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rootsofdread · 1 year ago

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Hii, hope you're having a wonderful day :)

Was a bit conflicted about sending more requests at first, but heck it. Hope it's not causing you any trouble <3

I'd like to see Jane, Ace, Vittorio, Jonah and Ghostface with a survivor who just seems to recognise every single other survivor and a healthy chunk of killers (probably more modern ones), holds some of their personal information, but never tells anything valuable about themselves, basically treating everyone either like some micro-celebs or their friends :D

Have been thinking about this for quite some time, and it never ceases to make me giggle.

🦞 istillloveyoualotbtw

as of filling this request, i am having a wonderful night! things have been a lot better for me recently :-) and you didn't cause any trouble at all sending so many, it made me very happy, in fact!! so i hope you didn't feel too bad about it, love your enthusiasm <333

Ace Visconti:

Ace figured, one day, he’d be a well-known celebrity for his gambling prowess. Though, he never did think it would be in some kind of alternate hell dimension…well, beggars can’t be choosers! He’s ecstatic every time you wave to him from afar, and even more so when you run up to excitedly talk to him like he’s some kind of a movie star. Sometimes, he thinks you may even ask him for an autograph…but he knows that won’t happen.

He’s often curious about your life, though he does enjoy being the center of your attention, but he just can’t help but wonder what you were up to prior to being taken by the fog. He has bets running with a couple of the other survivors about what you did for a living, but none of them have been able to find out who has the right bet.

Sometimes, he’ll try to weasel the information out of you by asking about more insignificant things: did you have any pets? What’s your favorite color, favorite food? He hasn’t gotten anything out of you yet, but he’s sure one day he’ll get some crumbs of information that’ll win him several rare items.

Jane Romero:

Jane had been recognized by a few of the other survivors; which she had expected, her television show had been quite popular, and she imagined the ratings must’ve skyrocketed once she died. She liked to think of meeting fans in the fog as a positive. In the world before, she never really would’ve had a chance to get to know anyone who knew her, but here, you all kind of have to get to know each other. She prides herself on being friendly with every survivor, including you, and you seem to be her biggest fan.

She’s flattered, of course. Sometimes it may feel strange knowing someone knows so much about her, but she also finds some sort of sweetness in it; you’ve devoted a lot of time to getting to know her when she knew nothing about you. She frequently tries to strike up conversation about you, telling you she’d like to get to know her biggest fan. It always surprises her when you assure her that you aren’t very interesting, and change the subject.

She tries to ask other survivors if they know anything about you, because she notices you being friendly with a lot of them. She’s similarly surprised to find out nobody else knows a thing about you, either. She figures you must be hiding something about your past that you aren’t proud of, and she decides to get to the bottom of it to help you. But she knows that’ll take a while…

Jonah Vasquez:

Jonah didn’t imagine he’d ever be known for the kind of work he did. In fact, the first few times you eagerly approached him, he was a little suspicious of how exactly you knew him. He eventually figured he must’ve been publicly recognized somehow after his apparent death, because you didn’t seem like the type to know government secrets. So he began to relax a little and was more open with you, and was even happy to share things you weren’t privy to.

By nature — or instinct, even — he wants to find out more about you. He’s subtle about it at first, sneaking in a what about you, every so often when you ask him a question. You usually ignore it. He resigns to the fact he needs to be more upfront asking you about yourself, directly asking you what you used to do for a living, what your hobbies were, your family. You’re a better secret-keeper than even he was, in his time.

On his own time, outside of trials, he tries investigating you. Inspecting items you happened to leave behind, tailing you and seeing how you behave with other survivors. Nothing has given him any leads, yet, but he knows himself and he knows he’ll get to the bottom of you somehow.

Vittorio Toscano:

Vittorio was utterly confused when you approached him, saying you knew him and couldn’t believe you’re meeting him. When you told him you’d read about his discoveries in old tomes, he couldn’t believe he’d been written about. Someone took the time to chronicle what he’d done for the world…and someone else in a completely different time to his own read about him. He’s blown away. He’s touched knowing his discoveries had reached someone else.

He tends to be more curious about what modern people know about the arcane, and he usually asks you about that. He does attempt to ask you about yourself, too, deeply curious about what time has changed for everyone else. You won’t talk about yourself, but you seem happy to tell him everything else. He wonders why you almost refuse to speak about your past…

Himself, he’s quite open about what he did and what happened in his time. He knows other survivors aren’t quite as talkative, or they hide or shade certain things about themselves. He knows it isn’t as easy to talk about yourself…but he hopes one day you’ll open up to him. Until then, he’ll keep trying.

Danny Johnson / The Ghostface:

Danny is instantly flattered when you come up to him discussing him and his past crimes. He knew there were people that followed his activities closely, but to be honest, he never thought he’d meet one of them after he’d been taken into the fog. He’s actually surprised by how much you knew about him; he was quite certain nothing substantial ever made it to the news…but oh well, he has a fan now. He notices you’re strangely chummy with some of the other killers, too, but what’s important is you always come back to him.

When he starts getting more attached to you, he tries to find out things about you, too. Important questions and unimportant questions alike get brushed off by you, but he figures you must just be being safe by not sharing anything about yourself. Realistically, those self-preservation skills should’ve kicked in long before you decided to talk to him…

You know what happens next. He starts following you around and watching you, notepad at the ready, seeing what he can find out by spying on you with others and when you’re by yourself. He’s patient. Even if doing this doesn’t amount to anything right now, he knows it will at some point.

#inbox #gender neutral reader #survivor reader #ace visconti #jane romero #jonah vasquez #vittorio toscano #danny johnson #dbd imagines #dbd x reader #dbd x you #ace visconti x reader #jane romero x reader #jonah vasquez x reader #vittorio toscano x reader #danny johnson x reader #ghostface x reader

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unadulteratedsoulsweets · 11 months ago

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A DC X DP IDEA #27

They’re the strongest?!?!

