amandasenpai

[amandasenpai]

this!!!!

Joel did not doom humanity (no matter how much the second game wants you to believe that)

To demonize Joel’s decision at the end of the first game (saving his surrogate daughter’s life) you need to bend over backwards and ignore any and all context the first game gave us with regards to who the Fireflies truly are. Because the truth of the matter is: a) they knocked Joel unconscious while he was trying to revive a young girl b) they drugged Ellie immediately to tear her body apart for their needs c) THEY DID NOT ASK ELLIE FOR PERMISSION to give her life for their cause, they didn’t even tell her she would have to die (Ellie was making plans with Joel after the giraffe scene, “Once we're done, we'll go wherever you want. Okay?”, clearly indicating she had no idea she would have to die) d) they did not let Ellie and Joel see each other to say their goodbyes e) they were about to walk Joel out into the wilderness without any of his gear/resources, which during the zombie apocalypse is a certain death sentence f) they didn’t hold up their end of the bargain (remember how Marlene promised Joel guns in return for delivering Ellie?) So even if you show them as much goodwill as possible, the Fireflies are still a bunch of assholes. If the exact opposite had happened, they let Joel go all on good terms and then he suddenly decided to turn around and murder everyone I would have called him a terrible person, but that is not what happened. As it stands, the Fireflies are shady and questionable at best. But it actually gets worse:

a) the procedure that would 100% kill Ellie had an incredibly low success rate (the doctor mentioned in his recording that every previous operation with other test subjects had failed) b) the same recording mentions cerebrospinal fluid having been extracted, meaning they were capable of performing a non-lethal spinal tab, but they’re unable to perform a non-lethal biopsy or craniotomy on Ellie? (this may seem like nit-picking, but actually further solidifies my point about how incompetent the Fireflies/Abby’s dad were/was) c) to add to their immense incompetence, mere hours after receiving Ellie they decide to IMMEDIATELY KILL THE ONLY PERSON KNOWN TO BE IMMUNE as oppose to keeping her alive for as long as possible to run every single test in existence on her. But let's paint a picture of the best case scenario, which is Jerry, the absolute legend that he is, actually manages to get a vaccine out of Ellie, what happens then? a) How are the Fireflies, who are nearly extinct at this point, supposed to MASS PRODUCE and NATIONWIDE DISTRIBUTE a vaccine? That is logistically impossible. b) More than likely, they would use the vaccine as a bargaining chip against FEDRA (granted, this is more a guess than a fact, but to believe they wouldn’t take advantage of the vaccine in the fight for political power against the government they’ve been fighting for years is beyond naïve). But let’s be even more generous: turns out the Fireflies are the most altruistic resistance group to have ever existed, they actually manage to produce and distribute the vaccine into every last corner of the country, everyone is immune. What now? a) You might be immune to spores and bites, but your immunity doesn’t help you when a clicker rips your throat out or a bloater crushes you to death, the infected can still kill you in numerous other ways. b) The faction wars going on are not gonna disappear overnight. WLF and Seraphites will continue to kill each other by the dozens every day, one could even argue that introducing a vaccine into the conflict would only cause things to escalate further. c) Numerous cannibals, hunters and bandits still roam the country, they will not abandon their practices overnight and they are arguably a much bigger threat than the infected to begin with. Just because everyone is immune does not mean that the world returns to sunshine, rainbows, and flowers. To imply that it would, means being simplistic and naive beyond reason. It should be obvious by now that Ellie’s death WOULD NOT HAVE IMPROVED ANYTHING. The chances of actually getting a vaccine are slim to none, the chances of vaccinating everyone are even more dour, and even then the overall situation would not improve much. With such bad prospects I wouldn't be willing to sacrifice my child either. (I am aware that an argument can be made that none of these factors had an impact on Joel’s decision to save Ellie, yet they’re still crucial when making a judgement about the Fireflies/Abby’s dad). To summarize: a) Abby’s dad was incompetent and a horrible person (his conversation with Abby in the second game tells us that he would not be willing to sacrifice his own child, but if it’s someone else’s it’s a-okay for him). b) The Fireflies were a malicious and incompetent terrorist group with messed up morals. c) No, Joel did not doom humanity. Subsequently, Abby’s quest for revenge was not justified because the Fireflies and her dad were never justified in their actions to begin with. And this is only solidified by the second game having to retcon the hell out of all these arguments I just painstakingly illustrated and explained in order to even attempt to have Abby’s motivation be seen as justified. Only one example being how it was clearly established in the first game that they had MULTIPLE doctors in Salt Lake City (Marlene: “The doctors tell me that the cordyceps, the growth inside her, has somehow mutated.”; Ellie: “She said that they have their own little quarantine zone. With doctors there still trying to find a cure.”). Yet in the second game we are told by

