#vaugarde

[beneathsilverstars]

Was explaining my thoughts about Vaugardian attitudes towards mental health and therapy as part of a different topic, but it got really long so dfjkghdf here it is as a whole post! Starting with some more general worldbuilsing but hold on, we’ll get there.

Since Houses canonically contain libraries and infirmaries and provide things like education and transition care, I see them as a center of not just community but specifically community resources. If you have a problem or a question, you go to the local House, and if they can't solve it themself they'll point you in the direction of whoever can! Thus Housemaidens generally fill a role similar to social workers, and specific Housemaidens will have specialties like being a doctor, cook, teacher of a particular subject, etc. In larger cities, a lot of the more specific or labor-intensive resources would probably be outsourced to other charities/companies/organizations, or perhaps split into specialties by House, to better serve a dense population instead of trying to cram every resource into every neighborhood's House. But you would still go to any House first to find these other resources, so every House would maintain a focus on educating and advising. Combine this with the fact that religious leaders are often one of the first people that followers go to for personal guidance, and it makes sense that Housemaidens would provide all sorts of counseling, filling the role of everything from job coach to therapist.

If Housemaidens are the people providing all or at least most of the therapy in the country, then even if they're not trying to push religious doctrine, the Change belief is still going to be the source of the values and philosophies that their therapeutic models are based in. They can try to be nonpartisan and avoid mentioning Change in so many words, but it'll still be baked into the default assumptions of the local modalities in a self-perpetuating manner. If you want an entirely different approach, you're probably going to have find someone who specifically studied alternate modalities from other countries, any of which would have a much smaller market share than Change-based therapies.

So! Vaugardian therapy will focus on questions like "What Changes have been happening in your life lately, and how do you feel about them?" "What would you like to Change in your life?" "What can you Change about your thought processes and habits to address the things that trouble you?" and "Who do you want to be?" Which sound like just a particular way to word fairly common topics, but! These questions would be asked in pursuit of Change-y goals, as well.

The goal of irl mental healthcare as an industry is to make sure people can be productive. A common diagnostic question is "does this symptom interfere with your ability to work and otherwise get things done?" But Vaugardians are friendly and helpful to the point of approaching utopia, so I could see them being less concerned with this, because they're more willing to accept that some people can't work and some people need more support. In fact, in keeping with their distaste for carcinization, they might actively oppose the idea that there is any particular goal that people should be working towards. If there's one type of existence that is best for all people at all times, reaching it would mean there's no reason to ever Change again! So instead of any particular milestones, the goal is simply to set and strive towards goals that feel right to you.

I also think they'd be less likely to work off of a diagnostic model at all; you can't just say that someone inherently has depression. They may be depressed right now, but that can Change! The Change might require constant upkeep, but some Changes are like that, and it doesn't mean the Change is any less real. Instead, they'd probably be more focused on individual symptoms (and traits!), which might tend to come in certain clusters, but those clusters would be seen as trends rather than criteria. The Change modality would be less concerned with whether a state of being is disordered vs normal/healthy (and they'd be less likely to conflate "normal" and "healthy"), focusing instead on whether you're happy with where you're at, but also willing and able to Change as suits you.

So, "I feel apathetic all the time, I don't want to put effort into anything and I don't care about anything, I don't know who I am or who I want to be" would be an experience of depression symptoms that a Vaugardian therapist would prioritize helping you Change. But "I don't care about any of the things I used to care about, I think I want to quit my job and cut off all my friends so I can spend more time sleeping" would be... an idea a good therapist may recommend you spend some time exploring, to make sure that's what you really want and you're ready for the ramifications... but they wouldn't say, "No, that's a bad thing to want, we need to treat your depression so that you no longer want to do that." If you really do hate your job and your friends right now, stagnating in that because you feel like you ought to would be the worst case scenario! If pursuing this Change ends up making you feel unfulfilled and lonely and sick of sleeping all day, then, well, you can just Change again at that point, once you've decided that's what you want to do.

