#the fall of house black

[endemise]

✻ DEMO — Revised Prologue (Update 1 of 2)

31 JANUARY 2025

✻ INTRO POST

after many, many struggles the revised prologue is here! it is only part 1 of the demo update, part 2 containing Chapter 1 will be out in february.

this is an overhaul of the old demo. other than adding new content, the UI has undergone change. it is recommended that you play the prologue over; while some things remain, it is not the same! the changelog is below if you’d like to see what’s different. if you find bugs or typos, etc. send an ask! i try to catch them but i am but one gal

disclaimer: this content is heavy. if you read it before, you know, but is has been expanded upon. chapter specific warnings have been updated to better reflect the content, but please proceed with caution!

CHANGELOG:

Added new scenes.

Added new interactions and choices.

Edited, rewrote, and reformatted scenes.

Changed and re-coded character customization.

Added music.

Added a splash screen.

Added achievements.

Added fade-in passage effects.

Added setting toggles for music and text effects.

Re-coded UI.

Word Count w/o Code: 6.3k -> 11.5k (+ 5.2k)

LINKS

✻ itch.io | my creator page

✻ @ethersic | my main, art, etc. blog

[bananahkim]

Happy Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week!

[goryhorroor]

horror sub-genres: gothic

[gentlemanmotorslifestyle]

[chaoticace22]

this summer is definitely something...

[synchodai]

HBO's Continued Insistence on Dumbing Down Westerosi Politics

So there have been countless thinkpieces already on how GOT simplified the feudalist politics of Westeros (by giving a lowborn sellsword lordship over The Reach, by having no consequences for destroying the Sept of Baelor, etc.), but I haven't seen a lot of people talking about that for House of the Dragon.

The worst being that the show presupposes that Rhaenyra is the lawful heir when the books showed there are plenty of lawful arguments why she wouldn't be.

Mind you that I've been enjoying the show a lot so far. This is just to vent out my frustration with the writers' failure to fully engage with the values and protocols of the Middle Age-inspired setting. The show seems uninterested in laws of the Realm in a story ostensibly about politics, save for when they're using it as an excuse to amplify depictions of sex and violence.

Blacks vs Greens wasn't a matter of misunderstanding of who each side thought Viserys wanted on the throne. It was the Targaryens' belief of their absolute authority clashing with the Realm's established traditions. Everyone always knew who Viserys chose as heir. In Fire and Blood, Grand Maester Orwyle said as much when he was parleying with Rhaenyra on behalf of the Greens.

Rhaenyra heard his terms in stony silence, then asked Orwyle if he remembered her father, King Viserys. "Of course, Your Grace," the maester answered. "Perhaps you can tell us who he named as his heir and successor," the queen said, her crown upon her head. "You, Your Grace," Orwyle replied. And Rhaenyra nodded and said, "With your own tongue you admit I am your lawful queen. Why do you serve my half-brother, the pretender?" Munkun tells us that Orwyle gave a long and erudite reply, citing the Andal law and the Great Council of 101. Mushroom claims he stammered and voided his bladder. Whichever is true, his answer did not satisfy Princess Rhaenyra.

(For non-F&B readers: Munkun is the Grand Maester who served Aegon III, the king who came after this civil war. Munkun's book, The Dance of the Dragons, A True Telling, is one of Fire and Blood's source texts. Mushroom is the King Landing court jester from Viserys I to Aegon III's reign. One is a source written with academic rigor but is secondhand at best. The other is a firsthand eyewitness account but is from a literal fool who will take every chance to make things more scandalous and sexual to please the crowd.)

In House of the Dragon, they replaced Orwyle with Otto and Orwyle's discussion of legal precedent with Otto handing Rhaenyra a book page from Alicent. It's quite evident here that the writers, much like Mushroom, thought a discussion on the actual laws of the Realm were negligible in this story about a succession war.

Even Alicent made no pretense that Viserys chose Rhaenyra over her children and I have no idea why the HBO writers decided to make her mistakenly think otherwise. Maybe they thought a queen regent pushing her son to take the throne over another woman made her appear unsympathetic as a character, but if anything, this only makes show!Alicent less politically savvy and more delusional than her book counterpart, fully believing an addled king's vague muttering on his deathbed was sufficient grounds to change heirs last minute.

