[andy-clutterbuck]

[joel-harrison-blog]

andy-clutterbuck:

Actual Dorky Dad Rick Grimes

[vikramthemortician-blog]

“Okay, wait, don’t freak out. You’re fine, calm down, just please, sit down and let me take a look at that. Please. I need you to calm down.”

[joel-harrison-blog]

“I am fucking calm. I feel better than you look, buddy. I mean, this is nothing. Just a dislocated shoulder. It’s the perks of getting old.”

[vikramthemortician-blog]

After spending his entire walk to Carpenter with a certain annoyingly optimistic blonde, Vikram was more than ready to spend the rest of his time in the makeshift camp alone. But life never had a way of letting Vikram get what he wanted, instead being immediately thrust into the Healer role once he arrived, just because of his stupid job title at his own camp. Running on days without sleep, Vikram glared at the next patient who walked into the temporary nurses’ station. Pointing to the table in the middle of the room, Vikram grumbled, “sit and tell me what the fuck is wrong so I can get you out of here fast.”

[joel-harrison-blog]

Joel frowned. Had he annoyed this man somehow? He had been entirely forced to get the gash on his side checked out by a few members of his group once they had all made it to Carpenter. It wasn’t even his fault that he was in here. At the end of the day, the healer should have been blaming the raiders. Anything that had happened was entirely their fault. “Did something crawl up your ass today and die?” he muttered as he wandered over to the table to sit down. “Back in Cheyenne, one of them raiders managed to knick me good.” he tugged his shirt up a bit and tilted enough to show the man. “You gunna be able to fix me up or should I go find someone else?”

[living-d-d-dead]

running (not) scared | sera and joel

(totally irrelevant reference to ell and nikki’s running scared)

Seraphina Chevalier had never felt less affected by tragedy; yet she was feeling instinct pushing her out of the city, pushing her away, to follow some other road to some other place where there were no raiders if such a place existed. Every second word under her breath as she ran was a swear (merde, most likely) and she almost staggered over a few corpses’ arms. Maybe they weren’t going to notice, after all she was dead already, or believed she was. (But if you died twice you didn’t return, the zombies proved that. So, there was some degree of survival instinct beatng within.)

Raiders everywhere. Everyone said if you can’t beat ‘em, join 'em - but nobody had done that with the walkers. So apparently, now was not the time; somebody did, however, appear to be fighting a raider for a bag. Seraphina came in to assist, giving it the extra tug it needed to come free and leaving the raider to stumble backwards before giving it back to the other. “There - we should run, though,” she added, “I’m Seraphina. I don’t know if we’ve met.”

@joel-harrison

[joel-harrison-blog]

Joel was angry. A feeling he hadn’t let coarse through his veins in months. For the first little while, after the world had fallen apart, he had been depressed. He had been lost within himself. And then the sadness had torn through him. And then he had been mad. For a month or two. But he hadn’t allowed himself to be for ages now. He had forced himself to be strong for his group. For his makeshift family because he was their leader. And leaders weren’t weak. But then the raiders had appeared out of nowhere and torn his family apart. Again. Just like the disease had torn his boy and wife apart. He hadn’t seen anyone from the school in hours now. Not Mason, or Pippa, or Shawn, or Faith, or Eleanor or Elsie...Oh, Elsie...The girl was strong. She would make it somehow. Somewhere. But he worried still.

And the worry tore through his body and made him as weak as he had been trying so hard not to be. He had packed a bag of supplies in the middle of the chaos and now this raider was trying to take it from him. Take what little he had left. Thankfully, out of nowhere, a girl appeared and helped him tug it back firmly. Joel’s fist made contact with the nose of the man a moment later. “Thanks,” he muttered, throwing the strap of the bag across his chest quickly before he moved to turn and quickly dart down the road. “I’m Joel! Come on, now!” he called over his shoulder as he went. If he could at least protect something right now, then he would make it. 

[jakexgrehn]

Was that the hint of a smirk he’d spotted? Jake attempted to intimidate the man not tickle his funny bone. Lips tucked to the side in frustration. “ Only half of the time. ” He replied — his tone rigid, crabby now. Didn’t pick up on that wannabe hipster lingo. It was true, being in the company of others was definitely preferred, especially now (wasn’t too picky about the company he kept either, though being held at gunpoint by someone was definitely a turn-off), but when it came to scavenging, he was better left alone. At the man’s reply, his features softened, slow understanding, relief at a probable explanation. A still demeanor for a moment as he studied his opposite’s expression, posture, for clues. Once skeptical, defensive, now riddled with curiosity. He hadn’t heard of any groups other than his own, back at the medical center. “ Is it close by? ” He considered, furrowing his brows and then releasing. Still skeptical, he’d make this more difficult than it needed to be.

