#so purpose stabbed him in the source and did it himself

[voxofthevoid]

JJK Teasers: May 2025

Chapter 7/7 of i can offer you a black-lit paradise

“I can hear you thinking.”

Megumi closes his eyes, more exasperated than surprised. Of course Gojou also woke up.

He turns his head, and there he is, lying on his side facing Megumi. Twin pools of toxic blue irradiate the air between them. At least there’s space—enough to fit a whole third body.

Megumi looks at him for long enough that the world beyond those eyes start to blur, imprisoning him in an azure glow. His thoughts run a mile a minute, always coming back to the same thing.

“Why?”

Gojou blinks, a leisurely sweep of the lashes that lets Megumi free himself. He screws his eyes shut, but the blue lingers.

“You’ll have to be a little clearer, Megumi,” Gojou murmurs.

“No, I don’t,” he says, convinced of its truth. Still, he adds, “Itadori. Me. You did this on purpose.”

A little huff, rancid with amusement. “Are you accusing me of playing matchmaker?”

No. That’s too banal a description for what Gojou did, what he is.

“Why?” Megumi repeats calmly.

“Like I said,” Gojou says, “you’ll have to be clearer.”

Megumi grits his teeth before he does something that Itadori definitely will hear. He drags in a breath, lets it out, and says, “You want him. You have him. Why drag me in?”

Chapter 4/10 of taking the flesh is the only virtue

Hot hands spread him wide open, and the lube falls from Kento’s startled fingers.

“Itadori-kun, what’re you—”

It ends on a strangled shout, torn out of his throat as Itadori licks into him.

His arm gives out from under him, but his knees are steady, ass still raised. It’s kept raised, Itadori’s grip carving fresh bruises into his muscles while he buries his whole face against Kento’s ass. It’s hot, Itadori’s breath and his mouth. Heat lashes at his hole, every stroke of Itadori’s tongue wet and fucking filthy. Sloppy too, more frenzy than finesse, but the same hunger than bruised Kento’s throat is now stirring up his insides, all barbed, biting heat. 

Soft, strangled noises fill the air, and it takes Kento a moment to realize they’re coming from him, louder and harsher than breathy noises bursting open against his hole while Itadori tries to inhale him by the flesh.

“Itadori,” Kento forces out, every syllable scraping his throat. “Itadori, you—”

Itadori stabs his tongue deep, and Kento cuts off with a cry, slamming a hand over his mouth before anything else can escape. The boy eating him out isn’t deterred by the silence, just twisting his tongue inside Kento like he can’t get enough of the taste.

Chapter 7/24 of (this is also part of the story) how the story changes

“Hey, Yuuji, what exactly is your relationship with my counterpart?”

“Satoru’s mine,” Yuuji says without missing a beat.

Satoru looks up at him, digging his chin into Yuuji’s chest. “But are you his?”

“Of course.” Everything from Yuuji’s voice to his expression says that should be obvious. It’s honestly kind of cute.

Still, that means Satoru really needs to ask, “So, does this count as cheating?”

“No. Why would it?” Yuuji just looks more bemused. “You’re Satoru.”

“I’m not your Satoru though.”

“What does it matter?” Yuuji’s arm tightens around him again, but this time, the intent layering it feels…different. “All Satorus are mine.”

Ah.

Satoru allows himself a moment to just close his eyes and breathe.

That shouldn’t be flattering. It sure as shit shouldn’t be reassuring, especially when he’s not even the source of Yuuji’s feelings. But it’s been a damn long time since Satoru’s belonged to someone, since he’s wanted to. He doesn’t know if he wants to even now, but this isn’t his reality—not now, not yet.

It could be.

If his Yuuji wants it, if Satoru lets him, it could be.

And then his mind decides to flip that statement.

“Wait a minute,” Satoru says slowly, dimly aware of his hand stilling on Yuuji’s dick. “Your Satoru wouldn’t happen to feel the same about my Yuuji, would he?”

Chapter 2/14 of the ghost in me was true (but you were haunted too)

“I could always kill them again,” Satoru says very mildly.

Yuuji flicks his forehead, nail sharpening into a claw for an extra sting. “The only reason you got away with it last time was because it was only one faction, and they kinda kidnapped me with three fingers still left. No one would support you if you did it now.”

“You’d be surprised.”

“Peaceful revolution,” Yuuji says pointedly, “through education. Your words.”

“You underestimate what I’d do for you,” Satoru says, not for the first time. “I’ve been sitting on that finger since two-thousand-eighteen, you know.”

Yuuji’s eyes widen comically; it’s very satisfying. “Satoru, you—”

“I’d have held on to it forever if I had to,” Satoru says. “But those cowardly fossils are getting pretty restless. And it’s not just one faction this time. If I have to listen to them argue about the best time and method to kill you one more time, I really will slaughter the whole lot. And then you’ll be mad at me.”

Yuuji lets out a choked laugh. “That’s the problem here, huh?”

“You being mad at me is always worse than the entire world hating me,” Satoru says, suffocatingly sincere; Yuuji’s mouth trembles silently. “Know what would be even worse?”

“What?” Yuuji murmurs.

“You dying.”

“Satoru…”

“I didn’t bring you here to kill you. And I won’t let anyone else touch you. But you can’t stay here, Yuuji.”

Chapter 15/18 of (let me be clear) every version of the story ends with you being slaughtered

“I’m afraid I don’t understand what you’re saying. What, exactly, am I supposed to do?”

Satoru like doing this sometimes. Most of the times. He likes hearing Yuuji say things.

Perversely, this is easier than all the things Yuuji had to learn to shape with his mouth to please Satoru.

“Kill me,” he says softly.

Satoru is silent.

He’s silent for so long that Yuuji blinks hot, dry eyes and drags them away from the ceiling, looking carefully at the center of Satoru’s forehead. His hair’s disheveled—a pale, pretty mess that makes Yuuji’s fingers ache. He curls his hands into fists.

A simmering eternity later, Satoru sighs.

Yuuji nearly flinches.

“You need to rest,” Satoru says; he sounds more weary than anything else. “I’ll make you something quick to eat. Go take that shower and then sleep.”

Yuuji watches Satoru turn away from him, leaving the couch to make his way to the kitchen with long, easy strides. There’s not an iota of tension lining his body, and yet, the air is thick with it. Yuuji’s eyes catch on the broad line of his shoulders. It’s thick and strong; Yuuji knows this. They’re strong enough to bear the weight of a world that’s full of monsters and men and men who are monsters.

To bear the weight of lives.

“Satoru,” Yuuji asks, every word a slow, searing horror, “are you in love with me?”

[resident-idiot-simp]

Soulmates AU idea

Ft: @orcadork4ever

Ok ok but like soulmates AU but like only in Logan's universe.

OK OK WAIT I JUST HAD A REALLY GOOD IDEA!

Soulmates AU but it's a quote you say you your soulmate in a moment of high emotions (or something)

But it's a line from the car rant

"Except that's on all of us."

I mean he's so mad he has no idea what he's saying he's just spewing whatever comes to mind. He's beyond livid and as soon as it clicks his first thought is did I go too far? Then it's '....oh fuck'

Logan freezing as he realizes he just tore apart this obviously broken and hurting man who is his soulmate. This man who he has been looking forward to in dread and hope in equal measures.

I feel like they wouldn't fight Logan would want to serve penance and not really fight back. Maybe he's not fighting back and Wade gets mad because what? And then Logan has to explain

Od:

Wade doesn't really believe him and isn't feeling very forgiving.

"Oh, so now you wanna know what I have to say?"

Me:

Logan is horrified with himself. He's hurt so many people and now his soulmate who he's already torne apart.

He truly is the worst Wolverine.

But Wade wants to fight and he's PISSED

Od:

Wade wouldn't stab him if he's just laying there and taking it, that defeats the purpose.

But he also isn't ready to talk about this.

I can see him just leaving the car to hack at a tree and scream (and then break down crying)

Me:

And Logan so DESPERATELY wants to make it better but he has no idea how to or if he even can

Od:

Wade comes back to the car hours later when its dark. His face is tear stained, he's covered in blood though the sources have already healed. Hell, even his hoarse voice is already healed.

He so desperately wants comfort but won't allow himself so he sits in the back seat with his arms and legs crossed and glares out the window. "Talk."

Me: Logan looks like a kicked puppy for God's sake.

They both do. And its gonna take more than a few "I'm sorry"s to fix it.

Logan asks what he can do for Wade to forgive him

Wade says "you can start by helping me save my world. Then maybe I'll think about forgiving you"

Me:

Jokes on both of them it takes a hell of a lot less.

But Wade also understands where Logan's coming from. As much as he's an asshole Wade gets it better then anyone

Now the question is does he explain everything to Wade or does Cassandra make a comment?

I mean after she gets in his head the first time does she mock him for it. Revealing it or does he just tell Wade in that damn car?

(we are unsure vote)

[no-less-than-a-god]

Narinder does not watch the Lamb all of the time. There are times he looks away, to keep eyes on the souls that float far above him or to watch his two disciples below him, or when there’s no need to watch, such as when the Lamb chooses to sometimes rest.

It’s during one of these moments, one of rest, that Narinder is not watching the Lamb when he is suddenly surprised by their presence. He’d been observing Baal and Aym attempt to play a game the Lamb had taught them—one involving lines, crosses, and circles drawn into the ethereal floor beneath them all with their staffs—when a tug in his chest and the sound of the pentagram activating in the distance snapped his attention before him.

“Lamb.” Narinder speaks, his surprise getting the better of him. If his face hadn’t been covered by a veil when he was shackled, he’s sure Baal and Aym would have noticed his eyes widening ever-so-slightly before their heads whipped to the pentagram and they scrambled to stand in their proper places.

The Lamb is silent as they make their approach towards Narinder. Their pace is not hurried, but purposeful; they’re halfway to Narinder before he can finally sense their cause of demise this time.

A swift blade to the heart. The Lamb hadn’t suffered.

Narinder’s eyes narrow under his veil. Had a follower dissented, and stabbed their leader? If so, they're acting very casual about it, as if an act of betrayal hadn't just occurred.