Imagine dis…

You know … I read too much humans are space orcs fic, prompts, ideas… etc.

But I still like Danny Phantom and DC…

And I remember that one A03 fic…

…

Another alien invasion is another Wednesday for the JL but it seems like they are quite different. Not only they are known as invaders in the Green Lantern Corps but they also have some sort of code among warriors, they give a chance to the species they are invading to fight back. By having their strongest fight against their strongest. It is not through fighting to the death as different planets have different climates and terrains and thus have their version of the Olympic games but instead of rewarding the participants medals, they were rewarded their planet's safety, but Hal commented that the challenges are too staged, too well known to the invading aliens. Since the ones defending have no idea how to approach the challenges, they always end up losing. Green Arrow commented that since they can just send out the Big Blue boy scout, Hal shook his head as they have to be the same species one planet already tried it by asking aid from another planet and not only lost but the invading aliens got 2 planets, plus they’ll bring it up to the galaxy court system and put them in a tight spot. Of course, Aquaman blinked with confusion and asked if there was a court system for the galaxy.

…

So of course, when the said invading aliens landed on the Milky Way and broadcasted their intentions. The JL already have a team to fight them, of course, we have Batman with his cunning mind, Wonder Woman for her chivalry and strength, Flash for his speed, Doctor Fate for his mastery of magic, and Cyborg for technological skills. Just as they were about to tell the invading aliens that they had already picked their strongest, another announcement popped out. Apparently to even out the playing field they have a new technology to help them pick out their strongest for them. As if they were talking to kids and promptly pressed the bottom to automatically select the earth’s strongest.

The heroes at the space station as well those around the world who were debriefed about the situation a week before are already bracing themselves to be picked, while the citizens around the globe are all now watching and anticipating as not only this a new thing as the majority of their alien invasion they immediately went to evacuation.

Who appeared/ chosen immediately made both sides' jaws drop….

Three?

Only three are chosen…

An adult, a teen, and a child?

A man who wore a blue rental suit with glasses, blue eyes and black hair. Which the Metropolis recognizes as one of their own. Clark Kent, a reporter with fame and reputation on par with the famed Lois Lane. The ideal model of someone who came from the countryside and made a name and life in the big city.

An 11-year-old boy with blue eyes and black hair who wore a red hoodie, faded jeans, and red shoes, in which the city Fawcett knew of. Billy Batson was, a former foster kid on the run until he found his forever home with the couple named Victor and Rosa Vasquez who also fostered a couple of kids, which Billy claims as his siblings. A kind kid who kept doing good around him and his community.

Lastly, a teen, again with blue eyes and black hair wore a faded NASA hoodie, and blue jeans with faint eye bags which was a small town in Amity Park where he came from. Danny Fenton, the only son of the two leading scientists of ecto-biologists in ecotology, the one who realized that one of the two purple-back gorillas is a female thus avoiding extinction.

…

Clark Kent by day and Superman by night knew about the invading aliens. He also knew that he could not participate despite being raised on Earth made him unqualified to join. So, imagine his shock when he suddenly found himself with two earth children in the middle of a large arena with futuristic cameras looking at them. He is now in an internal dilemma; how can he save the two kids, while he tries to save Earth altogether?

This train of thought also passed by the young Billy Batson on the said teen, Billy already knew that Superman was already thinking of saving the both of them. Now his priority is to survive and keep his secret ID a secret for a bit longer.

…

Danny on the other hand has a completely different train of thought, he was just about to reach his room. His beautiful room where his bed is, he had just finished a four-hour exam to bring his grades back up to an acceptable level, 9 continuous ghost attacks, another nonsense quarrel between the observers and he is close to committing anarchy just so he can have the same treatment to Pariah Dark, an eternal sleep in a comfortable looking Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep.

So imagine his surprise when he is suddenly teleported to what looks like an alien ship, Danny would usually be ecstatic but they have interrupted him, he is so close to his bed. He knew that there would be some sort of an invasion as he remembered the bits and pieces from Tucker’s ramble when they last hung out together.

He doesn’t care if aliens invade Earth, but if you come between him and his bed. He will make sure of what he will do to those who disturb him, he will make his fight with his future self and Pariah Dark like child’s play.

…

The Justice League kept on insisting that they had already chosen their fighters and those who appeared in the middle of their arena were civilians, not warriors. But the invading aliens stayed on their decision and immediately began the games.

The rest of the heroes are now scrambling to not only stop the invading aliens but also save the 2 civilians who were randomly selected.

While the rest of the League is now panicking the rest of the world is now in an outrage. Sending out a civilian man and children by the alien's weird machinery.

The Fenton couples are especially rabid as, if there is anything that tops their ghost obsession, it would be their children’s safety. The family of Batson are on the edge of their seats as they worry for Billy.

…

The games begin with an opening of rules and such, as well as an introduction to the alien’s warriors who are big and full of muscles making the Earth team look so tiny.

The first game starts with a simple hunting game with very minimal clues and tools at their disposal to find what they seek. Clark can crack the code on to where to hunt but it is a dangerous environment, Clark discusses it with his teammates on how to catch it, Clark is already thinking if he should reveal himself as a meta with strength but Danny just glares at the man and grabbed capturing tools form the table and sought out the thing they are designated to hunt.

The other team took a glance at Team Earth and warbled some snickers at how they took looking/hunting too fast without any plans and went back to their planning.

Clark and Billy are worried for their other teammate but after a few minutes, they hear a roar some shuffles, and then silence.

Back on earth, most people are horrified a what could be the teen’s fate but when footsteps were heard they saw the teen again scathed, with a few scratches, and a hulking beast all tied up from its muzzle to its tails.

Clark nervously asked, still maintaining his civilian identity, how on earth Danny had caught such a beast. Danny’s only response was, back from where he came a certain ”friend” really wanted “someone’s” pelt on a wall and learned some things while HE was chasing that “something”.

