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Washington state, she/her, gay content and tags

[biofthestorm]

A really great spoilercast that addresses a lot of the criticism leveled at the creators. The host also fosters a good conversation and doesnt butt in to make them feel defensive or lead to it being awkward. Worth the watch (even if on x2). Time codes below for those in a hurry. Might be off by 1 sec.

00:00 - Intros

01:00 - Dr Uckmann “Controversy”

01:35 Ads for KF

03:00 – “Future Days” as the connective tissue of the game / “One Night Live”

06:34 – When did you know you’d come back to TLOU

09:00 - Was there hesitation coming back? (Ashley)

11:06 - Was there hesitation coming back? (Troy)

Keep reading

[colealexmain]

say what you want about naughty dog and the last of us 2, but they’ve really set the bar when it comes to accessibility options. other game devs should take note. (link to thread)

[roughstool]

thinking about the way ellie carries baby JJ around with one arm

[lesly-oh]

Don’t get in the way of a raging lesbian

[roughstool]

hurting myself by listening to beyond desolation from TLOU2 ost

[brickfckingmaster-deactivated20]

He's just a big ball of muscle.

[gamegifsdaily]

[imyourloverboy]

Sunlight✨

[thesassiestcolor]

(Some) of Your Last of Us Criticism is Bullshit

It’s a good game and I’m tired of seeing these cold takes!

I should probably start out by saying I was ready to call this game garbage when some of the leaks (a lot that turned out to be absolutely made up) were sent out, but I held off. I played the game myself (not watch someone else play it - I played at my own pace for my own experience) and a lot of the “reasons why it sucked” just…don’t hold up lmao 

Spoilers ahead…obviously

1. Joel 

I honestly don’t know what people were expecting with this one. From the very first teaser people expected Joel not to make it. IT was clear Ellie was on a path of revenge, and there was only one person that both Ellie and the audience would do it for. (Then we were worried it was Dina, then really worried it was Dina, but other clips and stills kept pointing more and more to Dina sticking around, and Joel dying.)

It’s okay if you felt mislead by the one trailer. I don’t think they should have done that either. But that’s your problem with the marketing. Not the actual game. (Personal note, I didn’t want Joel to tag along. Then it would just be the first game over again, and we wouldn’t get to really know the new characters. I’m glad we got different allies) 

It was necessary for the story. For Ellie to really be able to go off on her own, learn to forgive Joel for the Fireflies in her own way. And it was also the way Joel’s mistakes come back in a meaningful way, not just Ellie being angry. You were supposed to feel torn at the end of the first game, and this is that struggle realized - some see it as the right one, the selfish violent one. I for one, am glad there was actual consequences. 

2. The Violence

????? Did you play the first one??? Ofc it’s violent, and shocking. Moreso than the first because this time we see Ellie as the antagonizer. Ellie is increasingly and increasingly more horrified by her actions, so we should be too. 

“But I have to kill a dog!!!” You also have to kill people, which should be worse. I also hated killing the dogs, but it’s a video game. I looked away when I had to. It’s an interesting mechanic and you can absolutely get over it like - that’s the game babe

3. The “OOC”-ness

Ellie won’t act like she did when she was 14. A shitton has changed. Tommy was in the first game for like 30 minutes. Ya’ll claim to love complex characters but actually seeing someone act irrationally for trauma?? Suddenly inconceivable to you lmao

Even at the farmhouse, when Ellie left Dina - she still hadn’t fully moved past what Abby did to Joel. We saw that in her journal (again, if you actually played the game by yourself, took time to take the story in) and in her panic attack. She doesn’t know how to move past it, and still thinks that killing Abby is the way to go. 

“Well Tommy wanted to go home but then at the farmhouse he wanted to go after Abby!” Tommy wanted to go home because Ellia and Dina were there to bring him back and Dina was sick. That was the only reason Ellie agreed to go back too. But oh shit! Abby literally crippled him and shot him in the face, of course Tommy would still want to go after her! He’s traumatized too guys, only now he can’t physically finish his journey like Ellie can. 

(and, with the glory of an open ending, once Ellie gets back to Jackson, he probably does move on. He forgave Joel for whatever their falling out was in the first game, he might be able to do it again - up to interpretation) 

“Joel would never give his name to a stranger!” Again, probably not if we were still in the first game. Hell, Joel probably would have shot them on sight if we were still in the first game. But again, the time in Jackson has changed him. There is a part later on in the game that shows Jackson tries to help as many straggles as they can. It’s an open community. Joel had no reason to think the group would be immediately violent because they knew his name. 

