#tlou1 spoilers

[elliesherondale]

ellie looking up at joel in the house knowing he was protecting her from afar 🥲🥲🥲

the last of us (episode 5)

[omanrucereal69]

[aeirithgainsborough]

THE LAST OF US PART ONE (2022) → THE LAST OF US HBO (2023)

[hallwyeoo]

Ellie’s memory of the golfing scene and what it tells us about her.

🚨spoilers for tlou2🚨

I think Ellie’s flashback to Joel’s death is very telling of how she internalized the event and the meaning she applied to his death. It’s also a good demonstration of her relationship to autonomy. Let’s break down the elements that were inconsistent with the actual event:

The stairs/hallway are much longer than they were. This suggests a sense of helplessness, an inability to get there fast enough. Joel is constantly out of reach.

There is blood on the floor outside of the door. Not entirely certain on this one but my hunch is that she blames herself for not seeing more obvious signs of violence/not knowing something was wrong sooner.

The door is locked, another roadblock in her path to Joel. She can’t access him, she can’t help, he needs her and she isn’t there.

Most importantly. Joel yells “Ellie, help me” (which he didn’t in the actual scene, he just screams. He doesn’t say a word in the actual scene)

Ellie hearing Joel scream for her help, calling for her while being horribly beaten, and her being repeatedly impeded on her way to him suggests that what she took away from his death is that she wasn’t enough. They always helped each other, always had each others backs, always got up. Ellie views his death as a failure. She was too slow, too weak, not smart enough to save him. She failed him when he needed her most. She is absolutely helpless to save him, just like she was helpless to save Riley, Tess, Sam, and Jessie (and Marlene, and humanity, and and and-).

Once again, Ellie makes a decision (staying with Riley, going to the fireflies, staying with Joel, being the cure, trying to forgive Joel) and once again her autonomy and ability to find closure is ripped from her.

This is the inciting incident of tlou pt2, this is the moment where Ellie’s whole world shatters the same way Joel’s did at the start of pt1. Ellie enters into the same cycle (which I like to call the “Joel cycle” because… yeah.) that he did, and throughout pt2 she stays in the “20 years later” phase of the cycle. She is changed, she has lost her light, lost what she fought for. She lost her chance to genuinely forgive Joel and rebuild their relationship. She is stuck in a gruelling and violent world that she has no anchor in, at least not anymore. His death is so sudden and so incredibly violent that it practically gave her (and me as well, tbh) whiplash. She’s in a state of total shock.

On another devastating note, this is one of the three times in tlou that we see Ellie beg (that I remember). The first is begging Joel to get up at the university of Eastern Colorado, the second is begging him to get up and for Abby to stop, and the third is begging Abby to not kill Dina because she’s pregnant. (Two times she begs Joel to get up, one time he doesn’t. Two times she begs Abby to spare her family and one time she does. What a beautifully haunting contrast)

To wrap up, every person creates an internal narrative, a story of their life that is crafted from their context and lived experiences. The meaning we derive from those experiences doesn’t always reflect the truth, and that can sometimes bite us in the ass majorly when we experience a traumatic event. We tend to want to find someone or something to assign blame to, some reason or rationale to why it happened. We tell stories. We write them in our minds about ourselves and what happens to us and what that says about us.

But Ellie is wrong. Joel’s death happened in response to a conscious and willing choice he made. It is in no way her fault, and there was absolutely no way for her to know or to stop what was happening. I think Ellie knows that much on an intellectual level, It just doesn’t change how devastated she is over the whole event. It can’t change the fact that she FEELS as though this was all her fault, that Joel did what he did to save her, that she could have saved him. That she should have.

[millsheat]

joel went from “you gotta stop talking about this kid like she’s got some kind of life on front of her” to quite literally slaughtering almost the entire firefly hospital to keep her alive.

[bevongf]

the last of us headers

fav or reblog if you save

c cinemurphy

[ellie-vvilliams]

That’s why men like you and me are here...

[memes-saved-me]

The hunter saying he hopes the truck was carrying an army inspired this lol

[gxbbyhoneybadger]

A Fatal Flaw of the Fall #6

Pairing: Joel Miller x !F!Reader

Summary: Everything begins to crumble when Joel and Y/n are attacked by hunters and infected inside their destination. Both suffer a critical injury and it's up Ellie, Elliot, and Max to save and now protect their guardians who saved them.

Warnings: Blood and gore, physical violence, traumatic experiences, dreams, character (Y/n & Frank) flashbacks, scarification, penetration injuries, flirting, mutual pining, death, adult language, pills, scars, animal death, possible descriptions and mannerisms of pedophilia, depictions of cannibalism.

Minors DNI 🔞 18 below the cut

Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V

A/N: I don't think pt. 5 of this series was publicly notified to everyone, so if you hadn't read pt. 5 yet, click this Part V before continuing onwards with this post.

--

~Y/n pov~

It was sometime later, our horses finally approach the university's campus. I've been here multiple times with Fernando and the other Jaguars, either for a war or for a peaceful passway. It was a fifty fifty chance of it ending up violent. "Wait, wait, wait. . . So, let me see if I get it straight. If you mess up your fourth down, then you give the ball to the other team?" Ellie asked as she held onto me, Max was toying with her bunny as I saw Elliot laugh.

"Right, it's called turnover." Joel explained. "So, if you clear the ten yards then you're back at. . . first down?" Elliot wondered as he glanced at me. "First down, that's right." Joel replied. "Man, it's confusing." Ellie sighed. "You just gotta play it a couple of times. It'll all make sense sooner or later. I didn't understand a damn thing about it until my brothers forced me to play back when I was younger." I said as we slowly trotted forward on our horse. We ride into the parking lot and look around.

"Okay. None of these buildings look like a mirror to me." Ellie said. "Well, we'll head to central grounds. Should be able to see most of the campus from there." Joel added. "Don't worry, I'm the GPS, I know where to go, Joel." I answered. "What's a GPS?" Ellie asked. I groaned and continued moving. "Stay, Callus. What kind of name is Callus anyway?" Joel inquired as he looked at Elliot and Ellie. "Not our fault you forgot to ask Tommy his name." Ellie chuckled.

"Pft, Callus." I snickered as I climbed off our horse and helped Max down. "Don't laugh at our horse, yours is named Peppermint!" Elliot remarked. "Max named her Peppermint actually." I scoffed.

