#misfortune's children ‖ Vincent.

[jacksintention]

.

[thegirlking]

Gilbert and Vincent's fate is so interesting and ironic.

They were doomed. Their relationship was doomed in the same way Oswald and Lacie's was. Gil was supposed to become Glen and execute Vincent, they were going to become yet another victim of the whole cruel cycle of the Glens and the Children of Misfortune.

And then they escaped that fate solely because of the Tragedy. Something so awful and devastating that almost destroyed the world and yet, in a horribly ironic way, removed two children from that cycle and resulted in them getting a second chance at living and being together.

Of course, I'm not saying the Tragedy was somehow a good thing for anyone. And of course, it's not like getting that second chance was enough to save Gil and Vincent - in fact, they only ended up even more messed up (especially Vincent with how he was manipulated in the events of the Tragedy and how much he wanted to destroy himself). And their relationship suffered because of it too - boy, was it unhealthy at times! But having the chance to both live, they also had the chance to save themselves and save their relationship. Which they eventually did.

It's just all so messed up and ironic, and such a fascinating take on what it means to be doomed by the narrative and to escape the narrative.

[fivekrystalpetals]

Core of the Abyss and 'her' Children of "Misfortune"

(aka I can't stop thinking how the Core always welcomed and reached out to the Children of "Ill-Omen"— just some observations)

So, once again quoting Lacie's words from Retrace 101:

Yes, always alone and lonely...without even knowing what loneliness is. Still, 'she' kept yearning.. for someone to push through the cold darkness and reach her. —'She' longed for 'someone' who could do that.

[Anyway I am ignoring everything the Glen(s) and the Jury ever said about the Core of the Abyss or the Children of Misfortune (because I don't trust them at all) —and taking only Lacie's theory here to be the truth,]

so, a few theories:

1] Break would have been drawn into the Core of the Abyss whether or not the Intention wanted his eyes

When his illegal seal finished a full turn, Break reached the Core of the Abyss unlike other illegal contractors who fall into the Abyss.

I had assumed this was possible only because the Intention of the Abyss herself summoned Break there so she could pluck out his red eyes for her blind Cheshire before he turns into a chain.

Even the other dolls mention this situation as unusual. The Intention never lets a human/illegal contractor into her room.

You don't usually bring humans here when they drop into the Abyss.

Meaning, the other illegal contractors on completing their contracts get dropped into the abyss and turn into chains without ever meeting the Intention for whatever they wished of her. So much for going through all this trouble lol

So, I imagined that only those whom the Intention permits could enter the Core of the Abyss (that is, her lovely toy room);

But.

Vincent does "waltz" into her "room" without any problem???

Now, I don't think Vince entered her room to purposely antagonize her as he usually did, because he was pretty shaken by all the bloodshed and massacre he just witnessed at Sablier. It was a coincidence and even he seemed shocked he was meeting White Alice in her "other" room when he was sure "Alice" had died in the real world. In fact, he wonders if there being another Alice and all the madness going on in the toy room was his fault as well...

Secondly, this is a feat none of the other older and more experienced Baskervilles could achieve, right?

All the surviving Baskervilles got swept into the Abyss during the Tragedy of Sablier. Yet not one of them came in contact with the Intention. They were only able to traverse the Abyss and come out at various points of time. They did not know what the Intention looked like; neither do any of them talk about actually having met her. They merely repeat what Xai or Glen told them that it was the sudden appearance of the Intention that changed the very configuration of the Abyss as they knew it before.

That's why I think the Intention's words are only partially true (but I don't think she realized this either).

That is, she does have complete control over who enters the Core of the Abyss/her room—

Except for the Children of Ill-Omen.

Because the Children of Ill-Omen are specifically birthed by the Core and are very precious to 'her', the Core wants them to reach out to 'her' at the very depth. So that whenever a Child of Ill-Omen falls into the Abyss willingly*, they are directly led to the Core that used to be a dark shapeless form during Lacie's time, but took on the form of a toy room after the Intention became its vessel.

Lacie insisted that she could see "someone" at the depth of the Abyss and that the "someone" couldn't answer her—

but of course, the Glens and Jury only regard the Core as something not to be touched or approached unless "a serious crisis occurs"

and every time the Core produces another Child of Ill-Omen, hoping, waiting, over and over again that they will reach out to 'her' at the very abyssal depth... instead, they are meted out the punishment of being dragged down by Black Chains and left to die in the very Abyss that wanted to cherish their company. They are being "returned" to the Core because of the misinformation/falsehood that the presence of a Red-Eyed child is an accidental distortion created by the Core and pose danger to the integrity of the world

whereas the actual reason is that Core just wants someone to help her not be lonely anymore.

See:

How sweet is it that the Core loved her toy so much that 'she' gave it a tiny spark of life and trembled in grief when 'she' hears that Lacie will never visit her again? ;_;

The Core never asked for the "ill-omened" children to be punished for being born; on the contrary, they are the ones most precious to her.

That's why I think they inevitably end up in the Core to keep 'her' company, whatever be the reason they fell into the Abyss in the first place, whether the completion of an illegal contract or being swept into the Abyss.

