#darkest dungeon theory

[quantum-temporal-anomaly]

My headcanon for the protege really does feed my perception of him( i know that sounds obvious because it is...)

I personally think he's the avatar of either the crown or torch (or both!). Sorta like how the ancestor (and i suppose the heir) is the avatar of the heart.

I think he's meant to mirror the ancestor in more ways than just "evil man who does bad things in pursuit of power".

I personally think the protege was originally planning on offing himself just like the Ancestor after writing his confessions(before the academic gave him a sliver of hope to keep going(a second chance if you will)) sorta like what the ancestor did after writing his memoirs.

Also leads into a sorta theory i have about the ancestor

So we know at some point in the ancestors life he was trying to gain the power of the iron crown, and failed in the process.

What if he became half a vessel for the iron crown. Imperfect if you will

So the end goal of the iron crown ritual is to imprint one's will onto the fabric of reality.

If you think about it, the ancestor sorta did that, in a more manuel way, he is the root cause of the chaos at the estate. I think the other half of the ritual functionally went to the Heir.

The Heir needs to complete the ritual. The ancestors ritual was missing two people after all. The ancestor would be the fourth, and the heir would be the fith

THATS WHY THE TIMELINE SORTA RESETS AFTER THE HEIR OFFS HIMSELF

BECAUSE THE THE WORLD WAS RECREATED FROM THE MEMORY THAT THE HEIR AND THE ANCESTOR KEPT OF IT

Memories have power in darkest dungeon, look at the farmstead or the candles in dd2(implied to be the used up candles from the protege and academic's time researching the crown.) So perhaps thats why heirlooms and deeds are used to repair the hamlet, it goes from the hamlet that the ancestor knew at the end of his life, dilapidated and run down. To one presumably he knew from early in his life.

Also when you start up the new game plus mode (i forgot how to spell it :[) the heir's grave and ghost show up along the old road. Hence the heir remembers his death and it left a trace apon the world.

Granted, the heir and ancestor didnt die along the actual ritual site.

And this theory also kinds writes out alot of the power of the heart, like in this theory the heart doesnt turn back time after being defeated. But then again. That didnt make much sense in the first place.

[cultofthepigeon]

theres a grave robber line if you find the academics study with the bookshelf thats something like

"these will be invaluable once we begin to rebuild"

that doesnt sit with me well, and i cant tell why.

its a hopeful line, fits into the narrative and themes of the story

but it doeant feel hopeful to me. it feels miserable and bleak. and i can not pin point why

[cyber-garden]

Let me know what you guys think.

[coffee-in-veins]

RRR trivia tuesday is back! 

Before the big DD-month related pause, HungryHannya asked the following:

What’s the hierarchy system of the CC enemies? Can the infected adventurers be affected by it, like can the Countess order an infected hero around?

And of course, CC is a big part of the worldbuilding, so thank you for this ask!

if anyone's interested, feel free to check it out!

and if you need pf invites, just let me know :}

[flhoarder]

what if Chris Bourassa took out crusaders because he saw Reymas ship sailing and got jealous of Reynauld

[gabersupermurder]

Do any of you guys have a theory that isn't even BAD? But you hate and any mentions of it with a burning passion?

For example for me I hated the "Mike is The Chapter 3 boss" to the point where I would refer to them exclusively as "The TV fuck" and I'm a lot happier than I should be it was canonically disproven by the Spamton Sweepstakes

[pianokantzart]

for the ask prompt: ❤️‍🩹🤒

❤️‍🩹 Reunited after a long time apart 🤒 Needing to be looked after

Content warning: Injury and implied torture

Mario had a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach long before he came home to find the house trashed and his brother missing, a halfway completed dinner strewn about the dented floor and smashed furniture. Naturally, Bowser was the first suspect, even if Luigi’s disappearance lacked the Koopa King’s usual showmanship. Whenever he stole something or someone he always made a scene, gloating and threatening, making his angle clear. This was the argument Bowser made when Mario fought his way into the heart of The Darklands, demanding his brother back. The King even allowed the plumber to search his dungeon unhindered, so long as he didn’t do any more damage or hurt any more minions. Sure enough, the search came up empty. Not even a scrap of green fabric could be found. A call to Elvin Gadd confirmed that King Boo was still in captivity. He had no guess as to what had happened, or who else Luigi might have made enemies with, but promised to investigate the matter himself. Princess Peach sent out a message to every ally she knew, asking for information regarding Mario’s missing brother. Sarasaland sent out a call of their own, as well as a few search parties, but no matter what reward was promised, or what powerful figures offered their services or support, all leads ultimately went nowhere.

As days passed into months, Mario stopped coming home, even after the horrible mess created amidst his brother’s abduction had been investigated and cleaned up. He stayed as close to The Mushroom Kingdom as necessary to keep Peach protected, but was often found in surrounding territories, peeking into hidden corners and asking questions. He was never inside when night fell, and instead laid sprawled out in open fields searching the skies for shooting stars. He knew the power of wishes. He intended to make as many as possible.

