#romulus theory

[do-not-consume]

Sanders Sides predictions!! (On my burner account just in case anyone takes this too seriously) this is just for fun, don't sue me. (Includes all characters... Uhh in some form, there is no violence except threatened and I do realize at least some of it could never happen due to being too complicated to film in an apartment.) It starts very vague and then gets to dialogue for the really good part. DLDR

The video starts with Thomas. He's really struggling to put together a video. Logan immediately jumps to the opportunity to talk about the healthy schedule he proposed. Patton is summoned pretty early (pops up for a pun) but after he stays uncharacteristically quiet. When he's pushed, he admits he'd rather be quiet than wrong.

Logan assumes it's an anxiety problem then and summons Virgil. Who, for some reason, is avoiding Thomas like the plague. He tells them he has nothing to do with it, which immediately calls up Janus. Virgil leaves asap. Janus explains that, actually, he's not here because of Virgil, he's here to watch what Remus is about to do. Turns out Remus has been walking around all excited about this new change in process that's supposed to happen today and since he wasn't in his room, Janus figured he would find him up here. But there's no Remus.

Janus also looks confused as to why nobody went to get Roman. Logan admits he still doesn't like him very much and would have preferred if he stayed out of the picture for what is clearly a Patton related problem, because Patton is very soft spoken right now and Roman would just talk over him like he always does (and he had plenty screentime in the last video anyway). Both Thomas and Patton feel too bad about last time to talk to him first. But alright, if it will help the case, we'll summon him... Exept he doesn't show up. Thomas isn't scared, he's got complete creative block.

Roman must've ducked out.

They decide pretty quickly that they should go to his room (at least once Janus reminds everyone that they don't know where Remus is and what he could do if he's alone with Roman)

So they get into his room.. but it's dark. There are torches on the walls, beautiful paintings of Prince Roman, slaying the Dragon Witch, slaying on the stage, royal portraits of him and Mrs Snuffles. A single painting of two young boys, playing together in the garden, one dressed in black and one dressed in white.. And there's a throne.

"Well well, look who decided to finally show up." A man gets up from the throne. His voice sounds ice cold. And as he steps down into the light of the torches, they turn green. And they see a man with a big crown, worthy of a king, with a white streak in his hair and a sword by his side.

Janus looks like he'd just seen a ghost. "We have to leave. Right now. This isn't safe for any of us"

"Awwwh, Janus," the man before them slips into a Remus-like voice, walking closer and closer"don't spoil the fun." His voice turns cold once again. "You know.. I've been thinking about what you said to me last time we met. That I'm just the same as my brother. That we're both evil and cruel.. and it hurt me. It hurt me very very deeply," he grabs Janus by the cape. Others try to help him but he dismisses them. "I never wanted to leave my room again, how much it hurt. I couldn't believe you would say something like that... Something so.. true. I was too blind to see it before, but you were right. I am just as bad, as my brother is. And if I'm just as bad.. there's no reason to stay split apart."

Logan finally gets between him and Janus. He lets him go willingly. "Falsehood. You all have your own specific purposes in this system. So please, Roman-" a deep chuckle interrupts him

"Roman? Oh, haha, no. Roman's dead now. Me and my brother are one once again, no prince, no duke, but King. No Roman. No Remus. I am King Romulus, and you will address me as such. Now, get out of my room. Before I feed you to Mrs. Sniffles."

Behind the throne, a large plume of smoke emerges.

"Well, that ain't a cat" Patton is still quiet, staring down a giant silhouette of a dragon witch rising up.

[clankythecranky]

I just thought of some interesting theories regarding Remus and Romulus but also Freya and Freyr as well as the player.

Theory 1:

Player is Romulus in this story. If I remember correctly Nomura describes Romulus as a brother figure to the Player. Player is supposed destined to be the “Attacker” as far as we know, Romulus kills Remus, and if Remus gets possessed or Player does it could fit the myth. But the myth isn’t finally as with Baldr and Hoder as evidence, but I do think that their strange budding friendship and Player’s disappointment at Remus’s absence is very telling of how Player already views him despite their slightly rocky start, because before the founding of Rome, the twins were as close as close could be.