(willingly*: I mean, when the Child of Ill-Omen falls into the Abyss by any other means than being held down by the Black Winged Chains. Because Lacie could descend into the Core by herself but held down by the Black Chains, she could only wait out her permanent death.)

(Since Gil was with Vince, he too winded up in the Core, but he was not cognizant of his surroundings so that's a moot point anyway.)

2] That Break listens and commits himself to the one and only request of the Intention of the Abyss

This is in continuation to the first point; hence, kind of a paradoxical situation—

Because only a Child of Ill-Omen could have ever reached to the depth of the Abyss; and so, only a Child of Ill-Omen could have ever got to listen to her request at all.

But by the end of the story, (thanks to Lady Shelly, by the way, because if not for her, would Break have lived on to pass the Intention's desire to the kids? I don't think so), everyone came to know what the Intention really wanted and worked towards the goal.

So that, knowingly or otherwise, Break did fulfill his role as the bridge between the living world and the Core of the Abyss before his death.

As Leo asked of Vince in Retrace 104:

[mushroompollution]

Chapter 38: the Sablier Arc part 4

chapters: 35 || 36 || 37

read the manga: (coming soon lol)

This Chapter opens on a flashback of Gilbert's life before meeting Oz, over 100 years ago, when he and Vincent lived alone together on the streets. Society had labeled Vincent a Child of Misfortune, a bad omen, because of his one red eye, and the pair had been abandoned at a very young age.

Back in the hedge maze of his memory world, Gilbert's head pounds again. But he tries to ignore that, reminding himself to focus on Oz and dispel the illusion. But as he sees the ghost of his childhood self run past again, Gil wonders if he really wants to grt rid of the illusion, or follow his memories and regain what he'd forgotten. Hadn't he always wanted to know who he served before Oz?

He walks on and suddenly sees a tiny child Vincent plucking roses from the hedges, and Gilbert's head aches again.

Just then, his left hand twitches and aches, the way it always does when Oz uses the B-Rabbit's power that Gil was supposed to have sealed away.

Similarly, in her own memory world, Alice senses her power being used without her. She hears Oz's voice calling out to her. She looks back at the ghosts of Jack and herself, then approaches them and waves her hands right through their forms. Confirming that these are just fragments of memories and not actual pieces of Jacks soul that could be interacted with, Alice says goodbye to the ghosts and runs to try and find Oz.

Back in his little memory bubble, Gilbert recognizes the feeling of Oz using the B-Rabbit Chain's power, and also remembers when Jack had told him that Oz wouldn't need Raven sealing its power any longer.

And if Oz doesn't need him, what is Gilbert supposed to do? His head pounds again, but he's been trying his hardest to block his forgotten memories.

He finally admits to himself that he's afraid. Afraid that Oz won't need him anymore, afraid of losing his place in the world. He says it feels as if Oz is heading toward a bright, sunny future and leaving him behind in the darkness of his past.

As Gilbert falls to his knees and grabs his head in agony, Jack Vessalius rounds a corner of the maze and approaches him. Unlike the ghost of a memory Alice had found, this is a fragment of Jack's actual soul, and he says he's surprised and happy it was Gil who found him.

Desperately wanting confirmation that his connection to and desire to serve Oz is fate, Gilbert begs Jack to tell him that, in his life 100 years ago, Jack was the master he had sworn to serve.

And Jack says nope.

But Gilbert had faced Glen to protect Jack and was stabbed in the back. He says that Gilbert was heart broken that he couldn't protect Jack, and so he'd thought it better if Gil forgot and just served Oz.

Then we see a memory of Gilbert and Vincent as children on the street.

Back at the Nightray mansion, miles and miles from Sablier, Vincent stares wistfully out a window. He remembers a conversation with Lottie Baskerville, before he'd sent her and Zwei to Sablier. Lottie asks why Vince never comes to Sablier, and if it's because he has memories he doesn't want to face.

Then we see a memory of Vincent as a child. Jack had cut his bangs, telling him he no longer needed to hide his red right eye. And then another memory, this one of Alice, and another, mysterious woman.

[ahhvernin]

My brain is so full of Vanitas no Carte and Pandora Hearts that it just wants to write a whole god damn essay supporting the idea that the two series are connected and that Babel Incident also triggered a slight error and destabilization of the inter dimension that is known as a the Abyss, where all other time lines stem from. ie the rewrite attempted to created a favorable observable outcome for Paracelsus but in doing so but lead to the destruction of a city and many other cataclysmic events and an unseen almost genetic like processing error to the Abyss. The creation of vampires could've been "contemporary" to when Children of misfortune appeared in the PH world as they too are outside the original formula and the Jury's tale.

But I haven't read PH in years and I'm in the process of reading Vanitas. So no essay for me ..... Yet..maybe.

But there feels like there's so many potential world linkages and similar themes that it would be fun to. Like how Xai and Jack seem to carry many similarities to the Shapeless one. And how, I know its an Easter Egg to PH fans, but the names "Vincent and Gilbert" reappear in Vanitas and Vanitas is as bombastic as Vincent and stoic and Gilbert.

