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noses-in-winter · 4 months

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Jack of All Clits (f/f, nsfw, sneezy lesbian porn cranked up SUPER high)

idk what it is but lately I have been INCAPABLE of writing anything that didn't involve a curvy girl sneezing, receiving sapphic head, and climaxing within a few hundred words of each other. This fic just happens to have all of that! Piper's my horny and perpetually stoned bisexual dumbass and Tourm is @virarushi's hot thicc girlboss gnome OC who sneezes about everything and has not yet had her bi awakening! Tourm is 4'5 and Piper's 5'6 so that's fun. :) Here's some art of her because she's hot! Anyway, to summarize: This is a 2.5k word fic in which Piper's going down on Tourm while she sneezes. They're roommates in grad school and Piper prides herself on being able to deliver bi awakenings.

To reiterate: this is nsfw so please do not interact if you're underage!! just block me!! thanks!! okay enjoooyyyyy ty

(Also to my awesome friends who read this in Discord, I DID add a few more horny details, just sayyin...okay anyway tyyy)

Piper was pretty sure Tourm had never climaxed at the hands (or dick, or mouth, or any combo of those things) of another sentient being. Based on what Piper had learned about her new roommate so far (mostly from asking Alexander), college was the first chance Tourm had ever really had to be away from her family’s rigid expectations and watchful eye. The poor bitch hadn’t ever even had her boob squeezed before! And there was a lotta boob-squeezing real estate there!

Tourm’s lack of preconceived expectations made Piper’s job all the easier. Not that she didn’t like a challenge, of course. But, now she could put all her focus into just getting Tourm to--

“Haah--! F-Fuuuuuuucking Void, Pipes…”

--moan, even if it was not done with near the amount of volume that Piper had anticipated. She expected Tourm’s--

“Mmmhhmm--!”

--sounds of pleasure to be just as loud and take-charge as her sounds of laughter, anger and annoyance. As Piper had quickly figured out, Tourm was not a throw her head back and cry out with every rock of her hips kind of girl. Would have been hot if she was! But Piper also liked Tourm’s brand of quivering through the arousal, letting out steady moans that evidently came right from the g-spot. That was…actually a lot hotter than the first option. Piper didn’t have to keep an ear out for anyone drawing closer to their room. She could just keep making Tourm squirm.

“Mmmmhfhhh, fuck. Aah--!”

And, Christ, was it fun to make her squirm.

“Mmmn…MMhmm…Fuck,” Tourm exhaled audibly in a proper English accent that could rival Solara’s. Piper didn’t tease her about it the way she normally might. She simply focused on keeping this pelvis-rolling rhythm going. Piper would have commended Tourm for figuring out the desired beat of her drum, were her tongue not occupied with the shorter coed’s labia. With Tourm’s calves draped over Piper’s shoulders and her hips angled upward, Piper went down on her in a very literal sense. Coupled with two pillows beneath the small of Tourm's back to keep her sex elevated, it made quite the memorable impact. It was Piper's go-to move when someone neeeeeded a good mouthfucking the way Tourm did. Piper prided herself on being able to get hookups to forget aaaaall about sheltered upbringings and disappointed families with the use of her nuclear-powered tongue work.

Piper’s eyes flickered over to her phone, propped up on Tourm’s bedside table. The stopwatch read: Six minutes and fifteen seconds…sixteen…seventeen…Shit! She was running out of time. Time to pull out the big guns.

Thus far, Piper had been using the tip of her tongue to tease at Tourm’s g-spot. As Tourm evidently grew closer and closer to completion, Piper opted to switch things up a bit. She eased her tongue in farther, just enough to rub the stud of her piercing against the roof of Tourm’s cunt. The warm skin of her g-spot was raised, more than already activated with sensitivity and arousal. Judging by the new way Tourm’s thighs trembled around Piper’s ears, the move felt just as good between her legs as she had hoped.

Tourm breathed heavily, one hand gripping the blankets beneath her while the other had her fingers tangled in Piper’s hair. She continued to groove against her roommate’s tongue in whatever way she could. “ohhh--ohhhFUUuuuuck, Pi---hi-hhh--?”

Piper wasn’t exactly sure what set Tourm off. Most likely, it was just the fact that Tourm was a gnome that simply existed. No matter the cause of the evident irritation in her nose, the first snag of Tourm’s breath sounded confused, as if she hadn’t realized this was coming. Her voice went a touch high with desperation as her nostrils flared, and then rested again, and then repeated the process to the same beat that she panted in.

Tourm was sure gearing up for one hell of a sneeze that didn’t seem like there was going to be any attempted cover in sight. Piper couldn’t blame her. She was sure that being eaten out was the only thought and feeling and need in Tourm’s head at the moment.

Tourm’s budding sneezes had her breath seesawing on beat with Piper’s tongue work urging her into the mattress. Finally, Tourm’s whole cunt clenched around Piper’s tongue as she sneezed at last, a cute “hh’chisshiew!” that Piper was more than used to hearing, along with the seeeeveral that always followed. The release peppered her shirt, bare thighs aaaand Piper with the results. Piper made a little noise of surprise when Tourm, fingers still wound in her hair, wound up pushing her face further against her sex. Immediately, Tourm let out a congested little moan, pelvis rising without her control in an effort to receive more and more and more of Piper’s tongue as she geared up for the next sneeze.

Piper was happy to keep up, but withdrew from Tourm’s sex for just a moment. “Bless you. Sneeze all you need, babes, okay? Just aim somewhere that’s not me,” she teased lightheartedly.

Tourm took in another fluttery sniffle with a dazed nod, unable to offer even half a joking response. She just barely managed to pull the collar of her oversized sleep shirt over her nose with clumsy fingers as she drew closer—

“hhih!”

— and closer--

“h-hehh—!”

—to sneezing again.

“hhhh!’chzsshiew!”

After several moments spent in limbo, Tourm’s hips bucked with yet another sneeze. By the sounds of things, this one came with a deluge of mess that was contained to her shirt. She let out a congested exhale that immediately turned into another heady snag of her breath that led to Tourm sneezing twice more. “sszsschiew--adt’chzsschiew!”

Piper opted to take this opportunity to use her thumbs to ease up the delicate hood that protected Tourm’s clit. Piper dipped her head down to greet it with her lips. “Good giiiiiirl,” she hummed, voice shifting into a little purr as she praised Tourm’s last-minute success of covering her nose as Piper had instructed. “Bless you…”

Tourm gave a close-mouthed little sound of pleasure that could certainly be described as a whimper. Piper couldn’t tell if that was simply out of the stimulation she had been experiencing for the past (one more glance at the stopwatch) seven minutes and thirty-four seconds, or if that praise had done something hot to her. That could be figured out later. Just a little over two minutes left for Piper to push Tourm over the edge of climax. She could so goddamn do this.

Tourm sniffled heavily with a murmur that probably had some intelligent meaning behind it, but only sounded like horny gibberish to Piper. The self-proclaimed master of orgasms didn’t ruminate on it long. Through the blond curls between Tourm’s legs, Piper took her clit fully between her lips to suck at. She wasn’t surprised by Tourm’s immediate gasp in response, or the needy buck of her pelvis. Tourm moaned through the fabric of her sleep shirt that she had less and less of a hold on as Piper rocked against her rhythmically with every sneeze…

“chissch!”

And sneeze.

“ischhoo!”

And a few more sneezes after that.

“iht’chisshiew! F-fucki’g shi--hihh!—kisschiew! hadt’DJISHiew!”

Each time she geared up for a new sneeze, Tourm’s back arched up from the bed in a desperate squirm before making her buckle again in what looked like the world’s most effective ab workout. Those sneezes were rapidly starting to get away from her.

“I’m…” Tourm trailed off, dropping her hand from its place of holding her sleep shirt. She instead used both hands to grip the blankets beneath her. Her shirt remained tented, held up only by her nose. That would be changing once she got a few more sneezes out, Piper was sure. Tourm was no longer capable of giving a fuck about a single thing other than her body’s powerful and simultaneous urges to climax and sneeze, sneeze and climax. “I’m g—gonna …hohhhh, fuuuuck….”

“Gonna what, babe?” Piper hummed during a brief pause in her stimulating efforts. “Cum? Or sneeze?”

Tourm gave one shallow nod, evidently an answer to both. Even though the bottom half of her face was covered by her sleep shirt, Piper could see that next sneeze coming from a mile away. Canted eyebrows, a shuddering inhale, the brief, sudden stillness of Tourm’s legs draped over Piper’s shoulders--

Haaaht--?!”

Oh, this was gonna be messy--

“CHIZSCCHhoo!”

Tourm sneezed. Productively, if the sudden splatter of wetness from the inside of her top gave any indication. Dampness bled through the cotton, turning the plain heather gray t-shirt into more of a slate color in several spots. Tourm snuffled and got a fistful of the shirt, drawing it up to scrub at her itchy nostrils. Piper could only see the underside of Tourm’s tits shifting, quivering along to the movement of the rest of her body, as well as the unsteady rise and fall of her chest. Piper didn’t bless her this time, simply choosing to hum as she tended to Tourm’s clit. This felt nice, apparently, judging by the shivering clench of Tourm’s thighs. Piper needed no further encouragement to keep humming and teasing and sucking until Tourm’s head pressed back into her pillow. The tip of her nose was perfectly perpendicular with the ceiling, reddened nostrils flaring as she came--

“OhhHHHHFFFffuuucuuuccckkkk….”

--hard with a shuddering moan that squeezed Piper’s ears between her thighs. Fuck yeah! She was so gonna win---

Nope. Ten minutes and twenty-eight seconds. Fuck! So close! Piper had nothing to complain about, though. That was fun. And hot. Super, actually fucking hot.

Unable to properly tend to her clit anymore with how tightly Tourm’s thighs held her, Piper instead moved back down to Tourm’s labia. She delivered a few finalizing strokes with her tongue to Tourm’s heated sex as it pulsed rhythmically with the highs of orgasm. Tourm was quiet for several moments as she collected herself, save for heavy inhales and exhales, before she let out a little noise that sounded like a cross between a moan and a laugh once Piper’s tongue piercing massaged along her…shit, what was that part called? Her fourchette? Something French, Piper remembered, but she didn’t spend long on remembering the name. She simply continued with her tongue’s easy kneading of this evidently pleasurable (and ticklish) spot.

Tourm slowly untensed, legs remaining draped over Piper’s shoulders. Her hips continued to move lazily in response to the stimulation of her fourchette, but in a more relaxed way that suggested she was simply enjoying this little pleasure, even if she was still too sensitive to achieve orgasm again. She sniffled, palming the underside of her overstimulated nose. “Okay…Fuck. I gotta give it to you, Twintails. That…wasn’t bad,” Tourm chuckled, her accent slowly shifting back to that Cockney she always aimed for. She sniffled again, reaching for the box of Kleenex on the nightstand. She drew it closer to her, setting the box on the comforter as she plucked out several tissues. “Guess you’re--sdf! Good at more than just settin’ shit on fire and annoyin’ Moseley with me.”

Tourm buried her nose into the tissues and delivered the first few seconds of a hardy blow before she was interrupted by another sneeze. Ope--and then two more. Piper gave Tourm’s sex one last parting little lick before easing back, wiping her mouth (and cheeks…and chin...and nose…Jesus, Tourm had been soaked) on her sleeve. She stood, easing Tourm’s legs down from their resting place on her shoulders to retrieve her phone from the nightstand.

Tourm sniffled into her now-useless tissues, looking up at Piper with cracked, teary eyes. “I win?” she asked with a smirk that promptly collapsed into a sneezy snarl--

“adt'IZSSCHSHuh!”

-- that resulted in another heavy sneeze all down her shirt. Tourm grimaced, making a little noise of disgust as she moved to a sitting position and saw just how thoroughly peppered with sneezes both the inside and outside of her shirt were. “Eugh. Gross.”

Piper snorted with a little smirk of her own as she started for Tourm’s dresser. “Bless y--”

“’chzsshiew!”

Piper gave an impressed whistle as she opened the top drawer, rifling through Tourm’s various shirts. She didn’t look at Tourm just yet, but it was audible in that grumbled snuffling that that sneeze hadn’t been pretty. Piper couldn’t help an amused little smile to herself as she picked out a new top for Tourm. She unfolded it, giving the garment only a brief look before shaking her head and beginning to fold it again. Way too tight for comfortable sleep. Piper did like this shirt, though. If her tits were half as impressive as Tourm’s, she would have been wearing it every other day. “Bless you, infinity. Get ‘em out, babe.”

Tourm snorted ticklishly, knuckling at one nostril through her bundle of tissues. She blew her nose and actually managed to finish without being interrupted by a sneeze. “So?” she asked with an amused smirk in her voice. “I won, right?”

Piper rolled her eyes fondly, examining another shirt. Nope. Fabric was way too thin for a chilly April night like this. “Fiiiine. Yeah. Just by, like, twenty seconds, though. I’m sure I would have made it without those several sneezy disruptions, but I’m no sore loser.”

“Hah!” came Tourm’s little snicker. “You owe me fift--sdff! Ugh…F-fihh--hihh! I--”

Tourm sneezed behind Piper’s back, another productive sound that had her groaning again in the aftermath. Once Piper turned back around, a perfect sleep shirt in hand, Tourm was already pulling her messy top off. She removed her shirt the way a guy might, Piper noticed, pulling it up from the back. She wiped her nose with it before giving it a lazy toss to the carpet. Tourm leaned back slightly in bed, supporting herself with both hands as she sniffled. Piper, the slut she was, could do absolutely nothing but stare at the way the evidence of all of those sneezes just made Tourm’s tits shimmer in the lamplight. And then how they--

“Hhh--! hadt’DJISHiew!”

--bounced with another heady, uncovered sneeze that simply provided the same glitter-esque shine to her chest. She let out a stuffy exhale in the aftermath that sent a bolt of horny lightning down Piper’s spine. That…really had sounded like another moan, hadn’t it?

Damn it. She wanted to make her moan again.

“Double or nothing.”

Tourm looked at her with a cocked eyebrow, tits settling after that shivery sneeze. “Huh?” Piper didn’t even hand Tourm the new top, simply tossing it to a cluttered desk. She made her way back to Tourm’s bed and took her by the bicep with one hand lightly enough that Tourm could move away if she wasn’t into it. “Lemme try again,” she said, more of a command than a request. “Double or nothing if I can do it in eight.”

Judging by Tourm’s expression, she very much was into this. Piper took this as a cue to ease her free hand to cup Tourm’s warm, damp tit. Tourm evidently couldn’t help a quivering little exhale, lashes fluttering as Piper thumbed her nipple. Just as Piper would expect her to, though, Tourm immediately shifted her look into one of cockiness rather than the evident need that was there. “You’re on.”

