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pandorahearts2012-03-15 07:16 am
cloyingly) wrote in pandorahearts2012-03-15 07:16 am
A reference on contracts, Chains, The Abyss, Glen Baskerville, Misfortune Children and other things.
This is a very basic summary of a few concepts that are very important to understand about Pandora Hearts which are: Chains, The Abyss, The Will of the Abyss, Misfortune Children, and Glen Baskerville. Pandora Hearts has a complex and multi-layered plot that could in no way be summarized easily but these are concepts unique to the canon and issues with them tend to come up fairly often. So this is an attempt to give an overview of these concepts for someone who has not read the canon.
Basically I wrote this for panfandom RP which is when you're in a game with many characters and people from different fandoms. At some point a person gets tired of explaining a "Chain is etc etc" and it's nice to have an easy to link and pull up reference. So I am psting this here for people in a similar situation or perhaps fic writers who would also like to have the reference. So feel free to use however you wish-- link, copy, with or without credit-- I don't care.
And as a warning-- this post is image heavy.
And obviously-- this post contains major spoilers for the ten most recent chapters or so.
The thing about Pandora Hearts is—it isn’t told in chronological order. The first chapter to be told takes place towards the end of the story and the time line jumps back and forth between past and present through-out the story. However I am going to begin over 100 years before the starting point of the story, with Lacie, Ozwald, and the then current Glen Baskerville (whom I will refer to as “Levi” but his name is also romanized as “Revis” and “Revy”).
First of all, Glen Baskerville is a title not a name (it is in fact something of an inherited property but we’ll go more into this later). Glen is the head of the Baskerville Family who 100 years ago were on the surface a noble family but in reality was Glen who is “The Guardian of the Abyss” and basically the people summoned to serve him. You can think of them as something like a mafia family where some members may be related but for the most part the “family” is a group with a common purpose and they have come together to accomplish that purpose. The Baskervilles exist to basically keep the Abyss and the Earth in balance. They are the actual power in the country where the story takes place (which still has no name) even though there is a monarchy…somewhere (we haven’t been shown it though we have been shown there are other noble families with their own political intrigues).
So basically the story revolves a great deal around the politics regarding the Abyss.
Let’s start with Ozwald and Lacie Baskerville whose story basically mirrors that of Gilbert and Vincent Nightray. In Retrace (that is to say chapter) 68 “Lacie” we receive basically a complete overview on three topics: The Abyss, Misfortune Children, and Glen Baskerville.
So basically “Misfortune Children” are born with two or one red eye to signal their “misfortune” or curse. Lacie had two red eyes, Vincent Nightray has only one, but both were considered to be Misfortune Children.
Ozwald is Lacie’s older brother and by this time they have already come to live with the Baskerville Family. (We’ll get more into how they are summoned to Glen later.) The blond man is Levi but right now he is known as “Glen” because he is the current “vessel” for the soul that is the head of the Baskerville Family. If this is confusing—basically reincarnation exists in this universe. Normally the soul waits 100 years to reincarnate but in Glen’s case his soul can be transferred to the next body while the old body is still living. Each person known as Glen still possesses their own unique identity but they also posses the memories and powers of all the previous Glens while they contain the soul. You can think of it as something like a magical amulet perhaps that while it may give power and hold the memories of previous owners—it does not change who the person is.
Ozwald is being raised to replace Levi as Glen Baskerville as like Levi says a Glen’s body only lasts ten to twenty years once they inherit the title. Why is not specifically stated but Glen Baskerville also owns the five black winged Chains, one of which is Raven, and it may be the strains of these contracts that breaks the body down.
So basically what the “grandma” says about Lacie being needed to be thrown into the Abyss naturally raises some curiosity in the girl and she asks what the old woman meant.
And Levi in his own sensitive way explains that Ozwald will have to cast her into the Abyss because she is a Misfortune Child where her soul will be unable to reincarnate in 100 years because wow that is not a lot to unload onto someone who looks to be about ten.
Levi explains the reason why a Misfortune Child must be cast into the Abyss because Misfortune Children can speak to what is known as “The Will of the Abyss”. It is feared this is an ability far too powerful to be allowed anyone because basically this gives the person the ability to change this world which is, basically the Earth.