“Your rest has been interrupted,” Narinder comments. The Lamb has gotten close enough to stand between Baal and Aym, looking up at their god.

“I shall be alright,” is the Lamb’s reply. Quiet anger courses through The One Who Waits; not at the Lamb, but at the follower who had stabbed them. Who murdered his vessel.

“Tell me, Vessel, do you know which of your flock has betrayed you tonight?” His voice rumbles deep as he speaks. “What will you do in revenge for such dissention?”

The Lamb smooths a hand over their cloaked chest, where the blade had pierced them. They bow their head slightly before replying, “You've misunderstood. No follower of mine has slain me tonight.”

“Then you know the identity of the one who held the knife? Tell me, Lamb, who has taken this life from you?”

“It was my own hand that guided the blade to my heart.”

Narinder sank closer to the floor of the ethereal plane, closer to his vessel. He eyed them from beneath his veil curiously, attentively.

“Life is a precious thing to hold onto, even while I have the power to resurrect you. Why did you take your own blade to yourself?”

“It gets lonely,” the Lamb admits, and steps closer to their god, “down there, surrounded by nobody else who understands. I like it here, I like that you're here; am I not allowed to simply wish to occupy the same space as you for a while?”

Companionship. The Lamb has sought out death to seek contact with the god of death.

Narinder drops a single hand to the floor, fingers flexing slightly in a wordless gesture, and the Lamb clambers on. They are small in his hand, a size that Narinder could easily crush between claws.

But he doesn’t. Instead, he raises his hand up, ducking it under his veil, and brings the Lamb level with his face.

The Lamb is treated with three red eyes turned up with rapture, and a mouth splitting into a grin that shows off rows of sharp, pointed teeth. There is no fear evident in the Lamb, even with how close they are to sure weapons of annihilation.

All four entities within the ethereal plan are surprised when they hear a deep, bassy rumble erupt around them. It takes many moments for all of them, Narinder included, to realize the source of the sound comes from the God himself. He’s purring, and he can’t remember the last time he'd done so.

Narinder speaks from around the rumbling in his throat. ��You are always welcome here,” he promises his vessel. “If it is companionship you seek, as your god I will provide.”

The Lamb is smiling at the sound, despite the volume of it being enough to echo greatly around them.

[slimeandsadness]

Handedness in DanAndPhilCrafts - Slime

A documentation and analysis of the hands that Dan and Phil use in the new Crafts video. Obviously some of this stuff is just due to filming and seating angles, but as with so much else about this video, I think some really interesting things can be intuited from it. Sorry if anyone has already done this!

This whole idea came from a post @lesbaurinkos pointing out that Dan - who's left handed - uses his right hand to sacrifice Phil, and comparing it to this exchange from Glitter Faces:

Phil: If you're left handed, ask a friend. Dan: Why am I left handed? Phil: Everybody makes mistakes.

This implies that there is something wrong with Dan's left handedness, and I've seen some suggest that this is what leads him to do rituals with his right. Others still say that perhaps this shows a transition of some sort, so that he is not the same person. While these are valid and interesting readings, I'd like to put forward a different theory.

Traditionally, the left hand has been seen as sinister (literally the Latin word for left, while the right was 'dexter'), so one would think that Dan's left handedness would actually be a boon for a Satanic ritual. It's a mark of otherness, of queerness, that was historically punished by a Christian society who saw it as deviant and wicked.

Indeed, it isn't just Dan who uses a hand different from his dominant one for ritualistic practice. Although we don't see Phil make the cut on Dan's hand, when he holds the knife, he holds it in his left hand.

Likewise, once it cuts to the next shot, the knife is at an angle that suggests it having been put down from his left.

Dan's wound is on his right hand, and he uses this hand for many of the ritualistic elements to come, including - while still in Crafts mode - anointing himself and Phil in slime and holding the knife while telling us that He wants it 'straight from the source'.

This might be because his left hand is out of action due to all that blue slime on it. How did that blue slime get there? First, a word on the slime itself.

The two slimes serve different purposes. Dan's slime is intended to be a vessel and Phil's will be 'fun to touch'. Thus, while the red slime is only for Him, I would argue that the blue slime is for Them. After all, creativity is nothing without friendship.

That homoerotic hand grab with Phil - which squishes together the friendship slime, the same colour as Phil's eyes, as Dan points out - represents 'friendship' as the other force alongside Him. In this hand grab, Dan's dominant hand becomes covered in slime, leaving only his non-dominant hand for ritual purposes.

Interestingly, Phil is using his left hand here (his ritual hand), perhaps a sign of their differing priorities. I won't go into too much detail here, but I've seen others make interesting posts about Phil doing things for Him, and Dan doing them for Phil. This isn't too important here, as it's Dan's deliberate choices after this about which hand to use that become particularly interesting.

Indeed, after this, Dan draws the sigils on the walls with his right hand, and he also walks into the room to complete the sacrifice holding the knife in his right hand. If his right hand is his ritual hand, this makes sense.

However, and I haven't seen anyone mention this yet, he leaves the room with it in his left hand.

I think this is fascinating, since - as with the cut in Dan's hand - we don't see what happens between these two shots. We hear Phil scream and assume Dan has stabbed him as planned, but we don't get to see which hand he actually wields the knife with. Going with my above thesis, perhaps this is because it is muddy and unknowable to what extent Dan is doing this for Him (the right hand) and to what extent he's doing it for Phil (the left).

We can also view this in contrast with the hand cut from earlier, where the discarded knife indicates that Phil completed the whole thing with his left (ritual) hand.

Dan also has a bloody handprint on his shirt, presumably from Phil in his final moments, and it's a right hand print. This is Phil's 'friendship' hand. Despite Phil's ultimate devotion to Him, during the moment of his greatest sacrifice, it is the deep intimacy of this act between the two of them that is most important.

In the final ritual scene, Dan begins by holding the knife in his right hand (his ritual hand).

However, he then holds it in both hands, just as he holds Phil's heart in both hands a moment later. Both ritual and friendship are working together here, and he continues for the rest of the scene to use both hands to anoint them in Phil's heart's blood.

In the final shot, they are stood in their usual formation (Dan on stage right, Phil on stage left) and they each hold an item of ritualistic significance in their non-dominant, ritual hand. Dan holds Phil's heart in his right hand; Phil holds the knife in his left. What they each hold in their dominant hands is each other.

As a few others have pointed out, the rope of Baphomet behind them also evokes imagery of handfasting. That suggests that this is not just a summoning of Baphomet, but also a marriage ceremony of sorts. They are bound not just to Baphomet, but to each other.

A lot of this is, of course, because of their standard way round of sitting, so that their dominant hands are always between them, but it is fascinating that they made the choice to continue with this motif even once they were roaming free.

This is my final thesis, then, that throughout the video they both use their non-dominant hands for acts of ritualistic significance, while their dominant hands become important for their relationship. This is especially true for Dan, whose devotion often seems split between Him and Phil. Dan's left handedness could additionally act as a metaphor for queerness, so it's especially notable the way that this hand is reserved only for Phil.

Basically:

[musclesandhammering]

No, Sylvie didn’t “have a point” in that bar convo.

Ok. I’ve seen a lot of sylvie stans on Twitter (and ofc Twitter is the app of choice for sylvie stans lmao) claiming that, in the bar conversation in episode 5, Sylvie had the moral high ground. They say she Made Points and that she’s consistently been the one trying to preserve lives while Loki/Mobius/the TVA have been carelessly destroying them. Yeah. Let’s talk about that.

On Sylvie being right about Loki “kidnapping” people from their timelines…

First off, Loki admitted that he had an ulterior motive of bringing his friend group back together because he didn’t want to be alone. Cool! But he didn’t say he wanted to forcefully drag them from their happy lives and imprison them somewhere so they couldn’t leave just so he could hang out with them. He said they should be given a choice whether they wanted to join him in his ‘save the TVA’ quest or go back to their current lives. A choice. You know.. like what they didn’t have before.

And it’s kinda valid, when you think about it. Yes, they had/have lives on their original branches, but they also had/have lives at the TVA. Centuries worth of life there. They have friends there, they have jobs that they genuinely see as their own glorious purposes, and (in recent days) they have their own little world-saving team! They have a heroic mission! They have their friendship with Loki! And whether or not they should’ve been drafted to the TVA is irrelevant, because it happened. And those experiences are significant just like their experiences on the timeline. It was wrong for HWR to take away their memories and their choice to stay in their mundane lives, but it’s equally as wrong for Sylvie to not want to give them their memories of the TVA back or give them the choice to go back to that life, if they want to. And considering how A.D. Doug and Frank’s branch lives are going (read: not good), I’m fairly confident they’d choose to return if they had all their memories back.

And I mean, considering how the meeting with Sylvie went, if any of them had refused to come with Loki, he would have let them stay! It’s not like he was literally kidnapping them. He just wanted to give them a choice in hopes that they’d choose him. Just because Sylvie can’t imagine ever wanting to leave her life on the timeline to go back to the TVA doesn’t mean she can make that choice for others.

On Sylvie being right about just leaving everyone be and letting the TVA stay destroyed…

Like..??? This is so frustrating. This is probably my greatest source of annoyance with her throughout this entire season. She’s constantly argued in favour of inaction, despite the fact that she knows there is an emergency going on that requires immediate action. Moral discussions aside, just sitting at McDonalds and ignoring everything that’s going on isn’t feasible, because- as Loki has been trying to tell her for 4 episodes now- if the loom melts down, there won’t be a McDonalds anymore. There won’t be anything. The entire multiverse will be fettuccine 😭. 

Like I just don’t understand her logic?? Either she doesn’t believe him (despite having evidence), or she just doesn’t care because a.) she thinks they should fix the mess she made while she just chills in the 80s OR b.) she thinks “well I’ll be fine, fuck everyone else 🤪” because she has the master tempad and thinks she can just keep outrunning the destruction like she’s been doing her whole life.

