Riona (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rionaleonhart) wrote2019-01-25 09:32 am
rionaleonhart) wrote2019-01-25 09:32 am
Entry tags:
Why Are You Holding A Fire Sword?
The second episode of Life Is Strange 2 is now out! Here's a note I made shortly before it was released:
The second episode of Life Is Strange 2 comes out today, and I'm extremely nervous. I can't take this responsibility! How can I look after these boys? And Chris of The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is supposed to return in this episode, which means this game is going to include a third child who desperately needs protection I cannot provide.
(The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit was very cute but waaaaay too high-pressure for me. I can handle 'everyone's trying to kill you'! I can't handle 'you're a kid trying to play around the house without pissing off your short-tempered dad'.)
I've now played up to getting the key to the tool shed, so here are my thoughts so far! Be aware that I'm going to ramble a bit about existential questions.
These poor boys are so dirty! Someone please give them a warm bath immediately.
I'm delighted that Daniel's inventory is just a bunch of pine cones.
Sean's little 'I'm so tired' in his journal breaks my heart. (I'm so glad he kept up the journal between episodes! I love his illustration of the bottle smirking at Daniel, refusing to be lifted.)
I really wanted to be cool and say 'hey, it's fine' when Daniel swore, but I had to tell him off, because I felt letting this kid get into the habit of swearing would attract attention.
Daniel really got me with that someone-at-the-door prank; it was a heartstopping moment. But I managed not to yell at him for it!
Daniel challenges me to a game of dice.
Daniel: If you lose, I get to draw on your backpack!
Sean: You know I'm gonna win and draw a dick on your bag, right?
Daniel wins consistently against Sean in dice. Is he giving the dice a little telekinetic push, perhaps without being aware of it?
Sean trying to use telekinesis himself in a quiet moment is a nice detail.
NO
MUSHROOM
YOU COULDN'T LET THE DOG LIVE FOR ONE EPISODE?
GODDAMMIT SHE WAS SO CUTE
I DIDN'T EVEN GET A 'PET' OPTION IN THIS EPISODE
I almost didn't intervene to save the cougar, because I was afraid it would attack us. I'm glad I did in the end. Daniel's traumatised enough as it is; we don't need to pile 'telekinetically killed a cougar' on top of that.
Daniel asked me 'do you think she's up in heaven with Dad?' and I promised not to lie to this kid and I'm not religious, THIS IS AWFUL, but I have to say yes, don't I? This kid's nine years old and he's literally just buried his dog; I don't know whether saying no would be saying that dogs don't go to heaven or that no one goes to heaven, but either way it's not a conversation that Daniel needs right now.
Argh, I was so determined not to lie to him. I suppose at least there's no way to prove I don't believe that. (And I have no idea whether Sean is religious, even if I'm not.)
Or should I be honest about my thoughts? Daniel's been through some hard things; maybe I'm underestimating him. And it's not like I'm saying 'this is solid fact'; I'm just saying this is how I feel about it.
I promised I wouldn't lie to Daniel, and this is the hardest thing to be honest about there is. If I can get past this honesty hurdle, I can probably be sure I'll keep my promise. And it might mean Daniel has more faith in my honesty as well, even if it won't be an easy thing for him to hear.
I think this is the hardest I've ever thought about a videogame decision.
Okay. Sean tried to let Daniel believe a comforting lie in episode one, and that ended extremely badly. I need to show Daniel I've learnt from that and that I'm prepared to be honest with him, even when it's hard. If I give this fictional nine-year-old an existential crisis in the process, so be it.
Daniel: Do you think she's up in heaven, with Dad?
Sean: Nah. There's no such thing. It's just us, here.
Daniel: Okay.
Daniel, you are breaking my heart.
The little detail of Claire reaching out to touch Sean's hand comfortingly and Sean pulling his hand away is also heartbreaking. He's so wary and wounded.
It's so good to see Sean and Daniel in a proper house! Warm and clean, and being treated with some kindness! Although their grandmother tried to say a prayer and Daniel went 'why? Sean says heaven isn't even real' and THAT WAS AWKWARD. I wasn't expecting my decision to bite me in that way! At least I think I've been responsible enough to prevent Daniel from swearing in front of our grandparents.
And then Daniel clasps his hands and bows his head as she prays while Sean just sits there uncomfortably, bless them. (Er, no pun intended.)
It's cute as hell that Sean and Daniel share a bed so often, even if it's generally out of necessity. I hope they find it comforting.
'Homework for Daniel lmao Good luck with that Claire' in the journal made me smile. Sean's so fond.
Also cute: the fact that Claire put 'Hug grandparents' on Sean and Daniel's list of chores.
When Claire asks whether you have a girlfriend, your options are 'not really' or 'almost'. I chose 'not really', but I'm intrigued by the fact it looks like you can imply romantic interest in Lyla. I don't think Sean really thinks of her that way, although I think it's possible Lyla is interested in him.
(Oh, unless 'almost' refers to Jenn rather than Lyla? I think things are pretty definitively sunk after the 'I can't talk to you for legal reasons' text, though.)
I've been wondering what's inevitably going to force Sean and Daniel to flee Beaver Creek, and I suspect it might involve Chris. Chris lives with an abusive father; how can we help him? By contacting the authorities? But that risks endangering the boys on the run next door.
Actually, no; after that conversation with Stephen where you get the tool shed key, I'm pretty sure we're going to have to leave because Claire is going to learn about Daniel's telekinesis and think he's possessed by the devil.
It's also a little weird that we're so isolated here. We're not allowed to go out because people might see us and report us to the cops: that makes a kind of sense, even if it's rough. But we're also not allowed Internet access or phones, and that concerns me a little.
