Sunkissed is one of the many stories under the Choices: Stories You Play collection.
Three women from the same family arrive at their summer house to enjoy their vacation, but will grief threaten to tear them apart?
Sunkissed includes examples of:
- Always Someone Better: Chapter 6 shows that even though Nate's a surfer, his brother Finn was always better.
- And Now for Someone Completely Different:
- Chapter 4 has a premium scene that allows you to see what happened between Alexis and Gayle at Bill's funeral.
- Chapter 9 has a premium scene that shows Gayle and Bill's wedding day.
- Chapter 10 has a premium scene that shows how Bill got the sweater that Alexis loves.
- Animal Motif: Turtles for Turtle Bay since they migrate there to lay their eggs every few years.
- The Bartender: Chapter 7 shows Eliana works as one to help fund the marine research station because of how little funding it gets.
- The Cameo: In a premium date with Nate in Chapter 10, you can either see Fireman: Inferno with Chris Winters, or A Timeless Heart with Ryan Summers and Cassandra Leigh.
- Beach Bury: After the sandcastle contest in a premium scene in Chapter 9, Aria does this to Nate. You have the option to give him muscles or give him a mermaid tail.
- Bear Hug: Bill used to give these to Alexis growing up that she can miss them now that he's gone.
- Aria can give one of these to Eliana in Chapter 10 when she says her research funding got approved.
- Bilingual Bonus: La Isla de las Cabras means "Island of Goats".
- Butt-Monkey: Mark is always getting into some form of accident in the story, first introduced getting tangled up in his paragliding cable. Chapter 9 has him falling over his own flip-flops in a premium scene. Chapter 17 subverts it by revealing he has become a new lifeguard, having saved one of the trainees having a panic attack when Aria was drowning.
- Bystander Syndrome: Chapter 12 has the lifeguard applicants be this when Aria gets pulled under, with one thinking it was all part of the test until she either comes up for air or Nate pulls her out.
- Corpsing: In-Universe in Chapter 15, a premium scene allows Aria and the gang to steal VIP passes for the concert they're at by distracting the bouncer. Samson nearly busts out laughing from Aria's acting.
- Covered in Gunge: Chapter 12 has this happen to Bob Beamer after he's thrown out of the Kersey house with the girls either throwing cans of paint either on his head or on his Italian leather shoes.
- Cuteness Proximity:
- Played straight in Chapter 5 as the sisters pass a pet shop and in the window are cute kittens. It's a premium choice to go in and play with them as well as a hamster and lizard.
- Played straight in Chapter 12 in a premium choice when Aria and Eliana go to help the baby turtles find their way to shore.
- Disqualification-Induced Victory: Played straight in Chapter 6 if you take the premium choice to blackmail the corrupt judge that he's being bribed by Chaz to vote in his favor. Since Sai has a good score, Chaz has to really step up his game but ends up wiping out.
- Dogs Are Dumb: Samson shows off that Pebbles is the kind of dog who responds to any name given to her, allowing the player to rename her whatever they want.
- Dolphins, Dolphins Everywhere: A premium date with Nate has him take Aria to a cove to see dolphins. Nate recognizes a particular dolphin by the nick in her fin and calls her Doris.
- Dreadful Musician: One of the things the Kersey sisters can remember is that dad was a bad singer, even singing louder if the girls told him to stop.
- Drives Like Crazy: Heathcliff must be this in Chapter 15 if you take the premium choice to take the jetski to the vet's office and he meets Aria and Eliana there around the same time they pull up.
- Dying Wish: Bill wants his family to fix the beach house up, though Mom wants nothing to do with it. It's also revealed he wants his ashes spread out in Turtle Bay.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Chapter 5 has Alexis have one when she realizes Gayle's only happy memory of Turtle Bay since coming back has been the painting at the museum, so they're gonna get it for her.
- Fire-Breathing Diner: Chapter 4 has a premium scene where Aria can sign up to judge a salsa contest along with the love interests Nate, Eliana and Samson. She can then bet one of them to see who lasts longest in a best of 3 in handling the heat with the winner getting a kiss. Aria can either keep her cool and power through the spice or she can just immediately grab the water, especially with the last one being the spiciest one that she could choke!
- First Girl Wins: Nate and Eliana serve as the boy/girl for this trope as the first ones you meet that you can date.
