#crass commercialism

[beyondthisdarkhouse]

When I started choosing embroidery patterns for my store, I was really focused on relatively small, simple designs. Things that would be quick and easy for beginners. But honestly... I think I underestimated just how easy the printed interfacing would be, since it's the needlework version of completing a dot-to-dot patterns. They take time, but none of the constant counting and ripping stitches out.

So that meant I've started to get ambitious. Little designs are still great, but what about a few designs that are dazzling from the other side of the room? As a treat?

Maybe just one of Giovanni Ostaus's shirt opening border designs from 1561?

Some fancy chickens and um... tulips? pomegranates? water fountains?

And just for me, a pattern you won't find in any history book, a little confection I made that I like to call: "Strawberry Fieldmice Forever"

That's only like, half of them. I just dumped a whole bunch onto my Etsy.

Interested?

Beginner-friendly historical and fantasy embroidery patterns, right this way!

[effinbirds]

oh no, I made hats

[archangel-dormiens]

Last tear, I complained about Dollar Tree and Costco's ridiculously early jumping on holidays. I take no pleasure in this year's induction. It's June 29th. Dear Joanne Fabrics: what the actual f*** are you doing??!

Not one, not two, but THREE AND A HALF AISLES OF HALLOWEEN?? In JULY!?!?!!!

Joanne, now you're really f***ing with me. Not just a sale, but CLEARANCE?!?!???

I'm done. I got nothing more.

[rottenraccoons]

Hiiii !!! First off thank you for making the game, been unwell about it ever since I started playing ( everything is really good from the sound designs to the visuals and writting !!! ). I do have a question and I hope it wasn't answered ( I haven't found anything about it on your blog ) But was there a kickstarter or a futur plan to make a kickstarter for the game ? I'm asking because I really like the game and I would not hesitate to donate for something I enjoy but I'm unsure if it will ever be planned ? Thank you for answering if you do ! Hope you have a wonderful day !

Nonny, you timed this ask so perfectly I am gonna be accused of planting it (for the record: I didn't). I am smooching your grey anonymous cheeks in gratitude.

At the moment we have no plans to run a Kickstarter (they're so much work!!) or Patreon or the like. It's a ton of work to set up and would basically kill our ability to work on the game for at least three and probably more months. If you want to support us with money, the best thing you can do is buy the game on Steam or Itchio. What you'll get now is Chapter Two for Keir and Cirrus, plus all the other chapters as they release.

We even have a sale going on for a week! The image is for Steam but we have also put the exact same discount on Itchio, in case you rather go there instead. Which is why this timing is so amazing, nonny!

I swear I was just gonna post this when I saw the new ask and holy moly it's on-topic. I can be timely for once!

If you've already bought the game then 1) I am giving you sloppy raccoons kisses directly on the mouth, and 2) the best thing you can do to support us is to spread the word about Obscura in whatever ways you're comfortable doing.

Also, in general, thank you so much to everyone who has wishlisted or bought the game! We're fighting an uphill battle with our mature rating, but being able to point to wishlist and sales numbers is helping us slowly unlock resources we can put into development and every single one helps a lot 💙🦝

[nodominion]

I need Daniel's 'assistant' to be Jesse.

[no-one-told-you-life-was-gay]

[janesbeloved]

FINDING FRANKIE LORE MASTERPOST — Everything I have been able to scrap together regarding the game's lore

Take all this with a grain of salt, and feel free to share your own deductions and opinions with me! This is not me "solving" Finding Frankie, but me coming to a conclusion of an overall image of the events of the game and it's story.

THIS POST WILL INCLUDE HEAVY SPOILERS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

click more to read the entire masterpost!

IMPORTANT CHARACTERS

• Michael & Shawn Sykes: The two brothers who founded the company. Michael also served as the CEO before Stan Ellie.

• Stan Ellie: The latest CEO of the company and murder suspect of Shawn Sykes. His current whereabouts are unknown.

• Lucky Contestant: Protagonist of the game who has a mysterious connection of the company and has been a fan of the gameshow for multiple seasons.

• "The Other": A Frankie mascot who functions as the announcer and gamemaster, guiding the contestant through the game. He seems to have a connection to the "higher ups" that's much closer than the other mascots. There are multiple variants of him, scattered around the park, including one in the CEO's office. Their purpose is unclear.

• Henry Hotline: A mascot of the gameshow, yet he is the most sentient of the crew according to the devs, and he seems to know a lot about the true nature of the gameshow and the company, as was heard during his monologue and he ended up paying the price for his knowledge.

• Monster Frankie: A Frankie mascot that chases after the contestant most of the time, trying to kill them. While having low sentience according to the devs, it clearly responds to orders given by "The Other" and seems to enjoy roaming around the park when not chasing the contestant.

