#but in an actual narrative sense the ending was perfect

[kurishiri]

Premium END ┊ Dark If —Alfons Sylvatica—

꒰ ִ ֺ ⊹ @ notice ⊹ ֺ ִ ꒱ this translation may not be 100% accurate or contain creative liberties due to characterization or narrative flow purposes. if you enjoy, please consider reblogging, but don’t repost these or claim these as your own!

— cw: near death experience, named character death.

(…W-wait, what…?)

(For a while now, why was I…)

Why was I trying to find Alfons in other people?

Kate: ——!

(I… Alfons——)

???: Snow White.

Kate: Alfons, I——

Natalia: I’m the first prince of the neighboring country. My name is Natalia.

(It’s... not Alfons.)

Kate: Ah, it’s a pleasure to be your acquaintance.

Blue-eyed prince: Hey, look. Isn’t that Prince Natalia from the Adel Empire?

Green-eyed prince: He’s princely in wealth, looks, and character. This... isn’t our time to shine, perhaps.

(...Well it sure is clear to me now that I’ve caught the attention of someone highly affluent.)

Natlia: Princess, how about we talk some more over there? I brought some souvenirs as well.

Seeing that beaming smile, I felt left with no other choice.

Kate: Ah, alright. Then, shall we go?

Alfons the Mirror: .........

Since the night of the banquet, Prince Natalia stayed at this castle for a few days, and he invited me every day on a date.

Natalia: Princess. Do you see those flowers over there? They are as beautiful as you, I would say.

Kate: You flatter me. But, thank you.

Prince Natalia was just as the rumors told — he was perfect in every sense of the word.

He might very well be suited for the prince in the story of Snow White.

(If I choose him, the story will safely reach its happy ending.)

(...And if I do that, I will be able to return to the reality from where I came... I think.)

But even so, I found my gaze searching for that villainous smile of a mirror.

—— Neutral POV ——

Staring out in the garden where Natalia and Kate were, Elbert murmured.

Queen Elbert: That prince is Kate’s prince, and the missing thing in this world... perhaps?

Alfons the Mirror: Who knows? Perhaps so, although I know as well as the next person.

Queen Elbert: ...hehe.

Alfons the Mirror: What is it?

Queen Elbert: It is the first time I have seen such a look on your face.

Alfons the Mirror: ......... (O_O)

Queen Elbert: .........

E: Al. There is something I would like you to look into about that prince.

—— Time skip ——

On a certain day, Prince Natalia requested to take a look at my room.

(It is dangerous to be alone with a man, but it should be fine if it’s during the day, right?)

While drinking tea in my room, the conversation blossomed from there.

Natalia: Ahaha, it really is a joy to talk with you like this, princess.

N: Ah, that’s right.

N: There is actually something I haven’t yet given you.

Kate: You do?

Natalia: Indeed, it is this. Some sugar candies from my country.

Natalia dropped a single candy, which looked like jewels, into the tea.

Natalia: One of these makes the tea taste even better. Now, have a sip.

Kate: Then, I’ll do tha...

Just as I was about to bring the teacup to my lips, all of a sudden I remembered Alfons’ words.

—— Flashback ——

Alfons: A poisoned apple may not necessarily take the form of an apple itself. Do be careful from now on.

—— End flashback ——

(...Come to think of it, why did he want to check out my room anyway?)

(And besides that, if he had a souvenir, he should have given it earlier...)

Kate: ...Um, actually, I’m feeling quite full right now. So I will have some later.

In a moment, before my eyes the prince’s character distorted, and——

Natalia: ..................the hell?

N: Hah, jeez, you’re so troublesome. Stop dawdling and drink it already!

Kate: Eek...!

He roughly grabbed my head and forcefully pushed the teacup to my mouth.

Kate: No—stop it...!

Natalia: I’m gonna need you to die. And then I can kill the Queen while she’s crying and grieving over you.

N: Then amid the confusion, I will take over this country! So that’s why, drink it now!

(Ack, he’s so strong... I can’t resist.)

(Someone, anyone...)

(Alfons——)

Alfons the Mirror: If you two are holding a romantic clandestine meeting, I must ask you to be a tad more quiet while doing so.

Natalia: Guagh...!?

Alfons the Mirror: See, now your princess has been snatched right away from you.

Alfons’ saber pierced through the heart of the prince’s body.

Alfons the Mirror: Ahh! To see the carpet so stained red with blood! I can practically feel the pain of replacing it.

Kate: ...Alfons. And Queen Elbert too... but why?

Queen Elbert: There was a rumor that the neighboring country was scheming to invade us.

E: And when I had Al look into it, the rumors came out to be true.

Alfons the Mirror: I was a bit reckless, skewering the prince the way I did, but it poses no particular problem, I presume?

Queen Elbert: Yes, there is no problem. ...Our neighbors were the ones who initiated the attack.

(...T-thank goodness. I’m glad this country and Queen Elbert are alright...)

Kate: *cough*...

Alfons the Mirror: Kate?

With my body giving out on me, Alfons supported me with his arms.

Alfons the Mirror: Don’t tell me you drank it?

Kate: I’m...sorry... I couldn’t avoid it completely...

Queen Elbert: ...I will call the doctor immediately. I will leave Kate to you, Al.

It was getting harder and harder to breathe, and my head was becoming foggy, as though a mist had blanketed over my mind.

Even at such a time, the arms wrapped around my back were so gentle, I felt I might cry.

(...Hey, Alfons. You... are truly a kind person, aren’t you?)

The times Alfons would become a meddlesome presence to me was always whenever I was feeling down.

(You are someone who knows exactly what others want when they are struggling at their lowest point.)

(...I am sure... you are someone who has suffered deeply before.)

I didn’t have to find the missing thing anymore. I didn’t care if I couldn’t return to reality.

(I like you, Alfons.)

Kate: ...Al...fons. How about we... make a bet?

K: If I die, then you win. And, if I don’t die... please listen to what I have to say... without running away.

Alfons the Mirror: Alright then, you have yourself a bet. I will look forward to how it turns out then.

The mirror called Alfons reached out to softly stroke the back of my neck with his fingertips.

Alfons the Mirror: You are no longer in pain. You are only seeing a peaceful dream.

(.........ngh...)

Alfons the Mirror: Good morning, Kate.

Kate: Al...fons?

Alfons the Mirror: This is the underworld. Unfortunately, you have already passed away after that.

A: And Queen Elbert was so much in grief he wouldn’t even swallow his food. As if he wasn’t already a light eater too!

I propped myself up from the bed and stared at my limbs.

Kate: ...I... am living, aren’t I? No matter from which angle I look.

Alfons the Mirror: Indeed, the stuff you drank was poison, beyond a shadow of doubt.

A: However, you consumed very little, so it wasn’t lethal.

A: And so we arrive here, at this very celebratory moment of having lived! Cue a round of applause from me here.

(W—wh...!)

Kate: Ah, jeez, my gosh——! Stop with your theatrics!

Alfons the Mirror: Aha, ow ow ow. Goodness, you sure do wake up quick, don’t you.

I hit his chest repeatedly, and when I stopped, I looked up at Alfons.

Kate: ...I won the bet. Alfons, I——

Alfons the Mirror: Before that, could you allow me a few words first?

Kate: ...? Sure...

Alfons the Mirror: Due to some mysterious process, you’ve wandered here as Snow White.

A: And so, someday, something may end up sending you back to reality.

Kate: You mean...

Alfons the Mirror: What a comedy it would be, indeed, were we to be separated the moment we chose to love each other, no?

A: Ahh, and there is also the possibility your memories may be wiped clean as well.

(Ahh, I see. He is such a kind person, even in times like these...)

Unable to hold it any longer, I grabbed Alfons’ collar and kissed him.

Alfons the Mirror: ......... (O_O)

Kate: ...Just as you say, there’s no way to tell what may happen tomorrow.

