#save me bella playing ellie

[that-homoerotic-blouse]

So did Bella's insane performance as Ellie rewire any more brains or just mine?

[rinndjarin]

A Shot Breakdown of the new TLOU S2 first look!

*Cue Little Sadie* Ellie at the dance. Looks like it’s ripped directly from the game. No notes. Though this does make me wonder if we’ll be getting this scene sooner rather than later. In the game, we don’t see this scene until the Farmhouse. I think I read somewhere that Craig Mazin isn’t a big fan of flashbacks, so we might be seeing some stuff in chronological order. 

The tattoo! And the chemical burn. No idea where this shot is, but it looks like Ellie is either drawing or at a workbench. Either way, it looks great. 

The great Catherine O’Hara! I’m so excited to see her here. When her casting was first announced, many people, myself included, believed that she would be playing the Seraphite prophet, but then in an interview she mentioned that she was doing scenes with Pedro, so that wouldn’t make sense. I’ve seen others say that she’s might be playing a therapist-type character in Jackson. The editing in the trailer definitely makes it seem like that! But I think this is a misdirect. Joel’s dialogue in this trailer is definitely him talking to Tommy like at the beginning of the game. I don’t think he’s talking to Catherine there. So who is she talking to? It could be Joel in a different scene. It could also be Ellie. It could also be someone completely different. What a mystery! I’m so excited to learn more about her character. 

Oh Joel. My sad old man. He looks so broken here. Pedro, your Emmy is coming! Like I said before, the editing makes it look like he’s talking to Catherine, but I believe this scene is with Tommy. 

This shot is going to keep me up at night. What is this?? When is this?? Why is my daughter screaming? She has a bandage around her chest, she’s on a gurney, and someone is holding her shoulder. Could be Maria? My prediction is that this is Ellie right after being brought back to Jackson after Golfing, and she’s having a freak out. It seems like she’s looking at something (someone?) What if Joel’s body is in whatever room that is? I’m not sure. I’ve seen some other people suggest that this could be some kind of nightmare sequence which could also be very possible. I saw another suggestion that this could be Ellie getting the chemical burn to cover her bite mark but I’m skeptical of that. That scream is way too emotionally charged in my opinion. Whatever the case may be, Bella is showing their acting chops here and I see awards in their future. 

Another shot that has me stumped. This must be Jackson right? Let’s say for now that it is. Is Jackson under attack? By who? Raiders? Infected? This looks like way too many people to be Abby’s crew. Maybe this is a flashback. I saw someone suggest that this could be a a flashback to Tommy defending Jackson so that we can see his sharpshooter skills. That’s definitely possible. If it’s not Jackson, then could it be a flashback to a Seraphite conflict? Those wooden walls could suggest a Seraphite village. I’m not sure. This one is a doozy.

Tommy!! He looks so good. I cannot wait to see more Gabriel Luna in this role. He’s gonna kill it. So this shot comes right after the one with the people running towards that wooden gate (possibly Jackson) and with the editing, it looks like Tommy is on top of that gate. It could very well be the same scene or it’s two different scenes spliced together. I think it’s very possible that this shot is from the scene where Tommy and Joel save Abby. I doubt this is Tommy in Seattle since this is very clearly winter. 

The Seraphites! They look awesome. I’m thinking this must be the scene with Ellie in the park on her way to the Hospital on Day 2. It could also be Abby’s Day 1 when she meets Yara and Lev, but I’m starting to think we won’t be seeing Abby’s Seattle days until Season 3. There have been no casting announcements for Yara and Lev.

Dina! My lovely Dina. Okay so I’m not really sure where this shot would be, but I’m thinking it’s somewhere in Seattle because of the coat she’s wearing. Isabela Merced was wearing it while shooting with Bella in Vancouver for Seattle scenes. In the tunnels maybe? The theater? Not sure, but she looks great! I love Dina, and I think Isabela is gonna be great. After seeing her in the Alien: Romulus trailers, I’m confident that she’s going to knock it out of the park. 

Ellie unleashing Hell? Amazing. You go girl. 

If you look closely, you can see a person standing on the ridge in this shot. My guess is that it’s Abby or Owen scouting out the Jackson area. 

Jeffrey Wright is back as Isaac! Let’s go! One of my few complaints about Part 2 is not seeing enough of Isaac. He’s such an intimidating character and I need more. Jeffrey Wright is going to DELIVER. 

First look at Kaitlyn Dever as Abby! Another shot that could’ve be ripped right out of the game. I think Kaitlyn is going to be an amazing Abby, and I hope for her sake that she doesn’t go on any social media when Season 2 premiers. IYKYK.

Nothing much to say here except that this is most likely Jackson/early game. It’s hard to tell who the riders are. It could be any combination of Ellie, Dina, Jesse, Joel, or Tommy. Or maybe they’re random patrollers from Jackson; who knows?!

This has to be the subway scene in Seattle Day 1! I love that level; the introduction of the Shamblers, the red flares, clickers and WLF everywhere. It’s gonna be good.

Clicker in the subway! Makeup looks amazing, but of course I’m not surprised. This show cannot and will not miss. 

“I saved her.” Yes you did, Joel. You saved your babygirl. Like the first shot of Joel, I think he’s talking to Tommy here. Most likely not Catherine O’Hara (but I’m open to being surprised!) Pedro just brings so much vulnerability and softness to Joel. He’s the same character from the games, but he’s also not. It’s not better or worse, just a little different, and I applaud Pedro for his performance. 

[theendwhereibegin]

TLOU - The Death of a Father Figure: Joel Miller and the Generation Raised on Pain

(please do not read unless you have seen the second episode of series 2)

Let`s sit and talk about the second episode of The Last of Us season 2, because who in their right mind would watch this at 2 am UK time? Me, yes it was me, and I regret my choice because I have never, ever, watched something that has made me lose sleep the way this episode did.

The visuals, the acting, the plot line, even if it was changed, tore my heart into a million pieces. It left me gasping for air, screaming in my head "No Joel, don't save her", and that`s when he saved Abby.

I played the game when it first came out. It was something new, something that made me dive deeper into a world that I wanted out of, but refused to leave, because I got attached to the characters.

