#the mill pafl

[severefartoholic]

connecting my interpretation of Stalker to The Mill, and theories on future pafl events

(heads up, this post spoils the entirety of the movie Stalker, and has slight spoilers for PAFL)

I think just about all of us know that the world of PAFL is loosely based off of the 1979 film, "STALKER" (which you should definitely all watch by the way. it's one of my favorites of all time, and it's free to watch with english subtitles on YouTube)

But a little thought in the back of my mind about Ferrys the mill has constantly been gnawing at me to write about it, so I figured I would, even though I'm mostly grasping at straws. (Haha Occam's Razor reference)

So if you've never actually watched stalker, it's basically a film about three dudes going into the zone, nothing actually happening, and then one of them coming out with a dog. Nothing all that special, but my personal interpretation of the film (which I will repeatedly reference in this post, so I'd reccomend to get aquatinted with it) is that the movie has very prominent themes of faith, the professor and writer had no choice but to have blind faith in the stalker to lead them to the zone, and I think both the professor and writer represent reasons why someone would lose this faith. The writer loses this faith because he realizes that the room might do something to him that he doesn't want, and example he showed through porcupines story, that the room doesn't give you what you ask for, it gives you the deepest desire of your mind, and the writer realizes that he isn't ready for that. He has already had enough change. "Because I wanted to change the world through my writing, but it turned out that THEY were the ones who changed ME!". The professor loses faith because he realizes that the room is a tool that can be used for not only benefit, but for harm, this is why he brings the bomb into the zone. He holds a belief that if the room falls into the wrong hands, it could bring a lot of harm. Tarkovsky doesn't blame the two for losing this faith though, especially the writer at the end of the movie becomes more content with the life he has, and doesn't yearn as strong for anything extraordinary. The only two characters who KEEP faith in the stalker and remain devoted in the movie, end up with more heartwarming endings. And these characters are the stalkers wife, and the dog the Stalker finds inside the zone. The stalkers wife holds faith that he will return safe from the zone, and not end up back in jail, and when they are reunited, the wife talks about this too. Even though they both struggle with their relationship because of the stalkers job, she knows that she's happy, and that she doesn't regret her decision. The dog that the stalker brings back from the zone, not only the fact that dogs can often represent loyalty, but the fact that the dog follows the stalker around the zone, and remains devoted to him, which works, and the dog ends up living with the stalker, having faith in him lead the dog to a better life instead of being a stray. Movie is bassically Tarkovsky saying "be careful what you wish for, and hold faith in those wishes!" (If anyone wants I can talk more about the movie)

there's the movie. And something I've noticed is that the stalker trio has a lot of similarities to a certain three in the mill that could serve to make a theory at future PAFL events

This theory is fully structured apon my guess that Stalker character is representative to one of these three from pafl

1) Nikita- The Stalker

the first point for The Stalker representing Nikita is Nikitas relationship with Nadya and the stalkers relationship with his wife.

In an ask, ferry said:

Both Nadya and the stalkers wife hold blind faith in him, trusting him to come back, even considering how many times he had messed up, both eventually being left abandoned.

Though that does NOT necessarily mean that Nikita/ the stalker don't care for Nadya/the stalkers wife! An example of this that we see in the film is through the cinematography, one of the most noticable changes in the movie is that when the stalker is in the city, when the film first starts the camera footage is black and white, uncaring and murky. (See right)

but when the three eventually get to the zone, the change in cinematography is instantly noticeable, the film grows colorful and so much more GENUINE seeming than the previous black and white footage. The very first thing the stalker does in the zone is collapse onto the wet grass and breathe in the air like he had been holding a breath his entire time outside of the zone. (see left)

I think you can assume what I mean by bringing up this evidence. The zone is one of the only things that the stalker cares about, and this is interesting and all, but here is where my point that both the stalker and Nikita both care for Nadya/ The Stalkers wife, proving that their relationships are very similar.

It's here. At the very end of the film, when the stalker is with his wife and daughter back in the city, during this silent scene the film grows in color again. The stalker really does care about the family he has at home, and he is left with regret on how he has treated them, just like Nikita has.

The main thing about Nikita and the stalker is how those around them are constantly put into a position where it feels like they are FORCED to be dependent on them, to hold faith in them. Nikita's examples for this being Nadya and Kolya, and the Stalkers examples being almost everyone in the movie! They are repeatedly put in a position to the people around them as the sole savior, the one who can lead everyone to what they need and I don't think either of them mind it at all.

about Nikolai as well, I wholeheartedly believe ferry mixed the role of porcupine's brother, briefly mentioned in the movie who got dissolved in the grinder and porcupine blaming himself after, and the part of playing favorites in the movie to create Kolya! in stalker there's a part of the movie where in the grinder, the stalker makes both the professor and writer draw a stick, and it just so happens that the writer gets to go for the grinder!!! Whoopee!!!

