#the 50 year old kids be bickering

[kommandonuovidiavoli]

Did you know Lou was the Tolietnator?

" Mate, I was already into the KND when they invented that shitty "supervillain" and brought 'em to life!

When I got news of what they had in store I wanted to see it SO BAD, but I was flat out doing something else!

Then they told me I had to visit Sector V and I asked if the Toiletnator could make an appearance and they did and...

I... don't know what stopped me from laughing my ass off in front of the kids, I had to act as if I had NO IDEA of who they were but I just wanted to bawl in their fucking ugly face!

I could see them wanting to, I don't know, probably murder me but they had to keep that fucking act up! And I also got to see the kids beat them up! Made me think I made the right decision to get there! "

"... go on. " " ... what? " " Tell the WHOLE story, big man. " " ... that's the whole sto- " " Who allowed you to stay at their place for the night because you didn't want to stay at your sis'? " " Yeah, it was you, but- " " And who asked me to try and wear the fucking Toiletnator mas-" " WE'RE DONE HERE! "

[sillysillygoofygoose]

Nanami Kento is the type of man you grow old with.

He could prepare your morning tea with his eyes closed after doing it daily for roughly 50 years. A lovely use of 18,000 days if you ask him.

Although you two have been married for more of your lives than you haven't, you never had the "old married couple" dynamic. Sure, there have been arguments over the years but you cherish each other more than anything. Finding no use is impractical bickering, just to pass the time.

He has always been a reliable husband, a reliable father. He always brought the kids to soccer practice and showed up to every single one of their concerts, no matter what was going on at work. All three of them, he raised with nothing but absolute adoration. Kento even helped your daughter with her first period because you were out of the house. He threw a box of pads into the bathroom, explaining how the wings are supposed to stick to the underside of her underwear. He was always protective of her, his only daughter. He rubbed her back for hours as she sobbed over her first breakup. He was furious.

Kento helped the kids study as they got older, guiding them through the entire process of picking a college or trade to work in. He promised them he would be proud no matter what they do, as long as they tried their best and worked hard.

As much as he loves them, there was a newfound peace in the house after the youngest moved out. A bittersweet silence filled the mostly empty home. However, he always had you to fill the missing pieces in his heart.

He retired at 65 after working a long, draining career. You were so happy for him, seeing him finally be able to let himself sleep past 6 am even though he still grunted the same as he got out of bed.

Years passed as did memories, and Kento loved you more and more every day. He still woke you up with a kiss on the forehead every morning. He thinks you're beautiful. As you aged, you worried. Worried that Kento would fall out of love with you. That couldn't be further from the truth. Wrinkles, shaky hands, gray hair slowly turning white... he loves it all. Your smile never changed.

Kento enjoys the simplicity of his older years. He sits with his glasses on, playing sudoku as you sort out both of your pills for the week. To stay active, you go for walks around the neighborhood, holding his arm while you enjoy the fresh air. Sometimes there's conversation, sometimes there's not. Comfortable silence is never condemned, never taken personally.

The two of you end every day sitting on the porch watching the sunset, sometimes with your sweet grandchildren, but usually just the two of you.

After dinner, you still put on your favorite record and slow dance in the kitchen, just like you did in your very first apartment. He holds you the very same.

Hope you enjoyed! Xoxo

[risingsoleil]

Tenzin being a girl dad as usual

It was his firstborn's first week of school.

Oh, how she's growing up so fast. Already 4 years old with a strong personality like her mother.

Tenzin waits with Oogi outside of the elementary school. Some of the older classes have been dismissed and a few children point at him and stare in awe at his tattoos.

"Mommy, he has a blue arrow on his face!"

"Daddy, why does he have an upside down peepee on his forehead?"

Tenzin gives the kid a flat look. Maybe he needs to add a hood to the robe. Hey, now that's not a bad idea....it might make his robes look more ✨ mysterious ✨

Then he sees his tiny baby in her light green clothes with Air Nation and SWT pins.

Tenzin beams and grins, waving his hands at her.

"Dadddyyyy!!" Meilin exclaims, waving an arm back at him. Any second now she will bolt into his arms with her little backpack and....

Who is the fuck is that?

A tiny boy the same height as his daughter is HOLDING HER HAND. How dare he.

Meilin practically skips over with the little boy attached to her hand.

Tenzin stands up, not caring that his extremely tall demeanor would probably frighten the boy. He peers between Mei and this kid.

"Who is this?" he asks tightly.

Mei giggles and leans her head on the boy's shoulder. "We're getting married, Daddy!!"

"No, you're not. You're 4."

His daughter remains unbothered. "I'm marrying him."

"I said no." Tenzin breaks their hands apart and Mei gasps. Her mouth is open in shock.

When she tries to reach for her friend's hand, Tenzin stomps his foot as if the earth will listen to his command.

"Mei, first of all, boys are gross."

Mei glares at him. "He's not gross." She hops over to the boy and kisses his cheek, raising a soft blush on his cheeks. "See, Daddy?"

"No! You can't do that!"

"Yes, I can!" she throws back sassily. "Mommy lets me!"

Tenzin froze.

Mommy let's her kiss boys?! Mommy is part of this conspiracy and betrayal? How could Mommy do that to him? Mommy is allowing their baby to get married?!

Mommy knew about this and kept it from him?! How could she?

Preposterous.

He's going to have a word with his wife as soon as they get home.

Tenzin huffs. "You're not allowed to have boyfriends or get married until you're 50."

"You and Mommy aren't 50!"

"That's not the point! You're a baby! And we are going home now!" Tenzin bends some wind so that Oogi can come closer and also blow this other 4 year old boy away. "Say goodbye to your friend."

Mei glares at him.

Tenzin glares at her.

Mei looks at her boyfriend.

She pulls him and kisses him on the lips.

Tenzin almost yeeted the boy.

----------------------

Lin is waiting patiently at home for her husband to return home with their daughter.

She hears Oogi land on the courtyard and the bickering already.

Their footsteps enter the main house and Lin is in the kitchen preparing some snacks for Jin.

"How did it go?" she asks innocently.

"She's going to become an acolyte!"

"No, I'm not! I'm getting married, Mommy!!"

Lin tries not to laugh in front of them. "So Daddy met your husband?"

Tenzin almost murders her with his eyes.

"Yes! And he almost kicked him!"

"Tenzin!"

"I did no such thing. There was a sudden wind from Oogi."

"Daddy's lying!"

"I'm sure he is," LIn agreed. She brings out some sweet buns. "Want some?"

Mei jumps and skips over to Lin. "Yes! Yes!" She grabs two and stuffs her mouth with one.

"What do you say?" Tenzin asks.

"Thmph yuuu, Mamiiii!"

"When you're done, go wash up and change your clothes, okay?"

"Okay!"

Tenzin walks over to Lin. "Why didn't you tell me our daughter has a boyfriend?"

"Tenzin, it's not a big deal. She's 4."

"But you didn't tell me!"

"What is there to tell? It's just a phase. So don't make her become an acolyte if she doesn't want to."

Tenzin grunts and crosses his arm. "And you let him kiss her, too?"

"She's the one kissing him, Airhead."

"Doesn't make a difference to me."

Lin put a hand on her hip, a mix of amusement and confusion spiralling in her mannerisms. "You're such a hypocrite."

"How?"

"You were basically saying the same thing when you were 4. What's the difference?"

"That's different!" Tenzin argued.

Lin raised her chin. "How?"

"Because this is our baby!"

Lin raised a brow. "So if our son has a girlfriend when he starts school next year, then you're going to make sure they break up?"

"Well, that's...I suppose so...but it's not the same---"

"Don't give me that double standard BS, Airhead."

Tenzin crosses his arms and frowns, avoiding Lin's eyes.

"Got it?" she asks.

"Hmph."

Tenzin takes a closer step to Lin.

Then smacks her ass.

Lin smacks his ass back.

[jelestes]

the one where olivia falls in love

casey x olivia — oneshot/headcanon

₊ ⊹

gun to her head, olivia never thought she’d fall in love in her late 50s let alone for someone she secretly knew — at some capacity — was the one in her mid 30s.

once casey was back full time — as their DA this time — she knew she couldn’t ignore the feelings the same way she did the first time they worked together, she tried for the first few months but true to be told she didn’t quite understand that this was what she was doing, olivia has never the best in understanding her own feelings, victims? victims she could read like a book but herself? that was a whole other story.

casey novak’s name was in no way unknown to olivia’s therapist, dr. smith had heard about the red-haired attorney a couple times before, her name came up almost immediately when the doctor asked olivia about her past relationships with women, back when benson first started questioning her sexuality.

the day dr.smith suggested to olivia that she could be picking up fights with casey just to avoid feeling other feelings for her — romantic ones, to be precise — olivia was livid, she left that office promising herself not to come back. it couldn’t be it. she liked women yes, they were past that, but not casey.

casey was a know it all, stubborn, annoying attorney who wasn’t afraid to give olivia hell when she thought she was in the wrong.

she also happened to be smart, funny and kind — not only to the victims — but to olivia as well, even when she was the one giving casey hell, even when it was undeservingly so.

god, she confused the hell out of olivia.

one minute she wanted to rip her a good one the same minute she wanted to rip her clothes off.

and those lips? god, olivia caught herself staring at them more times she was willing to admit. she was furious that she couldn’t kiss them she was equally as furious that casey was always the one questioning her authority, making her question her once steady believes, she hated that casey fierceness moved her, that it made her grow. she hated so much that she…loved it.

is safe to say that olivia returned to dr.smith’s office next thursday, a lot less angry but also a lot more confused.

it’s been a year since that thursday now.

she has a cup of coffee in her hands, a certain red haired DA lying next to her and a smile so huge in her face you’d have to look twice to be sure that’s really olivia benson.

they’re still adjusting to the whole living together thing, working on weekly schedules and dividing chores like who picks noah up from softball practice (his new hobby being a courtesy of the DA) or who makes — ok, in olivia’s case order — dinner.

they still bicker from time to time but mostly about work related stuff specially when they can’t see things eye to eye, but they now have a better solution to get rid of their tension filled arguments besides communication, obviously.

casey is gentle, gentler than olivia could’ve ever expected. she cries at family commercials, she laughs at old cartoons (god only knows how much olivia loves the sound of casey’s laughter), she loves early morning runs, she loves kids but specially olivia’s kid. she teaches him softball, she helps with his non math related — because casey sucks at math — homework and let him help in the kitchen whenever she makes dinner. noah loves casey too, for all of the above but mainly because she makes his mom happy.

olivia never thought she could find that kind of happiness, she’s seen the worst in people for too long, been alone for too long, repressed herself for too long but god once casey’s lips are on hers, when they’re giggling the wine away on their date nights, when casey sings — awfully off key — in her shower, when she holds baby nicky, when she teaches noah something law related, when she’s ripping a perp a good one on the stand, when she’s playing softball, when she’s tracing her skin with soft kisses, when she kisses her goodnight and good morning olivia can’t help but laugh at herself, how on earth could she had ever lived without this before? now all she hopes, no, she prays, is she will never have to live without it again.

[aetherdoesthings]

Hey I love the way you write Robin in your story's so i was wondering how would reader react to Robin who got turned into a child, but she still has her memory of a 30 year old... please

hey! thanks for the compliment 😊

forethoughts: woah aether posts consecutively?! anyways, planning to do a beiguang smut or nico robin x fem!reader smut sometime soon. idk that could be my 100 follower special? whichever one y'all want.

notes: gn!reader, comedy? idk it's just my sense of humor.

It was a normal day on the Sunny. Well, normal for you. Normal as in Nami was chasing Luffy around, Zoro bickering with Sanji, Usopp and Chopper in a game of ‘who can get hurt faster’. You excluded yourself from the madness, finding refuge in the private library only you and Robin had access to.

Ah, the privileges you got for being the partner of the resident Straw hat archaeologist.

You were sitting cross legged on the carpeted ground, organizing the bookshelves and dusting the shelves as Robin had requested. As you finished the last row, the door clicked open, before shutting with a bang.

A smile formed on your face at the sound of your girlfriend’s arrival. You stood up, turning around to greet the love of your life. “Robin! I didn’t know you were back so soon. I thought you were-” 

A shriek was ripped out of your mouth, as you stumbled back, staring at the figure in front of you. A small petite girl, a third your height was standing in front of the door. She had jet black hair with ocean blue eyes, brows furrowed and a familiar frown on her face. You recognized those ocean blue eyes; you couldn’t ever forget the sight of tranquility in eons. But those eyes didn’t belong on the face of a dwarf.

“What in the fuck?” You stammered, staring at the girl. “How did you get on board?! A pirate ship? Do you know where you are, kid?!”

“Y/N, it’s me. It’s Robin.” The girl squealed, taking a step towards you. You instinctively took a step back, a hand absentmindedly reaching for the sword on the desk. Robin? What in the fuckknuckles? Who does this girl think she is, walking onto the Sunny and proclaiming to be my girlfriend? 

“No, no, nope. Robin, first of all, is thrice your height, and her voice is WAY lower than yours.” Your voice cracked, leaking with hesitancy. This girl, wherever she came from, was NOT your girlfriend. You were 50% sure. 

“Y/N, please, put down the sword.” NotRobin took another step closer to you, desperation cracking through that surprisingly familiar stoic expression. “Ask me anything. I promise I’m Robin.”

“Okay. Okay. Fine.” You placed the weapon back on the desk, staring down at the kid. “If you’re Robin, use your devil fruit power.”

NotRobin let out a sigh, closing her eyelids. She raised her arms, crossing them in front of her chest. Like a seed germinating, a hand sprouted from your chest, the duplicate fingers flicking your forehead before disappearing with a flower petal. You stumbled back, placing a hand on where the duplicate hand was. That flick had sent your soul out of your body, leaving you paralyzed with shock and confusion. It wasn’t after a while your soul came back, as you faced MaybeRobin, her arms folded on top of each other under her chest, a smug smile on her face.

“T-That was unnecessary!” You managed to regurgitate out.

“Still don’t believe me?” MaybeRobin let out a small chuckle. 

Your cheeks flushed red. “W-Well! Maybe you somehow have the devil fruit ability to replicate other devil fruits, and you just happen to know it’s Robin’s devil fruit!”

“Y/N, I love you, but darling your logic is still terrible.”