K: But, right now, I want you. And besides...

K: How could I ever forget, seeing how deeply I’ve fallen for you?

Alfons the Mirror: Hehe...

Kate: W-what’s so funny?

Alfons the Mirror: No, it’s just... your love is so direct, I couldn’t help but feel moved...

Kate: ...Somehow, I feel like you’re making fun of me though.

Alfons the Mirror: Whoops, outed so soon?

Kate: Jeez...

Alfons the Mirror: Haa, I surrender. If you insist, then it can’t be helped.

A: By all means, be played by this mirror to the fullest, so your life becomes an utter mess.

(...Somehow, it seems I’m always the one stumbling atop Alfons’ palm.)

It was frustrating, and in a small act of resistance, I tried to look away.

Alfons the Mirror: ...Hey, Kate. Look over here, why don’t you.

Kate: Ah...

Those naughty hands combed across my waist,

and my body, used to this pleasure, reacted.

Alfons the Mirror: If you don’t, I won’t be able to give you those oh-so-pleasurable kisses now, won’t I.

Alfons gave a poke to my pouting lips with his fingertips.

(This is bad... I really want to kiss Alfons.)

(And I want to do lots of pleasurable things too... but.)

Kate: ...If there’s something like love between you and me, some process might work its gears...

Alfons the Mirror: Come again?

Kate: ...You know, if we share a true love’s kiss, I won’t return back to reality... right?

(I was just talking big before, but maybe it’s a bit too early...)

Alfons the Mirror: ......... (O_O)

A: Ahha! Truly, you are...

Kate: Don’t laugh... I’m being serious here.

Alfons the Mirror: That definitely won’t happen.

Kate: And what makes you so confident?

Alfons the Mirror: ...You wish to know the answer?

Fin.

← prev epi → bitter

ko-fi ☕️ ┋ comms🤍

[etoilesombre]

(referring to this poll)

Ok I'm here to make a strong case that Silver is definitely lying to Madi (and maybe himself!) in the finale, but that doesn't necessarily mean Flint is dead.

So here is what Silver actually says:

He resisted... at first. But then I told him what else I had heard about this place. I was told prominent families amongst London society made use of it. I was told the governor in Carolina made use of it. So I sent a man to find out if they'd used it to hide away one particular prisoner. He returned with news. Thomas Hamilton was there. He disbelieved me. He continued to resist. And corralling him took great effort. But the closer we got to Savannah, his resistance began to diminish. I couldn't say why. I wasn't expecting it. Perhaps he'd finally reached the limits of his physical ability to fight. Or perhaps as the promise of seeing Thomas got closer... he grew more comfortable letting go of this man he created in response to his loss. The man whose mind I had come to know so well... whose mind I'd in some ways incorporated into my own. It was a strange experience to see something from it... so unexpected. I choose to believe it... because it wasn't the man I had come to know at all... but one who existed beforehand... waking from a long... and terrible nightmare. Reorienting to the daylight... and the world as it existed before he first closed his eyes... letting the memory of the nightmare fade away.

Now that's a fucking lie right off the bat. "He resisted" oh, buddy, no... he didn't... and I think this is fairly textual. He just killed JOJI. He coulda took that gun from you in a heartbeat. If he had resisted, one of you would be dead. (Related: if Silver killed Flint, its because Flint made a choice to allow it, I will die on that hill.)

And then all the stuff about "Reorienting to daylight," and referring to his experiences as a pirate as "a long and terrible nightmare" this is SILVER'S understanding of the world, not Flint's. This is the conflict between them. Whatever happened if they went to Savannah, whatever Silver saw, it was NOT THAT. That was the POINT of the dragons speech. Those things are incompatible, and I cannot imagine that Thomas being alive would change Flint's mind about any of it. But SILVER thinks it would, because for him, Madi being alive would. For him it's personal, and he could never accept that for Flint it wasn't entirely personal as well.

I just don't think that Silver constructing this narrative about what happened which allows him to assuage some part of his guilt necessarily has any bearing on whether Flint got on a boat to Savannah. Either way, I think Flint made a decision that, without Silver by his side in this, he would accept defeat. And either way, it WAS a defeat. And Silver lied to Madi about it, and she knew.

Schrödinger's Flint Forever, perfect fucking tragedy regardless.

[anewp0tat0]

late as per usual, but this was April's theme back at the Black Butler Animo: (video)games!

I chose a game that not so many people know but still is my favorite game so far(I mean sure I haven't played so many but whatever) so yea, I'm gonna chose it as an AU. the dialogue is pretty weird cause I'm trying to cram exposition in there lol, but whatever, hope the art's fine atleast.

*ciel speaking*

*sebastian, then ciel speaking*

*ciel speaking*

[rawliverandgoronspice]

trying to assign instruments to gerudo characters for thralls' soundtrack. Nabooru is getting the sitar so far, as I think she's good at representing the gerudo side that's closer to the Wild Era in terms of long-term vision for gerudo prosperity, not to mention that it works great for a more laid-back character; though Iftaah could also get that aspect, even though her perspective is a little bit more desperate and a little less actually strategizing about diplomacy and commerce in the way that Nabooru's is... not sure I have nailed down the perfect instrument for her yet though? Maybe a duduk, for its plaintive quality and capacity for softness? But I don't know, I feel like there could be something better out there. Saeruk and flamenco guitar seem pretty great fit for the versatility of the instrument, both harsh and defiant, playful at times, but also extremely sad if needs be, and the fact that she represents more the "older" kind of gerudo works well with more hispanic/romany inspirations. And then there's Aveil, who I feel represent the best the connection of the gerudos to their land, and I'd love an instrument that really represents that. Still looking for that one.

There's a bunch of fun things for Ganondorf that can be done, but I think he'll get... bigger instruments, in general. And church organs are quite versatile too it turns out. :) I like the marimba from his first phase boss battle, but it's a little too... I don't know, I feel like it lacks the roundness and depth and imposing quality that we could get with other picks. But Ganondorf so far has about *eight billion* leitmotifs going on with what I have selected for him (him and Ganon's, as they are... not exactly separate entities in the story, but sort of, it's kind of weird), so it might be more a case of actual melody rather than instruments, or maybe on top of instruments that swap in and out depending on what we want to invoke...

Sorry, rambling, but I would really love to compensate for my lack of voice actors with a pretty meaningful stab at the soundtrack. I feel like I kind of have to honestly. ;;

[kayzero]

According to the American College of Physicians, medical school in Japan starts immediately after high school, rather than after having completed a bachelor’s program. Med school is still six years, two years of general studies then four years of medicine, after which two years of junior residency is required.

At 29, Shidou would be three years into his five years of surgical residency, which would actually make him a doctor(-in-training) of three years. (Or five, maybe—do you get your MD before or after junior residency?) I don’t know exactly what a resident is allowed to do in regards to surgery, but I imagine the answer is “whatever the attending surgeon lets you do”.

And if Shidou was as respectable and intelligent during residency as he is in Milgram, for three years, there’s a decent possibility that the surgeons know him as a reliable resident, one that they could give additional responsibilities to without much risk.

(As an aside, Shidou’s MVs have always confused me and I’ve never been 100% certain what his crime is supposed to be. My initial impression was that he, either as directed by hospital administration or of his own prerogative, convinced a lot of families of comatose or braindead patients to pull the plug, and only realized how horrible of a thing that is to do when his own family became comatose.

