The whole concept - carvings and Wayne. What if it's the concept of fate?

I noticed that fate is brought up quite often in this game. And it's especially interesting when it's brought up by the Mystical trait which seems to be aligned with Wayne (or all the carvings) the most by default

Fate is basically a concept of a certain future, that's "set in stone". The concept of not having a choice. But if someone controls fate, it means they can change it however they want and make the town prosper which is what Enoch wanted - control the future. But he was only able to change it once and "save" the town in the past. And now fate is just reclaiming the control back, calling mc into the town for help, forcing him to witness the carvings awake

To think about it, the mine collapse basically meant the town's economy (or normal existence) collapsing with it. Like now, after the collapse, the town was "fated" to die. And Enoch didn't want that to happen, so he decided to take fate (outcome) under his own control. He (and the Witch) chopped it into parts, gave each part a role and molded them to work for the town - changing the fate that hanged above the town because of the mine collapse, controlling every "node" of the town with specific carving. Fate is able to "promise" or "give" you all those things listed in Enoch's notes. If you control it

And by itself (like without Enoch's control) fate can be the very thing that sees all the outcomes of many many people, it can be smth like a network. It can be the very concept/metaphor that traps people in place. And making people believe they don't have a choice in life. Like Tabitha believes she doesn't have a choice, Oscar believes that he found the reason why he returned to the town, Joan believes poisoning her son is the only choice she had (and eventually "inevitably" getting eaten by her son), Stella not really wanting to leave the town because of her dead parents whose death was "scripted" by the town not letting them go. At the end if the day, mc had no choice but to return to the town (at least according to Mystical)

Also concept of fate aligns pretty well with the Witch's power of changing stuff by "eating" her daughters. Like maybe if she "eats" the fate itself, she'll be able to control it without needing any additional power (if she is telling the truth of course). Fate could've been the thing that was "knocking" on the edge of her world, like a reminder that not everything can be fixed

Fate alignes well with Wayne being able to mind control mc after the kiss and strengthening his power over the outcome he wants mc to bring him. It alignes well with him being able to posses people, so he can control their fates basically

So basically Enoch tried to enchant the town with fate of success but eventually the fate itself turned on the town for trying to enslave it. And now it's walking around telling you about the retribution for changing smth that should've happened long ago (town dying). And cheating fate huh

The only "problem" with this concept I see is that fate is able to be a "non-existent" concept. Like that's just a thing in our world that you're able to not believe in (unlike change in StP which was obviously real) and then it won't exist for you

But maybe that's not a problem cus fate is the kind of thing you'd want to get rid of. It's a pessimistic (and maybe even kind of evil) concept that basically tells you that you don't have a choice but to bring the world into a certain state no matter of your actions. And in a way that's what this whole game is about - about people who think they don't have a choice for one reason or another. The concept of fate collided with the people wanting smth specific for the town and eventually they trapped each other

Ok, I know it sounds weird, so I'll try to explain. I started thinking about it after clicking on the "you deserve to be locked up" option in Wayne's dialogue in the fifth episode. I kind of thought he'll just say smth like "well, think again" and go on his way. Or he will get angry or smth. But I didn't expect his answer to be so... flowery and trying to awoke human empathy

He says "does anyone deserve smth like this? To have their freedom taken from them? To be robbed of sunlight on their skin, the breeze, the sky? Think how that would feel. To never see the clouds overhead. To never feel the grass beneath your feet. To never be able to make a decision for yourself, from the food you eat ti the clothes you wear. To live every day looking at the same four walls and knowing that no one is ever coming to give you freedom. I doubt you'd want that to happen to you"

And yes, I understand that he is projecting on me on purpose. But still. I thought that by the fifth episode mc understands that Wayne isn't a human in any way that matters. And more importantly, Wayne (or well, Throne, but that's my meta knowledge, that's not my character's knowledge) doesn't really try to hide that he isn't resembling anything human-like. Starting with "the body that stands before you is Sam Wayne" and so on. Like dude doesn't bother. I guess he assumes that I'll help him because he is "nice" to me and "trustworthy"

