#~analysis~

[hatofmischief]

{someone made a very good post about some of the incompleteness of star vs. I dont want to reblog it bc its very long so I’m going to link it instead [here]

This post is considerably more eloquent than my rambling so I recommend it. The gist is that; There is tons of foreshadowing that amounts to essentially nothing. I recommend reading it because its going to inform a few things about the meta I say.  }

[hatofmischief]

{You can trace Moon’s character back to this same issue. He mother died. The other adults in her life failed her, forcing her to make adult decisions in a delicate period of her life. They gave her an either or decision (war or peace treaty), which explains why she has an “Only One Way To Skin A Cat” attitude.

She had a third option of course, one that wasn’t particularly good for monster kind, or mewmins for that matter. But she saw it through despite the obvious ramifications because she “has to”. The “undaunted” title they gave her relates to her stubborn, controlling personality. She doesn’t know how to let go of control because she never learned how. She doesn’t question the establishment because she was never allowed to question anything once she became queen. When the burden of the kingdom fell on her shoulders, asking questions took a backseat to leading her people. 

Don’t interpret this as any kind of defense. Her own arrested development impacted the lives of many people, including her child. Dissecting character backstory is a method of understanding character motivation.}

[hatofmischief]

{imo the dynamic between star marco and tom has less to do with them being “terrible people” and more to do with them being clumsy ass teenagers with teenager problems who don’t know how to deal with interpersonal issues because they’re constantly forced to deal with life-or-death issues instead.

The exception being tom, who went from actual terrible person to somehow the most mature person in the trio. Of course, this might prove to be incorrect given the synopsis for the next few episodes.

The prevailing theme seems to be teenagers don’t get to be teenagers and solve their teenage issues, if the weight of the world is constantly placed on their shoulders. Given this has been Eclipsa’s and Moon’s experience, I think that the motif is going to keep following them.

And that ties back to a previous analysis post I made, that this show is a critique/deconstruction on The Monster Of The Week trope. Characters in monster of the week shows (sailor moon for example) manage to balance their exploration of teenage issues while also battling evil as it rises, even if it disrupts their lives at points. But in Svtfoe, conflicts literally disrupt their development.

Star makes an excellent window into this phenomenon. Once she’s free from the burden of political turmoil, the public eye, and saving the day, all the backed up personal issues come crashing down on her. Star has a case of arrested development because she never had the time or safety to develop. }

[hatofmischief]

🌟👎👍

🌟 = Who is your muse’s favorite family member, why?

Because I’m canon divergent I can say Eclipsa’s mother was NOT in fact, Solaria, but instead Duskfire Stygian Butterfly. Just like Comet Butterfly, she wanted to foster good relations between Mewmin and Monster kind covertly. Her method was an exchange of “favors” that never need repayed, then come to the monsters at a moment of vulnerability and request for their help. The result: the belief on both sides of the faction, that these were acts of good will done with no ulterior incentive (money, resources, ect). 

Unlike Comet Butterfly, however, Duskfire was assassinated by a group of mewmins who had grown tired of the “handouts” she provided for monster kind.

Eclipsa loves her for all of those reasons. Her cunning kindness, generosity, grace. She knew she wanted to follow in her mothers footsteps, even after her death, or when Eclipsa had to run from the kingdom, she knew she needed to act with the poise her mother always showed. 

But this time she wouldn’t die for it.

👎 = Is there anyone in your muse’s family they dislike, why?

Solaria, who in this verse is Eclipsa’s grandmother. She’s known as the “monster carver”, engineering super soldiers to slaughter innocent monsters who rebelled against her rule. As much as Solaria loved both Duskfire and Eclipsa, Eclipsa knew their relationship was tense. Solaria glorified the violence of war, while Duskfire insisted the power of kindness, reconnection, and vulnerability to end the monster mewmin conflict. 

So of course on the day of Duskfires death and Eclipsa’s escape from the castle, Solaria went on a rampage. It was Solaria that Eclpsa most feared those seven- who had the most aptitude for catching her, dragging her back to mewni castle and forcing her to take the throne. And on the run she was able to see first hand the kind of misery and destruction caused by Solaria’s warmongering. 

Solaria is everything her mother was not. She represents fear, and fleeing, and unwarranted cruelty. Eclipsa hates Solaria.

👍 = Does your muse think they’re a good child and/or sibling?

Eclipsa’s relationship with her childhood is complicated. Ever since her mother’s death she’s been haunted by a kind of survivors guilt. That maybe if she’d been stronger, or talented, or smarter, she some how could have saved her mother (she couldn’t have). And every time she starts to feel as though maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t her fault- she loses someone else close to her and the whole process starts again. 

This cycle of sudden loss and survivors guilt, is what pushes her into dark, offensive magic. To her mind, healing can only do so much. Shields can only ever be so strong. But if she kills the enemy before they can harm her loved ones, then she can say she’s protected them. 

[hatofmischief]

{I think I understand Eclipsa more, and this is mostly in response the episode featuring her spells

she gives off “evil” vibes despite usually being caught or forced to act morally grey. Everything she does is done either out of self preservation or preservation of her loved ones

Her spells were acting malicious because they were trying to achieve an important purpose (stopping the no-name spell), using whatever means they had available, even if it meant hurting others. Her spells were acting to preserve something/someone they valued. In this case, they wanted to preserve their queen and the multiverse

but this analyses is done with the assumption that the spells have some degree of shared traits with their creator. I don’t really want to write a whole post about that, someone else can if they want. }

[hatofmischief]

weaving--battles replied to your post: is her dark magic actually "evil"

you can use dark magic for the most pure and good reasons, and you can use light magic for the most despicable and horrible of purposes. magic is a tool to be used, and has no morality of its own

^^^^^^^^

[hatofmischief]

{I think for the most part it’s true to say comparing minority groups as non-humans can be in poor taste, but I’m gonna say SVTFOE handled it pretty well? (obv not perfect but nothing ever is)

Cause it’s not *humans* oppressing monsters it’s, humans + non humans oppressing other non humans on completely arbitrary criterion. The distinction between a “monster” and a non human is at most based on economic class, at least it’s the “difference” between someone who’s literally made of aloe vera and a gem nippled snakes for hands crystal man. 

Basically, the distinction of what is and isn’t a monster doesn’t really exist. Its just a tool of the powerful to uphold the order that keeps them powerful. 

to paraphrase a quote I like a lot “someone must lay in the valley for there to be a mountain to stand” }