All This Stuff Has Been On My Mind For A Bit So–

ena stop terrorizing the civilians

inspo:

i did this at like 4 am dont judge me

So i've been thinking a lot about Sir Frank. He's this guy in the lost village area.

My first few playthroughs, I never really thought much of him? I mean, he was there, allegedly due to being a sinner or outcast, and unlike most other characters he didn't seem to mind ENA's presence. But then on one occasion when I went to do the "raze the roofs" achievement(making every hut vanish except for the correct one), I went to talk to him and found that his dialogue had changed. (contd)

Now, there are a few details i want to point out about this- first, his delivery of these lines is incredibly sincere, I'd go as far as to say even fond. He is literally the only character- aside from maybe Froggy- who ever speaks to ENA this way. Second, he "pronounces" ENA's name correctly. As in, spelling it with the backwards E. Only two other characters do this(to my knowledge), the suspicious man and Theodora. The suspicious man does it, obviously, because he has researched ENA and knows a lot about her. Theodora does it because she is a Genie, and thus probably all-knowing. Frank, however, pronounces it correctly out of respect. He addresses ENA like his equal, and I'm pretty sure he's the only character that does this. Every other character that isn't directly hostile or dismissive towards ENA is at the very least a little backhanded. Even Nonkey Jong of all people says some shit like "Nonkey Jong likes having company, even from ENA" which implies that ENA is like. The bare minimum lmao. Froggy might be an exception to this? But there's a degree of "you're my cool coworker and all but you're also weird and i don't understand you completely" to his interactions. A curious thing I also noticed about Frank's cutscenes is that he's one of the only fully voiced characters that ENA doesn't vocally respond to. I have a couple theories as to why this is- provided it's intentional. which it might not be. but I'm still thinking about it lol When interacting with Theodora after reaching the bathroom, there is an option when she asks for ENA's aspirations to "aspire for Frank's forgiveness". This could be taken one of two ways- either ENA has done something to Frank that she wishes to be forgiven for, or Frank has done something bad that ENA wants to forgive on his behalf. Either way, whatever it is, Theodora doesn't entertain it ENA's silence during Frank's dialogue could simply be that she's shell-shocked at not being treated weirdly. Or it could be that she feels guilty. I've seen a theory floating around that she may have been the one that blinded him?? I wonder if they knew each other before meeting in the lost village? Man idk. I just think it's interesting that he is so friendly. It caught me totally off guard ngl, discovering this about him elevated him to an S tier character for me lmfao

If we follow the theory of all Enas being able to be in two places at once, but also in one place at one time, for she would be lost in the other person's mind, and that they're all connected through the mannequins

I kept wondering what the hell she meant by "a giant bathroom, it's not enough for this many bodies" at the end. What bodies? What if she's talking about all the ENAs/mannequins

And the ending at the bottom of the river with the dead Theodora, "i choose to remind you that this place we are in is too far away from your real, physical form. I can only keep you from returning to it", as in, ENA could return to her body all of her own? Another mannequin maybe? And Theodora is the only thing keeping her down in the afterlife?

Then "However, i may make an exception for today. Touch my memories, let me show you a reality, one where you achieved your deepest desire."

First, her memories? So she's actively conscious and aware through all alternative universes?

But most importantly, right after saying that she'll hold ENA's "spirit" here, she says she'll make an exception by showing her memories of an alternative reality. Does that mean she sent this Ena's spirit/consciousness to the one in the universe she succeeded, and the "for he would be lost in the other person's mind" happened and they both "fused"?

And with that ending scene being the exact same as the temptation stairway one. With the code walls, floating mannequins and doors, even flowing bubbles showing that is indeed the same ocean code. Series!Ena glitching in the falling mannequins, and bbq!Ena dropping out of her "skin/shell"

They can't possibly be a hivemind, they'd know too much. But series!Ena glitching in the mannequin for a frame while bbq!Ena is respawning at the post-credit scene, and the other Ena in the cave. They absolutely exist in multiple places at once in some way

Other npcs might be somewhat aware of this, like, they know they can meet multiple times the same Ena, while also meeting them for the first time, because of the whole "two places at once" thing, so they just say "ENA", instead of an ENA, because you never know which one they already met, and which one they haven't met yet, despite them being the same person

