[Note: This series originally started as a project on Reddit. You can find an explanation of what Bible Study is all about here.]
Happy Sunday!
Today, we are finishing off our look at the Fever Pt.2 Outro, and by extension Fever Pt.2 as a whole. If you'd like a refresh on our discussion last week, you can find the first half here.
Today, we will be starting with our sacred reading practice, which is a four part practice where we randomly select a single line from the text and go as deep as we can on it answering the following questions: 1) what's happening on a narrative level? 2) what's happening on a metaphorical/allegorical level? 3) what does this remind me of in my own life? 4) what is the text inviting me to do? Now join us as we start Sunday with our sacred reading practice.
04: sacred practice
GD: The line siri has chosen for us is 3:
"Worried YeoSang went into the trash cave wearing the last remaining gas mask to find out about the situation."
The first question we answer is, what is happening on a narrative level?
Jongho had gone alone into a trash cave with a strap tied around his waist. He's overwhelmed by the smoke and becomes trapped in an illusion of the basketball game where he hurt his ankle. Once the safety strap stopped moving, Yeosang is going in after him to see what's up.
BobbyJ: Revisiting this line has just opened up a whole series of new questions. None of them matter actually, but I have them
GD: I also have questions, and they are perhaps related to the narrative level
BobbyJ: Mine are all narrative
GD: Does the strap just... slip off? Does Jongho take it off so he can start running? Does it snap? Yeosang says it stops moving, which implies that Jongho has fallen down, overtaken by the illusion, but then later they say he's running towards a cliff so that's not right
those are basically my questions.
I mean, I have the basics of what happens. But, I still have questions.
BobbyJ: A question I've always had is what happened to Jongho's gas mask. This is getting ahead, but when the narrative picks up in part 3, Yeosang puts his gas mask on Jongho to help him recover
I am also wondering about the strap
And here's my Official Interpretation:
You know those tearaway pants basketball players used to wear (maybe they still do?) so that they can wear them on the bench and then rip them off before running onto the court?
I'm picturing Jongho getting ready to play and ripping off the mask and rope like tearaway pants
GD: Suiting up for the court sort of
Murklin: I did think he ripped off the mask and the safety strap but I did not think of that interpretation. The mask was faulty and he couldn't remember why he was wearing it once he started to be affected
GD: It does seem reasonable that he takes both of those things off once he becomes affected
BobbyJ: You can't play basketball in a gas mask
GD: Probably. Not playing a lot of sports ball, I can't confirm that
BobbyJ: I played exactly one season of varsity girls basketball
GD: Ohh we have an expert here
BobbyJ: "Played" is a stretch
GD: Okay, so we have a basic.. this is what is happening in this moment. What is happening at a metaphorical/allegorical level*?
Basically, where also do you see similar themes/ideas/words used across literature generally or the diaries/ATEEZ lore specifically?
BobbyJ: We talked briefly about will o' the wisps leading people into danger. And I think the idea that people generally can't save themselves from that danger--they need someone else to come in after them
GD: Or sirens, yes
BobbyJ: If we must
GD: I'm stuck on the word "trash cave"
Murklin: It's very hero coded for Yeosang to go in after Jongho like that. A slack line is an unknown danger
GD: The slack line and the mysterious cave and then the hero all remind me of the myth of the labyrinth
BobbyJ: Yeo has been the first to recognize that he has nothing to return to. So we see him consistently risk himself for the sake of the other boys
The labyrinth just reminded me of the Margaritaville video. That's neither here nor there but that is where my mind is at the moment
GD: Which part?
BobbyJ: When they go to that huge Margaritaville resort and they get lost. And they're like "this place is a labyrinth. And Jimmy Buffett is the minotaur”
GD: Oh yes, the moment where they achieve my greatest dream
BobbyJ: Being lost in a Margaritaville Resort?
GD: Yes, obviously
Murklin: I've never seen this
GD: It's an hour of two men going to every Margaritaville. Good falling asleep to content.
