Visual Novel / The Freshman

Emily and Chris

One of the originating 'books' in Pixelberry's Choices: Stories You Play series, The Freshman tells the story of a college freshman who finds herself caught between three different potential love interests, a rival Alpha Bitch, a demanding literature professor, and a score of kind and quirky friends and roommates. Like other works by Pixelberry, the game is high on genre cliches, but also remarkably earnest and diverse.

The Freshman is told in a visual novel format, with choices allowing for brief branches that allow for different love interest scenes and occasionally lead to slightly different outcomes down the line. It also has a premium currency - the player is granted a certain number of diamonds when starting the app, and is gifted a single jewel at the end of every chapter, with these jewels able to unlock premium options that allow the player to wear nicer outfits (which give small bonuses or scene changes), extra scenes, or whole mini-books. Of course, diamonds can be purchased instantly through Microtransactions.

The franchise covers main entries The Freshman: Book 1, The Freshman: Book 2, The Freshman: Book 3 and The Freshman: Book 4 and free bonus books The Freshman: Snowed In and The Freshman: Love Bites, and buyable character-centric The Masquerade (James), The Perfect Date (Kaitlyn) and Luxury Getaway (Chris), all set after the end of book 1. As of March 19, 2020, these books are now free and no longer cost diamonds to play.

The sequel novel The Sophomore was released soon after, with Book 1 debuting on July 12, 2017. The third entry of the series, The Junior was released on April 9, 2018. The fourth and final entry, The Senior, was released on September 14, 2018.

On December 21, 2018, the final chapter in The Senior was released, concluding the Freshman saga.

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Tropes applying throughout the series

The Freshman, The Sophomore, The Junior, and The Senior includes examples of:

