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digitaldreams0801 · 2 years ago

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The Inherent Plurality of Castti Florenz (Analysis)

When Octopath Traveler II first came out, I jumped right into it as soon as possible. I'm a huge fan of the first game (as my AO3 will tell you quickly), and I couldn't wait to see what the sequel had to offer. As I got deeper into the game, I learned a few things about the cast. My first major revelation about Castti? Castti Florenz might just be one of the most plural coded characters I've seen in my life. I even wrote two one shots about it on Archive of Our Own. A lot of people found the stories eye opening, and multiple people told me that it completely changed the way they view Castti as a character. So let's talk about it. Let's break down Castti as the most plural character to hit gaming consoles in a long time.

(Warning for full game spoilers!)

Introduction

Plurality Explanation

Let's start off with a brief crash course about plurality. Just what is plurality? In short, it's the state of being more than one. Through some set of circumstances or another, multiple people have come to live in the same body. This is commonly, albeit incorrectly, known as "multiple personality disorder." This term has been outdated for roughly the last thirty years. Instead, it is known as "dissociative identity disorder" in the modern age, and it is abbreviated as DID. Those with DID are stated to have alters, but I will be using the term headmate throughout this essay because it is our preferred term as a system. Systems are the collective of all headmates found in a given body. Plurality is a community term used for the experience of being more than one, and it is the preferred term for us, so it will be used as opposed to discussing dissociative disorders going forward.

Plurality is often (not always, but often) associated with trauma. In many cases, systems act as a defense mechanism prompted by extreme trauma. Memories are hidden from those who need to not know the depth of what they have been through. Members of a system work together to look after one another and keep their collective safe. I believe this to be the truth behind Castti and Malaya's dynamic in the game, and this essay will explain the reasons that have led me to so strongly advocate for a plural interpretation of Castti's character.

Plurality in Castti

In order to fully understand how plural coded Castti is, I feel like we should start from the beginning. Castti is first introduced to the audience as an apothecary who lost her memories. We do not know the circumstances behind this, and finding out is the draw behind her story. Very quickly, we are introduced to Malaya, someone who seems to know Castti but is hiding this from her. No one else speaks to Malaya but Castti, and their relationship is complicated from the start. Malaya knows Castti, but Castti does not remember her, and Malaya's behavior is odd and unconventional despite their notable history.

I want to put a pin in this for now and come back to it later. The details behind this theory only make sense when placed alongside other evidence, and this game has a lot more of it than you would think. To be more specific, there's proof in the travel banters, and it's incredibly important to understanding Malaya's role in Castti's present life.

Travel Banter Evidence

There are three pieces of travel banter that need to be addressed here. The first is "Talking to Yourself," the Castti and Osvald banter in Castti's chapter two in Sai. Second, we have "A Good Apothecary," a conversation found in Winterbloom between Castti and Temenos. Last but not least is the postgame "Another Self" with dialogue from Castti, Temenos, and Hikari. All three of these have plural coded undertones that add more backing to this theory, so let's go through them in order and break down what makes them so crucial.

"Talking to Yourself": Castti and Osvald, Castti Chapter Two: Sai Route

Osvald: Master Edmund is…talkative. Castti: Yes. Your polar opposite, Osvald. Osvald: Not necessarily. I’m quite loquacious during internal debates. Castti: What do you mean? Osvald: I maintain multiple mental versions of myself, each with a different perspective, and we’re constantly debating. Castti: Hehe. So you talk to yourself? That’s kind of funny, in an odd way. Osvald: …… Osvald: I thought you were a kindred soul, Castti. Osvald: Someone told me that they overheard you talking to yourself. Osvald: They said it was like you were conversing with someone who wasn’t there. Castti: Really? I don’t remember ever doing something like that.

The game posits this travel banter as foreshadowing of Malaya not being real in the way Castti believes her to be, but there is a lot more to it than that. This conversation was what set off a few alarm bells in my head that Castti could have been plural, and it caught me by surprise when I first reached it. I'm part of a plural system myself, and this conversation is very relatable to the plural experience.

Osvald speaks to himself when he's trying to further his research. He's aware of this and has been for a long time. Castti brushes it off at first, but Osvald points out that she has the same habit. The way this conversation phrases it, the game seems to imply that someone has told Osvald that Castti talks to herself recently. "Someone told [him]" that Castti had been talking to herself. I somehow doubt someone random from Canalbrine would have done that, especially since there's no guarantee that Osvald is even in the party at all when Castti first joins. Osvald is hardly talkative in the first place, and for someone to go out of their way to tell him Castti had been talking to herself, it must have been more recent than Canalbrine. In other words, it was more recent than Castti's run-in with Malaya.

