vocalcannibal

@bisonhero: I agree! I thought it was sweet that at least Austin insisted multiple times in the final episode that Max loved Chloe before the kiss actually happened, but trust me, I want nothing more in this world than some very deliberate love stories with girls in media at large.

Part of the reason LiS was nice is because that kind of story is still uncommon in video games, and even I was fooled into thinking they might not go through with making Chloe a romantic option with Warren hanging around on the outside of the main circle that the game took place in. I do keep thinking back to the flashback section in episode 5 where it shows them on the train tracks and the voiceover triggers that basically says, "We don't know my powers will last." and "Don't worry, we will." and in any romance that is a great, mushy exchange of dialog that makes me very happy in retrospect! All those scenes of them together at the end, to me, lean slightly more romantic than platonic even if you discount the kiss. But that's just my perception and I am predisposed to want girls to kiss so who knows, haha.

Anyway, yes! A little altered narration from Max certainly wouldn't have hurt, and might have clued in a few more people.

I am not a gentleman but I drink WHOLE MILK because it's delicious. Half & half goes in my tea and coffee.

2% and almond/coconut milk are cool too but only if my preferences aren't available.

@bisonhero said:

I think the wording 'probably straight' is, in itself, sort of presumptuous. Myself and several other queer users on the site felt like the romantic side of Max and Chloe's relationship was explored very well. Part of the problem is definitely going into a piece of media and thinking 'well clearly these characters are straight' when presented with dialog that indicates heteronormativity, but that's more of an issue with media at large than Life is Strange.

(And a personal beef I have, considering most people assume I'm straight because I don't "look queer" or openly talk about how cute girls are on a regular basis. Maybe it's easier with Chloe than Max, considering she has the purple and blue ombre hair, the tattoos, and talks about Rachel a lot.)

I know Max thinks about liking skater boys, but I feel like she also internally appreciates Chloe's appearance/style specifically too. And I have no idea where this is coming from, but I feel like I totally remember her thinking that Brooke was 'cute' at some point too. I could be totally misremembering that, but I wanted to say it anyway.

It reminds me of a video I saw a while ago with a girl recapping a common conversation that bi girls or lesbians tend to have, along the lines of: "You're really pretty." "Oh thanks, you're pretty too! I love that girls can just compliment each other like that." "I'm gay."

Girls do compliment each other's appearances sincerely much more often than two men having a conversation would, to the point where it's like, "Is that gay??? I don't even know anymore!" to a lot of people.

I'm going off the rails here and thinking out loud more than anything, sorry! This giant post is not me trying to school you/scold you or anything. My main point is that being straight might be exactly what's inhibiting your perception here. I can't really do any more than say my young, bi high school self would have really identified with Max. To me, that's a sign of successfully writing a queer relationship between girls.

@seinenfeld: I've heard about it, but I didn't really know anyone that was into it. I'll keep it in mind when I finish up Psycho Pass 2, thanks!

@daveyo520: That makes total sense, haha. I acknowledge that Love Live isn't a masterpiece or anything, but that doesn't mean I can't love it way too much anyway. If I decide idol hell is the path I'm going down for now, it's definitely about time I gave Idolm@ster a shot.

@metalsnakezero: I know, but I'm a sucker for cute clothes and cute songs. Some of the costume designs have really gotten me interested. I'm also still a little skeptical about Sunshine since the designs of the girls themselves aren't wowing me, but I'm excited to see how it goes!

@daveyo520: Considering I want every single thing in all of those pictures, I think it's safe to say idol hell already has me. (Who am I kidding, I spend two days this week learning the No Brand Girls dance with 8 other people for a cosplay group in March. There's no saving me.) I have a lot of friends that like Idolm@ster and I know some of the popular songs, but I just never got into idol stuff much until I started playing LLSIF last year. It's definitely on my to-do list, though!

Took my winter break to watch Nozaki-kun and the first season of Psycho Pass (and rewatch Baccano bc why not) and realized I haven't watched anything new since the summer before last when I first got into Love Live.

I can't tell if now I want to go deeper into the idol hole with Aikatsu or pick up a bigger variety of genres.

One of the very big factors that actually leans me toward 'Sacrifice Arcadia Bay' is just the absolute shit hand Chloe had been dealt in life. The end sequence where she offers to let Max walk out of her life after hearing all the terrible things that happened to her (helping Alt. Chloe die, being kidnapped and photographed by an authority figure she trusted), and has just a massive string of sincere things to say about how she regrets being a brat, etc. is so sweet.

Chloe's biggest fear is practically spelled out as being left by people she cares about, but she gives Max a free offer to leave her life if it would make things better for her. Chloe had clearly grown immensely after losing Rachel for good and hearing what Max had gone through for her.

She says she doesn't think her mom deserves to die in a diner, but I don't think Chloe deserves to die on a bathroom floor without having ever known what a great relationship she and Max would have had otherwise. Chloe dies alone and terrified in the Sacrifice Chloe ending, without anything good in her life to comfort her in her final moments.

The deaths in either ending are horribly cruel and unfair, but I think it's totally okay to want an ending where Chloe comes out of a bad situation a little wiser with someone (Max) who proved beyond the literal limits of reality that she would never abandon her.

I think they'll save the town, but at least they'll probably realize with the goodbye smooch, etc. that Chloe and Max's relationship can end up being plainly romantic if you side that way while playing. It took Chloe yelling about loving Rachel in the 4th episode (once in a dialog choice that could be missed) for them to confirm that she wasn't straight, so having the game hit home one last time with the girl/girl relationships theme isn't the worst way to end things imo.

That being said, Bae before Bay.

This thread is making me supremely hungry, and also filling me with childlike glee at the idea of someone trying peanut butter different ways for the first time. I wish I could do that, man.

Hope you like everyone's suggestions! This thread got me thinking about what I could make for myself, so I found this while googling around and figured I'd share it.

Neko Atsume, of course. Gotta get all the cats.