And this bit from the horse guy feels way too fitting to be random nothing. Even splitting himself in half like ENAs are

I can't believe he died just because he hit the griddy too hard

Make worm funnier by killing off just one character in the whole of the book (everyone else lives)

Mr. Gladly. He dies in the first chapter when Taylor shoves him down some stairs, and she gets arrested for murder. But, if I'm interpreting your ask correctly, no one else dies ever, so they have to release Taylor once they realize that she actually killed the avatar of Death, saving literally everyone

Ena in Dream BBQ and Work Culture

HELLO Dashboard!! Ever since i first played DBBQ i've found the entire game endlessly interesting (as have most people, LOL) But one of the most interesting, and in my opinion, most Potent things, is Ena's character and how she relates to the game's commentary on modern work culture.

So for anyone as much of a #SICKO as me 😭 Here's an embarrassingly long analysis of just that! There's SO much to talk about with this game, and even when I'm trying to focus on one specific idea with this post, I'm sure I'll still miss things, so just stick with me best you can OK? 😭 😭

My aim for this post is to allow you to understand Just how deep in the torment nexus Ena is, and to want to say "she should be at the club" Only to realize she can't even go to the club. She can't even go to the club. Because of Job. (Among other, hopefully more intelligently articulated things!)

SO, Let's just jump right in :D

First, to state the obvious—Ena's literal entire life is her job. The only moods she expresses under normal circumstance are "smooth talking salesperson where every line is about working or trying to sell something" and "Stops keeping up the veneer and gets frustrated and pissed because she hates her stupid job."

This permeates every aspect of her character—I don't think there's a single line in the game so far where she says like, Anything about herself. There's nothing about what she may want or what she may like. It's all about her fuckass job or the fuckass Boss.

And of course, even in gameplay aspects, you literally don't get a chance to choose whether you accept a job or not, like the thought of doing anything besides giving her time and energy for other people or her job's benefit doesn't even occur to her (Or, it can't occur to her—I doubt the Boss would want to allow her reprieve from anything at all, and I'm sure Ena would know this).

(^ Ena's reaction to being told to find a mythical figure that she maybe didn't even know existed cause Froggy sure as hell didn't to do a stupid job for Froggy's stupid ass. Like)

Maybe i'm reaching here, but I even find it interesting how her red hand has no fingers (besides a thumb). I feel like that represents a lack of individuality she has when she's in Salesperson mode, or at least, a lack of individuality she's been allowed. A lack of having a defined being cause it's all about this stupid job.

There's lots of avenues to go from here, but let's start with another big point of the game: Everybody hates her. Except for like, three characters, every NPC in the game either insults her, talks down to her, blatantly doesn't respect her, or Literally tells her nobody should be punished for being born except her. Typical day for Ena.

I'm not going to get into why I think this is—for me there's not enough evidence to speculate with surety right now—but I think this does tie strongly into her commitment to her job. Ena working her ass off in every aspect of her life and earning nothing but disrespect for it is very reminiscent of real life work environments.

Think of how almost every NPC claims they are "the Boss" in such a way that many of them seem to want to be the Boss, like he's some kind of well-known or respected figure. The description for the game on Steam even says as much: "Play as ENA as she searches for the Boss that everyone wants to be."

(eg: "I am the B-O-S-S!"):

People wish they were the Boss, they want to be some kind of rich capitalist with power and fame, but when looking at someone who actually works for him, and probably is the reason the Boss has profit and success in the first place, they insult her and demean her no matter how much she gives herself to them and the Boss. I'm sure you can see the real life parallels here.

It's even possible one of the reasons Ena works so hard in the first place is as an attempt to earn respect from these people, or to make up for whatever everyone thinks she did that made everyone hate her so much. Especially considering...

Our society is one that tells its people that Work is unequivocally Good. Committing yourself to work is what everyone, no matter who they are or what they face, is what you have to do to be a valuable member of society, and to have any respect from other people in the slightest. It tells its people that you only have value as a living human being at all if you give your life to work.

Even though this blatantly isn't true. If people think you're the Wrong type of worker, or if people think your work isn't valuable, helpful, or that it doesn't require skill, you can work as hard as you want but you'll still be treated like shit. But, hey, work is still your duty as a member of society, right? Stop bitching and whining and pull yourself up by your bootstraps, right?