• Alliterative Name: Zachary Zilberg^note Also known as Zack. His last name was revealed in Chapter 2 of The Senior. and Dorian Delacroix.
• Amazingly Embarrassing Parents:
  • Emily's mom when she meets her love interest at the beginning of The Freshman, Book 2.
  • She and Stephen do it again in chapter 1 of The Senior regardless of who her roommate is.
• Artistic License – Education: It would be extremely unusual to say the least for a school to give the best accommodations (apartment-style suites with bathrooms and kitchens and where each resident gets a private bedroom) to freshmen while consigning more senior students to basic shared dorm rooms without amenities, but no one ever so much as remarks on it, even when the characters are complaining about their dorm situations in The Sophomore.
• Big Bad:
  • In The Freshman Book 1 we have Becca who made Emily's life hell and later becomes her friend and possible love interest.
  • In The Freshman Book 2, we have Sebastian Delacroix running for president against Chris for the title of Student Council President, with Becca as an ally.
  • In The Freshman Book 3 gives us Natasha as the leader of Kaitlyn's new Punk band and Yasmin who manipulates James and harassed Emily who discovered her true intentions.
  • In The Sophomore, we have Dorian Delacroix who sent his son to sabotage Vasquez's old house to demolish and build a mall in the place and Manny who is hostile to everyone, especially Zig.
  • In The Junior we have the trio of Alpha Theta Mu, who pretended to be friends with the gang and playing malicious pranks against them.
• Beta Couple:
  • Abbie and Tyler are the only stable couple among the main characters and are the only ones who don't have roommate drama because they decided to move in together for their Sophomore year.
    • At least until mid-book when they have a lot drama.
  • Zack and Brandon, and Tyler and Abbie. If the player makes the right choices, both have a chance to get together at the end of Book 1. Even if the player doesn't choose those options, both couples are together at the beginning of The Freshman Book 2.
  • In The Freshman Book Two, the player can influence Madison to pick Tripp or Logan.
  • In The Freshman Book 3, the player can influence Amara and Darren's relationship.
• A Day in the Limelight:
  • Masquerade Ball history focuses exclusively on the relationship between James and Emily, to the exclusion of the rest of the main cast.
  • In The Senior there is a chapter dedicated to a member of the gang. A good example is Chapter 7 which highlights the Love Interest/Zack.
• The Cameo:
  • Alyssa Griffin, a minor character from Most Wanted, makes a cameo as Sebastian's music guest during the school council campaign. Emily can also choose to throw a yellow snowball at her during the snowball fight.
  • Claire Pierce from Rules of Engagement pops up in book 3 chapter 4 holding up the line at the cafe.
  • The Freshman Book 3 chapter 13 has not only Ryan and Cassandra from Most Wanted as actors for James' movie, but a premium choice that has Emily as an extra for The Crown & the Flame has her meeting Kenna and Dominic's actors and getting an autograph for Tyler and Abbie.
  • Rebecca McKenzie from Most Wanted shows up to fix the van in Book 4 if Emily doesn't have a car repair kit.
  • In The Senior Chapter 6, Samantha Winters from Veil of Secrets is the judge presiding over Becca's mock trial; Veil of Secrets takes place in Massachusetts, providing support for the notion that Hartfeld is in the northeastern United States. Later in the chapter, at a gaming convention, a poster can be seen featuring Dopey Cat from #LoveHacks.
• Gay Best Friend: Zack, as well as Kaitlyn. Book 3 chapter 2 has Zack reveal that while he was accepted in his school, he didn't want to be the Camp Gay stereotype.
• Gay Option:
  • Two male love interests and one female in early books.
  • As of book three, three male love interests and two female.
• Girl Posse: In The Freshman Book 3, Kaitlyn joins a punk band named "The Gutter Kittens", composed of Natasha, Rachel and Amara and in The Sophomore Book 1, Chapter 6 it is revealed that Kaitlyn has started a new band and has another member in the group.
• Group Hug: Pretty frequently.
• Hairpin Lockpick/Master of Unlocking:
  • In The Freshman, Book 4, chapter 5 is shown that Kaitlyn is skilled in unlocking locks, impressing the gang when visiting the observatory that is closed to the public.
    Emily: "Are you sure this place is open?"
    Kaitlyn: "Technically? No."
    Emily: "When isn't technically breaking and entering?"
  • She shows this one that has skill again when the gang visits its former dorm in The Senior, chapter 15.
    Chris: "Wow, Kaitlyn, I forgot how good you are at picking locks."
    Abbie: "Clearly, you also forgot how often Kailyn lost her keys."
    Kaitlyn: "Keys are for quitters!"
• Hello, [Insert Name Here]:
  • The main character is nameable; the default name is "Emily". In The Senior, you can choose the last name. The default is "Day".
  • You can even do the same to Gabriela's newborn son with the default name of "Felix", though it's moot since he'll eventually be given the name Enrique regardless of what you suggest.
  • In The Freshman book 3 chapter 2, you can also do the same for whatever character you pick in the Dungeons & Dragons group, the default name is "Laira".
  • In The Freshman book 4 chapter 2, you get to name a lobster you catch while in Maine. The default name is "Gerald".
  • In The Sophomore book 1, you get to name the Kaitlyn's band. The default name is "TBD" and you can choose the name of James' book in chapter 9, the default is "Crestwood General".
• Knight Templar Big Brother: In The Freshman Book 3 Chapter 7 reveals Zig went to juvie for beating up his little sister's abusive boyfriend, and he'd have done it again and he continues like that with Sophie in The Junior trying to protect her from possible problems, but all that care ended up upsetting the girl.
• If You Ever Do Anything To Hurt Him/Her:
  • Vanessa to Emily in The Freshman: Masquerade Ball.
  • Stephen to Chris in The Senior, Chapter 1.^note If Chris is Emily's boyfriend
  • Shannon to Emily in The Senior, Chapter 6.
• Lovable Jock: Chris and Darren. Logan is also relatively good-natured, if also a Dumb Jock.
• Love Interests: Throughout the series, there are a total of five love interests for Emily.
  • Chris Powell, the athlete who would become President of the Student Council and captain of Hartfeld Knights, the school's football team.
  • Kaitlyn Liao, Emily's best friend who discovered to be in love with her, who would later discover her vocation for music.
  • James Ashton, the co-worker as an assistant to Professor Vasquez.
  • Zig Ortega, the barista who replaced Brandon at the college cafeteria.
  • Becca Davenport, the girl who pestered Emily in the first two books of the series.
• Making Love in All the Wrong Places:
  • During Truth or Truth, Chris can confess to having had sex in the middle of the football field with his ex.
  • Some of the sex scenes in the storyline count as well, such as Emily and James having sex in the middle of the stage in The Freshman Book 2.
  • Emily and her Love Interest having sex in what was once the secret prize room of the former Alpha Theta Mu in The Senior.
• The Matchmaker:
  • Kaitlyn immediately elects to pair Emily and Chris in Chapter 2.
  • Zack immediately elects to pair together Tyler and Abbie and ropes Emily in as well. Apart from this, the player can also matchmake Zack himself with his crush Brandon.
  • In The Freshman Book 2, the player can encourage Madison to pick Tripp or Logan. Peter and Grace try to do the same with your daughter Kaitlyn and Arjun, but it backfires.
  • In The Sophomore, the player can influence James and Reyna plus Kaitlyn and Annisa's relationship.
• Musical Theme Naming: Starting with book 3 chapter 12 and even going all the way into The Sophomore, The Junior and The Senior, each chapter is named after a song.
• No Antagonist:
  • In The Freshman, Book 4 shows the gang going to the Aurora Music Festival and having a few unexpected things during the road trip, without any antagonistic characters involved.
  • Unlike The Freshman^note which had Becca, and later, Sebastian and Yasmin, The Sophomore^note which had Manny, Natasha, and Dorian Delacroix, and The Junior^note which had Alpha Theta Mu, there's no Big Bad or even a minor antagonist in this book. All of the series' antagonists (both major and minor) have either been redeemed^note such as Becca, Sebastian and Natasha or dealt with and written out^note Yasmin, Manny, Dorian and the Terrible Trio from Alpha Theta Mu. Instead, the main conflict in this book is how the characters deal with the future (particularly Emily's parents spliting up in Chapter 10 and the falling out Emily and her roommate have in Chapter 12).
• Parlor Games: The roommates play a game of Truth or Truth on their first day together to get to know one another better. Later, when trying to pledge for the sorority, the girls play a proper game of Truth or Dare. Most notably, Becca dares Kaitlyn to kiss the main character... which ends up being not nearly as bad for her as she expected.
• Platonic Life-Partners: If Emily is single, she and Zack develop this dynamic in The Junior and The Senior.
• Posthumous Character: Professor Vasquez dies at the end of The Freshman Book 2 and he is remembered throughout the series and he returns in The Senior only in flashbacks.
• Roommate Com:
  • The first three books of The Freshman show the daily lives of six roommates and the problems they are facing.
  • One of the initial subplots in The Sophomore shows the established the established the gang suffering with their respective assigned roommates: Emily got paired with Rachel, Kaitlyn gets paired with Leila, Zack got Edgar and Chris got Manny. They later move into Vasquez's old house after Gabriela lets them rent it as a fixer upper. The next arc becomes "Living with Becca", as she's still trying to fit in and be less rude towards the gang.
  • In The Junior and The Senior is one of the central subplots is Emily living with just one roommate (her Love Interest if she has one, or Zack if she is single).
• Scholarship Students: Emily is a scholarship student and started having problems when her father lost his job, Chris got the scholarship because of a program he entered to get him out of delinquency, and Zig got the scholarship thanks to Chris' project, inspired by what happened to him in the past. Other characters can also be scholarship recipients.
• Sequel Hook: All the books resolve the main conflicts of the season, but the last scene introduces a new plot point waiting to be answered.
  • The Freshman Book 1 ends with Emily discovering Vasquez is dying of cancer.
  • The Freshman Book 2 resolves everyone's personal arcs, but what about Emily's scholarship? Turns out Vasquez gave instructions to give her a full scholarship with the only condition that she completes his book before the year ends.
  • The Freshman Book 3 ends with Yasmin being kicked out by Gabriela after James told her about everything that happened after Emily left Hollywood.
  • The Freshman Book 4 ends with the gang happy to have gone to the Aurora Music Festival together.
  • The Sophomore Book 1 ends with the gang receiving the news that Vasquez's old house had been condemned.
  • The Sophomore Book 2 ends with Emily and Zack witnessing Abbie, Tyler and Emily's love interest (Chris, if she's single) in a serious car accident.
  • The Junior ends with Emily being asked to work for a famous magazine.
  • The Senior ends with the gangs's graduation^note Graduated Kaitlyn appears in America's Most Eligible Book 3..
• Series Goal: The first three books all have one, while The Senior is less about an actual goal and more about just trying to make it to graduation.
  • The Freshman is about Emily finishing Professor Vasquez's book after his death.
  • The Sophomore is about Emily and her friends trying to protect their house from being condemned and destroyed by Dorian Delacroix.
  • The Junior is about solving the mystery of who performed the hit-and-run at the end of the previous book and eventually taking them down.
• Sexy Discretion Shot: The game gives many opportunities to get intimate with the love interests (almost always via premium currency), and while the scenes get a lot more suggestive than any previous Pixelberry game, they always end with this trope.
• Shipper on Deck:
  • Apparently, Twombly is willing to rent out an entire floor of a swanky restaurant for you and your date in Game of Love history.
  • The series gives you chances to hook people up. Book 1 has you helping Zack with Brandon and Tyler with either Abbie or Leila. Book 2 allows you to ship Madison with either Logan or Tripp. Book 3 allows you to ship Amara with Darren.
  • Zack has been trying to set up Tyler and Abbie in Book 1 and ropes Emily in to help.
  • Kaitlyn's parents want her to be with Arjun before knowing about Kaitlyn's real preferences.
  • Book 4 chapter 4 allows Emily to help either Zack or Zig hook up with James' friend Teddy.
  • Emily's mother is very gung-ho about her daughter's significant other to the point where she cheerfully reminds Emily to use protection, much to her mortification.
  • In The Sophomore, if you are not dating either James or Kaitlyn, Emily can help pair them with Reyna and Anissa, respectively.
• Shout-Out:
  • In some scenes, the characters casually talk about The Crown & the Flame. In Book 3, Tyler and Abbie ship Kenna and Dominic from that series with Emily having the option to agree with them or ship Dominic with Rose or Sei.
  • The premium choice in Game of Love allows Emily and her partner to learn new dance moves, like the Bow Tie. Getting all three choices right gets you the achievement of "Bow Ties Are Cool."
  • Book 3 chapter 6 has Hayley Rose's song, "Outlaw," playing from Most Wanted.
  • In Chapter 2, you have premium choices to adopt a dog, cat, or both with your love interest or Zack if you're single. Adopting just the dog, the achievement is "It Pees in the Woods." Adopting just the cat is "Purrfect Match." Adopting both is "Ruined Carpet Diaries."
  • In Chapter 6, you can play Dragon Jest or let Tyler and Abbie do it against a misogynistic gamer. The achievements for it are "Flawless Victory," "Drag Him, Dragon," and "One Life to Live."
• Slice of Life: The series revolve around a group of six roommates going through their first year of college, Love Triangles, scholarships and other normal activities for college students.
• Static Role, Exchangeable Character: The major plot points involving Emily and her love interests follow the same general arc throughout the series regardless of who the love interest is, with the story even going out of the way to put in factors that will allow the same sort of conflict to occur regardless of who the character is with (for example, all three love interests having a conflict that pulls them away from Emily in Book 3). In The Junior and The Senior, Zack fills this role if the character is single; it works in The Junior because the conflict has to do with the challenges of living together, but is a lot iffier in The Senior because the issues in that book are relationship-related, and the alternative conflict that the story puts in to fit the friendship with Zack into the same mold (an argument over him moving out without telling Emily) isn't on the same level but elicits the same reaction, which consequently ends up being wildly out of proportion to the actual source of the argument.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Brandon disappears from history after The Freshman Book 4, Arjun, Professor Atiyah, Leila and Logan share the same fate after The Sophomore, Book 2.
• Womanchild: Kaitlyn, mainly in The Freshman. She acts more like a 13-year-old than a college student, repeatedly blows off classes to hang out with her friends (to the point that she nearly flunks out), and during the mad lib game in the holiday special, she kept saying "poop".

