#darklypse

[lightlypse]

𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐒 ,　　MOODBOARD .

“ make this easy for me. ”　　@darklypse

𝐓𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐎𝐏𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐎𝐒　and　𝐉𝐎𝐄𝐋 𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑 .

[svnarchive]

❝ …is it too late for us? ❞　　　✉　　　@darklypse.

hadn't she anticipated this all from the very beginning? after the walls went up and the heaviness of a community fell solely upon her shoulders? finding solace in somebody had been the furthest from her mind... until he came along. the warmth of a crackling campfire hidden within his smile and dazzling eyes, charming her in ways that ought to put her to shame. it didn't seem to matter when he'd managed to pull her out from the darkest, most gruesome parts of herself she'd tried desperately to keep hidden beneath the surface. he shared his own demons, made her feel seen – less horrific, more human than she's ever possibly felt. the type of love she never knew existed. no matter the lifetime, it would always be tommy – there wasn't anybody else for her.

(she ought to have known it would never be that simple when it came to love)

she knows it started long before joel arrived; it wouldn't have been fair to place the blame on a man merely seeking out the last shred of family he had. tommy could make his own decisions... even if maria felt like sometimes he followed blindly without thinking. she let it pass, despite growing up as an only child, she still collected the same amount of grief that bent her in unfathomable ways. she knew it would destroy tommy – she had been so foolish to believe he'd allow her in to tend and care to each daunting pang beneath his chest.

the distance kept growing between them till maria wasn't even sure whether the man she loved was alive or dead out there. it had turned out to be much worse; a chill had swept through her body while bones rattled at the mere thought of him trapped inside his own mind, forced to abide by the cordyceps rules till he was all but consumed. gone insane as the cordyceps consumed him. it had been nice living in a bubble of safety constructed with heavy walls and filled with hope and nothing but it. she held on despite the agony spiraling through her. forcing a smile as she greeted the community each day. lying, lying, lying. oh, maria, where's tommy? and ellie? the absence of her family was noticeable. the days continued despite the eagerness to hide and cower away.

how was she supposed to carry on and provide for a community when the organ beneath her chest had stopped beating and shattered into pieces?

“ i thought we'd grow old together. it wasn't even an if. ”　it burns through her, this wretched feeling she'd been desperately keeping locked away. the bolts had started to loosen and come undone, the issues only growing, growing, growing. there was no stopping the collision of it all. she couldn't expect this wreckage inside herself to stay so contained when it was already bursting at the seems. one more. that's all it'd take until it came down completely and she was nothing but skin and bone.　“ i don't know who you are anymore, tommy. it kills me. because i love you! i will always love you. ”　there's no helping the liquid in her eyes betraying her as it bestows down her face. her insides twist in different directions as she grips onto the nearest surface – anything to keep her steady and afloat. she can't look at him, not when he'd turned into somebody she hardly recognised.　“ you left. you left this place and me behind! like we were nothing! you destroyed it all... and for what? revenge? you know that's not what joel wanted for you. ”　she'd been apprehensive at first; despite the inkling and desire to know her husband's brother. it hadn't been until they'd properly settled into jackson did she first start picking up on just how much joel had influenced tommy. in more ways than one. but he also looked at her husband in a way that felt familiar; it was the same look she'd seen her father giving her, the one that people continued to tell her about time and time again like it didn't kill her inside completely.

“ you don't get to put this on me, tommy. the end of you and i will not fall on my shoulders. not when i've been running this place all by myself! ”

[roseguided-arch]

@darklypse ASKED, 𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆. [ 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒔

𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃𝐍’𝐓 𝐀𝐅𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃. where people seek to use you for what they can , where everyone is at least considering the idea of murder. stealing , brutal beatings , & mistreatment are all common things that happen in their new world—kathleen has a hard time remembering the world before it all went to shit. ( when she would go shopping for christmas gifts , when she was able to spend time with her brother for his birthday or take care of her mother with all the things in the world you might need. everything was handed to you on those days ! they had no idea how easy they had it . . ) ; posture , like body language , is stiff. no weapon has been pulled out yet , but kathleen always has something within reach. with the victory against FEDRA so new she couldn’t risk someone deciding to be an idiot for some pent up anger they have against her. a chuckle, ❛ smart people do. ❜ she’ll agree with a small nod of her head. body begins to mindlessly pace only a little. ❛ you can hardly trust anyone these days. everyone has an angle they’re trying to get at. ❜ the leader knows from first hand experience. ❛ they want something or are figuring out how to use you. it’s stupid to think they wouldn’t or won’t , for that matter. ❜ a small shrug of shoulders. ❛ people , it seems , are the real monsters now. ❜

[viralimmune]

a moment to breathe. they're few and far between these days; it feels like every time there's a beat to stop and recollect, something else is just lurking around the corner, waiting to strike. her guard isn't down so much as she's taking stock of her weapons and her ammunition, grateful to still have the pulse to do so. eyes drift to the woman to her left — any pride she had been holding is swallowed. ❛ I know we didn’t get off to a great start, but... thanks for the save. ❜ a small pause. ❛ I guess I owe you now. ❜

CURRENT OBJECTIVE: KEEP MOVING FORWARD WITH MARLENE, CALLSIGN @darklypse.

