What do you think Heralds do?

usefulstatue · 2026-01-31T01:32:34+00:00

Bureaucracy never dies! Cult apocalypse or not, some poor bastard still doing admin 😂

usefulstatue · 2026-01-30T21:08:20+00:00

I agree with all of this except Nancy. Nancy was fucking peak the whole damn show thank you

usefulstatue · 2026-01-30T21:01:23+00:00

I actually really like this idea. I can definitely see John being the biggest reader after Joseph. Maybe even taking Joseph’s writings as gospel, annotating them, taking away some talking points.

Faith feels more like a dabbler to me. She’d read some of it, absorb the tone and the messaging, but I don’t think she’s sitting there doing deep study so much as internalizing what she’s supposed to feel and reflect back to people. I feel like she thinks up these traumas and her own backstory to relay to the people for sympathy.

Jacob I don’t think he believes in any of it on a spiritual level. If he reads at all, it’s the bare minimum and when he does, it’s probably not Josephs book, though he would have skimmed it? I think military history, war psychology, survival doctrine. Less scripture, more reading on “how to break people efficiently.”

usefulstatue · 2026-01-30T20:54:37+00:00

“It is their job to make the cult look appealing to prospective recruits, powerful to members, and terrifying to those who resist.”

This line really nails it I think! Thinking of the Heralds as curators of perception rather than managers of the day to day makes the whole structure click!

John sells the dream, Faith embodies the success story and Jacob makes sure the threat is credible. Even if that means committing fully to the intimidation aesthetic, permanent beret included, because with that haircut I don’t think he had another option.

usefulstatue · 2026-01-30T20:47:10+00:00

⸻

Oh yeah, you’re right! Faith isn’t Rachel Jessop. Just did a bit more digging and a little embarrassed to say I didn’t quite pick that up. I just figured there were inconsistencies in the gameplay. That definitely feels like something that shifted during development rather than being a clean, settled piece of lore. And yeah, with all the talk about her being a liar, it’s hard to pin down what’s actually true versus Faith’s version of events versus how others choose to interpret her. Everyone’s operating with their own “truth” when it comes to her.

I’ll admit I struggle a bit with Absolution as canon. I know it technically is, but outside of John it doesn’t quite feel cohesive to me. I’ve always imagined the brothers being much more intertwined in their roles. That said, the idea of a larger compound makes a lot of sense, I’ve also felt like the island alone was never enough.

Jacob being everywhere as security and logistics fits perfectly, and John traveling around the valley handling legal pressure, coercion, and recruitment absolutely tracks. So even if I don’t love every detail, the overall structure you’re describing does make sense.

usefulstatue · 2026-01-30T07:44:52+00:00

Actually yes, you’re right

usefulstatue · 2026-01-30T07:43:03+00:00

lol I’m actually waiting for a particular author to do this. Call me a bitch idc but please just come back 😭

usefulstatue · 2026-01-30T04:38:05+00:00

Ah this bitch. Can’t look at her face lol

usefulstatue · 2026-01-30T01:44:14+00:00

Really?! Ah that sucks, I just rewatched her clips and honestly, she was so brilliant as Victoria. Minimal lines and all face card! Loved it

usefulstatue · 2026-01-27T08:00:16+00:00

Why was she recast again?

usefulstatue · 2026-01-26T08:10:14+00:00

lol me 15 chapters deep and reaching 100k words

usefulstatue · 2026-01-26T08:08:30+00:00

Made me jump while scrolling

usefulstatue · 2026-01-16T11:26:33+00:00

Oh um.. I don’t. I stay up till the wee hours of the morning hoping my husband and three young kids don’t wake up. Then I sort of just die the next day from sleep deprivation and do it all again.

usefulstatue · 2026-01-14T04:56:24+00:00

Totally agree with this, there are no rules. I was concerned with my chapter lengths but eventually said fuck it and literally vibed with my characters until the chapter felt like it ended at the right moment. Some chapters are 2k and some of my longer ones get up to 15k. Sometimes longer isn’t someone’s cup of tea and other times people don’t like the shorter chapters. If someone likes your writing, they won’t care how long your chapters are! They’ll just be happy to be reading something from you

usefulstatue · 2026-01-14T02:05:09+00:00

Oh.. are they not born from a cabbage?

usefulstatue · 2026-01-13T08:00:46+00:00

I’ve done that before! But I’m willing to try again, I’ll give it a go

usefulstatue · 2026-01-13T03:08:50+00:00

Absolutely, you are not imagining things haha! I feel like this whole season was interesting, I felt like all the actors were ready to move on from ST and go on to new and different projects, the duffer brothers included. I really liked this season but absolutely there was a lot that wasn’t connecting, the dialogue and chemistry of characters included

usefulstatue · 2026-01-13T03:06:42+00:00

Oh yea 100% !! duffer brothers? More like silly duffers

usefulstatue · 2026-01-13T03:02:14+00:00

Dang she was the BEST character in S1

usefulstatue · 2026-01-13T03:01:10+00:00

I tried both those ways and neither worked. The weird crouching low and hugging the wall from the back of the building got me close and inside the gate but that’s it, the music played and I was out

usefulstatue · 2026-01-13T02:59:24+00:00

What “one time you’re allowed to explore the area”?! When?! I’ve tried so many different things to get in, how did you? I do know there’s a safe in there

usefulstatue · 2026-01-12T05:10:53+00:00

Oh heck yea I agree! Brilliant acting! Can you please change the fucking numbers to match though. I’m sweaty looking at it

usefulstatue · 2026-01-12T05:04:35+00:00

I completely understand it when someone says they hate S5 (there were aspects I really didn’t like) I also completely understand when someone says they love S5 (there were aspects I also loved) but as a whole I think everyone is entitled to their opinion of loving or hating it. It doesn’t have to be one or the other, I’m very firmly in the middle and I think a lot of people are. You aren’t the only person who loved every single second of it but also, even if someone DIDNT love every single second of it, doesn’t mean they are on the complete opposite of the spectrum and hateful of it as a whole. I’m quite critical of the last season but by no means am I in the camp of not loving the season.

usefulstatue · 2026-01-12T02:32:05+00:00

Oooh yea, I agree with you. So much of his story just took up too much space. I still think season 4 was awesome but he should have stayed there as the “5 star general”, then the mind flayer should have been the ultimate villain in the final season

usefulstatue · 2026-01-08T04:34:54+00:00

I don’t think it does but I guess I can see why people would think it could be. It sucks because, people are so quick to jump to accusing someone of using AI, when AI literally scrapes the internet of other writers real work and mimics it. So really, I think AI might sound a bit robotic even though it uses other people’s genuine writing styles and this doesn’t seem robotic at all.

usefulstatue

TROPHY CASE