#TWDG Russell

[the-delta-42]

The Walking Dead Game What Ifs: What if Carver attacked Clementine at the Cabin?

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Bruised

What if Carver attacked Clementine at the cabin? (TW: Violence against a child)

Carver looked down at the girl, knowing that she was playing dumb with him, “How about I make you a deal.”

“What?” Said the girl, shortly.

“You tell me where my people are, and I’ll leave you here unharmed.”

“I don’t kno—” The girl was knocked to the floor by Carver’s backhand.

“Where are they?”

“I don’t know who you’re—” He grabbed her collar and slammed her against the wall, making her hat come off.

“Where the fuck are they?” Thundered Carver, before tossing the girl down the stairs and stomping down after her, leaving Sarah cowering under the bed as she listened to Carver beating Clementine.

Clementine grunted as she skidded over the counter, desperately trying to get back on her feet, as she ran through the basic self-defence Christa had taught her. The man, Clementine assumed he was this Carver she heard mentioned, grabbed her arm and twisted it until it made a cracking-pop, producing a scream from Clementine.

“Where are they?!”

“Fuc-” Carver back handed her, before landing several punches on her face, chest and abdomen. Clementine didn’t have a chance to react as Carver picked her up and threw her out of a window, the glass cutting into her back as she went through it.

Carver stormed outside, before he started punching, kicking and throwing Clementine, the girl letting out a pained scream when her broke her other arm and crushed her fingers into the ground. He grabbed her and slammed her into the porch of the cabin.

“This is your last chance to tell me where my fucking people are, before I turn your head into a pulp.” Snarled Carver, holding Clementine up by her throat.

“Go,” Rasped Clementine, deciding to channel her inner Kenny, “Fuck yourself.”

Carver snarled, before slamming her back against the porch, dropped and back handed her until she hit the deck and didn’t get up. Carver sneered, he was certain that she was dead and decided to leave her to turn.

B

Sarah slowly crawled out from her hiding space and nervously made her way down the stairs. It’d been a while since Carver was there and it was quiet. The entire house was destroyed, Sarah shivered at the sight of blood covering the surfaces and the broken window in the kitchen. She nervously opened the door and froze when she saw Clementine, coughing as she tried to crawl into the cabin.

Sarah quickly grabbed Clementine and dragged her back into the cabin, the younger girl whimpering slightly as Sarah moved her. After getting Clementine into a seat, Sarag grabbed some water and wetted a rag, just like her dad showed her.

Clementine didn’t say anything, while Sarah tried to remove the blood covering her face and torso. Sarah jumped when the door opened, whirling around, thinking it was Carver, Sarah grabbed a knife and pointed it at the intruder. Who turned out to be Luke.

“God.” Swore Luke, as Carlos and Alvin came up beside him, “What happened?”

“What do you think happened?!” Snapped Rebecca, before catching sight of Clementine, “What the fuck?”

Carlos strode over to Sarah and took over cleaning Clementine up, “Shit.”

“What is it?” Asked Luke, as Carlos dug through his pockets.

“The way her nose was broken,” Said Carlos, before pulling out an old pen, “one of her nostrils has been blocked, I can’t reset it until after this issue is dealt with.”

Clementine suddenly rasped, making everyone freeze, Carlos started to slowly reach for his gun, before Clementine coughed up a bloody piece of phlegm.

“I,” Clementine wheeze, looking at them, “I didn’t let him in. He kept asking where you were. I, I didn’t say anything.”

“Hold her still.” Said Carlos, looking at Luke, “Her arm’s dislocated.”

Carlos relocated Clementine’s shoulder, getting a cry of pain from her, Luke handed him the pen barrel, removing the ink cartridge and end cap.

“Okay, Clementine,” The girl looked at him, “this is going to hurt, okay?”

Clementine winced as she nodded, as Carlos used the pen to shift the blockage, resulting in a fresh spurt of blood, to go down her front. He quickly reset her nose, getting a small whimper from her. Carlos made some make-shift splints of Clementine’s broken bones, and relocating any dislocated joints.

“We need to leave.” Hiss Rebecca, glaring a Luke, “See what he did to her? I’m surprised he left her alive.”

“Do you think he left her to turn?” Asked Alvin, looking between them.

“This is fucked.” Groaned Luke, looking at Carlos treating Clementine, “We can’t move Clementine in her state.”

“We can’t stay here!”

“Why did he attack her?” Asked Alvin, interrupting Luke and Rebecca’s argument, “He doesn’t usually just attack people.”

“Because he’s crazy!” Snapped Rebecca, as Sarah looked at the floor, guilt covering her face.

“Sarah,” Said Luke, getting everyone’s attention, “What happened?”

“She wouldn’t have seen anything, Luke,” Dismissed Carlos, carefully bandaging Clementine’s arm, “She stayed hidden.”

Sarah looked down again, before mumbling, “I took a picture and Carver saw it.”

“Sarah.” Sighed Carlos, as he finished patching Clementine up.

“I-I’m sorry.” Sarah started to tremble.

“I can walk.” Rasped Clementine, looking up at Luke, “I might be a bit slow.”

Luke didn’t look happy as Clementine said that, getting a sigh as Carlos quietly spoke with Sarah.

B

“Could you walk any slower?” Grumbled Nick, getting a pained glare from Clementine.

“I’m walking on a broken leg, what’s your fucking excuse?” The group found that an injured Clementine was a Clementine without a filter.

“What the fuck happened to you, anyway?”

“Carver kicked her ass.” Interjected Luke, from the front, “Clem, why don’t you walk with Rebecca?”

“Because every bone in my body hurts?”

Luke sighed, before looking ahead, “There’s a clearing not too far away, we can rest there.”

“Clementine, sit over there.” Ordered Carlos, pointing at a stump while going through a bag, “I need to check your bandages.”

Clementine quietly grumbled, limping over the stump and wincing as she sat down.

“This is taking too long.” Muttered Luke, looking at Alvin.

“Well, Becs is walking for two.” Responded Alvin, getting an eyeroll from his wife.

“He’s talking about Clementine, genius.”

“We should’ve stayed put.” Continued Luke, “Give her more time to heal.”

“We don’t have time, Luke.” Reminded Rebecca, “I know she only got…hurt because she ran into us, but we need to keep moving.”

“I can hear you.” Called Clementine, “and I’m going as fast as I can.”

“Her constantly moving isn’t helping her recovery.” Said Carlos, looking over at them.

“Someone could carry her.” Suggested Luke, before noticing everyone staring at him, “What?”

“I’m not an invalid!” Yelled Clementine, before wincing and grabbing her chest, “I can walk just fine on my own.”

“Yeah, Luke’s carrying her.” Decided Rebecca, looking at Luke.

B

“This is embarrassing.” Grumbled Clementine, her arms folded as she scowled, since she refused to admit that she was pouting.

“Well, you’re lighter than you look.” Joked Luke, getting a harrumph from Clementine.

“Is everything alright up there?” Asked Rebecca, as Luke glanced back.

“Just sayin’ Clem’s lighter than she looks.”

The silence from the rest of the group was deafening, before Sarah looked at her dad and asked, “Is he saying Clementine’s fat?”

“Okay!” Clementine started violently wriggling, “Put me down!”

The scuffle, if it would be call that, somehow ended with Clementine hanging upside down from Luke’s arm, while Luke kept a firm grip on her waist.

“Guys, a little help?” Luke looked at the rest of the group.

“Nope, I’m good.” Said Nick, as Clementine continued to wriggle.

Luke sighed, before dropping Clementine.

“Luke!” Snapped Carlos, glaring at him.

“Sorry.” Muttered Luke, helping Clementine up, “You okay?”

Clementine glared at him, before limping away, while Luke winced.

“Y’know,” Said Nick, “Seeing you fuck up makes me feel better about staying in the shed.”

“Shut up.” Snapped Luke, quickly catching up to Clementine, before calling back, “There’s a bridge ahead, we could rest there.”

“Great, Becs needs to rest.” Responded Alvin, getting a swat from Rebecca.

B

“What’s taking them so long?” Demanded Alvin, looking down at the bridge.

“Maybe they’re rolling in the hay.” Suggested Clementine, getting incredulous looks from the others.

“Do you know what that means?” Asked Rebecca, staring at the girl.

“…Sleeping.”

Rebecca found herself sighing in relief, not looking forward to explaining the birds and the bees to her. The group froze when they heard someone running up to their position, Luke appeared with Nick and a man in a grey jacket.

“Who’s this?” Asked Alvin, as the man locked onto Clementine.

“Matthew,” Answered Luke, “he’s staying in the cabin on the other side of the bridge.”

“What happened?” Asked Matthew, looking at the group.

“A guy’s chasing us,” Said Luke, “he attacked her because she wouldn’t tell him where we were.”

Matthew frowned, before sighing, “Come on, we’ll take her to my group, the lodge’s gonna be warmer.”

B

“Wait here.” Matthew looked at them, “I’m gonna tell the rest of my group about you, hopefully Kenny’s in a good mood.”

The man was gone before they could protest, Luke looked down a Clementine, the girl was refused to be carried, complaining whenever Luke tried to pick her up.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Yelled a Floridian-accented voice, as a man with a thick beard and a trucker’s hat stormed out.

Luke automatically stepped in front of Clementine, hoping to hide her from the man.

“Kenny, they’ve got kids.” Protested Matthew, following Kenny out, with an Indian woman and a bald man.

“And we ain’t got the supplies for ‘em!” Yelled Kenny, making Clementine frown.

Clementine stepped out from behind Luke and looked at Kenny.

“Holy Shit.”

Kenny froze, before looking down, “Clementine?”

The girl grinned and limped towards Kenny, wrapping her arms around him. Keny crouched down and reciprocated, before frowning and holding the girl at arm’s length.

“What the fuck happened?” Kenny took in Clementine’s injuries, before glaring at the group, “Did they do this to ya?”

“No,” Answered Clementine, “some guy called Carver is after them. He tried to make me tell him where they were.”

Kenny frowned, continuing to look Clementine over, “What’d you say?”

“I told him to go fuck himself.”

Kenny let out a snort, before looking at the group again, “Can you vouch for these guys, Clem?”

Clementine nodded, “They patched me up.”

Kenny sighed, before standing and picking Clementine up, “Alright, that’s good enough for me.”

“I can walk on my own!” Squawked Clementine, with Kenny ignoring her as he walked into the lodge.

B

Clementine winced as she entered the lodge, after they had dinner, Clementine had gone with Walter and Mathew to check the perimeter for Walkers, where they met a strange woman. Clementine had suggested that they check her for weapons, after Kenny had come out to investigate. Then, after the woman had left, the wind turbine had gone crazy, leading to the two groups try to fix it. Which led to Clementine using a rifle for the first time and aggravating her already bruised body, before being sent inside by Luke. It was funny, she didn’t notice how the cold made her hurt until she was out of it.

“Clem, what’s happened?” Asked Rebecca, waddling towards her.

“The turbine-” Clementine was cut off by rapid gunfire. Rebecca swore, before grabbing Clementine and leading her up the stairs.

In a matter of seconds, in Clementine’s mind, the group outside was being forced inside. They heard a number of voices, including the strange woman from earlier. Then, she heard his voice. Carver was walking around below, calling out for Rebecca, talking about ‘their’ child. Clementine, in her hurry to disappear from view, accidentally knocked the box with the decorations over. The resulting noise led to the strange woman, Bonnie, coming up the stairs.

Bonnie stared at the three, before the girl spoke, “Fuck.”

Which was how Clementine found herself staring up at the man who’d beaten her to a pulp nearly a week prior.

“…How the hell are you still alive?”

“Because you hit like a girl.”

And Clementine was backhanded to the floor.

“You still hit like a girl.”

A solid kick to the side, followed by a punch, and her leg being stomped on, followed by another punch, a backhand and another, final, kick.

The group of hostages all stared at Clementine, terrified that Carver had killed her. Before a pained whine escaped the girl, “ow…”

Carver rolled his eyes, gesturing for the girl to be put with the others. Bonnie carefully shifted Clementine so she was next to Rebecca, they didn’t bother to restrain her, wondering what harm a child with a concussion could do.

Then one of Carver’s guys got hit in the head, leading Carver to kill Walter. Then he took Alvin and started to march him towards the window, talking to him about someone called George. He held the gun to Alvin’s head, when Clementine suddenly charged at him. Bonnie thought the girl was running pretty fast on a broken leg, only for her to get backhanded by Carver’s gun.

It had the desired effect, with Carver pushing Alvin to the side and picking Clementine up. A few seconds later, Kenny walked into the lodge, his hands above his head and a dark glare aimed at Carver.

P

The ride back to Carver’s settlement was quiet, if Clementine ignored the sound of the adults, Clementine thought calling them grown-up was immature, arguing.

“-haven’t you seen what he did to Clementine?!” Demanded Rebecca, glaring at Kenny.

“I saw him beating a little girl, while the rest of you fuckers watched like it was a fuckin’ show!”

“Dad…” Sarah nervously looked at her father, “Clementine doesn’t look very good.”

As if on cue, Clementine lurched forwards and threw up. Kenny wrinkled his nose as the half-digested ‘meal’ from the night before.

“Is that supposed to happen?” Asked Matthew, glancing at Clementine.

“She can’t see that we’re moving, she has a concussion and Carver hit her in the stomach several times.” Said Carlos, slowly, “I’m amazed she lasted this long.”

“Clem?” Rebecca looked at the girl, “Are you alright?”