"So, these places. . . people would live here and just study? Even though they were all grown up?" Elliot inquired while looking at the campus. "Yeah, they'd study, party, and find themselves. Figure out what they wanted to do with their lives." I said. "What they wanted to do with their lives." Ellie muttered.

"There was a lookout here." Joel commented. "That's a good sign." Elliot chirped. It didn't feel right, the place shouldn't be empty like this. That lookout was usual fitted with multiple Fireflies watching out for us Jaguars and Hunters. I caught Ellie and Elliot looking at the campus' old mascot banner. "That's a giant ram. You guys were like some idol worshippers." Ellie asked.

"When it came to sports? Hell yeah." Joel answered. "You guys were out of control during the Superbowl." I chuckled. "A Superbowl? What is that?" Elliot asked. "Joel'll tell you later, he knows more than I do." I sighed, Max tugged at my hand and pointed at the sky. "What?" I muttered to her. "Ooh. . . it's getting chilly." Ellie shuddered. "It's that time of year." Joel said.

Ellie finally sees the shiny building I was looking at in the distance. "Hey, over there. Is that it?" She wondered. "Hmm. It does look like a giant mirror." Joel added. "That's it, guys." I confirmed.

"Whoa. . . How many people you think are there? Fireflies, I mean." Elliot questioned. "Reckon it takes quite a crew to run that operation." Joel said, "Ain't that right, Y/n?", "You bet. Last time I was here, I saw Fireflies in every corner. Looked like a damn cult." I answered him.

"You think there'll be other people our age?" Ellie piped up. "Ahh. . . I'm not sure." Joel murmured. "Hey, I was thinking. . . I would've wanted to be an astronaut." added Ellie. "Is that a fact?" I responded. "Yeah! Can you imagine being up there all by yourself? Would've be cool. I'm just sayin'. What about you guys? What'd you want to be?" She asked us.

"I want to be a p-pale-paleontologist." Elliot stuttered out. "You alright there?" Joel teased him. "Shut up." Elliot muttered. "What the fuck is even that!?" Ellie laughed, I nudged her with my elbow. "Language. You two are always swearing like sailors." I said. "Says the adult who swears to the other adult." Elliot chuckled.

"Back to the matter anyway! What is a paletologist?" Ellie wondered. "A paleontologist." Elliot repeated, "It's someone who looks for dinosaur bones, imagine going around the world, hunting and collecting these big ass bones that used to be these giant monsters who ate other things! Wouldn't that be cool?"

"Watch your mouth." I sighed, "And, I guess it sounds cool. One wants to fly to the moon and another wants to be dinosaur food." Joel let out a small laugh as Max giggled.

"What about you Joel?" Elliot asked. "Oh. . . well, when I was a kid I used to want to be a. . .a singer." Joel muttered. All three of the kids broke out in small laughs and chuckles. "Shut up!" Ellie chuckled. "No way, you, Joel, wanted to be a singer? Like what, country?" Elliot laughed. "I'm serious." Joel said. "Sing something." Ellie said.

"Ah, no." Joel shot down. "Come on. We won't laugh." Elliot begged. "I don't think so." Joel replied. "Joel. Please." Ellie whined. "Have you ever heard him sing, Y/n?" Elliot asked. ". . . I don't know. Maybe, but it was a long time ago. I forgot what he sounded like. Maybe Luke Bryan or Blake Shelton."

"Who the hell are those guys?" Ellie questioned. ". . . Old singers." I said. "What did you want to be, Y/n?" Ellie repeated. "I dunno." I muttered. "You do know." I heard Joel say. "What?" I asked. "C'mon, I remember when you said you always wanted to be a-", "Joel, don't say it."

"Be what?!" Ellie and Elliot asked. "A Triple Threat." Joel grinned. "What? What's a triple threat?" Ellie asked Joel. "It means I'll kill, hunt, and torture you-", "A singer, actor, and a dancer." Joel said. They giggled as I rolled my eyes, "That was a long time ago, Cowboy." I sighed, Joel looked at me with a smirk and continued forward with Max. "Max wants to be a ballerina." Elliot said. "Have you guys ever been to one of these?" Ellie wondered. "What? A university?" Joel asked.

"Yeah." Ellie said. "No, not as a student at least." Joel answered. "Oh, why not?" inquired Elliot. "Uhh. . . I had Sarah when I was pretty young." Joel said. "Oh. . . were you married?" Ellie questioned Joel. "For a while." Elliot then asked, "What happened?"

"Okay." Joel sighed. "Too much?" asked Ellie. "Too much." I whispered. "Didn't last long. But I got engaged later on." Joel confessed while Elliot looked back at him. "Oh damn, what lady fell for you, old man?" Ellie taunted him. Elliot snickered, "What happened?", "This happened." Joel said as he looked at the abandoned buildings.

"What about you, Y/n? Did you go to college?" She asked me. "Uh, yeah, actually. Although I didn't drink or party, I just studied while being a mom at the same time. I did have my brothers support to help me along the way." I explained while brushing my hair back out of my face. I grabbed my hair tie and tied it back into a braid before letting it rest on my shoulder. "How many brothers do you have?" Elliot said. "Uh, I had twelve.", "Holy shit!" Ellie gasped. "Twelve!" Elliot gawked. "Yeah, my parents had got married when they were like what, maybe fifteen and sixteen and started popping out babies every year since." I added. Max was surprised too as she glanced at Ellie and her big brother.

"How will they do it?" Elliot hummed. "Do what?" Joel asked. "Get the cure from us? You think it'll hurt?" Elliot added. "No, no. They'll probably just draw some blood—it don't hurt." Joel reassured them. "I've gotten shots before. They vaccinated us at school. It sucked." Ellie said.

"You got vaccinated?" Elliot asked. "Yeah, you didn't?", "No, me, Max and a friend of mine all avoided vaccination day and snuck out for fun. I hate needles." Elliot gagged. I grinned and as soon as we entered the building, we started scavenging.

"Hello? Where are they?" Ellie asked. "Hello! Hello! Hello! Fireflies! Where are you!?" Elliot yelled. We continued searching as the teens kept talking. "Yoohoo! Fireflies? Cure for mankind over here! Anyone?" Ellie said. "Let's keep it down until we figure out what's going on."

