#it's something he hasn't encountered before - it's something he can't LABEL

[shallowseeker]

So, the lantern and the bottle are standing strong despite the storm.

Cas visually occupies the empty chair and protects Dean, who is on the side with the new growth, the fireplace hearth, and the drinks.

But also... what lovely cinema...

Here for example, we see the image of Dean and the hearth again, smoke swirling and a kitchen on fire.

And later...

Cas is devastated by Raphael's words, but Dean decides to lend support and encourage him anyway; tells him to go and look for his father!

And Cas rightfully worries about leaving Dean without the support of his family, his brother.

Dean isn't good exactly, but suddenly, there's something so soft in his gaze.

He confides in Cas about the stresses that come with worrying over Sam's addiction and bad decisions. It's something Cas understands, what with Raphael pledging to start the Apocalypse and revealing that "he wants it all to be over/wants to die."

Cas has a spiraling brother (Raphael), and Dean has a spiraling brother (Sam).

But Dean looks so soft here as they commiserate!

Conjecture//// I think, even if he's not aware of it, Dean's enormously relieved that Cas made it through this whole Raphael thing alive.

A joke slips out again, like it's covering up more of Dean's strong emotions.

Note how the color palette and shadows darken here, like it's pointing to a shroud of mystery that Dean can't quite understand or navigate properly yet.

It darkens as Dean ponders why he was having so much fun.

And yes, on the one hand, it's about the objectively heavy weights of our familial obligations, and how our attachments take work (especially when you're smack-dab in the middle of a fantasy-urban horror genre show).

But it's also the mystery of Dean's feelings...

Dean's locating his happiness in the lack of familial obligations, but is he correct in his analysis of himself at this point?

One wonders...

Or maybe there's something else in the mix now, something as scary as it is effervescent? Something that makes even the burnt-out hearth feel lit, something that makes a squatter house feel like A Home.

///

CORRECTION: There are a few lit lanterns sprinkled around the house. THe motif stands, though. <3

DEAN: *is all watery-eyed and weird when cas dies the first time*

CAS: *returns and is very, very Cranky (TM) and yelling at everyone*

Instead of being happy, relieved, or appreciative of one another's fighting spirit outright, they fall into a pattern of fighting and banter. They're full of fear, fatalism, and their own discordant Hail-Mary-style ideas.

And they disagree with each other. Their fear, in general, manifests in being short with one another and hilariously calling each other's plans stupid.

They're very immature and ill-equipped to handle caring about each other, basically. It's kinda cute.

They could say "thank you," or "I'm glad you're okay." Instead? Cas flies out of the gate, bossily laying into them about needing to be more careful. Later, he arrives at the hospital and calls the plan of fighting Lucifer stupid.

When Dean responds that Cas's plan is even stupider, Cas tells Dean that he wasn't worth rebelling for at all because he's a failure and should shut the Hell up.

Glorious.

There's so much Weird tension getting in the way of what should be a renewed brother-in-arms-friendship. It should be simple, a hearty hug between friends, some thuds on the back—you know, a simple "we made it, brother!" style of camaraderie.

Instead, they're weird about it.

///

And while Dean is usuallyweird (he's a weird, word-vomitey guy at heart), he's being epically weird in 5x03.

I'd say he's being even weirder than Cas is at times, and not just about his nervousness surrounding personal space.

It's everything.

It's even played for laughs a little bit. Cas says a lot of weird shit to the cop, and then somehow gains the cop's trust anyway.

Right after this, the cop calls Dean out, but not Cas.

"Uh, no, Kolchak."

In the end, Cas winds up having the advantage in this bizarre exchange. In a surprise twist, the officer has responded better to Cas's frank honesty than to Dean's sarcasm and indirectness.

///

But anyway, it's no wonder Dean's being odd. Man's Hella stressed.

Per the conversation with Sam at the end of 5x01, Dean is barely hanging in there. "He's trying." But he's also feeling the weight of his own fatalism. "I'll fight, but we haven't got a snowball's chance in Hell of winning."

And I personally think he's still anxious post-Cas's first death.

That's a frightening thing to contend with, that one of your strongest, "seemingly invincible" Superman allies can die. It rocks the tenuous stability beneath your feet, so to speak.

