Also Be Prepared For More Ouchie Revelations, Just As A Precaution :) Every Time I Rewatch It, There

also be prepared for more ouchie revelations, just as a precaution :) every time I rewatch it, there are more things that exist just to pain me

wait! is it giraffe time? I shall try to find giraffes! we shall see how well I do, though, cause I do plan to take a little nap. I watched a no commentary playthrough for it the very time I watched it, and somehow fell asleep during a fight scene? so I didn't miss anything important, but man was I confused. I am just a sleepy little guy

part 2 game play time :D

So I have a theory about the Nora scene

You know how Ellie didn’t get any of her stuff back in the finale? Well in her bag didn’t she have a picture of her and Riley? So maybe the fireflies went through her stuff (before they disbanded) and maybe some of them (Nora) end up recognizing her from the photo? Idk tho

I just feel like them having a picture of the only immune girl will comeback to haunt Ellie

Or like you said- maybe Ellie gets bit with Dina and then Nora notices the bite and realizes she’s not turning

I agree, I really hope she isn’t covered in bite marks by the end. Doesn’t she also get bit in the game near the end too?

she does have a picture of Riley in her bag! and she did lose it! (this is not exciting, I just love me some theories)

I imagine they did go through her stuff cause that just seems like something they'd do. and maybe Nora does recognize Ellie from that, and then helps Abby to go after her. I know she doesn't go after Ellie, but they could ask around and find out that Ellie very clearly means something to Joel, so if she kidnaps or goes after her, Joel will come and then the golfing will happen. could also help with the theater part - Abby would already know who Ellie is, while Ellie only knows Abby as the girl who killed Joel. mmmm or if Nora and Abby meet after the fireflies disbanded, and Abby confides in her about what happened in that hospital and Nora shows her the picture. anon, this is such a good fucking theory. it will bite Ellie in the ass, I can already feel it

and yeah, that could be it, too! Ellie gets bit with Dina and Nora sees it and that's how she knows. I was worried/thinking they'd give her another bite within the same 24 hours, but this makes more sense. we know from episode 2 that it'd still be a bit inflamed cause it's healing, so maybe Nora sees it and knows that she should be turning, but she isn’t. I am wondering how Nora will go out, though? cause she breathed spores and they don't have spores in the show, so do they wait for Nora to start turning? cause she was pretty close to it, I imagine, when Ellie caught up to her

and yeah, Ellie did get bit near the end! it's when she's going after Abby in Santa Barbara, she ends up getting bit on her left hand, coincidentally. so if they give her a bite for every single time she's supposed to breathe the spores and then also when she's supposed to be bitten, girl's gonna have at least 5?? and if they do the chemicaling and the tattooing the same, is she gonna burn all of them?? cause that just seems like a lot? and ouchie, man

but also, how the hell did she know Abby was at the aquarium??? everyone's saying Nora probably told her, but we saw that whole interaction, and it was never mentioned? she beat the shit out of Nora, there's no way Nora was telling her anything. and I don't imagine she would've asked anyone else because 1, there were too many and they all wanted her dead and 2, she was basically in the basement (I think? haven't finished the rewatch yet) or the parking garage, so I'm sure she found an exit that way. she could've overheard someone talking about it, but she seemed pretty shaken up when she got back to Dina and Jesse, so I doubt she was in the right headspace to eavesdrop

What’s your favorite episode of the show?

why would you ask this, anon?? /lh

I have thought about it and you're getting THREE of them. I cannot choose, but ep7, ep4, and ep6!

Do you have any fanfic recommendations?

hi, anon! I do! I read a little fic every night as ✨️enrichment time✨️ so there's gonna be a lot. all of these are on ao3 :)

"I think I saved myself by saving you" by @not-so-mundane-after-all was actually my first tlou fic that I read! it's a sickfic where Ellie gets sick before leaving Jackson

"violent heart" by @timelesslords is another good one! it's ep8 aftercare, but with aspects from the game and the show. she also has one from Joel's perspective called "never let you down again"

"never let me down again" by tayyys (I'm not sure what their tumblr is) is a good one! it's a rewrite of ep6 and on, where Ellie leaves after having overheard Tommy and Joel's conversation

"miller lite" by captainredspade (CodeNameArtemis) is also good! this one has a lot of Tommy and Ellie bonding, but it's angst cause Ellie got hurt on a day trip with him

"irreplacable" by captainredspade (CodeNameArtemis) is one where Ellie takes a bite for Tommy and there's more bonding between them

"heaven doesn't want me now" by @lkay-09 is one where Ellie (sort of) gets a choice at the hospital. some of the lines in there are just *chefs kiss*

"come tomorrow this will all be in our past" also by @lkay-09 is one where Tommy goes with Ellie, instead of Joel, in ep6

"triplicate" by @penandinkprincess is a very angsty one where Joel finds Ellie's file at the hospital in Salt Lake!

"a half-step to the left" also by @penandinkprincess is the Tess lives au we all asked for hehe :)

"glimpses unseen" by flannelfeelings (@boopernatural here :)) is one where we see Tommy's trauma of losing Sarah when Ellie gets hurt outside the walls

I shall stop listing them now as there are A Lot, but I recomend lkay, pen, and flannelfeelings' fics a lot :) there's a lot of fics between them all and they're all so good :)

part 2 game play time :D

The show expanding on Bill, Frank, Tess, and Joel’s story was so heartbreaking. Within 24 hours Joel looses his partner and then finds out his only 2 friends are dead

LITERALLY!

I remember watching it with my mom and when Joel went out to the front yard with the letter, she just sniffled a little and said that now he has no one. and I think I did put that together, but hearing the agony in my mom's voice? shit broke me more than the realization did, I think. but also that was so close together, too??? like, Tess died, they walked for maybe a day or two (I think??) and then he finds out that Bill and Frank are also dead, and have been for a while? he didn't have the time to properly grieve Tess and now he has to grieve his only two friends? I don't know how he kept going after that