In an opposite example, a common criticism of irl therapy is that it provides bandaid solutions for structural issues. "I'm anxious about losing my job" might be addressed by mindfulness methods to lessen anxiety, which is better than nothing, but if you're genuinely in danger of losing your job and thus access to shelter and food, that's not something you can mindfulness away. Versus, in Change-based therapies, they would focus on discussing what you get out of that job and what about it makes you anxious. You might decide that you want to change careers to something that fits you better right now — which would be a lot easier to accomplish in Vaugarde than it would be irl, because of the resources provided by the Houses and general community. Or, you might decide that there's something about yourself that you want to change in order to better fit the job. So instead of working on the feeling of anxiety, you might work on building new skills, or building better relationships with your coworkers.

... I wrote this post thinking that Vaugardian therapy might use similar techniques to CBT (therapy), since CBT focuses on understanding the patterns of thought, behavior, and belief that lead to psychological issues, so that you can replace negative patterns with habits that serve you better. Sounds like making mental changes in order to change your feelings and actions! It would just be in favor of different goals than irl CBT under capitalism.

However. I did some more research, and it looks like Humanistic therapy is very similar to what I made up just now? According to this text, humanistic therapy "emphasizes growth and self-actualization rather than curing diseases or alleviating disorders." Psychological issues are "viewed as the result of inhibited ability to make authentic, meaningful, and self-directed choices about how to live," so it focuses on "helping people free themselves from disabling assumptions and attitudes so they can live fuller lives."

It's less of a set of techniques and more of a philosophy. According to this website, the key is empathy and "unconditional positive regard," which means the therapist "shows warmth, is receptive, and is nonjudgmental." They cultivate a casual, friendly atmosphere, instead of positioning themself as an authority figure. Client-centered therapy is a subtype that sounds like the most cliché sort of talk therapy; the therapist "listens, acknowledges, and paraphrases your concerns," giving you a space where you can be honest and accepted as yourself. Another subtype is gestalt therapy, which "focuses on the skills and techniques that allow you to be aware of your feelings and emotions," and encourages a focus on the present and self-responsibility.

So! That sounds about right! Vaugardian therapists aim to help you recognize your emotions and figure out who you are and who you want to be, through casual conversation and empathetic active listening, without judgement. They help you look at your skills, emotions, desires, and struggles, and guide you to consider the full breadth of options available to you, so you can decide what Changes will lead you to happiness and fulfillment. They especially try to avoid diagnosing, prescribing, or otherwise telling you who you must be or what you must need. They may provide suggestions — help you put something into words, or bring up options that professionals are more familiar with such as medication, or challenge you to re-examine your assumptions — but it's a collaborative brainstorming, and they want you to freely choose the option you think is best for you.

[wowitsverycool]

unfortunately after replaying disco elysium i am now considering the economic and political implications of ISAT's world so i'm going to ramble about it now

specifically in vaugarde.

firstly with dormont housing multiple shops and mirabelle mentioning dating *companies* and expensive earrings. market economy, possible capitalism. SAD!

then "defenders" existing as either a profession or volunteer position (i assume profession due to it being referred to as a "job" and the fact that you have to take "defender exams". speaking of which vaugarde seems to place a lot of emphasis on education which checks out culturally but it's probably politically important too so jot that down) and 'protecting [their] neighborhood, [their] city" from robberies at worst, with them usually helping with civil issues like rescuing cats from trees or helping old men with bags. is isabeau an ex cop or an ex social worker? is it both? perhaps defenders are citizens militias?

and the king targeting a house of change rather than any other particular form of government. is mirabelle a simultaneous college student and bureaucrat? or are Houses of change simply instances of government that provide education/food/body craft/healthcare to all, with "housemaiden" being a catch-all term for those who reside in them? furthermore, under the assumption that Houses DO constitute Vaugarde's government (again assuming that there is a government and they're not... like... ancaps with defenders existing as privatized policing institutions), are head housemaidens something like representatives or legislative bodies in a confederation? do you vote for head housemaidens, or are they simply chosen? promoted? in which case, by whom?

and then there's the way the king talks about monarchist ideals in the context of vaugardian society, which is of course NOT a monarchy.

*in vaugarde*? was vaugarde at one point a monarchy before possibly undergoing a revolution? "against the will of the people" -- perhaps this is a hint at a general *distaste* for monarchism among vaugardians... is that part of its cultural reverence towards Change?