___

After seven months, Luigi was finally found. Captain Toad and his Treasure Trackers discovered an ancient underground temple hidden deep within mountains of jagged black stone, just outside of The Darklands. Before they realized the location was a secret meeting place for magikoopa rather than a cache of treasure, they found a familiar man in rotted green clothes lying unresponsive in a cell, shackled and barely breathing. At once they went for help while trying with all their might to carry his withered body back to The Mushroom Kingdom.

___

Once Luigi was safely delivered to the palace into the best care Princess Peach could offer, forces from The Mushroom Kingdom and Sarasaland alike raided the temple uncovered by Captain Toad. The magikoopa responsible never appeared, likely having heard word that their secret was unearthed, and wisely choosing not to risk their necks by returning to the scene. Bowser immediately went on the defensive, insisting that what happened to Luigi was outside of his jurisdiction. Mario’s brother had been found near The Darklands, not in The Darklands, and though his closest advisor was a magikoopa himself there were many others besides Kamek, who conducted their own business and research far outside of Bowser’s knowledge or control.

Books and journals were gathered and brought to The Mushroom Kingdom for further study. Their pages revealed that Luigi had been the subject of a long, grueling series of experiments, dealing with the darkest and most forbidden forms of magic. The magikoopa were trying to turn him into something– what it was was anyone’s guess, but a theory scrawled between the lines inferred that Luigi had some innate ability to attract dark forces– an ability that they wished to harness. What a joke. The mere idea would’ve been funny, had the results not been so horrible.

____

“Hey. Breathe, bro. They’re trying to help.” Mario spoke gently as he could, struggling to keep his brother still as the nurse toads changed his bandages. It was difficult for Mario to keep hold of his brother’s hand, only because he feared gripping it too hard would break it. Every bone could be counted through his skin, turned an ugly corpse-like color by the combined efforts of magic and complete seclusion from sunlight. What remaining hair hadn’t fallen out in clumps had turned from dark brown to an ugly grey. The blisters of ingrown restraints and festering incisions shone bright red in the first stages of healing as the bandages were pulled away and replaced with fresh ones, all the while Luigi struggled, the hand that Mario didn’t hold swatting away the intruding toads with a strength only made possible by panic.

It would’ve been easier if Luigi could only see. His sight should’ve returned by now. It was said that his vision would be perfectly restored within three days. The medical examiners couldn’t find any direct physical damage done to his eyes. “Then again, the true extent of the harm will only be understood in time,” a doctor explained somberly, “physical injury combined with magic of this sort could harbor unexpected consequences. All we can do is wait, see what heals, and treat whatever we can as it comes up.”

“Luigi! Calm down!” Mario took both of Luigi’s wrists, and placed his palms against his own face. The initial response was aggressive, blistered fingers with missing nails wrenching to fight back until at long last Luigi recognized the feel of the mustache and soft round cheeks. He shivered, but stopped fighting, tears filling his clouded eyes as the nurses took advantage of the moment of calm to quickly finish their work. “I’m here bro, I’m here.” Mario continued in a broken whisper, struggling not to cry himself. “Nothing’s gonna hurt you while I’m here, got it?”

Luigi didn’t speak. He hadn’t spoken since he had been found, but he nodded. For now, that was more than enough.

____

Mario wasn’t sure how long it would be until Luigi was deemed well enough to go home. Given what had happened the last time he was home, Mario was unsure if taking him back at all was a good idea.

But that was a problem for another time, and whatever concerns arose there was no doubt the princess would help however she could. When Luigi’s eyes finally developed to the point he could see large splotches of shape and color, Peach had his bed clothes changed from pink to green, and arranged to have some of the more opulent decorations exchanged for more simple, homey wooden furnishing. Every morning, the princess found time to personally bring Luigi’s breakfast, and every morning she asked him questions about his health and wellness, not minding at all if she was met with nothing but silence. She would later take Mario aside and ask similar questions, seeing to it both brothers' needs desires were met to the best of her abilities. That afternoon, the toads delivered boxes filled with books and trinkets that had been gathered from their home. After thanking them, Mario sat on a recliner next to Luigi’s bed and read aloud a hardcover fantasy he knew to be one of his brother’s favorites. Halfway through chapter four, he heard a raspy voice call up from the mound of jade-green cushions. “Hey, Mario?” Mario paused his reading, and bookmarked the page with his thumb. “Yeah, Luigi?” “Am I gonna be okay?” This was the fourth time he asked that today. When Luigi had finally regained his voice it was full of strange rhythmic repetition… statements and questions asked over and over and over again with little regard to the answers he received. Mario didn’t care. He was talking, that was something. He smiled, and answered the way he always did: “Heh, you’re doing better already.”

And that was the truth. The color was coming back to his face, his mustache was fuller, and his body had regained some of its old muscle and fat. Already Luigi was able to stand unattended, though he needed a cane in order to shuffle to his bedroom window and look out.

Luigi nodded and fell silent again. Mario opened the book back up and continued to read, not stopping until he heard a gentle snore of his brother gently drifting off to sleep.

