#fbi agent alex casey

[rangerzath]

Our relationship was special. A treasure.

The lines were inspired from the first Alan Wake fic I wrote featuring FBI Agent Alex Casey reflecting on his relationship with his partner Saga Anderson. You can read it here on AO3.

[imsmallfry]

Saga Anderson!!

[velvetjune]

Saga and Casey joining the FBC, love it, need it, it’s everything. But also. There’s NO way they’d be on board (lol) with The Board. There’d be so much drama

[loganyeehawhowlett]

[emmaswanned]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Alan Wake (Video Games) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Saga Anderson/Alex Casey Characters: Alex Casey (Alan Wake) Additional Tags: Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Adultery, Stream of Consciousness, Post-Canon Summary:

Fucking Saga Anderson is habit-forming. More so than any liquor or drug Casey has ever tried.

---

Stream-of-consciousness style fic wherein a post-Bright Falls, traumatized Alex Casey wrestles with his vices - one of those being Saga Anderson.

[entropicquilibriumofchaos]

Take a Walk

Saga Anderson & Alex Casey

Agents Anderson and Casey are on a particularly challenging case. Casey supports his partner by opening up about his own struggles.

Read it on ao3

“Do you even blink?”

Casey was pulled out of his thoughts by Saga’s voice, who had just popped into his peripheral vision. She held out a paper coffee cup and he grabbed it without redirecting his gaze at her. 

“What makes you say that?” he mused, not taking his eyes off of the evidence board in front of him. There was something he was missing; some connection that was just outside of his grasp. He sipped from the cup, grateful for the burn of the hot coffee down his throat. 

Saga sidled up next to him and crossed her arms, setting her cup in the crook of her elbow. “Because you’ve been staring at this board for three hours now and I’m surprised your eyes haven’t shriveled up and fallen out of your head.”

Casey grimaced. “Seen that. Not a pretty sight,” he said gruffly. 

His partner’s face screwed up in disgust. “Really?”

Finally, he pried his eyes from the board and gave her a serious look before snorting. “No, I’m pulling your chain.”

With a groan, she hit him lightly in the shoulder as they both turned from the board. Casey went over to his desk to set the coffee down before cracking his neck and rolling his shoulders back to relieve the tension in them. Saga pulled a file out of the drawer of another desk and let it flop down onto Casey’s. They sat down on opposite sides of his desk as he began to pull the contents of the file out and spread them across the table (knocking some empty coffee cups into the garbage at the same time). 

“Let’s go back over what we know,” Casey suggested, pulling out a pocket notebook and flipping through a few pages before setting it down. 

“We’ve got three separate homicides along the Wisconsin - Michigan border in a two week period,” Anderson recited, “All three victims were white females in their early twenties that had been reported missing from Northern Wisconsin in the past two months by family.”

Casey nodded, pulling out the pictures of three deceased subjects and laying them side-by-side. “What else?”

Anderson continued. “Bruising around the wrists and ankles suggests that the victims were bound for a time before their deaths. Two of the victims had defensive marks on their wrists and forearms. All three victims had cracked and bruised ribs that occurred antemortem and water found in their lungs. Cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the forehead.” She placed the autopsy reports for all the victims next to their pictures. 

“So they were repeatedly drowned and brought back to life before being shot,” Casey summarized, scratching at his forehead absent-mindedly. “Our killer has a god-complex.”

“He’s obsessed with his power over their lives.” Saga added, “He drowns them and then brings them back over and over again until he gets bored of them.” 

The agents sat back and both took drinks of their coffees. 

“There has to be some sort of connection between the victims,” Saga mumbled, standing up and going back to the evidence board. Hung up there was a map of Wisconsin and Northern Michigan with multiple locations marked in red. Casey followed and took his place at her side. 

“We should be getting some results on the water found in their lungs back from the lab soon,” Casey stated, “Maybe that’ll connect some of the pieces.”

Saga sighed and shook her head. “God, I hope so. The thought that this guy is still out there is really getting on my nerves.”

Casey turned to look at his partner and gave her a once over. She seemed fine from a distance, but up close he could see the slight movement from her clenching and unclenching her teeth, he could see the beginning of dark circles under her eyes and cracking lips. He thought back to the last time he had seen her eat or drink something other than coffee and found that he couldn’t recall. They had been on this case in Wisconsin for a week now, but before this they had been in Pennsylvania investigating a case of serial arson. It had been two and a half weeks since they had been home.

“Let’s go for a walk,” he suggested, turning and grabbing his jacket from off of the back of his office chair. 

She stood there for a second before comprehending what he said. She gave him a confused look. “Why?”