“I can’t go to school today, mom.” Slurred Clementine, everything still spinning, “I think I threw up.”

Clementine suddenly slumped against Sarah, getting a frown from Carlos.

“Is she asleep or unconscious?” Asked Nick, trying to shuffle away from the trickle of vomit.

“Hold on.” Sarita gave Kenny an apologetic look, before leaning close to Clementine’s ear and screeching, “WAKE UP!”

The truck suddenly veered, as Clementine groaned, before slowly righting herself, “I gotta pee.”

The truck stopping, and the sound of one of Carver’s men stomping out and coming to the back of the truck reached their ears, before the man appeared, “What the fuck are you doing back there?!”

“I gotta pee.” Repeated Clementine, wriggling.

“Seriously?”

“Yep.”

The man sighed, “Does anyone else need to-?”

“Kinda.” Admitted Sarah, as the man sighed.

Thirty minutes later, Clementine found herself staring at a moth, or a butterfly, she couldn’t tell, while Sarah finished up.

“Are you about done over there?” Yelled the man, from besides the truck.

“Yeah, one second! Thanks for coming with me. It's scary out here.” Said Sarah, “I know you had to too, it’s still nice that you came.”

“We're friends.” Winced Clementine, “Friends look out for one another.”

Clementine and Sarah return to the truck.

“Everything come out alright, girls?” Asked the man, frowning at Clementine’s dazed look.

“Troy.” Growled Carver, “Get 'em tied up.”

“Will do...” Nodded Troy, grabbing Sarah’s hands and tying her up.

“Well, we're on our way, probably thirty minutes out.” Carver spoke into a radio, “Make sure everyone's prepped. Emotions might be running high. Carver out.”

Carver returned the radio to his belt and looked at Troy, “If I find out you've been wasting fuel to keep that fuckin' heater going, I'll make you walk back.”

“Nope.” Troy shook his head, “Froze my ass off... just like you told me to.”

Carver frowned, before glancing down and spotting Clementine staring at him, “It ain't polite to listen to other folks' conversations. Has anyone ever taught you that? Where's your manners?”

“I know.” Answered Clementine, not caring, “I still think you hit like a girl.”

Carver snarled, before slapping Clementine, knocking her to the ground, “Get her in the truck.”

B

“What happened to her?” Clementine glanced at a girl a couple years older than her, no doubt referring to how she looks like death warmed up.

“Bill did.” Answered Bonnie, making a brunette woman frown.

“Bill did that?” She glanced at Bonnie, “Bonnie, what they fuck have you gotten us into?”

“He trying to set an example.” Clementine didn’t think Bonnie believed herself, the other woman clearly didn’t.

“By what?”

“Shel, let’s,” Bonnie swallowed, “let’s talk about this later, okay? We’ve got work to do.”

B

“And how is it that we're repaid for our trust? With treachery? With deceit? With theft?” Snarled Carver, pacing in front of an injured Luke.

“They caught him.” Muttered Clementine, her hand unconsciously gripping the radio she’d stolen for him.

“Yeah, that's what it looks like.” Answered Kenny, scowling at Luke.

“Whatever you were planning is over, it's done.” Snarled Carver, brandishing the other radio, “You can't just run from your problems. You can't just up and leave when it gets tough, 'cause there's nowhere else you can go where it ain't. Tough is all we got now. Get that through your fuckin' skulls. Luke here, he can't help you now. You gotta help yourselves. You gotta help me find the strength to forgive you. Now, you can start... by telling me where the other one is. I'm gonna count to three. If that radio ain't in my hand by then, we'll have to make things more difficult. One. Two.”

“Maybe you—” Clementine was cut off by Kenny grabbing the radio from her and holding it up.

“It's right here. I got it.”

Carver held out his hand, prompting Kenny to step forward, Sarita approached him, trying to get him to stop, “It's alright.” Kenny slowly walked up to Carver, “Sorry about that. Not sure what I was thinking.” Kenny dropped the radio into Carver's hand.

“Three.” Said Carver, before smirking, “You really think I’m that stupid, don’t ya?”

“What?” Kenny froze.

“You’re not a smart man, Kenneth,” Carver’s eyes landed on Clementine, “you’re not small enough to go around unnoticed.”

Clementine was shoved forwards by Troy, until she was in front of Carver, “I shouldn’t be surprised, but I honestly expected better of you, Clementine.”

“Then you’re a fucking idiot.”

Clementine felt something hit her. At first, she thought it was Troy’s rifle, only to realise the pain was coming from her front. The second blow knocked her to the ground, she thought she heard someone come into the yard, the third blow made her hit her head on the ground, the fourth blow made her world got dark.

B

“-start talkin' about maybe...” Clementine recognised Luke’s voice, “leavin' some folks behind.”

“No!” Snapped Sarita.

“There is no other way.” Defended Luke, from where the rest of the group was gathered.

“This is bullshit.” Spat Rebecca, she sounded angry.

“Well, I don't like it either,” Defended Luke, “but guess what? It's where we're at.”

“We’re only here because of you people, and now you intend to leave us behind?!” Said Matthew, Clementine thought he sounded angry too.

“So, we should risk all of our lives?” Asked Carlos.

“What are you saying?” Demanded Rebecca.

“Nothing.” Carlos backtracked, “I'm... I'm just thinking out loud here.”

“We ain’t leaving Clementine!” Snarled Kenny, “Either we all go, or not at all! Especially since she’s only like this because you fucked up!”

“I got hungry; I wasn’t thinking.” Groaned Luke.

“Well, you’re not thinking straight,” Snarled Kenny, “nearly got Clementine killed!”

“We can’t leave Clementine.” Sarah spoke up, “It’s not fair.”

“Life ain't fair, Sarah.” Chided Luke, as Clementine limped over to them, “We're just tryin' to make the best of a bad situation, here. No one wants to leave Clem.”

“Then why are you suggesting it?” Clementine made her presence known, “I heard you. You suggested leaving me behind.”

“Look, Clem,” Luke winced, “We can risk people who can’t pull their weight.”

Luke seemed to realise what he said was a mistake, given how Clementine and Rebecca glared at him.

“Stop whining.” Clementine’s voice was cold, “Carver’s beaten me to a pulp twice…three times.”

Luke opened his mouth to protest, before thinking better of it.

“Alright...” Luke winced, “Well, then, what now?”

“We get the hell outta here.” Said Kenny, as Bonnie returned with some other people.

“Like now, now?” Asked Luke, frowning.

“Yes!” Snapped Rebecca, as Clementine heard someone walking up behind them.

“Where are we goin'?” Asked Kenny, “In case things get squirrely and we gotta make a break for it, we need a place to meet up.”

“We could meet out at Parker's Run.” Suggested Mike, looking around, as Clementine turned around.

She saw the brunette and the girl from the other day, with a hippie, a teenager and an Asian man.

“The hell is that?”

“It's a Civil War site just a few miles north.” Said the Asian man, “Tourist trap. Got signs all over. Just follow the road.”

Everyone looked at him and the small group he was with, Clementine looked back at her group, noticing a red mark on Sarah’s face.

“Bonnie told us what happened,” Said the man, looking at them, “Bill’s gotten too dangerous.”

“That putting it mildly.” Muttered the black-haired girl.

“Becca.” Shel hissed.

“We’ve got some weapons and supplies.” Said the teen, “If you’re really set on Parker’s Run.”

“We stopped there after we escaped the first time.” Rebecca looked at her group, “Luke and Carlos know where it is. It's not that far.”

“Well, at least if a few folks know where it's at, it'll be easier to find if we're split up.” Murmured Kenny, “Alright, that works.”

“Then we just need someone to go set off that PA, right?” Luke looked around, “I mean, you never bothered to explain who's supposed to do that.”

“Almost sounds like you don’t want to leave.” Muttered Becca, as everyone looked at Clementine.

“Wait, wait, hold on.” Luke looked at them, “She's the plan?”

“Why's it always me?” Asked Clementine, as the Asian man walked up to her.

“I’ll meet you in the office, I’ll work on getting Alvin out.” Clementine looked up at the man, before nodding.

The group split in two, one half gathered by the wall, lifting Clementine so she could grab onto the rope. The other to grab weapons and supplies.

“Be sure to remember to flip the switch for the outdoor speakers.” Said Rebecca, “Just the indoor speakers might not draw the herd. It's right on the microphone box.”

“Right.” Nodded Clementine.

“By default, it's set to play music, so you should just have to turn it on, right?” Rebecca instructed, “Then climb back up and drop into the stockroom. We'll meet you there.”

“Down into the office, outdoor speaker switch, turn on PA, up to the roof, down into the stockroom to meet you guys.” Recited Clementine, “That right?”

“Perfect.” Smiled Rebecca, as Mike pulled on the rope to raised Clementine to the roof.

“Be careful!” Called Sarita.

“'Kay.” Nodded Clementine, looking down.

“Clem!” Called Rebecca, “Make sure Vince brings Alvin.”

B

Vince and Wyatt supported Alvin, while Carver angrily paced in front of them, ranting. Then a gunshot made Carver grab his ear, before Clementine dropped down with a smoking gun.

Clementine didn’t bother to listen to what Carver was saying, instead choosing stay with Rebecca to watch Kenny bash Carver’s head in with a crowbar.

Afterwards, Clementine, Kenny and Jane took out a few Walkers, and the large group started covering themselves with Walker guts.

“Girls,” Clementine, Sarah and Becca looked at Carlos, “Stay close to Rebecca.”

“Sarah,” Luke got her attention, “Remember what I told you to do.”

“Keep an eye on Clementine.”

“Good.” Nodded Luke, then Troy appeared, and Jane shot his dick off.

 “Come on.” Instructed Jane, as the Walkers converged on a screaming Troy, “Don't make any noise, got it? They might hear something they don't like. And for fuck's sake, walk. Act like you belong and you will belong.”

B

Clementine found herself towards the front with Rebecca, Becca seemed to be keeping Sarah facing forwards.

“I’m surprised no one’s shooting at us.” Muttered Clementine, getting a snort from Becca.

“The ones staying are stuck in a closet.” Said Becca, as Rebecca groaned.

“Rebecca? What’s wrong?” Asked Sarah, as Rebecca started breathing heavily.

“I, I think that was a contraction.” Clementine froze, “I, I, I think the baby’s coming.”

“What? Now?!” Demanded Becca, as they passed through the Herd and entered the forest.

“No, next year.” Snapped Clementine, sarcastically, “Yes, now!”

“What are we supposed to do?! Have you delivered a baby?!” Becca looked at Clementine and Sarah.

“Not a live one.” Answered Clementine, “Putting it down wasn’t easy.”

“You killed a baby Walker?” Asked Becca.

“No, her mother did.”

“Labour is divided into three stages:” Rattled Sarah, “the dilation stage, expulsion stage and placental stage. The dilation stage is the longest, while the expulsion stage lasts 30-60 minutes, and the placental stage takes from a few minutes to up to 60 minutes.”

Clementine, Becca and Rebecca stared at her, “How do you know that?” Asked Clementine.

“I read a medical book.” Answered Sarah, “We’re going to need to get your eye checked soon.”

Clementine waved her off.

B

“Oh, finally.” Groaned Becca, as they reached Parker’s Run. They’d joined up with Luke and Jane, who led them to the meet up point.

Clementine rolled her remaining eye, before spotting Kenny, Sarita and Matthew. Nick and some of the people who helped break them out standing around Alvin.

“You made it.” Said Kenny, as soon as he spotted them.

“Yeah, we got lost for a bit, Rebecca’s going through contractions.” Said Clementine, “Sarah’s been watching them.”

“They’re roughly thirty minutes apart.” Said Sarah, as Vince walked up to them.

“Hey,” His tone was sombre, “things, er… it’s Alvin… he, er, he hasn’t got long left.”

“Shit.” Muttered Clementine, glancing back at Rebecca, “Just what we need.”

“Where’s Carlos?” Asked Luke, looking around.

“He’s doing his best to…to ease Alvin’s passing.” Answered Vince, as Bonnie, Mike and Shel arrived.

“Everyone here?” Asked Shel, looking at them, “Because, as much as I hate to say it, the guts plan worked.”

The group heard Carlos’s footsteps as he walked up to them, “He’s almost gone, he’s… he’s asking for Rebecca…and Clementine.”

“Why’s he asking for Clem?” Luke frowned, as Vince ushered Clementine and Rebecca over to the tent Alvin was in.

“Hey.” Rasped Alvin, from his place, propped up against a beam, “How are you?”

“You look horrible.” Said Clementine, taking stock of Alvin’s injuries, “And I thought I had it bad.”

Alvin let out a wheezy laugh, “I think you got the worst of it, Clem.”

“I’m not the one dying.” Said Clementine, after a pause, “How do you feel?”

“Not good.” Alvin gave a chuckle, as Rebecca crouched down next to Alvin, “Hey, Becs.”

“Alvin.” Murmured Rebecca, gently touching his cheek.

“I didn’t want to go without sayin’ goodbye.” Rasped Alvin.

“But why am I here?” Asked Clementine, “Carlos said you asked for Rebecca and me.”

“Well,” Alvin let out a pained laugh, “Becs and I had talked about taking you in, before Carver caught up with us.”

Clementine swallowed, “I… I would’ve liked that.”

Alvin smiled, before coughing and wincing, his breathing becoming more and more laboured, “I think it’s time.”

Outside the tent, the rest of the group waited for Clementine and Rebecca to step out. A few moments later, Rebecca stumbled out, sobbing. Then the pop of a gunshot was heard, and Clementine stepped out of the tent.

