Post by randaleous in Echo: Route 65 comments

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Just as a heads-up, this will be slightly spoilery.

Asking for this is blatantly ignoring the entire theme of his route. It's about letting the past go. Hence the recurring theme of the anchor as an ominous figure. Both endings indeed leave heavy feelings, but that's the point. If you want an ending where Leo and Chase get back together, you get a train wreck. No matter how cute they can be together, at the end of the day, their relationship is not a healthy one, and because of the nature of the issues, it would be almost impossible for them to work through them while being together.

A_Bad_Idea4 years ago(+10)

I totally agree.

The whole story is just a shocking reality check. A reminder that nostalgia isn't real. Nostalgia is a fucking liar, that makes us cling to a past that never really existed. Endlessly chasing a feeling that we can never recapture.

It's easy to hold on to the idea that things will go back to the way they were. But you can't. It's hard, and it's painful, but you have to admit that that thing you had is gone and it's never coming back.
When you break up with him it is excruciating to see Leo and Chase so utterly destroyed by the acknowledgement that it's over but it finally allows them both to move on with their lives instead of clinging desperately to a dream that was never going to happen.

And the epilogue shows that they are finally healing. Yeah, Leo cried himself to sleep every night for almost two years. And Chase is still suffering from sever PTSD from what happened in Echo. And that pain will likely never leave them. But at least they're looking forward now, to what could be. Instead of backward, trying to recapture what was.

Even though every part of me wanted to see hem happy together, I recognise that it just won't work. Even though they both still love each other, they both have issues that they simply cannot push past if they don't let that part of themselves go.

I think that Leo could be a great boyfriend. Just not for Chase. And I think Chase could be a great boyfriend. Just not for Leo.
Not anymore.

Th3WayrVvolf3 years ago (1 edit) (+1)

I hate to admit it, but that last part was utterly beautiful in a bittersweet, melancholic sort of way.

"[I]f they don't let [...] go," is the condition for an irrepairable relationship. If they did let go, there could be hope.

An adage: old chapters close and new ones open. I agree, Chase and Leo could never return to the good old days; the past stays in the past, but by no means is nostalgia "fake". They did have a history, and they could create a future together if they remember said good old days AND commit to changes that improves their relationship. Open communication and willingness to be vulnerable are keys to their closed doors.

A_Bad_Idea3 years ago (1 edit) (+3)

I'll admit I was kinda going through some shit when I wrote my initial comment. So I will clarify by saying that nostalgia is real, and can absolutely be a good thing (in fact it is psychologically necessary) but it can also sometimes lead to an unhealthy romanticization of the past. I do think that Chase and Leo could still have a future together, but it would take a great deal of work on both their parts, especially after the events of Leo's arc. I believe that the healthiest option is for them to admit that though they still love each other a relationship is simply not in the cards.

I won't say it's impossible. The romantic in me still believes in the power of what they had but I think that the ultimate moral of this story is "you gotta know when to fold 'em". That as painful as it might be, sometimes (not all the time, but sometimes) the best thing you can do is let go, move on, and try something new.

I was talking to a friend about Echo and I summarised the relationship like this: "Contrary to popular belief, love is not all you need. You also need trust and communication. Leo is bad at trust, and Chase is bad at communication." And therein I think we can identify a formula for fixing their relationship. And if you want to follow that line of thought then go ahead. I'd like to believe that there is hope, I'd like to believe that love can withstand anything. But ultimately we all take away what we need from a work of fiction, and at the time I personally really needed a story about letting go of the past.

I hope you are well, and I hope I didn't cause too much of a stir with my first comment, I was in a fairly emotionally charged state at the time of writing.

randaleous3 years ago(+1)

I was myself a bit harsh when I wrote my initial comment. I was rather irritated from seeing the work the author put into doing something original and thoughtful and most comments on the situation being only requests for Leo and Chase to end up together.

What I meant at the end by "almost impossible while they're together" is that they tend to keep each other in chains while they're near each other. They're a bit too taken into nostalgia and honeymooning to take the issues seriously until it becomes overwhelming. They could go to couple's therapy or something, but I don't really see them making that decision until they've reflected on what happened and grown more, and I'd see them only be able to do their personal growth while apart.

I don't think it is actually impossible for them to be together, but the thing that would mostly aggravate me about such an end being present is that it would reinforce the feeling of that ending being the "good ending" and the others being the "bad/normal endings", demeaning their value in the end, as the true goal would be to find a way to have them be together. I am a hopeful romantic at my core, and I was pining for them to be together, until I saw the ending and reflected on what lead to it. I just think such an ending would be a disservice to the overall narrative.

If someone wrote a fanfiction about them working through their issues and maturely growing to become a functional couple, I'd be all for it, but I don't think it's the type of narrative most common for fanfiction unfortunately. I still don't think it would be the best to include it within the game itself.

Th3WayrVvolf3 years ago(-1)

Says "letting the past go," but Chase chose to return to Echo! Ohhh, the irony! Some of us do not deny the theme of Leo's route. We simply want the two to be happy. I respect realists to be doubtful, but I also appreciate optimists to be hopeful. Also, have you ever heard of couples' counseling?

itch.io

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