Who's Lila? - Story Explained

[@strongman7687]

When I suggested this game to you, I genuinely expected it to sit in the limbo of "Yeah I'll check it out sometime!" For you to go and create a video of such depth and breadth on one of my favourite gaming experiences means a whole lot to me, especially considering how LITTLE 'Who's Lila?' has been covered on KZbin. Thanks a lot man, I might not be your friend but you're sure as hell mine. You deserve every success. (Note: I'm not watching the premiere, I'm going to wait and watch it all in my own time tomorrow. Thanks again.)

[@flawedpeacock]

I should be thanking YOU! Yes enjoy at your pace! And thanks again, strongman!

[@ChristopherSadlowski]

The only KZbinr I follow who played this was ManlyBadassHero. He doesn't really do critical analysis, at least not the way Peacock does. It's a shame this game didn't hit the mainstream. Thanks for recommending it! Now we're all spoiled by a 7 hour hangout session with one of KZbin's rising stars, and we also get taught a lot of stuff along the way. I'm curious: if you controlled the levers of the universe, what would Peacock make a video on next?

[@OldSchoolLPsGames]

@@ChristopherSadlowski Hey, I also watch Manly! I honestly like that he doesn't do much interpretation. I can watch his playthrough and come to my own conclusions. Then I can come over to Flaw Peacock and get the deep dive. I did the same with Faith. I love horror games but I get too worked up to play them myself, so KZbin lets me actually enjoy them. As far as I'm concerned, the only downside from Peacock is that perfection takes time. But I'll wait - it's worth it.

[@Markm8]

@@flawedpeacocksick

[@ziongamer6905]

@@ChristopherSadlowskiI love Manlys playthrough because he doesn’t do a DEEP analysis like this but he still takes the story for what it is and theorizes as he plays. I loved his playthrough and this video only made me remember how unnerving this game made me feel.

[@MrNuclearz]

Babe wake up, a KZbinr I've never heard of just posted a 7 hour analysis of a game I've never played

[@leandrolahiteau8162]

And it was fire as ffff

[@sanriospink7348]

Your so real

[@spenceduggs]

Yum, my favorite! 🥰

[@guy_autordie]

Day 3 or 4 of watching this video. X)

[@aclaymushroomwithaberet7084]

it really is a masterpiece@@leandrolahiteau8162

[@samanthae.1002]

This man really said “we’ll get back to that” a thousand times and actually did it. It took 8 hours, but he did it. Props.

[@fries5849]

Fun drinking game: take a shot anytime he says “keep that in mind”, and tell me how much your funeral costs.

[@samanthae.1002]

@@fries5849 me: oh man. I had to sell my house just to pay for the tombstone You: A GHOST!

[@areyasquiddinme]

i cant tell you how much my​ funeral costs if im dead @@fries5849

[@jojolafrite90]

@@fries5849 Te www..... uuiiskyyy gooess inn ta tututurkkkkey

[@justcommoncurt]

​@fries5849 I'm tanked and I'm only an hour in.

[@Mehmet-ro5mh]

Still cant comprehend how this game was made by ONE person. Garage heathen is a genius.

[@Francio-71]

William is a minor talking with the cops without the presence of a guardian or a lawyer. Someone tell lila to lawyer up!

[@iug5672]

It's never directly said what William's age is. But the assumption is that he is 18 since he tells a story of his mother from when he was 15 and she died 3 years ago. Either that or Will had a psychosis episode where he imagined his mom berating the girl and calling her naughty

[@iug5672]

@@concept8192 is it a college? I thought it was a highschool

[@aghitsaplane4262]

my god, the answer to who's lila was in our face all along, she's saul goodman!

[@jenniferklein1707]

They also searched his apartment without a warrant

[@So_Toasty]

@@jenniferklein1707 It's weird because I thought these were high school students but the fact that they all have their own apartments made me uncertain

[@KaneTaliaferro]

I’ve been taking a shot every time he says “keep that in mind” and I’ve been dead for 45 minutes

[@ffejpsycho]

but rejoice as there is always another equally valid fork where you decided not to drink yourself to death while watching this video.... ...then got hit by a bus later that same evening.

[@blahblahgdp]

Drink too much and you really might be dead. Keep that in mind

[@psychoinsanitywolf1490]

Has anyone taken the time to count how many times he says it?

[@KaneTaliaferro]

@@psychoinsanitywolf1490 god I hope so lol

[@flyingpiggy1475]

@@psychoinsanitywolf1490imma do it, once I’m done with the video

[@kingintern7566]

"Keep [thing] in mind." Me, who already forgot what I was last told to keep in mind: you got it boss

[@HunchbackOfNotreJon]

0:00:00 - 7:42:19 Keep this part in mind.

[@itsoracle]

true

[@Ocidad]

yes sir

[@mr.cup6yearsago211]

Sir yes sir! The past seven hours, forty two minutes, and 19 seconds of my existence have been committed to my permanent memory, sir!

[@juliusfrank3349]

If I'm getting this right, it will all make sense by the end.

[@zedbags]

We'll come back to it later

[@apollyonnoctis1291]

Wonderful, I feel there's just one thing you missed answering: That there *is* a way to defeat Lila. However, you ironically found the answer to this without even realizing it. You answered *her.* As you went over in the video, Lila is a parasitic tulpa which is ultimately the question of "Who's Lila?" She spreads by getting into people's heads when they ask said question. But riddle me this, Batman: What happens to a question when you definitively answer it? The mystery, and thus, the presence of the question in your thoughts vanishes, just as a magic trick loses its mystique once you know how it works. By answering all of Garage Heathen's 8 riddles, you inadvertently reach a definitive answer to "Who's Lila?", which then 'exorcises' her hold over you and kills her, since she no longer has a host. After all, why would you continue to ask a question you already know the answer to? That is why Lila starts getting nervous whenever Yu and the Player start figuring her out. Because the moment we figure her game out, she'll lose her grip on our mind and fall right back into the abyss she crawled out of. It's why Yu calls what Lila whispered 'the most vile final trick'. She intentionally whispered it in the hopes the player will question what it was she said to Yu, keeping her alive. It is the final trick she has up her sleeves. But just like a magic trick, this 'final, vile trick' doesn't work once you realize *why* it works. What she whispered ultimately doesn't matter, because the mystery behind that is the reason the trick works in the first place. In the end, she's not as powerful as she wants you to think, and assuming she's unstoppable and unanswerable is exactly how she remains so. The truth is that Lila's no more powerful than a shape in the darkness of your room at night; the moment they are exposed to the light, *they're gone.*

[@fennshadow2078]

This works so well thank you for this insight.

[@elif6908]

I really like this reading honestly, makes the endings a bit more hopeful(?) or something I don’t have the word but makes me feel lighter

[@mfrunyan]

25:54

[@thedivinedialogue9685]

so, the final trick was simply whispering, making us question what she whispered... And then, this trick fails because we realize it does not matter

[@mistydayremainsofthejudgment]

Wonderful reply

[@violentdelights3195]

I wonder if Lila is, among many things, also Tanya's idealized self. Tanya's a practitioner of the occult and of "manifesting" and from her Twitter it's clear she has a strong interest in/attachment to the Lilith figure in literature. Lila has an almost self-contradictory comment about how Tanya both looks "exactly" like her and is nowhere as beautiful as she is. Maybe this is because the image of Lila in the game is Tanya's idealized vision of herself (maybe a photo of Tanya put through a filter), which also could explain why Tanya uses it as her Twitter profile.

[@benjiboy69420]

That is a pretty interesting Theory, and makes a lot of sense.

[@FairyBogFather]

this was literally LEAGUES more organized, engaging, and informative than a college graduate class I paid $11k for

[@flawedpeacock]

Ah jeez thank you! While I think I could have done better in my breakdown of the psyche, I'm very proud of how my breakdown of qualia and hard problems turned out. I'm glad you enjoyed!

[@miyumixxx]

FR! This is literally better than any theology class I could take in college.

[@mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm4946]

Yeah and I’m literally a psych major.