#sneeze kink #sneeze fic #not sneeze for work #oc piper #friendsocs #pls go follow vira!! her art and characters are the best and inspire me so

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stagefoureddiediaz · 1 month

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Hi Kym! I apologize if you have answered an ask like this before, but I am curious for your opinion.

You've talked a lot about how intentional all the Buddie parallels are in terms of costuming for several seasons now, both with Buck and Eddie together, then with their respective girlfriends, and in comparison to Bathena. We are now even getting throwbacks to season 2 and Eddie's first episode with Buck's stonewash jeans! Tim is adamant in interviews that he never planned this bisexual awakening in advance (we know that Eddie was originally meant for Maddie ofc) and that he doesn't know where the characters are going yet, but even Oliver has said he intentionally leans into the Buddie of it all with his acting, or at least into Buck's then-presumed bisexuality.

My question is, with just how pointed and intentional the costume choices have always been, is Tim is lying? Or are the costume designers secret Buddie shippers and intentionally lean into this storyline too? How much of what we see in terms of costuming is the decision of the show runners/directors vs creative expression of the costume designers? Is there a point in the show for you where it became clear how intentional it was becoming with the costuming, where they may or may not have said, "we're going to commit to telling this story in subtext until we are allowed to tell it overtly"?

Thanks :)

Hey Cookie-Kat!!

How lovely to have you in my inbox, and what a great question!

putting my answer under the cut - because it got long!!!

The answer I give is going to have to be a bit vague I'm afraid because the reality is that as I don't work on the show and I'm not 100% sure on the set up of their various departments, I can't categorically state how they are going about things in 911 land! I can share my experience and knowledge of how things can be done and try to give you some sort of framework - but I can't definitively say that this is how they are doing things.

First up let's address the whole Tim lying thing.

Tim is all about subterfuge in interviews - its literally his job as a showrunner. I would take every thing he says in an interview with a giant grain of salt. the entire purpose of his interviews is to tease and hook people, without giving anything way becasue why would he spoil all the things he has planned that make people watch the show he is creating. If he came out in an interview at the start of the season and said

'yeah, we're going to do a cruise ship disaster and all these things are going to happen, and in episode 4 Buck is going to get kissed by a guy and figure out he's bi and Eddie is going to find out his girlfriend was a novice nun and its going to send him into a catholic guilt spiral, and maddie nad CHim are going to get married, but x, y and z are going to happen before they can get down the aisle'

Why would anyone tune in to watch the show? we'd already know what was going to happen so there wouldn't be any point - there would be no buzz and the viewing figures might be ok, but they wouldn't be remotely close to what they are. I know for a fact I probably wouldn't be tuning in - people like to be surprised, they like to speculate - we in fandom take it to a higher level, but even the general audience speculate - water cooler conversations about what you watched the previous evening and how you think it's going to play out are part of a show's appeal - part of how it keeps people watching - shared experiences are a powerful commodity, especially in network television and they cannot be shared if we all know what is going to happen.

I would also add that this season is the most explicit acknowledgement of buddie that we've had in interviews and that means something. The show - writers, actors etc have all been incredibly careful before no to ensure that they haven't crossed over into queerbaiting the audience - which is something I really appreciate them for. But this season, things have definitely changed. whether that is down to being on a new network, that actually has a marketing strategy and that actually seems to care about the show and the stories that they have wanted to tell, I don't know, but it is so refreshing and exciting to see.

Tim is a clever person - he knows exactly what he is doing and every single season, without fail we have him saying things in interviews that can be read in multiple ways - none of them have ever been lies - subterfuge is the name of the game - then if you reread them in the aftermath of the season, you can see what he said did in fact play out as he hinted at - he has the context that we didn't have at the time and that is why he can subvert and talk his way around things.

I genuinely don't think Tim planned to give Buck a bisexual awakening from the start - we know he never planned on the buddie of it all, but a good writer will go where the characters take them. As soon as you create something and put it into the hands of others (the actors, directors and crew) things can very quickly take on a whole new direction and a life of its own.

If you ask me, I genuinely don't think Buck could've had a bi awakening before this point - it wouldn't have made sense from a narrative perspective (and his death and rebirth actually make the perfect jumping off point to explore) until now because of the very nature of Buck.

There isn't a single show (by show I mean one that isn't a limited series which will by definition have a planned arc) on network television that knew where each and every character would end up at the end of the show or that characters journey (by this I mean when cast chose to leave a show). Yes they might have planned a few beats to hit along the way, but they wouldn't know the end point for the character. We have a perfect example on 911 - Michael - the show hadn't intended to end Michaels arc in the way it did - his journey as a queer man coming out later in life was an important part of the show - important for representation as much as anything - they had to adapt and change in light of what was going on with Rockmond and write out a character that they would've had other plans for.

The other thing I should mention is that When Tim says he hasn't decided or written the scripts for upcoming episodes, that doesn't mean he doesn't have a plan. He very much will have a plan. There would've been clear arcs for each character laid out at the start of the writing process for the season - they would want to get character a from one point to another by the end of the season. Its the how they get there that is the unknown - at this point we don't know the end points for any characters this season, but if we take season 5 Eddie as an example - at the start of the season he is post shooting and back at work, seemingly perfectly fine. By the end of the season he is genuinely in a good place having gone through his trauma arc. The arc they would've decided on for Eddie that season was to explore his trauma and how to get him from a 'seemingly' good place to a genuinely good place. From there they would've decided on various touchstones - so Ana being mistaken for Christophers mother and them being a family is his trigger to launch his arc. Chris being scared of loosing his father a major touch stone, pushing him into leaving the 118. His then feeling on the outside - left out and replaced by Lucy is his next one, followed by the fact all his army buddies are gone, another touchstone - coming in quick succession to build momentum and leading to his breakdown. Pushing him to actually get help - therapy is another touchstone - one that helps to get him to the end of the season in a vastly different place - healing but still working on things.

So you see - they generally plan an overall direction, but how they get there is the bit that is a bit fluid and can be determined to a certain extent by audience reaction (I don't mean that they would out and out rewrite the entire plan for the season for a character, but they might chose to lean into different aspects if the audience react in a certain way - we saw this with Lucy - planned for a bigger arc, but the audience reaction to her was pretty negative, so they changed direction with her character and cut her part down).

In terms of Bucks bi arc - they will have been waiting on how it was received before fully determining how to play it out for the rest of the season - I genuinely think we'll be seeing more of Lou as Tommy later in the season as a part of Bucks arc - The way Lou has spoken about it being initially a 4 episode arc, suggests to me that its always been intended to run it longer if reaction was good - which we know it was. My explectation remains the same - that Tommy will be around until either the end of episode 9, or the middle of episode 10, to get Buck to where he needs to be by the season end.

I am on the fence as to where exactly that is - Everything from set, costuming and the script is screaming at me that it's about Buck figuring out not only that he is bi, but that he is also in love with Eddie. That is his arc for the season. What I am unsure of is how they are going to leave things at the end of the season (and I think a part of that will have been determined by audience reaction), whether or not we'll leave him acknowledging his feelings to himself, to a third party (Tommy and or Maddie), or to Eddie himself. Of course part of it will be determined by Eddies arc and how far they plan on getting him in regards to dealing with his catholic guilt and what form and direction t hat is going to take, but I cannot see any reason to start exploring that aspect of his character if you weren't going to use it for a queer arc of some description.

In terms of costuming - which was the main point of your ask - sorry I get rambly in these replies some times - I always view it as the first 2-3 seasons at the very least will be about establishing a characters look and vibe within the wider show, and from then on you can start to play into themes and colour theory etc. Somethings you can establish earlier - especially if they are centric to a character more widely. Examples of this are Eddies army green tees and shirts - establishing him visually as ex military, or the black singlets that he wears when in an emotionally vulnerable place, or Buck wearing his white trainers as part of his search for self, or his white shirts as a signal of him being in danger. You can do this, because they aren't playing on anything in relation to other characters at this early point.

So the decision to take Buck out of jeans (stone wash jeans specifically - he's been wearing jeans they've just been black or dark navy) and have him in very obviously shorter trousers, creating a specific aesthetic for him - this smarter, fitted clean cut style that is different from his season 1 looks, has been about playing into his journey of searching for self - that is his big overarching arc - the one that spans multiple seasons.

The intent to do that, wasn't about Buddie (or bi Buck) when they started to use it as a visual marker for him. It was (and always has been) about Buck. about his search for meaning in his life and who he is, who he wants to be - about being his authentic self.

The reason I got so excited about seeing him in jeans once more, when the first stills dropped at the start of the season - was because I knew that it was a signal that this bigger arc was coming to fruition and moving into its next phase. The costume team have been sitting waiting for when the time was right to do this - its being done with such intention.

Of course I hoped that it would be buddie related - things were pointing in that direction from other costuming choices. And to me at least, I still think its very much buddie related - because to do this now - for this bi awakening arc - its too loud and too big for 'just' a bi awakening arc - its about something bigger for Buck - something long term (and I'm not saying Buck being bi is't long term, because obviously it very much is - bi rep is so important!) him figuring out he is bi is a smaller part of a bigger whole for his character. The implication of the jeans returning is that this part of himself he has unlocked plays into a bigger story. Bucks search for self has always been about finding love - about being wanted and seen and accepted for who he is. As a costume designer, I wouldn't personally be putting him into jeans at this point unless it was related to his endgame - being bi isn't enough on its own for them to decide to visually show that he has fully found what he has been looking for on his search throughout the seasons (the white trainers still being in used also play into this) because he is still looking for that lasting happiness - he's just taken a massive step forward to figuring out what it is and where it lies.

With regards to colour theory and the paralleling of Buddie with other ships such as Bathena or Madney. Colour theory alone it wouldn't be enough to convince me, it is in combination with other factors such as the paralleling of Bathena and Madney that it comes into play. The thing is, creating those parallels and colour theory combinations doesn't have to lead to something. I'm going to do a terrible job of trying to explain this, but I'll give it a go.

Various people, who work on the show in some capacity have all commented over the years that they weren't expecting the level of chemistry that Oliver and Ryan have. We also know that they have played into the buddie of it all with some of the scene choices they've made - sort of an acknowledgement of what we're seeing - the elf scene in s2 is a prime example - a nod to fandom and the fact that they are being shipped together - and an acknowledgement of the chemistry - without it necessarily needing to mean more (the same goes for things like the text comments on the botfly influencer livestream call etc).

Back then wardrobe are still very much in character establishment mode - creating and defining the looks of the characters, and playing into colour theory on an individual level, not necessarily on a partnership level (S2 Bathena would've been treated in this way as they were already intended to be an end game couple so you can play into colour theory much earlier), that comes later. I wouldn't have been able to write costume metas in season 2-3 in the way I do now, because the parallels didn't exist and the ground work hadn't been laid.

Once you get past that intial establishing phase, hat is when you can start to play into the colour theory much more in relation to specific characters and pairings. One of the clearest examples of this is Eddies black shirt green trousers combo that he wears at the loft when having serious conversations with Buck. He first wears it in season 3 at the end of the lawsuit/fightclub arc (3x09), and then we dont see it again until season 5 (5x04) at yet another scene in Bucks loft.

The meaning of the colours in that scene are important sure, it is playing into colour theory, but what is happening visually is that we're subconciously connecting dots and remembering that Eddie has worn this outfit before to talk to Buck - that means it must be a serious conversation, one very much focused on something Buck has done (or hasn't done depending on which way you look at things). Eddie has been in Bucks loft on multiple occasions between those two scenes, and Buck and Eddie have had multiple serious conversations in the intervening episodes as well. so why that scene if its not meant to make us connect dots?

Now on a fundamental level, those two scenes can be read as establishing the close friendship Buck and Eddie share - that they are following through on their s2 promise to have each others backs. its entirely correct to assume that - it is after all what those scenes are establishing. But what it is also doing is laying the ground work for if they want to take Buddie further. we know that the conversations about Buddie have been happening in the writers room and on set for a good long while, and even if you don't yet know if you're going to go in that direction, you would be foolish not to lay the ground work in a subtle way if you can, so that the option is there if you did decide to take that direction.

A show will use what ever tools are at its disposal to lay various foundations that it can then pick and choose to build on as it wants or needs to. It is why we see the pictures in Eddies house moving around, why things on the fridge change (fridge theory is not as out there as some people would have you believe - there is a whole thing coming up on Eddies fridge in reaction to guts and the digestive system - which will very much be playing into his catholic guilt arc!) in Christophers room move around and change - its not just about him being a growing (soon to be teenager) boy, its also about laying foundations for story arcs they might choose to develop down the line and the Buddie groundwork is no different.

Its not about the wardrobe team being shippers of Buddie - its much more about them knowing where a season is headed (in brad strokes, even if they don't have specifics) being really good at their job and now being able to bear the fruits of their labour from earlier seasons - they had been doing the same with buck and Taylor - now they're doing it with Buck and Tommy (and Eddie). It would've been super easy to spin the costuming for Taylor into more positive colours - especially on Buck - in season 5, but they had the bigger picture and knew she wasn't going to remotely be endgame, so they were able to play into that throughout the season. Establishing Tommy as a version of Eddie is building on the Eddie groundwork they laid and using it to make it very clear that we are supposed to see the similarities between them - its steering us as viewers towards thinking 'oh Buck has a type - He's dating someone like his best friend - he should just date his best friend' is all about subtly nudging the audience in the right direction - towards Buddie - its just most people won't pick up on it in a conscious way.

I'm not sure if this makes any sense or if it even answered your ask, but essentially the show is using everything at its disposal to tell the story its telling and they have been laying groundwork that can take things in various directions - they are just choosing to push the buddie agenda to an increasing degree (and I have said groundwork far too many times in this post!!)

Thaks for the great ask 💜💜💜

#kym answers things #cookie-kat777 asks #costume asks #costume things #911 costuming #this is such a rambly post!!!#does it make sense - who knows!!!#911 abc #buddie

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shima-draws · 11 months

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This whole thing with the Titan submersible has revived my morbid childhood fascination with the Titanic story. Actually no I wouldn’t call it a fascination I’d probably call it an unhealthy obsession. Listen to me,

I saw the Titanic movie for the first time when I was 7. Do not ask me why my mom allowed me to watch it at that age. But from that point on my life changed FOREVER, dude. I’d watch Titanic on repeat. I had my grandmother sew me a dress like Rose’s (and I still fucking have it!! It is literally sitting in my closet). I made my parents take me to the Titanic museum in Florida. They got me Rose’s diamond necklace. I wore that and the dress to my second grade pictures. I have a school photo of me dressed up like Rose fucking Dawson from the 1997 film Titanic. I can literally grab this out of my closet right now bc fun fact I still have that photo too!! I tried to grow out my hair really long like Rose’s. My mom rescued a pregnant cat that was living in a pipe on our street, and when she had kittens I literally named two of them Jack and Rose. I think even at one point I tried imitating the scene where Jack drew Rose and tried drawing her myself (with her titties out and everything! At the tender young age of 7). Rose might have been my very first bisexual awakening but let’s not dwell on that. Anyway I had a Problem.

