Hanako Games

skeletons in the Danson closet? [spoilers?]

#1 by randomprojects - Jan 4 2022

Attempted the Damien route again. After That Fateful Night, William goes into more detail about the aftermath of his failed relationship with Damien... namely that Damien lies about being his "bastard half-brother" after they've slept together, and slanders his family in the process. Now, William is quick to assure us that it's all lies, but he does say "[Damien] knew things about my family..." in conjunction with Damien's lies re: secret half-brother/Danson parents abandoning unwanted children, which seems to imply a few skeletons in the Dansons' closet. But I don't recall implications like that in Horse Hall... Did I forget something, or am I just reading too much into William's comment about Damien knowing things about his family (which is why he got so torn up about Damien's taunts)?

Re: skeletons in the Danson closet? [spoilers?]

#2 by Draxynnic - Jan 11 2022

Hrrrmn. I don't recall anything further when it comes to Horse Hall either. One possible interpretation, though, is that what Damien knows doesn't need to be a closeted skeleton to be threatening. If he knows, for instance, about Virginia's health problems (something that isn't common knowledge), then if he inserts that into the lies he's spreading about the Dansons, then if and when that does become common knowledge, then everything else Damien is claiming suddenly appears much more credible.

There's probably also the aspect that Damien knowing things he shouldn't about the Danson family raises Damien's threat level in that it raises the question of how Damien knows these things. If he's in the position to learn intimate secrets about the Dansons, he might also be in a position to use the same resources he used for information-gathering to do them some serious harm.

Re: skeletons in the Danson closet? [spoilers?]

#3 by Vissari - May 12 2022

I suggest that you replay the Total Darkness route in Horse Hall... The impression I got was Damien is basically a Full Blooded Demon Noble and none of the usual restrictions apply to him.

Also even on other routes in wolf hall there are little comments that the Danson's have some peculiarities like never visiting the more magical worlds. One would assume they have reasons for staying on Earth similar to a certain professor.

Re: skeletons in the Danson closet? [spoilers?]

#4 by Draxynnic - May 30 2022

From memory, the way it plays out in the Damien routes is that Damien is half human, half demon noble, specifically bred to have all the power of a demon prince (if he manages to get that soul powerup) without having the weaknesses of demonkind. We don't play out any of the paths where he succeeded (because, y'know, the PC is dead on those paths), so every interaction we have with Damien is him below his full potential. But he still has some advantages, such as getting through Potsdam's wards. He's possibly the most powerful non-professor character, but not so much more powerful that a senior can't give him a good fight.