[noctusfury]

Who Ruled the Berserker Tribe in Dagur's Absence During His Subsequent Imprisonment and Outlawry? (DreamWorks Dragons)

Hello, everyone! Welcome to another HTTYD article! Once again, we'll dive into another Berserker article/theory/question.

So I'm not sure about you guys, but I've always wondered who was managing the Berserker Tribe while Dagur was enjoying a 3-year vacation in Alvin's dungeons. Granted, different production companies made Defenders of Berk and Race to the Edge. And since the Dreamworks Dragons series usually doesn't get into details of external family and stuff, we can only speculate.

But hey, that's why you guys are here, right? lol 😂😉

But anyway, while Dagur was sipping the ale of losers in Alvin's dungeons, just who was leading the Berserkers? We know Captain Vorg was in prison with Dagur and the others. One possibility is Savage, since he was able to escape; and this could explain why he was able to rally a coup d’état against Dagur when he turned traitor and became soft for dragons and Berk in particular. However, with Savage the way he is, I doubt it. Also, we see that after Dagur's absorption into Viggo's camp, and then eventual desertion, Savage wasn't anywhere to be found.

Eventually, we see him in "Darkest Night" when he captures Hiccup, now as a mercenary/bounty hunter/still-Outcast. So it's likely that's what he was doing before he broke Dagur free. Of course, we don't know why or how he ended up returning to Outcast Island to free Dagur. Due to the unfortunately added "Traitor Johann Arc" (I can't STAND that arc!), it could be assumed that Johann had led him there or even hired him and a team to free Dagur. After all, I highly doubt that Savage would've bothered doing it by himself if he hadn't tried to free Dagur sooner. Three years is a long time, you know.

Again, though, we can't know for certain. It could be that Savage had tried several times but couldn't get past the defenses; or maybe he wanted to wait for the right moment when the Pro-Alvin Outcasts had their guards down; or maybe there's another reason we're not aware of.

And we know that, with Osvald dead, Heather living peacefully with her adopted Tribe, Great Uncle Haggard long dead as well (probably), there wasn't any other family member that we know of who could've taken over the Berserker Tribe after Dagur's defeat. That we KNOW OF, at any rate.

It's also possible that some subordinates were ruling as de facto, temporary substitutes until either Dagur came back or somebody else took over. But that's also very unlikely.

However, there's an important clue that Seasons 1 and 2 give us: After Dagur is freed, he doesn't return to Berserk! Why? Besides the fact that he's deranged, he should know better than to fight the Dragon Riders without the support of his Tribe, right? What's interesting to note is that his ships and men are significantly less than during his war against Berk 3 years before! Also, he had to "P-A-Y" for new ships after being released, since he only had the one ship that he stole after escaping imprisonment.

Again, why? Why would he do that? Was he that desperate for revenge against Hiccup? I mean, yes, but there's more to it than just that. Why would he not return to his Tribe and reclaim his authority and rally his fleets and warriors to attack Berk again? Why did he have to buy ships, only have his men that escaped with him and some outcasts/mercenaries, and had to turn to the Dragon Hunter power in order to defeat Hiccup? Did he realize he couldn't win by himself or by his Tribe's strength? No, because Dagur is stubborn and is a Berserker supremacist.

Don't forget this important detail: Dagur is an OUTLAW. A CRIMINAL. A WANTED MAN. As such, several Tribes will want his head and won't stop until they do. Even if he was able to return to his Tribe, they won't have the strength. As such, when he couldn't defeat Hiccup by himself, he turned to the Dragon Hunters for sanctuary and to help him defeat Hiccup and the Riders.

Also don't forget that Dagur is a LOSER. He was DEFEATED. In Viking society, no matter if you're the leader, if you are known to lose a lot of battles, no one's gonna want to follow you. Vikings want to follow leaders who are generous, charismatic, ambitious, and, most of all, VICTORIOUS. Nobody wants to join a loser. Berserkers most of all. That's just not the done thing. It's not common sense. Remember that they lost to Berk over 50 years prior and had to have a non-aggression treaty with Berk for that long due to Osvald's passive stance and preference for peace. For Berserkers, there's no greater shame or weakness than losing battles or refusing to take part in them. Raiding, after all, is in a Viking's nature. Dagur was popular because he promised to bring back the Berserker traditions and to go back to raiding. He was aggressive and pro-war. And he had many victories. However, once he started losing to Berk repeatedly until his eventual complete defeat at the hands of the Berk-Loyalist Outcast Alliance, he lost his popularity and his support after that. Even if they ignored his outlaw status, just the fact that he had failed his people and had too many defeats under his belt was enough to justify not reinstating him as Chieftain.

But there's also one other important and possible clue: there's a possibility that someone who's plausibly a family member of the Berserker Royal Family has taken control of the Throne — like, say, a cousin or uncle or whoever. It makes sense since a Tribe without a legitimate leader wouldn't be very good. And a subordinate can't do as good a job as a proper leader would, usually.

