Nice work, can really see Jefferson acting like that towards the end, same goes for Max I'm hoping that she shows flashes of her dark side and being less accommodating to people's words and actions, sure it might not show for now since she got a way forward from the new beginning but as time passes...
Originator [Life Is Strange | Urban Fantasy Quest]
- Thread starter Alobomb
- Start date
- Fantasy Alt. History
- Location
- The Colored Room
- Pronouns
- TheOne
You try getting kicked by anyone and get back to us on this. Being kicked repeatedly while you're tied up isn't going to just leave a few scratches. You can hurt someone bad like this. But aside from that...
This was interesting. It's up to Alobomb to say whether it's canon or not, but I can definitely see Max having the thought to do this cross her mind. Once or twice, if nothing else. It's been 14 loops, counting this one so, she's had time to go off the wall.
If I was stuck in a timeloop and had to deal with half the drama Max does, I'd probably get suspicious of the murderer/kidnapper subplot of my life too. If this is canon, then at least Max can rule out anyone she knows having anything to do with the storm. (Aside from herself)
On Canonicity (Omakes and Fanworks)
Alobomb
Time Traveler
- Location
- Canada
Oh shit, that was excellent Blueshift. I always imagined the way Jefferson would react to that kind of situation would be pure cowardice, the kinda pathetic begging and pleading for his life/not to be turned in. Your interpretation is 100x more bone chilling, and using him as a way of turning a mirror onto Max to make her consider her actions is really clever, awesome awesome work. Has been added to the OP.
Warning for long rant about silly things, TL;DR at bottom.
I have some mixed thoughts on the topic of canonicity as a whole. When it comes down to it, what do we define as canon? If we take the original application of the word to the Biblical canon, it comes from the Greek work for "rule" or "measuring stick." In that case it refers to what is considered by the largest group of worshipers to be the "authoritative scripture", i.e the scripture that is believed to be "true" and applicable to reality. Funnily enough, things become infinitely more complicated once we apply this same idea to modern fiction.
Take Game of Thrones, a show I haven't watched, for example. George R.R Martin's books can be considered to be the Canon of the ASOIAF series so we'll take that as the base level of "canon" here. Let's go one step "removed" from that and look at the TV show, Game of Thrones. In it, plot elements from the books are changed, character's motivations and personalities take on entirely different tones or bents, and it of course gets it's own "anime original ending" to borrow a phrase. Does this make it a non-canon piece of media? Or does it make it it's own canon as a separate entity from ASOIAF? Is it technically a fanwork?
Let's follow this one step further. As of the end of 2018, the first book of ASOIAF had sold 44 million copies in North America since publication. The average live viewership per episode of Game of Thrones throughout it's whole run was 32.8 million. Taking into account that a large portion of the audience likely did not watch each GoT episode live, I think it is safe to assume that Game of Thrones likely has a much larger consumer base than ASOIAF does. Assuming that we take them as two separate takes on the same universe, does the larger fanbase of the TV show (and therefore the larger amount of people who consider it to be "true") mean that the TV show is "more" canon than the books? Or does the books status as the Originator (roll credits) of the media universe and authorship by George R.R Martin mean that it inherently has more canonicity than the TV show, no matter how much larger the TV show fanbase becomes than the books?
To pivot entirely, there are fanworks out there that I personally believe to be necessary for the full experience of various pieces of media. Both Life is Strange and Homestuck fall into this category. If I personally take these fanworks I consider to be intrinsic to understanding some character's characterizations to be canonical, do they not become so for me? Is canonicity then not an objective property, but a subjective one? What if the author comes right out to me and says "no, Detective Pony is not an accurate assessment of Dirk's personality." Obviously I can disagree and deny this, but will I then be somehow objectively incorrect by doing so? What if 90% of fans believe the fanwork to be "canonical" when the author still disagrees? Who's right?
(Spoiler: I think it's each individual person who's correct about their own canon.)
All of that to say, canonicity is fluid, even moreso when time travel is involved in-universe, and even moreso when it's a form of collaborative writing, such as a quest. It can be useful nomenclature to keep track of what has or hasn't been confirmed to have happened in a story, but if that is so non-self-evident that it needs that kind of label to confirm it, there's probably bigger issues at play lmao.
TL;DR What's canon or not isn't up to me, all I have control over is the thread of story I'm writing, not your interpretation of it or others. The world that Max is in cannot be easily confirmed to be similar enough to her previous loops that any information this would mean she knew would be relevant. For all omakes it's up to the individual reading them whether they want to apply them as canon or not. Personally, I really like Blueshift's omake, and I can absolutely see it as canonical, but I also ain't gonna "confirm" that or force it on you guys, it's your story (almost) as much as it is mine.
- Location
- The Colored Room
- Pronouns
- TheOne
Hmm, this is a really wholesome take.
Some authors are really possessive when it comes to their work. Even if they're derivative in the first place.
I like this "mythos" approach instead of the usual "dogma". It's a breath of fresh air.
To keep with the ecclesiastical example, it reminds me of the early church.
EDIT:
I'll keep this in mind if I get an omake idea, so much of what write for other threads is really dependent on whether the OP/QM would give it a stamp of approval.
I always try to add to the story, so if i have an idea that doesn't work with the story (isn't canonized) I just kind of toss it.
Last edited:
2.06
Alobomb
Time Traveler
- Location
- Canada
Kate frowns and quirks one eyebrow up in irritation as your mind races. It's almost an uncanny-valley feeling, seeing this new Kate there staring you down. Most of all because it makes sense. If the Kate you knew hadn't been traumatized and bullied, the way you're being treated right now makes sense as a logical endpoint for Kate. An assertiveness for her place in her friend's life and a deep, deep well of love for them, especially the ones she believes are vulnerable.
After a moment of withering under her glare, you come to a decision. The sunlight from the window starts to go dark as you flex your right hand, awareness of the threads immediately blossoming to the forefront of your mind, and raise it imperceptibly. You're careful to be subtle, you're not interested in freaking her- Well. That's not true. You fully intend to freak her out. You just don't want to raise your hand and make her think you're gonna be violent. As if I could take anyone right now. Or even before, honestly.
You begin the mental motions needed to activate your rewind when several things happen at once. First, both you and Kate takes notice of the suddenly fading sunlight, and she starts to glance towards the window, your rewind falters as your gaze is torn to follow hers. Suddenly- OOF- a strong push from behind makes you give a high pitched yelp and careen forward towards Kate who you realize can't see you falling.
"Shit! Sorry!" Chloe's panicked voice is already yelling as you tumble into Kate and fall to the ground with her into a pile of tangled limbs and pained exclamations. You somehow manage to hit your bruised hip from falling off that chair, the sore spot from being flung around by rewind-Chloe, and the still tender car accident scar that winds it's way up past your ear.
You groan and roll yourself off of Kate, who seems surprisingly nonplussed about you being thrown into her.
Chloe looks freaked out. "You guys need to come outside, now." Her voice is unsteady, and her lit cigarette dangles forgotten in her hand, ash falling unnoticed to the floor. You're immediately filled with a harsh pang of worry, and with only a quick, serious glance at Kate you hoist yourself up and start striding to the door. Chloe tears ahead immediately, not noticing or not caring that her long legs are giving her a significant speed advantage. You hear Kate jogging to catch up behind you. The two of you get to the door Chloe's holding open at the same time and follow her out.
Huh. It's… not dark out here, but like, dim. Chloe jogs out into the courtyard, and then points over past Blackwell into the sky. You follow and- that's… not right. It takes your mind a moment to process what you're seeing into something workable. Something that jibes even with your own fucked up reality you've become accustomed to.
Hanging over Blackwell, looking for all the world like a pair of burning eyes, are two solar eclipses. One unscheduled solar eclipse was crazy enough, and though you'd seen the two moons on October 10ths when you weren't… otherwise occupied, both paled in comparison to this.
Two moons, each ringed by the- a?- sun's corona, blotted the morning light from the sky. You watch them for a moment longer and then blink and force yourself to look away. Can't rewind eye damage. Instead you look at Chloe, who's staring at the ground, thinking, occasionally chancing quick glances up at the anomaly, and Kate, who looks more befuddled than anything.
"Why… are they like that Chloe?" Kate asks finally. The taller girl jumps at Kate's voice jolting her out of her thoughts.
Chloe purses her lips and says simply, "I don't know," and sighs, pausing for a moment before continuing, "Unscheduled solar eclipses just don't happen. Like. They don't. The sun and moon move across the sky in an incredibly predictable pattern, and I keep up with this shit, there is literally not a chance in Hell I'd not have known about this."
You hold your silence as they go on. Kate points at the anomaly. "Okay. Cool. Unscheduled solar eclipses are weird, got it. But why are there two of them?"
Chloe just snorts, "Fuck if I know. I can't think of anything that'd explain that. I've heard of dumbasses seeing Saturn up there and thinking it's a second moon, but this…" She looks up for a moment again, "this isn't that. This is closer to like, science fi-" She stops suddenly and wheels around towards you, cobalt blue eyes meeting yours. She doesn't say anything, but the unasked question is clear. I mentioned the anomalies, but not only is this more than just snow, it's like a combination of the other ones. You nod once, slowly. I wonder if there's been animal deaths.