[joel-harrison-blog]

Only half of the time? Joel studied the boy for a moment, head tilting. He was so skinny. How could do anything on his own, really? Joel tried to imagine him taking down a walker and all he could see was the boy’s arms snapping under the weight of any of them. Maybe he hid a strength within him that he simply only brought out when needed. He really shouldn’t be judging anyone by their appearance. Elsie was the tiniest little thing he had ever seen and she could take out a pack in mere seconds. Joel pointed over his shoulder after a moment with his thumb; a shrug rolling off his shoulders slowly as he did so. “About a mile or so that way. So yeah, I’d say it’s close by. The place is huge. I mean, we’re still working on clearing bits of it. Fixing it up. Barricading all of the extra entrances so nothing can get in. But...it’s nice. It’s...well, it’s home right now.”

[roxykiddos-blog]

“I agree, but stooping to their level would have us resort to cannibalism.” Roxy was glad to see him stay, and glad to be having fun with him. This world was far too serious now, and while she understood why she didn’t want to have to conform to it. Not all the time at least. “A teacher? You must have so much patience. Oh no it’s not, I mean you’re extremely sexy so you can’t look that old.” Her teasing grew as he participated. “Oh, you’re too sweet.”

[joel-harrison-blog]

“That’s...true. And completely disgusting. If I were to ever have the option to resort to cannibalism, I’d probably just shoot myself in the head. That says a lot. I’d rather be dead then eat another human being.” he was joking entirely, but still. He couldn’t ever imagine himself indulging in such acts. Even if he was entirely desperate. The undead were horrendous. “I used to. I mean, I was dealing with teenagers all day. You kind of need patience for that. But...lately, it’s been dwindling. More and more. I’m not sure why. Oh. I mean...thank you? Uh...yeah, thank you.”

[aidrian]

Killing Me Softly → Joel & Elsie

Come on Elsie, you can do this. You’re almost there. Elsie tried to reassure herself, to keep on moving when all she wanted was to drop to the floor in exhaustion. After being able to leave the hotel that her and the other groups had been stuck into for over a week, the blonde had gone back to the high school for a day before leaving to another camp on the outskirt of Cheyenne to trade supplies. Of course, nothing in this world was easy anymore. The trade had gone well, but coming back was a whole other story. The pickup truck that she’d been using to bring back all the traded materials had broken down over twenty miles away from the high school, which meant that Elsie had to walk back to her camp on foot. The first few hours in the cool air had been alright, she hadn’t seen many walkers other than usual two that she took down without too much trouble, and it wasn’t until her fourth hour that things turned to chaos. Behind her, she heard an automobile coming towards her side of the road, and when she turned around to look who was there, the minivan stopped. For a second she thought it might be a woman and her kids, looking to survive in the new world, but it was anything but. As soon at the side door slid open, she knew she was in big trouble.

Two men, along with the driver and his front passenger came out of the van, smiling at her. “My, my, what do we have here lads?” The brown haired man spoke up first, walking a bit closer to her. Elsie swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to find her voice. They reminded her of the men who killed her siblings, which was the reason she was frozen at the spot. “I don’t want any trouble; I’m making my way back to my camp. My friends should be looking for me by now.” Her voice was small, making them laugh as they finally stopped in front of her.  “A camp eh? Got any supplies there?” The man, who she assumed was the leader, spoke up, and immediately Elsie’s palm rested on the knife she had attached to her belt. The thought of them getting to the high school and hurting the kids and Joel made her lie. “No, we’re just a few people. That’s why I’m out here, looking for some.”

He must have not liked her response, which resulted in pushing her to the cold ground. The blonde winced as her hand caught her fall, a small “ooff” leaving her lips. A second later, he was on top of her. “Get off me!” She struggled against him, feeling his fingers go under her jacket and her t-shirt. “Don’t worry love; I’ll make you like it.” The other men hovered in a circle around her, some starting to unbuckle their belts as they watched. Yet she kept on trying to stop him, only making him crawl his fingers higher until he reached the swell of her breast. No, she wouldn’t give up. Her siblings wouldn’t want her to. Maybe he wasn’t paying attention or thought she was finally letting him have his fun, but when Elsie took out her knife and sliced it across his juggler, he didn’t have a shot to do anything about it. Blood poured over her chest and face, and she knew she wouldn’t get the image of his open throat out of her head for a very long time. The other men gasped, and Elsie took the opportunity to push him off of her as he bled out. Trying to wipe the blood from her face, which only spread it worse; she grasped her knife and stood up shakily.

