#this is my magnum opus i know i've said that before but its true this time | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

liyazaki · 2 years ago

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I know, I know- I went right for the jugular with that title. at first glance, this might look like a KinnPorsche finale hit piece...an "oh, y'all thought this was a HEA?" before I throw a bucket of gore all over your warm fuzzies, Carrie-style.

in reality? this is a long-form love letter to perhaps the most meticulously-constructed show I've seen in years- Asian, Western, European, etc., et. al. period, fin, full stop.

if there's an idea that KinnPorsche has driven home over and over again, it's that more than one thing can be true at once. that idea has never been more overt than in the finale.

something can be immensely satisfying, hella romantic, quietly appalling, empowering, and like a waking nightmare- all at once. for me, the finale was every one of these things- just maybe not for the reasons you'd expect. in summary: have a little faith before reaching for the pitchforks (thanks in advance).

but first: a little history, a little fandom

some background before we jump into the, as @dancinbutterfly likes to say, "it's about the DRAMATURGY"- of it all. I've been going into every piece of media for years now with as close to the inverse of expectations as you can get, because she has been burned and then some. I've been in fandom of all sorts for many, many moons. perpetual disappointment followed by headcannoning fixes are old friends, and I know them well.

I dumbed this show down before it even began, at no fault of the story or crew or anything else. eliminating my expectations before the word 'go' is just something that happens automatically. if you had told me pre-KP that a quasi-porn-with-feels, Thai-BL-meets-the-mafia show would shock me out of my media coma, I would've just giggled and said "sure, Jan".

that's exactly what happened, though: week after week, this show gave and gave and gave some more. unapologetic queer horniness on full display? here; take it. you want a light, joyful relationship in contrast to perhaps the most intoxicatingly-toxic one you've ever seen? sure, we got that too. how about fascinating moral quandaries and a dark, twisty thread of mystery running throughout? we got you covered and then some.

and oof, that mystery. the possibilities, the implications? the personal ramifications for these characters we were falling in love with? crumbs were suddenly being dropped from a table I forgot could have so much food on it, and I grabbed onto as many morsels as I could get my greedy little hands on.

we all did: the sheer amount of god-tier analysis and meta this fandom created is a testament to that. this show awoke something in our brains that made the collective talent shine brighter than I've seen in a fandom in a long while (Bad Buddy is a close second).

and then- the Finale™

but the real pièce de résistance here: the part of this horny, batshit beauty of a story that puts this show front and center in my mental hall of fame? that finale. pardon the crassness, but it's very much warranted here: that FUCKING FINALE. it was more than the sum of its parts, while simultaneously being the EXACT sum in a whispering, "are-you-paying-attention?" kind of way.

it confirmed little red flags I didn't even trust I was really seeing, which, sure- that's just good writing, solid storytelling. but then it said "nah- we're not done", and stuck the landing so intelligently, it elevated the rest of the story past my wildest expectations. thanks to the finale, I know that my rewatches (yeah, it'll be plural- move along) will be a perpetual mind-fuck affectionate.

it set up us for a likely-explosive second season, with as much potential for greatness as there is for Shakespearean levels of tragedy. without that 81-minute magnum opus, I doubt I would’ve been compelled to write this monster in the first place.

so let's get into the impact of the finale by taking a closer look at the most important players- starting with our sex-on-a-stick (I had to), second-in-command himself.

without further ado: you ready for a deep dive?

kiss me so that I forget myself. I close my eyes & fall in the abyss. -Kamand Kojouri

the title for this meta- Tragedy Dressed Like a Daydream- was inspired by Porsche's iconic walk down the hallway, cementing his new status as he symbolically ascends his throne.

my first thought during this scene- besides the obvious serve-CUNT-king- was, "that's a man who's walking to the gallows- he just doesn't know it yet."

Porsche also embodied raw, effortless power in this moment- but it carried even more weight than just that. this was an easy, almost-royal kind of stride- like he was born to it.

from Porsche's unforgettable presentation to the visual callbacks (more on that in a minute), this is the definition of a full circle moment. it felt less like the victorious kind and more of the snake-eating-its-tail variety, though. again, more on that analogy later.

my doom-and-gloom reaction to this scene has nothing to do with the fact that Porsche is not only staying in the Family, but rising to the top of its ranks. this is a mafia tale: I signed up for bullets, bloodshed, moral ambiguity and as much be-gay-do-more-crime as possible.

once I started to drill down into what exactly about this moment made me feel so unsettled, the reasons turned out to be much more nuanced.

a couple interesting details about this scene before we get into the nitty-gritty: we've seen this kind of oozes-power walk before. it's what I opened my Kinn character analysis with:

Kinn carries himself with the relaxed ease of an heir born to inherit a throne, and the singular, brutal focus required to keep it.

this is how Kinn walks into every room he enters- when anyone besides the people he's closest to are present, anyway.

there's so much I want to say here about the choice to film Kinn from behind versus Porsche head-on, the framing, etc., but I promised myself I wouldn't get too far into the weeds in this meta.

one more tidbit I noticed in this scene: Porsche never blinks- not once. a neat little trick I learned in Psych 101: blinking less communicates ease, confidence, lack of anxiety; while frequent blinking says "I'm afraid/nervous/lying." if you want someone to see you as more confident than you might feel, look them straight in the eye- or straight ahead and past them, like Porsche is here- and blink less. I doubt this was intentional, but it adds (subconsciously) to the powerful aura radiating off of Porsche.

when you know what a man wants, you know who he is- and how to move him. -George R.R. Martin

belief can be manipulated. only knowledge is dangerous. -Frank Herbert

the triumphant veneer on Porsche's ascension starts to crack as soon as we ask, "how did he get here?" the answer- the rot at the root, discreetly leeching off all the life it touches- is Korn.

