shara.

she/her • 21 • True Colors Yap Central™ ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sharadee

[shara-dee]

I've been organising my TikTok folders which made me rewatch many True Colors edits...

It's so unfair. What did they feed TC developers. Show me WHO made Steph and Alex so pretty, I want to have a word with them. And maybe give them my first born.

upd: actually no. Why are Ryan and Gabe so painfully fine too.

[shara-dee]

What really drew you to True Colors and made you want to play it?

Thank a lot for leaving this ask for me, appreciate it <3

(Maybe you expected a shorter, more coherent answer, but oh well)

Honestly, if I could summarize it, I'd just say that True Colors was there for me at the right time. Even though I still remember the first time I saw the announcement of this game, back in Spring of 2021, I was in 10th grade, looking through my phone in class. Back then, I think I was just curious about the new game, I genuinely don't remember having any negative thoughts about this game, I really liked the concept of Alex's powers and overall the trailer looked promising. At that time, I wasn't into Life Is Strange that much, I played the first game years ago, sometimes something about it occurred on my YouTube, so I was aware about the general plot of Before The Storm, I barely knew anything about the second game, so overall my judgement wasn't that clouded by nostalgia, so to speak. However, at that time I was interested in other things and it just never occurred to me to play True Colors or replay other LIS games.

So as the time passed, I just forgot this game existed, until I went through a major (sort of) depressive episode in 2023-2024. I don't want to throw medical terms around or claim to have any conditions I don't have a proof of, but that's how it felt for me during this time. I desperately needed a distraction from all the negative things I couldn't get rid of, especially since many stuff that I liked back then either received their finale or were just no longer inspiring for me. So in Spring of 2024, when I was already in the second year of university, I rediscovered Life Is Strange. I think it was a good time to get back into it, since then I was the same age as the majority of protagonists. So I replayed the first game, then Before The Storm, I also considered playing the second one, but at the time I felt more drawn to True Colors, because the powers looked more interesting to me and hey, is that Steph from Before The Storm?

And I can't stress enough how much it helped me, after several months of being miserable and I would even say empty, I really appreciated having True Colors. Maybe this game is not the best plot wise, maybe it doesn't have this much content or is not as iconic as the first one, but what you can't take away from it is it's atmosphere and characters. I loved all the complex dynamics and the writing of Alex, she's my favorite protagonist. I don't even know how to describe it, but she was the embodiment of hope for me, in a way? It's corny, but it is what it is. I loved her dorky side, I really like her design and how hard it is for her to build new relationships with people around her. At a time, it felt very personal to me, even though the reasons were absolutely different, but I felt lost in life and I didn't know what to do with myself and seeing Alex's arc of navigation through grief and basically starting her life over... Moreover, every character was shown dealing with all sorts of feelings, all of which were written differently. And at the time I was already so confused about how to deal with my own feelings, I could no longer bother other people with what I was feeling, journaling helped only half of the time. Overall, I just needed what this game offered.

Aa I mentioned before, when I first played TC I considered romancing Ryan, almost gave him the rose, but then I had to replay the whole chapter (which actually happened because I fucked up and took away Charlotte's anger) and ended up switching to Steph. I'm telling all of this again, because I genuinely liked the characterization of Alex, Steph and Ryan and how all of them clicked together I different ways. I really loved Gabe and how desperate he was to reconnect with Alex, though the way he was haunting the narrative is just painful. Charlotte is also a complex character, who I think media needs, because being a mother is hard, but being a parent who goes through grief, especially due to such circumstances, it's almost impossible. Other characters weren't shown as prominently, but all of them are interesting in their own way, even if they weren't really explored. Plus, Haven Springs dynamics are so fun to read about in fanfiction, so shout out to the fandom writers <3

Obviously, there are also other, much less serious reasons. But I love Alex, I love Steph, I love them together, I love them separately, I'm a simp of these pretty women, I love their dub (actually, I love all of the dialogues in this game, it has so much meme potential, I swear to God). Plus, this game gave me a reason to start writing again, even if I dropped it very quickly again because I can't combine it while also trying not to smash my head on the wall because I'm in the final years of university. But this game just inspired me to pick up so many things that I forgot I loved. It gave me a reason to start this blog, somehow people still like my posts, I love the fandom, I love interacting with strangers here, I fell in love with one of them... Like, honestly, this game is just very personal to me.

