumbled, continuing to walk towards the house.

“she didn’t mean it.” you noted as you followed joel up onto the porch as he began to push the door open. “s’just angry at seth.” you added as he marched straight towards the kitchen where he began to shuffle through the cabinets. “hey! look at me!” you demanded causing joel to let out a grunt of annoyance as he took out a pot of stale instant coffee he had found a few months ago. “ellies just a teenager, she’s gonna have outburst’s.”

you took the container from joel causing him to lean back onto the counter as you began to gather the supplies to make a coffee. joel let out another sigh of annoyance as you grabbed a pot and filled it up with water.

“i just don’t get it.” he grumbled. “i don’t get why she won’t forgive me.” he admitted as you began to boil the water, leaning on the counter across from him while you waited for the water to come to a boil.

“it’s gonna take a while for her to forgive you.” you shrugged. “she’s gonna get angry sometimes, even if yer tryin’ to help her.” you smiled weakly as joel tried to wrap his head around the event. “she’s just gonna have to learn how to trust yer.” you added.

joel let out a groan of impatience as the water slowly began to boil. he had tried to earn ellies trust, giving her space, he felt like he tried everything and ellie still didn’t trust him. you briefly turned around to grab the two mugs you and joel have had for the past few years and placed them by the pot of boiling water. joel moved to the same counter as you, watching you as you opened the container of coffee to divide a spoonful of coffee into each cup.

“she barely speaks to me anymore.” he sighed sadly as his mind wandered to the events that had happened a few years prior. “i don’t know what to do anymore, i feel like i’ve tried everythin’.”

“just time.” you grinned, adoring joel for the care he had for ellie. “she’ll come around eventually, shes probably just tryin’ to figure some shit out.” you shrugged as the water had finally come to a boil.

you held onto the pot, pouring the boiling water into the mugs before turning to joel. “why don’t you go grab yer guitar, we’ll sit out on the porch.” you suggested as you began to stir around the instant coffee.

“alright.” he smiled warmly, planting a soft kiss on the top of your cheek before wandering out if the kitchen to go grab his guitar from the bedroom.

as you finished stirring around the instant coffee, tapping the excess off the spoon before placing it in the near by sink. taking the two warm mugs into your hands you made your way out to the porch. placing the two mugs down on the dusty glass table you took a seat as you waited for joel. moments later joel walked through the door with his guitar in hand.

“a-are yer sure i shouldn’t just talk to her?” he asked as he took a seat on the chair next to yours, resting the guitar on his lap as he began to play with the strings, tuning each one to his standard. “she hasn’t talked to me since we came back from the hospital.” he admitted in defeat, briefly looking into your eyes.

“hon you took away her purpose.” you smiled, taking the warm mug into your hands, sipping on the warm bitter beverage. “i know what you did had good intentions but you took away her choice,” you frowned.

“i couldn’t loose her.” he mumbled quietly, his voice laced with years of pent up emotion.

“i know. i probably would have done the same thing if i was in your position.” you comforted, reaching over to gently rub his knee. “she just needs time to process, she’ll come to you when she’s ready.” you added.

“right.” he mumbled strumming his calloused fingers against the strings.

joel began to play a few cords, playing a familiar tune you had heard time playing before. the cool winter air nipping at your nose turning it pink. you could listen to joel play guitar for hours, it was always an added bonus whenever his sang, his voice deep and his texan accent often more prominent. on this particular night joel only hummed along, you could tell he wasn’t handling the fight with ellie very well. he missed her company. you were so focused on joel you hadn’t even realised ellie walking up the porch steps causing joel to look up. following joels movement you spun your head around to find ellie standing on the porch, nervously playing with the tips of her fingers.

“oh hey.” joel spoke quietly.

“i’ll give you two some space.” you spoke quietly, pulling yourself up from the chair.

ellie flashed you a smile, before you bent down a little to give joel a kiss on the side of his forehead. you have him a look of reassurance before disappearing into the house, clothing the door behind you to give them the privacy they needed. placing your coffee on the near by kitchen bench, you made your way to the stairs that led to your bedroom. the alcohol admittedly making you a little sleepy as you sluggishly wandered up to your bedroom.

you change into the same pair of pyjama shorts and oversized shirt that belonged to joel before climbing into the cosy bed. this was the first time in a while you had fallen asleep within minutes of getting into bed. the tip of your nose still cold and pink from the winter air but the rest of your body slowly warming as you layered on a few extra blankets.

some time later you had woken up to the sound of joel shuffling around in some of the bedroom drawers. moments later after changing into some comfier clothes he had climbed into bed, gently pressing a loving kiss onto your forehead before collapsing beneath the blankets. he laid on his back, watching you for a moment before turning his back towards you to shield his eyes from the moonlight coming in through the window. barely awake, you rolled onto your slide, slinging your arm around his waist, hugging him tightly.

“how’d it go?” you asked sluggishly, your eyes barely open.

“good.” he whispered quietly, his voice was raspy as if he had been crying. “we gonna try make things work.” he mumbled, his voice a little more optimistic.

𓋼𓍊 masterlist 𓍊𓋼

[radioactivecallista]

Just unlocked a new level of procrastination: procrastinating on writing fanfic by writing an idle clicker game about writing fanfic...

eta: the clicker game works, it's dumb as hell but it works. Also with a bit of recoding would be a great prompt generator.

[anarchywoofwoof]

i think the near-extinction of people making fun, deep and/or unique interactive text-based browser games, projects and stories is catastrophic to the internet. i'm talking pre-itch.io era, nothing against it.

there are a lot of fun ones listed here and here but for the most part, they were made years ago and are now a dying breed. i get why. there's no money in it. factoring in the cost of web hosting and servers, it probably costs money. it's just sad that it's a dying art form.

anyway, here's some of my favorite browser-based interactive projects and games, if you're into that kind of thing. 90% of them are on the lists that i linked above.

A Better World - create an alternate history timeline

Alter Ego - abandonware birth-to-death life simulator game

Seedship - text-based game about colonizing a new planet

Sandboxels or ThisIsSand - free-falling sand physics games

Little Alchemy 2 - combine various elements to make new ones

Infinite Craft - kind of the same as Little Alchemy

ZenGM - simulate sports

Tamajoji - browser-based tamagotchi

IFDB - interactive fiction database (text adventure games)

Written Realms - more text adventure games with a user interface

The Cafe & Diner - mystery game

The New Campaign Trail - US presidential campaign game

Money Simulator - simulate financial decisions

Genesis - text-based adventure/fantasy game

Level 13 - text-based science fiction adventure game

Miniconomy - player driven economy game

Checkbox Olympics - games involving clicking checkboxes

BrantSteele.net - game show and Hunger Games simulators

Murder Games - fight to the death simulator by Orteil

Cookie Clicker - different but felt weird not including it. by Orteil.

if you're ever thinking about making a niche project that only a select number of individuals will be nerdy enough to enjoy, keep in mind i've been playing some of these games off and on for 20~ years (Alter Ego, for example). quite literally a lifetime of replayability.