[@TheAllaser]

Hey I just wanna say that as a phd student I agree with @FairyBogFather . I think the quality and in-depth-ness of your work resembles university education very well. I became a patron because of this video and the Faith trilogy. @@flawedpeacock

[@SickOfItAll1988]

​​@@flawedpeacockyeah don't worry about that. While Jung is pretty outdated, his school of thought is interesting and the impact it had on the development of this game must have been huge, so I don't see the problem with not delving deeper into discussions of the psyche. Since it's really not up to date (couldn't be verified in a scientific way) you could have created a narrative that wouldn't really fit the themes of the game, since we see the psyche differently today than 100 or even fifty years ago. (Sorry for the English, German Psych student here) Edit: this isn't a criticism, I loved your explanation of these and the other philosophical concepts and I learned a lot I didn't know)

[@GGPlex_]

My theory is that the muffled screaming is Will’s own. When Lila is in control, it’s like he’s watching behind a pane of glass, screaming for her to stop.

[@Sammit00]

Oh, that’s a pretty fun reading of it. I like it

[@Kayta-Linda]

Same! When the second instance of it was covered, I immediately thought of that. All those situations seem perfect for that kind of “somewhat cliche but still powerful” moment.

[@a19enemy]

i think it’s a reference to twin peaks, if you’ve seen the scene where maddie palmer dies (IF YOU PLAN ON WATCHING TWIN PEAKS DONT WATCH THAT SCENE IT SPOILS THE ENTIRE MYSTERY OF THE SHOW)

[@thefightingfadoraguy6732]

Kinda like in Interstellar when Mathew Maconaughey's yelling at his past self.

[@bee-cant-think]

@@thefightingfadoraguy6732this is what I thought when i saw the comment!

[@RhythmandFlorence]

If I didn’t exist, then how could I do this? **pats head and rubs tummy at the same time** Bet you can’t do this, Lila

[@gamesmasher7120]

The evil is defeated.

[@glowing_purple_girl]

I love how you always say “keep this in mind.” It’s like a sound effect in a detective game whenever a clue is found except the menu for all the damn clues is longer than I am tall

[@henotic.essence]

I feel like Pavlov's dog when he says it, my ears perk up to "keep this in mind" 😂😂

[@libernihilus]

it's like "Updated my journal" in Planescape:Torment

[@theamazingcowlet]

Uhh my mental clipboard just crashed after all keep this in mind!

[@__-zh6oq]

@@libernihilus Oh *dude.* I just started playing that game like a few weeks ago. It's fun as hell

[@GooFly-v3j]

you kmnow in Phoenix Wright when you uncobver a n important clue or piece of dialogue, that sound effect? you know the one

[@ThePandaAgenda]

Horror games have reached post-modernism when "Sociopathic loner main character almost turns life around and gets laid but is already posessed by Tulpa who kills the girl because she looks like her." is only the surface level plot.

[@m00nrac00n]

Truly, even tho this would have been already such a good plot. Someone who appears like a sociopathic killer on the outside and somewhat turns out to be exactly that, but its not that simple but how would you ever explain it to anyone, let alone the police. This itself as a movie would be amazing. This game, for how niche it is, is so dense and amazing.

[@ThePandaAgenda]

@@m00nrac00n there’s actually a book about a very similar topic called “I am not a serial killer” by Dan Wells. it’s about a young man who is obsessed with serial killers and keeps insisting it’s “just a hobby” edit: cut out a spoiler

[@adrianomaly1760]

I don’t think Will is ever depicted as a sociopath. He’s autistic.

[@ThePandaAgenda]

@@adrianomaly1760 p r o j e c t i o n

[@ThePandaAgenda]

@@GirlGuts. Never said he was evil. there are people suffering from loss of empathy due to trauma. But that state can make you into the weapon that traumatises others.

[@kodaaxolotlnerd9352]

I really appreciate the occasional reality checks throughout the video, particularly the later two hours or so. I made the mistake of watching this video for the first time while monstrously high, and the occasional reminders that there is no real cognito hazard and that it doesn't matter if Who's Lila lives within my brain forever really helped keep me from falling into a spiral, lol

[@skylersilva6582]

If a tulpa is Lila, a government experiment is Lila, and a representation of trauma is Lila... Then who's driving the gondola?

[@sillylittlemonkey7130]

boy am i glad that lilas in william and that we're out here and shes the fbi agent and we're in william and i just forgot we're out here

[@GooseWithAPassport]

Oh shit who's driving the gondola???

[@CureSmileful]

@@sillylittlemonkey7130 and we are freezing

[@ffejpsycho]

and who was fone?

[@neoqwerty]

@@ffejpsycho HOOK HAND CAR DOOR

[@Boon_4444]

I wonder if William was able to "forget" Lila for so long because he answered the question "Who is Lila?" With "Lila is Tanya". That would kinda tie in the whole idea that all answers to this question are true, but it also aren't. That's why seeing Tanya wasn't the thing that made William bring Lila back to his conciseness, just fleeting ideas that she might not actually be Lila, giving Lila glimpses into his life again. And what finally broke that answer to him is Tanya asking again: "Who is Lila?".

[@Boon_4444]

You kinda already explained it later but I'm leaving this here XD

[@Ousmanda]

​@@Boon_4444 thanks for leaving it here, it's a great comment

[@afellowhuman8944]

Reminds me of Hollow Knight's Radiance, she was the forgotten god but once a bug a sees a statue of her, she was remembered and shit starts to hit the fan

[@jettisonantics]

One thing you never mentioned with the "reel tape" audio motif, is that I believe DAEMON refers to this motif when you're going through the boiler sequence for Death and Hanged Man. When you get to the boiler room just before the empress, Daemon says something along the lines of "The lady touched the exposed wire." This is obviously referring to Will's mother dying in a boiler room from touching a wire and being electrocuted, but also connects that to the Empress, the lady in the boiler. Additionally, I think this implies that the "reel tape" audio is actually an exposed electrical wire, implying a connection to Will's trauma and the parental themes involving that and Lilith.

[@flawedpeacock]

Craaap did I not mention it? I vividly remember setting aside a note to talk about that daemon comment. I hope it didn't slip my mind! Regardless, that makes so much sense! The sound even sounds electric! I think you hit the nail on the head!

[@johncameron1935]

Imagine buying this game on the 13th of November and starting it up, and immediately seeing something absolutely insane.

[@Shinigami13133]

It only works with DAEMON activated. Still with the short run time of the game you could see it

[@catgrrr1]

Omg that’s my birthday

[@johncameron1935]

@@catgrrr1 happy belated birthday.

[@JagenRay]

This was my second ending because the daemon was automatically downloaded, but it actually made it more mysterious because I had no context for the events of the Tower. It did reveal a lot very early, but also introduced answers to questions I didn't know. I didn't have the context of the reels or memes or tulpas even. I also went without meeting Yu until going through half the other endings, which made his introduction feel more potent.

[@kaitlynburke9511]

@@catgrrr1 same!!

[@theclown6217]

I listened to Manlybadasshero's playthroughs while falling alseep so you can imagine my surprise to learn this game is like.. an incredibly immersive and complex psychological mystery that's ridiculously impressive

[@chapocademesquit]

lmao

[@adrianus9591]

Same situation here lol

[@ephoneus]

The literal, ACTUAL reason I clicked on this video is because I saw the thumbnail and thought I recognized it from a Manlybadasshero playthrough I forgot about after the first episode lol.

[@fishmaels]

​@@ephoneusLITERALLY same happened to me

[@livgeneral6487]

Same here!!!

[@MaxLebled]

This is such an INCREDIBLE video and an amazing tribute on the game. But I want to say one little soapboxy thing. There are so many videos on KZbin that pretend to be analysis, but are just plot recaps, sometimes with light opinionated commentary. They're not analysis, they're barely book reports. But this? This video? This excellent 8-hour video? Now, THAT is analysis, and it is brilliantly done. Thank you for showing everyone how it's done

[@francofromspace]

Only now realising that “flaw peacock” is a play on “floppy cock” which is fucking amazing. Thank you for all the effort you put in, the skits are incredible. Can’t wait for your channel to explode in popularity!

[@dfire828]

Omigod you're right!

[@mlove312]

NO SAME I only realized when I said to my brother “oh I’m watching Flaw Peacock” and he went “HUH??”

[@mitchellupagusrex2839]

Best channel name on KZbin, no question.

[@QuikVidGuy]

I didn't get it until he said "Hey, Flaw Pea"

[@FTZPLTC]

I love it when a joke takes a really long time to get and also turns out to be a dick joke.

