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offtorivendell · 3 months

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The Cauldron and its far reaching threads; who is susceptible to the puppet master, and how might it work?

Disclaimer: this is a massive crack theory that I have held off posting since June 2022, but fuck it I guess, let's go! This is not a shipping post.

As usual, I am absolutely NOT suggesting that anyone who is influenced by the Cauldron is inherently evil in any way. This is just a crack theory. If you can't interact respectfully, then please keep scrolling.

Spoilers: ACOTAR series to date, and massive character spoilers for River Song and the Ponds from Doctor Who (if you care about that) in part 2.

Part 1 - Cauldron Made Beings

This first section will be stating some of the obvious, as we know, per Amren in ACOSF, that Cauldron-Made beings are able to be influenced by the Cauldron, though the “how” is not yet clear. @wingedblooms has theorised extensively about the living bond that Elain Archeron may share with the Mother's crockpot, and I suspect that this bond may also tie (terrible pun, sorry) into how the Cauldron can exert control: by pulling the “bond” threads that connect it to its former inhabitants.

Cassian’s breath caught in his throat. “It was a fluke, Amren. Nesta didn’t make it on purpose.” Amren shook her head, hair swaying. “Nothing is a fluke. The Cauldron’s power flows through Nesta, and could use her as a puppet without her knowledge. It wanted those weapons Made, and thus they were Made. It wanted Rhysand to have them and thus the blacksmith brought them to you. - ACOSF, chapter 42

Finding the link would be basically impossible at this point, but I've previously mentioned that I wonder if the Cauldron's dark maker could be Koschei, or another death god/Daglan. To briefly rehash my thoughts: if there is a dark maker, it stands to reason there be a light maker, too… is it the Mother? Could Koschei be the dark mother that the Naga referred to in ACOTAR, as the terms “mother” and “maker” could demonstrate in-universe evolution of the same word? I've also previously theorised that Koschei may have been controlling the Cauldron through the King of Hybern/vice versa, and that is how the Elucien bond came to be, but this is not a shipping post, sorry!

As a quick aside, the above passage also makes me wonder if the Cauldron, or one of its hypothetical makers, wanted the Archeron sisters Made - it's something I've meant to post about, but I think Koschei has had a hand in things since Papa Archeron’s ship was lost at sea, at the very least. They are each a weapon in their own right, as Amren went on to state their powers match Rhys’ own. I know @nikethestatue has had similar thoughts. But I digress.

Look at the use of “bird in a cage” in the following passage, used to describe Nesta, which parallels nicely with Thesan’s use of decorative birds in cages as spies to listen in (thank you so much to @ladynightcourt3 for the first quote).

The amusement only grew, and Helion pushed a finger against his lips in mock warning. “Careful, High Lady. Even the birds report to Thesan here.” I frowned at the birds in cages throughout the room, still silent in Azriel’s shadowy presence. I threw shields around them, Rhys said down the bond. - ACOWAR, chapter 47

“Like calls to like,” Amren countered. “You were Made by the Cauldron. You may track other objects Made by it as well, as Briallyn can. And because you are Made by it, you are immune to the influence and power of the Trove. You might use them, yes, but they cannot be used upon you.” A glance to Elain. “Either of you.” Nesta swallowed. “I can’t.” But to let Elain involve herself, jeopardize her safety— Amren said, “You tracked the Cauldron—” “It nearly killed me. It trapped me like a bird in a cage.” Elain said, “Then I will find it. I might require some time to … reacquaint myself with my powers, but I could start today.” “Absolutely not,” Nesta spat, fingers curling at her sides. “Absolutely not.” - ACOSF, chapter 21

I think Nesta briefly (I hope, though who knows) became a puppet/shell for the Cauldron's puppet master - perhaps a death god such as Koschei, if @fawnandshadows is correct that he bastardised the Cauldron in some way, millennia ago (I think she's onto something) - and that's who we were seeing when she locked herself into her mind while scrying in ACOSF.

“Get her out, Rhys,” Cassian demanded. “Get her out now.” “I can’t,” he said softly, his power a cloak of stars and night around him. “I— The doors to her mind were open the other night. They’re shut now.” “She doesn’t want it seeing her. Or us,” Feyre said, her face tight. “She’s locked it out, but also locked herself in.” Cassian’s stomach twisted. “Nesta,” he said into her ear. “Nesta, open your hand and come back.” Her breathing sharpened. The cold deepened. “Nesta,” he snarled— And the cold halted. It didn’t vanish, but rather … stopped. Nesta’s eyes flicked open. Silver fire burned within. Nothing Fae looked out through them. Rhys shoved Feyre behind him. She shoved her way back to his side. But Nesta’s hand continued to squeeze Cassian’s. He squeezed back, let his Siphons send a bite of power into her skin. She turned her head so slowly it was like watching a puppet move. Her eyes met his. Death watched him. - ACOSF, chapter 31

I think a similar situation - though more high stakes/urgent - could come to play in Elain's book.