They followed me to search the third floor. Still no sign of Fireflies anywhere. "At least there's no bodies. That's good, right?" Elliot asked. "If we find out where they went." Joel sighed. Suddenly a crash sent us all in alert mode, I grabbed my gun and so did the rest. Max held a knife as she stayed by my side.

"Shit!" Elliot and Joel gasped. I followed the sound as I raised my hand to stop them from coming nearer. I held the handle and slowly opened the door to find the source of the noise: . . These damn monkeys. "False alarm. Just some monkeys." I sighed as the creatures ran and jumped out the window in a scurry.

"Jesus. Well, at least it ain't clickers." Joel commented. "Yeah. No Fireflies either." Ellie huffed. Elliot scoffed and spoke, "Well, maybe in all that research they turned into fucking monkeys.", "Elliot." I scolded. "Sorry. Language, right." He muttered.

"Just keep searching, we'll find something." Joel said to them. I entered the room and looked at a door. I tried opening it but it was locked, "Joel, give me a hand here." I said. He approached my side and rammed his shoulder into the door—busting into a lab office where a corpse remained in a seat. "Well, that's a sight." I said before kicking the body out of the seat.

Joel picked something up before I heard a prerecorded message: "If you're looking for the Fireflies, they've all left.", "Yeah, no shit." Ellie scoffed. "Ellie." I said. "Right. . . Sorry."

"I'm dead...or I will be soon. Got me some time to reflect—been years that felt like we were!—fucking thing was a giant waste of ti—not going to do this anymore." Joel continued to fast-forward over the useless nonsense to get something. "Come on." Joel grumbled.

"—looking for the others, they've all returned to Saint Mary's Hospital in Salt Lake City. You'll find them there, still trying to save the world. Good luck with that. . ."

Joel set it down and sighed. "Do you know where that is?" Ellie asked us. "I know the city." Joel said before looking at me, "What 'bout you?" He asked me. "Yeah, I've been there before with Fernando.", "Is it far?" Elliot added. "I mean, it's not close. But on horseback-" I stopped when I saw something behind Joel and Ellie through the glass. "What?" She asked before she and Joel turned to look. They all finally see a light in the distance below.

"Fireflies?" The two teens suggested. "No! Get down!!" I ordered before pushing down Elliot and Ellie, Joel knelt and Max yelped as she hid behind me. We narrowly missed being shot. "Who the fuck are these guys?" Ellie asked with shock. "It don't matter. We know where to go, let's get the hell outta here." Joel said. "We gotta be careful. Joel and I will clear a path, you two watch each other and protect Max, got it?" I said. "Uh huh." Ellie said as Elliot nodded his head in agreement.

Joel held his gun and quietly snuck into the other room, we followed and made sure to be silent. Max was huddled between the kids, I snuck up beside Joel and looked for a clear way to the stairs. "We can go around, but watch for the doors. They could open them at any moment." I whispered to them.

We began to descend to the second level, we were outside of the balcony door and kept our heads low. I stopped them and listened. "Who keeps moving?" I asked as I looked at them. ". . . No one's moving, Y/n." Ellie whispered. I looked back for Joel who reached to open a balcony door, "Joel, no-!" I gasped—someone then shoved it open and attacked Joel. "Fuck!" I yelled before running to help him.

Before I could reach him, another hunter ran out and swung a baseball bat at me. I blocked my head with my arm and grabbed the man's wrist. His bat broke on impact from my defense, but it still had a sharp hilt that he was trying to use as a shiv. "Got you, asshole!" I heard the hunter attacking Joel say. "Y/n!" The kids shouted. "Go help Joel or run! Go!" I ordered them, I kicked the man's crotch and landed a hard blow into his jaw with my right elbow. But the railing couldn't hold all of our weight.

It snapped and all four of us collapsed—landing on the first floor. I grunted and almost screamed when I landed on my side, the hunter beside me was impaled through the head by a rebar. I couldn't see Joel or the other guy because of the one in front of me. There was no rebar near me, but when I moved I instantly gasped in pain. My side. Oh shit. The hilt of the bat, it was impaled on my left side. My teeth were clenched as I tried to move. "Oh shit!" "Oh man!" I heard the kids say. "J-Joel." I muttered out.

I didn't know where or how they managed to descend on the first floor, but Max was right by me. "Elliot. . . Ellie, where's Joel?" I winced. "He's here-!", Y/n. . ." I heard Joel grunt. "Oh fuck." I growled as the pain began to spread through the rest of my system. "W-What do you want us to do?!" Ellie asked us both. I could faintly hear the running steps outside the doors. "M-Move." I mumbled. "What?" Elliot said. "Move!" Joel growled as he shoved aside Ellie and shot down one of the hunters who bursted through the doors. I raised my gun and shot down the second one.

"Oh man. . . Joel? Y/n?" Their voices were intertwined with each other's, my vision was starting to blur just slightly. "I'm gonna need you to pull." I heard Joel muttered. I slowly started to sit up, my side was burning, it felt stiff and uncomfortable. It hurt. Fuck! Ellie held my hand and helped me. "Watch the bat." I whispered.

"Okay. Alright, you ready?" Elliot asked Joel, "One, two, three." He said. "Pull!" Joel grunted, I finally saw where he was. He landed straight on a rebar. "Joel, a-are you okay?" I mumbled as he was pulled free, but he could barely stand.

"I'm fine. . . We. . . We just gotta get to the damn horses." He mumbled. "Okay. I don't see anyone. Let's go! Joel, Y/n, how are we doing?" Ellie asked as she let me put some of my weight on her. I could feel my blood soaking into my shirt. "I'm fine. . . I'm fine." Joel whispered. I was starting to see black dots filling my sights. "Y/n!" Ellie said. "W-What?" I muttered incoherently. "Are you okay?" She asked. "Y-Yeah. . ." I mumbled.

"Can you guys handle the window?" Elliot said. My body was so heavy, my eyes were fluttering. I felt sleepy, weak, I could hear my pulse beating in my ears as I kept moving. "Yeah." Joel's blurred voice muttered from beside me. "Okay." I didn't know who was talking anymore.

I winced feeling the bat inside of my side move and touch my ribs, before I crumbled over a window opening. "Fuck!" I coughed out. "—esus! Come on, move!" Ellie said to me, I felt one of them grab my arm and try to pull me up. I heard someone say something, but I couldn't understand what they said.

