A thought: does Matt know how pretty, hot, charming, and slutty he is?
Matt knows he’s appealing in a conceptual sense. He can hear it from micro-changes in breath, pulse spikes, voices softening, people standing a little too close. He knows when someone is attracted to him the same way he knows when someone is lying. So yes, he knows he has an effect.
But “pretty” and “hot” are visual currencies, and Matt lost access to that mirror since he was 9.
He doesn’t know how his mouth curves when he smirks.
He doesn’t know how unfair his jawline is.
He doesn’t know how his shirts cling when he’s hurt, or how wrecked and dangerous he looks when he’s bleeding.
And “slutty”? That’s entirely accidental energy to him. He’s just… existing. Breathing. Tilting his head. Touching your wrist for half a second too long because touch is his language.
What he does know is how it feels to move in his body. He knows tension, control, restraint. He knows when he’s close to someone. He knows intimacy without seeing it. Which somehow makes it worse (or better).
So when people look at Matt and think oh my god, he’s over there thinking:
I’m probably a mess. Shirt wrinkled. Bruised. Blood somewhere.
Meanwhile everyone else is thinking:
This man could ruin my life and I’d thank him.
And honestly that gap between what he is and what he thinks he is is part of the appeal.
A huge thanks to everyone who is reposting the Con updates and helping to spread the word. Our planning team is tiny with very limited resources; the extra help is so very appreciated!
Keep reading for submission info and links ⬇️
What is Contingency Con 2026?
Contingency Con is a free, fan-run virtual convention celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Person of Interest series finale.
July 31–August 2, 2026, hosted on Discord and Zoom
How to Participate?
We're building a weekend of programming made entirely by fans, for fans. If you have something to share about this show, we're here for it!
Panels Presentations - 50 minute slot to talk about anything POI related. Present your theories, share a slide show, hold a discussion, come talk POI with us!
Panels submissions due July 6 (click for the Google Form)
Presentation Posters a visual slideshow — up to 14 slides, built to be read at your own pace. Share analysis, meta, a theory, or a creative argument. Previously published work welcome.
Presentation Posters due July 20
Con Zine — a fan zine celebrating ten years since the Machine went dark. Submit essays, meta, poetry, fan art, episode reviews, or love letters to POI.
Zine Submissions due July 20
Vid Show is open to fanvids and edits for all ships, characters, eras, and genres. Submit one vid. Premieres are welcome!
Vid Show submissions due July 26
Art Show - Calling all POI fan artists! We're organizing a virtual art gallery and would love to display your credited work. Please contact us at [email protected] with your portfolio.
Volunteers - Want to help run the con Games and Trivia space? Do you love creating document layouts in InDesign/Illustrator/Canva/etc? Have experience creating Zoom backgrounds and themes? Are you a friendly person who'd like to help guide attendees through the Con during the weekend? Just want to help out?
Volunteer Sign-up form We'd love your help!
Registration opens July 6, 2026
Please share this post with anyone you think may be interested. We are excited for a weekend of Person of Interest and look forward to seeing you there!
as someone who also headcanons Flambae as the epitome of "Get Cherished, Idiot (/Affectionate)" and Robert as a little like a shelter dog that has to learn that love and safety isn't conditional or temporary anymore (but once he does, he THRIVES), thank you for the food
You have excellent taste!! I just really love this dynamic for them. I spend a lot of time thinking about it lol. Chad's hobby being cooking plays into it as does the hospitality culture of Afghanistan. While I believe there is a great deal of cultural norms that Chad doesn't engage with, wasn't raised with, or straight up rejects, I do think that some of those core aspects of hospitality and how to care for others would be something imparted to him even after coming to America. Making Robert's first visit to Chad's place kind of a whirlwind. Lots of food and Chad being a bit persnickety about making sure Robert's comfortable. All presented in a very Chad way. He wants to do it, but he's also annoyed that Robert is acting like it's physically painful to experience kindness or something.
Chad being short tempered and gruff about it is the saving grace that allows Robert to tread water in the deep end of being Cared About.
'Sit down, drink this, eat this, don't complain, don't slouch, when's the last time you took a bath, fuckssake, Bob-Bob, take care of yourself, don't make me tell you that you need to treat yourself with dignity because I will and you won't like it.'
Robert's not a guy well accustomed to being taken care of, but somehow, being threatened with it is tolerable. lol.
I’ve seen a lot of people talk about the stylistic differences between Little Nightmares 3 and the previous games, particularly how the designs and story structure differ, to the point they feel incongruous. But as I suggested in my initial analysis, I feel this all comes down to LN3 being a more personal story.
While the first 3 games partially served as different chapters in Six’s story, I think their REAL focus (esp. with the first game) was the worldbuilding, the social commentary, and themes of survival. However, LN3 takes a step back from this previously interconnected story in order to tell a completely new story that centers hope and cooperation, but also how this can devolve into codependence. The game serves as a character study and an examination of Low’s psyche. And in order to do so, it plays into the themes of childhood more, and adopts a different story structure to flesh out the character of interest.
