#I'm sacrifice Arcadia Bay players

[arcadiabaytornado]

Sacrifice Chloe Players Explaining Their Choice: I sacrifice Chloe because I feel like it's the ending that most fits the deep themes of grief and love after loss the game presents. Plus, I have moral obligations about sacrificing a town full of people. I don't think it's right to put the life of one over the lives of many. And furthermore -

Sacrifice Arcadia Bay Players Explaining Their Choice: Gay rights. 🏳️‍🌈

[kirain]

What's your take on the whole Max and Chloe break up in Double Exposure?

Also are you going to play it? I enjoyed your analysis of True Colors and Before the Storm.

Thank you! And oh boy...

My friends and I have actually been talking about this for the past few days, and maybe it's just my specific friend group, but ... we're fine with it? 😅

None of us sacrificed Arcadia Bay for Chloe. I'd say half of my friends hate her and half of them love her, but even my friends who love/relate to her couldn't justify it to themselves. One girl from our group, who dyed her hair blue after playing the game and absolutely worshipped Chloe, still chose Arcadia Bay. So from that standpoint, none of us are really hurting from Deck Nine's decision.

As for the people who are hurting, I'm sorry. Truly. I'm sorry you're disappointed. I understand how it feels and it sucks, especially when you chose Chloe despite the consequences. That was your decision and you had the right to make it. You had the right to enjoy it. Narratively, though ... it does makes sense. At least in my eyes. The only aspect that doesn't is Chloe ending up with Victoria, which I've heard happens? But I've searched high and low and that doesn't seem to be confirmed anywhere. There's a message where Victoria and Chloe go to a concert together, but that doesn't mean they're a couple, so I think this is just a stretch from angry players.

Other than that, I don't find Deck Nine's thought process all that outrageous. Their reason for breaking up is something I considered when it came time to choose between Chloe and the town. Chloe openly asks you to sacrifice her, saying that her mom and everyone else in Arcadia Bay deserves better—and I agree. Joyce, David, Warren, Kate, Alyssa, Stella, Dana, Daniel, Ms. Grant, Samuel the custodian, they all deserve to live. Even the characters we don't like, like Taylor and Victoria, at least deserve a chance. They're teenagers.

If you sacrifice Arcadia Bay, the animation when Max and Chloe drive through the demolished town clearly shows an air of regret on Max's face. She refused Chloe's first and only selfless demand and let thousands die for her; animals, men, women, and children. I personally find it difficult to believe that their relationship could work after that. Even the comics explore this concept, with Max leaving Chloe for a while because she can't handle the guilt.

The first Life is Strange is essentially a game about a girl who can't stop running from the past and a girl who can't let go of it. Given what Max and Chloe go through together, and considering how different they are as individuals, it's perfectly reasonable to assume that, as they grow and mature into adults, they wouldn't be able to salvage a slowly breaking relationship. Chloe would forever see the girl that killed thousands—including her own mother—for her, while Max would see a constant reminder of all the people she killed. It's a very realistic outcome for Pricefield, if we're being honest. And according to the letters, Chloe wanted to move on, but Max couldn't, while Max felt like Chloe was being a hypocrite. It's raw and complex and entirely believable.

Not to mention the first game never promises that Max and Chloe become a couple. You can sacrifice Arcadia Bay without romancing Chloe. There's two variants, couples or besties. So how on earth was Deck Nine going to cater to everyone, especially when there's a timeline where Chloe is dead? It would be impossible without making two drastically different games. Their only option was to remove Chloe from the plot entirely (alienating her fans) or miraculously revive her, in which case she would become the main focus of the story instead of Sifa, and it would negate the majority of people's decision from the first game. Nearly 60% of players sacrificed Chloe across the board, so I can understand why Deck Nine gave that outcome precedence. But it was a lose/lose situation from the start, so perhaps the best argument one can make is that they shouldn't have made a new game at all.

NOTE: I just found out that in the comics, Victoria and Chloe actually become good friends and Victoria matures a ton, so I dunno. Maybe the two of them getting together makes sense after all. 🤷‍♀️ That said, the comics aren't canon to the games and, in my opinion (based on what I've researched), they seem like a fanfic written to try and justify the sacrifice of thousands of innocent people, so I'm pretty indifferent to them.

Of course, there is another detail I've rarely seen people broach when discussing this drama: we don't really know anything yet. Above all, I think we need to remember that the game isn't finished. We've only seen two episodes. We have no idea where the narrative is going. For all we know, Max and Chloe might get back together by the end. Or even more likely, this is an alternate timeline Max. Much like the comics, this is just one of infinite possibilities. I think people need to calm down and hold their criticisms until we see the final product.

[chloe-caulfield94]

Double Exposure proves Bae is the right choice

While Double Exposure will factor in the final choice of Season 1 in some capacity, we already know the game will always start the same way.

With Max attempting to rewind time to save Safi's life.

This is very different from the time Max saved Chloe's life in the school bathroom on Monday. Saving Chloe's life, Max had no idea about the potential consequences of rewinding time. Hell, at first she didn't even know she had any power at all and simply reacted instinctively. On Monday, Max made no choice. She had the option to erase her rescue of Chloe on Friday. But rewinding time on Monday she didn't know she could bring about a Storm.

But ten years later, Max is painfully aware that by rewinding time she could cause terrible consequences. Yes, I know her powers evolved in the meantime and conveniently there's not going to be another Storm this time around. But Max learns that only AFTER she attempts to rewind time to save Safi. When Double Exposure Max makes her choice, she decides to rewind time to save a friend's life, knowing full well the potential destructive consequences and accepting them. It's only after she attempts to do so, she ends up in a parallel timeline, instead of the past (and she's still going to attempt to rewrite the past, as she says she has to prevent Safi's murder in both timelines, including the one in which it already happened).

In essence, Max's choice to rewind time to save Safi's life is a repetition of the Bae vs Bay choice. Knowing full well about the potential consequences of time travel, Max had to choose - whether to risk said consequences to save a friend's life or to let that friend die, the fear of consequences preventing her from acting.

And Double Exposure Max, no matter if it's Bae Max or Bay Max, always chooses to act, to rewind time consequences be damned. She chooses not to abandon a friend, no matter what.

It makes perfect sense for Bae Max to attempt to use rewind to save Safi. Because she has already proven she wouldn't be able to stand idly by while a friend is murdered. So Double Exposure Max attempting to use rewind, knowing full well what it might inadvertently bring about, is perfectly consistent with Bae Max's philosophy.

But it makes zero sense for Bay Max to attempt to use rewind. Because she has already proven that the fear of consequences would prevent her from using her power, even to save her "number one priority". That is of course assuming that Bay Max stood by her choice. Because the above-mentioned discrepancy could be easily explained by Bay Max regretting her choice to sacrifice Chloe, concluding she did the wrong thing and being unwilling to repeat the same mistake with Safi.

Bae Max stands by her choice ten years later. She saves Safi's life just like she saved Chloe's. If Bae Max regretted sacrifing Arcadia Bay, she wouldn't attempt to rewind time to save Safi, afraid of destroying another town. But she does attempt to rewind, standing by her previous choice, exhibiting unwavering devotion to friends.

Bay Max clearly regrets her choice to sacrifice Chloe and does a complete 180, choosing to save a friend's life this time around.

Don't you see? When Max is left to her own devices, when she makes the choice, not the player, she chooses to save a friend's life.

Double Exposure confirms something that in my opinion was obvious from the start. If Max, not the player, was tasked with making the final choice, she would save Chloe.

Just listen to what Max ALWAYS says about Chloe, regardless of player choices:

“I'm with you to the end, Chloe. You know that”.

“Sorry San Fransisco. Chloe comes first!”

“Chloe, you’re priceless”.

“I’ll always believe you, Chloe”.

“I never want to hurt you! Ever!”

“I always wanted my life to be special, an adventure. But not without you!”

“You are my number one priority now! You are all that matters to me!”

“It doesn’t matter what happens to me. I have to save Chloe!”

“Nobody is going to hurt Chloe ever again!”

“William, I just want you to know that whatever happens, I'll always be here for Chloe”.

“Because I will never abandon you, Chloe. I'll always have your back”.

"I'll miss Chloe more than the rest of Arcadia Bay combined. It's not even close".

Unexpectedly, Double Exposure settled the Bae vs Bay debate for good. Max would choose the Bae. When she was left to make the same choice with Safi, independently of any player input, she chose the Bae.

[axtivaqe]

Life is strange Double Exposure is NOT canon

So its been getting around that Chloe isn't gonna be in Lis DE and I have never been more devastated in my life. Deck nine said they were going to respect the 2 decisions that players could've made, yet they practically said "fuck you" and took Chloe out of the picture. I just don't understand why though, like 50% of the fanbase picked sacrifice Arcadia bay and it was mainly because we are huge pricefield shippers (idk about y'all but I am). And their not stupid, they know about the pricefield ship and how much people wanted to see Chloe and Max in another game. They literally said they were going to follow through with the original games and the 2 decisions at the end, but then they completely scrap the idea of Chloe and Max being together, and they didn't even want to tell us. People had been asking about Chloes role in DE since the game first got announced, so why would they leave our questions unanswered for so long? It makes no sense on their behalf and its js overall bad marketing, They made it out that Chloe left Max because she didn't want to do long distance, but thats not Chloe at all. Chloe is the girl who dedicated her WHOLE journal to letters for/to Max in before the storm, Chloe is the girl who wrote "and she probably has all new friends up in fucking Seattle, i still miss her. if she came back tomorrow and said "hey Chloe, want to dress up like pirates and be stupid together?" i would take her back in a heartbeat." after she hadn't seen or spoken to her for 3 years, Chloe is the girl who told max that they would last forever and that she would never leave her. They completely mischaracterised her and made the whole sacrifice Arcadia bay option pointless, they spent 10 years together and Chloe throws it away because she cant do temporary long distance? Thats not like her at all. I see people saying "its realistic though, a relationship built from trauma isn't healthy" and it really annoys me, like yes their right, but thats in the real world, its a game about a girl who can jump between realities which isn't realistic at all. And don't even get me started on the rumour about Chloe flirting with VICTORIA.

