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i'll have you know i tried, and tried, and tried, and tried, and now i'm giving up by thesco
Fandoms: The Last of Us (TV)
13 Mar 2023
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Summary
She wonders if the water will stain if her body lands the right way. If the blood will spray and tinge it pink, or if it’s too large for that. Will they have to drain it? Will her blood become a biohazard, a source of infection that she failed to cure? Maybe the gunshot will scare the frogs and they won’t be seen until next year. How many children will wake up crying like they do with flares and fireworks? How many will hear their first shot, and attend their first funeral?
How many lives will Ellie ruin before she turns sixteen?
[Ellie has a plan. Things don't turn out the way she wants them to.]
Series
- Part 2 of graveyard etiquette
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 3,539
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 32
- Kudos:
- 329
- Bookmarks:
- 43
- Hits:
- 3,385
Bookmarked by Deadbugapplepie
15 Jul 2025
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Summary
It’s a novelty to work on an art project that Ellie doesn’t have to quickly fold away before it’s ripped up by someone like Bethany. There’s paint in Jackson, and walls and canvases, and more free time than she knows what to do with.
Or: Ellie paints her heroes and villains. Joel gets rare insight into Ellie’s mind.
Series
- Part 2 of Fish Out of Water
Bookmarked by Deadbugapplepie
15 Jul 2025
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as you cradle my names, i carve out yours by omgahgase
Fandoms: The Last of Us (TV), The Last of Us (Video Games)
21 Mar 2023
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Summary
To Ellie, Joel is so unbelievably special. And she wants to level the new territory they’ve found themselves in: Joel calling her every sugarcoated name of endearment under the sun with a voice full of that something neither of them has been able to say.
But Ellie…well.
Ellie doesn’t know what the fuck to call him.
Or: Ellie is one second away from going on a teenage girl rampage because names are hard and thinking of a name for Joel is harder, especially if nothing fucking fits.
Series
- Part 1 of me and mine
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 7,415
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 84
- Kudos:
- 1,015
- Bookmarks:
- 196
- Hits:
- 8,766
Bookmarked by Deadbugapplepie
12 Jul 2025
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used to wish i was anything to anywhere (to anyone) by cardigains for marchflower
Fandoms: The Last of Us (TV), The Last of Us (Video Games)
15 Feb 2024
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Summary
“Thank you, baby girl.” Metal hits the ceramic edge of a plate. There’s the squelch of doused french toast being lifted out of a river of syrup, the muffled sounds of chewing. “Been a long time since someone…” Joel clears his throat for like the third time in two minutes. “Imma keep this someplace safe.”
“Whatever, man,” Ellie manages to find her way back to flippant, feeling the twisting, twining thing within her stomach finally beginning to settle, finding that the sugary sweetness is bright and tacky on her tongue. “It’s just some blueprints.”
Joel chews like he’s thinking. Somewhere along the way, Ellie’s learned what it looks like when he’s thinking.
Eventually, he says, “No, it ain’t.”
//
or: A little peek into the journey of settling in and becoming a family that's not afraid of titles and the certainty they hold.
Series
- Part 2 of Next Door Neighbors
Bookmarked by Deadbugapplepie
09 Jul 2025
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hell hath no fury like my father by flannelfeelings
Fandoms: The Last of Us (Video Games), The Last of Us (TV)
23 Aug 2023
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Summary
Joel knows FEDRA used corporal punishment, Ellie’s flinched away from enough outstretched hands for him to put that together.
He knows that when they first met, she’d watch him out of the corner of her eye every time he took his belt off before bed. He’d assumed with a small sadness that she was worried for her safety in a different way, more similar to the way she gets nervous around teachers after Silver Lake.
He hadn’t realized that the faded white scars on her back he sometimes sees peeking out of her tank top are from being hit with a belt.
(joel finds out more about ellie’s past once they’re settled in Jackson- and vows to stop at nothing to protect her from it ever happening again)
Bookmarked by Deadbugapplepie
07 Jul 2025
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cramps and closets by PenAndInkPrincess
Fandoms: The Last of Us (Video Games), The Last of Us (TV)
29 Mar 2023
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Summary
It wouldn’t be such a problem if she didn’t have such a massive crush on Dina, a crush that sometimes feels like it might be going somewhere when their eyes meet or Dina does stuff like reaching out to fix her ponytail for her, which sends little sparks of electricity throughout her entire body. They even linked pinkies during the last movie night, when Joel had opted out to go play poker with Tommy at the bar so she hadn’t been sitting next to him for once.
