[-Norbert-]

Spoiler:

I can't say I would have picked up Simms for a relationship of my own either, but the campaign makes it pretty clear how Laporte feels for her, and that is what makes the last briefing so sad for me. Not what happens to Simms, but how Laporte experiances it and feels about it.
A soldier who almost gave up on living suffering from severe radiation poisoning is sad but not exactly heartwrenching. A woman we came to know quite well dying (or at least getting very close to) in the arms of a person who loves her deeply is quite another matter. On top of that everything they worked, sweat and bled for was taken away from them in a matter of minutes. And with the falling out with her uncle and the wargods being almost completely wiped out, Simms is pretty much the only one Laporte has left... or more likely had left.

[Dilmah G]

First two lines of yours there explain what I tried to say a little earlier about it in more depth. Amen to the rest of what you said too.

[Dr. Pwnguin]

I guess it makes me evil that I killed the hostage :-/

[Snail]

Spoiler:

And with the falling out with her uncle and the wargods being almost completely wiped out, Simms is pretty much the only one Laporte has left... or more likely had left.

Spoiler:

Wait, Laporte fell out with Brie? Was there a fiction viewer update I missed or something?

What about Kassim?

What about him?

Despite very limited screen time, he was one of my favorite characters.

[-Sara-]

I guess it makes me evil that I killed the hostage :-/

But she used to bring them cheries.. 

Glad I let her live.

[Fearless Leader]

Spoiler:

I also had trouble picturing myself as a lesbian, so every time I somebody said "Laporte" in my mind I would replace it with my name  ... also I would replace orders to stay away from cap ships with orders to take out beams so my cap ships could last longer I finished a lot of missions with my fighter below 5%. Doing this in 'Post Merdian' I was able to keep the miss jumped ship alive

[SomeGuyWithAName]

Hm, somehow the lesbian relationship reminded me of the ancient greek ideal of gay lovers being better warriors because they would care and fight for each other on the battlefield, of course that ideal had its roots in a time when wars were mostly hand-to-hand combat between rather small groups of nobles.

I thought it was overall fitting, and it didn't feel like it was just there to get some girl on girl action or forced like a "oh we are so progressive, lesbian love"-thing. The way they grew to love each other was believable against the backdrop of the war, or at least I think so.

But if you can't really get yourself to like it, I think this idea

Spoiler:

I also had trouble picturing myself as a lesbian, so every time I somebody said "Laporte" in my mind I would replace it with my name 

makes for an interesting alternative to the player.

(I just assume we don't have to use spoiler tags for everything in this thread, it is getting silly, so see this as a combo breaker)

[General Battuta]

Spoiler:

I also had trouble picturing myself as a lesbian, so every time I somebody said "Laporte" in my mind I would replace it with my name  ... also I would replace orders to stay away from cap ships with orders to take out beams so my cap ships could last longer I finished a lot of missions with my fighter below 5%. Doing this in 'Post Merdian' I was able to keep the miss jumped ship alive

Awesome. We really wanted to add a bonus objective for saving the Vilnius, but it was something we didn't have time for before release.

Hm, somehow the lesbian relationship reminded me of the ancient greek ideal of gay lovers being better warriors because they would care and fight for each other on the battlefield, of course that ideal had its roots in a time when wars were mostly hand-to-hand combat between rather small groups of nobles.

I thought it was overall fitting, and it didn't feel like it was just there to get some girl on girl action or forced like a "oh we are so progressive, lesbian love"-thing. The way they grew to love each other was believable against the backdrop of the war, or at least I think so.

But if you can't really get yourself to like it, I think this idea

Spoiler:

I also had trouble picturing myself as a lesbian, so every time I somebody said "Laporte" in my mind I would replace it with my name 

makes for an interesting alternative to the player.

(I just assume we don't have to use spoiler tags for everything in this thread, it is getting silly, so see this as a combo breaker)

Laporte was actually originally (way back in the alpha) a man named Pieter, and when he became a she (for a very important metatextual reason), Simms didn't become a man - partly because we felt male players would have a harder time identifying with a relationship with a male character.

[-Sara-]

Spoiler:

I also had trouble picturing myself as a lesbian, so every time I somebody said "Laporte" in my mind I would replace it with my name  ... also I would replace orders to stay away from cap ships with orders to take out beams so my cap ships could last longer I finished a lot of missions with my fighter below 5%. Doing this in 'Post Merdian' I was able to keep the miss jumped ship alive

Awesome. We really wanted to add a bonus objective for saving the Vilnius, but it was something we didn't have time for before release.

Hm, somehow the lesbian relationship reminded me of the ancient greek ideal of gay lovers being better warriors because they would care and fight for each other on the battlefield, of course that ideal had its roots in a time when wars were mostly hand-to-hand combat between rather small groups of nobles.

