#and about the sagas that don't let them do anything with their characters

[deadnytalks]

I just discovered somenthing very VERY VERY UNDERRATED about art bassed on already existing characters from a franchise (fan proyects). But underrated on a unsuspected level

I will put you an example, look at this reefsheets of Whisper from Sonic the hedgehog

ALL THE WORK IS DONE, EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR MAKE A FANART OR SOMENTHING ALREADY HAS A FUNCIONAL REFERENCE THAT YOU CAN PERFECTLY USE. DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IS TO INVESTIGATE A CHARACTER FOR MAKE ALL OF THIS REFERENCES AAAAAAHHH!!

For make your own content, your own WORKING FRANCHISE you would have to start FROM CERO. You can perfecly take 30 years for make somenthing profesional enought by your own or somenthing that works!! (30 years including ALL the art learnings you have to use. Psicology included)

We don't appreciate enough that there are sagas that give fans so much freedom to do whatever they want with their copyrighted work, because they can perfectly take down all the fan works at any time for legal reasons, but they choose to not.

(also, important note, don´t interpret this as if I´m defending abuse, empresaurs or companies buying others and then closing them or something like that. This post is not about defending the multimillonare company, is about you to apreciate what you have on a very underrated media as is the art. A kind of "inspiration" for you to not be lazy when the only thing you have to do for make a fan proyect is to take references and adapt it to your style, only the 10% of the work comparing it on making somenthing original. If at the end of the day you are ofended by this post, then the message is not for you, sorry 🙏

[celestialmoondragon]

On Eurylochus in Epic: the Musical

Hey, guys! I've been struggling to put this together since Thunder Saga because the amount of Eurylochus hate I saw after that saga just really stuck in my craw. Now, to be clear, I'm not pointing fingers or saying it was everyone, and a lot of it tapered off so I think it was just a gut reaction after the Saga came out but I've always identified more with Eurylochus while everyone else seems to fall over Polites. 

Not that I have a problem with Polites or anything. I just find the 'blindly optimistic sunshine character' to be rather irritatingly naive most of the time? Again, I identify with Eurylochus’s character & philosophy. I'm not trying to prove he’s better in any way. I've just been trying to put together something to articulate why I think Eury deserves more love.

So here is what I’ve been affectionately calling ‘The Eurylochus Apologist Post.’

Full Speed Ahead:

This song sets up the relationship between Ody, Eury & Poli. It's clear it's a dynamic they're used to: Eury & Poly providing seemingly opposing arguments and Ody finding a sensible middle ground between them. I've seen posts saying it's the Devil & Angel on Ody's shoulders but I don't like that argument because it assigns a moral value to their arguments that isn't there. I think the reason this has worked so far is because Ody sits between them, balancing their viewpoints as both pessimistic caution and blind optimism could be dangerous to their survival solely on their own.

Eury's argument for theft feels extreme, sure, but keep in mind these men just got out of a 10-year war. He's not arguing because he wants aggression or slaughter. Later songs show him going out of his way to avoid conflict enough that an argument could be made for his cowardice although I don't believe that to be the case. Here, he thinks a quick in-and-out is a safer, more cautious approach when dealing with the unknown residents of an unknown island.

I would argue that Poli's desire to openly trust strangers is a more unusual philosophy post-war. And maybe his blind optimism has helped the men keep their spirits up. (Everything's changed since Polites.) But Ody says 'No, let's give them a chance at a peaceful resolution.' 

Both songs before this have shown us how tired of violence & death Ody is but some people read this as him agreeing wholesale with Poli's philosophy which is not the case as he's by far the most cautious of the two in Open Arms. It's only as a result of Poli's death that he tries to be kind to Polythemus, perhaps in honor of his friend. But also simply to spite Athena, who's been rather aggressively telling him he's wrong, and Ody is nothing if not a petty bitch.

Back to Eury tho.

Luck Runs Out:

Eury expresses his doubt after Poli's death. Yeah, they've worked together for at least 10 years and possibly grew up together, but the Polythemus incident is the first time that Ody's cleverness fails. The first time their crew actually dies as Ody's managed to keep them all safe the entire war. And their personal friend was the very first. He sees their mortality for possibly the first time. 

He expresses this throughout Storm. He was CAUTIOUS in Full Speed Ahead, yeah, but the level of defeatism in Storm is extreme. And nearly right after, while he's still struggling, Ody wants to try his tricks on a GOD? There's no indication that he knows about Ody's personal relationship with Athena. All he could see is his friend being arrogant enough to stroll right up to a GOD like it's nothing right after they lost their best friend and several others to a monster. A God is a more dangerous opponent than a monster. (Don't you know how dangerous the gods are?) 

