#I LOVE JAVI AND DAVID AND STUFF OK

[madsipie]

umm perchance an unpopular opinion but I think Season 3 is my fave seaso-- *gets shot, falls and breaks table*

[connorswhisk]

How about a story where Javi reunites with Clementine and meets AJ and the rest of Erikson’s kids.

lol sorry this took so long! was working a lot this week and also this prompt itched my brain in just the right way so...have 3500 words of garcías and ericson's fluff xD

also on my ao3!

He hears about the Delta, the child soldiers and the boat and how everything went to shit. Rumors abound, they always will, and it’s not like communication is super efficient in the apocalypse. But every new detail of the story that Javi picks up on solidifies more and more the feeling in his gut that the Ericson kids’ mysterious leader is Clementine, the small boy at her side Alvin, Jr. He thinks he’s jumping to conclusions, seeing things where he wants to see them, but…

“It’s her,” Gabe says with conviction. The wispy mustache he’s been trying to grow sticks out dark against his upper lip - he’s proud it’s as thick as it is, even if it’s mainly peach fuzz still. “I know it’s her, Javi. It’s her and it’s AJ, and we have to go and see them.”

“It’ll be a dangerous trip,” Javi reminds him, but they both know that neither of them give two shits about that.

They leave Richmond on a cold, drizzly morning that feels silent and misty as the grave. Conrad, Eleanor, and Lingard see them off at the front gates - the rest of the council stepping up while Javi’s gone. David says goodbye, too. He’s grayer at the temples and lined in his forehead ever since they lost Kate, but when he hugs his son, Gabe hugs him right back.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” Javi asks him.

David smiles, sort of sadly, like he always does these days. He shakes his head. “Clementine’s never been my biggest fan,” he reminds them. “And I’m not exactly hers, either. Just…Just make sure that AJ is ok. That’s all I really want to hear.”

Javi nods. He hugs him. “No one loves that kid more than she does,” he consoles, and David nods back, resting his chin against Javi’s shoulder.

It takes them a day or two to make it, driving discreetly on the backroads and watching out for muertos or - usually worse - other people. Javi knows Ericson’s was once a school for little delinquents; he’s not sure if he’d classify Clem as a “troubled kid” necessarily, but he looks at Gabe and remembers that every kid is troubled these days.

Gabe raises his eyes to the wrought-iron gates and swallows, hard. It’s been years since he saw Clem last, and he hopes he doesn’t act like a total idiot in front of her.

They both sort of ignore the body of Abel, propped against the tree. They step up to the gates and Javi goes, “Hey in there!”

A mop of ginger hair appears from over the lip of one of the watchtowers. “Who are you?” Willy demands, Marlon’s old bow primed and ready in his hands. “What do you want here?”

Javi raises his palms, calmly. “We’re not looking for any trouble,” he says. “We’ve heard about this place. All about you guys, and how you took out the Delta. We’re pretty sure you’ve got a friend of ours with you that we haven’t seen in…a long time.”

“Bullshit,” Willy calls, sniffing slightly. “You don’t know anyone, you just want our stuff. No adults allowed.”

“I’m 17,” says Gabe. He rubs self-consciously at his upper lip. “If we could just - “

“I don’t care,” Willy interrupts, knuckles whitening on the grasp of the bow. “You’re strangers, and we don’t mess around with strangers. You’d better leave, or I’ll shoot you both full of arrows.”

“We have no weapons,” says Javi, raising his eyebrows at this menace of a 14-year-old boy. “We’re not being aggressive. You’d kill us, just like that? Defenseless?”

Willy’s eyes narrow. “You don’t know - “

“What’s going on?” A new head pops up, dark and full of curls and - 

Javi’s never seen the kid in his life before, but somehow, he just knows. “AJ?”

The young boy frowns. “How do you know my name?” he asks, sizing both Garcías up carefully, hand ready to stray for his gun and aim for the head if he needs it. “I don’t know who you are.”

Javi smiles - God, what a relief. “We’re friends of Clementine’s. Please. If you could just send her out here, she’ll tell you.”

AJ’s face is carved from hard stone. “Who are you,” he demands.

“I’m Gabe. This is my Uncle Javi.” Gabe scratches at his forearm, a bit awkwardly. “My dad…He had you for a while, when you were a baby.”

AJ says nothing. Have they blown it completely? All this travel, and for what? Javi desperately wonders what he can say to convince him they’re not a threat...

Gabe is simply terrified at the thought that the reason they haven’t seen Clementine yet is because she…isn’t around anymore.

But then AJ asks, hesitantly, “Your dad is…David?”

Gabe nods, enthusiastic. “Yeah. Yeah, David, that’s him. Is Clem in there? Is she ok?”

“I’ll be right back,” AJ says. He pats Willy on the shoulder. “I think you can put the bow down. They’re not going to hurt us.”

Willy complies, but he isn’t in any way happy about it. New people can never be trusted, even if they know Clementine. Lilly knew Clementine, and Lilly killed Mitch. If Mitch were still here, he wouldn’t like these new guys, either, Willy’s sure of it.

The gates creak open. “Ok, you can come in,” AJ says, and turns back without waiting for them to follow. 

And around the corner of the next hedge, propped up on a pair of crutches and beaming brighter than Javi’s ever seen her is - 

“ Clem! ” Gabe can’t stop himself from dashing straight for her, even if AJ looks alarmed and Violet, clinging to Clementine’s wrist, goes reaching for her cleaver.

She doesn’t have to use it; Clem opens her arms wide and pulls him straight into a tight hug.

“You’re so tall,” she says, amber eyes twinkling with tears. They never used to twinkle like that, not unless she was reminiscing about AJ or Lee; the look suits her. “I - I can’t believe that it’s really you. And your hair is so long now!” She smirks. “Though I see you’re still wearing the same ratty old beanie.”

