[ChicletPrime]

First off - weird damned english spelling of his name. My guess is that if they went with Raphael, internet searches would start pulling up turtles and actually dead painters.

SO

As of time of this post, I have been playing LaDS for about a week+ and I'm currently stalled on the end of the chapter where Rafe takes you on a canoe, gets seasick, we both got swamped by a sea monster and I nearly drowned because maybe I can't swim? I looked like I was doing okay there for a hot second and then I just started sinking.

HOLY SHIT.

I managed, in the heat (wet?) of the moment to tap the STOP button a bunch and took some pretty excellent screenshots if I do say so myself. I shall embed below if I can figure out how to embed.

[attachment=1] [attachment=2] [attachment=3] [attachment=4] [attachment=5] [attachment=6] [attachment=7] [attachment=8]

(embed process figured out - I've configured image attachments to display as thumbnails inside the post natively, and it has a link to properly put them in as well if needed. can't seem to get the auto-sizing to adjust, not sure where that's hiding in the configuration files.)

I should have probably known, honestly. But for some reason I was not expecting the guy to be.. not a guy at all?? And the four seconds just prior to these images, where it sounds like I made a pretty mer-boy a promise and then completely failed to keep it? DID I FORGET???

Oh, my *heart*.

[Coldsaturn]

First off - weird damned english spelling of his name. My guess is that if they went with Raphael, internet searches would start pulling up turtles and actually dead painters.

SO

As of time of this post, I have been playing LaDS for about a week+ and I'm currently stalled on the end of the chapter where Rafe takes you on a canoe, gets seasick, we both got swamped by a sea monster and I nearly drowned because maybe I can't swim? I looked like I was doing okay there for a hot second and then I just started sinking.

HOLY SHIT.

I managed, in the heat (wet?) of the moment to tap the STOP button a bunch and took some pretty excellent screenshots if I do say so myself. I shall embed below if I can figure out how to embed.

     

(embed process figured out - I've configured image attachments to display as thumbnails inside the post natively, and it has a link to properly put them in as well if needed. can't seem to get the auto-sizing to adjust, not sure where that's hiding in the configuration files.)

I should have probably known, honestly. But for some reason I was not expecting the guy to be.. not a guy at all?? And the four seconds just prior to these images, where it sounds like I made a pretty mer-boy a promise and then completely failed to keep it? DID I FORGET???

Oh, my *heart*.

Yes it took a while to get used to his name, but I like how it references art and a whole bunch of very interesting biblical symbolism. And turtles.

Chapter 7 I LOVE that chapter. MC and Raf together are so chaotic, they always end up in a mess.
MC can swim but she was far away from the surface, with a whole Wanderer between her and oxygen, and she faints because she can't breathe.
"You forgot everything, yet you still insist"
How much did she actually forget? What did she do to him? Stay tuned for the next episode.
(also, immaculate screenshots. I can't get over how beautiful he is)
Btw, Chapter 7 and start of chap 8 have so much on Raf. It's so incredibly packed with important info and clues, definitely remember to go back to it in the future because hindsight will be 10/10.

As of now we know that he's a bratty, sassy, awfully pretty boy. Scared of cats? A bit moody, a bit angsty. A whole merman. Who gets seasick lmao
I'm obsessed with him. Want a bit of advice? Don't trust anything he says, and at the same time, believe every single one of his lies. That boy will first make sure you think he's joking, cry wolf enough times that you roll your eyes, and then will tell the truth fully knowing that you won't believe him.

[ChicletPrime]

Well, fair. we certainly don't have gills.

What is the LaDS standard reference for the Main Character anyways? my background in RP says "we" - we did this (me and my character), i chose that (me, making bad dialogue branch decisions), and her (my character staying true to her angst roots). All the fanfiction on Ao3 is all second person for some reason.

I am very much wondering what the hell went down back in the day. I am assuming that whatever she forgot, it was because of the mysterious Chrono Event Thingie where she got blasted by something nebulous, got her new heart+1 (was that an injury that happened on the field? or a deliberate medical experiment while she was in the hospital for more mundane wound care? magic 8 ball is uncertain but it starts off like it just sort of happened to you (shards of something got embedded) but after the Zayne conversion over Grandma's box... hang on, I should strip this out and move this somewhere else) so Rafe should hopefully just forgive us.

He's a liar? I don't know how to feel about that but imagine me sharpening my gaze and staring at the guy's instagram account a little more closely. i fucking love me some liars, ESPECIALLY the ones that do it by telling you a truth you don't and can't understand quite yet.