And then I go online and the prevailing theory is that he’s secretly harvesting organs? Like, let’s ignore the fact that he has to be a resident or the math doesn’t work out, and that residents are near-always supervised. How would he have gotten away with it even as a full-fledged surgeon? “Accidentally” make a mistake that kills the patient, wait for them to be brought down to the mortuary, and sneak down there with a cooler full of ice and slice them up? Every other murder in Milgram is grounded in reality, why would this one be so fucking ridiculous?)

thinking about shidou being 29 hes not even actually 30. even if he started college the moment he got out of high school at 18 hed only have been a doctor for.. (looks at how doctors also have to intern and go through extra training before being a full-fledged independant doctor)

a year

[narrativelysignificantturtleduck]

the thing about zuko becoming firelord at the end of the show is that it's not like. a flaw of the writing that an inexperienced teenager takes on political leadership. it's important symbolically both in universe and to the show that zuko is the one to lead his country into its decolonial peaceful future bc he is the member of his family who broke the cycle and took a moral stance about the war. iroh is older and experienced, yes, and we know his moral stance on the war, but there's a lot of baggage there, what with the siege of ba sing se and being the brother of the old fire lord. it doesn't convey that same sense of hope for the future and change, either to the viewer or the in-universe fire nation. zuko's kinda politically perfect - he's still part of the ruling family so it's not perceived as foreign usurpation, but he's young and his banishment and rebelliousness make it believable that he'll actually make change in the nation. and since this is a kids show where these kids are the ones who will save the world when the adults failed it feels very full-circle to have him assume that role. will it be tough on him? you betcha! is that a valid topic to explore in post-canon fic? absolutely! was this the right choice, both in-universe and from a narrative perspective? also very much yes

[glammiketrash]

Monty didn’t attack Bonnie. Freddy did.

This post is not a joke: Ruin gives us enough clues to know that Bonnie was attacked by Freddy the day he disappeared, and Monty saw the attack.

Word count: 2457 words.

Yup, I wrote an entire essay with pictures to take the blame from a fictional gator that became my comfort character. If someone from Steel Wool is reading this: Yes, I’m ok, thanks for asking. If you want to send a cute Monty picture to my inbox, it is open and I’ll be all over the place if you do it.

Now, let me take you with me on this wild ride, because this theory fits the narrative of both Security Breach and Ruin so well that I have to clap at Steel Wool if it is actually correct and not me playing with the puzzle pieces incorrectly. So, here we go!

Bonnie, judging by the golden eyes and his travel pattern, was protecting someone like Freddy did with Gregory. Important damage was directed to the stomach hatch, where a kid could hide.

He has claw marks there, but Monty didn’t got his until the first was decommissioned and was then modified to play his bass.

The scratches in his hatch are green, but also the cracks over it. It looks like it is his base color instead of paint left by the attacker. The next video is from FazFriends, where they look at every single detail in the Ruin animatronic models. Their analysis are totally worth your attention if you like SB!

Monty has black nails, even before he was modified to play Bonnie’s bass. They also are kinda blunt, and the marks the attacker left seem more clean and sharp in the ends.

Now, there aren’t lots of animatronics that have claws. We have Roxy (and I’m guessing Foxy, if he ever existed as an animatronic different to her), The mimic/Burntrap, who doesn’t really seem an option because he’s slow and in life support in SB and sealed in Ruin, and… there’s Freddy. But, and here’s the twist, not normal Freddy, who couldn’t get through gates like Monty until he got his claws.

I’m talking about this thing.

Not only do we have environmental clues that confirm this attack, but also a key clue that wouldn’t make any sense otherwise.

Let’s start with the Prototype itself!

Check those claws. They are sturdy enough to survive all the damage this model has received, and extremely sharp at the end. Now compare Bonnie and its hand together…

It’s a perfect fit. The metal is a bit bent in the left, but if you could lower it, the finger length, the palm, even the distance and shape between the thumb and index are the same than the hole in Bonnie’s chest.

If that detail is true, all pieces of the narrative fit together. Here’s what happened, which I will explain further adding sources:

Monty saw Freddy’s prototype attacking Bonnie (who was in safe mode) in Gator Golf’s catwalks. The hurricane hole-in-one was activated, causing them both to fall. He could see the prototype losing its head and taking damage to its leg, but Bonnie was nowhere: he was either able to go back to Bonnie Bowl by himself using the distraction or the fall knocked him out and was dragged there, where he was heavily damaged.

This next part is not so clear, so I’ll give you my version of what I think happened that night: Bonnie alerted police that a kid was in danger. They show up, but Vanessa sent them away, claiming she was the only person there and it was a prank call (False Alarm message in SB). Vanny uses Bonnie’s trust on Freddy against him: she sends the prototype to go after the kid and him. He makes it to Monty’s, where the hurricane causes damage to the prototype, and is then finally attacked and disassembled behind his attraction to silence him and bury any clue or what happened (his parts are all over the place, one of his arms has weel marks, and Ruin follows the PQ ending where Freddy is disassembled. In SB, endos come out from the lines to attack us, and in Ruin we see the zone where his vanity is infested with STAFF robots, both in its normal version and in VR, where a giant STAFF robot is seen being dragged to a door while it leaves scratch marks on the floor).

Fazbear Entertainment pretended they actually looked for Bonnie and found nothing at all. As a final punishment for his disobedience he was actively being erased from existence: most of his art was removed, and some ask for a re-theme of his attraction (Re-theme SB message). They make Monty the main bassist, giving him his green room too.

These changes are being quickly pushed after his decommission: Bonnie still has power when we find him, Monty falls from the catwalks “a month ago” and snaps in half, a place where he goes every time he skips a performance (Monty Mischief SB message), people constantly ask for Bonnie and there isn’t an approved answer to give, the bowling alley still wasn’t given a re-theme after taking out most of Bonnie’s images.

Despite FazEnt efforts, Bonnie is remembered, specially by a depressed Monty.

His body was modified, he was given his bass, his glasses, his room, his role. The higher ups clapped thinking about the possibility of him being even more popular than Bonnie, his disappearance becoming yet another opportunity to make money.

And it was Freddy’s prototype’s fault. His normal life, the person he admired the most, his own body, were taken from him because of him.

From that day, and after getting new claws, his attitude becomes obsessive, endlessly searching for what was left of Bonnie after the rest gave up: destroying fences to explore the undergrounds, constantly missing shows and always being found in the catwalks, even after being snapped in half by the hole-in-one bucket, trying to guess where his body was. His last known location was his attraction, so he should still be there somewhere, isn’t it?

Let me repeat this: he prefers looking for Bonnie in the catwalks even at risk of his own integrity than performing.

There are more details that show us he does care for him: there are four official images left of Glamrock Bonnie in the PizzaPlex, three of them in Monty’s ride, the last one at the entrance of his own attraction, where some animations can still be seen. These cutouts are in perfect shape, while Freddy’s is light off.

There is also a headless Freddy statue that once you go to FazerBlast screams “prototype”.

It looks like it’s been decapitated by a hurricane, some “cables” coming out of its head like the prototype, which has cables coming out of its neck.

This damage couldn’t have been caused by the earthquake: the head should had fallen to the ground instead of being pinned on the hurricane. Plus, it doesn’t match the theme of the ride, based on cutouts, and while the rest of the elements are placed in scenarios and their composition is clearly studied, this statue breaks the symmetry of the hurricane’s eye element, that is supposed to give you the illusion that you are entering its eye and being pushed out to the main attraction.

What’s more, in a story exclusively about Monty’s past and how he became a solo bassist in the PizzaPlex thanks to Bonnie, attracting the same amount of people than the Glamrocks themselves, a Freddy statue at the end doesn’t make any sense sense at all… Unless it was put there with a very particular purpose.

I like to think it’s part of an environmental story telling from Steel Wool, specially when you read the rest of clues together.

There’s more to say about this statue than the lack of a head: look at its leg damage, and how it matches the prototype’s heavily damaged one, and how the hand that is visible reflects the light making it look like it has long claws despite Freddy having short ones like the rest of the band.

It also has two blue long lines through his chest that resemble the ones in Bonnie’s.