The Freshman

The Freshman (include The Freshman: Love Bites, The Freshman: Snowed In, The Freshman: Game of Love and Masquerade Ball) includes examples of:

• Accidental Proposal: It can happen in the first dialogue option in the story if you tell Chris to kneel down and apologize. But it turns out Chris will do it and Edgar will think Chris is proposing Emily to marry him.
• The All-American Boy: Chris has the look, hobby (football player), and nice guy personality.
• Alternate Reality Episode: In Love Bites, this is not canon.
• Amicable Exes: In book three, if the player chooses to break up with Chris, Kaitlyn or James, all three of them will still be best friends with Emily.
• Alpha Bitch:
  • Becca. Though she does help the protagonist against Sebastian in Book 2, so she might be not entirely a villain. Moreover, she's on her way to becoming a love interest for the main character.
  • Book 3 gives us Natasha as the leader of Kaitlyn's new Punk band.
• Artistic License – Education: In Book 3, Kaitlyn winds up on academic probation because she missed all her midterms, but she gets to make them up a week before finals. Academic probation is the result of a deficient GPA, which wouldn't get updated in the middle of a term. Plus, Kaitlyn is lucky that her classes, all in different departments, would let her make up an exam so late into the term and coordinate the exams so well.
• Artistic License – History: In-Universe, Edgar isn't upset that he's playing a merchant. It's that he's selling goods from the East India Company, which closed in 1874.
• Babies Make Everything Better: Vasquez and his daughter finally reconcile when his grandson is born.
• Babysitting Episode Book 3 chapter 8 has Emily babysitting baby Rico.
• Basement-Dweller: Emily has a cousin named Hanna who lives in her parents' basement with two maxed out cards and an addiction to vintage Hello Kitty merchandise.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Downplayed - Becca and the main character don't get along very well at first, but it's pretty much limited to some coldness and snarky comments (and throwing coffee on each other). By the third book, if MC is not dating anyone, they start a Secret Relationship.
• Birds of a Feather:
  • In Book 2, Becca sees a new prospect in Sebastian and the two click immediately because of their shared traits (both are snobby, arrogant and self-absorbed). This goes south near the end of the quarter when Becca admits that Sebastian is too selfish even for Becca herself.
  • Depending on what choices the player makes, Emily can be this with Chris (if she mentions having been a talented multi-sport athlete when she was younger) or James (if she confesses to being a high school valedictorian, Shakespeare nerd, and previous spelling-bee champion).
• Birthday Episode:
  • Book 1 chapters 11 and 12 take place during Kaitlyn's birthday at a club.
  • Book 3 chapter 6 is all about Madison's birthday at the Sorority House.
• Blackmail: In Book 2, Sebastian tries to blackmail Chris into dropping his election campaign by revealing to the public that he has a youth offence for stealing a car. The crew (going against Chris's wishes) fight back by finding material about Sebastian to blackmail him back - that he's stealing campaign donations for himself. In the end, however...
  • Blackmail Backfire: Chris negates the whole thing by openly admitting his past mistakes to the voters, who end up being impressed by his honesty.
• Blood from the Mouth: Professor Vasquez coughs up blood into a handkerchief to show he's dying of cancer.
• Book Ends: The suitemates play Truth or Truth on their first night in the apartment, and again the night before the end-of-year dance. While this trope is in full effect for the characters it's downplayed for the audience, as it occurs at the end of Book 3, not Book 4.
• Bribing Your Way to Victory: Sebastian tries to bribe Chris to drop out of the school election. It doesn't work.
• Brutal Honesty: If Emily hooks up in Vasquez's office, she has the option to bluntly admit it when he asks her in Snowed In.
• Bullying a Dragon: Book 3 chapter 3 has Sebastian acting insulting the cafe's new barista, Zig, tripping him and grabbing Emily, getting him punched in the face to run him out.
• But Thou Must!: The story is very linear, with the choice of love interest the only major possible branch. This trope is especially in effect in Book 1, where the storyline heavily depends on the protagonist and Chris having feelings for one another - even if the player chooses at every option to express no such interest. Of course, it's always possible to reject him in the end, however.
• Button Mashing: In the Kaitlyn premium story, Emily and Kaitlyn play a fighting game called Monster Mash. Choosing to button mash wins the game against Kaitlyn.
• California University: Hartfeld University is this.
• Call-Back:
  • If Emily is dating James at the start of Book 2, her mother will mention him taking her to a masquerade ball. Of course, this is in a premium chapter, so it becomes a Noodle Incident if the player hasn't paid diamonds to access it.
  • Emily mentions that the name Vanessa Kingsley sounds familiar, and James reminds her that his mother brought her up at their dinner.
• Character Death: Vasquez dies of Terminal Cancer by the end of Book Two. Before he passed away, he gave the Main Character full scholarship on the condition that she finishes his book.
• Childhood Friends: Kaitlyn and Arjun.
• Christmas Episode: The bonus book Snowed In. Book 2 also begins in the Christmas season, and comes with an opportunity for a Christmassy date - if you're willing to pay for it.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: In Masquerade Ball story, Emily can feel insecure about James's relationship with Vanessa, if the player chooses those responses.
• Comically Missing the Point: In Game of Love, Zack and Brandon sing "I Will Always Love You," but get disqualified since it's actually more of a breakup song instead of a love song.
• Coming of Age Story:
  • One of the options Emily can choose as the posthumous author for Vasquez' book. The others include a romance and an unexplained car chase.
  • Kaitlyn's arc in book 2 is this.
• Cross-Cast Role: In-Universe, in the play James puts on in Book 2, Kaitlyn ends up playing the role of the male romantic lead. She didn't audition for that role, but did audition for another male role, with the logic that men played women's roles in drama for centuries, so why not even it out?
• Dancing Is Serious Business:
  • Emily and Kaitlyn try out a dance class taught by Madison while Becca scoffs at them, even if you get the moves right.Paying diamonds allows you to have a dance battle with Becca.
  • The Game of Love story has a dance-off between surviving couples, which involves Emily having to keep her and her partner moving without stopping for anything.
• Daywalking Vampire: In Love Bites history, Kaitlyn develops an "allergy" to the sun, she's perfectly able to go outside when she needs to.
• Dead Guy Junior: After Professor Vasquez dies, Gabriela names her newborn son Enrique after her father.
• Developers' Desired Date: In the first book , Chris has more scenes with the main character than James or Kaitlyn, and the narrative treats him as her love interest even if the player picks the option of not being interested in him.
• Disappeared Dad: A premium choice in book 3 chapter 1 has Chris reveal his father just left with no note or explanation, and he's never seen him since.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: The plot of the second episode centers around convincing people that vampires really aren't so different from the rest of us and making Kaitlyn know she's supported, which calls forward to her coming-out plot in Book 2.
• Doorstopper: The book versions of The Crown and the Flame are these.
