#abnormality analysis lob

[literallys-illiteracy]

Trans Allegories in Lobotomy Corporation

Part 0.5 in a series that i'm making going over the archetypes, themes, and interpretable meanings of all the abnormalities in this game, before the next, and then finally in Limbus.

Cut is for further explainations

First Tier: Trans Allegory 100%

It is important to note that there is no strict defining line on what a trans allegory is, which I also have a project working on to describe my theory, but in the Scaffold one could theoretically understand the structure that I have.

Snow Queen:

The power of love overcoming that of cold, stagnating, uncaring evil in order to help one re-find themselves. The snow queen herself does not represent that of the allegory, it is rather Kai (Kay) and Gerda's story from the original tale that can represent this, however interlinked all the same to the queen.

King Of Greed:

Part 1, the work line:

"When The King of Greed assumes the form of an egg, you can faintly see a smiling girl inside it."

alongside the fact that her title is "king", a traditionally masculine rank.

Part 2, the actual thematic:

The concept of "greed" in this abnormality is not truly one that is borne of what one would traditionally think, rather than the desire to take for the sake of taking, it is the concept that the root of happiness is desire, and at the root of all desires is an insatiable greed within.

While desires many will go unfulfilled, they will always be the root of ones happiness, and will always remain in ones subconscious.

Snow Whites Apple:

Snow whites apple is one of being discarded and abandoned, hoping to rot (similar to another teleporting, hallway damaging, plant based Waw in this same tier), who, after time passed, realised that the life she had seen come to fruition for Snow White was not the life that would come forth for her, so she leaves to go on her own journey, to find herself.

The apple, realising that the life they had once thought was not for them, sprouted forth, grew, and became a princess in search of a story.

Nothing There:

Egg.

Beauty and the Beast:

Change, death, a life trapped in a body that is not *you*, an endless cycle that all parties wish to part from.

Today's Shy Look:

someone in a discord server noted that this abnormality is a parallel to neurodivergence, especially ASD. Unfortunately i beat them to that analysis a few months ago.

The themes of identity, denial, and divergence all carry over to themes of trans nature, however that is not to say that Shy Look is intended to be one, it is almost certainly intended to be that of ASD.

That being said, kill the author with your own bare hands, the autonomous psyche that exists in humanities collective contains these archetypes of identity and denial, and integrally they are linked to these conscious perceptions we have of them — Inseparably these ideals are linked to conscious perceptions, though borne from the unconscious mind, and forth from this there is no way to remove change from identity, to remove denial from the 'self', to differentiate one's societal differences and strife to that of another. We are all human, we all share in this human collective, these unconscious symbols are not defined by a singular perspective, interpret things as you wish. If you disagree with my analyses, by all means, slay me by your own hands; forthcoming the 'Death of the Author' is the 'Birth of the Reader'.

Alriune:

Doll wished to be human, abandoned to the wayside, finding their own goals shattered.

Though Alriune may be interpereted very strongly as a trans allegory, which i also have a different (netzach) project related to, that is once again to the visceral humanity of these abnormalities, which i plan to touch on at a later date if a certain mutual doesn't beat me to it.

Funeral of Dead Butterflies:

Whom also has their own post on this topic. which is another 'death of the author' tangent for you to read on i guess.

The Funeral of Dead Butterflies' thematic is that of death, and hence that of rebirth, of life.

This concept is best demonstrated through a quote from Demian:

“The bird fights its way out of the egg. The egg is the world. Who would be born must first destroy a world. The bird flies to God. That God's name is Abraxas.”

Herman Hesse, Demain

However, i also have a topic essay separated from PM somewhat regarding the nature of death as an allegory, alongside an additional essay named "Transing Death".

Notes of a Crazed Researcher:

"The final chapter ends with the phrase: “Born again.” "

Notes of a Crazed Researcher, observation level 4.

We Can Change Anything:

Don’t like how you look? Are you too fat? Too skinny? We can change that!

We Can Change Anything, Observation level 3.

Being somewhat more serious, with both the notes and this tool, though not integrally linked to that of these allegories, they are both understandably interpretable as this with reasonable argument to support them.

Tier 2: Plausible to Write as a Trans Allegory:

Burrowing Heaven:

This abnormality will come back later. Keep an eye on this one for a moment until then, hold on.

So Burrowing Heaven's gimmick is that of attention, wings, and eyesight.

It's descendant from the trope of 'gazing upon a god' often present in fictional or extant religions such as in the Lovecraft mythos (which is noted in particular due to the abnormality being described i later depictions as "wings of an elder god").

