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starlessskies94 · 5 months

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Consequence (Joel Miller x OC)

Summary: What if Joel survived his injuries from the Abby and Fireflies attack but ends up with really bad amnesia. He can’t remember his wife, Ellie, or the Outbreak; only before. How will his family bring back the man they once knew?

Pairing: JoelMiller x OC

Note: I have decided to continue my story; thanks to the people that got in touch to tell they are still enjoying it. I was really worried that people were losing interest but while there's still readers here, no matter how small the group I'll keep posting until we reach the end of this story together, much love and hope you enjoy the chapter we're back with our boy Joel for this one and I have missed writing him, I won't lie. Enjoy! <3

Chapter Twenty Three

Joel didn’t know what he was thinking. It would take days to get to where he wanted to go. Weeks, if he persisted on foot. Not to mention it would be more of a risk. From being ambushed by hunters; infected, stragglers or anyone else in this godforsaken wasteland of a world that wished him harm. In fact sometimes the bastards didn’t mean to cause harm; they’d just wanted to steal supplies or weapons to take for themselves. Joel knew that well enough; having been on both sides of it.

He needed a plan. And wondering out in the open on foot was not going to end well for him, if his dwindling supplies were anything to go by.

He’d already searched every gas station, garage and pit stop stores he’d passed so far and every one he’d left with nothing. It had taken a while to get back towards anything vaguely close to civilisation. But after a few hours he saw it. The tall rusted and dented walls that engulfed the town. The old faded signs that gave instructions to scared residents looking for safety from the outbreak when it had started. The old security watchtowers that were abandoned; littered with bullet holes and long dried blood. Corpses of old Fedra soldiers hung by the lampposts and buildings; beside them were words of hate and anger spray painted onto the walls. It brought Joel back to the quarantine zone in Pittsburgh. It was like an echo of time and rebellions replayed over and over again. It seemed every QZ had ended the same way and Joel couldn’t help but idly wonder if the same fate had met the QZ in Boston. Pushing on he tried to find a way in, eventually coming across the main road that gave way to an underground tunnel. There seemed to be a way through; it’d be a tight squeeze but he just about make it.

He paid no mind to the scuffs on the palms of his hands or the loose debris dust fluttering into his already greying hair. Coating him from head to shoulders like a ghost of dusty white as he climbed through towards the other side. When he finally emerged he stopped.

The smell of fresh blood assaulted his senses; a scent the man had an unsettling familiarity with. He took a few steps forward along the old road, bodies littered the floor. But they were not of people. They were infected. An array of both runners and clickers alike. It didn’t take long to deduce that this was not from a fight among the horde. The aggression overtaking them as they fought over a dead deer carcass, no this was done intentionally. One runner in particular had several bullets holes shot into its temple. The puddle pooling around its broken skull was still wet. This had happened recently. He followed the trail of deduction as it led him to the still smouldering half burnt bodies of yet more infected by an old check-in point. What the hell had happened here? There had obviously been some kind of ambush, though what had brought out so many infected in such a force eluded him. In that moment Joel felt a shiver creep up his spine and a strange tugging sensation in his mind. His instincts on full alert as he drew his pistol from the holster by his hip and swiftly turned to check behind him.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

And yet he still couldn't shake the overwhelming feeling that he was being watched. The shadows clambered across boarded up buildings; the broken streets and sidewalks. Painting the sky with a deep orange hue; dusk was fast approaching and night would be falling soon. Joel knew there’d be no point in trying to move on just yet. Might as well find somewhere secure and get a decent night sleep if possible. Shaking away his unwarranted suspicions he turned away from the old rusted gate; already deciding that he’d have no chance of finding a way over and made his way further into the downtown area of the QZ.

————-—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By the time Joel found somewhere half decent; night had already fallen. An old apartment building seemed secure enough. It had been further split into living quarters much like the one he’d lived in, in Boston. He’d been lucky in getting such a space to himself, as other residents had been expected to live all in one apartment. Whole families having no choice but to share the small living quarters. Most of the other buildings had been sectioned off by Fedra; having been deemed either, not liveable or some had simply collapsed in on themselves during the chaos of the outbreak. That in the end, the government had been extremely limited to what was left available to them when the time came to quarantining certain cities or towns. Leaving most large areas to the elements and bombing the bigger cities in an feeble attempt to wipe out infected. It had worked for a little while but it seemed all places were the same no matter where you went. Boston; Lincoln, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake, Colorado…it had all ended the same way. People had risen against Fedra’s rule and in an attempt to take back their town or city; had simply watched it burn and whither away.