“Shut up!” You stammered, while MaybeRobin had a devious smile on her face. Of course MaybeRobin was relishing in your embarrassment. Actual Robin would do the same. You thought to yourself.

“Okay, then.” Recomposing yourself, you faced MaybeRobin with a serious look. “If you really are Robin, who confessed first?”

“You did.” MaybeRobin answered without hesitation.

“Lucky guess. Where did I-”

“In the crow’s nest. During my turn to watch over the Sunny. You crept into the crow’s nest in the middle of my turn, and confessed, and then we stayed up there the entire night cuddling and watching the stars.” ProbablyRobin answered with a monotone voice, as if she was repeating a speech she was forced to memorize a hundred times like it was nothing.

You stared at ProbablyRobin with a shocked look, but quickly pursed your lips, not letting ProbablyRobin know she was right. “Lucky guess. If you were really really my girlfriend, you would know that-”

“You have a birthmark on your left thigh near your-”

“OKAY, OKAY. I GOT IT.” You shouted at the top of your lungs, glaring at Robin with a warning look. Robin let out a giggle, placing a hand in front of her mouth. That laugh. That laugh that caught your heart. That laugh that made you fall in love with the girl that spent her life running away from the world. Bending down, you faced your supposed girlfriend, looking into those familiar ocean blue eyes. “Riddle me this then, if you really are Robin, why are you a kid?”

“Perhaps our last fight in that laboratory had some lasting effects. I do recall one of the scientists hitting me with some sort of chemical.” Robin answered nonchalantly.

You stared at Robin, jaw glued to the floor. “YOU GOT HIT BY UNKNOWN CHEMICALS AND YOU DIDN’T GO TO CHOPPER?!”

“I went to Chopper, rest assured. He’s certain this is… whatever this is is harmless and will go away soon.” Robin smiled at you. An uneasy feeling churned in your heart, as you hesitantly placed your hands on child Robin’s shoulders.

“This is… weird.” You stated, giving Robin the same lookdowns she would always give you.

“I know. But it’ll go away soon. Everything will return back to normal.” Robin reassured.

“No, I mean, yes. Yes, this will go away soon. I’m just saying, this is weird. My girlfriend is a child.” You made a vomit sound. “I’d never imagined that sentence coming out of my mouth. Euch. Please tell me this will go away soon.”

Robin giggled. “Be glad you only said that to me, not to the others. Otherwise everyone will start seeing you in a different light.”

“Hey! Not my fault! My girlfriend right now is LITERALLY a child!”

[tightjeansjavi]

Burning in a Hopeless Dream

Boston QZ: Part 15

“They See Right Through Me”

Joel Miller x f!o/c

A/N: thank you for your patience as I took the time to write this for y’all. This was not only the longest chapter I have written, this was also the hardest, and emotionally challenging one thus far. I am extremely proud of how this has turned out. Thank you for reading ♡

Summary: Save who you can save Joel.

~word count: 11.7k~

Warnings: age gap (o/c is in her early 30’s Joel is in his 50’s) established relationship, angst, dark! Joel, mean! Joel. You’re gonna hate him by the end of this chapter! Joel, canon typical violence, death of a major character, trauma, arguments, gaslighting, PTSD, anger, rage, heart break, triggering themes that may be disturbing for some viewers. Please proceed with caution and read the warnings. (+18) minors dni !

Songs for this chapter:

“The Archer” By Taylor Swift

“You Are My Sunshine” by The Civil Wars

“Godspeed” By Frank Ocean

“Same Old Same Old” by The Civil Wars

“take a moment to breathe” by normal the kid

“My Cell” The Lumineers

“Paper Houses” by Niall Horan

“Wait” by M83

“Save Yourself” by KALEO

“It’ll All Work Out” by Phoebe Bridgers

Summer, 2023 : 5 Miles outside the QZ

“From this point forward, the three of us have to actively remember that Ellie is just a kid.” You spoke, sitting along an old crate in the abandoned building you, Joel, and Tess had found to take cover from the storm. Ellie was asleep, in the middle of the room. She used her backpack as a pillow, under a bed of moss.

Joel scoffed alongside you. His hand was still bloodied and bruised up. The thin skin of his knuckles were torn, shredded, and you were doing your best to clean out any debris embedded in the flesh. “She ain’t just a kid. She’s fuckin’ cargo to us.” He gritted out. He could feel the muscles, and tendons in his hand twitching. He had definitely broken it from the amount of times his fist made contact with the FEDRA soldiers face.

“Does she fucking look like cargo to you Joel? That’s a kid who’s life just got drastically turned upside down in a matter of hours. All she’s clearly known is Marlene, and the fireflies, and now 3 strangers.” You shook your head, refusing to make eye contact with him as you swiped a bit of 20 year old disinfectant along his knuckles, eliciting a hiss from between his lips.

“She is cargo. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you don’t let your emotions get in the fucking way. You forgetting what we’re doin’ this for? We’re doin’ this for Tommy, Gwen. We get the battery, the truck, everything Marlene promised us, and we go and find my brother. That’s the plan and it ain’t changin’ darlin’.”

“You know, if I had just met you two, I’d think you were an old married couple by the way you fuckin’ bicker together.” Tess whispered, amusement in her tone.

Joel rolled his eyes immediately in response. “Yeah?” He scoffed. “Well, we sure as hell ain’t an old married couple.”

“No, but you’re actin’ like one. At this rate, I’d put a ring on her finger sooner, rather than later Texas.”

“You see an every kiss begins with Kay or jade jewelers, or whatever the fuck around here? Cause I sure as hell ain’t seein’ any. Not to mention, that ain’t our style. Marriage? That’s hilarious Tess. Really fuckin’ funny.”

It wasn’t that Joel thought there was anything bad about marriage. It was more-so the fact the that he hadn’t had thoughts about marriage in over 20 fucking years. Besides, putting a ring on your finger seemed way too cliche. Totally not yours, or his style.

“I think I’d actually commit murder if he even attempted to put a ring on my finger.” You chimed in, your eyes were still focused on tending to Joel’s hand.

“That’s exactly 100% why you’re Joel’s girl.”

“Damn right she is.” He agreed.

“You’re both seriously beyond insufferable right now. Just wanted to let you know.” You mumbled under your breath with a small grin tugging on your lips.

A bright flash of lighting, followed by a loud crack of thunder, ended the lighthearted banter.

“Have you thought of the possibility that maybe Marlene is lying about the truck, and weapons that she promised us? Look, I have my reasons to not trust Marlene, but I really think we need to think about this from a logical standpoint. If the case ends up being there’s no truck, or weapons, we can’t just leave Ellie to fend for herself.”

Joel was ripping his hand from your grasp when you had attempted to bandage his knuckles up. He had given you a stone cold look, one that sent an unpleasant chill down your spine.

“Marlene seemed too fuckin’ desperate to make up a lie like that darlin’. Besides, Tess and I have known Marlene far longer than you have. If she says there’s a truck and weapons waiting at the state house, she ain’t lyin’ about that. The only reason you have to not trust her is because she’s a fuckin’ firefly.”

You narrowed your eyes at him as you tucked your first aid kit back into your backpack and stood up. “Yeah? Well if you remember correctly, she’s the reason why I got fucking thrown into lockup. Her and the rest of the fireflies are the reason behind that. You just want me to go along and trust her? She’s never even fucking liked me Joel.” His gaze fell upon your face as you shrugged off your jacket and gently placed it over Ellie’s curled up sleeping form just a few feet away.

“You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time Gwen. Shit fuckin’ happens. You don’t wanna trust Marlene? Go on right ahead and see where that gets you. You’ll be eating your words the second we drop this kid off and get our reward.”

You scoffed under your breath as you sank down against the wall, far away from him now with your arms crossed over your chest. “Yeah, okay Joel. Can you stop being a fucking asshole?”

“Stop saying stupid fuckin’ shit and then I won’t have a reason to be an asshole darlin’”

You bit down on the inside of your cheek, tasting copper along your tongue. You missed the moments where Joel was attentive to you, and your feelings. Where he was tender, gentle, soft with your heart. You missed that side of him desperately.

Ellie, unbeknownst to the three of you, was wide awake and listening to the entire conversation as it ensued. The second you placed your jacket over her, she felt an immediate trust for you. Especially for the fact that you emphasized that she was just a kid. She was wary of the other two you traveled with. Especially Joel. He seemed like one mean motherfucker.

Joel had taken the first watch of the night while you and Tess slept. Except, you couldn’t sleep at all. Despite how mean your partner was to you earlier, you couldn’t give him the cold shoulder forever.

He had turned his head towards you in the slightest when he could hear your boots scraping against the pavement as you stood up. He let out a soft sigh when you sank down beside him, pulling your knees up to your chest.

“Why aren’t you sleepin’ honey?” His tone was much softer now, but you didn’t want to get your hopes up.

“I don’t sleep most nights anymore Joel.”

He frowned at this and finally looked over at you, turning his body so he was facing you. His good hand was still firmly grasped around the machine gun strapped across his shoulder.

“You wanna talk about it? I’m all ears for you darlin’” he rasped.

“There’s nothing to talk about Joel. This has been going on for months. I’ve come to accept that a decent night's rest is not something attainable for me anymore. I’m on edge constantly, and for good reason.” You had your chin tucked into your shoulder as you looked over at him. The rain wasn’t as heavy anymore but there were still low rumbles of thunder in the distance.

Joel took a deep inhale through his nose, his nostrils flaring slightly as he breathed out, feeling the tension in his shoulders dissipate.

“C’mere. You ain’t have a reason to be on edge when I’m right here. Okay? Look, I know these last few months have not been ideal. Shits been handed to us left and right. I don’t want you thinkin’ that I don’t care either, alright? You know I do.” He slipped the rifle off of his shoulder before he was reaching for you, gently wrapping his good hand around your forearm, coaxing you closer.

“I know you care, Joel. I know that you’re just stressed over Tommy, and now this whole situation. I just…I got so fucking comfortable when we were just..happy. You remember that?” You didn’t fight him as he gently pulled you into his arms, holding you tightly to his chest, resting his chin along the top of your head. His arms were secured around your middle, your back pressed firmly to his chest.

“We both knew that wasn’t going to last forever baby. Those were the best moments. I ain’t forgotten them. M’sorry for the way I’ve snapped at you. I don’t know how to deal with how I’ve been feelin’ about Tommy. I know that’s not an excuse to treat ya that way. I don’t wanna lose you too..”

“We could have stayed with Bill and Frank y’know. There were so many houses and we could have had a comfortable life there. I know it sounds silly, how can anyone live comfortably in an apocalypse? Somehow Bill and Frank have. They’ve pretty much gone and done the impossible. Listen, I know you don’t mean what you’ve said. Does it hurt me? Absolutely. You’d have to do something unforgivable to lose me Joel. So please don’t go speaking like that.” You placed your hands over his, as you gently brought his damaged hand up to your lips, lightly pressing a kiss to the broken skin on his knuckles.

“Maybe we can have that one day, sweet girl. Just the two of us, okay? We’ll find a home somewhere to call ours. Maybe a couple horses, a nice big yard? A library for all your books..a decent mattress, with pillows that aren’t moth eaten. A nice big kitchen where we can cook together. We’ll have Bill, Frank, Tess, and Bea over every weekend for dinner. I’ll make sweet love to you every fuckin’ night. Doesn’t that sound wonderful baby? We’ll have that one day, I promise you. It’s just not in the cards for us right now, but that’s okay. You wanna know why? Cause no matter what, I got you, and you got me. Kay? No matter what happens.” He whispered against your hair, his eyes closed as he pictured a domestic lifestyle with you by his side. He wanted that so fucking badly with you. He could nearly taste it.

You were left feeling stunned in his arms. Joel’s confession was well thought out, tender, filled to the brim with all the little details. You could tell by his deliverance that this was not something he came up with on a whim. No, your Joel had thought about the possibility of having a normal life with you for a long long time. “No matter what happens, I got you, you got me. Always.” You whispered.

Joel tightened his grip around you slightly. He didn’t care about the throbbing pain from his freshly broken hand, or the impending reality that your lives had drastically changed in a matter of hours. He just wanted to make sure you got a decent night of sleep finally.

So, he sang. Just above a whisper, the same lullaby you had sung to him the night that his nightmares nearly consumed him.

“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You’ll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away. Please don’t take my sunshine away…”

You were fast asleep by the time he whispered out the last word. He held you all night long, listening intently for any sounds that could be of a threat. Even when it was Tess’s turn to take watch, he didn’t wake her either. His gun was nearby, ready to grab if needed. His eyes stayed trained on the sleeping teenager just a few feet away. Ellie, who he viewed as just being cargo to transport.

By morning's impending approach, the storm had since passed on. The sky was painted in an array of pink, red, and orange hues. Although a sight to behold, a red sky at dawn was never a good sign. The old saying goes, red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky at morning, sailors warning.

The four of you had no inclination to predict that this was Tess’s last day walking in the living realm. Predicting the weather was something just about anyone could do. Predicting the moment someone would take their last dying breath? That was a feat impossible.

Ellie had slowly awoken to the sun's warm rays peeking through the cracks in the abandoned building. A golden butterfly fluttered above her sleeping form as her eyes slowly opened. She was still in a sleepy state as she slowly sat up, taking in her surroundings before she heard a loud creaking sound behind her.

She was greeted by a stern look from both Joel, and Tess. He was holding his assault rifle between his hands. The barrel of the gun pointed at the ground. The look he was giving the teenager was menacing enough as it was. The only kind face Ellie could find in the small space was yours.

“Morning…” she spoke, hesitation laced in her tone.

Just as she began to slowly rise from the mossy floor, Joel had lifted the gun in her direction, causing the teenager's eyes to go wide and you kicked his chair with your boot from where you stood behind him. “Joel..” you warned. He could feel your eyes glaring into the back of his skull, disapprovingly.

“If you say that she’s just a kid one more fuckin’ time.” He snapped back, keeping his gun trained on Ellie.

“Do I look like I’m infected? Seriously, can you not point that thing at me man? What, are you actually gonna shoot me?”

“Just might. Now, show us your arm. Slow. If you make any—”

“Sudden movements you’ll shoot. Yeah, I think I fucking got that part.” Ellie quipped back. She slowly lifted the sleeve of her hoodie revealing her 3 week old bite mark in the sunlight. From where the 3 of you were, it was pretty obvious this was not a fresh bite in the slightest.