I am still "stuck" on the having to level 6 cards to 40 woes, so I will probably be at the next chapter by the weekend methinks. eeeee. So excited, this storyline is getting so promising!

[Coldsaturn]

Well, fair. we certainly don't have gills.

What is the LaDS standard reference for the Main Character anyways? my background in RP says "we" - we did this (me and my character), i chose that (me, making bad dialogue branch decisions), and her (my character staying true to her angst roots).  All the fanfiction on Ao3 is all second person for some reason.

I am very much wondering what the hell went down back in the day. I am assuming that whatever she forgot, it was because of the mysterious Chrono Event Thingie where she got blasted by something nebulous, got her new heart+1 (was that an injury that happened on the field? or a deliberate medical experiment while she was in the hospital for more mundane wound care? magic 8 ball is uncertain but it starts off like it just sort of happened to you (shards of something got embedded) but after the Zayne conversion over Grandma's box... hang on, I should strip this out and move this something else) so Rafe should hopefully just forgive us.

He's a liar? I don't know how to feel about that but imagine me sharpening my gaze and staring at the guy's instagram account a little more closely.  i fucking love me some liars, ESPECIALLY the ones that do it by telling you a truth you don't and can't understand quite yet.

I am still "stuck" on the having to level 6 cards to 40 woes, so I will probably be at the next chapter by the weekend methinks. eeeee. So excited, this storyline is getting so promising!

I will reply on the story part in its own topic.

Me myself and I?
How you refer to MC really changes based on how you're playing the game. Many many many players self-insert, which explains the huuuuuge amount of reader insert fics written in second person.
(a very endearing trend I see in fics is to write non-MC stories in 1st or 2nd POV, because then they can self-insert in peak angst plots where their love interest is actually soulmate with someone else - MC)
Personally I don't tend to self-insert, even when I'm in 1st POV, and that's how I see the game. MC is doing her thing, and I'm occasionally allowed to choose what she does/say (MC is quite wild, which is funny because she can totally break immersion for those who self-insert). It also helps that you, the player, will know way more than MC does about everything and anything.
So I might write "Xavier brings us" (we as MC) or "Zayne tells you" (you as MC) but in my head it's just an easy way to reference how the story is written and given to us. Outside of that, MC is MC and I don't have much to do with that.

Raf is an onion (required Shrek reference), and the outer layers are sass and lies. But those lies often mirror the truth.
What I incredibly like about him as a LI compared to the other LIs is that across the main chapters you might catch hints at the fact that he's not-so-silently pissed off at MC. Like, genuine mistrust and holding a grudge. But he still approaches her and gets into this sexually charged push&pull with her, which might just be making him even moodier. 
He's also hilarious imo, and he's still pretty much the only one who pulls surprised cackles out of me.

[ChicletPrime]

What I incredibly like about him as a LI compared to the other LIs is that across the main chapters you might catch hints at the fact that he's not-so-silently pissed off at MC. Like, genuine mistrust and holding a grudge. But he still approaches her and gets into this sexually charged push&pull with her, which might just be making him even moodier.

That is wonderful. Fantastic even. Thanks for the insight here, I was (obviously) not getting that at all from my interactions with the man so far; its all been quippy and slightly off center and not exactly grounded in reality (which is probably why I'm preferring Zayne the most out of the original three).

I pulled one of his 5 star cards (Deep Sea Promise I think it was called) where the accompanying mini-story was that HE was the bodyguard and I was the princess which I thought was pretty cool. I should go back and watch that again with new knowledge in mind.

[Coldsaturn]

What I incredibly like about him as a LI compared to the other LIs is that across the main chapters you might catch hints at the fact that he's not-so-silently pissed off at MC. Like, genuine mistrust and holding a grudge. But he still approaches her and gets into this sexually charged push&pull with her, which might just be making him even moodier.

That is wonderful. Fantastic even. Thanks for the insight here, I was (obviously) not getting that at all from my interactions with the man so far; its all been quippy and slightly off center and not exactly grounded in reality (which is probably why I'm preferring Zayne the most out of the original three).

I pulled one of his 5 star cards (Deep Sea Promise I think it was called) where the accompanying mini-story was that HE was the bodyguard and I was the princess which I thought was pretty cool. I should go back and watch that again with new knowledge in mind.