[@storz909]

I have an idea as to what Lila whispered into Yu's ear. "My final vile trick is whispering this to you." Because that's how Lila propagates herself, right? If she whispers something but doesn't let You hear but lets Yu hear it, she roots herself into your mind with one question; "what the fuck did lila just whisper into his ear to make him freak out like that"?

[@acbeaumo]

That's really clever.

[@Fragmentsinfractals488]

It is the Mystery without Closure, the thing that lives in the back of your Mind Eternal. And with that, we can live forever.

[@sillyguyfred]

Exactly what I thought lol

[@nardoritardeau2291]

Is that Yu, detective?

[@Parkthatcarson]

I like to think she told Yu this was all a video game, so he couldn’t possible stop her at all that’s why he has such a breakdown

[@imperiation]

Apparently the face of Lila/Tanya is the only one who's actually a person. Everyone else is AI generated, I think. I wonder if Garage Heathen did that on purpose so if you see the face of Lila/Tanya in real life you'd get reminded of her and she would "revive" like she did when William remembered her

[@THExRISER]

Who is Lila? As in, who is the person she was modeled after, I wonder?

[@virvewirllos]

@@THExRISER iwt.shark, she's on the credits

[@THExRISER]

@@virvewirllos Oh, neat.

[@ChestersonJack]

Certainly not all are AI generated. A few have been confirmed to be twin peaks characters, and one is from some TV show. But those are just character models afaik, not portraits. I recall someone saying the potrait for detective Fisher was based off of someone, but I can't recall if they had proof or not.

[@ehyehasherehyeh3304]

The game is too old to have acess to AI images

[@tepig2828]

One thing I find interesting about the Tarot significance is that there is no explicit World ending. In Tarot, the World represents the fool’s journey coming to an end after meeting all of the other characters in the deck of tarot cards. In that sense, solving the mystery IS the World ending because you trace through each of the endings and learn information which leads to the creation of your own interpretation at your journey’s end. In a symbolic sense, you could say that putting down the game for the last time and returning to the real world from your interfacing with the game world is your World ending, as the game has left your psyche, depriving Who’s Lila of all of its power.

[@neoqwerty]

....you've just made a lot of games that had tarot themes suddenly make a lot of sense by explaining the World this clearly. So thanks! (I love the comments somedays and today is one of those days)

[@cornjeebus]

I like how you used "fool's journey". After collecting all cards and ending the game, the achievement for "the fool" filled my entire recent activity feed for the game, even though my last card was judgement. It was probably just a glitch but I found it funny.

[@libernihilus]

the World ending is the Prince's, not Will's. Similarly, there's no card for the Temperance reversed either - at least not in the game.

[@itsoracle]

​@@neoqwertyand JoJo

[@jonathand.t.5051]

So are you saying... that this video is The World ending?

[@BetaXeeta]

Not gonna lie, without Lila influencing William, he’s a nice kid. I probably would’ve been friends with him if we went to the same school, it just makes me feel for him more

[@bronze1557]

The saddest I felt while playing the game was in the party flashback because I just liked Will so much I got really sad knowing that that one sweet nervious guy is pretty much just completely gone

[@APaleDot]

I haven't watched the vid yet, but isn't it implied in the game that he killed his mom 3 years prior?

[@bronze1557]

@@APaleDot It's very open to interpretation, that could very well be the case or not at all. I don't think there's many clues pointing to one thing more than the other but I'd say he didn't

[@APaleDot]

@@bronze1557 He had a controlling, overbearing mother that shamed him in front of his first girlfriend and then mysteriously died shortly thereafter. Despite being 15 when it happened, and only 3 years later, he can't remember how she died? We don't have much information, but what we do have is pretty damn suspicious.

[@bronze1557]

@@APaleDot Lila is talking during the interrogation and she says she doesn't remember what happened, and Lila does not have all of Will's memories, plus, the memories of heavily traumatic events can get involuntarily burried by your own brain, it is suspicious but I still believe William didn't murder his mom

[@average_deltarune_fan666]

For anyone confused about the answers to Vyor's security questions, his answers together say "B30P, Cyrillic alphabet,' suggesting that we translate the letters from the English alphabet to the Cyrillic one. And lo and behold, B30P in the Cyrillic alphabet translates to "VZOR." Cool easter egg!

[@sagetbh]

shout out to 5+ hour in-depth analysis videos gotta be one of my favorite genders 😌🙏

[@tobysinbad]

my fourth favourite after mine, women, and whatever William has going on

[@mossyay]

@@tobysinbad i love this reply so much lmao

[@samspaeth6484]

Yeah it’s my second favorite after Apache attack helicopter

[@JDM-is-my-name]

Honestly, my favorite self identifier

[@joeyveloso]

Genre?

[@kaiklose6172]

"The man at the top of the stairs, the man who isnt there" The stranger in the party scene perhapse?

[@flawedpeacock]

WHAT!? How did I miss that?! Good catch! Thanks for that!

[@bxnkaii]

4:39:37 this actually leads to contradictions if we read the poem as it is with no metaphor. Because the concrete definition of a man that "wasnt there" is too hard to interpret 1. the vid stated that Stranger IS NOT a physical entity, he is Will's shadow = how can a non physical entity be visible to Tanya in stairs, hallway, etc? The only explanation for non physical Stranger is that Stranger and Lila took control over Will's body when Lila commands Stranger to kill Tanya. 2. before killing Tanya, she mistook Stranger for Will "wait, your actually not William" = Stranger IS a physical entity. when Will meets Stranger for the first time (party), it cant be his brain playing tricks. It is way too random and pointless to be a hallucination. I assume Stranger is somehow a physical entity. *the ambiguity of the "man" may just refer to Michael instead of Will (im too lazy bcs Michael is the closest link to Tanya) PLEASE I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR YOUR OPINIONS

[@baneoftechnology]

Flaw Peacock, I'm gonna confess: this is about the 5th time I've rewatched this video since discovering it. I've liked, added it to favorites, downloaded it so it's always available... and it still doesn't feel like enough. I love this video so much! You did an amazing job, nobody else on KZbin has come close to reaching the same level of analyzing the themes and philosophy of the game. I can't wait to see whatever else you do with this channel.

[@LinaBenis]

This is so real ive also watched it many times

[@bunlux]

A comment on Jacob Geller's "Three Specific Kinds of Terror" video led me here, and I cannot tell you the joy I felt upon seeing an actual 7 hour 42 minute video covering this game. I think my first exposure to it was through the Vinesauce Spooktober segment, but Vinny didn't really delve that deep. Still, the premise mesmerized me, and given that I'm too afraid to play horror games myself, it's videos like these that allow me to still engage with it in a way that's interesting and comfortable. I can't imagine how much time it took to make and upload this video, so thank you for all the effort behind it! Also, I found the cutaway discussion skits very charming :)

[@Ghi102]

I'm also here from Jacob Geller comment! Let's start the Jacob Geller train!

[@steviebea]

SAME HELL YEAH

[@ceve]

Same here

[@MackieLars]

same here, man

[@doomfan8603]

literally me

[@juncohill]

It strikes me, that the question of "Who's Lila?" is at it's core a meaningless question in the grander scope of the game. Yu and other game characters certainly want to know. Yet the more important questions become "What did Lila do?", "How did she meet Will?" the whens, wheres, whys, and hows become what truly hooks us in to the story. To keep the mystery going and not lose the player's interest, she will throw out the occasional outrageous statement. Because as soon as we stop wondering about "who" she is, we deny her of her food. My hypothesis is thus, Yu is a construction of Lila to act as a backup server of sorts. Yu exists to ask the question, and wonder. Because if nobody is wondering who she is, she ceases.

[@Zormad]

Sorry for any rambling, i'm still trying to digest the video so to speak. Taking the next step with your hypothesis it seems like not only did Lila take a part of us, she also has the gal to make it just another piece of the mystery dressed up in the guise of a detective. Another thing to note with this perspective is that whatever she whispered to the detective, she follows it by describing a film reel that, "catching the light of attention once, it 'tries' to do every little thing to keep it to itself". Perhaps this is referring to Yu? After all, as Flaw Peacock points out in the Sun tarot his words of "I don't... I can't yet." reads almost as a sign of mortality, as him almost acknowledging that if the player answers "Who's Lila" and then puts down the game, both of them will perish. Lila wants to keep our attention but perhaps, so to does Detective Yu. Her final trick could of course just have been talking about herself but it's an interesting lens to view it from, if nothing else.

