TO DEATH & BEYOND
a  the  last  of  us  fanfic
written      by      ashara

but this is my home, my childhood is buried here, my sleep rises and sets inside, desire crested and wore thin between these bones — i live here.

— Lisel Mueller, from "A Nude By Edward Hopper," Poetry

❛ they say war is hell
but the real hell begins
when the battle is done
and yourself is the only
beating heart ❜

DIANA ADLER MADE IT OUT. And some days she wishes she hadn't, but a fateful moment let Sarah Miller walk into their kitchen the night of the apocalypse began. Saving the six year old girl right in time before she became the next prey of her infected grandmother. She was the only one to live among the Adler family. So that had to mean something.

After leaving Austin, Texas safe and unharmed by the virus. Diana eventually finds herself being at the mercy of FEDRA quarantine zones. The living conditions of the settlement were harsh and cruel especially for a young girl like her even under the wing of her reluctant guardians, the Miller brothers. Until Joel decided to leave Diana to a close friend and ever since then the girl has been passed around by various strangers who are willing to look after an orphan child.

When she came of age, Diana lived out an independent life as a mechanic and handyman on the outskirts of any quarantine zone she finds herself in. Often contracted by FEDRA or ordinary citizens to do major repair jobs.

Her latest work was meant to be a simple transaction. All she had to do was tinker a couple of minor weapons, upgrade a faulty car battery and get paid with a week's worth of goods and supplies. Until her client was double crossed for the battery Diana was supposed to repair. Next thing she knows dead bodies were everywhere, her job unfinished and days of services unpaid.

As if things couldn't go worse for the young woman, Marlene, the leader of the Fireflies who hired her. Ends up abruptly enlisting the help of Diana and the two Smugglers who arrived at the scene out of desperation. The mechanic has to assist the pair she once knew in delivering a young girl at a Fireflies' statehouse. Marlene promises that when they make it there Diana will be given a much deserved pay for both jobs she did for them.

Once again Diana Adler is pulled into a dangerous attempt of escape because of an accident, just like how she was twenty years ago. And this time she's determined to turn the outcome in the opposite direction.

❛ you are at war with
yourself. caught between
what you truly are— and
what you're supposed to be ❜

∎ Diana Adler ━━━ the mechanic hailee steinfeld

lone wolf. music enthusiast. 20s.

diana's playlist

i. yellow coldplay • ii. you know you're right nirvana • iii. addicted simple plan • iv. zombie the cranberries • v. complicated avril lavigne • vii. adam's song blink-182 • viii. together again janet jackson • ix. in the end linkin park • x. iris the goo goo dolls • xi. the kids aren't alright the offspring • xii. hey! ya outkast • xiii. linoleum nofx • xiv. minority greenday • xv. wonderwall oasis • xvi. seven nation army the white stripes • xvii. all the small things blink 182 • xviii. the last song all american rejects

best to read in :
white bg / medium font / serif

&& CAUTION      Spoilers of HBO's tlou s1. This book contains strong language, violence, killing, gore and brutality. There are will be mentions of mental health issues as well such as depression, PTSD, suicide ideation, severe isolation and anxiety. Trigger warning will be written at the beginning of a chapter if the contents above are present.

&& DISCLAIMER      I don't own The Last of Us series storyline and its characters. The credit goes to the creators of the show and games. I only own Diana Adler and a handful of OCs. There will be minor alterations and modifications (such as dates, events and locations) from the original storyline in order for the fic's plot to fit in. Please don't reproduce any content of this book without the permission of the author.

&& AUTHOR'S NOTE      Okay so remember the prospect tlou fic that I had before the show started? Yeah it may not be happening soon because I shelved it for this 😭 I had an spontaneous idea for a secondary fic after watching the rest of the eps and ended up writing a couple of whole chapters. So we are getting this instead of After Dawn, I'm sorry 😔

&& DEDICATIONS / TAGS    everlxstingphoenix -jamesrodriguez
ghostuhl llxcifers xonceuponatimex
darkhoImes MysticPsyche_

&& BOOK DATES     published by feb 2023

&& MAIN FIC TAG    #the three genders are mechanic, immune and a reluctant guardian with a crippling decade depression

" how terrible
is it to love
something
that death
can touch "

© ashara ─────  2023
don't steal !