She wants to tell him so badly, wants to include him in this part of her life. She knows from other kids that they don’t usually tell their parents who they like, at least not until they’re dating or something, but Joel’s the person she wants to tell everything to. He’s always her first stop after a successful hunt or a good grade on a test or the highest score at archery practice. She wants to tell him about Dina, wants to be able to bring Dina around him. She likes being at home more than she likes most things, and she wants to be able to have Dina over in the place that she likes the most. She wants to pull Dina into game night with them and Tommy and Maria, wants to slowly knit her into their little family.
(Ellie comes out to Joel)
Bookmarked by Deadbugapplepie
06 Jul 2025
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always surprised by what I do for love by st_marymagdalene
Fandoms: The Last of Us (Video Games), The Last of Us (TV)
29 Mar 2023
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Summary
"She scrunches her nose when she smiles. It lights up the overgrown meadow that is downtown. It lights up the whole goddamn state. He offers her an out. She doesn’t take it but she offers him a promise in exchange. She has to know he’d follow her anywhere. Space, Wyoming, a hole in the ground.
I love you so much it bleeds out of me."
or
Joel rediscovers the lengths he's willing to go to protect his daughter.
Series
- Part 2 of Halloween
Bookmarked by Deadbugapplepie
04 Jul 2025
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The Anniversary by Azure_K_Mello
Fandoms: The Last of Us (Video Games), The Last of Us (TV)
28 May 2023
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Summary
Meals were always served in the hall. It was a simple matter of resource management. It was easier to stretch ingredients when cooking for a crowd. It cut down on food waste. It was simply more efficient. But, on September 26th, everyone always ate at home, thinking of the people they had lost, the world that was gone.
While everyone grieved in their own way, Maria was still surprised to see the cake at Ellie and Joel's house. That just felt obscene.
(Happy birthday, Joel, sorry it sucks.)
Bookmarked by Deadbugapplepie
01 Jul 2025
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Summary
You weren’t supposed to notice the way Joel Miller looked at you.
Or at least, that’s what you told yourself every time you caught his eyes lingering just a second too long.
Working on his ranch for the summer had sounded like a good idea when your dad pitched it. Get out of the city, clear your head, save some money. You didn’t expect to end up in a sweat-drenched tank top, mucking out stalls, under the sharp and steady gaze of his best friend.
Joel was rugged in a way most men weren’t anymore—sun-weathered, broad-shouldered, quiet. The kind of man who said more in a grunt than most could in a sentence. And somehow, that made you want to hear him speak even more.
“Y’ain’t built for this kinda heat,” he said, squinting at you under the brim of his hat.
You looked up from where you were hauling hay, brushing a streak of sweat off your forehead. “I’m built tougher than I look, Miller.”
He smirked. Just a little. “We’ll see.”
Bookmarked by Deadbugapplepie
27 Jun 2025
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Lighting the match by charliewrites4u
Fandoms: The Last of Us (TV), The Last of Us (Video Games)
30 Jun 2025
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Summary
You come home for a quiet summer with your dad — but things get complicated when his best friend, Joel Miller, starts looking at you differently.
You know you shouldn’t light the match in case you can’t control the fire… but you’ve never been one to back down from a challenge.Bookmarked by Deadbugapplepie
27 Jun 2025
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Mystery Work
Part of o7
Summary
This is part of an ongoing challenge and will be revealed soon!
Bookmarked by Deadbugapplepie
25 Jun 2025
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Driven to Distraction by MildredEllie for lkay09
Fandoms: The Last of Us (TV), The Last of Us (Video Games)
05 Jan 2024
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Summary
“No, you don’t fucking get it, dude!” Ellie's palms come down against the table with a loud bang, all that pent up energy exploding outward. “I hate Mr. Bryant, and I hate school— and I fucking hate math!” Chair legs screech against the wooden floor as she pushes backwards, the paper displaced, fluttering to the ground to join the collection of school supplies already there.
