Thank you so much for your ask!! 💕
I think Nathan’s life post-sentence would mainly depend on two factors:
- the social aspect - who still visits him? who can he still rely on?
- the psychiatric aspect - is he able to function? (psychotic disorders aren’t curable, but they can be managed with proper care)
I’ll be speaking mostly from intuition here, but I believe Nathan would lose almost all contact with his former social circle. Aside from Victoria, and maybe Hayden, he doesn’t really seem to have any real friends. I also doubt he was close enough to Hayden to maintain a relationship after being convicted. As for Victoria, I’m more conflicted. She seems like the type to internalize things and eventually try to move on. Because of that, I don’t really see her visiting Nathan (I truly wish I’m wrong ..!). His only consistent visitor might be his sister - family bonds tend to be more resilient - but she lives in Brazil. Taking all this into account, I imagine Nathan’s detention as extremely lonely and largely cut off from the outside world.
Regarding the rest of his family, I initially imagined Sean Prescott cutting ties with his son out of shame. However, in Life is Strange 2 (Bay ending), David can be heard during his phone call saying:
“Still haven’t heard anything… just hope they won’t let him out… Well, you know lawyers. Can’t expect much from them.” There are no subtitles during that scene, so I can’t provide a screenshot, sorry ^^
We don’t get any further context, but I’m fairly confident he’s talking about Nathan rather than Jefferson. First, David keeps Nathan’s mugshot in his van, and second, I highly doubt Jefferson would ever be considered for release, especially only three years after LIS1. From this, I infer that Nathan’s lawyers are actively trying to get him out (most likely through conditional release or a sentence adjustment). That suggests Sean Prescott hasn’t completely abandoned him, and that Nathan still, in some way, has a place within his family.
Personally, I don’t believe Nathan would end up in a standard prison, but rather in a psychiatric hospital. I’ve made a separate post about this here (based on Swiss criminal law, but the logic still applies broadly).
I work in criminal law, specifically alongside already-convicted individuals, and I feel fairly confident saying that prison would only worsen Nathan’s condition. He doesn’t primarily need punishment, he needs treatment. But, if we do assume he went to prison, the longer he stayed there, the more pessimistic I am about his future. From what I know, the American prison system is harsh and does very little to support reintegration. Any psychiatric care he might receive would likely be insufficient.
In that scenario, we’d be left with a Nathan who is even more isolated, psychologically deteriorated, and burdened with a criminal record. He might have been able to finish his studies through reintegration programs (which I admittedly don’t know much about in the US), but I think he would relapse very quickly into his addictions and destructive habits. Add to that the crushing guilt he would still carry, and I struggle to see a happy ending. He needs help and without it, I can only see him spiraling further.
If, however, he were placed in a psychiatric hospital, his many mental disorders could be properly addressed. This would require years of treatment, which is rarely linear - progress comes with constant ups and downs - but it could allow him to regain a certain level of emotional control, learn how to recognize the early signs of a psychotic episode and how to act before it escalates, and slowly find ways to live with the guilt he carries. Once released, he could potentially rebuild a life. I do want to add, though, that addiction would remain a major risk, as relapse rates are really high after discharge, even with treatment.
I believe the social factor would be decisive for his future. If he simply returned to his family environment, I think the cycle would restart. The best outcome for him would be to build a life away from Arcadia Bay, away from his father, and start over entirely. I could imagine him settling in a large American city, far from the Prescott influence and that “shithole.” Moving to Brazil to live with his sister could also be an alternative - being close to someone who cares - though I personally struggle to picture Nathan there 🤔 then again, detention changes people. So who knows.
As for his everyday life, I think he would distance himself from photography, as it would most likely act as a trauma trigger. I really love @weer02 ’s idea in her fanfic Ambivalence, where Nathan wants to study marine biology, since whale songs are a source of comfort for him ^^. Overall, I think this fic beautifully and realistically depicts what Nathan’s life post-LIS could look like, if he were lucky enough to be surrounded by the right people.
Sorry if this overall sound a bit pessimistic haha, but with everything we know, I have a hard time imagining a perfect “happily ever after” for him 😅
I'm really curious about your perspective, so feel free to chime in !