Theory 2:

Freya is Romulus and Remus is Freyr. This is due to them both being from a set of twins but one isn’t present. Freyr gets killed by a fire Jotun after losing his sword in Ragnarok and Remus dies to his brother after increasingly getting bitter about not having his hill chosen by the gods. Remus becomes the first king of Rome and finds it on the Heaven hill and then kills his brother. While Freya is the goddess of love beauty and wealth but also she has first pick of the dead on the battlefield riding her cat driven chariot, she is also the daughter of the Sea God Njord. They both serve Nept and we know that Norse names like Freya’s become common in Scala Ad Caelums future and that Radiant Garden might be a different hill that Remus wanted his city on. And I don’t think I need to point out the “parental” relationship Nept has with both of them.

Of course because it’s kingdom hearts nothing is one to one but you can hopefully see why I think these theories have some merit.

[takineko-arts]

I'm hearing such mixed reviews on Romulus and I can only figure it's for 2 reasons

Some people hate that it's too similar to Alien and Aliens

Some people hate the prequels and didn't like that it ties in to them

Is that about right?

[thegorydamnreaper]

Some thoughts on Romulus au Raa:

This is slightly spoilery, but mostly just some thoughts I had reading back on some Romulus chapters.

Romulus is named after the semi-mythological figure of the founder of Rome. That Romulus was raised by a she-wolf and was (by some accounts) a demigod son of Mars and a vestal virgin. His twin brother, Remus, is killed when they dispute who should rule the new city they founded.

Romulus au Raa allies himself with wolves (the Howlers) and it allows him to establish his independent Rim Dominion. There’s a further connection to the myth with the god Mars being a starting point (as a “father”) paralleling how it is soldiers of Mars (the planet) that are the foundation for Raa’s new world. Both Mars are the source of a rough beginning, with the twins almost dying in the myth and with the destruction of the Docks. May be a stretch, but there’s still a connection there!

It’s also interesting to note that while Atlas and Romulus are not twins, Atlas is responsible for Romulus’s death as retribution for betraying the Society. It’s almost as if after thousands of years Remus is getting his piece of revenge, ironically using the veil of politics to justify it.

[beyondthecosmicvoid]

Alíen Romulus – Datos Ocultos sobre el Teaser de Alíen 2024

[clarkysparkyy]

I had such a good theory about Thread earlier

Ok so I was thinking about the surname name “Thread”. It doesn’t seem like an extravagant Capitol name or anything, so where is he from?

Well, what district predominantly uses thread? District eight, the textiles district. The same district in a rebellion during that point in CF.

So, Tread is a district eight citizen who was brainwashed and sent to district 12 as punishment, to make sure the same things that happened in 8 didn’t happen in 12.

Thoughts?

[velvetseahorse]

Speculating nakshatras: film observation

I theorize that Isabella Merced might have an Anuradha ascendant rather than Vishaka. Her C-rated birth time places her tropical Scorpio ascendant at 14 degrees, which corresponds to a Vishaka ♎︎ ascendant in Vedic astrology. However, in some of the roles she’s portrayed, I’ve noticed themes that align with Anuradha, which could suggest a potential Anuradha ascendant.

Isabella was cast alongside Anuradha natives Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, and Celeste O’Connor as the main characters. In the storyline, Dakota Johnson’s character is tasked with protecting the girls, as her prophetic visions show them being killed and attacked by a man who fears they will gain powers as the next Spider-Women, which would lead to his demise. Claire Nakti has mentioned Anuradha’s connection to spiders, and another example is Anuradha native Scarlett Johansson portraying Black Widow in the Marvel universe.

Most recently, Isabella portrayed Kay in Alien: Romulus (spoilers). In the film, her character, pregnant at the time, is severely injured by an alien. She injects black goo into her body, hoping it will help her injuries, but it accelerates her pregnancy, leading her to give birth to an alien hybrid. This theme resonates with Anuradha, which often female natives of this nakshatra portray characters giving birth to beings that are tied to greater evil or abominations. I’ve discussed this idea on my old Twitter account (v1rginldy), and @multidimensionalguidance elaborates on it further in their posts. *Sidenote the father of her baby in the film is portrayed by yoni consort Jyestha native Spike Fearn and her brother portrayed by Archie Renaux who has Anuradha ☉.