we're well-aware that Korn is a master manipulator. he knows his sons' strengths and weaknesses like the back of his hand.

what really makes Korn a force to be reckoned with is his patience. he's been using his knowledge of how to utilize his sons- like the tools I believe he sees them to be- for a very, very long time.

it took years-worth of quiet, methodical consistency to orchestrate the events we arrive to in the finale- and to best mold his sons to carry out his purposes. we've also been getting hints at this the entire time- some of which weren't made clear until the very last moments of the finale.

galaxy-brained @dancinbutterfly caught a god-tier hint at just how deep Korn's machinations go, and it happened in episode ONE- yet it's impact in the finale is enormous. if you aren't convinced that Korn has been planning on using Porsche from the start, you're gonna want to hold DB's/my beer for this one. I'm going to be giving the CliffNotes version, but you can read DB's epic finale analysis here.

the last scene in the finale- with Kinn and Porsche declaring their commitment to each other on the boat- is a callback to episode 1 already, bringing us back to where Porsche jumped off the deck. after Porsche escaped, we cut to Kinn and Korn in conversation. I'll quote DB directly here:

Kinn is asked why he didn't procure Porsche- and we see Korn playing chess. he's playing as white, and white always goes first. Korn always has the information needed to make the first move. he takes the queen [Porsche]- and he uses it to get checkmate.

back to the finale: right after Kinn and Porsche's final hug on the boat, we cut over to Korn. he's sitting at a desk with two betta fish in front of him (my theory on that in a minute). Korn stops to look at his phone, smiling at the picture of Kinn and Porsche that Tankhun just sent him.

Korn's expression is that of a warm, loving father, by all appearances happy to see his son happy- but it kind of just made my stomach roll. and then, we reach the line that takes us all the way back to Korn's first game of chess, right after the other boat scene when he won the game using the queen:

"history is only written by the victors."

not to lapse into tag speak in the middle of a semi-serious meta, but are you crying screaming throwing up yet? someone throw me a thesaurus because "chilling" doesn't cover the level of twisted we're witnessing here. the juxtaposition of these scenes in particular casts such a deep shadow over Kinn and Porsche's happy-for-now ending, it's impossible to ignore (again, all credit to DB for catching it).

Korn didn't just make Porsche's sudden meteoric rise happen- he orchestrated it all. this hint was just a standout one of many. I don't think Korn ever expected Kinn and Porsche to get romantically involved, but did he ever switch gears masterfully when they did.

there isn't a single event in the course of Kinn and Porsche's story that Korn didn't either 1) make happen himself or 2) expertly adapt and work to his advantage.

riddle me this: what could be better for Korn than having his ever-loyal but soft-at-heart son on the throne? let's dream even bigger: how about having his son's heart as his second? as smart as Porsche is, this isn't a world he's known for long- at all.

Porsche doesn't fully understand the rules or know the players- and he certainly doesn't have the benefit of experience required to see the bigger picture. Kinn's biggest weakness is now right out in the open, ready for Korn to exploit when and if needed.

for a man like Korn, what could be better than that?

back to the fish, and what could be our last hint the finale at Korn's next move. betta fish- or fighting fish- are known for their aggression towards other bettas. Korn has the fish in two bowls, separate but still in each other's line of vision- and able to antagonize the other.

before he looks at his phone, Korn is tapping on just one of the bowls, almost like he's deliberately trying to rile the fish up. he's also watching them very intently- and Korn is the most intentional character in this show.

the meaning here is wide open to interpretation, but this moment doesn't feel accidental- next to nothing in this show is. I don't see how pitting Kinn and Porsche against each other at this stage in the game would work to Korn's benefit- they're the most obvious explanation- but I'm calling it now: there's something there, and I have a nasty feeling that it's important.

so- Korn is pulling all the strings. Kinn and Porsche are in power in name only. they’re simply pieces on the gameboard and they always will be, as long as Korn is alive. they’re only there because Korn wants them to be.

Porsche and Porchay were only reunited with their mother because Korn made it so. I could write pages of meta on those scenes alone- the combination of intelligence and fear in her eyes, her catatonic-seeming (but were they really?) reactions, ad nauseum.

I'm not going to delve too deeply into the Namphueng plot here, but I have to mention that something about her reveal feels reactionary. the timing and suddenness of it feels more akin to thinking on your feet than it does to a long-game strategy. there has to be so much more happening here than we're aware of yet.

the main evidence of this for me: Korn left Namphueng essentially locked up in a tower for years. Korn is nothing if not brutally efficient. he could've used her just like he uses everyone else right out in the open. it would have been a million times more practical for him to go that route, but he didn't. that choice says something.

I don't know if I can buy into the idea that his only reason for pulling off this years-long kidnapping-in-plain-sight was just to time her reappearance in order to control Porsche (and Kinn by extension). we're missing a puzzle piece here- really, I feel like it's a lot of them.

which leads us to the million dollar question: what the hell does Korn know? how far down the rabbit hole does the history- and crimes- of this family go? Korn methodically knocked so many threatening pieces off the board, there's now history that ONLY KORN is privy to. let that sink in for a minute. if knowledge is power, Korn's is now near absolute.

Korn's inescapable influence takes what otherwise looks like a beautiful triumph- Kinn and Porsche, united, back where they started- and makes it look more like walking into an abyss.

when and if we get S2, I can guarantee that none of us are prepared for whatever Korn is planning next. like I mentioned in the beginning, the potential fallout for our players left on the gameboard is, in a word- catastrophic.