“Yeah, it’s not getting any worse, is it? I’m not infected. This thing is 3 weeks old and I haven’t turned into one of those..things.”

Joel slowly lowered his gun before he slowly looked over at Tess before he let his gaze slightly drift up to you. “What the hell was Marlene doin’ with an infected kid in the first place?”

“I’m not infected. She found me after I was bitten and before you ask, no. She didn’t shoot me. She locked me up in that shit hole and had her guys test me every fucking day. They chained me to a pipe and made me recite my name and other shit back to them to see if my personality had changed. It clearly didn’t.”

“Did your shit attitude come before, or after you were bitten?” Joel asked.

You kicked the foot of his chair again, this time a little harder.

You could tell the teenager fought hard to not roll her eyes at him. “Y’know the thing I think really impressed them was the fact that I didn’t turn into a fucking monster.”

When the three of you didn’t respond, Ellie slowly rose to her feet and Joel’s gun followed. “Really man? I thought we were done with that shit. Can I just go pee now? I’ve been holding it for a while.”

Tess had grabbed an old magazine on the floor and tossed it over to the teenager. “Go ahead. You can find a nice spot back there.”

Ellie caught the magazine before she started to walk towards the back room to do her business. “There’s not gonna be anything bad in here?”

“Just you.”

Once Ellie was out of sight, you nearly wanted to rip Joel’s gun from his hands but refrained as you crossed your arms over your chest with a sigh. “She made it through the fuckin’ night, Joel. I think you can cut it out with pointing the gun at her. She’s clearly not a threat to any of us.”

“It doesn’t fuckin’ matter. It’s gonna happen sooner or later. Maybe her body just has a late response to the cordyceps. She can’t be trusted. I told you this was a bad fuckin’ idea to begin with and now that we know she’s infected, you still think we’re gonna follow through with this?”

“You saw her arm, Joel. If she was infected it would have looked completely different. We’ve seen what infected bite marks look like and she is not one of them.”

“Yeah well I ain’t about to go and take that chance. We’re close enough to the wall. We can sneak her back into the QZ and we’ll just find a different way to get the battery. I ain’t hauling an infected kid around with us.”

“We take her back to the QZ and they’re gonna kill her. FEDRA see’s that bite mark and she’s through. You really wanna have a kid's blood on your hands like that?”

“Do you hear yourself right now Gwen? You’re actin’ like this kid has some fuckin’ life ahead of her or somethin’. We take her back to the QZ and get the battery a different way.”

“What happened to fiercely believing in the fact that Marlene is gonna have a whole truck and weapons waiting for us if we bring her to the state house? You’re just gonna go and abandon that?”

“You should be jumping for joy over the fact that we’re finally fuckin’ agreeing on somethin’ for once. An infected kid is not worth the possibility of that truck, or the weapons we were promised.”

“I’m with Gwen on this one.” Tess finally spoke as Joel whipped his around suddenly to look at her, narrowing his eyes.

“You’re what?”

“You heard me Texas. I don’t think I need to repeat it.” She spoke without looking at him just as Ellie had returned. “You hungry kid? You can share some of ours.”

“Thanks. Marlene sent me with my own.” Ellie spoke as she sank down into the moss, pulling out what appeared to be a chicken sandwich from her backpack.

“Is that chicken?” You asked, feeling your mouth water at the sight of something besides the dried, tasteless jerky the three of you were eating.

“Yep. Marlene said they get it from smugglers..guess not you guys.” She smirked a little as she took a bite of her sandwich.

Tess was already up and out of her chair and Joel had tried to stop her but she pushed him away. “Why are you so important to Marlene? Hm? Don’t even think about lyin’ to me kid. If you do, we’ll take you back to the QZ.”

“Well..you take me back and you don’t get your battery.” Ellie responded.

“Ohh. So you got a good set of ears on you huh? Well, then I’m sure you heard that he wants to shoot you then right?”

Ellie no longer possessed a smirk on her face as she slowly looked up at Joel’s displeased face. “So then why hasn’t he shot me already? If what you’re saying is true.”

“Trying to change the subject isn’t gonna do you any good either. So I’m gonna talk to you like an adult, alright? Joel and I aren’t good people. We’re doin’ this for us because apparently you’re worth somethin’ to Marlene, whatever that may be. So if I were you, I’d drop the smart ass attitude because his patience? It’s wearing mighty thin. I suggest you answer my question. Why are you so important to Marlene?”

“What about her? Is she not a good person either?” Ellie spoke, gesturing her head towards you.

“Gwen? Let’s just say..she’s better than the two of us but not by much. Sweet face, sure. Knows how to wield a knife like it’s the fuckin’ back of her hand.”

“That’s badass.”

“Answer her question, Ellie. It’s alright.” You spoke softly, earning a disapproving look from your lover.

“Okay..well, Marlene told me not to tell anyone and here I am telling the three of you..” she sighed, rubbing her hand over her face. “There’s a Firefly base camp somewhere out west with doctors. They’re working on a cure.”

“Oh of course they are. Yeah, sure I’ll believe it. This ain’t the fuckin’ first time we’ve heard about a possible cure. It’s all horse shit.” Joel muttered under his breath.

“So whatever happened to me is—”

“The key to finding the vaccine. That’s what they all fuckin’ say and guess what? They’ve tried to find a cure numerous times and ain’t nothin’ worked. It’s the same goddamn thing every single—”

Ellie rose to her feet in a fury, staring at Joel head on. “Fuck you, man. I didn’t ask for this.”

“You and me fuckin’ both. We’re wastin’ daylight the more time we spend talkin’ on this nonsense. I’m done. Pack your shit up and let’s go. We’re takin’ you back to the QZ.”

Tess let out a sigh, running her fingers through her hair. “Let’s just finish this Joel. We get what we want regardless. We take her back, and we risk all 4 of us getting shot. I don’t know about you, but I still have some life worth livin.’”

Joel clenched his jaw tightly, breathing in deeply through his nose. This was not a good idea. However, we was now outnumbered by two. “If she so much as fuckin’ twitches—”

He was cut off by the obnoxious sounds of Ellie portraying a clicker. Making the snarling clicking sounds as she contorted her limbs at an uncomfortable angle.

“Ellie don’t.” You warned her.

She rubbed the back of her neck, clearing her throat as she nodded, “okay..”

The 4 of you gathered up your things to head out and just as Joel was lifting his rifle from the ground, slinging the strap over his shoulder, Ellie asked if she too could have a gun.

“Can I have a gun?”

“Absolutely fuckin’ not. Not a chance in hell.” Was Joel’s immediate response.

“Okay, Jesus fuck. Fine. I’ll just throw a fuckin’ sandwich at them or something.” She muttered under her breath as she threw her backpack strap over her shoulder.

As the 4 of you stepped out into the warm sunlight, you watched as Ellie looked around the ruined city in amazement. Buildings half fallen over, taken hostage by thick vines and moss. There were giant craters, the size of small moons, where the government had sent bombs to slow down the rate of the infected.

Joel had come to a halt in front of the impassable wreckage blocking a quick path to the State House. “Long way or short way?”

“It’s the long way or the ‘we’re fuckin’ dead way.’” Tess added.

“Long way it is then. We’ll have to go check from the hotel first. See if the coast is clear. C’mon.” You were leading the way now, while Ellie walked alongside you, Tess in the middle, and Joel in the back.

You and Ellie engaged in small talk. You genuinely wanted the kid to feel somewhat comfortable with this entire situation and Ellie seemingly appreciated your efforts. She told you how she had gotten bit and you had to admit, this kid was pretty ballsy for her age. “Well, I mean, you got some balls on you, sister, that’s for fucking sure.”

“Thanks.” She had a grin creeping up on her face.

“Soo..no one is gonna come looking for you right? Mom, dad?..boyfriend?..”

“Uhhh well, I’m an orphan and nope.”

You could feel Joel’s eyes on the back of your skull as he walked behind you, shaking his head at your efforts to befriend this cargo.

“See, everyone told me the big open city was gonna be crazy! Infected runnin’ around everywhere. Are we even gonna see any? Cause I’ve heard there’s like super-infected that explode fungus spores on you! Is that not true?”

“Shit, I hope not. Those sound fuckin’ terrifying.” You said with a small grin.

“Okay, what about the ones that have their heads split open and can see in the dark like bats?”

“You mean clickers? Yeah, there’s lots of those. They’re the most common type that we’ve come across. Not the hardest to kill, but they use echolocation—” you were cut off by the sound of a loud, distant animalistic yell coming from deep within the fallen city.

On instinct, Joel was close to your side, looking around as you waited for another yell to follow. The only sound you could hear was a crow perched on a tree nearby.

“Let’s keep movin’” Joel spoke as he gave you a gentle nudge forward.

As you approached the hotel, Ellie had her own set of questions for you as she kicked at the stray rubble beneath her red, worn sneakers.

“So is he like..your boyfriend or somethin’?”

“My boyfriend? Well, no. Not exactly. I wouldn’t call him that if I’m being honest.”

“But you’re like together, right? I think that part is pretty obvious.”

“Yeah, we are. Just don’t think he’d particularly enjoy me calling him my boyfriend. It’s not really his taste.”

“Well, no offense to you, he doesn’t seem like the boyfriend type anyway.”

This elicited a light laugh to slip past your lips as you covered it by coughing into the sleeve of your jacket. “Oh, you’re right on the money with that one, kid. He is far from the boyfriend type.”

“But he’s like your partner then?..Your person?”

“Yeah, something along those lines. I wouldn’t go as far to put us into a box, y’know?”

“I understand..what about Tess? Does she have anyone?”

“Back in the QZ she does. She has a girlfriend named Beatrix.”

“Wicked.”

“You two done chit chattin’ up there?” Joel spoke, distaste evident in his tone.

“Yeah, we’re just makin’ the time pass is all.”

“Oh yeah? Well ain’t that fuckin’ nice for you two.” He scoffed as he walked ahead of you, stopping at the foot of the stairs looking into the overflowing of water into the once hotel lobby.

“Is he always this grumpy?” Ellie leaned over and whispered to you.

“Oh, this isn’t even the worst that you’ve seen of it, kid. Trust me.”

The 4 of you started to trudge through the green, murky water to get to the other side of the lobby. Ellie being the kid that she was, wandered off to the side when she saw what used to be the front desk and pressed on the bell a few times as she leaned over the counter. “Ding! Ding! Yes, sir. I would like your finest suite, please.” “Yes, ma’am. Would you like me to take your luggage?”

“You’re a weird kid.” Joel watched her with a quizzical expression etched on his weathered features.

“You’re a weird kid.” Ellie sarcastically responded back, nearly sticking her tongue out at him as she pushed the luggage trolley forward.

A very deceased human Skeleton slipped out from behind the trolley and scared the living daylights out of the teen. Much to yours, and Ellie’s surprise, Joel was at her side immediately, gun raised in the direction of the apparent threat.

She’s just cargo, my ass. Was the first thought that came to your mind.

Joel had offered Ellie his hand as he helped her up but as soon as their hands touched, he was ripping his away from her grasp, staring down at it momentarily with a hard expression on his face. Perhaps it was from the fact that his hand was still freshly broken. Or there was a possibility he was shocked that he even allowed himself to touch someone who was ‘infected.’

After climbing 10 flights of stairs, you were met with another obstacle that was definitely not present the last time you had come through this way. “What the fuck man. This definitely wasn’t here last time, was it?” You asked, bent over slightly as you were catching your breath.

“No, it sure as hell wasn’t. Maybe we can try one of the doors?” Tess walked past you, trying the two doors with no luck.

“Damn. Well, maybe we can go climb through it and work our way around?”

“It’s worth a shot.”

Joel had pushed Ellie to the side then, before giving you a boost up over the rubble before you helped Tess over the side, grasping her forearms as you pulled her up.

“Just be careful, alright?” He spoke as he slowly sat down on an abandoned suitcase across from Ellie.

“Yeah yeah. We’ll be fine, cowboy. Just keep an eye on the kid.” You peeked your head out from a gap in the rubble and gave him a reassuring nod, and a subtle wink.

Ellie sat across from him, flipping her switchblade and catching it by the handle each time.

“That’s a nice knife you got there. Where’d you learn to do that?” Joel asked.

“The circus.” Ellie deadpanned.

Joel let out a deep sigh, looking off to the side as he tried to figure out why he even bothered to make small talk with a teenager.

“Where are you from?” Ellie asked.

“Texas.” He gruffly responded.

“What about Tess and Gwen?”

“Detroit. It’s in Michigan and Gwen is from Chicago.”

“I go to school, smart ass. I know where Detroit is. Chicago has that giant fucking bean, right? Always wanted to see it.”

“Yeah, I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it. She’s obsessed with it. No fuckin’ clue why.”

“Uh huh. So you two like a—” Ellie already knew the answer, thanks to you. She was just slightly curious to see what Joel would respond with.

“Pass.”

“Oh well cause she told me you guys were—”

“Pass.”

“How’d you end up in Boston?”

“Pass.”

“So what am I supposed to do? Talk to a fuckin’ brick wall? Fuck. She was right, you are grumpy all the time.”

“She what? God dammit Gwen.” He growled lowly under his breath. “No more questions about me, alright? That’s enough.”

“Alright, grumpy. How long do infected live?”

Joel whipped his head back around towards her, narrowing his eyes before he chuckled, “Oh, I thought you went to school.”

“Yeah, well..it’s a really shitty one.”

“Some of ‘em last about a month or two. There’s others that have been walkin’ around ‘bout 20 years.”

“Yeah? You ever kill one?”

Joel nearly scoffed at this question, almost offended that this kid even assumed that he hadn’t killed any.

“Yeah, I have killed lots of ‘em.”

“Was it hard killing them?..like, knowing they were people once? Has it ever bothered you?..”

Joel was slightly taken aback by her question. He often did forget that the infected used to be everyday people he would see on the street. Sometimes he would be forced to face humanity, and realize that he was in a sense, killing people. He wasn’t a total monster like many would have assumed him to be. He just wasn’t the most open with sharing personal details about himself.

