Blog Home
View All Posts
. . . IS TO BE APPRECIATED
“ this world is full of dear little flowers that slowly decay and bloom anew ”
Just wired differently, however, nothing more but a visionary with a dream of whom one would
never come to understand correctly; his vision upon the beauty of death, and his photos made to convey
the tales of such perfection. He was marked to be a lunatic, redemption was out
of the picture for his soul was lost within the endless void of a longing mind;
CRAVING FOR APPRECIATION
NAME; stefano valentini.
TITLE; war photographer / twisted deadly photographer / deranged artist / test subject.
AGE; 34 / 12-22-1985 ( verse dependent ).
GENDER; male.
STATUS; expected to be deceased ( verse dependent ).
HAIR; between black and dark brown with a fringe of hair swept down over his damaged right eye.
EYES; left eye; bright blue. Right eye; completely damaged.
HEIGHT; 178cm.
WEIGHT; 65kg.
BLEMISHES / SCARS; damaged right eye, stab marks on his torso caused by some of his victims their attempts to escape.
USUAL FACIAL EXPRESSION; either somewhat impassive or crazed lunatic.
CLOTHING STYLE; mainly perceived as to consist elegance and refinement in manners of dress; being an artist by nature, he dresses in an extravagant manner. His most favourite attire consists of a luxurious navy suit, light blue shirt, red scarf, maroon leather gloves, and dress shoes.
After losing his eye in an explosion during his time as a war photographer, Stefano rapidly descended into madness. His newfound “vision” drove him to become fascinated by the precise instant when death takes a person – that split second in time when people are, in his opinion, at their most open and most beautiful. Stefano returned home from the war with a newfound purpose. But he wouldn’t wait for these perfect moments to arise on their own. Why should he, when he could orchestrate those final breaths?
Wretched creatures like Stefano Valentini, an artist with dark proclivities and unbounded imagination. You’ll see examples of his work scattered throughout Union – from grisly photographs of his victims, to the “moment of death” tableaus he creates, capturing the last seconds of a person’s life in a tangible, looping scene.
Stefano is a passionate adherent of beauty in all its shapes and forms, and it shows in his artwork. In the real world, however, ignorant masses would find some of his ideas of beauty unpalatable. For him, Union is a haven, a perfect canvas granting him the power of unbridled creation, with no one to distract him from his pursuit of artistic perfection. He is always single-minded focused on searching for the perfect medium for his next masterpiece, something to bring him ever closer to pure artistic perfection.
And he’s not alone in his endeavours. Born from an immoral imagination and sculpted from blood and bone and flesh, Obscura is one of Stefano’s greatest masterpieces. Stefano’s old spring-wound camera was one of his favourite toys in his collection, and now he’s decorated it with a beautiful tripod. The love and affection that Stefano has poured into the camera have become a manifestation of his power, breathing life into Obscura and giving it a will of its own. To Stefano, Obscura is a living work of art, in addition to being his beloved pet. If you see pictures scattered around Union, chances are that some of them were taken by Obscura herself.
Union was intended to look like idyllic Small Town, usa. But the road to hell is paved with Mobius intentions, and something horrible is happening in Union, causing it to tear itself apart. Stem worlds require a Core to exist, and with the Core missing inside of the Stem world ( which should be one pure and strong enough ), it’s beginning to deteriorate. As the Core's mind falls apart, so does Union. The town is likely named Union in reference to Mobius intention to unite the world using Stem. The symbol for Union is a tree that is shaped like a human brain. Stefano has the power and a certain level of autonomy within the Stem world. He'd live in a mansion that is presumably one of his mindscapes, and possesses a wide range of powers, both mundane and seemingly supernatural. One of his most signature moves involve him flash-stepping across areas, covering large distances of ground in a single stride. He carries a polaroid camera with him during most of his outings, which he uses to project a time distortion field that traps his victims in the exact few seconds of their death, which loop endlessly in slow-motion.
