#password vn spoilers

[doggendoodle]

sorry about your boyfriend. something horrible happened to you in another history, and he's been stuck in some sort of time loop for a while. so- oh you knew that already. oh, you- you're the one that put him in the time loop in the first place. ok.

[wullfric]

SPOILERS

This is extremely funny to me.

[crocutacanidae]

Watching keith ballard's lp of password and i see a lot that sal's route was a bad first choice (and also maybe made to be mostly skippable? what??) and my take is that all the routes should be unique and coherent both standing alone and in the context of the greater story

[hyenagirltittums]

[glagger-true]

Howdy dear reader! 👋 I'm your host Glagger, and today I'm here to bring you the first installment of a multi-part analysis on the friendship and romance between Dave Halloway and Roswell Sinclair from Password VN.

It shouldn't exactly come as a surprise that I'm quite fond of Roswell, and I will also admit Dave is without a doubt my favorite character in the vn by far. Naturally, that means I'm very invested in their bond and progression, and today I've decided to share my thoughts and observations on both.

Instead of focusing on their entire route content, I've decided to keep things simple by focusing on only the really important scenes, and I'll be discussing one per post. Today, we'll start with the day 8 argument between them, and use a few past and future scenes to back up the conclusions I've arrived to.

Please keep in mind that this post has spoilers for the novel. With this in mind, let's begin, shall we?

Roswell and Dave: how denial and naivety can generate dependency, neglect and accidental abuse. - Part one.

Scene breakdown:

At the beginning of the argument, Dave uses his intuition and knowledge of Roswell to identify there's an unknown reason for the boar's cruel and strange behavior towards Tyson. He approaches the situation cautiously, trying to bait Roswell subtly with the topic to try and figure out the root of the problem.

Roswell, however, immediately answers back in a brash, confrontational and dismissive way, having an explicitly negative emotional response to Dave showing disapproval of his actions.

As Dave presses the issue further, using logical arguments and explaining why the boar's actions are hurtful and unfair, Roswell becomes even more aggravated and aggressive, refusing to acknowledge Dave's arguments and claiming he's being manipulated by Tyson.

Roswell gets progressively more unreasonable, demanding that Dave provides private information as a reason for his strong defense in favor of the wolf. Dave becomes more objective, choosing to reveal some of the discoveries he made about the wolf and how their relationship grew from them to try and defend that Tyson deserves to be considered a friend and be treated fairly like the rest of the group.

The argument reaches a breaking point when Dave demands Roswell apologizes to Tyson, claiming that he expected better of the boar. Then, he is the one to press Roswell for a reason behind his actions.

Roswell finally confesses his reasons are purely selfish, and that he's afraid of dying without confronting Tyson and saying everything that's stuck in his chest.

In his route, he even goes as far as to admit that his interest in Dave is also influencing his thoughts and actions. He states that he always sees things logically, but when Dave is involved, it becomes difficult to know what's the correct thing to say and do.

Dave presses further, saying that Roswell has to forgive Tyson because he's family to the hyena. He concludes this argument by claiming that he won't pick sides between friends, but implies that if the boar forces him to choose, he'll choose the wolf because of Roswell's pressure. He also confirms that Roswell is important to him once the boar asks, but says that doesn't give him the right to force him to choose.

Roswell becomes so unreasonable hearing this he tries to use the fight he deliberately forced to happen with Tyson on day 3 as an argument, to which Dave responds he knows both of them enough to notice Roswell forced it to happen on purpose to cast blame on Tyson.

Roswell finally drops his facade of calmness and admits he's jealous of Tyson when Dave asks him directly, claiming he wishes he had known about Tyson beforehand so he could have stopped him from coming.

Dave also drops all pretense of impartiality, and straight up says that, from his perspective, Roswell is wrong and owes Tyson an apology.

Realizing Dave won't relent, Roswell finally returns to his rational behavior and agrees to apologize under the condition the wolf shows him proof of his improvement and apologizes to him as well.

Dave returns to his more common emotional tendencies, trying to appeal to Roswell by asking if he's not willing to just trust him on this matter.

Roswell rejects that, but is willing to accept not fighting is the logical action given the proximity, and then retreats back to his room to cool off, ignoring Dave's plea for him to stay.

Scene analysis:

There are two things here to point out. The first is how Dave and Roswell's behaviors reverse during this conversation.

In the third intermission of my medal analysis, I've brought to your attention that Dave and Roswell parallel the other by reflecting the other's nature and behavior. Dave is internally rational and practical, but very emotional and sentimental externally, while Roswell is internally emotional and sentimental, but behaves logically and rationally externally.

During the argument, however, their natures are brought to the surface, causing them to behave and think like the other. This is an intentional change on their part, because it's an attempt to speak in the language the other understands.

Dave calmly uses arguments and facts to convince Roswell because that's the way the boar behaves. Roswell, on the other hand, exibits his emotional distress and uses sentimental appeal to convince Dave because that's how the hyena communicates.

This strategic change is caused by their emotional investment in Tyson. Dave loves and sees him as family, so he becomes confident and serious when he tries to protect him. Roswell, however, despises Tyson and sees him as a bully, so he can't understand why Dave shows such appreciation for the wolf and lashes out as a result.

Secondly, it's interesting to note how Roswell didn't manage to win this argument even though he was supposed to. The reason he's the one who should be correct is because even though his behavior towards Tyson is unfair and hurtful, the true source of this conflict doesn't lie in the grudge he holds against Tyson. The true root of this issue is Dave's selfishness and naivety.

Dave is the one who invited Tyson to the manor without consulting the others. He does this intentionally because he knew they wouldn't accept the wolf's presence at the manor. Dave claims he did this because it was fair and correct, saying that Tyson is a friend too and deserves the same treatment as everyone else.

What he fails to understand, however, is that this isn't his vacation, this is Roswell's vacation, for their friends. Tyson is Dave's friend but not the group's friend and even less Roswell's friend. Tyson is, however, the bully and abuser of both Roswell and Orlando, as well as the guy Dean and Sal are disapproving against thanks to the wolf's own behavior.

Dave quite literally lied to a victim of bullying to force said victim to be in the presence of their bully in an isolated environment for a month. This is very serious, and Dave is completely oblivious to the severity of his mistake.

Roswell could have immediately won the argument by saying this directly to Dave's face. After all, Dave trampled on his and Orlando's emotions by making such an awful, abusive and selfish decision. But instead, Roswell completely ignores that and guns for Tyson instead, which works against him because Tyson is innocent in this situation.

The questions that come to mind then are: Why doesn't Roswell call Dave out? Why does he target Tyson who's innocent in this matter? Why does Roswell behave so irationally and allows Dave to trample on his feelings in such a manner when he always defends himself and confronts people when he feels that they are treating him unfairly?

The answer to that is simple, it is because he loves Dave, and the way roswell expresses his love is based on a single concept: Devotion.

When he loves someone, he always has that person on his mind. All of his actions, thoughts and decisions are affected by that person because he always has their best interest in mind. This also causes him to wish for that person to act the same, to think about him and what's best for him, for them to believe in him, value him, side with him and do everything for him, just like he does.

These things are stated in canon to be felt by Roswell towards Dave. He openly states in the argument that his love for Dave makes him think of the hyena first before any decision or action, and in his final letter to Dave on day 24, he writes that, even though he knew it was impossible for Dave to save him, the boar wished that Dave would do everything he could to keep him alive like he did for him.

