First time seeing this one and I’m really impressed. I had to get myself in the mindset of a teenager because you write teen reactions to events very well, to the point where I was face palming at some of the choices they make.
I started off on a negative footing with Chase being resentful of him basically abandoning us, and he proved me right as the story went on (I ended up with Rank 0 negative 58% relationship), but I’m really curious how that changes if you basically hero worship him.
I like the way romance is playing out as well. Basically innocent, but taken very seriously by all involved. The drama between Jay and Reem came across as peak teen relationship drama. I ended up rebuffing Jay at first but eventually crushing on him, though I think my next playthrough I want to harbor a secret crush for Carsen, or at least starting to realise it as he grows more serious after the mutant attack.
Speaking of the mutant attack, it seems strange for a society that is rebuilding and trying to reclaim the wilderness from mutants that they wouldn’t celebrate students that defended their school from a mutant attack. I would have expected the adults to use the opportunity as PR and use the students that fought back as an example of what they want people to be. Instead there isn’t any real mention of the students fighting back (either Carsen and I in the library or the other group in the gymnasium).
“We’ve always been close, and you’ll always be my brother…but our relationship ends there. I’m not a parent; why do I have to be the one to raise you? My job is my happiness, it’s all that I am…if staying a Soldier meant sending you to an orphanage, I would’ve done it in a heartbeat.”
Jesus fucking christ, you went hard there. Not sure if you mean to completely torch Chase as a sympathetic figure. Even more so than the potential hitting you thing, this makes Chase seem like a monster. Potentially lashing out at someone physically, though stopping yourself before you actually hit them, is more reasonable to me than saying that to them.
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I think their focus is more on keeping order than creating heroes or propaganda and mutants are so dangerous that you can’t risk a bunch of teenagers trying to play heroes and ending up opening the city to be attacked because you made Mutant Hunting too glamorous.
Also their society doesn’t seem very PR-focused, unlike our modern world where glorified advertising is everything all the time thanks to social media.
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Yeah I tend to agree with this, apparently this city MC is in is not military oriented city, I think the story do mention the rival city which is specializing in militaristic approach I forgot the name, what I remember is this rival city is more or less equal with MC city it just the rival sometimes lose and sometimes MC city lose the competition.
Spoiler
This event is actually putting the city official to shame because the academy is one of safest place and most secure part of the city, not to mention this part that getting mutant attack is where the “elementary and middle school”, this pose security threat and put city official in difficult situation because this part of student is not in any way proficient in combat.
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The fact the KIDS handled some of the mutants just make them look even worse.
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@Dragomer @G_Kagara I did add school to the title, thanks for the suggestion! The apocalypse seems less predominant since the first book takes place within the safety of a city, but there will be more of an apocalyptic setting as the characters explore outside of Gallandor later on in the series. Trying to find a middle ground between advertising the contents of the 1st book and the games as a whole has proven to be a challenge!
@anon12679161 I’m very glad you liked it! It’s been both fun and a challenge to keep characters and romance as teenage as possible, so the frustration is very satisfying 
It seems like the Anti-Chase sentiment is growing, a rant thread will soon be formed!
All good points with how the higher-ups are/should react to the mutant attack from all 3 of you!
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Random question but how would a Scavenger and a Soldier be kitted out? How similar / different is their actual battle equipment?
Personally so far I’ve imagine Scavengers as NCR Rangers while Soldiers as Brotherhood of Steel members.
On a side note, I just realized: We were punished for god knows how many hours for not trusting the school to keep us safe, only to end up having to fight mutants within the school by ourselves, an event they still have 0 clue how to stop from happening again. I feel like we’re owed reparation.
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Scavengers wear very tight fitting armor that prioritize agility over protection. That’s mostly due to them having to travel long distances and avoiding mutants rather than fighting them. They have a lot of pockets/storage space for supplies, but still need to remain light enough to not sacrifice speed. I always imagined they wear a partial mask along the lines of these pictures, expect not as bulky and more futuristic as its a screen that scans for mutants.
Soldiers are basically on point! They’re tank-like with heavy armor and machinery that can both pack a punch and receive one.
In my opinion, I would have all of the faculty serve equal amounts of detention time that the students did, but I’ll have to take it up with Dean Matthews first
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Does’t give much confidence on what they’re teaching, either.
Sounds like I need to replay, I haven’t seen the newest content.
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I know that they aren’t combat roles, but do scientists and diplomats wear any specific uniforms or carry specific weaponry? Like, do scientists wear special hazmat suits while researching mutants or do diplomats receive weapon training of any kind to protect themselves from potential assassins/mutants while traveling between cities?
For scientists, it depends on which division! Developing technology might require the cliche lab coat, while the requirement for mutant testers depends on the type of mutants since they vary tremendously. Hazmat suits would be needed for potentially toxic or dangerous ones.
Diplomats just wear uniforms representing Gallandor. Soldiers are assigned as bodyguards during trips.
The Big Four have kind of taken a back seat due to current circumstances, but they’ll be back in full force in the second game. Just talking about it is getting me excited 
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I have questions, do we as reader can choose whatever branch here? Seems like there is multiple speciality in the academy.
Or is it locked to certain route later?
If you’re talking about Scavengers, Soldiers, Scientists, and Diplomats then you won’t be locked into anything anytime soon. You will go on field trips eventually and can choose between the four, going back and forth to whatever interests you the most without consequence.
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Uh, I haven’t read yet but being 13 years old and having romance options?
Kinda sus ngl
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That’s… a really weird statement. Teenagers have romantic feelings. It’s kind of a defining feature of adolescence navigating the new feelings of romantic attraction (for most people - shout out to my ace homies).
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Yeah but that’s very boardline teenager. Idk just seems WAY too young for RO’s to be introduced.
I don’t know what your childhood was like but I think I was seven or so the first time an adult asked me if a girl I was friends with was my girlfriend. I was preteen (11 or twelve) the first time I had a real crush. Admittedly I’m gay so actual dating started later for me, but I had friends who were “dating” at 13 or 14, which basically meant that they were a guy and girl that sat together at lunch time and went to the movies together, usually as part of a group.
You reading “kinda sus ngl” into it is you conflating romance and sex/sexual attraction. Doing so without actually reading the story, which frames the romances as essentially innocent, is what is kinda sus.
EDIT: I guess all that is to say, just read it and then judge.
If you AREN’T conflating sex and romance then your statement seems even weirder. What on earth is “kinda sus” about teenagers being in a purely non sexual relationship?
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Nah just making a story about such a young kid is weird including romance is all.
I didn’t say anything about “sexual attraction”, idk where you got that from, weird to think about man.
And i admitted to not reading the story, just seemed weird without any context surrounding the RO’s
It’s perfectly normal and reasonable for thirteen-year-olds to be interested in and seeking out romance.
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It’s called crush I believe, not that way romance.