That being said, this abnormality's concept of "existing within ones perception" is interpretable as that of identity, alongside the line of "I could only bear fruit in your sight", akin to the concept of only flourishing when viewed as what or who you are.

Scorched Girl:

Abandonment, sights of a better future, disregard by society.

This abnormality only gets this lower tier due to its source material's differentiation, rather than seeking a better life for strictly herself, she sees in the fires a world of warmth, of joy. Though hope is a powerful emotion, and one that is linked to desires at a primal root neighbouring the king of greed, it is wrote here in a way that is less linked to that integral theme of identity I seek.

The following three exist in the same vein:

Queen of Hatred, Little Red Riding Hooded Mercenary, and Big and Might be Bad Wolf:

All three of these abnormalities share the same virtual story framework, one of managing your identity within a predestined story.

Queen of Hatred defines her existence upon the extant force of evil, though in opposition to it, hence her dual thematic of both love for good, and hatred for evil. Little Red, similarly, is not a being without her antithesis, without the wolf she cannot exist as an individual, without her hatred for the one which haunted her for so long.

The Might be Bad Wolf exists in a barely different stream, though still that of a predestined story, it is rather that of societal fatalism, wherein its nature as a wolf determined its future, the wolf is always the villain of the story, the wolf is meant to hunt.

The wolf is also the most trans-coded out of any of these abnormalities, its nature of being hated due to its nature alone, its lack of decision in the matter, its fate, it "will be" the Big and Bad Wolf.

The former two however share this in many ways, due to the aforementioned predetermined nature of their tale, however in both a meta, and mirrored parallel.

The Hood and Queen both define themselves on another's basis, being unable to exist without the other, leaving themselves as incomplete — In queen's hysteria we can see the repercussions of this unfold, her strands of being still loose she unweaves into a beast, into a creature that she does not *want* to be.

The Hood exists in a slightly different manner once again, as she has found herself in the wolf's hunt, though less so in this unweaved state that the Queen has.

Warm hearted Woodsman:

Desires and is denied a heart due to its nature from birth, from its creation.

Do you know what letters heart has? thats right. HRT. I rest my case.

Der Freischutz:

Loss and searching for identity, sacrifice of ones old life in order to create a new one on their own accords.

Red Shoes:

This abnormality is the literal incarnation of desire, so much so that it's EGO is the only one to actually include the word "desire".

The Firebird:

The Russian avian version of Moby Dick essentially, a bird which wishes to be perceived, wishes to be hunted like it once was, in order to regain its glowing feathers.

This bird exists in the same concept of Burrowing Heaven (you can stop keeping an eye on it now), wanted to exist in ones perception, as beautiful as it truly can be.

Plague Doctor/Whitenight:

Both Plague Doctor and Whitenight share both of their placements due to its fucktonne of different plausible interpretations, this one was extant on its own, but furthered by someone named "chaos" in a twitch chat when i first made this list.

This concept is mostly that of change, of becoming your true self, and finding those that know about and accept this self before the advent comes.

This transformation is integrally linked to Whitenight, alongside Plague Doctor, however they will get their time in the spotlight soon enough.

Mirror of Adjustment:

Changing one's self though appearing the same in the mirror, see Limbus Company canto 4 for more details.

Meat Lantern:

Appearance verses reality.

Knight of Despair:

Yet another struggle to find one's identity in a cruel world, a tale as old as time, where the knight's experiences, her cycles of despair, lead to her view of herself, her sough purpose in life, to be naught.

This purpose is then renewed through the protection and guidance of others, similar to mine, like how i attempt to guide others (in both understanding themselves, alongside subconscious themes, and media literacy), the knight attempts to guide others, and protect them from the harm that she could not protect others.

Yin/Yang:

The innate feminine and masculine traits that each holds, alongside their obvious dichotomy and wholeness in unity can be understood as one coming to understand or accept their true identity.

The reason that this is not in a higher tier is because of some psyche stuff that i don't want to get into here but i think i may have wrote about in the past.

[Censored]:

This abnormality is by design an enigma, which is its entire purpose, the concept of a hidden form, of redacted information, of a 'true form'.

Now as the river of humanity I may be a bit biased but i think that this abnormality is the peak form that one could take in a transition i think.

Tier 3: Transphobic:

Forsaken Murderer:

Medical experiments forced upon someone in order to cure an unseen disease of the mind, which removes ones identity and personhood in the process.

The above paragraph is describing what is known as "conversion therapy" which is a fucking horrendous concept that draws parallels to the forsaken murderer's story involving medical experiments forced upon someone in order to cure an unseen disease of the mind, which removes ones identity and personhood in the process.