“Sometimes. It’s easy to forget that they were once people when they’re comin’ at you with one goal in mind; to turn you into one of ‘em. So you gotta decide if it’s gonna be you, or them. You think I survived this long without havin’ to kill?” He sighed as he leaned back against the wall. “I ain’t exactly proud of it, but it’s what you gotta do to survive. It's always either gonna be you, or them.”

“What about that guy last night?”

Just as Joel was going to respond, he could hear rustling just outside the door and he was up in a flash with his gun aimed at the door.

“You can put the gun down, cowboy. It’s just us. Relax.” You spoke through the door as you pushed it open, revealing you and Tess on the other side. From the looks on your faces alone, Joel could tell that something was definitely wrong.

“What now? Did you guys see something?”

“Yeah, and you’re not gonna like it. Not one bit I’m afraid.” You confirmed.

“Fuckin’ fantastic.” He grumbled as he gently nudged past you and Tess followed by Ellie.

Shortly after, the 4 of you were standing over the ledge of the hotel, looking down at a shrieking hoard of infected, writhing on the ground below. You were standing alongside Joel, noticing that he was nervously fidgeting with his fingers and picking at the skin around his cuticles. You gently grabbed his hand, interlocking your fingers together as you gave his hand a light, reassuring squeeze.

“The last time we were here, there weren’t nearly this many of them. Most of them were still deep inside the buildings. Guess enough people came wanderin’ through looking for the QZ. They found themselves seeking shelter..went inside the buildings and that’s how they get more of the fuckin’ city bit by bit, year after year.” Tess stated, glancing over at you and Joel momentarily before looking at Ellie.

“What’re we gonna do?” You spoke quietly to him, gently stroking your thumb across the outside of his hand, leaning in close to his tall frame.

“We’re gonna have to go through the museum. We ain’t have another choice darlin.’”

“That was nearly a suicide mission the last time we went through..remember?”

“Yeah, but there’s a chance whatever is left of ‘em is dead by now. If it gets dicey, we split and figure out another way, alright? Right now, this is our only option and I ain’t lookin’ forward to it either.” he pressed a quick kiss to your forehead, just a smidge of affection that it seemed like you both needed.

“They’re connected in more ways than you know. The fungus also grows underground. Long fibers, like wires. They’re all entwined under the surface and if you step on a patch of cordyceps in one place, you can awake a dozen infected somewhere else. They know where you are and it’s only a matter of minutes before they find you. You’re not immune from being ripped apart, kid.” Tess explained.

Ellie was fully listening, soaking up all the information that Tess was providing her. The situation at hand was becoming all too real for her 14 year old self.

“We have to go through the museum. It’s the short-way and not the most ideal, nor the safest, but we ain’t have much of a choice.” Joel spoke up, letting go of your hand as he stepped forward.

“I had a really bad feelin’ you were gonna come to that conclusion Texas.” Tess spoke with a sigh.

Ellie’s eyes nearly bugged out of her skull when she saw the amount of fungus tendrils stretched across the expanse of the outside structure of the museum. The colors were faded, not nearly as vibrant as freshly infected. Despite their obvious expiration, the building still looked ominous and uninviting.

“You’re fuckin’ kidding me. We seriously have to go through there? You sure there’s not another way man? This is screaming ‘DANGER’ like c’mon, aren’t the lights flashing in your brain right now too? Cause mine are like fuckin’ sirens.”

Joel ignored the teen as he bent down, inspecting one of the thick strands of fungus. He used the butt of his gun to stab at it to check and see if it was in fact dead. “It’s bone dry. Good chance that they’re all finally fuckin’ dead in there.” He was already pulling his flashlight out from his bag while you and Tess were pulling out your guns.

“I have a spare hand y’know.” Ellie stated the obvious.

“Congratulations.” Joel responded.

He was the first to enter the museum, rifle at the ready. When he deemed it was safe enough to enter, he turned his head towards the opening of the door and gave you a quick nod to follow.

Once the 4 of you were inside the museum, Ellie’s pupils had blown out when she saw just how much fungus coated the walls, floors, and pretty much any inanimate object. It was everywhere.

Joel was still extremely cautious where he stepped, shining his flashlight along the fungus infested floor. It appeared that the once living infected, were all deceased by now. That was until Ellie stumbled upon a fresh kill and let out a surprised, “oh shit!”

Joel was immediately stepping around her, gun raised and his face immediately fell as he looked over at you and Tess. So, maybe they weren’t all dead after all. Or maybe this guy was attacked outside the museum and just found himself to be in an unlucky situation.

The three of you began to talk in a hushed whisper over the situation. Ellie could barely decipher what was being said from how low your voices were but she caught onto the bit of the conversation regarding ‘not hearing them’ what the hell were they going on about? What were they listening for? As far as she was concerned, the museum was deathly silent.

“I don’t hear anything. Who, or what would you hear?” Ellie had suddenly asked. Joel’s response was to raise his hand off his gun, giving her a warning look to shut the fuck up with his eyes alone.

“Did an infected person do that? Cause I was attacked by one and it sure as hell didn’t do that. Dude is all torn up. I’ve never seen anything like it.” She whispered.

“Okay, from this point forward, we are silent. Not quiet. Silent.” He emphasized heavy on the silent part as he looked sternly at Ellie. He held no concern over you and Tess being silent but this kid was already becoming a nuisance in his eyes. “You got that? Not one single fuckin’ sound. This isn’t funny business, kid. This is the real fuckin’ world.” He harshly whispered.

“What—”

“No. No questions. Just do what I say, alright? You wanna live to see another day, don’t you? Exactly. That’s what I thought.” He whispered as he lowered his gun and took a few silent steps to the side, locking eyes with you for a moment. Your Joel never usually showed fear. He was able to encase it well behind his hardened features. A furrow of his brow, the quirk of his upper lip, all used as decoys. Even in the low lighting, you could see his face etched with fear. Just as fast as it appeared, it was gone again, hidden behind the vast ridges of his weathered skin.

Joel had taken the lead while you silently stepped behind him, keeping your finger hovering over the trigger of your gun, ready to react if need be. You glanced back at Ellie and gave her a reassuring nod to follow you while Tess walked behind her. Despite how quiet you all were being, the old floor boards were creaking with every step your boots took.

The stairway was absolutely covered with now bone dry fungus. You couldn’t even see where the next step started from how dense the fungus was. It creeped up the walls, over paintings and the railings of the staircase. You watched Joel’s footing as he carefully stepped over a mound of once living infected. You couldn’t even make out their faces as the fungus had completely morphed them to be unidentifiable.

The sickening crunch of a once human hand beneath Ellie’s shoe had Joel whipping around, shining his flashlight that was attached to the rifle at the teenager. He gave her one long look before he turned away from her and continued to head up the stairs.

A few more steps up and Joel was at the opening of the doorway, slowly pushing it open as you waited for his silent cue. Just as he had given it to you with a slight nod of his head, some of the building's structure began to collapse and crumble as you, Tess, and Ellie stumbled inside before the debris could crush the three of you.

Joel was reaching down grasping the kids arm as he quickly helped her up from the dusty floor while you helped Tess up.

Then there was a loud screech, one that you had heard far too many times. It still sent deep chills down your spine.

click click click click

Ellie was slowly backing towards a wall, her eyes wide with fear as she tried to steady her nervous breaths.

Out from the shadows, illuminated by the steady, bright beam of Joel’s flashlight was a clicker. Its head was completely split open by the cordyceps. The brain cavern was taken over by the fungus. Thick, putrid and brightly colored. Clickers could not see, as they were blinded by the fungus, but they could hear, and they could hear very well.

Its body contorted at an uncomfortable angle as it clicked and snarled.

Another screech was heard;two clickers.

Joel was already quickly nudging you against the glass case. His face constricted painfully in your view. This was not an ideal situation to be in. Not one fucking bit.

Ellie was in his direct eyesight and he quickly mouthed to her, “they can’t see, but they can hear.”

The clicker let out a loud, bone chilling growl from the other side of the glass case. You found yourself squeezing your eyes shut momentarily, holding your gun firmly against your chest.

Don’t make a sound. Don’t move. Don’t make a sound. Don’t move.

Joel had slowly brought his pointer finger to his lips, keeping his eyes locked on Ellie to keep her calm.

You could feel the teenager's anxiety, and fear rising with every second and you silently pleaded with her to stay strong.

Joel had turned his head slightly as the clicker stumbled around the side of the glass display case. It was so close you could nearly feel its putrid breath on your skin.

Ellie had let a sharp breath slip past her lips and it was loud enough for the clicker to hear her.

It all happened in a flash as the clicker turned around and screeched loudly before it lunged. Joel had gotten a few shots into its body from where he stood, but it wasn’t nearly enough to inflict any serious damage. “RUN!” he yelled as the other clicker appeared from the shadows. You shot at it once before grabbing Ellie’s arm firmly in your grasp.

Tess had taken a couple more shots before she followed behind you. The three of you ran around the corner, hearts racing and blood fiercely pumping. The clicker was hot on your tail and gaining on you quickly. In one quick movement, you shoved Ellie to the ground, ordering her to crawl to safety.

You and Tess turned to shoot again, but neither of you had time to aim and wasting bullets was the last thing you wanted to do.

You both could hear a loud crash from the other side of the room and Joel’s heavy boots before everything went silent again.

click click click click

Joel had taken cover behind another glass cabinet as he quickly unloaded and reloaded his small pistol. His senses were on overdrive when he heard the low clicks approaching. His eyes squeezed shut momentarily, thinking that his cover was blown.

The clicker had let out a low snarl before it stalked in the other direction and he could barely make out Ellie’s crouched form behind the tarnished glass.

His footsteps were quiet, calculated and precise as he moved from his hiding spot and crouched beside Ellie. He had no other choice but to get her out of this situation. It was almost as if in those crucial moments, his protective nature had completely taken over. He was going to get this kid out of here, unscathed if it was the last thing he ever did.

Him and Ellie silently communicated with their eyes alone. One tilt of his head and she was quietly moving along the side of the glass case, following his lead. Just when he thought they were in the clear, something had crunched beneath his boot. It was stray shards of glass. His blood ran cold at the crunching sound. Neither him, nor Ellie had time to react as the clicker lunged over the glass case and threw itself on them.

You could hear Joel’s grunts and Ellie’s terrified screams from where you stood behind a nearby wall. You were going to have to act fast if you were to save them both.

bang bang bang

Joel had pumped the clicker with lead, causing it to stumble backwards, allowing him and Ellie to scramble to their feet.

You peeked around the corner, taking aim at the clicker's head before you pulled the trigger and sent it stumbling to the ground. Even after its body hit the floor with a sickening thud, Joel pulled his own trigger a few more times till it was no longer moving.

The second clicker came charging out of the blue, but didn’t make it far as Tess had thrown an ax at its neck, and you finished it off with a bullet to the head.

Once the apparent threat was deceased, everyone let out a shaky breath. From where you were standing, you could tell Tess was injured from the way she was avoiding putting too much weight on one foot. “You alright?”

“Just a twisted ankle, I’ll live. Don’t worry.” She responded.

“Fuck me.” Ellie exclaimed as she lifted up the sleeve of her hoodie and revealed a fresh bleeding bite mark along her forearm. “I mean, if it was gonna happen to one of us..”

You were at her side then and gently tugged her sleeve down. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

Tess’s final and only request

You sat alongside on the roof, pulling out a roll of duct tape from your bag as she pulled off her boot. You wasted no time to start to wrap her foot with the tape. “Just a sprained ankle you said? Nothin’ else?” You asked, looking up at the older woman momentarily.

“Yeah, just a sprained ankle Gwen. I’ll be fine.” Tess looked at you as if she was studying your features. As if she was storing your image deep inside her brain so that she wouldn’t forget you, or your face.

Joel had given the kid a piece of cloth to wrap her arm before he was crouching down on the other side of Tess. “You can walk, right? Ain’t need any help?”

She looked at him the same way she had just looked at you. She wanted to keep your memories up to the very last second. “I’m fine, Texas. Really. Go on and make sure she doesn’t accidentally kill herself or somethin.’”

He gave her a small nod before he stood back up. “Yeah, I know. It looks scary and all but it really ain’t that bad.”

Ellie turned around briefly to look at him before she responded, “no. That was scary. This is wood.” Before she stepped across the thin planks to the otherside.

You gave Tess’s arm a light squeeze before you followed after the kid, glancing back at them momentarily before you crossed over the narrow planks of wood.

“What if the first bite didn’t take? What if the second one does? We’re in way over our fuckin’ heads with this Tess. We all could have fuckin’ died back there and—” Joel was cut off by Tess snapping back at him.

“How ‘bout you just take the good news? Can you please just do that for once? None of us are dead. We’re gonna finish what we started Joel.”

He looked at her briefly, trying to decipher what had ticked her off so easily before he let out a sigh and grabbed his rifle from where it laid on the discolored roof tiles and slung it back over his shoulder.

I failed them. I failed them both. I failed Bea. Tess silently thought to herself as she pulled her knees up to her chest, taking in a few shaky breaths.

Joel crossed over the planks and stood alongside Ellie.

“Is it everything you hoped for?” He asked.

“Jury’s still out.”

“But, man, you can’t deny that view.” Ellie concluded.

You were reloading your gun off to the side, glancing over your shoulder to see Tess approaching. Her demeanor alone was a sure signal that something was off. You just couldn’t figure out what exactly had happened back there. It was going to drive you up a wall, not knowing. You were sure of it.

“C’mon, let’s get there before it’s dark. We’re wasting daylight. Let’s go.” Tess gritted out between her teeth as she was already climbing down the old steel ladder. Her erratic movements threw you off guard completely.

You stopped alongside Joel, brushing your hand across the outside of his bicep before you followed Tess and Ellie down the ladder.

Joel waited a few moments in silence as he glanced down at his broken watch strapped around his wrist before he grabbed the side of the ladder and climbed down.

They’re gonna hate me.

They’ll see right through me.

What will Bea think?

Will she think me to be dead?

I let her down too.

She’ll never know what has become of me.

I won’t turn into a monster.

I won’t become one of them.

Tess was leading the way to the state house. Her footsteps were uncharacteristically fast. She seemed on edge, nervous, sporadic.

The 4 of you were crouched behind a long abandoned car outside of the state house. There was a large military grade truck parked outside. However, there were no signs of weapons, or the fireflies.

“Where the fuck are they? Marlene said they would be here. She fuckin’ promised us.” Tess whispered.