So he tries to articulate his feelings and worries and what does Ody do? Dismisses them. Entirely. Or at least that's what it feels like to Eury. This is something he wasn't doing before. It's also here that we see Ody parrot Poli's philosophy. This is a huge out-of-character shift in their dynamic. Ody isn't playing the middle ground anymore, a mix between trust and caution, the best of both. He's now the other extreme and the dynamic doesn't work with only two points of the triangle.

Now, Eury isn't perfect. He definitely should have expressed his doubts in private where the crew couldn't hear them argue. And Ody does try to reassure him but it's coming from this place of ego & optimism. Eury feels like he doesn't get it. They're both talking at each other but not getting through. And to put the cherry on top, after Ody pulls him aside, all Eury hears is that his concerns don't matter. It isn't necessarily what Ody means. Ody, I think, just wants to caution him about making the crew doubt his leadership but, to Eury, Ody's words come across as 'I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing and you're just going to have to deal.' Which, again, is not how their dynamic works before. Ody fully hears him out in Full Speed Ahead and incorporates his advice into the final plan.

But he isn't doing that here. Eury's final okay is him giving up on trying to get through to Ody right now. Without other events, they might have had a chance to talk about it later and actually reconcile but neither of them are in a state to do so right now.

Keep Your Friends Close:

The captain comes back from an ill-advised talk with a GOD with a mysterious bag that he claims has to stay closed. The crew is agitated by the winions claiming its treasure and the harrowing events of the cave and storm. Remember, Eury's backing vocals are the crew. He speaks for them. While there might have been members who think Ody was lying about the contents, I don't think Eury opened the bag out of a sense of greed. There's been no indication that he's greedy at all. But the crew is growing increasingly agitated and the Captain is obsessing over the bag to the point that he stays awake for 9 days. That's weird. That's out of character. 

People act like the wind bag reveal and his 'sudden' distrust came out of nowhere but the entire first half of the Storm Saga shows their relationship deteriorating. Should Eury have given him the benefit of the doubt considering their years of friendship a trust? Probably. I'm not saying Eury is perfect.

Maybe I'm assigning a thought process that isn't there, but if I were in that position? I'd be worried. Not just about the captain's judgment being impaired from lack of sleep but also there's no telling if the God told Ody the truth about the contents of the bag. I think Eury still trusts Ody but what if Ody's the one being tricked? The crew is agitated, his captain & friend is acting strange, they've got a mysterious bag with unknown contents... 

Of course, he opened the bag.

One argument I've seen the most is that if he hadn't opened the bag, Poseidon wouldn't have caught them and the 557 men wouldn't have died before they got to Ithaca. Well, I would argue that there's no indication Poseidon couldn't get them on Ithaca even if they had made it, but that's not really relevant.

Eury has always, always been worried about the safety of the crew.

He just wanted to check. Be able to reassure the crew & make sure Ody was okay.

They. Did. Not. Know. He. Was. Chasing. Them.

While Ody does question the origin of the storm, (Is it nature or Divine or a blessing in disguise?), it's more idle speculation. That line exists more as a hint to the audience that something is afoot more than an indicator that Ody's figured out, out of nowhere with no context, that the god of the sea is hunting them. With the benefits of hindsight, we the audience know they wouldn't have died, but within the story, the characters didn't have any clue and I don't feel it's fair to blame Eury. 

Puppeteer

Eury tries to fess up immediately. Eury tries to tell Ody his mistake as soon as possible but Ody is, once again, not in a state to hear him out. That isn't either of their faults at all but it does erode their relationship further. It's unclear if he's seeking absolvement, atonement, or just reassurance, but what is clear is that the guilt festers until he blurts it out at the absolute worst time in Scylla. 

Eury gets a lot of flack for proposing they leave the men captured by Circe. Is it necessarily the morally correct choice to abandon their crew? No, and I won't say it is. But his decision is perfectly in line with his character. 

(Look at all we've lost and all we've learned.

Every single cost is so much more than what we've earned.

Think about the men we have left before there's none.

Let's just cut our losses, you and I, and let's run.)

He's begging & pleading for Ody to not through them up against another foe they can't win against. He's saying 'look, we've lost nearly everyone. It's okay if we're cowards here because we won't have anything left if we fail again.'