Basically the Abyss, or The Will of it more rather, is like god in this universe. The Abyss is apparently the original world and somehow the world we would know as Earth somehow diverged from it.
So the Abyss basically functions as god, heaven, and hell, all in one, in the universe Pandora Hearts is set in. The Abyss runs alongside the Earth and occasionally “paths” open between these two worlds. The Abyss however ultimately functions as the blueprint to which the Earth is the structure. Now, whether or not humans come from the Abyss or were entirely formed in the Earth is unclear—but we do know what happens if humans become trapped in the Abyss. They become creatures known as “Chains”. Chains can also be formed from animal life as well (as in the case of the Chain Cheshire the Cat).
Chains are life warped by the power of the Abyss and the person or animal is often killed in the process. Those that survive however still desire to escape the Abyss (they may or may not retain memories of their previous lives—Cheshire did but he was specially made by The Will and none of the other Chains have ever expressed this) and thus when a path opens between the worlds a Chain may escape. To remain on Earth however they must consume flesh. So often a contract is formed with a human (known as an “illegal contract”) so that the human may provide victims and in return the Chain will use its power to grant that person’s wish. If any single Chain truly posses the ability to do as The Will can and truly change the world is unlikely. For the most part illegal contractors become puppets for their Chain and after a fruitless killing spree are dragged into the Abyss with their Chain at the contract’s end.
The time left in the contract is symbolized by a seal shaped like a clock on the contractor’s chest and when the clock reaches a full hour the Abyss opens to swallow both.
Now there is a way to contract a Chain and not become the mindless puppet of the Chain and even extend the time of the contract. This is through the organization of Pandora which in modern day has taken over the function of the Baskervilles. This is called a “legal” contract and uses a mirror over the flesh of the contractor to put the seal on. The Baskervilles also have their own way of contracting Chains that seems to hover between the illegal and legal way.
So getting back to Lacie’s predicament now that we understand why she cannot be allowed to exist, Levi does however have a way to give her death some meaning.
So what is this “experiment” you may ask? Well just when you think things could not get more horrible than forced sororcide and the killing of an innocent young woman whose only crime is to be born with a trait she has no control over—it does. Just as a warning these next sections deal with themes of child grooming and incest and while neither are explicitly shown they do factor into the plot heavily.
And we all know where this is going—
Yep. It is ten years later in Retrace 69 and Ozwald has inherited the title of Glen Baskerville. And his first act is to thrown his own sister into the Abyss.
But because the Abyss is a time warping dimension (or it just exists outside of time and thus the laws of physics don’t apply there—take your pick) a little surprise is thrown back a few days later.
Yes. Levi had sex with Lacie so she would give birth in the Abyss. And apparently it worked. (And might I add for extra hilarity the man he’s explaining this all to is Jack Vessalius—a man who was deeply in love with Lacie when she died.)
So to summarize—Levi did it all for the lulz. Lacie however did it because:
But of course twins were not planned for. So basically as a spare Alice was thrown back but the other child—
Became the vessel for the Abyss and this and all of what led up to it—is the reason for the plot of Pandora Hearts.
And this is the insanity Vincent and Gilbert unknowingly walk into as young children because:
Gilbert was meant to be the next vessel after Ozwald, and Vincent, the Misfortune Child, was the distortion he brought into the world. Baskervilles are summoned just as Gilbert says-- they see golden lights and they follow these lights until they bring them to Glen. And the voices Gilbert hears are the previous Glens speaking to him (this only occurs in Glen vessels however not all Baskervilles only the lights occur for the ones meant to be servants). What exactly summons the Baskervilles to serve Glen is unclear it may be The Will, the old woman, or another unseen force. At the very least it does not appear the current Glen does so-- or if he does it's an unconscious process.
Of course we already have seen what would have happened to Vincent if things had gone as they should have—if perhaps Levi’s experiment had failed, and if perhaps Jack Vessalius had not been in love with Lacie Baskerville. Yet the old way was ripped apart and the normal cycle of resurrection for Glen Baskerville was broken.
