okay, i came back to share my full thoughts because my last comment was made when i finished playing through the routes at like 4am... but prepare for the LANE yappathon because i have sooo much to say. spoilers as well. i thiiink.
lane is one of those characters that seriously annoy the shit out of you then gives you whiplash when they come through when you like really need it. i honestly dont know if i'd touch a man like lane irl with a 20ft pole, but i do appreciate his depth in this game. its an unfortunate reality that some men irl do genuinely believe that sexist jokes are funny, but lane makes it a biiiit more bearable in the fictional world by being hot and having such sweet moments that had me pulling back from computer and pinching myself to make sure i was reading his dialogue correctly.
as we got to learn more about lane, it really helped me understand him a bit more. he strikes me as the type that has been so deeply hurt that he wears this jester mask- constantly telling jokes to cope and hide his fear of being vulnerable. i have like.. mixed feelings about being able to blame him and call him names when he finally opens up and shares something vulnerable. especially since we as the player, shared our worst fear and lane wasn't one to tear us down about it. it just goes to show that even his jokes have boundaries which i can appreciate. even when he does go over the line i like how he seemingly reflects on it if we do express discomfort.
lane can be an asshole, but he's not a genuinely malicious one. which again, i can appreciate a lot. and i think that's what keeps me drawn to him and still floating over to his route without even thinking or realizing. but back my mini lane psychoanalysis. with people who constantly hide their true feelings and fear of being vulnerable behind jokes, i believe its important to take them seriously when they do open up and share something vulnerable. you gotta realise,, they wear this mask probably because they've had poor experiences with opening up in the past and the last thing you (i) want is to be the person that gives them a valid reason to keep wearing that mask. you can think of it like a hermit crab that peeks out of its shell during rare moments. but if you shame it or put it down, it'll just retreat back into its shell thinking "see? this is why i stay inside"
however a part of me does understand why we have the option to laugh lane off or put him down in a way. its because that's usually the reality of people who adopt a "clown" persona. people don't know when to take them seriously and it becomes a "the boy who cried wolf" situation. so i get it.
besides that.. lane is the type of mf to act nonchalant and go "yeah im nonchalant guys" even though he's so obviously seething over it. im sure (?) the biker boy gets jealous but i thiink he keeps it under wraps. when lane is jealous, this guy is a fucking landmine. someone HELP HIM. HELLLPPPP. (/ref) he will sit in your face and swear up and down that hes not jealous then have a yap off with a guy who is like semimute. he looked like the guy talking to a brick wall gif too. and that scene felt like watching a couple argue loudly in a fancy restaurant as like the waiter who just wants to know what their food order will be so they can escape back to the kitchen or literally ANYWHERE else. like lane.. bbygirl.. hes just standing there. what do you want from him?? crying emoji.
i voice the vns i play and the whole time i had to pause and just scream "why are the girls fightinggg!!!???" i was like.. lane i love u pooks, but you are about to end up on the 7am news "body found behind mad dog convenience store mangled and unrecognizable" like PLEASEEEE i cant save you once you are in the grave!!! save yourself !!!!!! then another apart of me was rating the roasts between the two. when we have the option to say we giggled at his insult towards biker boy, admittedly... i do be giggling. lane says the most ridiculous shit sometimes that i cant help BUT laugh and also im just a trashy girlthing that definitely laughs at the stupidest jokes. i dont even want to get into how i laughed for a solid 3 mins over lane putting B00BS and B00BIES in his calculator. im literally just a girl </3
but i be like... how does he even come up with shit like this? cause he just kept going!! like bae you're not even digging your own grave. you've dug a hole, placed the casket, and hopped in it, bracing yourself for death. his jealousy quite nearly got him killed. but ykw? thats very lane of him. of courseee he'd be the type of guy to let such an emotion get the best of him. but death by jealousy lane? please stop and think for a minute!! but i think he might need two mins cause you never know with him really.
proud to say i was giggling like a school girl and kicking my feet when i got the dare option with lane. beecasueeee!!!! his heartbeat will say all the things he cant!!!!! and the piercings... likeeee what are you trying to get into by telling me that lane? and our little banter when recalling slapping him. talking about how i could collar him and he would bark if i told him to. lane... you should've started with that from the very beginning. he's truly a man after my heart after saying that. and now i need him oiled up on the stockroom cardboard boxes because he needs to be plowed. now, he could've been joking about bottoming, but after joking about being the gf in the relationship.. it might have a little truth behind it orrrr im just pulling the craziest things out of my mind thats been infected with bottom! lane. but i love a good bratty bottom. once again... im just a girllll </33333 needless to say he will be living in my mind rent free until im in my own grave.
and i definitely clicked on him during free roam so many times until i exhausted any other unique dialogue options.
i could say so much more about this man in the intimate sense, but i shall keep the rest to myself. anywaysss tdlr is.. i love lane even though he makes me wanna rip out my hair and gouge out my eyes sometimes... to the point where some of his sexist comments made me need to stand up and walk a lap in my room to calm down. oh and bottom lane supremacy because im shameless.
edit: i have over 140 screenshots of lane.. i think its over for me.....