It sucks that Burial is delayed, especially over legal disputes. I really don't have a good feeling with how Kit9 has been handling these copyright infringements to be honest, but I rather wait and see what they have to say first before I make my judgement. It's a very fascinating topic I'd love to get into.
Anyway, onto the pictures.
We just saw this thumbnail updated on the April devlog, which is pretty depressing. It might be a puzzle hint or expression of Ashley's loneliness as a child. Ashley being caged and sad is really depressing though, man. I think the purple bunny is meant to represent Nina, but the orange bunny is a new one. Is it a bully? Rebecca? Who knows.
This is the best summary of Ashley's POV of herself. Though she looks faded out here, so is this a dream of Andrew's? It feels like it.
This is a funny as fuck line and Andrew's face sells it. I don't think he's gloating over that he finally gets Ashley all to himself to Renee here, he's grimacing and could be disgusted? Most likely at Renee though. And this is very likely Cliffhanger, which makes it so funny the Entity is just floating there like. "Weird ass family reunion." This also does give credence that the Entity really wasn't actively planning to remove Andrew since it would have immediately blocked Andrew being in its pantry. Instead, it's just letting Andrew talk to his mom. I think he just wants to curse Renee's unaware soul for the shit of it. He did kick Renee's head and can bottle up her soul to be eaten after all.
Why is Andrew's finger bandaged up here? How did you cut yourself dude? Did Ashley bite you? And Ashley is quite nervous here, which makes sense with all the build up Burial hints has made, but also probably because she doesn't expect Andrew to actually claim him as hers. As a friend pointed out, this looks exactly like the Personality Switch AU drawings, which further confirms Burial Questionable is the canon Personality Switch.
This looks kinda like the motel except not? I guess these two moved somewhere else. It could be Cliffhanger, or maybe Six Eyes helped them go somewhere else.
Wren's getting his own post, I love this little guy. I'll just talk about the Cataracts video main game instead.
I didn't realize there was a subtle meta-pun (maybe meta?) here, god that's so horrible, excellent writing.
I really love Renee here, how she has the self-narration that she really does think she's trying to be a good mother, that she tries to love them, but then not only does she never think of her own kids with their names, she resents them for making their own choices and refuses to pay for her own grandson's surgery. Despite swimming in money from her father in law that she might have killed. What a fucking piece of shit, I love her.
Her insisting that the father of Wren should be paying and involved with raising the baby is also a very fascinating moment that displays her complexity. She's clearly angry the baby daddy is irresponsible probably because Douglas didn't abandon her after two teen pregnancies, but given how getting money is Renee's main motivation, it's also very easy to read that she rather have him pay for the baby instead of Renee doing it.
Douglas is also pretty sweet, with the little heart bubble seeing Wren, happily calling himself Wren's grandpa, praising Andrew for actually stepping up to be the kid's father figure, and then trying to keep Renee from arguing with their kids by offering them to buy coffee and eat bagels. It really does suck that he wasn't the father his kids needed.
Like Renee, are you seriously you gonna act grumpy at the fact that Andrew is doing what he always does and be a good older brother for Ashley????
Also what do you mean "shithole" Renee, this house looks fantastic. Cramped, but fantastic. Andrew has a writing desk, Ashley has blooming pants and glow in the dark stickers, and they have a shared bed together. She's so miserable, what a great chewtoy.
Anyway, Cataracts clearly is not in the main game timeline, because Renee and Douglas are still alive despite Andrew and Ashley being legally dead. Also, revealing Andrew's and Ashley's child in the devlog instead of the main game itself suggests this is not a "main" route so to speak, because it wouldn't have all that lore. It's also a smart marketing move to keep the fandom alive by having them draw art of Wren and imagine stories of him.
There are three possibilities I've heard of so far (thanks to my friend for sharing me them): Wren is actually Andrew's and Ashley's potential child, but this scene is a what-if Renee and Douglas lived; the Entity is showing an alternative reality; or Demon Ashley is able to make fantasies become reality, with Renee, Douglas, and Andrew as her literal dolls in this fantasy-reality. I'll break down each one theory.
First one is a possible baseline for all the theories, and it could have started as an interesting exercise on Nemlei's part that she kept in the game as a bonus scene/Vision Room thing. Given that a lot of the videos released in the Devlog are Vision Rooms, this one is quite plausible, especially since we're playing as Renee.
Second one is not far fetched because the Entity already can see the future, it could have seen other futures had the past not change. Why the Entity would show this to Andrew and Ashley is the most puzzling part, because the Entity only cares about Andrew and Ashley being good servants for it. There is no point showing them their lives if their parents they're okay with sacrificing were around to see their kid. The siblings might just be confused or angry. This is the weakest out of the three imo.
Third one one is the funnest one and fits in the puzzle of what Demon Ashley exactly is. Demon Ashley is highly suggested to be an Ashley who never grew up beyond her Leyley mindset. Her only moments on screen is when she claims Andrew like he's her favorite doll (which he is).
With this theory, it confirms that the tar soul and white soul we see in Ashley's Demon World is Renee and Douglas, and she is literally using their souls to execute this fantasy world of hers where she and Andrew are a "married couple" and Renee and Douglas actually do pay attention to what they're doing.
There is a great horror that Andrew, Renee, and Douglas are forced to act out in this Entity's dream world who never grew up and see other people as just other people. Andrew and Douglas may comply with what she wants because well, they don't have any reason to rebel, while Renee doesn't want to be controlled and is rebelling by acting the way she is: spiteful, greedy, and uncaring of her children's problems while telling herself she is being a good person. There is the major hole of "Then why are we playing as Renee and not Ashley?", but it's a fun thing to think about regardless.
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