#1883 spoilers

[fallingthruspace]

I knew Ennis was going to die. I could FEEL IT.

And watching his death scene still tore my heart out 😭

[stargazerdaisy]

The damn show made me cry.

[benjaminaldridge]

1883 Magazine

#BenAldridge

[disastrouscanasta]

As Yeehawgust gets closer, I feel my yeehaw increasing, here’s a small, angsty edit!

[agallimaufryofoddments]

Do I attempt to salvage the thought I had about Fermet printing Fermetes 2+ hours ago into a post at 10:23 PM or do I salvage the 1883 words of a .md file I apparently wrote before the two hours of helping someone assemble monitor stand + cable management session began into some droll post for tomorrow?

[tomwaterbabies]

pinocchio is such a funny ass book. lampwick straight up just dies lol

[kunikame]

the stars are prettier. - scaramouche

entry for @versadies 's event farewell love !

warnings : gender neutral. angst. major character death. injury. slight spoilers for scaras backstory & use of his real name. spoilers for the aftermath of 3.2 archon quest. traveler is not specified. english is not my first language.

w/c : 1883

the inazuman night flowers have always been beautiful to kunikuzushi.

yet, as you sit there with him, their beauty dims in comparison with yours. the same could be said for you, as to you, he's the most beautiful creature you've laid your eyes on.

"hey, kuni, i sliced some lavender melons. would you like some?"

he nods eagerly and scooches closer to you so you can share the sweet fruit slices. a gust of wind rustles the leaves of chinju forests' trees and pushes the young boys' veil to his shoulders, at which you chuckle.

reaching out to help fix it for him, he pauses his munching and looks at you with a startled look in his eyes. you finish your actions and glance over at his face, smiling softly when you catch him staring.

"you're very pretty, you know that? it's slightly unfair. how am i supposed to compete?"

the location warps then and he's no longer sitting in the night flower fields of chinju forest; he now finds himself side by side with you, under the night sky at one of the many cliffs in kannazuka.

"look, that's the ursa minor over there! and that's the orion! and-"

you point out the many constellations to him eagerly, not even taking notice of him losing all interest in the sky. the stars you speak so highly of reflect so well in your eyes already, why should he look at the sky? you're way more ethereal than the stars could ever be.

when you receive no response to your inquiries, you turn your head sideways and catch him looking at you with a gentle and content look in his eyes. his eyes widen and he falters, only to turn away quickly.

you pout, "you're so hard to impress, kuni. how will you ever find a lover?"

just when he's about to respond saying he doesn't need anyone else when he has you, the location warps around him again.

suddenly he finds himself on the familiar plains of yashiori island, collecting some crystal marrow and firewood so you can continue on your journey while you entertain yourself not too far away.

when he thinks he has enough, he makes his way over to you where you sat on a tree stump. when you hear his footsteps approaching, you look up at him joyfully and your eyes seemingly sparkle.

"kuni, kuni! look what i made!"

you run up to him with a blindingly beautiful grin and plop something soft and light on his hair. he drops his satchel to inspect the item only to falter when he finds a flower crown woven of beautiful flowers. the color combination fits his aesthetic perfectly.

"is this.. for me?"

"of course it is, dummy! who else would it be for?" you smile at him, oh, so gently and he swore he could cry. he would do anything for you. if you wanted the moon, he would steal it for you.

".. but why?"

"i thought you'd look even prettier with it. and also, i made one for myself as well, so we match! it's like a promise."

"a promise? of what?" he tilts his head to the side in confusion, a habit, you notice. you find it funny when the flower crown tilts with his head and he reaches up to fix it.

"to stay together as long as we live, naturally. i promise i won't leave you!" 

you shouldn't make promises you can't keep, he thinks. yet instead of verbalizing his thoughts, he only smiles at you. the gentlest smile you've ever seen from him. he carefully takes your flower crown from your hands and places it on your head, "it's a promise."

