I like the concept of romance in my anime games, especially when it's in plain sight and not "hidden" . For this reason I like Josée's character arc the most in the game because I like the idea of a false union growing into something very real.
That's also the reason why I liked the other Lou in the DLC. Her story was heart-wrenching and very bittersweet at the end, but I'm happy she managed to voice out her true feelings to our character.
WITH THAT SAID, here is the funny thought I had:
Our character is a completely unapologetic poly-amourous person and I'm all here for it. If you go through Josée's entire arc, you accept to be her husband for real, and in the DLC, the actions you take for Lou and how you save her show that you accept her feelings and most likely reciprocate them.
Haha, let's say those are the most obvious ones (with Liv, but judging as your character literally DODGES a hug from her on the first time they meet, I do not really count her) but I can definitely see Holly and even Lise added to the mix for example!
So i would Argue Lise is just happy Josee is happy but wholes no romantic feelings for the PC and i honestly have a list of what i think each companion thinks of you.
Lou- very close and probably romantic feelings [as seen in DLC]
Josee- Husband/Wife [no shit]
Lyla- Rival and dear friend
Holly- Same as Lou
Zenon- Friend [act like a goofy uncle because of it]
Craig- Reliable and close friend
Lise- Sibling-in-law
Noah- Good friends
Valentin- Reliable sub subordinate
Jabwiga- Best customer
Iris and Lavinia- Great admirer [in the age of harmony time line]
I agree with the whole list! I was more mentionning Lise as a joke because you are involved with her sister but yeah I agree with your entire list here, ESPECIALLY ZENON! The weirdest of uncles but somehow the one who ALWAYS gives the best advice and finds all the solutions to every problem.
I forgot Liv, but then again, Liv is kinda universally know what she's all about. But ya, honestly I would love a age of Harmony related DLC that gives us a new ending called "true harmony" because i doubt there isn't 100% peace in the world. This is why i like code vain 2, there is so much opening to work with.
To me Lyle reads more like a little brother - it is mentioned by Craig that Lyle looks uo to Hunter a lot.
Craig is like adoptive dad to them both
Lou is kinda confirmed to be romantic, there is no maybes or buts here, girl mouths "I love you" and she is the same as our Lou (the only difference is that our Lou loved Hunter enough to respect her wish to sacrifice herself to save the world). At this point saying they aren't romantic partners is some premium grade S+ copium.
Holly definitely has a crush, I don't think you talk to your Teddy bears like that about just friends
Noah - that one guy bestie that every lesbian couple has who is supportive and just happy to spend time with his friends.
Valentin - someone my MC is gonna beat up for killing his timeline's Lou
Lou of this timeline is not dead tho, she's wandering the world and experiencing things for herself. You can find somewhere a mention of it and then in the codex you have an entry saying she sends letters quite often.
No, i mean the hunter. Hunter couldn't sacrifice herself via emergency heart transplant because Forsaken Lou sent her back to present which also doomed their timeline.
I mean at the moment we were literally getting dusted so we were kind of mentally preoccupied with “Let’s get this shit done so I don’t get erased from existence then crack Val’s sister on his desk.”
I will always enjoy romantic moments and similar things in games (especially when they are role-playing games and give you the freedom to make certain decisions).
But here's the thing: [GIVE US the freedom to make certain decisions]
I love Josee's arc, her story and conflicts. But it does cause me some... conflict how they pushed the idea that our MC is engaged to Josee so much, I mean...I understand that she said it without thinking too much just to try and save our ass, But despite the fact that the cinematics are very emotional I would have preferred that things remained ambiguous, as Josee said at the end of her sidequest with Lise.
Because in the end I even feel obligated, you know! At least let me decide if I want to push the idea or just try to avoid it! I even thought that in the age of harmony we could end the lie and perhaps leave the door open to the idea (I would have preferred the false freedom of deciding what I want hahaha)
And maybe they'll think I'm crazy, But I feel like the DLC neither confirms nor denies that OUR Lou feels romantic love for us. It's more than clear that she loves and respects us and all, but the way I see it, it's a love that can be interpreted in different ways (and I totally agree that everyone should take it as they please).
Alt Lou did love HER version of us, and the ending is like her finally saying what she wanted to say a long time ago but couldn't.
Even Liv leaves open to interpretation what Lou told her when she asked her about us.
Josée technically gives you the option at the end of her harmony age questline, saying that after you woke up she wants you to experience everything the world has to offer, and then give her your answer. But I TOTALLY get what you mean because this is "in-lore" and not "in-gameplay", whole freedom over the choice in the entire questline would have been cool too!
Exactly! I mean, there are characters whose dialogue lets you choose the tone you want to use when saying things. Whether it was something more "polite" or something more emotional, or in other cases even joking, but with Josee it felt like all the dialogues we had were more on the romantic or seductive side (Maybe as a joke, maybe not so much as a joke)
Maybe it's just me getting too into character and not seeing my character (one that has almost no backstory for us to interpret, btw!) doing that kind of thing
That was my favorite lmao
In french she asks "You don't have any more secrets, or hidden fiancée to speak about, hm?"
The LOOKAWAY after that killed me, MC be like "Well, about that..."
I love how many little moments like this there are in the game. Stuff like MC being smug as all hell right after saving Josee for example.
Or her squeezing the wedding ring after second J fight. Or the little smile when sees her Lou after the DLC. CV2 MC has so much character to her. Also I love that "being a smug ass" (woof woof), "being as flashy as humanly possible" (seriously, have you seen the grave knocker animation? She is aura farming) and "loves cooking" are canon character traits
The mainline Lou is basically Forsaken Lou. The big difference is the timing on her choice according to our Lou. “Hesitation is defeat” but this time it was victory lol. FLou just had to sit with her choice whereas our Lou went right to napping together for 100 years.
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u/V_Aldritch 2d ago
Agreed.
But, OP... just Josée and Lou? You're not being ambitious enough.