Lurker > Llarian

masterplum posted...

At door... 8? Hoping I finish before this topic purges because I'm curious what other people think

No worries, I'm trying to keep this thing alive for as long as possible. :D I'm glad you're giving it a try!

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Come on, John darling, they won't boo me.
-Sybil Thorndike

Nvm, it was until a certain time on May 6th.

Plus I got the CE coming, and I ain't got the budget to be buying multiple copies on multiple systems. A replay it is.

---

Come on, John darling, they won't boo me.
-Sybil Thorndike

UF8 posted...

wait what

there are seriously kemono friends vtubers now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxia9tP6jWM

rest well, Grape-kun~

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Come on, John darling, they won't boo me.
-Sybil Thorndike

All righty, gentle reminder that all things House in Fata Morgana are 50% off on Steam until May 6th.

I am very tempted to get A Requiem for Innocence at that price >_>

Otherwise, I start replaying this week.

Thoughts?


---

Come on, John darling, they won't boo me.
-Sybil Thorndike

---

Come on, John darling, they won't boo me.
-Sybil Thorndike

GANON1025 posted...

The text log stuff is very cool, but honestly I never would have checked if someone didnt tell me too lol. So being to check it kinda ruined the surprise a little

Sorry to hear you didn't come across this naturally. Yeah, that does kinda take the teeth out of a little :\

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Come on, John darling, they won't boo me.
-Sybil Thorndike

KamikazePotato posted...

By the way, not part of any of the questions, but I want to point out how insanely effective Door 4 was for me. The combination of the dreamlike main plot and the altered/added text in the text log gave me a feeling that hasn't been replicated in any other piece of media. Such a powerfully surreal experience.

Yes, this was an aspect of the gameplay that I thought about long after it was over. It gave the unsettling feeling of losing one's memory [have inattentive ADHD, so I am frequently losing track of things and wondering]. It was very freaky and very, very effective.

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Come on, John darling, they won't boo me.
-Sybil Thorndike

GANON1025 posted...

Opinion changed the most over the course of the game: Yukimasa, I think. Jacopo is close too. Just real roller coaster characters especially in the final door

Yes, this. I wasn't sure how they were going to upend it, but upend it they did. I love how in each part of the game, they're subverting expectations and manage to do it in a compelling way rather than a frustrating one.

KamikazePotato posted...

Character I expected to like more than I do: Jacopo is basically the tsundere archetype taken to its horrible end conclusion

I laughed out loud here. Yes. Too much tsun and not enough dere makes Jacopo...sad. It's interesting how Jacopo wants to be kinder than he is, Yukimasa wants to be more human than he is, and Mell wants to have a spine, maybe, ever.

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Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

quick digital sketch of Michel.

---

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

KamikazePotato posted...

I can't follow this topic as closely because I haven't played the post-game or DLC stuff yet, but:

This is so damn good.

I'll answer some of the questions later though.

Until the Limited Run Switch copy comes in and I can play more, I'm not getting any further than the part of the game I just finished. So that's a few months of memes, fan art and discussion.

Feel free to check back when you can!
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That being said, I may play this through a second time for 'The Departed' Steam achievement and any additional material that I would otherwise miss out on. And I have to find all the bad ends for 'Incompetent Hero' Steam achievement too. Gotta get myself killed as many times as possible XD

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Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

Backstage

Morgana greets us and suggests that if we would like some time to meditate on the game, we should do so now, as this backstage portion does not respect the overall tone of the game proper.

A quiet moment at home with Giselle and Michel. She's overexcited about finding split ends on his hair. Michel says he's not very attached to the long hair, if she wants to cut it. Giselle's not too sure. Morgana tries to introduce us, but Giselle and Michel can't see us. Morgana urges Michel to accompany us on a tour of the house. She starts with talking about Michel and Giselle. It's a celebrity roast, more or less. Michel's core aspects are 'justice' and 'righteousness', but they're covered over by the abuse he suffered. Morgana calls Michel a NEET, and reveals he was born under an unlucky star. Michel insists he never wanted to be a recluse.

Morgana moves on to Giselle, and roasts her for having such a different personality than the Maid. When Morgana starts teasing her about her speech patterns as the Maid, Giselle shoots back that she started talking like that because of Morgana's theatrics. The two lovebirds start teasing Morgana for being cute. Apparently, in the demo, the Maid's traits were mixed with what would eventually become Morgana, making her seem very different. The creators wanted to see how they could turn a cheerful, happy woman into an empty husk of a human.

Morgana moves on with Michel, she puts him in charge of introducing the different characters. We get to choose which of the three vile betrayers to visit. I figure we'll go in order, so I pick Mell. 'Desire to be loved' is his theme. Michel and Mell start bickering as always. Mell needs a lot of validation, he's not very bold and brave when things get difficult, has low self-esteem. Morgana won't stop ragging on Mell the entire time that he's a spineless wuss.

We go see the Swordsman. Morgana right off the bat is calling him a psychopathic monster. His main theme is 'boundaries', and it can't be confirmed that he's Japanese in the final chapter, which is a little bogus. Fence-sitting on sanity/madness, humanity/barbarity, faithfulness/infidelity - Morgana insists this is true even though all the Swordsman needs is peace and a tether in a relationship. She teases him that Chapter 2 was so long because of all his cackling - but 'at least you were having fun'. She calls the Merchant character 'vapid' but the Swordsman insists that he was trying his best to tell Pauline what a woman likes to hear. Morgana comments that the Swordsman's straightforward nature is oddly refreshing, considering he's one of the worst characters. They redub Yukimasa 'The Masked Man', and he bids farewell to the angel and the witch - but not before Michel gets snippy again about being called an angel.

Jacopo is next. He's super upset that Morgana brought Michel along, and that he never gets to spend any time alone with Morgana. Jacopo starts openly ragging on France and all things French, which, fair. Michel shuts him up with one, quick verbal jab. Morgana prods him for his fragile masculinity, from what I understand this brought about some whining from localization critics [of which there are many]. He's super insecure. Super insecure people have a few different flavors, but the prideful ones can't even help themselves.

Fundamentally, Jacopo is 'pure of heart'. The pride and ego are all for show, he feels very indebted to those that have helped him realize his dream of power. Communication, especially regarding his own feelings, is his primary stumbling block.

Next we get to see the girls! Nellie first. Primary trait is 'excessively adores her older brother'. Yep. They get talking, and Nellie insists on dancing or singing or something. Morgana sings, and although Michel feels a little woozy afterwards, Nellie is totally spaced out. Morgana says she'll be like that for a couple hours.

Pauline! She's appearing as the Nun, but we are by the sea, so that's good! Pauline 'has a tendency to put blind faith in people'. Morgana and Michel quiz her on what she sees in Yukimasa - initially she fell for the hardworking, normal facade he put out there. But eventually, she could tell he was teetering on the edge and wanted to help him out. There's a running gag that started with Giselle, where the cue cards are ranking their racks - Giselle is #1 and apparently Pauline is #2, size-wise. Pauline mentions that this was another thing she appreciated about Yukimasa - he never gave girls inappropriate looks. Pauline tries to bless us as we leave, and Morgana gets snippy with her about using God's name, especially while yearning for worldly pleasures.

On to Maria! Morgana seems to regret her actions, but Maria isn't holding a grudge. Maria's cue card is blank, suggesting she is exactly what she appears to be. Morgana comes up with the theme of 'sisterhood' off the cuff. Maria accepts it, and Morgana blushes.

Next...Aimee. Ugh. We switch to 'portrait mode'. Aimee tortured people for the joy of it, which makes her the worst. She's the Masked Woman to go with the 'Masked Man'. Aimee had her claws in the Bollingers pretty deep. Michel can't wait to get out of there, for obvious reasons.

Georges!! We are talking to him in the painting. Georges laughs with us about the existence of the White-Haired Girl, and how he never thought for a second that WHG was Michel. Morgana reads the cue card - Georges is the dumbest in the game. Morgana teases him about being illegitimate once they've reviewed the Bollinger Punnett square and the resulting phenotypes. Michel wants to bring the painting with, but Morgana refuses.

Time for Dee! Oh, Didier, why are you still the haunted knight outside, my dude. You had such fire in your eyes as a young man. Morgana asks him if he recalls killing Georges at the end of the game, and Didier sinks into a deep guilt over his actions towards his brothers. Welp.

Michel asks about seeing WHG, but Morgana says they can't, since she doesn't exist anymore. Morgana counteroffers that we return to Giselle.

We do so, and Giselle is in her Maid outfit. The three squeeze together for a cute frame as they say goodbye. Morgana is tossing barbs still, but Giselle insists that no matter what the truth is, she is together with Michel and they'll werk it out. That means more to me than you can know. Giselle makes a special announcement about A Requiem for Innocence, also coming out in English the same year as FataMoru. Backstage achievement unlocked! Woo!

What's this I hear about slightly different info or dialogue if you play through the game a second time?

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Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

Prologue

The Maid comes to wake Morgana. Morgana had told the Maid that they are the same entity. Maid offers her tea, and she refuses. The Maid asks Morgana to tell her a story, the one about Michel and Giselle. Morgana grumbles that she's getting tired of telling that one after so many times, but all right.

Morgana asks the Maid if she thinks Giselle and Michel should be reunited? The Maid thinks Giselle would be happiest in that case, but notes that Giselle takes the name Michelle when she is reborn, and Michel himself has yet to show himself. Perhaps Giselle would be happier moving on from him? The Maid wishes she could entertain Giselle in the mansion, make her feel at home. Morgana is secretly gleeful at the Maid's inaccuracies.

'What would you do if YOU were Giselle?' Morgana asks the Maid. The Maid says sure, what's a few hundred years. She is mentally divorced from Giselle's painful reality at this point. Morgana claims her response not interesting enough, and refuses to retell the story.

Morgana goes out to the garden and speaks with the shadow of Mell, who begs her to release him, apologizes, tries to reach Morgana's heart, but she won't have it. Morgana stands at the top of the cellar stairs and all she can hear is beastly growls from the Swordsman. Maybe he's yelling in Japanese. Who knows. Morgana doesn't wanna bother with him today. The Man in the Painting calls out to her, hoping for a little slice of conversation, and she ignores him. How rude! Jacopo's shadow stands there silently. Morgana compliments him on finding a man's shape, but ridicules his inability to speak or move. He manages to say her name, but she swiftly departs.

The Maid is found staring out the window - a shadow with white hair is approaching the house. Morgana starts freaking internally because the mansion isn't in the physical realm right now, so how could they have visitors...? The Maid starts buzzing about, making preparations for 'her'. The Maid starts calling the shadow her 'Master', even though she's never referred to her that way.

[And then Michel comes in and everything is terrible forever - it is a prologue, after all.]

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Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

'call the maid 10 times' achievement AU.

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Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

Okay, let's talk characters we have an affinity for. Always a dangerous game when it comes to black-and-grey morality but I am going to insist that it's fun. You can answer any or all of the following with character names at least, but you can add more commentary if you want:
Most relatable character:
Least relatable character:
Character I would date:
Character I didn't expect to like as much as I do:
Character I expected to like more than I do:
Opinion changed the most over the course of the game:

For me, it's as follows.
Most relatable character: Michel - too serious, a little too formal, feeling out of place forever
Least relatable character: Maria - I got this 'nothing matters, so do whatever YOU wanna do' vibe from her and that is not at all how I operate, even if I'd like to think otherwise
Character I would date: fdasf Pauline!! Giselle is a very close second. Sweeties.
Character I didn't expect to like as much as I do: Yukimasa - visually a great character design [for reference, I love Jin from Samurai Champloo]. He felt so out of place, and people treated him terribly, and I am not normally the type of fan to be drawn to 'awww, my little murderbaby', but gdi, he's trying.
Character I expected to like more than I do: Jacopo - the level of pride that led to his downfall was just so disappointing u_u Just TALK to her, man. Also not very often that you get a specifically Sicilian character, over a generic Italian one, so that set up some hopes to be dashed for sure.
Opinion changed the most over the course of the game: Didier - why are you a roller coaster of emotions, my dude. I thought you were okay and then I was disgusted by you and then we were cool and then you Did That. And then there's a very redemptive kinda ending so I can't hate you and it's auuuugh.

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Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

Pre-ordered the Limited Run CE. Pretty excited for that.

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Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

UshiromiyaEva posted...

I dunno how it's listed on Steam, but everywhere else it's considered an expansion and is included in one package. It's very much part of this game.

I am planning on playing everything, it might just be once I get the Switch version in a few months.

