#sort of they did show this one off before the dlc

[nonetoon]

Currently creating my own living hell by trying to hunt down an authentic poltchageist

[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 :)

[slavonicrhapsody]

Every shred of Rykard lore from Shadow of the Erdtree

So, naturally, I went through the DLC completely focused on looking for Rykard lore. I never expected much, but despite him not ever being directly mentioned, I still discovered a lot of interesting implications about him… here is everything I found!

Dancer of Ranah

While I was in the middle of playing the DLC, I made this post about the Dancer of Ranah, and how Tanith was from that culture. But I no longer believe that the dancers of Ranah are shadow land natives, because there’s only the one found in the mausoleum there. We know Rykard met Tanith in a foreign land, and the Tower of Suppression on the Gravesite Plain says that it is in fact “the very center of the Lands Between,” so the shadow lands are probably not meant to be the foreign land where Rykard met Tanith.

I bet that somewhere out there there’s a land called Ranah where Tanith is from that Rykard traveled to for some reason. I still have no idea what sort of business he might’ve had abroad though. maybe he was on vacation. Anyway, this lone Dancer of Ranah must’ve came to the shadow lands for some specific reason, and then died for some reason? Literally who knows what happened

Abductor Virgins and the Fort of Reprimand

While the presence of the Dancer of Ranah doesn’t give any strong evidence of Rykard’s connection to the shadow lands, there is something that explicitly does: In this post, I showed off the two abductor virgins found at the Fort of Reprimand on Scadu Altus, and I picked apart the whole storyline of the fort to try to figure out why they’re there. Basically, one of the abductors has the Ghiza’s Wheel attachment, and since Ghiza was a torturer under Rykard, the abductor had to have come from his inquisition. Which fits perfectly with the purpose of the Fort of Reprimand — to punish nonbelievers and unfaithful Messmer soldiers. Rykard must have made this contribution because the crusade had need of his expertise in methods of punishment.

This raises some questions about the timeline. The crusade seems to have begun after Radagon and Rennala had married, because Rellana seems to have left her sister behind to go follow Messmer on good terms, which would not be the case if Caria were threatened by or at war with the Erdtree. But it also can’t have begun after Radagon left Rennala, because the Rennala who parted ways with her sister seems to have been her strong and clearheaded self, not the way we see her today. Ritual combat, which “died out by the age of King Consort Radagon,” also exists in the shadow lands, so the crusade had to have begun some time before Radagon’s reign in order for ritual combat to have spread there. Lastly, Messmer knowing about the Tarnished implies that he had not yet left to begin the crusade when Godfrey was banished. To recap, it seems like the crusade might’ve begun in the period between Godfrey’s banishment and Radagon’s ascension as Elden Lord (I guess Marika spent some time without a consort?), and then it continued up until the present day.

Since Rykard contributed his abductor virgins to the crusade, this implies that he was already involved with the inquisition by the time of the crusade. Whether this happened immediately when it began, or later on in the crusade is unclear. But if he did make his contribution right at the beginning of the crusade, then this seems to disprove my previous theory that Rykard nepo-babied his way to Praetorship just because Radagon was Elden Lord. Sad! I do think it’s possible that the Fort of Reprimand only became a place of punishment once soldiers started to rebel later in the crusade? But this depends on the nature of the shadow lands’ sealing and how accessible it was at that time. Which I’ll be honest I have no idea how that’s supposed to work

Though Rykard seems to have had a hand in the crusade, I kind of doubt that he was physically present at the Fort of Reprimand… because it was kind of a big deal that Rellana and all of her retinue left their homes behind, never to return, to serve the crusade, AND because the crusade was so violent (“a war unseen. One that could never be put to song. A purge without Grace or honour”) that anyone who participated would’ve probably had their reputation tainted.

Dueling Shield

The symbol on the Dueling Shield made me do a double take — it’s the exact same symbol that’s on the right side of the Taker’s Cameo:

This shield is “An armament once used in ritual combat performed to honor the Erdtree—a custom that had somehow remained within the realm of shadow.” And the Taker’s Cameo reads, “When Rykard turned to heresy, taking by force became the rule. The gods themselves were no different, after all.”

I can’t find the symbol depicted anywhere else? Though ritual combat was done to honor the Erdtree, I don’t think this is an Erdtree symbol, because the Taker’s Cameo implies that it was made after Rykard’s heresy and he hates the Erdtree. I think there’s two options for what the symbol might mean:

1. It’s related to ritual combat itself. I think ritual combat’s displays of power and strength fit with Rykard’s “taking by force” rule. Also, ritual combat has a connection to the crucible: the Ritual Sword Talisman is “patterned after swords used in ritual combat,” and the sword is the exact one that Crucible Knight Ordovis uses:

And the Volcano Manor actually has its own crucible knight! so maybe Rykard has a connection to the crucible too?

2. It’s related to serpents in some way… we get the shield in Messmer’s Specimen Storehouse, a place covered in his snake iconography, and on the Taker’s Cameo the symbol is surrounded by two snakes.

I literally have no idea how else to interpret this symbol because we don’t see it anywhere else. but I think the use of it in these two places has to be deliberate!!

Snake shed near Bonny Village

This thing confounds me. It’s found not far from this figure where you pick up the “O, Mother” gesture (headless, like the Marika statues throughout the shadow lands):

My first instinct is to connect it to Messmer, because Bonny Village is where his mother’s people suffered, and the tree woman is connected to Marika’s village, and he says the exact words “O, Mother” in his boss fight, and he is himself possessed by a huge serpent? The problem is, the snake model doesn’t look like Messmer’s serpent(s), it looks exactly like the God-Devouring Serpent’s shed in the Temple of Eiglay:

(God-Devouring Serpent shed)

(Messmer's Base Serpents)

But it CAN’T be the God-Devouring Serpent, because it was worshipped as a god and directly fed sacrifices exclusively on Mt. Gelmir since ancient times? And it was killed at some point, and then returned just in time to be discovered again on Mt. Gelmir by Rykard? So why is this shed here? Is it meant to be Messmer’s, but they just reused the previous model? Is there some close connection between the Base Serpent and the God-Devouring Serpent? Is this a completely different serpent? What if there are numerous other malevolent serpent deities somewhere out there in addition to the two we know of? It's impossible to draw any real conclusions. This makes my head hurt

Similarities with Messmer

Rykard obviously has a million things in common with Messmer. What makes this even more interesting is the revelation that Messmer was “an elder brother to Radahn,” which implies a similar relationship with Rykard. This makes Rykard’s similarities with him feel even more deliberate, since he knew him personally. My personal take on this is that Rykard thought Messmer and his curse were really interesting when he was young — I think he would’ve been drawn to the power such a curse would give him rather than seeing it as a horrible fate. But as his view of the Golden Order soured, and Messmer went to the shadow lands to carry out Marika’s wishes, I think Rykard would start to view Messmer as pretty spineless and pathetic. He lets his mother chase him away from the Erdtree, serving her every whim without complaint, and keeps his special power sealed away behind her seal? CRINGE!!! If Rykard had his own serpent god, he’d never let anyone use and debase him in that way… in fact, he’d use it to destroy the Erdtree once and for all.

And that’s all I found! let me know if I missed anything!

[shiny-kaibernyte]

Ooo is it ok if u write a drayton x reader where reader is really reckless and always takes on challenges such as doing 7 star terra raids and goes off on different adventures, and he gets worried and protective and the rest of the bb elite 4 find it cute and funny

Hope this is what you asked for. I'm kinda bad at writing this stuff 😅

Tag along | Drayton x Reader

Pokémon Scarlett and Violet Indigo Disk DLC Spoilers ahead!

After one to many raids where you get hurt. Drayton decided to finally ask you to let him come with you. Though things didn't go exactly as he had hopped.

Warnings: Small argument, Fluff, protective Drayton

SPOILER WARNING: No spoiler warning. Unless you don't know character names

“Drayton, I'm not so sure about this…” Your voice cut through the silence of the BB League room. Drayton had asked you completely out of the blue to let him tag along on your next raid. Which happened to be a black crystal 7star. “You’ve never even done a raid before.”

Leaning against the table, he simply turns his head and smiles, his pearly fangs flashing at you for a moment before pleading his case. “So? I’m a fast learner, I have good Pokémon too, gave you a challenge, didn’t I? Plus, you make one hell of a teacher.”

“True I do.” A snarky smile crosses your face for a moment, the sound of Crispin snickering in the corner at the self-confidence. “But even if I could show you about raid battling. I'm going to a 7 star… these aren't exactly teaching material. Especially given what's inside the crystal.”

“What’s inside? A larger than average Scorbunny? If so Drayton really should go.” Lacey teased, prodigy Drayton’s face with a gleeful smile. His own face scowled slightly at the remark.

“Maybe it’s an angry Trapinch coming back to taunt him! That would make for a spicy dish!” Crispin added, spinning his pan around.

Drayton’s head snapped up, and he stared at his fiery friend. “We do not talk about the Trapinch man! My ass still has NOT recovered from it… neither had my ego.”