“Al—” Rebecca choked, “Alvin’s gone. C-Clem…”

“Stopped him from turning.” Finished Luke, as Clementine walked up to them.

“I think I saw Jane go to the observation deck.” Said Clementine, her voice emotionless, “I don’t know what she’s doing.”

“How’re you feeling, Clem?” Asked Bonnie, getting Clementine to look at her.

“I’ve had to put down a member of the group, I’m walking on a broken leg, Rebecca’s in labour, and I’m missing an eye.” Bonnie winced as Clementine spoke, “So, aside from those sources of pain, I’m fucking fantastic.”

“Clem,” Said Luke, after a moment, “can you help Jane? Please?”

Clementine nodded, “Sure, I’m taking Sarah or the other one with me.”

“…you mean Becca?” Asked Shel, getting a nod from Clementine.

“Okay, girls, you go with Clem.” Decided Luke, making Sarah open her mouth in protest, “I know, you want to help your dad, Sarah, but since you’re apparently the closest thing we’ve got to a nurse, you need to keep an eye on Clementine.”

Sarah closed her mouth and walked away with Clementine and Becca.

B

“So, what, you’re like a sponge when it comes to books?” Jane glanced at Sarah, who nodded.

“My mom used to put a book in front of me when I was little,” Said Sarah, “Tia Rosa said I’d wander off.”

“Hey.” Clementine looked away from the telescope and towards Becca, “There’s someone coming.”

“A good someone or a bad someone?” Asked Clementine, frowning.

“I dunno,” Becca looked back, “but he’s heading this way.”

“Crap.” Hissed Jane, “All of you hide.”

Clementine tried to hurry over to them, only to trip on her shoelace, “Son-of-a-bitch!” And landed in her front with a thud.

Clementine opted to stay still, hoping the guy though she was a corpse. She heard him limping along the deck, pausing as he spotted her. Clementine swore she felt a tickle of something going to her empty eye socket and shook her head, accidentally flinging the gauze off, “Shit.”

“Don’t move.” Said the guy, he had a thick Russian accent.

“Can I cover up my eye first?” Clementine tried to feel around for the piece of gauze.

“What?” Clementine looked at him, he looked to be in his late teens, and he had a leg brace and thick glasses.

“I dropped the gauze covering my eye.” Said Clementine, at the guy examined her.

“You are hurt.” He said slowly, Clementine blinked at him.

“Yeah, and?”

The guy lowered his gun, before hobbling over to Clementine. As he reached her, Jane appeared behind him.

“Jane, no!” the Guy was suddenly restrained, as Jane shoved him against the railings, “Jane, he’s not attacking us.”

Jane glared at him, as Sarah kicked Jane’s leg, causing the woman to let the guy go.

“Sorry about her.” Apologised Clementine, getting up, “We…don’t really know her.”

The guy looked at them wearily, just as the black teen from Becca’s group ran up to them, “I heard yelling.”

He stopped and stared at the scene in front of him, Jane was holding her leg, Sarah was standing next to some stranger, and Becca was helping Clementine to her feet.

“It’s nothing, Russell.” Said Becca, before looking at the bag the Russian had dropped. After a brief second, Becca opened the bag, “Whoa.” Clementine glanced down a paused at the number of drugs in the bag.

Clementine didn’t pay much attention to what the guy was saying, but she heard him say his name was Arvo and the drugs were medicine for his sister. That, in Clementine’s mind, decided things.

“We’re not taking them.” Said Clementine, looking around.

“But these could help you, Rebecca and Luke.” Protested Becca, as Sarah closed the bag.

“Not if we’re stealing them.” Argued Clementine, “Besides, for all we know, we’re on his or his groups turf.”

Clementine worried that the others wouldn’t agree with her, until Sarah held the bag out for Arvo to take and Russell escorting him back to his group.

“That was stupid.” Said Becca, watching them leave.

“I’ve been with a group that stole from someone before,” Said Clementine, “it caused his family to die, and led the group to their deaths. I’m not making the same mistake, not if I can avoid it.”

B

After leaving Jane to get the unit open, with Luke joining her, the three girls returned to the rest of their group. Carlos was starting to guide Rebecca through childbirth, with Sarah observing, which left Clementine and Becca on guard duty, both giving Bonnie, Wyatt and Mike a quick greeting when they returned with big bottles of water and a coat.

“How’s ya eye?” Asked Kenny, stopping next to Clementine.

“It hurts.” Clementine tried to shrug off, before sighing, “Kenny, we… ran into someone on the observation deck. He had a load of medicine, and… and Jane wanted to rob him.”

Kenny stiffened, already knowing what Clementine was referring back to, “Did you take ‘em?”

“No,” Clementine shook her head, “he needed them for his sister and, given what happened last time we stole from someone, I don’t want to run the risk of it biting us further down the line.”

Kenny frowned, “While they could’ve helped us now, after what you told me about that bastard in Savannah, I think you made the right choice.”

“Do you think Lee would’ve done the same?” Asked Clementine, leaning back on her heels.

“I know he didn’t like taking those supplies,” Admitted Kenny, “he knew that we were starvin’. I remember hearing him and Carley talkin’ about it, God, what I wouldn’t do to go back to that time again.”

Clementine shivered, and looked around, “Where’s Luke? He should’ve finished helping Jane by now.”

Kenny snorted, “I’ll go look for him, keep an eye out.”

“I’ll be sure to scream as loud as I can.” Quipped Clementine, going back to look at the tree line.

The air was quiet, with Clementine absently hearing Carlos guiding Rebecca and Becca making noises with her mouth.

“ARE YOU TWO FUCKING KIDDING ME?!”

Clementine frowned and turned, “Was that Kenny?”

Carlos looked at them, “Let’s get moving, they must’ve gotten the deck open by now.”

Slowly, the group made their way up to the observation deck, where they saw Kenny pacing in front of and embarrassed Luke and Jane.

“Of all the fucking childish and irresponsible things,” Seethed Kenny, “we’re trying to get shit done and you two are rolling in the hay!”

Clementine frowned and whispered, “What’s that mean? Because those two don’t look like they’ve been sleeping.”

“It means they were having sex.” Answered Becca, getting a frown from Clementine, “What?”

“I thought Luke was gay.”

B

“Do you want to hold him?”

Clementine looked down at the baby, before hesitantly taking him. She glanced outside, after disturbing Jane and Luke, Russell had rejoined them, with a couple pain killers given to him by Arvo’s group, and they secured the deck. Rebecca’s screamed from giving birth had summoned a herd of Walkers, fortunately, since they’d managed to secure the deck, they didn’t get anyone and wandered off after losing interest.

She heard Jane leaving, but didn’t bother to follow after her. Kenny talked about walking to the town she saw through the telescope. Carlos didn’t like it, neither did Luke, but Clementine thought Kenny’s plan was reasonable, since they needed to look for supplies. After giving the baby back to Rebecca, Clementine decided to get some sleep. They had a long journey tomorrow.

Next Story: What if Kenny was leading Delta?

[thecrusadercomrade]

What-Ifs of Telltale's the Walking Dead Chapter 14: What If the 400 Days Characters Joined Lee's Group?

Summary: When more characters find their way to the motor inn in this alternate timeline, the St. Johns quickly realize they may have bitten off more than they can chew...

Read on AO3!

Read from the beginning!

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

400 Days is simultaneously brilliant and disappointing

I’m currently working on another essay about S2 that’s taking me longer than I expected... which I should have expected but y’know, I’m me. I have no idea when it’ll be finished, but I figured that in the meantime I could write about something that came up while working: 400 Days.

400 Days is the stand-alone DLC episode that was released July 2, 2013, and tells the stories of Vince, Bonnie, Wyatt, Russell, and Shel in the same Georgia area that S1 takes place. While the story doesn’t feature Lee or Clementine, it acts as a bridge between S1 and S2. 

I’ve talked about it in the past, even doing a T5F on the Top 5 Missed Opportunities in 400 Days. My past opinions can be summarized in an ask I answered for anon: “Wasted potential. I remember enjoying it when it first came out before s2 released, and the reason I enjoyed it was because I thought it’d be way more important for s2′s story than it ended up being. Bonnie was the only character that mattered while the others made brief, useless cameos if they chose to go with Tavia. Like… it could’ve been so good and it fell flat on its face.”

While not entirely inaccurate to how I feel now, I do believe I wasn’t giving 400 Days a proper chance. 

A major thing I’m noticing as I revisit many of my past posts from when TWDG consumed my life is that nitpicking and overanalyzing for the sake of pumping out content on this blog is the big contributor to why I experienced extreme burnout for the series to the point where I started actively disliking it at one point. While I did genuinely enjoy the creating the content, and obviously still do, there’s a lot I take issue with now.

Looking back on everything, I’m starting to see things differently and appreciate aspects that I previously despised. That level of nitpicking I did was mostly negative and infected a lot of my judgment when it came to games I loved. I knew certain points in the series were disappointing, therefore I should showcase everything wrong with them, and anything positive I have to say comes with a footnote of, “it’s good, but I think this would’ve made it better,” as if nothing was ever good enough. While I’m not ruling out discussions of “what could’ve been,” I want to appreciate what we were given.

Case in point: 400 Days. I adore it. 

I replayed this dlc not only because it somewhat ties into what my larger essay is about, but also I started playing the Mass Effect games and I’m having a mini-crisis about lowkey hating ME1 more and more as I play... dropping it to play 400 Days and write this sounded sooooo more appealing. 

Uh, there’s a freebie update on what I’ve been up to. I’m desperately trying to make ME1 work and then it made me drive the damn Mako and I’m upset about that.....

Anyway-

 400 Days is brilliant. 

I didn’t expect to have as much fun playing this as I did.

400 Days is a quick yet compelling experience right from the beginning, and if I’m completely honest, I haven’t had this much fun playing a TWDG episode for a long time. While I adore TFS, I have a lot more history with that game that changes the overall experience, but this? The whole thing was a blast! Sure, it’s not quite a masterpiece, but it’s way better than I remember. It deserves more credit than I initially gave it and I’m here to rectify that. 

Personally, I love mini-stories that all tie together in the end to create one big story. I'm always going to love the idea, and when it’s executed well, it’s brilliant. Because it’s a single episode that tells five mini-stories, it’s easier to pack in so much detail and make things coherent. While we don’t have as much time with our protagonists, we still get a clear picture of who they are and how they’re handling the apocalypse, how they ended up where they are now, and how they handle each dilemma thrown their way. 

These stories take place at different times of the outbreak, starting before the outbreak and going all the way to 400 days in where all the characters are together and discovered by Tavia. Three of the five stories center around this gas station/diner called Gil’s Pitstop, with the other two being in that area, but all five have elements that weave them together beautifully. A character may show up in one story alive, then show up in the next as a walker, and it’s all dependent on the order you play and the choices you make. 

Each story has a “moral dilemma,” usually a major choice you have to make that affects whether or not a character will agree to go with Tavia, the only exception to this being Bonnie. 

And honestly? All of them are great. They fit in so well with the world of TWD. I’d say that Shel’s story has not only one, but two of the best moral dilemmas, whereas Wyatt’s dilemma is the weakest given it’s decided by a game of rock, paper, scissors. 

I can’t get into the meat of why I think this DLC episode is great without going through each story, so-

Vince: Day 2

Chronologically, Vince’s story takes place first in the timeline, giving us a peak into his life before the outbreak where we see him in a dark room pointing a gun at someone who is pleading for their life. 

“Damn it, I told you! I already told you it wasn't me, man! Man, come on, I told you like...like twenty times... I don't even...I don't even KNOW your brother!”

Vince then shoots him and flees. You get to decide how he’ll try to ditch the gun, but no matter what, he’ll always get caught and we see him on the prison bus, convicted of murder. 

Right away, this tells us so much about Vince yet leaves us wanting more. What happened to Vince’s brother that made him murder a man? We never actually get to know, all Vince says about it is that "I helped my little brother,” which could mean a number of things. 

So Vince is the kind of man willing to take things that far for family, or those he loves, even if he ends up with a prison sentence. His moral compass is already twisting and turning in a different way compared to the others. 

Similar to Lee, he was convicted of murder before the apocalypse, but Vince seems to feel less remorse or guilt for it than Lee does. Lee killed a man in a fight after he caught him with his wife, a heat of the moment thing... but we don’t actually witness it happen. We get to see Vince shoot someone and later claim it was to help his brother out. I find this comparison interesting since this small chapter never tries to set up a, “This is the beginning of Vince’s redemption arc,” like it does for Lee. It more so leans into the fact that yeah, Vince and the other prisoners are here for a reason and right now, redemption isn’t on the table. 

Lee feels bad for what he did and who it hurt. Vince feels bad that he got caught but doesn’t feel bad about helping his brother. The only thing bringing them together is that pre-apocalypse, they accepted that this was their life now only to have a curve ball thrown at them and they find themselves free again. 

Well, first they have to gain their freedom by getting outta those cuffs, I suppose. 

The set up for this story is that Vince is on a prison bus that’s stuck in traffic. You can actually see Gil’s Pitstop through the windows, too. It’s hot as hell outside, and two other prisoners, Jerry and Marcus, up at the front keep arguing while Vince is stuck between Justin and Danny.

Justin is here after years of stealing money from people with “a really good pyramid scheme,” then lied about it on the stand, and Danny is a convicted rapist. The three of them have good chemistry with their banter, it’s enjoyable to watch. You learn more of why they’re here and how they view their guilt, and have the opportunity to tell them the truth about Vince or lie. In doing so will affect how they view you, either you boast about killing a man and become Tough Guy Vince, or lie and say you didn’t do it only to be labeled a coward.

