Girlybro theres this post and it reminded me sm of leander! Its by frankiecorleone and it says ‘an ouroboros is the opposite of a pearl’ and jejdjdjejdjs i looked up pearl symbolism and its associated with the moon(goddess) but also with marriage. In relation with the ouroboros, a pearl is basically a hard core made by a cycle of creation right? Something that entered a shell by accident gets covered by many many layers,, which is like an outward creation instead of a self-negating and creating one.

(This is me just going off like a madman btw)

SO theres this lyric in bjork’s atopos that goes like ‘If we don't grow outwards towards love

We'll implode inwards towards destruction

If my plant doesn't reach towards you

There's internal erosion towards all

Pursuing the light too hard it's a form of hiding’

But also ‘hope is a muscle that allows us to connect’

AND like,, i already talked about leander and hope vs faith (faith consumes hope = ouroboros = no connection!!!)

But with the pearl (i think we as mc should embody it,, thats my hc anyway) its accident (birth, curse??) gets covered in layers of stuff (should be hope) creating a hard gem outwards (reaches outwards to connection)

idk about the shell tho. Is the shell the world??Is that a reason for leander to be so protective and all consuming? Him knowing theres has to be some cover needed for connection (and ideally him controlling it and creating it,, or at least redistributing what is) but failing to realise the destruction he causes?

ALSO (sorry) atopos calls out obsessions with reciprocity

‘To insist on absolute justice at all times

It blocks connection’

Another reason for leander failing to connect with ppl and maybe even the world!!

This is either rlly smart or a total mess idk,, also happy new year!!! — musa (deranged)

Woah happy new year thank you for leander food! I love when ppl talk abt all the possibilities w touchstarved so hell yeah. He sure is SHELLtering us (you can hit me for that its ok). We do be like a pearl, as we have something of value he would want to cultivate.

Im going to keep it 💯 hope, faith, outwards towards connection are stuff my singular brain cell is overclocking to even begin to comprehend but i can see youre onto sth esp w how much ure able to connect it w (im sure others reading this will get it way better than i am rn 💀)

I rly enjoy all this use of symbolism and metaphor its delicious

reading the hitball arc my brain is picking up so many little bits of info but has no idea how to put them all together to form any kind of coherent analysis (cue me rambling aimlessly as i try 2 find that thesis statement) ((this devolved into garbled passionate yelling real quick))

previously “established” in another “text post” i made “a few months ago”: during the game max is wearing wristbands, one blue and one red, which for the sake of this thought process i take to represent max n johnny respectively

also went over how max switching both wristbands to the same arm post-game ~symbolically~ parallels him & johnny having worked together to defeat hijack & come to understand each other a little better & the bands being on the same arm now represents them being on the same team/side

at one point during the game max gets all shaken up abt having dodged one of hijeff’s earlier attacks instead of like standing his ground i guess?? putting himself before his teammates??? am i interpreting this right i feel like im missing smth

one of the key pieces of the game is the golden switch, a ball that has the power to make anyone hit by it switch teams & join sides with the one who threw it at them. this is the ball used in the final play of the game in which max and johnny work together to take down hijeff for good

in said final play, 1) the golden switch hits max, probably symbolic of smth, & 2) breaks one of his arms, the one w/ the blue wristband- based on the color theory i feel like this should also be symbolic of smth somehow ?? max making a sacrifice in order to become a team w/ johnny?? a self-sacrifice??? is the injury representative of itself???? is it literally just as simple as “max is the one that got hurt so the arm w/ the blue band gets broken” ????? but throughout this entire comic thus far max has been first and foremost his own top priority meaning that he doesn’t do anything for anyone else unless there’s something in it for him, he’s not the type of guy to make sacrifices for other people, or more specifically for “The Greater Good” and, considering how shaken up he got earlier about instinctively jumping out of the way of hijeff’s attack while everyone else jumped right in its path to protect each other, it’s kind of a big deal for him to now be putting himself directly in harm’s way instead of like finagling the situation into making johnny the throwaway instead (esp bc max has every reason to believe johnny deserves to have pain inflicted on him more anyway) so maybe the break represents some kind of shattered mindset that he had to undergo in order to then effectively team up w/ johnny??? which would make the metaphor like