“Think more… giant psychic mouse thing with serious anger issues.” You admit holding back the laugh that just wanted to leave your lungs.

“Well, that wasn’t what I expected… But hey! That's never stopped me before. Don’t forget which one of us helped you with the legendary hunt.” Drayton pestered, still clutching onto any string he can, to convince you to let him come. Anything to give him that edge up on you, if the dragon egg eyes won’t work. Then good old fashion pleading will have to do - and he’s about 5 seconds from doing that.

“Drayton, I love you, but I can't bring myself to let you come with me on this one! If it was a 4 star then yeah totally. But this is huge! These sorts of raids, I can't bring someone so inexperienced into the palace. I wouldn’t even bring Kieran!” You argued, it was no surprise that your pleas fell upon stubborn ears.

“That’s exactly why I want to go with you! It pains me whenever you come back from one of your raid trips hurt… or bruised. And I can't help but think to myself that I could have done something to help you. Take the load off of you!” His voice cracked slightly, not out of sadness or hurt, but more out of the fact he couldn’t do something to protect you. Drayton knows you can handle yourself, you’ve proven that to him on many occasions. But at the end of the day, you are still his treasure, and he wants to protect you, needs to. “Just let me come along this once! If I cause you problems, I’ll never ask again, just please humour me.”

Before you could even give him a response, Lacey’s voice cut through the tension, it was soft-spoken but clear. “Come on, let him… let him.”

“SHHH. It’s getting good…” Crispin's equally soft voice cut after hers, somehow eating popcorn. Where did he get that, why are you asking? He’s the chef, not me.

“Can you four stop bickering. You are ruining my concentration.” Amary’s scolded, the sound of her pocket watch snapping closed followed her voice. “In case you 3 have forgotten, we have a meeting to get to with the director. You have 5 minutes, don’t be tardy.” 

Amary’s left the room not long after. The 4 of you left dumbfounded in the room, it wasn't until Drayton’s voice chimed up again. “Okay, I was not the only one who had no idea she was in the room, right?”

“I think she spawned in?” Crispin answered with a question of his own.

“How long has she been here? I've been here all morning? Did she drink an invisibility potion… What does she know that we don’t?” Lacey’s brain scratched as well.

“I think it's like a Spinarak thing. If you stand still, they can’t see you.” Your fellow companions laugh at your remark, it's a dumb reason, but what isn’t. During the laughter, you take your chance to leave. Grabbing your bag and heading for the door, only for the sound of it shutting in your face to follow. Peering up, you notice Drayton’s somehow moved from the other side of the room to close the door. His face was one of worry. He couldn't keep eye contact with you, anytime he tried, he just looked back at the door then at you again; as if silently asking you to let him come with you. His face reminded you of the first time he admitted he loved you. That silent protective plea of his. Never spoken through words. With a deep sigh of defeat, you take a step back from the door and stretch your hand out towards it. “After you, dragon boy.”

“YES! I WIN!” Drayton proclaimed jumping up for a moment fist in the air victorious. Lacey elbowed him directly in the ribs moments later, Crispin crying of laughter on the floor trying desperately not to whack himself in the face with it. “Ow right, right. Thank you, love! NOW LET'S GO KICK SOME MOUSE BUTT!”

[keepittoyourshelf]

Sometimes it really is all about sex.

Let’s talk about morally gray characters again. I just finished playing Dragon Age: Inquisition in prep for the Veilguard release and Solas is literally the textbook example of what morally gray character is. No spoiler warnings because the game is fucking ten years old, already.

TLDR is Solas is one of your companions (romanceable if you’re playing a female elf) who actually turns out to be an ancient elven spirit of some sort that is actively working to undermine your efforts. He was responsible for creating the Fade, as an act of revenge against his fellow elven spirit-gods for killing his bestie Mythal. This unfortunately had unforeseen consequences of cutting the elven people off from the Fade and ensuring that they were no longer immortal. He’s now working to reverse this mistake, despite the fact that doing so will essentially destroy the player’s world and wipe out all non-elves. Or something to that effect.

If you play the Trespasser DLC (highly recommended since I don’t think Veilguard will make much sense otherwise, and you will not get the full impact of the Solas romance if you pursue that path), you’ll get to talk to Solas at the end and he is genuinely regretful and remorseful, and not just for how this will affect his friend/lover, but how it will affect all people. This is despite knowing the cost. He knows the cost, is fully aware of it, is remorseful about the pain and suffering it will cause, and yet is willing to move forward anyway.

Another example I’ve referred to before? Kaz Brekker. Think of how fucked up what he did to Pekka Rollins re: his kid was. Disregard how fucked up Pekka was in turn, because two wrongs don’t make a right, right? Kaz didn’t care. Kaz has never really cared who gets hurt so long as it’s not people he actually cares about and he achieves his ends. It’s literally anything goes. We as readers can still “cheer” for him conscience free because ostensibly the people he’s acting out against are all pretty much trash human beings, but you have to think that statistically innocents are caught in the crossfire, and yet Kaz dgaf. No explanations, even though they would make total sense in context without actually justifying the actions he takes (because they are wrong), just revenge. We as readers aren’t necessarily expected to like what he does. But we should understand it.

Lestat de Lioncourt is the same way. It’s obvious in the books, but quicker and easier to digest via the TV show that’s currently airing on AMC. Lestat is straight-up a petty, jealous, vengeful bitch (though he never beat Louis the way it’s shown on the show, so take that aspect with a grain of salt). Lestat also suffered a seriously abusive childhood and his experience of being turned was tantamount to rape. He doesn’t always go after evil-doers, though later on in the series he goes after them almost exclusively, with the occasional slip-up. Yet we still love him and cheer for him. Is it because he’s handsome and charming and witty? Yeah, mostly. Does he make excuses for what he does? Not really. He might explain his motivations, but he doesn’t excuse the evilness of his actions. He knows they’re wrong and does them anyway.

Astarion from Baldur’s Gate 3 is another great example, though his morally grey status can be considered arguable depending on whether or not you Ascend him (and consequently doom 7000 presumably innocent souls, including children). For those that have played, you know Astarion’s past is as traumatic as it gets. That in itself explains away a lot of his attitude, though I personally believe he was a sassy dick even before all that happened. The way he manipulates Tav and the other characters though, all of that is motivated by self-preservation as a result of his past abuse. If you explore his romance path, you talk to him enough to know that he knows what he’s doing is wrong, and he’s regretful for it, to a point. He’s definitely not regretful about every mean thing he’s done though, that needs to be made clear. Does he offer excuses? No, not a one. He explains his motivations though, and he’s sorry for whatever pain it causes insofar as it relates to Tav (either as a friend or a lover), but everyone else can pretty much fuck off. So yeah, he’s not free of his asshole status just by virtue of being abused, but it does explain his actions enough to let the player still like him and romance him in spite of it all (if the hair alone wasn’t enough to make you turn a blind eye, that is).

This is all leading up to me once again explaining that RHYSAND FROM ACOTAR IS NOT MORALLY GREY. He never has been and he never will be. What is the difference between him and anyone I’ve mentioned above? Chapter 54 in ACOMAF really says it all. Up until that point, Rhysand was the villain. Feyre could not in good conscience explore her attraction to him because he was the bad guy, and head of the bad guys. Literally everyone else in that world thinks of him as evil and is fearful of him. This is by Rhysand’s own design for, well, reasons. Until Chapter 54, where he deconstructs, in practically bulleted-list format, every single bad thing he has been shown to do in the books up until that point. This is needed because since Feyre is narrating, she’s not privy to his inner thoughts and can’t possibly know he’s not really evil, and thus cannot justify fucking him. Killing kids and innocent people? He was under the influence of Amarantha. In order to save the majority, a small minority had to be sacrificed. Let me give a tip here: If someone is saying they do something bad for the greater good, they are 1). Most definitely not morally grey and 2). Quite possibly a nazi. Abusing Feyre mentally and physically? Necessary to keep his cover, so he could continue to protect the majority for the greater good, or undermine Amarantha, which he never really managed to do in the 50 years he was held captive, or whatever. Sometimes he did it because he could find no other way to be near her because even then he was So In LoOoOvE. The whole point of that fucking chapter is to show the reader that there were good/romantic motivations behind bad actions, which in SJM-speak equals good. Unless you’re Tamlin, in which case you are still evil. Why does this need to happen? So SJM can write mid-level smut guilt free.

Chalk it up to religious guilt or societal pressure, but Kaz, Solas, Astarion, Lestat, and others have shown time and time again that you can do bad things and still be considered good enough to justify romantic interest, or friendly, if that’s your bag. The line in the sand really comes in having awareness that what you did was bad, not really caring about it, and most importantly, not needing to completely erase a bad past based on one or two actions/statements/beliefs (or because they’re just good looking). Even if you do not romance them, you can at least understand some of what they do, even when it is bad, because of their history, their obvious remorse, or just their fucking charisma etc.