It’s a pretty good time considering the circumstances, but that’s due to how well written and performed this banter is... until Jerry and Marcus become hostile, and one of them chokes the other out. 

But don’t worry, Officer Dipshit [his name is Clyde] is here to help! He starts by yelling at them to stop and then just shooting Marcus in the head before panicking and threatening Vince, Danny, and Justin with the shotgun. 

Honestly, I think Justin says it best: “THIS is what happens when you give guns to ASSHOLES.”

It’s super intense, and you know what’s going to happen the moment this incompetent cop refuses to get in between the fight and break it up properly, choosing to instead point his shotgun at them and yell. But Officer Dipshit gets his comeuppance when Jerry, who was choked to death, becomes a walker and attacks him. Then all hell breaks loose as the other officer [Bennett] flees, leaving you and the other two chained together with a walker that wants to eat your face. 

Vince manages to get Officer Dipshit’s gun and shoot the walker, but the noise only brings more of them onto the bus where they begin trying to get through the gate. 

Now the moral dilemma- Vince has the shotgun. The only way you can escape is to shoot off one of the cuffs, but in doing so will shoot off someone’s foot and they’ll need to be left behind. Whose cuff do you shoot? Danny or Justin’s?

By the way, I love that this whole scene was set up with Danny yanking on the chains that bind you all together as foreshadowing for the solution to this new problem, it’s great.

But here’s the thing about this dilemma... the end percentages still baffle me after all this time. According to The Definitive Edition, 70% of players shot Justin, and 30% of players shot Danny, and I just have to ask why that is?

Because to me, shooting Danny feels like the obvious choice and is what I did. 

Justin is more about keeping his head down. He’s willing to lie if it benefits him. He says that he doesn’t feel bad for his victims, claiming that they knew what they were getting into and he still carried them for years. He’s pretty upfront with his guilt, he never denies it. Hell, he even shrugs and confesses that he lied on the stand, fake crying to try and get a lesser sentence. He’ll joke around, even if he’s mostly annoyed by Danny’s bullshit. Given that he was involved with a scheme that allowed him to make off with millions, he’s also incredibly intelligent. Plus, he’s voiced by the same guy who voiced Ben in s1. I wouldn’t say he’s annoying or anything, he just comes off as more self-serving. 

Danny, on the other hand, is the more charismatic of the two. He’s the one cracking the jokes and yanking on the chains, but he’s also the one who wants to help break up the fight between the other prisoners and stands up to the cop as he’s threatening all of you to shut up. This shows a lot of courage and willingness to intervene when he sees something wrong. He claims he’s innocent, insisting that he’s a morally good man and was falsely accused. Oh, and he misses his girlfriend. He’s a real bro, y’know? 

Here’s the thing: yeah, Danny’s a “bro,” but he’s also a convicted rapist.

Justin: I wasn't stealing from guys like that. Anyway, better than stealing his virginity.

Danny: Hey, how many times I gotta tell you?

Justin: Here we go.

Danny: Seriously! I was falsely accused!

Justin: How old was she? Fifteen?

Danny: Damn it, it ain't like that.

Justin: You're tellin' me there wasn't a star witness waiting around in your white van? I'm shocked.

Vince: You WERE convicted, Danny. Gotta admit that much.

Danny: Aw, come on, Vince. That don't mean I did it.

“It ain’t like that.” Then what’s it like, Danny?

Because when Justin tells him that he “probably ruined that poor girl’s life, you piece of shit,” all Danny has to say is, “Big talk from White Collar over there. How many lives you ruin, kid?” 

As if Danny’s logic is that Justin ruined more lives where he only ruined one, so Justin’s the worse criminal here so let’s shift to him... and I dunno about you, but that makes me feel real icky inside.

I have a feeling it’s because Danny is more of a “bro” and he actively stands up to Officer Dipshit that more people went with him. Or they just weren’t paying attention to what he was convicted of, or they believed him when he said he was falsely accused. Personally, I have a hard time believing him based on his dialogue when you point the gun at him multiple times during the final decision:

Danny: Come on, you know I'm a good guy, man!

Danny: Okay, I know I'm a fuck-up, but Jesus! 

Danny: Come on! I did some bad shit, but I'm a good guy, Vince...

And he says that last one AFTER Justin says, “You're gonna do me and not this rapist fuck?”

Also if you DO save him over Justin, he dies later off screen and Russell will make a comment about how it’s a good thing he did before Shel and Becca joined the group... if anyone can spot a creep/pervert, it’s Russell! 

Vince: Guys, look...if I learned one thing from Danny, it's that we have to stick together and protect ourselves!

Russell: What?! That guy was an asshole! You should be happy he got killed before Shel and Becca joined us.

Becca: Why?

Russell: Don't worry about it.

Justin is upfront that he’s a criminal and I believe him, I believe he’s a self-serving liar... but Danny doth protest too much, me thinks, y’know? Between the two, I'm gonna take my chances with Justin over Danny. I don’t care that Justin’s a liar and eventually ditches Vince, Vince doesn’t seem to heartbroken about it anyway. 

By the way, shooting Danny is the way to get Vince to go with Tavia so make note of that if you’re trying to get everyone to go with her and appear in S2. Actually, it’s interesting that Vince is less trusting of strangers if you go with Danny over Justin, as if he got burned by that choice in the end, hmm? 

Anyway, that was my spiel about Danny vs Justin, and I would be interested to know what y’all picked. I’ve read a lot of discussions about this choice and I know I’m not the only one who feels this way about the percentages. I’ve read a lot of responses to why people picked who they picked, all very interesting. 

Back on track, this is a solid chunk of the story. I enjoy the dilemma presented here. You’re chained to these two guys and if you don’t shoot one of their ankles off, then all three of you are going to die. What gets me about this is it’s not like the Doug vs Carley choice. Doug and Carley were both in trouble but you only had enough time to save one of them. You weren’t actively shooting them. 

Here? You have to pull the trigger more than once. You have to pick one, shoot their ankle off, and then leave them there in order to escape. It’s super fucked and going off the way Vince hesitates and looks back at the one you shot, I’d say it’s something that’s gonna sit with him for the rest of his life. 

The pacing of this episode is great, it’s intense, the escalation in hostility between the two other prisoners only for it to end in blood is well executed, and overall the set up is damn good. 

Wyatt: Day 41

Dude. Wyatt’s story. I love Wyatt’s story. Of all five stories, it’s the one that made me laugh the most. It’s absolutely hilarious despite taking place in a very tense and panicked situation. 

Wyatt in on the run with his companion, Eddie. They’re driving away after an encounter with group of guys that ended in Eddie shooting one of them, and now they’re being chased and shot at by someone in a truck. 

Eddie: God, this is so fucked!

Wyatt: Why the hell did you shoot that guy, man? What the hell WAS that?

Eddie: I didn't mean to do it! It just happened, okay? Where the fuck were you with a warning?

Wyatt: Me? You're putting that on me now? I didn't see the guy, either! I was too worried those dudes were going to pull guns on us or--

Intense right off the bat, a complete panic as you’re trying to shoot at the truck chasing you while Wyatt and Eddie argue about what happened. Eventually the truck swerves off the road and you seem to be in the clear.

From what I gather, Wyatt and Eddie had a run in with Nate, the guy from Russell’s story, an unknown man who Eddie shot and killed in the encounter, and possibly some others given how Wyatt says he was worried about the “dudes” [plural] but he didn’t see the guy Eddie shot. Given that Nate’s alone in Russell’s story and the lone one chasing them down, it’s likely he’s the only survivor from that side. It’s unknown if Wyatt and Eddie were in a bigger group or not, so I’m going to assume it was just the two of them. 

Wyatt: Did you mean to pull the trigger?

Eddie: I don't know. I was so keyed up... I just... damn it. Look, Wyatt. All I know is those guys had me all... jacked up like I was on speed or something. I was just on edge, you know? Then I was, like, watching that guy's brains come out the back of his head. I'm sorry, man. I...

The core of why Wyatt’s story is possibly my favorite is the electric chemistry between him and Eddie. The dialogue, the voice acting, it’s all just dripping with personality and you feel like you’re watching two friends who’ve known each other for a long time, just *chef kiss*  

Eddie: See? It's fine. Road's straight as my dick.... You think we're in the clear?

Wyatt: Don’t talk about your dick.

Eddie: ...... Why not?

[or alternatively, if Wyatt says nothing, Eddie will just : “... Are you still thinking about my dick?” sksks it’s so stupid, I can’t help but love it.]

They talk like typical stoners, which they indeed are because Eddie’s got some “sticky” in the glovebox and wants it after they believe they’re in the clear. Y’know, the perfect time for some weed. Kate Garcia would greatly approve. 

So they’re driving along and we get more context for what happened, more great banter... and then they hit someone. 

The dilemma in this chapter is the fact that they hit someone and they don’t think it’s a walker, it’s a person. Even though they’re on the run from Nate and it’s foggy as hell outside, Eddie insists that they help whoever was hit. 

I believe Eddie is such a fan favorite not just because he’s funny or a charming character, but because of his compassion. In this moment you feel his frustration and guilt in having hit someone. He isn’t about to perform a hit and run even in this new apocalyptic world even though it would be easier to just assume it’s a walker and keep driving. 

Eddie: What if that was you, man?! After all the shit that's happened in the past couple months? Where's your compassion, motherfucker?

or

Eddie: If that guy back there is alive, we HAVE to help him, Wyatt. There ain't a lot of live dudes left these days.

Eddie showed a lot of shock and guilt over shooting a guy before, but now he’s sure he’s hit an innocent person and he refuses to leave them. His humanity does him credit and that’s why he’s one of my favorite characters in this DLC. 

But then comes the choice: One of you has to go find this person you hit, and one of you has to stay in the car. Who should do what? 

The end stats for this are 50/50, and it’s decided either by you refusing to go out yourself, or agreeing to a game of rock, paper, scissors. 

No, really, that’s how they decide who gets to go out there, best two outta three. That’s why I say this is one of the weaker portrayals of the dilemma, you don’t necessarily get to decide what Wyatt’s going to do, therefore shaping his personality and morals... it’s all up to luck. 

Though you can outright refuse, and Eddie will go out anyway so that’s one way to shape Wyatt if you’re playing him as less compassionate, or more cautious, or even as a coward. While there is an option for Wyatt to volunteer, you still have to rock, paper, scissors for it which I’m kinda meh on. Personally, I think if you’re brave enough to volunteer, you should be able to double down with Eddie and make the choice yourself rather than leaving it up to fate decided by a couple hand gestures. 

My advice to anyone playing this is try to lose the game. If Wyatt loses the game, he will go out there with a gun to find the person you hit, otherwise Eddie will go and Wyatt will be left in the car. Wyatt remaining in the car is the weaker option, far less exciting and results in you being attacked by Nate and forced to leave Eddie behind. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad by any means and getting to see that it’s Nate is neat when going into Russell’s story, but I think Wyatt being left behind is more impactful because it opens up a new dilemma.

I managed to lose the game by picking scissors every time. I find that Eddie tends to pick mostly rock, at least every time I’ve played before I’ve beaten him with paper, but rock beats scissors sooo pick scissors. 

Wyatt takes the gun and goes out into the fog to find the guy, who is revealed to be Bennett, the cop who fled the prison bus in Vince’s story. Wyatt tries talking to him, but Bennett is too injured and out of it to respond. Wyatt starts to help him, but because nothing is ever smooth sailing... walkers begin to groan and you realize that they’re coming through the fog. 

The reason I think this path’s better is because now you have a new choice to make: Do you try to help Bennett, or do you abandon him?

Wyatt wasn’t the one driving, and he’s out here due to a lost game of rock, paper, scissors... but is he willing to leave this man out here to be eaten to save himself, or is he going to try and do his best to help the man at the risk of getting them both killed. 

I chose to try and save Bennett, which meant I had to to drag him back to the car while stopping to shoot walkers... and the noise only brings more of them and uh oh, Eddie’s screaming for Wyatt to hurry up because he’s being attacked! If Eddie remains in the car, Nate attacks him and no matter how fast you go, Wyatt never makes it in time... Eddie drives off without Wyatt, who is now left in a misty forest with more walkers on the way, and Nate.

It’s rough, but more compelling, in my opinion. 

The highlight of this story is Wyatt and Eddie’s relationship, and there’s something about them getting separated that just stings, y’know? I found myself dreading getting out of the car not because of the dangers held within the fog, but because I knew Wyatt and Eddie would be separated after this only to never be reunited. 

Well, we assume they never reunite and that... the best way I can describe this is I feel like Sarah from Labyrinth, just throwing myself onto my bed and beating my fists against the wall and exclaiming, “IT’S NOT FAIR!!” at everyone... because it’s not fair that Wyatt and Eddie get separated and it makes me emotional, I’m not happy about it. 

But that also proves how effective Wyatt’s story is. Wyatt by himself also has the vibe of your sarcastic stoner friend who’s into indie bands and video games, but that’s part of his charm. 

Overall, a damn good story and execution. 

Russell: Day 184

I have a lot of feelings about Russell. 

As far as the playable protagonists go, I can say with confidence that he’s my favorite. I love them all, but Russell sticks out to me by how much younger he seems to be, his interesting backstory, and by his jaded behavior. 

His story starts with him walking down a long yet familiar road. He has his backpack and a map, and tells us he’s trying to get to his grandmother’s house. However, as he’s walking along, the truck from Wyatt’s story is coming up the road and Russell’s gotta decide if he should hide or stand his ground. 

