#philip akin

[nerds-yearbook]

In 1988, terrorists accidentally awaken Martian invaders from the original War of the Worlds invasion. By accidentally exposing the Martians to radioactive waste the germs were killed that kept the aliens dormant. This time around the aliens decided to invade a little lower key and reveal that they have the ability to take human bodies as disguises. A survivor of the original attack is soon wise to their reappearance and starts to hunt them with his colleagues and military handler. ("The Resurrection", War of the Worlds, TV)

[iravaid]

i mean this in thee most slash jay way possible but what was in the water the past year to make everyone like this about graves. and also can i have some

If you're asking about the Graves Yaoi Prophecy, that was all me and my undiagnosed neurological condition.

If you're asking why cod of duty girlies were charmed by Graves post-MW2, I would reason to say that Warren Kole's performance as him really sells the character.

His weird little zoolander smoulder during 'your men have been... detained' is so funny to me. Again, his VA's performance turns a character that was otherwise a forgettable 'twist' villain into something that's so funny when viewed out of context:

His name is Philip Graves. Fill Graves. Are you fucking kidding me. He's a cringey girlfailure that lost a tank in a knifefight. But that's okay because he never was in the tank to begin with, of course. duh. He is this vexing, looney tunes contrast to the other more 'serious' villains (Valeria, Makarov, that guy from MW1). His Shadows are cannonfodder that get conveniently killed at every opportunity and yet he still goes about acting like they're anything more than walmart brand mercs. The MW3 trailer oddly fixates on his fertile gyrating hips as he walks through the heli. Everybody hates his entire septic pussy with a burning fucking passion and he knows it. Farah, somehow and for some reason, thinks he's the most special little handbag dog and watches out for hawks on his account. He out-snakes Shepherd by stabbing him in the back at the last moment, arguably the only enjoyable moment from MW3.

He's blond. He's texan. He will never fucking die. God bless america.

[gaylos-lobos]

ough the fact that he was denied to bury his brother originally, the fact that every time he makes a new one it starts with burying him the fact that he has buried Caleb time and again, that he burys him bone for bone, piece by piece because he was denied to do so the first time, because if anyone is going to bury his brother it’s him, however many times it takes

[the-cosmos-withinus]

Doest mine enjoyment of this man bother thee?

Just a dumb meme I made for a private laugh with my sister, but in light of recent events I decided to share. Sorta Shadow Puppets AU based but also general enough just fun for all Belos enjoyers

Here, have another one, on the house

[mintys-corner]

It’s kind of funny how Juri, despite Miss Danvers clearly having a singular infatuation with Crabblesnitch, is still 100% convinced that she’s in love with him

[go0pfucker]

"he’s so hot" and its a .webp man in the classic roman adlocutio pose

[genevieveetguy]

About Dry Grasses (Kuru Otlar Üstüne), Nuri Bilge Ceylan (2023)

[badmovieihave]

Bad movie I have The Devil’s Double 2011

[sepublic]

The Titan saying goodbye hurts because they really did know Luz for a while. Watched her, talked to her, as she talked to him; Answering every spell Luz wanted or needed, saving her life and those of her friends countless times. He’s been here since at least The Intruder, probably sooner given he was watching, so it feels like goodbye to an old friend, and it must’ve been for Luz, given the glyphs were the Titan, unique to him, and how she’s lived with him for so long. Even knowingly spoken to him at the knee, when she asked the Titan to show her magic, and when he did, Luz happily accepted and embraced it, recognizing it as a gift, even if she didn’t yet know it was for being so kind to his son.

Luz must’ve grieved, not just the loss of her original glyphs and her brother’s dad, but also a companion she realized was with her since the beginning, the wonderful home she found in the demon realm. Someone she didn't even appreciate until it was too late. And he gave Luz one final gift, even as he was dying; The rest of his life, so Belos could not claim it as he did the glyphs and the Titan’s name and body, and most importantly to give Luz another chance at life.

When Luz fought Belos one last time, it was with Eda, King, and the Titan present, during joyous synchronization; As it was when she stared Philip down as he was stomped to death by the Titan’s son, avenging his father. The Titan was the friend that gave Luz the magic she needed to become a Good Witch, it’s as much because of him as it is Eda and the rest... The Titan was her mentor too. He may as well have been a dad to Luz as well, and there is the possible metaphor of Belos corrupting the Titan being akin to Manny dying of cancer.

[let-us-cultivate-our-garden]

I had a long argument with someone on whether or not stomping Belos before he dies was better than letting him die pathetically, and I asked myself if that is what fans really believe in... or if they would hail any Belos' death as the perfect one if Dana choose a different one?