4. “Abby is a bad person!” “I hate Abby!” “They tried to make me feel bad for Abby!” 

Abby is an amazing beast of a woman and again, I ask you to actually play the game at your own pace and explore the sections where you play as Abby. If you’re raging still by the time you get to her section, you are going too fast. You are ignoring how Ellie is learning more and more about the Wolves and how they are people too - the things she is doing is not justified. 

Abby is a bad person, but just as much as Ellie is. Just as much as Joel is. She’s a survivor, and was traumatized by her loss (and yeah, losing your dad is traumatizing. Losing an organization you called home to find a new one is traumatizing). She, just like Ellie, thinks the only way to feel at peace with it is to take down her father’s killer. 

But even after! She feels terrible! She knows it didn’t do what she wanted - she has nightmares of her father’s death, she sees the impact it has on her friends, and she knows it’s wrong! That’s like, the major reason she goes back to save Yara and Lev - she knows what she did was wrong. She tries to make up for it. 

Yara and Lev change her, and you would notice if you actually looked. Even after Ellie killed all of her friends, she lets her go. She knows that revenge didn’t work the first time, and would not work again. 

“I’m supposed to feel bad for her just because her dad died?” No, you’re supposed to start to understand her. That’s the jumping off point for this character, and ultimately, her father doesn’t play a huge part in her arc. Not to mention, this argument is pretty heartless coming from people who claim to have such deep empathy for people

If you’re willing to let Ellie and Joel’s mistakes go because you feel so attached to them, but refuse to even give Abby a chance - at the very least, admit you’re being hypocritical. This does not make the game or the story a bad one because you ignore a part you didn’t want to be true. 

5. The “fake allyship” 

A. The thing about Abby being trans isn’t true.  it’s not an explicit part of the story and the “leak” about her being so was absolutely made up. Ya’ll just can’t handle a beast of a woman. (Though if you are trans and HC her as so, completely in your right to do so

B. There is a trans character who is treated badly by their people. This is shown to be wrong. I cannot speak for trans players, so depending how much deadnaming bothers you, this could be another, personal problem. Lev is deadnamed twice (maybe more depending how long it took to finish that encounter, but twice is all I heard) and it is shown to be wrong. And as a way for him being trans to be brought up later, in a more respectful setting. If this fact wasn’t brought up, and then Lev was said to be trans, ya’ll also would’ve called bullshit. By the characters you’re supposed to root for, Lev is treated with respect, protected, not fetishized and all in all, makes it out better than most characters.

C. “It’s violence against lesbians!” First, Dina is bi. And really? There’s violence against everybody. It is understandable to be uncomfortable with tragedy surrounding queer characters, but this game makes clear that that is not an option. I, as a bi woman, am ecstatic to see queer woman at the forefront of a game where their sexuality is present, but not the driving force. 

There is one character who harasses Ellie and again, this is shown to be in the wrong. Ellie and Dina’s romance is never a factor in the actual violence against them, only their actions. 

D. “But Dina and Ellie don’t even end up together!!” The magic of an open ending, bud. Ellie’s journal when she’s in Santa Barbara shows that she misses JJ and Dina a lot. I immediately assumed that when she found left the farmhouse at the very end, she was going back to Jackson to be back with Dina - now finally ready to heal without revenge. Dina did tell her not to go after Abby, but Ellie’s line does imply that there is a chance Dina will forgive her too 

Really, these ones are reaches and if you want fluffy queer media, that’s awesome, but no where was that promised here. 

There are absolutely critiques of this game that are valid. Nothing is perfect. I thought the pacing at times was absolutely killer slow, and there’s only so many large areas filled with enemies I can take out before it gets a bit repetitive. The characters of color (aside from Dina and Lev) always being killed is super sus and could have been avoided most times. But for the main criticisms I’m hearing, ya’ll are just reaching. Just because a story is not what you wanted does not make it bad

[tendersugarr]

[tendersugarr]

We Got This.

