Bae Over Bay

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BTW There's a good chance I'm going to talk about Double Exposure in the near future. (I don't know when because I haven't had the chance to play the episode yet....though I have seen stuff about...that one thing.)

The spoiler tags I'll be using are:

Double Exposure Spoilers

Life Is Strange Spoilers

LIS Spoilers

So please block those tags if you don't want to get spoiled on anything!! Any normal post that isn't Double Exposure related will be tagged as usual, so if you see one of my posts and it isn't tagged as a spoiler then it will be safe to read!

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I need more fics about the romance and save Chloe in LIS/don't romance her in Reunion route, because it's just so angsty.

To me, it's the route where Max and Chloe grow to understand that they NEED each other, but maybe that doesn't look like being together romantically after all their trauma.

How would Max react to Chloe starting to see a new girl? How would Chloe feel when Max was ready to stop touring and go back to her teaching job? What would it be like for her to grapple with the fact that they aren't together anymore and friends usually have separate lives.? Would they have a moment where they desperately wanted each other, but decided to make a move because the heaviness of their breakup and relationship still weighs on them and they know they can't go through that again?

The thought of Pricefield as are exes hurts, but there's also something compelling to me about the thought of Pricefield who are exes, but still consider each other the love of their life. Sometimes love is something other than strict romance. Sometimes it's some you had to breakup with to save your friendship

My favorite Reunion route is obviously the romance Chloe again route, but man the platonic exes route is compelling.

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How would you rank the games in order of least to most immersive to play?

I'm going to base this off Let's Players I watch since that seems like a way to do broad sampling, because I get really immersed in all of them. Video games are my break from reality so they're my zone out time. But anyways:

Double Exposure - Most of the time when I see people play DE, you can really see that they know it's a game, and they're not really playing for the LIS franchise itself, they're playing it for Max and calling back to the first LIS a lot, which makes them feel not very into it....and usually they aren't TBH.

Reunion - People seem to like this one a tad more, but most people do feel like it's fan service nostalgia bait (And I like Reunion for the most part, but honestly I don't think this is wrong,) and really just excited to see Max and Chloe together again. Again, they mostly make callbacks to the first game or DE, but seem to struggle to really immerse themselves into the game they're actually playing.

True Colors - Most people seem very "This was meh to good," and they seem low to medium invested, usually higher invested when we get Steph/Alex interactions, but I haven't seen someone who just seems super immersed into the game.

Life Is Strange - The experience of watching someone play LIS is that they start episode one and get pulled out of things by the cringe dialogue and just don't seem to know what to make of the game overall. Then by Episode 5 they're like "Well if I were in Max's shoes I could never sacrifice Chloe/Arcadia Bay," so it seems immersive, but in a slow burn way where you have to give the game a minute to get going.

LIS 2 - It's amazing how many people say they're tired of Sean and Daniel having to run by Episode 2, and it's also amazing how many people end their playthroughs saying that they're worn out and emotionally exhausted. I know a lot of people don't reply this game a lot because it's almost to immersive and it's emotionally draining, and TBH I also don't replay this one a lot. I love LIS 2 but man people are right when they say it's emotionally tiring.

Captain Spirt - People seem to get into a kid with an abusive parent mindset fast, to the point it's almost uncomfortable to watch how unnerved they clearly feel about witnessing a bad situation that they can't actually do anything about. The game really puts you into Chris' shoes, and it's upsetting how many people won't do things because they're scared of making the Dad mad, or are REALLY careful with the dialogue opinions to try and tiptoe around his drunken temper. But on the other hand, I've watched a lot of people talk about their own childhood when playing in Chris's rooms and happily reminisce on their own childhood snow days, so I think it's immersive in a happy way to. But it's amazing how uncomfortable people rightfully get when playing this episode.

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Steph was so jealous of Rachel and Chloe's relationship

But her and Alex were able to make the real stars shine brighter with their kiss

While Rachel and Chloe only ever looked at fake stars

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hot take I lowkey love the cringe dialogue of Life Is Strange. I feel like it gave the characters a lot more personality and made the game more memorable.

also: Max saying “Are you cereal?” cracks me up every time.

I make fun of the cringe dialogue but I agree!

People like Max who use silly "millennial" slang like "Are you cereal?" do exist and personally I find them very charming. Plus, Max would totally love hipster slang. She could be the cover girl for Hipster.com and I love that part of her character. It makes her feel more real.

LIS is a game of all time because it's so flawed, but honestly I think it's flaws all wrap around to make it better somehow??? Like, is it funny to make fun of the cringe dialogue? Yeah. I think it's hilarious watching let's players react to some of the things the character say. Sometimes they visibly wince at Victoria's "And now you're totally stuck in the retro zone. Sad face. :(" line and I think that's hysterical. However, I wouldn't actually want to "improve" the dialogue even if I got the chance. The cringe is part of the charm and adds to why the game feels like such a time capsule into teenagerhood/the 2010's. It loops back around to being charming, and honestly the more it ages the more I'm like "Aw. 2010's slang was so cringe. I miss it. <3"

So yeah I also love the dialogue. It won't stop me from making fun of it, but I do it with love.

