Whispered Words (2023)

Whispered Words are flashbacks the player can hear upon picking up various objects throughout all of the games. In the original Layers of Fear from 2016, the objects you picked up would allow you to see and rotate the 3d object as you listened to the flashback. In Layers of Fear 2, this was the same case. In the 2023 game, the protagonist in question will pick up the object and rotate it while holding it in their hand. These are the flashbacks you can hear and find in the 2023 game.

## Painter's Story

### Chapter 1: Canvas

#### Prosthetic Leg

*I can’t remember the last time I wore these. The last time I could move freely*

#### Musician Sketch

*Now a tiny bit to the left… Yes! Just like that! Now hold that pose for a moment. I want to get all those lovely curves just right*

#### Perfume Bottle

*I had the most beautiful dream last night. I dreamt he came to me. Embraced me. Loved me as he once did. But… we both know that while I dreamed my silly little dream, it was you. It was you he really lusted for.*

#### Calligraphy Pen

*I hated it. Always felt as if it wasn’t my hand that wrote the letters when using it.*

#### Wedding Ring

*The thought alone that the most beautiful piece of art doesn’t have my name on it is killing me. So, will you marry me?*

#### Musician's Skin

*First I looked for a canvas… Not just any canvas. I had to find a knife. Not one of those bread ones. It needed to be as sharp as a razor. So I used a razor in fact, and then… carefully flayed the skin. Booze helped keep my hand steady.*

### Chapter 2: Base

#### Goblet

*It’s not like I’m a drunkard. I know how to handle my Liquor!*

#### Paprika

*All I asked for was an edible meal - or at least one that had any taste at all!*

#### Music Sheet

*Why’d you stop? That tune was perfect! Honey, please, just a little longer. At least until I finish this one part. Oh, don’t make me beg!*

#### Hairbrush

*I mean… I’ve seen you in my house so many times and yet I could never find the courage to face you directly. Not until now.*

#### Liquor Flask

*Oh, stop looking at me like that! It’s just a little something to help me focus on my work, that’s all.*

#### Dog Collar

*Honey, remember how you said it would be nice to have a cat, so that the baby could have someone to play with? Well… I bought us a dog!*

#### Hacksaw

*I thought it would be harder. It should be harder. Bones shouldn’t break so easily.*

#### Cane

*This house is amazing! But those stairs… with that leg of mine, I think you’ll have to carry me to the bedroom once we move in.*

#### Vinyl Record

*The only thing that could make her smile.*

#### Violin

*Honey, what in the world are you doing?! What did the doctor say about straining yourself? Leave that thing alone. It’s not going anywhere.*

#### Musician's Bone

*I needed to remove the flesh from the bone. At first I was lost at how, but then I… sawed it off with a hand saw. Boiled it… Then put the bone in a mortar. I had to get one, obviously this was not something I’ve done before. Finally I mixed the dust with some white paint. It made for a lovely undercoat.*

### Chapter 3: Paint

#### Wine Bottle

*Look, honey, it’s your favorite! Come, sit with me. Like in the old days.*

#### Hammer

*I will get you! Furry leeches! Get out of my house!*

#### Glasses

*Ugly? Ugly?! You ordered a “true” portrait, so that’s what I painted, you fucking pleb! Maybe I need to kick some artistic sense into your stupid face!*

#### Damaged Telephone (Only seen when ignoring the call from the hospital)

*Talk to me. Why won’t you talk to me?! You promised. You deserve this. All of it. This solves nothing. It never has. It never will.*

#### Intact Telephone (Only seen when answering the call from the hospital)

*Hello? Yes, speaking. What?! What fire?! Oh god… Is she..?! Which hospital?! I’m on my way!*

#### Musical Bell

*In the end, this was the only instrument she could play. The only music this family could accept.*

#### Lightbulb

*I thought I broke all of them. Oh well. Cold, merciless light is still light.*

#### Musician's Blood

*I needed a jar and… and a plastic tubing. I siphoned gas before, I knew how it was done.I stuck the tube in a vein and sucked on it until blood filled my mouth. Then put the tubing in the jar and it just kept coming. The taste of copper haunted me the entire night. Why didn’t I think of a syringe?!*

### Chapter 4: Brush

#### Daughter's Shoe

*Sweet Jesus! Did you just buy half the department store?! Honey, you don’t even know if it’s gonna be a boy or a girl!*

#### Necklace

*God, I’m such an idiot. To think that someone like me could ever compete with you. In all your sublime beauty. Everlasting. Immortal.*