When they first announced the series, with Pedro Pascal playing Joel, I knew it will not be healthy for me to watch it, because I cried like a baby whilst playing the game. But, I also knew that Pedro would be able to do the character justice with his brilliant acting skills. I knew we were doomed because we were all about to fall in love with Joel Miller, in the most visceral, heart wrenching way. There was no turning back for any of us. But why?

Joel Miller has lost it all, that was until he found Ellie and, later on, his brother Tommy. This was always about more than just an apocalyptic and dystopian world. This was about a mans journey through loss, pain, gain, love, and finding his purpose once again. His purpose? Protecting the people he loved the way he couldn't protect his own daughter. Sure we can dive into how Sarah's death has broken Joel beyond repair, and that the way he's kept on going was merely a façade, but the moment he found Ellie, as much as he wanted to fight it, he's become the father figure she needed after losing so many loved ones. He stuck by her, the same way we wished our own parents would have. He believed in her without second guessing who she was, the same way we tried so hard to get our parents to believe in us. That is were the generational trauma comes into play. We were never good enough, but Ellie was always good enough for Joel, and we were transported back into a time when we were persecuted by our parents with "Why cant you be more like X or Y? See how they can and you can`t?" Ellie simply had to be herself.

The moment he became a father figure for Ellie, he became a father figure to us, the viewers. Our unresolved childhood issues came bubbling up and we woke up clinging to their `father-daughter like` relationship, as if we were trapped under water for way to long before finding the surface again. We watched them laugh together, cry together, fight together, and suddenly we were 14 again fighting our own battles with our parent`s lack of trust in us. We could have moved mountains and it was still not good enough, but watching Joel`s fatherly behaviour towards Ellie, despite his constant inside battles to not view her as his daughter, that "desperate for approval" child in us started healing.

The first season was an absolute work of art, seeing how their relationship blossomed, and how, no matter what, they stuck with each other through thick and thin. It helped that Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal had an amazing chemistry on and off the set. They became the duo we never knew we needed in our lives, and, honestly, I spent the first season dreading the second one, because I knew we were about to lose that amazing relationship in the cruellest of ways.

In the second season, first episode, Abby is briefly introduced, and we understand that she was on a mission, a mission to avenge her father who was killed in a brutal way by Joel. The scene was brutal, but Joel's action did come from a place of love. He wanted to protect Ellie, and he didn't want her to die for nothing as no one was 100% sure that the cure would even work. Would the choice have been different if he knew she could be the saviour of all humanity? Maybe, but we`ll never know for sure, because Joel has never shown us the full extent of the trauma Sarah's death has inflicted on him. He buried it deep and kept on going, and who can blame him? You can`t survive a world full of dangers unless you bury your feelings deep within.

Abby`s full of rage search was justified as well. She lost her dad, and I think any of us would have done the same if we would have been walking in her shoes. Grief does a lot to people, and it manifests in such different ways.

The bets were all off and we knew that as the first episode ended and then the second episode started, and we were all glued to it, almost not breathing as if to not disturb the plot that was unfolding before our very own eyes.

It was brutal, raw, with emotions running at an all time high watching Joel save the very person that would end his story in a way that took our hearts out and threw them into this dark abyss. Sure, the relationship between him and Ellie drifted to something we were way more familiar with, the despise of a young adult towards their parents. That's when our hearts started sinking, because we were suddenly transported into our own past, when we were trying to navigate parental relationships like it was a battleground. We`d say "No", and they would say "We know better". We felt invalidated as human beings, and stretched ourselves to the maximum in order to be validated, even if it was only for a second. In our minds, if we hated them, that would get them off our backs. Little did we know our parents had the same internal battles we had. Wondering how it all turned bad, when everything came from a place of love, something that Joel, in his own way has shown us in the first episode of the second season.

While the plot was changed, and Joel was with Dina, another `father-daughter like` relationship that captured our attention, we started wondering if our own parents chose to believe more in other kids because all we showed them was this bubbling hate. Some of them deserved it, maybe even more than we were able to show them, but I know this has made me look at my own relationship with my mom, and suddenly understood that all my hate was misplaced, because she did truly try to be there for me when no one else was, in her own unique way, just like Joel.

I watched it all with a knot forming in my throat, being unable to breathe. Our hero was no longer able to defend himself, and his Ellie was far away. By the time she arrives he was already more than half gone. I cried on mute because of the early hour I was watching it at, but my insides were screaming in a way I have never felt before.

What ended me, was the way he tried to get up to defend her, being fully aware that he couldn't help her even if he tried. "Get up!", I would say at the same time as Ellie, hoping for a miracle, even if I knew it won`t happen, and that in order for the story to move on, he needed to die, but for us, the generation raised on the heights of emotional pain and parental invalidation, it didn't matter. We only wanted Joel back, because he made us feel like we belonged and that it was okay to be us. He helped us understand that it wasn't our fault that we weren't good enough for our own parents, and that maybe, we were loved and appreciated in the shadows.

Joel Miller will always be the father figure of a generation that always looked for nothing more than love from the adults that were supposed to build them up and believe in them. He showed us that no matter how bad the world gets, a parent, even if not biological, should always be there and look out 100% for the child that is looking up to them.

We may not have had infected monsters chasing us, but our minds were always clouded with our own monsters we have tried escaping, and unlike Ellie, we had no one to protect us from them.

[oodlyenough]

last of us 2x01-2x02

I didn't make a post for the premier so here are my thoughts in general

probably spoilers for the games as well because it's very hard to not compare and contrast. sorry

i liked 2x01 a lot but i thought 2x02 was pretty great, very action packed, the inclusion of the jackson storyline was a great way to keep people like me on edge even as we knew the broader beats the show was going to hit

i can see the logic in pretty much every change they've made, in terms of rearranging scenes, giving info to the audience earlier/later than in the games, putting dina with joel instead of tommy, etc. i think these changes work ok, but they do create something different. there's all these cumulative little changes that add up to create a different vibe, different development, etc. what it means is sometimes you get something that seems in-character for show joel that would be out of character for game joel (like therapy), or likewise for game ellie vs show ellie. show ellie has been designed from the jump to set up season 2, i think -- the "violent heart" stuff, her recklessness and adrenaline-seeking in 2x01 builds off who we saw in s1, etc. but that's not game ellie, imo.

