#doing art posting art sharing art liking art analyzing art its all too much

[yuudamari]

the worst part of doing art probably is never getting to see your art through the eyes of someone who hasn’t worked on it. To me, my art is all of its mistakes, all that I couldn’t do, the lack of ability to pull it off like I wanted, and I know I never will.  To everyone else, it’s just art. it may be pretty, or maybe they’ll just look at it for 3 seconds and move on. I don’t know if they’ll like it, or understand it. Maybe they’ll see more meaning on it than I did, or maybe they won’t see any where I tried to put some.  Or maybe there just isn’t anything noteworthy. Maybe they won’t like it.

But they get to see the art as a piece of art and all I will ever see it as is something I tried to do and could’ve done beter

[offshore-brinicle]

see now i'm wondering if his ring ID is the kind of person yi sang could have become if he didn't join limbus company. like he internalizes the thinking pattern of "i'm a fool and not worth a damn and everything i do only hurts people" and expresses that self-loathing via his art. eats drywall

OK SO. I TOOK SOME TIME TO ANSWER THIS ONE BECAUSE I WAS TRYING TO GET HIM FOR MYSELF. I don't even really play the game anymore and keep up with the story via YouTube but. Y'know just to prove a point basically and Virtual Yi Sang Collectionism while I find myself with too much free time again so you might have gotten to see it by yourself by now but. Still.

Actually looking into this with his story and all of his dialogue they really did just give him an actual Bad End ID like Nclair, Ahabmael and G Corp Gregor (with some variation of Erlking joining eventually? but I have no idea how that will work taking in count the plot aspect) since Spicebush Yi Sang doesn't really Qualify as one of those and is even framed as being empowering in a way for him taking in count its release was timed so it could be used in the Farmwatch fight instead of waiting for the end of the Season like the others. I believed that W Corp Yi Sang was this spiritually; since it depicts him at his lowest point imaginable following on the track he was on already and the themes of Canto IV perfectly though not related to it, but now Ring Yi Sang has shown us a much more connected, and much darker potential path for him. So I'll take this post as my chance to analyze this:

In regards to his self-loathing it's very interesting that he actually seems to feel a sense of pride not seen in any of his other IDs, talking about "what he deserves" and disregarding everything that doesn't cause him a reaction. He now uses creation itself as a way to fill the emptiness inside of him, while in the main story, Yi Sang's resolution was that his impulse to create was his way of connecting with others.

You can see that in these lines, where he has completely disregarded everything about life and other people, pretty much all of his dialogue revolves around wanting to create and he has only interest in what can inspire him, to the point he nonchalantly kills civilians for failing to make him feel that way.

I feel like this is even expressed in the Sins for this ID compared to base Yi Sang, the set-up is the exact same; S1 Gloom and S3 Sloth. However, the one that changes is S2. Regular Yi Sang has S2 Envy while Ring Yi Sang has S2 Lust. Added this to Ring Yi Sang's passives even being fueled by Lust as well while base Yi Sang's are fueled by Gloom. I take this as a representation that he has taken this Lust, an obsessive desire, as being what will drive him forward throwing away all the self-loathing and regret, with many of his lines calling the past meaningless.

Now I'll tackle his story and do a rundown on it while giving my observation, as it ellaborates into this and what his mindset is (and frankly, it's utterly fantastic). First of all, we get a unique, dissonant track that so far seems to have never been used in any other instance in the game to my knowledge.

Yi Sang's approach to his scientist position is very...unique, because he does so as an artist rather than more proper scientific people like for example Faust, Dongrang, Aseah and Gubo. People who simply want practical application and results, means to an end. Dongbaek seems to be the only person who shares this approach he has which is why their bond is treated as unique compared to the other League of Nine members. At his core, what fascinated Yi Sang so much about technology and sciences was simply the euphoria of discovery itself, finding new things. Which is tackled immediately when Ring Yi Sang's story begins as I am showing here.

With science, you never truly "create" anything, you go through right and wrong answers until finding something that works or causes some effect, he even says so himself in Canto IV. And he goes on to criticize his prior fascination with technology with this particular aspect in mind. Even more shockingly is that he calls the League of Nine's conferences a "waste of time" now, each of their creations predictable which could tie into him being a one-of-a-kind genius, which is also somewhat tackled in Dongrang's observation log. To him, everything else his friends made was child's play.

So instead, he looks towards what made him so fascinated with The Mirror in the first place, echoing this particular point he makes during his log for Dongbaek, both of them are driven to reach something abstract and inconcievable and ended up using technology as their path to that vague destination that can only be described in poetry.

And finally, he completely foresakes his past at the League. He even he believes he finally has his wings but calls them fabricated, and there is something obviously wrong with the entire thing on multiple levels. They are fabricated wings because he was guided to this conclusion by the hand of another, rather than the introspection throughout IV. His chapter title is "The Unchanging", and it's the only chapter where the trait assigned in the title to the focus Sinner is a positive; him staying true to himself and his ideals was the key, but he needed to actually move past his apathy and actually grasp them, but here he has completely changed beyond recognition. Turned arrogant, callous and utterly irrational, discarding all of his self-loathing by divorciating himself from the self that he hates, yet the Sloth—the apathy remains, instead of moving past it, fighting it back with his Lust in an endless cycle of dopamin chases while growing numb to everything else and even destroying it if it fails to satisfy that Lust so that it will, as shown as he kills failing students to take delight in their shock and agony.

But at the same time it frames that portrait of the League in his background art a completely different meaning. It is most likely that this portrait is a mockery of all of them, regarding the past and the life he lived until now including his past self with the same condescencion he does examinees that fail to impress him. Specially when you take in count how his own face is much more well-painted than the childish erratic strokes he assigns to the other, making them look ridiculous. But at the same time, Yeonsim is there under them, but flipped to its underside, he still held onto it but as far as we know it might be completely broken and only keeps it as part of his insulting work going by another of his idle chatter lines.

This dark inversion of Yi Sang's journey even before Limbus and Canto IV is also emphasized by Pointillism in particular being chosen as the subject for this ID, this was first pointed out by this Korean Twitter user (and fellow irl Yi Sang enjoyer going by the layout) in the original announcement for this ID:

Of course, this theme compliments Yi Sang's resolution in IV pretty well. He loved the League and grew to love Limbus because they were his resting place. I can't find any translation of Jochunjeommyo however, so I can only rely on summaries and posts put through machine translation. But from what I can summarize, the story is about an artist who can't find a place to breathe and simply exist due to the materialistic, capitalistic nature of the city he finds himself in, which fits pretty neatly with Yi Sang's story as a whole.

I'd also like to point out how a less overtly unhinged variation of this kind of development is shown in his Dieci ID story (which I wanted to make a post on for a while because it really feels like it was preliminary to this and not enough people talk about how messed up Dieci Yi Sang actually is) and how he comes to adopt a mentality just like Ryoshu's, with her already being linked to The Fingers and knowing about their workings personally to the point she might have been affiliated at some point though we cannot confirm, however I will instead link to this post by my friend on the topic since they already did a dissection on how Yi Sang and Ryoshu act as ideological foils and they pretty much said it better than I could: https://www.tumblr.com/ishcliff/743271628518129664/so-any-thoughts-of-well-the-blade-lineage-itself?source=share

So that's all I've got for now! Honestly I am so over the moon with this ID and the potential implications going forward as you can imagine.

[luzlopesarts]

This is not an update to the Comic, but it still has something to do with it !!!

(call it a little gift for the Wish Rewrite and KoW fandom)

Hello my little stars! How are you?

I mentioned in the last post in the series that I would be traveling for a week or two and that's why I wouldn't be working. Well I'm still traveling Lmao.

It's been a lot of fun, I'm visiting my Prince Charming and family, both of whom I haven't been to in a long time. Still, I couldn't stop thinking about KoW and Wish's Concept Arts. Disney sealed the fate of its fan artists by discarding so much good material, now they are embedded in our minds and we will not be able to rest until we see them realized. This is crazy but it's beautiful to see how much these discarded concepts generated creative potential in the fandom.

Because of all this I couldn't help but make some small sketches! And well, I came to show them here. They are not sketches of Comic panels, but they have something to do with it and I will show the photos and explain how.

This first one, very faded, are Magnificent and Amable's clothes (designed by @uva124, for the characters in @annymation's rewrite of Wish "The Kingdom of Wishes"). The drawings that Aled did are very complex, I don't judge her for that, in fact I thank her, she gave beautiful clothes to the centuries-old Disney villains and they are perfect. I really wish I could draw them with all the details, but I will do everything by hand, alone and seeking a minimally professional quality (I want to be a comic artist/book illustrator one day. This comic is my first step Lmao, and I want to do something that conveys the best I can give at the moment), so I need to make some things easier for myself. The costumes are one of those things.

" Better something simple and well done than complex and poorly done." — This is my motto for this Comic and for my life.

The next sketches are related to aesthetics. I've been watching a lot of "Analyzing the Art" videos of some Disney films and I was inspired to adopt some "Disney Style" features in my arts for this comic (not everything obviously, because I don't want to be sued by Disney lmao).

What you'll see next is me trying to mix this influence with my own style in some KoW character sketches.

(this last art specifically references a meme in which @rascalentertainments tagged me, Thanks for that, by the way! <3 )

(credits to the artist, I don't know who it is because I was just tagged in this meme and I was busy So I didn't look for more information, but I'll leave the post link and you can check the official credits)

Speaking of aesthetics. Anny received Chiara's aesthetic from someone — the north star, "daughter of Aster", created by his magic at the very end of Anny's fanfic. This Aesthetic inspired me to create an aesthetic for Asha and Aster too and these were the results:

What's your favorite?

Lmao, It took a lot of work to make Aster's. There are almost no things for "starboys" on Pinterest.

I'm leaving this up to you to share as you wish, consider it a gift to the fandom!

Lastly, I want to say that the artistic analysis videos They also inspired me to put together a moodboard for KoW and I'll be leaving it here. Not even Anny and Aled know about this and I can't wait to see their reactions! I wish I could print this painting and leave it on the wall, but unfortunately I don't have a printer T-T.

This moodboard is helping me with the artistic direction of colors, style and is a visual motivation to stay active at work.

I hope you like it too!

That's it for today, it's already midnight in Brazil and I should be sleeping instead of posting crazy things on the internet. I'm going to tag my friends and go to sleep, Lmao.

Kisses full of light and stars!

~ Emy

@wings-of-sapphire @flicklikesstuff @frogcoven88 @chillwildwave @gracebethartacc @gracebethartacc @kstarsarts @oh-shtars Come and get your therapies after the anguish caused by certain publications by Anny!

[crimsoncold]

Current thoughts on HOTD

(i.e. the disappointment, the choice not to hate watch the show, and my continued appreciation for the fandom itself)

So I'm admittedly done with the show itself... I can tolerate quite a bit of lackluster writing when I love the concept or certain characters enough- seriously I watched all of the original 9 seasons of the x files (+ the films) even when it had pretty much abandoned the monster of the week format I loved, got extremely convoluted in terms of its plot/conspiracies, and most of the original cast wasn't even around anymore- but sometimes a show declines in quality so much I'm too discouraged to want to continue watching.

S1 already had issues but the inconsistencies in plot/messages/characterization and the strange changes writer's have made to the source material in S2 all sort of converged to make a show that is ultimately not just generally disappointing but now is outright unimpressive and unwatchable (side note i feel so bad for the cast they're working their ass off and the writer's are just giving them literal garbage).

I'm just not a person who really enjoys hate watching stuff? Like no judgement if you want to continue watching or if you do choose to hate watch- do what makes you happy- it's just not something I personally would choose to spend my time on- if a show doesn't even interest me to begin with or nothing about a show makes me happy anymore I'm not going to watch it. (With many of the better shows out there getting unfortunately canceled so quickly I'd rather spend my time watching enjoyable shows while they are still around- I know I'm just one viewer and likely I make zero difference in the scheme of things but I just don't want to be part of a viewership that encourages studios to cancel well written but less popular shows and continue with the poorer quality shows because hate/outrage inspired so much viewership... I think it's just that this business practice pisses me off enough that I don't want to be a part of it or reminded of it)

So for HOTD I'm not personally continuing with the show I'm just going to rely on the braver souls in this fandom to show me how crazy things get - at this point it feels like for my sanity there is nothing left to do but laugh at how bad these showrunners are ruining their story/characters and otherwise just move on and watch other things.

When it comes to fandom side of things well I'll quote myself from a different hotd post for a moment..."disappointing or poorly written shows are not without their appeal for participating in fandom (i.e. making, viewing, or sharing the art, writing, metas, or other content inspired by the show) particularly when there is a handful of interesting characters (looking at you book/S1 HOTD's team green) that fans want to rescue from the terrible writing/butchering by the showrunners ... sometimes it is even one of the most appealing sort of set ups for fandom to take over and fix things."

So I will absolutely continue to appreciate the general efforts of HOTD fandom (writers, artists, gif makers, etc.) and I will continue to seek out/like/reblog/comment on fan works as well as the many well thought out/eloquent metas and write ups fans put out about this show.

To paraphrase once again from one of my other hotd post "The juxtaposition between how underwhelming and juvenile the showrunner's storytelling choices are compared to how eloquently fans interpret, analyze, deconstruct, criticize or even defend the show and it's characters is absolutely wild...a not insignificant amount of hotd fandom puts in more time, effort, and thought into hotd than ANY of the showrunners/writers."

While I was admittedly intrigued by select characters of hotd my desire and decision to participate in hotd fandom really came down to the amazing efforts of fans who analyzed the show, wrote incredible metas on it's characters, and who made their own transformative stories and art based on hotd.

So in conclusion I'm done with watching the show, I hate everything the showrunners are choosing to do (the audience deserved a better story/show), I feel so bad for the cast and wish the characters hadn't been massacred by these writers (Alicent, Aemond, Helaena, Aegon, and the rest of team green all deserved better writing, i.e. consistent and coherent characterization or you know getting time on screen/together in general, all characters deserved better than being reduced to props for this strange pro targ/pro Rhaenyra storyline the showrunners have made up, hell even Rhaenyra herself deserved better writing),

I will continue to think about the "what ifs" that come up around this ... (what this story and these characters could have become in the hands of better writers) and I will always still appreciate/comment on and reblog fandom efforts themselves (whether you continue to participate in hotd fandom or are done with it just know that even though the writer's suck and the show has just gotten worse and worse, and the few character's we liked are getting destroyed by the writing, I still admire everybody I encountered in the little niche of the hotd fandom I have participated and appreciate what you all contribute to hotd fandom.

AND I will continue my own little additions to said fandom-i still have hotd inspired art coming soon and while I'm done with the show itself I intend to steal away the shiny things I liked from hotd (certain intriguing characters and the possibilities that could have existed if this had been adapated better) and continue to enjoy them while I ignore the rest of the nonsense the showrunners have created.

- Crimson Cold

[revenantghost]

[20 Question Fic Writer Game]

Tagged by @faindri and @pancake-breakfast!

How many works do you have on AO3?

18! Most are poetry collections, so a lot of smaller stories in one anthology.

What is your AO3 word count?

75,144

What fandoms do you write for?

