#no i did not know i was inviting some hardcore drug dealer into my home this was a lesson learned

[ratnurse]

Tell me why I invited a tinder date over on a work night and they showed up high as fuck, did lines of coke with me, then said they had to run because they had a big drug deal to go to, asked me IF I WAS A COP, and wouldnt even tell me their name??? And now I'm sitting in bed alone at 1 am fucking high and unsatisfied because we didnt even fuck because my period arrived literally as they were driving to my house. What the fuck is my lifeeeee

[dalekofchaos]

My problems with LIS:BTS

I love Before the Storm, but I do have some problems with the game in relation to the first game. Here I will explain the problems i had with BTS and why I think Deck Nine did not understand the characters. This is very long, if anyone has the time to read it all, I’d like you to finish to the end! 

1. Continuity issues

Rachel’s parents. I always got the feeling Rachel’s parents were neglectful, which REALLY showed when Chloe said they are in denial that Rachel is missing. Rachel having neglectful parents and Chloe having an abusive stepfather and abuse enabling mother, would show just why Rachel and Chloe wants to leave Arcadia Bay. What happens in BTS? Rachel has kind and loving parents and a bio mom that is a horrible representation of drug addiction(everything about how D9 wrote Sera sends a horrible message, wtf D9?) and all of sudden James just pretends that Rachel isn’t missing? The fuck? Also, Rachel’s parents are not called James or Rose. Rachel’s student information we see in Episode 3 about her parents is not readable, but he Initial letters of the names written within the Parent(s) field on Rachel’s file do not appear to match the names James or Rose (or even Sera)

Rachel’s address. Rachel’s  Blackwell Student Information Sheet shows Rachel’s home address. Rachel Amber has an address of “6 Sa(?)u/n(?)tle Road, Arcadia Bay, Oregon”. There is a piece of paper covering the Home Address field, but we can make out a “gon” from the end of “Oregon”, so we know it is within the state. As her address in the top-right corner is different to what appears to be the dormitory address on the other student files, we can assume that “6 Sa(?)u/n(?)tle Road” is implying her home address (just like on Chloe’s file). However, in Before the Storm, her home address is 2420 Blackfriars Road, Arcadia Bay, Oregon.

My friend/one of  my Amberprice favs @thelittle-scribbler​‘s idea of Rachel’s parents makes more sense. “the idea I had of Rachel is that she was a relocated student from Cali from a very problematic absent family who didn’t give a fuck about her, coz well they gave up looking for her! And if her dad was the city da, he would have never gave up on the search and also, he would have known about her being involved with drug dealers. Unless he got his ass fired after hiring those guys to kill his ex wife lol”

Chloe’s blue hair. In Episode 3 of Before the Storm, Chloe is shown dyeing her hair blue for the very first time. However, we know that in Life is Strange, Chloe had been dyeing her hair with a blue streak on or before her 16th birthday (two months before Before the Storm takes place). indicating that Chloe had already been using blue dye in her hair by the time of her 16th birthday. It would have made more sense if we had seen Chloe with a blue streak in Before the Storm Episode 1.

Max’s contact of Chloe. "You were happy to wait five years without a call, or even a text.“ In Before the Storm’s Episode 1, "Awake,” Chloe’s phone clearly shows that Max has been texting her during her time in Seattle and had even initiated text messaging after admitting to being “bad about emailing”. Max has texted Chloe on the following dates in November 2009: 2nd, 13th, and 28th. Max was supposed to have not emailed, called or text Chloe ever since she left for Seattle, it should end in  9/28/2008, but it began again a year later.

Joyce and David’s relationship.  In Before the Storm, David and Joyce are currently unmarried and had started dating not that long before the game’s events that are set in May 2010 (Chloe is 16 years old at this time). David is also about to move in to the Price household, which is seen happening by Episode 3. But in Life is Strange, a chronological timestreammontage shows that Joyce and David were already married before Chloe’s 16th birthday. A picture of a married Joyce and David appears prior to an image of Chloe on her 16th birthday in this timestream montage

The Blackwell problem. Victoria Chase’s sole reason for being at Blackwell is Mark Jefferson. Jeffershit is not in BTS. Victoria is introduced as a sophomore at Blackwell Academy in Before the Storm and wants to be in theater for…reasons, but the age for Victoria in the first game suggests she should be a freshman in BTS. Warren is a Blackwell student at age 13. Max is said to be a sophmore with Chloe in her own school in Seattle at the time, but problem there is Max turned 14 in 2009 after the September 1st cutoff date. This means that she wouldn’t be starting high school until September the following year (fall 2010). The normal age requirement to start high school as a freshman is age 14 (i.e. turning 14 before the September 1st cutoff). It is currently unknown why Max has advanced two grades in 2010. She has a 2.8 GPA on her 2013 student information sheet, which suggests she is a low B / C / high D student (not an exemplary student). Her GPA is also said to fluctuate and she acknowledged in 2013 that she should be doing better. and there’s the fact that Chloe is in Blackwell with some of the characters in the first game  and dialogue (or text messages) between these characters seems to suggest that she did not know them as fellow students or even classmates prior to the original game’s events. For example, Stella is in Chloe’s class photo, problem with that is that Stella doesn’t even know who Chloe is, she just refers to her as “some girl” Warren. Warren does not know who Chloe is at the beginning of Episode 2, yet in BTS class photo he is seen with Chloe.  Other dialogue gives the impression that Warren does not know Chloe beforehand. For example, the text messages Max receives from Warren in Episode 4 if she kissed Chloe/but declined Warren’s invitation to the drive-in or didn’t kiss Chloe/ but accepted Warren’s invitation.  There is no mention of the fact he knows Chloe from when she was going to Blackwell, her complete change of appearance, or that he’s surprised that Max knows her too! There are also a couple of points in Life is Strange where, if Warren knew Chloe from the past, he would have likely opened a dialogue with her about that it’s good to see her again or even asking how life is outside Blackwell. Not even Chloe seems to recognize Warren, as she refers to him simply as “your friend” to Max. Justin.  When Max encounters Justin at the Blackwell Campus in the first episode of Life is Strange, “Chrysalis”, she has the option to talk with him about Rachel and “her punk friend”, as Max does not yet know the identity of the blue-haired punk girl that she had saved in the bathroom earlier. "I can’t remember her name… But she was hot. Tats. Blue hair. Hardcore. She stopped hanging out with us after Rachel disappeared… or ran away.“ As we see in Life is Strange, Justin refers to Chloe in a very vague way as Rachel’s "punk friend” and as though he only knows her second-hand through Rachel. Yet the Before the Storm prequel game puts Justin in the same Blackwell student photograph as Chloe (standing directly in front of her), furthermore implying they are in the same classes. He would have had frequent contact with Chloe as a classmate of just that handful of students. Also in Before the Storm, Chloe interacts with Justin at Blackwell and they seem very familiar with each other. Justin refers to her as both “Chlo-ee” and “Price”, so he definitely knows both her first name and surname. They also are texting with each other in Before the Storm. Then again, they ARE friendly with each other in episode 4, Justin not remembering who she is in episode 1 might be the case of him being blazed and just narratively teasing Max of the girl she saved. Nathan. In Life is Strange Episode 1’s Cliff chapter, Max will ask Chloe about Nathan. Chloe will tell Max:“I met him in some shithole bar that didn’t card me. He was too rich for the place and too wasted. And he kept flashing bills…” in Before The Storm, Chloe knows Nathan from Blackwell.  but the way she describes her predicament to Max sounds like she is describing her first impressions from the first time she ever met or had one-to-one dealings with him (i.e. no previous encounters before that).

Chloe is left handed in the first game and right handed in BTS. Yes she does use her left in some points, but Chloe’s dominant hand in the first game is her left hand. Throughout BTS, Chloe smokes and drinks with her right hand, lights the Amber House candles with her right hand and even writes graffiti with her right hand. In the first game Chloe smokes and drinks with her left hand and lockpicks with her left hand. DONTNOD confirmed she was left handed. I am just baffled by this decision. The only time I remember Chloe using her left hand as her dominant hand in BTS is when she burns evidence for Damon.

Chloe is expelled in 2011 in the first game. Chloe is expelled in 2010 for BTS. Max looks at a report card in Chloe’s bedroom which shows that Chloe was still attending Blackwell Academy up until the end of her junior year, which was in May 2011. BTS gives us the choice to defend Rachel and get expelled or suspended if you don’t. There is also no mention by the Principal of a recent suspension for “spray-painting graffiti in the parking lot” as was clearly mentioned on her school file in his office in Life is Strange, nor any mention of the “police reports.” Although the suspension is temporary and she is to be hopefully reinstated in the fall to start her junior year on condition of her good behavior, the suspension was not over graffiti. Being expelled in 2010 completely contradicts the circumstances of the original game, and the suspension (although being the least non-canon consequence) is over the wrong reasons. Even if Chloe was suspended, it is not unreasonable to believe that she would be expelled anyway over the extensive graffiti she left in the bathroom.

Chloe being good at chemistry. It is never stated in her report card in the first game if she were ever good at chemistry. Chloe comes off as someone who doesn’t care about getting grades, hell Chloe seems only interested in the Arts class as shown in her report card. A friend pointed out to me it kind of feels like “BtS took away a lot from Warren, as if it were a "competition" "Warren is good at chemistry" and so the BtS crew thought "Let's make Chloe good at chemistry too!" Another point is also that Warren has green as his personal color, and in Farewell Chloe he wears a green shirt. Chloe in episode 1 uses Warren's phrase "Power". I don't know, I felt like they took things from Warren to give to Chloe, and that really pissed me off.”

Chloe knows about Pompidou’s name despite not knowing the pupper’s name in the first game. Also "The only way you know my dog’s name is if you broke into my RV.“ Why would he say that if he told Chloe Pompidou’s name?

Frank was just a drug dealer to Chloe and who she and Rachel hung out with in the past. Now Frank kills someone to protect Chloe. Chloe and Frank are not friends. 

2. The first LIS game told a different story for Chloe and Rachel’s relationship

Chloe’s “Rachel was my angel” comment showed a lot to how Chloe loved Rachel and how much she meant to her.  Chloe tells Max that Rachel entered her life when was at her absolute lowest and that it was she who helped her deal with the grief of having lost her father but the entire game is centered around Chloe being the one who is supporting Rachel as she deals with a serious family drama of her own.  What Before The Storm should have been. Rachel helping lift Chloe through the worse point of her life. If Rachel had stopped Chloe from committing suicide… as was the commonly believed interpretation to what happened between Chloe and Rachel up until BtS, then Chloe’s ”“she was my angel” would have meant it was truly special and real. But instead they bump into each other at an illegal concert and Rachel distracted some thug who works for Damon and we spend the game finding out who Sera is in a reveal we all saw it coming and only to have Rachel taken out of the third episode where Rachel never talks to her and makes the whole thing feel pointless. What the game should have been was Chloe and Rachel together having fun rocking out, becoming girlfriends and Chloe starting to live again and show that Chloe Price loves Rachel Amber and Rachel loves Chloe.

