#You could do to one. He misses Joyce but he still has Chloe (and Max). Most marriages don't survive the loss of a child

[crimescrimson]

Chloe Price in Life Is Strange (2015)

[dalekofchaos]

An alternative Alternate Chloe

So I've been thinking about the Alternate world where William never died and how Chloe's life should have been different.

Miserable and self-loathing in the main timeline without William and paralyzed from the waist down while living in chronic pain with William.

I just think it's unfair that no timeline has Chloe happy. So lets fix that.

Two scenarios.

Max wakes up as usual in the Vortex Club, only it's the start of the school year. She and Chloe are still close, but as time moves on and Max grew in popularity with the Vortex Club, she distanced herself with Chloe. Chloe then fell in with Rachel. Chloe kept her free spirit, long blonde hair, innocence and positive energy she had since childhood, this helped Rachel through the hell that is James Amber and they were there for each other. When Chloe came out to Joyce and William, they embraced her and happy that Rachel is there for Chloe. Plus Chloe would be one hell of an artist and this gets her the notice of one Mark Jefferson. Jefferson is marveled by Chloe's artistic talent and most importantly her innocence. Chloe talks about her dream of going to college in Paris and Mark has the means to help her in Chloe's dreams, all he has to do is model for her. Chloe Price was never seen again. So cut to the present day. Max goes to the Price household. Max finds William and Joyce tormented by Chloe’s disappearance and Max pledges to help find her, then William gives Max the photo he took that faithful day. Max finds Rachel Amber looking for Chloe and one look from Rachel tells Max that this reality of herself really fucked things up with Chloe. Rachel just glares and says "You have some nerve showing your face after all this time." Max lets Rachel vents. Rachel says all Max cared about was becoming Queen Bee and suddenly her childhood best friend didn't matter, it was all about Victoria and Nathan. Rachel was there when Max abandoned Chloe and despite all that, Chloe never gave up hope they could still be friends and Chloe never lost what made her fall for her. Max apologizes and wants to make amends by helping Rachel find her. the two of them bond, become friends and Max realizes why her Chloe fell for Rachel. Now the rest of this would be in a hypothetical scenario where episode 4 is in two parts. Part 1 takes place completely in the alternate world. Part 2 takes place in Max's world. The rest of part 1 has Max and Rachel posting Chloe's missing person posters all over town and Blackwell. As Max posts Chloe's picture. Max discovers she's made enemies of her friends in her timeline. Alyssa reveals that Max used to be cool, but she changed after joining the Vortex Club, bullied her and her friends "and whatever you said to Kate, she was never the same again. You and your new friends practically drove Kate on that roof" "Fuck" Warren states that Max set him up. She used him to get through chemistry and invited him on a date, only to be publicly humiliated by Max and her mean girl friends. "Shit, is this version of me really this awful?" Stella says that she got too much praise and attention from Mr Jefferson and that caused you and Victoria to publicly humiliate me in front of class. Brooke was the only one who stood up for Warren and Stella after their incidents, in return Max spread rumors that Brooke's drone was spying on everyone and nearly got her expelled. Daniel thought Max was nice and suddenly she became a bitch, mocked him in class and spurred on Logan's bullying. Max feels fucking awful. and despite all the stories from Alyssa, Warren, Stella, Brooke and Daniel, they all reveal that Chloe and Rachel were there for her and if Chloe were still around, Kate would still be here. Max apologizes for everything this version of herself has done and promises to bring Chloe back. They investigate the Vortex Club and use Nathan to get them there. Part 1 ends with Rachel getting doesed by Nathan while Max uses the photo to go back to her timeline, to her Chloe.

Instead of waking up being in the Vortex Club, Max wakes up being with Chloe and Rachel. Max and Chloe never changed. They retain who they were since childhood. William is the Blackwell guidance counselor and Joyce is the new English teacher after Mrs Hoida had a hard time balancing her teaching and her depression.(Joyce had teaching aspirations in Farewell, so why not) David becomes a close family friend after William helped him after the war and in return David pledges to help William take care of his family. No one goes missing. Kate never goes to the Vortex club party and everyone is just living their best lives. Max, Chloe and Rachel are just spending the alternate world portion of the game partying, having fun in the junkyard and Max has the choice to kiss both Chloe and Rachel and we see the three of them cuddled up in Chloe's bed. And suddenly, everything goes wrong. Nathan Prescott publicly shoots himself in Jefferson's class. No one knows why, Nathan was pressured by his family, sure but it never got to the degrees that it did in Max's timeline. Max, Chloe and Rachel decide to investigate Nathan's dorm, read his journal and find out the following. Nathan was slowly going through the same problems as he did in Max's timeline, but what changed was Nathan had William as a guidance counselor and his mental health was stable and Samantha was his girlfriend. Everything was going great. Until he started to go to Jefferson's class. Jefferson was trying to talk him to doing horrible things. Hurting Sam, helping him with the dark room and to top it off, Nathan has dreams of a storm coming to wipe out Arcadia Bay. Nathan figures there is only one way out. Bang. They confront Jefferson, he denies everything and points them to Frank Bowers, "a real shady character, he took over from Damon Merrick after a dispute, I heard he likes young girls, please be careful. I'm saddened by Nathan's loss like you girls are, but I never once tried to pressure Nathan into doing anything against his will, Sean Prescott was the source of Nathan's anguish, maybe he just couldn't escape the shadow and pressure the Prescott name. and finally as they go back to the junkyard. The storm comes early and as they all reach the Lighthouse, Max reverses time and comes back to her timeline.

[mr-magoriums-im-sorry-emporium]

playing life is strange (warning: i do not like life is strange) and uhhhhhhhh if u think about it, victoria n nathan in the alt timeline are lowkey better friends than (main timeline) chloe is? like max spaces out n just leaves and victoria texts her asking if shes ok and that her and nathan are worried about her. even when victoria thinks max is mad at her, she doesnt act accusatorily towards her and just says her door is open whenever. all chloe does is bitch at us!! we saved her life twice!!! i wanna stay in the alt timeline 😭

also as a resident cripple i lowkey resent chloe not only being disabled in the alt timeline but being As Disabled As The Devs Could Make Her And Also She's Dying. like i get that irl these things happen but this ISNT irl, this is a Bideo Game and someone had to deliberatley write that in for maximum amount of Sympathy Points And Guilt Tripping

i lowkey think it would be a way cooler game if max just had the one random time ability to go back and save william and now shes STUCK in this alternate timeline where shes besties w the people who hated her before and her best friend is disabled and now she has to navigate this new foreign world and the ramifications of her actions

also missed oppurtunity not making chloes power chair blue. also its mid wheel drive which isnt an issue, BUT if it were front wheel drive thered be enough room in the back so max could ride on it. ALSO also high end power chairs have a max speed of 6mph, which is a LOT for a chair, its like if you were sprinting. imagine chloe telling max to climb on and crank it to max speed as they zoom down the street. it would be SO in-line w her personality its insane they missed this oppurtinity. cripples CAN have fun yaknow!!! i go cruising in my chair all the time!!! like imagine u and chloe decking her chair out w stickers and cool diy punky seat cushions and her being grateful that max is just chilling w her and now that her chair reflects her personality she feels a lot better about being in it and her accident and all that! it wouldve been So Fun

also i wonder what would happen if max opened up to the vortex club abt chloe and her situation. like would vicky and/or nathan give her some money to give to chloe?? i had the idea that we could ask nathan to ask his parents abt the prescott foundation maybe helping chloe out but nathan isnt rly on the Best Terms w his, uh, blatantly abusive father. so maybe not that. hell maybe if max brings it up, nathan would try to ask ANYWAY and itd show a side of him to max that she never saw in the main timeline. like, a deconstruction of the "cliquy mean girl bully troupe" thing!! if u snoop in alt!max's texts, u can see that she was with taylor in the hospital when her mom got injured and was really good emotional support! so its like... these people would Get It, i think. i want a game where irs max + the vortexes + chloe hanging out bc like, they mustve known OF her bc iirc in the alt timeline chloe had to drop out bc of lack of accessibility at blackwell. i bet it- and the accident- wouldve been big news in arcadia bay so like i bet natey P would be able to like, convince his parents that itd be REALLY good for their image if they helped out. and also raise hell at blackwell bc like does the ADA not exist in this alt world??? let the rich boy use his rich belligerence as a force of good. let taylor and chloe bond. let chloe have a group of actually GOOD friends that dont abandon her bc of her disability. like mannnn imagine joyce Side Eyeing nathan bc she thinks he's Bad News but chloe looks SO happy to have friends and he DID convince his parents to help the prices out..... and u as max can convince her that hes not that bad

and yes theres still the "what happened to rachel" angle and if ur close enough to him nathan will Tell You or have a breakdown that tells u what happened but in the form of a riddle. and its ur choice to immidiatley blame nathan despite the growing friendship OR trust that this side of him is genuine and look deeper into the matter and find the REAL threat behind all of it

like. im just spitballing. but this sounds spitBALLER ayooooooo

[tangent101]

I'll take this one step further.

Before the Storm would have worked really well if it were Max reading Rachel's journal. You have Rachel writing about meeting Chloe and all of that, and she is vague on certain things and specific on other elements. So you have Max visualizing Rachel and imagining what must have been going on.

This allows for "Rachel" to have various choices and decisions as to how she acts and talks and behaves... but specific actions are hard-coded into the story because Rachel specifically wrote those moments of the story. It even works as either a Sacrifice Chloe or Sacrifice Arcadia Bay story - have the player choose at the start and it's either Max asking Chloe about Rachel and Chloe pulling the old journal out from under the front seat of the truck in a post-Bay ending, or Max is looking around Chloe's effects and finds the journal in a post-Bay ending.

Rachel remains a cypher. We never truly get to see who she is because we are seeing her through Max's mind's eye. But we do get to see how Rachel and Chloe first met, and let Max (the player) basically decide how Rachel acts in various situations.

Obviously the story changes. We don't have Rachel stabbed. Maybe Chloe is the one stabbed and Rachel decides to get revenge on Damon. She learns her father is crooked, she meets her mother (only for her mother to leave), she has the option of telling Chloe the truth about her father or not... and it's all in Max's head. We never know the absolute truth. If Chloe is alive and Max asks questions, have Chloe shrug and go "I don't remember. I was kind of high on painkillers after I got stabbed. I just know Rachel said it was all taken care of." And if Chloe is dead? Obviously Max can't find out.

Specific locked-in events are written about in the journal. These are points where Rachel/Max has no choice because Max knows what happens. The rest is Max guessing.

Honestly, one big change? I'd have Mr. Amber be a pharmacist or a dentist rather than a DA, because even if he were convicted of being crooked, the cops protect their own and would not just abandon a missing Rachel Amber. Letting a criminal get away with kidnapping or murdering a DA's daughter encourages further such behavior, and even if Rachel ran away... they'd find her just to make sure. And if Mr. Amber were a pharmacist or dentist then he could be a part of the illegal drug trade (fake prescriptions and the like). (I'd also have Rachel's father be a homophobe because that would explain why James Amber abandons his daughter in the prime storyline where she's known to be bi/into girls, and didn't meet Chloe and thus is still assumed straight in the William Lives timeline.)

This still allows for Mikey and Steph. Rachel befriends everyone. It's what she does! So she's the one who played D&D and all of that. She knows Steph is gay and even crushing on her but she's not into Steph that way so... maybe she flirts! Maybe not. Up to Max (the player).

It would be a fantastic way for us to be introduced to Rachel Amber while still keeping her a mystery because we are seeing her through the imagination of Max Caulfield. And it even puts Max in the story. Rachel could be anti-Max (because Max hates herself for abandoning Chloe for five years). Or Max finds out that she still had been texting Chloe for two years because Rachel said she had and Max realizes that she had changed time by telling Chloe she'd always be there for her back when she allowed William to die.

(This could even be part of what was behind Farewell - Max also finds the cassette tape she left Chloe - Chloe left it in her truck and either post-Bae Max finds it with Rachel's journal, or she is given it as part of Chloe's possessions Joyce gives her in a post-Bay setting. In this case it's Max remembering those final days with Chloe.)

Do you have any hot takes or unpopular opinions regarding Before The Storm?

I have a lot, actually!

A: It could have been the best game in the entire franchise if Episode 3 just didn't...do that. Like, I genuinely think Episode 3 is so bad that it tanks the quality of the game even though Episode 1 and 2 are fantastic. In fact, Episode 2 is my favorite stand alone episode in the entire franchise.

B: Rachel would have been a better protagonist.

C: The back-talk mechanism isn't bad or cringy. Yeah, it does feel like Chloe isn't dropping any actual good insults and instead the people around her are just tired of dealing with her...but I think that's kind of the point. A part of Chloe's characterization is that the people who should be helping her (Joyce, Wells, Etc.) don't know what to do with her, so they just....don't do anything. I think the back-talk is meant to make Chloe look like a troubled teen, not Kendrick Lamar talking about Drake.

D: Rachel doesn't actually get much characterization in this game, and she's still pretty much a blank slate. She tells Chloe at one point that she's afraid she doesn't have a personality, and she thinks she mirrors other people because she's unsure of herself. That in of itself is characterization, and we do know some things like "Rachel was passionate," and "Rachel liked theater," but I still don't think we ended the game truly knowing Rachel Amber, because Rachel Amber didn't even know herself. In other words: Most interpretations of Rachel are still valid. (And TBH I prefer it that way.)

E: Chloe's characterization was really good. I've heard complaints that BTS softened Chloe's personality too much, but I think it makes sense that she's not as jaded considering she hasn't lost Rachel yet. I also disagree with the complaint that Chloe is too "teenage angsty" in this game. She is very teenage angsty, but she's enduring the normal amount of teen angst while also having heavy trauma. That's just going to make a fifteen year old real angsty.

F: I LOVE Steph and Mikey...but their characters make no sense. In the first game, Chloe is heavily implied to not have had any real friends since Max left other than Rachel. Adding their existence just makes things more confusing...though it's very clear that Before The Storm resented being a prequal and desperately wanted to be it's own thing...which isn't how prequals work usually for...a good reason.

[rainboq]

Thank you for the prompt! Here's one in return. #3 (kiss on the cheek) pricefield

You asked for a kiss on the cheek, you get an entire date and Chloe being a massive disaster. Enjoy! Apologies in advanced for my nonexistent Spanish skills. I’m going insane. It’s just Max, why the hell am I going insane? Chloe sighs as she sits in her truck, one hand on the wheel while the other hovers over the send button on her phone. Fucking Rachel and her big ideas. Just ask her out Chloe, it’ll be fine Chloe, you’ve known her since you were a little kid Chloe. 

A little traitorous part of her wished that Max had just said no so she could get the rejection over and done with. Instead, her dorky little face with it’s stupidly cute dimpled smile and earnest eyes had light up like Chloe had told her that there was going to be new episodes of Hawt Dawg Man or something. And not, you know, a date with her dumb punk ass.

Just hit the damn button Chloe so you can blow this already and tell Rachel you told her so. There’s no way someone as smart and talented as Max wants anything to do with me. She’s just doing this for old time’s sake.

Her finger taps the button and she locks the screen so she can’t stare at it and ratchet her anxiety up higher.

Ha. As if she has any control over her anxiety right now.

Her phone buzzes with Max’s reply and she takes a few deep breaths to try and steady her nerves. Her usual go to right now would be smoking, but she forgot her damn pack at home like a dumbass in her flurry of getting ready. At least I didn’t fuck up Rachel’s makeup job.

Is Max even going to like me with this much makeup on? She knew me before I ever started wearing any.

She does an impromptu drum solo on her steering wheel to try and get some of her nervous energy out, to mixed success when her eyes spot movement in the lobby of Max’s building. She turns in her seat, gets a look at her and promptly forgets to breathe. Chloe had said to dress up a bit, and Max had taken the liberty of wearing a flowing black dress with some matching leggings. It’s not nearly as showy as the things Rachel wears to parties and events, but there’s something about the way her freckled shoulders look under the straps that makes her heart squeeze. Those damn freckles, why do they have to be so cute?! Dammit, breathe, don’t be a total dweeb in front of Max because she grew up and got hot.

Fuck she is hot though.

I’m so boned.

Max spots her truck as she pushes out through the inner door and a great big dorky smile spreads across her face as she waves enthusiastically. Chloe waves back and scoots across the bench seat to throw the passenger door open. A moment later Max is climbing in, all winning and too god damn adorable smiles. “Hey Chloe!”

“Uh, hey Max! You look… hella great.”

Max’s cheeks go a bit red as she hunches her shoulders forwards, one hand rubbing the back of her neck. “I don’t know about that, but you look amazing.”

There’s no part of Chloe’s stolen blazer and worn black jeans that qualify as amazing to her, but if Max likes it she’s not about to complain. “Thanks,” Chloe tries to say as smoothly as she can muster despite the slight wobble in her tone, “You down for some food?”

“I’m hella starving.” Max replies with a cheeky grin as she shuts her door. “I’m so down for this ‘best taco truck in town’.”

Rolling up to a dumpy taco truck in her old brick with someone as gorgeous as Max suddenly has Chloe feeling like Max really deserves a better first and probably only date, but plans are plans. “Then let your noble steed be off, fair maiden!”

Max breaks out in gigglesnorts as Chloe pulls out of the parking lot. “You did not just use one of William’s lines on me!”

“I so hella did Caulfield, what’re you gonna do about it?” Chloe adds a wink, hoping it’ll cover up how obviously sweaty as hell her palms are right now.

“Oh, I’ve got something in mind.” Max says in a low tone that makes Chloe have to fight to not choke on her own spit.

Oh god, is Max actually flirting with me? I’m so not fucking ready for this. “You down to thrash a bit hippie?”

“As long as your bony elbows don’t hit me!” Max replies with a laugh and Chloe punches the radio on.