Deep Sea Promise my beloved <3 That is one of his myths! Not a limited myth, since you can pull the card regularly outside of his limited events, but a myth nonetheless. Is it a past or future timeline? We are 30000 years after the seas dried up. I'll leave you to your theories.

In the first half of the main story you get his diva persona, but as you said there are some "??" moments. He's full of contradicting signals. But let's remember that when we meet him the first time, he literally walks away while we're still talking. Then there's that moment where he sees us drowning and legitimately turns away (several fan theories justifying this moment and I'm here like "no you don't understand, I'd LOVE it if he actually meant to let MC die there") until we say "Don't go" triggering that symbol on his chest, after which he saves us. And you'll see how things will evolve in the second half of the main story. Then there are some other strong clues in his anecdotes and cards and tender moments. 
I will die on this hill: pre-love story Raf so desperately wants to tell MC to go fuck herself but is being cockblocked by the writers.

[ChicletPrime]

thirty... THIRTY THOUSAND YEARS? that's how long ago Lemuria was?

holy moses on a pogo stick. do we still have seas at all, or is it just his that's vanished into clouds?

Rafayel absolutely was going to leave us to die, how is that even a question? There was that lovely long distance shot of us falling down into the darkness with him holding steady nearer the sunlight, and then he turns away to swim upwards. That was super unambiguous. It's only when we call out to him and the red shell symbol thing glows that he returns.

Actually, here's a thing and I don't know if its related (insert that picture you posted of Conspiracy Guy), but when you first meet Xavier, he manifests a blue electro collar around his neck (pretty sure that's a Hunter thing as I think I have one too... now I'm second guessing that, but moving on) to fight the Wanderers but at some point it flashed red and he flinches.

Connected? Hmm.

[Coldsaturn]

I am now wondering whether you're getting the full stories from your 4 and 5 star cards.
4 star cards usually trigger audio files (tender moments or secret times), whereas 5 star cards go with entire side stories that can get hours long. When you look at a 5 star card, on the bottom next to their title you get "kindled". That button will prompt you to see the cutscene related to that card, but it's not the entire story. You'll only see the cutscene and not all the context before/after that. In order to see that you have to go to the top right of the card page where you see "Date"
It's the same button you have on 4 cards that sends you straight to the audio file, but with 5 star cards it will send you to a different menu where you can play the entire story. It is usually divided in chapters, and you unlock them by ascending the card. Some 5 star cards don't have chapters but you still will play for around 30 minutes before you hit the cutscene that is shown in Kindled.

You can also get the audio files by going from the main page of the game to "Date", then "By Your Side" (where you'll find Tender Moments and Secret Times). These are 4 star cards and audios unlocked by certain affinity levels.
From "Date" you can also get "Falling for You" where you'll get three sections: Bond, Memoria, and Myths.
Bond is triggered by affinity levels, Memoria and Myths are 5 star cards. As we were already saying, Myths go into their past or future lives/timelines.

I hope I haven't accidentally spoilered you the 30k years thing, but I'm fairly sure it's established quite soon in the card. It might be that we're 30k in the past, or we might be 30k in the future, or an alternate universe's past/future, that's for you to deduce once you'll have enough info about the world building (even outside the myth). Pay attention to details about the places that are mentioned, time and place clues, referenced events, people, etc.

Yeah many fans justify that scene by saying that he wanted to fight the Wanderer first, others that [redacted] because [redacted], and others just accepted that he was going to let us drown and hate him for it. Meanwhile if I wasn't already maining him, that would have done it for me. There's something so delicious about the comic relief guy pulling a 180 on characterization and almost letting MC - the person we all know is his LI - die. And okay, I don't think MC would have actually died, and it's most likely that he wouldn't have let her die either in the end (there was a Wanderer about to attack them, after all), but what's canon is that he didn't seem to care if SHE thought she was going to drown because he'd left her there. /chef's kiss

Great great great put a pin on Xavier's collar, we'll definitely be revisiting that later in his storyline.

[ChicletPrime]

* head explodes *

i feel like i need a flowchart for the menus, with annotations.

no i had no idea that there was more to the 5* cards than the Kindled button which was obvious because it glowed. i mean, i read somewhere that there were larger stories attached to them but i didn't see any so i figured it was gate locked to my level or something dumb like that, it would just automagically show up at some later date.

thank GOD the weekend is nearly here; i am going to have to hunker over this thing with headphones and a dazed look in my eyes.

[Coldsaturn]

lmao okay I'm gonna make a visual tutorial for all the menus in another thread, hold on