Flash forward to now. Some 20-ish years later. I hear about the Titan submersible. Before I know it I’m absorbing every single news article I can find. I am drowning in tumblr memes. I rewatched the Titanic movie today (and holy fuck it’s SO much darker than I remember??? WHY did my mom let me watch it at that age holy shit). I am being dragged kicking and screaming back into a hyperfixation I didn’t even realize I HAD. And it’s not even a good hyperfixation. I hate it here. Why was 7 year old me so invested in a movie that isn’t even accurate to the real historical event. My media obsession started with Titanic. Will it end with Titanic? Is this meant to haunt me forever?? Will I be on my deathbed thinking about Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio?? Who knows! I sure fucking don’t!!

#Normal little girls were obsessed with horses and Barbie dolls. I was obsessed with Titanic.#LMAO #It’s come back to haunt me.#Titanic #Oceangate #Titan submersible #Shima speaks #Anyway yeah this is quite fascinating. It’s STILL fascinating. And morbid. But I can’t help my curious out #*curiosity #7 yo Shima’s gonna jump out for a bit sorry #Young Shima lore. Quite rare. Revel in this actually.

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autumn-foxfire · 10 months

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PS my endgame headcanons for Shinichi and Ran is that they date for a while but the awkwardness of Shinichi's time as Conan makes them realise they're better off as friends than lovers, which isn't helped by their bisexuality awakening due to a certain thief and martial artist detective for Shinichi and Ran respectively.

No you cannot change my mind.

I also love the idea of all of Shinichi and Ran's biggest supporters being shocked that they broke up and trying to "fix" the relationship.

Sonoko and Heiji team up to set Shinichi and Ran on dates and while the two are exasperated, they usually end up spending the day together because they haven't had a good chance to hang out together and when questioned the day after by their best friends have fun at their expense over how nothing happened.

When Shinichi and Ran get together with Kaito and Sera, they tell their friends they're going on a date together and they get all excited and follow them only to realise that they were on a double date and not how they expected.

Heiji: I uh didn't realise Kudo was bisexual

Sonoko: I always thought Ran might like girls too but she's always been so into Shinichi I never realised...

They finally got the hint.

#dcmk #detective conan #magic kaito #kaishin #seraran #shinichi kudo #ran mouri #sonoko suzuki #heiji hattori

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cuubism · 1 year

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fem!dream has me by the THROAT

----

This is… a revelation.

Hob really thought he'd passed his "learning about his sexuality" phase a good six hundred years ago. But he just might be having another sexual awakening right now.

It's because it's Dream. This kind of thing always happens with Dream. Hob supposes it's the inevitable result of being with someone whose form doesn't follow the bounds of material reality.

"Do you like what you see, Hob Gadling?" Dream asks, a smirk dancing on his lips. Same smirk as always, slightly different lips.

"I always like when I see you," Hob says. Dream props his– her?-- ah fuck it doesn't matter– arm on the back of the couch, head in her hand. Clearly pleased. Flattery always works in these situations, always. Bloody vain creature.

There's none of the hesitation Hob had seen when Dream had revealed her more… nightmarish, her more otherworldly forms. There's only confidence here, utter assurance of her glory. As well she should.

"You're gorgeous," Hob tells her. "You're glorious. You always are."

She's different like this. Subtly. Hob would have still been able to pick her out of a crowd at a hundred meters, but she's… fluid. Her angles are softened. Her legs seem even longer than usual where they're pulled up on the couch, delicate ankles crossed. Thin, familiar fingers press against a plusher lower lip. Cheekbones that cut even sharper. Strong jaw that pulls more narrow. Glinting galaxy eyes with long, fine lashes.

Hob is getting lost in the details. The point is that Dream is a vision, the bodily equivalent of draped silk, and Hob has never in his life been more grateful to be bisexual.

"This is very distracting to you," Dream murmurs, and Hob realizes Dream had said something else to him before and he hadn't even heard it.

"Are you surprised?" Hob asks, leaning his head on his arm against the back of the couch so their eyes meet. "Wasn't that your intention?"

"I was curious," says Dream.

Famous last words for Hob’s sanity. "By which you mean you wanted to knock me on my ass, metaphorically speaking."

"I did wish to have you on your back," Dream agrees. Her voice is higher, like this, more alto than baritone, but still with that hazy, hypnotic melody to it.

Fucking hell.

"You know you'll get what you want, you always do." Hob brushes his ankle against Dream's. It's the only place they're touching, which is agony but Hob can't say he's not enjoying the tension. Or the view.

Dream runs a hand through her hair, twisting the long strands around her fingers. Her hair is a mess, sex-mussed and chaotic even though they’ve done nothing more than sit opposite each other here on the couch while Hob drinks Dream in with his eyes. It's… upsetting, in the daydreams it creates.

“You know, it’s still mental to me that you can do this sort of thing in the real–” Hob cuts himself off and holds up an appeasing hand before Dream can object– “the waking world. Like, dreams, sure, anything can happen in dreams, right? But then you show up here one day and you have actual flesh-and-blood honest to God tits, you can’t just do that to me.”

Hob half-expects Dream to automatically rejoin with my tits are also real in the Dreaming, so used is she to correcting Hob on the nature of dreams and their reality. The fact that she restrains herself is a tragedy, as that would possibly have been the funniest line Hob had ever heard come out of her mouth.

“I can choose how I wish my physical form to manifest,” Dream says, heavy-lidded gaze locked on Hob’s, “as you well know.”

“Do I ever,” Hob mutters.

“I have grown used to one shape but that does not mean that it is fixed.”

“Can you manifest yourself as anything?” Hob asks.

“Anything that dreams,” Dream says.

“So you aren’t going to show up in my flat as a neutron star or something.”

“Do you think that stars dream, Hob?”

“I don’t know, I’ve never asked one.”

Dream just keeps looking at him with the slightest raise of her eyebrow, and Hob leans forward.

“Wait, can they–?”

“Hob Gadling,” Dream interrupts, “I am here before you, scarcely clothed, wearing a form that I know you are pleased by, and what you want to discuss is the finer points of my personal metaphysics?”

“Your personal metaphysics are very important to me, actually,” Hob teases, and gets a frustrated huff in return.

“We have plenty of time,” Hob continues. “And you know I like learning about you.” He winks. “Like looking at you, too.”

Dream rolls her eyes and says, sounding put out, “You can look from closer up.”

Hob holds out a hand. “Alright, come here, then.”

Dream unfolds herself from the corner of the couch, so very like fabric indeed, and drapes herself onto Hob’s lap, settling on him weightless as always. Hob holds her by her waist, feels the familiar sharp bones of her hips.

She’s wearing some sort of robe of soft velvet, fur lining the collar. It looks simultaneously two hundred years old and like it could have walked off the rack of a boutique lingerie shop yesterday evening. Is she wearing anything under it? No, Hob thinks, of course not.

Hob rubs his fingers over the hem. “Where did you even get this? Pull it from someone’s dream?”

“Of course.” Dream lays her arms over his shoulders. The velvet brushes his skin; it’s ridiculously soft. “They were dreaming of an old film, I believe.”

This sort of luxurious, revealing garment is something Hob would not have batted an eye at her wearing in the Dreaming, but to see it here, in the waking world, where Dream is usually so buttoned up… it makes him feel some kind of way, and that way is mostly sad.

“So, what, you stick with your usual body most of the time because you like it best, or you’re just used to it, or what?” he asks. Hob has found that if he wants to ask Dream about something touchy, it is best to ease in and do so in a roundabout way. Dream operates in dreams, fantasy, story, metaphor and allusion – she will find her way to what he’s really asking if she so wishes.

And once again, Hob’s decision to turn the doorknob but not force open the door is rewarded.

“It is comfortable to me,” Dream says. “To the extent that any physical form is. However I confess that I…” she hesitates, and Dream rarely struggles to find words so it must be something she isn’t sure she wants to say. “I am finding… relief… in this form that has not been brutalized so by this world.”

Hob kisses the corner of her mouth, heart aching, and Dream leans her cheek against his. Her wild hair brushes his nose. Dream’s hair is always sticking up all over the place, but it strikes Hob suddenly that that wasn’t the case across all of their meetings – not until recently. He has seen Dream’s hair long and short, tied back and left loose, hardly controlled, always dramatic, but this level of utter dishevelment, that’s new.

He doesn’t know how much he should read into that; Dream is simultaneously the most intentional person he knows and also the literal personification of unconscious decision-making, so. Who’s to say, really.

“It is, of course, still I who has suffered,” Dream continues, “but this skin has not touched glass.”

Hob hurts for her, always, always hurts for her, but he’s relieved, also, to see her finding even momentary peace. And if he can provide it, even better.

“I understand, love.” He thumbs over her lower lip, then holds her face in his hand. “The self is more than skin deep, but the skin is still part of it.”

Dream tilts her head. “Unusually poetic, Hob.”

“Unusually?” Hob protests. “Hey, I can manage it sometimes!”

A familiar smile touches Dream’s lips. “Perhaps.”

“Perhaps. I see you are as usually rude as always.”

“Did you think this form would temper me?” Dream raises an eyebrow, haughty glimmer in her eyes.

“Nothing could temper you.” Hob fits his hands under the sharp angles of her jaw. “You are the hard edges and brilliance and artistry of stained glass and don’t you know I love it?”

Dream kisses him, just a press of her lips against his, and hums, “Poetic. You do manage it. But I shall not ascribe to you an adjective; you have held too many to be so easily defined.”

“By which–” Hob runs his fingers through the hair at the nape of her neck; God, it’s nice when it's long “--you mean I am really old and have seen too much shit.”

“You have lived many lives,” Dream agrees. “Sculpted and resculpted again.”

“And we’re back to the art metaphors. Dream, did it hurt when you were thrown out the window of the National Gallery?”

For all the teasing, though, Hob is touched, always, by Dream’s regard for him.

“They did not want me at the gallery?” Dream asks. It’s always so easy to rope her into this weird sort of banter; Hob thinks it’s her natural language more so than direct communication is.

She asks this while kissing him, though, so it takes a moment for Hob to respond. He considers not responding at all in favor of drinking in her lips for longer. “They wanted your beauty, they just couldn’t manage you.”

“And you can, Hob Gadling?” Challenging now, eyebrow raised, fingertips pressing into the back of Hob’s neck.

Hob laughs. “God, no. How dare I.”

Dream’s mouth cuts into a sharp, satisfied smile. Hob hadn’t thought she could possibly be a sharper-edged person than she already is in her usual, masculine body, but somehow, despite the softer curves of her here, she’s managing it. It’s devastating.

Hob has never claimed to be a strong man where Dream is concerned, which is fortunate, because that notion would have been decimated so thoroughly by now as to be embarrassing.

“I do like to try to hold you, though,” he says. “If one can hold a dream.”

“You’ve held on to life when you weren’t supposed to,” Dream points out. “That seems to have worked out well.”

“Hmmm.” Hob pulls her close, wraps his arms around the warm vibrancy of her. “So I’ll be rewarded for my hubris, again?”

“Perhaps.” Again, that crafty smile.

“I’m not going to keep you,” Hob tells her. There’s no keeping Dream; hell, Dream can’t even be kept in one body. Dream isn’t simple, and Hob wouldn’t want her to be. “But I’m not letting you go, either.”

“No.” Dream kisses the corner of his eye, right over the smile lines that have settled there, deeper, Hob thinks, in the year since their reunion than in all the centuries before. “I shouldn’t think so.”

#and then they explored each other's bodies #content warning extremely weird flirting #fem dream #fem dreamling #dreamling #this is literally just. no thoughts just dream #dream of the endless #hob gadling #my writing

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third-arch · 4 months

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My Trafalgar Law HC’s!! pt.11🤍🤍

ft. Kanna-ya!! aka Reader!!

Law’s tattoos can glow when he awakens his devil fruit powers. They can either be a vivid (chartres) blue, honey golden, or white. Maybe even red or rainbow, perhaps?

They glow less when he’s running out of energy.

Law sends Luffy the “send this to the next person in the next 10 minutes or you’ll die” images to scare him. Luffy thinks it’s the real deal and falls for it everytime. Sometimes it might take some convincing.

Law’s eyes are a honey golden color when he’s more vulnerable or excited about something. They’re a stormy, grey weathered sky when he’s stoic, calm, serious or angry.

He's very observant! He's like an owl, or a snow leopard watching from afar. If someone accidentally broke a plate and tried to hide it, he was probably the sole witness.

He might approach them later like

"We seem to be missing a plate, y/n-ya. Any idea what might've happened to it?"

One time, Kanna slipped a note under Law's door with a poorly drawn snow leopard on it that said "Thank you!" for something Law helped her with.

The next morning, Kanna found a neatly folded piece of paper slipped under her door, that said "You're welcome."

Idk if this was mentioned before, but he's done Kanna's ear piercings!! She used to have studs, but wanted to get some like Law's out of admiration, honor, and just because "They look super cool, Captain!!"

One manga he’s been wanting to read but hasn’t gotten a chance to is Natsume’s Book of Friends.

Law thinks Kanna's laughter is very rejuvenating and special. It sounds like "ringing bells" to him.

He’s either gay or bisexual, with an attraction leaning towards masculine individuals. If none of those, then he’s probably asexual.

Gender Swap HC’s!!🥳🥳

Here are some traits that I think Kanna, Law, and their gender swaps would have!! Not all of them are here, like Law's independency, but these are some key ones.

Law!! (Masc.)

Kanna (Fem.)

Kuroinu (Masc. Kanna)

Law (Fem.)

#one piece #op #trafalgar law #one piece art #trafalgar one piece #trafalgardwaterlaw #trafalgar d law x reader #law x reader #my trafalgar law hc's!!#trafalgar law x y/n #trafalgar op #trafalgar law x oc #trafalgar law x reader #op imagines #oc one piece #op oc #one piece oc #my trafalgar law hc’s!!

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azulasmommyissues · 2 months

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ATLA sexuality headcanons, part 2, Roku's era:

due to the limited information regarding this era, i might just be spouting bullshit. but! it's mY bullshit.

roku

-bisexual, male lean

-he mainly dated men when he was younger because he was trash at talking to women, but after mastering the avatar state he actually started seeing women (because raava is a lesbian)

-he is the master of homoerotic friendships, i tell you. sozin? gyatso? sud? no heterosexual explanation for any of them

-with sozin, roku was oblivious as fuck. he loved him, but he could never pinpoint exactly how. there were many moments of unresolved sexual tension.

