What It Says On The Tin

Call me Raphael Ambrosius Costeau

[disco-elysium-sideblog]

Please talk to me about Disco Elysium. I have six pages of notes from my first two playthroughs and it’s only growing. Yes this is how I have fun

Put random Disco Elysium thoughts in my inbox. Start rambling in my DMs. Put essays in my reblogs. I will be overjoyed

[yellow-yarrow]

Can I say something. Judit and Kim are similar characters, (they act similarly) but because Judit is a woman she's seen as more emotional, motherly and #girlboss by the fandom, and because Kim is an Asian man he's assumed to be more stoic. Meanwhile: Kim shouts at you when he had enough, and Judit just quietly calls you an asshole. Kim smiles at you, while Judit tries to suppress a smirk once. Kim and Judit both seem uncomfortable by Harry's condition and at times want to ignore it, but eventually Kim does talk to Harry about it, tries to help, he takes care of Harry's wounds, and he sees Harry as a capable detective. While Judit doesn't tell him much and compares him to someone who is intellectually disabled. when you talk to characters they often just ignore what Kim says, the same happens often to Judit (she repeatedly tells Jean and Harry to calm down and act normal but it gets ignored). At least at the final tribunal Kim's option matters a lot (Judit's doesn't that much.) both characters take their job seriously ("I just want to do my job") and seem to be career oriented. Both dislike being seen as weaker or less capable than their coworkers, and they care about their appearance.

The fanon version of Judit is often written like she is Elizabeth. It's Liz who can make a group of men shut up by angrily calling their names. She's the one who is in a leader position. In contrast we can see that Judit is less emotional and her word isn't that respected.

My point is not to say that Judit sucks (she does a little, she's a cop) but that not every female character has to be a strong cool woman #girlboss, and I think it's nice that DE has so many different kinds of female characters, we don't need to make them into archetypes. Judit acts reasonable in her situation: a woman who "just wants to do her job" in an often toxically masculine environment, maybe her stoicism comes from trying to prove that she is a capable cop and not overly emotional, just because she is a woman. I mean her partner used to be a horrible person even by cop standards, and she willingly worked like that, and she had to cope with it somehow. Which is not to say that she is pitiable or heroic for doing so, at the end of the day, she chooses to be a cop.

[renmorris]

part of the joy of Kim is the thrill of someone being protective of you, having someone who keeps to themselves cross a professional boundary to keep you safe from the existential horrors of the world, like I’m supposed to be normal about Kim wanting to protect Harry from knowledge of the pale and then chiding himself when he feels he’s overstepped?? chews on himmm

he knows he can be kind of preachy too, it seems like something he's spent time working on…i think he’s spent his whole life wanting to save people

[beachf4gz]

I do get the parallel between dora and kim being compelling to some people but I personally find dora and harry more interesting to like mirror eachother. Like that harry represents something similarly unreal and ideal to kim, like he's this figure of intensity and change, something powerful and beautiful and extreme in this heavily gendered form- a walking ideology and zeitgeist that is washed up into his life one day. IDKKK idk I just think its crazy what harry must represent to kim, and I find the idea of him interacting w/ that experience so differently to how harry did so compelling too.

[brutalistcatcafe]

the only difference between Harry duBois and The Pigs is that Harry has a badge. they're both mentally unstable intoxicated individuals trying to establish some kind of law enforcement in a community that doesn't care for that sort of thing. the overarching motivations are the same; they've heard about Cops and decided to make them a reality.

the badge is important, it's the thing (alongside the gun) that makes you a cop. without it, you can't be trusted to enforce the law, and any attempts at doing so are seen as cruel extrajudicial violence. the RCM, like real-life cops, assert that they have a monopoly on violence in Revachol despite not even being a real governmental body. Harry can't really engage in Justifiable Lawful Violence until he's affirmed that his cop signifier exists, even if no one else really cares about it (except Kim, who Believes and as such acts as Harry's signifier in the meantime).

