I really feel like one of the biggest detriments of CR:K's story format is that:
It is sometimes hard to keep track of who knows what information.
It is confusing to know whether or not they believe that information/what they think on it.
This post is mostly gonna talk about some of the recent reactions to the Timeline of Fate episodes - complaining about things that were assumed to be secrets were actually glossed over/common knowledge/shared off-screen.
Mainly pertaining to the Witches eating Cookies being casually discussed by PV and the Brave Trio being made by a Witch.
Now, in my own AU's, I typically have these things be secrets for the conflict/intrigue that this information brings.
However, canon has hinted at this not exactly being the case.
Firstly, Dark Enchantress's earliest interaction with the Ancients that we see (the opening of the game when you first start playing), is literally her proclaiming that Cookies were made to be eaten. And she stated it multiple times throughout Act 1. However we never really got much in terms of real debate from the opposing party.
"Cookies were made to be eaten!"
The way this is phrased is kind of deceptive. Because its possible they're not actually debating on whether or not Witches eat Cookies AT ALL. They're arguing about WHY cookies were made in the first place. Was it truly to be eaten? Or are the ones who eat cookies bad actors who are harming the cookies in a way that was never intended?
Either way, i think most people walked away from that thinking that the Ancient Heroes just straight-up didn't believe Dark Enchantress AT ALL. Like she was spouting some crazy insane tin-foil hat conspiracy shit. (Which would be fucking HILARIOUS tbh)
I do kind of wish the Ancients had more time to actually express their beliefs or at least express their knowledge on this topic a bit clearer.
The visual novel style of the game is super limited. Thus we don't have the luxury of seeing character body language or subtle details in the backgrounds - like you'd see in a TV series or something.
Second, I literally forgot until very recently that PV said THIS at the end of World Exploration EP 10
And yet his coronation included a prayer to "towering beings with pointed hats"
Are the Witches feared or admired?
Or is this like a Mythological Pantheon situation where there are "good" and "bad" gods? But instead of using the term "The Pantheon" they say "The Witches"? That MIGHT work, but if that's the case, it really needs to be expanded upon and better explained.
This is one piece of worldbuilding that the game REALLY needs to explain a bit more, because it's been kind of confusing.
I don't want every new character who is introduced to be like "Hi my name is XXX Cookie and I believe Witches are bad."
I understand "Show Don't Tell" is an important part of storytelling, but when you've got a lot of people scratching their heads and really confused then you kinda need to start Telling...
i at least want some RULES behind it. What are the common myths/legends/beliefs surrounding Witches? In terms of Witch-based Religions we've really only gotten the St. Pastry Order.
What does the GENERAL PUBLIC know about Witches and what are the common sentiments toward them??? I'm not talking about the Kings and Queens. I wanna know what Average Joe Cookie knows about Witches, so that way I have something to build off of. What is special information and what isn't? What do the Heroes and Beasts know that the average lay cookie DOESN'T?
Clearly, White Lily Cookie finding out Witches were eating Cookies was a huge fucking deal. It's literally the plot linchpin.
So did the Ancients BELIEVE Dark Enchantress's initial proclamation about Cookies getting eaten but just chose to ignore it and charge ahead? Did they have an existential crisis off screen???? Do the majority of cookies not even consider the Witches on a similar standing to Gods in the first place and the ones that do are outliers????? Is this a retcon for a sake of pacing?????
But at the end of the day, it's not really that huge a deal i suppose. not like the Earth is gonna explode. But it is kinda annoying.
i'll just keep doing as i do with my fics and AU's and try to make it make sense with my own interpretations. it might not be canon, but at least it will make sense to me.
anyway sorry this is so rambly its like 1 AM my time and i wanted to jot this general train of thought down.