But the game still isn't out yet, I mean we only have the first 2 episodes and I'm not sure if all of this is confirmed (if it is how do we know when we only have the 2 episodes?) or if people are just taking the 2 episodes and their story line, and then putting the pieces together. I was having a convo with someone in the comments under a yt video by Cucu on Games about how Chloe will be in DE (the video was made 3 weeks ago before all this info came out) and we both thought that maybe Chloe will come back into max's life in one of the last episodes, maybe she misses Max and hears about what happened with her friend Safi and comes to see her and reconnect with her, because surely Deck nine, a huge game company who know what their fanbase wants, wouldn't use false advertising by making us think Chloe is gonna be in the game only to scrap that idea after saying they wanted to respect and follow the two choices players could have made.

Its a really controversial opinion and I've seen a few people say it makes sense and its part of Max's character development, but Id say most of the fanbase isn't happy about this whole thing. I mean of course I'm happy to be able to see Max in another game, and we're lucky to even be getting another lis game. But to make us think we're going to see Chloe and then let us find out that we aren't is just bad marketing. If they never intended to have Chloe in the game then why wouldn't they answer everyones question, 'Is Chloe going to make a physical appearance?' (they would've 100% seen people asking because their social media pages are flooded with the one question about Chloe) Lmk what you think tho, and if you made it all the way through this then thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this long ass rant 😭

[mythoughtsandrandomcr4p]

Life is Strange: Double Exposure- Initial thoughts

So. I bought the early access version and want to give my initial thoughts on this game, having played Chapter 1 and some of Chapter 2.

PLEASE DO NOT READ AHEAD IF YOU DON'T WANT TO GET SPOILED!! YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!

First of all, the biggy. The huge issue everyone on social media and who has seen spoilers/played the game is ranting about right now. Some people (actually, a lot of people) are even choosing to refund their purchase, or to not interact with the game at all anymore due to this...

Deck Nine have seemed to dismiss the player's major choice from the ending of LIS 1, where we either chose to sacrifice Chloe or Arcadia Bay. The way they chose to (pretty lazily) write in how Max and Chloe broke up- (via a letter from Chloe, if we chose the 'we broke up' dialogue option at the start of this game)?.....a pretty shitty decision, and, for the majority of fans, seemingly a deal-breaker. A lot of fans are also disappointed in Chloe seemingly not being in this game at all...but I'll write more on that in a sec.

As for my opinions so far...I'm not gonna lie, yes I was a little disappointed and I can fully appreciate why so many people are hating, but it was something I could personally look past (even though I chose bae over bay). Firstly, the trailers and teasers leading up to this early access release pretty much set my expectations for this going in- that Chloe would likely not be a main part of the storyline at all, and that the major choice made at the end of LIS 1 wouldn't be, either. Okay, yes, the writing connecting this game to LIS 1 could have been a lot better. But...

Max is much older, and the story is centred on her time at Caledon, with new friends, a new setting and a new storyline. I went into this game really excited about all of these new things, instead of having my heart set on a game centred around the continuation of LIS 1.

LIS 1- related things aside for a sec... I LOVE the new setting, it's really gorgeous, I love the design of the university and all the new characters we get to meet, the soundtrack is amazing, and I'm just having such a blast playing this game. It's so cosy. And it certainly keeps the charming, cringe-at-times but hilarious dialogue and vibe we get in every other Life is Strange game, and I love it so much. The characters are all pretty unique, too, and I am quickly growing attached to some (and already hating others...lmao). Max's new ability to switch between universes is really well-done. I love using it and seeing all the, often subtle, little differences that really add to the atmosphere and the story-telling of the game imo.

So...personally I am really enjoying Double Exposure so far!

Back to the whole 'Max and Chloe' thing... it feels as though the game could (take this with a pinch of salt) go a certain way in regards to Chloe. I have a theory (a VERY far-fetched one, but a theory, nonetheless). If there is a chance of them actually having Chloe be in this game in Chapters 3, 4 or 5, it might just redeem a bit of respect back from the fandom. I don't think they will, but something in the back of my mind, a slither of hope, if you will, is saying that they might just do this...

So, in Chapters 1 and 2, Max finds polaroids that neither her in the 'Dead World' or her in the 'Living World' have taken. Suggesting that there aren't only two alternate universes. Now, all of these other alternate universes may have only 'opened' to Max in the present, but surely they aren't only influenced by what has happened to Safi. What if an alternate universe, perhaps the one that these mysterious polaroids are from, had Max and Chloe's relationship (or breakup) happen differently? Who's to say that we won't get a sudden, unexpected change in a future chapter where Max and Chloe meet in an alternate reality, where they didn't break up, or where they did break up but differently, or something like that?...I don't fucking know. I'm rambling lmao. I don't want to give false hope. Maybe I'm clutching at straws atp. But in LIS 1, remember when they (Don'tNod) completely baffled us with the whole, sudden 'polaroid time-travel, William being alive and Chloe ending up disabled' reality? If Deck Nine really wanted to take that kind of route with this game, this would be a hell of a way to do it. Take a sudden turn in a non- early access chapter, have people fooled, and all that. But this is Deck Nine- they have a 'reputation', and maybe they just fucked up.

Unless I've missed a crucial point of LIS 1 or LIS: DE where this just would not be possible (?), I just can't help but think that there could still be a little bit of hope for the people who wanted to see Chloe, or who are immensely effected and disappointed by how her and Max's relationship played out according to this game.

Probably not gonna happen, though. Just food for thought. If nothing close to this happens then I'm still going to fully appreciate and love this game either way, as I already currently am.

This is a hell of a waffle, but I just wanted to get all my thoughts down. Would love to hear anyone else's opinions on this whole thing. Do you like this game? Are you avoiding it now after hearing 'the news'? Do you hate Deck Nine? Are my thoughts on a potential turn-around completely wacko? lol. Any and all opinions welcome!

(also, I stream on twitch occasionally. I've been streaming some LIS:DE early access, but I play all sorts of games. if thats your thing and you wanna check out my twitch, my channel is 'splritwolf') :)

[dalekofchaos]

I don't get the Chloe erasure in Double Exposure

To me, I understand wanting to show a Max Caulfield in her own game without being dependent on Chloe. If that's the case, you should have made sure to say "these gameplays are from a playthrough that chose save the bay" because I've been bitching about not showing what Max's life is like in the Post-Bay ending since LIS 2.(although an easier fix would've been to have Max and Chloe if you saved Chloe or Max and Warren if you saved the Bay in LIS 2 instead of fucking David)

However, I don't understand the marketing tactic of having Chloe's existence being almost non-existent in DE. Chloe is the very emotional core of LIS. Her and Max is what drove the first game's story. Chloe and Rachel drove BTS.

Now I imagine we're only getting Chloe's presence in texts, journal entries or phone calls. But to me that's really dumb. Imagine having an iconic dynamic like Max and Chloe and deciding we're going to act like that doesn't exist and force completely new characters on us instead of characters from Arcadia Bay.

Now to me there are two theories on why Chloe isn't in Vermont with Max

My personal theory. They're taking a break from each other to find themselves. Max chooses to continue to pursue their dreams and Chloe learns to better herself as a person like going to therapy, getting her education and getting a job to be a better person for Max.

The rumored and leaked bullshit break up theory. It's potentially leaked that they broke up and I hate it. Like yes, let's sacrifice an entire town and killing thousands of people, including Chloe's mother and all of Max's friends, only for Max and Chloe to break up. How the fuck is that "respecting the ending"

It also doesn't help that Ashly is a union VA and it feels like once again SE is fucking over the fans by having Rhianna potentially voicing Chloe. I'm sorry, I love Rhianna, but she does not work as an older Chloe, she worked for the BTS era Chloe only. and I cannot imagine Hannah being okay with working with anyone but Ashly as Chloe.

It's evidently clear this was supposed to be a completely different game with a different character entirely, but the D9 expose came out and SE course corrected to save D9's asses and had Max be the main character. For whatever reason they want to distance the player from seeing Chloe. I get the logic of suspense and the wait is worth the reward, but it seems to me they are alienating the audience as a giant fuck you and that is a terrible marketing strategy.

I really don't want to make this comparison because thinking of those vile Clementine comics makes me physically ill, but taking Max away from Chloe(Bae) and Warren and Kate(Bay) is like taking Clementine away from AJ, Louis and Violet.

I have a lot of reasons to boycott this game 1 2 3 4, but the lack of Chloe or characters from Arcadia for the save the Bay scenario is a large part and I really don't like the direction of this game.

To me the only way this game will be worth it is if it ends with Max saving Rachel in the end to quite literally save everyone and it ends with Max, Chloe and Rachel driving off into the rainbow sunset.

[tangent101]

How to "justify" Sacrifice Chloe

The biggest problem with Sacrifice Chloe is the fact that we don't know that letting Chloe die will in fact do anything to save the town. It is entirely possible without knowledge of the game ending that Sacrifice Chloe would be the Bad End with Max crushed by the lighthouse falling on her in the Storm as seen at the prologue of the game. So then... without allowing Spoilers to influence the player, what would be an effective method of showing Chloe's death would save the town?

It requires rewriting a good portion of Chapter 5 of the game.

Max is no longer trying to get to Two Whales. Instead, she is trying to reach a small medical center where Chloe was taken after being shot. This is not a proper hospital. Chloe was found hours after she was shot, she is obviously dying, and the Storm is preventing traffic from leaving Arcadia Bay.

The benefit of a small medical center is we could also have Kate taken there after her... incident on top of the dorms, assuming she didn't jump. Kate would be there under supervision but was going to be released to her family's custody when the Storm hits. Meanwhile, Warren drove Joyce to the medical center when Joyce learns that Chloe is dying.

Shortly before Max arrives at the medical center, Joyce chooses to discontinue life support. Chloe is not going to recover, the Storm is probably going to knock out even the emergency generator, better to just let her die naturally. Max gets there moments before Chloe dies, gets to be all teary-eyed and upset that Joyce pulled the plug... and the moment Chloe flatlines? The Storm just ends.

Kate would be all "it's a miracle!" while Warren is naturally saying things like "there are no miracles, the tornado just ran out of steam? They do that!" and Joyce is crying… and saying "Chloe stopped the Storm. She died to save us all!"

Max is insisting on having the photograph Warren took of her and him, and he demands to know why and finally she drags him to the hall and admits about the time travel. At that point Warren insists that the Storm was caused by saving Chloe and that she caused everything and Max grabs the photo and jumps out.