Elain is a Seer with mystical powers that are potentially tied to the Void.

She may try to See through mist and shadow, and accidentally make herself known to Koschei or another death god/Daglan?

In ACOSF, Nesta warned her to “stay away from the Cauldron,” and even Azriel suggested there was a darkness to the Dread Trove that “Elain should not be exposed to.” This, of course, makes many of us think that Elain will go after the Cauldron in her own book.

Could Elain mistakenly Look too far and open herself up to the Cauldron's living bond? That being said, it could simultaneously be using at least Jurian and Amren as well, and we have no idea if Made Fae who haven't been inside the Cauldron, such as Feyre and Miryam, are equally susceptible.

Part 2 - Not Made, yet possibly susceptible

I have been wondering for a while if the Cauldron can somehow form bonds, or weave threads, between itself and anyone exposed to it - or a part of it, when it was separated and hidden in different locations - for extended periods of time, or perhaps crucial ages, like somebody's formative years?

His mouth tightened, and he swallowed once before he said, “Hybern was looking for the Cauldron back then—for the pieces of its feet. One was hidden at the temple in Sangravah, its power used to fuel its priestesses’ gifts for millennia. - ACOSF, chapter 14

What if Gwyn - or anyone else - who grew up in Sangravah, a temple that housed one leg of the Cauldron, internalised some of the magic (sort of along the lines of River Song having regenerative abilities because Amy Pond fell/was pregnant while travelling on the TARDIS, and everything that happened after she was born - being taken away)?

All the High Priestesses wore the billowing, artfully twisted and layered robes—though they certainly were far from matronly. Ianthe’s slim waist was on display with a fine belt of sky-blue, limpid stones, each perfectly oval and held in shining silver. And atop her hood sat a matching circlet—a delicate band of silver, with a large stone at its center. A panel of cloth had been folded up beneath the circlet, a built-in swath meant to be pulled over the brow and eyes when she needed to pray, beseech the Cauldron and Mother, or just think. Ianthe had shown me once what the panel looked like when down: only her nose and full, sensuous mouth visible. The Voice of the Cauldron. I’d found the image unsettling—that merely covering the upper part of her face had somehow turned the bright, cunning female into an effigy, into something Other. - ACOMAF, chapter 2

@wingedblooms has suggested that priestesses could be influenced in general because they worship the triple goddess/divine trio, which follows along with what Feyre hinted at when thinking about Ianthe, all the way back in ACOMAF; that they opened themselves up to the divine during their services (in a similar way to how I imagine Elain's Sight may function). That being said, it's hard to say whether the priestesses at Cesere, Sangravah and Itica are more susceptible than their colleagues from other temples due to their prolonged proximity to the Cauldron’s feet, but I suspect it might be the case.

Could they have a deeper connection, or a bond of sorts?

One that remains even when they aren't communing with the Mother or the Cauldron?

One that may be accessed by the Cauldron or its Maker, for such nefarious purposes as letting in enemies to a library sanctuary?

Gwyn is likely already a lightsinger - please see @silverlinedeyes and @merymoonbeam for some brilliant posts that cover the basics of the theory and then some here, here, here, here and here - but if not, or maybe in addition to that, what if she was "Made-adjacent," and so also able to be used as a "puppet" by the Cauldron/the being controlling it, and thus any threads it may share with others? If accurate, this would work for anyone who was born, grew up, and/or lived for a long time in Sangravah, Cesere or Itica. To clarify, I don't think that these priestesses could call to or search for the the Cauldron, as they are likely not true “kin” - as, say, the Archeron sisters are to other Made items - but I could always be wrong about that. Or is this what lightsingers truly are?

Alternatively, what if every Singer (shadowsinger*, lightsinger, or any other type) was capable of the silent song, or had Made/Starborn powers in a way, and/or could be used as a "puppet" by the Cauldron or its master/maker? It would explain how Azriel's shadows could be used by someone else, maybe Koschei, thanks to the hypothetical living bond between the Cauldron and Made beings? So Nesta, Azriel (whose shadows are potentially Made, if not himself), Elain, Feyre, Amren, Miryam, Jurian, Gwyn and a whole lot of priestesses besides...

Too crazy? Probably, but that's why theorising is fun!

TOG SPOILERS BELOW

* Another theory I know I share with others, but at least @ladynightcourt3 and @psychologynerd, is that Azriel's shadows could be Valg. What if Valg have a living bond back to their respectful Valg King? If @fawnandshadows is correct that Koschei/death gods twisted the Cauldron, could this be how? Valg magic?

#the cauldron #dark maker #light maker #acotar #acotar theory #elain archeron #nesta archeron #feyre archeron #priestess #puppet master #acotar 5 theory #acotar 6 theory #acosf #lightsinger #bird in a cage #koschei #koschei theory #death god #daglan

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celluloidbroomcloset · 6 months

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(This leads on from this post, which focuses on clothing and disguise in OFMD Season 1. I'm going to do a separate post on Ed's clothing change, and how this all culminates at "Calypso's Birthday," to avoid this getting too long and unwieldy for Tumblr.)