Now this is somewhat speculative on my part, but If Eury was really a coward or really didn't care about Ody, he probably could have convinced the crew left on the ship to cut and run while Ody confronted Circe alone. All he would have to do is use the same argument he tried on Ody. I think the narrative decision to make Eury's backing instrument the crew tells us pretty clearly that they'll side with him. It's shown most obviously in Mutiny, of course, but it's first demonstrated in Luck Runs Out.

Different Beast

Eury is technically not in this song except for the fact that he is. Because Eury reflecting the crew works both ways. He is the crew & the crew is him. Now the crew, including him, are all on board with Ody's change. Eury wouldn't have left the sirens to chase them or attack others either. He thinks their viewpoints are aligned again, not the Ody has gotten to the opposite extreme of 'only I have to survive.' Not Ody realizes this either.

Scylla

This is were Eury breaks. He blurts out the truth that's been eating him alive at the worst moment. He thinks he's in a good place to confess and try to talk to Ody again because as far as he knows, they're just sailing through a dark cavern. He has no idea Scylla is there until they're attacked. Even when Ody instructs him to light torches, he probably thinks it's because it's dark.

And then she starts eating the crew Ody deliberately made her target. Whether Eury was one of the intended targets doesn't matter, in my opinion, as much as Eury realizes that Ody's new philosophy for survival doesn't include the crew. 

I've seen speculation that Scylla has some sort of truth-compelling power but I believe it was terrible timing myself. The framing of Scylla leaves the audience speculating who she's talking to until it's revealed at the end that it's Ody. Her (breaking the bonds you have made) line comes after Eury's confession not because she's compelling the truth but because she knows what response Ody's gonna have. She knows him because only someone like her would brave her lair. (We're the same, you and I.)

Mutiny

This is by far the most complicated bit and I'm not going to pretend Eury isn't a bit of a hypocrite here. I think he would have made the same choice to sacrifice 6 men if it came down to it, since he was willing to leave some of them on Circe's Island, but I don't think Eury does. He thinks he's always made the most pragmatic, logical choices for the crew's overall survival. He sees Ody's compromised mental state in Luck Runs Out/Keep Your Friends Closer but he didn't necessarily see his own then or now.

So he rounds on Ody. Ody deliberately forced them onto a dangerous path that would see some of them dead without telling them the risks. Eury 'for the crew' lochus can't believe that after all the risks he's taken to save them all, Ody would suddenly decide they don't matter.

(If you want all the power, you must carry all the blame) is a line I've seen people use to argue Eury's hypocrisy but I've always interpreted it differently. He isn't saying 'You're the captain so everything that's happened is your fault,' he's saying 'If you want to keep secrets and throw your crew away, you can't blame them for fighting back.' I believe this to be the case because it comes after (You miss your wife so bad, you trade the lives of your own crew.) 

Between the two is Ody's line (Don't make me fight you, brother, you know you'd have done the same) and, as I said earlier, I firmly believe Eury would have done the same in Ody's place. Or would have less of an issue if they crew were informed before and drew lots or something. But he can't see his own hypocrisy. Whereas Ody was too compromised to see Eury's POV in Luck Runs Out, Eury is now too compromised to see Ody's.

How do we know this?

Because Mutiny begins to mirror Luck Runs Out. The crew parrots Eury's lines, fully and completely taking his side and after Ody passes out and they get to Helios's Island, the lyrics constantly call back to Luck Runs Out although not precisely in the same order. For example:

Luck Runs Out:

Please don't tell me you're about to do what I think you'll do.

You've heard the legends of the island in the sky, this proves they're true

We're in the home of the wind god

We don't know for sure

How many floating islands have you seen before?

This is the home of the wind god.

And what's your plan?

I'm gonna climb to the top and ask 'em for a hand.

Mutiny:

Please don't tell me you're about to do what I think you'll do.

Ody, we're never gonna get to make it home

You know it's true

You don't know that's true

This is the home of the Sun God

But if you kill his cattle, who knows what he'll send?

This is the home of the Sun God

I'm tired, my friend

But we're so close to home, this can't be where it ends.

-----

This continues the entire second half of Mutiny but I’m honestly not a skilled enough musician to recognize every little motif and note. But the two songs feel very similar except that now Eury is the one that can’t hear what Ody is telling him. I hesitate to include this information because it’s not explicitly stated in the musical but the reason he kills the cow in the original is because either the starving crew will survive and can build a temple to Helios in Ithaca or the gods will kill them quickly. Not only would starving be a slow, painful death but it's not a glorious end for soldiers and warriors.