"I see you!!" One of the hunters said from afar. "Shit!" Elliot gasped. "Alright, just stay here, guys. We're gonna flank this asshole, huh, Elliot?", "Fuck yeah!"

"Ellie." grunted Joel, "Elliot." I hissed.

I heard the kids grunting, and a gunshot go off. I was too disoriented to do anything but lean against a desk. I could faintly see Joel stumbling due to blood loss. Did blood always feel this warm? I looked down and could still see the end of the broken bat lodged into my side. "Oh man, we gotta get you out of here." Ellie said. "I-I'm okay." I said, my voice was weaker than my sight.

"You're not okay, Y/n! You or Joel! Now come on! Move it. There's no one here. Hurry." Ellie said to us. "Joel, come on, lean on me!" Elliot insisted.

I don't know how we managed to make it to the doors. But I could see Max quickly running over towards the doors, "Here, stand up. I swear to god, if we get you two out of this, you are both so singing for us." Ellie said. "You wish." Me and Joel replied.

We make it outside, and my knees gave in before I fell to the floor. Gasping again when I felt the hilt dig deeper into my body. I saw two hunters beginning to try and take our horses. "What the fuck? Ah, shit!!" He snapped.

Ellie and Elliot both didn't hold back from firing at the two. "Come on!" Elliot said, Ellie grabbed my shoulder and pushed against my chest to lift me up. "Just. . . Help her get on the horse." I heard Joel rasp. "Alright. . . Can you get on, Y/n?" Elliot asked me. I grunted as I pulled myself onto Peppermint's saddle, "H-Help Joel. . ." I croaked. Max was being as careful as she could to climb on in front of me, Elliot climbed on behind me and I turned my head to see Joel on Callus with Ellie behind him. "Go." He mumbled as he nudged the horse, I clenched the reins and made Peppermint follow Callus.

~~~

I've never felt so lightheaded before. . . Spots of my vision started to go black. Elliot asked me why I didn't remove the bat from my body, I tried to explain without fumbling over my words that it helps keep the blood contained instead of bleeding out more. I'm weak, I feel uneven, this horse walking made the pain worse. My breathing was broken and close to wheezing. My heart was pumping and my blood was coating half my body, it was sticky and thick. I felt disgusted in a way for being so dirty. My eyes started to close, it felt nice. . . Too nice. I wanted to sleep. Needed to sleep. Sleep. . . Sounded so nice. . . My mind was slipping, my body growing heavier by the second as I felt myself lean to the side. "I think we're safe. Joel. Huh! Y/n! Y/n-! Shit! Joel!" Ellie's voice faded from my ears.

I coughed when I hit something hard on my back. I didn't know what. But I still fell asleep. . . It was peaceful. I could hear their voices fading from miles away. "Ah, shit. Y/n—here. Get up, get up, get up. . . You gotta tell us what to do. Come on. . . You gotta get up. . . Ellie, get. . . Joel?" Elliot said.

"Please, wake up!" Ellie begged.

~3rd pov~

The snow approached. Winter was here and it had already coated the large mountains, animals were hibernating while some decided to gamble and hop out of their hiding spots. A white hare climbed out of his burrow and sniffed the air, taking one more step—Shtch!

An arrow was shot into it's neck, killed by Ellie's bow. "Oh, this won't last very long." Ellie sighed as she approached Callus to tie the rabbit to the saddle before her eye spots a deer nearby. She lets out a small gasp before she ties Callus to a tree. "You'll just startle it." She told the horse before she begins to track it.

". . . Where'd you go? . . . There he is!" She said as her eyes widened at the large mammal. It's ears flick to the sides before it takes off again, she begins to give chase. She pulled back her bow and aimed her arrow at the buck, only for another arrow to strike it's ribs. It yelped and scurried off once more.

"Shit, he heard that." She growled. Ellie continues to hunt it, looking for the drops of blood until she manages gets a good shot at it's lower neck, but it still continued to run off. "Oh man. How are you still alive?" She groaned.

Soon Ellie was lead into an old mining camp. Lonely and abandoned as she kept looking for the stag. "What is this place? Everything's cool. . ." She muttered. "This place is not creepy at all." Elliot said from nearby. "Fuck!" Ellie gasped when he scared her. "What?" Elliot chuckled. "You scared the shit out of me is what! . . . But, nice shot in the ribs." She said to him. "Heh, thanks. Nice aim for the neck. I tried to shoot there but, it was the angle I was at. Plus this thing takes too fucking long to reload!", "Yeah, right." Ellie scoffed as they finally find the stag.

"Look at it. . . What a beast." Elliot grinned, they go to check the animal but pause when they hear a footstep. "Who's there?" Ellie questioned. "Come out, right now!" Elliot demanded as he raised his crossbow and Ellie pulled back her bowstring—both aimed at the sound. Slowly, three other hunters reveal themselves. They both stood still, their shots at the ready.

"Hello. . . we just wanna talk." A woman said, her long hair was black and her eyes were green, she looked frail and rather tired and hungry. "Any sudden moves and I put one right between your eyes. Ditto for buddy boys over there." Ellie warned them. "What do you want?" Elliot interrogated them. A man stepped forward and nudged the woman back before speaking, "Um, name's David, this here's my friend James, and this is my cousin, Darla. We're from a larger group—women, children. We're all very, very hungry." David said.

"So are we—women and children—all very hungry too." Elliot held his aim steady as he watched David. "Well maybe we could, ah, trade you for some of that meat there. What do you need? Weapons, ammo, clothes-?", "Medicine! Do you have any antibiotics?" Ellie cut in. Even Elliot was eager to get medicine. "We do. Back at the camp. You're welcome to follow us-"

"We're not following you anywhere. Buddy boy can go get it. He comes back with what we need, the deer is all yours. Anyone else shows up-", "You put one right between our eyes." Darla said. "That's right." Elliot confirmed.

"Two bottles of penicillin and a few syringes. Make it fast. Go on." David said to James who turned away and runs off. "We'll take those rifles." Ellie said as she looked at the rifles Darla and David carried. "Of course." David said, he took Darla's weapon and his own. "Back up." Elliot warned them as Ellie swaps out her bow for his rifle and holds him at gunpoint. Elliot placed his crossbow on his back and took Darla's weapon, aiming it back at her.

"He's probably gonna be awhile. You, ah, mind if we take some shelter from the cold?" Darla suggested to Elliot. "Bring him with us." Ellie said to her. Darla and David worked together to drag the deer inside of a garage before they quickly set up a small fire. "There. You know you really shouldn't be out here all on your own." David said as Darla squatted next to him.

"We don't like company. . ." Elliot said coldly. "I see. . . What're your names?" David asked. "Why?" Ellie questioned. "Look, we understand it's not easy to trust a couple of strangers. Whoever's hurt, you two clearly care about them. I'm sure it's gonna be just fine." Darla reassured the two. "Yeah. . . We'll see." Elliot muttered.

Suddenly, a clicker enters the room. David and Darla grab their hidden guns and shoot it dead. "You had more guns?" Ellie scoffed. "Sorry." Darla sighed.

[More infected begin to show up and surround the area. "Okay, I'd really like my rifle back now." David said. "No, you both have your pistols." Elliot retorted. "I hope you two know how to use those things." Darla said. "We've had some practice." Ellie said.

David shut the door and placed a tarp on the deer's body. "No matter what, we have to keep them out. Let's hope they don't find him. Cover the windows." David said to them. "Okay." Ellie mumbled. "Make every shot count now." Darla said. "We've done this before." Elliot repeated.

