Teatraps

Alt version with a more similar style nose to the original

“Sunlight split his silhouette in two, as though the world itself, with strokes of brightness and shadow, were turning the painter into an unfinished study”

I interpreted this as expanding on the duality that’s been presented in Edgar’s character throughout the years. He’s been portrayed as both a shallow, flippant, and self-absorbed aristocrat and an empathetic, kind-hearted, and gracious artist. He isn’t wholly one or the other, but a mixture of the two. It could also more flatly be in reference to killing Sarai since I know netass kinda wants to say that’s a “bad” thing but like… dude, it’s Sarai. That really isn’t THAT bad of a thing to do…

For the world part, I’d take that as a reflection of how his environment formed the way he is. The arrogant haughty aristocrat comes from the shallow praise & aristocratic upbringing while the softer tender notes of his life like with his mom, Ella, and (from his perspective) Sarai for a time developed the kinder and more considerate part of his personality.

The unfinished study line sticks out to me as it implies a lack of complete understanding. We knew this to be true from his experiment file, it’s no surprise, but with the way it’s worded it feels as if they’re also saying he could’ve had more time. There was more a person like him could’ve done or become, but as we all know, that was cut short. There are notes and concepts of who “Edgar Valden” was, but as it stands and always will stand, we will never really know him

“His garments were tailored with precision, and the traces of pigment along the shawl and cuffs mark the fleeting moments when inspiration descended”

I assume the clothing description just denotes his wealth, but also could be a way to show that the way he presents has been crafted (presumably by others since someone else has to tailor the clothes to him). It also leans into it being fit just for him. He is his own enigma and the precise tailoring of his clothing might be an almost Cinderella style reference to say none could fit where he is.

The paint portion is a bit harder because we gotta try to keep in mind what “inspiration” is in the context of Edgar. He’s never said for certain, but we have small things that reference what inspire him: we know he prefers landscapes, struggles to draw people often because he can’t find their beauty (however could in people he loved like Ella & her b-day portrait he made for her), and we know the colors he chooses are inspired by people, specifically ones he is close with in some way. We also know what inspires him based on what he described he doesn’t such as his farewell letter where the hypocrisy, greed, and apathy of the aristocracy drew him away. There’s also deductions such as “the beauty of life is always odd yet pleasant” and “life is beautiful and it’s said the brush can preserve said beauty.” Since his inspiration seems so tied to love & affection for people, places, and things then these fleeting moments of inspiration could be translated to fleeting moments of affection. When he’s struck with that love of life and everything in it that never quite disappeared in spite of everything.

“Fingertips stained with crimson hovered in the air, measuring where the brush might next fall, or perhaps hesitating at the coming stroke”

Oof, a rather loaded one. The crimson can pretty easily be assumed to be blood given there is no red on the paint palette, but I think the more salient part is the hovering in midair part and the way it gives 2 options for what it could be

There’s reason 1: measuring where the brush will fall next. This gives the impression of Edgar being very calculated, his actions are planned and he doesn’t do things without reasoning them out first (a far cry from the sporadic way Orpheus portrayed him, but I digress). It also ties an intentionality to his death. We know putting that “crimson” on the canvas is what ultimately leads to it, so by presenting this moment as a calculated endeavor aimed at creating a masterpiece it frames Edgar’s death as something that is enhanced by the environment that surrounded it (i.e. the game). Perhaps even trying to anticipate what will become of his team after his death since many of the files in game 5 allude to that type of thing

Then there’s reason 2: straight up hesitation. It’s a much more humane side of Edgar, it shows he may be scared to die—probably is actually. He knows it must be done to finish the work, but he still does have second thoughts in the back of his mind. Like we said earlier: he’s an unfinished study. He has more he could do and become but for this to work, he has to cut it short. There’s also the juxtaposition from “where the brush falls” to “coming stroke.” The former focuses on what will happen after the fact, again possibly foreshadowing that Edgar intends to use his death as a catalyst of sorts. The latter focuses on what’s coming immediately, what he can see will hit him. His death. There is precision in his actions as he aims for a greater good, but there is humanity and fear in the face of imminent death. It shows he isn’t fully detached from his humanity in the way Orpheus says he is and he doesn’t fully see himself as just a conduit of the arts.

“Most of the canvas sank into shadow, its subject unseen. The finished work and his conception still lingered only within the dark. Blue, white, violet colors arranged neatly on the palette, yet one space remained empty”

Alright let me try not to get overwhelmed with this one cause it’s also pretty loaded. The way Edgar’s painting is hidden from the audience creates a feeling of intimacy with the painting and that we’re not supposed to see it. It’s in the shadows, away from our prying eyes. The emphasis they put on not being able to see the subject really grabs me because we know Edgar tends to paint landscapes. By leaving it ambiguous, it entices readers to speculate what is on the canvas: is it still a landscape? Or has something inspired him so deeply he made a small return to portraiture? Only time will tell.

