meg

a lot of the time, media seems to treat friendships and romantic relationships as strict confines in defining what two people mean to each other. if you aren't related to someone by blood they are either: 1. nobody to you, 2. a friend/best friend, 3. your boyfriend/girlfriend. no in between. obviously there's a lot more labels than what ive just listed but for simplicity's sake, this is more or less the fundamental and most all encompassing labels. however, this oversimplifcation ignores the complexity regarding the human experience. you could argue that some of the things rachel and chloe did together were not platonic such as:

them ditching school together, despite barely having gotten to properly know each other beforehand

chloe doing the play with rachel, despite having no real prior experience in theatre

them having intimate conversations about their lives, feelings, and hopes and yet the opposite argument can still be made that they were always friends and nothing more than that. my main point is that the game acknowledges the fact that their bond doesn't neatly fit into clearly defined labels such as best friends or lovers which i think is very acurate to real life. relationships in real life definetely cannot always be categorized into such strict labels. like sexuality and gender, it exists as a spectrum. a lot of the time in real life, relationships often blend both platonic, romantic and potentially even other aspects i might not even be aware of that very well may exist in proportions. this is often why situationships feel so confusing (and sometimes frustrating!) for people as we are so used to having a perfectly defined label that leaves zero ambiguity or question.

chloe and rachel never officially declare that they are each other's girlfriends and don't seem to acknowedge what their bond even is yet (under certain dialogue options) they kiss, have deep intimacy and chemistry with one another and are open to each other about their personal struggles in life. it'd be understating to say they are just friends but at the same time, having intimacy with someone or opening up to someone about struggles in life doesn’t necessarily equate to a blossoming romance.

i think under the game's circumstances, this ambiguity makes the most sense for them. for one, rachel is free spirited and dreams of a life beyond arcadia bay and doesn't seem the type to want to be tied down or comitted to someone just yet. despite this, she feels incredibly isolated and misunderstood by people that she needed someone like chloe to see her for the real her and allow her to break free from her "act".

as for chloe, rachel was definetely chloe's rebound to compensate for max's absence. i know that the word "rebound" has a negative connotation but i don't think it has to be viewed in a negative light. chloe just needed someone to make her feel alive again, to forget about the heartache that max caused and to help her even potentially, move on in her life in assuming that max may never return or they may never cross paths ever again. but at the same time, could chloe really have comitted whole heartedly to rachel when she clearly (evident by her journal enteries) still thinks about max and is still stuck up on her abandonment?

the main verdict is that life is fucking strange! (haha, get it? cause like the game title? okay ill shut up) our needs and wants from people in a bond are overcomplicated by our mental state, life situation, our feelings and so many other variables. and as unfortunate as it is, there sometimes isn't an exact label for such relationships nor will it be properly acknowledged by both parties simply because it is beyond the knowledge or words that can even begin to describe the relationship's complexity. but the good news is that it really doesn't matter! as long as a relationship you have with someone in your life is not causing anybody any harm and both parties are happy, then there really is no need to always have a perfectly defined label.

anways, this post was absolutely just word vomit and i dont even know if any of the points i made even made any sense. this topic is fucking hard to put into words!!! but i just finished this game and i genuinely can't stop thinking about it, honestly a masterpiece what can i say. im a sucker for doomed yuris.

to start this post, im going all the way back to season 2 with the introduction of max. just fyi going forward, im not going to summarize any seasons/plot points unless absolutely necessary (and as brief as possible) so let's hope yall's memory is doing good :]

with the introduction of max in season 2, the duffer brothers were still somewhat unsure what direction they wanted to go with this character, especially in the romance depertment in terms of who she would end up with (or whether or not she was better off alone). however, i think their choice of ultimately having lucas and max end up together was the best possible choice they could've made.

max's intial presentation was your typical cool/unphased girl who's part of the boys. later, we do learn of her troubled past in terms of her relationship with billy and of course, what comes from being a child caught in the middle of a divorce. while this area of her character definetely had the potential to be developed into making her character even more compelling, this was the only thing preventing her character from becoming one dimensional.

now enter lucas. from a writing stand point, this definetely made max's character much more compelling and aside from their strong chemistry, lucas understood max better than anyone. as established earlier, it's quite rare seeing max show vulnerability with anyone, likely due to her upbringing but with lucas, her walls begin to come down.

this scene in particular i believe supports my point. it's when max truly opens up to lucas about her life, about her missing california, her relationship with her family/billy, and most importantly, her fear of becoming like billy. and yet, lucas still accepts max and i would say their trust for one another really strengthens here. other than this, lucas also trusts max with the knowledge of the upside down and in a way, it's almost like they learn to share their pain/burdens with one another.

as a whole, what the duffer brothers decided for max's character in season 2 was good! we saw a new side of her being able to trust someone with her past. but in all honesty, this wasn't a revolutionary feat in terms of writing, it was the logical thing to do. so the duffer brothers needed to bring their A game for upcoming seasons to keep these characters interesting.

with season 3, lucas and max have clearly become comfortable with each other but with the loss of billy, this becomes a great setup for season 4 that poses a compelling challenge for their relationship and inner conflict in max.

in season 4, we know that max distances herself from lucas as she grieves and attempts to process extremely complicated emotions about the aftermath of billy's death. lucas appears unsure of how to be the best support system for max to open up and not push him away as unlike in season 2, this internal conflict that max is fighting is much deeper.

but despite this, lucas is never deterred by max's attempts to shut him out and this scene can do all the talking.

and especially after max's first encounter with vecna, lucas and max become much closer again because of their love for one another. lucas loves max to death and can't live with himself if anything were ever to happen to her and max needs lucas more than anything because he's there for her when no one else was. and even when vecna had her and when it seemed hopeless, aside from other memories, the one with lucas gave her the most strength to keep fighting to stay alive because of her love for him.

with season 5, lucas's dedication for max is clear, believing that she would one day come back by playing her song every day even in life or death (when the demodogs invaded the hospital). when max awakens, lucas immedietly asks her if she's hurting anywhere and whether or not she could feel or see (in her dying moments in season 4, these were the first of her senses to go) and never lets her go.

and their love for each other has never been stronger!

anyhow i know this post may lack a lot of coherency and possibly rushed but god i just love these two so much!! the writers absolutely nailed it with them and i just find that it's such a beautiful thing for them to love and trust each other this deeply with everything they've been through together! i suppose if you take away anything from this post, it's that it's okay to be vulnerable with the right people! it makes life so much easier to get through when we share our pain, when we're heard and seen when we feel the most alone.