They also justify the stomping as being part of horror-comedy genre and that Belos should not have any dignity what so ever because apparently letting him die in despair with no stomping is running the risk of making the audience feel "sorry" for him.

Honestly, these justifications make The Owl House feel more shallow. Like, why shouldn't the audience be allowed to feel sorry for Belos? What is the danger? That people would agree with Belos' views?

Or are we supposed to develop a black and white view of the world akin to a conservative view but inverted? And then hide behind the horror comedy genre to justify less drama? I hate to say it, but Nostalgia Critic is right about Belos being this strange outlier. The show seems to be afraid of actually doing a complex, tragic and yet irredeemable villain.

It doesn't make any sense to argue that Belos' death fits because of toh's genre as a horror comedy because the scene was neither played for horror nor laughs. At best, you have the image of Philip slowly being dissolved by the rain and then Raine's smug "that was satisfying" line. The overall tone of the scene is one of contempt as Philip tries one last plea to Luz only to be snuffed out (and weirdly validated) by the heroes. Its intent is to be cathartic for both audience (though as you know doubt know, YMMV) and the characters.

Frankly, despite its marketing, I don't see toh as either a horror or a comedy because it spends more time on slice of life stuff and high school teen drama and romance. And even when it does go for the horror and comedy, both are rather tepid. You want a real example of a horror-comedy for kids, then go watch Courage the Cowardly Dog or Invader Zim.

The reason why I argue the heroes validated Belos is because in the moment of his death, he clings to the idea that as humans, "we're better than this!" It's a moment of pathetic delusion that is appropriately met with silence but then it's ruined with Eda and Co. barging in with "Well, we ain't!" only to then prove his point by mercilessly stomping an already dying man to death. There's a reason why kid shows usually end with either the villain being imprisoned or not outright being murdered by the heroes. Evil has to die by its own hubris, not get killed by the heroes after the Big Battle when they're no longer a threat. I made a post about the importance of defeating a major antagonist twice.

Belos' death also doesn't work with a "Kill your oppressors" theme because the show isn't about that. The show barely spends any time showing why the EC is bad for the Boiling Isles and Eda is the only named wild witch we see getting harassed by them and even then, it's mostly played for laughs given how inept the coven scouts are (seriously, they're able to quit without fear of repercussions).

I think a reason fans are split on Belos' death is because of differing expectations; the fans who paid attention to Belos and the implication of his backstory and waited for every lie to come crashing down on him since that's what the show seemed to be building up to only to be unceremoniously ignored in the end were no doubt disappointed. Then you have the other fans who hated the character to the point that any gruesome death will do, regardless whether it made narrative or thematic sense or not.

Ultimately, I think the biggest reason his death doesn't work is because Belos fails as a villain.

Belos' status as a colonial puritan only works on a meta-level; it serves a cathartic release for marginialized people to see a representative of real world oppression beaten by queer characters as it fulfills the fantasy of finally overthrowing an oppressive system. The fatal flaw though is that none of this works on a narrative level because the coven system is either treated as a joke or simply a career path one must choose and we never see the disenfranchisement of wild witches. People largely get off scot-free opposing Belos, which undermines his credibility as both a dictator and a villain because no one cares about him until the plot needs them to. Luz doesn't even care about proving he's evil until Hollow Mind, which is halfway through season 2.

Belos as a villain only works if you project your own feelings and desires in wanting to see the Evil Christian/Evil Parent destroyed. While this is extremely satisfying emotionally, it does not make a sound story.

All the reasons why people like his death ("it's great the evil colonizer died so pathetically!" "omg, the white christian colonizer was killed by two queer people and their adopted son!" etc) are all meta reasons. And to be clear, it's totally fine if you thought his death was satisfying. But for many people, it did not work for a variety of reasons, including narrative ones. And that differing opinion should be respected instead of arguing some nonsense like "we have to make our villain as stupid/evil as possible or run the risk of people liking/sympathizing with him."

Belos should have died in a manner that connected back to his original sin: the murder of his brother. All of his lies and delusions and fear of being wrong should have played a part in the finale. He should have not died thinking he was right. He should have died realizing that all he did was for nothing. And that he is to blame. And that there is no one waiting for him back home.

