#THE HAUNTING REALITY OF WHAT COULD'VE BEEN IF THEY WERE DIFFERENT PEOPLE OR THAT ONE EVENT DID NOT HAPPEN

[protagonistscum]

"why do you ship them, they're terrible and toxic for each other!"

[ppeonppeonhan]

Dead Friends Forever Q&A-Style Review

I listen to a movie podcast called The Rewatchables, and they have interesting categories that I want to examine this series through.

Most rewatchable scene: It has to be the last one, because we've been talking about it nonstop since it aired. Plus, it lives in my head, rent-free, like Non is haunting me. Like WE failed him. 😱

But since I'm a BL girlie, who loves a well-crafted sex scene, I also have to include both of Phee and Jin's high-heat moments when Phee's trying to seduce him on the balcony and when they have rough sex in Jin's room. I'm not gonna lie: That was some king shit on Ta's end.

Best quote: "No one could leave this abandoned house — not even one." Come on! It foretold the surreal ending and fulfilled the victim's wishes. Gold.

What aged the best? The way that even the bullies perceived teacher Keng as a groomer, who took advantage of a desperate child — that will most definitely make that subplot still bearable even a decade from now.

What's aged the worst? The unaliving and SA montage in the finale that some have said was insensitive/irresponsible to have included. It was like trigger after trigger after trigger — practically a machine gun of traumatic scenes. The fandom could sincerely organize a class action lawsuit against the writer and director for them to pay for our therapy bills.

Scene-stealing location: The lake. Such a beautiful setting for romance, betrayal, and revenge. 😈

Best shot: Definitely the one of Tan from above when he's successfully drugged all of his victims. Iconic.

Are we sure this person is good at their job? Tee's uncle. The fact that he has so much riding on two teenagers is ridiculous. He didn't just start being a con man / mob boss that week. How does he not have a more stable criminal infrastructure at this point?

Best use of food and drink: Obviously, Tan spiking the beverages, knowing it would be the easiest way to poison everyone.

Was there a better title? Absolutely not. The play on the phrase "Best Friends Forever," an archaic term popularized in the '90s that puts way too much pressure on kids to find their kindred spirit and hold on to them through adolescence and adulthood, was inspired. It truly encompassed the impossibility of it all. There are just so many obstacles ahead of you, like peer pressure, family obligations, love triangles, bullying, ego, insecurity, and cowardice, that it's a lofty promise to make when you've barely finished puberty. Plus, it kind of hints at the ending...

Overacting award: Some could argue Barcode, but part of his performance was meant to be surreal, because it was in the dream state. I, personally, vote Jet (Top). Sometimes I felt like his character was in an entirely different, far more slapstick genre.

The "That Guy" Award: This category is for the actor/famous person you see all the time, but don't know the name of. I noticed a lot of people were excited to see Perth, so I "saw him all the time" on my feed. When I Googled him, that's when I learned that he was on a reality show with other Be On Cloud stars. 

Scene-Stealer (with very few scenes): Honestly, whichever extra/stunt double they had wearing that mask, freaking us out. The most memorable of which was when its creepy hand groped Tee.

Recasting couch:

I think Nanon (Bad Buddy) could've been interesting as the tormented Tan, because we would've bought his innocence longer.

It could've added to the mystery if we had the BL twins, AJ and JJ, confuse the narrative. 

I would watch Neo in almost anything at this point, and he could've played the morally conflicted Tee as he showcased those skills already in Only Friends.

A younger Mark (Last Twilight) would've fit so well into this cast. He plays lost and guilty quite well.

Picking Nits: This category is for pointing out things that just don't add up.

Why didn't Phee's cop dad have more questions about his son's behavior and activities after he saw who his son was involved with?

What teenager is fine going somewhere that has no wifi or reception? Even I wouldn't do that and I've had wifi as long as these characters have been alive.

Why was Non, a teenager, being medicated for mental health issues, but not being monitored by a mental health professional?

If Tee's uncle didn't want to be at a loss if Non died unexpectedly, then why didn't he let him get his wounds treated and get some rest? Unless the plan was always to harvest his organs, which would still have merited rest. Nobody wants shitty organs.

Unanswerable Questions

If Jin and Phee survived, would they have got back together?

If Non were alive, would Phee have ditched Jin?

What did they do with Non's body?

And, of course, after succeeding: Does Tan recover from his grief and move on with his life? Does he successfully escape arrest? Does he leave behind evidence of what the boys did to his family to further persecute them in death? Is his revenge plot really over...?

That was fun! Tag me if you answer the same Qs.

[taylortruther]

Isn’t a bit contradictory tho the story that she tells in fortnight and in fots? If we take into consideration the possibility that fortnight is about their first hook up, then we know that he ghosted her already back in 2014, he moved on with other people, he was supposedly even engaged at one point according to deuxmoi, but then in fots she says that he waited for her? He wasn’t even waiting for her last year, since he was hooking up with a different model every month as the tabloids said.

I’m not saying that fortnight is 100% not about their first hook up, because I’m half convinced it is, but the other half still can’t forget that she described it as a prologue and the themes that are much further explored in the album are there in seeds. I don’t know if i explained what I wanted to say, but I have some many doubts. I always considered it a song written right after getting ghosted in June, seeing him moving on (see: connection with the black dog) and her reflecting on those weeks. Please tell me if I don’t make any sense

i don't think it's contradictory to my theory, i think the reality was just kind of... messy? they'd both moved on, he might've been hooking up with models but she was in two long-term relationships. the whole point of ttpd is explaining how she was in denial that this wasn't a long-lost love affair, it was a "what if" coming back to haunt her at a time when she was emotionally vulnerable because her ltr relationship (which she thought was her destined endgame) was ending.

they were both spinning tales to each other and for themselves--he was telling her he was ready to settle down, he was different now, he was the brave man who could handle her/her life, he wouldn't fuck it up like before. she was spinning that only they could truly understand each other, she could fix him, she could protect him from the scandals, she could turn a bad boy good like she always wanted, the "what if" was fate bringing them together all this time.

was any of it true? obviously not lmao. but anyway, it could've been written about 2023, or it could've been written as a reflection of the past and how it was ruining her life. either works, but i think both are completely valid.

[queer-ragnelle]

I would love your opinion on Black Sails! I was never able to finish it (even though I want to). Seasons 1-3 felt linear and natural in the way the characters were driven and motivated. Season 4 changed so much... undoing character growth, scrapping character beliefs for new motives that were narratively weaker, and using way more shock/gore than there had been used previously. I would love to know your opinions on it, and if I'm talking out of my ass on this. Love the show! Would love to finish it. Would genuinely love to hear you do a character analysis, if you felt up to it. Ty!