Roswell doesn't want to acknowledge that Dave's behavior was insensitive or that he's responsible because that would mean admitting that Dave is the offender, and that he doesn't value Roswell in the same intensity as the boar does him.

Roswell denies Dave's guilt by gaslighting himself into believing the reason Dave is treating him with such coldness is because of Tyson. Dave being naive enough to be manipulated by Tyson into bringing him so he could take advantage of the hyena by pretending to be nice is an easier pill to swallow than the simple truth that Dave just didn't care about him or the others at all when making the decision.

Villainizing Tyson to victimize Dave is the goal here, which is why Roswell antagonizes Tyson on purpose. He wants to show Dave that Tyson is still bad by drawing it out of the wolf by force. That way, Dave will finally reject Tyson and see that Roswell is right. This is a direct result of the boar's devoted love, because it gives him the desire to prove his righteousness to Dave so that he acknowledges Roswell is correct and takes a stand for him.

But this isn't the truth. Dave willingly made the decision to bring the wolf, and Tyson has truly changed for the better and is innocent in the situation. This is made very clear by Dave himself in the argument, and we can see that the clearer this becomes to Roswell as they argue, the more desperate and sad he becomes.

Dave claims that Roswell is forcing him to pick a side, however, Dave himself has already picked a side in the matter from his perspective, and that side was Tyson's. From the moment he chose to bring the wolf, Dave was already valuing Tyson above Roswell, Orlando and the others.

Roswell tries multiple times during the argument to make Dave see that indirectly, such as saying directly that he values him enough to consider his feelings before acting and asking Dave if he's not important. It only makes Dave more inclined to side with Tyson rather than Roswell, however.

He loses the argument by attacking an innocent instead of the offender, giving said offender ammo against him and causing Dave to feel further justified in his actions even though they are selfish. Both of them behave selfishly and childishly, and both are abusive to the other as a result.

Dave is naive to his selfishness, neglecting Roswell and taking him for granted without meaning to. Roswell is in denial, enabling Dave to keep behaving in abusive ways towards him because he's emotionally dependent on the hyena thanks to his feelings and doesn't want to damage their bond. The abusive nature of their relationship generated by their disconnection from separation is exposed.

The scene shows the reader that Roswell needs to stop being so unfairly dependent on Dave to the point he stops behaving rationally, and that Dave has to stop being so naive to the emotions of others to the point he behaves selfishly and hurts everyone around him.

It sets their characters well, and makes it clear that in order for their fractured bond to be restored, both will have to acknowledge their flaws and mistakes to each other and apologize so they can be better towards the other.

To conclude, these flaws were actually already foreshadowed by the narrative before they were explicitly shown, which further supports these observations.

In day 1, after Roswell is picked as the dinner partner, Dave and Roswell reminisce about their past together. Mid conversation, Dave wonders why Roswell stopped coming over to his house, and the boar answers it's simply because Dave didn't invite him over anymore at all. This statement shocks Dave, as he realizes it's true.

This visibly shows that Dave has been neglecting and taking his relationship with Roswell for granted for a while, and that he has been completely ignorant to this until the boar directly told him so.

It also shows that Roswell's aware of Dave's neglect, but has been pretending everything is fine and doing nothing to fix the problem. His dependency and denial are creating a toxic situation, to which neither him or Dave have the tools to fix... yet.

[ark-barkness]

⚠️ THIS POST HAS HUGE SPOILERS FOR PASSWORD VN, READ WITH CAUTION ⚠️

Ok so let's talk about Password's ending and why I didn't liked it. But before that I want to clarify

I enjoyed the VN for the most part and my issue is with the true ending, the rest are ok.

I have nothing against Grizz and I think he did an amazing job.

This is my opinion, you can like the ending, you can love the ending, you can think the ending is better than any other VN out there.

I'm playing Syndicate when it's released and I'll continue to support Grizz during the development.

Roswell is a bitch

With that covered let's talk about my main issue with the true ending

Endings that go back to the beginning and basically nullify everything that happened

I always said that an ending that goes back to the beginning of the story is lazy, is basically a "everything was a dream" ending, even tho Dave retained his memories all the character development the rest of the crew went through is thrown into the garbage, and you'll never be able to convince me that at least one character though that Dave lost his shit, the way everyone goes along with "yeah so this happened, well it never happened but basically that's what would've happened" makes me question the intelligence of the group.

If you played Tyson's route, congratulations. If you played any of the other, though luck, Tyson is canonically Dave's boyfriend.

During my playthrough I played specifically 3 routes, Tyson, Dean and Sal, my favorite of course being Sal's route. So now imagine getting a bittersweet ending for the route you played, then you start playing the true ending and Dave goes like, huh I guess I want to fuck Tyson now. Remember, he retained his memories, so if he was dating Dean the suddenly change of heart to Tyson feels weird and forced.

Characters acting out of character

This is something that bugged me off even in the other endings. After Benson dies in any other route shortly after Oswin takes his own life, not being able to live without Benson, even tho killing himself would make the survival of the group less likely, in the ending he uh is sad I guess? But he rather accepts the fact that he died protecting the group and he's ok with that. And Tyson in the canon ending immediately confess his feelings to Dave when confronted, no need of 20+ days of character growth?

Roswell is a huge asshole and he doesn't deserves a redemption arc

Roswell joined the club of vn characters I can't stand and within reason, his plan although much more complex is basically this.

"Dave you have to survive or everyone else will die, and I'll make sure you live even if I have to kill everyone"

Nope, sorry, he was dying? Yeah don't care. He did it because he loves Dave? Yeah that's even more fucked up. He was alone all his life? Cry me a river. His plan is fucked up and he inflicted an eternity of trauma on Dave while betraying all of his friends in the process.

There we have it, I did not liked Password's ending, thank you for coming to my ted talk, next month I'll talk about why bad endings are important. Smash the like button, subscribe to my only fans, and I'll see you soon (probably not) ❤️

[visualnovelzombie]

Spoiler Free (if you're vaguely aware of how the game works!!) Password VN Thoughts on 'Penultimate' Update:

Password starts off weak. There's no denying it. It's on purpose, to lul you into some semblance of normalcy for some serious twists and turns and the character work and tropes and interest turn on their head and EVERYTHING gets pushed to 11 (with a solid 13 in there too!)

And things coalesce and twist and form with a very interesting and fun character and choice system from there... Until about 3/4s or 4/5ths of the way

Then things turn into resolving the main plot and the climax with it. That's not necessarily a bad thing, in fact it's pretty normal and understandable... But a lot of route specific character work DROPS and a lot of the information and backstory and motivations don't really mean anything

For half of the routes I was left wondering "why is this even a romance/friend option. It doesn't contribute ANYTHING to what happens or how people feel"

And the other half, while that character work definitely builds AND has some payoffs... it falls kinda flat imo. I'm hoping this by design like the introduction because we don't have the "good" or "true" ending yet, and that's where ALL the CHARACTER payoffs are at.

It just makes a chunk of the bad ends nearly devoid of any character meaning or depth (note not ALL, and definitely not the first couple), and the 'mid' end (imo/what was out today) be just caught up in detangling itself and devoid of the flare or spark of making anything unique or interesting pay off

This is in GREAT contrast to how the last three updates/wrap ups have gone. I feel like Password is definitely on the verge of greatness but it is troubling mediocre at times, enough to sully my extreme praise at the previous few endings even.