While I don’t think Isabella strongly resembles many Anuradha natives or exhibits many Anuradha features, I do see slight resemblances in her eyes and pout to Anuradha natives like Janina Gavankar and Chanel Iman. She also has doe eyes which is physical trait amongst the deer yoni nakshatras.

Edit*

I’ve come across pictures of Isabella where she resembles Anuradha ☉ native Britney Spears.

Someone had pointed out, and I’ve observed as well, that Isabella resembles Vanessa Hudgens, who has a Jyestha ☉ (Anuradha Yoni consort). Isabella, on the other hand, has Jyestha Mars. If Isabella has a Scorpio ascendant in Anuradha, her Jyestha Mars would be in the 1st house, influencing her appearance. Currently, her Jyestha Mars is in the 2nd house with a ♎︎ ascendant, which can also affect her facial features, as the 2nd house rules the face. Additionally, Vanessa and Isabella share Aquarius☽, with Vanessa’s being in Shatabhisha and Isabella’s in Purva Bhadrapada.

This is just a theory and personal speculation. Isabella could very well have a Vishaka ascendant, and there may be other astrological explanations for this, but these are my observations and opinions.

[southofsadness]

since Tobias said the lore element of Ghost will be ending soon, here’s my little theory on how the story will end:

so going back to Rite Here Rite Now, toward the end, we have that little montage that revealed the twins (Copia and V), and there was a brief image of a Remus and Romulus statue

if you don’t the story of Remus and Romulus, the summary is they quarreled over where to build the city and Romulus killed Remus, leading to the founding of Rome and Romulus becoming its king

Romulus became the king, and what color is associated with royalty? purple, a color Papa V has been repeatedly shown in and advertised with (ie the vegas billboard)

also, i think the decision to make Copia’s title Frater Imperator instead of just Brother Imperator is intentional because the act of killing one’s brother is called fratricide, and the story of Remus and Romulus is one of the most famous stories of fratricide

in the most recent chapter, Sister Imperator makes a comment about how she and Nihil are retiring, i think this may possibly imply their souls are finally gonna move on/be laid to rest and they’ll be gone

so here’s what i’m thinking: Papa V will kill Copia and assume total control, and with Copia’s death, the prominent characters in the lore fade out (aside from Psaltarian i guess?)

perhaps with getting rid of all of those characters, it will encourage the fans to focus on the music like Tobias wants to

-

this is just a prediction please don’t come for my head, in that vid of Tobias reacting to the characters of the clergy, he seemed to talk highly of Copia and say he was important so maybe he won’t die idk lol

[infin1ty-garden]

can i request a rain fic??

the group is hanging out (let’s pretend romulus didn’t happen) and bjorn or tyler keeps flirting with reader and rain is like ?? because that’s HER girl. i didn’t want to add too much so you can decide where to go with it 🩷

୭🧷✧˚. MINE

⋆｡°✩ summary: [ in request ] ⋆｡°✩ pairing: rain carradine x fem! reader ⋆｡°✩ warnings: none ⋆｡°✩ word count: 352 ⋆｡°✩ author note: i just rewatched alien: romulus

masterlist. & the alien masterlist

Despite everything, the crew had arrived at Yvaga safely. They have been living on the planet for two months now. Rain still talked to Kay and Tyler. Bjorn and Navarro are a different story. She had met and fell in love with a girl, the most wonderful person ever. But neglected to mention it to Kay or Tyler. It was a new relationship, she wanted it to last.

Kay, Tyler and her usually schedule a meet up once a week. Rain decided that would be the time to introduce you to them. They decided to hang out at a bar. It was the middle of the week, so in theory there should be less people there. As the moment approached Rain got more and more nervous untill she was standing right infront of them.

Words escaped her completely. Why was she so nervous? "Hi! You must be Kay and Tyler. Rain has told me a lot about you." You took the liberty of introducing yourself. Rain just sat down next to you. The nerves didn't leave her. She also noticed you never mentioning being her girlfriend. Tyler kept looking at Rain but she was in her own world.

You interlaced your fingers together. Hoping such a small act could ground her. You continued to talk to Tyler and Kay respectively and noticed Tyler started "subtly" flirting with you. Kay rolled her eyes anytime he did that. It snapped Rain out of her own head. "What did you just say?" Now, Tyler was the one being nervous. Such intensity from her was not what he expected.