Hi Anon! I'm going to put this below a cut since it's not strictly relevant to this blog and yet I have much to say about it lol

It's been over a year since I watched Black Sails in it's entirety, but I'll go on record saying it's the best show I've ever seen. I love the writing, the acting, the costuming, the filmography, the music, the everything. It is [almost] perfectly balanced. Ironically I felt season 1 was the weakest and didn't take the same issues with season 4 as you did. My biggest criticism of season 1 involves the plot regarding Max's captivity on the beach. I think connecting her with Anne could've been achieved some other way (or even a similar plot just overall less sexual violence/quicker resolution). But even so, I still stand by that I recommend it, particularly to those who love a blend of historical and fiction/mythic characters.

I would love to see an Arthurian retelling on that scale and with that tone. Starz had produced their show Camelot in 2011, three years before Black Sails, and while that first season also has some issues, I'll forever be heartbroken it wasn't renewed. I fully believe they would have developed Camelot into an epic tale ala Black Sails, particularly with strong female characters and queer storylines. We could've had it all....

On that note, Black Sails was absolutely vital in my journey as an author adapting Arthurian legend in a historical 6th century. The meta about ambiguous storytelling subject to biased perception or outright misinformation and thus misconceptions about people involved in historical events fascinated me. On one hand you have Jack Rackham's obsession with his legacy, almost uncannily aware he's in a story and his limited time to leave his mark. Then there's Charles Vane's hanging in Nassau, when the history books say he died at Port Royal. It circumvents expectations, not with shock value (looking at you, Game of Thrones finale), but in service to the narrative by calling into question the validity of our accepted reality. Beyond that, it seamlessly blends historical figures, the cast of Treasure Island, and original characters created to incorporate more women and people of color into the narrative. Everyone's developed and fascinating and complex with clear motivations and fleshed out backstories (except for Silver, lol, which itself makes him compelling). Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles does similar things. He utilized Saint Derfel as his point of view character to analyze the Arthurian legend through a [semi-]historical lens. But I think Black Sails does it better. It also seems to transcend genre at times. It's adventure and action, but it's got everything from romance between a network of characters in all different Stiuationships to the horror of Flint's past haunting him (literally). And yet it never feels like too much. It doesn't lose track of what it's doing. Nothing set up is dropped or forgotten about. It's frustrating when the goal post moves yet again, but in a way which draws us in closer to the characters and makes us all the more driven to see it through. When another hiccup arises we must overcome, or even a devastating and insurmountable shock (Miranda....), it feels earned. Of course that was liable to happen. How could we have been so foolish to think things would have worked out?

This show gave me permission, and frankly, the determination, to experiment with my own retelling. The people who made Black Sails knew when to stay true to the past, drawing on facts to develop the story in accurate ways (such as utilizing the colony of escaped slaves to bring Madi and her people into the story (which also ties into Treasure Island in which Silver had a black wife!)) and when to follow the rule of cool (Jack Rackham in his definitely-historically-unviable-but-undeniably-cool shades). Literally life changing.

I don't think I could narrow down the characters enough to do a full analysis of one of them, I love them all for different reasons. But I did name my borzoi Long John Silver, so, I kind of have to talk about him, right? Well I think the character's lack of a backstory, ie his unwillingness to disclose it, acts as a surrogate for the viewer. We ride the wave with Silver, thrust into this predicament with the map and the gold and the very culture of Nassau's pirate trade whilst Silver somehow remains a blank slate mystery as he navigates this dangerous world with a quick mind alone. While Flint could certainly be considered the main character, and we're quite often in his head, his memories, his nightmares even, I don't think the viewer's supposed to identify as him so much as with him. Flint is Flint. But we are Silver. (Scary thought lol)

If you couldn't tell already, I'm long winded. :^) So I'll stop here and the real deep dive character analysis happens in my books. Gawain is just landlocked Flint if you squint<3 Thanks for asking about Black Sails! Everyone go watch it.

[winterreigned]

@krakened 𝗦𝗨𝗠𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗢𝗟𝗙 " i can't do this anymore " - au of our modern au they hook up at thanksgiving and sansa is ready to dump the guy she brought with her as long as theon can prove he's serious. theon realizes the guy she brought is actually good for her and decides to call it off for her own sake. but he doesn't tell her why he's calling it off.

𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 , a loud thunderous thing. her ears are ringing from the impact , body shaky from rage and hurt. how long does it take to break a heart? sansa just learned. approximately four seconds. the time it takes theon to utter those words , then the time for her brain to process what had just been said. understand the gravity of the words , feel the weight of them crush her , mold her into some sort of pile of pity , embarrassment , and resentment. each lingering second she stares at him in shock only makes matters worse , but she cannot compute her next moves.

a bitter laugh leaves her , a haunting sound that bounces off her bedroom walls. though she's not laughing at him. no , what's worse is she's laughing at herself. sansa was a clever girl , she knew people , and worst of all she knew theon greyjoy. sansa knew he didn't do relationships , didn't do whatever this was. yet , the longer this entanglement went on , the more she began to believe she was different. some stupid exception to his rule. how foolish to believe she was special , when in reality she was ever the idiot. just like every other girl that had stumbled into his bed and fell for his charming words and good looks. sansa was the girls she would mock to him months prior.

her hands curl in balls , nails piercing the palm of her hand to try to ground her. maintain some sort of autonomy over her body as it reacts , betraying her innermost feelings. blue eyes are prickling with tears , burning terribly as she fights like a soldier on the front lines to prevent a single tear from shedding. finally , she turns away. sansa a madwoman , frantic through her suitcase from school. theon's shirts , sweatshirts , relics she had stolen ( or he reluctantly handed over ) aplenty in her hands. the stupid , naive , fool she was had thought she'd miss him over the holiday break. the love struck moron brought all of it with her , desperate for his scent , to have him in her bed with her on some level. standing , tears now kissing her skin , she shoves them to his chest. forceful , angry , a blazing mess of tears and red hair sticking to cheeks.