I thought it was overall fitting, and it didn't feel like it was just there to get some girl on girl action or forced like a "oh we are so progressive, lesbian love"-thing. The way they grew to love each other was believable against the backdrop of the war, or at least I think so.

But if you can't really get yourself to like it, I think this idea

Spoiler:

I also had trouble picturing myself as a lesbian, so every time I somebody said "Laporte" in my mind I would replace it with my name 

makes for an interesting alternative to the player.

(I just assume we don't have to use spoiler tags for everything in this thread, it is getting silly, so see this as a combo breaker)

Laporte was actually originally (way back in the alpha) a man named Pieter, and when he became a she (for a very important metatextual reason), Simms didn't become a man - partly because we felt male players would have a harder time identifying with a relationship with a male character.

So..

Spoiler:

So Laporte and Simms should be considered to be genuinely attracted to eachother as lesbians? Or is their attraction a matter of support and need for the other's strengths? (for example: two people who pull through a harsh period together may come to love and need eachother, without having a romantic relationship). Or is that up to the player to interpret?[/spoilers]

[General Battuta]

So..

Spoiler:

So Laporte and Simms should be considered to be genuinely attracted to eachother as lesbians? Or is their attraction a matter of support and need for the other's strengths? (for example: two people who pull through a harsh period together may come to love and need eachother, without having a romantic relationship). Or is that up to the player to interpret?[/spoilers]

There is nothing not genuine about their relationship - the fact that Laporte was once a male character doesn't mean we view the existing relationship as only in place 'as an accident'. It's as real as it would have been before.

But whether the relationship is romantic love or just really intense camaraderie or both is up to you.

[-Sara-]

Meant more so to say other factors than a close bond, did not mean to say if their relationship was genuine or not.

On a different note, interesting how people equally love and hate Steele according to the census there.

[Scotty]

Wanting him dead != hating him.

[-Norbert-]

Personally I'm torn between having a fighter vs. fighter duel against him, blowing up his flagship with him inside it or having him before a war-crimes tribunal and executed. But I seriously want him to die in WiH 2 and I want to be involved in his death, his capture or in aquiring the proof needed for the death sentence.
Allthough to be fair the worst war crime of the Tevs, the nuclear bombing of civilian areas on Luna, was committed by Severanti, not Steele. But Steele has enough innocent blood on his hands as well. Just think of all the refugee convoys he ordered destroyed!

Spoiler:

Wait, Laporte fell out with Brie? Was there a fiction viewer update I missed or something?

Spoiler:

It's not like a fight or anything, but when she writes about the dissolving of the Navajas in her diary, Laporte mentions how she isn't really sad about going different ways from him. It sounds like the two have grown apart because of the way she changed during the war. And while she mentions her ex wingmate Kassim in her diary twice, she not once mentions her (as far as we know) only living relative.
I might read more into it than is there, but that's how it looks to me.

[Droid803]

But Steele has enough innocent blood on his hands as well. Just think of all the refugee convoys he ordered destroyed!

If you've played The Blade Itself, then you'd know that the UEF don't exactly care about refugees/civillians either when it comes down to it.

Spoiler:

They'd rather sacrifice everyone on the station than hand it to the Tevs. Scorched Earth and all.

This is their own people too. Doesn't seem like either side really gives a damn about 'collateral damage'.

[The E]

Spoiler:

Note that the people on that station are military personnel or dependents thereof. They knew the risks when they agreed to be stationed there during wartime.

[General Battuta]

But Steele has enough innocent blood on his hands as well. Just think of all the refugee convoys he ordered destroyed!

If you've played The Blade Itself, then you'd know that the UEF don't exactly care about refugees/civillians either when it comes down to it.

Spoiler:

They'd rather sacrifice everyone on the station than hand it to the Tevs. Scorched Earth and all.

This is their own people too. Doesn't seem like either side really gives a damn about 'collateral damage'.

Spoiler:

In that particular case the argument can be (and indeed was) made that destroying this station would prevent more collateral damage in the near future by degrading GTVA warfighting ability. Don't try to make it too simple. And don't be fooled into confusing 'caring about something' with 'doing what is necessary' - the willingness to discard something in order to achieve a goal does not imply a lack of care for it.

[Fearless Leader]

Spoiler:

So, with Simms is out of the way, do you think that Laporte was going through a phase? Like if I (I'm a dude) were to defect from the GTVA, what would my chances be with her?

[QuantumDelta]

Spoiler:

So, with Simms is out of the way, do you think that Laporte was going through a phase? Like if I (I'm a dude) were to defect from the GTVA, what would my chances be with her?

At first I was like 
Then I was like 
Now I'm like  and  combined

[NGTM-1R]

Eh, I give it a resounding "meh" coupled with a "pyschopathic tendancies, do you really want to go there?"

[-Sara-]

No wonder the Shivans tried to exterminate humankind..