"it's a promise."

time and space warps around the boy again.

nahida has seen many people dream, and has given many people happy dreams when the creations of their own minds haunted their nights.

never has she seen someone given a happy dream cry in their sleep.

until him; the balladeer.

after he fell out of his giant robot and knocked out, she decided she'd take care of him. patched up his wounds and gave him happy dreams to have until he wakes up on his own accord.

so then, why is he shedding tears with the softest smile?

seirai island.

the last warp took him to seirai island.

he remembers this memory. no matter how many centuries have passed, how many times he's told himself he has forgotten; it will always remain in the back of his mind, haunting him as long as he walks these cursed lands– as long as he's breathing. the worst betrayal he's had the misfortune to experience; the betrayal of a lover.

there you were, walking ahead peacefully, not knowing what was about to happen to you. no matter how he kept ordering his body to move, to run forward, to sacrifice himself to save you– even if just in an archon damned dream– his body wouldn't move, because the kunikuzushi back then didn't know any better.

an arrow was shot and you screamed in pain.

the younger kunikuzushi looked around in a panic and ran towards you to pull your body towards his. his eyes zeroed in on the culprit, yet he couldn't do anything. the younger kunikuzushi barely had any fighting skills, he couldn't protect you back then.

so he ran. he hoisted you up into his arms and ran the way you came. he remembers seeing a cave on the way, maybe he could patch you up and you'd be alright after a couple days of rest, right?

he arrived at the cave entrance and gently set you down on the ground, panting from the speed at which he ran. inspecting the wound, he cringed.

it went in pretty deep… i shouldn't pull it out or they'll bleed out. what to do.. what to do… i could tie my veil around the wound to stop the bleeding..? yeah, that's better than nothing.

he moved to remove his veil, only to be stopped by your trembling hand.

"kuni.."

"shut up, i'll patch you up, okay? you'll be fine, just don't talk, alright?"

"..kuni.. i think-"

"i told you to stay silent," he ripped his veil, "let me help you for once."

you struggled to get any air into your lungs, but you had to stop him, so you mustered all your strength to raise your voice.

"kuni, i think.. i think i just got poisoned.. you.. you can't save me anymore.."

he paused then, his wide and panicked eyes snapping to your half shut ones. his lips wobbled and he shook his head in denial, his silky hair flying every which way.

you slowly raised your hand and placed it against his cheek, which is now the warmest you ever remember it being. his hand, which he placed against yours in a hurry, was also radiating a gentle warmth. one you never remembered it having. his body was always cold.

ironic, wasn't it? you were the cold one now.

"no.. no, no you didn't, y/n.. it's just an arrow, okay? i'll just get it out and tie my veil around you to stop the bleeding, alright? i can save you, i can. i can. i have to."

you shook your head, and no matter how hard he tried to deny it, he knew. deep down, he knew.

his head hung low, his bangs covering his eyes, yet the tears streaming down your hand were a clear sign.

".. why did you lie to me? you promised.. you promised we would be together forever.. i gave you my entire being. i lived for you.. i loved you.. you gave me a purpose– gave the heart i thought i would never need again a second chance. i thought i could trust you.. yet you're leaving me as well."

with your remaining strength you wiped his tears and smiled at him one last time.

"you're.. so mean, kuni.. you've gotta work.. work on your attitude so you.. can make more friends, okay?.. promise me.. i'll die with.. with regrets if i know i left.. you all alone again.." you gave a weak chuckle, "i don't.. want this to happen either, kuni.. i love you more.. than you'll ever know.."

the hand on his cheek weakened and very nearly slipped out of his hold, had he not caught it in time. his already panicked eyes widened even further, ".. y/n?"

silence.

he scrambled closer to you, yet you didn't even flinch. "y/n?!"

deafening silence.

he wishes he could blame you for what happened. maybe then it would be easier to let go, but there's nothing to blame on you. it's all his fault. he's the one who couldn't protect you. and perhaps, that's what makes it worse.

his pupils wide, he holds your cold hand to his chest, where his heart should be, had you not ripped it out of his chest and taken it with you wherever you went. he sits there, gaping, as silent tears stream down his cheeks.

he lets out a sound. of desperation? grief? rage? sadness? he's not quite sure, it could be all of them as one. and suddenly he's screaming at the top of his lungs.

call them desperate cries for help, a promise of revenge, perhaps even a lover's oath. 

he awoke with a start.

purple eyes snapping open to see the concerned dendro archon standing above him.

nahida somehow convinced the traveler to take scaramouche– now wanderer– with themself when they go back to inazuma.

so now here he is, on a ship with the blond traveler and their flying companion. and the 'crux fleet', if he's not mistaken. he's staring over the railings with empty eyes when he hears footsteps approaching.