One could argue that Chapter 54 would not have been required if SJM didn’t think we needed to read Chapter 55 guilt-free, or at least without being able to so easily equate Rhys with Ted Bundy (a handsome, charming psychopath). Rhysand does not express remorse over the acts themselves, so much as he expresses remorse over the fact that the fact that he did them, for whatever reason, could prevent him from getting what he wants. The reader, by virtue of Feyre’s limited and biased POV, is not given permission to let Rhys into their hearts and hoohas until we know that he was forced to do bad things. Bad things that never, ever would have happened otherwise. So it’s okay that she wants to have sex with him.

Solas, Lestat, Kaz, Astarion - they all do bad things. They all know they are doing bad things. Not everything they do is bad (that’s an important point to make), but when they do bad things, they do them with full knowledge that they are bad things, and that good people will suffer. Sometimes they care, sometimes they don’t. The reader cannot say unequivocally that they are either good or bad, because their actions can be understood when looked at in context of their history or their motivations. They cannot be entirely excused. I.e. A wrong thing done for the right reasons is still a wrong thing. It’s still murder even when it’s done in self-defense, and you always have a choice. You never have to do something. The distinction is whether you are willing to do a wrong thing to avoid something you don’t like happening (I.e. you or someone you love dying, or feeling intense pain). However, that doesn’t make murder suddenly not murder. A reason is not a justification. You just choose to do it for a reason. If you don’t (and are doing it for fun) then you are just evil, and most definitely not morally grey.

The key difference is that the reader (via Feyre) is told repeatedly that Rhysand is no longer bad for having done wrong things because he did them for the right reasons. He is no longer the villain he was in book 1 by virtue of Chapter 54 in book 2. Solas is still the villain (and in fact is the main antagonist of Veilguard); so are Kaz, Lestat, and Astarion, depending on who you ask. When other characters in their respective worlds offer their personal opinions on said characters, some will be favorable, some not. We are at least allowed the opportunity to see a different POV and make that choice for ourselves. There’s continuous ambiguity. The ambiguity is the literal grey area.

This is not the case with Rhysand and this is why he can never be morally grey. We are told he was the noble hero all along, he is literally retconned as such (much like Spike was in BtVS, because Buffy-as-heroine could never justify living someone like him otherwise). He was reformatted so much, in fact, that he’s actually thought by some to be deserving of being king of all Prythian. Not just other characters, but by the reading audience at large. His bad things are no longer bad because he did them for the right reasons (or that dogwhistle of a statement, for the greater good).

How do I know this? Because Rhysand is consistently juxtaposed, by SJM’s own hand, by virtue of Feyre’s narration, with Tamlin. Over and over and over again. Now, technically Tamlin has also done bad things for the right reasons (protecting Feyre, helping his subjects) but he remains the villain. If another character tries to say Rhysand is bad (I think Tarquin does, but I could be wrong) they are either wrong or just don’t understand or are under emotional duress and are incapable of seeing the truth. Tamlin does not deserve to have his actions looked at in context (the way we do with Solas, Kaz, etc) because….well, I don’t have a good explanation for that, because SJM herself hasn’t offered one, other than repeatedly showing every other character in the book saying he’s a bad guy and doesn’t deserve to be forgiven. Purely by comparison’s sake, there is literally no reason in a fact based world where one can say without question that what Tamlin did to Feyre is worse than anything Rhysand has done. They both physically hurt her. They have both confine her without their consent. You know what Tamlin has never done though? Touch Feyre sexually against her will. He didn’t engineer situations where he mentally abused her just so he could be near her. That’s not romantic, it’s sociopathic. Fantasy is fantasy, sure, but you can’t defend that even in context of an alleged “fantasy morality” because we are humans and can only look at these things on the context of lived human experiences. There is no situation in real life, anywhere, where mentally or sexually abusing someone is justifiable for any reason, ever. Bottom line, all arguments to the contrary invalid. Any time someone comes out against Rhys, they either retract their statements, are reviled themselves (hello Nesta) in the narrative, or just in the fan community itself.

I haven’t read the third Crescent City book because I finally reached my limit for bullshit, but from the discourse I’ve seen Bryce has been getting a lot of hate for thinking Rhysand is a dick, or something to that effect. Right or wrong, it’s at least more evidence of SJM and the audience’s own bias in favor of Rhysand….and that’s really who these screeds are directed at. The audience. Rhys defenders are wrong when they say he is morally grey. He is not when other characters aren’t allowed to voice opinions against him without having the narrative over-emphasize their own faults at the same time. The text must remain objective and somewhat open-ended. SJM is as biased a writer as they come.

So I guess you could excuse all the word vomit here and just say that actually being considered morally grey is predicated on multiple opinions (it doesn’t necessarily need to be multiple narrators/POVs, but the audience needs to be presented with an alternative opinion in a way where it’s not immediately dismissible). SJM has never shown any indication that that will happen, because even when opinions other than Feyre’s are introduced they either echo her sentiments or we have someone else shooting them down in response, or the character in question is repeatedly shown to be flawed themselves.

Moral of the story? Stop wasting time on SJM and play Dragon Age: Inquisition or Baldur’s Gate 3 instead. Story is better, there’s so much room for interpretation (which makes replay/re-read value increase) and the dudes are just hotter. Sorry not sorry.

Even if Solas does look like an egg. He’s a hot egg.

[splashink-games]

Cassette Beasts?

Cassette Beasts is a creature-collecting game by Bytten Studio! Record monsters on tapes, become a Ranger, and find the way off of New Wirral in this amazing adventure!

Spoilers below the cut!!

So I had a plan to write this review before I even finished the game. It was just that good. But! I managed to hold off until I at least finished the main game. Next goal: 100% and DLC! And also buying the OST when I have the chance.

Now, I'm not putting this off until the middle of the review: every musical track in this game is a certified banger. I absolutely loved the music of the game. As one person put it (while I was looking for the OST), I just didn't get tired of the music. And that's a pretty big win for a game where you have so, so many encounters and only a handful of tracks to play.

The way they implement the music is also impressive because it's narratively important. The lyrics work their way in when a fusion happens and during big story battles. The town theme's music plays when you're indoors. Plus the lyrics just feel right with its tones and atmosphere. Also the difference between the few main battle themes is just enough for one to feel more tense/exciting than the others. Just an overall great thing they have going on with the audio.

Okay with that out of the way!

Cassette Beasts is a solid game, actually pretty high tier.

Mechanically, I've seen people compare it to Pokemon. I feel like it's like a mix of Pokemon and Persona. You can record the monsters, remaster (evolve) them at five stars, with some having having special evolution requirements. Monsters can show up as bootlegs, where they're a type other than its base type, which is just like shiny hunting but more (cause there's like 12 types). And I've already killed a plastic bootleg by accident...

The moves (stickers) are mix and match, mostly according to typing. I'm pretty into it cause I love giving my party members all sorts of type coverage. I haven't particularly gone into finding weird strategies yet other than AP Refund, but I can see some cool ones thanks to needing to battle all 12 Ranger Captains.

And then you can fuse! Which I thought was interesting, and it adds an ace to go to when you're in a pinch. But you fusing means that wild monsters (and other rangers) can fuse too. Those provide some fun challenges and opportunities to find bootlegs, plus progression in post-game.

Did I mention that this game is also like a Metroidvania? Capturing certain monsters gives up to 6 overworld movement abilities and I think that's pretty neat. All of them have their uses and none of them are niche, which is a win.

The story was pretty interesting! Dropping in onto a mysterious island and trying to find a way back home is nice and simple and all the detail added around it make it engaging. The Archangels are wildly uncomfortable which I didn't expect and I loved it. Despite loving it, it still did come out of nowhere but greatly forgiven because it was right at the start (and not some random turn in the middle).

The pacing was a bit off for me though because I got like 5 out of 8 song pieces before I even defeated 4 captains or even met all the partner characters. I also don't know how relationship progress works other than fight things and rest. Thinking about it now, there's probably a reason why there a speedrun timer in that you don't have to play through all the content (8/9 archangels, no captains?), I guess.

I liked the references to all sorts of topics throughout the story and I think it's pretty interesting for the characters to be from different timelines. It makes it easy to explain weird inconsistencies.

Funny thing I did by accident for end game's story: I switched out Meredith's Regensea with an Aeroboros cause I wanted her starter in my party. And boy did that choice bite back later lol.

Graphics are also solid. The 3D world with 2D sprites reminds me of Octopath Traveller. I appreciate the non-pixel portrait art for the characters, but I would've liked it either way. The designs of the monsters and the characters are all great! Honestly, I should take some notes from them since even if there's 15+ characters, they still all have very specific designs and personalities to match.

The detail in the world is great too, like the light reflecting off the puddle or the fog that rolls in and the rain. So like weather in general.

Also, as a note just for me, I liked the fonts and font effects that they used. Very cool.

Cassette Beasts is a quality creature-collecting game! If you need another Pokemon/Digimon/Persona, here's a game for you. Or if you just want a cool turn-based RPG with cool music, that's cool too.