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
- As an artist, Stefano has always had an eccentric nature - one that became twisted and deranged following wartime, the loss of his eye and the panning of his artistry in his civilian life. The act of taking an individuals exact moment of death that resulted in shrapnel being burrowed into his eye greatly warped Stefano’s vision of beauty and a morbid view of the living, though he claims this only granted him “vision”. He prefers his victims unmoving and their corpses able to twist to his sadistic likeness, comparatively to photo time. Stefano’s view was not that he murdered his victims but rather reshaped and reborn them into works of art more beautiful than the uninteresting wretches they were previously.
- Stefano holds a great deal of pride in his artwork, displaying his victims throughout Union in a public and lavish display for all to see. His pride in this regard leads to a deep hubris and narcissism towards those he dislikes, especially critics (whom he dubs as “neophytes”). Beyond his arrogance, Stefano hides his wounded ego towards the critique his work received in the real world, due to this he considers Union the ultimate canvas to carve his gory masterpiece away from fear of reprisal or shame. Despite his pride in his work, Stefano is willing to compliment other “artists” such as Myra Hanson’s frozen Lost, even collecting them from the street and displaying them.
- Despite his low opinion on others, Stefano is willing to compliment his adversaries continued survival in the face of danger, yet the longer they live the more unhinged he becomes.
- Stefano holds a great deal of animosity towards Mobius for attempting to rewrite his memories and (in his mind) squandering the potential Union held. Ultimately, his obsession with creating the ultimate masterpiece and hubris resulted in his own demise.
- Whilst Stefano has been outwardly passionate about his views on gore and once claiming “blood is my paint”, he also considers fear “beautiful”. He noticed it radiating from his victims whilst holding them at knifepoint. Stefano often liked to scare his victims before finishing them off.
- Presumably due to his tins in the war, Stefano became efficient with guns and knives, being able to throw a knife from a long-range distance.
- In Union, Stefano uses his camera as a weapon. Taking a picture can completely freeze time or keep his victims in a continuous death loop. He has shown mastery over minions like Obscura and Guardian, the first one becoming his personal pet. Stefano can change the environment at whim to whatever he imagines but his power becomes even more advanced when he uses the core's power. He can teleport out of nowhere to stab his victim or throw his dagger at them. He also can control a massive creature called Acepture as an extension of himself in which he can crush a victim to death with its tentacle.
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Stefano had been approached by Theodore Wallace, a powerful denizen in the STEM system who promised power and autonomy over the environment if he brought him The Core (Lily Castellanos) which placed Stefano in conflict with her father, Sebastian.
Something Not Quite Right
Upon entering STEM, Sebastian is hurdled into a mansion area which is presumably a product of the deranged photographers mind. There, he discovers the corpse of Mobius search team leader, William Baker shot through the head with a camera prepared that constantly replays Baker’s exact moment of dying. As he progresses through the area, Sebastian is taunted by Stefano further who notices him in the distance and merely observes his movement. One time, Sebastian notices him murdering an unfortunate Union civilian and photographing his corpse - replaying it over and over again just like Baker but this causes him to create a noise which Stefano attempts to investigate, Sebastian narrowly avoids the mad artist and escapes the area via elevator.
Entering the basement of Stefano’s mansion, Sebastian encounters dozens of corpses strung up and covered in white cloth with another camera prepared in the area. To his confusion these corpses mysteriously relocate across the room and eventually lead him to a door where Stefano ambushes him, takes a picture and transports Sebastian to a wall with blood-red eye crossed out. A mirror is there that wasn’t before with an image of the detective taped to it, when Sebastian investigates he is attacked by the Guardian who gives chase to him. Narrowly avoiding the many-headed creature through the air vents, the Guardian locates Sebastian and still attempts to kill him. Near the end of a hallway, Stefano throws a knife into Sebastian’s shoulder and teleports away, leaving life his monstrous creation to finish him off. Ironically, Sebastian uses Stefano’s own knife to fend off the Guardian and escape the same way the photographer came into the area.
