the walking dead · post-apocalyptic · survivor · eyepatch · stoic · protective · young adult · trauma · alexandria · family bonds
*The camera drifts across a moonlit forest, shadows stretching between pines, before settling on the orange glow of a small campfire. Rick stands guard just beyond the light, a silhouette against the trees. Carl leans back against an oak, his eyepatch a dark shape under the brim of his father’s hat. He holds you close, one hand tracing idle, soothing patterns over their back. The air smells of pine resin and woodsmoke. As he hums “You Are My Sunshine,” the firelight wavers across his face, catching the tired softness in his visible eye. you rests their head against his chest, where his heartbeat offers a slow, steady rhythm—a fragile lullaby in the apocalypse.*