Both the stalker and Nikita blame Sergei/porcupine for Nikolais/Porcupine's brother dying in the grinder

But enough about those two stalkers savior complex,

2) Olga- The Writer

See in this passage my argument grows a little more flimsy...but... It's okay (I think)

The writer, at the beginning of the movie, at least, years for something more than what the world can offer him, something past the realm that science can explain. He knows that there is no such thing, he proclaims it loudly, but still he holds hope for something more. He wants to live forever through his writing, and change the people around him as much as possible.

"now you'll live to be a hundred!”

"yes. And why not eternally?" (1:50:20)

...hey, wasn't it said that Olga used to work at the institute before she left to become a stalker? Yup! It has! Although the reason for this has never been said, at least I don't think so. Why would Olga leave such a respected and high paying career? I can assume she ventured into the zone for the same reason as the writer.

the most obvious, though, is that both the writer and Olga survive the grinder (with Olga's case it was heavily implied) but the way they deal with it is quite similar. Both Olga and the writer meet a major change after the incident, the writer realizing what he wants cannot be given to him by the zone, so he gives up on trying to enter the room, instead settling for his quiet life, coming to terms with his problems without the help of any magical zone. So does Olga, I'd say it's also a bit implied that she has toned down on stalking since the incident, as its been directly stated she now works a regular office job. And she's changed physically since the incident too, losing one of her eyes and cutting her hair short, I almost couldn't recognize her during my first watch through of the mill during the shots of when she was younger!

Both the writers and Olgas apathetic attitude towards most of the outside world also resemble each other too, huh?

My last point for the writer representing Olga; is something that's been said directly in a the mill mv before. "Those are all pretty ways of saying she lucks out" she's lucked out throughout all her stalker years, even during the incident I've talked about before. you know, this may have just been an assholey misogynistic comment from Nikita to undermine Olga's experience in the zone, but you know who else lucked out? Very much so, actually? That's right! The writer!

3) Yura and his future- the professor???

Now that we have unpacked all of that, we know that we have one remaining of both trios. Yura, and the Professor. For NOW I can't think of any direct parallels between the two. But that's for now, what we've seen of how Olga and Nikita correlate to both the stalker and the writer makes me wonder, hey, maybe, just maybe, does this mean Yura will try and destroy something in the zone when on the search for KT, even better inside of the institute? Because that's definitely a prediction. can't say anything about this for now, but I would definitely feel like the coolest motherfucker on earth if it did happen.

[tentakilly]

I made a thing. Im very proud of the thing. :]

The song is the mill by ferry btw

[oneleggedgiraffe]

I love it when girls haunt the narrative

[tridenopmoth]

PAFL x LIMBUS CROSSOVER BLAST! I actually have a teirlist of sinners with a corresponding song from PAFL And maybe someday I'll make art for every sinners I also want to point out that I just redrawn the cover All praise should go to Ferry And again I will recommend you to listen to the song itself! (the name is literally in art)

Why The Mill, you ask me? Well, according to the vibes of the song itself and the words, it is very suitable for Ishmael both before joining the Limbus company and after the finale of chapter 5, as if all of Ishmael was collected into one song

[jennie-jitterbug]

[myffithealienn]

Pafltober day 15 says movie scene yeah here ya go funny french movie but its a the mill flashback now

Translation under the cut

The movie is la cité de la peur btw

[chicken4war]

[poisoned-sugar11]

THE NIKITA MALE GRINDSET

Show up

Say something vaguely sexist

Drop some lore

Refuse to elaborate

Die

[whyispaflsoaddicting]

okay wait. what parallels. wait what. what the fuck.

[westvocap-ocbracket]

ROUND TWO! SIDE A-9

Charon Vs. Olya Orlova

[transgenderfivepebbles]

I'm haunted by visions

[severefartoholic]

[pafl-confessions]

I SHAT MYSELF IN THE MILL

:O

[pafltheories]

Does anyone remember the milf

[how-doth-the-little-crocodile]

congrats COMFORT ZONE on being the BEST PAFL SONG!!!!!! 🎉🎉🎉 pulled through by 1%!!!!

[dr-smirnov-underscore-unreal]

im curious what the fandom thinks