Regardless of whether you choose to include this information in his motivation, it’s clear he’s done. He’s shattered and broken and Ody’s reassurance is too little, too late. The crew is, in his mind, either going to starve to death or die trying to get home and he’s quickly realizing he doesn’t know which is better. He hates that the situation and his relationship with Ody has come to this. He’s no longer angry, just resigned and exhausted. He doesn’t know how to solve their problems and can’t trust that Ody cares enough to try either. So why does he fall back in line so easily when Ody orders the crew to flee?

Because, despite everything, he wants to trust his friend. He wants to go back to when it was the three of them and they trusted each other with no reservations. Which brings us to his last lines in Thunder Bringer. 

Eury: Captain?

Ody: I have to see her.

Eury: But we’ll die.

Ody: I know.

I saw a lot of people getting particularly angry at this because he’d brought the wrath of Zeus down on them and is now begging Ody to sacrifice himself instead of the crew. But I don’t read it that way at all. We’ve heard him plead & beg. He pleads firstly Luck Runs Out and begs broken on his knees in Mutiny and this line doesn’t sound like either. 

This is resignation.

Mutiny shows us that he’s already given up. He’s ready to die. He’s not begging for his life. The crew questions Ody, reprising the chorus of Just A Man the same way they did when they questioned his decision to kill the Infant. Because that’s what Eury’s asking. 

Can you live with the fact you killed us?

Not because he wants to live for himself but because he wants to know if Ody can truly live with the choice he's already made in his heart. At the very end, he seeks reassurance that his last friend will be able to survive to make it home.

For all of them.

In conclusion, Eurylochus is a flawed but entirely human character with a very consistent internal logic throughout and he doesn't deserve to be painted as a conniving, fickle, cowardly friend to Ody because it's abundantly clear he loves the crew and his friend.

[raayllum]

She Must Pay the Price, or A Drop of Mercy :: A Rayla and Leola Meta

Quick:

You're a young elven girl, and you show mercy and compassion to a human that you definitely weren't supposed to. When it's found out, you're punished, with elves even calling for your execution (6x09, book 1 novelization). Your father does what he can, but there's only so much. You're put on trial. You're found guilty regardless of intent, and only by association. You die for this; you die for them. You're a star. A guiding light. There's even a Great Fall off a precipice (though only one of you hits the ground).

Your name is Leola, or Rayla.

You're the beginning and the end, respectively.

So let's talk about it.

Tests of Love

For years, I had wondered where Aaravos' assessment of "Those who fail tests of love are simple animals. They deserve to be motivated by fear" (2x09) came from, cause you don't drop in a line like that if it's not going somewhere. It's quite a statement and worldview, after all. Now, with Leola's trial, it seems we know.

We can see, then, perhaps that Leola's gift giving was the first test of love — are you willing to break the Natural Law, the Natural Order of things? — to help another? To show another a source of power in order to share, to be compassionate, and in Rayla's case, to be merciful (though we'll get more to that in a minute).

We also know that the love Leola had was powerful and all encompassing:

She didn't care to follow the order set in the stars. Though she was born an immortal being from the Heavens, she loved this world... and all its flaws. Her heart was warm and open.

And she befriended mortals. Animals, elves... and humans.

ETHARI: Who I love, where I love, what I love, are all specific. But to Runaan and those like your parents... love is rooted in all families, all creatures. Souls like that feel called to protect everyone as fiercely as those they hold close. (Bloodmoon Huntress)

Okay, so Leola and Rayla both have big compassionate hearts and befriend creatures from all over the place. So what? So do Callum, Ezran, Soren, and most of our other main good guy characters. Even Claudia to a degree (though she could work on not using magical creatures for spell parts).

Well, specifically, it's because of how they intersect currently more with anyone else on the concept of

Mercy

KOSMO: Daughter of the Moon, yours is a wondrous heart. In a moment of mercy, you sent ripples out into the ocean of time. Ripples that have not yet stilled. (6x05)

Rayla sparing Marcos, as noted in multiple interviews by the creators and by myself in previous metas, is ultimately the inciting incident / lynchpin of the entire series. Without it, there would've been no soulfang proposal or Ez running away to find the egg or any of the number of other elements that had to come together to make achieving peace possible.

While we still have details to discover regarding Aaravos' Fall and development of dark magic, we know that a lack of mercy was ultimately what sent him on his path of vengeance. Leola was not shown mercy, and while it seems there were already "flaws" for an imperfect world, things were (probably) better than they currently are in Xadia in a variety of ways. Then, to kick off the entire Saga, we have Rayla sparing Marcos in a soundtrack literally titled "Mercy" and have Kosmo, seasons and seasons later, spell out directly what a big deal this was for well, the ocean of time.