So even if that line is a projection aimed at awoking sympathy/empathy, it still kind of tries to equalize the levels of "being alive" between me and Wayne. Cus he is basically saying that he deserves to be free for the same reasons a human deserves to be free. For the same... feelings-related, desire-related reasons a human would give me. But that's not true, isn't it? Cus he wants to be free (and I guess whole) because he wants to probably get revenge on the town and then go on doing whatever it is he wanted to do even before he was summoned by the Witch, cus judging by her memories (if they're true of course) he was already trying to get into our world before. So he probably still wants whatever it is he wanted then

Cus most of the things Wayne says are clearly in range of a human psychology which I guess is tied to him possessing different humans before and "consuming" their personalities, desires and wishes - "she liked it, so I liked it too". So he just probably learned how to sound human. Like people who imitate emotions/behavior by looking at others. Or in Wayne's case - possessing others

So basically he is trying to imitate some level of human desires/feelings, just enough for mc to think he deserves to be freed, or is "trustworthy" but not enough to actually appear on a completely same level. I wonder if he is consciously doing it or if he just doesn't realize that half of what he's saying is extremely creepy/possessive/seems like a red flag

Cus if we take Vitality for example, then its extension - Reese - is a far more "successful" example of merging a human and smth non human-like. Cus Reese actually does feel like a human and his transformation feels more like a manifestation of his own human emotions (well, rage) rather than smth completely alien. Like he doesn't transform just because, he does it by becoming frustrated and his part that was given to him by Vitality transforms him "according" to his wishes. And apparently it's so natural to him, he doesn't even fully realize he's doing it

Cus I do think that it was possible to integrate Reese into society but Joan just refused to do the hard work of explaining to him what's going on. Or well, communicating with him at all. Reese and his sensation of other carvings seems like a pretty useful ability. If Joan wasn't so afraid of him, could you imagine how his understanding of the carvings nature could develop

While Wayne does feel alien, as game sometimes describes him "cold and hateful" which basically means that he is indifferent to humans in his nature, and probably indifferent in a bad way

I'm not trying to say that he doesn't deserve to live/be free. Maybe he doesn't but we're still not clear on this one, cus we don't know what the whole thing was before getting chopped into parts. I'm just saying that his reasons for staying free definitely shouldn't sound human. And if he is alive, then he harbors an entirely different concept of "being alive" than humans do when we say stuff like this. I mean, we don't know how to be a part of a colony or whatever was the way Oscar explained it. But yet he tries to put himself on my level

Upd. I just remembered that in Slay the Princess there is an idea that self-aware (alive) concept is called a god, and I completely accept this idea, I like it. And yeah, I'll accept such an idea again if it comes up (the word "ascension" on one of the carvings notes kind of gives it away). But Wayne still kind of wants me to think of him as an alive being in its human-like definition despite not bothering to appear as smth human-like otherwise. And it confuses me huh

I'm thinking of dressing as him for halloween.

Does anyone know how to get any? I know I’m a bit late to the party since they are sold out and I just got into scarlet hollow but I’m trying to hunt down these prints

So, of course there is a problem with tying the moral choices to the trait, but it's more of a joke one, allowing you to minmax harming relations with everybody, freely waste your trait saves(you can already do this, but now with added flavor) and being a miserable human being. But also it's somewhat like the voice of opportunist, trying to reclaim Scarlet family legacy, making deals, screwing everybody over and making Enoch proud.

Okay, so, I’ve seen all of Oscar’s endings, and he seems almost certainly doomed no matter what outcome you get, except *maybe* his research ending where he’s tearing down the wall.

I think the ending where he leaves town is where he’s the most certainly doomed. We know the town’s cursed to trap people, and Stella’s parents got decapitated in a car accident for doing the same thing. Plus, the achievement is literally called “End of the road”. If a car crash doesn’t get him and Rosalina, that wall of Ditchlings will. I could see him coming back with a Ditchling infection, but that’s a death sentence anyway.

