tbh Muriel deserves a better masquerade costume than this~~
I- I can’t… This is the Saddest Bear I have ever seen, and I don’t mean sad because it’s not a fancy costume. HE JUST LOOKS SO FUCKING SAD. And yes of course it’s because of the shape of the mask and the way it frames his face that creates the expression, but also of course that’s 1000% intentional, and I can’t get over it. HERE’S WHY:
What we learn about Muriel makes this even worse better in context. We know he whittles and does woodwork as a “hobby” so U KNO he made this mask himself – imagine him sitting on his tiny stool by the fire and painstakingly carving himself a disguise, daring to make it in the shape of his favorite animal. And from his and Lucio’s Tales, we know that bears are one of the symbols of Muriel’s culture, as is the design on the mask’s face which recalls the design on the green blanket that was all he had remaining of his family. For such a shy guy, everything about his “mask” is deeply personal. In fact, every symbol (smells, designs, animals, flowers, colors) of the home he claims to have mostly forgotten has become closely tied to his identity.
Then we have the image of a sad bear with a chain hanging from its throat, which to me suggests the terrible (and thankfully dead-ish) tradition of bear-baiting. These poor animals were mostly taken as cubs, chained, then later forced to fight to the death in pits for entertainment.
….Oh, yeah…. W O W.
(don’t even get me started on Muriel’s Gladiator design meta and Implications!)
Slow clap for the layered design work that appeared for like ONE SCENE, devs. Y’all got me ‘pressed: IMpressed and DEpressed. Keep up the good work.