I hope the good or true endings give meaning not only to the work as a whole, but these weaker wrap ups as well. Because even if something isn't "good" (story/happy wise) it should still have meaning for the work as a whole.

I think people should play password, but having to navigate through the murky opening before things kick off is a hindrance, and while the game mechanics are fun and interesting, I feel like coming to this mediocre 'mid' endings as a first or second ending, can be very damaging to attachment rates or people connecting/sticking with the work in the long run.

[brasteryakintosh]

Spoiler warning: Password VN

Played Password on my own after watching Keith Ballard's Let's Play and I learned something interesting: The game is infinitely better if you don't try to romance Sal. I picked Tyson's route and then picked Path C, completing it. It's just a way better experience than anything I've seen in the playthrough. Though there are some weird things. Just like in Path B, how come when Dave runs back to the mansion after being attacked, everyone makes him sleep before asking what happened? Just calm him down, ask him what happened, THEN let him go to sleep. Though at least in Path C, Dave actually does tell everyone what happened relatively quickly, instead of just... avoiding telling anyone who he was attacked by until several days later when he seems to suddenly remember that he forgot to tell anyone who attacked him. Also... why did Dave forget about Orlando's family situation a few days after the first time it was revealed? And why did Ty think it was a good idea to try to escape through the forest if he knew there was a monster out there that could kill him? Like they mentioned it, but Ty just seemed to shrug it off with no explanation, and they only did it after they already went into the forest. Why did Dave not bring it up the second Ty mentioned trying to escape through the forest or the many times he tried to talk to Oswin or Benson about it instead of after the plan was already well into motion and they were already lost?

There's still clearly some writing issues, but I would say it's not as bad as what I've seen of Path B.

[deohopp]

Password - VN

Comecei a jogar outro Visual Novel há 2 dias, e estou simplesmente viciado! Estou extremamente impressionado com a qualidade, para um jogo indie, e o quão “inovador” e original em sua história ele é.

No jogo você é Dave, uma hiena que está terminando o colégio e, de alguma forma, fará uma viagem de férias para uma mansão com seu grupo de amigos, onde ficarão durante um mês; já que depois disso provavelmente cada um seguirá sua vida e outra oportunidade como essa será rara.

São 6 amigos (que acredito serem todos “possíveis husbandos”) os quais você pode escolher passar mais tempo nessa imensa e isolada mansão. Ela em si já apresenta um ar que faz Dave sentir certo desconforto ocasionalmente, além da presença de um cofre misterioso que tem apenas um painel para colocar alguma senha - algo não está certo.

Antes de chegar à parte contendo pequenos spoilers, TENHO que dizer que, novamente, estou apaixonado por um personagem fictício, e, pra variar, é o urso. Assim que fui baixar o jogo, já pude ver a presença de um urso nele, mas falei para mim mesmo que não sairia escolhendo ele logo de cara, e sim escolheria quem mais me acataria pela sua história/personalidade (e não apenas pela aparência).

Mas cara, justamente em relação ao meu post anterior, Dean (o urso) consegue ser um bom exemplo do que eu tentava explicar: ele já expressa interesse por você logo no começo do jogo (que é algo que me atrai nas pessoas, de alguma forma - como dito aqui), além de ser um tanto quanto “antiquado” no quesito namoro (ele ainda quer nos levar à um encontro e levar as coisas devagar), o que eu acho extremamente fofo!

(Isso não é tão no começo do jogo, mas não chega a ser spoiler. Eu simplesmente tive que “enquadrar” essa frase porque eu me DERRETI de amor quando li isso - “metahh” demais *¬*)

Simplesmente adorei a forma como a “direção de arte” está montada, com as artes dos personagens em 2d, mas os cenários sendo fotos reais, além da montagem com a trilha sonora de fundo e o texto; que me faz ficar realmente apreensivo em diversos momentos (acho muito incrível como um simples jogo que não passa basicamente de textos consegue mexer tanto com seus sentimentos).

https://www.patreon.com/PASSWORDVN/

Com certeza serei um patrão assim que estiver ganhando meu próprio dinheiro, acho muito legal poder auxiliar na produção de um produto tão bem feito e, principalmente, voltado para um público tão específico (e bem carente de conteúdos como este).

Certo, agora um pouco sobre as peculiaridades fantásticas do jogo.

O cofre funciona através de uma senha, que basicamente não tem como você saber qual seria ela, no entanto, conforme você prossegue no jogo, chega um momento em que você eventualmente chega num “bad ending”, que acaba por revelar uma senha; com esta senha, você pode voltar (no seu último save) à sua última visita ao cofre e inserí-la, o que fará com que Dave tenha flashbacks sobre o ocorrido, fazendo-o tomar decisões diferentes das da primeira vez. Isso é uma mecânica simplesmente GENIAL! 

Além de ser super interessante de se ver aquelas as “realidades alternativas” que ocorrem quando Dave passa pela mesma situação, só que com uma informação a mais; é bastante divertido você mesmo tentar descobrir qual seria a senha para prosseguir na história.

Uma coisa um pouco triste, no entanto, é o fato de que (pelo menos por enquanto, e pela minha experiência) você acaba sendo “forçado” a ver diversos bad endings, para que consiga avançar. Ainda que eu não tenha tanto problema com isso, eu não deixo de me sentir mal; e talvez pessoas mais “frágeis” possam levá-los como ‘gatilho’ ou algo do tipo.

[glagger-true]

Howdy dear reader! I'm your host Glagger, and today I'm here to bring you the third and final intermission in my medal analysis series for Password VN.

Today, we'll be discussing the important connection between Scorpio and Virgo, the two medals that represent Dave and Roswell at the end of their in-game journey.

This final installment of the intermission trio has arguably the most significant SPOILERS FOR THE NOVEL so far. So please, if you haven't read the novel yet, and don't want to be spoiled, leave for now.

The final intermission, Virgo and Scorpio, how good and evil walk hand in hand intertwined:

Virgo and Scorpio have a very interesting relationship thanks to how they are perceived by those who follow astrology. Virgo is seen as the good and innocent sign of the zodiac, representative of life, purity and selflessness. Scorpio on the other hand, is seen as the evil and corrupted sign of the zodiac, usually representing death, the occult, dark desires and selfishness.

Despite Virgo and Scorpio being connected to opposing concepts, both belong to the negative polarity, and this union causes the differences between them to complement one another rather than confront the other. This symbiotic connection is present in all aspects of their astrological concepts. Their complementary elements empower the other, Virgo's solid and logical earth element being humanized and softened by Scorpio's emotional and empathetic water element, while Scorpio's passionate, emotionality is tempered and grounded by Virgo's cautious and rational presence. Virgo's mutable modality adds nuance and growth to Scorpio's fixed modality, and Scorpio's fixed aspects offers stability and strength to Virgo's mutability. Even the symbols that represent the two signs strongly support a connection, since they are almost the same except for the bottom-right tip of each.

Another fact that ties these two is their connection to the constellation of Libra. In Roman mythology, Virgo is said to be a justice goddess who holds the constellation of Libra, which represent the scales of truth and justice. Greek mythology, however, says that Libra is the Scorpio constellation's claws, and that said claws represent fairness, civility, justice and balance. This makes Virgo and Scorpio both associated to truth, justice and balance, holding two different scales of Libra and reflecting one another.