Resonances
Residual Memories reveal that Setefano had kidnapped Rogue Mobius operative Ryan Turner and had murdered him in the exact same way of Baker - a gunshot wound through the head whilst his moment of death was replayed forever. Sebastian discovers Turner’s corpse and communicator underneath the Union Visitor Centre where Setefano ambushes the detective yet again by transporting him to another gallery with the mad artists horrific photos on display throughout, particularly a glass case displaying the severed heads of three women. When Sebastian finds an exit form the gallery, he only exits the Visitor Centre yet again.
Tracking resonances throughout Union, Sebastian discovers that Lily is being hunted by Stefano. At Tradwell Trucking, he finds a doll that gives him flashes of Lily hiding in a room that Stefano searches but seemingly leaves, however he teleports back scares and kidnaps her. Angered by this, Sebastian attempts to contact Liam O’Neal, a surviving member of the Mobius search team only for Stefano to appear and distort reality by transporting Sebastian from Tradwell Trucking to his gallery with another murdered Mobius agent. Before he has the chance to confront the photographer about the location of his daughter he teleports away and leaves the Aperture to dispense of Sebastian by creating more Lost and Spawn.
Realising Stefano retreated to City Hall, Sebastian heads through the Marrow to confront him and find his daughter.
Lying in Wait
Passing through the Marrow, Sebastian sees Stefano outside of City Hall as a frequency is picked up on the Comminicator when the Aperture appears and two massive tentacles of flesh slam down before him. The gate in front of City Hall is decorated with more corpses of Mobius agents and a photo of Sebastian with the words “waiting for you” painted on it. Union begins to glitch and the gate disappears allowing Sebastian to enter the area, however the Aperture causes the surrounding corpses to transform into a Guardian to kill him. After a lengthy battle with much ammunition the many-headed creature is defeated.
Inside City Hall Stefano has decorated it with more of his gruesome pictures. He has also killed more Mobius operatives, one he killed and threw off a high ceiling whilst keeping him frozen in time and another member of Alpha Team, Harrison was left severely wounded and found by Sebastian who tells him to turn on the Stable Field Emitter to decrease Stefano’s power in the world. The area has been twisted into his personal canvas and playground for Obscura, his pet camera-monster that Sebastian often sees patrolling. One area only became accessible after replicating a picture of one of Stefano’s victims on a mannequin and an underground room where he is ambushed by Obscura taking multiple pictures until he wakes up surrounded by frozen Lost which a note claims was not the mad photographer’s work but were too beautiful that he had to display.
Finally activating the Stable Field Emitter in a mock dark room with dozens of Stefano’s pictures, the photographer notices Sebastian and freezes him in time with a singular taken photo. He mocks the unmoving detective about Lily and even alludes to a higher power in Union beside himself who also wants Lily’s power but does not elaborate until holding him at knifepoint, though only cuts the side of his cheek. Revealing his identity, Stefano leaves Sebastian with Obscura who can stop the Emitter with its camera head. After a battle which Sebastian wins the Stable Field Emitter is activates which banishes Obscura from the area but Stefano left with Lily so he leaves City Hall to contact Kidman and O’Neal for leads.
Lust for Art
At the Grand Theatre where Stefano has holed up with Lily, Sebastian is stopped by two paintings of his “art” acting as a gate outside the theatre. Frustrated that he did not appreciate Obscura’s performance, Stefano contacts Sebastian on his Communicator and refuses to allow Sebastian into the theatre to witness more of his work until he respects his art, and even gives him the location of two of his gruesome sculptures, leading to Sebastian hunting them down and placing Hoffman’s theory to the rest - the only way to attack Stefano is to destroy his art.
