#but the main objective was the story telling

[gothicastles]

yes! this also made me think of the famous lines delivered by crozier in episode 1, and how they act not only as foreshadowing of their soon-to-fail exploration enterprise, but also as a reference to the show's (biased) storytelling:

this is the discovery service. 'close' is nothing. it's worst than nothing. it's worst than anything in the world.

this notion of "closeness" can be related to perspective and objectivity. as the show moves forward and our cast of characters grows smaller, we get to spend more time with them and begin to know them more intimately. however, if you think about it, the moment we achieve that emotional or psychological "closeness" with the characters, we begin to progressively lose sight of the general perspective of events, and with it, our objectivity. truth gets more and more twisted, and it's our personal emotions what begins to dominate the viewing experience. we start to take sides, pass judgment, and become lost in the complexities of the plot alongside the characters themselves without special regard for truth. the plot has lured us in with the promise of closeness and made us forget that we are the audience of yet another stage, another performance. and what's more, trading our objectivity in favor of acquiring that "closeness" with the characters is but another farce: we can only be outsiders to these characters and guess as to the motivations behind their actions; we can never quite reach their innermost thoughts, and thus remain at the exact distance the plot wants us to stay in --close, but not close enough, as crozier says.

additionally, the fact that the scene where crozier delivers these lines happens to be the first time we meet him acts as a warning: the main character is telling us clearly and openly (it's also interesting that in this scene he has his back to the only other fictional character there, jopson, and is instead facing us, the audience, as if breaking the fourth wall and speaking to us directly) that we'll only get close to him, to them all, to the real events and the truth of the story, but never will reach any of them completely or successfully. he's explicitly invoking suspicion and distance, whilst also foregrounding the "fictionality" of what we're about to watch. this moment reflects how storytelling can convey a level of truth, yes, but never exactly the truth of reality, the latter which is in nature ephemeral, contingent, and ungraspable, either by language or visual representation. as you say, we only get to know the events through the filter of storytelling, which is biased and already questioned internally by crozier and blanky, so how much of what we're seeing can we trust? can we trust a character whose opening lines are all about the impossibility of full knowledge, of completion, of intimacy? this seems to echo the show's engagement with the conventions of tragedy, as well as its interrogation of the nature of history itself. we can only get so close to anything or anyone, we are all separated by invisible and insurmountable distances that are made visible and concrete by the plot, and that's worst than nothing, worst than anything in the world.

MANY instances in the terror of people talking about how dishonest storytellers are when recounting real events...sir john was represented unfairly (according to him and his wife) in history as having been a bad governor...the play about crozier and ross portrayed crozier unflatteringly...blanky basically says that biographies are just puff pieces most of the time...etc etc

obviously the terror itself is not claiming to be anything but a fictionalization of this expedition, but even given that, i feel like it's inviting us to be suspicious of its storytelling in a lot of ways. like, crozier is presented especially in the second half of the show very heroically at least in his motivations and efforts to do right by his men; is that something to be taken at face value? is hickey's move away from being a regular guy and into being a more archetypal villain figure supposed to be taken at face value? are the tidy messages the real messages? poking & prodding at it

[xyywrites]

Subtle Foreshadowing: Leaving Breadcrumbs

Foreshadowing is like seasoning—too much, and it overpowers the dish; too little, and the story feels bland. When done subtly, it’s a literary breadcrumb trail that readers can follow and later admire when they realize everything was right under their noses.

1. Use Everyday Details

The best foreshadowing hides in plain sight. Something that seems unimportant now can hold major significance later.

Example: A character mentions that they always lock their bedroom door at night. Later, it becomes crucial when someone tries to break in but fails.

2. Leverage Symbolism

Objects, colors, or recurring imagery can subtly point to future events.

Example: A withering plant in the protagonist’s room mirrors their deteriorating mental state, foreshadowing a breakdown.

3. Play With Dialogue

A seemingly casual line can become significant in hindsight.

Early in the story: “You’d have to be crazy to hike that trail alone.” Later: The protagonist ventures down the same trail, setting up a tense, isolated confrontation.

