๑Matchu♪*⁠･

°|she/her|° |bad english| |#1 Caleb fan| • eczema • derealization • dyscalculia °|I like to share my opinions|°

[matchumatchu]

[matchumatchu]

Wick analysis part 2 (poems)

If anyone doesn't know which poems I'm talking about, they're the ones that appear in their drawings from “No way out”.

Benny:

"Do not stand at my grave and weep".

- The main themes are immortality and nature.

- In this poem, the deceased speaker asks that no one weep at his grave. He claims that he is not buried, but lives on through the everyday beauty of nature. The seasons, the wind, the rain, the sun and the stars symbolize that the deceased has a connection with nature and does not rest alone in the cemetery, but with the elements. In the game, the poem may suggest that the children’s spirits are not buried but are restless and angry because they have never found that rest.

Caleb:

"Requiem"

- The main themes are death, life and It's transience.

- In the poem, death is portrayed as a return home, not the end of life. The author emphasizes that he enjoyed his life and has no regrets. Based on this poem, Caleb was prepared for his death and was glad that he could finally rest.

Tim:

"The neighbors"

- The main themes are isolation, loneliness and longing.

- The poem tells the story of how the speaker, standing in his home looks out the window at his deceased neighbors, who are quietly returning to their graves at dawn. The ghosts look at the house and long for the lasting comfort, warmth and safety they once had.

- The poem symbolizes how the spirits of deceased children seek the warmth and safety they once had. It may also symbolize how the “neighbors” (people from town) watched as the Weavers house burned down.

The poem also might just illustrate the game's mechanic when the player must survive the night from 12:00 am to 6:00 am by fleeing from the ghosts of children. When the clock strikes 6:00 am the ghosts must disappear.

Tom:

"The hollow man"

- The main themes are faith, religion and emptiness.

- The poem is dedicated to Tom, but it could just as easily have been dedicated to John. The main theme is the emptiness that lies within people. At the beginning, the narrator states that he belongs to this group of people. He suggests that he and his friends are inhuman, devoid of humanity - they have dry voices (devoid of emotion). The voice is one of the most important gifts to humanity. Thanks to our voices we can communicate and form friendships.

The poem also shows that these empty people have lost God - they have lost their faith and fallen into idolatry (the sin of worshiping false gods, animals, nature, or objects as deities instead of God himself).

Based on this poem, I have formulated two statements:

- Tom might be mute, which is why he considers himself an empty person (this is very likely, since Tom doesn't have any voice lines).

Let’s also remember that mute people can still scream or make sounds.

The second possibility I think is plausible is that Tom might be an emotionally detached person (for example, he might have emotional illiteracy) which is why he considers himself an empty person.

- Both Tom and John lost their faith in God. From being very religious people, they became enemies of God by falling into idolatry. John might have lost his faith after the war, which is why he stopped going to church and isolated himself. Tom, on the other hand might have lost his faith because of his illness. He probably prayed every night, begging God to let him be as healthy as his siblings. His pleas to God only worsened his physical and mental condition, which is why he began to worship something else.

Lillian:

"Ring around the rosie"

- The poem conveys the game’s dark atmosphere and the fact that Lillian did not have a happy childhood. By singing these rhymes, Lillian shows that she longs for the life she once had. Lillian didn’t have a happy childhood because:

- she had no friends except for her stuffed animal - Honey bunny. We see this in one of Mary’s voice lines, where she tells Lillian not to play with strangers (g*psies) because it’s dangerous. Which suggests that Lillian probably couldn't meet new people.

- she was lonely most of the time because Caleb was at school, her parents and Benny might not have had time for her and Tom probably wasn’t even allowed to get close to her. It’s possible that Tim had time for her and played with her, but Lillian was probably already bored with that because she would have preferred to play with her older brother Caleb rather than with him.

- her parents toxic relationship was the main reason why she didn’t have a happy childhood. Her abusive and absent father and her probably depressed mother were unable to provide their children with a good life. For a child to have a good childhood, they need parents who will both take care of them. The game shows that John completely isolated himself and didn’t talk to anyone, not even his own children (expect for Caleb).

[matchumatchu]

Wick analysis part 1 (items)

Benny:

Lantern - symbolizes the family's fate, as well as the place where Benny died. The lantern gives off a warm glow, which is why Benny died by the campfire located not far from their home.

Bible - symbolizes religious guilt. Manipulated by the church, Mary sought salvation there. She thought faith would still help them. Unfortunately her and John's sins and their unhealthy relationship led to the disappearance of their children.

Cross - symbolizes the family's religiosity.

Lillian:

Rabbit - symbolizes Lillian's death & her love for rabbits.

Skull - symbolizes her loss of innocence, happiness and the fragility of life (rabbits are very delicate and sensitive. They hide their pain until they die).

Bucket - symbolizes Lillian's death - drowning in the well.

The poem “Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water; Jack fell down and broke his crownand Jill came tumbling after” symbolizes Tom’s accident (Jack is Tom, Jill is Tim). The next line of the poem describes exactly what happened between Tim and Tom.

"(...) Jill came in and she did grin, to see his paper plaster; Mother, vex’d, did whip her next, for causing Jack’s disaster.” One of Tim’s voice lines clearly shows that something happened to Tom’s face, which is why he has scars.