[imsosocold]

I’ve seen a lot of  statements like “ Why couldn’t  Philip just accept he was wrong about things and settle down and embrace the Isles? So selfish 😔”   First of all,  people are underestimating how strong the affects of religious conditioning and propaganda are.  Unfortunately Caleb’s reaction and growth tends to be the rarity in those sort of situations, not Philip’s.  Second of all,  people are ignoring ( and even deligitimazing) any personal experiences Philip’s had with Isles, including potentially negative ones.  Even if Philip wasn’t a witch hunter and was the most moral and tempered of all beings, the Isles in non hospitable by nature and the residents there seem overall hostile to those without (strong) magic. And even without that, perhaps the environment and culture simply wouldn’t be for him regardless. (Also it’s like canon now the Titan hated him so). Third, for Philip to abandon his witch hunting beliefs and practices completely, he wouldn’t only have to grapple with the idea that he and Caleb were wrong and did horrible things for no good reason but he would also have to accept that the  system they were part of was wrong. That the systems before theirs were likely also wrong.  That those they looked up to were wrong, those they worked with were wrong, potential friends and lovers and maybe even their parents were wrong.  And by staying on the Isles, Philip would be letting those systems and ideologies and the sins caused by them continue without any challenge.  Plus, if their system  was wrong about witchcraft, what else was it wrong about?       Philip likely would have to leave portions of his religious beliefs behind asthey were strongly tied to witch-hunting. Obviously none of this is an excuse for Philip’s actions but I feel like a lot of complexity is being dismissed by people just because they don’t like Philip. The situation was way more than “ Philip was stupid and stubborn and selfish and that’s why he did bad things, Caleb’s just a naturally better person than him.”  Plus I feel like most people realistically, if taken to a place like the Isles in real life, would have a reaction more akin to Philip’s than Caleb’s.   Anyway, eat weed and smoke your food.           

[ror-witch]

@phoboobs

Bonus point if the AP literature class gets treated to something akin to couples therapy.

“You know, maybe the curtains weren’t ‘just fucking blue’ Philip, maybe—maybe the curtains feel like they are only ones trying in this relationship, and are being used and exploited for their devotion while the curtain rod just sits there and contributes nothing.”

“Well, maybe the curtain rod wouldn’t have to just sit there and do nothing, if the curtains could do something right every once in a while! And perhaps the curtain forgets it wouldn’t even be hanging up there if it wasn’t for the curtain rod. “

“It’s not my fault and no one cares about the curtain rod.”

[teecupangel]

What do you call a cowboy Ezio? Spaghetti western. Spaghetti” Westerns are a subgenre of Westerns whose name references the circumstances and location of their filming. Generally, a Spaghetti Western is a low-budget film produced by Italian directors (hence the “spaghetti” connection) and filmed in Europe, primarily in Almería and the Tabernas Desert.Feb 18, 2022.

Being in a Spaghetti Western makes me think of an actor AU where Ezio is a popular actor in Italy who gets the part of a major character in a Spaghetti Western movie. The main draw of the film is, of course, the leading man who goes by the name “Connor” (real name is kept a secret because he likes his privacy).

The film is a revenge story of a man who lost his tribe (including his mother), burned to the ground by a certain group for nefarious means and he hunts them down one by one.

Ezio plays the main character’s final target, the “Sheriff Jack O’Leary”, the leader of the group.

The twist of the story is that Ezio’s and Connor’s characters are actually father and son.

The bigger twist is that Ezio’s character didn’t even sign off on the burning of the village, his group did that on the orders of a high ranking politician that was helping the main character is finding this group.

A tale of betrayal and revenge with a downer ending of the main character killing his father because they could not find a middle ground.

Ezio was having fun. He was Italy’s darling, known for playing handsome charming men that women (and men) swooned over. So to play what could be considered as the main villain (or the secondary main villain to the politician pretending to be good) was good for him.

Along the way, he gets close to the cast and crew, even becoming something akin to an older brother to the leading man (who finally tells him his real name is Ratonhnhaké:ton and he chose the name ‘Connor’ as a tribute to a senior of his that supported and encouraged him when he was doing theater before).

Unorganized Notes:

Leonardo is the set director and he’s super passionate about it. He’s a big fan of western movies and an even bigger fan of sci fi movies.

Machiavelli is the director and he’s quite the perfectionist. On the other hand, he had worked with Ezio before and they get along.

Federico works as Ezio’s agent and PA in one, mostly because he’s worried about his little brother and also because he doesn’t want to become the next CEO of the Auditore Bank. Claudia can have that.

Ratonhnhaké:ton’s agent is a man only known as “Mr. Cormac”. He’s also Ratonhnhaké:ton’s bodyguard and Ratonhnhaké:ton admitted to Ezio later on that his father was the one who employed “Mr. Cormac”. “To keep an eye on you?” “To make up for the decades of parental neglect he believes he committed even though he didn’t even know I existed back then.”