That starts the Danny effect…

…

A tag sort of game as there is a hunter to hunt them down and their objective is to hide longer than the other team, with both Billy and Danny a part, while Billy lasted a few hours with his wit and skills that he honed during his time when he ran from CPS and the police during his days as a foster child, which is impressive itself as he got two of the other team’s members to be captured first before him. Danny outlasted Billy and the rest of the other team won the game in a landslide and gained some bonus points by not only redirecting the hunter and leading them into a false trail or a dead end but also messing with the said hunter without being spotted by him.

Cooking with live and weird ingredients? Clark initially volunteered to do it as he has a stomach of steel being an alien but cannot cook as he has no idea which ingredient is edible as all alien dishes and ingredients come from Krypton and he has to impress the judges who put them in a disadvantage as the judges are from the same race as the opposing team. Danny just shook his head at Clark quickly put on an apron and set to work.

Clark and Billy immediately turned green at the sight as Danny nonchalantly battled the live ingredients, from the meat section to what seems to be the fruit and vegetable section, It is bloody as it is and quite fascinating as it is disgusting. All their years in the Justice League they have seen some twisted and weird things but seeing their third teammate casually stab what looked like an unholy cross hybrid between an octopus and a shark trying to crawl away from the carnage, cleaned the weird animal from the inside out and fillet it.

Of course, they are in disbelief when the judges practically moan the moment, they taste Danny’s dish. Clark and Billy are pretty sure one of the judges is planning to spare Danny and turn him into their chef if the invasion continues, with the way they look at Danny. The judges reluctantly let Danny’s dish win.

Billy reluctantly asked Danny where he learned to cook like that, Danny’s only response was a grumble of a sound that seemed to sound like at home but that cannot be, right?

Trying to survive an onslaught of hypnotic plants native to the alien’s home world, Danny once again won and even began criticizing the plants for how their music was so horrible that it would not even wake the dead.

Play some sort of FIGHTING VIDEO GAME that is popular in 5 sectors in their part of the galaxy, Danny wins and repeatedly shoots the aliens with pure hatred and anger in his eyes, Clark has to physically drag Danny out of the arena to stop his onslaught of firing to the poor guy who was already on the verge of crying.

And so on with the Earth’s team leading COUGH Danny COUGH and demolishing the invading aliens from their games.

After a while the games are done and Team Earth wins with a massive gap to the invading aliens. They returned the three in the middle of the Metropolis and went away without so much a fuss…

Well, expect that one chef in their midst how begged the leader to take Danny and only him with them but the leader is already fearing for his life as the last few games that humans began to be more feral by the second and he was sure he is also a second away from being the one at the other end of his chopping board.

…

Back on earth everyone cheered on the three and began flashing them their camera lights to get a new scoop, and one brave reporter even tried to interview Danny but when people tried to look for the elusive teen he seemingly disappeared.

Clark knew Danny was, sleeping peacefully in the middle of the bushes a few feet away from them, and kept quiet as he was late to realize that Danny was on the verge of a crash like Red Robin is when he pulled something like this when Conner invited him.

…

PS: If someone out there wanted to continue or make a fic about this you are free to do so, don’t forget to tag me though.

#dc x dp #dc x dp prompt #danny phantom #dp #danny fenton #ghost king danny

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mybworlds · 29 days ago

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Alive

Pairing: jackson!joel miller x f!reader (no use of Y/N)

Summary: You, after a very long trip alone across the country, arrive in Jackson. Joel is a very lonely man and after Ellie broke up with him, he's even more alone and grumpy. Tommy and Maria decide that you're going to stay at Joel's house for a while, at least until more houses are built. Will your cohabitation be easy? Or will it be more complicated than everyone thinks?

Warnings: use of you, use of alcohol, loneliness, suicidal thoughts, suicidal attempt, a short story about sexual assault that occurred in the past I won't go into details, another SA in the present days, violence, blood, lots of sexually explicit content, use of petnames, dirty talk, fluff elements, mutual pining, the main characters spy on each other for a while, the image of the female character has the sole purpose of representing the character, but you can imagine her however you want, no physical description of the female character except for long hair often gathered in a ponytail or braid, she wears a bra and jeans (most of the time).

Extra warnings for this chapter: spoilers about the second season and an important event that characterizes TLOU2.

Masterlist

follow @mybworlds and turn on notifications to get notified when I post new fics

Thx for the dividers @saradika-graphics

You avoid Joel.

You know he had nothing to do with what you lived again, he helped you, made you tea, prepared food, tucked you in.

You know he had nothing to do with it. You've been telling yourself this for days and days, but you still can't leave your room.

Yet, you stand looking out the window all day, you're scared.

Again.

The snow continues to fall heavily and covers the ground around the house.

You are back to observing the city and its inhabitants from afar. You feel like an intruder again to everything that happens around you.

Joel knocks on your door twice. It's a conventional sign that Joel has adopted to tell you that he's brought you something hot to eat.

It seems like he cares about you, but you know he doesn't. He told you so clearly that he doesn't care about you.

You turn towards the door and you go to open the door. When you open it there’s Joel only.

His look is unreadable.

He opens his mouth as if to say something, but then he reconsiders.

You stay like this. Motionless, one hand on the doorknob and the other at your side.

His hazel eyes bore into your. You gulp.

Then, he seems to regain a hint of control, "Um, I'm about to go on patrol, you have to come." he says hastily.

You swallow, "I have to?"

He nods, "Yeah. Are you coming?"

You sigh, "What about Jesse? Tommy? Vasquez?"

"I need ya." he replies, but shortly after saying it he realizes the manner and words chosen. He clears his throat, "So?" he asks you impatiently "Will you come?"

You sigh, “Okay.”