And if we learned anything from PH is that history tends to repeat itself in different ways.

[kitxkatrp]

[White Rabbit to Vincent] "Sure. I'll be your friend." Once more she'd pat him on the head, ruffling his hair just a smidgen. Always.... It was always the children labeled as misfortune.... Though she didn't mind. It set her consciousness at ease to be able to be there for them in some capacity.

"In that case, Miss Rabbit--" He beamed and then suddenly--

Held his arms out for her. "Up!"

...He wanted to be picked up.

[ask-mtbg]

FNaF Characters!

This post is meant to detail my FNaF Characters you may ask! There's about 8 of them so go feral!

Name: Mike Schmidt [1993]

Birthday: August 8th, 1975

Voice: New York™ Incarnate

Job: Security Guard at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza

Traits: Snarky, go-getter and overconfident.

likes: His days off, coffee, and keeping things simple.

dislikes: Complexities, The Missing Children, (and ofcourse) his job.

closest with: Phone Guy

hatred of: Vincent

story: An 18-year-old Mike Schmidt took up the Autumn Opening job spot as a guard at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza to make money as a new College Freshman, what he couldn't guess is what spiral it would lead him down. Due to losing his ID Card a while back, Micheal Afton had long made his way under his name. Otherwise, he's what you'd expect from a nightguard - Grumpy!

Name: Jeremy Fitzgerald [1987]

Birthday: November 11th, 1971

Voice: Childish and Kiddie

Job: Nightguard at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza

Traits: Childish, naïve, happy-go-lucky.

closest with: Phone Guy and Vincent!

hatred of: Nobody!

weaknesses/fears: Short-term memory loss.

story: This was thee victim from The Bite of '87. He's still a nightguard, albiet without the capability to plan ahead, alongside having to relearn how to speak and walk again. The only thing keeping him from being paralyzed is the fact that his frontal lobe has been replaced by a "Robotic Substitute Lobe", and yet he's still slowly dying to the injury. He was just a High School Sophomore trying to make money after running from his argumentative parents who argued so much, they actually forgot to take care of their own child. Atleast some form of a happy ending is rooted as although he now only has 14 years to live, Phone Guy and Vincent adopted him as a type of child.

Name: Luke [2017]

Birthday: March 2nd, 2000

Voice: Raspy and deep

Job: Nightguard at Fazbear's Fright.

Traits: Straightforward, laidback and basic.

closest with: Mike Schmidt [2017]

hatred of: Fritz Smith [2017]

weaknesses/fears: Phantoms / Ghosts

story: He's the nightguard of the Fazbear's Fright attraction, being a High School Senior, it was a mix of being dared to do it and also wanting a quick cash grab, he's known to smoke on the job and do other things he's not supposed to, but what are YOU gonna do? Tell William? He's dead! He's pretty chill, and doesn't often pay too much attention to his job, but he seriously is creeped out by the place sometimes.

Name: Fritz Smith [1983 / 1987]

Birthday: July 23rd, 1963.

Voice: Steve Harvey

Job: Nightguard at Fredbear's Family Diner.

Traits: Investigative, Curious and Just.

likes: Justice and Investigation.

closest with: Jeremy Fitzgerald

hatred of: William Afton

story: Also known as "The Guy who got fired on the First Day", he's known to be mysterious yet investigative, nobody truly knows why he got fired on the spot, but what is known is that he's probably digging deeper than he should be. Truth have it, he's been investigating the mystery of the Missing Five, and each night, he slowly gets closer to learning - and exposing - the truth.

Name: Eggs Benedict [1983]

Birthday: October 7th, 1968(?)

Voice: Ellis from L4D2.

Job: Nightguard and Mechanic at Circus Baby's Pizza World.

Traits: Extremely independent.

closest with: Ennard

hatred of: Ennard

abilities: Contains Ennard and isn't exactly human.

story: Eggs is pretty independent for someone his age, considering he's ageless, besides having the misfortune of sharing his name with an alias of Micheal Afton He still proves to be a good nightguard, however his position as someone with experience in mechanics and engineering mean he often is face to face with the animatronics - up close and personal! As the Nightguard and Mechanic of Circus Baby's Pizza World, he shares the alias of Micheal Afton, yet is NOT Micheal Afton, infact - he's claims to be a Highschool Freshman! His name comes from the fact that his organs are comprised mainly of Scrambled Eggs, Eggshells and Egg Yolk despite appearing to be a human. Otherwise he has quite the expertise in Mechanics and Engineering and will gladly repair any animatronic during the dayshift!