• Dreaming of a White Christmas: At the beginning of Snowed In, Kaitlyn is quite disappointed because there's been hardly any snow that season so far and isn't likely to be any over Christmas - as a Texan native, a snowy Christmas is one of the reasons she chose that college! Of course, as the name suggests, snow does arrive quite soon.
• Dumb Blonde: Madison.
• Early-Bird Cameo: You meet Rachel, part of Natasha's band, during book 2. She becomes a regular in book 3.
• Edible Theme Naming: In book 4 chapter 5, we meet some of Kaitlyn's friends at a country western biker bar. Their names are Spud, Tater Tot, and... Red.
  Emily: Like the color?
  Red: No, like the potato.
• Embarrassing Old Photo:
  • In Chapter 2 of Book 1, Kaitlyn will show a photo of her wearing soldier boots while she was studying in middle school.
  • In Masquerade Ball history, Emily finds one of James in a sailor suit holding a stuffed bunny.
  • In book chapter 16, you can pay diamonds to play Truth or Truth with your friends. Tyler can be asked about his most embarrassing picture on his phone. It's his and Abbie's heads photoshopped onto Kenna and Dom.
• Epic Fail: In book 3 chapter 2 at the Dungeons and Dragons session, regardless of what class you pick or even what actions you take, Emily's character dies horribly after rolling a 1.
• Everyone Can See It:
  • Tyler and Abbie for pretty much all of Book 1. Although Abbie is often a little slow on the uptake.
  • Everyone can basically tell Logan and Tripp are competing for Madison by book 2 chapter 3. Becca even tells her so.
• Executive Meddling:
  • In-Universe during book 2, Yasmin Udoka tries to get James to change the ending of his play from a Downer Ending to a Happy Ending.
  • Played straight during book 3 chapter 13 when you find out James' play has now been turned from a Victorian Era drama to a 1930s gangster flick.
• Failed a Spot Check:
  • Apparently Zack totally missed the fact that Kaitlyn has fangs. Emily can either say she noticed them or not.
  • Becca initially pegs Emily as being the vampire, despite Kaitlyn's new goth digs and fangs.
• Fantastically Indifferent: No one has any difficulty believing that Kaitlyn is a vampire, and expresses only mild wariness that she'll drink their blood.
• "Fawlty Towers" Plot: James tells his parents that he already has a fiance in order to get them to stop trying to set him up. When they show up at college unexpectedly, he ropes the main character into pretending to be that fiance - only for his parents to invite the two of them out to dinner. The player has the opportunity to tell James' parents about the deception partway through the dinner, but if they don't, James will anyway.
• Fish out of Water:
  • Book 3 chapter 2 has Emily and Kaitlyn join Tyler's Dungeons & Dragons group. Kaitlyn has no idea what's going on.
  • Masquerade Ball has Emily can claim that James' upbringing makes her feel this way.
• Follow in My Footsteps: On the surface, James seems like he wouldn't have any problems with this, being an intelligent, hard-working, and successful literature major well on his way to having a published work. Unfortunately for him, his parents don't want to hear it unless he's sucessful in business specifically.
• From Zero to Hero: Emily begins the story as yet another freshman at the Hartfeld University and her achievements will be remembered for what she did while there.
• Gayngst: Kaitlyn is totally okay with being a lesbian - as long as her parents never get to find out. Naturally, that's what she ends up having to deal with in Book 2.
• Game-Breaking Injury: In book 1 during a game, Darren's ankle is injured, allowing Chris to sub for him. He's sad that it'll be healed just in time for the season to be over.
• Genius Bruiser: Zig had gotten high marks on the SATs and had offers from colleges until his arts revoked the offers.
• Genre Blindness: Kaitlyn, the resident horror movie buff, leads the crew through a graveyard during the full moon.
• Get a Room!: In Game of Love, Zack and Brandon towards Emily and her date, which she immediately shoots back at them.
• Get Out!: When Emily confronts Vasquez about his daughter Gabriela, he's quite mad.
• Give Geeks a Chance: In Book 2, the player has the option of setting up Madison with geeky Tripp. Strangely enough, Madison and Tripp started bonding over cartoons.
• Gretzky Has the Ball: After the football game in book 1 chapter 5, Madison is cheering about Chris's homerun on 6th and 10.
• Grumpy Old Man: Professor Vasquez. He and the main character do warm up to each other over time, but he never loses his grumpiness.
• Halloween Episode: The Love Bites story, which is told at the beginning that it's non-canon.
• Hidden Depths: Becca is actually into Black Flag.
• Hidden Heart of Gold: According to Madison, Logan and Darren, Becca is capable of being a good friend when she wants too. Madison in general is very loyal to her and often handwaves her bad attitude with this trope. And Logan recalls that Becca once yelled at his ex-girlfriend after she cheated on him.
• I Just Want My Beloved to Be Happy: In Masquerade Ball history, Vanessa has this attitude about Emily's relationship with James.
• I Call It "Vera": Going on a date with Chris in book 2 chapter 3 reveals he has a sled he calls "The Falcon."
• I'm Standing Right Here: In book 3 chapter 3, Chris (if Emily is dating him) can have this reaction if she checks out the new barista, Zig.
• Interquel: Snowed In is set between Book 1 and 2 of The Freshman and Masquerade Ball set between Snowed In (itself already an Interquel) and the beginning of Book 2.
• I Never: The group plays one of these in book 3 chapter 6.
• Incompatible Orientation: Arjun has a crush on Kaitlyn, who is a lesbian. Also, Kaitlyn has a crush on Emily, and it's up to the player whether she returns Kaitlyn's feelings or pursues one of the male love interests instead.
• It Amused Me: Variation with Vasquez - he deliberately orders the main character to do certain things for him expressly because he knows it will cause drama, but for the ultimate purpose of writing a novel set on a college campus where the protagonist's reports serve as inspiration and fodder.
• It's Up to You: Emily is the one who has to resolve everything that happens, including what her friends and other students accomplish.
• I've Heard of That — What Is It?: When James compliments Logan on his gravitas he agrees he has plenty of... whatever that is. When James repeats 'gravitas,' he responds with, "No thanks, I'm not hungry."
• Lampshade Hanging: When Emily tells Zack that Vasquez has assigned her to convince all of her friends to put on a production of James' play for a huge agent in only a few days, Zack comments that the whole situation is "a bit on the nose..."
• Linked List Clue Methodology: The sorority scavenger hunt works this way, with the clues becoming increasingly obvious and lazy as they go on.
• Liquid Courage: Kaitlyn attempts this to get up the nerve to confess to the main character in Book 1. Unfortunately, she goes too far and ends up with alcohol poisoning.
• Loving Bully: Becca begins the story by being rude to Emily, rivaling her in the first two books. In book 3, Emily discovers that Becca is vulnerable and helps her by providing moral support. At the end of the book, she resolves to open her heart to Emily if she is dating.
  Becca: "Well, this conversation has been thrilling, but I'm going turn in early. Go on, get back to your dorky friends or whatever. I don't mean to strangle you with my mess."
  Emily: "Aw, come on, Becca. You don't want dance with us for a few minutes before you go?"
  Becca: "Believe me, I'm done here... Besides, it kind of sucks being alone at the end of the year when everyone's paired off, you know? Especially when the only person I wanted to go is already taken."