Joel nods before to walk away, you hear him go downstairs, while you stare at where Joel was standing a moment before, he's so weird.

You shake your head, deciding to ignore everything and focus on the patrol. You put on your scarf, gloves, hat, snow boots and jacket and head down. You take your bow and arrows and you reach him.

The door of the house is open and Joel is there in front: his hands on his hips and his gaze turned outwards, his rifle askew.

"Ready." you say alongside him.

He turns to you, looks at you, you lower your gaze and look outwards, then back at him "Shall we go?" you ask him.

He nods with a poorly concealed smile.

When you leave the house, you reach the horses and Joel asks you "Do you wanna help?"

"No, I'll handle it myself." you respond by mounting your steed.

You tighten the reins, observing the horse's mane, feeling a vice in the pit of your stomach. You know he's just trying to make you understand that he's there, but you don't want to be treated differently. You would feel even worse.

You join the others in silence, "Hey," someone greets you, others give you a look full of compassion that makes you look down. You don't want to be treated like a victim. You couldn't stand it.

Jesse places a hand on your back getting your attention, “It's going to be okay.” you nod with a small smile, then he says “Okay, this time Joel, you and Tommy are going to the valley. Stone and Clark towards the mountains, you and me instead" he says turning his gaze towards you "in the woods."

You nod as Joel approaches you.

"Jesse, I thought she and I could go together," you first look at Joel dumbfounded, then you and Jesse exchange looks.

"Um, Joel, you know that area so well and so does Tommy. It's for the best. We'll meet back to the radio tower in four hours." he adds, addressing all of you.

Joel looks down, almost looking disappointed.

Jesse walks away and that's when you turn to him, "Joel?" he looks up "I'll be fine." he nods, resting his eyes on yours, "Promise." you add placing a hand on his forearm before to leave.

"What was that?" Tommy asks his brother.

Meanwhile, the two brothers head towards the valley, always keeping an eye on the area around them which is quiet for the moment.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Joel replies despite having understood exactly what his brother is referring to.

"Don't get vague with me. I recognize that look and I haven't seen it since... before Sarah was born."

Joel sighs, looking left and right. His love life has always been a disaster and even before the birth of his daughter, after his mother left them, he no longer had anyone other than sporadic encounters once or twice, but then he returned to Sarah and she was the only one to whom he had dedicated himself completely.

"I'm serious, Joel," Tommy continues, "if you were to finally start a new life, I'd be happy and I'd give ya all my support."

Joel mutters to himself. You are pretty, sweet, you are fragile even if you do everything to hide it, you are brave, but that's not the point. The point is, he doesn't know if he's really ready to take off that armor and show himself for who he really is. Although he himself has difficulty understanding who he is now, who he has become.

"Think about it." Tommy says.

"There's nothing to think about! I can't stand her!"

Tommy sighs, "If you want to prove that you're a tough one, don't do that. You'll just risk pushing her away." Joel's gaze is blank "If you don't want to get teased about that, it's different!"

"Stop ranting, move!" Joel snaps.

Tommy chuckles shaking his head "Okay, heart of stone, let's move our asses!"

The vegetation is covered by a thick blanket of snow, the horses pass two fallen trees, a fence and the remains of a house. They can only hear the footsteps of their horses in the snow and their breathing. The two siblings look around and apart from a few infected people and a couple of hares they find nothing else.

"There's nothing here. Let's join the others at radio tower." says Joel making the horse turn around.

When the two brothers reach the meeting point, Stone and Clark are already there preparing a fire, Jesse is carrying a bunch of blankets and handing them out to Clark and Stone who are already there.

The Millers get off their horses and approach the others, Joel looks around perplexed, where are you?

"Jesse?" the boy looks up "Where is she?" Joel asks looking around.

"She said she wanted to be alone a little longer," he replies.

“And you did?” Joel continues looking around in hopes of seeing you.

"Joel, relax and then don't crowd her."

"I don't wanna crowd her." he clarifies "It's just..." after everything you had to suffer "she's been through a lot."

“I know,” both Joel and Jesse are silent for a few moments, “that's why you should give her some space and time.”

"I'm just worried that she's alone somewhere. This world is dangerous." Joel continues although he realizes that this excessive concern of his may sound ridiculous.

“You're a good roommate,” Jesse says, patting Joel on the back, “if she's not here in half an hour, I'll go look for her.”

Joel looks around.

No, he'll come after you.

You and Jesse found some canned food, bottles of water, and some wood. You can return to your meeting point.

It reminds you of when you grabbed everything you could just to survive, you remember how scared you were after escaping from the QZ, you remember constantly looking over your shoulder.

You were so afraid.

"All in all, it turned out nice." Jesse comments with a smile.

"Huh? Yep! Yes, indeed." you reply, but you're distracted.

Jesse is silent, as you.

Then you dare to ask him, "What happened to those two guys?"

Jesse doesn't need to know who you're referring to, he knows.

"The next day the council met and they were expelled. They won't be able to hurt you anymore." he tells you in a complacent way.

You nod. So, they're out here. Somewhere. Maybe alive or maybe dead or maybe infected.

You swallow and think if those policemen had listened to you in that QZ, you might not have done what you did, maybe you wouldn't have run away.

Your head is spinning and you're starting to break out in a cold sweat, you feel like your arms and legs are paralyzing, you choke.

"Are you okay?" Jesse asks you, coming next to you.

“Mhm, mhm” you moan “You go ahead, I'll catch right up."

"It's not a good idea."

"I insist, go. It's not my first time alone, Jesse. It's okay." you say feeling your breath getting shorter.

Well, actually, it's not.

Jesse tells you something like he's going to start moving forward or something like that before to leave, you feel paralyzed.

You can't breathe or think. You're terrified. The anxiety is growing more and more inside you, it's becoming unbearable. Your heart beats so hard, it feels like it's going to explode in your chest.

