Unpacking Andy and Logan: Spoiler Alert

[dragonfly]

Before delving into this discussion, it's important to acknowledge that the characters and events being referenced are part of a fictional game, where everyone is indeed safe and secure. With that foundation established, I'd like to explore the red flags that would be cause for concern if this were a real-life situation. (Keep in mind I haven't played to the very end of the game, I just add the scenes I have witnessed so far).

When Andy first appears, he does it to ”help” Logan. (A child who feels the need to help an adult/guardian in such a way, that's not a good sign). When people realize what is going on, they choose to take the boy in and try to give him stability. Which is a good thing, would've been even better if a family took him in.
A bit later, the builder learns Andy was still in contact with Logan, but it is at the time when the boy is being kicked out of the gang. Very upsetting for a child, ofc. He saw that as family.
When Logan finally joins the town, we have a scene with Haru saying something about ”we should take in Elsie”. This makes Andy visibly upset, and the response was something in style that he ofc was in the gang (again). A secure child would probably have rejected the adult that threw him out to begin with, but Andy is clearly not feeling safe and secure within this relationship dynamic, so he acts more clingy. This could be the reason why he is drawn to Jasmine. She is secure, confident and stable. Andy might be looking for a mother of sort. Happens when you grow up around not-so-secure adults.
The next scene that stood out was when the builder helps the boys clean their home. Logan seems to long for a family (even though he has taken in a child, or at least pretends to) and he acts and says stuff right infront of Andy. Haru and Andy has to ”comfort” Logan. Like, hey, we are family. This makes the whole thing about sending off Haru to uni terrible, because he seems more stable and secure, and Andy probably needs that in spades.

I would like to add the scene in the tunnel with Elsie, even if Andy is not present. Logan and Elsie have a disagreement, and Logan responds ”I love you Else, but...” The guy who barely shows emotional closeness to the boy he has taken in have no problem expressing words of love to a girl. I did keep in mind what other players have said about this relationship. They see eachother as family. I'm also aware they aren't related, and it does become questionable when Logan's character isn't expressing emotions to that extent normally. If it had been real life, it could be seen as him leading the girl on. Especially since she is emotionally like a child, so vulnerable.
If Logan had been a real person, he would probably be the guy that makes people long for him, and he keeps abandoning them to keep it going. That kind of guy would also long for a popular person, like the builder.

Back to Andy. I wish there was an option to take him off Logan's hands. This is no judgement towards people who wants Logan, or choose to in-game marry him. It's just a game after all, no one gets hurt. But be careful around people who act like Logan in real life. The hurt boy/man who looks for the love from others. Just stay safe.

[dragonfly]

Jasmine: She is acting very mature for her age, and I wonder if that's because her mother is so absent.

Catori left her son to pursue her career/dreams, even if she states she did it for her son. But not being there for him can not be counted as doing something for him.
Cooper is absolutely not a good parent, not sure about Mabel.. I do question their marriage though, how it even works.
Rocky and Krystal. They encouraged their small child to violence against another human. Duvos soldier, but still. A child wouldn't understand the situation, and his father already has anger issues.

Is there an issue with parents in general in Sandrock? Amirah babysitting her adult brother can be another sign of questionable parenting. Are there any good parent figures in the game? I don't even know when it comes to the builder's parents, we don't even hear from their father for some reason. Heidi's family might be the closest to something good I suppose, unless I'm missing something.

[House Gnome]

So, these are my thoughts, not canon and strictly my own opinion.

1) Logan starts out life emotionally stunted. He has abandonment issues from his mom leaving. If you go on play dates with him he actually talks about his parents somewhat and it's clear he doesn't trust or love lightly. If you romance him, despite all you have gone through together, he will not reverse confess until you literally drag his almost dead body out of a cave, across the desert, through town, and back to his house for medical attention. However, once he is in, he is 100000% in and makes it plain how in he is every day. IMO it's why he is so popular as a spouse - true loyalty.