Here's the strangest thing: Cas asks Dean to go on a mission with him. But even after Cas straight-up tells Dean no angel would dare harm him, Dean assumes that they're both going to die anyway.

...

I think this speaks to Dean's issues focusing. His anxiety must be through the roof, because he's usually so good at hanging on to details like that.

There's also his guilt surrounding Cas facing Raphael alone the first time. And it's coming out this way.

This time, he's automatically cast himself in the role of being there alongside Cas, dying alongside him.

It's not until later that his denial falls away and the truth catches up to him, that Cas means to die alone:

Cas repeats himself, that the archangel wouldn't dare harm Dean:

This is not a revelation.

Cas told him as such right off the bat. But like in the scene with Chuck, Dean's brain prefers to dive straight into denial.

It's interesting for a character like Dean. He's VERY used to losing people, but with Cas, there's a creeping denial and disappointment clouding the whole thing.

There's probably already a crush there... it's coming out in watery eyes and hilarious ADHD-word vomit (Thelma-Louise, fussing about personal space and then getting into his personal space, Bert-n-Ernie-are-gay, last night on earth) because Dean doesn't know what to do with it.

He doesn't know how to handle the confusing mix of feelings. He had a lot of them when Cas died the first time. Now, where can that energy even go?

The face journey he goes on as he realizes Cas is expecting to die... again.

It's a little sad, tbh.

///

And then later, when they face off against Raphael, facing him together as Raphael enters "their" kitchen, Dean's fears all come out as jokes and banter again.

It's his preferred defense mechanism against strong emotions. He's worried, but he can't show it.

///

Another thing.

I think it's neat that they're squatting in this cute, dilapidated house.

Raphael appears in a kitchen, recreating the circumstances of Cas's first death in Chuck's kitchen.

Some other cute details about the house they're chosen. Dean has his usual cooler, but here he's put it near the hearth of the home, one of his motifs. He acts as bait, drawing Raphael nearer while Cas moves to attack him.

But the specter of the hearth is still meaningful.

And while Dean distracts Raphael, they lure him deeper into the home, a space they're controlling together.

And still, they banter. Cause they're immature and adorable.

DEAN: "Don't look at me it was his idea."

Aside// The lantern and the beer bottles.

Here, we get another glimpse of their symbols. For Cas, it's this dark lantern on the table; it's been on the table "with him"on his side" since the very beginning of squatting in this house.

It symbolizes both Cas himself and this concept of Dean waiting for him. "Where have you been?"

The fact that this lantern is OUT is a callback to Cas's death, and a nod to his current fatalism.

///

Actually, the house they're squatting in IS pretty cute. The table they sit at together is cute. Here we have the two of them, mutually aching over their absent fathers... and reeling over the painful, complicated brokenness and betrayals with their respective brothers (Raphael, Sam).

The inside of this house is "dead and dusty," but there's new growth just peeking into the window. Greenness. Renewal.

This living room, where they're spending time together, also contains important Dean-Cas symbols: empty chairs, lanterns, and an unlit hearth.

While the two of them are trying desperately to fix their respective families, they're automatically carving out their own living space together, instinctually, almost without knowing or trying.

It's also funny that we see some of the strife that will color their relationship. It looks like Dean wound up doing a lot of waiting around, and he's irritated about it.

Note the prominently lit empty Cas-chair. While Cas runs off to do his suicidal Heaven errands, Dean waits up for him in a room with a hearth and a conspicuously placed lantern.

Cas appears in front of the stairs. Later, these stairs will be prominently lit by the only lit lantern in the entire house.

///

Here we go. Dean and Cas return to face off against Raphael in the house they've come to bond in—in a home they control. Now, the stairs are highlighted by a homey, welcoming light.

It's the only lantern on.

It leads upstairs to the bedroom, or it's a nod to "Heaven" if you prefer that reading.

But it seems to me that this light is conspicuous like, despite the storm and the power outage, these two are carrying a secret torch for each other, a nascent longing to cobble a life together.

Raphael's pyrotechnics are exploding all the lights except this one, after all. Perhaps the lighted stairs represent them as a Heaven-Earth unit, Heaven + home, the one who guards the door + and the one who lights the hearth:

///

And goodness, some of these images are lovely.

Raphael breaks the window, letting the storm into the little nook they'd carved for themselves.

