#vees meta

[maespri]

maebea posting on main

man mae and bea nitw make me soooo. like i can barely put it into words man. and the game unveils it in such a wonderful way, especially if you do all of bea's hangouts. i think what gets me is just how much they conflict but also how easy it is to see both mae's side and bea's side.

like mae comes stumbling back into town some random october with no warning after being at college for two years. college, which was bea's dream- a dream she never got to have and never will get to have. and bea is bitter. and not only that, but she shows it to mae. she lets her know just how much it pisses her off. in the diner on her first day back, in the car after the party in the woods. she is literally dripping with jealousy and it's only made more prominent when juxtaposed against gregg and angus clearly not having any strong feelings about it/welcoming mae back with open arms. it kind of immediately makes you look at bea and wonder what her problem is—

but then the party in the woods happens. and mae's mental health literally became so twisted and unbearable that she forgot bea's mom is dead, and bea tells mae she would literally kick her out of her moving car if it meant she got to go to college, and she angrily asks a very drunk mae, what the hell happened to you?- "you used to be smart, you used to be worth talking to, what's wrong with you?!" and mae bursts into tears, and bea tells her to get the hell out of her car when they reach her house, but when mae can't, bea still helps her get into her own bed. she still calls her the nickname mae called her when they were children and wishes her goodnight.

you can tell bea is exhausted throughout the game. she's overworked and she misses her mom and her dad maybe isn't father of the year and overall her whole situation in life kind of just sucks. but what makes me love her so much is that she never lets that stop her from trying to understand, even if it's usually after the fact. like mae got drunk and forgot bea's mom was dead and had to literally be carried into her house and bea is the one who sends her a message the next morning saying she's sorry for what she said. in the dinner hangout, mae barges into bea's house and demands to know why she doesn't just quit her job when she's being mistreated. like mae doesn't understand her situation at all and still thinks she has a right to give her advice- but bea still responds to mae's admittedly rather half-assed apology over messenger that night. bea sends mae messages every day telling her to come talk to her at work. she talks about a show she's watching that she knows mae likes. she tries so so hard to understand and connect with mae, even when mae screws it up.

and i think it's easy for people to dislike mae in this game, but i think you also come to recognize her perspective so much more. she doesn't like seeing her friends being treated the wrong way, so even when she has no idea what it's like for bea, she tries to help. it backfires, but she tries.

what i think mae does for bea is really just. give her so many cluster headaches but also bring out a side of her that was totally buried.

mae, who stole from some hot topic knockoff and jacked up a fountain in a mall with bea just to make her laugh. who watched fireflies with her on the porch of a house at night. who put on the play for her at harfest, who dragged her along to go grave digging, who chased her across a city in proximity. i think mae brought her back some sense of the youth bea had stolen from her by all her troubles.

and i think if you do go down bea's route it makes the couch scene even more fulfilling, because bea finally gets to realize that mae didn't just drop out because college wasn't fun enough or because she got bored. she gets to find out what mae actually went through there. and she gets to tell mae that she'll be okay and that she's sorry for what she went through. bea gets to understand, and i think that full circle from "i would've killed to go to college, i can't believe you dropped out" to the entire couch scene just. makes it so much more beautiful. (which isn't to say gregg's route isn't beautiful- i could talk about gregg for ages, but that's a post for another time.)

anyway. i could go on and on but what i'm really trying to say is bea's route is so worth it man... many thoughts

[cillacantstudysosheshere]

I noticed some interesting symbolism.

You see how at the end of his musical number Angel worryingly wipes the "poison" that is dripping from his mouth right...?

Well, what do we see next..?

Yeah...Vox and Angel may not be that different when it comes to their relationship with Valentino

[cringefailvox]

the vees and alastor serve as nearly perfect parallels to each other re: reputation vs reality. alastor is TERRIFYING. people literally set themselves on fire to avoid him and zestial walking together on the street. charlie is openly wary of him in the pilot, he overthrew the most powerful players sinners had ever known in an unprecedented rise to notoriety that literally made him a bogeyman in hell. and YET. he's only really scary to people who only know of him or by his reputation alone. the people who actually know him personally treat him with 0 fear or reverence: husk backtalks him constantly, niffty crawls all over him, rosie swings him around like a doll, charlie curses at him and vaggie feels comfortable ordering him around the hotel (which he always acquiesces to!!) once he loses that mystique of his reputation, he seems to lose a lot of the gravity of the fear he inspires.

on the other hand, the vees are publicly very friendly and approachable figures, nearly celebrities. people rush to vox, sinners clamor to buy voxtek products and they run all sorts of ridiculous advertisements that make them seem down-to-earth and accessible to average sinners. but in the vees' personal lives, the people who work underneath them and know what they're like behind their reputations are terrified of them. angel cowers from val, vox's assistant quails away from him, velvette's models flinch from her scorn—they're deeply unpleasant behind the curtain, but everybody who doesn't know them trusts and adores them. alastor is a batesian mimic. the vees are a shiny veneer over a pit of rot. they're excellent mirrors

[sepublic]

That scene between Luz and Camila was. PERFECT. The way Camila calls out Luz ASAP, like NO you are sitting here and listening to how loved you are! And I’m also a big mess-up, the reveal she’s just like Luz! Luz recognizing that, Camila admitting she also failed and hurt a loved one in not defending her daughter... Camila said everything I wanted and needed to hear, me and Luz both!

AND THE WAY!!! The way she said she shouldn’t change Luz into something she’s not, and the poetry of Luz’s palisman able to change into anything because there ISN’T something it isn’t! And it’s particularly snake-like. It’s a shapeshifter, like Vee!!! Because Vee is also Camila’s daughter, who had to pretend to be someone she’s not, but then got to reveal it!

And now both daughters are free to assume different forms but under their OWN intentions!!! I LOVE THE NOCEDA FAMILY SO MUCH THEY MAKE ME MENTALLY ILL Y’ALL

[metalatias5]

Wi-Fi's down at the Vee Tower

Edit 24th October 2024: Added my current watermark

[starrytapes]

[candyskiez]

a thing I can't help but think about is how masha recognized vee almost immediately. like, they'd JUST started interacting

within the first few words vee said and the first few things she did, masha immediately started thinking "huh, she seems awfully familiar."

vee looks nothing like luz with her chosen human look. they're completely different.

and just from her kicking down the door with a little battle cry, going huah??? and how she talked in that little bit, they're already going "Have I met this person?"

really makes me think they really bonded at camp. only explanation for how immediate that recognition was and how uniquely vee it was.

they really, really know her. and considering how much vee wanted to belong somewhere?

I can only imagine how much that must mean to her.

[velvet-games]

I think I've said a couple times that seeing too much radiosilence angst made me want a fluffier qpr version, but tbh I still want all of the angst; it just needs to be framed as eventually leading to a happy ending.

alastor and vox hating each other is thematically inevitable. I am in love with the fake enemies trope; I tried playing around with that, but there is no universe where these characters are remotely close to canon and actually like each other lmao. I think it needs to be more "vox pretends he only hates alastor and alastor pretends he doesn't care about vox but they actually both understand that they really had something and destroyed it because of mutual differences." like, symbolically, it's old vs. new, right? and alastor is good because he values what worked in the past and cares about artistic integrity but bad because he refuses to see progress or accept change; vox is good because he's innovative and ambitious but bad because he's tacky and too profit-driven. that dynamic has way too much potential for us to skip the part where they grow to see the good side of each other's perspectives while keeping their own identities intact.

AUGH the angst would just be too good; vox and alastor kind of being on the same wavelength at first when they weren't too far apart era-wise, alastor not really taking his ambitions seriously and finding them entertaining, vox actually caring at first about making TV as a legitimate creative endeavor and them connecting over a love for entertainment ... but eventually vox gains power, he starts getting distracted by money and takes shortcuts, he stops creating almost completely because it's easier to make contracted souls do it instead. alastor's cute plaything (that maybe was actually interesting to talk to and had good ideas ...) becomes this tacky capitalist that he can't manipulate as easily, so he gets bored of him. vox is so happy when he finally becomes an overlord; alastor is gonna be so proud! only for him to realize that alastor never saw him that way. alastor never actually liked him, did he?

cue them getting mad at each other and starting a feud that is much more comical on the outside than it is privately. vox is still a little confused and very much in pain ... he knows his own flaws but his greed has too much of a hold on him to make him actually change for alastor (vox: I'll do anything! just tell me what to do, what to change, and I will. please just stay. alastor: would you give up your company? power? money? would you stay with *me*? vox: ...). alastor is disappointed and tries to make it seem like he really had no affection for vox, but those memories of drinking together on sunday nights, listening to how excited vox was about a new invention ... maybe, in the very back of his mind, he realizes he misses that. that he feels left behind.

[usedtobethelegendcreator]

Okay, Pinterest has irritated me, so here I go.

I keep seeing posts of people saying Alastor and Valentino are equally bad, and I’m here to say: yes, but actually no.

See, here’s the thing.

Valentino abuses his workers. He physically abuses Angel and acts like a pervert. He throws huge, violent tantrums when things don’t go his way—remember his hissy fit in “Radio Killed The Video Star”? Also…he licks up Charlie’s arm. Ew.

Valentino is a creep. So is Alastor. But Alastor is not the same kind of creep.

Here’s the thing with Alastor—we only see two of his underlings, Husk and Niffty. The other beings he summons seem to be his puppets. So, what did he force these two to do?

Husk is a bartender in a hotel now. Niffty didn’t even wait for orders, she just started cleaning everything.

Neither are being forced to have their bodies violated.

Hell, even in the pilot, people keep forgetting what Husk said. “You think you can buy me with a wink and some cheap booze? Well, you can!”

From what Husk says in the first episode, the worst parts of his new job are listening to the others “bitch and moan”. And, well, it’s working at a hotel with, at most, six other people in it. It’s not the end of the world.

And, if everyone stopped looking for ways to make the show even more traumatic…you’d see that, at least on-screen, the most Alastor did to Husk was threaten him.

That whole scene was strange in its own way. Husk warns Alastor that Mimzy means trouble. Alastor tells him to calm tf down, he’s got it handled. Husk brings up his absence. Alastor tells him, again, not to worry. Husk gets pissed off because Alastor rubbed his head like you would a cat, and says he isn’t a pet. Alastor says “But you are, haha!” Then Husk brings up the leash Alastor is on.

If Husk has been working for Alastor as long as people think he has, then he should probably know that disrespect is a big no-no. Like, he could have chosen to not bring that specific thing up. Alastor wasn’t pissed until Husk said that. And even then…what did he do, really?

Sure, he had that villain speech. He threatened to tear Husk’s soul apart if he ever said that again. He brought out Husk’s chain and pulled him to the floor. He went mid-demon for a split second. He pointed his microphone at Husk.

But, other than the chain, Husk wasn’t physically hurt.

Angel’s breakdown took a whole episode and two musical numbers. Husk was perfectly fine and eating popcorn in, at most, ten minutes.

Because, as Alastor said in the pilot, “If I wanted to hurt anyone here, I would have done so already.” Husk knows it’s an empty threat because he isn’t currently dead. His soul isn’t currently being torn apart. Yeah, he was shaking on the floor—but who wouldn’t when faced with that, no matter how safe you may or may not be?

So, yes. Alastor and Valentino are both horrible people. They’re both creeps. But, taking what we see on-screen…Alastor is a better Overlord, at least. Come on. Do you think Valentino would let his underlings put a crown of twigs and dead roaches on him?

And, as you all know, Alastor does have morals. No one knows what they are, but they’re there.

Side note: I feel like everyone’s forgetting what usually happens in a serial killer’s process. Yeah, Alastor did kill people, but he didn’t rape them before or after. So, he’s at least got the ‘not as much of a horrible person as you could have been’ award. And as for Hell…people are killing each other in Hell all the time. Duh. It’s Hell. Alastor is remarkable because he killed Overlords, not because he killed.

[snek-eyes]

Do you think Crowley is mean to Muriel? My gf says he is a little mean but tbh I don't see it. He wants everyone gone so he can have alone time with Aziraphale, and Muriel is not a friend. They're sweet and all, but they were happy to spy on Crowley and Aziraphale and rat them out to Heaven, and they adore the Metatron quite obviously. Muriel isn't evil, just incredibly naive and as caught in the manipulative system just like Aziraphale is, in a way, but they work for that system and they seem to do it happily. They did help Crowley in Heaven, but that doesn't make them friends especially since as I said Muriel is clearly pro Metatron or too naive to be against him. If I were Crowley, I'd want them gone as fast as possible, too 😅 And they don't get the hint the first time with Crowley talking about "us time" so he just gets a little more direct, but that's about as direct as he can get with Aziraphale, too, and as he is with Maggie and Nina, and it's never mean or rude, yk? Just grumpy, in his lovable way. That's how I always read it. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it 😁

* fogot to add: it's nothing personal, Muriel's just doing their job and Crowley knows it, they even helped him (more or less willingly) but they're still working for Heaven.

Hey there, really interesting question! or I'd say two questions: A) Is Crowley mean to Muriel, and B) is that justified?

imo, Crowley & Muriel can basically be summed up by this moment:

"Yay, bully for you." *turns away to go back to cursing heaven*

Crowley, well... he is mean to Muriel. But it's in the way you are when you recognize it's not the person's fault you personally find them annoying, and you don't want to actually make them feel bad. He knows! He knows it's not their fault they're such a neon sign of everything he hates about heaven, that they're so brainwashed and ignorant, and cheerful about it.

But the fact is, Crowley manipulates the heck out of Muriel! And he's downright disrespectful about it, doesn't ever bother to give them a good story, he just says confident nonsense, knowing Muriel has no choice but to take his word for it. He takes advantage of their naivete and uses them for his own ends. That's not exactly nice!

^ tell me that's not condescending as hell lmao

But on the other hand... Yeah, Muriel is a spy for heaven! Not only that, but they've been sent here knowing absolutely nothing about earth. Their very presence is an insult! Crowley and Aziraphale have been here for 6000 years, and heaven still thinks that just the baseline of 'being an angel' makes someone good enough to outmaneuver them? Rude af. So, it's not all that out of line for Crowley to give heaven the same level of respect they showed his side.

But that still leaves Muriel stuck in the middle, getting used by both sides.

I think Crowley is intentionally only seeing Muriel as a tool—one of Heaven, but one that he can use to their advantage. He doesn't want to be sympathetic to them—they are a danger, and Crowley's also got his personal issues around how he seems to have only let himself get attached to one other being.

Yet, there's this moment where he seems to sympathize with them, despite himself:

and another one, when Saraqael shows up and it seems like he's gotten Muriel in trouble, he starts to jump in to defend them. That seems kind.

"shh, don't say anything without a lawyer present."

That final bookshop scene is what you seem to be focusing on though, so let's get there.

Crowley has been hyped up on manic energy all night, all week really, and finally all of this is almost but not quite over, he just wants so badly to finally be alone with Aziraphale and re-establish their status quo. He barely has the patience to even be fake-polite to Muriel (especially now they're being bubbly about the Metatron, who's already on Crowley's shit list and just you wait buddy), he wants them to go away. Maybe it also isn't any fun to manipulate them anymore now he's sympathized with them that little bit.

The pretense is paper thin, but Muriel doesn't get it until he drops it entirely:

This is the first time Muriel's fully cottoned on to the fact that Crowley isn't being Nice anymore. And it's possible Crowley feels bad about it, because when Muriel still tries to stay in the bookshop, he gets dramatic about it, but still reigns himself back in for his next attempt.

The really interesting moment comes when Muriel actually asks for something. Asks to take an earth thing with them, asks to learn. That finally gets Crowley's attention, it's the first time he looks away from the window (Aziraphale) for a reason that isn't telling Muriel to shoo. Long enough to not only look at them properly, but give them enough personal thought that he recommends them a book.

Listen, I love Crowley, but he's kind of an asshole! He's impatient and condescending and manipulative... and yet, when it comes down to it, he cares. All of that can be true.

[maespri]

mystic messenger posting in 2024... we are so back

jaehee kang thought dump under the cut... nobody can stop me...

i recently decided to replay jaehee's route due to a friend (i first played this game in early 2020) and i'm actually ill over her route. i've played literally every route and i don't think any of them make me feel quite as strongly as jaehee's.

and i can't quite pinpoint why... i think part of it might actually be because of the lack of romance? like. don't get me wrong i love jaehee and i do wish romancing her was an option. but i feel like taking away that option made it so much more... potent, somehow... less like you're "fixing her" and "fixing her life" (which is. unfortunately kind of how i feel about some other routes) and more just like. opening her eyes to the life she deserves. and it's not even just you doing it this time- all of the RFA members come together to support her (except jumin but he's evil in her route wbk), and it feels like such a breath of fresh air.

lee basil pointed something out in a video essay i watched recently (incredible video btw) which went into yoosung's route. they pointed out that the characters really change depending on whose route you're playing and not necessarily always in a good way. but in jaehee's route, i think the characterization is really perfect.

like the amount of emotional intelligence and kindness each character has is so strong and just makes me So Happy, especially compared to yoosung's route. Actually, on the topic of that- i wasn't going to go into how jaehee acts in his route but now i want to because. WTF. no hate to yoosung at all- i love him and his route- but why are the characters so... Dumb...? sometimes? You're telling me when someone (can't remember who sorry but trust me) is like "yoosung is probably addicted to games and lost his passion for school because he's grieving rika," jaehee's response is something like, "no way... i had no idea..."

cheritz, look at me. she would Not fucking say that. if any of these characters have the strongest grasp on what it's like to grieve someone, it would be jaehee?

anyway. back to her route. can i talk about how much more it hits now that i'm no longer thirteen/fourteen years old playing it. like she's touching on capitalism and the loss of her happiness and passion because of it. she's touching on how grief still impacts her life. she's touching on how the support of the people around her is all she needs to keep going during these Trying Times of the Unfortunate Reign of Jumin Han and the Cat Hotel Project. she talks about her rough upbringing and how she felt like she was only worthy of other's company and support if she was working and making something of herself. and it feels really great to be able to go in there and be like, Hey. You're still worthy of a lot even if you aren't overworking yourself. You deserve better than this, and not just that, you can have better than this. like. really serves as a reminder to Myself that the same still applies to Me.

and she isn't met with criticism for beginning to develop that sentiment thanks to the support of MC- in fact, everyone around her is literally begging jaehee to FREE HERSELF! i just love the community that her route builds up and how sweet it is. i love being able to watch her sort through her feelings and break out of that mindset of "i'm not worth anything if i'm not doing something."

and the fact that she develops that mindset because of the way she was raised... losing her parents, moving in with her relatives who treated her poorly, who wanted her to get a job straight after high school. but jaehee didn't want to be a disappointment. she went through college, she worked hard, she got a stable job with a great salary. she's such a hard worker that jumin hardly considers her human- which is awful. but definitely showcases how incredible she is.

but she doesn't even blame her relatives or anyone else for the fact that her life is the way it is and that is also monumental to me? like her relatives were actively going against everything she wanted to do, but when jaehee talks about them, she's like, "i think they did the best they could, and i'm very grateful they took me in." that's amazing. she internalizes everything she feels and doesn't push blame onto anyone but herself, and while that's not always a good trait to have, i think it really does show how like. intrinsically motivated she is as a person to do the best she can, all the time.

also, don't even get me staaaarted on the fact that she cares about jumin so much even though he treats her absolutely awful. she feels bad for him for the amount of work he has in her route. she empathizes with him more than he ever does with her. if i were her i would probably go to jumin's penthouse and hit everything with a metal bat. she's stronger than me.

anyway, in all seriousness... i'm glad she gets her happy ending leaving her terrible job behind and actually getting to do something she's passionate about. i think her passion for coffee is adorable and the fact that that passion literally becomes her Life in her good ending? it's adorable.

a popular complaint i see regarding jaehee's route is that it feels more like zen getting jaehee's route LMFAO. but. i personally think that the friendship she builds up with zen over the course of her route is so beautiful. if you play from the prologue to the end he literally goes from not recognizing her in a photo seven sends to buying her a present and telling her that he's going to make it a life goal of his to continue supporting her in all of her dreams. he goes from thinking things are kind of awkward with her to buying her a present and getting lunch with her.

and i also think that's really beautiful for jaehee, getting to hang out with someone who inspires her and whom she admires so much. in fact, i'd argue that it makes even more sense for zen to be such a central part of her route because... he basically planted the seeds for inspiration and joy in jaehee? long before MC ever came around. he just didn't realize he could do so much for her until MC does come around. i think it's also great that jaehee gets that support from the guy who is basically her idol, because it makes it so that it means that much more to her.

like idk there's something poetic about jaehee saying that zen (referring to his acting and musicals etc) is the only thing that brings her happiness, and then actually finding happiness outside of zen because he encourages her to do so by supporting her. You know what i mean? is the parallel paralleling. maybe i'm just in my own echo chamber WHATEVER my point stands. i love jaehee and zen i think they're best friends.

phewww anyway. that's the whole post that's all. i love jaehee kang

[v-arbellanaris]

hmmmm some attempts to think abt the qun in the cut below - leaving it unrb because im just workshopping...

i think one of the main ways to create some depth/nuance/reworking of core concepts in the qun will be through the fact that most qunari do not speak common - they speak in qunlat. most qunari are vashoth, and the teachings of the qun are in qunlat, and so maybe a lot of the theological concepts don't translate linguistically to the common tongue because there's no equivalent concept...

on top of that, i also think it's worth it to point out that for most andrastians (like with christianity) an in-depth knowledge of theology is not needed to practice - memorising the chant and reciting it is usually the role of chanters and the chantry itself (hence the expansionism), and the central tenets of andrastianism are mostly related to the usage of magic and the governance of mages, and the exclusive worship of the maker. belief in the maker and in andraste are sufficient to qualify as an andrastian. but for the qun, it seems quite the opposite, that an understanding of the theological concepts is needed to practice, as the qun is a way of life/way of thinking or being, rather than just a religious practice...

ok. anyway. some thoughts around the central theological concept of asit tal-eb:

When the Ashkaari looked upon the destruction wrought by locusts, He saw at last the order in the world. A plague must cause suffering for as long as it endures, Earthquakes must shatter the land. They are bound by their being. Asit tal-eb. It is to be. For the world and the self are one. Existence is a choice. A self of suffering, brings only suffering to the world. It is a choice, and we can refuse it. —An excerpt from The Qun, Canto 4

this is commonly interpreted as the idea that everything and everyone in the world has a nature, and all these things come together to form a proper order. the way this manifests, in-world: karasten are soldiers, as decided by the qun. they can never vary from that assigned path, never be other than they are meant to be (as per the arishok's statements in da2).

this concept is used narratively to construct key ideas around societal control/dictatorial control. it's purported, often, that qunari do not have a choice - women cannot be soldiers (which is supposed to show that andrastianism promotes gender equality, i suppose, even though andrastianism also argues men should be soldiers (rather than leaders)...?), soldiers cannot be anything else, and all societal roles are predetermined at birth by tamassrans.

but this simply isn't true even within the context of the story. we actually see this with sten - sten is of the beresaad, which is an arm of the antaam - part of the military "body" of the qun. theoretically, sten should not have been sent to investigate any questions at all - that would have been the purview of the ben-hassrath - as he is an infantry platoon commander. and, in fact, sten becomes the arishok, after the arishok is either exiled or killed in da2 - the new arishok was not raised from birth to be the arishok. the arishok we know in da2 was previously a kithshok who was then 'promoted' (i use the term loosely) to the arishok - there is no suggestion of a role in the qun that trains anyone to be the arishok, like rasaan is for the ariqun. the iron bull was initially ashkaari - a kind of philosopher - and fulfilled duties related to caring for children (a role 'typically' described as a 'female' role for tamassrans). his story explicitly states that his tamassran felt that he was unsuited for the role of a soldier, and suggested him for the ben-hassrath. tallis from da2 goes from ben-hassrath to athlok - from a spy to a labourer. so, in actuality, despite the consistent presentations otherwise textually, in actuality, there is variation and change in societal roles in the qun.

so... how can we explain the many, many instances of where qunari simply don't seem to understand or grasp this idea of change or choice? it might be more helpful to revisit the concept of asit tal-eb - what if we think about it or conceptualise it more as... nature is. what happens is destined to happen. what does not happen is not destined to happen. by believing we have a choice or some level of control over our decisions, we believe things could be different - resisting the idea that nature is - which is the root of suffering. the conflict between the 'self' (which wants to decide) and nature (which is). the only "choice" that matters, then, is the choice to submit to fate itself, to accept that your destiny is preordained.

we could extend this further to societal roles in the qun: you want to be part of the antaam, but the tamassrans decide you are better suited for the ben-hassrath. rather than become angry and discontent and suffer the disappointment of not getting what you wanted, what you thought you could be, the qun would encourage you to view the role you have as something you were always destined to become. work as part of the antaam, but find the front lines are not for you? come back to the ben-hassrath for re-education, where they teach you to learn to accept that the experience was a necessary step to get to where you were always meant to be, rather than keep the trauma of the frontlines with you.

so, linguistically, then, maybe it's not that "women can't be soldiers", but more specifically, that the thedosian social gender role of "women" - as educators of the young, marriage arrangements/negotiators (e.g. leandra trying to find a partner for hawke in da2, eleanor doing the same for cousland in dao), caretakers/emotional labour of the household, and members of the priesthood (which in andrastianism IS exclusive to women!!!) is a role often given to tamassrans in the qun (which can be either men or women in gender under the qun - bull himself seems to have played a role more like a tamassran before he was assigned to the ben-hassrath for example!!). if the social equivalent of 'woman' in andrastianism is 'tamassran' under the qun, the confusion then comes from why 'women' (= tamassran) are taking on the roles of the antaam (= military combat). it's not that women can't be soldiers - it's tamassrans are not part of the antaam. why are you not just part of the antaam, why are you trying (and failing) to be a tamassran? or, why are you not just a tamassran but also trying to be part of the antaam? doesn't trying to be something that you are not cause you grief and suffering?

these are just some of my starting thoughts - i think i've got a few more things i wanna write up about the role of the ben-hassrath and the antaam, the tevinter-qunari war, aspects of qunari culture, the role of magic/mages in the qun, gender, and the concept of "the demands of the qun" but this post is dragging on already so i'm gonna make a few more posts over the next few days i guess. i'd love anyone's thoughts on this so far tho T_T

[that-ari-blogger]

Reflections? (Yesterday's Lie)

The term “holding up a mirror” usually applies to confronting someone with their own actions and pointing out their flaws. Stories like to do this through foils that share enough characteristics to annoy each other, or villains and heroes that are either the best or worst version of each other. It’s a really neat piece of storytelling.

Yesterday’s Lie is this idea in its most blatant form. Luz literally looks into a mirror and argues with her reflection. Its straightforward and simple.

Except this is The Owl House, it’s not capable of playing anything straight.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD: (The Owl House, Dead Poet Society, Billy Elliot, Gravity Falls)

One of The Owl House’s core thematic is individuality and the joy of complexity. It is a story about taking life as it is and not putting unfair constraints on it.

This is why the show is so tropey and so averse to tropes at the same time. It makes a beeline for the closest stock structure and then thoroughly dissects and subverts it. It’s a satire, a hunter of cliches.

As a way of hammering that home, everything in the series is introduced twice. Whenever any plot beat or location is revealed, you get a first pass and a shallow look at that thing, and you get an obvious trope that this first appearance fits into, then you spend time with the thing, and you start to understand just how much that first impression was deceiving. This happens to everything, even the show itself.

The series opens with the famous “eat this sucka!” line and a fantasy witch story, priming you to expect generic fantasy, but you are then met with The Owl House, which is anything but.

Hey look, a conspicuously hidden character from a family photo. This is foreshadowing for a later episode. But if you think about it, this filmmaking technique is weird, right? Telling you something is important by now showing you it at all. I don't have anywhere I'm going with this, it's just something quirky about cinematography.

This also happens to the characters, and I go into more detail about it in my post about the first episode, so take a look at that if it interests you. But there was one notable exception to the rule. Camila Noceda.

When we first see Camila, she is the distant parent, the stock character in a million coming of age stories. She doesn’t really get her child and is sending them off to a place to make them more “normal”. It's going to be a difficult relationship, and the parent won’t get more depth beyond this.

She fits in with Niel’s parents in Dead Poet Society and Jackie from Billy Elliot. Stern, and antagonistic as a result of the theming. Like I said, the story is about how people can’t be defined, and here is a character who wants to box in the protagonist.

Notably, Dead Poet Society ends with the death of Niel as a direct result of the parental strictness, which isn’t a good sign for how this might turn out.

Then Luz runs away, and we don’t get to see anything beyond the stereotype for a season and a half. We instead get Luz feeling guilty and confronting her fears of betraying her mother through a monster that pretends to be that fear. We still don’t meet Camila.

Until we do, and things are immediately different.

The Camila Noceda from season one was refined and busy. She had a uniform on, and her hair up in a tight bun. It’s a refined image that looks down on you with distain. Now, however, she has let her hair down and wears more casual clothes over that uniform, she’s practical but laid back. She’s had things added to her instead of taken away.

It's also notable that the first thing she does in this episode is help a wounded creature. Camila’s second introduction is one of fundamental kindness.

Meanwhile, Vee is Luz’s reflection, except no she isn’t at all. She is the polar opposite of Luz. She wants mundanity rather than adventure, she wants a new life rather than both lives at once, she actively disguises herself rather than seeking to be understood. Vee is only Luz in appearance. Case and point:

Luz - "Cool, talking rats. Maybe they know something." Vee - "(Screams and runs away)"

Camila is aware that something is up, but she’s not used to the magical world that we are, so she assumes that Luz has changed, and she is concerned that the summer camp thing has worked too well.

Vee also gets the multiple introductions. A few episodes ago, she was shown as a shadowy figure who had replaced Luz like a changeling and the filmmaking heavily implied a Machiavellian air to the character. The musical sting, the shot composition and build up, this was a villain.

Then we meet her and she’s a wus. She’s cowardly, and meek, and I love her so much. Except once again, not exactly.

But that leads into the plot of this episode, because this isn’t about Luz, it's about the world she left behind. Luz is secondary in this story, filling the role of a mentour until the very end. It’s another mention of how Luz operates as a character, inspiring people as a light for them to follow, (Light, do not faulter) but it's also not the point.

Vee needs to learn to be herself and that she has found people who will love her not just in spite of it, but because of it, and Camila needs… well she needs to show off her compassion, but she also needs to confront the fact that she directly caused this entire adventure.

“You and I are not the same. You had a mom who loved you, a home, a life, you had it good! And you still wanted to run away, I didn't have a choice. My real name is Number Five. I'm a Basilisk, and technically, I shouldn't exist.”

Something that blew my mind more than it probably should have here is that Vee’s name comes from the Roman numeral for five, that being V. This might be obvious or obscure, but it is something my brain fixated on, and y’all must know.

This is worldbuilding for Belos as well, and we’re really dropping the subtlety with this episode. Belos is a man who desires to eradicate an entire people because they are not like him, a man who experiments on people because they have something he doesn’t and it doesn’t occur to him that their lives have value, a man who assigns numbers instead of names to people whom he plans to exterminate.

Compare Belos to Bill Cypher. Bill was otherworldly and eldritch, an unknowable evil. Belos is the type of villain whom real world history has known, and people who are still alive today will recognise.

Belos is his own person, sure, but he’s also fascistic eugenicist who thinks he’s G-d because of something he was born with and decided entitled him to everything. Belos is Evil.

The fact that Belos is experimenting on the Basilisks with the hope of learning to drain magic seems like an throw away detail. It doesn't come up again in this episode, but if you've seen the series in full, you know why this is important.

But he’s also mundane, and pointedly so. The thing that caused Belos to get this bad was such a simple thing, wilful ignorance. I’ll get into it more specifically when I cover Elsewhere and Elsewhen and Hollow Mind, but suffice to say this:

Belos ignored so many obvious things in his life because he didn’t want to contradict a worldview that put him on top, and he kept doing it and kept going and going and going until he doesn’t have to try. People aren’t people to Belos.

Which leads me back to what I was saying about character introductions, funnily enough. This is a story about teaching Luz and the audience to look past tropes and preconceptions to see people as complex. Belos cannot do this, and that is directly what causes his villainy.

Belos ain’t even directly in this episode and he’s got me livid.

Still think Warden Wrath is just a quirky little goober? Also, the Basilisks were brought back from extinction. Like in Jurassic Park. Belos is playing G-d.

This does kind of reframe Michaela Dietz’s performance as Vee though, doesn’t it. She goes from jumpy to traumatized. She’s a survivor and a child at the same time. Of course she’s like this, who wouldn’t be?

This is a character whose voice acting and line writing come across as dissonantly weighty. Like this character has seen more shit than she should have at her age, because she has.

I seriously cannot praise Michaela Dietz enough here.

Also, the point at Luz is a point well made. Luz ran away without thinking things through and without the consequences occurring to her. She took what she had for granted, and Vee rightfully calls her out for it.

Jacob is Belos wanna be. He’s a conspiracy theorist but in a really interesting way.

He gets introduced twice, but in reverse order. His traps and cameras are shown first, then he is introduced and he’s just a normal guy, then it is revealed who he really is. Like I said, this happens to everyone in the series.

However, there are a few ways you can run a conspiracy theorist in a story. Maybe he’s wrong and the magical world doesn’t exist and he’s just seeing patterns where there are none. But this is The Owl House, that doesn’t apply here.

Alternatively, Jacob could be right about everything and find his way into the Boiling Isles. Needless to say, this doesn’t happen.

This shot bounces between Vee's and Jacob's perspective, but always with the cage in front of them. As if they are both trapped by their own minds.

Instead, Jacob is actually wilfully ignorant. He’s the “we have Belos at home” of this story and is just what Vee needs to confront. He’s got something in his mind that he believes beyond all evidence, and when something is shown that would challenge his worldview, instead of adapting, incorporates it on a surface level without taking the time to understand what it actually is.

Jacob believes in aliens from Mars, and he is so fixated on his discovery that he doesn’t stop to ask if it actually proves him correct. Instead, he assumes mal intent because the creature isn’t like him, and therefore the creature must surrender all privileges. Most notably freedom.

Jacob is small, and petty, and definitely not as megalomaniacal as Belos. But I ask you this, if he got into the Demon Realm, what would he do?

Enter Camila, who is a direct contrast to Jacob specifically. She is shown information that rocks her worldview, and what does she do? She changes her worldview. Mostly.

There is magic. Ok. This is not Luz. Ok. This creature must die. Hold up.

Camila actually keeps most of her ethics identical. She will not witness injustice and she will never be unkind. She’s a vet, she treats everything with compassion no matter what species.

She gets two lines in short succession to really exemplify this.

“Hello, this is all so confusing, but who knew I had such a strong girl living under my roof this whole time”

It’s affirming and reassuring. Compassion first and foremost.

“I’m the good guy here!” “Yeah. A lot of bad guys say that.”

Essentially, screw your god complex, I will not be told what to think. I have learned, and I reject the wilful ignorance you stand for. It’s also just a killer one liner and it sounds cool.

Even the lighting knows what's up. Camilla is lit from above, like an avenging angel looking down on Jacob's small minded ignorance.

On the other hand, I said “most” in reference to Camila’s changing ethics, and I meant it. Camila starts the story trying to box Luz in, because she thinks it will make her life easier and safer. But she gets shown here that she was wrong in at least half of that. Luz cannot stop being herself, nobody can, so Camila needs to stop expecting people to fit with society’s preconceptions.

Camila gets more background later on in the series, and I will talk about it when I get there, but she learns, and she is willing to change. That’s the important thing.

Speaking of which, I drew comparison to Jackie from Billy Elliot and I know at least one person will get really upset by that. And let's explain why.

Jackie isn't the trope I mentioned either. One main theme of Billy Elliot is the price of freedom, and Jackie spends the first part of the film seeking personal freedom because he thinks that will trickle down to his son. But he doesn't realise that doing that is directly causing his child to be miserable.

I studied this film in high school and I have it drilled into my brain that the sartorial design of this scene reflects Jackie's sacrifice. Usually, he contrasts with his environment. But now, as he breaks down and returns to the mine, he is one with it in colour scheme resigned to be nothing more than a cog in the machine.

So, in the best scene in the movie, Jackie breaks down and sacrifices his own freedom to pay for his son's dream. Its heart wrenching, and its similar to Camila. Both of them start off disapproving and boxing their children in and learn to be better.

These people are similar, that's why the series introduced Camila using the trope, but they both split from it, and they are both their own person. Everyone is an individual.

That final scene is painfully well written. You know exactly why Camila and Luz would say what they say, why they would miscommunicate, and what is holding them back. Who is right here? I would argue both of them.

Camila looks at a place called “the demon realm” and, as a mother, assumes the worst. She wants nothing but the safety of her children, and she hasn’t been shown anything that dissuades that. Instead, you get Luz saying this:

“Staying here was the best decision I ever made.”

Of course Camila would take this the wrong way, of course this would go so badly for Luz. But it also goes badly for Camila, who now has to reconcile the fact that, despite everything else, Luz made the decision to stay in a more dangerous place because it understood her better than her home. That’s a difficult thing to hear for a mother, but it's something to reflect on.

Meanwhile, Luz now has tried her best to be understood by the person she wants to connect with the most, and she has failed due to her own inability to communicate. The series is creating a conflict and creating a duality, Luz must choose at the end whether to stay in the Demon Realm or go to the Human World. Its an impossible decision planted really well, and in my opinion, it will pay off incredibly.

I think there's some symbolism here, but I just can't quite figure it out.

Final Thoughts

I feel the need to remind y’all that this was on Disney, apparently aimed at kids seven years and older. Don’t get me wrong, kids are more intelligent than people give them credit for and can understand complex themes really well, even if they don’t have the skills to articulate that. But there are some things in this episode alone that feel aimed at an older audience.

Maybe that’s why Tumblr likes this series so much. It’s the type of story that appeals to people of any age, but can be understood by someone very young, and can act as role models for kids growing up.

The reason I say this, is that when I looked up the age rating of The Owl House, I did find a review that made me laugh:

One star, 18+ “There’s kissing which is ew”

Next week, I’ll be covering Follies at the Coven Day Parade, which explores the theme of duality, but also gives Kikimora complexity, something I was not prepared for at all. So, stick around if that interests you.

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[sepublic]

            Given the underlying theme of “Kids shouldn’t be handling serious conflicts, it should be the adults”, it’s neat that the show manages to accomplish this ideal with Vee in Season 3. Her trauma is respected and Vee isn’t obligated by anyone to go on an adventure to save the day, she helps if she wants to and feels comfortable. Vee has to reassure the others that she’s willing to potentially confront Jacob, and later that night, when Belos attacks? Vee steps in to help, and… is immediately almost killed for it, until Amity saves her. And remains out of the fight until it’s resolved.

         So when it’s time for our heroes to head to the Boiling Isles and stop Belos, Vee decides Nope she’s not cut out for this, she’s no fighter; She wants to skip out, and is allowed to! It isn’t framed as some sort of moral responsibility that Vee is running from, it’s a legitimately dangerous burden involving the man who abused, hunted down, and almost murdered Vee; It’s a lot to ask of anyone, much less a child. Vee says she isn’t ready, and there’s no dilemma, it’s purely viewed as a decision she makes for her own sake, and the story doesn’t bother trying to interrogate her ‘morality’, doesn’t even consider Vee is being ‘selfish’, and of course Camila will encourage and support that!

         Sure, Vee does try to justify how she can still be of use keeping up appearances back home, but the first question is if Vee is comfortable, and then if there’s anything else she can help with. It’s also fulfilling how an adult, Vee’s own mother Camila, is the one to ask her about this, accept her answer, and show love and appreciation to Vee for what she chooses before leaving. Obviously kids are going to be fighting evil because of meta reasons, stories are driven by conflict and the messages they espouse are often an ideal they must struggle towards, but it’s nice to see that for Vee, a side character, she’s managed to win this for herself. After plenty of trauma and the harrowing experiences of Yesterday’s Lie, Vee’s just living her life in S3.

        Vee’s allowed to prioritize her comfort and pursue what she wants, instead of being held up to the ‘greater good’. I think that contributes to TOH’s juxtaposition of self-care being good actually, especially in opposition to the self-punishing Puritan ideology that insists people live in a default, guilty state of sin, and must constantly atone for that by devoting themselves to a higher purpose, often the collective. Philip refers to it as the ‘greater good’, but we also know it by another name, with just one O.

[1bridgeyboo]

Happy (late) Pride Month!

[morningsofgold]

I 100% know Valentino believes he is an ~artist~.

It doesn't matter that his scripts are slapped together by demons working 20 hour days, it doesn't matter that he's pushing out so many films that quality is an afterthought, it doesn't matter that he's terrorizing his talent and running the lighting and makeup crew ragged, he is an ~auteur~, he is a ~visionary~, and he will dismember anyone who questions the quality of his work.