#### Manacles

*No leaving the workshop until it’s finished!*

#### Brush Jar

*You fucking took it away from me. My gift. I want it back! You hear me?! I will bring you back! Drag, if I have to… I will make it right. Honey, I promise. I will make you right!*

#### Snowglobe

*You like it, my little bird? Okay, we’ll buy it. It will look great on the fireplace. Don’t you think, honey?*

#### Scissors

*What? No, of course cutting your hair doesn’t hurt, Birdie.*

#### Toy Soldier

*Where did that come from?! That’s not a good toy for her!*

#### Birthday Hat (?)

*Hey, what is that? Wait…what day is it? It’s Sunday?! You mean I… Well, why didn’t you come and get me? Goddamn it! You know how I get when I’m caught up in my work!*

#### Musician's Hair

*This was a special brush. Like a horse hair brush, but different. At that point I hesitated. Will this really work? Fuck it. I was already half-way through and besides, it’s not like I can just put it all back and forget about the whole thing*

### Chapter 5: Touch

#### Palette

*It’s hopeless… I…I just can’t take it anymore. I might as try to paint with both of my arms broken.*

#### Muzzle

*Fucking mutt won’t shut up. Hey! I can do that too! Bark! Bark! See? But can YOU paint? No? Well, that’s alright. Neither I can, apparently.*

#### Bandage Roll

*Is… that her? Can she hear us? This is all… fixable, right? No, YOU don’t understand! Her face… Her hands… I… She will be devastated!*

#### Musician's Finger

*I needed something to add the… How should I put it… Final touches. A finger. I needed a finger. Chopped it off. Easier than sawing a leg. Washed it. Dried it in an oven. Fell asleep, almost burned it. Will I manage to pull this off?*

### Chapter 6 (Witness)

#### Dueling Pistol

*Why would I need that? Are you insane?!*

#### Rat Poison

*Right… Just one more can and you’ll be ready… Look at you! Who’s a dead boy?! Who’s a dead boy?! You are!*

#### Dead Rat

*Do you mind explaining this to me? I know what it is! Care to tell me how it got in my workshop? Stop lying! We both know it couldn’t have gotten there on its own!*

#### Empty Bottle 1

*You have to see it. It won’t be finished until you see it.*

#### Empty Bottle 2

*I shouldn’t try to contain my art in the workshop.The whole world is my canvas! The work is never finished!*

#### Painter and Musician Photo

*I see the way she looks at me. ‘Are you sure you’ll ever finish this commission?’ she asks, doubt in her eyes. Sometimes I just want to…*

#### Clock

*Hickory, Dickory, Dock. A mouse ran up the clock. The clock struck one, a horde ran down. Hickory Dickory Dock. Hahahahahaha!*

#### Makeup Container

*You know… Even though you are my rival and the source of all my sorrows, you’re also the only one I can still talk to. The only one who will listen. I’m not sure if it’s funny, or merely pathetic. Probably both.*

#### Bourbon Bottle

*Hey there princess. What? Oh… This is daddy’s medicine. Whenever daddy’s hurting, this makes the hurt go away. No! Don’t touch that! Oh god I’m so… Wait! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!*

#### Suicide Knife

*What is taking [you] so long?! Open this fucking door! I need to go! Open up! The hell is… Oh, god… No, no, no! What have you done?! No!*

#### Musician's Eye

*Finally someone had to bear witness. I couldn’t just look at my own work. Art and the artist need an audience. A critical eye on things. I knew what I had to do. I gouged it out. Scooped it up like ice cream. Felt like a butcher. A monster. But at least there was to come something beautiful from all this filth.*

## Daughter's Story (*Inheritance*)

#### Kitchen Knife

*It was my fault. My mistake. I must never forget what I did. What I made her do. I need to hold onto this. Not as a penance. Not as a punishment. As a reminder.*

#### Toy Train

*Ow! Oh, Hey Princess… I didn’t know you were out here. No, it’s alright, Daddy just tripped. You know, clumsy old peg leg. Oh… There, there… You don’t need to worry. Daddy’s just tired. So…Very… Tired.*

#### Fragmented Sketch of the Musician

*Hey there, young lady. Shouldn’t you be in bed? It’s alright, you can stay. Just don’t make too much noise, Daddy’s working. What do you mean ‘Who’s that?’ it’s Mommy. What? That’s not what Mommy looks like? Well… She does to me.*

#### Pink Birthday Cake

*Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear…*

#### Chocolate Birthday Cake

*Honey, you have to come out, she’s waiting for us! Don’t make me do this by myself! No! I don’t want her to see me like this! I’m… I’m sorry. I just… can’t.*

