childofmisfortune

[childofmisfortune]

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[childofmisfortune]

will you ever explain your feelings on lacie... i'm curious

Honestly I think you'd need to understand my entire perspective on PH in order to fully comprehend it (I strongly recommend reading my Vincent Meta if you haven't already yeah I'm sorry but it's really really important I promise)

In order to explain the absolute most basic premise wrt my interpretation of Lacie with no further analysis as to the implications this has on themes or her character or what I personally feel about it... hmm...

It'd probably be easiest to start with the "question" I referenced in my earlier post. Basically, I reached my conclusion after wondering "why did Lacie apologize?" Which is something I've seen tons of people ask but never seen anyone satisfyingly answer. The usual explanation is that Lacie apologized for going to her death, knowing it would cause her brother pain, which... well, that was for what I believe she apologized, in the most simplistic sense, but that explanation brings up another question: why did Lacie go to her death?

Usually, this is swept aside with the obvious: simply put, Lacie had lived in misery. She had spent her entire life in isolation, was abused horrifically for reasons totally unjustified and beyond her control, was taught to believe she was a fundamental danger to those around her, and thus set to be killed by her own brother. By the end of her life, it seemed a given that Lacie would want to die. Suicide is discussed at length in Pandora Hearts- it's a pretty central theme! So it's assumed the reason Lacie went to her death is because she'd simply grown bitter towards life.

Though Lacie’s death is often interpreted as a tragedy of a woman broken by the system, whose execution was then used to excuse atrocity. I do not see it this way. It is my belief that Lacie had not been broken, and, more than that, went to her death of her own volition knowing the consequences- that is, the events of the series itself.

First, an explanation on how I believe Lacie did not have her will broken by Glen. During her first major appearance, chapter 66, where she is a teenager, Lacie says thus:

“If you simply accept what other people tell you, you’ll lose the power to think for yourself [...] you should filter everything through ‘why?’ [...] I hate the idea of ‘common sense.’ Look at the world from every possible angle.”

Aside from this being an obviously critical, strong willed philosophy, it directly contradicts Levi’s from chapter 68 during a flashback in which Lacie is a small child, as follows:

“That’s just the way it is. [...] Don’t think so hard! You’re wasting time asking ‘why?’ [...] Asking yourself ‘now what shall I do about it?’ is much more beneficial [...] Or else convince yourself somehow that ‘that’s just the way it is.’”

He says this specifically in response to Oswald having asked why the Jury controls Glen, and is immediately asked by Lacie why he must throw her into Abyss. That Lacie show opposition to Glen as a child after having just joined the Baskervilles shows her critical philosophy is one which predates her knowledge of her impending execution, and that she show that same philosophy as a teenager shows that her subsequent years of abuse had not changed this. While one could argue that Lacie could’ve changed by the time she was an adult, seeing as she had definitely shown signs of maturing, chapter 67 places great emphasis on establishing that little of Lacie’s fundamental nature had changed.

“But she’s a fickle one. She often finds herself a favorite when she sneaks out of the house, and is nice to them only when they’re together...” “I know that. She didn’t even remember me. She’s a free spirit, and no one can catch her or pin her down. No... No one can do that. I’m happy she hasn’t changed a bit.”

So why would Lacie, so firmly established as so strong willed and critical, so willingly go to her death? Chapter 72 makes it clear that Lacie could have escaped with relative ease, had she so desired. Yet she goes so far as to goad Oswald after he shows hesitation prior to her execution, commanding him to finish her off (chapter 69). Did Lacie, in that case, want to die? I think not. First, consider her the flashback to her early childhood I previously mentioned. It is to the moment she first hears from Levi her impending death, and ends upon his description of her fate-- with Lacie, an adult, jolting awake and Levi asking her what she could’ve dreamed of that would’ve frightened her so much (chapter 68). Consider also her message to Jack (chapter 72), which includes the following lines:

… “Lonely” …? The black mist unfurling in my heart... is what I’ve kept refusing to acknowledge. The thoughts I’ve kept bottled up for a long, long time. That I’m disappearing from this world. That I can’t be with you anymore. That I couldn’t realize it until now. It all makes me feel “lonely.”

