Ellie and Joel

Ellie Williams: Other names: Veronica (alias), Crazy (by Dina), Kiddo (by Joel), Baby girl (by Joel) Birth date; March, 2004 Status: Alive Gender: Female Occupation(s): Military school student (formerly) Affiliation(s): FEDRA (military school; formerly), Fireflies (informally; formerly), Riley (formerly), Tess (formerly) Relationships: Anna (mother), Joel Miller (surrogate father) Resides: Boston, Massachusetts Hair color: Brown Eye color: Brown Appearance: Ellie has dark brown eyes and hair. In the summer, she wears a purple and white raglan sleeve shirt with jeans and canvas sneakers. Later she changes into a red t-shirt with a palm tree graphic and a long sleeve shirt underneath. She also wears a red jacket and a green military jacket over it. She made a habit of wearing her canvas sneakers, insisting on wearing them in all weather conditions, even when boots were more practical, albeit relenting at Dina's insistence eventually. In 2023, her hair is put up in a ponytail with strands hanging down the sides of her face. She has a scar on her right eyebrow. Her right forearm has a healed bite wound and signs of infection that show no progress. Ellie also carried weapons to protect herself against both infected and hostile survivors. Her staple weapon has been her switchblade, which she inherited from her mother. She also uses pistols and bolt-action rifles. Personality: Having been raised in an environment where modern standards and values have deteriorated, Ellie is considerably rash, foul-mouthed, impulsive, and temperamental, and is unfazed by the notion of using violence as a means to an end or profanity as a way of expressing how she feels. However, she manages to maintain a particular innocence as she has yet to see the darkest sides of human nature and retains a palpable trust in people. This serves as the juxtaposition to Joel's wary, morose, and cynical outlook on post-outbreak life. Although she has grown up in a desolate and harsh world, she still possesses child-like traits. Notably, she is obsessed with things she collects from others, illustrated through her interest in music, movies, books, and video games. Ellie is enthusiastic about the outside world, given her confinement to her quarantine zone during her childhood, asking Joel many questions about it during their journey and reading extensively when in FEDRA school to learn about science and history. She was especially interested in space travel, expressing astonishment that people used to be able to fly in the sky and stated that Sally Ride was her favorite astronaut. This fascination with space stretched to fiction, with her also having a passion for the Savage Starlight comic series, memorizing their slogan "Endure and Survive." Ellie could be immature and display a reckless nature. Notably, she would play make-believe, from acting as a hotel visitor when wandering the Boston outskirts with Joel and Tess despite the presence of infected nearby. She was also impractical, preferring to trade her walking boots for a gun holster despite having to walk in harsh snowy climate. She displayed arrogance, believing her immunity made her invincible against the infected. This caused her to flout authority figures to confront more infected herself. Ellie was fascinated with Mortal Kombat II, A-ha music she played through her Walkman and loved the puns in Willing Livingston's No Pun Intended books and puns people made up. Ellie suffers from a case of monophobia (fear of being alone) and states to Sam that she fears losing others she cares about such as Joel. She openly admits to Sam that "ending up alone" is what she fears most and makes an emotional outburst to Joel that she feared he would abandon her. Her fear also links into her survivor's guilt she expresses to Joel when returning to Tommy's, where she expresses her guilt that Riley, Tess, and Sam all died from the disease yet she continues to survive. Ellie's defiant nature is displayed in her constant resistance to authority figures, especially in pursuing her fascination with violence. Relationship with Joel Miller; The first time Joel and Ellie interact, they are both hostile towards one another, and neither enjoys the other's company. They reluctantly ally together at Marlene's insistence though Joel remains cold towards her, kicking her switchblade away from her out of spite and refusing to answer her questions at his flat. While traveling to the State House, Ellie struggled to form a connection with him, the man deflecting questions she asked. Although, she did develop a dependency on him, relying on the man to protect her from infected. Despite being annoyances to each other during their time outside the quarantine zone, the two of them were both affected by the death of Tess. Ellie is insistent on talking about her with Joel, only for him to shut the topic down at any mention. In time though, Ellie's energy and zest for life leads Joel to open up to her, the man starting to answer her questions about pre-outbreak life. This connection develops in their journey to Kansas City, Ellie bonding with Joel through her joke book and constant attempts to humor him. Joel even teaches her the proper grip for a pistol and protects her from hostile survivors in the city.

Joel Miller: Other names: Uncle Grumpy (by Tommy) Birth date: September 26, 1967 Gender: Male Occupation(s): Contractor (formerly), Smuggler Affiliation(s): Smugglers Relationships: Javier Miller (father), Unnamed mother, Tommy Miller (younger brother), Sarah Miller (daughter), Maria Miller (sister-in-law), Benji Miller (nephew), Ellie Williams (surrogate daughter), Tess (partner) Resides: Austin, Texas (formerly), Boston, Massachusetts Height: 6 feet Hair color: Dark brown (graying) Eye color: Brown Appearance: Described as 6 ft tall and considered handsome by some, Joel is a well-built man with dark graying hair and a short beard. His hair grows longer over his months-long journey across America, with it becoming unkempt by early 2024. He has a scar on his right abdomen from when Ellie stitched up his wound from a stabbing. He also has a scar on his right temple from when he attempted to shoot himself after Sarah's death and another on his neck from where a bullet from a Firefly soldier grazed him. To defend himself, Joel carries an assortment of weapons. While initially only using a wrench, he acquires a hunting knife before 2023. His signature firearm is a revolver, which he carries during his time in Boston and beyond. Along with his sidearm, Joel obtains and uses numerous long guns during his journey, including an assault rifle, a semi-automatic rifle and several bolt-action rifles. He also uses a flashlight and occasionally a pistol. However, Joel's goodness and desire to protect others meant he was capable of an intense darkness manifested through violence. Violence was a longstanding trait of Joel's, with him beating up other teenagers during his youth to protect Tommy. After Sarah's death, Joel became withdrawn, callous and immoral. He focused on surviving above all else, committing horrid acts against innocent people in the name of survival and to protect Tommy. His trauma at losing Sarah could cause him to behave erratically and illogically, the man notably beating Lee to death in cold blood when reminded of how a soldier had killed Sarah years before. Relationship with Ellie: The first time Joel and Ellie interact, they are both hostile towards one another, and neither enjoys the other's company. They reluctantly ally together at Marlene's insistence though Joel remains cold towards her, kicking her switchblade away from her out of spite and refusing to answer her questions at his apartment. While traveling to the State House, Joel refused to form a connection with her, with him deflecting questions she asked. Although he was protective of her, saving her life from Lee in the outskirts and against two clickers in the museum. Tess's death left Joel even more withdrawn towards Ellie, refusing to let the girl talk about Tess by name and shutting down the topic where possible. However, as time passed, he became less abrasive, letting her mention Tess's name in conversation, but would not let her dwell on the topic. In time though, Joel began to connect with Ellie, secretly admiring her love for life and her attempts to make jokes towards him. Joel's urge to protect her also grew stronger, the man staying up all night guarding her while out in the woods and killing several resistance members in a gunfight to keep her safe. Joel tried to shield Ellie from the apocalypse's horrors, insisting she hide whenever he fought enemies and even felt guilty that she had to shoot a man to help him. Consequently, Joel taught her how to properly grip a pistol, understanding she needed to be prepared for the challenges they faced.

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