Trigun is my main squeeze atm (and biggest in general, I have four projects for it which is double anything else--and the highest wordcount, too), but I've written for KinnPorsche, Sabikui Bisco, Danny Phantom, Vampire In The Garden, Sasaki to Miyano, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Goncharov (yeah... yeah), The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window, Signalis, Omori, Lycoris Recoil, and The Executioner and Her Way of Life

What are your top five fics by kudos?

No idea and I ain't looking! Trad publishing has me extremely scarred from some nasty comparison wars, so I have kudo and view counts blocked on ALL fics, including mine. From my kudos emails, though, Hallowboned has to be my top fic for sure. Last time I was paying attention most of my other fics didn't pass into triple digits by a long shot

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do!!! I adore comments, and I love chatting with folks, it really keeps me motivated and chugging along. I am... very behind on replying to the comments on my last chapter rn because I feel so awful and guilty about having to quit writing

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Uh... I don't write a ton of narrative fics, and I do love me some tragic poetry, but I guess the angstiest collection might be my Signalis one, Observable System Transcendence? But my Omori poem and the Trined Soul collection might be contenders, too

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I mean, Trembling Hands is a Trimax fix-it fic, so? Though the Sasaki and Miyano collection, Effortless Dreams, is definitely the most tooth-rotting fluff I've ever slapped onto the page

Do you get hate on fics?

Oh yeah, I've had my poetry called pretentious and also not good enough to be poetry lol. It's been a hot minute since that's happened, people are just jerks sometimes

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I used to! Porn with plot, my beloved. It would be interesting to explore in poetry format, but we'll see if I have the time who wants to commission some poetry porn from me lmao

Do you write crossovers?

Nah, not my cuppa

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yeah, many moons ago

Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but that is one of the coolest things fandom does. Loving a thing so much you spend the time to painstakingly transform that art into something you can read and share in another language, bro??? Translators are amazing

Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

I've worked pretty closely with artists a loooong time ago, but I've only written fics where I'm the sole writer. I have used other writers' ideas and outlines (with their permission, of course), but that's the closest

What's your all-time favourite ship?

I DON'T KNOW?!?! Shipping has never really been my main focus of media typically, but when one digs its teeth into me I go rabid in a completely feral but different way each time.

What's a WIP you'd like to finish but doubt you ever will?

))): All of them

Life feels kinda... really dire atm, it's hard to see ever writing again. However! God I want to finish Hallowboned SO BADLY!!! I have so many chapters written for it that I haven't even posted!!!!! Y'all haven't met Livio yet!!!!!! GAH 3:

What are your writing strengths?

Uh... ??? I'll be real, I've got no idea. I feel like I write so weirdly atm, it's hard for me to analyze in that kinda way

What are your writing weaknesses?

I tend to get really excited/into things and flit around and forget to explain or describe things sometimes. Thank god for having been well-trained to edit my own work. Not that I catch it all, but I try!!!

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I think it'd really cool, but I'd need a native speaker on hand to make sure I don't fuck it up in my own fic

First fandom you wrote for?

I think my first piece of written fanwork was a Danny Phantom Quizilla thing lmao, I'm old. I don't remember what it was about, just that it was ANGSTY

Favourite fic you've ever written?

Ah?!?! Honestly, each project is so different and written from such a different place, I've got no idea. I'm proudest of Observable System Transcendence being my longest, most consistent project (outside of my Smaugust collection, which isn't a fan project), Hallowboned being the first thing that really inspired me in ages--and the most indulgent one lol. But each collection and fic and poem comes from such a different place, and it's hard to pull them apart and pick???

Tagging:

Whoever wants to hop in! :3

[self-insert-nightshade]

More OL2 - if your MC is into art

This time, it's if you're into music. This is very broad from singing to playing interests to even writing songs.

Well i posted this before i was done with it so uh ignore it for now its not even tagged

A lot of this is more step 2 featured. So Darren/Ren/Renee isnt featured (I'm still learning about them) and the same goes for Baxter. Some day I'll add them to this post.

<><><>

Tamarack is probably the easiest with music in the sense that there's something about her that puts you in that perfect zone to create something melodious. It starts out as simply humming when you're in her presence and escalates to singing songs on the radio together.

If you play an instrument she wants to learn how to play it too and eventually she wanta to duet you. This goes for singing as well. She's not the best singer and as step 2 comes around she gets shier and more self conscious about it but when its just you two she'll sing and play along to you. She never wants to stop accompanying you however she can but it can be a little hard to find the right harmony to match together. Both of you in the melody are just fine though and if you're more inclined to find the harmony then it's about as good as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (a classic).

Songs and melodies with her in mind tend to be gentle, slow, and mellow, or rich in tone. They all tend to flow into each other in a very legato sense. When composing music that reminds you of her, you're very thoughtful of each note and notation and each word chosen and she appreciates all of the thought that goes into the work. Tamarack appreciates all the little details and would want to analyze and play and experiment with what you compose and show you just how much she treasures what youve given her. She might have her own two pieces to share about the composition but she'll always start out wanting to know your reasoning behind it. And then, maybe, you'll make a song with both of your styles.

<><><>

Now Qiu. Qiu thinks your singing is the prettiest thing he's ever heard. When they first hear you humming they can't help but look up and verify that its you thats the source of the music. They will enthusiastically ask you about what song you were humming, will you sing for them, do you play an instrument, will you play for them, have you ever thought about making music or composing, why not/what do you make songs of/for? Theyre curious and would gladly dance if it was to one of your songs.

If it was a song more difficult to do ballet to or not traditional, they might ask Baxter for some ideas. Qiu can watch and listen to you all day every day. Just the fact that you're sharing this talent of yours with them is enough and they thoroughly enjoy this sort of private time where it's just you and him and music.

Qiu would definitely ask you to sing to him if he was having trouble with something whether its being anxious, keyed up, or can't sleep. Hearing your voice, especially if its couple with laying their head on your lap, will have them relaxing in mere seconds.

Now when it comes to composing a song for Qiu, they won't be able to understand some of the more detailed nuances unless you explain it to them but they can pick up on the emotions from the tempo and melodies or harmonies and just telling them that the song is FOR THEM will have their jaw dropping and eyes wide in astonishment that you would do this FOR THEM.

Qiu, himself, isn't likely to sing or hum along with you. Not that hes bad at it no siree. It's just never been something they were interested in so they dont have much experience with it. But they will hum the song you wrote for them near constantly. And if you want him to sing with you he'll humor you in private and try but he'll often drop off just to listen and watch you.

<><><>

(I dont know what pronouns Darren/Ren/Renee uses throughout other steps so I defaulted to they.)

When it comes to Darren/Ren/Renee you cant help but think of them fondly. They might not have been someone who confided in you about everything but it's a small town, you feel a part of their life regardless and you've watched them figure themselves out honestly? Much quicker than you might have figured yourself out. Maybe they inspired you to do some self reflection as well on your presentation and identity.

All of this to say, they're the reason you change pronouns in songs you sing, they're what makes you bolder and braver with showing your voice and trying different harmonies and melodies and exploring and broadening your ranges. Theyre the one you change lyrics and tailor songs for and they're the first person you wrote a song for. Sorry mom. It's maybe taken you a while to refine and be confident with the song enough to show to other, nevertheless them but when you do their face burns and twists in embarassment with the corner of their lips pulling as they try to hide a smile. They've always been a little shy but youre hoping some day theyll be able to understand your feelings from the song you will gladly sing to them as many times as they want.

<><><>

Oh Baxter. Baxter baxter baxter.

Bax man.

This boy sits quietly with a smirk on his face and listens before he teases you about it. Only in a complimentary way of course, hed never say anything mean. If anything its a little flirtatious and it makes your ears and cheeks redden.

[americangodstalk]

So for those of you who might be wondering about me and why I have been inactive, it is simple and short.

I had a breakdown when it came to American Gods and I decided to stop doing anything AG-related whatsoever. 

It was just a mix of everything. The show going to crap, the impossible task of managing an entire Wiki when you are one person - on top of that a student, not even a man with a stable job and life. Everybody promising to help but then nobody showing up except Christian fanatics. 

And there was a whole other set of realization. I realized I lacked too much knowledge to fully explain American Gods through articles on a website - I just got in this mess to point out fun little trivia and collect concept art and interviews, not to write analysis about each character, location and plot point. 

I realized frustratingly writing fanfics was just a bad way for me to approach the work. That instead of trying to pour my ideas into a work by someone else I should just let what this works inspire me blossom into its own, unique piece that is all mine.

I of course realized that if I kept working on the Wiki I would waste too much of my energy and lifetime when I had studies to go to, a family to take care of, a life to build (I am properly younger than you think).

But more importantly, I realized that working on the Wiki literaly broke my love and passion for American Gods, and it is something I did not want to happen so I stopped altogether. A Wiki is a place to dissect, analyze, classify everything. And this not only works against the novel itself, but against my own mindset. Trying to explain in an article the magic of AG literaly killed said magic. Especially when you are all alone, forced to protect and defend a Wiki you never asked to inherit, but feeling forced to do it because no one else steps in and no one else seems to care and everybody just jumps the ship.

Mind you I still guard it. Like some sort of vulture I circle around a Wiki whose heart has stopped beating - because like the librarian of some buried and forgotten archive, someone must preserve all the knowledge, all the pictures, all the work that has been built throughout decades. No matter how lacking, incomplete or wrong it is, someone must prevent it from all disappearing.

But I will not work on the Wiki anymore. I won’t write anymore article I won’t add any more picture. I can’t. Other people are still invited to, and free to, but it is not my job. I’ll just oversee, and then wait until someone worthy takes my place I guess? 

I need to reconnect with American Gods. With the book, with... with everything. I need to clean myself up of all the drama and all the adaptations and all the thing that were sent to me from outside, and just return to the time I was a kid reading the book in an unmoving car on the parking of some gigantic Ikea-like store in the middle of some sort of desert stuck between two urban zones. When all the “AG” fandom was just me, my book, a Wikipedia article and some fan art on DeviantArt. 

And then maybe I’ll return. I’ll return but only to do what I wanted to do originally, and only to do what pleases me. Share pictures of costumes, of concept art, of special effects. Ask questions about details. Make research. Look at earlier drafts, compare versions. And be inspired. 

It is a very warped phenomenon that I think a lot of people fall into: when you are inspired by a work, but given this work is so unique and so iconic you feel obliged to only express your work as some sort of fan-made content. When want to do something similar you don’t do it because you fear it will just be a lame copy or a rip-off, and so you just settle for some easy-made fanfics that ultimately leave you unsatisfied because it isn’t your characters or world. I rediscovered that I needed to just let myself be allowed to be inspired by a work, and to express the ideas I got through different, unique ways instead of just staying in a safe shadow. 

This post probably doesn’t make much sense, I am tired, I am worn-out, I am exhausted and my life is going to crap for a time - but I just wanted to inform you about the whole situation, keep you update, and just express some of those feelings I never talked about. 

Good night to you all. Or day, wherever you are.

[untilteddocument]

[Image description: A set of Tumblr tags. They read:

"#I think the current design of social media has a lot to do with it personally #the fact of the matter is that more extremely derivative content that confronts fewer challenging themes circulates easier #and a lot of creators are trying to make a buck so if thats the only stuff that gets decent exposure then its the obvious choice #also potentially poorly designed and poorly funded educational systems also factor in bc literary analysis IS a learned skill #and if you're just chasing whatever triggers a strong gut emotional reaction w/o investigating why then once again #romance is an easy grab #this i think also explains the 'fandom ghosts' / 'ship molds' of characters being cast as the same pairing #even against their canon characterization and narrative arcs and thematic associations #you get drawn to a certain dynamic you feel strongly when you see it you want to see it again and you havent analyzed the source so #you dont notice the disparities you just focus on the emotional high of enjoying some romance. you share it. #people who dont know the source can understand it easily and like it too so it gets further reach. so on and so on #boy im talkative in the tags today lol anyways thats just my vague theory i am not a sociologist #and i hope i dont sound like im casting ppl deep in fandom as inherently stupid what i mean to convey is that its a system #supported by the structure of the platform its on to draw you in with easy dopamine which everyone wants anyways #and a lot of people just werent given the chance to pick up the tools for understanding what could be wrong with this #that said if youre stubbornly resisting learning to apply a critical literary lens to anything thats on you lol. grow up #long post"

End description]

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Adding my own thoughts here.

So, this is an old post, obviously, but it gave voice to something I hadn't and still haven't been able to stop thinking about.

I think the above bunch of tags has the right of most of it, but I recently saw a post screenshot from @gallusrostromegalus where they note that a lot of fandom is for works that are a specific mix of fun to watch/read and incomplete/loose enough (I'm hesitant to use "bad" as the qualifier because while it's broadly true, it's not all that exact) that people see spaces they can colonize, so to speak, and it got me thinking. Maybe in addition to cheap dopamine and the problems with education systems, that theory kind of contributes, in that engaging with stuff like the MCU or Naruto gives fans one specific approach which doesn't work with something like Squid Game but it's the only tool they have any familiarity with.

Now, I do want to emphasize that I'm not saying there's no room for contextless shipfics and AUs. I'd be a fucking hypocrite if I stood up at the devil's sacrament and denounced shipfics as some sign of the Fall of Rome or whatever given the fan content I tend to consume. It's...

...hm.

I guess the way I'd put it is that art is, at core, an attempt at conversation between the artist and the audience, but while this does mean that the audience has agency, it also means that both sides have to be at least having the same conversation.

Does this mean that the audience has no room for its own input? No, 'course not. That's what Death of the Author means. It means what the author meant to say isn't as important as what they said.

It also means, however, that if a work, for example, says "power doesn't corrupt; power isolates, and isolation corrupts" and the only thing the audience has to say back is that they want the gangly white men to fuck nasty, then there's not much of a conversation happening.

also everyone treating squid game like the latest fandom of the week and making aus and trendy videos and shipping and all that is absolutely missing the point. beyond salvation

[irregularmelody]

I don't exactly know when my passion for writing began. One of my earliest works dates back to 2016, where I wrote for popular media back at the time like Miraculous Ladybug and Five Nights at Freddy's. I was a child with a phone in my hand and infinite liberty on the internet. Perhaps I fell down a rabbit hole and came to realize now. 

Like everything I do, I felt insecure about it. I still do. Even though I was eleven years old, half mindless of my online behavior, I put effort into it. My lexicon wasn't perfect and my writing style was terribly wonk. Lots of spelling mistakes. Formatting? Never heard of it. Planning concepts and scheming out a proper narrative? Nope! Wrote whatever came to my mind, regardless of continuity. 

It naturally came to me, inspired by the works of the others. I wanted to give it a try. And it naturally flourished. With it, slowly was born things such as media literacy, analytical skills, comprehension of symbolisms and metaphors. You know, the whole deal. It was a journey of learning and growth through those eight years. 

I self-taught myself by the way. I analyzed others' works and carefully picked out elements that interested me and those that didn't. Never did I watch or read tips in writing or ever participated in circles meant for beginners. Like always, I prefer to be an autodidact. If there's a word I don't know, I immediately go after its meaning. I have read pages about literary movements such as surrealism, symbolism, realism. I ended up finding my place in symbolism. And just like that, little by little, I molded my writing style. It's nothing special nor revolutionary but I am proud of it.  

Then, I stopped it. 