The former incident shows terror in the face of death, the latter regret. Both clearly indicate a desire to live, or, at the very least, a reluctance to face death. Another major indicator is a narrative parallel I often see acknowledged, but rarely analyzed in depth: Both of Elliot and Lacie's last words are admissions of fault, with these admissions have substantial parallels in framing. In Japanese, Elliot's last words are わるい、リーオ ("warui, Leo," lit. closer to "my bad, Leo") while Lacie's are 兄様、ごめんね ("Nii-sama, gomen ne," lit. closer to "elder brother, I apologize")- there is no ambiguity of fault in the case of either (and yes, I spent time researching the usage of ごめんね to remove all doubt- it is only used to admit fault). The debate then comes as to why these scenes were framed so similarly, and conclusions are usually structured around Glen.

This is not a bad way to view things, but for this argument, consider the other perspective: the line exists to call attention to thematic similarities in Elliot and Lacie's respective deaths. Elliot committed suicide. His death is called such outright. However, Elliot was not suicidal. In his last moments, he did not want to die, even if he had chosen his death himself. He chose to kill himself because it was the only way to maintain his personhood, the only way to protect the people he loved. It is essential to note: Elliot was right. If there is no similarity between the themes of Elliot's death and Lacie's- that is, if Lacie did not choose to die because it was the only way to protect something she thought essential- then why make the lines, the framing of their delivery, so similar?

The final major indicator of Lacie’s lack of suicidal inclination is her narrative analogy to Vincent. Though Vincent has many of the same critical beliefs as Lacie (for the most obvious example, see Last Dance) and was born under practically identical conditions, he is largely characterized by his extreme suicidal inclination. He states explicitly that he has wished to die since childhood (chapter 96) and that he believes his death is necessary to prevent the Tragedy of Sablier, and thus the sinking of the world into Abyss (chapter 91). He’s also a violent misogynist,* and the message of his character is clear: one who allows themselves to be motivated primarily by self loathing has allowed all expressions of love to be tainted. How can we then argue that Lacie, whose defining quality is her love for the world, would’ve gone to her death out of self loathing?

The final argument which potentially accommodates my previous evidence but goes against my overall thesis is thus: Lacie was not suicidal, did go to her death out of a desire to protect something... and that "something" was simply "the stability of Abyss." To rephrase, this argument is that Lacie died not for some grand scheme, but because she believed her life was a danger to those around her. This argument is reasonable- it's more or less the basis for Vincent's suicidal tendencies, without getting into detail about Vincent as a character. It's also, just... explicitly wrong. Lacie believed the Child of Ill Omen was a benevolent existene. She says as much in chapter 101:

You know, Nii-sama, I've been thinking... "the one" who's always been alone, deep deep down at the bottom of the Abyss... maybe she's just... lonely. Always alone and lonely, without even knowing what loneliness is. Still... "she" kept yearning for someone who would push through the profound, cold darkness and reach her. "She" longed for "someone" who could do that. That desolation and yearning must have birthed Ill-Omened children like me.

Thus there is only one possible reason for her death, that being her stated intention: to end the Abyss’s loneliness (chapter 69). How we’re told she intended to do this was in giving birth to the Intention of Abyss-- how Levi tells us she intended to do this. Lacie’s own thoughts on the matter are never explicitly elaborated on beyond her message to Jack, which makes no mention of her pregnancy, despite it being her body that is being sacrificed. So, why do I think Lacie’s intention was not simply to provide a body through her child? Because Lacie’s intention was to make the Abyss no longer alone, and Intention of Abyss’s body did not do that, could not have done that. The problem of Abyss was not simply that Abyss could not talk, it was that it was being deliberately kept in isolation. Lacie knew that. So we can assume that if Lacie knew that Abyss was isolated not for lack of speech but for deliberate oppression, that it was the Child of Ill Omen’s oppression that facilitated this, that it was Glen who specifically enforced this-- which she did, definitely know-- then she would realize that simply providing a body for Abyss would not save her. Lacie was clever, and critical, and that she would go so far as to sacrifice her own body shows she did not turn to easy solutions.

[childofmisfortune]

PANDORA HAUNTS: A Pandora Hearts Fanbook

A Halloween-themed fanbook featuring illustrated stories by several talented writers! Preorders will be open until September 20th. You can swing over to get your copy right this way, with options available for book-only or book+merch bundles!  🦇🎃 🦇

[childofmisfortune]

i was there when it happened

[childofmisfortune]

the three genders: male wife, girlboss, and silly rabbit

[childofmisfortune]

some images i made transparent!!