Whilst Sebastian hunts for Stefano’s artwork to destroy it, he experiences flashes of him declaring his intention to make Lily a part of his Obscura as his ultimate masterpiece.
Premiere
Furious at Sebastian destroying his art, upon the detective entering the theatre he goes into a drawn-out rant about his anger on how Mobius tried to change him and now the detective only wants to stop him but both have failed due to him possessing the power of the Core will allow him to create art for all eternity inside of Union.
In the main theatre where Sebastian prepares to confront Stefano he discovers the entire audience of Union citizens kidnapped with bags over their heads. The artist compliments his adversary on making it this far in their chase, though refuses to disclose Lily’s location, however he does once again hint to a higher power in Union whom charged him with finding and bringing Lily to him. Upon realising the full extent of the power of The Core, Stefano now powering himself with Lily’s abilities declares his intention to overthrow this higher power and turn Union into his own work of art.
To display his power, Stefano activates the bombs under all the hostages heads in the theatre and keeps the exact moment of explosion frozen in time. Transporting Sebastian to a distorted area of Union with a red sky and more of his sadistic gallery floating around, Stefano calls the Aperture to deter and kill the detective but when this is unsuccessful the mad photographer awaits Sebastian in the same mansion he first entered Union.
With no where left to run, Sebastian finally confronts Stefano. Brandishing his knife and camera, Stefano uses his teleportation and knife skills in an attempt to kill him as well as freezing him in time by taking a picture and staging explosives throughout the area though Sebastian still gains the upper hand. Becoming more enraged, Stefano’s attire and sanity begin to dishevel further so he calls the Aperture to help him defeat his enemy. When this fails, the artists attacks towards Sebastian becomes much more frenzied and animalistic as he charges ferociously at him whilst screaming in rage but still with no success. Eventually Stefano is defeated and thus causes the Aperture to vanish into the red abyss that was once Union’s sky. The photographer sadly remarks that he had more potential and art to give but nonetheless happy that Sebastian has made him into a masterpiece then seemingly dies. As Sebastian turns around Stefano grabs his camera and prepares for the attack but the detective shoots first, finally ending the mad artist.
. . . but is he really dead?
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
STEFANOS TRAILER
( www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYdhD_fEWog )
At the start of the trailer, you can see the last photo he took while having both eyes in place. According to Stefano, the loss transitioned into a gift, as it gave him a vision of the beauty of the moment when death takes a person.
It is not clear how Stefano made his way into the STEM world. What is clear is that, unlike the others, he enjoys the madness within. It gives him an opportunity to engage in his pursuit of art. For him, Union is a haven, a perfect canvas granting him the power of unbridled creation, with no one to distract him from his pursuit of artistic perfection.
ALL STEFANOS CUTSCENES
( www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSdVP9itrXI )
Stefano was implied to have been a normally-functioning, if not slightly eccentric artist once. However, once exposed to the horrors of warfare, Stefano would develop a sinister outlook in his artistry. Stefano's notions of art became increasingly morbid, and he soon took interest in the taking of lives, in particular the immediate moment of one's death. As demonstrated in a flashback, Stefano seems to hold the living in little regard, preferring them still and motionless instead, so that he can mold them to his twisted liking.
Certain newspaper clippings are indications that Stefano does not take criticism of his art very well. He is shown to be obnoxiously arrogant, snobbish and prideful, and has an overly inflated ego. He prefers to gloat incessantly while belittling those he deem uninteresting or boring, though he does seem capable of recognising and acknowledging credible threats if they persevere in the face of adversity. Underneath the facade of composure, however, Stefano has proven to be emotionally-sensitive and has a very low self-esteem that's easily hurt ( which can be witnessed first hand near the end of the fight against him, where he breaks down more and more as Sebastian manages to get the upper hand, becoming increasingly desperate and animalistic in his attacks while screaming in frustration at his adversary's continued triumph against him ).
THE EVIL WITHIN II TRAILER
( www.youtube.com/watch?v=amHj6-GnEy0 )
skip to 0:45 !