I'll wrap up this section with a chef's kiss quote from my beloved @elnotwoods:

I got so blinded by the metaphor and the symbolism [playing chess] that I overlooked the fact that the pieces on a chessboard only ever do what the player wants, because there are different ways to play, different moves and strategies- but it’s ultimately up to the person moving the pieces to decide.

so the story of man runs in a dreary circle, because he is not yet master of the earth that holds him. -Will Durant

there's also the issue of who Porsche is, and the question of if he did possess full autonomy here- i.e. if Korn wasn't making his moves for him from the shadows- would this be the choice he'd make? does it align with who he is- or, at least, with who he used to be?

because no one- outside of the people in the Family itself- have been more directly affected by the brutality that comes with the criminal underworld than Porsche and Porchay.

their parents: slaughtered in their home. debtors harassed and threatened them both for years, to the point that Porsche went to beg for mercy on his uncle's behalf. they had to feel like they were living in a semi-constant state of fear- likely with plenty of righteous anger and resentment mixed in, too.

so rather than just a cycle that repeats, we have a true tragedy here in the form of the metaphorical snake eating its tail. the Kittisawasd brothers' lives, loves, even their life's purpose (for Porsche, at least) are now inextricably linked to the cause of the greatest trauma they ever experienced. they're not just a part of the Family now- they sit its throne, either directly or by association.

love- especially the new, fresh, starry-eyed kind of love- has a way of blinding you. of bending you in ways you never thought you would, without either lashing out or getting out first.

is Porsche capable of thriving in this world? absolutely. will it require depths of compromise he can't even fathom yet? undoubtedly yes.

I also don't believe Porsche would have put Porchay within 1000 miles of everything Kinn's world brings if it weren't for love. the "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" argument could be made here- the enemy being the world of the Family, not Kinn himself- but it doesn't ring true for me.

plus, we have Porsche's own words to fall back on:

I'm not on the main family's side. I'm not on the minor family's side. I'm on your side.

Porsche is here for love and love alone. Kinn is here because he is ever-loyal...Porsche's love is a bonus. a life-changing, beautiful bonus- but just a bonus nonetheless.

I have to pause to address what Kinn did and said right before this moment. he doesn't know his father is alive, but Korn's influence- or maybe more accurately, Kinn's indoctrination- is still SO strong, Kinn pulls a gun on the man he loves at the mere possibility that Porsche MIGHT believe Korn was responsible for murdering his parents.

and do you believe him? if you believe him, you have to be on the main family's side. if not- we're on a different sides.

more on this when we talk about Kinn, but this is bone-chilling stuff.

to circle back to Porsche and how he got here: at the heart of it, his decisions aren't all that different from the things anyone who's been stupid-in-love have done or come close to doing: compromising your values, making exceptions- being blind to the bigger picture.

what could catapult Porsche's ascension into a full-blown tragedy (gay gods, let it not; I mostly like being alive) ultimately rests on the gorgeous shoulders of our next major player.

the proverb warns that 'you shouldn't bite the hand that feeds you.' but maybe you should, if it prevents you from feeding yourself. -Thomas Stephen Szasz

while pretty much all of Korn's scenes gave us glimpses of his manipulation, they showed us something else equally important: the depths of Kinn's devotion, specifically to his family and the Family. in Kinn's mind? I don't think he can tell the difference between the two.

this isn't Kinn's fault- he never stood a chance. how could he? Korn's had an actual lifetime to subtly shape and mold Kinn into the obedient foot-soldier-in-a-Gucci-suit he is today- and did he ever get started with him young.

remember Kinn's fireside confessional? he told Porsche about his dream as a kid to be a singer, but he seemed to let go of that dream almost as quickly as it came. where did Kinn get the idea of having to step up to take the burden off of Tankhun if not from Korn?

he was a child, but the walls of his cage were already closing in- and he was none the wiser. cut to all of these years later, and he STILL isn't aware. Kinn is incredibly kind, caring and soft with the people he loves, so he just said "yes- I can carry this great and terrible thing." he took on the burden, and his life is forever changed because of it.

he can't get that time back, that dream, or take back all the things he's done in service to Korn since. he's left with wistful "I wonders" before shaking himself off and moving onto whatever task is assigned to him next.

Korn is incredibly aware that love- romantic or otherwise- is Kinn's Achilles heel. all he has to do is casually mention how much the Family needs him (e.g. the apple scene) and boom- Kinn immediately falls back in line. Kinn would move heaven and earth for Porsche, but his blind loyalty to Korn is just as strong, if not stronger- the ultimate question, really.

and it bears repeating: Kinn's blindness is through no fault of his own. he's been systematically manipulated and groomed into becoming the man he is today. the fact that he's retained as much of his humanity as he has is a small miracle- however compartmentalized that humanity might be (read: being able to assassinate someone on the spot without a sideways glance).

if Porsche was walking to the metaphorical gallows unaware, Kinn is living on the knife’s edge, not realizing how incredibly precarious his newfound happiness is. he has faith in a foundation that doesn't exist. he's been drinking from a poisoned well all his life, and he's unwittingly invited Porsche to partake, as well.

I have no doubt Kinn’s intentions are good, and that his love for Porsche is as true, deep and real as any. it's the same sort of unquestioning, all-encompassing love- for his family, THE Family- that could be their ultimate undoing.

I am no bird; and no net ensnares me. -Charlotte Brontë

we're going to stick to the surface streets where Vegas and Pete are concerned, because to the shock of absolutely none of you who know me, I could write a book on them.

however, I have to highlight the stark contrast their story provides in the finale against Kinn and Porsche's. they were the only characters who walked away with complete autonomy.

what felt like the final nail in coffin to Vegas- no longer being in line to assume his father's position, gain his power and prove himself worthy- was his saving grace. again, this isn't because they got out of the mafia, but because they got out from under Korn- which, irony heaped upon irony, was still Korn's doing.

for now, Vegas, Pete and Macau have been set to the side of the game board by our main player. they're out of the game, but they'll still receive some of its benefits (likely financial). it's probably the best outcome they could have gotten.

regardless of how it came about, or whatever the future holds for Pete and Vegas- it'll be a future they author together from start to finish. they're going into this new chapter with their eyes wide open, their feet on the ground and with a mutual purpose- to somehow be a family- based exclusively on what they want and need most.