The scratchy punk from the local station starts blaring and Chloe internally breathes a sigh of relief at not having to try and deal with Max’s flirting for a moment. Oh god, I can hear Rachel laughing her ass off at me right now.

Max for her part grooves along, and Chloe has to focus to avoid going off the road because of it. God she still dances like a total dork! Fuck, it should be illegal to be this cute or something.

Thankfully they make it to the taco truck without Chloe running into anything, despite her distracted driving, and she pulls them up to the sidewalk. I just hope she likes it or this is going to be a hella lame date.

“Hungry Max?” Chloe asks as she throws her door open after shutting off the radio.

“I’m so hungry, you have no idea.” Max replies as she does the same before sheepishly admitting, “I also kinda skipped lunch.”

Chloe jumps out of her truck and jogs around the front of it as Max clambers out. “Jesus Christ Caulfield, no wonder you ended up so short.”

“What! Hey! Not all of us get to be so freakishly tall.” Max groans and sticks out her tongue.

“Yup, it’s just my burden to bear. Now what do you wanna eat?”

“I mean, you know what’s good here.” Max shrugs as she walks alongside Chloe towards the food truck. “Order for me?”

“Spicy or nah?”

“No way, never spicy.”

Chloe can’t help but laugh at the way Max shakes her head and waves her hands in the air. Yup, still a total dork. “Can do Maximo. Just wait here.”

Chloe skips ahead a few steps and shouts out, “¡Hola Alejandro!”

There’s a clattering sound inside the truck and a middle-aged man’s face appears, “¡Aha! ¡Flaca! ¿Como estas?”

“Muy bien, gracias. ¿Y tú?”

“Bein.” He says with a nod and a big smile.

“Bien, quatro numero doce con polo por favor.” Chloe says, before turning to grin at Max who looks a little stunned.

Alejandro sticks his head out to see what she’s looking at before pulling back in and grinning broadly. “¿Tu amor?”

Chloe shrugs, unable to keep the smile off of her face as she rubs the back of her head. Fuck, fuck, fuck! I forgot how to say that in Spanish. Way to go dumbass.

Alejandro, to his credit, doesn’t need it spelled out for him as he pokes his head back out and calls out to Max, “¡Hola bonita!”

Max freezes up for a moment before doing a little wave back. “H-hola.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.” Alejandro grins at her, before retreating back into the food truck to start working on the order.

Chloe pulls out her wallet from her blazer’s pocket and takes out approximately the right amount of money plus tip and drops it on the counter before jogging back to Max with a big idiot grin on her face. “And that’s the food!”

“I guess I should probably learn some Spanish if I’m going to be living large in LA, huh?” Max asks sheepishly, doing that thing she used to do when they were kids where she’d hold her arm.

“Prolly a good idea,” Chloe says as she moves to stand next to Max. “This shouldn’t take too long.”

“Maybe I should have brought a sweater, I always forget how cold it gets here when the sun goes down.”

“Here, stand next to me, the food should warm you up.” Chloe holds out her arm and Max doesn’t hesitate to tuck into her side.

A sort of silence settles in as Max hums softly to herself and chews on her lip while Chloe watches the window for the food. The pressure of Max against her feels good, great even, but it all feels so surreal. “I can’t believe we’re actually on a date.”

“Oh no?” Max giggles softly as she snakes an arm around Chloe’s waist, “What’s so unbelievable about it?”

“How about the part where you said yes?”

“When I told my parents, my dad announced that Joyce and mom owe him fifty bucks.”

“Wait, what?” Chloe somehow manages to not stammer.

“They all had a bet, our dads bet that we’d date some day.”

Chloe turns her eyes heavenwards, where the few stars visible in LA are starting to poke out as the sun sets. I guess you’re smiling on my dumb ass from up there, huh dad?

“¡Loca!” Alejandro shouts from the truck as he puts their food out.

“That’s us.” Chloe says before reluctantly pulling away from Max, “we’ll eat in the back of my truck, meet me there?”

“Sure thing.”

Chloe trots over, grabs the two trays of food. Damn, dude threw in tortilla chips gratis, I fucking owe him a bigass tip next time I come.

Max waits for her, standing next to the now open tailgate. “After you, mademoiselle.”

“You know French?” Chloe asks with a cocked eyebrow as she slides the trays into the bed before climbing up.

“I picked up a couple things from an ex.” Max shrugs as Chloe turns, offers her a hand and hauls her up into the bed.

They end up sitting together at the far end, their backs resting against the cab as Chloe divides the food between them. “Eat up, short stuff.”

“Oh my god, stop making fun of my height you beanstalk!” Max laughs as she elbows Chloe.

Chloe just cackles as she pulls out her first taco and takes her first bite. Come on Chloe, it’s Max, but it’s still a date so don’t eat like a total fucking slob.

She waits until she’s actually finished her first mouthful and swallowed before turning to Max, “How is it?”

“Oh my god I think I’m in love,” Max mutters as she finishes her first mouthful, “Legit the best taco I’ve ever had.”

“Did I tell you or did I tell you?” Chloe grins in triumph before taking another bite of her taco.

They don’t talk much as they consume their tacos, they’re too tasty. Chloe finishes first and has to resist the urge to shout her victory like they did when they were kids having stupid eating contests. Instead, she starts popping tortilla chips into her mouth and just kind of watching Max while she waits.

Damn, I’ve seen her a bunch since she moved here and I still can’t get over how damn cute she got. Like even her ‘ugly duckling’ pics from high school look great. I can’t believe I missed out on her braces years though, damn, that would have been hilarious to be around for. That or I would have gotten in a lot of fights for jackasses making fun of her, which wouldn’t have been much of a change honestly…

Max finishes her tacos and beams up at Chloe, “That was delicious! Thank you so much Chloe!”

“Hey, you deserve it, also hang on, you got some sour cream on your nose.” Chloe grabs a napkin and wipes it off, prompting a giggle from Max.

“You’re adorable.”

“You’re one to talk.”

Max laughs and steals a chip from Chloe’s basket before grinning at her as she eats it.

“What, hey! Those are my chips! You’ve got your own!”

“Yeah but yours are tastier!”

Oh my god, this old game. “What, you want me to feed them to you?”

Chloe’s heart skips a beat as Max’s cheeks flush red. “I-I mean, I wouldn’t mind…”

“Only if you feed me yours.” Chloe grins as she feels her own cheeks heating up.

“It's a deal then.”

Chloe holds up one of her chips to Max’s face, who promptly devours it before holding up one of her chips for Chloe, who returns the gesture. Before long they’re both grinning at each other like sappy idiots and swapping chips until their baskets run empty. Max makes a little disappointed noise as they run out and Chloe gathers up their baskets.

“I’ll run these back and we’ll hit the road?”

“Sure thing.” Max says, before stifling a yawn. “Man, I didn’t realize how late it’s getting already.”

“Nah, you’re just getting old, the night’s still young.”

Max jabs a finger into Chloe’s side before laughing, “You ass, don’t you know it’s rude to joke about a lady’s age?”

“I’m older than you!”

“I said a lady.” Max retorts with a smirk as they both get to their feet and hop out of the bed.

“You got me there Maximus Wrecked.”

Damn, I think this is actually going pretty well! She thinks to herself as she jogs back to the food stand and drops the baskets off on the outside counter. From inside Alejandro flashes her a double thumbs up and Chloe grins back at him before turning around to head back to her truck.

Max is already in the cab, holding herself and shivering a bit as Chloe gets in. “Definitely should have brought a sweater.”

Thinking fast, Chloe pulls off her blazer and holds it out to Max. “Here, until the heater decides to start working.”

“Thank you so much,” Max says as she puts the blazer on in a hurry, “This has been great.”

“Hey, you’re great so…”

There’s a giggle from Max before she stifles another yawn. “Dork. We should probably head back though. I had a crazy long day.”

Chloe’s heart sinks and her mind immediately starts racing for ways she fucked this up as she starts her truck up. “Oh, okay.”

“I had fun Chloe, seriously.” Max says, reaching out across the bench and laying her hand on Chloe’s forearm as she shifts the truck into gear. “We’ll have to do this again.”

Oh, okay, so I didn’t completely fuck it up. “Second date, huh?”

“Definitely,” Max smiles warmly as they pull out into the street, “Mind if I put some of my tunes on?”

“Sure, knock yourself out.”

Soft indie rock fills the cabin as Chloe drives back to Max’s place. Despite the promise of a second date, she really, really, really doesn’t want this to end. She’d hoped to go walking down the beach or something with max, maybe hit up a bar and get a little crazy.

Can’t you just be happy dumbass? You got the second date, just… take it easy. You know better than to rush Max of all fucking people.

The drive back to Max’s apartment is way too short, or maybe she’s so wrapped up in her thoughts that the usual nightmare of LA traffic barely registers. Either way, she’s sitting in front of Max’s building and wishing she was anywhere else in town with Max.

“So, uh…”

“Thank you, I had a wonderful evening,” Max says softly as she scoots across the bench seat and presses a gentle kiss into Chloe’s cheek, one hand cupping her chin.

It takes Chloe a second to remember what words are, much less how to put them together into sentences, but she does manage, eventually as she turns to look at Max. “You’re, uh, hella welcome.”

Something mischievous that ties Chloe’s guts in a knot sparkles in those brilliant blue eyes of Max as she smiles wide, “Do you hella want to come up to my apartment for some coffee?”

[housewarningparty]

how to live here!

here's a special deleted scene that was supposed to go in one of the chapters after rachel and chloe start fighting, but i never really found a place where it made sense. but i always liked it too much to delete it.

The first time Chloe had talked about hanging out in a junkyard, Max had kind of assumed she’d been joking.

She’s been here a few times already since her return to Arcadia Bay, but the novelty of it still hasn’t worn off. Chloe doesn’t seem to mind, letting her wander off, camera in hand, to explore and take photos by herself until she’s halfway through a roll of film and finally satisfied.

Max lets the sound of breaking glass lead her back to Chloe and snaps one more picture. Chloe, broken off hockey stick poised at the highest arc of a big swing, aimed at the sun-bleached head of a mannequin perched atop a splintered milk crate like a fucked up golf ball on a tee.

The arc of the swing is completed. The head goes flying with a sharp crack, landing in a pile of scrap a few feet away. Chloe holds the stick up over her head and cheers.

“You get that, Max?” she calls over her shoulder. “One for the highlight reel.”

“Got it,” Max confirms, reaching up to withdraw the Polaroid as it’s ejected from the camera. She closes the distance between them to show Chloe the shot.

“Sick,” Chloe says, and then twirls the stick in her fingers. “Y’know, I never used to allow press in here before, but maybe that was a mistake. A few more like that and maybe I can finally catch some attention from the big leagues.”

“I can’t imagine they can ignore skills like yours for very long,” Max grins, leaning up on her tiptoes and craning her neck to try to spot the mannequin head in the garbage.

Chloe grins again and mimes another swing. “Wanna take a shot? Ride out my hot streak?”

“I’m good,” Max says.

Chloe nods and shrugs and swings again abruptly, for real, putting the end of the hockey stick through the screen of a boxy old TV on the ground suddenly and loudly enough to make Max jump.

“You sure?” She props a boot on the corner of the TV to hold it in place as she yanks the stick loose. “It’s hella cathartic. You’ve always struck me as having more rage than you’re willing to own up to.”

“Do I really?” Max asks, a little alarmed.

“Maybe I’m projecting,” Chloe concedes.

They wander further, Max trailing behind as Chloe beats the ever-loving shit out of anything even vaguely breakable in her path.

“Remember when you actually played?” Max asks, after the fifteenth minute of uninterrupted smashing.

Chloe pauses, turning on her heel and drawing the bandage on her arm across her forehead to wipe away a bead of sweat. “Oh hell yeah. They called me The Destroyer.”

“No they didn’t,” Max rolls her eyes. “Only you called yourself that.”

“Me and both our dads,” Chloe points out. “Yours even made a sign.”

“Oh yeah,” Max laughs. “Y’know, I think you were the hockey hooligan kid he always wanted. I couldn’t tell if he was disappointed or relieved when I quit the team.”

Her dad was a huge hockey fan and had been elated when she and Chloe had agreed when he showed them the newspaper ad he’d found seeking players for the local youth hockey team. William and their mothers had been a little more hesitant, Max remembered, but no one enough to really object to their joining.

Chloe took to it immediately, aggressive, competitive, and already more naturally athletic than Max had ever been. Max’s tenure was only a week long, but she’d remained a devoted fan of the team long after, going along with her parents to every game, home and away.

“Relieved, I think,” Chloe speculates. “You were a really small twelve year old.”

“I was appropriately sized for twelve,” Max protests. “You were tall.”

“Pint-sized,” Chloe teases. “Microscopic. Besides, you never had the heart for it. The bloodlust.”

“I liked the skating part. But yeah, you always had more fun with it than me. Did you ever get back to sports?”

Chloe shakes her head, quick and jerky, almost offended. “I never liked sports. I liked hockey ‘cause you guys would always come to my games and stuff. But then…after…”

Chloe missed the first couple weeks of practice, after William had died. It was Max’s dad that got her to go back, at Joyce’s insistence, hoping that the sport could be an outlet, that trying to preserve as much normalcy as possible would help Chloe deal with her grief.

Max and her dad had stayed in the bleachers through that first practice without William. Chloe’s play had been sloppier, and she’d left the ice early, face splotchy and red, thick hot tears running down her face into her jersey. It hadn’t gotten easier from there. It made sense that Chloe had stopped going entirely once Max’s family had moved.

“Anyway, can you even imagine me playing for Blackwell?” Chloe scoffs, brings the hockey stick down on the windshield of an old beat up car. The first blow sends a spiderweb of cracks all through the glass. The second penetrates, a small, fist-sized hole. The third, fourth, and fifth obliterate it completely.

Max closes her eyes, chases the images of a young, grief-stricken Chloe from her mind with this new fantasy. Chloe, hair undyed, strutting through the halls in a red and white letterman jacket. Chloe doing keg stands with Logan and Zach. Chloe with girls like Victoria and Juliet hanging off her arms. Chloe completely and totally ignoring a nerd like her.

“Okay, it’s a little weird,” Max admits, feeling a little embarrassed for the irrational churning in her gut. “You’ve never really been a joiner, huh?”

“Organized sports are so not punk rock,” Chloe says obnoxiously.

“It’s kind of hard to imagine you at Blackwell at all,” Max admits. “I wish I’d come back sooner. Y’know, before you left.”

Chloe’s quiet and Max knew it was a risk to go there at all, but it feels too true to keep to herself so she keeps speaking.

“I didn’t choose to be gone, but,” is it brave or stupid to do this now, actually? Has Chloe been waiting for an apology or will this just make things needlessly awkward and uncomfortable and painful? “I mean I wish I’d handled it differently. That we’d talked more while I’d been away.”

“Yeah,” Chloe shrugs. It feels like Max is on the verge of losing her, so she hurries on before the silence between them stretches too far.

“Can I be honest with you?” Max asks, stomach twisting in knots.

Chloe raises an eyebrow and nods for her to continue.

“I kind of thought,” she pauses and winces. “I mean, I was a little afraid that after I left you just. Wouldn’t want anything to do with me. That you’d replace me.”

“Max, what the fuck?” Chloe lets the words out in a harsh exhale and Max knows that tone of voice. Knows she’s pissed off for real, now.

“I know,” Max cringes, scrubbing a hand down her face. “But, I mean, you were always the cool one, right? And you were going into high school and I was still sleeping with a teddy bear and—”

“This is such bullshit,” Chloe’s voice cracks and Max was not expecting that. “You’re not just— You can’t just replace a best friend! I fucking needed you. I was so… I needed you so much and you hung me out to dry because you were scared I’d stop thinking you were cool?”

“No,” Max hurries to clarify, feeling appropriately breathless for the desperate, drowning sensation overwhelming her. “No, not like that. I just… I didn’t know how to handle it. So, I just kept putting it off, y’know? Like with homework. Remember how many times my mom had to bail me out because I’d wait too long on finishing a project and it wouldn’t be ready by the due date? Only no one could bail me out this time. And the longer I waited, the worse I felt, the more sure I was that you hated me, that you’d scream at me and tell me to stay out of your life. And I was too scared to face that so I…”

“I never hated you,” Chloe says, face caught somewhere between fury and despair. “Fuck, for the longest time all I wanted was to leave here, to be where you were instead.”

“The night you called me,” Max cuts in gently, proud at least when her voice doesn’t shake, “when you tried to run away, I was so scared for you. And I felt guilty because I realized I was wrong, that you still wanted to be my friend, and I knew I didn’t deserve it. I cried myself sick on the ride down with my mom to pick you up. It really freaked her out. But when we got there you just hugged me and you let me hold your hand the entire way back to Arcadia Bay.”

Chloe stays silent, chewing her lip hard enough to make Max wince.

“And even after, even though we were talking again the entire time I was away I’d think about being back here instead. I think about all the years I missed with you and I get mad because it feels kind of like my fault. Like if I’d tried harder it wouldn’t have taken this long. But I can’t fix that now, I know, I’m just glad we’re here now.”

Chloe shakes her head, rough, and throws the beat up hockey stick into a pile behind her. “Max, you fucking—”

She cuts herself and stomps over and Max isn’t sure what she was expecting, but she’s definitely surprised when Chloe wraps her arms around her, drags her close until there’s almost no space between them.

As tight as the hug is, Chloe’s hands hovering over her back are gentle. She’s quiet but her breathing’s rough. It takes a long time for her to speak again; when she does her voice is shaky, quiet. “I never, ever hated you, but I was pissed at you for a really long time.”

“I’m sorry,” Max tries to say but Chloe squeezes her tighter until she falls quiet.

“I got tired of it,” Chloe says. “And it wasn’t fair, either. Not really. We were just kids. God, I fucked so many things up so much worse than that. You don’t know how bad. If you did, you’d think I’m so pathetic. You’d hate it.”