At the start of Season 2, Stede has abandoned most of his finery by necessity. He opens the season in a dirty shirt and trousers, a costume that he comes back to several times even after he returns to the Revenge. He's given up his wealth, and all of the money they earn at Jackie'z goes into the coffer to help them go back to sea.

Even this early, Stede's costuming is significant. He's not just dropped the finery that had defined, and after a while imprisoned, him, he's done it by choice. He gives up his wealth so that his family can be secure and he can be free. He doesn't take the money earned by the crew to rebuild his wardrobe, because those things don't matter as much to him as they did in Season 1. The goal for him is to support his crew and to find Ed. Everything else pales.

Stede goes through several changes, though, as the season progresses. He puts on a uniform when he joins Zheng's crew, and immediately discards it as soon as they steal the Revenge, going back to the dirty shirt and trousers. I think a lot could be said about the few times Stede puts on a uniform - here and when they steal the Royal Navy outfits - and how quickly he wants to get rid of them. They represent another form of a conformity that he's fled from, and are at odds with his individuality.

His first scenes with Ed after Ed has woken up have him back in the same shirt and trousers. In terms of plot, he's not had a chance to get any new clothes, but this is also symbolic - he's approaching his relationship with Ed without any of the clothes that he'd hidden in, or in which Ed had fallen in love him. It's just him. It's significant that it is in this guise that Ed accepts him again, and their relationship begins to move forward.

I think it's also significant that, where Stede has so defined himself by his clothes, Ed often sees him out of them, first when they meet, again when he appears as the mermaid. In neither case is this presented as explicitly sexual - in one Stede's half dead, in the other he's a fantasy image - though there is an undercurrent of desire. Ed doesn't define Stede by his clothing.

The next big shift is to the cursed suit, and the first time that we see Stede shifting his focus from Ed and the Revenge to finery again. He fully indulges his foppery here, posing in front of the mirror, whipping the tails of the suit around, asking everyone to admire what a great suit it is. But it's a different kind of foppery to what we see in Season 1 and the use of his outfits as disguise. Here it becomes more an expression of himself and how he feels - he's confident, he's happy, he's not buttoned up to the neck but wearing an open collar revealing more of his chest and body.

It's important here that the fine things don't stop being important to Stede; he doesn't just stop loving them now that he's out from the weight of his class. But he does become more comfortable in them. The cursed suit makes him into a peacock - it lets him strut around, change his posture, and he's honestly bereft when he has to give it up. But he does give it up - it's not as important to him as it once was.

But. He keeps the shirt. It's a piece of finery that he doesn't have to give up - a compromise with the crew - and he wears it into the next episode. Ed remarks on it; it's the shirt that leads to the "you wear fine things well" callback, the same color and fabric as the handkerchief Ed kept, and leads to their first kiss on deck.

Ed's comment is more than that, though - from the start of Season 1, Stede's clothes have been his form of self-definition and disguise. It's one of the first things that Ed and he talk about. Stede has now lost, or Ed has destroyed, most of those fine things that weighed him down (the hidden closet of a repressed gay man). The shirt is Stede retaining his love of fine things, a love that Ed admired and never found strange or offensive as others did but that wasn't what made him fall in love with STede. Ed's comment doesn't just recall that first night on deck; it recalls the entire beginning of their relationship, the love that they both share and that Ed himself tried very hard to (literally) throw overboard. But it's also not the only thing that makes Stede who he is. "You wear fine things well" is about the person, not the things. It is Ed taking Stede as he is, and loving him as he is.

All of this confirms what I think is a lingering fear Stede has - that Ed might not love him as he is. They first bond over fine things, but Ed loves Stede in the dirty white shirt he's been wearing for months, and in the red silk shirt, and in the blue shirt covered in the blood of their enemies. He fell in love with Stede in the finery, but loves him in anything.

Following the "cursed suit" incident, Stede obtains new clothes, but they're not the armor or disguises of his old wardrobe. He gets leather trousers that allow him to wear a sword and gun, and nice shirts of good fabric that let him work on deck, roll up his sleeves, wear gloves. He no longer buries himself in protective layers. His clothes reveal more of his body - without being artificially cinched at the waist or layered over his chest - showing off his chest and arms. They're appropriate to the world he now lives in, and expressive of his increasing confidence and his developing relationship with Ed. He's a man more at ease with his own body, who isn't afraid to reveal who he is not just to Ed, but to everyone he encounters. He's no longer ashamed of his sexuality. He's cast off the armor.

#ofmd s2 #ofmd #ofmd season 2 #our flag means death #stede bonnet #ed teach #gentlebeard #blackbonnet #ofmd meta #as someone who started writing about media in the dark ages #man i like having access to good gifs to illustrate points #gif makers are the best #cursed suit #rhys darby #taika waititi

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