I wish that wasn't more than I could say for Kinn and Porsche, but with where we leave them in the finale, it is- for now.

we aren't one story- we can change our stories. we can write our own. -A. Poehler

and so, we reach the end. Kinn and Porsche are silhouetted against/almost swallowed by the darkness behind them (intentional? I'm thinking yes) on the deck of the boat where it all started.

everything has been leading us to this moment- even their final lines are a callback. Porsche is gazing at Kinn with so much warmth and affection, declaring that his life is Kinn's. Kinn assures him he'll treasure it, clearly in bliss- probably feeling like he finally has everything he's ever wanted.

the parallel- along with Porsche repeating again that he's there for Kinn and Kinn alone- gave me chills at all the high-romanticism, coupled with deeply-ominous foreshadowing.

Porsche's life is now Kinn's, and Porsche would give him absolutely everything (he already has). can the same be said for Kinn? is he capable of rising above a lifetime of submission to Korn for their relationship's sake, for Porsche's sake- or most importantly, for his own? Kinn and Porsche are on equal footing on the surface only, and Porsche couldn't be at a more dangerous disadvantage.

as @dancinbutterfly put it to me so eloquently:

there can't be equanimity when one person is standing on earth & the other is in chains, looking up at him from the heart of hell.

I have to use our catchphrase one last time here, because it's never been more applicable: this scene is the definition of many things can be true at once. when we step back to look at the state of play, the bigger picture- Kinn and Porsche's final moment is as tender and heartfelt as it is potentially heart-wrenching.

we're watching these characters we've come to know and love teeter on the edge of a precipice they don't even know exists- but we do. Korn knows- he created it, and he even gets the literal last word- not counting the small bit of dialogue in the final-final scene with Porsche, Porchay and Namphueng.

I was so distracted by the beauty of the relationships between our main/side characters and how they were developing, I didn't go over many of these small- but, in retrospect, crucial- details too deeply, until the finale left me feeling so uneasy, I had to figure out why. even that might have been intentional.

not to go crazy conspiracy board here (but I will): how poetic would it be if the intention all along was to 'dupe' (but not really, because we're talking about it here) the audience into being in exactly the same mental boat as Kinn and Porsche?

i.e. we're so distracted by all the pretty, shiny things (love! HEA! they're in power together! etc.) that we don't see the forest for the trees? I really hope- and dread- that we might get to see it all come to awful, angst-ridden fruition in a second season. because that, my friends? truly god-tier level story telling.

even with all this possibility for heart-wrenching fallout, I've never felt 'safer' as a viewer as I do in the hands of these writers. they left some plotlines under-developed or unaddressed entirely (for now), but the unforgettable story this team managed to create from the mostly-trash heap that is the source material is a testament to their professional prowess, and evidence of all the thought and care they poured into KinnPorsche.

this show has consistently delivered on every promise it made, and managed to surprise me at every turn. I don't know exactly where we're going from here, but if we get to see Kinn and Porsche's story continue? I can't wait to see where they take us- even if it rips our collective hearts out in the process.

what a way to go, no?

special thanks to @dancinbutterfly for going full-on Pepe Silvia with me through half the night (more than once) while I slogged through this thing, and to my wonderful wifey @elnotwoods for helping get my ideas off the ground 💖 tagging some lovely peeps who have been patiently waiting for this behemoth to drop: @patprans @ellaspore @bengiyo @snimeat @rainbowcolored7 @maleficent-cannoli @i-got-the-feels @shinwoonoh @risu442.

as usual whenever I write long-form, I’m doubting whether I actually said anything at all here? either way- thank you for reading this far & I hope you enjoyed it 🖤

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lowestechelonabomination · 3 years ago

Note

For your writer’s ask: 3, 17 and 19!

3. What genres have you written for so far?

lately I only write (read: think about writing) fics for BSD, and I'm not sure what genre to call those. I used to write original works and short stories and stuff, and I guess I'd group them all under speculative fiction. I used to be really into sf, but then I turned away from it into just. weird absurdism

17. Tell us a fun fact about your current WIP.

I guess my current wip is Clouds (even though I haven't worked on it in uh *checks notes* over half a year), so a fun (?) fact about it is that I never planned to go anywhere with it. I came up with a bunch of disjointed semi-cracky ideas while Very Tired and in the middle of a whole bunch of BSD brainrot, so I ended up combining them into a fic. the first two chapters were literally written while I was half listening to online classes, and I didn't really have much of a plot in mind or anything. I was just making it up as I went along. my initial plan was to just get some ideas out and then abandon my ao3 account, but then people ended up getting invested...

19. Show us the line you want readers to remember from your story.

I'm going to use O Overcoat (my only complete magnum opus) for this one because I put way too much thought into it. I added so many small details into that story, and I have no idea if anyone noticed them. one of them that I've never talked about (mainly because I've been holding onto the hope that someone will notice it somehow) is that I made Akutagawa only refer to a handful of specific things with possessive pronouns. namely, his coat, Rashoumon (in the fic they're two different things because it started as an au of "what if Rashoumon was its own entity" and ended up getting way out of hand), and Gin. everything else (that aren't parts of his own body of course) is just "the" something. "the apartment" instead of "his home" (until the end, where he thinks briefly about how fickle the concept of home is). even "the shoes" instead of "his shoes". symbolism and stuff. anyway I digress, here are some lines I like. I know I'm supposed to only give one but. eh. I like talking about my writing and I've kept my rambles about O Overcoat pent up for over a year at this point. also I guess these are more so short excerpts than lines but whatever. enjoy reading I guess?