“Chloe Price, you’re so many things, but pathetic has never been one of them,” Max insists, a little startled by the steel in her voice. Chloe tenses in her arms, but doesn’t move away so Max continues, gentler, “I wish I’d been here more. I know you weren’t alone the whole time but still, if I could go back and change anything it’d be trying harder to be a bigger part of your life. It’d be not letting it take so long to get here.”

It’s stupid, she knows, it’s ridiculous to think she could have prevented any of the hard knocks Chloe had taken in her absence but the thing is she’ll never know and Max thinks that she’ll probably always feel responsible somehow.

“God, imagine if we’d had a few years together at Black-Hell,” Chloe says and releases her, finally. She stays close, pushes some hair out of Max’s face. “We would have gotten into so much trouble. Me, you and…” She trails off with a wince but doesn’t linger. “You could have cheated off my science papers. I’d trade you rides around the Bay for homework.”

“Hey,” Max laughs. “Presumptuous. How do you know I would have compromised my morals like that?”

“Oh, you would have,” Chloe says, laugh all low and breathy. “When have you ever been able to say no to these baby blues?”

She bats her lashes facetiously, but the blush staining Max’s face is very real. “Okay, whatever. What else would we have done?”

“Oh, pranks,” Chloe says. “No doubt. We would have pranked it up so hard on those nerds. I always had this idea about semi-permanent hair dye and Victoria’s shampoo bottles, but I never lived in the dorms. And for some reason, Rachel refuses to be my inside man on this one.”

“I’d be down,” Max blurts out, not sure what the sudden pained look on Chloe’s face could have been leading to, but desperate to head it off.

“Wait, for real?” Chloe asks, appropriately distracted and Max realizes suddenly that her hypothetical assent to collusion had just been offered in practice.

“Uh, I mean—”

“No take-backs,” Chloe crows, gleefully. “Holy shit, dude, yes. Okay, I’ve got it worked out pretty well, this is something I’ve been sitting on for a few years at least. First, we’ll need a distraction…”

Chloe’s plan is elaborate, but thorough, and by the time she’s done laying out the details Max isn’t sure she’ll be able to follow through, but she does know that whatever lingering doubts about their friendship she’d had this morning were founded in one-sided insecurity.

“Let me sleep on it,” she says, finally.

“Max,” Chloe whines. “You promised.”

“I did not.”

“I mean, practically.”

“No, I didn’t.”

It’s almost like being a kid again, arguing about something pointless under the midday sun, a little dehydrated but having too much fun together to do something sensible like go back inside. Max has missed this for so long.

She’s deliriously happy she won’t ever have to miss it again.

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

One quick question, why do you hate Before the Storm? I actually really liked it. It could be because I'm a hopeless romantic, but I just want to see your opinions on it

Oh boy, where to even begin...? I cannot stand bts... it actually hurts my insides to think about how much I hate this game haha.

[note: yeah hi uhhh... this is long because of course it is, it's coming from me but listen, my feelings for this game are not nice and I have a lot to say so.... my bad]

One of the bigger reasons, though not the biggest, is Chloe... I'm not exactly a big fan of Chloe. At all. Not in the first game, nope. I understand that so many people love her and they have their reasons for that, that's fine, she's just a character who doesn't appeal to me. If anything, she pisses me off because I can see the foundation for such a compelling character, but it all gets thrown away for the sake of bullshit.

So then they plop bts in front of us with Chloe as the playable protagonist in a prequel story about her and Rachel Amber. This is an opportunity to expand on her character, to tie into the first season and make me feel more positive feelings about her character, to do what the first game failed to do..... and to be fair, they DO have a few of them sprinkled in... but then they're overshadowed by the garbage.

It's just... the ideas are there, and they're ideas that I like but they're executed so poorly. I want to like Chloe Price, I can see that there's something good here.

Like okay.... lemme do a thing:

Chloe Price. She's going through some serious shit after her dad dies. He died unexpectedly in a car accident, something Chloe had zero control over, it's not fair, and even though it's not like the universe singled her out and said "fuck you," it feels that way to her.

On top of that, her best friend who she adores? She moves away. Not something that's in either of their control, they're kids at this point. However, Max stops contacting her and that hurts Chloe. Chloe tries to stay in contact, but eventually Max stops responding.

Then you have her mother, who's also grieving after losing her husband and dealing with her daughter pushing her away and on the wrong path. She meets a man and falls for him after realizing she still has a long life ahead of her and that's too long to be miserable over her husband's death, William wouldn't want that, and David is a source of comfort for her... something she's not getting from her daughter. The problem is that David and Chloe don't get along in the slightest... which leads to Chloe feeling like her mom is trying to replace her father by moving on, not understanding why Joyce's timeline of grief isn't the same as hers, y'know?

Oh, and can't forget that Chloe has fallen onto a not so great path of drugs, booze, bad grades, lying, staying out late without letting her mom know where she is, pickin' fights, making friends with drug dealers, stealing money and other items, all that. She's bitter, angry, unable to understand most of her own complex emotions and that only makes her even more upset. She's unable to express them in a healthy way, she doesn't ask for help, and denies it whenever offered.

So... Chloe's starts out as an extremely entitled, rude, obnoxious character. She insults the bouncer in the cringiest way possible because these adult men writing her don't know how teen girls talk, she steals money and a t-shirt from a dude who works for the band because $20? how dare? even though bands don't make a lot of money and a lot of profit comes from their merch but who cares about supporting artists you like, right? Chloe sure doesn't. She probably buys some weed from Frank because yeah, she's got a dependence on the stuff now. She gets into a fight with a couple of dudes after spilling beer on them.... but what's this?

Oh look, it's Rachel Amber. Y'know, the pretty, popular, talented, smart, perfect, charismatic girl from Chloe's school?? yeah, she's at the concert and saves Chloe from the dicks who attacked her, and the two girls spend the rest of the concert together.

Now, for some reason, Chloe isn't sure but Rachel has taken a special interest in her. Rachel is flirty, she wants to know who Chloe is, she asks her to skip school with her, and the two take a ride on a train to a park and... honestly? pretty romantic, and it plays into that escapism fantasy thing of having the pretty girl who everyone likes single you out, making you feel special.

Over time, the girls grow close. Rachel has some family problems and seeks comfort in Chloe. They spend nights walking together down empty streets at night, holding hands. They hang out and talk about the stars, they discuss Shakespeare and what it's like to actually be your true self, if there's actually such a thing. They get tattoos together, and Rachel helps Chloe color her hair. They have a special hideout they decorated together in the junkyard. Rachel spends the night at Chloe's enough that she ends up leaving a lot of clothes there. They daydream about running away together, long road trips and living big in LA.

Chloe starts to see Rachel as her angel because for the first time since Max, she feels like she has someone she can be open and honest with. Rachel almost seems too perfect to be true, y'know?

And hey, over time Chloe actually starts to kinda get her life on the right track, if not in an unconventional way. Sure, she's still dealing with losing her father. that's not something she'll just get over... but she does start making an effort with her mom, and yes, even David after he told her about his time in the army and gave her that photo. They both know they'll never be friends, and they'll still have arguments, but they'll at least keep the peace for Joyce's sake.

It's not all perfect, though. Chloe's still smoking and Rachel isn't always the best influence. They get into trouble here and there, but nothing super serious.

She dropped out of Blackwell so that her mom didn't have to keep paying her tuition and because she's fixated on this fantasy of running away with Rachel. Chloe's feeling good about herself, about her future, for the first time since her dad died.

Until Rachel disappears.

And everything goes to shit pretty quick after that. Rachel's gone, she's not answering calls or texts, and everyone keeps saying that she probably ran away, but Chloe knows better. She knows Rachel wouldn't leave without her, so something must've happened. She makes posters and puts them everywhere, but things only get worse.

Money is tight. Joyce isn't making as much as she needs at the diner, David isn't making enough as a security guard, and hey... they might lose the house... the house that was once Williams, that's a piece of him he left behind. Not only that, but where will they go?

Chloe doesn't want them to lose the house, or for her mom to be this stressed out over food and bills. Chloe borrowed money from Frank in hopes of using it to run away with Rachel, but with her missing... Chloe decides to give it to her mom in order to save the house. Joyce is alarmed that she has this much, but Chloe manages to lie her way out of it to give her mom some peace of mind.

Except now she has another problem- she can't pay Frank back and he's getting more aggressive about it as the weeks go on. Rachel's still missing, Frank's breathing down her neck with threats toward her mom, money is still an issue at home, and she's not in a good place. Chloe's desperate enough to steal... so when she makes it into a bar that doesn't card her and she sees rich boy Nathan Prescott drunk off his ass and flashing bills, she thinks it'll be an easy score. It's wrong to do this, it's dangerous, but Chloe justifies it to herself. She needs that money.

She didn't expect Nathan to drug her drink, and she wakes up to him taking pictures of her. She manages to get the hell outta there, but she still has no idea what the hell happened to her. Like.... that reeeally fucks with her, it doesn't even feel real. She can't tell anyone, she can't tell her mom, and the police won't do anything since they're under the Prescott thumb.... and well, she decides to blackmail him.

And we all know how that goes.

So... we have the highs and lows of Chloe Price. She's flawed, even starting out as unbearable, but over time she becomes more nuanced and you're invested in what happens to her. You want to see her better herself, you want her to work through her grief and get help, you understand why she hates David but when you see him and Joyce happy together and him make an effort to be better, you want to see them make amends. You know David doesn't want to replace William, hell HE knows no one ever could.

You want Chloe to keep going, to find purpose in her life and realize her own potential. You saw her at the beginning when she was broken, when she was lost and didn't see a future for herself, and it's satisfying to see her come this far to where she knows she has a future... something that becomes all the more tragic when you remember her fate in the first game.

You're invested in Chloe and Rachel's romance, you get giddy watching them flirt and do dumb, romantic, cliche things, and you're just as compelled by Rachel as everyone else. No, she's not perfect, she's not a stereotype, she's much more layered than that and it only breaks your heart when you realize that she's killed later on, that of course she's going to go missing... you already know that! So you're watching Chloe, who has gotten pieces of her life back together and is genuinely happy.... fall back down the pit, fall back into the habits she had at the beginning, and you know it will lead to her downfall.

.....TOO BAD BEFORE THE STORM DID FUCK ALL WITH THAT RIGHT?

Nope, you don't get any of that. Well, except Chloe being cringy. You get a lot of that.

No, no, we got edgelord, flanderized Chloe who thinks her wit is much greater than it actually is, whose terrible moments outweigh the good, and who doesn't grow or change no matter what influence you try to have over her.

Rachel could be replaced with a literal barbie doll and little would change. She has no charm, she's nothing like what she was described in the first game, and she's just so fucking unlikable. When she finds out that her mom isn't actually her birth mom, she claims that her whole life is a lie and her parents aren't real and she wants to meet her druggie mom who chose drugs over her for 15 years because she's the one who actually squeezed her out.

Which, by the way, WHY is this the goddamn plot?? Why did they feel like they had to shove in this "oh hey Rachel's dad is the bad guy, oh wait now this drug guy is the bad guy because he stabby Rachel, no wait now her dad is the super bad guy because he put a hit out on Rachel's REAL mom, oh no wait it's fine because Frank murdered drug man off screen" WHY YOU DO THIS??

You have three episodes. THREE. And in those three episodes, you have the opportunity to explore Chloe as a character, and her relationships with Rachel, Joyce, and David. But instead of dedicating the story to that, something you could've created a compelling narrative out of, you threw in this dumb mom plot and fire-

HOW THE HELL DID I FORGET THE FIRE????

What- why did- does she have- Rachel just- RACHEL SETS THE FOREST ON FIRE??? WHY THOUGH???

I get it, "Rachel is the fire" yeah yeah and it's dumb.

Oh and because we didn't have enough going on, here's a side mission where you gotta deal with getting money from this other kid who's running drugs for big bad drug man because he wants to help his dad who lost his job.

But WAIT, there's more- In a series where several girls were drugged by Nathan and Jefferson, forced to pose for pictures, and some even killed or driven to try and take their own life? something taken so seriously...? Victoria gets drugged and it's treated like a joke. Even worse, there is a path that has Rachel drugging her, and no one cares.

ALSO.... Rachel cheated on Chloe with two adult men, remember? One of which fucking murders her?? and we're just... we're just not gonna do anything with that??? Nothing??? Maybe a little stinger at the end but that's it????

I just..... I hate this game so much.

It had so much potential. Not only that, but it had the first game to look at and learn from. Learn from the mistakes that game made and improve upon.... but instead, they fucked up even worse. It's just a game of fanservice that has way too much going on, is trying to do too much, and loses focus on the most important things.

Three episodes could've been enough to explore different points of Chloe's character before the events of the first game. They could've crafted a story that gave more insight into her life that make sense of the choices she made, that turn her into the Chloe we see in the first game. You don't need a forest fire, you don't need evil lawyers. I know the first game had the storm and time travel and big dumb Jefferson, but you wanted to tell a story that's grounded without shit like that... y'know, before the storm.

I could probably go on and on if someone doesn't stop me, so I'll stop myself here... I hate bts because it's potential was there, I could see it in a few key moments, and it was wasted.

The romantic ideas fall flat because being pretty and gay isn't enough for me, I need more than that. I don't care if they kiss because I don't care about their relationship, and frankly, they've done very little to make me care about them as individuals.

UGH

.......does that answer your quick question? haha sorry for the not so quick answer, but like I said, this game makes my brain mad and once I get going, it's hard to stop.

[the-green-divine]

Bitch has a mild amount of her shit together, courtesy of writing some self-indulgent Jefferson murder fic in which Rachel survives. I am still bananas over Life is Strange: Before the Storm. It might be my new favorite game in the series (previously True Colors, which is also good, go play it.)

So what about it made me bananas? Overall, the way the game shows Chloe’s day to day life in a way Life is Strange (1) didn’t. LiS1 has absurdly high stakes, a moral conundrum (sort of), serial killers, missing girls, asshole adults, oh my! You get a fair few normal moments between Chloe and Max, which typically end in Max rescuing Chloe from dying through her rewind.

We also don’t really know how Chloe got to where she is in the first game, or what she used to be like. We get hints, and Chloe’s core character is definitely someone who loves fiercely but has been hurt so much and so badly that she’s had to withdraw almost completely to survive. Before the Storm (BtS) shows us Chloe, and gives a path for why she is in such a bad place in LiS1.

I thought I might do this by episode, but I really can’t. I gotta take it by character, so let’s get the worst out of the way first: David and Joyce. Fuck I hate them both. David is an abusive piece of shit who manipulates Joyce and Chloe both. When Chloe offers up something about herself, he makes it about him, his trauma and grief, and demands she respect it when he has made it clear he has no respect for her. If she refuses, he immediately turns violent. Fuck David

And Joyce. The enabler to David’s abuse, because Chloe’s such a problem child. At the end of episode one, I saw “You were mean to Joyce” as a decision point and laughed. I wasn’t mean to Joyce, I picked the honest option. To Joyce in BtS, anything that doesn’t support her completely, and her delusion of a happy family is mean and petty. She “both sides” every argument between Chloe and David, and when Chloe tries to tell her how she feels, Joyce shuts her out. Chloe spends several days after getting suspended not at home, and Joyce never asks where she was. She doesn’t want her daughter. She sure as hell doesn’t deserve her.

Moving on: Rachel. I liked Rachel a lot. Mostly I knew her from LiS1 and fics, many of which paint her as a manipulator, some as an outright villain. I didn’t see it. I saw a teen whose smart but easily bored, and has the usual amount of teen stupidity (no offense to any teens who see this, you don’t necessarily get less dumb as you age, you find new ways to be stupid.) She fucks up, but she’s also going through probably the worst week of her life during BtS (so far.) She’s impulsive and (I believe) too prone to lying as the easy way out, but she’s also got James Amber for a dad.

Jimbo is where this game gets confused. They clearly show he IS a liar and a manipulator, but seem to try to walk it back sometimes? I’m certain he’s gaslit both Rose and Sera into believing he (and only he) knows what’s best for Rachel, and did such a great job on Sera she is nearly killed and still tries to defend him as a good father for Rachel. Ma’am. No. (I’m actually headcanoning that Sera did die from the overdose, and Chloe talks to her ghost - seriously, just a short while before she spoke to ghost William, and her journal makes it clear that she’s no longer easily able to differentiate between dreams and waking.) He sucks, but he could have been a much stronger villain.

Really, that’s my thing with all the LiS games: they could be much stronger if they dropped the high stakes sudden conspiracy twist, and stuck to their themes. BtS is about the powerlessness of being a teenager, surrounded by adults you can’t trust because they have shown, repeatedly, they don’t care about you as a person. It’s about the light at the end of the tunnel, if you’re living in an abusive home, as Chloe and Rachel both are. The hope and sweetness of youth, and the way the world shifts underfoot as you become an adult. Where you’re no longer sure of what you once knew.

That’s how I see Chloe. Someone so strong, and brave, and smart, shut down by a world that is increasingly hostile the more she speaks her mind. Despite not really liking the scene with Damon in the junkyard, my mind went to the scene on the beach in LiS 1 where Frank threatens Max. I’m sure she was thinking of how she froze up and it nearly got Rachel killed. BtS enriches Chloe immensely as a character, and shows us Rachel, who before we only knew from others’ memories, idealized or not.

There’s a lot not to like, and some disturbingly out of character scenes, Victoria’s drugging chief among them. But fuck canon, every writer loses their shit sometimes. That’s what fic is for. I’m really glad I played BtS.

i finished my first before the storm playthrough and bring you this live reaction:

AAAaaaAaRrrGggGHhhH

more to follow as bitch gets her shit together

[tangent101]

Let’s talk about Rachel...

Just recently over at Twitter I was commenting on how adult-teenager ships in LiS (and let’s be honest, most similar ships) is creepy as fuck and then I started wondering. What was it that caused Rachel to start going out with older men? Well, in canon she was “desperate” to get out of Arcadia Bay. But just what was going on that drove that need to escape?

