#messy analysis

[mentally-ill-for-bes]

An analysis of Jayvik during season 2 bc what the hell was that

Or rambling about their parallels, character development and what I think is going next.

First, I haven't seen the three last episodes but I saw the spoiler of Viktor and Jayce scene. I'm going to watch the episodes with my friend next Wednesday, so I don't want any of you spoiling me ANYTHING else.

Spoilers below the cut.

That being said, this analysis will be mostly about first eps of season 2 and the scene of arc 2, why does it have sense and why it doesn't mean the ending of their friendship and why in this season they aren't just narrative foils but the force that move each other motivations.

First, 2nd season opening:

It's good to point out that their scenes in the intro are related; in the same way Jinx and Ekko are related, Vi and Cait (and Jinx) and Mel with Ambessa. They all are easily differentiable among them, Mel and Ambessa appear in yellowish tones, Jinx, Cait, Vi and Ekko appear under color lights but the theme bounding Viktor and Jayce is bright light.

When Jayce appears, he's immediately blinded by the light, he turns his face and squints his eyes but does not remove from his place. In contrast, when Viktor appears he's not being blinded by the light, he's not uncomfortable about it, instead, he faces it directly. When the mask is being put in his face, he accepts it, and even it looks like he's emitting the light. If the mask were emitting it, the fabric on Viktor's head would be lighted too; instead, the light is exclusively under the fabric. Viktor is literally shining. He's the light.

And Jayce during his cuts tries to reach the light but finds himself blinded by it; anyway, this doesn't stop him from extending his hand and trying to reach it.

And, at the same time, it's Jayce's hand putting the mask on, we already know why Jayce creates the Herald. But most importantly, putting on the mask means hiding Viktor's face and with it, covering the light.

At the end of the intro, Jayce does touch the light and he no longer sees blinded by it.

Important to notice the intro already makes clear that their stories are tightly intertwined; which isn't surprising since in season 1 it is evident Viktor is a huge motivation and conflict in Jayce's actions.

However, why is it important to notice that the intro makes a correlation between Viktor and being enlightened; first, light has an association with knowledge and wisdom. Second, already knowing the strong associations Viktor has with religious figures this season it is good to point out that Jesus said: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” And as I pointed out before, Jayce is following the light.

When I saw the first act, I was pretty confused about the correlation between the intro and the episodes. Once Viktor is resurrected by Jayce, he isn't associated with light but darkness.

When he wakes up, there is light, but it's clearly different from the one in the intro. Viktor is surrounded by a strange light but his face isn't being illuminated.

Instead, he walks to the light where Jayce is.

It's in front of you, Jayce is at the side of the light while Viktor is at the side of the darkness. But why is he in the darkness when the into associates him with light? Because Viktor isn't the darkness, the Hexcore is. And in this scene what does represent it? The cocoon behind Viktor.

Another good thing to notice is the change in Viktor's eyes, he wears the (probably) same blanket he does in the trailer, but while the trailer emphasizes his yellow eyes. It's clear what's happening here, he's changed and isn't completely Viktor, when he wakes up his eyes are mostly yellow, but there's also this small white part? Blue? I can only describe it as the Hexcore color.

When he cures the little dude, you can even see how the Hexcore color expands on his pupils. He still has a yellow part in them, but they're slowly changing color. But I don't think Viktor is the one changing, I think is the Hexcore the one taking power over him.

But what happens just before he cures him?

THIS

Viktor is bathed in light while the rest of the place is dark.

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Common guys, it was obvious this would end as a cult.

But why is this current change on Viktor and light? Why??? Just two seconds ago he split with Jayce and he was all in the dark, right?

My theory is that while Hexcore takes control and more dominion over him, Viktor finds light because he's helping people and it's like "hey, maybe this isn't that bad," but we already know that ANYTHING related to Hexcore is meant to be a catastrophe. Viktor may excuses its use for helping people while Jayce excuses its use for saving Viktor.

However, compared to how Viktor is showed through the intro I wasn't still convinced his light was about that.

And I mean, the light shown in the trailer for both Viktor and Jayce is white, different from the purple/pink that appears when he cures someone, his eyes are still clearly different. This scene does not represent Viktor but the arcane speaking through him, the purple and pink tones represent the arcane; and most importantly, the pattern its magic has.

Still, everything with that Viktor being the light didn't convinced me.

BECAUSE THAT VIKTOR ISN'T THE LIGHT, THE ONE ABOVE IS.

It's pretty clear, (sorry bad image quality, I got it from an edit and I'M NOT TOUCHING LAST 3 EPISODES IN NETFLIX, I WON'T GET MORE SPOILERS IF I CAN AVOID IT). The Viktor that is bent with the Arcane isn't the lightened Viktor, the one above is. He has yellow eyes (just as in the intro), and he's emitting a soft and pretty divine light. Compared to this:

His eyes aren't as yellow, and his hair is long and has lost color as a result of the arcane. They're evidently different. And I think that at some extent the show wants you to know they are different characters. Yes, his eyes are slightly yellow but let's remember he isn't entirely Viktor, it's also the Arcane.

And when he sees Jayce about to kill him, I think he looks surprised.

However.

The terror in his eyes, those aren't Viktor eyes, those are the Arcane's. All the freaky colors and the distortion. You can see how when he opens his eyes, it's Viktor who looks at him. But when he's facing his death, it's the Arcane being terrified.

How much does Arcane understand of emotions? I don't know, dude. But it and Viktor being mixed in a body surely gives it the ability to express something.

You may be thinking I am a little crazy about the eyes. But this is Arcane and the eyes are just important, animators put a lot of effort into emotion and facial expression and this means something.

When he dies, his eyes are both yellow and Arcane's color. They are both dying, yes.

But wtf happened with Jayce.

Well, I'll be back to this moment.

Jayce drinking tea with Heimerdinger and Ekko. His cup of "Man of the Progress" is there, but he did not drink from it.

The cup "Man of Progress" means a lot for Jayce's storytelling, it has his face on it goddammit. But it is also the cup that symbolizes his preference for the council and popularity over Viktor (because Viktor has always been a constant piece of conflict and motivation to act for Jayce). Instead, his drinking from a simple cup, not printed, he's turning back to his roots, being a scientist and stopping seeking greatness.

It also means a lot considering what he said to Viktor: "My place was here in the lab, with you." He gives up politics to be again an inventor and scientist. This scenes are pretty interesting when you consider during season one Jayce's biggest conflict is to be constantly swiping sides because he cannot stick to his true nature and has the need to be approved by everyone, which is by he doesn't use the cup anymore is important. He's rejecting the title to stick to his true self.

I also have to say that I wonder how this decision will affect his relationship with Mel, since she's pretty much the symbol of his political career while Viktor is the symbol of his academic one. Pursuing politics instead of the investigation is shown through their scene having sex while Viktor is heavily sick. Just to clarify: I HAVE NO HATE AGAINST HER, she and Jayce both worry about each other. But their relationship is planted pretty much as a political matter or as a tool for JayVik development. Literally season 2 biggest conflict in Jayce is Viktor and his only conversation with Mel is about he being worried about Viktor.

And well, Mel is her most boring (she still beautiful and interesting af but it's the least interesting part about her) when she's with Jayce. Just by seeing the trailer you can know her biggest conflict is about her mother and the black rose. Her narrative arc is pretty far away from Jayce's and I wonder how they will manage it.

And the wildest scene of the entire season: the Ashes and Blood one.