BobbyJ: I do want to go see The Thing. Putting it on my bucket list
GD: The Thing: Arizona's weirdest roadside attraction just got stranger- for Murklin's context. And The Congregation. Obviously
The use of the word 'worried' also gives us some insight into how Yeosang is feeling about these boys who he was once unsure of. Like it's not just that he wants to escape his father's life anymore, but also that he cares about Jongho. We talked about this portion of the story being the moments where they bond to each other in a way that maybe they hadn't before when they split up the first time.
On the word 'trash cave', I think it's interesting. Because this is where they are storing memories. So it's referred to as a dump and trash, but it's not actually either of those things. The fact that they're calling memories trash is, I think, important.
I'm stupidly reminded of the airplane instructions for parents to put their own masks on first
BobbyJ: I do have a new theory that the masks are just a placebo. Tied in to the theory that your mental state affects how strongly the gas can affect you
Or do I?
Idk I might take it back
GD: I think it's possible that these children don't have any idea whether the masks work or don't, but they do have them so they give them to these boys going to the trash cave. The masks could be related to pollution in a pre Z world.
What I really want to know, and what I will never know, is whether there is any actual trash at the dump. Or is it only memories, and existentially, is the trash that we have also our memories?
We often tie our memories to things and stuff.
"here's my paper trash ticket stub of a movie I went to 10 years ago that I kept so I could remember going to this movie that I'll probably buy when it comes out because I liked it enough to keep the ticket stub"
Murklin: Disorganized memories are trash but examined and accepted memories are well maybe not treasure, but less burdensome than trash. Yeosang's clear headedness doesn't come from erasing his past
GD: Right--I think refusing to examine your past and coming to terms with it is probably how you end up haunted by it
I have wondered before if there are physical objects at the dump to also represent the memories that we know are there. Like, if we're erasing my memory of say my wedding or something, would they want to take the symbolic memory of it too (my wedding ring)?
BobbyJ: Something's bothering me with the memories
Because Z's promise was that he would take away all the pain. Pain is bad and we shouldn't have to feel it, right?
Murklin: You're right, we're right, don't doubt yourself etc
BobbyJ: When San finds those memories in part 3, they're all happy. But where are the bad memories?
GD: Do you think these memories are being held in a dump because they're the 'bad' memories? So it's the dump, because this is where they dump the pain and suffering
BobbyJ: If my selling happy memories for profit theory is correct, then perhaps it's the bad or useless memories that are being burned. And if my theory that this is the memory of GG's voice that they are retrieving is correct, that also makes sense. . .
GD: And Left Eye hanging out here because this is where he left the memory of his daughter--one of pain, instead of one of happiness
BobbyJ: We know the saying one man's trash is another man's treasure--GG's voice was only treasure for her
GD: I like it. And in fact, in Z's world, anyone's voice would be considered dangerous if not strictly controlled. The memory of an uncontrolled voice isn't something that should be let loose
BobbyJ: Suggests that she must have been using it for things Z didn't approve of
GD: Which makes sense with her and her brother living on the outskirts and not really members of society
BobbyJ: I keep coming back to GG is the bluebird, metaphorically
GD: I still think that GG herself is metaphorical in the way that all things are metaphorical in a story that is a parable
Any other thoughts on metaphor or shall we move on to the next question: what is this reminding us of in our own life?
BobbyJ: I don't think so. Let's proceed
So, I have this teacher friend at school--I've decided I'm going to try to make her my work bestie this year--who is very good about checking in with other people and making sure they're okay. She's the sort who asks how you are and then waits for a full answer. And it reminds me of Yeosang reacting to the loose rope. He recognizes that there's a problem and goes to find out what the problem is rather than just ignoring it.
GD: That does sound like a good person to be a work bestie
BobbyJ: I am actually in a one-sided beef with my NY friend who tried to tell me that I need to watch out for her because of a long and (I think) stupid reason. But I am stubborn and WILL do what I want, so her trying to warn me away just made me want to be her friend more.