Casey shook his head while slinging his jacket over his shoulders and grabbing hers from her desk. “Just humor me, Anderson.”

Saga just shrugged and took her coat from him before following him through the bullpen and out of the office. They walked in silence through the building and out into the courtyard. The sun was shining, but it was deceptively cold and Saga zipped her jacket up as they exited the building. They strolled along the sidewalk until they came upon a concrete bench that overlooked a small yard of green grass. Casey sat down and nodded to Saga to follow suit. Neither said a word for a while, both of them enjoying the quiet buzz of the town around them compared to the chaos of the office. It wasn’t until the concrete started to feel cold that Saga spoke. 

“Any particular reason you wanted to come out here?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at him. 

He scoffed. “I was getting sick of looking at dead kids.” A moment went by before he continued. “And I wanted to make sure you’re still doing okay.”

Saga wasn’t able to hide her surprise. She had never known Casey to be a particularly touchy-feely person and this was definitely out of character for him. “What?”

“We’ve been away from home for a while and these cases haven’t exactly been cakewalks,” he explained, “I just wanted to make sure that you’re not letting it get to you too much. I know you have your profiling thing to get into the minds of these guys, but I’m worried that you’re losing yourself a bit, Anderson.”

And for a moment, the world fell away. Saga let out a deep sigh as she felt a heavy weight settle onto her shoulders and she stooped under the weight ever-so-slightly. 

He was right, and she knew it. 

“I miss Logan. And David,” she admitted, “And I can’t stop thinking that somewhere out there there is a mom who just lost her baby girl and I can’t help but internalize that.”

In an uncharacteristic move, Casey put an arm around his partner’s shoulder and pulled her a little closer. He didn’t say anything; he just let her breathe in the comfort that he provided and she found herself leaning into him slightly. 

“I keep having these nightmares that Logan is going through what these girls did and there’s nothing I can do to save her,” Saga said quietly. 

Casey turned to face her fully. “I understand,” he confessed. “When I first started, I would have these nightmares where people around me would be dying and I’d just be there, frozen; unable to do anything to help them.”

They made eye contact before he continued.

“But that’s all they are. Nightmares,” he assured. “And trust me, anyone who would want to get to Logan or David would have a hell of a time getting past one of the best agents this bureau’s ever seen. Oh, and I’d be there too.”

Saga laughed quietly, wiping a bit of wetness from her eyes. “Thanks, Casey. I guess I’ve been internalizing this more than I realized.”

“Happens to the best of us, kid,” he said, standing up and offering his hand to help her up as well. “But you’ve got people to talk to. No more lone ranger stories for either of us.”

“That’s my line,” she huffed, hitting him lightly on the shoulder. 

Casey laughed. “Come on,” he replied, “I’m freezing my ass off out here and I’m out of coffee.”

[pinkomcranger]

(another messege on saga)

The saga hate is 100% racism, sadly, and its sad how these ppl refuse to accept it. Like, i wasnt sure about thr beggining - i waited for a sequel for 13 years and now i have this new character taking the larger role in the story. But the game was good, story was good, she was fine. But now these ppl want her gone or erased, "only alan parts were good!!" What??? They are the same!!! I loved alans gameplay (execpt the teleporting enemies) but i dont believe you would hate sagas gameplay if you loved that one, its like, the same.

As in all recent gaming sheres, it makes me mad becuse there are critiscsm to talk about, real discussion, but it gets buried under these fuckers. Cant tall about my issues withiut some stupid guy busting in to complain about black pepole in his games, thinking we are the same. Im so more confident in my decision of cutting on all these sites.

I can't see any other reason to ignore Saga than racism, and I was FULLY aware it would be a problem, but I only expected it from gamer bros crying that it was Alan Woke now, and their fav white man was replaced with an unnecessary black woman. I could handle that because I've been seeing it for YEARS, but I always discounted them just for the fact I knew that they would never see beyond their surface level woes and wouldn't actually be in the fandom proper.

Their racism was loud and proud but it didn't hurt me or concern me. It elicited nothing more than an eye roll because nothing was going to satisfy them the second Saga was created anyway, even if she WASN'T black. I'm not even going to get into their reaction to Abby from The Last of Us 2.

Covert racism is the shittiest because you're thinking, ooh tumblr! this is where I'm going to find the GOOD stuff, this is where I'm gonna see people that played the game, are content creators and are going to overthrow the gamer bros because they're not blinded by the white man being joined by a black woman who's equally awesome.

I was wrong. I was a case of not being nervous at the idea of Alan being replaced in his own game after waiting 13 years because I didn't get to play AW1 or AN because I didn't have an Xbox. My older brother did, but I could only play at certain times, so I just didn't bother with AW.