The lantern and the beer bottle.

That's their table!

It's funny. It's almost like they instinctively gravitate to trying to fix/rebuild a home when they're together. They naturally want to fall into this weird... rhythm of life.

It's maybe a bit spooky for them, it maybe unnerves them, and they don't know what to do with that. They've both got so much baggage with their respective families that they mostly try to ignore it, and they get pissy and short with each other as a result of ignoring it and circling this...

...confusing thing.

[celestial-robots]

Explaining Eclipse (A Theory/Headcanon)

Spoilers for the Ruin DLC below!

Okay so I've been thinking so much about Eclipse and what they mean. You know, as you do XD. Just a lot of wondering what they mean for the ~lore~ and how they fit in with the rest of the Sun and Moon stuff. And after a lot of thinking, I may have figured stuff out.

I've seen a couple posts wondering if Eclipse is the way the Daycare Attendant is "supposed to be" and if Sun and Moon are the result of the DCA breaking down or something. But personally I just can't see that. Not only do we hear Sun go "thank you" after the Eclipse encounter, implying he's still around and hasn't permanently "fused" into Eclipse, but it also wouldn't make sense with stuff in Security Breach. In-game Fazbear merchandise and advertising have a lot of focus on Sun and Moon as two separate individuals, not the DCA as a single unit. For example, see the giant golden statues outside of Daycare. Two different forms of the Daycare Attendant. Collectibles are also identified as "Sun" and "Moon." It's not like they're labeled "Eclipse Doll (Sun form)" or "Moon Eclipse Doll." No, it's just "Sun Doll" and "Moon Doll."

So here's how I think it works. Sun and Moon are two separate AIs within the DCA body. They can function on their own, independent of the other, in the way we've been thinking this whole time. BUT they're also designed to join together, like interlocking puzzle blocks. Two separate forms that come together to make a "whole" that's greater than the sum of the parts.

This makes sense from a programming perspective. Sun is designed to play with kids and entertain them, Moon is designed to watch over kids while they sleep. They're both made for specific scenarios, but taking care of kids is a lot more complicated than just "play time" and "nap time." So whenever one of them encounters something they can't deal with by themselves, they call for help from the other, who activates as well, combining their features and protocols. I'm willing to bed this also activates several specific "Eclipse" features that can only be accessed when both AIs are active, which would explain why Eclipse has such a different personality.

But if this is the case, then why haven't we seen Eclipse before? Why did they only come out when Cassie rebooted the DCA?

Well that's where this theory by @dana-chan-the-control-brain and @twinanimatronics comes in. The two of them theorized that the Balloon World arcade cabinet in the DCA's room was some sort of signal broadcaster that kept their AIs divided. I think that Ruin confirms this—or at least provides a lot of solid evidence.

In the main game, Balloon World is in the DCA room, up and active and with a form of Eclipse inside. In Ruin, the Balloon World cabinet is broken. And you can see weird purple glitches coming from it while in AR vision. It's only in Ruin, after the cabinet has been damaged, that we finally meet Eclipse.

This is venturing a bit into headcanon territory, but let's have some fun with this. I believe that the Balloon World cabinet was put in the DCA's room to infect them with the virus. Probably a long time before the events of the actual game, since the worn-down state of the room shows it's been a while since any human or robot cleaners were in there. This might have been some sort of test run to see if the virus could affect the animatronics.

However, the virus couldn't affect the DCA while Eclipse was there, acting as a sort of stabilizing failsafe for Sun and Moon. So the virus then cut off the "fuse" function from Sun and Moon, locking Eclipse away and preventing them from stepping in when Sun or Moon encounter something strange—strange like a virus. Sun probably couldn't be affected by the virus because the virus attacks nighttime and/or security protocols, and he no longer had access to those once Eclipse was gone. Moon, however, did. And that's why he's hostile.

But then, if the Balloon World cabinet was keeping Eclipse contained, why were Sun and Moon still freaking out in Ruin even after the cabinet was destroyed? Why did they need Cassie to reboot them?