ROUGH TIMELINE INFORMATION

• Gameshows began in 2001 (as seen on the big screen at Frosted Peak)

• Despite the facility being decently modern, the use of VHS tapes and rotary phones could indicate the game taking place in 2005. However, there's a chance the game doesn't take place in the real world but instead is its own thing, so real life logic doesn't apply.

• IF the timeline of 2001-2005 is somewhat correct, and there has been 57 seasons of "Finding Frankie" we can deduce that the gameshows indeed do not take long (especially when Henry and Frankie talk of how contestants last only a few minutes, etc.) and multiple gameshow episodes can be fitted in a season. (more proof added to this later down in text!)

• The gameshow the protagonist plays in takes place on October 19th, potentially 2005 and the gameshow ended somewhere around 12am. It was thundering outside during the gameshow.

PAST EVENTS TIMELINE

(NOTE: Take all of this again with a grain of salt. I have not gotten answers for everything regarding the plot, but this rough timeline has things that are too fitting to be coincidences. Do let me know your opions and thoughts!)

Brothers Michael and Shawn Sykes founded Frankies cereal somewhere in the 1950s, possibly in 1954 considering thats listed as Frankies creation date. The screens in the parkour palace give us the information that they eventually made the decision to sell the IP, but they still didnt step down from the company, they remained there but the company got a new CEO, aka Stan Ellie.

My best guess is that Stan became the CEO somewhere in the 1980s, as Henry Hotline was created in 1986, and he was marketed as "Frankie's best friend and partner in crime" in their little cartoony universe.

In a newspaper clipping its stated that as Stan became the head of the company and decided to plan expansions for the IP, the brothers disagreed with his plans. Stan says in the interview, quote, "As an IP grows, so should we – and the characters. The brothers couldn't see that, as they deemed it "crass commercialism" and too much of a pivot from what they originally wanted. But I see it as an opportunity to grow Frankie, not just as an IP but as a character, and to expand this immersive world" end quote. In the same newspaper it's also stated that the companys first of many Indoor Parkour parks is set to open in a few months from when the interview was published.

With Deputy Duck created in 1990 and his job being a "tour guide" it makes sense his duty is to guide guests in the newly opened park. Thus marking the opening of Frankie's Parkour Palace in 1990.

(Side note: The park is in California! Wowza!)

The Parkour Palace didn't have it's doors open for the general public for long, as a body was discovered underneath trampolines in a play place. A newspaper clipping that talks of the discovery states that the body's identity and the circumstances surrounding the death remain unclear.

The body was unidentifiable, yet had a strong smell which is why the body was eventually discovered in the first place

This is where the third newspaper clipping comes in. Michael Sykes, the former CEO and co-founder, accuses CEO Stan Ellie of the murder of his brother, Shawn Sykes. With the recent discovery of the body beneath the trampolines, and this newspaper clipping stating that Stan will face a judge in court on November 12th, 1993 pushes it further that Michael is certain that Stan murdered his brother. The newspaper also states that Stan is to step down as the CEO, and the companys future was left unclear and uncertain.

CURRENT EVENTS TIMELINE

The park was never reopened to the general public after the body was discovered and Stan was accused of the murder. This is evident by the police tapes in the trampoline park (Noob noob area) where the body was discovered AND in Frosted Peak police tape conceals access to the CEO's office and other areas. It was left to how it was, and for a whole (possible) 7 years, it's uncertain what exactly was happening in the park. Perhaps the additions and stuff that were needed for the gameshows were built during this time? Who knows, but we do know that the gameshows began in 2001.

Lucky Contestant has a clear strong connection to the company and it goes beyond just being a fan. Lucky on purpose seeked for a tape in the cereal boxes, having to purchase 769 cereal boxes to finally acquire a vhs tape and be invited onto the gameshow. At the end of the game, a cutscene is provided to us where we can see a glimpse to the life of Lucky, specifically where he lives. But, thanks to the ability to break through boundaries inside a game, not only do we see how much of an awful state he's in, having to sleep on a mattress on the floor, but it is revealed to us that he's an avid fan. His little computer room shows us that he has access to the gameshow livestream, being greeted with the text "Welcome back, S".

Lucky's computer room AND his apartment in general was what gave us access to most of the lore I have been able to scrap together. On a monitor there's a paper with a list of Finding Frankie seasons from 41 to 57, with 57 circled with red. At the top it says "Everything changes" (keep this in mind for later) and at the bottom of the paper there's a code, but I haven't been able to figure out it's purpose.

There's also a screen that provides a countdown for the next seasons beginning. It's a bit hard to read, but if I guess correctly it says "91 hours" which adds to my point that these seasons are truly short, contestants last only a few minutes, if it takes only 3 days for a new season to begin after the last one.