“Everyone just stay here. Alright? Somethin’ ain’t right here.” Joel whispered back before he crept from behind the car to investigate. Once he approached the truck, the 3 of you took a bated breath as he opened the door, aiming the barrel of his gun at the inside of the truck. He was met with blood stained seats but no fireflies.

The side of the open truck door was spattered with blood dripping down the dull metal.

Something definitely was not right here.

Joel had glanced back at you and Tess, shaking his head slightly to signal that it wasn’t safe just yet as he crept around the back of the truck slowly. He took a deep, visible breath as he opened up the two heavy steel doors and was met with no signs of any passengers inhabiting the vehicle.

“What the fuck is goin’ on Joel?” Tess asked as she walked towards him, brushing off your hand along your arm.

“The fuck did I just say about stayin’ back? It ain’t safe! Why didn’t you wait for my–”

“They went inside.” Ellie confirmed from where she was standing. There was a trail of blood leading up the gravel steps to the state house. This definitely was not a good sign at all.

Tess was already heading up the steps in a fury. From where you stood, you could see her hands trembling. “Come on!”

“Tess just wait a fuckin’ minute! By the looks of it, the fireflies are dead and we ain’t gettin’ our battery!” Joel yelled at her to stop.

“Come on!” She was insistent with her tone.

You, Joel, and Ellie had no choice but to follow Tess into the state house. Once inside, you were all met with the bodies of the deceased fireflies, all in a circle in the room. Their crimson blood spilled out along the tiles, staining them in a dark red.

“I mean, there’s gotta be a fuckin’ radio or somethin’ right? Help me look for one!” Tess spoke in a rushed tone as she frantically started looking through the deceased fireflies supplies, knocking over items onto the tile below, creating all sorts of noise.

“Tess? What the fuck is going on with you?” There was an edge to your tone as you came up alongside the older woman. “Maybe Joel was right..maybe we should go back to the QZ and regroup.”

“Fuck that. We’ve made it this far, and now you want to turn back? No. Help me find a radio, Gwen! There’s gotta be one around here. There has to be!”

Joel had noticed that one of the deceased fireflies had clearly been bit as he used his boot to tilt its head to the side.

“Tess, what the fuck are you doin’?” He asked while he watched her rummage around in a fury.

“Where did Marlene say she was taking you? Ellie! Where did she fuckin’ say she was taking you?” Tess ignored Joel as she walked over to the teen and you instinctively stepped in front of Ellie.

“Uhh..I don’t know. All she told me is that she was taking me west but she didn't say where exactly.”

“Just west? Fuck. Okay. She didn’t tell you anythin’ else?” Tess wasn’t even looking at you. Her eyes were frantically searching the expanse of the room. “Well, I mean, one of them’s gotta have a map on them, right? Joel? Gwen? Can you fuckin’ help me?! Stop just standin’ around!” She snapped as she started searching for anything she could find on the deceased bodies.

“No! Tess..it’s over. We are goin’ home, alright? We are way over our heads, bit off more than we can chew. We’ll go back to the QZ and–”

“That’s not my fucking home!” Tess snapped. “I’m stayin.”

“What the hell do you mean you’re stayin’? What the hell has gotten into you?! You’re actin’ fuckin’ weird! Why won’t you even look at us?!” Joel spoke exasperatedly.

Your blood suddenly ran cold. You figured out why Tess’s behavior was so sporadic and uncharacteristic for her just as Ellie had figured it out too.

“Fuck. She’s infected.” Ellie spoke softly, the realization washing over her.

Joel looked at Tess then and felt his world suddenly begin to cave in, all at once. Just before he could open his mouth to speak, you were stepping in front of him, feeling your heart pounding out of your chest.

“No. Tell me it's not true, Tess. Fucking tell me its not true!” You pleaded with her, as Joel was already protectively pulling you back behind him.

“Show me. Show me your fuckin’ arm Tess.” He demanded and when she took a step towards him, he immediately took one back. He did his best to ignore the pained look that struck across Tess’s features.

Tess let out a sigh as she drew her hand up to the collar of her jacket and pulled the fabric back to reveal the fresh bite mark along the base of her neck, along her collar bone. You could see the veins of the fungus growing up her neck already. There was only a matter of time before she would be completely gone.

“Oops, right?” She said with a pained laugh, tears threatening to spill over.

You pushed Joel out of the way once more, you weren’t afraid of Tess. She wasn’t a monster. She was still human. She was still breathing, pumping blood through her veins. “You can’t fuckin’ die. You can’t! Tess…what about Bea? You–” Your own tears had threatened to spill over as you shakily grasped the collar of Tess’s jacket between your fingers. “This wasn’t supposed to happen to you!”

You could feel Joel grabbing your forearm, trying to yank you back. “Let me the fuck go!” You snapped, ripping your arm from his firm grasp.

Tess was hugging you, nearly knocking the air from your lungs. You could feel her entire body trembling as she held you. “You fuckin’ listen to me okay? I haven’t got much time. You protect him, okay? Please protect him Gwen. He’s going to need you more than ever now. No matter what happens, no matter what he says, please don’t leave him. Keep him safe. Please.” She whispered, squeezing you tightly.

“Tess, I–”

“Promise me Gwen. Promise me you’ll be there for him”

“I promise.” You whispered.

“Tell Bea that I love her, and I'm sorry.”

Tess released you from her grip and frantically pushed you away as she stumbled back.

She addressed Joel directly now, balling her hands into fists, to ease the trembling. “Ellie. Take your bandage off.” She asked with a shaky breath, walking over to the teen as she grabbed her forearm in a firm grip.

“This is real. Joel, she’s fucking real. Look at her arm!” She let go of Ellie’s arm and brought it down to her side. Her forearm was twitching, trembling as the cordyceps were quickly invading her nervous system.

“You get her to Bill and Franks. You load up on ammo, and you take her out West. You find Tommy and the fireflies.”

“No.”

“There is no time to fuckin’ argue with me! You take her to Bill and Franks. I’ve never asked anything of you Joel. Never asked you to feel a certain way about me.”

He went to open his mouth but she immediately cut him off.

“No. You shut the fuck up and listen to me ‘cause I don’t have time. This is your chance to do some fuckin’ good for once. To make up for all the fucked up shit we did. You keep her alive. You keep her safe. You hear me? You set everything right.”

“Tess, No. I can’t fuckin’ do that.”

“Yes you fuckin’ can Joel. Please say yes, Joel, please fucking say yes.” She pleaded with him, a stray tear rolling down her cheek .

“Oh fuck!” Ellie yelled as one of the presumed deceased bodies snarled, clawing at the ground.

Joel wasted no time to pull his gun out, aiming it at the infected and pulled the trigger, sending a bullet straight to its head as it collapsed down to the mossy floor.

fuck fuck fuck.

The tendrils of the cordycep fungus rose up between the deceased fingers, and it dawned upon you that the infected were more connected than you could possibly understand. The fungus was weaved intricately below the surface, webbed together in a firm structure.

You could hear the approaching snarls from outside the wooden doors.

They were coming.

Tess was already moving around you, using the butt end of Joel’s rifle to open up the large barrels of gasoline, spilling the flammable liquid onto the tile. She was working off pure adrenaline as she knocked over each barrel. She tossed a box filled with grenades onto the floor.

The realization that Joel was losing another person who was so important, so close to his heart, was crashing down on him. He could hear his blood pounding in his ears. His eyes and mind went blank as Tess approached him. “Joel…save who you can save.” She whispered her final plea to him. These were her last words spoken in the walking, living realm.

Joel understood, as he searched her eyes. He seared her memory into the deep cavern of his brain. He would never forget her and he refused to let her down.

In a flash he had grabbed Ellie’s arm in his one hand and yours in the other, immediately yanking both of you away from the immediate danger.

“No! We’re not leaving her! We can’t! Get off me, you fucker!” Ellie yelled as she clawed at him, trying to pull her arm from his grasp.

You stumbled after him, frantically looking over your shoulder at Tess for the very last time. She gave you a small smile, followed by a reassuring nod before her face was obstructed from your view as Joel pulled you and Ellie outside, to safety.

All you hoped for was that Tess went peacefully. That she didn’t die in fear. You hoped that she died with memories of you, Joel, and Bea. Tess deserved that. She deserved to die peacefully, painlessly. You loved her to her very last moments.

Moments after Joel pulled you and Ellie outside, there was a loud explosion of breaking glass, and bright flames. The sound had Joel throwing his body over you and Ellie protectively. You could hear the distant screams of the infected suffering in the hot flames, and billowing smoke. You hoped to god that Tess wasn’t one of those blood curdling screams.

Joel immediately had his gun raised, ready to shoot down any stray infected. There were none. They were all dead. Tess had sacrificed herself for your lives. She gave you a fighting chance and you’d never forget her bravery.

You brought your arm around Ellie’s shaken up frame, giving her a firm squeeze. You kept her close as you turned her body away from the destruction and death.

Joel had already walked away as he could feel tears begin to prick in the corner of his eyes. He quickly blinked them away as he slung his rifle over his shoulder.

The three of you were dead silent as you walked into the nearby woods. Your mind felt numb, and your heart was raw. Tess had so much more life ahead of her to live. She had friends, a lover, and a purpose. She was smart, witty, and brave. She fought for those she loved, till her dying breath.

Joel was crouched down alongside the river, far away from you and Ellie. He was reaching into the clear stream, picking up rocks below the surface and gently stacking them upon one another. He was creating a cairn in her memory. A silent memorial for her short life. He thought of her as he placed each stone on top of one another.

I’m sorry. I should have done more. I should have been quicker. I should have protected you. I let you down. I failed you.

Your approach towards Joel was hesitant. You had no idea how he was going to react to your attempt to comfort him. You knew he didn’t handle loss, of any kind, well. You refused to let him suffer alone. He had his moment where he could mourn in peace. You wouldn’t take that moment from him. He deserved it. You both did. Despite this, your heart pulled you towards him. You had to make sure he was okay. You needed each other more than ever now. Tess’s words echoed in your mind with each step you took. “No matter what happens, no matter what he says, please don’t leave him. Keep him safe. Please.”

Joel could hear your footsteps slowly approach. His back immediately tensed up at the sound of your boots crunching under stray twigs. His heart yearned for your touch, your comfort. His mind was scrambled. It screamed for him to shut you out. This was your fault, after all. You insisted they take the kid from the get-go. In his eyes, and his fragile mind, Tess was dead because of you.

He squeezed his eyes shut when he felt the warm expanse of your palm press between his shoulder blades. His breath trembled as he fought hard to not lean into your touch.

“Don’t fuckin’ touch me.” He hissed lowly, keeping himself facing the stream.

“Joel, Please..Don’t—”

“Don’t what? It’s your fuckin’ fault that Tess is dead.” He harshly whispered, clenching his jaw tightly as he let his toxic thoughts slip through his broken, cracked lips.

His words felt like a thousand knives stabbing you in the heart over, and over again. You took a shaky inhale, remembering Tess’s final request to you.

“You don’t mean that. You don’t mean that Joel. You’re upset..let me–”

He whipped around to face you, his eyes narrowed into slits as he rose to his feet, towering over you. “I fuckin’ mean every goddamn word. You insisted from the get-go that we take this fuckin’ kid. I told you it was a bad idea. See what happens when you try to be the fuckin’ hero, Gwen?”

You took a step back from him, feeling your own tears threatening to spill over. “Stop. Please fucking stop! I am not at fault for Tess’s death! Neither of us could have predicted this to happen Joel!”

“I fuckin’ told you that we should just take her back to the QZ! What do you do instead? You fight against me, tooth and fuckin’ nail! Every goddamn fuckin’ time. Why couldn’t you have just listened to me for once in your goddamn life!” He spat, taking two heavy steps towards you.

“Because Ellie is just a fuckin’ kid! She’s just a kid that is now OUR responsibility! Tess agreed that we shouldn’t take her back to the QZ! She agreed with me, Joel!”

He scoffed, shaking his head as he let out a deep chuckle.

“Do you fuckin’ hear yourself right now?! Fuckin’ take some accountability for your fuckin’ actions! Tess is dead because of you! Bea is never going to see her again, because you wanted to fuckin’ save this kid, this cargo! How does it feel, huh? Are you fuckin’ happy with yourself Gwen? Do you feel fuckin’ good inside right now baby?! TELL ME HOW IT FUCKIN’ FEELS!”

Joel’s booming voice rattled your skull, and pierced your heart. You physically felt yourself cowering away from him, shrinking in on yourself.

Ellie had heard Joel’s yell from where she was sitting against a nearby tree. She was up and running to your aid immediately. You watched as the teen shoved at Joel with her hands, pushing him back with rage filled in her tear brimmed eyes.

“Hey! Leave her alone, you fucker! Leave her alone! It’s not her fucking fault! LEAVE HER ALONE!” Ellie yelled as she shoved his chest as hard as she could.

Joel was grabbing the teens wrists in his calloused palms, immediately shoving her away.

“You fuckin’ stay out of this kid! This ain’t your fuckin’ business!” He felt his pulse drop when he heard the familiar click of your gun perched firmly between your shaking hands. The barrel was shakily aimed at him.

“LEAVE HER OUT OF THIS JOEL. YOU WANNA LET YOUR ANGER OUT ON ME? FINE. LEAVE ELLIE OUT OF THIS!” You yelled, tears streaming down your cheeks.

“You gonna fuckin’ shoot me?”

“If you lay your hands on her again, I won’t hesitate.”

“You’re breakin’ my fuckin’ heart baby.”He seethed between his gritted teeth.

“Gwen..” Ellie pleaded with you.

“It’s okay, kid. I will handle this, okay? Please just...just go sit down. Please.” You whispered, giving the teen a reassuring nod that everything would be okay. Joel would never hurt you. He would never dare.

Ellie looked between you, and the brooding man before she reluctantly nodded, walking away.

Your gun was still aimed at your lover as your tears continued to fall. “How fucking dare you speak to me like this Joel. What the fuck is wrong with you?!? How dare you speak to Ellie like that! She has done NOTHING to you, Joel!”

He took a few menacing steps towards you, feeling the barrel of your gun pressed firmly against the cavern of his chest. Your lower lip was trembling, your eyes glassy with tears as you looked up at him.

“You gonna pull that fuckin’ trigger baby? You gonna pump me full of lead?”