His hand tries to reach the Hexcore just as his hand tries to reach the light on the trailer. Or even more obvious, a clear parallel to Viktor, who reached his hand in the same way to reach the Hexcore and in consequence, he was consumed by it. Is this foreshadowing that Jayce will be consumed by the Arcane in the same way Viktor was? I'm 100% it is.

In fact, the whole scene is a parallel with Viktor dying and Jayce/Mel scene in season 1. Back then Viktor saw something in the Arcane, a possibility; in this scene, Jayce is seeing something, but we aren't sure what.

No matter what he sees, because he is also being corrupted by the arcane.

Look at the pattern on his wrist. Yes, the crystal is now on his skin but look how it has been disfigured by the arcane. Besides Jayce being corrupted it also means the corruption of his dream. And in consequence, I think that means the lost of an important part of his character: Hope.

The crystal symbolized his dream, yes, but it also symbolized his hope to make the world a better place. In season 1 when he tries jumping off after he has lost the research of his life is meant to be the loss of hope; which Viktor gives back (literally and metaphorically).

Here, he still has the crystal, but it has been corrupted by the arcane, and in consequence: the part that made Jayce a character who truly wanted to make the world a better place is corrupted too.

Focus on the eyes, people. When he looks at Viktor his face is completely changed but his eyes remain the same, brilliantly yellow unlike Viktor's.

And before he prepares his shot, the crystal shines. My first guest is that 100% there's something bigger influencing him. Probably the Arcane.

His weapon is evidently being corrupted by the arcane too.

And he's evidently actively fighting against something, the Arcane probably, since his face acquires its patron. Before I said I considered it was the Arcane who was scared of Jayce, since Viktor's eyes were emptied of any yellow color. But why the Arcane would be surprised if he's also corrupting Jayce.

My best guess is that Jayce is actively fighting against the Arcane and its influence to join it. What do I think? Jayce saw something in the Arcane tempting enough to want to join it but; at the same time, he saw something terrifying enough to decide it was not worth the risk. What do I think? Jayce did want to kill the Arcane, even if it meant killing Viktor too; and what he was fighting it's the Arcane itself trying to stop him.

I said it before, I haven't seen the last 3 episodes so if I'm terribly wrong I'll come back to apologize for my stupidity. But I have seen people confused about Jayce's motivation here and I think I might have a point.

And guys just look how his face changes from range to absolutely mysery-

You cannot say this man happily killed Viktor, he's about to cry.

And then Viktor lets go of that little thing I don't know what is called, but it symbolizes their shared dream.

There's a lot of angst about Viktor letting go of his dream. But I'm here to propose a more interesting question, why was he still clinging to it? In season 1 he makes clear Hexcore must be destroyed and he literally leaves Jayce when he realizes what he has done to keep him alive.

So why his change of mentality? Easy; because as I said before, he can justify the use of Arcane as long as he feels it's helping people.

I think he understands Arcane more than before, he's integrated into it and sees beauty in it. However Jayce also understands the Arcane better than him, but I think instead of finding beauty in it Jayce knows the horrific parts.

Look that the little thing I do not know what is called has a side completely corrupted while the other is briefly corrupted, my bet is that the corrupted side represents Viktor and the slightly corrupted represents Jayce.

So, why letting go of the dream is the right thing to do for Viktor's part and you shouldn't be sad about it? Because it has transformed into something unrecognizable, just as Viktor and Jayce. Letting go of the dream doesn't mean letting go of each other, since the series is clear they are part of each other. Letting go of the dream is letting go of the Arcane so they can keep themselves.

Why are they part of each other?

Easy, Viktor keeps the blanket Jayce gave him (even when he isn't able to feel coldness or warmth).

(BTW, in this scene Viktor stays in the light, and now is Jayce the one in darkness, I'm just saying).

And Jayce's whole outfit is about Viktor.

(Sorry shitty quality, I got it from a clip in Youtube because I'M NOT RISKING MYSELF TO SPOILERS)

His hammer is butterfly-shaped (so interesting both Jayce and Viktor have a scene as kids with the same butterfly and then the Arcane acquired a butterfly shape for a brief moment...); just look at his left leg, his hammer also resembles Viktor's crane and I might be crazy but I see some V's over there.

And also, even if I am crazy and I'm seeing stuff here it's always good to remember THIS:

I'm sorry but what was the need to parallel it so much? Idk why they do it but besides paralleling they also have to make characters close to Jayce to share moles in the same places as Viktor, Ambessa's twink resembles him a lot and has a mole on the cheekbone too, Mel it's harder to see because she has multiple but just as Viktor she has the one on the cheekbone and over the mouth. And, if I remember correctly, Jayce's mom has a mole on the cheekbone too. Every time I think I'm a little crazy about them I remember that and I'm like "nah, I'm totally right about everything." If they parallel this again in season 2 I'm not going to be surprised.

What do I expect from Arc 3? Viktor and Jayce's fight, against the Arcane. I think narratively it would be the ultimate conflict they have to face. They both were irresponsible with stuff they couldn't completely understand and it would be a nice conclusion to their arcs. Jayce has already decided to abandon politics which is a nice development, but he still hasn't faced the consequences of playing with the Arcane and Viktor either. If there's a fight against each other I'd understand where it comes from but their story would feel unconcluded, none of them have faced the consequences of playing with the arcane, not really. They have both faced shitty things but no consequences for fooling with magic and I think the most satisfying conclusion for their story would be to face to face and stop their creation together.

Maybe I'll change my opinion once I see the last episodes, but until that moment I think a fight between Viktor and Jayce would make lost what has been said all the series: The Arcane shouldn't be played with. Maybe they will enemies but their common enemy is the Arcane.

Before that I expect Viktor and Jayce to save each other again; as in season 1 but this time they're mutually saving from the Arcane's influence. At least Viktor to Jayce; since Jayce looks to be the most fucked up mentally, following again all the symbolism of Jayce reaching the light and Viktor being the light.

I wanted to analyze the religious iconography surrounding Viktor too and why even if he's supposed to represent Jesus and Jayce is supposed to represent Iscariot (though I don't think Viktor is always meant to represent Jesus only) neither means a bad thing. Jesus already knew Judas was going to betray him and he did not hate him for that, he loved him till the end (as he did with the rest of humanity). There are some texts (too tired to cite) that imply Jesus asked Judas to betray him and Judas, as a last act of total devotion, obeyed him.

Idk, just tell me if you'd like a religious analysis (probably after I have ended with the last three episodes, till then I do not want a word about what happened in the show).

[most-definitively-a-human]

Wondering why some people love books/movies/ that don't care about them.

Might be: because they have to work to love it and soup tastes better when you cook it yourself.

(Sorry for the mixed metaphor - can't think of a better way to phrase things.)

Might be: If the author is indifferent to you the plot is harder to predict and they enjoy the novelty/unpredictability. Books which mean to give you satisfaction are typically very predictable in certain ways:

What would be most thematic happens. What would be most satisfying happens. Checkov's gun fires. Foreshadowing follows. Promises fulfilled.

But if the author doesn't care for you, you can't know. They might break their promises. They might not make any promises in the first place. And finding enjoyment in a story like that - a story not meant to be loved - can bring a type of strange, visceral joy that stories made for the reader can't give.

[akdw]

When discussing the after effects of Peeta getting hijacked, people tend to say “He’s not the same!” “He’ll never love Katniss the real, same way again!”

But ppl missing an important theme of the whole trilogy: It’s a WAR. And wars will change people, force them to grow up too quick, deprive them of their innocence. Obviously, they will change. It’s pretty much inevitable.