As Joel made his way through the building, the old dusty floorboards strained against his weight. Climbing to the upper floors; checking out as he went to ensure the coast was clear, he felt more at ease as he reached the top. More of a vantage point should anyone try to ambush him for any reason.

He set old broken bottles by the door he barricaded; his mind content at having some sort of alarm to wake him should he need it. He got to work checking the apartment over for supplies. It seemed for a change luck had favoured him. Finding bandages and rubbing alcohol in the bathroom and tinned food in the pantry. He made quick work of the living room, setting out his sleeping back on the couch and shrugging off his backpack, setting it beside him as he kneeled on the floor. He placed the items on the coffee table in front of him; his weapons would need checking over and cleaning before he set off again as well as preparing himself a hearty meal of beef jerky and a cold tin of baked beans. He tried not to grimace at his ‘dinner’ for the night. It was times like this he really wished he were home in Jackson again.

He ate silently taking in his surroundings. Before travelling with Ellie and Ada; he’d never really thought about the places he’d stayed. The places he’d looted in order to find supplies while on the road. They’d just been a shelter over his head for the night, or a place to resupply to continue a job or a journey. But then the teen had started to ask questions.

Who do you think lived here?

Do you think they found their family?

Man, I hope the poor bastards got out.

Is this really all they had to worry about? It’s bizarre.

He had to wonder about the people that lived in this apartment. Were they still alive? Had they stayed together and gotten to somewhere safe before the outbreak here? He doubted it. If memory served right, most places hadn’t even gotten warning that the outbreak was even coming. His hazel eyes darted around at the family pictures hung on the walls. The smiling faces seeming hollow now. The young couple at the beach, at a fair and a graduation from East Colorado University; if the graduation gowns were anything to go by. Childhood sweethearts maybe? Or perhaps they met and fell in love in College. At any rate; it didn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. He’d never know for certain.

His eyes froze on a faded photograph, the frame dented and old now. The couple stood together holding each other close. One in a suit, the other in a white gown. Their wedding.

Joel felt a breath catch in his thought as he thought about his own wedding picture. Now smashed and littering his attic floor. The photograph screwed up and thrown on the ground at Ada’s feet.

He felt a jolting ache spring through his heart at the thought.

God he hated himself for the things he had said to her. He hadn’t meant any of it. He’d been angry and confused at the time but that still didn’t give him the right to yell at her like he had.

“I reckon it’d be best for both of us to go our separate ways. Be done with this whole thing.”

He wished he could take it back. The words echoing in his mind, tormenting him. That hadn’t been at all what he wanted. And as he sat alone in the dark, with nothing but his flashlight to chase away the night, he missed her more than he ever thought possible.

“I mean it, Adaline. Stay the hell away from me. You and that girl of yours.”

That girl. That girl. He was disgusted in himself for describing Ellie in such a way. He loved her like she was his own and he’d treated his own family like they meant nothing to him. It was like his mind was split in two. The man who’d lost his memories, lost in a world he didn’t understand and the man that he was now. That he had been for the last twenty five years. It was strange remembering how he’d reacted to everything he knew to be fact now. To once question it and be so confused to the point of angry frustration, to seeing the world as it had crumpled and adapting to what was left.

Joel sat back with his back leaned against the foot of the couch. Too much thinking. Too much. He needed to focus on the task at hand, he needed to plan his way forward. If he thought too much about Ellie and Ada; he’d change his mind. Turn back and go straight home. As much as he wanted to, he knew he couldn’t. He needed to keep them safe. Even if that meant them losing him once again. They’d understand. He hoped they would.

As Joel decided to turn in for the night, he put out his flashlight and settled into his sleeping bag. He failed to notice the shadows that were creeping along the sidewalk below outside. Slowly moving under broken, dead street lamps and peeking in through building windows before pausing then moving along as if almost searching for something. Like wolves on the hunt in the midnight moon, while the mighty moose slumbers on, unaware that the pack is on the prowl and out for blood.