  [She pats your arm lightly as she steps around you.]
• Major Injury Underreaction: When Becca puts her stiletto straight through the palm of Kaitlyn's hand, she responds with a mild "ouch."
• Masquerade Ball: The premium story for James is not only named this, but takes place during one and as the name would imply. Doubles as a Charity Ball.
• Meet Cute:
  • Emily and Chris first meet when they collide at the Quad and all of her clothes fly off her suitcase.
  • Emily meets James at Vasquez's office and the player can have the option to confuse him with the professor, in which James will go along and request a coffee.
• Meet My Good Friends Lefty and Righty: Challenging Logan to an arm-wrestling match has him mention that his arms are named Rory and Lorelai.
• Meta Guy: Vasquez is an atypical example, but as he's specifically using the main character's school life as inspiration for his new novel, he often comments about the events of the story as if it were a novel. For example, when the main character tells him about Becca, he responds that she sounds like a perfect villain.
• Mood Killer: If the player decides to romance James, he'll be leaning in to kiss Emily for the first time when Gabriela finally calls her back.
• Monster Roommate: Kaitlyn in Love Bites story.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Vasquez's troubled past: when his daughter was in college, she confided in him about her struggles and issues with depression, which he then used to write a novel very obviously about her life. He slowly evidences more regret about this as the story goes on, but it doesn't really kick in until his grandson is born and he realises how much time he's missed spending with her already.
• Named After Someone Famous: Edgar is named after his mom's favorite author, Edgar Allen Poe.
• Nice Girl: Madison in every aspect. She is naïve, sweet towards everyone rgardless of their status and very loyal. In book two, she won't sign Chris' ballot if the Main Character tries to suggest getting back at Becca for ditching her, since she could never do that to a friend despite all. In Book 3, she invites a whole crowd at a punk concert to her birthday party, despite Becca's complaints.
• Nice Guy: Chris, Darren and Logan.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed:
  • James, prior to his redesign, greatly resembled actor Michael B. Jordan.
  • Tyler has a similar appearance to Harry Shum, Jr.
  • Brandon looks quite a bit like a brunette Ian Gallagher.
  • Sebastian, prior to his redesign, strongly resembled Eddie Redmayne.
• Not What It Looks Like: Vanessa also lampshades the cliché.
• Oh, Crap!: At the end of book 2 chapter 10, Kaitlyn has this reaction to her parents waiting for her at the dorm, especially since she hasn't yet come out of the closet to them.
• Pimped-Out Dress: Emily will sport one for the ball.
• Pun-Based Title: Love bites, get it? Like a vampire.
• Put on a Bus: Brandon goes to Peru for an exchange program during spring.
• Prank Call: In Book 1, Chapter 8, Becca challenges Emily, Abby and Kaitlyn to prank a random number. Abby talks nonsense with Tyler, Kaitlyn fails miserably when trying to prank Zack and Emily successfully manages to prank Chris or Vasquez.
• Preppy Name: Emily and James end up seated next to someone named Bernard Richman, which they poke fun at.
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Sebastian calls the group this in book 3 chapter 3.
• Relationship Upgrade: Emily can choose to do this with Chris, Kaitlyn, or James at the end of Book 1.
• Road Trip Plot: Book 4 is about Emily and the gang going on a summer long road trip in Zack's van that he got from his uncle.
• Romantic Fake–Real Turn: On James' part (or both parties, if the player so chooses) when Emily agrees to pose as his fianceé.
• Running Gag: Tyler thinking burglars are trying to break in to the apartment.
• Sadist Teacher: Professor Vasquez. Even though being assistant to him is for some students the one route to paying for their education, none ever lasted longer than a week - until the main character.
• Scavenger Hunt: In Book 1 during the sorority rush, Emily, Kaitlyn and Abbie have to find a monogrammed sweater of a founding Kappa Phi Sigma sister.
• Second-Act Breakup: Book 3 chapter 8 has Emily and her partner choosing either to break up or stay together and make it work. If they stay together, they still have another chance to break up later in the book (the specific chapter depends on the chosen love interest), and it's up to the player whether or not they do so.
• Second Love: Chris spent his whole high school life with one girlfriend he dearly loved, but she broke up with him immediately when she realised they'd be going to separate colleges. He claims in the first episode that he's still not over her - but it doesn't stop him from hitting on the main character pretty quickly.
• Sexual Extortion: Yasmin tries to use her role as his agent to manipulate James into accepting her advances. Thankfully, it doesn't work.
• Shoe Slap: Becca tries to use her stiletto to stake Emily through the heart when she mistakes her for the vampire.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: In Book 3, Amara asks Emily if Darren is single, giving the options between telling her off (because her friends insulted Tyler and Abbie) or encouraging her to go talk to him (because she was the only one who apologized on behalf of the group). Natasha, Rachel, Becca and Madison are being heard commenting on them being an Odd Couple.
• Smug Snake: Sebastian, who is convinced that anyone who didn't get the same very expensive education that he did is beneath him.
• Snowball Fight: Emily and her friends manage to get Chris enough signatures for the school president election by giving away free snowballs if they sign his petition, which of course ends up in a snowball fight.
• Snowed-In: Obviously, bonus story Snowed In.
• So Bad, It's Good: In-Universe, in Snowed In, the player has the choice between saying that it's important to watch the Lightning Bug Christmas Special because it might reveal important plot points, or because it's probably going to be hilariously bad.
• Snow Means Love: Going off to find a phone gives Emily and her love interest the chance for some alone time, which can be either sweet or sexy, depending on player choices.
• So Proud of You: Vasquez tells Emily this at the end of Book 2.
• Sore Loser: If Becca and Sebastian lose, they'll tag along at the same restaurant as Emily and her date, but argue the whole time.
• Straight Gay: Zack and Brandon. Kaitlyn as well. Emily can be this if you choose to go with Kaitlyn.
• Teacher's Pet: James for Vasquez, to an extent, because he's a big fan of his writing and extremely excited to have the opportunity to work with him.
• Token Good Teammate: Madison between her and Becca. In Book 3, Amara is this compared to the rest of the band.
• Too Dumb to Live: If Emily worries about a zombie attack, Chris says he'd rather fight zombies than ghosts because at least you can punch zombies. Zack points out that if your strategy for fighting zombies includes fighting them hand-to-hand, you're exactly the sort of person who should be scared of zombies.
• Unlucky Childhood Friend: Vanessa for James in Masquerade Ball history..
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Probably due to budget constraints, the beach foraging scene in Book 4 reuses a lot of scenery from Endless Summer... including the tropical flowers and their gently pulsating light.
• Uptown Girl: The basis for James' play, with all the drama that entails. Emily and James' relationship also counts if the player has them get together but is not a source of conflict, with the brief exception of Olivia Ashton suspecting that Emily is using their "relationship" to further her career.
• Valentine's Day Episodes: Game of Love is this.
• Vampire Episode
• Voluntary Vampire Victim: In the Halloween Episode where Kaitlyn turns into a vampire, her friends volunteer to have their blood sucked, and also ask others to give Kaitlyn a drink or two.
• Wiki Walk: Book 3 chapter 6 has Zig reveal he knows about Dungeons and Dragons by going down the "Wikipedia rabbit hole."
• What Does She See in Him?:
  • Becca, as well as Natasha and Rachel, have this reaction if Emily hooks up Amara with Darren.
  • In the Valentines Day Special, if the Main Character chooses Chris as her pair, he gets to say this after Becca taunts them before the Dance Challenge.
• What the Hell, Hero?: In book 2, Emily gets hit twice by this. For James, it happens whether you tell him or not about Vasquez's cancer. For Chris, he gets upset about the group blackmailing Sebastian during the election.
• Where the Hell Is Springfield?: Hartfeld University is in a town called Northridge. It's said that it's less than two hours away from San Francisco by train and it snows there in winter. However, the gang's road trip in Book 4 begins with Zack meeting Emily and Zig on campus before going to Maine to pick up Chris followed by going to New York to pick up James, then Austin to pick up Kaitlyn, then meeting Tyler and Abbie in San Francisco before finally going to the music festival which is being held at an unspecified location in California; all in all, a very strange route if Hartfeld is located near the West Coast.
• Writing Around Trademarks: Zack is a huge fan of Domesticated Antelope.
• You See, I'm Dying: At the end of Book 1, Emily learns that Professor Vasquez has cancer.
• Zombie Advocate: The whole apartment quickly rallies behind Kaitlyn, and helps to convince the minor characters that vampires aren't so bad, really.