Either way, though, even if the branches weren’t being spaghettified and everything was fine.. there’s still a billion kang variants on the horizon. Like does that not trouble her at all? I’m sure her reasoning would be that she’d just kill any Kangs that show up, but it’s hilarious how she’s so confident in her ability to do that considering she did nothing impressive to kill He Who Remains. He sat in a chair and offered himself up to her. She walked up and stabbed him in the chest. Like there was no battle, that was no accomplishment. But she really thinks she did something, huh? To the point that she’s willing to risk the lives of everyone in the multiverse, gambling on her ability to single-handedly take on an entire army of all-powerful dudes actually trying to win. Nonsensical behaviour.

On Sylvie just wanting to save all the innocent people…

Building on my last point. Sylvie’s whole thing about being the one that stands up for The People and does everything in the best interest of the innocents… yeah, that’s bs lol. Sylvie, I think, has convinced herself that she’s fighting to preserve lives, but in all actuality, she’s just fighting to oppose the TVA. She’s not seeking justice (at least not primarily), she’s seeking revenge. And that’s been a problem with her since the end of season 1.

She had no problem murdering 400+ minute men in violent and torturous ways (she even enjoyed doing it, and still takes pride in it), despite the fact that she knew they were innocent people brainwashed and forced to work for the TVA. She had no problem sitting back and letting the infinite number of Kangs come, even though it was inevitable that lots of innocent people would be killed by them. As long as she didn’t have to do the work to prepare for it, she was fine with that risk. Loki tried to tell her multiple times, in multiple instances, that the TVA falling apart would cause branched timelines to be destroyed and all the people on them to die, but she ignored him and didn’t believe him and refused to do anything to help over and over and over until that very thing ended up happening. As a matter of fact, she never cared at all until it effected her timeline. Then she immediately was like “there must be something we can do!!”

Anyway….. I just think it’s annoying how some people act like she’s the pro-life (not that kind of pro-life) voice of reason in all this. She’s extremely selfish (yes, more so than Loki) and perfectly willing to let innocent people die if it means she gets to keep relaxing on her branch. Much like Brad. And you know what? That doesn’t make her a villain! There’s nothing wrong with wanting a life away from the organisation that ruined your old one. But I wish folks would stop saying she was right. Cause.. no, bestie, she was not. Lol.

[morgensternauroras]

The Alec and Lucifer Theory

Alright, this has been on my mind since TLBotW (further referred to as 'White' because I am lazy), but I think Cassie's recent event convinced me. Especially after she said the thing about going back to TMI themes (more on that in the end)

So let's talk about The Svefnthorn and Alec.

In White, he stabs himself with The Svefnthron and LIVES. Which should not be possible considering the Wiki says it contains a lot of demonic power and only a warlock could survive being stabbed with it. (Link leads to the wiki page as reference) We are never actually given an explanation to how/why he manages to survive this stabbing, it is implied it has something to do with the allience rune, but we are never given the impression thay the allience rune could act in any way that would save Alec's life in this situation. If the allience rune is what saved him, we don't know how/why, and if that were the case, how come Alec was so shocked that he surprised? I don't know, the allience rune explanation doesn't sit right with me. Alec himself mentions he doesn't understand how it worked.

And then we need to talk about Sammael's reaction, he is described as confused and then he just... fucks off. Sure, it might just be a natural reaction of someone who just basically got defeated, but we'll talk about what I think it might mean SOON.

Essentially, Sammael after the thorn fails to kill Alec just leaves, no smart comebacks, no significant reaction, he just poofs. And realistically, he could have killed them all out of spite, I mean he was mad about Lilith, that was at least half the point of his story in White.

The next time we see Sammael is during the White epilogue when he calls a meeting of the Princes of Hell! All of them except Lucifer. And we're basically told this meeting is being held without Lucifer on purpose, especially after this exchange.

“Too long have we gone it alone. If we are ever to truly achieve our larger goals, we must recognize that we are more alike than we are different. We must put aside our old grievances, forget them, and work together.”

Asmodeus looked astonished. “You mean—”

“Yes,” said Sammael. “I want to talk about Lucifer.”

So we have a mention of putting aside old grievances and then a mention of banding together and having to talk about Lucifer, this happens right after Alec mysteriously survives the stabbing with the thorn.

Now, we know the thorn was tied to Sammael, and we don't know much about Lucifer, but we know he is more powerful than all the Princes. So I will ask, what if Lucifer is the reason TMI crew (especially Alec) survived White?

Think about it, it would explain why Sammael reacted the way he did to Alec's survival, why he chose now is the time to band the Princes together, presumably, against Lucifer.

And then another thing happened- well, actually, 3 things happened. For 1, Cassie said that Lucifer might surprise us. (Kill me I cannot actually find a source for this, if anyone knows where/when this was said let me know, I'll add it to the post) 2nd thing was, Cassie's tumblr post about going back to TMI motifs, (we'll get back to this, I'll share the ss of the post lower in the post. 3rd thing being the recent claim that TEC3 aka The Black Volume can't come out yet because it spoils TWP.

On a slight tangent, I don't actually know where the idea that TEC3 won't come out until TWP is over, Cassie has previously said TEC3 would come out between books 2 and 3 of TWP.

ANYWAY, back to this Lucifer thing. Cassie recently said we'll go back to TMI themes.

And I think she mentioned Paradise Lost for a very specific reason.

I recently read Paradise Lost, and there's an interesting discussion and interpretation surrounding that book. The way Satan (or Lucifer) is written in Paradise Lost makes him a protagonist, but for many he is also an anti-hero written in a sympathetic way, if not a straight up hero. While his goal is ultimately evil, he isn't written as pure evil as Lucifer often is. He also is a liberator in Milton's poem, he believes that what he is doing is ultimately good for humanity. (I am not gonna waste your time referencing academic sources and interpretation, but I do think you should look it up if any of this sounds interesting)

I think Lucifer will not be the villain we believe he is. He may be a villain, but with different plans and motivations than the rest of the Princes. I wonder if Alec will be part of that plan and if Lucifer needs some of our Shadowhunters alive, and if he might be the reason Alec survived the stabbing.

TEC was always focused on the Princes of Hell plot while TWP is actively looking like it will be dealing with the Cohort, Clave in Exile and the plots set up in TDA. It makes sense to me that the Lucifer plot would play out in TEC.

This is what I have so far. I am open to people adding stuff, I doubt I'm the first to have this idea.

[bthump]

What are your thoughts or analyses on the phallic imagery in berserk? Less so the more obvious ones like seen in Casca’s nightmares which are obviously pointing to her sexual trauma, but like we see with the vagina-esque monsters and how Guts’ sword is alluded to being like a penis in some cases. Sorry if it’s a weird question lol

Sorry for the wait on this lol, I was on vacation for a while, and it's also a topic I wanted to spend some time on because I love it and I wanted to be relatively thorough. Thanks for the ask!

So yeah, disclaimers out of the way, Freudian analytical theory is very silly, very gender essentialist in ways that can often be transphobic and misogynist, and as far as I'm aware pretty much wholly unrelated to real psychology. Back in the 70s and 80s you had film theorists who took it seriously as a genuine glimpse into the subconsciousness of humanity or whatever, but now it's pretty much just a readily available source of sex and gender related symbolism that's easy to understand.

And in Berserk I do genuinely think it's a valid lens to view the story through because Miura is often quite heavy handed in utilizing it as symbolism. I mean, Guts literally gives someone an orgasm by stabbing her at one point. Some of this can definitely be a stretch, taking established symbols and running with them, but some of it is also almost certainly purposeful. I'll leave it to you to decide what you see as legit and what you see as stretching believability here.

This is very long lol

So yeah, it starts off strong in Berserk with Guts' oversized sword. Swords are dicks, ie sources of masculine power, especially in Berserk

and in the context of the story the dragonslayer is Guts overcompensating imo. And it's not compensating for a small dick lol, which would be more the purview of comedy, but for a loss of masculinity, ie Guts' childhood abuse from Gambino, and rape trauma. It's about his need to prove himself because he was made to feel like he had to, imo.

And it's not just the size of his sword, his obsession with it is also a major factor. He has a grandiose speech about how his sword is like a part of his body (hmm) and that it's been at his side through everything and he's always relied on it. The dream he lands on is to be the best and strongest sword fighter ever. He's currently having a breakdown over not being able to hit someone with his sword. He has a recurring tendency to break other guy's swords lol. At one point Casca screams at him that he essentially cares about his sword more than her. etc etc.

In the story dreams are at odds with emotionally healing human relationships, and dreams are represented by swords (Guts' sword obviously, Casca becoming Griffith's sword, Griffith calling the throne a sword while taunting the king in the dungeon as well as his vision of himself throwing him a sword and pointing to the castle in chapter 72).

So through a Freudian lens, Guts' sword can also be said to represent emotional isolation, positioning masculinity as emotionally isolating. Which, yk, fits with Griffith also equating dreams and masculinity in his Promrose Hall speech (a man must achieve a dream before he can have a family or lover) and, I suppose lol, Casca getting "softer" and more feminine as she falls for Guts, as femininity is therefore the opposite: emotional reliance on and support of others.

So if swords are dicks, then it follows that wounds are vaginas, ie yonic symbols. Also pretty obvious when you read some of the lines during the Guts and Casca sex scene lol. "I too want a wound I can say you gave me." These can represent weakness and victimization (I did warn for misogyny lol) and/or (often sexual) relationships and emotional openness.

So you have the relationships - "licking wounds" with Casca; Guts letting Casca stab him when he thinks about abandoning Griffith; the Beast of Darkness calling Casca the wound Griffith left so Guts can keep feeling the pain Griffith caused; Griffith scratching his own shoulder where Guts' sword pointedly didn't wound him; Griffith being out of reach of Guts' sword post-Eclipse; "let's give him a heap of raw iron;" and Farnese grinding on Guts' sword while possessed and Slan directly treating being stabbed as sexual penetration for the most obvious examples...

Also I'd argue that any time Guts gets his ass kicked in a fight it functions as an echo of his rape trauma symbolically and subconsciously to Guts. Both kinda obviously at times, like eg when Slan overpowers him and tears off his shirt while wounding his chest, and kisses him after the stabbing, causing Guts to feel a burst of fear

or when Rosine stabs Guts through the mouth as another enemy who flirts with Guts mid-fight. And of course the first duel with Griffith in which Guts unilaterally sets the stakes to sex slavery because he's projecting.