You remember that evening when you left the QZ, you remember your only three surviving friends who told you not to leave the quarantine area, but instead you did with a backpack on your shoulder and as many supplies as you could bring with you. You had just killed the man you thought loved you who instead raped you. You're a killer and it doesn't matter why you did it, but that you did.

You didn't even realize you'd fallen off your horse and been submerged in the snow. You breathe hard, you move your eyes left and right, unable to move.

Everything you've ever felt is eating you alive.

What you lived, what you did will never change.

Never.

He had to pay for it, but did you have to do it?

You're a murderer.

"Hey, hey, hey," Joel grabs your shoulders making you re-emerge from the snow that had partly covered you and making you sit down "breathe, breathe slowly. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth."

“I can't breathe,” you tell him in a strangled tone of voice moving your eyes only.

"Yes, you can. C'mon, kiddo." he says positioning himself behind you making you rest your back against his chest "Do you feel my breathing? In and out. In and out."

You're shaking, “Joel,” you say, gripping his jeans in your fists, “I… I…”

"Sssh, sssh, it's okay, even if it doesn't seem like it. Don't worry. Breathe."

You continue to convulsively tighten his trousers, while the nature around you slowly regains shape and color.

"It's okay," he continues, holding your shoulders with a firm grip "In and out, in and out." he's silent for a few moments "I don't know what triggered it, but everything's fine. The past can hurt. But it's not here. Sssh, can you feel it? It's already better." he whispers in your ear touching your shell with his lower lip, "Come on, again."

You close your eyes and you do as he told you and very slowly the grip on his jeans loosens until it's completely loosened.

He doesn't speak, he still holds you in that position, then when he feels that your breathing has returned to normal he loosens his grip.

"How you feel?" he asks in a murmur in your ear.

You nod, “Good.”

"Okay." he says getting up and offering you his hands which you grab and standing up too "Let's go." he adds and together you go to the field.

Evening comes and you and Joel are on watch, secretly observing each other.

You want to ask him why he behaves so differently. He would like to tell you that he knows what haunts you about your past, but he knows that if he did, you might get mad at him. And you wouldn't be wrong.

You are almost next to each other again in front of a broken glass window, it's cold that evening too.

You wrap your arms around yourself, massaging them to warm yourself up a little despite the jacket.

"Cold?" he asks you.

"Freezing." you answer trembling.

He stands up and hands you a blanket that it enveloped him, “No, what about you?” you ask him questioningly.

"I’m fine." he answers you, but his red cheeks and nose tell a whole different story.

"Sure?"

"Yep," he mumbles moving away from you, but staying close to the window.

You visibly relax under that blanket thanking Joel with a look.

"Have you already participated in other patrols of this type?" you ask him curiously.

"Yep."

You nod, staring at the darkness outside, "How did it go with Tommy?" you ask him.

“Good,” he says nodding.

“Um, you and Tommy…” you don’t know if you can ask.

“What?” he asks you, frowning and narrowing his eyes.

“How is your relationship?” he tilts his head to the side “Do you get along?”

"Well, let's say that every time we're together we end up fighting each other."

You look at him, "But you love each other."

"Yes. Well, I guess we have a typical sibling relationship."

"I guess so."

Joel watches you, you are thoughtful. As always. He would like to help you, but he knows that it's impossible.

“Do you have brothers?” Joel asks you, looking at your face. “Or sisters?”

“No, I was an only child.” you take a short pause “But I had a friend who was like a sister.” Joel listens “She was my best friend. We were always together. We were together when it all started,” you tell him, you stop for a moment thinking about her "Joel?" you ask looking up at him finding his eyes already on you “Why?” he cocks his head to the side “Why do you treat me differently? I thought you considered me a burden, or someone to get rid of at the first opportunity."

Joel doesn't answer right away, he looks at you for a long time and when you think he won't answer you, he instead replies "What happened to you affected me a lot."

You tsk, you knew it. Now he feels sorry for you. What you didn't want. You have always hated those words like 'it must have been terrible' or 'poor thing' or those looks with which they make you feel worse and feel a broken piece that needs fixing.

"So, for you too I'm someone to keep under a bell jar, to treat as if it could break at any moment, right?" you retort him.

Joel quirks an eyebrow, but doesn't answer. At least not right away, he observes an unspecified point and then says, "What happened reminded me of how self-destructive mankind is." you stare at him waiting for him to make a comment about you, but he doesn't "I did some horrible things that I'm not proud of. I’d say that I did it to save my ass and the few people I cared about, but deep down I know that I'm not a good one." he tells you by opening up to you for the first time.

You look at him and see him still stare into space. His facial features are tense, you can see him grinding his teeth, "What did you do?" you ask him in a low voice.

Only then does he look at you, "I've seriously injured and killed, stolen, looted corpses, sold contraband, beaten innocents and not ones, I drank until I forgot who I was. The prototype of the good guy, y'know."

You purse your lips, lowering your head and huddling in the blanket.

"You must have done it for a reason," you just say although you ain't convinced by what you say. You don't want to judge him, after all you don't know him and you too have done horrible things to get there.

"You believe?" he tsks before approaching you, you remain still. You gulp and look up at him “What if I only did it out of pure selfishness?” he looks at you “Is this a good reason too?"

“You did it to survive.” you reply quickly "I'm sure of it."

"And you didn't?" You look at him, "Didn't you do it to survive? I mean, whatever you did." he adds looking you in the eye.

You lower your head, stare at your feet, with those words Joel seems to have sucked the air out of you. You bring the edges of the blanket closer, holding them to your chest. You close your eyes and breathe deeply through your nose, then open them again.

"Our stories are different."

He nods "That's not much, but for sure," he comments "but there's the same epilogue, don't you think?"

"If you say so." you reply, looking at the darkness outside.

For a while you stay in silence, the only sound in the background is the chirping of crickets and the hooting of owls, every now and then you hear small movements around you, you make sure that they are only small animals and so nothing to worry about.