- Five Stages of Grief: Gayle has been going through this throughout the story. Throughout Bill's cancer, she was at Denial. After Alexis tries to play a video of him at his funeral, she angrily unplugs it showing she's at Anger. Her trying to not renovate the house as well as sell it is her in Bargaining. Her refusing to spread Bill’s ashes is Depression, and when she finally does agree to do it, she has reached Acceptance.
- Flipping the Bird: Chapter 12 has Aria able to give this to Bob Beamer if you select "Screw you!"
- Gameplay and Story Integration: In the premium date with Nate in Chapter 1, before letting Aria on the jet ski, he has her put on a lifejacket not just for safety, but also because the Lifeguard Association would fire him if he didn't follow protocol even off shift.
- Get Out!: In Chapter 12, Nate yells this at one of the lifeguard applicants, especially since he was closest to Aria when she was pulled in by riptide and did nothing to help her.
- Girl's Night Out Episode: Chapter 7 is the sisters getting Gayle out of the house, especially since she spent all of the last chapter looking over which paint to use.
- Gone Horribly Wrong: Chapter 11 has Aria's role as the "victim" in the lifeguard tryouts be this as she gets pulled into a riptide.
- Good-Times Montage: A premium scene in Chapter 4 shows Alexis played one of these at Bill's funeral about the fun times in their dad's life. While she meant it to lighten the funeral's spirits, it created a rift between her and her mother.
- Hairpin Lockpick: Chapter 13 has Aria do this to Samson's new store when they find he's been locked out.
- Hawaiian-Shirted Tourist: Bill always wore these, even when dying of cancer. A premium scene in Chapter 4 shows he wanted people to wear these at his funeral too.
- Hello, [Insert Name Here]: As always, you can name your character what you wish, though the default name is Aria Kersey.
- How Many Fingers?: One of the ways Aria can distract Mark while Nate works on his wound is by asking him how many fingers she's holding up, which is three.
- I Call It "Vera": The mechanical bull in Chapter 7 is called Old Curly.
- Iconic Song Request: Chapter 17 has Nate telling Aria he's been trying to get Samson to play "Free Bird" for 30 minutes.
- Implausible Deniability: During Bill's sickness, her mother would just utterly go on not believing he's dying of cancer until he was dead.
- Incredibly Lame Pun: Chapter 5 has Bob Beamer the realtor say he's the best one in the county who'll make you “beam” before he's cut off by an angry Alexis.
- Kiss of Distraction: Chapter 9 has Nate showing Aria how fast he is by daring her to get past him to the door. She can give him one of these and soon as he goes to hug her, she slips past him.
- Last-Name Basis: Nate calls Aria by this unless you kiss him in a premium date in Chapter 3.
- Losing a Shoe in the Struggle: During the ceremony to spread Bill's ashes in the bay, the family recalls a time when he took them canoeing and the canoe overturned; Alexis laments that the incident cost her her favorite pair of flip-flops.
- Message in a Bottle: Aria used to want to find one during her childhood, and it's in one that her father gives her before he died that outlines his Dying Wish. Chapter 3 shows that they're the premium treasure hunting item of the story.
- Must Have Caffeine: A premium scene in Chapter 5 shows Eliana is a caffeine addict and takes her coffee straight black.
- My Eyes Are Up Here: If you buy the Seashore Chic outfit in Chapter 3, Aria says this effect to Nate at the beach, making him almost walk into the volleyball net.
- My Greatest Failure: Chapter 12 reveals that Nate's greatest failure is that his brother had gone overboard during a storm and that he couldn't save him.
- Pool Scene: The first premium choice of the game in Chapter 1 is this which is the first step to repairing Alexis and Gayle's relationship. It also involves a drink making contest that Aria can either throw by putting in spicy ingredients or winning by putting in sweet ingredients.
- Posthumous Character: Bill is this throughout the book, having died a year before the story. Chapter 12 now shows Nate's brother, Finn, is this, having died in a storm when he was younger.
- Precious Puppy: Chapter 6 allows you to buy Samson's old French bulldog, Pebbles, from his ex-wife in a premium choice.
- Public Exposure: A premium date with Gayle and Alexis in Chapter 12 has the Kerseys taking an art class, which involves a nude male model. He's still naked chasing after them even after they leave.