The Sophomore

The Sophomore includes examples of:

• All the Other Reindeer:
  • Zig still feels like an outsider, since everyone in Hartfeld (with the exception of the gang) from his roommates to his football team (minus Chris) are actively avoiding him or talking behind his back.
  • Becca feels this about her new status as the Fallen Princess, since she got in a self-imposed exile from her Sorority and thinks her sisters and Madison backstabbed her by not electing her as the house leader.
• Armoured Closet Gay: Manny was known to be a homophobe until... he forced a kiss on Zig..
• The Band Minus the Face: Kaitlyn's new band TBD is essentially the Gutter Kittens minus Natasha.
• Bland-Name Product:
  • The Sophomore introduces Uskea, a knockoff of cheap-furniture giant Ikea.
  • A premium scene makes mention of Mrs. Twombly's "Stumblr" (Tumblr) account.
• Content Warnings: Right from the start, the Book 2 says the book contains some mature content compared to usual The Freshman series and Choices books.
• Cool House: The gang (minus Tyler and Abbie, who decided to live together) and Becca move to Professor Vasquez's old house, which has a low rent due to Gabriela renting it to them as a favor and a fixer upper. After the renovation, Emily gets settled in Vasquez's old studio, since she thinks it will help her connect more with her old mentor.
• Cue the Falling Object: When Emily shows Kaitlyn, Zack, and Chris the house for the first time, a tile falls off of the roof.
• Halloween Episode: For Halloween 2017, this series gets “The Sophomore: Hartfeld Horror Story.”
• Hard-Work Montage: Used when making repairs to the house.
• Official Couple: Four couples can become official during the two books. Starting with Emily and Becca who started a secret relationship^note If Emily is single and pursued a relationship with her., then we have James and Reyna plus Kaitlyn and Annisa^note If you encourage the couple to bond. Impossible if Emily is dating James or Kaitlyn. and to top it off, Zack tells the group that he and Grant made it official.
• School Clubs Are Serious Business: Zig is obligated to join a Campus Activity, since his scholarship requires it. He makes it onto the Football Team, while James becomes editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, a job he takes extremely seriously.
• School Newspaper News Hound: College level. Now that James and Emily are done with the Literature Faculty, they decide to join the University Newspaper as writers.
• Secret-Keeper: After Tyler and Abbie reconcile and move back in together, Zack reveals that he is the only one who knew about the secret romance between Emily and Becca in case you pursued her as a Love Interest and then he encourages her to make it official and the player can decide to become official or not.
• Secret Relationship: Emily and Becca will have it if you pursue her as a Love Interest.
• Sexiled: In his backstory, Chris was thrown out of his room twice by Manny in order to have sex with his girlfriend. Chris even drops the trope name at one point while discussing this.
• Shirtless Scene: A running gag in "Hartfeld Horror Story" is how Chad (Chris's counterpart) keeps taking his shirt off for no reason.
• Sixth Ranger:
  • After Freshman Book 3 and 4, Zig and James are official members of the gang.
  • Becca becomes the fifth suitemate when Emily invites her to move in with them. Everyone still treats her like My Friends... and Zoidberg.
• So Bad, It's Good: In-Universe example. This is the gang's reaction to Twombly's story in "Hartfeld Horror Story".
• Terrible Interviewees Montage: If Emily decides to help James interview new staff writers.
• Trash of the Titans: Emily's designated roommate is Rachel. Apparently nobody wanted to bunk with her in two years, since her mess is huge. It gets to the point where Emily finds a nest of cockroaches under a pizza box that quickly go inside her pile of dirty laundry. While Rachel is aware that her room fits every available definition of "unsanitary", she brushes it off as "building an immunity to germs and the plague in case of a epidemic". Nobody knows if she's just joking or being serious.
• What Is This Feeling?: Becca is very disturbed by how she feels when she's... nice to people...