The next seven hours of walking back to the camp had been a blur and Elsie couldn’t stop herself from thinking of the men she murdered to save herself. Most of their blood was staining her yellow jacket, her white hat and the skin that was exposed. Not only did she have their blood on her clothes, but they had left her with a bloody lip and gashes, in which she hoped wouldn’t scar, on her forehead and cheek. She was sore on her chest, side, back and legs, in which she knew would bruise black and blue if she made it to tomorrow, but the entire time she thought of her siblings and what they would think of her. She killed four people. Four people who weren’t walkers. She was a murderer. A small sob left her lips, and she brought her hand to her mouth to muffle it.

Finally, when the high school came to view from on top of the road, she could see a figure standing on the makeshift tower that blocked walkers from coming in. She wanted to raise her arms, wanted to scream out to help her but she was too weak to do anything, so she kept on walking slowly towards them. It wasn’t until they raised their gun towards her did she stop, crouching forward as she groaned pain from the ache in her ribs. It wouldn’t surprise her if they were bruised or even broken from the kicks she received there. “It’s me,” she spoke up, her voice broken as she looked up. “It’s Elsie,” she sighed out, wincing as they came towards her.

[joel-harrison-blog]

Joel felt sick. Each and every time anyone--anytime Elsie--left the school. They were all capable. They could all handle themselves. He knew that. But watching them leave and knowing what was out there...how could he lead these people with the constant worry invading his every thought? How could he keep them all alive if he could hardly ever focus? For such a small girl, Elsie was one of the most capable people he had come across. She was smart, strong, she could get a trade done in a matter of seconds and get each and every bit of supplies back quickly. 

Which is why he grew even more worried when the girl didn’t show for hours. Yes, the camp had been on the outskirts of Cheyenne. Hours away. But not nearly as long as she had been. A couple of people had volunteered to go out and look around for her. To follow her trail. To see if they could find her. She couldn’t be dead. No, she was too strong to give up. He couldn’t lose a member of their group. He couldn’t lose her. She had proven herself so much over the last little while. She was Elsie. He couldn’t...no. He couldn’t think about why she wasn’t back yet. He simply had to keep reminding himself that she would be. She had to be. 

He kept watch within the small tower and waited. And waited. For hours. He would have waited for days, really. People had come up to relieve him of duty, to get him to sleep, to eat, to sit down for two minutes, but Joel had refused. If he left and she came back and he wasn’t there...he wouldn’t be able to live with himself. Thankfully, his stubbornness paid off entirely. His eyes caught on a figure in the distance. Slow. Almost that of a walker. But something was different. He felt a presence he had been missing all day. 

Even then, for a split second, Joel lifted his gun and aimed it at the body shuffling towards the school. Then her voice cut through the tension of the night and Joel was climbing down from the tower in a matter of seconds. He rushed out towards her, gun forgotten entirely at his side now. “Elsie!” he called out and the moment he was close enough to her, his hands reached out to crush her into a hug against his chest. His movements were still gentle despite being desperate. She was alive. She was...his brows pulled together slightly as he pulled back a bit to study her features. A cry had escaped her parted lips as he’d pulled her close. And in the moonlight, it was hard to see entirely, but the girl was bruised. Bloody. What the fuck?

“What happened, Elsie? Who did this?” his voice was calm, steady, but there was a darkness behind it that threatened to overwhelm the man. If he got his hands on whoever had hurt her, they’d be dead without a second thought. 

[roxykiddos-blog]

Roxy loved when people played along in little games like this, it was one of her pet peeves when someone took a little joke far too seriously. “Manners have always been a joke, but they are important. I mean why should we become savages just because the zombie apocalypse happened?” Roxy was kidding herself, she was far from believing this. While she wasn’t in the mood for assholes, she didn’t care what people she didn’t know did with their lives. “High school? Aren’t you a bit too old for that?” 