Beyond that, Castti isn't even aware that she's doing it. This is something very common within plural people. The idea of what's "normal" is always based on our internalized perceptions of the world and what we have been taught. To some, they believe hearing voices in your head is normal because they've always lived with it. That was certainly the case for us before we realized we were plural. Your perception of what is "normal" is skewed because of what you have lived with. It's nothing out of the ordinary if you've always lived this way. Castti is shocked to be called out by this because she's so accustomed to it without even realizing that she's doing it. How was she supposed to know it's not normal? She doesn't live in anyone's head but her own, and to her, this is normal.

Her final line is another piece of evidence adding to this theory. She doesn't remember doing that. In Castti's story, memories are incredibly important. They're the driving force behind her entire narrative. Her not remembering something that took place even after she lost her memory is bizarre. She's so accustomed to talking to herself that she doesn't even notice... And she doesn't remember doing it either.

Systems are often built in a way that is meant to be hidden. Many systems form as defense mechanisms from trauma, and as such, they know how to hide themselves from the parties involved until the time is right. Revealing too much too soon poses a risk to the system, and amnesia is common in plural communities. Memories can be deliberately tampered with by members of the system who act as protectors, and that can lead to memories being taken from people who are not meant to remember something at a given moment. For example, memories can be hidden for the sake of keeping the system masked for as long as possible.

Between calling out Castti's habit of talking to herself, saying that it has happened recently, and noting that she still has memory issues after turning up in Canalbrine, this travel banter is full of evidence to point to Castti being plural. It immediately struck me as being plural when I first saw it, and that alone was enough to get me thinking about Castti in a new light... And somehow, that's only the first of three travel banters that point to Castti being plural.

"A Good Apothecary": Castti and Temenos, Castti Chapter Two: Winterbloom Route

Temenos: Castti, have you remembered anything new lately? Castti: Nothing of any importance, sadly. Castti: The truth is…I’m somewhat frightened. Temenos: Of…what? Castti: This amnesia… Castti: I hear it can be a self-defense mechanism. Something the mind does to forget horrors or trauma. Castti: Perhaps I will be happier if I never uncover the secrets of my past. Temenos: Be at ease, Castti. Temenos: You are a good person and a fine apothecary. Your actions now prove this without a shadow of doubt. Temenos: There’s no way your past is filled with darkness and despair. Castti: Th-thank you, Temenos… You’re surprisingly nice today. Temenos: Today? I’m always nice.

This travel banter has one primary line that should be noted for this analysis, and that is the following statement from Castti:

"I hear it can be a self-defense mechanism. Something the mind does to forget horrors or trauma."

Many systems form as a response to trauma. In this case, some members of the system keep memories separated from those who need to function without the chains of their trauma holding them down. If someone needs to function on a regular basis, then their trauma is hidden from them so they can live without crumbling due to flashbacks and painful memories. Castti is right; amnesia can be a self-defense mechanism in response to trauma, and it is very commonly seen in systems. In fact, that is exactly what Malaya appears to be in this situation: a protector meant to keep Castti safe from the horrors of her past. The idea of trauma causing amnesia so immediately is something you would see in a system, and in this case, it points to Castti being plural once again.

"Another Self": Castti, Hikari, and Temenos, Postgame Tavern Banter

Hikari: There is something I would like to ask you, my friends… Hikari: Do you ever feel…like you aren’t yourself? Temenos: Hmm… I’m not sure I understand. Temenos: Do you mean to ask if the entity currently perceiving the world around you…isn’t you? Hikari: By that logic, there would be another inside of me other than myself. Hikari: But that other isn’t someone else. Hikari: However, it isn’t me, either… Or at least, that’s how it feels. Castti: I’ve had a similar experience. Castti: I felt the me of my memories—the ones I had lost—was a different person. Hikari: …… Temenos: I think I’m starting to understand what you mean. Temenos: I feel like there’s more than one of me when I must differentiate my feelings as a person from those as a cleric. Hikari: I see… So I’m not the only one who struggles with this. Castti: Hardly. Few people possess only one facet. Castti: I think you have no cause for concern. Castti: We must accept the other sides of ourselves and learn to coexist with them. Castti: In the end, it’s not who we are, but how we choose to live our lives that is most important. Hikari: …… Hikari: Perhaps the “self” is something…indefinite. Hikari: In which case…we should strive to become the person we want to be. Castti: Hehe. I’m sure you can do it, Hikari. Hikari: Thank you, Castti. Hikari: My apologies for bringing such a complicated topic to the table. Please pay it no mind. Temenos: …Hm? What were we talking about again? Temenos: I seem to have forgotten… I believe I’ve had too much to drink… Hikari: …Thank you, my friends.