Whitenight:

This is about people who use religion to justify their hatred of others, about people who make their anger justified through their posited god, who make their disdain, their xenophobia, into a so called 'Divine' wrath.

Plague Doctor:

[...] cure an unseen disease of the mind, which removes ones identity and personhood in the process.

(me, 3 paragraphs ago).

The plague doctor, sharing the concept of Forsaken Murderer, seeks a so called 'Disease of the mind', which culminates in the deaths of many once its mission is seemingly complete.

Bald:

[...] forced upon someone in order to remove [...] which removes ones [Hair] and [Hair] in the process.

[literallys-illiteracy]

abberation discussion: Der Schütze and Der Freischütz

So from what i can tell, the difference between Der Schütze and Der Freischütz is one of losing oneself and giving it up (i donf know if this post is coherent, ill see when im less sleep deprived).

While the Freischütz (freeshooter) sought out all their beloved and killed them, in an attempt to trick the devil, their soul was taken from them. In a sense, and mirroring the origins of the name, the Freischütz sold their soul to the devil, leading them to continue living with no purpose, drive or soul.

Heres a small tangent about Walpurgisnacht: the origins of the name Der Freischütz is an opera, which in turn was inspired by a german tale of a marksman who had entered a contract with the devil for 7 bullets, but the 7th would only follow the will of the devil (so very very similar to PM); In literature, the term most commonly used for trading/entering covenant with a devil or greater being is called a “Faustian Bargain”, named after the German novel “Faust”. The book Faust is the namesake of Faust within Limbus company, leading to the point of this tangent which is actually longer than the original post: Why the fuck did Faust not get the Magic Bullet EGO or ID?? Its a perfect fit from the limited amount we know of Faust, as the literature is most of what we have to go off of.

Der Schütze, or “the shooter”, in contrast to loss of drive, the loss of the Freischütz‘s soul, possesses enough of their soul to enjoy the killing. while the Freischütz sought their beloved, killing them and, in the process, lost their soul; The Schütze does not remember their beloved at all, rather than selling their soul to the devil, they remain in possession of it, though wishing that they could leave it behind as the former did. The new Heathcliff EGO, Fell Bullet, i'm fairly sure, is the representation of heathcliff forgetting cathy, losing her name as time passed; Maybe, if he could leave their memories behind as the Freischütz did. if he let go of the past, would he feel any better? The final note is back talking about the Corrosion sprite for the EGO: we see in the trailer that during the corrosion, heathcliff seems to take the appearance of a heart, where he surrounds himself with the magic-shotgun-circles, showing the desire of the Schütze to lose their soul, what remains of their memory, trying to pierce their heart as the seventh bullet of the Freischütz did long ago.

[literallys-illiteracy]

The Funeral of Dead Butterflies is a trans allegory

I have decided and it is well known that i am never wrong (not legally binding):

This concept branched off from a tangent of a tangent when i was writing Hod’s analysis, which is going to be the next released essay i'm fairly sure, where i thought about the thematic of the butterflies within the coffin; The butterflies within the coffin, for those who did not read the Floor of Technological Sciences Essay, are notable for 2 reasons, the first is that they allowed me to add a joke about milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk, and the second is their concept of metamorphosis:

(holy fuck i dont know how to end a sentace) 

Within the company walls, the employees are trapped, slowly withering away; The mourner comes, carrying a coffin to symbolise all those who died while trapped within this coffin of a company; Within the coffin he carries sleeping butterflies, the employees who remain, for one day the coffin will open, the company will open, and those inside the coffin will be able to sprout their wings, they will be free like butterflies are meant to be.

“Until then, they flutter their wings uselessly. The wings that may have been many jumbled into one, or one split into many. Butterflies are supposed to pollinate flowers, but not a single proper flower blooms in this place. There is no choice but to wait. After all, there must be an end to every world.”

There will be an end to all things; no matter how suffocating, how eternally you think to be trapped, there will come a time for you to use your wings, to fly in a place where flowers bloom, to live as you should live, as you were meant to live.

My bets for the Yisang Solemn lament ID are that its a tremor ID to track with the stagger gimmick that Butterfly had in LoR, and a "reuse coin" mechanic so we get the funny 8 coined skill

[literallys-illiteracy]

Today's Shy Look:

Trigger Warning: This Analysis contains mentions of:

NSSI (Non Suicidal Self Injury)/ Self Harm.

ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder)

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Literally's note:

This was originally part of the Hod/Literature floor analysis, but however due to the nature of the topic i thought it best to post separately for those who may want to avoid reading about this.

also because the tone is completely different from the rest of the floor's analysis due to my swapping into scientific introduction mode halfway through instead of the PM autism mode which i usually write in. for any future Abnormalities which have a similarly sensetive thematic i will do the same as here, linking back to this post with the same warning to make it easier to avoid.

Ok now back to 'Essay Literally' instead of 'Socially inept Literally', <3

~~~

The story of “Today’s Shy Look” is one of a person being forced to express themselves to the community despite being shy, they wanted them to express emotions to show that they are happy - Shy Look took to flaying their skin and carving 5 faces on different patches, so that they would be able to wear these masks and express their emotions, pleasing the people of their community; 

ostensibly Today’s Shy Look’s story is one of neurodivergence, more specifically developmental disorders such as ADHD, or in this story’s case, Autism, fitting the thematic of an inability to express oneself, and a societal expectation to do so.

The flaying of the child’s skin is analogous to the harm that this societal pressure can create among children who diverge from the norm, having to change themselves in order to please others, to fit the permanent square peg into the permanent round hole; to climb up the slope of the bell curve; to become Normal.

The story may also be read in a more literal sense, the harm which society places on divergent children being not only that of an inordinate social pressure, but the actions which may follow, actions which bare a much more direct parallel to the child’s flaying of their skin.

There is a correlation between self harming and Alexithymia (Norman et al., 2020), a common symptom in ASD (Kinnaird et al., 2019); Additionally there is proposedly a correlation with ASD and developing psychiatric disorders, specifically depression and anxiety (Lugnegård et al., 2011);

Due to a harder time understanding emotions and an inability to properly express them, individuals with ASD are more likely to self harm (Vandewalle & Melia, 2021)

; those who lack healthy support, are more prone to viewing themselves as being “incorrect”, leading to attempted “Self correction” or “punishment” when one does not act to their expectations, this concept of heightened standards is called perfectionism (Frost et al., 1990;) (Gyori & Balazs, 2021).

Often  i have noticed a correlation between emotion repression and low self esteem alongside a sense of perfectionism (conjecture, 2024), additionally comes a link between self harming and shame, using it as a form of motivation (Schoenleber et al., 2014).

We can elaborate on this concept through the lines present in Library of Ruina and Lobotomy Corporation:

“Goodness, why are you making such a face? You're making others feel gloomy too. Please be more considerate, you don't live in this world alone after all.” 

The concept of deviation from societal norms being something that should be eliminated, the shame that the child may have felt for abstracting from the norm ; The posing of the child as “Selfish” or “inconsiderate” when they are the ones expected to change their ways for the others, leading to the belief that they are the ones required to change, that they are the ones who have done something wrong;

"Do I look a bit better now? I hope I do…"

The pressure and desire to conform to the ways of the society, the disregard for their own suffering in lieu of the community’s values;

"What the fuck do you want from me? To keep smiling like an idiot?!"

The frustration with the community’s wanton expectations, the repressed emotions coming to the surface, the resentment at the community at large.

[literallys-illiteracy]

(re: magic bullet outis, bc i forgot to include) there's also the themes of despair (see also: bloodbath e.g.o. gift), of continuing to survive by sacrificing others bc it's all you know how to do anymore, and the "travel[ing] to many worlds (...) in one world [being] known as a righteous hunter, and another as a bloodstained gunman" paralleling both the wanderings of odysseus and his historically divisive interpretations –particularly ulysses, who also appears in the inferno. also, odysseus was already famously skilled with the bow, hence the shooting trial.

there's also some conjecture to be had abt the devil in der freischütz's backstory, 'to páthos máthos' being a quote from agamemnon, and how the marksman – in the opera at least – was coerced into making the deal with the devil to avoid harm coming to his loved ones (agathe dying of despair, telemachus being run over by a plow), but i digress.

First Post

i do want to note how the story of the Freischutz in PM fame specifically notes the fact that they shot their loved ones willingly to attempt to "beat" the devil, which seems to be the direct opposite of the opera's story; I want to note that, as German was the only class i ever fell asleep in, my German is very bad, and ive not found an english copy of the Opera in my, admittedly limited, searching.

It seems that the Freischutz of PM is less inspired by the opera, though you would certainly know better than I, but rather the character which inspired it of German folklore. This inspiration of the folktale is reinforced by the Freischutz's appearance and tale from LC and LoR, as, noted by Weber (the author of the opera):

"the Devil may turn the bullet on [The Freischutz], [...], the preface to his reappearance from his mysteriously opened coffin as a ghost, forever hunting"