Book!Alicent following Andal laws instead of her husband's wishes makes sense given her Andal upbringing, her devotion to the Faith of the Seven which enforces said laws, and her desire to protect her children from Rhaenyra given that Rhaenyra has shown she's not above murdering family (see: Laenor).

In the books, there was a long discussion between the former king's council on who should succeed Viserys.

Here are the arguments for Rhaenyra:

Rhaenyra was older than her brothers and had more Targaryen blood

the late king had chosen her as his successor, that he had repeatedly refused to alter the succession despite the pleadings of Queen Alicent and her greens

hundreds of lords and landed knights had done obeisance to the princess in 105 AC, and sworn solemn oaths to defend her rights.

Here are the arguments for Aegon II:

many of the lords who had sworn to defend the succession of Princess Rhaenyra were long dead [...]

Ironrod, the master of laws, cited the Great Council of 101 and the Old King’s choice of Baelon rather than Rhaenys in 92

the hallowed Andal tradition wherein the rights of a trueborn son always came before the rights of a mere daughter

Ser Otto reminded them that Rhaenyra’s husband was none other than Prince Daemon, and “we all know that one’s nature. Make no mistake, should Rhaenyra ever sit the Iron Throne, it will be Lord Flea Bottom who rules us, a king consort as cruel and unforgiving as Maegor ever was [...]”

Should the princess reign [...] Jacaerys Velaryon would rule after her. “Seven save this realm if we seat a bastard on the Iron Throne.”

Once again, the show chose to cut out this long political discussion. Instead, the council had already made up their mind and decided to stage a coup (when in their perspectives from the books, it would definitely not be a coup).

For all their marketing how two sides are equally grey, HotD is actively delegitimizing Aegon II. The strongest argument for him is how his claim follows the laws of the Realm, but the show doesn't seem to care about the laws of the Realm or the political need to maintain a more predictable/tested transfer of power.

Instead, the show focuses on Viserys's relationship with his daughter and the mysticism of the Targaryen bloodline. In doing so, they emphasize Rhaenyra's strongest arguments for succession — that she's more of a Targaryen than her half-brother and that her father prefered her.

And what for? Because in our modern-day, we don't have male-prefered inheritance and people can only imagine misogyny as the only injustice here? What about the injustice of a monarch exercising absolute control, thinking that his "superior" heritage makes him above the established laws of the native people?

This is not to say Aegon II is unquestionably the heir. But this is to say that the show removed the political nuance of why people are questioning in the first place. Precedence isn't the end-all-be-all of succession, but neither is "because daddy said so".

[mystery-pixels]

more houses...lot's more houses

i've been obsessively making move in ready homes for my save and i'm so happy with them! (the price though for these are not starter homes prices unfortunately lol)

[lobotomist-at-tabs]

chappell roan could do the black parade and my chemical romance could do midwest princess

[amelheth]

The HellBringers

Antagonists most dastartdly at hell they can bring having a cool evil boiz party. Some lone wolves like Lich unfortunately did not participated (and i geniunely forgor HIM from PPG)

And some were just too digital for real world, but phone is enuff.

[luckyshinyhunter]

🫂Happy International Siblings Day🫂

[endemise]

✻ DEMO

→ Latest Update: Revised Prologue — 31 January 2025

17+ The Fall of House Black — A gothic, supernatural, mystery interactive fiction story. Lightly inspired by The Fall of the House of Usher and Frankenstein media. (Work in Progress)

Synopsis has mentions of death and suicide. See extended content warnings below.

The fall of House Black was an imminent thing. A name had never been so cursed that all it could do was bring about death.

First, your younger sister in a swimming accident, then your older brother in a case of mistaken identity. As the rest of your family sought to grieve and bring justice to your brother, your older sister was killed in a hunting accident at the end of your father’s bow.

The three of you, mother, father, and child, became inconsolable. Broken beyond repair. Your mother unable to bear the weight of life any longer took her own while your father disappeared, gone into the night. When you remain the sole survivor, you know you must leave, and on the night of your decision, your home goes up in flames with you inside.

Then, you awake, dazed with no recollection of anything, and when you look down at your body, you scream. It is wrong. So wrong.

Play as a reanimated, customizable character.

Learn how to be a person again.