Name: Manager Wink [2017] Birthday: December 4th, 1993 Voice: Mr. Krabs Job: Manager of Freddy's Pizzeria and Diner in Hurricane, Flordia and "Heir" to the Afton fortune, and therefore Fazbear Entertainment. Alongside managing Fazbear's Frights horror attraction (which, co-exists with Freddy's Pizzeria and Diner as it also exists in Hurricane, Flordia.) Traits: Greedy, bossy and demanding. likes: Money. Any kind. Euros, Yen, Yuan, bust most especially United States Dollars. dislikes: Anyone who dares to question him. closest with: Nobody! hatred of: Vincent in specific. abilities: Random Human Combustion followed by Regeneration. story: Since William's out of town, this guy has taken the lead, nobody knows if William even gave him permisson, but what is known is that he LOVES money. What's also known is that he's the manager of Fazbear's Frights, he's also opposing Micheal Afton whilst still being a greedy grouch.

Reports say that Manager Wink is NOT a human, but rather some form of an anomaly, apparently, with Micheal Afton's death, he's taken charge, an issue being that he and his restaurant will always randomly combust every 5 days.

Name: Phone Guy! Voice: No duh, the Phone Guy from FNaF? Job: Phone Guy and Nightguard for Fazbear Entertainment. Traits: Timid, composed and (cowardly) instructional. closest with: The Nightguards! (really, anyone but Manager Wink!) hatred of: Vincent. abilities: His phonehead is acctually toggable! weaknesses/fears: His job. story: Hello? Hello? Despite "dying" to Cassidy, he's back! He now wears a phonehead to trick her into thinking he's already dead, in reality, this phonehead can come off and on, but try this - it works as an actual phone too!

Name: Phone Dude! Voice: Phone Dude from FNaF3. (no duh.) Job: Phone Guy and Co-Founder of Fazbear's Fright. Traits: Laidback, non-serious, horny. likes: Flirting, video-games, anything horror-related. dislikes: The consequences of his actions. closest with: Manager Wink hatred of: Nobody! story: PD is like if PG was a hip dude. He literally has the nickname "Cool Dude". Unfortunately, he's 19, and a hopeless romantic. Constantly flirty towards anyone he finds hot enough. Otherwise, he's chill as fuck.

Name: VR Man Voice: Timid, I'd say Tweek from South Park? Job: Beta tester for Fazbear Entertainment Traits: Timid, cowardly, on the lamb. likes: Video-games, coding, "GETTING THIS THING OFF ME?!" closest with: Nobody! hatred of: Glitchtrap abilities: That VR Headset is stuck on him. weaknesses/fears: That VR Headset is stuck on him. Also Glitchtrap's looking for him. story: One of Glitchtrap's Victims, this poor soul was able to escape, yet the VR Headset has become stuck to his head - try to take it off, and both you and him get electrocuted! - besides that, he's just some poor beta tester who is now probably hunted by both Glitchtrap and possibly Vanny.

Name: Vincent (no full name, although he often signs as "Vincent A. Orwells") Voice: Intimidative, and clearly threatining. Job: Security guard at Fazbear Entertainment's many locations... fired in 2016. Traits: Mischevious, flirty, and overall a troublemaker. likes: Not remorsing over the fact he chopped up and buried 5 children, baking and Phone Guy's 15-inch-monst- WHAT THE FUCK dislikes: The material known as "Agony" and "Remnant", William winning the "Child Murdering Spree Contest", and William Afton. closest with: Phone Guy (yeah, Vincent, what the fuck was that comment.) hatred of: Fritz Smith abilities: He can paint his skin purple...? weaknesses/fears: The 5 Children he murdered coming back to haunt him. (luckily he isn't William so...) story: Often confused for William Afton, Vincent actually opposes William by keeping score of who has committed more gruesome murders. Besides that, he's quite the fan of toast, is constantly hunted by his fangirls, and most importantly - has been fired as of 2016!

THANK YOU FOR READING.

[sorrowsofasoul]

My dear Theo

A caged bird in spring knows perfectly well that there is some way in which he should be able to serve. He is well aware that there is something to be done, but he is unable to do it. What is it? He cannot quite remember, but then he gets a vague inkling and he says to himself, “The others are building their nests and hatching their young and bringing them up,” and then he bangs his head against the bars of the cage. But the cage does not give way and the bird is maddened by pain. “What a idler,” says another bird passing by - what an idler. Yet the prisoner lives and does not die. There are no outward signs of what is going on inside him; he is doing well, he is quite cheerful in the sunshine.

But then the season of the great migration arrives, an attack of melancholy. He has everything he needs, say the children who tend him in his cage - but he looks out, at the heavy thundery sky, and in his heart of hearts he rebels against his fate. I am caged, I am caged and you say I need nothing, you idiots! I have everything I need, indeed! Oh! please give me the freedom to be a bird like other birds!

A kind of idler of a person resembles that kind of idler of a bird. And people are often unable to do anything, imprisoned as they are in I don't know what kind of terrible, terrible, oh such terrible cage.

I do know that there is a release, the belated release. A justly or unjustly ruined reputation, poverty, disastrous circumstances, misfortune, they all turn you into a prisoner. You cannot always tell what keeps you confined, what immures you, what seems to bury you, and yet you can feel those elusive bars, railings, walls. Is all this illusion, imagination? I don't think so. And then one asks: My God! will it be for long, will it be for ever, will it be for eternity?