1) max n johnny r Enemies who Fight (wristbands on separate arms) 2) max has the sudden realization that johnny is Upstaging him by Caring About and Defending His Friends & generally being a lot braver than him and that he needs to Step Up His Game in response (arm gets broken) 3) now that max has that new resolve he n johnny join forces & also like understand each other a lil better?? due to working together??? (blue wristband gets moved over to other arm w/ red one bc of the injury)

or something????

srsly tho back to the golden switch & the last play im like?? there HAs to be smth here ok it’s this magical ball that represents switching sides or changing perspective or whatever idk!! & then at the v end of the game it’s like.,., li kE ok hijeff has the ball & he throws it at max: 2 things can happen here, either max gets hit cleanly and has to switch to hijeff’s side, or johnny catches it & the rest of their team gets to come back from the dead, right. as per the rules of the game. OR Lri lieke  like ok hear mee out i mfuCKING liSTEN

hijeff is EXPECTIGN max 2 jump out of the way like he did before right. RIght! but max had that uthfukgning Change Of Heart or whatever where ehs like “o shit johnny is like honorable or whatever & im a coward” so this time he s NOT a coward & he takes the hit & it’s like!! mad character development!! right in this arc ohm y god

but then like therehas to be smth symbolic abt this ball like it has its own goddamn Prop Design it could have just been any plain ass Dogd=ge Ball there didnt even Have to be a golden switch in the first place but THERE IS so it HAS to be important to the stroyr RIGHT it’s njot just a gimmick 2 make the game more interesting rgiht theres SymbolisM AfooT

so theyre usin this SPECIAL ASS BALL right in the END of the Game the CLIMAX if u will & like up until now max & johnny have been having a Couple conversations that arenyt like “gimme ur lunch money” type convos like they usually have, theyre actually lik e Supportin Each Other???? it’s rly good but OK right at the last play is when theyre finally just like it’s Only the two of them left & so they have to do a THing together in order to win like it’s JUST tTHem right!!!

so max devises his Smart Boy Plan & gets hijeff right where he wants him adn!!! the SWITCH that hijeff was like, totally meaning for to hit johnny with,. max stays RIGHT THERE and lets it HIT HIM aND YEA YEA RIGHT WE ON TO SMTHINg irhtgt sO it’s already hit max at this point right so it’s fukiggng like, , it’s like, IF the ball just flies off & hits the wall & the ground then max is FUKCED he has to go over to hijeff’s team but INSTEAdD he  TRUSTS JOHNNY 2 CATCH THE BALL ad johnny is like standing behind him?????? theyr both facing hijeff & max is in ftont so he isnst even LOOKING he just TRUSTS that his plan will work & johnny will HAVE HIS BACK n catch the ball & seal hijeff’s doom imM FUCKIGNG OOOOO BOIYS WE GOT IT WE GFUKINGG HAVE THEHEH

SSO THE BALL IS MAYBE LIKE??? jfuk i mlosing it its juking me oh god oh no but lIKE? it dEFNITELY has smth to do with the ball bein about switchin g sides & max Almost havin to switch sides but then johnny’s like “Not On mY Watch” but then also they kinda switched to each others side and ALSO SALSO I FORGOT TO MENTION ABT HOW JOHNN Y WAS THE ONE WHO THREW THE BALL IN THE 1ST PLACE AT MAX 2 GET HIM TO JOIN HIS TEAM????? max was just FUCKING AROUND in some corner w/ suzy n collin & johnny was like *EYES ZOOM IN* & NAILED HIM W/ IT u can NOT tell me he wasnt aimign for max ok that ball went SCHLOOP right into his head, balls dont just fly around all willy nilly ok u throw a ball in a STRAIGHT LINE & it goes STRAIGHT  & it wasnt bad aim bc johnny was picked to be team leader bc he’s like GOod at shit oK strong boy good at PE he was the other alpha next 2 isabel at the beginning of class he knew EXACTLY where hwas throwin that ball & it was At Max’s Head bc he Knew what he Wanted ok!!!!!! glad that’s cleared up!!!!!!!!!!!

IN CONCLUSIOn max & johnny character development GOOD bye