The script is written by Altaïr under the pseudonym Philip S. He’s a well known scriptwriter who churn up lots of scripts a year and just give them to whoever wants them. No one has ever seen his face. Whenever he has to get an award for his script or asks for a meeting, some poor guy named Desmond Miles would appear, apologize for his boss’ rude behaviors and then just do whatever was needed. Some rumors say Philip S is a woman and that’s why they don’t want to make an appearance. No. Altaïr just don’t want to mingle with people he doesn’t know or even like. He just likes to write. Desmond is actually his secretary/live-in houseworker who got the job because no one else could stay as Altaïr’s houseworker long enough to learn Altaïr was also a writer. The pay is good, Desmond doesn’t need to pay for bills since he lives in Altaïr’s house and sometimes Altaïr’s hot childhood friend visits to make sure Altaïr hasn’t died yet (his words, not Desmond’s) so the view is nice.

Haytham Kenway may or may not be producing the film under one of his shell companies. No one is really sure what the Kenway family does but it’s Hollywood during the mid 60s so… it’s shady af.

Kaniehtí:io is alive and is supportive of her son’s rising popularity while being worried about him. She and Haytham never married and she never actually told him about Ratonhnhaké:ton. Haytham only learned about him after Ratonhnhaké:ton became a movie star.

Yes, Ratonhnhaké:ton started in theater (as a child actor) and Connor Davenport took him in as his ‘protege’. Connor Davenport, unfortunately, died (Hollywood drama)

[skitskatdacat63]

catie I NEED more vettonso lore for your au. please. (love u)

Aaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!! C!!! Thank you so much for asking!! This took me a bit cause there’s a lot of stuff I want to cover and I had to figure out how to balance the explanation of the historical context and how I apply it to my AU. But seriously thank you for asking because I did more research to write this post and learned a lot of things that make me feel deranged but I cannot bring any of this up to anyone irl without sounding like a lunatic. I’d apologize for the length but you should expect this from me by now! (I realized this doc for this was 1.5k+ my god)

Basic Info: early 1700s historical AU with arranged marriage plot 

Historical Context:

Okay, so this AU is based on a real historical event: The War of The Spanish Succession. Which is when the Spanish Throne was without a clear line of succession because the bloodline(Spanish Habsburgs) died out. So then, even though the previous Spanish King named his successor(Philip V, a Duke related to the French Royal family - representing Fernando in this AU), the Habsburgs still thought they should be allowed to keep the throne within their dynasty, thus offering up the second son(Charles VI - representing Seb in this AU) of the Holy Roman Emperor. So obviously they had to start a war because of it. But then the end result ended up being that because Charles VI’s older brother, the Holy Roman Emperor at the time, died during the war(because of illness though so it would have happened regardless), he became the next Emperor and Philip V ended up becoming the Spanish King after all, rendering it all pointless imo.

How does this relate to Vettonso?:

I'm not overly interested in either Charles VI and Philip V as people, but rather the roles they fulfill in this conflict, but obv I can’t help but draw on details from their lives. As I mentioned, Fernando is now Fernando I of Renault/France Spain and Seb is Sebastian I of Red Bull Austria. This is supposed to be like 2010-2012!Vettonso with Ferrari!Fernando and RBR!Seb(but like Fernando's title of Duke coming from France, because of his championships with Renault.) This AU is kinda just me looking at this historical event and thinking: wouldn’t a gay arranged marriage solve this succession quandary? But also just that it reminds me of Fernando and Seb’s rivalry, and the nationalities/kingdoms fit pretty well!!

Think about the throne of Spain as akin to winning a race, but becoming Holy Roman Emperor as winning the whole entire competition.(Also side note: real life Charles VI didn’t become a king until he became Emperor and adopted all of his brother’s titles, but I want Seb to be a boy king in this AU, so he can have a title as a treat.) Imagine you’re competing for something and you win it, but the only reason you win is because the other competitor won an even bigger prize!!!! Yay you got what you wanted but the boy king is now the emperor of most of Europe. And now you are stuck with him through lawfully wedded arranged marriage because they let you have what you wanted but only under the condition that the two kingdoms are still united. Yeah Fernando got the title, but Seb gained even more titles(get it???) 

They probably have a lot of animosity coming into the marriage, like “how could I ever build a relationship with the man who tried to steal my birthright?” but then realize they’re pretty similar after all. Though obviously Fernando has a lot more resentment than Seb because Seb won the whole damn thing! He would have control over Spain as he’s the king but since it's still within the domain of the empire, Seb would always have the final say. And Seb tries to be magnanimous like “Don’t worry, I won’t interfere”, and Fernando is all snide with comments like “Oh thank you great imperial majesty, can I really? Would you really allow me to do so?” But eventually become loving co-rulers that still constantly snipe at each other over different decisions the other makes. 