But also a little more subtlely, such as when Zodd is given the same position as Nightmare Donovan in Guts' concussion nightmare after he kills Adonis, or all this consistent imagery that rapists and apostles tend to get.

Or, interestingly, the way the Berserk armour functions as self-harm as Guts fights by penetrating Guts to "heal" him.

Something that solidifies its hold over Guts and makes him lose more and more of his positive humanity to his urge to kill.

So yeah, from a Freudian angle I'd suggest that Guts is driven to fight to reclaim the sense of masculine power he was stripped of when he was raped, and every fight can be said to be a repetition of his rape trauma in which he (usually) successfully fights back, but also continuously retraumatizes himself rather than healing.

I'm going to delve a little deeper into how phallic and yonic symbols intersect with the characters' relationships now that we've outlined some of the preliminary symbolism, starting from the Golden Age.

The first duel between Guts and Griffith is rife with Freudian symbolism, very overtly. Griffith stabs Guts and then Guts proceeds to have a nightmare about his rape trauma. Then he projects that trauma onto Griffith when he assumes Griffith wants to fuck him and adds sexual stakes to their duel. Then, yk, he takes Griffith's sword into his mouth lol.

Griffith winning by dislocating Guts' arm can be easily taken as a symbolic unmanning/castration, nicely introducing us into Guts' three years of growth towards prioritizing relationships instead of aimless sword-swinging to prove himself. It's also suggestive of penetration when you're primed to look for sexual symbolism (and if Guts offering Griffith his ass and then biting a sword doesn't prime you for it, what does?):

And the two of them losing their swords in the course of the fight and resorting to unarmed combat can also be taken as a telling symbol of the conflict between dreams and their relationship with each other. They lose the symbols of their dreams and contend only with each other, in a more positive contrast to the second duel that ends their relationship, in which they fight only with swords and never touch each other.

Wounds come into it when Griffith nearly gets killed rushing in against Zodd to save Guts, leading to the most impactful moment of their relationship, where Griffith admits he did it solely for Guts' sake and had no other reason. Griffith also points out how wounded Guts is after that fight, in what I'd call a nearly flirtatious way:

And if you follow these symbols completely strictly this scene suggests Guts retreating into his defensive masculinity in his sword exercises after being defeated/emasculated by Zodd and accused of not valuing his personal relationships by Casca, and finally finding a new, more constructive purpose for his sword after Griffith essentially confesses his devotion to him.

Dedicating his sword to Griffith in return for the wounds Griffith suffered for his sake, with, it has to be noted when the topic is freudian symbolism, his sword held at exactly crotch level.

In the second duel Guts destroys Griffith's sword before leaving, a symbolic castration which is most likely intended to represent and foreshadow Griffith's subsequent loss of power when he throws his life away and ends up tortured in a dungeon for a year. More interestingly imo, is Griffith tracing scratch-markes on his shoulder after sleeping with Charlotte and while crying over Guts - the same shoulder Guts' sword didn't quite hit when he won the duel, drawing attention to the lack of a wound by Guts' hand, a wound he created himself and traces in his devastation.

You have a nice... I don't know what the comic terminology is lol so I'm just going to call it a match-cut here, with Griffith and Casca both getting penetrated by the same number of arrows/skewers, to signify Griffith and the Hawks' fall from power, in contrast to Guts' growing phallic power as he pursues his sword swinging. Power which he demonstrates when he returns and saves the Hawks and Casca and Griffith by swinging his sword a lot and defeating a lot of powerful enemies and, if I'm gonna be crass, healing Casca's suicidal despair with his dick lol.

Interestingly though, before he does that he lets Casca stab him while experiencing the guilt of having driven Griffith into a torture chamber by leaving. It's a wound that highlights his emotional connection to Griffith and vulnerability to those emotions, even as he tries to deny them. He then manages to successfully deny them for a little while longer after having sex with Casca.

In this Freudian context, Guts and Casca's sex scene is an affirmation of a relationship, but one which is emotionally uneven, with Casca ready and willing to emotionally rely on and support Guts, but Guts still dedicated to his sword-swinging dream, inviting Casca with him but only as long as she doesn't get in the way of what he wants to do. This does fit with phallic symbols being associated with emotional distance and yonic symbols being associated with emotional closeness lol. (Also fittingly, the one way he does open up to her is about his rape trauma after a flashback.)

It's worth noting that in this disconnect Casca erroneously assumes Guts fought the hundred men and "bled" for her, making her want "a wound" from him in return. Guts fighting those hundred men is much more reminiscent of his fights against apostles, the fights that revolve around replaying his rape trauma to make himself feel better. Casca assumes they already have an emotional bond due to Guts' wounds, but she's wrong - Guts specifically thinks to himself during the hundred man fight that he's not doing it for Casca.

This is reflected in the Wyald fight when Guts insists on fighting Wyald, again as part of the whole reaffirmation of masculinity thing I outlined at the start of this, when Casca just wants him to run away. The Wyald fight is pretty overt about being about Guts' rape trauma imo, moreso than most fights in the story. Wyald's rapiness is made a point of from Guts' point of view when he sees him wielding the torso of a woman sexually impaled on a pike and gets extra angry, and when he literally cuts off Wyald's dick when he's about to rape Casca, and then has his pointed line about needing to "settle the score with him... with them... by his own sword."

SO ESSENTIALLY to sum up this subsection, I think you can argue that what prevents Guts and Casca from being an equal relationship is Guts stlil being hung up over needing to prove his masculine power through sword-swinging, rather than embracing his emasculation (which, remember, tends to signify positive relationships in this context) and coming to terms with it ("immersing himself in sorrow" as Godo says much later.)

Like, to return to Griffith, it's fitting that after Guts destroys his sword and he goes through a year of torture and is thoroughly emasculated, he's able to recognize his feelings for Guts and understand that Guts is more important to him than the dream, the "sword called the throne."

But he doesn't quite come to terms with his emasculation either. This symbolism is one explanation for the wagon scene where he propositions Casca - a desperate bid for some form of power. Not the strongest explanation imo, but since we're currently in the business of actively looking for this symbolism, it definitely fits. Casca's rejection and pity reinforce Griffith's emasculation, and overhearing her tell Guts to leave again is the final straw. Relationships are a bust, swords are now his only recourse, as we see when he has a vision of himself throwing him a sword and pointing to the castle.

You could take the nightmarish vision he has of a life with Casca as Griffith rejecting emasculation, but an alternate way of taking it is Griffith regaining a form of phallic power, and the emotional isolation that goes with it. After all, it's implied that he has a child with Casca, while totally withdrawn and emotionally isolated.

I once said in a different silly essay that Griffith choosing the dream is, in a way, Griffith choosing another version that nightmare, and that take also fits here.

And hey, it's another reason for Femto to rape Casca lol, if we want to ascribe meaning there, and of course we must in this kind of analysis. In the wagon Griffith essentially offers sex to Casca for the faint vestige of masculine power it could give him (emotional isolation and a child); in his nightmare he imagines that life and it drives him to suicide; and after becoming Femto he forces sex onto Casca and then continues on to embody emotional distance and masculine power.

This power is painfully demonstrated through the rape of Casca, but also subsequently through his pure untouchability (often in pointedly sexualized contexts); through his phony relationship with Charlotte and ascending to the ultimate patriarchal role of king/emperor and taking that sword called the throne; and I guess also through his actual sword lol which he still uses.

An example of sexualized untouchability - check out the positioning of that third thought bubble, in this scene where Griffith lords his invulnerability over Ganishka.

And look at all those pillars, I'm js.

And I'd be remiss not to point out the most recent confrontation with Guts where Guts tries many times to hit his naked body with his giant sword, completely fails, and then Griffith kidnaps Casca. More very on-point emasculation symbolism, it might as well be Guts trying to fuck him but unable to get hard lol. His breakdown afterwards doesn't do much to disabuse you of that notion either.

Anyway, back to post-Eclipse Guts. There's not much else to add that I didn't cover at the start, but in brief:

Guts has lost his arm during the Eclipse, which is an emasculation - he loses it while watching Femto rape ~his woman~ so it's like the most traditional symbolic castration there is lol. And of course he replaces it with a bigger, better, and more overt phallic symbol: a canon. And like the first thing we see him do with it is shove it into the mouth of a monster he's banging and blow her head off. So yk, there's that.

And there's Puck, who exists to help bridge Guts' emotional distance and essentially serves as the feminine counterpart to Guts' masculinity for a while. From his magical empathy, to his tiny size, to his lack of genitalia (note that in Freudian theory the lack of a penis is an indicator of femininity rather than specifically the presence of a vagina), to his connections with female characters Theresia and Jill, even arguably to his introduction where Guts saves him from a bunch of men throwing phallic knives at him by skewering them with his own (bigger) projectiles, this is consistent during the Black Swordsman/Conviction arc era.

Chestnut Puck is a lot more boyish, with his particular humour, his cameraderie with an annoying teenage boy, and now having his own feminine counterpart in Ivalera, but that's fine because his thematic job as a feminine influence on Guts is over after Guts starts collecting more friends.

And as far as the RPG group goes, there are a few notable instances of phallic symbolism for them too. Farnese and Serpico are an obvious example, with Farnese sexualizing the wounds Serpico voluntarily suffers for her, when she demands he duel for her honour a bunch of times.

Farnese brandishing the end of her whip at him doesn't hurt the freudian power dynamic symbolism either lol.

In the Conviction arc Farnese wielded a sword she was incapable of using, suggestive of her true femininity under a brash masculine surface, and when she softens in the Millenium Falcon arc she becomes a caretaker with only a small dagger for self-defense. That said, she does get that epic moment of stabbing a tiger in the eye with a long silver pole (candlestick) when she rejoins Guts' crew rather than becoming a housewife, so she still gets some badass phallic weapon imagery lol.