OR
Joel Miller learns about ADHD in the apocalypse, and it brings him and Ellie closer together.
Bookmarked by Deadbugapplepie
21 Jun 2025
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and our roots grow exceedingly deep by captainredspade (CodenameArtemis)
Fandoms: The Last of Us (TV), The Last of Us (Video Games)
12 Jun 2023
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Summary
For the first time in her life, Ellie gets to define what home means to her, and what the hell Joel's weird ass behavior has to do with it.
(Or Joel is a proud, caring dad™ and it takes Ellie a second to catch on.)
Bookmarked by Deadbugapplepie
18 Jun 2025
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tied together by grief by flannelfeelings
Fandoms: The Last of Us (Video Games), The Last of Us (TV)
24 Apr 2023
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Summary
“I guess you’re the only person who’d understand,” Maria’s voice is wispy and faroff. She doesn’t look at his face, instead lingering on the mantle.
“Thinking about your son?” Joel inquires.
Maria just nods again. “Yeah.”
(Joel and Maria reach common ground)
Bookmarked by Deadbugapplepie
18 Jun 2025
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this time was the last by flannelfeelings
Fandoms: The Last of Us (Video Games), The Last of Us (TV)
19 Jun 2023
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Summary
But she ain’t his. He didn’t expect anyone else to see it the way he does.
They’ve never defined this thing between them, easier to leave the big things unsaid and just try to hold it together on the bad days.
His last Father’s Day was twenty years ago. He ain’t that man anymore. This day ain’t for him.
(It’s Father’s Day, and Joel tries to adjust)
Bookmarked by Deadbugapplepie
17 Jun 2025
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Bookmarked by Deadbugapplepie
10 Jun 2025
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blade-end up and five feet tall by ciaconnaa
Fandoms: The Last of Us (Video Games), The Last of Us (TV)
27 Dec 2025
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Summary
Ellie lunges forward, pressing her palm against his mouth. “Shut up,” she seethes. “If she wakes up now -”
It’s only when he licks her palm and Ellie lets out a disgusted, “Ugh!” that Sally stirs with a whine.
“Sorry, sorry,” Jesse apologizes, pressing several light kisses to her forehead. “Go back to sleep,” he says into her hair. She whines again, and he's forced to up the ante. “When you wake up, I’ll be here and we’ll go get you a puppy, okay?”
She takes a deep, shaky breath and settles back down against him, moving her head so her nose is in his armpit. “Misser Eugene’s puppies…” she mumbles and then she’s out.
When he looks back up, Ellie’s grin takes up her whole face. “You’re such a sucker.”
or;
For Ellie, things with David ended differently. For Jesse, he's all about community. So, if anyone asks, the blue-eyed blonde-haired girl of Ellie's is definitely his.
Bookmarked by Deadbugapplepie
06 Jun 2025
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Smooth Operator by aurorajgrace
Fandoms: The Last of Us (Video Games), The Last of Us (TV)
03 Jun 2025
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Summary
A recent college graduate, you find yourself readjusting to the Austin summer heat as you move back home for the summer, only to realize the real heat might come from the man next door: your dad’s best friend, Joel Miller. What starts as a harmless reunion soon simmers with tension, toeing the line between familiarity and something far more dangerous.
Bookmarked by Deadbugapplepie
04 Jun 2025
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Mystery Work
Part of archive
Summary
This is part of an ongoing challenge and will be revealed soon!
Bookmarked by Deadbugapplepie
25 May 2025
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Summary
You’ve known Joel Miller for years. He’s practically part of the family - always by your dad’s side with that dark, brooding frown.
You’ve never really thought much of him. He’s just…Joel. Dad’s best friend, occasional ride home, somewhat-scowly dinner guest.
Until you come home one summer, after graduating college, and suddenly -
You can’t think about anything anything else.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 123,697
- Chapters:
- 14/?
- Comments:
- 512
- Kudos:
- 5,869
- Bookmarks:
- 1,731
- Hits:
- 362,140
Bookmarked by Deadbugapplepie
24 May 2025