The House of Change
- For the location, see House. For the deity, see Change God.
The House of Change, often abbreviated as the Change belief or simply Change, is the central religion of the country of Vaugarde.
Change belief
The Change belief is a religion practiced in most of Vaugarde whose ideals are about change in both its practitioners and in the world as a whole. It encourages its practitioners to constantly change things such as their appearances, personalities, interests, and aspects of their life.[1] The religion is very welcoming towards people from all walks of life, and seemingly anyone can chose to join at any time.
While the Change belief inspires confidence and self improvement in many of its followers,[2] it also exerts pressure on its more devoted practicioners to change aspects of themselves they may not want to, all for the sake of changing at all.[3]
Houses
The main centers of worship are places called Houses.[4] Most Vaugardian cities have one or more Houses.[5] Houses are maintained and lived in by Housemaidens, who are people that have devoted themselves to the change belief in a way similar to priests. The Houses offer a variety of different classes and services even to people who are not part of the religion.[6] They also teach Body Craft to those who wish to Change their bodies, referred to with a capital C.[7]
Symbolism
Circles
The symbol is described as being a circle, inside a circle, inside a circle. Many followers of the Change belief wear it on their outfit. Mirabelle notably wears it as a brooch, and the Head Housemaiden wears the symbol as earrings, as well as a headpiece and on her belt. It is said to represent that everything is a part of something bigger.[8]
Eggs
An intact egg and a broken egg represent the destruction that comes with Change. Just like a chick cannot be born without breaking its egg, a person cannot change without destroying something. It is also important to think about the irreparable destruction that will accompany the Change, and whether it is worth the joy a Change might bring.[9]
Masks
The symbol is seen on the various keys used to unlock Floor 3, including crying, smiling, and angry masks. These masks are said to represent the impermanence of emotions. No matter how good or bad one feels, the emotion will not last. It is a relief that negative emotions will not last forever, and even though good things must also come to an end, the taste of joy will never get tiring.[10]
Additionally, the symbol is seen on the different faces the Change God statues and figurines possess. The first thing it represents is the different perception each follower of the Change belief has towards the Change God, which is why followers craft their own Change statue or figurine with a different face. The Change God's clothes remain the same in order to be identified, but it is through the mask they are crafted with, their face and expression, that a follower of the Change Belief forms their own connection to the deity.
Customs
Every year, the people of Vaugarde hold a festival during which they celebrate Change and show how much they have Changed throughout the year.[3]
They also have another holiday, called "love arena day", during which people battle to give their loved ones the most perfect gift. The person who manages to make the other cry from joy is the winner of the holiday.[11]
Change God
- Main: Change God
Gallery
The Change God statue in Dormont with closed cat-like eyes and two dots for a nose. This is the default version of the statue.
The Change God statue in Dormont with open cat-like eyes and two dots for a nose.
The Change God statue in Dormont featuring six eyes and a cat-like mouth.
The Change God statue in Dormont with a sad, crying face.
![The Change God statue in Dormont with a face like the :] emoji.](/images/thumb/6/6b/ISAT_ChangeGod_Flat-Emoji.png/102px-ISAT_ChangeGod_Flat-Emoji.png)
The Change God statue in Dormont with a face like the :] emoji.
The glitched Change God statue in Dormont during Act 5.
The Change God statue in Dormont with a funny face consisting of bright eyes and a happy, toothy smile.
The Change God statue in Dormont with a completely black face and pupils. Parts of the statue have black cracks and the face looks like it is dripping.
The Change God statue in Dormont with a face similar to Loop. It has starry dimples, raised eyebrows, and squinting eyes.
The Change God statue in Dormont with a face based on a Daruma.
The Change God statue in Dormont with a face similar to Siffrin's. It has an eye patch and long hair.
The Change God statue in Dormont with a large swirl where the face normally is.
The Change God statue in Dormont with cat-like eyes and a wide yawning mouth, showing pointed teeth.
The Change God statue in Dormont with Mirabelle's drawing of its face. It has two misaligned eyes and a scribble for a mouth.
![The Change God statue in Dormont with a face like the :] emoji.](/wiki/File:ISAT_ChangeGod_Flat-Emoji.png)
Trivia
- The Change God statue face with six eyes and a cat-like mouth is inspired by insertdisc5's original character Eye Gal[12].