3. Deck Nine did not understand Chloe.

I don’t feel that Deck Nine did Chloe justice. The writers attempt to evoke empathy with Chloe feeling grief which is done via exactly one emotion- which is a very childish understanding of how loss and coping works. She had no character arc, considering she was the exact same character that we already knew in LiS Episode 1 (A bitter disaffected teenage youth with no regard for authority) so we didn’t get to see Chloe evolve into the character we loved in the first game. She just already was it.  The gameplay undid the narrative we were given about Chloe being a loner in that you can talk to and make friends with pretty much anybody and they all acted like they liked and were genuinely happy to see Chloe. Very rarely were there interactions with Blackwell students that ended with Chloe’s presence not being welcomed, only Wells, Victoria and Nathan showed contempt for Chloe(even with Nathan that goes away when he claps for her at the play)  The reason this is done is because the game wouldn’t be fun if Chloe actually was a loner. The core mechanic of Life is Strange is being able to talk to people and experiment with your surroundings. A game where nobody wanted to talk to Chloe works against the core mechanic. But in making her the main character it undoes the weight of the narrative of Chloe being alone until Rachel/Max. I just strongly feel that Deck Nine did not understand Chloe as a character and did not do her justice. We should’ve gotten Chloe at her lowest, evolving from Max’s best friend to the character we know in the first game and Rachel helping lift Chloe through the worse point of her life.  Chloe and Rachel together having fun rocking out and Chloe starting to live again and show that Chloe Price loves Rachel Amber and Rachel loves Chloe. Chloe losing Rachel and showing how Chloe has to deal with Rachel missing, how she became in debt to Frank and how she got involved with Nathan and how Chloe ends up in the bathroom. 

4. There is no plot...until the last minute

The biggest problem I have with BTS is there is absolutely no plot. In the first game we absolutely KNEW what the plot was. There was a storm, a missing person/serial killer and all of our friends have problems that Max has to help them with. In Before The Storm....there really is nothing. We go to a concert and because we ruined an asshole’s shirt, we were threatened and saved because Rachel was there. Then the rest of episode 1 spends on spending time with Rachel. Same with episode 2. They only gave the plot at the last minute cause Deck Nine probably went “oh shit, we just realized we don’t have a fucking plot” then we spend the majority of the game trying to get the identity of the woman Rachel’s scumbag father was seen kissing. Turns out the girl is Rachel’s biological mother! James and Sera's story doesn’t make any sense. He still loves her, gives her a final goodbye kiss and then orders some drug dealer to kill her because she was a drug addict?! Damon was hired to kill Sera and protect Rachel, but stabs her instead?! He wants Sera to die because she was a former addict....despite Sera wanting to be clean and Sera doesn’t want her to ruin Rachel’s life???? What kind of fucking message is that to send to people struggling with addiction??? They dropped the fact that Sera was supposed to have powers and it was passed down to Rachel and that Rachel is the storm. Hell, Rachel was taken out of the final episode 90% of the fucking episode. Damon was a lazy thrown at the last minute villain. The first game shows you what’s at stake right away, with Before The Storm there’s no clear danger, conflict or mystery. We only get it halfway through the second episode and even then it’s a bad mystery and conflict and  if it takes that long to add conflict or mystery, then I really think they failed the game. The best parts about the game are Amberprice, episode 2, Steph, Mikey & Drew and Samantha. But that’s kind of it. Before The Storm was kind of a disappointment. 

5. Forced to give David a chance

Deck Nine doesn’t understand that Chloe does not have a good relationship with David, or even Joyce. Deck Nine forces us to be nice to David and every time we choose to pick the most Chloe like choice we are punished.  The game outright makes us look like jerks for being true to Chloe’s character regarding David.  Deck Nine screwed up everything when it came to Chloe and David. Before even meeting David in episode 1, Chloe’s only complaint is he calls her “girly” that...that’s it? The only thing I felt they got right was his comment about  “vacation from not having a father figure” and saying he’ll show what a stable home is like.  The way he said that he can FINALLY show Chloe what a stabilized home looks like…..like she didn’t have a stable home when her father was alive. That really got under my skin. But let me explain, Deck Nine did not understand Chloe’s relationship with David and did their best to villainize Chloe for not giving him a chance. I do not want to feel bad for David. Stop trying to make us feel bad for this abusive piece of shit and make Chloe out to be the villain for not giving this asshole a chance.  He emotionally, mentally and physically abuses her and joyce normalizes it, violates her privacy, installs cameras in the house without her or Joyce’s knowledge cause he will not trust her and Rachel,  David makes Chloe feel like a prisoner in her own home. David getting a job at Blackwell makes her want to get expelled, whenever he is around she does not feel safe. He makes her so afraid that she feels like she’s living with a Nazi. They are not meant to have a good relationship. As for Joyce. The fandom likes to paint Joyce as this great mother to Chloe, and she was when William was alive but she chose her own happiness and interests over the safety and well being of her own daughter. Joyce enabled an abusive stepfather and ignored her daughter being hit and verbally abused (and there is a word for that: culpability. Joyce is guilty of child abuse. If we do not back up Chloe in episode 1 and we tell Joyce David hit Chloe, Joyce just brushes it off like it’s not a big deal…and this is who the fandom perceives as a good mother? What Deck Nine should have done is have it open with it stated that Joyce and David are married.  Chloe’s life is a living hell. David does not understand nor does he care about Chloe’s depression and grief for losing William and Max moving away. Show that David physically, mentally and emotionally abuses her. Joyce normalizes it like saying “you keep pushing him, what did you think was gonna happen” you might think that’s out of character for Joyce, but she put her own interests over the safety and stability of her own child. Joyce didn’t want to be alone anymore, so she settled down with the first guy that came her way. The abuse is normalized in their household and Chloe’s definitely internalized it. Keep in David’s comment about “vacation from not having a father figure” David violates her trust and feelings and boundaries and bosses her around and calling her a loser who has no friends and burdens her mother. Show why Chloe is terrified of him to the point where she labels him a Nazi and to the point she feels like he will kill her if he finds Max in her room, so make a hint that David starts to put surveillance around the house because of his unwillingness to trust Chloe and Rachel. Chloe and David do not have a good relationship and fuck Deck Nine for making us feel bad and look bad for not giving David a chance. Fuck you.

6. The choices D9 made with Nathan make no sense.

I already explained why Nathan being in Blackwell with Chloe doesn’t make any sense, but the choices Deck 9 did with Nathan doesn’t explain anything about the character he would become in the first LIS. If Nathan had to be in the game, I don’t think Samantha should’ve been in the game. Nathan’s social circle is Rachel, Victoria and Hayden. There is no missing persons posters in Arcadia Bay aside from Rachel. Samantha being the first Dark Room victim does not hold up. And that’s the problem, we don’t get to see Nathan being friendly with Rachel, Victoria or Hayden. We see him being bullied by Drew North. Wouldn’t it make much more sense for Nathan and Victoria to be bullying Drew and Mikey and Chloe and Steph defending them and Nathan and Victoria trying to get Chloe expelled for that? Okay if what they were trying to do was  a timid Nathan who slowly gets to become the king of Blackwell who was being mentally and emotionally abused by Sean and Jefferson, it did not work. We never see Nathan with his friends. We never see Nathan with Rachel aside from one picture. We do not get to see Nathan and Hayden. Nathan and Victoria are as close as brother and sister, we never get to see that and I think that’s where BTS failed Nathan. Hell, if they were to keep Nathan’s character as it were in BTS, I think Chloe and Nathan should have been friends. I cannot find the video because the person who made it deleted their YouTube account, but a few years ago when BTS was first out, someone made a video suggesting that Chloe and Nathan could’ve been friends in Blackwell. The video was SO convincing that I was so on board with the idea and Samantha pointing out how similar they are. If Hell Is Empty wasn’t a bad episode, maybe they could’ve gave Chloe and Nathan a chance to talk. depending on our choices it could go good or bad. If it goes bad, then they remain on bad terms. But if they are on good terms depending on our choices, you are given a choice to choose to become friends with Nathan. They bond over their similar music taste, their mutual love for Rachel and find common ground with everyone expecting the worst out of them and their abusive father/stepfather. And Nathan could thank Chloe for stepping up for him. And they share a smoke together. I think Chloe and Nathan being friends before their lives goes on a downward spiral and hits rockbottom would’ve been nice and sure as hell would’ve been better than giving Chloe, Stalky McFuckboy as a “friend” instead

7. Deck Nine does not understand Rachel Amber

I don’t feel that Deck Nine understands Rachel Amber as a character or understands what made the fanbase love her from the first game. Rachel is a character shrouded in mystery. The vibe I got from Chloe indicates that Rachel Amber saved her at her lowest and made her feel like she could live again. I also got the vibe that Rachel had neglectful parents who cared very little of her and Rachel was tired of the pressures of being little ms perfect and the bullying she suffers at Blackwell. So Chloe and Rachel wanted to be free from Arcadia Bay. Chloe wanted to be free of an abusive step-father and her mother who allows the abuse to go on and Rachel wanted to be free from everything at Arcadia Bay. Started a knew life as a model in LA. It was their Santa Monica Dream. The characterization of Rachel Amber in BTS just feels like D9 does not understand Rachel. Rachel Amber is meant to be a morally grey character. There are hints that she wasn’t this perfect angel Chloe thought she was and then backed away from that perspective out of fear fans would be angry at their depiction of Rachel. Rachel Amber who I knew in the first game was just not there. She had no interesting perspective or enlightenment to offer to Chloe or be the positive force to Chloe or even showed why she was this mysterious chameleon who fit in so perfectly with everyone who was adored by everyone. She was just a pretty looking character model with a great voice actress that would sometimes say very wistful, wide-eyed things. She would also quote boring poetry. Rachel in BTS has no aspiration to be a model and instead of Rachel helping Chloe deal with her grief, the game makes it about Chloe helping Rachel with her family drama. We never get to see Rachel meet Joyce(Joyce in LIS makes it seem like her and Rachel got along) we never get to see Rachel defending Chloe from David or Rachel as this ambiguous character. She’s portrayed as this character that must be protected at all costs, like she’s neither ambiguous nor does she have any agency. It is perfectly okay to show her drift away from Chloe.  Yes they were in love and had this great relationship and they loved each other. It’s important to see and know the people we romanticize are not who we thought they were. Rachel was looking for a way out of Arcadia Bay. She first thought both her and Chloe can escape to LA together. But over time she did not think that was possible anymore. Chloe dodges her car payments and her family is in debt and Chloe is in debt to Frank. She still wants to leave with Chloe, but Rachel needed an alternative way so she and Chloe can escape. So Rachel turned to Frank, she used him for her drugs because as  time goes on, Rachel turns to drugs to numb the pain. She parties with The Vortex Club and as Nathan said “Rachel partied like a fiend on her own.” Hell, she was so desperate to leave Arcadia Bay she even asked the trucker to take her to LA. Then, Rachel meets Mark Jefferson. Rachel saw him as her way to LA. She wanted to have her pictures modeled by a professional, which he was, but Rachel never saw him for what he was. A sheep in wolf’s clothing, a monster. He saw her as the perfect subject. A human chameleon with many visual possibilities and he felt they had a connection. Manipulating her into believing that he is the father figure that James never was for her. Rachel wrote a letter to Chloe in the shack but discarded it. She feels that he changed her life but the discarded letter shows that she felt ashamed about the whole relationship. Her shame indicates that she was apart of the Dark Room. At first she just saw it as a big photography project outside of school, but then Rachel started to look into Jefferson’s past models and figured out something was wrong. In Jefferson’s own words “Not like Rachel, who was always looking in the wrong places. Poor Rachel.” Jefferson of course finds out because The Dark Room is under 24 hours surveillance. So out of fear of Rachel telling everyone, Jefferson kills Rachel, doses Nathan and poses Nathan’s unconscious body with Rachel’s lifeless body. The vibe I got from the first game is that Rachel and Chloe have this very important and special bond. But Rachel just wanted to be free of Arcadia Bay by any means necessary. Rachel would go far to get what she wanted. Someone who is willing to lie to the people she cared about to satisfy her own needs and goals. Personally, I see Rachel as being okay with manipulating everybody BUT Chloe, which gives everybody a foothold to try and gaslight Chloe and Max about her, trying to get them to doubt that Rachel genuinely cared about Chloe.  Rachel wanted a way out and she thought she had her way out, but in the end she played with fire and got burned.

