#the empty cradle

[mysterious-secret-garden]

William Blair Bruce - The Empty Cradle, 1901.

[shawnfreki]

William Blair Bruce

The Empty Cradle, 1901

[assiraphales]

zoro and luffy were SO lucky they met nami when they did because their whole plan amounted to floating around in their little boat drifting towards trouble. no map. no compass (as if that would help them). neither of them can figure out what north is. chronic case of the sillies. bare minimum supplies and ten berries in a joint banking account after they spent zoro’s pirate hunting bounty nest egg on booze and food. legend says they’re still lost

[shitpostingkats]

*raising my voice to be heard over the club music* Yeah, lately I've been getting really into a Yusei Adopts Rin and Yugo AU.

[the-grin--reaper]

[dent-de-leon]

Obsessed with the idea of Molly being terrified of Lucien, wanting nothing to do with him and insisting that that person is dead because he was scared that Lucien just naturally desired to be cruel and that was something he never ever wanted.

But then Lucien comes back and Molly realising that Lucien largely doesnt WANT to be cruel. But he's been so warped by pain and fear that he thinks that control and possession and manipulation is the only way to keep people from hurting you.

And Molly is like "Oh honey no.... let's get you some therapy."

Molly never wanted to be cruel, ever. But helping someone in pain learn to open up to gentleness and vulnerability? To show kindness? That scares him a lot less and it's what finally leads to their peace. To Kingsley.

Acknowledging and healing Lucien's pain and fear allowed them both to be better

yES!! Mollymauk is so haunted by the little glimpses he sees of Lucien's past, lives in constant fear of those terrifying moments when another life bleeds through. "Whoever it was came to that end, and I want nothing to do with that. Whatever it was, it doesn't feel good when I--when something creeps through, I don't like it. I don't want anything to do with it. I was happy! I liked the circus! The circus was great!"

He crawled his way out of an unmarked grave and woke all alone in the world, reaching for a red moon in the dark. He's always been aware just how fragile his life is, afraid that he'd be sent back to the grave, that his charmed little life at the circus could be torn away from him at any moment--as could his loved ones, like Lestera.

Mollymauk always seemed to believe his time was short, so he always tries to make the most of it. Which involved running away from the past--from anything that could shatter the tentative peace he tried so hard to keep. Whoever Lucien was, Molly knows just enough to instinctively fear him, to believe that all his loved ones would abandon him if they ever knew the truth. During the Zone of Truth, he confesses that, "A lot of this was in the hopes that maybe it would never happen; keep moving, keep quiet."

So I can't agree more--watching Mollymauk face his greatest fear, seeing him finally confront Lucien after all this time--and he's still kind and compassionate enough to try and help him? After everything he did? It's such a pleasant surprise, and just a testament to his character and bleeding heart. I don't think there's many people who'd be able to look at this dark mirror of themselves and have the capacity for love and forgiveness that Molly does.

But of course Mollymauk still wants to help him, still genuinely cares for him. It's, "That's not how we are, Lucien. We love broken things the most." And, "I know what the others think, but the truth is...How do I put this...The world is harsh and cruel, and I don't seem to be able to just walk on by. You see a wrong? You fix it." He saw how much Lucien was suffering, he saw just how painfully alike they are--that they were both "broken," shattered souls--and he couldn't just leave him. He couldn't. Mollymauk just can't bear to abandon someone, and it breaks my heart.

And I think a big part of Lucien's fall also stems from just how much self loathing and disgust he wallowed in, how he clings so desperately to the idea he has this "glint." That he was meant for bigger, better things, that he's somehow fated for so much more--that there's an escape from his painful, bloodstained past in Shadycreek. I think Beau really struck a nerve when she asked, "Do you think you're special, Lucien? I mean, someone who wakes up every day, and thinks they're different, blessed." Because god, he wants to be. He wants to be someone capable and powerful and worthy, craves it more than anything, even as he keeps running away.

He holds onto a stack of letters from his sister that he absolutely treasures, yet he doesn't dare answer any of them--too paralyzed with fear at what she'd think, terrified she'd see the person he'd become. He thinks he's not good enough to go back to her, has nothing at all to offer her. And I think that's part of why he bought into the Somnovem so quickly; he was desperate for a way out. A chance to be more. He needs to have this glint Cree mentioned, because then there's still hope. He can still be someone fortunate enough to take care of his sister, to get them away from Shadycreek forever. He can still be one of the heroes in the little plays he used to perform. He can still change his fate. And, most tempting of all, he can bring his family back.

And it's so sad that his self-depreciation and guilt started so young, that even as a child, he was tormented by all the atrocities his parents forced him to be complicit in. Until Lucien couldn't bear what they'd turned him into anymore, and he makes sure they can't hurt anyone else ever again. "After a while I couldn't let it go on, couldn't look at myself or live with myself, so I burned the caravan with all three of them inside, took my sister, and that was that...No more little songs. No more farces."