Just wired differently, however, nothing more but a visionary with a dream of whom one would
never come to understand correctly; his vision upon the beauty of death, and his photos made to convey
the tales of such perfection. He was marked to be a lunatic, redemption was out
of the picture for his soul was lost within the endless void of a longing mind;
CRAVING FOR APPRECIATION
NAME; stefano valentini.
TITLE; war photographer / twisted deadly photographer / deranged artist / test subject.
AGE; 34 / 12-22-1985 ( verse dependent ).
GENDER; male.
STATUS; expected to be deceased ( verse dependent ).
HAIR; between black and dark brown with a fringe of hair swept down over his damaged right eye.
EYES; left eye; bright blue. Right eye; completely damaged.
HEIGHT; 178cm.
WEIGHT; 65kg.
BLEMISHES / SCARS; damaged right eye, stab marks on his torso caused by some of his victims their attempts to escape.
USUAL FACIAL EXPRESSION; either somewhat impassive or crazed lunatic.
CLOTHING STYLE; mainly perceived as to consist elegance and refinement in manners of dress; being an artist by nature, he dresses in an extravagant manner. His most favourite attire consists of a luxurious navy suit, light blue shirt, red scarf, maroon leather gloves, and dress shoes.
After losing his eye in an explosion during his time as a war photographer, Stefano rapidly descended into madness. His newfound “vision” drove him to become fascinated by the precise instant when death takes a person – that split second in time when people are, in his opinion, at their most open and most beautiful. Stefano returned home from the war with a newfound purpose. But he wouldn’t wait for these perfect moments to arise on their own. Why should he, when he could orchestrate those final breaths?
Wretched creatures like Stefano Valentini, an artist with dark proclivities and unbounded imagination. You’ll see examples of his work scattered throughout Union – from grisly photographs of his victims, to the “moment of death” tableaus he creates, capturing the last seconds of a person’s life in a tangible, looping scene.
Stefano is a passionate adherent of beauty in all its shapes and forms, and it shows in his artwork. In the real world, however, ignorant masses would find some of his ideas of beauty unpalatable. For him, Union is a haven, a perfect canvas granting him the power of unbridled creation, with no one to distract him from his pursuit of artistic perfection. He is always single-minded focused on searching for the perfect medium for his next masterpiece, something to bring him ever closer to pure artistic perfection.
And he’s not alone in his endeavours. Born from an immoral imagination and sculpted from blood and bone and flesh, Obscura is one of Stefano’s greatest masterpieces. Stefano’s old spring-wound camera was one of his favourite toys in his collection, and now he’s decorated it with a beautiful tripod. The love and affection that Stefano has poured into the camera have become a manifestation of his power, breathing life into Obscura and giving it a will of its own. To Stefano, Obscura is a living work of art, in addition to being his beloved pet. If you see pictures scattered around Union, chances are that some of them were taken by Obscura herself.
Union was intended to look like idyllic Small Town, usa. But the road to hell is paved with Mobius intentions, and something horrible is happening in Union, causing it to tear itself apart. Stem worlds require a Core to exist, and with the Core missing inside of the Stem world ( which should be one pure and strong enough ), it’s beginning to deteriorate. As the Core's mind falls apart, so does Union. The town is likely named Union in reference to Mobius intention to unite the world using Stem. The symbol for Union is a tree that is shaped like a human brain. Stefano has the power and a certain level of autonomy within the Stem world. He'd live in a mansion that is presumably one of his mindscapes, and possesses a wide range of powers, both mundane and seemingly supernatural. One of his most signature moves involve him flash-stepping across areas, covering large distances of ground in a single stride. He carries a polaroid camera with him during most of his outings, which he uses to project a time distortion field that traps his victims in the exact few seconds of their death, which loop endlessly in slow-motion.