That changed with AW2, the funny thing is that I didn't have the time to buy it until last month. I've focused solely on watching playthroughs, so Saga was written so well that I didn't NEED to play the game to be able to relate to her and adore her.

I'm not the least bit worried about the gameplay and I KNOW that's just an excuse to complain about Saga. It sucks that the content creators obsessed with FBI Alex Casey won't just admit they don't find the black woman appealing. I think that's a stupid as fuck opinion and not worth entertaining but at LEAST be honest about it!

FBI Alex Casey wouldn't be even a tenth of a bit interesting if he wasn't paired with Saga for the majority of his time. And that's the rub of it. I love Saga's Casey, but I wouldn't enjoy him if he was on his own, or if he and Saga's places had been reversed.

Saga could star in her own spin-off game dedicated solely to her backstory and her problems independent of Alan, and you'd find a treasure trove of things to talk about with her. But you're not getting that now, because "ohmergerd Alan is so hot with Casey!" When that was never the point.

[finnish-kingdom-hearts]

Why I love the Alan Wake/ Alex Casey pairing:

The Minstrel's Ballad: Enemies to Lovers trope (Ultimate)

From wherever Alice truly was, Alan could feel his wife’s emphatic approval of her husband’s advances on Alex. Her words, as soft as whispers in a breeze, reverberated in Alan’s head.

“Contrary to universes’ belief, you two are allowed to be happy for once. Go for it.”

Alan dreamed about Casey’s varied loves and found himself wishing he’d been on the receiving end of his detective’s affections. His very first drafts of his Alex Casey stories were more amorously charged, Casey finding his lovers on a wider spectrum. But Alan knew, at the time and the world being the world, his books wouldn't sell that way. So reluctantly, Alan knew certain changes to the detective's tastes would need to be made to reach a wider audience.

The detective’s romances would always ended in tear-jerking tragedy, femme fatales crushing Casey's heart leaving the man hollow and raw by the end of each book. It was a fate Alan longed to change for the man but his readers loved the drama all too well. As time went on, the writer shared his desire for his original version of Casey with Alice who gave him every variety of “well DUH” she could think of. Alan was as content as he’d ever be with this secret crush on his very fictional detective.

Casey was everything Alan thought he wasn’t. Alan put all of the things he knew he couldn’t overcome into the Casey books. Every challenge he knew would destroy him he eagerly threw Casey into head first. Casey in his early life solved problems with his fists until finding his calling solving the worst crimes the sordid city had to offer. As hard as he got knocked down, Casey would always stand back up and his fans loved him for it. Rooftop shoot outs, soul shattering betrayals. The writer had left long trails of scars both visible and invisible on his detective. And that was ok. His Alex Casey wasn’t real.

FBI agent Alex Casey however was very much real and was very much pissed off at the writer from the moment he emerged from the lake’s shore. Years of jokes the moment he said his name out loud, years of that damn murder cult in NYC sending him their twisted work based on Wake’s novels.

Then the events of Bright Falls happened. His memories rewritten, whatever he had experienced in the Dark Place, his side throbbing from a wound he didn’t have. The contents of his skull felt rearranged from Scratch’s possession. The thought of that monster hunting and tormenting Alan for more than a decade made him sick.

Which brought his thoughts back to the writer. His rage towards him had dulled into a manageable annoyance reserved for anyone not Saga adjacent. The Wake of 2023 was a shadow of the man he’d glared at on the newsstands before his disappearance, nothing like the arrogant blowhard he expected him to be.

Casey stood strong through the multiple times wake tried to apologize for… everything. He noticed how flushed the writer’s cheeks would get when he was close, how his voice would stammer ever so slightly. He noticed how dry his throat got when someone mentioned the writer, his hand reaching for the nearest cup of coffee to block his reddening face. He also noticed the raised eyebrows and slight smile Saga gave Casey from across the room. Casey rolled his eyes. Maybe it was the after effects of this damn lake. He wasn’t developing feelings for this wet cat of a man. He wasn’t.

[wondrouswendy]

Why Fictional CaseyWake Is Interesting

Back by popular demand (one person asking me to continue my essay), I will continue promoting my Fictional CaseyWake agenda. The Fictional CaseyWake tiger has escaped its cage (and is doing just fine, if a little tortured).

DISCLAIMER: While some of this post involves media analysis, I am not an expert by any means. I am just a fan interpreting things. Don't take what I say as gospel. Also, I am only working with canon presented to us through the video games.

Further, this post is not to discredit or attack FBI Casey/Alan Wake. This is just my way of explaining why this other version of CaseyWake is interesting to me. Don't come at me with a pitchfork.