In addition to the base game, LRG and some other places list a Requiem for Innocence prequel story, and the fully-voiced Reincarnation sequel. I appreciate your patience, since I'm new to the franchise and I know how these things change over time and are annoying to keep track of.

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Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

KamikazePotato posted...

I heard about it from several people on B8 who's opinions I trust regarding VNs, who were shilling it. Probably ArkOfTurus (hello).

I was thinking less 'everyone is too pretty' and more that the art style is very gothic horror style. Which I absolutely adore, but the more standard anime style is definitely more marketable to a wider audience.

Even on B8, which generally is open-minded about VNs, it's not an easy sell. 12 Sentinels came out recently and immediately amassed a higher fanbase (not that it doesn't deserve to get popular) despite Fata Morgana being out for years and advertised repeatedly by people here. Part of that is because its cast was young and had animesque character designs. People are just...well, used to that.

That's fair. I searched for 12 Sentinels but found 13 Sentinels...? Art style is definitely more anime with sepia tone. I see what you mean. The gothic horror thing isn't everyone's cup of tea.

There seems to be plenty of heavy VNs that mitigate their dark content with cuter, moe-style art. Even the dinner roll hands of 07th expansion's Umineko or Higurashi OG sprites takes a little of the edge off, imo. When I was playing episode 1 of Umineko a couple years back, I used the newer sprites because they were still colorful and appealing, but a little bit easier for me to take seriously. This isn't a bad thing, or a dig at that style of art or presentation. To each their own.

What other dark/gothic horror art have you liked in games?

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Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

UshiromiyaEva posted...

Since I don't know if you've realized it yet, there's DLC expansion for the game. It's another 10-15 hours of content.

I'll be playing and writing up the Prologue and Backstage portions next. Not sure if that's what you mean. I have been looking on Steam, and I don't see anything I've missed that isn't another game in the franchise.

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Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

KamikazePotato posted...

For lack of a better way to phrase this, I don't think Fata Morgana is weeb enough to achieve the height of popularity that other big VNs have achieved. The art style isn't for everyone and it deals with way different themes than other works that the anime fanbase is used to do. It'll also never get an anime or anything like that.

This was a really fun topic to read through! Always fun to see someone get into a game you care about. Congratulations on making probably 95% of the Fata Morgana memes on the entire internet.

You're exactly right. Upon first glance, there's no way it reads as weeb enough. The content shares elements with dark and elegant anime and manga [Kaori Yuki's Cain Saga/Godchild series comes to mind], but that's never the blockbuster popular stuff. I'm sad to hear the art style would be a turnoff - I'm used to hearing that about One Piece, or the characters' noses in Escaflowne. 'Everyone being too pretty' sounds like a great problem to have, but you're right.

I'll continue to writeup the Prologue and Backstage sections, and probably throw the occasional meme or piece of fan art in here to keep it kickin' until the Switch release.

Questions for everyone: How did you hear about House in Fata Morgana? Do you own it already and/or will you be buying the Switch release?

You might have read this in the OP, but I heard about it from @UshiromiyaEva writing that listening to the OST was bringing the tears.
I'm still pondering the CE version of the Switch release, and feeling far more favorable about it now that I've finished the first game. I have a couple more days to get that sorted.

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Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

Maniac64 posted...

Woo Early Edition!

Man that game has quite the story. I was fully ready for there not to be a happy ending for Michel and Giselle.

Same here. When the credits rolled, I figured 'all righty, that's it'. And then - they got to be together! The artist, Moyataro, is incredible and I'm so inspired. How did he perfectly capture Giselle turning around at hearing Michel's calling out her name, with happy tears in her eyes? I'm stunned.

Thanks for reading so far!

_stingers_ posted...

I loved your writeups. Getting to re-experience the story through your eyes was a treat. I also enjoyed the memes you posted lol, probably not too many fata morgana memes out in the wild.

The game itself is so heartwrenching that it is a breath of fresh air that they let it end on a positive note. Im sad more people don't know about this game because I think it's an absolute classic, but it is what it is. Glad you seemed to enjoy it at least

Thanks! I was concerned because a lot of my writeups are 95% a very detailed account of 'here's what happened in the game' and 5% 'here's how I felt about it/opinions/other additional background IRL info'...and that's not for everybody, some people really just want opinions.

I am so floored by the lack of fan content?? I have poked around for fan art, memes, anything, and it's like a wasteland out there, complete with Persona5 bait-and-switch and tumbleweeds blowing through. I don't know how you achieve VN excellence at this level, and somehow only 11 people and one cat knows about it. Even the most popular Novectacle track on Spotify, the Giselle theme, hasn't been listened to more than 40k times.

I'll be recommending this game to anyone I think can stomach it, it isn't exactly general audiences but it is terrific. The thread of hopefulness throughout the entire game and the bonus joyful ending seems to balance it out somehow.

Thanks for reading so far!

There will be a bit more as I play through the Prologue and Backstage sections... I wonder if I can baby this thread with memes and fan art for a few months until the Switch orders come through?


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Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

Actually I guess there are Prologue and Backstage sections, which will help me get my last Steam achievements... but we can still discuss.

---

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

They head down a corridor and Michel and Georges are talking and joking and... Michel finally laughs. The three approach the door and Morgana expresses the same concerns. Michel says, 'Let us press onward, not fearing a temporary end'. The outdoors is not light, but darkness and the scent of blood. Didier appears once more as the knight, ready to exterminate us. Georges jokes around this whole time, pointing out that this probably wasn't what Michel had in mind for the happy family reunion. Georges does stop to apologize to Didier, though - for abandoning his share of the work, and in the end, blaming him for killing Michel. Michel cries out Didier's name. Neither brother is getting through to Didier. The painting jumps into the air as Didier swings his mighty sword. Georges asks Michel to free Didier.

Michel cries out Didier's name as loud as possible - this knocks his sword off course from Michel's heart to Michel's gut. Somehow, Michel gets through to him. Didier can't stand what he's done, he begs for judgement, for punishment, from Michel. He don't know him very well, do he. The two brothers wish to be brothers again in their next life. Didier fades away, but not before Michel can embrace him once more.

Morgana and Michel make it outside, and it's nothing but blinding white. Everything is disappearing. Morgana reminds him that if he's injured or destroyed, he could disappear forever. If he loses much more blood, that may be his fate here. Morgana asks if Michel would want a fully male body, and to see Giselle again. He agrees on both counts. If he had to choose, it's Giselle. Morgana says she'll wish for something, she won't tell us, and she's not even sure if it will work, her powers not being what they were.

Morgana searches for parting words. She asks Michel, if they were to meet again, would he be her friend? Michel agrees to it. Morgana says with honesty that she's glad to have had Michel in her life, and bids him farewell. Michel is left alone. He talks to Giselle, but she's not there. He waits for her, telling her of the successes they've had. Michel's body begins to disappear. More and more of him begins to disappear, but he steadfastly waits for Giselle.

As he seems to disappear, Giselle appears, crying and in a beautiful dress. She says a ray of light reached the deepest, darkest place of where she was. She believes Michel is still here, even if she can't see him. She'll wait for him.

The characters' names and their ages of death scroll past on a black screen.

We show up in a more modern-looking classroom? A flaxen-haired boy mentions he's been noticing a flaxen-haired girl out the window. The flaxen-haired girl is talking to her friends about going out for ice cream, and how she's caught the eye of a flaxen-haired boy who seems like a prince. Her friends tease her.

A boss compliments a black-haired engineer on his great work while in France. The black-haired man thinks he sees someone he recognizes out of the corner of his eye. A black-haired woman is begging her blonde friend to take her to the art museum while they're in France.

A wavy-haired man is keeping an eye on the stock market via a newspaper. He runs into a woman who says she recognizes him. The wavy-haired man is skeptical.

There are memories ingrained in my soul. We met and lost someone dear to us, and he almost lost his soul trying to save us. We are waiting for him, making our way to where the mansion once stood, red rose in hand. She says she'll wait as long as it takes.

Credits roll. That was quite a game.

Don't worry, you don't have to wait any longer, Giselle. I'm here for you. We get to see the moment Giselle turns around and then a beautiful illustration of her reuniting with Michel. Her smile is the light of his life. Michel wants to spend his days with her, with her smile always at his side, and nothing to get in their way.

Yessss. Ending 8 - Fata Morgana. I've finished it - let's discuss!

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Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

WHG was created by Morgana's mind as she was in the tower. Her own identity as a saint, and her un-saint-like bitterness and hatred created a rift that tore her apart. WHG represents all that saintly goodness, separated out from Morgana. The house manifested to control the anomaly, serving as a tether for WHG's soul. Both of their wishes came true through the mansion. Because WHG's actions stood in such stark contrast to Morgana's wish, she was always doomed.

She asks you to kill her, and you respond 'I can't'.

WHG tells you about how much she admired you when she saw your selfless and honorable death. That she took on that same physical appearance of white hair and red eyes. You took on a totally different approach, even though you and Morgana had both suffered. She asks you once more, and you respond 'I can't do it'.

WHG insists that in order for Morgana's soul to be whole, you have to kill her. Michel doesn't believe this is the end, he believes there has to be a way for WHG, the girl who wanted to live, to LIVE. She asks you once more, and you respond '...'

WHG promises that this will result in the salvation of everyone. You 'take the sword'. WHG asks you to remember her, in some corner of your soul.

Michel is back in the tower, still feeling the sensation of stabbing WHG. He mourns the necessity of it. He speaks to Morgana, and she has so much trouble coming to terms with the fact that she remembered the wrong lord, and that this one was the 'dead slave' she loved.

Morgana refuses to let go, and Michel says it's time to do so. He points out that the WHG was closer to Morgana than anyone. The irony, as Michel points out, is that Morgana has cursed herself along with everyone else. Morgana gets extremely defensive, accuses Michel of laughing at her misfortune. Michel pulls her into a hug. He wants to be there for her because no one else was, in her final moments. Morgana makes fun of Michel, saying he's too forgiving, not understanding his actions at all.

Michel pulls her hood back and we see Morgana, the girl she was always meant to be. Morgana explains how the WHG annoyed her, and how convinced she was that WHG was somehow Michel, despite them being nothing alike. Michel asks Morgana to release everyone's souls, and she'll release herself as well. Morgana insists that she won't forgive them, but she will release them. She's concerned about having to release them on her own, and Michel assures her that he will be with her.
Michel leads the way. Morgana meets Mell first and tells him that she doesn't forgive him, she's just done cursing him. Mell owns up to his role in the situation, not only in the first place, but after he was cursed. He was weak, and ran from the problem instead of facing it. Morgana releases Mell, and he dissolves.

Michel and Morgana descend the staircase, Morgana urging Michel to go first as she's concerned about the Swordsman. If he were to attack and destroy your soul, she says, you'd be gone forever. Gee, thanks.

The Swordsman greets them, is a bit stunned by Morgana's improved appearance. Morgana takes a couple verbal jabs at Michel, but the Swordsman steadfastly defends Michel's status as a man. Morgana offers the Swordsman a curious deal - to have his soul erased. With or without the curse, the Swordsman will likely cause pain. He expresses a desire to live, though. The Swordsman wants to remember this: "You must resist temptation if you are to blend in". He doesn't want to be a killer in his next life. Morgana addresses him as Yukimasa, which I could have been calling him the whole time, and he dissolves. All righty.

Morgana quizzes Michel, asking if he could forgive those who hurt him. Michel says yes, if they repent. Morgana pushes - what if they didn't? What if they showed up, intent to hurt you more? Michel stays silent, and Morgana suggests they go and free the final soul.

Morgana asks on the way there if Michel can feel Giselle's presence, because she can't. Aw no. Not a good feeling.

The two meet up with Jacopo. He's a little disappointed that Michel was able to heal Morgana's face instead of him, but ah well. Morgana announces her intent to release his soul - no forgiveness, nothing. She's about to, and Jacopo stalls. He wants to finally express how he felt. Jacopo talks about how the WHG always felt a bit off, even calling her the name Michelle never felt quite right. But he loved her because he felt Morgana in her. Jacopo asks for a smile, and Morgana ...can't. She says it wouldn't be fair. He bids her farewell as he dissolves.

Morgana explains that hearing how Jacopo felt is nowhere near enough to erase all the hurt she feels. Morgana says the front door is probably open, now that she's not willing it closed.