Some headcanons(I guess you’d still call it headcanons even if it's your own AU bcs it still comes from your head) + some fun facts from real life that have brainrotted me so I’m putting them in:

Their dynamic is just Seb being a very righteous, bratty boy king emperor who is unabashed about being that way, because he feels that it is his right, but still has a heart of gold and wants to treat his husband well no matter the circumstances leading to their marriage. And then Fernando is like a stray cat that keeps hissing and scratching because it’s really hard for him to accept the circumstances because he still feels humiliated, even though he got everything he wanted, but he still can’t help but be charmed by this baby emperor because he sees attributes of himself in Seb, and can’t really fault him because he would be the exact same, flaunting his power, if he were in Seb’s shoes. 

They would have to speak in French to each other because that’s their shared language but eventually attempt to learn each other’s native languages! Imagine Seb has to travel to Spain to give some Emperor speech and Fernando then bullies him for his bad Spanish. 

They would probably split where they live based on a schedule or by need. Yes, Fernando is the King of Spain but he is also the Emperor’s husband so he does have to spend time in the capital, Vienna. And then since Spain is a part of the empire, Seb has to go routinely, but y’know also to spend time with his husband. They find that their marriage as well as their politics is full of having to make concessions and compromises in order to make it work. 

Something I find funny is that as compensation for not getting the Spanish throne back, Spain had to cede some Italian territories to the Empire. That is literally the Ferrari plot with the transfer from Fernando to Seb!!

I’m not sure how the titles would work in this AU because obviously a m/m political marriage has not ever happened(as far as I know.) But I guess Fernando would just be King Fernando I of Spain and then Seb would be Holy Roman Emperor Sebastian I with the million titles that come with being in that role(though like most importantly Archduke of Austria and King of Bohemia and Hungary, etc.) I like the idea that Seb tries to share some titles with Fernando as a show of good will but Fernando is so affronted, mostly just from embarrassment, like “oh you think I need your good will?? I can’t be happy with what I earned in my own right??” But their kids would receive both titles and would be split in the traditional way, like first kid getting it all mostly, but the others still being nobility obv(yes.. there would be mpreg because of the plot need for succession….don’t ask who…)

They bond through their love of horses, particularly fast horses. The first time they go riding together, they’re both like awkwardly trying to act very proper as a sense of showmanship to the other like “I’m more mature than you”, but then can’t stop trying to get ahead of the other person and eventually break into a full-on race. Their aids are mutually like “oh god, they’re both the same type of insane.” 

Irl Charles VI was so salty about losing the throne that he wouldn’t stop dressing like a traditional Spanish monarch. I can totally see Seb doing that and Fernando getting so pissed with him like “you became emperor!! What more could you possibly want???’ and Seb then fixing him with his biggest pout and saying “your throne!” But also Fernando being weirdly into it because it’s basically Seb presenting himself blatantly as Fernando’s spouse. 

In that same vein, I’m going crazy over how there’s a painting from before the war, of Philip V wearing vestments from both the French order of chivalry and the Habsburg order of chivalry. Like basically stating the desire to see those two lines combined into one kingdom, which fits so well into this AU. Just Seb going crazy over how Fernando is willingly branding himself as belonging to Seb’s house. 

A testimony of Philip V’s personality is that he was a “neurotic, vacillating ruler, concerned with outward decorum and brave only in battle,” god can you not sense the energy of Fernando in that statement???

Very important to me that Charles VI reportedly had many male lovers, and that his soulmate was one of his courtiers. Maybe there can be a bit of Martian or Sebson cheating plot with them being his courtiers hahaha  

Not very relevant in this AU but there’s something about how Philip V had the longest ever reign of a Spanish monarch. Is that not Fernando??? Old man who will rule on forever, or should I say, forever keep his seat 

I already obv posted the wip for this but I'll include it here again as visual rep hehehe:

I've spent way too much time lately trying to research the fashion of the time ugh. But this, as I said, is like first joint portrait session into the marriage. And I guess I kind of want them to be wearing their corronation clothing, which I'm pretty solid on for Seb but still need to research more for Fernando. I think I'll maybe try and just put him in the afformentioned traditional Spanish monarch clothing, but the fact that it's all black kinda bores me, I'd rather he wear red!! This is like a typical royal couple type pose, except they're being more tactile. Also there's something to be said about the symbolism of Fernando being the one standing and Seb being the one sitting hehehe....

