been rewatching the scene where Joel finds Ellie after David because im trying to get a good reference photo so I've been rewatching that scene over and over again frame for frame and HOLY FUCK
the way Joel holds her and im not talking about their hug im talking about the way Joel holds her while she's fighting back in his arms with such ease like he doesn't just grab her arm and make her look at him no he at first garbs her arm but when she starts to scream and fight back and her legs give up Joel spins her around and is holding or at least trying to hold her like a new born like he's got one arm on her lower back and one on her upper back
and he's holding her till she has her knees on the ground and only ONLY when he knows she can't fall and hurt herself dose he slowly bring his hands up to her arms and then cups her face in his hands to then make her look at him and tell her "its me. its me"
AND A N D I M N O T D O N E. Joel. Joel Miller that parental motherfucker even has this worried "oh shit im about to drop my child" face while he's holding her like a newborn like OMFG HOW THE FUCK DID I NOT NOTICE THIS
like look at his face that’s a “im about to drop my child shit fuck shit “ face
for info I keep saying that Joel is holding Ellie like a newborn because when you hold a newborn you're supposed to have on arm around them supporting their back and one arm holding their head and he's holding Ellie the same way (obviously he can't hold her head in that moment because it would just make things worse but he still holds her like you would a newborn child) and this could be a parallel to how Anna held Ellie because she held her the same way.
Anna and Joel both held a screaming, fighting, bloody Ellie the same way.
I cannot do this anymore. im going to claw off my walls now and eat my own arm goodbye.