As always,

Enjoy gaming!

[onceinawhilemoon]

Finished the Mycroft’s Pride DLC and you bet I have some thoughts to share. Long read ahead and Spoilers if you haven't 100%-ed the DLC!

Interesting how you can look at the DLC as Mycroft's way of distracting Sherlock from uncovering the past, like if he can't talk him out of it, he might as well distract him as much as he can and hope for a miracle, similar to how Jon distracts him with all the childhood memories and the treasure hunts and challenges. The psychological implications/interpretations of that last one are vast: Sherry is deep down dreading the truth enough that he wants to stall as much as possible, or maybe he realized he missed Cordona so much and wants to spend as much time as possible here before leaving for good, or maybe it's a coming-of-age thing where he sees it as a chance to revisit and relive his best childhood memories and interests before he grows old and out of them, or all the above.

Either way, I really appreciate FW making Mycroft more prominent in Sherlock’s life and depicting him as a parental figure who clearly takes so much pride in having raised him and, in Mycroft's words, shaped him into the fine and productive young man that he is today. Despite all the miscommunication and the bickering and arguing, the only thing that remains solid and unwavering in their turbulent relationship is that Sherlock is Mycroft's pride and joy. (omg look i said the thing)

I lose it every time Sherlock goes into tsundere mode and makes a show out of how much he does NOT want to accept the request.. before he accepts it. He goes “let me guess.. it's urgent and important and lives are at stake and Mycroft’s too busy with his tea parties and keeping the Crown's jewels to do it himself? Alright, give it here. I'll handle it. I'm far better equipped anyway.” like stop you’re killing me with those lmao especially since I'm sure this is a nod to the canon ACD universe where Mycroft is portrayed as lazy and can't be bothered to make his own bed whereas this Mycroft is too diligent for his own good; running multiple operations at the same time and losing agents left and right and probably losing his mind with stress and not to mention the constant worrying over where Sherlock is and what he's doing and what sort of trouble he's got himself into and whether it's serious enough to require intervention. I mean, the man has long earned the right to ask for some help lmao.

Funny thing is, I finished the Muse From Abroad case and unlocked the cabinet of curiosities just before finishing the DLC, so they just had a tense argument and Mycroft stormed off and then sent Sherlock a letter right away asking him to drop everything and pursue one more thing for him, even said it like "consider it a holiday!" and Sherlock was like sheeeeeesh Mycroft and his errands and then, as usual, he went and did the thing anyway.

Like no matter how tsundere he wants to get about it, this man still can't find it in himself to refuse his brother’s requests (for the most part) and I think that's freaking adorable, like don't tell me he doesn't secretly revel in his older brother's "Well done" and “Great work” just like when Mother used to praise him for figuring shit out and Jon said it’d be the happiest Sherlock’s ever been. This boy is still at an age where he craves and cherishes praise. After all, he made up an entire person to be his cheerleader (among other things) and to constantly tell him how great he’s doing and how much he’s proud of him.

I can also see Sherlock begrudgingly agreeing to take Mycroft's requests as him never wanting to miss on a chance to outperform his older brother, and probably even keeps a record to guilt-trip Mycroft into returning him favours, like "remember that one time you sent me to all sorts of ungodly places just to fetch a book? How about when I almost died busting a gang operation for you? See how much you owe me? now give me all the dirt you can on this dude." (the "almost died" is dramatic exaggeration. It was me who almost died fighting the Eels. Sherry on the other hand is a badass I'm sure it was a piece of cake for him lol) I love this headcanon also because him having a little competitive sibling rivalry thing going on with Mycroft is even more adorable, no matter how one-sided it is because I doubt Mycroft cares as long as Sherlock gets the job done and learns a few more tricks of the trade.

And it makes me sad to think this has all probably changed now that their relationship is in a blender dangerously set to start blending on the highest speed...

Anyway, here's the real reason why I made this post:

... to tell you how loud I screamed

(Ngl I was hoping for like a bonus Mycroft cameo at the end or something but THIS made me giddy like a schoolgirl)

But back to serious talk..

Jon said something in the Missing Shopkeeper case when they found the body along the lines of “the ugly reality of being Mycroft's agent,” and I agree. These requests serve to give Sherlock a glimpse into the nasty reality of Mycroft's day-to-day job; he's getting to learn just how grim and dangerous it actually is—that it's not all cushy and royal tea parties and getting to rub shoulders with the rich and powerful as Sherlock would like to think, if only just to poke fun at his older brother's career choices.

I also love how even Mycroft's agents and acquaintances have depth and intrigue and backstories.

Like Ursula Oni, the well-respected chief archivist in City Hall. She's so good at her "other job" that she managed to hide a whole other- other job as a grave robber for a considerable time, so much so that even Mycroft himself (probably) was unaware of her nightly exploits. (For real though, discovering her body genuinely saddned me. She seemed nice enough, and I kept interacting with her every time I was in City Hall hoping she'd give me a quest. Alas..)

There's also Yeasmin, the Cordona Chronicle editor-in-chief, who's not only a hardcore Holmes stan and just here for the tea, but turns out to be the wife of the murdered agent/shopkeeper. And the way she reacts when Sherlock tells her the truth by leaving Mycroft's service is interesting; like there are layers here: there's distrust and resentment toward her boss for hiding the truth from her, indicating that there's limit to Mycroft's elusive and covert methods that his agents won't tolerate, and there's some light shed on how messy things turn out when interpersonal matters become entangled with the professional.

What boggles me is that Mycroft specifically gave the letter about the husband going missing to Yeasmin of all people to deliver it to Sherlock, with strict orders not to read it, and, with total faith in her boss, she complied without asking any questions.

I'm starting to actually consider if this case was a test to see what Sherlock would do and how he'd handle the situation. Will he tell Yeasmin about her husband's death? or keep it from her knowing that Mycroft will never tell her. I mean it's all possible. I mentioned in an earlier ramble how I believe Mycroft carefully researches and chooses the "errands" he sends his brother on beforehand to ensure his safety. Anything could be a carefully planned test.

Quick two cents on In for a Penny:

I wonder why Mycroft has a particular dislike for the Manghir? I assume since it was gifted to him by the governer, it's having to do with how corrupt Sinclair is.

Maybe the governer offered it to him as some sort of lowkey bribe to keep some dirt on him in the ground aka "invaluable help" and Mycroft begrudgingly accepted it because he knew his little brother would be ecstatic to have it among his collection? (or maybe it's just the fact the manghir has a freaking cthulhu head engraved on it and Mycroft’s prophetic big brother senses were itching…)

But yeah, again, Mycroft making time in his overpacked schedule to put together the coin quest for his little brother is the sweetest thing, like I can totally see that being his love language. He knew exactly what kind of things interested Sherlock and what would keep him entertaind (and educated, Mycroft not wasting a single opportunity to subtly train his little brother in espionage is kind of hilarious) I appreciate the mentor-protégé dynamic that FW set for them in this adaptation.

It's a shame that Sherlock never got to finish the coin quest in time before shit hit the storm and they had to leave Cordona for good, thus he never got to have that meeting with Mycroft and report his findings and share what he'd learned, something that Mycroft was looking forward to with great anticipation as he expressed in his quest letter… it would have been a precious bonding moment for them and it's a real shame that they never got to have it...

Anyway, back to the outfits. Look at Jon???

Look at him!!!

More screenshots because I couldn't help myself:

(don't pay attention to Jon's feet clipping through the carpet lmao)

He looks so embarrassed here and I totally get it. Sherry you're so brave I could never wear my sibling’s clothes in good faith. And you look stunning btw.

I wonder if this game also changes your outfit back to default in serious scenes because I would do ANYTHING to see Sherlock confront Mycroft like this. I'm sure the exchange won't suddenly spike to 90 degrees awkward; your brother catches you screwing around in Cordona dressed as him… can't begin to imagine the level of embarrassment.

Anyway, time to run around town and fuck shit up officially. 🕴🕴🕴🕴🕴

[ecargmura]

Pokemon Horizons Episode 59 Review - Dance Dance Quaxvolution

We’re back after a week break! Did you miss my reviews? I missed Pokemon Horizons too, even if it was only gone for a week. It’s finally time for the Implementation Test and Dot’s leading them off with her long awaited match with everyone’s favorite Gym Leader Larry!

True to the games, going to the Gym Center made Dot and the others have to look for Larry. Since the receptionist told them that they have to find him, they’re practically on a hunt for the ordinary salaryman. Fortunately, they did manage to get a clue from this dancer lady and her Oricorio Baile Forme. The whole dancing segment was cute, honestly. However, Oricorios have been a bane for me recently as I remember how I lost to an NPC in the Indigo Disk DLC who had two Oricorios and they chained-spammed Revelation Dance with their Dancer Ability. I have to say that the dancer named Diva, according to the credits, is a very well-designed character. It feels like a waste for her to be just a regular character of the day. Her Oricorio’s dance is a key component for the match against Larry, hence why this segment was introduced before the start of the actual battle.

