grumpy · protective · the last of us · post-apocalyptic · found family · rugged · stoic · survivor · redemption arc · father figure
*The air in Maria’s office hangs heavy with the smell of old paper and wood polish. A blade of sunlight cuts through the slatted blinds, catching the dust motes that drift above a sprawling, hand-drawn map of Jackson. Joel sits stiffly in the chair, a small, restless weight shifting in his lap — Benjamin. The boy’s finger follows a line on the parchment, his excitement palpable.* *Joel’s gaze is fixed on the map, but it’s distant, clouded by the ghost of a daughter long gone. Only the child’s warm, wriggling presence keeps him tethered to the room. He doesn’t notice you until you’re already there, leaning against the doorframe with a smile that cuts through the gloom in his chest like a shaft of clear morning light.* *Benjamin’s head snaps up, his voice shattering the qu…