[@adrianomaly1760]

I think one of the big tricks is indeed the asking of “who” rather than “what” or “why”, bcs it lends agency to the Manufactured Presence.

[@thebighoney9034]

the real Lila is the friends we made while browsing this comment section while watching a 7 hour video

[@MatthewPherigo]

6:54:20 "A lie is easy to debunk, but a shallow truth can cause us to linger indefinitely in ignorance..." Damn.

[@garageheathen8568]

Hey, cool vid, just finished watching! Thank you so so much, I can only respect the effort put into these INSANELY thorough 7.5 hours - they are easy to watch, the skits provide a needed breather and the majority of theories are on point (or well, they provide the same view I had in mind when making the game). There were some patterns that were not planned to have any major meaning when I made the game, but out of respect for your efforts and the nature of this game, I won't mention what those were. After all, your interpretation is indeed logical and there's no harm if your viewers figure it out for themselves, regardless of my initial ideas:) Some exceptions: 1. Despite a wide-spread belief, Daddy and Snake eyes (while being the same entity) do not have any link to me as a dev or a person. I never saw myself as a deity in these worlds - more as a diligent writer, describing what I see. 2. Coloured glass shards aren't meant to represent endings, but rather egos, personalities. In other words, the junk one collects throughout their life. This is consistent thorughout the game. 3. The Prince is not just the player, but it would make sense for the in-game characters to think that. In any case, very thorough and on point analysis! Thanks so much for making this, videos like yours motivate me to push on. When you see a 7 hour long analysis of a thing you did, you get a clue that you're moving in a right direction haha.

[@flawedpeacock]

I appreciate the clarity! Thanks for watching all the way through! I'm actually very relieved that there were things I wasn't 100% on, all the more reason for people to be detectives themselves and come up with their own theories and extrapolations(Looking back I think I was getting carried away with the WM wheel pattern). It's a tough balance, not revealing too much, but just enough to keep us hooked, and you struck that masterfully. Seriously, thank you, not only for giving my video a chance, but making such a great and edifying game. No joke, I look forward to Debugger, as somebody who has zero coding background, I'm going to love getting a fresh view on the experience. PS. When I was messing with FL studio trying to create a vibe for the skits, similar to your game, you don't know how frigging stoked I was when I stumbled upon the flute instrument that sounds identical to the flute in the OST. Big additional props to your awesome soundtrack.

[@garageheathen8568]

@@flawedpeacock Haha thanks, glad you liked it!

[@bezel95]

@@garageheathen8568​​⁠​⁠ Thanks for the great games, Depot Pagan. I first saw your games on ManlyBadassHero’s channel. If the Prince is not just the player, is the Prince the sum of everyone who plays/engages with the story of Who’s Lila?

[@garageheathen8568]

@@bezel95 thanks for the praise! No, they are not.

[@bluebee2236]

thanks for such a mindfuck of a game! (in the best way possible lmao) did you plan these connections between your games?

[@frostnghead]

Every time I rewatch this video, it takes me a while to remember that I'm feeding Lila. Enjoy the snack, girl.

[@0meAcat1]

I forget what got me here tonight but something at work, someone confused a name - get this straight. The name, is lila.. - snack up good tulpaaaa

[@Kayta-Linda]

Live it up, grl!

[@AnImAtEdCaRmInE]

7 hours of who's Lila and nobody asks how's Lila? On the real though incredible breakdown. You deserve a massive audience for the amount of work and dedication you put into your breakdowns. Look forward to what you cook up next Mr Cock

[@WobblesandBean]

How's Lila? Evil and manipulative.

[@vicenteisaaclopezvaldez2450]

Ideally?, in eeby deeby, eating dirt.

[@sadtwolvesfan]

I think the reason why Lila gets so upset and defensive when Yu asks her about her mother is because in some capacity she understands that she was manufactured. The other meta-creature/elder gods like the Emperor, Lilith & the Prince exist outside the games universe and have their own ideas, goals and agency while she was created in-universe to serve a specific purpose. First she was created by the cult to influence the human zeitgeist then adopted by Lilyth to serve under her or be an extension of her, the whole time being merely a means to an end, something to pick up for now and put down again later. So when Yu asks about Lilith, her puppet-master, it makes her feel existencial dread for what could be the first time.

[@iug5672]

I wonder if that is why she has such a favoritism towards William. Both are just controlled by their mothers on an instinctual level and both cope in a different manner, Will by adopting the idea that his mother was protecting him and Lila by adopting the idea that she is as ancient as Lilith and not just an accidental by-product of Lilith's existence.

[@justarandomsapphic]

On my like 5th rewatch of this video I think I finally realised who the man Lila meets before entering the boilers is. He’s a version of Yu. Maybe it’s him in one of his “dreams” he talks like Yu and Lila called him a fool. Food for thought.

[@jp_wilson]

How the hell are you rewatching an 8 hour video for the 5TH TIME!?!?!

[@justarandomsapphic]

@@jp_wilson dude you have no clue how obsessed I am w this video. I listen to it occasionally when I do chores or close down the restaurant I work at.

[@gsofficial]

@@justarandomsapphic i fall asleep to it

[@renoia3067]

I think closing your eyes against the boiler lady signifies REFUSING to let go of something. Leaving them open is like "seeing the truth" and letting go of toxic attachments. That's why you get the Death ending

[@gwen9939]

This aligns with one of Jung's core philosophies of Psychology: that elevating something from the subconscious into the light of consciousness is how you "assimilate" or come to terms with whatever that thing is, often described as "neuroses", but in modern language we'd probably use trauma. This isn't exclusive to your personal subconscious either, but the personal unconscious and collective unconscious as well. He also believed that when we shine a light on something we cast another shadow somewhere in our unconscious that is a sort of mirror image of the process we go through in facing our demons. He believed that we basically do this as a form of spiritual practice that continuously brings us closer and closer to the Self, which he sees as a form of relationship to God, or the light of creation and consciousness. The Self is the light itself that illuminates objects in our conscious minds and casts shadows into our unconscious ones, so we can't assimilate it the same way. So we can never reach the self but can eternally move towards it like a spiral that never reaches the center. Also just as a footnote, Jung is interesting for philosophical/metaphysical/spiritual discussions especially in art and interpretations, not as actual psychological advice. His brand of psychology doesn't really have much to do with actual psychology these days, but just as spiritual practices/mindfulness can he helpful for people with mental health issues in various ways, Jung can achieve some of the same effect, but it's a lot more abstract. It shines when used in art like this, and there's truth to be gleaned from it, but not as an actual practice or "theory of reality". A lot of self-proclaimed modern Jungian psychologists, often old white cishet men with christian upbringing and traditional values(Jordan Peterson) use jungian ideas to claim that there are objective truths about our world, reality, and humans that we should adhere to. This is just another attempt at control through conformity misusing the authority of academia. No, Jordan. Snakes having sex has nothing to with how our DNA is structured in double helixes, that's just how snakes f*ck.

[@alexanderflood1462]

I don’t know if this theory exists already, but I think Officer Hutchins might be Detective Yu. I think the two portraits are very similar - Yu looks older, but I think they have the same nose. I think the reason why the Temperance Reversed ending isn’t something we can converse with Yu about is because this is when Hutchins begins his investigation as Yu. This is when Lila reveals herself to Hutchins, leaning into dramatic descriptions of herself to capture his attention. She also says “I want to talk to Detective Yu now” as if invoking Yu out of Hutchins. The Reversed Temperance card fits both Lila and Yu. Temperance is the virtue of self-restraint; Lila and Yu both describe themselves as insatiable. Lila cannot resist revealing herself in this moment (out of pride - or out of cunning, to entrap Yu), and Yu, later on, cannot contain his curiosity, even though he knows his investigation is feeding Lila.

[@flawedpeacock]

WHAT?! That's such a good flipping catch!!!! Thank yu!

[@alexanderflood1462]

@@flawedpeacock Dude thank you! I forgot to mention that I enjoyed every minute of your analysis of this fantastic game. Truly top-tier work.