“You know I can’t Joel. You know I fuckin’ can’t.” You whispered shakily.

“Just like you can’t fuckin’ admit that you’re the reason Tess is dead. Can’t own up to your fuckin’ actions to save your life.”

“Please stop Joel. Please. I’m begging you to please fucking stop. You’re hurting me. You’re fucking hurting me!” You yelled. Your tone was raw, heartbroken, beaten.

“Who are you fuckin’ shedding those tears for, huh?! You shedding those tears for Tess? She hated you! You know she fuckin’ hated you with every fibre in her fuckin’ being! You don’t get to cry for her! She meant NOTHING to you. Don’t stand there and act like she did! You don’t get to weep and feel sorry for YOURSELF!”

The barrel of your gun was pushing so deep into his chest now. Surely there would be a bruise of some sort forming but it was clear he didn’t give a fuck about that. Not even in the slightest. He felt his heart screaming at him to stop but it was too late. The words were spoken and they were etched deep into your own heart. Joel had gone and done the unforgivable.

“Fuck You. You don’t get to stand there and tell me how I'm allowed to feel Joel! She was my fucking FRIEND too! We had our differences, and we overcame them! I fucking loved her and YOU don’t get to take that away from me! YOU DON’T HAVE THE POWER TO TELL ME HOW I CAN AND CAN’T FEEL!”

Joel’s breaths were coming out in heavy puffs, fanning your face as you watched his nostrils flare, and his fists clenched tightly at his sides. Deep down, he knew this wasn’t an argument to win. He was just devastated that he lost someone so close to him. He never learned how to handle loss well, his old habits, and toxic feelings welcomed him in with soft whispers, and warm touches.

This was not your Joel.

“Gwen…” He whispered.

“No. Fuck you. You don’t get to say all that, speak to me that way, and take it all back. You don’t get to fuckin’ do that Joel.”

“Baby, I’m sorry I didn’t–”

“NO.”

“Gwen. You know I didn’t mean it..I lashed out, but I didn’t mean any of it! I got you, you got me, Always. Remember? I’m so sorry I–”

As soon as he was reaching out for you, you harshly pushed him away, pressing the barrel of the gun further into his chest.

“You’ll never fucking touch me again Joel. Never.” You whispered.

You removed the barrel of the gun from his chest, pointing it upwards towards the sky, before you pulled the trigger.

The deafening sound of the bullet being released and cracking through the cool air had him flinching.

You wanted him to know that you could have pulled the trigger on him. You loved that man too much to hurt him. You could never.

“Stay the fuck away from me. Don’t you dare come near me.” You seethed, tucking your gun back into the holster around your waist before you turned on your heel, and walked away from him.

Joel was left standing near the rivers edge, watching as you walked far, far away from him.

‘Cause do I love you..Oh, I do..and I'm going to ‘til I'm gone…’

Tag list:

@chaotic-mystery @peterhollandkait @yuly @soft-cryptids @dinsdjrn @myrealmofchaos @itskenziebb @lovers-liability @korynnekorynne @ems-alexandra @kirsteng42 @casssiopeia @novemberrain-writes @goodwithcheese @loquaciousferret @sarahhxx03 @777-wonders @bearsbeetsbeskar @beskarandblasters @dinsdjrn @bonglorddaryl @mirasantidotes @luvrking @finnsbubblegum @pedrostories

[gravitysgone]

Okay to clarify. Old English Lady is Jan. And Dave the Dude is Dave. Dave lives in the in-law suite in the basement. But it isn't closed off and he has free reign of the house. Dave and Jan have been in a relationship for 50 years, and decided years ago that living apart but together works best for them. So they talk and love and bicker like an old married couple, but they also retreat to their own spaces. And as Jan told the lady at the hair salon, I am the new member of their family. Along with the girl who used to live in my room but left to go to university and recommended me to Jan when she saw I could use a new family. For which I am very grateful. Her name is Sarah and I met her via our local Reddit group. Her boyfriend Matthew is part of this tribe as well. As is their English Bulldog Ernie and the six cats, Joe, George, Solomon (who has decided I am his best friend) and Lucy, Olive and Lilian. Jan and Dave have no children and are both octogenarians and if they had kids they would likely be my age. So they sometimes treat me like their kid. Jan will chase me out of my room if I am isolating too much and she has also made friends with some of my friends from the church I go to...But I don't believe in...That's a whole other thing. In fact she invited my other English friend Louise for tea this week and they spent 4 hours talking about...English things I suppose. And recipes. And not me apparently. Which is insulting. I should be the center of any conversation of my associates. Anyway, yeah that's my living arrangement and I am done typing because my hands are going wonky.

[hellishere7980]

Begin Again Chapter 9 (sequel to IMW)

So here they were. All standing around THE phone. As it charged. The guilty phone which Bruce had put away in order to ‘Not give into the temptation to get Isabella, his own kid back’ as so kindly put up by Jason.

“It's an old model.” Tim said. “If it had been a new one? We could have simply replaced the battery with a charged one and it would have been up and running in no time. But since this is one of those God forsaken ancient types—”

“It's only 8 years old Tim.” Bruce said.

“Exactly my point! These were the ones that were used before–” Tim was interrupted by Jason. “Yeah, yeah, we know, Timbers. The point is, how long is this thing gonna take?”

“You guys have absolutely no patience.” Barbara said, shaking her head. “Who knows how you stay still during Recon missions.”

“I think the screen is turning on.” Dick said, eager to stop the bickering.

“Ookkkayyyy, Just gotta make this thing respond in order to open the voice mails. But seriously, don't you guys see it? The reacting speed is so slow!!” Tim said, his eyes roaming over the screen.

But despite Tim’s views, the ‘thing’ opened up soon enough. There were 76 voicemails left, one by someone else and the remaining 75 by Marinette.

“Well?” Fei said. “Let's start them up. Oldest to newest.”

“Got it.” Tim said.

And soon enough Marinette's. Or more accurately, young Marinette’s. Voice came out of the speakers.

Voicemail 1- “Hey, Dad… You didn't pick up, so I guess you're busy? I got off the flight without any hitch and Tom and Sabine seem nice. I'll call you later, I suppose.”

Voicemail 2- “Dad. Hello, are you stuck in a meeting or what? Wait, that is impossible. It's 8:00 PM there. Just…just Call me back when you can.”

Voicemail 3- “Dad respond. Please.”

Voicemail 4- “Come on, Dad. Pick up, pick up, pick up, pick up, PICK UP.”

Voicemail 5- ”You're scaring me, Dad.”

Voicemail 6- “Hey, Bruce. It's Hal. There is a meeting scheduled for 3:00 PM today. Diana has me stuck on calling duty so, don't forget to come.”

Voicemail 7- “Dad, is your phone broken? Is that it? I suppose it won't work then. Are you on a League mission? Dad, you gotta answer the phone!”

Voicemail 8- “I tried calling Dick, Clark and Diana. None of them are picking up. And I'm almost sure these aren't their numbers. Dad. Answer the phone.”

“Please stop it.” Bruce said. He was clearly trying not to cry And Selena was rubbing soothing circles into his back. “I can't take it. Please just-t don't.”

“OK, B.” Barbara said scrolling through the voicemails. “Most of them have similar durations, And they are all around the same time So I think they are all similar.”

The only thing going through everybody's mind was- She was disheartened. She was losing it. Around 50 voicemails were left that way. And then clearly, Marinette got the message. If Her calls weren't gonna go through. She might as well stop calling.

But then the Call log showed that the calls picked up again. Around two years back.

“OK, I gotta start up from here because technically there is no reason other than her calling for help when the akumas started.” Barbara said, her eyes searching in the duration of the calls. They didn't match up with the previous ones. They were more lengthy compared to the duration that the other calls had gotten into slowly as time went on.

“Starting up from Voicemail #52.” She announced as she hit the play button again.

Voicemail 52- “DAD, Dad, there's a super villain in Paris. Please just look into it. I-I DON'T THI-INK I CA-AN---” The voice was anxious. Enough to get all of the batclan set on edge. But then the call abruptly ended.

Voicemail 53- “Dad-BA I CAN'T BE A HERO. I CAN'T BE THIS LADYBUG. This is a mistake. JUST GET ME OUT OF HERE, please.”

Voicemail 54- “Dad, are you even there? Look, I'm sorry for anything I might have done. Just please, I can't do this. Don't make me do this. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm SORRY.”

Voicemail 55- “PICK UP THE DAMN PHONE.”

Voicemail 56- “Please respond.”

Voicemail 57- “DAD!”

Voicemail 58- “Dad, pick up, pick up, PICK UP. PLEASE, please, please, please. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for anything wrong I did just elp me.”

Voicemail 59- “DAD, I CAN BRING BACK PEOPLE TO LIFE AND I'M NOT READY FOR THIS HEROING. Please. This gives me changes Jaso- no, just no.” Her breath was hitching up.

Voicemail 60- “Dad, get me OUTTA here.” This time, she was sobbing.

Voicemail 61- “OK, OK.” They heard the sound of her pulling a deep breath in. “Let's do this rationally. There is a super villain in Paris called Hawkmoth. He basically mind controls people and can give them magical powers through butterflies. And yes, this is real, not some JOKE.” There was venom in her voice. “The only people capable of fighting him are apparently me and Chat Noir. This is a humble request. Please do something. The Justice League calls won't go through.”

Voicemail 62- “Dad. Please.” She sounded defeated.

Voicemail 63- “Dad, I CAN'T DEAL WITH THIS.”

There was pin drop silence in the room. But the voicemails didn't stop with that. They continued, although there was a certain icyness in Marinette's voice whenever she called.

Voicemail 64- “Hey, Dad. Free enough to Help me?”

Voicemail 65- “You know a funny thing happened today. There was this attack Akumas name was Syrena. She had the power to FLOOD entire streets. THE WHOLE CITY DROWNED.” Her voice had a tinge of hysteria now. “I had to SWIM PAST Tom and Sabine's bodies to fight that damned thing. But you know what? This is a damned good emotional exercise. Swim past your dead guardians' bodies into a fight, knowing, that millions of people's lives depend on you. And your partner decides that it is a fine time to throw an emotional tantrum LIKE A BABY. The guy who is supposed to be in charge doesn't know SHIT. You have to do HIS JOB FOR HIM. Your father is too busy to help you out. Believing that ignorance is bliss. You can't even feel anything because if you do because a guy with nothing better to do with his life is gonna send a butterfly out of you. And if, God forbid, I fail, THE WHOLE WORLD IS GONNA GET REWRITTEN.” She drew a deep breath in. “Yeah. What a wonderful experience.” Sarcasm was dripping in her voice.

Voicemail 66- There was static in the background. “Yeah, these calls aren't going to go through.”

Voicemail 67- “Look once and for all, just for official record, I suppose. These calls aren't going through. It's been a year since the Akumas started appearing. So for the last time. Goodbye and thank you for the birthday gift. I didn't want to stupid expensive watch. I wanted MY FATHER. But I guess I don't get to be picky.”

Notes:

So just to make things clear. Originally the name was Isabella Wayne. But then she shifted to Paris it became Marinette Dupain Cheng. Now later in the series, it's gonna be Marinette Isabella Luscinia-Wayne.

Also to keep in mind that Gamora is not anyone real in this series. It's just an illusion of a person Marinette made in order to like, not entrust her guardianship with anybody because frankly, she has had enough of douchebag parents. Even more than you think, but that is a spoiler. Uncle J, or Jagged as she had told Damien, forced her because he knew that MDC didn't have a PA cause Marinette was MDC, and she didn't have a PA.

People have been confusing it with that. Also the storyline is that Bruce sent her away when she was around 7-8ish Years old. He didn't contact her because, as I said in the story, He felt that if he heard her voice telling him that, “Let me come home, Dad.” He wouldn't be able to resist himself. Because he sent her away as he didn't want the same thing that happened to Jason to happen to her. You know, in sort of a sick way to protect her. I mean, he's a batman. If he's not emotionally constipated, then what is he? Anyway, I hope you are enjoying this and thank you for all those who have left lovely comments and kudos. It really helps me keep up with the writing spree.

PS- Now I see the real joy in cliffhangers. Que- Evil laugh

[foster-the-world]

Good timing

Yesterday the girls were bickering and I thought about how they could use some alone time with us. Then one of Rebel's classmates asked if she could join them on a trip to the Science Museum. Perfect. Bee was so excited to have her Dad to herself. At 7am she had already told myself, baby boy and Bee we'd all need to leave soon. She chose to pick out some recipes to cook herself. She's been really eager to cook but its difficult to do without some supervision. She was so happy. We are working on giving her some things she can do alone. Right now she can make pancakes (with some help on the grill but I think soon she'll be 100% alone soon) and mac n cheese. Which feels like a good start for a seven year old. I think we can start doing the meal kits together. She's pretty good reading/following a recipe.

I took baby boy to the Children's museum to meet one of his sweet little friends. Her mom is really nice and loves baby boy. He was up an hour and a half earlier then normal and it showed. We went to the same place last week and he was great. Not so much today. It was much more crowded. He pounds into everything when he's unregulated. He had an accident which is out of the norm for him nowadays. The other Mom wasn't too bothered. Honestly, I don't really like hanging out with other people with him around. He requires too much attention so I end up feeling bad instead of having fun. I would like to hang out with the Mom alone. She's really nice.

Bee had a really great time. The Mom said she was super well behaved.

Ubereats gave us 50% off that we need to use by the 16th - so ordering something we probably don't need right now.

Our first foster daughter's mom texted yesterday to say she only has six dollars and nothing to feed the three kids. She's in a shelter so in theory they do feed them but I don't know how it works. She asked for money or to send something. I did an instant cart. She doesn't have a fridge or oven. Only a shared microwave. She offered to cash app me the $6 but of course I didn't take that. The receptionist at the homeless shelter got rude with the instant cart person- who called in a complaint about her. Which made the receptionist scream at the foster daughters mom. She forgot to ask for dip so said she could get it herself. The only allowed $10 minimum online order. So instead she went to Walgreens to pick some dip up. I acknowledge its not my business to judge anyones spending habits and also can't help but think spending your last six dollars is not a good idea. Admittedly I don't know how you could spend six dollars in a helpful way but its not chip dip. She hopes her food stamps will come on Tuesday. I sent enough for a a few days - but its limited what she can actually make. I sent sandwich deli meat but that can't last without a fridge. Some can soups, spaghettio's, etc. Snacks. She said she had been getting Mcdonalds, chickfila, etc. No idea where she would get money for that. Her youngest recently turned one. I hope he's still getting formula. I can't imagine sitting in a hotel room with three young kids all day. They are in Times Square - which is no place for children to live. They can walk to a playground but its not particularly close. I offered for her to come here for a hot shower and laundry. I'll try to go with them to the Children's museum as we have free admission. Anyway, its hard to not want to help and also I don't want to be overly involved. Our former foster daughter is living with her Grandmother.