4. Introduce Red Herrings

Foreshadowing doesn’t mean making the ending obvious. Throw in details that distract or mislead while keeping the real clues subtle.

A character keeps looking at their phone nervously, making readers suspect they’re hiding something. The twist? They’re planning a surprise party, not plotting betrayal.

5. Use Minor Characters

Minor characters can be the perfect vessels for foreshadowing. Their insights or actions may seem trivial but later connect to the main plot.

A street vendor tells the protagonist, “Storm’s coming,” as they pass by. Later, this line doubles as both literal and metaphorical foreshadowing for the chaos ahead.

6. Drop Inconsistencies

Small contradictions in a character’s story or behavior can hint at hidden truths.

A character says they’ve never been to a certain city, yet they recognize its landmarks in a photo. This inconsistency later ties into their secret past.

7. Use Setting Details

The environment can hint at future events.

A creaky floorboard that annoys the protagonist early in the story becomes critical later when they use it to detect an intruder.

8. Plant Emotional Seeds

Foreshadow not just plot twists but emotional arcs as well.

A character who lashes out at small inconveniences foreshadows a larger anger issue that causes them to make a catastrophic decision later.

9. Utilize Themes

Tie foreshadowing into the story’s overarching themes for subtle yet powerful hints.

In a story about trust, repeated mentions of locked doors, broken promises, and hidden diaries all build to the climax where a betrayal occurs.

10. Trust Your Readers

The key to subtle foreshadowing is restraint. Trust your readers to connect the dots without spelling it out for them.

Instead of saying, “The cracked photo frame symbolized their fractured relationship,” simply describe the frame and let readers infer the connection.

Foreshadowing is an art of balance. It should enrich your story without pulling readers out of the narrative. Think of it as a game with your audience—leave just enough breadcrumbs so that when the twist hits, they’ll gasp and say, “Of course!”

[not-iceking]

just remember to give it back, it'll miss me!

simon was sure he should feel something. thirteen years ago, he had told betty to leave the crown. he had been okay then. a year ago, he had held the crown and threw it into nothingness. he had been terrified. simon felt he should be worried or afraid or upset at himself because betty didnt save you for this. but instead of fear or disappointment, with his hands holding the crown so gently without the pressure of someone else watching, he felt... relieved. he felt overwhelming relief.

the cool golden metal felt comforting in his grasp, and he welcomed the familiar chill that washed down his spine as the metal leeched out all of the warmth from within him. and for the first time in years simon felt like he wasnt melting. just holding the crown made the ache of his old bones dull into a quiet hum. he remembered back then, in front of golbetty, how he had hesitated. but- had he? the lesson she was trying to teach him. was it not what she had taken? his autonomy? he wouldnt hesitate this time. he hooked his fingers under the rim of the crown, cradling the cursed object as if it were as valuable as it was old. then he lifted it up and-

there was no sudden change. no flash of white light. no ice king. just, simon. thoughts smoothed over with a fresh blanket of static, simon closed his eyes and.. relaxed. a deep cold slowly crawling into his bones. when he opened them again, he looked tired. but a new spark had lit up behind his pale eyes. "i had almost gotten my crown back, but.. someone i cared about had convinced me i was only hurting myself if i put it back on." he flexed his fingers, eyeing them curiously, before clenching his fists. glittering sparks of ice magic crackled around his knuckles and disappeared over his palms. "i believed her, in a way. i thought everyone would like me better as simon."

"...but if i want to be iceking again, if i want magic again. than damnit!- they dont get to tell me i dont get that choice!"

@farmingtime

_____

OOC// holy shit this took three tries to post because the image was too big and tumblr didnt save it as a draft<//3

THIS BLOG IS BASICALLY MY OWN FIX-IT FIC FOR FIONNA AND CAKE, AND THIS POST IS USHERING IN SEASON 2 BABEYYY!! EVERYONE SAY HELLO TO: ASK SIMON SEASON 2, THE SNOWMAN. with the start of this next 'season' i will now be marking things as "#🧊 ~ season 2" to help differentiate when certain posts take place! certain interactions will also be marked with a special hashtag (for example, this interaction is "#☃️ icefinn int☃️") i will also be marking any asks from here on out either as season 1 or season 2 !!

everyone say thank you to @arocoomer for giving me the inspiration and motivation to finally continue this blogs main story!!