#the last of us part 2 #the last of us #starlessskies writes #joel miller #joel and ellie #ellie williams #joel x oc #the last of us fanfiction

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thedepthsoffandomminds · 1 year

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The last of us - Broken together 19

Master list

It was a summer afternoon when you felt a difference in yourself. The medication no longer gave you strength. Standing made you tired. For the last week you had sat on the porch swing and watched Joel tend to the sheep. Ellie would sit with you in the evening and read your favourite books to you as you slowly drifted to sleep before Joel carried you to bed.

On this particular afternoon you had made your choice and called Joel to you.

"Joel, I want you to do something for me and I don't want you to argue."

He would never know why or how but he knew what you were about to ask him.

"Tell Ellie to stay put tonight." You asked.

"You know she won't." He replied quietly.

"He's right. I'm not going anywhere." She was beside you. She had grown into the most magnificent eighteen year old in your eyes. Strong and headfast you had no doubt she would do well. With a nod you hold out your hand to her. Joel walked silent to the kitchen pouring out the bottle of pills into the counter and crushing them with his knife. He let a tear fall from his eye and he poured them into a bottle of Bourbon. He shook it and returned to you a glass in his hand.

"I didn't want to..." He started, your hand brushing his cheek stopped his words and he leant into your touch.

"Ellie, you make sure you look after him. Make sure he lives a long life." You pleased with her.

"No y/n I ain't gunna-"

"Yes you will Joel Miller. For once will do as your told!!" Your voice was strong for the first time in a long time. All he could do was nod. He poured out a full glass of the brown liquid and you gulp it down as fast as you could. Joel moved across the room, switching on his record player and placing your favourite song on. The record scratched into life and all three of you listened to the gentle music. Ellie held your hand, tears already falling.

"Ellie, my sweet girl, you are the bravest person on the planet and the best daughter anyone could have wished for." You say trying to comfort her.

"I wish you had been my real mum, I mean all my life." She replied, sniffing and rubbing away her tears on her sleeve. Joel stayed quiet, eyeing the bottle beside you.

"pour me another." You ask him. He does it without argue.

"Joel,"

"Don't say it. Don't say anything. You drink that then I'm taking you to bed like any other night." His heart was breaking again, the seams you had fixed falling apart. You nod and finish the second drink. You keep it would be enough and nod to him.

Ellie gave you a final hug. You whisper in her ear. And she nods. Joel takes you up stairs laying you in bed and covering you in the quilt and laying beside you. He counted each breath. His fingers holding your wrist until the beat of your pulse ended. In a daze he walked back downstairs. Ellie stood at the kitchen sink.

"where is the bottle, Ellie?" He asked, desperate to be with you again.

"It was her last wish, Joel. She told me to pour the rest of this way and remind you that her last wish is for you to live."

Hating every word she said he turned and walked out of the house, dropping to his knees in the grass and sobbed.

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Three years later

Ellie stepped out of the empty ranch house, every happy memory she had locked inside. Her heart broke its final break. She was now nothing, she would survive until she didn't anymore. Killing monsters, cordyceps or human alike.

Perhaps one day she would see Abbie again and she would go through with her revenge. Yet again perhaps she would just walk away.

Thoughts of her life danced in her mind as she stepped slowly across the grass to your grave below the oak tree. Joel's next to you. Ellie felt the weight of your side arm on her hip and Joel's rifle over her shoulder as she looked down at the fresh flowers decorating the plots.

"I'm sorry, I did my best." She said a tear falling down her face.

"Bye mum, Bye dad."

The end.

I'm sorry if I hurt anyone.

#ellie williams #joel and reader #joel miller #joel miller fanfiction #the last of us #tlou series #joel tlou #tlou abby #ellie and dina #sheep ranch

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fran-fics · 1 year

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ellie / abby ramble 🔆

The parrallels between ellie and abbie have always been there, abby always knew that they where alike

‘ellie’ killed her dad and abby killed ellies, basically setting them on the same ground but since ellie is fucking delusional she goes after abby even though their like “even”

ellie kills all of her friends, half of Seattle, and more even though theres nothing to be fighting for

i guess you could argue this cus she might not know that the one doctor was abbys dad? but still ellie just chases a fake sense of justice

when abby was about to kill dina she fucking spared her even though ellie has killed all of her friends

ellie told her smthn like “no shes pregnant!” when she literally killed abbys pregnant friend in the aquarium

abby with all of this STILL SPARES HER GIRLFRIEND AND HER.