#### Rainbow Birthday Cake

*Why would you do this? What am I supposed to do now? I can’t do this without you!*

#### Medicine Bottle (Choose Painter)

*What was that? Oh no… Honey! I need you! I need my medicine! Please… It hurts so much! Why won’t you help me? Why are you punishing me like this?! Whatever I did, I'm sorry!*

#### Broken Alcohol Bottle (Choose Musician)

*What the hell did you do?! Oh, you didn’t mean to? Well, that makes it all better, doesn’t it? It’ll just magically unbreak, because you didn’t mean to! Go on, get out of here! Go to your room and break shit in there! Just take all your toys and smash them. One by one! And keep at it! Maybe you’ll finally get good at something!*

## Musician's Story (*The Final Note*)

#### Diary

*I need someone to confide in. And that someone is me.*

#### Crochet Set

*I hate this. But it seems simpler than playing the violin. For now. It feels like sewing myself in place, though. Binding myself to my prison.*

#### Syringe

*What are you doing?! I don’t want it. Take it away! Take it away!*

#### Ring

*If the finger you put it on has been deformed, destroyed, does the marriage even stand a chance?*

#### Violin Case

*Even my instruments have their prisons.*

#### Measuring Device (?)

*I know it now. I measured. My room is shrinking every day. He paints it at night, and every morning the walls are that much closer. My prison grows smaller each day*

#### Fountain Pen

*Can I… I have to. I have to get it back. I have to learn to write again.*

#### Handbag

*If I’m not able to go out and be the lady of the house, they’ll send me to the hospital, I know it! I would be locked in there for life!*

#### Wedding Cake Topper

*There’s always a way to connect with the things we love. And this way is acceptance.*

#### Glass Container

*She likes to dance, my free bird. Blissfully ignorant of the prison this world is. I wish I could play something for her. I need to play something for her.*

#### Doll

*She doesn’t even know what to do with the dolls. She mostly tries to make them go to us when we call her. I think she sometimes ties them up and locks them away.*

#### Teddy Bear

*She named it Mr. Quiet. Mr. Quiet is her favorite toy. He never screams, she told me. He never makes a sound.*

#### Medical Device

*Yes, I hid it! Can’t you see what’s happening to you?!*

## Actor's Story

### Chapter 1: The Unmooring

#### Posing Doll

*Listen, once you get there, just do what you have to do. Get to the set and build this character for him. That’s all that matters.*

#### Cruise Advertisement

*Yeah, yeah, I know, you’ve told me a million times how much you hate the sea. And I’m telling you, this gig is just too good to pass up.*

#### Ship's Whistle

*All third-class passengers this way, please! Did you check the lower decks this time? I swear to god, if we find stowaways again, you’ll never set foot on a ship again.*

#### Cane

*Never met the guy in person but few people have. That’s why you hear all these rumors… About him being… broken, or disfigured… all that nonsense.*

#### Damaged Photo 1

*Guy’s got a reputation. Makes his actors jump through hoops before he even lets them on the set. Supposed to be some method of building the character. Bunch of artsy-fartsy bullshit if you ask me. Just go with it. Guy doesn’t take no for an answer.*

#### Damaged Photo 2

*So what if the guy’s a little nuts? He’s a director, it comes with the job. I mean, what’s he gonna do? Kill ya?*

#### Compass Bag

James: "*Are we really going? Lily, I’m…"*

Lily: "*That’s Captain Baynes to you, Mr. Hardy! Remember the name, quartermaster, or I’ll have you walk to plank!”*

#### Crayon Box

Lily: *"I’m back, me hearty. Scouted the whole area. Looks like there’s a trail we can follow."*

James*: "A trail?"*

Lily: *"Aye! Left by fellow pirates, no doubt. To lead us to a safe harbor!"*

#### Spyglass

Lily: *"There she is, Mr. Hardy! The fastest vessel ever built, ready to set sail for the Land of the Flame".*

James: *"I don’t see any sails… "*

Lily: *"Shh… We must make our way aboard. Quietly."*

#### Wooden Sword

Lily: *"Avast, Mr. Hardy. Too many of them scurvy dogs to take head on."*

James: "*Lily… I want to go home."*

Lily: "*Quartermaster, steel yourself! Be your heart soaked in doubt, or be there a fire burning within?"*

#### Burnt Flower

*Not all lives are created equal, but one can become a vessel. To carry within a flame of another. Who are we to deny it? Who are we?*

#### Damaged Ship Map

Lily: *"Look what I found, Mr. Hardy. This chart will lead us away from peril and into safe harbor"*

