Flamboyant Waffle

It was a feature where you could see the size of a tumblr user's balls in each post they were in. The more people reblogged directly from them, the bigger their balls.

It was interesting because as soon as a contrarian rant, shit take, insane reply and/or dumb addition was added to a post, you could check these and, inevitably, you'd find a common link responsible for the spread of the shit version of said post, and I just found fascinating how awful tumblrs were interconnected.

First, BEAUTIFULLY DONE. absolutely perfect, every part of it. But rewatching, Joel never stops watching Ellie. Not for a second. He’s watching where she’s going and he’s watching behind her for infected. When she’s knocked to the ground after Joel shoots the one clicker, she spots an open window in a van. Joel is watching her and sees where she’s looking and knows exactly where she’s trying to go. You see his eyes move to the left to see the van. And she knows he’ll kill all of the infected in her way. Because she trusts him. And because he won’t let her die.

And once Ellie’s in the van, Joel’s fire ceases except for killing the ones behind it. He is only looking out for her. Anything gets close to that van, he’s there immediately. There’s a shot of him after the bloater surfaces of him just watching. Not firing, just observing the van. Watching for infected. Keeping her safe.

And then one comes up, a young girl in a BLUES CLUES SHIRT, and you see the panic immediately on his face. He goes from completely still to shaking. He fires and he misses. His reload even feels rushed. His breath is shaky, hitching even. His entire face is trembling. And then the clicker is in the car and he can’t see it anymore. He can’t protect her anymore. And it cuts again to him taking two quick, rushed, and paralyzing breaths. He adjusts his grip on the gun because his hands are sweating. And now he, much like she had to minutes prior, has to trust that she can and will get out of this, as much as he wants to be the one to save her from it

Then it cuts to Joel again when she’s outside the van.

This is panic. Fear. This is not knowing what’s coming out of that van. If that clicker ate a hole in her neck and it’s the one escaping. The fear of not knowing her fate and if he just lost her again. Of not being able to protect her because he can’t see her through the windows of the van. The fear of so many uncertainties.

And this is relief. His shoulders have even fallen back slightly, relaxing. When he sees she’s out and closed the door on the clicker. That she’s, in a weird, twisted way, safe again. Because he can protect her again. Because he can, and will, kill every infected in her path.

And then she’s on the ground and they can see each other again. Ellie looks over to Henry and Sam and sees them struggling under the car. She can’t leave them. She reaches for her shiv and she looks to Joel in the house.

She’s determined. And he knows it. He can’t see them under the car, but he can guess what she’s saying. What she wants to do. What she’s asking him to do. To continue to protect her (like he’d ever stop), as dangerous and heart attack inducing as it will be for him to see her do this. And he makes a face that Pedro seems to make in every role he plays.

This face. This face, to me, means a plethora of different things depending on his role. But in this context, it’s more of a ‘fine, I’ll do it. I’ve got you’ one. He even nods slightly. Really slightly. Deep down, he wants them safe, too. It’s dangerous down there. It’s full of infected. And he’d like nothing more than to get out of there with her in one piece. But Ellie has a big heart. She cares about Henry and Sam. And Joel knows that. He’s seen how she’s been with Sam. Laughing with him, reading with him, signing with him, playing soccer with him. How long has it been since she’s been able to do this with another kid? But Ellie’s asks him just a little more. I need to get to them. Protect me.

And he does, of course he does. He kills five(?) clickers that touch her or get in her path. And he’s no longer shaking. He’s as stable as ever in firing. He nails every single shot, killing every clicker in her way. Ellie gets to Henry and Sam, killing the clicker on Henry and stabbing the one on Sam while Joel finishes it off. And he watches for any more that come their way. And once he sees they’re in the clear, he leaves and meets up with them immediately

JESUS--

I was going to make a post about this too but holy shit you put it all PERFECTLY.

I was fucking shaking through this whole sequence. The back and forth shots of Joel firing and Ellie having her path cleared. The fact she wasn't even flinching at the bullets flying above her head because she knew this is Joel and he won't hit her (also worth mentioning - just minutes prior when that guy from the house started shooting at them, they're not gonna hit you, he promises again. They are not gonna hit you - and he makes fucking sure they don't.)

And the second that infected girl gets in the car after Ellie??? JESUS FUCKING CHRIST THE WAY JOEL WAS SHAKING! HE WAS FUCKING TERRIFIED TO THE CORE.

The best part of it all for me is the fact that because Joel is alone in there and no one can see him, he's allowing himself to let all these emotions flood his face. He doesn't have an audience so he doesn't have to pretend and hide behind a mask. He's allowing himself to feel everything 100%.

“Cringe culture is dead” means letting people learn new hobbies at any age, experiment with their identity at any time, expressing themselves in ways outside the norm just as much as it means let 20 year olds play roblox. 

Cringe culture is just social norms being forced on people rebelling against societies value consensus, it’s keeping people in brackets that are easier to market to.