After the game’s reveal, one of the main aspects people critiqued were the character designs, saying they were “overly detailed” or “too cute” compared to their predecessors. Which I get, because it's unfamiliar in a series that's known to emphasize the "horror" in "charming horror" a bit more. But I believe this is mainly to service these brand new characters and make them recognizable. In the early marketing, it was mentioned in interviews that “childlike curiosity” was a key element in the character design. This is evident in the items that Low wears: his mask, cape, beaded anklet, and hand-made bow and arrows. This signals to the player that Low is a determined, hopeful person with a crafty aesthetic, who displays his imaginative nature outwardly. Instead of letting go of his “inner child” and assimilating into the dreariness of Nowhere, he clings to hope and the things that bring him comfort, such as his creative hobbies and his best friend. Speaking of, Alone fits into this philosophy just as well with her bright colors, can-do attitude, and "incurable" curiosity about the world around her. She's the idealized best friend who's always there to pick you up when you fall, and she and Low have survived this long because of that. The same can't be said for all the other kids in the series.
This makes for a noticeable contrast between Low and Alone's highly personalized designs and the visual simplicity of the previous 4 playable characters. They all have one, maybe two standout features. And I think this was the design philosophy of choice for these characters so you could tell the Nowhere has begun to leave its mark on them and wear them down. Even from the start of their respective stories, they've already developed some sort of ruggedness and grit. Unlike Low and Alone, who retain vague memories of their home, they don't have places they want to return to, if such a place existed for them at all. It's clear that Low still clings to certain stereotypical indicators of childhood, like playing with toys, drawing out his thoughts and (somewhat) untainted optimism. I’d initially assumed he was a bit older than Mono and Six because of his height, but I later started questioning how young he was actually supposed to be, thanks to the "Dreams On Paper" trailer. Low could be the same age as them, but if not, that means he’s not yet ready to grow out of that phase of life, as opposed to other characters who were forced to grow up faster. His character design and actions reflect this in a way that stands apart from the other kids.
[I think Mono is an exception, or maybe more of an in-between. He and Low both deal with a similar conflict: running away from their problems until they can't run anymore, and accept that they have to face the problem head-on. But until that turning point, Mono remains largely resigned to the idea of the world hating him, while Low continuously strives to return to the place he belongs.]
Worth noting that what ALL the game protagonists have in common are their obscured faces. It's a recurring motif that Tarsier has used since the beginning and likes to utilize into all their stories in different ways, to the point that people see it as an element of their personal brand. It makes sense that future LN works would keep up the trend, given that it's equally part of this one series' identity, but use it for a unique purpose that differs from Tarsier's current usage of it.
–
This all isn't to say that LN3 abandoned the worldbuilding and social commentary, though. Low is still part of a collective like, say, Runaway was. He's one of many kids whose fears helped construct the Nowhere from the ground up. But unlike the rest of the gang, the way that Low carves out his unique identity is not that closely tied to the games' locations. (Except for the final chapter, but we'll get to that.) LN3's story centers more on his personal trauma, his journey, his friendship with Alone.
For the most part, Low and Alone traverse through different loosely connected landscapes that, while still grand, don't have any hard connections to either character. And I believe this is on purpose. As I wrote in a previous analysis, these locations don't need to be connected to Low's character, because he has one key reason to visit them: the mirrors. His primary goal in each location is to keep search for the mirror hidden within and take the next step towards the Waking World. (The other big reason for going on this journey is for the journey itself, which I believe is Alone's primary motivation.) And I may be reading into it too deep here, but I think this way of navigating Nowhere is a reflection of his severe depression. Living with the illness is often described as "going through the motions" so to speak: chasing the next high, looking for the next material thing that'll bring you temporary solace, days passing by until they all blur together but don't feel very cohesive. And Low only stays in one particular place as long as he needs to check another item off the list and then move on.
This pattern repeats for a few chapters until everything changes in chapter 4, the conflicts of which directly arise from Low's medical trauma. Low was subjected to institutional abuse in the CoPI, which he crossed into the Nowhere in order to escape from. But some semblance of that trauma ended up following him. The Nowhere's version Institute, which Low presumably broke out of later and is most intimately tied to his past, is ironically where the one mirror he actually needed was being kept all along. So until he faces his past head-on, he can't return home.
This is why I think the game doesn't have an overarching "main" antagonist. Low spends most of the game away from the Institute, running in circles, only to be dragged back to it to confront his fears. If he and Alone hadn't crash-landed on the shores outside the building, he may have just kept on running, either due to unknowing ignorance or complete denial. But he's instead forced to confront the Hypnotist, the manifestation of his past abuse, in order to get his ticket out of the nightmare and begin to move on.
Once Low returns to the waking world, he can begin to grow up, learn to live with his trauma and proceed towards a better life. But unfortunately, growing up doesn't come without leaving a few things behind. He sheds his mask, his cape, his delusions of grandeur. And after losing his best friend as he knew her, another piece of his innocence is gone.
My first post. I'm very new at Tumblr; I've had this shit for less than a year. I'm generally at least 15 years behind on things, though, so no big. Joined to look at fandom stuff; lurked, liked, interacted, probably broke some Tumblr etiquette rules due to ignorance, and now perhaps ready to yell into my own corner of the void, at least sometimes. I'm tagging this with my interests and concerns, because I don't know what else TF I'm supposed to do.
In the AO3 Demographics Survey 2024 - an unofficial demographics survey of 16,131 AO3 users - 44% of respondents used AO3 to consume art or comics, and 17% used the site to read essays or meta.
To see more analysis, including transcripts of all the data shown on the graphs, please view the full results on AO3.