What do I mean by that? I stopped writing for IPs as a personal project of mine created and assembled in 2020 was born. During that time, I have watched Neon Genesis Evangelion (2019) and Puella Magi Madoka Magica (early 2020, before the pandemic hit). Its themes, its narrative and the overall way they were told made an impact on me. That was it. It was the trigger for the desire to write something original. Something that came from the deepest parts of my mind, unstoppable creativity.

It's still in progress. 

As I focused on this project, I haven't written anything for a piece of media I knew in a very, very long time. I had settled in being a reader rather than a writer out there in places like AO3 and Wattpad. Of course, being the way I am, I developed the art of analyzing (characters and narratives) and writing walls of texts picking apart the smallest of details I found interesting. Madoka Magica is there as proof. Nowadays, poor Null. 

And speaking about Null. Oh, well. What a shocking plot twist. I never saw this one coming. 

A flame I thought it had long lost has been snuffed, rekindled. And the culprit? The Baldi's Basics franchise. More specifically, Null and his little spectacle in Classic Remastered. It has been a while since a character got such a firm grip on me. Homura Akemi was soloing her stay on the podium for four years and this invisible bastard came and decided he wanted to share it. Yes, share it because I love them equally. Same level of obsession. 

It is kind of a rabbit hole of how I got into BBIEAL only now when I knew the game since 2018 but the earliest checkpoint in this entire thing is after the completion of the 404 page arg in the Basically, Games! website. The password one. Skipping a few details aside, the Down by the Docks arg (created by someone who later became my friend, woohoo!) happened and after a few days of its end, a terrible, horrid voice came to my head.

An idea and a proposal. Write something for it. And post it.

…I don't want to spill too much details of the absolute mental torture I put myself through when this popped up in my mind. All I got to say is, HOLY SHIT, IT WAS HELL. I was constantly beating myself over it until I finally got a grip, wrote it and posted it under anonymity. I didn't have the balls to expose myself out there yet. I called the creator and showed it to him and waited for the inferno to arise while I hid in the shadows. At least I had an advantage, they will never know it was me!

Incomprehensible whiplash followed suit as I was met with positive reactions. They liked what I wrote. Even called it a love letter. Maybe it is, I was so overcome with emotions while I wrote that and it spilled onto my words without me knowing. It had been so long since I wrote anything outside my personal project and it was for the Baldi's Basics franchise, for a fantastic arg, for Null. My notes on that work shows my dumbfoundedness. I was surprised with myself. I was surprised by everything.

Time moves forward, other experiences happened and I found myself writing again. Not for my project but for… Yeah. Baldi's Basics. Null. I am a writer inside this community. I am a writer for this community. I vaguely remember once tweeting on how I would stop being so shameful of my works and proudly expose them for the world. So I did. I removed the anonymity and now my name is there for all eyes to see. 

As I speak here, I currently have five works for the Baldi's Basics tag on AO3. Every time I receive a comment, I want to run away from it like a frightened child but all these feelings dissipate when I see that people actually enjoy what I write. Hoping for more. Call me stupid, call me emotional. It makes me want to cry sometimes. 

This insecurity of mine is a matter I have to work on but I promise, as long as I keep writing for this community, my name will forever remain in display. Writing is my tender love and writing for a circle that received me so well is deserving of my blessings. Thank you.

[loonyoz]

Idk I guess I should make a pinned post? Sideblogs, links to my art posts, and info about me below the cut

@hezele is where I’m attempting to write fanfiction

I might make a sideblog for my art someday? Idk

My Art:

Right now I just have very random bg3 art

Wyllstarion Howl’s Moving Castle AU:

Wyll making a pact

Wyll and Astarion

Sketch of Wyll in demon bird form

Sketch of fem!Wyll

Strictly Ballroom Wyllstarion

Sketch of Branwyn, @/odessa-castle 's oc from their lovely fic Nothing Like the Sun. (highly recommend giving it a read!)

Used to have supernatural art and non fan art posted but got self conscious and deleted it lol.

Other notes and info about me:

I would list all my interests (like books, shows, etc.) but uhhh that list is way too long. Honestly I feel like I love most things/genres/media and am always looking for more art to engage with and appreciate.

I try to put alt text on all my posts that have images but I’m pretty sure I’m ass at it lol. Lmk if you have suggestions for me on how to make my posts more accessible or my alt text better and I will do my best to implement it.

This is the internet so I really don’t want to share much about myself, but I think it goes without saying I’m very neurodivergent and queer lol. I use way too many terms but genderfluid, transmasc, and nonbinary are the best descriptors for myself.

Branching off of that I want to say the internet is a difficult place to navigate, especially socially. I’m sure I make lots of mistakes on how to communicate best with people online, but I try my best to do so as respectfully and kindly as possible. The internet is a great way to get information and have discussions about important topics, but there are many pitfalls and problems that can occur that are too numerous and complicated to get into here (although I’m sure anyone whose been on the internet for all of 5 seconds is familiar with them).

I use tumblr mainly to discuss creative media and I also don’t feel I’m qualified or informed enough to speak on most serious/real world topics. So I try to avoid bringing up alot of real world issues on my blog because I worry I would only be detrimental to these causes. Of course, creative media is not off in its own bubble from the real world and so real life problems are bound to be part of the art or discussions.

I bring this up for two reasons. One, I don’t want people to see my lack of activism and feel uncomfortable, or that I don’t care. This is unavoidable but perhaps this alleviates some people’s worries. Two, I want people to know I’m open to constructive criticism and learning new things. If I post something that you think is misinformed or hurtful, and you’re willing to tell me, I want to know about it and what I can do to improve. And on lighter note, I love to analyze stories and art and provide my thoughts and opinions on it. My favorite thing is to have discussions/arguments about interpretations of stories and ideas. So as long you approach me in a respectful/kind way I would be overjoyed to chat.

Anyway if you read this far, thanks for slogging through the wall of text :). Tumblr is glitchy but Im pretty sure most of my followers are bots I need to block 🤷

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Disney & the Impact on TWST’s Main Story

With the slow but steady release of localized content on the TWST EN server, I’ve been reliving the experience of reading TWST, more specifically the main story. It has really put some of my thoughts into perspective, especially pertaining to how TWST’s ties with Disney have impacted some of it, so I wanted to share them in this post.

Please be warned that these thoughts come from the perspective of someone who has knowledge of future content yet to be released to the TWST EN server.

Additionally, I would like to provide the disclaimer that just because I am critiquing Twisted Wonderland does not mean I think TWST is “bad”. On the contrary, I am analyzing TWST as much I am because I want this game that is so close to my heart to be the best it can be (and I just enjoy talking about it in general). Just because I don’t love every single aspect of TWST or support all the decisions its story chooses to make doesn’t mean I don’t love TWST.

I’m also NOT shaming anyone if you do enjoy the main story or the chapters I critique in this post. These are strictly my own thoughts and opinions, and everyone is allowed to think differently.

With all of that out of the way, let’s begin.

***Massive main story spoilers below the cut!***

This may be a controversial take, but I think that TWST’s association with Disney properties both helps and hinders it.

Obviously, a massive part of the marketing and “selling points” of Twisted Wonderland ARE that the world and its characters are “twisted” from classic Disney movies and franchises. There’s no doubt that the big names behind Twisted Wonderland (not even just Disney but also Aniplex, Yana, the VAs, etc.) are a part of the reason why it was and is so successful. I’m NOT trying to understate their accomplishments or the cultural impact their creative works have had.

A lot of us have nostalgia and happy memories associated with Disney movies, which in turn makes it easier for us to find TWST’s cast and world so endearing. It’s like one extended game of “I spy” where you get this warm, fuzzy feeling as a reward for catching Disney references scattered around. There’s the obvious ones, like how each dorm is modeled after a member of the “Great Seven” and the biomes they hail from, or how the dorm leaders (except replace Kalim with Jamil) reflect traits of the Great Seven Disney villains. Then there are more obscure references too (such as hidden Mickeys in card art, or characters dropping lore that talks about other movies, like how Silver makes mention of Mulan’s courageous deeds when talking about a great hero he admires during Endless Halloween Night). In these instances, I think it helps Twisted Wonderland a lot and enriches both the characters and the world they inhabit.

Now, that’s all well and good, but I bet you’re wondering “so if you think the Disney elements make the world and its characters more fleshed out, how are the Disney elements also a bad thing?” I’m glad you asked.

It’s no secret that the main story of Twisted Wonderland heavily relies on recreating story beats from their respective Disney movie counterparts. Most likely this has an explanation in the overall narrative, as the protagonist, Yuu, has had constant premonition dreams (of the movie scenes), which later eerily sync up to the events that play out in the real world of Twisted Wonderland. (At the time of writing this, we haven’t yet seen the full scope of the main story. Chapter 6 is still incomplete, chapter 7 has yet to be released, and there are still TONS of mysteries surrounding Yuu’s dreams, how they connect to the world, and what role Mickey plays in all of this.)

To be clear, I’m NOT here to say that the Disney movie dreams and Twisted Wonderland have NO connection (because it’s clear that there is); I’m here to say that the main story’s reliance on replicating the movie events limits TWST’s plot. Not only does this make it extremely easy to predict what will happen in certain chapters, but it also tarnishes the character of some of NRC’s cast as a result. Let’s go chapter by chapter, and I’ll explain.

Chapter 1: The Rose Red Tyrant

While chapter 1 still “follows the Disney movie”, Alice in Wonderland’s story is actually so nonsensical and really has no plot that to try and perfectly replicate it in the twisted world would be nearly impossible. The most “direct” ways chapter 1 really “recreates” Alice in Wonderland is Chenya showing up to guide Alice (Yuu, Adeuce, and Grim), Heartslabyul painting the roses red to avoid upsetting the queen, and Riddle “executing” multiple people. These are arguably some of the most iconic parts of the original movie, and are so few it doesn’t overstay its welcome.

What really helps chapter 1 is, again, that the elements it carries over from Alice in Wonderland are more terse and mainly motifs rather than entire events to replay, which helps chapter 1 to have its own flavor and identity to ease new people into Twisted Wonderland. It’s a good, if kind of generic, start. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for…

Chapter 2: The Usurper from the Wilds

This chapter is the most disliked one among the fanbase, for various reasons. While I can’t speak for everyone, I personally don’t like chapter 2 because literally almost none of the major story beats make sense and feel so forced in order to live up to The Lion King’s legacy. You have many elements that call into mind Scar’s situation, with Malleus being the Mufasa that Leona schemes to take down, and Ruggie and Savanaclaw being the “hyenas” that support Malleus being “overthrown”. The problem lies in the context; because TWST builds Malleus up to be this “all powerful” figure, Leona’s plan makes no sense/wouldn’t realistically work, and his character massively suffers as a result of it.

Leona is said to be an intelligent, cunning person that doesn’t feel motivated because he feels that his efforts won’t amount to anything. However, in chapter 2 they try to show us how smart Leona can really be when he’s giving his all to topple the crown, and this attempt fails because of the intention to carry over the stampede from the movie that kills Mufasa. A huge huge HUGE plot hole in Leona’s plan is that Malleus can EASILY avoid the stampede with magic. Malleus is even SHOWN to poof away in a flicker of lights when Yuu meets him earlier in the chapter. What here is stopping Malleus from doing that teleportation magic as soon as he sees a crowd of people racing at him? NOTHING. Leona comes off as dumb because he didn’t plan around this, and it’s even worse because the story itself doesn’t acknowledge Malleus poofing away as a possibility and seems to quietly hope we just don’t notice that despite the same chapter showing us Malleus’s easy out much earlier.

There are also smaller and more subtle elements of Leona’s plan that doesn’t make sense, like when Jack tells Yuu he’s sure he won’t be taken out by the culprit. Later on, it’s revealed that Jack knew all along that Leona had Ruggie perpetrate the attacks. Do you realize what this means? It means Jack KNEW Savanaclaw was responsible and wouldn’t attack their own kind (hence why he knew he wouldn’t be hurt). It means there were probably NO Savanaclaw victims in the series of strange injuries. THIS WOULD MAKE THEM THE OBVIOUS CULPRITS IN THE EYES OF THE ADMINISTRATION AND IT MAKES NO SENSE WHY NO ONE IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT OF THEM.

Chapter 2′s set up was perfectly fine, but it experiences its major downfalls when it tries to replicate The Lion King’s story events. Leona’s intelligence takes a big hit as a result of this, and it’s very obvious when you look at any Leona materials outside of chapter 2. In vignettes, other chapters, AND even story events, you can see his true intelligence and thinking outside of the box coming through. It’s just such a shame that the chapter revolving around him and his struggles is so poorly constructed and doesn’t do a good job of demonstrating his true strengths to us.

Chapter 3: The Merchant from the Depths

I feel that a lot of people enjoy chapter 3 because of its association with Octavinelle, which I believe to be the most popular dorm overall. I have to say that I disagree with this sentiment. While this chapter may put Azul, Jade, and Floyd in the spotlight, I think that the story trying so hard to stay true to the sequence of events shown in The Little Mermaid ends up watering down some of the most interesting and intelligent characters (especially when compared to chapter 4, which we will get to later). Chapter 3 isn’t BAD (it certainly has fewer plot holes than chapter 2), but it could be a lot better.

In terms of following the plot of their movie counterparts, chapter 3 is the worst offender. Yuu makes a deal with Azul, which is the entire crux that the chapter relies on to drive its plot forward, and just like in The Little Mermaid, Azul sends the eels to interfere so Yuu and co. can’t make the 3-day deadline Azul set for them. This set up is the closest to the movie of all the dorms so far, and it suffers the same problem as chapter 2 because of it. The character writing suffers because of having to carry through with The Little Mermaid’s plotline, with issues starting to arise after he makes the deal with Yuu.

It’s made clear by the end of chapter 3 that Azul wanted Ramshackle but that he also wanted the picture from the Atlantica museum. To obtain the first thing, it would require Yuu not fulfilling the contract. To obtain the latter thing, it would require Yuu fulfilling the contract. Do you see the issue here? If Azul desires both of those things, it’d be impossible to get both because whether Yuu fulfills the contract or not is yes or no answer. Either Yuu does it, or they don’t. AZUL CAN ONLY GET ONE OF THE THINGS HE DESIRES. It seems like he is placing priority on getting Ramshackle, seeing as he DOES send the twins to interfere with Yuu and co., but then that begs the question… How DOES Azul plan to get his hands on that picture if Yuu fails? He could do it himself and meticulously plan around it, but that’s a huge risk and we know that he dislikes those (which is why I presume he is having others do it for him). I would say that it was clever of Azul to interfere with the mission (since nothing in the contract said interference wasn’t allowed), but that actually leads us to another personal gripe I have with chapter 3.

The twins take a big character hit because of how chapter 3 insists on being faithful to the original story. The most they do in this chapter is lead Yuu and co. to Azul and then stall them from infiltrating the museum. This is the extent of the eels’ roles in The Little Mermaid, and I do not think they should have been relegated to this; even in chapters 1 and 2, the card soldiers and Ruggie (who is an obvious parallel to the hyenas) did more than their movie counterparts. Because of how little they do to differentiate themselves from their movie counterparts, Floyd and Jade just come off as generic evil henchmen (one polite and one more laidback) that do whatever Azul say (with maybe the one caveat being the time when Floyd and Azul get into an argument because of how carelessly Floyd uses his signature spell indoors). There’s a lot more to both of their characters than just what is shown to us in chapter 3, and again, I find it so odd that a chapter which focuses on a certain dorm fails to show us how interesting that dorm really is.

