Aurora Borealis

I just want to live. Is that so wrong? Why doesn't anybody else want that?

Hiroshi Nagai's paintings need sunglasses to look at.

They look like how it feels to walk across a parking lot on a 98° summer day without a speck of shade in sight.

They look like heaven but also like you'd burn your bare feet on the ground.

Even when you can see shade you know it's not enough and the minute you step out you'll be burnt to a crisp like a vampire.

This feels like I could trip on that radio and fall right into that water, feeling the crystal waves as I drop in.

And this, a nice stroll down a resort strip, where my sunscreened skin could literally feel cooked if I leaned too close to the tiling.

And then a nice stretch of summer street, wherein you could see your face in the flushed red of that car provided it didn't blind you from its sunny reflections.

Like NO? that's lunch, if he gets hungry!

His mission was only supposed to be like. 2-3 hours tops. They give him 30 minutes between surfacing and getting the sample because they know he's low on O2.

They were going to pull him right back up at any sign of distress then a big fish grabbed and dragged him to a place they couldn't follow.

Then, when he did make contact, Ava was right at the radio already as if she was waiting, hoping against every sign to the contrary that he was still alive (despite Simon being down there for days and should have asphyxiated by that point).

I'm frothing. Like yes. Within the meta narrative, Simon was always going to die because that's what Mark knew needed to be the ending to pay respect to the source material, but within the context of the story itself, the COI was not sending him to die.

I do think Ava was being more reckless for some time already, slightly rogue on COI council regarding when to send them info and so on, we see, and also considering what David says, but David himself says that Ava takes care of her crew.

*Meta Narratively*, he wasn't supposed to make it back, yes, but that wasn't COI's plans. Ava and David were a bit of dicks to Simon at the start, yes, because of his involvement with Filament Station and later for blasting them with radiation (they're all very human for all these; we all point how human Simon behaves in the SM, but David and Ava's behavior and treatment of Simon, of not wanting him dead but still, well, bullying him because of who he is, is a very human thing), but killing him *LIKE THIS* wouldn't serve them in any way, shape or form.

Also, just after Simon takes the pic of the skeleton and the SM-13 is shaken around? They immediatelly start pulling the SM-13 up and Ava is there in the radio screaming if the SM is damaged because if it is, Simon *can die*. And before sending him back down, David asks Ava about giving Simon more oxigen. Because it was supposed to be short (30 minutes) and expecting to be doing tests on the sample before any other expection, she was like "no", probably because Simon would them be taking out. And per David's words, we know *air* is a worry for the COI, so he being the one to ask about making sure Simon has more oxigen is poignant.

"They're still there. On your left. They're watching you."

Together, in their search for freedom, power, and riches, they’ll fight across a treacherous tropical paradise – from dangerous waters to dense jungles, untamed lands, and bustling historical cities.

*idea gets more complicated*

*idea gets more complicated*

*idea gets more complicated*

*idea gets more complicated*