❝ i should've known better. ❞ she snaps , tone cold and wicked. everything she felt for him only minutes ago drowning beneath the pool of betrayal that has her treading so helplessly. it doesn't occur to her that he's trying to be selfless , that his feelings could possibly match her own. none of that is even a possibility. there are no rational thoughts left to her in this moment. ❝ i know you , theon greyjoy , perhaps better than you know yourself. this was the realest thing in your life , and you run away like a scared coward. that's what you are , a frightened boy who can never embrace love. ❞ sansa walks past him , unable to look at him. her mother always told her that she was an expert of masking her feelings until there was no more room to pretend. it seems she has surpassed this mark , now an explosive mess.

there's a knock on the door , a muffled voice. dickon. how she had been so consumed by the rollercoaster of a night that she had forgotten about the man she came with. the one who pleased her mother , had shaken her father's hand with a firm grip. the man who joked with bran and rickon , verbally sparred with arya , had even earned a respectful nod from jon and robb. the one who could be absolutely everything she needed , though the very same guy she was on her way to crush for theon. the gods were surely laughing at her somewhere. it angers her how she could've given up the ideal man for the one behind her. the one who took her heart as if it were his plaything , a glass structure dropped to the floor , shards shattered upon their feet. the only thing that keeps sansa certain this wasn't the case is that she can feel her heart sinking deep within her stomach. yet , if he asked her again , she'd still make dickon leave to be theon's. it infuriates her more than she can comprehend how easily she would fall back into him.

❝ shit.. ❞ she whispers , uncharacteristically. eyes glance to the mirror on her vanity , makeup running down her face , everything blotchy and pink. sansa begins to wipe furiously at herself , clearing her throat to try to find the voice of a girl who wasn't completely dying beneath the surface. ❝ come in! ❞ she calls , and watches as he comes in the room , confused on what he's walked in on. it probably was obvious , but she's good at spinning webs. if anything , months of sneaking around with theon has helped her with this. ❝ we were just finishing up. i had borrowed some of theon's stuff last summer when we were all camping. silly me , i forgot my bag at home and had to use his stuff. continuing with the trend , i forgot to bring it to school with me in the fall. i was just returning it. ❞ there's an awkward pause as dickon regards theon , but sansa cuts in once more before anything else could be said or figured out. ❝ anyway , he's got his stuff back and was just leaving. there's nothing here left for him anymore. ❞

there's a double meaning behind these words , but sansa stands in the doorway , holding the door open for theon. as he leaves , she leans in close , loud enough for dickon to hear. her eyes portray every inner feeling of spite and anger , she knows theon will see beneath the act. somehow , he always did. ❝ be a dear and don't tell my parents the door is closed , will you? ❞ how badly she wants to smirk , gloat at a victory of not caring , but her eyes water once more as she slams the door in his face. dickon is confused when all sansa does is go lay in her bed , but there's no energy in her left to even feign interest.

[romaritimeharbor]

Okay, so I did a little bit of reading back on a bunch of the stuff you've written for Ambrose, and after some deliberating I've come to a conclusion!

I think she'd find something of a kindred soul in Ambrose, they've both seen their homes brought to the brink of absolute ruin by the selfishness of others (also from the acts of another Aeons followers), but were rescued by the salvation of Yaoshi. They also are both fiercely protective of their homeworlds (Schylla/Cliodnha has literally destroyed so man ships for simply getting close to Cordelia III in it's grand interstellar transportation that the IPC and Intelligencia Guild have a file specifically investigating the phenomena of how all these ships look like they've been mauled by an animal, not knowing those crews unintentionally invoked the wrath of a space-kraken-thing).

I do think that, even though they're both Emanators of Yaoshi, she'd probably be pretty cautious around them, because the last time her people encountered off-worlders, they endured countless generations of death and destruction (most species of squid only live 1-3 years, 3-6 as estimated for the giant squid. So the IPC's decimation of Cordelia III could've taken anywhere from decades to a brief amount of centuries depending on how efficient the operation was). Also, a lot of her actions are somewhat motivated by a mix of instinct and ignorance, remember her people and she have been truly sentient for maybe a few generations, there's so much they lack knowledge of regarding the wider universe, the it sort of ends up feeding this sense of paranoia in their Emanator. Oh, also, sorry to hear about the recent test, I'm sure you'll get it next time!

I LOVE THIS AUGHHHHH i feel like ambrose would feel a sense of connection to their fellow emanators, like "oh! my patron deity likes you all as well!!" but in particular with schylla (just calling her that so i don't have to type both names!), for pretty much the same reasons you've said. ambrose's watched their entire homeworld be ripped to shreds by selfishness... and another aeon's follower, much to their utter ire. so for them, it's kind of like a weird sense of solidarity in a way.

i feel like, in schylla's defense, she's probably not the only one 🤷‍♀️ i think ambrose kind of invokes a sense of unease in a lot of people. idk they're just so ODD despite being kindly and well-intentioned, i think there's something about their vacant and haunted gaze that just gives people goosebumps. but back to what you've said about her, i feel as if ambrose would understand schylla's caution. like yeah... valid. LMFAO but also the sentience thing—it's very fascinating to me, because that would be a very key difference between the two of them. ambrose has lived for sooooooo long atp and has attained such a vast understanding of the universe (which makes them seem almost carefree with the way they carry themselves, but in reality, that's just confidence that they have grown to have due to their extensive knowledge).... very stark difference between them, and i so totally see how that sheer difference would unsettle schylla even more.

[maroonghoul]

Horror Movies I watched: August 2023

Bodies Bodies Bodies Well, if Rian Johnson had a plan to make the next Benoit Blanc mystery a take on And Then There Were None, he might as well scrap it now.

I'm sorta in the middle of an Agatha Christie kick, so this was extra fun, even though, mild spoilers, it almost plays like a deconstruction of her mysteries. Also, despite having a young cast with a somewhat similar premise, this movie also plays like the Anti-Scream. In that franchise, we follow a group of friends; one coming in with baggage and the others gaining them the longer they survive. Only to find whatever problems they're dealing with this time is "solved" by removing the bad apples of the group when they reveal themselves. That might be why the first one, and the fourth one to a lesser extent, are still considered the scariest; the culprits there are someone Sidney knows longer then in any of the other movies, so the betrayal hits harder. That might sound like a slam, but to be fair, a reason why Scream had such a great track record on this is that it's killers are, more often then not, a different variety of compellingly written privileged assholes and all the returning cast are portrayed likable enough for us to consider them good people.

But here, it's not so simple. The good friends don't outnumber the bad this time. Heck, the two newcomers you can make the argument are the only ones who come the closest to being innocent by a wide margin. All the trauma and hurt this group has concocted up until the events of the movie were not gonna go away by ousting the worst one. (They even literally tried that and it didn't stop anything). The best solution would've been to dissolve this friend group completely, at least for a while, but that was not on the table.

Getting back to the Christie comparisons; sure in her stories, everyone has a secret and somewhat of a reason to kill, but once the one who finally acted on that is revealed, everyone else spontaneously gets a happy ending, regardless of all previous deaths. Granted, And Then There Were None's original ending was an exception, but in a strange way, revealing the mastermind to the audience at least left them leaving satisfied regardless of everything else.

