#automatisms

[solipsistful]

Automatisms – XX10: The throat

“The stages you’ve seen described are identification, indoctrination, reinforcement, and deployment, but Grace has seen other documents that borrow the semiotics of the supernatural: ‘manifestation,  infestation, oppression, and possession.’” Or: what if the Lowry in Control’s head was more than figurative?

Fandom: The Southern Reach Trilogy - Jeff Vandermeer

Rating: Mature

Category: Gen

Archive Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Additional Tags: Multiplicity/Plurality, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Body Horror, Self-Harm

end of part two

- ace

[handwerkstatt]

Heute mal wieder selber ertappt, wie ich der ersten Person die ich traf, das Handeschütteln zwar verweigerte, bei der zweiten Person aber schon wieder (m)ein Automatismus einsetzte und ich meine Hand ausstreckte. Zum Glück war diese Person so geistesgegenwärtig und verweigerte mir das Händeschütteln. Seltsam, wie man sich nur schwer von solchen Angewohnheiten zu trennen vermag.

Später kam mir der Gedanke, ob sich die deutsche Bevölkerung nach der Nazidiktatur wohl ebenso schwer tat, das Heben des rechten Arms zu unterlassen.

Today I found myself again, how I refused to shake hands with the first person I met, but with the second person again used an automatism and I reached out my hand. Fortunately, this person was so present and refused to shake my hands. Strange how it is difficult to separate from such habits. It later occurred to me whether after the Nazi dictatorship the German population would find it equally difficult to refrain from lifting the right arm.

[solipsistful]

Automatisms — XX02: Breaching

“The stages you’ve seen described are identification,  indoctrination, reinforcement, and deployment, but Grace has seen other  documents that borrow the semiotics of the supernatural: ‘manifestation,  infestation, oppression, and possession.’”

Or: what if the Lowry in Control’s head was more than figurative?

Fandom: The Southern Reach Trilogy - Jeff Vandermeer

Rating: Mature

Category: Gen

Archive Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Additional Tags: Multiplicity/Plurality, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Body Horror, Self-Harm

[solipsistful]

the most time i have put into a drawing in a while (though it doesn’t look it; there were a lot of experimental sketches) and it’s for the incredibly niche Control + Lowry multiplicity AU. good.

(they start out without much of a headspace to speak of, but there comes a point where the idea comes up, and Lowry goes ahead and... makes a Headspace X, basically. this, like many things Lowry does, Control does not approve of and makes things worse for the both of them because surprise now your headspace is a constant reminder of trauma.)

- ace

[solipsistful]

(talking through Lowry-Control multiple system AU things)

lmao there’s pretty good evidence that Jackie is Not Superstitious At All and in fact helped work to de-séance-ify the early Southern Reach, right?

so imagine this from her perspective: spending all this time trying to get people to look at Area X and stop thinking “magic”, then out from Area X stumbles your son, who you thought was very likely dead, now claiming to literally house the ghost of your colleague, who you know is dead. and he’s saying things that your son absolutely shouldn’t know.

(Lowry: “told ya it was ghosts. >:P”)

- ace

[solipsistful]

there’s a gap in time/events in Acceptance that i am currently writing around in our multiplicity AU and i hate itttt

specifically, the space between Ghost Bird and Control going into the island’s lighthouse and finding Grace, and Control waking up with Grace pointing a gun at his head.

they must have had a conversation there! they even ate -- Grace drugged Ghost Bird, after all. but it’s not until the next morning, apparently, that they started chatting about things you’d think would be pretty important, like “how long ago was the Southern Reach to you, anyway?” and “so lol hey Control, you still being hypnotised?”

we’re probably overthinking it and should just... go with canon here. if we didn’t notice it in canon until actually examining the book closely, it’s probably fine lmao. the image of Control waking up with a gun in his face is just very good?

- ace

[solipsistful]

multi AU (”Automaticity”? :’D) nonsense

look i’m just extremely into that thing where you draw how different people in a system wear the body. and Lowry and Control sure do wear it differently (including canonically! there’s enough of a “hypnotized by Lowry” Look™ that Grace can identify it across different people, which makes some of her antagonism towards Control kinda jerk-ish but who can blame her)

Lowry is so personable in general :) (slightly incorrect: i don’t think Ghost Bird ever learns Lowry is Literally, Actually Dead, but that doesn’t make her less curious about “wow Area X is doing weird things to you Control isn’t it”)

- ace