In any of the endings, MC gets his own car, a white Hyundai (though in Kara's, she's surprised he isn't driving the Mustang). In Marisa's, she still has the R8. When they get married and move out to the 'burbs, the two in the driveway together look a little, well, incongruous.
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erkper
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OK, made it through this update. I'm kind of torn on the "MC's an idiot" part. Yes, both he and Laura have made some less-than-great (and in some cases, downright bad) decisions (Kallie and Shelley really are just along for the ride in this regard). But in the circumstances they're in, who would do consistently better? OK, if you've made it through military SERE training (the real kind, not the online version), you probably would. The rest of us?
But it's a similar tension that was there with N&T's MC--he beat himself up over everything that didn't go their way. Sometimes, it was something he legitimately should have done better; sometimes it wasn't (no, replacing the timing chain (no available engine in a '69 Charger had multiple timing chains) isn't something he should have routinely had done at the shop). It's unreasonable for him to expect perfection of himself, and even then things might go (further) to shit. But he doesn't give a damn about being reasonable, he cares about keeping Carol and Naomi alive (and himself insofar as it helps them). And it's kind of the same thing here--you don't get a trophy for being reasonable, your prize is that you stay alive.
I'm willing to go with "this is a stupid plan for all of them"--it doesn't seem to be getting them very far, after all. OTOH, they're still alive, and they are moving in what they reasonably believe to be a good direction (I don't think we have any way of knowing at this point whether the hospital will be the salvation they hope for--and I kind of doubt it--but it seems a pretty fair target). And "stupid plan" is always by comparison, and I don't know what better alternative there is. We know the fog trashes vehicles, so there aren't any of those available. Find a tall building, get to the top (above the fog), and... what? Wait it out? For how long, and with what provisions?
And since we're told that we meet the next LI in this chapter, and shotgun lady is the only human we meet, I guess it's her. Looks thicker than I'd prefer, but she was wearing a heavy coat (and possibly more under it). Didn't otherwise get any idea of what she looks like, who she might be, or how she's going to make nice with the others. But I think I'm leaning away from "she's MC's ex" because of what that'd do to the relationships.
Other stuff? I think we're starting to see that FWB isn't going to work any better here than it did in N&T or TID. Kallie already had some feelings for MC, and we're starting to see them in both Laura and Shelley.
But it's a similar tension that was there with N&T's MC--he beat himself up over everything that didn't go their way. Sometimes, it was something he legitimately should have done better; sometimes it wasn't (no, replacing the timing chain (no available engine in a '69 Charger had multiple timing chains) isn't something he should have routinely had done at the shop). It's unreasonable for him to expect perfection of himself, and even then things might go (further) to shit. But he doesn't give a damn about being reasonable, he cares about keeping Carol and Naomi alive (and himself insofar as it helps them). And it's kind of the same thing here--you don't get a trophy for being reasonable, your prize is that you stay alive.
I'm willing to go with "this is a stupid plan for all of them"--it doesn't seem to be getting them very far, after all. OTOH, they're still alive, and they are moving in what they reasonably believe to be a good direction (I don't think we have any way of knowing at this point whether the hospital will be the salvation they hope for--and I kind of doubt it--but it seems a pretty fair target). And "stupid plan" is always by comparison, and I don't know what better alternative there is. We know the fog trashes vehicles, so there aren't any of those available. Find a tall building, get to the top (above the fog), and... what? Wait it out? For how long, and with what provisions?
And since we're told that we meet the next LI in this chapter, and shotgun lady is the only human we meet, I guess it's her. Looks thicker than I'd prefer, but she was wearing a heavy coat (and possibly more under it). Didn't otherwise get any idea of what she looks like, who she might be, or how she's going to make nice with the others. But I think I'm leaning away from "she's MC's ex" because of what that'd do to the relationships.
Other stuff? I think we're starting to see that FWB isn't going to work any better here than it did in N&T or TID. Kallie already had some feelings for MC, and we're starting to see them in both Laura and Shelley.
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Oh boy....
Once again, no one needs alphabet military training. It's called...basic...common....sense and self...preser...vation....(along with what not to do 101 if you've ever seen a handful of horror films lol).