"so, why is it you wished to go to inazuma with me?" the traveler asks.

he's about to retort, but then he's struck with a sharp pain in his temple and the words "you're.. so mean, kuni.. you've gotta work.. work on your attitude so you.. can make more friends, okay?.. promise me" echo in his mind.

so he sighs and looks down at the ocean.

"i.. wish to pay someone a visit. on seirai island."

the traveler falters, "seirai island? i thought no one lived there anymore."

the boy doesn't respond.

he hasn't set foot on seirai island in so long. the corruption is no longer there all over the island, thanks to the traveler– not that it would affect him.

he fixes his hat and walks down a familiar path, picking some purple and white flowers on his way, the traveler following close behind.

they take a couple turns and reach a familiar cliff with a shrine. the traveler pauses and puts an arm out to make paimon do the same, finally realizing what the eternal wanderer wished to do– who he wished to visit.

the boy keeps walking until he reaches the shrine and kneels down, placing the flowers in a vase he bought in sumeru.

he mutters a short prayer.

it's silent for a moment, only the sounds of the eternal lightning, wind and waves crashing can be heard. until he opens his mouth to speak.

"i'm home, y/n."

ੈ✩₊˚TAGLIST : @sscarchiyo @gumiresque @meiquipo @ibaraluvr @thesapphirecake @yakshalea @kazemiya @haitanni @beljisuke @sugokawata @nazukisser @mikctp @ichipd //ask/comment to be added/removed! (if you're in bold i can't tag you)

[sixpillarsofgenesis]

A Thought on Lies of P

So, I have recently - kicking and screaming, mind - gotten into Lies of P, and there's some things that bother me about the primary driver of conflict. I'm going to put this under a spoiler, so... sorry anyone who isn't expecting what's underneath.

Spoilers under the cut for the reading material, gameplay, and mini cutscenes in Lies of P.

How did Carlo die?

This entire plot point is the driving force behind how the plot in Lies of P starts, narratively, and it's also the core reason for the Real Boy ending. The reason I ask this is because common fandom concensus is that Carlo died during the Rose Estate Incident, where an outbreak of Petrification Disease killed a good chunk of the staff, including Carlo, Romeo, (allegedly) and Sophia's father.

But when you explicitly come across the memory of Carlo's death near the end of the game, it looks like he was cut in half given the Famed Stalker was apologising to him - which is further supported by the Nameless Puppet's body being entirely puppet material from about hips down.

But it also begs the question - what killed him? We never really get an answer on what, who, or even why he was killed. Carlo's death wouldn't have been a boon for anyone involved - Geppetto cut ties with the Alchemists to some degree about this in particular, and Geppetto's assistance would have been well worth keeping Carlo alive.

Given that the famous Stalker apparently rejected Carlo from training, we could infer that perhaps he wasn't up to the regular skill level she was famous for. But Romeo's message - and all of the remaining details in the game - paint Carlo as a much more competent potential Stalker than what would have been anticipated. While our Player Character is also apparently very much his own person, the fight with the Black Rabbit Brotherhood implies that Carlo learned enough of the Famed Stalker's combat by observation alone to have had it affect his combat style and capability significantly. Romeo also specifically makes note that Carlo was relentlessly stubborn and that him demolishing the puppets he sent out as an envoy to try and tell the Player Character the truth was pretty much what Romeo expected of him.

All of that marks him as very competent and capable indeed, to say nothing of the Nameless Puppet, if the puppet itself had anything of Carlo left in it, or whatever pressures Carlo might have faced as the famous Union Workshop President's son.

It's also implied that there was at least a year or two since Carlo's death. If we assume Carlo was old enough to read the original La Storia di un Burattino (The Story of a Marionette) in 1881 aka what would be the published novel of Pinnochio in 1883, then Carlo could be enrolled in the French Education as young as three years old and likely old enough to read La Storia di un Burattino as an actual book around five.