But here, once again, these characters don't even get that. It's bad enough they don't have a Benoit Blanc, Hercule Poirot type to make this easier for them (Though I would love to see what an earnest Gen Z version of that archetype would be). To make it worse, all of them are actively trying to be that, but failing miserably because they're all, except Bee,

1. coked up

2. paranoid

3. inexperienced

4. sick of their friends

5. did I mention coked up?

With the final killer reveal being a textbook example of being completely satisfactory by being completely unsatisfactory. The grand reveal was anything but. Actual parodies of this genre wish they could've nailed this.

You would think with how I described all this, I would hate this move or think less of the murder mystery type stories it's mocking, but far from it. It's not my new favorite movie, but I'm glad I saw it. Sure, there's a lot of skewering Gen Z, but I could argue you could've told this story with any generation, with a few tweaks. It's because it's main point is, well, the cozy locked room mystery unfolding in today's world would not be nearly as neat as Christie made it look. It could be fun, but it's not a solution to all your problems. If anything, it's the exact opposite because, well people you know are dying. And it's even worse when reality ensues.

It's a good deconstruction. Though that doesn't mean it should be the end of the genre. It's something the genre can build up from and consider. Maybe either discourage from getting too realistic or to do so with a point.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter Like Haunted Mansion, this is another horror film that's not fit to release in Summer! Sure, it's release date is close to when these events took place in the novel (August), but given the tone it went for, closer to Autumn would've felt appropriate.

Here's a tangent. I know I watch horror movies all year long and my enjoyment of each of them doesn't hinge too much on what time of year. But I have a theory that certain types of horror movies do well or are more successful depending on what time of year are released in conjunction to what type of movie they are. From what I observe, I would think the type of horror movies that do well in the summer evoke more summer imagery, like outdoor recreation, wilderness, lighter tone. Jaws and any of the Friday the 13th movies are a good example. This movie, while set mostly at the sea, has a far darker tone than anything considered fun, especially when compared to what the layman would think they'd get from "Dracula on a boat".

And sure, while going goofier like Renfield might've helped it's mass appeal, I appreciated that it honed more to the book's dour doomed tone. (And besides, we already got Renfield this year, so our bases are covered).

The ending's a bit weird. On one hand, I'm weirdly glad it didn't pull as many punches as to who would make it and who wouldn't as I thought they would. On the other, I'm not sure how the character who survives would factor into the next chapter of the story if at all. Would he take another characters place? Get killed off within 5 minutes? We divulge from the book even more? Then again, that's assuming there was ever a sequel in mind here, box office results be damned. So even my problem here isn't even an actual problem.

It's a simple fact that in the original, Dracula was not a sexy seductor with a silver tongue, but more of the creeper in the back you don't see most of the time. In a weird way, nakedness aside, this might be the most true to the book version of the character I have ever seen. Honestly, it's to the point where, while I'm fine with sympathetic, human vampires depicted in movies, I kinda want, if are more depictions of Dracula the character, more versions of him where he's the exception to that again; an unsexy, perverted, entitled, bastard. The type of vampire no other vampire would want to associate with, because they think he's a creep. Like I said, cover all our bases.

Wrong Turn (2021) I haven't seen any of the other movies in this franchise. It never really looked like my thing. Still, I heard good things about this one so I was curious.

As an avid nature walk visitor, this is pretty much my worst nightmare about what would happen if I ever leave the trail. Booby traps, Territorial cults, regressing to a more animalistic state; it's all here.

I'm not sure about it's attempt at class commentary; only one of the city folk comes off like an asshole, and only one of the mountain cultists, any who's not an extra, seems to not be evil. And the former is the white guy and the latter is the little girl, i.e. the exact one's you'd expect. I preferred how Pumkinhead handled this myself. Not only was the inciting incident a bit more morally grey in that it was an accident, but it was clear even some of the mountain folk in that one thought the retaliation went too far, even if they couldn't do anything.

It's a shame that the part where Matthew Modine being guided through the mountains by those two guides was so short. I would've loved a whole movie if that was our main plot. It was a bit refreshing.

Pearl Toldja I was planning to watch this after X last year.

First off, Man I miss saturated colors in film. It easily makes any shot look more visually interesting, even when it contains the most mundane things. Sure, it shows up in a lot of recent films I watched, but usually in films also set in dark place, so there's a lot of black too. Yeah yah, makes what color is there pops, but I missed when more then half the screen popped. Course I guess that makes me a sucker, because that makes when this film gets grosser as it goes along even worse. Now you can see every maggot on that pig!

If you put this on after X, without knowing exactly what type of horror movie it was going to be, what you expect? Another slasher? But that only really made sense because the previous movie was made in the style of the kind of horror movie fit for that setting. That would be out of place in this WW2 setting. Supernatural? Could fit, if you took hints from Dracula or Frankenstein (the latter one you can argue it sorta did, but it clearly wasn't the main inspiration). But a supernatural element wouldn't have added to the themes Ti West was tackling. Going for 1918 specifically could seem arbitrary, aside from a reason why all the extras had to have masks. But of course, once the audition started being a plot point along with the scarecrow scene, made it clear what West and Goth had in mind for this film alone, and not just as part of the trilogy as a whole.

Not only was the a complete dark inverse of the Wizard of Oz and psychological horror structurally like May or Taxi Driver, it's a sad commentary that even when filmmaking was new, when Hollywood was just starting up, the myth so many young folk, especially women, believed over the decades that if they could make it into movies, all their problems would be over. The movie offers the horrible idea that none of these dreams never had a chance, no matter the time, not even when Hollywood was new. Even before the idea of a "Star" was a thing or a gimmick, men like the ones holding this audition was looking for their idea of one rather than actually help someone become one. This wasn't a good dream gone bad; it was always been a con. There's never been anything over the rainbow.

I have more to say, but I think I'll save it for MaXXXine when that comes out, so I can say it about the trilogy as a whole. Of course, now the question is what kind a movie would that be. As affecting as this was, is it strange to say I'll be a little disappointed if it was just this movie again, but in the 80s? I don't think West and Goth would've made a trilogy if it that's all that would happen.

Well, that's all for now. We're now pretty much in spooky season, so my yearly marathon is coming up real soon. It's going to be exciting!

[hmslusitania]

I see we're going ape over buddie and Choices tonight so

Yknow in 2.07, when Shannon comes back and her and Eddie have their first scene together? The argument at the end, after Eddie says it wouldn't be a good idea for her to see Christopher bc she left them, she says she needed him, she needed a husband and a co-parent - and "I needed someone to have my back!"