i get why people hate her because of the way shes setup in the story but seriously if you look at it a different way shes never been the bad guy at all, she has everything taken away from her

obviously ellie knows this by the end, maybe once she realizes she satisfied and understands that their parallels ne ways ellie kinnie

#fran-ramble #ellie williams #the last of us

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platinumsun490 · 4 years

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Sonic and Friends: Last of Us AU-Knuckles

Thanks to the inspiration of solar-socks, who thought of the idea of putting Knuckles the Echidna in place of Abby from the Last of Us, I have written my own version of his backstory as to why he hates Tom, in place of Joel, and Sonic, in place of Ellie. Like Abby, Knuckles loses his dad, but I added a bit more to that. Gotta warn you though, this does not have a happy ending. Each piece of the story is something that led Knuckles to the final conclusion of killing Tom and getting revenge.

nothing but ANGST

Knuckles watched from the little secluded area he and his father, Locke, had hiked out to as echidnas of all kinds walked in and out of the hospital, either to help or to visit. While he knew it was important for him to be there, seeing how he was going to be the next leader, it was nice to get away every once in a while. Just then, Vector, a crocodile, and Espio, a chameleon, came running up to them from a distance.

“Sir, that hedgehog showed up,” Vector said breathlessly.

Locke rolled his eyes, unknowing. “What hedgehog?”

“The one your wife keeps talking about.”

Knuckles stopped rummaging through his bag to stare at Vector and Espio, who couldn’t be saying what he thought they were saying. Espio stepped forward, saying, “They found him in the tunnels. He has an old bite mark on his arm. No signs of infection.”

The echidna warrior watched as his father, Locke the echidna, blinked a few times in shock, shaking his head and saying, “That can’t be.”

“They’re already runnin’ tests on him, but…you gotta get down there,” Vector said. Both of them seemed to be in disbelief. Knuckles couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

After so many years of saying the echidna people, his people, would have a cure for the Zombot Metal Virus soon, it finally happened. He remembered watching his parents preach about it sometimes, like religious leaders saying the word of an otherworldly being. At first, he thought his parents were going crazy, and chose to stick by his friend’s sides, but now, this news practically proved his parents right. He watched Locke shift his weight nervously from one foot to the other. “Dad?” he asked timidly.

He merely pointed down the path they had originally came from, silently telling them to head back to base. Vector and Espio left first, most likely to spread the news further, and Knuckles watched as his father took him by the arm and pulled him to the main building, a hospital.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Knuckles watched as his mother and father discussed the operation in his dad’s main office. Locke was trying to explain how there was no way to remove the specimen without destroying the host. Lara-Le, Knuckles’s mother, was clearly not happy about his father’s wording. “The host? He is a child, not some petri dish.”

“You think I don’t-” Locke’s voice began to raise, but he quickly contained himself and said, “I’m aware of the situation.”

“And you’re okay with killing him?” Lara-Le asked with a grim expression. It scared Knuckles a bit to see his mother so upset. He was used to a negative attitude from his dad, but not his mother. She was always so positive about things, keeping everyone’s heads up when it felt like there was nothing else.

“No, Lara. I’m okay with developing a vaccine that’ll help save millions of lives. How many echidnas have died for less?”

Lara grew angry. She jabbed a finger at Locke’s chest, pushing him back a bit. “That was their choice. Are you asking me, or are you telling me this is how it’s gonna be?”

Locke moved closer to her, but she stood her ground. Knuckles watched his father place his hands comfortingly on Lara’s shoulders. “I am begging you to buy in.”

Lara didn’t hesitate with a response. “And what if this was Knuckles?” Knuckles watched as Locke’s expression changed slightly, just slightly, before going back to serious.

“Look, everything that we’ve been fighting for, all the sacrifices, all the horrific…all of that is justified with this one act.”

“If this was our son, what would you do?” Lara asked again calmly. She was starting to scare Knuckles. Locke stood there, not saying anything, which made Lara turn and leave. Before she walked out, she said, “I’m telling the human, Tom. He has a right to know.”