Mollymauk is fascinating, because he's another facet of Lucien. He was born from the very same soul. So in one sense, I think Molly reconnecting with Lucien is so beautiful, because it really does feel like a kind of self love and acceptance. But in another way, I think they're almost like family too. It really struck me that Kingsley called Molly a "brother;" just the way that he said, "Everyone should have a brother." It's such a sweet sentiment, especially considering that Lucien had a brother--someone he lost so long ago.

A corpse left buried in the snow. An empty puppet. A hollow, ghastly reminder of the person he once knew. Lucien had a brother, and they were killed, their body desecrated by their own parents. He had a sister, who he was willing to sacrifice everything for, and it still wasn't enough. In the end, even she doesn't trust him anymore, and he's entirely alone. So then here's Molly, and he does the one thing that Aldreda and the rest of his family never did. He decides to stay with Lucien. To reach a hand to him when he needs it the most.

In many ways, Molly is the family that Lucien always wished for. Ironically? If they actually were siblings, I think Lucien would've been very protective of him. Even as things are, Lucien still starts to grow a bit fond of Mollymauk in spite of himself. Starts to slowly regret the life he'd taken from him, as loathe as he is to admit it. "Nothing about this has been easy, and our hard work is at an end. Our chats have been...edifying. Goodbye, Tealeaf. You won't survive where I'm going."

I do think the end of the novel really did reassure me about a lot of why I found C2 heartbreaking, because I like that Molly and Lucien both decided to come back together. That it was a choice they both made, and they both live on as Kingsley. It's Molly getting another chance and yet deciding to bring Lucien back with him, because Molly thinks he deserves it too. It's neither of them being alone. It's both of them returning to the Nein, hand in hand, and deciding to try again--

[jewishsuperfam]

rip to everyone who doesn't like kiriona but i would die for her actually

[hotboxd]

wait so

if our adam isn't the 'actual' adam....... wtf happened to the real one ????

[wormsdyke]

fucked up that it’s dangerous to sleep in the bath bc it’s one of my favorite nap places. i love being submerged in nearly boiling water it’s so cozy and every time i’ve slept in the bath it’s been amazing. and i only choked on water once

[yeonban]

I've had many thoughts about Nikolai and Fyodor's dynamic after the last episode, and I think not enough people notice just how amazing Nikolai actually is (both under his clownery - namely his intelligence and cunningness, and with his clownery - namely his charisma).

He is, as far as we know, the ONLY person in the entire BSD universe who is allowed to freely touch Fyodor without consequences, and in such (canon!) intimate ways to boot, as seen in the official art and panels above. Everyone else who has touched Fyodor has either been killed or been silenced in some way (coughs. Sigma passing out indefinitely), but Nikolai is allowed to grab Fyodor's hands, to sit with him in a bloody bathtub and to feed him from behind in a pose that would have easily allowed Nikolai to twist Fyodor's neck or to poison his food. Even moreso, when Dazai described Nikolai as "your friend", Fyodor agreed to the descriptor, which means Nikolai has managed to steal a spot of some kind in Fyodor's heart, something that, again, no one else we know of right now has been able to do. This, I'd say, is due to Nikolai's one-of-a-kind type of charisma, as well as the way he's been shown to care for Fyodor as his "dearest friend" at all times. Fyodor is a deeply skeptical and mistrusting man, but Nikolai has proved enough times that he truly cares about Fyodor to be granted a certain amount of his trust.

On top of that, Fyodor cannot quite manipulate Nikolai. Not necessarily because he doesn't want to or because he can't bring himself to (though that might also be a very teensy part of it), but because he can't - Nikolai is much too unpredictable for that. Fyodor understands Nikolai the best out of the whole cast, but even he cannot say he fully understands him/how he will react in every circumstance (not surprising since even Nikolai himself doesn't know), which makes Nikolai a dangerous person to have around. Nikolai has SUCCESSFULLY surprised Fyodor (the man who seems to know or deduce everything) SEVERAL TIMES, after all.

Firstly, the Decay of Angels' plan had included Nikolai dying during the hostage situation, which Nikolai agreed to in front of them, but then he went against that and saved himself from death, something that Fyodor and the other members didn't know about. We also saw that the hostage scene was written down in the page word for word, which made it much harder for anyone to change it. This goes to show that Nikolai was crafty enough to find a way to go against the page's narrative and survive while simultaneously allowing the plan to go forward, possibly by fooling even the book into believing Nikolai Gogol is dead, because Nikolai Gogol DID lay there on the ground, motionless, cut in half and having bled out to death. Except unlike what the page described, Nikolai faked his death by using his ability to attach someone else's torso and have that be cut off instead of his own (though to everyone else it seemed to be his own).