-he fell in love with ta-min because she's absolutely raava's type

-but literally wore sozin's crown until the end of hid life and keeps it in his spirit form despite everything??? roku, please.

sozin

-he is gay but he's also awful

-contrary to all I've written until now, these things CAN co-exist

-being the golden child, a direct azula parallel, and also obsessed with roku?

-the fire nation law allowing married couples to legally annul their married was drafted and ratified by firelord sozin at around 44BG on the eve of avatar roku's wedding

-and gay marriage was made illegal after roku died.

-and he banned dancing in his oldest bitterest years of being alive because roku liked dancing, “sozin, It's my wedding! have a cookie! dance with someone!” (he didn't)

-he basically proposed to roku with his crown bfr

-i imagine that he was the one to kill gyatso. personally.

zeisan

-absolute lesbian

-in the avatar universe the lesbian masterdoc is a philosophical text that she herself wrote

-SO sick of sozin's imperialist, fascist bullshit. girl same. be gay study philosophy.

-she canonically bore no romantic love for khandro and he bore no such feelings for her either. the marriage was strictly political and based on mutual respect.

-rioshon, on the other hand? the love of zeisan's LIFE fr fr

ta min

-you've got no idea how much I'm looking forward to getting to know her when roku's book comes out. she seems nice. the roku episode barely gives her any attention, though. she's definitely raava's type that's for sure-- not a coincidence roku wifed her up AFTER mastering the avatar state, raava had been WAITING

-the vibes are relatively heterosexual

-girl was BEEFING with sozin

-"may i borrow your husband for a moment" if i were ta min and that was my wedding day idc if he was the firelord he would have gotten his ass beat (/j) so she's definitely a better person than me

-I'm a big fun of the theory that each avatar has the face of their past life's true love and aang looks a LOT like her so i think her and roku are sweet

gyatso

-gay bitch

-i don't know i just genuinely can't imagine him with a woman,,

-he had feelings for roku which weren't reciprocated and a nice old homoerotic friendship. his difference with sozin is that he didn't commit genocide and he DIDN'T leave roku to die in a volcanic eruption

-he loved roku enough to settle for being his friend if it meant he'd be happy

-he would have protected aang with his life, he was like a son to him,,, and he reminded him so much of his best friend

-after gyatso caused so much damage to the fire nation troops, sozin came to kill him himself. and god was it personal.

sud

-bisexual

-another homoerotic roku friendship

-roku you slutty slutty old man

-sud was roku's bi awakening, in fact. obviously sozin was the first one he loved but he couldn't explain it or understand it back then. he was old enough when he met sud to figure it out.

-him snd roku had tea dates after training, come on now

-they were friends first and foremost, though, lifelong friends.

taqukaq

-bisexual but never realises. I have to imagine he's at least somewhat conservative since he's from the northern water tribe and all—at least at first.

-then again, he was very spiritual and soft-spoken since his childhood. he travelled the world as a diplomat and saw many different walks of life

-he was perhaps in love with his good friend nai, and that's why his betrayal shook him to his core and gave him such terrible trust issues

rioshon

-lesbian

-also asexual

-perhaps she also fought sozin during the comet.

-maybe it was more personal for her than it was for him.

-she mourns the life she could have had with zeisan, if only she'd spoken out. if only she'd been honest with her feelings. damn the consequences! sozin won anyways. they wasted their lives and their love for nothing.

khandro

-aromantic and asexual

-bro finds rioshon captivating and respects the grind

_____________________________________________

now... nyanchi, boin, ezra, zeebee, bo, chegu, ema, sherab, and norbu, etc, who all appear in avatar legends as regenerated characters—i actually don't know what to say about them. they barely feel like characters-and they're not really that connected to roku. i just want this era to get fleshed out like kyoshi's and yangchen's! like their novels were so good. I'm more excited to find out more about the past avatars than to get new avatars, honestly, but that might just be me.

#atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar roku #fire lord sozin #rozin #zeisan #rioshon #khandro #ta min #monk gyatso #sud atla #taqukaq #avatar legends #avatar rpg #roku's era

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herpartnerintime · 7 months

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Why I believe Max and Chloe are both lesbians

Max is a Lesbian

Chloe is a Lesbian

Max and Chloe have never had their sexualities confirmed in the games but many in the fandom headcanon Max as bisexual and Chloe as a lesbian (or less often bisexual) but there are many of us who see Max as a lesbian just like Chloe. Having played the games many times with my own lesbian eyes, I've realized that on the surface level Max's sexuality may seem clearly bisexual, but when you really pay attention, lesbian starts feeling closer to Max, as many of us picked up on Max experiencing comphet when it comes to boys. Inspired by my Before you say Chloe is a bad friend post I wanted to make another long post gathering details from Life is Strange, Before the Storm and Farewell in my long waffling way to help people better understand why many of us see lesbian as the sexuality that fits Max just as much as it fits Chloe, as we explore Max and Chloe's sexual awakenings paralleling each other. Grab some snacks, this will be a long one!

Let's start with Max! I'll start by saying I imagine Max even by the end of the game doesn't have a label for herself yet. It will take time after the storm, with all the trauma to come, but as she and Chloe heal I think Max will be able to reflect and come to understand herself and why lesbian feels right to her. Fans tend to go between Bisexual or Lesbian for Max's label, and I do see how bi can be possible. Max can after all, kiss Warren and she does think some skater boys are cute. But many of us have taken a deep dive into the game and the journal entries to piece together what many of us believe may be signs of comphet with Max (the way many of us assume ourselves as straight by default), and signs that point to a lesbian sexuality. I'll first start off with something critical to understand. Some players believe you can make Max gay, straight, or bisexual depending on if you romance Warren. This is false. Max cannot be straight, because her feelings for Chloe still exist regardless if you choose to go to the drive in with Warren or don't kiss Chloe. Regardless of what choice you make, Max and Chloe are still experiencing feelings for each other. They're still flirting, calling each other cute by the pool for example, and Max's journal shows she is very much catching feelings for her best friend no matter what choices you make. If you don't kiss Chloe, she still writes about regretting the kiss.

I would have, but I didn't like being dared like it was some big deal. Maybe I am scared. Of what? I think I'm too young for marriage. And Chloe and I might kill each other. Max says she would have and admits to being scared. She also wonders if she is to young for marriage. Why is her mind going right to marriage over a kiss? I think this Max who doesn't kiss Chloe wants too but was to scared to do so. To scared to be honest with herself about how she feels, trying to convince herself they would never work anyway. I've never been so glad to see Chloe in my life. The second I saw her blue hair and that beautiful pissed off face, I kind of regretted not kissing her when she double dared me. Maybe if she had double dog dared me... After she comes back from the alternate reality where she either watches Chloe die or leaves her in pain, Max writes how she regretted not kissing her when she double dared her. If Max had no feelings for Chloe, she would have written about how she wanted to say hug her forever or something platonic, not write about wanting to kiss her, and wishing Chloe had put more pressure on the kiss with a double dog dare.

Chloe will always be my best friend, but who knows how she really sees me? I know she wasn't mad I didn't kiss her... I feel like we're more family than couple... just a couple of dorky kids who grew up in a fucked up, amazing world... Maybe that's why I hated watching Chloe being so cruel in the nightmare, calling me names and trying to hurt me... I was surprised that it was like a physical pain in my heart. Is that the power of love... or friendship? I believe you're about to find out, Max Caulfield. I think something to remember in this entry is you didn't make Max brave enough to act on her feelings and as a result, you've made Max become in denial of her feelings, afraid to face them and what they might mean. She's aware they are there, these feelings, the fact she is questioning if this is the power of love or friendship says it all. Remember, she was writing about regretting the kiss earlier. And, the nightmare still has Chloe being flirted with and kissing others regardless of if you kiss Chloe or not and it still bothers Max. I think Max in this end ultimately buries her feelings for Chloe because you didn't make her brave enough to act on them. And deep down she thinks she's not good enough for Chloe anyway so writes Chloe off as "more family than couple'. I've seen some dismiss this as Max simply experimenting in this version of the story and realizing she didn't have feelings, but that can't be true, not when we know what happens in the story if you let Max act on her feelings. This isn't about experimentation, this is about you as the player choosing to keep Max in the closet or not when it comes to her sexuality and feelings for Chloe. That is your player choice, not whether you can make her gay or straight. Now that we've made it clear Max can't be straight and that her feelings for Chloe still exist even if you don't kiss her, I want to talk about Warren and the way she writes about him versus how she writes about Chloe. Once I gave Juliet the proof that Victoria was behind it all, I went to get Warren's flash drive from Dana. She was in a weird mood, but we said nasty things about Victoria and I think it definitely made her feel better. We talked about Warren and Dana implied he likes me. Ew. Agree to Movie Oh wait... I did say I would go to the drive-in with him. Hope he doesn't make a lame move on me... (Not that he would, egomaniac.) Warren and I do have a lot in common, but he's like a supercool geek brother... Anyway, I definitely need a movie escape.

Don't agree to Movie Oh wait. He did try and get me to go to the drive-in with him, and I refused. I'm not really in the mood this week, and I also don't want to lead him on... Kisses him in Episode 5 Considering how insane my life has been this week, kissing Warren in the middle of a deadly storm didn't seem to be that strange. It felt like we were flipping off the cruel universe... and if I was going to die, I wanted one kiss from a boy I cared about.

Now let's compare to how she writes about Chloe Kissed Chloe in Episode 3

So I did. She probably thought I'd wuss out. Why? It wasn't that big a deal. Though it was cute the way she was kind of embarrassed after and said she would tell Warren.

episode 4 I've never been so glad to see Chloe in my life. The second I saw her blue hair and that beautiful pissed off face I wanted to kiss her again.

Episode 5 I'm glad Warren is such a good friend. Considering how insane my life has been this week, kissing Chloe instead of him didn't seem that strange. It felt like Chloe and I were flipping off the cruel universe... and if I was going to die, I wanted one kiss from my best friend. How could this not be some kind of fate or destiny? Even though we're opposites in so many ways, we're also so alike. We'll always be pirates in spirit and we'll always want to take on the world... It sounds so stupid to say that she's my hero, but if not her, who else? Sometimes Chloe and I feel like yin and yang. Who knows? Maybe we're here to give each other strength... or more. Chloe is more than my best friend, but who knows how she really sees me? She did dare me to kiss her, but she seemed surprised that I actually did. I am too, but I don't regret it for a second. Maybe that's why I hated watching Chloe being so cruel in the nightmare, calling me names and flirting with all those people... I was surprised that it was like a physical pain in my heart. Is that the power of friendship... or love? I believe you're about to find out, Max Caulfield.

Have you noticed something about her journals on Warren and on Chloe? You'll notice Max has so much more to say about her feelings for Chloe. All she ever says about Warren in regards to possible feelings is 'he's a boy she cares about' when she can kiss him in episode 5. Other than that, her journals she writes about him in regards to liking him like that are writing ew and in another she writes how she sees him as a brother and hopes he doesn't make a move on her. She never writes like this about Chloe. I know people take the fact Max can kiss Warren in episode 5 as her being bisexual but I feel like Max was discovering herself in this game having never been in a relationship before or even having a first kiss before the kiss dare. I know she can think some boys are cute, like skater boys but Chloe was also a skater, which could explain Max having that attraction to skaters, but the comphet making her just focus on boys, like she's supposed too, unable to make the connection she associates skating with Chloe. "He's cute. I like skater boys. Too bad they don't like me." Max thinks this of Trevor in the hallway of Blackwell. Trevor also happens to be wearing a beanie. These may seem like small details, but it's hard to not notice that Max ends up catching feelings for her skater beanie wearing best friend. It's also worth noting one of the optional photos involves Trevor failing a skating trick and Max taking a photo while he is in pain. She seems to take notice of boys being cute, but otherwise can seem disinterested in them. Even when it comes to touch, she backs away from Warren's hug attempt in episode 1 when she goes to give him back the USB, aware he is catching feelings for her and showing her discomfort about it. Then you just look at Max and Chloe, and how comfortable Max is at all times with physical touch from Chloe, even though Chloe has begun flirting with her and showing clear interest, it doesn't appear to make Max uncomfortable like Warren's interest in her does. Max does accept some physical touch from Warren, such as being comforted after Kate or hugging him in the diner because as she says, she could use a hug after what she's been through. But you'll notice she can be avoidant or unresponsive otherwise, such as how she acts when he puts his arm around her outside the Vortex Club party. She seems very comfortable with physical touch from Chloe, but not so much with Warren. Both of them are making their feelings for her known, but it's only the boy who Max can seem uncomfortable with at times. There's more to say about Max and this topic, but first, let's talk about the texting now between Max and Chloe and Max and Warren. Do you ever notice how many texts Warren sends Max, and the timestamps? She's very slow responding to him, but responds in a minute/within minutes with Chloe. She flirts back with Chloe too in texts, where she doesn't do so with Warren. If you explore Max's texts to Chloe and Warren here you'll notice a pattern of Max taking a very long time to answer Warren, until she finally gets around to sending off a quick message to him, usually short and to the point. Here's an example of the texts you find in Max's phone when you start the game from Warren. Do u want to meet for coffee after school? I need an excuse to not study. 10/02 1:14 pm PLEASE. 10/02 1:14 pm Make sure you check out NEKRomantik on my flash drive. Mwahaha 10/03 5:42 pm HEY MAD MAX. LETS BUST SHIT UP. 10/05 3:06 pm Wait. I have to study for a physics test. So if we bust anything, we also have to measure its velocity. 10/05 3:06 pm Don't ignore this message. 10/05 3:07 pm Hi Mx, can you get my flash drive? I need some info. And space. 10/07 4:21 pm Hullo? 10/07 4:21 pm Srry. Running late. Insane day. 10/07 4:22 pm

You'll notice Warren has been texting Max for days with no response. She likely sees and talks to him in school, but she wasn't taking the time to respond to his texts, which seems a bit strange for a boy she is supposed to be interested in.

Warren even sends her a picture of himself bruised up after protecting her from Nathan, with Max herself not having asked if he was okay.