8. The last episode

It was lazily thrown together. The actual GOOD aspects were cut altogether. Rachel does  not dye Chloe’s hair. Chloe and Rachel do not work on the truck together. Rachel does not stand up for Chloe against David. Rachel and Chloe do not kick Eliot’s fuckboy ass. Rachel has to be taken care of instead of Chloe and Rachel working together to save Sera. All the good Amberprice stuff is in the montages. Hell Is Empty was a huge disappointment.

9. Unlike Max, Chloe has no agency in defeating the villain of the game.

The difference between LIS and BTS is the player has a hand in defeating their villains, while in BTS, we do not. Max Caulfield who was tied up and was about to be killed, guides David in defeating and capturing her abuser and villain of her story Mark Jefferson. Max is instrumental in defeating the villain of her story. Chloe Price is knocked unconscious and saved for doing nothing while Frank kills Damon Merrick off screen. Chloe is not instrumental or has any agency in leading to the defeat of the villain(the rushed villain at the last second) of her story

10. Farewell. 

While Farewell is cute and tragic to play, it ultimately does not make any sense. If this is the same day as Max’s last moment with William and before Joyce comes home to tell Chloe the news of William, WHY are Max and Chloe in different outfits? Wouldn’t it make more sense for this to be Max’s last day in Arcadia Bay instead of the last day of William? I feel this especially cause in the BTS Graffiti side of the notebook, it is shown that there is one final episode under episode 3, I kind of feel like this was meant for Farewell and it was meant to be Max’s Farewell, but something changed. It also kind of comes off as wanting the player to hate Max for not staying to say goodbye. What I would prefer is this takes place on Max’s last day in Arcadia Bay and despite William’s accident, Chloe wants to do her best to make sure her best friend gets the best damn send off before her farewell. And Max and Chloe part on good terms instead of Max’s asshole father preventing Max from saying goodbye lol

[midnightartemis]

Chapters: 32/? Fandom: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Finn/Rose Tico, Poe Dameron/Rey, Poe Dameron/Finn, Poe Dameron/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren Characters: Rey (Star Wars), Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Ben Solo, Finn (Star Wars), Poe Dameron, Rose Tico, Leia Organa, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Maz Kanata, Larma D'Acy, Amilyn Holdo, Snoke (Star Wars), Boba Fett, Bossk (Star Wars), Armitage Hux, Chewbacca (Star Wars) Additional Tags: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Abuse, Drug Use, Suicide Attempt, Star-crossed, Dreams, Alternate Universe - High School, High School, School Dances, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Foster Care, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Near Death Experiences, Multiverse, Reincarnation, Attempted Sexual Assault, Assault, Graphic Description, Teenage Drama, Horny Teenagers, Fluff and Smut, Angst with a Happy Ending, Past Drug Use, Drug Dealing

Chapter Three

Tuesday goes by without incident, though Latin will kill me. Rose is more than happy to walk me to my classes, chatting happily about her own, and I’m happy for the company for once. Poe and Finn are in my P.E. class and they’re so competitive. Rose tells me it’s okay to take them down a notch if I can. I’m athletic, but usually never got the chance to stay in a place long enough to participate in anything.

Wednesday rolls around and Rose is buzzing about Friday as we eat lunch. My eyes search for Ben, but I can’t find him anymore. “What’s Friday?”

“Oh, my god. I completely forgot to add you to the group chat.” Rose palms her face and gets out her phone. I sheepishly hand her my half-broken iPhone but she doesn’t bat an eye. “Poe, Finn, and I are having a little get together to celebrate the start of the school year. Please, come. I know you have to ask Maz.”

I’d never been invited to a party before. “I would love that. I’ll ask her tonight.”

I hope Maz said yes. Things were going smoothly there.

Rose and I left lunch early so that we could walk together to class. Rose liked to show up early to vocal class to help set up and I was more than happy to have a few minutes alone, even if it met sitting in awkward silence with him.

I open the classroom door and he’s there sitting where he was Monday. I take my seat across from him and pull out my headphones to listen to music for a bit. I scroll for a while and settle on The Lumineers’ Ophelia album. It takes a lot for me to not dance and hum along, so I pull out my drawing notebook and start in on practicing drawing 3D shapes.

I feel his eyes on me and I look up, realizing that I’ve been bobbing along to the music. He looks away and I think there’s a hint of a smile on his face. I flush. What is it with him? He didn’t look like a hardcore drug dealer, not like the ones I’ve seen. He looked quiet and lonely. Soft. Dammit, Rey.

He looks up again and sees me watching him. He scowls, his mood instantly souring. I look away sheepishly.

“Sorry.”

“Did they get to you, too?”

“What?” My heart races at his voice. My eyes meet his and they’re looking over me intensely.

“The golden trio.” His voice is low, angry.

Poe, Finn, and Rose? I frown. “I-”

Before I can say anymore, the door opens and Mrs. Tico walks in, cheerful as ever. “Hi, Rey! Ben!”

“Hi, Mrs. Tico.” I smile back, but inside my stomach is rolling with anxiety. What did he mean ‘ get to me?’ Rose had made it pretty clear what happened and I doubted Poe just hated Ben for shits and giggles. I look back at him and he’s concentrating on his notebook as if nothing had happened. I scowl and go back to my own work.

“How was school, hun?” Maz picks me up in her bug after school to take me to therapy.

“Good.” I smile. “I have a mountain of homework already, but everyone is really nice.”

“Good, good.” We drive without talking, just listening to the radio quietly. My stomach turns as I think about the party. I cross my fingers and ask.

“Maz?”

“Yeah?” she glances at me.

“I was wondering- well… Rose and Poe and Finn were getting together Friday night and they invited me. And I was wondering if I can go?” I bite my lip and look at her hopefully.

Maz smiles. “Ah… the infamous Dameron Back to School get-together.”

My eyes widen. “Oh. Oh. I didn’t realize it was a party-party. Nevermind.”

“No, Rey. Go! Have fun. Enjoy your friends. Just no drinking or drugs. I’m here to keep you safe and healthy, not ruin your high school experience.” Her eyes sparkle, but there’s a seriousness to them. “11:30 PM. At the latest. Okay?”

I nod, trying to hide my excitement. “11:30. Got it.”

We pull into a parking lot of a small brick office building downtown and Maz walks me in. We go to the second floor where there’s a small waiting room. It’s very zen with comfy chairs, light incense, peaceful art, and meditation music in the background. There are two doors, both closed. Maz and I sit and wait until the door on the left opens. A man walks out and he’s got a wide, open face covered in a grey beard and eyes that radiate kindness and knowing. I instantly feel at ease when he smiles. “Rey?”

I nod and stand. He walks over and sticks out his hand and I shake it. “I’m Luke Skywalker. Let’s go in and have Maz fill out some paperwork and then we will get started on your introductory session.”

Did everyone in this town know Maz? We fill out the usual paperwork in Luke’s office. It’s just as zen as outside. There’s a Buddha sitting on a bookshelf perfectly curated with books on mental health and well being. A fountain trickles gently in the corner. Everything is in order, at balance.

“I’ll be waiting in the lobby.” Maz signs the last paper and leaves us. I take a seat on the couch and Luke sits in the chair across from me.

“So, Rey,” he says with a small sigh. “I’m guessing this isn’t your first time in therapy?”

I laugh a little. “No.”

“Well, I have a few questions that we can discuss, but first, I just want to give you a little overview of what our plan is if you choose to move forward. I like to do a little one-on-one session before placing you in a group. I run a few groups, and it’s all just about trying to place you in the right one where I think you have the best chance of learning and listening to your peers and sharing your own stories. Sounds good?”

I nod.

“So, tell me about yourself, Rey. Your childhood, things you like to do… Anything you’d like in whatever way you want to tell me.”

“Well…” I take a deep breath. The story in my head is one that’s carefully rehearsed, told over and over. “My parents abandoned me when I was six. I was found by some workers abandoned in the Jakku city dump. And they couldn’t find my parents, so I got placed into the system. I jumped around a lot as a kid. No one really wanted me. And then when I got older, I got tired of the abuse and the neglect, so I started gathering evidence on my fosters and getting their licenses revoked. But that just met that I jumped around even more. I’ve just kinda learned how to survive and take care of myself.”

“That sounds hard and exhausting.”

I nod and sigh. “Yeah.”

“What about now? You’ve only been at Maz’s a few days, from my understanding. How’s that going?”

“Good. I think.” I reply. Luke says nothing, waiting for me to fill the silence. “It’s a lot to process. Everything changed so quickly and she’s unlike any foster I’ve ever stayed with. It’s… It’s almost like it's too good to be true… And, I guess I’m worried that it will be. Or I’ll fuck up and it will all be taken from me.”

“Do you think you deserve a good foster home?”

I can’t meet his eyes. Tears prickle at my own. “No.”

“Why not?” Dang, this guy is good.

“I’m not anyone special… There are a lot more kids out there who are a lot more deserving.”

“So… What I’m hearing is that you spent the last few years catching abusers in the system… But you’re not deserving of a good home?” He raises his eyebrow at me. I see his point, but I still can’t reconcile myself with it. “You sound pretty special to me, Rey.”

“I’m not anyone special.” I shrug. “I just didn’t want other people to go through what I have.”

“Do you feel that’s your duty? To save other people?”

I mull over his question and nod slowly.

“There aren’t many people out there who would put others before their own personal wellbeing and safety. What things do you like doing for yourself?”

“I like listening to music… And working with my hands.”

Luke smiles. “Good. Those are really good ways to take care of yourself.”

“They help me a lot when I need a break from the outside world. It can be really… Overwhelming.”

“Tell me about that.” Luke nudges me in that direction gently.

“Well, I don’t know. It’s like… I can get really overwhelmed in crowds. If there’s a lot of noise or people or things going on. It gets hard to think and concentrate.”

“Like at school?”

I nod.

“Is there anywhere you go to get away from the noise and let yourself relax for a bit?”

“Usually after lunch, I go to the art room because there’s no one there before class usually.” Not no one. Might as well be no one though.

“Good. It’s important to create room for yourself and thoughts and to listen to yourself.” Luke smiles. “Tell me about school. Are you enjoying your classes so far?”

“Yeah. Principal Organa was really happy with my interest in science and math. She put me in physics, and pre-calc, and small engines and I really like all three so far. It just makes sense to me. More than English or Latin or Social Studies. Though, I don’t mind Social Studies either. And psychology is interesting, too.”

“Very interesting.”

I laugh. “Right, I’m talking to a psychology master.”

“I have a group on Thursdays after school. It’s some of your age group dealing with some similar things as you. Is that something you would be interested in?”

“Yeah. Sure.”

“I’ll have you start next Thursday so I can let them know that the group is expanding a little. How does that sound?”

“‘Good.”

Luke nods and stands. “I’m afraid that’s all we have time for today. It was great to meet you, Rey.”

