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She is a bad paintress and can't recreate Lumière like it was, we see in the ending the "randoms" don't wear any color I suppose it's a deliberate art decision showing her skills.
Still she stay in this ♥♥♥♥♥ world where she kind of control this new verso.
From the begenin she joined this world she was happy to retrieve a normal body, she was just making excuses with her mission from Clea. From the start she saw the painting as a way to flee her real life.
Then in Maelle' life she became addicted
If any of us had a choice:
- live in the real world, but your face is seriously disfigured, you have no voice and are a mute, you will probably never find love, have a family etc because no one will be able to fall in love with you (let's be real)
- live in an artificial world where the people inside are still "real" and you are basically a god with magic (quasi divine) powers, you look pretty, are healthy and you can have a normal live surrounded by friends and people that care about you and maybe you will even find love (I DO wonder if Maelle could get pregnant in the canvas world... probably?)
My guess is a majority would choose the latter. I would certainly choose the latter. EVEN if it killed me eventually and shortened my life.
What is better?
Living 60-70+ more years in pain, disfigured, lonely
Living, let's say 20 years, to the fullest
I'd choose the latter.
Now Maelle in her ending does have serious issues of course, because she repainted Verso contrary to his explicit wishes and abused her power. But her original decision, to stay... is absolutely understandable, relatable and no sign of being actually addicted.
Why WOULD she want to return to her world? What is waiting for her there? A dysfunctional family. Nothing else. Loneliness is ahead of her.
Maelle simply wants to live her life. It may not be her true life, but it certainly feels like a valid one.
Denial is a powerful drug though, but I wouldn't call it addiction.
Well you are rehashing what ive said a bunch of times before, but yes. Its hard to argue she is addicted. Maybe that would be the case if she really did stay in there for a long time post resolution of the story, but atleast nothing up to the very end actually suggests that.
With the topic of addiction it doesn't even matter if the world is real or not either.
People can get addicted to regular real world activities too. It doesnt have to be something that is a delusion or fake.
We know the reason she went inside of the Canvas, and it was not related to addiction.
In her life as Maelle she wasnt fully self-ware, atleast not to the extent that she was aware of her true self. So that was not related to addiction either.
Then once she awakens she still has to deal with her grief over Gustave (funny how the people that love to talk about Grief being the big theme for this game, keep forgetting about her grieving over him), and its at this point where you can first say she has issues with grief just like Aline. But that's still not an addiction.
At that point she fights to restore Gustave, and prevent the people in the Canvas from being destroyed. None of that is related to an addiction. To me it doesn't even make sense to claim that.
And not only is it not an addiction, there is also the question of what it is, then, to Alicia who is now awakened. Is it a negative experience in a different way from addiction, and is it even a negative experience at all?
Before she went into the Canvas she was withdrawn, couldnt speak and was horribly burned. Renoir described her as being ''a living ghost''. Clea described her as ''useless'', and wanted her to do something of use (presumably to spur her into doing things again). From her inner dialogue we can tell she has some guilt over what happened. Hard to say how much, tho. We know Clea has to push her to go into the Canvas, its not something she did on her own initiative. Otherwise we have to infer the rest since there's barely any dialogue and we don't see the daily life of the family.
Depression, fear of trusting, loss of trust in herself, guilt of causing Verso's death. Maybe shame towards the family. Whatever exactly might be the reasons (probably most, if not all of these), from what we see can infer that she isn't living a life anymore. Hence why Renoir and Clea's comments.
Cut back to her life in the Canvas. As Maelle she didnt feel at home in Lumiere and was passed around between families. But found family in Gustave. (and I assume Emma, however that has to be inferred too as she doesnt have any scene with her)
She is also very pro-active, going on the expedition despite being able to stay in Lumiere for another 9 years and engaging Gustave in conversation and action. So she shows a lot of initiative.
Not exactly a great life, but we can see her interacting extremely lively with Gustave.