Earth to Max: Your white knight Warren here. I know you were worried about me 10/07 6:36 pm I owe u. Thanks for today. I'll call back later, k? I SWEAR. 10/07 6:37 pm Now it makes sense given what happened in her day she didn't text him to ask if he was okay, but she did leave Chloe's side to find tools to fix her camera, and he wasn't even on her thoughts. She actually wasn't worried about him, but more worried about her broken camera and how sad Chloe seemed, which again is a bit strange for her if this is a boy she is interested in. Max then tells him she'll call him later. This is a pattern. Max is always ending conversations short with him, and always telling him she'll talk later. With Chloe on the other hand, this text about sums them up... u there mad max 10/08 7:34 am Like I said. Always for you :) :) :) :) 10/08 7:34 am NO EMOJI!!! 10/08 7:35 am :( 10/08 7:35 am

She is not always there for Warren in the game. She frequently tells him she'll call later or doesn't, or tries to end conversations quickly. Even if she accepts the drive in date, Max doesn't respond to him when he texts.... I'll let you take care of the popcorn. In other words you can't back out now :) 10/09 8:14 am OK, it's officially sold out BUT 10/09 9:21 am I managed to get us both tickets Had to fight a dozen bullies off for 'em though Freaking nerds 10/09 9:21 am Now Max is of course as we the player know, kinda going through ALOT right now with the discovery of her Super Powers and everything else, but she always responds to Chloe so quickly, even if they are just joking around. She could have quickly texted Warren an "awesome thanks" or a "I can't wait to go to the drive in with you" but she sends nothing in return. With this said, there are some exchanges that happens where she does talk more about the drive in. We are so GOING APE! Newberg is 60 miles so we should leave around 5. I drive. 10/08 9:19 am

Hell yeah we will in your new ride. 10/08 9:19 am

We have to get supplies for the drive-in. Maybe we can have dinner first. 10/08 9:19 am

..... 10/08 9:20 am

Or whatever. Anyway. GO APE! 10/08 9:22 am

Too late! 10/08 9:22 am

:) 10/08 9:22 am

Warren is still doing much of the talking here, with Max not giving an answer about dinner first, just saying too late about dinner! If Max turns down the invite, he sends instead... No worries about not GOING APE with me. 10/08 9:19 am

Thought it would be cool to take a road trip in the new wheels. I'll just drive in circles around town. 10/08 9:19 am

I'm sorry, Warren. Hard week. 10/08 9:20 am

I still owe you. 10/08 9:20 am

Yes you do. 10/08 9:20 am

Let me know if you change your mind. 10/08 9:21 am

(-_*) 10/08 9:22 am

I still owe you. Max says and writes that a lot. We both looked at each other like WTF? Next thing I knew, I was in her truck as Warren earned his man card and tried to get Nathan off my ass. I owe Warren big-time. I owe u. Thanks for today. I'll call back later, k? I SWEAR.

I still owe you. 10/08 9:20 am Yes you do. 10/08 9:20 am This one is if you don't kiss Chloe and accepted his invite.

Yo yo Max. Your friend Chloe txtd me that you shot her down. True? 10/10 8:41 am Chloe actually texted you? 10/10 8:42 am I sure didn’t have her number. 10/10 8:42 am Oh God. 10/10 8:42 am I don’t want to embarrass you. 10/10 8:42 am Too late. 10/10 8:43 am She sounds cool. 10/10 8:43 am She’s a cool dork. 10/10 8:43 am Like me? 10/10 8:43 am No, you’re different. In a good way. 10/10 8:43 am So we’re still on to "Go Ape"? 10/10 8:44 am No damn dirty human can stop me. 10/10 8:44 am GO APE NOT HUMAN 10/10 8:44 am We shall see. 10/10 8:44 am Now I have to get back to reality. 10/10 8:45 am That sucks. 10/10 8:45 am Indeed. I’ll buzz you later. 10/10 8:45 am

So on the surface level, this might just look like Max turned down Chloe because she didn't have feelings for Chloe, but does for him. But we know from Max's interactions with Chloe and her journals about really regretting not kissing Chloe, more than once, Max is indeed very embarrassed, not just because Warren knows about it, but because she DOES have feelings for Chloe and suddenly someone knows about how Chloe dared her to kiss her.

For someone still figuring out their sexuality this can feel like being put on the spot, that comphet making you feel almost like you have to brush it off and act like it was nothing no I'm totally not gay. Max calls her a cool dork and then when Warren asks if she's still on to go ape, Max responds this time, unlike the way she ignored his texts about the drive in before and says "No damn dirty ape can stop me". My interpretation of this text exchange is Max is embarrassed and overwhelmed at the implication of Warren knowing Chloe was into her and that she herself possibly was into Chloe back (even if the kiss didn't even happen), and so she is trying to shake off that feeling, and focus on the drive in with Warren because she's totally not into girls or Chloe right? By making it clear she's still down for the drive in, she also keeps the topic off Chloe.

I want to again bring up her last journal if you didn't kiss Chloe, where her conclusion is she sees them as more friends than couple and how I concluded if you don't kiss Chloe, the story ends for Max in denial about her feelings for Chloe, and I feel like this text exchange is a show of that denial, as Max tries to push away her feelings for Chloe and possibly try and push herself to feel more feelings for a boy her journal suggested she was not having feelings for the way she was for a girl. Let's look for a moment at the text exchange if you kissed Chloe and didn't accept his invite. Yo yo Max. Your friend Chloe txtd me that I’m out of the loop now. She sounds hot so I get why. 10/10 8:41 am Chloe actually texted you? 10/10 8:42 am I sure didn't have her number. Now I get why you didn't want to "Go Ape" with me. You should go with Chloe. 10/10 8:42 am She looks cool enough for you. 10/10 8:42 am I have a lot of cool friends. Like you. 10/10 8:43 am Yes, you do. Just my luck. 10/10 8:43 And mine. I have to jet. TTYL. 10/10 8:43 am I hope so. 10/10 8:43 am Max shows she is shocked here Chloe texted him. She doesn't express embarrassment this time however, like she did when she said Oh God when she doesn't kiss Chloe. This to me shows Max was feeling more confident because she had kissed Chloe, she wasn't in denial about her feelings and starting to discover her sexuality and confidence. She therefore isn't embarrassed Warren knows about the kiss, she may not be ready to talk about it yet or with him, but she isn't embarrassed as she is if she turns down the kiss and there's this implication she may not be straight. The Max that doesn't kiss Chloe is trying to ignore/deny her feelings for Chloe and therefore, feels more uncomfortable at people being aware of it. I would also guess Max is experiencing a similar thrill from her expression as she did in the classroom if Chloe texts she wants to marry her, seeing Chloe is making it clear to someone she knows that likes her that Max is HERS. For the girl she likes to do that... Max is starting to realize more and more what she writes later in her journal, that they are more than friends now. Speaking of that text... a fan favourite if you 'shoot' Frank. max the boss with the gun marry me Illegal in Oregon. For now. fuq that shit elope Max opens this text right in class and then Jefferson calls her out and tells her to put her phone away before Max can say more. Max is very openly flirting back with Chloe in these texts, something we don't see her do with Warren. With all the journals we know will exist after this point, with Max realizing they were more than friends, these texts weren't just friends being silly but Max flirting back with Chloe and being exhilarated by it.

We also see Chloe sometimes messages Max several times in a row. The difference? Max doesn't seem to mind as she responds in the same minute.

max 10/08 8:08 am food 10/08 8:08 am two whales 10/08 8:08 am Don't hurt your fingers texting 10/08 8:08 am Yay breakfast! (^_^) 10/08 8:09 am NO EMOJI 10/08 8:09 am

Now let's talk about the way Max and Chloe talk about boys, to each other. Max: So... you never really told me if you had a serious boyfriend while I was away... Chloe: Not serious. Hella stupid, usually. I went through a "boy toy" phase. Among other things... Max: I can't see you with any of the guys around here... Chloe: Because you have a good eye. That's why I was so glad Rachel came along to rescue me. Max: Sounds like you totally crushed on Rachel. Chloe: You would have too. Smart, sexy and sassy... Like me, right?Max: Well, duh! Maybe Rachel would have fought over both of us. Chloe: You wish! Then again, maybe... you're a photographer and she wanted to be a model. Max: As Blackwell proves, boys are trouble. Chloe: And way fucking gross. As you'll discover soon enough. Max: Oh okay, Woman of the World. Please tell me what it's like to get that first magic kiss! Chloe: Sorry, sorry. Didn't mean to get you all worked up. I just don't think anybody is good enough for you... besides me. Notice how Max says well, duh, confirming she sees Chloe as smart, sexy and sassy and jokes even about Rachel fighting over both of them, showing how comfortable Max is at the idea of girls liking her, versus how she acts at the thought of boys liking her, like at the pool, as you will see below. Pool Scene Chloe: Dude, I'm not her groupie, okay? And I'm sure you have Blackwell bros all over you—like Warren... Gross! option Max: Ew! I don't want any Blackwell bros over me. There's a couple cute guys there but they probably think I'm a total nerd. Chloe: Uh, nerds are hot. You just don't have any confidence yet.

Max: Unfortunately, that didn't come with my rewind power... Warren is nice option

Max: Warren is nice...

Chloe: [chuckles] Nice? Ouch. That means "Friendzone."

Max: No, he's really cool. It was so sweet when he stood up to Nathan... But I haven't told him about my rewind power... You're the Bro Killer option

Max: You're the bro killer. Tats and 'tude... Chloe: You did not just say that. Plus I am not down with these Arcadia Bay hillbillies. Max: I don't blame you... Anyway, we have bigger fish to fry, right?

Now Max does say there are a couple of cute guys, and this indeed could indicate bisexuality, but lesbians can think boys are cute on the surface level. But here's something worth mentioning. While we can find boys cute on surface level, the moment things start moving beyond friendship, we start feeling uncomfortable and start avoiding, kind of like how Max puts off Warren's texts because she's come to realize he sees her as more than a friend, and she doesn't know what to do with that. This might explain the journal where she writes I never really found a groove with my classmates. (Or boys...) as the moment a boy she thinks is cute begins possibly having feelings for her, it may have made her uncomfortable, causing her to, 'not find a groove with boys' as a result and not fully understanding why. Even when discussing boys with Chloe, Max's options and responses are interesting. You can choose gross, and then Max says ew and that she doesn't want any Blackwell bros all over her, and Chloe had mentioned Warren as one of the Blackwell bros. She then says she finds some cute, which seems to me again like she's able to see boys on the surface level as cute, but does not like the idea of them actually being into her back. Her other options are to deflect to Chloe being the 'bro killer' and to 'friendzone' Warren. All she can say about boys is she finds some cute, but she never seems to go beyond that, almost as if she can't. I can speak from experience of being able to see men as cute or handsome but also experiencing discomfort at the idea of actually being liked back in that way, or realizing I was liked in that way. I also experienced discomfort when I would think about what intimacy with a man would involve and how uncomfortable that made me feel. I didn't experience this when thinking about women. I could picture intimacy, everything in detail with excitement and comfortability. I also want to make note of many of the fandom seeing Max as a demi lesbian, needing a close connection for romantic and sexual attraction. On top of the comphet, it's possible Max didn't realize her sexuality because she wasn't forming a close enough connection with any girls to feel that way about them. Demisexuality, which falls on the asexuality spectrum, differs from simply wanting to wait for a deep bond to form before having sex with someone; rather, it’s more akin to the experience of being asexual until that type of connection forms, at which point the sexual attraction extends only to that person. x This seems to fit Max, who had never kissed or dated or in fact, been at all interested in anyone until Chloe. Feelings had begun when they were tweens. Chloe: You look cute with your hair soaked in chemicals.

Max: Thanks, you would know... This little exchange at the pool echoes back old memories, of being 13 and 14 Max: Really cute, Chloe.

Chloe takes off the hat.

Chloe: You're not so bad yourself.

With a girl, with Chloe, it all seems to come naturally to Max, how to act, how to flirt, how to boldly go for a kiss when dared, or how she was the one, in the Bay end, to go for that last kiss, or to choose Chloe over everyone in the Bae end. With Chloe she can comfortably flirt back and forth in text or in person. Now Max can kiss Warren too. She as stated before, writes in her journal she wanted one last kiss from a boy she cared about if she was going to die. I think so much of the game is about Max exploring her sexuality. Chloe even encourages her to stop being afraid at the pool. She encourages her in the alternate reality too. Chloe: Oh, please. You can't be an artist unless you experience life... That includes boys, girls, whatever. I think if you say, kiss Chloe AND Warren for example, you have Max exploring herself with BOTH of them, and while this again could indicate bisexuality we must remember Chloe had sex with boys and realized she wasn't into them in the end.

Rewatching the Max and Warren kiss, Max says for luck, and the kiss is fast and quick, compared to the very long kiss she gives Chloe in the Bay ending. Her kiss dare with Chloe was short too - only because Chloe pulled away in shock, so we don't know how long she would have kissed Chloe if Chloe hadn't pulled back. If she doesn't kiss Chloe and does kiss Warren, Max is choosing to not explore her feelings for a girl but to explore them with a boy she cares about. One thing we do know for sure... she writes way more about the girl than she does the boy whatever your choices are. And she writes she realizes she loves the girl, for the boy she just writes she cares about him, not that she loves him.

Here's something else to think about. Max is an anxious person who becomes avoidant when she's uncomfortable or anxious, as she is with Chloe after the move and isn't there for her. In Before the Storm, while Life is Strange had said Max hadn't texted, Before the Storm Max did text back a little, but she was avoidant like she is with Warren, short responses, always saying she'll call or text later but doesn't. In the case of Chloe Max didn't know how to be there for her grieving friend after leaving her at the worst time, in the case of Warren it at times feels like Max is avoidant and slower to respond to him because she is uncomfortable knowing he has feelings for her, and she doesn't in the same way. It's not until episode 5 after going through the Dark Room, alternate realities and the storm to get to the diner does she kiss Warren for luck as she says, driven perhaps more from the emotion of everything she had just went through and as she put in her journal, just wanting to experience one kiss if she might fail to get back to Chloe and was going to die. Comparing the kiss dare with Chloe, where the emotion was coming from a place of flirting and swimming in the pool in their underwear and bras, and then falling asleep together side by side in bed, it felt like the way Max hurled herself at Chloe for that kiss was coming from a very different place than Max needing a kiss for luck. It felt like Max going for that kiss dare was from the buildup of electricity between them and her acting very naturally on it. You can feel the electricity in the air with her and Chloe, but not so much with her and Warren. Now let's switch to Chloe for a little bit. Chloe I think is an easy she's a lesbian character. Most of the fandom sees Chloe as a lesbian, and it's not hard to see why. Let me bring these up once more... Max: So... you never really told me if you had a serious boyfriend while I was away... Chloe: Not serious. Hella stupid, usually. I went through a "boy toy" phase. Among other things... Max: I can't see you with any of the guys around here... Chloe: Because you have a good eye. That's why I was so glad Rachel came along to rescue me. Max: Sounds like you totally crushed on Rachel. Chloe: You would have too. Smart, sexy and sassy... Like me, right?Max: Well, duh! Maybe Rachel would have fought over both of us. Chloe: You wish! Then again, maybe... you're a photographer and she wanted to be a model. Max: As Blackwell proves, boys are trouble. Chloe: And way fucking gross. As you'll discover soon enough. Max: Oh okay, Woman of the World. Please tell me what it's like to get that first magic kiss! Chloe: Sorry, sorry. Didn't mean to get you all worked up. I just don't think anybody is good enough for you... besides me. Chloe makes it very clear she is NOT into boys anymore to Max in these conversations. She also makes it clear she is into Max by saying she doesn't think anybody is good enough for Max but herself. Even when she's asking Max what bathroom she wants to go through to get to the pool she asks it as if she is asking way more than a simple question. Chloe: Boys or girls? Max: Girls, of course! Chloe: Girls? Ooh la-la...

vs Chloe: Boys or girls?

