#tamarack thoughts

[sparklingleaves]

@qiuliets made a fun post talking about an interesting difference in (Step 1) Qiu's dialogue depending on whether or not you are crushes, friends or neighbors during certain scenes in this and that post and I thought I'd share some dialogue differences with Tamarack that I've noticed. (I'll be linking a separate post at the end all the images I couldn't put in the post due to the image cap)

During the Step 1 prologue, depending on if you're crushes or friends and bring up the topic of having a window seat she either bemoans how she wants to by you (crushes) or complains that you won't be able to talk (friends). If you're only neighbors, however, Tamarack is only concerned about sitting by the window

There is also a slight difference in her reaction to being told you can sit together that is dependent on if you're crushes or if you're only friends

If you're crushes/friends, Tamarack declares any color you like is also her favorite but if you're simply neighbors that dialogue doesn't come up

When introducing you to her grandmother, if you're simply neighbors there is no special dialogue that comes up but if you are Tamarack's crush she says you're her favorite and if you're friends, Tamarack declares you're her best friend

Expanding on that, after you've delivered your surprise gifts to Qiu, if you're crushes/friends, Tamarack will state she knows you're her favorite/best friend after pointing out all of your similarities before solemnly stating that you'll be her friend forever. If you're only neighbors, though, she'll ask if you both are friends because everyone keeps bringing it up and let's the ball fall in your court to determine whether you actually are

During Walks, if you've chosen to be on the bridge with Tamarack and you bonk heads, Tamarack's mood changes depending on the player's mood. If you're happy, Tamarack's happy. Even more, she's potentially really giddy to be sharing a private moment with her crush! But should you show some sort of unhappiness about it, she quickly becomes dejected and avoids eye contact with your MC

And, in Fancy Fun, if you attend Tamarack's tea party while you're crushes, Tamarack flushes giddily while waiting for your reaction

In Step 2's prologue, she has a completely different reaction to when your MC shows up in her backyard. In the case of you both being crushes/friends, she is happy and relieved to see you but if you're only neighbors, she initially panics before deciding to ask if you can do her a favor

If you choose to call Tamarack perfect when reassuring her that her clothes are fine, depending on whether or not you're crushes or friends her reaction is different

If you're only friends, she laughs it off saying you don't have to phrase it that way before changing topics, but if you're set on crushes she seeks further validation that you mean it before thank you

If you're crushes/friends with her when she asks if you're going to school with her, the game's dialogue states having you by her side is all she needs to face the high school horrors. She also has a blush the entire time

But if you're only neighbors, her line of reason is that simply having more kids around makes it less intimidating overall

Depending on whether or not she is jealous over your MC, her line delivery on "Qiu likes you" when debating whether or not to bring them along with you both on the way to school is different. She simply smiles if she isn't, but if she is she'll look down in discomfort

And when she is coming to the diner, depending on whether or not she is still 'Contesting' or 'Deferring', her arrival to the diner is written differently if you're friends/crushes

Contesting:

Deferring:

I still need to do the Step 2 prologue diner scene so I have yet to know what she does here when you invite her out when you're not close, but I'll get there eventually!

And, regardless of Contesting/Teamworking/Deferring dynamics (if you're crushes/friends), if you don't mention you've known each other for 4 years, Tamarack fidgets showing she'd been hoping you'd bring it up

And during Assistance, depending on if you text her back when she invites you to spend time with her, her greeting reaction changes. If Tamarack knows you're coming, she is already smiling and keeping an out for you but if you don't tell her she is focused on her chore before being pleasantly surprised you showed up

If you've chosen to help with raking the leaves and tell her "Only for you, Tamarack," she'll blush. But if you mention you're not abandoning her to the fate of doing chores alone, she just smiles that you're nice

I've mentioned before in this post how (if you're crushes/friends with Tamarack) it's like she views you as the most stable thing in her life because you're the only person in her life she feels actively chooses her contrast to her parents who essentially abandoned her at her grandparents and her grandparents who had her suddenly thrust upon them. And I think a lot of her dependent dialogue and reactions to some of your dialogue and actions really convey that as well

Because Tamarack chooses you so fervently, she often seeks out validation or needs reassurance that you do the same for her. And in instances where Tamarack wants to be your friend, she asks you if that's really the case likely because she wants to see if you'll choose her too and doesn't want to outright declare you're her friend lest she experience being rejected

So I think the game does a good job at revealing the complexities of Tamarack's character that can be overlooked if you take everything at a surface value. Another player (@/mycurrentobsessionis) mentioned how the theme of OLBA's romance was patience, while OLNF's romance theme was unconditional acceptance and this definitely falls under that branch!

