Not much of a guard dog, but good to have around.

(And in my opinion, everyone looks the best.)

I can see why people prefer the PS3 version because it's more nostalgic/what they were introduced to etc, but I seriously think the latest version is much better at emoting along with their dialogue.

Ellie actually looks like a 14 year old girl without being cartoonish. And, despite what I see most say, Joel does actually look his age...

Like, in the prologue, he was a man in his early thirties (just turning 32 when we are introduced to him) raising a then twelve year old daughter alone, having the stress of working along with that, and more than likely always being a provider even in his younger life (probably helping with Tommy) in his teen years.....

And then Sarah dying in his arms!? On outbreak day!? On his birthday!?

And then twenty years later!!?? The apocalypse!!?? Surviving through all of that!!??

Yeah, you can't convince me that that man looks 'too old for 52' considering his whole fucking circumstances 😂

Despite playing and falling in love with the og version when it it first came out, I am in total agreement with you. The part 1 remake/part 2 character designs are my favorite, no contest. When I booted up part 2 for the first time after getting hyped for months and months (okay, years), I remember being completely BLOWN AWAY by how good and real they looked. I mean LOOK AT THEM.

They're just soooooo 😩😌💖 Her small little smile? The fucking detailing of his veins?Jesusfuckingchrist.

And then learning a part 1 remake was coming out? I honestly couldn't contain myself, I was so excited. It was beyond my expectations. Ellie looked like an actual kid and so much more real, and Joel? God, his sad puppy dog eyes deserve their own post because good looorrrddd.

(Look at this sweet lil' 50-something year old) This is a man who's lived through 20+ years of post-apocalyptic hell AFTER spending his most of his life performing hard labor and providing for himself and others. The man is exhausted lol

I leave you with these two images that encapsulate why I prefer the remake over the original. There's no comparison for me when it comes to the emotion pouring through the screen into my eyeballs.

As someone who wouldn't agree to get married until the guy agreed to get fixed, this is so appealing to me and I've been flirting with writing into one of my WIPs a lot. My hang-up has been how plausible it would be to aquire a *safe* vasectomy in a post-apocalyptic world, but my husband (the man that he is 😌💖) always talks about how quick and easy it was. And if Jackson has abortion care (heavily implied in Part 2 when Jesse asks if Dina is going to keep it), then a vasectomy isn't a stretch. Plus this is my fictional playground. And I could also just start a whole new work. Also, I could totally see Ellie being a cheeky little shit and willfully misunderstanding what a vasectomy:

Ellie gasps. "You let them take your balls?!?"

"What? No--"

"Man, I loved those things!"

"Ellie, that's not how--"

*Stares into the distance forlornly, wiping at nonexistent tears* "RIP Joel's balls."

"A doctor just makes a little cut--"

"Gone but not forgotten."

Joel puts his head in his hands and unloads a heavy sigh. "Jesus Christ."

Sorry if this wasn't the cream-filled answer you were hoping for! Oh and the way you phrases this was so adorable, it literally made me think of the "David Tenant out in the cold rain" gif Thank you for the laugh! (and fresh inspiration 😏😉)

The images/scenes/stories just kind of beam themselves into my head from the ether and it's up to me to excise them out into actual words on a screen. I am merely a vessel. I don't choose what I write, it chooses me.

19??? God, no! I remember exactly where I was on 9/11 and was personally victimized by the 2008 housing market crash. I used to print out fanfiction in the teeniest tiniest print, double-sided so my mom wouldn't notice the missing paper, and hide it under my bed. This was the pre-smartphone era and all we had was a giant family PC set up in the living/dining room.

Honestly, I was a mess for most of my twenties. And all of my teens. Probably most of my childhood too. I'm happy to be thirty, flirty, and thriving 😌 (This is a reference from the 2004 film "13 Going on 30" so I understand it's quite dated lol)

This is a great question!

I've always considered myself a casual Joellie shipper as I was hooked on the game and their relationship from the start when I played it at launch in 2013. I generally enjoyed platonic Joel&Ellie, but used to dip into the ship tag every now and then, especially in 2018/2019 leading up to the release of part 2. Back then it was more of a guilty pleasure or morbid curiosity.