Kate saw all this, of course, and looks between kqyou and Chloe, "What do you mean? Science fiction?" She steps towards the blue haired girl. "Chloe, what do you know?" Alright, it's time to reign this in you think, maybe this will do part of the work to help convince Kate.
"Hey Kate," you say, she turns to you, "let's go inside and keep talking. Me and Chlo have some things to explain to you."
For a second she stays still, suspicious eyes gauging you, but she nods and steps back. You watch her make one last glance at the sky and wordlessly start making her way inside.
You turn to Chloe and cross your arms, and her face immediately morphs from an expression of deep thought to one of sheepishness. "I thought you said she was chill about everything?"
"She is- I- She's just… protective, okay? Sorry. I'm sorry Max. I was excited for you two to meet, I wasn't really thinking about what I've said about you." You hold her in a look for a moment.
"Fine. But you've gotta take me to get honey toast at the Two Whales tomorrow."
She grins, and the slight tension in the courtyard melts, "Sure thing Maximo. Inside now?"
You nod, and start to follow her inside. You pause though, and look once more over Blackwell. Huh. From this angle, just in front of the door, the eclipses almost look like a pair of wide pupiled eyes, staring down at you. You shake your head. My life has enough BS nature symbolism going on, no need to add space symbolism to it too. The dorm hallways echo as the front door slams shut behind you.
A man sits at his desk. On that desk are two pieces of paper, disturbing the fine layer of dust that has settled over the room. On those two pieces of paper are words in a language his secretary could not read. She thought it was English, but when she tries to remember what it said, the thoughts are fuzzy. She types out a text onto her burner cellphone, another failure.
The chair the man sits in is hard and utilitarian. A spartan take on a usual spinning office chair. The twin eclipsed suns streaming in through the window give him no pause. If anything, it's a nice break from the usual bright, uninterrupted sunlight. All of this is far from his mind.
The papers he reads concern a company asset. Among other qualifications, said asset is known for his ability to know things. Were it anyone else, the man would dismiss the report out of hand. This asset is well documented however, he is unreliable, but admittedly never wrong.
One of the pieces of paper had already made the rounds through the company analysts. Foggy imagery cross checked against GIS Map Databases, dissected by experts both literary and oneirological for meaning, compared and contrasted to past, current, future, and potential company operations, and future proofed against every other timeline model they had. The second piece of paper was then printed, recording their findings.
This man did not get where he was by ignoring warning signs. Checks and limits? Inconsequential. Laws and sanctions? Trivial. But when you're speeding towards a sign that says, 'Bridge out of service,' you cannot rely on your infrastructure and knowledge to save you. Everyone is bound by the law of gravity. The man grins. Almost everyone.
He stands and without so much as a backwards glance towards the twin, burning eyes in the sky, he leaves. His secretary gives him a tight smile on the way out. He knows her true affiliation, it might as well be written on her face. He enters the elevator, and sends it directly to the ground floor. When it arrives, the doors open, and no one steps out.
An hour later you're sitting on Kate's bed as she stands and quizzes you about timelines. She took the demonstration surprisingly well. I mean, she did still freak out a bit, but… she bounced back. What's been going less well is the infodump.
You finish trying to talk about the Kate you knew, hoping to get a laugh out of her like Chloe suggested. Chloe herself gives a chortle at the image, but Kate wheels around and fixes her with a glare.
"Do you really think this is funny, Chloe?" Her voice is quiet, similar to how you remember your Kate speaking, but is filled with an intensity you've never heard. "Chloe, this isn't Max, have you thought about that?"
Uh. What?
"What are you talking about?" Chloe asks, head tilted.
Kate gestures at you behind her, "This isn't your Max, Chloe, she came from a world with people we didn't know, where stuff happened really differently. Have you asked her about childhood memories? What if they're different? What if the only other person that would remember them was replaced, like, killed by this… person?"
Whoa, what? This is going way too far, "Kate, that's not-"
She spins on her heel, eyes burning. "What, Max? Not fair?" Her voice is mocking. "Was it fair to erase the Max that Chloe, my Chloe knew for your own vanity? Was it fair to consign that Kate you knew to whatever the Hell happens when you do your 'hard jumps'? You have this power and you're literally just bumbling around with it, making everything worse, for everyo-"
"Kate." Chloe's voice pierces through Kate's tirade, enunciated overly clearly, barely covering the fury evident in her voice. Kate flinches back from you like she's been struck. You dimly realize that you're shaking and there's tears in your ey- oh actually they're streaked down your whole face. You hadn't noticed.
Chloe's standing now, you see through the blur and sting of your tears. She hasn't moved from where she'd been sitting on the floor other than to stand, but Kate seems to shrink back all the same. "Shut the fuck up," She says.
"Chloe-" Kate tries.
"No, shut up. Where the fuck are you getting this shit? Me and Max may not get what's going on, but you're infinitely more full of shit than us if this is what you got from everything she's said." Chloe starts to get impassioned, gesturing and pointing as she talks. "Like seriously, everything worse, for everyone? Fucking who Kate? At what point in everything she's said was she not trying, and usually, fucking succeeding at trying to help me, you, and the whole town? Your mechanical understanding is total bullshit too, by the way. She explained it pretty fucking clearly, but let's try again. When she uses a hard photo jump, it puts her back to the moment she took the picture. Yeah, when she went back and shit went crazy this time something in the past changed, but up till that point? We have talked about it, and everything was the same. I dunno what happened while she wasn't talking to me, and you know what? I don't especially fucking care. I might never have even found out, so who gives a shit? And if everything was the same before those five years, then as far as I'm concerned, this is Max. It is hella fucking ignorant of you to assume I haven't thought about this shit. Fuck off Kate."
The room is quiet, silent save for your sniffling and Chloe's heavy breathing. Kate looks like she's somewhere between wanting to cry, scream, and faint. Fuck. You did this, didn't you? Okay. Uh. Fuck. You can fix this just-
Chloe sees you raising your hand, "Don't, Max." You and Kate both look at her sharply. She pointedly only looks at you, and gives you a weak smile. "Let's go, huh?" You nod numbly, and feel like you're floating as you push yourself off of the bed and stagger over to the doorway.
"Chloe, wait!" Kate nearly shouts. Chloe freezes in the doorway. "I-"
"Goodbye Kate," and a gentle shove pushes you out into the hallway as Kate's dorm closes behind Chloe.
The truck is quiet after you both get in, both of you emotionally processing the encounter.
You sniffle and clear the mucus from your throat, "That… didn't go great," you say.
Chloe snorts quietly, looking at her lap, then back up at the now uneclipsed sky. "No shit, eh?" She looks at you and scoots across the conjoined seats that make up the front cabin of the truck, bumping her shoulder into yours and letting you lean against her. "I'm sorry Max, I had no idea she'd flip the fuck out like that."
You rest your head on her shoulder. Warm… "It's okay," You say simply.
You look up as Chloe grins down at you. "She's probably just jealous, anyway."
You knot your brow. "Jealous?"
"Uh, of the crazy time powers? Duh?"
Oh yes, right. What else would there possibly be to be jealous of? You burrow your head more into Chloe's shoulder. Nope, you've got no idea.
"Do you want me to jump back to this morning?" You ask. You physically feel Chloe tense under your head. "I- I don't have to."
She's quiet for another moment before she speaks, "No… not yet, okay? I mean, I can't stop you if you wanna but… I dunno. Let's try not to have you jump back till we've done the week once? You were as surprised as I was at that eclipse thing, maybe we can avoid more surprises like that... by getting surprised by them once. Y'know."
You nod and feel her shoulder relax under you, and use it as an opportunity nestle in further.
You spend a few minutes like that, recovering. Being with Chloe like this feels… healing. It's grandiose but you've got no other word that feels right to describe it.
Finally Chloe speaks, "Okay, time to let me go nerd, I've gotta drive before the school lunch starts."
You forcibly nestle yourself in further as she gently tries to pull away. "Nuh uh, sorry, you're my prisoner now." You look up at her with the best condescending smile you can muster, it's still weak, but it's enough to make her chuckle.
"Alright then, I guess if you don't want that honey toast we were talking about we'll just stay here~"
Immediately you sit bolt upright and fasten your seatbelt, then twist the threads back barely a second and say, "Let's go."
Chloe jumps as you instantly appear to go from leaning on her shoulder to upright and buckled in, then a second later bursts into laughter. "I knew that'd get you! So predictable Max."
You actually join her laughter at that. Predictable, huh? Chloe might be the only person in the world capable of predicting a time traveller.
Current Point: October 10th, around 11:20am
[] Go to the Two Whales
--[] Go straight there
--[] Do something else on the way? (Write in)
[] Stick around Blackwell for a bit
Possibly risky, David is around somewhere, and if you're with Chloe, or if he's seen you on the house surveillance footage, he might get on your case.