[irafuwas]

silly little theory about Lilia's possible UM

The majority of the cast has revealed or awakened their Unique Magic (UM) by now, and so far we've seen most of the usual types of magic often depicted in fantasy media: transformation magic, mind control, shield spells, curses, elemental magic, and so on and so forth. But I noticed that we still haven't seen any healing-based UMs. Restorative/Healing magic is pretty much a given in fantasy settings, and we know characters can use healing spells during in-game battles, so I feel it's only a matter of time before we get a UM that can heal wounds/reverse damage.

Now I don't know about you all, but when I think of "healing magic" and "Disney", the first thing that comes to mind is Rapunzel's healing incantation from Tangled (and its spinoff TV show, Tangled the Series). And out of all the characters we've yet to see display their UM, I think there's a chance Lilia might end up having a healing type of spell - one that's activated by him singing, just like how Rapunzel uses her powers.

To keep things organized, I'm going to break down this post into two parts, and will begin by talking about some of the similarities between Disney's Tangled and Silver and Lilia.

(Please note: This post contains minor spoilers for Book 7.)

Part 1. Silver and Lilia / Rapunzel and Gothel

Silver has many obvious similarities to Aurora and Prince Philip - and just to Disney princesses, in general - but I've been thinking for a while that there might also be some Rapunzel-esque elements at play in his and Lilia's story.

Similarities in Silver and Rapunzel's backgrounds

For those unfamiliar with the movie, Tangled tells the story of a girl named Rapunzel who has long, golden hair. Whenever she sings an ancient incantation, her hair starts to glow, and anyone who takes hold of the magic strands will be healed of almost any wound or bodily alteration - even aging. Rapunzel lives together with her mother, Gothel, up in a tower hidden deep within the forest. But unbeknownst to the young girl, Gothel had actually kidnapped Rapunzel not long after she was born, and her birth parents are the king and queen of the small kingdom they reside in.

Fearful of her crime possibly coming to light, Gothel forbids Rapunzel from ever leaving home, and it's not until the eve of her 18th birthday that Rapunzel finally descends to the ground for the first time since she was a baby.

Silver, too, is theorized by many to be descended from royalty. Different characters like Vil and Idia have commented on his princely looks, and his kind heart and unwavering sense of justice set him apart from most of the cast. Like Rapunzel and other Disney princesses, he also has an affinity for animals and can often be seen accompanied by blue birds and other small woodland creatures.

Akin to Rapunzel, he was raised deep within the woods of Briar Valley by his adoptive father, Lilia, who claims to have found him abandonded as baby. Instead of going to the school in town, his father homeschooled him at their little cottage, and though we don't know to what extent he was kept at home, he appears to have been pretty isolated growing up.

Rapunzel's one and only friend growing up was a little chameleon named Pascal, and the two of them spent a lot of time together whenever Gothel would leave to restock their supplies or enjoy some time in town. Silver, too, spent most of his time with his animal companions whenever his father would leave to go traveling.

How Rapunzel finds the truth, and possible tie-in with Silver's future origin story reveal

Near the end of the movie, Gothel forces Rapunzel back to the tower, and as she sits all alone once more in her dark room, she contemplates everything that happened on her journey. She thinks about the sun shaped emblem she kept seeing in town all day, how it perfectly resembles the same shape she's been painting on the walls of her bedroom all her life. Hasn't she seen it somewhere before? Somewhere far above her, out of her reach, on the edges of her memory. And she thinks back to the stone mural she saw in the town square, the one of King Frederik and Queen Arianna smiling with pride with their infant daughter in their arms. Don't her green eyes match the baby's eyes? Doesn't her golden hair resemble the baby's shining locks? And she thinks further back, to before she left the tower, when she tried on that shining crown that Eugene had been hiding in his bag. And like a lightning bolt, it hits her: That was her crown. She's the lost princess the entire kingdom has been desperately looking for all this time.

In Chapter 1 of Book 7, Silver comes across an ornate, crown-shaped ring while going through some of the clutter in Lilia's room. Silver murmurs that he feels like he's seen the ring somewhere before, and then a powerful wave of drowsiness strikes him. But perhaps instead of trying to pull him under... it was trying to awaken something in him - trying to dredge up some memory his heart had tucked away so deeply it had only ever felt to the boy like some distant echo of a dream he once had long, long ago.

Mother Gothel and Lilia

Focusing on Gothel and Lilia for a bit, one commonality I noticed pretty early on is how both of them are much older than they appear to be. Although Gothel's exact age has never been confirmed, she's believed to be at least a thousand years old. And Lilia isn't far behind, clocking in at nearly 700. While Gothel relies on the magic imbued in Rapunzel's body to sustain her youthful form, we do not know yet if Lilia simply naturally looks the way he does or if he's doing something to make him appear so young.