Serpico wields a thin rapier in the Conviction Arc, which Guts easily grabs in his hand, and in the Millenium Falcon arc he switches to a... limp feather duster lol. Serpico is very feminized compared to Guts and his weapons fit as part of that, but they're still effective weapons. You could maybe argue, within this Freudian lens, that this is indicative of Serpico's healthier relationship with masculinity. He's not compensating for anything, he's at peace with himself.

And god I gotta say something about Guts and Serpico's duels. In the first one you have Serpico delaying Guts while Farnese steals Casca from him, and part of that delay is to force Guts into a fight where he can't wield his sword, a parallel emasculation to Casca being kidnapped.

Then you have their confrontation after Farnese's no good very bad night, which is just incredibly suggestive lol.

You cannot tell me this isn't Guts getting blueballed when Serpico leaves after one quick exchange. Particularly coming in the same chapter featuring possessed Farnese grinding on Guts' sword (which Guts was much less interested in, incidentally). Also: wounds as sexual imagery again. Guts licking the blood off his cheek? Come on.

And finally you have their fight in Farnese's basement, in which Serpico attempts to hinder Guts by surrounding him with giant pillars, which Guts smashes through as he dodges around them. Another neat illustration of Guts' pure phallic power and Serpico's much more effeminate style.

One final note to address part of your ask, which didn't naturally fit into the rest of this lol: I would interpret vaginal imagery in monsters as mainly castration anxiety, yk, vagina dentata vibes, the fear of sticking your dick in a hole you can't see into. There's actually a lot of interesting stuff to consider in terms of the feminine as the unknowable other when it comes to Freudian theory, but that's like, not something I would expect Miura to lean into first of all, and also it would take another essay of explanation. If you're interested in that kind of Freudian analysis though I'd recommend the books Men, Women, and Chainsaws by Carol J. Clover and The Dread of Difference, edited by Barry Keith Grant. I took a course on women and horror films ages ago and read chunks of those, and it was very fun, and iirc both address Freudian imagery in horror.

Okay! So that's the rundown of like, all the examples of Freudian imagery that interest me at least lol. This isn't exhaustive ofc, Berserk is long and not stingy with this stuff, but this response is already so long and meandering lol, so I'm going to wrap it up here.

To sum up, phallic imagery often represents masculine power as well as masculine flaws (like emotional isolation) in Berserk, while yonic/vaginal imagery tends to represent feminine weakness as well as feminine virtues (like emotional connection and vulnerability). As a general rule, the more phallic imagery someone violently swings around, the more fucked up they are. Phallic violence is used to compensate for past trauma, but it only continues the cycle of violence. The way to break that violence is to accept one's wounds and focus on them, to heal, rather than trying to distract from them.

I don't think this is always the best way to interpret Berserk lol, but it adds another dimension that very often complements the surface meaning and thematic resonance of the story, sometimes purposefully, sometimes likely incidental. And either way it's a lot of fun to read into!

[ahmedmootaz]

(slides you the idea of color fixer X au. same au has Angelica alive)

anyways

tosses this here and RUNS /lh

Dear transfer-ribonucleic-acid/breadgun,

First of all, great drawing! I really, really like the facial expressions and the scars; I feel X would definitely have this determined yet somewhat nervous attitude towards the rapid sequences of events that have undoubtedly needed to happen for him to be in such a position. I also really like the suit; it reminds me of Kali's Colour outfit, in a way, and I think it'd make sense, as she's the only Colour he'd know of, so he'd probably attempt to mimic her style in a way to look both fashionable and remain practical. The hair is very fun to look at, and the eyes are very expressive. Overall, great job!

But now, onto the concept itself...I must admit, the idea of this AU makes think of a lot of different possibilities that made it occur in the first place, and I do hope you wouldn't mind me sharing a few of my thoughts on this very, very intriguing AU.

So first of all, X as a Colour. The idea makes me primarily think of how he'd get there in the first place, and I think that it'd be related to the Seed of Light. Part of me thinks that, somehow, X would be dragged out of the Light for one way or another and would wake up in the ruins of the Corporation with the Library getting established without him and him having to crawl back up on his lonesome.

I think that he'd gain some combat abilities with his battles against the various monsters and Ordeals that'd plague the Corporation's ruins at this point, but I think his strongest point would be Ayin himself. After all, we are told that Ayin made it into the Light like Carmen did, even if no one can hear him. It'd make sense that he'd be able to somewhat communicate with X, seeing how they're clone-and-clonee, so their relationship is undoubtedly strong.

From there on, I think Ayin would try drawing out a sort of E.G.O. from X, but since X's main purpose in life (fulfilling the Seed of Light's prerequisites) was gone at this point, I don't think that he'd be able to manifest a complete E.G.O., rather, he'd have one forcefully manifested out of him if he and Ayin focus enough on the matter. Of course, the question of X's E.G.O. remains, though I think I have an idea for what type of E.G.O. would fit him perfectly:

Regeneration.

After all, X's whole deal in the Corporation was his unwavering determination and his undying efforts to continue regardless of how many times he fell down before, no? It'd make sense if his E.G.O. was based on constantly regenerating his body in order for him to keep pressing on with his new goals. But of course, as X's E.G.O. was incomplete when it was manifested, the drawback would be that X had to intentionally focus on damaging any hurt part in his body and endure the pain of the regeneration in case the nerves are exposed to air as they're healing and such, which makes it so that X has to be determined all the time about his new goal lest he lose the ability to heal himself in the first place and die on the battlefield.

Still, despite these drawbacks, I feel X would be nigh-unstoppable on the battlefield because his enemies wouldn't know why this scrawny and thin man just tanked a sword to the neck and managed to stab them back in a fraction of a second. I think, with perhaps some TT2 technology that he'd loot from the Corporation, he'd be able to rise through the ranks pretty quickly before the Hana would eventually grant him a title...

As for Angelica's involvement in this AU, I think that'd be absolutely adorable if she managed to survive the Pianist's attack somehow, perhaps thanks to Argalia being close by, though the shock might've made her go into early labour, so I think in this AU, Roland and Angelica would have their baby but they'd probably lose their home and would be forced to stay at Argalia's place, which can be a source of fluff as Argalia leans into being an uncle while also being a great source of hilarity because, come on. It's Argalia and Roland under one roof.

I think it would be quite cool if Ayin is essentially X's eyes in the sky while X is Ayin's striking hand and that Ayin would direct X to try and gain Roland and Argalia's support to hunt and destroy Distortions under the premise of "We need to prevent anything like the Pianist from harming people like Angelica ever again" and they'd maybe choose a name like The Three Colours or maybe even Distortion Destroyers because Distortion Detectives was already trademarked by Moses. It would be pretty funny to see such a trio with both Argalia and Roland suspicious of a Colour that rose so quickly while also swearing they saw his face once in a newspaper or something without remembering who he was.

And we could say that X's present scars in the drawing remain because he acquired them during his escape form the Corporation's collapsed form before Ayin dragged his E.G.O. out and so he couldn't heal them as well.

But that's my opinion on this AU, which honestly sounds quite fascinating and looks filled to the brim with fun ideas, however, I didn't ask for YOUR proper view on it, so let me ask you:

How do YOU imagine it going? I am very curious to see how you think it'd go, and I hope that this long ramble didn't annoy you too much.

Once more, thank you so very much for the prompt and the very nice art! It means a lot to me, and I hope to see more of this AU!

[ria-writes-stories]

Ship: Nuzi

Genre: Glass and cotton

Title: Feelings transformed

-------------------

(No one's pov)

Time. The most complex, intriguing, morbid and funny concept that any being may ever have the privilege of acknowledging. It changes everything. One little second may be at fault for one thriving or falling. Why? Isn't it ridiculous? It may take years for something to build and last, and just moments to crumble it to the ground. Isn't that unfair? Isn't that cruel? Of course not. Why? Because those that dared spite fate were never successful, and as such they were an example made out of by it. Respected and cherished by all, yet none dared do what they did, for they knew better than to repeat their mistakes. Therefore, one should allow themselves to stop and think, to inspect the past as to avoid frowning it's mistakes into the future.

That is what two certain drones should be doing right now, but they are unable to do so, for the simple fact that they are blind fools who were thrown into this sea of misery with no guidance in their favour. What a cliche.

When they first met they were at each other's throat. Prey and predator in their eternal cycle of pity and death, but the question was, who was which? The one with deadly sharp claws and wings, swift, precise and violent, or the one with an extremely deadly gun and boldness, brave, daring and determined. For there are many stories in which the predator misses it's chance to a good meal for it's negligence as the prey thrives for another day to live, and many more where the prey is tormented for it's foolishness as the predator taunts them for their mistake while eating them alive.

He had a job to do, a purpose he didn't choose for himself. She had to prove her point, an achievement she hand picked and shaped to her desire.

Could you imagine how revolted nature has become when the death of one was avoided in such a battle? Something set in stone for as long as possible, just for it to be going off script out of the blue. Fate doesn't allow that, and yet it is fate that blesses us.

One should have died in one of the most spectacular's events of thrill in life, yet neither had crumbled, they did what higher being much beyond them would do, sit down and talk. That was forbidden. Such simple beings reaching the reasoning of the higher forces of this greater plane of existence? That simply couldn't be allowed to exist.

In the moment of the dread with the hells of fire in their system the greater cycle should have carried on, when everything took an unexpected turn of events.

She loved him so much. The first to care for her, the first to look after her, the first to shield her best they could from the cruelness of this world, that was all him. He was lost in his own tangled web, yet he did all in his power to dig her out of her fate of being buried alive. He was warm like sunshine, yet just as he could gently graze his arms around her body to offer her warmth and comfort, the heat of his being was enough to injure her effortlessly as his wing stabbed her through her shoulder. His gentle laugh at every deadly and dangerous situation triggered by his nervousness, came from the same source that his ruthless and cruel remark upon invading her colony. His loving eyes, two soothing stars that reminded her that life is worth living, for nothing will ever again be scary again as long as they are together, were the same 'X' that marked the checklist of demise just some time ago.

He loved her beyond anything he knew, and he wasn't even able to acknowledge this to it's fullest meaning for feelings are fluid just like life is, and ration and logic are meaningless to such concepts. The first to show him respect, the first to show him unconditional care, the first to show him worry for his well being. She let him see her softer shell despite all of these walls she has built for her own protection. She was collapsing under her very own creation yet she was still willing to come to his aid even if it meant to let it all fall and crush her as a price.