Abby that actually no, turns out her dad was the only doctor that could have developed vaccine. And it doesn't take mental gymnastics to see why the second game takes it upon itself to alter most of the context of the first one: to (retroactively!) condemn Joel. HOWEVER, a sequel doesn’t get to pick and choose which established facts from the first entry it builds upon or what it gets to retroactively declare as non-canon only to have it fit their preferred narrative. Quite frankly, that’s bad writing. A sequel, in order to be considered well-written, has to not only be a natural continuation of the events, but has to stay consistent with the characters and the world that were previously set up. And if you have to alter much of the context to make it look like Joel condemned the world, isn't that the most obvious sign that he never actually did? And all of this effort for just one goal: to justify Abby’s quest for revenge and yet it still wasn’t and here’s why: Joel killed her dad in order to PREVENT HIM FROM KILLING HIS DAUGHTER. Abby on the other hand WILFULLY SLOW TORTURED Joel for what appears to be hours, prolonging his death for as long as possible, all for her own gratification (and we won't mention how she went through with it despite Ellie's crying and pleading). And don’t even try to make the argument about Abby wanting “justice”, Joel didn’t torture her dad out of revenge or for his own gratification - this is not justice, this is simply sadistic. A man killing someone who is about to murder their child in semi-self-defense cannot be compared to someone wilfully slow torturing someone to death for their own gratification, like Jesus, I didn’t think I’d have to spell that one out. I am aware that the second game tries to do whatever it can, including retconning their own original story, to paint Ellie and (especially!) Joel as evil. And for a considerable amount of the player base this actually worked, and while I cannot find it in me to condemn them (we all experience stories differently after all), I reserve the right to reject arguments in defense of Abby such as “all people are forced to do bad things during the apocalypse” and “does context even matter?”. If the only way you can defend/justify Abby's actions is to remove all context and nuance, then your reasoning is built on quicksand.

[amandasenpai]

"swear to me!"

the best ending of all time.

[amandasenpai]

Ellie... is the name of the little girl that broke your fucking finger!

[amandasenpai]

june, is the last of us 12 birthday, this game change my life. I miss the old ellie sm

[amandasenpai]

My honest opinion about The Last of Us (2013)

the last of us ending will always be my favorite ending of any media.

Ellie and Joel's journey was so incredible to follow. We had a protagonist who lost his daughter in a tragic way and hardened his heart, years later he receives a task that he will have to carry out reluctantly. At first Joel saw Ellie as nothing more than a carge. He just needs to escort her across the country to the fireflies. But the journey there made Joel and Ellie develop a brotherly bond. It's touching because they were literally what each other needed. It's not like Ellie replaced Sarah and Joel didn't replace Ellie's father. They both knew this and even verbalized it to each other. But what each represented to the other in their roles in that world was the fuel that was needed for them to move forward, holding on to something more than just surviving but living for someone who loves them.

and then we have that controversial ending. I know that what Joel did was an atrocity, but I don't condemn him for it. If I were him, I would do the same.

and it is exactly this ending that makes the game have a special place in my heart.

it's not about being right or wrong, the actions are debatable of course, but for me Joel is 100% justified in what he did.

first of all, I think that a vaccine would not be effective in the world of tlou, but, even considering that it was, I still think that his choice was what anyone who had gone on the journey that he went on with Ellie would have done. Anyone who says they wouldn't do the same is because, just like Joel at the beginning of the journey, doesn't see Ellie as a person, but as a carge.

The final dialogue is what really makes it the best of all for me. Here we have Ellie talking about how she feels. I think her body language here is particularly observable. Ellie asks Joel to promise that everything he said about the fireflies is true. It is implied that Ellie knows that what Joel said in the car is not 100% true but Joel swears it is true and she says an incognito "ok" the look she gives him here tells us a lot.

When asked what that Ok meant Ashley Johnson said that

"Ellie and Joel have been through so much but Ellie is prepared, if finding a cure means dying then so be it. but then having a connection with someone that is more important because it is finally connecting with someone in this world. if your choice is to save me over everyone else then ok" Ellie clearly has a bullshit detector so she knows deep down that it is a lie but she says ok let's live life and see where it takes us"

So that's it, between the lines, Ellie knows it's a lie so she basically asks him to swear on a lie that they both know it is.

basically like a silent pact between the two and she accepts it.

That's why it's the perfect ending for me. it's not 100% happy or miserable, there's a glimmer of hope and at the same time there's that feeling that the characters will have to go through more hell, but now they have each other.

unfortunately part 2 undoes this whole thought/interpretation process leaving Ellie angry with the decision when originally she was okay with it despite everything.

The Last of Us is a masterpiece. part 2 doesn't even come close.

[amandasenpai]

Everyone I have cared for has either died or left me. Everyone - Fucking except for you.

[amandasenpai]

Are you open for commission? Please DM’ that’s a amazing artwork you’ve done there

Hi, yes, send me a message! and thank you very much 🥰

[amandasenpai]

✨details ✨

context:

[amandasenpai]

[amandasenpai]

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[amandasenpai]

[amandasenpai]

full nostalgic

[amandasenpai]

[amandasenpai]

I definitely didn't like how I drew her face in the arrow scene but that's okay lmao, just warming up for Shrek 5

[amandasenpai]

low effort doodle of my favorite princess

[amandasenpai]

I'm back with my old username, so nothing faire that my first re-debut scribble is Ayano Aishi from Yandere Simulator