"You should take a break, you know," the executive said. "You have two days off, use them."

"I don't need breaks," he spat.

"Yeah, you'd think so, wouldn't you?" Nakahara Chuuya snorted, looking up at him through the brim of his hat. "But it's not true. I thought that myself, for a long time," he said, reclining in his chair and propping his feet up on the desk. "But then I realized that you don't need to be working all the time to be worth something. Besides," he added, gesturing to the dark bags under his blueish-gray eyes. "You don't want to end up like me. Take the break."

He didn't even know what to do with a few minutes of spare time, how was he supposed to deal with two days? He only knew how to survive, but what was he supposed to do when he had time to live?

In the cold rain, Gin stood up from behind the new entity and stared up at it. And it stared back, with otherworldly yellow eyes, the only color besides the red of blood among stretches of brown and gray. "Rashoumon," Gin whispered, softly, and that was that.

"Wow, thanks for that," the were-tiger muttered bitterly, rubbing his neck.

"A—" he tried to say, but it was as if something was blocking his throat. It took a few tries before he finally forced out, "Apologies."

The were-tiger stared at him. "Does it physically pain you to apologize, or what?" he asked. "Because it sounded like you were choking just from saying one word. Do I need to call the doctor?"

Akutagawa glared at the other coldly. "I don't owe an explanation to animals," he spat. Anger still simmered inside him.

The were-tiger raised his eyebrows slowly. "And that's coming from you, the rabid dog?"

The were-tiger gaped openly. "What," Akutagawa snapped.

"That's a lot of blood," he said, dumbly.

"Don't be stupid," he spat. "You've lost a lot more than that. That should be nothing to you."

"And who made me lose most of that?" Akutagawa coughed, and the were-tiger looked over at him weirdly. He then grimaced and added, "Although, never mind. You're probably proud of it."

"I am," Akutagawa confirmed.

Just as he was about to step out of the door, Akutagawa gathered enough energy to ask what had been fluttering around in the back of his mind during the entire ordeal: "Did someone put you up to this? To approach me at the store?" Was this all a ploy to make him suffer? Was he hated that much by everyone? He was, wasn't he? Everything was designed against him.

The were-tiger paused, one gloved hand resting on the doorknob. He turned and faced him with an expression that looked so much like pity, condescending, horrible pity, that he wanted to shred it from his face. "Is there a difference if I was? The results are the same." Akutagawa opened his mouth to snap something at the other from across the room, but he was interrupted. "Maybe, Akutagawa, if you actually thought before acting you'd be able to figure everything out." The words landed like bullets in his chest. That was the problem, wasn't it? He didn't think, knew he didn't think. And he could tell what was left unsaid: maybe if he had actually thought, Dazai wouldn't have left him.

With every passing day the coat around his shoulders grew darker and heavier. With every passing day he turned further away from the ghost at his back until it was barely more than a wisp in the wind. It was only the eyes, once golden, that he could never shake off. Those eyes burned holes in his back and shone brightly when he closed his eyes to darkness.

He covered his back and stopped closing his eyes.

Rage, he came to learn, was something that blinded. And yet he took people by the hand and dragged them down regardless.

He paused at the table before leaving, hand hovering over something. He gave in and pocketed the plush he was given. Not because it was soft or cute or anything.

"Anyway," he said, looking up at Akutagawa. "Did you receive the gift?"

Akutagawa blinked a few times. "...gift?" he asked, quietly, but the executive continued as if he didn't hear anything.

"Sorry it was a little plain, but I didn't have much time to prepare anything. Gin said you weren't feeling well, so I thought that a basket might cheer you up."

Akutagawa's pulse faltered. "...what," he said, mind reeling as he tried to piece together what he was hearing. "What..."

Chuuya frowned. "Did you not like it?" Akutagawa's head spun as the blood drained from it so quickly that it was as if a stronger force was pulling it down. He clutched onto the stairway railing, trying to clear the fog away. "Or did you not receive it yet?" His vision rapidly went black even though he thought his eyes were open. His limbs tingled and he couldn't tell if they were even there.

He vaguely registered the feeling of falling before his back hit something with a muffled crash and the world faded away in seconds.

His eyes closed without his permission. Home was such a fickle thing, he thought, as his mind slowly seeped away. And yet, despite the cold, he found he didn't feel alone.

sorry for how long this is, O Overcoat is just a long fic and I have a lot of thoughts. many thoughts head full etc. I also like the entire grocery store scene, but it's pretty long so I decided to omit it. I tried drawing a comic of it in December, but gave up pretty quickly :')

#ask #ask game #archive of my own #echelon in writing hell #o overcoat

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boogiewrites · 3 years ago

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I did! I made it all the way through your masterlist! It is such an expansive window into your soul that I feel like I might know you. And I love your writing so much! It’s so visual, emotional. The hold you have on these characters, it’s so true to them! I can hear them in my imagination when I read your dialogue.

Choking on Sapphires is a masterpiece. A magnum opus. I know you were concerned about writing about the Jewish community which I think is a valid concern. It’s something I myself would struggle with since I’m not Jewish either. But the respect you show the culture as well as the characters is a testament to your skill as a researcher and a writer. And as long as you approach a subject you are unfamiliar with with diligence and humility you are not in the wrong.

I loved that Jason Momoa fic with the bar and the music producer OC. I forget the specifics. I swear it’s been a million years. I think about that one a lot!! Ugh so good!!

And your Eddie Brock fic was why I followed you in the first place and I’m soooo happy I got to finish it!!

I know a big chunk of your stories are WIPs and I know you’ve stalled as a writer but I want you to know I am a big fan. I love what you’ve put out for me to read and though I look forward with hope for updates I also want you to want to write!! I started this project of reading the master lists of all the writers I follow in an effort to assure them that I am here. And I am reading. And I just want you to feel good about the work you’ve already done! If I’ve made you feel proud of your work or anything positive really then i am happy!!