--[] Try to find someone you know (Who? Write in.)
--[] Daring daylight "disability" dollar heist
--[] See if you can somehow re-register yourself as a student without your parents… or luggage… or hospital discharge papers. A second base of operations in the dorms could be useful.
This is probably possible with rewind, but would be tiring.
--[] Something else? (Write in.)
[] Hard photo jump to this morning
Heya, next couple updates might have more things outside your control happening than usual like happened this time. I'd suggest not making any bighuge plans, and to try to facilitate that I've limited your options a bit. Still some write-ins available, but they're optional and smaller in scope.
I wonder what's going on with Kate?
After a moment of withering under her glare, you come to a decision. The sunlight from the window starts to go dark as you flex your right hand, awareness of the threads immediately blossoming to the forefront of your mind, and raise it imperceptibly. You're careful to be subtle, you're not interested in freaking her- Well. That's not true. You fully intend to freak her out. You just don't want to raise your hand and make her think you're gonna be violent. As if I could take anyone right now. Or even before, honestly.
You begin the mental motions needed to activate your rewind when several things happen at once. First, both you and Kate takes notice of the suddenly fading sunlight, and she starts to glance towards the window, your rewind falters as your gaze is torn to follow hers. Suddenly- OOF- a strong push from behind makes you give a high pitched yelp and careen forward towards Kate who you realize can't see you falling.
"Shit! Sorry!" Chloe's panicked voice is already yelling as you tumble into Kate and fall to the ground with her into a pile of tangled limbs and pained exclamations. You somehow manage to hit your bruised hip from falling off that chair, the sore spot from being flung around by rewind-Chloe, and the still tender car accident scar that winds it's way up past your ear.
You groan and roll yourself off of Kate, who seems surprisingly nonplussed about you being thrown into her.
Chloe looks freaked out. "You guys need to come outside, now." Her voice is unsteady, and her lit cigarette dangles forgotten in her hand, ash falling unnoticed to the floor. You're immediately filled with a harsh pang of worry, and with only a quick, serious glance at Kate you hoist yourself up and start striding to the door. Chloe tears ahead immediately, not noticing or not caring that her long legs are giving her a significant speed advantage. You hear Kate jogging to catch up behind you. The two of you get to the door Chloe's holding open at the same time and follow her out.
Huh. It's… not dark out here, but like, dim. Chloe jogs out into the courtyard, and then points over past Blackwell into the sky. You follow and- that's… not right. It takes your mind a moment to process what you're seeing into something workable. Something that jibes even with your own fucked up reality you've become accustomed to.
Hanging over Blackwell, looking for all the world like a pair of burning eyes, are two solar eclipses. One unscheduled solar eclipse was crazy enough, and though you'd seen the two moons on October 10ths when you weren't… otherwise occupied, both paled in comparison to this.
Two moons, each ringed by the- a?- sun's corona, blotted the morning light from the sky. You watch them for a moment longer and then blink and force yourself to look away. Can't rewind eye damage. Instead you look at Chloe, who's staring at the ground, thinking, occasionally chancing quick glances up at the anomaly, and Kate, who looks more befuddled than anything.
"Why… are they like that Chloe?" Kate asks finally. The taller girl jumps at Kate's voice jolting her out of her thoughts.
Chloe purses her lips and says simply, "I don't know," and sighs, pausing for a moment before continuing, "Unscheduled solar eclipses just don't happen. Like. They don't. The sun and moon move across the sky in an incredibly predictable pattern, and I keep up with this shit, there is literally not a chance in Hell I'd not have known about this."
You hold your silence as they go on. Kate points at the anomaly. "Okay. Cool. Unscheduled solar eclipses are weird, got it. But why are there two of them?"
Chloe just snorts, "Fuck if I know. I can't think of anything that'd explain that. I've heard of dumbasses seeing Saturn up there and thinking it's a second moon, but this…" She looks up for a moment again, "this isn't that. This is closer to like, science fi-" She stops suddenly and wheels around towards you, cobalt blue eyes meeting yours. She doesn't say anything, but the unasked question is clear. I mentioned the anomalies, but not only is this more than just snow, it's like a combination of the other ones. You nod once, slowly. I wonder if there's been animal deaths.
Kate saw all this, of course, and looks between kqyou and Chloe, "What do you mean? Science fiction?" She steps towards the blue haired girl. "Chloe, what do you know?" Alright, it's time to reign this in you think, maybe this will do part of the work to help convince Kate.
"Hey Kate," you say, she turns to you, "let's go inside and keep talking. Me and Chlo have some things to explain to you."
For a second she stays still, suspicious eyes gauging you, but she nods and steps back. You watch her make one last glance at the sky and wordlessly start making her way inside.
You turn to Chloe and cross your arms, and her face immediately morphs from an expression of deep thought to one of sheepishness. "I thought you said she was chill about everything?"
"She is- I- She's just… protective, okay? Sorry. I'm sorry Max. I was excited for you two to meet, I wasn't really thinking about what I've said about you." You hold her in a look for a moment.
"Fine. But you've gotta take me to get honey toast at the Two Whales tomorrow."
She grins, and the slight tension in the courtyard melts, "Sure thing Maximo. Inside now?"
You nod, and start to follow her inside. You pause though, and look once more over Blackwell. Huh. From this angle, just in front of the door, the eclipses almost look like a pair of wide pupiled eyes, staring down at you. You shake your head. My life has enough BS nature symbolism going on, no need to add space symbolism to it too. The dorm hallways echo as the front door slams shut behind you.
≅≅≅
A man sits at his desk. On that desk are two pieces of paper, disturbing the fine layer of dust that has settled over the room. On those two pieces of paper are words in a language his secretary could not read. She thought it was English, but when she tries to remember what it said, the thoughts are fuzzy. She types out a text onto her burner cellphone, another failure.
The chair the man sits in is hard and utilitarian. A spartan take on a usual spinning office chair. The twin eclipsed suns streaming in through the window give him no pause. If anything, it's a nice break from the usual bright, uninterrupted sunlight. All of this is far from his mind.
The papers he reads concern a company asset. Among other qualifications, said asset is known for his ability to know things. Were it anyone else, the man would dismiss the report out of hand. This asset is well documented however, he is unreliable, but admittedly never wrong.
One of the pieces of paper had already made the rounds through the company analysts. Foggy imagery cross checked against GIS Map Databases, dissected by experts both literary and oneirological for meaning, compared and contrasted to past, current, future, and potential company operations, and future proofed against every other timeline model they had. The second piece of paper was then printed, recording their findings.
This man did not get where he was by ignoring warning signs. Checks and limits? Inconsequential. Laws and sanctions? Trivial. But when you're speeding towards a sign that says, 'Bridge out of service,' you cannot rely on your infrastructure and knowledge to save you. Everyone is bound by the law of gravity. The man grins. Almost everyone.
He stands and without so much as a backwards glance towards the twin, burning eyes in the sky, he leaves. His secretary gives him a tight smile on the way out. He knows her true affiliation, it might as well be written on her face. He enters the elevator, and sends it directly to the ground floor. When it arrives, the doors open, and no one steps out.
≅≅≅
An hour later you're sitting on Kate's bed as she stands and quizzes you about timelines. She took the demonstration surprisingly well. I mean, she did still freak out a bit, but… she bounced back. What's been going less well is the infodump.
You finish trying to talk about the Kate you knew, hoping to get a laugh out of her like Chloe suggested. Chloe herself gives a chortle at the image, but Kate wheels around and fixes her with a glare.
"Do you really think this is funny, Chloe?" Her voice is quiet, similar to how you remember your Kate speaking, but is filled with an intensity you've never heard. "Chloe, this isn't Max, have you thought about that?"
Uh. What?
"What are you talking about?" Chloe asks, head tilted.
Kate gestures at you behind her, "This isn't your Max, Chloe, she came from a world with people we didn't know, where stuff happened really differently. Have you asked her about childhood memories? What if they're different? What if the only other person that would remember them was replaced, like, killed by this… person?"
Whoa, what? This is going way too far, "Kate, that's not-"
She spins on her heel, eyes burning. "What, Max? Not fair?" Her voice is mocking. "Was it fair to erase the Max that Chloe, my Chloe knew for your own vanity? Was it fair to consign that Kate you knew to whatever the Hell happens when you do your 'hard jumps'? You have this power and you're literally just bumbling around with it, making everything worse, for everyo-"
"Kate." Chloe's voice pierces through Kate's tirade, enunciated overly clearly, barely covering the fury evident in her voice. Kate flinches back from you like she's been struck. You dimly realize that you're shaking and there's tears in your ey- oh actually they're streaked down your whole face. You hadn't noticed.
Chloe's standing now, you see through the blur and sting of your tears. She hasn't moved from where she'd been sitting on the floor other than to stand, but Kate seems to shrink back all the same. "Shut the fuck up," She says.
"Chloe-" Kate tries.