“Shut up,” says Gabe thickly, eyes red, and then he looks down at the ground and he gasps, loud, because - 

“Holy shit,” exclaims Javi. “Your leg!”

Clem rolls her eyes. “It’s good to see you too, Javier. ”

Javi laughs, sort of crazed, and embraces her in a bear hug. “Sorry. I just…It’s been so long, and - what happened? When did it happen?”

“It’s kind of a long story,” Clementine says, and Violet snorts. That’s an understatement.

“I saved her,” AJ proudly proclaims.

“Yeah.” Clem smiles. “Yeah, he did.” She fixes her stance, shifting onto the makeshift prosthetic that Willy screwed together for her. “Come on, let’s sit. We can catch up.”

At the picnic table, Violet mutters to Clem, “I’ll be right back.” New people, she’s never been comfortable with them at first, even when the new person in question was once Clementine. Clem nods, brushes her fingers against the denim sleeve of Violet’s jacket. “Check in on L,” she says, and Violet nods and presses a kiss to Clem’s cheekbone before shuffling towards the school.

Gabe blinks, surprised. “Is she…like, your girlfriend?”

“Yeah.” Clem grins like an idiot, but maybe it’s all right to be an idiot when you’re in love. “Yeah, she is.”

“Oh,” says Gabe. “Neat.”

And he’s happy to learn that he one hundred percent means it.

Clem tells them about the ranch, Lilly and the Delta and Marlon and Minnie and James. She tells them about the bomb, Mitch’s Masterpiece, and  - she tells them about the bite, what exactly went down in the old barn.

Javi and Gabe tell her about Richmond. How things are holding up, new policies they’ve implemented, the fact that Jesus still swings by every now and then to visit and warm Javi’s bed for a few nights. “You got a girlfriend?” Clem asks Gabe, halfway joking, and Gabe shrugs and says, grinning, “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

And Clem just laughs. She turns to Javi. “Do you still play ball? I’d ask you to teach me, only my balance is super fucked.”

“Swear,” says AJ.

Clementine smiles. “But maybe you could give AJ some pointers. Kid’s got crazy aim - I bet he’d make a sharp little pitcher.”

“Hey, I’d love to,” Javi says. “I’m sure we could rustle up a baseball or something like one from somewhere around here…”

“What’s a pitcher?” AJ asks. “Like those big jugs we drink water out of?”

���It means you get to throw the ball,” says Violet, returning to the table with Louis in tow. “It’s…fun. I used to pitch when I played softball.”

Javi, because he’s just got to get to know the person Clementine is dating, smiles at her. “That’s badass. Softball’s a great game.”

She blinks at him, surprised. “Yeah,” she says slowly. “It was.” She thrusts a hand, awkward and stiff, in front of herself. “I’m Violet. Sorry I didn’t introduce myself before.”

“Javi.” He shakes the hand - it’s cold and a little clammy, but who is he to mind? “This is my nephew, Gabe.”

Gabe nods at Violet, wordlessly. Violet hesitates for a moment - nods back at him.

Louis starts frantically tapping at her shoulder. “What’s up?” she asks him, eyes immediately jumping to read at his slender musician’s fingers. “Everything good, Lou?”

He points at Javi. JG, he signs excitedly, gesturing to his former hero animatedly. JG, he was famous.

“Yep,” Clementine confirms. “Javi here was a celebrity before all this shit happened.”

I’m Gabe, Gabe signs. What’s your name?

Louis’s eyes brighten. Louis, he signs back excitedly. Nice to meet  you, Gabe.

Surprised, Clem asks, “You know sign language?”

Javi laughs. “He and Mari would have secret conversations in the backseat of the van all the time. It used to drive me and Kate crazy. ”

And, like always when those two names are mentioned, the tension in the air turns a little sadder.

“He can still hear you,” AJ pipes up, matter-of-factly. “Lilly didn’t cut off his ears. Only his tongue.”

“ AJ ,” Clem hisses, but Louis shrugs.

What? It’s the truth.

“Jesus,” remarks Javi in despair. “You’re all still so young…none of you should have had to go through any of this.”

“Well, we did anyway,” Violet mutters under her breath, and Javi grimaces.

Marlon would have liked you, Louis says, gesturing to Javi. You were one of his favorite players.

Gabe translates for him, and Javi barks out a laugh. “Yeah, I guess if he likes gambling fuck-ups. Screw-ups, I mean,” he amends as AJ opens his mouth.

Marlon never cared about that. He thought you were the shit.

Javi smiles. “Good to know I still was to somebody.”

Come on, Gabe, Louis says then, smiling wide. I’ll show you my wicked piano skills.

Gabe doesn’t look to Javi for permission before he goes; nor does Javi expect him to.

A small whine sounds from somewhere near Javi’s feet. “Hey!” he exclaims, seeing the large pitbull watching him expectantly. He reaches out to scratch her between her ears - God, he can’t remember the last time he saw a pitbull. No one in Richmond keeps one.

“That’s Rosie,” Clem explains. “She’s a sweetheart. I guess she’s warming up to you quicker than she did with me.”

“I’ve always been a pretty big dog person,” Javi tells her, letting Rosie lick at his palm. “Man’s best friend, right?”

“Or woman’s,” says Violet.

“So, you really know these guys, Clementine?”

Ruby sits down at the table, Omar and Aasim in tow. Willy stays behind - someone’s got to keep on watch, and Willy still doesn’t trust these Garcías any further than he can throw them. Even if the tall guy with the beard seems like a total badass.

“They helped me out at a time when I really needed it,” Clem says, smiling. “I can 100% say that I wouldn’t be alive without Gabe and Javi.”

