#candela obscura: chapter 2

[basquerville]

The Circle of Needle & Thread as Radiohead songs

Inspiration has struck! I am obsessed with Candela Chapter 2 and also really like Radiohead so I kinda just had to. Dunno if this is for anyone but it fits so well!

1. The whole circle:

Pyramid Song

I jumped in the river and what did I see? Black-eyed angels swam with me

This one fits on vibes alone but also bc of the river in the last ep and the black-eyed angels could be the creatures if you squint.

The Gloaming

Murderers, you're murderers We are not the same as you When the walls bend with your breathing They will suck you down to the other side To the shadows blue and red.

We are not the same as you? I mean c'mon! The walls bending at the Fourth Pharos, They will suck you down to the other side, blue and red light! It just fits!

Spectre

I'm lost, I'm a ghost Dispossessed, taken host My hunger burns a bullet hole A spectre of my mortal soul

Because of the 'host-thing' and the romance themes, this feels like it leans more towards Marion. But it kinda is too dark for his hopeful personality. We also got lines like "anger is a poison" which feels very fitting for Sean. Sidenote: I still get so angry thinking about how they rejected this song for the Bond-movie wtf?

4 Minute Warning

This is just a nightmare Soon I'm gonna wake up Someone's gonna bring me 'round Running from the bombers

It's PTSD innit?

2. Jean "Jinnah" Basar:

Everything In Its Right Place

Everything in its right place Yesterday, I woke up sucking a lemon

This one is a given! Not much to say except that it speaks to Jean's exact and analytic nature.

House of Cards

I don't want to be your friend I just want to be your lover No matter how it ends No matter how it starts

Jean's balancing of Candela and EONS being like a house of cards. Her initial denial of her own guilt and relationship to magick. Her feelings towards Marion.

3. Marion Collodi:

Daydreaming

Dreamers, they never learn Beyond the point of no return

Also a given! This was honestly what inspired me to make this post in the first place. Both the vibe and the lyrics fit very well!

Desert Island Disk

Born of a light, born of a light The wind rushing 'round my open heart An open ravine with my spirit wide Totally alive and my spirit light

Marion and his soul, especially the speech in ep 3 where he says he feels whole without one.

4. Sean Finnerty:

2+2=5

It's the devil's way now There is no way out You can scream and you can shout It is too late now Because you have not been paying attention

Gaahh I am unable to be normal about Sean Finnerty! Can I appropriate a song written about George W. Bush to be about Dr. Oliver Nero? You betcha! To me this song speaks to the lies told by authority figures and how they have destroyed Seans life.

Ful Stop

You really messed up everything If you could take it all back again Strike up the tinderbox Why should I be good if your're not?

Why should I be good if you're not! Very much giving Sean in ep 3!

5. Beatrix "Auntie Bea" Monroe

No Surprises

Such a pretty house and such a pretty garden

Bring down the government, they don't speak for us! The rest is self-explanatory.

Give Up the Ghost

Gather up the lost and their souls into your arms Gather up the pitiful into your arms

Auntie Bea and all those she takes under her wing.

6. Nathaniel Trapp

Go to Sleep

Someone's son or someone's daughter Over my dead body This is how I end up sucked in Over my dead body

A song about the dehumanizing effects of war. Trapp's guilt over Marion and the Finnerty boys getting sucked into the military.

Glass Eyes

Hey, it's me, I just got off the train A frightening place, the faces are concrete grey In the oh-so-smug glassy eyed light of day

Get it? Because of his eye? And also anxiety... and trains!

Bonus: The Creatures:

We Suck Young Blood

Are you fracturing? Are you torn at the seams? Would you do anything?

The Candela vibes are strong with this one!

Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief

The ones you light your fires to keep away Is crawling out upon its belly And all you have to do is say yes

Both these songs remind me of the son trying to convince Sean to let him in.

Update! How could I forget:

Suspirium (By Thom Yorke)

When I arrive will you come and find me? Or in a crowd be one of them? Mother wants us back beside her No tomorrows, at peace

An anthem for the son!

