What's going on here?

[Ozymandias]

I'm still at the beginning of the story, I think. And I sure hope so, the prologue just ended no more than half an hour ago.

After that, the player character goes to that isolated lodge. What the hell? I mean of all places to go, he choses the one house where he cuckolded his employer? Anyway he stayed there a couple days, met Mallory, then left. Finally...

Finally? Apparently not: since he's back, he kept thinking about going back again to that cursed place? That's literally seconds IRL after vowing in the cemetery that he would take care of "things" with his sister... Can't he find another janitor job in the city or something?

I'm not asking for spoilers, but am I missing something or is he complete moron? Alternatively I'd be satisfied to know he never goes back to that boring lodge too.

[Quetz]

He can be a moron, but it also depends on the choices you'll make.
Based on how he interacts with Mallory, a reporter, doesn't make me rate him highly 😑

[Mr. Tact]

He's not looking forward to dealing with his step-sister after running out on his family for five years. The lodge in Colorado is somewhere he found some peace, even if there were complications. I wouldn't say he is a moron as much as he has difficulty dealing directly with his personal problems. The fog around his actions will get cleared up somewhat as time goes on...

[Ozymandias]

It wouldn't be wrong to say I overreacted. But now that I've reached the end of the available story, his attitude is still a bit annoying: he sure doesn't have much trouble flirting with everyone when I have no control over it. Then I'm kind of the ultimate c*ckblocker.

Bless Amanda, since I decided to sister-zone Jaye and go for Mallory. It wasn't such an honest decision, more of a "let's go this way on this PT"... But then I was pleasantly surprised when Amanda made her moves. Even better when I read the report that Mallory was in love with both Amanda and myself, I sure hope it remains that way.

BTW, I wonder if people consider the relationship between the MC and his step-sister a big deal? I can't say it was to me, probably because of my own experience, even though everything about it was different: it was one sided, so nothing happened. I knew her as a friend first and we were both grown-ups already, so no living together as family. Only later did we technically become somewhat related. Still, my crush on her lasted a few years, and nobody (neither her, our families nor anyone else) had anything to say about it.

Eh, funny that I didn't choose Jaye on my first PT to fulfil that old fantasy...

[Mr. Tact]

*shrug* -- It is a big deal for some people, not for others.

First, it is a fictional story, I fail to see why it should really bother anyone much. Unless that person doesn't play shooting games or enjoy movies where people are murdered. Second, even IRL it wouldn't bother me -- including if she is a half-sister not a step-sister.

Yeah, the Mallory/Amanda trouple is fun. I'm looking forward to see what they end up doing with that. Did you manage to get the Boss Man scene out of Lisa? The dialogue change for her if you do outside the beach house in chapter 8 is awesome.

I like so many, did a Jaye focused PT on my first run. It just felt like the right thing to do. I mean they've been pinning after each other for over a decade, who am I to get in the way now? :D

[Ozymandias]

I second that, it wouldn't bother me IRL either. I asked because I was wondering if maybe I was biased from my personal experience, even though it doesn't even compare.

I decided to go after Mallory on the first PT (I'm just starting the second) for the same reason you chose Jaye. It would certainly feel natural, but I thought it would also make it tough to choose Mallory later. Well another (half-arsed) reason is that we left for so long. Already a d*ck move to leave like that, but at their age, 7 years is ridiculous. Then so be it, let's make it so it wasn't for nothing on top of it. And since we left for so long, we didn't deserve her. Well that was how I rationalised it anyway.

Yet now that I'm on my second run, I know it'll be tough to friendzone Mallory. I guess that means the developers did a good job. Not that I would ever complain about a game like Leap of Faith, where I'm pretty sure I will always give my all to Cece. She just blows my mind. And I don't even feel like I miss on game content. On the contrary I'm glad the choice is there and that I never make a different one. Only Lexi's path has a chance to end up on my computer. Holly would (pun!) too if not for the price to pay.

[♥♥♥♥ me, I've closed the tab instead of ctrl+c, thankfully Firefox could remember the text...]

Now the Boss Man scene, I'm not sure what it is, but checking the Scenes page, I don't have it. Neither the Boss Lady actually. I was extremely cautious on the first PT, or should I say I've made sure to give myself "reasons" to choose Mallory again in the future. Some cookie jars were easy to avoid, like the mother and daughter in Aspen(?), part of the reason why I don't like the place I guess. Bianca really tested my resolve though. Speaking of her, dealing wit her ex was fun, but seemed unnatural too. She's smoking hot and capable, how can she lack confidence? Yet this uncle can come and make fun of her with any random girl? With Lisa it was easier for me to keep it professional, even when it's hard to say who's boss.

Random question, since I've just seen Christian's car in a flashback: is there a meaning to what's it called, the car's ID, same as the password he'll give later? Something like LMESMSH...

[Mr. Tact]

To get the Boss Man scene you need to tell Jaye to "speak for herself" in chapter 3 and earn sufficient "points" with Lisa through a few scenes in chapters 4 & 5. If you want the specifics you can Google it. The Boss Man and Boss Lady scenes happen in the storage room with Lisa. But as I mentioned, the really fun part is if you qualified for Boss Man and have the lewd scene with Lisa in chapter 8, it changes her dialogue in a great way.

I have wondered about Christian's plate myself. The best I could come up with was a bad abbreviation of "look at me smash". Which I do not have much confidence in. Pretty sure the last work is supposed to be "smash" and we know from the conversation between the MC and Jaye it is intended to make it sounds as if he is getting lots of p*ssy. So... yeah, I couldn't quite figure that one out.

[Ozymandias]

This one being my first PT focused on Jaye, I'll probably still be a good boy. And wouldn't that scene in chapter 8 become a problem? I remember getting an achievement around that time for not betraying/cheating on the one I was already dating. Yeah, On Target, after checking the name.

The changes with Christian are quiet interesting. I wonder if the way I deal with him will affect how it turns out. That's what the game said, IIRC. And this time at the graduation party already, my only choice was the sucker punch. Not sure why, but there weren't many choices until then. So my guess is it's because I tried to decipher Jaye's diary, which I didn't do the first time. I thought it made more sense to do it this time that I'm more obsessed with Jaye, even if it means losing more trust point. But it would suck if I miss on important information later on.

[Mr. Tact]

If you have a very high Love score with Jaye, cheating with the side girls (Rinko, Bianca, and Lisa) will cost you a few Trust points. But has no significant impact, at least through chapter 8. And frankly, I like Bianca so much the only time I turned her down was on the run where I was trying to max my Love and Trust scores with Jaye.

[Ozymandias]

I have high scores, but I would rather avoid creating tension with Jaye, at least in a supposedly focused PT. Like you said, who knows how this will all turn out in future episodes. I've just chosen an open relationship with Mal already, but I'm actually considering reverting that decision, and keeping it for a later and more open/player PT. Since my first PT had Jaye friendzoned early, I'm still not even sure she has a similar discussion, I just assume so since the last report said lover or brother, while Mallory's was lover or friend.

Can we still invite Bianca to get a job back in Boston in case we start something with her?

edit: oh btw, since I've noticed Tara has the same kind of plates for her car, at least she did in past (bombshell I think it was), I guess there's no deeper meaning. But regarding Christian, it was nice to learn more about him this time, there quiet a bit I didn't hear about on my first PT.

[Mr. Tact]

Well, for whatever it is worth. At the chapter 8 summary she still totally trusted me and was still totally in love with me despite the cheating. *shrug* But yeah, you are right we can't know for sure.

[Ozymandias]

Yeah, after trying for myself, I like the simplicity of it: no drama, but still losing a bit of trust makes sense.