“Right, like you haven’t saved our lives more times than we can count,” Javi counters. He smiles at Ruby - fortunately, he comes off as friendly and not a complete creep. “And I’m sure she’s saved yours, too.”

“Definitely.” Aasim’s fingers tangle between Ruby’s, laid out together on the old wooden table-top. “We’d be screwed without Clem.”

“And without AJ,” says Omar as he socks the kid good-naturedly on the shoulder; AJ beams with pride. 

“You know, I never liked you while you were playing in the League,” Ruby tells him, no bullshitting. “Marlon and I would argue about it all the time. ”

Javi shrugs. “Fair enough. I didn’t exactly keep a great name for myself. Besides, none of that shit matters. Not anymore.”

“Swear,” AJ points out. “You all like to swear a whole fucking lot.”

Javi laughs aloud. “ Hey, ” Clem admonishes, but there’s no real heat behind the words. Ruby reaches over, flicks AJ lightly between the eyes. “ Be nice, ” she warns, smiling down at him.

Aasim departs to find Gabe and Louis in the music room. Louis is tapping out something vaguely Elton John-shaped on the keys when he gets there. Gabe watches, his head bobbing to the beat, a soft smile playing at the corners of his mouth. 

Louis stops playing, points out Aasim and signs his name for Gabe. Gabe nods at him. “I’m Gabe. I was just telling Louis how great it is that you guys have a way to play music. If there was a piano at Richmond, people would be all over that thing, I bet. Do you play?” he asks Aasim, curious.

“No way,” Aasim snorts. “Sorry. I just don’t have a single musical bone in my body.”

Louis rolls his eyes, grinning, before starting to twiddle out another slightly off-key ditty on the ivories.

“So then what do you do?” Gabe asks him, interested.

“I read.” Aasim shrugs. “The stuff I can get my hands on, that is. I keep a journal, too. Just about everything that goes on here at Ericson’s, like a log book, kinda.”

“Why?” asks Gabe. He’s genuinely intrigued. 

“Someone’s got to remember us, when we’re gone,” Aasim answers.

Gabe is silent for a moment. “I used to really like the Artemis Fowl series,” he says, and Aasim beams.

When Gabe exits the building, headed to dinner with Louis and Aasim, the first thing that happens is that a giant boulder of a dog slams into him and starts licking all over his face. 

“Rosie!” AJ says. “Down! Bad dog!”

Gabe only laughs, and goes to scritch her under her chin. Javi smiles - God, they gotta get some sort of pet back at Richmond for the two of them. His nephew seems like he would benefit from having another friend around - and hey, probably so would Javi.

Kate would have liked Rosie too, he thinks. She was always a dog person.

Gabe thinks, Dad would love this fucking dog.

“You can stay here tonight,” Clem tells the two of them. “I’d say you can stay as long as you like, but I know you’ve got your own people. And a couple extra mouths to feed wouldn’t exactly make things easier for us.”

Javi nods. “Speaking of food…what’s for eating?”

“Usually Omar makes some kind of soup or stew, ‘cause it’s easiest,” AJ reports knowledgeably.

“It’s easiest,” Omar echoes as he approaches the picnic table, arms laden with plates of dinner. “But it can get pretty boring after a while, don’t you think?” He sets the platters down, and grins. “I know it’s not much. Would have worked a lot better if we had actual corn husks instead of just leaves - I’m still working on finding a good alternative. But it’s just the way my abuelita used to make them.”

Javi can’t help - his eyes overflow with tears. “Dude,” he croaks, grabbing one of the fish tamales, unwrapping it, and groaning aloud as he takes the first bite off his fork. “ Dude. The last time I had a tamale was - man, I don’t even know!”

“I do,” says Gabe, grinning sentimentally as he takes his own food and passes the plate along to Louis. “They were the last thing abuelo made before he - “

“Oh.” The guilt, even years and years on, at not being present for his father’s death still eats away at him. “I didn’t realize.”  Reverberating around his ears, Javi can hear the horrible crack of his bat splitting open his father’s skull. 

He’s soon snapped out of this, though, when he realizes that Willy is perched across the table from him and staring, very intently, into his soul. 

“Can I…help you?” asks Javi awkwardly.

For a moment, Willy says nothing. Then he decides, very loudly, “You’re cool, Javi. You are hereby cleared of your status as a threat to Ericson’s and its people.”

“Willy, they’ve been cleared for hours, now,” Ruby says, exasperatedly. 

“Not by me!” 

Javi smiles. “Hey, no worries. Glad to know I get the seal of approval from the big man in charge.”

Willy beams, puffs out his chest.

“What about me?” Gabe asks him. “Do I pass inspection, sir?”

Willy narrows his eyes. Zeroes in. Scans the guy up and down, up and down. “…All clear,” he eventually decides. “Though the beanie makes you look like a total dork.”

“ Willy, ” Clementine chides. “Don't be rude.”

“You didn’t let me finish. ” Willy shakes his head. “You’re a total dork,  but …” He looks at Gabe decisively. “Mitch woulda liked you.”

“Who’s Mitch?” Gabe asks once Willy’s scurried off to the battlements again. “What did he mean by all that?”

“Trust me,” says Omar. He grins. “That’s the highest praise anyone can receive from that kid. Looks like we found Willy’s new favorite.”

“Then he really must not be so bad, if Willy thinks he’s cool.” At Gabe’s hesitant expression, Violet flushes. “That was supposed to be a joke. Haha.”

“Oh.” Gabe flashes her the thumbs up. “Good one, Vi.”

Violet’s lips twitch into a small, quiet smile. “… Thanks, Gabe.”

Then someone tugs at Javi’s shirt sleeve. “Can I…ask you something?” AJ says, his voice so low, it's nearly a whisper.