This is the longest travel banter that needs to be addressed here, and it has a lot to unpack. First and foremost, Castti pretty much outright states here that she has dissociation and depersonalization issues. She doesn't feel like the person of her memories and her present self are the same person. That's already a lot to unpack on its own, and considering the fact that dissociation is one of the most common symptoms of plurality, it feels like even more proof of Castti being plural. She doesn't feel like one uniform person and struggles enough with not feeling like herself for it to be brought up with Hikari of all people who also struggles with depersonalization throughout the story.

But wait, there's more! Castti says that "few people possess only one facet." This is coming on the heels of her saying that she struggles with seeing herself as a single unified person. Spoiler alert, Castti: singlets don't feel like completely different people even if they do have different facets. Some singlets have stated that the person they are at work feels completely different than the person they are at home... But that is not the same thing as plurality, and having a work mode doesn't come with dissociation and feeling like multiple people to the point of bringing it up with other people. That's awfully plural of you, Castti.

And somehow, there's still more. Castti expresses the importance of accepting the other sides of herself and learning to work with them. This is a lot like what it's like to reach out to your headmates when you're plural. Like it or no, you're stuck there in the same body together, and you have to learn how to work together and coexist to make your common life work. She says that it doesn't matter "who we are" in comparison to how we choose to live our lives... Another line that reads of depersonalization when said right after everything else she says in this tavern banter.

To wrap things up, this travel banter says that Castti struggles with depersonalization and dissociation, doesn't possess a single facet, and wants to work together with the other sides of herself. Wow. I don't know what I expected, but considering the fact that this travel banter is called "Another Self," I shouldn't be surprised. This entire travel banter makes Castti feel incredibly plural, especially when placed right next to Hikari who has the Shadow Hikari situation going on. I have a few issues with how the Shadow is portrayed in the game, but the point of the travel banter is that Castti reads as very plural here. When you combine that with her talking to herself regularly, recognizing the role of trauma in some amnesia, and stating she still has a few memory gaps now... You can see this theory start to find its footing in full.

Malaya, the Protector

Under my interpretation of Castti as being part of a plural system, Malaya is her headmate and a protector in their system. Malaya is trying to lead Castti to the truth, but she can only reveal information that Castti is already aware of. This is stated at the end of the reveal about the Healeaks incident in Castti's chapter three. The game seems to imply that Malaya is either a ghost or a figment of Castti's imagination, but I have issues with both of these ideas. The ghost proposal is implied through lines about how Malaya is "no longer in this world" and the final farewell to Eir's Apothecaries at the end of chapter four. However, why would a ghost version of Malaya have to conform to the rules of only telling Castti what she already knows? How would this happen in the first place? It feels rather bizarre in a game that doesn't treat contact with ghosts as being possible. Even when Temenos guides Crick's spirit in his chapter three in Stormhail, it doesn't feel literal. Instead, the bright blue of Crick's ghost feels symbolic, implying that the idea of life and death is largely intact and agreeable in universe compared to what we know in real life.

The figment of Castti's imagination makes a bit more sense, but I still feel the plural explanation fits far better. Malaya feels far too complex to simply be something Castti made up, and how would she have known enough to do that without her memories? In my mind, it goes like this: Castti was thoroughly traumatized by the events in Healeaks and couldn't remember immediately without completely shattering. The Malaya we see throughout the game is a headmate of Castti's who was created in the aftermath of the tragedy. The Malaya we see in present times acts far too complex for me to believe she's simply something Castti made up on the spot. Instead, I believe Malaya has her own autonomy and motives that pushed her to behave the way she did throughout the story. Members of systems have their own personalities and can make choices for themselves too. This feels much more in line with what we see of the present day Malaya in the game, and I believe this is because she is Castti's headmate.

In systems, there is a role known as protector. These are headmates who keep the system safe in the face of danger and trauma. Protectors are sometimes tasked with carrying painful memories so those who need to function on a daily basis are able to press on without risking being triggered into a flashback. I believe Malaya is a protector within Castti's system, and more specifically, she is an introject created by the Healeaks incident.

The Theory in Action: A Timeline

When the massacre of Healeaks took place, Castti was left massively traumatized. She was unable to save even a single life of the townspeople, instead watching as all of them died from symptoms she could not understand or resolve. There's an NPC in the ruins of Healeaks who says that he buried all of the bodies in the town and remarks on the horrors of the corpses in his Inquire text. The scene was beyond grotesque, and yet, it only got worse from there.