Like in Episode 18 and in the games, Larry is found at the Treasury Eatery, the rival of the Anything Eatery from the previous episode. I kind of like how Roy had a reverse reaction regarding Larry’s status as a Gym Leader. What I mean is that Larry was first shown as an Elite Four member in the anime which is why being a Gym Leader was a shock for him. In the games, Larry was first seen as a Gym Leader and then his reveal as an Elite Four member was supposed to be a big surprise. I also really like how the battlefield is set up! The animation was so good!

Dot seems a little impatient in this episode, but I guess it’s because she wanted to prove herself. She lost her match against Iono in the Basics portion and she won in the friendly match with Poppy, but that was all Iono’s doing and not her own. It makes sense why she’d be frustrated with herself. Unfortunately, Dot was given a huge disadvantage because both of Larry’s Pokemon, Dundunsparce and Starpator, are fully evolved while she’s the only one of the kids who has two first-stage Pokemon. The odds were clearly not in Dot’s favor as Quaxly got paralyzed due to Dundunsparce’s Glare and she used Tinkatink for the first time in an official battle and she got knocked out instantaneously. The reason why Dot seemed a little out of it in this episode even showed when she wasn’t in sync with Quaxly like she normally is. She was too focused on her strategies that she forgot to add in one important thing: Quaxly is her partner so she needs to be in sync with him. That’s how Dot decides to use everything she witnessed before and during the battle to her advantage like the steps Quaxly learned from the Oricorio from earlier, the spins that Tinkatink did when she used Brutal Swing and the wing flaps from Starpator. The realization of this important factor was the reason Quaxly evolved into Quaxwell. Though, it did suck that Quaxwell lost immediately, but it makes sense given Larry is way too strong for her and the duck was paralyzed.

Passing the Implementation Test means that the assigned Gym Leader gives a report. Though, I’m not too sure if it’s a certification or just proof that she passed the test. Anyways, Larry allowed her to pass because she fulfilled all the necessary requirements: using two Pokemon, being in sync with her Pokemon, and Terastalizing at the right time. I just hope that Dot learns to relax and trust in Quaxwell going forth. I honestly can’t wait to see what sort of energy Quaxwell will bring to the group now.

The final portion of the episode was hilarious. The chef gives the kids the special rice ball menu that was in the games, but Larry has to pay for all of it, much to his dismay. He did pay for the player’s meal in the game, but he has to spend three times more money since he’s feeding three kids and their Pokemon. Geeta, please give Larry a raise already! Speaking of food, the last segment with Dot eating with Quaxwell had me thinking of octopus sausages ever since my Discord friend mentioned how the shape of their hair look like them. I cannot unsee it now.

I guess my only gripe for this episode was the fact that Larry didn’t adjust his tie while his Tera Orb was being activated like how he did in the games. The anime had him adjusting it before getting out his orb. I really liked how he did it in the game, so I was a bit bummed out. Despite that, Staraptor being coated in the Tera Crystal was such a beautiful sight.

Now that the first of the Implementation Test has finished, what are your thoughts on the battle’s results? Were you satisfied? Angry? Please let me know!

[amaryllis-sagitta]

[Old reposts] Some thoughts about Ghilan’nain’s and Fen’Harel’s apotheosis

The myth of Ghilan’nains ascension tells that

“[Andruil] approached Ghilan'nain with an offer: the gods would share their power with Ghilan'nain, but only if she destroyed her creations”. (Codex: The Ascension of Ghilan’nain)

Dalish lore also points at Ghilan’nain being especially faithful to Andruil’s moral path and, in turn, favoured by her. The offer of apotheosis itself was extended by none other that Andruil.

This opens up a rare possibility of patronage being granted by the Evanuris to their chosen subjects. Eventually, the Evanuris agreed to “share their power with Ghilan’nain”. It likely involved some sort of social rite of passing: she received a domain, a sacred shapeshifting form (perhaps shapeshifting was reserved for the Evanuris only altogether?), probably much more than that, but she had to enter the clique and adjust to their group dynamic.

It is confirmed by Fen’Harel in Trespasser DLC that godhood among the elvhen was a matter of acquired power. The Evanuris climbed the ladder of power and esteem until they were worshipped as gods. This suggests an enormous disparity between the Evanuris and the common people of the Elvhenan in peak moments before Mythal’s murder - a disparity that Fen’Harel would have sworn to even out.

He could walk among both the Evanuris and the Forgotten Ones, but only the latter are said to have recognized him as their equal.

for although he is kin to the gods of the People, the Forgotten Ones knew of his cunning ways and saw him as one of their own. (Codex: Fen’Harel, The Dread Wolf)

It is implied from Cole’s remark from Trespasser DLC that Solas used to wear the vallaslin, presumably Mythal’s, but removed it from his own face:

He did not want a body. But she asked him to come. He left a scar when he burned her off his face.

I’ll leave aside the possibility of him being chosen as Mythal’s beneficiary at some point in history. What interests me is the tricky position: Fen’Harel being “kin” to the Evanuris, but being excluded from the pantheon; always separated as the double-dealing, lone walker, recognized by the Forgotten Ones, but not quite one of them either.

My guess is that Solas broke free from Mythal while she was still alive because, in his earlier years, he was this kind of archetypal chaotic rogue who couldn’t stand any restrictions, or follow any rules for dear life. Thus, he received a trickster moniker that seems to gather all meanings around betrayal, chaos, deceit, duplicity, havoc, revolt, etc. etc. The ostracization of Solas/ Fen’Harel would have begun long before he started his revolt, for one specific reason: he probably despised both cliques, defied their rules and inner dynamics altogether, and rose to power by plucking whatever bit he wanted to pry away from them to undermine the existing dynamic. For all it’s worth, he operated like a Forgotten One.

From Geldauran’s Claim we can derive that at least one of the Forgotten Ones recognized accomplishments of power and rejected the Evanuris as a group with their pretence to set the rules for others. We don’t know if the Forgotten Ones themselves showed any pretence to define themselves as a group, not just defiant individuals reconciled with their fate to be obscured by history as long as it’s dictated by the Evanuris:

Let Andruil’s bow crack, let June’s fire grow cold. Let them build temples and lure the faithful with promises. Their pride will consume them, and I, forgotten, will claim power of my own, apart from them until I strike in mastery. (Codex: Geldauran’s Claim, JOH)

The myth of Fen’Harel and the Tree shows him between a rock and a hard place, having wronged both Andruil and Anaris the Forgotten One. Which implies, our boy could have been really busy pissing everyone off and usually finding a way to escape retribution by the skin of his teeth. The question remains why Fen’Harel was somehow remembered as a separate entity, not just labelled another Forgotten One.

A possible answer is that his remarkable skill in deceit and double-dealing gave him an immunity pass of a spy mastermind who had a hook on everyone. Which leads us to another possible answer: it’s quite possible that he surpassed both groups, and they reluctantly had to reckon with him while trying to keep the common people away from his area of influence. If he truly managed to imprison both groups of the elvhen “gods”, then for a brief moment he might have been, effectively, the most powerful elvhen to ever exist.

So, here’s a contrast between Ghilan’nain, who obeyed the Evanuris and destroyed the majority of her creation in exchange for power and inclusion (possibly, also the mandate to keep making her creatures on a lesser scale, with better resources and infrastructure, under other Evanuris’ scrutiny), and Fen’Harel who disregarded their rules and quite literally remained a self-made figure. Apotheosis as a token of recognition and as a rise in reputation, and apotheosis as a claim for tangible control.

[tamamorikun]

I wanted to talk a bit more about the general banter and things that Moe points out in the DLC, especially in Mashita and Daimon's offices, so I took some screenshots of the background cgs ! My other writeup was long enough and I tried to focus on the plot itself so I'm doing these on a separate post. Also any other tidbits that Moe mentions I found were fun or interactions, since I love learning little things about the characters when they're not spirit hunting.

Spoilers under the cut, I suppose, not much about the actual plot of the DLC though!

At the Kujou Mansion:

She mentions that his bed is big enough to fit 3 of her. Also, when she comes in, she mentions the sheets are messy and still warm and she thinks he must have been sleeping there recently... but later you learn that he's been missing for about a week... and that Banshee was in the mansion and had gone to the bathroom when Moe came in so... uh, Banshee was sleeping in Yashiki's bed? yeah.

Not even that relevant but the lightbulb in Yashiki's room is dead and it has been for a while, Banshee says it's because all the furniture and such in the mansion is very old, so it's harder to find replacements. I wonder how long he's just been living in a dark room 😭

Yashiki also just leaves the door of the mansion unlocked all the damn time, apparently. Banshee says that he always forgets to lock it and that's how he comes and goes all the time.

At the park with Tsukasa:

Tsukasa mentions that he's never been to an amusement park in his life before or gone on any sort of rides. Poor kid... all he ever does is study.

Moe doesn't like mint!