Max: Boys, of course!

Chloe: Figures. Perv. Let's also remember how Chloe reacts in Before the Storm at 16 when she almost walks into the boys changing tent. "Boys' changing tent. Thanks, but no thanks." Chloe from the way she asks and reacts to Max's response, was I think clearly trying in her way to figure Max out. She asks about boys and girls here and in the pool because she's trying to figure out if Max possibly could like girls or she only likes boys or likes both. Max giving the "boys of course' answer is something she'd expect from a girl who likes boys wanting to explore the boy's locker room (we the player know Max is also just nosy and wants to investigate it), but Max choosing girls over wanting to explore the boys has Chloe even more curious, and when Max can react with gross or deflection about boys in the pool... she is becoming more curious. Max: As long as you're there with me...

Chloe: Don't look so sad. I'm never leaving you...

Chloe: You look cute with your hair soaked in chemicals.

Max: Thanks, you would know...

And moments like this happening, all leads to the kiss in the bedroom with Max. Chloe: Stop second-guessing yourself, Max! Put this on and let your inner punk-rock girl come out! You can afford to take chances! Whenever and whatever you want to try... for example, I dare you to kiss me!

Max: What?

Chloe: I double dare you. Kiss me now. Chloe, now feeling more confident Max may like girls (and maybe her???), but not being totally sure, she dares Max to kiss her.

Chloe: Damn, you're hardcore, Max! Now I can text Warren and tell him he doesn't stand a chance... unless he's into girl-on-girl action.

Chloe returns to her bed.

Max: You are such a dork.

Max: (thinking) Oh man, that was priceless when I kissed Chloe. She didn't think I would... Chloe: You better not rewind and take that kiss back. You know I'm hotter than those Seattle art-holes, right? Chloe pulls back in sheer shock that not only does Max like girls, she wanted to kiss her. This excitement as we discussed above, leads her to text Warren about the kiss, as her way to say Max is mine, back off. Let me also share what is said if Max doesn't kiss Chloe.

Max: Sorry, not that easy. Chloe: Oh, like I am? Just admit that you already macked on me then used your rewind! Now I can text Warren that you're saving yourself all for him...

Chloe returns to her bed.

Max: I am so going to best unfriend you for that.

Max: (thinking) I love that Chloe is so fearless...

I think to me this is further example of your choice as the player being about not making Max act on her feelings, not being the one who decides if she has feelings or not. Max isn't uncomfortable at all, actually she admires how fearless Chloe is. As she wrote in her journal, I would have, but I didn't like being dared like it was some big deal. Maybe I am scared. Of what? I think I'm too young for marriage. And Chloe and I might kill each other. Max's feelings always exist for Chloe. And later, she writes, I kind of regretted not kissing her when she double dared me. Maybe if she had double dog dared me... the kiss she didn't give is on her mind a lot. "And you'd dare me to drive it like you dared me to kiss you..." But if you make Max brave enough to kiss Chloe, she is more bold about it.

Max: And you'd probably want me to kiss you again... Oh and how can we forget? Max's reaction to Chloe's phone wallpaper either being changed to her or kept to Chloe and Rachel! If Chloe puts Max on her phone wallpaper Max thinks, "Nice, Chloe put my pic on her phone.... I must have proved I was worthy again..." If Chloe keeps her phone with her and Rachel Max thinks, "I thought Chloe might put up a pic of me instead.... Can't compete with Rachel." Max's jealously of Rachel is something even Joyce notices.

Joyce: Max Caulfield, are you actually jealous of Rachel?

Max: Maybe. Rachel was so much cooler than me... Max when she sees the C and R bracelets That kinda hurts.... The CD "Rachel songs." I wonder if Chloe would ever make me a mixtape.

Max when she sees the photos of Chloe and Rachel They really were besties. That could have been me instead of Rachel... Max's jealously is note worthy because it isn't something we see toward Brooke's interest in Warren. While Max shows jealously towards Rachel, she isn't that interested in Brooke's interest in Warren. If Max really did have feelings for Warren, she should be just as jealous. But Max acts very indifferent much of the time, if anything trying to ignore the awkwardness of knowing Warren likes her and Brooke is mad about it, trying to act like she has no idea what Brooke's problem is. Brooke: I'm serious. Even meteorologists can't explain that snow. I bet Warren can. Did you talk to him yet? Max: No, not at all. He's my friend, not my mother. (or she will say I will later) Brooke: True. And Warren really loves to talk meteorology with me, since I'm one of the few who can talk back. Talk to you later, Max.

In conversations with Brooke, it feels like Max is trying to get it across she is just Warren's friend. She helps him with his experiment in class and tries to ignore Brooke's rude comments about him ignoring the experts. Max: I'm helping Warren with his latest experiment. Brooke: Oh. I guess he needed a neophyte assistant so he wouldn't be threatened. But you came to his rescue anyway.

Max: Apparently, it's my nature. Brooke: Yet Warren ignores the experts right in front of him. Not that he would ask me for help anyway...

Brooke: Ms. Grant finally gave up and let me fly her again. But you're going to the drive-in with Warren, so you don't have time to fly my drone.

Max: Really? I can't fly your drone because I'm going to see "Ape" movies with Warren?

Brooke: You are perceptive, Max. Now, excuse me. My drone needs me.

I do find it interesting Max doesn't say going on a date with Warren, but going to see Ape movies with Warren, suggesting to Max, as she wrote in her journal, she sees it as just a friend thing. Oh wait... I did say I would go to the drive-in with him. Hope he doesn't make a lame move on me... (Not that he would, egomaniac.) Warren and I do have a lot in common, but he's like a supercool geek brother... Anyway, I definitely need a movie escape.

To Max, this is just a movie escape, but to Brooke it's so much more than that. At the Vortex club party, if Max doesn't accept the invite Brooke: I will. He left already, but we're going to map out our drive-in date later. Warren wants to go to dinner first, so that'll be fun. Is that cool with you, Max?

Max: Yes, it's great. Brooke, I'm happy for you. And Warren. I'd like to see you happy instead of waiting.

Brooke: Thanks, Max. Though I feel selfish talking about a boy, considering Kate and the Arcadia Bay eco-meltdown... As we discussed previously, whether you kiss Chloe or not Max's feelings for Chloe are still written about and expressed. This should mean even if she turns down the movie date, she should be sad about Brooke going with Warren, but she's happy. I think almost relieved she doesn't have to worry about it anymore. If Max accepted the drive in

Max: Have you seen Warren tonight?

Brooke: Why? You're the one going out with him.

Max: Brooke, enough. I'm sorry Warren asked me to the movies, but you don't need to give me an attitude. I'd like to think I'm your friend.

Brooke: I know... I get salty when things don't go my way. I'm selfish, while you go on a roof to help save your friend Even here, Max vents her frustration at Brooke being mad Warren asked her to the movies. But she doesn't say much else. She is aware Warren likes her, as she proves when Chloe says

Chloe: Man, that guy is so fucking in love with you.

Max: I know...

She doesn't say she likes him back, is just aware he does and you can get the sense she doesn't know what in the world to do about that. His feelings for her have even been getting Brooke mad at her, and her classmates are all picking up on it too.

Max: That was so not cool. We need to plan, like, a tea shop tour of Portland.

Kate: Oh yes! And you could bring Warren along too... Noy boys allowed

Max: No boys allowed. Kate: You are funny, Max. And right. Warren

Max: What do you think of Warren? Kate: Oh, smart and silly... He's got such a good heart. And he's a cutie pie. You know he likes you... Max: I'm going to the drive-in with him, so we'll see... With everything that's going on, a date seems weird... Kate: No, you deserve that.

Max: Kate Marsh, matchmaker. I'm glad somebody is looking out for my love life. Kate: Even angels need angels, Max. Don't forget her journal to match this and revealing her true feelings Oh wait... I did say I would go to the drive-in with him. Hope he doesn't make a lame move on me... (Not that he would, egomaniac.) Warren and I do have a lot in common, but he's like a supercool geek brother... Anyway, I definitely need a movie escape.

turned down drive in Max: So I've heard. He asked me to go to the drive-in, but I turned him down. Kate: Awww, really? You guys would be a perfect couple... Oh wait. He did try and get me to go to the drive-in with him, and I refused. I'm not really in the mood this week, and I also don't want to lead him on...

Max never sounds that interested about the 'date' and when you compare her journal about her feelings for the drive in with Warren with her feelings for Chloe it's clear Max's mind is very much on someone else, whether Max kissed Chloe or not. In episode 3, Nathan throws this slur at her. Nathan: Right...Plus, you're an adult now. I can sue for dumb ass for libel. Thanks. Now fuck off, dyke! Max doesn't give a response to this so we don't know how she feels as she doesn't write about it either, but her confidence she's gained with Chloe seems to have helped her not be bothered if he thinks she likes girls. Max never seems to mind if people think she likes girls. But thinking she likes boys on the other hand...

Dana: Max, you're smart to be a loner here. Though Warren obviously likes hanging with you... he's a good guy

Max: He's a good guy. A geek like me.

Dana: You saw the files in his flash drive? Tons of crazy shit. Films I've never even heard of. And in a special folder called "Max"?

Max: Yeah, okay. I gotcha.

Dana: Are you blushing? Ha! Go ahead and grab the flash drive whenever...

what do you mean? Max: What do you mean?

Dana: Oh, nothing. When you opened the flash drive, didn't you see the special folder called "Max"?

Max: Yeah, okay. I gotcha.

Dana: Are you blushing? Ha! Go ahead and grab the flash drive whenever...

In each exchange, Max seems uncomfortable at what she is implying. She does blush - but I've also blushed when I've realized someone is telling me someone likes me I don't like that way. It makes you feel embarrassed and put on the spot. Especially when you're deep down confused as to why you don't like this boy who everything else thinks is perfect for you. Max still can't find a groove with boys. Is it because she just can't like them that way? That's how it feels. And don't forget Max writes about this exchange... We talked about Warren and Dana implied he likes me. Ew. Now, I can't ignore the fact Max can write Cu Te on his room slate, "Are you made of copper and tellurium because you're Cu Te" a nerdy little science pun. And thanks for leaving your mark on my door. I'll never erase it. 10/10 3:42 pm You better not. It's permanent! 10/10 3:42 pm

As she writes it she thinks, I can have a little fun with Warren for a change. He's the one who wants to "Go Ape"… x Her tone suggests it's more for him than for her, perhaps wanting to leave a nice message after seeing that Beta Phag Alert poster. And Max can again find him cute on the surface level. She knows she's supposed to like him like that, her classmates all think she should, and maybe she feels a little bad for her lack of attention since she's been busy with Chloe (and developing feelings for her) so she wants to leave him a nice message. I really do think this and the quick kiss with him in episode 5 were just Max exploring herself, because she does care for Warren as she said herself, but her feelings for a girl, for Chloe, go so much deeper than she can feel for him. Max's journal entries she wrote on the 7 and 8th expressed ew at the idea of someone thinking she liked Warren and writing how she hoped he didn't make a move on her at the drive in makes me think it's not likely her feelings for Warren would change so quickly when most of her time is spent with Chloe, but I think her becoming braver and bolder gave her the boldness to try and see what a kiss with a boy would feel like. But she never writes anything more than that. And I always go back to her reactions to the idea of boys liking her at the pool, versus her comfort at the idea of girls liking her that morning in Chloe's bedroom. I also think of her texts and journals about owing Warren. She says her kiss to him was for luck in her journal, maybe she also felt like she owed him something and felt like the kiss was giving that to him. Now let's talk about Before the Storm Chloe. In her journal, Chloe writes this about Elliot Similar to my class schedule, Eliot and I have history but no chemistry or drama. We hooked up a few times shortly after Dad died, but there wasn't really much to it. I think I was just bored. Or maybe a little lonely. Weird, I know. She also has this in her journal

PS Pris from Blade Runner popped into my head last time I rubbed one. I mean, at first I was thinking about Deckard and that smolder of his, but then Pris just totally stole the show. Probably nothing there. Think I just want her bangs.

She was starting to realize she didn't feel much for boys. She was able to see boys as surface level hot, which is why she first thought of Deckard and that smolder of his, led by her comphet, but it was Pris who as she says, stole the show as she rubbed one. Some may think bisexuality because she was first thinking of Deckard's smolder but again, comphet can make us lesbians focus on what we feel are we supposed too and then what we really like... girls... totally steals the show. While Before the Storm only shows her with Elliot, Life is Strange tells us from Joyce she had a bad boy phase, and Chloe calls it a boy toy phase, and she also tells Max that Rachel rescued her, suggesting Rachel had been her sexual awakening. We see this in Before the Storm too, as Chloe continues to understand who she really is, even if she can't say it out loud yet. Chloe: I mean...fuck. Are you actually going to make me say it? Rachel: Say what, exactly? Chloe: You know. Like, a friendship. But...more. Rachel: Ah... Chloe: I know. Weird, right? It's just, today was the best day I've had since...since my dad died. And when I almost ruined it just now, the way I ruin everything, it made me realize...whatever's going on between us is special. And later... Let's just say... she erased all doubts.

What, you need me to draw you a map? We made out. As awesome as you may imagine making out with Rachel Amber sounds, believe me, it was a bajillion times awesomer. Chloe sexual awakening! Speaking of sexually awakened, it's clear she would have awakened sooner if Max hadn't moved away and stopped talking to her, with journals like these... The worst part is that even though we haven't spoken in months, even though she habitually ignored my texts so much that I just stopped trying, even though I know, deep down, that she doesn't care about me anymore and that she probably has all new friends up in fucking Seattle... I still miss her. If she came back tomorrow and said "hey Chloe, want to dress up like pirates and be stupid together?", I would take her back in a heartbeat. In a heartbeat. Chloe also has a drawing of Max in her journal that says, put your thoughts into me - x and on that very same page with the picture she writes "Maybe one day, when you return home and apologize for having forgotten all about me and we kiss and make up, I'll show this to you and we can read it and laugh." There's also of course, the scene in Farewell mirroring the pool

Max: Really cute, Chloe.