[chacegraves]

The Legend Of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC Review

Depth, Detail, and a sense that the world you're exploring is lived in.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in The Sky First Chapter had a reputation that intrigued me. I've heard that it's an incredibly slow game that's packed with text. That the purpose of this game was to serve as a 50 hour prologue to it's sequel, Second Chapter. And that it apparently has a brutal cliffhanger that justifies all of that. It does. I'm literally only writing this review in an attempt to stop myself from burning through the next game too fast. The reputation it has for being slow is very earned but being in the mood for a slow burn experience made that a lot less jarring. I can't recommend this game to people who don't want to read a lot though. It will kill the game for you.

In First Chapter you play as Joshua and Estelle Bright. Two 16 year old kids being raised by a legendary bracer named Cassius Bright. Bracers are a guild of freelance mercenaries with a very specific moral compass. Namely to help people. They'll get rid of monsters, save a cat from a tree, escort people from town to town, etc. They just can't intervene with the military or politics of any nation. Joshua and Estelle want to become full fledged Bracers just like their father but in order to do that they need recommendations from guild branches all over their kingdom.

You'll go from town to town picking up odd jobs from the local guild branch in order to complete enough work to earn that branches recommendation. All the while getting a familiarity with each town you go to and the people who live in it. A Bracer has a duty to the people after all. It may sound like pretty standard JRPG fair but this game does something incredible when it comes to talking to the townsfolk.

Minor advancements in the story will give EVERY person in a town something new to say, and this happens several times per town. A lot of these people have little storylines during your stay and may even pop up in future towns. Some will talk about what's going on in the story but others are absorbed in their own dramas. You don't have to go out of your way to talk to everyone but you will miss out on lore and flavor if you don't. There's a lot of fun stories and characters to discover. I've had entire play sessions just being talking to townsfolk because the story advanced a little. I really hope the sequel remembers these background characters.

The towns are gorgeous and they know it too. Every time you get to a new one you'll get this nice sweeping shot of the streets and points of interest. Each town has their own personality to them that keeps the game fresh but it goes beyond the aesthetic of the town itself. Each building feels intricately designed in a way that actually baffles me. Someone put thought into these buildings making sense in a way they genuinely didn't have to for a JRPG. There'll be rooms that you'll never have to enter for any reason but they'll be filled with props and purpose because THAT BUILDING would need that room.

I remember being blown away that a weapons shop had an out of the way stock room that I never had to go into but was still decorated top to bottom. It makes the world feel so much more lived in. This game revels in detail on every level and it's easy to see the love that went into this world feeling like a real place with real people.

My biggest fear for future entries is that they stop this level of detail with the townspeople and their surroundings. I can understand them not doing some of this when we switch to a more traditional 3D view without the set camera angles but it would still be disappointing. Only time will tell if they can keep that up!

That said the main cast are so charming as well. Joshua and Estelle's bickering is hilarious and got several laughs out of me. Joshua being this calm and subdued rogue countered by Estelle being a rage tornado is so funny.

There's a solid party to build in this one and they all bounce off of each other in fun ways. They'll be swapped in and out as the story progresses and I liked that compared to just collecting them all. It makes it feel like they have things to do aside from hanging out with you. My favorite party member is easily Zin. He's this massive bear of a man who is also a monk. My favorite character is Nial though. He's basically just Spike Spiegel as a reporter and I adore him.

Despite this game having magic and ridiculous airships it all manages to feel VERY grounded because they explain the hell out of it. Orbments are the way you access magic and skills and you get a literal manual explaining how it all works. Depending on the combination of quartz you install you'll get certain abilities or stat increases. Every characters abilities can be customized to your liking but some have certain elemental preferences. I really like how customizable this system is.

The airships are these hulking technical marvels with all these cool moving parts and when you actually get inside and explore them you can see how thought out the vehicle is. There's so much technology world building like this in the game that kind of teeters on steampunk or something similar. They have these cute chunky designs that I like staring at.

I should probably mention the combat at some point! It's turn based with moves that can change the turn order of everyone taking part in the combat. Random effects like critical hits appear on the turn counter and if you delay someones attack someone else might get that random effect. It's pretty engaging because if you don't pay attention you could give that critical hit to an enemy. It's a solid system all around and I never got bored of it. There's some awesome special attacks too!

I loved this game and can't wait to play it's sequel. The world building is fantastic. The environments feel lived in and atmospheric. I love the people that inhabit them and all their quirks. The writing is genuinely funny and heartwarming at times. The politics and subterfuge were engaging. I love the party we've assembled so far and can't wait to see more of what they get up to. First Chapter felt like reading a REALLY good book or watching one of those anime that just suck you into their world. It's a fantastic experience that I recommend heartily to anyone that can stand a bit of reading and a slow start because this meticulous set up is clearly going somewhere incredible.

[bonefall]

Ok I have not read any of the books in the newest arc because ya boys and adult now with limited funds and yada yada so I need to know how bad as the pacing cus as a kid for a much as my 11 year old self loved the books I always thought the pacing was shit so Is the new team better or worse at the whole pacing thing?

Even just speaking on all books currently released that the new team worked on, TBC, DOTC, and AVoS, the series has developed a really serious pacing problem.

DOTC grinds to a halt with the climactic battle in book 3, struggling to find a conflict to fill the gap that their botched "redemption" of Clear Sky leaves. One Eye makes a valiant effort before being killed in the same book he's introduced in, but Slash feels like 2 books of padding.

AVoS is the worst of all this. Darktail and The Kin isn't even a threat for half of the arc, forced to spend time in ThunderClan where nothing is happening, and the rest is waffling about bringing SkyClan to the Lake and Alderheart's celibacy. And STILL it shoved a ton of content into Tigerheart's Shadow.

TBC got a bit better, but it rushes past emotional scenes of major importance (like the main cast mourning dead friends and family) to focus on pointless bickering and ship bait. The last book was 50% the actual plot in the Dark Forest and 50% the leaders arguing if they should finish the story or not.

Worse, modern books have a lot of what I call "Quicktime Events," which are basically random disasters that appear suddenly and end just as fast. A good example is the fox in Thunder Rising, which spawns in the proto-SkyClan camp shortly after Clear Sky shoves his son's face in Frost's infected wound, and they just fight it off and never mention it again.

But if they don't HAVE quicktime events, we can go entire books without a battle at all. Like they just have no idea how to make meaningful combat be part of the story.

But then again, the pacing hasn't been good since like... TNP. I have scathing commentary on Po3 and OotS, too, so it's not like it's JUST a new team problem, y'know?

Anyway yeah. The pacing is bad. It's been bad since before the new team took over, but they sure haven't improved things, and 2/4 decently paced arcs for the old team is a better track record than 0/3 for the new one.

I'll reserve judgement on ASC until it's done, but it's not looking good either.

[lesless]

Some thoughts on marriage

Growing up I never really understood the idea of marriage. My mom had me at 16 or somewhere near that, & was only married briefly as a result of being pregnant with me & having a less than ideal home life, which she wanted to get out of. My dad has been married or engaged 5 or more times, though now he’s old enough not to lure in underaged girls or young women & is now happily married to a woman who I really like. My great grandparents, who I grew up with, were married over 50 years, & though they bickered I understood that they had committed to each other & my great grandpa took care of my great grandmother through her senility, hiding it until it was noticeable to all.

So, I have mixed views on the topic. On one hand, it seems insane to me to enter into a legal contract for a relationship especially considering I’m not religious in the traditional sense. On the other, I find it incredibly romantic & a statement of devotion.

I my early 20’s the only person I remember breaking up with me (who really just beat me to it, bc I was unhappy & didn’t want to be with him really) told me that the reason he didn’t want to be with me is that he “couldn’t imagine marrying” me, which to me felt stupid & I was fine with at the time (& still am, he was a mess). When I met someone I was infatuated with, he talked about how he was “going to marry that girl” in reference to the last girl he dated, during the first 6 months we were together, which really bothered me. They were together for a year or less as far as I can gather. He later admitted it was because her family had a lot of connections in the film industry, which made me feel a little disgusted by his intentions of marriage if I’m being honest.

Personally, I’ve driven hard lines in the ground with people I’ve dated. Either I’m with you or not, & with you means I’m in 100%. I’m not going to leave unless there’s some seriously extenuating circumstances, such as, my last partner had a serious alcohol problem & got really scary & mean before I decided it was safer for me to leave than stay with them.

Nowadays, I’m with someone I adore & I feel adores me back. We have been together 5 years in a few weeks, which will mark the longest relationship I’ve ever been in. Simultaneously, our family is mentioning marriage (& have been for years).

& im at this crossroads. I think both of us have some doubt about the whole concept of marriage, our families respectively having a long history of divorce & the mess that entails. But also, is that something I actually want? I’m not sure.

By now I did imagine myself with kids of my own, though I love my freedom & ability to do what I want. Marriage feels like the end of that freedom to a certain extent, but also feels like the agreement on a future, & security. We haven’t talked about it, truly. Sometimes I think my partner is working towards a more secure future for us before that, & every time he talks about the future he says US, which is also reassuring.

If he asked I would say yes, but as time rolls on & my experiences & friends get hitched after only a year or two, I do wonder if I’m just not the kind of person someone would want to marry, as that long buried ex said. Or, are people just stupid & rushing into things? Are people just agreeing to things based on their circumstances & ideology? The people I know who have gotten married, largely, also became very institutionally religious. Which, good for them, but that’s not where I am.

I suppose I’m curious what readers think of marriage. What are the criteria? What is the deciding factor? Do you just know?

I’ve also known people happily not married with children in 10+ year relationships. I suppose theres no universal right answer to any of this. Just something I’m pondering after some deeply itchy nightmares.

[yj-98]

hello everyone. me again. cowboygame time.

context needed for the post: previous posts about arthur + john, and also that the dad that runs the gang theyre in is named dutch, and their other dad whos been with dutch the longest + was the most like an actual parent to them is named hosea

ANYWAYS! today i consider. being your fathers' son.

its like. interesting and compelling to me that arthur and john are definitely Dutch's Sons. plucked from orphanhood and moulded in his shape and ideology and have been with him and his gang family for decades by the time u meet them in the games. dutch puts a big emphasis on Family and commitment, and you see it in arthur and his dedication to the gang and you see how john crumbles under that weight and how him having left the gang for a year irreparably damaged his relationship with arthur. like they Are Dutch's kids. and dutch is not a nice man.

and arguably arthur and john arent nice either. but they are kind. they bite at each others tails and can be real assholes to people, including people they love, but they know when to be gentle. they know who is undeserving of ire and they know when to put down their ego. maybe not necessarily when it comes to each other but they still have moments between the bickering when they can offer "i owe you" "you will keep owing me" "thank you" "of course".

they learned this through dutch, this instinctual rise to any challenge. but it's lucky that theyre also Hosea's sons....... hosea taught them to read (alongside dutch), was a gentler and more grounded figure in their life. he's a cheat and a conman but hes Not dishonorable and he's genuinely shown to be very kind and good with kids and he cares for his boys as real kids he never got to have.

hosea is shown to be the level-head that balances out dutch's neuroses. he fights against dutch's more wild decisions. hes taught his sons to respect dutch but still question. hes the oldest in the group (dutch's senior by like. 10 years i believe. theyre both 40-50) and he didnt get that old being stupid. hes the robin hood w/ the golden heart. a former actor with love lost who's gone too far down this road with dutch to ever look back but doesnt look forward blindly.

and hosea spends so much time agonizing over his youngest son not thinking. thats the common gripe w/ john, that hes emotional and acts out blindly and he just doesnt think. contrast him to arthur who has at this point spent 20 years of his life being dutch's muscle. but hes got kindness at his core. he begins to question. hes a protector, hes an artist, hes tired. john questions because it fits wrong, arthur questions because death brings clarity. they are opposites here. john more like dutch who questions from the start and arthur more like hosea who only really starts to act after hes already a slow-boiled frog. arthur is compartmentalization to johns bleeding rage.

and when you look at them together. at how they react to each other. ESPECIALLY in the start, when johns rejoined them but arthur is still angry and hurt... on the surface its that john broke the first thing dutch taught them. loyalty. traitors dont come back. leave and youre dead to us.

but then the hurt of john LEFT the family. john's fear was more powerful than his love for his family. arthur was left behind. (and then why was he allowed back? why were exceptions made?) and THEN its that arthur had a kid, and while he wasnt more than friends with the kids mother, he didnt get a chance to watch the kid grow up to an adult. he helped coparent until one day he found them both dead and murdered. and john was willing to throw it ALL away + he hasnt made much effort to do better since coming back. the theme of the story over both games is feeling like they dont Deserve second chances. that there Are no second chances. there is no redemption. and yet john is given second chances, hes given chances at redemption, even if the rug is pulled. and arthur spends the last year of his life trying to redeem 35 odd years spent "wrong" to him. and his last chance is to make sure that his brother can, at least.

i just really like that it feels like a neat little bow. that arthur likes hosea better between the two. that they had hosea. that it comes full circle on both sons characters. that theyre ultimately flawed people trying to do good. a perspective they have because of hosea, even after he dies, in spite of dutch being hellbent on destroying their lives

[macchiatosdumptruck]

Kreese’s love language is acts of service. Therefore, in LaKreese land, he is a service top. Hehe.

Daniel had a big mouth. He was a talker. He was a smart ass. It was something that had caused him no small amount of grief in his life.

John wasn't a talker. He didn't see the need to waste time or breath on extra words if he ended up saying the same damn thing in less.

That doesn't mean he doesn't like to hear Daniel talk though. Somehow over the course of falling for the obnoxious little twerp John had begun to find comfort in Daniel's non-stop chattering. It was a little like he had his own portable white noise machine.