[joel-harrison-blog]

“It’s true. We can’t let ourselves stoop to the level of the undead at this point.” all of this felt so strange. To be making jokes. To be going along with silliness. But at the same time, it felt so nice for Joel. He was letting loose in a way that he hadn’t in ages. He was usually so wound up as of late that it was difficult for anyone to drag a smile free of him. “I used to be a teacher there, actually. But thank you for pointing out my age. It’s been showing lately.” the smirk that tugged at his lips grew wide in a matter of seconds as he shook his head slowly. “Although, anyone would look ancient next to you.”

[joel-harrison-blog]

YOURE A HUNK

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

[jakexgrehn]

At his opposite’s reply, Jake slowly blinked, narrowing his eyes and lifting his chin in an attempt to appear intimidating. He felt he had reason to question the man — not only did he have a gun on him, but he seemed somewhat unstable. The two didn’t exactly go too well hand-in-hand. When his question was asked, the lanky brunette’s eyes broadened back to their natural position and he lowered his chin. “ …At the moment, yeah. ” He began, reluctantly, “ I’m a better scavenger solo. ” The question unnerved him, but he blanketed it with irritation. He hadn’t a weapon on him, nor would he have the courage to use it, had he, if pushed… so if this were some kind of trap, he only relied on his legs to get him the Hell out of there. “ Are you? ”

[joel-harrison-blog]

Joel watched the steps the boy took in order to appear more intimidating, the narrow of his eyes, the lift of his chin, the straightening of his shoulders. It was amusing, really. To the point where he had to stop the smirk that threatened to overtake his features. He wasn’t a dangerous man. Sure, he looked like it half the time and yes, he had held a gun in the boys face, but...Well, he never would have pulled the trigger unless he was sure he was a threat of some kind. “Ahh, you like the solo life.” it sounded hipper in his head. As though he was mixing well with the young folk. His students would have groaned at him a year ago and told him how embarrassing he was. “Right at this very second, I’m alone. But no, I have a group. I’m just out here getting some supplies for them. You’re more than welcome to come and check the place out. Take some food if you need.” even though you’re a smart ass.

[roxykiddos-blog]

Roxy could see the humor on his face, but she didn’t let it faze her. Even if it would get no where, which it probably would, she still found it fun. She didn’t have anywhere to go specifically, just walking around until she retreated back to her house. It was a huge house, a lovely one her father bought, but she didn’t want to be stuck in there the rest of her life. She was going to respond to his last reply, but he made a move to walk past her. She wasn’t offended, if anything she found it funny. Roxy had needed a good laugh too. She turned back around to where he was walking past with a smirk, looking at his back as he slipped passed her. “You know it’s rude to leave without saying goodbye.” She only teased, hoping he wouldn’t take it too seriously.

[joel-harrison-blog]

Joel let out a soft chuckle at her words and paused once more. Ah, she had caught on entirely. Smart girl. He turned back to face her and tilted his head slightly. “Sorry. I think I’ve slowly begun losing my manners these days. Most people aren’t big on them anyways, so I forget to use them when I need to. I do hope you have a fantastic day, though, and manage to make it home to wherever you live without freezing to death.” he was being cheeky, entirely, and he allowed a smirk to pull at his lips in hopes of showing her that. That he wasn’t being a jerk, but simply playing along and teasing where he could. “If you need anything, feel free to come find me at the high school. I’m sure we could spare some supplies.” 

[roxykiddos-blog]

Roxy had been walking around, taking her time to get out of her fathers house. She loved the place, but the idea of being in there all the time killed her. She was surprised to see the amount of people walking around all at once, but then again the storm had just ended and she assumed everyone was tired of being stuck inside for so long. As she walked she heard someone yelling, and she didn’t realize it was to her until she saw the ice patches in front of her. She stopped and turned to the man, walking towards him. “Why thank you for warning me, my hero.”

[joel-harrison-blog]

Joel snorted, unable to help it. The girl looked maybe twenty-one. Maybe a bit older. But she was young. And apparently eager to flirt. His cheeks grew slightly pink beneath the beard the covered his skin, though he was thankful for the cold air around them that had already tinged them a slight pinkish shade. He just wanted to get back to the school. Find his group. Find Elsie. Make sure everyone was alright and functioning as normal. “Yeah, course. You’re welcome.” he offered her a smile and moved to slip passed the girl. He felt half rude attempting to leave the conversation quickly, but he couldn’t help it.

