lkay09
Fandoms
- The Last of Us (TV) (49)
Recent works
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Summary
As their quarantine period elapses and they move to a permanent home, as weeks turn into months and they join in on the rotations and activities in town, Tommy still can't get to know Ellie. She dodges him at every opportunity, constantly has an excuse for not joining them for dinner, and just…seemingly wants nothing to do with anyone that isn't Joel.
Which should be good, because that means it probably ain't personal, ain't aimed at him directly. But it still feels a bit personal.
(ellie struggles at settling in, and tommy struggles at getting his new niece to interact with him) (bthb - choking)
Series
- Part 8 of bad things happen bingo
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Summary
Lisa comes by to collect his empty glasses, not that Joel really notices. He’s too busy unlocking his phone and fumbling through opening the browser app. His fingers feel thick, heavy, and it takes him more tries than it should to get a search window open and type his query in. But he manages, eyes crossing slightly as he looks through the options that have come up from his search for bus tickets.
(missing moments, cutscenes, and alternate plots from on the road again)
Series
- Part 4 of alterations
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Summary
It's been just over five days since Joel's gotten more than a split-second glimpse of his kid. Other than when he pokes his head into her room at night to make sure she's actually in her bed - more than once a night, if he's being honest - all he's seen is the back of her head, her ponytail whipping around corners. Ellie stays in her room until Joel's left for the day, and sneaks back into it in the evenings. No idea where she's spending her time, what she's up to - but at least she's sleeping in her own goddamn room.
Opening her bedroom door that night to find just a pillow in her place and her bag gone had been easily one of the most terrifying moments of Joel's life.
(whumptober day 8 - self-inflicted injury; bad things happen bingo - self-loathing)
Series
- Part 3 of whumptober 2025
- Part 7 of bad things happen bingo
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i can see a tear on my father's face by lkay09 for valiantwolf
Fandoms: The Last of Us (TV)
06 Oct 2025
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Summary
Besides the comfort of the greenhouses and their leafy occupants, patrol is Ellie's favorite rotation. It's a chance to get out beyond Jackson's walls for a bit and feel…free, almost. It's far less constraining living in the settlement than it ever had been in the QZ, but there was something about roaming the countryside beyond it that just settled her.
Ezra or Gail would tell her it was a reminder of her favorite days, traveling with Joel. Ellie just told herself that it was the crisp mountain air and the lack of curious eyes.
She's looking forward to it the next morning for sure, her skin almost tingling with the anticipation of a few hours out amongst the wilderness.
At least, until she rides up to the front gate and finds Joel waiting for her there instead of Marco.
(patrol with joel goes badly; whumptober day 6 - pinned to the wall; bad things happen bingo - chained to the wall)
Series
- Part 2 of whumptober 2025
- Part 6 of bad things happen bingo
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Summary
"Have you seen Joel?" She asks him, holding up her plate obligingly.
"Not tonight, I haven't." He deposits a hefty serving of potatoes on her plate.
Ellie tries not to wilt. "Thanks," she tells him, and moves down the line.
One more scan of the room after her plate's full tells her there's still no sign of him, and she contemplates going back through to get him some food too.
But there's a sinking feeling in her stomach that tells her that she doesn't need to worry about that, that he's probably already eaten and left her to fend for herself for the night. Ellie's used to that kind of thing from FEDRA, but she'd grown stupidly accustomed to Joel looking after her. It kinda fucking sucks to think that maybe that phase has ended already.
(whumptober - isolation)
Series
- Part 1 of whumptober 2025
Recent series
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Summary
me putting the characters through it using the bad things happen bingo card i was given on tumblr and fulfilling requests left in my tumblr ask box
angst and hurt galore
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- 103,185
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- 8
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- 10
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- 26,194
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- Words:
- 53,496
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Summary
tommy is the one to take ellie to the fireflies, with varying results.
- Words:
- 91,782
- Works:
- 3
- Bookmarks:
- 17
Recent bookmarks
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creatures, great and small by RandomRuth
Fandoms: The Last of Us (TV), The Last of Us (Video Games)
21 Jun 2025
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Summary
“Ellie? That you?”
Joel’s home early.
Halfway between the front door and the stairs and in full view of the kitchen, Ellie freezes. “Fuck,” she mutters, low. “Yeah,” she says, loud enough to carry.
She has no choice but to stay hunched over herself like Quasimodo from that movie — it’s suspicious as fuck, but she manages to manoeuvre her arm to mostly obscure the squirming of the tell-tale bulge under her hoodie.
(Ellie and Joel have settled in Jackson. While Ellie goes to school and, Joel hopes, makes some friends her own age, he tries to keep their house from tumbling down around them. Ellie does befriend some Jackson locals, and tries to sneak them into her room — without Joel noticing that they’ve all got four legs.)
One-shot, set after season 1.
Series
- Part 1 of all, who live
Bookmarked by lkay09
14 Jan 2026
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brokenhearted, running wild by two_birds_alone_together
Fandoms: The Last of Us (Video Games), The Last of Us (TV)
28 Mar 2025
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Summary
“This is private property.”
Her head snaps up, eyes narrowed as her lips curl into a snarl. “No shit? I thought this was a public fucking park.”
Joel levels a glare at the kid as he loads the washer. “It ain’t. These machines are for residents, not runaways.”
“I’m not a fucking runaway,” she snaps, squaring her shoulders and drawing her backpack closer. “And I am a resident. Kid of the week for the Jenkins. You know, the people who live in 3E?”
“And the Jenkins have you down here doin’ laundry after school every day?” he asks with incredulity.
She glances around the room, a uniquely teenage disdain in her sneer as she surveys the silent machines. “Obviously.”
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(joel is an apartment super, ellie is a foster kid. they orbit each other in every universe.)
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 38,383
- Chapters:
- 10/10
- Comments:
- 141
- Kudos:
- 626
- Bookmarks:
- 153
- Hits:
- 12,200
Bookmarked by lkay09
07 Dec 2025
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Summary
Ellie and Joel just barely miss finding each other in the aftermath of Silver Lake. Joel spends the next two weeks trying to catch up.
Bookmarked by lkay09
19 Oct 2025
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I'll Follow You Into the Dark by femmefacetious for marceltheshellwithflipflopson
Fandoms: The Last of Us (TV), The Last of Us (Video Games)
29 Jun 2025
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Summary
It never bothered her when he took care of her on the road because they both knew he held her life in his hands every day; it really was do or die. But she didn’t know if she expected it to continue in Jackson, if she could expect anything at all. She’d hoped, maybe—in secret, the way she treasured the times he pulled on her ponytail or teased her or let her fall asleep on his shoulder while they watched their DVDs—but knew it wasn’t deserved or even necessary.
Love had never been necessary. It was a luxury that some people had, if they were lucky, but you didn’t need it. And so even when she got something from him that seemed like love it still felt like too much, it didn’t fit, and she didn’t know whether to embrace it or push it away.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 26,632
- Chapters:
- 2/2
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 85
- Kudos:
- 184
- Bookmarks:
- 52
- Hits:
- 2,937
Bookmarked by lkay09
19 Oct 2025
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vanishing hours by 6hoursgirl
Fandoms: The Last of Us (Video Games), The Last of Us (TV), Prospect (2018)
08 Nov 2025
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Summary
In the winter of 2025, Joel Miller hires Anna Williams to help as an office manager at his thriving construction business. An odd friendship blossoms between them, but Anna has secrets and a baby on the way, and Joel has a monkey on his back.
Series
- Part 1 of vanishing hours
Bookmarked by lkay09
19 Oct 2025