Jesse, Tommy, Clark and Stone continue to sleep blissfully.

You know you should keep watch and be vigilant, but your eyes are so heavy. You do everything you can to fight this pressing sleep, but in the end you give in.

You almost feel like you're being pulled upwards as if invisible wings were levitating you in mid-air and you feel so light. For the first time in many years you have a complete head emptied, free from any thought. It's so beautiful. You find yourself smiling in your sleep, how much you wish your life was this warm and soft too.

When you open your eyes, you immediately sit up, fuck, you were supposed to be on guard with Joel and instead you're there wrapped between two very heavy and soft blankets on a couch not too far from your lookout point and you look like an idiot. You cover your eyes in shame, now you've given Joel Miller another excuse to fuck with you. How stupid!

You expect giggles or mocking digs and instead all you find is Tommy drinking what looks like coffee outside the building "Morning," he says hearing you behind him looking at you sideways.

"I'm sorry, I fell asleep," you justify, rubbing your eyes and then looking around, "where’s everyone else?" you ask, looking for other faces nearby.

"Everyone's back except Joel and me." he replies by rubbing his hands to warm up, you are about to ask him where he is, but Tommy precedes you "He heard a noise and he went to check."

"And you let him go alone?!” Tommy looks at you and at that moment the look is identical to Joel's "Relax, ma'am, he's a grown man and he can stand up for himself and then he practically forced me to stay with you." you do your high ponytail again and immediately go inside and grab your bow and arrow, "Hey, where are you going?"

"Looking for him, which direction did he go in?" you ask him, slipping the bow over your shoulder.

"Don't be ridiculous! It's imprudent to venture out alone!" Tommy exclaims.

"Your brother is out there and I'm going to see if he's gotten into any trouble, will you come with me or will I go alone?" you reply using a tone that doesn't allow any replies.

Tommy rolls his eyes, "So stubborn!" he whispers shaking his head "Okay, let's go!" he exclaims, taking his rifle and following you.

Maybe you overreacted, but you almost felt a duty to do so. He came looking for you and helped you in a moment of great difficulty.

As you walk following the footprints Joel left in the snow, Tommy says "I have no trouble understanding how you get along with Joel! He can be very stubborn at times too." for a few steps he's silent "You would have gotten along with Ellie too if you had met her as she was a few years ago."

You turn to look at him for a moment, "I actually met her a while ago, she seems like a good kid, even if shy and angry at the world,"

"Not with the world, but with Joel!" Tommy exclaims as you frown and stop looking at him. Tommy has the expression of someone who talked too much and shouldn't have.

"What happened?" you ask him curiously.

"I can't talk about it, Joel would kill me!" He says before starting to walk again.

You raise your eyebrows with a surprised expression, but decide not to investigate. If he wants to talk about it, he will. Or maybe not.

Walking in some places is extremely difficult, it amazes you that Joel made it this far.

"There are footprints that lead in one direction and others in another, what do we do?" you ask uncertainly, clutching your bow.

"You go right and I'll go left," Tommy offers.

"But you said it was dangerous to separate!" you blurt out.

“Do you have a better idea?” he asks, as stupid as it sounds, you shake your head "Good! Then you go right and I'll go left," he reminds you before walking away from you.

You walk slowly hoping not to run into any trap, a light but cold wind picks up and you find yourself shrugging your shoulders and at the same time tightening your grip on your bow. You wonder why you are interested in someone like Joel, a person who did nothing but keep you away and push you away, but at the same time tries to keep you around.

Someone from behind pulls you away an instant before a trap snaps at your feet and you find yourself crushed against this person's chest. His hands hold your shoulders firmly, your coat is gripped tightly in his fists. You turn around only to see who saved you, it's Joel.

His expression is serious and breathless as if he ran to catch you so you don't end up with a broken ankle.

"Joel?!"

"What the fuck were you doing?" he asks sharply, taking his hands away from your coat.

"I came looking for you." you reply and his expression changes from serious to surprise. The expression in his eyes softens although the stern expression on his face has not yet disappeared "Sorry, it was stupid." you add lowering your head before look elsewhere.

"Yeah, it was. If I hadn't been here you could have bled to death or maybe eaten by wolves," you breathe through your nostrils, clutching your bow convulsively, he sighs "Let's go."

Not that you were expecting a thank you actually, but you feel a strange weight in the pit of your stomach as if you'd just been punched. In fact, perhaps receiving it would have hurt less.

It's late morning when the three of you return to Jackson. Maria and Dina welcome you and Tommy warmly, the two only nod to Joel as if he was a monster to be kept away and this different reception makes you feel really bad for him even though he treated you badly before.

You see him out of the corner of your eye, Joel leads the horse into the stable with heavy steps. You swallow, you are about to tell him to join you, when Dina drags you away inviting you to have a drink together to warm up in the freezing temperatures.

That morning, you see Ellie again at Tipsy Bison. She stands in a corner aside, you glance at her fleetingly, having a hard time reconciling what you see with the description Tommy gave you of her. Tommy's words resonate with you, she's mad at Joel.

Why?

You know it's none of your business, but you still wonder what could have happened between them that was so serious to cause such a break.

"Earth calls Moon!" Dina calls back to you, making you jump and blink several times before to answer her.

“Sorry, what were you gonna say?”

Dina rolls her eyes before smiling and saying, “I'd like you to meet Noah. He's a bit eccentric, he loves to party, but maybe you could like someone like him.” you giggle awkwardly “I’m serious. He's very cute and I think you'd get along well. I don't want to force you, but I've arranged to meet him here tonight.”

“Oh, thanks for respecting my time!” you exclaim, rolling your eyes.

“I didn't tell him he has a date with you, let's say I told him about the party here tonight and so...” she gives you a knowing wink, you roll your eyes again.

“I don't know,” you sigh.