[joel-harrison-blog]

The cool air felt amazing on his skin as he wandered away from the hotel. His time there had brightened immensely over the last little bit stuck within it. And now he was just excited to go home. He features were brighter than they had been in days and as he passed people here and there--the streets busier than they had been in ages--he offered them a smile and a nod of his head. As though they all knew one another and were neighbours that passed each other on the way to work every day. It felt odd. But nice. “Wait!” he called out after a second, holding out a hand to tell the next person to stop. They clearly hadn’t noticed the huge patch of ice two steps in front of them. “Ice!”

[joel-harrison-blog]

i dare you to twerk in front of a large group of people

“What the fuck is twerking though?” his brows furrowed a bit before he shifted to grab the nearest bottle of alcohol he could find, downing a good chunk of it. This was so embarrassing. After a moment he moved to stand near a large crowd and without any music or any warning, Joel broke out into some sort of dance that he knew. It wasn’t twerking. But it was dancing. Kind of.

[joel-harrison-blog]

Dare you to stick your hand in the burning fireplace for ten seconds.

“You think I’m weak, son?” Joel smirked and moved over to the fireplace. He had downed a beer or two in order to be anywhere near ready for this childish game. He reached out quickly and stuck his hand into the fireplace, the flames licking at his skin. It hurt within about two seconds, but he clenched his jaw and continued on. By the time the ten seconds rolled around, Joel tugged his hand free and cradled it to his chest slightly. “Ha. Done.”

[lizziemoran]

Lizzie smiled brightly at his offer. “I’d like that, thank you. But I wouldn’t want to be a bother,” she replied. “You mean in here or out there?”

[joel-harrison-blog]

“You wouldn’t be a bother, kid. It’s nice to have something to keep me busy in here, really. Both. In here, out there. Do you have a camp or anything?”

[aidrian]

A Gloomy Holiday → Joel & Elsie

[aidrian]

“Don’t feel horrible, it was a gift. The only thing that matters is that you liked it.” Elsie smiled, sitting herself down again in front of him. “Hey, that’s my job. Bringing a little joy to this shit storm we call life.” She chuckled, her fingers finding the pendant that was around her neck. It was her mother’s necklace, the only thing she had left of her when she passed away when she was just eighteen years old. Sometimes late at night, she would thank the lord for taking her before the apocalypse happened and that she didn’t have to suffer through what they now called life. “I remember when I was little, my older sister Marie used to wake me up every Christmas morning to tell me Santa came when I was asleep.” A small smile played on her lips at the memory.

It was hard to think about sometimes, the way things were before, but she wanted to remember the good times she had with her family before their passing. “My brother, of course, would tell me every year since I was four that Santa wasn’t real but I never believed him considering the cookies and milk were gone in the morning.” She sighed, looking down as she felt tears began to form but tried desperately to control them. Looking back up at Joel, she gave him a tight smile before laughing tiredly. “Sometimes I think that I’m actually in a nightmare, that I’ll wake up and the people that I love will still be alive and here with me.” Sniffling, she wiped the stray tears that, despite her not wanting them to, still managed to stain her cheeks.

[joel-harrison-blog]

If there was anyone that could break down the tough exterior that Joel was trying so hard to keep up, it was her. She was so sweet and so kind and so loving that seeing her break down before him was heartbreaking. For a few moments, he forgot his own sadness and focused entirely on the girl before him. On her sadness. It wasn’t fair at all that she was forced to go through so much. If he could, Joel knew he would take every bit of her sadness away and put it on his own shoulders. He reached out slowly after a moment to gently brush away a few of the tears that she had missed with the pad of his thumb. “My son,” he murmured after a moment, smiling softly in an attempt to cheer her up. “He used to come barrelling into our room at 5:30 every Christmas morning. It didn’t matter how old he got. His last Christmas, when he was twelve, was the greatest thing. He was so excited. It didn’t matter if he didn’t believe in Santa any longer. He was just so happy to be there with us. To have presents. He just loved Christmas. I think that’s why I can’t stand it anymore.”

He let his hand linger on her cheek for a moment, his thumb catching any tears that dared to escape down her skin. It truly killed him that he couldn’t take the pain away. “I think that every day. I wake up every morning feeling happy for two seconds before it all crashes down. Because I think oh, the nightmare is over now. I can continue my life. But it’s...it’s always still there. Always looming around the corner. And it’s not fair. But you’re strong, Elsie. You’re so strong and I know you can get through this. Even if there’s no light at the end of the tunnel any longer.” Joel finally let his hand drop once more, eyes on hers for a moment, before he sighed and glanced down. “And you know I’m always there for you, right? Always.”