If you hide, you’ll quickly remember why you know this road. Russell will hide down next to a corpse, but not just any corpse- the body of either Carley or Doug, depending on who you saved in S1. A neat inclusion, if not a little sad... and annoying because then I’m forced to remember Lilly shooting Carley outta spite and me leaving her ass on the road... wasn’t S1 so fun??

Anyway, Nate pulls up and talks to Russell no matter what, and you have no choice but to hitch a ride with him. You can try and refuse, and Nate’ll drive away... only for a dozen walkers to appear out of thin air and surround you so Nate will come back for you... I see you, Telltale, I see through your nonsense. 

The rest of Russell’s story has him and Nate... bonding? I don’t even want to call it that, but they talk as they drive, we get more insight into Russell’s last group that left him with some trauma.  

Russell: There was seven of us. I didn't have any family there or nothing; they were all at my Gram's down in Statesboro. There was a dad who had a daughter 'bout my age. One guy said he used to be a cop, but nobody really believed him; then a teacher and his wife. Leader was this guy, Steve.

Nate: Go back to the daughter.

Russell: Steve was a bad dude, but everybody was with him, you know? He said seven was the magic number, so we didn't add nobody to the group. If we found survivors, it was the same every time. He...he...

Nate: Let it out, Paco.

Russell: Just... "We gonna kill these folks and take their stuff or what?" And then bang, they'd be dead. Anyway... I couldn't handle that. After weeks of it, I packed my shit up and figured I can make for Gran's alone and try to find my family. I slipped outta there. I couldn't live like that.

Super interesting, and I wanted to learn more about this group but Nate ruins it by continuing to be a creep. 

By the way, Nate? Crusty. Stinky. He is repulsive and I hate him... but he’s also the best antagonist in this DLC, go figure. I’m pretty sure the writers had a lot of fun making him as slimy as possible. He’s dangerous and a huge creep, he makes my guts feel icky, I just-

Russell: Why you gotta be like that?

Nate: Like what?

Russell: Always talking about women like that.

Nate: WOMEN? Ha, okay. Let me see if I can answer your question. Because...because the hunger a man's got for a woman is all we got left now. No laws, no jobs, ain't nothin' that make us men. But they ain't eaten all the women yet.

Nate, you’re gross and I hate you.

Unfortunately, Russell is stuck with this man for the time being until the two end up at Gil’s Pitstop only to be shot at by someone inside. Together, they avoid being shot and break in to find an older man is responsible for shooting at them, and his wife is injured, bleeding out in the booth beside him. 

The man, Walt, yells at them to get out and accuses Nate of coming back to finish them off. Alarming, to say the least, but Nate casually denies the accusations that he’s been here before and calls Walt crazy.

Given this is Nate we’re talking about and he’s been in this area awhile, I’m inclined to believe that he was here at one point and could’ve attacked the couple, possibly with his group that Wyatt and Eddie encountered. 

But here’s where things get interesting, and where Russell’s story becomes more unique when it comes to the dilemma. You’ve got this older couple here, one of them injured, and the other shot at you. They’re accusing your crusty companion of coming back to finish them off, and said crusty man decides to manipulate you by echoing the story from earlier: 

Nate: What do you say, Russ? Should we just kill these folks and take all their stuff?

Super fucked up, and it has an immediate effect on Russell. Nate gives him the crazy eyes and casually points the gun at Russell... so what do you do? Do you comply, or do you stand up to Nate?

Unfortunately, no matter what you do, Nate will always kill the old couple. If you comply with Nate, whether by saying nothing out of shock or hesitantly agreeing, you witness the murders and Nate gloating about how all their stuff is there’s now. Then you get an eerie line from Nate as he looks back at Russell with a smile:

Nate: Relax. You're my boy, Russell. Things are going to be a-okay.

All while Russell stands there in absolute horror and shock, probably reliving the trauma he escaped from his previous group and realizing he’s now stuck in it again. 

This ending to the story is awful... not awful as in it’s written poorly. No, no, quite the opposite. It’s awful because of what it does to Russell. By complying, Russell is now stuck with this man who “kept you around,” according to the little choice notification in the corner. Who killed with no compassion, no guilt, and is gleefully admiring the “rewards” he got for doing it. Russell just stood there while two innocent people were murdered and he does nothing to stop it. He looks at Nate and sees Steve, a man he earlier described as a bad person, but everyone was with him, everyone complied. Russell couldn’t take it anymore and he had to leave, only to find himself at the mercy of another Steve and that’s tragic. 

Luckily, Russell manages to get away somehow given he’s with the rest of the group in the epilogue, though we never find out how. 

As for the alternative, Russell can stand up to Nate and call him out in one of my favorite moments:

Russell: Are you serious?

Nate: Maybe. Why not?

Russell: That's fucked up! There are real fucking monsters out there!

Nate: No shit.

Russell: And you're just going to joke about the shit I seen? Fuck you, Nate!

Nate: I saved your ass!

Russell: You didn't do shit.

Nate: Easy, Russ.

Russell: I ain't hurtin' no one. And don't you hurt these people either.

Nate: COME ON! Can we still be friends?

Russell: No.

Russell leaves Nate behind, and as he’s walking outside, he hears two gunshots from inside. At first, the player’s probably thinking how Russell should’ve done more to help the couple, but what could he do? Nate had the gun, and wrestling it from him would’ve gotten Russell killed. It’s fucked, but there was nothing he could do with Nate holding as much power as he did. Russell had no choice but to stand up to him in hopes of convincing him to leave the couple alone, and then leave. 

Unfortunately, Nate isn’t easily swayed. Russell’s lucky he got away when he did. 

Russell standing up to Nate, avoiding the road he’s desperately tried not to walk again, is compelling as hell. By walking away, he’s saying that no, that’s not who he will become. He won’t be Steve, he won’t be Nate, he won’t be a man who causes hurt and death in order to reap the “rewards.” 

In the end, Russell is more bitter, wary to trust and I don’t blame him. This moral dilemma is so powerful because it’s a choice between remaining strong, brave enough to look at what you could become and say, “no,” and giving in, becoming the thing you feared and ran from. 

Not to mention Russell’s story all started because he left to go find his grandmother, to reunite with his family. If Russell were to reunite with her, would he be proud of how he got there? Or would be feel like yet another monster who hurt others to get there? 

All in all, so damn good. 

Fuck Nate, though. Hope he choked. 

Bonnie: Day 220

Bonnie, everyone’s favorite.... CJ wrote sarcastically, knowing full well that a lot of people don’t actually like her. 

It’s a shame that S2 has tainted Bonnie’s character for a lot of people, but this post isn’t about S2 so I’m going to focus solely on what we see of her in this story. 

What we get is a woman struggling with addiction, clinging to a life preserver the best she can in a world where the dead walk but people are more dangerous, a preserver that can be ripped out of her hands depending on your choices. Bonnie is recovering from a drug problem when we meet her out in the rain with a man named, Leland, and the two are playing a cute little game of “would you rather.” 

She has a deep southern drawl, and easily teases Leland even without player input. 

Leland: You've been a lot more fun lately. Feelin' better?

Bonnie: I guess I am.

Leland: Well, you sure do look better. Though you gotta admit, anything is an improvement. That came out wrong... what I mean is... I mean... You were... you were, uh... you know.

Bonnie: Take a hike, big ears.

Leland: I resemble that remark.

Bonnie: You resemble a satellite.

Leland: Ya know, you weren't so damn sassy before. Guess that's a good sign. I mean it, though. After we found ya, you were still so hooked on that stuff. I never thought you'd make it. You ain't outta the woods yet, I know, but you've come a long way, Bonnie. I'm proud of you.

At first, you pick up on a little romantic tension between the two and think, “Oh, I see~” There’s some definite chemistry there. Leland even goes as far as to caress her cheek and say her name softly. 

Then Dee shows up, and you realize rather quickly that she’s Leland’s wife, and then you go, “Oh... I see.” 

Dee sees it, too, and calls the two of them out on their flirting. 

Dee: I got you a present.

Leland: Aw, you shouldn't have! What did you find?

Dee: I'll tell ya later. I don't mean to interrupt your "chat" with your "girlfriend", but we gotta get movin'.

So that’s not great.

But it appears that Dee found a bag and avoids saying where she got it. Leland keeps pushing on about the bag, and this causes a fight to break out with Dee getting more defensive until she tells then to run. Turns out, Dee stole the bag from a nearby group that is now hunting them down, so the three of them have to get out of there. 

Bonnie falls behind, and ends up shot. Leland calls out to her, but we see Dee holding him back before disappearing, leaving Bonnie on her own. This segment is super good, she falls down a hill and a zombified Clyde- you remember Clyde? Officer Dipshit? Yeah, he shows up as a walker here to attack Bonnie if you don’t kill him in Russell’s story. After killing the walker, Bonnie’s forced to navigate a corn maze while avoiding the flashlights of the group chasing her. It’s a well done scene, and the moment Bonnie makes it out is just heart breaking. 

She’s wounded, all alone, and she’s slipping all over in the mud, desperate to take cover behind a tractor. Plus her little, “Mama watch over me,” gets me, y’know? 

The dialogue that follows is raw. Eerie. Just-

Bonnie: Dee, oh, God, Dee... I'm so sorry, oh, God...

Dee: Wh... why? You... Why? Do... d-- do I look... How bad is it? Bonnie?

Bonnie: It was dark, it's so dark, I couldn't see you! I didn't know it was you! How was I supposed to know it was you?!

Dee: There was no... I thought I...saw you... You did this...? You... killed me. You killed me... I sh-- should never have... tr-- trusted you... just... just a junkie... Leland, she... she did this to me...

Bonnie: I... God, I'm so sorry, so... I can't... Oh, God, God...

Dee: I knew you'd fuck up again... take him...

Bonnie: I... I... no, God, I'm sorry. I need him; I need you both...

Dee: You... bitch... I knew you wanted him... didn't think you had the stones... Goddamn you...

-and then Dee dies. Dee repeatedly calling Bonnie a junkie and a fuck up is painful. Bonnie’s clearly in distress, apologizing and trying to comfort Dee as she’s dying, and all Dee can do is call her a fucking junkie while damning her, telling her they should’ve never trusted her. I cannot imagine the toll that takes on Bonnie going forward. 

Now the dilemma here isn’t that Bonnie killed her. You have no choice on whether or not to hit her with the piece of rebar. If you don’t, Dee will kill Bonnie and you get a nice ol’ YOU ARE DEAD. You have to hit Dee, Dee will always die, it’s more up to you how Bonnie reacts and handles it. 

The dilemma here is Leland finds them and is horrified that Dee is dead. He then asks Bonnie what happened. Do you tell him the truth or do you lie? 

This is rough, to say the least. Because it was an accident. You had no choice, you didn’t know it was Dee and now you have to decide if being honest is the best choice in this moment. Are you willing to take responsibility for something you did even if it hurts you, or hurts Leland? Or are you going to lie to the grieving husband of the woman you killed to save your own ass? 

And remember, that group is still chasing you down, it’s only a matter of time before they find you so whatever you do, you have to do it fast or else that group is going to kill you.

Fun fact, according to the stats, 75% of people lied to Leland, and 25% of people told him the truth. Which I find fascinating yet unsurprising that players wouldn’t tell the truth in order to cover their asses. 

To be fair, a new player might think that telling the truth could cause Leland to lash out and you’ll get hurt, and that takes priority over doing the “morally good thing” of being honest. Or they don’t want to admit they did a bad thing. Players never like doing that unless it was on purpose. 

Not only that, but if Leland knows that truth and you can convince him to leave with you, the fact that Bonnie killed her [accident or no] will always hang heavy in the air. If Leland doesn’t know the truth, then y’know- ignorance is bliss and Bonnie won’t have to face the repercussions from him... she’ll just have to deal with her guilt and trauma internally. 

You also have to remember that Bonnie is a recovering addict. Leland and Dee were her life preservers that kept her afloat this whole time. She just accidentally killed half of her support, and now she’s staring at the other half and has to judge if she’s willing to risk losing him, as well. If both Dee and Leland are gone, Bonnie is alone, and that could be far worse than anything else for her.

For me, this dilemma is fairly similar to Russell’s- who are you shaping Bonnie to be with this choice? Can Bonnie live with herself if she lies? 

If you lie, it’s easy to convince him to come along with you, but you can still do so if you tell the truth, which is what I did. It all depends on your approach and if you can convince him that it was a genuine accident on Bonnie’s part. Which it was so again, not hard. If you can’t convince him, he’ll stay by Dee’s side while Bonnie runs away and you’ll hear a gunshot. 

If Leland leaves with Bonnie, they don’t stay together since he’s not with the group in the epilogue. As far as I can tell, we never find out what happened to him, Bonnie never says. 

Bonnie’s story is solid, super enjoyable, I love it. Again, you might be noticing a pattern but every story so far has been excellent, not a single bad one in the bunch. 

And that doesn’t change with Shel’s story.

Shel: Days 236 & 259

Shel’s story is the final event on the timeline, and while I said that Wyatt’s story made me laugh the most and Russell’s my favorite protagonist, Shel’s story is my favorite overall. It’s not funny like Wyatt’s, and I wouldn’t even say Shel is as compelling as Russell, but it more than makes up for that with the story it tells. 

It’s funny to think back on this because had you asked me years ago about Shel’s story, I probably would’ve told you it’s my least favorite and that Shel and Becca weren’t great. Again, another example of me not giving them a proper chance.

