#the phrophecy

[shed-some-light]

all is as it should be on no but seriously imagine it eve

[missanthropicprinciple]

Sir Guy of Gisburne in Robin of Sherwood S02E01 The Prophecy

[phantasticphizza]

So, it's official. Soon we won't have to imagine it

[c0smic-spir1t]

I would like to thank Dan and Phil for fulfilling the phrophecy

I would also like to thank Dan and Phil for doing it in a way where I didn’t have to see two people who are essentially my internet older brothers actually kiss

[rainybearstudio]

I was not a tumblr girly in the 2010s as I was stuck on the outside looking in (Pinterest) but it is insane to me that I have been in close enough proximity to Phan discourse for so long that when I stumbled across the Phrophecy video they posted to Instagram, I went through a series of flashbacks so vivid that I remembered the OG post word for word. I am dissolving into dust as I type this

[absolutefilthimsosorry]

I can’t believe Taylor Swift wrote a song specifically about all of us sitting around on tumblr going insane waiting for dnp to do something

[jesse-is-spiralling]

lads i fear we no but seriously imagined it a little too close to the sun

[minatsuki-on-main]

Jetblack Epitaph excerpts

There are three parts of the JE that are explicitly mentioned in the show and I thought it could have some use to go through them. (In order of clarity.)

1.

First, there’s the Tale of the Two Shrine Maidens, which Keith calls the only unambiguous part of the prophecy.

On the night of the 13th full moon the man chosen by the two shrine maidens gained power, companions and wings, and became the black-winged king. Their purpose fulfilled, the two maidens presented to him a blade that burned blue. “Decapitate one of us,” they said. The maiden whose head was cut off turned to ash and merged with the king, granting him still another power. The remaining maiden became his wife and fought at his side at Cremona’s summit, and shared his fate when the end came.

The relation to the story here is very clearly explained.

On the night of the 13th full moon

This would be the Jaula Blanca attack’s night. A 13th full moon denotes a rare or special event since it’s a phenomenon that can only happen in certain years due to our calendar not being synchronized with lunar phase cycles (which last about 29 days, a bit less than a month). Normally, a year has 12 full moons, and when there’s a 13th, it’s called a ‘blue moon’, hence the popular expression ‘once in a blue moon’. 

the man chosen by the two shrine maidens gained power, companions and wings, and became the black-winged king.

Koku acquiring the other gods’ (Kirisame and the others) body parts. These incorporate both power and companions, since their conscience also became part of him. Interesting to note that this means he also received his wings that night and didn’t have them before. The two shrine maidens are later shown to be Yuna and Izanami.

Their purpose fulfilled, the two maidens presented to him a blade that burned blue.

This refers to Koku’s blue steel lohengrin.

“Decapitate one of us,” they said. The maiden whose head was cut off turned to ash and merged with the king, granting him still another power.

Koku killing Izanami and taking their leg. They also did, literally, turn to ash.

The remaining maiden became his wife and fought at his side at Cremona’s summit, and shared his fate when the end came.

The fight from episode 12. Yuna remained alive along with Koku.

2.

To the left, another Fourth. A cycle of evil slaughter. The moon of carnage traces out its eternal ellipse, and the hour the ash-colored dragon beats its wings will come at last. People of the black bones, gather ye together.

If I’m not mistaken, this is said somewhere around the Heian-Jin battle and quite possibly refers to that. The importance stems from it being Koku and Yuna’s reunion.

To the left, another Fourth.

We have already established that the numbers from 1 to 13 denote the various gods. The one with ‘4′ assigned was Yuna, something they talk about with Koku in the ep7 flashbacks. This sentence refers to how she was the one carrying out the attack against him at Heian-Jin. The word ‘another’ is very puzzling to me, as it would mean there’s a ‘4′ besides her, something that doesn’t even sound far-fetched when considering that her number was written as ‘IIII’ instead of ‘IV’ — this is just my theory though.

A cycle of evil slaughter.

Could be both Yuna attacking Koku or Minatsuki and Kamui’s sadistic rampage afterwards.

The moon of carnage traces out its eternal ellipse, and the hour the ash-colored dragon beats its wings will come at last.

Anything ‘ash-colored’ in this context very likely refers to Koku, especially when wings are mentioned. In my opinion, this could mean that he only fully transformed when he and Yuna were stabbed, so relatively late. I suppose this would be something important for Market Maker to witness to ascertain themselves that it’s really him.

People of the black bones, gather ye together.

Koku and Yuna finally reuniting; they were both part of the ‘people of the black bones’, the gods.

3.

When Canopus shines bright, to the right is a new First, illegitimate spawns of the gods. Wings of pure madness will bring low the ephemeral people, and the howls of the dead will bring order to their brethren.

This one is quite difficult and I’m not completely sure about it myself, so take it with a grain of salt. There’s also a chance it refers to something that hasn’t happened yet, so there’s no way to know for sure.

When Canopus shines bright,

Canopus was a title (=wise, older mentor) that referred both to Heath Flick while he was alive and then to Keith, which is what makes it ambiguous. ‘Shines bright’ could mean a time when either of them had particular significance in the events. The possibilities, roughly:

When Keith deciphered the Jetblack at 12 (not very probable, as Heath was alive then and Canopus would still be him)

Heath giving his notebook pages to Koku while dying, so the attack’s night once again

Keith’s return to RIS and involvement in the investigation during the show (the one with the highest chance in my opinion)

Another interpretation would be Canopus literally referring to the star; it would follow that this is talking about the time Koku approached the Moby Dick in ep11.

to the right is a new First,

The most confusing part. In the other passage about Heian-Jin, ‘Fourth’ clearly referred to Yuna, so ‘First’ here would have to be the resurrected god who had ‘1′ assigned. However, during Keith’s narration of the Shrine Maiden story, the graphics on screen show that numbers 1, 2 and 3 were the ones who got integrated into Koku’s body on the attack’s night. I think this could go two different ways:

It’s Kirisame, because he’s still alive and will have future relevance while also being included in the gods whose body parts Koku took.

It’s Real Minatsuki, because of the word ‘new’, which could mean it’s not the original ‘1′. There’s a case to be made about his similarities with the gods and how close he was to being one since he was using Koku’s power, which his body didn’t reject contrary to other reggies.

illegitimate spawns of the gods.

The reggies. They were created through inbreeding, which would easily make them ‘illegitimate spawns’.

Wings of pure madness will bring low the ephemeral people,

At first it seems obvious that this refers to Market Maker coming down from the Moby Dick to capture Koku after becoming aware of him through his murders. I’d argue that it could be a bit more metaphorical and include a longer time range along with everything that will happen in the show in the future. ‘Bring low’ could just mean defeat and ‘ephemeral people’ could be all of Market Maker and not just the s1 branch, so Kirisame and the mystery villain from the post-credit sequence in addition. This would then equate to a prediction that Koku will win against them. ‘Ephemeral’ points more towards reggies, though, and to their short lifespan in particular. Then again, most of MM is made of reggies, so this doesn’t change a lot.

the howls of the dead will bring order to their brethren.

Very likely the gods that now live in Koku’s body. Their power is what he’s effectively using to fight. As for ‘brethren’, it probably means Kirisame, since he’s one of them too and will have to clash with Koku at one point. Yet another allusion to Koku defeating him. (Which, if I may comment on this, would mean the spoilers for s2 are basically included in s1 and it’s going to be very funny when it actually comes true.)