Castti saw every one of her allies fall after she went up to investigate Mount Liphia. Trousseau was waiting for her there and revealed his horrifying actions. He had betrayed Castti and the rest of Eir's Apothecaries and was joyous at the pain he was causing. This would have been traumatizing enough, but then it got worse. Andy and Randy sacrificed themselves to stop the flames of the Shadow's smoke, and Castti began to succumb to the poison as well. Malaya took her back down the mountain, and they found Elma dead and Jeyah losing strength fast. Malaya took Castti away from Healeaks and out to the New Delsta Anchorage where she dropped her off and sent her out to the sea. Malaya died soon afterwards, succumbing to the poison, and Castti was left to drift out of the range of the rain unconscious.

All of this was beyond traumatizing for obvious reasons. The mass death, the betrayal of someone she loved, losing her found family... It all happened within just a few hours. Castti's body was left struggling after this as well because of the poison Trousseau used. It was too much for her to bear both mentally and physically.

And that's where the Malaya of modern day comes in. She was not a ghost nor was she a figment of Castti's imagination. Instead, she was a headmate who appeared as a result of the Healeaks massacre. Malaya knew one thing above all else: Castti could not remember what just happened. Imagine what would have happened if Castti had awoken with her memories; she would have completely broken down, and no one could have blamed her. The events of Healeaks would have shattered her, and Malaya couldn't have that happen. She was created from the trauma of Healeaks, and she kept the truth secret from Castti while drip feeding her memories of the past as she grew ready for them.

In Canalbrine, Castti treated the people after their water was poisoned. Sesque remarked on how Malaya was the only apothecary around even though to Castti, Malaya was right there. Sesque didn't respond when Malaya tried to calm him down, and throughout the rest of the chapter, no one else said a word to Malaya. Even after Malaya helped Castti to remember the past, no one responded to her leaving behind a clearly distraught Castti in the heart of the town. Malaya flashed in and out of existence, seemingly as evidence of her being a ghost, but again, this doesn't make much sense with the rules established by the universe. If Malaya was a ghost, then why would she not try to tell Castti things only she knew and Castti wouldn't have? If Malaya was a figment of Castti's imagination, then how did she exist at all without Castti having any solid memories to pull from?

I think the explanation as to why Malaya didn't appear more consistently can be cleared up by the idea of Malaya having her own motives and autonomy. She was afraid of the truth and didn't know how she was supposed to reveal it to Castti. Of course she was terrified. She held the memories of a massacred Healeaks and knew she would have to reveal it to Castti one day if they were to stop Trousseau from killing the people of Timberain. Malaya was terrified of having to tell the truth. She deliberately kept from speaking to Castti openly for as long as she could because she was afraid. Malaya may have been there to lead Castti to the truth, but she had the room to be afraid on account of being a headmate with her own emotions and insecurities.

Castti kept up her habit of talking to people who weren't there even without Malaya there though. Perhaps she subconsciously knew there was someone for her to talk to, and that was why she kept doing it. Osvald commented on it in "Talking to Yourself", and Castti said she didn't remember because Malaya was keeping it a secret from her. Throughout all of this, Castti struggled with depersonalization and dissociation as is stated in "Another Self" even if that banter is much later in the game. Castti entertained the idea of trauma causing her amnesia in "A Good Apothecary" with Temenos in Winterbloom, not realizing just how accurate that was.

Castti's conversation with Malaya after her chapter twos is definitely a scene she is meant to have alone. Even if the other travelers are there, everything about it reads that she must be alone. The others would have noticed her talking to herself if they were there, and this is the same reason why there is no travel banter during the recollection sequences in Healeaks. Castti asks Malaya for answers, but Malaya remains stingy with the truth on account of her fear. She asks Castti to meet her in Healeaks.

At the end of Castti's chapter three, the truth comes out. Malaya is "no longer in this world" as Castti says, and Malaya drops her crucial line about how she can only reveal to Castti that which she already knew. The memories were always there; they had simply been repressed and hidden by the trauma of Healeaks. Malaya existed to Castti even before she got her memories back though, something that I don't think would have been possible for a simple figment of Castti's imagination. Malaya was afraid of the truth and hid it for as long as she could, and when the truth came out, she backed away.

Systems are meant to keep themselves hidden from the people who take care of most daily tasks. On many occasions, members of systems even speak to their headmates without realizing that's what they're doing, and then they go right back to not being aware because they don't recognize that is what is happening. Some have described it as talking to their inner child or guardian angel without realizing those were headmates. Castti spoke to Malaya here, but that did not necessarily mean she knew the truth. In fact, she still didn't know, and Malaya took a step away until their confrontation on the roof with Trousseau.

