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1. Living is What Comes After by DareDevilR21

   Fandoms: The Last of Us (Video Games), The Last of Us (TV)  

   • Not Rated
   • Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
   • No category
   • Work in Progress

   30 Aug 2026

   Tags

   • Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
   • Ellie & Joel (The Last of Us)
   • Joel & Tommy (The Last of Us)
   • Ellie & Tommy (The Last of Us)
   • Dina & Ellie (The Last of Us)
   • Dina/Ellie (The Last of Us)
   • Ellie & Jesse (The Last of Us)
   • Joel (The Last of Us)
   • Tommy (The Last of Us)
   • Ellie (The Last of Us)
   • Dina (The Last of Us)
   • Jesse (The Last of Us)
   • Maria (The Last of Us)
   • Abby (The Last of Us)
   • the other fireflies are mentioned
   • The Last of Us (TV) Season 2
   • Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
   • Joel Lives (The Last of Us)
   • Hurt Joel (The Last of Us)
   • Joel Whump (The Last of Us)
   • Hurt/Comfort
   • Blood and Injury
   • Blood and Gore
   • so much blood
   • Canon-Typical Violence
   • So much violence
   • but it's mostly chapter 1
   • Hurt Ellie (The Last of Us)
   • Joel Needs a Hug (The Last of Us)
   • Ellie Needs a Hug (The Last of Us)
   • Joel Needs Therapy (The Last of Us)
   • Pain
   • Chronic Pain
   • Permanent Injury
   • Fluff and Angst
   • Ellie & Joel Bonding (The Last of Us)
   • Joel is Bad at Feelings (The Last of Us)
   • Soft Joel (The Last of Us)
   • Ellie is Bad at Feelings (The Last of Us)
   • Temporary Character Death
   • no infected-invasion
   • Medical Inaccuracies
   • but i tried
   • Hospitals
   • Vomiting
   • Brain Fog
   • Concussions

   Summary

   'She’d pictured Dina, maybe even Jesse beneath her hands when she had practised saving a life. Not Joel. Not her fucking— Not Joel.

   He was supposed to be invincible. No one was supposed to be able to hurt him. Joel wasn’t supposed to fucking die.'
   ---
   What if Elle had found Joel just a bit earlier? What if she had aimed her knife just a little better? What if Tommy had woken up sooner?

   Joel lives.
   Or, Joel survives. Living is what comes after.

   Language:

   English

   Words:

   18,494

   Chapters:

   2/7

   Comments:

   21

   Kudos:

   44

   Bookmarks:

   13

   Hits:

   561