[ambassadorpavus]

♫ Brush away the sorrow. Brush away the tears. Sing away your heavy heart, The night will be over soon. The sun will be rising soon. ♫

[ditto-moon]

big sister

[protektclem]

puzzlepcice‌:

            even  she  feels  comforted  by  the  thought. a smile easing across her lips, she decides to quench some curiosities.   “     maybe you could tell me more about them in the morning? after you finish drawing aj, that is.   ”    his warning about the sharpener is something she takes, nodding.    “   we’ll be extra careful.   ”    though, as tenn promised to draw aj tomorrow, the smile that lit up his little face made her heart melt. it was so nice to feel and see him interact with the slightly older boy so…naturally. truth be told, clem didn’t think aj would ever get the chance at having friends like she did when she was younger, fueled further by the concern he wouldn’t be as approachable to other kids with his limited social skills. he really hadn’t trusted, or spent time with anyone other than her. it was a weird  /   NEW BALANCE. it had been awhile since she’d been around not exactly other people, but other people…her age. 

      its been years that she didn’t feel the need to earn her place amongst those who had more of an advantage physical-wise. amongst people she could actually…relate to. both of them, actually. it made her feel at home, envisioning a future, a real one, seemed attainable for once. as aj lead the way out the door, clem went to follow before turning back to shoot the boy another warm look.   “   night tenn.   ”   easing tenn’s door shut, she followed closely behind aj.       returning to their room, clem opened the door and stepped in behind him, holding up the box with a bright grin parting her lips.   “    okay, let’s get started! what’s the first thing you’re gonna draw?   ”   she asked once closing their door, making her way over to the desk and setting the box down, before heading to grab their illuminated candle, bringing it over for them to properly see.

“Um... I don’t know,” AJ approached the desk and pulled himself up to sit in the chair. He’d already drawn both him and Clementine, so what should he draw now? “Maybe... maybe Tenn? Since he’s gonna draw me tomorrow?” 

Opening the box back up, he carefully started to pick out the few  colors that he wanted. 

Despite all of the focus on the coloring, the little boy did still feel the distinct pang of hunger longing for his attention. It didn’t feel good, and if he hadn’t been thinking about other things, he still likely would’ve been whining about it with Clementine. Despite knowing the feeling well, he really didn’t deal with it well. The pain and the occasional headaches it gave him did far too much to be truly ignored by a child as young as AJ.

For now, at the least, he tried his best to ignore it. Picking up a plain pencil at first, he started to draw what he hoped would be a picture that Tenn would really like. 

[protektclem]

keptmanners‌:

          “ hmm, ” ruby hums lightly, brows raising. she supposed that she couldn’t argue with the fact that violet was their new “leader”. it was a responsibility that ruby wouldn’t want, at least. and she’d admit that violet was the most suited for the position. she just hoped that the girl did a better job than marlon had. “ well, i’ll be sure to show ya just how it’s done, ” she promised. she just hoped that the fish hadn’t wisened up too much.

          “ hm? ” she glanced down at aj upon hearing his question, then proceeded to think it over to try to give him the easiest understood definition. “ well… it’s kinda a way of sayin’ ‘i hope so’, i guess. like– uh, it’s a way of wishin’ fer luck. ” too bad that it didn’t always work that way. “ my daddy used to say that it was also kinda like… a way of askin’ god fer protection, but ya don’t gotta think of it like that if you don’t want to. ” she shrugged. she wasn’t too sure that she believed in all that stuff anymore either. she used to, but she didn’t really understand it all that much, either. how could she with the world the way it was now?

          “ y’know, ” she spoke up again after a few moments, “ sometimes people cross their fingers behind their back when they tell someone a lie to try to excuse it. but you shouldn’t do that. you should always be honest with someone, even if it’s hard. ”

“Oh, I guess that makes sense--” Thinking about how Clem used it, it definitely made sense in that way, too. At least in the sense of wishing for luck. He didn’t really know what Ruby meant about “God,” though. He’d never met anyone with that name, so why would he be asking them for protection? 

The question left his mind, however, as Ruby brought up another way people crossed their fingers. AJ didn’t necessarily get how crossing their fingers excused lying to someone. Maybe the world before monsters was even stranger than it was now. Still, he nodded his head in agreement with the older girl.

“Right! I’m alw-- ... almost always honest. Clem can usually tell when I’m lyin’... I think she’s got powers, or something,” Maybe it was ‘cause he didn’t cross his fingers? He wasn’t so sure, in all honesty.