You know what actually does a far better job at showing off the twins AND Azul? THE VERY NEXT CHAPTER.

Chapter 4: Tactician of the Scalding Sands

Chapter 4 is what I like to call “the dawn of a new era”, because it has a completely different vibe than chapters 1-3. TWST gains a new confidence and starts being more experimental with its depictions of Disney movie events. (Meanwhile, chapters 1-3 seem much more tentative and afraid to branch out to do its own thing and relies too MUCH on sticking with Disney movie events. I think this is in part due to Twisted Wonderland initially “testing the waters” to see how the new IP would be received by the public, so they may have leaned way too much on their Disney roots as a crutch. Arguably the best thing TWST did to “mix it up” in the early chapters, and continued to do in later chapters, was bringing back the previous chapter’s dorms to help in the current chapter. It adds a new element to the story and helps to spice things up, even if the events of the main story still largely follow that of the movies.)

(I honestly think that chapters 1-3 aren’t terrible, but they could be much better if they weren’t so stringent on following certain Disney movie events to a T. If you want an example, I would recommend checking out my chapter 2 rewrite. It’s not perfect, but it still largely retains elements presented in the original chapter 2 but reworks the events in a more non-linear way that differentiates it from the movie.)

The main story beat that chapter 4 emulates from the original Aladdin is Jamil/Jafar betraying Kalim/the sultan. The reason this works is because the general idea is being referenced, but it differs greatly in the details. Twisted Wonderland took the concept and made it its own thing instead of making it a perfect 1:1 recreation. For one, Jamil is seen as benevolent by all, rather than predominantly by the dorm leader. His manipulation extends to BEYOND just Kalim, to his dorm mates and even to Yuu and Grim, whereas Jafar really only successfully manipulated the dim-witted sultan in the long term.

For another, Octainvelle’s presence really shakes up the climax of the chapter. Their own scheme was not included in the movie–it’s ALL original to Twisted Wonderland and it does a fantastic job of showing us how cunning Octavinelle can be when it’s not bound by the story of The Little Mermaid. We can see that they won’t hesitate to use tricks, lies, and manipulation of their own to get what they want, and their plan in chapter 4 is honestly a lot more coherent and tightly knit than in chapter 3. We see the finer points of their personalities, like how Azul takes charge in the plans and can be overdramatic, how Jade excels in prying information from people but also has a cruel side despite his politeness, how Floyd loves just derping around with his low voice but also isn’t afraid to just tell Kalim he’s done fucked up by trusting Jamil.

Chapter 4 is also great in that it marks a shift in which things from the Disney movies are referenced moreso in metaphors or in short cute happenings rather than in literal major events or objects in the game. For example, Jamil calls Azul his “genie in a bottle” because Azul can offer valuable information that Jamil can weaponize. Imagine how contrived the story would have been if they literally tried to throw in a segment where Jamil finds a real genie in a lamp and achieves power THAT way. It would invalidate all the plotting he has done on his own up until that point through his own powers, and it would only further complicate things. In another example, the magic carpet makes an appearance, but it just serves as a cute and convenient mode of transportation to show off how rich the world (specifically Scarabia) is. It doesn’t interfere with the flow of the story because it’s just an accessory.

Chapter 5: The Beautiful Oppressor

It’s the idol boot camp arc.

… This has to be the most outlandish premise for any chapter so far, and while I’m not a fan of idols, I have to say it’s an interesting direction for TWST to take. Like in Alice in Wonderland, Snow White doesn’t really have much in the way of an extended story. (In fact, I feel like most of the movie is just the dwarves and Snow White hanging out and chilling.) This allows TWST to focus on really making this their own fresh and modern take on one of Disney’s classics. In doing so, the game ends up offering commentary on the entertainment industry, self-worth based on clout/others’ perception of you, and a number of other topics that aren’t necessarily covered in the barebones story of Snow White.

To be clear, I don’t like chapter 5. I think the pacing is very inconsistent and that the story chooses to focus on all the wrong characters. However, if there is one thing that chapter 5 does well, it’s that it has confidence in being itself. It spends a significant amount of time with the boys training and talking, learning from one another, etc. We don’t even really meet Neige and the dwarves until the last segments of the story, and the only real main event the chapter carries over from the movie is Vil trying to poison Neige. (The jealousy and asking the mirror who is the most beautiful are short bits that I won’t be counting.)

I’d also like to say that beauty in this chapter isn’t JUST beauty. It’s very much a metaphor for other things, depending on the context. In some instances, beauty refers to individual efforts towards an achievement, or determination. (Vil says time and time again that he WORKS HARD to achieve his looks and that he’s not interested in a beauty that “lasts until the stroke of midnight”; Rook affirms that Vil’s determination makes him beautiful when he says that even his deadly Overblot state is a beauty.) In other instances, beauty is referring to inner beauty. (Vil realizes the gravity of his attempt to take another life and calls himself ugly, not because he IS physically ugly, but because he is inwardly ugly for his actions and he KNOWS he is going to Overblot as a result of it.)

TWST is mainly doing its own thing for chapter 5 instead of relying on what its predecessor has laid out for it to follow, and that’s what works so well here.

Chapter 6: Keeper of the Underworld

Chapter 6 follows the spirit of chapter 5 by mostly proceeding with its own ideas instead of making its Disney inspiration the focal point of the major events that transpire. Part of the reason why chapter 6 is allowed to be this creative is because it has the luxury of NOT being one of the introductory chapters. Everything else has been slowly building up to this, with the frequents Overblots and Grim eating the blot stones. It leads into this whole kidnapping and human experimentation plot (yeah, definitely don’t recall THAT in Hercules), which is wild and totally out of left field but sooo refreshing to see after the by-the-numbers plots of the early chapters.

Chapter 6 is still incomplete, so I won’t pass my final judgement on it quite yet, but as far as I can tell, it has, as of part 35, not really mimicked anything from its movie other than some inspired visuals and general motifs of death and Greek mythology via STYX and Idia/Hades being “unwelcome” in Olympus.

In my opinion, the best chapters or the best parts of chapters are the ones where the story is allowed to “be itself”, take more creative liberties, and do its own takes using Disney as an inspiration or a springboard for ideas (chapters 4-6) instead of being shoehorned or constrained into making direct recreations of Disney movie scenes (chapters 1-3). It unintentionally creates plot holes which damage the overall narrative and, at times, also downplays the characters involved in acting them out. Using motifs, symbols, and themes from the original movies doesn’t have a large impact on writing quality, but forcing the world and its characters to carry out certain movie events does.

I think (with the way the story is currently proceeding) we are gradually evolving and that Twisted Wonderland is, at this point, finally confident in telling its own tale without being so heavily reliant on its source materials. That’s exciting, and I can’t wait to see what happens next! ^^

If I had to rank the chapters in terms of personal enjoyment (and not just based on plot holes/quality of the storytelling) from most to least, it would be: 4, 6, 1, 3, 5, 2

[pencil-urchin]

My initial response to this post was this:

Well said! I definitely agree that it would be boring (to me) to read without thinking critically (most of the time; sometimes, particularly when stressed, it is nice to just sit back and enjoy some fluff).

It's also worth noting that while learning to engage with critical and interpretive readings of texts requires work, once you learn and do it enough, it becomes so second-nature you almost can't help doing it, and it becomes part of the experience of enjoyment!

I want to expand a little bit on what I mean when I talk about reading critically and and interpretively.

I would like to preface this with my credentials.

I have 5 degrees, 3 of which are research- and analysis-based: AA in Liberal Arts [with a primary specialization in Literature] BA in Literary Studies and Master of Library Science); and 2 of which are design- and communication-based (MA in Visual Development and MFA in Concept Art). Additionally, I have worked for over a decade as a librarian, I have taught English and Art to students as young as 4 and as old as 20+ years. Beyond that, I have been a fencing coach (foil and epee) for over a decade, and have coached students as young as 12 and some old enough to be my mother.

I have experience in learning, understanding,band communicating in a variety of ways to fit the needs of whomever I am working with. That experience has shaped me and my thought processes, and informed what has become instinctual for me.

I understand that most people do not have this experience, and I do not fault anyone for that (I also cannot recommend getting 3 graduate degrees, for the sake of your mental health, because the normalization of mental/emotional distress and burnout leaves lasting scars that I would be happy to discuss elsewhere if anyone wants to hear it).

Now, what do I mean when I refer to reading a text interpretively and critically?

I do not mean that I sit down with every piece of media I consume and analyze every word for its latent meaning, every sentence for its structure, or every line of dialogue for its cadence. I can do this, and in some cases I may do this during a secondary reading/watching of a piece of media, but it would be incredibly tedious to do it constantly (not to mention it would interrupt the initial enjoyment of a piece).

I'll be real with you: I actually get really annoyed when people do engage with media like this every single time. I have a friend who studied Film and Cinema; he does not turn off that part of his brain when engaging with any text, and it drives me crazy.

I will absolutely sit and interpret and adore Dennis Villenueve's adaptation of Dune. There's so much to appreciate visually that hearkens to the source material with incredible skill and so much in the presentation that emphasizes the isolation, desperation, and bleakness of the Atreides family and its struggles. In many instances, this is skill that is worth noting and appreciating.

But sometimes I just want to sit back and watch Six-String Samurai or Psycho Goreman.

That said, once you have as much experience and skill at interpretation and critical consumption of media, there is admittedly an inability to completely turn it off (at least in my case). You spend long enough honing your skills and shaping what becomes instinct that whether you intend to or not, you bring that into your consumption of media, and for me, that usually adds a layer of enjoyment.

I enjoy reading or watching a movie and asking questions internally, or making predictions, or trying to figure out whodunnit, or or or...

Not everyone does, or has to.

And not everyone who does enjoy it has to with all media (see again: Six-String Samurai and Psycho Goreman). Again, I genuinely find it frustrating sometimes when I share media with people and they can't just sit back and absorb it without remarking on every detail (word choice, lighting, costuming, etc).

I know I am absolutely that person often enough (I know too much about historical costuming, metalsmithing, weaponry, armor, etc to let some things go by unnoticed, though I rarely feel the need to voice complaints like "doorknobs wrent invented yet" and disrupt someone else's experience), but I try to mitigate it if I realize it's happening because I want to be considerate of the experience of others when they choose to share media with me.

It saddens and frustrates me that anyone who saw this poll felt strongly enough about not thinking critically about (morality in) text to actually select it from the options. It feels almost as if in doing so, those people have actively disparaged the work of other people participating in the discourse and the fandom in general.

What I mean by this is that by choosing to declare their apathy, they have not-so-tacitly expressed disdain for those who do care, and in so doing have attempted to achieve superiority through that apathy (much in the same way some characters in media are presented as "cool" for not caring, which in the eyes of anyone with a modicum of critical thinking skill is a clear indicator of seld-doubt, fragility, and fear).

Please, as you go forward in life, please understand that if you want to engage in discourse regarding the media you consume that there will be disparate points of view, and that that is okay. Furthermore please understand that many people who are part of a fandom likely come to that place with a different approach and different amount of experience than you. Please take that as an opportunity to be thoughtful, to consider alternate points of view, and to potentially expand your understanding (if only by engaging in critical thinking and rhetorical exercises, internally or interactively).

And please, if you come to a fandom discourse without having done as much work as those who have put in the hours and effort to gain a deeper understanding of a piece of media, understand and accept that your opinion does not carry equal weight. You would not give equal credence to the thoughts of a child's first read of an abridged version of Great Expectations that you would give to a Dickensian scholar who has written multiple books and/or articles on the unabridged version of the book.

And although a wise scholar would absolutely want to hear the child's interpretations and thoughts, anyone on the outside would understand that this is an exercise in attempting to gain insight from what is essentially an "untainted" point of view (by virtue of a child not possessing the experiencecof life to project onto media they consume) focused on elements that may differ from the focus of academia at a professional level.

I am not here to disparage those who do not fully invest themselves in every piece of media they consume (because that's perfectly valid), but I am here to remind said people not to rush headlong into the discourse with the false belief that their shallow reading does not carry the same authority as those who have done the work.

Thanks for coming to today's lecture on Media Consumption and Criticism with Professor Pencil_Urchin!

Your Thrawn takes (concluding the debate)

From a poll I did yesterday. You can check out the post on my profile. I’m tempted to do a longer one to get a more accurate result… but that’s it for now! Thanks for participating.

100% people

No character, unless they’re a pure villain, is fully immoral. It’s an interesting viewpoint to take on a character like Thrawn who has undoubtedly done moral actions. Perhaps you view something he did as so immoral it negotiated all of this for you?

Another thing that people seem to not realise: ‘good morals’ and ‘good character’ are not synonymous. If somebody tells you a character that you like has done bad things, don’t take it personally! Nuance is what makes characters interesting. I love characters like Maul and Mahito (jjk) purely because they are completely selfish and atrociously evil. I’m not gonna get sad if someone says, ‘how can you like them they’re evil?’ A huge reason why I like them because they’re evil. Duh. Characters like that are fascinating. That person does not understand the implications of characters as storytelling tools (another reason I would argue it’s so important to analyse critically - you’ll take everything personally otherwise and not be able to appreciate this). Maybe you can help them realise that the character isn’t fully immoral, but is actually an anti-villain or an anti-hero. By having these discussions properly (instead of just getting annoyed and shutting them down) we will realise that, wow, 80% of people have the same view (that’s most of you).

I’m repeating myself again here, but I’d also like to stress the importance of expectations when people post about a story or character. Somebody who makes a post about one particular aspect of a story or character that leans towards more moral or immoral is probably not going to give a balanced judgement of the entire work or characterisation. You’ll realise by responding that, oops, they actually do understand everything you do, it’s just this post was about one small thing and you took it as their entire bias. My post criticising the Ascendancy’s use of child soldiers received a response generalising the fandom as people who are obsessed with analysing morality and think Thrawn is this horrific pure evil character. No… that’s not what I said! (And the morality part, that’s a bad thing?)

This annoys me people

7 people picked the last option, which does make me sad if it’s because they’re frustrated by the type of arguments that seem to arise from this topic and don’t want to engage anymore. Having these better discussions would probably help this. Hopefully they do understand the value of morality in literature analysis in general. It can be an important tool to assess whether one character is more effective than another, to illustrate the themes of your story, and much much more.

Some people view stories are purely for entertainment and not for any intellectual purpose, but I disagree and don’t understand this. I would find stories unbelievably boring that way. If you disagree that’s your personal preference, and I will not change my mind because this is mine, so DNI please.

Conclusion of the debate

The conclusion of the debate is… well, critical analysis (including of the moralality kind) is required to understand what really makes a character a good character.

Thrawn is such an incredibly fascinating character, I think, because of his moral ambiguity. Why does Death Note fascinate people? Take the moral debate out of Death Note and you render the entire story meaningless. There would be nothing. There wouldn’t even be a story. I feel like this is obvious.