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Reclusive Artist: The art museum in Turtle Bay is filled with paintings from an unknown artist who lives alone in the cliffs. Chapter 14 has him make his debut, though 15 is when he's fleshed out as Heathcliff. - Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Downplayed. The pet shop scene in Chapter 5 has Alexis quite creeped out about lizards, though after holding it, she's asking Aria to post a picture of it on Instagram.
- Retail Therapy: This is not only the title for Chapter 2, but also what the Kerseys do.
- Secret Ingredient: Chapter 3 has the Kersey sisters discussing Dad's lasagna, especially what he put into the sauce to make it so good. It turns out it was just locally sourced spicy marinara.
- Shipper on Deck: Starting with Chapter 2, Aria can make choices to get Alexis and Sai closer to each other.
- Shout-Out:
- Nate saving Mark can be called "Baywatch babe status."
- Chapter 3 has Alexis stating the idea of her dating Sai being like if Mariah Carey started dating "that nerdy guy" note from The Big Bang Theory. It can just as well be followed up by saying "All he wants for Christmas is you."
- Chapter 4 has Alexis come up to Aria with a happy look and she guesses either Ariana Grande walked in or there's a miniature pony.
- Chapter 5 has a premium scene of the sisters going into a pet shop to see the animals. When the store clerk says it's a good idea for them to socialize with humans, Alexis volunteers as tribute.
- Chapter 7's title is "Cowgirls Just Wanna Have Fun." If you decide to take goofy selfies with Gayle, Alexis says to make an "I just saw VictoriaFontaine" face.
- In the premium date with Nate in Chapter 10, he asks Aria how often she goes to the movies. If you select "All the time," then she'll have seen everything from Spiderverse, Jurassic World and The Last Airbender. Nate doesn't want to be reminded of the last one.
- In a premium scene with Samson in Chapter 14, Aria can mess with Samson with this dialogue when they hear a snapping twig in the woods.
Aria: "I don't know, murder us with an axe? Call us friends and ask to play?"- In Chapter 16, the achievement for buying the last bottled letter is "Mischief Managed."
- In Chapter 16, the achievement for going on a premium date which ends with Aria and her love interest making love under a waterfall is "Chasing Waterfalls."
- Squee: If you take the premium choice to sneak into the backstage area in Chapter 15, regardless who you take "backstage," you can have Daft Lizard give Nate an autograph. He signs Nate's shirt and it makes him squeal.
- Surfer Dude:
- Chapter 4 reveals Nate is also a surfer buying organic surfboard polish at the farmer's market.
- Chapter 6 shows that Sai is one along with Chaz the barista, taking place during a surf contest. Nate also says he's the one who taught Sai to surf. A premium choice date with Nate allows Aria to take surfing lessons with him.
- Sword Fight: Chapter 12 has the "flash light" version between Aria and Eliana as a way to help the baby turtles find their way to the ocean in the dark.
- Talk Like a Pirate: While the Kersey sisters look in Bill's old study for his secret sauce recipe, Aria finds an old pirate hat on a coffee table and puts on a pirate accent while wearing it.
- Tampering with Food and Drink: In a premium date with Nate in Chapter 12, one of the things you can ask him is about the dumbest fight he had with his older brother, Finn. It involved his brother filling oreos with toothpaste and telling Nate they were mint flavor. He ate four before Finn cracked up and told him the truth. For that, Nate smeared toothpaste on his dresser, and their mom punished him by not letting him sail for weeks.
- Threatening Shark: Played for laughs in a premium date with Nate in Chapter 3 when he asks Aria what she thinks being a lifeguard entails. One of the options to choose is "Punch a bunch of sharks."
- Time Capsule: Buying all of the premium choice letters throughout the book reveals the treasure in Chapter 16 is a family time capsule.
- Treasure Map: It turns out the letter in the bottle that Aria had was one of these for a scavenger hunt their dad left around Turtle Bay before he got sick. Throughout the game, there are other letters that can be found with premium choices that will lead to the treasure.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Nate is this most of the time, though justified as he's a lifeguard. In his premium date in Chapter 10, his description of Fireman: Inferno is that Chris Winters has his shirt on for 10% of the movie.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Alexis gives Aria this for not telling her that their mother was also coming around for the summer as well.
- Worth It: In a premium scene in Chapter 9, after burying Nate in sand, Aria says they'll both be shaking sand out for a long time, but he considers it worth it.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: During the volleyball game with Nate in Chapter 3, Aria can pretend to be injured, making Nate drop the ball to check on her, giving her the point.