As a reminder, this post was made with fun in mind.

With that said, this will be a much longer post than those I usually make, so buckle up buckaroos.

I. What's the Deal With Fictional Casey?

The Casey we meet in the Dark Place in Alan Wake 2 is not the same as FBI Agent Alex Casey. There are certainly parallels between the two men, they of course share the same name, the same face, the same voice, a handful of the exact same dialogue lines, but their perspectives on life, Alan Wake, and everything in between is extremely different.

In Abhi Jha's interview with Sam Lake, Lake describes how he decided to revive his love of hardboiled fiction through the Casey we see in the Dark Place. Alan has received visions he doesn't understand of the real Alex Casey which he has then interpreted and curated into becoming his own character named Alex Casey. At the time of this creation, Alan believes Casey came from his imagination. We later learn in Vision 02 that Alan was receiving visions of the real Alex Casey as his inspiration. In Lake's words, this is "an echo of Casey he has molded... turning the knobs more, going more into that hardboiled inspirations." He is a "fictional character coming to life" who is different than the "actual FBI Agent in Washington with Saga who does have similarities and potential of being pushed in that direction but not quite. More three dimensional. With real worries and all of that."

From this, we can extrapolate that Fictional Casey is an exaggerated version of the real Alex Casey and not necessarily a one for one copy of him. Fictional Casey's worries are therefore extremely different than his source material's worries. They live in two entirely different contexts and have vastly different people around them. FBI Agent Alex Casey had an ex-wife and currently has a partner he has a close relationship with. Fictional Casey essentially only has Alan.

Also, Fictional Alex Casey has a little hair floof whereas FBI Casey does not. Their wardrobes are completely different. FBI Casey prefers coffee as his poison of choice; Fictional Casey prefers whiskey.

II. Tropes of Interest

A. Hatemance/Enemies to Lovers

If you’re looking for a hatemance, the pairing has you covered given the whole “Alan killed Casey off for shock value” situation. There’s sex appeal in that alone, but I also think there’s this tender bond between Alan and his character which I will continue to go through later. Alan calls on Casey for help in the Dark Place later on. Maybe it’s on a subconscious level, but it’s certainly there.

In the QR code videos released by Remedy and added into the remastered version of the game, Alan brings up the importance of his character, Alex Casey several times.

In Vision 01, he describes how the Dark Place tapped into his "unconscious mind." Taking things and twisting them to ultimately create a mystery for him to unravel. He specifically writes, "I needed a detective to guide me. Echoes of Casey haunted me."

From Vision 02, he writes, "I saw visions carried by the ebb and flow of different dream states, they seeped in from the reality beyond, things I had a connection to but also things I couldn't possibly know. I used them in my writing to make it real so the parts that weren't would become so. And there were visions that I knew were not real. Ideas I had lost. Often of Casey. I had written about him for years. I use them as well."

In Initiation 2: Casey from Alan Wake 2, Fictional Casey introduces himself with no aggression. To me, in this scene, he is almost acting like a questgiver, an NPC you'd meet in a game whose purpose is to be the guide for the protagonist. There's no immediate malice. In fact, he sacrifices himself to the monster that threatens them.

Casey, who's supposed to be the hero in the narrative, is killed by the Dark Presence. Alan doesn't protect him. You could argue that Casey's final lines of dialogue in this chapter are a moment in which he's breaking through the narrative, implying that he's tired of being used as cannon fodder to protect Alan and to further him on his quest to escape the Dark Place.

B. The History Between Alan Wake and Fictional Casey

For six books, Alan exclusively wrote Alex Casey's story. I would argue that most authors do not stick with a character as long as this. Authors tend to write trilogies if they stick with one character. Often, authors tend to write a story with a character for the course of one novel and then in their next novel, they may shift that character to the background to let another character take the spotlight (this happens all the time in romance novels, for example).

For Alan to write six books worth of Alex Casey, he must have enjoyed it in some way. Something must have appealed to him. His character, the universe, the mysteries. However, something changed with Alan to cause him to not only kill off his star character, but to then proverbially shit-talk him during an interview with Harry Garrett (though the argument could be made that because this interview is shown in a dream sequence that it isn't necessarily something we can reliably trust happened in the real world; if this has been confirmed to be real canonically, please feel free to tell me).

You could argue that Alan killing off Casey in The Sudden Stop threw his marriage and his life out of control. Alan experiences writer's block because Casey's gone. Now this could simply be because the well of inspiration with real life Casey ran dry, because FBI Agent Casey's life had become warped because of Alan's novels.

Alan spends an undefined time with his character Alex Casey. Six novels worth and then thirteen years in the Dark Place. That's a lot of time together.