~~~

The kids made work of the infected, impressing the adults with their skills. "Hah! You weren't kidding. You're a better shot with that thing than Dave is. Gimme a hand with this." Darla chuckled. "Agh, c'mon, c'mon." Ellie muttered.

They ran back and returned to the deer in the cabin and crouch by the fire once more. Finally getting a break from being attacked by the infected. "You handled yourselves pretty nice back there. Ha, whew, I say we all make a pretty good team." David grinned as he eyed Ellie and Elliot. Darla was looking at Elliot's shoes, then his legs, his shirt, then his chest before his face—locking eyes with him.

"Psh. We got lucky." Ellie scoffed. "Lucky?" Darla chuckled. "No, no. . . no such thing as luck. No, you see I believe that everything happens for a reason." David said. "Uh huh, Sure." Elliot mumbled as he held his hands up to the fire.

"We do. And I can prove it to you. Now, this winter has been especially cruel. A few weeks back, we, ah. . . sent a group of men out—nearby town to look for food. Only a few came back. They said that the others had been, ah, slaughtered by a crazy man who was working with, what they told me, a woman who is a Jaguar. And get this, a crazy man and a Jaguar were traveling with two little girls and one young boy. . ." David said as he watched their expressions slowly change. "You see? . . . Everything happens for a reason." Darla added.

The teen stood up and hold them back at gunpoint. "Now don't get upset. It's not your faults. You're just kids. James, lower the gun." Darla ordered; Elliot turned around to see James has had them in his sights the whole time. "No way, Darla. I'm not gonna let 'em go." James huffed. "Lower the gun. Now give them the medicine." David commanded.

James reluctantly tossed the parcel on the floor. "The others won't be happy about this." James said. "Yeah, well, that's not your concern." Darla sighed. "Move the fuck out of the way." Ellie snapped. "You won't survive long out there. We can protect you." David said. "No thanks." Elliot growled, with medicine in hand, Ellie and Elliot run back to Callus and Peppermint.

"Let's get outta here. Come on." She said, Elliot ran behind her as he stole glances behind him just in case. Eventually they return to the lakeside resort they've been holed up in. "Come on." Elliot said as he entered a garage. "Okay." Ellie muttered. They go to the room where they've been nursing a feverish Joel and a weaker Y/n back to health.

"Y/n? Joel? Oh. . . We only managed to get a little bit of food." Elliot said to them as Max ran to hug Ellie before hugging him. "But. . . We did get this. Move your arms. Oh. . . Here we go." Ellie whispered as she moved their shirts to reveal a nasty scar on the sides of their abdomens. Ellie gives Joel the injection as Elliot gave Y/n some, causing both of the frail adults to wince or grunt in pain.

"Sorry. . ." Elliot muttered to them. "Sorry. All done. That's it. . . You're gonna make it." Ellie said. They catch their breaths and lay close next to them and get some rest, Max cuddled in the middle of the adults to keep the warmth. When the morning arrived, Elliot heard some voices from outside. He glanced at Ellie before crawling over to her and shaking her. "What?" She whispered. "They fucking tracked us. I'm gonna draw them away from here. I'll come back for you guys." He said. "No, we both go. It'll be easier if we work together." Ellie said. Elliot looked at Max and kissed her head. "We'll be back, sis. Watch them for us." He whispered into her hair.

She and Elliot snuck to the garage and quietly lift up the door, Elliot snuck out first to check the view before letting Ellie out next, both lowering the door quietly. Elliot whispered, "Easy. . .Go. . ." He and Ellie both found Callus and Peppermint, "C'mon. . ." She muttered. "Are you even sure they're here?" A hunter asked as they searched around. "Man, there were horse tracks down the fucking street. They're here alright."

The two tried sneaking by on their horses, but ended up blindsided by a hunter. "Hey! I got them! Get your ass ov-!" Elliot was quick to stab him in the throat. "What are you waiting for? Shoot them!", "But David and Darla said-!", "Fuck David and Darla. Shoot 'em now!"

"Go! Go! Go!" Ellie yelled before they both took off running on their horses. They ride through the deserted resort, evading the hunters' gunfire. "There!" One yelled. "Split up and go that way, they can't shoot us both!" Elliot said, "We'll meet around near the lake!" He said. "Got it!" Ellie replied before they ran separate ways to split the hunters up. "Dammit! Grab her! You get the boy!", "Aim for the horses! Don't let them through!"

"Get your ass off that damn horse!"

"Shit! She's running!"

"He's getting away!!"

"Come get me, you fuckers!" Ellie shouted. "We're gonna fuck you up!!" Elliot screamed from far away. "Shoot the horse! Shoot the fucking the horses!" Elliot managed to run out safely and Ellie almost makes it out behind him, but Callus was shot down, throwing them both over and down a bank. "Ellie!" Elliot screamed. "Oh man. . . No. . . Oh shit. Okay! I'm okay! Keep going!" Ellie yelled. "Meet me around!" Elliot shouted before running away as more hunters chased him.