To see the screenshots that couldn't be added to this post due to Tumblr's limit on images per post, click here.

Bonus: a narration change unique to the player while looking for nature's gifts with Tamarack in her backyard and you have mutual crushes! If you're only neighbors or friends with Tamarack, this doesn't come up. But should you, your MC is completely dazzled and it's very precious

[sparklingleaves]

Was answering an ask game question about who my favorite family in the Our Life franchise was, and I have to give it to the Baumanns

I'll be excluding the MCs' families, so across all the games... I'd give it to the Baumanns. I think their entire family dynamic has the most intrigue surrounding it

For the most part, 99% of the families in OL all have happy dynamics save for the Holdens during Step 1 when Cliff and Kyra were fresh out of their divorce and Cove was having a hard time adjusting. But by Step 2, even with a couple hiccups, they get along pretty well with each other and are all content with how things are

There's also the Wards. A family where Baxter, summarizes to the player that while he does love his parents and he knows they love him, his parents aren't good people and he's gone no contact with them. Outside of that, we don't know much else other than the silent wall he's put between them and the polite phone call he has with his mother in step 3 of OLBA so besides speculation/headcanons/what was shared by GB, there's not much else to go off of or to really see of them

If you really want to dig, you can make an entire talking point about how Derek was parentified as a child but he does ultimately have a good relationship with every single member of his family

And as for the Lasts and Seconds, the relationships the players have with their own parents in the game is completely up to them

The Baumanns, on the other hand, have all their complicated matters on full display in addition to the happier moments you can see between them

Tamarack was a baby her parents planned to have, and yet they still prioritized furthering their education with time intensive degrees forcing Tamarack to become independent at a young age. They home schooled her and when her high levels of energy became too much to handle, they sent her away to live with her grandparents

Dorothea is a sweetheart, especially to her granddaughter and husband, but rather than see both Frederick and Nichole as the problem she focuses entirely on Nichole essentially being a monster-in-law who sees her daughter-in-law as the sole enemy responsible for the rift in the family

Ernst is a gentle giant, but in his efforts to remain neutral he's essentially siding with his wife in othering his daughter-in-law

Frederick doesn't care about maintaining a relationship with his parents and the constant bickering and nipping at his wife? Definitely isn't helping to improve it. This attitude also applied to Tamarack's being born since putting that stiff wall up between him and his family, only meant that they couldn't see the new baby as much as they'd hoped or been part of the experience

Nichole has been dying her hair since her college years because she finds it too frivolous and unbecoming of someone like her. She and Tamarack have the exact same hair from the orange-tinted gold to the sparkles and, even if this isn't her intention, it essentially distances herself from looking similar to her daughter

Tamarack is only a short-to-mild driving distance away from her parents, so they could (in theory) visit as often as they want. They don't. Not unless it's a moving scare and that just ultimately results in Tamarack staying in a perpetual state of anxiety about her place in Golden Grove and feeling like a bad daughter for not being close to either of her parents and wanting to stay with her grandmother and grandfather by the time she's 14, when the reason she doesn't feel close to them at all is entirely her parents' fault

There's more I'm not discussing because it would be spoiler territory as someone who plays the beta, but there's even more to dig into even with just Step 1 outside of everything the devs have talked about in the Q&As

It's all this tension mixed into the sweet that really makes me want to learn more about them and how the conflict will be resolved. Obviously Tamarack will still stay in Golden Grove and her parents have Step 3 designs, and will likely have Step 4 designs, so we can assume enough peace and compromise has been obtained for them to still stick around

But how do we get from the collective mess of Steps 1 and 2, to the peace achieved in Steps 3 and 4? That's what I wanna know more about

[sparklingleaves]

Gonna have to make a tag for all my Tamarack-centric analysis because I have too many thoughts