And the answer for that is The Tragedy of Sablier.
But here we have the basic explanation for why things are as they are in the current Pandora Hearts timeline and hopefully this has all provided some explanation for Chains, contracts, and the Abyss at least.
Cross-posted at LJ.
Basically I wrote this for panfandom RP which is when you're in a game with many characters and people from different fandoms. At some point a person gets tired of explaining a "Chain is etc etc" and it's nice to have an easy to link and pull up reference. So I am psting this here for people in a similar situation or perhaps fic writers who would also like to have the reference. So feel free to use however you wish-- link, copy, with or without credit-- I don't care.
And as a warning-- this post is image heavy.
And obviously-- this post contains major spoilers for the ten most recent chapters or so.
The thing about Pandora Hearts is—it isn’t told in chronological order. The first chapter to be told takes place towards the end of the story and the time line jumps back and forth between past and present through-out the story. However I am going to begin over 100 years before the starting point of the story, with Lacie, Ozwald, and the then current Glen Baskerville (whom I will refer to as “Levi” but his name is also romanized as “Revis” and “Revy”).
First of all, Glen Baskerville is a title not a name (it is in fact something of an inherited property but we’ll go more into this later). Glen is the head of the Baskerville Family who 100 years ago were on the surface a noble family but in reality was Glen who is “The Guardian of the Abyss” and basically the people summoned to serve him. You can think of them as something like a mafia family where some members may be related but for the most part the “family” is a group with a common purpose and they have come together to accomplish that purpose. The Baskervilles exist to basically keep the Abyss and the Earth in balance. They are the actual power in the country where the story takes place (which still has no name) even though there is a monarchy…somewhere (we haven’t been shown it though we have been shown there are other noble families with their own political intrigues).
So basically the story revolves a great deal around the politics regarding the Abyss.
Let’s start with Ozwald and Lacie Baskerville whose story basically mirrors that of Gilbert and Vincent Nightray. In Retrace (that is to say chapter) 68 “Lacie” we receive basically a complete overview on three topics: The Abyss, Misfortune Children, and Glen Baskerville.
So basically “Misfortune Children” are born with two or one red eye to signal their “misfortune” or curse. Lacie had two red eyes, Vincent Nightray has only one, but both were considered to be Misfortune Children.
Ozwald is Lacie’s older brother and by this time they have already come to live with the Baskerville Family. (We’ll get more into how they are summoned to Glen later.) The blond man is Levi but right now he is known as “Glen” because he is the current “vessel” for the soul that is the head of the Baskerville Family. If this is confusing—basically reincarnation exists in this universe. Normally the soul waits 100 years to reincarnate but in Glen’s case his soul can be transferred to the next body while the old body is still living. Each person known as Glen still possesses their own unique identity but they also posses the memories and powers of all the previous Glens while they contain the soul. You can think of it as something like a magical amulet perhaps that while it may give power and hold the memories of previous owners—it does not change who the person is.
Ozwald is being raised to replace Levi as Glen Baskerville as like Levi says a Glen’s body only lasts ten to twenty years once they inherit the title. Why is not specifically stated but Glen Baskerville also owns the five black winged Chains, one of which is Raven, and it may be the strains of these contracts that breaks the body down.
So basically what the “grandma” says about Lacie being needed to be thrown into the Abyss naturally raises some curiosity in the girl and she asks what the old woman meant.
And Levi in his own sensitive way explains that Ozwald will have to cast her into the Abyss because she is a Misfortune Child where her soul will be unable to reincarnate in 100 years because wow that is not a lot to unload onto someone who looks to be about ten.
Levi explains the reason why a Misfortune Child must be cast into the Abyss because Misfortune Children can speak to what is known as “The Will of the Abyss”. It is feared this is an ability far too powerful to be allowed anyone because basically this gives the person the ability to change this world which is, basically the Earth.
Basically the Abyss, or The Will of it more rather, is like god in this universe. The Abyss is apparently the original world and somehow the world we would know as Earth somehow diverged from it.