These observations are relevant because they parallel with the roles both Dave and Roswell play in the narrative, the roles of hero and villain. However, much like their signs, they don't play these roles in the conventional black and white way. Instead of antagonizing the other and working towards different objectives, Dave and Roswell share the same goal while having similar personalities and behaviors, but walking different roads to reach their goal. This causes them to reflect the other in many interesting ways.

Dave, representing Virgo, has his inner self and mentality both based on solid rational values, such as morality and rules. As a result, he is often patient and logical internally. On the other hand, Roswell, representing Scorpio, has his inner self and values both based on personal emotional beliefs, such as his instincts and experience. As a result, he is very reckless and sentimental internally.

Interestingly enough however, their external behaviors are completely opposite to their internal natures, and reflect the other's internal turmoil instead.

Dave, behaves externally in a very sentimental and instinctual way, which reflects Roswell's nature. He uses his emotional connection to the others to appeal to them and save them. He is reckless, and often convinces people with emotionality rather than argumentation. Roswell, meanwhile, behaves externally in a very logical and practical way, which reflects Dave's nature. He uses his cunning and intellect to manipulate others around him and guide them to a good ending. He often ignores his strong emotions and attachment to the group in his fight for righteousness, using rationality above emotional connection.

Once Dave discovers his friends are in danger, his main goal becomes saving everyone at all costs, even if he has to act in self-destructive and sacrificial ways. This causes his greatest fear to become seeing his own friends turn on each other and hurt one another. Being extremely sensitive to this, he always uses emotion to defend his rational values such as fairness and civility. Roswell, once told that destiny has conspired to condemn the life of the man he loves and everyone they both care about, has his goal become saving Dave and as many of their friends as he can within reason, even if it means he must act in evil and manipulative ways. This exacerbates his greatest fear of being forgotten once he's gone into the fear of being hated and resented by his friends once they are safe and his time's up. Not seeing a way to be forgiven, he uses his reason to defend himself against his emotional values such as empathy and understanding.

Both of them fight for the same thing, but they are doing so by following opposite paths. Roswell uses subtle action and planning to ensure Dave's survival and that of the remaining group. Dave, meanwhile, uses open communication and instant reaction as a way to protect the whole group. It's also interesting to note that both of them don't care about their own survival, behaving in self-destructive and dangerous ways to protect the others. In both cases, this utter lack of value they see in their own lives is thanks to past trauma, which results in both of them being suicidal. They reflect the other's nature and behavior by acting as parallels to the other, complementing and strengthening each other. This back and forth between their actions is what leads to the true end where everyone manages to survive.

It's also interesting to note that they interchange roles in the narrative often.

Dave, despite being the protagonist and wishing to save everyone, often causes harm to his friends by endangering and not valuing his own life. He hides his pain and suicidal tendencies in an attempt to to not be a burden, but his dishonesty makes his feelings worse and his friends worry more, often leading to conflict and death. The fact his death causes the deaths of everyone he loves seems to be a narrative tool used to expose how his self-destructive tendencies only work against his goal. He often ignores his friends' requests to stop hurting himself for their sake, ignoring their feelings and accidentally treating them as objects to protect rather than people with the autonomy to decide how to protect themselves.

Roswell, despite being the villain and bringing harm to the cast, does so because he wishes to save them from the death fate has imposed on them. He is the one who asks Thanatos to start the experiment, which saves everyone from being stuck in a cycle of endless death. He is the one who refuses to give up until an ending where Dave and the group survive is acheived, even though he is constantly haunted by the horrible memories of their deaths caused by circumstance and him alike. Despite abusing of the traumas and feelings of the cast to hurt them, he always tries to be fair and value their emotions, understanding their issues and trying to help when he is not forced to hurt anyone to keep the group alive. He is very empathetic towards the group, and is trying desperately to keep them alive because he finds it unfair that their lives end early because of something out of their control, just like it's going to happen to him.

They both possess traits of heroism and villainy, saving and killing the group in a cycle that ultimately leads to the true end. They reflect the other like a mirror, and often empower and protect the other when together.

Banner was made by Xernok on Discord.

Artworks were made by Xernok on Discord and https://twitter.com/fxw93907805 on Twitter respectively.

[glagger-true]

Howdy dear reader! I'm your host Glagger, and today I'm here to bring you the final and lucky number thirteen post of my medal analysis series for Password VN.

Much like its predecessors, this final installment has SPOILERS FOR THE NOVEL. So please, if you haven't read the novel yet, and don't want to be spoiled, leave for now.

Ophiuchus, the medal of Righteousness, Courage and Rebirth:

Ophiuchus, funnily enough, isn't actually physically found at all. The characters don't even get to see it or hold it in game. The reader is the first to have confirmation of it's existence, either through the opitional questions that can be asked to Oswin or through Craig before they are thrown in path P.

Craig says the meaning of this sign is debatable, but that the most agreed upon meaning given to it is ambition, to do better, to incite change and to overcome great trials.

In path P, after Dave mentions the cure inside the vault can save Roswell, Thanatos asks him for the password to open the vault, which Dave doesn't know. Florencia asks her robotic son what became of the medals, and the rat confirms the hyena is missing one. After Flora confirms it's Ophiuchus, she asks Dave how he intends to find it, and Dave wonders how he even got there without it. Oswin says he knows the medal's location and is willing to disclose it to Dave, under the condition he can confirm that the cure will heal Roswell. Dave admits he's not sure but believes so, causing Flora to relent and order Thanatos to open himself and erase his memory of the day.

Since western astrology doesn't recognize Ophiuchus as a star sign, it has no polarity, modality or element. However, there are some astrologers that defended the idea of Ophiuchus being a recognized star sign, and associated traits to it. Ophiuchus' sigil is an U-shaped mark with a wavy line across that represents a snake. The association with snakes comes from the mythlogy of this constellation, and gives it the nickname of serpent-bearer. The most prominent aspect of this sign is ambition, and it's biggest ambition is unity. They believe that everyone will someday find a way to rid themselves of their negative traits and come together as one. The reason this sign defends such a radical idea comes from the fact they are a natural healer, seeking to relieve all of their burdens, another trait pulled from their mythology.

Astrologers who defend Ophiuchus as a sign have also associated personality traits to people born under the serpent's stars. Those born under Ophiuchus are said to possess a combination between the traits of Scorpio and Sagittarius, since Ophiuchus exists between them. The combo of traits from these opposing constellations cause Ophiuchans to be extremely curious and seek for knowledge as their main life-goal. They are always trying to change and grow, being very passionate, ambitious and overly-critical of themselves and others. They are charismatic and sly, using their sarcasm and brutal-honesty as their main social tools. They also tend to be very empathetic, to the point they sometimes act irresponsible for listening to their feelings rather than their heads, a behavior associated to their naturally strong sense of justice. They are egotistical, arrogant, jealous and short tempered on their bad days, and tend to be very reserved and secretive.

In Greek and Roman mythology, the Ophiuchus constellation is associated with Asclepius, the legendary healer who was the son of Apollo, god of the sun. Asclepius could heal anyone from any disease, and was able to revive even the dead with his healing abilities. He learned how to do so when Glaucus, Son of Minos, the king of Crete, drowned in a giant jar of honey. After his death, a snake tried to approach the prince's dead body, and Asclepius killed it to protect it. Afterwards, he observed how another snake approached the dead snake with an herb, and that herb miraculously brought the dead snake back to life. After seeing this, Asclepius took the same herb and used it on Glaucus, bringing him back to life.

