The world ended, but people didn't. Not entirely. Twenty years after the outbreak, survival has become second nature. But when Althea agrees to help smuggle a girl across the country, everything shifts. There's Joel: quiet, brutal, impossible. The gruff, closed-off man with blood on his hands and grief in his bones. There's Ellie: foul-mouthed and sharp-eyed, with too much riding on her small shoulders. And there's Althea, stuck somewhere between running from her past and crashing headfirst into a future she never dared to want. Love isn't safe. Hope isn't smart. But some things are worth the risk. Because in the end, it's not about what you've lost, but what you're willing to fight for, even when the world seems beyond saving.

**18+, dark topics covered, toxic relationships, graphic violence and smut throughout** Pre Part 1: You never used to be this desperate. Never used to allow yourself to grovel at a man's feet for him just to give you the smallest morsels of warmth in return. Yet, you found yourself lapping up each and every crumb. It was never supposed to even be him. It was Tommy that set his eyes on you on that godforsaken night at the bar- the night that turned to utter carnage. Yet now, you would do just about anything to have his brother look at you with the same warmth and wanting. You wanted to hate Joel Miller, wanted to feel nothing but disgust as you looked at him but you never could... and so in turn, you allowed him to ruin you over and over in every sense of the word.

"I'm old." He said, glancing to her. She looked up, meeting his eyes. "No, you're not. Grandpa's old." "Still, I'm older than you." "Yeah." She replied, letting her eyes sweep appreciatively over his body. Her eyes lingered on his arms, and the way they were folded. Joel didn't know what to do with that and let his arms drop to the sides of his body, dangling loosely as his fingers twitched. "I'm too old for you." "Agree to disagree." "I'm fifty." "Fifty-two, actually." Life's been trudging on since Joel and Ellie returned to Jackson from Salt Lake. The girl's been adjusting well, but Tommy has some choice words for Joel's lack of sociability. Just start with getting a haircut, why don't you? This is a fanfic of Joel Miller and an original female character. It takes place shortly after the end of the first game/first season, following life in Jackson, and Joel's attempt at dating. Also available on AO3!

Tiffany Walker has survived twenty years of hell - from the chaos of outbreak night in her small Pennsylvania hometown to the suffocating walls of the Boston QZ. Hardened, sharp-witted, and deeply loyal, she's a woman shaped by loss and betrayal, but still willing to risk everything for the people she loves. When a chance encounter leads her to Ellie - a mouthy, strange teenage girl who should have turned from a bite but didn't - Tiffany makes a choice that changes everything. Their bond becomes fast and fierce, forged in shared grief and a desire to protect what little good remains in the world. But protection comes at a cost. Tasked with smuggling Ellie west, Tiffany forms an uneasy alliance with Joel and Tess. Joel is everything Tiffany resents: guarded, gruff, and stubborn. But as their journey forces them through danger, heartbreak, and fleeting moments of peace, a fragile trust blossoms between them. Over time, that trust becomes something deeper - something neither of them thought they could ever have again. As the group battles clickers, soldiers, and their own haunted pasts, Tiffany's fierce devotion to Ellie and growing love for Joel push her to question the hardened walls she built. And when Jackson, Wyoming offers the safety she never dreamed of, Tiffany must face her greatest fear - not dying, but finally living. Themes: Found family and second chances Grief, guilt, and redemption Survival versus truly living Surrogate Motherhood in a post-apocalyptic world The power of love in the face of loss (Joel Miller X fem! OC) (Small Age Gap) (Mature Themes) (Adult Language) (Strong Violence) Rankings: #1 - JoelMiller 3/30/2025 - 3/31/2025 #1 - PedroPascal 4/12/2025 #1 - thelastof us 4/14/2025 - 4/17/2025 Word Count- 176,910 Started January 20,2025 - Finished April 5, 2025 Stared Editing July 28, 2025 - Finished Editing September 23, 2025

Joel Miller X Y/N Imagines and short stories HBO Max show Joel Many themes such as: Fluff, smut, Love (obv), violence, death, mental health issues, family, abuse, revenge, angst, Etc.. FEM! Reader in all!! I will put the theme of the part above the story along with any TW. A "⚠️" will be put with the name if there is a part with any strong themes or mentions of anything. I AM OPEN TO REQUESTS!!!!💜 Hope you enjoy <3

Joel Miller doesn't belong in the city, but he's here anyway, working, raising his daughter, and keeping to himself. He's a man built for fixing things, not people. But when new ties start pulling him in, he's forced to confront what he's been avoiding: the life still waiting for him.

Everyone's fav Dilf😍😍😍 I try to update often Pedro pascal as Joel Miller x female reader Request's open

In which two broken souls connect so deeply, that if one should perish, the other would surely die of a broken heart. ----- *slow burn *timeline changes. After TLOU1, before TLOU2 *assumed knowledge of infected *uses elements from both show and game

Aly finds herself trying to escape the Boston QZ. What Aly doesn't know is Tess is pairing her up with Joel to go on a dangerous mission to find Tommy. Will Aly survive the brooding, moody Joel or will she find herself falling hard for him?

MATURE READ: We loved each other with fragments of ourselves that were dead - Nikita Gill Love. Such a poignant emotion. Such a terrifying feeling to give into. One that is stored right in the precious cavity of the heart. A sentiment that can turn the toughest of people plush but can forge such an aggressive desire to protect. A dangerous intensity, even more so when you're left to find it in the obsolete remains of what was once planet Earth. Or Joel finds himself catching feelings for an existing resident of Jackson. Feelings that he just can't seem to ignore but it's not all plain sailing as they navigate through one another's trauma. Disclaimer to say that I do not own the last of us or any of the canon characters, these belong to naughty dog. I will be using references from both the HBO show and the game so I'll let you guys decide who you want to base the canon characters on :) Notable rankings: #1 in Joelmiller #1 in fungus #3 in pandemic #7 in lastofus