What are your thoughts about the shed scene, if you don't mind me asking?
I have a page full of saves purely of Hinterlands III from my Arts run trying to figure out how to "unlock" The Anthill, so let me load up one from the beginning of the week and do a run focused on that, including a library trip and visit to P's grandfather's house just so it's fresh in my head. So:
Salt, Sunken, Salt
(Save)
Run 1: Church, Library (non-fiction), Pond (???) Maybe hit up the bus stop pre-pond
Run 2: Tailor, Storm
(Save)
Run 2A: Pond, Gramps
Run 2B: Gramps, Pond
Maybe I'll try to hit it up with the bones at some point, too.
First: The salt. It's false hope. It's what generations have built their life for, substituting hopes and dreams for substance. It's brought up that it's sold as special salt to older people to help with health, but it's described as flavorless. Essentially filling in the memory of something so they can pretend everything is normal, when it's just void and empty. It's a habit. Like life itself is simply a habit. It makes me think of a land Persephone never returned to and especially Lot's wife turning to salt after being unable to keep looking forward, instead, turning back to see what was behind her. Was it fear or curiosity? Whatever it was, it caught her, and it's caught them.
Everything about the hinterlands is false and achingly human. They've broken recursion through a lifeless, mundane immortality. They sell this edible life extension that only manages to invalidate what life is meant to be. Devouring memories. Consuming past. It's a perpetual state of mourning. Like if they don't leave the funeral, the person that's dead will never die. It's a manmade labyrinth.
I can't say what happened at the shed other than much of P's magic has come from use of his feathers in rituals. It's a part of himself, and he is losing feathers by following this path of branches. Considering his inheritance, I think a lot of what he sees has to do with his grandfather's experience. There's every chance if his grandfather came this way he also lost feathers, and that P may have picked some up. He certainly picked someone up. The fact that he thought it may have been his grandfather makes me think it was another Peacock. Quite possibly himself or his father as a child, but of course I'm not certain.
That's why I said what I did about this scene. Theres so much about it that sticks out. Other than when we're inside P's head, this is the only time we're given a black screen. (Which adds to the uncertainty of it all.) Yet despite this and despite being surrounded by death, it's the scene with the most life in the hinterlands. The sound design is fantastic. The imagery of P wading his feet instead of taking steps is striking. Who is God? Is it the tapir? Is it his grandfather? Is it someone else? We have a capital H "He" so it's someone larger than life to P. All we know is that it's sacred in some way or another.
On my first run I thought the hinterlands may have been a type of hell on Earth situation, given Zezé's presence at the end. Similar to how a new god can be created if you've put true worship in to something, as Nikos takes advantage of. I don't know what I think now. There's so much about it that I'm unsure of.
Ultimately, I'm glad I replayed all of Hinterlands instead of just going to this one scene. It reminded me how strong the writing is and let me see some of the unique text in context with what I'd seen before and skipped through. I usually read a few sentences before unseen text, but that's no substitute for the full experience. Especially seeing Storm and P's relationship blossom, since that didn't happen in my first run. They became close, but not as open. Really, I appreciated the part where P is fighting with his thoughts of taking advantage of Storm while they're at the hot springs. There's a moment where he actually wants to only do good things, but his mind still tells him he's taking advantage and that speaks so much to who he is and what he needs to work on. Storm can be a good influence if he lets him.
ETA: This is very stream of consciousness as I fell asleep immediately after writing it. I'll say that this is very much the impression filtered through both the tapir and P's fury, the latter of which may or may not have been his own. He says at one point while cursing this land for what it did to his family and Storm that something gets into his eyes and that it burns with rage and acid, implying something more than just a physical reaction. I found it interesting that there were three sandals at the beginning with the same floral design. If it was two they could have been a pair, but three makes it seem like a pattern. I do wonder if there's something sacrificial going on, or if that's just a sign of what's available to them.
I also find it interesting that Nini finds the taste of the salt to have changed once the Tapir's curse leaves. Stating it burns her... Now what was that about Salt being purifying...?