[viralimmune]

INCOMING RADIO TRANSMISSION FROM TESS, CALLSIGN @darklypse: “ the longer we wait, the more screwed we are. ”

tess is right. she knows it, jill knows it — a rotting corpse would know it. and while jill has never been one to lean into inaction, there's still something holding her back. anchoring her. keeping her from running head first into the fire without so much as a second thought. experience; it's a cruel and calculated teacher with a modus operandi entirely contingent upon repetition. she's seen this play out before, a hundred different disastrous ways, all starting the same: a need to act fast, think later. strike now or lose out on something valuable. convenient.

❛ how screwed are we if we rush in and it's an ambush? ❜ rhetorical question — she already knows the answer. lived it — many times. the years pass, the locations change, more lines form on her face, and yet the story is always the same. so what do they do?

meet in the middle. or, as close to the middle as possible.

❛ give me few hours to gather more supplies. ❜ her gaze will shift from staring out the window and past the horizon to pierce tess' own as she slides worn out jacket over her shoulders ( the better to hide her shoulder holster with ). ❛ if I'm going to die for this, I'm making it worthwhile. ❜ a pause. ❛ I'm sure you can understand that. ❜

[lightlypse]

𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 ,　　@darklypse .

❝ how far are we gonna take this,　tess. ❞　　his voice remains low,　arms folded across his chest as his body leans close to her.　a couple more inches and all that'd be between them was the layers of fabric covering them both.　there's a hidden meaning to his words,　isn't that how it goes when it came to them both?　he swallows,　casting his eyes away from tess as he looks over at ellie;　eyes full of wonder and hope,　all too childlike;　all painfully too childlike.　　❝ we are way outta our depths here. ❞

[lightlypse]

𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 ,　　@darklypse .

❝ here you go,　ellie　—　hope you like blt's,　minus the b. ❞　　lips crack at the sides,　a breath spilling out as it tangles into the thick jackson air.　despite the crisp air that made the tips of her fingers turn blue the more she submerged them beneath the snow,　she was fond of winter.　she places one of the wrapped sandwiches down before the other,　sitting herself opposite as she begin's to unwrap her own and take a bite.

❝ so, how long were you and joel out there? ❞　　indicating the outside,　already knowing it must've been a journey to get from boston to here.　　❝ you two come all this way on foot? ❞　　she might as well make small talk,　see what she could learn about the young girl her brother in law seems protective over;　she'll pretend to have not noticed the dynamic,　something described from her husband about his former niece,　what maria can only imagine must be hard for joel.

[lightlypse]

* 𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓  𝐎𝐅  𝐔𝐒:  𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓  𝐎𝐍𝐄 .  sent by @darklypse.

“ you really shouldn’t be out here all on your own. ”

' pretty sure i can handle myself. '　　she almost speaks,　lips barely gaping as she remains still,　sight focused ahead as she refrains from scoffing,　rolling her eyes to the back of her head as the anger begins to bubble and boil deep below.　of course life couldn't slow itself down and retreat back to what they all once knew,　twenty years in and you'd think she'd have gotten used to it all by now;　overgrown fungus,　the death hungry and ready to feast on human flesh as the earth decays and moves on with or without them.　jackson was supposed to be another shot at what they all craved　—　of what her father and her had built from the ground up.　a safe place to call home.

❝ we need somebody on this end after the day we've had. ❞　　swallowing the lump in her throat,　fingers gently running over the back of her gun currently shoved into her holster.　she'd told the guys to go home to their families, had believed she'd spend the night cold and alone.　she gives herself another beat before turning to finally look at her husband.　　❝ thought i wouldn't see you again. ❞　　after joel showed up,　demanding tommy do what he can't.　she didn't get it then,　she doesn't get it now.　　❝ what happened to joel's plans?　you better have brought the horse back. ❞　　she doesn't try to hide the bitterness woven between each word,　trying to refrain from allowing any of her emotions to cloud her judgement.　that's the last thing their town needed;　a leader in distress over the decisions from her stupid partner.