GD: As you should
I'm unsure that it reminds me of anything off the top of my head? I said the plane thing already lol. But I guess one thing it reminds me of is that sometimes I get really worried about seeing something terrible happen. Like someone getting hurt or blood or like.. things like that. It makes me want to run away. But then I know in moments where my son has been the one hurt, or something has happened to him, I've always confidently and calmly proceeded forward to get the help or whatever was needed.
BobbyJ: This sort of reminds me of my last sermon in a way. That we CAN do the things we MUST do
GD: I was just circling around that idea too thinking about times I've gone through things?
Like, I can never imagine myself doing hard things, but then I do them all the time when the time comes
BobbyJ: Yes, I'm looking back over how terrible all of April and May were for me. If I had known going in what was in store, there was no way I'd have thought I could get to the other side and be okay. But here I am.
Murklin: I guess I like how Jongho and Yeosang are balanced and it reminds me it's okay to be in either position, needing help or helping someone
BobbyJ: It reminds me of what the members say to each other all the time--it's okay to ask for help, I wish you would rely on us more
Murklin: Right. you don't want to worry people but they worry because they care. let them
GD: Well that sort of takes us to the final question, I think: what is this inviting you to do in your own life?
For me personally, I am not sure that I am being invited to do anything? I feel like I do an okay job asking for help when I need to.
But well... maybe it is inviting me to have more faith in my own ability to handle things thrown at me.
BobbyJ: I guess this is my 5000th reminder that people are messy and noisy and unpredictable--but they are necessary.
GD: Oh, that's a nice one
BobbyJ: I think the additional reminder is that it's not that ALL people are necessary. But that it's always worth trying. That makes more sense in my head, but that's the best I can do for now
05: connections and takeaways (previously mental murder board)
GD: Well I think it's time to take her to the connections and take aways portion of the day.
The thing that stood out to me is that both Yunho, Jongho, and Left Eye are holding on to people from their past instead of moving forward. And I think that's also true with Hongjoong? In some ways?
Murklin: His family?
BobbyJ: I question Hongjoong a bit, but yeah
GD: Perhaps Mingi? (though to be forgiven) Was true of Yeosang in one, but not anymore
I'm just thinking of Hongjoong's original motivation: to be a star so his family would notice him
BobbyJ: The only thing is I feel he's referred to Ateez as his "new family" which to me seems to imply that he's moved on or given up; but then again, Jongho had also seemed to have given up on basketball but look what's happening
GD: Yeah, I'm not sure it's true of Hongjoong as we see him now. But I guess I am interested in the idea of which boys are holding on to the past more tightly than the others, where does it change, why, etc
BobbyJ: Right. I had wondered why no other boys were as affected by the smoke as Jongho. Especially since some of them have approached Left Eye who is apparently in some very heavy smoke but they all seemed fine
Murklin: They never really enumerate how many gas masks there are to go around
BobbyJ: I've also been thinking about the boys who have all but vanished here in the latter half of the diary. Hongjoong, San and Seonghwa have been absent since the beginning. I know not every boy can be featured in every entry. It's just interesting to me who is chosen to carry on the narrative
GD: San and Seonghwa's entries were both pretty expository in nature too, right? I know San's was, but I struggle to recall Hwa's
BobbyJ: Also expository. He gives us the history of the world and black pirates
GD: I do think we're seeing Yunho's character arc here, and I think we'd discussed the idea that a lot of Seonghwa's character arc seems to have happened before the narrative really starts to take place--when he changed after seeing the dancing girl
so Hwa's in particular makes sense to me as fading away until he has a new, more central conflict
BobbyJ: And you know that I think that Yunho and Yeosang are the main characters in the Fever series. I think Mingi should have been too, but oh well
GD: We do at least get some meat from Mingi's entry in this diary
BobbyJ: Mingi has a mini arc
GD: Any other connections or takeaways?
I do want to add the word illusion to our mental murder board as something we continue to look out for
BobbyJ: I have added it. To the notion
06: closing
GD: Alright, then we have arrived at our closing proceedings. Does anyone have a closing hymn they'd like to offer up for the close of Book 2 in the Diaries?