Chloe takes off the hat.

Chloe: You're not so bad yourself.

The way Chloe and Max look at one another and talk to each other. The feelings they were feeling... they were close to discovering at 13 and 14 they were more than friends...

Chloe pulls Max into a hug and Max drops the ball.

Chloe: You're the frickin' best. That's all. Max: Damn right. About time you realized it.

Chloe: Tell anyone and I'll deny it.

Chloe bumps Max's shoulder with hers.

Max: You are one of a kind, Chloe Price.

Chloe: What?

Max: I'm lucky your my best friend, that's all.

Chloe: Damn right you are, you mushy weirdo! Did you find the amulet?

I think even their childhood predictions to each other are interesting. They each think they'll end up with boyfriends and we know how that ends for both of them - and yet they also correctly predict they'll be living together (Bae end). And then there's Chloe, if Max doesn't tell her about the move, trying to distract her, saying she wants to go to the beach at night with Max, something her parents did together, which would have been a romantic night at the beach and Chloe heard the story and wants the same kind of experience with Max, even if she doesn't herself realize that. Max: I bet that would be beautiful. One day I want to see glowing sand.

Chloe: Me too! My dad saw it once with my mom. He said their feet made blue florescent footprints!

Max: Oh, my god. I want to take a picture of that so bad.

Chloe: Oh, you have to. We can go every night to make sure we don't miss it.

Chloe: I'm so excited! We're gonna have the coolest pirate hangout ever, just like we always talked about.

Max: Yeah, and it would just be for us.

Chloe: Exactly. Our own little place.

But sadly, we know what happens next. Chloe's dad dies and Max moves, and torn apart both girls are left with the lingering feelings neither understood, not until they are reunited again five years later. Chloe has her sexual awakening with Rachel, but would later realize her first love was Max. Both girls would eventually understand the feelings they had for each other even as tweens. William: And always remember: the real treasure is—

Chloe: Friendship.

Max: Love. Max's journal 5 years later. I was surprised that it was like a physical pain in my heart. Is that the power of friendship... or love? I believe you're about to find out, Max Caulfield.

Back to Before the Storm and 16 year old Chloe. In the junkyard Chloe can find a porn magazine in episode 2 where a fully naked woman (boobs and vagina on full display x) is on the cover and Chloe thinks....

High intimacy with Rachel : "These magazines are so gross. Who would look at this? Okay, I'm still looking. But it's only because I'm so fixated by how weird it is." Low intimacy: "Pretty sure this isn't what Rachel meant when she talked about going to LA to be a model. Then again, it's probably not what this person meant, either." If you allow Chloe to explore her feelings for Rachel, just like if you let Max explore her feelings for Chloe, it helps Chloe come to a realization about herself. The reason why she can't feel chemistry for boys or why she feels so indifferent to Elliot or why she says there wasn't much to it when she had sex with Elliot and why Pris stole the show when she rubbed one out is because she isn't sexually attracted to boys and their bodies. You know I wonder if maybe there was a reason she liked punching dicks so much in the D&D games that even Mikey noticed, both from anger at David and Wells but also at her growing understanding of her sexuality and what she is not into. She is not into boys. She is not into dicks. She is into girls. She is very much attracted to girls. She couldn't take her eyes off that magazine of that naked woman. She is into girls. She's into everything about them... girls steal the show literally for Chloe Price. She and Max have parallel situations happening where they each have a boy very interested in them and are discovering who they are, with Chloe at 16 being in the midst of her sexual awakening as Max is starting her sexual awakening at 18. Chloe has Steph gently encouraging her about liking girls (and Chloe also had her to admire - another thing about Steph: she's into girls, and she doesn't give a shit what anyone else thinks about it) and Max has Chloe encouraging her to discover her sexuality too, and also Chloe showing she likes girls and doesn't care what anyone thinks, making Max comfortable to show her feelings in return and helping her confidence. Steph: I've been planning to make a move on Rachel, but not if you two were together.

Chloe: Make a move?

Steph: So, are you?

Chloe: Uh...

Steph: I mean, that's Rachel's business—or maybe yours and Rachel's business—but if you feel comfortable telling me... Chloe: You think we're...together? Steph: It looks to me like you've got a thing for her, and maybe she has a thing for you...and I wouldn't want to get in the way. Chloe: I'm...uh, I—I don't know. It's...it's confusing.

Steph: Yeah, I—I can imagine. You ever wanna talk to me, Chloe, you know you can, right? By the time Max meets Chloe again in 2013, Chloe's confidence in her sexuality is as strong as Steph's was here. Max at 18 had no sexual experience, dating experience, or even a first kiss. She is experiencing her own discovery of her sexuality in this game. Unlike Chloe's journal where she wrote about rubbing one out to a woman, Max's journal suggests she hasn't given much thought to her sexuality and only knows she hasn't been able to find a groove with boys for some reason. Max is so focused on her photography and her own little world it feels clear to me it wasn't until she reunited with Chloe that she began to experience feelings she had never felt before, except in the past with Chloe when she had been to young to realize what any of it meant, further indicating demi for her. I should also make note of the condom Max can find in Chloe's jacket pocket. Some of the fandom look at this and wonder if Chloe may actually be bisexual. I think that condom was likely a left over one from her 'boy toy' phase. Condoms can also be used by lesbians as dental dams during oral sex on the vagina, so there's that possibility too. Though I think it's far more likely Chloe just had lots of condoms during her Elliot/boy toy era and had some left over ones. One thing is for sure, she makes it very clear to Max in conversations she is OVER boys now. I do need to make note of something also that many have felt could indicate bisexuality in Max and Chloe. Max's journals To study photography under Mark Jefferson... SIGH. Insert hearts and flowers. He doesn't try to be too hip, just says what he thinks and expects us to as well. I think he's a genius. OMG I WANT TO MARRY HIM. Just joking. This one class is worth all the social dysfunction. Chloe's comments Chloe: Hot for teacher. Max: Gross! You are out of control. Chloe: Not yet. Just wait until the rager tonight... Max: Ugh, shut up. Chloe: Don't be jealous because Mark Jefferson thinks I'm cool... Max: I am so ignoring you.

I know these comments may again indicate bisexuality for some people, but for me I think of how as a lesbian myself we can see boys and men as cute/hot on a surface level way. We are not unaware of their attractiveness, it's just we have no interest or desire to go any further. It's interesting to me Max also used the words gross once again referring to a guy, though in this case it is also because he is a teacher. Max really admired Jefferson as a photographer, she writes he's been an inspiration for a long time, so having him teach at her school was very exciting for her, Jefferson is practically a celebrity in the Photography world and he's teaching at her school. Not only is Mark Jefferson one of the best photographers in the world, he's also my teacher. And one of the reasons I wanted to come to Blackwell. How often do you get to be mentored by one of your inspirations? I've always loved his deco and goth style and he's so versatile with all of his incredible print and advertising work Unlike her classmates, Max's fangirling seems to be coming from a place of admiration of an idol rather than her classmates, who seem to lust over him, such as Stella saying saying he was pretty hot for an older guy and if Victoria wasn't making a move on him, she would, Stella also comments she heard Rachel had sex with him (which we later learn was true from Rachel's letter). Max doesn't express feeling like this for Jefferson, even in her journal. As for Chloe, as discussed, has already made it clear before this how she feels about men, she is making an obvious observation I can acknowledge too - he IS hot for a teacher.

Chloe can see that. I think Chloe also wanted to tease Max, who she knew admired him and looked up to this teacher and loved seeing Max all flustered talking to a teacher she so admired - she also knew Max was flustered when she heard Max say Oh, hi, Mr. Jefferson. I'm okay. Um, and this is my...friend Chloe. Max hesitates a little to say friend, and we know from the journals we see Max write in the game she was aware they were starting to feel more than friends, so she even stumbles a little using the word friend, suggesting she had been close to considering saying girlfriend but stopped herself. Chloe: Me too. I'll be Max's date. You better dance with us at least once. Chloe also says this, so she was really trying to fluster Max, knowing the Max's date comment wasn't even really a joke with the feelings they had for each other but hadn't spoken out loud yet. So Chloe is having fun teasing Max a little with that and trying to embarrass her in front of the teacher she admires. We also need to discuss Max's Nightmare and one particular picture. First the picture. In episode 3, in Warren's locker, Max finds a picture of her and Warren. x The photo looks strange. Almost like he photoshopped himself into a picture of her. "Bet he developed that in Jefferson's class... but why?" In episode 1 he can say depending on your dialogue choices, Of course. I'd love to tweak one of your selfies with some cool graphics… And Max replies, "That might not suck. I'll let you know. She never lets him know to do it, and thus is a bit confused and uncomfortable sounding when she looks at the photo she finds in his locker.

Now Max's Nightmare. Max goes through so much in the game with no time to process, until she passes out and ends up trapped in her Nightmare. In the nightmare, you'll notice the light house is always in the distance, always a guide. Inside of her nightmare, she is chased and hounded only by men. Jefferson searches for her with a flashlight, soon joined by Frank and Nathan and David, men who have physically harmed her and those she loved or been aggressive and threatening to her. And another boy joins them. Warren. Warren walks the locker room and calls to her....

Warren: Max... Where are you? Max... Come out to play... Come out to play...! Warren: Ape, Ape, Ape... Who wants to "Go Ape"? Go Ape! Go Ape! Ape! Ape!!! Warren: You dig my wheels, Max? Get in the car, I'll take you for a ride... Get in the car! Warren: Brooke loves me, so why don’t you? Huh? What makes you so special? (determinant)Warren: Max, I know you're in here... You can run, but you can’t hide from your white knight... Give it up! Warren: What's up with you and that blue-haired loser? You need an alpha male, baby Warren: Did that get you hot when you saw me fuck up Nathan? I did. Warren: Max... imagine if we were in that Dark Room together... I have... Warren: I said, get in the car. Now. We'll cruise to the drive-in and you'll be close to me forever... and we'll... Go Ape, Ape, Ape!!!

Warren joining her nightmare is not insignificant. Max's Nightmare may be a very strange, scary and crumbling world but everything in her dream speaks to her very real fears and insecurities coming to life. We've talked about how avoidant Max can be with Warren, her journal entries expressing her discomfort on his feelings for her, her discomfort on that photoshopped photo she found. Nightmare Warren was a manifestation of her discomfort of the way he acted with her and his persistence. I want to next explore Max's Nightmare to help better understand the way her nightmare was Max's brain processing everything that had been happening to her and her feelings, so we can see how everything holds significance. The first part of her nightmare is in Jefferson's class, feeling trapped alone with him, forced to say horrible things against her will, like how he had her tied up against her will. All of his posters on his wall now have her on them, the models replaced with HER. x x To me highlighting how uncomfortable she is by his interest in her and the way men look at her. The next nightmare is trapped in the endless dorm hallway, where she meets Kate, who either is angry at her for not stopping her from jumping or angry at her for saving her because she didn't want to live. After she escapes this endless dorm hallway she ends up back in the school halls with everyone moving in reverse, with the doe guiding her through the bathroom door where she first saved Chloe. She then ends up in an art gallery being chased by Jefferson. Once she escapes him, she then ends up having to hide behind portraits from the searching light of Principal Wells making announcements such as saying she is wanted for the deaths of Chloe and Rachel, he even says "I regret to announce that one of your fellow classmates, Maxine Caulfield, has died under tragic circumstances that I promise to investigate after I get my drink on" showing how he hurt her too by the way he treated her when she walked out of the bathroom in episode 1 and was jumped on by him, whether she reports Nathan or not, she is treated like she did something wrong and doesn't feel like she can tell him what happened.

She then reaches the junkyard and is chased by Jefferson, Frank, Nathan, and David. Something very note worthy about the junkyard is how she is only safe from them in Chloe's junkyard sanctuary where she can have a moment of calm. "Max, sit down. You're taking a time-out no matter what. If this is my nightmare, let me have one sanctuary... Of course this is where Chloe... and Rachel... used to hide from the world... But I can't hide for long. Whatever reality I'm in... feels like a bad dream... Am I just not learning my lesson? Maybe your real lesson is to get out of this place... Just don't be afraid, Max. Let them be afraid of you." Soon she ends up in a maze of lockers, where she is once again chased by men, with Warren and Samuel joining them. But why? Starting with Samuel, him joining the dream may seem strange, until you consider the anxiety and distrust of men Max was experiencing. From Frank threatening her and Chloe, to David treating Chloe horribly (or possibly even hitting her) to Principal Wells not believing her or being willing to listen, to Nathan drugging Chloe and Kate, and Jefferson drugging her and Victoria and other girls, I think Samuel joining the dreams was a reflection of how Max was feeling distrustful of the men around her. She actually grows worried and concerned when she finds in Samuel's custodial room Rachel's photos and missing person posters and a silky scarf she knows doesn't belong to him. I think that's why he appears in her dream, as a manifestation of her distrust and anxiety of men after the events of the week. Now Warren, as I said, is also there in the nightmare for a reason. He is acting as a desperate lover, and I think Max felt that way about him in the game at times, judging by how she often ignored his texts or avoided him or wrote ew in her journal or how she sees him as a brother. She wasn't comfortable with his attraction to her, wasn't comfortable with the photo he appears to have photoshopped himself into. The dream version is obviously a more aggressive version of Warren, but it speaks to her inner fears about him and how uncomfortable she feels with his feelings for her. Perhaps because, she also isn't even into boys and is in the process of discovering that. In the nightmare, Max can also look into Warren's locker. And what she finds?

x She finds this. More photoshopping from Warren, with him photoshopping her face onto the bodies of women in sexy outfits taped all over his locker, with the words My Max written in his locker and a Max doll inside. You will also notice Max's selfie, the unedited version that Max finds in episode 3 in Warren's locker that he photoshopped her into. This is more indication on how uncomfortable Warren was making Max with his photoshopped photo she found and his behavior in general. It also feels like further fears of a lesbian uncomfortable with the male attraction and attention on her. She does not like it. She does not want it. To move forward with the dream, to further drive home the meaning put behind the things that happen in her dream, after Max escapes the men chasing her, she ends up sitting on the bench and ending up trapped in a snow globe as she watches her 13 year old self tear up the photo she used to save William. She then gets a text from William that says, "Hey Max, would you say hi to Chloe and Joyce? Don't forget to remind them that you let me die." The guilt of her failure to save William and letting him die again. She even gets a text from Joyce if she accepts Chloe's wish. "Max, we have surveillance video of you overdosing Chloe. You cannot escape now. There is no reality where you can hide now. Don't you dare underestimate me. You hear?