#### Flashlight

James: *"Lily… I think there’s something in the dark"*

Lily: *"Shh. Someone’s coming"*

Crewmember: *"Hello? Anyone there? Bloody hell! Sod it. If the chief wants it checked so bad, he can bloody do it himself!"*

### Chapter 2: The Hunt

#### Damaged Autograph

Passenger: "*Excuse me! I’m such a big fan. Could you please sign…? Oh… I’m sorry. I think I mistook you for someone else.***"**

#### Necklace

Lily: "*That’ll do for now. It’s time to eat. Quartermaster! Hand me the bag*"

James: "*Oh… Captain Baynes… The food… I… It’s…gone*"

#### Compass

Lily: "*Get up, quartermaster. What’s done is done. No use cryin’. We need to venture forth and find some fresh supplies. Here, take this. It will help you find your strength"*

#### Crumpled Paper

James: *"No food, just paper."*

Lily: *"Don’t lose hope, quartermaster. Let’s keep on looking."*

#### Debris

Lily: *"Looks like the rats got to it before us*"

James: "*Wha- What was that?*"

Lily: "*Shh. We are not alone here"*

#### Spoiled Food

James: *"Ugh… It stinks. But it looks like someone took a bite. Or something."*

Lily: *"Come. Let’s not wait for it to come back"*

#### Alcohol bottle

*“No… This isn’t what I saw. You have to believe me. We’re out on the edge of the world, Mr. Hardy. Nothing is as it seems"*

#### Empty Food Can 1

*This one’s empty too. We need to keep looking. Lily- I mean, captain… There’s something out there… In the dark. Hush now. Stay behind me. I won’t let anything happen to you.*

#### Empty Food Can 2

*\*Sobbing\* It’s no good. We’ll never find any food. James! Look at me! And it’s all my fault. I said look at me! I am Captain Baynes! The Black Wanderer! The slayer of the Cyclops! The seeker of the Flame! I will see us through this. Don’t you ever doubt me!*

### Chapter 3: Bloody Roots

#### Seashell

*What are you doing? Here. Listen. [Whooshing sound] But… How does it do that? A sea couldn’t fit in there! It’s the spirit of the sea. It captured its strength. Its calm. Its freedom. So it can live on. Forever.*

#### Belt

*Come’ere, boy! Don’t you hide from me! I know you’ve been sneakin’ into the theatre again! What did I tell you about going in there while I’m working!?*

#### Old-fashioned Camera

*I think father’s been trying to fix his old camera. Hmm. One of the few things he still can*

#### Formless Man Figurine

*What is that thing? I thought I knew, but… now I’m not sure. Oh, Jimmy. It has to take shape in your head first. Otherwise, it’ll just stay… Formless.*

#### War Badge

*God damn bastards… I gave them everything… And what do I get in return? A bloody piece of rust!*

#### Tricorne Hat

*I know! Henceforth I shall be… Captain Baynes! The Black Wanderer! But… Captain Baynes isn’t a girl. Steady your tongue, quartermaster! I can be whoever I choose to be! If your little mind says otherwise, then to the depths with it!*

#### Music Box

*\*Lily singing\* Lily… What if something bad happens… What if I can’t find you… Shh… Listen to my voice. Hold it deep inside. And I will always be there for you. Forever? Forever*

#### Eyeball Maze

*If you want to make it to the end, just remember… The monster can be scary, but it’s sad too. Because at the end of the day, it’s just as lost as we are.*

#### Newspaper Fragment

*She’s the one, Mr. Hardy. She’s the one that will take us there.*

### Chapter 4: Breath

#### Bag

*Lily..! Captain! I found it! But it’s empty! It’s all gone! Steady yourself, quartermaster. Return to the hideout. I’ll keep searching on my own. But I can help… I… I said go!*

#### Child's Drawing 1

*Huh. That’s a funny name. Can you help me find my sister?*

#### Child's Drawing 2

*She’s been gone for a long time, I’m scared something happened to her. I… I didn’t mean to. She told me to go back. No! Stop! It’s not true!*

### Chapter 5: Forever

#### Mirror 2

*Do you see now? You tried to fix me. Instead, you broke yourself*

#### Damaged Drama Mask 2

*You tried so hard to bring me back. You called out to me from the void. But something else answered*

#### Drowned Rat

*Sometimes it’s better to find your own way. To accept what was lost. To accept the pain. And feed your own fire.*

#### Goblet

*How many lives have you buried? Just by merely existing. Existing, but never ending. Wouldn’t it be better if you just went away?*