But saying that it rids them of their ability to love fully, to heal, to find peace, it honestly disgraces their characters and disgraces a very important theme in the trilogy. If Peeta’s hijacking represents how war changes people, then it also represents recovering from your wounds, maybe not fully, but enough to find peace and joy in living again. To love your family and those close to you, even if some have been taken away from you. That’s such an important part of the books, it’s why even after such tragedy, such violence, the trilogy still ends on a hopeful, peaceful note.

Peeta will never be the same. But neither will Katniss. Neither will Annie, or Haymitch, or Johanna or anybody else. From the moment they got reaped to the end of their stories, they’ve changed every step of the way. This does not mean in any way that they will love less. Peeta would love Katniss just as much as before, because dammit he went through a hell that tried to force him to fear Katniss but in the end he prevailed.

There’s literally a convo with Johanna in Mockingjay that reinforces this:

"Haymitch says he's[Peeta] getting better," she[Johanna] says.

"Maybe. But he's changed," I say.

"So have you. So have I. And Finnick and Haymitch and Beetee. Don't get me started on Annie Cresta. The arena messed us all up pretty good, don't you think? Or do you still feel like the girl who volunteered for your sister?" she asks me.

"No," I answer.”

None of them are the same, but it doesn’t completely, totally, destroy their ability to love and live just as before. They won’t be able to go 100% back to normal, but they can feel and love just as strongly, if not more.

[sootyships]

d+v word-initially v+d word-finally VdV internally d+la obv allowed shaadlar only instance of dl outside of d+la l+d in compounds only (tal'din, presumably keldab) rd in werd etc well attested word-internally and finally dr in dral etc, word-initial only nd well attested word-internally +dha

conversely, lt is not attested at all tV initially, Vt finally, VtV internally tl only in di'kut+la tr word-initial + internal rt internal only st initial&internal str initial only ts initial… sort of internal? oritsir seems to be ori+tsir (or ori+Vtsir), and bui'tsad etc are clearly compounds tn only in jate+ne and bat+norac, but clearly allowed since not *jatene nt word-internal ONLY (hence coruscanta, not coruscant) ht in gaht

dn not attested, d with sibilants not attested, not even cy+d or sh+d t also not attested with suhuäässä sounds

ad and at abt as common et is SIGNIFICANTLY more common than ed it is more common than id but neither is super common ot is much more common that od and vod accounts for a ton of ods ut and ud look abt as common yt exists, yd doesnt ta is more common than da te is slightly more common than de ti slightly more common than di to slightly more common than do du a bit more common than tu ty more common than dy

now im starting to wonder if d isnt just on its way out, but it'll prolly stick around long due to common words like ad and vod

but yeh no real patterns i can spy either

have u noticed any patterns in mando'a between t/d and to a lesser degree between b/v and v/w that would map to what traviss said about their occasional interchangeability or whatever?

This is an excellent question but no, not really. I have a collection of miscellaneous observations and a ream of notes but no systematic analysis or a coherent theory about it.

Here are some random thoughts from the top of my head:

- w does not occur in a word-final position (iirc not syllable-final either), whereas v is common there

- I have a theory that e.g. traat and dral might actually come from the same root (ie traat is related to dral rather than tra, unless all of those are related—the whole word family is interesting; might do a separate post later), so there’s one d/t alternation but it’s the same environment so there doesn’t seem to be a systematic difference?

- I’ve also played around with the idea that Concordian tat might be related to ad rather than vod, but there’s just no way to tell.

- We talked about the -nn in some words possibly representing a lost syllable (-an or -ne), but I’ve also thought that vhett might similarly be vhet-ad.

- There’s also b/v e.g. beroya might be be-roya (of-hunt) or more compellingly, ver-oya (earn/pay-hunt) & veman could be be-maan (of-original) or vut-maan with a vowel change (but that feels awkward). The first morpheme of ve’vut and veshok could perhaps also be be?

- I actually do have a hypothesis about vowel changes, though it’s very much a general idea rather than an analysis at this point. But basically all the documented vowel changes tend towards vowel raising.

If any of the e.g. t/d correspondences were regular (conditioned by their environment e.g. voicing between other voiced segments), we might be able to pick them out. But frankly, if they are I haven’t been able to tell (unlike e.g. the case of c being pronounced as k/s/sh which is regular or close enough).

So as an explanation, I’m leaning towards something like some (historic) Mando’a dialect underwent certain sound changes, some of those words got loaned into other dialects, and as a result, we have related words with both e.g. t and d. Kind of like English has related words with a hard k (e.g. camera from Latin) and a ch (e.g. chamber via French) which ultimately derive from the same root.

From a conlanging perspective, I kind of like this idea because it would allow us to make our own similarly random sound changes and get related words/concepts that don’t all look exactly alike. It’s kind of a poor man’s sound changes kind of a deal, but since no one’s worked backwards to reconstruct Archaic Mando’a… (and I’m not volunteering; working backwards from what already exists is a headache.)

If you have different ideas or anything to add, please share! I’d love some more input or a fresh perspective.

[iamhereinthebg]

Let's talk about the clock keepers boundary!

(warning: spoilers until chapter 124!!)

I've had some guess on where they could be from so let's look at what we have in the manga for now. I will keep things on surface level for the most part but it's just some things I noticed!

The first mention of the town is in chapter 111, where we finally have a view on their boundary.

A lot of fans already guessed from their clothes that they were not from Japan, this panel definitely confirms it and even points more precizely to a European country, mostly Western Europe. And also a country where Winter with snow exist.

It's also not an English speaking country, since Akane cannot understand the language and we know he has english classes at school.

Now there are several things we can look at to have more clues!

First, the architecture.

This type of house is called Timbered framed houses. It’s important to note that the roofs on those houses are really really sharp here. Which means theywere built for snow, so it can slide off the roofs more easily. The trees are also pines, something that can be found in a lot of Europe. (wood was needed to be able to create houses made of wood/with visible Framework( Little note: I know Italy was a guess for a lot of person because of the link to Pinocchio, but Italy main material for houses is stone not wood. And it is also not known for its winter.)

Here we can also see bricks which is something more associated to countries like Germany, Belgium or the Nertherlands, we don't have the colors so we can't guess from which minerals it was made for now.

But we have even more informations when we look at chapter 124!

The bridge and tower may be inspired by a fortified city, something that you could find A LOT in Western Europe during the middle age, not a lot of cities still have their entire walls but you can still see it if you go into old medieval towns. We can also see something that looks like a Belfry on several panels. Towers used mostly to indicate each passing hour of the day (may be a campanile or a bell tower (the difference is wether it's linked to religion or not basically)

Second! Let's do a little bit of clock making history!

I won't go into details, but there are some countries to point for this. England, The Netherlands and Germany. We already took out England before and we can easily erase Nertherlands from the list with the next step (my favorite one).

The food! I already had my suspicions confirmed with this bonus art from volume 22.

First of all, they have tea which is not something that was in Europe before the XVII century. But let's look at the sweets they have here.

Chocolates which look close to Belgian chocolate ( I say Belgian but other countries' chocolate is pretty close to it) , Christstollen Cake, and Spiztbuden.

We have even more to look at with the new chapter! And they confirm that it's indeed a stollen cake.

With all these foods it's now pretty obvious which area the clock keepers are inspired from.

Stollen cakes are German cakes, ginger cookies are from Germany too. I will also add that there is a chance the crescent moon cookies are VanilleKipferl. We have another panel showing Sausages and bread. Only the Almond is something not typical from Germany but which clearly was all over Western Europe with trades.

Their city already looked like the 'perfect christmas city' you can see in movies, inspired by German culture. And they also mention Mulled Wine which is THE beverage to take in any chritmas market in Europe.