She faltered when she noticed Knuckles sitting on the floor next to the doorway, but she just rubbed his head and walked away. Knuckles then stood up and walked into the room, where his dad was leaning against the desk with a dark look, his body showing signs of tiredness. Walking up next to his father, Knuckles said, “If it was me, I’d want you to do the surgery.”

Locke took his son’s hand and gripped it tightly, like a patient on a lifeline. Knuckles watched his father wipe a few tears away, then walk away to do what he had to do.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Knuckles watched as Vector and Espio leaned over a bleeding body.

His father’s body.

Dropping his weapon, Knuckles stumbled into the room, gaining his friend’s attention. Espio took a step back while Vector stood up and held his hands out, saying, “Knuckles…”

“Is that…?” Knuckles whispered. He felt all the blood drain from his face, his hands shake as he saw a scalpel from the operation jammed into his father’s neck. Blood was staining the floor a dark red, darker than his fur tone, darkening to a sickly brown color.

Knuckles watched as Vector moved towards him, not to comfort, but to stop. It was then that Knuckles realized he was screaming. He was screaming for his father. He didn’t know he could make such a horrid sound. It scared him. “No! DAD! DAD, NO!!” Falling to his knees, Knuckles curled up in Vector’s arms and started to sob violently, his breathing erratic and ragged. He buried his face in Vector’s shoulder, continuing to cry over his loss.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Knuckles watched as a thief who had broken in interrogated Lara-Le about the cure for the virus. The human, Tom Wachowski, had taken the hedgehog, Sonic, away from their home, leaving the echidna race to fend for itself after years of saying they had a cure and ended up not having one. Now, people, humans and Mobians alike, had gotten angry.

“Tell me where you people hide the cure or I’m going to make sure you have one less mouth to feed,” the man said as he held Knuckles down at gunpoint.

Lara stiffened at the sight, then took a deep breath, put on a serious expression, and bargained, “If I show you where it is, will you let my son go?”

Knuckles watched the man nod, then yelped when he literally kicked out of the room. Knuckles reached for his mother, but she just smiled tearfully at him as she led the man away.

Minutes later, as Knuckles and a few survivors were escaping, he heard a gunshot.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Knuckles watched as Tom tried to climb the fire escape as fast as he had done. Tom had ran into Knuckles on a supply run and saved him from being bitten or killed from one of the monster. Now, a horde of Infected was closing in on them, and they didn’t have much time.

Thankfully, one of the buildings still had its fire escapes attached to it, despite the ruins around them. Tom finally reached the top, but one of the steps gave out and left him dangling off the edge.

He scrambled to climb over, but he didn’t have a good grip. With a sneer of disgust, Knuckles grabbed Tom by the front of his shirt and lifted him up with ease, ignoring the man’s panicked yelling. He wanted to do this. He wanted Tom to remember who he was.

“Did you hear about what happened to the echidnas after you ran off with the only hope the world had? Do you know how many died at the hands of murderers and Infected?” Knuckles seethed through clenched teeth. Tom looked confused for a second, then frantic. He thrashed in Knuckles’ hold, hitting and kicking, but to no avail. The red echidna lifted him higher, scowling with absolute hatred. The faces of his parents and friends flashed in front of him, making him hesitate. They wouldn’t want him to do this…

Knuckles let Tom go.

Knuckles watched as Tom’s body slammed into the fire escape a few times, then hit the ground with a sickening thud. Infected after Infected jumped onto Tom, and Knuckles turned away, just as Tom’s screams were cut short.

“NOOOOOOOO!!!!”

The echidna looked up in surprise to see Sonic standing on a building near them, having seen the whole thing. His expression was one of shock, fear, defeat, and anger. He glared at Knuckles and sobbed as he fell to the ground, curling in on himself. Knuckles watched Sonic choke on his own breathing, but actually stepped back a bit when Sonic grew rageful.

“I’ll fucking kill you!” Sonic shrieked, filling the empty space around them with an echo of his threat. “You hear me, you bastard?! I’ll kill you for this!”

Knuckles watched Sonic sob uncontrollably for a few seconds before grabbing his bag and jumping over to the next building. He was done here. That was all that mattered to him.

For once in his life, Knuckles didn’t stand by and watch. For once, he did something.

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic the movie 2020 #sonic last of us au #knuckles the echidna #tom wachowski #last of us 2 #last of us #last of us au #angst #hurt no comfort #not a happy ending #i got sad while writing this

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saphicfreshman · 4 years

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SPOILER TLOU2!!!