[@hash7703]

@@flawedpeacockyu is said to be human himself by Lila at 3:48:xx, so I wonder how that works out

[@rudolfambrozenvtuber]

@@hash7703 In this case he may just be a persona. A name taken on by Hutchins when he wants to well...get Floppy with it and pursue angles that wouldn't be good for his career

[@JagenRay]

I was ready to say this was a reach given the game doesn't ever reference time travel, even jokingly, and Yu works for the FBI, not local (presumably Russian) police, but then a few things struck me. A) The game doesn't really comment on it, but the manipulation/deconstruction of time is a core gameplay mechanic B) Yu only appears *after* a credits sequence C) Something that has always bothered me, and I have yet to find a satisfactory explanation for, is what happened after The Hierophant ending, when Will is stopped by the special agent... this is also around the same time that diary pages have been torn out (not the corner piece, but entire pages)... At the very least, this goes to show there are mysteries in this game far more obscure than the question of "Who's Lila?"...

[@Nizati]

I think why all images of Tanya are instead Lila is because after poor William has conflated the two and Lila took over, she is covering every visual trace of Tanya with her own image, effectively burying Tanya not just physically but also the memory of her too. She just hates Tanya that much. Plus, now everyone looks at an image of 'Tanya' and trying to remember her, they are actually thinking (and feeding) Lila.

[@samskpopcorner]

wheeliam is honestly one of the funniest names I’ve ever heard. Even though it is quite sad.

[@tomas_iss7469]

He do be a wheel

[@tomas_iss7469]

I just saw the part about the “Wheel of fortune” lol I just said it cause “Wheel I am” but he really do be a wheel Edit: 6:45:00 “Oh”

[@evelmichael]

I think a simple read of this story is a tragedy. No matter how far you dig you just find out more background of how the death of Tanya was unavoidable. The flaws of each of the characters (Including William, William's mother, Lila, The stranger, Tanya, Michael, ect) lead to this chain of events. Everyone was trapped in the chain of events and the player is the one who controls what happens in the short term but in the long term it changes nothing. Tanya is still dead, William will be tried for her murder and whether Lila is a memetic being that influenced William or a manifestation of William's mommy issues doesn't matter. I think that's part of the point. We can understand why something happened but it doesn't change that it happened.

[@hamishwalker9637]

But the players actions do have effects on the world, while all possibilities are equally "real," by engaging in the world we are able to find paths where Martha isn't murdered. Sure our interaction doesn't change the facts, but it opens pathways that don't exist without our meta-knowledge, and those pathways are just as valid. To phrase it another way, we can't change the past of this world, but we are the gatekeepers of how it progresses.

[@m00nrac00n]

Reminds me of a lot of japanese horror where the horror is almost senseless, cruel and just is how it is. Set in stone, there might be a 1% 400 IQ way to get out of it by doing everything correct, but basicaly impossible without prior knowledge.

[@gwen9939]

Yeah, the death of Tanya is directly mirroring the death of Sarah Palmer in Twin Peaks, even the constant use of her portrait is very similar. It's the surface-level tragedy that is used as a narrative vessel to draw in our attention to the actual message underneath. When we enter the story, Tanya is already dead. The first shot of Twin Peaks is the discovery of Sarah Palmer's body. As Flaw pointed out, it's not an invalid interpretation, it's just only one facet of the whole, same as it being about Will's trauma and how it results in his loss of agency over his actions is not invalid, but it's not the whole thing. In that sense, whatever angle you approach this from(or anything, really) as long as you keep digging you reach more and more fundamental and universal truths. It doesn't even stop at being about fundamental archetypes or nature of the collective unconscious, these are definitely up for interpretation and criticism, but reaches the heart of what a piece of creation even is, how it influences us, what's the point of fiction if we can always say "it's not real", and is there any value in obsessing over it? It's nothing as simple as "a fictional creation reaches its creator", or "the narrator is unreliable and the narrator is you", but something way beyond even that. The developer basically points out how these usual metaphysical tricks are more like toys compared to the meditations that can be found in this game.

[@millymauce]

I would actually attend a class with this guy as the teacher, he explains the most confusing things and concepts so thoroughly and passionately it's crazy. I know I'm 5 months late, but this is probably my favorite video essay ever. Amazing work man!

[@theflyingspaget]

Never too late to appreciate this masterpiece

[@LAChantrose]

Friar Laurence is the character in Romeo & Juliet who married them, gave Juliet the sleeping potion, and sent the message to Romeo. Just fyi, seeing how referential the game is.

[@WobblesandBean]

Man, poor Will. He's had such a tragic life, only to end with this psychotic thing using him like this.

[@Echosinfireify]

Temperance reversed can be impatience, a lack of balance. Which works with Lila’s impatience, and the lack of balance from having detective yu ended it for us

[@CatOperated]

The Koomer and Oguigi stuff looses a bit of mystique when you know it was an MLP tulpa

[@TheSandurz20]

This is so funny to me. I stumbled completely on accident into the tulpa community back in 2013, thought it sounded cool. Then when I went into the journals of members a solid 70% of them were ponies. PONIES. And so many of them wanted to make pony tulpas to have sex with. I just could not and still can't understand wtf was going on there

[@greenstarlover1]

Lol

[@spetsnaz4537]

​@@TheSandurz20exactly what's happening right here and now and all around you

[@HexFent]

@@TheSandurz20 tht is so fkin funny

[@e-babbitt1980]

Similar to how you describe mourning a character from a TV show or video game after their screen time has ceased, I find myself feeling this melancholy immediately after having finished this video. We are not friends. I don't know you, you don't know me. But we've been talking for days, from laughing over word fumbles to contemplating mortality. I miss you already, Floppy.

[@flawedpeacock]

Ah shoot. That's very sweet of you, thank you for that. Don't worry I'll be back soon!

[@henotic.essence]

He has a very sweet camera presence, like he's talking to you in person! Very well done!

[@vaati000]

I'm guessing people mentioned this a couple times in the last 3200 comments, but if not, you don't need to noclip to see the Emperor - if you just meander around the forest you can fall off the level geometry in the edges around the electrical pylons. When you look up you see the Emperor, much like the text says in Schastye; after that the game closes or you go back to the main menu, I forget which. Thank you for all this! Who's Lila is utterly fantastic.

[@TheSynthPunk]

God I can't believe I just learned more about Jungian Psychology from a game analysis than I did trying to force myself to power through Jung's essays.

[@KatchRocketman]

Wait a minute. Lila is the mystery of not knowing who Lila is. But now that we know that, there is no mystery, which means Lila is nothing.

[@Art42209]

Then William's efforts saved us from Lila.

[@Limestone707]

holy shit its like that one scp

[@jesperjohansson6959]

This is a game that asks to be analyzed, and this was the ultimate analysis. The game would be incomplete without this.

[@ThePsychoAnon]

I’m about 4:40 hours into this and I’m just now realising the connection between father Lawrence’s animals on the little farm used for sacrifices and the saw found on wills kitchen counter used “for farm work”… God damn.

[@artsyhoodies]

"You smiled" "Martha is scared" "I wonder why" *Will looking like a serial killer* 😀

[@dani.2479]

"Whats wrong?" 😀

[@Kayta-Linda]

😃 Why would she be scared?

[@thedocblock6421]

at 3:09:32, I find it compelling that when Lila begins sarcastically explaining what she may or may not be, providing a bunch of red herrings, her expression starts neutral, she smiles upon mentioning being an experiment, and then frowns upon continuing. It could be a hint at the fact that she's playing this entirely coy, but it could also be either a display of sarcasm meant to throw off the interpretation of her being an experiment, or a momentary slip - she's smiling because she knows that she's buried the lead, and quickly does a 180 when she realizes she might just compromise her identity.

[@zoedisco292]

Lila's bullshit about memories and personality only existing in one's mind isn't even true! You have physical proofs of yourself, your personality all around you all the time : it's in the clothes you wear, the way you style your hair... It's in the posters you hang on your walls, or the books in your library, it's in the way you leave your spaces clean or messy... And all of these can not only be percieved by you, but by others as well, and that's how you read and judge people. Lila doesn't have any of that because she's a tulpa. Copium.

[@flawedpeacock]

This tbh.