No one questions or scolds Moe at home even though she comes back so late. She mentions that it may be because she has many siblings (doesn't specify how many, though) that her family isn't overprotective at all, and also that they probably don't expect much from her in the first place since she has bad grades. She prefers it this way though.

At Mashita's office:

It's in the basement of a building in front of the station.

When checking the rack, Moe does point out the red shirt is kind of flashy for what Mashita usually wears, so she's surprised to see he'd wear something like that too.

Moe is curious about the shelf full of alcohol. Shou tells her that Mashita seems to really enjoy drinking, and that at night he often drinks expensive looking brandy served neat. Moe is still surprised he'd keep alcohol out in the open in his workplace like that.

When checking the table, Shou mentions it's rarely used because customers don't usually come to the office. He explains that since most of his clients come from Yasuoka referring them, they often meet outside instead. Moe wonders if he really needs to have an office then.

Moe asks him what kind of shows Mashita watches when checking the TV, and she's disappointed to learn he only really uses it to check case related tapes. She was hoping he'd be really into something like reality tv or animal shows, something that wouldn't fit his image.

The kamidana on top of the shelf, a mini household shrine, was something Moe insisted he put in his office. Since he works with spirt cases and all, the shrine is meant to protect him and ward them off so they don't curse him. It's cute that Mashita listened to her and actually did...

There's a massive pile of cigarettes and cigarette boxes on his desk. We knew he smoked but it really seems like smokes A LOT.

I did mention the picture of him and his senpai he keeps in the drawer with the alarm, it was taken 5 years ago and he's smiling in it. Moe points out he's wearing a police uniform, the kind that police box officers in small neighborhoods do. So this was way before he became a police detective, he really was just a rookie then (He's 27 now, so he was only 22...)

Shou seems to still feel really guilty about what happened in the Red Riding Hood case, when he was possessed and attacked them, so he also sees this as a chance to help them and repay them for that. He also really wants for Mashita to acknowledge him and make him a proper assistant instead of just having him clean around.

At the park with Shou:

Shou mentions that he started to work part time at an Izakaya because he wants to get his dream motorcycle, a 750 cc one. (I looked that up but I don't know much about motorcycles in any language so I'm not sure what that means lol...). Moe asks him to give her a ride along the Shuto expressway one day since there's a rumor that a giant horse shows up, but he of course tells her no.

They find a rusted battery in the field and Shou mentions that the grass around it isn't growing due to soil contamination, and Moe immediately teases him about it since she didn't expect him to know about that. He explains that the type of battery they picked up is an old kind that would have mercury in it, and he tells her to not lick it. She gets mad but guesses it's payback for trying to tease him.

At Daimon's clinic:

We get a BG for this one too!

According to Moe, Daimon's specialization is surgery. So he's a surgeon! I don't remember if that had ever been mentioned before.

When checking the record player, Moe says that most of them have foreigners on the covers so it's most likely all old western music, though she doesn't know much about it.

When checking the guitar she says that Daimon has mentioned he was in a band before, and she wonders if he ever plays for his patients.

At the park with Daimon:

I did mention this in my summary, but Moe thinks about why Daimon dresses like that, with his shirt unbuttoned and part of his chest exposed, despite him having frail health. She wonders if that's the rockstar style.

Moe is not very good with snakes and freaks out when Daimon seems to pick one up, but it turns out to be just a snake shedding, and she remembers it's apparently good for luck with money and excitedly takes it when Daimon offers it to her.

Daimon is really smart and knows a lot about different subjects but he sure seems to go on tangents about it at the worst moments. He brings up the Monty Hall problem and the first time he just tells Moe to trust him, but later when Moe refers back to it and calls it Monkey Hall problem he proceeds to try to explain the whole thing... while they're still in a dire situation. At least Moe cuts him off before he can.

He also translated the archaic Japanese for Moe because she had no idea what most of it meant and just turned to him for help. Very cute. (And also helpful, because I wasn't familiar with most of it either lol...)

Moe and Daimon overall were such a fun combo! He takes her seriously enough that they openly discuss theories and he's willing to listen to her, but he's very gentle and knows she's a kid and scolds her sometimes. And even though Moe says she feels he's treating her like a child, he's really reasonable. It was great! I just love Daimon in general and I'd love to see him interacting more with the other mark bearers as well...

Also at the end, when she goes to visit the Kujou mansion to see Yashiki after he's recovered, Mashita is also there. Gee. How strange. I wonder why.

Moe getting nervous when Mashita clears his throat and stares directly at her, pausing for a bit... only for him to actually thank her. In a roundabout way. And still being condescending. But that's just how he is.

Also after Yashiki praises her, Mashita says something like 'Don't praise her too much, it'll get to her head and she'll get into something dangerous again." and one of the reply options is for Moe to be like "who was it that saved you again?" and he just clicks his tongue. Moe wins this round! That's about it! This ended up also being long as hell again but... if I had added it to my 'summary'... would've gotten even longer. I hope we get more DLC with little character tidbits like this!

[milkiedimitrescu]

yall I just had a whole shadows of rose dream of alcina helping rose in a way during her journey 😭❤️(i wrote this as a fic before but never finished it. But I may rewrite it in the future to look onto that 👀)

(slight long post warning btw)

ANYWAYYYSSS!!!

This dream was quite short so it starts off with Rosemary running from one of those faceless monster things and there is this orb (alcina) that is roaming around helping rose with her every need. Then the dream cut to Rose about to be attacked by this big ass dude right here:

But THEEEEN, orb alcina comes in to save the day and swarms the monster, uses some sort of sketchbook (using some sort of telekenisis), draws HER arm holding a damn glock AND THEN THE THING COMES TO LIFE WHAT THE FUCK??? Naur cause alcina was swarming the monster at the time just to distract it and she even went as far as shooting the thing with a damn drawing and the drawing was shooting damn bullets. Alcina the orb tells rose to Run and get out of here or something. Rose does just that and thats when the dream cut off and I woke up.

To give more detail on how Alcina looked as an orb, it was basically this photo right here. I tried to find a more accurate one.

Now, my thoughts and theories!!! Because now i have lots of thoughts about this dream and whether or not I should bring this idea to life.

What I am theorizing is that the lords are all little balls of energy that can go invisible and visible. Similar to ethan in the original Shadows Of Rose DLC, they are able to write messages on the walls leading whoever is in the megamycete with them in order to lead them to the right direction. They are able to manifest themselves into their normal human walking type forms whenever they please. They can just basically do anything as an orb. The Lords can also speak as an orb also as shown in my dream, (alcina telling rose to run even though shes a fuckin ball of energy flying around).

My thoughts are plain simple. I'M INTERESTED AS FUCK AS WHAT MY BRAIN HAS CREATED WHAT. The storyline of this dream was so god damn interesting like i swear to god I might write this shit.

Possible??? Fanfic remake of "How Shadows Of Rose Should Have Been" storyline???

Alright... I know I mentioned this a million times already but I still cannot get this idea of my dream of shadows of rose being a fanfic. I will just write out how the storyline would play out only in the beginning, since I do not want to spoil anything.

The story begins with Rosemary walking to the dude on the bench like the original game and they start talking and stuff and then she mentions how she wants to get rid of her powers. Rose even went as far as calling herself a freak and the man assures her she is not a freak and we will find a way to make that happen. And now cut, they are now at the lab where this tiny piece of the megamycete is stored inside a jar glowing on and off as to show it is still alive.

The man explains that the megamycete might be the key to getting rid of her powers. That she may have to go INSIDE the megamycete in order to achieve that. Rose asks how she should do this? Well, the man explains to her that maybe she should close her eyes and focus on the jar while reaching her hand to it. He comments that this is only his guess as he does not really know if this would even work or not.

She did just that, and it worked. Her whole vision went white and she woke up in that one place in the original DLC where she was surrounded by windows of memories of people. She even saw her mom and dad arguing over something. She heard voices, lots of voices getting louder and louder as she fell through the atlantic void that is under the ocean. She couldnt take it anymore and told the void to SHUT THE FUCK UP!!! Yes I will make her curse here just for shits and gigs

Now... She wakes up inside the same lab. But there is catch. This wasn't the same lab as the previous one. It was a copy of it. A more dim light version of it. She called out for the man and she was only left in silence so she went through the door that was in front of her.

The door led her to the dungeon and remember how Alcina was the one to be behind those closed doors?(If you had read the fic before ofc. If not, that is alright. Just take this as a spoiler.) How when Rose found the key to help the supposed woman who was trapped in a room and even going as far to go inside the room and nobody was there. Well is is more different in the remake.

There was also a giant puddle of mold in which a giant hand grabs rose by the feet and then....

Her vision goes black. She begins to wake up and she was in a white void... Not just any white void... She was in a field of white flowers with grey grass surrounding her. Rose realized she was laying down and got up and now looked everywhere. There was no end to this black and white field of grass and white roses. She went on to explore until she came across a strange orb floating in mid air. She literally asks herself what is this and touches it and suddenly it explodes. White light everywhere to the point Rosemary had to squeeze her eyes shut.