there are some places where i think the tv show is trying to explain itself too much, which i find a little tiring (abby's monologue is a great example), but then i also remember how all television is now written for people who are watching tiktoks on the side, and i guess there's only so much you can mitigate that. a lot of gamers really struggled to understand abby's motivations, so now abby is just going to tell them directly to the camera. okay i guess. i don't think it's especially elegant but i understand how we arrived there.

i am disappointed they cast a petite woman to play abby. i think lumping in that complaint in with the weird hatred bella ramsey got or the racism over the millers etc is unfair; it's very rare to have a woman who looks like game abby in media and it is a shame to have lost that. i'm not ragequitting the show or blaming the actress, it's just kind of a shame.

in general i really enjoy this show as an adaptation. i think it has done a pretty good job of translating the story across mediums. i like the tv version of most of the events and most of the characters. at the end of the day though the games are definitive to me and my preferred iteration of pretty much everything. which is fine! i'm still enjoying the ride

it has made me wanna play tlou2 for the billionth time though. sorry to all my new and unfinished games...

specific moments:

ellie's diary pages on the walls of her room!!! this show is so so good about these little loving nods to the game being incorporated

likewise ellie throwing a bottle!!!! lmao i remember waiting all of s1 for a brick/bottle sequence... finally !!!

not having the weed den scene is a change i understand but it does change the trajectory of ellie and dina's relationship significantly so i am interested to see how they develop on tv instead. their relationship is far more unsteady now in the show than it was by this point in the game -- ellie still doubts dina 'meant it', etc. how do a post-joel dina and ellie forge that connection? i guess we'll see

show dina is more personally motivated to get revenge on the WLF, and i see the thought process there. however there was something quite touching imo about dina doing all of that very specifically out of love for ellie that we'll lose a bit here

the attack on jackson also makes ellie + co leaving the community a more significant betrayal. i wonder if they will have changed tommy's game role at all. game tommy is a deeply infuriating man in tlou2 ... and now the stage is set for show tommy to be even worse lol

after 2x01 i was sure they were saving the porch scene for a later flashback, and 2x02 all but confirmed it. aside from ellie's dialogue to jesse I ALSO clocked that we open on her room with the guitar in it... that we last saw joel holding. clever

i wonder if they're reworking owen/mel/abby at all. i hated owen, mel and abby's plot lmao so i would be open to any fixes

reducing the number of the salt lake crew is a sensible decision for tv. however it sucks that manny is kind of getting all that extra, um, meanness??, shoved onto him in absence of ... guy whose name i don't even remember...

it's funny to watch the show and hear them be like "omg you killed 19 people joel" when i've played the game many times and killed approximately five bazillion. i get it. it doesn't scale on tv right. it makes sense. but lol

wonder what they're doing with the WLF. "we don't kill anyone who can't defend themselves" is bullshit, and the reaction shot of owen kind of implied he knows it's bullshit. does abby? tbd

ashley johnson through the valley.mp3 you will always be famous

[banditomojado]

THE LAST OF US SEASON 2 PREMIERED!!!

DAY ONE FAN HERE, I've been so excited for season 2 after such a strong first season! Here are my spoiler thoughts on episode one!

Just to get it out there first, I've seen some of the complaints online about Bella, but I must say they aren't warranted. Bella isn't video game Ellie's exact body type, duh, but I think it's mostly just ignorance surrounding the physical capabilities of ANY woman that size. (I'm aware of Bella's they/them pronouns, I'm using she/her since the character they play is a woman.) As an avid WMMA fan, I can tell you firsthand some of this little ladies are BEASTS and strong as hell. Just Google Weili Zhang lifting Shaq. Mind you, she's 5'4 and competes at 115 pounds. Ellie does nothing in this episode that couldn't be replicated by any other able-bodied woman her size with sufficient training and exercise. Ugh, sorry, had to get that out of my chest, people are so dumb!!!

Okay, so overall I really enjoyed the first episode. As a huge fan of the games, I was extra curious how they were gonna kick off the season, and this is very much the calm before the storm. We get a very good look at what life is like now 5 years removed from the violence of season 1. Seeing more of Joel as a member of this commune was great, as we didn't get much of that in the game. His therapy session with the always amazing Catherine O'Hara was far and away the best scene in this episode. The way she completely blindsided Joel with her brutal honesty was excellent, I was mesmerized by all the subtle shifts in emotion in both of them as the scene progressed. Pedro Pascal was awesome, his eyes go from guilty panic to hardened resolve in a matter of seconds, truly A-plus acting here, and his final assertive "I saved her" was a well earned gut-punch, ESPECIALLY if you know of what's to come.

All of Ellie's scenes were well done in my opinion. Ellie is your typical 19 year old tomboy. She plays rough, takes unnecessary risks, scoffs at authority, has killer taste in music, and is PISSED the fuck off at her dad. For good reason too, but I suppose non-gamers don't know why yet, so I do appreciate that Ellie's real issue with Joel isn't revealed here. The eternal debate surrounding The Last of Us is "Was Joel right?" in his actions at the end of the first game/season 1. I have VERY strong feelings on this, and I like that so far the show seems to be trying to challenge Joel's die-hard defenders opinions by offering us detailed glimpses of just how Joel's actions that day have affected not only the last 5 years of Ellie's life, but her overall life-trajectory.

The standout new-to-the-series performance is easily Isabela Merced's Dina. I loved her in the games, and I think I may love her more so far in the show. Her relationships with both Joel and Ellie are well constructed, and beautifully acted. Her scene with Joel was sweet and earnest, I love what little we've seen of their relationship. And her and Ellie are so perfect together. Seeing them fearlessly venture into that store to go infected-hunting was a joy to watch, which I felt was a purposeful nod to some of the fun that can be had with a friend who's along for the ride in real life watching you clear this level in the game. The bottle toss was the cherry on top!And omfg don't get me started on her big New Years scene with Ellie. With lines ripped straight from the game, Isabela is able to perfectly capture Dina's eccentric yet ever so smooth seduction of Ellie in a way that honors the source material and even elevates it to new heights, all while providing some expert dark foreshadowing. Don't believe the haters, this show was perfectly cast.