To which EDDIE says, "I always had your back"

*insert Incredibles "coincidence? I think NOT" gif here*

(Also side note, I do like that the show doesn't try to sugarcoat what Shannon did being messed up, and that Eddie's own actions weren't really the right thing either[thinking about his conversation with Buck where he says he got to pretend he left for a noble cause even tho he was running], and that it was just a sticky situation that neither of them were equipped to handle in any way, and snowballed. I do kind of wish we could've gotten post-divorce Shannon and Eddie and Christopher interactions, figuring out how they fit together, if at all, bc I like those intricate and messy situations but I could see how that might get too close to retreading old ground re: Michael and Athena's divorce. But I do hate how ive seen the fandom like. Seem to oversimplify things with Shannon sometimes? And make her the ultimate villain, and Eddie Did Nothing Wrong, Ever)

Hi Anon!

The decision to have Buck and Eddie's first bonding moment end with "You can have my back any day" and "or, y'know, you could have mine" only to then six episodes later find out that at least a contributing factor to Eddie's marriage dissolving was that he "didn't have her back" is like. Such a galaxy brain chaos move for them to take, honestly. Like?? They could've had the phrasing be literally anything in 2x07 but instead they had it directly echo Buck and Eddie in 2x01. What was the reason? Why did they do this?

As for the rest of your ask:

(gosh this got long and, uh, opinionated. It is Not Pretty below the cut)

One of the things I really liked about Eddie Begins is that we did get to see him at the beginning of his journey in being Chris's dad because it gives us an opportunity to appreciate how amazingly he's grown as a father. Like, he didn't start out as a perfect dad and he was definitely kind of lost in the woods at the beginning there when it came to the whole "how do I parent" thing. And before Eddie Begins, we'd only ever seen the end result of the growth he's gone through, where he really is a fantastic dad whose son is basically his entire reason for being. Before Eddie Begins, we get to hear him say things like "I left first" and "I've failed that kid more times than I can count but I love him enough to never stop trying" but we kinda have to take that on faith? Because we hadn't actually seen him be anything besides a good dad until we saw his Begins episode. (And even then in his begins it's like "area man in his early 20s unsure how to care for small child while also coping with PTSD and a toxic support system" which like. yeah. no shit. there's one hell of a learning curve there)

The thing about Eddie and Shannon as a couple and as parents that always gets to me is that they were so fucking young. We don't know exactly how old Eddie is in the show, but we can guesstimate pretty safely that he's around the same age as Ryan which would make him between 23 and 24 when Chris was born, and it seems reasonable to believe Shannon was around the same age. It's also a pretty common reading in the fandom -- although I'm not sure how much canon support there is for it because we really, really don't know anything about their relationship pre-Christopher unless I'm forgetting something -- that they got married because Shannon got pregnant and that was the Done Thing. And when you're 23-24, baby on the way, freshly married, that is just like. So much. It sure as hell ruined my parents' relationship when they did that exact thing, and then they disliked each other until they were 27 and then they got divorced, and no one was happier than me about it, I have to tell you.

Back to the show, I can only give you my impressions, obviously, but the impression I have always gotten from the whole "I left too" conversation and the context that goes into it and the different behaviours we see exhibited by the characters is that Eddie "left" first and it comes across to me that he was basically an early twenty-something kid running scared from the abstract concept of being a father in general, and then when he was forced home by an honourable discharge, and was confronted with the reality of Christopher, he managed to step the fuck up and become Christopher's dad. It's there in 2x02, right? "Oh, you've got a kid? I love kids!" "I love this one." Eddie doesn't strike me as a Swiss Army Knife all-purpose Dad(tm) the way Bobby is. Eddie is Christopher's dad. (and like, of course, he's obviously moved by kids when he's on a call, we've seen that enough times to know that if there's a child who can even glancingly remind him of Christopher, Eddie's sense of self-preservation goes out the window, and I love that about him as heart-stopping as it can be in practice)

Shannon, on the other hand, didn't run from the idea of being a mother -- at first. When she left, it wasn't from the abstract. She left Chris (and "gave up" on Eddie, thanks Helena). She was not running from a concept, she was running from a reality. I think Shannon is a fascinating character to include in a television show as a side character, because she really isn't a one note character. Like, she was unarguably a bad mother, and from what we saw, she was a questionable romantic partner to have (but as you said, anon, Eddie was also not 100% the best romantic partner when he was with Shannon either; their entire relationship so far as I can tell was built on sexual chemistry which, uh, super does not sustain a relationship), but she also seems to have been a devoted daughter? I mean, yeah, it's entirely possible that her mom being sick was a convenient excuse to bail -- and obviously she didn't come back after her mom died, and didn't, y'know, contact her son or husband in the interim, so yes, I can see that being a valid way to read the situation. I don't think she's the Ultimate Evil, because she strikes me as a very human character in all the ways that people are more often than not really fucking flawed.

But then we get back to the actual break-up scene. The first time I watched it (and second, and third; then the fourth time the person I was watching with was like "I mean, sure, but it could also be read in this light") her "I'm just learning how to be someone's mother" speech really bothered me? Partly because it was the abstraction of it, right? Eddie doesn't like kids, he likes Christopher, and Shannon sort of had the inverse journey there, I guess, where it went from she didn't know how to be Christopher's mother, to she didn't know how to be a mother. And that speech bothered me because it always sounded to me like she was bailing again. She begged Eddie to let her back into Christopher's life (guilt? I guess?) and like, straight up bribed him with sex which was sure a choice, and then decides -- for a second time -- that she's out. It sounded, to me, she was handing Eddie papers and maybe, in a few years, possibly, once she'd had "time" to "figure out how to be someone's mother" she would try again. Just like she had in the interim between leaving when Christopher was little and the time of season 2.

And like, that could totally be a misunderstanding of the scene and what she was saying. It's what I took away from it, but that could very well be influenced by the fact I was raised by divorced parents and my dad had custody and if you count up all the time I spent with either parent when I was a minor, I was predominantly raised by my father and have had an especially tempestuous relationship with my mother that is mostly (sometimes) repaired now that I'm in my late twenties and have not lived with her since I was sixteen.

Back to the show, and to your comment that the fandom tends to treat Shannon like the Ultimate Evil and act like Eddie Did Nothing Wrong, I mean. Yeah. Fandom as a rule tends to shirk nuance. We're all fools here on the internet sitting in our blue industrial waste container crying about a wee woo show. I personally believe a more nuanced take on that might be that Eddie has shown a great capacity to learn from his mistakes (sometimes to make fun, shiny, new ones, but for the most part, just like ends up doing better the next time) and Shannon did not show that capacity in the time we knew her.