So the Abyss basically functions as god, heaven, and hell, all in one, in the universe Pandora Hearts is set in. The Abyss runs alongside the Earth and occasionally “paths” open between these two worlds. The Abyss however ultimately functions as the blueprint to which the Earth is the structure. Now, whether or not humans come from the Abyss or were entirely formed in the Earth is unclear—but we do know what happens if humans become trapped in the Abyss. They become creatures known as “Chains”. Chains can also be formed from animal life as well (as in the case of the Chain Cheshire the Cat).
Chains are life warped by the power of the Abyss and the person or animal is often killed in the process. Those that survive however still desire to escape the Abyss (they may or may not retain memories of their previous lives—Cheshire did but he was specially made by The Will and none of the other Chains have ever expressed this) and thus when a path opens between the worlds a Chain may escape. To remain on Earth however they must consume flesh. So often a contract is formed with a human (known as an “illegal contract”) so that the human may provide victims and in return the Chain will use its power to grant that person’s wish. If any single Chain truly posses the ability to do as The Will can and truly change the world is unlikely. For the most part illegal contractors become puppets for their Chain and after a fruitless killing spree are dragged into the Abyss with their Chain at the contract’s end.
The time left in the contract is symbolized by a seal shaped like a clock on the contractor’s chest and when the clock reaches a full hour the Abyss opens to swallow both.
Now there is a way to contract a Chain and not become the mindless puppet of the Chain and even extend the time of the contract. This is through the organization of Pandora which in modern day has taken over the function of the Baskervilles. This is called a “legal” contract and uses a mirror over the flesh of the contractor to put the seal on. The Baskervilles also have their own way of contracting Chains that seems to hover between the illegal and legal way.
So getting back to Lacie’s predicament now that we understand why she cannot be allowed to exist, Levi does however have a way to give her death some meaning.
So what is this “experiment” you may ask? Well just when you think things could not get more horrible than forced sororcide and the killing of an innocent young woman whose only crime is to be born with a trait she has no control over—it does. Just as a warning these next sections deal with themes of child grooming and incest and while neither are explicitly shown they do factor into the plot heavily.
And we all know where this is going—
Yep. It is ten years later in Retrace 69 and Ozwald has inherited the title of Glen Baskerville. And his first act is to thrown his own sister into the Abyss.
But because the Abyss is a time warping dimension (or it just exists outside of time and thus the laws of physics don’t apply there—take your pick) a little surprise is thrown back a few days later.
Yes. Levi had sex with Lacie so she would give birth in the Abyss. And apparently it worked. (And might I add for extra hilarity the man he’s explaining this all to is Jack Vessalius—a man who was deeply in love with Lacie when she died.)
So to summarize—Levi did it all for the lulz. Lacie however did it because:
But of course twins were not planned for. So basically as a spare Alice was thrown back but the other child—
Became the vessel for the Abyss and this and all of what led up to it—is the reason for the plot of Pandora Hearts.
And this is the insanity Vincent and Gilbert unknowingly walk into as young children because:
Gilbert was meant to be the next vessel after Ozwald, and Vincent, the Misfortune Child, was the distortion he brought into the world. Baskervilles are summoned just as Gilbert says-- they see golden lights and they follow these lights until they bring them to Glen. And the voices Gilbert hears are the previous Glens speaking to him (this only occurs in Glen vessels however not all Baskervilles only the lights occur for the ones meant to be servants). What exactly summons the Baskervilles to serve Glen is unclear it may be The Will, the old woman, or another unseen force. At the very least it does not appear the current Glen does so-- or if he does it's an unconscious process.
Of course we already have seen what would have happened to Vincent if things had gone as they should have—if perhaps Levi’s experiment had failed, and if perhaps Jack Vessalius had not been in love with Lacie Baskerville. Yet the old way was ripped apart and the normal cycle of resurrection for Glen Baskerville was broken.
And the answer for that is The Tragedy of Sablier.
But here we have the basic explanation for why things are as they are in the current Pandora Hearts timeline and hopefully this has all provided some explanation for Chains, contracts, and the Abyss at least.
Cross-posted at LJ.