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
- As an artist, Stefano has always had an eccentric nature - one that became twisted and deranged following wartime, the loss of his eye and the panning of his artistry in his civilian life. The act of taking an individuals exact moment of death that resulted in shrapnel being burrowed into his eye greatly warped Stefano’s vision of beauty and a morbid view of the living, though he claims this only granted him “vision”. He prefers his victims unmoving and their corpses able to twist to his sadistic likeness, comparatively to photo time. Stefano’s view was not that he murdered his victims but rather reshaped and reborn them into works of art more beautiful than the uninteresting wretches they were previously.
- Stefano holds a great deal of pride in his artwork, displaying his victims throughout Union in a public and lavish display for all to see. His pride in this regard leads to a deep hubris and narcissism towards those he dislikes, especially critics (whom he dubs as “neophytes”). Beyond his arrogance, Stefano hides his wounded ego towards the critique his work received in the real world, due to this he considers Union the ultimate canvas to carve his gory masterpiece away from fear of reprisal or shame. Despite his pride in his work, Stefano is willing to compliment other “artists” such as Myra Hanson’s frozen Lost, even collecting them from the street and displaying them.
- Despite his low opinion on others, Stefano is willing to compliment his adversaries continued survival in the face of danger, yet the longer they live the more unhinged he becomes.
- Stefano holds a great deal of animosity towards Mobius for attempting to rewrite his memories and (in his mind) squandering the potential Union held. Ultimately, his obsession with creating the ultimate masterpiece and hubris resulted in his own demise.
- Whilst Stefano has been outwardly passionate about his views on gore and once claiming “blood is my paint”, he also considers fear “beautiful”. He noticed it radiating from his victims whilst holding them at knifepoint. Stefano often liked to scare his victims before finishing them off.
- Presumably due to his tins in the war, Stefano became efficient with guns and knives, being able to throw a knife from a long-range distance.
- In Union, Stefano uses his camera as a weapon. Taking a picture can completely freeze time or keep his victims in a continuous death loop. He has shown mastery over minions like Obscura and Guardian, the first one becoming his personal pet. Stefano can change the environment at whim to whatever he imagines but his power becomes even more advanced when he uses the core's power. He can teleport out of nowhere to stab his victim or throw his dagger at them. He also can control a massive creature called Acepture as an extension of himself in which he can crush a victim to death with its tentacle.
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Stefano had been approached by Theodore Wallace, a powerful denizen in the STEM system who promised power and autonomy over the environment if he brought him The Core (Lily Castellanos) which placed Stefano in conflict with her father, Sebastian.
Something Not Quite Right
Upon entering STEM, Sebastian is hurdled into a mansion area which is presumably a product of the deranged photographers mind. There, he discovers the corpse of Mobius search team leader, William Baker shot through the head with a camera prepared that constantly replays Baker’s exact moment of dying. As he progresses through the area, Sebastian is taunted by Stefano further who notices him in the distance and merely observes his movement. One time, Sebastian notices him murdering an unfortunate Union civilian and photographing his corpse - replaying it over and over again just like Baker but this causes him to create a noise which Stefano attempts to investigate, Sebastian narrowly avoids the mad artist and escapes the area via elevator.
Entering the basement of Stefano’s mansion, Sebastian encounters dozens of corpses strung up and covered in white cloth with another camera prepared in the area. To his confusion these corpses mysteriously relocate across the room and eventually lead him to a door where Stefano ambushes him, takes a picture and transports Sebastian to a wall with blood-red eye crossed out. A mirror is there that wasn’t before with an image of the detective taped to it, when Sebastian investigates he is attacked by the Guardian who gives chase to him. Narrowly avoiding the many-headed creature through the air vents, the Guardian locates Sebastian and still attempts to kill him. Near the end of a hallway, Stefano throws a knife into Sebastian’s shoulder and teleports away, leaving life his monstrous creation to finish him off. Ironically, Sebastian uses Stefano’s own knife to fend off the Guardian and escape the same way the photographer came into the area.