Asclepius decided to use this new knowledge to aid mankind, and even wanted to share it with others as well. Hades, the god of the underworld, became concerned that the flow of souls to the underworld would dry up thanks to Asclepius, and expressed these worries with his brother Zeus. Zeus became concerned humanity would become immortal and no longer worship or respect the gods, choosing to strike the healer down with a thunderbolt to prevent this from happening. In order to honor the healer for his good deeds, Zeus ascended him to the heavens as the constellation of Ophiuchus.

The traits associated with Ophiuchus are basically a description of Oswin as a person step by step. Known for his obsession with the acquisition of new knowledge and extreme arrogance, Oswin is a very short-tempered man who is very self-centered and egotistical. Despite that, he is still a very empathetic man that once had the ambition of drastically changing the whole world for the better with his intellect. He is very reckless, relying far more on his heart and emotions than his head, being stubborn to a fault. He is very judgmental and critical of those around him, often not giving a rat's ass about anyone unless they prove themselves worthy of his attention. He is brutally honest and sarcastic, but also very charismatic and persuasive, as he wishes to be. He has a seemingly jolly personality, but is very reserved and secretive, literally spending a good chunk of the game hidden away.

The mythological tale of Asclepius and Oswin's backstory are so similar, they might as well be parallel versions of the same person. We have two gifted healers with the desire to end all ailments of the world, both learning how to achieve that goal through their medical knowledge. Oswin creates his miracle elixir that can prevent and heal any disease imaginable, essentially about to re-shape mankind's history. However, much like in Asclepius' tale, supernatural forces beyond his control just seemed to conspire against his dream. Zeus kills Asclepius before he can pass on his knowledge to mankind, and random variance makes it so Oswin accidentally creates a poison rather than a cure, killing 99 children, his dream, his career, his chance at fatherhood and his desire to live. He dies just like Asclepius, but in a metaphorical sense, and the miracle immunizer is never brought to public or completed after the event, much like how Asclepius' knowledge of the herb was erased from history as well.

Despite these events, however, Oswin manages to overcome his depression and guilt to complete the elixir and save Roswell's life, which fits Craig's comment about Ophiuchus overcoming great trials and changing for the better. He manages to restore his desire to live, and gains the courage to face his past and move on from his sins.

Banner was made by Xernok on Discord.

Artwork was made by https://twitter.com/terrantitanium on twitter.

[glagger-true]

Howdy dear reader! I'm your host Glagger, and today I bring you the ninth post of Password VN medal analysis series.

Much like its predecessors, this post SPOILERS FOR THE NOVEL. So please, if you haven't read the novel yet, and don't want to be spoiled, leave for now.

Scorpio, the medal of "Evil", Purpose and Honesty:

Scorpio is given to Dave in the hedge-maze by Roswell, on the final day of path A. Dave finds Roswell in the middle of the hedge-maze and, in most routes, he's on the verge of death, giving an envelope containing the medal and a letter to Dave after the hyena gives him Thanatos' body. In Roswell's route however, Dave finds him already dead and picks up the envelope to read the letter after he sets Thanatos next to the boar.

The letter contains the final words of Roswell, as well as an extensive apology in which he explains the reasons behind all the bad things he did, and why he broke the medicine inside the vault. He reassures Dave he's happy and has no regrets, despite knowing he would die in the end, satisfied in doing what was right from his perspective in the warped situation they got stuck in. He also confesses that the main thing comforting him in the end is the fact that he'll get to meet Dave again in the next universe, admitting he is scared of dying, now that he's at the end. Roswell also asks Dave to tell Flora he loves her if he dies before getting the chance to do it himself.

In Roswell's route, the letter has an extra passage, where he apologizes for leaving Dave so soon, telling him how he laid awake at night thinking about him as a child until his innocent crush turned to love. The boar confesses that his affection might have played a role in how much he wished to protect Dave, and that deep down, part of him hoped Dave would do the same for him even if it was impossible. He concludes the letter by thanking Dave for being his friend and also so much more than he thought possible, stating how bittersweet it is that everytime he thinks of Dave their time grows shorter since the hyena makes his heart beat faster, ending the passage with a goodbye and an I love you. Once the reading ends, a near-crying Dave realizes the medal is inside the envelope as well.

In astrology, Scorpio is categorized as the negative fixed water sign of the zodiac. The strengths of Scorpio are psychic and emotional, making them a strongly intuitive sign with strong psychic powers. Being highly emotional and secretive, Scorpio is a very suspicious sign that hates both revealing its secrets and the dishonesty of others. They can be very manipulative both to defend themselves and to search for the truth. Followers of astrology often misunderstand Scorpio as an evil sign, since it's associated with negative traits such as jealousy, competitiveness, tactlessness, dark sexual desires and an inclination towards the occult.

Astrologers believe that people born under Scorpio are persistent to the point they become borderline obsessive, which, combined with their intellect, can ensure they accomplish even the most impossible objectives. They are guarded and secretive, never revealing their true goals and objectives until they acheive them. Strategic and patient, their hidden agendas are very unpredictable since they are always plotting, manipulating and orchestrating, having no trouble in playing long games to get what they wish. Scorpios become fiercely loyal and protective when they love someone, unrivaled in empathy, commitment and devotion when they build trust with their loved ones. They will do everything in their power to keep their dear ones safe. This also causes them to be jealous and vengeful, never forgetting when someone hurts them or those they care about. This strong passion sometimes makes them controlling, which is why they can tend to end up poisoning themselves with their own stinger in their search for control.

The first planetary ruler of Scorpio is the old ruler Mars, who represents action, energy, drive, determination, passion and anger. While the modern ruler is Pluto, who represents destruction, regeneration and transformation. The combined influence of these rulers is directly responsible for why Scorpio is so ambitious, passionate and power-hungry for control, despite being a water sign. Scorpio has a strong ego, but also acknowledges the need to desconstruct themselves and reform better to get what they want and bring happiness to those they care for.

In Greek Myth, Scorpio is the Scorpion sent after the hunter Orion by the goddess of the hunt Artemis and her mother Leto to kill him, after he boasted to them he would hunt every animal on earth without fail. After Orion got killed by the scorpion, Zeus raised both to the stars at the request of Artemis, as a reminder mortals should control their pride. Another version has Apollo, the twin brother of Artemis, send the Scorpion after Orion out of jealousy because he earned his sister's favor by admitting she was a better hunter than him. The ancient Greeks also believed the Libra constellation was actually a part of Scorpio, making it the representative of fairness, civility, and justice.

The description of Scorpio's traits is almost a step-by-step description of Roswell as a person. He is empathetic, competitive, persistent, stubborn, secretive and strategic, also possesing an obsession with death and the occult. He is loyal, devoted and protective of Dave, to the point where he can be controlling and make decisions for the hyena without taking his feelings into consideration. He holds a strong grudge against Tyson for harming him and Dave in the past, seeking vengeance long after the events have passed. Despite his stubborn bitterness against the wolf, Roswell chooses to let the trust he has for Dave win out, and actively tries to desconstruct his preconceptions and behavior to make the hyena happy.

Roswell being the mastermind is also perfectly fitting with Scorpio's motif. He has the most hidden agenda of all characters in the cast, carefully manipulating events and people with his intelligence to acheive his secret goal of saving as many people as possible. The secret is so well guarded that only Dave finds it out after an unnatural power allows him to do so. Despite the murders and manipulation, Roswell fought for what he believed was right and tried to stand for justice and fairness even in a warped scenario where those things where difficult to see.

