#red geraniums

Quiet, lazy days. Nothing accomplished. Nothing wasted.

Saint SeVashTian or something idk

When we think about media literacy, we often think about tropes, cinematic and literary devices, references, and Easter eggs. All of these are explicit ways for creators to communicate with us, the audience.

But we know there’s a lot of *implicit* communication happening too, such as how a character is lit from scene to scene, the color palette of the set, and camera angle.

Not everything in an artwork is on purpose. But Rem’s red geraniums must be intentional, at least in Stampede. They qualify as a repeating motif, even rendered gigantic in E12.

So what the hell do they mean?!

Well, kids, I consulted the Oracle today. By which I mean I Googled it.

Have you heard about the language of flowers? Go check it out, it’s almost as fascinating as tarot and not nearly as likely to get you kicked out of church.

Turns out there’s a ton of possibilities here. It could be as simple as Rem’s birth flower. That would make her a Scorpio, and some say Scorpios prefer dark red flowers.

It could be a reference to the book “To Kill a Mockingbird”, which uses red geraniums to signify redemption, forgiveness of cruelty, and above all hope for a better future.

In Wicca, red geraniums symbolize protection. Rem gives up her life protecting others, and Vash spends all his energy and time protecting others. So red geraniums fit perfectly with this theme.

I think we can dismiss the love-letter meaning “Your smile bewitches me!” Even I can’t rationalize that one. But there’s a lot of other weird stuff too, like how the Victorians defined all geraniums as “stupidity or folly”. In numerology, it’s supposed to be the number 7. They also apparently are good for repelling squirrels, attracting pollinator insects, and are deer resistant. Make of that what you will.

I like the Wiccan protection meaning a lot, but the TKaM reference makes sense to me. Vash believes it is never too late for anyone to choose peace. He is all about redemption and hope.

Side note: there needs to be more Rem Saverem fanart I wannnna see them!!!

'Throw those curtains wide ... One day like this a year would see me right ... It's looking like a beautiful day' sings Elbow ... the man on the radio says the snow remains around the trees in Dublin and then moves on to the competition question ... the traffic lady has been and gone.

I'm thinking of the fairytale character Snow White, the bluebirds on her shoulder, her voice lilting and rising ... I wonder how the scene would have played out if it were set where I am, with Rooks upon her shoulders and the sound of tractors in the distance.

From there (perhaps) the long lost postman would emerge from the undergrowth, produce a newspaper wrapped item from his bag and, once the paper was unfurled, a slightly skin wrinkled, green cooking apple would be revealed and proffered to Snow White.

She would hesitate. The long lost postman would smile through his shaggy hair and beard and tell her 'take a bite, my pretty'.

Ruby red lips would hesitantly approach the apple's skin, teeth would sink in and her face would crumple, eyes scrunched and mouth twisted. The sourness would elicit such an array of expletives that the Rooks would leave her shoulders, the tractors would come to a standstill and the approaching Prince would retreat into the undergrowth alongside the postman.