Resonances
Residual Memories reveal that Setefano had kidnapped Rogue Mobius operative Ryan Turner and had murdered him in the exact same way of Baker - a gunshot wound through the head whilst his moment of death was replayed forever. Sebastian discovers Turner’s corpse and communicator underneath the Union Visitor Centre where Setefano ambushes the detective yet again by transporting him to another gallery with the mad artists horrific photos on display throughout, particularly a glass case displaying the severed heads of three women. When Sebastian finds an exit form the gallery, he only exits the Visitor Centre yet again.
Tracking resonances throughout Union, Sebastian discovers that Lily is being hunted by Stefano. At Tradwell Trucking, he finds a doll that gives him flashes of Lily hiding in a room that Stefano searches but seemingly leaves, however he teleports back scares and kidnaps her. Angered by this, Sebastian attempts to contact Liam O’Neal, a surviving member of the Mobius search team only for Stefano to appear and distort reality by transporting Sebastian from Tradwell Trucking to his gallery with another murdered Mobius agent. Before he has the chance to confront the photographer about the location of his daughter he teleports away and leaves the Aperture to dispense of Sebastian by creating more Lost and Spawn.
Realising Stefano retreated to City Hall, Sebastian heads through the Marrow to confront him and find his daughter.
Lying in Wait
Passing through the Marrow, Sebastian sees Stefano outside of City Hall as a frequency is picked up on the Comminicator when the Aperture appears and two massive tentacles of flesh slam down before him. The gate in front of City Hall is decorated with more corpses of Mobius agents and a photo of Sebastian with the words “waiting for you” painted on it. Union begins to glitch and the gate disappears allowing Sebastian to enter the area, however the Aperture causes the surrounding corpses to transform into a Guardian to kill him. After a lengthy battle with much ammunition the many-headed creature is defeated.
Inside City Hall Stefano has decorated it with more of his gruesome pictures. He has also killed more Mobius operatives, one he killed and threw off a high ceiling whilst keeping him frozen in time and another member of Alpha Team, Harrison was left severely wounded and found by Sebastian who tells him to turn on the Stable Field Emitter to decrease Stefano’s power in the world. The area has been twisted into his personal canvas and playground for Obscura, his pet camera-monster that Sebastian often sees patrolling. One area only became accessible after replicating a picture of one of Stefano’s victims on a mannequin and an underground room where he is ambushed by Obscura taking multiple pictures until he wakes up surrounded by frozen Lost which a note claims was not the mad photographer’s work but were too beautiful that he had to display.
Finally activating the Stable Field Emitter in a mock dark room with dozens of Stefano’s pictures, the photographer notices Sebastian and freezes him in time with a singular taken photo. He mocks the unmoving detective about Lily and even alludes to a higher power in Union beside himself who also wants Lily’s power but does not elaborate until holding him at knifepoint, though only cuts the side of his cheek. Revealing his identity, Stefano leaves Sebastian with Obscura who can stop the Emitter with its camera head. After a battle which Sebastian wins the Stable Field Emitter is activates which banishes Obscura from the area but Stefano left with Lily so he leaves City Hall to contact Kidman and O’Neal for leads.
Lust for Art
At the Grand Theatre where Stefano has holed up with Lily, Sebastian is stopped by two paintings of his “art” acting as a gate outside the theatre. Frustrated that he did not appreciate Obscura’s performance, Stefano contacts Sebastian on his Communicator and refuses to allow Sebastian into the theatre to witness more of his work until he respects his art, and even gives him the location of two of his gruesome sculptures, leading to Sebastian hunting them down and placing Hoffman’s theory to the rest - the only way to attack Stefano is to destroy his art.
Whilst Sebastian hunts for Stefano’s artwork to destroy it, he experiences flashes of him declaring his intention to make Lily a part of his Obscura as his ultimate masterpiece.
