I am glad you enjoyed this new episode, the move to the armory gonna be interesting! You are right about the exquisite harmony, perhaps we should show a little more of our creative rehearsals behind the scenes.
"We must burn it all down." This brief extract of Erin's dialogue sums up what must be done to Red October and whatever Evil lay beneath it.
So I begin thoughts on Episode 19--20 dropped yesterday (and it looks INCREDIBLE--I'll read it right after I finish my thoughts here, which won't be the ponderous length of my standard commentary, but I caught a few ideas during my read of 19 which I wanted to put out there, since they're important, even if for Kate and Sissitrix to absorb, since I think they're genius).
In prior comments, I've made repeated references to the (theologically/metaphysically) diabolical. I've seen diabolical possession themes in Erin's addiction to Allen's array of pleasures, for one thing. There are countless demonic figures in Sin Street--demonic in the classic sense of being trickster/deceiver figures (these figures are also classic tropes populating the noir genre--moral ambiguity, dubious alliance, confidence artists, masters of half-truths, etc--the bottom line being the subversion of the Right in favor of Wrong (or Evil) via effective deception--Bliss Paradox is a good example here, Max as well, though both are modifications from the norm. And there's Sissitrix (sorry, Sissi--nothing personal!), the scientist, engineer, AI genius--or something far worse--a character whose allegiance has always been protean over the course of the whole saga. Red October as well--if there ever was a Manichean "polar" force of evil in the story, that's being revealed as IT--chillingly, an opposing force for Good isn't evident. All possible claimants to the title do not fit the bill. Sin Street is totally devoid of sanctity!
Finally, I caught a significant literary analogy here, coincidentally with diabolical undertones. It's the "evocation" of "Max" from the green goo in the tank (I was reminded of the tank of swirling green liquid locked in the church basement in John Carpenter's little-regarded yet intriguing supernatural horror flick "Prince of Darkness," where Satan himself was imprisoned, until the tank sprung a leak, and all Hell broke loose--pun fully intended). Max's "spirit" constantly refers in different ways to the destruction of his mind or sanity in the realm he inhabits. Also, there's the "dream" he refers to, where there's the "trial" where his deeds are read out, and he's subjected to gang rape and torture. In Dante's "Inferno," during the Poet's journey, he learns at one point that the damned gradually lose their intellect over time, so the true torture in hell is the erosion of your individuality as a person--your memory is erased over time, and you're condemned to eternal silence, denied even the consolation of sorrow for what you've screwed up! I got that right away. As far as the trial scene, it's obviously classic dystopian Kafkaesque, but there's a fairly obscure late '80s horror flick with Tim Robbins called "Jacob's Ladder,"--the director escapes me--about a Vietnam Vet suffering from terrifying, hellish visions. In one, he's in some very dingy hospital, strapped to a gurney, about to undergo a nightmarish procedure at the hands of a "medical staff" without faces, led by a doctor who tells him he's in Hell, or something similar. Highly arresting imagery which moves from the infernal to the less-than-infernal. It's been considered a Dantean allegory. I haven't seen it in about 20 years, but that surgery scene was so terrifying I never forgot it.
This episode was far more substantial as far as plot and symbol than Episode 18, which in retrospect I see as more of a transitional episode--of which there have been several--all good as well, but not as intense as the hinge chapters. So Kate and Sissi--another masterwork! Of course, I have most likely read too deeply into the narrative, maybe not--but that shows that this saga is very rich in many ways. Now I'm moving on to #20!
Ahah, since I just came back from your comment on #20, I can easily say that chapter twenty kind of trapped you, like a little mouse! I see our creation like a run, intense, then calm, intense again… The same for my artwork, some weeks are easy, some others are difficult. Thank you for all these references, it is always a joy to read your side of the story.
Welcome to another episode of A resurgent whore! Can you feel the winter wind?
Awesome cover image and Virtue League artworks partner
Another superb episode, Sissitrix and Kate. You two work together so very well in exquisite harmony. The intrigue deepens yet again.