[ashleyfilm]

Seeing Clearly

Hi Everyone, this is my first fan fiction. I love Joel Miller and Pedro and I just wanted to write something about him/them. I was inspired by the many many many fantastic fics I've read and all their writers. You all are amazing. I don't know what I'm doing so, if I do something wrong, please let me know and I'll adjust. Please leave comments, I'd love to know your thoughts. And if you feel inclined to reblog, that would be so nice.

Chapter Warnings: violence, cursing, gore, blood. (There Will Be Smut, eventually) Minors - DNI

Characters: Jackson!Joel Miller x F!Reader Plus Size. I will give her some physical descriptions because she is me for this one but I've taken to writing her and You (Reader) so hopefully you can still imagine yourself. Black hair, glasses, tattoos, big body, wears dark clothes, won't stop talking, a little annoying. Joel is tv show Jackson Joel.

Story Summary: Joel just saved your life, begrudgingly. He doesn't know exactly why but he brings you back to Jackson and you ingratiate yourself into his very small circle and his life. This takes place after season 1 of TLOU and season 2 doesn't exist in my brain because no.

Chapter Summary: Joel saves your life and takes you back to Jackson.

Chapter 1: Him.

It all happens so fast. You step on that fallen fucking branch and it snaps. It feels so loud in the eerie quiet of the forest, like an explosion. Your heart almost burst in your chest, and the clicker you were hiding from, praying would pass you by, turns on the stumps left of its heels and comes towards you. Its limbs flailing, but at a speed that seems impossible. Next, you’re on the ground, pushing the things’ rotting neck and shoulders as hard as you can to keep its snapping jaws from your face, when suddenly, with the sound of a shot, the head splinters, and bloody debris falls onto the skin of your face as the clicker’s strength weakens and its weight falls against you.

Your brain can’t catch up with what is happening as the corpse is lifted off you and the sound of a man’s voice starts to come through as if you’re hearing it under water. “ANSWER ME!” You finally make out the words, “WERE YOU BIT?” You find your voice, shaky but still strong, matching the man’s intensity, “I DON’T KNOW.” You hear him sigh, almost as if he’s irritated rather than fearful. You still can’t see him clearly, the viscera of brain matter from the clicker being shot above you still blurring your vision, along with the loss of your black framed glasses that helped you see, even if the prescription wasn’t exactly right. Damnit, where are they now? You wipe your face as best you can and move your mass of black hair streaked with gray out of the way as the man, who you can now see is large, broad shouldered, only being able to make out his shape without your glasses. He grabs at your collar and moves your head from side to side to check your face and neck, and then pulls you up to a standing position. You’re weak on your legs after the, let’s face it, near fucking death experience you just had, and reach out to the man, grabbing his hand for balance, after you seem steady and not a second before, he pulls his hand back and squeezes his fist like you burned him. Okay, man, just trying not to fall over again.

“Roll up your sleeves and show me your hands and arms, both sides. NOW!” You do just that. His brow furrows at the site of the tattoos covering your arms, like he’s wondering how you got them all, and trying to figure out if it was before the world ended, or after. How old you would have been, and if you could have gotten them all before. You can see the gears turning, then it seems he finally deems you unbitten and therefore not an immediate threat, but certainly not safe. “What are you doing out here alone, where are your people?” He says while looking around him, checking his six or whatever the fuck, you wonder if he was in the military or something, he seems like a soldier but also like maybe the Jason Borne kind. You never got to see the sequel they announced before it all happened, sequels usually sucked anyway. God, you miss movies.

“What is wrong with you, kid, you got brain damage? Answer my questions,” the man says, still more irritated with you than anything else. Kid? You’re fucking 40. Whatever. “Um, no brain damage that I know of, but I have a theory that I had an undiagnosed concussion as a teenager, um, but I’m out here trying to not get eaten by clickers, or raiders, or murdered, or worse and trying not to starve. Also, no people. I have no people.” You ramble quickly and the man sighs, AGAIN. You look down and see a rough black outline in the grass below and- “Oh, thank fuck.”

You reach down, clean them off on the part of your black long sleeved shirt that doesn’t have blood or clicker gunk on it and put them on with a long sigh of relief, “Do you know how hard it was to find glasses that actually helped me see and hold onto them and not break them in this shit show of an existence…” another sigh of relief as you open your eyes to finally look at the man who saved your life and already seems like he wants to take it back from you and Holy shit. He’s hot, there’s no other way to put it. He’s the hottest person you’ve ever seen on planet earth, and you’ve just ran your goddamn smart mouth like a fucking moron this entire time. Without the decency to be quiet and nervous in front of, again, THE HOTTEST PERSON YOU HAVE EVER SEEN. You choke on your own thoughts and wide-eyed look into his eyes, they’re chocolate brown and filled with life and emotion, he’s gruff and scary but his eyes…god, they betray him. His hair is just below his ears, curled and brown with slices of gray throughout. His face is worn, scarred, like he’s been through shit, you know because you have too. His nose is like a roman god’s, aquiline and fucking beautiful. He’s got a patchy beard the same two colors as his curly hair and his lips are full and pouty with a mustache and you wonder how it would scratch if he put his mouth on your neck. Wait, what the fuck. I mean he’s hot but instantly thinking of him kissing your neck… relax bitch.

He clears his throat, looking at you like you have two heads and sighs. He really likes to sigh. Then he finally speaks in a stern but soft voice, “Okay, look, don’t know why, but I believe you when you say you’re alone, your eyes look like you haven’t eaten in a few days, that true?” You nod and he seems relieved that you don’t start speaking again, so you stick with it and stay silent. His southern drawl continues, “I come from a community. If you want, I’ll take ya there. Food, shelter, medical. You gotta contribute and you gotta behave. Might want to watch that smart mouth of yours until people start trustin’ you, or maybe forever.” You look at him, tears threatening to fall, turning away to shield him or yourself, you’re not sure. Food. Shelter. Medical. My god how is this possible. He takes this time to look away from you and retrieve jerky from his pack which he holds out for you, and you take it. “Thank you...” you say in the quietest voice you think you’ve ever used realizing you don’t know his name. “Joel, name’s Joel Miller.” He nods and points his head in the direction he wants you to walk. Looking at your hair he says, “C’mon Ash,” and he follows just behind you. What you don’t see is the uptick of his lip on one side that reveals a dimple you’ve yet to witness on his beautiful face and his eyes linger on you for far too long when he should be watching your surroundings. That’s what you don’t see.

