I love tlou soooooooo fucking much. Hear me out…when I first played Left Behind, I saw the beautiful relationship between Ellie and Riley and I did NOT expect them to kiss at the end. Because I didn’t even consider something like that could happen in a huge, popular game like tlou. But it DID!! and the feeling it left me was a huge wave of realization and validation. I saw my favorite video game character kiss her best friend, who was also a girl! It bLeW my fucking mind!! I was only 14 when I played the game, and at that time I was struggling with the gnawing fear that I might like girls. I was scared. Mostly because growing up, lesbians were portrayed negatively or in a very overly sexualized way on screen. But once I saw those two incredibly strong, relatable characters fall in love with each other, I felt hope and love and acceptance. I wanted that and I didn’t hate myself for wanting that. I finally felt comfortable and confident about my feelings towards girls. It was HuGe for me. I wish I could thank the entire Naughty Dog team, because I know it wasn’t just me who felt this way about the game. i’m gonna fucking cry holy shit boi.