"No, shut up. Where the fuck are you getting this shit? Me and Max may not get what's going on, but you're infinitely more full of shit than us if this is what you got from everything she's said." Chloe starts to get impassioned, gesturing and pointing as she talks. "Like seriously, everything worse, for everyone? Fucking who Kate? At what point in everything she's said was she not trying, and usually, fucking succeeding at trying to help me, you, and the whole town? Your mechanical understanding is total bullshit too, by the way. She explained it pretty fucking clearly, but let's try again. When she uses a hard photo jump, it puts her back to the moment she took the picture. Yeah, when she went back and shit went crazy this time something in the past changed, but up till that point? We have talked about it, and everything was the same. I dunno what happened while she wasn't talking to me, and you know what? I don't especially fucking care. I might never have even found out, so who gives a shit? And if everything was the same before those five years, then as far as I'm concerned, this is Max. It is hella fucking ignorant of you to assume I haven't thought about this shit. Fuck off Kate."
The room is quiet, silent save for your sniffling and Chloe's heavy breathing. Kate looks like she's somewhere between wanting to cry, scream, and faint. Fuck. You did this, didn't you? Okay. Uh. Fuck. You can fix this just-
Chloe sees you raising your hand, "Don't, Max." You and Kate both look at her sharply. She pointedly only looks at you, and gives you a weak smile. "Let's go, huh?" You nod numbly, and feel like you're floating as you push yourself off of the bed and stagger over to the doorway.
"Chloe, wait!" Kate nearly shouts. Chloe freezes in the doorway. "I-"
"Goodbye Kate," and a gentle shove pushes you out into the hallway as Kate's dorm closes behind Chloe.
≅≅≅
The truck is quiet after you both get in, both of you emotionally processing the encounter.
You sniffle and clear the mucus from your throat, "That… didn't go great," you say.
Chloe snorts quietly, looking at her lap, then back up at the now uneclipsed sky. "No shit, eh?" She looks at you and scoots across the conjoined seats that make up the front cabin of the truck, bumping her shoulder into yours and letting you lean against her. "I'm sorry Max, I had no idea she'd flip the fuck out like that."
You rest your head on her shoulder. Warm… "It's okay," You say simply.
You look up as Chloe grins down at you. "She's probably just jealous, anyway."
You knot your brow. "Jealous?"
"Uh, of the crazy time powers? Duh?"
Oh yes, right. What else would there possibly be to be jealous of? You burrow your head more into Chloe's shoulder. Nope, you've got no idea.
"Do you want me to jump back to this morning?" You ask. You physically feel Chloe tense under your head. "I- I don't have to."
She's quiet for another moment before she speaks, "No… not yet, okay? I mean, I can't stop you if you wanna but… I dunno. Let's try not to have you jump back till we've done the week once? You were as surprised as I was at that eclipse thing, maybe we can avoid more surprises like that... by getting surprised by them once. Y'know."
You nod and feel her shoulder relax under you, and use it as an opportunity nestle in further.
You spend a few minutes like that, recovering. Being with Chloe like this feels… healing. It's grandiose but you've got no other word that feels right to describe it.
Finally Chloe speaks, "Okay, time to let me go nerd, I've gotta drive before the school lunch starts."
You forcibly nestle yourself in further as she gently tries to pull away. "Nuh uh, sorry, you're my prisoner now." You look up at her with the best condescending smile you can muster, it's still weak, but it's enough to make her chuckle.
"Alright then, I guess if you don't want that honey toast we were talking about we'll just stay here~"
Immediately you sit bolt upright and fasten your seatbelt, then twist the threads back barely a second and say, "Let's go."
Chloe jumps as you instantly appear to go from leaning on her shoulder to upright and buckled in, then a second later bursts into laughter. "I knew that'd get you! So predictable Max."
You actually join her laughter at that. Predictable, huh? Chloe might be the only person in the world capable of predicting a time traveller.
≅≅≅
Current Point: October 10th, around 11:20am
October 7th, 2013, 9:47pm. In hallway of hospital, no clothes yet, and holding "borrowed" phone. (Printer Paper)
October 9th, 2013. 10:36AM. T1. Rachel's Clothes, Will's Camera, One other Photograph. (In Chloe's weed stash)
October 9th, 2013. 10:36AM. T1. Rachel's Clothes, Will's Camera, Two other photographs.
October 10th, 2013. 9:03AM. T1. Pajamas, Will's Camera, Three other photographs. (In Chloe's weed stash)
October 10th, 2013. 9:04AM. T1. Pajamas. Will's Camera. Four other photographs.
October 9th, 2013. 10:36AM. T1. Rachel's Clothes, Will's Camera, One other Photograph. (In Chloe's weed stash)
October 9th, 2013. 10:36AM. T1. Rachel's Clothes, Will's Camera, Two other photographs.
October 10th, 2013. 9:03AM. T1. Pajamas, Will's Camera, Three other photographs. (In Chloe's weed stash)
October 10th, 2013. 9:04AM. T1. Pajamas. Will's Camera. Four other photographs.
[] Go to the Two Whales
--[] Go straight there
--[] Do something else on the way? (Write in)
[] Stick around Blackwell for a bit
Possibly risky, David is around somewhere, and if you're with Chloe, or if he's seen you on the house surveillance footage, he might get on your case.
--[] Try to find someone you know (Who? Write in.)
--[] Daring daylight "disability" dollar heist
--[] See if you can somehow re-register yourself as a student without your parents… or luggage… or hospital discharge papers. A second base of operations in the dorms could be useful.
This is probably possible with rewind, but would be tiring.
--[] Something else? (Write in.)
[] Hard photo jump to this morning
Heya, next couple updates might have more things outside your control happening than usual like happened this time. I'd suggest not making any bighuge plans, and to try to facilitate that I've limited your options a bit. Still some write-ins available, but they're optional and smaller in scope.
I wonder what's going on with Kate?
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Markala
Hannor & Polycho Shipper
- Location
- At the Junction of Angst and Fluff
[X] Stick around Blackwell for a bit
Possibly risky, David is around somewhere, and if you're with Chloe, or if he's seen you on the house surveillance footage, he might get on your case.
--[X] Daring daylight "disability" dollar heist
---[X] Get a mask & a baggy, body-obscuring hoodie to wear if we're so worried about getting our face on camera during our heist
Sorry, I heard the sweet Siren Call of snooping through student files and MONEY(!).
Possibly risky, David is around somewhere, and if you're with Chloe, or if he's seen you on the house surveillance footage, he might get on your case.
--[X] Daring daylight "disability" dollar heist
---[X] Get a mask & a baggy, body-obscuring hoodie to wear if we're so worried about getting our face on camera during our heist
Sorry, I heard the sweet Siren Call of snooping through student files and MONEY(!).
- Location
- California
- Location
- The Colored Room
- Pronouns
- TheOne
When I read this, I'm basically running it through my head like it's the actual game. At least any scene involving Max. I'm talking transitions and everything. I swear a loading screen showed up when Chloe pushed us through the door.
I'm just trying to translate all the little exploring I'd be doing in-game into the quest.
I just hope it has results.
Please throw ideas out, I can always add to my vote.
@Markala
I'm partial to this, cause it'd be fun as hell. But it feels like a distraction at this point.
- Location
- California
Let's not rob them again if we don't have to.
- Location
- The Colored Room
- Pronouns
- TheOne
Even if we don't steal, we could still go through records.
That said, we don't have an in-character reason for any of that. I'm pretty sure it's the farthest thing from Max's mind.
Digging out my previous suggestion, while adding u/tjakari's suggestion.
[X] Check the alley behind it when you get there. The homeless lady's probably not there, but who knows.
[X] Go and see Joyce @ work.
--[X] Good times reconnecting.
--[X] Maybe not David though, we still don't know what he's like.
----[X] Evaluate the threat.
------[X] If Chloe's uncomfortable talking about him, protect the tol one.
------[X] If Chloe's pissed at him, he's on the same level or worse than previous timelines.
--[X] Lightly quiz Joyce on what we've missed around Arcadia Bay.
----[X] Bring up the black van from earlier. Max has seen movies before, so she's probably a bit weirded out that it left as soon as they left the house. (Phrase it in a purely innocent manner though. If we see it again in similar circumstances, let Joyce know we think it's suspicious.)
--[X] Enjoy breakfast with some idle chatter.
----[X] Gaze at the blue-haired one again. Try not to get caught.
[X] We can take the "Handicapped fund" at a later time. Food, then begin removal of Jefferson. If he's even about, we've left it too long already.
[X] Check the alley behind it when you get there. The homeless lady's probably not there, but who knows.
[X] Go and see Joyce @ work.
--[X] Good times reconnecting.
--[X] Maybe not David though, we still don't know what he's like.
----[X] Evaluate the threat.
------[X] If Chloe's uncomfortable talking about him, protect the tol one.
------[X] If Chloe's pissed at him, he's on the same level or worse than previous timelines.
--[X] Lightly quiz Joyce on what we've missed around Arcadia Bay.
----[X] Bring up the black van from earlier. Max has seen movies before, so she's probably a bit weirded out that it left as soon as they left the house. (Phrase it in a purely innocent manner though. If we see it again in similar circumstances, let Joyce know we think it's suspicious.)