Chritmas markets are inspired and coming from Germany first, but I wanna point something more.

My main guess was, Nuremberg, the city where the ancestor of the pocket watch was created, the Nuremberg Egg. It's also a Fortified city and it has forests around it. It's also known for its Ginger cookies!

So Germany would be a great pic, but the more I think about it the more I can also see the link to another region: Alsace.

Alsace is a region from France right now BUT it's a mixt of german and french culture (I will not make a history lesson but it is a place that always switched between France and Germany basically, now it's French).

All the food mentionned before are also made in the Alsace region!

It's situated in the Vosges, a chain of mountains known to have a lot of forets of pines and which is known to have villages like this:

Which were also the main inspirations for movies like Howl's moving castle for example. You can see the similarities between the artchitectures

The first ever Chritmas Market was in Strasbourg, the capital of Alsace, when it was German and it spread accross Europe after.

I will now look at something I usually don't do because I exclude Aus from canon but it's just a funny thing to point out.

This au shows a snow town inspired by ginger bread houses. I just find it funny because Aoi is shown as a baker, with bread (which are not baguette I think, it's way larger here) but with some croissant on her table (disclaimer: Croissant are not french at first, this form here is, but it's from Austria otherwise) And Kako clearly has something similar to a Wine bottle in his hands. This au is the only one featuring them, was given with their volumes and the vibes are really similar to their boundary.

I would say no matter what it's definitely closer to German culture but I wanted to point out this region which is known for it's Christmas season and its typical houses.

I will mostly say that it's an inspiration from this region of Europe, I don't know if a real country is the reference for it since we don't even know where tbhk takes place, but it's always funny to look at those things :DD

Little bonus:

In a more messy note, the clothes. I put them at the end because besides their hats, I had no idea how to describe it, since it seems pretty typical of what people could wear in winter.

I did the research in the other way, to look for German and Alsacian clothing to see if it match and it kinda does but I don't think it's speficific to this region. The girls wear classic white Charlotte and big clothes with layers for Winter.

The clock keepers clothes are different, it looks like a mixt of Japanese and western European clothing (especially from england).

Their main outfits for Akane and Kako really just look like a typical waistcoast/costume you can find in the XIXth century in Europe and Mirai's seems more inspired by a mixt of a Kimono with several layers(she also has sandals and frills) and a coat? The little knots Kako and Akane have on their coats look like something inspired from Mizuhiki knots too (I actually saw a costume with those exact same knots in a museum but I didn't take a picture rip)

So I would say they probably changed slowly their attire when they arrived in Japan, we don't know since how many times they are here, but we know that what is happening in the deeper place of the boundary is linked to memories previous to their arrival. According to their origin I think we can say that it's pretty sure they arrived after the Meiji/during the Meiji Era in Japan (1868/1912), since it's a this time Japan mostly imported Western culture (for clothing here, the first contact was before this. And note: it was mostly rich people who dressed like this). And If we look at some others dates like the things they are eating, used to have or even their clothes, I would say it's more probably the Meiji Era and not in the XVs.

Another note is that their clocks have the numbers written in japanese on it (in the og version but it maye just be so it's readable for the japanese readers? idk if it's a choice or not).

I haven't searched much on their clothes but it was still something I wanted to note here ^^

[thefandombringer]

Rewatching season 3 right now and I feel like the fact that this little scene exists is on its own such conclusive Byler endgame evidence like

Why would they include the line about will thinking that he’s not going to fall in love if that were going to be the case? The only reason to include a statement like that in writing would be to disprove it later on. It’s basic foreshadowing and irony, topics that are covered in high school english classes. If Will wasn’t going to fall in love (and be happy!! Jonathan is happy in this scene!!) then they would have no point to outright say it and they would show, not tell this fact (not even gonna go into how bad of a message it would be that a gay kid will never find love).

To preface the argument that I know will be said, “what if Will falls for someone else in season 5? What if they introduce a new character?” If the plan was to make Will end up with an outside character with him being such a relevant character, then they wouldn’t have made him so clearly and hopelessly in love with Mike. That would just be bad writing.

Byler endgame for the win 🙌🙌🙌

[atomicrebelfire]

Buck is an unreliable narrator — and the writing does him no favors

Honestly, Buck has been such an unreliable narrator for his own story. We’re supposed to believe he’s this mature, grown man in his 30s dealing with complex feelings, but his actions scream otherwise. He avoids accountability, dodges confrontation, and leaves Tommy (and fans) guessing what’s really going on inside his head.

Buck won’t even call or text Tommy to clear things up after they break up — or after their messy hookup. Instead, he lets things fester and runs around asking everyone else for advice. How is this his story if he can’t even own it?

The writers are basically telling us Buck has no agency, no standing — that he needs Maddie, Chim, Hen, Josh, even Bobby’s permission to decide what kind of relationship he wants and how to manage it. He’s not a teenager. Did they forget this guy is eight seasons in, whose whole arc has supposedly been about growth and maturity?

The problem isn’t just that Tommy was “wrong” or “insecure.”

It’s that Buck was:

Passive

Vague

Emotionally evasive

And somehow, we’re asked to:

➡️ Blame the guest character for not reading Buck’s mind?

Yes — Buck should have checked in with Tommy. Especially after:

He initiated the hookup with clear emotional tension

He twisted the meaning of it, turning it into something casual without clarity

He was offended by Tommy’s insecurity instead of showing empathy

Even if Tommy ended things, Buck misled him by:

Hooking up without intention

Reacting with anger instead of reassurance

And yet the writing acts like:

“Poor Buck... just sniffle it out, put up a new shelf, and boom! You’re healed.”

That’s not character growth. That’s narrative evasion.

The bigger problem — the vulnerability imbalance

Tommy constantly shows vulnerability with Buck. He tells him he was jealous of the 118’s bond. He shares how his father and Gerard wasn’t supportive, and how hard it was not being out while working under someone like that. He openly admits his fears about getting hurt.

Buck? We rarely see him meet Tommy halfway. Even when he says he was afraid of losing Bobby (S7E10)— someone he considers like a father — he never really lets Tommy in.

In the breakup, Tommy was misguided but emotionally honest. That fear came from somewhere real. And before the hookup? Tommy says he wanted to reach out, and Buck replies with, “No way.” and nothing.

The next morning, Tommy tries again — asks what Buck’s plans are, brings up his insecurity around Eddie. And Buck? Lashes out.

Tommy leaves. Buck doesn’t follow. He doesn’t text. He goes to Maddie for advice. And when she tells him to learn to live alone, he just sniffs and does nothing.

This isn’t just inconsistent writing — it erases the emotional labor Tommy does and paints Buck as a passive, emotionally blank slate who never has to do anything to grow.

So we’re still expected to root for Buck as the main character?

Why is Buck allowed to be emotionally evasive while Tommy has to carry all the guilt?

Why does Buck’s story hinge on what others say — instead of him taking actual emotional risks?

If this is supposed to be growth, it feels like a step backward.

And the kicker? This isn’t even the first time Buck has acted like a passenger in a relationship. It’s the same story, just a new season. New Buck 8.0, same passive patterns, no visible growth.

You can’t keep calling it development when every emotional beat gets outsourced to side characters while the lead avoids doing the work.

Using abandonment issues as a crutch? That has limits.

You can’t keep handing Buck “abandonment issues” every time he refuses to exercise his autonomy — doing nothing is still a choice. That excuse loses power when it becomes a get-out-of-growth-free card every season.

And honestly? This wasn’t a relationship. It was a checkbox.