"I uh...." he was speechless. Kay tried calming the situation a bit. "Are you flirting with MY girlfriend?" Now, both Kay and Tyler were confused. "You have a girlfriend?"

"Yeah, we’ve been dating for more than a month now, and It’s serious. I wanted you to get to know each other. Because I hope we spend a lot more time together." The rest of the night went on smoothly. You got to know Rain's friends and form your own friendship with them. It was a great time.

Thanks for reading and requesting!

[cynicalclassicist]

Musk is trying to look really educated, but anyone whose bothered to do the research points out what a fool he is. But as he's the world's richest man, lots of people will assume that what he says must be fact.

Elon Musk is the dumbest man.

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1706442470026867025?s=20

That isnt even how the Aenied goes, my dude. Like it's bad enough to be citing Roman myth propaganda as possible history to justify youre weird "great man history" drivel. But you aren't even getting the myth right!

Honestly. Its the "with almost no women" bit that just launches this into the realm of parody.

Like, dude is so fucking mad that Grimes dumped him, it killed the few brain cells he had.

[deepred00]

NAME IMPORTANCE IN SANDERS SIDES

Guysssss, I just realised something and it might have already been talked about but I couldn't find anything so I'm writing it now. So, we all know about the name reveals in Sanders Sides, their meanings and their importance, but I was casually watching through the series again when in Selfishness VS Selflessness I realised something that I have been noticing before but not knowing why. The moment Deceit, Janus, talks to Anxiety, Virgil, and brings up Virgil's reluctance to share his name. And that scene has always stood out to me in someway but now I finally realised why. Because Janus lied. It's not something new, he's literally Deceit, BUT it's what he's lying about that is important.

Janus: "Oh, so you've never been reluctant to share anything with the group then?"

Virgil: "Don't"

Janus: "What? I just meant your name"

Virgil: "DON'T!"

JANUS IS LYING YET BEING TRUTHFUL ABOUT HIS RESPONSE!!! THAT'S THE BEST WAY TO LIE, TO ALSO BE TRUTHFUL!

We may think, even assume, that Janus is talking about Virgil not telling his name to Thomas for a long time before finally revealing his name to be Virgil. BUT Virgil's reaction is too emotional, too strong, too desperate to be only about that. It's more like he's pleading Janus not to reveal something. And it would be ignorant not to include the fact that there's A LOT of theories about when Virgil was a "dark side" he was not Anxiety but Paranoia.

And now to the point I wanted to talk about. Names, their meanings and their importance. So let me list their names in chronological order they were revealed so you can see them clearly.

Logan

Roman

Patton

Virgil

Remus

Janus

And of course the orange side we do not know of yet. But look closely at the list of names. And do you remember what Patton said when Virgil revealed his name? "Huh, but that doesn't end with a -N"

And now look at the "dark sides" and their names. They end with -US. Do you see the the name that doesn't really fit in?

VIRGIL

AND I BELIEVE THAT IS BECAUSE IT'S NOT HIS "REAL" OR "TRUE" NAME BUT CHOSEN NAME!! Virgil means protector, that is what Virgil want to be for Thomas! Virgil doesn't want to be Paranoia, he doesn't want to be the bad guy. HE WANTS TO BE A PROTECTOR! And that is why he chose that name!

AND THAT'S NOT ALL!

Let's look at the name etymology here too!!

For the "Good sides" their names correspond with Aristotle's ingredients for persuasion, albeit Roman's name is not visibly linked to its correspondence like the others.

Logan - Logos

Roman - Ethos (Roman being the side with charm and scene presence)

Patton - Pathos

And now for the "Dark sides" we know of. Their names are derived from roman mythology.