[cdmagic1408]

Highlights from The Art of Onward book!

alright so I've decided this week for Onward Fan Art Friday that I'd do something a little different...

tbh I kind of had a hard time deciding on a theme for my 11th edition—or "up to 11" I should say—post, so hopefully that'll be decided by next week (it most probably will)

so what's this week all about you ask?

well believe it or not, I had never owned ✨The Art of Onward book✨ until yesterday! i know...crazy, right? but I found my opportunity to finally get it when i saw that it was 45% off on Amazon. so instead of paying the usual 40 bucks, I only had to pay $21! it was good deal, I'd say. but yeah I had ordered it a couple days ago, it came in the mail yesterday, and as soon as I got my hands on it I read through the whole thing, carefully looked through every page, did some excited squealing every now and again lol...cue my daily I absolutely love this film, its world, and its characters so much speech...

it took me like three hours and all I can say is WHAT A RIDE. this is such an amazing book!!

Now I've seen a good number of the art in this book from previews or elsewhere on the internet, but there are also a ton of really cool pieces in here that I'd never seen at all before that I am just blown away by! it reminded me of the amazing onward fanart I only ever see on Instagram, and in turn—the purpose of my onward fanart sharing series

so whether you own the Art of Onward book or not, tonight I'm going to spotlight pieces from within it that caught my eye, deserve more recognition, and perhaps some analyzation (this is OFFICIAL onward art after all...)

and let me tell ya, picking just 10 pieces for this wasn't easy...everything from everyone in here is SO GOOD!

Artists

just a few quick pre-notes...

I did happen to catch the names of the artists in some of the angles, but others not so much, so I'm gonna credit them all down below like I always do anyway

I won't, however, put in links to instagrams this time around because some members of the fabulous onward crew don't have insta and instead either don't have social media at all or are on lots of other social sites (primarily LinkedIn), and/or have their own portfolio websites—all of which you can easily find by looking up their name in a Google search!

lastly, all the images above are taken from The Art of Onward book, specifically my Art of Onward book, and were captured using my iPhone 13 Pro

Noah Klocek, Production Designer - ahhh I love this! The gang's all here! Ian and all his friends, including Kagar it looks like! I've always wanted to see a character line up of these 6! and a 3D model of Kagar too!

Madeline Sharafian, Head of Story at Pixar - ok this gives off major levels of sassy Ian and I just love it! I wonder what he's being sassy about tho...like, is he telling someone off? is he claiming he can do anything he sets his mind to with his magic? I NEED CONTEXT

Chris Sasaki, Art Director/Character Designer - awwwwww young Barley reading young Ian a storybook! emphasis on AWWWWWWWW!!! this is a very small drawing but it really doesn't matter how big it is...this is absolutely precious!

Maria Yi, Character Designer - I really love all her character drawings of Laurel, but I also really enjoy what she made here! This is something every artist needs a reminder of every once in a while: that all characters are made up of simple shapes and it's a great place to start when going about drawing them!

Kristen Lester, Storyboard Artist - 🎵 wouldn’t you like to quarter own a beautiful vacation home? 🎵 i swear...that song, and these lyrics in particular, from the deleted scene just started playing in my head the moment i laid eyes on this piece! i think cause the sirens themselves are holding contracts lol

Grant Alexander, Character Designer - this drawing seems to imply that Ian and Barley were once going to meet the pixie dusters in an actual swamp instead of the swamp-like aesthetic that ended up in the final film...but I love this idea of them hanging out in a club or bar when they're not riding their motorcycles!

Nat McLaughlin, Art Director/Set Designer - this concept looks very epic but also very dangerous at the same time...while I wouldn't want to risk being in a train accident inside a volcano, the idea of looking out a window and watching lava bubble and boil while riding in a subway sounds like a very fun attraction!

Don Shank, Set Designer, and self-proclaimed to draw and paint - OH MY GOSH KEVIN!!! Kevin from UP is in this drawing!! I love Kevin! if they were thinking of giving her a cameo at the time the phoenix was going to be the final villain that would've been interesting!

Zaruhi Galstyan, Freelance Character Designer - this is a piece from Jenny's set of pages and all I wanna say is I really love this beautiful character design! she looks like an ancient nature spirit! and now I have to ask: do these creatures exist in the onward-verse?

Dan Scanlon, the creator of all that is Onward! - who better to save for the best for last than our man Dan himself? I love all three of these drawings he made! I really enjoy drawings that visually set the scene and point out where everything is going to go, like actually pointing out with arrows who or what goes where

[partnersatfazbear]

My thoughts on Security Breach

This post has taken me quite awhile, but I hope you all enjoy it! As usual, expect my focus to be blog relevant and I will analyze it with bias towards William and Henry while also discussing other theories. I don’t actually play stealth games, but having watched the likes of Markiplier and FusionZ play a good chunk of horror titles, I will give my thoughts.

Ultimately: This game was more hyped up than what we got.

I will seperate this post into a few categories, so you guys can read what you like. Willry/Helliam hints are in bold and italic like this.

Things I deemed especially important / titles of each section are in bold. Most of the stuff is not in any particular order. Either as a I discovered them or what fit to the flow of each point. There are several theories in this post.

Finally, if I make any edits after my initial post, I’ll provide an update log at the top of the post, under the cut. I think we will definitely discover more or more ideas will come to me.

MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT INCLUDES ENDINGS, CUT CONTENT, AND THEORY DISCUSSION

Lore related items, some specifically relating to William or Henry:

One of the first items we get to see is this email, probably a reference to Dave Miller / William Afton in the novels. It’s even possible that he used this as an alias within the company. This could be a small Dayshift reference:

Credit: FusionZ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvawiYhSk2Q

This note regarding Vanessa’s employment coming “from the top”, which is why I stated what I did above:

Credit: Dawko: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gYrWlC84DA

This cute bunny poster in one of the rooms (I currently can’t locate a screenshot, but its a realistic white bunny, almost like a calendar)

This art on the doors. I think while chilling as Vanny, William had some fun:

Credit: https://www.reddit.com/r/fivenightsatfreddys/comments/rj8pn0/what_does_this_picture_even_mean_any_idea/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

There is this Scraptrap arcade found later in the game. Nearby is also a machine with Clown Springtrap and Baby:

Credit: https://www.reddit.com/r/fivenightsatfreddys/comments/rmjomp/i_guess_it_confirms_his_motives/

Credit: https://www.reddit.com/r/fivenightsatfreddys/comments/rmk67c/i_havent_seen_anyone_talk_about_this/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

A Fredbear arcade:

Credit: https://twitter.com/GrigLager/status/1473540940593729537?s=20

In the lower levels, there is this table that clearly references the Afton family. The treasure box in the middle contains a Fredbear’s poster featuring Fredbear. This was gut wrenching for me and I loved it.

Credit: https://www.reddit.com/r/fivenightsatfreddys/comments/risx8b/spoiler_afton_family_finally_some_lore_mentioned/

I think this adds to the WillGrief theory immensely. I already addressed this when discussing one of the Fazbear Frights stories (that reveals Mrs. Afton may have died very suddenly--although, depending what you believe regarding the CDs at the end of this, she may have divorced him and then been murdered. I personally think the tapes are referring to William’s childhood and not Elizabeth’s/Vanny’s but more on that later)

To add to this, the Baby-Staff Bot is in the ice cream parlor NEXT TO Bonnie Bowl:

And the Bonnie / Shadow Bonnie Paper Pal is right behind this section in a hallway:

Credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7Ofs53h3E8

There is also this door drawing that references FNAF 4. I even considered this could mean we play as Elizabeth in FNAF 4, but I didn’t wanna think about it too much. I DO think it shows it hurts William to remember his family:

Credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJQIAZN9Tis

The Puppet Mask is in “The Blob” in the lower levels, as well as several other animatronics including Funtimes. This is probably a reference to FNAF AR (mass produced animatronics) as well as the Stichwraith Stingers, because my guess is it’s Puppet’s actual mask, but who knows? If you don’t count AR as canon, which is alluded to via Luis being referenced in the CDs/messages, then I don’t have a good explanation for the Blob masks. The Baby mask in particular would be Scrap Baby and the Molten mask was already withered in FFPS. I think the fact we have Puppet’s mask in some sort of amalgamation is a clear callback to the FF books and the defeat of Afton there.

Credit: https://www.reddit.com/r/fivenightsatfreddys/comments/rjammi/full_picture_of_blobs_design_containing_more/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb

The Pizzaplex is built above the Pizzeria from PizzaSim / FNAF 6, which we can already assume Henry repurposed Fredbear’s from before that because of the alleyway being the same in the previous games.

It appears to have fallen into a sinkhole, which is referenced in FFPS and SB:

“SINKHOLECONSTRUCTION UPDATE -  Every day there’s a new problem. We pour a new section of track and as soon as it dries, we start to see cracks. I am worried we are building over a sinkhole here. Before construction was approved, there was a site evaluation, right?“

Credit: https://www.reddit.com/r/fivenightsatfreddys/comments/rmyisp/the_pizzaplex_sinkhole/

Speaking of, I’ve seen people saying the elevator shaft was Mike’s way out in FFPS. It’s outside the Pizzeria to my knowledge, so it makes no sense (the escape route would be from inside Pizza Place...). I think this is probably left over from construction of the mall during a supposed inspection alluded to in Roxy Raceway:

Credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7Ofs53h3E8

The Sister Location house-room as well as several other locations from VR exist in the Pizzaplex. I think these are attractions based on the games and don’t really hold any lore signifigance. If you believe in Mike!GlamrockFreddy, then I could see him somehow rebuilding the room he felt most comfortable in. Apparently there is proof of the SL house being near Fredbear’s (I think this is assuming the SL house and FNAF 4 house are the same... which I don’t)? I would have to look into this.

William appears as a smaller trashrabbit for the secret ending boss, sort of. It appears he may have done a number of things, such as more of Scraptrap surviving the fire than we’d expect (maybe he only burned some before finding the escape route?), finding a second Bonnie suit (sort of unlikely... he would have grabbed it during PizzaSim), or just excuse his appearance as a redesign/faded version of Glamrock Bonnie. I don’t know why blue would fade to yellow though. I think we can be 100% sure he was using Glamrock Bonnie in SB and this is where his endo comes from. I don’t have any screencaps ATM, but I think Bonnie was decommissioned and replaced with Monty because Afton used Bonnie’s endo as a base for his new form.

Edit: I wrote the above paragraph before we got a good look at Afton’s form. It seems to me only the foot is from Bonnie because it appears a different color, but it could be the lighting:

Edit 2: There’s evidence the HW Spring Bonnie official model was used for this design: https://twitter.com/FNAFL_M/status/1475526899858354183?s=20

There are some conversations where Glamrock Freddy says “There isn’t a rabbit animatronic... not anymore.” and the “I miss him.” line in Bonnie Bowl.

Notes explaining Bonnie being decommissioned and replaced with Monty are also obtained during the game.

Credit (from what I can tell): https://starpuppy59.tumblr.com/post/671062554558251008/spoilers-ahead-this-is-just-my

Glamrock Freddy has a bowling ball in his room in Rockstar Row:

https://www.reddit.com/r/fivenightsatfreddys/comments/rmyom6/freddy_misses_bonnie_so_much_that_freddy_has_his/

The Staff Bots in the basement / the notes: I think these are the children in the Mall MCI. We see experimentation on endos in the Parts and Service room and the notes allude to some form of sentience. The motif of crying eyes isn’t just used for the Puppet, but the missing children in general. I think William was continuing his remnant experiments on the kids using the endos, since he has an endless supply of these things. According to the files they’re called “Happy Fellas”

The notes say various things from “Why Is I” / “Hide” / “No Hide” / Binary, Happy Love, and more:

Credit: https://www.reddit.com/r/fivenightsatfreddys/comments/rimowf/noticed_a_paper_with_binary_code_in_security/

Another thing I don’t see discussed are the hash marks:

Here, they appear in Pizza Place near one of Vanny’s hideouts, but they also appear in the room with the notes and IIRC, on the walls in the Parts and Service. I initially thought that these were the Mall MCI counting the days they may have been held, but I think it’s Afton counting down the days until he has enough power to revive (since he is using power from the Mall).

Afton’s death is similar to The Fourth Closet (I mean “if” he died, which isn’t shown and obviously he won’t lol)

To add to this, it’s been found there could be a corpse in Blob. It has to be Michael:

Credit: https://ffenton.tumblr.com/post/671251069913989120/huge-fnaf-sb-spoilers-ahead

I’m not gonna screenshot it, since there isn’t anything too crazy, but I’ll also say that there are 3 Princess Quest machines and completing them all let’s you view the Vanny Ending. It’s very anticlimactic. HOWEVER, in the game files the Princess is referred to as Cassidy.

I think when Glitchtrap was taken from the old parts, Cassidy tagged along as well but the two were seperated. Cassidy was trapped in the arcade, which Glitchtrap is confirmed controlling in-game through messages and the glitch in BB Arcade; and when you save Cassidy, you defeat Afton’s control and release Vanny. In turn, not only do you free Vanny, but Cassidy too. Cassidy followed Vannessa’s steps from HW, because if you remember, it was supposed to destroy Glitchtrap. (This still leaves Burntrap, but... it does defeat Glitchtrap in a way.) Finally, there is at least 1 arcade machine referencing Glitchtrap called Glitchy Maze (which totally sounds like a play on Fruity Maze) [See: the arcade pics at the top of this post] I think we will get an update to cover the remaining arcade games they planned, like the Chica one, and it will give more context to Glitchtrap not just posessing Vanny but also having infected all these cabinets (probably to keep Cassidy at bay, since Cassidy just wants to torture our bunny murder boi)

Vanny and Vanessa are the same. The Roof Ending does imply two, but I’m in the “it’s Vanessa’s soul unfreed” camp, considering the CDs, IMO, do not imply two of her and you know her soul is still there because you didn’t free her with Princess Quest’s sidequest. I think this entire ending is a jab at fans thinking there have been two of her for years now.

Having said that, this ending could be canon. Freddy’s eyes are yellow in two endings: Afton and Roof/Burn endings. One, if not both, are most likely canon. I don’t know the further ramifications of this, since it would imply x inside Freddy isn’t free either.

Before I move onto Freddy and the others, let me discuss Vanessa / Vanny and the CD ROMs and how I think they tie into William’s backstory and other theories. Here is a transcript (it’s a little inaccurate) of the first 14: https://www.reddit.com/r/fivenightsatfreddys/comments/rjyzk7/sb_retro_disk_transcripts/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

Although the last 2 discs were previously only attainable by hacking, as of 12/13 Steel Wool has moved their locations and all 16 are obtainable.

TAPE 3

T: I feel like i know your dad too, Bill right? Your dad’s name was Bill?

This is either referring to William or William’s father. We know it isn’t Vanessa’s father because of the final CD.

V: I try to do what I’m supposed to do

I think this is a reflection of William’s upbringing. Usually with abusive parents you have to walk on egg-shells and avoid conflict.

T2: What happened to her had nothing to do with you. Even though it was your testimony that did it. Was that testimony true?  (silence) No I didn’t think so but your dad is to blame, not you.

This is referring to Vanessa’s[William’s] mother or Mrs. Afton. It depends how you view these tapes if it’s from William’s POV or Elizabeth’s POV. I think this could give William some interesting backstory. Being manipulated by one parent against the other is a good start to learning how to manipulate and lie to people yourself...

As we go through these tapes I am going to analyze them as we are hearing William and not Elizabeth. 1) Elizabeth is so overplayed in the books. I’m really sick of her and it’s very easy to infer on your own if you’d like to believe this. I think it’s a possibility even though I am not a fan of it. 2) If we analyze these as a look into William’s childhood it gives him some depth, and Hell, some characterization which he had absolutely zero of in SB. The closest we got to this was TFC.

