#selene rambles

Hehe, time to go off on a ramble.

Cyberpunk 2077 Edgerunners

The most obvious influence (aside from the game itself, shhh). If I had to sum up a central theme of both Edgerunners and my fic, it'd be: the cost of love in a city that eats people alive.

That's how I read the series at least, and it's a theme I really wanted to bring into my little SilverV fic.

Another thing I love about Edgerunners is its imagery of the Moon, how it represents escape in Night City.

This scene in particular is very influential. I tried to capture it in my own writing. Particularly in Chapters 11 & 17, where in both instances V dreams of being on the moon with Songbird, overlooking Earth.

Hehe, who knows? Maybe the fic will end on a similar note as Edgerunners did...

Eraserhead

I'll never be the same after watching this film, actually, I'll never be the same after watching any of David Lynch's films. (I am definitely a Lynch fan)

Eraserhead is an interesting film to say the very least... Uhhhh.... The plot is as follows. Henry, the protagonist, knocked up a woman named Mary, who had an alien baby. They marry each other, but Mary leaves, overwhelmed by the baby. Without spoiling, let's just say Henry takes good care of his kiddo.

I mean, how could you not love baby E.T.?

Anyways, the weirdness of the film + baby E.T. were major influences for my fic. At its core, the film is about parenthood and the haunting, terrifying, and horrifying weight of creation.

Baby Jackie is adorable, but still, postpartum depression is kind of a major theme in my fic. If one film does not perfectly represent how terrifying parenthood is, I have no idea what does...

Mr. Robot

My most recent influence for the fic, for sure. Season 1 is peak; the other seasons are good, but the twists during this first season. AHHHH

I love good mysteries and thrillers for their twists alone! But Mr. Robot is perfect in all areas, plus its protagonist is an anarchist hacker. While it's not set in the future, this show definitely follows the themes of the cyberpunk genre. An anarchist fighting against the power of corporate society.

So yes, this show definitely aided me in my writing. Especially when it comes to writing Johnny Silverhand (oh my god, he's such a complex character asdfg).

In Waiting for the Sun, I hoped to add in enough twists to do this show justice. I have so many notes to keep track of all the foreshadowing, red herrings, symbolism... send help...

Ghost In The Shell

Edgerunners got me interested in anime. Ghost In The Shell cemented my love for it. The film is simply a piece of art. So influential to the Cyberpunk genre as a whole. The Matrix was, in fact, inspired by this film, and you can clearly see that upon rewatching both films.

Major was definitely my biggest influence when it came to writing V, particularly the Queen of Swords version. Literally dealing with the exact same internal conflict of their consciousness being uploaded into an unfamiliar body (more or less). So yay! Identity crisis.

I also quite literally have a homage for this film for the intro of Chapter 15 in the Swords timeline. Specifically, the scene where V leaps from a building to complete a gig.

Taxi Driver

Ah, yes, the ol' unreliable narrator. Thank you for that, Taxi Driver. Ooh, and the violence, yes, very helpful indeed.

I love the way Taxi Driver paints the city, highlighting its dark underbelly. Night City is exactly that: a terrible city. Especially one to raise children. They literally have a child prostitute in the film, oh dear...

My biggest influences from this film were definitely the way they showcase the city at night. And the protagonist himself is most definitely not a reliable narrator. I was hoping for the same with my version of V.