Javi leans down to better reach his level. “What’s up, buddy?” he questions, slightly concerned. “Do you need Clem for something?"

“If I needed Clem, I’d be talking to her,” AJ says bluntly, and Javi shrugs. “No, it’s just…Your brother. David. I wanted to ask you, not Gabe, because…David is his dad. He might see him different because of that.” AJ blinks, his big brown eyes so, so serious. “Clem says that David took me from her. But…she also says he watched over me while she was gone.” He swallows, shuffling his feet in the dirt below. “I know he did bad things. But…do you think he’s a bad person?”

“No,” Javi is able to tell him with complete honesty. “My brother’s been through a lot. He’s lost a lot, and he doesn’t always think before he acts.” He smiles, soft. “Whatever he may have done in the past, he’s much, much better now. And I know he’ll be so grateful to know that you’re doing all right.”

AJ nods, solemn. “Ok. Thank you. That’s helpful.”

“Hey,” Javi says. “No problem at all.”

“All right all right all right,” announces Aasim loudly as Louis starts to shuffle a deck of cards back and forth between his nimble fingers. “Who’s up for a game of War?”

Gabe grins. He sits down next to Clementine, Violet on her other side. “Count me in for sure.”

AJ pouts. “War is only for the older kids. Usually when they play it, I go off and draw.” He fixes Javi with a scrutinizing stare. “Do you know how to draw?”

“Stick figures.” Something nudges against his knee. “Hiya there, Rosie-girl. What’d you find?”

The pitbull snuffles, pleased with herself. Into Javi’s open palm, she drops a faded, dirt-stained ball.

Javi grins. “We could draw,” he says. He pulls his bat from its usual spot against his back. “Or…I could teach you how to play baseball.”

AJ’s face lights up like the Christmas trees he’s never once seen in his life. “Let’s do that,” he exclaims. “Clem, we’re playing baseball!”

And together, in the twilight shade of the former Ericson’s Boarding School, that’s exactly what they do.

[calpalsworld]

TWDG 3 Thoughts O_O

I wrote this weeks ago and thought it was dumb but actually I wanna share now lol. Its me explaining why I like Javi and Gabe a lot and why I like TWDG season 3 so much. A lot of people hate TWDG Season 3 and yeah the plot does suck in some ways, and it is just a distraction from Clementine's story, etc etc, but I REALLY like some of the themes. This is all just IMHO, feel free to voice disagreement. Also, this is me explaining what I actually meant when I stupidly said “Javi is a based softboy giving his family anti toxic masculinity serum.” LMAO

The first two seasons of TWDG end on a SUPER negative note, and exude vibes of kids having to become traumatized in order to grow up. Like, that’s the whole point of season 2, Clementine is surrounded by crappy adults and learns not to trust anyone. The games are about loss of innocence, mourning how the survivors will never get that innocence back, etc. And I GUESS kids having to become traumatized is realistically true for an apocalypse type situation. Of course desensitized people would survive more often, because they’ll do anything to live. It's sorta true, just totally a bummer. 

To contribute to this theme, in Season 1 we have Ben who is an immature teen who is either abandoned-to-his-death, or dies at the expense of Kenny. And then in Season 2 there's Sarah, who can also be abandoned-to-her-death for her immaturity, or dies later incompetently. She gets a slightly more sympathetic treatment than Ben, her reason for being unconfident is explained by her anxiety and her father’s overprotective nature. But at the same time the emphasis on her anxious nature is really tragic. She just wasn’t built to survive, the game seems to say. Her function in the plot is to contrast with Clementine, who just seems naturally more built for becoming cruel and desensitized. 

Then there's Jane who affects who Clementine becomes a lot. She gave Clem her attitude of not being able to trust anyone, she gave physical tools to Clementine and taught her how to go for the legs when taking out walkers. She deeply affected Clem. And Jane had that whole thing where she had to abandon her immature sister, Jamie. Another teen(?) that didn't grow up fast enough for this apocalyptic world.

“I dragged my sister across four states. And every morning she’d say she wasn’t getting up. So I’d convince her. Or push her. Or goddamn carry her if I had to. Until this time… walkers cornered us. Forced us to the roof. And then when they kept coming… I… I… couldn’t make her jump. Couldn’t throw her. So I tried something else. I told her she could have what she wanted, and I left her there.” LIKE DANG DUDE THAT'S DEPRESSING. And this is the attitude Clem, the protagonist, learns to live by.

And don’t get me wrong, I love it. I love Jane and I love miserable stories.

But I kinda get the impression the second game was a bit…. too depressing, which is why so many people latched onto Kenny and believe he is genuinely 100% awesome, despite him tearing the group apart and being abusive and manipulative etc. Some fans just didn’t have the reading comprehension and emotional energy for the sad stuff I guess? Not saying my reading comprehension is great either, clearly, since I called Javi a “softboy.” But all that makes me feel like Season 3 is supposed to be a break from all the misery in the first two games, more uplifting -- something to prove the writers don’t believe loss of innocence and trauma is positive. That's why there’s a different protagonist instead of Clem. It takes a step back from her tragedy. I think Season 3 is supposed to contrast the other games???

OK JAVI APPRECIATION RANT TIME (THIS CAN BE SKIPPED OVER I THINK, UNLESS YOU REALLY WANNA HEAR ME GUSH ABOUT JAVI)

TWDG Season 3 CAN be miserable just like the other games, if you play Javi as an asshole. Everyone butts heads with Javi, David fights him more than usual, and Gabe is an emotional mess more than usual. I feel like the game kinda railroads you into being a good guy. I hate the railroading in all these TWDG games. With Javi, most of his dialogue is diplomatic & lighthearted by default, and the rude dialogue option is typically the odd one out. It may be railroading, but god damn maybe its good railroading FOR ONCE. Because I love nice Javi and what kindness can add to his character.