I think that the hate True Colors gets is not justified, obviously this game lacks some things that other game had, but that's just because it is a part of a bigger franchise, I think people sometimes don't look at it separately. But people forget that no everything has to be great to be loved, because to me this game is great in so many things and I just wish people gave it a chance.

I feel like I could mention even more little things, like Wavelengths and other relates media, but this post is already so long, so I think it would be better to stop here.

Again, thank a lot for leaving this ask for me, I enjoyed sharing my thoughts and if you have anything else to ask me, feel free to do so <3

[shara-dee]

Questions on Merged Timeline Chloe Price

So far, I'm kind of confused on Chloe existing in the merged timeline set up in Reunion. Because depending on the ending of the first game, Bae vs. Bay, there are things that I want answers for.

Post Bay Chloe:

1. Will she be confused about the rewind powers? Since in her original reality, aside from flashbacks which she doesn't really understand, she has never reunited with Max in the first place -> has never seen her powers.

2. What about Rachel Amber? Once again, in her original reality, she was shot in the bathroom -> never found out what happened to Rachel. I wonder if they even mention Rachel in the new game, especially in this context.

3. Did Reunion rewrite her life during the years between being shot and reuniting with Max in the Reunion? Because since originally she was shot -> she never got to grow up -> never got out of Arcadia Bay -> also never changed her appearance. You know, for all it matters, she could literally be the grown up version of the original Chloe as in having the mindset of the 19yo Chloe. I wonder if they touch on that and explain what she supposedly went through since 2013 up to the point of seeing Max in Caledon. Because so far it could be as if she just appeared out of nowhere in this new timeline, but somehow has all this character growth and knowledge and a new look.

Post Bae Chloe:

1. In this reality Joyce and AB are fine, so how's stuff going in with David? There's no real conflict, I'm just curious.

2. Also, in Post Bae ending in DE Chloe us shown flirting with Victoria. Will we get anything on that?

3. How is this Chloe okay with Max still using her powers?

I can't think of any more questions, but I'm sure I'll figure out more later, as we get more promo materials.

[shara-dee]

Life Is Strange: Reunion. Post-reveal thoughts

I just finished watching the reveal stream and, obviously, have things to say.

Disclaimer: I've never played DE myself and have never finished the playthroughs = I know only the basics that were surfing online

• I've already seen people talking about the inferno spoilers and I agree that, at this point, it literally feels like nothing new. And I literally don't understand how these stakes are supposed to feel any higher than the storm that literally destroyed a whole town. Obviously, it's a big deal and it probably will be explained in the game how it oh so impossible to prevent or why it cannot be prevented, but I'm so not hooked on this, I won't even say anything else on this.

• Chloe Price, our Lord and Savior, is indeed back. It's good to see her, despite her return literally destroying the whole Pricefield break up bait of the last game. Personally, to me she looks very good, my only complaint is quite biased, but I wish we saw her with long hair. But I believe this graphic suits her. As for her character, so far I haven't seen anything icky or weird, so I guess for now I have nothing to call the devs on about her.

• Except the fact that they're still milking the same bathroom cut-scene, but I suppose it is a given, considering it is a very crucial plot point.

• And I'm very curious to see future mentions of their break up if there will be any in this new merged timeline. But all the "We will face it together", " I'm not leaving now" ... I don't know, man. I don't know what I expected, but for some reason it just rubs me the wrong way. I feel that Chloe coming back for Max makes sense, however, in a way I really want to see Chloe just being done with everything in an aggressive, less sappy (???) way. I don't know how to explain it any better, I just hope someone gets what I mean.

• I'm excited to play as both Max and Chloe, if I ever get a chance to, since I still don't have the suitable hardware for that. But it's cool to see them bringing the old mechanics back even if it's just playing on our nostalgia. If it works, I don't see a reason not to use it.

• As my notes read: ""how do you move on after losing someone who's basically your soulmate" so what about the new love interests." Obviously, soulmate can be platonic, but come on. Just. Come on.