I stand and let him lead me out of the room.

[nutbrain]

The Usual

The next part in the kindness war with @kiruuuuu Little bit of Coffee Shop AU Bandit/Monty :)

Special thanks to @blitznbandit for all the help!!!

The door chimed as Dominic was wiping the counter, glaring at the dried syrup that was proving impossible to remove. Eyes flicking up towards the sound, he spotted blond hair and chiseled face plastered with a crooked grin that Dominic would love to smack off. Gritting his teeth as his frown deepened, Dom made his way to the register, elbowing Chelsea out of the way as she attempted to start flirting with the police officer who’d just walked in.

“Donuts again today, Officer Kotz?” Dominic asked, painfully fake grin and falsely cheerful voice painful to his own ears. Across from him, Elias Kotz tried to maintain a straight face as he took in the new aprons they’d been given; their hearts and upbeat sayings clashed heavily with Dom’s usual aesthetic. His coworkers had poked fun, but he’d refused to buy two given how horrendous this one was.

“Ahh, no. I’d better pass. Can I get a large latte, extra shot?” Dom reached for the hot cup and started writing the order across the outside. “Wait, can I get that iced instead?” Dominic’s face dropped into a flat affect as he stared and blinked. Elias at least had the decency to look sheepish as Dom reached for another cup to write the new order on, maintaining eye contact as much as possible.

“Will that be all?” Dominic asked, voice deadpan as Chelsea attempted to kill him with her gaze alone. Elias nodded quickly and moved as far away from Dom as he could, and Chelsea began apologizing on Dom’s behalf as soon as Elias moved to near the waiting area. Dominic rolled his eyes. Currently, his only job was not to get himself fired, which was shaping up to be harder than he thought. Unfortunately, there was no way Elias was about to complain. Though if he did, Dom would openly invite the opportunity not to be forced to be here anymore.

Dominic entertained himself with wiping the dust off the register while only half listening to Chelsea’s attempts at flirting and wondered if he should just fake his death and change states. His skills were transferable and it’d be less of a headache than dealing with his current coworkers. Likely sensing she wasn’t wanted, Janet materialized from the back, hoping to swoop in on Elias should Chelsea fail. Dominic smirked as the other man attempted to extricate himself from the conversation, far too nice to simply excuse himself, and he glanced over at Dom for help.

Served him right. When Dom was offered the opportunity for an undercover job, he never expected this. Take down one of the biggest drug smuggling rings in the city, they said. It’ll be fun, they said. Dominic had jumped at the opportunity to get out from behind a desk. When he became a detective, he expected it to be much more exciting than sitting around and filing reports with his partner, one Elias “Blitz” Kotz, who was still stuck flirting with the baristas next to him. He enjoyed working with the man immensely, but his current situation was the highlight of his day so far, watching him act so awkwardly as the two women fawned over him. It looked like they’d now made him an extra drink for the squad car to “make up for their coworker’s sour attitude.” Dominic barely resisted the urge to flip them all off.

The door chimed, distracting Dominic from his half-hearted cleaning job to look up. Pushing through the door was a mountain of a man, dressed fashionably in dark slacks, button down shirt, and long dress coat, messenger back slung across his shoulders. His eyes scanned the coffee shop, quickly meeting Dominic’s and smiling brightly, which complementing his already handsome features. If Dom had any less self-control, he’d be a small puddle on the floor. Turns out he had a new highlight to his day. “Good morning Gilles! The usual?” Dominic asked cheerfully, smile reaching his eyes for once. That caught Elias’ attention, as he glanced over with a knowing grin. Dominic ignored him.

“If you would. I like your new apron. It looks nice on you.” Dominic laughed, holding his tongue while he rung up the black coffee with his employee discount. Gilles Toures had been coming into the shop since before Dominic had started, but they’d quickly hit it off. Dominic had been here a month, and most of what he’d learned was information about the man across from him (which Elias kept reminding his was decidedly not his job, but Dominic couldn’t care less). Dominic was intrigued with the other man, who was the sort of man to work from home at a coffee shop, claiming the soft lighting, muted browns, and soft sounds made it easier to focus. Some checking into his background (which was rendered entirely unnecessary as Gilles happily told him when he finally asked) revealed that he was a book editor at one of the more prestigious companies in the city. Gilles of course downplayed his accomplishments, incredibly humble in everything he does.

Gilles hovered around the cash register as Dominic poured his coffee. He smiled warmly and nodded to Elias before making his way to his usual seat up against the windows. Dom could feel eyes on him and looked over to find Elias still smirking at him, ignoring the conversation that was happening in front of him.

“Officer Kotz, was there something else I can help you with? Or are my tax dollars paying for you to stand there?” Two sets of eyes turned to glare at him. Elias did his best not to look relieved as he grabbed his coffees and made a quick retreat.

“Really Derrick? Just because you’ve been at odds with the law doesn’t mean the rest of us are.” Dom rolled his eyes. It’d been Monika’s idea to use prior convictions (illegal possession and selling of marijuana) as a cover story for why he was here. The leads they’d gotten pointed to the coffee shop hiring minor offenders as baristas only to have them wind up as street dealers of much more hardcore drugs months later. So far, aside from being a front for several backroom activities, no one had approached him about doing anything darker than cleaning the men’s restroom (and to be honest, Dominic would rather take the drug peddling).

At least when the people involved in shadier deals would order coffee, they always left a nice tip. Unlike Elias.

Dominic was still scrubbing the syrup off the counter hours after the sun had long gone down and Gilles finally got up to leave, staying almost until closing. Two large men pushed through the door, one in a fuzzy hooded coat and striped pants while the other wore only a striped blue and white t-shirt with jeans. Chelsea peaked out from where she was closing in the back and quickly retreated.

‘Great. The Russians.’ Timur and Maxim according to the files he’d pulled on them, though they went by different names professionally. They glanced at GIlles as they pushed past, but paid him little mind. Seeing the concerned look on Gilles’ face, Dom waved him off, wishing him a good night before turning to his new visitors.

“How can I help you?” Ice blue eyes appraised him, before settling on his apron and chuckling. Timur said something to Maxim in their mother tongue before they both laughed. Dominic maintained his smile, though the urge to strangle them both with the garment increased. Not that he’d make it that far, he may fight dirty, but Timur alone was twice his weight.

“We’ll take large coffees and whatever scones you still have.” Timur said as Maxim started to examine the décor before chiming in with, “You look like child in apron.” Dom gritted his teeth and gave him a strained smile as Maxim smirked.

Dominic rung them up, careful not to completely turn his back on them while he poured their coffees. While he was busy, they each dropped something into the tip jar, sound echoing in the otherwise quiet shop. Dom clenched his jaw, knowing those coins meant they’d each completed whatever job they’d been assigned. Somewhere in the city some poor beat cop would be filing reports on the dead bodies these two were piling up. But they were neat assassins and it was unlikely the murders would ever be connected to either of them.

Dominic gave them a tight smile as he passed off their order, breathing a sigh of relief only after he’d locked the door behind the two. He worried one of these days his name, his real name, would be added to their list. Chelsea peaked around the corner.

“I’m glad you were upfront and not me. Those two give me the creeps.” She said with a shiver. At least she had good instincts.

Gilles looked relieved to see him the next day, which was always nice.

“I’m not going to lie, I half expected to see you with an empty cash register and a black eye.” He laughed. The manager, Tom (definitely mob, usually here when they needed to clear out early for a meeting), gave him side eye. The piqued interest made Dom ansty, so he did his best to play it off.

“Nah, they were just here for coffees. They left a tip, so that’ll be nice to see on the paycheck.” He laughed, relieved as Tom turned his attention back to the clipboard he’d been staring at for the past hour. Dominic rung up one coffee, mildly disappointed that he’d be unable to give Gilles a discount with upper management lurking.

“I’m glad they tipped coming in that late. Oh, and can I get a small latte as well? Nonfat milk with that.” Dominic was taken aback and tried not to show it, changing the total. He passed the latte off with a slightly strained smile after it was done. If Gilles noticed he thankfully didn’t comment on it.

Not ten minutes later, a petite woman stepped in, dressed in a form fitting dress and a loose bun. She radiated confidence as she entered the building and Janet greeted her. She gave Janet a polite smile and scanned to room, finding Gilles who stood up to pull out her chair. Dominic stared at the two as they talked with easy familiarity. He knew he shouldn’t be, but he could feel jealousy growing in the pit of his stomach as he watched the two talk. He probably would have watched the two for their entire visit, but Janet asked that he get the bathrooms cleaned instead of staring like a creep.

Dominic hated working with Janet.

The next day when Gilles stepped in, he smiled at Dominic the same way as always. Dom had tried not to dwell on the fact that the man who made his heart rate pick up was probably dating a woman who was top of whatever industry required you be that poised. What could a detective turned barista do to compete with that? They exchanged the usual pleasantries, but Dominic couldn’t resist bringing it up.

“Did you have a nice date yesterday?” He received a confused expression in response before realization grew and the editor laughed.

“You mean Manu? That’s my publisher. We had to discuss work and she wanted to see why I spent so much time here.” Relief hit Dominic like a truck and he probably covered it up poorly; his poker game was always rubbish when he had a crush.

“Did she enjoy it here?” Gilles nodded, letting him know he’d done a good job on the latte. Out of the corner of his eye, Tom emerged from the back hallway, staring at them both before walking over.

“Derrick, why don’t you go clean some tables? I haven’t spoken with our favorite customer here in a while.” Dominic swallowed thickly, nodding and doing as he was told. Had he somehow slipped and now Tom was trying to figure out how much Gilles knew about him? Dominic ran through his past interactions, nothing notable recently outside of the Russians’ presence. He took his time busing, waiting to take a stack of plates back until they’d finished their conversation and Tom had given him a nod before he retreated into the back again.

Dominic waited a bit before feigning cleaning a new set of tables to wander over to Gilles. He figured that’d be normal employee behavior if Tom asked later.

“What all did Tom have to say?” Dom asked as he finished a few tables. Gilles blinked at his work a few times before glancing up; usually Dominic tried not to bother him if he was working.

“Oh, nothing much. Gave me a free drink card for coming here so frequently. Asked about what I was referring to with the empty cash register. Don’t worry, I explained I was just nervous about people coming in that late. You never know in New York what people are up to.” Dominic nodded at this; it was a nicer neighborhood, but not without its issues. There weren’t any other customers, so Dom kept up their easy conversation forgetting entirely that Gilles was here to work.

Gilles didn’t seem to mind.

The next time Gilles walked in and ordered an extra drink, Dominic was horrified at the order. Gilles had pulled up his phone and squinted at it, looking sheepish and apologizing before getting started. The monstrosity that slowly took shape on the side of the cup was one Dominic had hoped to never see. When he finished Dominic was left staring at the cup, contemplating the meaning of life and what kind of person enjoys this type of drink. It took him longer to finish than he would have liked given that he had to recheck the order and puzzle out what five shots half caff meant. Gilles was at a loss as well and opened his wallet to drop a ten in the jar.

“Alright Gilles, one large, five shot half caff, blended mocha with nonfat milk, extra mocha sauce, two pumps strawberry syrup, ten pumps of regular syrup and extra whip on the top of the straw.” Dominic hoped he hadn’t missed anything as he placed the drink on the counter.