- Change believers have a deep-rooted hate for crabs, with Mirabelle saying that they are "inevitable".[13]
- This is a reference to a biological concept known as "carcinization", an example of convergent evolution in which several non-crab crustacean species have all ended up developing a crab-like body plan independently from each other. This makes it look like species keep "turning into crabs". Carcinization is also a well-known meme on social media such as Tumblr, which the developer is known to frequent often.
- Consequently, crabs are considered by the Change believers as a symbol of changelessness, which they despise.
References
- ↑ "But we have to change and bring new things into our lives and change clothes and hairstyles and even part of our PERSONALITIES..." — Mirabelle during her Friendquest, In Stars and Time
- ↑ "Yeah, I'm weak. Yeah, I'm a coward. Yeah, I feel like I can never do things right. Yeah, I keep changing personalities like clothes, because it's easier than learning to like myself. YEAH, there are things I can't tell you, no matter how hard I try. But at least, I'm trying to change. I'm trying to be someone I can be proud of. I'm trying to be better. So I can help and support the people I care about." — Isabeau when confronted by Siffrin in ACT 5, In Stars and Time
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "But, Siffrin, there is such a pressure to force us to do that! And not only that, there's such intense pressure to force us to Change! We have YEARLY FESTIVALS all around showing yourself as a new person, for crab's sake!!! Most Housemaidens have completely Changed at least once, and I haven't! Isabeau isn't even a Housemaiden, and he's Changed! And I haven't!!!” — Mirabelle talking about the pressure of being a Housemaiden, In Stars and Time
- ↑
Odile: "'The House of change' is the name of the belief, but 'The House' is the name of the place…"
Bonnie: "And there’s more than one House in Vaugarde as well!" — Odile and Bonnie when reading a book about the House of Change in the library, In Stars and Time - ↑ "Well, okay, you know I'm from Jouvente, right? I've lived there my whooooole life! It's a nice, big city. More than one House, too. Waaaay bigger than Dormont." — Isabeau talking about Jouvente in his Friendquest, In Stars and Time
- ↑ "This is just one of the many classes the House gives! It's very popular with young adults, in a few weeks you can learn how to make your very own weapon! — Mirabelle talking about the armory in the House of Dormont, In Stars and Time
- ↑ "And, that's one of the things people go to Houses for, you know? To learn things, to train, to do Body Craft on yourself... To Change! And you can stay for a bit, and come back Changed, and no one would say a thing. They'd just accept the new person you've become." — Isabeau talking about Body Craft, In Stars and Time
- ↑ "What's up with the circles? The design on the keychain, you mean? It's one of the symbols of the House of Change belief! It's to show that we are all part of something bigger! The first circle is inside the bigger circle, which is also inside a bigger circle! It's also part of a Housemaiden's uniform!" — Mirabelle talking about the circle key on Floor 1, In Stars and Time
- ↑
Odile: "Are eggs important to the Change belief somehow?"
Mirabelle: "Yes! An intact egg, and a broken egg! We--"
Isabeau: "We're the egg, getting out of the egg, change also means destruction, blablabla."
[...]
Mirabelle: "For every change, something needs to break. Maybe changing yourself will hurt someone."
Isabeau: "Maybe changing means leaving a part of your body behind!"
Mirabelle: "It's to remind us that before changing, we must stop and think about what will be irreparably destroyed." — Mirabelle and Isabeau talking about the egg symbols on Floor 2, In Stars and Time - ↑
Mirabelle: "The Change God always has a mask, and never has the same expression! Or art style, for that matter."
Isabeau: "It's to show the Change God is ever-changing... But also to show us that emotions are fleeting!"
Mirabelle: "No matter how wonderful or awful you're feeling, this feeling will fade in time."
[...]
Mirabelle: "And some of those feelings might stay for a while, make their home here... But knowing that they'll eventually go away, isn't it a relief?" — Mirabelle and Isabeau talking about the mask symbols on Floor 3, In Stars and Time - ↑ https://insertdisc5.tumblr.com/post/736276030394908672/i-was-wondering-if-the-change-belief-has-any
- ↑ https://insertdisc5.tumblr.com/post/149775565690
- ↑
Mirabelle: "EEK!!!"
Isabeau: "CRAB?!??!!???!???!???!"
[...]
Odile: "... I am very confused. Is this a Vaugardian thing?"
Isabeau: "Please don't tell me you eat crabs in Ka Bue I don't think I could handle it..."
Odile: "No, not really, but we don't... Have such an aversion to them..."
[...]
Odile: "So, crabs are weird and don't walk right, okay."
Mirabelle: "A-and... they're INEVITABLE." — The party reacting to the food in the kitchen, In Stars and Time
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