YELLS

Battymynameis OK LEMME TELL YOU, how refreshing it is for ellie to know a girl that's around her age??? because it is, and it's an experience she's really needed.

How old is Ellie?

/yells!

she doesn't make friends easily and always feels like the odd man out, but she- she's 14. casually interrupts self mid-thought. her canon doesn't really have kids.

they're pretty much all left for dead as they're considered liabilities, or they're unable to survive on their own.

chidori is just so capable?? and very no-bullshit? it makes ellie instantly comfortable in a way she hasn't been with many others. wow this is rambling. I GUESS I WOULD LIKE TO SEE

their friendship develop into a partners-in-crime sort of deal? she's in this position with a lot of her cr where she's someone that others try to take care of and protect,

and while ellie can appreciate where they're coming from, she also has this almost paralyzing fear of ending up alone that always has her hands up against the one thing she wants the most

TLDR i feel like having someone that shares that with her would be a massive relief, because they wouldn't be pushing one another to change.

iamthespacecadet I AM REALLY SURPRISED BY WHAT THEIR CR IS SLOWLY DOING???? IDK IF THAT'S JUST ME, BUT.

i think it started on selena and has developed into macha, but ellie is starting to put herself and tess on even footing

and this has really helped ellie's understanding of tess, even if tess' ability to manipulate and learn those around her is sort of beyond ellie. at first she'd been looking at tess as a guidepost

with this combination of regret and respect, but now she's come to take a far more active approach when they're around one another? tess has made her less soft spoken i guess, and more willing to just

lay her cards on the table and take situations and people for what they are- and i feel like tess is able to look at ellie's growth and appreciate it in a way that literally no one else can

they're from the same world so tess has an intimate understanding of what's out there but she also doesn't handle ellie with the kid gloves that joel does, or try to put her in

a hamster ball like joel does.

SO MORE OF THAT I GUESS LAYS HERE IN A PUDDLE OF GROSS FEELINGS

DANCING CORGI EMOTE NAH REALLY YEAH because she didn't know Ellie very well before hand but

She knows she's gotten real far and she thinks she's a lot more capable than she looks

emotes man i miss their cr!!

It's actually always a thing with her between trying to protect her and being willing to put more on her than maybe she should

But yeah no chinhands

ellie had looked at him in much the same way that she'd looked at tess when she first got here, but that had changed fairly quickly. that said, ellie has sort of started- keeping notes?

in a far less terrifying way than tess does. but she pays attention to what's going on around her and is aware that he and tess are... something.

not that she's put a name to it beyond that she has the impression that tess probably uses him to get information or do her bidding, but she's also noticed that nic is equally up to his neck in babus?

like how is a guy like you, who looks like this big tough guy, always surrounded by kids? are you looking for them? you're like a one man adoption agency

she recognizes that protective element for what it is and is aware of the distance they have now that wasn't necessarily there in the beginning, but she's also come to start justifying it in a sort of

'well i'm ok and there are other people who need help' kind of way?

i think it would be really cool to explore potential in him as a kind of instructor i guess? because ellie had considered him a viable option for a number of reasons, but chief

among them is that she doesn't think nic would ever hurt her of his own will, but she also has the impression that he would have less reservations about taking it easy on her than other adults she knows

IDK THOTS

yells!!!

bite_2_death HIBARI IS THE ACTUAL CUTEST?? he's like a tiny bodyguard

he also didn't question her when she had second thoughts about being leader material, and seemed to accept this not only as normal, but her feelings about it didn't invalidate her potential

which isn't an experience she has a lot of. more often than not, when ellie faces a challenge it's sort of- taken out of her hands (insert image of marzi staring into the camera here)

i also love that he got her a weapon? this is a big deal for her, especially given that in her canon, she wasn't even allowed to carry a gun for the first quarter of the game and had to spend her time

crouching and running and hiding, and hoping other people (tess and joel) would keep her safe.

hibari has been part of actively encouraging her to stand on her own two feet, which is something i've wanted for ellie's development in game in the long run. to have people around her that

give her both permission and encouragement to be powerful and independent. i'm wondering if this is going to be something of a two way street with them, since she seems

to remind him that he isn't an adult and doesn't have to be one all the time, while he reminds her of her own capability and potential.

strangequark sits you down

we need to talk about dumb assholes with survivor's guilt and complexes about everyone they love dying

stares at this tldr from the corner

I would love that, honestly. There's a lot he can "learn" from Ellie too.

which is to say i don't know how/if this would be a conversation they would ever really get into- because while ellie is fairly talkative with others and fairly social

she does play a lot of her backstory and loss close to the chest.

THAT SAID

i feel like they're still in the learning about eachother stage and i'm not sure where or how that will grow in the future, beyond that she trusts his judgement and trusts him to keep her alive

(HORRIBLE I KNOW)

but he's a person she would go to for advice and someone she would cajole when he was being a downer and i feel like there's a lot of room for them to grow organically

WOW ALL OF THESE ARE HELLA TLDR I AM SO SORRY

NO DON'T BE ahhhh i agree

she'd be good for him i think

as far as pestering him if he's too in his own head