He clearly thinks hes a huge fuckup who has disappointed everyone in his life [if you play Javi nicely] AND HE WAS KINDA A FUCKUP NOT GONNA LIE? But then the zombie apocalypse happens and he ends up kinda replacing his brother -- becoming the replacement father figure to his family. But its not like some lame shit where Javi is super overprotective, shielding his family from the muertos as the super macho man-father-guy, the sole savior of the woman and children. No, it feels more like he’s just there tagging along to help give the rest of the family support. Him and Kate are best friends and equals, they take turns being the cool parent / bossy parent and tending to the kid’s emotional needs. Its almost too perfect, and obviously that's so everything can go downhill from there in the plot, but I don’t think that’s a reason to discredit what the Garcia family has going on at the start of the game. They're all capable, healthy levels of cautious, and yet still normal. They’re survivors who want to eat candy bars and pudding. Survivors who smoke weed behind their kids' backs. (As someone with parents who smoke weed behind my back this was extremely relatable). At the start of the game, the Garcia family is the perfect balance of apocalyptic competency and retaining the normalcy that existed before the apocalypse, imho.

[KEEP IN MIND THIS IS ONLY CANON IF YOU DON’T CHOOSE ASSHOLE OPTIONS] Javi doesn’t even seem to want thanks or appreciation when they reunite with David. He seems totally happy to step aside from being the father figure and let his brother take his place back. It feels like he doesn’t even realize how good of a job he’s done, especially because he lost his (his brother’s) daughter a couple days ago, and blames himself for it. It's like he thinks he's fucked up like he always does (even though he helped keep everyone alive for years). 

And David’s mindset is all like "Ogggghhhhhhhhhhhhh hell yeah time to be a father again -- time to boss my family around and force them to do things they don’t want to do because I think its the right thing to do, and if everyone doesn’t follow what I think is right, my life is meaningless. Hell yeah Gabe you are going to be my little soldier Gabe, you are going to be JUST LIKE ME because you are my son. Yadda yadda etc." Like when David asks Gabe to cover fire for him, and Javi tells Gabe not to -- to not get himself killed. Javi’s approach to parenting is clearly the opposite, "Hey slow down kid I care about you, please think things through and do what YOU want, etc. " (Also I appreciate this one dialogue option, after Gabe says he wants to be like Javi rather than David in the late game. In response, Javi can tell Gabe he SHOULDN’T want to be like him, because he used to be a shitty guy. Like.... DAMN Javi.)

David spends most of the game encouraging people to commit violence with him, while Javi actually takes action for other people. --Obviously, as the player character, he does most things.-- But if we interpret this canonically rather than just a symptom of Javi's player-character status, David really seems to think what makes a man/father is control, while Javi values protection of others so then those others can choose what to do freely. This is shown especially when Gabe chooses/is pressured to run away with David, and Javi will just say “think this over buddy" rather than fighting for him back.

But why does Javi act like this??? Javi is clearly tough physically. He gets hurt a lot because he's the protagonist. lol. He is also tough mentally on a surface-level. He stands up against blatantly terrible people, and says a lot of cocky phrases. But I think Javi’s selflessness says a lot about how he sees himself, his level of confidence, and how on the inside, he’s “soft.” Like I’ve explained before, Javi thinks he has to redeem himself for being the fuck-up brother, and expresses this through apologizing a lot, being self-sacrificial, and not standing up against David’s authority. Yeah, he probably thinks a bit TOO poorly of himself, but I find it refreshing to see an unconfident protagonist who still gets to be portrayed as awesome. Its a rare thing in the apocalypse genre. Like he’s OBVIOUSLY not the best example of subversion, but its a start.

There's a lot of examples of Javi being self-sacrificial throughout the game, but ofc the one self-sacrifice that hits hardest is…. The scene. That scene. When David beats Javi up at the climax of the game, and Javi (potentially) doesn’t fight back. When Javi just says “I love you bro” as he gets hurt. I gotta address that part. When this scene plays out like this, it gives me the impression that OH WOW JAVI REALLY DOESNT THINK HES EARNED THE RIGHT TO EVEN DEFEND HIMSELF HUH?? after all these years he still thinks he STILL has to be redeemed or something?!! Like he thinks his own suffering is an acceptable means to help David feel better! OK!!!! DAMN!!!! 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 That gets me emotional. So I completely relate to the desire some players have to fight back against David, because like… DAMN JAVI FUCKING DESERVES TO GO APESHIT. HE DESERVES TO BE A BADASS POWERFUL VIDEO GAME PROTAGONIST WHO TAKES NO SHIT. But I don’t think that's how Javi is intended to be.

I personally get a vibe that the "I love you bro" response is the intended route thematically. Because although Javi’s perspective on himself is negative, his view of others is so positive. Thats why hes such a (POTENTIALLY) nice and diplomatic guy. He is always keeping hope that others will change themselves for the better. That hope is another way he's “soft.” The whole “I love you" thing is Javi holding onto hope that David will become his normal brother again. Javi’s whole story, from the flashbacks to the present, is basically him hoping his family can be whole and happy. And the game doesn’t force him to let up on that hope. Neither the game nor the characters in the “I love you bro” scene get mad at Javi for not fighting back. No one calls him a coward or weak. It feels like for once in a TWDG season, the main character can hold onto hope in others rather than resorting to violence, without being punished. Hope is presented as a good option. It's kinda like…. a rare thing. Especially for the mainstream zombie apocalypse genre as a whole. 

(note: Yeah, at the very end of TWDG season 4, AJ of course holds onto hope and manages to save Clem, but 3 came first obviously, and was preceded by two sad miserable games).