She was mysterious like the galaxy, yet just as she could be a puzzle without answer whenever she kept herself away from his concern and worry, she was capable of answering every little thing that left him wondering about this wide vast and scary life. Her cool calculated gaze that she had whenever it was time for a plan to be formed in a way to break free of the traps laid ahead of them as to keep them safe, was driven from the same purple orbs that looked at him in a ruthless manner without mercy or empathy when she has pointed her railgun at him, ready to blast him off after invading her colony, threatening the existence of everything she knew. Her light heartedly laugh, so full of life and joy effortlessly bringing warmth to his own soul was driven from the same source as her insanity crazed driven laugh after she had murdered the leader of his squad.

So much changed and under what? Under time. In one day they went from enemies to allies, so why did it matter that suddenly they were more than they could have ever imagined or hoped for? Lovers beyond anything else that they knew. Naturally driven to each other like magnets. One couldn't be without another, just as predator couldn't live without the life of prey, just like a prey couldn't live without the thrill of running from the predator. Some run, some fought, some made peace, but all came to an end none the less.

Some place, sometime, somewhere, their fate will come to an end, as everything around them actively works to their demise regardless of their joy or sorrows, because that is how things have been since the beginning of time.

You look back and wonder, how? Why? When? Where? So many questions that will never be answered. Is it worth it? Perhaps it is not, from a rational point of view, but once again, you can not use such a term in the fluidity of life.

Past, present, future, all ruled by one single power. They do not care of it. They fret it, they dread it, and yet... they ignore it.

Nothing is relevant, not when they are there together. Fear becomes amusing, joy becomes frightening, sadness becomes determination.

Time. So important, yet simple nothingness.

The end

[llycaons]

ep33 (1/3): relitigating the suicide scene

so picking right up where we left off, I know wwx is extremely unpopular now but does this asshole have to bring up the massacre at LP??? that seems targeted towards wwx's specific and fairly private insecurities. but once someone is a villain, that means everything they've ever done is tainted. so as if this wasn't bad enough, now he has people on all sides turning on him with emotional attacks far more damaging than any physical wounds they could impart

oh yeah and people telling him directly to die. really heartbreaking to see this happen to a character so vigorously attached to life, someone who's been beaten down again and again and who refused to die. and wwx loves his life. loved. you can tell how devastating this is to push someone like him to this

this will always be the most meaningful way that he dies. his suicide is one of the most powerful and significant events in the story. having him torn apart just hits different

first you tell him to play, now you tell him to stop. it's a good thing he never listens to you. man, but lwj was useless this night

well, that's not true. he tried to save wwx. he reminded wwx, just for a moment, that someone still cared about him. and that mattered

ohh the single tear

AND the spitting up blood, which alarms lwj so much that someone gets a hit on him. qi deviation?

and it just goes to show, doesn't it. all the posturing about brave dead soldiers and the loss of innocent lives was just a smoke show to conceal their true purpose. the hypocrisy, the corruption, the greed. as soon as he stumbles they latch onto his source of power to steal it for themselves

this is so raw. they hardly ever let him get this messy. but that is actual snot on there

THE RITE OF SPRING!!!!!!!!!!!! IT SOUNDS SO GOOD HERE. also they've been at it for hours, I guess? it's dawn

check out that sick cgi hand being severed from its arm. they're all just fucking killing each other trying to get the STA now. gloves off. sect leader yao just slit a guy's throat

I've seen a post like 'lwj killed a bunch of guys in wwx's defense at nightless city, I guess they just politely don't mention it' but lbr, nightless was a bloodbath because of the sect members killing each other too. if they bring up what any one person did, they'll have to face what they all did. better to blame all deaths on wwx

oh, bad cgi hand stab. my beloved. grabbed my attention early on

and this, and this. he's at his limit. he's been holding it in, but now he's just openly sobbing. at this point I'm ready for him to go. better to come back later, more at peace, than stay here and suffer

DEVASTATING. we know wwx will come back, eventually, but for lwj? he's watching the love of his life kill himself and he's powerless to stop him

I don't think cql lwj ever could have taken wwx anywhere against his will. even now, he's begging rather than trying to physically stop him. he didn't fly down on his sword to grab him. he doesn't have it in him to impede wwx's autonomy like that. even now

and here's more tears. beautiful shot

classic shot

another classic shot. looking like he can hardly believe it. I like when they talk in fics abt him losing his mind and not remembering or understanding much that happened this night. I don't think he's quite lucid. he didn't even seem to see lwj earlier. but he smiles a little, when he sees him. good old lan zhan, trying to save a lost cause

I also really like the blood running down his chin. I think it adds to the look really well

no words for this one. fuck. he must be so tired

jc's emotional journey here is worth paying attention to. obviously it's not the black and white hero-vanquishing-evil scene we saw at the beginning of the show, but I've seen multiple readings that try to simplify it in other ways, that try to say 'this is a private moment between only two characters', between wwx and jc or between wwx and lwj, when I think it's very clearly a significant interaction with both of them. jc and lwj are the two characters with the most significant relationships with wwx, and neither of their respective roles in the story can be shoved aside for the other. at least, not in the flashback arc. postres it's a bit of a different story

anywa wwx is never going to have a simple relationship with jc. especially not here or now, not after what just happened.

I have seen people criticize jc really harshly for killing his brother, which is annoying because it doesn't offer any context as to who wwx is or why this is happening. anyone can kill their brother, it all depends on why. I'd rather criticize him for things in the context of the scene

and why is he smiling? well, like with lwj, maybe it's nice to see a familiar face at the very end.

wwx is already planning to die here. jc's actions don't make that more likely, but they probably hurt wwx on an emotional level. or maybe he finds it fitting, a just end after what he feels like is an unforgivable crime. I don't think that makes jc's actions here better, btw. I still think this was a horrible thing to do to someone who loved and sacrificed so much for his family and for innocent people, whatever his mistakes.

he looked resigned in the moment, but revisiting it, it looks like he's bracing for pain. oh god this all hurts so much. I don't care who 'really' killed him. the emotional scars matter far more. and this isn't something wwx is going to forget when he wakes up. he has his eyes closed so he can't see how scared and sad jc looks but like, does it matter? must he coddle jc even now, when jc's about to try to kill him?

yeah it's pretty unambiguous that he stabbed that rock on purpose in order to dislodge it. the camera pans back up to him, he looks determined and angry, and he twists his sword. I've seen so many arguments and speculations on it and um he doesn't look confused or anything just terribly terribly sad. there's part of him that's grieving wwx too even as he tries to kill him. damn, but he always gets in his own way

I do think it's significant that he doesn't outright stab wwx - after all, why change it from ep1? maybe to make clear that this was a suicide more than a murder, despite appearances

yeah wwx sees what's happening and twists out pretty clearly

and jc looks...stunned? shocked? horrified? a bit dumb with his hair like that. this is hardly a straightforward or easy emotional time for him. he probably went home and cried for week and refused to consider that he might have been crying for wwx just as much as jyl

that being said I have limited sympathy for him over grieving wwx. like he didn't even try. he wanted him dead, and he died. though characteristically, wwx succeeded where he failed in actually doing the deed

DYING WITH A SMILE ON HIS FACE. HE KILLS ME I SAY

lwj obviously is devastated but jc here is shaking his head, as in disgust or disapproval. really, jc? he's dead, and you're still going to hold him in contempt?

this 'wei ying' got me way more than the first one did. soft, and broken, and full of regret.

[the-firebird69]

Tony f is in trouble with the law. He is been seen bird dog and her son was caught this morning several times and they told him to knock it off and he won't he has made a huge error and committed fraud on a son's IRS tax account and impersonated our son to steal money and paid taxes in his name indicating he was upset with him for some reason and he looked a little like Tommy f and they're going to use that on him. Our son turned down a gay approach by him a pass and he said I'm not gay at all and then Tommy have set himself up with a decent looking black girl and used our son and shows that he is vindictive because they were friends and he has done it a little before in the past with the same girl at Otis who became very dark down south that's their story and it really is very very potent because it's real the a****** did it on purpose and he did it at Castle and they might use that because he's holding them prisoners and this is all coming to a head they're going to end up fighting the shift above more so right now they are attacking him and forcing the propellers to shut down and pretty much telling him not to do it it is a big day. There's a lot of people doing it including the pseudo empire you don't want to see it.

--moreover our son gets a lot of looks because of the e-bike it does look like an e-bike and people say it if you change the seat it's going to look like some sort of electric dirt bike and they say that too there's a lot of people who are upset with how it's going including us we are going to go after town the afternoon down is the source of both of us but right now he's having a war with the Dreggs. And it would seem that the trumps had our son get the Kia and it was Tommy f's car and he had him drive all over the place and he was exhausted from it but too much exhaust from the car and it kept them small and it was ruining tummy f plan you're still doing it. He wants to get a different vehicle for him to try and kidnap him completely and people hate him he's trying to figure out which vehicle comes first and her son and daughter think he has to go to these meetings with Congress and he's doing it on horseback and takes a lot of effort all the horse and him it's fast little buggies have suspension it's not a ton of suspension but it works and it really takes a load off the horse and we think that that would be before the carriage which is a sign of rank that will come in July and around the 14th that would be Tommy f no but they're all doing it but he would be the carriage guy that would seem to be the VW which has the top they took off it's a big No-No. There's a chance that it could be the other way around because Tommy F wants to get back at him and to deplete our son's money to keep him here and the morlock will get him stuff because the ship will be here but our son will take money and use it and they'll say that other groups will have to stop and and they need to see the empire that math takes more sense so let's return to the present where Ronald be Rudy was stabbed May 10th and he is in the hospital more they're fighting to get him out. He will be moved out of the Moore but not in time to stop the assassination attempt and they do that what an infiltrate Tommy f and Cherry cheeseman does but he's not as good at it they fight over it and it causes chaos and that's not there we think that he gets hit June 4th and our son Italians rank in July and the car comes but nothing happens before that we're going to look up something but I'm pretty sure that's what it is