If you still have doubt about how it is part of a scene representing the night of the attack, then you should know there is an easter egg here: if you follow the part of the tornado that goes up, you can see a Bonnie cutout at the very top of it. He’s far away from the rest of the scene and he looks like if he was being knocked by the tornado. If you zoom to look at his face, you can see he has a worried expression.

Monty didn’t destroy any of the images of Bonnie or his previous iterations, not the cutouts, not this poster, not the bass that belonged to him, even after causing damage to his room.

There is a detail in Gator Golf that is easy to miss: An intact poster of the original Bonnie near a log he uses as a hideout in Ruin (we see him quickly going out of it when we approach it).

He looks similar to the illustration at the entrance of Bonnie Bowl, but this image is not very charming. He looks half dead, yeah...? If you then go to Bonnie’s, some big screens are still on and advertising pizza. When you wear the mask, they change to a glitched version of the Bonnie animation, where his eyes go blank in a similar way to this poster.

This spot couldn’t have been used by Vanny: it is decorated exactly like the rest of Gator Golf in the base game, which ends with us saving Vanessa and exiting the PizzaPlex together.

The poster also has a drawing of Freddy stuck on it. In this chapter you can also find the Bonnie’s piñata collectible, the first time we can see his Glamrock design and the first clue of him having suffered an attack (it has a big gash in his chest).

He could have easily taken it down if he wanted, specially when it is so close to his hideout and he’s in such a volatile state, but he keeps it right beside it.

But the real Freddy (or, at least, things that resemble him) seems to cause some kind of reaction even in the base game, yes?

The most common example in Security Breach is the arcade version of Monty’s Gator Golf. There are two possible readings for it, depending on if you think it represents Monty’s mind or if you think it has been hacked to change his behavior.

Hole 1 depicts Freddy separated from the group, a big distance between them. Hole 9 shows him in a dumpster, and Chica, Roxy and Monty playing together. He’s never part of the group, so either Monty hates him or he was hacked so he would hate him, right?

But the main show were he looks happily at him while playing, the fact that he never attacks him even after being hacked, the presence of images of him on other holes all perfectly light and ok like this balloon, and the eye color difference between Hole 1 and 9, make me think Steel Wool is trying to tell us a way different story.

The Freddy in the dumpster is the only one with golden eyes. Hole 9 represents what is happening the night we play as Gregory, the AR part of the AR-cade, and of the main reasons the Monty taking down theory was so popular.

That night, Roxy, Chica and him are working on finding the kid to the point that their cases crack and get dirty, while Freddy not only glitched at the start of the show hours before, but is now also walking around the PizzaPlex doing NOTHING instead of helping (apparently).

It’s the animatronic equivalent of a group project were one of the members does nothing, so you have to do their part and then they show up and are praised. It makes sense he would be angry at the situation and think he’s trash, but even so, there are no real confrontations between them.

But what about Hole 1, then? The answer is the fireflies. There are some fireflies at the left part, but the right, where Freddy is looking, has other set of lights. If you calculate the distance from Chica to him, the center is almost where the hole is, the part of the arcade that is supposed to drag your attention. Having an empty space there feels uncomfortable and a very questionable decision from whomever designed the scene, but if this one is a reflection from reality or Monty’s current mind state, why aren’t Freddy’s eyes gold?

Well, I don’t think he is separated from his band.

I think someone is missing from the picture instead.

Bonnie was erased from the Arcade.

As it was said, these changes were quick and non-planned: they deleted his model from the arcade, but had no time to move and reprogram the positions of the rest of the characters so the space between them was filled. As a consequence, when you play this level, your attention is taken from the hole to the distance between them.

It is void, awkward, it makes you uncomfortable. You know something is missing, but you can’t quite tell what it is yet. It makes you wish there was one more character there even before you knew there actually was.

Once you learn what happened, how his story ties to the place this scenario represents, the void he left in Freddy and Monty specifically, Hole 1 gains a new meaning, and it hits you. When you go back to the PizzaPlex as Cassie and play the arcade, there’s no joy left there. No fireflies, no Glamrocks, just ruins. Two pairs of red eyes and a pile of Nightmare STAFF bots. That’s all that’s left.

But if you still need one more clue to convince you that the prototype was the one that attacked Bonnie, then let me tell you there is a final one that wouldn’t make sense otherwise:

The AR collectibles dialogue.

Cassie always makes a commentary about the things she finds: Monty’s AR plushie being very glitchy, how she wants to add Roxy’s one to her collection, how the her father wouldn’t tell her why they replaced Bonnie and how he was his dad’s favorite…

But she also asks him what happened to him, and gets an answer when she gets the last collectible.

The AR Golden Bonnie is hidden in Bonnie Bowl, next to a Wet Floor Sign bot.

She hasn’t been to Fazer Blast yet.

But the description answers the question that she asked him: a prototype.

Bonnie was decommissioned by Freddy’s prototype.

And the only ones that know are a kid lead to her death that can hear his agony through the Wet Floor Bots and unreal collectibles, and an animatronic blamed for his death and told he’ll never be him, obsessed with his loss and with finding whatever is left of the person that he admired the most and helped him become the star he once was.

[respectthepetty]

Jack & Joker Restarted the Story!

The first and fifth episodes of Jack & Joker are twins.

Jack and Joke originally met in a bar in the first episode.

And five years later, they go back to that same bar.

And each time, Jack helps Joke escape his Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

(Peaceful Property's Suradech, is that you player?!)

Both times, Joke stole something. The first time was a wallet and the second was a necklace.

And in a sense, he stole both items to right a wrong. The wallet was Carbon's, who had been a jerk to Jack all night, and the necklace was never supposed to be stolen in the first place. But both of the items lead to Rose meeting Jack.

The boys have to fight off danger in both episodes.

But five years later, Joke actually helps Jack.

And instead of Joke going home to get yelled at and Jack's grandmother patching him up,

They patch each other up in episode five.

Yet Jack's ring still gets taken. He had to give it to Boss the first episode, and Hope took it from Joke in the fifth episode.

And of course Joke is still pulling a con in his signature red.

Oh, and Jack and Joke are still making heart-emoji eyes at each other in front of other people.

But all these similarities help us see the biggest difference because in the first episode, Jack was wearing a blue shirt, but once he entered the car and into the deal to pay off his parents' debt, he turned black, and Joke was in a white top but lit up red in the police car.

And at the end of the fifth episode, the boys are still in their colors, but Jack is just a teeny tiny bit brighter and the red is only a teeny tiny bit on Joke (his face).

And it's all because the first narrative arc is complete, which is why we had to go back to the very beginning (go back and look at their colors in the bar the first time they met).

They got to rewrite their history.

The first time they met, Joke got in a taxi without saying goodbye and left Jack with Rose, but they met again at the bank.

Now five years later, Joke wrote an entire letter saying goodbye to Jack, but the issue in the original timeline began because Joke made a similar choice. Joke should've never left Jack because Jack makes Joke better.

So even in their redo, fate lets them meet again. And it is fate because only destiny would let the boys meet again in a "couple's suite" with that room number.

The first episode ended with Jack never wanting to see Joke again, and the boys parted ways to live the next five years of their lives separately and miserable. Episode five allowed Jack and Joke to go back to that bar where it all began for them and get it right this time, so instead of Jack vowing to never forgive Joke like their original relationship ended, in episode five, after five years, Jack forgives Joke.

And the boys leave with each other because they are better, together.

They need each other for the next part of the narrative, so the show and destiny restarted their story at the perfect time to make sure they were a team to beat whatever is coming their way.

*chef's kiss*

[absolutebl]

We've had recent disappointments with the endings to series. For me, Last Twilight, Only Friends, and 23.5 stand out. While I loved the Sign to the end, there was that unexplained Tharn getting his freedom from Chalothorn, which made the very ending not quite perfect. And while I loved Century of Love all the way through, I know some folks were disappointed at the ending.

What are some QLs that you consider to have really strong endings?

