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lesbianalanwake · 5 months

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Saga's mind place is styled like the Elderwood Palace Lodge, and specifically the back room where Saga and Alex have set up a temporary place to work.

It doesn't say what public or private use the original building served, only that it was disassembled and reconstructed in Bright Falls in 2015-2016.

You can interact with the deer head in the back room of the lodge, and there are deer skulls on the walls in several rooms. Saga is often visually crowned with antlers when she is within her mind place.

"Elderwood" brings to mind the Oldest House and its thematic roots in Yggdrasil, "palace" evokes royalty. ("Mind place" is Saga's little spin on the concept of a "mind palace.") Deer have a lot of rich symbolism all over the world - in Norse myth in particular, four deer live within Yggdrasil and eat at it, causing it pain, and another deer stands upon the hall of Valhalla, whose antlers feed into the spring from which "all waters rise." (These may have been the same creatures at one point.) Stag gods and the association of deer with royalty, death, spiritual travel, and the sun were also common from the Steppes to Eastern Europe to Scandinavia.

Room 108 is a locked room in the lodge. It's also the murder site that you can find in the Oceanview Hotel in the Dark Place, a large suite that overlaps with the bunker beneath the Valhalla Nursing Home, where Norah Hesburg drowned and which is referred to as "the Oceanview Motel and Spa." 108 is a number associated with the "golden ratio" (or golden spiral, or divine proportion), and a sacred number in many Dharmic beliefs.

If you interact with the deer head in Saga's mind palace, it will speak to you with a feminine voice and tell you that a certain number are "remaining," with a deeper register than Saga's voice. You can unlock Room 108 by interacting with all twelve deer heads. You will see a deer enter the room when it's open. The room is home to deer skulls and antlers, tools (presumably used for sawing off antlers?), a mirror on the ground, and extra supplies for you to pick up.

What Saga says to the deer head in the back room of the lodge is: "Hello Mr. Deer. You remind me of a dream I had."

#mr. deer...... mr. door...... sam lake i just wanna talk #and these are just details i've gathered in a hurry fhghshg. i'm on the HUNT #alan wake 2 #alan wake 2 spoilers #saga anderson #remedy posting #*posts

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the-hidden-writer · 2 months

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A Piece of True Fiction: Chapter 1

An Alan Wake 2 fic. Spoilers for Alan Wake 2!

Summary: Aleksi Kesä manages to slip out of the spiral and film he was trapped in.

Saga Anderson, caught in the middle of Wake's horror story, finds a man that looks identical to her partner in the middle of the woods. He's lost, confused, and only seems to speak Finnish. Saga has to try and uncover the truth as well as trying to save her family. Where did he come from? How did he get here?

And where's her Casey?

Chapter Summary: Saga arrives at the Elderwood Palace Lodge to find a bloodbath. No Chance from Saga's POV. Warnings: blood, guns, knives Words: 1,618 AO3 Link: [Here!] [Previous Part] [Next part]

A Piece of True Fiction

Chapter 1: Arrival

Saga pushes hard on the pedal as she speeds along the road, accompanied by nothing but the steady patter of rain on the windshield and flashes of light paired with distant gunshots.

She grits her teeth as worry thrums in her chest. Something big is clearly going on but she has no idea what it is or when it started, and she can’t exactly drive straight into the forest to find out. That leaves the lodge where she’d left Casey and Wake as her best destination. She needs to make sure Casey’s okay and not caught up in the fire, and she needs to get the Clicker to Wake to put a stop to all of this madness.

The journey felt like it took far longer than it should when she finally pulls up next to Elderwood Palace Lodge and doesn’t waste a second before she jumps out and runs inside…

…and comes to an abrupt halt.

Even if she hadn’t seen it, the tang of iron flavoring the air around her would have been enough to make her stomach flip. Blood is strewn everywhere. Walls, floor, ceiling- every nook and cranny it shouldn’t be able to reach. The corpses of the helpful staff decorate the once cozy space.

If Saga could see that there was even a chance of them being still alive, she would have stopped to help or examine them further. But no. It was recent, but they are unmistakably dead and it’s almost definitely their blood that’s painting the rooms a crimson that matches the sky outside. As much as she hates to leave them, she has more pressing matters.

Casey and Wake were in here, in this lodge-turned-slaughterhouse. She has to get to them before whatever did this found them, if it hadn’t already.

No, it couldn’t have. She won’t let herself entertain the idea. She will not walk into this room and see her partner and the only man that can save her daughter, bloodied, torn apart and lifeless.

“Casey?” she calls, tentatively moving in.

All the air leaves her lungs in the sigh she lets out when that isn’t what she sees, but the relief doesn’t last long. Their field office has been completely upturned like the aftermath of an explosion. She notices streaks of blood sourced from dead cultists, but thankfully no sign of Casey or Wake, which means that they haven’t been brutally killed here like the others. Which also means that it's more likely that they’re involved in the gunfire outside.