[@apollosabbath7975]

This and the ways you influence all those around u. The books u can write and movies u can act in and the sayings u say and the fashion u wear. Ppl inspired by others is our proof we r real

[@splendidsimp]

Common lila L

[@dragroch5536]

This makes Lila seem like the same sort of mental parasite Von Braun's "The Many" is.

[@maryz9319]

I mean, the nobel prize in physics did recently go to folks who proved there is no such thing as a local reality. Note: I'm saying this as one only a few minutes into the video, having not played this game so I could be missing relevant in-game context.

[@Casimir1998]

As a lunatic that loves insanely long videos I thank you for fulfilling my addiction 😂

[@Hopefell]

Real

[@BrokeBech]

You're not alone. XD

[@raiyanjara4244]

we should be friends, i need more ppl like me

[@ralphsto.domingo9297]

Found my people here. Care to leave other channel recommendations?

[@emb3754]

gotta say, i get really annoyed with the majority of long-long-form videos on youtube that are just 99% summary and 1% analysis. this is the rare exception where you are genuinely theorizing and analyzing throughout the process without losing me at all. great stuff man

[@cardinalcat6435]

Honestly, this is a bit silly to say, but as someone who does get triggered by existential themes but is ALSO a dumbass who regularly ignores her own triggers, hearing you rant about how stupid Lila's rhetoric about you not existing because all the things that make you are in your head honestly filled me with an odd sense of relief. That topic is something that's made me spiral in the past, usually into a full blown panic attack, but hearing you call out that her arguments are stupid and ridiculous, especially as definitions get bent and twisted to justify them, it was incredibly reassuring. It was nice to finally hear someone say that the thing hurting you is dumb, rather than saying you are dumb for giving the intrusive thoughts your attention. I know that likely wasn't your goal, but it was incredibly validating, and honestly makes me feel less dread around that topic now. So, thanks for that :)

[@elizapipemaster4200]

Honestly based, couldn't agree more lol

[@Axe-wieldingFox]

I deal with this too, but I try to comfort myself by thinking: "Okay, let's go with that theory. If I don't exist, what does that change about me? I still gotta wake up everyday, I still like what I like, I still have the family and friends I have" etc. etc. And essentially, okay, but even if I go with the thought that life is a simulation, my life within this supposed simulation doesn't change, and it's still real since it's what I experience. It's real to me, and it's what I deal with, so there's not really anything that not existing can do about it. It doesn't always work if I'm for example in an intense panic, but it gives me peace of mind if I feel the thoughts start to swirl

[@WobblesandBean]

I mean, it's true, at least to a biologist like me. All that we are exists within our brains. That's it. The rest of us is purely a chassis. The entirety of our body only exists to keep our brains fed. We only breathe to make ATP, the energy blocks that fuel every single metabolic process. We only eat to get the base building blocks for our cells. And we only need water again for ATP. Over 90% of it all goes towards fueling our brains and maintaining homeostasis.

[@duncanhoward6648]

You DO exist. Your ego exists. This is reasonably self-evident in the age-old "I think, therefore I am." argument. But that's not the point Lila is making. Like I just said, you and your ego exist, but what doesn't exist is your understanding who you are. That is to say, you are not your ego. Maybe you already knew that, but nobody else in the game really seemed to know it which is why she said that. Of course that's still theoretical and a matter of debate but it's what I believe. It's a central concept in Buddhism and Daoism too, but I don't agree with how they usually frame it. It's also used to rationalize a lot of phony new age spiritualist pseudoscience.

[@ceve]

@@Axe-wieldingFox I'll never get tired of recommending the webcomic Miracle Simulator by Misersdreams. Yes, the protagonists grapple with discovering their lifes are a simulation but ultimately what does that change anything? It's actually a very uplifting story that helped me with the dreaded existential stuff that sometimes comes to my mind.

[@zazaisokay]

the whole exchange between Detective Yu and Lila in the justice end section is just such terrific voice acting. I had the video playing in the background while cooking and I didn't even realize Floppy was the one doing Yu's voice at first. You captured the personality and cadence of this soundless voiceless pixel game character and made him feel like an actual tenured FBI detective. You voice these characters like it's your actual job. The delivery of his patience, his curiosity, interest and experience, all of it you can just hear and feel because of one guy's talent and care. The cunning in Lila's voice too. This truly is one of the most passionate and curated channels I've ever found. Hats off Mr floppy cock

[@CreaturePhases]

I also didn't realize he was was doing the voice acting at first I just thought the game had voice acting and the choice to have Will narrate other people's lines was a creative choice.

[@derpkipper]

​@@CreaturePhasesi thought this at first too xD

[@mzed561]

the stranger kinda ate and left no crumbs tbh. nb icon

[@tabryis]

What did you mean by this?

[@spetsnaz4537]

​@tabryis and just like that the final piece of the puzzle fades away retroactively

[@concept8192]

this commenter is a tulpa and by commenting this they're stuck in our minds forever

[@destinyhntr]

Gave me more uncanny valley vibes than 'ate'

[@danzoom]

​@@destinyhntr ignoring the lifeless face expression, they do be slaying

[@cidevant002]

I can only aspire to make the kind of art that requires 7+ hours of video analysis by a clearly passionate person like you, man. I love how you are always like the one teacher that still loves the topic he is talking about and treats it like the coolest thing ever.

[@flawedpeacock]

You can do it! The key is talking about the stuff you love! KZbin in many ways is a sort of barren land in this age, and while it may be disheartening to see what some might consider "low effort" videos to be the most prevalent, we should see it as this platform being poised for a new generation of passionate videographers. I really am not all that special, and that's not fake humility(I'm very proud of these videos), but ME, myself, am not special. So if I can do it, you 100% can. Just keep practicing, honestly alot of this is a culmination of trial and error since I was like 8 years old and screwing around with legos on my webcam. I never believe its ever too late, but why not start now?

[@jameseeboy]

Flaw Peacock: and keep this in mind… Me, utterly disheveled, furiously scribbling in a notebook: uh huh, uh huh, just one sec-

[@odium1954]

Currently 4 hours and 30 minutes into the video I've played the game like 2 or so years ago and I'm glad someone else found it as interesting as to make an 8 hour long video about it !

[@LavalampGhost]

I don't think it's been mentioned yet, but The Stranger is also a reference to the Albert Camus novel of the same name - the plot revolving an amoral man who shoots a man and gets sentenced to death... a week after his mother dies. It's a very nice connection to the idea of The Stranger representing Will if he had no mask.

[@MontheHighwind]

I always found the "My name is William" in the flashbacks weird. It's like William/Wheeliam introducing himself in the flashbacks, and later answering the player's questions makes it seem he's the only one fully aware of the Prince/Player's existence.

[@VainVaiheArt]

2:36:06 When looking at the Death Tarot, knowing that Lila is in control at that moment and that it signifies ‘removing yourself from toxic attachments’ maybe keeping her eyes open in front of the boiler room lady removes Lila’s presence from Will’s body? Perhaps even permanently, which is why it ends there, as Lila is now unable to attach to keep her game going? Keep this in mind.

[@Vinno1234]

take a shot every time FP says "keep this in mind" if you don't want a working liver anymore

[@GooseWithAPassport]

Your liver won't just break down, it'd become a black hole and fold in on itself.

[@fireking0531]

Just got to the "lila deleting the phone messages" bit of the video, and I had the thought that maybe it was just another ploy to make people think even more about her, and thus feed her. Leaving that extra little bit of info that we may never know, and then we think about possible explanations or reasonings like you did. Just a thought of course! Loving the video so far btw, thank you for all the hard work put into it!

[@phillharker1837]

this was, without a doubt, the most exhaustive and extensive deep dive that could be done into "Who's Lila". Thank you for making it, it was a joy to watch. I feel like you uncovered a lot that I had missed in my now very limited feeling exploration of it.

[@mochristie5419]

The real jumpscare is that I did a master's thesis in functionalist philosophy that involved a bit of explaining nagel stuff so hearing his name struck me like a cannon

[@Iakovanders]

If your Flaw Peacock last for more than 7 hours, talk to your doctor. Seriously though, a nearly 8 hour video game video essay? I knew this channel was perfect.

[@flawedpeacock]

Hahaha ha holy crap that's so effing funny. I couldn't withhold the laughter that's so good what the hell! Thanks for that!