Not a real, messy, evolving romance. Not will-they-won’t-they. Not right person, wrong time. Not even a miscommunication arc. — one is a main character while other is guest at best.

This was one person refusing to use their agency — then playing the victim when things fell apart. I’m sorry, I have no kind words.

I wanted to do a full data-backed analysis of this relationship. I really did.

But then I saw season finale. Got mad. And thought, “You know what? Let me lash out now and be more rational later.”

I’ll try to be the adult in the next post. I swear. 😤 I still want to do a more rational, unbiased analysis of this relationship later — pinky promise. 🤦‍♀️🫶🙏 I love these boys, but man… the writers really fumbled this one. they suck!

[tillsfan]

i keep noticing these cameras symbolizing ivan’s eyes watching till. i can’t determine if it has any real significance or if it’s just a cool easter egg. maybe it could symbolize how ivan was literally Always Watching till, suffocating the latter. ivan haunts till’s mind more than he believes, even reminding him of ivan during his worst moments (being locked up, tested on, performing) … yet, at the same time, ivan was always there. i’m specifically thinking of this scene in r3, where till is locked up and ivan rescues him.

the fact that ivan’s eyes are symbolized as the things watching till during his most vulnerable moments means a Lot. ivan and till saw each other for who they truly were, which made them so conflicted with each other. they were always so raw with one another, ivan’s vulnerability towards till being the fact he was so difficult. he always had a pushing/pulling habit with till since he didn’t know how to love or how to be loved. and till was the only one who saw him this way.

meanwhile, ivan saw till as more than just the rebellious kid. he saw someone who wanted freedom. someone who was so unapologetically themself that they’d even throw themself directly into danger to keep their dignity. while others viewed till as an untamed pet, ivan saw everything in till and loved it.

though, it caused the both of them distress. till saw ivan so rawly, yet was always confused and felt a lack of security regarding ivan. till was unable to escape ivan, and it’s Literally Shown through the visual of these cameras, watching his weakest moments. ivan and till are so insanely tied together, despite how much they pulled apart.

i would love to see other people’s interpretations of the ivan eye symbolism.. it’s so interesting. also i didn’t read this i literally just rambled so Sorry if i sound stupid LMFAO

[ironunderstands]

Sunday’s worldview sucks, his outlook and perception of himself and others sucks… and that’s why he’s so interesting

In honor of his drip marketing releasing tonight (or maybe yesterday for you depending on when I get this out), I’d like to talk about why I think Sunday’s beliefs and perspective is very, very flawed and how his own biases rather than the actions of those who oppose him are what led to his downfall.

Sunday is entirely responsible for his own failure, and that’s exactly why he’s incredible.

This contains mentions of leaks and spoilers for the Penacony quest line… you have been warned

To start with, oh my lord do Sunday’s preconceived notions kick him in the ass. 

I think the best example of this is his conversation with Dr. Ratio in which Ratio pretends to betray Aventurine, selling out his plan to Sunday. Now, what’s incredibly interesting about this exchange is that Ratio doesn’t fully lie to Sunday once in this exchange, rather he says half truths and makes vague statements which Sunday himself interprets as being in support of him. 

Take what Ratio said the whole, “A scholar knows their position and wouldn’t forsake it for the sake of petty pride.” In retrospect, we know this line is actually referring to Aventurine- aka Ratio is saying he’s not just going to sell him out to Sunday for the sake of information about the Stellaron (which he would get anyways if the IPC attained Penacony, plus Mr. Incredibly Dedicated Knowledge Spreader probably has other means of gaining it then through The Family). 

However, since Ratio answered the invitation Sunday gave him, Sunday assumes that Ratio is on his side, believes his cause is righteous, and that he won Ratio over with offering him information about the Stellaron, therefore making that previous statement of Ratio’s null, because Sunday interpreted it as, “convince me this is worth my time + prove to me you’re correct,” when it really meant, “there is no way in hell I’m about to sacrifice my friend to you, and there is nothing you could offer me to make me do so you crazed lunatic.”

But why did Sunday not weigh the options? Why did he unquestioningly believe his perception of the situation was the correct one?

Well- partly it’s because Ratio and Aventurine were doing their damndest to make it seem like they hate each other and that their plan was going off the rails.

But the more important part is that even without Ratio saying a word or even accepting the invitation, Sunday already believes he’d be on his side. 

Let me demonstrate this through Sunday's perspective:

I am a righteous person, I am doing the correct things, my worldview is the correct one. Dr. Ratio is also a righteous person who seems to be doing the correct things. Therefore, since we are both on the side of good, and Aventurine is clearly not on that side considering his status as Stoneheart and his negative relationship to Ratio, then Ratio will naturally want to be on my side. After all, the good guys work together, do they not?- and together will vanquish this evil villain.

This perspective is a simple one, but Sunday’s unshaking belief (up until the end of 2.2) that he is 100% in correct and in the right, that any and everyone who he also perceives to be in the right (like Ratio) would believe/side with him without truly needing to be convinced. Sunday doesn’t come out the gate offering the Stellaron information- he only keeps it as a backup just in case. 

However, this is complicated because Sunday is also not an idiot, and he’s extremely paranoid, so he’s going to make sure that the way he views the world is 100% correct on the off chance he’s wrong which could foil his plans- which is why he invited Ratio in the first place. Nevertheless, this isn’t him hunting for new perspectives, but rather him desiring to prove himself right again, which is a bad thing because Sunday is very much not right. 

A perfect world is a perfect pris- *gets shot*

Reference that approximately 2 ½ people will get beside, Sunday’s ideology that he is fully confident in.. sucks. It sucks ass, it’s terrible, and let me explain.

I’m not going to try going over all the little intricacies to how the dreamscape works because I a) don’t know and b) don’t particularly care because they aren’t relevant to the argument I will be making- which is that Sunday’s ideology is inherently flawed and immediately falls apart under scrutiny.

Essentially, he desires to create the perfect fake reality, enveloping the whole galaxy in Ena’s dream and fulfilling their every desire and whim within it, with himself as the sacrifice to allow it to exist. The seven rest days, no illness, no pain, no challenge, you get the idea. 

And, this perfect world paradoxically sucks ass because of its perfectness.

Improving society is great, eliminating hardship is great, increasing quality of life is great.

But declawing reality itself- absolutely not.

I’m going to try to explain this through my favorite strangely specific anecdote- the process of obtaining diamonds in Minecraft.

Stay with me now.

You essentially have two options- go out and mine them yourselves the hard way, which takes hours, gives you less diamonds per the amount of time spent on it, and likely with you exhausting some of your resources like food, torches, and tools which you will need to replenish.

Or.

You can just.. get them from creative mode or commands, and you can get as many as your heart desires.

However, despite the fact that option one is harder, gives you less diamonds and takes significantly more time, I, as well as hopefully you, would pick it every time (at least in a survival world, although honestly idk why you would even need pure diamonds in creative).

And that’s because the first option is rewarding. 

You did not earn the diamonds you easily and magically summoned into your inventory, there is no struggle, no journey, no challenge to it, therefore it feels entirely unremarkable, as compared to the feeling you (hopefully) get from mining diamonds, which makes you happy because you earned it. Yeah, it was harder, but the process itself is fun- the anticipation of not knowing when you’re going to find them, if at all, the danger, the fighting and digging and mauvering you will have to do in the process.

And with this unconventional example, the fatal flaw with Sunday’s ideology is revealed- it’s boring. 

It’s boring as shit.