She tries contacting Casey. No answer. It doesn’t even get through.

With one last quick sweep of the room, Saga maneuvers around the scattered furniture and bodies and hurries out of the lodge. The sun is setting fast and the red color of the sky is only deepening, as is her fear.

Once outside, she hears a cacophony of shouts mingling with the rain and dispersed shots. Focusing as best as she can with the adrenaline pumping through her system, she’s pretty sure she can make out Wake’s shouts amid the din. With no better lead, she follows his voice, gun and flashlight drawn.

She’s cautious as she moves through the forest, especially when the shouting and gunfire stops. The heavy rainfall is even more noticeable, and another loud thrum from above has joined it, but she stays focused on her surroundings in the hopes of finding Casey and Wake. Her search is fruitful since it isn’t long until she spots a familiar flannel-clad figure on the ground.

As well as the knife-wielding cultist hovering above him.

“FBI. Drop the knife.” She asserts loudly, pushing forward toward the two.

The cultist ignores her and raises the weapon in an attempt to stab, so Saga shoots it out of their hands. The action causes them to fall back in pain, mask flying off, leaving Saga to stare in disbelief at the identity of the culprit in front of her.

“Ilmo?”

Ilmo Koskela doesn’t react angrily to his cover being blown, nor does he make any attack against her. Instead, he tries to push himself up again.

Both his eyes and voice are filled with desperation, taking her aback. “Saga, you don’t understand-”

Whatever he was going to say is cut short as the two of them shield their eyes when a sudden rush of noise, light and people surrounds them, and she recognizes that thrum in the air too late. Helicopters, with searchlights pointed straight at them.

A new voice fills the air.

“FBC. Stay down.”

She briefly sees agents of some kind swarm in and enclose Wake and Ilmo, who slowly puts his hands up and looks just as confused as she feels. Some other agents walk in her direction, a suited lady appearing to take the lead.

The woman reaches her and gains her attention.

“Agent Anderson,” the lead agent greets, her nonchalant tone making Saga’s blood boil, “Agent Kiran Estevez, Federal Bureau of Control. We’ll take it from here.”

Saga blinks as she processes what’s happening. The Federal Bureau of Control is here? She’s pretty sure neither her nor Casey called for backup, so then why..?

“Wait,” she says aloud. “This is my case.”

“This is no longer an FBI investigation. The case has been transferred to us.” Agent Estevez replies, handing her a file that conveniently has enough official stamps and signatures on the front for her to confirm that she’s telling the truth without having to read it in-depth.

“What…” Saga skims the document one more time before handing it back in indignation. “This is bullshit!"

After everything she’d gone through in this case, this other bureau thought they could just swoop in and take over? Did they have any idea what they were dealing with?

“Noted.” Agent Estevez doesn’t bat an eye at her remark. “We’re moving the evidence and paperwork from your field office to our base of operations at the Sheriff’s Station.”

That part doesn’t worry Saga as much as it could, knowing that she already has the relevant information stored in her Mind Place and that the field office would have taken up precious time to try and salvage.

“Any other pieces of evidence with you, anything relevant?” Estevez continues.

Saga’s mind immediately flies to the Clicker. She can’t trust them with it, not after understanding its importance.

“Nothing comes to mind.” She lies, playing along.

No, the Clicker would stay with her until it was safely in Wake’s hands. Then he’ll fix everything and she will be able to close her case.

Luckily, Estevez accepts her answer. “Okay. Then your work here is done.”

Estevez has the audacity to shoot Saga a smile and a patronizing comment (“Hey, you did well.”) before turning to address her agents.

How dare she. How dare she treat this insane case like just another day at the office? How dare she take control of the case that was assigned to her and…

Casey.

He isn’t at the scene.

“Wait,” she calls out, causing Estevez to throw her an annoyed look but stopping nonetheless, “my partner Agent Casey’s MIA.”

Estevez just nods. “We’ll look for him.”

If Saga’s blood was boiling before, it’s practically on fire now. “He’s my partner, damn it! I should be-”

“Agent.” Estevez warns, interrupting her. “Go home.”

Estevez and her team move away, efficiently clearing the scene with Ilmo and an unconscious Alan Wake in tow, leaving Saga to stand there and watch as her case is dismantled in front of her eyes.

No, she thinks. Fuck this.

She was so close to getting the Clicker to Wake. She’s not done here, not until she finds Casey. Not until her family is safe from this horror story.

She has to carry on. She has no choice. This was personal.

As for how to carry on…

She takes a moment to go over the facts and her deductions in the Mind Place before deciding on a way forward. Officially, the case is out of her hands, but that doesn’t mean she can’t look to other avenues to continue her investigation. Tor and Odin were in the photo with the Clicker, maybe…

Saga’s train of thought slows to a stop.

It’s still raining.

A mundane observation that still catches her by surprise. Was she expecting it to stop? To be able to hear the distant birdsong and soft chirrups of bugs at dusk?