Kim believes in Cops, he believes it's a system that should exist and his principles fall in line with that. as an arbiter of cophood he automatically trusts Harry to wield a gun, his gun, even though Harry is actively unraveling and could be on every drug imaginable at the time, simply because he's a cop. Kim treats The Pigs wielding a gun as an urgent threat to herself and to others as she's actively unraveling and on every drug imaginable, because he doesn't see her as a cop. She doesn't have a badge after all, only a gun. It doesn't matter that Harry is totally prepared to shoot a kid for being annoying, he's a Real Cop and Kim Believes after all.

The Pigs is also a mirror for Harry to peer into and reflect on his own identity and the material conditions that inform it. the entire game is that as a whole of course. Harry looks at a delusional addict trying to uphold some body of law she has no understanding/memory of and gets to think about why this respect and authority is afforded him and not The Pigs. you get to think more about police violence and idk there's something there about but I've run out of brain power for now

[apricops]

Currently obsessed with the part in Disco Elysium where Joyce refers to the fishing village as “pornographically poor.”

The word ‘porn’ and its derived terms have taken on a new meaning, referring to things that aren’t actually explicit pornography but share its defining qualities - given that philosophers and legal experts have been trying and failing to create a universally accepted definition of pornography, it’s rather presumptuous of me to throw my hat in the ring, but what was I talking about

right, the zen koan of porn-that-is-not-porn. The defining traits of ‘porn’ in this sense are:

1. A commitment to an aesthetic designed to arouse (in the literal sense), which takes priority over all other aspects of the narrative, and

2. The clear influence of a pervert, and

3. (optional) something that you feel you ought to be a little ashamed of enjoying

Take, for example, the ‘oh no, I’m stuck in the washing machine/dryer’ trope. It is (1) patently absurd - is it even physically possible to get stuck in any commercially available washing machine like that? That would be a lawsuit waiting to happen. Let alone how casual everyone is being about a situation that would definitely qualify as sexual assault. But those concerns are superseded by pornography’s commitment to arousal, not just the physical act of sex but also (2) the sexualization of family and domesticity - in Japan the trope was first popularized as being stuck in a wall; when it came to America it became ‘stuck in washer/dryer,’ likely because it’s probably a lot cheaper than getting the construction permits to build a fuck-hole but it’s noteworthy that it’s specifically an appliance associated strongly with the ‘women’s work’ of cleaning clothes. It is also a very intimate chore: you might trust a relative stranger to clean your house or drive you somewhere but cleaning your clothes is generally reserved for spouses and family members. Cleaning one’s clothes involves contact with their underwear, the sin-eater of clothing which protects the outside world from exposure to our most impure (and therefore sacral) fluid, the fig leaf which represents the border between the human as an upright citizen of a society and the human as an ignorant, edenic beast of mere pleasures and passions.

…what the fuck was I talking about again

right, porn that is not porn. A common example of this is ‘food porn’ - it’s not just that a cooking anime will feature dazzling, lurid depictions of cooked food intended to arouse the viewer, it’s that, as a cooking anime goes further and further in the story, cooking becomes a bigger and bigger deal until you get the sense that the fate of nations will hinge on the quality of the protagonist’s beef bourgeoisie, or whatever it’s called. The commitment to the arousing aesthetics of food and cooking devours the narrative like a black hole.

Or ‘competence porn’ - medical shows that take place in towns that seem to be occupied exclusively by airplane crash victims and people with one-in-a-billion genetic diseases who are also the daughter of the local mob boss/senator/CEO, with hospitals that suffer drama-enhancing maintenance issues like power failures faster than you can say “no AHJ permits” - the rules of society and the laws of physics are warped as necessary just to provide more and more scenes of Doctor Hotshot doing impressive procedures.

Or, say, ‘savior porn’ - movies like The Blind Side or Radio, movies which appeal to, well, the desire for a suburban while woman to fix racism by domesticating an oafish but pure-hearted black teenage boy who plays sports. And now that narrative vacuum seems a little less benign. It’s honestly fine for a narrative to pay no attention to questions like “why is the entire world invested in this cooking tournament,” but it’s another thing entirely to sidestep questions like “you realize what this sounds like in the context of centuries of scientific racism used to justify slavery, right?”