Thor Freya

Olympus

There's not much activity in June or July for that matter in 1775 and he remembers it was not that much but he's going to check

Hera

There really isn't that much the biggest thing is George Washington elected as the head of the armies but there's a reason for it he was just Congress and they're having battles all over New England little ones it's kind of what's happening out there

Mac Daddy

It's very slow ready for a reason and no but the rainy season is coming and I guess we're filthy stupid

Tommy f

I used to do this stupid s*** back then try and divert rivers and flood people people hate them they're nasty idiots. The crabs last night devastated half of the quarter mile shifts people were very surprised they went ahead and they started to get ready another round of 1,000 it'll make the fleet about 1,400 and they're arming the crap out of it the people at 15 miles move forward to the city and people move forward behind them and they're calling more to infill they pick our arms and we're going to fire from behind and the craves will probably go right after them and they seen things that spit into the call now they're going to attack those ships tonight with a greater force the crabs are moving in and the ships are going to come out with more about 2,000 total 1500 quarter mile and they see them getting ready I'm going to send you back they're getting more ships in about half this may that's true so there's a bunch of crabs out front talking and they're saying they were probably in trouble and someone's telling them other than her son and it's true they hate them the place is loaded with morlock. Other morlok are doing it we think. Today is going to be a different day a great day the crabs are calling for more and we can see some big ones moving a little they'll probably move 5 miles in and they are quarter mile and they're about 200 of them so they say if you need more maybe in 200 more would probably do it the quarter miles or about 20 miles away so they're going to try and do that. There's more happening but we're going to print

Thor Freya

Olympus

[icgaminglogs]

Warden Cousland's War Journal

Chapter 29: Drake’s Fall

Maker help me, I hope I made the right decision. The Mother is dead, but the Architect yet lives, and I truly do not know whether allowing that was the right call or not.

I might never find out.

I’m not sure if that doesn’t worry me more than actually knowing.

The Dragonbone Wastes were empty but for darkspawn and the Children. I’ve seen the infernal creatures full-grown now; I didn’t think they could get more monstrous than they already were. The path the Messenger’s map showed led to a place called Drake’s Fall, which was infested with the damned things, and it was there the Architect met us again. He…

He’s trying to free the darkspawn. Free them from the call and the demands of the Old Gods and the control of the taint they carry.

He’s trying to end the Blights.

I don’t know whether to believe him or not even now, but if it’s true...if he really is trying to end the Blights, then isn’t it a Grey Warden’s duty to help? Isn’t that our entire purpose? To end the Blights and the threat of darkspawn, no matter what the cost or the methods required?

He says he’s created a version of our Joining ritual. Where we take the taint into ourselves to combat the darkspawn, what he’s taking from Grey Wardens is our resistance to the taint, passing it on to the darkspawn who undergo his ritual.

If Wardens undergo a Joining, should the Architect’s ritual be called a Parting?

But apparently going through the ritual drove the Mother mad. When we finally met her – and she was every bit as monstrous as her Children, if in different ways – she was raving about the song, how the Architect – who she kept calling the Father – had taken it from her and the others, how she wanted it back.

And how the Architect himself had started the most recent Blight. Honestly I’m a little shocked Sigrun didn’t stab me right there; she’d already come close when I agreed to work with the Architect against the Mother. But apparently the Architect had found the Old God Urthemiel and had tried his ritual, I can only guess in the hopes that severing the source directly would free all the darkspawn from its sway. Instead it just kickstarted the Blight.

I’m still torn about the choice I made, to let the Architect live, let him walk away, but I can’t deny that his help in the fight against the Mother probably made all the difference in keeping us all alive. And I also can’t deny that a part of me hopes I made the right choice. With Avernus back in Soldier’s Keep working to find a way to remove the taint’s corruption from the Wardens while keeping the strength it gives us, and now the Architect seeking to remove the compulsion and mindlessness of the taint from the darkspawn…

It seems so naive, but I can’t help but hope I made the right choice. Not just for me or Ferelden, but for all of Thedas.

Still, I can’t help but think Duncan would have chosen differently. Alistair, too.

At least the Mother’s threat is over. I’ve gotten word from the Vigil, too; they were besieged by a massive army, but the walls held and the arms and armor we were able to provide did their jobs well. We lost quite a few, but we didn’t lose the Keep. I’ll head back there, make sure everything is truly settled, and then...

Well.

I’ve heard rumors of a woman matching Morrigan’s description being sighted. Given she simply disappeared after the Blight ended I’m curious. I know I promised I wouldn’t look for her, but...I need to know.

I need to know if she truly is with child.

My child.

And after that, I think I’ll head to Antiva and turn command of the Wardens here over to Nathaniel or Varel. I’ve a handsome elf waiting for me there, and he owes me a tour of his homeland.

[bitchofsteel]

At last, the source revealed himself, or rather, itself. It was an unnatural thing, crawling on the walls, swimming through the airless void like a squid in the ocean. Freyja should have been disgusted by it, reviled even, but she was not. This thing, it spoke directly to her. That voice inside her ears, inside her very skull, was this. She knew what it was. It was no xeno, for nothing make of living flesh could survive without a gas to breathe. It was not a manmade thing, not a sack of flesh grown in some far off vat, mutated by the void's radiation. This was something else entirely. It flicked like a candle in the wind, its form silhouetted in shadow like it had merely been sketched onto the fabric of reality rather than woven into its threads. She knew what this thing was, and there was nothing else it could have been, It was the Other, the song of Thought and Memory, the voice from the Sacred Realm. This thing was sweet, sweet madness incarnate, it was glorious purpose made manifest. It was the blood of Gods given form, come to speak with her and her alone. It was a daemon, a messenger, one that could whisper tales of greatness or insanity. It was all a flip of the proverbial coin, a game of chance in chaotic universe. He has deceived you! It made an alarming amount of sense. Freyja had little trust in the Clonelord, trust that was, at best, tenuous. He had upheld his end of the bargain and broke the curse his underlings had bestowed upon her many centuries prior, but in doing so, had taken advantage of her in a weakened state. Freyja was likely an inconvenience to him, a thorn in his side that might one day stab him in the throat. So what did he do? He removed the offending obstacle from the playing field; he sent her to this desolate hulk of a voidstation to hopefully be consumed by whatever had made it derelict in the first place. She would disappear, leaving nothing behind for her Noosemen to try and avenge. That was why she never received directions of any kind. There were never supposed to be any. She was just supposed to lay down and die!

"Were you to eat me, daemon? Were you to leave nothing behind for my people to avenge?"

"Your people ruined me!" Freyja accused, pointing to incision scars along her right arm that could have only been the handiwork of a third legion Apothecary.

"Your underlings gave me this affliction and you will undo it!"

Her flesh was marred by hundreds of self afflicted scars, memories of lacerations and puncture wounds she'd wrought in an attempt to relieve her thirst for pain. Thousands of years ago, she'd been spared the shame of a dishonorable death.

This was the cost.

@bitchofsteel

It is rare to get an emotional response from the Chief Apothecary. He tends to be almost notoriously secretive and his will to deny Slaanesh even the slightest sacrifice in the form of feelings is ironclad. But this time he seems to allow himself an exception. A smile as if cut into his face with a scalpel shows amusement. He puts his fingertips together and rests his chin on them. "Do you know the old Terran tale of the people who wanted to eradicate a nick by cutting it away? That's the perfect analogy for your situation. Of course I can cut off your arm and replace it with a weapon of your - or better: my - choice. This is no more than a finger exercise. But what exactly is the point?"

[thesilmarilchick]

The War of the Dead, Chapter 12: The Castle on the Hillock

Arda, Middle-Earth, Dunland, Dunlich Castle:  T.A.  2991

Dunlanders, as they were known to the men of the West, did not often waste their time building structures of stone. Most of them lived the nomadic lifestyle of the sheep-herder or the insular one of the hunter, so a structure – if it was built at all, was more likely to be something you could pick up and carry with you.  Every so often you got a prayer temple, or a hermitage pop up, but since the purpose of those was shelter for the truly devout, they tended to veer away from grand structures carved into granite. Most of them were made of little more than straw and dried mud, after all the gods didn’t need earthly buildings to show theirmight. However, there was always at least one exception to the rule.

Dunlich Castle would have been considered little more than a fort to the people of Gondor or Rohan, but it was both the largest and most long-lived structure in all Dunland. Situated atop the fortified hillock of Caomhán, the fort had an almost perfect viewpoint into the territories of the four major clans: The Bear Clan of the Ancient Moors, The Wolf Clan of the Hallowed Hills, The Onex Clan of the Baron Plains and of course The Mountain-Lion Clan of the Crystal Caverns. No one was entirely sure who had first built Dunlich Castle, it had just always seemed to be there, but it had been maintained almost devoutly by the clans and chieftains across the years.   So, it stood now as neutral ground, a place where a clan could rest and tend to their most needy without fear of attack or betrayal from outside sources. Or as it was used now, a place where the chieftains of the many clans of Dunland could meet and discuss events that troubled them.

Rhys Ynis Dowyll, head of the Bear clan and unofficial spokesman for all nay-sayers in the land, sat now at the head of the chieftains’ table. As the leader of the current largest clan in Dunland, Ynis Dowyll’s voice held the greatest weight among those whose judgement counted. So, it was to him that Mab and the Elder of her tribe told their tale to, and as per usual, he was not in the least impressed.

‘Tis a fair tale Elder, I’ll give ye that much for fairness sake, but what credence can ye lend to it? The word of a girl no more than twelve, soaked in her own brother’s blood?  There’s a fouler tale hidden here than you give voice to, good Clansman. How do we know the lass didn’t go mad and stab the boy herself?’

Mab’s already thinning patience snapped at that last remark.

‘Twas not my brother’s blood that covered me, sir!  Twas was the blood of the slain!’ 

A hush fell over the collective clans crowded into the vast hall of Dunlich, and Rhys sat back in his high-backed chair, a fleeting look of trepidation crossing his stone like features, before the normal Dowyll scowl claimed its rightful place once again.