Remus - Twin brother of Romulus, the founder of Rome which corresponds Remus being Roman's twin, since Roman's name is basically taken from the ROMAN EMPIRE as well as Romance and all. Plus it also places great significance that Remus is only an offshot of Roman, without Roman, Remus would not exist and therefore his name corresponds to "the twin brother of the great mythological founder of ROME"

Janus - God of doorways, duality, gates, passages, beginnings and endings, always depicted as two-faced. Two-faced=Deceitful

AND WHAT ABOUT VIRGIL'S NAME? DOES HIS NAME FIT INTO THESE CATEGORIES? NO! VIRGIL IS NOT FROM ROMAN MYTHOLOGY NOR ARISTOTLE'S PERSUASION! IT'S A SIMPLE ROMAN NAME, THE MOST WE CAN FIND IS THAT AN ANCIENT ROMAN POET HAD THE NAME VIRGIL. WHICH IN ALL HONESTY FITS ROMAN SANDERS MORE THAN VIRGIL. AND I BELIEVE IT'S BECAUSE DESPITE EVERYTHING VIRGIL WANTS TO KINDA BE LIKE ROMAN TO THOMAS, HIS HERO. ROMAN IS THOMAS' HERO AND VIRGIL WANTS TO BE THOMAS' PROTECTOR, HIS HERO!

SO IN CONCLUSION... I think Virgil's name is not the name he had before or his "true" name. It is his chosen name and that is what he wants to be. That's why it's different from the other sides' names. That's why Virgil has been so sensitive when Janus brought up his name and why Virgil has been sensitive about being called paranoid. Because that's basically someone he has been and not someone he wants to be. It's almost like being called by his dead-name. And this just makes me want to hug Virgil even more, feed him spider-shaped cookies, give him some calming tea and just.. be there

[uscss-prometheus]

Ｐ Ｒ Ｏ Ｍ Ｅ Ｔ Ｈ Ｅ Ｕ Ｓ

Embark towards the Heavens in THE CELESTIAL EDITION!

A fan-edit 10 years in the making.

I think you may believe me when I say my love for Prometheus knows no bounds. This bold, new vision for the Alien franchise, which I have grown up with all my life, blew my mind. It dared to answer some of the most unfathomable questions we are capable of asking ourselves, all while combining Alien, anthropology, the ancient alien theory, creationism and religion together, into a complex and definite answer. It reveals most of its secrets in such intricate, hidden ways and truly is the most courageous and important film of modern science fiction.

So, my friends, you can probably imagine what a great pleasure it is for me to deliver this project to you, at long last. The first draft of this extended cut dates from May 2014. The goal in delivering this definitive edition today remains the same as then : deliver the best possible way to watch Prometheus.

I think we were all surprised to see Romulus acknowledge Prometheus in such a way, so much so that a wave of appreciation for the film began to resonate all over the internet. So whether you feel like revisiting the film, experiencing it in another way, or giving the story and its characters another chance, this is the perfect opportunity.

Including not only a vast selection of deleted scenes, but also a major part of the blu-ray extras results in richer characters and a wider view into their world. The extras, which have become an essential part of my rewatches, are introduced into the first act, all before the crew even awakes, giving even the biggest rewatchers a refreshing kick-start. I have also reintroduced a few unused tracks and an alternate creature design.

I will not explain in complete detail what is different about this fan-edit. I think it's worth seeing for yourself. Not all deleted scenes and extras are included. There’s a special homage to Elisabeth during the transmission sequence. I really loved her, and her quest...

Something I believe is worth noting is the exclusion of the "Engineer Speaks" deleted scene. It does not add much. Weyland repeats himself, and verbalises the evident themes at play, while we still do not get to truly know what the Engineer says. Instead, I find the idea that our very own makers would answer our hopes and questions with nothing but silence and anger far more horrifying. It perfectly aligned with the film thematically, and so I left the scene intact.

If you watch it, you may also notice that I have spared us a few seconds of Millburn and Fifield's dumbest moments. I do not dislike them, they were absolutely iconic, but this makes them more likeable and credible in my book.

Disclaimer : I could not get my hands on the extras in great quality. I own the film twice, but have no way to port them. I may eventually re-upload with a visual fix some day, who knows... Please forgive the slight drop in quality for these sequences. 

Here is the trailer for my extended cut. You can watch the full fan-edit here!

Feedback and shares are immensely appreciated. Please share using the trailer or post only, thank you!

Download for HD - DO NOT USE CELLULAR DATA (18GB)

Follow @uscss-prometheus on Tumblr.

[beyondthecosmicvoid]

Alien Romulus Xenomorph HIVE Revealed In New Image?!

[justafewberries]

Burning the Hob was burning Hobbes

SOTR is going to discuss Hume's theory of implicit submission, which inevitably had me thinking about Hobbes's Leviathan. In Leviathan, Hobbes argues for absolute sovereignty, which very much aligns with how President Snow rules.