Malaya comes back to help Castti find the cure to the poison rain even after she seemingly faded away back at the harbor near New Delsta. This fading away didn't seem to mean much to Malaya, and she came right back. I believe that Castti imagined Malaya fading away as a matter of symbolism rather than actually witnessing it, especially since Malaya returned in Timberain. They came up with the cure together, and in the dream that followed, Castti put Eir's Apothecaries to sleep. Some see this as proof of the ghost theory, but in my mind, this could simply be symbolic or metaphorical as dreams often are. Later, Castti told Ori that Eir's Apothecaries had saved Timberain... And if you think about it, that could refer to her and the Malaya of modern day too. Even after all of this, Castti did not know the truth, and she brought up having depersonalization and dissociation issues in "Another Self" during the postgame. Malaya was her headmate, her protector, and the guardian of her memories all this time. She just didn't know it.

Housekeeping and Other Points

There are a few other points I wish to address before the conclusion, so here's a handful of final details about this theory I want to draw attention to. Castti recovering her memories happened quite often with Malaya guiding her through it. The few memories she found on her own without Malaya directly there were vague and lacking in key details, such as Trousseau's identity being hidden from Castti during her flashback in Sai. Malaya was the key to Castti understanding her past in full, and she needed to be there to guide Castti to the truth.

Beyond this, Castti is unable to remember anything unless Malaya specifically allows her to. Malaya vaguely instructed Castti to seek out the truth before she left in Canalbrine, and Castti later found her way to Sai and Winterbloom as Malaya wanted. Every memory Castti found was a direct consequence of Malaya allowing her to remember, something that is very reminiscent of system members keeping their memories hidden from others unless they explicitly permit the sharing of memories.

There is a common but incorrect belief that only childhood trauma causes plurality. This isn't exactly the case. There is a strong correlation with childhood trauma, but it is not necessarily causation. For an example of a system forming later in life, there is a case of a soldier going off to war and coming back plural due to the trauma when he never showed any symptoms and did not report plurality prior to his service. Castti's system could have definitely formed from the trauma of Healeaks.

Malaya meant a lot to Castti. During the flashback in Healeaks, Malaya says something about what snowdrops represent but cuts herself off. Another NPC in the flashback says they stand for loyalty. In the flower language seen outside the game, snowdrops represent rebirth and new beginnings, something fitting perfectly with the modern Malaya's relationship with Castti. It's not out of the question to believe Castti and Malaya were far closer than Castti was with any of the other apothecaries, and this is the reason Malaya specifically appeared to Castti.

Under the circumstances described in this theory, Malaya would classify as an introject. In systems, introjects are headmates that come from outside sources, including important people in the system's life. The Malaya we know was inspired by and based on the Malaya of Castti's memory. She is an introject who appeared to protect Castti and guide her back to her memories.

Conclusion

Throughout Octopath Traveler II, Castti is shown to exhibit many of the symptoms found in plural systems, and she reports on many of them herself. She struggles with feeling like one person, expresses a desire to reach out to the other sides of herself, talks to herself enough for it to be noticed by outsiders, grapples with amnesia even beyond the Healeaks tragedy, and faces dissociation issues on a regular basis. All of this is incredibly relatable to the plural experience and causes Castti to read as plural with Malaya acting as her headmate. The Malaya we know and the Malaya of the past are not the same; the former is Castti's protector who guides her to the truth of her memories following the tragedy of Healeaks. There is ample evidence throughout the game to point to this between travel banters, the rules of the universe, and the events of Castti's story.

Castti is a very important character to me personally because of her plural coding. I doubt it was intentional on the part of the writing team behind this fantastic game, but it hits very close to home for being accurate, empowering plural representation that doesn't position the system as the villain. Granted, this exists in the same game as "Shadow Hikari," a character that has been very prone to evil alter stereotypes within the fandom. Still, Castti is a representation of plurality that resonates so deeply because of her accuracy in portraying plural life, especially the plurality found in those who have not yet discovered their systems. Castti is the most plural character I've seen in any media in a long time, and she's the plural mascot of 2023 for me.

If you enjoyed this essay and analysis, I highly suggest you check out the one shots I linked at the top of this story. They explore my interpretations of Castti's plurality in a lot more detail through written prose rather than essay format. If you want to put a plural interpretation of Castti in your fan work, feel free to do so! In fact, tag us in it so we can check it out. Thank you for reading this far, and have a lovely night. To any systems seeing this: rock on. Plural gang forever.

#plurality #pluralgang #octopath traveler ii #octopath traveler 2 #castti florenz #malaya octopath #castti x malaya #octopath castti

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