Finished LiS 2 for the first time
I'm writing this post to share my experience as I finished LiS 2 for the first time, sorry if my grammar isn't good, English is not my first language. Throughout my LiS 2 save, my version of Sean and Daniel went through many changes. I raised Daniel throughout their journey in episode 1 and 2 in a less strict way. Like, I spent more than I intended on the claw machine because I wanted to give Daniel a little happiness. I tried my best to balance surviving while still making Daniel still feel like a kid. But as I reached episode 3, Daniel got distant and refused to listen to my version of Sean that I became more conscious on how he acts. Somehow I leaned more on correcting Daniel and telling him what to do and not to do.
Throughout my save I was very determined to get the brothers to Puerto Lobos but as Sean and Daniel were about to cross the border, Daniel began questioning Sean what will happen to them in Puerto Lobos. He asked Sean what will he do there because he can't speak Spanish, I made Sean say that he'll teach Daniel but those questions of Daniel really sticks to me because throughout the story, Daniel expressed how he's tired of running away because throughout our journey, he built relationships like his friendship with Chris. It made me realize that I've been so focused on getting the brothers out of America that I didn't think about Daniel's life would be after they escaped. I also began to realize that Puerto Lobos might give Sean and Daniel the freedom from the life they're running from but at the same time, reaching Puerto Lobos will also take the life Daniel has built along the way. Chris became his best friend, he got to know his grandparents and he got to experience what its like to have a mom. After everything that Daniel has lost, those relationships became part of the little world he managed to build during our journey.
There's also the other side where I feel like, surrendering or giving up going to Puerto Lobos is like betraying Sean. Throughout the story, I watched him struggle but he kept going because he believed that there's something better waiting for him. It made me so conflicted in episode 5 but in the end I got the ending where Sean escaped to Puerto Lobos while Daniel chose to stay behind. The ending I got made me realize that freedom for one person doesn't necessarily mean the same thing as freedom for one another and I think that's what makes the ending I got so bittersweet.
But even if the Diaz brothers are separated, Sean gets freedom from the life that was chasing him and Daniel gets freedom from having to run. Neither brother gets the future they originally imagined but both get a chance to have a future. Maybe they didn't get to live their new lives together. But they both finally got to live.