[08melancholie]

I need to rant about Micah again because, well, yeah.

Saw someone on twitter say that they thought all antagonists in rdr (Bill, Dutch, Javier, Ross etc.) were peak, but Micah—and I just can't get it out of my head.

What do you mean Micah wasn't a good antagonist?? Micah was one of the best written and thought out antagonists in the game, to me. From his background and how it shaped him into what we see in the game, his entire asshole persona that is a defense mechanism for him, the little bits of his family life which are so minimal yet tell us SO much about him to little details and objects of symbolism? Micah is a phenomenal character and an even better antagonist. You might say I'm biased because I generally like Micah, but I think that if you took the time to break him down yourself, you'd be able to see the amazing character underneath what most people see him as; a rat, a traitor, the average degenerate villain character. It is so unfortunate that Micah's whole amazing persona is buried so deep under "bad guy got main character killed, so there's no way for us to like him". Helping get Arthur killed is the only thing I ever see people mentioning when they see someone who likes Micah (other than his bigotry which I fully agree with, so I'm not mentioning it) and exactly that is Micah's curse—he and his entire character get swept under the rug, forgotten and only hated on over the fact that he helped kill a character everyone loves. I get it, I love Arthur just as much as the next person; I wanted to kill Micah and Dutch so bad when they helped get Arthur killed—but I can also appreciate Micah's amazing character while hating his choice of actions. Putting him under the label of just another bad guy feels so, so wrong to me, because that's not what he is—Micah was so much more than your average bad guy. He had an extraordinary story and character build-up and a complex background that explained so much about his character, a pretty tragic one at that. This might be mean to say, and I'm sorry if it is, but sometimes people need to just.. stay out of these somewhat complex discussions if they aren't able to understand EVERY character to some degree, especially with RDRs amazing character designs. If you aren't able to break a character down past the surface level you see in the game, I generally don't think you're fit for actually understanding them on a deeper level. Nothing wrong with being a casual player! I just think that that means you shouldn't discuss characters like this, because the lack of knowledge of a character and a lack of wanting to understand them just don't work well together in these discussions.

[selene-moonie]

i'll bitch and moan that i wanted more romance in aot, but one thing i will NEVER complain about is the lack of fanservice. everybody's bodies were covered and it was amazing.

[kacievvbbbb]

Luffy this Dressrosa really is ; if I had a nickel for every time I ran into an undercover princess of an oppressed country who was kind to me and my crew and so I repay her by freeing her father and fighting the Warlord of the sea that snuck into her country, ingratiated himself to the people and plotted the down fall of the previous royal family by turning their people against them, and in the process liberating her people and putting an end to the specific method that had been used to unknowingly torture them. And oh also meet up with my brother in the process who helps me escape from the marines. I’d only have two nickels but it’s weird that it happened twice

[syncrovoid-presents]

Wally and the Colour RED

Wally and the colour Red have an interesting relationship in Welcome Home. This is a rambling/analysis of different things I've found that makes me believe it's an important detail moving forwards with the Welcome Home Mystery!

First! Why do I think this matters?

There's a few reasons why I think this matters! First, while all the members of the cast seem to be tied to a colour, none is as focused or as consistent as Wally and the colour red! The two primary examples I'll use to cover this is one that we've had for a while, and two that we got in this update. Those being the signatures at the bottom of the guestbook, the interactable telephone, and the name graphics on the transcript page!

Interestingly, all of the cast are directly tied to a specific colour! The signatures at the bottom of the Guestpage and the colours of the "calls" on the telephone are the same for each character. This being pink for Julie, orange for Sally, yellow for Frank, green for Poppy, turquoise for Howdy, blue for Barnaby, purple for Eddie, and red for Wally. This is consistent (and possibly something to pay attention for in the future?)

Notably however, Home is signed by Wally, while the audio file for Wally's "call" recording is also called "duet" when you open it in another tab. Audio files with "duet" is a sign that Home is present. This means that red is not strictly a Wally colour, but also the colour for Home!