Okay, now on to my only reservation about the premier, and that's Abby and crew's appearances that bookend this episode. So far, I'm sold on Kaitlyn Dever's Abby. That "We kill him slowly" at the beginning of the episode was chilling, not only for it's menace, but also for the raw vulnerability she is able to show at the same time she makes this violent promise. This is a broken individual who has lost everything, and I believe her when she says there will be hell to pay. All that being said, I'm not sure why we got her motives revealed THAT early into the season. Her shocking introduction in the game was so well done, I'm kinda sad we won't experience that same feeling in the show. That being said, I have confidence in the team that they know what they're are doing and I'm not one of those fans who needs the adaptation to be an exact copy from the source material, because duh, it's a different medium, with different rules and ways to engage with the audience!

So overall, I would rate this episode a solid 9/10. The standout scene is easily the therapy session, as it shows what the tv medium is able to provide to such a beloved and rich story. The intro to the Stalker variety of infected was a cool sequence, perfectly spooky and well shot to satisfy the need for action. They say we'll get more infected this season, and so far this is a great start. But this is definitely a character-focused premier that takes it's time with our protagonists in their new lives five years removed from the first season. I'm very excited (and terrified) of what's to come!

[spleenmuncher]

I just finished the last of us season 2 episode 1, spoilers for season 2 episode 1 and part two follow.

I wrote down my train of thought while watching the episode.

-ˋˏ✄--------------------------------------------------

- Tweaking out already

- "Okay"

- WISHEJJDJDJDNDHDBDB

- HOLY SHIT, GIRAFFES???

- ARE WE GONNA GET ABBY?

- Abby!!!! :33

- FIREFLIES!!!!!

- ISSAC MENTION??

- Abby revenge arc

- "They say he's handsome"

- He is a lot taller than her

- Kaitlyn Dever, my wife

- I like how we get her motives earlier.

- "Slowly" ...good God.

- CALEB???

- ELLIE, HUH???

- I'm assuming this is a misdirect and she's just training.

- YEAH, GET HIS ASS!

- Knew it

- JESSE!!!!! :333!!!!

- Bella Ramsey, my husband.

- Ellie's so fucking hot

- Is that fungus in the pipe?

- DINA!!!

- JOEL!!

- Dina and Joel scene!!!

- Father in law and his soon to be daughter in law

- "I lick them?"

- I forgot Joel was a carpenter

- I don't want Joel to die

- "What I am"

- Joel says he's Ellie's parent confirmed!!

- interesting that he's a lot more open about Sarah now.

- "What did I do?" FUCKING GENOCIDE????

- I love you, Dina

- "Don't tell anyone I'm in therapy" he's so real for that tbh

- CLICKER

- TOMMY AND ELLIE!

- HE'S TEACHING HER TO SHOOT!

- "Compensate for the bullet drop"

- "It's standing on a fucking fence" I love you, Ellie

- I low-key forgot she was an adult.

- Tommy's my favorite character, he's so cool.

- She's yapping about it too loud.

- SHE'S YAPPING ABOUT IT TOO LOUD.

- Puppies!!

- BENJAMIN!

- MARIA!!!! SHE'S ONE OF MY FAVORITES!

- "Caulk" I'm so fucking mature, I swear.

- Joel is so cool, I hope nothing bad happens to him.

- I love how we can see how Joel and Maria's viewpoints contradict each other.

- I really hope nothing bad happens to Benjamin.

- The tonal change for "monsters" is killing me

- I'm going to cry.

- Liar

- I LOVE BENJAMIN

- I LOVE JOEL, I HOPE NOTHING BAD HAPPENS TO HIM

- Is that weed

- that's weed

- Ellie being called Joel's daughter makes me so happy.

- I love you, Gail.

- HUH?????

- JOEL KILLED EUGENE??

- WHAT THE FUCK?

- I'm assuming he was infected

- ☹️

- ☹️☹️☹️

- Poor Joel ☹️

- "I saved her" I mean, technically.

- I'm sad.

- THE GUITAR!

- I love that Ellie's working on her gun.

- DINA!!!

- "You're wearing canvas sneakers in the snow"

- Just kiss already

- CURTIS AND VIPER REFERENCE???

- THE KNIFE IN THE SIDE TABLE, JUST LIKE IN THE GAME!

- Shimmer ☹️

- JESSE!!!

- I love all of them.

- CURTIS AND VIPER REFERENCE AGAIN??

- Jesse's 23?

- KAT!

- "for some fucking reason" LMAOOOO

- Kat is so fucking hot

- OHHHHH

- This is the night before the dance

- "She's the other one" THE OTHER LESBIAN????

- KAT IS SO HOT

- Ooooooo, bloody tracks!!

- Dina and Ellie, you fucking idiots.

- JESUS FUCKING CHRIST, LISTEN TO KAT

- Clicker corpse!

- Bear corpse!

- Jesus Christ, that's a lot of corpses.

- "How many infected does it take to bring down a moose?"

- ELLIE'S FACE LOOKING AT THE DISMEMBERED BEAR 😭🙏🏻

- "Bear-b-que" THEY MATCH EACHOTHER'S FREAK!

- I love Kat already.

- I love how the other guy is just letting it happen.

- DIVAAAAAAS

- Why the clicker kinda....

- BOTTLE!!!!!!

- I love the charades game they're playing

- EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH BOARD LIKE IN THE GAME!

- PUPPY ON THE EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH BOARD!

- The way at Ellie's killing the clicker reminds me of her knife kill animations in the game when she was 14.

- "did you get bite? Do I have to shoot you in the face?"

- ELLIE FALLING THROUGH THE FLOOR HAS ME DEAD

- This is just like the game, I'm in love

- QUIET THE FUCK DOWN, YOU DINGUS

- She's gonna to get jumped right now

- You know she's not gonna to stay put, Dina

- THE SET IS SO SIMILAR TO THE GAME

- Ellie, I am clocking your lesbian ass so hard.

- INFECTED IN THE BACK!!

- I love how you can see how Ellie's grown since season 1.

- STALKER!

- "run at me fucker!"

- I love the infected sounds

- ELLIE TURN THE FUCK AROUND

- TURN THE FUCK AROUND

- ELLIE TURN AROUND

- Infected makeup goes hard

- The tendrils 🤌🏻🤌🏻

- OH SHIT OH FUCK OH FUCK SHIT SHIT SHIT FUCK OH SHIT

- Ellie is getting bit left and right, Jesus Christ

- Are they discovering stalkers for the first time??

