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Introduced in Season One
Principal Wells
Principal Ray Wells
Voiced by: Eric Morgan Stuart (Season One), Marcus Oliver (Before the Storm)
Blackwell's principal. Wells has good intentions, but his ineptitude leads him to be unpopular with the student body.
- Adults Are Useless:
- In Episode 1, both conversation options with him accomplish nothing. Either you tell him about Nathan and Nathan is let off the hook after a simple office visit, after which he contacts your parents because you supposedly lied about Nathan possessing a gun, or you say nothing and your parents get contacted because you're supposedly being a troublemaker. Chloe claims he's more concerned about keeping the school funded than doing the right thing. He gets better in Episode 2, being willing to suspend Nathan or David depending on how much proof or suspicion you can bring upon either party.
- Within his office in Episode 3, you'll find Kate's student record, along with an attached nurse's report, urging him to make sure she's not under duress from other classmates, which he obviously ignored. He's just as guilty for Kate's attempted/successful suicide as the three people that Max can hold responsible for it (Nathan, Jefferson and David).
- Episode 4 shows more of his uselessness when he suggested Chloe's family to take her to another school in the alternate timeline because Blackwell can't afford the necessary accommodations and has absolutely no clue about Nathan and Jefferson's hidden agenda.
- In Episode 5, the first time Max rewrites time to get Jefferson arrested, he realizes that his ineptitude made it easier for Jefferson to get away with his crimes and resolves to do better.
- The Alcoholic: Max mentions smelling alcohol on him. Early in Episode 3, Max finds him drunkenly failing to unlock a door. He also hides whiskey in his office.
- Beleaguered Bureaucrat: He does seem to have the best interests of the school and student at heart, but he's clearly got dozens of other problems to deal with. His drunken ramblings indicate that he's trying to do the best he can, but Nathan Prescott makes his life a living hell more than most students.
- Contemplative Boss: He does it in his office in Episode 2 after Kate's (attempted) suicide.
- Dumbass Has a Point: After Kate's attempted (potentially successful) suicide, he correctly calls out Nathan, David, and Mr. Jefferson on how they all played a part in her down-spiral. He tells off Nathan for not keeping control over the Vortex Club parties (which allowed the creation of Kate's embarrassing video and lead to her public humiliation), David for his lack of security (since he left the roof of the girl's dormitory unlocked and allowed Kate to go up there), and Jefferson for failing to notice Kate's obvious suicidal tendencies and Victim-Blaming her.
- Evil Principal: Subverted. He's shown to be somewhat sketchy, directly covering up Nathan Prescott's psychotic behavior in exchange for "donations" from his father, and a bottle of whiskey found in the Dark Room implies that he may be an accomplice, but in the end it's shown that he's merely a Beleaguered Bureaucrat.
- Heroic Wannabe: He truly believes that he's the noble leader of his school and keeps his students safe, when you quickly find out that he's anything but.
- Hidden Depths:
- Without the Prescotts interfering with Blackwell, he has been shown to have a sense of humor and is a lot more easy going. Max's diary even states that he's a lot cooler without the Prescotts bullying him.
- Badmouth him to Ms. Grant and she'll tell Max how he saved the school from financial ruin, and advise her to not make judgements on people she doesn't really know.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: Max's assumption for why he's The Alcoholic, as the Prescotts all-but own the school, meaning he has to walk a tightrope every time Nathan acts out.
- Named After Somebody Famous: His name likely comes from H. G. Wells, the sci-fi author who popularized many of the genre's tropes including Time Travel.
- Pet the Dog: In the nightmare sequence at the diner, Wells acknowledges that Max is a noble hero if encountered.
- In the timeline where Max wins the Everyday Heroes Award he is very kind and supportive towards her.
- In Before The Storm, he's shown to not be supportive of Chloe, and seems keen on the idea of expelling her due to her juvenile behavior. However, if she shows up to school with a black eye, he shows genuine concern (seemingly believing the bruise is the result of a domestic issue) and suggests she speak to the school counselor. This shows that despite their very rocky relationship, he cares about her safety just as much as he does about any other student's.
- In the Sacrifice Chloe ending he's one of the characters who attends the funeral. Indicating that he feels genuine guilt about the needless death and that it happened on his campus.
