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rough idea of how i imagine piranesi!

i'll carry this book within me for a long time i think

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"'Put it back!' I screamed at him. He began to laugh. And he laughed, and laughed, and laughed."

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continuing to connect the dots btw. if you care

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"To preserve whatever knowledge I possess for you, the Sixteenth Person"

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marks reintegration in s2ep3 is really reminding me of piranesi by susanne clarke. two selves born from the same body but with fundamentally different life experiences. the memories of the experiences merge, both become aware of each other, of each others traumas and relationships and how they created and informed their separate selves. but they are unable to truly become any of their old selves anymore because they now coexist in the same body at the same time. they are a shell of who they previously were. they are simultaneously both and neither of their original selves. they are someone completely new.

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Piranesi: So based on my extensive explorations of The House and my meditative existence, I've determined that there's probably no glorious magical powers that can be unlocked by some ritual. But that's not actually a disappointment! The magic of The House is The House itself. It is not a means to an end, but an end in of Itself, and we are lucky to behold its many wonders and miracles. Rejoice!

The Other: yeah okay whatever you crazy hobo

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Sometimes you read something, and it depicts such a raw experience that while you're reading it, you simply understand. But then you go to explain it to someone else, and words fail you so you end up putting your hand on the other person's shoulder, and you say, "you're just gonna,,,, just gonna have to read it."

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I could literally talk for hours about how Piranesi’s internal voice changes— so subtly!!— over the course of the novel. at the beginning, we are reading what we come to know as classic Piranesi voice: lots of capitalization, very few contractions, many exclamation marks, virtually no slang or colloquialisms. This is juxtaposed starkly against the Other’s more casual, modern way of talking. So Piranesi would say something like: “It is a beautiful Day!” whereas the Other would say something like: “It’s pretty nice out.” But!! As the story progresses, Piranesi’s voice changes too. He doesn’t lose the capitals until he’s left the House entirely, but after he meets 16 and starts reading Matthew Rose Sorensen’s old journal entries, he starts using contractions. Now he might say something like: “It’s a beautiful Day!” instead of “It is a beautiful Day!” This change is so subtle barely anyone picks up on it, but it is a HUGE insight into Piranesi’s psychology. Even if he doesn’t remember being Matthew, his exposure to 16 and his past self are transforming him on a subconscious level. I’m going crazy I’m chewing the plaster Susanna Clarke you’ve done it again

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"The city rose up around me... The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite."

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Just this one by itself, because I like it. Illustration for this fic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/62689828

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all people that exist

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The Beloved Child of the House.

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no but you see. as i was nearing the end of piranesi i expected the narrator to either stay in the House as piranesi or to return to the 'real world' and go back to being matthew rose sorensen. those were the only two viable options to me. so when he invented another self in the end, someone new, when the book said, it is possible to live after trauma, but you cannot return to who you were ever again... i may never recover

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still struggling but I really needed to draw Piranesi talking with the birds

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i loved the part of the book where piranesi resolves to take better care of himself while he's rediscovering his own history. he just has so much compassion for himself! the journal upsets him so he takes a week off and does things he enjoys and then he settles into a safe place when he wants to tackle the subject again. and he doesn't believe The Other when he's told about his amnesia! he values his own insights and his own knowledge of the House even when fucking ketterley is actively trying to undermine his sense of self. piranesi's gentle treatment of himself and the person he used to be is genuinely so moving.