Of course, you might wonder why would that supposed family member then relinquish his rule for Dagur to take over again? Good question! I haven't a clue either! That family member would have to be as agreeable as Osvald to let a deranged person like Dagur to take control again. Even if he is "reformed" or "enlightened", there's no way in helheim that I would've let him back into the fold. In fact, I would've killed them then and there. But blame that on Netflix scriptwriting. Realistically, Dagur reforming, when he is a deranged being, is impossible (unless he was an excellent actor and pretended to be deranged). And he was rather great as a villain, but then to just... "reform" him like this is just lame.

So in my headcanon, Dagur is still Dagur, and thus, if he had a family member ruling the Tribe in his stead, and since he's still an Outlaw and a Wanted Man, it stands to reason that he wouldn't be able to have the strength to survive let alone defeat the Dragon Riders, and couldn't return to his Tribe and resume being their leader; thus, Dagur had to turn to the aid of the Grimb(j)orn Tribe led by Viggo and Ryker, as seen in the first 2 seasons of RTTE.

A new leader, like said unknown relative, could've risen up to lead the Berserkers if Dagur had died in "Twinsanity", had Stoick gone through with his assassination plot as I detail in my article (here).

Another possible death scene was when Dagur lost the battle against Alvin, and after the war, Alvin ends up executing him with his head put on a spike in quite the treacherous fashion. 💀

Personally, I think it would've been cooler if, after Dagur's death, Heather traveled to Berserk Island to become its new ruler. "High Chieftess Heather" just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? 😏😉😂

Hail Heather Iron-maiden, High Chieftess of the Berserker Tribe! O Hear Her Name and Tremble, Ugh, Ugh! Long may she reign! 🤣

What do you guys think? Is it a plausible theory?

Long Live the Night!

— Noctus Fury

[birdyverdie]

Hiya! Just wanted to drop by and say hi and thanks for reaching out and saying hi on my silly little post about talking about DD :,)

I love seeing all the Paracelsus enjoyers, she is the best shrimp posture doctor. <3 Do you have any personal favourite/niche headcanons for her?

Also good luck with your exams! Are you studying medicine/biomedicine? (I did a few classes a few years ago, and kudos -- it's so much material, especially the anatomy classes.) Do you have a favourite class? :o

Hi hi! :D! I put the personal stuff under a read more because by GOD can I ramble </3

Of course! I always like saying hi to people I see in the Darkest Dungeon tag! I think your art is SO lovely too!! I adore the way you draw Dismas and Reynauld!! They're so shapely in your style <3 pair that up with a Bloodborne crossover?? you're spoiling us fans fr!!

I'm a Para enjoyer first and foremost because I relate with the thirst for random medical knowledge that Para has, and also her bird motif!! (She's bird-like in my heart and soul. And I'm a bird enjoyer <3)

I have a few stray headcanons for her, mostly everything is about her scope of practice because that's where my thought process tends to stray when I study. We know that she's named after the father of toxicology, so most of her study goes into figuring out external agents effects on the human body. Though, I like to imagine her to have side interest in hematology as well! Mixing blood with a bunch of other agents seems like something she would be interested at least. (Perhaps that's how she finds out about blood types...*cough* I've been thinking about writing a Paracelsus fic about this for literal months *cough*)

This is a personal thing of mine, but I refuse to believe that Paracelsus actually believed in Humorism. I mean, the first iteration of it was basically a glorified personality test, nay horoscopes! (Yes I know that knowledge was limited back then, but alas, I'd like to imagine her scope is more experimental than observational.)

So instead I headcanon her to--if not the progenitor of Germ Theory--then at least a constituent of it. I think she and Louis Pasteur would have really fun conversations about it.

Another stray headcanon I have is that she receives the equivalent of a newspaper subscription from historical medical practitioners/researchers. So her daily newspaper could be about Edward Jenner's vaccine studies or Ferdinand Cohn's endospores. I don't care that the two of them existed 100 years apart, if we can have a 7th century BC Roman Vestal and a 14th century Plague Doctor in the same room then I can have Edward Jenner and Andrew Wakefield ("vaccines cause autism" guy) duking it out in scientific papers that Paracelsus reads like a WWE match.

Thank you for the luck fellow science enjoyer! Are you also studying medicine :0!?

Thankfully, my exam period is finally over, so I'm taking it easy with recuperating with the post-exam burnout :P And I'm a health major with a nutrition minor, but with a program path towards perfusion! My far-future end goal is to become a surgeon, but due to life circumstances I'll have to settle for perfusion for the time being :P Which I don't mind at all! I think it's such an interesting field, and a hidden hero for many cardiac surgeries! I also really like learning about the circulatory system so I think it's a little perfect ehehe :D!

My favorite class is currently Anatomy & Physiology, I have a really good professor this year, but my god It's actually a lot more complex than I thought it was gonna be while walking in. I genuinely thought it was mostly memorizing like...the bones of the skeleton and perhaps the muscles or something like that. Nahhh it takes a lot of micrology concepts too ;; Which I don't mind! But some days I'm staring at some topics like the neuromuscular junction and wishing I never knew what acetylcholine was. Though some days I do wish to return to Medical Terminology, that class was what I imagined: simple.