WHAT IS THE HIERARCHY UNDER WHICH VAUGARDE EXISTS IN ORDER FOR THERE TO BE STORIES ABOUT "LORDS" GUARDING "CASTLES"?! since vaugarde is not a monarchy, is the status of a lord residing in a castle purely economic? is lord josephandre a lackey of capital?! is the cursing of chateau castle Defender propaganda?!!?! or-- or-- maybe the cursing of chateau castle is some kind of historical piece! it's long running, so maybe it contains cultural relics of a bygone era (possibly monarchist in nature)??!!?

also, notice how during his friendquest, isabeau points out that jouvente has "more than one house" as a way of emphasizing how big it is:

sure, it could just be that bigger cities need more resources and public service, but still.... it tells you something about House jurisdictions. maybe about representatives.

and the way mirabelle describes euphrasie:

the head housemaiden of *dormont*. the town, not the house. this all but confirms that towns/cities are ruled individually by their own House(s, in the case of larger cities)!

while not *all* vaugardians follow the Change belief, it seems pretty likely that the country itself is ruled by it.... boy, they sure are lucky that the House of Change is so welcome and opening to everyone regardless of belief! (though it's implied proselytizing might be encouraged for its members when siffrin tells mirabelle he might want to go on a pilgrimage.)

so TL;DR, in MY AMATEUR OPINION,

vaugarde is a confederation of theocratic city-states with a social-market economy and no central governing body.

i just thought that was interesting.....

[dasnercaret]

woah new vaugarde 'chatfic' chapter!

[isat-worldbuilding]

After a bit more work, here's a snippet of the world right now, I've added in flags on the map, rivers, towns and the capital.

I've also made a flag of Sahaet, as I don't think the borders allow me to fully show it off.

I'll keep developing the map, but I've not had too much time today. However I think I got the basic aesthetic is down, and now it's just time to build on it.

[shinx-stardust]

alright headcanon time!

i recently wrote a fic (i will link it at the end if anyone wants to read it) in which Isa told Sif a fairytale at some point. it's like 1000 words of this 4000 word fic and it's actually a work of art and i'm so proud of it. in this fable section, i only named one character (the Siffrin-stand-in who i named Banquo) and everyone else renamed nameless (so the Mirabelle-stand-in was just "the Housemaiden", the Odile-stand-in was "the scientist" because i didn't feel like researcher, etc)

and i've decided i headcanon this as just. a Vaugardian thing. except for the main character of a fable, all characters have vague titles. because Vaugarde values change, right. it's their whole religion and stuff. so my thought process is not naming characters allows them to change more between each rendition of the story. if a character has a name, people are more likely to have them act consistently, and there'll be more pressure to have the character say the same thing all the time. so the characters don't have consistent names. just roles.

alright that was my headcanon, here is the fic if you wanna read it Every Day, Until the Last - Abyssal_Author_Artist - In Stars And Time (Video Game) [Archive of Our Own] have a great day see y'all later i shitpost about isat a lot

[seven-oh-four]

no siffrin got to him first <3

that was so fast... someone needs to stop this guy

[gilfodile]

hi im the op of that wc isat post through a sideblog…. you have my permission to dub that if you truly want to rjdjdjfjfjfj

aw HELL YEAH

whether i go through with it is up in the air (i currently cannot do voicework due to Circumstances) but if i do make it it'll be of the highest quality i can promise you that

[vivehasmoved]

pokemon spinoff games for the ask game!

Reverse unpopular opinion ask game

I’ve always enjoyed how dialogue and the characters in general are written in this game! Some scenes manage to get a smile or laugh out of me! Not to mention PMD’s ability to emotionally punch me in the gut sometimes, ough…

[billfordbrained]

Ok but I know a country where this is basically the equivalent of the apocalypse

GOOD NEWS FOR CRAB FANS EVERYWHERE

[lucabyte]

shut the fuck upppppppppppp

[m4g0hun]

lost child

[dragonymango]

Your legend, short and sweet

[wish-upon-the-universe]

I don't have nearly as many, but I like "Season's change" for "lord in the sky" or "god dammit" and ofc there's also "Stars/Universe above" as exasperation

Theres also using Bolide (a particularly bright meteor) as an insult

ISAT swear headcanons go... For any culture not just Vaugardian...

[daily-odile]

merry krimmas

[unreliableidiot]

they got a bad throat