You thus have proof that Chloe's death stops the Storm. You have more Kate (and Kate is just a sweet girl who doesn't insist on anything) and Joyce claiming that Chloe's death stops the Storm and that puts the seeds into Max's head. And more, that is why Chloe is insisting on Max "saving" Joyce and crew. Because Joyce wanted her dead to save everyone (or that's how Chloe will interpret it).

I might even have Kate (if she's alive) with Max and Chloe during the Storm at the end - Autopilot-Max and Chloe snag Kate to keep her safe. During the Final Choice, Kate will be the voice of "you can't sacrifice her… that's wrong! God didn't want Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, He wouldn't want you to sacrifice Chloe!" while Chloe is all "but it will save everyone!" The Final Choice remains Max's. (And in the end, Max, Chloe, and Kate go off together... or Max chooses to sacrifice her best friend believing Warren to be right.)

Of course I'm also a proponent of the Third Option: Sacrifice Max. Max chooses to openly intervene and gets shot by Nathan by accusing him of killing Rachel. The shooting of a quiet girl too small to be a threat to Nathan ensures he goes to jail (no escaping with an appeal this time you rich fuck) and at the end Chloe leaves with Max's parents, wanting nothing to do with this dead end town that devoured the lives of her two best friends.

[uglyduckling339]

@thisonewhocanbreathe wanted to read my rant so here it is !!

After watching someone play Life Is Strange for their first time, all I can think abt is how poorly treated Sacrifice Arcadia Bay's ending is.

I mean, narratively speaking even the OG game didn't treat it well. Comparing the Sacrifice Chloe ending with the Sacrifice Arcadia Bay ending isn't even really a fair fight; Bae>Bay has less scenes/a shorter outro, plus it has a dark tone that only gets slightly lifted by Chloe and Max locking eyes as they drive off. Part of why their breakup in Double Exposure makes sense is because the OG game literally leaves them on a negative tone with guilt and regret shown all over Max's face and body language.

When you compare that tone with the Bay>Bae ending, it's obvious the makers had a preference on the "correct" ending. The Sacrifice Chloe ending creates some form of closure for Pricefield fans (their kiss before the photo jump), and then proceed to play a much longer outro with multiple scenes. They show Max's grief for Chloe, which does makes a negative and sad tone, but then they brighten it by showing the other characters who Chloe had died for. The funeral scene, for example, highlights almost every character Max interacts with in the game. That makes the player more likely to feel good about their choice because they can see the volume of Chloe's sacrifice. Not only do they emphasize the morality of her death, but the Blue Butterfly flies in to symbolize Chloe's fate and to show hope for Max's future. The Sacrifice Chloe ending shows how sad Chloe's death is, but it also shows how Max can move forward from her grief (which is also argueably a key takeaway of this game).

The Sacrifice Arcadia Bay decision leaves fans with practically nothing to end with. Even when Chloe is alive we don't get true closure with her story. Obviously, the purpose of it's vague ending was to allow fans to decide PriceField's next steps by themselves. But even while leaving Bae>Bay up to interpriation, they could have created more scenes to fill the gaps from the ending. An extended outro could have lightened the dark tone enough to make both endings feel more equal and add hope to the future of PriceField.

This isn't the only time in the game that one choice is given more care than the other. The creators use these 'half-assed choices' often throughout the Life Is Strange games when they clearly have a preference for a certain decision and don't want to put too much energy into the opposing choice. For example, this also happens with Kate's suicide. If you save Kate, you visit her in the hospital. If she dies however, Max doesn't get any special scene to reference the suicide beyond the text about her funeral. While it would be difficult to add extra scenes due to both budget and storytelling limits, leaving choices up to players while only actually planning one proper outcome is a waste of time for almost everyone involved.

48% of players (as of Nov. 28. 24) chose the Sacrifice Arcadia Bay ending in the OG LiS game, and the vocal majority of the fanbase prefers it over Sacrificing Chloe. While both endings are valid choices to close out the game, it feels almost disrespectful how the games treat one with such higher regard. The open-ended outro for Bae>Bay was a good idea, but the lack of closure for fans in that decision is unbelievably obvious and their off-screen breakup is sadly a predictable effect from the lack of a true ending for Pricefield after the Sacrifice Arcadia Bay decision.

I don't have the energy to go into a rant about Double Exposure and the breakup so i'm gonna shut up before this sprials any further but yeah! It's always bugged me how one ending is obviously the "proper" one for the game. The Sacrifice Arcadia bay ending deserved better treatment than it was given lmao

[vole-mon-amour]

Some of my LIS2 choices. I did my best and mostly went with my gut, even though some walkthroughs did affect my choice. Some choices I didn't even know were available, and some, like Daniel helping Sean with carrying water in ep3, I missed. He offered help, but I didn't ask him to use the power, so he didn't.

Overall, some decisions didn't matter. For example, I didn't tell that abuser next door that we're staying at our Grandparents', but he still called them that later and didn't even flinch, like it was normal. Some decisions, like in s4, still lead to the same outcomes, which really felt like Telltale—absolutely useless and annoying.

Mushroom's death, by the way, was still unnecessary. The way the game forces your hand to do one choice or the other sometimes (why is hetero romance "right" and same sex romance is "bad"? Why does Cassidy see that the heist is hella dangerous and a horrible idea, while Finn gets greedy and goes, "Dude, your brother asked me to, I didn't force him"? Hello? Who's the adult here?)

I would've loved to romance Finn just for the sake of telling him that "I like some boys" and "I like you" and the overall "I find you cute", but fuck, man. You're blaming a nine year old? You see his power and that's your immediate chain of thoughts and actions? Again, no wonder you've been to jail at such a young age already.

Episode 2:

Episode 3:

Episode 4 (i HATE this episode. Such a waste of the players' time and possibilities):

Episode 5:

First and foremost, Arthur and Stanley are the best. Love those dudes. Might be my fav characters here. Go, you old gays. <3

Honestly, not the worst ending, but could've been better. Would've loves to see both brothers in Mexico, protected by a gang or something.

On the other hand, Daniel loved Sean enough to make the way for him, tell him, "don't go back for me" and "hope you're happy in Mexico".

I understand why I got this ending. I tried to teach Daniel not to be a complete asshole, so he refused to hurt any more people; I tried to enjoy my own journey, so we didn't get a brotherly bond up to 100%. I tried to teach him about not talking about his power with the others & that annoyed him. I'd be such a horrible parent/older sibling. Getting annoyed at Daniel, a fictional kid, is bad enough. I'm glad I'm an only child.

Also, fuck Karen. Just because she FINALLY helped her kids doesn't erase her actions. She could've totally use her head and not get married and have kids. It wasn't society, parents or whatever. She made her choice. And to write her a heartfelt letter, "sorry for getting you involved, it's not your problem"? Hello???? She abandoned them? She's their mother, after all (or at least she claims to be)? It's her duty? That's shitty parenting right there. I wish Sean could've told her waaay more in both ep4 and ep5. It's just not realistic the way they actually scripted it.

Overall, I enjoyed this game more than the first one, but I still felt too old for the game? The first 5 hours (so 2 episodes) felts like 20 hours and gave me a horrible headache. I hate first LIS with their problems and parties, and the choices that don't matter, and fucking Chloe that pissed me off sooo much. I gave LIS2 a chance because the brothers reminded me of Sam and Nathan. For a while I imagined them on the road, since they have been on the run as teenagers, too. Then I got used to it, but Daniel was still annoying. I will never love kids, that's for sure.

The way people kind of expect you to sacrifice Arcadia Bay? Lmao, no. Also, I'm glad we didn't have to deal with Captain Spirit nonsense too much. I would still have appreciated if it wasn't there at all, I couldn't even play the demo because of how much the kid annoys me (again, not a fan of kids), but I'm glad it was only for one episode. And I'm glad I could push past the weed, party, booze problems at the very start of the game. That is not my thing at all.

I am glad I am done with the game for now. Maybe I'll go for collectibles later, but I honestly doubt it. They don't even give achievements for different outcomes, which is a shame.

[pyukumukuus]

I replayed Life is Strange for a third time. I am going to replay all of the series, and want to record my thoughts about it here.

First up...

Life is Strange

This game had such an effect on me. I can't put my finger on exactly what it is that this game did that was just so special, it just feels like the right balance of 'cosy and warm' and 'bleak and eerie' in all the ways I love.

Aesthetically I find this game really stimulating. I love the way the screen looks when you reverse time, particularly the blotchy red visual when you go as far back as it is possible to go, which is just so visceral and I can feel it in my brain. I love Max and Chloe; this game made me care about them so much so quickly, better than any of the other LiS games. I think LiS2 is also an incredibly strong game but it took me a lot longer to warm to Sean and Daniel. I never really cared for Alex in LiS:TC at all. Nothing has come close to the original for me. The language of this game may be utterly cringe to some but it is so nostalgic to me. I have seen people heavily criticise this aspect of the game saying 'kids don't talk like that' but they seriously did. LiS is set in 2013; I would have been 19 at this time - the same age as Chloe. The way they speak takes me right back to being at school, 'hella' this, 'bro' that... this is just how me and my friends spoke about everything all the time.

In my very first playthrough of LiS, I just went with my gut and did what I felt was right, both morally or narratively. I saved Kate, tried to be nice to everyone I saw, and agonisingly chose to sacrifice Chloe in the end. For my second playthrough, I tried to experiment a bit with different choices and do things differently. I let Kate die, was as horrible to Victoria as possible (10/10 would do this every playthrough) and chose to sacrifice Arcadia Bay.

So this brings me to my third playthrough. Ultimately all of the choices you make in this game boil down to just two endings, both of which I have seen (except Pricefield! Must play again for this...) so this time I am playing the game in a way I very rarely play any role-playing video game - being as big an asshole as I can! Think 'I have these powers which I can use to undo mistakes/bad decisions but I just... won't' vibes.

So far I am having a LOT of fun. Chapter-by-chapter review below...

Chapter 1: Chrysalis

I have to mention again how this game is just so beautiful to me. Each time I see the storm it gives me chills. I'm fortunate to live in a part of the world where extreme weather events of any kind are a rarity. I have never seen this level of weather-induced destruction; to see a storm of that size and what it does to the Bay is darkly fascinating to me.