I've just completed the last of us part II in 26 hours and this may be an unpopular opinion but I absolutely love this game!

The gameplay is actually a lot of fun because as a player you have more options to move than in the first game, so it felt more organic and the visuals are absolutely stunning, which we can probably all agree on.

Personally I think it is completely amazing how many things you can adjust in the settings and how many accessibility options there are.

Concerning the story: I think that the story is just as good if not even better than the story in tlou part 1 and I know that a lot of fans of the first game apparently didn't enjoy playing tlou 2 at all, which is completely fine because everyone is allowed to have their own opinion. However, I saw that many people are saying that naughty dog or Neil Druckmann ruined this story or the characters. Which I personally really cannot understand. I found the story to be very well written with a lot of twists and turns, which made it not only interesting to play but also a lot more immersive because I really felt the emotions of actually all the characters in this game.

Ellie's rage is completely justified. After all, she just lost Joel and I think most people who played the first game can agree that seeing Joel die in front of our eyes was just absolutely horrible and at least I was also incredibly angry at Abby and wanted to take revenge.

However, Abby's rage is also completely justified. I think that Ellie and Abby are actually quite alike. Abby lost her father through Joel's hands. So can we really blame her for killing Joel? She killed him because of the same reason Ellie wanted to kill her. They wanted to avenge the death of their father.

And that she killed Jesse and nearly killed Tommy is also understandable because Ellie killed most of her friends, her lover and Alice, the dog... Think about it... the death of a dog was enough justification for the rampage of John Wick, so why should the murder of multiple people not be a reasonable explanation for her motives.

There are no good people in this game. Nobody is innocent but we can still relate to all of the characters and understand their actions. In my opinion this makes the game so special. There are no heroes and there are no villains. In this game are just people...people who think that what they are doing is right with motives that we can understand.

Obviously this game is not for everyone. If you are looking for a light-hearted game, that has a lot of peaceful and happy moments then this game is definitely not for you but if you don't mind thinking about serious topics and playing a game even though it may sometimes make you feel guilty for killing someone or may shock you with brutal scenes, then you should give it a chance because I think this game is a masterpiece.

And PLEASE to all the tlou fans be kind to the actors/voice actors of the tlou characters they are real people who have nothing to do with the actions of their characters in the game. I'm saying this because a lot of people have been horrible to Laura Bailey and that is simply not okay. I think her performance in this game was amazing and I wish her all the best. So please, if you didn't enjoy the second game then that's fine, but don't let your frustration out on other people!

#tlou part ii #tlou ellie #tlou abby #tlou joel #tlou2 is an amazing game #tlou 2 doesn't deserve all this hate #the last of us #the last of us 2

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killscreencinema · 4 years

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The Last of Us Part II (PlayStation 4)

youtube

When this game came out in June, I could care less. I enjoyed the first game well enough, but here’s the thing with Naughty Dog - once you’ve played one game in a franchise, you kind of know what to expect from that point forward. I really enjoyed Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, but damned if I remember any other game in the series, as they’re all so similar they kind of blend in with each other (although I will admit Uncharted 4 was a little more stand out). My brother bought the game and offered to let me borrow it while he was out of town for two weeks, so I figured... what the hell. Why not?

The Last of Us was a neat Naughty Dog take on the exhausted zombie genre, with compelling characters and decent, if extremely repetitive, gameplay. With the previous sentence, I could just say I also reviewed The Last of Us Part II, and just wrap things up here, but I won’t do that to ya.

SPOILER WARNING!

TLOU 2 picks up about five years after the events of the first game, with Ellie and Joel both living peacefully in a bucolic town called Jackson. Their peace is shattered when a mysterious girl named Abby abducts and murders Joel to get revenge for his mass murder fest in the last game’s climax. Consumed by vengeance, Ellie follows Abby’s trail to the decaying metropolis of Seattle, where feuding factions are about to explode into all out war.

So two things I want to cover about the story:

1.) Before the game’s release, there was a lot of manufactured outrage over the game being some kind of “SJW” vehicle. This came about after the reveal in one of the trailers that Ellie is a lesbian (although Ellie’s sexual preference was already revealed in DLC for the first game). When people start losing their minds over shit like this, and start throwing terms like “SJW” around, I immediately dismiss is hysterical nonsense. While, yes, there are certainly media out there that shamelessly panders to minorities or the LGBTQ community more as a form of marketing than inclusion, I still support representation, even if its terrible and obvious exploitation.