While I consider BtS to be creative fanfiction at best, for this initial bit I’m going to pretend parts of it could be canon. So let’s pretend that Rachel’s father was the DA for the area (and chose to live in Arcadia Bay, a town based on Garibaldi Oregon with a population of around 1,000). His ex cleans up her act, gets off of drugs, and tries to get visitation rights for Rachel. He then contracts out the local drug dealer and has her kidnapped and dosed with drugs to “prove” she’s unfit.

The mere rumor of impropriety has sunk the political careers of better men than James Amber. But if Chloe told the truth to Rachel and they tried to spread the truth of what happened to Rachel’s biological mom and he got reelected anyway then yeah. I could potentially see Rachel being disgusted by the entire region and wanting to get the fuck out of what will be future Trump County, willing to vote for the white “law and justice” candidate and ignore the truth. 

But somehow this theory falls flat because first, Chloe never tells Max about it, and second, it doesn’t begin to explain why Rachel is into older men. If anything, BtS would have Rachel be more like Chloe - hating older men and not trusting them. Frank, with his old connections to Damon Merrick, would never be trusted - not even after he (unarmed, wounded, and in tremendous pain) was able to save Chloe from an armed and murderous Damon Merrick. Yeah, that honestly doesn’t work. 

So now let’s examine just the original game. We have no idea who Rachel’s parents are or what they do. We do know that in the original timeline they gave up looking for Rachel and Chloe is the only one seeking her. We also know that in the William Lives timeline they are still actively seeking Rachel. This suggests that Rachel’s relationship with Chloe somehow soured Rachel’s relationship with her parents.

Rachel is bisexual. She’s the one canon bisexual character in the game (while I understand folk like to see Max as bi due to the shoehorned shoddy relationship she can try to start up with Warren, when you read her journal it’s clear that she actually sees Warren as a brother and is a Narnian lesbian and it snows that first day in Arcadia Bay because she brought snow back with her from the closet she was in) and was in confirmed relationships with Jeffershit and Frank Bowers. Her relationship with Chloe was strong enough that Chloe truly acts like a spurned lover when she learns Rachel was sleeping with Frank. There were also rumors that Rachel was promiscuous with the graffiti and various catty things said about her. 

It can be argued that Frank and Jefferson both had one thing Rachel wanted: a means of leaving Arcadia Bay. Chloe had her truck, but while they could leave Arcadia Bay, they’d not get far without money or shelter. Frank had his RV and his drugs were a source of income. Jefferson had contacts in the modeling industry that Rachel desperately wanted. Hell, if it’s to be believed, she even hit on some older male trucker because his truck was a way out of Arcadia Bay. But honestly... this starts to fall short. What was driving Rachel to leave?

Let’s look at the difference between the Prime Timeline and the William Lives timeline once again. When Chloe is in Rachel’s life, her parents have given up looking for Rachel. Only Chloe still seeks her. But in the William Lives timeline, they are still actively looking for her. Chloe seems to be one of the keys here. When Chloe is part of Rachel’s life, her parents have washed their hands of her. When Chloe is not a part of her life? They are worried for her.

Rachel’s parents were homophobes. 

Chloe was never one to hide who she is. But let’s be honest... Chloe is also not exactly the most perceptive of people either. There was a wadded up ball of a note in her hideout for six months that she never once opened? She was truly surprised that Frank and Rachel had shacked up? She never once heard the rumors about Rachel and Jeffershit? Chloe was in her own world and that world was Rachel. Her parents were superfluous. Frank was their dealer. Jeffershit was some hipster photographer whose photos Rachel loved. And all those guys that Rachel flirted with? That was nothing, just Rachel getting Chloe’s goat. 

So I could easily see Rachel’s parents with a “Southern hospitality” mentality who smile at you and say things akin to “bless your heart” and are quietly saying “fuck you and die slowly in a fire” with those three words. Ironically enough, Chloe was raised by a Southerner who, if she’d ever seen Rachel’s parents interact with Chloe would need David to hold her back because how dare those distinguished individuals say such truly nasty things about her angel. (Only she and David are allowed to treat Chloe like shit.) 

Rachel’s parents wrote their daughter off when they realized their daughter was one of them. A lesbian. And she doesn’t swear off from Chloe, promise never to talk to her again. So “she moved away” and Chloe sees them in denial when in fact her parents are politely telling Chloe to go away and never return because it’s Chloe’s fault their daughter is missing, not their own for driving their daughter away from them.

There was no Chloe in Rachel’s life in the William Lives timeline. Her parents are leading the search much like Chloe did. Because their daughter never shamed them by being gay. 

When I originally was crafting this examination into Rachel, I must admit my mind was going somewhere... well, it’s not darker per say. Because being in a homophobic environment is pretty damn dark. But I had speculated initially that Rachel was into “older men” because she was being molested. This could still be the case, but it doesn’t quite feel right. Rachel was into Frank and Jeffershit as a means to escape an abusive household. The abuse was not physical, but was emotional and psychological. 

But having lived in a homophobic and transphobic household... you want to escape that. It slowly shreds your soul. Having parents that look at you as an insult, who consider your true self to be something that’s ruined their lives? You want to escape that. It colors your actions and views. More, it damages your relationships. Because I wonder if one reason Rachel cheated on Chloe was because of her parents’ reaction to her?

Did Rachel internalize that biphobia and hate? If her parents had been more accepting and loved their daughter and didn’t try to control their daughter’s life, then Rachel may have ended up remaining true to Chloe. More, we might have seen Rachel then as a more positive element in Chloe’s life. Chloe might have ended up trying in school because Rachel encouraged her to. Max may have gone to Arcadia Bay in 2013 to find Chloe was gone... off to college with Rachel Amber. The Amberprice relationship may have ended up healthy because Rachel was in a good place in her life. 

It’s a shame that Deck Nine didn’t look at this. They went with a half-assed fanfic with drug dealers and ignoring the fact Joyce started flirting with David six weeks after the death of William and married him before Chloe’s 16th birthday, barely a year after William’s death. They failed to show how the hateful actions of parents can push a child away from them, and lead them down a tragic path. They forgot that conflict is not physical but can instead be psychological and emotional. 

Because let’s face it. Many of us can identify with children whose parents don’t approve of them or have disowned them for being Other. Whether that’s queer, artistic, or just “not how we raised you.” Many of us have parents who treat us with disdain for being who we are, instead of some doll they can mold to be what they want to be. If that is the face of Rachel Amber? Then we all can see a glimpse of her when we stare into the mirror.

[mazecraft]

Rachel in the Dark Room Ep 7

Warning:

Spoilers for Life is Strange and Life is Strange: Before the Storm.

Trigger Warning:

This fanfic will have disturbing images, including scenes of kidnapping, date rape, drug use, violence, sexual content and adult language. Recommended for mature audiences and viewer discretion is advised.

Previously: Upon the revelation of her death, Rachel has found herself in the presence of three women that are strange, exotic, and sometimes a little frightening. The women seem to be the animas of a raven, a doe, and a butterfly. As for Rachel, she is still in the clothes that she was wearing when she died, and she still feels like she has a body, though she doesn’t seem to feel physical needs like sleep, water or food. The three women have been guiding Rachel to understand what happened to her since she died with her consciousness in such a confused and chaotic state. But they have just now finished showing her what has become of some of the people that were a part of her life since her death. In so doing, Rachel has also begun to see energy fields of light around living things. The last thing she saw was some sort of disease in the energy of Nathan Prescott, and the total absence of any light around Mark Jefferson, the men that were responsible for her torture and death…

Raven stood suddenly and wrapped her feathered cloak about her. “You draw her too close to the enemy!” she scolded. She circled the hourglass placed between them with its eerie golden light moving toward Doe and Rachel. She had begun to think of them in her head as “the witches” in homage to Macbeth. But they were otherworldly and strange even beyond anything she could have imagined. Raven’s wild black hair and piercing yellow eyes were wraith-like. But she could see a sphere of light around each of them now that she knew what to look for. Raven’s light was almost white, tinged around the edges with blue. The fibers of light glistened around her and seemed to move with her, or maybe, the fibers are what moved her? Raven pointed at Doe and Butterfly in turn but spoke directly to Rachel. “Do not let the parasite see you. Your attention will draw it to you! It is a predator that devours. It hunts in dreams and moments of shock and vulnerability.”

“I am not a novice, sister,” Doe said politely. “We were cloaked by a reality mirror.” The light around her seemed to flow quickly like fiber optics in a way that Rachel thought looked like mild annoyance or irritation. She looked to Rachel. Somehow Rachel understood the meaning in the look she was getting from Doe. Her big black eyes with rich brown irises full of compassion seemed to be searching Rachel’s face for her reaction to what she had seen so far. Rachel found herself reflecting on the various people that had been part of her life and thought she could see what the witches meant by trajectory now.

“Raven told me that our inner truth is in what we feel, not what we think. I find myself feeling…acceptance? I can’t say I am happy about my parents, or how other people are reacting to my disappearance. But I think I understand it. I only wish that someone would find out about what happened to me so that no one else will get hurt,” Rachel paused. “What did you mean when you said ‘the enemy?’ What is Jefferson, really?”

“Jefferson has allowed himself to become an avatar of darkness,” Doe said. “In a way, he is the willing victim of it. What we call ‘the enemy’ is a parasite that feeds off of light and life. It is an ancient and destructive force. Wherever there is immense pain and grief, a fissure is created in all beings of light that allows lifeforce to seep from them like water from a cracked gourd. The greater the pain, the greater the loss. The parasite uses acolytes of those it has wounded and fed from to go into your world and cause more horror. Jefferson is one such creature. The parasite has latched itself to his mind and become his surrogate thoughts, until Jefferson believes the imposter’s voice is his own.”

“So…how do we stop it?” Rachel asked.

Raven cackled and sat back down next to Rachel and surprisingly, gave her a hug. Her thin arms and talon like fingers felt weightless across Rachel’s shoulders. Doe just looked down at the ground with a sad expression on her face. Butterfly stared at the glowing hourglass with the spiral embossed in the top just in front of her and spoke in her resonant voice. “The parasite is ingrained in the fabric of the universe. As well ask how you stop galaxies from spinning and stars from burning. We call the parasite our enemy, but it is also a necessary evil. It creates the backdrop upon which goodness and love can be set apart. Really, it is only a parasite when it is allowed to run amok unchecked, as has happened many times in your world’s history. Then it becomes a true threat.”

“Dreamers are most at risk from the abuses of the parasite, and will suffer the most,” said Raven matter-of-factly. “And are most at risk of becoming monsters under its tutelage.”

“This is a lot to take in,” said Rachel feeling confused. “But you still haven’t answered my question. Where is Chloe in all of this?” Doe looked up worried and Raven shook her head in warning against the other two. Raven stood up and moved away from the circle, signaling she would have nothing to do with their decision. Butterfly’s lips tightened at the vacillation of her sisters. She stood and floated up into the air transforming into a vibrant blue butterfly and floated toward Rachel floating about her head.

“Enough coddling and dragging of feet,” Butterfly’s voice seemed like it was inside Rachel’s head, reverberating tightly like a swarm of bees inside a tin can. Butterfly landed on Rachel’s forehead and she could feel it moving in a spiral much faster than Doe had gone. Images and emotions flooded Rachel’s mind in a torrent, like standing under a waterfall, causing her to gasp. Her back arched and her arms stiffened behind her as her head tilted up toward the sky. Rachel’s eyes filled with light as the barrage of events swarmed through her.

∞

Chloe stood in the driveway watching her mom and step-douche drive away. Her mother, Joyce, had rushed by her with barely a hello while the step-dildo ordered her to move her truck out of the driveway so they could get his car out of the garage. Joyce had come down the stairs still slipping her pumps on with her purse dragging her arm down at the crook of her elbow, while Chloe was trying to explain that she had printed some missing person posters for the Two Whales Diner. She may as well have been telling her she was going to get knocked up and do cocaine with the principal of Blackwell at the next assembly. Joyce just said “Alright Chloe that’s fine. We’re running late. You need to move your truck out of the driveway and once we’re gone you can go back to sleep if you want.” Joyce had rushed out the door without even looking at the posters Chloe was trying to hand to her. Even her mom didn’t have time or a shit to give about her anymore. Not since her dad died and Max moved away had she felt like she needed her mom more, and never had she felt as blown off by her.

Chloe did go back up to her room and sat on the edge of her bed. She held one of Rachel’s shirts and pulled it up to her face, breathing in the faint scent of jasmine, and a fragrance that was uniquely Rachel. How long until that fragrance would fade completely? Tears welled up in her eyes, and her throat felt tight. She had the sinking feeling that when the fragrance was gone, her chances of ever finding Rachel would be gone too. Where was she? She had streamed a documentary on her computer the other day about sex-trafficking in America and had been horrified at the possibility that Rachel could have been kidnapped by some gangsters and sold into slavery somewhere. Somebody in this shithole knew something and she was not going to give up until she found her.

She reached down to the worn-out hardwood floor and pulled a half-smoked joint out of the ash tray, relighting it. She used her remote to turn on the stereo and started looking through her pictures of Rachel. She had another box with pictures of her Dad and Max, but she refused to put Rachel in that box. Dad was gone forever, and clearly Max was too. Her dad was gone because he was dead and Max had just ghosted on her for the last five years. Rachel wasn’t either of those things. She couldn’t be dead, and she wouldn’t have just left without her. It wasn’t possible because Rach was the only person Chloe really had, and she loved her. Rachel was somewhere out there, Chloe could feel it. And she needed Chloe to find her. If she was certain of nothing else, she was certain of that. Not even a Balrog or Cthulu would stop her. For some reason, the thought felt like a déjà vu.

∞

“‘Don’t miss out on the fun! Join the Vortex Club at the AMBER ALERT Party! Don’t GO MISSING the last party of the school year!’ Thursday, June 13th at the Blackwell Gym!”

Chloe stared at the poster outside the Blackwell Gymnasium with loathing and disgust. The fuckers had put the AMBER ALERT over the Vortex Club logo and added a hand-drawn blue feather along the side. Chloe’s heart hurt and a lump formed in her throat. Her blood boiled with anger and her mind reeled at the absolute fuckery it would take to come up with such a shitty and callous theme for a party! Chloe had already learned firsthand how foul these Blackwell elites were toward the scholarship kids or anyone that didn’t have trust fund parachutes strapped to their backs. But Rachel had been one of their kind, had been someone that they called a friend. Chloe never really understood why Rachel dug being around them. Rachel had never been anything but awesome to them. and now they turned her disappearance into a party! If she could see what they were doing now in her name she would probably burn the whole fucking town down! Chloe wanted to do it for her.  The plexiglass covering the bulletin board in front of her cracked as Chloe split her knuckles punching it over and over again. “You motherfuckers!” she sobbed. She didn’t stop punching until her blood was visible in the cracks in front of the poster and her hand was swollen.

∞

A few desperate weeks later, Chloe drove her old beat up truck through the parking lot outside The Mook, a local dive bar that was putting on an all-ages show behind the building. There was a full-on tailgate party going on in the lot, and Chloe could hear one of the opening bands shredding already. Multi-colored lights lit up the back of the building enclosed by a tall wooden fence. The lot was full even after she circled it twice! Chloe ended up parking down the street in an abandoned lot. There were a few other concert goers that had the same idea walking back toward the bar with her. She knew she should have gotten there earlier. Now she was going to have to carry her box of posters the whole way! Damn it! Why can’t The Mook get a bigger parking lot or something! Hoisting the box on to her slender shoulder, Chloe pulled out a cigarette and lit it with one hand, balancing the box with the other, and started walking back toward the venue. Some of the metal kids walking in pace with her looked curiously at her but no one said anything.

It took her about twenty minutes to drop posters on all the windshields in the parking lot and then she carried the box up to the gate at the side of the bar where the underage kids were lined up to get into the show. She showed her ID and let the security guards search her box before letting her wander into the venue. Some band she didn’t know was butchering The Beautiful People on the stage through speakers that distorted everything and sounded like shit. There were merch tables set up along the side of the fence selling shirts and CDs. The second table had a Pisshead banner behind it and their front man Skip Matthews was there selling his shit. Chloe walked up to the table and set her box down on the edge. Skip looked over and his face lit up when he recognized her. He was wearing a loose neon green tank top exposing his tattooed arms, and black ripped up jeans. His face was covered in sweat and his messy mop of hair was matted and sticking to his head. Even his short uneven beard was soaked.

“Chloe!” Skip said coming around the table to give her a hug. He smelled of hard alcohol and sweat, mixed with patchouli. “I’m glad you made it! Did you get to see us play?”

“Fuck I totally missed it man. I just got here! My step-douche had me tied up with another one of his lectures and then parking was hella lame!” Chloe had to yell to be heard over the band.

“Aw man that sucks! We just finished up a few minutes ago. Well I hope you are sticking around for a while. Agalloch is headlining. I’m stoked we got on the same bill with them! Do you want a shirt or a CD? It’s on me, sistah!”

“Hell yes!” Chloe said. “But I need to ask a favor!”

“You want to star in my first music video? You got it!” Skip teased.

“No I…wait…um, that would be cool…” Chloe paused. “But no. I was wondering if I could leave these posters on your merch table?” She handed him one so he could see it. Skip’s face sobered up as he looked at the Missing Person poster and he nodded.

“Fuck, Chloe I’m sorry I didn’t even know about this.” He shook his head sadly. “Seriously, what the fuck man? Its always the good ones!” He pulled the remaining posters out of the box and set them at the front of his table and put the box underneath. “Hey if there is anything else I can do promise to let me know, Ok?”

“You got it Skip!” Chloe said.