Vincent Van Gogh - 1880

[fiction-is-god]

Alright I’m assuming none of you mind spoilers

Going chronologically cuz it’s easier to understand this way probably

In the beginning, the jurors were there. They created this universe and a bunch of other ones, and they mostly hold control over the residents.

Except the children of misfortune

Now, it really all begins with the baskervilles. With most children of misfortune, a glen is created close to them, as a sibling or something similar. They are then brought into the baskerville family, and the glens will keep inheriting the chains of the previous glen, and kill the child of misfortune close to them.

Baskervilles usually live a long life, but for glens, that life is rather painful.

Towards the end, their bodies disintegrate, and while still conscious, the bodies of the glens are turned into a chain.

And the story of sablier starts with the Glen, Levi, the glen-to-be, Oswald, and Oswald’s sister, Lacie.

And of course, Jack.

Jack is a illegitimate child of the Vessalius dukedom, and he is a Very Traumatized and Insane person. When Lacie found him, he was living on the streets, just looking for something to give him a will to live.

And Lacie was just the thing.

She gave him a reason to keep living, but she wasn’t a particularly healthy influence either. Jack became obsessed with Lacie, and did everything he could to see her again. He sold his body, did dirty work, and eventually worked his way up to be a part of the Vessalius family

And then he came to the baskerville mansion, and him, Lacie, and Oswald became friends of sorts.

But, as mentioned previously, Jack was insane, and Lacie had to die as per baskerville tradition.

Now, another factor comes into play: Levi

Levi craves chaos, and there really isn’t a lot he balks at doing. Before Lacie had to get casted down into the abyss, Levi proposed an experiment: to get Lacie pregnant and see if it was possible for children to get born in the abyss

And that’s how the Alice twins were born

And once Lacie got sent into the abyss, Levi went after Jack.

Levi told Jack about the chains that surrounded the world, and that if he destroyed them, the world would be sent into the abyss. And Jack, being Jack, wanted to bring the beautiful world Lacie loved so much to her.

Now, the Alice twins had been born, and since time is wonky in the abyss, they came out being like 11 years old, but only one of them came out.

They can swap consciousness, but only one Alice’s body went to the physical realm.

Oz is the stuffed rabbit of Lacie and the Alice twins, and being in close contact with the abyss gave him a consciousness. Alice named him after Oswald.

Jack knew about Levi’s experiment (Oswald didn’t), so he knew the connection Lacie had with them. It was around here too that Gilbert and Vincent showed up at the Baskervilles

And all throughout these months (?), Jack had been plotting how to destroy the chains, notably with Miranda Barma, who was obsessed with Oswald. Jack promised her Oswald’s head to get her help.

I don’t remember this part very well, but I think Jack received the b-rabbit chain, Oz, from the Alice twins. Vincent was being manipulated by Miranda also I think

one thing led to another, and on the day when Gilbert was supposed to receive his first chain, the Raven, Jack struck.

The chains started to crumble, and everything went to shit

Oswald tried to concentrate all of the destruction to sablier, and since people who died via abyss would be turned into chains, he ordered a massacre to save the residents from a fate worse than death.

Jack didn’t want that. Jack wanted the world to go down, so Lacie could enjoy it. And they fought, and Oswald died

Oz was being used to kill people, and he hated it. He was screaming out in pain, and Alice heard.

Jack wanted to use Alyss to continue with his destruction, but Alice refused. She didn’t want Oz to hurt anymore, and she didn’t want Jack to destroy anything else, so in order to prevent Alyss from going in her body, she killed herself.

And then sablier collapsed, Gilbert, Vincent, and a few others were sent into the abyss, Jack escaped and spun a tale with him as the hero, but due to close contact with the abyss, Jack would be stuck in a cycle of getting younger, then older, and every time he completed this cycle, a bit of his soul would be lost

And here we come to the main plot.

Jack told Oz’s dad, Xai, that their child would be stillborn, and to take him and use him as a replacement child. Oz’s soul was in Jack, and soon, there wouldn’t be enough of Jack’s soul for him to be in control of the body.

So Oz was raised normally (except for the fact that his father despised him), and a few years later, Gilbert popped out of the abyss, and he became Oz’s servant.

And at Oz’s coming of age ceremony, the baskervilles came, and Oz was yeeted into the abyss

(This is really tiring to type I get what you mean by the brain melting summaries now)

And Oz pops out 10 years later with Alice

At this point, we have several people from sablier in present time, but none of them remember who they were before.

So they go on adventures, Oz makes a ‘contract’ with Alice and slowly, Oz begins to regain his powers, and Jack gets more and more control.

Things happen, and then we meet two new people, Elliot Nightray and Leo, Elliot’s valet.

The nightray family is struggling with the Headhunter, who has killed many members of the family and attempted to kill more.

Elliot has a strong sense of justice, and he proclaims that he will. Find the headhunter. And bring whoever it is to justice

And now we turn back

One time, Elliot and Leo were rescuing some kids who wandered too far into the pit of Sablier

And Elliot almost died.