Roswell's letter also shows these traits to the reader. Not only does it expose the depth of his secrecy and manipulation, but also his empathetic devotion and desire to do what's right by the people he cares about. From him ensuring the medicine in the vault remains destroyed in all iterations by hiding the password to the vault so ill-intended people can't abuse of the innocent with it, to him openly confessing his selfless love for Dave as one of the driving forces behind his actions, the letter reveals all of the boar's qualities and faults, which all tie with Scorpio.

Finally, Craig comments that some people associate Scorpio with evil, but that he doesn't put any stock in it, claiming signs are just stars in the end. He also says that even though the person who gave the medal away is the root of all the tragedy, that doesn't matter. This parallels well with how most people would assume Roswell to be evil on the surface considering his actions, but in reality, he is very kind and does his best to do the right thing by everyone in everything he does. Him being the villain doesn't make him evil nor his medal an evil medal, and both are a lot more complex than black and white labels.

Banner was made by Xernok on Discord.

Artwork was made by https://twitter.com/Leo_Zeke on Twitter.

[glagger-true]

Howdy dear reader! I'm your host Glagger, and today I'm here to bring you the seventh post in my medal analysis series for Password the VN.

As you're aware by now, his post has SPOILERS FOR THE NOVEL. So please, if you haven't read the novel yet, and don't want to be spoiled, leave for now.

Leo, the medal of Expectations, Determination and Futility: 

Leo is found on day 22 of all routes inside a book in the hidden study. Thanatos guides Dave there as a reward, after he proves he's starting to remember past iterations on his own.

The medal is inside a book with a re-interpretation of "the three little pigs", in a hollow space alongside a childhood picture of the Hammond siblings Flora left there. In path A, Dave flips the picture and finds a message in the back written by Flora, telling Oswin to remember what's most important.

Afterwards, Thanatos gives an abridged version of the tale in the book. It has a rabbit as the villain, and the first pig is killed by the rabbit with a piece of chocolate the pig accepts. The second pig turns into a rabbit after rejecting the chocolate offered to them, which, to the author, is the same as death. The third survives by escaping from the rabbit who accidentally cooks himself alive trying to burn down the house with the pig inside.

Once Thanatos is done, Dave says there's no lesson to learn other than to mistrust rabbits in the book, calling the author racist. Thanatos confirms, and says it's the kind of book Regis, Oswin's father, liked to keep and read to his children.

In Astrology, Leo is the positive fixed fire sign of the zodiac. It's an expressive, inflexible and assertive sign marked by its intense willpower, ambition and of course, determination. The most beloved quality of Leo is bravery, which is its main strength and gives Leo physical, mental, and emotional fortitude. The fearless optimism of Leo causes it to never accept failure, and every challenge they face as they mature only multiplies the content in their well of courage.

Much like the lion they are represented by, people born under Leo act like kings and queens full of grace, ego and pride. Leos embrace the concept of royalty by being natural leaders who are theatrical, passionate and full of life, taking the spotlight to celebrate themselves. Since Leos perceive themselves as celebrities, they always search for partners who are artistic and creative, making their friendships and romantic affairs dramatic and explosive.

Leo's planetary ruler is the sun, the representative of creativity, life, vitality and power. The sun never stops burning and glowing, so, much like their ruler, Leo is naturally loyal, stable and consistent, always putting their entire heart in their relationships. In romance, the sun's influence causes them to only love seeing their partners be sucessful until they feel threatened. No sun likes being eclipsed, and as such, jealousy is a very strong trait in Leo thanks to their strong pride and ego. The most important lesson for Leo's maturity is the understanding that the shine of success from other people doesn't diminsh their own.

In Leo's myths, the sign represents the foe Heracles fought against in his first labor. The sign is the Nemean Lion, a giant, sentient lion with an impenetrable pelt that kidnapped beautiful maidens to lure warriors into his cove so he could devour them.

Heracles was tasked with killing him by a king, and in his journey to Nemea, he stays at a man's house to rest before the hunt. The man offers to sacrifice an animal to bless him in his mission but Heracles asks him to wait 30 days after he leaves instead, so that if he dies, the sacrifice can be done in his name as a hero. If Heracles succeeds however, both of them would celebrate together, sacrificing an animal to Zeus instead.

In the battle against the lion, after understanding that his weapons are useless against its pelt, he uses his divine strength and breaks his back with his bare arms, killing it with a headlock when it can't fight anymore. He takes the lion's pelt for himself, and returns to the man's house to celebrate and sacrifice an animal to Zeus, who's so impressed with his son's triumph, he turns the lion into the Leo constellation to eternize Heracles' achievement in the heavens.

Leo is the medal associated with the Hammond family and their tale. Its traits represent the members of the family and their story together, and also how the tale ended. The Hammonds are filled with ambitious and prideful members, Regis and his wife being prime examples of it. This is visible in how they both adopted Flora simply because they were worried her intellect would overshadow their children's, bringing her mind to the family so it could challenge and compete with the intelligence of their sons internally. There's also the fact Regis, much like Zeus, is a demanding and egotistical father that constantly orders his children to accomplish his trials and expectations to earn both their place in his "divine" family, as well as his affection and respect.

The Hammond siblings are expressive, driven and assertive individuals. They lived active lives in pursuit of great goals, being full of willpower and determination. They tried carving their place in the family's history but were ultimately unsuccessful in both acheiving the expectations set for them and changing its dysfunctional nature. Trapped in inflexible ideals and expectations, they only met death, rejection and isolation, much like the three pigs in the book's story.

It's also interesting how Heracles' traits can be broken down and divided amongst the Hammond siblings. Reginald has the blind devotion and loyalty towards a father who only sees him for his accomplishments, learning, studying and doing anything Regis desires of him. Much like Heracles earned his full divinity through his talent and abilities, Florencia caught the attention of Regis and his wife and became a Hammond for the same reasons. Heracles being raised by non-divine foster parents who cared for him most of his life fits perfectly with Oswin, who was raised by Benson because his own parents where either too busy or focused on their other children instead.

Craig says that the medal was left there on purpose by Flora to be found by Roswell to clue him in on the truth about Oswin being his father, but as time passed, it became less and less likely to happen. Thanatos never finding out the truth also prevented things from playing out differently. This fits Leo because, despite Flora's active efforts to assert her own desire of bringing her family together over Oswin's desire to remain distant, Roswell remained ignorant, and the situation stayed inflexibly the same.

Banner made by Xernok on Discord.

Artworks were made by https://twitter.com/butchii123 , https://twitter.com/terrantitanium and https://twitter.com/orbitpaws on twitter respectively.

[glagger-true]

Howdy dear reader! I'm your host Glagger, and today I'm very excited to bring you the second intermission of my medal analysis series for Password VN.

In this intermission, we'll discuss the connection between Aquarius, Libra and Gemini, the medals associated to the three members of the cast whose shared trauma is being victims of people who were meant to love them.

Just like intermission one, it is recomended you read the individual medal sections for each medal intersected in this post first. This intermission has SPOILERS FOR THE NOVEL as well, so please, if you haven't read the novel yet and don't want to be spoiled, leave for now.

A brief intermission on the victims trio: Aquarius, Libra and Gemini, the positive aligned, repressed trio:

The first connection that stands out for these medals is that they all have air as their element, which makes their polarity positive as well. They are also route exclusive, and the characters that are connected to them all share the trauma of being victims harmed by people who were meant to protect them and love them. This trauma caused them to externalize the most repressed aspects of their identities in unhealthy ways. Another argument that supports the connection between these medals is that they are found precisely at the beginning, middle and end of the paths. This contrasts the sinners trio being the reverse, all found on the same day at the same time.