(if you're curious, the other audio called "duet" is Wally's little song he sings)

This is interesting, because Wally and Home are often treated as a duo, moreso than any other characters of Welcome Home. I would also like to point out another detail, one that I think ties into this tie between Wally, Home and the colour red.

The Records

All the records from Wally's hidden message ("I will help you understand neighbor, I will find a way soon.") are red! Sure, some are glitched, but they are all red. As is this record with the strange audio (has anyone decoded this yet?). This audio is directly tied to Wally, as it's called "(DRAWING?) WITH WALLY DARLING".

However the hidden one's may not just be Wally. Though they are all name the tab "answer" when opened, I'm tempted to say that "answer" is wally prompting us to answer (or, alternatively, Wally is trying to answer us, however he perceives us).

I believe that Home is there too in the audio. If you listen to all of them in a row, turning up the audio will reveal that there is a heart beat in the background. This, I want to say, is Home and not Wally, as Wally does not seem to register them. It peaks about halfway through with Neighbor, coincidentally the audio that is both glitching and is made of a series of clicks rather than voice lines.

I have seen people say that this is "Help Me" or "Hello" in morse code. I do not know which is the agreed translation is (to me it sounds like "…. . ..-.. .. -.. ---", which translates to "HEĘIDO", which is not a word. However it most resembles "…. . .-.. .-.. ---" which translates to "HELLO")

Regardless of what Home may be saying, it shows that the hidden recordings can be put together into a timeline that sounds like one recording, which means it's most likely all recorded at the same place. Ergo, Home is in the hidden recordings as well!

Other spots where red is brought up

There are other instances of red being tied to Wally. Some are obvious, like his love of apples (red ones specifically), the Wally prints/finger paint on the bottom of the guestbook, the background of the "i <3 Wally" gif/sticker in the sticker section of the site (also shared with Home. Wally's character description is also shared by home!), Wally himself in the "so-below" page, among other things. Such as the Wally themed telephone being red, despite his more iconic blue swirled hair (or blue and yellow-trimed sweater), his clothing in multiple official artworks, the Wally cereal box, and more.

(Like something I've noticed, which is that Home is the only house that's a solid colour (red!) without any pattern breaking it up, plus the most "standout" red that Wally typically wears being tied around his neck (symbolism?). Plus the "W" of Welcome Home is red! That's fun too!

There's also some... stranger ones. Such as this hidden piece of morse code found by this person, which spells out ".. -- .-. . -..", or "IM RED" when translated to english.

And more hidden ones too, that tie into the hidden staff page (I have a post breaking that down that you can find here!! I cover everything I could find plus went through the website code, if you want to know everything about the secret staff site check it out!)

There is the red safe, which has in WHRP universe lore!! I delve into this in my other post, just know that it is something that exists both in the secret website (it is what introduces you to the hidden website!) AND it exists in the WHRP world, both written about in printed emails and as a physical object seen within The Room:tm:. You may also notice everyone is represented by their original colours, except for home, who is now white (or blank?).

There's also scrap pieces of red paper spilled on the ground in The Room:tm: (that have drawn spirals), a red clock in the style of Wally's red car, a red painting of some sort on the wall of The Room:tm: (that we never get a good look at, though it may have a drawn yellow eye in the upper center), a red apple, and most importantly of all, this:

The Red Notebook

This is no ordinary notebook. This here is the notebook that the WHRP team have "loaned" the Question Answerer, also known as the Head Curator of Question Answer! according to the printed emails. This book is very important because there are multiple signs that it was written by Wally. Inside is a sketchpad attached to the lefthand interior bookcase with little paintings and a handprint suspiciously similar to that on the bottom of the GuestBook page and doodles in the styles Wally has used (spirals, finger paint smiley face, the drawn apple, etc).

(by the way, if you're interested in what the note says the most accurate translation I've found is by Tumblr user truckfreaks

"Hello,

My name doesn't matter. I am here to catalogue something I'm not sure is fully real. But it must be. I'm holding all the evidence in my hands. Pictures. Characters. Text I can barely read. It's called "Welcome Home" and it looks like it might've been a children's book? Like I said, I can't tell.