Needless to say, it's easy to see how this whole idea is being represented in DBBQ. She even knows how much she's sold herself to this, she just... Seems to have extremely casually accepted it all LOL, which, I mean... What else does she have the power to do?

This very casual and nonchalant acknowledgement of her lack of autonomy connects to another big point: Ena doesn't value herself, nor does she even know how to exist without being in a constant state of working.

Let's talk about the Purge: There's a LOT to get to here in terms of Ena herself LOL, but the intrigue starts before she even enters the party. Literally Froggy just saying she's about to enter an "Event" stops her in her tracks and worries her. Not to mention the next line...

This feels like an indication that despite how much she commits herself to it, Ena does "crave freedom" from her shitty job, although she can scarcely admit this anywhere else so far. Then, if you talk to this slime guy, you get some strange text.

As far as I know, the text for interacting with things doesn't look like this anywhere else in the game. And given that it looks exactly the same as how Ena's lines do in the Purge, it's seemingly the only peek we get into her internal monologue, and it is. Quite worrying! She literally can climb up a hellish freezing floating mountain and yet this is by far the most freaked out she gets in the entire game.

And then to actually get into the Purge, an Evil eye Ball tells her that she needs to give a literal arm or a leg to get in. And she just does it. Like no hesitation no further questions she just gives it away to the evil eye ball. Presumably for Good? Because the only reason she regains the arm later is because of Genie magic? Like Ena. Girl. Are we gonna talk about this at all.

But so many real life work environments expect you to give every part of yourself in order to be allowed to exist and live in society, including your physical being and critical parts of your personhood at all.

(Let me also say I find it intentional that she gave away her white arm. Whereas her red hand literally doesn't have fingers, the sharp claws she has on her white hand represent the individuality and unique identity she Does have. However, it's also the part of herself that's in conflict with her ability to be a Good Worker, that always does exactly what she's supposed to do, and never complains, and never gets in the way of her duties.)

She was already very distressed here, but it's a clear indication of how little she values herself. It was a motion to lose a part of herself just to reach the Genie, both for her stupid job, and possibly for the possibility of "freedom" from it all. And your average job these days—no matter how important you are to your cause—will drill it into you that your ability to be a good worker is infinitely more important than your existence as a person. It's easy to see how Ena may have internalized that.

And then she goes to the club one time and this happens

I won't get too deep into her dialogue with the NPCs here because I think their intention is pretty clear; Being in a place so antithetical to a work environment, and a place where she's supposed to let loose and have fun, is so distressing and impossible to even fathom for her that This Happens.

(see: "H-How can I leave this stupid event? M-my lame schedule is full,")

Like, everything at the Purge is insane, but this is a particularly heartbreaking line for me. One because of her job's shitty environment that's broken her down so much—do you think she EVER gets a break, because I sure don't—but also because of how it's conditioned her to not even believe she can "afford another minute of joy." Ena :[

Note how she's covered in these branches that started growing during Froggy's phone call, which look very similar to how she looks in this gag with the Shaman—it's literally her nervous system. In her scene with Mitu she even says she's feeling "sick," She's literally freaked out of her flipping Gourd with her goddamn Nerves On The Outside

Hell, even though Meanie's speaking (which, I mean, no shit, in another line she literally describes her job as "deplorable" 😭), these sprites in the files are actually labelled "Anxiety", suggesting that she's SO freaked out by being somewhere supposed to be so opposite to her work she's become another variant of herself, a la Drunk Ena from Season 1.

I won't get much more into this, because @cube-cumb3r has a PHENOMENAL post I'll link in the notes that goes deeper into this stuff from the Purge and the "Anxiety" thing, And also gets more into theory territory than I do here! Please please go read that post, it is so damn good.

In any case, I think the scenes with the Purge NPCs are the biggest examples in the whole game of how much she hates her fuckass job, yet she can't be allowed to be anything besides a wage slave to it. And just as she's internalized everybody in her world's dislike of her, she hates herself for it.

So:

We've established that Ena's shitty job parallels the real life work conditions that plague our world, and that these conditions have caused her to devalue herself and believe she can't have any reprieve from them... but, what even is her job?