Orlando, who's tied to Aquarius, is the victim of emotional abuse. He is very expressive of his surface emotions, but reserved about his deeper feelings. This happens because the abuse of his family is based on the constant rejection of his feelings and desires. He is ignored as an individual and seen only as a recipient for their expectations, but that recipient is already full of all the things that make him who he is. Realizing he won't become what they wish, they ignore, neglect and verbally harm him, seeing and treating him as a failure for just being who he is. He always validates and is considerate of the emotions of others, comforting them when they feel overwhelmed by them, because he lacked that comfort, consideration and validation in the one instance he was supposed to receive it unconditionally. This ruined his self-esteem and made him passive and cowardly.

Hoss, who's tied to Libra, is a victim of psychological abuse. His parents use his love and devotion to family to try and manipulate him into being what they see as the correct and best version of himself. They claim not to reject his bisexuality, while also openly stating they hope he ends up with a girl, disguising their rejection and disappointment with "advice" and "worry". His parents "just happen" to say out loud that being queer is a bad example to children "coincidentally" in front of their bissexual son that loves his siblings to death. This behavior makes it obvious they are attempting to gaslight him into believing he's in the wrong for not "choosing" to do what's "best for the family". But Hoss isn't stupid, he got their true message with his talent for reading people, and is utterly tormented by the idea that someday his family will openly reject him and abandon him. Even if unintentionally, they completely destroyed Hoss' mental confidence using various forms of disguised emotional manipulation, causing him to become dishonest and insecure.

Tyson, who's connected to Gemini, is the victim of physical and sexual abuse. His mother abandoned him with an awful man, that abused of his status as a father to hurt, punish, rape, and do many more unspeakble things to his innocent son. His actions and her abandonment destroyed any semblance of kindness, trust and empathy Tyson had in his heart, causing him to develop an extremely prickly and violent shell to express all of the negative emotions he felt, and hide away his vulnerabilities so others can't abuse him again. In the wolf's mind, if his own father could do this, others are certainly capable of doing much worse. His queerness was also negatively impacted by this abuse, making him develop severe internalized homophobia and an incapacity to properly feel and express romantic affection and sexual attraction.

These three medals not only all belong to The positive polarity, but also to the same element, air. Air signs are all about communication and sociability, making it fitting that the three characters being connected to these medals suffer severely in social scenarios thanks to their traumas. The fact these three are associated in-game supports this connection. Tyson and Orlando have a very difficult relationship despite how similar their traumas are, which reflects the difference between Tyson's mutable sign and Orlando's fixed sign. Both however get along very well with Hoss since he sits in the middle with his cardinal sign aspect and middle-ground trauma. Tyson develops significant respect and admiration for Orlando after he grows courageous enough to fight back and endanger his life for the sake of Dave and the group, much like how Orlando started accepting Tyson once he showed that his change was something solid he was willing to stick with permanently.

When Roswell takes advantage of their emotional instability to kill Tyson and accidentally kill Orlando, Hoss is the one most affected alongside Dave over their deaths. These paths are the ones where Hoss' psychological state deteriorates the most, to the point he breaks down violently in fear and sadness because he no longer has his most important support pillars in the group. His death in path F could have also been avoided if Tyson and Orlando were still alive to emotionally ground him and keep him stable in the presence of Memphis' gun.

I would like to conclude by saying that abuse tends to mix together, and that Orlando and Hoss suffered both emotional and psychological abuse to different degrees, while Tyson also certainly suffered all three, however the ones that impacted them the most were emotional, psychological and physical respectively.

Banner made by Xernok on Discord.

Artworks were made by Xernok on Discord, https://twitter.com/_Gabu4Play_ , https://twitter.com/CaitNyz and https://twitter.com/hhsyan on twitter respectively.

[glagger-true]

Howdy dear reader! I'm your host Glagger, and today I'm here to bring you post number eight of my medal analysis series for Password The VN.

As you already expect by now, this post has SPOILERS FOR THE NOVEL. So please, if you haven't read the novel yet and don't want to be spoiled, leave for now.

Aries, the medal of Change, Autonomy and Revolution:

Aries is found by Dave in the Rec Room on the same day as Leo. He finds a dazed Roswell with Thanatos by his side, and when he approaches the beanbag where Roswell is sitting he spots the medal in his hand. The hyena confuses it with Virgo thanks to the V shape, and as he moves in to grab it, he asks the rat why Roswell isn't in bed as he should be. Roswell tries to warn him it's a trap set by Thanatos but it is too late and they both are knocked out.

In the next day, the medal is seen again on Roswell's bed-side table, where Oswin corrects Dave on which medal it is. Thanatos sedated Roswell to prevent him from going into the woods with Oswin. This is done as an attempt to create a new outcome in the iteration where Roswell is not endangered and everyone escapes alive. This prompts Oswin to take Dave instead, so he can reveal the truth about himself and Roswell away from Thanatos. This decision is the catalyst of Dave's death and increases the strength of his resonation power. Dave's ability to remember the iterations from before on his own generates a drastic shift in the timeline, causing the breaking point Thanatos wanted.

Astrology categorizes Aries as the positive cardinal fire sign. It's the driven, dynamic and expressive sign that marks both the beginning of spring and the zodiac wheel. One of the beliefs of astrology is that all signs learn the lessons assimilated by their predecessors. This is quite unfortunate for Aries because, as the first sign, they have no antecessors or heritage to guide them. This causes the natural leadership from Aries to be full of blind optimism amd impulsivity; they act first and think afterwards, leading to this sign learning lessons through the hard way. Aries is also known for representing singularity and individuality, making them very self-determined but also dangerously selfish sometimes.

In astrology, people born under these stars are bold and ambitious, being obsessed with the ideal of being number one. They are motivated, passionate and confident leaders who dive headfirst into challenges without hesitation. They build groups through their cheerful and relentlessly determined nature, being direct to avoid complicating things. They dislike unnecessary details and prefer things being done quickly and efficiently.

The planetary ruler of Aries is Mars, the representative of action, energy, drive, determination, passion and anger. The influence of Mars affects Aries by giving it an explosive and short-lived temper that ensures they remain battle-ready at all times. When not angered, however, the influence of their ruler makes Aries upbeat, positive, and playful, which is why Aries loves living life to the fullest without caring about consequences.

In Greek myth, Aries represents Chrysomallus, the flying ram that rescued Phrixus and Helle, the children of the Boeotian king Athamas, at the request of their mother. His jealous second wife falsified an oracle's message to get him to sacrifice his children to end a false famine she set up in the kingdom. After their mother discovers the farce, she sends Chrysomallus to save them and the ram succeds, but Helle dies when she falls from its back in a river during the escape. Later on, Phrixus sacrifices the ram to the king of Colchis, in gratitude to him for receiving him in his kingdom and giving him his daughter's hand in marriage. The Golden Fleece of the ram is put in a holy grove dedicated to the god Ares, and becomes a symbol of rulership and authority.

