" AFTER A WHILE YOU WENT QUIET AND I GOT MEAN  /  I'M ALWAYS PUSHING YOU AWAY FROM ME  /  WENT LOOKING FOR A CREATION MYTH  /  ENDED UP WITH A PAIR OF CRACKED LIPS  /  I TURNED AROUND, THERE WAS NOTHING THERE  /  I GUESS THE END IS HERE "

I Know The End, Phoebe Bridgers

Spes ultima dea.

In ancient times, the so-called "mortals" associated Hope to a true divinity, the last one to address in the most difficult times. The one who, among all the deities that decided to turn their back to the mortal realm, is the only one to stay, comforting the suffering human beings.

Cassandra Wayland met Hope multiple times already in her life. From the first day of her freshman year in high school until the last of senior year, at every test she had to complete, the moment she stepped on the stage of the graduation ceremony too. When she sent the essay she spent weeks writing, reviving everything she had been through in her life, her dearest and saddest memories, to the college in which she dreamed to achieve her biochemistry degree and waited anxiously, hands together murmuring her deepest prayers to the deity, hoping she got accepted. Eventually, she got in, and all the sacrifices her mother committed to give her daughter a proper education and put to good use her brilliant mind, were finally paid.

The nineteen (turning twenty by the end of the year) year old Wayland girl could not ask for more in her life. She was living her best life, surviving the second year of university with too many books in her backpack and less hours of sleep. The last thing she expected was to meet Hope again, fingers clutched on her long silky dress staining it with blood that didn't belong to her.

Twenty years earlier, the unfateful night of September 26th took everything from her. A night she could never forget. If you ask her what she does remember of what happened back then, she'd stay silent. The only thing she recalls is the remembrance of her mother's lifeless eyes, thick crimson red staining her clothes, and the muffled voice of her brother calling her name, tugging at her arm to take her away as soon as possible from whatever the hell was happening. That night, the young red haired girl whose dream was to heal the world, died. Replacing her, twenty years later, an empty soul, tired of living in such a harsh, violent environment.

In 2013, Pandora's box opened, releasing a global pandemic caused by what scientists defined to be a fungal brain-eating virus. In 2033, nothing but rubble was left of what belonged to life before the horrific outbreak. The world seemed to be stuck in time, trapped in the past events, haunting Cassandra everywhere she went outside her apartment in the quarantine zone. God knows how much she misses her old self, the things she'd do if there was even a single possibility to bring back to those times, when the only thing she had to be worried about was studying.

When you're lost in the darkness, look for the light. Cassandra has lost count of how many times she stood in front of a wall reading those words. She doesn't believe in many things, among these the Fireflies and the purpose behind their crimes in the name of a cure. Until they reached out for her, coming with a teenage girl that looks none like the key of human salvation Marlene was talking about, more like a hot-headed kid with the same swearing repertory of a sailor. Though, Cassandra couldn't deny the truth of what her eyes just witnessed.

A series of unfortunate events will lead her to cross paths with the last person she thought she would've ever teamed up someday. That being the infamous Joel Miller, a cold and ruthless smuggler, known for his brutality. Cassandra is fully aware of the dangers she might face during the journey she just stepped in and surely the forced proximity with the man can't be more than gasoline in a world on fire.

The sacrifice of a life to preserve billions of them. The irrational will to protect that innocent life even at the cost of your own.

What happened between them didn't matter anymore and crumbled beneath their feet as they stopped licking each other's bleeding wounds, sinking their teeth into them until death.

CASSANDRA WAYLAND ♱ The Graveyard
thirty-nine. taurus. early may. '94

portrayed by ㅤㅤㅤ olivia cooke

Noah Wayland ♱ Dylan O'Brien
Madeline Wayland ♱ Julianne Moore
John Wayland ♱ As Described

Joel Miller ♱ Hugh Jackman
Ellie Williams ♱ Talia Ryder

Other Characters ♱ As Described

[JOEL] ㅤ (frowning) Are you humming to... Metallica? Really?

[CASS] ㅤ I— I'm nervous. It helps me... to calm down.

[ELLIE] ㅤ (visibly confused) What's Metallica?

DISCLAIMER! I do not own The Last of Us or any character of the game. I only own the characters I made, such as Cassandra and her family.

WARNINGS! Canon typical violence, canon typical contents, gore, death, weapons, horror, loss of family members, PTSD, anxiety/panic attacks, SA, cannibalism, smuggling, betrayal, angst, a lot of angst, too much angst, Dav*d. (In case I forgot to add other important tags, this section will be updated.)

TROPES! Enemies to frenemies to lovers, rock girl x country boy, slowburn so slow you'll grow a beard, star-crossed lovers, forced proximity, age gap.

♱

✶ HELLO! yeah... it's me... again... this time i'm here with a tlou fic that i published about a month ago in italian but since it didn't gain much attention i decided to give this story a second chance in a different language.

✶ I LIVE for slowburn enemies to lovers with angst and a bad ending (spoiler? might be...) so here i am with another traumatized & tired original female character that hasn't felt at peace in ages.

✶ i wanted to clarify that this fic isn't related to the show itself but instead it's set in the videogame. still, i decided to put a cast just in case i watch the show (well... i haven't seen it yet but i will i promise it's in my to do list actually) and i decide to do a complete make over of the book once i finish writing it. just to add more contents in case i feel like doing it. also, feel free to view joel, ellie, or any other tlou character as their portrayals in the show or in the videogame or as my fan cast, i couldn't care less about it to be honest.

✶ cassandra's character is inspired by both the winchester brothers in supernatural. honestly, i think she might bend more over sam side than dean. with the latter she definitely share the music taste and the bitchy attitude sometimes but sure she's such a smartass just like sam. another character i took inspiration to create her younger self is the resident evil 2 remake version of claire redfield (ilysm pookie). on the other side, her brother noah is inspired by the resident evil 1 remastered version of chris redfield (they can never make me hate you).

✶ last but not least, i apologize in advance for any grammar error you'll stumble upon while reading. english isn't my first language (my mother tongue being italian) and i'm still improving my writing! i'll do my best i promise. <3

© cassiopeafloreale 2024

s: july 22nd
f: ?? ?? ??