Meiri
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It's been several days with fog, and they have seen first what prolonged exposure to it can do and also that they should be careful when dealing with people from outside the group.
It's not about being smart, it's about learning from their past mistakes or get punished for repeating them.
I was amused by the choice in N&T that read, "Be smarter than the people in the movies: Leave."
As to the rest, I'm not confident that my decisions, when severely sleep-impaired, moderately malnourished, and exposed to non-stop trauma for weeks, would meet that standard of "basic common sense and self-preservation."
I mean, they've had little enough contact with people from outside the group. One of them became part of the group, another one will (shotgun lady has to be the new LI). One other turned in front of MC (seen only to MC), another tried to kill MC, and a third arguably turned into a witch in front of MC (that's what MC thinks, anyway; I've seen some here suggest she was already a witch and shape-shifting in some way). So the ratio isn't good, but it also isn't "kill 'em all."
I'm not saying that everything MC and/or Laura did was smart, even under their circumstances. But I do think their circumstances should factor into whether we consider their decisions markedly stupid.
Meiri
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If the reason they are making these choices is because of malnourishment and lack of sleep, I still don't think following a random woman on the street will solve that problem, I would understand if they start taking more risks trying to get some food but not unnecessary risks that won't solve that.
Don't get me wrong, I understand they are going to make stupid choices, but I think at some point the mc either learns to not take unnecessary risks or gets punished and die, specially if it's supposed to be a serious story.
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Of course it wouldn't. But there's, "my sleep sucks and I haven't eaten for days, so let's try to fix that;" and there's, "my sleep sucks and I haven't eaten for days, so I'm far from the top of my game." While the former is present, I think the latter is the bigger factor in many of their, um, questionable decisions.
If their circumstances don't make their decisions not-dumb, maybe at least they make them more-understandable.
But I agree the plot armor is working overtime.
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erkper
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My biggest "MC is an idiot" gripe is when MC actively knows he's being stupid and CONTINUES THE PLAN ANYWAYS.
See: "Please don't be a Witch. Please don't be a Witch. Please don't be a Witch. Please don't be a Witch. Please don't be a Witch." while continuing to walk straight up to acid-barfing range of the person you know you have every reason to believe is probably a witch.
See also: MC's inner dialog while Kallie is berating him for skipping meals. He acknowledges her point and instantly starts thinking of ways to keep doing it.
Both examples aren't "I'm making mistakes because I'm not at the top of my game" -- they're "I'm going out of my way to choose the option I already know is indefensibly STUPID."
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Fair. Fair counterpoint: he feels he has to do this so the others can eat. MC here (just like in N&T) is not only too self-sacrificing for his own good, but also for the good of those he's taken responsibility for. I'd consider it a character trait more than "being dumb," but either way it isn't conducive to his (or their) survival.
On the witch, eh, I got nothing. Plot-wise, it gives Laura a chance to do something useful--but of course she's the reason we're out there in the first place.
And by my count:
- Shelley knows MC's banging Kallie (because he told her), Laura (because she mentioned her suspicion to Laura, who didn't deny it), and herself (duh). She's cool with it so far, though it seems like she's catching feelings for him (though not currently to the point where she wants to be exclusive; she sends him up to be with Kallie late in 0.11).
- Laura knows MC's banging Kallie (because he told her) and herself (duh), but not Shelley. By the end of 0.11, she seems OK with what she knows, though she hasn't yet spoken with him about it. She is concerned--reasonably so--about MC taking advantage of Kallie, but I think there's some jealousy there that she doesn't know what to do with. I don't think she'll be happy to learn about Shelley, though if she's aware that they started while Shelley was on one of her highs she may be less concerned about MC taking advantage of her.
- Kallie only knows about herself. If she even suspects MC's with either of the others, I don't recall that we've seen any hint of it in her inner monologue. She has clear feelings for MC, even if she stops (barely) short of saying "words I can't take back once I say them." MC's going to have to come clean with her, and I don't think she's going to like it when he does so.
Meiri
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Shelley: Is slowly catching feelings and I think it's interesting to see if her lack of medication will make her do something stupid or if she will still be fine with their current relationship.