It was sopping wet when I found it. When I first reached into one of the brightly colored envelopes, my hand was already covered in some gross, [unknown - possibly “oozing”] material. It feels like antiques are always covered in some kind of grime. I'm trying to clean up what I have and do a little more digging.

There's only one name I can make out right now... Wally. Probably important, but like I said, I'll keep looking.

XOXO"

The wrap up (don't want to make this too long!)

Regardless of what you make of this, it shows that there is even more proof of Wally, not just the character but the Wally ""haunting"" the website and the Wally within the WHRP universe, all being tied to the colour red. (Quick clarification: The Wally we see in branding, clips of the show, etc are all Wally, however he isn't current Wally. He is the Wally of the past, the original Wally, the base Wallly, whatever you want to call him. Therefore I separate him from the "now" Wally. It's unconfirmed whether the Wally that's seemingly trying to communicate with us through the website is the same as the Wally that seems to be related to all the objects being sent to Question Answerer, who is the same Wally that is constantly calling them. If so, then there is only one "now" Wally. If they are separate, then there are two, possibly one in the website itself and one focusing on Question Answerer. Please note, this is all speculation).

While it's true that red is Wally's favourite colour, I believe that it's far more than just that tying Wally and the color red together. Going forwards, anything red that isn't immediately branded as a Wally related object should be considered important, at least I think so.

As for the connection between Wally and Home, both sharing the colour Red? I think this primarily is a display of how the two characters either rely on each other or are, in the vaguest of ways, tied together by fate.

Good bye for now!

[tarotmantic]

i will never justify why i like deh bc i don’t have to actually. i can just like it no qualifier needed

[redge]

How is it that I am more accepting of all the stories and theories I've read about the Oshi no Ko than where we are right now?

Also, some people really think that OnK readers are furious about the story because it was tragic? Tragedies are endings that will linger on you. Tragic endings are endings that will give a lasting feeling and in my opinion, they're more weighted than happy endings. In all cases, not all endings should be happy. I am very accepting of tragic endings but I just can't ride with this one because killing off Aqua did not feel like the only option left to punish the antagonist of the story. Why was letting the authority punish Kamiki not an option when they've already caught Nino red-handed?

The story has never been fair to anyone. Like crow girl oh my goodness what was the point of her existence anyway? She just narrated and talked in Aqua's dream and that's it?!

Ruby! She lost her beloved sensei. She lost her beloved idol. And now she lost her twin brother. So is the story we want to tell here is that life is shitty but you should pick yourself up and fight to the end because okay yes I get it but was killing off Aqua really necessary for the story to proceed? Because again there are other options we could've dealt with Hikaru so is this just tragedy for tragedy's sake?!

Akane! How come she's doing a detective's job when she should be doing her job as the genius actress that she is?! How come you put that weight on a character who almost killed herself and had felt indebted with Aqua's kindness to the point that she's willing to sacrifice herself for Aqua? How come you write off this character with the greatest deepest love through self-sacrifice wheh she is a young lady with a bright future ahead?!

Miyako! You made her take over Ichigo Production, take care of Ruby and Aqua, made her watch them from the sidelines. She knows she can never replace Ai as the twin's mother but she's done her best to be a mother to them then you decide to kill off Aqua could you imagine the guilt she will always feel for not protecting her son enough?!

Taiki! He was happy knowing that he has a brother because apart from the director, he's been alone all his life. I doubt they would ever know that Aqua committed suicide but could you imagine the despair Taiki would feel for losing his parents and his brother to suicide?!

The movie 15-Year-Lie! Even that movie was handled unfairly because are you telling me that with all the hype placed for that movie, with the story of Ai, the nation's favourite idol being told post-humous, is still not enough to be successful so let's kill off her son whom all she ever wanted was to live healthy and happily.

So maybe the message here is to endure life's cruelty, be strong, survive and live on "towards the stars and dreams"? Is that it?

