#tsas pyotr

[dreamingpuffkin]

Through Love And Fire - There Swings A Skull: Grim Tidings

I've played There Swings A Skull: Grim Tidings, and want it to get more attention so I'm going to write about it.

I recommend checking out the game for yourself since it's short (about 2-8 hours) and is an amazing experience overall.

Somewhere in a seemingly endless sea of sand lays a quaint town beyond train tracks called Pareildas. We go through the motions as Anatoli and Pyotr, two loving husbands with minds racing from the recent heatwaves.

Anatoli works at Pareildas' train station Terminus while Pyotr illustrates at home.

ANATOLI

Every day, Anatoli leaves for work and heads off to the train station. Both he and his coworker friend Dolores have a "skit" (joking bit amongst each other) and it's off to work until sunset. Afterwards he heads back home to Pyotr and dinner waiting for him.

Anatoli is an average working man who's relatively satisfied with his life, but wants to go beyond Pareildas with Pyotr; waiting for a train that hasn't been seen in years to deliver them from the Sun's malevolence, the Mayor's empty words, the constant threat of spontaneous combustion and the increasing demands from the gallows for sacrifice.

Despite his deep-seated (and understandable) concerns, he keeps it buried beneath his seemingly apathetic demeanor, because he doesn't want anyone to worry. He wants to keep everything the same, so he tries to ignore it and stick to routine. Acknowledging problems will inevitably lead to change, and the uncertainty that comes forth seems to be what scares Anatoli the most. Even as everything falls apart and Pyotr leaves, he keeps up his routine, hoping that everything will be okay in the end.

This does not mean he is completely unwilling to break routine however; as in the beginning he is shaken up by a woman burning to a crisp outside his window. He stops smoking with Dolores after that.

Personal Notes: It was heartbreaking yet intriguing to watch Anatoli hold onto hope as the days carried on. Dolores breaking down, waking up alone in the house and the blunt descriptions made Anatoli's insistent denial even more harrowing as the town burned and Mayor demanded sacrifice. His willingness to sacrifice wasn't for his comfort, but for his community (the few loved ones he has in town). One of my favourite parts has to be the description for the dried up fountain ("THERE WAS NEVER A WAY OUT."); it's a perfect way to have the other shoe drop for Anatoli.

PYOTYR

Pyotr starts in mind that you're aware of Anatoli's perspective and focuses on his. Anatoli goes out and brings home the bacon as established. Usually when left to his own devices, he like to sit and the easel (where he makes portraits for his pleasure or to sell off) and prepare meals for both himself and Anatoli, and tries his best to be a source of relief and comfort (as most homemakers do) despite his own stress and tries to radiate and happy-go-lucky demeanor for Anatoli's sake.

As of late, nothing has come to him, and he feels like the potential within him to make a change he wants to see in the world is wasting away as he stagnates within the confines of Pareildas. He stares up at the crack in the ceiling that opens up by the day, anxious in his perceived helplessness. He wants to be bigger than this; there's more beyond here, but what is one man to do?

As Anatoli leaves for work, Pyotr feels suffocated in his sense of emptiness. Without Anatoli he feels like a toothless cog, decaying in some tireless machine. Desperate to keep his mind off of his own thoughts, he goes outside to find some inspiration and discovers the sewers are open.

Through the tunnels he meets Rosette, a loner within the sewers who welcomes him and encourages his desire to better the lives of himself and the community of Pareildas. He's put off by her words, but continues on and hears her out. As she leaves he keeps her words into consideration despite the absurdity (in comparison to life in Pareildas, anyway). There's newfound passion in him; and a drive to save Anatoli and the town from what the Mayor presents as futility.

Personal Notes: Pyotr really gave more insight into this bleak small world with his character. My sadness turned to dread as Anatoli closed the door behind him, leaving Pyotr by his lonesome. I found Pyotr's frustration to be very relatable; he's at a loss but does not want to feel helpless and his breakdown at dinner really highlights that for the player. He's more confrontational than Anatoli due to his fear of stagnation, and it makes an amazing contrast for his route to have us venture in a place unknown, seemingly shifting in front of Pyotr (and our) eyes.

A Long-Burning Love

Pyotr and Anatoli have opposite fears but they both originate from a common ground: a desire for better life. Their concern for their living situation isn't based on self-interest but love for one another. While the majority of the game features them separated from each other (so that we can explore the horror of the game), it leads to the interactions and loving banter between them becoming all the more sweet and the sections in which they ponder about the other all the more heart-wrenching. Even without the more direct verbal communication they try to reassure one another and find comfort to keep out the dread, if only for a little while.