Not at all like a ''living ghost'' or the glimpse of what we see of her in the intermission in the outside world.
Then during the story after the expedition departs we see her continuing to be lively, albeit at a low at first since she is griefing over Gustave. Then once she awakens we can see her go fully lively again, and also taking initiative in moving the party forward. At that point she is the core of the party, its leader.
She is now actively fighting to save the Canvas and the people lost, and during Act 3 takes actions on her own to change the course of the story.
Now, with that in mind. Would you say all of this reflects a positive or a negative development for her as a person?
(Ofcourse, after this we get the ending sequence where agency is taken out of her hands by giving the player the option to choose to control Verso (Writers's choice? heh))
Personally I think the people that consider this an addiction are projecting and wanting it to be true and tied to escapism. (which is pushed by the story in the ending sequence, but it feels extremely forced to me)
Regardless, the ending sequence, Act 3 and some of Act 2 really dropped the ball.
Previously I considered this game one of the best I have ever played, but with how they managed to fail the story so badly, I can't say that anymore.
Maybe I'm biased since these kinds of stories (another layer of world) are my favorite and I have experienced many of them. So for me its pretty naturally to see how the story could have been done better. I guess 15-20 years ago I probably wouldnt have been quite this harsh about the story and endings. (and also not if the rest of the game hadn't been so good, raising my expectations and making me use my higher set of standards that I normally rarely use for critique)
People having ♥♥♥♥♥♥ lives using things to cope with that is a pretty common way to get addicted to something. Their ♥♥♥♥♥♥ life doesn't make that not an addiction.
Her addiction is very likely going to kill her too. People don't usually die of overdosing on something they're not addicted to. Addicts do pretty regularly though.
Think you misunderstood it, she was caught up in Aline's chroma while entering the Canvas, she paniced and got caught up in it, she lived to be Maelle, born in the Canvas, knows the Canvas to be the world. She had to live a life in the Canvas as Maelle, hence her remembering two different childhoods, when the truth is presented/remembered, you see it in her eyes in the defeat of the Paintress, and you have the fake eplilogue chapter.
She never implied she would control the Verso in the "play as Maelle ending". The very jumpscare to me means that yep, ♥♥♥♥♥♥ she is, she has lost herself, the cycle continues.
There's also some time dilation going on. Renoir enters the Canvas again and replaces the Curator at the start of act 3. It is impossible that this war between Renoir and Aline has been going on for 67 years (at least). Expedtion 00 was 67 years ago in the canvas. Renoir would be ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ DEAD by that point already in the real world, Alicia (or Maelle) is the younger daughter, and she appears to be so compared to Clea.
EDIT: Verso states he's lived over a hundred years as well. He has thus lived long before the Paintress started counting down.
The studio is however obviously trying to make this story something more than a one off (I hope, or it sours the potential)
When Renoir entered it was year 100. (or maybe a little earlier, we dont have the exact information) The Fracturing was caused by his war against Aline.
He re-enters the canvas proper in Act 3. Possibly same year Alicia proper entered the canvas.
Prior to that he has failed to expel Aline from the canvas.
EDIT: Supported by the fact he looks like he does in the "Epilogue" between Act 2 and 3, minus the paint.
That's why she lied to her father and said she would leave - then doesn't. Instead, torturing her dead brother's soul forever.
Addicts often lie to and hurt the ones they love.
It would be one thing if she returned to normal life and occasionally visited Lumiere in her own canvas without torturing her brother. But, she can't do that; she's trapped herself there just like her mother did. Unable to leave the canvas for even a moment.
That's why she's suffering the visual effect of paint pouring from her eyes like Aline
He was the Curator and was in the canvas far before act 3. That was the form he took, and once everything was "finished" as Aline was kicked out of the Canvas he painted himself his normal form back. He then during the final fight painted himself back into the Curator.
During the fight with painted Renoir the painted version recognized the Curator as actual Renoir immediately.