[akimojo]

people love to use ffxiii’s messy development as a reason to completely shit on the game but honestly the fact they managed to sneak in so many little details in the gameplay in a way that reflects the characters and story despite all the miscommunication between the dev sections is just impressive to me

[blujayonthewing]

dungeon meshi's plot and lore get really complex and interesting the longer it goes but my toxic trait is that my favorite thing about the whole series is still the early chapters where it's mostly about diagrams of monster anatomy and explorations of fantasy life cycles and ecosystems

[vaniliens]

Taking a break from unsolved dont know if im coming back if you see this wife im sorry 💔

[cinnabeat]

watching hbomberguys rwby video rn and very annoyed by the idea that the whole dust intro and dust shop robbery scene is poor writing

[listen-to-the-inner-walrus]

me, listening to a podcast about a guy in prison based entirely on a coerced confession: what do you mean the members of the jury still think hes guilty now that they know about coerced confessions??? did you not hear four police officers interrogating and shouting at a 19-year-old while hes sobbing through a story inconsistent with the actual evidence???? there was no other evidence, how do you still think hes guilty???

me, ten minutes later: ...oh, right. if they say hes not guilty, that means they sent an innocent kid to prison. yeah, now that uh makes sense.

[catfishofoldin99colours]

I love being recommended helluva boss episodes after watching whitepine e3 like.

Sorry but I will stay with the well-paced intriguing gothic murder mystery that uses Minecraft as it's storytelling medium because at the end of the day it's more engaging than whatever the hell is going on in a show that looks spectacular but is as emotionally compelling as porridge.

[lucybellwood]

Lemme tell you a gay little story about an eagle.

Our town (~9,000 people) has a couple garages, but there's a big one on the main drag. My family has been going there for decades. I drive past it every day.

There used to be a huge pine tree on the corner of their lot, but last year it became a hazard and had to be taken down.

Shortly thereafter I drive by and see they've hired a guy to chainsaw sculpt the stump into a bald eagle.

Birds own my heart, but nationalism makes me twitchy. I withhold outright condemnation of the eagle, but I'm skeptical. (The original owner—an objectively Good Dude—sold the business to a younger couple a few years ago, and I don't have any knowledge of their whole deal.)

Then it turns out someone on staff is really into making costumes for the eagle. Every holiday. Every month. Stuffed turkey, witch costume, menorah headpiece, bunny ears. These people love to dress their bird.

The changing of the eagle suit becomes a source of joy every time I drive through town.

Until June, when the eagle is bare.

Now look, maybe I'm expecting too much asking my garage to celebrate Pride. But this is a small town. Every time I drive by that stupid eagle—this thing that has previously brought me so much joy—I feel hurt. I feel reminded that there are plenty of people in my liberal bubble who don't consider my community worthy of celebration. I drive to work, I feel bad. I drive home, I feel bad. The eagle is mocking me.

Then my A/C quits working.

So I book an appointent to bring my car in—and realize what I have to do.

I pick all this up at a thrift store for under ten bucks. I print the shirt with some weird heat-transfer fabric crayons I find in a cupboard. I loop gold elastic around the sunglasses and pray they'll fit on the eagle's head. (It is also important to draw your attention to the price of the feather boa.)

(Nice.)

My reasoning is thus: if I show up with a complete costume ready to go, someone will have to look me in the eye and say "We don't believe in that," at which point I'll be finding a new garage. But if they let me dress the eagle, then people in town get to have the joy I've been missing since the start of the month.

I listen to a lot of hype-up jams on my way over. I hate confrontation. I also don't wanna have to find another garage. I want to believe that this decision isn't actively antagonistic, but I'm not particularly hopeful.

I talk through the A/C issue with the guy at the desk, hand over my keys, then take a deep breath.

"Who's in charge of the eagle?"

"Oh, that's all Dylan. Second bay from the end."

I walk down the row of hydraulic lifts and find a disarmingly smiley middle-aged man pouring fluid through a funnel. I introduce myself and explain that, since the Pride parade is this Sunday and the eagle seems to be missing a costume, I have taken the liberty of making one myself, and can I get his blessing to go put it on?

Dylan grins this absolutely giant grin and goes

"Oh hell yeah."

So that's what's up now.

Happy Pride.