Yeah, for the first few months or even years it might be enjoyable- having everything you could ever want served on a silver platter. However, humans are a) inherently a bit greedy and b) desire challenge, and this scenario fulfilles neither of those things. Naturally having everything means your desire for more can never be fulfilled, leaving the wanter forever unsatisfied, whereas in the real world, things are truly out of your reach, meaning that even if you never end up getting them, they are still a tangible thing just out of reach… as strange at it sounds, we like being tantalilus-ed more than you think. After all, if what you want is so easy to get, you will never run out of things to want, and eventually that gets draining. 

Continually, if everything is easy, if everything is just right there whenever you want it- existence itself no longer has stakes. 

And that’s the problem, because much like how a story with no stakes is extremely hard to find compelling, a life with no stakes feels boring at best and downright pointless and meaningless at worst.

I’m just saying, there is a reason why the Nihility was such a strong presence and problem in Penacony.

Anyways, like with the diamond problem, a lack of stakes means that nothing you do feels rewarding, because you didn’t truly earn it. 

Which is where the Sunday’s idea of a “perfect” reality falls apart, because the most enjoyable reality for humans to live in is not one literally devoid of any possible flaw.

So why does he believe in it? When it’s so clearly flawed?

Well, it’s because Sunday doesn’t think a better alternative exists.

The world made you this way.. and you chose to continue what it started.

I’m sure I don’t need to repeat the story of the Charmony Dove all over again because trust me, we’ve all heard it before. Nonetheless, it reveals something important both about Sunday’s personality and his ideology- he’s fundamentally a defeatist.

He doesn’t believe that there is any alternative for the dove, that it could ever be able to fly again with its deformed nature, so instead of being “cruel” and letting it “inevitably fall to its death,” he’d rather keep it in a cage all its life where it has no freedom, but at least it would he alive and “happy”.

And this is where his defeatism reveals itself- Sunday doesn’t believe reality itself can get better because improving it when there are so many factors and things out of your control is hard at best and impossible at worst. Therefore, he resorts to creating an escapist, false version of it- a perfect golden cage, because constructing that is far, far easier than trying to help the dove fly again. 

The universe has endless possibilities, if Robin and Sunday had tried hard enough, they probably could have found a solution. Sure, they were both children, so the capabilities necessary to even attempt that were likely far out of their reach. However, it was still possible, but Sunday doesn’t believe in possibilities- he believes he’s right above all else, which is where that stubbornness and arrogance comes into play again.

Sunday doesn’t think better solutions than his exists, and he believes everyone would could possibly stand in his noble way are either villains, or horribly misguided; so it’s his job to show them the light.

This is why he lets the Express Crew + Firefly try to change his mind- Sunday wasn’t actually interesting in shifting his perspective, or really what they wanted to say. Rather, he just wanted to let them say there peace, because well, Sunday’s a good, righteous person (at least from his perspective), and good, righteous people listen to others. Good, righteous people will let these poor, ignorant souls offer their foolish words before exposing them to the harsh truth- or at least that’s how Sunday sees it. 

Moreover, this also explains his arrogance. If he believes his worldview is the sole correct one, then why listen to anyone else? He’s this world's savior, or at least he’s been raised to believe that- so why not relish in it? He enjoys punishing Aventurine, enjoys the bastard who stood in the way of Sunday’s plans, shrinks away in “defeat” and get what he “deserves.” Despite how miserable it sounds, Sunday also takes pride in having to be a martyr to bring about his beautiful dream. The belief that he is a selfless, good person is a selfish desire of his, even if a genuine one, and it’s what leads to his downfall.

Sunday could have actually listened. He could have reevaluated his loss to Aventurine and realized it was not through the others clever deception, but through his own biases. He could have actually taken the Express’s and Firefly’s advice. He could have looked for other avenues to help the people he truly does care about. 

Despite Gopher Wood’s manipulation- Sunday’s decision to go forward with the pain is entirely his own, because he truly believes- even with all the evidence for the contrary- that he is correct.

And that’s why he fails. Not because of the Express. Not because of Ratio. Not because of Aventurine. Not because of Gopher, or even the rest of The Family.

No, Sunday fails because he is flawed, and he is wrong, and he is the arrogant, selfish and biased one, and his worldview is wrong.

So what now?

This might have seemed like I think Sunday is pure evil and irredeemable, but I think it’s quite the opposite.

He has very good intentions, and he does genuinely care about it the well being of other people around him. He gives Aventurine a chance to prove his innocence, even if he never intended on changing, he does listen to what the Express + Firefly have to say. He pauses when Robin shows up, as she’s the one person (until the very end) he’s actually willing to accept the perspective of. The whole reason he ended up here in the first place is because Gopher Wood twisted Sunday’s good intentions into a fatal arrogance and utmost belief in a flawed worldview. 

However, what really sells me on Sunday’s goodness is when eyes widen at that final moment, the light draining from him as he realizes he is wrong. 

And once Sunday realizes he is wrong, those flaws that bind him can finally be examined and improved upon, as they all stem from that worldview he no longer believes in. 

His whole life, Sunday has been enacting out someone else’s plan for him, even if he’s come to internalize it over time, at the end of the day- it was never his, and without it, he’s empty.

Which is exactly why the only place he can go now is the Express, and the only thing left for him is redemption and growth.

Dan Heng is right- Sunday has a noble soul, and now that he has stopped believing in himself, he’s no longer shackled by the past either. Improvement or utter demise (in a likely nihility-flavored manner) are his only options remaining.

I understand a lot of people want to see him become a Stellaron Hunter, but imo, that just does nothing for him. He’d still be following someone else’s path/script, and Mr. I Will Sacrifice My Whole Existence To Become The Sun To Illuminate These Wandering Souls probably wouldn’t be so on board with the whole.. terrorism part of being a SH. Like yeah, they are our friends (kinda), but they absolutely kill innocent people and cause millions of dollars in property damage to people who don’t deserve it. 

Also, being on the Express Just Makes Sense. This is a game about choices, a game about accepting the mistakes of your past, but not letting them define you in order to move on and forge a better future for yourself and others- with the Astral Express + Trailblaze as a concept being the literal embodiment of it. There’s a reason when you switch to the Trailblazer’s POV in stories, it includes Kafka’s most important words to us- “When you have the chance to make a choice, make one you won’t regret.”

Therefore, I hope the choices Sunday will make in 2.7 are ones he’s proud of, and I can’t wait to see how exactly they get him on board with the crew, because there still is a LOT of development he needs to do before then. 

Anyways, thank you so much for reading, and if you have any thoughts I’d love to hear them. This was a stream of consciousness mess, but I hope it was still valuable nonetheless! Also if you are reading this on the day it was written, I hope we don’t get disappointed by his drip marketing!

[saturnniidae]

Other than the blatant sexism of it, I think part of why it bothers me so much that Valka was reduced to 'Mother figure' in the third movie because I've always felt that despite their efforts, Hiccup will probably never genuinely see Valka as a mother figure since she didn't actually raise him and he's an adult by the time they meet. Like yes, of course he knows she's his mom but they don't have that kind of relationship and likely never will.

I've always thought this based on a few things, mostly when she apologizes and says "can you give me another chance" because all Hiccup does in response is smile sadly, he never verbally forgives her (that I can remember) so she immediately starts going on about how she can teach him about dragons and that's what connects them, but very little else because they don't actually know each other (And it's so sad because you can tell Valka's trying so hard, she loves Hiccup and he loves her but no amount of talking about dragons will make up for two decades of absence).