I think, depending on what they did with it, there was potential for an interesting storyline if they'd played through the divorce. I don't think it would've been rehashing ground covered by Michael and Athena's divorce because I can't see Eddie and Shannon having reached a point of amicability and friendship. The only thing we know they had in common was Christopher, and frankly, when you boil it down, the ways they engaged with Christopher as a person were so disparate that -- to me -- it really didn't seem like they had Christopher in common when you get right down to it. But I wouldn't have wanted to see Christopher and Eddie dragged through an ugly divorce process. They deserve better than that.

There's also a conversation to be had about Shannon's blatant ableism towards her own son, but that is extremely not my lane since I am not disabled myself. But even from an outside perspective, basically their entire parking lot conversation in Haunted, uh, haunts me with it's repugnance and the fact that instead of calling her on any of it, Eddie "Chronically touch starved" Diaz's response was to kiss her? Gosh golly do I wish that was one of the mistakes he learned from properly instead of finding a new, shiny version.

ANYWAY this got long, tl;dr (although if you clicked on the read more, you probably read it) version is No, Shannon is not the Ultimate Evil, she's a shitty mom not a demon in a skin suit and a pretty yellow sundress; and No, Eddie is not a flawless human who's never done wrong in his life but holy fuck is he trying and he'd be the first person to tell you he's made mistakes (and often has been); and no, sorry, I don't want to see the divorce storyline play out because we probably would've had to see either Eddie Bashing, Shannon Redemption, or Shannon turning up again like a cardboard cut out of a cartoon villain the way Eva did and I want to be witness to exactly zero of those things.

[colemacgrathtkz]

Where two shadows meet

Disclaimer: No gush. No mush. Just angst.

Previously. Next

----------------------‐----------------------

[The next day after being sent away, human realm]

The morning after being cast out, Luz woke up to the an empty room. She had hoped the events of last night were just some nightmare. Feeling the dried tears on her face told her the truth. She must've cried herself to sleep. She'd been waiting for the smallest chance of the portal reopening. Any opportunity, no matter how small, she refused to miss.

None came and hints of dawn were peeking through the windows.

She picked herself up and headed for her old house. The empress cloak still wrapped around her. She wondered, how would she explain this to her mother?

When she approached the street, a flyer caught her eye.

A missing persons poster with her picture on it. Plenty of them were scattered throughout the neighborhood.

She ran towards the side of her house and peered in.

Her mother, weary and worn out, sat at the table with a phone at hand. Were her eyes red from crying or staying up all night?

Luz was about signal her mother to her presence.

Not yet.

She caught her reflection in the window. Her pupils were glowing red. Stumbling back, she couldn't face her mother like this.

Sprinting away, not caring about what direction.

Hours later, Luz would return when she knew her mother was gone. She snuck in to take whatever cash she could and pack up a new bag.

Camilla Noceda: "Who's there?!"

Scratch that, Camilla hadn't gone to work yet. Luz grabbed what she had and bolted out of the house. From that day on, she had to make her supplies last.

[Six weeks later]

Luz had been wandering the country. She had tried shelters. But she had made her stays brief. People had tried to figure out, where was she from?

The worst part came from her "condition". Lately, she kept waking up in different parts of the city. Clumps of money or random items could be found alongside her. Usually with a note that said, "Take this with you". They were written in her handwriting. She refused to obey the beast inside her. However, her stubbornness meant she refused any resource that came from the empress. One in particular, the empress cloak that kept appearing in her bag.

Her travels left her funds dry and uneasy about the future.

One night, she didn't have any strength left. Her nightmare was moving to its next phase.

She found herself in her old room. A shackle made of light lead out the door. She stepped out into the hallway. The chain trailed to the right. But it became pitch black futher down. A second chain came from the abyss into a door across the hall.

She wanted to know where this would lead.

Stepping through, she dreaded that this was Belos' old throne room.

Stop...fighting

The empress stepped out from the other side of the room. Dressed in her cloak, the metal mouth mask was new. She twirled her finger and closed the door behind Luz.

Let...me.

Her majesty gestured to her mask. The voice was so muffled, it might has well have been a whisper. Luz didn't really notice it until now.

Luz: "I don't really know what..."

Empress Luz: "Check...it."

The empress pulled on her end of the chain and zipped to Noceda's side. Luz fell over, leaving the empress towering over her.

She didn't know she could make such a scary glare.

Empress Luz (pointing to pockets): "Check!"

Luz didn't waste a second and found a key.

Empress Luz: "You... willingly... give."

She handed her the key, as she stood up.

The empress removed her metal mask, relieved.

Empress Luz: " That's better. We have something to discuss."

Noceda just wanted to leave this nightmare.

Empress Luz: "This nightmare is very real. You leave... when we settle this now!

That's right, I can feel what you're thinking."

Luz Noceda: "What do you want? This is just a dream, right?"

Empress Luz: " You've no doubt noticed, I've been taking control while you sleep. Regrettably, our body has become deprived of rest. We're malnourished and becoming worse. You have to listen to me now!"

Luz: "If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me!"

Empress: "And our mother with us?"

Dread silenced both of them for a moment.

Luz: "What did you do?

Empress: " I've been a spectator, until not long ago. Neither of us have seen our..."

Luz: "My mama! Mine!"

Empress: "Our mami. I haven't seen her since you ran. I haven't done anything to her. That's what you've got to understand. I care about our mama, like you."

Luz: " You're a curse from Belos."

Empress: "Wrong! I'm not you, but at the same time, I am. From the moment Eda took you on, you were a witch with a dark side. When you killed Belos, you released his unnatural power. I wasn't made by it. It just gave me a voice. I'm a genuine Luz Noceda! I'm a part of you, just like you're a part of me."

The empress sat down on the throne, resting her head in her hand. She revealed a key under her cloak.

Empress: "I can give you the key out of this room. But these shackles on our legs are different story. These are the chains Amity gave us. Which is why, you're going to do what I say."

Luz scowled at this doppelganger. But she began to recall everything that happened since that night.

Luz: "What are you talking about?"

Empress: "Our fates are tied. But you're the only obstacle in our way. You've been frustrated and angry since we were cast out. I've been gaining control because of this. You were able to hold me back, at first. But your control is ticking away. Ironic, isn't it? We're both at our weakest, regardless."

Luz: "Let me out!"

The empress held up her restraint.

Empress: "To do what? Walk until we collapse? Hardly sleep anywhere? Fending off the streets? We're exhausted and knocking on death's door! If we continue on like this, our mother will suffer, too."