Please don't be evil, grandparents.
I'm both excited and nervous to see what the rest of the episode holds.
The second episode of Life Is Strange 2 comes out today, and I'm extremely nervous. I can't take this responsibility! How can I look after these boys? And Chris of The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is supposed to return in this episode, which means this game is going to include a third child who desperately needs protection I cannot provide.
(The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit was very cute but waaaaay too high-pressure for me. I can handle 'everyone's trying to kill you'! I can't handle 'you're a kid trying to play around the house without pissing off your short-tempered dad'.)
I've now played up to getting the key to the tool shed, so here are my thoughts so far! Be aware that I'm going to ramble a bit about existential questions.
These poor boys are so dirty! Someone please give them a warm bath immediately.
I'm delighted that Daniel's inventory is just a bunch of pine cones.
Sean's little 'I'm so tired' in his journal breaks my heart. (I'm so glad he kept up the journal between episodes! I love his illustration of the bottle smirking at Daniel, refusing to be lifted.)
I really wanted to be cool and say 'hey, it's fine' when Daniel swore, but I had to tell him off, because I felt letting this kid get into the habit of swearing would attract attention.
Daniel really got me with that someone-at-the-door prank; it was a heartstopping moment. But I managed not to yell at him for it!
Daniel challenges me to a game of dice.
Daniel: If you lose, I get to draw on your backpack!
Sean: You know I'm gonna win and draw a dick on your bag, right?
Daniel wins consistently against Sean in dice. Is he giving the dice a little telekinetic push, perhaps without being aware of it?
Sean trying to use telekinesis himself in a quiet moment is a nice detail.
NO
MUSHROOM
YOU COULDN'T LET THE DOG LIVE FOR ONE EPISODE?
GODDAMMIT SHE WAS SO CUTE
I DIDN'T EVEN GET A 'PET' OPTION IN THIS EPISODE
I almost didn't intervene to save the cougar, because I was afraid it would attack us. I'm glad I did in the end. Daniel's traumatised enough as it is; we don't need to pile 'telekinetically killed a cougar' on top of that.
Daniel asked me 'do you think she's up in heaven with Dad?' and I promised not to lie to this kid and I'm not religious, THIS IS AWFUL, but I have to say yes, don't I? This kid's nine years old and he's literally just buried his dog; I don't know whether saying no would be saying that dogs don't go to heaven or that no one goes to heaven, but either way it's not a conversation that Daniel needs right now.
Argh, I was so determined not to lie to him. I suppose at least there's no way to prove I don't believe that. (And I have no idea whether Sean is religious, even if I'm not.)
Or should I be honest about my thoughts? Daniel's been through some hard things; maybe I'm underestimating him. And it's not like I'm saying 'this is solid fact'; I'm just saying this is how I feel about it.
I promised I wouldn't lie to Daniel, and this is the hardest thing to be honest about there is. If I can get past this honesty hurdle, I can probably be sure I'll keep my promise. And it might mean Daniel has more faith in my honesty as well, even if it won't be an easy thing for him to hear.
I think this is the hardest I've ever thought about a videogame decision.
Okay. Sean tried to let Daniel believe a comforting lie in episode one, and that ended extremely badly. I need to show Daniel I've learnt from that and that I'm prepared to be honest with him, even when it's hard. If I give this fictional nine-year-old an existential crisis in the process, so be it.
Daniel: Do you think she's up in heaven, with Dad?
Sean: Nah. There's no such thing. It's just us, here.
Daniel: Okay.
Daniel, you are breaking my heart.
The little detail of Claire reaching out to touch Sean's hand comfortingly and Sean pulling his hand away is also heartbreaking. He's so wary and wounded.
It's so good to see Sean and Daniel in a proper house! Warm and clean, and being treated with some kindness! Although their grandmother tried to say a prayer and Daniel went 'why? Sean says heaven isn't even real' and THAT WAS AWKWARD. I wasn't expecting my decision to bite me in that way! At least I think I've been responsible enough to prevent Daniel from swearing in front of our grandparents.
And then Daniel clasps his hands and bows his head as she prays while Sean just sits there uncomfortably, bless them. (Er, no pun intended.)
It's cute as hell that Sean and Daniel share a bed so often, even if it's generally out of necessity. I hope they find it comforting.
'Homework for Daniel lmao Good luck with that Claire' in the journal made me smile. Sean's so fond.
Also cute: the fact that Claire put 'Hug grandparents' on Sean and Daniel's list of chores.
When Claire asks whether you have a girlfriend, your options are 'not really' or 'almost'. I chose 'not really', but I'm intrigued by the fact it looks like you can imply romantic interest in Lyla. I don't think Sean really thinks of her that way, although I think it's possible Lyla is interested in him.
(Oh, unless 'almost' refers to Jenn rather than Lyla? I think things are pretty definitively sunk after the 'I can't talk to you for legal reasons' text, though.)
I've been wondering what's inevitably going to force Sean and Daniel to flee Beaver Creek, and I suspect it might involve Chris. Chris lives with an abusive father; how can we help him? By contacting the authorities? But that risks endangering the boys on the run next door.
Actually, no; after that conversation with Stephen where you get the tool shed key, I'm pretty sure we're going to have to leave because Claire is going to learn about Daniel's telekinesis and think he's possessed by the devil.
It's also a little weird that we're so isolated here. We're not allowed to go out because people might see us and report us to the cops: that makes a kind of sense, even if it's rough. But we're also not allowed Internet access or phones, and that concerns me a little.
Please don't be evil, grandparents.
I'm both excited and nervous to see what the rest of the episode holds.