We all just become shades of grey

His baby girls 💤 THE LAST OF US 2023- • 1.01 // 1.04

I just know, I feel it in my bones, that if Henry didn't stop Joel, he would've pulled Ellie off the floor and right into his arms. You can see it in his eyes - it's like for a moment, even with all that just happened, all he sees is Ellie, his Ellie and she's scared, probably hurt and she's crying and all he wants to do is gather her in his arms and make sure she's okay. And if that happened, Ellie would've broken down right then and there and just clung to Joel with all she has left in her.

Somebody, please write this.

Joel protecting Ellie on the ground while he's up in the building. Him seeing the truck at the same time she did, following her as she ran to it for shelter. Him being so zoned in on her and only her. Him seeing that she's going to make a run to save Henry and Sam, and her looking to him for cover, and him knowing what it means and nodding, "go for it, I've got you."

Holy fucking shit.

i feel feelings

Something I really love about The Last Of Us are these subtle little moments that showcase the real intelligence required for survival.

Bill wearing his hat in the dark during that shootout to keep the rainwater out of his eyes.

Bill didn't get shot because he was standing out in the open. The flamethrowers would have been too bright for the gunmen to see him. He was shot because he gave away his position when he yelled.

Joel seeing the bleach on top of the refrigerator, which is what made him think to look in the fridge for battery components.

Tess's skill with social engineering warranting an entire post of its own.

Ellie noticing Joel's hearing being shot on his right.

Honestly basically everything Bill did.

Like, they earned it, and you can see it in so many little moments.

Then you have Frank, who fell in a hole, and won the apocalypse. And I respect this dichotomy SO MUCH.

I love characters who act selfishly to protect the people they love. Absolutely will 1000% hit that trope like a line of coke. I have no moral qualms about this.

dHay girl do u fw the cycle of violence

I think there’s something so deeply and intimately and morbidly true about The Last of Us’s primary thesis which is that humanity’s fatal flaw, in that very Shakespearian way, is that we are destined to care too much about one another so much so that we discard the collective entirely. like we have such a capacity to love the human race and humanity as a whole, to grow our communities and govern cities how we know best and foster such connection with the masses which we are part of, but it’s overtaken by our capacity to love even just a single other person. like one human can come into your life that creates such an intrinsic and passionate love in you— or maybe two people or a family’s worth or any small number— and you suddenly would burn entire villages down just to keep them safe.

joel doesn’t blink twice murdering to find ellie. he doesn’t look back when he decides to do what he does at the hospital later on. he has no remorse about any of it it, because this one girl has grown to mean more to him than any possible greater good could ever mean. and it’s reciprocal. ellie would— and does— do anything she can to help him, save him, protect him, and, eventually, to avenge him. because that’s what you do when you love someone. not when you love people. when you love someone.

and it’s selfish, in a way??? because we love these people and would do so much for them because they mean more to us than other strangers do. it’s exactly like an iteration of the trolley problem, actually. one track has your daughter on it and one track has fifty people. don’t even try telling me you wouldn’t go onto track B if it meant saving your daughter and her puppy dog eyes from the whimpering and pain and fear. The Last of Us says yes, you would. I would. we all would. and like yeah that is our greatest weakness, that we have such a unique ability to love a handful of people so deeply that our compassion towards community and strangers and the bigger collective starts to slip from view. but goddamn what a fucking great fatal flaw it is to have. we are all going to die and the world will burn because we loved another person too much.

Look for the light.

Love love LOVE the focus on Joel’s boots during his rampage in the hospital. Because it’s not in a fit of rage, or desperation. Joel’s face is blank. He’s not thinking about consequences of his actions. He’s thinking “you took away my daughter and now I’m getting her back.” It’s a skill he picked up from Tess. He knows what’s coming. There’s no need to get emotional about it. It’s the simplest thing in the world to him: “You don’t get to take her away from me. Not again.” Hell, he doesn’t even look at the doctor when he shoots him! He’s looking right at Ellie, his entire focus and purpose laying in front of him! Mans is straight up on autopilot!

Joel is a unstoppable force in his grief. And Ellie is the immovable object that keeps him from walking straight over the ledge.

up + R2 for health kits ➕

It’s okay, baby girl. You’re safe. I got you. THE LAST OF US 2023- • 1.01 // 1.09

it’s okay, babygirl.

I’m not crying.. you are-

I loved this moment a lot 💕