I love songs that can be interpreted and applied in so many different ways, and Ruler of Everything is one of those songs. I felt like it fit Jamil, not just in the lyrics of the part I used here, but for a big part of the song!
The anger and sense of injustice “Juno” feels towards time, this all mighty and powerful thing that rules over all, fits Jamil’s anger towards a system that he’s but a pawn in. And the way that Juno takes his frustration for the injustice he endured out on the sun, his best friend, can also resemble the way Jamil took it all out on Kalim, his “best friend”. There are a lot of really cool comparisons, and the video essay “Ruler of Everything is a song about Time” by MarcButEvil has a really good analysis/theory on the song, and a lot of what he said I felt kind of resonated with Jamil in a way? Not all of it, but certain things.
The line “in the gallows or the ghetto, in the town or the meadow, in the billows, even over the sun, every end if the time is another begun”, refers to the way that Time rules over everything and everyone, the poor, the wealthy, and even those above. But in this metaphor, where Time is the system of the Scalding Sands, or even just the ruler of it, Juno, or Jamil, isn’t happy with it. He is mad that he’s been had, so he lashes out. He doesn’t understand why it has to be like this, and like Juno, Jamil feels like his life means nothing in the grand scheme if thing. He’s just a servant to be thrown away and discarded.
The line “If this mirror were clearer, I'd be standing so tall” really reminds me of the way Jamil pities himself, the way he makes up excuses. “If only (blank) I could show them all.” He is arrogant, he thinks he’s so much, and maybe it is, but in the grant scheme of the system he lives in it’s not worth a lot. “You understand mechanical hands are the ruler of everything?” I think it’s interesting to think about!
Wow, that was a long ramble about a song most of you probably don’t even know! Sorry if it was hard to follow, I kinda just started typing, zoned out, and ended up with this. But I do highly recommend this song, it’s a lot of fun and quite existential. Thanks for reading the description, and now that you’re here I have a question for you: what is a song you find oddly fits a TWST character, and why?