The other main thing that I think about with this is that cut footage from when Valka was still planned to be the antagonist, where Hiccup says: "fine! I guess I kinda like the idea of having a mom, alright?" Despite being scrapped, it ties in well with how excited he was for them to all be a family again when Stoick shows up because that excitement is definitely based on the very unrealistic, idealized version of what a 'complete' family is, what Hiccup didn't get to grow up with but probably fantasized about having.

I think the way circumstances kind of forced Hiccup and Valka together could've been really interesting to explore, them mourning Stoick together, exchanging stories about him, Hiccup actually getting to know her outside of the very surface level 'expert dragon lady'. I think Gobber could've really helped with this, bridging the gap between them since he actually knew Valka and has known Hiccup for his entire life (and has experience doing this exact thing with Hiccup and Stoick years ago).

The single year between httyd2 and thw would definitely not have been long enough for it, but I think after a while Hiccup and Valka could be good friends. But they'll never be as close as they could've been and they both know that.

[princessofghosts-posts]

Nico's Powers and Rick way of writing them.

Honestly,I've been wainting to write this.

We all know Nico powers:

Can manipulate the shadows and travel in them (Umbra-kinesis);

Can sense someone's death and soul;

Can summon ghosts and talk to them;

Can summon skeletons that obey to his orders and fight for him;

Can use dreams to send messages;

Can unconsciously split the ground and create cracks or Underworld's openings;

Can turn someone into a ghost and make them forgot their life and ability to speak;

Can turn someone into a skeleton;

Has influence on the dead and can evade them when he has to;

Can create earthquakes (not major ones like Percy);

Technically has Geo-kinesis powers too (like Hazel);

Can summon zombies to serve him;

Can conditionate the CJ's lares speaking ability by forcing them to shut up;

Can influence the dead ones with his mood;

Death-touch;

(If I missed some feel free to add)

Other than this,you need to remember that his title as Ghost King give him some more leverage,and his sword is an uniqueness in the world that give him the ability to suck someone's soul in it.

By only this list you can tell that Nico is extremely powerful,and he is still younger than Percy,with a weak physical body (depression and ED do some wonders to you-) and wasn't never "officially trained" like him since he wasn't around camp much. But he still pulled insane acts even without being 100% ok most of the time.

Nico powers,differently from Percy and Thalia,are extremely versatile. While those two can use whatever source or form of water/lightning to fight,they can't do much outside of their fathers's domains. And then you have Nico. Nico that can use his powers to travel around the world and sending messages with a mental link,other than use them to fight. People always talks about Percy controll over all types of liquid (even poison or the Underworld's rivers),but there is still water in them,so it's normal for him to do so. Thalia can use lightnings because it's normal for her to do so since those are Zeus's main sources of power. But Nico's powers are more than just controlling the dead,he can manipulate dreams (something that only the Hypnos cabin can do if I remember correctly) and can use geo-kinesis too,even tho not as much good or frequent as Hazel (before she started to work with her mist affinity). He can do it all.

I'm not trying to pull the "Nico is more powerful than Percy" argument here,but more focusing on Nico's versatility usage of his powers. And Rick made a mistake here with him,that he realized later and tried to minimize.

You see,when you have a powerscaling system,you usually take the main character as the "default": it's from them that you start to build it so other people can understand where others characters stand,compared to the MC,on the scale. Most of the time,people want their MC to grow stronger after every fight,starting from the bottom,untill they are the most powerful character in the story. It's a format done everywhere (anime,movie,comics,fanfic,books,ecc...) and Rick Riordan also used it with Percy. And when you have as MC the "most powerful character ever" (in this case the most powerful demigod since Heracles times),you need to be careful with your side characters,especially when the author doesn't want them to outshine the MC. For this reason,most of the time,they are either weaker than them or have extremely excessive drowbacks. A good example of this is Jason: Rick introduced him to us as the roman counterpart for Percy,but made us understand that he wasn't never at Percy level of power. And when you have a "side" character as Nico,adding to the fact that he's most of the time the wild card for their victories and always know everything,you have a big problem.

Riordan made it clear that no one (for now) can surpass Percy in term of abilities. But he still went out of his way making Nico's powers more versatile than the others. Logically,he should have been stronger than Percy,especially because death cannot be stoped and it's part of everyone life,but canonically it wasn't going to happen since the MC is Percy. Riordan realized in a second moment that his powers were too much and decided to make sure Nico was always held back by something from going full out (like Jason).

Nico is the only child of the big 3 that,if he use so much of his powers,has extremely horrible drowbacks even when he shouldn't. I could understand during MoA-BoO events in HoO,he was either dying or disappearing into the shadows because of his kidnapping and Tartarus,and still had an extremely draining task to finish. But from HoO to ToA there is a big timeskip (I think 6 months or more but I'm not so sure) where he should had all the time in the world to heal and having back full controll over his powers. But he doesn't. Nico still faint after shadow-travelling,even tho after his trip with the statue he should have been stronger and not having problems for a normal trip. Which sucks,especially when Rick most of the time make him pull some jaw-dropping power-play that give you the full picture on how strong he really is.

I don't think Percy had so many downgrades with his powers,I never saw him almost fainting from controlling the waters. He get tired,yes,but that's it. Thalia has more restrictions because of her fear,but I also never saw her having so many problems after using her powers (after she went with the Hunters we never see her in general anymore). Neither did Hazel with her geo-kinesis powers (before Rick decided to make her learn mist manipulation). Jason is a whole mess because he faint every day when he gets hit by a brick,even when he isn't fighting or using his powers (Rick didn't do him justice either). It's only Nico that has so many negative effects.

And the fandom can explain it,in a canon logic,with: "He's s still young,he will have time to grow stronger." (I agree) ;"He wasn't never in a good physical condition so it's normal that he has this many negative effects." (Even dying he was still able to curse someone to literally becoming a ghost) ; "He was malnourished and depressed,since he didn't take care of himself before he still have problems,wait for him to be healthy." (Again,even in those conditions he still pulled insane stunts). But,outside of the narrative,Riordan totally nerfed him because he realized that he wrote his powers too powerful and useful compared to Percy's,and since he couldn't have his MC outshined,he made sure to slow Nico in any way possible.

In BotL and TLO there are 2 scenes that,for a long time,I thought I was the only one to ever have read them since no one talked about them.

In the end of BotL when Percy get out of the Labyrinth and went with Rachel to see the coffin,Nico created an earth barrier (or something closer to it) to help them escape form Kronos's attack. He never did that after it,and I never saw people acknowledge that scene so I legitimately thought that I was imaginating it. Which was strange since it came right after the famous "Did you just throw a blue brush in the eye of the Titan Lord?" scene,but no. It really happened and Nico did use the earth at his liking. After that Riordan decided to never bought it up and Nico never manipulated the earth in that way (he still split the ground a couple of times) again.

In TLO after Nico went to free Percy from the dungeons,they escaped the palace and went to the Styx. During their escaping Nico glared at the guards,while growing weaker and weaker with each one,and they ignored them. Again,since I never saw someone talk about it I genuinely thought I was remembering things wrong. Especially because it was part of the whole "Betrayal" plot that everyone know. But again,it wasn't the case,Rick just decided to never bring it up again. It was the only time Nico did something like that. Someone can say "Well,those are the royal guards and their boss is his dad they would never go against him." but the guards were against Nico,if he didn't do whatever the fuck he did,they were going to tell Hades about their escape. So,again,Rick realized he gave him a powerful trick and then hoped that one one would remember it after he used it one time.

All of this shows that,even if he is good at writing certain things,when it comes to others topics (like power-scaling,Tartarus's trauma and many more) he just can't write well and try to put patches on the holes,without having success. But that's for another post that I will do.

