i come with knives, to love you

Oh...

I was trying to figure out why the sleeves were different in each clip, and then I realized that he's young in the first one and older in the second one. Reality in a memory is hazy and those are definitely adult hands.

Simon's been feeling this guilt from damn-near birth. He's a scared little boy in his own head. Very "I'm not a bad dog, I don't know why I bite" of him. It's fear aggression.

The blood sits heavier in his palms as a child. There is heavy overhead light glaring down on the red, lighting it up like stars. Glinting.

A symbol that Simon found his meaning in the bloodshed. He could find stars in the blood if he looked hard enough.

Huh. Reminds me of the "Light" in the blood. The Anomaly and finding God within it.

Mark's visual prose is a giant Venn Diagram of symbolism. I'm starting to notice this.

Simon's mother, the knife, and his guilt are the same symbol. Simon reaches for the knife in the holster the way he reaches for his mother for comfort in his head. The knife is his violence and he reaches for it for comfort. His mother is Violence and she bathed him in blood. His anger keeps him mentally safe. It cradles him like mother. It's all a big tangled circle.

Simon's hope, finding stars in the blood, and the Anomaly are the same symbol. The anomaly is a miracle the way Simon's hope is a miracle. Looking for stars in the blood is Simon trying to find meaning in the world the same way the God does. Through a pinhole, whether that be a rip through space, or an indoctrinated mindset. A rip in Simon's head. Simon looks into a reflection and sees a whole different world, just like the God.

After sifting through hundreds of photos... I have realized that every time Simon takes a photo in the SM-13, he's pulling up a frame to a stop motion animation.

And it can be played back as video.

So, I took each black box photo and compiled them together. You can now watch Simon's entire journey from the SM-13's camera like found footage.

You can also gain access to Simon's amazing photography portfolio from my master reference project, as well as the video for yourself.

Please, have a watch. It's terrifying. I feel like a C.O.I. lab tech delving into something I really shouldn't, and it's a blast!

Oh, is Bats having trouble sleeping because of… @distort-opia's zine contribution?? Maybe he's been interacting way too much with the multiverse— or not nearly enough.

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