#ik it probably wasn't this deep in griffin's head

[anistarrose]

do you ever think about how Wonderland, via the “trust or forsake” game, encourages contestants to make morally questionable and often costly decisions in pursuit of an ultimately hopeless goal? how contestants start off so determined to win a prize they were promised, but never had a chance at receiving — then slowly, become more and more desperate just to survive, and are being prompted to “forsake” others throughout both phases? 

now, do you ever think about Edward and Lydia’s backstory? how they joined a necromantic circle, hoping they could save their ill younger brother, but failed, and from there they were led to lichdom? to eternal life, eternal survival, perpetuated each time they forsake any former compassion they may have held for mortals’ lives?

what did the other necromancers promise them when they joined that cult? were they told they’d surely be able to save Keats — that surely, that prize would await them at the end of this dark and dangerous road? what about what they were told when they consigned their souls to lichdom? nothing justifies the horrors Edward and Lydia perpetuated in Wonderland, but they were not sent down this path alone. it’s questionable whether or not they’re reliable narrators of their story, but it’s still very plausible that they didn’t have ill intentions at the start. 

in modern times, they're proud of the ruthless path that won them immortality, but... they still compare their resolve in the face of adversity to that of three contestants whom they plan to body-snatch and murder. they see themselves in the heroic quest that they plan to quash! they implicitly acknowledge that no amount of suffering, or determination, or even calculated ruthlessness can save any of them! because in the end, the only things that save THB, the rest of the IPRE, and the multiverse as a whole, are the very things Lydia and Edward turned their backs on? simply trust, and bonds!

#taz #taz balance #taz balance spoilers #vogue elves #taz meta #ik it probably wasn't this deep in griffin's head #but i will make it as deep as i want #they are The tragic villains of all time #i'll literally never stop rotating them in my mind