Luz: "You're lying."

Empress: " You haven't forgotten our last moments with Amity, right? She knew that would be the last time she'd see us. Mama didn't know that moment on the curb was hers. If they even find our body, can you imagine her face when they do? Haunted by the guilt for the rest of her life? Never knowing anything other than sending her daughter away? That's the fate that you're headed for. But I'm offering a different course."

Luz: "Stop beating around the bush and tell me!"

Empress: "While you've been asleep, I've tried to learn all about magic on this side. This chain could be an unexpected key to getting everything. I want everything you do. I want to give our mama an easy life. I want Amity at our side."

Luz: "Revenge on Lilith?"

Luz felt a familiar rage rising. But she didn't know why. She hadn't thought of Lilith until just then. That's when she understood her connection to the empress.

Empress: "Maybe I was hasty about that? But I know you haven't forgiven her for what she's done. I am you, after all. She got her sister back while we've got nothing. She's cursed her own sister and used us as a human shield. She gets to be with Eda. Meanwhile, you beat Belos and can't even go back to mami."

Luz: "It's because of you. All of this is your fault!"

Empress: "Us. Tell me something, does mama love you or me?"

Luz: "Me! I'm her daughter. You're just something I picked up on the Isles."

Empress: "So, she never met me? Yet, she sent you away to be someone else. It's not my fault you can't be with her. My existence isn't the reason you can't face her, is it? It's because you're too much, even for her.

But what about Amity?"

Luz: "You made me watch you terrorize everyone. You didn't leave her a choice."

Empress: " I gave her everything. She had our trust and love. But when she cast us out, she knew it was you. She was talking to you."

Summoning illusions, that night was replayed in front of them.

Empress: "When she was holding the staff, she knew it was you. Like you said, if she wanted to keep you, she could've. But once again, you were too much for her to handle.

That's two loved ones that cast us...sorry, you away. Should I even mention the others? Eda, King, Willow,  and Gus? They loved you, too, didn't they? But that wasn't enough, was it? You might hate me, but they fear you, too. They didn't stand up for you, either. Their love didn't save you. Those were your final moments with them. Your love for them wasn't enough to keep you together. "

Noceda was silent, letting those words sink in.

Empress: "Right now, I've got a plan. As I've explained, refusing to work alongside me won't help anything."

She tossed the key over to Luz.

Empress: "Right now, you've got two choices. You can keep fighting me and lead us both to our deaths? Or you can stop trying to hold me back and work towards getting it all back?"

Luz walked slowly towards the door.

Empress: "If you want to waste what's left of your energy on the former, I can promise you this. Our last moments won't be yours."

Luz: " You'd like it if I disappeared, wouldn't you? Just like me?"

Empress: "Our body can't go on like this much longer. By the time you disappeared, I wouldn't have much longer. Even if I made it back, they wouldn't trust me. I wouldn't even get the chance to atone. Despite what you think, we need to work together to make this work!"

The two stared at each other. The existence of magic, witches, and demons didn't make this any less weird.

Luz: "You said, we can have it all. How do I know you don't mean, just you?"

Empress: " We were living out our fantasies on the Boiling Isles. Mama thought they were holding us back from reality. But magic is a reality. You're holding me back because you think I'm a monster of tyranny. How are you so sure you're not wrong? Like mom? Luz Noceda is the most powerful witch in the Boiling Isles. That's the reality she never saw. But we can show her that. Together, we can make her proud. With me, we can have everything. With you, we might be able to share it?"

Luz fidgeted with the key in her hands.

Empress: "If you unlock that door, you're agreeing to embrace my plan. There's no other way to put it. But neither of us have much other choice, anyways. It'd be a new level of dense for you to refuse just because."

Luz inserted the key into the hole. She wanted to know something before turning it.

Luz: "How would being back on the Isles help mama?"

Empress: "Remember Belos last words? This world has much to offer. So much power. It is our job as humans to fulfill our destiny. It's our turn to fulfill ours. I figured out what he meant. I even improved on his day of unity. We'd have more than we could ever want. Prosperity that'd never run out, no matter how much we shared. We can and will give our family and friends what they deserve. Happiness. A life where our mom would never cry again. Amity wouldn't ever hide who she really is. No one would ever have to cry again. But that life only comes if their fearless Luz steps up. Belos' fate sealed ours. But it wasn't so we'd have nothing. Our fate is to claim everything, together."

Luz: "You're laying that on pretty thick, aren't cha?"

Empress: "I know, every day since we've been back, you've felt powerless. This is a cruel fate to live through. But, if you think about it, this is still your time to shine. Just like in those PG fantasies of yours, Luzura! At your lowest, will you rise back up? Like any chosen one worth their salt? I suppose, the only one who would know you didn't; would be me."

Luz Noceda, the former good witch in training, finally turned the key.

The empress finally cracked a smile.

Empress: "That's the right decision."

Luz woke up in an alleyway with a hot dog lying next to her.

The empress Luz appeared as a hallucination. She gestured towards a dumpster nearby. Inside, Luz found a baseball.

Empress Luz: "I've been storing that close for a while now. Until we get our strength back, we should keep it on us, at all times."

Luz picked up the hot dog, wrapped in aluminum, and began digging in.

Feeling large wads of cash in her pockets, she made her way towards the streets.

Luz: "What now?"

Empress: "Take a look inside the store next to you. I think you'll find our heading."

She peered through the window of a book store. Right there, a shelf filled with the newest release.

From the author of the "Good witch, Auzura".

Empress: "Build up your strength and work on not being recognized. If something becomes too hard for you, I'll step in. Remember, we can fix this together!"

Luz pressed her forehead against the cold glass. That phrase was a poignant reminder of how far away she was from who she used to be.

The empress placed one ghostly hand on Luz's shoulder.

Empress: "It's okay. If anyone could do this, it's us. It's always Luz Noceda."

She returned to the alley to pick up her things. While she finished her breakfast, the empress fixated on the shackle on her ankle.

She knew what buttons to press. Physically, Luz Noceda was being brought to pieces. Emotionally, she was demoralized by the cruel twist of fate. She had become so numb, the empress knew all she had to do was wait. Wait until her spirit was an easy blow out.

Now, in every sense of the word, Luz Noceda was broken!

Author's note: I wanted to show how these two might have "compromised" on working together. I once asked the creator of the "Broken!Luz AU" about the empress as a character. I've tried to stay as close to the creator's vision for her, as I could. But that brings me to this point. My additions to the AU are non canon. Take them with a grain of salt.