(Yes, I am aware Carlo Geppetto is Italian. For the best accuracy to match both the Belle Epoque and the Italian history, I have placed Krat near the seaside a few kilometres from the Italian Border to account for the culture blending we see in Lies of P. So sue me don't.)

Given Pinnochio is canonically Carlo's favourite childhood story, we need to look at the next landmark in the games - The Wizard of Oz. (Did you know that The Wizard of Oz was officially released in 1900?) Carlo could then have been born in 1878, placing him at 22 (or would have been) at the time of Lies of P. Around this time, it was more common to have apprenticeships around age 14-18, which would have likely been when Carlo approached the Famous Stalker to apprentice under her. As we don't know when the Rose Estate Incident took place, Carlo could have been there to complete his lycée (French secondary Education akin to high school) or baccalauréat, colloquially known as le bac.

(The reason I place Krat in France is for this reason, as Italy had a much more difficult time encouraging parents and children to attend formal education - elementary, middle, and high school, more specifically - than France, and the baccalauréat is actually pretty similar to the Stalkers, Alchemists, and Workshop Union as it is presented in canon. The entire premise of the original Pinnochio was quite literally C.Collodi's attempt to convince children to learn their basic education.)

Now, the game does not say how long either the Petrification Disease or the Puppet Frenzy lasted - but I'm still playing the game, though I did watch a walkthrough to try and get all the juicy bits - but given how fresh the bodies are, I would think that the Frenzy was definitely more recent. I would think that - for the purpose of this attempt to make sense of the Lies of P canon - in this case, the Puppet Frenzy was the most recent part, with Simon Manus causing the Rose Estate Incident when Carlo was somewhere between 16-17. Old enough that he could have graduated to become an Apprentice Stalker, but still young enough to not have anywhere to go (as he certainly didn't want to spend any time with his Father, and it was unlikely that Geppetto would have allowed Carlo to live with him anyways.)

All of these things allow for a few specific, unanswered plot points to be addressed - the apparent transformation of Gemini from Stalker to Sophia's Monad Lamp, The time Geppetto would have needed to create at least three P-Organ Prototypes and do whatever tf he did to his hand if that wasn't there already, and for him to additionally steal the Arm of God - as the only transport the Alchemists had would not have accepted Geppetto.

(This would also allow Geppetto to hold Carlo's funeral, attempt Nameless Puppet one, fail, and attempt making the Player Character/Pinocchio/P however you call him, fail again, and then kick the Puppet Frenzy into high gear.)

Outside of how Gemini was put into the Player Character's care, this timeline accounts for everything up until the reveal of Dorothy, who, if she is the person based on the 1900 novel, could have travelled to Krat to escape the fame the novel The Wizard of Oz and the subsequent sequels would have cast on her, as the original novel was so popular as to spawn around 13+ sequels.

Of course, since I am posting this here, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. If there's a better, more comprehensive timeline, I'd love to get a chance to look at it.

Some additional thoughts:

Why three P-Organs? Three because the one Romeo uses in the play is pretty close to what we see on the menu screen - I could see it being perhaps his conceptual design or prototype copy that, once the first real P-Organ was made, was left for future reference.

Why make a big deal out of Dorothy? Because Dorothy and subsequently, The Wizard of Oz would be released during the Belle Epoque (1890-1914) timeframe which this setting takes place. Given the Endgame Credits Scene, this makes considering Dorothy's appearance in Krat at the very least somewhat relevant.

A fun thought I had was the idea of Dorothy being the Famed Stalker, but that person in particular is implied to have been so much beyond the Stalkers that she superseded their hierarchy and had her own place at the top without belonging to any particular faction.

Another interesting thought was the idea of Carlo having been a Listener - as Listeners were often hunted down and experimented on, it seemed like a fun idea to play around with, but in this case, it's not certain one way or another.

[soupthatistohot]

why it's called Meursault and why that's the correct spelling

(plus other related thoughts because I'm a nerd)

BSD s4 spoilers ahead!

With s4 of BSD airing, we've finally arrived to the point where Dazai has been arrested and is imprisoned with Fyodor in Meursault. With this, I noticed that depending on the streaming service people are using, in the subtitles, Meursault is spelled differently (Mersault vs Meursault).

There is a correct spelling. It's Meursault. I know this because (surprise, surprise!), this name is a literary reference!