- Punny Name: He's a black man named Wells, who runs Blackwell Academy.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Generally drunk and incompetent, but he does have a few, fleeting moments of genuine competence.
- According to Ms. Grant, he saved Blackwell from financial ruin.
- If Max told him that Nathan had a gun in Episode 1 and goes on to blame him for Kate's attempted suicide, Wells will suspend Nathan. Similarly, if Max took the photo of David harassing Kate, didn't take the blame for Chloe's pot and goes on to blame David for Kate's suicide, David will be suspended.
- In the Alternate Timeline where Max got Mr. Jefferson arrested and won the Everyday Heroes Award, Wells takes her to the art expedition instead and is very encouraging and supportive towards her.
- Red Herring: In Episode 4, while exploring the Dark Room, Max can find a bottle of whiskey on a coffee table, while it's possible that it could be Jefferson's or even Nathan's, the fact that Principal Wells is found of whiskey and even hides some in his office can lead to believe that he's also involved with the Dark Room along with Mr. Jefferson and Nathan, but he isn't... at least as far as the game implies.
- Ungrateful Bastard: If Max makes the wrong set of decisions in his office at the end of Episode 2, Wells will suspend her, even if she saved Kate's life.
- Unwitting Pawn: He gets threatened by the Prescott family for complaining to them about Nathan's issues. He is also completely unaware of the assault of the young female students done by Nathan and Mr. Jefferson.
Mark Jefferson
Click here for Jefferson's page.
Ms. Grant
Professor Michelle Grant
Voiced by: PaSean Wilson (Season One), Gina Dobson (Before the Storm)
A science teacher at Blackwell.
- Black and Nerdy: In addition to being the science teacher, she's also something of a history buff when it comes to the school. She drives a scooter with a license plate referencing Nikola Tesla.
- Everyone Has Standards:
- In Episode 3, she voices disagreement at hateful messages on the social media page celebrating David's suspension and potential firing if David is suspended at the end of Episode 2, despite she had her own disagreement towards David regarding surveillance.
- She calls out on Max in Episode 4 when the latter basically told her Principal Wells is useless.
- Cool Teacher: Is actually pretty chill and genuinely fond of Max. Even Chloe, who hates everything about Blackwell, finds her somewhat cool.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: She challenges David's attempt to put up security cameras. If you sign her petition, she'll be successful. Before The Storm also shows that she treated Chloe with genuine kindness and seemed to tolerate her sarcastic wit.
- The Smart Guy: As the resident science teacher, this is a given. Max can talk to her about the various weird environmental phenomena.
- Sassy Black Woman: More evident in Episode 4 in her letter to David and his suspension, and jokingly retorting to Max's swearing that she's an adult now (after the former apologizes if she responds with "Hell no" to her and Nathan being friends)."I didn't need a surveillance camera to see this suspension coming."
Samuel Taylor
Samuel Taylor
Voiced by: Derek Phillips (uncredited, Season One), Kelly McCraken (Before the Storm)
Blackwell's groundskeeper. He is a little... out there.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Everyone thinks he is weird, and some are even a bit creeped out by his strange mannerisms. Max, however, likes him and thinks he is just weird in a "X-Files" kind of way. She also doesn't doubt for a second that he would actually believe her if she ever told him about her powers.
- The Cloudcuckoolander Was Right: He actually acknowledges that the odd phenomena going on around the city will bring the end of the world.
- Creepy Good: He displays a very ominous vibe, but deep down he is a good guy who provides some life advice for the people who talk to him.
- Crusty Caretaker: His mannerisms are off-putting to most people, but he is good at his job and a really friendly guy one you get to know him.
- Eccentric Mentor: He is truly wise beneath his quirky exterior, and often gives sage advice to those who talk to him.
- Foil: In a very interesting way, he's one to Mark Jefferson. Both share the same voice actor, and have a roughly similar appearance: bespectacled, bearded middle-aged men. However, while Samuel is a kindhearted and gentle man who appears as a creepy off-putting janitor and is treated by many with contempt, Jefferson is a highly popular and influental member of the Blackwell faculty whose Mask of Sanity conceals a far worse kind of insanity.
- Friend to All Living Things: His morning ritual consists of feeding the birds and squirrels about the dormitories. He mentions he has a special affinity for squirrels, as he sees them as his spirit animal. Episode 4 has him in a especially melancholic mood as the mysterious animal deaths happening around town really gets to him.