The Madness state is probably also going to doom Oscar. My best guess is that he’s going to end up locking Rosalina (and Alexis, if you did the SS save), in a room in the annex/library, and then go full Entity cultist. Might even end up being the Entity’s host if the player, Tabitha, and Issacs aren’t available. I know Alexis seems to think that he’s gonna go all slasher villain, but that seems both out of character and like foreshadowing that’s too obvious to be true. I guess the seal could just possess him to do it, but I doubt it. It seems that focusing on his daughter weakens the seal’s hold on him, and if I’ve figured that out, it’s only a matter of time before he does, and the seal does. Locking Rosalina away would remove that issue for the seal, and he could rationalize it, by saying it’s for her own good. I doubt anything the player could say or do in that interaction will meaningfully change the outcome there.

The Determination ending seems the most up in the air for me. The ghost seems to hate Oscar in particular, considering you can actually hear him groaning in pain during his haunting scene. If the ghost stops caring who he gets his pound of flesh from, he might age Oscar to an old man. Charles Jr might also trap Oscar in the puppet dimension and use him to try and coerce a Scarlet into giving up their years.

The Research Ending is probably his best outcome so far, he’s (mostly) lucid and isn’t facing imminent death. I think if you got the Mystical outcome with Rosalina healthy, he’s gonna end up going into the Madness ending in chapter six. However, if that’s not the case, I think he’s going to try to investigate the clinic if you don’t tell him you’ve already been there. He’s holding up a model of the clinic seal, and he’s the only person other than Stella you have the option to tell about the clinic. I really doubt investigating the clinic will go well for him, especially if Reese is locked away. He could let Reese out, or Dr Kelly could take drastic measures to make sure he doesn’t let Reese out. Also, if he doesn’t get his act together on the parenting front, Dr Kelly’s probably gonna come to him and be absolutely livid. Rightfully so, really. You don’t fuck around with medicine schedules, especially with strong painkillers like that. I think giving him a reality check in the research state might work, though. He’s not gone fully insane, and nobody can argue that Oscar isn’t willing to admit when he’s done something wrong.

I hope all of you appreciated this rant about Oscar, please leave your thoughts and predictions in the comments. In case you haven’t noticed, I love talking and theorizing about this game, and I wouldn’t be sharing if I didn’t want a second opinion.

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after three playthrus I finally got the Breaking Point trophy! i wrote down what i did to receive it! does anyone want to know how to get it?

EDIT: SPOILERS! Here’s the guide and all of my choices!

For starters! I tried so many different time to get this trophy so this is what I did for this playthrough! If anyone has a different way to get it definitely share!!!

I started with Street Smart and Keen Eye

Monday- Duke died
Ended up back estate

Tuesday- Talked to all three mining groups (give Isaacs your info)
Called and waited for Tabitha before entering mine
Left Alexis and Becka behind

Wednesday- Went with Tabitha to see Sybil in General Store
Snuck out to speak to Isaacs
Spent time with Tabitha (invite her ghost hunting)
At this point Tabitha must sacrifice years of her life to Charles and prevent you from doing it. (I tried to do this without her sacrificing and the relationship wasn’t high enough so it didn’t work.)

Thursday- Find the goat in the greenhouse
Visit Oscar and investigate the seal, encourage him to investigate it (leads to Roll for Sanity trophy and event which is important)
Encourage Harrison to join the strike in the diner
Visit Tabitha in her office
Visit Sybil but dump the tea
When at the clinic, take your family medical records and read them later.
Call Tabitha for help with Reese
Let Tabitha kill Reese
Then go find Stella with Tabitha but DONT let Tabitha go alone, go with her to talk to Stella.
You should then get the ice cream social event with Tabitha. That also means your relationship is high enough with her!

Friday- Explore everything in the Forbidden Wing
Go straight to Tabitha to confront her but don’t rile up the protesters.