Which brings me back to the fishing village in Disco Elysium which Joyce described as “pornographically poor,” that is, appearing poor not just in the sense of having poorly maintained buildings but of playing towards some consummate image of ‘poorness.’

It is at this point that it becomes essential to remember that in Disco Elysium, Joyce Messier is both a character with motivations and agency and also a representative of Wild Pines, a corporation which appears to be something like a cross between Amazon and the East India Company (ironic that she uses her narrative agency as a fleshed out character to become a vessel for a giant corporation!). In other words, the way she talks about the fishing village will be colored by her ideology of ultraliberalism (essentially neo-liberalism with a libertarian streak), and just as importantly, her desire to explain the world as seen by that ideology in a way that makes that ideology seem sympathetic and reasonable!

When Joyce Messier calls the fishing village “pornographically poor,” it’s a very loaded phrasing. That use of ‘pornographically’ carries a sense of unreality or illusion, a forced aesthetic being prioritized above all else. In other words, it implies that the apparent poverty of the fishing village should not be accepted at face value, that something about it must be a deliberate illusion designed to evoke feelings of pity and sympathy, which is a very neoliberal thing to say! “Those people don’t actually need help, they’re just trying to scam us by looking more poor than they actually are.”

[o-wyrmlight]

Realizing how many DE fanfics Dick Mullen-ify case fics and like. There's nothing wrong with that, but I just realized that a lot of them kind of forget how busy Precinct 41 is. Harry has a bunch of cases in his ledger and has an obscene workload. Some of them are more serious than others.

I don't think it'd be unreasonable for RCM officers to have multiple murder cases going on at once. Sometimes the murder cases split into another murder case. You have like 10 different trails you're following. Shit slips between the cracks. Wires frequently get crossed. Pryce transferred your case to someone else. No, suddenly you're picking up another case you know fuck all about and have to learn everything about it. What was covered, what wasn't, what needs to be revisited? Nothing's coming up on this one, so put it on the back burner for now. Solve like 5 cases over the next week. You almost die seven times. Three months later, you're like, shit, I forgot about that one, has anything happened? I should prioritize this. Fuck, hold up, I have another case. After two weeks you realize, oh, it's the Mazda, I can't do anything about that. Wasted my fucking time. Sorry, give me a week to get back to you. I'm literally drowning in paperwork. Another case just cropped up on my beat? Cool

Like obviously there's a reason why there's only one case at a time in case fics and mystery thrillers in general. It's a lot less messy and it's easier to keep the details cleanly cut. Just realized that in reality, those RCM officers are barely scraping by off of chaos, confusion, and coffee. The ones that care, at least.

[ingerlund]

really love how kim masquerades as the normalest guy ever. people think he’s like comically normal and uninteresting but it’s just a façade, which in fact makes him very much not the normalest guy ever. and thing is if he stopped pretending to be so normal he’d actually still be like. a normal guy. it’s the fact he’s pretending to be ultra normal that makes him extra weird. he’s gone full circle. looped back around. normalest guy you know is actually strange and fascinating. your partner is even more repressed than you are

[renmorris]

wait it occurred to me that Kim speeding is fanon, right? is it more cringe if he’s completely obeying the speed limit, listening to his music, with his dummy loud engine

[renmorris]

love this

[volitioncheck]

There are two lines off the top of my head that imply he speeds!!! however the image of him going like. five over the speed limit is really really funny to me too

[renmorris]

a really painful element of the scene where Harry tries to hug Billie is that it’s clear he used to be a really physically affectionate person. the way he responds to Kim's pats and reassurances. he wants to be held so badly, he wants that gentle touch so badly. and he wants to be able to give it too. “I was made to be close to other beings"

[kryaaas]

It's sad that Harry forgot who Jean is but it's also sad that if Harry didn't get that amnesia he would have just killed himself

The amnesia is a miracle that kept Harry alive and gave a chance to be a better person, which is not something he would ever be capable of doing in RCM with Jean, where clearly they are just enabling each other's worst tendencies