[is-it-cute-gf-au-edition]

your blog. confuses me. /notneg

Yeah, it's been getting a lot of off-topic attention lately. I promise I'll get back to rating cute viral videos of ACTUAL animals soon!

out of character under the cut

Hi! Just going to make this my pinned.

What is all this Ford Pines nonsense?

So, @jellyskink is a gravity falls fanartist who's responsible for the "Domesticated Ford" au. It's a horror/dark comedy "bad ending" AU for the show Gravity Falls. In it, Bill Cipher manages to make a deal with Fiddleford McGucket, and uses his body to imprison Ford Pines for years until he has been brainwashed into complying with Bill's demands.

Ford opens the portal, Bill enters Earth, and Ford becomes his personal property - his "pet." He's constantly tortured, but is so brainwashed that he still craves Bill's attention and love. Just like in the show, Bill Cipher and his gang are stuck in the weirdness bubble, but in this AU, the bubble is slowly expanding. Ford is trying to find a way to prevent the bubble from completely destroying the universe as it expands, but when he's not doing that, he's fawning on Bill.

Ford is so deeply delusional and dissociative in this AU that he honestly wants to be with Bill, and can't comprehend how bad his situation is. This is probably for the best, because his situation is really, really bad.

A couple of other AUs have come up - namely, @alexthebordercollie's Hand of God, a different Bill Wins AU in which Ford is functionally a god now. That Ford likes Domesticated!Ford and seemingly wants to adopt him as his own. It's all very messy.

What is this blog?

This blog is based on "is the animal video cute?" style blogs that check viral animal videos to make sure they are actually cute, not abusive. (For example: dog clicker-trained to jump? Cute. Dog baited into fighting a raccoon? Not cute.) The idea is, Bill Cipher puts Ford in pet show contests because he thinks it's funny, and these clips have gone viral online in-universe. This blog is a "pet rater" blog that got sent a bunch of Ford Pines content.

Real life me is so deeply uncomfortable with online discourse that I don't even link my fan blogs to my main. The fictional character of Pet Rater Guy, though, is the sort of person who gets baited by online trolls REALLY easily and keeps getting in over his head when it comes to The Disk Horse.

Who am I?

I'm a fanfiction writer who wrote some stuff based on Jellyskink's AU, and we became friends!

PET GUY TIMELINE

Pre-history: the blog is new, but in-universe, it's been reviewing pet show content for years.

Pet Guy starts reblogging Ford Pines content at the request of fans. Pet guy calls out these posts as problematic.

Pet Guy ends up in a nasty fight with in-universe Jellyskink, a Ford fan who is clueless about the context of the photo and videos she posts.

Pet Guy begins attracting more attention from people who are pro-Ford and pro-Bill.

Pet guy's anti-abuse posts attract the attention of a godded Ford (@chiphersconsort) from another dimension.

Pet Guy gets very scared and drunk.

Pet Guy has cordial interactions with this deific Ford, which get out of hand because of Pet Guy's intoxication. Pet Guy gets transformed.

Pet guy wakes up to find that he's a hungover raccoon. He keeps blogging as before.

A weird Cipher Loyalist @phosphorwings shows up in Pet Guy's comments and reblogs, but they seem to be on good terms with the god that cursed Pet Guy, so Pet Guy tries to be polite to them.

Pet Guy (who is a raccoon) sets up a side blog @totallynotstalkingmothguy to monitor the Cipher Loyalist.

Despite this side blog, Pet Guy and phosphorwings begin to become friends, in no small part because chiphersconsort makes it very clear that Pet Guy is to be nice to phosphorwings. Ciphersconsort knows about the side blog.

Pet guy helps Phosphorwings understand internet context such as memes, as well as internet safety and etiquette such as how to deal with trolls. He mentions on the side blog that ciphersconsort gives him psychic head scritches when he's "a good boy."

Phosphorwings becomes upset at an anonymous ask that suggests he has Stockholm syndrome; in his very emotional reply, he insists that "his muse" is wonderful to him. Pet Guy posts "...His muse?" On the side blog, a then later reblogs it with, "I don't remember posting this."

Phosphorwings begins to post references to his life that make it appear he is in a severely abusive relationship. Pet guy gets concerned and asks chiphersconsort for "divine wisdom" in the tags of a post. Chiphersconsort informs him he's handling it.

Pet guy now regularly refers to Chiphersconsort as "god." Pet guy is regularly getting asks about him being a "lap raccoon" or other pet-related jokes. He has been accused of wanting to crawl in chiphersconsort laps and has replied that "wanting that would be weird".

Chiphersconsort posts a picture of the chaos moths that he uses to find outbreaks entropy, the apocalyptic force that is currently destroying his dimension. Phosphorwings and Pet Guy are both really excited. Pet Guy asks for a copy of his research notes, which he receives.

Phosphorwings and another mutual, @ranchsoda92, invite Pet Guy to play DDnmD together. When Pet Guy protests that none of them know where he lives and he doesn't know where they live, ranchsoda92 tells him to open his window.

Several hours later, Pet Guy posts a series of frantic and cryptic posts on both blogs about having been at Phosphorwings's house.

In response to Pet Guy explaining what non-sexual BDSM is to phosphorwings, someone asks if Pet Guy a kink question. Pet Guy answers. This becomes an entire subject of conversation.

[not-a-mimic]

why is it an important point that alan is very light sensitive and prone to migranes? other than being a disability rep for those of us who cannot function in broad daylight without sunglasses and explaining why the bright lights in aw1 are such a pain to look at (from alan's point of view) but like. it's important.

we see it in the flashback with alice where alan is hangover and seemingly has his sunglasses next to his bed already - a little weird right? and alice mentions them as well - because this is common. because he often needs them. frankly speaking from experience you don't get to the point where the sunglasses become a mandatory bedside fixture unless it's a really bad day often - which must be the case here. we also see then in 'herald of darkness' where "Dark shades could never save the day" and we see alan in shades. it's common for him. he does it often. mood! anyway mr champion of light being sensitive to light is just a funny coincidence right? wrong.

I also suspect that alan's tendency towards full outfits is also a part of this. no sane human wears that many layers in september, and alan specifically covers pretty much all the skin possible without looking weird.  also a lot of his article shots in rose'.... shrine have sunglasses and thick layers as well. this man is SENSITIVE sensitive to light and that's a coincidence I can't ignore in the remedy!verse.

alan was born (as stated in aw2) in 1977 - we don't know when, or where as he moved to new york later. his mother spent most of his childhood in psychiatric facilities, and his father is not only non existent but highly suspiously fictional (the only object we are told alan has of him is the clicker. the fucking clicker. tom zane's clicker that was definitely written into alan's life before he was born and was not a gift from his father proper. frankly we know the least about alan's childhood compared to all other remedy!verse protags - not knowing where or truly when he was born is important because it leaves options.

Light sensitive could be a coincidence - but we thought that about the nightmares too, and they turned out to be important clues. and hell-  *Scratch* is less sensitive to light than Alan is - only flashbangs and the super steong hand flares make him flinch, direct light seems fine unless super powered and normal flares are nothing. alan actively gets headaches from these things and obviously it hurts him. wtf is up with that? when the protection of the dark presence patches up your weakness you have a issue.

theory time:

we know alan is tied to this god damn lake. zane wrote it so - at very least alan was destined to fall in it at the end of aw1. but what if there is more? we also know that alan's darkness became at least the aw2 dark presence which. fine? an endless cycle of destroying yourself while under the impression that that's not yourself. we don't know if the dark presence in aw1 is also this same one, and if it isn't we now know there can be multiple dark entites (implied by Mr Scratch also). if it is then damn alan has issues.

I don't know if its just me but the fact that the small darkness within someone can be escalated out to being the whole larger dark presence at full power feels... off. that feels like it doesn't work with what we know of the entities- unless there was more darkness in alan then originally suspected fueling this presence. the strength of the dark presence born from him combined with the strength of his light sensitivity makes me very suspicious to how human he was originally, and how much of alan is just lake bullshit. if he was a creature or creation of the darkness forced into a human body (perhaps the 1976 awe the andersons fought back in brightfalls wasn't all it seemed. maybe the dark presence or something else was looking for a crack to escape through. maybe it succeeded, but was reborn as a human who was already showing signs at a young age of being light sensitive and also being a parautiltiarian, and a strong one at that.

maybe there was never a father because there was never a mother - linda wake may have found a child on the lake shore and adopted it as her own, not knowing the truth behind its origins. maybe the torchbearers who operated in brightfalls around that time were involved. maybe the reason alan and tom look identical is the dark entity needed human dna when being reborn as a human and zane was there at the right time. could be why other traits are shared, and zane foresaw and influenced the creation of the dark place to get what he wanted (after all it was borrowing from him his face and personality - at very least it could give him wiggle room to escape?)

alan always had... issues. darkness. a lot for a man. so what if its all supernatural bullshit? no one is looking too closely because there is supernatural stuff going on. I'm not sure this man is human, or at least his soul isn't and never was. some darkness wearing a human skin maybe, sensitive to the light but forced to manage it. I don't know, maybe I'm looking too much into this.

[hazyaltcare]

👩‍💻 👩‍💻 👩‍💻 / 👩‍💻 👩‍💻 👩‍💻 / 👩‍💻 👩‍💻 👩‍💻

A Villain-era/Tall-era Peridot (Steven Universe) stimboard in pastel greens and aqua. Includes themes of sci-fi, touch screens, data, and typing.

Mod Haze (🎮Greyson)

[ofallthingsnasty]

been thinkin about mouth inspections at the dentist (with our faves). Isn’t there a way to tell if you’ve given bjs before? Like there’s an indent in the roof of your mouth or something? Since you have experience in dentistry, i thought I might ask💀

Perhaps dentist fave pokes around in your mouth and finds that spot, asking all sorts of gross questions, who’ve you done it with? how many have you given? and then forces you on your knees, explaining the whole time what he’s doing to that spot in your mouth as he brutalizes your throat. Law or Doffy would be the worst for it. Doffy wouldn’t be able to control himself and Law would be so calm and collected, it would be scary

Yes, but only hard and recent blowjobs - there can be petechiae on your palate!! (Think tiny red spots) We don't care, though ajsjjksk and as always THIS IS FICTIONAL OFC I DON'T ENDORSE THIS AJSKKS

The mental image of 'big dick Doflamingo's everything but mostly expensive implants mill'-dental office is sending me. Baby 5 not-so-subtly chewing gum behind her mask while she makes you wait in the chair. Him coming in half an hour late (you've been nervous and sweating the whole damn time and the radio is blasting nothing but shitty early 2010s pop which doesn't help), clearly fresh from some break and not a difficult procedure, showing you just how much he doesn't care about you. He fucking reeks of cologne. Light pink scrubs that fit him so well it's not even funny. Has a weirdly delicate gold chain around his neck that really emphasizes the way his pecs puff up before connecting with his collarbone. It kind of makes you want to fall into his... well, his cleavage. (Because of course he chooses scrubs with a rather unorthodox neckline - who's going to tell him off? He's the boss. Sometimes he comes in wearing polo shirts in that same pink tone and they're always, always a little too tight.)

He throws himself into his little chair so hard it skids right up to you and he just smiles as a greeting, porcelain-white veneers blinding you for a moment, before he puts his mask up (also pink, it's a whole fucking theme here). It's all pretty standard, Baby 5's clearly fake nails clicker-clacker away at the keyboard while he lists off your dental status - until he gets to the soft tissue, especially your palate.

tw. crack treated seriously + noncon = the combo from hell, medical malpractice, Law is in here too, as a separate listing (same tags for him + hypnosis), minors dni, don't take this too seriously i had too much fun writing this it's so silly, dental hypno doesn't work like this don't worry lol

Well, that's certainly an eyebrow raiser. Looks like little old unassuming you has a bit of a wild side. He can tell you know your stuff by how big and angry-red the bruise on your mucosa is. You've been a patient of his for a long time now - and other that the fact that you pretty much look like you're about to faint every time your ass touches the chair, you've been rather forgettable (but cute, he has to admit). He can tell you don't like the way he fingers around your mouth one bit - and that you're waiting for his final evaluation, taut like a bowstring. You're probably pissing your pants at the thought of getting some major work done. He knows your type and nudges his fingers just a little farther down your throat, to your uvula, just to see how trained your gag reflex is (and to keep you anxious for just a few seconds longer, it's just too precious).

You don't even blink. Others would have coughed up their breakfast by now but you're sitting there, eyes teary and face worried. Would you look at that. It's good he's wearing his mask or else you'd be able to see that he's poking out his tongue because he's smiling so hard - you're suddenly in his top ten patients, right next to all the big bucks and two or three genuinely interesting cases. And oh, he's getting ideas with the way you fidget under his gaze. You wouldn't tattle. You wouldn't even fight back. My, you're perfect for a little lunch time fun.