Laura: I actually don't worry too much about he, at this point she seems to pretty much accept the relationship, so I imagine her also finding out about Shelley won't change much apart from maybe having another short conversation with the MC.
Kallie: It's the only one where I don't know how she'll take it initially. She's very much in love with the MC and has been acting like they're a normal couple. Even if they had their reasons, both the MC and Laura have delayed telling her the truth for too long, and it's going to hurt.
"Pretty much." I agree, but there's clearly some jealousy there too. Concern for Kallie is the bigger issue, and she seems settled on that, but part of her rationalization for "why this is OK" was that she'd already pushed MC away at the dorm before he was with Kallie. IOW, she was (at some level) expecting exclusivity from him, though she's enough of an adult to recognize she was unreasonable in that. But does she still want it?
Agreed, and she's not subtle about it. "I don't know how else to say it without using words that I know once I use it, I can't take back" doesn't really leave much to the imagination. Shelley sees it too, and she's smarter than she lets on. Don't know how much of this is rebound from Andrew though.
But though I said above that Kallie doesn't appear to have a clue, I think she's going to put some pieces together. Leaving aside the obvious possibility of her walking in on MC with one of the others, she knows that conversation with Laura was strange, even if she can't quite put her finger on why--"I feel like I need your approval" is kind of a weird thing to say, but she's right, and she doesn't know why.
The real problem is that they're all pretending they can just push normal emotions and commitments to the side because of their immediate circumstances, and that just isn't going to work. Dev has some recurring themes, and one of them is "FWB doesn't work." Sydney, Julie, and Hana all tried in N&T; I haven't seen Hana's failure yet (though I can see it coming), but I have the other two. Mina, Kara, and Tina (at least) tried in TID; they all failed. I don't think it's going to work any better here.
Meiri
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Well I agree that Laura may still have some feelings of jealousy, but mentally from what we have seen this latest chapter she seems to have realized that she has feelings for MC but she knows he's also involved with Kallie and so far has been good with both of them, while there may be some resistance to the idea I think she's already coming into terms.
But Kallie the way I see it she gives me vibes of someone that's first time in love and with not much experience, yes there was Andrew, but it was her first and also someone that didn't let her be around other males.
Which is why I don't expect any big future drama with Laura but I could see it with Kallie, specially if both keep delaying telling her and she's the one that finds out that MC and Laura or Shelley have been fooling around.
LokkenJP
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In any somewhat realistic scenario that comes to my mind, even under TEOTWAWKI, the current fooling around of the MC with the girls and Kallie's psyche and current relationship as it's presented ingame would end in catastrophe as soon as she finds out (either by accident, or by the MC finally growing a pair and telling her directly). Without paliatives.
I'm quite curious though about how Kinderfeld will handle that. He is known for having a nice storytelling ability, and I'm pretty sure the game will have some kind of Harem ending in place (even if Kinder follows the same premise of N&T, where one of the characters may become the "principal" LI slightly above the other harem members).
Also, have in mind that the appearance of the 4th Love Interest is imminent, she will be present on Ch12 (and has already been introduced on ch11). That could surely disrrupt quite a lot the current group dynamics.
I'm quite curious though about how Kinderfeld will handle that. He is known for having a nice storytelling ability, and I'm pretty sure the game will have some kind of Harem ending in place (even if Kinder follows the same premise of N&T, where one of the characters may become the "principal" LI slightly above the other harem members).
Also, have in mind that the appearance of the 4th Love Interest is imminent, she will be present on Ch12 (and has already been introduced on ch11). That could surely disrrupt quite a lot the current group dynamics.
In any remotely realistic scenario in a modern Western society, a harem just doesn't happen; we're indulging in heavy suspension of disbelief in any such story. Which gives devs/authors kind of a tricky task; characters need to behave believably, but in a way that results in an unbelievable outcome.
I believe and hope so, though I note the absence of the Harem tag.
Walter Victor
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On the subject of Shelley's mental state, it seemed to me that in this last update she was beginning to climb out of her depression. If I am correct, does she immediately revert to the manic state she started the game with, or does she have some period of normalcy?
Walter Victor
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There is no possibility of a harem. That's because the MC is stupid and he is going to do something so dumb that he will get them all killed!