If you pick 'Let's go', Morgana reminds you there's no guarantee of hope behind that door. When the mansion disappears, so will you. Outside the mansion is not light - it's pervasive darkness, the scent of blood thick in the air. A knight, middle-aged Didier approaches. Morgana is terrified as his pronouncements about judgement over the witch, and the demon. He will see them executed. Michel urges Morgana to take care of Giselle if she encounters her out there, and pushes Morgana out the door. The knight stabs Michel. Michel summons the blade he used to kill WHG, and stabs Didier as well. They both fall down together in a pool of blood. Ending 7 - Farewell.

If you pick 'There's one more stop to make', Michel talks about one more soul that needs releasing, and Morgana asks him to lead the way. You head back to the landscape painting. Michel remembers to come back after figuring out his name - Georges. Morgana didn't know they were brothers. Morgana had tossed the bedroom key into the painting's void. Georges offers an apology to Michel, for the painting that their mother requested. Georges said it was thoughtless on his part, but it's easy to be completely blind to your own actions when you don't receive any of the consequences. Ain't that the truth. Georges is all right. I like him. Michel forgives him, and takes the painting off the wall to bring with when they leave.

---

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

Maria all but spills the beans during Morgana's birthday party. Morgana quickly excuses herself. Maria encourages Jacopo to give her the necklace when she returns, and that telling her how he feels is all he has to do, nothing more.

The raid goes down, and Jacopo desperately searches for Morgana. A bandit stabs him, and when he comes to, Maria is sobbing bitterly over him, thinking him dead. Jacopo thinks power is the answer to these sorts of tragedies - this wouldn't have happened if he was in a noble position. He goes to meet with the old Barnier maid who claimed to be his mother - it was a con. She claimed it bc Jacopo was the correct age and they looked plausibly related, but really because of the possible success and poetry of it all - Jacopo leading the revolt a few years back. He's in on the con, and starts spreading the fake 'lineage' info to his revolutionary cohorts. Maria begs him not to follow through with it.

Sure enough, the revolution is successful and Jacopo takes his place as the Lord of the land, assuming the name of the previous lord. He starts off by trying to make good on his promises - bolstering the local economy, making improvements, letting it be known that anyone from anywhere is welcome. The poor people that had helped his revolution, however, were not very affected by these improvements. They didn't trust him any more. Even when Jacopo met with one of his old friends to talk things over, it ended up as an attempt on his life. All threats had to be eliminated.
Jacopo heard of the witch with magical blood, and thought up a money-making scheme. The Swordsman brought her in, poured her out of the burlap sack, and Jacopo saw what he had done. Morgana. Morgana hadn't remembered him - she remembered the lord who had tortured her mercilessly before. Jacopo couldn't risk correcting her - no one must know of his past, to protect himself. After all this, who would believe him anyway?

Michel needs the real man, takes him by the arm and pulls him out of the darkness. Mell and the Swordsman did not see what they saw in the darkness. Michel is fairly certain the White-Haired Girl is Morgana. Michel points out that Jacopo could have stopped at any time. Jacopo doesn't want to believe it. The Swordsman steps forward and says the girl he didn't kill on the slave caravan was Morgana, and that she loved the time she spent with Jacopo and Maria at the br o thel. Mell points out that Morgana talked about parting ways with the people that taught her that humans are capable of kindness.

Jacopo insists that he already planned to let Morgana go during the festival, but Michel insists that it's too late. Michel pushes for an immediate release, especially if Jacopo has already decided on doing so. Michel hands over the necklace, and Jacopo leads the way to the tower.

Michel calls out to Giselle in his mind. Still no response.

The four men approach the door at the top of the spiral staircase. I don't know if any of y'all have ascended a spiral staircase up a tower before - it's generally pretty tight quarters. I did one time, and you feel like you're right on top of the people in front of and behind you, even though you occupy your own space. Not an experience I'd recommend to people who are afraid of heights or small spaces - it's pretty cramped and the occasional tall, thin windows are only too happy to remind you how high up you are. They hear voices inside - but it should only be Morgana trapped inside. Michel shoves past and opens the door.

Morgana is telling herself a story to keep herself hopeful, and responding negatively to it. She continues a conversation with herself. This is the White-Haired Girl. Morgana tells herself that her letters sent by dove worked and reached someone, and replies that she never sent any letters. Michel says he's here to set her free, and asks Jacopo to unshackle her. This illustration of Michel and Morgana is a gorgeous pieta [compare to the OG Pieta by Michelangelo if you haven't in a while].

Michel begins to explain that she can live, that no one has any malice towards her, and Morgana keeps calling him 'angel' in a soft voice. After having dismissed any claims of being an angel, knowing that Morgana's life is slipping away, Michel embraces this role. He tells her that God the Father is very proud of the work she has done in His name. Morgana's small body goes limp, and she dies.

Michel immediately demands to know why they didn't care for her, why they let this happen? He asks each man to tell her what they were going to tell her in the first place. Jacopo tells her that he wanted to show her the wide world, and that he failed to do that. Mell offers to make amends for how much he hurt her. The two of them each say they will give their own lives in recompense. The Swordsman gives a brief apology, saying that although he is a cold-blooded killer, he did not want her dead.
Jacopo places the necklace around her neck, and they take Morgana's body outside. Jacopo notes that once the girl is brought outside, they'll be made to pay for their sins. No one shies away from this. Mell thanks Michel for his guidance, and takes one last piece of advice - don't look away.
The Swordsman still suspects that Michel is not a regular man, but an angel of some kind. Michel assures him that he is a regular man. The Swordsman takes to heart - he needs restraint.
Jacopo is dismissive of Michel, but Michel offers up a piece of advice - be more open with yourself. Express your feelings and don't leave things left unsaid.

Michel says he is praying for a better turn for the three men in their next lives. They open the door, and it's noon the next day. Everyone is dying, dead, or being killed in a swirl of violence. The weight of Morgana's body is gone from Michel's arms.

Michel realizes he is in the realm of the dead, where the mansion resides. None of it was the real past, merely a projection of the souls' memories. He sinks into darkness. Someone beckons him to open his eyes - it's the White-Haired Girl. She thanks him for helping her remember everything she had forgotten, including her identity. She offers him a sword, and asks him to extinguish her soul.

---

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

The Lord summons the Swordsman, identifies him as the slave that slaughtered the caravan 4 years ago, and makes him an offer. Since the Swordsman is obviously 1] still getting his hands dirty and 2] attached to the Nun, the Lord urges the Swordsman to capture Morgana and bring her in. He tells the Swordsman of Morgana's blood and its blessed properties, and how they can use it to make a boatload of cash. The Lord keeps calling the Swordsman a dog and it's uncomf.

The Swordsman is stunned by Morgana's voice when he first knocks on the door - he instantly remembers it from 4 years ago. His first tether. He wrestled with whether to set her free, or capture her for the Lord. He stayed nearby and observed - Morgana only left the cottage when Mell came around.

Fast forward to the fateful day - the Swordsman hacks off Morgana's arm, gives it to Mell, then scoops her up like a sack of potatoes...actually literally gags her, ties her up and throws her in a burlap bag, to carry off to the observation tower for the Lord. The Swordsman explains the deal he agreed to while Morgana's muffled cries and wriggling protest the treatment. The Swordsman meets with the Lord, informs him of Mell as bait, and they decide making him an accomplice will be far easier than killing him.

The Nun is pleased with how things are going for both her and the Swordsman, the Lord is making money hand over fist, Mell has an ongoing supply of blood for his sister Nellie. Everyone is provided for - except Morgana. Even mostly well and able people started drinking the Saint's Blood, claiming it had preventive properties as well.

The Swordsman's story ends here, and Michel urges him to leave - he must speak with the Swordsman later, when he has a clear head. The Swordsman expresses that he has a lack of empathy, and can't sympathize with others, and assumes it makes him a beast. Michel wants the Swordsman to promise he will atone to Morgana for his actions. The Swordsman asks Michel for more details about his next life, and Michel tells him. The Swordsman is astonished that Michel wants to save his soul as well. He's not sure what to do next - to give in to his basest urges, or to struggle towards kindness and peace? Michel encourages the Swordsman to not try too hard to mask the urges, but instead to allow someone like Pauline in to see him in his broken state, in his struggle. The Swordsman is focused on making changes now so his future life will not be so full of violence and pain.

The Swordsman will invite the Lord to dinner tonight, as well as Michel. Between the two of them, they hope to get the Lord to give up his own key, the 3rd one they need to release and save Morgana. Michel must now speak to Maria, then meet the men for dinner.

Michel is transported into young Morgana's body as her mother begs her to sell the blood rather than give it away. Morgana is sold to strange men. The Lord abuses her for her miraculous blood and the entertainment of his affluent guests.

Michel comes back to his room, he feels weak as though he's really been drained of his blood repeatedly. He struggles to go outside and meet Maria. Maria tries to convince Michel to rest first, but Michel tells her about the time crunch. Maria hears him out wrt Morgana feeling that she was happiest when she was with Maria and the others. Michel invites Maria to go up the tower as well, to speak to Morgana. Maria has a necklace from the slave that Morgana loved - he bought it for her as a birthday present right before he was killed in the raid. She gives it to Michel and urges him to pass it along to Morgana. Pauline and Nellie show up for a pep talk before we go talk to the Lord.
Maria makes an offhanded comment about how the new lord is better than the old one. Michel finds out that the lord was replaced 4 years ago, and wonders if the slave Morgana loved really died. Oh dang. Uh...

We go to the dinner with Mell, the Swordsman, and the Lord. The Lord is cornered, and suspicious that Michel is lying, and that he's been colluding with the Swordsman and Mell for a much longer time. The Lord offers up his key easily, but Michel pins him with the idea of telling his side of the story. Michel throws out the idea that the current Lord is nothing more than the slave, Jacopo, and that Maria was saying he was 'dead' in order to prevent Morgana from knowing the truth. The Lord warns us, then lunges at us with a dagger. A dark smoky apparition appears, and you get two choices.

If you SHOVE THE LORD ASIDE, the Swordsman kills him to defend you, the Lord's head rolling along the floor. A serious mistake, to be sure, but Michel decides to press on with the two perspectives he has remaining. The three of you ascend the tower. Morgana is sickly pale and chained to a ball. Michel is incensed, but draws closer to try to talk to her. Morgana insists that the three necessary are present, and starts to pronounce her curse of eternal suffering. The tower is enveloped in darkness, and we fall, nothing to hold on to. Small arms embrace Michel from behind, begging him to take on her suffering and loneliness. The difference between Michel and Morgana dissolves, and they sink deeper into the darkness. Ending 6 - Darkness Everlasting.

If you REACH INTO THE DARKNESS, you suddenly start seeing things from the Lord/Slave's perspective. He keeps buying ointment to help Morgana's skin heal, even applying it to her face although she's lost all hope for her face to return to normal. I guess he isn't actually a slave, more of a citizen who joined a citizen uprising against the lord. The slaves were freed and sent various places - no guarantees they'd be happy, but at least they'd be free. He took Morgana to a local br o thel to get her strength back. An old lady approaches him and says she used to be a maid for the Barnier estate, she had a child with the lord, and that child is you. Whoa. It gets into Jacopo and Maria's friendship, and how they were close. I like this line about people assuming that a guy and girl can't be close without also being intimate. That bothers me too, tbh, like the people who say 'men and women can't be friends'. They were friends from childhood on. Jacopo is 22 and Morgana's 12 at this point. Maria encourages him to confess his feelings for Morgana.

---

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

Michel has to navigate without Giselle now. Ughhhh.
At some point, this definitely said 1 Day Left, so yeah:

Idk if y'all even remember this show - Early Edition was a 90s dramedy where one man would receive the NEXT day's paper, and then he felt this responsibility to figure out how he can fix stuff before it happens. I saw a parallel.

The Swordsman shows up to his door to tell him about his backstory. He bluntly tells Michel that he does not believe in the local god, and considers the priests/etc. to be nothing more than con men. He asks Michel if Michel is an angel, the one in the stained glass window. Michel does know things he shouldn't know, and he is very interested in soul salvation. Fair. The Swordsman admits to not having a strong sense of direction in his life, and asks Michel to give him clarity. Michel reluctantly agrees to do so.

The Swordsman admits he does not love Pauline, he merely admires her. But he feels it would be not great to tell her that, knowing how she feels, so he continues to lie by omission.

The Swordsman's story. He does not have many strong memories older than 5 years ago. He recalls being a slave and doing hardened physical labor. He was on a slave transport when he met Morgana. That is when he killed all but her. He asked her to unshackle him, and she did so, but without saying a word. The Swordsman imagines that her voice at that time could have calmed him, but instead, once he had killed the guards and slave traders, he turned his blade on his fellow slaves in the transport. Morgana was his first tether. He spent the next few years freely killing and stealing from others to stay alive.

The Swordsman was struck with a disease, and fell ill by the side of the road. People passed by without a second glance. The only person who stopped was Pauline, as the Nun Marie. She offers the Swordsman a place to stay, and visits him as he recuperates. He's back on his feet after 3 days [ha ha] and tries to pay Pauline for services rendered. She says she'll accept it as a tithe, and they part ways. Pauline encourages the Swordsman to stop by and chat sometime. Pauline's smile is his new tether.

The Swordsman comes to desire peace, and Pauline's smile brings it to him. They start spending time together for longer periods, and more frequently. He comes by with fruit for the children once, and they get talking - Pauline points out that their only difference is their race. She wishes she was half his race, and he insists she shouldn't long to be any closer to him [isn't Pauline half-Asian in the future?]. I may be a little late to the party here on this observation, but does this game just repeatedly punch you in the gut emotionally? and that's by design?

The Swordsman straight-up asks Pauline why she's so obsessed with being like him, and she unhelpfully replies "I just am". Wow, all right. The Swordsman then starts to realize her feelings for him. He confesses to her one night, and urges her to turn him down [this was probably why Pauline headed this situation off at the pass when she started her convo with Michel ]. She immediately tells the Swordsman her true name, Pauline [so weird saying a phrase like 'true name' outside of the Fate franchise, ahaha].

The Swordsman narrows in on how it feels to be in love, and has Pauline describe it, much to her embarrassment. This helps the Swordsman realize that all he wants is her smile. Her smile, to keep him from burning up with bloodlust. He knows that if it were to ever overtake him when he was with her, if he killed her, he'd lose his tether and truly become an untamed beast. So he spent time with her in the capacity of her lover, without telling her that he truly didn't love her in the same way. Dang.

He talks about how Pauline was so generous that she was self-destructive. She gave away so much that the church's finances dried up. She starved herself so others could eat. MEME TIME:


---

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

KamikazePotato posted...

Michelle: *tries to be a gentleman and escort a lady home*

The Swordsman: Buenos dias, fuckboy

This made me laugh out loud. Thank you.

Also, Swordsman to Pauline:
https://i.imgur.com/fRE8OKP.gif
yes this took forever, I copied and lined up his face on 58 frames

---

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

However the Swordsman has detected Michel's presence, and confronts him. Pretty sure we gon' die. Yuuuup.

The Swordsman swings his sword, we parry it briefly with Maria's knife and run. He THROWS HIS SWORD and manages to stab us through the chest as we're running away. He sees Maria's name on the knife handle and demands to know who it is as you know, blood is gurgling through our alveoli. Great time to interrogate someone, y'know. He has his short list in hand: you, Nellie, Mell, and whoever "Maria" ends up being. Blood sprays repeatedly across the screen, and he presses his boot into your back. You die in agony.

If you LEAVE IT BE, Maria says she appreciates the thought. You make plans to chat about Morgana tomorrow night, and she leaves. Michel makes it back to his room at the chapel, and chats with Giselle in his mind. Michel is surprised by how normally the conversation flowed, after having been treated like a freak for so long. Giselle says that Michel IS a normal man. He savors the feeling. Giselle offers to release him here, allow him to live out a normal life without being tied to trying to free her, and Michel is having exactly none of that. Michel muses that perhaps he would have ended up the same as Morgana if he had no one with him in his final moments. Instead, he had Giselle, and that made all the difference. Giselle tells Michel that she would have always accepted him, no matter when she discovered his secret.

Michel wakes up totally disoriented and in the cellar, his hands tied behind his back. Even more troubling is the fact that he can't hear Giselle in his mind. The Swordsman comes into vision. We realize that supper was to determine if anyone would miss us if we went missing. The Swordsman assumes Mell has told Michel, his friend, everything. He starts interrogating Michel on what he knows, what the plan is, what the goal is. Michel tries telling him the truth, but the Swordsman starts breaking fingers. I know that the Swordsman deep down is not 'normal', but the average Japanese person, especially of this time period [if he has any similarity to that of Yukimasa], would be genuinely freaked about anything having to do with a vengeful spirit.

Amazingly, Michel pushes through the pain to continue to tell the Swordsman the truth. Since he gains fuel for this cruelty from people begging for their lives, this takes the wind out of his sails a bit. You tell him of his next life, in which he loses his memory and becomes fully beast-like. Michel explains that one day, you will accidentally kill Pauline, your lover, your tether. His eyes glow - how do you know that word??

He can't stand how much you know - he calls you an evil spirit, sent to manipulate him. The Swordsman won't stop, he breaks more fingers and then threatens to cut off your arm before he's stopped by - Pauline! And Mell! I guess they were both looking for you two, and eventually narrowed it down to the locked cellar where the screaming was coming from.

Pauline asks for the truth, and the truth is that Morgana is still property of the Lord, so they were obfuscating the truth moreso than lying. Pauline is hard on herself for not realizing sooner, or for questioning the veracity of anything she had been told. She begs the Swordsman to set Morgana free - he reminds her this will deprive them of the Lord's patronage, and the church will suffer as a result. Pauline has no use for a church that isn't saving anyone. In fact, she has no use for the church in general. Ah. It seems the Swordsman has been placing Pauline on a pedestal unnecessarily. Yeah, don't do this, y'all. If there's any takeaway from my writeups, it's this one. Let people be human. Let them make mistakes. Don't place them so high up that they're sure to shatter when they inevitably fall.

Pauline explains that she didn't have the nerve to do anything else - being a nun and obeying what she was told came naturally to her. Pauline says she did it for selfish reasons for so long that she lost sight of what she really wanted - to be an ordinary girl. The Swordsman recalls that in her next life, she wanted to live in a city on the sea, and live a quiet life with the man she loved. He figures Michel isn't lying.

Apparently, Pauline had wanted the Swordsman to take her someplace far away, where they could live a normal life. He had no idea this was what she wanted. Pauline insists that the Swordsman must set Morgana free. The Swordsman admits that he must suffer the consequences for what he's done, and he imagines his race will make it all the easier for people to call for his execution. The two promise to meet again in their next lives.

The Swordsman turns to Michel, offering to cooperate. Michel insists that the Lord must be kept alive if possible. The goal is to save Morgana's soul by dispelling some of the hatred she holds there. Michel asks for the Swordsman's story, and he promises to give it later that day. Pauline shows some interest in being present, but the Swordsman warns against it - he loves her, he's done some despicable acts and doesn't want her to hear any of that. I'd be like 'too bad, bucko' but Pauline ain't me.

Pauline apologizes to Michel and offers to find him a doctor and help with redressing his wounds later. Mell encourages you by complimenting your unflagging dedication to the cause, and says he's becoming more convinced that you'll be able to do something about the Lord.

---

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

The Swordsman asks Mell a heartstopping question: if the three were on a cliff, and both Nellie and Michel were falling, and Mell could only save one, who would it be? That doesn't earn him any points, nor does it earn him an answer from Mell. Michel asks if the Swordsman is close to the Nun before he takes his leave. The Swordsman says he is not close to anyone.

We talk to Mell about the Lord, and what limited knowledge we have - his name is Jean-Francois Barnier, and although he's deeply paranoid, the merchants like him all right for what he's improved with the local economy. Mell warns us to be cautious, and bids us good night.

We return to our room and start strategizing the next day with Giselle, when we hear a sound coming from the window... a HAND reaches out, then is disappointed that 'there's someone in there'. Michel decides to follow the person, despite Giselle's scream of terror and her protests that it's a ghost.

Michel finds a partially undressed woman who resembles Maria from the Jacopo storyline, and gives chase when she runs away, wanting to talk to her. The Nun calls out in the night and the suspicious woman yells for help and makes the situation with Michel look bad. Oh, sure HER actual name is Maria. The Nun and Maria regard each other for a moment, and then Maria recognizes her as Pauline. Hmmm... Michel is right there, so the Nun confesses that Pauline was her earthly name, but now she is Marie. Makes sense, nuns do take on different names when they take vows and all that.

Maria talks about coming and going, and being a wh o re. Michel asks about a possible connection between Maria and the Lord, but she denies it. Pauline/Marie/the Nun invites Maria for tea, to chat and catch up as old friends. Maria agrees, but on the condition that Michel comes along.

Giselle is adorable in Michel's mind as they enter the cottage and the Maria starts chatting with Nellie about love and romance. Michel is increasingly uncomfortable, but they're not swayed from their choice of topic at all. They start talking and giggling about their taste in men. Pauline/Marie/Nun nimbly dodges the question as she directs their attention to someone who hasn't answered yet - Michel. He tries to worm his way out of it, but Maria pins him by asking him which of them he would choose. You get to choose between Maria, Nellie, Pauline, say you already have someone, or say you're not interested in women XD

If you choose Maria, she offers you a discount on her 'services', which confuses young Nellie. Maria points out that's how her life is like, even though Nellie protests that it's only something you do if you're in love and you've spent a lot of time together. Giselle quizzes you on why you chose Maria, and you say it's because of her similarities to Giselle. Nice save.

If you choose Nellie, everyone falls completely silent. They stare at you slackjawed, completely surprised that you said such a thing. Michel protests about Nellie being an option if everyone was going to get so weird about it. Nellie's 14 and Michel's 27. You end up evading by talking about how of the three, you've spent the most time with Nellie, and that's all it is. You're not attracted to children, you are her honorary brother. Plus, you already have someone you're interested in. Maria quizzes you on this, and you end up spilling your guts on everything you like about Giselle. Maria is stunned, and says something about you really being head-over-heels for this chick. Giselle is tickled, but the idea of being so vulnerable with near-total strangers is making Michel's skin crawl.

If you choose Pauline, she shoots you down immediately. Maria gives her the rundown of why Michel might like her - including her large rack. Giselle asks Michel if he would still love her if she didn't have huge tracts of land. He hesitates like he does with everything, and she is playfully disappointed. The conversation changes back to Pauline, who hasn't gone over her taste yet.

If you choose 'I'm not interested in women', everyone falls silent once more. Maria's cool with it, Pauline fears that she's made you uncomfortable, and Nellie is having mixed feelings about Michel's approach to Mell until she starts fantasizing about keeping both her 'brothers' around all the time. Then she's a big fan. Giselle tells you that you brought this on yourself XD

I chose 'I already have someone' and then we get to describe Giselle to the girls. Michel says he knows her feelings for him will never change, even as Nellie tries to pry for more details, Pauline offers to pray for our happiness, and Maria scoffs at the very idea that love is eternal. The attention turns back to Pauline, who says she doesn't have anyone and redirects the attention to the tea so it doesn't get cold.

Pauline asks Maria about what happened after she left. Michel gets the full story - they were raised in an orphanage, the director there played favorites [liked Pauline, didn't like Maria], they were at the orphanage until the age of 10, Maria ran off and ended up in a br o thel. Maria tells of how the place was raided a few years ago - Michel puts together that this was likely the place Morgana stayed at, and brings up her name. Maria tells of how she never saw Morgana again after the raid, and is thrilled that Michel knows her, because that means she survived at least.

Nellie makes the connection to the story that Michel told her that was corroborated by Mell. Pauline scolds Nellie, but Maria calls her on it, saying that Pauline's always been this way - she won't doubt anyone she's decided to trust. Since the Lord is someone that Pauline's decided to trust, there's no way this story can be true in her mind.

Pauline insists that 'he' would never do such a thing, and asks us to leave. Maria stands her ground, but Pauline needs time until tomorrow to think it over. Michel and Maria chat outside. Maria is won over by Michel's words, and she admits to looking for the Lord, so she can kill him. She talks about how the wealth gap is ever-widening due to the Lord's policies and actions, including ripping up a local vineyard to build more shops. She says the only people who love the Lord are other merchants who can profit from selling imported wine and other stuff that the poorest people still can't afford.

YOU OFFER TO ACCOMPANY HER HOME, but she turns you down. You can insist to be safe, or leave it be if she's certain. If you insist, Giselle's pleasantly surprised that you offered - but you only did what you imagined Didier would have done. Maria splits with you early, and gives you a knife to keep yourself safe on your way home. She says she'll meet with you again tomorrow night and tell you more about Morgana. You head home to the chapel with the knife, and hear people talking. Turns out it's Pauline and the Swordsman. She's asking him if it's true that there's someone locked in the observation tower, and when he asks who told her, she names Michel, Nellie, and Mell. Oh crap. The Swordsman reassures her that the only thing in the tower is the Lord's fortune. How dare they do this to me. The Swordsman has such a sweet smile as he says this.

The Swordsman asks Pauline to trust the Lord, or if not, to trust HIM. Pauline still pushes to see proof, and she'll believe if she can confirm for herself that there's no one in the tower. Michel is nearby listening in, almost ready to intervene. The Swordsman promises to speak to the Lord about it, and let her in to see the tower ASAP. This seems to placate Pauline for the moment, and they bid each other farewell.

---

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

"God, I REALLY do want to hit this boy..." says Michel XD Fair, though.

Mell apologizes for not living up to the big brother/prince image, and Nellie apologizes for putting him up on that pedestal and for forcing him to live up to those impossible standards. They've reached a good spot where they can move forward. I did this with a friend one time, holding them up as a great and perfect person who was so amazing and wonderful, and eventually they had the strength to tell me that they're not all that and a bag of chips, and that I should stop idealizing them unnecessarily. So I did, and things were better for a while. Pretty sure physical distance, growth and anxiety are what keeps us apart now. Ah well.

We hope that this positive turn creates waves that will follow them into their next lives.
Mell totally misinterprets where Michel is coming from to be able to have this perspective. It's those who have lost the most who are the most likely to take action. Giselle comments that Michel is getting more expressive in this era. She dreams of seeing those expressions for herself someday. They strategize a bit about getting to the Swordsman through the Nun, and then... perhaps they'll get a break tomorrow on a lead to the Lord.

It's true, having someone who loves you behind you does give you a firm foundation to do what needs doing. To clarify - that doesn't necessarily mean romantic love! It could be any other kind of unconditional love.

2 Days Until her Death

Mell wakes us the next morning, says he'll go about his regular routine to avoid suspicion, tells you there's free breakfast in the dining hall. Mell seems relieved to have made up his mind to help Morgana. Michel tries to snag some of the Nun's time while she is serving this free breakfast, and it only serves to get him thrown out.

We go to the chapel and look over the archangel Michael stained glass. We stand a bit too close to the observation tower door, and the Swordsman approaches. Michel tries to smooth things over by saying he's a friend of Mell's, and that he wanted to see the Lord for himself. We continue along a conversational path of plausible deniability here, juuuust trying to keep our head attached to our shoulders...

Michel tries to ask a little about the Swordsman's background, but he's rather tightlipped aside from coming from 'beyond the Silk Road'. He asks about Michel in return, though, which seems promising. There's a whisper of connection where he asks about your hair and eyes - when you say it's natural, he comments about nature having strange combinations.

I marvel at the subtle changes in these sprites. You get so much emotion from very small changes.

The Swordsman asks your name, and upon hearing its origin, says it's unfortunate because he despises angels. Thanks, buddy. We try to ask him his name, and he says he doesn't have one. Probably a pronunciation and a security thing - doesn't expect anyone to be able to remember it or say it properly, plus he needs to make sure he can do what he needs for the Lord he serves.

It seems Giselle doesn't know about the Second Door and Pauline's experiences, or anything that took place beyond the mansion. Michel mentions something about the Swordsman being a man of many faces - I love talking about code switching and how odd it is. We all do it to some degree - you don't talk to your boss the same way you talk to your friends, or you don't talk to your lover or spouse the same way you do to your coworkers... it's so interesting the way people can adapt so fluidly like that. Some people find it dishonest, but I think it's difficult to completely get away from it.

We seek out the Nun. Nellie runs over and ... GLOMPS us?? Michel pretty much faceplants.

Mell proceeds to have a conversation with Michel about Morgana, he says that Michel reminds him of Morgana, in a way. They hush up pretty quick to avoid people overhearing. Nellie offers to help connect Michel and the Nun. Mell isn't convinced of the Nun's connection to the Swordsman because they're fundamentally so different. Nellie runs off to take over for the Nun, who is instructing the villagers in weaving straw to make decorations, freeing her up to speak with Michel for a little while. Michel is not enjoying being outside so much because of his sensitivity to the sun.

This track here where Michel speaks to the Nun has a very Bjork quality to it. Pretty sure I've mentioned it before.

We speak to the Nun about the Swordsman but she seems confused by what we're saying. We try to offer up the idea that he's here to keep the church running, but she keeps being evasive. Turns out she helped him when she was a nun in the city, but she claims it was no different than the help that she gave to others at that same time. We ask if her name is Pauline, and she says, no, it's Marie. Which is sooo catholic. Michel and Giselle try to reason it out amongst themselves. Perhaps the names aren't always a one-to-one, as they were with Mell and Nellie.

We try to confront the Nun about the tower, but she explains with a story that's probably been fed to her, how the Lord has been keeping his property and valuables in the tower to prevent thieves from stealing them. Yeah, his 'property', all right. Pfft. The Nun insists that the Lord is not a bad man, he's just overly cautious after all the assassination attempts. She threatens to call the guards, and asks us who we would honestly believe if we were in her shoes - the Lord, who supports the church financially? Or some rando who just showed up one day? The Nun takes her leave.

Michel passes out from the sun's exposure. He wakes up in Morgana's lakeside workshop. He is disoriented. When he asks if Morgana's in the observation tower, it's redacted - Michel is losing his voice any time he tries to warn Morgana about specifics. Morgana has both her arms, so that means this is...prior to the attack? Morgana's just as unwilling to speak about herself as she was with Mell. Michel decides to volunteer info about himself in an attempt to make a connection. Michel muses that perhaps her power lies not entirely with her blood, but in her enchanting voice. Michel encourages Morgana with the idea that, in time, she will find someone who will accept her.

We have a little interjection from real-time Morgana, who warns us that even though we may poke and prod at the Morgana of old, we can't make a difference.

We awaken in our room at the chapel. A worried Nellie asks us about it, and Michel tells her about his sun sensitivity. Michel tells Giselle about his experience 'speaking' to Morgana, and how she felt isolated by the 'saint' role, even though she felt strongly that it gave her life meaning.

Mell shows up to bring Michel to supper, the Swordsman is asking to dine with them both. Maybe the Nun talked to him? Who knows. We'll just have to weather this one out, tomorrow is the last full day we have before Morgana's death.

This supper is extremely tense. Mell won't meet the Swordsman's eyes, or eat. The Swordsman starts testing the waters, pointing out that he and Mell are accomplices, and asking Michel to guess the crime. Then he asks if Michel knew Mell was a criminal, if they could still be friends. Michel talks about the answer depending on how the friend feels about what they've done, and if they're willing to make penance. They talk about friends, and when Michel admits he doesn't have many friends other than Mell, the Swordsman admits his own isolation. The Swordsman seems mildly impressed that Michel would come to visit Mell when it's so far out of his way.

---

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

---

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

We meet up with Mell, he thanks us for hanging out with Nellie. He has to run an errand before he can talk with us, though... presumably feeding Morgana. We can't approach at this point, so we just wait in our room. We have a tense chat with Mell, trying to reason with him, trying to reach his feelings. Ohhhh dang. As we were talking, as Mell was insisting this was the only way and that Nellie was his whole world and that's why he was doing this... Nellie was just outside the door.

She comes in and asks Mell if it's really true, if he really has the Saintess locked up. Mell is heartbroken, Nellie is deeply disappointed and runs off. We choose to follow her, and we tell her that this is really her chance to save her brother and their relationship. We promise we won't let anything bad happen [a terrible idea??] and go back in to chat with Mell.

If you don't choose to follow her, you get in a confrontation with Mell and he removes a candle from a spiked candlestick and gets you right in the jugular and you die. Oops.

Michel urges Mell to tell us his story. Mell does so. He was 17, Father fell ill and died. Who would be the next head of the family? The family had no confidence in Mell, and set his uncle as head of the family. Uncle detects apathy and relief from Mell, and formally disowns him. Mell receives a good-sized stipend to live off of for a while, and Nellie goes with him to a far away place to live. Nellie is overjoyed to have one-on-one time with her beloved brother. Mell knows he has to work at some point to make them enough money to keep living on their own. They eventually learn the ways to live on their own, cook, do things for themselves. Nellie proposes to Mell at some point, and he shrugs it off as her chasing down a fairytale ending, reminding her that she needs Jesus and that they didn't need to be more than brother and sister to be important to each other.

Nellie catches a fever one day that won't break, and she starts wasting away. Mell runs all over, trying every possible remedy, knowing he's ultimately doing it for himself, for what role Nellie plays in his life of loving and supporting him. He hears that there is a reclusive witch who can create remedies. Mell goes and tells the witch Nellie's symptoms, and the witch gives him a couple compounds to help Nellie heal. Mell catches a glimpse of her raw face with patches of skin missing, and manages his best smile so as not to deter her.

He asks her to go on walks and talks to her, knowing her name and that she's only 16. He tries to get to know her better, but Morgana shuts down all conversation about herself. She points out to Mell that the two of them couldn't be more different. I loved when Morgana insisted that she wouldn't lower her prices XD Big mood. I hate the idea of being emotionally manipulated, especially into doing an action.

I have looked at my monitor from a certain angle, and Morgana's eyes are very captivating. They're possibly red, but so pretty.

Mell shows a great deal of determination in getting to know Morgana, and she says she'll consider taking a slower walk around the lake next time!! He confesses to Morgana that he'd do anything for a miracle for his sister's health. Instead of getting snippy about the concept of miracles, Morgana asks if Mell would be interested in a miracle, no matter what form it may take. Oh no. Here we go. Morgana tells her story, and offers her blood to help heal Nellie.

Nellie's fever finally breaks, and she feels much better the next morning. Nellie wants to thank the pretty saint lady, but when Mell asks Morgana, she gently turns down the invitation, saying Nellie's illusion of the saint's beauty shouldn't be broken by the reality.

A few days later, Nellie starts having coughing fits, and Mell seeks another remedy from Morgana. This cycle repeats for a bit. Mell grows afraid of Morgana, and starts avoiding spending extra time with her.

The Swordsman comes to Mell and Nellie's house. Mell thoughtlessly opens the door, and the Swordsman shoves him inside and starts questioning him about the witch. I love that the Swordsman's clothes are spattered with blood stains that have clearly persisted after washing. The Swordsman negotiates with Mell to lure the witch outside, and take her to the Lord of the land. He quickly threatens to kill Nellie as she sleeps in her bed. Mell agrees to help do the dirty work.

The Swordsman swiftly whacks off Morgana's arm and hands it to Mell. He carries it away in shock, but vomits by the lakeside and yeets the disembodied arm into the lake. It was still warm. He shudders at the memory of the carnage back at Morgana's place, and has lots of trouble sleeping. He's running low on funds, Nellie's situation is growing more desperate...

The Swordsman returns to talk to Mell. He asks about the whereabouts of the arm, and Mell tells him the truth. I can't help it, this sprite of Yukimasa is really attractive. Goodness me, he is so handsome.
The Lord is extending an offer to Mell, if he helps out with the new blood medicine that they're essentially 'selling' [asking for tithes/offering in exchange for it], he'll make sure Mell gets some for Nellie. He doesn't have a choice - if he turns down this offer, the Swordsman is authorized to cut him down here and now. Yikes. Mell receives one of the three keys at this point. For six months, he's been bringing Morgana her food in the tower.

We return to Michel's room. Mell feels awful about it, but he was coerced and threatened. Michel mentions the things he could have done [warned her somehow, not run away when the Swordsman attacked her, etc.]... but it's all water under the bridge. Michel urges Mell to set Morgana free. Mell starts talking logistics - the Swordsman and the Lord are too powerful and they must be careful. Mell starts musing about how he might even be stronger than Michel from the looks of things.

---

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

Morgana taunts us, throwing us a sword and saying, "Didn't you always want to be a knight?" Urging us to kill her. Michel says his goal is to save her, and she scoffs. Michel wants to explore the memories from other perspectives. He reminds Morgana that although her wish is powerful, she is not the only entity at play here.

Michel asserts that Morgana is the WHG, saying if he can prove it, her reality can be rewritten. Morgana says, "be my guest" and says we will learn how weak we are. Let us open the Final Door. Year ????

The speaking in French [?] in the background is pretty distracting. It kinda makes me wanna yell at them to shut up. It sounds like when people are talking in the same room while you're trying to do homework. Urghhhh. Men are trying to feed Morgana in the tower, but she won't eat.
Mell leaves Nellie and tells her he'll be back.

Someone talks to a nun and tries to talk her into leaving her vows. She wishes for them to be together in their next life.

3 Days Until Her Death

Michel is outside, suspects he's in the time when Morgana lived. Giselle's spirit [in a soft focus sprite] calls out to him, and is relieved he can hear her. He's a participant rather than a passive observer this time around. Giselle floats in an in-between dark void where she can hear him, he can hear her, and she can see what he sees. Michel will have to figure this out to actually get her back.

We are hoping to turn Morgana's worldview around. We get our bearings and see the village that was so large yet affected by the 'witch's curse' and was never the same. We decide to head towards the city so we can cross the bridge and head towards the mansion. We run into...Mell!

Goodness, we call him by name right off. Great going, Michel, you dunce. I cracked up, I laughed so hard when I saw the spontaneous options Michel came up with: "I was sleeping in a tree" vs "I am God". Whaaaat. I picked I am God, but in going back, it doesn't seem to matter much to the overall story.

Mell pleasantly tells us of the upcoming festival at the church in a couple days. Considering us to be some sort of foreign missionary, he warns us that our proselytizing probably won't go over well since everyone is so devoted to the Saintess. Michel and Giselle thankfully learn to talk to each other through their mental bond, which prevents Michel from looking like he's off his rocker talking to himself.

Mell takes us to the church, which is the mansion in better repair. The chapel part in particular is nicely appointed, and the courtyard is well kept. Mell grabs a nun for us to talk to, who looks suspiciously like Pauline from Door 2. She says she was summoned by the lord. We suspect that she's still close with Yukimasa, or however he appears here. Michel asks to stay for a few days, and the Nun refuses - but Giselle encourages Michel to be Oscar-winning to earn her sympathy.
The Nun explains that they aren't able to provide shelter but that they do give out medicine. She's not exactly sure why they can't provide shelter...

The medicine is called Saint's Blood. Eugh.

Michel helpfully pipes up that it IS real blood when the Nun tries to reassure him that it isn't real blood. Mell whisks him away and we get into a tense conversation. We decide to tread lightly instead of tell Mell everything, considering how high the stakes are.

If you go back and tell Mell everything, he leaves for a bit, collects Yukimasa and Jacopo, returns, and Jacopo orders Yukimasa to slay you. Once Yukimasa is told he cannot play with you first, he slices you without hesitation. Giselle screams and disappears, and the world fades to red. Michel can see himself out of body. He regrets making Giselle experience that. Ending 0 - Dead End.
Mell reluctantly agrees to campaign for you to stay in the mansion at least until the festival. Your so-called 'visions' are a little too accurate, so he assumes you to be mad, but helps you anyway. We discuss the motivations and concerns of Mell as a means of strategizing. He must be keeping his little sister nearby. Michel thoughtlessly points out that must be true because her death sets off the whole catastrophe, and since they both know that, the detail was unnecessary.

"You and 'considerate' are like oil and water!" Gee, thanks, Giselle.

We briefly consider saving others by warning them against ingesting Saint's Blood, but we only have 3 days to work and that'll take us off course, as important as it may seem.

We ask the Nun about Nell, or "Nellie" as she calls her. The Nun directs us to the cottage, which is also where she lives. It being a church and all, they keep the boys and girls separate. But the Nun tells you where it is, so I guess we're gonna go down there and visit. Ha ha ha.

It's the same building where the man who keeps the mansion under surveillance stays in Michel's time. Michel ends up being too blunt like "I have to ask you some questions" and Giselle yells at him. Nellie is suspicious and starts yelling about how 'a bad man has come to kidnap' her XD Derp. I can't believe Giselle has to tell Michel to use Mell's name to calm her down. Wow. Nellie is suspicious of this claim, as Michel obviously seems pretty old to be Mell's friend. Her quiz is pretty easy, though - all you have to do is compliment Mell, and tell Nellie what she wants to hear. You even say that out loud at some point - Michel really is hopeless.

Nellie ropes Michel into conversation, singing, and baking. She talks his ear off, and says the Nun seems too important to bother, and that lately Mell seems kinda distracted compared to how he was before. Probably due to the Morgana sitch, but Nellie doesn't know that. Nellie says being sick is better than being lonely. Michel reassures her that although she's a burden, Mell wants nothing more than to protect her. Mell's doing what he's doing because of how much he cares about Nellie.

Michel recommends that Nellie talk to Mell about her feelings, to try to work it out. Nellie marvels at how you've been able to talk to her like she's a real person, and she really appreciates that. She names you her honorary second brother. Michel's expression here is too cute.

Now that we have her trust, we elect to tell her about Morgana. We try to, and Nellie says she knows that Saint's blood is the Saintess' blood... but she seems to think the Saintess is the Nun and not Morgana. We try to convince her otherwise, revealing the truth that three men are playing a role in keeping Morgana locked up, and one of them is Mell... But she accuses us of lying and chases us out. Dang. So close.


---

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

Omg. That was so beautiful. I cried. If you allow 'Let go' to time out, Giselle appears and embraces and encourages Michel. The game so far has been rough, thematically - but this little moment made it all worth it for me.

They finally are able to embrace and kiss. Giselle talks about how she believes in Michel, and how he can find himself in the brief months they spent together - not in any of the time as the White-Haired Girl. We must free HER. Giselle urges me once more not to let go of her hand.

Alexa, play Huey and the News, 'Power of Love'.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCkgYhtz64U

We enter into reality once more, and push open the door at the top of the tower. A small, shadowy figure appears, hood drawn. Her face is scarred and her hair in two braids. She reaches out - a bony arm rather than a hand. She grins, some teeth missing.

I'm afraid that something is gonna pop out or spook me, so I'll leave this for another time. See you Friday!

---

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

Maniac64 posted...

Just going to stop lurking and say I've enjoyed reading this topic.

Welcome!

I spaced out over the weekend. Will pick back up tomorrow.

---

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

UshiromiyaEva posted...

Just confirmed, it's the one where you get ending 5 and select "Let Go". If you let that time run out you progress.

Thanks! I'll try that tonight.

---

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

UshiromiyaEva posted...

Wait, do you not have the actual path to forward progression unlocked?

IIRC there was a point around here where it's slightly obtuse. I THINK this is the one where forward progression is to not make a selection and let it time out, but I may be thinking of a different point.

Okay, I appreciate this. That might have been Ending 4, 'A Moment of Hesitation'? The Maid is telling Michel that she's waited too long and is no longer the Giselle you seek. If you don't immediately select 'deny it', you lose your opportunity, Giselle pushes you and you fall endlessly. If you 'deny it' very quickly, you get Story Behind the Story where you collect all the keys from the men and hear Morgana's side of things.

What do.

---

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

I am thinking about looking up help on those last 3 endings... I have reviewed all my save points and there doesn't seem to be any obvious ways I can do something different. I'm starting to get the same Endings 1-5 that I've already achieved.

I started saving during that one moving through the mansion part where you get ~9 or 10 different 'go here' options, and it ends with Call the Maid. I've already called the maid 10x to get that sweet, sweet Steam achievement.

Suggestions?

---

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

At the next delivery, Michel begs the servant to take him with, away from this place. He explains about the witch's voice. The servant calls Michel insane and threatens to quit his job.

Anything you hear, often enough, becomes the truth. This is pure torture.

Michel reluctantly, through process of elimination, begins to think of himself as a witch. He gave up everything else he was attached to. He did not agree to curse anyone. He stayed that way for ten years, then Giselle showed up. Morgana immediately starts suggesting Michel throw her out, but he steadfastly refuses. By the same token, he has trouble accepting that her enthusiasm for him is genuine. Instead, he believes the words in Mother's letters, that Giselle is a witch who was manipulating Father for money. He had her banished to the mansion, not knowing that Michel already lived there, and he could not be told the truth, lest the reveal endanger Michel. In one letter, Mother includes a knife dipped in holy water for Michel to slay the witch. This is the knife that Michel pulls on Giselle that one time before she briefly runs away.

His time with Giselle brings out the 'normal person' in Michel. He treasures their time together, he suspects, even more than Giselle does. He goes up the observation tower to discuss with Morgana, to part ways with her. Morgana taunts him, saying Giselle won't be able to handle his secret, that he'll always be alone, that no one will ever love him. It's too cruel.

Does being ephemeral make it worthless? An excellent question. I'd say, quite the opposite.

Morgana promises to return when Michel is at his absolute lowest. The witch departs. Michel and Giselle spend even more time together - Michel trying to reduce his overall losses by sticking to a friendship. A friendship could be maintained after such a shocking revelation, he mused. But Michel wanted more.

...This whole part is so heteronormative. Oh goodness. You can have plenty of fun without PIV. I mean, I understand it would be difficult from an expectation-management standpoint. Not exactly the sort of thing you start off with in the first conversations. "Wow, it's dusty in here. Do you mind if I clean? Wow, you have a lot of books." "Well, you know what I don't have a lot of... Or any at all, really..."

Michel pushes her away, trying to soften the blow of the reveal. He is gray, as a color.

The news arrives that Antonin, Father, has passed away. Giselle talks about her faith in a wonderful future together, she promises not to leave Michel's side. Michel tries to find opportunities to tell her the truth, but it becomes increasingly difficult. He decides to delay it until after his family accepts him as a man. He sends Mother a missive asking for peace and acceptance of the fact that he is a man. In return, knights arrive to kill him. The tragedy unfolds, even as Giselle is asking for a more complete understanding of this 'curse'.

Morgana almost decides on her own to curse, but Michel urges her to protect Giselle instead. He dies protecting her, and the door is sealed. Morgana says ultimate despair waits beyond the door. Didier is one of the knights, and he declares Michel to be executed. Didier claims their familial bonds have long since been severed, and calls Michel a cursed witch. Michel is skewered, finally allowing himself to cry and mourn for the place that he had hoped for in this world.

His body is put up on a cross in public, not a scrap of clothing on him. His soul is still tied to his body, so as the villagers walk by and revile him, as small children throw stones at it, he is there and can feel it all. Mother visits the body, but immediately decries it as a witch, saying she did not give birth to such a cursed thing. At the priest's behest, she begins the burning of the body.

Michel gives up, and his spirit dissipates. He can hear Giselle, but it takes him a long time to reform himself into something that can meet with her. The whole time, she waited, and the whole time, you showed up as a woman in the form of the White-Haired Girl, and fell for other men. Morgana reminds him that he banked on Giselle being understanding, even if no one else would be, and she forsake him as well.

Michel is there, forever bleeding from the wounds and sobbing. Morgana offers us a man's body, and we can go and live the life we desired, since we steadfastly refused to curse anyone. All we have to do is Let go.

Michel is with WHG, and they're talking about going to Prague to see Mucha's stained glass. I wanna go! I love the work of Alfons Maria Mucha.

Michel feels like something is missing. He begins spontaneously crying while remembering a wide smile, not from WHG who has a more subtle smile. Ending 5 Never Let Go.

Rather than accept The Maid's proposition, I reject it. The Maid keeps encouraging me to stay close and to not let go of her hand. Michel runs outside and is enveloped in light, the Maid cannot follow. We become WHG, coming into consciousness in the middle of the road on the way to school. She looks up at a tall, handsome man with long hair. We feel a pang of familiarity, and try to catch his attention. Michel is focused on returning to the mansion, he says if he can't return and hold Giselle's hand, what's the point? He decides to start over, and steps in front of a car. A stranger calls for an ambulance. Ending 2 - Coming for You.

I accept The Maid's proposition this time. Being with The Maid is what has allowed you to endure all of this. You decide to grasp at eternal happiness, rather than more pain. Ending 1 - Prisoner of Illusion.

I have taken a look at the Ending List and it seems I have 5 out of 8 endings done? Idk. See you Friday!


---

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

Everyone in the house needs to know - why did we listen to Mother for so long and stay cooped up in the room? He hears the echoes of the rest of the family, playing out their pleasant facade in the great hall. Record-scratch moment as Michel enters the room. Aimee loudly protests, that if she knew Michel had always been a boy, she would not have treated him the way she did. Michel calls her a wh o re and suggests she find comfort in Didier's arms. Georges is confused, and everything falls into chaos.

Mother Lydie explains that Michel is cursed, that she gave birth to a daughter. She keeps insisting that Michelle is her daughter, and Michel throws off the bedsheet he had been wearing, asking Mother to open her eyes and see who he truly is. You're not a boy, or a girl... Aimee calls you an abomination... Is Michel intersex? Aimee says 'there's nothing there'.

