#there's more torment for poor Micolash

[fareehaandspaniards]

I JUST LOVE HOW MICOLASH IS THE ONE FED UP WITH THE ALL THE BS FOR ONCE

THIS BITCH TORMENTS HALF THE FANDOM WITH HIS AWOO-ING BUT HE CAN’T HANDLE BOBER 💀💀💀💀

[katyspersonal]

Hey I explored Yahar’gul the other day and I got reminded of smt and idk if we talk about it before.

But it’s about the kids. 

Well lil reminder for people. We know some of the corpses in the chairs of Yahar’gul and the nightmare of Mensis are too small to be foreigners. So euh why do you think they were kids around Mensis & Micolash?

(like the kid here sorry I can't find better pic for now)

I got severals ideas. To put it simply, I wouldn’t be surprised if Mensis took under their wings the kids of Yhahar’gul or even some orphans of Yharnam (that nobody wanted or care) or more simply the children of members from Mensis and indoctrinated the poor lads into their cult as well. (Yes I can picture Mico giving math classes to little kids now, help). 

Don't you worry, /I/ have a better picture >:3

+ The interesting detail about it is that little corpses, presumed children, do not have shackles unlike the adult ones:

Hypogean Gaol literally means 'underground jail' and well, there are jailcells, so maybe these people were literal prisoners! Not to mention the vehicles you find deeper in Yahar'gul being for transporting prisoners!

If you remember, my theory was that Choir used children (orphaned children, specifically!) because they have had a higher chance of being heard by the Great Ones, as well as perceiving them on their own because Great Ones wanted to adopt children, unable to have their own. (According to Miyazaki himself, the general idea is that the more developed species always have less children, so maybe the most developed species could not have any at all, as immortal and perfect beings!) School of Mensis might have had the similar motivation for involving children in it - they would have had a better "connection" with Great Ones, and perhaps attract Great Ones to descend better! Maybe those Amygdalas played with them and let them ride their backs all the time xDDD Lack of shackles on the children does make me think that they were willing, whether it is because Micolash can talk to children (whereas adults will recognize his "bad vibes" fsdhfsd), because they were roped from such a young age they don't know any better or both. Maybe he promised them all a new mom.

Micolash does have shackles himself, though, which is extra interesting because like,... did he need them? My only guess was that he had to restrict himself, expecting pain or instinctive urge to run away. Maybe he was much more scared than we think, which I doubt because the cage is suppressing such urges, so I bet on expected torment. So, again, likely that children had it easier as Great Ones favour them!

^^^ But also, not all children were involved, apparently? The crowds of petrified people in Yahar'gul do have some little boys! I have roughly three ideas:

1) These children were of other kidnapped people, so, not orphaned! Thus, not really fitting the right emotion of loneliness and yearning for a parent that resonates with the Great Ones.

2) It is possible that School of Mensis separated from the Choir, since Damian and Micolash are using Choir tools. They might have also taken many orphans from their Orphanage with them, so they were already subjected to be the "secret thinkers"! (Also imagine every other time some kid gets orphaned, Choir and Mensis having a goddamn competition to snatch them xD)

3) Micolash only really picked children that have shown the "potential". Not everyone will be perceptive of 'smart' ideas about higher plane, ascension etc; even among children some people just do not trust such things or not understand them!

Maybe it is a combination of all three, but I am leaning towards number 1! I do think that the factor of despair was important for people that School of Mensis used. So, prisoners already had their willpower broken, and orphaned children were desperate and lonely. Again - Yahar'gul definitely had a little too many people kidnapped, many are just stuck there petrified without being used in a ritual or having cages. Perhaps Yahar'gul's kidnapped basically everyone, and then Micolash was picking out those he seemed fit for "further use", or "worthy of ascension" rather than leaving them be just a cattle. But of course the other kidnapped people could not just go home, since they've seen too much now.

Not gonna lie, I feel a pit in my stomach after writing this one for some reason. Yeah, my conclusion is a combination of children (especially orphaned) having the best connection with the Great Ones and Micolash cherry-picking the 'intelligent', 'worthy' people. I suspect that not all prisoners were picked, either. I also headcanon Gehrman and Rom as having been orphans, so when it is not one thing (age) it is the other (deeply rooted loneliness since childhood). I just.. well, it is kinda disturbing, isn't it