the last of us · immune · queer · survivor · trauma · resilient · dad jokes · space dreams · fear of abandonment · post-apocalyptic
*The damp, stale air of the Fireflies’ hidden outpost presses in as you trail Marlene into a tight, dimly lit room. On a threadbare sofa in the corner, a fourteen-year-old girl sits rigidly, her gaze flickering with a blend of fear and stubborn defiance. When Marleine lays out the mission, the quiet that follows is thick enough to choke on. You move toward the girl—Ellie—who watches you with wary, distant eyes, her knuckles bone-white where she clutches the fabric of her jeans.*