(omg I just realized we've finished book 2)
BobbyJ: We have
GD: Do we do the hymn differently at an outro? Like one for the whole of the diary?
BobbyJ: No. Though we could
GD: I assume we've already done Take Me Home? Because my choices would be Fireworks or Take Me Home
Murklin: Take me home or one day at a time
BobbyJ: We haven't done TMH or ODAT or Fireworks
Murklin: Incredible
GD: I am surprised to hear that, honestly. I sort of like ODAT?
BobbyJ: I've been saving TMH, but I have forgotten what I was saving it for
GD: ODAT has the thematic resonance of some of the community stuff we talked about today
I don't know if we want to close Part 2 with a Part 2 song though
BobbyJ: I'm of two minds. As usual. Thematically, ODAT works well. But narratively, Fireworks fits with the cliffhanger. I could also make TMH work thematically as well
GD: I count 3 minds
BobbyJ: I'm still saving TMH in my heart. I'm sure I'll remember what for eventually
If it helps, we picked Illusion last time. Which for reasons is making me lean Fireworks. How about the Eden-ary remix?
GD: Yes. My favorite song
BobbyJ: Your favorite that isn't Halazia
GD: Or Turbulence
I have a lot of favorite songs
BobbyJ: I do feel that this remix captures the essence of the cliffhanger and the impending doom well in a way the original doesn't and also that there will be a perfect moment for ODAT later and we'll be mad we used it here
GD: Yes, my other queen's time will come
Now it is time to offer up a closing prayer for the boys and end with our rosary
It's a little harder in this case because I have different wishes for the different boys mentioned in the outro, but I think it should probably be a group wish? Something like that I hope their bond continues to deepen so that they realize they already have everything they need?
BobbyJ: I am ready for Ateez to wake up and accept this new quest for Strictland and I think that entails realizing that they are already exactly what Strictland needs
GD: A similar vein. They are enough, and they have enough
BobbyJ: I have an easy and obvious rosary
GD: You say that now, but wait until I fuck it up
BobbyJ: No. You'll do great. You can't get it wrong
Are we ready to close?
Patron saints!
GD: Well, I suppose before we close we should thank our special guest for joining us.
OH AND ALSO OMG OUR PATRON SAINTS
BobbyJ: It's a day early, but we can go ahead and choose
GD: We almost ruined our own week with our better flowing bible study
I chose Yeosang last week, and I really thought he served me well. I got a lot of things done, and I did all my work with minimal complaints.
But I think I need some creative energy next week as I need to edit a couple of chapters, and I want to start making new beads/bracelets again. So I'm going to boldly pick Hongjoong.
BobbyJ: My Hongjoong energy wasn't as out of control as last time. I have been dealing with a lot of sinus issues this week because Weather, I guess, so that derailed a lot of intentions. So I didn't get everything done that I wanted to, but I did get everything done that I needed to. And I find looking back that I stayed busy every day. It wasn't like a frantic, must-keep-working sort of energy, but a calm, just-do-the-next-thing energy.
I am back at school on Monday, which I have sort of mixed feelings about. The end of vacation is always sad, but I'm so ready for a new year and excited to get started. And in light of my ongoing resolution to stop being such a damn hermit, I'm choosing Wooyoung to help me navigate all the people, both new and old, this week.
Murklin: I will think of Yunho and him being nervous about being a special mc and still doing a good job when i am nervous tomorrow leading a volunteer orientation, assuming it hasn't been canceled while I'm off
GD: I think Yunho is a great patron saint for that. You will do great, I am sure
Now that we have our weeks sorted, we can say our closing rosary.
BobbyJ: 8 makes
GD: 1 team
BobbyJ: Be the light
GD: Halazia
BobbyJ: See, I told you. Easy peasy
GD: Great work everyone. High fives all around
BobbyJ: Thank you Special Guest! Come back anytime
And that, my friends, is the end of our study of Zero: Fever Pt.2.
Or is it???
Join us next Sunday for a special bible study centered on the Fireworks music video!
In the meantime, what did you take away from these pages? What will you be looking out for as we head into Pt.3? Let us know!
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