nelioe

[nelioe]

Drawing our Queen! I'm so happy she's back 🥰

[nelioe]

"You're usually very quid pro quo".

[nelioe]

Readers, make sure you have all your favourite Ao3 fics downloaded.

Writers, make sure you have copies of all the fics you have posted on Ao3.

I don’t want to be alarming, but things could get really bad really fast. OTW shared this today on Twitter, and I'm a bit worried about it 😅

Ao3 is a non-profit organisation. If they have to start paying taxes, I have no idea what will happen.

[nelioe]

How do you think Max and Vinh's relationship will evolve right after the end of the game? Do you think they will start something serious?

Hi, Friend 🥰

I think they'll start off slow in the first few weeks/months because they've both had been tied down to past relationships for so long and only decided to fully move on towards the end of the game.

it's hard to jump right in after that, so they need time with this new relationship and want to be careful not to hurt one another, explore those fellings slowly and let it grow on its own.

It's worth noting that Vinh only sleeps around to cope with his problems and in hopes/waits for Safi. It was more attachment than love and, by the end of the game, he's learned to let go (of Safi, the abraxas, his past behavior).

Just like Max, who's been alone all these years believing she deserves it after the damage she feels responsible for. But over the course of the game comes to the conclusion that she's allowed to be happy with someone else.

So now that those issues have been addressed, I do think they're both ready to heal and start a more serious relationship.

[nelioe]

gonna be so honest this shook me to my core

[nelioe]

shibuya

[nelioe]

Great langfield edit:

[nelioe]

Them looking at each other at the same time gives me so much bellarke vibes. Sorry, I miss this feeling 🥹

She has to go "save the world" but Vinh wants her to stay and she's hesitant to leave him ♥️

[nelioe]

the urge to write never leaves but the motivation to do so is a lover lost at war

[nelioe]

"I assumed was a not-so-subtle hint." - Max Caulfield flirting with Vinh Lang in Life Is Strange: Double exposure.

[nelioe]

okay, i need to get your thoughts on the alive world version of vinh because he is so much harder to read compared to his dead world counterpart in my opinion. he still seems to be attracted to max obviously, but their relationship definitely feels a lot more distant in this reality. also the whole cow skull thing still confuses the shit out of me lol

i definitely agree that alive world vinh is … difficult, overall. he’s extremely dismissive and i think his persona is more firmly in place within that timeline than the dead one, simply because safi isn’t currently deceased. living world vinh, to me, is exactly who everyone normally sees and has seen consistently since his time as abraxas president and yasmin’s assistant ; still riding the waves of learned arrogance and keeping himself, as well as his personal life, on very stern lockdown. this is the man diamond loathes and it’s this very distant, disingenuous flirty and apathetic attitude that has kept him where he wants to be, while also simultaneously driving everyone who could want a real connection with him far away. basically, he is hard to read because his mask is still perfect! it hasn’t really moved an inch, and i think that’s exactly why a lot of his interactions with max feel fake or not nearly as good as they otherwise do -- it’s important that max kisses dead world vinh and not living world vinh because the vinh who’s experienced the death of someone he thought he loved is also the vinh who’s actually opened up to her. he is vulnerable and cracking all over, and he’s sort of spilling out everywhere without anyone to help him, because vinh lang doesn’t get like this ; you can constantly hear the abraxas kids wondering if he’s faking his declining mental health because it is that unlike him. this is a new side people haven’t really seen and it’s vinh’s true and earnest and messy self, spurred into honesty and surrender by the binge drinking as well as max’s coaxing presence. this is a vinh who has lost one of the last things that has ever mattered to him and is being forced to actually stare at his actions, what he’s done, and is able to feel every emotion he’s probably been repressing for the last four years. suddenly the mask feels silly, as does his job, because now his only friends are dead and vinh has nothing to show for it besides his miserable, puffy face. he acts recklessly, like there is nothing to lose, like he’s done with caring about the trivial things he used to prioritize, and it makes complete sense why he would.