Try to survive in a society that fears the unknown.

Develop relationships. (4 ROs: All gender-selectable + 1 secret RO)

Aid in the investigation of your family’s untimely deaths.

Learn about your family’s curse.

Aesop/Almira Hammond | Detective | 36 Years Old | RO

A is an observant and clever person, stoic in nature. They put their all into their work, striving to find the truth in every case. They take on the case of your family’s sudden deaths despite pushback from others. It was an occurrence of events all too strange, and they are determined to figure it out.

Cyprian/Cecilia Atterton | Writer | 28 Years Old | RO

C is an imaginative and creative person, quiet in nature. They write not only from their own experiences, but the experiences of others as well. They are interviewing people about House Black, intending on writing a book about your family’s ill fate and eventual demise.

Sebastian/Sabina Farwell | Doctor | 34 Years Old | RO

S is an intelligent and kind person, caring in nature. They are a most trusted doctor, hardworking and honest. They were the young doctor that tried to help your father and sister. They helped without question, never calling your family cursed as you so often were.

Elias/Elosia Osborne | Coroner | 30 Years Old | RO

E is an empathetic and hardworking person, cheerful in nature. They put their heart into their work, aiming to bring closure to people as swiftly as possible. They are the one who investigated and confirmed the death of your elder sister. They never could for you though.

Unknown | ??? | ??? | RO

A secret. Who knows when they will appear.

SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Mentions of death, child death, suicide, violence, blood, injury, burning alive, body horror, mutilation, slight gore, amnesia, manipulation, physical assault, murder, alcoholism

asks are welcomed!

DISCLAIMER

this is a demo/work in progress. everything is subject to change until the final version. it is by no means a finished or polished work.

LINKS

✻ demo | same one, just another link

✻ itch.io | my creator page

✻ @ethersic | my main, art, etc. blog

INFO

word count w/o code: 11.5k

made with tweego + vscode + sugarcube

[cherubshert]

Jungwon laughs lovingly at you as he closes your room's window, your body curled up under a pile of blankets, over your thick hoodie, and despite that you're still shivering. "Did you buy something warm?" you ask with a very stuffy voice, your cheeks puffed as you look up at him. He brushes your warm cheeks with his cold hand as he nods.

He places a cup of hot chocolate in your hands, settling beside you on your bed. You take a sip humming with satisfaction, "Sorry I couldn't get the door." he leans closer, resting his head on your shoulder, "It's ok." he smiles, poking your cheeks, "sick lil angel."

"It's your fault I'm sick" you pout, jokingly turning your head to bite his finger, "Ni-ki's fault, i told you it was a dumb idea to swim in a half frozen pool in the middle of winter."

"He called me a chicken." you retort, "And you're older and should know better." you roll your eyes, taking another sip of your drink. "Is he sick too?" he nods, snickering, you huff with satisfaction, leaning your head on his.

"It's your fault too, you're supposed to be the angel on my shoulder." "I told you not to do it." "Should have tried harder to stop me."

You sneeze, and he giggles, poking your sensitive nose. "You look so cute right now." you attempt to swat him off, but he grabs your hand, pulling you close till his nose brushes yours.

"You'll get sick." he tilts his head, pecking your lips, his eyes raising to meet yours. " I don't mind." he tugs at your covers, shifting till he sat close to you, covering your bodies again. "We could have a sick date."

You scrunch your nose at the thought, taking another sip of your hot chocolate, "ew"

[com3150project]

A detail from The Fall of the House of Usher that I didn't catch until the second viewing: When Leo buys the black cat from Verna, he asks her to pose it for a picture that he can compare to Pluto.

It's adorable, too good to be true. However, after Leo dies, THIS is the picture that Pym finds in Leo's phone:

Verna had given Leo a rat, because that's what cat's do.

[atomic-chronoscaph]

Poe - art by Greg Hildebrandt (1986)

[antonchigurhsminecraftadventure]

early stage minecraft housing situations are such a shitshow for real

[ID: two screenshots from Minecraft showing a villager house which has been taken over by the player. the corner of the house has been knocked out to add space to a tiny stable containing a single horse, and there's an enchanting library tacked onto the outside of the house.]

[cedric-k-rossignol]

And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride

Undertaker + Cloudia P. Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe