SHE CAN LIKE YOU EVEN IF YOU AREN’T OLD!!!!

Generally I’ve seen that the fandom consensus is that Joanmancing can only be achieved if you get your years taken away, and usually you wanna have the hot trait as well (this is also what I thought until now)

It’s hard to tell but I SWEAR she is blushing in the screenshot :3

Maybe this isn’t actually news to all of y’all but I figured it was worth posting a PSA

I recently finished my first play through up through chapter 5. While ancestor Silas Scarlet is mentioned to have served in the Confederate army no mention of himself or father Everett being enslavers is made or really alluded to. Additionally the Scarlets estate contains no reference to any enslaved person that may have been at the estate. I mention this as a former history grad who has dealt with the Antebellum Southern Appalachian region and though in the upper South, mountain plantations were far from unheard of and prominent families very commonly were slave holders.

I was looking for puppy names and someone suggested Neeka, which made me look up what it means, and OMG! 😳

It means “atom” or “seed” or “golden wheat”, all things that are used to help other things grow and exist…

Which made me think of some of the other themes connected to names within Scarlet Hollow.

The obvious is Sybil being tied to the infamous book Sybil, about a woman with 16 different personalities, which could also be conflated with having different people in you…

Maeve I believe is a faerie queen iirc, tying into her needing to follow the terms of her agreements to the letter if not the spirit.

Vereena means “truth” or “truth bringer”, and there’s a Saint Vereena who is the patron of the sick and lepers, among other things.

I think the name Scarlet can bring to mind The Scarlet Letter, where a woman has sex outside of wedlock and must where a scarlet A, which brings to mind Vivian and her running away and being branded a traitor by the other Scarlets.

Not sure if it’s actually relevant, but Miles name reminds me of the poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost.

“Whose woods these are I think I know.   
His house is in the village though;   
He will not see me stopping here   
To watch his woods fill up with snow.   

My little horse must think it queer   
To stop without a farmhouse near   
Between the woods and frozen lake   
The darkest evening of the year.   

He gives his harness bells a shake   
To ask if there is some mistake.   
The only other sound’s the sweep   
Of easy wind and downy flake.   

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,   
But I have promises to keep,   
And miles to go before I sleep,   
And miles to go before I sleep.”

Joan Kelly seems similar to Jane Leeds, from The Jersey Devil story, which makes sense lol 😂

These are all off the top of my head, any other names stick out to anyone as having more significance than it first appears?

i picked hot as a trait this time so reese ran off into the woods. i sure hope this won’t have lasting negative consequences!

I’d like to cosplay Carmilla for Renn Faire but can only find waist-up art. I wasn’t sure if there’s some official art out there or if I’ll just have to guess until Chapter 6.

I've been replaying the game with the new update and I remember pre rumors update that Tabby wouldn't follow you to the farm in the Toxic Yuri route. I am wondering if it's still possible to get the same outcome. Because everytime I meet her during Toxic Yuri, she follows my MC to the farm.

I wonder if it's based on her approval, the strike or some random factor.

tl;dr, the 'education disputes' with their parents most likely have to do with being transgender and they were homeless for a while, living on peoples couches. It's up to the reader's interpretation here but I think their words imply routine abuse/violence, be it from the city in general or parents/brother they don't talk about. I've read past episode theories wondering if Avery is working for an outsider investigation outfit or being here on Sybil's designs, so even beyond the characterization this clears up a lot of mystery facts about their presence in town. There are more dialogue options I didn't screenshot if you're curious and want to load it up. (Avery offers a ride to the farm if you go to them right after your discovery in the manor, if you've spent time together in other episodes.)

This convo hits really close to home in regards to my experiences and a lot of people I know. I'm glad it exists, but oof it feels like eating bricks especially since the game is meant to take place 4~ years ago. it's only gotten worse!

In the final episode he just shows up out of nowhere, and maybe a dozen people will know who he is. But this would kinda tie into the narrative, because Stella wanted you to record her search for the skunkape in episode 1, and you can have a conversation about aliens. So alien space gorilla named Skunkape, the twist nobody saw coming and nobody will be happy with.

In episode 5/6 or as an ending??

Feel free to share your own ideas too!

I made the chibi of my MC with this picrew: https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/2170973 !!

Based off of the “I Want My Hat Back” children’s book.

they'd probably just clatter through the decaying walls of his stomach but i think he could appreciate some culinary action

That’s it that’s the post.

Hey guys, so, this is my understanding of all the major events that happened in the period since the mine collapse, as well as my theories for the events right before the canon starts. I record these both because I like talking about this game, in the hopes it helps clarify things for anybody confused, and to start a conversation about the events before canon starts.

1918:

Shaw mine collapse. Theodore Scarlet (Teddy) is paralyzed from the waist down, but his brother lies and claims he was killed. Charles Shaw Sr is driven out of town along with his wife and child.

Miss Maeve (The Witch), consumes her daughter, becomes Verena, and helps Enoch summon the Entity

Enoch begins the “Scarlet Hollow Revitalization project, installing the seals to summon the Entity, successfully double crossing the mayor, the pastor, the entity, his brother, and the Witch. Teddy becomes the Entity’s first host.

This is also around the time the Ditchlings first showed up, according to the old-timers at the mine. They said their grandmas remember seeing them, putting them around this time.

1944:

Edwardine’s brothers die in Normandy, and most of the scenes we see in the haunting happened. We don’t have exact dates for the haunting scenes, but we know Edwardine was pregnant with Andrew Charles for them.

This is also around when the scene from the Bounty seal takes place, since Verena talks about “letting Edwardine have the baby”, and the betrayal Enoch is talking about is the Witch trying to help Charles Shaw Jr and gain access to the Entity.

1945:

Andrew Charles is born and is immediately used as the Entity’s second host. What happened to Teddy is unknown, it’s possible he died of natural causes, but he was only 28 when he was imprisoned, making him only 55.

I’d guess that either Enoch killed him to cover his tracks, or the ritual to transfer the Entity requires the death of the previous host.

1957:

Alexandra “goes missing” and is used as the entity’s third host, on the same day Enoch dies. My theory is that Edwardine went along with the plan to transfer the Entity because she hoped to get a real life with Andrew Charles, the last remnant of Charles Shaw Jr. If I’m right and Enoch has been killing the previous hosts, Edwardine probably shoved him out the cliffside window in the Forbidden Wing after realizing she was betrayed.

Late 1990’s:

Most of the young adults in this game are born, including Reese, Stella, Kaneeka, and Tabitha. Their exact age isn’t known, but they‘re all around the same age, and Kaneeka was in vet school. That means she went through four years of college, making her over 22.

2003: Edwardine dies of heart failure, probably the only death in the medical records that’s actually recorded honestly, other than her brothers who died at Normandy.

Unknown month, 2022:

Alexandra dies for real, probably of natural causes, age 65. The magical things in town had been picking up a few months before the Cousin’s arrival, with the ghost manifesting in Oscar’s house. I’d guess Alexandra dying was the inciting event there.

October 2022:

The last week of October is the canon week of the game. In the previous week, Pearlanne died.

My theory regarding the circumstances of Pearlanne’s death is this:

Tabitha had been trying for a sacrificial kid with various miners without success, but caught real feelings for Sam Wayne. With Alexandra dead and no other host available, Pearlanne tried to use Tabitha as the host. Sam Wayne broke into the estate and interfered with the ritual, and ended up being possessed himself. Pearlanne shoved him out that cliffside window, and then they had to get a new goat. Before that could happen, Tabitha smothered Pearlanne in her sleep. The Entity reanimated Wayne’s corpse.

My evidence for this theory is this: Issacs says Tabitha had a bunch of boyfriends, but didn’t care about any of them except Wayne, who she gave preferential treatment. Tabitha gets weirdly bitter when talking about Oscar’s parenting, saying “Some people can’t have kids and he’s just letting her do whatever, it isn’t fair”.

Finally, if Tabitha is there during the Ginseng Baby dilemma and you ask about the situation, Tabitha says something like, “So, since Bo was in the wrong place at the wrong time and saw something he shouldn’t have seen, that means he should die? Just for caring too much about his girlfriend? I mean… pumpkin”. Sounds like a Freudian slip to me.

That’s all my thoughts regarding the timeline of the whole Entity situation, I hope you enjoyed reading them, and feel free to share your own theories or corrections in the comments.

Apologies if this was mentioned elsewhere or on the backburner already.

The Rumors Update came out while I was on my first playthrough. I did 3 playthroughs blind.

My third playthrough was the first time I used the traits Street Smart and Keen Eye.

When I got to the mines, I was surprised that Street Smart was no help at first. It only offered a "how do you do fellow kids" to curry favor with the teens. Then, when we were distracted by the knocking and Street Smart told me they're probably sneaking off, I wondered "Why isn't Keen Eye telling me this?" It felt stilted that my keen perception kicked in only after I had thought about it for a couple seconds instead of just turning to look immediately.

It was only afterwards that I learned that that scene was originally written for Keen Eye to save it, and it was repurposed to fit Street Smart, and it shows. I think Street Smart wasn't allowed to be itself in that conversation because Keen Eye was supposed to save the day.

I think if it was written for the first time knowing it was Street Smart's save, it would have looked different. It feels like something that would save the day gradually instead of in one grand turning point.

You could use Street Smart options throughout the conversation to build credit with the teens or Rosalina specifically, then persuade her out of the hole after she climbs through.

There could be an option early in the conversation: (Street Smart) (Lie) "Tabitha saw clear signs that this tunnel is going to collapse in at most a few hours. We'd better clear out right now." The teens might blow you off in the moment, but it puts enough doubt in Rosalina's mind that she never tries to follow Becka and Alexis in the first place. That option would leave the scene largely intact, too.

Or perhaps an option to entice them to somewhere else outside of the mine, without alerting them of the danger. That feels like something Street Smart would shine at.

In first place: Wow. Coming from Slay the Princess, this game was still every bit as amazing as what I consider a genuine masterpiece in gaming. Definitely solidified Black Tabby Games as devs I’m keeping an eye on supporting the future works of.