Humpty Dumpty, the chain Levi turned into, was there, and thinking Elliot was a threat, it stabbed Elliot right through.

And Leo’s a baskerville, but he didn’t fully understand that yet. But the chain told him, if he wants Elliot to be saved, have Elliot make a contract with him

And Leo does. He tells Elliot to drink humpty’s blood, and call its name

And Humpty Dumpty is a chain that alters your memories.

All along, Elliot has been the headhunter. Humpty made him kill anyone that seemed like a threat to Leo, and he never knew.

At Isla Yura’s mansion, Elliot finds out, and tries to break the contract, but it’s too late.

It’s far, far too late for him, and the seal had already progressed so far that any injury the chain received would be passed on to Elliot.

The thing is, Elliot has a strong sense of justice.

If he rejected the chain, he would most certainly die at this point. But in his eyes, rejecting the chain was the only option he had. All of his friends were battling Humpty Dumpty, and he didn’t want to force the pressure of killing him onto anyone else.

And then comes one of the most heartbreaking scenes in pandora hearts

(I’m sorry I can’t type like this anymore it’s way too exhausting but anyways shit happens and it’s a huge chain domino effect and you should really read it it’s great)

Anyone reading this please feel free to add on and fix whatever I misremembered

WTF was even Pandora Hearts ? All I remember is it’s about a guy who was not really a guy but a plush rabbit toy turned into a guy somewhat, who teams up with a tsundere rabbit girl he brought back from the Abyss outside of time, who is the twin sister of a Goddess who spent eons alone in a tower and was a bit unhinged. Also there was a serial killer at some point and this arc was so boring. Oh, and everything had been orchestrated by some faceless entities who control the flow of time and wanted to exterminate poeple with red eyes because they are immuned to their storytelling.

Like, for real, what was even Pandora Hearts ? Feels like a fever dream I made up with my freinds when I was in high school.

[aweslasharc]

more or less random ph stuff i drew recently

[jacksintention]

I can't with the previous post. It's just so good applied to Levi, Lacie, Oswald and even Jack.

Levi has his hands tied by the Baskerville system that is a sort of scam by the Jurors‚ like every Glen. But he says "let's just create a change" and gives a will to the Core. And he does so with the full intention of changing the narrative, if just to avoid the boredom of spending eternity watching the same thing happen over and over again from a sit in someone else's mind.

Lacie goes along with it because of her desire to ease the Core's loneliness, but in her idea of the children of misfortune being a consequence of this loneliness and her feelings of doubt or reservations, perhaps, revealed even before the tree scene in the scene in which she talks about this with Oswald, we could interpret this as her desire to end the existence of the children of misfortune and thus the cycle.

Jack plays into this in his attempt to take the "real" world to the "Abyss" world, but when he most consciously twists the narrative the Jurors had settled was when he intently made the decision to take the power from the Baskervilles. And I do think it has to do with ending the very system that doomed Lacie and Oswald and he deemed cruel and like torture, but mainly it is so that no one would interfere with him in the future.

Oswald tries to destroy the new narrative Jack has or is creating first by trying to stop him, but later on by trying to stop Levi's schemes before everything happened, resettling the narrative he was controlled and doomed by, serving still as their tool. And then he literally faces the truth, in the most explicitly way no one ever has been told this in that "real" world before, and threatens to kill the instigators of that narrative. And then just renounces, in a lack of action that is him at his most active ("not with a bang but a whimper", how fitting is that?!!!).

Ultimately there is a middle ground but the narrative is changed for good. For better or worse. With uncertain future consequences. But it is changed, and it feels kinder. And as a thank you the source of every narrative, the ink and paper of the narrative, lulls someone who shouldn't have existed but changed the world to sleep by telling him a different story. Because that's it. They're stories, and Oz deserved to go with a kinder one, because the ink and paper of the narrative loves him. And it's so interesting how that works metanarratively too. The author tells the story, but the author tells the reader a story about the stroy telling a softer version of the story, so that the reader too will get it alongside Oz. That works on several levels and it's so so interesting.

[potatoodles]

Children of Ill Omen

[fivekrystalpetals]

Glen, Children of Misfortune, Juries and the Baskervilles

[When I say Glen, I am referring all Glens- past and present: Levi, Oswald, Gil and Leo. Hella lot of lore is here that I wanna write about ;-; so I might divide this into different posts let's see. Also fair warning: I might criticize Oswald's actions-past and present- a bit, since I love looking at characters from an unbiased pov. Also, maybe some characters' past actions in order to point to their character development so that too.]

[ Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 ]

4] Oswald and Lacie

Truth be told, Oswald has always been “passive”. He doesn’t know what he really wants. He had already been training to become the next Glen (ref: Part 1) and it was drilled into his mind that he was to cast Lacie into the Abyss right from the beginning. He doesn’t question this rule.

Not even when Lacie hints that the purpose of the existence of a Child of Ill-Omen might not be what it is said to be (Retrace 101):

And his answer to this theory of hers is:

You are not crazy. If that’s the answer you came to, it is doubtlessly the truth for you.