Well, I think that forming Eclipse requires both Sun and Moon to want to fuse together. And Moon clearly doesn't want to do that in Ruin. Why? Probably because he's mad at Sun. You can hear how angry he is in voice lines where he says stuff like "No more Sun!" and "No more light!" (Seriously, props to Kellen Goff, holy shit.) Moon was only able to be "awake" for short periods of time in the main game, partially because Sun was encouraging everyone to "Keep the lights on." Of course Moon would be pissed and want to be in control now that the lights are broken. He wasn't about to risk losing that .

But not having Eclipse around was ultimately damaging Sun and Moon. They were meant to stabilize the system when the two individuals couldn't do that alone. Not to mention their systems were already damaged, judging by Moon's increased light sensitivity in Ruin. They needed Eclipse so they could be stable again.

Cassie rebooting the DCA's systems was a lot like restarting your computer. Everything shuts down and then all the systems start running again at once—including, in this case, both Sun and Moon's AIs and whatever Eclipse functions were now restored. That's why Eclipse was in control after the reboot. Presumably, the rest of the software damage was also fixed, which probably helped calm Moon down. So, overall, a happy ending.

Relatively, I mean. The DCA is still stuck in an abandoned Pizzaplex, but at least Eclipse is back and Sun and Moon aren't fighting anymore :)

[aquilamage]

Collection of misc thoughts about the part of the game from yesterday:

I am soooo tempted to Passage warp directly back to Looks to the Moon to see if I've already gotten to the point where I can talk to them. I won't because I am not gonna trek all the way back to where I am now and also just in case it does do something to ruin the storytelling.

On the subject of the chamber Five Pebbles talks to you in:

I know I kinda already sussed it out and also his dialogue confirms it but wow watching the way his robot body gets moved around in this scene does so much for the impression that yeah the iterators are big big computer mechanical beings and the robot part is just a little puppet they control. It's extremely cool.

Which of course has me thinking about Looks to the Moon's in comparison (both their little square chamber with the robot body and the whole area that the game labels with her name). While I'm still not clear on whether all the things you encounter in Five Pebbles are fully meant to be there he certainly still seems functional (and has a billion of the floaty light things all over - although not in the square chamber - vs her only having the couple with her body).

Also I don't know about you guys but that ^ looks like way more than five pebbles to me.

Assuming that orange overseer = LttM and blue = 5P it's interesting thinking about that in relation to their characters like. I know the blue one has been popping up but it rarely if ever gives direction and it certainly hasn't given picture image help. And I didn't notice an Overseer once in Five Pebbles's area versus Looks to the Moon's showing up in their square room.

I think it's neat that at least if we look at the projected images of Looks to the Moon they and Five Pebbles are dressed very similarly. But also why now does he have the robes but they don't. Very Rude. Give My Girl Clothes.

And then Five Pebbles's dialogue!!! First of all I'm still enamored with his tone I looove how much of a bitch he comes off as. Then the fact that there have been multiple other slugcats(/scavengers??) that have been there before. One of them (probably the mentioned previous one?) has gotta be our sibling but for the others????

The implication that the monk has been able to communicate with any others is just ;v; because no! They are. Soso sad and lonely and if anyone guided them it's Looks to the Moon.

And then

You and your kind have the same problem as everyone else, from the microbes in the processing strata to me, who am, if you excuse me, godlike in comparison. We all want a way out.

On a smaller level the "godlike in comparison" is sooo striking to me because first of all the fact that he's bringing that up in the first place says something about them. Also if he's literally saying godlike in comparison to microorganisms it's like. Ok yeah maybe but that doesn't really feel like as much of a brag as you're making it out to be. Which is funny. Or if it's in general 'godlike in comparison to everything else' it's still funny just because he's saying it but considering what little info I have right now I can't exactly argue against him. He seems like Something.

And then the "we all want a way out"!!! Like, I want out because I want to find my sibling and get back to the rest of my family but everyone else? If he means literally physically out of this world then that's some big implications. I can't argue with the sentiment because this place has big deadly storms and it's all ruined and everything is dangerous and violent but it feels like something bigger than all that and that's a little terrifying.

Also I didn't get a screenshot of this part but if you go out and back into his chamber he yells at you to leave. If it hadn't been 500 years since I'd last saved I would've definitely sat there longer just to see what happened.