TAPE 4

T3: You’re not going to talk to me? No whats the problem? Oh the flowers? Yes these are particularly fragrant today aren’t they? I’ll move them. There. Now lets see. What are you looking at, you're amazingly alert aren’t you? All right well I’d like to have you tell me about yourself but i can see that you’re not going to do that or are you? All right then, if you aren’t going to talk to me i’ll just go by these notes. You just sit there and be comfy or not. That chair doesn’t really fit you does it? well this won’t take long. Lets see your previous councilor is no longer available does that bother you? No, you don’t look surprised to see me sitting here instead of your last therapist. Well then let’s get to it. I’ll admit that some of what’s in your file is a little surprising. Overall you don’t come across as a trouble maker. But if you read between the lines, its clear that you have a little rebellious side right? And i’m surprised by your knowledge of computers your something of a phenom. Do you know what that means? It means you have unusual skill like a hacker. I assume you know what a hacker is. Yes. do you think of yourself as a hacker 

This is where things get a bit confusing. General consensus is that the ‘46′ tapes are a child, possibly Gregory or even Vanessa as a child, and the ‘71′ tapes are adult Vanessa. I don’t like either of these theories, especially considering the allusion to the other therapists (which we later find out were murdered... Take a wild guess by who) The ‘46′ tapes are VANNY (William) and the ‘71′ tapes are VANESSA (not controlled / before being fully possessed)

Yes, the therapist is condescending. It’s more common than you’d think. I think the therapist is being petty due to Vanessa’s (William’s) attitude. Because the ‘46′ tapes seem to imply this is VANNY and not Vanessa, I think this is literally William fucking around. He doesn’t give a shit about a therapist; it’s way too late for that. This is all a game. He’s only here so he can continue to carry out his plan through Vanessa as Vanny. He is obviously skilled with technology as seen in Sister Location / being a creator of the animatronics. He made literal death machines and through Vanessa I’m sure he had more than enough time to learn some basic hacking skills.

TAPE 5

T?: I’m not talking about luis, you know who i’m talking about. Why won’t you open up about it? (silence) huh what you might not know is that this person who’s been sending you messages has been hacking into your personal files too. These are the same files i have here. These files are full of details about your life. Do you know what that means? 

V: I’m not in the tech department, i just type on the computers. 

T?: I know that but what matters here is that this person who is contacting you knows a lot about you 

V: Lots of people know more than i do, sometimes i need to listen 

Ahhh this is super interesting! This is discussing more about how Vanessa moved from IT to a security guard, which there is a message discussing this in SB. Glitchtrap quite obviously has been hacking her files to learn about her and communicating with her as we have seen in HW and the AR emails.

I think the last line is William showing through. As I discussed before, you walk on eggshells around abusive parents. One thing you’re gonna do is listen.

TAPE 6

T3?: Good morning, it's good to meet you. I’ve read your files so i’m up to speed on what you are your previous therapists have worked on. (silence). Sure you can have a candy. I’ll have one too. (rustling). You look chill sitting there like that not a care in the world huh? All right well I’d like to start by talking about your parents. What happened to them and you was tragic. But when i look through the notes i didn’t get a sense that you’ve processed that emotionally. When I read you account of what happened it came across as … well more of an objective rather than a subjective narrative. Oh sorry you don’t know what that means do you? What i mean is that the way you told the story is more like you were reading something from a book then you were talking about your own past that makes me think you’ve cut yourself off from it. Is that right? (silence) not sure? Well i see in your file that you spend a lot of time by yourself and are good at self-dialogue you know what i mean? Asking yourself questions and getting answers. So maybe you should ask yourself how you really feel about your past? Maybe you should give yourself a chance to really look at what happened and let yourself be upset about it. So you can let it go

Vanessa likes candy, it seems. I think the looking chill line is implying further posession by Afton, though. It’s not Vanessa not having a care in the world--it’s William literally not caring because he can’t care anymore. When Vanessa discusses her past, this is how it was dictated to her by Glitchtrap, which is why it comes across as a narrative and not a recollection. The self dialogue is either referring to William being a very lonely child or Vanessa talking with Glitchtrap.

This poor therapist; she really wants to help, but it’s too late. You can’t.

TAPE 7

T?: Hi Vanessa would you like a candy? Butterscotch today. 

V: No thank you those have 35 calories a piece

William used to be fat. This is what this made me think of. Specifically pointing out the calories sounds like something a girl would naturally say, so perhaps he is trying to hide the fact he’s in control by coming up with a believable lie. As a bonus, this shows a resistance towards the therapist and makes her job harder.

T?: ... It looks like you’ve never taken an inkblot test right? No. okay. Then i’m going to show you some inkblots like this one and i want you to tell me the first thing it makes you think of. Here we go. What do you see here?

V: A tree house 

T?: hmm it does look sort of like a tree house doesn’t it? Do you like tree houses?

Using the page as my source below, there is a reference to tree under Inkblot IV. (Paragraph IV lol...) which discusses this very relevant bit of info:

“The test person's response will be interpreted as his relations to his father, managers and other authorities.

It has also been interpreted as a tree with a somewhat odd appearance, maybe a Christmas tree.”

Sounds an awful lot like what we were discussing earlier, doesn’t it?

V: I like to sit outside and read

Again, I brought up William probably had a lonely childhood. He probably studied a lot or read as an escape mechanism early on.

As for the tree house, maybe he had one and that was where he hid from his abusive father.

T?: that’s good now what about this one? 

V: a beetle

T?: really looks like a face to me. Thats very interesting

Something interesting about the faces on an inkblot:

“The Scream by the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch - It contains a scary detail in the center of the image. It may be difficult to detach from the face in the middle, but the outline may look like a rococo fountain. Interest in the detail in the middle will score on anxiety. It is best to tear oneself away from possible scary or erotic detail in the blot's center and try to interpret the silhouette and the whole. An inkblot can, for example, contain a miniature face or similar in the middle, reminiscent of the Norwegian painting "the scream". It's not good giving response to such details as a start; it may score on anxiety.“

In this case, instead of a face, “Vanessa” saw a beetle.

This could allude to anxiety, something Vanessa would have a lot of. I wonder if this is a twist on the earlier CD, where some of Vanessa is showing through. However, if we look at it from William’s POV, focusing on details also:

“ An attention to details can be interpreted as impulsivity or alertness, the ability to see what others are overlooking. However, if one looks at too many details, it will indicate a fascination with the mundane, rigid compulsive thinking and sometimes paranoia. “

I can definitely see this for William. Sounds a little sociopathic to me.

Source: https://www.dandebat.dk/eng-personkort.htm

TAPE 9

T?: What are you doing? Oh you like those. I do too. They smell so sweet don’t they? Apparently the janitor on this floor has a garden and has been putting bouquets in the offices here for years. Do you ever grow things? No?

V: I work a lot

William is a workaholic. We know this from TFC where it shows his personality regarding Elizabeth. He does NOT want to be bothered while working to the point he slaps her.

Not sure how to explain the flowers. This seems to happen before the earlier CD. You could go many different ways here... to this showing Vanessa coming through, to William perhaps being reminded of someone who had a garden (like his mother or wife).

T?: I know you do maybe more then you should. More free time would do you good. Do you have a hobby? (silence) No. perhaps we could find one for you like a sport? (silence) No. hmm. I have a craft space in my basement maybe i could come up with something you could learn to do?

V: I don’t like dark basements

I don’t really see how to relate basements to Vanessa, except for the fact that she’s been sleeping in PizzaSim during SB. For William, though, I can see him being locked in a basement for hours on end as a child as punishment OR this could be a reminder of his time as Springtrap after the springlock incident or even currently where his body is hidden in PizzaSim under the Pizzaplex.

TAPE 11

T?: That’s true, so on your breaks it looks like you were shopping for a costume you purchased some fake fur material. What are you going to make? (silence) what was that? Did you say the costume is a secret? Why is that?

V: i can’t talk about this he said he would always be watching. He could be here or there or anywhere between

This is obviously referring to the AR emails about Vanessa ordering the Vanny bunny costume. This is obviously a disguise for kidnapping kids. Vanessa is commenting on the fact that Glitchtrap is aware of her every move--you probably don’t wanna reveal why you bought a costume in this case.

T?: are you talking about your dad? Have those feelings come up again? I hate sounding like a broken record but this is something you really need to resolve if you’re ever going to be happy 

V: I HAVE! I COMPARTMENTALIZED HIM! He’s locked away

T?: No thats not what i mean you can’t just ignore an issue you have to face your memory of the experiences and process them so you can let it go. So you don’t get triggered anymore. You can use this sort of self dialogue to release these things.

V: I don’t like doing that.

T?: hmm, well ,, okay, we’ll get back to that. I’d really like to know something about this costume. What’s it for?

William is never going to get over an abusive parent this late in the game. This does remind me of the end of HW. Vanessa gets locked away. I think it’s just a coincidence here, though. Perhaps William killed his father at some point (see: What We Found Analysis post), maybe locking him away somewhere. Or this is less literal and William has buried any memories of his childhood deep in his mind.

TAPE 13

(paper rustles) apparently i’m the fourth therapist you’ve had and apparently all three of your former therapists have gone missing or two of them are missing I don’t want to scare you but i have to tell you that one of them was found dead. (silence) That doesn’t seem to upset you. Well then i guess i’ll go ahead and tell you that the woman’s body was pretty messed up it looked like it was mangled by machinery. That doesn’t bother you either? Hmm it’s all pretty strange i think. I’m not clear on the circumstances apparently the police don’t have any evidence. How does all of this make you feel. Maybe i should be watching my back? Yeah thats funny isn’t it? Okay shall we move on to something lighter 

I don’t think I have to explain this. Actually, it kind of sounds like the therapists may have been springlocked or thrown into the Pizzaplex machinery. Hell, if we even consider the theory of the Funtimes being remade for AR as canon, they have a variety of ways to kill, too.

TAPE 14

Do you know a place called freddy fazbear’s mega pizzaplex (silence) I’ll take you silence as a yes. And besides i know you know it because the technicians who work for pizzaplex know you or rather i guess it would be better to say that they think they do. They report that they’ve caught you on camera or at least it appears to be you. (silence). Nothing to say about that. Well the techs are convinced that you’ve hacked into their system many times (paper turning) Although I’ll admit I don’t see any proof here. Seems like they have more of a gut feeling than fact but apparently the hacks are causing all kinds of problems. Hmm you get a kick out of that the idea of techs running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Yeah that’s a funny image isn’t it. 

Glitchtrap is infecting the system. William. Is. A. Killer. Of course he doesn’t care if he’s troubling someone, much less lowly technicians. I think it’s interesting they used this word specifically, as it calls back to the opening dialogue of Sister Location, when William is talking to two technicians... who later wind up dead IN Sister Location.

But seriously i have to say that i think it’s weird that you’d spend so much time in such a busy social place. You seem like more of a loner to me. Lots of time by yourself instead of with friends. Lots of time talking to yourself right. Is it the electronics you like. 

William is used to putting on a front. Being in a social place as an adult, he can toy with and manipulate people. Or kidnap children. Or kill children. Ya know. Of course he would love electronics... the robots are his family.

I saw in your file that you have developed software programs that talk to you and repeat phrases right? The program asks you questions and prompts you for responses. It’s kind of like your own self therapy isn’t it? Another way of talking to yourself to work things out right? ... When i study this it sound like there is someone else responding to you. Who is it?

Just wanted to say the software programs remind my of Charlie’s talking heads in TTO. The therapist is again referring to Glitchtrap talking to Vanessa.

Another thought I had is wondering about that family table in SB. The one with the Afton family? Maybe what’s left of William’s humanity built them so he could talk to them again... because family is everything.

TAPE 15

I don’t have the transcripts pre-typed, so let me paraphrase tape 15 and 16.

The therapist is discussing more inkblot tests. The patient asks to hold the paper and says it reminds them of a mask. Therapist: Like a disguise? They make you feel invisible don’t they? Like you could get away with almost anything.

Obviously alluding to the Vanny costume. And Spring Bonnie.

The therapist moves on to discuss the technicians again and they say they witnessed Vanessa talking with someone or something [in some files]. They also say it looked like someone was ‘manipulating’ Vanessa. The therapist argues that Vanessa is the one manipulating people.

Well, who does this sound like...? William.

The therapist continues to say the techs pulled a screenshot of Vanessa from the security footage. She appears to be talking to someone with bunny ears.

This is either Burntrap (likely) or perhaps even Glamrock Bonnie (which is technically Burntrap, if you believe the theory Vanessa took GlamBonnie parts to rebuild Afton. Either way, she’s talking to William in some capacity.

TAPE 16

The therapist got another message from the technicians. This time it discusses the Glamrocks acting eerie, which is likely Glitchtrap infecting them or Vanessa’s code controlling them.

After discussing the infection spreading system-wide and some techno stuff, but currently it’s not super important. I think this is just further explaining that Glitchtrap is infecting the entire Pizzaplex and it’s because of Vanessa.

The therapist then reveals that all of Vanessa’s past was faked. Vanny refuses to look up from the floor as the therapist confronts her about her childhood being a fake story. (I like to think William finds this a little painful. Someone telling him his suffering is a lie.To further support this, the therapist calls out Vanny for “looking angry” about the confrontation on these facts and the fact that Vanessa’s parents and childhood were good ones. I can definetly sense William having jealousy here.) At the end of the CD, the therapist suggests returning to the subject another day, but Vanny shakes her head, and the therapist says “You act like that’s not going to happen...” Which means we all know the therapist was murdered and who did it.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE CDs:

So in conclusion, I like looking at these as Vanessa and Vanny/Glitchtrap/William. It makes more sense to me. It explains why the backstory is fake but also specific.

As I said before, Elizabeth is another alternative, but I’m pretty lazy to look over it in that context, since I really don’t care. I would love to see someone else analyze this that way, but then again you could just replace William’s father issues with Elizabeth’s father issues and get the same results. It’s just a matter of who you want to develop as a character. Frankly, Elizabeth has had so much screentime between TFC, Fazbear Frights, and Sister Location... I’d like to see us explore William before we kill him off for good.

Source of audio for 15 and 16: https://www.reddit.com/r/fivenightsatfreddys/comments/rjr8uy/retro_cd_15_16/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

In one ending, Glamrock Freddy has a finger flamthrower and burns down the Pizzaplex. We all know who our favorite series arsonist is...

Below are some of Freddy’s most cryptic lines. I personally believe he is Henry. I know he could be anyone, but because Michael has to be in Blob and I’d suspect no one or Evan is in Gregory. I don’t think Charlotte is in anyone, and if she is it’s the Puppet mask (see: Fazbear Frights). I also believe the Staff Bots are haunted by the Mall MCI (see: basement notes in the lore above)

Credit:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g13WMrGWcto

Henry would have no trouble knowing this place. His daughter died there, he worked there with William, and he attempted to resolve everything there.

Admittedly, the ‘friends’ line makes more sense as Mike, but I think this actual Freddy talking. I think he’s alluding to the fact Vanessa brought him there and that was when he awakened / was posessed. If you remember, remnant attatches itself to nearby metal, usually animatronics. I think Freddy was brought down to PizzaSim for some reason by Vanny and came into contact with Henry (or Mike’s) “soul”/agony/remnant whatever the fuck it is now and possessed Glamrock Freddy.