Lilia's black hair and garnet eyes always reminded me of Gothel's color scheme, especially when his Tamashina-Mina card was revealed.

It's too soon to say whether or not Silver came to Lilia under nefarious circumstances, or whether Lilia knows who Silver's birth family is and what not, but the fact still stands that Lilia and Gothel have the following points in common:

Both are very secretive about their pasts, even towards their children

Both chose to raise their adoptive children in secluded areas and mostly kept them at home

Both are much older than their appearances belie

Both would often leave their young children home alone to go run errands and explore the world

Both can be very flippant about how their actions affect others (listen, I am a lilia oshi so pls don't @ me. the guy can be pretty damn selfish. refer to endless halloween and like all of book 7 :///)

Both have a black/garnet color scheme

I do understand that many of the points I've made so far also apply to Briar Rose (e.g., she was raised secluded in the woods, didn't know she was from royalty, her caregivers kept secrets from her, etc.), but for the sake of this theory, I'm just focusing on things from a Tangled perspective.

Part 2. Lilia's Unique Magic: A Healing Incantation

Now, I'd like to focus on why I think Lilia's UM will be activated through song. He's mentioned several times how much of a music lover he is, and together with Kalim and Cater he's one of the only remaining members of NRC's Pop Music Club. Kalim even reveals that Lilia is the one who taught him how to play the drums.

We've heard from other students how dreadful Lilia's singing voice is, which appears to be some sort of heavy metal screamo. Lilia himself claims he can sing a crying baby to sleep in just a few seconds, but whether that's due to his great singing prowess or the poor child fainting from shock remains a point of contention.

With his penchant for music and singing, I feel it's entirely within the realm of possibility for Lilia to activate his UM by singing. And again, since we haven't had any healing-based UMs yet, and since there is a pretty renown healing song already in the Disney canon, and with all of Lilia and Silver's similarities with Rapunzel and Gothel, could it be that his UM is a healing song?

With all of that being said, seeing as this is Twisted Wonderland, what if instead of Mother Gothel kidnapping an infant princess and using the child's magic to sustain her own life, we get Lilia using his unique magic to save an abandoned newborn prince, slowly and gradually giving up his own own life force over the years to keep the child from succumbing to his endless slumber. And so the story goes:

One day, somewhere in a faraway land that had been long forgotten by the world and abandoned by time, Lilia stumbles across the strangest kingdom he's ever seen. He can tell by the architecture and the writing on some of the buildings that it must be a human settlement, but it's so quiet - much too quiet to be a place inhabited by people. He wanders through the town, past the baker, who snores quietly into a pillow of hardened dough, past the blacksmith, who's slumped on the ground with a half-finished sword in hand, the hot metal long cooled down. He climbs the tall, stone steps up into the castle, walks through a maze of hallways and rooms before reaching what looks to be the young heir's nursey. He looks inside the bassinet and thinks the child is dead at first - so slow and so shallow are the baby's breathes as it dreams and dreams. He places a wary hand on its chest - just to be sure - and lets out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding as he feels the child's rapid heartbeat thrumming against his palm.

He could save the child, perhaps. His unique magic, a powerful healing incantation renown throughout the Valley, might be able to lift whatever curse had been placed on the residents of this strange kingdom. His curiosity piqued, Lilia pulls his long hair in front of him and blankets the baby with his dark strands.

As the spell comes to an end and the glow starts to fade from his hair, the baby's tinny cry sounds out from the bassinet. Lilia pulls his hair back behind him and staggers as he sits down to catch his breath. The spell takes a considerable toll on his magic reserves, and he'd been warned countless times before by fae much older and wiser than him that overusing his powers would ultimately cost him his life. Waking up the child felt like a punch to the gut, and he closes his eyes with a shiver thinking about trying to rouse all the other sleeping townspeople he'd seen on the way there.

The baby's increasingly louder cries pull Lilia away from his thoughts, and he slowly rises to his feet, keeping one hand on the bassinet to steady himself. "Shit," Lilia hisses under his breath. I'm going to need at least a day's rest before I can use my unique magic again. But I can't just leave him here...

He gingerly picks up the red-faced infant and starts rocking him. Lilia hadn't held a baby since Malleus was born so many centuries ago, and he has to readjust the screaming child in his arms a few times before he remembers how to do it.

"Shh, shh. It's alright, I'm here. You're okay."