One of the many (many) times John had realized he was in too deep was when he came to the startling revelation that if Daniel were anyone but himself, John would've thrown the brat out on the street and locked the door behind him.

It's strange, he admits to himself, that he has begrudgingly come to appreciate how verbose the boy was. John found it especially enjoyable in moments like this.

"Oh, fuck, that feels good."

--

It was an average Wednesday and both of them crashed out on the bed after washing away their day, and a quick dinner.

Daniel found time to put a load of laundry in as John stoically watched Jeopardy with the noise on low. They had a few minutes to cuddle until Daniel started falling asleep into his half drunk (stolen) beer.

John notices Daniel drifting off on his shoulder, (and it's actually concerning to him how he finds the younger man nearly drooling on his shoulder to be charming of all things.)

John steals his own beer back, and downs what's left of it before he scoops Daniel off the couch and hauls the boy over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Daniel yelps as he's forcibly thrown back into consciousness.

"Jesus Christ, John! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!"

"Sorry I didn't wake you up with butterfly kisses princess, but you're going to bed. "

The man chuckles, so sure of himself, as he allows Daniel to drop roughly onto the bed with a loud whoomph. If he weren't responsible for so many of Daniel's orgasms he would tell him off for being insufferable.

And if this were another day, and Daniel was not quite so dead on his feet, then he would take great joy in proving John wrong. He was 23 years old, not a damn kid.

John often accused Daniel of being a brat, and Daniel disagreed with that sentiment. He was spirited. And John was a damn liar if he thought he liked the boy any other way. Daniel was sure the man only put up an argument against Daniel's more challenging behaviors as an act of plausible deniability.

Daniel pushes the upper half of his body up off the bed and leans back on his hands. He's just about to start pouting at the man when he's interrupted mid rant.

John is walking away, headed towards their shared dresser, pulling out a pair of boxers and a t-shirt to change into.

"I'm taking a shower, I'll be out in a minute."

For a moment Daniel contemplates the pros and cons of joining him, scuttling after the man and continuing their good natured bickering back and forth.

But he had already showered when he got home that afternoon and stripped out of his overalls. Plus, he didn't want to have to deal with John's hypocritical complaints about wasting water ruining any sort of post orgasm buzz.

And, the longer he sat on the bed the heavier his arms got. His eyes are dry, and he's already changed into his boxers and one of John's old t-shirts. The sheets smell nice and the pillows must somehow have gotten 50% fluffier, because Daniel doesn't ever remember his head sinking into them so fast.

He glances at the clock on the bedside table and sees that it's only 8:00 PM. Daniel makes a note to himself to be sure to get at least one "old man" crack in at John when the other man comes to join in once he's done. For now Daniel's just gonna close his eyes. He's not even that tired.

--

When John walks out of the bathroom five minutes later, toweling off his hair he takes notice of Daniel, fave down in the pillows, snoring ever so slightly as John's baggy t- shirt drapes off the boy's thin shoulders.

The kid was too cute for his own good. The kid would end up killing John one of these days. he was overcome with a stranger but welcome tenderness climbing up inside him as he smiles and silently watches his annoyingly charming brat of a boyfriend.

He climbs onto the bed with every intention of letting Daniel rest. But as he leans over the young man, pressing a gentle kiss into the boy's soft hair Daniel jerks himself awake softly, and John is overtaken with the urge to devour him entirely.

What John lacked in words he made up for with touches. Daniel laughed breathily as he was face down in his own pillow, sprawled out like a starfish. John picked up one skinny arm and placed small kisses up, up, and up Daniel's arm until he started nosing at his neck. Right behind the ear where Daniel is ticklish.

"Is there something on your mind?" He asks, pulling his head up to look at his boyfriend with a smirk. Daniel thrives on the attention he received from the gruff man, who is so hesitant to give it out to anyone else. Daniel feels his pride swell despite himself.

Instead of answering with words John moves to cover Daniel, slowly crawling over the young man. He settles his knees on the outside of Daniel's thighs, hunching over to kiss the back of his neck. The man smooths his hands up under the boy's shirt, pushing it out of the way to reveal smooth, tan, skin. A delicate spine and dipped in waist.

John sits on the back of Daniels thighs heavily, letting himself gently grind into the younger man's ass as he digs his fingers into Daniel's muscles for a massage, making the young man groan in appreciation.

He starts again, a pattern he has, he starts at the base of Daniels spine and makes his way slowly up to the back of his neck.

As he does this he slides his hands under Daniel, petting at the boy and massaging his hips, encouraging his back to arch.

Daniel gets up on his elbows and finishes pulling his own shirt off. John gnaws on his neck until Daniel is groaning low in the back of his throat and pushing back against the solid feel of the other man. He feels the hard on grinding into him.

He's still tired, they both are. But something about the smooth, slow rhythm they find themselves in makes it worth the effort as they lazily rock together.

"Are you gonna make this worth my time?" Daniel asks.

"When have I ever wasted your time?"

"I can think of a few times." Daniel says, thinking of their long, drawn out arguments over nothing. The truth is Daniel is just as stubborn to let go of his point as John. But that sort of logic isn't needed right then.

"Yeah, you like that princess?" John asks as he grinds his hips in especially deep, his hard dick trying in vain to find its way between the perky cheeks in front of him.

Daniel finds himself spreading his legs, arching his back deeper as he pushes into the man above him. His hands are pressed into the pillow on each side of his head.

"Alright, fine." He says, as if it's any sort of chore at all. "But you're doing all the work."

John runs his mouth up and down the side of Daniel's neck, nipping lightly and pulling back to appreciate the light pink marks he's leaving fading away on the boy.

"The Prima Donna wants to be spoiled, what a surprise."

Daniel elbows John gently in the ribs.

"You're hot for it, don't lie."

John doesn't bother to dispute this, because of all the things he is, some worse than others, a liar isn't one of them.

Daniel rummages under the pillows for a bottle of lube he knows they left there just last night and passes it back into John's strong hands.

"Why wasn't this in the drawer where it usually goes?" John asks, eyebrows raised. He knows he asked Daniel to put it away as he was rushing out the door in the morning, headed to work.

"I got distracted, John, you're a distracting man."

--

John is two fingers deep, all the way to the knuckle, his open palm slapping against Daniel's peachy little ass and the boy is whining so sweetly for it, and for a moment John thinks--

"Maybe you're not such a brat after all," to which Daniel replies with a choked off gasp as John grinds his finger tips hard against the boy's prostate. He stops and feels the kid whine, pushes back his hips into John's hand to try to get them deeper again.

"Don't stop you jerk." Daniel huffs into the pillow.

"I don't know why I'm so determined to make you feel good when this is the sort of thanks I get."

Daniel ruts into the sheets where they're sticky from when he came grinding his dick against the bed as John fingered him to an orgasm several minutes ago.

But the man hadn't stopped. And now Daniel was both jerking into and away from the over stimulated pleasure he was getting, desperate for John to finally do something other than tease.

Daniel lifts his head and looks over his shoulder, he props himself up on one elbow and grabs John's hand to bring it back to his hole.

"Tell me what you want. Use your words." John teases.

Daniel groans and rolls his eyes, he's really far too worked up, tired after a long day as well, and John keeps pressing the finger tip of his third finger into Daniel's hole and then pulling back. Daniel doesn't have the patience for this. Especially after John had made such a big deal about getting to bed on time. If Daniel had the higher brain function to call Kreese off for being a hypocrite right now, he would. But maybe that wouldn't be in his best interest.

John got off on this. Making Daniel talk. Making him ask for it.

"Fuck me." Daniel pouts.

"Ask nicely." John says as he finally edges his third finger inside. He gets up to the first knuckle and starts stretching his fingers about, massaging Daniel's hole, making sure he's loose enough.

"Fuck me, please?" And for a change Daniel is as sweet as honey. John lives for this. For breaking down the boy's spoiled attitude and making him be mortifyingly earnest with his wants and needs.

Finally John rewards the boy by slipping out his fingers, and spreading what is left of the lube over his cock. John grabs sharp hip bones, forcing Daniel from his slump on the bed and up to his knees, making him arch harshly for it. He teases the tip of his dick into Daniel's hole and reaches up underneath the boy, one hand on his hip, the other gently urging Daniel up onto his hands. Then John runs his hands down the skinny limbs until he reaches Daniel's hand and places first one, then both hands up on the bed frame.

Once John has Daniel where he wants him, sitting pretty in the man's lap, his head tilted back to rest on one of John's beefy shoulders, John walks on his knees forward, right tight up behind and underneath the boyz and he pushes in slowly, savoring the satisfied breathy noises the boy is letting out.

John shushes Daniel, whispering sweet nonsense into his ear as the boy gets used to his size. He places one hand on the boy's hip and tangles his fingers over the boy's thin hand where it's clutching the wooden bed post.

"Good boys always get what they want when they ask nicely for it."

John can feel Daniel clenching around his dick, moaning as the man pulls his hips back and pushes back in, a little bit more each time. A little harder. A little deeper.

"Oh, fuck, that feels good," The kid laughs into a breathy sigh, the words slipping past spit wet lips parted by his small pink tongue.

Daniel was a talker. Big mouth on that kid.

Yeah, John thinks, staring at the trembling sweaty, beautiful young man in his arms. He could appreciate that.

[smoothoperador]

hi Clara 😊 would you tell us about your grandmother? (If you want to ofc)

oh! it's nice of you to inquire☺️

she was this willowy, mischievous woman born on a finca in andalucía right before the spanish civil war, and she always spoke of those days with a great deal of adoration. her family was stern and devout as most southerners were back then, but she always found a way to evade her grandmother whenever it was time to pray the rosary and hang out with the bulls in the fields, or dress up the house cats in her dolls' clothes (she put those poor cats through so much, but they were so patient, bless them). her mother didn't really love her, so she was mostly left to her own devices and i think that shaped her fiercely independent and avant-gardist spirit i've always adored—as well as explained her aloofness with her own daughters, and a certain level of generational trauma carried down decades. when the war broke out, they fled to a cousin's estate in southern france, where they remained trapped until 1945, but by the time ww2 was over they'd lost most of their money and franco had seized the finca, so they had to move to a small apartment in madrid. this is where I met her.

of course my memory of her is somewhat tarnished by her latter years—she had dementia and at the very end it seemed like the name Clara didn't ring any bells, which I tried not to break down at—but she will always remain one of the most exceptional people I've ever known. she was a little callous but loved me fiercely, in ways I never mistook as anything other than love as a little kid. we shared a room at christmas time (me, her, and the family dog. only I survive to this day) and in the evening, before we fell asleep, she'd tell me with much seriousness how her obsession with ancient egypt made her convinced she had been a pharaoh in a past life. she was an avid bookworm and practically taught me how to read; when she saw I inherited her passion, she started gifting me a new agatha christie book every time we met (they were her favorite). she was incredibly pretty, with that glamorous elegance pertaining to old hollywood stars; i carry 50s pictures of her in my phone and show them to anybody who asks, and when they say, "you guys look identical", i take it as the highest compliment ever, not because i think she was gorgeous, but because carrying the face of someone i love so much is a way to keep her close to me—close as can be. she had a sailor's mouth, which my mom really didn't like, but "ajo y agua" packed a singular punch when it was said by her. my brother and I would ask her, "me haces un sándwich, ¿porfa?" and she'd go, "y una mierda." but ten minutes later she was back with a sandwich for each on a platter. my mom and her bickered a lot, later on even full-on fought, and afterwards they'd both cry, and I would sit there with my heart ripped in two, not understanding why everybody couldn't just... get along. I'm pretty sure that at first, she played up her mental fogginess to fuck with the adults, and make the kids laugh—she was incredibly funny but her laugh was more wheeze than cackle, and we called it "su risa de Patán". one time, when I asked her what the happiest day of her life had been (expecting perhaps her wedding, or my mom's birth), she said, with manifest enthusiasm, "barack obama's election. because I thought I would die before i could see a black man become president of the united states."

i have many more anecdotes about her to share, but i'll leave it at this thing she'd tell me that really stuck with me: her motto, which has become somewhat of a mantra to myself; "la fe es saltar al vacío y esperar que unas manos te cojan".

[myashifts]

DR introduction...

TVDU :

Me -

Name - Mya Majorie Swift-Salvatore

Species - Charmed Witch

Age - 19 years old

Best Friends - Katherine Pierce, Caroline Forbes, Elena Gilbert and Bonnie Bennett

Occupation - photographer, junior in Mystic Falls High School (changed the years to match the plot)

Shifting to - 26th April 2023 (Season 2 Ep 18)

Family :

My parents Taylor Swift, a very powerful Charmed Witch, and Killian Salvatore (younger brother to Zach Salvatore) met in school when my mother was aspiring to be a world famous Popstar. They had me when they were 19 heading on 20 on the 4th February 2004 then my little sister Davina Andrea Swift-Salvatore 4 years later in March. They later split up on good terms as my mother was dealing with juggling being a powerful witch, fame and 2 kids. My dad moved us to England where I grew up, to keep us out of the spotlight and away from other witches as charmed witches are one of the most powerful bloodlines in the world and are often used because of this. When I was 11 we decided we wanted to move to the USA to be closer to my mum and we then moved to Mystic Falls where she taught me witchcraft and I quickly befriended Elena Gilbert, Bonnie Bennett and Caroline Forbes while Davina moved to New Orleans with my dad so she could live a normal life away from witchcraft. Currently my mum and I live in Mystic Falls where she is best friends with Jenna Sommers and prepping to tour The Eras Tour and I am helping my idiot Ancestors, who are like brothers to me, Damon and Stefan Salvatore with their Klaus problem while shopping with my best friends Katherine Pierce and Caroline Forbes. My dad and Davina live in New Orleans where my dad works closely with Marcel and Davina attends a school with her best friend Tim. Despite our obvious differences and distance Davina and I are extremely close.

S/O -

Enzo St John and I meet shortly after I shift (as in the day of, pray for me pls). After being turned in 1903 he spent travelling, in a war then a few years in Augustine until meeting Damon in the 50s, they escaped 5 years after Damon was captured and have been chaotic best friends ever since. Knowing Klaus was going to be a massive problem Damon called Enzo over to Mystic Falls figuring safety in numbers. We instantly connected through our sarcastic bickering and mutual enjoyment of bullying Damon.