“Try! Maybe you'll like him!”

You scratch your neck in an embarrassed gesture, “Okay. . .” you sigh, sipping your drink.

For that unusual evening, Dina insisted that you wear a dress of hers that a friend had made for her a while ago, but which she said was now too small for her. The dress itself is very simple and elegant, unusual for you. You don't particularly like this kind of clothes because they draw too many glances at you and you feel uncomfortable.

You walk into Tipsy Bison and look at how they've decorated that place. You've never seen so many lights illuminate it. It's amazing. You find yourself smiling as you look around and see Dina dancing and having fun with a guy who seems to be a great dancer. When she sees you, she waves her hand and walks away from the dancer.

“You did!” she exclaims “You’re beautiful!” she says smiling at you and you smile back shyly “This dress definitely looks better on you!”

“Thanks,” you look around nervously, “has the mysterious man arrived yet?”

“Oh yes, it's him.” she replies, turning towards the boy she was dancing with until a moment before.

You don't have time to say anything else because Dina waves the young man closer, “Hi.” He greets you. He has short brown hair and a light beard, green eyes, a warm voice and a big smile on his face. He's cute, you think.

“Hi,” you reply a little less warmly.

“So, um. . . Are you Dina's friend?” he asks you embarrassed.

“Well, I'm going to get something to drink,” she says, taking her leave.

You both look at each other sheepishly, “I'm sorry,” you tell him “I'm not used to these things.” you add, shrugging your shoulders.

“Me neighter.” he says, scratching the back of his neck “I haven't had a real date since before the outbreak,” you smile weakly “I'm Noah,” he introduces himself, stretching out his hand which you shake while saying your name.

“How long have you been here in Jackson?” he asks you.

“A few months. And you?”

“A year. It's weird that we've never seen each other before.”

“Well, I'm not a people person, I’m a very private one. I think it also depends on the fact that I was alone for a long time.”

“You don't need to say anything, what we lived has changed all of us.” you nod “The things we did to survive transformed us,” you gulp “let's not think about it now, come I'll offer you what you want.” he tells you smiling.

“A soda,” he nods “better not to drink.” you add, clearing your throat. Instead he takes a slightly alcoholic drink and then you sit down, you're both uncomfortable at first, then you find yourself talking about horse riding and playing the piano and so you have something to say to each other and actually start exchanging opinions, while there’s a gentle music in the background and someone is slow dancing. Including Dina and Ellie.

You look first at the two girls in surprise, then at Noah who smiles and looks back. “They're cute, right?” Noah asks you.

You nod, “I thought she was with Jesse, I didn't realize. . .”

It's an instant and the situation goes from being tender to tense as Seth, the owner of the place, uses an absolutely rude tone and manner towards the two girls. To make everything worse, Joel intervenes and, from what you understand, he isn't well received here. He chases Seth away from the two, or rather from Ellie, and Seth reacts to this behavior.

Luckily, Maria and Tommy intervene and separate the two men. You watch Maria and Tommy go out with Seth who blurts out about Dina and Ellie's indecent behavior towards the families and children who are in the club, but then your attention focuses on Joel and Ellie.

You don't hear what they say, but you observe the contrite look of the man who looks at the young woman and then also leaves the room. He doesn't see you, but you see the tears fly down his cheeks before he walks out of Tipsy Bison.

You feel so sorry for him that a part of you wants to run after him, but you're sure he won't thank you so you don't.

After that moment of great tension, the music starts again and everything goes back to how it was before. All in all, your evening was calm and pleasant, Noah and you discovered other passions in common and you therefore spent a pleasant evening. It hadn't happened to you for a long time and you even managed to relax a little.

When you come home, however, the scenario is anything but serene. You hear the fire crackle and find Joel in a deep state of despair, he can't stop drinking. You look at him worriedly, “Joel,” you groan sadly, you are thinking about what to say.

“Fuck off, I don't want your pity!” he blurts out, pouring himself another glass of amber liquid and gulping it down “Go away!”

“No, stop.” you desperately try to stop him, but he snatches the glass and bottle from your grasp dropping some on the ground “I don't feel pity for you, but understanding.” you breathe heavily “You know what, I want forget it too!” you blurt out, heading towards a cabinet where he keeps wines and spirits.

The bottle of whiskey is thick and heavy, you open it a little clumsily “Don't be stupid!” Joel exclaims as he approaches to snatch the bottle from your hands, but you precede him and drink from the bottle moving away from him.

“No!” you protest “I suffer too, Joel. But I don't drown it in a glass of vodka or try to forget who I am so I don't suffer. Fuck, it doesn't work like that!” you say, taking another sip of whiskey feeling the tears in the back of your eyes and feeling your throat and insides burning.

“Then, why are you drinking?” he asks you.

“So there will be two of us who will forget. You can talk to me and I won't remember a thing about what you confided in me.” you tell him, staggering closer to him without stopping to swallow that drink.

“You're crazy, you know?” he says, taking the bottle from your hands and placing it on the kitchen island. You nod.

Suddenly Joel no longer seems so clear nor his voice hoarse to your ears, everything seems to echo and the edges blur.

You don't even know how you ended up on that couch in his living room, half intertwined, he talks non-stop and you laugh about what he says or you simply find yourself snuggling closer against him. Your hand wanders along the open edges of his shirt, he stops your hand on more than one occasion, but you always find a way to start stroking the edge of his garment again until one of your fingers doesn't end up caressing the base of his neck and this time he completely wraps your hand in his and you look into each other's eyes without saying anything.

“Don't.” he tells you calmly after what seemed like minutes to you.

“You scared?” you ask placing one leg delicately between his and letting the dress show your legs and almost all of your thighs.

“‘bout what? You?” he asks, you smile weakly shaking your head “So what about?”

“That you can't have a normal life anymore. Do you ever think about your life and what it would have been like if the world had never ended?”

