Sep 08, 2021
Okay, finished!
So, just a fair warning, I'll go the good parts first and the bad parts right after. Naturally, my opinion all throughout.
I have thoroughly enjoyed the world you've built here. From the Latin-American cryptids loitering around the place to the sullen sense of religion, political culture, philosophy and psychology, it is truly a thrill for the ones in the know to dissect and analyse. I loved trying to grasp all the references to certain video games and TV series and since most of them weren't particularly anime, I could do that with relative ease (since I'm more versed in this part of the globe's culture ; u ;). The RE, SH, TLOU and hell, maybe a little bit of Stranger Things? were a perfect frame for what, ultimately, turned up to be a very decent story.
The characters were a particular strong suit of this here piece, for no other reason than the sheer grittiness seeping from every word they spoke. You could feel their hearts on their sleeves even in the case of the more withheld ones, such as Victoria and Gabriel and it was never too hard to understand how they felt in the heat of the moment. The expressions, the reactions and the overall atmosphere every back and forth created were staggering and outstanding and electing to have them in focus in certain chapters really made those instances shine.
Lastly, a little bit of magic makes everything perfect. The open-ending and the vaguery retained throughout gain a particularly sorrowful value when you realise the myriad possibilities that could explain this whole world's end scenario. Was it all just a nightmare? A bottled universe? A trial? A godlike tribulation? Happenstance? It's intriguing to try and piece it all together with a third person narration as unreliable as it could get. And for that, a curtsy and a pat on the back, good sir.
However, we lumber towards the bad ones.
As good as the unreliable narrator proved to be for the sake of plot-related mystery, the techniques used to cement it leave to be desired. Particularly, I've noticed something that I can only assume is by design: the chapters start at jarringly different points from where the last ones ended. Granted, this probably adds to the overall confusion of it all, but it also creates a sense of looseness. The plot feels rambly and poorly tie, especially in the last chapters where most of the time I'm left with a sense of 'for what and for why?' Punctually, when Celeste killed Nathanial, the next chapter begins with her meeting Alex. It feels like she's just going through a boss rush at this point and Alex just spawned in Dark Souls style. Same can be said about the episodes where the mob is getting increasingly restless. The disjointed narrative works well, but it feels a little bit clumsily executed, which hurts me. It was paramount for this technique.
As for the mid-point, for the most part it feels...pointless? We get acquainted with the characters and their motives more and more and the development is there, I'll give you that. But apart from the main events (Alex's arrival, Greg's imprisonment and maybe the burning pillow riots?) I could swap around everything and I don't think the story would be any different. Granted, this might be my expectation for a linear narrative speaking, but I feel like the way it was done there is a certain tension lacking. I can't really see the escalating dread in the face of the populace, the increasing conflict between the two opposing sides (whose opposition, to this moment, I can't quite grasp and I would love an explanation for the Victoria/ Alex & Nathanial dynamic), the secret Celeste was harbouring; all of these seem to be in the background. In the foreground lies... well, good question? I'd say it's the conversations I mentioned earlier. But whilst they are stellar, they do little to progress the narrative, alas. As such, the way I could describe the plot is mostly stagnant. It's like I'm watching a pot boiling and my hob decides to die at random intervals. The water rises and falls, rises and falls, and I can't cook my damn pasta properly.
But anyhow, all in all, I have enjoyed this story. The ending was out of left field, but the tragedy, the metaphorical, metaphysical and philosophical interpretations I can attribute to it are marvelous, in spite of the build-up lacking a level of polish. It's a moral, really, that one must brave demons in a self-designed 'private hell' in order to emerge new. And whilst many loses might be incurred, your ideologies challenged, your innocence put to the test, your feelings, like your tears, wrung dry, it all gets washed by the shores of time. A strong beginning, a plummeting midpoint and a rising ending, quality-wise, make this what it is. A good story.
Until next time, I think this is all I had to say. Best of luck in your future endeavours, I'm hoping I'll be here to witness them. Until then...
Bubbles, out. :3