She surprises herself even more when she realizes that the answer is yes. It feels as though the rain should have stopped by now, but she has no idea why and she can’t think of any evidence to back up her claim. She hadn’t checked the weather or paid close attention to the clouds.

The rain feels different, too. Heavier, with each droplet more defined, falling with purpose. Slightly salty too. Noticeably seawater.

At least she brought her windbreaker.

The distraction is enough to get her to rethink her options. Maybe going straight to Odin and Tor would be too hasty? There’s another major piece of information she’s just learned, and that’s Ilmo’s involvement in the cult. Would it be better to get to the bottom of that first? What doesn’t she understand, according to him?

There’s no harm in it, she decides, and finalizes her decision. She won’t take long because she’d only just explored Coffee World, except now she will investigate with the new angle of Ilmo as a cult member. And where does Jaakko fit into all of this? This could be vital information.

Pushing everything that just happened aside, Saga sets off back to Watery with a fresh determination. She’ll get the Clicker to Wake eventually, but first, Coffee World one more time.

Thanks for reading!

#alan wake 2 #alan wake #fanfic #alan wake 2 spoilers #saga anderson #alex casey #ilmo koskela #kiran estevez #fbc #cw blood #cw guns #cw knives #a piece of true fiction

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autisticwriterblog · 12 days

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Fandom 50 Post 9

My eighth piece of Alan Wake 2 meta. This one is about Return 4.

Return 4: No Chance

What happened in this chapter?

As Saga travels back to Bright Falls, Alan and Casey are still in the field office at Elderwood Palace Lodge. Casey continues to interrogate Alan, accusing him of using people and thinking about how similar his life is to that of Alan’s character. As Alan deals with a headache and Casey insists that he isn’t Alan’s character, a group of masked and armed cultists surround the building. Alan rambles about how difficult writing is and how he might have stopped writing but then forgotten to stop writing, obviously confused by his time in the Dark Place.

A gunshot rings out and Casey grabs his gun as he orders Alan to get down. The Cult members yell that they just want Alan, but Casey doesn’t stand down. After Casey runs off to get a vantage point to fight the attackers, Alan’s headache overwhelms him, and he collapses to the floor. When he comes to, Alan finds himself and the room covered in blood, surrounded by dead cultists. He realises that Scratch must have escaped with him and caused this chaos.

He hears Casey in the distance, so Alan rushes outside. He finds a gun and flashlight and heads off in search of Casey, running into several Taken on the way. As he ventures through the woods outside Bright Falls, Alan doubles over in agony again, and passes out.

Saga arrives on the scene to find a cultist approaching the unconscious Alan with a knife. She shoots the weapon out of the man’s hand, knocking him to the ground. His mask falls off, revealing Ilmo Koskela. Before Saga has a chance to process the situation, members of the Federal Bureau of Control arrive on the scene. They arrest Alan and the Koskela brothers, and Agent Kieran Estevez informs her that her team are taking over the case and moving her evidence to the sheriff station. She asks if Saga has any other evidence to give them, but Saga doesn’t trust her with the Clicker and doesn’t hand it over. Even after being told she isn’t needed anymore, Saga refuses to give up on the case.

My Thoughts

For the first time, we play a Return chapter as Alan. A short but fascinating chapter, No Chance shows us what the hell happened between Saga leaving when everything was okay, and returning to this utter chaos.

I love the interactions between Alan and Casey, especially when Alan asks for a gun and Casey replies “no chance” in a direct parallel to the conversation Alan had with the fictional Casey earlier in the game. In general, Casey’s dislike of Alan makes perfect sense, considering that he has spend years and years being the subject of jokes about his name. Plus, reading Alan’s books and seeing how similar the character’s life is to his own must feel really disturbing. No wonder he isn’t fond of Alan.

In this chapter, we get confirmation that Ilmo is part of the Cult of the Tree, because Saga literally catches him in the act of trying to kill an unconscious Alan. With hindsight, we know that the Cult aren’t actually bad guys and Ilmo had a perfectly logical reason for why he thinks Alan needs to die, but on my first playthrough, I remember being confused and kind of hurt by this reveal. Because I really liked Ilmo and didn’t know how to feel about him trying to kill Alan, who I also really liked.

This chapter also introduces us to Kieran Estevez, a badass agent from the FBC who is here to take over Saga’s case. She tells Saga that Alan is a parautilitarian, a word that means nothing to someone who didn’t play Control (such as me the first time I played Alan Wake 2—the only Remedy game I played before 2 was Alan Wake Remastered), and something that makes perfect sense considering Control’s lore and the incredibly strange and powerful stuff Alan has done.

I love that Saga is too stubborn to accept she isn’t on the case anymore, because this case is directly tied to her family thanks to Alan’s story, so why would she just hand everything over to the FBC? Her choice makes perfect sense, is what I’m trying to say.

#alan wake 2 #alan wake 2 spoilers #fandom 50 #meta

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