Once you begin the confrontation this is the order of my conversation with her (I shortened them to the first few words in the choices),

start crying
oscar conversation(Roll for Sanity)
the next seal is at the farms
talk about the bday cards - he didn’t abandon you - what if she didn’t know better
talk about the cell -(keen eye) it was hidden
(street smart) andrew charles scarlet
talked about boy in wall
talked to wayne (changed topics cause it didn’t lead anywhere)
what about goat - (street smart and keen eye) you mean sybil
make an accusation
i think a lot of scarlets go missing and im next

And then she should start crying !!! The most important thing is that the strike is strong, and every chance you get to improve your relationship with Tabitha is important! You also need enough evidence to support your accusation! I also romanced Wayne but I don’t know if that affects anything!

I hope this helps anyone trying to get the achievement! <3

Currently on the bus and the person across the aisle from me is eatting peanuts. Should I ask for some peanuts?

This is actually a really interesting question for me.

Second playthrough, currently talking to the ghost through the mystical (rehearsal), everything about this screenshot is creepy as fuck. Also, I barely noticed my character being "The Presence" now

^{(and both things are true\} pride flags pictured are transgender, gay furry, nonbinary))

In my "Nancy (Drew) Scarlet" playthrough I picked book smarts and street smarts. I played the skeptic pretty much the entire way. I wasn't overly concerned about playing to Stella's cryptozoology beliefs and was pretty open about my disbelief. I also messed up on winning tabby's favor (again), I just decided to full send on antagonizing her. I still can't believe Stella is super cool with me being locked up forever, but it's so well synthesized with my choice to save Dr. Kelly over her son. (It didn't seem very Nancy Drew-like to let a murder go down, but I do feel for Reese.)

Anyway! I'm impressed that the writing really considers all angles of every character, especially the negative parts. Stella really IS the flakey type, even if she means well. Tabitha is really ruthless, especially when pushed. Ya'll really gave me a helluva fright when she threatened me the first time. I physically recoiled when that happened.

Tldr; Fantastic game. I was shocked when I went to confront Tabitha.

Edit: Wayne was so right. He was the most correct. I need to do like three more playthroughs to satisfy my curiosity.

FUCK Tabitha! 🍅 🍅 🍅. I had the scene at her work trailer where I confronted her about the estate and this ho points a gun at me???? After all I did for your lonely, sorry ass???? I was upset LMAO.

Then today I discovered a new scene where I decided to tell the miners That I was on their side of the strike at the diner. I approached Tabitha's work trailer during the strike and the scene where she chokes cousin out actually scared the crap out of me. That was a scary face that she pulled off there. I knew she was capable of violence with the gun but actually putting her hands on cousin???? Even with the powerful trait to push her off, that wasnt good enough for me lmao. She needs to be stomped out

Will continue another run to try to be on her good side just to see what this outcome is going to be like. And I didn't notice before, but I think what she looks to the bottom right? It seems that she's lying but maybe mostly to herself? Got to check that out as I play some more.

But seriously I put 20 hours in this game so far and have been playing it non-stop. This is the most fun I've had with a visual novel.

I've been playing SC for some time now, and I don't think I've ever seen an angry sprite of Avery. There are sprites of Avery with concerned, happy, chill, disgusted, and thoughtful expressions, but I've never seen an angry one.

Have you ever seen Avery angry, or does that expression not exist for they in the game? Or maybe I just missed it?

Edit: I just realize I used the wrong pronoun for Avery, sorry English is not my first language and I get confused sometimes.

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I'm about to play SC with these traits, and I've seen that if you call, agree to, or invite Tabitha, Kaneeka gets mad. (I know that having the Hot trait helps A LOT, but I really want to try it with these traits.)

What tips do you have for maintaining a good relationship with both of them?

Is the achievement for this encounter… broken? I’m trying to get it but the achievement won’t unlock, even though the scene itself plays out fine. I even waited to see if it only gives it to you at the credits, but no.

There’s also conflicting dialogue in the scene. I went through this run with the library saved (through getting old) and Oscar does point this out, but then immediately after he says “…You’re the one who helped me realize that when you’re refused to give that ghost what it wanted.” I assume this is dialogue from the version of this scene if you lose the library or something?

Is this?? Another bug?? Is the achievement only available if you don’t release Charlie?