--[X] Enjoy breakfast with some idle chatter.
----[X] Gaze at the blue-haired one again. Try not to get caught.
[X] We can take the "Handicapped fund" at a later time. Food, then begin removal of Jefferson. If he's even about, we've left it too long already.
- Location
- 3rd Planet from the Sun
Ohh it looks like a second time warrior has entered the game! Too bad we haven't delved into the mysterious symbol yet, but at least we know someone out there has investigated their supernatural abilities with science! Hmm. I wonder if someone with the Prescott family's resources has something to do with the End of the World party's, well, theme. Assuming someone in there has a clue about the meteorological phenomena.
I haven't played Life is Strange, but I've seen a tiny glimpse from a video series. Everything I have seen so far consists of green flags; this has all the makings of a great story.
I haven't played Life is Strange, but I've seen a tiny glimpse from a video series. Everything I have seen so far consists of green flags; this has all the makings of a great story.
Alobomb
Time Traveler
- Location
- Canada
I'll be closing voting tomorrow afternoon (EST) or so! Aprox. 12 hours from the time I'm making this post. Still time to add to/modify/make any votes if you like. Reminder that my DMs are always open for suggestions or criticism of my writing or narrative, if anyone has any.
Oh I love this way of phrasing it, I'm gonna have to steal it next time I talk about canon, "mythos" vs "dogma" is such a great way of crystallizing what I'm trying to say. While it's focus is elsewhere, if you're interested in reading about ideas similar to this (though portrayed in a more political and economic context) I highly suggest this article, has some great thoughts about shared universes and how we've come to view them societally.
Thank you for the kind words! This message really honestly made my night, very much appreciated.
2.07
Alobomb
Time Traveler
- Location
- Canada
The sights of the bay whip by as Chloe puts her truck through the paces. You don't exactly love going at such high speeds, but never in all the time you've spent in this week has her truck broken down in any capacity, so you settle your stomach and try to enjoy the scenery. Blackwell isn't exactly out of the way, but a rather sparsely populated road with a dense forest on one side does separate it from the main cluster of suburbs.
Even as Chloe slows down as you arrive at the more populated part of town, that feeling of uneasiness you'd attributed to an upset gut from the speeding doesn't fade. Your banter falls off until you're only giving one word answers as you try to place the feeling. Your time doing loops of the week had an emotional curve that was something like panic, then paranoia for a long while, then maybe a kind of boredom? And then… resignation. This feeling reminds you of that paranoid stage. Disconcertingly, it most reminds you of the gut feeling when Jefferson would stalk you as you discovered Rachel's body. Chloe shoots you an uneasy glance as she notices your withdrawal from the conversation.
"You doing okay Max?" She asks, jarring hard on the wheel to turn into the Two Whales parking lot.
Your stomach does another flip from the sudden motion, unrelated now, you realize, to the ever-growing uneasy feeling in your gut. You swallow and say, "I- Um. No, not really? I think, at least."
Chloe saws the parking brake's handle up into place and shuts off the truck, then turns to look at you. "Max. What?" She asks.
Hm. Yeah that's fair. "Sorry, sorry," you say. "Uh, I don't really think- well. I don't really know if it's anything, really, but I have a… really hella bad feeling right now, y'know?" Chloe watches you carefully for a moment as you scramble to find words. "It's like, we've been like, followed? Or stalked? Before during- in other time loops and it's been a while but this is kind of like a similar feeling?"
Chloe mulls over your words for a moment, then surreptitiously checks all her mirrors. "There's another truck in the parking lot, it's light blue, that match anything?" She asks, eyeing the road now.
You shake your head, "No, we never saw his car, but that shouldn't matter, he shouldn't even know either of us exist here." You shudder and fight down the rising tide of revulsion at the memories of Jefferson. Take the shot. Nope, nuh uh. You're going to lock up if you keep thinking about him.
Chloe's eyes are trained on you now, concern etched in her brow. You try your best to smile but it feels like it comes out shaky. "Let's just head inside, okay? I- It'll be fine, I'm probably just being paranoid." You don't really believe that, and you're pretty sure she doesn't either, but at least with some toast, oh and coffee, inside of you, hashing it out should be a little easier.
Chloe looks at you doubtfully, but shrugs and probably comes to the same conclusion you did. "Sure thing."
"Thanks."
The two of you hop out of her truck, and start making your way to the front of the diner. You pause before the stairs though as something occurs to you. "Ah! One sec!" It's a distant memory at this point, you hadn't looked for her after the first time, too focused on 'speedrunning' the week for interactions that didn't directly contribute to saving Chloe. It's a long shot, but maybe-
You turn the corner to the back of the Two Whales and stop abruptly. The homeless woman isn't there, but it looks like her belongings are. Or… were. You hesitantly step forward and kneel down, scooping up some of the ashes. Cold… Then step back and look at the spot where she normally sat. Harsh, black scorch marks adorned the concrete on the ground where she sat and on the wall behind. Even the chain link fence next to the spot had been blackened with whatever heat had burned her small pile of rags and cardboard. What… what happened here? The scorch marks on the wall easily went up a foot or two past your own height, and the ones on the ground were right where she sat, not in front like you'd expect if she'd lit a fire to keep warm. Upon closer inspection you notice too that the chain links that are blackened from the heat are also slightly warped. They must have expanded with whatever heat caused this, and cooled in a way that left them bulging inwards, towards where the homeless lady sat.
There's probably no answers to be had here. You sigh and take a quick picture of the sight for posterity, and make your way back to the front of the Two Whales, wondering if there'll ever be answers for all the weirdness you've seen so far.
Scarcely a moment after the bell over the door announces your entrance Joyce's voice rings out. "Howdy y'all, welcome to the Two Wha-" She pauses a moment on registering your blue haired bestie, "Ah, well hello Chloe."
You allow yourself a small smile and step out from behind the taller girl. The shock on Joyce's face brings you, well, joy. How could you have grown used to that? "Well I'll be!" She says, a beam splitting the shocked expression. "Chloe and Max! Why, there's two names I never thought I'd be usin' together again!"
You giggle as Chloe bristles at the warmth Joyce immediately has for you. She'll get over it literally instantly if experience is any indicator. The elder Price immediately trundles out from behind the counter and wraps you up in a warm hug, which you eagerly return. She holds you out at an arms length then, hands on your shoulders. "Why, you're lookin' skinnier than a showpig fed only on gristle! Have your parents been feeding you right?" You feel a jolt of guilt, remembering your comatose parents, and see Chloe freeze similarly just out of sight of Joyce, panic evident on her face. Right. You haven't really prepared a lie for this.
You force yourself to smile. "Just haven't been able to keep weight on, Joyce." She frowns and starts to say something in a chiding tone. Hm. That's not really how you want to start this. Twist the threads and you force a giggle, "They just don't make breakfast in Seattle anywhere near as good as you do here Joyce." You smile at her as she eagerly accepts the flattery.
"Let's get to work fixin' that then, you two go take a seat." She leans down and looks you in the eyes with a warm smile. "Why don't you come on over for dinner tonight Max, if Chloe hasn't already invited you? We ought to catch up."
You grin at the prospect of a home cooked Joyce meal. "Of course Joyce," you say easily before Chloe grabs your hand and yanks you towards the second last booth against the wall. Your booth. You take your seats, same sides as always, and you smile for a moment, reminiscing about something that never happened, that only you remember.
"What's up?" Chloe asks, she must have noticed your expression.
You smile, "Just remembering. This is where I first showed you my powers, the first time."
To your surprise, she leans in, interested. "How'd you do it?"
"Well…"
You spend the next half hour telling the story, and eventually re-demonstrating some of the tricks for Chloe. She gets a hoot out of the hilariously roundabout way of proving you have time travelling powers, but can't deny it's effectiveness. Eventually your favourite, honey toast and bacon, is served, along with a black coffee, to both Joyce and Chloe's surprise. And an extremely short time after that, it's warming your belly and providing you with a shot of strength and optimism you sorely needed.
The diner's been pretty quiet all afternoon, no down on their luck fishermen to fill the empty seats after all. So when the entry bell does ring, you shoot a quick glance up to see who it is. Instantly, your heart drops from your chest like an overripe apple and your stomach tightens and clenches painfully in on itself. Why, of all people? Mark. Fucking. Jefferson. Was he following you? It didn't make any sense. Why would he? He stretches and blinks, adjusting to the slightly dimmer diner interior. Before hawkishly looking around and making his way to the counter.
"Heya Joyce, could I just get the usual? I'll be hanging around for a bit before the kids need me again." He says with a charming smile.
Joyce answers it with a genuine smile of her own, "Coming right up dearie." Jefferson nods to her and pulls out his phone, scrolling through social media or emails or whatever sick fucking sociopaths do on their iPhones.
You watch him with wide eyes, feeling for all the world like a rabbit cornered by a coyote. Joyce's kindly voice finally calls out to him, snapping his attention away from his phone, that razor sharp, instant reaction, part of what makes him such a great photographer, and so physically dangerous. "Here's your joe dear, three cream, three sugars, for someone sweet as you are." She doesn't know. None of them do.
He grins easily back at her, all teeth. "Thanks Joyce, always a pleasure," his voice drips with sugar-coated kindness, and in a fluid motion he drops a fiver into the tip jar. Jefferson turns, precise as always, and starts walking towards you- no. No. Past you, to the farthest back bar stool but as he passes you and Chloe and his fucking cologne washes over you something catches his eye- you- and he slows to a stop.
Chloe is glaring daggers into his back, as she should even if she doesn't even know yet. He smiles at you, the same predator's grin, all teeth, practically licking his lips. "That's a nice camera." He says, gesturing to William's camera looped around your neck. To anyone else his tone is personable, conversational, maybe a little kindly condescending, however that's expected for a teacher and celebrity in a small town like this. But you're intimately familiar with every one of his tics. The word 'nice' chosen specifically, a way of drawing you into conversation, it sounds like he maybe knows of the camera model, but not enough that you couldn't leap into the conversation to try and impress him with your knowledge. The slight lilt at the end of 'camera,' a double down on the trap, turning the statement into a half-question, if you chose to read it as such. Probing, looking for vulnerabilities, nipping at your haunches.
The fear that percolated in your belly on his appearance into the diner curdles over into white hot rage as you unconsciously dissect his strategy. You think of Rachel, spunky and headstrong from what Chloe's told you, trivial for someone like this to wrap around his finger. Victoria, raised by a family that knows the power of connections, and what better opportunity for a young family scion than to be close with Mark Jefferson? Poor, poor Kate. He didn't need to manipulate her. Only take advantage. Take advantage of a person already in the lowest place of her young life. You almost laugh at the last person that you realize rounds out the list. You. Little naive Max. So excited by the prospect of meeting one of the greatest photographers in the world. Thinking he would give her the time of day if he didn't somehow have exponentially and explicitly more to gain from their interactions. Another wave of cologne hits you and acts as an accelerant for the intense anger that you're now sure is showing plainly on your face, if his confused and calculating expression is anything to go by. You could end him right here. How many potential weapons are around you? Knife and fork. One into his eye, one into his throat again and again and again- No. Messy. Your clothes go back in time with you, anyway. Empty mug? Something about glassing him with the hard ceramic cup sounds thoroughly appealing right now, who knows if you're strong enough to do any damage though? His full mug? It'd be hot, but not scalding, on account of the three cream he takes it with. Eugh. Sugary sweet, just like him. At this point you think the adrenaline would be more than enough to take your hand to his fucking throat and claw it apart but-
No, Max. No. Restraint. You'll talk to Chloe about this. These thoughts are dangerous. You rewind a few moments with a little twitch. Always dangerous when someone's watching you this closely, but you've been stony and still since he said his piece. You grit your teeth and look up, jaw muscles clenched.
"Thanks."
Jefferson looks like he doesn't know whether to feel bemused or offended, but you see the moment where he shifts back into his strategic 'cool teacher' person. A calculated chuckle, condescending and just a bit dismissive, enough to make you feel you can talk to him in the future but that he'd be able to hold this awkward incident over you, he must be taking you for an awestruck superfan or something. Then he stalks off to his empty stool while there's still time left in the school lunch break.
After a moment, Chloe leans in. "Is he bad news? I saw you rewi- no, don't worry, he didn't notice, I was looking for it- I saw you rewind there."
You start to shake your head, but pause and just let out an explosive breath you'd been holding instead. "Not bad news right now. But yes. Bad, very very bad news. I'll tell you later," you say.
You and Chloe finish off some of the extra bacon from the morning slipped to your table 'free'a'charge' by Joyce in tense silence as Jefferson drinks his oversweetened coffee. Eventually, with no further fanfare or even a glance back at you, he leaves. You let out yet another breath you'd been holding and loosen your white knuckle grip on the table. He's gone. Back to Blackwell to plot about some other kids for now. So why hasn't your intense, instinctual 'I'm being hunted' feeling faded? No… Why has it gotten stronger?
Your eyes dart around the room. Then you whip your head to the window. Nothing out of the ordinary? You examine the SUV that happens to be passing by in exquisite detail but nothing rings a bell. Huh? Oh. Chloe's saying something. Focus, Max. Refocus. Recenter. You're here.
"Max!" Chloe says loudly, and you blink, suddenly feeling more present in your body.
You grimace and look down, "Uh. I- Ya. Sorry. Zoned out. That 'being followed' feeling is really, really, really freaking me out."
"What, even after Jefferson left?"
You nod, "Ya, I-" Hold on. You gape at her. "How did you know tha-?"
She grins at you and leans back, spreading her arms cockily to either side of the top of the booth. "Come on Max, gimme some credit. You freak out about having been all 'followed' by some stalkery dude before, then you react like that when Jeffershit shows up here? I can put two and two together. That dude been perving on students?"
Ha. Of course, she's smart. She probably figured it out the moment he walked in. You nod gravely. "That's an understatement."
Her smile falls a bit, but that only serves to remind you of that omnipresent anxiety gnawing at your gut, something is wrong. Very, very, very very hella wrong. A momentary flash of every nerve in your body screaming 'RUN' at the same time has you launch to your feet, knees banging the table and rattling the cutlery. You breathe heavily as you force your muscles to relax and Chloe looks up at you with wide eyes. God, you're freaking her out, just calm down, Max.
"Hehe, uh. Sorry about that. Do you mind if we go? I just really feel like I need to get out of here," you say. You feel like a tense coil of nervous energy, practically bouncing in place, eyes darting from dark shadow to dark shadow. Gee, there's a lot more shadows around than you really think about normally, even in daylight.
Chloe looks at you warily, before shaking herself out of it. Eyes a bit clearer she stands and unpockets her truck keys. "Ya for sure, let's go."
You try to calm down enough to at least go over where you want to go. The lighthouse? It's familiar and meaningful to you, but if you are being hunted, you'd be putting your back against a wall. Or rather, against a cliff edge. The forest? You'd get lost, unless… you could go to you and Chloe's old fort? It's easier to hide in a forest, but that goes for someone pursuing you as well, it's a touch remote but you and Chloe's fort isn't super super far from the Blackwell grounds. You could go to Blackwell itself. At this point you know the campus like the back of your hand, all the nooks and crannies and maintenance tunnels that only you and Samuel are probably aware of. David could still be more hindrance than help though, not to mention the other students. The junkyard? It is pretty fortress-like, and you have a feeling that the concrete shed at it's heart would not only be secure, but probably a pretty comfy place to sleep with the right supplies. It's remote though, if you do need help, it's not likely anyone would hear you. Speaking of comfy, you could just go back to the Price household. Who'd follow you in there? Oh, and David's surveillance system… it could be good to catch… whatever's following you, if you are being followed and aren't just finally losing your mind, on tape. God, you almost feel dirty for thinking of it, but you could just leave town? Maybe hit up a motel on the highway somewhere. You'd be far, far away from anyone you knew, but hopefully also far away from anyone that might be looking for you.
[] Is there anything you'd like to do before you leave the Two Whales? (Write In) (Optional)
Where do you ask Chloe to take you?
[] The Lighthouse
[] The forest, then into it to you and Chloe's old fort
[] Blackwell
[] The Junkyard
[] Chloe's house
[] Leave town for the night
[] Somewhere else? (Write-In)
This update's delay brought to you by me getting really into Divided Loyalties and writing an omake for it only about a thousand words shorter than this update itself.
Even as Chloe slows down as you arrive at the more populated part of town, that feeling of uneasiness you'd attributed to an upset gut from the speeding doesn't fade. Your banter falls off until you're only giving one word answers as you try to place the feeling. Your time doing loops of the week had an emotional curve that was something like panic, then paranoia for a long while, then maybe a kind of boredom? And then… resignation. This feeling reminds you of that paranoid stage. Disconcertingly, it most reminds you of the gut feeling when Jefferson would stalk you as you discovered Rachel's body. Chloe shoots you an uneasy glance as she notices your withdrawal from the conversation.
"You doing okay Max?" She asks, jarring hard on the wheel to turn into the Two Whales parking lot.
Your stomach does another flip from the sudden motion, unrelated now, you realize, to the ever-growing uneasy feeling in your gut. You swallow and say, "I- Um. No, not really? I think, at least."
Chloe saws the parking brake's handle up into place and shuts off the truck, then turns to look at you. "Max. What?" She asks.
Hm. Yeah that's fair. "Sorry, sorry," you say. "Uh, I don't really think- well. I don't really know if it's anything, really, but I have a… really hella bad feeling right now, y'know?" Chloe watches you carefully for a moment as you scramble to find words. "It's like, we've been like, followed? Or stalked? Before during- in other time loops and it's been a while but this is kind of like a similar feeling?"
Chloe mulls over your words for a moment, then surreptitiously checks all her mirrors. "There's another truck in the parking lot, it's light blue, that match anything?" She asks, eyeing the road now.