OOOO what a great question!

10 BLs With the Strongest Endings

Some BLs had better endings than the rest of the show deserved, and some were saved by the ending, while still others built up to a good ending throughout. So I suspect it kinda depends on ones definition of strong. But here are mine (you'll never guess what's at the top? but...) it's in no particular order

Seven Days - no but ACTUALLY think about it. That ending is truly phenomenal. It ties everything together, gives hope for their relationship without being cheesy AND is crazy romantic, plus it brings the narrative full circle. That ending shot, the direction, the plot, the characters, and the story ALL tied in a neat little bow. It ends by indicating that something is starting for them, something familiar it's just now they are together. Fabulous.

Light On Me - on the beach, the whole friendship group, the kiss that mirrors their couple habit of cheek squiging? Peak YA BL. It reminded me of Make it Right, and that's no bad thing... for me.

Our Dating Sim - domestic boyfriends and then the pan over to all their couple photos. So exactly them.

To My Star - yeah, the sex scene, but remember this was when we finally realized that JiWoo not only liked him all along but actually desired him all along. The tsundere character breaking open for us to see the soft underbelly. Suddenly, all of his behavior made sense in retrospect. They used the final ultra romantic sex scene as a CHARACTER REVEAL. Fucking genius.

Semantic Error - the BOYFRIENDS of it all, the harken back to both the anime and the manga (with that spank bank file), the teasing and then the breaking of the forth wall. It was multiple cheeky punches out to the audience in a tiny stinger of a scene. Not to mention it had a kind of BL "ending fairy" thing that connected to them both being idols. Perfectly executed.

Love For Love's Sake - back in beach territory but wow. I mean this show starts with an ending. And it takes a lot for me to believe in the happiness of a parable about death and self worth. They managed it with this show. But that ending was killer.

My Beautiful Man - the ending made me reassess everything about the show, the story, and the characters. The ending made me love the show. It changed my mind. It BLEW my mind. I might have kinda lost my mind. In real time.

Unknown - there were struggles with this show and not everyone enjoyed the ending but I totally flipping loved it. FINALLY. You can't tell me that "you don't even know what I dream of" line doens't live in your head rent free.

Unintentional Love Story - not the ending scene so much as the whole final episode, it's so good. It brings the story together, we get multiple big realizations, sad baby, learning that baby was abused too, defending baby, baby defending himself. RINGS!

The Eighth Sense - so much peak boyfriend after so much angst. The casual language play and teasing, the stealing of the drink, just everything, and also how very very college it all is.

10 Others I just LOVE

Be Loved In House: I Do - ultra pasteurized cheese fest

Laws of Attraction - THE CAPED WEDDING OUTFITS

About Youth - rainbow kiss cheese fest

Long Time No See - BLOOD COVERED KISSES

Restart After Come Back Home - the pan around lens flare kiss and everything it MEANS

Bad Buddy - It was so CLEVER

DNA Says Love You - the claiming and then the tussle at the cafe? Gorgeous. Adorable. No notes.

Oh! Boarding House - a family gathering while the dads are holding hands behind the couch, adorable

Where Your Eyes Linger - that damn glow up

Tinted With You - perhaps... poly?

Wow... so few Thai BL. I guess this is Korea's strength in the BL sphere? Also more Japan than I expected and outsized rep for Taiwan. (I actually could have stuck a few more from Taiwan on here but they just get SO CHEESY.)

(source)

dated mid August 2024, not responsible for great endings after that date

[damian-lil-babybat]

DAMIAN WAYNE IS A GREEK TRAGEDY

When I say Damian al Ghul Wayne has almost all the ingredients of a classical Greek Tragedy, it is not an empty claim.

1. Tragic Hero: The hero facing his destiny with dignity. His virtuous character forms a bond with the audience, while his tragic flaw results in the audience’s fear for him, and his terrible punishment reveals a sense of pity.

Damian is the hero of his own story. In his mind, he was given a destiny, a standard to live up to. It came from his grandfather, as Hafid al Ghul, son of the Demon. It came from his mother, as her Alexander, with Talia deluding herself as Olympias. It came from his father, as the son of Batman.

He thought himself perfect on all those role, mighty ones they might be, heavy and overwhelming even, but he persevered in ways that should be impossible and ultimately achieved the pinnacle of a perfect heir for all of them.

2. Tragic Flaw: The human limitations of the hero or an error in judgement leading to the downfall. He attempts to escape from his destiny; however, he unknowingly runs toward it. His attempt leads him to his “damnation”.

But what he thought was perfection, was his downfall. For even if he was designed and raised to be perfect, those roles are fashioned by imperfect mortals. As the son of the Batman, he was all too much of a monster to even be treated as child, let alone a son. As the son of the Demon, he was too soft, kind, and all too human, to sit upon the al Ghul's immortal throne. As the great Alexander, he was deemed as a mere pawn, a victim of circumstance, and not a victor of his own fate.

He was set up for failure before his story even began.

3. Catastrophe: The horrible ending of the play: death, suicide, ruin etc. Upon the truth being revealed about Oedipus’ origin, Queen Jocasta commits suicide by hanging herself, Oedipus stabs his eyes with the pin on Jocasta’s dress and pleads to be exiled from the city.

And just like all tragedies, it ends up in death...so many deaths and sacrifices. Repeat and rinse, the cycle continues with each redeeming arc punctuated by his death or ruin.

And just like Sisyphus, one must imagine him to be happy. For how else could he endure these unending trials?

4. Central Belief of Destiny: The belief of the fact that the actions were preordained by the gods and the flaw was inevitable. Even though Oedipus attempts to flee from his preordained destiny, the belief in inevitable destiny becomes the reason for his destruction.

How else could he keep harking on to his destiny? Desperately clinging to it like a promise gold once he touched it like Midas' cursed hands? But no, everything he touches turns to dust, every height he scale would be pushed down reverting him back to his old bare bones of an unwanted worthless child from both side of his parents, even how much he tries to make things right. Every person or thing he treasured is another ammunition for plot purposes to make him more tragic than he already was.

Damian had tried to flee before, but fate always brings him back. Because Batman needs a Robin. But Bruce already has a Robin, doesn't he? Because Damian needs to be Robin? Just cause, who would he be then? When all those titles he earned has been discarded and thrashed in the light of Batman's justice?

And the only one title he could be proud of is always threatened to be taken away if he just as much cross an invisible line that keep on changing depending on whims of the doomed narrative.

5. The Chorus: Approximately twelve masked men, forming a specific group, make comments on the ongoing play by singing and dancing.

Due to its form of media, Damian has no twelve singing and dancing masked men. XD

BUT If I have a say on this, I'll give Damian his own set of bardic troupe narrating his life story, and maybe somehow DC writers would finally admit he was loved and wanted, and was never alone and actually have family, companions and friends along the way!

https://www.byarcadia.org/post/ancient-greek-tragedy-101-the-introduction

AND THAT IS WHY it makes more sense for writers to like and, or dare I say, even love Damian's character.