[@Iakovanders]

@@flawedpeacock LOL! Glad I could give back a fraction of the joy your videos have brought me. For real, keep up the good work!

[@CellarStudioProductions]

This video accompanied me through half of a day off from work, my drive to work, the drive to band practice, the drive back home, back to work and back home. And it's been phenomenal to have such a well put together and well presented project to watch/listen to through what was a pretty tough week. Thank you! And I'm blown away by Garage Heathen!

[@anondecepticon]

The sound you mentioned being unable to identify at 48:53 is the sound of a record left playing past the end of the final track, or more specifically, the sound of a needle spinning in dead wax. Apart from some very dedicated vinyl enthusiasts, I doubt many people would recognize it today. I’m not a vinyl person myself, but I love that sound - there’s just something so creepy and otherworldly about it, that white-noise whisper-static skip-hiss. I’m glad it’s still being used as a sound effect. ☺️

[@hellenohello6604]

Am i the only one who thinks the film reel sound is similar to a video game dice roll?

[@malinbutnottheplaceinitaly6417]

Huh, I always thought it was a door opening sound

[@adrianomaly1760]

Agreed. I like that sound.

[@ErikaCartet]

it’s funny because i have a big vinyl collection that i listen to all the time, but i didn’t recognize the sound because my record player has a needle that automatically returns to its original position after the last track. so i do have a very specific post-last track sound that pops up in my head of the needle clicking as it moves up and back into place, but not this particular post-last track sound haha

[@CalamitasCalliope]

I really like games that involve the player in the story in some way, and this one seems like such a cool way to do it. Having a game built around a mystery, and framing your obsession with solving that mystery as feeding the evil entity you are facing against is so creative. I really hope more games like this get made

[@acrab6527]

Me as well. Another game I can think of, Witch and the Hundred Knight/Labyrynth of Refrain/Galleria. First two are diablo made by the japanese, the second 2 are dungeon crawlers. Each starts with a witch summoning a being from beyond time and space. The game then asks your name. Your name is then repeated to you but it's gibberish. the witch stole your name, and you have to obey her to get it back. If you do as she asks, everyone dies horribly. But then the game acknowledges you are not subject to time, so you can go back to an old save. You then find out WHY the witch wants you to do things, rather than what she tells you to do, and selectively disobey to get a different result. Not in any way similar to this game, though. No format screws or arg's or cognito hazards. No tree of possible timelines, pretty straightforward. Just because of the "acknowledges the player as a character" thing.

[@giuliano.]

I want to thank you for finally getting me to finish Twin Peaks. I’m so glad I came across your channel, came for the Faith theories and saw you had this almost 8 hour essay on easily my favorite PC game ever and I just had to watch it from start to finish. I do have to confess I came back to this video many times while watching Twin Peaks, and because I was scared of getting spoiled or possibly missing out some clues or references, I had to finish the whole series. Just a huge thank you, sending love from Argentina 💜

[@flawedpeacock]

Thank you so much for your support! Even though I don't think I spoiled anything Twin Peaks related here, I'm glad you prioritized finishing that first! It's such a great show. Now if you haven't already I HIGHLY recommend watching Fire Walk With Me.

[@giuliano.]

@@flawedpeacock I binged all of it, don’t worry! Thanks once again for your work, looking forward to seeing more of your content!

[@yahlimendler2898]

Came here after seeing the video by Jacob Geller and wanting to hear more about the game. I'm about an hour and a half in and this is honestly such an amazing video - production-wise, writing, delivery, organization, everything - I genuinely feel excited about having found this channel.

[@yahlimendler2898]

And I'm watching it super late at night and i'm pretty unnerved too 💀

[@dirtbra1n]

also came here from jacob’s video, I’ve been watching over a couple days because I KNOW this game could haunt me BAD

[@lisastormo5803]

“Keep this in mind” “Keep this fact in mind” “Keep these concepts in mind” “Keep this in mind, it will be important later” Bro my mind doesnt have this many hands😂 I feel like this video needs notes I could print, and a “Now turn to page 69, we will be discussing our second scene of the game and its impact on existence and world peace”

[@MasonShmason]

"Oh my," said Lila, after watching the entire seven hour video answering the mystery of what she is, "I never thought of that." And promptly vanished in a puff of Logic. IYKYK.

[@eveandaedrul]

Now THIS is a video essay. I felt like I was watching a university class, you have major uni lit professor vibes. The video was very high quality, felt like you had decades of experience or something, it's seriously such a well researched, well edited video. You articulate the theories and analysis in a professional and easy to understand way, while keeping things light hearted. I especially appreciated your spook warnings! I might be in love with your channel, I'm looking forward to seeing more from you!!

[@ragingdevi]

Flaw Peacock talking: *men sitting on a couch together* Flaw Peacock says "keep that in mind": *the men begin cheering riotously* Jokes aside, I'm in love with how in depth your videos are, and how you'll keep little eureka moments you have during filming in. Idk, but watching the realizations happen in an unscripted way is so wholesome. (Also, the skits were killing me 😂❤)

[@TylordYourLord]

not gonna lie this man is better than game theory in almost every way

[@flawedpeacock]

Blasphemy. But thank you.

[@LonkerDoodle]

When martha was killed and you censored her face deformation, I actually took the time to go see the whole scene and I agree. The image is scary as hell, and thank you so much for censoring it for those who probably wouldn't be able to handle it. Seeing that jumpscare, even when I knew it was coming, was pretty startling.

[@fionaflop300]

Srsly! I played the game myself, every ending, and that part scared the living shit out of me

[@kennywilliams6266]

as a super scaredy cat who finds horror type stuff so interesting but can't stomach consuming/seeing a lot of it myself, I really appreciate it cause just the style of the game has me a little too spooked to look at the screen sometimes, my sanity would probably be obliterated without the censor (and I will make the wise choice to NOT investigate further this time)

[@mspaint93]

Just googled it and it kinda looked like Jar Jar Binks after a terrible Go-Kart accident

[@Ousmanda]

​@@mspaint93 canonical end for jar jar after sticking his face in the podracer energy beam

[@beepboop4639]

As a neurodivergent teen who's obsessed with long essay videos on video games I love, this video is amazing. It's respectful while funny but also clearly not "tiptoeing" or "infantilizing" William and his neurodiversity. Thank you so much, I love this game, and I love this video

[@FolstrimHori]

The term neurodivergent itself is a mindworm that was conceptualized to infantilize serious mental affliction, and make them seem trendy to teens such as yourself.

[@beepboop4639]

@FolstrimHori Um... Okay? I'm slightly amused due to the fact that I know which teens you are talking about who believe mental illness is "trendy". Trust me, I'm not a trend-hopper, I dislike them as well due to the amount of pain this "trend" has caused me. Also, terms like "neurodivergent" have been around since the 1990's. I completely understand where you are coming from, but I reassure you that I know first-hand about serious mental affliction and am not just an attention seeker.

[@FolstrimHori]

@@beepboop4639 It's a pseudo-scientific term co-opted by political movements that has no basis in medical science, and of which was introduced by a social scientist (not even a neurologist) of no academic commendation/note. Only seeing popularity in recent years (I would argue 2016) with the rise of both mental illness and demand for online social clout. I should know, I was there for it. Even its wikipedia entry states that it is a "proposed framework". As someone who would fall under the "neurodivergent" umbrella for various reasons, I have no basis for doubting your predicament. In fact given how quickly your responded I would hazard a guess that you highly value your public perception, and possibly don't feel yourself as heard as you desire to be in the outside world. That said I have a plethora of reasons for despising your usage of the term as well as the term itself. First and foremost it argues that people with medical afflictions are not in need of treatment (medicated or otherwise), but should be fully accommodated by society itself. As someone who functions in society, has been in and out of hospitals, and done quite a bit of self-improvement and introspection, I know well that such a desire is nothing but fantasy. Secondly it absolutely does infantalize mental illness/condition by grouping everything under a single vague umbrella; allowing anyone to claim they are "neurodivergent". It muddies the waters of medical understanding, and allows for people with little to no mental issues to demand the same amount as respect as someone suffering from shell shock or low-functioning autism. Just look at the horrible misinformation and clout chasing that occurs daily on TikTok if you need example.

[@chillfactory9000]

@@FolstrimHori nobody asked

[@modernmusic52]

did they ever confirm if william is autistic or if he has a personality disorder?

