the minds of a lab at three different points (LONG rambling under the cut)
I am constantly in awe of the analyses people put out about Arknights on this website. I feel like my own interpretations are somewhat lacking as a result, but I was confident enough to post this, at least. I've had this idea for a long time now, I think since Lone Trail released, but I've only been able to make the time for it now.
Rhine Lab has so many fucked up elements and people involved in it that it's actually impressive. They were really gunning for "most unethical scientific consortium" reward. Really, though, it's just the result of Kristen gunning for her parents' wishes. All of the directors want something and all of those somethings are different.
Things I want to mention or just feel proud of (allowing myself this because of how long this took):
-I was originally planning on crossing out Saria's surname to reflect that we still don't know what it is in canon, but I don't know why whoever has this poster would do that, so I just kept it in. Hermon refers to Mount Hermon, which Saria's name apparently derives from. Technically, her name here is the same thing twice. Oh well.
-I don't know who this poster belongs to. It's just in some Rhine Lab tech's personal desk, I guess? Doesn't explain the doodles, though. Maybe they were bored and feeling spiteful about the potential job insecurity of your boss being comatose in space.
-I realized only while making this post that I made Saria's, Muelsyse's, and Jara's doodles reference Kristen, yet Kristen's only references herself and her parents. Completely unintentional, but appropriate nonetheless.
-I am so happy with how the poster came out. It makes up for how hard I had to fight Canva for it to come out like that. Here it is in full if you want to look at it closely for whatever reason. (writing an actual description for this thing was fun!)
-Andenate doesn't actually have a face under the sticky note. That's why he's still Mike Wazowski'd in the poster png. I didn't feel like drawing one since it wouldn't be shown in the finished pieces anyway. His jacket is just the same as Magallan's.
-Ifrit's picture board was a literal last-minute addition. It's why the images are sketches rather than being in the lineless style of the poster. It feels fitting, though, so I'm keeping it that way. Seeing Ifrit all grown up and doing so well in Lone Trail was wonderful. There's something in her being happy and healthy and also surrounded by not just her loved ones and friends from Rhine Lab, but also people outside of it. She's cultivated her life to be as fulfilling as she wants it to be, and while there is still room to grow, she has plenty of support and insight from others for it to do so. I may be misrepresenting her a bit (the sleepiness doesn't help), but man. I love Ifrit. She's so cool.
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Would anybody be interested in seeing more furry Yuri from me..🏃♂️
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Lone Trail needs the segment with The Preserver. It’s load-bearing.
The stuff he brings up is central to the themes of this event, to understanding Control’s Wishes, the thing so core to this story that it, not the event title, gives the event stages their names.
Arknights is, ultimately, about tapping into the heart of our world’s struggles, but also its art, and weaving emotional narratives out of it that reflect the human condition.
To me, the piece of art central to this event is this image.
This is The Pale Blue Dot. The image of Earth from six billion kilometers away, taken by Voyager 1, whose launch sequence can be heard in Kristen’s theme, Control’s Wishes, played during CW-10.
Can you see Earth? That tiny speck, in the last band on the right?
This image was meant to show the vulnerability, the preciousness of earth—how alone we are, traveling through the vastness of the universe.
When we look at space, at the cosmos, we think about our place in it. We reconsider our sense of scale, of time, and realize how small we are. What a miracle we are.
This kind of reflection, this reframing of the mundane world we have become accustomed to into its greater context, this asking of the bigger questions—who are we, why are we here, what is this planet we live on, when will its time run out, why must we fight each other, is there anyone else out there—these are just as much a part of breaching the atmosphere as rockets and countdowns and scientists.
Control’s Wish wasn’t just to design a rocket that could pierce the false sky. It was to show all of humanity that it could be pierced, and that something lies beyond. To raise questions, and become the foundation of new thoughts, new journeys.
Carl Sagan, famously, said it best.
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the thing with Saria/Muelsyse/Kristen that I am surprised I haven't seen posted is that they're like. a classic earth/sea/sky trio, not just in terms of their powers but also thematically: Saria is resolute, protective, inflexible; Muelsyse is mysterious, ever-changing, lonely; Kristen is ambitious, devoted to knowledge, and distant. there's a longer post to be had here but I can't assemble it in the present moment
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HAPPY LONE TRAIL EVERYONE!!
now imma lock myself away to avoid spoilers until im done slurping the entire event like a spaghetti with the 800 sanity i saved with potions bye have fun everyone and good luck with ur pulls!!!
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