living world vinh hasn’t lost safi, so he hasn’t actually been forced to reckon with his actions or his feelings just yet. everything with him is still a charade and he’s not exactly opening his arms for max because, frankly, he is incapable of doing so at this point in time. he’s certainly still enamored with her to a degree, as you’ve said, but a vinh who is still preforming and hiding from everyone isn’t a man that max could kiss, let alone someone she could actually connect to or hang out with. he is meaner than he is in the other timeline because he still believes he has everything to lose, and max constantly finds herself butting against his multiple walls and quickly growing impatient and irritated with him as well. i think for max it’s a mixture of not understanding why vinh behaves this way when she’s seen his softer, more honest side, along with a general distaste for the persona he’s obnoxiously embodying. he is very flirty! but he isn’t always genuine about it … and that’s not mentioning how curtly he dismisses her mere presence, shooing her away like some child or a stranger whenever he’s ‘too busy’ for her, and not exactly taking anything she says seriously ; it always has to be a fake advance, a joke, some harmless, cute banter … meanwhile other vinh is the one whining at her to stay, saying he likes her, grabbing her hands and asking if she has to leave … it is a dichotomy, but an understandable one. there is a vinh who’s so emotional that he can no longer maintain his images, and thus can resort to begging and confessing and clinging, and then there’s a vinh who most definitely wants those things but is still in control of himself and is practicing a very strict lifestyle, and thus cannot bring himself to cling to max like he would otherwise. he is devoted to the life he’s carefully and meticulously structured, is still serving yasmin loyally, and is still firmly believing in the idea that heavy sacrifices have to be made in order to live comfortably. hence his more odd and less endearing behavior! i think it’s very hard to watch, and living world vinh can even grate on the player, because max and us can feel how fake it all is, how wooden. there are moments where living world vinh is genuine, where it’s a little obvious he is very much attracted to max, but it’s definitely something he talks and works around -- something he avoids taking more seriously because vinh lang can’t take that risk. plus, living world vinh is stressed out of his mind with rescheduling yasmin’s calendar, trying to cover for yasmin’s involvement in safi’s book deal being cancelled, and is still running against diamond for the debate. again, here is a man who believes the stakes are life and death! he is a little short tempered and impatient, more so than dead world vinh, but that’s to be expected with his position.

now, the cow skull thing is uh, it sure is something. i’m still replaying double exposure, but as far as i understand it’s essentially something like : vinh knows what yasmin did and knows that safi will find out eventually, given her hellbent nature and the contents of the book itself, so he tries to at least stall her somewhat, constructs a crazy, half baked plan to frame lucas for a short while, just so yasmin has more time to cover her tracks, perhaps. he grabs the cow skull and breaks off the part that has lucas’s name written on it because he’s hoping safi will investigate it -- and he believes lucas would try to obscure his name before committing a literal crime. it is certainly very desperate of him and more than a little irrational, lol, so i can excuse it not making much sense. i doubt vinh was thinking when he decided to do this plan! he was probably just gripped by some insane need to help safi somehow, but knows he can’t do it in a way that matters, so more lies and misdirections it is! personally, i find it hilarious that max can call vinh’s temporary insanity with the cow skull ‘oddly dark but romantic’ … i suppose his brand of devotion is something she’s more than a little into, sort of, which makes me chuckle. but i digress. thank you so much for the question! and i hope this answer made sense, or at least tickled your brain somewhat.

[nelioe]

hello!! since u are one of the very few people i've seen that ships vinh/max, can i ask for any romantic hcs u have?? thanks!!

Hi, friend. Thanks for the ask 🥰

I've been thinking about so many headcanons with them. From the heavy, angsty ones to some more silly/clichés ones. I think I'll choose some fun ones so the post doesn't get too long:

They have movie nights almost every week.

At first, Max was a little hesitant to reveal her taste in movies, because she knew Vinh was a fan of big Oscar-winning dramas, while she preferred low-budget horrors, slashers, and maybe, depending on the mood, a few rom-coms.

Max’s concerns were allayed once she realized that he loves movies in general. As an actor, Vinh loves analyzing others actors' performances, expressions and range, in all types of films, so even if a genre isn't his cup of tea, he still finds ways to genuinely enjoy it. So they can have fun no matter what they're watching.

Their first real date was a disaster.

Their Uber got a flat tire on the way; they arrived late for their restaurant reservation and had to wait in line; there was a noisy table next to theirs, with people so loud they could barely talk without being interrupted; they missed half of the movie session; they barely got a ride back home and had to walked or wait ages in the cold;

Every little thing that could go wrong, did go wrong that night.

But you know what? They loved it.

Max didn't think about trying to use her powers even once, nor did Vinh think about asking her to, because, despite their bad luck, they loved every second they spent together and had fun even struggling to make it work. Their company was always the highlight of their relationship, no matter the occasion.

I don't know who would say "I love you" first, but I do think it would slip out as an accident.

They'd be casually chatting about their day-to-day lives over a drink or two and a "just because I love you" (or something along those lines) would come out naturally and they'd barely notice until they got home and realized, "Oh shit, did he/she really just say that?"

Then they'd start freaking out because they didn't say it back and end up texting all night trying to bring it up.

Max was nervous about their first time.

As far as we know, she has much less experience with men than women, added to how Vinh seems to have a lot of experience over all, she ended up overthinking a little too much about everything.