A lot of great fanfictioners in AO3 actually root for this little guy. So it's nice ✌️

[neyafromfrance95]

sauron and galadriel must be a central dynamic in s3. for the sake of a good storytelling.

i want to argue that sauron and galadriel's push-pull dynamic needs to be continued in s3 for a narrative consistency with previous seasons and for their 3rd age dynamic to make sense.

sauron is obsessed with galadriel, and i believe it is for 3 major reasons:

subconsciously, sauron is predisposed to an urge to serve and worship, and he sees galadriel as a perfect leader, a perfect replacement for morgoth.

she refuses to be his queen, so she becomes his silmarils. not only does nenya represent galadriel for sauron, but it is subtextually underlined that sauron tries to recapture her being in his creations, it is the feeling of being bound to her that he covets. he never stops groping to see her, whether it is to possess or worship her doesn't matter as it means he never stops desperately desiring her.

she is his mirror. the only one he genuinely connects with. theirs is the most significant relationship for the both of them, but especially for sauron, as she is "the only one" for him. he disregards and discards everyone except for her. he binds her to power through nenya, and at some point, she binds him to the light when he is truly repentant for causing her darkness.

galadariel is devoted to sauron as well:

galadriel's priority till the end of the 3rd age is both ruling her kingdom *and* opposing sauron. she never stops fighting him. and we know that while at some point she closes her door on him, she herself wanders around his mind. who is to say they don't have the mind-palace power-plays till the very end?

he represents her darkness, her desire for power, her unreasomable ambitions, her pride and greed. she is tempted to indulge in all of this till she resists the one ring, thus she is tempted to let sauron give her her heart's greatest desires, even if deep down. only by actively choosing good every time can she be the lady of the light - the great leader actually worthy of following. so we have to see her internal battle, the darkness trying to pull her under but her fixing her gaze upon the light.

she simply loves him. yes, it's clear halbrand hasn't left yet by the way seeing him shatters her during the fight, but there is a reason to believe he never leaves at all. even after resisting the one ring and accepting that she has to leave the middle-earth, she recites the very first thing he told her "the tides of fate are flowing." and does so with sadness in her tone.

trop greatly emphasises sauron and galadriel's cosmic connection, it is destined for a reason. and they are bound to each other in several different ways.

it can be argued that s2's most significant parallel means to intertwine their beings and fates even tighter:

adar says that only blood can bind.

sauron gets stabbed by morgoth's crown and is "reborn" in the beginning of the season.

galadriel gets stabbed by morgoth's crown and is "reborn" in the end of the season.

nenya's foreshadowing of sauron obsessively calling galadriel comes true when sauron starts talking to galadriel in her mind.

all of this, down to the symbolism in design, basically establishes the red tread of fate binding sauron and galadriel.

[gabrielsbubblegumbitch]

this may be hard to answer because we don’t actually know the characters too well yet, but what do you think vox and val actually *love* about eachother? it seems like it’s more than just sex between them, and i’m curious to know what you think their relationship is like outside the toxic or sexual parts

Anon, to me it is not hard to answer at all, I think about it constantly 🩵❤️ of course all I write is based mostly on my headcanons and interpretations.

So... What Vox loves about Valentino? First and foremost, he makes him feel free. Vox is very self-conscious; he has a lot of internalized shame that he tries to cover with his grandiosity and fake smile. Valentino is unapologetically himself, and no matter how annoying it can be, Vox admires it. He's like the least judgmental person, and except for his temper tantrums, he's quite chill. Vox can't handle something? Val doesn't care; he still thinks his boyfriend is smart and will figure shit out eventually. Vox discovers he's into some weird, socially unacceptable kink? Great, they can try it. Vox rambles for hours about sharks? Good, he has a passion; Valentino likes people with passion, he will listen, he likes his voice anyway. Vox, who has spent his whole life crafting this perfect narrative about himself, cherishes the opportunity to feel comfortable enough with other people (a lot of these things apply also to his friendship with Velvette) to act like an absolute idiot around them.

Also, I think Valentino can be a really amazing boyfriend - he can be funny, charming, and mindful of the other person. That's his whole thing; he deals with desires, and that's why people get addicted to him so quickly. In most cases, it inevitably ends with him taking absolute control over the other person and becoming abusive. But Vox is his partner, so he gets just those nice bits because Valentino knows he wouldn't be able to put him down like he did with Angel. Not that he'd want to; he likes having a partner who's equal to him, whom he can break only if he allows him to do so (yes, my reading of them is very BDSM-ish, don't @ me). Valentino wants to be loved, he loves the idea of love, surrounds himself with hearts but at the same refuses to adjust to societal norms in the way that makes him unlovable; every person he ever loved (in his mind, his obsessive desire equals love) rejected him eventually after he revealed his true nature to them. But not Vox. Vox accepts him as broken as he is, and despite all his toxicity, Vox is reliable, he's the most stable part of Valentino's life. He has the patience to deal with his mood swings, he can always find the solution when Val messes something up, he's willing to accept all the attention Valentino wants to give him, and he supports his passions (ruining lives, making weird porn and abusing people).

Essentially, their love is largely about finally finding the other person who is as bad as you are, who accepts you no matter what and helps you grow (become an even worse person).

And some additional things:

Valentino really likes how smart Vox is. He himself is impulsive and acts instantly on his urges because violence is always an answer so he's kinda impressed when Vox presents him with some elaborate plots.

Vox loves Valentino's creativity, aesthetic, and attention to detail. He really likes nice things, but he lacks the ability to understand the nuance that is necessary for creating art.

They both enjoy each other's sense of humor.

Vox really likes that Valentino is kinda dumb? He can take care of him, and he likes taking care of people because it allows him to prove himself as The Best Boyfriend. He doesn't necessarily gets the idea of unconditional love, so the fact that he has an opportunity to earn it makes him feel more secure in their relationship. That's also why he loves spoling Valentino with gifts which is perfect because Valentino loves being spoiled.

Valentino likes being a little silly when he's with Vox. At work he can't manage people with his competence, so he does it with fear. But yelling and throwing people around is exhausting; he sometimes wants to bedazzle his gun while watching some trashy reality TV and bitching about his hard day at work. It's okay because Vox is also a little silly.

Valentino generally helps Vox live life more. He helped him come out of the closet (in my headcanon Vox for his whole life struggled with internalized biphobia); shows him that emotions other than anger are acceptable and don't mean weakness; even small things like always insisting on getting nice meals (while Vox could live his whole life on black coffee and rice) or decorating their apartment with fancy yet useless stuff.

They're both power-crazy maniacs, so the idea of being with someone who is widely desired by others and could destroy them if they wished is just so incredibly hot.

Vox | Valentino | What they hate about each other

If you liked these you should definitely check out my fic

[barrenclan]

I hope its okay to ask- what motivated you to keep the body count so low? With how often it was reinforced that this was a tragedy, that no one was safe, etc, I'm in an odd spot in which I think, logically, that it makes perfect sense that it happened this way (straight up think its brilliant, actually!! The thematic relevance of Pinepaw accepting the meaninglessness of his life being what stops Deepdark? Poetry, even) but not being able to reconcile that with being somewhat emotionally let down that only two minor characters died aside from Rainhaze (which was a given imo). This isnt a criticism, the more I digest it the more I enjoy it/I realize what a great choice it was - I actually wouldnt want any of it to change- I'm just very very curious about your thought process on this. You already spoke of Asphodel and Rainhaze, but how did you decide who and how many were going to die? Is it more about the *after*, the picking of the pieces after its over? I am so very excited for the picking of the pieces after its over, actually lol.

Real answer: I have far too much I want to explore thematically with nearly all of the characters, and the vast majority of it only happens if a lot of them remain alive.

When I wrote the ending of the comic, I actually struggled to find another character to kill in the attack besides Mallowstar and Rainhaze - like I said when talking about Cypressfoot's death. There were absolutely no more characters beyond her that I was willing to sacrifice, in terms of what they would give me narratively alive versus dead. This was never a story about everything ending in total destruction, anyways - it's a story about learning how to grow after grief and deal with random acts of misery that seem to leave nearly everything unchanged except for the enormous effects they have on you. You often don't get to choose what is going to happen to you and it's up to forces beyond your control if you and your loved ones live or die.

This is a worldview I hold, anyways - the future is entirely fluid and loose, and just as much as terrible things can happen, everything can turn out fine, too. Misery is not the natural state of the world (that's entropy, haha), and the other side of the coin is always possible. But once events happen, they are locked into an unchangeable permanence and you simply have no choice but to try and grapple with how they will affect your unknowable future. You have infinite branching paths, but you'll only follow one once you look behind you... not to get too much into personal philosophy.