“You’re a saint Dominic. Thanks, I know it was a lot of effort.” Dominic waved it off, now incredibly curious as to who was visiting Gilles, as the man took the drink to his usual spot. His answer came after about 30 minutes later (Gilles had ended up making an exasperated phone call) when a young man in tight dark pants and a red and black flannel shirt came bouncing in from the rain. He adjusted his black slouchy beanie and wiped his uggs on the carpet at he searched the establishment. Eyes finally settling on the large man by the window, Rook gave Dominic a cheerful look as he made a beeline for Gilles.

“I got lost in work! Ooh, coffee. It looks good, but it looks like the whipped cream on the straw has melted.” Gilles nodded, pointing out that the young man was late. Dominic watched as the newcomer pouted, Gilles finally getting up to take the drink bank to the counter.

“Difficult client?” Dominic asked as he put a dollop of cream on the straw.

“Diva author, Julien Nizan. Brilliant, my favorite to work with, but still a whirlwind disaster sometimes. I owe you dinner sometime for putting up with this” He laughed, thanking Dom for the help as Dom tried not to blush brightly at the joke. He watched as the Gilles set down the drink as the young man gestured wildly, energy only increasing as he consumed his nightmare fuel.

Julien reordered his drink twice while he was there.

Dominic had now won Employee of the Month three months in a row. Dominic suspected it was largely from Gilles filling out comment cards after nearly every visit, but he wasn’t about to complain if it meant upsetting Janet. The activity he’d noticed from the gang had been minimal, occasional early closing for meetings sprinkled throughout. The only reason he was still here was the increasing frequency of appearances from the Russians. Timur and Maxim were the usual late-night appearances, their visits correlating with a body found with a clean head shot or a slit throat within the next day or so. Always members of rival gangs, always clean of evidence.

Dropping off coins wasn’t enough to bring anyone in for questioning, but Dom hoped that they’d slip up with how frequently they’d been performing hits. Elias had to stop visiting as much, Monika worried that he might draw attention to Dominic. The last thing he need was to come home to a Russian assassin sitting on his couch. He highly doubted he’d be there for coffee.

Bandit was spacing out and startled violently when someone tapped him on the shoulder. Gilles looked sheepish. How someone so big could move so quietly, Bandit would never know.

“Okay this is an odd question so bear with me.” Bandit looked at him with trepidation. What constitutes as a weird question for Gilles? “Do you think centaurs crawl like insects?” Bandit blinked at him.

“Do what?” He had to have misheard. There’s no way-

“Crawl like insects? Julien seems to think that because they have six appendages, they’d…crawl. Like insects do. You know what, now that I say it out loud, I think I have my answer.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and started to walk away.

“Are they insect sized centaurs or are they like…horse sized?” Gilles squinted at the manuscript on the tablet he was holding.

“Uhhh, pigmy horse sized. But they wear cute boots apparently?” Bandit tried to imagine a miniature centaur crawling across the ground like some sort of giant cockroach dressed in uggs and shivered.

“Was - no offence to him - but was he a bit high when he came up with this?” Not that Dominic was about to report him, but was honestly curious about how this made an appearance. Gilles laughed.

“No, he better not be. My boss will have both our heads. She runs a tight ship. He tends to get a bit wild with his ideas when he’s running on a few hours of sleep.” Gilles thanked him and went back to his table. Tom was hanging out around the register again, now looking very interested in Gilles. Dominic shivered, hoping that if he had any issues, the blowback didn’t affect Gilles.

Three and a half months in and Dominic finally got something out of this job. He’d been over clearing Gilles’ plate when he heard some of the backroom regulars discussing plans to move merchandise. Dominic hung back and struck up a conversation with the editor, asking him what he was working on now and paying him no mind as he listened to the two thugs converse. To any of the patrons, their merchandise was just that, so they felt free to talk about the details. The shipment was small and would have just a few people there, making it perfect for a bust. Plus, it was doubtful any of this could be traced back to Derrick the barista. He was simply entertaining a customer while it was discussed.

Dominic found out very shortly that it wasn’t Derrick he should have been worried about.

The bust went smoothly, five men being taken down and the small shipment confiscated. Dom had been worried that it was some sort of setup, but everything had gone surprisingly well. Elias stopped in to congratulate him on “employee of the month” and order his extra shot latte (this time hot after Dominic had grabbed a cup for iced coffee). Dominic carefully kept further interaction to a minimum as Tom had materialized from the back, casting suspicious glances at the police officer. It wasn’t hard since Chelsea was on and happily talked his ear off as usual. They were still talking when Gilles came in, face red from the cold and looking excited.

“Good morning Derrick! I have excellent news. Julien’s latest book’s is being printed and the reviews are looking excellent.” Gilles smile was bright and Dominic could help but grin with him.

“That’s great! I’m happy to hear it.” Dominic said, looking down as Gilles passed him a small card with business information.

“Wait, Julien Nizan, author of the Rook in the Tower series?” Elias gasped as Gilles looked mildly surprised. “That’s my favorite book series! I’ve reread them all eight times.”

Uh oh, Elias was gushing now and Gilles looked more than happy to entertain him. As the morning rush picked up, Gilles offered to move their conversation over to the tables and Elias happily followed. Dominic quickly pocketed the card as he got to work. The rush was real as he and Chelsea were swamped, Tom refusing to do much more than clear a few tables.

By the time Dominic finally got a break, Gilles and Elias had both left. Dom tugged out the card from his pocket, giving it a look and admiring the series’ namesake bird on a background of various elements. He was glad he flipped it over.

Call me, I owe you dinner :) - Gilles was written, followed by a neatly printed number, area code and all.

Dominic was a coward and still hadn’t called Gilles. He’d hoped to talk to him yesterday, but the man hadn’t shown up. He needed time to talk to Elias about it, worried that ‘Derrick’ would bring trouble knocking on Gilles door. With two assassins on the prowl across the city, he really didn’t want to risk it. But boy had he fallen hard now that dating was an option, and dinner with Gilles was something he’d been thinking about for a while (among other things).

When Gilles had come in today, it’d been far too busy to have a decent conversation, Dominic had seen him come in, but Janet had insisted on ringing up drinks rather than making them, leaving Dom to make eye contact will Gilles and roll his eyes as he hurried around. The big man relaxed at that, waving as he headed to his seat. It was cold and windy outside, leaving the shop bustling until closing and giving Dom no time to talk to Gilles, who waved before he stepped out into the night.

Dominic was nearly to the subway when he realized he’d forgotten his stupid cheerful apron at the shop. It needed washed after Janet created a powdered sugar explosion from the pastry display box (why did she think blowing the extra sugar would be a good way to clean it up?) and Dom had still refused to purchase an extra.

Sighing and cursing himself, he turned around and walked back towards the coffee shop. He had the key to the back door into the staff cubbies and there wasn’t a meeting that he knew about tonight, so he should be safe there. The snow made the walk miserable, flurries swirling around him as he trudged back, kicking himself for being so distracted as to forget it. He missed the car he and Elias used.

Thirty minutes later and Bandit was back at the cursed place, shuffling down the alley to the side door. He fumbled with his keys and managed to squeeze through the door, shutting it softly behind him. As he moved to turn towards the staff area, Dominic heard voices from the other end of corridor.

“Just tell us who you work for. Cops? FBI? DEA?” It sounded like one of the Russians. Bandit froze. If they caught him here, they were unlikely to let him live. The question is, what poor idiot did they have? Bandit put his phone on do not disturb and sent a quick message to Elias, praying it wasn’t him down the hall.

“I told you, I’m an editor. I have any idea what you’re talking about.” Oh. Oh no. That was Gilles’ voice. Bandit realized quickly why Tom was so interested in their conversations, why those two had been discussing plans next to Gilles. He’d thought that Gilles, constant customer and workaholic had been the snitch. He sends another message to Elias, letting him know who it is and where he’s at before moving forward to peek through the door.

He snuck forward as quietly as possible, peering around the frame and trying to stay out of sight. Within, Maxim is seated on a stool, toying lazily with a knife that he flips through his fingers. Gilles is tied to a chair, thankfully looking mostly unharmed, though his clothes were a bit disheveled. The man appeared more upset than anything else, hiding the panic that subtly seeped into his voice.

Dominic bit his lip, retreating slightly to check the messages from Elias, who said he’d called in back up and to wait. It was a sound plan, but there’s no way Maxim would wait long enough to confront them and Gilles would be a witness he’d be unwilling to accept. The only problem was that he had no idea where Timur was. It’s possible that it was just Maxim, but he didn’t trust it. Dominic snuck back to the staff room, grabbing one of the large thermos’ that Janet kept her soup in, before checking the hallway and walking back. Maxim was still occupied with Gilles, knife dancing in front of his face now as he questioned the poor editor. Focused as both of them were, neither heard Dominic walk up until he’d swung the thermos against Kapkan’s head, sending him sprawling seemingly unconscious. Dominic smacked him again for good measure, grabbing the knife and doing a quick pat down of the assassin, finding a PMM that he quickly pocketed.

“Derrick? What are you doing here?” Gilles looked so incredibly relieved that Dominic knew he’d chosen correctly as he set about cutting the duct tape that had been used to restrain the larger man.

“Forgot my stupid apron. We need to go. Was it just him or is the other one around?” Dominic asked as he pulled him to his feet, pulling out the pistol and chambering a bullet.

“There was the other guy as well. I don’t know where he went.” Dominic nodded, telling Gilles to stay close and keep quiet. Dom stepped out into the hall, clearing both sides and seeing no one. Motioning for Gilles to follow, he held the gun at the ready, checking the alley for hostiles as he stepped out. A slight sound from the hall sent his alarm bells off and he tugged Gilles out after him, unbalancing the man and sending him sprawling into the snow as bullets ricocheted off the metal frame where Gilles’ head had been. One glanced across Dominic’s upper arm as it pinged off the metal, easily cutting through the thin jacket he was wearing. Gilles pulled his feet out of the way so Dom could kick the door closed and looked up at him with wide eyes. Hauling Gilles to his feet as best he could, Dominic put himself between the editor and the door, pushing him forward as he kept an eye and his gun behind them. When it started to open, Dominic fired a round at it, likely causing Timur to recoil as the door halted its movement.

Sirens wailed down the street, squad cars rolling to a stop as the officers popped out and demanded they put their hands in the air. Gilles looked a bit frantic, following Dominic’s lead in complying immediately.

“Detective Dominic Brunsmeier, NYPD. There’s a gun in my front pants pocket. We’re being pursued by an armed assailant.” Gilles looked at him like he grew another head as the officer’s approached, finding the gun as promised and quickly cuffing the both of them while they called it in. Elias arrived shortly after, flashing his badge. After a bit of arguing, Dominic and Gilles were released and waited while the SWAT arrived to get organized enough to clear the building. They found a bit of blood on the concrete in the room where Gilles was held, but it appeared that both assassins had fled. An APB was put out for them both, but it was likely they’d be underground already with how long it took them to sweep the building.

Area cleared (after about eight years in Dominic’s opinion), the EMTs came in to check them out. Gilles was okay’d, Elias was able to ask what happened. Gilles apparently had gone with them relatively easily after they’d ambushed him outside the alley, hoping that they just wanted his wallet. He’d finished with Elias’ initial questions by the time that the EMTs were finishing patching Dom up. The laceration on Dominic’s arm was shallow, stopped mostly by his coat, so they disinfected it and cleared him. Monika was furious when she arrived, having heard he’d acted without backup.

“Protect and serve, Mon. It’s part of the job.” He said with a lopsided smile. She rolled her eyes, calling Marius (who unsurprisingly still wasn’t out of his apartment) to let him know their fellow detective had made it out okay.

“Ah, disappointing.” He’d joked, Monika’s volume up enough for Dom to hear. Dom shook his head, suddenly dreading the amount of paperwork this would be, especially with the Russian’s knowing who he was. He imagined it was even more stressful for Gilles though, and sought him out, finding him in the back of a squad car, wrapped in an orange shock blanket.

Dom tapped on the window before opening the door, asking Gilles how he was doing.

“I’m doing okay. I’m fine thanks to you, Detective.” Dominic snorted, playing with the edges of his now ruined jacket, wishing he’d taken the stupid blanket as the cold ate through the material.

“It was my fault they suspected you to begin with. I guess this means you don’t owe me dinner anymore.” Dominic looked everywhere but Gilles’ eyes. Gilles hummed in thought.

“I think that means I owe you two dinners, at least if you enjoy the first. I need to get to know my hero, Detective Brunsmeier.” Dom smiled in surprise, face going a bit red, which he hoped could be attributed to the biting cold.

“Dominic’s good. Or Dom, whichever you prefer.” He said, offering his hand. Gilles took it with a smile and a nod.

“It’s a date then.” He said, Dom’s heart skipping a few beats as he processed.

Gilles made good on both dinners.

[that-quiet-girl-who-writes]

Broken~Part 23 (JJ.)

A/N: I swear I’m trying to write more guys HAPPY READING, also wtf is happening in riverdale season 3 like really??? Whatever I’m still gonna watch it

Summary: Betty tells you about what she’s learned about Polly and then helps you get ready for Jason’s funeral. Veronica tells you she’s going to Cheryl’s the night before.

Pairing: Jughead x Andrews!reader

Word Count: 1306

Warnings: Swearing I think

Masterlist

Broken Masterlist

I didn’t sleep well that night. There were two big things on my mind; where was Jughead sleeping tonight and was I going to go to Jason’s memorial? I was pretty sure that Jughead wouldn’t tell me if I asked, so I tried pushing that out of my mind, but it only got worse. If he was refusing to tell me, he must think that I won’t approve, which was making me incredible anxious. As for Jason, I figured that I should go, it felt wrong not to.

Jughead asked me at lunch if I was going. I told him yes. We were on the couch in the student lounge when Betty came in and sat with us. She told us that the previous night, she had talked to her dad and finally got at least part of the story about why her sister wasn’t living with them at the moment.

“My dad said that she had been trying to hurt herself,” said Betty. “That’s why they sent her away.”

My heart broke for Betty. Neither she nor her sister had deserved something like this. I hadn’t really known Polly since she was older, but she had always seemed sweet.

“Betty, I’m sorry. That’s hardcore,” said Jughead.

“I asked my dad if I could call Polly. He said she was doing better, but then when she heard about Jason’s death she had a big setback. He doesn’t want to risk another one.” Her voice was sad. It made me feel sad.

“I may not know exactly what Polly’s going through, but I know a bit about breakdowns. Betty, I think that even just one conversation with your sister could help her more than you know.” I told her.

“I want to talk to her, I really do, but I don’t even know where she is. I have no way to get in touch with her. Believe me, if I could, I would.”

“Why does a rich kid sell drugs?” Jughead pondered.

“He was running away from his parents.” Betty said.

“Yeah, probably,” He stood up, “or drug dealers.”

“Oh my god, is that possible?”

I could tell what Betty was thinking about Jug’s theory, she was afraid that her sister had been mixed in with all of this. The drugs, the runaway, the drama. It was a lot to take in. I couldn’t imagine what it would feel like if I Archie’s life was a mystery to me. It would be overwhelming, not knowing if my brother was safe or not.

Not five minutes later, the three of us had planned to sneak into Jason’s bedroom during the funeral reception. When Jughead had told me that he and Betty were going to do this, I hadn’t really pictured myself playing detective as well. Now I was a part of the conversation and a part of the mission.

__________________________

Ronnie💜: Cheryl invited me over

Ronnie💜: Have you ever been to her house for a slumber party?

Me: SLEEP OVER AT THORN HILL?! Hell no

Ronnie💜: It’s the night before the memorial, she says she doesn’t wanna be alone

Me: Then you should go

Ronnie💜: What are the chances that I come back?

Me: Considering there’ll be a house full of people the next day, it’s 50-50

Me: You should go. It’s usual 20-80

_______________________

Dad popped into my room that night to say he was going out for a little while and that he’d be back soon. Archie wasn’t home, so I went over to Betty’s and we decided I should stay the night so that she could help me get ready for the funeral in the morning.

“Jughead told me about what happened this summer. It sounds like you two had some adventures.” She smiled at me. I was sitting on the edge of her bed, too tired for this conversation.

“I wouldn’t exactly call them adventures.” I laughed.

“He told me that you guys went to the old tree house.”

“Yeah. We haven’t been there in like three years. It was nice. Nostalgic, but like, in a nice way, not a sad one.”

She nodded her head. “He’s coming over in the morning to get ready.”

I don’t say anything. I don’t have a response to that. Okay? Good? It’ll be great to see him? I saw him yesterday, not that I’m objecting to his coming over.

“Hey, Y/N/N?”

“Mm.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay going to a funeral?”

“Don’t ask. Don’t let me think about it or I’ll start questioning my entire life.”

“Right.”

We didn’t talk much until morning came around and Betty was looking for something black for me to wear.

“We could just go to my house and grab something.” I suggested as she searched through her dresser.

“Do you have anything?”

“I don’t know. I could check though.”

“Okay. I’m gonna get dressed, you go check your closet.”

“You trust me to go over there alone?”

“Of course, it’s your own house and I can see into your room from here.” She told me.

I stayed where I was sitting for a moment and contemplated that. Archie wouldn’t have trusted me, neither would Dad or maybe even Jughead.

“Betty?” She turned her head and looked at me. “Thank you.”

She smiled at me and I walked out her bedroom, downstairs and out the front door. Why did it mean so much to me just to able to walk from the house next door back home? Because nobody would let me do it. For good reason too because I almost let myself wonder into road twice during that twenty second walk. The first time because the house across the road had flowers growing under one of their windows and I wanted to know what they smelt like, the second because I started following a leaf that was being blown around in the wind the same direction I was walking. It blew closer to edge of the sidewalk and I subconsciously moved with it until it had been blow in to street and I followed for a second before I heard tires. The car wasn’t even on my street, but the noise woke me up from this little trance and I quickly moved back onto the sidewalk.

Once I got to my room, I dug through my closet and pulled out anything that was black. I through all the clothes onto my bed and then sifted through them and grabbed anything that wasn’t a tshirt or tattered leggings. Out of that, I took a lacy, black long sleeve top and the one pair of leggings that didn’t have holes in them. I left my house, passing Archie who was sliding on his bulldogs jacket over top a dress shirt and tie.

On my way back to Betty’s, I spotted Jughead walking up her front walkway. I sped up and got his attention by saying his name. He turned around and it was then that I noticed he was wearing an ill-fitting suit. For being too big, it didn’t look bad.

“Hey.” He said, a little surprised seeing me walking around the neighborhood by myself. I smiled at him and nodded my head at his clothes.

“Oh, this, this is just an old suit of my dad’s.” He said looking down and grabbing at the collar of his shirt, “It was the best I could do.”

“You say that like it looks bad.” I said.

“Well-”

“It doesn’t, believe me.”

He laughs in defeat, “Alright. What are you doing here?”

“Betty’s helping me get ready. I was just grabbing some clothes from my room.”

“So you’re coming then?”

“Yeah. Come on, I have to get dressed.” I reached out and grabbed his hand. He opened the door and dramatically gestured for me to enter the house. I laughed and pulled him in behind me.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Part 24

Taglist (All Stories): @nerdyandexhausted @runs-with-sciss0rs @kapolisradomthoughts

Taglist (Broken): @natalieroseg @notalwaysfair @nerdyandexhausted @littleghostgirljojo

Taglist (Jughead): @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked

[turtlechicky]

Just something I need to rant about.

I have a very hard time trusting women and that’s thanks to my childhood. It’s not something I’m going to air out. A friend believes I may have ptsd thanks to my mom and growing up with her untreated ptsd. So where people call me fake is me just avoiding topics and not willing to talk about shit.

The friend who I could talk to about most things began to stop messaging me, when I’d message her she would only reply to me 3-5 times before going silent. It usually took an hour between the messages. Like I get it you have depression and a lot of health issues.. but all I was good for was being used. I stopped trying to start conversations and we went so long without talking. She got several tattoos in that time period but never had time to say hi to me. She kinda tried so I accepted and invited her to my apartment for a week because it seemed to be better. We had some heart to heart talks and it was okay for a few days and then it was apparent that I was more of a convenience then a friend. She never helped clean, she smoked my weed WHILE I WAS ASLEEP and ate so much of our food only to purge it all in my bathroom. I understand it’s an eating disorder and I understand she has a ton of problems that make coping really hard. But to tell me “I’m bigger than you now” in complete disgust and change the conversation when I tried to talk to you because I need to talk to someone. You slept while I was awake and you stayed up when I went to bed, no matter what I did it seemed like you wanted nothing to do with me just wanted to spend the week in my home. You left and changed your name and didn’t even try to talk to me for over a month. I gave up trying to talk to you, you showed me last year after everything that I wasn’t that important. “Best friend” because I was easy to use. I was honest with what I was feeling and thinking and you immediately turned it around as if I’m the one to blame for everything, that I’m the one with problems, that I’m a fake person because I couldn’t handle only being your “best friend” when I was useful to you. You actually tried to turn my friend against me and mocked your boyfriend for having an anxiety attack because you slept with your boss. I’m not the one who talks about slitting my wrists and playing with the cuts and drawing with the blood. When ever I wore pink or purple you went out of your way to tell me how much you hate the colours. You have gone out of your way to ignore me, even though I needed my “best friend”, but I’m the bad person because I didn’t have the energy for mind games and fake friends anymore. Not to forget whatever bullshit you are filling the exroommates head with because I compared the two of you and she went crazy.

Now the exroommate... she’s bipolar, but a more severe kind. She needed help and we needed a roommate. She was living with black mold in a horrible building with some fucked up people. She lived two doors down from a cocky dealer who brings all kind of issues (cough swat cough) and just crappy people in general. So we wanted to help her because she was an old friend of mine. Ditched the town we went to school at and stopped talking to me for a few years. Whatever didn’t matter. But she was obsessive over her cat. Told me I couldn’t call him nosey nibs because she didn’t like it, but her other friends can call him dickface and other insulting names and she loved calling him stupid. But nosey nibs was bad. I need help cleaning and do things because I’m crippled with health problems, that was the other reason she was brought in. Not just money but because she can clean. But nope! I did the cleaning, I did the work that needed to be done and was told to relax every time I complained. During her fits of anger I was the verbal punching bag or I watched the poor cat have to deal with her. She is beyond entitled, bf had a friend over for d&d and the friend said that everyone gets pizza. The boys got back from picking it up and she walked out and demanded to know where her pizza was because he said everyone gets one. When bf took me out for dinner or a date she would whine that she wanted some or that she was never taken out on a date. She would obsess over different topics and would go on and on about the same things that make her angry. Or when she was angry she always had to declare it as she treated anything and anyone like crap. Told me how she destroyed a bunch of her ex’s cloths and other stuff because he was a junkie player who only wanted easy pussy. Her dumbass got back with him and was specifically told he is not allowed here period. He’s a heavy drug user and we don’t want that here, she gave him the address and fucking had him pick her up at the patio. She decides to spend 2 weeks with him and left the cat in our care, without telling us and freaks out saying we need to replace the cat poop scoop because my bf broke it taking care of her stupid animal. She’s not allowed there anymore and starts asking to bring him here, which was met with a firm no. Which she did nothing but bitch and moan about how it’s not fair she can’t see him. He goes on vacation and starts to distance himself before she says wtf and blocks her after saying he doesn’t want to be with her. She actually harassed him hardcore when they broke up, walls of texts of her just not stopping and then none stop calling so she can scream at him.

She’s a hood rat, a grossly petty, genuine shit human all the way through. She trashed my home, believed we should just feed her and give her food when she didn’t have any left. Not my problem you don’t know how to spend the money the government gives you every month, not my problem that you end up hungry for a week or two due to your own stupidity. She sends a text that literally sounds like she was going to leave in a few weeks and then freaks out because we were confused over what she sent. She throws a temper tantrum and says “I’ll move out of there’s going to be issues” when she started the whole issue to begin with. I text her asking her not to burn white sage EVERYDAY (it was a week straight) because when I would get up to use the restroom all I could smell is burnt sage and it makes me feel ill. But that was immediately met with “I don’t burn it while your awake. Whatever I’ll just throw it out.” I tried to explain but she wouldn’t listen and I think she may have thrown it out in the end. I decided to have a nap on the couch and instead of leaving me alone she pestered me until I sat up and listened to the stupid shit I don’t care about that she HAS to tell me. She wouldn’t let me sleep and brought a friend over and laughed at me when I napped during a boring movie. But you know I leave her alone to nap but god forbid I receive that courtesy. I once again try and explain how rude it is to wake me up when I’m sleeping because you need to tell me about what some stupid person said and like clock work she freaks out and says she feels tense angry energy in the apartment because she’s an “empath” and I’m a literal fucking duck, quack. If she was an empath she was a shit one because every time she asked me if I was angry it was nothing more than a depressed state for the day. Yet my emotions how I felt never mattered, if I was upset that must mean I’m angry but even if I yelled she did nothing because “your always so calm and leave headed” and “you didn’t yell you never do” even though I did, I fucking ran and took a bath to calm down to make it a level conversion after I had yelled. She decided to “help” a “friend” (she had known him for maybe a week) and jumped head first into a drug deal and brought the crazy fucker to the apartment. She had only met him once. I was told to lock my windows and doors and be super quiet for the night. She was FUCKING WHITE GIRL WASTED and begged me not to tell my boyfriend. Decided she wanted to kill herself when I told her I had to tell him. Like hell im not going to tell him she may have put his life on the line. Then she wanted to tell my bf what happened after she “calmed down”. She had wanted him to come to her but he refused, he works nights. She knocked on our door FUCKING LIGHTLY until we got up and she barely told him anything, I told him more. She fucking lied to me about what happened 3 times and then tried to turn my bf against me saying I was being emotional. She decided to hop out for a few days, right after they “talked”, changed her number and got a new phone. But she wouldn’t stop texting me. I said I need a few days and she sent me 16 messages in 2 days. 2 on fb and the rest through text. The one she sent right before I went out to tell her we wanted her to move out was manipulation.

(I’m tech stupid so you get copy and paste of the text)

“I get your angry. I really do.

You need to try to understand that vodka makes me freak out I hate the stuff and I over reacted

Please try to ubderatdn it had NOTHING to do with me and nothing to do with you two.

I can continue to stay out of the apartment for how ever long you need. But I might have a job at a pet store that my friend works at and I need this job and I just need a plAce to stay. I would be angry too if the roles were reversed and if you really are my friend you are going to ubderatdn I made a mistake

I admit it And I am learning from it

Please don't send me on the street over almost nothing”

I finally broke and was straight to the point. I gave her until the 16th to get out and when she started to argue with me I threw the text she sent me in her face calling her the name of the other friend. She lost it and stole my ear muffs, a 10cent mug, a small bag of crystals and marbles I liked, and she decided that she was only going to pay 200 of the 490 she owed for rent. She insulted me endlessly and was gross, she kept throwing trash around the apartment more so after I kicked her out. Every time she came to pick up stuff she tried to get me to fight with her and scream back. But I never did, I got the landlord involved and wasn’t here alone when she came here. I made sure she couldn’t do more damage than what she did. And all the while texting my boyfriend telling him how bad of a person I am and that I was stupid for kicking her out over “almost nothing”. She tried to manipulate him and claims I over reacted and he should have said something.

Maybe I did. But I stand by my choice. Why would I want someone who claims to be my friend and treats me like trash? We said weed and muchrooms are the only recreational drugs aloud period. No if ands or buts about it. What happened changed every time she told me what happened. I’ve watched the way the heavy ones warp people and I want absolutely nothing to do with them. I watched the way blow warped a few people and I’ve watched what meth does to people. I know too many drug abusers and seen how they treat the people they love. So sorry if a very personal thing of mine was too hard to understand. But this “one mistake” wasn’t one, it was going to be another and another because that’s who she is. I ducked out of a relationship that was going to be abusive before it got there, why would I make an acception for you? I was dating the guy and found out he was crazy and cut it off before it went south, turns out he was a junkie. Something his cousin left out when she said we should get together. Bitch was supposed to be my best friend.

I have my problems but being toxic isn’t one of them. Just because I refuse to be bullied by people who use their disorders as an excuse to treat others like crap, doesn’t mean I should stay away from anyone with a mental illness, in fact many of my friends with mental illnesses have stated how much I help them. I’m not a toy or a puppet, I am human and your manipulative ghetto ass isn’t worth my time or energy. I refuse to be friends with someone who torments the cat until it paws at her and chases her in anger or will tease him with his favourite treat tuna and then never give him any after she makes him beg for it. I’m also not followed around Walmart for stealing or beg the neighbours to take me to a food bank because weed was more important than food. Or brag about stealing cough drops.

I have my flaws. I’m too forgiving, I can be very cold and cruel sometimes, I’m blunt and picky about how clean my apartment is. I’m not always good at talking about what bothers me and sometimes I clam up and hold onto it until I crack. I can be very cruel when I’ve been screwed over and my anger scares people. But I’m not fake, I am me and I’m not going to change or be manipulated by some bitter cunt who ignored me for the day when I told her of a complement I got and was confused by. Anytime I brought up how I thought people’s comments and stares were odd she’s always say the same thing “well you do walk around with braces on both legs and you dress how you want. I don’t understand why your confused or surprised.” But she just about lost it when I was cat called and didnt give a shit and then bragged about “cat calling men like they do to us.” I don’t hold grudges and sometimes I really question if it’s a good thing or not. I tried to help an old friend and she dug her grave. I will not be sorry for how I feel or what I said. Why is it okay to push me to a breaking point but god forbid I say anything apparently it makes me a hypocrite and immature?

[dalekofchaos]

Why I wish DONTNOD made Before The Storm

I love Before The Storm, but apart of me wishes DONTNOD made BTS. Mainly because there are a lot of things BTS contradicts about Life Is Strange. 

Rachel’s parents. I always got the feeling Rachel’s parents were neglectful, which REALLY showed when Chloe said they are in denial that Rachel is missing. Rachel having neglectful parents and Chloe having an abusive stepfather and abuse enabling mother, would show just why Rachel and Chloe wants to leave Arcadia Bay. What happens in BTS? Rachel has kind and loving parents and a bio mom that is a horrible representation of drug addiction(everything about how D9 wrote Sera sends a horrible message, wtf D9?) and all of sudden James just pretends that Rachel isn’t missing? The fuck? Also, Rachel’s parents are not called James or Rose. Rachel’s student information we see in Episode 3 about her parents is not readable, but he Initial letters of the names written within the Parent(s) field on Rachel's file do not appear to match the names James or Rose (or even Sera)

Rachel’s address. Rachel’s  Blackwell Student Information Sheet shows Rachel’s home address. Rachel Amber has an address of "6 Sa(?)u/n(?)tle Road, Arcadia Bay, Oregon". There is a piece of paper covering the Home Address field, but we can make out a "gon" from the end of "Oregon", so we know it is within the state. As her address in the top-right corner is different to what appears to be the dormitory address on the other student files, we can assume that "6 Sa(?)u/n(?)tle Road" is implying her home address (just like on Chloe's file). However, in Before the Storm, her home address is 2420 Blackfriars Road, Arcadia Bay, Oregon.

Chloe’s blue hair. In Episode 3 of Before the Storm, Chloe is shown dyeing her hair blue for the very first time. However, we know that in Life is Strange, Chloe had been dyeing her hair with a blue streak on or before her 16th birthday (two months before Before the Storm takes place). indicating that Chloe had already been using blue dye in her hair by the time of her 16th birthday. It would have made more sense if we had seen Chloe with a blue streak in Before the Storm Episode 1.

Max’s contact of Chloe. "You were happy to wait five years without a call, or even a text." In Before the Storm's Episode 1, "Awake," Chloe's phone clearly shows that Max has been texting her during her time in Seattle and had even initiated text messaging after admitting to being "bad about emailing". Max has texted Chloe on the following dates in November 2009: 2nd, 13th, and 28th. Max was supposed to have not emailed, called or text Chloe ever since she left for Seattle, it should end in  9/28/2008, but it began again a year later.

Joyce and David’s relationship.  In Before the Storm, David and Joyce are currently unmarried and had started dating not that long before the game's events that are set in May 2010 (Chloe is 16 years old at this time). David is also about to move in to the Price household, which is seen happening by Episode 3. But in Life is Strange, a chronological timestreammontage shows that Joyce and David were already married before Chloe's 16th birthday. A picture of a married Joyce and David appears prior to an image of Chloe on her 16th birthday in this timestream montage