The finished work & conception part feels like another nod to how we as onlookers will never truly know Edgar (at least for rn). His ideas and the full vision of what he’s creating can’t be seen by us. However, I want to point out that shadows are not stagnant and things that are hidden by shadow can also come to the light. In the same way Edgar, and the kinder aspects of his personality have been revealed as time went on, with the light and shadow allowing a fuller picture of him, the same may apply for the painting. I also wanna highlight the word conception. The most obvious application would be that it’s referring to his ideas & beliefs, but conception also has its ties to birth. It can tie back to the brush falling comment, that all of this will become clearer with time. His ideas and what he’s doing are still in the process of being conceived, not that they’ve come to fruition. (Also, not to tfem Edgar rant but the use of the word conception feel so intentional given that there are so many words that could stand in for what it can easily be read as like ideals, beliefs, etc. but by using a word that is also so commonly associated with motherhood and femininity… come on bro. Edgar already has like 50 references to feminine imagery, you can’t keep getting away with this.) to circle back to some more solid analysis tho, you could also tie this to Edgar breathing life & vibrancy into the world with art, kinda like bringing a child into a world.

The colors are very obviously a reference to the colors mentioned in his last letter for his team. If I keep running with this overall idea that the painting is a larger symbol for whatever goal Edgar is trying to achieve, we can assume this also means Edgar can’t complete this goal without his team. The main color that sticks out is the white. Now obviously the first thing I want to jump to is Ella, it’s her color. Given much of his commitment to art was tied to her based on his note to her on her portrait. It might represent a return to form. After everything, maybe the time at the manor has caused him to revert somewhat. White is also a symbol of purity and most often used to mix with other colors to make them lighter. If we remove it from Ella (which I’m hesitant to do, but wtv) this could be symbolic of Edgar perhaps “lightening” the load off of his teammates. There’s also the unmentioned green and yellow on his palette. Green is of course the color of his mother (again, maybe a return to form) and as for the yellow idrk. My best guess is it’s Kevin’s unofficial color. He was friends with him, but Edgar never mentions Kevin getting a color so maybe it’s his? It’s not an unfitting color for him + yellow does show up in the b-day emote a little with everyone else’s so… who knows. Kind of don’t have anything for it.

The empty space is ofc for the red. This could once again indicate hesitation: the other colors have already been pre-placed and prepared because he’s scared of what will become of him when he incorporates the red, but it’s still a necessary hue nonetheless. If we go about defining our understanding of color in Edgar’s narrative to center his relationships, it could imply that the only way for him to truly grow close to Patricia was to bleed for her. This would go in line with the description Alice gives of her and how her perception of relationships is based on give and take. Also, by saying that there is an empty space, it emphasizes that Patricia needs to be there. The painting cannot be completed without her and therefore he is willing to do whatever it takes to get her “onto his palette,” even if it requires death.

“Perhaps the Edgar Valden of old regarded art as a confession drawn outward from within, but the reflections and gestures he laid upon the canvas received no sincere reply. Endless, hollow praise drained his expectation until at last he became both creator and critic of himself, his own living work, answering the blank canvas’s quiet question with silence and color”

Home stretch! This is the message you get after analyzing each part of the picture. Dang it just keeps getting more and more loaded… let’s get into it!

Right off the bat, the audience is met with ambiguity by saying perhaps. Once again, we’re not allowed to be sure if this is accurate or not. The “Edgar Valden of old” is presumably from before he became disillusioned with Sarai, hence the looking to others part. He was following the teaching that praise is the highest form of love. The word confession has so many different meanings an admission of guilt, sins, or even just intimate revelations of a person. All of these could be applicable for Edgar, perhaps guilt for taking up so much attention which inadvertently led to Ella’s death or for even engaging with the aristocratic culture to begin with. But also it could be expressing his grievances from a detached pov. No matter which definition applies, one thing stands true, what he was portraying in his art was deeply personal and seemed to be aimed at gaining a response.

If he inlaid “gestures” and “reflections” in his art then it’s clear he was trying to have an effect on people and show them something about themselves and the world around them. Possibly the beauty in life that he holds fast to in his deductions. I’ll try not to stray too far but this could be in reference to how everyone in game 5 is trying to prove themselves in some way which contrast against how Edgar was naturally accepted and exalted by those around him. By saying there is an inherent beauty in life, it implies that there isn’t anything to prove and that simply being alive is enough which fits with many of the messages they tie to Edgar (for example his b-day art captions saying things along the lines of simple pleasures being the perfect pleasures for him & allowing himself to simply be present in nature’s embrace). This would also be applicable to the aristocratic culture since everyone is trying to assert themselves as “gentlemen,” to reference Edgar himself, and therefore never being content with who and what they are.

Based on the “endless, hollow praise,” it’s safe to assume people just didn’t get it. They saw a pretty picture and that was it. Not a commentary on the innate beauty of life, not a critique of how people will destroy themselves while trying to achieve an impossible “perfection,” just a pretty painting. This led him to sink into his own mind as “creator and critic.” The use of critic rings out to me because he’s not just being an observer like how he intends for his audience to be. He seeks the faults, measures the value, and evaluates the piece. By what metric? My guess is effectiveness at getting the audience to see the message. He’s a good painter. That’s just a fact, we don’t need to guess if he’s good at drawing. But what good is a pretty picture if it doesn’t send its message? This fact extends not just to his art, but his life. He wants people to see the beauty in the world, he makes that clear in his first few deductions with the brush preserving the beauty of life comment. And if I may say: if you really wanted to convince like 3 or 4 ppl who REALLY hate themselves that they are actually intrinsically cool and deserve to live, what better way to prove that to them by literally killing and damning yourself for eternity for them? It’s like Jesus, in a way. (Just to make a guess-timate on what that whole sublimating the swan song thing could’ve been about).