Max then ends up back in Mark Jefferson's dark room tied up, with him taking photos of her. Chloe is there too, and this time she's being quite mean to Max. But she's not being like Warren and acting creepy. Nightmare Chloe is voicing all of Max's insecurities in Chloe's voice.

Mr. Jefferson: I think you’d be perfect for my new photo series on retro-grunge... You have the same qualities that I loved in Rachel Amber... but not Max...

Chloe: Max is a fucking child...

Mr. Jefferson: Oh Christ, I know... and she never shuts up, does she?

Chloe: I’m so over her hipster bullshit.

Mr. Jefferson: I think everyone at Blackwell is over Max... Let’s prove it. Max kissed Chloe

Chloe: Booyah, Warren! I thought you were all over Max’s shit...

Warren: She's not all that... so who cares if she doesn't kiss me?

Chloe: You should have seen her make a move on me in my room... Hella lame.

Warren: Max should see me make a move on you... Come here...

Chloe kisses Warren. Max only kissed Warren

Chloe: Booyah, Warren! I thought you were all over Max’s shit...

Warren: Not after she kissed me... her breath was ass and no tongue...

Chloe: I hear that. I'm not into... nerds but you're pretty cute...

Warren: I'm not into Max, anyway. So let's bust a move...

Chloe kisses Warren. To note, Max very much looks like she gives Chloe tongue in their long kiss in Bay ending, unlike her very fast kiss with Warren. Having never kissed before until she does Chloe or Warren or both, she feels very insecure on if she is good at kissing.

Chloe: Holy shit, Warren! Max is trying to play us both!

Warren: I guess she's not as innocent as she acts...

Chloe: Not when she's trying to hook up with both of us...

Warren: I only want to go ape with you, Chloe... Come here...

Chloe: Booyah, Warren! I thought you were all over Max’s shit...

Warren: She's sure the hell not into me at all... who cares?

Chloe: I guess we're "not her type"... like Max has a fucking type?

Warren: But she does... She's into Mr. Jefferson... Now come here...

Chloe kisses Warren.

You'll notice whether Max kisses Chloe or not, this is all about Chloe flirting with a boy and taunting Max with what a loser she thinks she is, mirroring Max's own fears that she isn't cool or good enough for Chloe. She writes in her journal, I feel like a groupie when I talk to Chloe about our life experience... she has me so beat. I take pictures, she takes action. You might argue Warren was kissing Chloe too and that maybe she was experiencing some pain watching him flirt with others... but I don't think so. Max never admits to liking him back in the game. The most she says is in the alternate reality when Chloe asks if she's dating anyone at Blackwell. She says, "I was supposed to go out with this guy named Warren, but I don't think he's into me anymore..." or she says "This guy Warren asked me out, but I turned him down. Now he's with somebody else..." She doesn't say this boy I liked asked me out but now he's going with someone else, she just says she was 'supposed' to go out with him (because he asked about the drive in). With Chloe, she's straight up writing journals about seeing her as more than a friend. I don't think Max was experiencing pain and jealously because Warren was kissing Chloe, but because Chloe was kissing him. Her journal even confirms she wasn't upset about Warren kissing someone else, but upset Chloe was kissing someone other than her. Maybe that's why I hated watching Chloe being so cruel in the nightmare, calling me names and flirting with all those people... I was surprised that it was like a physical pain in my heart. Is that the power of friendship... or love? There is no mention of being in pain watching Warren kissing someone else.

Nathan: Goddamn, you are a sexy bitch! Why hang out with Max, huh? Chloe: Boredom. Plus she’s like my personal puppet. Nathan: I hear that. Do you... want to party? I got a drugstore in my room. Chloe: Oh shit! Look at Max spying on us... Take a fucking picture, bitch! Or take a selfie! Chloe stands on the couch in her underwear, dancing. Chloe: See, this is how you bust a move, Max... No mosh pit for you, shaka brah! Chloe: Damn, Victoria... You're a real woman... not a little girl like Max... Victoria: I fucking love your tats, Chloe. You're so hot. I can’t believe it took us so long to hook up... They begin to make out.

Chloe: Why did you get rewind powers? You don’t even know how to use them... Rachel’s dead and you’re still alive. Life is... so not fair. Chloe appears in front of Max and takes photos of her.

Chloe: I wish you would have never come back to Arcadia Bay... You’re the real storm. Chloe continues to voice Max's insecurities, she even voices Max's insecurities over being seen as a little girl. I always took this as Max insecure over her small chest, something smaller breasted girls often struggle with, making them almost feel like little girls. Nightmare Chloe is voicing every insecurity Max has that is making Max think Chloe wouldn't really want her. There is nothing like the sense of relief after waking up from a vivid nightmare. Despite all the terrible things that have been happening this past week, I felt so free and hopeful when I finally woke up. And my nightmare was so obvious... all my fears about being an artist, about my rewind power, and, of course, about my partner in crime and time, Chloe Price.

We've been through so much together and we might go through more, depending on how this all ends... either in Heaven or Hella... Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Max's journal continues to confirm the nightmare was about her fears, her rewind power and all about Chloe. Now the dream changes again, with Max trapped in the Two Whale Diner's bathroom with all these numbers written all over the room. Max is scared there may be no escape. But there's one number that shows in the mirror she can see. 0311. Chloe's birthday. Just like Chloe remembered her birthday, Max's sub conscious made Chloe's birthdate the number to save her from the room she was trapped in. Max then walks through the Two Whales Diner as everyone begs for her to save them. She soon encounters herself, Alternate Max, who challenges Max's choices and decisions. Alternate Max: Holy shit, are you cereal? I'm you, dumbass. Or I'm one of many Maxes you've left behind...

Alternate Max: Oh, so you want help? Thought you could control everybody and everything, huh? Twist time around your fingers

Alternate Max: No, you only wanted to be popular. And once you got these amazing powers, your big plan was to trick people into thinking you give a rat's ass. Alternate Max: By telling people what they want to hear? You were just looking for a shortcut, because you can't make friends on your own. Alternate Max: Please, stop playing innocent. You're a goddamn hypocrite. You've left a trail of death and suffering behind you. Max: This has to be my destiny to save her... I wouldn't be trapped in here if I didn't believe that... Alternate Max: No kidding. Chloe trapped you with her drama. Guns, drugs, Rachel... Even stealing money from the handicapped fund. She's just using you, dude./Alternate Max: No kidding. Chloe trapped you with her drama... guns, drugs, Rachel... She's just using you, dude.

Alternate Max: Like, she even asked you to end her life and do what she couldn't do by herself.

Max: Chloe does a better job of guilt-tripping me than you do.

Alternate Max: Because you let her bully you. It's called "Stockholm Syndrome." But you didn't do that homework... so you'll have to learn the hard way. Like Rachel...

Max: Just shut up. You're not scaring me anymore.

Alternate Max: I'd be more worried about Chloe killing us than Jefferson... Alternate Max: Max, do you really think she has any feelings for us? You're just another puppet...

Alternate Max brings up some true insecurities on how Max used her power and the choices she made, but Max boldly challenges this Alternate Max. Max isn't afraid anymore. This twisted nightmare version of herself is questioning all of Max's choices and also tries to turn her on Chloe, trying to suggest Chloe bullies her. I feel the need to give my Before you say Chloe is a bad friend post another poke - this Alternate Max is the darkest parts of Max trying to break her and Chloe apart, and Max, stronger and braver than ever is fighting back. She isn't scared anymore. And guess who finally shows up in the dream? Chloe. Right at the moment Alternate Max is questioning if Chloe really has feelings for her.

Chloe: Dude, do not even fuck with her head! She knows what we went through together this week and you don't! There's no way you can break up our team! This is reality! Chloe comes in and tells Alternate Max off. She calls her out, calls her out for lying and trying to mess with Max's head. Her anger at this Alternate Max drives Alternate Max out, and Max ends up in the final part of the nightmare, walking through a world of all their frozen memories in time.

Max relives everything, talking in Chloe's truck upon reuniting, Chloe gifting her William's camera, Chloe dancing on her bed as Max takes a picture, them on the cliff together discussing how it feels like destiny they're together again, them together at the Two Whales Diner, the junkyard, Max worrying her powers might not last forever and Chloe promising they will, forever. Them calling each other their partners in time and crime at Blackwell, swimming at the pool, calling each other cute, Max waking up next to Chloe in bed for a photo and Chloe photo bombing her, Chloe's kiss dare, the discovery in Frank's RV, when she goes back in time to save William FOR Chloe, she and Chloe at the beach talking about the golden hour, she and Chloe looking back on childhood memories and Chloe requesting her final memory be with Max... Max's excitement returning to Chloe again, the dark room discovery, Chloe crying as she finds Rachel.

And then Chloe's voice, calling out to Max.

Chloe: Come on Max, we’re almost there! Please wake up! Max, can you hear me? Hang on, Max, we can make it! Listen to me! Max! We’re near the lighthouse! Wake up! Dammit, Max, don't let me down!

Chloe: Max, come on now! Don't worry... we'll be okay. It is Chloe who saves Max from the nightmare. Chloe is the lighthouse. She is the guiding light. When Max awakens, Chloe has gotten them to safety. Max's love of Chloe leads her out of the nightmare. And now that we have gone over the dream in detail, you can see how Warren's role in the nightmare was that role for a reason. Everything in the dream had meaning. Max came out of that dream realizing they were more than friends. Questioning if it was the power of friendship or love? I think Chloe Price and Max Caulfield are both lesbians. By the end Life is Strange Before the Storm, Chloe has figured herself out. She likes girls and girls only. Max is on the path to figuring herself out in Life is Strange. Max may be able to kiss Warren in the game, but Chloe also kissed boys and had sex with them before she realized herself. I understand not everyone may agree, I understand the bisexual representation many see with Max is important but I also think it's important to not ignore what the game shows us and take that into consideration. Going back to the Cliff, where Max says to Chloe Max: Fuck that! No... no way! You are my number one priority now. You are all that matters to me. All she is thinking about on that cliff is Chloe, not Warren, but Chloe. Her love for Chloe outshines him or anyone else in the town. You can't not notice it is only Chloe with Max as the storm comes toward the town. She didn't get Warren to safety, she got Chloe there, Chloe got her there. She says these things to Chloe on the beach. Max: Oh, you're alive! You're alive, oh... Both of us! I did so much to bring you back, Chloe... and it worked. It actually worked. You're with me again. All she is thinking about is Chloe. Max: Maybe I willed it subconsciously, or something. I always wanted my life to be special... an adventure... but not without you. And it didn't happen until I moved back here, so... without you, my powers wouldn't even exist. On the cliff, Chloe: You... You could use that photo to change everything right back to when you took that picture... All that would take is for me to... to... [Chloe holds her face in her hands]

Max: Fuck that! No... no way! You are my number one priority now. You are all that matters to me.

Chloe: I know. You proved that over and over again... even though I don't deserve it. I'm so selfish... not like my mom... Look what she had to give up and live through... and she did. She deserves so much more than to be killed by a storm in a fucking diner. Even my step... father deserves her alive. There's so many more people in Arcadia Bay who should live... way more than me...

Max: Don't say that... I won't trade you. Chloe: You're not trading me. Maybe you've just been delaying my real destiny... Look at how many times I've almost died or actually died around you. Look at what's happened in Arcadia Bay ever since you first saved me. I know I've been selfish, but for once I think I should accept my fate... our fate...

Max: Chloe...

Chloe: Max, you finally came back to me this week, and... you did nothing but show me your love and friendship. You made me smile and laugh, like I haven't done in years. Wherever I end up after this... in whatever reality... all those moments between us were real, and they'll always be ours. No matter what you choose, I know you'll make the right decision.

In the end, Max can let Chloe convince her the right thing to do is save everyone, but it is important to note it is Chloe who has to give Max the idea, as Max cannot let her mind go there with Chloe as she loves her to much. If she chooses to let Chloe die, she gives Chloe a long, long kiss goodbye, full of her love and feelings. If she chooses to save her, Chloe promises her she'll always be with her and Max says Forever, showing her love for Chloe and that she wants to be with her... forever.

Oh and I almost forget to mention this special detail During the storm, Max finds this x about October road trips and drive ins. Max thinks "If we can make it out of this, Chloe..." She isn't thinking about Warren, she's thinking about wanting to go on a road trip or drive in with Chloe. There are also lots of unused audio x that really make things clear like this one. Max during the interactive Chloe and Max museum path in her nightmare: "Oh, my Chloe... It feels like we've lived a thousand lives this week. I'd do anything just to wake up next to you... Maybe if I get to the lighthouse, this will all finally end.. x In February 2016, Michel Koch confirmed that Max and Chloe is the ultimate pairing during a Twitch stream with Luc Baghadoust. When interviewers asked about romance (i.e. Max and Chloe's relationship), he replied: "Chloe et Max ne marchent qu'ensemble", which means they "only walked together" (as also in romantically attached to each other) as in they are a great pair and can only function with each other.

Another point I want to make as I near the end of this post, that Max and Chloe's love interests are women (Max with Chloe, Chloe with Rachel and Max) and they both express at times disgust towards the opposite sex and their supposed loved interests (Warren and Elliot) that feels very lesbian in nature, in contrast to Sean and Alex who are bisexual, who have equal sexual attraction shown to both sexes, with Sean having Cassidy and Finn and Alex having Steph and Ryan and being equally attracted and comfortable with them, versus how Max and Chloe behave with Warren and Elliot. Their love for the women in their lives outshines the men they feel discomfort in, as Max's nightmare even explores. I think if Max and Chloe were actually bisexual, they wouldn't spend all their screen time only able to see boys as surface level cute (or hot as Chloe put Jefferson) and otherwise be repulsed by boys. Having played this game many times, closely paying attention to the scenes, the dialogue, the journals, the texts... I truly think it was the intent of the creators that Max and Chloe are lesbians. But I think they as of yet have not confirmed anything because they feel it is important to allow players to discover on their own what their sexuality is, by piecing together details they so carefully crafted into the story. I still hope one day they confirm lesbian to us. I understand the bi label is important for many for Max, but playing the game so many times... lesbian just feels more Max. And for those of us who have taken notice, we want more people to see what we see. Thank you for reading, feel free to share around or send to people you want to better understand why some of us view Max and Chloe as lesbians - though I think most agree Chloe is a lesbian, it's more Max that has everyone divided! This is a post I wanted to write for my Max blog to share my headcanons around Max being exclusively same sex attracted along with Chloe and for others who feel the same about them being lesbians to have a post that covers lots of details that can be shared or quoted for those who wanted others to understand better why so many call Max a lesbian too!

#lesbian #life is strange #pricefield #max caulfield #chloe price

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