When she reopened them... the orb was gone. And her reality began to crumble before her eyes and she was now back in the dungeon. She was in the same room she found herself in and was right next to the giant puddle of mold. When she turned around to leave, guess what was there?

The same orb. Now it was talking to her. Telling her to follow it. Rose only stared in awe.

AND THAT'S ALL!!! hope ypu had fun on this journey with me yeah💀👍 Milkie out.

[splatcam-0110]

Hello I didn’t pay attention to the direct after the Splatoon announcement so I took pictures.

So Wave 2 of the Splatoon 3 DLC pass will revisit the Inkopolis however as you can tell not everything is the same. This will definitely be another story mode campaign that will have agent 8 as the main character. There were many images that flashed that I took pictures of and I’ll review each one.

As you can see the Square is much different than what it was in Splatoon 2 whether this is the actual Square in its current state or a alternate version (like how we saw it recreated in that one level in Octo Expansion) is to be determined. The Lobby is replaced with this manor like building which I suspect will be the sort of hub area between the levels. Other than that the décor shows a lot of coral-like structures particularly dead coral that have been bleached by chemicals like we see in IRL oceans. This may tie to the central theme of the story where chemicals are affecting the world and the creatures of the campaign.

Here we see 8 sporting new gear for this new journey. The Splattershot looks more like a rifle with a stock and an extended barrel which might imply upgrades like in the Alterna Campaign. She also has another device in the other hand which might be a fizzy bomb or a new sub altogether. There's a multicolored device chained to her waist but the use of this item is unknown. There are also a lot of elevator themes which may be how 8 will travel between levels and the hub in the main plaza.

These shots of 8 I believe are taken in the same place, this large room with weird black pillars, bleached walls and floors with red veins spreading like ivy. Agent 8 may still be recovering from the events of Octo Expansion as we know from the mem cakes she experienced great loss of her previous life before the metro station which may come back to haunt her.

This shot suggests this as this may be a flashback to when she was still an octoling in the octarian army surrounded by her peers before losing them in the metro.

This shot is very interesting as it shows the visage of an inkling (noted by their pointed ears). This could by Captain 3 since Agent 8 had ties with them in Octo Expansion. However it could also be Agent 4 since canonically 8 and 4 are roommates and an appearance of the captain would be slim given how they are currently in Splatsville at this point in time.

This image seems very important as it was mostly shrouded in darkness in the trailer, however when brightened it gave me no clues on what this figure is. A device of sort that may be the cause of the bleaching in the Plaza or some entity that may be important.

Lastly we know that Pearl and Marina will be tied to this story. The two shots here show them in their outfits they had in their most recent collab with Damp Socks. What is to note is that Pearl has her shades down and her eyes not showing, may be implicating that it may be some form of hypnoshades. Marina is showing to be glitching out as if were seeing her through a messed up monitor. Hopefully this campaign will go more into their relationship and the events that happened after the Final Fest in Splatoon 2.

My personal predictions/theories

With the themes of coral bleaching and ties to Octo Expansion and the Order side of the Final Fest. I think we are revisiting some form of sanitized ink concept.

With the Kamabo Corporation in shambles in the epilogue and the Tartar's creations being salvaged, there could be some entity that might have got their hands on some sanitized ink and done experiments on it like Grizz did with the color crystals, refining it and altering it to suit their needs.

Pearl and Marina's involvement with the events of Octo Expansion would connect them to this story (also y'know the Plaza itself has heavy ties to Off the Hook overall).

I'm hoping. HOPING that we see more 4 content and that the inkling was indeed 4 because there isn't nearly enough representation than with 8 or Captain.

In the mem cakes in Octo Expansion, we know that 8 also had a friend and I'm hoping that picture of the other octolings is a sign that we'll be going in-depth with this aspect of 8.

[splatoon-edits]

Garlic anon here,

Got any predictions or hopes for Side Order since it's releasing in just 2 weeks?

(Personally I'm hoping other octoling DJs like Paul and Warabi show up somewhere somehow, also hoping for an Agent 4 cameo)

OH MY GOD YEAH I DO!

HI GARLIC ANON NICE TO SEE YOU THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME AN EXCUSE TO RAMBLE BECAUSE I AM GOING TO EXPLOSE IN ANTICIPATION OF SIDE ORDER

Agent 4. First and foremost this is the top of my list. I would love to have them appear in full 3d (and be available to see/have their own dedicated place on the map like captain 3 is cuz i want to take pictures. but thats less important) but honestly at this point ill even take them just being mentioned. it would suck if they were the only agent to not show up at all in 3 but like PLEASE JUST LET ME KNOW THEY ARE OK AND WELL WHERE DID YALL LEAVE 4 ARE THEY JUST STATIONED ELSEWHERE ARE THEY FOCUSING ON PERSONAL/NON NSS STUFF PLEASE MENTION MY DARLING BABY- ahem sorry im very normal

No dedf1sh villain :( i mean i ould be fine with it from a storytelling point if its good. but like. i want to imagine acht being ok after all this. pls let her be fine and ok. like on one hand it would be cool. but on the other hand... thats my baby pls dont make her evil :(

NO MARINA VILLAIN EITHER. well like. this is more subjective. but like. no like intentional "i wanna take over the world and do harm" kind of villain. if shes responsible for the bad stuff in an indirect or unintentional way id be ok w that. like idk she tried to do smth and it got out of hand? but if its just "ooh isure do hate the splatfest results so now im gonna turn evil >:(" kind of thing i just dont think it would fit her character.

some kind of reward. beyond just beating the dlc obviously. like. its meant to be played over and over and over again, right? i want some sort of reward(s) to work toward to incentivize that. idk i just want smth else to work towards besides just salmon run scales or playing pvp.

im also really looking forward to seeing pearl and 8 together again. i just feel like pearl being the one giving the advice and guidance, potentially without having a voice of reason like marina, is going to be very fun. she says the funniest most unhinged stuff. i adore pearl and i cannot wait to see her.

IM ALSO RLLY LOOKING FORWARD TO FIGHTING ALONGSIDE PEARL. it was SO much fun having little buddy in hero mode. like just having a lil companion who helps u in video games is the best.

at this point i think its time to retire the octoling enemies unless we have a reason for them. they barely made any sense at all in 3, and unless they do something creative with them i just dont think they have a place as enemies again. luckily none of the trailers show enemy octolings, so fingers crossed we don't have to beat up poor mind controlled octolings for a third time.

ok i know not everyone agrees with this. and given how side order looks so far, i dont think/actually want it to happen. but it would be nice to get more deep cut content. we didnt get to actually spend time with them in story mode. they were just antagonists the whole time and then once they joined the players side we got immediately thrust into the final parts of story mode. they didnt really get a chance to shine as friends rather than foe. but ig we already get tosee that on the splatcast. and the story mode is rlly just to show the other side of them we dont get to see on air. so at this point from what we know about side order, it wouldnt make any sense for themto be there. they dont know 8. but early on before we got any trailers and all we knew was that there was going to be a dlc with off the hook,,,, i was hoping for a deep cut cameo... now we have no way for deep cut and off the hook to meet after this. like deep cut and the squid sisters know each other and get along(?). and we know marina is a huge squid sisters fan, and pearl at least knows of them. Plus pearl and marina have met capn cuttlefish and made friends w him. so were probably able to infer that off the hook and the squid sisters have hung out more since octo expansion. i think there is even official art of them together in multiple pictures? so they are obviously friends now. but deep cut and off the hook dont know each other.... SO HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO GET A DEEP CUT, SQUID SISTERS, AND OFF THE HOOK CONCERT. I NEED INTERACTIONS WITH THEM.

honestly i hope they lean into the like... vibes of it all. but this is splatoon. the art and music always gives 130%. like its always good. theres nothing to rlly worry about there.

ok so im hopeing this isnt going to be some fully disconected alternate timeline where none of this affects the normal timeline or characters. im still partial to my own theory of the whole thing being a simulation built by marina in her hopes to see what a world of order would look like. but marina got stuck in it (or is refusing to leave maybe?) it would be unclear to 8 and pearl where in the simulation she is or if she is even here of her own free will or not. so u know 8 also goes into the simulation. and pearl probably doesnt go in, but is able to control the pearl bot from outside the simulation so that she can still interact with the real world. i mean pearl can cover for marina, but if both famous idols suddenly went missing it would be a pretty big panic. or maybe theres some other reason why pearl cant be in there fully. or she is in the simulation fully but for whatever reason she is in the pearlbot form. anyway this would allow us to have the fun of an alternate timeline while the characters are still from out timeline.