This time around I was surprisingly invested in Shel as a character. She’s a lot more... how do I put this? Softer? She’s softer than the other playable protagonists in the way she acts, speaking, and views the situation. She has a little sister to look after in this world, a young, impressionable girl that Shel sees getting colder and colder with every terrible thing she sees. It’s understandable that Shel wants to protect Becca, or even shelter her from the reality of their situation. 

I liked Becca a lot, too. She wasn’t annoying like I remembered her being. Her behavior is understandable when you pay attention. She’s young, she doesn’t fully understand the weight of the things she may do, and she’s easily influenced, which becomes scary later on. 

Shel’s story takes place in Gil’s Pitstop where she and Becca are staying with a group of familiar faces. Yep, the cancer patients from S1 are back. Turns out Vernon was more of a bastard than we initially thought as we learn he planned to steal the boat from the moment we found it... and given that he’s no longer with the group, I’d say that didn’t work out for him in the end. 

Aside from them, we have Stephanie and Roman. These two are key to this story, both having ideas about how Becca should be raised, and Roman becomes a more antagonistic character in the end. 

This story is about Shel’s conflicted feelings about the world and what it’s doing to her and Becca. They have to keep inventory of guns and supplies and hey, remember how Dee stole that bag? Surprise, Shel’s group were the ones chasing you down when you were playing as Bonnie, and they make comments depending on if Leland stayed with Bonnie or was caught. 

Shel meets Roman outside where we see “guard dogs,” which are just walkers they’d tied up to keep people away. Depending on if you stayed with Nate or stood up to him, you may encounter Walt as a walker, or Bennett. They’re feeding the walkers when Roman makes a comment about how Becca wouldn’t mind doing this, and that Shel can’t keep sheltering her, something Shel struggles with. 

Shel also discovered the old woman walker is eating a puppy and the affect on her is instant, nearly bringing her to tears. Which is completely understandable. When I say that Shel is softer, it’s because of a moment like this where she sees something that’s sad and she doesn’t just shrug it off. She feels it deeply, and that’s further proven when she goes back inside only for Becca to scare her as a little prank. 

Shel lashes out at her, and I love their conversation once she’s calmed down. 

Shel: It's the walkers...I guess they got ahold of a puppy.

Becca: A puppy?

Shel: Yeah. I guess it just...it got to me, ya know. It was so little. You don't think about babies anymore, but... After a while, you just kind of accept...this is it.

Becca: Yeah. I guess you kinda forget.

Shel: Right? But then...you know...there it is. You see it and you want to protect it... And now it's gone.

Becca: That sucks.

I feel like this is obvious, but Shel seeing a dead puppy being eaten by walkers probably brought Becca to mind. While Becca isn’t a baby, she is still a kid, and we know how TWDG works. Children and teens aren’t safe from death in this series. In S1 we dealt with Duck’s tragic death, and we found the walker child in the attic. S1 is all about Lee doing everything in his power to not let that happen to Clementine, and it cost him his life. 

Becca could die just as easily as that puppy. All it takes is one moment, no matter how hard Shel tries to protect or shelter her, and she’s gone. 

Also, this whole “you don’t think about babies anymore” is clever, given what happens in S2 with Rebecca and AJ, I wonder if that was intentional or not. 

But the moment is interrupted when Stephanie barges in to bring us our first major moral dilemma.

A man was caught trying to steal supplies from the group. He’s beaten up, and Roman claims he was already like that, and all he did was tie him up and put a blindfold on. The man doesn’t speak English. He isn’t bit, and he didn’t hurt anyone. This is the second break in the group’s had. The group is arguing among themselves when Roman gives us the dilemma:

Roman: Look, we all know what we're talking about here, so let's stop dancing around it. We either let this guy go and take our chances...or we kill him.

This is... fucked? How else do you describe it? This man can’t defend himself since he doesn’t speak English, no one can understand him, he can’t stay with the group but letting him go is risky. What do you do?

There isn’t a right answer to this, even when you know both outcomes. 

On one hand, you let him go. You can’t just execute a man, that would be wrong, so you send him away and maybe he won’t come back. You’ll be in the clear and you’ll feel like you did the right thing.

Shel: He's not even armed! We can't just kill him! This isn't in self-defense.

Becca: Isn't it, though? If it means he can't come back to hurt us?

Shel: That isn't the same thing.

Joyce: But last time...

Shel: Joyce, that was a long time ago. If we kill this man, then we are giving up a part of ourselves that we can NEVER get back! I'm not ready to let that go.

But that doesn’t happen. The man does come back and he brings his group, we’re attacked, and Boyd dies in the fight. Roman becomes obsessed with securing the place by any means necessary. 

On the other hand, you kill him. You make the choice as a collective group to execute a man and you get to live with that. 

Shel: We can't take the risk. We kill him.

Stephanie: There's gotta be another way...

Shel: Tell me. What if he comes back? With weapons, or...or a gang? Is it worth losing any one of us?

Stephanie: Jesus. There really is no other choice, is there?

Roman: We can't keep him here and we can't let him go. If there's even a chance of him coming back or telling folks who might try to hurt us, we can't risk it. I won't ask you to watch, but if we do this, we're all in it together. If this ever happens again, it's gonna be one of you pulling that trigger.

And in doing so, the group’s morale plummets, and Roman still becomes obsessed with securing the place by any means. 

But you also have to consider what this will do to Becca. Shel just had to face a hard reality when she saw that dead puppy, and now she’s left as the swing vote that decides a man’s fate. That’s a lot for any person and there are so many factors at play here. 

No matter your choice, there’s a time skip and we see Shel and Becca in an RV playing Go Fish. Becca admits that she’s been sneaking out, something that’s horrifying to hear when you realize what Roman would do to her if he ever found that out, or if Becca was spotted and led someone back that wanted to hurt them. 

Speaking of Roman, he comes knocking on the door to ask Shel to come talk to him about something important. It’s not long before you learn what happened: Stephanie stole supplies and tried to escape. 

Roman: We caught her trying to escape.

Shel: Maybe she wasn't. Maybe she just wanted to get outside these walls for a while. Ever since the...incident, you've made this place feel...I dunno...oppressive.

Roman: We've made it safe. And she was definitely trying to escape; she had most of our ammo and medicine with her. She screwed us, Shel. All of us. And now were' in that position again where we can't keep her here and we can't let her go. You do know why I'm telling you this, right?

Roman’s telling Shel this because he wants her to shoot Stephanie, and she can’t say no. 

As if this wasn’t enough of a gut punch, Shel goes back to the RV and tells Becca what’s going on. 

Y’know that feeling you got when you heard AJ say he liked killing Lilly for the first time in TFS? I got a similar feeling when Becca said this:

Becca: Oh, my god. The hell did she do that for?!

Shel: Roman says we have to-

Becca: Kill her? Yeah! Why would she do this to us?!

Shel: She's just scared. She made a mistake.

Becca: Well, that'll be her last mistake!

Shel: Becca! Stephanie is your friend!

Becca: WAS my friend.

Shel’s fear that this world is changing Becca isn’t misplaced, and now she’s forced to face that reality head on once again. 

Also, I’m pretty sure this is the moment that causes people to dislike Becca or think she’s annoying, but again, given what she’s been through no matter what choice you made, her reaction makes sense. If you let him go, she saw her group attacked and Boyd killed, and that showed her that it was a mistake to let that guy go. If you killed him, then she watched her older sister decide the fate of a man and then watched him be executed. 

A lot of the TWDG fandom tend to intensely dislike child characters for the mere fact that they’re not Clementine, and ironically, they end up behaving in ways that make them more annoying than any child character they dislike. So I wouldn’t take their word for it when they say Becca’s a bad character. Play the story, pay attention, and make the judgement yourself. 

As for the second moral dilemma in this story, Shel can either take her gun and shoot Stephanie, or she can take the RV keys and drive away. Do you agree to kill Stephanie or run away? 

For me, this is an easier decision than the first one. I grabbed those keys and we got the hell outta there. 

But for this choice, Shel can either give in and allow this to be who they are now in order to protect Becca, or she can prove that there are other ways, that they don’t have to stay under Roman’s thumb and kill whoever he tells them to. There’s no saving Stephanie at this point, you have no choice in that, but you do have a choice in how Shel raises Becca from now on. 

Oh, and if you’re looking to get everyone to go with Tavia, you have to drive away. If you shoot Stephanie, then she and Becca will refuse to go with Tavia. 

Shel’s episode is my favorite, and the perfect way to end the main story if you’re playing in chronological order. She’s another great character who I didn’t expect to make me feel the way she did. 

Epilogue: Day 400

Once all five stories are finished, we’re introduced to Tavia. She’s a scout looking for survivors to bring back to her community. She talks with someone over the radio about finding all the photos and a note near Gil’s Pitstop that gives the group’s location.

Turns out that Vince, Wyatt, Russell, Bonnie, Shel and Becca all found each other and are surviving together in their campsite. Tavia approaches the group and it’s up to us to convince as many of them as we can to come with her. 

For Vince, you have to shoot Danny, and with Shel you have to escape. Bonnie will agree to go no matter what. Wyatt and Russell can be convinced to join regardless of your choices. The best option is to tell them that you find people from everywhere, and Wyatt will agree to go in hopes of finding Eddie while Russell wants to find his family. 

Most of the dialogue is determined by your choices, as well. 

Once you have your group, the DLC ends with the group burning the photos and note, before asking Tavia how she knows if this will work out. 

Honestly? Great ending, great execution of consequences brought on by your choices. 

The 400 Days DLC is fantastic. It’s brilliant. I love it to pieces, and I highly encourage anyone reading this to replay it. 

Don’t play S1 first, and don’t plan on jumping into S2. Play the DLC by itself, let it be a story contained to an hour of your time. That’s what I did, and I had so much fun! These characters and their stories are wonderful, the writing is phenomenal, I love it!

But... Now that I’ve spent all this time praising this DLC, calling it brilliant and encouraging everyone to revisit it... it all comes with an asterisk* attached:

*As a single experience, 400 Days is brilliant and I love it.... but when played together with S1 and S2.......

400 Days is disappointing.

That’s the glaring issue here. 

I can praise this DLC all I want, and I did. That doesn’t negate the big picture, or the big problem fans tend to have with it. 

400 Days acts as a bridge between the two seasons but let’s be real, the only story that actually matters here is Bonnie’s. She will always leave with Tavia no matter what, and she plays a major role in the group’s capture and eventual escape. The others make brief, meaningless cameos that only exist to make the player go-

-every time one of them shows up. We never hear from them, or about them, again after that.... so what was the point? 

What was the point of 400 Days in the grand scheme of things? 

400 Days becomes worse when you get your hopes up that it’s just a teaser, a little taste, of what’s to come in S2. You think these writers took the opportunity to introduce you to these important characters, tell you their backstories, so that they could be incorporated into S2′s plot as major characters. 

But no, only Bonnie. 

And even Bonnie’s character becomes muddled by ep5 depending on how you tried to help Luke. 

The thing is, 400 Days isn’t terrible because of this. Obviously. It’s disappointing, but why it’s disappointing and the way people claim it could’ve been fixed is... well...

It’s not simple. It’s so easy to just be like, “400 Days is bad because our choices didn’t matter! It’s pointless! Why didn’t they do something else?? I know exactly how this could be fixed!”

I know what everyone always says whenever 400 Days is brought up: “The 400 Days cast should’ve been the cabin group.”

Great idea in theory, or headcanon/AU.

In execution, it would’ve been too complicated and I think we all know that, but a fandom’s hubris knows no limit when it comes to them believing they know better than the developers. 

Not to say we can’t criticize issues with the writing, but it helps to at least be understanding of how things actually work, i.e. video games are hard to make and long posts on tumblr “fixing” video games are fun to read but wouldn’t actually work in practice because that’s not how video games work so maybe stop insulting the developers while acting like you know better about a field you don’t even work in. 

Trust me, I know. Don’t think I’m not one of those people, I’m literally here writing you a long post on tumblr. I’m not innocent here. Have you read any of my Violet posts? You don’t think there was a long period of time where I thought *I* knew better?? I wish I could say you’re right but you’re not, I’m just as bad. I’ve said some unkind things about certain developers that I look back on and just face palm as I slowly sink back in my chair shamefully. I still agree with my criticisms but not the way I said them, and I’m trying to not be like that anymore. 

All that to say it would be too complicated for the 400 Days cast to be the cabin group due to the different combinations of characters who can stay or go with Tavia. What happens to players who had only Bonnie go with Tavia? Or had all but one go? The only solution would be to have a set ending for 400 Days, removing the consequences of choice and having a more linear ending.

Y’know this would’ve gotten them the “my choices never actually matter >:[” criticism which I believe is a fair criticism of games that make these big claims about choice and consequence only to give you the illusion of it. But, there needs to be some common understanding of what can realistically be implemented in a game like that. You can’t expect them to have a thousand different outcomes and have it be a smooth, functioning game, especially when you take into account the release dates and the things going on behind the scenes at Telltale and how that affects development. These studios have deadlines, they have higher ups working them overtime so they can push as much product out as possible, they have a budget that’s never enough, and frankly, shit just happens sometimes.  

I’m not saying that we can’t be disappointed. I’m disappointed that I’ll never get to know if Wyatt and Eddie reunited, or what happened to Russell. I have no idea if Shel and Becca are still alive, and I don’t know where Vince is. I don’t even know what happened to Bonnie after S2. 