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What choices do you make in LIS and what choices would you make in real life?

This is a fun question because when I play games I don't play them as me. I like to roleplay as character, so when I play LIS I like to play as Max, not me. So there's actually quite a bit of difference between us!

Game Choices: Hide The Truth, Be Nice To Vic, Intervene Between David And Kate, Come Out Of The Closet To Help Chloe, Tell Kate To Go To The Police, Answer Kate's Call, Try To Shoot Frank, Save Kate, Blame Nathan, Steal The Money, Kiss Chloe, Side With Chloe, Keep Frank's Dog From Getting Hurt, Accept Chloe's Request, Stop Warren From Beating Up Nathan, No One Gets Hurt With Frank, Warn Victoria, Sacrifice Arcadia Bay,

IRL Choices: Report Nathan, Be Nice To Vic, Take The Photo Of Kate, Come Out Of The Closet To Intervene, Tell Kate To Wait For More Proof, Answer Kate's Call, Don't Shoot Frank????, Hopefully Save Kate, Blame Nathan, Leave The Money, Kiss Chloe, Side With Chloe, Keep Frank's Dog From Getting Hurt, Refuse Chloe's Request, Don't Stop Warren From Beating Up Nathan, No One Gets Hurt With Frank, Warn Victoria, Sacrifice Arcadia Bay.

Elaborations:

Hiding the truth or not - I have Max hide the truth because it keeps Nathan off her ass which makes me feel better. However, when I panic I talk to make myself feel better, so Principal Wells could probably get my credit card information if I found out I could reverse time five minutes prior.

Taking The Photo Of Kate - I have Max intervene because I don't like how she reacts after taking the picture. If it were me personally, I would volunteer to take Kate to the principals office and report David with her as her witness, and then if she declined, I would still offer her the photo as proof if she ever wanted to file a complaint. I just think I could get proof and support her at the same time.

Tell Kate To Wait For More Proof - I can meta game and know that Kate needs Max to say go to the police, but irl I would worry that going to the cops would add more trauma to the situation, because the justice system isn't exactly known for taking SA seriously, especially when it's by rich and powerful men with "futures," so I would be REALLY worried that she'd go to the cops and get dismissed, which would just make her feel more hopeless. I think personally I would tell her about my powers and that I was looking for proof into Nathan to try and give her some kind of hope. I would want to let her know that I have her back and I want to get justice, I just don't have full faith in the systems in place.

Shooting Frank - I've thankfully never had to pull a weapon on someone or seen a weapon pulled on someone, so I'm not actually sure how I'd react in that situation or how threatening I would perceive it. I have Max shoot Frank because it all works out and makes Chloe feel protected, but IRL I wouldn't know that so I have no clue what I'd do.

The Money - I actually didn't take the money the first time I played! If I think the money is really going to the handicap fund, which I would IRL, I would assume the fund was legit and therefore not want to rob it. Because I have meta knowledge to the alternative timeline where it's revealed that the money isn't quite all going to the actual fund I don't feel that bad about taking it, but IRL I wouldn't know that so I wouldn't take it.

Refuse Chloe's Request - Without meta knowledge I would be so scared that I was going to suddenly lose my power or something and then be put in jail forever for overdosing her. This isn't even a moral thing with me, it's a "I am scared to go to jail for murder because this would be defined as murder legally regardless if Chloe asked for it or not." I think Max would stand by Chloe's wishes, and I think the fact that she can stand by her wishes here makes it even more juicy when she doesn't later and saves Chloe instead of the town, but the bottom line of this one is that I have anxiety.

Let Nathan Get Beat Up - I just see Max as trying to step in here, I LOVE the narrative arc of Max trying to save everyone, even people she rightfully dislikes/fears, only to give up in the end and sacrifice the town. That's so good narratively. But IRL I don't have narrative and I wouldn't risk getting pulled into a fight for a dude that was going around drugging women, and I am vengeful with stuff like that. Especially after I saw Nathan with another gun??? Dude, at that point I'm cheering like I'm watching a WWE match.

So yeah I am very different from Max, which is mainly because I like to play a story when I play LIS, while I don't need my real life to be as narratively tight. I can just be me in my life.

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I know we all make fun of LIS for having very "millennials trying to write teen girls," slang.

But imagine if LIS came out a decade later, and instead it was "gen z' trying to write gen alpha teen" slang.

We could have had it so much worse. We should appreciate what we have more.

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Do you have any choice based game pet peeves?