That and the Tapir God did say the state of the curse was keeping those afflicted with it with a rotten sort of living... almost like a certain husband of the Dawn.
I might be misremember but I feel like I recall P mentioning he had a brother and I'm sure I'm not confusing that with him making Storm his brother as a cover story. When I first read the section where P visit's his grandpa's home, I was wonder why there was no mention of his brother in the photos but, again, I could have just been misremembering. It is likely however, that P might have half siblings if bloodlines and heirs among peacocks are a thing (I bet there's likely some resentment towards P by his father for that as well) from both his parents.
There's a moment where P mentions "him" and it's not specified, but he directly mentions photos of his grandfather, father, and himself. That plus the drawing of two peacocks with the goats means there's likely another peacock he refuses to talk about out that's likely a brother.
I wouldn't be surprised about heirs or half-siblings, though. His mother married remarried a rich peacock that eventually divorced her because she couldn't have another child, but he specifically says that he was the only child his mother had. Whether that is because he doesn't want to talk about a brother because of something that happened or it's a half-brother is unclear, but something is going on. Considering his grandmother also remarried but didn't get divorced, she may have had another child and so it could be a cousin, as well. That he's not welcome with her could point to a rift because something happened. Either way, the pictures of the other Peacock stopped at a young age and that's all we know for sure.
It's not necessary that P's mom couldn't have another child, it could have also been an issue with her new husband shooting blanks. Though I think you're right about a possible half brother being on his father side since P's talk about his mother doesn't make it seem like she remarried. Though doesn't mean she didn't have another child out of wetlock or just because she's hitting up P for money she wouldn't be hitting up another possible son of hers for money as well.
As well as that for a brother to be in P's life, it would likely have to be from his father's side. And that definitely wouldn't be a cousin from his grandma since she wanted nothing to do with his family any more though a cousin could be as close as siblings if the hinterlands of Brazil anything like the hinterlands of Mexico. As for that drawing, I didn't occur to me that it could be a brother. I thought it might have been either him and his father or grandpa. Or it could have been his father and grandpa. Though could that childish drawing been based on something that actually happened rather than a child's imagination?
I really want to know more about the legends of these Tapir and Goat people.
Oh wow, that was a thing that happened. I honestly wouldn't have put two and two together about the butterflies no longer being around after helping the Tapir god. I still have a lot to of mysteries to explore of the Hinterlands. I'm actually not sure what to make of what happened there. A shadow of memory who's emotions were relived through Pedro of something that happened involving mythical being, maybe through the perspective of Grandpa P? But as of know, I have no clue as to what any of it means besides likely related to the local missing children.
I thought the missing children was a red herring that adds more darkness to the region in a (sadly) very real way. Between going to the church and reading in the non-fiction section of the library the possible explanation to the missing children can likely be a less magical reason and more dark reason that serves as a commentary on the dark side of humanity. I honestly don't know which would be worse (not as in writing but in evil in the world), a mythical being being behind the missing children for some unknown but sinister reason or just kidnapping and sex trafficking's done by regular humans. Though there isn't a reason why it couldn't be both or both in one. I don't know if the intent was to think about that potential real and dark topic but if it was, kudos for taking the risk of broaching a topic that most would rather avoid and pretend doesn't exist.
Keeping that dark place in my mind, I almost want to hypothesize that Pedro relieved briefly an incident where Grandpa P was investigating the shed as a lead on the missing kids, something involving magic happened and Grandpa P saved a child. Even a darker though would be that maybe Pedro was abducted and rescued by Grandpa P but has suppressed the traumatic memory.
A more cheerful but less likely hypothesis is that the missing children ran away from terrible lives living in the Hinterlands and many of them found their way to the hotel where they started new happy lives for the times that the hotel was in operation and never looked back.
I supposed now that I think about it, the member could be of Grandpa P saving is son, Pedro's father, from the incident. Could also explain some added resentment towards the relationship between Grandpa P and Pedro's father. And there seems to be some PTSD at the sight of the Hinterland cheese they got from the nun. Though I'd lean towards it being Pedro possible having a direct connection there since he spoke in a voice that wasn't his then spoke in a voice that was his.