#equius death

[haunting-stims]

equius zahhak’s death

🏹|💜|🏹

💜|🏹|💜

🏹|💜|🏹

requested by @hollowb0ned

💜

[vivaciousclown]

theory on Equius’s death:

it seems like it was set up to reference a type of muscle spasm/post-mortem of judicial hanging called “Risus Sardonicus”; dancestor counterpart/”rictus grin” (modern) below the “read more”

key parts of text: “sustained spasm of the facial muscles that appears to produce grinning”, “has been reported after judicial hanging”, and “the appearance of raised eyebrows and an open ‘grin’”

separate descriptions of the history of the grin (often from Hemlock poisoning, just want to be clear and specify that) include assassinations and murders, explaining that: “Because of the "frozen" musculature, the face would remain like that” and that "the uncomfortable grin likely sent the illusion of gratitude to the euthanizers.” - Edit: we also get this line from Hussie answering a question about Gamzee’s chucklevoodoo

- now where the judicial hanging comes from specifically to relate to Equius’s death is primarily due to the fact Gamzee appears like this; wearing Terezi’s shades and having the bow at the ready; Equius himself mistaking Gamzee for Terezi at first, especially in the dim lighting (while wearing shades)

despite it not bein an actual hanging, it has the secondary element to it that make it impactful- the choking; the unsettling nature of his death isn’t the change of fear to “delight”- it’s the fact we’re actively watching Equius die, panel by panel to imply it being a drawn-out death (rather than a swift motion of hanging)

ADDITIONALLY, the alpha and beta trolls tie together, often with a rearranged meaning of each other’s experiences (through parody) it’s possible that Horuss is the more “lively” version of this unsettling grin; “rictus grin” can be used to describe the prior executions resorting in sustained muscle spasms of the face (and potentially the limbs), or it can describe the distinctly forced nervous smile someone has, typically while under a lot of stress

key part of text: “an expression in which someone shows their teeth in a smile, but looks strange or in pain rather than looking happy and relaxed”

“I just thought I would try smiling permanently and uncompromisingly, rather than resnorting to all those disgruntled e%pressions I usually trot out” (him having a rictus grin could also be a play on the fact he’s already deceased)

"to always be cheerful and upbeat no matter what, even if projecting that facade is at times physically painful.”, with the tags “#Such as #All times.” with more instances of dialogue saying “Yes, I really enjoy making this face. It really helps remind me through persistent facial discomfort that appearing to be happy should always be one's top priority.”

in the same conversation, he references death by asphyxiation that Equius experienced, though paired with his ignorance- the specific line being “I'd probably have died regardless, due to laughter-induced asphy%iation.”, alongside the tags “#If you're going to go #Go out with a smile”

[vivaciousclown]

does anyone happen to know if there's a collection of all the puns Nepeta, Equius, Meulin, and Horuss use? (Bonus points if it includes Feferi and Meenah, but for me those are the easiest to remember)