It feels like an eternity until the baby finally stills. Deciding he'd had more than enough adventure for one day, thank you, he turns around and retraces his steps back out to the castle entrance, through the town gates, and beyond to the surrounding forest, where he'd left his horse and the rest of his gear. He figures he'll keep the baby with him overnight, and then return tomorrow to try and wake up one of his parents.

But Lilia notices something's wrong as he wakes up to the sunlight filtering through his makeshift tent the next morning. The baby is still there where he left him, swaddled next to him in the only clean shirt Lilia could find in his pack, but he doesn't stir when Lilia gently tries to nudge the child awake. He still doesn't awaken even when Lilia bangs some pots together and screams at him to open his eyes.

Lilia frowns, and starts unbraiding his hair with shaking hands.

"When I sing my healing incantation for him, he wakes up fine enough. He just doesn't stay awake. It's always a matter of time before the curse begins to reactivate again."

As soon as Lilia returned to the Valley, he called on every doctor, elder mage, and experts on ancient curses he could find. Each of them came to inspect the child in turn, and they'd nod their heads and say "I see, I see" as Lilia told them what happened, and then they'd poke and prod at the baby and scribble in their notebooks and poke some more before finally shaking their heads and leaving Lilia with just a weak pat on the back and a whispered "Good luck". After a month of fruitless visits, he decided to put his investigation on hold and just focus on caring for the newborn, whom he'd named Silver. It was then that Malleus finally found an opportunity to sneak away from the castle to come visit, and he listened with a frown as Lilia recounted the tale.

Quietly, Malleus replies, "I see. So that means... You'd need to keep using your unique magic on him over and over again to keep the curse at bay. Correct?"

Lilia clears his throat before answering. "Correct."

Malleus's pinched face says Are you really sure about this?, but he remains silent as he watches Lilia rock the sleeping child in his arms. Lilia is thankful for his young charge's apprehension - he doesn't think he could find an answer if Malleus asked for one.

And yet - night after night, without a moment's hesitation, Lilia tucks his long, long hair into the child's tiny hand, and the words start spilling out of his mouth - always slow at first, but steady - flowing faster as he closes his eyes and accepts that there's no turning back from what he's done.

And he sings:

Flower, gleam and glow

Let your power shine

Make the clock reverse

Bring back what once was mine

Heal what has been hurt

Change the Fates' design

Save what has been lost

Bring back what once was mine

What once was mine

[cliozaur]

“One should always begin by arresting the victims”. What can I say, Javert indeed follows this advice by arresting Azelma first. The title of the chapter obviously criticizes police methods that tend to disproportionately target and punish individuals from lower social classes. (But we remember that Hugo also makes his input by associating crime with poverty.)

I don’t quite get what Hugo tries to achieve by making Javert so entertaining (as aptly expressed by @dolphin1812). Yet, he's undeniably amusing in every action he undertakes. His wit shines through when he remarks, “Halt there,” said he. “You shall not go out by the window, you shall go through the door. It’s less unhealthy. There are seven of you, there are fifteen of us. Don’t let’s fall to collaring each other like men of Auvergne.” Hugo's portrayal clearly positions Javert as the room's master, akin to a king. When he has the Patron-Minette associates arrested, he is “passing them in review with a glance of a Frederick II. at a Potsdam parade”, and later, preparing to write a report, “he seated himself with sovereign dignity before the table.” He is very proud of himself, isn't he? Returning to Hugo’s purpose, he might be striving for the same effect he achieves when he makes the detestable Thénardier utter reasonable statements – making the character captivating and contradictory.

Javert is horribly, even supernaturally, effective at his job. Though alone (with 15 agents in another room), he confronts a crowd of armed "ruffians," keeping his sword sheathed, yet the seasoned criminals are already cowed, ready to capitulate. (This brings to mind Philip Quast's description of Javert's musical portrayal – he simply needed to enter holding his baton, and everyone would run away in disorder.) The episode involving the pistol, where Javert predicts its misfire, is amazing. What is the opposite of miracle? It’s black magic! (Unless he saw the defect in the pistol.) The criminals liken him to a devil, underlining Javert's commanding presence. In this respect, we see yet another royal comparison: “You’re the emperor of the fiends! I surrender.”

Parallels with Jean Valjean emerge here too. Much like Valjean in the preceding chapter, Javert seems unfazed by potential harm or even death. They both risk their lives, though their motivations diverge. While the criminals liken Javert to the devil, his closing words in this book centre on Valjean, referring to him as the devil: “The devil! …he must have been the most valuable of the lot.”

PS The mention of Javert having "claws like a woman" is likely figurative, but the mental image of him with long, impeccably manicured nails is amusing.