When thrown into the entire series, 400 Days is disappointing due to the high expectations it brings for S2, but I argue that it isn’t as terrible as people claim it is. 

I literally just spent several paragraphs explaining why it’s brilliant and why you should go replay it by itself, I think it’s far from terrible and deserves praise for its characters and the moral dilemmas it presents. Don’t think about S2 while you’re playing it, that’s not the point. The point is to experience it for what it is, a series of stories set in the zombie apocalypse that all lie together in the end. 

I would love to hear more thoughts about this, whether it be about the characters or what choices you made and why. Even if you disagree and think 400 Days is trash, tell me why, I’m interested to know. 

In conclusion: 400 Days good. In other news: Happy New Year

As I’m writing this, it’s New Year’s Eve and I’ve got a little over an hour before midnight, sooo here’s a happy new year to everyone. I hope you’re all doing well, staying safe and healthy the best you can. 

As I said at the start of this, I have another essay I’m working on related to S2.... it’s taking forever because there’s a lot to cover, it’s about some polarizing characters and choices, and I have no idea when I’ll be finished. If it takes even longer than I’d like, I’ll probably put it down and work on a smaller post in the meantime. Maybe something about the Michonne mini-series or a character analysis.

I guess my new thing is disappearing for weeks at a time only to pop in whenever there’s news about the Clementine comic or to throw down a long ass essay about something no one asked for hahaha. I can live with that, I think. I will be around for the rest of the weekend, though, so any asks about 400 Days will get answered, I’d love to hear from y’all. 

Uhhh any other news... Oh, @pi-creates​ and I are making a new Dragon Age server on discord that we’re gonna open up soon for anyone interested in that. Right now it’s mostly just discussions about the games and lamenting about the apostates who broke our hearts... well, Pi’s lamenting, I’m mostly just spewing bitter salt about the sewer rat bastard that is my apostate boyfriend >:[ We’ll post a link once it’s ready to go, though I dunno when that’ll be. We’re pretty proud of the set up, and I made a bunch of DA emojis. It’ll be a fun time. 

Think that’s everything. I wish y’all a happy, healthy new year! 

[saintfourr]

What if... The 400 day group replaced the cabin group (my version).

Vince

Father of the group, he who makes the tough decisions. He takes the place of Luke/Pete.

He's kind of skeptical when Clementine appears bitten until it is confirmed that it was a dog.

He usually jokes about being arrested but tells Clementine not to worry.

At the end of the chapter, you are between Wyatt and Vince but neither of them die.

Unlike Kenny, he doesn't say that Clementine is guilty of something without having done anything. He knows how much she must have blamed herself for putting Lee through all that when she disappeared.

Unfortunately because everyone goes against Clem, she is put in the shed for the night.

In the final fight it's him against Kenny. You can choose to kill Kenny or Shel kills Kenny.

Clementine can say goodbye to Kenny affectionately, harshly, or not at all.

It's not your fault, kid. You just wanted to find your parents.

Wyatt

He takes the big brother's place, Nick's place.

He is understanding with Clementine and understands how she feels about losing her best friend.

He's very protective of the group and Clementine, he's already lost Eddie and he doesn't want to lose any more people.

Sometimes he lets out a few curse words and apologizes if anyone complains.

He didn't want to let Clementine stay with them at first.

Unlike Nick, he didn't shoot the bridge guy. So there wasn't as much drama in the ski hut.

He accompanies Clementine to help Becca and Vince.

You lost your friend, so did I. I know how it hurts, I'm sorry about that.

Shel

Mother of the group, Carlos' place but more intelligent and more maternal.

She knows the difference between a zombie bite and a dog bite. So she can tell that it was actually a dog bite and that a zombie wouldn't take a bite that big.

She is more accepting of Clementine.

She is shocked to learn that her old group betrayed Clem's group and apologizes for them. But she explains that the group fell apart.

She takes Jane's place in a way but she's more emotionally good than Jane. She isn't that tough and is willing to take care of Clem and Becca.

She tries to be a motherly figure to Clem.

Everything will be fine Clem, we'll help you find Christa.

Becca

Sarah with more guts and willpower.

Teach Clem to play the guitar.

There was no way she wanted to let Clementine into the cabin because of the bite.

She says some bad words and scary things sometimes and doesn't care.

Clementine's romantic interest in future seasons.

She is trapped with Vince inside the trailer however, she is not the reason for calling zombies. What caught the horde's attention was an alarm.

Clem controls the things she says, like censorship. So she doesn't get hurt by Carver's hands.

Rebel chaotic sister energy.

Carver is just a piece of shit, huh?

Russel

Same with Becca, he didn't want her to go in there.

It took him a while to trust her, he closed himself off after what happened with Nate.

Clementine's future romantic interest as well.

He enjoys listening to Clementine's stories of what she's been through.

He helps steal the radio with Clementine.

He wants to find a trailer, because of Clem's history, he thinks it might be a good vehicle for traveling.

He likes to talk about his family, especially his grandmother.

He manages to relate to Clem and the Stranger, he also thought Nate was trustworthy or something.

He found it quite awkward to tell Clem that he had laid down next to Carley/Doug's body.

He hands Clementine the medicine when she shows up at the cabin with an injured arm. Even though he was against her, he felt sorry for her arm.

I will never forgive him for what he did.

Bonnie

This time she doesn't pull the bitch card and betray the group.

Guilty about killing Dee and Leland leaving.

Rebecca's place, however she is more welcoming with Clem but she was still worried.

She has a motherly and sisterly energy, a kind of aunt to Clementine.

She shoots Arvo when he shoots Clementine.

I really don't know what to say about her, she already appears halfway through the game.

[dalekofchaos]

Walking Dead Tales

If there is a new TWDG season, it should be this.

It's an anthology season that ties in pretty much all the loose ends of the story. Episode about Molly, episode about Christa, about Kenny(if you chose Wellington or left Kenny behind) episode about Jane(if you left her behind after shooting Kenny) episode about the remaining 400 days characters, episode about Mike, Arvo and Bonnie, episode about Javier and his family, episode about either Lilly or James depending on the choices you made and one final episode about Clem AJ and the Ericson school kids just living their live in school.(yeah fuck you, the comic is not canon) It's a nice way to finish up the last loose ends and a sweet send off to clem and the others. Not perfect but it's what i would like instead of a full season that continues the story after the final season.

[mynameisave]

Grab

"Okay, Russ. Just grab my hand." - Vince

"I'm scared! What if you drop me?!" - Russell

"You're a little too light for that, buddy." - Vince

"You know what?" - Russell

"What are—" - Vince

Russell falls out of the tree.

"Russell! What the fuck, bro?!" - Vince

[bowlorass]

Here's some more old TWDG art that I hate and/or never finished

Ft. Inconsistent style and Doug's uneven eyes

[illusivesoulgaming]

*Nate kept you around*

[mydogchicosolos]

xd i made more

[yellowsugarwords]

i would love to see that 400 days analysis thing you were talking about!!!! the characters actually deserved so much better than what they got. i’m still salty about it to this day bc russell is honestly probably my favorite character from the whole series and they just gave my boy nothing :(( and like i still genuinely want to know what happened when the hardware store was overrun. like did they make it out?? are they still together?? it bugs me that i’ll never know but anyways, they deserved so much better. i always make the effort to at least let them have a cameo in s2 when i’m playing.

OMG I can’t believe you guys like reading my little ramblings omg

SO this is referring to this post where I mention I should rant about how the 400 days characters got shafted, so here it is!!

First, I want to start by saying I think it was intended for the 400 days characters to have a bigger role in season 2, and I think that can be one of the bigger problems in episode-based games.

If you don’t have the entire season - hell, even the entire franchise - planned from the start, it can lead to problems like this. A lot of people commented on how twdg seasons/episodes could feel disjointed from the previous ones, and I think that’s a result of not having a complete, full-vision before the production on the season starts.

Personally, whether it was planned out entirely or not, the first season flows like it was panned out from the start. Every plot beat, character, situation, location, and enemy plays a role in the overarching story (for the most part). In comparison, season 2 felt a little more disjointed. Some of the characters felt like throwaways, and some felt like their character motives shifted suddenly or they acted wildly out of character (see: Kenny, Jane, and Luke, to name a few). Of course, this isn’t inherently bad - media changes character dynamics all the time - but it did leave many wondering ‘why’?

In reality, this could be a sign of writers not having the entire story planned from the start of production, leading them to scramble with how to get characters from point A to point B. This could also be why a lot of the decisions in twdg could f4eel like they didn’t hold much weight. Because the story wasn’t planned from the get-go, it would make sense that many decisions didn’t have long-term consequences. The game wasn’t scripted out to have those decisions matter down the line.

ANYWAYS LOL that’s what I think at least.

[the-delta-42]

The Walking Dead Game What Ifs: What if Carver had another doctor?

[First] [Previous] [Next]

A Second Opinion

What if Carver had another doctor?

It was the morning after they’d been captured by Carver and they’d all been woken up by Troy and a couple other people. The gate opening admitted Carver and another man, who made a beeline for Sarah.

“Bill, I’ll be taking Sarah,” Said the man, looking at Carver, “I’m going to need someone to help hold people down while I stitch ‘em up.”

Carver gave the man a dismissive wave, before issuing orders to the rest of the group.

Half-an-hour later, the man, Doctor Abrahms, ran Sarah through medical techniques and procedures. Abrahms, looked down at the dead pig he had Sarah stitching up.

“You’re doing a good job.” Complimented Abrahms, making Sarah look up, “I understand you saw your grandmother… kill your mother when all this started. It was the same with me, except it was my wife and my eldest. Have you spoken to anyone about it?”

Sarah shook her head, getting a low growl Abrahms, “Sarah, while your father may discourage it, you need to talk to someone about it, work through it. Part of your anxiety problem is that you’re bottling it up, and Carlos constantly shielding you isn’t helping.”

Sarah was silent, instead picking at the stitches.

“Sarah, kids around your age don’t usually rely on their parents to hold their hand,” Abrahms continued gently, “I know you think your father is protecting you, but he’s not going to be around forever. A good example of that is Clementine.”

Sarah stopped picking at the stitches and looked up as Abrahms continued, “From how she acts around the rest of your group, her parents were clearly killed, and she’s seen people die in front of her. Now, we’ll have to wait until her leg’s better, but I’ll hazard a guess that she’s pretty handy with a gun.”

“I…” Sarah paused, “I know that she can stitch herself up.”

Abrahms frowned, “Why was she stitching herself up?”

“Luke and Pete found her in the forest, she’d been bitten by a dog.” Answered Sarah, making Abrahms’s frown deepen, “They… they thought it was a Lurker bite and locked her in the shed.”

Abrahms frowned, before looking over at Shel, “Shel, can you take her to Reggie, please?”

Shel looked surprised, but nodded, taking both girls up to the roof, while Abrahms went to talk to Carlos.

ASO

They just finished eating when the yard’s gate opened and admitted Carlos and Abrahms.

“Carlos, what’s going on?” Asked Nick, as Abrahms stalked over to the beds and roughly woke the other workers.

“Carver wants the girls…” Carlos sighed, “to go on a supply run.”

“He wants the girls to be trained to deal with Walkers.” Corrected Abrahms, glaring around the group, “So, who’s idea was it to stick a child in a shed in the middle of winter?”

“What?” Demanded Kenny, getting a snort from Abrahms.

“Oh, didn’t you know?” Asked the doctor, “Clementine was bitten by a dog, tore her arm up pretty badly. From what I was told, she had to stitch herself up.”

“Clementine was probably exaggerating.” Nick tried to dismiss, getting a glower from Abrahms.

“Clementine didn’t say anything.” Growled Abrahms, glaring at Nick.

Carlos opened his mouth, only for Abrahms to cut him off, “Don’t. You’re already on my shit list, don’t test my patience.”

Carlos closed his mouth, making Abrahms look at the two unnamed workers, “Jane, you’ll be going with them, since, according to Bill, you’re familiar with Walkers. Mike, since the girls will be learning how to protect themselves, you’ll be acting as the messenger-slash-supply runner for the next few days.”

Abrahms turned and started leaving when Rebecca called out to him, “Dan! Where’s Alvin?”

Abrahms stopped, before sighing and walking back over to her, “I know people are saying you’re paranoid because you’re pregnant. But, Bill’s not leaving Alvin in good shape. I’m doing what I can to ease his suffering, but there’s only so much I can do while Bill’s watching him. So, I suggest you hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.”

Rebecca swallowed, before nodding. Abrahms returned the nod and walked out of the yard.

ASO

Abrahms was watching Carlos as Sarah learned how to dress a wound when Troy burst in carrying Clementine.

“She’s bit on her leg.” That was all Troy had to say before Abrahms took Clementine and rolled her left trouser leg up.

“Right, Sarah,” Abrahms looked at Sarah, “Tell me what you see.”

“Um, s-she has a Lurker bite in the middle of her shin, a-and t-the bone’s visible.” Stuttered Sarah, getting a nod from Abrahms.

“Okay, first course of action?”

“Tourniquet her leg.”

“Where?”

“Just above the knee.”

Abrahms nodded, using a knife to cut Clementine’s trouser leg open, and applying the tourniquet, “Okay, what next?”

“Um…c-cut the leg off just below the knee.” Guessed Sarah, getting another nod from Abrahms.

“How do we stop the bleeding?”

Sarah froze, her eyes darting around, “Um, um, er, w-we burn it?”

“The correct term is cauterise,” Said Abrahms, “but yes, that’s the correct course.”