• The new merged timeline looks very interesting and I'm curious to see how it plays out besides Pricefield's war flashbacks and yet I still think that it will fuck up more than it should. Like the first game worked, because it was finished with an implication that the powers won't be ever used again and so no one had to deal with any plotholes, you make a choice and face consequences. Here, I just feel like too many things will just create weird plot holes, but DE can be the scapegoat for that.

• Romancing Chloe is a possibility. SO WHAT ABOUT THE PREVIOUS LOVE INTERESTS. I really didn't appreciate them just not touching on that. Though, maybe I'm misunderstanding and Max never actually got with Amanda/Vinh, you're free to correct me.

• Similarly, what about Safi and Diamond? Does Safi still matter or...? Because we literally barely saw her in this reveal, what significance does she still have? And isn't Diamond supposed to have powers? I'm really behind on DE shenanigans, but I expected to see at least something about these two.

• So far, I'm guessing that the Avengers plot isn't happening (yet?). Which, I guess, could be a good thing, but I wouldn't be so sure about that for now.

• From what I've seen in the reveal, I don't think that any of the characters from other games will make an appearance, yet I'm hoping to see them being mentioned. I'm sure we can count on Victoria and probably even Steph mention, definitely a couple more characters from Arcadia Bay, but definitely nothing more. God forbid LIS2 gets a shout out.

• Also I would like to mention that the animation looks weird and absolutely lifeless. Like yeah the surroundings are fire, but what's with their facial expressions? Did they all get botox? I'm not sure if they're still doing the motion capture, but I really don't like the facial expressions so far.

• Finally, I would just like to say that Reunion does intrigue me, however, I really hate how grand they are making the plot or trying to make it seem grand. It's so different from the first game, that they're so desperately milking. But the first game worked because the final decision was big and powerful, yet the whole game felt very intimate in a way of a small town mystery, focusing on Rachel Amber and her disappearance, now we're just rolling which natural disaster we're facing today. I don't want to be a hater, because I'm actually very excited for this game, more than I was excited for Double Exposure. And, I would like to clarify, that yes, it is because they're bringing Chloe and Pricefield dynamic back, as well as the old mechanics, but oh well, the last set of characters and mechanics just really didn't click for me, the only reason I was interested in DE is older Max, but who can blame me?

I truly don't think that they're incapable of making new lovable characters or new engaging storylines without dragging Pricefield in it. For all it matters, my personal favorite is True Colors which was absolutely different from anything before and after it. But I'm glad to see the girls again and somehow I'm actually hopeful even if it's just a cash grab and a product of greedy developers or whatever.

Do what you will with this post, you can agree, disagree or completely shit on my opinion, but at least the fandom is still alive.

[shara-dee]

Life Is Strange: Reunion. Thoughts, prayers and initial opinion

As much as I haven't been very prominent on here for the past year, I'm still very much into LIS, despite going radio silent. Honestly, much of it is largely attributed to the fact that I've consumed every possible media available to me, except Double Exposure which cannot be supported on any of my devices and it has been a struggle to follow anything regarding it. I'm not a fan of watching other people play what I would more enjoy exploring myself. So, I'm still pretty much distant from anything about DE, despite wishing the opposite.

However, recently we've been granted with a teaser of Life Is Strange: Reunion which I cannot be not excited for, despite not being a huge supporter of the last game and what it stood for.

Seeing this jacket made me anticipate this game a lot, because I've always been one of these fans who cannot imagine Life Is Strange without Chloe Price. Since my first posts on here, where I was hating on DE before it was even released, I stopped perceiving DE as a personal offense and I actually still need to catch up on the rest of its plot, because most of what I know about it comes from other creators who shared their experience here or on TikTok.

Honestly, after the latest game prepared us for the Avengers plot, I'm quite curious why exactly D9 teased us with Chloe again. I have little to no guesses, but I'm very interested in how they will portray her character since Double Exposure treatment.

And, considering my entire page is dedicated to True Colors, I also would like to know whether or not any of the characters will be mentioned or even make an appearance, because apart from Steph, the other cast and the game itself is set quite separately from the other ones. Just like LIS2, but honestly, I think every one of us who are even familiar with Sean and Daniel, already know how the franchise treats them. I wouldn't even expect them to appear in the Reunion, except maybe some Easter eggs, though I wouldn't be opposed to be proven otherwise.