I've looked forward to every comment you've made and it's been fantastic to have feedback again, ngl.

I want to write, but I also have that ADHD urge to follow my hyper-fixation, and right now like only me, my best and 15 other people on the internet would give a shit about what it is lmao So I'm not writing about it because I know I wouldn't get any feedback on it so it isn't worth the effort to me.

I know I should say write because you love it, not because people give you attention for it, but to be totally transparent, I share because I want interaction on it. I want to know people like it. And you dear have been a fantastic light in the darkness that Tumblr now is. You are what is right about the fic audience rn. But it's hard to put the effort to find the time and the motivation and inspiration to write things to post. But that can be said for anybody. The world isn't exactly a place that is giving us a lot of means to have the energy left to create right now.

I'm also trying to put my daydreaming more towards my book instead of fic. So there's that. It's split between that and Bruce Campbell characters honestly.

I do want to finish COS one day. That's the one story I want to make sure I finish. It's all laid out, scene by scene it just has to be written. There are about 50 chapters left in it. I started it in 2018. That's a long-ass time to be going on anything lol I hope I get to share it in its entirety with the internet and I hope one day I get to tell you all I finally self published my own story.

So like I've said before, thank you. Comments mean more to writers than our meager offering of 'thanks' can convey.

#asks

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jackcinephile · 4 years ago

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L'Inferno (1911) Movie Review!

As promised, we're gonna be celebrating this Spooky Season with a Devilman Crybaby headcanon! In order to fully express my HC, I will be reviewing icons of horror cinema and literature that helped contribute to many of the themes and ideas that are prevalent in Go Nagai's original manga. So, without further ado, let us descend into the Blind World. Put all fear and cowardice aside. I will be your guide through this eternal place, where you shall hear the shrieks and see the tormented spirits who all bewail the second death.

And how appropriate? Because our first film is the 1911 adaptation of The Inferno by Dante Alighieri. I suppose it's only right to begin this saga of horror films with one of the first horror films ever made. Okay, "first horror film" is actually debatable, so keep in mind that I said "ONE of the first." In any case, it remains one of the most important landmarks in horror cinema.

"Stopped, in the middle of what we call life,

I looked up and saw no sky, but rather a dense cage of leaf and tree and twig,

For I was lost."

The film opens as the iconic poem does. Dante Alighieri is a middle-aged man who finds himself lost in a dark, gloomy forest. This opening of the story always had a way of making me feel somewhat lonely and isolated. In my interpretation, I always saw this forest as being symbolic of how Dante felt after the death of Beatrice. Allow me to explain...

For those who don't know, Dante met a young girl named Beatrice when they were both nine years old. The young boy immediately fell in love with her, even though they hardly interacted. Despite their lives continuing in separate directions, Beatrice had always and forever held a special place in Dante's heart. When he received word that she had died, Dante was absolutely devastated. He felt that she deserved to be immortalized in what he intended to be his magnum opus; The Divine Comedy.

I believe that this opening to the Inferno is actually Dante going to a journey to find Beatrice so that he could say goodbye to her. Along the way, he got lost, both literally and spiritually. That, in my opinion, is what this forest symbolizes. In many ways, this opening kind of reminds of the opening to Silent Hill 2, just from how dismal it is.

Having said all that, I think the film does a very poor job of conveying those emotions. Sadly, I just don't feel any of the despair that was present in the original poem. He just wanders around for a few seconds, then steps out into a clearing. But don't worry! As soon as Dante steps into the clearing, the film IMMEDIATELY gets better. Upon entering this clearing, Dante finds himself at the base of, what I believe to be, Mount Purgatory. I can only assume that's where he is, because the gates of Hell are at its base, and Dante seems to suggest the gates of heaven are at its summit, just like Purgatory. Unfortunately, his path is blocked by three ravenous beasts: a leopard, a lion, and a she-wolf, all representing different Earthly sins. He runs back the way he came, before being rescued by a strange apparition. It's here that the film begins to remind us all of why the original poem is regarded as a self-insert fanfic...

Upon introducing himself to the apparition, Dante learns that it is the actually the ghost of Virgil, author of the Aeneid. The significance of Virgil being in the story is that he was Dante's favorite poet of all time, and Dante always longed to meet and interact with him. It's literally a self-insert fanfic of Dante meeting and interacting with all of his inspirations. It's honestly a mystery to me why I love The Inferno so much, because it's everything I hate! It's a Catholic's fanfic about why he sees himself and his friends as morally superior and why everyone he ever disagreed with is going to Hell. Somehow, in spite of all that, I still love it.

So why did Virgil even decide to help Dante in the first place? Well, remember when I talked about Beatrice dying? It turns out, she descended from Heaven into Hell to ask him for help, because she knew how important he was to Dante. She tasked Virgil with being Dante's guide, after seeing that he has gone astray.

This is where the film's innovation starts to take shape. Beatrice has often been drawn as having a halo around her head. The problem is, how do you show that in a film made in 1911? The effect was strikingly realized with, what I assume to be, spinning rods covered in reflective material. I can only guess this is how it was done, but it appears right to me, because that's how a similar effect was created for the lightsabers in the original Star Wars. It looks like the rods were placed behind the actress, so that the rig couldn't be seen, making it appear as if the light was emanating from her head. This scene also displays an early appearance of wire work on film. In those days, that shit wasn't easy. It was even harder to hide the effect, which this film does fairly well.

So, Virgil explains to Dante that he must take him on a pilgrimage through the three different stages of the afterlife. To be perfectly honest, I never understood why. Maybe I'm just an idiot with little to no reading comprehension. It's also a factor that I haven't read parts II and III of the Divine Comedy, so maybe it's elaborated better in there. From what I gathered, since Dante is going on a journey to find the literal Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin intensifies) Virgil needs to take him to Hell and Purgatory, so he can face his sins and better appreciate Paradise. And thus, Virgil's pilgrimage to lead Dante through the Afterlife begins!