I feel like....while Jean is aware that Harry is suicidal he doesn't seem to grasp the whole gravity of Harry's bender in Martinaise. Its understandable for him to leave when Harry told him to fuck off but the fact that didn't take away Harry's gun? For him to just ...expect Harry to return by Monday to the job as if nothing has happened? (in that "where is your homo" check Jean is surprised that Harry is still in Martinaise)

I guess Jean is used to seeing Harry drinking hard but being able to return to "normal" for the sake of his job, so he didn't think it was a big deal

Maybe in "jeangst" scenarious I would like to see more emphasis on Jean realising there would not be Harry at all if it was not for memory loss. That in Martinaise it wasnt Harry misbehaving, or just being irresponsible, but active suicide attempts. Harry would have shot himself in the head if he didnt save himself by pawning the gun, he would have been crushed in the car or hanged by the ceiling, or drank himself to death if he didnt get lucky. If Jean has problems with Harry becoming better/sober/happier by forgetting him, then he, well, should learn to deal with it. There was no other way for Harry

Ao I dont think forgetting Jean is something Harry should apologise or try to atone. For other past things, yes (Jean also apologizes for threatening to leave Harry homeless while Harry was hurt from injuries btw). But not for his amnesia, which is what saved Harry in the first place

[revacholianpizzaagenda]

The narrative lead of the mobile remake of DE is the marketing guy who pushed the "forbidden fruity kisses" marketing for collage mode

The mobile remake is streamlined into four preset linear game days, with no ingame clock. No free exploration

get a load of this guy:

(source: Jeffiot's review here)

Don't buy this thing. Don't help the algorithm by trying the free chapters en masse as it releases. Ignore this thing. Let this thing tank.

[riggedbones-moving]

im a blorbo apologist but also they did every bad thing they did and i will get mad if u ignore that. complexities

[blackheartbiohazards]

I am not blorbo’s apologist, I’m blorbo’s defense attorney. And baby, we are going for a plea deal cause he absolutely did that shit.

[tlirsgender]

Important Kim thing is that it's less that he actually isn't any fun but rather he's committed to the bit of Hating Fun. He's joking. Because he has a little fun... this is the nuance you must understand

[tlirsgender]

He has kind of a dry sarcasm going on. And he's standing next to Harry

[soledadcatalina]

[id: a sketch of lilienne carter and her daughter little lily from disco elysium. the two are on the martinaise beach front as lily shows off a long stick with a piece of seaweed to her mum. lilienne watches, amused, as she sits on a log. the two are set against a muddled beige/blue backgrounds.]

taking after her mum

[stardustpsychics]

when it comes to disco elysium, one of my favourite things within the game is the usage of lungs as a motif of love and the representation of this through dolores dei. it’s an incredible way of showing it, as when you love someone or something it almost seems to sustain you, becomes the air that you breathe.

however, another thing i noticed is that an overwhelming majority of the characters smoke. smoking is famously damaging to your health, more specifically to your lungs - almost like smoking is a metaphor for the way these characters show their relationships with others.

some prime examples are:

• harry du bois, who smoked heavily before losing his memory (and after, depending on player choice), a clear instance because of dora and her effect on his life and relationships for years after she left

• the smoker on the balcony, who is never seen without a cigarette, and is in an unloving sexual relationship with someone who can never understand him or truly know him at all

• klaasje amandou, who is also never seen without a cigarette, believes that she is at fault for all of her relationships collapsing and has a skewed view on what it means to love

however, my favourite example is, of course, kim kitsuragi. yes, he smokes as he enjoys the control he has over his addiction and the “cool factor” it gives him is satisfying, but i think there’s a more specific reason there - kim is so repressed that he consistently walls himself off from relationships.

kim himself says that he smokes one a day as he goes over his notes. to me, this says that he is causing minor, daily damage to his interpersonal relationships that builds up more and more over time. the fact that he does it specifically when going over notes says a lot to me too - that his work is what he’s using to push others away.

he does break this one a day rule, however - in the ending where the player chooses not to recruit kim. harry leaves kim behind. they shake hands, and as soon as harry turns away, kim lights a cigarette, a visual representation of the damage caused by another partnership cut short.

[cezulian]

I actually need about 90% more interaction between Titus and Elizabeth