Overall, I'm very much curious to see what will happen next, so I will try and get familiar with Double Exposure to base my opinion on further announcements and teasers more accurately.

[shara-dee]

🤍 thanks so much for tagging me, @seattledaytwo

rules: posting your 9 favorite characters

and oh my god this list is so Tumblr, it's painful

1. Vi, Arcane

2. Reagan Ridley, Inside Job (I'm still bitter)

3. April Kepner, Grey's Anatomy (mind you I had to choose her between at least 3 more characters, but I'm sucker for a good character growth)

4. Luz Noceda, The Owl House

5. Steph Gingrich, Life is Strange: True Colors (obviously, in the middle. I love her and Alex equally, yet I can connect with Steph more, so it was settled)

6. Sasha Waybright, Amphibia ( I AM a sucker for a character growth arcs)

7. Nana Komatsu / Hachi, Nana

and mind you, I only picked those characters, who are at least fairly recent, being on my mind frequently enough in the past two-three years, because I've been rewatching the same stuff over and over again. and I had to dig deep for the last two.

8. Sunset Shimmer, Equestria Girls (character growth. just. character growth.)

9. Takami Keigo / Hawks, My Hero Academia. (I feel the urgent need to advocate for this one, but unfortunately I'm guilty of shameles simping for this man since 2021)

passing the torch to: @areyouintogirlsorwhat and any of my mutuals or anyone who wants to participate 🤍

[shara-dee]

since my inner writer has turned mostly dysfunctional in the past months, I decided to share something that's been on my mind for a while but I'll probably never have enough motivation to write it.

Chenrich Online AU

and like. hear me out.

• Alex is a youtuber with little but loyal audience. She shares covers of her favorite songs and occasionally posts guitar tutorials and life-style vlogs featuring her brother. Also has a tumblr blog but posts there irregularly, mostly her opinion on artists.

• Steph is a chronically online individual, her whole persona was carefully built on tumblr that she mostly uses herself to post campaign prompts and to generally gush about DnD and music. And man is this girl popular there.

• Steph is the one who finds Alex's YT through one of her acoustic Firewalk covers. She is very fast to write an enthusiastic post about this talented and yet so unpopular girl.

• ...and maybe, just maybe some of her compliments were not really just about her voice or a song...

• When Alex gains a couple hundreds followers in a short period of time and in one of the comments sees 'yo, who came here from steph?', she does her research.

• Long story short, Alex ends up texting Steph on tumblr thanking her for the shoutout and they quickly connect through similar taste in music, slowly getting to know other sides of each other.

• They start to share audience. And shortly after their followers notice that Alex covers the songs Steph posted about not long before that.

• Sometimes Alex ever so slightly references Steph in her vlogs.

• And strangely enough, Steph posts her recent campaign featuring a bard character that strangely resembles Alex. Their audience gets suspicious.

• When Steph appears in one of the Alex's vlogs, the comment section is filled with shippers.

• But when after a while Alex posts a cover on 'Blister in the Sun'... Well, it was something.

• They never announce their relationship, but it isn't really hard to notice the changes in the background in Alex's videos with DnD books on the shelves and familiar beanies not so carefully placed on the dresser.

• When in the very end of one the videos they kiss, it was no surprise to anyone.

[shara-dee]

in light of recent events...

"The President is not a huge fan of me. But that is so okay. And D*n*ld, if you didn't like me then, you really probably are not going to like me now, because I'm hosting SNL and... "

felt the need to redraw this iconic moment of kristen stewart on snl 2017.

original (found on pinterest):

[shara-dee]

hi, I'm not dead <3 and I'm BACK

with part 3 of

🎵 LIS Characters as songs from my playlist 🎵

do I even need to explain?

'Under the surface

Wires are crossed

At any moment

I can go off

And I can't hold much longer

It keeps getting stronger

It's only a matter of time

I'm living like a landmine

Waiting to explode

I'm ticking like a timebomb

Ready to go

I'm a danger to myself

And everybody else'

Alex Chen and her powers.

LITERALLY ALEX CHEN AND HER POWERS.

thank you, dearest tumblr followers, that was all of my boring ass case.