You shake your head, "No, we never saw his car, but that shouldn't matter, he shouldn't even know either of us exist here." You shudder and fight down the rising tide of revulsion at the memories of Jefferson. Take the shot. Nope, nuh uh. You're going to lock up if you keep thinking about him.
Chloe's eyes are trained on you now, concern etched in her brow. You try your best to smile but it feels like it comes out shaky. "Let's just head inside, okay? I- It'll be fine, I'm probably just being paranoid." You don't really believe that, and you're pretty sure she doesn't either, but at least with some toast, oh and coffee, inside of you, hashing it out should be a little easier.
Chloe looks at you doubtfully, but shrugs and probably comes to the same conclusion you did. "Sure thing."
"Thanks."
The two of you hop out of her truck, and start making your way to the front of the diner. You pause before the stairs though as something occurs to you. "Ah! One sec!" It's a distant memory at this point, you hadn't looked for her after the first time, too focused on 'speedrunning' the week for interactions that didn't directly contribute to saving Chloe. It's a long shot, but maybe-
You turn the corner to the back of the Two Whales and stop abruptly. The homeless woman isn't there, but it looks like her belongings are. Or… were. You hesitantly step forward and kneel down, scooping up some of the ashes. Cold… Then step back and look at the spot where she normally sat. Harsh, black scorch marks adorned the concrete on the ground where she sat and on the wall behind. Even the chain link fence next to the spot had been blackened with whatever heat had burned her small pile of rags and cardboard. What… what happened here? The scorch marks on the wall easily went up a foot or two past your own height, and the ones on the ground were right where she sat, not in front like you'd expect if she'd lit a fire to keep warm. Upon closer inspection you notice too that the chain links that are blackened from the heat are also slightly warped. They must have expanded with whatever heat caused this, and cooled in a way that left them bulging inwards, towards where the homeless lady sat.
There's probably no answers to be had here. You sigh and take a quick picture of the sight for posterity, and make your way back to the front of the Two Whales, wondering if there'll ever be answers for all the weirdness you've seen so far.
≅≅≅
Scarcely a moment after the bell over the door announces your entrance Joyce's voice rings out. "Howdy y'all, welcome to the Two Wha-" She pauses a moment on registering your blue haired bestie, "Ah, well hello Chloe."
You allow yourself a small smile and step out from behind the taller girl. The shock on Joyce's face brings you, well, joy. How could you have grown used to that? "Well I'll be!" She says, a beam splitting the shocked expression. "Chloe and Max! Why, there's two names I never thought I'd be usin' together again!"
You giggle as Chloe bristles at the warmth Joyce immediately has for you. She'll get over it literally instantly if experience is any indicator. The elder Price immediately trundles out from behind the counter and wraps you up in a warm hug, which you eagerly return. She holds you out at an arms length then, hands on your shoulders. "Why, you're lookin' skinnier than a showpig fed only on gristle! Have your parents been feeding you right?" You feel a jolt of guilt, remembering your comatose parents, and see Chloe freeze similarly just out of sight of Joyce, panic evident on her face. Right. You haven't really prepared a lie for this.
You force yourself to smile. "Just haven't been able to keep weight on, Joyce." She frowns and starts to say something in a chiding tone. Hm. That's not really how you want to start this. Twist the threads and you force a giggle, "They just don't make breakfast in Seattle anywhere near as good as you do here Joyce." You smile at her as she eagerly accepts the flattery.
"Let's get to work fixin' that then, you two go take a seat." She leans down and looks you in the eyes with a warm smile. "Why don't you come on over for dinner tonight Max, if Chloe hasn't already invited you? We ought to catch up."
You grin at the prospect of a home cooked Joyce meal. "Of course Joyce," you say easily before Chloe grabs your hand and yanks you towards the second last booth against the wall. Your booth. You take your seats, same sides as always, and you smile for a moment, reminiscing about something that never happened, that only you remember.
"What's up?" Chloe asks, she must have noticed your expression.
You smile, "Just remembering. This is where I first showed you my powers, the first time."
To your surprise, she leans in, interested. "How'd you do it?"
"Well…"
You spend the next half hour telling the story, and eventually re-demonstrating some of the tricks for Chloe. She gets a hoot out of the hilariously roundabout way of proving you have time travelling powers, but can't deny it's effectiveness. Eventually your favourite, honey toast and bacon, is served, along with a black coffee, to both Joyce and Chloe's surprise. And an extremely short time after that, it's warming your belly and providing you with a shot of strength and optimism you sorely needed.
The diner's been pretty quiet all afternoon, no down on their luck fishermen to fill the empty seats after all. So when the entry bell does ring, you shoot a quick glance up to see who it is. Instantly, your heart drops from your chest like an overripe apple and your stomach tightens and clenches painfully in on itself. Why, of all people? Mark. Fucking. Jefferson. Was he following you? It didn't make any sense. Why would he? He stretches and blinks, adjusting to the slightly dimmer diner interior. Before hawkishly looking around and making his way to the counter.
"Heya Joyce, could I just get the usual? I'll be hanging around for a bit before the kids need me again." He says with a charming smile.
Joyce answers it with a genuine smile of her own, "Coming right up dearie." Jefferson nods to her and pulls out his phone, scrolling through social media or emails or whatever sick fucking sociopaths do on their iPhones.
You watch him with wide eyes, feeling for all the world like a rabbit cornered by a coyote. Joyce's kindly voice finally calls out to him, snapping his attention away from his phone, that razor sharp, instant reaction, part of what makes him such a great photographer, and so physically dangerous. "Here's your joe dear, three cream, three sugars, for someone sweet as you are." She doesn't know. None of them do.
He grins easily back at her, all teeth. "Thanks Joyce, always a pleasure," his voice drips with sugar-coated kindness, and in a fluid motion he drops a fiver into the tip jar. Jefferson turns, precise as always, and starts walking towards you- no. No. Past you, to the farthest back bar stool but as he passes you and Chloe and his fucking cologne washes over you something catches his eye- you- and he slows to a stop.
Chloe is glaring daggers into his back, as she should even if she doesn't even know yet. He smiles at you, the same predator's grin, all teeth, practically licking his lips. "That's a nice camera." He says, gesturing to William's camera looped around your neck. To anyone else his tone is personable, conversational, maybe a little kindly condescending, however that's expected for a teacher and celebrity in a small town like this. But you're intimately familiar with every one of his tics. The word 'nice' chosen specifically, a way of drawing you into conversation, it sounds like he maybe knows of the camera model, but not enough that you couldn't leap into the conversation to try and impress him with your knowledge. The slight lilt at the end of 'camera,' a double down on the trap, turning the statement into a half-question, if you chose to read it as such. Probing, looking for vulnerabilities, nipping at your haunches.
The fear that percolated in your belly on his appearance into the diner curdles over into white hot rage as you unconsciously dissect his strategy. You think of Rachel, spunky and headstrong from what Chloe's told you, trivial for someone like this to wrap around his finger. Victoria, raised by a family that knows the power of connections, and what better opportunity for a young family scion than to be close with Mark Jefferson? Poor, poor Kate. He didn't need to manipulate her. Only take advantage. Take advantage of a person already in the lowest place of her young life. You almost laugh at the last person that you realize rounds out the list. You. Little naive Max. So excited by the prospect of meeting one of the greatest photographers in the world. Thinking he would give her the time of day if he didn't somehow have exponentially and explicitly more to gain from their interactions. Another wave of cologne hits you and acts as an accelerant for the intense anger that you're now sure is showing plainly on your face, if his confused and calculating expression is anything to go by. You could end him right here. How many potential weapons are around you? Knife and fork. One into his eye, one into his throat again and again and again- No. Messy. Your clothes go back in time with you, anyway. Empty mug? Something about glassing him with the hard ceramic cup sounds thoroughly appealing right now, who knows if you're strong enough to do any damage though? His full mug? It'd be hot, but not scalding, on account of the three cream he takes it with. Eugh. Sugary sweet, just like him. At this point you think the adrenaline would be more than enough to take your hand to his fucking throat and claw it apart but-
No, Max. No. Restraint. You'll talk to Chloe about this. These thoughts are dangerous. You rewind a few moments with a little twitch. Always dangerous when someone's watching you this closely, but you've been stony and still since he said his piece. You grit your teeth and look up, jaw muscles clenched.
"Thanks."
Jefferson looks like he doesn't know whether to feel bemused or offended, but you see the moment where he shifts back into his strategic 'cool teacher' person. A calculated chuckle, condescending and just a bit dismissive, enough to make you feel you can talk to him in the future but that he'd be able to hold this awkward incident over you, he must be taking you for an awestruck superfan or something. Then he stalks off to his empty stool while there's still time left in the school lunch break.
After a moment, Chloe leans in. "Is he bad news? I saw you rewi- no, don't worry, he didn't notice, I was looking for it- I saw you rewind there."
You start to shake your head, but pause and just let out an explosive breath you'd been holding instead. "Not bad news right now. But yes. Bad, very very bad news. I'll tell you later," you say.