That’s… that’s not the right response to it!!!

“The truth for you,” he says, basically responding: “Oh if what you say makes you happy, then so be it. But the truth is different.” (No! It is not!)

Why won’t he grasp at straws to save her if he loved her and cared about her? Why won’t he even try to research the possible truth of her words? Why won’t he at least make an attempt to stop the needless execution of his dear sister? Lacie has grown up beside him; what great ‘threat’ did she cause to the condition of the Abyss in all those years she was alive? But he doesn’t dare question any of it; he simply, quietly, “passively” goes ahead with what was asked of him.

[Whereas, in Retrace 91/92, it’s proven Lacie had been right all along. Nothing like Child of “Ill-Omen” exists and all of those lies had been set down as “rules” for the Juries’ selfish purposes.]

Again, I’d also, well not exactly excuse him, but, as Oz and Break say, there is always the chance that he couldn’t have known the truth about the Child of Ill-Omen. Not until after Lacie had died and perhaps, during his short stint as Glen, he must have come to realize that the Jury had more to do with this affair than met the eye, the reason why he brought along Vincent to the final Gate in the last Arc.

.

Okay, but this aside, his response to her every word is always so... resigned?

See, Retrace 72:

Why does Lacie have to be the one to do this? She is the sinner here, your prisoner due to be executed in five days; why would you ask something like this of her? If Oswald truly wanted Lacie to survive, he should have been the one to tell Jack everything and ask him to take her away with him if he can't protect her anymore. But he keeps quiet.

(He does regret this, in Retrace 101.)

I chose being the head of Baskervilles over being Lacie's older brother. And yet I did not drive Jack away, even after I realized how twisted he had become.

He is ruthless in some places, soft in some. Like if he was ruthless to Lacie, he'd have been the same to Jack as well. The reason he was not, because that was the only way he could be soft on himself and lessen his own guilt.

Continuing from there, (Retrace 73), Lacie is the one to apologize for being "too harsh on him" and then goes on to tell how she has never regretted being born with red eyes or living in this world. "I love this world," she says.

Okay, this is a panel of so many contradictions, you know. Oswald says Lacie is strong, but she disagrees and says she is "ten times more cynical than other people."

Both of them are wrong.

Lacie was neither strong nor cynical. She was scared. Yes, scared. Terrified. Lacie was terrified of dying, of being cast into the Abyss, so terrified that she woke herself up from nightmares of their first day at the Baskerville estate, of learning her fate from the Jury and Glen...

....just mere days before her execution: (Retrace 67/68)

I am going off a tangent to do a quick character analysis of Lacie (I will do a longer one later, but just this one aspect of her characterization) that both Oswald and Jack had the wrong impression of Lacie. Oswald assumed her to be so strong that she could shoulder the burden of loneliness and death all by herself. He assumed she didn't want to live any longer, that she had already seen so much and experienced all that the world has to offer that she no longer had any more worldly desires. In short, he saw her as some sort of motherly saint.

As for Jack, she is his Dream Girl to put it simply. At the most depressing and most vulnerable point of his life, when he chanced to meet such a vibrant girl like Lacie, he latched onto her for his life, absorbed every word she uttered, learnt the song she sang once on a whim and sang nothing but that for the next eight years. The casual advice she gave him as a turbulent, rebellious and frivolous teenager... okay, but, let's be real here. Lacie was simply spouting whatever came to her mouth atm in the name of 'advice'. She was passing time till her brother apologized to her and she'd be brought back home. She most probably didn't think Jack, being one of a kind, would accept her words so literally that he obeys them verbatim, even if he was disgusted by what he was forcing himself to do. He put her on a sky high pedestal that he was scared to even touch her lest she loses her "magic" in his mind. That's also the reason why he never questions her lie (her lie about the Succession Ceremony) because he was scared whatever image he had of her might shatter if he pressed on. (Yeah, I gotta write a longer post about Jack's and Lacie's relationship, bc it's one of the most fucked-up yet tragic, most hollow yet sincere relationships if ever there was one)

I guess, of all people, as sad as it is, only Levi got to see her at her most vulnerable? (Retrace 68):

Neither Oswald nor Jack have seen her like this—a scared girl, full of loneliness and regrets of not being able to live longer. And yet, when Levi casually mentions about her death in another five days, she grins as if she's looking forward to it. Which, in reality, is just a mask to cover her terror.

Why I am saying this is—as context for Oswald's line "I shall be lonely if you disappear" and her midnight walk later to the tree where the three of them used to hang out. Lacie says big things like I love this world, I love the Abyss, even when Levi asked her to assist his 'experiment', her only query was if the Abyss won't be lonely anymore,,, but she doesn't let her own loneliness or regrets to surface. She bottles up all of it. Why? Because she has to be strong for Oswald and pretend like she is taking all of this in stride to lessen his guilt.

Whereas Oswald does not ask her if she is alright. If she is lonely. If she is scared of being cast into the Abyss. If she wants to run away.