JAVI TLDR; I hate when Javi is played as an asshole -- like David-- because then it's just another miserable game about bad aggressive adults tearing groups apart with anger and violence, when it has all the potential to be the opposite.

JAVI RANT OVER

ITS TIME TO TALK ABOUT WHY GABE IS GREAT--

Sorry to fans of the other TWDG Season 3 endings, but my favorite ending is where Gabe shoots David with Javi. Why????????????? Because  (if you choose this TWDG 3 ending) every game ends with a child figure facing their parental figure with the potential intent to kill them. But only the third game has someone else present in the scene to calmly help the kid through the process.

Season 1 - Lee tells Clem to shoot him / leave him. Lee wants Clem to be strong. 

Season 2- Clem can or can’t shoot Kenny. Jane is there, but uh, busy fighting for her life, and trying to traumatize Clementine, to make her stronger, not emotionally support her.

Season 4- Clem tells AJ to kill her / leave her. Clem wants AJ to be strong.

So I LOVE when Season 3- Gabe AND Javi have to shoot David together. Emotional support Uncle moment!

The difference between the Season 3 Killing Your Parent Scene versus the other seasons’ is that there are two people on the shooting side. Javi manages to be there for Gabe. He manages to keep them together. He can leave the option open -- to offer the option to shoot David for Gabe, if Gabe discovers that he can't do it. himself He can also directly request Gabe to let him do it. Despite everything that has happened, Javi can still try to help Gabe retain some of that normalness he had at the start of the game. It’s really nice to see this TWDG brand Killing Your Parent Scene where the kid isn't totally broken by it, instead the kid has emotional support.

AND IN THE END SCENARIOS WHEN U TALK TO GABE AFTER EVERYTHING… Gabe is fuckin CRYING!!! Gabe is all crying over the ones they've lost. He's still emotional and confused after everything. A lot of letsplayers laugh at this part. They hate Gabe, hes a silly dumb kid. But his crying is a good thing!! He's still just a normal kid crying! He had character development, he learned to be more like Javi rather than idolizing David. And for once that character development didn’t require becoming numb and emotionless! Which I think is sooooooo cool! :)

So when you think about it, Gabe is [POTENTIALLY] a positive take on Ben, or Sarah, or Jamie. He's a naive, overemotional kid who hinders others (gets moody, points a gun at Conrad, tells others you killed Conrad, trusts David too much, etc). (Just look at how most players hate him, as proof he's like Ben or Sarah, lol). But he doesn't get abandoned-to-death like Ben or Sarah, and is allowed to grow up less brutally, with support, unlike Clementine. Plus, Clem really likes Gabe, despite their differences in apocalyptic maturity. She doesn’t think he’s an invalid survivor for his vulnerability. Its awesome. The game allows Gabe to just grow up…. as normally as possible for this fucked up world.

Thats how I choose to interpret TWDG Season 3, and thats why I like it. Lol.

TLDR; if the rest of the games are gonna be about a little girl suffering and becoming a badass loner, let's just have 1 game that reminds us it's still possible for kids and protagonists to be relatively normal and "soft" in the apocalypse PLEASE.

[fishylife]

Ok, I still don’t know a single thing about soccer/football so I’m just going to throw together a bunch of people that I like and call it a team. Thanks @goats-guts-and-glory for including me in this fun game :D

Manager: 

- Jurgen Klopp and/or Pep Guardiola. Can it be both? Can they co-parent the team? Jurgen is the fun dad except when you do the one thing he tells you not to do. That’s when he goes “I’m not mad, I’m disappointed.” Pep is the Bruce Wayne dad. Super cool and charming in public but if he catches you with your hand in the cookie jar he will go Batman on your ass. 

- Pochettino can be the third coach. I don’t have a defined role for him but I still want him as a coach. 

Players: 

- Fernando Llorente - For no other reason than that I’m in love with him

- Ante Rebic - Ball of Balkan energy on the pitch, dog and cat loving cafe nerd off the pitch. Looks like he could beat me up but is actually a cinnamon roll.

- Son Heung Min - The role model I didn’t know I needed. Always happy. Scores goals. Hugs friends. 

- David Silva - Seems like a fun player to watch. I’ve heard that this man commands a lot of respect from his teammates which is pretty cool. I also feel like there’s a layer of sass hidden in this tiny man.

- Bernardo Silva - I haven’t seen him play as much but he seems to be pretty hardworking and the fact that he and David Silva play similar roles makes me think that there’s a Silva factory with branches in Spain and Portugal that just churn out little top grade midfielders. 

- Luka Modric - Mother hen who’s super smart and everyone listens to him because not only is he a kind human being but he makes an effort to learn other people’s languages to communicate with them so I am certain that he is a leader that people like and look up to (not literally).

- N’golo Kante - The man is an accountant so I automatically trust him. Also most humble dude in the world, drives a mini cooper, and deserves cookies.

- Per Mertesacker - The first soccer player I became a fan of. Also seems like a lovely man.

- Virgil Van Dijk - He seems like a pretty capable player. And/or maybe I just have a thing for super mega tall defenders.

- Javi Martinez - Yeah, tall defenders are definitely my thing. 

- Keylor Navas - I don’t know but I feel like I can trust him. Like, as a person. He’d probably be a good babysitter in case I needed to borrow him for that kind of stuff.