The Stranger is a story by French-Algerian author Albert Camus (1913-1960), and one of his most well-known works, the main character of which is named Monsieur Meursault (hence the spelling). I don't think there would be any spelling discrepancy with this name because it's French in origin, meaning that it's spelled using the roman alphabet. There would be no reason to eliminate that extra "u".

Other names that are translated from languages that use different alphabets having multiple spellings are more understandable. For example, Chuuya's name in Japanese hiragana (one of multiple alphabets the Japanese use) looks like this: ちゅうや. I don't know much about etymology or anything, but I assume the fact that because Chuuya's name doesn't originally come from the roman alphabet is why it has multiple spellings in English (Chuuya vs Chūya). This would not be the case for Meursault, though, because there's no discrepancy there. French and English use the same alphabet.

Okay and now I wanna be a literary nerd for a second — spoiler warning for The Stranger in the next paragraph, if you care about that.

At the conclusion of the story, Monsieur Meursault is arrested for murder and goes to prison, where he accepts his death as inevitable and is at peace. I suspect that the fact that in the BSD universe Meursault is a French prison has to do with the character's fate, but I wonder if the part about accepting death will somehow play into it? I don't know how much Asagiri is letting the inspiration for the prison's name influence his storytelling....

And on that note, I also think it makes so much sense that Asagiri would have an interest in Camus' work! Albert Camus was an author, yes, but also notably a philosopher who believed strongly in absurdism — the idea that life is meaningless, essentially.

This point of view isn't quite as dark as it seems, because for some absurdists, it just meant that it was up to the individual to create meaning within their own life. One of my favorite quotes from Camus is "The literal meaning of life is whatever you're doing that prevents you from killing yourself.”

Part of the reason I think this makes sense for Asagiri is because BSD is very much about its characters searching for a meaning of life. Dazai is searching for a reason to stay alive by helping people as Oda told him to, Atsushi is slowly overcoming the idea that his meaning of life is solely to help others, Akutagawa is slowly overcoming the idea that Dazai is his reason to live, etc. etc..

It also makes sense because Kafka Asagiri is a pseudonym. The given name Kafka is taken from another famous absurdist author, Franz Kafka (1883-1924). He wasn't a philosopher like Camus, and actually, he wasn't really even known in his lifetime for his writing. He worked a day job as a banker, which he hated, and at night he wrote. His stories often touched on the absurdity of bureaucracy, and were far less realistic and more ridiculous than Camus' work (ever read The Metamorphosis?). But they were similar in that they called out hypocrisy and the innate absurdity of life.

So basically, that's why it didn't surprise me at all that Asagiri was also familiar with Camus' work, and liked it enough to include a reference to it in BSD.

I was also just genuinely delighted to learn this as someone who is really interested in Camus! I read one of this other works, The Plague, in high school and this past summer I read The Stranger. His work is really cool to me, and though it's dense at times, I like that it's thought-provoking. It was also interesting to see the parallels between The Plague and the Covid pandemic... it's quite spooky how not much really changes.

Anyway! Thanks for reading my nerdy little ramble! I hope you got something out of it and please share your own thoughts if you have any, I'd love to hear them :)

[artful-peculiarities]

The Maze Runner Spoilers i guess? I know the books are older but still not everyone has read them before and may want to

At the end of chapter 59 in the first book with Thomas holding Chuck, I thought if this painting:

Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan, Ilya Repin, 1883-1885

Idk I just like making myself sad, but has any artist done this one before?

[sabrinajenre96]

I just finished to watch 1883 it was beautiful but the last episode was sooo sad, I am not going to spoiler but that hit my feelings.

[rosielindy]

I have never watched the show Yellowstone, but recently watched the origin story 1883. I was impressed by the characterization of women, particularly a young woman named Elsa Dutton.

This show is not for the squeamish, but many insights related by its main character resonated with me. Specifically, her take on heaven and hell, God and Satan.

I’m attaching a link that has some of these quotes but there are spoilers for anyone who might want to watch the show in the future don’t click.

One of my favorites:

“I didn’t have the heart to tell her there’s not heaven to go to. Because we’re in it already. We’re in hell, too. They coexist right beside each other. And God is the land.”