Honestly the one most on my mind rn is when you go into the fandom and people have large opinions about a route they haven't played or watched entirely.

Like, I'm not a cop. You can have any opinions you want whether I agree with them or not. But it irksme SO bad when people don't know what the branching paths even do but want to have commentary about it. Literally I had this interaction once:

Someone: "I can't believe you like romancing Ryan in TC. His route is SO bad compared to Steph's."

Me: "I mean. I disagree, but fair enough if that's what you thought. What makes you say that?"

Someone: "Oh. Well. I mean, I haven't SEEN Ryan's route, but Steph's is so good I just don't get why you'd want to play the other one."

Me: "I like Steph's route, but I wouldn't call Ryan's bad...especially since you haven't seen it???"

My other one is choices being canonized. Canon events happening is for linear games, and I don't get why companies nearly almost end up making one choice canon OR showing favoritism and putting a lot more effort into one choice over the other if there's ever any sort of sequel. My favorite thing about choice based games is how there's often no right answer and is really just up to personal thought processes, and that isn't true if there's a right answer. I love a little mystery.

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What do you think of Marlon from TWDG?

I think he's the same type of villain as Jed. I don't think he's pure evil, rather he's so profoundly cowardly that he's willing to do evil things to cover his own ass.

Like, I don't think he would have ever sought out Lily to hand Minnie and Sophie over, and on some level I can even sympathize with him. He was cornered in the woods with adults with guns, and considering how they spoke to Clem, we can guess that Able was talking about his Delta War and needing kids to fight. That must be so scary for anyone, much less a kid trying to keep a group together after all the adults failed them.

What he did was wrong, but I can understand his fear in the moment, and why a fifteen year old might have made a cowardly choice that felt safer instead of a braver choice that felt more dangerous.

However, where he looses me entirely is that he kept this horrible secret from the other kids and put them in harms way just so he could keep being a coward. He didn't want them to know he failed to protect Minnie and Sophie, and he didn't want them to want to fight back, he just wanted to hide forever and hope that the "safe zone" was enough.

Then when Clem and AJ come into the picture, he does something genuinely evil which is keep Clem and AJ as trade in case the raiders find them and want to take more people. He probably views as a hard but needed sacrifice, but it's honestly just pure cowardice that could have likely been avoided if he just told the kids the truth and let them come up with some sort of gameplan. That he wouldn't have been so desperate about the possible "What if's" of it all.

I don't really view Marlon as an evil person who wants or takes joy in hurting others. I view more as a coward who tells himself his cowardly actions are just doing what's best for the group. He's a really well written character and I do enjoy him a lot on replaythroughs despite the fact that he sucks.

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Gustave is easily my favorite character in Expedition 33.

I can't believe I love a character who starts their story as a wannabe hero who wants to save their world, and then ends it by realizing that the people they love matter much to them than saving the world ever could.

......

Well when I put it like that, I think I just fell in love with the concept of Max Caulfield again.

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I actually think the most immersive LIS game is "Captain Spirt," because it's always deeply uncomfortable to watch people play.

They always start the game being like "Oh this is like playing superhero's on a winters day! That's cool! :D" And then within fifteen minutes they're saying stuff like "Chris, let's not shoot your Dad with the nerf gun, I don't know how he's going to react to that."

It's actually really uncomfortable to see how people default to trying to make themselves small and stay out of the Dad's way. It's to real, and you can ever choice someone makes is a strategic decision that takes the Dad's mood into mind. I've seen some people even refuse to go in the Dad's room because they're scared it'll set him off.

If we're ranking games strictly off how immersive they are, I think "Captain Spirt" gets first. Honestly it's an amazing game considering how much of a DLC it is, but it can be a little too good at times.

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In TWDG Season 4, I've seen a lot of talk about why Ruby punches Aasim when he asks for a kiss, only for them to end up together later, but I always thought Ruby's crush might have been why she was so upset.

Because knowing Aasim, I would bet he phrased his question as bluntly and accidentally offensive as possible. I've always thought he probably said something like: "So. The others asked me to kiss you, on a dare. I thought maybe we could just get it over with?"

And that might have very well hurt Ruby's feelings if the guy she had feelings for was only offering her affection on a dare, which would explain why she punched him in the shoulder for asking.

So that's my Ruby and Aasim headcanon about why they end up together even after the truth and dare incident. I assumed Aasism just asked for the kiss in the most socially awkward way possible.

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What did you think about Bear in obsession?

It's crazy to me that anyone doesn't think he's the villain!

Like, yes, he didn't know the wish was going to be real when he made it. I don't think he actually did something wrong INITIALLY, since there's no logical reason a person would think a wish item would actually work. I mean, in the real world people do "love" rituals all the time. Stuff like: Pulling petals off a flower to "she loves me, she loves me not," to tell if a crush likes you or not, or blowing dandelions or a birthday candle out to wish for love. Stuff like that is normal and nothing bad happens. I think at worse his wish was kind of whiny and selfish since he bought the gift for Nikki but ended up using it for himself instead of giving it to her.