∞

Chloe was in a 24 hr copy and print shop. The harsh fluorescent light made her blue hair shine vibrantly under her dark navy beanie. She was sitting on a counter with her boots resting on the plastic chair in front of her. She was wearing ripped up jeans and small black denim jacket. She was looking through her phone at pictures of her and Rachel waiting for her print order to finish. The asswipe clerk with the pockmarked face had charged her almost double because she said she would wait. Well, fuck him. What was he going to do if not work on her order? He probably gets paid to watch porn most nights anyway. One night of actual work wouldn’t kill the bastard.

Rachel probably would have told her to just go home and pick them up in the morning. Well she wasn’t here right now, which is why Chloe was. She stared at the pictures on her phone of Rachel taken last year. Rachel was sitting at Chloe’s desk half-turned to look at the camera, at Chloe. Her chin rested on her fingers curled over the back of the chair. Her hazel eyes giving Chloe a sultry thoughtful look.

“You know if you get your GED you could go to college in LA.” Rachel had said to her. The memory echoed in Rachel’s and Chloe’s minds together. “There have to be dozens of great art schools there. And I think I know someone that would be a fantastic model for your brand.”

Chloe swiped to the next picture. A selfie of her and Rachel in the truck outside the junkyard. That was the day they had driven half way to Newport taking pictures at the beach on Rachel’s phone. Fuck, Chloe wished she had those pictures too. She had given Rachel a piggy-back ride from the beach back to the truck and they had made out with the sound of breaking waves and the occasional car passing on the highway. Chloe’s eyes got heavy as she sat looking at the pictures and reminiscing.

Rachel became aware of herself watching Chloe, which hadn’t happened in the visions she had with the others she had been shown. Before she had just been an observer without any awareness of herself or any thoughts until after the fact. Another difference she saw right away was the light around Chloe was brighter and more vivid than any of the other people she had observed, even under the fluorescent lighting. She watched Chloe dozing and catch herself before scooting down to the chair so she could rest her head on the formica counter. All around Chloe though, Rachel became aware of a darkness that pushed against the light boundary around her. It writhed and teased at the boundary, looking for a place that it could seep in and touch her. She wasn’t sure how but Rachel knew if that darkness ever touched Chloe’s skin she would be lost forever.

Chloe’s breathing was measured and deep and the light aura around her expanded and then returned to normal with every inhale and exhale. In the pause of Chloe’s exhale before she drew breath again the darkness pushed the hardest, a frenzied panicked movement of darkened spikes that tried to break the light barrier. Rachel was glad the light held it back but also felt anxiety watching the battle rage on while Chloe slept completely oblivious. Rachel felt herself moving toward Chloe trying to reach her…somehow. She found that she could look as close as she wanted, seeing Chloe’s face as close as if she were sleeping right next to her. She could see the soft curve of her lips, her closed eyelids slightly smudged by eyeliner, the only makeup she could ever get Chloe to wear consistently. Her blue hair sticking out from under her beanie resting against her temples. But when she tried to touch her face, she felt her hand touch an invisible wall.

Chloe sat up abruptly, her eyes opening. “Rach?” she said looking around quickly. But the shop was empty and quiet. Chloe was so sure she had felt Rachel there with her, like something seen out of the corner of your eye or a word on the tip of the tongue. Fuck, she was tired. It had already been a long day and she just wanted to get high and go to sleep. Fortunately, the pockmarked clerk was emerging from the back room with another box of posters for her. About damn time! She had another long day ahead of her tomorrow. She wondered if it would be weird to have Frank distribute them among his customers? Chloe still owed him a shitload of money, but dude had a heart even if he tried to hide it behind a wall of silence and growls. He knew Rachel so maybe that would make a difference? She decided she would text him in the morning as she drove home.

∞

Chloe parked next to Frank’s RV in the beach parking lot. She found Frank sitting on the other side in a fold out lawn chair under his extended awning drinking a beer. Pompidou laid curled up at his feet. As she rounded the corner she heard an old Morphine song on his stereo competing with the sound of the waves. He saw her approaching and put his hands up as if he were seeing a miracle in a Renaissance painting.

“Well look who it fucking is!” Frank exclaimed. He was wearing a simple t-shirt and filthy worn out jeans. “I was beginning to think you were avoiding me.”

“How could I avoid Frank Bowers in a town this small?” Chloe said. “Half the people I know are buying weed off you, and the other half work for you.” Chloe reached down to pet Pompidou, but the dog growled and looked for Frank’s nod before letting her. Damn, he had the beast trained well! “So, are you gonna offer me a beer or watch me die of thirst over here?”

“Don’t push your luck, Price,” Frank leaned forward and pointed at her. “The only reason my dog isn’t ripping your fucking throat out right now is because I am hoping you have a payment for me.”

“I wish I had any luck left to push, Frank. Listen I know I still owe you, and I am working on it. But I gotta ask you for a favor,” Chloe tried to keep her face from cringing cause she knew he was going to get pissed. He always did but he usually came around eventually. She just had to walk eggshells for a few minutes.

“You’re kidding me,” Frank said standing up. “You’re goddamned right you’re out of luck. I fronted you over three grand months ago which was supposed to come back with interest. I don’t owe you any favors. Shit I’ve done more favors for you than my own family. You owe me, bitch! Now get the fuck out of here and find my money.”

“Frank, you’ll get your money. But what I need to find is Rachel. She’s missing and the pigs are giving up. I know something happened to her.” Chloe pulled out a folded-up poster out of the back of her pocket and handed it to him. He took it and looked at it carefully. All his anger seemed to fade as he concentrated on it, with Rachel’s picture, and descriptions of her tattoos. Chloe was almost about to ask him if he needed help reading it when he finally folded it up and handed it back to her. He wasn’t saying anything and he was quiet. Chloe could never tell if that was a good or a bad thing with him. “The only favor is that you pass these around your other customers and friends…if you have any? Please. I think she’s in trouble, Frank! You know I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t hella important!”

“You’re wasting your time,” Frank’s voice cracked. “She probably got sick of your bullshit and got the fuck out of this hellhole. I know I’m sick of your shit. You need to stop coming to me with your fucking problems and trying to make them mine. I’m not your friend, Chloe! And I don’t want to see you here again unless you have a thick wad of cash in your hand. Now get the fuck out of my sight!” Frank opened up his RV door and followed his dog inside before slamming the door behind him.

Chloe stood there in muted shock for a few moments before stalking back to her truck and pulling the door shut angrily. She couldn’t believe that just happened. Frank was always a dick, but he had never been that mean to her before. After everything they had been through together? Yes, she owed him money but why would he refuse to help her find a missing friend? What was so hard about passing around pieces of paper? He knew Rachel too! Maybe not as well as he knew Chloe, but they had hung out a few times. How could he be so fucking heartless? She started up the truck and revved the engine loudly. “Fuck you, Frank!” she shouted at his RV before peeling out and driving off.

Rachel felt herself crying in anger and grief. Oh Chloe! It was Rachel’s fault that she owed Frank in the first place, and it was her fault that Frank was being an asshole to her, even if she didn’t understand why. Rachel felt the full weight of her mistakes weighing heavily upon her heart. Rachel’s tears seemed to slide down the invisible barrier between them like rain upon a window. Chloe’s feelings of betrayal and frustration as she drove home echoed Rachel’s own feelings as she watched the darkness around Chloe swarm in agitation trying to reach her.

∞

Chloe knew she didn’t belong in this room. The past several hours had been spent way outside of her comfort zone. But it was gonna be hella worth it if she could put up with it a little longer. The posh black leather couch and queen size bed crowded the space and made it even more claustrophobic than the closed blinds and oppressive artwork. Black and white bondage pictures adorned the walls and an overhead projector cast a slideshow of photographs on the wall behind her head. Chloe wasn’t about to crane her neck to stare at boring black and white photos of buildings, close ups of grass, or whatever else Nathan thought looked edgy and artistic. It was a strange turn of events that brought her to this somber room.

The summer had passed with no luck or leads until Skip Matthews had sent her a message telling her a Pisshead fan saw her poster and said he’d seen Rachel at some bar near the waterfront on the southside of town last spring, opposite the train tracks from The Mook. Said he would remember her face anywhere cause she was so hot, and clearly sharking the bastard playing pool with her. Rachel, Chloe thought, what were you getting yourself into? Chloe had gone down there with more posters to see if anyone else would recognize her and the bouncers didn’t even card her. So, she walked right in and put up a few posters near the restrooms and then made her way to the bar. She’d figured she might as well have a few drinks while she was at it since they had let her in. Plus, she could ask the bartender about Rachel.

It was after she turned away from the bar with a bottle of local brew that she had seen Nathan sitting over at a table with a bunch of Vortex Club alumni. He was totally wasted and kept pulling wads of cash out to pay for drinks and tip the cocktail waitress with the plastic smile and booty shorts. All that cash going to waste seemed like such a shame when Chloe could use it to pay off Frank or even better, get the hell out of town once she found Rachel! Luckily Chloe had gotten good at practicing improv games with Rachel and it hadn’t taken long to crash Nathan’s party and convince him to let her take him back to his dorm room at Blackwell.

So here she was, sitting on his couch listening to his crude jokes and deftly avoiding his drunken attempts to seduce her. Her ripped up jeans and black denim jacket felt like armor against the expensive and cold mood of the room. She held her beer in both hands in her lap, with her legs crossed in front of her at the ankles as Nathan showed off his expensive camera and talked about how he was going to be famous like his photography teacher one day. She eyed his coat which he had tossed on the edge of the bed. The rolled-up wad of cash stuck out of his coat pocket and she was just waiting for him to pass out. The way he was stumbling around and slurring, she thought it was only a matter of time now. She hoped so, anyway. She wasn’t sure how much longer she was going to last herself. She’d only had 2 beers at the party and was nursing the one Nathan had given her, but she was feeling woozy and a little nauseous from listening to his crap.

“NO!” Rachel cried out.  She moved closer to Chloe and tried to reach her again. She felt herself push up against the invisible wall and slammed her fists against it desperately. Chloe’s light was flickering weakly and the darkness was swarming around her pushing against it every bit as hard as Rachel was clawing at the invisible wall. Distantly she could hear the witches arguing but she couldn’t focus on what they were saying. Somehow, she had to stop this. She couldn’t let Chloe end up in the Dark Room!

Chloe slumped down off the couch, barely feeling herself fall to the floor. Nathan was slurring, but still on his feet and pacing the room. He stood over her and took a picture of her curled up on the floor. “You think I didn’t see the contempt in your face, whore? I grew up staring contempt in the face every day!” Nathan spat at her. He opened a prescription bottle and swallowed a pill with a swig of beer. “I’ll show your punk ass contempt. Do you really think I don’t know who you are, bitch? Your just another skank ho!” Nathan pulled her body over to the space next to his bed and tried a few different poses before deciding on one that he liked. He pulled one of her legs straight and bent the other one at the knee, letting it fall sideways exposing her crotch. He draped her right arm across her face, so that the crook of her elbow rested across the bridge of her nose. He got down on the floor trying to get an angle that maximized the depth of field and highlighted her helplessness.

Rachel was crying and screaming as she punched at the invisible barrier. She could see Chloe’s light was on the brink of collapse. Chloe’s light. She needed to protect her light more than anything. Her scream faded away as an idea crossed her mind. Tears still streaming down her face, Rachel saw her own light spring to life all around her. The fibers of light within the aura around her were vibrant and pulsing with some kind of power. She could still hear the witches arguing and something Raven said caught her attention. “To not touch the world of the living is what it means to die.” Fuck that, thought Rachel. She put her hand up to the barrier and focused on the strands of pulsating light all around her and pushed with her willpower against the barrier, intending that her light reach Chloe.

The barrier changed from feeling like a solid wall to something like a wall of sound. One that she couldn’t hear, but could feel, like an itch in the palm of her hand. Rachel wasn’t sure how, but she matched the vibration of the barrier, becoming the same sound, and slipped through the vibration. It felt like she was moving through water; and was herself water. She felt like she was moving with agonizing slowness as she struggled to extend her filaments of light toward Chloe with an outstretched hand. Nathan was crawling toward her grinning darkly as Rachel’s lines of light touched Chloe’s and…intertwined with them. Chloe’s eyes shot open and Rachel felt Chloe’s energy, so familiar, so warm and full of love! Chloe’s own light suddenly burst to life filling the room brightly in Rachel’s vision sending the darkness into retreat.

Chloe saw Nathan with a look of shock on his face as she scrambled to get away from him. He grabbed at her legs and reached for her jacket and she kicked at him, but kicked his nightstand instead knocking over his bedside lamp in the process. The lamp hit Nathan in the head as it fell and he stopped grabbing her to hold his head, screaming at her and calling her a fucking bitch. She felt so weak, but she was able to stand and grab at the door handle as Nathan got to his feet. But it was too late. She was out the door and running down the hall toward the dormitory exit.

(To be continued…)

Mazecrafted © 2018

[destiny-smasher]

So! Episode 2 of Before the Storm! It was very good! If you haven't read my thoughts on Episode 1, here those are.

If you want an audio discussion about either episode, I've recorded podcasts with my girlfriend, @mollifiable, as well as musicians Riley Hawke and Koethe. Here’s what we discussed on Ep1, and here’s the podcast on Ep2. BEAR IN MIND I will be discussing a number of things from EPISODE 2, so you probably shouldn’t read this if you haven’t experienced it yet. There are some inherent problems I still have with this projects conception (which I got into in that first post back in September), but Epsiode 2 has gone a long way toward giving me faith in why this story is being made. Or, at the least, that it's being made with a lot of thought and care. I've played a LOT of story-focused, episode games, and honestly, I think this episode is one of the best I've ever experienced, overall. I still struggle with some elements of the story (ex. I just don't like Rachel as much as I think I'm 'meant to,' BUT I think that ties into what the overall story may be about), and I still feel frustrated that your team is being limited by the nature of the setup (why is this all happening over three days when it could’ve been over three years, for example), but Episode 2 just has so much good going for it and I felt like it really showed what can be done with a project like this. Like last time, I want to address this to Madeleine, Felice, and the entire team at Deck Nine directly – and point out how much it means to us that you guys actually reach back and communicate with us, even encouraging criticism. I'm proud of what your team has been able to accomplish with this episode and think it stands out in the genre in a lot of ways.

Let’s get to it.

That being said, I do want to offer my criticisms, so let's just get those out of the way first. First off, Samuel – yeesh. Sorry, I just really didn't like the scene with Samuel. Part of it is his new voice actor just sounding more...creepy? I guess I'd say? But also, his manner of speech and the things he said felt out of place. Not just for his character but with the story in general. In LiS1, Samuel comes across as mentally different than those around him, almost like a sort of sage in a way, engaging with the world in a different way than those around him (there's a similar character in Supergiant's brilliant Pyre who comes to mind). But here, Samuel felt like a cross between a psychiatrist and a guy taking too many drugs? That's perhaps harsh, but especially given that his character model/rigging didn't seem to carry over properly, I was just rubbed the wrong way by his presence in this episode in a way that hasn't happened with any other recurring characters. I appreciate the intent I picked up from his scene – to remind us that there's more going on than just what we can see on the surface – but I felt like it missed the mark of who Samuel was as a character without really establishing why he would be different in this way three years in the past. On a related subject – the adult characters in this episode, or at least some of them, felt weird. MOST of them felt more like caricatures than actual characters. Wells felt fine, and I actually kind of PREFER this take on Wells because he feels LESS like a caricature and more like an actual principle. I can even kind of see a headcanon link between this interpretation of him and the version of him three years having just kind of shed away his decorum from the stress of managing a school undergoing so many changes and financial problems. I really felt for Joyce, and I felt that David's character was finally presented in a way that lacked the cliché “military” skew that LiS1 forced too hard while simultaneously giving the audience an understanding of precisely why his presence in the household would push Chloe so far away (though I still find much of the Joyce/David stuff odd here because we already know where this all leads and nothing here really seems to build anything new from that). Characters like Rachel's dad, the theater teacher, Samuel, Skip, Damon, and Sean Prescott all felt...a bit too cartoony in ways. Damon maybe least of all due to the intensity of that scene and the nice subtext we can pick up (after all, money is a realistic and pragmatic motive to drive one to aggression) In general, the adults felt flatter and more cartoony than I think works for this setting. Not to say they should NEVER be funny or anything, just that I was repeatedly taken out of the story by how jarringly one-dimensional a line was, or how flat a voice delivery was, etc. Fortunately, this problem doesn't really carry over to the teens, who are, of course, the focus of the narrative. I also noticed more moments in this episode where characters' eyes were uncanny, staring straight ahead in unnatural ways – or mouth movements being weird (Samuel being the biggest example, to the point that it jarred me out of the story and distracted from his dialogue). Minor complaint, all things considered, but worth pointing out as I didn't really notice this happen in episode 1, which makes me worry that maybe things got rushed a bit too much? (you guys did release this episode weeks earlier than expected) On the upside, though, this problem did NOT exist when it mattered the most, so at least that detail was put into the important moments. All right, last nitpick – I found the whole “drugging” thing re: the pre-play scene to be in bad taste. On the one hand, I LIKE the premise, and how it really does a fascinating thing with developing/contrasting/comparing Rachel and Victoria (in a way that requires knowledge of alternate events, something only a video game could do), but on the other hand...ya'll made drugging teen girls in an active, malicious way this...joke. While I do love that BtS has more comedy in its tone, I found turning Victoria's drug-induced passing out into a JOKE to be kind of offensive, especially given that she can get drugged and murdered in LiS1 (and Rachel AND Chloe both get drugged and/or murdered?), and just...yea. All in all, I think the concept of this scene works, it's the execution that makes it feel insensitive and kind of worrying. (ex. Victoria passes out and fucking NO ONE calls a doctor or tries to help her, the camera fucking PANS on her unconscious body like it's this joke and the way the whole thing is framed just invites laughter on something that kinda sorta shouldn't be funny given the full context of this story) Anyway, it's kind of like the wine scene in the first episode, but worse in terms of implications, I guess? I'm not THAT torn up over it since it's brief, and everyone's OK in the end, I presume, but it just feels a bit tone deaf when SO MUCH of this episode is SO GOOD. It really took me out of the experience – but the layered nature of it (how Rachel gets her way no matter what, how Rachel AND Victoria are both willing to drug each other, how Vic can be manipulated while Rachel can't) makes it really intriguing. I think the concept here was intriguing, but the execution on stuff like this could be handled more thoughtfully. I could get into pacing issues, I suppose, but honestly, I've already critiqued enough, and I think this episode was really good, so I don't want to get too down on the details when I'm sure others will get into this topic. (like the canon inconsistencies, they’re there, but aren’t really detracting from the good stuff)