“(...) It wasn't my fault...” suggesting that Tim caused Tom’s accident. Unfortunately, I don’t know what could have happened. Mary got angry after finding out about it, so maybe when Mary had to kick them out of the house, Tim thought that Mary hated them and that’s why she didn’t want them in the house.

Tim:

Knife- symbolizes his protective nature towards his younger twin brother. It also reveals his character – he was brave enough to do anything for his brother. The knife also reveals Tim's kindness- he made a mask for himself so that Tom wouldn't feel different (in a photograph in the game we also see that Tim made masks not only for himself and Tom but also for Caleb & Benny). The blood on Tim's knife symbolizes his defense against someone. Tim would do anything to keep his brother safe, so he attacked that person. If you look at Tim's no way out mask and you'll turn it upside down you can see man's hand on his mask, maybe it was pastor who killed them.

Smilling mask - symbolizes Tom's scars. Tom was likely disgusted by his scars which is why he wasn't confident anymore. One of his scars is on his left eye and runs from the eyebrow to the lower eyelid (that's why he has a slit eyebrow).

Gas mask - symbolizes John's story and the cause of Tim's death. Tim died from lack of breathing. There's no clear reason why he couldn't breathe but there are three possible causes:

- asthma

- someone choked him

- a panic attack.

Caleb:

Shovel - symbolizes Caleb's death. Caleb's cause of death wasn't necessarily being buried alive, but rather post-traumatic shock. In Caleb's achievement we see him being hit in the head with a shovel and if we look at his model, we can see some fractures on his skull. Also in the death scenes where he kills us, we can see him constantly adjusting his jaw. (so Caleb probably has a broken jaw).

Shoe - symbolizes Caleb's death. The poem “Run, run as fast as you can, you can’t catch me I’m the Boogeyman” tells us what happened to Caleb and who killed him.

The first line clearly indicates that Caleb was running away from someone. The Boogeyman is a mythical creature who punishes children for misbehaving. In that case the Boogeyman (killer) is rather a person and not a monster. But who could be the Boogeyman? I have two statements:

- The Boogeyman is James (pastor).

In my opinion, the pastor killed Caleb. The pastor killed Tim and Tom to save the Weaver family. Caleb was very close to them (in the photos, they’re always standing close together). That’s why he became the pastor’s second target. Caleb might have suspected that the pastor had committed murder or even that he was having an affair with Mary, so the pastor had to get rid of him to avoid ruining his reputation in town. Also back then, pastors used to punish naughty children, so that would make sense.

- The Boogeyman is John.

That's less likely, but still possible. John was very abusive if you connect the dots. In every voice line, he raises his voice at someone, blames everyone else but himself and might have beat Tom (Both he & Tom have connection to the shed. Back then fathers used to beat their children in the shed). Caleb was his favorite son and we see this when in one of the voice line, he yells that he won’t let him go into the woods because it’s dangerous there. Caleb didn’t listen to him and went anyway. John might have found out about this and flown into a rage at the thought of losing his son. He wanted to stop him, but Caleb started running away. John got so upset that he couldn’t control himself, he grabbed the shovel and struck Caleb. After what he did, he couldn’t pull himself together. That’s why he hanged himself.

Trophy - symbolizes that Caleb was the most athletic of the siblings. John even mentions this in one of his voice lines:

"You might be strong and fast".

The trophy says that Caleb won first place in the 220 Yard Dash in 1922.

Annual County Track Meet is an annual athletics competition that takes place in a certain region. Students from other schools take part and represent their school, Caleb represented his school with his classmates in district 55.

Tom:

Rattle - symbolizes the appearance of polio. The disease appeared in Tom when he was still a small child in 1918 (around 2-1 years old). In the audio we hear John shouting "What's wrong with him?" suggesting that he and Mary had no idea what could be causing Tom's crying. To contract polio, a person would have to be infected with the poliovirus. The virus is transmitted through respiratory droplets, contaminated water, food or items. Tom likely became infected through a contaminated object - in this case, it would be his rattle. After all, he had been very attached to it since he was a child.

Brahm's Lullaby "Wiegenlied" is also heard in the audio. The cradle song was dedicated to Brahms's friend on the occasion of the birth of her second son, so that means that Tom is the younger twin.

Frown mask - Both Tim and Tom's masks symbolize their character traits.

The smiling mask represents joy, kindness and generosity.

The frowning mask represents anger, meanness and pain.

Metal leg - symbolizes Tom's death and the fact that his illness was never cured. The song "Ring A-Ring O' Roses" is closely linked to the plague, a deadly disease.

"Ring around the rosie" refers to a pink rash that appeared on the skin (one of the symptoms of the disease). In Tom's case, it may have been an asymmetrical leg and a speech impediment.

"Pocket full of posie" refers to the flowers people carried in their pockets to ward off unpleasant smell. The family may not have known about the illness, which is why we don't see Tom wearing a metal leg in any of the photos.

"Ashes, ashes" could refer to sneezing or cremation. This could represent the burned bodies of Mary and John.

"We all fall down" refers to death. It depicts the death of the entire family.

Well that's my analysis. What do you think?

(had to repload beacause my dyscalculia mixed up the numbers lol)

[matchumatchu]

[matchumatchu]

Part 2 of redesigns and headcanons

And yes I headcanon that Cal is a bully

[matchumatchu]

Some redesigns and headcanons I've made! No Benny beacause I actually love his design. There may be spelling mistakes because English is not my first language

(Bonus +John)

[matchumatchu]

Doing anything to make this fandom alive