"She fell down the hill somewhere. I don't see her though.", "She's running for the cabins!" Ellie finds and takes refuge in a cabin nearby as the hunters run to get her. "Are we really killing her? David said he wants her alive. Darla wants the boy to herself and-", "He doesn't get to make that call, neither does Darla. James told me they're the same damn kids from the university. How many of our guys were killed there?"

"Oh shit. I didn't know that was them. Screw David and Darla, then. I ain't taking a chance with this."

She manages to kill the rest of the five hunters after her and found an exit along a broken cliffside path. ". . .Nature track. . . Okay, that should get me out of here. You got this, Ellie. . . Okay, don't fall in the water. Don't fall in. Oh, shit. . . Okay." She mumbled while stepping across, "Here we go. I got this."

Ellie then finds a large hunting lodge on the riverbank. "That's the way back. Hang in there, Y/n. . . you too, Joel and Max." She whispered to herself. "Cover the grounds! Make sure he's not hiding somewhere over here!" The hunter shouted. She could see Elliot sneaking across to a different cabin and kill two hunters silently with his switchblade.

"How do we get outta here?" She muttered as she broke into the lodge, "I don't wanna get trapped in here. Agh, where's the way out?"

"She's on this side of the lodge!" One shouted. She quickly kills the last of her pursuers and tried to exit to run to Elliot who was just outside the door until David grabs her and begins to hold her in a sleeper hold. "Relax. . . Keeping you alive here. There you go. There you go." He whispered to her as she started to lose consciousness. "Fuck! Let me go-!", "Easy boy." She heard Darla chuckle to Elliot from outside the window.

~Fifteen years ago~

Y/n's shoes were near to breaking, her coat too thin for the harsh windy weather. "You alright?" Frank asked her, "I-I'm okay. . ." She whispered as she hugged her arms, "We need to find somewhere to sleep." Frank sighed while nodding his head. "Yeah, I know. Just a little further, alright?" He told her. "O-Okay." She shuddered.

She met Frank not even less than a week ago, hungry and freezing. She had left the hunters once again and ended up like this: prepared to die alone in a room. Until he came and found her locked away inside an old coffee shop, he offered her the last of his food, telling her that he didn't like being alone and would prefer to have her travel alongside him. One thing led to another and they stuck together ever since. Y/n could see the gentleness Frank had, he was soft, too soft: a Liability in a world like this.

She didn't trust him at first, but she gave into his offer. "Any specific place you plan on headin' too?" Frank asked her, "Never got a clear answer." Y/n pondered on an answer for him. She shook her head and continued walking, "Just. . . anywhere besides the QZ's.", "Alright." Frank said. She liked that he didn't push on to know her more, just asked the simple questions: Are you hungry? Are you tired? Wanna stop here for the night? Bathroom break? Water?

Frank was considerate, he gave her ammo for her gun, found an extra blanket for her, even a new backpack. "Here, we can stop in those old trucks and rest." He said as he hurried forward and forced open an old door to the back of a semi, "Come on, gimme your hand." He offered her. She was helped into the truck and he shut the doors, leaving only a small crack for an exit. "Alright, I'll keep watch-", "No, you need sleep. You've been keeping watch for three days straight." Y/n said as she looked at the doors of the truck, "I'm alright. I can last one more." He said.

"Frank-?", "I can survive one more night. I'll sleep tomorrow-", "No, Frank-!", "Y/n, you can trust me-", "Put your hands up, don't move or else we'll shoot." A woman said. Frank turned around and blocked Y/n as he raised his hands up, "Hey, hey, we don't mean no harm. We're just trying to find a place to sleep. We don't have anything for you to steal, you can search us but you won't find any-"

"You're not hunters, right? Tell me you're not hunters." The woman said, Y/n couldn't see what she looked like. "No, no we're not. Just a few people trying to make it by." Frank answered. She peeked over and saw the woman lower her rifle. Her skin was a dark tone, and her eyes were a beautiful emerald green, her curly hair tied back into a puffy ponytail. She wore a leather coat with a fur collar. Then, a man appeared beside her, "Thank you, Nica." The man said, his voice sounded like he had a bit of a hidden Hispanic accent, "Come on out, both of you." He said.

Frank walked to the door and hopped down, Y/n approached and saw seven other people with guns standing around them. The man was tall, 5'10 at least. His hair was a dark black and his eyes brown, skin was light brown and he had a handsome face, he had a peculiar scar across his lower left jaw leading up to the middle of his cheek. He smiled when he saw Y/n, he offered his hand to help her down, but she declined the offer and got down herself. Standing beside Frank once again.

"What are your names?" He asked them. "I'm Frank, this is my travel partner, Y/n." She tipped her head in silence as she noticed the unusual mark on the side of handsome man's neck. It looked like some sort of feline scar, purposely etched there within his skin forever. "Well, Y/n and Frank. You don't need a worry, we ain't gonna harm you, or kill you. We're not like that." He said, his eyes found Y/n's and knew what she was looking at. "Ah! This. . . This is just our symbol. A mark of loyalty in our community." He said to them.

"What community may I ask? The Fireflies?" Frank questioned. "Oh no, we ain't those rebellious democrats." He laughed, "We're the Jaguars." Y/n arched her brow and glanced at Frank who was unsure as well. The woman, Nica, chuckled as she looked Y/n and Frank's confused faces. "Our community is different from FEDRA, more dangerous than the Fireflies, and deadlier than the Hunters. We are the Justice Garrison Restorationists. People nicknamed us the Jaguars, and I took a liking to it. I'm the leader, my name is Fernando, nice to meet you, Y/n and Frank." He held out his hand to her and she slowly shook his hand.

"Y'all hungry? You can follow us, we'll talk more on the way." Fernando said, "Better than sleeping in that thing. Take one of our horses." Frank and Y/n both followed the group, they put their guns away and led them elsewhere into an underground tunnel. Through an abandoned station and into a secret entrance below the water tunnels into a private yet large underground facility base.

"For the past five years, we've been building tunnels and different routes around the country, we're spreading across the world. That's how large our community is." explained Fernando, "We have men and women, children usually go to a safer place away from here. But we still have contact to every single base, that's why it's important for us to have these scars on our bodies. The leaders of each majority around the country and farther have a scar on their shoulders, near their neck. Mines here because, like I said, I'm the founder."