[lesly-oh]

The pain and love I feel for this game 😩😭💛

[pearlsasinger-deactivated202602]

bro did people forget that the first tlou had a fucking sad ending... even after the, er, minor detail of Joel robbing Ellie of agency and committing mass murder of innocents, it ends w Ellie trying to explain to Joel why a cure means so much to her, and begging Joel for the truth. he then Lies To Her Face, it’s ambiguous whether or not she believes him (but it seems unlikely, and it’s proven in tlou2) and then she says ‘okay’ and the game is over. that’s uhh pretty bleak. it’s also ambigious - we don’t see them arriving at Jackson, or if they’ll be happy there and fit in. they’re just walking off to it. how on earth is the ending to tlou2 ‘sad’ or bad writing in comparison to that?

Ellie finally gets closure on her relationship with Joel - she forgives him, and manages to pull back from the edge of losing herself. she’s able to let go of her grief and resentment towards him and move on - symbolically by her leaving the guitar behind and literally walking off into the sunset (and there’s like. no other explanation that makes sense other than she’s going to Jackson). It completely mirrors the first one (a conversation between Joel and Ellie about what Joel did for her, ending with Ellie walking to Jackson) while finally being able to wrap up what was left open by the first game - the fact that Joel has put this horrible dent in his relationship with her, which she doesn’t believe can be fixed. Idk guys I just thought the ending was beautiful. the whole game is about Ellie trying to reconcile her grief with Joel over her resentment and anger towards him, and the continual lack of agency in her life, in part because of him. it was just such a good ending, and so hopeful.

[pearlsasinger-deactivated202602]

also - the ending to the first one has the exact blend of hope and things being shattered as the second. the first is hopeful in the sense that Joel and Ellie survive and are heading someplace they think is good, but things have been shattered because Ellie’s whole raison d'être has just been taken from her, and it’s because of Joel - we get the impression Ellie suspects him, and whatever happens, there’s now distrust in that relationship and that’ll hang over them forever.

In the second, things are shattered because this time it’s Ellie’s who’s done something to damage her relationship with Dina - she couldn’t accept that Joel died while Ellie was still mad at him - and the horrible mix of grief and resentment and anger that creates - and walked out on her girlfriend and their child to try and find closure.

It’s hopeful because Ellie does find that closure - the shadow over her relationship with Joel has finally gone, and she can accept and love him without that horrible secret between them. It’s hopeful because after coming to terms with this, she sees physically what she’s done to her relationship with Dina, and symbolically abandons her obsession - her revenge, resentment, debilitating grief for Joel - behind in the form of her guitar and starts walking off to Jackson and Dina, finally free for the first time in 5 years of those feelings. Gimme a sec girls just gimme a sec 🥺

[yeenaaldlooshii]

the parallel between joel willing to damn humanity so ellie would survive and abby turning on her own people when they threatened lev & yara.... bc theyre both jaded survivors who rediscovered their capacity to care for people through taking care of a child.... effervescent

[ratsketches]

SHSJD this little journal entry is so dang good, would have loved to actually see Cat in the game - wouldn’t mind seeing someone write this, or I might give it a shot myself but we’ll see lol (ironically I was actually thinking up some kind of oneshot or something with Cat visiting Ellie for movie night)

“Cat’s the fucking best. That is all.”

“I’ve just had the worst/best day of my life! Cat was finishing another session on my arm and then climbed on top of me and kissed me. I threw her off me. I yelled at her. I thought I infected her. I mean…I’m infected…sort of. I don’t know how the fuck this shit transfers. What if she turns? What would I tell people? She’s got a family.”

“I told her we should take a walk. I lied and said I’d never kissed anyone before and that I was just nervous. She was actually sweet about my freak out. We spent the day walking and talking. Then she came to my place for a movie. She fell asleep…I stayed up all night watching her. Looking for signs of infection.”

“The next morning she was fine. Nothing.”

“I’m not contagious! And Cat likes me!!! What a fucking rollercoaster!!!!

________________________________________________________________

Man, Cat sounded really eager to get the ball rolling between the two of them but this is really dang sweet!!

Really want to try and compile all the journal entries and things to do with her for fun, but I have a feeling Ellie ended up meeting up with Cat or went round her place for some comfort after Joel told her the truth about the fireflies (or maybe she went round to visit Dina)

[dinagifs1]

“I don’t want to lose you.”

“Good.”

[incorrectlastofus]

Dina: you know, Tommy gives Maria flowers every day. Sometimes I wish you would do that too

Ellie: what? Oh, uh…okay.

*the next day*

Ellie: here, these are for you

Maria: wh—

Ellie: yeah, I don’t get it either