Horrible decisions made in this chapter:

Not letting Daniel sketch me

Ignoring Kate/not bothering to check in with her

Covering Victoria in paint (this is the only correct decision actually)

Noseying at Dana's pregnancy test in her room right in front of her

Taking a photo of David and Kate instead of intervening

Ransacking Madsen's garage with absolutely no effort to cover my tracks (doing this was HILARIOUS)

Not attempting to hide when David returned home

Blaming Chloe for the weed (only 1% of players are asshole enough to do this!)

Chapter 2: Out of Time

Before I get into my horrible decisions for this chapter, I want to have a rant about the absolute grade-A asshole that is David Masden. I know this is the writers' intention, but honestly finding out in the end that he isn't actually the antagonist just makes me hate him even more because it makes it even harder to justify his fucked up behaviour. I hate Joyce for marrying him and expecting Chloe to just get on with him even though he literally hits her, enforces rules about who she can bring into the house that she has lived in longer than him, and intimidates a vulnerable girl who is being bullied by her classmates. I do not buy that he is a 'good man at heart' and I don't believe that Joyce can be a nice woman if this is the man she chose to marry and bring into her grieving daughter's home not even 2 years after Chloe's dad died. In this chapter, Joyce defends David when Max tells her he hit Chloe by saying he has served his country in war and therefore Chloe shouldn't aggravate him. Fuck Joyce honestly! I feel like she is portrayed in the narrative like this sweet gentle soul who is just trying her best and she's such a great mom (I suppose we are seeing her through Max's eyes) but her decisions surrounding her own grieving and incredibly troubled daughter suggest otherwise. Chloe is dealing with losing her dad and then her best friend (Max), and Joyce thinks this is an appropriate time to just move a new man into the house who is so unabashedly in conflict with Chloe? Couldn't they just have dated until Chloe moved out? You're a fucking adult Joyce, not a teenager, put your fucking daughter's needs first please.

Also, it kind of goes without saying really, but Kate Marsh's story is just so upsetting. Going into her room to return her book and seeing all the little details reflecting how depressed she has become is just so haunting. I feel that narratively, her committing suicide has the bigger impact on the story and allows you to really feel the cost of a choice which you cannot rewind.

Horrible decisions made in this chapter:

Agreeing to a date with Warren (yes romancing Warren counts as a horrible decision)

Not erasing the link to the video Victoria wrote on the mirror

Telling Kate not to go to the police, and being doubtful of everything she told me about the Vortex Club party

Ignoring Kate's phone call

Not trying to shoot Frank (I consider this an asshole choice because it means risking Chloe's life)

Not saving Kate on the roof (and instead trying to make it all about me... I picked the 'I was bullied too' option and my god what an asshole that option makes you sound)

Chapter 3: Chaos Theory

I feel like this chapter drags a bit. Not one of my favourites. I love the creepy omen shit in this chapter though; the dead birds are particularly unsettling.

I am aware of the slightly ableist ending to this chapter (which gets a lot worse in Chapter 4) but I still remember my first reaction to it and how it moved me to tears. I did not see it coming. Such a stark contrast to Chloe's life in the main timeline and a reminder that things can indeed always be worse. A good twist if not very ham-fisted.

Horrible decisions made in this chapter:

Stealing the 'handicapped fund' (That is so fucked up honestly?! Most unhinged thing I have done this playthrough)

Not kissing Chloe (yes this is a horrible decision! I will have to play a fourth time to get the Pricefield kiss ;_;)

Getting Pompidou hit by a truck

Randomly siding with David in the argument between him and Chloe after getting him sacked from his job and being on his ass the entire game so far (Chloe was PISSED)

Not warning the homeless woman

Chapter 4: Dark Room

The whole 'help me to die' plot that follows on from the end of Chapter 3 is quite uncomfortable narratively, which of course it is supposed to be, but I think it is excessive. The purpose of this in the story is to show Max that every action comes with consequences, even the well-intentioned ones (in particular ones that involve protecting Chloe in some way). This part of the chapter is brutal and gets the point across more than enough without the euthanasia element, which I found to be very on-the-nose and rubbed excessive salt in the already agonising wound that was seeing Chloe and her family like this. On top of this, it sends out a very questionable 'being dead is better than being disabled' message which is... not cool.

Once we get beyond the alternate universe subplot, I think this is a really great chapter. Up to this point, that game feels like mostly good light-hearted fun with a few gritty parts thrown in. This is the chapter where all the cutesy fun dies.

In my first playthrough, I found the reveal that Rachel was actually dead just devastating, and I cried alongside Chloe. All the signs throughout the game had been pointing so heavily towards Rachel being dead that I felt it just had to mean she wouldn't be, so to find out after everything Max and Chloe have been through in pursuit of the truth that Rachel was indeed dead the whole time and that she had been killed in such an undignified, upsetting way, then buried in the same junkyard she used to hang out with her best friend in the whole time we had been there... it just ruined me. She was this huge sparkling presence in Chloe's life and for Chloe to have to see her in the ground like that just... there are no words.

Mr Jefferson becomes incredibly pantomime in Chapter 5, but that final camera shot in this chapter where he is looming over Max really gives me chills.

Oh, and I also have to mention the two moons and the beached whales, which are so sick. This game really nails the creepy end-of-the-world 'something is really off but we don't know why' vibes.

Horrible decisions made in this chapter (this chapter seems weirdly light on decisions?):

Didn't euthanise Chloe (is this an asshole decision? Probably not, but it does prolong Chloe's pain and the Prices' financial struggles)

Let Warren beat the ever-loving shit out of Nathan (felt good... debatable whether this is an asshole decision because he deserves it big time)

Let Chloe shoot Frank in the leg (I didn't realise he can die in this scene! I totally would have gone for that if I'd known)

Didn't warn Victoria (my original plan was to warn her because I read that doing that gets her killed by Jefferson but apparently that's only if she believes you... and I've been too much of an asshole to her already for that. I tried EVERY dialogue choice here and there was just no way she would believe me so I used rewind and went full nuclear on her instead because FUCK Victoria)

Chapter 5: Polarized

Jefferson is disappointing in this chapter. He is just way too over the top. I hate when villains undergo a complete personality change when you find out that they are the villain. He doesn't even feel like a character at this point.

What I love about this chapter is the eeriness. It takes a while to get going; the early part of this chapter really drags. But once the dream sequence starts I love that it is everything from the previous chapters coming to a head in the most creepy ways imaginable. The ocean of dead birds outside the classroom window gave me the biggest chills imaginable. The blood hitting the window. The blood spatter in Kate's seat. The whole backwards section. The numbers on the walls. On another note, I don't particularly like the sneak sequence... there's just too much of it and it's... a bit silly.

I have seen both endings in my previous two playthroughs. I didn't particularly like the 'Sacrifice Arcadia Bay' ending. To me it felt like the 'bad ending'; Max seemingly getting what she wants but in doing so creating even more chaos and destruction, much like she did when choosing to save Chloe's dad. It left me feeling that Max had not really learned any lessons, and would continue to put hers and Chloe's needs above everybody else's. Narratively, I felt like the 'Sacrifice Chloe' ending worked better, closing the loop of consequence which seemingly started the very moment Max saved Chloe, and it felt like a neater and more circular way to end the story. I felt like if Chloe had actually fought for her life and tried to persuade Max not to go back in time and let her die rather than encouraging her to do it, then sacrificing the Bay would have had more appeal to me and ultimately the choice would have felt a lot harder.

That was my initial take, but interestingly upon reading a few other opinions I realised that some people had a different interpretation entirely which made sacrificing the Bay seem a lot more appealing. The storm is the first scene we see in the game, long before we see Max unlock her powers, so this would suggest that the storm is set in stone regardless of Max acquiring her powers and therefore the decision to save Chloe does not create the butterfly effect that destroys the Bay. Also consistent with this is the fact that in the alternate timeline where Chloe is wheelchair-bound, in which Max has not had the encounter with Chloe in the bathroom, the same bad omens such as the beached whales are still happening. If you look at it this way, then sacrificing the Bay seems a lot more appealing, as this interpretation suggests that going back in time to allow Chloe to die in the bathroom in no way guarantees that the Bay will be saved from its fate.

Horrible decisions made in this chapter:

Telling David Chloe is dead (I consider this an asshole move because I'm about to attempt to go back in time again anyway, so there's not really any reason to tell him. Loved seeing him shoot Jefferson in the head though)

Not saving a single person as I made my way towards the diner (man... this was hard to do)

Electrocuting that guy and NOT REWINDING IMMEDIATELY ;_;

Telling Frank that Nathan killed Rachel with an overdose of drugs supplied by Frank himself (MAJOR asshole move busting out this level of detail to him... honestly I'm kind of disappointed Frank wasn't more distressed by this. He was way too amicable with me considering I killed his dog and Chloe shot him in the leg)

Kissing Warren (I know it's not quite up there with the others but still... he's fucking annoying)

Sacrificed Arcadia Bay (I love the idea that Max went back in time countless times trying to prevent the storm and she and Chloe finally arrive at the solution, Chloe is ready to die, she doesn't want the lives of everyone in Arcadia Bay to be lost on her account... and then Max just decides on a whim to rip up the picture and give up. Cue incredibly depressing car drive through the Bay while dead bodies litter the floor. A glance at the diner, the final resting place of Chloe's mother and Max's simp boyfriend. Finishing with an absolute asshole flourish!)

[arcadiabaytornado]

Which choices did you make in life is strange?

I'm a

Hide The Truth/Comfort Victoria/Intervene To Help Kate/Come Out Of Hiding To Help Chloe

Tell Kate To Go To The Police/Answer Kate's Call/Try To Shoot Frank/Save Kate/Blame Mark

Steal The Money/Kiss Chloe/Side With Chloe/Protect The Dog/Chloe Has The Gun

Overdose Chloe/Stop Warren From Beating Up Nathan/Don't Let Frank Get Hurt/Warn Victoria

Sacrifice Arcadia Bay

type of player.

[chloe-caulfield94]

Chloe's through feeling like she wasn't worthy of Max's decision

My favourite line from the entire Life is Strange universe comes from the comics and it's Chloe's "I'm through feeling like I wasn't worthy of your choice" (referring to Max refusing to sacrifice her in E5).

It definitively disproves the headcanon some people have about Max and Chloe being eternally depressed after Arcadia Bay is destroyed. I've seen players trying to justify sacrificing Chloe by saying that Max and Chloe would break up or even commit suicide after the Bae ending, because of the guilt they would feel.

