aintyourdad | INBOX;

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"This is Joel. Leave your message, I'll get back to ya when I can."

[ VIDEO | VOICE | ACTION | (text unavailable) ]

→ Ellie
→ Tess
→ Riley

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I'm not sure I believe half the shit you've done.

[A JOKE. He's trying to make a joke.]

[... it kind of hurts. No, she's pretty sure Joel wouldn't believe she'd be capable of hacking a man's head to mush if he hadn't seen it himself.]

Yeah.

Halfway across the country, kiddo. I've lost track of how many times you've pulled my ass outta the fire.

[His voice goes softer, gentler. That's what he meant. That she's strong, that he would never have done it without her, would never have made it on his own. It was her.]

No shit. You owe me forever.

[Her turn to joke, dry as it is.]

That so?

[His voice is fond.]

You're probably right.

[A beat.]

I know you'll help look out for Sarah. You'll look out for each other.

[Ellie would always look after Sarah. Awkward as it is with her, she knows how important that girl is to Joel--and what losing her would do to him. So, she'll do whatever she can.]

Yeah. Sure thing. I'll keep her out of trouble.

[Probably no adventures with her and Riley.]

[He nods, then remembers she can't see it.]

Good. And, uh, it'll be okay, with your friend. We'll all look after each other. [Meaning: He'll keep an eye on Riley, too, as he can.]

All of us. We'll all be fine. No big.

[Maybe she'll believe that one day.]

[He knows exactly how shitty this is, and how much shittier it's likely going to get. They all do, on some level, he thinks.

But even if Joel doesn't think things will get much better, he still always feels like he has to act optimistic - for Ellie, for Sarah. At least a little bit.]

It's not just us, either. A lot of the folks here try to look out for each other. Try to work together. Some of 'em are real smart. [Hiss way of saying yeah, things are bleak, but there is some hope.]

You talk about the people here a lot. [It's sort of nice.]

Mm. Well, it was just me for a while. A month, maybe, before Sarah showed up.

They kinda force us into workin' together, regardless. The way they keep us all packed in like sardines.

[The thought of Joel alone isn't a nice one.]

Well... I'll follow your lead.

[Meaning she'll trust who he trusts.]

[He pauses a moment.]

Cecil. Watch mout for him. He works for Yao and doesn't even pretend otherwise. Real piece of work.

Junko, too. She - [Mrf.] She lives in my building. Looks like a teenage girl but there's not much human inside her.

Cecil and--Junko. Got it. Do I want to know how you know this?

Cecil really likes the sound of his own voice. He's admitted he works for 'em.

Junko got caught. Killin' a kid.

Jesus. Guess... if that's the worst of us, then... could be worse.

[Cannibals.]

Could be. [It might still be - those are just the ones Joel knows about and has personal experience with. But he doesn't say that.]

The good ones - Raleigh and his people, Clark, Buffy, Elizabeth. Lucrezia and her mother, Vanozza.

Noted all around. [She's pretty sure she's talked to all of these people. Weird. Is this what being a social butterfly is like?]

... how are you doing?

[It's harder to get a sense of his mood when she's not around him all the time.]

I'm - [Fine is probably not a word he should use so much. It's basically lost all meaning when he says it by this point.]

I don't know.

[A big admission.]

I'm glad you're here. Even with how bad this place is.

I'm glad I'm here too, Joel. [Not just for her own sake, but for his, also.] And if you want to talk about stuff [shot in the dark] I'm not exactly busy.

...Yeah. Thanks, kiddo. [If nothing else, he really appreciates the thought. Appreciates that she would do that for him.] You too, alright? The others bein' here - well, I'm still here for you. That won't change.

[She'd do anything for him.

Except she's not really ready to talk about what happened at home, or how she feels about their search for the Fireflies coming to an abrupt halt, or how hard it is for her to figure out her place here.]

Yeah. We stick together.

Damn right we do.

[He'd do pretty much anything for her, too, and Sarah and the others being here won't ever change that.]

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