- I love Maria

- I love Jackson, it's my favorite faction

- MARIA IS SO HOT.

- It's interesting to see how The people react to the infected in the show, since we only really get the perspective of Joel, Ellie, and Abby in the game.

- Owie ☹️

- Don't leave the fucking water running Ellie, that's wasteful.

- I could never give myself stitches, I'm terrified of needles.

- HOW HIGH IS ELLIE'S PAIN TOLERANCE, JESUS!

- I love seeing Ellie's journal, she's so silly.

- "Don't fuck it up don't fuck it up" Ellie's serving such lesbian realness rn

- OUR FIRST JOEL AND ELLIE SCENE!

- ELLIE IS SO HOT

- THANK YOU ELLIE, FOR SERVING BUTCH LESBIAN REALNESS

- FLANNEL ELLIE COME SAVE ME

- SAVE ME FLANNEL ELLIE

- Bad string reference, that reminds me of the patrol chapter.

- I love how Joel got out of there so quickly 💀💀

- SAVE ME GREEN FLANNEL ELLIE!!!

- THEY'RE PLAYING THE CLICKER GAME! LIKE IN THE LOST LEVEL!

- Puppies!!

- THIS WAS THE SONG IN THE GAME, I THINK!

- THIS IS EXACTLY LIKE THE GAME!!!!!

- SAVE ME DINA, SAVE ME

- THEY'RE ALL SO HOT!!!!!!

- I love Dina

- I remember I couldn't play the game whenever she was in it because I was too busy staring at her because she was so stunning.

- JESSE!!! MY SECOND FAVORITE!!

- ELLIE ☹️, YOU ARE NOT THE LEGAL DRINKING AGE.

- HOLY SHIT IT'S GUSTAVO, IT'S FUCKING GUSTAVO!!!!!!!!!!

- I LOVE YOU DINA

- Oh my God, just kiss already

- "How bad do I smell?"

- I FUCKING GOT IT

- Sapphics are so cool, I hope someone named Seth doesn't come up to them.

- KISS, KISS, KISS

- JUST KISS ALREADY

- That scene with Dina when she says "Oh Ellie" looks exactly like her in the game.

- "Oh Ellie, I think they should be terrified of you" That's literally just the synopsis of the entire fucking game 😭🙏🏻

- SAPHHICS!!!!

- FUCK YOU, SETH

- JOEL SHOULD HAVE KILLED HIM.

- DINA'S FACE IS KILLING ME

- I love you, Maria

- All of these characters are so cool. Except for Seth, fuck Seth.

- ☹️😭😭😭😭😭

- SISNDJDKDJDJHXDJNDJSJAJDN

- I'm going to fucking cry.

- WAIT, ARE WE GETTING THE SCENE EARLIER!?

- WE'RE GETTING THE SCENE EARLIER!!!!!!!

- We are not getting the scene earlier.

- Oh my god, the people of Jackson are fucking stupid

- THEY'RE GOING TO BURN DOWN FUCKING JACKSON

- Dina fucking Chekov's gunned us with the roots.

- WAIT, IT IS FUNGUS, I WAS RIGHT!

- HIVE MIND!!! HIVE MIND!! HIVE MIND! HIVE MIND!!

- Abby's group?

- ABBY'S GROUP!!

- Kaitlyn Dever, my wife.

[xanadufoyerwaterwheeljr]

BTW my roman empire is the last of part 2 specifically the relationship between both the main girls and revenge plots and how The Last Of Us does such an insane job showing real people and how fucked up people do fucked up things. My roman empire is Abby.

I think about her every day. I think about how she was willing to let Ellie go every time. Because Abby got what she needed to try and heal and had Lev to take care of. But in doing so took the only thing Ellie had. In Ellies. Mind. But ellie had her whole family *that wasn't even hers really? Like dina and the baby wasn't even hers but Dina chose Ellie to be her family and Ellie threw that away*

Abby is such a good and interesting complex character that people hate because she Killed a man who KILLED SO MANY FUCKING PEOPLE !!!! And possibly is the reason there is no cure for humanity. But Ellie (and like every other person who played last of us) saw Joel as a hero and was the /only/ person there for her. But that's so fucked up for her to leave everyone she was faithful to to go and hunt Abby down. At the beginning I was with Ellie going after Abby but once they both go through so much in this already complicated screwed up world I don't understand how that didn't weigh on Ellie enough to make her calm down. She's also a very interesting character in how strong she is in her will to do whatever it takes to finish this off. But killing Abby wouldn't even do anything and would probably fuck her up even more? I dont but I think I could write an essay about them and still never get it out of my system.

Also I finally watched the last episode of the hbo last of us and let me just say I think the creator of the show UNDERSTANDS the point of making Joel look like the bad guy even more so than the game. When you're playing as Joel you want to save Ellie. I wanted to save Ellie. But watching Joel take down that whole hospital and kill the dr barely even looking at him was INSANE. the show made it so clear that Joel is not in the right lying to Ellie. He knows what he did was wrong. I was in AWE and so excited to see those complex character choices played out in the next season I think its going to be wild.

My last point is that I love Bella Ramsey they're perfect hes my son and I want great things for him.

[avastrasposts]

Hello!

So I just realised about 300+ people decided to follow me and, I suppose, read my stories? And 300 is such a small number but to me it's surreal that so many of you want to read what I write!

So I thought I'd introduce myself a little, just to be polite you know, and be like those author blurbs they put on the inside flap of books. So read on if you want to know more about me and my writing, or just keep scrolling if you'd rather I remain a redheaded mystery with a thing for Frankie Morales.

Also, chapter 16 of The Pilot and his Girl will be posted tomorrow, it just needs another round of editing.

Also, again, this got long, so if you can't be bothered reading all my ramblings below the cut, I totally understand. I have a habit of getting wordy....

So, I'm in my 40's and I've been writing for most of my life, starting with embarrassing little short stories in adorable misspelled fashion when I was just wee. I aspired to be a journalist and then went on a completely different tangent career wise, ending up with a PhD in an area I no longer work in (fifteen years of higher education never to be touched again but you definitely want me on your team in a pub quiz!). I have vague memories of writing fan fiction in my early 20, I think? (I'm old, give me a break). But I only got back to it late last year as a way to kick start my imagination and discipline around writing again. I needed a creative outlet and writing is something I always enjoyed and found easy to do.