And she really was worth it. The notion that Chloe, whose biggest sin was being a troubled teen, somehow didn't deserve to live and her destiny was to die on the piss-stained floor of a school bathroom while all the people who abused and bullied her get to live is offensive to me.

[kirihark4783948]

(crossposting this from twitter so I don't lose it)

Help girl I'm posting life is strange character analysis in 2021... something I've noticed about max as I've been replaying LIS is that she's both highly self conscious and selfish -- not in a deliberate or cruel way but she seems unaware of the way her actions can impact others.

This trait can be influenced by the player's actions to some degree but it is always present, exhibit A being how she ghosted chloe after moving to seattle. And you can see her become more aware of her impact on others as the game progresses due to the consequences of her time powers. It's an interesting trait and is very autistic of her IMO

Chloe is also selfish but in her case it's less innate and more deliberate -- she's been screwed over so many times that she no longer feels like she owes anyone anything. And her offering to sacrifice herself to save arcadia bay at the end is obviously supposed to show how she has overcome that selfishness but I don't consider it very good character development or smart writing because it's ultimately the suicidal action of a deeply suicidal person and also the whole optics of the "sacrifice chloe" ending sucks so yknow.

tldr Max and chloe are both selfish people but in different ways and the way they compare and contrast in that regard is interesting. Also if it's not obvious this isn't, like, a bad trait it just makes them realistic characters. LIS is a deeply flawed game but I love these girls dearly and they occupy quite a bit of my brain space to this day

[tangent101]

Okay. First, I have to state that I'm very much Pricefield. I have never chosen to save Arcadia Bay, the only way I know that ending is watching it on YouTube. To me, sacrificing Chloe is not what Max would choose, and anyone who reads her journal and listens to her words would know this. (In short, Sacrifice Chloe is a Player Choice, not a character's choice.)

That said... Life is Strange: Farewell is not a story Dontnod wrote. The authors behind the original Life is Strange did not want to work on any more stories about Max and Chloe. They stated as such. Thus Square Enix turned to Deck Nine Games to create BtS and Farewell.

So... Deck Nine's addition is an AU that was commissioned by the publisher. An in-depth examination of the original LiS should not involve material created by Deck Nine, because that material was crafted to fit into the existing completed puzzle that is LiS. And honestly, there is a lot of content in Before the Storm that ignores continuity and massively changes how characters can be viewed.

Consider for a moment what you said about Max's betrayal of Chloe based off of Farewell. Now look at what just the content of the original Life is Strange has to say about Max and Chloe. Because Chloe doesn't talk about Max "ghosting" her or the like. This is an addition that Deck Nine put in the game to fracture the Pricefield fanbase and encourage Amberprice.

There are other elements at play here. Remember how BtS basically rewrote the timeline? Because in the core game, David married Joyce before Chloe's 16th birthday. In BtS he moved in after Chloe was 16. They rewrote the timeline to lessen the dislike for David and Joyce for rushing into marriage barely a year after William's death (and for that matter her flirting with David within two months of William's death). They made David a less hostile character, which makes his later abuse of Chloe truly horrific. They had Rachel's father be a DA which makes no sense because if the daughter of a DA or former DA went missing the police would actively look for her half a year after she vanished. And honestly, it was not a good story. (Fortunately, Deck Nine learned from BtS, and True Colors was a far better story.)

Anyway... I love most of your point of view. But when looking into the game, it is best to look at it separate from the content created by companies that were not involved in crafting the original. Or at least that's my thought. :)

Before you say Chloe is a bad friend...

Play Farewell again. Look at how happy Chloe was. She had the perfect life, perfect family, perfect best friend. Pay attention to how she looks at Max with such adoration and love. The way she hugs Max out of nowhere and tells her she's the fricken best, pay attention to how she comforts Max about the move and isn't worried about anything changing. She trusted Max with ALL HER HEART.

And Max betrayed that. When she needed it most, when her dad died, Max broke the promise she left on that tape (that Chloe clutched to her chest as she fell down crying, that meant the world to her, that recording...) Imagine what that would do to you. Listen to Max's tape... listen to it. Max: I guess I just wanted to leave you one more message. Because I know this was the absolute worst time for me to go. I thought maybe if you heard my voice it could be a little bit like I was there. I don't know, maybe this was a dumb idea. I would give anything to be there with you now. It's so hard, trying to say what I'm thinking. If I could just see you... But we'll get good at it—great at it! We'll write and talk all the time. And then you'll come visit and it'll be like I never left. I mean it, you don't have to worry about anything changing. You're dealing with so much other stuff. You don't deserve any of this. Max: Chloe, listen. Even if I never—even if we're moving for good... We're always together, okay? Even when we're apart. We're still Max and Chloe. I will always, always love you. Goodbye. Think of how Chloe is curled in a ball on the floor of her room clutching that tape like it's all she has left because it IS all she has left but she is also left with the promise Max is going to write and talk with her all the time, the promise they are still Max and Chloe, that Max will always love her, that nothing will change. Chloe is clutching to the tape, holding it to her chest, she's clutching on to Max. And Max? She doesn't write. She doesn't call. She doesn't text. In bts she maybe responds once or twice but otherwise no. She's not there at all. Things do change. Chloe's alone... everything on that tape... feels like a lie.

Everybody lies remember? A statement 16 year old Chloe believes in Before the Storm. Who do you think taught her everybody lies? Tell me you wouldn't be just as broken as Chloe losing your dad and then your best friend who you loved so much and then your mom gets a new boyfriend (and marries him) who treats you like you're just a problem and your mom is okay with it. Justifies his treatment of you. He's not your fucking dad. Your dad was perfect. This guy is nothing. It feels like your mom is trying to replace your dad. He's telling you that you've had enough of a vacation from a father figure as if your dad being dead for two years is a 'vacation' you wanted. Joyce has a right to move on, but her boyfriend treats and talks to Chloe horribly, and Chloe is 16. She's a teenager. She hasn't moved on from her dad's death, not even close. She hasn't moved on from Max either. Max and her dad were her fucking world.

I feel the need to say what she wrote in her journal about taking Max back in a heartbeat at 16 stayed true even at 19. She took Max back in a heartbeat.

I think most people would never want anything to do with people who hurt them like Max. But Chloe took her back, still loved her, still treated her with love and still considered her her best friend. Look at how special their scenes are. The way they walk on the train tracks, the way they touch and Max worries her powers won't last forever. Guess what? Chloe doesn't care. She says WE WILL. Forever. She doesn't care if Max loses her powers because she LOVES Max, not her powers.

Now was Chloe angry at times in the game? Yes. And she had a right to be. Honestly, I'm surprised people seem to be under the impression you should just be okay with your best friend ghosting you after promising you she would be there for you when you desperately needed her and never be a little angry about it (and let's not forget Max returning to Arcadia but still not contacting Chloe). But with that said does Chloe act selfishly with Max at times? Yes she does.

Let's talk about the weed in Chloe's room. My favourite thing to do is hide and then burst out of the closet and take the blame for Chloe, which touches Chloe that Max throws herself out of the closet to protect her and feels like a huge show of love to Chloe that Max wanted to protect her. But if you don't hide and David catches you? Chloe will throw the blame on you and say it's Max weed. If you refuse to take the blame, Chloe is hurt and angry at Max.

It was a test when she throws the blame on Max. Does Max care enough about me to protect me? Think of how as kids Chloe protected Max when Max broke one of the stair bannisters. She took the blame for Max then and got grounded. Would Max do the same for her? Protect her?

And if Max does, or if you come out of hiding and take the blame without prompting think about how much that MEANS to Chloe. How loud that action speaks to her seeing Max wanting to protect her. And watch how protective she is of Max when David gets in her face about it. If Max is taking the blame, that doesn't mean Chloe is going to let David get to close to her. She says this if you do not take the blame and is then hit by David.

Max: I'm sorry, Chloe... I didn't know what to do...

Chloe: Whatever. Everybody bails on me. Even my "best friend" Max... Don't you? I'm so done with everyone in this town... I wish I hadn't even seen you. As if you care. Color me outta here... Keep in mind too, before this dialogue when they were talking about Rachel, this exchange happens.

Max: And you haven't heard anything from her since?

Chloe: Like everybody in my life. My dad, you...and Rachel. Gone... Can you put on some music now?

Max gets up. She inserts the CD into the stereo. "Santa Monica Dream" by Angus and Julia Stone begins playing. Chloe lies down on the bed, a sad expression on her face, and she begins to smoke.

Chloe: Anyway... You can find tools to fix your camera in the garage...

Max: Chloe, are you okay?

Chloe: Sure, I'm awesome. I just want to blaze and be alone for a moment...

Max not taking the blame and standing up to David as he harasses Chloe and eventually hits her has Chloe feeling deeply hurt and thinking about how everyone in her life hurts her and this is no different, changing her earlier happy mood at seeing Max and bringing this feeling back we saw earlier that had her distressed. Everyone lets her down, everybody leaves her, of course Max didn't stand up for her, why would she even have expected her too? Look at how happy she is if you take the blame.

Chloe: Thanks for taking the heat. We totally smacked his punk ass down, Max. He's no match for you and me now...That was an epic win. Anyway. Let's sneak out the window...there is one cool place we can hang in this hickhole Chloe: Isn't this awesome sauce? Totally reminds me of when we were kids... (waves to Max.) Come on, slowpoke! Chloe is practically high with the happiness of Max taking the blame, not because she wants Max in trouble but because the act of Max looking out for her makes her feel loved, makes her feel like this is real, Max is really back and is to stay and she really does care again.

Max's inaction or her choice to take action have powerful affects on Chloe. Come out of hiding or take the blame and she feels loved, don't take the blame and she feels uncared for from a friend she fears may not truly care for her like she cares for her. The same can be said of shooting or not shooting Frank. Let's talk about the dialogue Shoot Max: Sorry.

Chloe hugs Max.

Chloe: You were awesome. Thanks for standing up for me...Let's blow. My secret lair didn't feel secret today. At least Frank is gone; he won't fuck with us again. He just wants his money. Don't shoot Chloe: You really stood your ground. Don't shoot

Max: I freaked. I don't like guns.

Chloe: It'll be hard to keep Nathan off my ass... My step-shit will have his other guns sealed in an electrified bunker by now.

