Something That TLOU HBO Did That I Loved Was That They Let Ellie Be An Actual, Real Fourteen Year Old

Something that TLOU HBO did that I loved was that they let Ellie be an actual, real fourteen year old girl.

I feel like so many shows just assume that teenage girls are inherently unlikeable, so they portray them as stupid, annoying pests who should never be take seriously. Sometimes if they don’t do that they’ll go in the opposite direction, making their teen girl characters distance themselves from the demographic by being so unbelievably charming, mature, and witty that it becomes impossible for real people, especially real teenage girls, to live up to it. (As great as The Last of Us Game is, it very much does that).

A lot of times that ‘perfect teenage girl’ philosophy also carries over to appearance, with teen girl characters always dressing and looking mature, stylized, and unrealistic.

(Not the main point of the post, but you can absolutely see how these portrayals harmfully affect real teen girls by making them feel like they aren’t worthy of love unless they conform to impossible standards) (is this getting about me? Pfffffft, nooooooo…)

But The Last of Us HBO doesn’t do that. It lets Ellie be a real teen girl with all her faults. It doesn’t portray her as annoying or idealized, it portrays her as a real person who deserves to be taken seriously, and that’s something that will always help the flawed-14-year-old still inside me. She’s awkward and abrasive and charming and funny and brash and sweet and it sees her not as a pest but as a person. Someone who doesn’t always look perfect or fashionable. She’s someone who cries and screams and gets flustered without it being something to make fun of.

Craig Mazin, the main writer for the majority of the show, doesn’t see being a teen girl as something inherently wrong. I think it’s because he has a now-adult daughter who it’s clear he adores. He wrote Ellie with so much respect and care, and it’s clear he loves the character (and is also a fantastic show runner)

Thank you, Craig Mazin

Oooh what is Whumptober Thing about? are you trying to do multiple prompts or just pick one?

So three on the list are Whumptober prompts, this is the only one I couldn’t think of a name for😅

The basic premise is incredibly stupid but I thought it would be really fun to write. It’s for ‘finding old messages’, and basically Ellie and Joel read what people are saying about them on social media😭

WIP Wednesday

Thanks for the tags @wordspinning and @adhdprincess!! love u guys❤️❤️

TW: Negative self-talk

Oh god… let’s do it

I wanna know what people assume about me because of my tumblr.

Put an assumption in my ask. I’ll confirm or dispute it. I’m not gonna be mean or anything, I’m just very interested.

Ask Game!

rules: list the names/titles of docs in your wip folder + open your inbox to asks about them!

Thanks for the tag @renegadeknight and @march-flowerr❤️

Ghosts, GHOSTS, Ghosts (TLOU), and Ghosts (for real this time)😭

Bummerland

Glass

Whumptober Thing

Fic Req

TLOU x TLOU

Plastic Folding Chairs

and obvi Scars c2 and AbelCode c6

No pressure tags: @lauronk, @adhdprincess, @bumblepony, @mildredellie, @logan178, @boopernatural and @wordspinning love u guys!

AGHHHHH RACHEL THIS IS FUCKING INCREDIBLE!!!

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