Apparently she's a salesperson, but what is she even selling? She tries to offer a "divestment opportunity", and tells the Witches she can show them how to "grow [their] own [boss]" which definitely falls in line with the Sales thing, but besides that it's still not clear, even when she talks to Froggy.

I suppose the "grow their own boss" line does sound a lot like the phrasing used in MLM schemes, with how they lure people in by telling them they can "be their own boss." The Receptionist also calls Ena a scammer and a conman, so maybe she is a sort of scammer, but, I also don't exactly think the Receptionist think she has the most reliable opinions of Ena LOL

She also calls her a "pink-collar slug", pink collar meaning a job traditionally associated with women, which. ??? I don't fully know where to go with that.. like ...Nothing she does harkens to... Any kind of job expected to be done by women, imo?? Um. Yeah idk i just thought that may be significant??/ 😭😭😭😭 Listen man I can't know it all

Anyway. Maybe I'll be proven embarrassingly wrong when we receive more information in future chapters, but I think the lack of clarity on what she's supposed to be is representative of the games themes. The constant disrespect Ena receives makes her seem likely to be a low-tier worker, someone at the bottom of the ladder that people have no problems walking all over.

Because these types of jobs will treat you the same no matter who you are or what you're supposed to be doing. She's doing what the world tells her she needs to do in order to be a respected member of society, and yet she's also someone people feel comfortable treating poorly because she's at the bottom—because has no power of her own. It doesn't matter what she's supposed to be doing, it matters that she's the Wrong type of worker.

And how is she supposed to ever say anything for herself? It seems virtually baked into her Salesperson side to completely ignore past all the rude things these assholes say to her. After all, not only would that probably just make most people ruder to her (and impede her ability to complete jobs for them) isn't the customer always right?

...OK I will say her whole "Understood! Aim for the target!" line DOES seem like her overall job here is to fucking kill the Boss, but this is long enough already and the likely theme of Ena having a violent streak and whatnot is another beast entirely that I am NOT getting into here 😭😭

Besides, maybe she has no clearly defined job because we've already seen exactly what it is. To sell her life, time, and emotions to whatever all these clowns ask of her, and to receive no reward besides another goddamn job to do.

I think future chapters may delve more into Ena's true feelings on her situation, and possibly even how she'll get freedom from it. Allow me to mention the scenes with Theodora, wherein if you try to "aspire to receive a blissful life" Theodora just tells Ena "You can't aspire for more than what you are capable of." (LIKE OKAYYYY.... RUDE MUCH????)

Until, finally:

How is her mind—containing a desire for freedom—supposed to be in harmony with the letters it spits out, when she's been so conditioned that the only thing she's allowed to be is a worker?

Now, even I still have a lot of questions after this. Like: What has happened in Ena's past that made her this way? How and why did she take this job in the first place? What is up with the "Guys wait, I'm not doing what you say I'm doing" scene I literally didn't even mention that once here. Why should nobody be punished for being born except poor damn Ena, and does it relate to any of the themes I just talked about?

I... don't know. Like I actually truly have no idea. But I have confidence, even if it's in a delightfully vague and abstract Ena-typical way, that we'll find out eventually.

Step once: acquire seagulls

Step two: swaddle seagulls in blanket like a baby

Step three: go to a mall and ask someone to hold your baby

Step four: sprint away as you pass the seagull to the victim

Do you do this before or after tequila?

I didn't notice this til my billionth playthrough, but both the text that appears when you interact with this Amoeba Guy, and the ellipses that follow any interaction with any of the NPC's in this room is in Meanie's dialogue text color. Girl is freaked out of her flipping marble

Dear video essay creators. A video analysis is when you analyze a piece of media. No no look at me. A summary, no matter how thorough, is not an analysis. An analysis requires you to draw conclusions about the media such as authorial intent, real-world parallels, discussion about themes/worldbuilding/character motivation, and so much more. You have to stop summarizing something and saying that’s analysis. The Gaylors are doing more critical analysis than you. Is that who you want to lose to? The gaylors?

I didn't notice this til my billionth playthrough, but both the text that appears when you interact with this Amoeba Guy, and the ellipses that follow any interaction with any of the NPC's in this room is in Meanie's dialogue text color. Girl is freaked out of her flipping marble