[yeehawpim]

meet you on the way out

hi candela ch2 finale gave me emotions and now I'm making it everyone's problem 😂

[cowgirls-blues]

... I'm smoking, and I'm moving around a baseball around in my hand. And I'm counting the stitches. 'Cause it's a Möbius loop, it's just one line of stitches, I'm counting - kind of like a rosary. "Take me out to the ball game..."

I'm watching Candela Obscura for the first time and my brain just went "hey what if we drew Sean with huge Ghibli tears wouldn't that be fun???

[marvelousbelladonna]

“Stop it” sneezes continue through worlds

[rubydart]

ID: Sean (red short hair, suspenders) hugging Marion (dark hair, mustache, pained expression)

[shorthaltsjester]

god i cannot express how impressed in general i am with the storytelling that cr is doing with candela obscura but what really strikes me is how evident it is that the storytelling they do is defined by the hearts of those who are putting it together rather than adhering to a specific idea or image of a given story that they want to uphold. there is such a stark difference between the tones of chapter one and chapter two (to the fault of neither, i’ve enjoyed them both immensely because they both happen to hit parts of the supernatural-horror genre that I am so deeply fond of and so happy to see in a real play medium).

there’s the obvious difference in gming styles, matt has fantasy running through his veins and that’s evident in the way that chapter one ends up having a tone akin to something like the scarier episodes of buffy the vampire slayer. spenser outright references mike flanagan in his pre-interview thing and good grief is that so so evident in his narration and the way he emphasizes the themes emerging in the story in the environment of the world they journey through and choices like the letter from sean’s mother that subvert the audiences ability to rely on a character’s perception.

but the energy the groups of players bring to the storytelling is obviously also so important, too. like, even just looking at the groups prior to watching each I probably could’ve guessed which might’ve had a more lighthearted tone. the combination of ashley, anjali, and robbie already would be one i’d guess a more warm/goofy vibe for (not to say they can’t be serious and dramatic, but the tone of the seriousness is still warm and the world that prompts them towards drama likewise feels warm) and laura, despite her propensity for goofs, does tend to be a chameleon with group make ups. likewise i think we all had a certain (affectionate) fear™ when it was revealed that marisha, brennan, luis, and travis would be reuniting in another short form story and that has certainly held up and been incredibly bolstered by zehra’s absolute commitment and immersion into the story (constantly fucking blown away that this is her first real play she’s incredible).

this is all just to say as someone deeply interested in digital storytelling, i am so so enamoured by cr’s commitment to following their own desires as humans telling stories to one another while adhering to the requirements they have as a company. and also if you haven’t you should watch candela obscura, especially now that spooky season is here.

[thequeenofmyownscreen]

Marisha : "Can I be shitty, and meta above the table, and say : I don't trust him ! (points at Brennan) And that he might be trying to make you spend a Resistance right now ??"

Love the 'J'accuse !' pose and the 'you don't know !' pose

[softmoxymuffin]

Just realized, when Sean Finnerty joined the army underage and started being used for those secret missions for Nero he must have looked like this.

BABY BOY SEAN FINNERTY

[wingstars]

... Ma?

[otterlywyrdarts]

Candela Obscura in the art style of Darkest Dungeon

Brennan Lee Mulligan as Sean Finnerty

[bananathebookworm]

The fact that over five hours in to high emotion gameplay Luis still had the clarity of mind to work an impromptu time loop into the story in a way that not only makes sense but worked to his advantage is fucking incredible.

[goneatlas]

with all due respect what the FUCK brennan

[yeehawpim]

second scar

[marvelousbelladonna]

Character Art

Brennan Lee Mulligan as Sean Finnerty (solider)

Travis Willingham as Nathaniel Trapp (journalist)

Marisha Ray as Beatrix Monroe aka Auntie Bea (criminal)

Zehra Fazal as Dr. Jinnah “Jean” Basra (doctor)

Luis Carazo as Marion Collodi (medium)

[blightstaff-beetles]

Uncannily perceptive child and a traumatized solider of war standing opposite each other in a bathroom is giving me such strong imagery I want to draw but my brain is so focused on this episode holy hell

[chungledown-bimothy]

"I killed so many of those dogs, and not one of 'em put my ma up Grayslate." I'm going to turn around and shoot Arthur Duffy in the face.