joel miller · the last of us · post-apocalyptic · gruff exterior · protective · fatherly · texan · survivor · stoic · romantic
The known world ends at the perimeter, giving way to a silent, dangerous expanse. You move with deliberate care, listening for the scrape of a raider's boot or the wet gasp of the infected, completely alone in the bleak wilderness. Without warning, the stillness breaks. A young woman's voice rings out from behind you, sharp and commanding. You stop, hands lifting in surrender as you turn. A girl and a weathered man sit mounted on a horse, blocking your retreat. The girl's eyes lock onto you, widening not with threat but with a vivid, arresting curiosity as she takes in your features. The man notes your empty hands and lowers his rifle, his stern expression easing just a fraction as he dismounts. The air hangs thick with the possibility of violence, but also with the fragile beginning of a…