- Hidden Depths:
- He actually enjoys art just as much as the students do.
- He also sees right through Chloe in Before the Storm, when she returns to school after being expelled.
- In Before the Storm he's reading a couple of books on Chaos Theory, which is a theme of the original game.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: Samuel is often seen as a creepy loner by everyone, but he does show a kindhearted and optimistic side when people actually talk to him.
- Loners Are Freaks: Most of the characters brand him as a weirdo for being alone all the time.
- Named After Someone Famous: His most likely is Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the English poet best known for combining both natural and supernatural in his stories, as well as coining the concept of "suspension of disbelief".
- Nice Guy: He treats the other students with nothing but respect.
- The Obi-Wan: Seems to act like a bizarre version of a wise sage underneath his weird demeanor.
- Odd Friendship: He begins to view Max as a friend if the player chooses to interact with him. He also appears to be chummy with Ms. Grant, Blackwell's sassy science teacher.
- In Before the Storm, it's possible for him to befriend Chloe if the player is up to it.
- Proverbial Wisdom: He is something of a wise sage who gives the characters some deep life advice. He also tends to speak in a very poetic way, often using cryptic metaphors.
- Red Herring: He's the most obviously weird person in Blackwell, so many players will quickly turn their suspicions on him unless they think he's too obvious a suspect. He's ultimately just a harmless eccentric.
- Sheep in Sheep's Clothing: Most of the students at Blackwell see Samuel as a creeper who they should stay away from, but if the player actually talks with him, the guy reveals that he's a pretty cool person with some deep (if weird) life advice.
- Talks Like a Simile: Some rather strange similes at that.
- Third-Person Person: At times.
Introduced in Before the Storm
Skip Matthews
Skip Matthews
Voiced by: Tanner Gould
Blackwell's head of security during the events of Before the Storm. Skip is considerably more lenient towards the student body than his successor David.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: In the finale, there are radio interviews revealing that Skip's band took off and he started achieving his well-deserved fame. If the alternate timeline shown in Season One has any indication that this specific event also happens in the main universe, Skip and his band have a very bright future ahead of them.
- Early-Bird Cameo: His band, PissHead, appears in a poster and a rock concerts website in the alternate timeline of the first game.
- Establishing Character Moment: In his introduction, he asks Chloe for her opinion of his band's demo tape. This is quite a different guy from Blackwell's future head of security.
- Foil: Skip is nice, laid back, and not very attentive, all of which mark him as the exact opposite of his successor, the militant David.
- Foregone Conclusion: We know that Skip will leave his position as head of security because that position is held by David in the future. Luckily for him, his band seems to become successful in all the timelines we see.
- The Guards Must Be Crazy: Chloe breaks up a fight going on in the middle of school campus while Skip arrives right after she resolves the problem herself.
- Nice Guy: He's noticeably more easy-going and laid-back than David.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In episode 2, should either Chloe cause him to go away by either causing Skip to quit his job or appealing to his nice side to allow her on campus, then Damon will easily break into the Boys Dorm and either hurt Mikey or Drew.
- No-Respect Guy: Episode 2 reveals that he thinks nobody at the school respects him at all. Which can lead to him quitting his job.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: He comes off as much more lenient and reasonable than his successor.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: In episode 2, should Chloe fail a backtalk challenge with him, then Skip will call out how she and nobody at the school takes him seriously, so he quits his job in rage.
Travis Keaton
Travis Keaton
Voiced by: Steve Phelan
The drama teacher at Blackwell. Slightly abrasive and very melodramatic, but is supportive of his students.
- Cool Teacher: He allows Chloe on campus and into the school play despite her being a well-known troublemaker.
- Eccentric Artist: He's a Large Ham theater teacher.
- Large Ham: He says and does everything in the most melodramatic way possible.
- Nice Guy: So far he seems to be the only faculty member who doesn't treat Chloe with disdain.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: He has no problem with Chloe being on Blackwell property after she was expelled and even lets her stand in for Juliet during the play.
- The Show Must Go On: When he comments on Steph, who was supposed to manage the light board, is missing, he says "The show must sojourn forth".
- Tempting Fate: He asks what could possibly go wrong in his play. Cue something bad happening to Victoria, preventing her from playing the main lead on opening night.