Rick lack of continuation in his work,and he needs to decide what the hell he is going to do with Nico,because the guy himself is a contradiction that needs to be solved. And if I see someone else say that he is weak because he continue to faint,I'm gonna crash out very very very bad since it's Rick's fault. Nico has grown enough in his power to stand tall and use them without having majors problems (if he abuse them,then of course he is in big troubles). He isn't anymore the 13 years old kid that was dying during a world-ending trip after days of being captive by the enemy,and Riordan needs to acknowledge it and move on from that.

[socklines]

one reason i think jadder works so well is manifestations of anger. obviously adder is a very openly angry man. in fact, the only emotion he seems comfortable expressing openly IS anger. everything else he tends to hide using anger as an inappropriate conduit, unless he is uncontrollably happy or horny.

janosh, on the other hand, only shows anger on the pillory and after adder has died. he is extremely open, showing his distaste and love for everyone and everything around him, but he never seems to quite get upset with anyone. this suggests that he is just repressing his anger, as any reasonable person would be frequently angered by the devils packs misadventures.

i think together, they can feel the full spectrum of their emotions THROUGH each other. that is why they are so attached to the hip—without the other, they are literally denied part of themselves. this is why we only see Janosh angry when he is separated from adder. he is forced to contend with his own emotions and can no longer lean on his best friend. his anger is also extremely biting, and not mellowed in the way adder’s often is with excessive swearing and entirely physical threats. janosh, still deeply in touch with his emotions, turns them into a dagger to be shoved into others.

we do not see the same emotional depth from adder, and we do not need to. he keeps to the shallows of the heart, and janosh keeps him on a short leash. i fear what would have happened if brabant had killed janosh first.

[madbard]

While listening to Epic, I noticed an interesting pattern with how antagonists are portrayed, and how Odysseus’ interactions with them are coded.

In Epic, the monsters Odysseus faces are rarely fighting for their own sake. Polyphemus attacks Odysseus’ crew to avenge his sheep, and Poseidon destroys his ships as revenge for his son’s suffering. Similarly, Circe only threatens Odysseus to protect her nymphs. Odysseus does not kill any of these enemies, and while he is occasionally criticized for letting them go free, the overall implication is that he did the right thing by sparing them.

Then we hit the Thunder Saga, and Odysseus begins his arc as a ‘monster’ by killing the sirens. His actions here are brutal, and whether or not they are justified is, I think, up to the listener. However, it’s significant that the sirens are the first foes Odysseus faces on his journey who aren’t either defending or avenging what they love. They attack unprovoked, and while Odysseus’ method of execution is gory, he is never punished for it by other characters within the narrative. Apollo is the only one to protest, and even he is swayed easily when Athena says (among other things) that the sirens were “trying to do him worse.” The sirens attacked first, and while Odysseus’ response was ‘monstrous,’ his crew obeyed his commands and he was not challenged or ostracized for giving said commands. He is only treated as a monster when he yields to Scylla, who also attacked without provocation.

Thus, in Epic, the monsters fighting to protect or avenge their loved ones are protected by the very story - killing them may be more convenient, but it isn’t the answer. However, the monsters who attack without provocation, for their own amusement or satisfaction, do not receive such respect. Killing them is acceptable, and cooperating with them is monstrous.

By this logic, Odysseus is justified in his actions, however atrocious. He attacks to protect his family, and therefore deserves mercy.

The suitors, on the other hand…

[risestarkiss]

Rise Ramblings #596

How Donnie thinks he sneezes:

"Ah, ah, ah, sneeze!"

How he actually sneezes:

"...Achooie!"

[tentacle-therapissed]

After Roman says ‘I thought I was your hero’ and Thomas says, ‘you are’, Roman looks over to Janus and Janus nods.

Janus just told everyone his real name moments ago in order to prove that he is both capable of sincerity and willing to be honest with the other Sides so they can start seeing eye to eye. His glove is still off and he is currently in an uncharacteristically vulnerable position that he willingly put himself in. He nods to Roman as if to say "Yes, as the person intrinsically in tune with Thomas’s lying, I can confirm he is telling the truth."

But Roman is looking at Janus as the embodiment of Thomas’s deceit. He’s so used to being played and manipulated by Janus’s lies and faux camaraderie and has now become so on edge that he can’t understand how anyone else could possibly trust anything Janus is saying. He sees the nod as a confirmation that c!Thomas was lying about Roman being his hero and scoffs in shock and betrayal.

c!Thomas looks utterly bewildered at this reaction,

and Janus's smile fades as he realizes how Roman interpreted the nod.

And when Patton says 'we love you', Roman assumes that's a lie too. In the Puzzle Song Roman needs to be reassured that no one hates him, heavily implying this is an underlying insecurity of his. Assuming this is the case, it wouldn't take much for him to believe Patton's 'we love you' meant just the opposite.

Roman's self esteem is so fragile that he takes the others listening to Janus personally. Because if Janus was right, that means Roman made the wrong call in sentencing Thomas to the wedding and doomed them all. If Janus was right, that means he let Thomas down- and it was revealed in Am I Original that Roman is terrified of letting Thomas down.

So now he's convinced (and let's be real, Janus's dig at him for making mistakes didn't help) that he isn't Thomas's hero anymore. Devastating stuff :)

[corpse-flame]

ABOUT NEW JEVIL LORE

check this i dont really feel like pasting it again i also dont really know how to structure these so sorry if its confusing

we learn that jevil was the one who told king about the knight, and really, all that they stand for. on top of that he doesnt even know what the knight looks like:

(line from when you pick the "talk about the knight")

or even is like, implying that he never even saw or talked to them, and only learned about them through jevil's words.

this being probably before jevil was imprisoned, its likely the "strange someone" jevil met was probably the knight. knight told jevil the prophecy, every part of it. which is probably what made him become this way.

not only that but we dont even know how long card castle dark fountain was open for. so time frame necessary for these events to happen are likely enough.

so far my interpretation of the timeline is: -> knight creates card castle dark fountain -> jevil meets knight -> knight tells jevil of the prophecy -> knight gives jevil a shadowcrystal (because of his role as a shadow boss) -> jevil tells spade king about the knight and praises it, leaving out details that would make spades doubt the knight - jevil also explains the prophecy to seam in this time as well, hence seam's knowledge of the future. -> other kings get bothered by jevils new behaviour and order seam to imprison jevil -> seam leaves the court soon after jevil is imprisoned. -> spade king takes control and "imprisons" other kings.

if youre questioning why spade king didnt let jevil out of prison, thats because he wanted to stay there. hes supposed to be secret, after all.

"what implies knight told jevil every part of the prophecy?" - first off, he knows where the second chapter is gonna take place.

(beating jevil through fighting. also i had to launch the game and beat him rq for this. also i died? at jevil? unironically, unwantedly? for the first time? oh i guess i got distracted... by him. in my thoughts.)

not only foretelling that second dark fountain will be at the library but also foretelling of what happened near the end of ch4 which i wont say incase someone reading this didnt beat it yet. (keep in mind ch3&4 happened the same day, so theres really only 1 day gap between.)

-also. seam knows. seam predicts the future shadow boss every chapter. they dont spoil us tho, thanks seam. seam obviously learned all this from jevil, of course. not suprising for jevil to tell his closest companion the prophecy he just learned about...

... well i think thats all i can think of.? if theres anything anyone would like to add or ask or argue, feel free. i like talking about jevil.

oh also theres the "tail prophecy" from ch4? yeah. no idea what thats about. tail of hell will take crawl. sure if you say so. whatever that means.