Mother locks Michel away, writing letters to him instead of visiting, insisting on the use of a girl voice and Michel signs all the responses 'Michelle'. This is heartbreaking. One day, Michel requests that a servant bringing a meal tell their gender. When they say male, he demands that the person disrobe. Then, and only then, does Michel see the key difference. Feeling the judgement and revulsion of the person, Michel attacks. Several servants have to stop him, but they successfully shut him up in the room again. The servants stop coming. Michel spends several days without water. Don't you die after 3?

Aimee finally opens the door and bringing food and water to Michel. She cruelly reminds Michel that no one likes them after the episode, and drops a glass of water on the floor, demanding that Michel sop up the water from the carpet. She laughs at Michel's pitiful state. Abuse of all kinds follows, Aimee claiming that Michel doesn't have a friend in the world. Michel wants to kill her. He bites her hand, and she mercilessly kicks the living daylights out of him. Aimee thinks herself weak, so she doesn't know when to stop.

We get a flashback to happier times when "Michelle" would spend time with her brothers. Michel wonders if those times can ever return.

Aimee continues her campaign of brutal abuse - since it's tied to mealtime, there's no way Michel can avoid it. Eventually, Aimee grows bored and starts having the servants deliver meals again. Michel can't track the passage of time, he screams and cries and tears at his hair and body. Servants outside the door hear and whisper about how 'poor Michelle has lost her mind'. What an awful circumstance.

One day, the brothers bang on Michel's door. They advise of a carriage that can bring Michel to safety, as Father wants him executed. They explain that once Georges takes over the estate, Michel can be restored properly as a Bollinger. But it can't happen now. There is another property owned by the family that is abandoned and no buyers are interested. They speak of the witch, but dismiss the idea as hearsay. It's the only way to keep Michel safe.

Didier reaches the familiar agreement from earlier - provisions once a month, and something to pass the time. Anything Michel wants, he will do his best to get. He requests Didier's chess set and some modest art supplies from Georges. Didier asks Michel to avoid making contact with people who don't already know about him. Didier says it was Mother's idea to do this. She will be the only other one who knows that Michel is alive. Honestly, if it wasn't her idea, it would be a terrible idea to tell her. Moms are always emotionally compromised, even if they're not the first to break when questioned.

I have to say, I like the way the pencil portraits slide in, it shakes up the otherwise static appearance of these parts of the game.

So it seems Aimee lied to everyone - saying Michel wouldn't let the servants in, and that he wouldn't eat unless she was present. For six months. Michel exclaims at the ridiculous tale, but doesn't clarify because he feels ashamed. It pains me to know how clueless Georges is in the presence of a pretty face. It seems it took them all a while to get over the infidelity thing, but Aimee clearly made an effort, and Georges has forgiven her, and worked things out with Didier. Aimee's clearly got the wool over everyone's eyes, but Michel makes the tough call and lets it be. He doesn't want to ruin any of Georges' happiness.

Michel asks them to confirm that he is considered to be their brother, and that this won't be the last time they see each other. They confirm, and promise it won't be the last time. They sent Michel off with strong hugs.

We return to Michel and the witch Morgana. She chides him about keeping himself walled off, about experiencing Giselle's pain but sharing none of his own, by failing to acknowledge his own past, he hasn't realized why the disconnect occurs. Morgana pushes him back into his own memories...
Michel continues in the carriage. The driver brought him around, and left him there, alone with his luggage. The angel in the stained-glass window is Michael, Michel's namesake. He opens the door to the observation tower, and climbs up. He opens the burdened door, and sees Morgana's one-armed skeleton. He settles in, receiving provisions as promised, replying to Mother's letter as 'Michelle' to pacify her, even as each one begs for him to come home 'when the curse is lifted'.

He spends time with Morgana's skeleton, holding her hand and cradling her in his arms. He realizes she must have been young when she died, and in pitying her, feels he must be in a better position [the thing he says about pitying someone else disqualifying you from being pitiable is 100% false, but I'll let it slide].

A painting arrives, very clearly bearing Georges' brushstrokes. A letter from Mother, encouraging Michel to look upon the portrait of Michelle and remember who 'she' was. It was meant as a visualization, to 'help Michelle return'. Michel screams in frustration and agony as he slices up the canvas. Was it all a lie?

Morgana approaches him in only a disembodied voice, and connects herself to the one-armed skeleton in the observation tower. She offers to help Michel curse everyone. She wants him to select someone for her to draw near to the mansion, so she can kill them. Michel instead selects no one. There is no one he can bear to kill, or curse.

Morgana reminds Michel that their happiness belongs only to them - he cannot share in it. It's built on his misfortune. Even so, Michel wisely knows that he would not feel better at their suffering. Morgana continues to play Worst Therapist Ever by telling Michel that his concern for others will devour him, that his hope will abandon him, and that she and him are essentially the same. Michel can't escape her - she's always there whispering for death and destruction. This is how I feel about intrusive thoughts - they're so disturbing, so distressing, yet persistent. And if I don't take care of myself, they get a lot worse.

Michel tries to physically lash out at Morgana, and he can't - he simply ends up destroying other objects in the room.

---

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

https://i.imgur.com/xItKUtz.gif
https://i.imgur.com/aPLHRM9.gif

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Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

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Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

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Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

Thread engagement question: Would y'all enjoy it if I created some FataMoru memes to post in this thread too, or are we Very Serious FataMoru Fans Who Do Not Stand For That Level of Foolishness? If images are needed, I would just draw them to avoid spoilers rather than searching for canon imagery, if that's a concern.

Either way is cool with me. Let me know!

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Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

The Seventh Door. Lydie and Antonin have a baby girl. The baby has two things out of the ordinary - her coloring, and a great curse. They name her Michelle.

She grows up - plays chess with Didier and frequently whoops him. Georges comes by to chat with them. Georges [artist brother] has to prepare for a swordfighting competition, so Didier [knight brother] offers to help him practice. Michelle must watch from indoors because she's sensitive to the sun. She's also somewhat averse to her girl-only upbringing. She wants to read, and play chess, and make art, and swordfight. But her mother forbids her to do such things, and instead puts great pressure on her being a girl and doing things that will make her a suitable wife someday.

Michelle hears Georges talking about Didier possibly changing the Order from the inside. Michelle requests to be made a knight once Didier has made the necessary internal changes. Didier objects, saying Michelle probably spent too much time with them as her brothers. Michelle's deeply offended, as this is what their mother goes on about. Michelle insists that she could be strong enough one day to swing a sword, that her mind is suited to strategy as evidenced by their chess games. Didier insists that men and women walk different paths. The angrier and more frustrated Michelle looks, the more I can see Michel in her.

Oh dang, we're meeting Aimee!! I love that the character's bluntness hasn't changed at all in Michelle.

Aimee greets Michelle with a kiss and introduces herself as Georges' fiancee. Michelle feels more comfortable around Aimee than she expected, and she's paying special attention to her every move. A party is held in the couple's honor, and Georges introduces some of his friends to Michelle, strangely acting like she was his property moreso than his sister. The friends rave in a weird way about her looks, and it makes her look uncomfortable.

I had no idea there was gonna be a trans-aligned character in this and I am delighted.

Oh goodness, someone wants to kiss her hand. This hesitant face, exactly like Michel when he's thrown off by something. You're not supposed to actually make contact, but the man actually kisses her hand. She slaps his hand away and storms off. He follows her and pins her to the wall, making a hamfisted attempt at wooing her. She wants nothing more than to escape. Georges catches up with the guy, but Michelle has no idea how long it had been or what exactly had happened.

She escapes to her room, lets out a few choice curse words, and tears at her hair. Georges comes in to apologize and insists that even though that guy's a jerk, there are other men and better ones that Michelle could end up with in the future. The idea sickens her. Even the idea that one day there would be a man that liked her that she would like in return... she can't imagine it. She doesn't find men entirely repulsive - she does admire her brothers, what they can do, and their bodies.

Aimee catches up to them, and sends George away, saying it's better for girls to be alone with each other in times like this. Yikes, yikes, five alarm. I have been in 'girls only' scenarios like this, and they always felt like accidentally walking into a locker room. It felt like I was somewhere I shouldn't be...but somehow no one seemed to pick up on it.

Georges had told Michelle to forget it ever happened ASAP, and Aimee told her she would likely not be able to forget it.

Aimee frequently visited Michelle's chambers, and being a very touchy-feely person, she would often play with Michelle's hair. This whole thing is a mood. She doesn't have much in common with Michelle, but that doesn't matter. Michelle feels blessed by her presence, and a little guilty as the feelings and thoughts she has about Aimee are...untoward.

Aimee puts forth the idea that Michelle has spent too much time with her brothers and needs some feminine influence. Aimee teases her about being small up top and Michelle is struck with indecent urges. Ughhhh. This game calls you out. I want y'all to know this is not fiction so much as it is exactly how one feels. I know back massages were quite popular at college and I felt like I was going to die. I felt like just shifting in my seat would give it away, would broadcast how I felt. It was terrifying.

Michelle tries to twist away from the touch, and ends up inches from Aimee's face - then, on impulse, she kisses her on the lips, then scrambles to put some distance between the two of them. Aimee dismisses it as an accident, but Michelle insists it was intentional. Aimee takes it as a teaching moment, like Michelle doesn't know not to be touchy-feely or kiss others. Aimee takes her leave.

Michelle takes a little midnight stroll and hears Aimee talking in the courtyard, saying how the siblings' Mother had asked her to befriend Michelle, and how she didn't expect to 'confuse' the girl. This sucks. There's few things worse than finding out that, instead of making a friend or other connection, that you're just part of someone else's pet project. Aimee could tell from the very beginning that Michelle had those feelings for her, and was disgusted by it. And the man she's speaking to is Didier. How awful.

Heated sighs coming from the courtyard...yuck, is Aimee being unfaithful? Nooo. Boo.

Michelle wakes up the next morning, sicker than she's ever been. Her voice is raspy during the day. She is trying to recover from the flu while her mother is worried sick. She had dreams of being a man. She dreams of being her brothers. She dreams of loving Aimee. But then she remembers Aimee's hurtful words and the dreams turn to nightmares.

The fever clears up, but her voice never recovers. The joint pain stays. Mother refuses to let her out in public or to be seen by others.

Michelle/Michel asks a servant for a mirror. The body had clearly changed as none of the dresses fit anymore. He examines his body and decides he doesn't need the last two letters of the old name. Michel it is. He embraces the name now, as he hated it before. Of course nothing made sense before - he was a man. And now everyone would know it.

See you Wednesday!


---

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

Michel feels dead bodies grabbing at his ankles, dragging him down. He's covered in blood and human remains. He's deeply disgusted that a 12-year-old girl had to witness so much death. Morgana mourns the fact that she had ever experienced happiness, or human emotions.

Morgana travels for a while on her own, and comes upon a witch's cabin. She dumps the witch's body in the nearby lake, as she had died of natural causes. She lives there until she is 16, making remedies for the locals in exchange for food, until she meets a flaxen-haired boy who is not repulsed by her and spends time, talking and walking around the lake with her. He is very close to his sister. [sounds like Mell??] The sister is bedridden and needs something - so Morgana gives her blood. Multiple times.

She heals a bit at first, probably placebo, and then nothing really improves after that. The visits become more infrequent, and the consuming of blood was taboo in that time.

A man comes to the door and asks about the witch with the miracle blood. The man's voice sounds like the carriage killer from earlier. Morgana demands that he leave, her blood is not for murderers but for the sick and needy.

The flaxen-haired boy returns with an apology and wants to reconnect. Morgana opens the door without a second thought, and the man is standing behind the boy, holding a sword. He hacks off her arm and gives it to the boy, calling it his 'share', and the boy runs off. The murderer talks about saving a church with her body, selling it to the lord and then giving the money to an altruistic church run by a nun known as the Saintess. The murderer calls Morgana a witch.

Morgana is pulled up the tower and her blood let to mix into red wine and be sold off as a miracle cure-all elixir. No one would buy it if they knew it was a witch's blood. The observation tower is locked with a lock with 3 keys - the lord, the swordsman, and the young man each have a key. As spring celebrations begin, as the lord and Saintess are both complimented in her stead, she can hear it all happening below through the window.

The church bell tolls 12 times, and on the twelfth, Morgana dies. The men arrive to drain her a little more, and are annoyed and frustrated at her death. They start to blame each other. Morgana rises from her body, not tied down by it anymore, and makes a wish - or as some would call it, a curse.