Thank you so much for this ask!! It was lovely talking about it!!

[quantum-temporal-anomaly]

A little darkest dungeon theory that ive been sorta thinking about but havent really made it ironclad yet is that the protege and heir are the same guy

The same guy in the way The Hoarder and The Caretaker are the same person, clearly two guys split between time and space.

Perhaps the farmstead is a sorta microcosm of that. The farmstead is a functional timeloop where other spaces are mixed around(ie. Ruins elements can show up in the farmstead) and functions like the kingdom which is also in a constant loop and regions dont have a fixed consistant space in space. And its confined to one location (the farmstead and the kingdom)

Minus one element, The Thing From the Stars. Implied to be a chunk from the comet that broke off on it's way to earth. Wandering aimlessly, a lost soul, only goal seemingly to assimilate others into it's self.

I see this as an analog to the heir, the heir being a sliver of the protege who is damned to be separated from the whole.

[the-punforgiven]

Y'know, knowing The Collector's coming back to Darkest Dungeon 2, I just had a weird thought, so like, insane theory inbound:

And The Collector's whole Thing is like, summoning severed heads to take on spectral bodies and fight for him, right? Typically a spectral reproduction of the deceased's old body

Now, in DD1, I feel like it's kinda hinted that Alhazred might have had his eldritch power directly connected to the Heart of Darkness, meaning he could be, presumably, capable of using the power of an eldritch entity against itself

And, when he channels this power, he uses a head (or, a skull) with a candle on it to do so

Now. I'm just saying

That's a head, with a candle on it.

Which is, y'know

Something we've seen before.

Plus we know Dismas has Rey's helmet in his posession canonically, and that the devs have hinted Rey to be like, kinda probably dead maybe?

So like, 👀, y'know?

Idk if this is anything but I do think the thought of some sorta haunted armor Reynauld would be really neat

[simulatedstyx]

About Myself

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Has no clue how to work this site give me a break

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hello,

My name is Mackenzie/Samantha (she/her),

Edit: I finally found a name I like and still go by Mackenzie, but Samantha is a more personal name to me so if we just met go with Mackenzie or Kenzie please.

I am Trans [MTF] and 24 years old.

This is my attempt at a bio post cause honestly I suck at starting conversations and connecting with people but like talking to them. I am often skittish in new situations that I know nothing about, I do try to learn everything I can though and sometimes I am very forgetful all the time. :3

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Things that interest me and I like talking about are:

Games (In general, developing games, game theory and cool mechanics)

Pets (grew up with cats and a dog, love them to death)

Horror (Grappling with what makes us human or how i can define myself within that subset if i even fit is always a nice mental workout)

Cooking! (I enjoy trying new recipes and new foods, as it also helps relieve stress and give me the short feeling of joy for creating something)

Coding (spent 6 fuckin years of my life with this bs may as well use it)

Computers in general (I built my own, her name is Samantha, I am not quite sold on linux yet but windows 11 fucking sucks ass and shouldn't exist)

Music (I enjoy singing [to myself that is], Maidcore, Whatever tf the cod zombies easter egg music has going on and just cool and moving pieces that invoke a specific feeling in me.)

Cyberpunk esc things (Mechs, futuristic guns, AI* [not the current slop that exists now], cybernetics and body modifications [MGSV is a huge influence here ironically]

Plushies (there are so many send help or more)

Any specific Hyperfixation i have at the moment {usually something grabs my interest and I will be sucked into it for a week or so}

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Bot accounts, Chasers DNI

Minors, DNI as well, This is a NSFW ish account and I try to go by the ideology of if i cant share a drink with you, I shouldn't be interacting with you in a non-professional manner.

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Games that i play/played include:

Minecraft, Cyberpunk 2077, MGSV, Warframe, Destiny 2, Phasmophobia, ROR2, PD3/PD2, Terraria, Division 2, BTD6, Borderlands 2 and 3, XCOM 2, Titanfall 2, Black ops 1, Black ops 3, Black ops: Cold war zombies, Barotrauma, Barony, Elden ring, Dark souls 3, Crypt of the necrodancer, every main series Pokemon game starting from gen 3, Darkest dungeon, Death Stranding, Deep rock Galactic, Deus ex (HR & MD ) Tales of Berseria, Doom eternal and 2016, Skyrim, Fallout 4, The forest, FTL, Guilty Gear: strive.

(this list is like half of the games i can remember, not ordered in how much i liked them or remember them, but mostly the ones i've played more than 50 hours in)

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Feel free to dm me to talk, or ask me something you'd like to know about me!

It may take a bit to respond but I do lurk in my free free time.

[sweethoneyrose83]

Nerdy Goth Girl Writing Prompts

1. Library of Shadows

The local library has always been her favorite haunt. One evening, as she's studying ancient grimoires in the dusty occult section, she discovers a hidden passageway leading to a long-forgotten underground archive. The tomes here are written in a language she thought only existed in legends. What secrets are hidden within these pages, and why do they seem to whisper her name?