At first, his main flaw his his cowardice.

Where he first gets actually evil is when Nikki starts acting weird, and he embraces this relationship with her while he thinks she's having a mental breakdown. Here he is, telling Ian that he's worried about her and he doesn't think she's well, but when she shows up to his house he throws all that concern out the window because she's telling him what he wants to hear. Even if there wasn't a wish involved, it would still be evil to be taking romantic and sexual advantage of someone having a mental health crisis.

But then he realizes that there is a wish, and reacts by: Asks the real Nikki why it's so bad to be with him in a possessed body that she's trapped in. Has sex with her knowing she's possessed, which is rape. Asks the entity to be more like the real Nikki, so he knows it's not her and isn't trying to break things off, rather he's trying to "fix" things and make them more palatable for him. Tries to alter the wish instead of cancelling it. And when he's trying to make a second he wishes that Nikki would just love him as a friend, which is still trying to control her feelings, he could have "I wish Nikki was back to normal," but he didn't. He still wants her to love him in some shape or form.

Bear's such a cowardly dick. I hated him so bad, he was super compelling to watch, but holy shit what an asshole.

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"Obsession" is one of the movies of all time. It would be so fucked up as a LIS game concept.

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Top 3 favorite canon LiS Ships? (by canon I mean between a protagonist and a love interest, like Pricefield would be canon while Chasefield for example would be fanon)

The holy trinity of LIS ships for me is Pricefield, Amberprice, and Alex/Ryan.

Pricefield because everything about it is insane. Childhood best friends who haven't seen each other in ten years reunite, and realize one is a time traveler and the other is doomed to die. Then they defy fate to be together, and then years later find each other again. Literally one of the craziest ships of all time.

Amerprice because this is just a good teenage WLW romance. Chloe and Rachel are somehow so similar yet so different, and I think they're the only two people who really understand in each other in some ways. They both gave each other hope for the future when their lives had gone to shit, and in many ways Rachel saved Chloe when her life was the bleakest.

Alex/Ryan had so much potential, but I really love what we get in the game too. Ryan is one of the first people who looks out for Alex instead of expecting Alex to look out for him. When he intervenes in the record shop after Steph's anger starts to affect her by calming down Steph then checking on Alex, that's a great example of what their ship is at it's best. Plus as someone who loves to play Alex staying in Haven, Ryan feels so perfect for that. He helps Alex set down roots literally with a tree. They're very underrated.

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Watching LIS 2 gameplay's is unironically so interesting on a sociological level.

Because sometimes you watch a play through where the person mentions that they're an only child, and what I've noticed is that a lot of these only children are endlessly supportive of Daniel. They don't play pranks, or play fight against him in Episode 1, and tend to choose the more nurturing dialogue options.

While I've noticed people who play the game and say they have siblings, are more likely to be teasing towards Daniel. They play pranks, and play fight against him in Episode 1, and tend to choose the more playful dialogue options. (EX: Choosing "Dealing with Daniel is my power," instead of "I don't have a power," in Episode 3.)

I think it's really interesting, because a lot of people without siblings play a more idealized sibling relationship, while people with siblings are more likely to play the game in a typical sibling manner.

Even me, I'm the oldest sibling and I was one of the few people who questioned Daniel instead of confronting Brett. When I was thinking about WHY I made that choice, I thought about my own younger brother, who was always in trouble growing up. I think projecting is why I made a more uncharitable choice towards Daniel, because as the older sibling of a rowdy younger one, I made the choice I would have made with MY brother due to his personality, and not the choice DANIEL needed in the moment. I also pranked Daniel a lot on my first playthrough because me and my brother grew up messing with each other, so being an older sibling did affect my playthrough a lot.

Sociology wise LIS 2 says so much about so many different subjects, but watching people without siblings VS with siblings play the game is so interesting.

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Here's A Question I Think Is Interesting: Which LIS 2 Ending Did You Get For The First Time, And How Does That Correlate With Your Sibling Situation (Sorry middle children, I only got twelve choice options.)

Lone Wolf (No Siblings)

Redemption (No Siblings)

Parting Ways (No Siblings)

Blood Brothers (No Siblings)

Lone Wolf (I'm The Oldest Sibling)

Redemption (I'm The Oldest Sibling)

Parting Ways (I'm The Oldest Sibling)

Blood Brothers (I'm The Oldest Sibling)

Lone Wolf (I'm The Youngest Sibling)

Redemption (I'm The Youngest Sibling)

Parting Ways (I'm The Youngest Sibling)

Blood Brothers (I'm The Youngest Sibling)

Voting ended onJul 6