He breathes deeply, “To be honest, I dunno what I would have done with my life.”

“Try,” you encourage him.

He clicks his tongue and stares at the ceiling for a few moments, “Maybe… I would have started my own business company.”

You hum, “Were you in the sector?” he smiles faintly, putting an arm behind his head and in that light he doesn’t even seem that old.

“I was a contractor.” You nod. “I was pretty good, y’know.”

“I’m sure you still are, why don’t you build anymore?” you ask him curiously.

“Well, no one feels safe entrusting the construction of a house to a drunk,” he confides in you and you, in a fit of tenderness, or perhaps due to the alcohol, rest your head in the crook of his neck and close your eyes. He moves his arm again and this time places it on your back, which he caresses absentmindedly.

“Don’t be sad, lil’ one,” he tells you, almost mumbling and with a tone that perhaps was meant to be a reproach, but which instead moved you even more.

“I'm not,” you tell him, gently caressing his neck with your nose, while he brings his other hand to your thigh.

You flinch at that contact, you remember the last guy, oh it was a long time ago and the moment was anything but intimate.

Now you're with Joel and this moment has suddenly become anything but weird. It's probably the alcohol, but being with him has become pleasant and intimate. Even though he's constantly angry and sad, you know, you sense that he will never do anything that may hurt you.

His hand caresses you so gently that you shiver, every now and then you feel his nails tickling your skin and you find yourself swallowing emptyly. You close your eyes and savor that sweet touch reverberating throughout your body. You like it.

You let out a longer sigh, you feel him smile, but he doesn’t say anything.

“Joel?”

“Uh?”

“Have you ever been married?” you ask him sincerely curious.

“I was. For a while.” he tells you caressing the outer side of your thigh as slowly as before.

“I like it.” you say with a sigh.

“What? That I was married?”

You smile, “No, dummy. I like the way you caress me.”

He smiles, “You’re taking advantage of me because I’m very tipsy.”

Your smile widens, “I think you’re doing it too,” you mumble, pressing yourself a little tighter against him, inhaling his strong scent of musk, wood, leather, mint and alcohol.

Alcohol has always bothered you in terms of smell, but on him it becomes pleasant.

“I had my own opinion about you,” he suddenly tells you, opening and closing his eyes.

“Not a good one, I guess.”

He smiles, opening his eyes, “Of course not.”

You find yourself smiling and absentmindedly caressing that portion of chest that peeks out from the edges of his shirt.

“What now?” you ask him.

“I dunno.” he answers you in a vague tone.

You chuckle, “You are beautiful.” You blurt out before you can even think about it.

“This is what you think of me?” you smile at him, snuggling into his neck and kissing it gently “Whatcha doing?” he asks you as you feel him holding his breath.

“I like your scent,” you admit, deeply inhaling his scent.

You rest on one of your forearms, getting up slightly and finding yourself looking at his face that you now find decidedly pleasant.

He reaches out to your face, moving a large strand of hair out of the braid behind your ear and start caressing your cheek. Oh, his hand has such a soft, gentle touch even though it's calloused and chapped!

He caresses your lower lip with his thumb, you get the shivers without even knowing exactly why.

“You know, no one knows about these panic attacks of mine.” You pause. “I think that’s what I have, I’m not sure. Anyway, you’re the first and only one who’s been there for me. Thank you.”

He caresses your cheek with an unusual and disarming tenderness and intimacy, “Anytime.”

“Maybe it’s the alcohol, maybe it was this first real conversation of ours, but I almost feel like I don’t feel broken, but good. Alive, maybe. Yes, I feel alive,” you confess to him.

You are eye to eye. Those hazel eyes almost seem to turn honey-colored in the fireplace light.

“Joel?”

“Uh?”

“I want to kiss you,” you answer him with your eyes downcast, feeling almost suspended.

“Don't.” he says placing a fingertip on your lips.

You lower your head, “Sorry that was stupid.”

“It's not that. It's. . . Um, I don't think I remember how to do it,” he adds sheepishly.

You smile, reaching out to cup his cheek, “I trust you.”

He smiles weakly, “Is that why you drank with me?” you nod “What if I had attacked you? What if I had hurt you?”

“You couldn't. I know.” you reply caressing his right cheek.

He places his hand on yours, “You're wrong. You know nothing ‘bout me. I've done so many horrible things and if you were smart enough, you'd run away.” he says.

“And what did you do that was so horrible? You did what we all had to do to survive.” you tell him “I don't judge you.”

“And why you do?” he asks you.

“Because…” you fell silent for a moment with your head down “I killed, but not just to survive,” he looks at you in silence, slightly increasing his grip on your hand, “I killed the man who raped me. I can't stop seeing that scene before my eyes, but I can't regret what I did.” he doesn't comment on what you said, but lifts your hand from his cheek and brings it to his mouth, more precisely he brings your wrist to his mouth and kisses it delicately “I tried to kill myself. There was a moment when I felt like a monster and...” the words die in your throat.

He kisses your wrist even more intensely “Thank you.” you look at him perplexed “For coming looking for me. You were reckless, but thank you.” you smile at him.

“It took you a long time!” you tease him “I know you're sweet, but hardened by everything you've had to endure.” you add.

“Well, I think it's the same for you too. In short, you fought and even if. . . Um. . . broken, you are...” he appears unsure of the words to use “shit, I don't even remember how to give a decent compliment!” he curses, making you smile.

“Do we blame the whiskey and vodka?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“So can I blame the whiskey for what I want to do?” he nods, looking into your eyes.

You place your lips on his once, twice, three times, on the fourth he kisses you back placing his hands on your cheeks and deepening your kiss. “We'll regret it, you know?” he asks before he starts kissing you again and holding you tightly to him while you sink your hands into his grayish curly hair.

You feel so good, you look into each other's eyes for a long, long moment, then everything goes dark.

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