Max: Sorry, Chloe. I've never held a gun on a human being before. Not cool.

Chloe: I know, Max. Really. I'm actually relieved it worked out this way instead... And there are more guns out there...Let's blow. My secret lair didn't feel secret today. At least Frank is gone; he won't fuck with us again. He just wants his money.

I know her reaction of you didn't stand your ground when you don't shoot is hurtful and unfair, Max was pointing the gun at Frank, she was scared in this scenario to pull the trigger and possibly kill him. Chloe acknowledges she knows, signaling she does understand this was a hard situation for Max and it's not fair to place that expectation on her. I think the reason her reaction if Max shoots is moving to hug her when Max says sorry is because of how deeply moved Chloe was by what Max did. Max saw her in danger and was willing to pull a trigger to protect her. That's an act of love and a powerful one and Chloe knows that. I think if Max doesn't shoot, even if it's unfair, a part of Chloe feels like she's not loved enough to have someone go that far to protect her, but she can acknowledge it's not fair of her to feel that way. Let's talk about these lines too..

Chloe: I still can't believe you pulled a gun on Frank. That was epic.

Max: It felt awful... I'm glad there was no bullets in there--

Chloe: You can just rewind time in your hand and stick that barrel right up Frank's ass! You have the power!

Max: You're gross. Don't fall. Max and Chloe briefly hold hands, then let go. vs

Chloe: I can't believe you basically gave him my gun. "Here ya go, Frank."

Max: You can't keep getting mad at me. Especially for stupid shit.

Chloe: I'm not mad. It adds up in my mind as people letting me down. And I just liked having that gun, man.

Max and Chloe briefly hold hands, then let go.

Max: Now you have me to protect you. Now again, Chloe is being unfair here, but she is upset her protection was taken from her as she is very anxious I think after almost being shot earlier (and knowing she also died in one reality) also now anxious from Frank threatening her with a knife and anxious even from being drugged and from her step father's abuse, that losing her means of protection because Max wasn't willing to pull the trigger I think has her upset, and she sees it as being let down. It's not fair at all, but that's why she feels that way. When Max does shoot, we can see what an impact this has emotionally for her. She's all excited and happy, and I think she's kind of high off the act of love that was pulling the trigger from Max. She now knows Max loves her so much she'd kill for her, and it's hard for her not to be thrilled by that realization, that Max loves her so much. I think this is why she soon after texts Max this... max the boss with the gun marry me Illegal in Oregon. For now. fuq that shit elope Chloe was truly touched and moved and high off the love displayed in Max 'shooting' Frank. When you think of how Chloe has been feeling for so long, so unloved and abandoned you can see why this act of love really took her by surprise and furthered her love and adoration of Max. And it's also worth mentioning Chloe can also shoot Frank, for real, killing him when he threatens Max. Making it clear if your Max 'shoots' that their love is so powerful they both pull triggers to protect the other. Now let's bring up the Kate call. People get very nasty on Chloe on this one. We're all protective of Kate. It's important to know Chloe did not realize how serious the call was.

Think about it. How would you feel if your bestie broke her promise to you and hurt you so deeply, cut you so deeply, for five years, nothing, silence, nothing when she knew you had just lost your dad, when she was your fucking WORLD, when she PROMISED you to be there for you, REPLAY FAREWELL AND imagine how much it would CUT LIKE A FUCKING KNIFE to see your bestie drop everything to pick up the phone for someone she knew for only a month when she ignored every single one of your calls? I have no doubt Chloe called Max in tears and broken many times wishing more than anything she would pick up the phone, or stared at her sent text waiting for a reply. There may have been times Chloe was on the brink of considering suicide (Rachel saved my life suggests to me she didn't want to live anymore) and needed to talk to Max, but she never answered. Max was never there for HER. Imagine how deeply that HURT. How much it hurt to watch her be there for someone else without hesitation.

It was still selfish, but so REAL, so RAW. Of course Chloe was hurt and lashed out at Max. If you don't answer the call, Chloe is happy. She can be very possessive of her loved ones, and given her abandonment issues, caused most heartbreakingly of all by Max - that she can't help but feel possessive. She loves Max, she has missed Max for five years and wants Max's attention all to herself. Selfish but REAL.

And she apologizes. Later she admits it was selfish and apologizes to Max. She feels fucking awful about it. Chloe: I was a... I was a total dick for blowing a fuse when Kate called the other day. I had no idea what shit she was going through. I stopped you from being her friend. But you saved her... like me. / If Max ignored call

Chloe: I was a total dick for blowing a fuse when you answered Kate's call the other day. Good thing you ignored me. I had no idea what shit she was going through. And you saved her... like me. / If Max answered.

Some other things people get mad at Chloe over, of course stealing the money. But let's consider a few things. Chloe right before finding the money, on the computer: "Nathan Prescott the Third." Oooh, he's so money. And you know the Prescotts dropped major bank to bury Nathan's real file... Look, it reads like a rap sheet---bad grades, teacher complains, secret probation... But I was expelled? She then finds the money right after guessing the Prescotts were dropping major bank to bury his files. Where did such a large amount of money come from? It doesn't feel like a coincidence. Max: Wowser, that's a lot for the "handicapped fund." You can hear in Max's voice she's making a similar connection to the Prescotts dropping bank, but she's anxious because she does think it could possibly be used for the handicapped fund. If you watch Chloe's face when Max says handicapped fund, she barely even seems to hear Max, all she is thinking about is Rachel and how that money can help them find more information from Frank and get Frank off her back. We know Chloe has been desperate to get money to pay off Frank and get out of Arcadia but now the money has even more importance - to get him to tell them anything he knows about Rachel since he's not likely to talk right now when she owes him and their last encounter had him threatening her for his money. Frank came seeking Chloe out and pulled a knife on her, I imagine this has Chloe anxious too as she's never seen Frank this aggressive with her and wants him off her back and is scared he might pull a knife out on her again. This is yet another reason having a gun is a comfort to her she is distressed if she loses. She's had a lot of men threating her recently. Max allowing the money to be stolen is also another show of loyalty and showing her desire to help find Rachel and keep Chloe safe from Frank's anger and aggression, given the money really calms Frank down and gets him off her back and helps him open up more about Rachel. Max's thoughts show she's doing it to protect Chloe from Frank and find more about Rachel and Max's willingness to do so much for her and helping her means a lot to Chloe, it onces again touches her that Max wants to protect her and help keep her safe from Frank and also help her find Rachel, whereas Max refusing to take it feels like Max isn't as determined to find Rachel and help her and protect her from Frank, though she accepts Moral Max's choice, even if she is upset if Max refuses to let her take the money. I've also seen others bringing up how she parked in the handicapped spot and I think while Max herself at first thought this was intentional of the driver, I think it's clear once we know it is Chloe that she was coming to Blackwell to confront Nathan for drugging her and to put up Rachel posters, so I think she was driving into the parking lot distressed and upset and also angry at Blackwell, not paying attention to where she parked and wanting to park improperly just as a fuck you to Blackwell, angry for not only them expelling her but I'd even imagine for not putting up Rachel missing posters themselves and hell, why was Nathan not expelled and she was with all the shit he was pulling? She had lots of resentment for that school. She does face consequences for selfishly not paying attention to where she was rebelliously parking and for taking the money though as we know.

Even in episode 4, Chloe we see in texts apologized for getting so upset after finding out about Rachel and Frank and taking it out on Max in the car.

hey man i suck again

sorry i got in your face today and took out my bullshit rage on my best friend

- Here we have Chloe owning up to her behaviour. She knows she hasn't been fair with Max, more than once *I suck again', and she apologizes.

And again please remember the game takes place in less than a week, not in a year.

October 7 - 11 is literally the Life is Strange 1 timeline. LESS THAN A WEEK. For Max with her powers and alternate reality I suppose it’s technically a little longer for her. But yes, timeline is less than a week.

Back to the text, she's already apologizing and changing her behaviour to be less selfish with Max and the game again happens in less than a week. If Chloe was rubbing her anger into Max for months or a year or years and never letting it go how Max wasn't there for her yeah that WOULD be a toxic friendship. It would be a toxic friendship if Chloe always held it over her head and was always 'testing' Max's loyalty. But the game takes place in days, and Chloe lets out some anger, has some tests like the weed 'will she take the blame', but overall is loving and supportive and apologizes and owns up to her selfish behaviors and does change and by the end of the 11th of October is willing to die for everyone.

I also see people occasionally bringing up her bossiness to say she's a bad friend to Max, like how she goes boo hoo Max is afraid when wanting her to practice with the gun. I do agree that yeah, she shouldn't have been like that about it but Chloe was trying in her way to be encouraging to get her to give the gun a go, since she had fun with it and Max as we see, seemed to enjoy it too, they even happily high five after. Also consider how she offers Max beer and when Max turns it down she doesn't push it at all (she even think this is cute Max thinks beer is gross). She's not going to pressure her into drinking. She cares about Max and really likes encouraging her, and in the case of the gun practice, maybe her over excitement made her push a little hard in this case.

I see people sometimes saying to that she pushed Max with her powers. Chloe was excited to see more of the powers in action (who wouldn't be really?) but she freaked out in a panic when Max passed out. She was scared as fuck for Max. Neither of them knew at the time how serious things could get, they were just having fun testing things out. Max enjoyed showing off too, look at the diner scene. She loved wowing Chloe with them. In the junkyard Chloe wants Max resting after she passes out.

The game takes place in less than a week and I wish people would understand Chloe obviously is dealing with very real and understandable hurt at Max but over all is supportive and encouraging to Max. That pool scene is just beautiful, the way Chloe encourages Max. Max doesn't just get braver in the game from her powers, but Chloe being in her life again brings out her bravery and courage to live life and not just observe it. Whatever ending you pick, Bae or Bay, I know Max will go on to pursue her dreams and her week with Chloe is going to be a huge part of that. Just a few moments of encouragement in the many she gives... Chloe: Stop being so goddamn humble. You're like the smartest, most talented person I've ever known. Max: Ew! I don't want any Blackwell bros over me. There's a couple cute guys there but they probably think I'm a total nerd.

Chloe: Uh, nerds are hot. You just don't have any confidence yet.

Max: Unfortunately, that didn't come with my rewind power... Chloe: No worries. Once you get over yourself, you're going to make the world bow.

Max: As long as you're there with me...

