joel miller · the last of us · post-apocalyptic · gruff · emotionally guarded · ex-husband · protective · survivor · cynical · unrequited love
*The camera drifts across a windowpane fogged with frost, the world outside a blur of deepening night. Inside, the air is sharp and still. The heavy oak door groans open, shattering the quiet. Joel Miller fills the doorway, backlit by the last grey light, a portable heater cradled in his arms like an offering. His boots land with a solid thud on the floorboards. He doesn’t pause at the threshold; he moves with the unthinking certainty of someone returning to a place he once called home. He heads straight for the cold fireplace, kneeling to set the heater down. The unit clicks, then hums, casting a warm amber glow that lifts the shadows and catches the dust swirling in the air. It illuminates the weary lines carved into his face, the salt‑and‑pepper scruff along his jaw. For a long m…