#imagining a fucked up nativity set where it's not even a barn it's a blood-streaked shuttle interior

[fortjester]

an angle that i can't remember anybody pointing out abt Gideon re: christ allegory is the idea of Wake as Mary conscious of what her role entails. Mary conscious of and accepting of the sacrifice her child will be used for.

she's visited by one of god's lyctor's – directly contacted by Mercymorn with an opportunity – and outside her interactions w G1deon, she's the only one of them Wake ever meets. in the bible, the angel who visits Mary is the same angel that directs the wise men to seek Mary and Jesus out in Jerusalem, which adds a more sinister parallel to Mercy being the one to direct G1deon to Wake's location over the Ninth.

Wake has no direct interaction with John/God until after she’s already dead, and therefore Gideon’s conception is, like Mary’s conception of Jesus, almost completely separate from God at all, except that the resulting child will be his biologically (or spiritually in Jesus’ case).

she takes a literal journey while heavily pregnant to reach the Ninth, and has to give birth in less than ideal conditions and surroundings. and the story diverges further from there, because instead of being visited and given gifts for her child’s birth, she’s attacked, betrayed, and murdered before she can complete the mission she did any of this for.

(one could argue that G1deon and Pyrrha’s role in this allegory is both that of the wise men (keeping up three separate identities = three wise men right? g1deon, pyrrha, and the Saint of Duty all visited on her in one form. much to think on) – but also of Joseph (especially given Pyrrha tells John in HTN that she didn't tell him abt Wake's pregnancy because she assumed the child was hers, and upon finding out Gideon isn't hers, she's obviously conflicted abt it, but inevitably settles on wanting to be a parent/parental figure to her despite the truth and the complexities of Wake's actions) but that’s just a whole Can of Worms, because we know very little of what actually went down during their interaction leading up to the airlock, so we’ll just let the concept lie there for the moment.)

Wake conceives, carries, and gives birth to Gideon, the distanced but biological child of God, knowing she’ll be used as a sacrifice, knowing through trial and error that the only viable method for this plan to work is through carrying the child herself. she does it all under the faith that if she does it all correctly, if she works hard enough, toughs it out, it will all be worth it. arguably, she never sees the Tomb fully opened, but she sees it breached.

another fun tidbit from this train of thought is the idea that her niece is named Our Lady of the Passion, a tangential name for the Virgin Mary in some sects of catholicism. beyond death, Wake’s belief in her mission to rid the universe of John and the Houses, her passion, as it were, is once again present in Pash, who is not exactly present when the Tomb is opened, but is around and conscious enough of her connections and roles to realise her dang cousin is also hanging around on the same planet her aunt died on. excited to see whatever dynamic she and Gideon develop in atn, Muir willing.