Anyway this game is incredibly cool. Once again I'm at a point wondering how far I actually am into the game because if you asked me to guess I would have NO clue (please don't tell me). And last small thing I did look at the merch store (at least what's linked on their latest steam announcement) and there's a critical lack of Looks to the Moon stuff so now I am contemplating making my own.

[moonsrune]

Volchok was lucky he didn't stay on the topic of Romeo for too long. If he would have said anything more, Tyler might've felt inclined to kick his ass in front of their two children. He didn't want to talk about Brooke's former relationships. Not now, not ever. However, Tyler could breathe easier knowing Romeo was no longer in the picture. At least he hoped so. Was Volchok still in contact with him? Should he expect Romeo to stop by and visit Sebastian? They used to be best friends, right? Well, what happened with that? He was going to ask some of these questions before Isadora walked in and curbed his natural impulse...the one that wanted to wring Volchok's neck and tell him Romeo was nothing more than a lying, cheating dirtbag who should've had his teeth kicked in. As a matter of fact, Romeo was the only ex of Brooke's that he hasn't beaten bloody. Seth, Jake, Gage...he got into brawls with all of them and won. Maybe it wasn't too late to settle his beef with the wannabe street racer.

With the thought still haunting his mind, Tyler turns to Volchok on the park bench. He'd been picking at his hand for a few minutes now. Which, was a form of self-harm not a lot of people knew about. His sandwich was still in saranwrap and his drink had hardly been touched. Meanwhile Sebastian was two snickers down, and covered in chocolate. He offers his last candy bar to Everly who's completely oblivious her best friend's a kleptomaniac. "Choocet!" She grabs the chocolate and then cries when she can't open it. Lucky for her, Sebastian mastered the technique of ripping things open with his four baby teeth. She laughs, and he smiles like a proud, older sibling. Even though he's younger by a few months, and Everly was an inch or so taller than him. Which, is something he'll pout about later in life before he inevitably hits his growth spurt.

"Before I tell you about my proposal, I have to get something off my chest first." Tyler looks up and his expression is stone-cold. If Volchok knows him at all, he'll know his best friend wasn't in the right mood anymore. He hasn't thought about Romeo in years and wanted to keep it that way. Because now he feels like he has a debt that needs to be paid. Romeo got off too easy after the shit he pulled at the race, and then again, in Mexico. The thought of Brooke riding him on one of the lounge chairs by the pool still hurts his heart, and it was Volchok's fault for reminding him of it. "I don't want to hear about Romeo. That guy was a pussy and I don't know how you were ever friends with him. I mean, are you still friends with him? Does he know you have a son?" Tyler would pack his bags and move before he ever lets Romeo near his daughter, or Brooke. "He broke my car window, cheated me at the race, and flaunted my girl around to piss me off. If I could go back in time, I would break his arms. And although its been a few years, I'm still not over it. You reminded me that I let him off the hook too easily. Now its sitting in my stomach like acid." How would he feel if he brought up Trevor? The blonde himbo that wanted to crack Isadora's asscheeks wide open and take her again and again while she was dating Volchok? It's probably not a good idea to remind each other of exes, right? It's bad enough Tyler has to put up with Jake.

"I got it!" Isadora gleams as she hurries over to the couch where Brooke's waiting for her. She joins her side and pulls the little carboard box labeled Clearblue from the paper bag. The woman at the drug store said it was the best brand for a quick response. Then she went on to prod Isadora for more information. The encounter reminded her of the time she went shopping for Brooke while she was pregnant with Everly, and the cashier thought she was pregnant. How many of Brooke's babies did she have to take credit for? "Because...being a slut is better than being boring. You're in love, babes. Love makes us do wild and crazy things. Just be glad that spark hasn't died or fizzled out after Everly. The fact you're still having hot, passionate sex is SO UNF." Her and Volchok were still having amazing sex but, somedays she wonders if he loves her as much as Tyler loves Brooke. They were married. The only commitment Isadora was given were dirty dishes in the sink every night. "I don't want you to stress yourself out. You were so radiant while pregnant. Do you remember how obsessed Tyler was with your cute bump and big boobs? He'll dote on you like crazy...and Kev and I will babysit whenever you need us to. So just...breathe." For Isadora, it was like Christmas. Brooke's life was one of her favorite fairytales. It was a little dark at times...but that only made it hotter. "When are you going to call him and tell him to get his ass back here? The suspense is KILLING me."