[childofmisfortune]

drew break for a friend <3

[childofmisfortune]

not good enough for my art blog so. Here

[childofmisfortune]

Apology

i would like to apologise for the thought bubble containing a cartoon mouse in a dressing gown and nightcap who picked up a small plate with a candle on it, yawned and went to bed which appeared while you were telling me about all your problems

[childofmisfortune]

basically, i think the general rule of thumb is: if someone REALLY wants the blood that’s inside of your body, and they’re like… a vampire, or a dracula, or some sort of mansquito, then that’s probably okay. a dracula and a mansquito are made for removing things like blood and swords from inside your body. that’s basically fine.

if something wants to get at your blood, and they’re, say, some kind of murdersaurus, or maybe a really big frog, that’s where the problems start to arise. a really frog is not made for removing blood, and your blood knows this, which is why it is so vehement about wanting to stay IN your body instead of coming out. 

unfortunately this will not deter a really big frog, because a really big frog is full of things like prizes, and value, and quite a lot of hatred, and it would REALLY rather like to replace any and all of those things with your blood, and basically by any means possible.

[childofmisfortune]

based on that one really good text post

break, on a road trip with sharon and reim:  --if something wants to get at your blood, and they’re, say, some kind of murdersaurus, or maybe a really big frog, that’s where the problems start to arise. a really big frog is not made for removing blood, and your blood knows this, which is why it is so vehement about wanting to stay IN your body instead of coming out.

reim: What the fuck are you talking about

sharon: no, no, let him finish.

[childofmisfortune]

one of his chickens is blind and he got it for the solidarity

OHHHHHH i made this for the jokes but i legitimately love it. This made me research chickens w disabilities and some ppl keep them indoors permanently which is a Big Deal. (break voice) I like having chickens theyre funny but they can stay outside in the coop. Then he gets a blind chicken and his horrible paternal streak is like. Oh god. Oh god i have to baby it or ill die. 

Reims duties expand to patrolling breaks house to make sure that the indoor chicken didnt have any Diaper Accidents or lay any eggs anywhere that break didnt notice. Also they get introduced when break is like “this is my newest seeing eye chicken :-)” and reim is like. Break that bird has no eyes.

[childofmisfortune]

break: oh shit i forgot my bag in sharon’s car. Reim could you get it for me :((((( reim, long suffering: Yeah, fine. What’s it look like? break: you’ll know it when you see it. reim: Right. the bag in question:

[childofmisfortune]

he deserves a chicken

THANK you i know. Honestly i think break gets it for the laughs because thats what hes like but honestly domesticated chickens are really nice and i think he would like it. I deffo think he would like an ~unconventional~ pet and reim would. You know. Make sure he actually took care of the damn thing. ALSO i think it would appeal to sharon. It’s cute. It’s fluffy. It’s named chicken. What isn’t to like.

[childofmisfortune]

#its name is chicken. just bc. or clown jr

reim comes and visits break on the reg just to make sure he didnt fall in the toilet and die or something visceral like that because hes a worrywart like that. Anyway one day he comes over and break just has a FUCKING chicken out of nowhere and its in a chicken diaper and reim is like. What. and break is like yes this is chicken <3 How does it look and reim is like. Not only did you get a chicken randomly. But you fucking named it chicken. and break is like YES and since i know you and sharon only buy from the organic isle at whole foods and are obsessed with eating natural and ethical even though i know sharon only does it for clout and you only do it because sharon coerced you into doing it for clout and you secretly eat the worst processed frozen meat lovers pizzas exclusively when you come to my place, im happy to let you know i will be using her eggs to throw at your car from now on so you can know it’s cruelty free. Only for the bird of course you will still suffer. Then reim attacks him

Modern!Break owns a chicken. No i dont have any reasoning for this but its one of those fucked up looking ones. No he does not take care of it he bought it on a whim and Reim does all of the maintenance and he’s like “I hate that fucking chicken.” But he secretly loves it.

[childofmisfortune]

break: this is my seeing eye chicken.

reim: Thats not a thing you fucking dumbass.

break: it is because i said so and that’s how it works.

Modern!Break owns a chicken. No i dont have any reasoning for this but its one of those fucked up looking ones. No he does not take care of it he bought it on a whim and Reim does all of the maintenance and he’s like “I hate that fucking chicken.” But he secretly loves it.

[childofmisfortune]

Modern!Break owns a chicken. No i dont have any reasoning for this but its one of those fucked up looking ones. No he does not take care of it he bought it on a whim and Reim does all of the maintenance and he’s like “I hate that fucking chicken.” But he secretly loves it.