Joke answer: SNIFFLE, SNIFFLE, SOB, I DON'T WANNA KILL MY LITTLE GUYS

[fixated-dark-king]

Sooo, I had the amazing experience of attending a panel C.S. Pacat was part of during the Sydney Writers’ Festival on 25th May 2024. The panel was called “Creating a Monster” (with two other YA authors).

And finally a week later (because adult-ing is hard), I had time to actually go through my notes and write up some of the fascccccinating things Pacat had to say about: monsterous heroes, and villains, and enemies-to-lovers deliciousness, and queer identity!

I didn’t want to forget some of the interesting things said in this panel and thought others might be interested in hearing about them too? Please indulge the splurge. :)

(Please note that all bold headers are just my thematic summary of each section for people to jump to, not the actual question asked.)

WHAT APPEALS ABOUT ‘THE MONSTROUS’ TO PACAT:

From a technical writing standpoint, the ‘Monstrous’ is appealing because a villain will often do an act and the hero reacts to that. It gives unconscious clues to the reader that when the villain turns up, something exciting is going to happen. In that sense, villainous characters have a special sort of ever-present attention given to them (possibly because human nature is to always keep one eye on the dangerous thing that could harm you).

On a personal level: A) When queer characters are awesome but also ‘Monstrous’, Pacat says it can feel really ‘electric’ and empowering to reclaim/allow yourself to embrace the monster role that you’ve been told you fit into by society. Like in Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles where queer people are allowed to be beautiful/glittering & powerful & witty & have existential conversations about good and evil while fitting under the Monstrous label. Like heck yeh, that’s cool. And B) as an author, you can feel a ‘minority pressure’ to have characters be Good all the time and be the perfect ambassador for that minority, but sometimes you just want to be a vampire and take over the world, you know?

THE EXISTENCE OF ‘PROTAGONIST-CENTRED MORALITY’ WITHIN THE DARK RISE BOOKS:

When pondering whether it is hard as a writer to convince readers that a Monstrous protagonist is a likeable character, Pacat pointed out that the funny thing is that the question ‘How am I going to make readers like this monster?’ never really ends up being an issue because people actually really like monsters! The thing you might not expect is that the struggle is actually: ‘How am I going to make these readers who are barracking for the protagonist feel that this ‘monster’ is actually monstrous?’

Pacat explained that when a protagonist is also a monster, it brings into play something called ‘Protagonist-Centric Morality’ -- where you bond with that protagonist and want the best for them etc, so much that it can obscure when the protagonist is actually doing something bad. Pacat mentioned that he has found the Protag-Centric Morality fairly striking in the case of the Dark Rise books because people have said to him things like: ‘The Dark King Did Nothing Wrong Ever In His Whole Life’ and Pacat questioned whether the moral centre of the story was landing somewhere different than intended. He was curious whether the other authors had experienced that with their ‘monstrous’ protagonists too.

IF A HERO IS ALSO MONSTROUS, HOW ON EARTH DO YOU DIFFERENTIATE THAT FROM THE VILLIAN? When pondering over the distinction between a Monstrous Hero and a Villain, Pacat shared some thoughts from his lived experience. He said the times when he has felt most threatened by the ‘Monstrous’ is when that person isn’t clearly identifiable to others around you; where there isn’t a shared understanding between everyone that ‘yes, that person is a monster’. Extending from that, the Truly Monstrous is when that person has some kind of control over you and control over the narrative as well; if the monster is the one telling the story but casting you as the monster. Essentially gaslighting via ‘narrative control’.

ENEMIES TO LOVERS TROPE:

This is Pacat’s absolute favourite romantic trope. And he elaborated that he doesn’t mean that in the sense of ‘these characters sort of don’t like each other’, but rather to the point where two characters really hate each other and for a very good reason. He likes when a path between two characters feels IMPOSSIBLE to overcome.

This trope was first explored in the Captive Prince trilogy and Pacat loved it so much he just had to use it again for the Dark Rise trilogy. The planning behind it for CaPri was brainstorming: ‘What is the worst thing I could think to use?’ (Answer: Killing a character’s brother, which lands the bereaved character into a set of hellish circumstances.) But that meant when Pacat decided to use it again for DR, he had to extend that to: ‘Now I need to think of something EVEN WORSE THAN THAT (CaPri)’ in order to separate the main characters. So Pacat had to spend ages thinking about what could be the absolute worst thing to use this time -- and he hopes that he came up with something that is ‘truly, truly way worse.’ Which essentially had everyone, including the moderator, laughing loudly in fear. XD

WILL KEMPEN: FOUND FAMILY & THE LONELINESS OF INAUTHENTICITY:

Pacat spent a lot of time trying to develop a really meaningful platonic friendship between Will and Violet. It meant a lot to see a friendship like that reflected on page for Pacat because some of the most important friendships of his life were across gender lines. The reception to Will and Violet has been so pleasantly surprising, so Pacat supposed he wasn’t the only one with a hunger for that kind of friendship within the romantasy genre.

Pacat also reflected on Will’s complex relationship with his Found Family -- that having the support of a Found Family can be so essential, but in Will’s case that lifeline is undermined by secrecy, turning that Found Family into a different kind of loneliness. Because the thing is: if something so immense happens to you that you feel you can’t talk about, or you feel some way about yourself but think you can’t share that with others, it means you can’t really be your authentic self. But if you’re not being you’re authentic self, who are your friends friends with? They can’t be friends with the true You; they can only be friends with a facade/with a performance. So as long as Will is scared to show his true self and remains hiding himself away from even his friends, he will be alone. It’s a hard step to take. (Note from me: so heavvvvy but poignant.)

NOT DR-RELATED, BUT PACAT’S FAV MONSTERS FROM POPULAR FICTION: Pacat was so excited to namedrop his favourite monsters from popular fiction, he volunteered to go first LOL. The answers: 'The Brat Prince' Lestat (Lestat has been on his mind a lot recently because the AMC TV portrayal captures Lestat so well & has completely rejuvenated Pacat’s 12 year-old love of vampires. Total mood); serial killers such as in the Ripley series; and simply: American Psycho.

Great panel, right? Now it’s Europe’s turn!

[hemi-demi]

Sometimes I think about how Jon is such a punching bag in the show and how heavily he was beaten and bullied by the people around him and the narrative and it makes me think about stuff.

On the one hand, it does make me sad. It seems as though the harder he tries, the more people kick him when he's down. It makes it all the more impressive that he kept going regardless, but especially considering my very strong autistic headcanon (not Johnny's fault, he wasn't intending this), it can be a really sore spot. I'd say in a good way, though, in a hurt/no comfort sort of way. It's weirdly therapeutic.

On the character side of things, I do understand why everyone treats him that way. Not that he necessarily deserves it (though Jon has said and done plenty to earn some shit back, he's not perfect either), but everyone around him is stuck with him and fucking pissed about it. It's easier to redirect their hatred and pain to Jon - who just kinda takes it - than Elias or literal Eldritch gods. People hurt easier targets when they can't hurt the people that are actually ruining their lives.

Then I think about it in the meta sense. It's easier for Jonny to beat up Jon as well. I especially saw this in my own writing of fanfic of the series. When you have a main character (especially if that main character shares traits of your own), then hurting that main character is so much easier to process mentally. Not that Jonny won't ruin other characters lives, but they all almost have it easy in comparison to Jon's torment.

This also seems accurate in Alex's way of seeing the characters as well, saying Martin is based on a lot of the stuff he hates about himself when he was younger while also insisting on making their lives worse. (Alex, when I catch you.) It feels like literary self-harm in a way. You're willing to hurt the character you're the most attached to in an effort to give some protection to the rest.

Idk how to end this. Jon needs more hugs.

[tonythr]

The Watcher's telescope view is a social commentary and here's why

Ok so let's set some things right first. City of Tears is amazing.