OK! With all of that out of the way, let me get into what I loved about this episode, which was most of it. Episode 1 was unclear and uncertain in what it was trying to convey, which makes more sense now that we have Episode 2, which dives right into what this story seems to be about – passion, and the good and bad that comes from it. Passion, to be clear, being different from love. Love is steady, consistent, like a stream of water, while passion is fast and bright and sudden, like fire. I could get into the elemental symbolism you could correlate between wind, water, fire and Chloe, Max, and Rachel, but I'm sure folks have done this already. I do think it's still worth pointing out just how great a job you've done so far using fire as a metaphor for Rachel and Chloe's relationship, both within the story presented here and overarching into LiS as a whole. You managed to work it into the actual plot, as well, in a way that doesn't feel forced or thoughtless – an entire episode later and there are still consequences from it. Having just experienced the CA wildfires a half hour away from my home, I can appreciate a certain level of fear and awe at how much can be affected by fire, even the air itself, and just how quickly it can spread and how much damage it can do in a short time. The fact that the title screen itself it an analogy about passion makes me super excited at the potential for episode 3. Absolutely love that the title screen doubles as atmosphere AND symbolism. Specifically, I have to call out the dream sequence here as being quite awesome. From the moment I saw the burning car with a shadowed figure, I already knew what the visual reveal at the end of the scene was going to be, and was still thoroughly satisfied. I absolutely love LOVE the metaphor William presents about comparing/contrasting light and dark in terms of how both can cause us to lose ourselves, lose our ways, and be blinded. The way this correlates to Chloe's loss of William, Max, and Rachel (darkness) to how she can be blinded by light (passion for Rachel, even excitement about Max's power later on) is all encapsulated in a single bit of dialogue that communicates such an underexplored theme in the medium, and one that makes telling this story from a teenage perspective suddenly feel 100% sensible instead of just a coincidence. Telling a story diving into the theme of passion just wouldn't work the same from a character too young or too old, because it's this part of the human condition that we experience passion the deepest and the hottest. Which brings us to the fantastic play aspect, which is one of my favorite moments in all of LiS at this point. The layers of meaning at work here were genius. First off, it's all a play – an act. And Chloe is trying to keep up, while Rachel is clearly experienced with this. Secondly, the connections between relationships in The Tempest to the protagonists is great use of intertextual storytelling. Thirdly, highlighting a Shakespearean play, which highlights passion from teenage youths, yet another layer. Fourth, they go off script, which itself has really interesting connotations in terms of this game itself existing in the first place as an “off script” piece of the story, as well as how the content of their moment carries an unrealistic, impractical hopefulness to it that is inspiring, but still an act in a play, involving magic and fantasy. Fifth, concluding the scene with the way the play ends adds this really awesome extra layer of meta expression – Rachel as a character gets to be expressed and represented in a way she originally was not, with the help of fans of the LiS developing this prequel, but also fans of LiS breathing life into Rachel before this prequel existed; PLUS the prequel itself is a performance that you, the development team, are putting on for us, the audience. There's just so much going on here, and the musical choices helped seal the moment's emotional impact. Even as myself, coming from the perspective of not trusting Rachel's judgment/actions, I felt as if I finally had a 'moment' where I truly understood why Chloe was so swiftly enamored with Rachel. It reminded me of moments I've experienced in my own past, though nothing as 'magical' as this. It also just highlighted how Rachel's character has power and influence over those around her despite being so young. All in all, bravo. This scene came together fantastically, and I think it's one of the most thoughtfully put together scripted scenes I've ever seen in a video game. This was the moment I fell in love with this story – not because of AmberPrice but because it was so well put together by everyone involved. I think this will probably go down as the highlight of this game when all is said and done. To back things up a bit, I did enjoy the premise of the junkyard stuff. I really liked giving Chloe's character a bit of breathing room on her own – the kinds of things she thinks to herself while exploring the environment showed a bit of Max's influence on her still being present even as she's trying to forget Max. I liked that we could pick different objects to help decorate/fix the van, as well, but the flow of the scene would work better if we could do it all in one trip rather than taking two trips – I found myself disoriented after placing the battery into the car, and by that point had lost track of where specific objects were, whereas it would've been more fitting to maybe have Chloe make note of the items first, or even gather them all up into a pile and let the player choose from there. I predicted and felt satisfied by how the truck was utilized as an analogy for Chloe as a person – broken, banged up, abandoned, lost, but if given enough attention and care, could be back up and running. The therapy session Rachel and Chloe have was also nice at building their relationship further.

Something that wasn't as apparent in episode 1 because it simply needed time to grow was the whole way that Rachel is presented as someone who is flawed. Because the story is from Chloe's perspective, there's maybe too many limits on how this can be developed, though we'll see how the finale handles things, but I really liked that all of the flaws we already know about her character from stuff in LiS1 felt contextualized in this episode. She can be manipulative, short-sighted, impulsive, and even self-absorbed, but it's not malicious or even intentional all of the time. Rachel herself is in a similar position as Chloe – they're teenagers – she is still figuring herself out, what she really wants, who she really wants to be, and how she can achieve those things. All of my doubts, concerns, and fears about this relationship between them all feel validated by their dynamics, by the theming and foreshadowing, and yet it simultaneously makes sense why and how they'd end up together – out of teenage passion, and a shared sense of longing to feel both needed by someone else and taken care of by someone else. The scene after the play, in the street, had a great sense of aesthetic to it, which felt like it was from a teen romance film from the 80's or something. The imagery of the scene highlights the nature of this whole story – a splash of light along a dark road that is Chloe's teenage years. The multiple ways this scene can play out depending on previous choices was neat, too. I was especially intrigued by the possibility of making the “Friendship” choice in Ep1, then asking for a kiss here in this scene – there's this amazing bit of animation in Rachel's face that really shows her thought processes clicking together in an ambiguous way that really fits her character. I'm also super curious as to what will come of the bracelet bit, since Rachel surprisingly gives it to Chloe if you ask for it, despite the fact that we know she ultimately gives it to Frank. There's multiple possibilities of what that could entail, and I'm really interested in seeing how that plays out. This actually reminds me of how much I liked the way decisions from episode 1 have branched out here. Rather than decisions having a single static meaning later on, you have aspects from Episode 1 lead to different branching possibilities of how scenes play out. The outcomes are usually the same, but still, it makes the story feel more dynamic, and I like how these aren't always super obvious. There's a lot of examples of this, from telling Rachel that Chloe feels romantically or not, to stealing the money, to what you do WITH the money, and some other smaller things, too. Great work with this stuff, it helps us see different angles to the characters when we have these options, and highlights what LiS was originally about re: characters – perspective is everything. And yet, Rachel seems almost immune to things in a sense, which is appropriate given how her character works and how she influences those around her. I liked the scene with Frank in the RV and the way it contrasts and compares his future self to his past self. Which reminds me, this episode had a bit more interesting 'character development through environment,' which was a highlight of LiS1 that felt missing from Ep1 of Before the Storm. Whether it was Frank's RV, Elliot's dorm room, the Amber household, or, most poignantly, Drew's dorm room, you guys did a great job letting us learn more about the characters through the environments. While you could argue that it doesn't quite match Chloe's character the way it does Max (and I'd argue that the whole nature of trying to socialize and make friends itself already is kind of against Chloe's character in Ep1), I think it works well enough and just makes sense from a game design standpoint. I liked that we got more opportunities for graffiti in ways that weren't just straight up wall graffiti (ex. Crossword, drawing on the newspaper photo). I glossed over this last time, but part of what I've been frustrated by with Before the Storm is the way Chloe at 16 years old...already feels like Chloe at 19, but slightly more awkward. Episode 2 helped resolve some of this by putting her outside of her comfort zone more and highlighting her vulnerability, cynicism, and uncertainty (whereas Chloe at 19 kind of doesn't give a shit and dives head first into everything and doesn't care what anyone thinks). I also really love the multiple ways you've referenced that Chloe was originally a “nerd” like Max, and has gradually been straying away from that – and yet, it's still part of who she is (and ends up showing itself later on in LiS1, like how she seems to know more about time travel theory than Warren does). In particular, I loved how she pulls up different characters' web search histories – something that doesn't specifically take much effort, but that most people wouldn't think to do. This in and of itself was a really clever way of adding more to character development for those involved. (“why won't puppy eat steak” is hilarious to me and I can't get over it for some reason) The entire scene with Mikey, Drew, and Damon was wonderful. I loved the multiple outcomes and how none of them are specifically good, and any of them can feel in character for Chloe. I think Damon's character feels a little one dimensional here, BUT the context makes sense – he wants his fucking money. He's collecting debts after suffering a huge monetary loss. Of course he's going to be single-minded. As a side note, I loved the small but significant bit re: Damon's e-mail to Frank. Props to whoever came up with that. What a brilliantly subtle way of telling us so much about Damon's true character and his relationship with Frank. Going back to the conflict at the dorm, I loved that you took a bully character who appeared simple and effortlessly fleshed him out enough to feel legitimately believable with real motives. I loved how I was able to figure out the passcode to his lock organically given everything I had seen, and how I then used that knowledge to express what I felt would be in his best interests in the conflict – even though, as my girlfriend pointed out, it might not have been the best long-term outcome. I wish we'd seen more of Mikey and Steph, but what was there was still good. Steph's brief convo with Chloe I saw coming in a good way, and I really liked how you presented it. I liked the bits we got with Samantha and Skip, as well, thought I'm wondering where you're going with Samantha and Nathan. I was actually really frustrated with the Backtalk sequence with Skip, but then, I think that was the whole point. Speaking of, I really didn't like Backtalk in Ep1, but it was overall much better here. In Ep1, Backtalk was like some weird 'Be an Asshole' thing, and it felt weird how the game inherently encouraged you to do this. In Ep2, there were multiple times where I felt unsure if Backtalk was 'the best' way to go, and even then, most of its uses felt much more organic. It wasn't just about being a jerk to make someone feel bad, there was often some organic purpose to it – talking Victoria out of being in the play in a way that made her feel like it was her own decision; trying to get info out of Frank; trying to get into a dorm you weren't supposed to be in; trying to stick up for Rachel in the face of discipline, or trying to help her confront her father. In every case, there was an interpersonal motivation – Chloe wasn't doing it for something she specifically wanted, or just to make someone feel bad, but to try and do something for someone else. Also, they felt more like arguments, or ways of manipulating someone, rather than straight up insults. In some ways, it reminded me of things in TellTale's The Walking Dead Season 2, using more manipulative dialogue to resolve a situation rather than just brute-forcing things. This also contributes toward the theme of 'influence' regarding Chloe being influenced by Rachel so quickly and easily that she's even picking up some of Rachel's tactics (which, one could argue, she uses later on when she's older). This being said, I'm hoping that in Episode 3 we're given a more high-stakes situation that can be resolved using those more manipulative mannerisms, which gives the Backtalk mechanic a “climax” of sorts.

I like the way that you've been able to build this sense of supernatural occurrences without actually showing anything supernatural. The All-Seeing-Eye, the recurring Raven imagery, the weird shit going on with Chloe and others seeming to be having mysterious, prophetic dreams (even Elliot and Frank seem to be having them), the way the ash fall at the end of the episode foils the snowfall at the end of Ep1 of Life is Strange. This builds to a fascinating moment at the end of the episode where, for the first time, perspective SHIFTS from Chloe to Rachel, only for a few seconds, but in a really neat way that leads you to FEEL like something supernatural is about to happen, only for it not to. In a way, this feels like what your overall story could be about in a sense, though it'd be downright odd at this point to have NO answers or resolution regarding what I described above. One of the original game's biggest flaws was how it drummed up mystery only to leave things unexplained or unresolved in ways that damaged the actual plot. Dream sequences don't necessarily do this, but with how much emphasis you've put on them and the Raven/Eye imagery, I feel like there must be a purpose you have here – especially if members of your staff are getting ravens tattooed on their bodies. Naturally, Rachel's mom seems tied to all of this, if not the origin point of it. And I can't help but wonder if we'll even get a perspective shift near the end of the story from Rachel's point of view, if only to help imply or insinuate some things that tie into unanswered elements of Max's story. Speaking of Max, I was much more happy with the 'letters' in this episode, as they spend very little time needlessly bashing a character who wasn't even present, and more time on Chloe quickly becoming obsessed with Rachel – which all makes sense with the arc you seem to be going for. I liked the extra allusions to Chloe's future with Max, such as the maze and William's remark about a “beauty” to come in the future. It's such a complicated thing to tackle – and trust me, I've spent two years and hundreds of thousands of words trying to tackle it myself with these same characters – but I finally have come to a place where I can appreciate the balance you've managed to find between supporting the good elements Chloe and Rachel had going for them, while also implying the bad elements and the reasons why Chloe would develop feelings for Max later on. On a personal level, I relate with Chloe a lot in regards to her relationships (I relate with Max in a lot of ways, too, but that's a separate matter). I have lived through both long term and short term experiences of passion, romantically and platonically. And I have been romantically involved with people who remind me of Rachel. And I think that's part of why I just...don't like her, personally. BUT I am at a place now, after this episode, where I like her as a CHARACTER, even if I don't like her as a fictional person. I never can fully let my guard down around her, but can totally understand why Chloe would (and did), and have been there. And now that I have the context of this episode, I can finally start to see what 'the point' of this story seems to be, which makes me very curious to see how it is resolved. Lastly, again, great job using mocap and facial animation to heighten realism for a lot of scenes. While I noticed more “flat” moments than before, it never detracted from the important moments having that level of detail to make them bring out an extra layer of inevitability. From Chloe knocking at a dartboard to finger-gun gestures, to subtle but complex expressions, just a lot of great expressive details going on here. On that note, I noticed a real improvement in Rhianna’s performance. She felt like she wasn’t trying to mimic Ashly Burch or Ellen Page and was instead just finding her own interpretation of the role, and it works MUCH better. In a way, I still feel a constant sense of ‘this isn’t exactly Chloe’ but not in a bad way, just a...different way. Instead of feeling distracted by her actress being different, I felt instead like I was being more absorbed into this alternate interpretation of the character. Both Hannah and Ashly needed some time to fill into their roles before ‘the good stuff’ really came out in their performances, so I’m really looking forward to what Rhianna might pull off in Episode 3, and what she can do in the future after this role, when she isn’t burdened by the complexities of this kind of situation. I could go on, but I've ranted stream-of-conscious style long enough. I still have some more broad strokes issues with this game’s narrative, but then again, I have issues with the original game’s, as well -- and this story isn’t done yet, so I want to wait until I have the full context before I comment on those broad-scope design elements. I hope at least some of what I've written here is helpful to your team, and that my critical comments highlight just how good a job you guys did with this second entry. Regardless of how I end up feeling about Episode 3 of Before the Storm, I am really happy for your team and what they've pulled off here, and am very supportive of what you seem to be trying to do, as delicate a balancing act as it surely is.

[brakken]

Replayed Life is Strange ep. 5, thoughts below.

Buckle in - I had a lot to say.

I was nervous about revisiting this one. The first time I played, this ending wrecked me. And I mean wrecked. I was in tears for hours. I had trouble sleeping for weeks. I couldn’t think about the game without wanting to cry. I wanted to draw fan art for it, but couldn’t without breaking down. In many ways, I’m still affected by it. This game changed me.

So, I was nervous. And not just because of how hard it hit me the first time, but I was nervous about how I’d react in replaying. Would I notice something I didn’t the first time, that would ruin the experience for me? Would I cry as much? And if I didn’t, would that mean that I didn’t like it as much? How much of that original feeling was satisfaction, and how much was disappointment?

-spoilers ahead for LiS Ep. 5-

I touched on this very briefly last time, but I want to talk about it further here, where it comes more into play: 

I do not like the Jefferson twist. Coupled with Rachel’s death, it is a shallow and uninteresting answer to her disappearance, regardless of their attempts to pretty it up with the Prescott’s involvement. Strip away the red herrings and tangled threads, and what you’re left with is a dead girl and a murderer. Jefferson becomes unrecognisable in his unveiled role - his tropey villain dialogue and mannerisms separate him so far from his earlier scenes that it may as well have been an all-new person. Maybe this was the intention, but it reads to me as utterly cliche. How frightening would he have been, had he kept his familiar composure? How much more menacing, now that his mannerisms are given a horrific context?

Even within the narrative, his portrayal in this episode feels completely wrong. Jefferson goes from a man with a sick passion for capturing true innocence, to one willing to murder multiple people. It is never understood that murder is part of his pattern. Rachel’s death was an accident at Nathan’s hands, yet now we have Jefferson killing him, Chloe, Victoria, and the intention to kill Max, all with nary a hint of remorse or doubt. He is just the bad guy now - plain and simple. And in a game where so much else is designed to be not so clean-cut, that’s... pretty boring.

With that out of the way, I do think the scenes themselves are done well. Awakening in the dark room is genuinely tense and scary - moreso with Victoria present. Desperately hopping in and out of photographs to different moments of captivity is incredibly effective - it packs on such helplessness and danger.