That being said... none of that is at play in this game. Yes, Ellie is a lesbian, but other than an implied sex scene and a little PDA, the game isn’t “shoving it in your face” any more than the cis heterosexual relationship between Abby and Owen later in the game. Ellie’s sexuality isn’t part of the plot whatsoever, beyond very mild unresolved tension between herself, Dina (her GF), and Dina’s ex-boyfriend Jessie. Even then, it’s not a big deal. There’s maybe one scene where Ellie and Dina are hassled by a bigot, and yes it feels a little hamfisted, but it’s hardly enough to condemn the game as an SJW Clap Trap. So fuck all that noise.

Besides, being a lesbian is minor compared to the fact that...

2.) ...Ellie is a goddamned monster. Granted, she was raised in a violent world full of *actual* monsters, but the way Ellie cuts a bloody swath through Seattle, murdering men, women, and dogs alike, is deeply unsettling, and made all the more so because the game *forces* the player to do it. There are even moments in the game when you disarm an enemy and they beg for mercy, but the only option is viciously murder them anyway or, if you grant them mercy, they attack you anyway. It would have been nice if, for those moments, you could just knock them out or something. Ellie doesn’t even attempt to open a dialogue with the opposition ever - it’s just kill kill kill.

This becomes all the more onerous once the game switches perspectives and you play as Abby, where you get to see that the people Ellie is butchering aren’t the psychos she’s convinced herself they are. They are, n fact, not much different from the community in Jackson, albeit more militaristic. Abby’s motivations for killing Joel are 100-percent justified, not only on a personal level (because he killed her father), but because Joel’s actions fucking doomed mankind. Although, Abby didn’t have to go about it so cruelly, torturing Joel before finally murdering him while making Ellie watch. That was shitty. Nevertheless, once the game goes out of its way to show you the other side of the coin, even going so far as to make you FIGHT Ellie in a penultimate “boss battle” of sorts, it’s extremely difficult to be sympathetic with Ellie’s psychopathic desire for revenge, especially in the final confrontation, when she INSISTS on fighting Abby to the death.

Before this, Abby and her young surrogate brother Lev are captured by a vicious gang called the Rattlers while looking for a rumored Firefly enclave in Santa Barbara. A couple months later, Ellie follows Abby’s trail to the Rattlers, and finds out, after freeing the Rattler’s other prisoners/slaves, Abby and Lev have been “sent to the polls” for attempting escape.

So Abby has been tied to a poll, similar to a crucifixion, for several days and has obvious physical signs of starvation and extreme dehydration. Lev, who is a child, is in just as bad or worse shape, so Abby’s immediate concern is to escape to safety and tend to their condition. However, Ellie, who by this point is on the verge of bleeding to death due to a stab wound, is all like, “No, my bloodlust must be sated! I must get revenge for my murderer father figure!” This whole time, as I was fighting, I was screaming, “OH COME ON ELLIE! THIS ISN’T EVEN A FAIR FIGHT, YA VICIOUS BITCH!” This is all the more galling considering Abby showed mercy for both Ellie and Dina during their last confrontation, after beating Ellie into a bloody pulp, albeit reluctantly and only because Lev talked her down.

I guess my point is, after that big, long, spoiler filled rant is I left the game never quite certain who to root for. That might have been Naughty Dog’s intention, although I can’t help but feel they still expected gamers to ultimately side with Ellie. I’ll give them credit though - the story is compelling enough that it got me yelling at my TV and that’s not nothing.

Gameplay wise, though, it’s exactly the same as the first Last of Us - you walk around dilapidated buildings, collecting supplies to upgrade your weapons and abilities, before occasionally fighting infected zombies or hostile humans. The stealth elements feel a lot tighter, though, which made these action sequences more interesting for me as I like me some stealth. The game even flirts with the concept of an open world sandbox, similar to that part in Uncharted 4 when you drive around the plains of Africa to look for bad guy outposts. I wish The Last of Us Part II had gone all out with the open world gameplay, as it would have worked well considering the bulk of the story takes place in one location. Also, scavenging would feel less tedious in an open world, as it would feel a little bit more like treasure hunting than scavenging (kinda like how you can scavenge random houses and bunkers in Far Cry 5).