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

(NOTE: This section will be me connecting the dots provided in the timelines and information listed above. I will also provide images, videos and all to function as sources for my claims. THESE ARE NOT UNDENIABLY CANON; JUST ME THEORIZING!)

Who murdered Shawn Sykes?

If Michael accusing Stan of the murders isn't enough to paint him as a culprit, there are more to back things up. In one of the newspaper clippings I mentioned, Stan talks of how the brothers strongly disagreed with his want to expand the company and adding more things to the IP. Why did Stan have issues with Shawn instead of Michael is unclear, but him wanting Shawn out of the way of his plans could've been a clear motive for his murder. (truly there could be a possible plot twist in the future regarding this, but ofc my current deductions are based on the game we have now.)

Who is the Lucky Contestant?

As I have made Lucky's connection to the company very clear, I shall make my claim that Lucky contestant IS Stan Ellie, the previous CEO and murder suspect. Here are my claims:

The note in Lucky's computer room reading "Everything Changes" is written in the same exact handwriting as the same "Everything Changes" written on an apartment paper found in the CEO's office. Lucky lives in an apartment, and has been an avid watcher of the gameshows for multiple seasons, being so much of a fan that he had a Frankie sticker on his VHS player.

"The Other" picked Lucky as the surviving contestant, purposefully rigging the game to ensure he would live until he'd reach Hexa-Havoc but would eventually be killed there. What are the odds that "The Other" chose Lucky just on a whim? "The Other" somehow knew where Lucky lives and what state his home is in. He knew too much about Lucky, for him choosing him to live to be just a coincidence or chance.

Henry Hotline, upon chasing Lucky, is desperate to keep him there and not let him go. During his chase sequence, Henry can be heard shouting "Don't leave me!" and "Stop stop! I need you!" as he desperately tries to catch him. While it is unclear that does Henry say this to every contestant he's dealt with in the past, it's important to note that Henry knows so much of whats going on, he knew too much and was killed because of it. There is a chance, he knew exactly who Lucky was.

Upon reaching the door to Frosted Peak, there are two livechat screens which you can read. It's all the viewers of the gameshow, placing bets on contestants and sharing their opinions of what's happening. One of the livestream texts is...strange, to say the least. Someone is directly talking to us, the contestant. While everything else is in all caps, this text isn't, and it reads: "I know it's you. where is my brother". Quite strange thing to say, unless Lucky indeed has a connection to someone's missing brother..much like... Stan Ellie...!

We can access the place where that body was found, in game. It's in the noob noob trampoline area, and as you go past the police tape, there's a hole which gives you access to be underneath the trampolines. There's clear bloodsplatter on the ground, and surprisingly enough as you remain crouched there, you can hear....tinnitus. Ringing in your ears. Sounds becomig muffled. Why would this area, out of everything that Lucky has experienced, would cause him to feel this..anxiety? It's like he's recalling a memory. A memory of something he did himself.

WHO RUNS THE GAMESHOW?

This is the one question I truly have no clear answer to, only guesses but there is no enough evidence to base them on anything. My guess is that Michael Sykes is in charge of it all, his motivation for doing everything is unclear. Henry Hotline only speaks of "the higher-ups" and if his wording is to be trusted, there's not just one person pulling the strings. Michael Sykes could be one of them. But what is certain, is that there does seem to be a human (or a humanoid mascot) who runs the show, as in the opening cutscene we saw someone press the ON AIR button to be on.

"The Other" clearly is connected to the higher-ups, but it's impossible to tell if he is a higher-up himself or only functions as their puppet with either his own level of sentience and/or someone speaks through him and controls him.

WHAT ARE THE MASCOTS?

Monster Frankie & Henry Hotline are robots with varying levels of sentience. How they gained sentience is unclear. They have control pannels down in the sewers, and there are various switches and other things that can be used to control them, such as options for "MOOD" and "FAKE BLOOD". Even after Henry Hotline's death, his control pannel remains on, and this leads me to believe there are two of him.

(This is again just me theorizing ofc!! Like this whole post is)

Much like there are two Frankie's (Three, if counting the sentient AI Cartoon Frankie), there truly seems to be two of Henry Hotline: Monster Henry and "The real Henry".

This is tied to how Henry's chase scene functions and the strong difference in appearance between the two Henry's. Henry doesn't chase you continuously like Monster Frankie, but he disappears at one point and reappears the next. This is where I believe Monster Henry and "real Henry" switch, and the "real one" chases after Lucky to finish the chace, explaining his personal desperation to catch him. "Real Henry" also is the one who ends up getting beat up.

(NOTE: Upon receiving the golden key from the CEO's office, you gey access to the elevator that takew you to a secret room that serves as a recharge station for the mascots. Both Monster Frankie and Henry Hotline are set to return in season 58 (with Henry marked as "X2") but "The Other" is not noted to appear...)