And even while not being thrilled with Jefferson as the villain, and while understanding it would soon fall apart, it is incredibly satisfying to help Max attain the following victories via time-hopping. A lot of the game focuses on retreading conversations with new information, and consequently, Max displays boosted confidence upon these repetitions. Returning to the first scene is where this is at its peak. She knows everything - and she’s powerful. It’s also in parts like this where I would like to applaud the designers for having a clear vision from the outset (even if I wasn’t entirely thrilled with aspects of that vision). 

A really strong story-telling tool is introducing a solution before the problem arrives, to trick the audience into thinking it’s unimportant until the reveal. Having us take the selfie right at the start of the game is a great use of this. What seemed like just a moment in a scene becomes absolutely vital - but only after we discover we can rewind with photographs. (this is also why the ep.4 Warren moment feels so weirdly deliberate. We already know how her powers work by this point so we’re paying attention every time a new photo is taken.)

--

I’d been put the ending off for a while. 

Once I played up to the art gallery, I took a break and then just... left it there. Left Max in a peaceful moment.

I wasn’t ready.

But lately it seemed like the real world was telling me to return to it. After a week with no breeze, the wind began picking up, and it looked like there could be rain. I found myself idly doodling Chloe and Max in my intervals between work. I had someone here ask me if I’d be writing thoughts for episode 5. I was discovering new music that aligned all too well with where I was at with the characters. 

So, I finally decided it was time, and sat down, and finished playing. Only the next morning did I realise I’d done so on October 11, the in-game day of the storm.

Before moving into the next act of the episode, I want to say I really appreciate the way they’ve sculpted so many different ways to apply Max’s rewind power. It’s great that they’re able to keep surprising me while not emptying their cache too quickly. However, I reaaally wish (and was expecting) that time-freezing would make a return in this finale. It’s used well in ep.2 with Kate, but I feel like it introduced a new threat that is never paid off. Once it’s established that Max’s power can weaken her to the point where it doesn’t function, there is now a looming danger for when that will happen again - maybe this time, the cost will be Chloe, or the town, or even Max herself. But it never does. The closest we get is when Chloe is shot at the end of ep.4, but the power's failure is more directly from Jefferson’s sedation, rather than a weakness on Max’s part. And when she does falter again, it manifests as a prolonged out-of-nowhere dream sequence. There’s some creative stuff present there, but it also stands as a missed opportunity to toy further with tangible peril.

On with the escape. Don’t have much to say here. I may not have been happy with his new portrayal, but it’s still satisfying to watch Jefferson get taken down.  It’s nice to see David on the same team as Max, and it’s a good start to a series of character farewell scenes.

Followed closely by a bad one.

Nathan is thrown to the wayside to an unforgivable degree here. He’s been pivotal in Max and Chloe’s connection uptil now, even though a lot of that happens off-screen. But as soon as he’s no longer the main threat, his presence, character, and life are all discarded. His phone message in the car provides some closure, but is far too little too late and serves more as insult to injury than any kind of saving face.

Meanwhile, Warren, a character with more screentime than Nathan but of relative unimportance to the main story, is given a spotlighted farewell. I don’t get this. I have no harsh feelings against Warren, but insofar as his relevance to Max and Chloe’s arcs, he is a sideliner. Since his primary presence has centred around a potential romance for Max, his farewell scene should be treated with an equal amount of focus. It really annoys me that you are forced to tell him about Max’s powers - there is no way to opt out of it, and all it leads to is him guilt-tripping Max with ‘Chaos Theory’ and ‘choosing the right thing’, which the game is about to throw at us anyway in the dream sequence. It’s also unjust to the scene’s purpose, which is a farewell. We may not fully know it, but we’re saying goodbye to these characters one by one. We’ve just come away from our farewells with Joyce and Frank, and all Warren wants to do is talk plot. But whatevs, I still hugged him.

The confession about letting William die was painful. I wasn’t predicting it to come up again, and by this point it felt like so long ago. And yet, it works. We’ve returned to a Chloe who’s early off of discovering Rachel’s death - and she doesn’t want to listen. And we need her to listen. Most conversations in the game can’t lead to a failure, but I find it really interesting that this one does. 

I’m very conflicted about the dream sequence. Conceptually, I love it. I love when games mess with their established order, and they’re certainly evoking a feeling of helplessness in me upon returning once again to that damn classroom. But, it rubs me the wrong way here, too. We’ve beaten the mini-boss of the game. We defeated Jefferson. Yet the final time we see him is here, forcing us to say words we don’t want to, and watch him take photos of Chloe with us strapped to a chair. I get this is Max internalising her insecurities... but we beat him. We’re onto the final boss, now - the storm. Jefferson is obsolete at this point, and there’s no rhyme or reason to show him in power again.

(sidebar: the bottle-collecting in the hide-and-seek segment was confusing and dumb and made me angry that they were still injecting completion rewards this late in the story)

I also don’t like the Dark Room sequence of the dream, because it villainises Chloe. All the other sequences present us with twisted versions of Arcadia Bay residents. Dead versions, cruel versions. We’re witnessing the weight of guilt that coincides with the coming choice, culminating in an encounter with the Other Max, and Chloe saving us from her. This should have been Chloe’s first appearance in the dream. The Dark Room sequence where she jeers at Max’s shortcomings seems so out of place with the rest of what is being said. I think this is especially noticeable given the following walk down memory lane, showing us everything we’ll lose on the alternate side of the choice. 

(sidebar: I wish that the walk had been done better - I never knew when to stop and listen to the voiceovers and when to continue onto the next highlighted moment, and it was always jarring whenever the dialogue got interrupted)

I was fully ready for Rachel to appear in this dream, in some form or another. With everything culminating, and Max messing more with time, coupled with how blunt they were to put Rachel in the ground in the previous ep, I was waiting and I was hoping. But she never showed. And I don’t understand why. As I said with Nathan, Rachel is integral in the centric plotline of Max and Chloe’s reunion. I need to stress this - even though she’s never seen on-screen, she is a dominating factor in our two main characters’ growth, and is little more than a footnote in this finale.

What we get instead at the end of this dream, is Other Max. I don’t have much to say about her. In my eyes she’s very much just a culmination of the dream thusfar. She doesn’t represent much to me beyond that, except a missed opportunity to meet Rachel and find out what the hell is going on.

Can we touch on that quickly, before the final scene? What the hell is going on? I don’t want to have everything bluntly spelled out, but... did the designers really feel like they’d laid enough groundwork that the answer should be obvious? When Chloe hamfistedly states it’s a mystery we’ll ‘obviously never figure out’... damn. That hurts. I mean, I have my own theory - I like it, and it’s the lens I choose to view the story through. But it’s unfair to put it on the players to do this heavy-lifting. We relied on the designers to draw the path for us to follow, and they took us to a dead end.

So let’s talk about the final choice. Even in replaying, and with the dream sequence’s attempts to balance the scales last-minute, my decision here still remained the same, for a couple of reasons. The first being the game’s true title, as I have mentioned earlier - ‘Save Chloe: The Game’. And hey, this doesn’t suddenly change in the final episode. This was, for me, the fixed goal as soon as I caught onto it. And to save Chloe here, she needs to be able to live past her grief. Contrasted to the alternate Chloe, whose prison was inescapable - saving her came from letting her go. But here, we need to hold on. 

Hold on, hold on, hold on.

My second main reason is Max’s character growth, and the overall narrative. This young girl is warned of a coming storm, and is then given time-altering powers. And she is constantly asking why. Not just why she got powers, but what she is meant to learn from having them. On the surface, what she learns is ‘don’t mess with time a bunch because a storm will happen’ and with that you can lean either way on the choice. But if I was going to carve right to the heart, I see the story saying ‘you can’t fix all your mistakes, but you can move through the consequences and grow in the aftermath.’ Every problem she's faced in the story uptil this point, she has tampered with to some degree in order to solve. And to do so, again, for this final decision, would make her arc amount to nothing. This needs to be different from letting William die, otherwise the game could have ended there. There is no easy decision, but the storm is here. All the pieces lie where they fell, both good and bad. 

I’m tearing this damn photograph.

All that said, I can’t and won’t fault anyone for going the other way. I haven’t played or watched the alternate ending, so far all I know it performs well and ticks story checkboxes that I can’t see over here on the ‘bae’ side.

This choice felt and still feels like the right one to me. From outside the narrative, I can certainly weigh the options and see sacrificing Chloe as the more viable. (though if you want to talk pragmatism, there is absolutely no reason why either of them should think that letting Chloe die should fix everything)

But while it’s important to ask ‘what would I do?’, it’s also been immensely important to me in these playthroughs to ask ‘what would Max do?’, or further, ‘what could Max do?’

So that was my choice. As I said at the beginning, I was nervous as to how I’d feel at the end, after having been so deeply affected the first time. And now, after crying through the whole epilogue, I found myself wondering if I’d cried enough. I looked up the scene online and watched it again, and cried. And then again, and cried. But what was this empty feeling? Is this what it felt like before, or was something blocking me from experiencing it properly?

After stepping outside into the 4am light, and then another rewatch, I realised I was, in a way, messing with time. Trying to force things, just like Max was. I even had my own Other Max in my head, making me question my own thoughts and feelings. So it was time to let it be what it was, and move on. I couldn’t recreate my first play, but I could let myself get swept up in this one.

Since finishing the game, it’s been raining non-stop here. I’ve kept inside, surrounded by the aftermath of this playthrough.

Playing this game changed me. For all it did right and all it did wrong, I was affected. It’s the first time in my life that I’ve consciously noted a tangible shift in who I am as a person. It’s brought me closer to my emotions, and has altered my creativity. It made me revise one of my comic ideas into a game - something I would never have considered on my own.

Even with all these thoughts, I reckon this comic I made accurately sums up my whole experience. 

And as I’ve done each time, here are my favourite moments from this episode:

-'I’ll always be with you.’ ‘Forever.’

-Clasping hands, as the storm rages.

-Max, unable to watch, leaning into Chloe, who looks on with newfound strength.

-Driving through the town, now in pieces. Max, too, in pieces.

-Max’s weak smile when Chloe moves to comfort her. It’s going to be okay. They’re together.

--

(heck, I cried just typing those out, I am so done, haha)

To anybody who read this far - thank you so, so much. This game holds a lot of emotional value to me, and hence these write-ups are probably the most personal thing I’ve put out here for people to see. So thank you for taking the time to look at this. I hope you’re having a wonderful day.

Wah, this was all in preparation for the first episode of Before the Storm, and now episode 2 is about to be released. I gotta dig in!

As always, here’s a lil sketch <3

[dalekofchaos]

Life Is Strange Scream au

So I've been thinking of doing an au where Scream happens in Arcadia Bay. LIS has a great cast of characters that could fit Scream so much!

Max has no powers. Warren is the Randy of this au. Victoria is a Gale like figure. David is the anti-Dewey. No one is safe.

"Opening kill". Rachel Amber. Rachel is waiting for Chloe. She gets a phone call and it's someone who is enamored by her. Rachel is the most popular girl in school and everyone in Arcadia Bay loves her. He calls her about her favorite scary movie. Rachel has good taste and says Twin Peaks or The Shining. This caller just wants to see what her insides are like.

The creepy stalker breaks into the Amber house and seemingly stabs her.

There is blood everywhere and when James and Rose Amber returns they are horrified. But the person who broke into their home and hurt their daughter sneaks behind them and kills them.

It's reported that Rachel Amber and her parents were butchered. But there is no trace of Rachel.

Max is horrified about the news about Rachel. Chloe doesn't believe she died and convinces Max to help her find Rachel.

Max is attacked in her dorm and is saved by Warren and Brooke.

In light of the news of Rachel's disappearance and Max's attack, the Vortex Club only gets meaner. Nathan threatens Max and her friends and then Chloe gets up and kicks Nathan in the balls.

Viral vid still happens and Max is unable to save Kate.

David treats everyone like a suspect. From the Vortex Club, to the teachers, to Max, to any student and to his own step-daughter.

Max, Chloe and Warren altogether investigate the killings.

They find Rachel's phone and find threatening and obsessive messages from Frank Bowers. Treating her like an object, demanding sex and one message from a private number threatening to kill her and her family if she doesn't reply.

The Vortex Club hosts a party. And it turns into a fucking bloodbath. The killers kill Hayden, Zach, Logan, Courtney, Taylor, and Courtney. and Stella, Dana, Juliet, Daniel, Luke, Justin and Trevor severely injured.

The last thing Max and Chloe can see before the cops get here is Nathan running away with blood all over his hands.

Max calls out Victoria for Kate's suicide. Victoria is defensive but remorseful. She didn't mean for Kate to die or any of her friends to die. Victoria decides to join Max to bring justice for everyone who died.

Joyce is working the graveyard shift and the Price household is empty. Chloe uses this opportunity to get Max, Warren, Victoria and Brooke to investigate and come up with a probable conclusion on who the killers are. Warren pulls a Randy and uses horror movie logic to help with the investigation.

All signs point to Nathan Prescott and Frank Bowers.

David is called away. Principal Wells discovers that Mark Jefferson is missing.

Max and Chloe confronts Frank. It does not go well. Frank shoots Chloe in the leg, but Chloe shoots him in the dick and lets him bleed out.

Brooke is attacked and Chloe goes to get help.

Max is attacked and chased by Ghostface.

Warren helps her and they barricade inside Chloe's house. In the heat of the moment, Max kisses Warren.

Chloe is begging for Max to let her in and Max does. and then Nathan forces himself in too.

Nathan insists he is not the killer. He ran because his friends were dead and had his blood on their hands but he did not kill them. No one believes him. "GODDAMN IT CAULFIELD, I DIDN'T KILL ANYONE!"

Chloe takes out her gun. "I know" and shoots Nathan.

"Welcome to the final act."

And then someone in a Ghostface costume comes down the stairs. They take the mask off. It's Rachel Amber. She shoots Warren(knocking him out, not killing him)

Chloe smirks as she kisses Rachel. "Surprised, Max?"

"Chloe...why"

"Because this town destroyed my life. My father died and YOU. LEFT. ME! Then my mom hops onto Step-Fucker, lets him abuse me and covers it up. Five years to the date where everything went wrong"

Rachel's turn.

"My father lied to me my entire life. Turns out my mother wasn't my real mother and he had my birth mother killed before I could even meet her. Oh and if that's not enough EVERYONE used me. The Vortex Club. Frank. Nathan and Jefferson. Speaking of"

Rachel brings out Jefferson and Frank and shoots them both.

"See Mark here raped me. He raped Kate and was gonna do the same to you. The perfect scapegoat, right Chloe?"

"That's right babe. Jefferson and Frank are predators and Nathan was found redhanded at the crime scene. They have me and you at their mercy and then Rachel heroically returns and stops the killers."

"We could've just killed David, Frank, Mark and Nathan, but we both decided. Why not make a movie out of this?"

"What's going to happen to me?"

"That all depends on you Max. Admit it. You wanted the Vortex Club dead. LOOK WHAT THEY DID TO KATE! I don't want to kill you Max, you and Warren can make it out as the sole survivors for all we care. All we're asking is look the other way and let us get away with it."

Ending 1. Max, Warren and David stops Chloe and Rachel.

Max starts by calling them out. They didn't just hurt their abusers and the Vortex Club, they hurt innocents. People not involved with their abuse or Kate's death and that she'd rather die than stop them. Victoria and David rushes in and Chloe has Max held hostage. David subdues Rachel and before Chloe can kill Max, Warren stops her and David subdues Chloe. It's all over.

Final scene is a callback to the cutscene from the Scream script. Randy asked Sidney out and Sidney says "Obly if it's a nice Meg Ryan film" in this au Warren asks Max out and Max says "Only of it's a nice cheesey sci-fi movie" "Let's Go Ape" "Let's go ape!"

Ending 2. Max plays along.

Max agrees, she doesn't want Chloe to get away with it, but she can't let her or Rachel die. They were justified in why they did it. Max also has one condition. Let her kill Victoria. It was her viral vid that got Kate killed. Victoria and David arrive, but they find Max and Warren knocked out while Rachel gives her and Chloe's stories. David seemingly believes it but is skeptical and when Victoria checks on Max, Max slits her throat. "that was for Kate." Before David can get his gun out. Chloe stabs him in the throat and repeatedly. Rachel cheers her on and after Chloe's finished, they embrace and kiss passionately.

The police arrive. Max tells them all that Mark Jefferson, Frank Bowers and Nathan Prescott are the killers. Their last victims were Victoria Chase and David Madsen and she and Warren would've died if it weren't for herself, Chloe and Rachel.

They got away with it.

Warren has trouble remembering what happened. Max tells him the story. That Nathan shot him, Jefferson was going to kill her and Chloe and then Rachel came to the rescue. Warren believes it and glad they are okay.