FINALLY, here is a thread on Reddit that reveals all the (as of this time) cut content: https://www.reddit.com/r/technicalFNaF/comments/rlw9ic/found_a_ton_of_unused_scenes_dialogue_from/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

Another thread on Twitter of cut content: https://twitter.com/mazOnTwt/status/1473448465661370377?s=20

The Cutting Room Floor wiki: https://tcrf.net/Five_Nights_at_Freddy%27s:_Security_Breach

Evidence of censorship, mainly pertaining to a darker story / themes being cut:

https://twitter.com/mazOnTwt/status/1475367848579158016?s=20

What’s left to solve? We may not have found everything yet despite data mines. For example, the Puppet items might be important: https://www.reddit.com/r/fnaftheories/comments/rm32vj/i_found_marionette_plushy_in_the_male_bathroom_in/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

Chica’s arcade game was intended to be playable at one point. Data miners found the assetts but no working game. Some theorize you may need to play them “in order”. If I had to guess we would have to find the Glamrock Freddy, Chica, Monty, and Roxy arcades and then maybe even the Glitchtrap arcade.

Some arcades glow and we’re not sure why; this may relate to what I said above: https://www.reddit.com/r/fivenightsatfreddys/comments/rkiwx5/glowing_arcade_cabinets/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

The cypher in the Sister Location Secret Room Room. It’s been decoded but it’s mostly some Afton-ramblings and instructions for the upgrades(?): https://www.reddit.com/r/fivenightsatfreddys/comments/rjpxs7/cd_room_cipheron_wall_decoded_maybe/hp59dwm/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3

Dawko’s video showing the revealed text: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYXi9evimPs

There are a lot of secrets we may still be missing. I’ll update this post as time passes.

General thoughts on gameplay:

I am not a person who normally plays stealth games, much less horror, so take this with a grain of salt from watching four Let’s Plays.

The gameplay is alright, if you ignore the bugs. There are some cool throwbacks (the Weeping Angel endos, some security office segments) and the coolest parts for me were early on for the most part: the Daycare, the Music Man chase sequence, the endos in the basement. This is when gameplay was unique and interesting.

Most of the game is explore through a ton of security bots, so many that you can’t even view the huge Pizzaplex that SW boasted about; reach a security office and do a task; obtain security card; REPEAT. This is dull and uninteresting and combined with the lack of story, there feels like there is no reward. Cutscenes should be added throughout to encourage progress, similar to when Vanny captures you. They don’t have to be CGI, even in-game models would be cool.

The animatronics AI are awful. They just teleport when you run into security bots instead of having an AI similar to say, the Alien in Alien: Isolation. If they actively wandered the entire Pizzaplex and kept tabs that way-- especially if Vanny and her meter had been INCLUDED--this would have made for a more terrifying romp. The fact that you can run through most of the game after enough tries without using the stealth mechanics OR THE MAP at all, shows how poorly designed the enemy placement and AI is. Although we get several points to hide, too, I barely saw that mechanic used. It was really intense when an animatronic was close and actually had the possibility to find you.

Speaking of the map. Freddy even mentions adding markers, which aren’t present to my knowledge. The map barely has any indicators at all and it’s mostly unlocked all at once. The map unlocking as you go would be more fun. Save points and a destination arrow (that can be toggled) are standard nowadays... I’ve seen some people argue for fast travel, which was a cut feature, but I don’t think it’s needed.

The flashlight recharge mechanic was good, but it mostly impedes your vision, which is moot once you get the first upgrade.

I think instead of losing Freddy for a good chunk of the game, the recharge stations should be further apart to make it stressful and give us free reign to use him, but also add to the stealth mechanic. Moon could be patrolling certain areas and yank you out. If we added Vanny to the mix, that would be another cool obstacle, especially if after she confronts Freddy, you could no longer hide inside him to escape her. Moon’s mechanic felt tacked on and it really obscured the screen. I think instead of plot progression, we could have time based like SW originally intended, but with some mechanic to “rest” (perhaps the recharge stations) that would pass you onto the next hour automatically in case you completed an area too quickly.

Boss fights. Non existent, really. You don’t even fight the animatronics, you just yeet them. I think having to lure Chica into the compactor, which alot of people tried to do, would be more engaging. Why didn’t we just use pizza to lure her? The monty mix always seemed dumb to me, but I’ll let it slide. Hell, we could even have to make a certain amount of pizzas in x time and like, overload her or something before she gets into the kitchen. Just anything more engaging! Roxy gets 20 seconds of a race before you smash her. Let us actually race and beat Roxy!!! This was confirmed to be cut. Monty? His battle isn’t even about golfing and you can’t even use the canons against him. It’s a “shoot this thing, then avoid, repeat” boss fight and it’s boring and absolute nightmare if you’re in the post-game trying not to die. I think beating them at they’re respective games would be more fun. General consensus loved the DJ Music Man fight. Why? Because it was engaging. We were running for our lives. The escape didn’t even run on too long to be tedious and I thought it was one of the better parts of the game.

General thoughts on the story:

The game leaves a lot of questions unanswered, which is typical of FNAF, but I think it’s to an extreme degree, for example, it’s alluded to Gregory not being human but never gets brought up again. The closest hint we get is that he may be one of the missing children: https://www.reddit.com/r/fivenightsatfreddys/comments/rj2oys/spoilers_was_watching_dawkos_video_showing_two_of/

This doesn’t explain his lack of parents in the Leave ending, though.

Another thing that Freddy brings up towards the end (secret ending path) is that the other his friends were trapped / missing and he wasn’t able to help them. At one point he was controlled like the rest, but not anymore. This could be implying different things. Namely, Freddy may be possessed and he was friends with the kids from the Missing Mall Kids. Some people think it may be Mike. I personally believe in Henry!Glamrock Freddy, but this is probably out of bias. I think if Henry was confirmed true, it would help alleviate how Afton’s ending completely destroys the ending of FFPS, which many are upset about.

Speaking of Freddy, my BIGGEST PET PEEVE OF THIS GAME is that there was NO pacifist route, no moment of reflection for Gregory to be like “I lied to you”, ect. We just... have to take the upgrades. Not being forced to take them and maybe unlocking something later to open the passageways would be cooler and provide a psuedo hard-mode for players. It’s also jarring when you get to the end and Freddy and Gregory are all buddy-buddy. They achieved sympathy for Freddy extremely well, but who cares when you’re playing a little shit who lies to the friend trying to save HIM? GIVE US OPTIONS and add to the characters! Hell, work it into the plot. Make the split THE POINT where we can suddenly NOT use Freddy for a period of time.

We don’t see Vanny/Vanessa talking to Glitchtrap or changing costumes or why she’s hunting Gregory (although that last point could probably be guessed that he’s a missing child that got loose). Outside the PQ games telling us what we already knew from HW/COD, Vanessa is just a static villain with almost no screentime. William gets even less screentime and no voicelines. He’s barely in the game at all as of writing this. In fact, William is confirmed to have lines in the trailer (see: Matthew Curtis post I made) and these lines were cut. His boss battle was short for the majority of players, there is no interaction with Afton at all, and he is “disposed of” suddenly and for no reason. I mean, wasn’t Molten helping Afton in the fight? I never got the impression he was being controlled and if he was, like... why not use VANNY or someone relevant for this spot? Give Afton the tentacles and have Vanny impede you? Like, this entire boss fight was so dumb. You know what people expected? Trash rabbit. Not even that, but the big boss fight we were previewed in the Stichwraith stingers!

To add more about gameplay here, JUST IMAGINE if we could use the “upgrades” in boss fights and defeat the boss in different ways. Or if the hide mechanic was useful to avoid a specific attack. Like... come on. Let us have to shoot a specific part of Afton, hide, and maybe then flash him with the camera to stun him or something! There’s so much cool shit we could’ve had instead of “FNAF 1 again because nostalgia” which was ALREADY PRESENT in other areas of the game.

Conclusion:

The only good thing here is the price point, around $40.00 USD, which is cheap compared to $60.00+tax normal games cost.

I think this game had a lot of wasted potential. The game was longer than expected, but lacked a lot of story and fights that would have made this God tier. Yes, there is DLC coming, but I don’t think that excuses putting out what ultimately feels like a padded game with almost no story. You can set up a sequel (or DLC) without leaving out the main villains entirely. The comic book style, overused aesthetic endings really, really pissed me off. It’s lazy. Give us cutscenes. This was billed as a AAA game and that’s what I’d expect. When we finally accomplish a difficult task and DO get a cutscene, the payout is barely worth it and rushed and comes off as a depressing end or teaser for our favorite villain. I’d rate this game a solid B based on everything I’ve seen. It just misses the mark.

How would I fix this? I would have Steel Wool spend a year making this game over with added story content, fixing the bugs, and providing DLC. Make a “definitive edition” as a free update for bait and switching the fandom by promising things in trailers and scrapping too much content.

Having said all that, no one denies Steel Wool worked hard on this game and loved this game. There may be things from the Scott drama to changing producers to even pressure from Sony or the pandemic that interrupted this game. The general consensus is the game got too big and had to be rushed out. You can make a game with passion, admire the devs behind that passion, but it doesn’t help when you end up with a half-baked cake with no icing.

[undertale-data]

[Image Description: An Undertale chat box that has “WHY FANS LOVE UNDERTALE” at its center. Next to it are a line chart and an Egg from the Dating Hub on its left, and a CRIME measurer (also from the Dating Hub) on its right. End I.D.]

[Image Description: a pie chart titled, “LEVEL OF LOVE FOR UNDERTALE.” The textbox on the top right reads, “On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the least and 10 being the highest, how much do fans enjoy Undertale?” From the top going clockwise, 12 or 0% chose 5 and below; 23 or 1% chose 6; 98, or 4%, chose 7; 325, or 12%, chose 8; 529, or 20%, chose 9; and 1664, or 63%, chose 10. End I.D.]

It’s clear from all of the data analyzed so far that fans who took the time to answer our survey love Undertale. It is unlikely that they would have taken the time to answer so many questions if they had not, and even less likely that they would have come across our survey in the first place. Naturally, it comes as no surprise that 63% of our responders gave their love for Undertale a score of ten out of ten. 95% gave their love for Undertale a score of eight or higher, and only 12 responders responded with five or below, a number so small that their responses had to be lumped together to be visible on the pie chart. Of those, only 3 responders gave their love for Undertale a score of 1, and based on those responders’ other answers, it is likely that they were only intending to troll. We are very fortunate that the vast majority of responders took the survey seriously, enough so that responses like this are barely a blip in the data.

Now, for our final analysis post of the event, we will delve into the reasons that fans love Undertale so dearly.

(Essay and highlights under the cut.)

There have been countless essays on the impact that Undertale has had on people’s lives. I can hardly add more on the subject than what has already been said, but I hope this summary can provide a brief overview of what stood out among the over two thousand answers given in response to this survey. That said, due to the sheer volume of answers, I could not read every single one in depth—however, I did skim all of them, and some that stood out or were representative of several responses have been highlighted below. If you would like to see what every fan who consented to share their response had to say, you may view the full list of responses here. Note that these responses have not been edited in any way. This document may take a long time to load, as it is over 100 pages long.

(Warnings for mentions of suicidal thoughts in the following essay.)

Several responders loved the theme of choices mattering in Undertale. Whether people played the pacifist, merciless, or neutral routes, they enjoyed how the game reacted to their actions. For some, it even made them consider their own morality. One touching response explained the impact that the theme of mercy made on them. “I realized that Mercy isn't something that's given to those who deserve it. Flowey didn't deserve it. I don't deserve it myself. Shoot, we ALL need Mercy in our lives.” Many fans left similar comments about how the themes of Undertale made them better people.

Undertale changed how its fans treat others, and it also changed how fans treat themselves. The theme of staying determined and the messages of hope in the game were a light to a very large portion of fans. I cannot list all of the fans who said that Undertale helped them out of a dark place, or that they would not be alive if not for Undertale. “DETERMINATION became a metaphor for not killing myself at a really rough time in my life and I’ll always cherish that. Undertale isn’t afraid to go to really dark places but at the same time holds on so tight to its hope.”

Undertale brought fans together in unexpected ways. Some said they met friends or significant others through the fandom. “I wouldn't have met my now husband without Undertale,” one fan said. A different fan who is non-native English speaking mentioned that the game and the fan community helped them to learn English.

It would be impossible to discuss Undertale without mentioning the fan community. Whether for good or bad, many responders mentioned the fandom in their responses. Overall the feelings towards the fandom seem positive, though many made references to “toxic” parts of the fandom without specifying which parts they consider toxic. Others rejected the idea of toxicity in fandom. One response said: “[SLAMS FIST ON DESK] I KNOW MOST PEOPLE SAY THE FANDOM IS TOXIC AND CRINGE OR WHATEVER BUT OH MY GOD. The Undertale fandom, both the UTMV and the actual UT fandom, has been so much fun to be a part of. I've met countless friends because of our shared interest in something related to the game! The art people create can be breathtaking and so inspirational, and the fanfics are so so good!! I've seen people write incredible things for this fandom and it's what made me continue writing!”

One thing that makes the Undertale fandom unique is the way it embraces various AUs. Some fans are tired of AU content, but the majority of responses show a love for the creativity behind AUs. “Roll your eyes at the 50th AU Sans all you want, it's encouraging people to step outside the boundaries of fanart and pushing people to make their own ideas! I mean, hell, it was how I gained the confidence to start making my own original content.” The lack of a judgemental atmosphere seems present in the AU community, according to the responses we saw. There is an interesting balance between AU and canon (sometimes referred to as “classic”) content that another responder pointed out: “The fandom helped keep the game alive all these years, with all of its AUs. Although personally, I always enjoyed AUs that kept characters as close to the classic material as possible (dancetale, outertale) I do appreciate the creativity of the fandom. They almost created entirely new stories with new characters of their own! If it weren't for those people, the Undertale fandom would have probably not been as active as it is now. I do feel like we're getting a resurgence of classic content now too! (In 2021)”

Regardless of the many AUs the fandom has created over the years, the original game of Undertale still feels like home for many fans. They wished they could reclaim the feeling of playing the game again for the first time, but even though we can’t reset time in real life, there is still a special feeling for fans each time they play Undertale. One fan said, “Even the best fics I've read can't capture that feeling of nostalgia/almost-"coming home" that comes with hearing the music and talking to the characters.” This feeling is one that can be cherished time and time again. In the words of another responder: “It always feels welcoming like home or like comfort food that I never grow tired of no matter how many times I go to it.” Others pointed out the strength of the found family trope in Undertale, which likely contributes to this feeling of “home” as well.

As mentioned briefly earlier, the music is part of what makes Undertale feel like home for fans. Even when responses focused on other aspects of the game, many would throw in a comment about the soundtrack at the end. One comment focused on the music said “IT'S SO GOOD like I will literally go through the entire thing over and over and not be bored with it. It makes my monkey brain so happy you have no idea.” Like with the game itself, the music has incredible replay value, an amazing feat considering most of the tracks use the same few motifs. “I think what I like the most about Undertale is how the music attaches you to the story,” another responder said. “They're simple melodies that stick with you throughout the whole game, and they can remind you of both good and bad times.”