Frank and Y/n both looked at the weapons, inside gym, selfmade showers, and military like bunks in each large tunnel. "We call each underground base like this: Districts. You two are in District 13." Nica said to them. "Exactly. We have food, gyms, beds, clothes, weapons, and training. Six days a week, people with different schedules take a break on Sundays or Saturdays while others work their shifts." Fernando said. "H-How do you work like this? Like. . . Keep everything in charge, I've heard about a militia group wiping out FEDRA soldiers and raiding QZ's?" Y/n asked.

Nica giggled while Fernando laughed with three other men following them. "Before the world went to shit, I was a Marine General. In charge of over ten-thousand to fifteen-thousand Marines, was in charge of tactical planning and coordination of operations. Before that, I was special ops. I worked my way up the ranks." Fernando said, "Seen hell, been through hell, and surviving hell right now."

Y/n was surprised by his knowledge, but also. . . Nervous. "Here, let's head to the cafeteria for you two." Five minutes later, both Frank and Y/n were digging into their meals. Chicken, corn, and salad, both starved and enjoying the food that was warm and freshly cooked. "Slow down there, girl. Don't choke on your food now." Nica chuckled.

Fernando sat across from Y/n and Frank as he started to talk. "We're a special community. We bring in people who are stranded outside who haven't become one of those hunters, FEDRA, or the Fireflies. We like to keep our community a secret to avoid the radar unlike them." Fernando said, "We'll always have food, animals, guns, protection. . . But, it does cost." Y/n looked up at him and swallowed the last of her food.

". . . Our supplies?" She muttered. "No, no. . . Something more valuable than that. Your loyalty." Nica said, "If you want to stay, you'll have to become one of us." Frank looked at Y/n and she looked at him. She wasn't sure either way, she left Tommy, her brother, and Joel—. . . She'd end up ruining everything here for Fernando. "I'm not really a good solider-", "I ain't looking for soldiers, Y/n. I'm looking for Survivors." Fernando corrected.

"It's okay, girl, I was the exact same as you. Thinking I'd ruin this place, mess up and get myself killed, or worse. Thinking that I was weak and couldn't even aim a damn gun, but look at me now. Going strong for three years!" She smiled proudly, her dimples showed in her dark cheeks. "What combat do you train?" Y/n asked.

"Different sorts: Boxing, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Taekwondo, Krav Maga, Eskrima, Wrestling. Then the basics: Gun training, reloading, aiming, bombs, disarming and rearming, grappling, climbing, camouflage, survival tactics." Nica said, "By the end of at least two years, you'll have these babies." She stood and lifted her shirt, revealing her abdomen with a strong and very visible six-pack lining her bare stomach. The same feline scar on the lower left of her hip near her V-line.

"Food is our main concern as well." She added before sitting down. ". . . Wow. . ." Y/n muttered, "But, aren't men usually-?", "Stronger then women? Yes, scientifically. But it depends on the person as well, you match a six foot woman to a five foot man, pretty sure the woman might win. Or perhaps a woman with martial art experience against one of them hunters, the lady might win. It's a gamble, but with a chance that you might escape with your life at the end of it." Fernando said.

"You want us to join your group?" Y/n muttered. "If you want. We're not forcing you." Fernando said, "We can deliver you somewhere safe and leave you alone, just as long as you don't go around talking about us. Or else we'll have to deal with you the fatal way." He laughed.

Y/n looked at her wrist and saw the old bruise she recently got from a hunter throwing her down and nearly killing her if Frank hadn't got involved. She looked at Frank and sighed, "I know you're gonna leave, Frank. . ." He just grinned and tipped his head. "It's okay. I understand. You've been craving to be stronger, Y/n. I'll be fine on my own, perhaps I'll find a guy out there to be my partner instead." Frank chuckled.