Snow wants absolute control and power over the people in Panem. In his desire to seek complete control, the capitol replaces the peacekeeper Cray with Romulus Thread. Thread orders the burning of the hob, the first place in district 12 the capitol outright destroys.

The significance of the name "the hob" is particular in two ways:

Hob itself means a place over a hearth or fireplace, usually used for cooking/cooking utensils

Hob is the root of Hobbes's name

In Leviathan, Hobbes discusses exemptions from his proposal that citizens should give complete control to the government to prevent violence. However, he offers an exemption: when faced with violent death, a person is exempt from the rule of the ruler.

By burning the hob, the capitol has outright shown it is capable of causing a violent death to those in district 12 directly to the citizens of district 12's faces. They witnessed the burning of the hob. They saw how quickly it burned.

It is no longer an arena of children far away. It is the death in front of them, the knocking reaper at their door.

But, directly afterwards, he offers another, more relevant exemption:

"When a man is destitute of food, or other thing necessary for his life... he is totally excused."

For many in district 12, the hob was their life. Greasy Sae and Ripper made their livings there selling what they could. People bought food there. They traded for the only things they could afford. Katniss details time and time again about how the people at the hob took pity on her when her dad died, likely because they knew she couldn't survive without the community the hob provided, and they needed to eat, too.

By burning the hob, the capitol finally gave the citizens of district 12 a key to their hobbesian chains. The burning of the hob accomplished both exemptions. By removing food and promising violent death, the burning was the turning point for district 12.

[askmovieslate]

Ok, look, listen.

I have a theory. Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection aren't needed to enjoy the rest of the franchise, as only the first four Alien movies deal with the character of Ripley, and everything else after Aliens can be considered "Cryo Sleep Nightmares".

All the other Alien movies afterwards have been pretty mediocre tee bee aech. Except for Romulus. I actually really liked that one, that one was badass.

[inseparabiles]

There is this line in the script, not shown in the film. Though I wish it did. Where Caracalla is speaking to the senates before Macrinus presents Geta’s head.

“My hand held the blade, but my Father's hand guided mine. I was the puppet, dancing on his string.”

I have this theory or thought, Caracalla is not just reliving himself k-lling Geta. But also “playing out” what he witnessed their father do to Geta.

Obviously it is Macrinus’ hand. But we understand how the twins see the people they trust, as parental figures in some way. Which is probably why Geta felt betrayed by Acacius and Lucilla (deleted scene where he suggested if Lucilla should adopt them).

Parental figure is such a theme with this film that I think people tend to overlook. Finding your mother, looking for a parent figure in someone. Even making yourself a “parent” to yourself and others to survive.

Another line before, that is also deleted. “Now I am the only one.. I was the true us, and he was the false me. We were always "we," all our lives, but now I am only I, me, alone.” It is likely just his illness overtaking him since he is already in the late stage of syphilis plus lead poisoning.

I can’t help but ponder on that line, like where in their story (in film) would he say this for besides Macrinus pushing him to the wrong idea. Like what did Geta do to make Caracalla think this way during the entire film before executing Acacius.

God YES. All of this.

It's obvious with Lucius, but less glaring with the twins - yet they are, throughout the film, paralleled thematically with Romulus and Remus, orphans raised by a wolf. "Raised by wolves" on its own is a phrase used to describe people who grow up in harsh circumstances, without adequate love and support, struggling to survive and forced to fend off for themselves. The real Caracalla and Geta weren't twins, the ones in the movie are for symbolic reasons. This says as much about them as it says about Rome.

And both their characters are shown to be judged for their shortcomings; for their lack of an education, for their mismanagement of the state, for their cruelty and insularity. Yet when we meet them, and are shown them as people, both of them are so desperately seeking guidance from any real adult around them: they're very young, and they have no idea what they're doing at all. The tragedy of their situation is that, like so many people with childhood trauma, they turn away support which is caring and supportive because it makes them suspicious, and turn for the kind of authority figures whose perceived love for them is demanding and conditional. This isn't any more conscious for them as it is for most trauma survivors, but it is such a painful pattern. If they can't perceive someone's ulterior motives, they can't trust them, and they've not been raised to understand that people might be altruistic and strive for the betterment of the whole without a selfish angle. This is why Geta pushes Acacius: Acacius is much like their father, an older, powerful, respectable, dignified military general who has the nation's support and love. But Acacius must want something for himself. Geta hates that he refuses to show it. That he turns down personal honours and tries to slink away from his duties to attend to some shady business called retirement and home life and loving your wife. That doesn't compute with him so there must be more and if he just pushes him far enough, surely Acacius will show his true colours.