Of course, that was just her initial thought. When the moment came, Max insecurities were put aside by the way Vinh always knows how to make her feel comfortable - both of them really - and how much they cared and love each other. So the intimacy they shared feels just like a natural step in their relationship.

Max and Vinh have the best pillow talk.

Always being able to talk about absolutely anything late at night: from her cross-country trips to Vinh's family stories; sharing experiences about the storm, lost friends, traumas or unimportant everyday things; and no matter how dark or light-hearted the topic is, in the end they always manage to make each other laugh, or even just feel comfortable with what they shared.

And here it is. I hope you like it 🥰

[nelioe]

not even a fan of double exposure as a whole but y’all are really sleeping on the max x vinh ship (langfield). like, the angst?? the flirtatious banter?? the fact that vinh literally admitted to max that he was jealous of her and safi’s closeness due to his own unhealthy infatuation with the latter?? like omg

[nelioe]

[nelioe]

life is strange: double exposure chapter 1: still life

[nelioe]

"Do you have to go?"

[nelioe]

Why ship langfield? Not judging, just curious.

there are many reasons! if it helps, i wasn’t expecting to ship them either … i was much more into amanda or gwen as romance options, or as people max could pine after. but i’ve realized pretty quickly after my first playthrough that my initial strong distaste of vinh was more so due to the lis fandom’s very, very old desire to make out every man in the first game as some stalker incel rather than anything concrete. and after replaying the first game only a couple days ago, i was only proven right -- warren, another one of max’s old love interest, recieved similar harsh treatment by fans for years. he became so weighed down by the fandom’s extremely unfavorable and biased view of him that it was almost shocking to see how he actually was in game. he wasn’t a pervert or an incel or even a stalker ( unlike, for example, eliot in bts ) … he was a boy who had a crush and was nothing but respectful to max about it, loyal to her even when he knew she didn’t care for him that way, and never asking for anything more. all of this is to say that max’s male love interests have always been treated like ‘creeps’ by default, due to a majority of the fandom wanting everyone else to prioritize their ship instead, a phenomenon which worked in pricefield’s favor for years and years. they pushed warren fans out, they killed that ship via falsehoods and criticism, and that’s just how things were.

once i started to warm up to vinh, which instinctively made me drop my old reservations towards male love interests for max, i realized pretty quickly this would not only be the highlight of the game for me, but also my otp of lis overall. for starters, i enjoy that he is very flawed and complicated! i like characters that aren’t easy to understand upon first viewing, ones that need some elbow grease to fully comprehend … and vinh lang is, in my opinion, someone who needs to be unraveled and exposed ; he’s a man whose initial ego and arrogance is nothing but a shield and a persona, a mask, and the real version of him is buried deep beneath those faux attitudes and expensive attire. lis wasn’t being subtle when they made vinh an actor, considering rachel’s whole thing was acting too : with the gist of her entire character being a variety of masks and costumes and airs. she is incomprehensible on the surface, almost incoherent in her actions, but one thing that’s crystal clear to the player is that she is a girl who’s deeply in pain, and is wary of exposing said wounds and hurt to others for valid reasons. while rachel and vinh don’t have many parallels, they do share the ‘star dazzling actor’ thing, and thus … vinh lang, president of the abraxas secret society and administrative assistant to yasmin, is hardly a real person at all. he is a concept, mostly. something the undergrads can worship and some sort of otherworldy keeper of secrets -- his ‘mysterious’ side is a purposefully constructed wall that keeps people out, much like safi and ( at this point in her life ) max herself. besides his association with his own secret club, vinh isn’t really close to anybody anymore. i doubt it’s common knowledge that vinh came from nothing and had to work his way through an impoverished future, that his parents own a liquor store he was potentially doomed to slave away at despite graduating from caledon. and even more importantly, not many people seem to know that he was some follower of maya’s and safi’s dynamic ; described literally as a lost puppy following them around, directionless and perhaps smitten. hell, if you told anyone that vinh kept photos of safi in his phone and slept with her once or twice, they’d think you’re crazy. vinh lang isn’t known for being sentimental or particularly attached to anything except his arcane and mystery, much less genuinely caring for other people … his love for others is easily given away and taken back, with many of the abraxas kids ( including reggie, to a degree ) going back and forth on whether he loves them, or if they hate him, or if it’s all the above. his personhood is lost in translation, misconstrued, everything he posts or does detached in some manner. and i find that fascinating!