[teenmomtruths]

8/21 Episode (Submission)

Oh my gosh, my heart is breaking for Ali. She had seemed to be doing so well; I had been holding out hope she’d take much, Much longer before she showed any regression. Now, to hear her say she’s in pain, see how noodly she is on the playground, and, her heart being a muscle, hearing it may be deteriorating, is just awful. Poor baby. I feel awful for Leah, Corey and all the rest of their family too. So hard to see. I knew Leah was biting off more than she could chew. She needed to start off part time or something, especially with that drive. Hopefully she’ll figure out what she loves and what’s best for her and be able to do it. Right now I fear she’ll be too busy caring for Ali to do much else. :(

I love how Jenelle makes her men quit their job to be with her full time, then throws in their face that she pays for everything. Um, you needed a constant companion/babysitter/housekeeper/ landscaper/carpenter/hand-me-that-pen-I-just-dropped-person, remember? Can’t do both. Jace needs to be in counseling yesterday. Then he, Jenelle and Babs need to do it together. Even David’s nephew was telling him to stop lifting the ATV with Kai on it. He’s just mean; he has a lot of pent up rage and it needs to be addressed asap. I wish he had elaborated on why he thought his visit to Jenelle’s was “horrible”. Is it David, the fighting, what? And David was such a smart ass, telling Babs if you need me I’ll call you. Grow up. Previews were interesting. Even the Reddit producer years ago said Babs is a wino. I’d like to know once and for all if she is. Because it matters. If all Jenelle was doing was smoking weed and Babs is drinking to excess, imo Jenelle would now be doing better. They both have about the same screwed up mentality. I really hate hypocrites. As in, people who point fingers and say, I do this, this and this, but I don’t do THAT! Like Babs thinking weed is horrible but getting drunk is ok. No. Personally, I think Jace would have been much better off being taken from both of them as an infant and given to a loving, stable couple who were dying for a healthy baby. He would be a different child right now.

Kail, you’re pregnant. The world was going to find out. Does it really matter who tweets it first? Just stop trying to hide everything and accept the fact that you’re accepting a ton of money in exchange for filming About Your Life. And she and Jo even confirmed that she’d asked him not to bring several things up on camera. I get these girls had their first babies on camera and want their second ones private. That’s totally cool, completely understandable. Don’t really need to see it. But they try and hide the juicy stuff! She talks about pride over pity, but when you try and hide things, it means you’re ashamed of them. And I’ve yet to hear any mention of chemo, cancer, more than a vague reference to infertility. Not going to elaborate there or just kinda hoping it blows over? Speaking of, Kail is a first class hypocrite. Javi was crying, the boys immediately noticed, and he just told them to truth. That he might be deployed and he’d be sad if he was but he didn’t know yet. And she gets up on her hind legs about upsetting them ‘for no reason’. Sorry that some people have feelings that they can’t help but show sometimes Kail. Not everyone can hide everything from everybody. That girl has a ton of secrets she carries around but not everyone can do that and not be a bundle of nerves. How many times has she made decisions that upset her sons in one way or another? Geez.

Brianna, just stop. Stop with the crocodile tears, stop acting all innocent, stop acting like this was completely unexpected. And Brittany, I’m disappointed in you. You usually keep it real but you follow your sister on Twitter so wtf? Did you talk to her about sleeping with a married man? Did you or your mom see the tweets about wanting a baby and sleeping around? God. Dr, Drew said it right a long time ago. If Devon wanted to see the baby he had to go to a Very hostile apartment, with three Very hostile women hovering, watching and oozing hate. And then wonder why he doesn’t want to stay long. Bri could have let his mom bring him to get her and take her to his house in all this time. She barely even knew Luis, how does she know he wasn’t with that girl first and he cheated with Her? He seemed to want to work it out. But of course the 3 angry women don’t want that. They’d rather sit around and bash men and glorify themselves. Please. Did either of the girls finish school? If they work, where? Idk, in any case, they curse entirely too much around Nova, still always wanting to fight (SO juvenile) and I def wouldn’t want my daughter raised to hate all men like that. Can’t be healthy.

[teenmomwatcher]

8/7/17 episode

Jenelle Omg nathan and Kaiser 💖 they left Ensley w david's mom? So is she ok w jenelle and that fight jenelle had w his sister? I love when Barbs and jenelle get along!! Leah Omg Ali is so smart she looks both ways before they tell her and she's riding that thing like nothing! Wow! Woah this is the first time they show her working out huh? 🏋 thats her. where dont Ali wanna go? Tumbling? Does she have to go? Briana Poor Nova they should just straighten her hair from time to time just so she knows the feeling? But the way they handled it, awesome. I like that devoin isnt like adam and throwing fits at briana telling him shit... Chelsea Cole & Aubree in their boots 💖 i literally cry when he read the letter 😭 like seriously when Chelsea said at the beginning of the episode that Aubree said adam was sick i was like "oh this is the dug thing" poor Aubree :( Kail Lol i love Issac! How can i make my kid that way lol, so sweet/funny. Why is she talking about javi's stuff to Jo?. Eww the way javi talks about the argument w a smile on his face.. like just fucken leave her alone and move on!

[teenmomtruths]