I live in England, in the amazing but fucking expensive city of London. I look pretty much like my profile picture, only more wrinkles and maybe a bit of silver in all that gingerness. I'm a very good cook and baker (Pedro, I'll teach you how to cook any day!) and I'm married to my very own sweet Latino man. He's not called Frankie but he does call me cariño. I have big chunk of family in Sweden and I speak a little bit of Swedish (it's actually where I am right now, we're over here celebrating midsummer).

I started writing fanfics for The Boys fandom and Karl Urban as I was binging the whole show after finishing season 4. Then I stumbled into the Pedro Pascal fandom as I watched The Last of Us.

TLoU has a very special place in my heart. I've been gaming since my early teens and bought a Playstation 3 after saving for months, my first console after playing on PC for years. When TLoU came out in 2013 I bought and played it straight away and I, like so many others, had an experience playing it. It's the only story, in any medium, that's made me cry after just 10-15 minutes of game play. The scene were Sarah dies, still gets me every time. And the rest of the game...I turned up at work the next week in a daze, just needing to tell people about this incredible story and experience I'd had. It was like no other game I'd ever played, before or since. And I've replayed the game about once a year since 2013. Back then, that kind of game was totally unique, there was nothing like it. Some games had explored stronger story telling elements, but not on this level, nothing came even close to creating such a bond between gamer and characters. Now days we're spoiled by powerful storytelling in video games, in 2013, The Last of Us was totally unique (sorry, I'm blabbering, but I could go on at length about TLoU and the impact it had).

So when I heard there was talks about turning into a tv-series, I was scared. Really worried. The gaming community have seen so many horrendous adaptations of video games, my beloved Assassin's Creed was butchered in 2016. But then I heard Pedro Pascal had been cast as Joel and I was carefully hopeful, and then Bella Ramsey as Ellie and I got really excited. I'd seen them both in Game of Thrones, both of their performances sticking in my mind. I even remember reading about Pedro being cast in GoT and looking him up and being disappointed because he looked nothing like I'd pictured the Red Viper when I read the books. But then he just swanned in and crushed it, he was so damn good, he won me over straight away. I can't imagine anyone else playing Oberyn.

And then of course, the first few trailers of TLoU dropped and we got glimpses of the show and I remember texting my equally TLoU obsessed friend and we squealed in delight at how good it looked! And the first time I heard the clicker sound....I shuddered, it was a very real physical reaction. If I'd been on the actual set and heard it, I think I would've run a mile.

And then, as I was still writing The British Connection, a fic set in The Boys fandom, I watched Triple Frontier, and, like so many others, fell hard for sweet Frankie Morales. So jumping the gun a bit, I decided to write something with him, just a drabble, to get used to writing him and to write in the Reader insert format. But it kind a grew in scope and when I had the idea of sticking him and the rest of the Triple Frontier boys into TLoU universe I knew I had to create something bigger.

Looking back I would've made the story tighter, less lengthy, had I known from the start that's where it was going to go. But part of the fun of fan fiction is posting as you go, I think. I get feedback from you guys and it makes me think of other elements to add to the story. There isn't always a set road map for how a fic is going to develop.

If you've made it this far, congratulations and thank you, I'm impressed you read all that rambling from some stranger on Tumblr! The Pilot and his Girl has a set plan now, I have chapters drawn up and although I'm not sure how many chapters I'm going to end up with, I know where the story is going. You'll find out what's happened to Pope, Will and Benny. And Joel and Tommy will of course come back to the story later on. There will be more trauma and angst as the story continues but there will be a happy ending, of sorts, in the end.

And again, thank you all for reading, commenting and reblogging! I love you all!

[rubberchickeny]

Daryl Dixon and Last of Us

I don't want to be negative, but I can't help it. As a fan of both The Walking Dead and Last of Us (games and show) this lack of humility, respect and common sense baffles me.

Last of Us is about the connection of the two main characters, like I said in my previous post.

I almost want to call Joel broken, and some of him is, but mainly he has been frozen. He has a couple of people in his life that he cares about, but even with them he has put up a thick, cold wall. He can't ever let himself care again, not like he did for his daughter. (Sound like someone we know?)

Then he meets Ellie.

Ellie is a teenage girl, both a bit bubbly and edgy. She won't take anyone's shit, and she isn't a wallflower, satisfied to keep silent while grown ups make decisions for her. In the show Bella Ramsey takes it even a bit further, doing an amazing job. Pedro Pascal plays Joel as emo, and it's breathtaking (and heartbreaking). All these years Joel hadn't been able to let himself feel, and now he is drowning in his love for Ellie.

(This clip of Last of Us shows as much.)

The very height of AMC's stupidity is that if they really wanted to use LOU and it's success spirit as inspiration, they were already more than half way there, without stealing the LOU plot! TWD was always at its best when it was a show about people, and how they deal with horrible circumstances (both as individuals and as groups), how some of them welded into a family and how others... didn't. Like LOU, there are people resorting to cannibalism, different factions fighting for power and resources, and people trying to keep at least some of their humanity intact.

As for TWD, we have Carol and Daryl, both of whom have been through Hell, both before and after the apocalypse. Their connection has been strained at times (lots of angsty plot), but there is nothing they wouldn't do for each other (like Joel *cough*). Why didn't AMC use that? The depth of their feelings and their connection was already there, as was their capability for levity to ease the hard subject matter.

Truly, there are not enough words to express how disappointed I am at the mere stupidity of this whole thing. You didn't need to bring a group of nuns (!) and put Daryl in a bath (which in itself feels like it's taking this "whole new Daryl" approach a tad too literally; just saying) before taking The Chosen one in hand.

I truly don't know which would be worse; DD show copying LOU's ending too or trying to do it differently.

Will this (imposter) Daryl save the world, instead of conquering his own saviour complex?

That's not a story I'm signing up for. Nor is this blatant plagiarism, AMC.

[thebiggestmenace]

Are there any specific scenes you’re hoping they make in live action from part 2? I’m really hoping for scene from the gutair strings flashback where Joel kills that bloater to save Ellie. It’s such a badass moment. I kinda hate how they just brush it off afterwards tho

I'm trying not to get too excited about scenes, in case they don't make them live action, but there are definitely some I want to see!

firstly, I would LOVE to see joel and ellie have that conversation about dina. where joel looks over at ellie and says that dina would be lucky to have her? I just need to see pedro and bella act that out. it is a necessity.