(Yes, Pale Court is also an amazing mod)

I've played Hollow Knight many times, and City of Tears is probably the one location I never get tired of. The scenery, the lore, the room layout, the music, the atmosphere - it's all perfect. It's the culmination of Halllownest's beauty, the peak of the game's art style, and the narrative's most essential location. City of Tears is the heart of Hollow Knight.

This game is a story about a Kingdom and its death, a tragedy of a society that was built on dreams of light but ultimately was consumed by the light so much that darkness became its only hope. And City of Tears stands at the center of this story. So it's fitting that the themes of corrupted dreams, society flaws, and dark hopes are what shape the lore and atmosphere of this beautiful, gorgeous location.

Did you ever notice that the tears of this Kingdom are dark despite them originating in a glowing blue lake, and the waters that flood the streets are almost as dark as the void in the Abyss? Do you ever think about how the vibrant blue color of the City is basically a culmination of how the color blue is presented in other locations (Howling Cliffs, Forgotten Crossroads, and later Royal Waterways being more of a remix of it), and how it's tied to the very essence of Hallownest (and how Resting Grounds, the location that contains Blue Lake and also uses a bright blue color, represent the very foundation of Hallownest's history, that being Seer's story about the Moth Tribe's betrayal that started the war between Pale King and the Radiance)? Do you feel like Soul Master basically represents the thunder and the lightning in this never-ending rain? Do you get it????

Anyway yeah, there are many things that can be said about City of Tears, and this is hopefully not the last time I make a post about it. What I want to talk about here is the City's society.

Basically, Monomon said it better than anyone could:

It's a very complicated topic. The narrative basically explores the inner mechanisms of a free mind, how its primary need is finding a purpose, and how its purpose turns out to be a constant need of... something. Anything. As long as there is something to want, a free mind will want it. As long as there is something to yearn for, something to enjoy, something to dream about, our minds are going to move in its direction, never wanting to stop. Because a stasis is worse than death. Because a world without dreams is an empty world.

But then again, isn't constant yearning another instance of, well, constance? If dreams never end but also never evolve, doesn't that create another kind of stasis?

Like I said, it's very complicated. Let's go back to what I was getting at in the first place. What I actually wanted to say is this:

Theese guys fucking fucked up as a society.

It's classic dystopian shit (or maybe I'm using the wrong word, but you get the point). Rich people are living in luxury while the rest are suffering. They're making gold a fucking religion and are seeing it as the only beauty in the world. The corrupt upper class are using heavy gatekeeping on the lower class.

Literally.

What's interesting is that, at first, we barely see any lower class bugs in the City. There's suspiciously few regular husks in this location, compared to how many rich guys are on the eastern side. But then we get to Soul Sanctum and it all starts to make sense.

There are no red cloaks in those corpse piles. Only the poor were killed for those experiments. It can't be a coincidence. It's straight-up elitism-based genocide (again, I don't know if I'm using the right terms, correct me if there's a better way to say that, but the point is clear).

Also, see how many streets are flooded on the western side in comparison to the eastern side.

Point is, the bugs that ruined the kingdom by always wanting more (what Monomon wrote about) are most likely theese rich ones. It's a very fitting thing for this dystopian narrative: neverending greed that leads to the downfall of a civilization.

There's a note in the Hunter's Journal that describes it in the best way possible:

For every location in the game, there is a place that functions as the center of its essence, its narrative heart, the culmination of its themes. For Queen's Gardens it's the White Lady's cocoon, for Greenpath it's the Lake of Unn, and for City of Tears (or at least its eastern part, the one with the upper class) it's the Watcher's Spire. The tallest building of the great capital. The home of (evidently) the most rich and influential bug of the City's high society. Literally the top of this social hierarchy.

He is also arguably the most mysterious dreamer out of all three. I mean, why does he have only one eye? What type of bug is he? How did he get this much power? Does he really have some kind of connection with the Collector? Is he a motherfucking fluke? Why does he seem to have an obsession with serving the King?

That last question is kinda answered by the cut content though.

That last sentence is kinda confusing. Is it regret? Is it humility? Is it pride in his sacrifice? In any case, here we see that Lurien actually knew that the Pale King was literally a god, and desired to worship him, like any other bug yearns to worship some kind of deity. So while other bugs of Hallownest worshiped PK because he was a monarch, albeit a godlike one (for all they knew he could be just an extraordinary bug, but a bug nonetheless), Lurien worshiped him as an actual god. And the intricacies of worshiping a god are one of the central themes of the game. From the moth tribe's betrayal of Radiance leading to the birth of the Infection to the Godseeker's shenanigans leading to the birth of the Shade Lord - the game makes multiple statements about gods, religious devotion and the semantics of divine power. Just that one idea that a god takes its power from the ones that worship it deserves its own post - heck, it deserves its own book.

So yeah, Lurien's devotion to the King is an important part of the story. He sure is an important character in this narrative. He also got a cool house. Being able to observe the entirety of the Hallownest's capital is badass.

But there's one thing I find odd about all that, and it's the moment we get to actually look through his legendary telescope.

Is it just me, or does this feel kinda... Underwhelming? Almost disappointing? I mean, don't get me wrong, I love this view, it's beautiful, and I would certainly love to be able to see something like this with my own eyes irl, but, looking at this picture, I can't help but wonder...

Did he actually see anything from up there?

In cut dialogue, Lurien talks about how he loves the City's streets, and his hidden lore tablet contains words about his love for bugkind, but... I see neither any streets on this image, nor any bugs (that are not vengeflies). Only spiked rooftops and rainy fog, clouding the view of the actual City.

And sure, the Spire has many windows and even had multiple watchers who were helping Lurien with overseeing the capital...

But his own spot was always this one.

His telescope was sealed in one place, letting him see only a small portion of the City and its life. Almost like his own worldview was stuck in one perspective.

Notice the wording here. It's not "The Seals must remain". It's "Bonds must remain". He's not thinking just about the Seals containing the Infection. He's thinking about the whole Kingdom needing to stay unchanged. His dream is the stasis that the Knight (and also Monomon, Hornet and, in a sense, even Radiance) want to end. The stasis that the Pale King wanted to create in order for his Kingdom (and therefore himself) to be eternal. The stasis that would allow for both Pale King and Lurien's worship of him to remain forever.

But there is always a cost to ascending higher than others, and it's that you can no longer see what's going on below or who's suffering down there. I think Lurien, sitting atop the tallest tower, was actually detached from the struggles of regular bugs. He and his Spire are the culmination of the City's upper class' ignorance towards the ones who were below them on the social hierarchy. A dreamer who dreamt of watching over the very heart of the holy civilization lived so high up he could no longer see his beloved world in its complicated, detailed entirety – and the tears of the stasis created by those like him only blinded him more.

All those flooded streets, those broken buildings, those empty halls, those starving bugs, those sealed doors - even though he watched over them, he couldn't see them.

I'm pretty sure Lurien didn't even know about the Soul Master's experiments, despite the fact that the Soul Sanctum was located right next to his Spire.

Or maybe he knew but chose to turn a blind eye to it (pun intended).

But it's kind of poetic, isn't it? It's the beauty of the tragedy of this game's characters. A Beast who had to surrender everything to the opposing civilization. A Teacher who could no longer teach. A Watcher who couldn't see the truth.

And all that makes me wonder... How much suffering could the Pale King see, standing on that platform at the top of the Abyss, facing away from the pit where his children died?

TL;DR: Lurien's point of view was too high up to actually see what was truly going on down there, both literally and metaphorically. His desire to worship the Pale King made him ignorant of the struggles of regular bugs. Similarly, the extreme elitism of the high society of Hallownest lead to ignorance, discrimination and greed, which ultimately caused the sprawl of the Infection. This side of Lurien's story might also parallel the Pale King's with his ignorance towards the discarded vessels.

TL;DR²: Eat the rich