C. Hurt/Comfort, Angst, and Whump

Alan hurt Casey, personally. He killed him off. Not once, not twice. Several times. He sacrifices Casey over and over.

Casey's echoes in Alan Wake 2 are familiar to Alan. They guide him along to create suitable plots for his escape attempts.

Even though Alan has hurt Casey so much, Casey can't help but assist him with escaping the Dark Place. Even when Casey begins to question his existence, even when Casey starts breaking the fourth wall, he doesn't stop helping Alan.

This lends itself to juicy Hurt/Comfort, Angst, and Whump potential.

D. Alan Wake: Dude in Distress

The bodyguard trope. Casey arguably functions as a bodyguard to Alan in the Dark Place. Casey is always there for Alan.

I hear what you're saying. Is it because he has no choice in the narrative? I would argue no. He has a choice. We see moments where Casey questions his state of being, he breaks the fourth wall. He acknowledges his status as a fictional character as Alan leaves Zane's theater. He knows there will always be another case for Casey. he walks off into the night's loving arms and cheekily says, "Roll credits."

In my interpretation, there's a part of Casey that enjoys this life, fucked up as it may be sometimes.

E. Forbidden and Star-Crossed Romance

There is potential for forbidden romance between these two. After all, you aren't supposed to fall in love with your creation. It isn't real in the physical sense.

If Fictional Casey isn't important to Alan, if he isn't a threat, then why does the Dark Presence continue to kill off Casey? Why does it continue to separate them, as it does in Initiation 5 when Scratch takes over Alan's body to shoot Casey? It knows that Casey is Alan's guardian angel in the Dark Place. It knows that Casey has been useful in creating plot points to help Alan figure it out.

Further, there is the potential for no happy endings with these two. Of course, that could be a turn off for some and a delicious morsel for others.

F. Sexual Tension

In culmination, these elements of their relationship create sexual tension between Alan and Casey. There's so much potential in their history for romance. Charged moments in the Dark Place.

One could argue there's a will they/won't they moment in Initiation 5 - Room 665 when Casey is pinning Alan to the alley wall. Freud did say, after all, that gun's have phallic imagery. Take that as you will.

On a more superficial level, Alan can shape his fictional character to be his vision of the ideal man, the ideal partner. Or, conversely, his ideal fling. His ideal hot mess. Maybe Alan's version of the manic pixie dream girl is a hardboiled detective.

III. The Act of Creation as a Form of Love of the Self, the Creative Process, and the Creation Itself

Prepare yourself for a bumpy ride through my philosophizing. Sorry in advance. I'm sure others could dive deeper into these particular subtopics better than I could, but I want to just throw this spaghetti at the wall and pray something sticks.

A. Love of the Self

Loving yourself is hard. It's a platitude to say it, but it's true.

Alan and his character Casey do share some qualities. Depression, alcohol abuse. Often as writers, we do draw inspiration from ourselves to add dimension to our characters. Alan doesn't need to be a hardboiled detective himself to share similarities to his fictional character. Alan is destructive, angry, confused, self-loathing, and dysfunctional all throughout Alan Wake 1 and 2. Much of Alan's worst qualities are in Fictional Alex Casey.

In Initiation 5, as Casey lays dying from Alan/Scratch shooting him, he says,

"I was dead tired. I just wanted it to be over. It was all my fault."

Circling back to Alan's writer's block, arguably Alan being in the Dark Place is Casey's fault to an extent. Something happened to cause Alan to want to quit telling Casey's story. Perhaps if Casey had continued to be a source of inspiration, Alan would have continued writing his books?

Going back further, if Alan had never created Casey, his life could have taken an infinite amount of turns. But because Casey came to life through Alan's writing, because of their history, Casey feels some degree of responsibility for how events in the Dark Place have shaped up.

Continuing, he says,

"...I'd had this dark place in my head for so long. Sometimes I'd forget the pain was there. Like it was the way you were supposed to feel. I was not in a dark place. I was the dark place, the source of it all, the vessel. Me and the writer, we were the same."

Casey's final monologue in this chapter echoes sentiments Alan is experiencing. The overall metaphor of the Dark Place as not necessarily a physical or supernatural realm, but a state of mind. Some days are better than others. Some days, you're used to your pain that it feels natural.

This then relates to Fictional Casey's potential guilt. What broke down between Alan and his character to cause Alan to want to kill him off? Did writing Casey's story leave Alan feeling too depressed? Too gloomy as he tells Harry Garrett? Was it early signs of writer's block? A lack of direction?

Relating back to Alan, Alan and the Dark Place are largely one. He finds out Scratch is him. Scratch is Alan + the Dark Presence. Alan/Scratch has been the one haunting Alice, tormenting her. He is the source of it all.