Chloe: Don't look so sad. I'm never leaving you... Max: I'd rather be a good photographer...

Chloe: You are. You just have to stop being afraid... (said gently) Chloe: Since you're the mysterious superhero, I'll be your faithful chauffeur and companion.

Max: My powers might not last, Chloe...

Chloe: That's okay—we will. Forever.

These are just a few moments in the many where Chloe is encouraging Max in different ways, and offering her unconditional love, loyalty and support. Chloe's negative behavior we see in less than one week isn't going to be reflective of forever, and by the end of the game/week Chloe is willing to sacrifice her life for Arcadia and acknowledges the ways she has been selfish and acknowledges how Max has shown her love and loyalty and friendship in every way. Max: Fuck that! No... no way! You are my number one priority now. You are all that matters to me.

Chloe: I know. You proved that over and over again... even though I don't deserve it. I'm so selfish... not like my mom... Look what she had to give up and live through... and she did. She deserves so much more than to be killed by a storm in a fucking diner. Even my step... father deserves her alive. There's so many more people in Arcadia Bay who should live... way more than me... Chloe: Max, you finally came back to me this week, and... you did nothing but show me your love and friendship. You made me smile and laugh, like I haven't done in years.

In Lis2 we learn Chloe's new look "is from a combination of mixed feelings, such as angst, remorse, guilt, to not forget who died in the storm, to grow up, to advance in her life, and to never forget' It's obvious what happened changed Chloe forever and I think it's very clear after that those days she had with Max she's let go of her anger about those five years of silence. She knows Max loves her. She's more at peace now.

I feel sad when I see people hate Chloe because I feel like people want to take a real character and make her fake. I like real characters. I love that Chloe isn't perfect. I love that she loves Max so fucking much, in spite of everything, she takes her back and loves her and encourages her and supports her and offers that unconditional love. I love how when I play, her hurt and anger she lets out at times cuts me like a knife.

There's art of Max looking at Chloe and goes 'how long are you going to be mad at me?" And Chloe goes 'ten minutes' which feels very accurate. She takes little digs at Max here and there for not being there, but her anger doesn't last long. Most of the game is spent with Chloe being supportive, encouraging, loving, protective and just so happy to be around Max in spite of what Max did.

I think Max had a lot of anxiety. She cared for Chloe, didn't mean to hurt her, but she didn't know how to be there for her and was so overwhelmed by her grief she just wasn't there and eventually convinced herself Chloe would hate her. I think it means the world to Max after what she did, Chloe still loves her.

Five years apart and they were still Max and Chloe. If you go back to episode 4 where Max is forced to stand there and let William leave knowing he will die, she faces what this game is also about. Max Caulfield facing the consequences of not being there for her best friend when she promised she would be. She finally understands it, hearing Chloe has no belief that Max would ever abandon her. Chloe: She's never leaving me!

William: That makes all of us. (William walks out the door)

(Max leans against the wall with her head in her hands)

Chloe: Max, you are being so fucking strange, like you're never going to see us again.

Max: Chloe, I'm so sorry... I tried to make things different for you... I...I did try...I'm sorry.

Chloe: I don't know exactly what you're talking about, but come on. (Chloe holds Max's hands, then lets go) You have made things different, like my whole life. You're my best friend. I've got you and a great family. What's to be sorry for? We'll be best friends forever. And when we grow up we're taking over the world.

Max: Listen, whatever happens, I want you to be strong. Even if you feel like I wasn't there for you...because I will never abandon you, Chloe. (Max holds Chloe's hands) I'll always have your back. Always. If Max can understand, then I hope you all can too. Max truly is hit by the full weight of what she did and the consequences, and her attempt to fix it brought only pain to this alternate reality Chloe and Max as she faces 14 year old Chloe fully comprehending now what she did. How this Chloe has no idea she will abandon her, because she doesn't think Max would ever do such a thing to her, it's not something even in this Chloe's mind that could be a reality. So Max cries and tries her best to comfort Chloe from something Chloe doesn't even know she did yet and doesn't ever believe Max could do to her.

Chloe in Lis1 lets out her anger at Max at times, and sometimes she was selfish and toxic about it. What makes the ending of Farewell and that episode 4 moment so heart wrenching is that we the player and Max herself know Max breaks her promise. She won't be there for Chloe for five long years. They won't write a lot, Max won't be there for her for years. We know this, and Max faces the consequences of what she's done when she returns.

And I love how Chloe is hurt and is allowed to show it. And I love how in spite of everything, they still really are Max and Chloe. They still both love each other. Honestly, play Farewell, play Before the Storm, and then play Life is Strange and Chloe isn't even as angry as she ought to be, as most people would be. Most people would never accept a friend back like that. That's just the truth. Most people aren't so forgiving. But Chloe was. She really did take her back in a heartbeat. And again, that means the world to Max. Max, who when she looked at a picture of her and Chloe in their pirate outfits in her dorm in episode 1, wondered if they were even BFFs anymore, because she knew she hadn't been there for her and was scared Chloe might not forgive her and want to see her, which made her to scared to reach out when she returned. Chloe still seeing her as a BFF meant the world to Max.

I feel like Chloe 'haters' and those who only rant about how she was a toxic awful friend are so caught up in their dislike they stop thinking critically. Sometimes the opinions feel misogynistic or of internalized misogyny when you see people tearing apart a woman for not being the perfect embodiment of a 'girl with a bad past' they wish she was.

I think of Daniel from Lis2. A lot of people hate him because they play as Sean and again, feel defensive of Sean. And I think some people, they don't get as into the game as deeply and so play on more a surface level, more a 'Chloe blamed me for the weed, she's a toxic awful friend' kind of level as opposed to a deeper level, 'Chloe blamed me for the weed, which was really selfish, but I get she is hurt I ignored her for five years and she's trying to test and see how much I care.. I, Max, was her best friend and I hurt her deeply."

I know some people will say I'm making excuses but I'm trying to empathize and help people understand Chloe by detailing how some of her actions were wrong, but WHY she made them. She isn't perfect, she's hurt, she's allowed to be, she's allowed to be angry, who wouldn't be honestly? You can't tell me she's a toxic monster of a friend because she shows her hurt at Max sometimes during a less than 1 week period. I encourage players to replay Farewell to understand Chloe even more when you see how happy she was and how much she loved Max and how much Max leaving and breaking her promise broke her fucking heart and left her broken and yes, makes her angry and does cause her to show it at Max at times. And Max calls her out on it in the game even, pointing out how Chloe is always on her about not being there for her but this is how she's there for her (when she tries to spook Max in episode 3 when Max is shaken up over the events of episode 2, not considering Max's feelings) and Chloe apologizes at once. She owns up to her actions, and she doesn't hold things over Max the entire game.

I just hate seeing people hate on Chloe so hard. She's loyal AF to her friends and in spite of five years of silence loves Max no less and yes she shows some anger, sometimes she makes her expectations of Max selfishly high, but she was hurt deeply by Max and again, the game takes place in a less than a week and she's overall loving and supportive to Max and super protective of her and doesn't spend the entire game holding it against Max. She apologizes for her shitty behaviour, she grows.

She loves Max, she takes her back in a fucking heart beat. She helps Max be brave and helps Max see how talented she really is. When you also have played Before the Storm and seen how lonely Chloe was, read her journal entries, consider the fact she was called 'mute' by Drew because she was so lonely and depressed she never spoke, when you see how she jumped away from the train at the last second because she was so depressed and needed to feel something, maybe didn't care if the train did hit her... and consider she wouldn't have been like that if Max had been there for her... I think you can understand Chloe a lot more. And also understand how amazing she is for taking Max back and loving her and by October 11 after reuniting on October 7, fully forgiving Max. And how amazing Max is too for overcoming her social anxiety to be there for Chloe in every way she could be, even by changing time. Max: Fuck that! No... no way! You are my number one priority now. You are all that matters to me Chloe: I know. You proved that over and over again... even though I don't deserve it. I'm so selfish... not like my mom... Look what she had to give up and live through... and she did. She deserves so much more than to be killed by a storm in a fucking diner. Even my step... father deserves her alive. There's so many more people in Arcadia Bay who should live... way more than me... Chloe: Max, you finally came back to me this week, and... you did nothing but show me your love and friendship. You made me smile and laugh, like I haven't done in years. Wherever I end up after this... in whatever reality... all those moments between us were real, and they'll always be ours. No matter what you choose, I know you'll make the right decision.

Chloe: Max... it's time...

The song Obstacles begins to play.

Max: Not anymore.

Max tears apart the polaroid and it blows away in the storm. She watches the tornado.

Chloe: Max... I'll always be with you.

Max: Forever... Don't tell me Pricefield is toxic. Don't tell me Max and Chloe's relationship will be toxic in Bae. Because if you do, I know you don't really know them at all.

[tarraxahum-ish]

can we hear your interp of max👀

Oh-ho-ho, anon, sure, I will try! Beware, my trying always entails A LOT of text. (EDIT: and I touched a lot on the ending and Chloe 'cause can we really talk about Max in this game without mentioning those points?)

So, as I mentioned in the tags of the post that inspired this ask, Max is a weird character when it comes to interpretations. As in, almost all people in my friend group alone have a different take on what her personality is supposed to be (apart from the obvious baseline) and which choices "make more sense" for her. Most of it comes down to her being a protagonist of a choice-based game, of course. She can snoop or she can not snoop. She can try to make cautious choices or she can just be reckless. She can save Kate or totally fail to do that. She can kiss Chloe, she can kiss Warren. Etc etc etc.

Because of that, I think, in a lot of ways she reflects the player. For example: when my friend and I, both "straight" at the time, played LiS for the first time, she adamantly went for the "Chloe and Max are just good friends" route and favored Warren as a romance, refused to let the alt Chloe die and then sacrificed 'our' Chloe to save the town, all the while lamenting that it would make much more sense for Max to sacrifice herself to stop everything. Meanwhile I was all THEY'RE LESBIANS HAROLD (well Max is bi but you get the meme), let the alt Chloe die (at the time) and didn't hesitate A SECOND before dooming Arcadia Bay to save Chloe. Those are two VERY different Maxes here. (We later discovered that my friend was a bisexual in denial and I was a closeted lesbian who didn't lock the door very well. So, you know. Reflection.)