2) Logan's father loved him, but seemed to hold him at arms length. Logan hero worshiped his father, who took more of a tough love approach to raising him - so that's what Logan shows Andy. It's how he was raised. I get the feeling Logan FELT loved, but didn't hear the words much. If you marry Logan you can find his originally planned proposal speech in his house and it sheds a lot of light on his character. Including his the mismatch between how he feels inside and what face he shows the world.

3) Andy is very much like younger Logan. Impulsive, reckless, hero worships his father figure. Andy is also very damaged. He was found wandering the desert. His age is never mentioned, but he can't be older than 12 - I'd peg him at closer to 10. Who knows how long he was wandering when Logan and Haru found him. What horrors did he see that left him alone in the desert. Was he abandoned? Did he witness his family die in front of him? Was he forced to eat them to survive? We don't even know how long he has lived with Logan and Haru, and the time they did have him they were actively robbing people to survive. I speculate he lived with Logan and Haru no more than a year. Trauma like that talks a LOT of time to heal, years and years.

4) Logan never really had a chance to grieve his own father's death until after he returns to town. He is juggling his own emotional trauma while trying to help Andy with his.

I will add my own bias here: I have a kid with some emotional issues. It's effing hard to parent with those issues and we have access to meds and therapy. It's an incredibly heavy burden and YOU SCREW UP. You just do. It gets really overwhelming and mistakes are made. The progress happens when you admit that you effed up and keep trying. Anyone who hasn't experienced trying to parent a child with emotional issues only THINK they know how hard it is - but that's like thinking the amount of water in a still pond is overwhelming before learning about oceans.

5) Logan 'abandons' Andy in the town to try and give him stability. He alludes to it in that same 'gang' conversation.

6) Logan does love Elsie - they have a close sibling-style relationship (I know some people read it as romantic, but you can get some dialog from both of them to dispute that). Logan's canon age is 28, Elsie is 18-20 (don't know her canon). He was around 8-10 when she was born, listen to her dialog - they were very close her whole life and most of his.

7) I actually think Logan and Andy are just what each other needs. When Logan returns to town permanently he gives Andy that stability he needs. Logan has a strong in town support system to back him up. And, let's face it, Andy can be a bit of a sh*t and Logan isn't blinded to it (see Logan's comment about warning Jane that Andy steals, and then later when you help Jane talk to the parents and you learn Andy lied to Logan to con him out of 100 gols). Andy needs a firm hand to guide him out of the bad habits he developed to survive. He respects tough Logan and mocks soft Logan (again, see the marriage proposal letter). Meanwhile, Andy gives Logan someone to focus his family-man impulses on once he's able to have some time to reorient himself and come to terms with his new life.

Also, yes, I think pre-bandit Logan was a total player and likely banged every female to cross his path only to disappear in a poof of smoke the next day. I also believe Howlette, Cooper and Hugo would have strung him up by his balls if he'd ever messed with either Heidi or Elsie without a marriage in the offering so he didn't even entertain it. But that's my opinion. He was reckless and impulsive, not suicidal.

ETA: If you marry Logan with the reverse romance and all the extra stuff that comes with it, you get to see a lot of him and Andy interacting and it's so adorable. Logan even lets Andy help plan the proposal. It's clear in those scenes how close they really are and how much they love each other. I think one of my favorite in game scenes is them discussing the "hunt".

[dragonfly]

House Gnome, I can see you are very passionate about the subject, and I'm glad my post sparked something in you that made you want to write about it in length. I can also tell this is a highly personal matter to you, so I will refrain from making any comment on what you shared. I thank you for your contribution to the subject, and I hope things will get easier for you irl.

[House Gnome]

Hah, you can comment, if you check my post history you can see I have THOUGHTS about a lot of this game. Several hundred hours of play through powering them. Also, I happen to love Logan and Andy - two best characters in this game for me.

Also, I agree, lots of bad parenting in this game in general, I just don't happen to think Logan/Andy actually represents that, but I know others disagree with the way Logan approaches Andy.

[Cat mom]

Gnome....You are not alone. I am also a parent. And an aunt of a special little girl. Also as I have told you before I have Married Logan 5 times. I would give you a hug too...:)