Thus, there is a recursive relationship where Alan's self-loathing feeds Casey and vice versa.

However, there are positive elements of Alan's character in Fictional Casey and vice versa. Casey solves mysteries, he protects others, even at risk to himself. Alan has goodness inside him, but it is cloaked by his own self-doubt and self-loathing.

Alan so badly wants to be the hero all throughout Alan Wake 1 and 2 to save Alice (from the Dark Place and later Scratch), but he's struggling against his own narrative and the meta narrative at large. Fictional Casey is arguably the idealized hero-fantasy he has for himself, which is later realized when he sacrifices himself. He willingly goes back to the Dark Place to save Saga, her daughter, and FBI Casey from the Dark Place and its jailor, the Dark Presence.

B. Love (and Hatred) of the Creative Process

To quote a great tumblr post for the 100th time, the act of creation is like sticking your hand in a cylinder of irradiated water full of piranhas. At the bottom is a button, that when pressed, will give you the best orgasm of your life. However, the irradiated water is obviously toxic and the piranhas are constantly biting. In short, the act of creating something is a struggle. But when you manage to hit that button...

Ask any writer (and any creative person at large), there's nothing more enjoyable than being inspired and filled with energy. Writing a new story is exciting. It's often why people tend to have a backlog of WIPs, because sometimes creatives are always chasing after the next new rush of endorphins. Sometimes we fall in love with a universe, sometimes it's a character, an idea of ours.

On the other side of the coin, hating the creative process, I'll quote a tweet from one of my favorite Youtube video essayists, "I hate literally every step in the filmmaking process. The only thing I hate more than making a film is not making a film." Similarly, most authors state that the worst thing about the writing process is not writing.

Alan can't write because he has writer's block, and he has writer's block because he killed off his character, and he hates that he isn't creating. See the vicious cycle? He can't psych himself up for whatever new book he was supposedly going to write prior to the events of the first game.

C. Love of the Creation Itself

Even in Alan's nightmares, he has copies of The Sudden Stop stuffed into his car's trunk like that meme about the person who trips and has pictures of their senpai shoved up their sleeves.

Art is subjective. It's tailored to our personal experiences and vision. Alan (and on a meta level, Sam Lake) enjoy hardboiled detective fiction. Alex Casey is the realization of that love come to life.

Understandably, there are elements of this style of relationship which are not equal in power. We see these elements repeatedly with how Alan uses, yes even abuses Fictional Casey to further his own goals.

Yes, you could say that loving your own creation (no matter the medium) is masturbatory. It's self-aggrandizing. But loving something you put time, effort, blood, sweat, and tears just feels good. We as creators have a right to feel proud of our works.

IV. Interesting Parallels

I'm sorry to all my English major friends for the fumbling I'm about to commit with literary analysis.

A. Biblical

It wouldn't be a deep dive analysis if we didn't bring up the Bible. Of course I'm talking about God and Adam. Anyone creating their own original universe with their own original characters is playing God. Alan creates Alex Casey through the divine act of turning his imagination into tangible writing.

Will someone PLEASE draw Alan Wake and Fictional Casey in the vein of Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam already???

B. Literary

John Milton's famous lines from his work Paradise Lost:

Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay To mould Me man? Did I solicit thee From darkness to promote me?

Of course, Paradise Lost is an epic poem about the story of Genesis, but this stanza in particular, spoken by Adam to God can easily be applied to Fictional Casey towards Alan. Casey didn't ask for any of this. He didn't ask to be created, he didn't ask to become Alan's guide in the Dark Place.

I’m a sucker for Frankenstein by Mary Shelley so I regret to inform everyone we're bringing it up.

I think there’s some Frankenstein/His Monster vibes with this flavor of CaseyWake. I think there were moments where Casey resented coming to life, certainly much later on as he lives and dies over and over.

From his dying moments in Initiation 2:

"I remembered dying in this alley in a dream I had. He was just gonna keep killing me here, loop by loop. You're not gonna get what you want. You think you know. You know shit. You don't really wanna know. You're gonna get what's coming to you."

And then from Frankenstein:

"Remember that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed. Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded. I was benevolent and good – misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous."

Unlike his real counterpart, Fictional Casey has no one other than Alan. He has no friends, no found family. Arguably, even FBI Casey wants nothing to do with his fictional self. He is completely reliant upon Alan. I suppose you could say we the audience are his only true friend, as we function as voyeurs into his fictional life, much like Alan (but we seem to want to take better care of him than Alan does).

C. Mythological

Pygmalion and Galatea.