I would also love to see the guitar scene flashback! I really hope they change it a little bit, though, because joel showed like no emotion when ellie almost got her head ripped off. I feel like joel should've had more emotion than that? sure, the estrangement had already started, but that's still your daughter. show something

also the birthday flashback! I would LOVE to see pedro and bella reenact that whole scene. with joel having to wear a cowboy hat, and ellie going around and putting hats on all the dinosaurs, and the spaceship D: the whole flashback needs to happen. it is, once again, a necessity.

the scene where ellie sings take on me to dina also needs to happen. some people missed it in the game, but I think it's just so important. and it should still be take on me, I think, cause they played it during the riley and ellie episode. and I know the creators knew what they were doing.

I'm sure there's more, but that's what I have off the top of my head :)

[qubixo1]

The last US season 2 to save first step on Hbo and the start of the second sport

The first step of The last of the US 2 to beat today is a lie. Ellie, who has been played by Bella Ramsey, says to Joel (Pedro Palcar), “all you mentioned about firemen are true.” Joel cares about and says, “I swear.” I’ve seen a story that melts tonight and with me my mind. It’s a small jarring that does this show does not appear as characters in the two games I’ve been spending up too much…

[cascigarette]

2023 Tumblr Top 10

1. 1,032 notes - Apr 15 2023

another hyperspecific poll bc I want to broken the same bone twice climbed the tower of Pisa stayed in the area I went to...

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it's really interesting to me how they wrote and how jarpad played sam's trauma from the cage through the soulless sam arc and...

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pick one buddy it's only monday monday buddy it is 10am on a tuesday tuesday werewolf transgenderism wednesday angel of thursday...

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hey. do u guys know about castiel

7. 134 notes - Mar 13 2023

listen listen I can go into my thoughts and opinions about saving ellie vs saving the world and all that but at the end of the...

8. 109 notes - Sep 18 2023

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I literally cried during ashleys scenes. when she tells baby ellie "yeah you fuckin tell them ellie." like her giving bella the...

10. 57 notes - Sep 18 2023

if sam straight then why sampaul

Created by TumblrTop10

[westeroswisdom]

Bella Ramsey's portrayal of Lyanna Mormont, blunt in a refreshing way, is not far off from the actor's IRL persona.

Here's part of an article featuring them by The Independent's Louis Chilton. I thought the section on neurodivergence was especially interesting

"I want to play a villain. A real dark, evil, nasty human being. Someone like Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs,” says Bella Ramsey in a voice as sweet as piped icing. The ambition may seem incongruous emerging from the mouth of the 20-year-old British actor, but they’ve got the range, I don’t doubt. [ ... ] Ramsey has a truly great face: moonish and dark-eyed, somehow both shrewd and unguarded at once, yet unmistakably young-seeming. They’ve already been knocking around the industry for more than six years, since first being cast in Game of Thrones as the spiky Lyanna Mormont. As a child on set, Ramsey was precocious. “Being a kid actor, I didn’t like the separation,” they say. “The thing I hated the most was being patronised. I didn’t like the fact that I could only be on set for a certain amount of time, and had to go and do tutoring. I get why the hours protections for child actors are phenomenally important – but I hated feeling like I was lesser or separate from the adult cast.” They explain that they always “got along better” with adults as a child. (They left school at 12, taking online classes and being tutored instead.) “I wasn’t intimidated by going onto a set with a load of people twice, three times my age,” Ramsey says. “As I’ve grown up, I’ve learnt that I have autonomy to stand up for myself and for other younger people that I work with now. I want to enable them to advocate for themselves in the way that people older than me taught me to advocate for myself!” A relevant factor in all this: Ramsey is neurodivergent. (It’s common for neurodivergent children to relate more to adults than their peers.) For Ramsey, it’s something of a two-way street. Firstly, they say, the rigour and structure of a film shoot is “incredibly beneficial for my brain”. This extends to the catering, to knowing they will have the same breakfast each day. “This is exactly what I need, to not really have to make many decisions,” Ramsey explains. “When I’m on set I really thrive. When I leave sets, especially when I’ve been in that bubble for so long… it’s quite an intense pressure, which can be scary.” But Ramsey says the way their mind works has proved just as advantageous for their acting craft. “I wouldn’t be an actor if it wasn’t for my neurodivergence,” they say. “It’s just a part of me and it’s incredibly helpful in terms of acting. One of my things is that I have insane levels of visual perception compared to all the other things. I’ve been watching people and absorbing everything since I was really young… all these characters that I play, there’s an element of them that’s already inside me because I’ve seen someone be that before.”

By coincidence, Bella Ramsey was one of eight people in the arts featured in a New York Times article by Maya Salam a few days ago called The Breakout Stars of 2023.

“The Last of Us,” HBO’s stunningly heartfelt zombie apocalypse thriller. Given that its source material was a beloved, acclaimed 2013 video game that has sold over 20 million copies, the bar was extraordinarily high. The show’s debut season delivered, in large part because of the synergy between the duo at its center: Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie, two characters who find themselves on a cross-country quest, dodging reanimated corpses to (hopefully) save the world. Ramsey, 20, who was born and raised in central England, offered a layered, tenacious, haunting performance as a teenager who is coming-of-age while being humanity’s possible last hope. They have been a working actor since they signed on to “Game of Thrones” at age 11, as the scene-stealing giant slayer Lyanna Mormont, and went on to have celebrated turns in the BBC/HBO adaptation of “His Dark Materials” and Lena Dunham’s 2022 period comedy, “Catherine Called Birdy.” For “The Last of Us,” Ramsey nailed a specific combination of contradictions — funny and quirky, but violent and rough — that Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, its creators, were looking for. “There are few people better between the words ‘action’ and ‘cut,’” Mazin told The New York Times. Ramsey’s performance earned them an Emmy nomination, for outstanding lead actress in a drama, joining the likes of established stars such as Keri Russell and Elisabeth Moss. “It’s only recently that I’ve accepted I am Ellie, and I can do it, and I am a good actor,” Ramsey told us.

[elliespuns]

I know I talk a lot about the show and what TLOU HBO did wrong (I still love it and appreciate it; it's just that I need to vent and see if anyone feels the same way).