Premiere
Furious at Sebastian destroying his art, upon the detective entering the theatre he goes into a drawn-out rant about his anger on how Mobius tried to change him and now the detective only wants to stop him but both have failed due to him possessing the power of the Core will allow him to create art for all eternity inside of Union.
In the main theatre where Sebastian prepares to confront Stefano he discovers the entire audience of Union citizens kidnapped with bags over their heads. The artist compliments his adversary on making it this far in their chase, though refuses to disclose Lily’s location, however he does once again hint to a higher power in Union whom charged him with finding and bringing Lily to him. Upon realising the full extent of the power of The Core, Stefano now powering himself with Lily’s abilities declares his intention to overthrow this higher power and turn Union into his own work of art.
To display his power, Stefano activates the bombs under all the hostages heads in the theatre and keeps the exact moment of explosion frozen in time. Transporting Sebastian to a distorted area of Union with a red sky and more of his sadistic gallery floating around, Stefano calls the Aperture to deter and kill the detective but when this is unsuccessful the mad photographer awaits Sebastian in the same mansion he first entered Union.
With no where left to run, Sebastian finally confronts Stefano. Brandishing his knife and camera, Stefano uses his teleportation and knife skills in an attempt to kill him as well as freezing him in time by taking a picture and staging explosives throughout the area though Sebastian still gains the upper hand. Becoming more enraged, Stefano’s attire and sanity begin to dishevel further so he calls the Aperture to help him defeat his enemy. When this fails, the artists attacks towards Sebastian becomes much more frenzied and animalistic as he charges ferociously at him whilst screaming in rage but still with no success. Eventually Stefano is defeated and thus causes the Aperture to vanish into the red abyss that was once Union’s sky. The photographer sadly remarks that he had more potential and art to give but nonetheless happy that Sebastian has made him into a masterpiece then seemingly dies. As Sebastian turns around Stefano grabs his camera and prepares for the attack but the detective shoots first, finally ending the mad artist.
. . . but is he really dead?
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
STEFANOS TRAILER
( www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYdhD_fEWog )
At the start of the trailer, you can see the last photo he took while having both eyes in place. According to Stefano, the loss transitioned into a gift, as it gave him a vision of the beauty of the moment when death takes a person.
It is not clear how Stefano made his way into the STEM world. What is clear is that, unlike the others, he enjoys the madness within. It gives him an opportunity to engage in his pursuit of art. For him, Union is a haven, a perfect canvas granting him the power of unbridled creation, with no one to distract him from his pursuit of artistic perfection.
ALL STEFANOS CUTSCENES
( www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSdVP9itrXI )
Stefano was implied to have been a normally-functioning, if not slightly eccentric artist once. However, once exposed to the horrors of warfare, Stefano would develop a sinister outlook in his artistry. Stefano's notions of art became increasingly morbid, and he soon took interest in the taking of lives, in particular the immediate moment of one's death. As demonstrated in a flashback, Stefano seems to hold the living in little regard, preferring them still and motionless instead, so that he can mold them to his twisted liking.
Certain newspaper clippings are indications that Stefano does not take criticism of his art very well. He is shown to be obnoxiously arrogant, snobbish and prideful, and has an overly inflated ego. He prefers to gloat incessantly while belittling those he deem uninteresting or boring, though he does seem capable of recognising and acknowledging credible threats if they persevere in the face of adversity. Underneath the facade of composure, however, Stefano has proven to be emotionally-sensitive and has a very low self-esteem that's easily hurt ( which can be witnessed first hand near the end of the fight against him, where he breaks down more and more as Sebastian manages to get the upper hand, becoming increasingly desperate and animalistic in his attacks while screaming in frustration at his adversary's continued triumph against him ).
THE EVIL WITHIN II TRAILER
( www.youtube.com/watch?v=amHj6-GnEy0 )
skip to 0:45 !
22 | Oct 16th 2018 08:30