The young man's sister immediately begins to vomit blood and dies. He shouts the truth as loud as he can - 'you're all drinking witch's blood', stabs himself in the throat with a fork, and dies. Everyone drinking begins to vomit blood and suffer. They swirl around the Saintess, but the murderer slices anyone who draws near. He is quickly overwhelmed by the mob, who then return their attention to the Saintess. Once she is destroyed, they turn their attention to the lord. He's quickly run through.
A plague spreads over the town, and people bemoan being cursed by the witch. The whole city is dead within the week. But Morgana is not satisfied.

She wishes for the reconstruction of the 3 men:

To the flaxen-haired young man who cherished his sister - let him be destroyed by love gone too far.

To the beast-like man who desired to be more human - let him feel the pain of never being able to draw close to that goal.

To the lord who was greedy above all else - leave him abandoned by all but his money and power. No friendship, no love, no loyalty. Nothing.

Michel feels nothing but unending pain. Morgana encourages him to give up. He stalwartly refuses, pushing forth despite his profound injuries. He reaches the top and addresses Morgana. He tells her that he understands why she would hate them, but to go on hating them does no good. He apologizes for never paying attention to Morgana, for never asking how she felt. Morgana tells him to open the door.

It opens to Michel's old bedroom...? Giselle is there and she says she's not an illusion. Morgana chides you for returning so many times and not remembering Giselle. For toying with the different men. For not knowing who you were. You are the White-Haired Girl.

Giselle had read the letter. You are not a man at all. You feel rejected. When you learned your father, Antonin, had passed, you wrote one letter to your brother, and another to your mother. To your mother, you ask her to consider that you were never cursed. That you were always her son, Michel, not Michelle. Your body is no longer female. You wish to live together with Giselle, whom you love. Shortly after sending that letter, you were killed.

---

Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

We go to the cellar next. Yeesh. I'm scared. Yukimasa/Bestia gives up the key quite quickly... suspiciously quickly. He urges me to pick up the key quickly and begone, especially if we have no answers for him - where he is, when this is, etc.

We go to the den with the billiards table. We are surprised to see Giselle and we run to her, turn her around - there is no light in her eyes and she is spattered with blood. Since Giselle doesn't bleed though, this can't be her...

Jacopo has taken advantage of our confusion, tries to shoot us and misses. He's incredulous that the other two handed over their keys. Once he hears that we are heading up the observation tower to meet Morgana, he begs to be taken with. He wants to be brought to the witch, I assume he wants to kill her. Instead, he disappears and leaves behind his key with a clinking sound.

We rush back to the observation tower door and unlock it using the three keys. We begin an endless climb. Morgana reminds us that we are already dead. She was never anything but a human. But we've all changed since our deaths. Michel finally asks Morgana about herself, how she became a witch, how she became attached to this house...

Morgana tells her story. She was born the day that rain finally came and broke a dreadful drought, and her mother had claimed it was a divine child. Everyone believed it. Morgana was devout and someone asked her to prove herself one day with a miracle. She fed her own blood to an old, infirm woman who grew stronger afterwards. No one else questioned it, and the original challenger was to be punished, but she forgave him and he worshipped her.

As a child, she strongly believed that she could bring miracles to those around her. Word spread, and soon she had several scars from sharing her holy blood with others. Her mother grew greedy, and began to suggest that they charge a little for the miracles. Morgana refused, and her mother sold her off. She travelled far until she was delivered to the lord, who insisted he owned her. He cut her and would serve her blood to his guests. Morgana mourned, as her blood was supposed to be for the sick and the poor, not these who were obviously richly blessed. A transformation happens, and the lord raises his sword to kill her, claiming she was a witch in saint's skin.

Michel drops back onto the staircase without warning. He is being made to feel the pain Morgana felt. He's experiencing it firsthand. But this is not the end of the tale...

The slaves, at that moment, decided to revolt. A young man pulls Morgana out of there, and takes her to a brothel, where he promises someone can provide her a room and care for her. He shows Morgana her own face to ease her fears at the idea of being forced to sell her body - her face looks horrendous. She begs the slave to kill her, and he refuses, saying she'll eventually find good fortune if she lives long enough.

Eventually, Morgana starts to see the value and virtue in the women of the brothel - they don't have much themselves, but any extra was applied to Morgana's benefit. Ointments for her scars, etc. The slave occasionally returns and promises to show her the world. There is a bandit raid in the night, and the customers and workers are ruthlessly killed. The ones that were not were packed up to be sold.

Morgana cries, and a man asks her why - she tells him that she's sad because she didn't get the chance to show gratitude to people she loved. The man steals a sword, defeats their captors, finds the keys to his shackles and has Morgana unlock them. After this, he slays all the captives but Morgana. Pretty sure this is that one Dane Cook sketch, you know, "Thanks for the candy". He takes the sword, doesn't kill her, and leaves. [sounds like Yukimasa??]

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Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

'Deny it' is our option. Giselle shoves us, and we fall. Last wish - to tell Giselle that I still love her, even if she no longer loved me. Ending 4 - A Moment of Hesitation.

I click on 'Deny it' a bit faster the second time around. We refuse to believe that hearing her voice calling out to us wasn't real. We refuse to let go of her hand, to abandon her. If she wants to hate us, destroy us, kill us, fine. We'll fight it out. But deny that she cared? Deny that she waited? Never. Michel reminds her that he loves her. We emerge from the darkness in her heart, we're in the observation tower once more.

Michel encourages Giselle to leave with him, to go outside - even if there is danger, even if there's no place for them out there, it's better than wasting away in the nothingness that is the mansion. Wow, this hits hard. We see Giselle smile again, this time as the Maid. They're afraid because they've changed, but they have to keep moving forward.

The second we decide to leave, the house envelops us in a more profound darkness than ever before. Giselle and Michel are separated. Morgana insists on a beautiful tragedy. I love the way the witch's power is presented here, and how they show Giselle disappearing into the background, sinking into the black.
Morgana insists on pain for Michel in exchange for releasing Giselle to be able to enjoy the sunlight. Michel slips away into darkness, and Morgana urges him to cling to sanity and find her...quickly... before she suffers more. She's had to wait all this time, and if you don't HURRY...

We are invited into the Story Behind the Story.

We're back with Giselle in the time we spent with her in the mansion. She offers to practice conversation with Michel, and he gets a little snippy. "The more you know about someone, the closer you feel to them, and the better friends you can become". Yo, Giselle knows what's up.

A series of questions appear. We'll start with You haven't told me your age. I guessed 20 and I was right! Tell me about your family. Giselle talks about her mother and sister, and how she always wanted a brother. Her dad died in a plague. Michel is stunned by her inability to see family as a source of potent betrayal.

Tell me your preferences. Giselle takes this to mean her taste in men, lawl. She turns it around on him by asking about Michel's first crush, he shuts it down by talking about how he didn't have one. Giselle talks about the son of a blacksmith who was very muscular and popular... but supposes that in hindsight, it was more admiration than love.

I've noticed Giselle's sprite seems paler than it did before. Could just be my imagination. I love how perfectly this illustrates his struggle to keep up with conversation. It's wonderful.

Michel finally confesses that at age 14, he had a crush on his brother's fiancee Aimee. But he says it was just impulses at the time and nothing ever came of it [maybe he's talking about teenage hormones?].

Do you like being here? Giselle says yes, and Michel argues with her. Dude, you are working against yourself here. There's nothing wrong with being overly quiet or overly serious, but you gotta accept compliments and positive things. People are okay with putting effort into a relationship, but you don't want to have to fight someone into loving you. He is very sincere, Giselle acknowledges. That's a very good thing!

Michel regrets not being able to tell Giselle how much he loves and appreciates her smile and how he never wants to let her go.

Creepy text urges eternal suffering on everyone's soul... that's nice.

The screen is now spattered with red...blood? Michel wants to search for Giselle, but he feels out of sorts. A warm liquid covers the floor...blood. It streams down the walls and covers the floor. Michel makes his way to the observation tower, but the door is chained shut, with a lock that requires 3 keys. We recall the key from the man in the painting, and make our way back there. The man in the painting suggests the 3 keys are the 3 men connected to the events the witch is always cursing about. The man in the painting recognizes Michel and almost apologizes, but the connection is lost. We have no time to waste.

We assume that we are following the 3 doors in order, so we go to the rose garden first. We address a shadowy Mell, who wants us to free him in exchange for the key we need - he says he left it under a thorny rosebush. We must reach past thorny brambles that do not give way, they are instead like metal. We rip up our arm pretty bad before Mell confesses to having the key in his possession. He gives it to Michel, even though Mell was warned not to give it up for any reason. Mell questions us if it's worth it to save this person - and it most assuredly is.

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Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

So the children are enveloped by the house, in the witch's curse. Giselle talks about how she can't quite recall much about Michel aside from his eyes and hair, and how when she first arrived, she was welcomed in because of that association. We must be talking about White-Haired Girl [WHG] again! WHG's name is Michelle. Dang.

But as Michelle, she does not remember anything, even at Giselle's urgings. Morgana sympathizes slightly, but pushes Giselle to select another Master, one who really needs her. Michel did not need her, Morgana insists.

We watch shadows of that story play back wordlessly. Mell falling in love with Michelle, and Nellie growing jealous. The aftermath of Nellie's attack, Mell fleeing.

Giselle as the Maid feels she's lost any attachment she had to sanity. Mell leaves and becomes a priest. The girl [Nellie? Michelle?] falls ill a few years later and dies. The Rhodes family falls apart. The time moves to 1707.

Now we enter back into the tale with Bestia and Yukimasa. The merchant from the beginning of the tale is slaughtered, and as Master, Yukimasa urges the Maid to make the body into a stew. Gross. We're having something of a fugue state here, as the Maid does not recognize or recall what exactly she's doing. At a moment perceived as hesitation, Yukimasa skewers her, only to find that she does not bleed or die. The Maid laughs at his realization. Yukimasa comes to the conclusion that the Maid is the witch. The Maid considers how true this may be, as she's losing track of Giselle.

WHG shows up once more, and there's a glimmer of recognition there, but ultimately nothing comes of it. Her name is also Michelle. I wonder if the Maid is supposed to take a more active role instead of being like, 'Yo, I remember you, do you remember me? No? Aw, that sucks.' Try to grow closer to her as she is now rather than trying to find that past anchor? Idk, it reminds me of going to large extended family gatherings and having Aunt Suzie who lives half a world away ask, "Do you remember me? I saw you last when you were THIS tall *indicates a very short height*" ...Aunt Suzie, get with the program. Ask me about my life now. I'll get to know you if you are willing to accept that I probably don't remember you from when I was 3 years old and we first met.

The Maid wonders if it would be best just to kill Michelle and end this horrific cycle that keeps bringing her pain. I don't know if it will happen the way she expects. The Maid cannot bring herself to kill Michelle, but of course the Bestia tale ends in carnage anyway. The time moves to 1863.

WHG is Jacopo's wife and says at first, 'Nice to meet you.' The Maid is crushed by this lack of recognition. Morgana brings her around to the realization that she is both the Maid and the witch. The 'witch' offers to tell the story of Giselle and Michel - the Maid had become so attached to this tale that she thought it her own.

Jacopo waits for Michelle, even though she will never return. He leaves a will and his wishes are to be buried without funeral or fanfare.

We return to the present moment, realizing that the Maid has been subjected to not only her own struggles, but the house's tragedies as well. The Maid tries to break it to Michel that he is now too late, that the Giselle he loved no longer exists. It was too long to try and keep her alive.


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Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius

A tea set arrives from Hayden's son. It's a teapot with sugar, so he urges the Maid to make some tea so he can try it, and write back to his son about how the tea was. Hayden drinks the tea and adds the sugar, and falls over.

The sugar contained poison, and Hayden was left bedridden. He dies the next day, strangles himself with his own left hand. He had instructed Giselle on the 'official story', and talked with her about how she seems otherworldly.

"The worst torture can only be inflicted on the living." So true, Morgana. So true.

Giselle falls into a deep depression. All the other servants leave. Giselle threatens to kill herself, if the alternative is to force others to go through the pain that Hayden endured. She wants to join Michel, but she finds that she can't die, even if she wanted to. She returns to Hayden's advice of building a cocoon to protect herself. But - he warned, don't stay in there too long or you'll lose yourself completely. She couldn't retain her sense of self, so she became The Maid.

Ooooh, we're back to Nellie and Mell, Hayden's grandchildren!! I'm so excited to go through these with a different perspective.

See you Friday!

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Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself...: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?
-Marcus Aurelius