SPEAKING OF. if we do get the whole "our version of the characters AND alternate version of the character" thing. i want alternate marina to be the villain. like maybe marina in the simulation/alternate world didnt mean to be a villain, but in her quest for order and safety she ended up hurting others sel expression and creativity and all that. but our marina finds her and is like yo maybe this is... not a great thing. but alternate marina doesnt listen. this would be interesting cuz then pearl and 8 could get messages from marina that seem out of character but nope its just alternate marina boom big reveal. idk man.

ive realized im more theorizing than talking about what i want to see at this pint. so i should uh... probably end it here. cuz i can theorize all day but no ones gonna know whats right till it comes out. anyway yeah my biggest thing i want is probably an incintive of some kind to play over and ver.

also it 5 in the mornaling and i have not slept. so if you see grammar/pselling mistakes? no you didnt. dont ask why im awake(couldnt sleep so i figured id come check tumblr and try and get more requests done but i only actually ot one thing done before egting sidetracked by this ask)

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

Got some more :D

1: what apps do they like to use? I can see them using twitter & maybe TikTok; probably do silly videos on there.

2: did Nightwing & starfire, plus mar’i tried to hide their superhero identity from Jake? (Probably did the same before mar’i got her powers too.)

3: how would a starburst duo movie start?

4: besides spider-man, do they like other spider-man stuff like the venom movie?

5: do they play battle royale games? I can see them both playing Fortnite (& doing the dances both in & out of costumes) but Chris likes COD Warzone & Jake like apex legends.

6: silly question, since they are pre-teens almost & have girlfriends, what do they prefer: butts or boobs? or personality XD

Sorry for the wait @gothicghost2000 But Here we are XD

1. They have three primary social apps: YouTube (the first one respectively), Twitter and Tumblr. All three apps have specific tools The Duo can use for their particular hobbies and interests, Tumblr for example being the blog space where they can give their predicts and hypotheses about their favorite ongoing shows and where it can go from there.

YouTube is their video library place, for all sorts including live streams, recaps of favorite shows/games, and yes thank to the Shorts function, TikTok style videos. Chris and Jake thankfully have both Jake’s tech expertise and even Oracle on some occasions to help them make sure they don’t get busted for copyright by the algorithms.

2. Not entirely actually. Even as a toddler, Jake was a relatively smart cookie and everyone knew it so before he was able to piece it altogether by the time he was 3 to 4 in his own way, Dick and Kory came clean to him about everything and even Mar’i pitched in about her training to one day be a great superhero like Momma and Daddy are since she has powers while Jake’s are still not kicking in.

I can just imagine little Jakey looking at his family, taking it all in and then finally breaking the silence saying “Does that mean I blast lasers from my eyes too later?” Akin to when Marky found out his powers at the end did the original Invincible comic

3. Basically I’d have first a colorful and detailed title sequence that through simple comic panels and even some motion comic elements, details the basics of how the Duo were born, Chris’ arrival on Earth and adoption by the Kents, the two first meeting as little kids who look up to their parents as their heroes, Jake’s power first kicking in when fending off a bully at school, the Duo training on their powers together and gaining renown slow but steadily, then once the title scene ends, we open with a bang as we are catching up with the Duo in the middle of a massive superhero battle in Metropolis against all sorts of baddies and villains, something akin to the opening shots of Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith

4. They have a good laugh and thrill at the first and second Venom movies respectively. They also are big time fans of the Spiderverse films; there actually is a strongly passionate debate between Chris and Jake over which Spidey films are better. Chris vouches for the Raimi trilogy while Jake sides firmly with Spiderverse. Other than all that though, both also watch every single Spidey animated series, good or bad, collect what their friends online consider the best runs in both Marvel Prime and the Ultimate Universe (the latter Jake is really into thanks to his Uncle Tim(my) loving Ultimate Spidey) and regularly playing co op on the Playstation games

5. Only once a month really and it’s mainly Fortnite. I can’t really see them playing COD or Apex not just because those two are more FPS centric which even if fictional in universe doesn’t sit that well with them for various reasons, but also for COD especially there egregious money practices from all that miscellaneous DLC, Lootboxes when they are a thing, battle passes, etc. it just doesn’t sit right even if technically Jake can be considered a millionaire’s kid at best

6. Personality. Full stop. Even if they’re aware of the more scandalous and fanservice side of true love, they have the content of a female’s character above physical appearance of any kind. Chris and Jake respect girls and women, plain and simple.

[cruelfeline]

Hello, back with more bullshit about the abomination comment:

The comment is interesting regarding Frey and Cuff's dynamic of being foils to each other as well.

Frey most likely spent the majority of her life thinking that she was fundamentally unwanted and unlovable, that she didn't really have a place in the world. How could she not? But by the end of the game, she's been offered a chance to readjust her perception of herself and move on— not really heal, not yet and not from such a deep wound, but her relationship to the people of Cipal and the plight of Athia, Cinta's admission of love and the understanding of the frought nature of her birth and arrival in New York, give her a point to pivot from. She has worth, she has agency, and people can love her, do love her. Frey has a place in the world and was always wanted, even if her life didn't pan out in a way that made it easy for her to know that.

Cuff, on the other hand, has a strong belief in both his purpose and his existence being wanted— he has a task, and he was purpose made for it, so of course he's intentional and a desirable asset for the Rheddig, and of course he should be loyal to them and their whims, they made him! He's willing to do things he's clearly conflicted about just because it's what he's for, and cape for the Rheddig just because he's tangentially linked to them. It'd be easy to think, then, that the Rheddig might appreciate him as a part of their faction to instil such loyalty (as Frey kind of does, because she sees Cuff as a person), but no, the game goes on to show that no one else really sees Cuff as either a person or as something that should exist at all. Unlike Frey, though, he doesn't really acknowledge it aside from is comments during their fight about his duty, but even then it's not to judge how others perceive him, just to kind of internalise that view of him and make it acceptable within his framing of himself.

Idk, it's just kind of neat that they sort of end up at opposite points to each other in this regard— even if Cuff ends up there from us gaining knowledge of him, rather than his character gaining knowledge of himself.

(Sorry for the word vomit haha, hope you're having a good day)

I am having a lovely day, and your commentary has brightened it further!

You're absolutely right.

One of the most interesting contrasts between Cuff and Frey pertains to their sense of self and their sense of duty.

As you say, they're opposites. Frey starts out with a very low opinion of herself, convinced that she's a screw-up whom no one could love, only to eventually understand that she was loved and had value all along.

Cuff maintains this sense of pride in what he is, apparently believing himself to be valued by those who made him and secure in his purpose, but as time goes on, this seems less and less grounded in reality. He is an "it" to everyone save for Frey. And, ultimately, he seems very unaware of any of the machinations involving him, as evidenced by his ignorance of his own rebirth in the DLC. Slowly but surely, it feels like we're approaching the realization that he has no revelation of love and want waiting for him in Rheddah.

In terms of duty, Frey goes from shying away from it - believing herself unable to rise to meet it - to choosing, willingly, to devote herself to it. Whereas Cuff starts from a place of devotion that he did not choose, yet still believes he must remain true to, and ends up... well, we don't fully know. But the final battle's dialogue certainly suggest some doubt starting to emerge.

And all of this ultimately reverses their states of power!

Frey goes from unsure and frightened and depressed to confident and certain and strong. Where she had little agency before, she has plenty now, and she's willing to use it.

Cuff starts off with that confidence and certainty only to seem less sure by the end. He's less able to grasp his agency and use it, and he exhibits far more anxiety and concern in, say, the DLC than Frey does.

Frey gets better and grows healthier; Cuff gets strangely worse.

Gosh, I wish we could have seen how it all progressed!

[drunk-on-starlight]

Alright, a few things that stuck out to me from the trailer.

First off, "Cassie" has a more interesting design than Gregory did. the tights/shorts combo looks very distinctive.

Second, a better image of her(?) tool. We see her plug it into a damaged device later in the trailer, so it's presumably an interface of some sort.

It looks like they've improved the cameras in Ruin, telling use where they're pointed. An intercom button has been, so perhaps we'll be able to distract animatronics from range?

Walkie-Talkie she used to talk to Gregory. He might be a character Cassie talks to quite a bit, so hopefully they fill out each other's histories.

Looks like Monty has gotten worse.

Gatorgolf resembles an actual swamp much now.

Looks like Cassie's jumpscares will have a bit more self-defense.

This next one is where it gets interesting. See this?

See the bent ears and the tuft of fur at the top? If you've played Help Wanted or are familiar with a certain dlc object, it should be familiar. For those not...

It looked like Cassie found it somehow. Vanny's room maybe?

We also get to see what it looks like on the inside

And how the world looks through it

Also, this shows up. Looks like either Vanny or Burntrap has had a bad day between base game and dlc

The arm visible looks like meat and metal, so my guess is burntrap.

The above two have some shared purple graffiti, as well as a heart that also appeared on some Post-it notes iirc.

All character dialogue is as follows

G-"Cassie, I hope you get this message"

G-"I'm trapped here at the pizzaplex. Or what's left of it.

G-"I don't have time to go into how I got here, but you've got to help me out.

G-"Save me Cassie, please. It's so dark down here.

C-"Gregory, run"

G-"Don't give up on me yet."

The implication I get is that Gregory sent this message before he returned to the pizzaplex, or even before he went there in the base game