[protektclem]

keptmanners‌:

          “ i don’t see why not, ” ruby responds with a smile. “ you ever get to fish before? ” she knows that there’s probably not much that he’s been able to do in his young life other than SURVIVE, but… maybe clem had taught him to fish some time before they ever met. ruby remembered being taught out to fish when she was about aj’s age. of course, her father had bought her her own rod then and they fished with bait, not spears, but it hadn’t taken her long to learn how to work with the spears either.

          “ fingers crossed that we actually manage to catch something, ” ruby says through a sigh as they start moving again. “ if we have to eat rabbit stew again i think i’ll lose my mind. ”

“No, not really,” Still, he’d heard about it from Violet, and he’d been interested in it ever since then. And while he wasn’t nearly as strong as the other kids, AJ was fairly capable for a kid his age. He thought so, anyway, so he hoped he’d be able to help Ruby as well as any of the others could’ve.

“I wanna try, though, since Violet is too busy bein’ the leader to fish anymore,” At least that’s what she’s told him, and he hadn’t really bothered to question the blonde. It seemed about right, after all,  Marlon really didn’t do much of the hunting or fishing either before he died. 

He’d heard a familiar phrase from Ruby, but honestly didn’t have a a clue as to what it meant. A bit hesitantly, the little boy spoke up about it.

“Ruby? What’s “finger crossed” mean? I’ve heard Clem say it before, but I don’t really know what she means by it,”

[protektclem]

puzzlepcice‌:

                “   yeah, sure! go for it.  ”   clem encouraged, nodding once. in the short time, her eyes catch and take in the interior of tenns room. noting the walls, how they’re decorated with his artistry. as aj stepped further in, approaching the desk, in a way, it gave the okay to enter the room herself. arms wrapped around herself, boots crossed the room, peering at one of the drawings of what looked like sophie and minerva. it reminded her of the one he drew aj and her, of the big house with the white-picket fence, everyone /  loved one’s they’ve lost along the way, smiles on all their faces. it gave her a new…perspective. so did tenn. of the walkers, of…death. the afterlife she suspected was always there, but after witnessing so many walkers, how their souls were…  TRAPPED   IN   A   WAY,   the idea of them finding peace somehow made her feel…better, lighter. aj knew they were people once, and considered them monsters now – she did too.      (  but after spending some time with tenn... )        aj’s question immediately tore her attention away from her thoughtfulness, redirected to the boys and making her way over to peek at his drawing too. seeing him gingerly, with as much expertise she’d never really seen from a little boy before, fill in the shading of his sister’s hair, it should’ve made her feel melancholy, to know he was keeping his sister’s spirits ALIVE THROUGH HIS SKETCHES made a smile curve he her lips.  “    wow, tenn, that’s amazing! I’m sure they would love this.  ”   placing her hand on aj’s shoulder, clem watched as tenn placed the orange colored pencil and the rest into the box.   “   thanks tenn, we really apperciate it.   ”    she thanked in a gentle murmur, stepping forward with her hands wrapping around the handle once it was closed, lifting it from the table before sparing the boy another, imploring look.   “  get some rest.  ”   shifting her gaze to aj, her eyes softened.   “  lets go, kiddo. ”

“I hope so,” Tenn wanted to think that way anyway. “I think they would want us to remember them, but in a... passive way. So that being sad about them wouldn’t take over our lives,” It felt like something Sophie might’ve said. Minnie was too empathetic, and often cried over the deaths of their friends for a long time. Still, it didn’t seem like her to want that sort of treatment from others. 

“I think that’s the word for it,” The young boy shrugged his shoulders as he settled up the rest of the pencils for his friends. “The sharpener is in there, too. Jus’ need to be careful so we don’t use them up too quickly,” He warned softly, if only out of worry. He didn’t want the pencils to be used up all too fast. with them possibly being the last ones in the school, he wanted to make sure that they were able to last a while.

AJ nodded in acknowledgement toward the older boy’s request, then turned his attention back to Clementine before hearing Tenn address him again.

“I’ll draw you tomorrow, okay AJ?” The older boy assured, hoping that’d satiate his request to be drawn again. AJ’s eyes lit up a bit, and he was quick to nod him head.

“Okay! Night Tenn!”

“Night AJ, night Clem,”

With that, AJ led his way out of Tennessee’s lone dorm room so the two of them could color together on their own.