You and Chloe finish off some of the extra bacon from the morning slipped to your table 'free'a'charge' by Joyce in tense silence as Jefferson drinks his oversweetened coffee. Eventually, with no further fanfare or even a glance back at you, he leaves. You let out yet another breath you'd been holding and loosen your white knuckle grip on the table. He's gone. Back to Blackwell to plot about some other kids for now. So why hasn't your intense, instinctual 'I'm being hunted' feeling faded? No… Why has it gotten stronger?
Your eyes dart around the room. Then you whip your head to the window. Nothing out of the ordinary? You examine the SUV that happens to be passing by in exquisite detail but nothing rings a bell. Huh? Oh. Chloe's saying something. Focus, Max. Refocus. Recenter. You're here.
"Max!" Chloe says loudly, and you blink, suddenly feeling more present in your body.
You grimace and look down, "Uh. I- Ya. Sorry. Zoned out. That 'being followed' feeling is really, really, really freaking me out."
"What, even after Jefferson left?"
You nod, "Ya, I-" Hold on. You gape at her. "How did you know tha-?"
She grins at you and leans back, spreading her arms cockily to either side of the top of the booth. "Come on Max, gimme some credit. You freak out about having been all 'followed' by some stalkery dude before, then you react like that when Jeffershit shows up here? I can put two and two together. That dude been perving on students?"
Ha. Of course, she's smart. She probably figured it out the moment he walked in. You nod gravely. "That's an understatement."
Her smile falls a bit, but that only serves to remind you of that omnipresent anxiety gnawing at your gut, something is wrong. Very, very, very very hella wrong. A momentary flash of every nerve in your body screaming 'RUN' at the same time has you launch to your feet, knees banging the table and rattling the cutlery. You breathe heavily as you force your muscles to relax and Chloe looks up at you with wide eyes. God, you're freaking her out, just calm down, Max.
"Hehe, uh. Sorry about that. Do you mind if we go? I just really feel like I need to get out of here," you say. You feel like a tense coil of nervous energy, practically bouncing in place, eyes darting from dark shadow to dark shadow. Gee, there's a lot more shadows around than you really think about normally, even in daylight.
Chloe looks at you warily, before shaking herself out of it. Eyes a bit clearer she stands and unpockets her truck keys. "Ya for sure, let's go."
You try to calm down enough to at least go over where you want to go. The lighthouse? It's familiar and meaningful to you, but if you are being hunted, you'd be putting your back against a wall. Or rather, against a cliff edge. The forest? You'd get lost, unless… you could go to you and Chloe's old fort? It's easier to hide in a forest, but that goes for someone pursuing you as well, it's a touch remote but you and Chloe's fort isn't super super far from the Blackwell grounds. You could go to Blackwell itself. At this point you know the campus like the back of your hand, all the nooks and crannies and maintenance tunnels that only you and Samuel are probably aware of. David could still be more hindrance than help though, not to mention the other students. The junkyard? It is pretty fortress-like, and you have a feeling that the concrete shed at it's heart would not only be secure, but probably a pretty comfy place to sleep with the right supplies. It's remote though, if you do need help, it's not likely anyone would hear you. Speaking of comfy, you could just go back to the Price household. Who'd follow you in there? Oh, and David's surveillance system… it could be good to catch… whatever's following you, if you are being followed and aren't just finally losing your mind, on tape. God, you almost feel dirty for thinking of it, but you could just leave town? Maybe hit up a motel on the highway somewhere. You'd be far, far away from anyone you knew, but hopefully also far away from anyone that might be looking for you.
≅≅≅
Current Point: October 10th, around 12:10pm
Current Point: October 10th, around 12:10pm
October 7th, 2013, 9:47pm. In hallway of hospital, no clothes yet, and holding "borrowed" phone. (Printer Paper)
October 9th, 2013. 10:36AM. T1. Rachel's Clothes, Will's Camera, One other Photograph. (In Chloe's weed stash)
October 9th, 2013. 10:36AM. T1. Rachel's Clothes, Will's Camera, Two other photographs.
October 10th, 2013. 9:03AM. T1. Pajamas, Will's Camera, Three other photographs. (In Chloe's weed stash)
October 10th, 2013. 9:04AM. T1. Pajamas. Will's Camera. Four other photographs.
October 10th, 2013. 11:37AM. T1. Rachel's Clothes. Will's Camera. (Scorch Marks at Homeless Lady spot) (Only good for Hard Photojump)
October 9th, 2013. 10:36AM. T1. Rachel's Clothes, Will's Camera, One other Photograph. (In Chloe's weed stash)
October 9th, 2013. 10:36AM. T1. Rachel's Clothes, Will's Camera, Two other photographs.
October 10th, 2013. 9:03AM. T1. Pajamas, Will's Camera, Three other photographs. (In Chloe's weed stash)
October 10th, 2013. 9:04AM. T1. Pajamas. Will's Camera. Four other photographs.
October 10th, 2013. 11:37AM. T1. Rachel's Clothes. Will's Camera. (Scorch Marks at Homeless Lady spot) (Only good for Hard Photojump)
[] Is there anything you'd like to do before you leave the Two Whales? (Write In) (Optional)
Where do you ask Chloe to take you?
[] The Lighthouse
[] The forest, then into it to you and Chloe's old fort
[] Blackwell
[] The Junkyard
[] Chloe's house
[] Leave town for the night
[] Somewhere else? (Write-In)
This update's delay brought to you by me getting really into Divided Loyalties and writing an omake for it only about a thousand words shorter than this update itself.
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- Location
- The Colored Room
- Pronouns
- TheOne
[X] Chloe's house
-[X] There are guns there. You're both shit shots, but oddly enough, they make you feel safe these days.
-[X] Practice your shooting and rewind after every time you empty the magazine until you can hit a target every time.
-[X] There are guns there. You're both shit shots, but oddly enough, they make you feel safe these days.
-[X] Practice your shooting and rewind after every time you empty the magazine until you can hit a target every time.
Last edited:
- Location
- Vancouver
Yesss. So good to see this. Seeing Jefferson in person was just great too, I love how menacing he can even be when casual. Chloe is going to flip if/when we tell her (something we might need to be careful about). It was cool to see how calculating Max has gotten, realizing/remembering that blood spilt on her clothes will remain for a rewind.
Hmm, we're being followed, possibly by Mystery Man and/or his people. Worrying (to the point that Max seems pretty out of it). The question is, where to go?
I want to dismiss the Lighthouse right away, way too open without any cameras or defenses, but... The Lighthouse has always had some deep significance to Max's powers and the events that happened before. We might get some unexpected insight from going there.
The junkyard and the fort seem like good places to reminisce with Chloe, but I'm not sure how safe they would really end up being. They're very remote too. Hmm...
Blackwell would get us more info on what's going on and we have knowledge of the layout, which would be invaluable if we need to run. Of course, who knows how much knowledge will still be useful this time.
Chloe's house does provide some security, though I don't think we'd need the guns. If someone was chasing us, we could either beat them through time tricks or flee. A gun could escalate things dangerously and if they're in position to capture us they're more likely to do that and give us a chance to reset things if we aren't armed. Plus we'd get caught eventually/david would suspect us and that would just be a hassle to deal with. We were also invited to dinner so that leaves us there too.
The motel is pretty out there. Too much travel time I'd imagine.
I am tempted at the idea of photo hopping back and trying to figure out what happened to the homeless lady. We don't know when the fire happened though, making it tricky. We'd also lose some of the good connections we've made and things might butterfly more than we expect. Still, I don't think it would be a bad idea to investigate sometime.
[X] The Lighthouse
In the end, deciding to go here. Maybe our spirit deer will help us, maybe not. It seems fitting though, so let's check it out for a bit.
- Location
- California
[X] Chloe's house
-[X] There are guns there. You're both shit shots, but oddly enough, they make you feel safe these days.
-[X] Practice your shooting and rewind after every time you empty the magazine until you can hit a target every time.
-[X] There are guns there. You're both shit shots, but oddly enough, they make you feel safe these days.
-[X] Practice your shooting and rewind after every time you empty the magazine until you can hit a target every time.
Thrice.Great
Full of Various Wiles (Verified God)
- Location
- the Noosphere
[X] Chloe's house
-[X] There are guns there. You're both shit shots, but oddly enough, they make you feel safe these days.
-[X] Practice your shooting and rewind after every time you empty the magazine until you can hit a target every time.
-[X] David is actually pretty useful when he doesn't have his ptsd induced paranoia blinders on. If he's similar to 'our' David, we can start making inroads.
-[X] There are guns there. You're both shit shots, but oddly enough, they make you feel safe these days.
-[X] Practice your shooting and rewind after every time you empty the magazine until you can hit a target every time.
-[X] David is actually pretty useful when he doesn't have his ptsd induced paranoia blinders on. If he's similar to 'our' David, we can start making inroads.
- Location
- The Colored Room
- Pronouns
- TheOne
Maybe not, I'm pretty sure we didn't see the deer when we went to the junkyard the first time.