(please don't leave....)

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

[areyouintogirlsorwhat]

Happy birthday Steph!

Haven springs one, and only DJ and LARPing extraordinare..... Steph Gingrich is definitely my favorite character from any game franchise, and will continue to hold a very special place in my heart, especially considering that she actually bought my girlfriend, @shara-dee, and I together by simply existing as her nerdy, cat loving, lesbian self that we all know and love. So I just wanted to give my appreciation, and wish Steph a very happy 31st birthday! And also send my love to everyone involved in bringing us the Steph we know and love today.

Steph is such a brilliant character, and I personally think she plays such an important role in representation for queer people, especially considering the fact she has been bought back in multiple games, along with Katy Bentz, to reprise her role as steph. But what I love about Steph is how she isn't just a side character, she has her own depth, her own story. She doesn't need to be the main protagonist in any given game in order to have that respect within the Life is Strange franchise. Of course, she was given her own DLC, which gave us a good look into her character, as well as her own book, but she started off as just one of Chloe's high school friends, and was built into a character who features so prominently in multiple games, books and comics, and is so loved by the fandom.

So yeah, sorry for my rant, but happy birthday Steph! And thank you for giving us the segment of the Life is Strange Tumblr community that allowed my girlfriend and I to meet, you truly rolled the lesbian D-20 high on that one.

[shara-dee]

okay, my girlfriend was more dedicated to the task, so I had to reblog her ultimate yap.

[shara-dee]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE MOST UNPROBLEMATIC WOMAN OF ALL THE LIS FRANCHISE, MAY SHE NEVER REST IN PEACE.

can't believe she's 31.

[shara-dee]

not me and my girlfriend freaking out about it, because we BOTH FUCKING FORGOT ABOUT IT.

though I have an excuse. I have uni finals and lots of shit I'm behind on.

though we should've acknowledged the queen the love for whom brought us together.

so.

even though, for me it's already over, happy birthday to Steph Gingrich, the best girl of LIS.

[shara-dee]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE MOST UNPROBLEMATIC WOMAN OF ALL THE LIS FRANCHISE, MAY SHE NEVER REST IN PEACE.

can't believe she's 31.

[creativepromptsforwriting]

Shout-out to multilingual writers who are writing in their second (or third and so on) language.

The frustration of speaking it fluently, but still having to google basic words when you're writing.

The absolute joy of finding a word that sounds just perfect and conveys exactly what you mean.

Doubting all your grammar and being afraid to post it or even send it to a beta reader.

The euphoria of someone calling your use of this language, that is not your mother tongue, beautiful.

[shara-dee]

date idea

I write a chenrich fanfiction and then we read it in voices, being cute

[shara-dee]

random thought.

why do I feel like if Victoria Chase's ever going to have a child, she'll be a beige mom.

[shara-dee]

if i may, "iGhost" by MNQN is a song that is SO VERY steph gingrich

that's my respectful mutual and they're so right.

This song is literally Steph Gingrich.

'You fooled me once

You fooled me twice, again'

NOT THIS LINES BEING ABSOLUTELY PERFECT FOR 'STEPH LEAVES HAVEN SPRINGS ALONE' ENDING!!!!

Plus, a d20 reference.

Steph 'I ghost people' Gingrich hates to see this song coming.

'I SOLD MY SOUL TO THE RADIO'

BITCH, I'M ACTUALLY DEAD.

'I've been erased and now I'm gone again'

To me it's Steph, whose whole childhood was erased with the storm. To me it's Steph, whose new beginning was erased once again with Gabe's death. And she always runs away.

THIS SONG IS STEPH GINGRICH, YOUR HONOR

thanks to @technicallyblakebelladonna for suggesting this absolute banger <3

i love getting asks, so ask away, people!!!

other posts regarding music:

part 1 / part 2 / part 3

[shara-dee]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

heyyyy

kinda disappeared from here for a short while, got busy with celebrating my big twenty for three days in a row, but I returned, bearing a gift of my own.

chenrich smut market can't be sagging on my watch, so I brought you my first ever smut in english. it includes blindfolds and some questionable writing decisions.

feel free to yell at me both here and on ao3, I'll be happy to here your thoughts or criticisms.