I think the main reason why I still feel like something is missing between Ellie and Joel in the adaptation is that, due to their decision not to film anything in the water, so many of the valuable scenes that were so important for Ellie and Joel's relationship development were pushed aside.

They cut out the original way of Ellie saving Joel, where he was held underwater, drowning. They cut out the bridge scene where Joel jumps after Ellie in the raging waters, to save her. And then also the sinking bus scene in the tunnels where Ellie tries to get Joel out, almost drowning herself, and him trying to save her afterwards in return.

And I know a lot of people are going to say that HBO replaced the scenes with other moments that were as valuable as those in the game. But I still felt like there were no such dangerous situations that would lead to Ellie and Joel proving their dedication to each other that wouldn't also be in the game. Meaning they just cut out the best scenes without adding any new original ones.

And that sucks because the people who never played the game and don't even bother to check it out (and there are many) won't ever know those moments, and it's such a shame. Honestly, imagine those scenes in the show. I think all of us would lose our shit to see Pedro and Bella portray those touching moments.

And those who never played the game will probably disagree (or maybe even get defensive), but no matter how much I love the show or how much I'm always trying to make everyone watch it; I still couldn't feel the connection between Ellie and Joel as strongly as I did in the game. It was not as palpable. And that kind of makes me sad.

[jksprincess10]

Joel Miller masterlist

✰ : contains smut

☾ : contains dark themes

☁ : contains fluff

ϟ : contains angst

dividers by @saradika

Mini Multi-chapter fics (completed)

*for multi-chapter fics, read warnings on each chapter's page

My boyfriend's parents (Tess x Joel x reader): After Chad cheated on you, his father shows you what a real man is like. His wife joins in.

My boyfriend’s dad

My ex boyfriend’s parents 

The neighbor’s daughter: (dad’s neighbor! joel x reader, no outbreak AU)

 Home, sweet home

Pool party 

Hello again   

She knows   

Trust

Lucky for me, I run on spite and sweet revenge (Joel x ennemy ! reader)

 Lucky for me, I run on spite and sweet revenge 

I can sabotage me by myself 

Everyone is a bad guy 

The handyman (Jackson ! Joel and reader) : You break your bed and you ask Joel to fix it.

The handyman

The handyman part 2  

Birthday: (dbf!joel x reader) : You meet your dad's best friend at the bar where you're celebrating your birthday.

Mr Miller’s birthday gift

Happy birthday, Mr Miller 

Long Multi-chapter fics (completed)

Dressed for revenge (Joel x nb!oc): A cult. A lost human wandering like a ghost. A world infested by cordyceps. A care taker. A little girl who’s immune.  A newly formed trio on a quest to vengeance, but also on a quest to find themselves.

Masterlist for dressed for revenge

Long Multi-chapter fics (in progress)

Something in the shadows When a girl is found by Ellie just outside of Jackson, covered in what seems to be scratches from a beast, the community realizes that the infected might not be the only monsters out there.

Masterlist for Something in the shadows

Oneshots and requests

Big man, little dignity ✰ ϟ: Joel saves your hopeless ass and he gets stuck with you for a while, but it doesn't seem to bother him.

Rooting for the antihero ✰ ϟ: You and your “business” partner, Joel, go out of the QZ for a deal. Everything goes to shit and feelings are revealed.

I’m starvin’, darling  ✰ : dbf!joel insists that you sit on his face.

Famous last words ☾ ✰: you're Joel's ennemy and he has you trapped to perform sweet torture on your body.

Save your cowboy ϟ ✰: You learn that Joel is from Texas and you take pleasure in calling him cowboy.

Looking for love  ☁ : You're a divorced mother who takes wood working classes in hopes to find the right man.

The first time you met a clicker ϟ ☁ : You and Joel get attacked by a clicker.

Horseback flirting ✰: You get excited and flirtatious during a horse ride with Joel.

Bella  ☁: Taking a bath with Joel.

No bullies : Professor!Joel defends plus size!reader who gets bullied.

Surprise party ϟ ✰: Sarah is your best friend and you've been in love with her dad since forever.

Warming you up  ✰ : Joel warms you up at night.

Only angel  ✰: You ask Joel to take your virginity before a date with another man from Jackson.

5+1  ☁: 5 times Joel Miller did something for you and 1 time he did something for himself.

Cardigan ϟ ✰: You fall in love with your dad's boss and it's a beautiful disaster.

Epiphany ϟ ✰: Your new neighbor is a war veteran with a lot of scars

Attraction spell ✰☾ : Vampire!joel stalks you and takes you for himself.

Devour ✰: You make Joel dress up as a werewolf on Halloween and you pay for it.

Sleep ✰: Joel fucks you in your sleep.

Evening softness✰☁ : You and Joel talk about your respective days at work.

Doing the work ✰: Joel's back hurts and he wishes he could please you. So you offer to ride him.

Tis the damn season ✰☁: You finally hope to get Joel Miller's attention at your annual family Christmas party (dbf!joel)

Playing Santa ✰☁: Joel dresses up as Santa for the kids of Jackson. It shouldn't turn you on as much as it does.

A bad deal ☾✰: Joel disrespects you and you make him pay for it. (non con, dark fic)

Take it✰: Your ex-girlfriend's father punishes you.

Morning voice ✰: Joel whispering filth in your ear with his raspy morning voice while he fucks you. (drabble)

Soft & quiet ✰ :Joel is eating you out in the bathroom of the Tipsy Bison. (300 words drabble)

If I can't have us✰: You beg Joel to give you want you want.

[tightjeansjavi]

I think there is something so fuckin admirable about how much heart and soul Pedro puts into the characters he plays no matter the size of the role?? This dude can literally play any role and he makes it look so fuckin easy. I’m especially enjoying his role as Joel because the father daughter connection that is being built between him and Ellie is STUNNING. I still am thinking about those sniper scenes and how him and Ellie were silent communicating. The fear in his eyes when he sees the kid clicker climb in the car?? The subtle nod when Ellie goes to save Sam and Henry and she knows Joel has her back?? Bro, this show is fucking RUINING me. It has been such a long fucking time since I have seen two characters on the same wave length as this. Hats off to Pedro and Bella because holy shit, they’re fuckin badasses man.