"Through me, the way to the City of Woe

Through me, the way to everlasting pain

Through me, the way among the people lost

Divine Power made me

Eternal I endure

Abandon Hope, all ye who enter here"

That is the inscription above the Gates of Hell. It is here, that Dante is already planning on turning back. Virgil literally tells him to stop being a pussy, and I was satisfied. Once they enter the gates, it becomes apparent to the viewer, if it hasn't already, that this isn't just an adaptation of Dante's work. This film is actually a cinematic translation of the ICONIC illustrations by Gustave Dore that were created in the middle of the 19th century. So much care and detail was put into recreating his AMAZING artwork, that many consider to be his magnum opus. This film was basically the Zack Snyder's Watchmen of its day!

Those familiar with the story will recognize this iconic scene that is being recreated onscreen. Dante and Virgil have come to the shores of Acharon, where the souls of the damned board Charon's vessel to be taken before Judge Minos, who lives in Limbo.

Speaking of Limbo, that is the first spiral of Hell Dante visits. This is where good people who weren't Christians come to face eternity. Their punishment is meant to be the denial of Paradise, but if you ask me, it doesn't seem so bad. Apparently Dante felt the same way, because this is where he meets his other great inspirations, such as Homer and Ovid! The poets all enjoy their visit together before Virgil must take Dante on his way. This is honestly the part that makes me cringe the most. Nothing reeks of self-insert fanfic more than meeting your idols and being greatly respected by all them. This is exactly why I abandoned my Silent Hill fanfic.

Anyway, Minos's throne lies at the lower boarder of Limbo. The king himself appears as a giant naked bearded man with a snake tail. The tail is used to determine the punishment of sinners by wrapping around Minos's own neck multiple times. However many times the tail coils determines which spiral the sinner is sent to.

And here we get to my favorite scene in the whole film: Lust! This spiral perfectly displays the true innovation of special effects. In this spiral, sinners are punished by being caught in a tumultuous whirlwind. The wind symbolizes the tumultuous feelings that arise between lustful lovers. It's one of Dore's best illustrations, and it blows my mind that the filmmakers were able to recreate it so well!

Our two pilgrims move onward to the Spiral of Gluttony, where we come across Cerberus. He guards this spiral, but Virgil subdues him by throwing a clump of dirt in his face (still more respectful than Lore Olympus). Honestly, Gluttony is nothing to write home about. It's just a raining landscape with people laying in the mud. Still, I have to give credit for the meticulous recreation of Dore's art!

Down in Greed, who else do we find guarding this spiral, other than Plutus?

SIDE NOTE: I've read a very strange "translation" of his dialogue. The original line reads, "Pape Satan, Pape Satan, allepe!" Strangely, no one seems to agree on what exactly this means, so most translations are different. Particularly, in the case of Douglas Neff, he translates "Pape" to "Papa," which is strange because "Pape" means "Pope" in Itialian. Then, he changes "allepe" to "you are my king." Let's also not forget that Plutus was also occasionally used as an epithet for Hades and/or Pluto. This means Douglas Neff literally wrote Hades to say, "Daddy Satan, I worship you" (still more respectful than Lore Olympus)!

In the Spiral of Greed, the sinners are forced push heavy sacks of gold around for eternity. Once again, this scene is nothing special, but still an admirable recreation of the illustrations that inspired it.

The next scene, however, shows off more of the innovative talent that makes this film so amazing! Virgil and Dante move on to the Spiral of Anger, where the sinners are punished by being submerged in the black sludge of the River Styx. The only way across is by boat. This is where Phlegyas comes in. The two poets stand by a giant tower which they use to signal for passage to the City of Dis. Along the way, the boat is stopped by Dante's political and intellectual rival, Philipo Argenti. It's here that one realizes just how petty Dante truly was. "Oh, I disagree with you politically. Therefore, you deserve to drown in sludge for all eternity!" He sounds like people I used to know. Hell, he sounds like me in high school!

All while this is going on, we see an amazing special effect of a double exposure of Dis in the background. It's an amazing miniature of the city's outer wall, optically printed to take up the entire top half of the screen.

Finally, they make it to the other side of the river, where we actually get a cameo by Hades' and Persephone's children! No, not Zagareus, Makaria, and Melinoe. None of those people were Hades' and Persephone's children. I'm actually referring to the Erinyes (also known as, the Furies). They block Dante's entrance to the city's gates, so Virgil calls upon the aid of an Archangel to rid them of the Furies. It is here that Dante asserts the superiority of Christianity over the Hellenistic faith (still more respectful than Lore Olympus).

Within the City of Dis, Hell begins to look more like how we always imagined, with fire and brimstone. In the Spiral of Heresy, sinners are stuffed into eternally burning ovens embedded in the ground.

Beyond that is the only omitted sequence from the poem. In the original Divine Comedy, the Spiral of Violence is originally guarded by the Minotaur! Beyond that are sinners, stewed in a boiling river of blood (The Phlegethon). On the banks, we see a heard of Centaurs practicing their archery on them. These are the individuals who were violent towards other people. In order to cross the river of blood, Dante and Virgil must ride on the back of one of the centaurs. You know, having heard of centaurs' notorious reputation for being horrible rapists, it makes me concerned for the sake of our Pilgrims. Maybe they didn't include this in the film because they couldn't figure out how to make a centaur?