[protektclem]

nctbitten‌:

@protektclem liked for a disney song starter!

        ❝ even those who are gone are with us as we go on. your journey has only begun! ❞  

“With us? Like how?” He knew about the people she referred to as “gone.” The people like his parents, or the people that died that they knew. The idea of them still being with them, though? It was foreign to him, and he looked up to Clementine confusedly.

[protektclem]

letterjackettm‌:

‘   UH   …   hi. ’   ben   spoke   wearily,   eyeing   the   small   kid   that   stared   up   at   him.   was   this   clementine’s   kid   ??   did   she   really   have   a   baby   ??   god,   he   hoped   not.   ben   really   wasn’t   the   best   with   kids,   he’d   never   been.   not   around   his   sister,   not   around   clem,   not   around   duck,   and   certainly   not   around   this   new kid   tagging   along   with   clem.   ‘   …   do   you   …   uh   …   like   batman   ??   ’ / @protektclem

“What’s Batman?” That was a definite no, then. 

While Clementine had told him about a few things related to media before the outbreak, Batman had definitely not been one of them. With how tall the guy was, AJ was beginning to wonder just how old the guy was. And Clem knew him? He really wasn’t sure what to make of him, in all honesty. 

“What’s your name again? I heard Clem say it, but I’m not good with names sometimes,”

[protektclem]

actbelong‌:

         our ? it surprised her more than it should have to know he wasn’t alone out here , but clearly if he was with a group who trusted a six year old to stay by himself out here , he could handle her . how fucking bizarre . but .. she didn’t reckon her chances against more people . slowly , very slowly , her gun was lowered .

                           ‘ it’s down . i’m unarmed now . you still gonna shoot me ? ’

“...No,”

Cautiously, AJ began to lower his own weapon. Still, he kept a hold of it. It was more than clear he was afraid, and just wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to end up hurt by the unfamiliar woman before him.

“What do you want? Clem’s gonna get mad if she sees you here,” She always got scared when strangers approached. It was why she usually stay close to their camps to keep an eye on AJ, but this time he’d  assured to her that he could handle himself. He didn’t even want to know what she’d do if she found a strange there.

[protektclem]

darlingclemxntine‌:

@protektclem continued from here

They needed to find some kind of food. Shelter other than the car would be nice, but one step at a time. She knew AJ was tired of being cooped up in that damn car and she didn’t blame him. It was exhausting being on the road as often as they were, but it’s not as if they had much choice in the matter. 

Clem began to patrol the area, checking for walkers, any animals that might be close, always keeping a close eye on AJ as she did so. She truly understood how her mom always said she had “eyes in the back of her head” now– with AJ she was no different, probably even more extremely protective now with the world they lived in. She never took her eyes off AJ for too long. 

Clem kneeled down in the mud, not caring too much if she got dirty. She always figured things like that were the least of their worries in this environment. “Whatcha drawin’, goofball?” She asked nonchalantly as she scooped up a big pile of mud in her own hand, “I used to love making mud pies with my dad.” She smiled, a look of nostalgia in her eyes. She still missed her parents even after all these years.

Eyes falling on the scoop of mud in her hands, he grimaced at the sight of it. It wasn’t exactly the most appealing sight, but her words soon distracted him from the messy pile in her hand. Brown eyes raised and locked on his guardian, unsure of what to think about the idea of a “mud pie.”

“Mud pie? What’s that? I’m just...” Looking back down toward his lumpy circle, he shrugged. “I dunno what I’m making. I’m just workin’ on something, I guess,” He was far too early in on his playing to really know just yet. Not to mention AJ’s imagination probably wasn’t as vast or unpredictable as many other kids’ imaginations typically were. “Right now, it’s just a circle,”

[protektclem]

puzzlepcice‌:

once aj maneuvered from his spot, it reminded clem, in that tiny span of a moment, how much she MISSED THE DAYS when she’d cuddle aj’s tiny, infant bean body against her. or when he was up before her and his babbling would stir her awake, only to see his toothless, gummy smile and clapping hands as though he had discovered something hilarious.                ( she really couldn’t ask for better wake up call. )          it was in those precious moments that she could forget where they were, what SEASON IT WAS, what they needed to do next to make sure they made it another week. they could just be themselves in their little, makeshift homes, making a day out of making shadow puppets for him using an old flashlight, tickling his tummy and hearing his cute burst of giggles that could make anyone have good dreams for a whole month, asking his opinion even though he wasnt much of a talker then. she could still do those things now, she figured, but aj might’ve said how he was getting too big to do them, even for his nickname ‘goofball.’ but that didn’t mean it didn’t want to slip out every once in awhile when they were talking. who knows, maybe she’d ask him if he wanted to sleep in her bed for the night, just for a little change?      the journey to tenn’s room wasn’t a long one. in fact, they could’ve easily been neighbors with how close, but the thought was relieving. catching up to aj as soon as he knocked, and hearing tenn’s cautious voice inviting them in, clem turned the handle and eased the door open, waving at the younger boy with a smile.   “  hey tenn, aj and I were wondering if we could use your coloring pencils tonight? we’re kinda working on a project.   ”  though, taking a pause to study him for a minute, she did notice that he looked more tired than anything, poor kid.   “   you could use some sleep too,  ”  she suggested, glancing down at aj.  “   its been a long day. we’ll bring ‘em right back in the morning, promise.   ”  

Tenn returned the wave silently, reciprocating the smile weakly. His eyes initially fell on AJ, but raised back to give Clementine most of his attention when she started speaking to him. He didn’t mind sharing with the both of them, but he still turned his expression  toward the picture on his desk before looking back over toward them.

“Yeah. I just wanna use the orange real quick,” He told her, and reached out into the pencil box to find the color he was looking for. It was easy to find, thankfully, but took care to color in his sisters’ hair as well as he could manage. Tennessee never really did like to rush things like that, so he hoped they didn’t mind waiting just a minute.

It was true, though. Tenn was extremely tired. Like Clem had said, it’d been a long day. Even for him, who really didn’t do much of the fighting and hunting like the much older kids did. There’d been a few injuries, and Ruby had been helping him practice a bit more with his stitching of wounds. It hadn’t been pleasant, but he was getting better, that was for sure.

Approaching the desk, AJ peered over the edge to get a look at the picture his friend was coloring in. 

“Can I be in your picture, Tenn?”

“Mm... Maybe next time. This picture’s just for Sophie and Minnie,” The older boy answered gently, but didn’t really get a response from AJ. He didn’t seem upset, just quiet over the answer. Still, he watched Tenn finish up coloring the twins’ hair before carefully piling the rest of the pencils back in the box.

[protektclem]

Time to bake!

RP Starters for kids/kid muses | accepting

AJ had really needed some time out of the car. After being on and offthe road for days now, the boy had needed his good share of times tostretch his stiff legs. Despite being as hungry as he was, he still had anenergy to him that really didn’t like being contained as much as it oftenwas. 

While Clementine appeared to be looking around the area where theystopped, AJ ended up sitting himself down on the ground. Mud replaceddirty due to the early morning rain, making it pretty inevitable that thelittle boy’s shoes at the very least ended up muddy. Sitting in it all, though,it was no doubt the kid was probably need to be washed off somehowbefore they got back into the car. Hopefully there was a river near by.

His mind was on his hunger as he began to trace through the mud withhis finger, drawing a lumpy circle.

[protektclem]

keptmanners‌:

          she finds herself smiling, hand rising up to wipe at her brow and push her bangs out of her eyes. “ me too, li’l guy. ” cleaning up the safe-zone usually went pretty smoothly, but every once in a while they’d have some trouble with walkers. it was always better to have a few people with you – better to be safe than sorry. ruby had quickly learned not to underestimate aj. the kid was tougher than he looked; plenty capable of handling himself. clementine had raised him well. “ helps that i’ve got YOU to watch my back. ” and to think… they’d gotten off on the wrong foot when they’d first met. you wouldn’t think that if you saw them NOW.

          “ gotta finish cleanin’ up out here and we should check the fish traps, too. ” aasim and louis had already gone to check for rabbits and with violet being so busy and brody– well– ruby had hunting experience and it didn’t hurt to try to teach aj a thing or two. “ that work for you? ”

“Yeah, I can help with that! Are we gonna use the spears to fish, too?” He hadn’t gotten the chance to use the spears before, since he’d gone with Clementine to hunt with Aasim and Louis, but he’d been interested in them since he saw them stuck in one of the walker’s heads. Probably not the best reason for him to be excited to help fish, but it was a reason nonetheless. 

For now, he’d hold onto his knife in case any other walkers started coming toward them from the noise. No doubt they probably would, so he was going to be prepared in case Ruby needed his help again.