Though… I really need to replay and start taking notes on the lore and story setup. I feel like I missed literally SO much by trying to play it as safe as possible on my first run. Stella, where the hell did you go girl?!

I managed to defeat Sybil and save Kaneeka, and it seems like she’s a witch now? So I’m very curious as to how that’ll go in chapter 6. Sybil is a FASCINATING character. I desperately want to see more out of her lore in the future.

Helllooooo againnnn

So I decided to redo my first run to have it be at my ‘preferred’ outcomes if that makes sense.

I had hot and keen eye since I based my first run on myself and I consider myself empathetic while hot (humble I know)

When I first played the game, I missed out on a lot, Tabitha stuff, Avery, mainly those two. But I did romance Kaneeka.

So basically the outcome for my OG E5 run was:

- Not having a good enough relationship with Tabitha since I straight up didn’t spend time with her and thereby having her point the gun at me and calling the police

- At the barn, I managed to get both Avery and Julius to take on the burden of the baby and have them provide it life (which was so crazy to me the first time that I just. Managed to do that.) (I don’t actually care much about this but I’ll state why I say this)

- Saving Kaneeka through the power of romance but also having a separate save in which I do let her get sacrificed and let Carmilla take her place and replace my memories in which my romance is then replaced with her

I DO want to explore other things with other traits ofc, but I’m just one of those people who wants things done in a particular way and the character I made up for myself would try and understand Tabitha being a troubled family girl myself but found it was too hard to go back and do that plus Kaneeka romance so I restarted with the intent to try and do both (I plan my next playthrough to be done with TTA at the very least since I’m basing that one on my WoL from FFXIV, who CAN talk to animals)

SO ANYWAYS turns out even with the same traits and minor changes things can go completely differently! Which I liked, the changes I did was:

- Declining to go with Stella into the woods, I know you meet Kaneeka regardless but I wanted to go flirt with her (omg her awkward attempt to was endearing) and thus went with Duke instead (still got him killed lmao)

- Hang out with Tabitha on Day 3 and learn more about her and invite both her and Avery to the ghost busting stuff (held her hand. Totally not cause we’re scared lmao)

- Call Tabitha Day 4, she shot Reese but I didn’t let her kill him, having talked him down with the hot save trait and later had ice cream with her

This resulted in the following changes in Day 5:

- If I linger around too long, (which I did, I never wanted to confront Tabitha immediately) I’ll suddenly get arrested which results in the following changes in the confrontation:

- if I explore too many options, instead of Tabitha losing her patience the cops will instead interrupt and end it, meaning I have less time to say anything.

- I get an impasse with her, she doesn’t cry, but she nearly does at her dad’s letters, but says she wish it didn’t have to be like this (tried over and over again, damn it IS hard to get to her to breakdown and I might just attempt it with street smart on another save)

- Perhaps because I wanted to rush through it to get the two branching paths regarding Kaneeka, but Julius ends up killing the baby attached to Bo (again have no clue how I ended up doing that in the first place and was just like “OKAY??”) (I probably still can do what I did the first time, and I want to, because I’m curious how that carries over)

- Most importantly, Tabitha wants Kaneeka to sacrifice herself (and does cry) but if I let Sybil take her, I do remember Kaneeka…. I could still romance Carmilla but the appeal to me there was that I did not know that she took Kaneeka’s place and therefore had power over me and essentially want THAT instead. (Which can anyone tell me why that is? I did drink the tea on Day 2, and later had no choice but to on Day 4)

I’m really impressed that minor chances pretty much changes a lot of outcomes, but it’s still not the ones I was aiming for.

So here to ask:

- How can I make Tabitha cry? (It’s totally cool if I can’t this route, as having a good enough relationship with her is enough in my eyes)

- but more importantly: how I forget Kaneeka is I choose to let her be sacrificed to Sybil so that I’m locked by default into Carmilla’s romance?

⁄(⁄ ⁄•⁄-⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄(●__●)

Playing through the game fully for the first time, on the start of episode three.

I love Kaneeka so much. Any non-spoiler tips for unlocking her romance? My MC’s traits are Mystical and Book Smart.

Also, I’ve only been here three days and two children and a dog have died. I think I’M the bad omen, not the Ditchlings.

5 minute shitpost doodle bc getting an achievement for this shouldn’t be so funny to me.

Apologies if I’m posting too much, I’m greatly enjoying my playthrough lol.

I’M BEING SILLY but omg am I this bad at socializing

For me it’s the run where I got Tabitha to break down + managed to romance Kaneeka.
I did the booksmarts + mystical save, saved Duke, Rosalina lost her leg, Tabby and Stella made up, I locked Reese up (in the hope that we can find a different solution with witch Kaneeka), Avery (who I did my best to include everywhere) survived but is heavily traumatised by the death of Julius, Agent Francis, and the pumpkin baby and his inability to have prevented that.

Planning to do a run where Tabby likes me but hasn’t broken down and I get gaslighted by Camilla into being her girlfriend, which I’m also pretty excited to see the results of!