‘Hmm…many a charlatan has claimed to be bathed in the blood of the slain, lass. There’s no telling what they, or you for that matter, say is true or not. Many of our kin are born with a gift, but it takes more than a minor talent for clairvoyance to convince the likes of me you’re so bathed girl. So, tell us, this high council of mighty chieftains…what powers has yet developed since thy bathing’

For a moment nothing happened, and Rhys Ynis Dowyll seemed unable to contain the sneer bursting forth across his face. And then…the high table burst into flames.

‘Are thou impressed lord chief…or must I continue with greater feats…perhaps I should steal the air from thy lungs next? Or swell this castle with the tears of the widows you’ve sown across the lands? Would that be more fitting to your belief?’ 

One of the other chiefs, a boy no older than Mab’s brother, his beard dyed as blue as the Grand River at the height of summer placed a hand on Rhys’ shoulder; interrupting whatever torrent the hot-headed man was about to burst out with. He then spoke himself, with the strange words of the men of the Crystal Caverns. His voice barely more than a whisper, yet clearly heard from every corner of the hall.

‘Aye, thoust has proven thy self so bathed. So now we must turn our een to the ither part of yer tale. Tell us mair of these spirits you heard wailing…were they Clan Men or were they something much fouler than that?’

Mab wrapped her arms around herself as she tried to remember the spirits, their wailing, their screams of pain as their blood had drenched her…as it had washed her away from a drowning brother’s arms. Beneath her fingers the sheep-skin, felt warm and almost comforting. But she couldn’t afford to let herself be distracted by such things, everything hung on what she said next, on what she could bring herself to say next.

‘I didn’t see their faces Chief, but I heard them well enough, and those weren’t the voices of Men. They felt…older…as if they’d been there, in the world that is, before our Ancestors even took their first breath.’

The Man’s face grew pinched at that, and a rumble of muttering spread throughout the hall. Mab felt her stomach constrict and she grabbed blindingly for her Elder’s hand, as the rumble grew to a deafening roar.

‘Silence!’

The blue-haired chief had stood up and bellowed like he could control the very wind itself; the still flickering flames of the table had illuminated one half of his face, casting the other into complete shadow…so Mab could well believe it so.

‘This is a day we have long feared may cum ben tae pass, my brothers. Many a prophet has foretold this day, and now…. aat we are finally here, are we to cower from the shadows like so many wee bairns barely weaned from their mither’s breast?’

The rumble had settled to a ripple now and faces turned upwards in rapt attention to the man as his voice boomed like thunder over them.

‘No…this day of all days we will nae hide, we will nae cower…we will nae run away. No, this day of all days we will div fit maun be dane!’ And then when many of the men from clans closer to the border of the Strawheads’ land, looked confused and begun to mutter amongst themselves, the Crystal Caverns man amended his own words. ‘We will do what must be done. We will protect those aat are ours, and we will defend this land from those aat would see the likes of us crawling on our knees with the dogs. This day we fight, for all aat we hold dear to our hearts and the hearts of our brothers, of our sisters, of our mithers and fathers and children’s children. This day, we make the dead bleed!’

Men, Women and Children leapt to their feet with a roar, shields and spears alike rattled high in the air and amidst it all Mab stood still, her heart pounding in her ears, never once taking her eyes off the young visage of the blue-haired chieftain. The chant of the crowd washed over her then and she could hear it resounding within her own skull: ‘Hail Chief, Hail the Chief… Hail the Leomhann, leader of men living!’  The girl felt a shiver move through her then, the words meant more than the crowd chanting them knew. They were more than a chant for a chief, more than a chant for a man; they were a promise of what was to come…a prophecy. 

[archivistmyrya]

Who ordered the death of king Wenceslaus III?

It's early afternoon of August 4th 1306 in beautiful Olomouc, Margraviate of Moravia. The young Bohemian king Wenceslaus III is a guest of the bishop, who offered him his hospitality on king's campaign to Poland. Václav had recently resigned his position as the king of Hungary, but now he's determined to defend his hereditary claim to the Polish crown.

Wenceslaus had just finnished lunch and decided to rest in private chambers. Suddenly there's a scream and the guards catch Konrad of Mulhov (1), a German knight, with a bloodied blade just outside of king's chambers. The king lies inside, stabbed to death. His death means the end of the Přemyslids, who had ruled Bohemia for over 400 years.

Konrad is killed immediately. We have the name of the killer (unless of course he was being framed), but even 700 years later we don't know who paid for king Wenceslaus' death. Even sources of that time can't agree on the culprit.

Elizabeth of Töss - a Hungarian princess, the last member of the House of Árpád. She was betrothed to Wenceslaus once. A king of Hungary and heir to the Bohemian throne is quite the catch. But once Wenceslaus gave up the Hungarian crown, the engagement was terminated. After this Elizabeth never got married and spent the rest of her life in a closter. The loss of an advantageous marriage and feelings of being betrayed seem like enough of a motive. But did Elizabeth have good enough connections to get a murderer right into king's chambers?

Charles Robert of Anjou- Wenceslaus took the Hungarian crown (thanks to his fathers political machinations) under quite tumultuous circumstances. After the previous king of Hungary got murdered, Charles Robert of Anjou was Wenceslaus' main opponent in pursuit of the crown and Wenceslaus' success only fanned the flames of opposition. It would make sense for Charles to get rid of his greatest rival. However when Wenceslaus gave up the Hungarian crown, he did so in favor of Otto of Bavaria. Would Charles ignore this new threat and arrange the death of his former rival?

Albert I of Germany - the king of Holy Roman Empire. Not too long ago he waged war Wenceslaus' father to slow down his rise in power. And even though he and Wenceslaus had made peace, the king of Bohemia still has a lot of power in the Empire. Plus since Wenceslaus has no legitimate children, if he dies, Bohemia will fall right into Albert's lap. After all, a few months after Wneceslaus' death Albert attacked the Bohemian kingdom to claim it for his son Rudolph. But had he been the culprit, would he wait that long?

Władysław I Łokietek - he's not happy with the Přemyslids ruling over Poland and would in fact like to claim the Polish crown for himself. He'd been campaigning against them for the past two years and now that Wenceslaus is coming to Poland with an army, it might be time to strike. But could he get a murderer to Wenceslaus' court?

Henry of Carinthia - while Wenceslaus is leading his army to Poland, Henry is his regent back in Prague. Maybe he would like the royal power for himself? His marriage with Anne, the eldest of Wenceslaus' sisters would only help with that. We know the Bohemian nobility elected him king after Wenceslaus' death, so did he decide to speed up the process?

The Bohemian nobility - over the past century they'd gained quite a lot of power and amassed several reasons to be mad at the king. It could be revenge for the execution of Zavis of Falkenstein, one of their own (2). It could be a solution to proprietary disputes. It could be an attempt to help one of Wenceslaus' opponents. But if such conspiracy had happened, wouldn't we have found out by now?

(1) Some sources name him as Konrad of Botenstein, but for the purposes of this poll it doesn't really matter.

(2) To me this doesn't feel like a valid reason since it was Wenceslaus' father who ordered to execute Zavis, but it is what some sources claim.

[therainbowwillow]

I’m doing sound for my high school’s production of Anastasia, so naturally, I’ve been listening to the musical on repeat.

And ohohoh! I have Thoughts.

I’ve seen the theory floated that Gleb’s father is the soldier who lets Anya escape. I love this theory. It means that Gleb is not lying when he says he is his father’s son before failing to kill Anya and I love that so much.

In typical me fashion, I’ve got a wild theory about what really happened that night.

Gleb gives us a fairly vague story. His father leaves with his ‘pistol by his side’, Gleb watches the soldiers lead the Romanovs away, hears the shots (and the silence after). His father returns, refuses to tell him what happened and dies shortly after (‘of shame’, according to his mother.)

Crack theory time!

Gleb’s father is present at the execution of the Romanovs. He helps guide them to the cellar to be executed (this is why Gleb can’t see them and is also historically accurate- they were either told that they were going to have their photograph taken to quell rumors of their escape or that the basement was a safe holding space (sources conflict) but were instead shot by Soviet soldiers.) The Romanovs were shot down in a rain of gunfire. Rumor has it that the daughters were killed afterwards with bayonets, because the jewels they had sewed into their clothing for safe keeping deflected the bullets. This is a questionable story, but I like it for the purpose of this theory.

Gleb’s father is one of the executioners, but struggles to bring himself to aim at Anastasia, who he had been assigned to execute (this is also accurate- apparently, each soldier was assigned a family member and some of them refused to shoot). He fires his gun, but not directly at Anya. When the smoke clears, the soldiers are instructed to see if the family is still breathing. Anya is wounded in the chaos (perhaps the cause of her lost memories, along with trauma blocking. maybe she is protected by her jewels) but alive. Gleb’s father announces that she is dead. The other survivors are shot or stabbed with bayonets. Gleb’s father does not take part. He carries Anya out of the cellar and takes her back to town, rather than the agreed upon treatment of the bodies (which were tossed down a mine shaft, later exhumed and buried elsewhere.) He strips the jewels from her clothes to ensure that she is not immediately identified and scatters them in the woods. He leaves her to be found near a hospital, where she is taken in (hence the ‘terrifying nurses’ Anya later remembers).

He returns home late to an eager Gleb. He ‘shakes his head and [tells him] not to ask’ to keep his son innocent of the knowledge, expecting that he will be investigated for disappearing after the execution. His fears are soon justified when he is quietly killed by the regime to prevent the spreading of rumors that any of the Romanovs had escaped. Gleb’s mother does not tell the truth to keep her son safe as his father would’ve wanted. She & Gleb are questioned, but cleared of any involvement.

If Anya gets her moment in ‘In a Crowd of Thousands’, Gleb gets his in ‘Still /The Neva Flows Reprise’. He declares that he is his father’s son, which becomes entirely true when he too refuses to shoot Anya. By the final reprise of ‘The Neva Flows’, he begins to realize what has happened. He drops his gun. Anya tells him that she remembers a man who had done the same a long time ago. Gleb remembers that his father did not have his gun when he returned that night.

A revolution is not so simple.

Gleb does not return to Russia. Gleb does not pick up his gun.