Also, not in the article, but one I remember was her questioning why God would make a world so beautiful with so much suffering. She concludes that God did not make this world for us. ‼️

[stargazerdaisy]

It took 10 episodes, but they finally let Faith Hill sing. It was going to be a damn travesty if they didn't.

[benjaminaldridge]

1883 Magazine Interview

#BenAldridge #TheLongCall

[christinaroseandrews]

So Gilded Age Season 2... Spoilers ahead.

I've been watching my pretty costumed crack and enjoying it, but one thing has been niggling at the back of my mind: How FUCKING Fast everything is happening this season. Like OMG so fucking fast. Or at least it feels fast, Julian Fellows (JFell) is not good on the specifics. But plots are simultaneously too slow and too fast (Poor Jack and his clock) or just so fast as to be OMG (Ada and Reverend Forte)

And because I can't let it lie I started looking shit up. Because we have two concrete dates for this season and dammit, I'm gonna use them. (As a note, I wanted to also use when Porter Hall at Tuskegee was dedicated, but all I could find (even on Tuskegee's website) was that it was built by students in 1883 and demolished in 1905. The first is when the season starts: Easter Sunday 1883. Which was March 25, 1883 just so everyone is on the same page.

The second is when the Brooklyn Bridge Opened - May 24, 1883.

So two months. Two bloody months.

Only two months for the following:

Ada to meet, be courted by, marry, have a honey moon, and be widowed by Reverend Luke Forte played by the chronically tragic ending actor Robert Sean Leonard.

Larry to have a grand affair with one of his clients enough so that he'd want to marry her and for it to be gossip.

Oscar to meet, court, and be conned by the lovely Maud Beaton.

Everything with the Duke. Like OMG...

Jack and his clock. Sure he worked on the clock for weeks. But then he had to go to the patent office and get a response via the mail then have Bannister get someone from the horological institute come out. The waiting via mail and the government bureaucracy alone will take a month and it was addressed in a single episode.

ALL OF THE TRAVEL. Yes, the railroads helped with this, but it only shortened things from months and weeks to days and hours depending on distance. It'd still be a multiple day journey from NYC to Tuskegee, Alabama.

Like I get that JFell wanted to include certain things in his story, and sure some of the stuff that I listed can go faster. But all of it?

In particular things like the U.S. Mail system which had to go from NYC to DC, get checked, get rejected, a letter of rejection to be written, then sent back to NYC. Today, in the year of our Lord & Lady 2023, it takes a letter to travel between NYC & Washington DC approximately 3-5 days (1 day processing at DC, 1 day transit, 1 day processing, 1 day delivery (some of these can be faster depending on when drop off/delivery occur). (BTW I know mail, I worked for the post office doing tech support and my father worked for them for 25 years and set up the computer systems that tracked mail cross country.)

So all of this to say that things are moving fast this season. It isn't just me. And like a I get that things moved quickly, especially in regards to romance, but bureaucracy is never quick and this is a hill I will die on.

Still... even more than that. Poor Ada!!! I loved my gentle middle-aged romance with the woman being older than the man (or at least the actress being older than the actor). *Wails* She deserved more time!!!

[lopposting]

LoP DLC leaks and more datamining

crazy possible leaks from reddit users

under cut if you don't want spoilers

also, a-hem. i frown upon data mining, FROWN!! i wash my hands of any responsibility.

anyways

Neowiz has started hiring more developers for "next project' related to LOP

Particular listing for job directly references LOP DLC (not that surprising considering i think director choi mentioned DLC already)

Unused legion arm, unused texture skins

perhaps DLC content, perhaps cut content.

PATALA RUINS and an AIRSHIP

roped-off entire level area unused in game (probably cut for pacing issues)

MOST compelling one: supposedly bugged item description from user playing ng++, NOT data mined

I've just now looked up the term "Golden Path" and it looks like it's also some kind of concept in the Science Fiction series Dune. <PLCHLD> maybe being "placeholder".

and who stars in the 2021 film remake of Dune? Timothée Chamalet, said to have inspired the visual design of P because of their resemblance (personally, I think it's just a coincidence, as I don't think they look all that similar to begin with and P's design is more or less canon to the 1883 novel. but i digress). but this is just me smashing rocks together