Baby 5 is out of the room with a single gesture, closes the door behind her with a distinctive click. She won't bother him either, she'll just go hide in the break room and text her newest boyfriend until someone scrapes her out of there again. And you? You're already anxiously waiting for his diagnosis, fearing the worst. Oh, he'll give you the worst. It's delicious to see your face go from nervous to absolutely crestfallen as he spins some tall tale about how need to get big work done on two molars, how bad it already is and how you probably should opt for implants (his specialty, after all. And so expensive he just knows you'll do just about anything to save a little money.) Of course, you trust him. And of course, you agree for him to go with the 'best' (and coincidentally most expensive) option, even when you're clearly fighting back tears at the price. He tells you to lay back, brings the chair to the highest, horizontal position and overstretches the neck so that your mouth is in a perfect line with your throat. It's unpleasant how the blood from the rest of your body is cut off from your head in this position, how the whole room is suddenly overhead and that damn light is shining straight into your eyes. It's supposed to give him a better look at your upper teeth - but when you open your eyes to his fucking dick of all things and him telling you that you want that treatment cheap, don't you?, you learn that not everyone has your best interest in mind. (Sadly, you don't even get to answer because he just shoves himself into you and fucks the protest right out of your oesophagus.) When he's done with you, your whole face is full of spit and mucus and you probably lost consciousness at least once - turns out not enough perfusion for your brain coupled with extreme anxiety and someone gripping your throat to fuck it better isn't exactly the healthiest thing in the world.

Honestly, you'll try so hard not to go back after that experience, you really do. Problem is, you gave them your mobile number when you first signed over your data - and just two days later you'll get a barrage of texts in finest text speak anno 2004, with a million of 😜🤞😂🦩 emojis asking you about the state of your throat and if you still want that follow-up. Cheapest set of dental implants you'll ever get, honestly. You only have to sell him your dignity.

Law on the other hand... All prim and proper in starched white, medical professional through and through, yet so gentle - has a whole concept around dental phobic patients, with warm and welcoming treatment rooms, gentle music, offers laughing gas, hypnosis and even general anesthesia if the fear is especially bad. Always professional and never condescending or infanitilizing (like some can be when it comes to phobic patients). He's a dentist, a doctor, the authority in this place but he guides with a gentle hand - and people adore him.

You've been his patient for a while now - and he can't lie, he really likes you. You've been a dream to work with despite your anxiety; have endured every session bravely, you hang onto every word he says with big, wet eyes. He makes a suggestion - you take it. No matter the cost, the time, how outlandish the approach might be, you're always willing, nod your head yes and try to tough it out. You're somewhat soggy, almost whiny but that's okay. It's kind of cute, really. So when he sees those telltale red spots on your palate, he's a little surprised... You come across as so meek while on the chair, it's hard to picture you as anything else outside of it. But clearly, you're either an extremely attentive lover or you're wilder than he thought. Honestly, he's almost pouting over this revelation. Who are you fucking? Even if the sentiment is inappropriate, it should be him - at least that's what his little crush on you whispers to him deep, deep down. He mills over it a little too long, long enough for you to try to speak around his fingers in your mouth - there you go again, asking him (and so politely, too) if there is something, anything? And to his shame, all he can think about is if this is how your tongue feels like when you're using it. The way you slur against his hand, that warm and entirely too inviting mouth so close yet so far - it's giving him some shameful, shameful ideas. What harm is in a little test drive - especially when you've been proven to respond well to hypnosis. He has just enough time to rope you into a little session, as well. So he pulls a face behind the mask and explains that yes, actually, you have a little cavity - a teeny tiny thing that could be filled so easily right now, if you have the time for it. The way you immediately tense up underneath him isn't lost to him. God, you hate surprises, he knows that, and he's being so, so selfish - but it's too late to take back his words now.

He can practically watch the thoughts form in your brain, can see how you valiantly try to fight down the panic over a surprise dental procedure. But, as always, you swallow the lie hook, line and sinker. And when you ask him if he can use hypnosis on you again, he knows he's won this round. It's not ideal - you're already upset over this whole situation and to get you into that relaxed state is going to be a lot of work, but he knows you well enough by now. A sentence here, a soothing word there, gentle encouragement wrapped around it all like a bow - the moment you've let go, he can simply pull his pants down and force himself into your mouth, that's how far away you'll be. Of course, you aren't as active as he wants you to be, but the thrill and novelty of the situation is more than enough for him. The thought of marking you like this, to cum right down you throat without you or the ominous other person fucking you knowing, is more arousing than he'd like to admit. Maybe he has to stroke himself to completion (because your slack lips around him are far from enough) but his orgasm builds up quickly and hits him hard. He can already feel that pesky sense of guilt nagging away at him the moment he collects his breath - but he cleans you up and fixes your rumpled clothes and shoves all those bad feelings into some far away corner of his mind.

Your numb jaw is easily explained away, as is that horrible taste in your mouth - and he did give you a filling, after all, so hey, the lie isn't that bad, right?

(Law totally did his junior time at Doffy's terrible implant money grub mill and then vowed to himself that he'll never ever ever become like that. Well, that kinda sorta didn't work out, huh?)

[she-wolf09231982]

Chapter 3- The Business

Summary: On June 6, 1944, D-Day, C47’s with thousands of paratroopers cross the English Channel to France, where they come under heavy fire. None of you land where you’re expected to, and many lose their weapons and supplies in the drop. Even worse, you are separated from Liebgott. Fortunately, you do land near LT Winters, who links up with solitary soldiers, then set off to find other units. 

A/N:  Mature audience, Joe LiebgottxFem!Medic, post D-Day, She/Her Pronouns, Y/F/N, Y/L/N, Cursing/Swearing, Enemies to friends, Derogatory Slurs, Womanizing Comments, Aggression, Angst, Confrontation, Military Terminology, 1940’s slang, Inappropriate Nicknames, Band of Brothers References, Mentions of Weaponry, Wounds/Injuries, Smoking, Crying, Banter, Pining, FLUFF Chapter takes place 1x2 Day of Days & 1x3 very early Carentan

*These stories may not fall entirely in accordance with the TV series timeline. I do not know the real soldiers the actors portray in this series, so please understand I show no disrespect. Some or most of the historical events and character interactions in my fanfics are fabricated purely for the sake of the enjoyment of fiction*

~~~~~~~

“Y/L/N!” Winters shout whispers to you, waving you over to come to him. 

You had landed in the middle of a field, tall grass quite overgrown, and dark as hell. You gather your chute to keep the wind from pulling you off, then hurry over to him. 

“You ok, corporal?” Winters asked.  

“Yes, sir.” You respond no louder than anyone but him to hear. 

Although you say you’re physically ok, your internal activity is utter chaos. Your eyes were constantly on the move from left to right looking for German threats, your fellow jumpers...but most importantly for Liebgott. 

During the flight, you were sitting directly across from him. You secretly wished to be next to him so you could land closer to eachother after the drop. Instead, you jumped right before LT Winters, whereas Liebgott jumped and probably landed long before you had left the plane. 

Another soldier about ten feet away hustled over. 

“Flash!” Winters called out. 

“Shit!” The unknown soldier responded. 

“I don't think that's the correct reply, trooper. I say 'flash,’ you say ‘thunder.’” Winters advised him. 

“Yessir.” The soldier replied nervously. 

The unfamiliar soldier was Private John Hall from Able Company. He was the radio man until he lost his radio in the jump. Nobody landed where they were supposed to, and it was clear that everyone was scattered.  

You remained to the rear of Hall and Winters to secure behind you in case any Germans approached from behind. The three of you make it to a tree line and enter the woods to get some proper concealment.  

“We'll locate some landmarks to get our bearings. Keep your eyes peeled for buildings, farmhouses, bridges, roads, trees.” Winter instructed. 

You hear a rustle in the thicket across the stream from where you had been walking. Winters motioned for you all to camouflage yourselves against the brush of some bushes. Winters takes his clicker, then signals to who he deduced were American soldiers by clicking twice. Four clicks in response confirmed they were Easy Company members. 

“Lieutenant Winters, is that you?” Lipton questioned. 

Sergeant Lipton along with two paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne crossed the stream and you all kneeled in a circle to figure out the next course of action. 

“Sir, I saw a sign back that aways, said, ‘Sainte-Mère-Église.’” Lipton declared. 

Winters pulled out a map, flashlight and small compass, while an 82nd troop threw a raincoat over him for light control so not to give away your position. 

Winters stated it was at least a four hour walk to the assembly point, so you all got walking. You run into Privates Malarkey and Rob “Popeye” Wynn, as well as Corporal Joe Toye. 

Easy Company began greeting eachother, relieved to see that some of you made it safe to the ground. Toye gave you a few heavy pats on the back. 

“Son of a bitch! You made it, doll!” Toye acknowledged, impressed by your gumption to survive such a vicious drop. 

“Good to see you, L/N!” Malarkey was all smiles as he brought you in for a one-armed hug.   

When you pulled away, his facial expression turned uneasy. 

“Seen Joe?” He asked concerned. 

You could only shake your head, too afraid to speak about it outloud so not to make the worst-case scenario a reality. 

Malarkey put a hand on your shoulder giving you an encouraging squeeze. 

“I’m sure he’s fine.” He whispered to you. You each exchange weak smiles. 

You start the convoy following the train tracks to your next destination. As you’re walking you hear another rustle from behind. 

“Flash!” Winters called. 

“Thunder! LT Winters? Is that you? Malarkey?” A very familiar voice responded. 

Fire and bile bubbled in the pit of your stomach...Guarnere. Just what you needed. You yearned for Liebgott to be here with you now that Guarnere had joined up with you guys. 

“Hey, fellas!! Good to see ya, Lark! Toye!” Guarnere beamed. 

As soon as he saw you, he grimaced, spit at the ground the turned around to face Winters. 

“Guarnere, keep moving. You and Hall up front.” Winters directed. 

After an unfortunate run in with a group of Germans, you push forward towards Sainte-Mère-Église. 

It was the longest night ever but as daylight broke, you come upon what looks to be a small farm with several dead Germans lying under a dead paratrooper hanging by his parachute cords from a tree. The group scrounge any supplies left from the casualties, then continued the trek to the assembly point. 

Finally, you see in the short distance where the rallying point is. A small town with bombed out buildings served as an assembly point for the Regiment to regroup. After you pass the cow carcasses made to be a makeshift check point at the entrance of the village, you inadvertently start trailing your team as you desperately scoured the main street for Liebgott.  

Your heart began to sink into a whirlpool of despair. Your chest starts to tighten as tears begin to cloud your vision causing the world to close in on you. The voices of the men around you are muffled and distant. You wouldn’t even know or care if any of them were speaking directly to you because it felt like everything was crumbling around you. All because Joe was nowhere to be seen or heard. 

Lost in your own underworld, ready to yield to what you thought was the inevitable, you clearly hear a single voice that heaves you from your sorrowful conviction.  

“Easy Company!” You hear through the crowd. 

Only Joe Liebgott’s voice could revive you from this morbid state.  

“That has to be him!” You think to yourself. 

Your breath hitched as you frantically searched for him. So many men wearing the same uniform made it almost impossible to tell one from the other. Your ability to speak was muted by distress, you couldn’t even bring yourself to call out to him. You almost thought you imagined hearing him at all, until at last, you look ahead up the road, and off to the side, you see him. A wave of relief rains onto you as you stand there stunned.  

He shakes Guarnere’s hand. 

“Bill! Good to see ya.” Liebgott gestured with a smile. 

His expression shifted to concern when he didn’t see you right away. He started to push through the crowd in hopes of finding you. The guys parted a path for him to see you at the other end of the street, motionless as your eyes finally meet.  

Joe, excitement spreading across his face, hurried to you. Your legs fail you, bringing you to the ground on your hands and knees. 

“Y/F/N!” Liebgott wailed as he broke into a full-on sprint towards you. 

When he reached you, he threw himself to his knees in front of you scooping you into his arms. 

“Y/N?? Look at me! Are you hurt?”  

He brought his face level with yours, trying to look at you. When you finally look up, he held your head between his strong hands to keep your face straight towards his. Tear streaks stained your filthy cheeks. Puzzled, he tilted his head studying you. He took the sleeve of his uniform and gently wiped your face and with his other hand cradled your head. You bring your hands up and hold his hand that supported your head, leaning into his touch. 

He looks you over, trying to find any signs of injury. He looks upon you fervently, affectionately running his thumb across your cheekbone. He’s waiting for you say something, anything to reassure him that you’re ok.  

Your tears continue to flow, but you’re smiling. 

Liebgott chuckled from confusion. 

“Y/N, why the hell are you crying?” He asked you. 

After a long pause, and a much-needed exhale after holding your breath for so long, you say,  

“I thought I’d never see you again...”  

He was pleasantly shocked by your response, not to mention absolutely elated. His smug grin surfaced as he gently helped you to your feet. 

His hands gripped your shoulders keeping you stable while your hands rested on his chest. He tenderly shifted your head side to side by your chin to examine your face for any scratches or abrasions...or he wanted an excuse to look at you which was likely the case. 

“Don’t worry, I ain’t goin’ nowhere.” He stated with that unmistakable confidence. 

He smiled at you then winked, sending you into a flutter of euphoria.  

“So, you missed me, huh?” He added. 

You punch him in the shoulder then hug eachother like you’re not right in the middle of a gruesome invasion of Europe.  

But you had missed him. You were afraid for him...terrified. Joe had an unshakable presence of rage that drove him straight to the center of danger with no regard for his own well-being. His love language was sarcasm and any form of banter, so if he ever did feel fear, it was never terribly noticeable.  

It didn’t matter right now, though. You finally found Joe. Nothing or nobody else was more important.  

~~~~~~~ 

Winters was told to select some men and lead an assault on a French estate called Brécourt, about 300 yards from where you all were rallied. The Germans have installed four 88mm antitank cannons that were firing directly on Utah Beach and inflicting heavy casualties. Easy Company’s objective was to flank the Germans from behind and demobilize them so American soldiers had safe passage onto the beachhead.  

Only having 13 Easy Company members accounted for, this left them having to borrow men from other companies that they picked up on the way to the town after the drop. 

Winters addressed the 13 troops that were selected to go on this next mission. This included Liebgott and yourself. 

“The 88s we’ve been hearing have been spotted in a field down the road a ways. Major Strayer wants us to take them out.” 

He had a sheet of blank paper with a map in the center of the circle of soldiers. 

“There are two guns that we know of firing on Utah Beach.” Winters drew x’s on the paper signifying where they were located then continued. 

“Plan on a third and fourth here and here.” He drew two more x’s before proceeding. 

“The Germans are in the trenches with access to the entire battery. With machine gun covering the rear. We’ll establish a base of fire and move under it hard and fast with two squads of three.” 

“How many Krauts they think we’re facing?” Guarnere interrupted. 

Winters paused. 

“No idea.” He responded. 

“No idea?” Guarnere retorted while rolling his eyes. 

Winters returned to the brief disregarding Guarnere’s passive attitude. 

“We’ll take some TNT along with us. Despite the guns. Lipton, your responsibility.” 

“Yes, sir.” Lipton replied. 

“Liebgott, you’ll take the first machine gun, with Petty A-gunner.” Winters instructed. Liebgott only nodded. 

“Plesha, Hendrix, you take over the other. Who does that leave?” Winters asked collectively. 

You, Malarkey, Toye, Guarnere, and Compton raise your hands. 

“Okay. We’ll be making the main assault. Understood?” Winter added. 

You collectively replied “Yes, sir.” 

“Alright, let’s pack it up.” Winter ordered. 

You all gather outside to prepare your gear. Winters approached you as you crouched organizing your med supplies. 

“Y/L/N.” 

“Sir?” You say standing quickly, facing Winters. 

“I’ll need you more towards the rear, so we have the best chance of maintaining our medical assist in case anyone gets hurt.” Winters ordered. 

“But, sir-” You began. 

“Remain to the rear.” Winters repeated sternly before you could finish.  

You look at him wanting to protest his order, but only sigh reluctantly. 

“To the rear.” You confirmed. 

You return to prepacking your gear begrudgingly. Liebgott watched you and chuckled. 

“What?” You ask him. 

He looked over to you.  

“You’re cute when you're upset.” He admitted. 

Unamused, you decide not to dignify with comment and keep packing your stuff. 

~~~~~~~ 

“MEDIC!!” You hear from a distance after heavy gunfire and explosions unleash relentlessly onto Easy. 

You run and duck, racing in the direction of the yelling, weaving and bobbing trying to avoid getting hit by any oncoming enemy fire. You couldn’t hear anything except your own heartbeat as you ran, but managed to find the spot where you were needed. 

You jump feet first into the trench, finding Guarnere, Compton, and Lorraine, with ‘Popeye’ Wynn lying on his side crying out in pain. 

“I’m sorry, sir!!” Wynn kept yelling. 

“Where you hit, Pop?” You shouted. 

“Right in the ass!” He yelped. 

Compton, Guarnere, and Lorraine laid suppressive fire while you worked on Wynn.  

“Lay on your stomach, Pop, I need to see!” You direct him helping turn over onto his front. 

You cut through the hole on the seat Wynn’s pants where the bullet made contact, exposing the wound. 

“Goddam it, I’m sorry, sir, I didn’t mean to fuck up!” Wynn called out to Compton. 

“Pop, just stay still! You’re gonna be fine, buddy.” You tell him as you applied pressure to his wound reaching for your clot powder and bandages.  

You project your voice to Wynn, but it’s calm and steady so not to alarm him. The slightest hint of terror in your voice only makes things worse for the wounded was something Doc Roe told you. 

“You think you can make it back yourself?” Compton shouted out to you and Wynn. 

You both look up at him. 

“I think so, sir!” Wynn responded. 

“I’m not goin’ anywhere, sir.” You declared. 

Corporal Y/L/N, you’re going with Pop to make sure he gets back!” Compton ordered. 

“With all due respect, sir, I’m needed here. I’m staying!” You argued as you helped Wynn to his feet to shove him out of the trench. 

Compton grunted in frustration. 

“He wasn’t asking ya, he was tellin’ ya.” Guarnere snapped at you. 

“And I wasn’t talkin’ to you, Guarnere! You just hold the line while I do my job!” You returned with ice in your voice. You carefully crawl out of the trench to go find anyone else that might need your help. 

Guarnere scoffed to himself amused by your response. 

~~~~~~~ 

Easy Company along with Spiers’ Dog Company claimed victory at Brécourt, securing the beachhead. 

As the two units walked back to the assembly point back at the town, Liebgott caught up with you. 

“Hey, Y/N, you alright?” He asked right away. He looked you over and noticed blood stains on your uniform. 

You sense his panic, “Don’t worry, it’s not mine. I’m fine, Joe.” You reassure.  

He exhaled then gave your shoulder a gentle squeeze, smiling at you when you looked at him. 

“Good.” He replied. “I’ll find you later, Gams.” He added with a wink, then rushed off ahead. 

You laugh to yourself, a fuzzy feeling rising within you that only Joe could produce after such a horrific situation.  

~~~~~~~

That night was spent recovering. The following day orders were given to maneuver to take Carentan where German soldiers were being sheltered. Carentan was the main crossroad between Cotentin and Calvados where the ally force’s tanks needed passage to attack the main objective, Cherbourg.  

“Listen up!” LT Welsh shouted. “It'll be dark soon. I want light and noise discipline from here on. No talking, no smoking. And no playing grab-fanny with the man in front of you, Luz. We're taking Carentan. It's the only place where armor from Omaha and Utah Beach can link up and head inland. Until we take Carentan, they're stuck on the sand. General Taylor's sending the whole division.”  

Some of the men begin to grumble under their breath. Everyone started to stir to gather their gear to begin the journey to Carentan. 

Walking in a file formation on each side of the road to Carentan, Liebgott makes sure to keep you in his peripherals. You’re behind Toye, who’s talking to Guarnere in front of him. 

“Heard Y/L/N gave you the business back at Brécourt, Bill.” Toye teased him. 

“Ah shit, Toye, why?” You whispered to him, not thrilled about the instigation. 

Guarnere was unusually quiet at first. Probably thinking of something snarky to say about you. 

“She sure did, Joe.” He finally responded almost warmly. 

Guarnere looked back at you giving you a small smirk before he added, “Ya did good out there, kid.” He complimented you. 

You were surprised to say the least. You’ve earned Guarnere’s respect because you didn’t allow his indifference towards you to break you during combat. Not only did you not allow him to shake you, but you also dished some attitude in return, reminding him to keep his focus on the battle. Things were going to be different between you and ‘Wild Bill’ Guarnere.   ~~~~~~~ 

[fictionalfoodpolls]

Cookie Clicker Cookie

[fluentmoviequoter]

When You're Lost in the Darkness, Take Dalton Lambert

Terrifying Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Fic-tober Masterlist

Summary: You and Dalton go to a showing of The Last of Us, debating as to whether or not Josh could survive. When you express your love for a certain character, Dalton gets jealous.

Warnings: spoilers for The Last of Us (2023 tv show and 2013 game), fluff, playful fighting?, Dalton gets jealous, a tiny confession?. 1.1k+ words.

A/N: Is this me projecting my love for The Last of Us and Joel Miller? Absolutely, it is. Also, I find it funny that these titles are progressively getting worse. Anyway, hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think! :)

“NINE HOURS?”

“Give or take,” you answer, smiling at Dalton’s dramatics. “It’s a series, Dalton. Nine episodes averaging an hour and a short intermission, so, nine hours.”

Dalton looks to the ceiling and groans as if he hasn’t been counting down the minutes to this week’s Terrifying Tuesday horror movie showing. Although he is still upset that they ‘misled’ everyone by showing a TV show. With you by his side, he’ll get over it.

“Why? Do you not want to spend that much time with me?” you ask with an exaggerated pout.

Dalton looks down quickly, his eyes locked on yours. “No, that’s not what I meant!”

You smirk at him, and he rolls his eyes before looking past you.

“Dalton, don’t,” you warn.

“Don’t what?” He asks, acting innocent before he tackles you against his bed.

“Tackle me.”

“Isn’t it almost time to go?”

“You sure you’re okay staying the whole time? I can ask Chris to come get you earlier if you need me to.”

“You’re not willing to leave with me this time?” Dalton asks, a hand over his heart.

“And leave Joel Miller? Not likely,” you answer as you walk out his door. “Are you coming?”

“Who’s Joel Miller?” Dalton asks himself as he follows you, catching up to your side.

“I’m telling you now,” you state before Dalton can ask any questions, “your dad would not survive the first episode. Argue all you want, but I’m right.”

“It’s apocalyptic, right?” Dalton clarifies. “I’m pretty sure he’d live. He’s survived the Further, it can’t be that different.”

“Sure,” you say, smiling because you know just how wrong Dalton is.

‣‣‣‣‣

The moment Joel is shown for the first time, you sit up a little straighter and smile to yourself. Even before they say his name, Dalton is sure this is the ‘Joel Miller’ you mentioned earlier. He’s unsure why you’d rather stay and watch Joel than spend time with him. Or maybe he does know and is trying to delude himself out of his growing jealousy over a fictional character. 

Dalton watches you more than the show, especially when your eyes tear up as Sarah’s death scene approaches. He wraps an arm around you and pulls you into his side, feeling slightly less jealous when you begin tracing shapes on his hand after pulling it into your lap. 

“See?” you whisper, your voice shaking because of the tears. Dalton gently wipes his thumbs under your eyes as you say, “Josh would not survive. Especially if one of you died.”

“You’re wrong,” Dalton argues weakly, his resolve crumbling at the sight of your tears. “He would survive for us.”

You nod silently and look back to the screen, your eyes widening slightly at the sight of post-outbreak Joel. Dalton thinks maybe the tears were easier to handle than the jealousy.

“You’re still wrong,” you whisper harshly several minutes later. 

‣‣‣‣‣

When Joel kills the FEDRA agent stopping them at the gate because he threatened Ellie, Dalton tenses beside you. You poke his arm and raise your eyebrows, asking for an explanation.

“You’re right,” he says quickly. “My dad wouldn’t survive. He couldn’t kill someone, and if he saw a clicker face-to-face… he’d just freeze and get infected, or worse.”

“It took less than half an episode for you to agree with me,” you say, in awe. “Welcome to the dark side.”

‣‣‣‣‣

In the second episode, when Joel is starting to tolerate Ellie a little more while on the road, you imagine if it were you and Josh in their shoes. The thought makes you laugh against Dalton and he immediately wants to know what’s so funny.

Furrowing your brows at his insistence to know what you’re thinking, you answer, “If I were stuck in that situation with Josh, I would sacrifice myself to the clickers. Pull a you-know-who and go up in a fireball if I had to.”

“Don’t say that,” Dalton chides quietly before looking back to the screen.

You’re not sure where his sudden interest in The Last of Us came from, but you’re glad that he seems to be enjoying the show and that you have something to do together. 

‣‣‣‣‣

The eighth episode starts, and you smile at Dalton. You're obviously waiting for something and Dalton hopes it isn't Joel Miller-related, or worse, another character you like. 

The first scene with James finally comes on and you grab Dalton's arm, shaking him with your excitement.

"Another one?" Dalton whispers, more to himself.

"He voiced Joel in the game," you explain, leaning in to talk to him, your hands still wrapped around his arms. "It's like Joel Miller-ception. And Ashley Johnson, who played Ellie, is in the next one."

"Who's she play?"

You turn to Dalton with a look bordering on disgust. "Why would I tell you that?"

Dalton raises his hands in surrender, smiling when you lean against him to continue watching.

"I love this show," you whisper, loud enough for Dalton to hear.

Regardless of how he feels or how easily you can make him jealous, Dalton is glad he came and gets to experience something you love so much. Even if he attempts to size up Joel during every scene. 

‣‣‣‣‣

It’s nearly four in the morning when the last episode ends, and the lights in the park come on. Dalton helps you up, pulling you against his chest. You look up at him, unsure as to what he’s doing.

“Do you like Joel?” he asks quietly, rubbing a hand up and down your back. 

“Are you jealous?”

Dalton clenches his jaw and looks over your head before answering, “Yeah. A little. You just seemed so happy every time he was on screen.”

“Dalton.” You guide his chin to face you as you say, “I look at you like that, too, you just never seem to notice.”

“So, you don’t like Joel?” he asks after a moment of getting lost in your eyes.

You drop your arms and step back, answering, “Oh no, I love Joel Miller.”

“You’re not helping any,” Dalton calls as you turn and begin walking. He catches up, wrapping his arm around your waist this time. “Did you mean what you said? About me.”

“Of course, I do. And not only because you agree with me that Josh would die before the first episode ended.”

“Could he survive next week?”

“I honestly don’t know. How does he feel about summer camps?”

Dalton watches you as you return to the dorms, thinking that he needs to pay more attention if you’re going to keep looking at him like you looked at Joel.