IMAGES + VIDEOS TO BACK UP MY CLAIMS:

VIDEOS:

https://youtube.com/shorts/3qYOEUctcF4?si=nf5CRbdbUENpbhbG

https://youtu.be/WmStk7Ofl_w?si=k2unkTednQ8szOn2

https://youtu.be/JwYQvSCBJn8?si=pt4fwkt1lS7VX3RU

https://youtu.be/oNHk2fsR8uo?si=14HQfY-CxNz4qQWF

—

THANK YOU SO MUCH IF YOU MADE IT THIS FAR!!!! I'd love to hear what opinions people have and ofc if anyone has claims that go against mine, I would love to do sole chill debating and theorizing!! This is all done by me just for fun and for pure love and adoration for this game and it's universe. Ofc leave any questions in comments, reblogs or even send me a DM ! I'm also on twitter (user is also janesbeloved) if reaching out is easier there!

[dewey-ing-it]

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“Crass commercialism, empty sentiment and all the trappings of the holiday!”

[beyondthisdarkhouse]

Embroider me like one of your Venetian men

Want to get into embroidery? My Etsy shop makes it easy to sew patterns from centuries past, or visible mending patches for the 21st century. Just stick them on, stitch through them, and wash the pattern away!

Check it out!

(I also offer bulk discounts now! Five-packs are 20% off, and ten-packs are 25%!)

[archangel-dormiens]

Meanwhile, my wife just wants new slippers for everyone on December 6th every year.

Some of my favourite pieces of Christmas media are the ones that are straight up Evangelical propaganda, but they don't want to appear as such, so they copy and paste Santa Claus into Jesus' place. Like, I appreciate the hustle, my dudes, but I cannot begin to explain how many heresies you just promulgated.

[effinbirds]

It's that time of year again: I've updated my glorious holiday playlist with 50 new, terrible Christmas songs. Put it on, start a timer, and see how long until someone complains.

Plus, I have ugly Christmas sweaters and holiday cards for you at that same website, because that's how this shit works.

(I am incredibly proud of the URL shitm.as, by the way)

[archangel-dormiens]

It's bad enough that Dollar Tree had Christmas stuff out in September. But COME ON!!! THIS is ridiculous!!

[rottenraccoons]

Time for some crass commercialism! I know Tumblr loves that!

Obscura is 20% off this week! You can get it on Steam or Itch.io, whichever one is better for you 😊

And I know it may not look like it at first glance, but Keir and Cirrus' second chapters are totally seasonal! There's good food, spending time with loved ones, enjoying a roaring fire, all good and seasonal things!

[artbyblastweave]

Many years ago J. Michael Straczynski wrote a miniseries for Marvel's MAX imprint called Supreme Power, which was itself a spin on the classic Marvel Faux Justice League The Squadron Supreme. And in this miniseries you've got a Flash Expy, The Blur, who in a very compelling way is like the inverse of A-train from The Boys. They're both black speedsters from impoverished backgrounds who use their powers to become walking billboards instead of going directly into conventional superheroism- at least in part because there isn't actually a lot of call for conventional superheroism. They even share a color scheme.

But unlike A-Train, whose moral core is thoroughly corroded by celebrity, Blur's apparent crass commercialism ends up being thematically linked to the fact that he's easily the most moral and considerate of the entire first wave of superheroes, because he's literally the only one of these people who's ever had to work any kind of day job, and thus the only one who's really in any way beholden to the logic of human society and its associated common courtesy.

[donnerpartyofone]

I need to tell you guys, many of whom are a little or a lot younger than I am, that it is really strange to be alive in a post-Shrek world. I mean one day there's no Shrek and everything is normal, and then suddenly one day everyone a few years younger than you is almost hypnotically focused on Shrek, and it's really hard to figure out to what degree this is a joke. I get the part about how it's been subjected to this incredible volume of crass commercialism and almost all of the merchandise looks terrible because the basic character design is so ugly and it only gets worse if you exaggerate anything about it. But do people genuinely like Shrek, is it considered a good movie that's just tainted (or made funnier) by extreme commercialism? Or do people consider it so-bad-it's-good, do they see it as having camp value maybe? I have asked several younger people of different ages what is the deal with Shrek, how is it actually regarded, and they all seem a little ambiguous about it, like they're all in on something. I guess I just had to be there.

[scientia-rex]

Still mad about last Christmas when my most difficult sister in law, who is still a good person who I love very much, felt like she had to control the experience for everybody else so her kids wouldn’t get POLLUTED and INFECTED by the CRASS COMMERCIALISM of Christmas and meanwhile I had actual disposable income for the first time in my life and I went nuts on presents and she was so pained and judgy about it and literally told me in a passive aggressive way that I got her kids too many presents. Like okay! Set your boundaries out loud and WELL ahead of time or don’t be a dick to me ON CHRISTMAS.