"Bass, cut it out." Volchok did what any other laid back dad would do, he scolded Sebastian with the same kind of leisure enthusiasm he showed towards Isadora's latest fung shui. Kids will be kids. And if his was anything like him, the more Volchok tells Sebastian not to do something, the more he wants to do it just to spite him. "As for your car - I do know how to drive a stick shift, asshole. You forget I was friends with Romeo before you. That kid was obsessed with cars. Almost as much as he was obsessed with claiming your title way back when." Were it not for Romeo, Volchok and Isadora probably would've never met or had the life they have now. He was the one who set them up before Isadora repaid the favor in introducing him to Brooke. Not that, Kev was going to bring that whole mess up. Tyler probably got the idea anyway.

"Ev being there actually makes it better. For my amusement though, of course. Because no, yeah. When you remind Brooke of that detail.... I fear for your life. Your wife scares me." Brooke may be small and cute. But, big things often come in small packages. She was ferocious when she needed to be. And her tongue could cut you to pieces, better than any knife could. Volchok and her went at it sometimes. But, it was all done out of some twisted form of brotherly and sisterly love. "I drank the last beer this morning. Don't tell Isa that." He wasn't supposed to drink while supervising the tasmanian devil. Because, clearly it never ended well. Something always went wrong. Sometimes, having a son though, one needed a drink. Or several just to make it through the day. "Yeah we can head out and find us something to eat or drink on the way to the park. I could use the fresh hair. These eucalyptus diffusers have been giving me a headache. But, don't expect me to grocery shop. I leave that to Isadora because otherwise according to her, I come home with junk food and am looking to poison my kid by overdosing him on red 40." Which is a chemical or ingredient or something apparently, that's found in most popular foods that people love.

Just as Volchok ascends from the couch, the devil herself walks in and forces him to suspiciously tuck the red velvet box back into his pocket. Meanwhile Everly shouts, pop-pose! at the top of her lungs and earns a glare from Volchok and a laugh from Isadora. Thank god she doesn't put two and two together or else, Everly should be the one in time out. "Sure did, angelbaby. The kid and I cheered you on. And I had to take a potty break to sort myself out.... hence the mess." He didn't care if Tyler was privy to his confession of beating himself off to his soon-to-be wife. Volchok had no shame as he gripped Isadora's waist to tie her down with a long kiss. She tasted as sweet and cherry-licious as she always did. Big thanks to her favorite lipgloss.

"Yeah, yeah..." Kev was waving them both off as Isadora vanished from sight and Tyler questioned his plans. "I already bought the ring. It's a done deal." At least, in his eyes it was. "Grab Ev and let's go. Bass, come on. Put down the blocks." After collecting their kids, the four of them embark on walk towards the nearest grocery store for snacks and drinks. Sebastian attempts to stuff candy into his diaper and manages to succeed with a lollipop, while Volchok gathers a case of beer, some premade sandwiches, and more grape juice. He holds off on any more proposal talk until they make it to the park and the kids are too distracted by butterflies to listen and repeat what's being said. "So.... how should I do it? How did you do it? Do I give a speech or just keep it simple and sweet?"

Meanwhile, back at their apartment, Brooke finishes signing off on her latest YouTube video just as Isadora walks in -- brown paper bag in hand. "Oh thank god! Did you get it? They didn't see you grab it, did they?" Brooke texted Isadora late last night after Tyler drifted off to sleep with worries that she might be pregnant again. Her period was late. Which sure, they could've chalked up to stress but knowing her and Tyler... it was possible. Especially after Brooke insisted he not pull out the last time they had sex and waste perfectly good cum on their bedsheets. "I told myself the next time I took a test, I would wait for Tyler. Which I will but, I don't have time to run out and buy one in the midst of all we've got going on." She barely had time to shower or brush her teeth some days but she managed, somehow. "Remind me why, I act like such a slut? Because, I almost always regret it when this kind of stuff happens. Too much is going on. We cannot have another baby right now. I will kill myself." Not really, she's just being dramatic. Brooke would happily give Tyler all the children he wants. But right now, wasn't the best time for that. He just kickstarted his company and Brooke was in way over her head with her own workload. She wanted to relieve stress, not add more of it to their lives.