( my partner said that they don’t think vinh has ever outgrown his otherness, that he still feels like he doesn’t belong at caledon naturally, so he keeps up an act at all times to seem as though it’s his natural habitat instead -- like he rules it effortlessly, without doubt or insecurity, as if it’s always been his playground and not some scary, foreign planet. and i think this is very apt for his character )

amanda is endearing in her own way too, of course! even when she lost my favor in the romance department, i still found myself enjoying her company and wanting her around. but … she is a bit too healthy for me, honestly. is too put together and seems to be following life via her therapist’s advice at all times. it’s not bad, per se, but it isn’t up my alley! while i deeply respect amanda for putting her and max on ice twice, for knowing that was the right call to make for her own comfort, i also think it’s a bit unfair too. i don’t think i want max to be stuck waiting around for someone while crushed by the knowledge that her powers are a problem, especially when this can already prove to be an issue with chloe as well. it’s sort of a tender, bruised baggage piece already ; she has never loved her power nor has made proper peace with it, always viewing it as a curse or something she must accept for a greater good, it has killed her most cherished loved one or has leveled an entire town full of poor souls, and it is undeniably frightening, even to max. she is sort of insecure about it, a little uneasy, as is safi, and even alex from true colors. they are not proud of it! safi’s delusion towards the end of the game sounds like someone who so desperately wants to believe their powers are something other than destructive and life ruining … and max laments multiple times about how hers has only caused her heartbreak and death. while it’s understandable that amanda needs space to think on it, i also believe max deserves to be accepted readily and without thought. this isn’t exactly easy for her either, and i think amanda has been taught to always prioritize herself over other people … a fair lesson to carry, certainly, but this leaves max aching and unsure in turn. i don’t want her to be responsible for winning amanda back! i do not think she should have to, when she’s still fragile and vulnerable herself ; having been flayed open by safi and previous triggers, spending most of the storm trapped within her own personal hell, brought down again and again, without help or assistance. i usually go with a max who sacrifices chloe too, which adds to this profound sense of loneliness ghosting over her like a kiss she never got. as someone who loves her dearly, i want max caulfield to have someone who sees her power and doesn’t shy away from it, who embraces it, and every jagged, ugly piece of her too. who doesn’t care about the mess at her feet. who would help her clean it up, their own issues be damned. but also someone who wouldn’t abuse it or try to control it, or even really ask for something from max power-wise.

vinh lang, in my eyes, is that kind of person. him writing that post on crosstalk about how max saved him and how badly he hopes she keeps him around … the way he so eagerly hugs her in the aftermath, without one doubt in his mind, after missing her wholeheartedly ever since they parted ways -- after he sends her text after text, scared, nudging her gently, wanting her assurance and quietly exposing every raw nerve in the meantime, something that we know is very hard for him to do … and he doesn’t say anything about their kiss, nor does he admit his hopes out loud ( perhaps frightened to do so, when he’s clung to things that didn’t want him before ), but he cheekily comments on new horizons while staring at her fondly, full to the brim with yearning. looked at max when she told him to focus on the present as if she was his answer to that. he clings to her! and max notoriously loves clingy people, i mean, look at chloe and warren. everything between vinh and max is passionate but light, breezy, something fun and uplifting yet still earnest. it is not some burdensome weight they are crumbling under, or some poisonous addiction that has them coming back for seconds, because they can’t imagine anything else -- don’t know anything else outside of that good-awful feeling. i like when my ships are intense but emotionally healing, if that makes sense? i don’t want them to hurt each other, and i don’t think they will ; or, if they do, i believe vinh and max could smooth it over, fix it, would want to, which is new for vinh ( because safi never cared about him ) and max ( who’s too used to being the one fixing everything and anything, with barely anyone returning that favor ). plus, on a more lighthearted and stupid note, their scenes are absolutely choked with tension. vinh isn’t making shit up when he says they have barely contained sexual chemistry, honestly! their smash or pass scene had me giggling, kicking my feet, and twirling my hair because it was so shockingly good. i haven’t had a scene do that to me in a long time, so i’m more than a little charmed by these two because of it. who doesn’t want max to have a man who would bow to her if she told him to? or, in this case, a man who would cradle her hands so lovingly between his and ask so desperately if she really has to go, if she has to leave him, the unspoken please stay haunting the sudden chasm of space between them. but, unlike chloe, vinh isn’t angry when max does things he doesn’t like, and will let her go without much fuss. i like that! he will sulk, sure, but max isn’t punished or reminded of her many failings.

there is many more things to discuss, many more reasons why i ship them, why their dynamic works and why it entrances me, but i’ll leave it here for now. i’m still figuring them out myself, after all. though i’ll link this ramble i did here, as a fun little aside. enjoy! and thanks so much for the chance to gush about these two, even if just for a little bit.