My favorite TLOU fics
Thanks for showing interest, guys! Iâve kind of clustered them around certain categories, so you can more easily find what you like.
Joel [Because our favorite man is still shrouded in mystery.]
âDirtâ (T; incomplete): This covers the 20 years between the gameâs prologue and the actual start of the game, and is told from Tommyâs point of view. Hands down, one of the best TLOU fanfics Iâve come across yet. Donât let the âincompleteâ status scare you off, thereâs already 29 LONG chapters of goodness already posted!
âJoel, Brokenâ (T): Joelâs life with Sarah, told in reverse chronological order. I think the author really provides realistic character motivations as she studies what happened between Joel and his ex-wife.
âno light, no lightâ (T): Fatherly torture, beautiful writing.
âCuriosityâ (M): Even if you donât usually like reader inserts, give this one a try â the writing is absolutely beautiful, and everything feels so true to Joelâs character.
Tess [Why is it so damn hard to find good Tess fics? Whatever, let me help you out.]
âLights of Endangered Speciesâ (T): Hands down, my favorite Tess fic of all time. Provides a really lovely and realistic backstory to her character.
âSketches of Tess in the Outbreakâ (M): A really great series of drabbles about Tess, starting from the time of the CBI outbreak in Boston.
Joel/Tess [Because I make no bones about my OTP.]
âAnd That Was Thatâ (NR, probably a hard T or mild M): Featuring the sexiest line of dialogue in all of fanfiction. Youâll know it when you see it.
âUltraviolenceâ (M): Takes the âhooker with a heart of goldâ trope and spins it out into something that can only be Joel and Tess. Totally beautiful and evocative.
âonce upon a derpâ (T): An AU in which Joel and Tess adopt Ellie off of the Boston QZ streets when Ellie is six years old. Lots of fluff, lots of feels.
Joel & Ellie [Mostly feels-tastic father/daughter stuff.]
âon rusted things that had stopped movingâ (NR, probably a T for language): The writing in this is just completely beautiful. I dare you to still be breathing right after you read the last line.
âlandscapeâ (T): More totally gorgeous writing. The last scene takes my breath away.
âHandsâ (G): Just a really beautiful meditation on Joel and Ellieâs relationship, told through one short scene.
âin the end was it fireflies or lightning bugs and did it really matterâ (G): I think this was written before Left Behind came out, so it diverges from canon in terms of Ellieâs sexuality, but I still think itâs beautiful writing.
âFlying to Wyoming, Chapter 13: The Feminine Abyssâ (M, but this chapter is probably just a T for language): Lots of people have wondered how Ellie deals with her period â so please enjoy Ellie making Joel jimmy open a tampon dispenser. Itâs fucking hysterical. (Note: This chapter is part of a much longer Joellie romance. This chapter stands alone and is not romantic at all. Read the rest of the story or not as you will.)
If you really want to cry
âThe Lies We Tellâ (M): This destroyed me, the end.
âwe thought to build us housesâ (T): Also totally destroyed me. Gorgeous, gorgeous writing.
âRest Donât Come Easyâ (NR; probably a T): What if Ellie was never really immune?
AND FINALLY:
Joel/Ellie (Joellie) [-ducks from thrown rocks-]
âMan of Constant Sorrowâ (T): Really wonderful AU featuring Ellie in her 20s, Joel in his 30s, and an intriguing attempt at a cure.
âNo Accounting for Tasteâ (T): Straight-up AU fluff, where Ellie is Joelâs continuing education/community college professor.
âI Know, But I Donâtâ (T; incomplete): Gorgeous slow-build of a story, featuring Joel and Ellie four years after arriving in Jackson.