[ditto-moon]

trusted someone else

[protektclem]

privycracked‌:

@protektclem // sc. .

     “Hell’ve a job you did back there,” Brody said as she came up beside AJ, “I’m thinkin’ you’ll be great at spear fishin’ in no time.”

     Honestly, she wasn’t too sure on the two of them when they had first arrived, though Ruby had been quick to fill her in on her experience with AJ—then there was what happened with Marlon. Still, the kid sounded scared. She couldn’t blame him, really, she’d be scared too. Still, she shot him a quick smile.

     “You picked it up a lot faster than I did.”

“You think so?”

He’d only really managed to get a few. Three at the most, considering just how quick the fish were for the six year old. Still, Clem had seemed proud of him, and now Brody? AJ was actually pretty happy with how he did now, smile brightening with a little bit of pride. 

“I wanna come help again, so I can get better at it. Maybe I’ll even catch four next time!”

[protektclem]

actbelong‌:

        ‘ you don’t look dumb , kid . which is why you should put down your gun . put it down , and i’ll put mine down too . ’      she honestly found herself questioning if this was where she’d draw the line . would she shoot a kid , basically just older than a toddler , and be able to live with herself ?

                                  probably        . but she’d prefer not to .

“No,” AJ stood his ground, finger still firmly against the trigger of his pistol. “If you want my to put it down, then walk away. This is our camp,” He warned. If he had to, he was more than prepared to shoot, but he honestly hoped Clementine would be back sooner rather than later, to make the unfamiliar woman leave them alone.

[protektclem]

puzzlepcice‌:

           “  I think we can, yeah. tenn doesn’t mind sharing with us.  ”  she reassured, nodding. she was just relieved he felt up to drawing in the first place, and held the picture he drew for her during their first night here in ericsons to her heart, finding the way he misspelled certain words heartmelting. more so, it made her happy to know he liked his hobby, and was learning through the slightly older boy, WANTING to improve—even though in her biased opinion, aj was already a picasso in her eyes.        it had been years since she properly held anything that wasnt the handle of her knife, a spoon, a canteen, or a prybar to break into barricaded doors. but it brought her back to good times, SIMPLER    TIMES, times she still remembered being 8 and laying on the carpet of her parents floor, coloring away in the picture of the unicorn she drawn, and using those every crayon to decorate her treehouse in her backyard. making grass, a nice, sunny day, tracing and creating little figures of wizards and fairies on the wooden interior, escaping into her own little fantasy-world where she was a princess and owned a unicorn she forgotten the name of. she half-wondered if tenn had any paint, even though there was barely enough water to clean off brushes, but she would’ve loved to teach aj how to make a portrait of his little hands so they could hang it up too, something to brighten their day first thing in the morning.         though, asking tenn if they could borrow his colored pencils would require them to move from their spot, but clem hoped that them being mobile would be a nice change of sitting here with rumbling tummies, not to mention she didn’t wanna leave aj alone in here, even though it was essentially their room. she just…needed him near. especially during the twilight-hours where night was creeping in. aj’s presence calmed her. glancing to their door.    “    he might be still up, wanna see if we can catch him?    ”

“...Yeah, we probably should,” As much as AJ didn’t want to leave his spot, the little boy gradually began to force himself up she laying in Clementine’s lap. Even if the boy wouldn’t admit it, AJ did always like having his occasional time to cuddle with Clem. It didn’t happen often, but even AJ needed a bit of motherly affection to help get him through one of his crabby moods. 

Carefully, he got himself down from the bed, rubbed at one of his eyes, and then made the move toward the door.

Tenn’s room wasn’t all too far from Clem and AJ’s room, considering it’d used to be his sisters’ not so long ago. Beneath the door frame, there was a small light that could be seen. Likely just a couple of candles that signaled that AJ’s good friend was still awake for the time being. 

Inside, the sweet, quiet boy was at a familiar desk that looked similar to the one in Clem and AJ’s room. Half-lidded eyes, Tenn already looked as though he was getting far more on the tired side, with bed looking pretty imminent for him. Still, he appeared to be coloring away at some of the drawings he drew while eating dinner today. It’d been lots of Louis, Violet, and AJ lately-- reflecting just how much the younger boy saw of them on a daily basis.

Getting to the door and waiting for Clementine, AJ knocked on the door cautiously. 

Tenn ended up jumping a bit at the noise, but cautiously turned his attention to his closed door before speaking.

“Come in,”