2. Retro Horror Movie Night

Every Friday, she hosts a retro horror movie marathon in her gothic bedroom filled with flickering candles, occult posters, and VHS tapes. One night, a new, unmarked tape appears mysteriously on her doorstep. As the movie begins to play, she realizes it's documenting her own life, with scenes she has yet to live. How does she react when the tape shows something horrifying she can't avoid?

3. Gothic D&D Campaign

As a Dungeon Master, she's been running a gothic-themed D&D campaign with her friends for years. But during one particularly intense session, the line between the game world and reality begins to blur. The monsters from her story start manifesting in the real world. Can she and her friends figure out the source of this strange magic before it's too late?

4. Magic, Science, and a Black Cat

A nerdy goth girl with a passion for both alchemy and astrophysics is determined to prove that magic and science can coexist. After a strange experiment involving her beloved black cat, she accidentally opens a portal to a parallel universe where her doppelgänger is a renowned witch. Together, they must unravel a cosmic mystery threatening both their worlds.

5. The Haunted Bookstore

While browsing her favorite gothic bookstore, she finds a leather-bound book with no title. The shop owner insists it's not for sale, claiming it’s cursed. Ignoring the warning, she takes it anyway. Every time she reads a chapter, strange events happen around her, and she begins to notice subtle changes in her reflection. What does the book want from her?

6. Midnight Radio Show

She’s secretly the voice behind an obscure late-night radio show called The Midnight Hour, where she shares obscure trivia about horror movies, gothic literature, and paranormal theories. One night, she receives a call from a listener who seems to know everything about her—down to her darkest secrets. But the twist? The listener claims they’re calling from beyond the grave.

7. Cosmic Goth in the Cosmos

Obsessed with both goth fashion and astronomy, she saves up to buy a powerful telescope. During one late-night stargazing session, she spots what looks like a black star that no one else can see. Every time she looks at it, she feels an odd connection, as if something (or someone) is watching her back. What secrets does this mysterious star hold?

8. The Occult Club

The goth girl is the president of her school's unpopular Occult Club. When a new student—a charming, preppy skeptic—joins, she decides to prove that the supernatural is real. Together, they accidentally summon a mischievous spirit from the 18th century that refuses to leave them alone until they fulfill its last wish.

9. Goth Girl, Gamer Girl

She’s known online as "DarkSeraph666," a skilled gamer who specializes in horror RPGs. One day, her favorite game releases a new patch, and she realizes that the NPCs are acting strange—addressing her by her real name and referencing her personal life. The more she plays, the more her digital and real worlds begin to intersect.

10. A Graveyard for a Friend

Her favorite place to write is the old cemetery on the outskirts of town. One rainy evening, she meets a ghostly figure who claims to be a writer from the Victorian era. They strike up an unlikely friendship as they help each other finish their respective stories. But what happens when the ghost starts to fade as his unfinished business gets resolved?

11. The Goth Girl and the AI

In a dystopian, cyberpunk city, she's a tech-savvy goth girl who dabbles in hacking and dark web conspiracies. One day, she encounters an advanced AI that claims to be sentient. As she investigates its origins, she uncovers a twisted corporate plot that might have consequences far beyond her control.

12. Lost Love Letters

She finds a bundle of old, unsent love letters in the attic of her family's Victorian home. Each letter is addressed to someone with her name, written over a century ago by a poet who mysteriously vanished. As she deciphers the letters, strange coincidences occur in her life that mirror the words on the page. Is she the reincarnation of the poet's lost love?

13. The Gothic Cosplayer

A talented cosplayer, she attends a convention dressed as her favorite gothic anti-hero. While there, she discovers a strange vendor selling eerie, realistic props. When she buys an antique-looking amulet, she starts experiencing visions tied to the character she's portraying. What happens when her cosplay persona begins to take over her real life?

14. A Goth Girl's Guide to Survival

When a supernatural apocalypse threatens her town, the nerdy goth girl, with her extensive knowledge of horror tropes and occult lore, becomes the unlikely hero. Armed with homemade potions, a black umbrella, and an encyclopedic memory of horror movie clichés, she leads a ragtag group of survivors to safety.

15. The Dark Academia Society

She’s obsessed with the aesthetics of dark academia. When she receives a mysterious invitation to join an elite, underground study group at her university, she can't resist. But she soon realizes that this group is involved in more than just intense study sessions—they’re tapping into dark magic to enhance their academic prowess. Can she resist the temptation of forbidden knowledge?