They do the same with Lucilla: the reality that she doesn't desire anything much for herself just doesn't sink in to them at any stage. They think they can leverage glory and luxury and power with her, but she doesn't want it. She'll never give to them what they're looking for because in exchange for their power and status, they're offering her more of the same, and it's about the last thing she could possibly care about.

So what is HER ulterior motive, then?

But Macrinus, who is always a push and pull, trading "care" for leverage, sinks in like a hot knife to butter. Instantly. Because it seems that he plays by their rules: he wants something, but what he wants is benign so they can give that to him, because he is taking it in such a way that is beneficial to them, he's only looking out for their mutual best. No questions asked. Neither of the twins pushes for anything.

And with what happens with Caracalla, I. Fucking. I'm.

The thing is, Caracalla would not really go for Geta's life, just as Geta would not go for his. Macrinus doesn't realise this and his plan almost fails for it, because Macrinus does not understand love like they have for each other: he thinks that pushing these same leverages with them will ultimately lead to its natural conclusion. Only, for whatever fucking reason, Geta gets through to Caracalla and Caracalla stops his assault on him and that will not do because if they resolve it peacefully - then Caracalla will expose Macrinus's plan to Geta. Before this point, Macrinus never dirties his own hands, and I don't believe he had any intention of doing it here either. Caracalla killing Geta is both obvious to the world and expected and sickeningly convenient for Macrinus, because Caracalla is sick and easy to control through that. Geta is already doing it left and right and Macrinus is so much better at it because he doesn't love Caracalla, so what the fuck does he care what he tells him or how he bends him to his will. Geta is a problem, Caracalla is an available tool to be wielded. But when Caracalla doesn't kill Geta, Macrinus has to - in a way that allows him to convince Caracalla that, actually, he did that. It was Caracalla. So that Caracalla won't complain and the plan can proceed regardless of the minor hiccup.

Caracalla's mental state is so bad in that scene. He's utterly frozen and dissociative and unresponsibe when Macrinus takes to him. He's literally just witnessing, apparently his own hand but he's not moving it, kill his brother before his eyes. Whatever Macrinus tells him after to explain this is fair game. And in the moment, yes, this is his father acting through him. It's what Severus always aimed to do, what they both feared their whole lives. Geta got in the way. Now he is punished, from beyond the grave, for it. He should have submitted to his fate a long time ago. He's always been a problem, an obstacle. And now Caracalla is alone but he's alone because he... wanted it? He did want it. Always wondered what it would be like if Geta wasn't in his way, if he wasn't perpetually overshadowed by him. Of course he did this to Geta. Of course it was his hands. Of course it was meant to be. Him, wielding a blade, and guided by his father's final justice.

And why is he crying for it? Why does it hurt? He's not crying. He's fine. He has consuls to name. Tomorrow, he'll look for Geta again, because Geta always comes back after their fights. He wouldn't leave Caracalla alone. But Macrinus tells him that Geta is unwell and that doesn't quite make sense but it has a horrible echo and Caracalla's willing to accept this explanation because questioning it would break him and he doesn't have it in him anymore to be broken. More than he is. Geta would be proud of him, so he goes on with this thing that he wanted, his dream of being a fully realised emperor, a single entity, a person in his own right.

I've never really figured out what makes Caracalla think that Geta would lie to him, because Geta seems honest to a fault, his only lying is by omission and he only does that to keep peace. It might be something their father would shout at him - because Geta would, obviously, lie for Caracalla. Lie to take the blame, lie that he doesn't know where Caracalla is, lie about just about anything to direct his father's anger away from his twin. Might just be echoes. Might be something Caracalla made up because he feels slighted and things don't make sense to him. Geta will tell him things that are contrary to his reality because his reality, long ago, stopped making sense.