On the other side of the Phlegethon, Violence continues into the suicide forest (*Logan Paul reference here*). Here is where sinners, who were violent against themselves, are punished. Once judged to this spiral, they grow into trees. The symbolism being that trees are a symbol of life, of which these sinners have deprived themselves. I'm surprised this scene isn't more controversial. After all, seeing as how seriously mental health has been taken recently, it's fucking awful to tell someone they're going to Hell for committing suicide! As a peice of horrific imagery, I love this scene, but knowing that Dante actually believed this makes me despise it.

In addition to being a horrifying concept, this scene also includes one of the first instances of bloodshed in a horror film. Virgil explains to Dante that he can speak with the sinners if he breaks one of their branches. When he does, blood sprays out of the tree like a drinking fountain!

After a brief conversation with the sinners, Dante moves on to the final section of violence, where people were violent against God. Here the sinners are punished in a desert that perpetually rains fire.

Now, not every special effect in this film is good. Because when Dante rides down to the eighth spiral on Geryon's back, it is such a stiff, unnatural, badly puppeteered marrianet that they couldn't even keep stable for the shot!

"There is a place in Hell called the Malebolge..."

Now, we get to my favorite part of the whole poem: The Spiral of Fraud. Here the deceivers are punished in a myriad of ways, depending on how they lied to others.

In the first Spiral of the Malebolge, those who pander towards others are mercilessly whipped for all eternity. This marks the first appearance of the classic image of the winged demons that we all know and love.

In the second spiral, the flattererers bathe in a stagnant pond of their own feces and vomit. This symbolizes the value of the words that they spew at other people. I think this might be where the expression, "You're full of shit," came from. Think about it; you say that to people whom you think are lying to you, and this is in the Spiral of Fraud.

Incidentally, this punishment was referenced in a Turkish horror film called Baskin -- a film about a small group of off-duty police officers who crash their car and wake up in Hell. In that film, the main characters realize they're in Hell when they find demon raping someone, while shoving her face in a bowl of her own face and vomit. Baskin is not a part of this HC, so I'll have to talk about it later. For now, I'll just say it's one of the best horror films I've ever seen!

In the third spiral, those who joined the Catholic Church for their own personal gain are buried head first, with their feet sticking out in the air.

In the fourth spiral, fortune tellers have their heads turned backwards. This prevents them from looking forward, symbolizing their attempts to see into the future.

In the fifth spiral, the sinners are repeatedly dipped in boiling tar. This scene is especially interesting because it shows that the demons we see aren't actually monsters. They're just creatures doing their jobs, punishing sinners. In fact one of the demons named Malecoda assigns a group of demons to help escort Dante and Virgil through the rest of the Malebolge. That, unfortunately, doesn't work out, however, because the demons are distracted by a sinner trying to escape, so Dante and Virgil move on alone. What's also unfortunate, is that other demons, who assume that Virgil and Dante are also sinners trying to escape, chase them into the next spiral. Luckily, each demon is confined to their own spiral, so they can't keep chasing them.

In the sixth spiral, the hypocrites are forced to wear robes made of solid gold. They also find Caiaphas nailed to the ground. As someone who has Jesus Christ Superstar on his top three list of favorite albums, I was happy to see Caiaphas get referenced.

In the seventh spiral, the thieves are bound by snakes, whose venom causes them to burn to ashes. One thief in particular gets attacked by a giant lizard that makes him into a lizardman (someone tell Alex Jones).

In the eighth spiral, the false advisors are eternally engulfed in flames.

In the ninth spiral, the sowers of discord are viciously mutilated. My favorite part about this scene is that it's one of the first instances of gore in a horror movie. The prophet Muhammad has been cloven from his belly to his throat with his guts spilling out all over the place. That's right! Muhammad is depicted in the Inferno. Not only that, but Gustave Dore drew him. Damn. Dante has no chill. Hey, the founder of the most homophobic religion in the world rots in eternal Hell? I'm not complaining! This kinda makes up for the portrayal of suicide victims.

In the tenth spiral, the falsifiers are punished with enternal leprosy.

At last, we make it to the Spiral of Treachery, at the center of the earth. Here, the traitors are frozen within the Lake Cocytus.

"Lo! Dis Himself!

Emperor of the Kingdom of Woe"

Finally, at the climax of this horrific epic, we see Satan, and it's not what you're expecting! He is in the very center of the lake, frozen up to his waist in ice, and forced to eat the three greatest traitors of all. His body is covered in course fur, and he has three heads and six wings. Satan's appearance in this story is disarming and almost pathetic in a way. You'd imagine Satan to be this fearsome king, but he's just shown to be suffering like everyone else. It's kind of sad, really.

The film ends with Dante and Virgil climbing down Satan's leg fur and ending up at the base of Mount Purgatory.

L'Inferno is one of the first true masterpieces of horror! It's hard to believe that this movie is almost 110 years old! Just think of how it would have been to see it in theaters for the first time when it was new. We owe it to this film for proving the language of Cinema could be used to tell the most epic stories possibly conceived.

You can watch the film for yourself here:https://youtu.be/cMUPbPOGPdM

youtube

Now, you're probably thinking, "What the Sam Fuck does any of this have to do with Devilman Crybaby?" Well, for starters, in Go Nagai's original manga, the character Asuka Ryo implies that Dante's Divine Comedy might have been based on a true story. This is futher validated when the demon Xenon appears and bears a strong resemblance to Dante's description of Satan. But beyond the surface-level details, let's discuss some of the deeper implications of what Hell actually is. Within this headcanon, the Afterlife is an entirely separate dimension, occupying the same space as our Earth, but invisible to our eyes. There is a way, however, to see and explore this separate dimension. You see, when different dimensions intersect at certain angles, they sometimes leave gaps through which we can come through and cross over to the other dimension. It was through one of these gaps that Virgil was able to find Dante. These angles and gaps between dimensions will be further explored in a later film.

#dante's inferno #dante's divine comedy #l'inferno #devilman crybaby #devilman crybaby headcanon #Youtube

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