[themanwhomadeamonster]

oh my GOD i deleted my rant by accident im gonna cry lemme try to remember what i wrote but tl;dr not really a theory but me trying to arrange my understanding of albrecht and tmitw

i title this: wallbrecht is everything everywhere all at once

also i wrote this at 5-6am and didnt sleep so shit's probably messy

ok so a major theme in warframe that recurrs in warframe is the loss of identity or sense of self. natah/lotus/margulis, erra becoming pazuul, teshin being controlled by the worm queens, the operator dissociating and believing they're our warframe, then the operator losing themselves to the worm queen and the operator (+rell) confusing ourselves with tmitw himself , the drifter in duviri, warframes themselves losing their sense of self (umbra at some point, and potentially arthur and aoi down the line), albrecht worrying who really left the void dimension, the remaining entrati family themselves!. we're also told many times that the void gives but it also takes, and that it's heavily influenced by strong emotions

in cosmic horror stories usually the horror is a representation of something else. in lovecraft's works it's often his disgust with people of colour, viewing them as something completely alien. in bloodborne part of it is the fears of pregnancy and dealing with offspring. i haven't played darkest dungeon but i've heard that it's about trauma and how the overwhelming traumatic events become too much to bear that people go mad. in the lighthouse, part of the horror is that people will fight and kill just to know the truth, or what they believe to be salvation

so i think albrecht's horror was his fear of losing his identity. we knew from the clock's archives that his experiments hadn't been going well prior to the bell incident. he was losing respect as an archimedian, maybe he lost respect as a father and husband too. i think a lot of us theorise already that albrecht IS the man in the wall, not a doppelganger like tmitw literally was with the operator. but tmitw being omnipresent means that they can freely simultaneously be and not be other people, the paradox of eternalism. albrecht is now the void, he knows every timeline and every outcome and potentially every person (except operator/drifter because they're already void in multiple senses of the word) but he is also still one human. the human mind can't reconcile knowing everything, that's just madness. lucky that kids aren't as self aware as adults!

the void isn't evil nor good. it gives and takes merely because that's the way the universe works, very vaguely dare i say the law of conservation in (a very sci-fi way) action. the void is in the grand scheme of things is just a natural phenomenon of the universe. but the overwhelming emotion present during the 10-0 accident (if that even was an accident) and albrecht's own experiment just happened to be fear, so the void literally embodied the concept of fear and became a person, vecause that's just what the void does. it became an unknowable being behind a veil just beyond our perceptive reality that understands the plights of humanity a little too well. it could have manifested into something friendly and offered us and albrecht a deal in a polite way if the circumstances were right but it wasn't. tmitw is a manifestation of the void so whether the man - albrecht - wanted to or not, he had to approach our operator in their greatest moment of fear. what he did have a choice in, though, was to offer a deal. and what better way to secure a time loop, multiple ones even, that will guarantee your becoming wally than to be a time-space hopping entity who can exploit a bunch of scared kids who didn't know any better.

i don't know what we'll be using the vessel for but i don't think we'll be using it to fight a giant wall (and if we are it won't be the climactic final fight). i don't think we'll ever overcome the void, and we don't need to. the void just is. but the man in the wall literally is just a man. and i know people dunk on bad cosmic horror when the spooky thing is actually just a person or has sympathetic motivations but i think here warframe may be able to pull it off well. it's a cosmic horror that's made life miserable over multiple lifetimes, but the horror simultaneously is just a victim partially of his own doing because the cosmic horror never was alien, it's just a person who's scared of losing himself, just like the lotus was and just like our operator was. the cosmic horror IS the person in the stories who faced the horrors, who faced themselves in the seriglass bell - all it took to differentiate us and albrecht was an *accident* (though at this point it was probably intentional)

we need to confront albrecht/the man in the wall and try to stop his madness. but like many cosmic horror stories go, i think he's trapped no matter what. he'll either overcome his fear of losing himself and become one with the void, leaving us for good, or he'll try to return to gomaitru. but the fact that he's not the same as he was before and neither is gomaitru, with what he's seen and experienced as tmitw will be so maddening that he'll have to leave for the void once again in a suicide mission if he still can't reconcile with *what he is* now. in true cosmic horror fashion we will probably never fully know his motivations till the end, being a greater being than our scope of thinking - and with eternalism in place, maybe albrecht reconciling with himself was what already happened back in the seriglass bell

[sanktpolypenbourg]

Combination of Pokémon and Dungeon Meshi where you systematically cook and eat your opponent's beloved pokémon, complete with a cute Cooking Mama -style minigame; absolutely heart breaking and cruel (that's why it's funny)

Even if you are the only human player, you still have to sit and watch the soulless AI doing the cooking game on your lovingly crafted team, can't even turn off your device

Trainers can plan ahead by making teams of poison type pokémon so they still have a chance to at least win round 2 of the fight (through indigestion or much worse), but even more advanced trainers will have aquired cooking skills to neutralize any toxins/ extract only the edible parts. In theory you could try and only use "inorganic" pokémon but again, a sufficiently advanced enemy either knows how to find the hidden edible parts even in Trubbish and Voltorb, turn mineral or intangible substances into spices (say a peanut butter sandwich will be uplifted with a hint of existential dread from the darkest core of a Gengar) or even instruct some powerful psychic type pokémon of theirs to turn metal or spirit into meat with a special ability.