Blackwell problem. Victoria Chase’s sole reason for being at Blackwell is Mark Jefferson. Jeffershit is not in BTS. Victoria is introduced as a sophomore at Blackwell Academy in Before the Storm and wants to be in theater for...reasons, but the age for Victoria in the first game suggests she should be a freshman in BTS. Warren is a Blackwell student at age 13. Max is said to be a sophmore with Chloe in her own school in Seattle at the time, but problem there is Max turned 14 in 2009 after the September 1st cutoff date. This means that she wouldn't be starting high school until September the following year (fall 2010). The normal age requirement to start high school as a freshman is age 14 (i.e. turning 14 before the September 1st cutoff). It is currently unknown why Max has advanced two grades in 2010. She has a 2.8 GPA on her 2013 student information sheet, which suggests she is a low B / C / high D student (not an exemplary student). Her GPA is also said to fluctuate and she acknowledged in 2013 that she should be doing better. and there’s the fact that Chloe is in Blackwell with some of the characters in the first game  and dialogue (or text messages) between these characters seems to suggest that she did not know them as fellow students or even classmates prior to the original game's events. For example, Stella is in Chloe’s class photo, problem with that is that Stella doesn’t even know who Chloe is, she just refers to her as “some girl” Warren. Warren does not know who Chloe is at the beginning of Episode 2, yet in BTS class photo he is seen with Chloe.  Other dialogue gives the impression that Warren does not know Chloe beforehand. For example, the text messages Max receives from Warren in Episode 4 if she kissed Chloe but declined Warren's invitation to the drive-in.  There is no mention of the fact he knows Chloe from when she was going to Blackwell, her complete change of appearance, or that he's surprised that Max knows her too! There are also a couple of points in Life is Strange where, if Warren knew Chloe from the past, he would have likely opened a dialogue with her about that it's good to see her again or even asking how life is outside Blackwell. Not even Chloe seems to recognize Warren, as she refers to him simply as "your friend" to Max. Justin.  When Max encounters Justin at the Blackwell Campus in the first episode of Life is Strange, "Chrysalis", she has the option to talk with him about Rachel and "her punk friend", as Max does not yet know the identity of the blue-haired punk girl that she had saved in the bathroom earlier.  "I can't remember her name... But she was hot. Tats. Blue hair. Hardcore. She stopped hanging out with us after Rachel disappeared... or ran away." As we see in Life is Strange, Justin refers to Chloe in a very vague way as Rachel's "punk friend" and as though he only knows her second-hand through Rachel. Yet the Before the Storm prequel game puts Justin in the same Blackwell student photograph as Chloe (standing directly in front of her), furthermore implying they are in the same classes. He would have had frequent contact with Chloe as a classmate of just that handful of students. Also in Before the Storm, Chloe interacts with Justin at Blackwell and they seem very familiar with each other. Justin refers to her as both "Chlo-ee" and "Price", so he definitely knows both her first name and surname. They also are texting with each other in Before the Storm.    Nathan. In Life is Strange Episode 1’s Cliff chapter, Max will ask Chloe about Nathan. Chloe will tell Max:"I met him in some shithole bar that didn't card me. He was too rich for the place and too wasted. And he kept flashing bills..." in Before The Storm, Chloe knows Nathan from Blackwell.  but the way she describes her predicament to Max sounds like she is describing her first impressions from the first time she ever met or had one-to-one dealings with him (i.e. no previous encounters before that).

Chloe is left handed in the first game and right handed in BTS. Yes she does use her left in some points, but Chloe’s dominant hand in the first game is her left hand. Throughout BTS, Chloe smokes and drinks with her right hand, lights the Amber House candles with her right hand and even writes graffiti with her right hand. In the first game Chloe smokes and drinks with her left hand and lockpicks with her left hand. DONTNOD confirmed she was left handed. I am just baffled by this decision. The only time I remember Chloe using her left hand as her dominant hand in BTS is when she burns evidence for Damon.

Chloe is expelled in 2011 in the first game. Chloe is expelled in 2010 for BTS. Max looks at a report card in Chloe's bedroom which shows that Chloe was still attending Blackwell Academy up until the end of her junior year, which was in May 2011. BTS gives us the choice to defend Rachel and get expelled or suspended if you don’t. There is also no mention by the Principal of a recent suspension for "spray-painting graffiti in the parking lot" as was clearly mentioned on her school file in his office in Life is Strange, nor any mention of the "police reports." Although the suspension is temporary and she is to be hopefully reinstated in the fall to start her junior year on condition of her good behavior, the suspension was not over graffiti. Being expelled in 2010 completely contradicts the circumstances of the original game, and the suspension (although being the least non-canon consequence) is over the wrong reasons. Even if Chloe was suspended, it is not unreasonable to believe that she would be expelled anyway over the extensive graffiti she left in the bathroom.

Chloe knows about Pompidou’s name despite not knowing the pupper’s name in the first game. Also "The only way you know my dog's name is if you broke into my RV." Why would he say that if he told Chloe Pompidou’s name?

How Frank got Pompidou. Frank used to bet on dog fights before having a revelation and saving a bunch of dogs, keeping one for himself. in BTS Damon gave Pompidou as a gift to Frank.

Chloe and David do not and should not have a good relationship. Deck 9 forces us to choose to be nice to David and if we choose the most Chloe choice, Chloe is demonized for being who she is. 

Frank was just a drug dealer to Chloe and who she and Rachel hung out with in the past. Now Frank kills someone to protect Chloe. Chloe and Frank are not friends. 

Chloe’s “Rachel was my angel” comment showed a lot to how Chloe loved Rachel and how much she meant to her.  Chloe tells Max that Rachel entered her life when was at her absolute lowest and that it was she who helped her deal with the grief of having lost her father but the entire game is centered around Chloe being the one who is supporting Rachel as she deals with a serious family drama of her own.  What Before The Storm should have been. Rachel helping lift Chloe through the worse point of her life. If Rachel had stopped Chloe from committing suicide… as was the commonly believed interpretation to what happened between Chloe and Rachel up until BtS, then Chloe's ""she was my angel" would have meant it was truly special and real. But instead they bump into each other at an illegal concert and Rachel distracted some thug who works for Damon and we spend the game finding out who Sera is in a reveal we all saw it coming and only to have Rachel taken out of the third episode where Rachel never talks to her and makes the whole thing feel pointless. What the game should have been was Chloe and Rachel together having fun rocking out and Chloe starting to live again and show that Chloe Price loves Rachel Amber and Rachel loves Chloe.

But mainly I wanted DONTNOD to make BTS because they know how to make a good story. In the first game we get this great mystery and a coming of age story.  The first game shows you what��s at stake right away, with Before The Storm there’s no clear danger, conflict or mystery. We only get it halfway through the second episode and even then it’s a bad mystery and conflict and  if it takes that long to add conflict or mystery, then I really think they failed the game. The best parts about the game are Amberprice, episode 2, Steph, Mikey & Drew and Samantha. But that’s kind of it. Before The Storm was kind of a disappointment. 

I do feel that if DONTNOD had done Amberprice, then it would have been respectable about it. Not Deck 9′s “haha yeah sure Amberprice *one episode later* hahha we’re just gonna take this back, not reference it and cut all the content we planned, no it was all about how toxic Rachel was” fuck Deck Nine we would’ve been shown just how much Chloe and Rachel loved each other and no take backs. Ideally we could’ve gotten 4 episodes or seasons to explore the years that evolve Chloe and Rachel’s relationship and just show how much they loved each other.  

I don’t feel that Deck Nine understands Rachel Amber as a character or understands what made the fanbase love her from the first game. Rachel is a character shrouded in mystery. The vibe I got from Chloe indicates that Rachel Amber saved her at her lowest and made her feel like she could live again. I also got the vibe that Rachel had neglectful parents who cared very little of her and Rachel was tired of the pressures of being little ms perfect and the bullying she suffers at Blackwell. So Chloe and Rachel wanted to be free from Arcadia Bay. Chloe wanted to be free of an abusive step-father and her mother who allows the abuse to go on and Rachel wanted to be free from everything at Arcadia Bay. Started a knew life as a model in LA. It was their Santa Monica Dream. The characterization of Rachel Amber in BTS just feels like D9 does not understand Rachel. Rachel Amber is meant to be a morally grey character.  There are hints that she wasn’t this perfect angel Chloe thought she was and then backed away from that perspective out of fear fans would be angry at their depiction of Rachel. Rachel Amber who I knew in the first game was just not there. She had no interesting perspective or enlightenment to offer to Chloe or be the positive force to Chloe or even showed why she was this mysterious chameleon who fit in so perfectly with everyone who was adored by everyone. She was just a pretty looking character model with a great voice actress that would sometimes say very wistful, wide-eyed things. She would also quote boring poetry. Rachel in BTS has no aspiration to be a model and instead of Rachel helping Chloe deal with her grief, the game makes it about Chloe helping Rachel with her family drama. We never get to see Rachel meet Joyce(Joyce in LIS makes it seem like her and Rachel got along) we never get to see Rachel defending Chloe from David or Rachel as this ambiguous character. She’s portrayed as this character that must be protected at all costs, like she’s neither ambiguous nor does she have any agency. It is perfectly okay to show her drift away from Chloe.  Yes they were in love and had this great relationship and they loved each other. It’s important to see and know the people we romanticize are not who we thought they were. Rachel was looking for a way out of Arcadia Bay. She first thought both her and Chloe can escape to LA together. But over time she did not think that was possible anymore. Chloe dodges her car payments and her family is in debt and Chloe is in debt to Frank. She still wants to leave with Chloe, but Rachel needed an alternative way so she and Chloe can escape. So Rachel turned to Frank, she used him for her drugs because as  time goes on, Rachel turns to drugs to numb the pain. She parties with The Vortex Club and as Nathan said “Rachel partied like a fiend on her own.” Hell, she was so desperate to leave Arcadia Bay she even asked the trucker to take her to LA. Then, Rachel meets Mark Jefferson. Rachel saw him as her way to LA. She wanted to have her pictures modeled by a professional, which he was, but Rachel never saw him for what he was. A sheep in wolf’s clothing, a monster. He saw her as the perfect subject. A human chameleon with many visual possibilities and he felt they had a connection. Manipulating her into believing that he is the father figure that James never was for her. Rachel wrote a letter to Chloe in the shack but discarded it. She feels that he changed her life but the discarded letter shows that she felt ashamed about the whole relationship. Her shame indicates that she was apart of the Dark Room. At first she just saw it as a big photography project outside of school, but then Rachel started to look into Jefferson’s past models and figured out something was wrong. In Jefferson’s own words “Not like Rachel, who was always looking in the wrong places. Poor Rachel.” Jefferson of course finds out because The Dark Room is under 24 hours surveillance. So out of fear of Rachel telling everyone, Jefferson kills Rachel, doses Nathan and poses Nathan’s unconscious body with Rachel’s lifeless body. The vibe I got from the first game is that Rachel and Chloe have this very important and special bond. But Rachel just wanted to be free of Arcadia Bay by any means necessary. Rachel would go far to get what she wanted. Someone who is willing to lie to the people she cared about to satisfy her own needs and goals. Personally, I see Rachel as being okay with manipulating everybody BUT Chloe, which gives everybody a foothold to try and gaslight Chloe and Max about her, trying to get them to doubt that Rachel genuinely cared about Chloe.  Rachel wanted a way out and she thought she had her way out, but in the end she played with fire and got burned. 

 I don’t feel that Deck Nine did Chloe justice. The writers attempt to evoke empathy with Chloe feeling grief which is done via exactly one emotion- which is a very childish understanding of how loss and coping works. She had no character arc, considering she was the exact same character that we already knew in LiS Episode 1 (A bitter disaffected teenage youth with no regard for authority) so we didn't get to see Chloe evolve into the character we loved in the first game. She just already was it.  The gameplay undid the narrative we were given about Chloe being a loner in that you can talk to and make friends with pretty much anybody and they all acted like they liked and were genuinely happy to see Chloe. Very rarely were there interactions with Blackwell students that ended with Chloe's presence not being welcomed, only Wells, Victoria and Nathan showed contempt for Chloe(even with Nathan that goes away when he claps for her at the play)  The reason this is done is because the game wouldn't be fun if Chloe actually was a loner. The core mechanic of Life is Strange is being able to talk to people and experiment with your surroundings. A game where nobody wanted to talk to Chloe works against the core mechanic. But in making her the main character it undoes the weight of the narrative of Chloe being alone until Rachel/Max. I just strongly feel that Deck Nine did not understand Chloe as a character and did not do her justice. 

We should’ve gotten Chloe at her lowest, evolving from Max’s best friend to the character we know in the first game and Rachel helping lift Chloe through the worse point of her life.  Chloe and Rachel together having fun rocking out and Chloe starting to live again and show that Chloe Price loves Rachel Amber and Rachel loves Chloe. Chloe losing Rachel and showing how Chloe has to deal with Rachel missing, how she became in debt to Frank and how she got involved with Nathan and how Chloe ends up in the bathroom.