!!spoilers for hsr main quest penacony!!

er. generally references in relation to this Guy i have picked up across the game.

T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land (1922):

• link to an annotated version
• in the 2.1 main quest/2nd act of penacony, you get the achievements "sibyl, what do you want?" and "she replied, i want to die" once witnessing aventurine's childhood and defeating his boss form.
• The Waste Land is a notable piece of modernist american poetry written post wwi. it discusses the themes of disillusionment, death, and religion, and begins with the epigraph:
  • "Nam Sibyllam quidem Cumis ego ipse oculis meis vidiin ampulla pendere, et cum illi pueri dicerent: Σίβνλλα τί ϴέλεις; respondebat illa: άπο ϴανεΐν ϴέλω."
• originally from the satyricon by gaius petronius, this translates to:
  • "I saw with my own eyes the Sibyl at Cumae hanging in a cage, and when the boys said to her: “Sibyl, what do you want?” she answered: “I want to die.”"
• the cumaean sibyl was a priestess stationed at the apollonian oracle. as explored in ovid's metamorphoses, she had been granted as many years of life as grains in a handful of dust by apollo in exchange for her virginity. this became a blessing transformed into a curse upon her refusal of apollo's love- she did not ask for eternal youth, and her body withered away. Eventually, she shrunk to the point of being kept in a jar.
• the sibyl's suffering is so immense- death would be a reward.
• akin to the sibyl's blessing turned curse, aventurine sees his luck through a similar lens. he has a severe sense of survivor's guilt regarding his family, as explored through the main questline.

other lines from the poem's 5th portion (what the thunder said) can be seen in floating text throughout the quest.

• "After the agony in stony places / The shouting and the crying / Prison and palace and reverberation"
  • this portion? chapter? of the poem refers to jesus' crucifixion and resulting aftermath.
• "Who is the third who walks always beside you?"
  • this line inspired the name of a phenomenon "third man factor": where an unseen presence provides support during traumatic experiences, where one is near death.
  • ymmv, could be a similarity to aventurine's visions of his "past" and "future" selves while under the influence of the harmony.
• for further analysis of the sibyl, see the british literature wiki .

Double Indemnity (1944) dir. Billy Wilder:

• one of the most famous noir films of its era, double indemnity centers around walter neff, an insurance salesman, and phyllis dietrichson. they uhhhhh i cant remember. scheme for the double indemnity insurance clause. or something. i havent watched this movie in a while. it rules though, i highly recommend it!
• noir films usually revolve around a femme fatale and a man with no future. also notable of the genre is the emphasis of venetian blinds- to emphasize that the characters within the narrative are trapped.
• ppl on twt/tiktok have also speculated regarding parallels to neff/phyllis and ratio/aventurine respectively, but honestly i don't think thats quiiiite right? i believe rather than a 1:1 parallel of characters, the reference is more of a reflection of aventurine's mindset- all or nothing, "till the end of the line. and the last stop is the cemetery."
• interestingly enough, topaz's pov's quest name in the 2.3 quest/act 4 of penacony references all about eve, another film (while not a noir film) from the same time period.

Spellbound (1945) dir. Alfred Hitchcock:

• ALSO a noir film. you get this track for the astral express after finishing double indemnity.
• i can't offer commentary on this one. havent watched it yet. its on my watchlist though.

Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince (1888):

• a short story by oscar wilde!
• in penacony act ii, while aventurine is handing out the gems in his bag, an npc says "wealthy people have fancy ways to enjoy this dream, but to be honest, ive never seen anyone who gives out money to others like you. so, are you trying to be the prince from the tale, handing out his gold-leaf garment and melting his lead heart in the fire?"