The Junior

The Junior includes examples of:

• Clear My Name: Emily had her name cleared after those guilty of tarnishing her name were exposed.
• Beat Them at Their Own Game: Emily gets a chance to tell Nathan this after his crimes are exposed and he is arrested. The only thing Nathan does is hear Emily say it.
  Emily: "Nathan... How does it feel to lose? That's right! I beat you in you own game."
• Darker and Edgier: While the first books had some mature content, The Junior takes things a bit further, with the plot centering around a vicious conspiracy aimed at terrorizing Emily and her friends, including two pranks that could have killed someone, a faked kidnapping, and an attempt to frame Emily for arson. One character (and possibly two others, depending on player choices) ends up serving a long prison sentence.
• Deadly Prank: The book features a central plot revolving around a campus prankster whose pranks are not of the harmless variety.
• Detectives Follow Footprints: The book focuses on Emily gathering evidence to find the culprits for all the malicious pranks.
• Engineered Public Confession:
  • In the premium option to go back and demand a copy of Becca's faked law application, Emily will record the admissions counselor's sexist comments and use it to blackmail him into giving them the application.
  • In the final chapter, Nathan makes the mistake of telling Emily everything about the pranks and his motivations for no reason. Turns out that all his confession was recorded and broadcasted to all the student body.
• Evidence Dungeon: In the premium option of Chapter 12, Emily, Tyler, Abbie and Sebastian find a secret trophy room that contains records of crimes committed by former members of Alpha Tetha Mu, including the prizes Nathan's father won. Beau's prize is already guaranteed if he manages to ruin Emily's life.
• False Friends: Nathan, Kassidy and Beau pretended to be group's friends with only one purpose: to destroy Emily's reputation^note Emily finished Vasquez's book and saved the house he lived in from his childhood until his death.... and they failed.
• Fanservice Car Wash: At the end of Chapter 9, Emily and Becca get the forged letter and on it, there was a picture of who the person behind it was and that person was washing a car. On the back of her panties it said 'PROSECUTE THIS' and the person's identity was revealed to be Kassidy.
• Hypocritical Humor: If Emily has her friends create a distraction so she can sneak backstage, Abbie and Tyler run in yelling about eating the rich. This leads Sebastian to awkwardly add, "Uh, yes. Wealth disparity is... very unfair!"
• I Can Explain: Nathan says this to Stafford when his crimes are publicly exposed by Emily, but the dean says to explain this to the police.
• Karma Houdini: If you haven't gathered enough evidence to send Beau and Kassidy to prison. They are only forced to leave Hartfeld by their parents after Nathan's arrest.
• Motivational Lie: In chapter 12, Dorian reveals to Sebastian that he lied when he said that he was part of Alpha Theta Mu's Inner Circle to make him reach his true potential. Sebastian is furious, but forgives him when he learns that his father overreacted.
• Once More, with Clarity: Sebastian reveals the whole reason he was running for student body president was to embezzle from it, because that was the prank assigned to him as his initiation into ATM’s secret circle, he was kicked out when he was caught. Which makes his actions make a lot more sense as Becca mentioned back in original series he was already rich.
• Romantic False Lead: Nathan Sterling appears as a potential love interest for Emily if she is single, potentially earning romance points until in Chapter 11 we find out he was just playing with her.
• School Grade Hacking: Zig had his notes hacked and this act almost led to his expulsion. The person responsible for the action was revealed to be Kassidy, who either left college or was arrested depending on the evidence you gathered.
• Sheltered Aristocrat: In Book 1 Chapter 2, Sebastian calls Emily for help... with his laundry, since he doesn't know how to use a washing machine. Emily can sense that it might not be the real reason why he's avoiding the Alphas.
• A Taste of Their Own Medicine: In Chapter 9, Emily discovers that Kassidy pretended to be Becca when she forged a fake application letter. In the premium option of Chapter 13, Emily pretends to be Kassidy, allowing her and the gang to expose Nathan live.
• Thanksgiving Episode: It's all of Chapter 7 and it was in that chapter that Sebastian tells Emily that he was a member of Alpha Theta Mu.
• Traumatic Haircut: At the beginning of Chapter 5, Chelsea reveals that Claire was forced in tears to cut her hair after Beau put glue in her shampoo.

The Senior

The Senior includes examples of:

• Divorce Is Temporary: In chapter 11, Emily finds out that her parents are separating and in chapter 12 it's her turn to break up with her love interest. In Chapter 14, Stephen and Maureen resume their marriage and the player has the option to reconnect with their love interest and the same happens with Vasquez and Eliana in the flashback.
• Epistolary Novel: It is throughout the book that one of the important points is the flaskback showing the young Enrique Vasquez in his senior year.
• Flashback B-Plot: The book shows several scenes of young Enrique Vasquez during the late 1970s and early 1980s as Emily reads his journal.
• Grand Finale: Chapter 15 is the final chapter not just in the Senior, but the Freshman saga as well.
• Heads I Win, Tails You Lose: In Chapter 6 when a rude gamer gives Abbie crap for her art in Dragon Jest, Tyler is about to throw down the gauntlet and Zack tells Emily that beating the gamer not only ruins his credibility but also gives the game free press.
• Hollywood Skydiving: In Chapter 4, Chris invites Emily to skydive and is entitled to see them jump.
• Legendary in the Sequel: Emily is remembered for her achievements in The Freshman, The Sophomore and The Junior, even giving a TV interview for these actions.
• Meet the In-Laws: In Chapter 5, Emily meets or is reunited with her future in-laws and depending on the answers, they can get along very well.
• Never Going Back to Prison: At Chapter 3, the bartender will ask if Emily and Kaitlyn they are cops and it will be desperate if you answer "We sure are!".
• Production Foreshadowing: In Chapter 11, if Emily is dating Kaityln, she will mention a celebrity singer by the name of Avery Wilshere. Avery is officially introduced in Platinum, and them noticing the main character's singing talent is what leads to the entire plot unfolding.
• Rejected Marriage Proposal: It's one of the player's options when Emily's love interest proposes to her in Chapter 15.
• Senior Year Struggles: It's the plot of the book.
• Switching P.O.V.: The book features two player-controlled protagonists: Emily Day who is the recurrent and Enrique Vasquez during the flashbacks.
• Unseen No More: Some characters finally made their first canonical appearance in this book. Starting with Stephen, Emily's father who is first mentioned in The Freshman, Book 1, Chapter 2, Shannon Davenport makes her first appearance in Chapter 6 after being mentioned a few times by her daughter, Becca. The same goes for Barb Powell, Chris' mother, who has already been mentioned on a few occasions.