As it stands, The Last of Us Part II isn’t breaking any new ground, except for maybe impressive advancements in graphics and character model animation. However, if you loved or even liked the first game, I think it’s fair to say you will enjoy this one as well. If you hated TLOU, and Naughty Dog games in general, well, this ain’t gonna change your mind.

#the last of us #tloup2 #the last of us part ii #naughty dog #sony #ps4 #playstation 4 #video games #joel and ellie

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walkthemoonshadow · 4 years

Text

(Posting this as an original in case anybody wants to read it. Reblog here.)

Anyway, I’ve wrapped my head around this a bit more and I’d like to expand. Let me just start out by saying that if you liked the story, great! I’m glad. This isn’t a jab at anyone, including the game creators. These are just my opinions. And one more thing: I am in no way excusing the characters’ actions. I know the difference between video games and reality and I believe in non-violence. Yes, Joel’s a killer. No, that doesn’t say anything about me. It’s a game.

The first thing to address is obviously Joel’s death. And to be honest? It didn’t make me all that sad. And not in the way you think. I adored the first game. It pulled my heartstrings in all the right ways, and I really connected to the characters, especially Joel and Ellie. The reason I played the second is because I fell in love with the first. Now, I’m a pretty strong believer in leaving the main character alive. Mostly because any death would just feel wrong, and not meaningful. I mean, you spend all that time with this one character, your experience revolves around them, and after everything they went through they just die? There are a few exceptions to this, of course, but not many.

That’s where my first issue lies. Joel gets shot, punched, cut, impaled, suffocated… but the first girl to come along with a golf club and vengeful ideation is what kills him? Hmm.

Speaking of Abby, I get that the whole point of giving us her POV was to parallel her to Ellie and show us who she is, and why she did what she did. But I just? Didn’t really care? I liked Lev though, and Abby’s interactions with him and Yara. I just didn’t feel a connection with her like I did with Ellie. To be fair, Ellie had the whole first game, and that’s kind of the point. They tried to connect us to Abby through Ellie - they even look alike to the point where many people theorized she was Ellie’s mother in a flashback when the trailer came out. But I feel like they failed. Although, I didn’t feel all that connected to Ellie this go around, because they tried to connect me to her emotions through Joel’s death, which as I explained before, just didn’t make sense to me. I guess it kinda didn’t feel real because of the way they did it. There was no emotion associated with it except for Ellie’s screaming.

That narrative foil brings me to my next point: what they were trying to show us. They showed us the lose-lose cycle of repercussions that come with a quest for vengeance. No one wins with revenge. Ellie never even got her revenge, and yet she lost her family, her home, and her fingers. I don’t know about you, but that feels pretty overdone to me. I’ve seen this kinda story before - I’ve played it, read it, watched it - this is nothing new.

Now I’ll give my opinions on the story as a story. It was pretty bad. I’m going after Joel’s killer! Oh no, Tommy’s gone, we have to bring him back so Abby doesn’t matter anymore. Oh wait, yes she does. Oops, she beat the shit out of me, guess I’ll go home and never see her again. Haha, psych! Then there’s the dying and the relationship drama, and I don’t really think I need to say more.

One thing that kinda ticked me off was the advertising (I don’t think that’s the word I’m looking for, but it works?) They made it out to seem like Ellie was getting revenge for Dina’s death, just to keep their story secret. They even gave someone else’s (Jesse’s) line to Joel to make it seem like he’d be with her, when by that point he was already dead. They’re like Marvel not even giving their actors the full script. A story should be worth more than its spoilers.

(I’m not mad that they didn’t kill Dina, if that’s what you’re thinking. Why tf would I be?)

I just feel like they could’ve written a much better story if they’d chosen a different theme. Joel still could’ve died, but it would’ve been way more emotional and meaningful (so long as he was alive for at least half the game).

Anyway, that’s all I can really flesh out right now. I have a lot more opinions and emotions on the topic but I either haven’t figured them out yet or don’t have the mental energy to write them.

#tlou2 spoilers #tlou part 2 #tlou2 #the last of us part 2 #the last of us part 2 spoilers

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