The Greek sculptor Pygmalion fell in love with his sculpture of a woman. He asked the goddess Aphrodite if his sculpture could become real, and somehow the goddess of love was like "yeah sure bud." The sculpture, Galatea, comes to life, and they live happily ever after.

(This is the part where I'll make a brief Weird Science shoutout since it's a somewhat similar premise).

V. Conclusion

If you have somehow made it this far, thanks for reading.

There are likely things I've forgotten that I wanted to talk about at some point. Maybe I'll have to make a part two if I end up remembering them.

Hopefully my essay will help inspire others to create fanworks featuring this particular version of CaseyWake. I would love to hear what others think, so please don't hesitate to share your thoughts!!

And finally,

[dextraicarus1994]

Poor FBI Agent Alex Casey, there is no coffee around to deal the moment.🤭🤭🤭🤭💞💞💞💞💞💞💞

[rangerzath]

Alex Casey's morning routine. A good FBI Agent always has one.

[nerdhall]

Remembering James McCaffrey: A Voice That Defined an Era in Gaming

The gaming and entertainment world mourns the loss of James McCaffrey, a versatile actor whose voice became iconic in the video game industry. McCaffrey, known for his role as the voice of Max Payne and Alex Casey in "Alan Wake 2," passed away at the age of 65 after a battle with cancer. His passing marks the end of an era for fans who grew up hearing his distinctive voice in some of the most influential games of the past few decades.

A Career Spanning Over Three Decades

Before venturing into the realm of video game voice acting, McCaffrey had a successful career in film and television. His journey in the entertainment industry began in the late '80s and early '90s, with notable roles in TV series like Fox's "New York Undercover" and NBC's "Viper." However, it was his role in FX's "Rescue Me" in 2004 that brought him significant recognition. In this series, he portrayed firefighter James Xavier “Jimmy” Keefe, a character that resonated with many, especially in the context of 9/11.

The Voice of Max Payne

James McCaffrey's most memorable contribution to pop culture was undoubtedly as the voice of Max Payne. This character, a gruff antihero from the popular third-person shooter series, became synonymous with McCaffrey's voice. He lent his voice to all the games in the series - "Max Payne" (2001), "Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne" (2003), and "Max Payne 3" (2012). His portrayal was not just limited to voice acting; he also provided motion capture for the character in "Max Payne 3." The series, known for its innovative "bullet time" sequences, left a lasting impact on the gaming industry.

Contributions Beyond Max Payne

McCaffrey's voice acting extended beyond the Max Payne series. He voiced FBI agent Alex Casey in the original "Alan Wake" game in 2010 and its sequel "Alan Wake 2," which recently garnered acclaim at the Game Awards. His other notable roles include appearances in "Control" (2019) and "Alone in the Dark" (2008).

Legacy and Personal Life

James McCaffrey leaves behind a legacy that transcends the boundaries of traditional acting. His work in video games has been pivotal in elevating voice acting within the industry, showcasing the importance and impact of voice talent in gaming narratives. He is survived by his wife Rochelle Bostrom and daughter Tiernan McCaffrey, who, along with his fans, will remember him for his significant contributions to both the gaming and entertainment worlds.

McCaffrey's passing is a reminder of the evolving nature of storytelling in games and the critical role voice actors play in bringing characters to life. As the industry continues to grow and change, his work will remain a benchmark for excellence in voice acting.

[multi-muse-transect]

I can imagine if Remedy Games buys the Life Is Strange IP, there’s going to be a reimagining/reboot of Life Is Strange 1 in the style of Modern Warfare 2019 but it turns out to be a stealth sequel. Like Max did something at the end of Double Exposure or many years after it that results in her universe being merged with the Remedyverse Flashpoint Paradox style.

And there would be a hidden ending where Max reports Jefferson to the FBI and in the photos, Saga Anderson and Alex Casey are seen arresting him.

Then in a reimagined Life Is Strange 2, agent Estevez appears instead of Flores as Sean hears her talking about where Daniel is and is aware of his abilities.

[bottomseareef]

Doing the Final Draft of Alan Wake II and I didn’t realize he wears the white flannel in some of the tv ramblings. I also didn’t see that there was a special Alex Casey echo when you put the Torchbears plot at the tunnel. Another thing I didn’t see is that you hear Estevez on a radio when using the Missing FBI Agent plot at the derailed train. Also that you hear Nightingale on the radio when using the Missing FBI Agent plot at the End of the Line location.

[svu-bracket]

semi finals (round 10)

descriptions under the cut

judith light -> appeared in 25 episodes over 9 seasons as bureau-chief-turned-judge, elizabeth donnelly. famous hater of the girls (alex cabot + casey novak). also famously almost died in zebras. last time we see her is in season 12, behave with jennifer love hewitt.

marcia gay harden -> appeared in 4 episodes over four seasons; raw, informed, penetration, and secrets exhumed. undercover fbi agent slay turned murderer that one time.