Sarah nodded, as Abrahms stuck a needle into Clementine’s leg. After making sure that Clementine had little to no feeling, he grabbed a fire axe and a bottle of whiskey. Uncapping it, he handed it to Clementine, “Drink this, it might taste disgusting, but it’ll help.”

Clementine shakily nodded, before taking a swig a coughing it out. Abrahms chose that moment to swing the axe down.

ASO

Clementine looked down at the thick padding of gauze on her leg, it was blood strained, but Abrahms and Carlos made sure it was doing alright. A guy called Stan made her a new leg, but Abrahms had told her not to walk on it for a few weeks. Mike had relayed that to Luke, who was helping them plan an escape from the outside. Clementine had taken a risk and told Bonnie about Luke, she’d managed to smuggle Luke some food, and find him somewhere safer to hunker down.

Luke didn’t like waiting, but agreed to stay until Clementine’s leg had healed enough for her to learn to walk on it.

ASO

Clementine winced as her leg hurt, but she’d made good progress with walking on it. Her limp was almost unnoticeable, and she could go at a light jog. She had watched Jane kick a walker’s leg out and drive a screwdriver into the monster’s brain. Deciding to follow the old woman’s example, Clementine kicked the prosthetic leg out and stabbed it in the head with a hunting knife when it came down. Glancing to the side, Clementine saw Sarah whaling on a walker with a baseball bat, while another girl tried to shove a machete through a Walker’s chin and into its brain.

Clementine noticed another Walker stumbling up to her, with her repeating the technique Jane was using and dispatched the Walker. From the roof, Abrahms watched with Carver.

“It’s almost like she never lost her leg.” Mused Carver, making Abrahms frowned.

“I’ll give Stan credit where it’s due.” Abrahms glanced at Bill, “What do you plan on doing with Reggie?”

“What do you mean?” Asked Carver, frowning as Clementine kicked a Lurker with her prosthetic leg.

“He’s done everything you asked, reported on their movements, told us that Nick’s in favour breaking out again, made sure that none of them are poking around the pen, hell, he even suggested that I ask Sarah about the group.” Said Abrahms, crossing his arms, “Of course, I would’ve asked anyway, especially since Sarah’s skills would be better put to use as a medic, but sooner or later, Reggie’s going to realise that he isn’t getting back in the bulk of the community.”

“Are you gonna tell him that?”

“No.” Abrahms frowned down at the girls, “Hold on, what’s that?”

“What’s what?” Asked Carver, as Abrahms took a pair of binoculars from his belt.

“There’re three people in the treeline,” Abrahms handed Carver the binoculars, “A child and two adults.”

Carver frowned, before grabbing his radio, “Troy, Tavia, there are three people just inside the treeline, get them.”

ASO

Clementine absently rubbed her stump, thinking over the past few weeks, Troy and Tavia had Bonnie take her, Sarah, the other girl and Jane back inside, while they went to the treeline. They returned empty handed. Then Reggie vanished, at first, they didn’t notice it, until Bonnie brought their attention to it. Clemetine asked Abrahms about it, as well as Shel, the woman who’d been helping her learn to walk again. Both refused to say anything.

Then Carver presented Reggie to them, black and blue. Saying he’d been stealing from them, keeping medicine for himself. He even said that Reggie got Clementine bit. Then they hanged him. His legs kicked as he suffocated, before he died. Carver then had Clementine put a reanimated Reggie down. Abrahms had let out a low whistle, complimenting Clementine’s shooting.

Then Abrahms came into the pen and told them that Alvin had died. Alvin had wanted to see Rebecca before he died, but Carver wanted to see the man suffer, keeping his reanimated body in his office as a trophy.

Clementine’s stump had healed enough for her lose some of the bandages. She’d heard from Kenny that Luke had flagged them down and proposed an escape plan, they’d gotten pretty far in planning it when Carver found Luke and Carver got Kenny’s name out of him. He’d beaten Kenny hard enough to destroy his left eye and was going to kill him, only for Rebecca to go into labour. Doctor Abrahms had delivered the baby, with Rebecca naming him Alvin, and had assigned Clementine to watch over him.

“Why her?” Asked Nick, getting Abrahms’s attention.

“Babies require a lot of attention,” Said Abrahms, before gesturing to Clementine with his head, “She’s way ahead of Sarah and Becca when it comes to Walkers and, presently, her leg limits what she can do. She’s the most logical choice.”

“Where’s Rebecca?” Carver made his presence known, getting a sigh from Abrahms.

“She’s in there,” he gestured into the ‘delivery room’ behind him, “She’s asleep, I think.”

Carver nodded and walked into the room. Abrahms watched him go, before leaning over to Carlos, “Get the others, tell them it’s time.”

“What about Rebecca?”

“She’s dead.” Abrahms glanced around, “I think she couldn’t go on without Alvin.”

Carlos frowned but nodded. He grabbed Nick’s shoulder, and they ran to the yard, while Abrahms went to pack up his tools and supplies. Kenny joined them a minute later, when Carver stumbled out of the room, a deep bite on his neck.

“She’s turned!”

“Pity.” Growled Kenny, bringing a crowbar down on Carver’s head, as Rebecca’s Walker stumbled out of the room. The Walker growled as it reached out for Clementine, making the girl put her down.

Abrahms returned with the bags packed, he glanced at the dead Walker and Carver’s destroyed skull, “Alright, let’s go.”

ASO

The group stopped at an old Civil War site, with Clementine and Sarah watching over AJ, as Luke, Abrahms and Kenny looked back at Howe’s.

“That herd’s just circling around.” Abrahms handed Luke the binoculars, “Herd’s don’t do that.”

“Maybe they do.” Suggested Kenny, but he didn’t sound like he believed himself.

“Since when?” Asked Luke, as Jane joined them.

“When what?” Asked Jane, as Luke handed her the binoculars.

“That herd, they’re circling Howe’s.” Explained Luke, as Abrahms rolled his eyes and Kenny scowled, “They don’t do that.”

“They do if they’re being guided by Whisperer’s.” Said Jane, lowering the binoculars, “If there are Whisperer’s there, then we need to move.”

ASO

Clementine quietly watched as Vince’s group and Mike left them, while their group continued down the path. They’d walked for a few days, before they reached an ice-covered lake. They’d chosen to walk around the edge of it, since Carlos didn’t think the ice would hold them and respond well to Clementine’s leg. Abrahms and Carlos kept an eye on Luke, Kenny and Clementine, they eventually split up with the rest of the group when they reached to town.

The group managed to find an RV that worked and were now in a somewhat warm environment and, after finding out about the capacity limit, Vince and his group had gone back into the town with the promise of finding them when they got to Wellington.

As the RV trundled away, Clementine let out a soft sigh, feeling the pain in her stump lessen. Feeling Sarah’s head resting on top of hers, Clementine went to sleep.

Next Story: What if the Cabin group found Ericson’s instead of the Ski Lodge?

[thecrusadercomrade]

What-Ifs of Telltale's the Walking Dead Chapter 23: What If the Group Took Over Howe's?

Summary: After the group is forced to bide their time and remain in Howe's when Kenny is beaten by Carver, Vince approaches Luke with an offer that might just save all of them from Carver's madness.

Read on AO3!

Read from the beginning!

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

I read your post about 400 days and it was great. But I have one problem I think you went a to hard on Nate everything he does is understandable to some extent. Hunting down and trying to kill eddie is completely reasonable considering he just murdered his friend and nate has no idea it was an accident, killing the old couple is also understandable because they tried to kill him and they have supplies which can help nate out. Sure it seems messed up but in the apocalypse you kill to survive

Oooooh this is interesting because I think you're being too soft on Nate, anon.

I agree that him chasing down Eddie and Wyatt is understandable given even Eddie doesn't know if he meant to shoot that guy, and to Nate it probably looked like his buddy/companion was murdered. Given how Nate is, it's definitely in character that he'd chase them down for revenge. Really, the only reason we see him as the antagonist in that story is perspective because we're Wyatt, who is running away. If we were playing as Nate, we would see Eddie and Wyatt as the baddies who murdered our friend and feel justified in hunting them down.

Where I have to disagree with you is when it comes to Russell's story. He didn't kill that old couple because he had to in order to survive. Walt explains why he shot at them, Nate and Russell are the armed ones now. If they wanted some sort of revenge on the old couple for shooting at them they could've just taken the guns and food and left the old couple to fend for themselves. The woman was already wounded, there's no reason to believe that couple would be in any condition to chase us down.

Nate killed the couple because he wanted to. This is the face he makes after he asks if they should just shoot these folks and take all their stuff-

That's not the face of a man who's forced to kill because "it's the apocalypse and you do what you have to survive," that's the face of a man who is having fun and wants to kill to take their stuff. I'm sorry, there were other ways to handle this situation. There was no reason for anyone to die here... Also, if you believe Walt when he accuses Nate of being there before, then this is possibly him backtracking to finish them off and take everything.

Nate is shown to be an asshole early in the story when he opens the window and lets a walker grab Russell. He doesn't care if Russell could get bit and he doesn't even really panic when he realizes he's outta bullets- again, he's just having fun. That's how his character's established.

Also, what makes me actually hate him is how he listened to Russell's story and then throws that trauma back in his face, like nope. I don't feel bad for saying I hope he chokes sksks. He's crusty and an asshole, and I don't subscribe to the idea that it's fine to kill whoever, whenever, no matter the circumstances just because it's the apocalypse. By that logic, Lilly kidnapping and murdering children in TFS was reasonable and understandable because she was just trying to survive with her group in the apocalypse.

If that's being too hard on him, then I can live with that. We can agree to disagree 👍

[ontwikkiiisland]

immediately thought of this when i heard the audio, anyways i’m gonna go feed my dogs now, they barking and shit.. happy pride month BTW:)

[autistic-silhouette]

No bc the way this would've been better cndmcksjv

Like, I do love the stuff we got, don't get me wrong, but the first bullet was literally scrapped plot and I would've loved to see AJ with javi playing baseball

We still don't know if Christa is alive or not, and Omid didn't deserve to die, if he was gonna, at least not that early and not that stupidly

Couple of TWDG unpopular opinions

Season 2 would’ve been better if we replaced the Cabin group with the 400 Days characters or even better, replace Arvo with Eddie and use the 400 Days crew and Tavia instead of the evil stereotypical Russians and just have the final episode of Tavia and co getting revenge for losing their home and it ends with either Clem choosing to save Kenny or Nick

Killing off Omid and never mentioning Christa ever again was stupid

The story would be better if Clem was looking after Christa and Omid’s baby instead of AJ

Ben, Sarah, Nick, Luke and Mariana being killed off was pointless

TNF should’ve been about the season 2 ending. Either Clem alone, Clem in Wellington or Clem with Kenny or Jane(or if they didn’t kill him so stupidly, Luke) and Clem building her own community and raising and protecting AJ

Only mentioning Lee in the final season was a disservice to Kenny, Jane, Luke, Alvin and Rebecca. The fact that Lilly never mentions Kenny and even wishing he were still alive so she could kill him herself would’ve been enough and Clem shutting her shit down in a similar Kenny style. “I am glad Kenny smashed your piece of shit father’s head in. God you are still not over it are you? All this hard bitch is just for show isn’t it? After all this time, you are still the same scared little girl crying for daddy’s help. Well get the fuck over it, Lee had enough of your bullshit and I have too. Go to hell Lily, tell Larry I said fuck you!”

Not going back to Richmond after getting AJ back was honestly bad writing in my opinion. Clem and AJ already had a home waiting for them with a family who wanted Clem to return. Ericson is a nice place, but unless there is an explanation as to why they didn’t go other than “…shut up, that’s why” it’s really fucking stupid. If it were up to me, Clem would’ve sought help from Javi, Gabe and Richmond get the kids back instead of James. The rescue is a success. Lilly and her people are dead and we get the choice to either return to the school or Richmond. Or hell even the choice to go back to Clem’s old house as was in the cut ending with AJ(or Christa’s child if they didn’t erase that plotline) and whomever your love interest is.

[ronnieandtwdg]

TWDG OC: Coin

- Coin was a farming vet at the St. John's. She bailed after the foreman disappeared and she nearly got nailed by a trap. Just packed up in the middle of the night, stole their truck, and got out.

- Coin does really well on her own and prefers her own company and is generally an asshole (in the way the horrible goose is an asshole) which is why the universe conspires to throw her into groups of people.

- Went to Crawford and bailed after a week. Decided that if she ended up in groups that were bad she'd leave and fuck some things up for them. So she stole every single spark plug they had over the course of a month and threw them into the harbor.

- Met Negan one time, took a good look around, said "Nope" and left. Set a fire as a distraction. Used a bat she mistook for Lucille but it was just a bat.

- Coin gets captured by Howe's. She openly resents this.

- Carver sees her as a trusted friend. Coin treats him with barely concealed hatred and steals his things to destroy or leave in odd places.

- Sarah once witnessed Coin drop a pen of Carvers into a walker heads mouth and toss it off the ledge, killing a bird.

- Likes the children, Russell, Wyatt, and Vince. Tolerates everyone else, except for Troy.

- Carver is not dumb enough to trust Coim with a rifle or to put her in charge of anything life changing, so she mostly fixes electronics and does repair work on the trucks with Nick.

- Not very squeamish about Walkers. Has a healthy fear around their mouths but isn't terrified because she lived mostly alone for years and knows how to not get bit. Mostly, Coin sees them as annoying pest animals.

- Sees the Cabin Group leave and is just like, "Okay" and goes on with her night.