Y/n grinned and looked at Nica and Fernando. ". . . I wanna stay. . . And I want to train, I want to learn how to defend myself." She said. Fernando grew a wide smile and looked at Nica. "Good! Nica, show her to her room. She's you're new roommate."

~~~

Ellie slowly wakes up in a cell. See groaned and saw a hunter chopping up a corpse nearby. "Oh. . ." She mumbled as the man turned and left the room, a moment later, David enters with a dinner tray. "How are you feeling?" He asked her. "Super." She murmured as she glared at him; "Here. You should eat. I know you're hungry—been out for quite some time." He offered as he slid the food into her cell. "What is it?" She questioned.

"It's deer." He answered as he watched her. "With some human helping on the side?" She asked; "No. No, I promise. It's. . . just the deer meat." He promised. ". . . .You're a fucking animal." She sighed before kneeling down gobbling down most of the food. "Oh. . . you're awfully quick to judgment. Considering you and your friends killed how many men?" David questioned as he knelt down. ". . . They didn't give us a choice." She answered.

"And you think we have a choice? Is that it? You kill to survive. . . and so do we. We have to take care of our own. By any means necessary." David said. "So now what? You gonna chop us up into tiny pieces?" Elliot asked from behind Ellie. "You're here!" She grinned with hope, he nodded his head and grunted as he crawled over and started to devour half the tray. "I'd rather not. Please tell me your names." David said.

Elliot finished the food before kicking the food plate out of their cell. "You're so full of shit!" Elliot cursed at him. "On the contrary, I've been, ah, been quite honest with you two. Now I think it's your turn. It's the only way I'm gonna be able to convince the others." He said. "Convince them of what?" Ellie muttered as she stood and walked to the fence alongside Elliot. They both held onto the fence, she saw Elliot's eye glance over David's keys on his hip. "That you two can come around. You have heart. You're loyal. And you're special." David said before he ran his hands over hers and Elliot's in a rather very peculiar and unnatural manner.

". . . Oh." Ellie murmured. "Darla, my cousin, she's taking a liking to you, boy." David said as he looked at Elliot, ". . . Really. . ." He mumbled. Ellie gently puts her hand on his—then breaks his finger. Elliot pulled David forward and Ellie reaches to grab his cell keys while Elliot held onto him, but he overpowers the teens before knocking their heads repeatedly into the cell door before they dropped.

"Oh, fuck." Ellie winced. "Ow. . . Motherfucker." Elliot grunted. "You stupid little brats. You are making it very difficult to keep you two alive. What am I supposed to tell the others now?" David hissed as he held his broken finger.

"Elliot. . . and Ellie." Ellie muttered, Elliot looked at her before glaring back at David. "What?" David muttered. "Tell them that. . . Elliot and Ellie are the little kids that broke your fucking finger!" She seethed at him.

David scowled and stared at the two. "How did you put it? Hmm? Tiny pieces? . . . See you in the morning, Ellie and Elliot." He hissed before walking away.

Meanwhile, Joel finally comes to. Gasping as he woke up, immediately turning and falling onto Y/n who yelled when his weight landed on top of her. "Shit." He muttered as he backed off and held his side in pain. Y/n writhed in soreness as she opened her eyes. "Mm?" Max's voice hummed as she rubbed her eyes and looked at them.

Tears grew as she ran to their sides and held their hands with her smaller ones. "Max, where's Ellie? And Elliot?" Joel asked her. She shrugged her shoulders before signing to him, but he didn't understand her. "M-Max." Y/n winced as she sat up, "Tell me."

Hunters, Ellie and Elliot both left to lead the hunters away to protect us. They said they were coming back soon, but it's been a long time and I was scared that you wouldn't wake back up. I kept crying as I tried counting how long they were taking, I'm sorry I lost them! She signed desperately with tears. "No, no, don't cry, Max. You're helping us. You're doing just fine. We just gotta—shit!" Y/n hissed when her wound stung her system with pain.

"Fuck, Joel, come on. We gotta get up." She muttered. "Tryin' to." Joel grunted. Max squeaked as she ran over to find Joel and Y/n's bags, dragging it to them and gave them their guns. "Max, do you know where they ran off to? Any direction?" Y/n asked her.

By the frozen water by the big wood houses. She told them. "By the cabins." Y/n said to Joel, "We gotta hurry. Ngh—Shit." She sighed as she walked up the steps into the house. Joel and Max kept up, Max didn't let go of Joel's hand as she followed them

"I can track them, we gotta work together. I don't doubt there's still some hunters out there." Y/n said as she turned to look at Joel. "I'm listenin'." he said. "Good. . . we're gonna head out, Max, look at me. I know it's scary, but you have to stay here-." Max started to whine loudly as she held onto Y/n's wrist and cried. "I know, baby, I know. But it's only safer for you, you can stay upstairs and watch through the window, we'll come back with Ellie and your brother. I promise, we're not leaving you behind." Y/n told her.

She started to choke up and sob as she held onto Joel's wrists next, silently begging him to take her along. "I'm sorry, Max. But it's safer for you to stay. Here. . . This is only for emergencies." He said as he found a small pistol for her, "This is how you reload it, now, it's small but it's strong." He told her.

Y/n turned and looked out the window, seeing blood tainted in the snow and horse tracks. "Joel, we gotta hurry." Y/n said. "I know." He said before standing up and carrying a sobbing mess of a Max to the stairs. "It's okay, you're gonna be okay, baby girl." He whispered to her as he held the side of her tiny face and cleaned her tears. "Just hide up there and wait til we get back, we ain't gonna take long. We're not going to forget you. Here." He handed her the small bunny and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"You're gonna be okay." He said. She sniffled and wiped her face as she stiffly nodded, she jumped and hugged his shoulders before taking off upstairs and into the farthest room. Joel stood and grunted, holding his side again as Y/n limped over towards him.

"I know, we gotta hurr-" Y/n didn't let him finish when she grabbed the side of his neck and pulled herself up to kiss him. Stunning Joel for the moment, before he could hold her and kiss back, she broke away.

"For good luck. . . You know." She whispered—nervous at what she had done. Joel just slowly nodded, "Yeah. . . Good luck." He muttered. She grabbed her gun and started towards the door. "Come on, cowboy." She told him.

Joel grew a small grin, and a reddish blush that brought more color to his face before he softly said, ". . . On my way, Sweetheart."

______________________________________

Part 7 coming soon!

[carleysgun]

why does no one talk ab henry from tlou he's so fine ?? and also i feel so bad for him and sam. they deserved to live

[elliesherondale]

honorable mention of episode 5 :

Ellie having to watch someone turn again, knowing there was nothing she could do to help and knowing that she'd never suffer the same fate.

[omanrucereal69]

[aeirithgainsborough]

“I do okay?” “Are you fucking kidding me?” “You’re welcome, kiddo.” THE LAST OF US 

[ems-art-box]

HES HERE!! BLOATER MY BELOVED!!

[photomodegames]

[sandrasaid]

The Importance of Bill's and Kathleen’s Stories: An Essay

(Spoilers ahead)

Neither Bill’s or Kathleen’s stories were in the game but they serve significant roles as the polar opposites in the spectrum of possibilities during the outbreak. The contrast in their stories is clearly seen in their circumstances but is also revealed in their dialogues. 

Nearing the end of the episode, Bill tells Frank that he is “old” and “satisfied”. Bill is an outlier, one of the very few characters that reached old age without exposing themselves to high levels of aggression like Joel and can confidently say that he was content in the life he lived with Frank in the middle of a literal outbreak. It’s also good to note that this extends beyond the show, since most, if not all, apocalyptic shows generally do not have any ‘happy endings’ similar or anything close to Bill’s story.

And then we have Kathleen whose brother “would be horrified of the things (she’s) done”. Despite knowing that Michael “wouldn’t want (her) to hurt Henry, that he would want (her) to forgive”, she continued to pursue revenge. She went to great lengths to get even the smallest intel about Henry and Sam, putting her anger above the safety of their people. As a result she caused the destruction of what Michael would have wanted her to prioritize and she essentially loses everything.

Their stories are the paths that Ellie could take upon Joel’s death: Bill’s (to protect) or Kathleen’s (to seek revenge). Ellie could stay to protect Dina and JJ as Bill did to Frank, following what Joel said to her at the end of season/part 1: “to find something new to fight for”. On the other hand, Ellie could also seek revenge for Joel as Kathleen did for Michael.

We know what Ellie ultimately chooses in tlou 2 and the reason behind it, but the inclusion of these 2 stories in the show, despite not originally being in the game, puts further weight in the tragedy of Ellie’s choice in the following season(s) - one of them shows what Ellie could have had whilst the other is the reflection the reality she has made for herself.