To compare the sign to Thanatos, they are both very self-centered and driven, hellbent in completing their goals at all costs. Thanatos has lived as though he had a single life through the iterations, and as such, has no past memories to resonate. Since he has to obtain as much information as possible, when he reaches a point were he has no adquired memories to help guide him, he simply goes head first into the situation and learns what he has to learn through trial and error. He is the one who was present since the first iteration, and is the one to start the wheels of the experiment at Roswell's request. He's usually playful and sarcastic, leading the group with his optimistic promises that they'll be fine as long as his mission is a sucess, but having no solid idea on how to acheive said sucess. Despite his doubts, he is determined to keep going for as long as necessesary to complete his task, ignoring any details he conisders trivial and hating whenever something complicates his plans further.

Thanatos is very temperamental and emotive, getting angered easily and expressing his frustrations in short but explosive bouts of anger. He doesn't care for the opinions of others about him, and is always ready to pick a fight just so he can amuse himself by provoking someone. He is ruled by his emotions despite claiming not to have them, being very passionate and agressive when he is frustrated.

The rat also represents a great force of nature, that being death, and controls a power that allows him to actively defy fate. He took the initiative of using it in a dynamic manner to change the outcome of Roswell's fate, instead of accepting the death of someone he cared about. By asserting his desire to save Roswell, even against his wishes, he changed the result that was impossible to a possible one. He loved Roswell and never gave up on him even when Roswell and his own parents had done so.

Thanatos' plan with the Aries medal, has similarities with the story of Crysomallus and the Aries sign as well. Roswell's mom has direct control over him, and he is obedient to her. He uses the medal as a way to save both Dave and Roswell from the decison of being taken by Oswin, Roswell's father, to the woods. This decision, which Oswin believed was the safest way to help save the group from dying, only led the children to a fated demise that comdemned their friends. At the end of path A, despite Thanatos being sucessful into rescuing them and keeping both alive, Roswell dies of his own sickness and Dave alone progresses to a better place where he usually finds a husband after their sacrifices. Dave gets a golden medal that gives him the authority to reach a better fate in another universe at the end of the path as well. This is almost step by step the mythological tale of Aries.

Craig's observation of the medal is pretty on point and direct. Thanatos found and hid the medal, then used it to reach a breaking point in the iteration. Criag credits Thanatos for his actions, since his plan worked. This makes it another point arguing in favor of Aries being Thanatos' exclusive medal, since it marks a significant shift in his demeanor because of something he claims not to have: emotion. This keeps up with the theme of every medal associated with a character representing a moment of personal development in their arc.

Banner was made by Xernok on Discord.

Artwork was made by https://twitter.com/Lukehowler on twitter.

[glagger-true]

Howdy dear reader! I'm your host Glagger, and today I bring you the sixth post of my medal analysis series for Password VN.

As you must already expect by now, this post has SPOILERS FOR THE NOVEL. So please, if you haven't read the novel yet, and don't want to be spoiled, leave for now.

Libra, the medal of Liberation, Harmony and Balance:

Libra is found in the library on day 16 of Hoss' route. In the scene, Hoss takes Dave to search the library for medals as a way of distracting the hyena from the multitude of negative thoughts inside his head. Dave does realize Hoss is just trying to keep him busy during the search and plays along, leading them to debate about a few topics.

They talk about the medals and the importance of the medal hunt, why Benson requested them to find the medals if they were impossible to find in full, Clearwater and how it affected Hoss, and what they will do after the mansion vacation is over to heal from all the bad things that happened.

After the medal is found by Hoss sitting on a shelf, Dave asks which medal it is, and the significance of it being hidden in the library once he's told it's Libra. Hoss talks about the sign's element and how it connects to freedom, and how the sign itself represents justice and balance, making it the sign of harmony.

In astrology, Libra is the cardinal positive air sign of the zodiac. This combination makes Libra a very expressive, dynamic and communicative sign who's known for searching for symmetry and equilibrium in everything. Libra is full of initiative but also very indecisive, tending to consider multiple perspectives from others rather than developing and trusting its own intuition. Despite this duality, Libra thrives in any social interaction, resolving conflicts by using charm.

Astrologists believe those who are born blessed by this sign to be active people-pleasers who love external attention and admiration, feeling validated by the praise of strangers, friends and family alike. This is can become a negative trait when, in their efforts to make everyone happy, they forget that the approval and validation of their loved ones and their relationships with them are more important than the attention and affirmation of distant admirers. As the collectivistic people they are, Libras need companionship and only find balance in it, being highly attracted by physical appearance and self-care, they search for partners who care for fashion, beauty and who value their appearance.

The planetary ruler of Libra is Venus, the planet that represents love, beauty, and money. Libra as a result, is very intellectual, loving quality art and its connoisseurs. Venus causes Libra to need to surround themselves with objects that they see as precious, and create environments that reflect their eccentric tastes. As a result of this passionate nature, Libra is good at decoration, criticising and creating art, and making fashion decisions.

In both Babylonian and Roman mythology, Libra is seen as a scale and associated with balance. Babylonians said that that it represented balance in the seasons and the duration of day and night. Romans saw it as the scales of justice held by the constellation of Virgo, who was the goddess of justice in Roman civilization called Lustitia. She was eventually used as inspiration for Lady Justice, the modern representation of justice. The Greeks also associated the constellation with fairness, law and civility, however in their case they saw it as part of the Scorpio constellation, believing it to be his claws.

Observing the scene where the medal is found, there's an obvious wordplay with Libra being found in the library, a dumb joke from Flora towards which Oswin even shows amused annoyance later on. What stands out the most, however, is the fact libraries are places of knowledge where one can access and share it freely, making libraries places of intellectual freedom and liberation.

Hoss' decision to medal hunt with Dave fits Libra's message as well. He attempts to use the bond he developed with Dave as a way to fix the psychological and emotional imbalance the stressful events of the vacation caused in both of them. They and find harmony by spending time with the other, having an open and honest conversation about their traumas and promising to seek help together and support each other to free themselves from their effects. Hoss reassures Dave on his issues and Dave reassures Hoss on his. They balance the other out at that moment and decide to keep doing so for as long as they stay together, which parallels them with the scales of Libra and its concepts of balance, truth, harmony and freedom.

Translating the observations about Libra to Hoss, its visible he's stable and balanced in all areas of his life being both a rabid anime fan with big dreams and a hyperfixation in super sentais, but also, a well groomed gentleman with perfect health and a proper sleep schedule who exercises every morning. His talent with fashion and obsession with beauty, as well as the passion and knowledge of anime and acting seem to reference the ruler of Libra. As the one with the best social skills in the group, he's the one who best understands the emotions, thoughts and words of the others. He embraces the role of middleman and acts as the main force keeping the group united and stable besides Dave.

His main struggle lies in being truthful about himself, instead of lying or omitting things to earn positive views from the people around him. He is always measuring and balancing his words and actions because he is afraid of being disliked and rejected. His parents being unsupporting of his bisexuality caused him to seek validation in the admiration of strangers instead of searching for the genuine affection of people who love him for who he is. He slowly confronts his fear and tries being honest and fair to the group, exposing his true self and receiving genuine affection and support for his honesty. He finds harmony and fairness in his found family, liberating himself from his traumas that undermined his inner self, and external image.

Craig's observation of the sign is that it represents truth, freedom and liberation, saying that balance must be present in all things, even life and death. Hoss' arc is about these four things. He learns how to be brave enough to expose his truth, so he can liberate himself from the rejection and the negative expectations of his parents. He achieves freedom by finding harmony and balance between his inner self and his external self.

Banner and artwork were both made by Xernok on Discord.