(In fact, if you see the hug, it's Lacie who is hugging Oswald in a comforting, motherly hug as if he's in greater need of comfort than her, because, of course, she must be completely, totally at terms with her Fate, right?)

In that regard, I am sure Jack would definitely have inquired after her if only he didn't place her on an otherworldly pedestal and realized things might go wrong with his Dream Girl too. Moreover and most importantly, Jack was kept in dark about most things connected to the Baskervilles and he had also promised not to dig too much if he was only allowed to meet Lacie. So I won't blame him for not pressing when she lied. He must have assumed it's Something Baskerville Ritual, not that it'd be something that'd directly affect his Lacie.

But Oswald is her big brother. Oswald knows everything about the Baskervilles. He is going to become the next Glen. Yet... he does nothing, asks nothing. Almost like Oswald had long given her up for dead. Like he can't do anything for her anymore whereas she is still alive and chatting right there with him.

He is always thinking of the days after she'd be gone, and never ever gives any thought to their present.

Remember Rufus Barma's words from Retrace 86 and I must agree:

You speak as if you've already given up.

Exactly. As I said in Part 1 of this long essay, Oswald was the full-fledged Glen when he cast Lacie into the Abyss. With the title of Glen, even if he simply brushes aside the rules and sets new ones for his reign, who could possibly question him? He had five black-winged chains of the Abyss in his possession. The Juries might protest,, but if Lacie is there, they can't do anything. They are scared of the Child of Misfortune.

Even Leo points this out correctly:

He is always waiting for someone with a stronger will to come help him out of problems he needs to solve on his own.

In his penultimate appearance, he finally, finally, takes a decision and drops his sword. He decides to not kill his sister a second time. And, immediately, people who have always cared for him (if only he ever gave them a chance) gather around him to assure him that he had done well, done enough.

Well, tl;dr, what I am trying to say is that Oswald should have stuck firmly to his decision whatever it was. If he had cast Lacie into the Abyss, then he should have dealt with the consequences appropriately. If he had stopped her execution, then he should have been strong enough to face off the Juries. Whatever his decision, he should have been thorough with it instead of being half-hearted, passive and resigned about everything.

Ending this loooong essay (;_;) on a funny yet interesting note (this omake from Vol. 19) which presents the kind of Oswald I actually wanted to see. The premise might be absurd but he, for once, drops his air of resignation and faces off the Glen himself for his sister, going to the extent of dropping formality and addressing him by his name lol

[ Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 ]

[mushroompollution]

Chapter 39: the Sablier arc part 5

chapters: 35 || 36 || 37 || 38 ||

read the manga: imgur || mangaread (ad warning)

This chapter opens with Jack introducing Gilbert and Vincent to Alice as children. Vincent already hates how much Jack talks about her, and that feeling is only intensified when she immediately calls him a Child of Misfortune.

one day, Alice leans out of her tower and calls to Vincent that she had heard his brother had been killed by Glen. She explains that "Glen Baskerville" isn't human, but a collective. An undead spirit, passed down through hosts chosen by the Abyss.

Willing to do anything to save his brother, Vincent is lured by an undercover Duchess Miranda Barma. she tells him that he can save Gilbert if he interrupts the ceremony to transfer the first of Glen's Chains-- Raven-- he can delay the transfer of Glen's soul by 100 years. All Vincent has to do is open the door to Abyss at the right moment.

That moment is the Tragedy of Sablier

Back in the present, back at the Nightray Estate, Vincent sits on the floor and cries by himself, surrounded by cut up plushies as he makes a promise to Gilbert to return his past to him.

There's also a flashback of Jack and Glen. Gonna be honest w everybody I keep getting real burned out trying to write it but we're all cool moving along bsck to the present right? fantastic.

Anyway, as the more relevant characters continue their search for Gilbert and Alice, Elliot suddenly collapses.

and we cut back to Xerxes Break, casually enjoying a candy treat as he sits on a rocky ledge over the broken, but alive, bodies of the Baskervilles he's summarily beaten.

They discuss how similar Pandora and the Baskervilles goals for seeking the Will of the Abyss sound. Lottie says that Oz is a key that anyone beyond the Baskervilles would need to reach the Will, and that's why he was pushed into Abyss 10 years before.

Break asks, why not just kill the kid? Lottie explains that if Oz dies, Jack Vessalius will return to the world, the Will of the Abyss will chase after him, and the world would be further twisted and corrupted because of it.

Oz and the nerds spot a dazed and confused Gilbert. Oz runs up to him enthusiastically, but Gil looks at him with faraway eyes. He calls Oz "Master," which seems to shock Oz, but there's not really time to address that. Someone else approaches the group in the crater, someone they're all shocked to see.

[thevessaliuz]

So much to do when starting up a new rp-blog... I'm exhausted Still got to do the promo

[sun-warmth]

Two important PH characters; Core of the Abyss and Jack, were too obsessive over Lacie Baskerville... because she gave them the will to live for her sake... I felt that Lacie was underrated in PH fans community... because I see that they only praised her rarely. She’s my favorite character in PH! She’s the most important person because without her, there would be no trigger for the Tragedy of Sablier.