Latest TM Thoughts

Wow, can I just start by saying Kail looked really manic when she smacked that camera!! She needs to admit she has anger issues. No, not just admit, she’s done that. She needs to DO something about it. If she doesn’t work through her issues, she will never be truly happy. I know she has periods where she feels joy from her children etc., but Boozie Suzy did some damage. And I’m sorry, but you don’t simply get past a rape by shoving it down deep and never mentioning it again. It’s just going to fester. Kail needs counseling, she probably needs to be on some sort of mood stabilizer, something. She started with Javi as soon as they sat down by saying something about his shirt being tight. Is she the clothes police now? Let it goooo! Wtf good did that do? None of her logic makes any sense. She doesn’t believe in God or Heaven, yet Christmas is sacred to her. Figure that one out. Isaac should be with Lincoln every Christmas? Never experience waking up with Vivi? Or she can’t even let them wake up together and Javi come get him in the evening, or Christmas eve? Kail made these choices that will now dictate her life and she’s only got herself and their dad’s to blame. She’s not in a position to be completely uncompromising. She’s already lucky as hell Javi didn’t go after her for spousal support, especially considering he’s going to have 50/50 custody of Lincoln. I don’t believe for one second they did Marriage Boot Camp for any other reason than the money. Sean Lowe from the Bachelor said they only did it because it’s an insane amount of money for only ten days of filming. On that note, I think Javi is on Nathan’s level there. He knew, like Nathan did, exactly who this girl was and how much she made, roughly. Once the show’s cancelled, and I doubt there will be many more seasons, Javi’s going to regret that. I wonder if he can ask for it later? One thing’s for sure, if the situation were reversed, trust and believe Kail would get every dime she could, if for no other reason than to hurt him. Just like she played with Jo. She’s only not playing as much now because Javi has so much dirt on her. She fought Jo tooth and nail for every second with Isaac, but without so much as trying for primary of Linc, she signed it over. Javi’s an ass, but he has every right to be upset about her acting as if his absence was a vacation and not a deployment. And to be upset over her calling herself a single mom when he has Linc as much as she does and Jo’s right up the street and, by all accounts, has Isaac about as much as she does. Vee may have seemed salty, but she’s right. When this baby comes, Javi asks for support (because only living off his military pay and selling stories to Radar is going to be a rude awakening. He went from a twin bed at Mom and Dad’s to Kail’s money and ‘their’ house), and the TM money dwindles, Kail will go after Jo for more support. And he won’t be able to use any footage to prove he’s had Isaac so much. Their’s is such a great household and she Will have her hands full, maybe Kail should consider giving Jo 50/50. It would help her in starting a career. But I don’t feel bad for Javi as much as I would if I didn’t believe he started the whole thing for fame and money. He was only 19 so I’ll give him that, he was young and impulsive. Still is. Anyhoo, Jenelle. If only she had stayed out of trouble the past few years. She was just in court last year. I think Babs is right, she’s Slowly growing up. She’s smart; she passed the courses on the Dean’s list and that’s not something to be dismissed out of hand. Yet she lacks the common sense to know she needed to keep pursuing it, or at least start part time. The more time that passes between graduating and finding work in that field the harder a time she’ll have. I also noticed she didn’t tweet out that David did still work and she didn’t buy a boat and truck lol. She did tweet about the years Babs said she had Jace. For once, she was right. Babs said he’ll be 8 in August and I’ve had him 9 years. Um, ok? Not sure how that works. But I’d be on Jenelle’s side in that a family life would be best for Jace if a, she had done this a few years ago at least, or b, she had been sober (and passed more than one drug test attesting to this) and out of trouble for a few years. Then I’ll start buying what she’s selling. She’s simply waited too long. And people say Jace always says he wants to stay with Babs but he hasn’t always. Sometimes he Has asked, when am I coming to live with you? He probably thinks he’d get to play video games and play on dirt bikes etc, since his time with Jenelle is mostly fun time. Stuff Babs doesn’t have the time, energy or money to do with him, mostly. I think he doesn’t want to hurt either of them, but he’d be content to stay with Babs and visit Jenelle. Again, I’m so proud of Leah this season. She’s stepped up her parenting and disciplining and seems as if she’s really putting the tools she learned in therapy to use (ahem, Amber). And I hope she really is staying single for now. Watson is the cutest ever and I’m so happy for Cole and Chelsea. Now There’s a Mom who truly puts her children first.

----------------------------------------------- Love your recaps @nikastormborn ❤️

[teenmomtruths]

These 'Women' SMH (SUBMISSION)

Jenelle just lied on national tv yet again. She was shown, since moving back to NC and dating David, flying all over to different hospitals to get prescriptions for anxiety, among other ‘issues’ (which have now vanished). She succeeded at one and was shown going to lie down while David went to get her script. They said this out loud, on camera, And David was with the entire time. Now she tells her lawyer her anxiety has basically vanished since she moved. She also admitted she had skipped several weekends with Jace! Yet Babs is supposed to drop everything and get him to her when she’s damn good and ready and not before. Nevermind if Jenelle had asked for him and then backed out. How will that look to the court? I’m 100% positive that she was only desperately looking for valid scripts for her custody case when she thought she was going to have to take a drug test. Nathan further confirmed for me, as did she, that he’s on drugs too when they both agreed at the last minute to drop the whole drug test thing. She must not have gotten one for cocaine or opiates :) Yeah, they know you in the system Jenelle, and I’m sure they know David and his family too. She’ll never get Jace. And Nathan’s on steroids, which with his existing condition, are SO dangerous! And he’s a mean drunk. People saying he should have Kai are crazy. Neither of them should but Nathan himself has admitted he couldn’t handle full custody and is happy with it now. And he can’t even keep Kai alone for that long; he’s always having his mom or sister get him. I think they both love him, they’re just screwed up individuals. I hope Babs is right and that Jenelle is slowly growing up and continues getting better (aside from the lies, I doubt she’s capable of the truth) instead of sliding backwards but I’m not holding my breath. Kail obviously expects Javi to not bring up certain things on camera. He agrees, she provokes, and he blurts stuff out. I’m waiting on next week, when Kail was telling Jo Javi dropped by and Jo said, that’s scary. If Javi is still driving by her house and/or randomly dropping by, it’s not ok. That’s psycho stalker material. They both hurt each other. He should never have told her not to wait for him to come home, to go ahead and start the paperwork if there was any doubt in his mind that he might still want the marriage. He’s seen how Kail treats ppl once they’ve turned on her. And given her background, that had to hurt. They’re both still so impulsive and immature. I hope Kail doesn’t fall apart dealing with all she’s put on her plate. She’s worrying me. I hope Isaac and Linc and this new baby will be ok.