[soft-j0y]

more fucking ranting.... just ignore me.

just wish i had someone to talk to about this kind of shit dude... but i literally have no one i can entrust with this madness. so like the majority of us on this hellsite, i'm gonna unleash it all and leave it under the cut. enter at your own risk i guess. (not like any of the porn bots that follow me are gonna have a gander at it).

like even i find it insane that this has been playing on my mind for nearly 4 fucking years. would it have been easier to reach out to him afterwards and get it over and done with. probably.

but it wasn't my place. the ball was in his court and we could've discussed everything.

and he wasn't even that big a part of my life at that point. i had already assumed that he hated me and so i distanced my full energy away from him.

i don't think about the girls who i thought of as sisters and how they fucking destroyed me by using my past against me. (... well i do but not that often). how i became a shitty person to myself and to my other people at that point.

i don't think about my other guy "friends" who had consistently told me i wasn't their type and not to got any big ideas. but as soon as that stupid fucking cake offer you started, i'm just seen as 3 holes.

tbf i do let them off slightly because at least they would check in with me here and there. oh how it would break my heart when would chat and it would be like how it used to be and then there would be that moment... that feeling that we weren't allowed to be like that anymore... how it would shatter when he would get up and walk away from me.

yet YOU. YOU HAUNT ME. for whatever reason you just pop up in real life. for years, i would hardly see anyone from school. but YOU. A sold out arena show in a different city - there you were. Enjoying a night out and who happens to walk past - you. Doing something special for a family member - i walk in and you serve me. not the other members of staff ... no one stopped me from coming into the shop to say it was closing soon. neither did you. WHY????

do you know what it is?! the fucking book. i wish i hadn't 've bothered giving it to you had i known what it would do later on down the line. why fucking bring it up?! it was silent ... could have just printed my photos and left it at that but no. and i don't why i became this obsessive with this notion of you. i repressed so much of high school that i don't even no whether i genuinely had feelings for you at one point or if it present-me trying to give justification for this stupidity.

why would i think that you would be interested in me, cared for me, wanted me around when you showed no signs then and not afterwards. why would stupidly think that it would play on your mind as well so much so that you would reach out to me. i refused and still do to reach out because as far as i see it... it's not my place. i don't want to be made a laughing stock again. it would be nice for someone else to make the concerted effort to tell me how they truly feel or felt about me.

i'm honestly fucked and i don't know what to do about it. i've tried rationalising everything but none of it makes fucking sense. i want to move on like you have. to have someone to call my own and for them to proudly call me theirs in return. but when i have, part of me feels like it's cheating ... that you'll find out and punish me for it...

i hate that i give someone who had very little interest in me so much power and dominion over my life... tbf i do that with every person from the past. it's torture.

if we are ever to meet again in this lifetime, i will be bluntly honest with you and i hope you'd do the same for me. i'd hope that by doing so, this invisible bond between us would break and i can finally accept the reality and move on.

[ultmateragnarok]

See, the Fazbear Frights books particularly. A lot of them are absolutely outrageous, but the series has dealt with possession since the start, so some of that can be excused. The earlier ones are quite interesting, though - some deal in the fictitious science behind the stories, or additional and otherwise unexplored concepts. Phineas Taggart, the one responsible for the Stitchwraith, had made a whole long list of discoveries as to the true energy behind emotions, focusing on agony as the most potent, or at least most easily observable, one; an independent researcher discovering remnant and scientifically explainable hauntings. The story Fetch explores the methods behind mental links and communication to the point of mind reading, using actual research as a basis. Some are less confirmed - I personally see Bunny Call as a showcase of the ability of the human mind to create something it expects to be there, and this lines up with the games' original rules to the antagonists - the animatronics only move at specific times, because, as much as people don't want them to at all, that's when those knowing about them expect them to move.

However, storytelling in the FNaF universe has sort of deteriorated to a general mishmash of concepts with a few vague constants. Half a dozen semi-coherent and individual storylines include William Afton, who tends to die several times in each and just never accept it - sometimes logically, sometimes not. He's overused to death by now, of course, but some of the concepts still work while others never should've. Haunted animatronics, as the origin of the series, is obviously a big theme, but there's rarely anything additional to it. Hauntings can be varied - wandering spirits untethered might be capable of existing for a short time; or one could attach to a structure, a different object, or so on. William himself appears to have haunted his own body, or at least that's how I see him - a perpetual, biologically living corpse with a soul no longer tethered naturally to it driving it ever forwards. A lot of the designs deteriorated too throughout the series, though Security Breach is honestly one of the lesser offenders to that, since they're fairly logical (other than the ten thousand spare active endoskeletons down there for no given reason). Some concepts, such as the Mangle, were interesting even if haphazard in reality, while others, such as the continued operation of the Funtimes and some of their design choices, specifically the wires, are just too far out there. The illusion disks, while somewhat interesting, are a similar issue.

Security Breach will always be a sore spot to me, though, because of it being chopped apart and stitched back together into something smaller solely for an arbitrary release date. The game could've been a great addition to the series, but it just had to be released by Christmas, because apparently delaying it for one year another time wasn't acceptable, so now it's ruined the reputation of an entire company. I love some of the ideas shown, and it's clear where more of those were intended to be - each side attraction, for instance, has a dedicated animatronic for it, but they were never implemented. STAFF tunnels, which are still outright stated to connect the place together with the endos as an alternate threat to the animatronics above, don't do what they're said to - parts of them were left over in the game's files at once point, connecting to various locations. The map was shrunk moderately, and chopped into sections so that it's incomprehensible to navigate, because optimizing the game's performance wasn't happening with the timeframe - there's a window from Bonnie Bowl overlooking Roxy Raceway that's walled off; the entire backstage area and staff kitchen with cafeteria was cut; tunnels behind the Greenrooms still lead to the Backstage Hall but are walled off; areas such as El Chip's and the West Arcade or Roxy Raceway and an upper level of the Atrium are connected by inaccessible halls; and so much more, plenty of which is entirely unknown to us as well. The game had, and still has, so much potential, but was left like it is. SteelWool recently said they are apparently 'mostly happy with how the game is now', which is just absurd. I could make half a dozen additional Glamrocks on the spot as concepts with upgrades and boss fights, and the community has already made models for many more, yet a massive company can't be expected to do this and deliver by their own management because of the marketing half the game makes fun of anyways.

I love this franchise and its concepts, but I hate so many decisions and some of the people in charge sometimes. So much potential and attention squandered for nothing, because it happened exactly as anyone could've told those people it would've, yet they did it anyways.

i'm gonna be honest i stopped keeping track of the fnaf games after ucn