I am glad you enjoyed this new episode, the move to the armory gonna be interesting! You are right about the exquisite harmony, perhaps we should show a little more of our creative rehearsals behind the scenes.
We are like a swan Sissitrix. Serene above the water..... 😂
You are my favorite black swan
Thank you Martin, I love this partnership with Sissitrix. Thank you for supporting us
Lots of work.
Thank you for supporting us Bill
Dive in, and enjoy the sin!
Sorry I've been AWOL lately partner. I'm online at least now.
"We must burn it all down." This brief extract of Erin's dialogue sums up what must be done to Red October and whatever Evil lay beneath it.
So I begin thoughts on Episode 19--20 dropped yesterday (and it looks INCREDIBLE--I'll read it right after I finish my thoughts here, which won't be the ponderous length of my standard commentary, but I caught a few ideas during my read of 19 which I wanted to put out there, since they're important, even if for Kate and Sissitrix to absorb, since I think they're genius).
In prior comments, I've made repeated references to the (theologically/metaphysically) diabolical. I've seen diabolical possession themes in Erin's addiction to Allen's array of pleasures, for one thing. There are countless demonic figures in Sin Street--demonic in the classic sense of being trickster/deceiver figures (these figures are also classic tropes populating the noir genre--moral ambiguity, dubious alliance, confidence artists, masters of half-truths, etc--the bottom line being the subversion of the Right in favor of Wrong (or Evil) via effective deception--Bliss Paradox is a good example here, Max as well, though both are modifications from the norm. And there's Sissitrix (sorry, Sissi--nothing personal!), the scientist, engineer, AI genius--or something far worse--a character whose allegiance has always been protean over the course of the whole saga. Red October as well--if there ever was a Manichean "polar" force of evil in the story, that's being revealed as IT--chillingly, an opposing force for Good isn't evident. All possible claimants to the title do not fit the bill. Sin Street is totally devoid of sanctity!
Finally, I caught a significant literary analogy here, coincidentally with diabolical undertones. It's the "evocation" of "Max" from the green goo in the tank (I was reminded of the tank of swirling green liquid locked in the church basement in John Carpenter's little-regarded yet intriguing supernatural horror flick "Prince of Darkness," where Satan himself was imprisoned, until the tank sprung a leak, and all Hell broke loose--pun fully intended). Max's "spirit" constantly refers in different ways to the destruction of his mind or sanity in the realm he inhabits. Also, there's the "dream" he refers to, where there's the "trial" where his deeds are read out, and he's subjected to gang rape and torture. In Dante's "Inferno," during the Poet's journey, he learns at one point that the damned gradually lose their intellect over time, so the true torture in hell is the erosion of your individuality as a person--your memory is erased over time, and you're condemned to eternal silence, denied even the consolation of sorrow for what you've screwed up! I got that right away. As far as the trial scene, it's obviously classic dystopian Kafkaesque, but there's a fairly obscure late '80s horror flick with Tim Robbins called "Jacob's Ladder,"--the director escapes me--about a Vietnam Vet suffering from terrifying, hellish visions. In one, he's in some very dingy hospital, strapped to a gurney, about to undergo a nightmarish procedure at the hands of a "medical staff" without faces, led by a doctor who tells him he's in Hell, or something similar. Highly arresting imagery which moves from the infernal to the less-than-infernal. It's been considered a Dantean allegory. I haven't seen it in about 20 years, but that surgery scene was so terrifying I never forgot it.
This episode was far more substantial as far as plot and symbol than Episode 18, which in retrospect I see as more of a transitional episode--of which there have been several--all good as well, but not as intense as the hinge chapters. So Kate and Sissi--another masterwork! Of course, I have most likely read too deeply into the narrative, maybe not--but that shows that this saga is very rich in many ways. Now I'm moving on to #20!
Ahah, since I just came back from your comment on #20, I can easily say that chapter twenty kind of trapped you, like a little mouse! I see our creation like a run, intense, then calm, intense again… The same for my artwork, some weeks are easy, some others are difficult. Thank you for all these references, it is always a joy to read your side of the story.