Max, Chloe, Rachel and Warren leave Arcadia Bay together with Rachel holding onto Chloe as they drive away and Max holding Warren's hand

[therealestvc]

Abridged Max chapter 4

Chloe, Kate, and Victoria stood in front of other Max who looked like she wanted to be somewhere else. "What do you want?" She spoke with an irritated tone and started tapping her foot hoping the time would go by quicker. "Maxine, we need to know where you came from" Victoria asked while the other just stood by her. Other Max rolled her eyes and cringed at the sound of Victoria's voice. "First off Vicky...mah name is mahx, who the fuck is Maxine? And second you should know this by now, ughhh when a mommy and daddy love each other very much they g-" other Max answer before being cut off by Victoria. Victoria put her hand to stop other Max describing the birds and bees, she didn't want to hear that discussion again her nanny already told her that when she was younger. Kate and Chloe tried to muffle their laughs at Max's comment about the gift of life. "Ok...eww I already know that but I mean you're obviously not from here, what happened...no ugh...when did yo-ugh nevermind" Victoria finished throwing her arms up in frustration. Other Max smirked like she knew she had won, she started walking off leaving the other three confused. Once she is out of sight, Kate speaks up "now what do we do?" Turning towards the others, Victoria after her mind embarrassment just shrugs, Chloe sees this and jump in with an awfully good idea "let's watch the rest of that video series". Finding nothing better to do, they all go back to Victoria's room for another video watching session. After watching the second episode of the YouTube series, they all thought about other ways to get their Max back. "Ohh ohh I have an idea!! Pick on me!! Please please!!" Chloe started jumping up and down like a little kid. The other rolled their eyes cracking a smile at Chloe's antics "what is it Chloe!?" They said to her. Chloe sat down "well Vicky you said Max hit her head before she started acting different...soo what if the same thing happened to this Max and the only way to get her back to repeat the action?" She quickly said waiting for their responses. The other two looked at her confused, Chloe tends to do that when giving ideas. Victoria finally got what Chloe was saying and reassured Kate of it. The three devised a scheme to get other Max to come over there then they would knock her over the head with a book or fruit...the only hard part was getting Max to come to Kate's room willingly. Kate was the chosen one for the task, since other Max would've insulted Chloe that she would beat her up and other Max just didn't like Victoria. She was to approach other Max in the hallway and proposition her for a make out session. Kate was feeling rather nervous about that but they reassured her that it wouldn't happen. Everything was going according to plan, Kate approached other Max in the hallway. "Oh Max, I was just thinking about you and how we never got to make out and if you wanted to then I would be up for it" Kate saying internally cringing. Other Max looked thoughtfully about the offer 'I hope this isn't a trap' she thought before accepting the offer. Kate lead the way silently cheering because it had actually worked. Once they reached Kate's room, on the other side of the door stood Victoria and Chloe, Chloe had a big ass book in her hand...from the library. Once the door knob turned Chloe would hit other Max in the head. Simple task. Right? Wrong! Other Max decided it wasn't the right time to accept such an offer from Kate and said they could later, then mumbled something about going to go beat up Warren then left. Chloe still thought she was going to hit other Max in the head. So she was ready. Kate sighed walking back to her dorm room, she had forgotten about Chloe standing there with the big book ready to swing so when she opened her door she was met with a whack on her head sending her falling on her back. "Yes! Yes! We did it!!! We did it!!! Vicky did you see that? Kate did you se-oh" Chloe said then looked down to see Kate laying there with a big bump on her head, quickly they helped Kate up. Victoria went to the nurses to get her some ice. "Hehe, sorry about that bun bun...I thought you were Max, where is she?" Chloe asked rubbing the back of her neck. Kate sat down on her bed, Victoria had returned with the bag of ice and a towel to wrap the ice around. She took the ice and towel with a silent thank you. Putting the ice on the bump she winced "she said we could later then something about beating up Warren then left...ow by the way it's okay Chloe" she smiled at Chloe. Now they were at a total lose for what to do about the situation. They all put their heads together...thinking about what to do to get their Max back, 30 minutes have gone by with nothing. Victoria was walking back and forth, she realized something and stopped. 'The spell books', she got the others attention "Kate there has to be something in one of the spell books right?". She started looking for the right book prompting Kate and Chloe to look through. Kate found her old book on portals and other other universes. She dusted off the book, since her room was already turned into the lair they all sat down at the table, she flipped through the pages then found the portal spell it read: The Portal Spell One must enter and another must leave, (warning:if another's from another dimension enters their world with their regular in there then reality will be altered) That meant that it was certain to keep the other version of the person busy until their regular person was ready to return then they would simultaneously switch places. But who would be the right person for the task? Kate thought about Victoria but other Victoria from the abridged Arcadia Bay would get into a fight with abridged Max. It had to be Chloe. Kate prepped the spell ready, Chloe stood ready..to get abridged Chloe in their world, they would have place the portal somewhere that abridged Chloe would be so they could quickly swap. In the magic mirror ball, abridged Chloe was in the junkyard. Kate spoke the spell words then the door appeared, they all hoped that this would work. Chloe stepped into the portal door with abridged Chloe entering their world. "Yo yo yo! What is up my homedogs?!" She spoke with a surfer type voice. 'Oh boy' they both thought before greeting this Chloe. She was easier to deal with their Chloe. Other Max walked back to Kate's room, she was ready for the makeout session she was about to knock on her door then she heard a familiar voice. 'Oh mah gosh, is that mah best friend Chloe?' She thought knocking on Kate's door and was confirmed right about her best friend Chloe who stood by Victoria, the two looked at each other and ran to hug each other. "Chloe I'm so glad you are here! This place is just soooo boringggg like it has more rules than our school. Let's leave this dump!" Other Max quips. Other Chloe nodded her head, she said they could go back to their place with that fancy gadget that she came out. Oh boy they were talking about the portal. Kate and Victoria remembered about the rule about not having the other person go in. They had to find a way to distract those two while Chloe was getting their Max back. Victoria thought for a minute then got her phone out texting Courtney to get her some weed and to put it in the junkyard. Once Courtney gave her the okay, she got the other Max and other Chloe attention. "Hey you guys! How would you like going on a treasure hunt?!" She said with such enthusiasm to convince the other of her friends. Both of their faces looked like they just won the lottery. "Hell yeah!" They said. Victoria quickly made a map that was foolproof and had Courtney put clues in the select places. It lead straight to the junkyard where their prize was waiting for them. She gave them the map once they left, she let out a big sigh before crashing down on Kate's couch. Kate gave her a soft smile. 'What trouble could those two get into?'. The other two versions of Chloe and Max set out their little adventure,the first stop was to look at the totem pole for the next clue, it read:splish splash let's go swimming...the swimming pool of course! They ran to the swimming pool both happy to spend time with each other. "Yo Max I missed you so much, that other Max is boring and doesn't want to smoke the Mary Jane" other Chloe expressed as they walked to find the next clue. Other Max snickered "likewise, most people at this town are lame and don't know how to have fun..I missed you too" they found the next clue, it lead them to the train tracks. Once they reached the train tracks, other Max recounted the time that other Chloe got her boot stuck in them..the two spent that time laughing, the next clue was on the train tracks it lead them to other Chloe's hangout where the treasure was. They walked into other Chloe's hangout and looked for the treasure. They searched for ten minutes before other Chloe shouted "YO! MAX ITS DA MARY JANE!!!" Other Max turned her attention to where other Chloe was. The two gave knowing looks, automatically deciding they would smoke at Chloe's house. They arrived at Chloe's house in Chloe's truck, rushed upstairs and started smoking the couple of joints Victoria left them. David being the person he is, immediately noticed the smell and where it was coming from. "Chloe" he said angrily. The two friends were relaxing on Chloe's bed when they heard a hard knock on Chloe's door with a loud voice. "CHLOE!! WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT TOKING UP IN HERE!?" David yelled through the door. Other Chloe retorted back "ahh! Will you chill out bro and go find some terrorists?" David horrified by that voice yelled Joyce's name and then scrambled off saying something about knowing the weed would do this to them. Joyce laughed at David's statement, "oh David leave them alone...stop being so paranoid" she even walked to Chloe's room to ensure David that he was losing it. She opened Chloe's door, she spoke "girls could you please stop smoking in here?". Other Chloe wide eyed replied "oh my gosh mom that's how your voice sounds?! Whoaaa". Joyce backed away from the door then fainted. The other Chloe and other Max just shrugged then lit up another joint. In another universe, it was just like Arcadia Bay. Chloe stood in the junkyard, she couldn't text Victoria and Kate because an interference with the different universes. She thought scared out of her mind 'where are you maxiepad?' Then headed to her truck, determined to get their Max back.

[tangent101]

Again... first, I do not consider Before the Storm to be the same universe as the original LiS. Because there are multiple issues that arise thanks to the entirely-too-idyllic life of Rachel Amber. And here is one of the truly big ones: the police are extremely protective of people in the law enforcement field and even a corrupt official who was thrown out of office will still be looked after by the police.

What does this matter? Simply this: if Rachel Amber went missing, then the police would continue to search for her even if her parents were blase about things. The reason is you don't let criminals get away with harming the families of law enforcement, because then criminals will start getting ideas about attacking cops where they are most "vulnerable" - their families.

In addition, it doesn't matter what ending you choose for BtS, Rachel is still abandoned in both endings. This just doesn't work well when you consider Rachel's family is actively looking for Rachel in the William Lives timeline. And when you look at the two timelines, there is one huge difference. In the core timeline, Chloe Price is part of Rachel's life. In the William Lives timeline... they never met.

Why should that matter? Well, having Rachel's family seeking Rachel in the William Lives timeline allows for us to know Rachel is missing in both timelines. (Honestly, wouldn't it be more interesting and fun if Rachel had been alive in the William Lives timeline and had been dating alt-Max? And Rachel urges Max to change things back, and to find her? It would be even more tragic for Max afterward to know that Rachel is dead, that she'll never see her again.)

Anyway. Why would Rachel's parents have nothing to do with Rachel if Chloe were a part of Rachel's life? There is an answer, and it is a tragic one but it also explains why Rachel wanted so badly to get out of Arcadia Bay: Rachel's parents were homophobes. And Rachel was out in the core timeline due to Chloe.

So. Chloe either ignored the homophobia or just didn't realize it. And it could also be the parents held their tongue around Chloe because Chloe was very in-your-face, and their prejudices were more the quiet sniping type, an emotionally-draining household that makes Rachel desperate to get out. But it's not like Chloe's household situation is any better, David is a douche and Joyce is quietly abusive. So Rachel started looking for other outlets, other means of escape.

Let's go one step further. Rachel was a straight-A student. She could have easily gotten a full scholarship to any college she wanted. She could escape that way. But what if she didn't want to go to college?

I mean, let's face it. School sucks. Few of us would return to school if we could get away with it. College is nice for the added freedom, but these days it has become an obligation. If you don't go to college then you're never going to get anywhere in your life, or so we're told. And Rachel has been hip-deep in high school drama for years now.

That would even explain why she looked into becoming a model. She had a teacher who was using her as a photography tool, and he likely flattered her, had her thinking she could make it because this was the sort of thing he did. He manipulated girls and used them.

So... getting back to the core question... why did Chloe not talk to Rachel's parents after Rachel vanished? In all likelihood once Rachel was gone, they stopped caring. Rachel was shameful. She was gay. (Doesn't matter she was bi, that's still gay to many folk.) So they probably told Chloe that Rachel had chosen to leave and they weren't interested in tracking her down, though they likely put it in... more socially acceptable language.

Obviously when Chloe wasn't a part of Rachel's life (in the William Lives timeline) then Rachel wasn't outed as bi and they cared. Their sweet innocent little girl was missing. Thus they continue looking for her and urging the police to search for her.

Getting back to BtS one last time... given what we saw of James Amber and what he had done for Rachel in the past (carrying her when she was hurt and honestly even taking Rachel with him when he'd seen Sera was spiraling downward into drug abuse rather than abandon both of them), I cannot see him abandoning his daughter. It would be out of character for the man we saw.

Mark Jefferson was not a brilliant man. The only reason Max and Chloe never realized he was a threat was because he was a teacher (and also a favorite of Max's). Given there were already rumors flying about that he had been sleeping with Rachel... it is likely that the police, working for a District Attorney (or even former DA), would have brought Jefferson in for questioning, and would have solved the case fairly quickly. So for all of the cute moments in BtS, it fails to sync up with LiS itself. The writers at Dontnod undoubtedly had a different idea in mind for Rachel's parents.

Or at least so I hope. Because one aspect of me as a writer is to create extra material that never sees the light of day, to craft an actual foundation from which the story stands firm. You may never see that foundation, but it provides the basis from which the story itself will stand. Or you could think of it as an iceberg - there is a lot of ice under the surface holding up the piece you see above the waves. If we ever to see the notes written up on each character, we'd likely see so much more than had been revealed in the game.

Why do you think Max and/or Chloe never talked to Rachel’s parents in the original game?? Or even considered doing it? I know Chloe had said they had already moved on or something, but from Max’s POV it still might’ve been worth a shot.

I might have missed something from the game, but far as I know, they never bring up Rachel’s parents again after Max asks about them.

I think Chloe knew it was a lost cause, and I think Max trusts Chloe on the matter.

Chloe got to know Rachel's family…a little too well in Before The Storm. She knows James is stubborn, and Rose likes to live in her fantasy land. It would be hard to change their minds if they were in denial. Plus, Chloe might have broken up their family, so her bond with James might have been to destroyed for them to even consider searching together.

As for Max, I assume that she just takes Chloe's word for it. She doesn't totally trust Chloe to be an unreliable narrator when it comes to Rachel (EX: Chloe says multiple times that she thinks Rachel is dead, yet Max still has some thoughts/dialogue that implies she thinks it's possible that Rachel might have left town.) but Chloe is clearly really desperate to find her and it's easy to believe that she be helping Rachel's parents if they were making an effort.

Plus, Max is super observation. She likely noticed that Chloe was the only one hanging up fliers. She also likely noticed that no one was making a big fuss about Rachel expect for Chloe. The absence of Rachel's parents can be felt through the game because they're literally doing nothing when it seems like they should be doing everything. I'm sure Max notices that too.

[distantidea]

Just, some talk about Life is Strange: Before the Storm an shit

Obviously, spoilers (also bad English because I’m fucking tired and I have a headache that’s fucking killing me. Fuck)

I honestly don’t remember how I found LiS in the first place but I’m so fucking thankful I did? I checked in Steam, I spend 18 hours on LiS. I played one full run with kinda neutral romance decisions and had a second full on Chloe run on like start of episode 3, I think? I enjoyed LiS a lot, so going into BtS I didn’t know what to expect. 

Well, BtS didn’t have any problems with fulfilling my expectations.

Until episode 3, but we’ll come back to it later.

Episode 1 was honestly love on the first sight? While LiS had more ‘implied’ relationship between Max and Chloe, BtS didn’t give any shit to being ‘implied’ and ‘toned down’. Literally winking to Chloe on their second meeting? Ye, gay. The dreams with William hardcore fucked me up, the first crash? With the zoom to Williams face? Please never again I fucking cried. I seriously loved the park part, you could feel how good Rachel and Chloe were getting along, so the sudden drama felt even worse. I loved the junkyard scene and Chloe’s raw emotion and then going after Rachel.

Episode 2 was amazing. I loved the act (me being a huge Tempest fan) and the junkyard bit with the car and shack. I still don’t like the principal and Rachel’s fathers a dick. Chloe please don’t vandalize your schools toilets, someone has to clean it you fuck... I loved getting to explore the junkyard and finding shit for the car. Rachel is amazing! I didn’t mention this earlier but I seriously loved getting to choose Chloe’s clothing. Act!!!!!!!!!!!!! ‘’Chloe, please do it for me’’ ‘’...fuck’’ SAME CHLOE, SAME. I don’t like people going off the script but fuck it, it got so fucking gay and gross I don’t mind oml. The street scene? F U C K Y E S! The Amber house, no thanks :^/ 

Episode 3. ... ... I didn’t like episode 3 as much as 1 and 2 but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t fucking good too. Okay so. I liked the explaining scene at the start, it was cool. I still hate Rachel’s father. The bedroom scene was great, just so soft and full of love. Chloe dying her hair (well, part) was nice and I liked her episode 3 clothes best. The scene between Joyce and David? I liked it, tho I didn’t like the David scene after it but okay. Fixing Chloe’s car was fun and I liked how coupleTM Rachel and Chloe looked. Damon can rot in a shallow grave for all I fucking care. I understand the need to have plot and get story going but it’s fucking uncomfortable to watch 15 years old girl get stabbed. The time lapse at the hospital hurt me so much which is good that we had the light scene with Steph and Norths. I didn’t like the part in Mr. Ambers office at all. And then you add Eliot in it? Yeah no thanks. I was kinda ready to forgive him until they revealed that he was working with Damon the get rid of Sera. Meeting Damon and what do you know, more violence against 16 years old girl, it feels like were back in LiS episode 5. Talking with Sera was kinda meh, after having Frank get rid of Damon off screen. I told Rachel the truth. Had it been like, ‘tell her that Chloe met Sera but she didn’t agree to meet Rachel’ or ‘tell Rachel that you didn’t meet Sera’ I would have thought about it, but I felt like the choice was ‘tell Rachel that her father had a deal with a known drug dealer who stabbed her to kill a person, her mother’ or ‘don’t tell her shit :)’. You can miss me with letting Rachel live in dark and having Mr. Amber get away without problems.  I loved the end scene moments and I might have gotten about 30 screenshots. The last scene was fucking uncalled for tho.

Chloe: I loved having choice to decide what she wears, I liked fixing the car with her and just doing normal things. I saw myself in her, trying to find your own place, falling in love and trying to figure future out. Rachel: Gonna sound cliche, but I saw my girlfriend in Rachel. I loved Rachel a lot and thinking about how both of them end up in LiS breaks me. Only thing I don’t like about her is the basic bitch ‘what, you’re not my real parents even tho you raised me for the last 13+ years? Fuck you I’m gonna find my real parent/s’ but like, I dislike all characters that have that plot so. Joyce and David: Okay. Sure David tried to understand Chloe and I liked being able to agree to try and start again with him but he just wasn’t so likable. Joyce was kinda :/ but I understand how she was feeling about Chloe but also no... Rachel’s parents: Fuck Mr. Amber. And I didn’t like how Rose doubted being able to call herself Rachel’s mom anymore... You’re her mother and that’s it. Sera: I have hard time with understanding her. Also like for real, why couldn’t she just wait for Rachel and Chloe after the act? She was there and it would have been good try.  Damon: I would pay money just to see Frank dig a grave and dumb his body there.  Frank: I like Frank’s character and how he cares about Chloe on some level but I can’t get over selling drugs to underaged teens but whatever, he’s fictional.

The more I think, I would have loved this game if it was literally just fluff between Chloe and Rachel. Just dealing with normal teenager stuff, restoring Chloe’s car and having fun in their junkyard shack... Just give me Before the Storm Minus Damon Merrifucker and Sera, where Mr. Amber isn’t perfect but he’s trying to do the best to everyone while not dealing with criminals. Also no Eliot thanks.