[ilkkawhat]

I can't believe it's almost been a year since AW2 was released. It really changed my life. For better or for worse? Who can say, but I've been having fun.

lol it's so surreal to me that it's been less than a year that I bought and played Alan Wake 2 (one month past release, in November) purely on a whim because I saw people on the silent hill subreddit talking about it and someone even made a meme about "friendship ended with silent hill now alan wake is my new best friend" and I kid you not within just a few days my life just...changed entirely.

I have a lot of depression and anxiety and somewhere in 2023 things just...went wrong and I stopped creating. stopped giffing, never thought I'd write again and drawing lmao forget it, that shit's been hard for me to do ever since a very discouraging experience back when I was maybe like, 11 or 12. stopped going on tumblr, had given up on discord a long time before then and became a miserable ghost doing nothing but burying myself in work in what i will admit is a toxic, overwhelming and stressful environment. I still played games, still watched shows but nothing was like. Sticking with me, I guess? Not like to obsession levels and minus some good vacations I was just...empty.

And playing Alan Wake 2 for the first time was a legit terrifying experience for me--not on the levels of the first time I played Silent Hill 2 maybe (legit locked myself in my room and put on my lamp in the middle of the day cause of the sound of footsteps behind me in that game lol and my dishwasher at the time sounded like that one chugging sound in the apartments) but the dread I was feeling as I got legitimately lost in the woods of Cauldron Lake and turned around in Coffee World (having basically explored it all before triggering the parts where the enemies spawn in) and the basement of Valhalla Nursing Home was thrilling and I was excited to be playing something that was so disturbing and mind bending and emotional, too. Not even knowing the story of Alan and Alice, my heart broke during Alice's final tape. Not knowing Alan's character outside of what I saw in the second game, his "fuck it" moment where he went back into the Dark Place felt so heroic. I felt an odd sense of nostalgia watching the Koskela brothers commercials, like I had known them my whole life. Alex Casey (both the FBI agent and fictional detective) is my favorite kind of wise-cracking guy who has a heart of gold, the old guy who I wish could be my dad. Tom Zane was that mysterious wild card that you know under the surface has something sinister, unsettling esp with his manipulation of Alan but is just so fascinating to watch. Of course I saw so much of my obsessive self in Rose with her shrine for Alan. Saga's time in the dark place felt so real to me, I cried and still cry every time I read that note from her mom at that part of the game (I know you can read it sooner but it packs a bigger punch with Saga's fight to get out of her own mind.) All of the characters quickly stole my heart and ran with it and maybe it was over a few days, maybe it was all at once the floodgates just...opened within me.

I started writing again. First with a character that I never thought I'd write for again because at the time, even just thinking about him legit hurt me. Then I started scheming up fics for Alan. Then I started giffing even from self-captured gameplay footage that I don't think I've ever done before. Then I started drawing in my Alan Wake journal--a journal which, I had not done since the peak of my CSI obsession during my teenage years and even then it wasn't to the extent of what that journal is now (which admittedly, has not been filled out in quite a number of weeks and maybe that's partially cause I tend to journalize myself on here too) And then one day I couldn't contain it anymore. I started sharing again. I don't talk to anybody really like, ever outside of these asks and occasional replies but I truly never thought I'd be part of a fandom again. I worried I'd fuck it all up again (still worry about that) for myself, or others. Or both. But all the kind messages, the kind tags, the awesome people I've started following because of Alan Wake, I wouldn't give any of that up.

And of course things branched off, crushing so hard on him I got obsessed with Ilkka. I played some of Remedy's other games (still working my way through Max Payne 2 and Quantum Break very very slowly) and went back to the first Alan Wake, of course which if I had known about earlier or had an Xbox I'm sure I would have loved it back then as much as I do now. Hell I even platinumed that and Alan Wake 2 and as someone who is notorious for not finishing games other than like. The Legend of Zelda series and playing some other endless games...think it says something that I've managed to beat and complete (I always do the rhymes, stashes, lunch boxes, every playthrough) Alan Wake 2 almost 10 times now.

I was happy. I'm still, for the most part when I'm not at work, happy. Call it what you want, a delusion brought on by a distraction of obsession, a dangerous escape threatening the part of me that is still rooted in reality in the way that like, what if I become too crazy about it where it blinds me to certain things or experiences or chases people away from me because I'm too weird about it (a very real thing that has happened before)

But damn with all of that...I'm having fun with it too.