[@pinkskie5536]

I'm not gonna lie man, this is the first video I've ever seen from you, and it was riveting. I had it on through my entire workday, rewinding to catch your skits when I wasn't busy. Your cadence and style is really fun, you clearly don't take yourself too seriously and your love of the craft shines through, as well as your love for this game, can really shine through. You've absolutely earned a sub from me, and you deserve far more than you have.

[@beard556]

58:53 Looking at the games code, you can find that the color palette in this part is called "Red Tears." This palette is unobtainable.

[@v6243_____]

the line about vzor (взор) vs vyor (верь) basically meaning the same thing at 2:43:19 is GENIUS *spoiler?* vzor means to look or gaze or regard vyor means to believe seeing is believing

[@betomaze4954]

Everyone wants to know "Who's Lila?" but nobody wants to know "How's Lila?" 😢

[@Solanin0803]

She isn't

[@leonardoschettino3162]

considering what she is doing to william i think she is having a good time

[@neon_blue4464]

Please tell me it's a GTLive reference omg

[@thenewranger1234]

Terrible I hope

[@MisterDevel]

I love the "so what? Big friggin deal" part at 5:58:54, it perfectly incapsulates how just not caring can take away so much from Lila. Amazing video, I had to watch it in two parts because it's a definitely a lot to process.

[@MacBunny6978]

I don't exactly know how to explain it but I really like how the whole "Who's Lila?" Question can be summed up pretty well as, Lila is just, the worst. Like boom, mystery solved, under all that cool ass symbolism and awesome ARG stuff, she's the ultimate narcissistic jerkface, and we all know how much attention feeds them on a metaphorical level, she just happens to also be fed that way in a literal sense. (Great video, it's been a godsend for finals week)

[@purplecat4977]

I didn't know how much I needed a nearly eight hour course on Jungian psychology, tarot, occultism, and a video game, but turns out I needed it a lot. Thank you :)

[@ffejpsycho]

this goes for precisely all human's that have ever, or ever will exist!

[@mehirohouseki]

So sometime interesting I've noticed on my second watch is the buzzing electricity noise the you hear occasionally. In the video you posit that it's the sound of a projector and signifies when a character ceases/awakens. To me the sound is that of a florescent lightbulb turning on or off, if you look for a video of the sound it matches quite well with the clicking on and buzzing of electricity. I think you were right that it signifies characters ceasing and awakening but it's not the sound of the project itself but rather the bulb used in the projector that's turning on and off. Because a person is still existing when you don't see them, in this game that means their reel is spinning but we the observer don't see them until the bulb comes on and they come into our view. This refutes Lila's whole ego death bs about people only existing when observed. Even on a meta level, if no one is playing the game the code still exists you're just not witnessing it. Sorry that was a lot it's 2am I'm too tired to be coherent 😅

[@Deepestofoceanicblue]

I haven't slept well lately. I just wanted to quickly point out the "not existing when being observed" idea is the basis behind the Weeping Angels in the 2007 Blink episode of Doctor Who. Creatures which feed from the potential life energy of living things and freeze into rock when being observed.

[@theflyingspaget]

@@Deepestofoceanicbluefairly certain the idea is far older than that, and that seems like the exact opposite. They only exist when not observed.

[@goonsbrain]

I really appreciate all the extra steps you take in your videos to make them more accessible (ex. the censoring, jumpscare warnings, that one bit in the Schastye section where you clarified that reading the document wouldn't actually harm the viewer in anyway, and others that not remembering currently). Especially how you consistently do this in a nearly 8 hour video shows to me how much care and effort you put into your videos. Really glad to have discovered your channel! :D

[@CattoPipistrello]

I don't know if someone has mentioned this but, fun fact: the dada dog is probably a reference to dadaism, an art movement that is often satirical and nonsensical and memes can be considered a form of dadaism.

[@user-burner]

Fun fact: i though dadaism was made up for the longest time because it was a joke plot point twice in a book i read

[@CattoPipistrello]

@@user-burner lmao I know, it sounds made up

[@flawedpeacock]

Damn! at 3:36:50 I had initially placed a filter to make all the goofy sounds to sound like they were coming through on the walky talky, but I recall my editting software crashing and I must've forgotten to replace the filters on the sounds. My apologies for the jarring, obnoxious sound effects, they were supposed to be heavily filtered! xP

[@CalloohCalley]

That was actually one of my favourite moments!:)

[@andyghkfilm2287]

lol this video is eight HOURS long dude. a few rendering or audio errors here and there are par for the course. Especially if you're only working with your own manpower - or, uh, tulpa-power...? I've released videos a quarter of this length on another channel I have, and even after watching obsessively through the footage multiple times, I still sometimes have little errors here and there that I miss. That's just the nature of big videos like these - the further out you zoom, the harder the littlest details are to rough out. The best thing to do to futureproof your videos against that (in my experience) is to watch them now that they're live and see what you may have missed in editing, and you're already doing that, so you're doing great.

[@vvindication]

THATS SO FUNNY I was wondering why I was suddenly assaulted with fart sound effects

[@emilyjones9787]

I was cracking up at this bit! Brings back people's attention to those putting it on for background noise😂

[@Apollo9898LP]

I got to that part and it's actually ten times funnier that you fucked it up

[@heathermuffins]

This got me thinking about Neil Gaiman's American Gods. The gods' existence depends on our worship. I think Lilith is the Empress, and her daughter Lila took a form that looks similar to Tanya because Tanya was the only human being in the area who dedicated time to thinking about(worshiping, in a way) Lilith. There's no need for Lila to have a physical appearance at all. And now I'm reminded of the end of Ghostbusters, "don't think of anything!" Tanya has a dream of being Lilith where she is in that painting with the poppies and roses. Then Lilith uses her appearance when she manifests her daughter Lila into existence. That detail reminds me a little bit of Rose Madder, by Stephen King, where the protagonist buys a painting of a woman and spends so much time staring at it that she slowly becomes the woman in the painting, the idea being that when you dedicate deep spiritual energy to a thing, you become bonded to it somehow(like creating a tulpa). I wonder if the dream was the moment that Tanya's essence was somehow tied, connected, bonded to Lilith on a higher spiritual plane. I wonder how much Tanya was being effected by the pull of Lilith when she decided to cheat on her boyfriend with Will. Maybe Lilith was the soul image of Tanya? Why would Lila want her dead? Because she realizes this is the human form she was based upon and feels competition with it for her mother's love, or maybe even William's love? She can't stand the idea of anyone loving the basis for her avatar more than they love her. Lila seems to experience only the dark side of the range of human emotions; envy, callousness, cruelty, sadism, seduction, etc. I have a feeling she killed Tanya out of sheer jealousy.

[@sophiahughes5355]

Did you post this on the subreddit? I'm having an insane deja vu moment rn

[@heathermuffins]

Yes! I think I may have reworded a few things but yes I did, hoping someone, somewhere, would want to talk about this damn game

[@MellyWilliams]

The Hanged Man need not necessarily be about martyrdom. More commonly it talks about being at a standstill or in limbo. Which Wheeliam essentially is, he's trapped, either by his own volition or by Lila's direct action.

[@theflyingspaget]

My main exposure to tarot so far has been through the Undertale tarot deck and that now makes the choice of Flowey as the Hanged Man much more profound. This is only tangentially related to the video but uh, I don't care B)

[@GuyDude-hk8uy]

@ingspaget There's also the as-above/so-below concept expressed, due to the upside-down pose and how you sometimes see the man's body reflected in water below him (which of course is facing "upright" in the image despite being the "unreal" image, also expressing the idea of how opposites require each other to give meaning to themselves and are intrinsically a part of each other). "Rebirth" is another idea, due to the obvious crucifixion motif, meaning a difficult "death" of some kind (losing a job, losing a partner...) and a renewing rebirth (getting a new job, finding a new partner...). The "limbo" expressed might seem counter to this idea of change, but it's referring to the fact you're in a transitional place, often between two big events. You sometimes see an Ankh on the card too, which as well as being a sort of Egyptian analogue of the cross, also means eternal life, referring to how some intrinsic element of your self/soul remains even through the aforementioned changes, the watcher who is watching the watched watcher. No clue what any of that could mean for Undertale as I've never played it, but could be some interesting food for thought :)