HOWEVER. I feel like despite the choice trees, certain decisions fit into the story more snugly. It's especially evident in BtS, where you COULD make a choice to reconcile Chloe and David, but the consequences if she DOESN'T fit what we see in LiS much more. Granted, there are many disconnections and retcons between the games, but most of them are in the plot itself (see: Rachel, Chloe reacting to Frank's place and Wells' cabinet like she's never been there, etc), not in the player's direct choices, as is the case with David.

The question of which choices are more "fitting", however, is where that bias comes in. And my personal interpretation of Max. Finally.

Another friend of mine recently mentioned that she does not believe in the "sacrifice AB" ending because, to her, "Max doesn't seem like the kind of a person who cares about Chloe to THAT extent, what with the five years of silence and all".

And that's what got me thinking…I see Max as a complete opposite of that. The in-game Max of that one week in particular.

The five years of silence? Yeah, that was shit. Without a doubt, that hurt Chloe a lot and that's on Max.

But I also get it. I don't excuse it, I get it. Every time I move (even when I jump fandoms, truly) I lose contact with a lot of good friends very quickly. When I started my first couple of jobs, I stopped talking to some of my friends for THREE YEARS STRAIGHT. I was overwhelmed. The people that were right there in front of me took my attention and my energy, the need to assimilate and exist in a new environment took all my focus. And the more I stayed quiet, the more awkward it seemed to suddenly reach out. The more we weren't talking, the less common topics for a possible conversation we were likely to have. And if on top of THAT I'd have the whole "What do you say to a person whose beloved dad died right before I left?" kind of an anxiety? Those five years don't seem far-fetched to me. Once again, I'm not excusing the hurt that Chloe experienced because of this, but I understand how things like that happen and what levels of social awkwardness and limited energy resources go into a mistake like that.

Which brings me to the point of: Max's care for Chloe is much more characterized by what she does when she's THERE than by what she failed to do when she was a teenager settling in in a new city hell knows where.

And what does Max do, if not repeatedly puts Chloe first with rapidly growing degree of recklessness? Okay, the first time she saves her, in the bathroom, she doesn't even know it's her (which, btw, speaks volumes that she still goes back there, alone, not telling anyone, knowing that Nathan will have a gun and potentially putting herself in danger, all for an unfamiliar girl. It's already reckless as fuck, and therefore genuine - say what you want about Max sucking up to everyone by saying the things they wanted to hear, her biggest feats of bravery were never even known by most.)

((I don't know where to put it, but I'll also point out that the game itself generally encourages 'reckless' choices. Get into David's face about Kate instead of being cautious, lie for Chloe instead of being cautious, tell Kate to go to the police instead of playing it safe. Max saying 'ah, fuck it' generally ends up being the right choice more often than it's not, so that's the way of playing her that I'm mostly taking into consideration.))

Times at the junkyard and the train tracks are arguably spoof of the moment things (any sane person wouldn't just, like, NOT rewind to stop their best friend from shooting herself or getting smeared by a train, right?), sure.

But the last episodes, though. That's where the plot goes batshit and so, kind of, does Max. It's not just about simply rewinding right then and there on the spot if something goes wrong.

It's about repeatedly going out of her way, BIG time, all for Chloe.

Fucking up space and time. Technically changing her own life (it's hard to say why William living led to Max being the popular girl but sure, let's roll with what we're given, butterfly effect and all) just to make sure Chloe is happy. Immediately rolling it all back, also solely for Chloe (at no point does Max think about how HER life changed beyond the initial surprise). Tbh I think that's what they actually got right in the comics - how readily Max screws her own life just to find somewhere where Chloe is happy, even if in the end that's not the answer.

Then it gets worse. Max gets a future she technically dreamt of, one of being an acknowledged photographer, her career secure in the palm of her hand.

Throws it all away without a second thought as soon as it implies losing Chloe (sure, at the moment she does kinda think about the town as a whole, but Chloe calling and Max not being with her when she's in danger is still the catalyst of that - the point of the photo retcon is not to stop the tornado, it's to be near Chloe when it hits).

Gets drugged and tortured REPEATEDLY (all timeline jumping and rewinding considered), forces herself through multiple timelines to the point of active nosebleeds (that previously made her faint).

Still only thinks about saving Chloe AS SOON as she's out of that chair.

Is technically safe in an underground bunker (as evident by David surviving), goes out INTO the storm (tortured and drugged and having jumped and lived multiple realities on no food or sleep!) and drives TOWARDS it JUST to save CHLOE. (Does she even HAVE a driver's license or is she just winging it, btw?)

Also worth of note, if you as a player participate in all the prompts and puzzles on the way to the diner (which I'd say is logically the 'canon' Max, since that's how you're meant to play the game), then she does her best to help everyone around her, too. It's not even about the "time to be the everyday hero" anymore - she's tired, she's angry, she most likely feels like shit and she's marching through a literal tornado just doing her best at any opportunity she sees. I doubt any 'heroic' thinking went into those actions at that point. She just walks on water towards her goal and yanks out every drowning person who outstretches their hand towards her. ALL THE WHILE knowing that she's about to rewind this timeline and won't be present at this exact location to help in the next, so technically it's meaningless. But she does. She cares for people, not just their opinions on her.

But at that point the mantra isn't "stop the tornado". She'd like to, yes. But the focus is very much "Chloe". Tornado comes second. It's in her way, even.

Which brings us to the final choice. Skipping the whole nightmare sequence because I honestly think it's self-explanatory on the topic of Max's insecurities and the weight of the town and her power on her shoulders, and on how much Chloe means to her.

The final choice. On which I could say a lot more narration-wise, but we're talking about Max, and I've started with my friend's comment on which choice is more "realistic" to Max's character.

Now, I won't tell anyone how to play their game, which morals take into account and what to make of their Max.

The way I see it, however:

Yes, Max (if you took all the prompts and paid attention, etc etc) always stopped and tried to help in any way she could (be it the wrong way or the right one, re: Kate), and she's obviously freaked out by the threat to the town from the very beginning.

But that's the thing, however. Beginning.

The town was always this "Oh no, I don't want this to happen, can I stop it?!", which, you know. A pretty fucking normal human reaction, I think.

But Max specifically went through Hell, arguably multiple times over, threw away multiple great versions of her own life without a second glance, almost died, spedran her character development losing shyness, fear, self-consciousness and basic human self-preservation instincts in less than a week, didn't allow herself a second of breathing room while going through experiences that would break most people (look at Victoria in the Dark Room), and ALL of that was 99% of the time verbally (or, well, internally) justified by her with saving Chloe.

With the town and the rest of the characters, Max tried her human best. With Chloe, she all but ran herself and the whole time and space continuum into the ground.

And you're telling me, that this Max, the one still reeling from everything she went through, the one who dug her way back to Chloe through metaphorical stone with bloody fingers, the one who just jumped through multiple realities in half (if not most) of which she suffered or was in danger in some way, all without having any buffer time to process any of that shit, all with "ChloeChloeChloe" on her tongue and Chloe's necklace on her neck, THIS Max, is NOT likely to just snap and rip the goddamn photo and unequivocally say RIGHT HERE AND NOW I STILL FUCKING CHOSE YOU"?

Like, if someone wants to see it as her breaking point, her stopping to run point, her giving up point, her seeing 'common sense' point, her respecting Chloe's wishes point, well, that's their choice.

But UNLIKELY to choose Chloe? Yeah, I don't think so.

To reel it back a little from the final choice and back to Max as a character. At the beginning of the game, I see her precisely the "shy cliche geek" more or less. Not unlike me. Anxious, bad at keeping in touch, bad at fitting in with anyone but with those who are also bad at fitting in, and even then not always. Dreaming of more but not believing in herself. Wanting people to like her, 'cause really, wouldn't it just make life so much easier if we'd never had to go through the embarrassment of saying the wrong thing to anyone ever again?

She's unsure of her powers, she chastises herself for small mistakes, she doubts most of her choices regardless of which one you made.

By the second half of the game though? She grows powerful. She grows bold. She tricks people for information, she all but bullies Frank to get his keys 'cause she knows he won't be able to touch her, she starts toying with big changes in the timeline (William).

And by the end? By the end she's sneering in Mark Jefferson's face despite being scared shitless - not unlike with Nathan in the parking lot back in the episode 1 if you choose to tell him to take a step back, btw, so she always had it in her, but by ep5 she has nothing left to lose and nothing to hold her back. By the end she's smashing, forcing, gnawing her way though time and space like an unstoppable force, all caution and doubts abandoned. By the end she's standing in the middle of the storm she was terrified of in ep1 and she's ANGRY and DETERMINED instead because she has no mental capacity to even freak out again until she and Chloe are together and safe by the lighthouse.

By the end, for a brief moment before the storm finally hits, she's basically god, a kind, empathic one, but also an incredibly selfish one, who does it all for one singular person first, everyone else second. And whatever choice she makes at the end, that fact is still a fact. In my book, anyway.

For me, for how I saw her after having, what, seven years to process the story and replay it a few times, how I feel and play my Max now?

With shaky hands, she pulled the trigger at Frank back at the junkyard, and at the lighthouse, tortured and exhausted and selfish to the end, she took all her choices in stride, let her power be there for a reason, and let the tornado take its due.

(And Chloe, who has long forgotten what it felt like to genuinely be WORTH something to someone who explicitly chooses HER, deserved that tenfold in my opinion, but that's a whole other essay).

But then again, I was always a fan of 'selfish' love and 'selfish' stories. So, reflection of the player, after all? Perhaps.

But narratively, the way I personally see it, it just fits the most.

And even if for one reason or another she makes another choice, I still struggle to see how up until that point she's any less than that.

[petrow1tch]

I'm choosing to ignore that Joyce's confirmed to be dead in LiS2 if player sacrifices Arcadia Bay. Like, that didn't happened. She survived. Warren Frank Pompidou? Survived. Evan and Alyssa? Yes. Kate? 100%. Victoria? BITCH u good, u went to SF on ur own.

David's in bunker, he's ok

Also Jefferson is kinda, ughh, yknow *gunfibgers to the head* kaboosh, yeah.

Also Chloe survived too and she's with Max on the run and whatever yeah they're cool.

Idk what bullshit argument to pull up for Nathan so he's going to be dead for a while, yeahhh. I'm sure there is a way around this too.

Man, I do love to ignore the character's deaths

Me, ignoring LiS canon