any mortal thing - 14.16
Added 2021-10-23 07:21:08 +0000 UTCChapter uncovers buried pillars in the ancient sands, but the figures in the stone carvings don't look quite human. Chapter chapter chapter, here you go! Whee! And here's that link, in case you wanna click it:
https://katalepsis.net/patron-only-advance-chapter/
This week's password is 'Khafre'.
Comments
If Heather made the same spray-bottle threat, she would say it with the knowledge that she can't actually back it up. Whereas Sevens probably can! Very well spotted on the implications that Sevens has not always been the lesbian shipping playwright! There's a lot of implications packed into this chapter regarding her personal history and possible development when she was "younger". The trans allegory is also an interesting interpretation! But I shall say nothing more on that for now. As for the "Grand Guignol" reference, it's specifically referring to the infamous theatre in Paris by that name! Perhaps the Yellow Children get to pick their own names? Or perhaps they develop them over time. Like plumage. As for your technical question, the story begins in 2018 and is currently in spring 2019. Your interpretation of this part as being about parasocial relationships and online spaces is really fascinating! I will admit that none of that was intended, the commentary on love was aimed in a different thematic direction, but that interpretation totally has my authorial blessing (for whatever that counts!) Transactional relationships and love of objects is a huge theme regardless. Very interesting, thank you!
Hazel Young
2021-10-24 11:51:47 +0000 UTCAS I WAS SAYING Seven's spray bottle threat struck me as very very Heather for a moment. Then I thought about it some more and I was like 'well, Heather would probably be trembling more while saying it." Still, it was an interesting thought, I thought! I have so many thoughts about the names. For one, Sevens was not always the lesbian shipping playwright she is now. I had been wondering the extent to which she aged or grew, if she was once something like a child, whether she chose her focus or was simply made that way, and this implies some of the answers to that. Also implies that she might have changed her name, which makes her existence more potential trans allegory which I am here for? There's a part of me also wondering if this is part of why Raine is the only person Sevens has messed with beyond Heather, that maybe it's because she has a tiny bit of that anxiety about feeling fake somewhere inside her true self. (Incidentally, I googled it, and Guignol is the main character of a French puppet show according to the Wikipedias, and while that could be an emphasis on a sort of working-class violence, maybe it's about weaving people's bodies if he's usually a silk weaver, but also we don't have the rest of the name so who knows?) But also, Mel's name is very strange, isn't it? Tenebrous Melancholy of the Umbral Sands. I believe it was Saldis who gave us the idea that the other siblings/pretenders ought to have yellow-based names as well, but there's nothing yellow in this name aside from arguably Sands, with Tenebrous and Umbral both being about shadow/darkness. (Also you could call her tenny just to make Heather mad) I don't feel quite sophisticated enough to dissect the love discussion, but I think I'll try to do so anyways, and my first thought is: is this taking place in the 2010s or in 2020 or when exactly again? I swear I saw it somewhere, but I forget now, aaa. Because the thing about whether a performance can go on forever or whether it has to end has me thinking about today's online spaces, where your whole life becomes a performance, and to some extent it was always thus but social media definitely amplifies this aspect of life? >“It is not for your sake, hybrid. I wore this for so long it began to feel more real than my own face,” she purred, slinking closer on silent paws. “I am the Sphinx of Thebes, for she is no more, her bones worn away to dust and joined with the sands. There is only me left to keep the memory alive.” I'm calling out the second half of this as an excuse. Everyone and their mother knows the Sphinx, you silly girl, it's basically the second most popular piece of Egyptology after the Pyramids? But the first part rings true to me, and also fits neatly into the whole idea of constant performance? >“Not without a riddle,” purred the sphinx. “One to open your rainbow-clouded eyes, sister.” again, I would like to point out that Mel is all shadow??? they've both notably departed from yellow? > “Do I?” I snapped, losing control at last. Then I hiccuped, loud and awkward. “Do I really? And you!” I blazed at the sphinx. “What are you going to do if I answer incorrectly? I’ve escaped the jaws of much larger creatures than you. I can melt your digestive system if you even try.” Heather's frustration at being taken through the hero's journey is extremely relatable > Guilt stirred in my chest. Tenebrous Melancholy of the Umbral Sands was correct. Love without respect was not love at all. If everything before can be implicitly read as a commentary on life in the age of online performance, then this can definitely read as about parasocial relationships IMO. Obviously, the extent to which the voyeuristic angle of Sevens and Heather is itself a parasocial relationship is a big question! > “See, sister?” Melancholy asked. “She loves another.” True guilt spread through my chest and belly like a web of rot. I’d forgotten how the Yellow King’s progeny made everything into a performance, made every emotional point with endless theatrics, and knew everything they required about the subjects of their plays. maybe I've just been listening to too much Ten Thousand Posts, but my connection of this arc with Being Extremely Online cannot be stopped. the anxiety of 'can I really form genuine connection or is it all just transactional' also probably applies a bit to capitalism in general, but definitely applies to relationships in the extremely online, clout and influence, having to know the right people, etc. But maybe that's also just high school, ahahaha. okay so I don't want to go over the next stuff line by line, but we have Sevens providing the counterargument to what Mel is saying, and then there's the revelation at the end and that just makes me go OKAY YEAH THIS IS DEFINITELY ABOUT BEING EXTREMELY ONLINE AND PARASOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS, MELANCHOLY WAS LITERALLY IN LOVE WITH AN OBJECT???
Twi
2021-10-23 23:57:21 +0000 UTCYou may have deleted it, but I actually have the text of it in an email! I get all comments as emails, though without paragraph breaks. The post is preserved, if you want me to send you it somehow or something? Quite happy to!
Hazel Young
2021-10-23 19:49:54 +0000 UTCI think I deleted my giant rant post, F The TL;DR version: Mel's name is very interesting because it's not yellow. Also, call her Tenny to bully Heather. Also, does Sevens have a bit of Raine-esque anxiety about authenticity in there? This entire arc and the whole thing with the Progeny is just about being extremely online and performing yourself in social media spaces, you can't change my view There was some other stuff in there but alas it's lost to time
Twi
2021-10-23 19:34:34 +0000 UTC