Secondly, Fyodor sent Nathaniel to assassinate Sigma, which he would've succeeded in... if only Nikolai hadn't randomly decided to go against Fyodor's plan and save him. This is once again something Fyodor hadn't expected to happen, because even Dazai mentions how he picked Sigma to help him during the prison break (partly) because if he hadn't, Fyodor would have disposed of him, this time for sure. That means that Dazai realized Sigma being alive wasn't something that should've happened in Fyodor's plans, and yet Nikolai cheerfully brought Sigma along with him in front of Fyodor to wordlessly explain that he was the one who saved Sigma from Fyodor's assassination attempt.

Thirdly, Nikolai surprised both Fyodor and Dazai simultaneously, two of the world's smartest people, by orchestrating a prison break that would have them go head to head against each other. They would both inject the poison Nikolai gave them into their veins, choose one of his parting gifts, then try to survive the prison break. Nikolai thus managed to make Fyodor willingly inject deadly poison into his own bloodstream.

This other point is kind of half-canon right now since it's anime-only until the manga proves otherwise, but despite all of the above, Fyodor still trusts Nikolai to a rather large extent as seen via how he trusted that the helicopter Nikolai 'guarded' wasn't tampered with, via how he showed Nikolai mutual respect by telling him he'll try to assassinate him next (#just-bff-things) instead of taking him by surprise which would've had higher chances of success, and via how Fyodor didn't seem to wonder if the antidote to the poison was the real thing or if the antidote was the true poison all along.

In short, Nikolai might not be anywhere near Fyodor or Dazai's intellect, but he is plenty gifted in other ways to the point he was able to receive Fyodor's trust up until Nikolai genuinely attempted to kill him, which is when Fyodor decided to try and kill him instead, as well as terribly unpredictable, so much so that he even shocks himself at times, much less Fyodor or other people.

[frecklystars]

i thought i was handling the stress pretty well but my red energon necklace chain just broke and that was my breaking point 😭😭

[punkrockmixtapes]

The Murder City Devils - Cradle To The Grave

When your down this lowdown, lowdown But The Murder But The Murder But The Murder City But The Murder City Devils I said The Devils The Devils know The Devils know

[deadsince1973]

One picture of Sesame per chapter, Chapters 1-10

[the-grin--reaper]

[dent-de-leon]

You ever think about how Molly is like....smol?

aHHH YES YES I LOVE IT SO MUCH!! oh he looks so cute here I would also like to cradle him in my hands ;; baby...the tiny tail curling and little hearts make me weak--

bUT YES MOLLY BEING SMALL IS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME!!

Just a cute little tief. Very full of love. I adore him so much. Forever thinking about Molly going up on tiptoe to give Yasha and Caleb a forehead kiss--

[tacticalprincess]

mean!König x nerd!reader that has a soft spot for her:( making love to her. she’s so fragile and tiny and innocent he doesnt wanna hurt her! coddles her during sex, putting her in a mating press and kissing her tears away since she gets so overwhelmed from his big cock!!

he’s mildly annoyed by your sobbing, fat globs of tears running down your pretty cheeks as he tries to ease his thick cock into your tight hole, pushing past the resistance he’s met with. the pained vulnerability on your face when you look up at him is quickly dispelling his urge to ruin you, making him feel guilty for how impatient he is, and he can’t help cradling your head as he tries to calm you down so he can finally fucking fit.

“it’s okay, kind. don’t cry, ja? only making it harder for yourself.” he grunts out frustratedly, going against his very nature to try to comfort you. his voice is gravely and low, like it pains him to talk to you with respect. “just relax and let me in.”

every time he envisioned the day he finally fucked you, he always pictured it being rough and fast; making you scream and squirm on his dick as he ruined your innocence and turned you into a wanton slut for him — but now all he could do was hold you close and attempt to make it good for you. he imagined pounding into you roughly, fucking that big brain of yours empty, but as it is, your shaking legs are draped over his broad shoulders as his warm, burly body presses snugly against yours, rutting deep and slow inside your gummy walls like your fragile body will shatter if he makes any sudden moves. he presses kisses all over your tear-stained face, fixing your crooked glasses as his hips cant into you, mushroom tip leaking precum at how nicely you’re starting to open up for him, and he tells you as such, whispering sweet words into your ear and feeling you cling to him in response.

he hates how overcome with endearment he is by you, watching you sniffle and mewl cutely while he rubs at your puffy, sensitive clit, losing yourself in the pleasure. if it was anyone else’s cunt that took him this well, clenched him so tightly, he wouldn’t have been able to stop himself from blindly chasing his own release, but all your pretty noises and expressions make him want to take his time and savor you, anything to keep you feeling good.