If the music sticks with fans in their hearts, then the game’s lore sticks with fans in their minds. Even six years after the release of Undertale, fans are still creating new theories and digging up new secrets. The way the game breaks the fourth wall in particular intrigued many fans and has stuck out through all these years. The awareness that the game shows for the RPG genre makes it memorable. The game plays with the player’s expectations and turns them on their heads, all while reminding the player that they’re in a game. There are few other games that do this on such a large scale, so it’s no surprise that fans cite this as one of their favorite things about Undertale.

Lastly, the LGBT+ representation in Undertale has been a huge draw for fans. Especially in 2015, the sheer volume of non-cishet characters was unprecedented, as one fan pointed out: “It's practically unheard of to see so MANY from just one source, especially during its heyday in 2015-16. Hell, you can't even GET the true pacifist ending without helping two gay couples hook up. It's really nice to see all of them being accepted for who they are and not judged for their sexuality or gender, at least in-canon.” The LGBT+ cast including Frisk, Chara, Napstablook, Monster Kid, Mettaton, Alphys, and Undyne each connected with fans in unique ways. It’s clear how important this is from responses such as: “There are canon nonbinary characters 🥺. i have never seen representation of myself before.” “It made me gay and trans so thanks for that.”

Once again I am overwhelmed with just how much there is to say about Undertale. One responder really understood when they compared Undertale to an iceberg, explaining that there are so many layers to the game that there is something for everyone: “everyone can find something to enjoy in the lore/game regardless of what kind of fan they are! Being able to appeal to various types of fans—from simple happy shipper people to deep dive lorediggers—is the mark of the coolest games!” I would have to agree with them.

It’s been six years, and despite everything, it’s still you. Thank you for reading, participating in this survey, and above all, staying determined.

Highlights:

DETERMINATION became a metaphor for not killing myself at a really rough time in my life and I’ll always cherish that. Undertale isn’t afraid to go to really dark places but at the same time holds on so tight to its hope.

I think the coolest thing was having the opportunity to watch the AU community grow from its bare roots. It's nearly insane how big and complex it's gotten, unlike anything I'd ever seen before. Roll your eyes at the 50th AU Sans all you want, it's encouraging people to step outside the boundaries of fanart and pushing people to make their own ideas! I mean, hell, it was how I gained the confidence to start making my own original content.

i love how the lgbt rep is so naturalized... there are just gay people! and its nobodys business!

The music is my go to answer, but what I really really REALLY love is how the minor characters have so much personality to them when you talk to them. They aren't incredibly important to the overall story, but they're all so likeable and diverse that you just can't help but like them immediately!

I think it was the first videogame I have played that broke the fourth wall that much. Of course there has been other videogames that broke it but just for one or two tongue-in-cheek jokes. The guilt of killing mama goat was also something intense as well that I appreciated as an experience and that I didn't think a videogame could cause on someone.

I love how no character can be seen as completely bad! Everyone builds up Asgore as some horrible villain, but he turns out to be a 'fuzzy pushover' who's broken and just wants his family back by the time you meet him. Then you think Flowey's an irredeemable killer who engineered the suffering of the monsters across many timelines, and he is... but he also used to be the kind and beloved Prince Asriel Dreemurr, traumatized by his death and subsequent rebirth, projecting his best friend onto you.

The fact that choices matter in the game. Your first playthrough and getting the golden ending for the first time. I can never replicate those feelings again, wish I could erase my memories and replay the game from the start.

I wouldn't have met my now husband without Undertale.

(Toxic parts of the fandom aside) The community is possibly one of the kindest I've ever met. Cringe culture is completely dead, and I feel like I can be myself. I felt a very close connection to many of the characters, and I loved consuming content about them when I was in a rough patch in my life.

just everything, the whole game has just impacted my life so much. i know it sounds really lame, but when the game first came out, i would purposely put my hands in my pockets and sway slightly, like sans' idle animation. of course i dont do that anymore haha, but undertale still really impacts me to this day, and i wouldnt have it any other way :)

it made me gay and trans so thanks for that

I realized that Mercy isn't something that's given to those who deserve it. Flowey didn't deserve it. I don't deserve it myself. Shoot, we ALL need Mercy in our lives.

The thing I love most about Undertale is no matter how many times I play or watch a playthrough it always makes me genuinely happy. It always feels welcoming like home or like comfort food that I never grow tired of no matter how many times I go to it. Toriel still makes me feel all warm and cozy in her home, the Skelebros always make me laugh, and I still cry on the inside watching Frisk comforting Asriel. And on the flip side the No Mercy run still invokes the negative emotions in me as well. In short Undertale just feels like a second home to me and I always wish I could stay.

The reader inserts are my favorite way to decompress after a hard day

I think Undertale helped me discover my love for 8-bit games, and made me realize how IMPORTANT music is in video games.

the worldbuilding and character design are my favorite parts of the main game apart from the music! I’m also a huge fan of the random AU music- not for like underswap or underfell i like the stuff where someone makes a megalovania for a random au where gru from despicable me replaces sans as the character. i think its funny

Just... the vibe, honestly? Even the best fics I've read can't capture that feeling of nostalgia/almost-"coming home" that comes with hearing the music and talking to the characters.

there are canon nonbinary characters 🥺. i have never seen representation of myself before.

[SLAMS FIST ON DESK] I KNOW MOST PEOPLE SAY THE FANDOM IS TOXIC AND CRINGE OR WHATEVER BUT OH MY GOD. The Undertale fandom, both the UTMV and the actual UT fandom, has been so much fun to be a part of. I've met countless friends because of our shared interest in something related to the game! The art people create can be breathtaking and so inspirational, and the fanfics are so so good!! I've seen people write incredible things for this fandom and it's what made me continue writing!

There's a scene where Frisk (the player) is going towards what is presumably going to be their death. They will fight Asgore and he will use their human soul to break the barrier and free his people. The music, despite the player's impending doom, is... triumphant. You are not the triumphant one here, and yet, the score invites you to experience the monsters' joy and happiness as they tell you the tale of their subjugation. The monsters are going to be free. This is their victory, but they don't hate you or want you to die. They're just... happy. That scene has always struck me very deeply. I feel it represents the best parts of Undertale.

I loved how well thought out the Geno route was. It really made me feel like I was doing something horrible, and the characters were very obviously reacting to dire circumstances.

I dunno? I like Undertale for it's characters, story, music, secrets and many more. I am not good with Headcanons but I also like the neutral endings and how different they can depending on who you spare and kill

I was very bad at english before, i thought i couldn't progress because i was very shy and not confident. But my sibling and i wanted to have the best experience with this game so we wanted to play it in english. It's this game and the fandom which helped me to make huge progress in english !

THE SOUNDTRACK. IT'S SO GOOD like I will literally go through the entire thing over and over and not be bored with it. It makes my monkey brain so happy you have no idea.

to avoid writing an essay i will say one word. Mettaton

It is like Toby specifically made the games to fit the iceberg meme and it's awesome, everyone can find something to enjoy in the lore/game regardless of what kind of fan they are! Being able to appeal to various types of fans - from simple happy shipper people to deep dive lorediggers is the mark of the coolest games!

I love almost everything about Undertale as a game on its own. The music, the art and especially the characters and how they interact. They made me feel at home. Undertale means a huge amount to me. (I even got a tattoo of the castle when you and MK walk together!) The fandom helped keep the game alive all these years, with all of its AUs. Although personally, I always enjoyed AUs that kept characters as close to the classic material as possible (dancetale, outertale) I do appreciate the creativity of the fandom. They almost created entirely new stories with new characters of their own! If it weren't for those people, the Undertake fandom would have probably not been as active as it is now. I do feel like we're getting a resurgence of classic content now too! (In 2021)

the mystery. toby fox refused to give answers to anything and i think thats very sexy of him.

I just feel guilty for liking it so much when I'm in my 30's. But I recently got diagnosed with ASD, so I guess it explains things a bit. Many ppl consider Papyrus to be neurodivergent, and some adult fans are too, so seeing that makes me feel a bit better.

i think about "Despite everything, it's still you" everyday of my life.

I like how it's just as funny as it can be serious. All routes are this way. I laughed as much as I cried when I played the Pacifist route and then once I opened the game again and Flowey was telling me to let them be happy, I immediately turned off the game. I somehow felt bad.

The Found Family Trope

The True Pacifist Ending is just...man. And the fanworks about saving everyone even when the game doesn't let you? MANNNNNN

I think what I like the most about Undertale is how the music attaches you to the story. They're simple melodies that stick with you throughout the whole game, and they can remind you of both good and bad times.

there's honestly a LOT to love about this game, but i think one of my favorite things about it is just how many lgbt+ characters there are??? i can think of alphys, undyne, frisk, chara, mettaton, napstablook, monster kid, asgore, mad mew mew, the dress lion, the royal guards, and arguably even papyrus off of the top of my head, but im sure i'm forgetting a few from just undertale alone (there's even MORE in deltarune)!! it's practically unheard of to see so MANY from just one source, especially during its heyday in 2015-16. hell, you can't even GET the true pacifist ending without helping two gay couples hook up. it's really nice to see all of them being accepted for who they are and not judged for their sexuality or gender, at least in-canon.

[Image description: A wordcloud in the shape of the capitalized word UNDERTALE. The text is white on a black background, and uses the font found in the game. Some of the most visible words are: Game, Love, Music, Life, AU, Store, Friend, and Feel, which represent the most common words in the essays people wrote about their love for the game. End of ID]

[g4rous]

Sunlit memories (Garou x Reader)

tags: fem! Reader, no warnings lol, this is just the first chapter a.k.a the introduction

words: 1.1k

notes: ok so this is the first chapter of the series that I plan to write, so pls feel free to give me some feedback on this and whether you like it and should I continue :'0 💕 Thanks a lot for any kind of support ee 💗

series masterlist

Chapter one

Playful footsteps scattered across the freshly-cut grass, followed by a few equally spirited barks. Whether the small chocolate-colored dog was chasing the ball or the children lay undetermined, nonetheless they all seemed amused. A mother stood next to the gleeful dog owner, both exchanging chuckles and commenting on how adorable the sight in front of them is. Above them dozens of birds filled the air with a familiar amicable tune, as if the soothing music coming from a nearby café wasn’t enough. The park was never lonely, yet so pleasant at the same time. All those chirps, chatters and noises were like an extra spark, and frankly it’d be rather uncanny if it weren’t for them and the pastel sky above, radiant with soft hues. Cases where belligerent monsters ruined the harmony were rare, although enough to cause one to succumb to unease. Be that as it may, people always push through it and find a reason to enjoy the now sunlit park.

Though, while it was interesting to observe the scenery it wasn’t quite what you were looking for. Fiddling with the pencil in your hand, you stared displeased at the blank page of your sketchbook.

“Why isn’t there anything interesting today?” you pondered, eyes impatiently shifting over the scenery.

Almost every day for the past few weeks you’ve been sitting at this very bench, looking out for something eye-catching to draw. It’s funny how you coincidentally came across your now daily go-to place, a surprisingly comfy wooden bench underneath two large oaks, their treetops creating enough shade for another twenty people. Luckily you had your own peace there without anyone bothering you.

“Hmm… Maybe I just don’t feel like drawing people?”

After a small sigh you leaned against your hand and looked up at the treetops. The sky turned golden already, painting the leaves in shades of olive and amber. Your eyes steadily trailed down to the path next to the old oaks, now noticing a small patch of lilies that with their vivid hues and delicate form drew you in almost immediately.

“Huh. Maybe I should just go for something simple and quick?”

Well, that was what you though right before something else caught your eye. Someone to be exact. A few meters away a rather peculiar-looking guy sat on a bench. He leaned against the bench leisurely while folding his arms, his tight black shirt complementing his muscular built. His gaze was relaxed, albeit alert, and his features were sharp. Sunlight peeked on his wild, silver hair, coloring it with subtle sandy hues almost matching with the golden in his eyes.

Now, if this didn’t give you inspiration then what did? And here you thought you’d be drawing those lilies. You sighed in content, stretching your arms for a few seconds before you got to work. Subtly glancing at his direction from time to time, you had already outlined the portrait. Though, truth be told, he had such a pretty face you were trying not to stare at one point.

“What are you doing?”

You didn’t even manage to let go of your pencil before an unknown voice jolted you out of your thoughts. Much to your bewilderment you looked up to see that same man now only half a meter away, glaring at you.

“Well shit.”

Should you apologize or straight up act like you weren’t just secretly drawing some random person? Or better yet, how the hell is that same person in front of you right now? You were embarrassed as much as you were confused and to make things worse the drawing wasn’t even in your sketchbook anymore.

“Are you a hero or something? I don’t remember seeing you anywhere.” the man asked, shifting his gaze from the drawing in his hand to you.

“Hey when did you take that?!” you finally spoke, an apology being far from your mind at the moment.

On one hand it could be legitimate since you didn’t ask for permission to draw him in the first place, but on the other… What kind of punk would just rip the piece out like that?

“If you’re some c-class dunce trying to gather info on me with this-“, he grinned, still analyzing the art piece “-you’re gonna be sorry pretty soon.”

“Dude I’m not a hero.”

“Wait, what?”

That threatening, cocky grin of his from a moment ago dissipated into thin air like it was nothing, but your confused expression on the other hand only grew bigger. Was he serious?

A soft shade of pink made its way to his face for a brief moment, to which you almost chuckled.

“So you’re seriously not a hero?”

“Um, no..?”

“Your luck.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing.” He headed the opposite direction of you, drawing still in hand.

“Ahh so… can I get that back now please?” you walked behind him, surprised he’s oh so casually trying to leave the scene after such odd behavior.

“Nope, sorry.”

“Aw what, why??”

“Let’s just say it isn’t convenient for me at the moment to have that lying around wherever,” he put both hands in his pockets, “plus I didn’t say you could draw me did I?”

Now your face turned red in embarrassment again. He was right… Though, you still couldn’t help but wonder who this strange guy is. While tearing that drawing out of your valued sketchbook didn’t make for the best first impression, his demeanor wasn’t really belligerent either.

“Ah, sorry about that… However I must say it wasn't polite to take the drawing away like that either.”

His eyes slightly widened in embarrassment before turning away his face again.

"Eh..."

"Don't worry about it though," you smiled for a moment, "I guess it was just a weird misunderstanding or something."

Your eyes shifted on the path you were walking on, already dim because of the now darker sky, “if I may ask, is someone like… searching for you or something?”

“Doesn’t matter,” he glanced back at you, “why are you still following me anyway!? Just go home it’s getting dark.”

“Well, this is the way I take in order to get back home so you can’t really complain,” you smiled to his mild annoyance.

The night sky engulfed the city by now, leaving behind a tranquil atmosphere. Nonetheless, compared to the center of the city, your street wasn’t as bustling. Light shone from the surrounding apartments and lamp posts, and the only sounds present were from the neighbors’ TV’s or the occasional car passing by, much in contrast with the city’s center and night life.

You didn’t ask many more questions as you walked, despite the faint haze in your mind. The man obviously wasn’t too chatty, yet alone keen on sharing any personal details. Be as it may, much to your surprise what you thought would be an awkward walk was actually somewhat refreshing. Hell, you even let out a laugh or two together. Who would’ve thought the on-first-glance intimidating teen is pleasant to be around? Or, well, at least you thought of it like that. In any case way better than walking through those dark alleys alone.

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