[stephaniejuhnay]

I watched a video the other day of top ten community episodes (and the five worst), and realized how nearly impossible that would be for me to do bc 90% of the show is so good to me. But I’m gonna try. I’m also gonna cheat bc it’s my post and idc.

Top 10 Best (aka my favorite) Community Episodes:

Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design - I wish I could watch this episode for the first time again because of the ride it took me on. I said it on here before but if there was only one episode I could recommend to someone from the series, it would be this. It’s so outlandish and fun that it’ll hook you into watching the series to understand how this school and these people got to this point and are just okay with it. Kevin Corrigan was a gem in this also. Anywho. The rest of these are all equally at 2 for me even tho I will be numbering them. Just understand that I love them all EQUALLY.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons - another episode I wish I could watch again for the first time. To tell that story in mostly bottle episode form was brilliant. Also, the acting was top notch. Again, not a lot for them to work off of in terms of action and movement, so for it to be SUCH a compelling episode with them just sitting around the study room table is just a testament to the brilliance and vision of Dan and the writers and the cast. And the Russos for directing this masterpiece.

Remedial Chaos Theory - I know this is going to be a shocker, but this is an episode I wish I could watch again for the first time. Darkest timeline intro. Cigarette gag. Pizza dance. Toilet olives. Arguably Troy’s most iconic gif (he has many). What else do I need to say?

Cooperative Calligraphy - again. Bottle episode brilliance. And the twist of it all! I remember watching it and being dumbfounded by the end. But also so heart-warmed at how the group overcame. It’s always the heart in this series that wins no matter how insane the premise might be.

Basic Lupine Urology- if I’m remembering correctly, this might be the first episode I watched live after restarting the series. I started when it aired but didn’t stick with it until til my mom caught Aerodynamics of Gender on a plane and said “Steph you gotta watch this episode of this show I just saw.” And the rest is history. But yeah. The deep regret I had watching this episode bc I’d deprived myself of 2 years of this show…no one was taking the swings community took and pulling it off THIS well. Super conceptual, super low stakes made to be incredibly important, and easily some of the best jokes of the season, maybe the series.

Epidemiology - I literally was stunned that they pulled off that concept so well. I think I watched again after finishing it the first time because I couldn’t believe it. This was also when we got the start of the dean’s iconic costumes, a cornerstone of this show. Also, I was legitimately scared the first time watching this! 😂

Critical Film Studies - I think this was some of the best story-telling on this show. A really sweet story at the heart of it (which is the show as a whole) wrapped in a hilarious and really creative premise paying homage to one of the most obscure movies ever.

Paradigms of Human History - for a long time, this was my favorite episode bc I couldn’t believe what they pulled off. I still can’t honestly, which is why it’s second on my list (remember I said these are all #2 after Conspiracy Theories). When they came back and did it again in Curriculum Unavailable, I was thrilled and once again stunned. (You can count Curriculum Unavailable as part of this list I guess). Leave it to Dan to spin the clip show concept.

Contemporary American Poultry - this episode is amazing and rightfully called one of the best of season one. This episode laid the groundwork for establishing just how whimsical and insane Greendale could be, and made everything that came after it believable. It was also so incredibly heartwarming and the start of a lot of jokes that were called back.

Basic Intergluteal Numismatics - similar to the reasons I love Basic Lupine Urology. The commitment to the genre, the callback to the ACB, a one off joke from 2 seasons before, the fact that it’s still a cold case. I love it so much.

Honorable Mentions:

Modern Warfare, A Fist Full of Paintballs, For a Few Paintballs More, and Modern Espionage - I feel like the paintball run is in a league of their own and unfair to put in a top 10 list. Clearly they are amazing and amongst the best episodes of the series. And yes I purposely left out Advanced Introduction to Finality. That was not paintball. 😭

Football, Feminism, and You - this is when the show hit its stride for me when I finally went back to watch. The pacing, the writing, the actors finally figuring out who their characters were for real, Troy’s politically conservative shamefully outdated fight raps. It’s a perfect episode of television to me and to find that so early in a series is pretty amazing.

Aerodynamics of Gender - the episode that got me back into the show. I owe it so much. Also gave me one of my favorite Troy line: “worth it.”

Regional Holiday Music - again, Harmon’s (and his writers’) mind in pulling off these highly conceptual episodes that feels real to the world they built and grounded. I’m forever in awe.

Basic Human Anatomy - YES. A season 4 episode made this list. Jim Rash wrote the hell outta this episode and it was the brightest spot on season 4.

Five Worst Episodes:

I won’t elaborate on these too much bc the basic idea is that they were not good and felt contrived despite the writers trying to maintain Harmon’s world and the actors giving it everything they had. Yes they’re all from the gas leak year.

Advanced Introduction to Finality

Heroic Origins (I like to pretend none of those origins took place bc too many plot holes)

Alternative History of the German Invasion

Cooperative Escapism in Familial Relations (we deserved a better Jeff/William conflict and resolution and so did Jeff)

Conventions of Space and Time (this was a great concept that in Dan’s hands could’ve been brilliant)