None of this is to say Rayla can't act out of revenge — she did ("when I first came here, I was on a mission for revenge") and she has ("but I became so obsessed with revenge"), much like Aaravos ("he isn't doing anything out of love, he's doing it for revenge") — but that her general compassion and love for others has always been stronger than her grief or rage, and that even when she had every social and personal reason to, she was and is fundamentally unable to hurt someone innocent.

Even when she's shamed or punished for it by herself or by others. RAYLA: The human looked up at me, and I saw the fear in his eyes. RUNAAN: Of course he was afraid, but you a job to do! (1x01)

EZRAN: Yeah, but then you saw he was scared, and you knew he was a person, just like you. RAYLA: That shouldn't have mattered. I had a job to do. (1x08)

The Cosmic Council — and to a degree, the Silvergrove — say that the reasonings or motivations, the intentions, behind Leola and Rayla's actions do not and should not matter when it comes out to doling 'Justice'. So Leola faces her justice, being literally killed in the one manner that can kill a Startouch elf, and so does Rayla, being metaphorically Ghosted / 'murdered' by her community, regardless.

Neither are enough to ultimately quell their light or their love/power, however.

A Star

RAYLA: That beautiful shining star you just pointed out? We call it Leola's Last Wish. (5x02)

So both Leola and Rayla are stars in season 6, literally and metaphorically respectively. Leola's is more self-explanatory, whereas Rayla's is mostly about the role she has in Callum's life as a guiding light and star. I don't think it's a coincidence, though, that just as Rayla placed Callum on his path of being a primal mage, though, that Leola did the same for humanity. I also don't think it's a coincidence that Callum's love for Rayla restores Callum's own light and agency amid Leola giving humanity the same through light and fire.

It happened long ago, when humans had only just learned to hold fire in their hands without burning. They nurtured their precious primal flames secretly—in the dark of night, beneath shadows and shrouds—as cultivating its glow drew the eyes and ire of monsters. Eventually, for the audacity of their fire, they were hunted, and—though they looked to the stars for salvation—the stars, too, looked down upon them with disdain. Humanity had been given something it was never meant to have. (TDP shorts, Ripples)

In this way, we see the manifestation of a repeating parallel of Rayla representing Leola, a gift giver of life, magic, light, unjustly punished/killed, and Callum representing humanity, looking to the kindest brightest star for guidance, magic, restoration, and salvation if he's just given the chance to grasp it. After all, presumably, Leola's last wish would have something to do with primal magic and humanity, and who represents that better than Callum, with two arcana under his belt and possibly more on the way? With that in mind, I want to return to another quote from earlier but with a different focus on

Ripples

Daughter of the Moon, yours is a wondrous heart. In a moment of mercy, you sent ripples out into the ocean of time. Ripples that have not yet stilled.

The wisest of the humans looked upon the water. His own reflection smiled back at him, and he dared to imagine what such power would feel like in his own hands, should he be allowed to hold it. Imagine, he thought, if I were more than what I am. With a trembling hand he touched the surface of the water. Ripples spread from his fingertips. [...] I hope the stars were watching. I hope they saw it: the moment their perfect reflections turned warped and ruined, churned to chaos by the touch of a single human hand. In this, the humans taught me another lesson. And so I touch the surface of the water. I watch the ripples spread.

Water in TDP is a strange beast, symbolically speaking. There are some more straight forward motifs (reflections, "don't try to control where the river [of life] goes, there's one thing you can know and control: yourself"). For Aaravos, it's connected to deep loss but also his own sense of patience in playing and winning his game, as illustrated above. For Rayla, it's linked to shame, self-reflection, bravery, and loss. Aaravos weeps and creates a sea upon losing Leola; Rayla says goodbye to her family by the lotus pond times three.

We don't know what water represents for Leola. Not distinctly, anyway. The best we can figure though, is that by following the through line of the Rayla and Leola parallels, that the ripples Leola wanted to send out or did send out — not the distortions caused by her father and his grief — are ones that Rayla received, and then continued.

Rayla has always been a foil to Aaravos, and this hasn't changed. She is the one who set Callum on the path initially of being a mage, which put him in Aaravos' machinations as prey; she retrieved his Key; and she's the reason Callum's done dark magic, twice. At the same time, much like the moon, Rayla carries Leola's light as much as she shoulders Aaravos' dark. She literally represents light in Callum's life, helps lead him through the darkness, and him being a primal mage and it's possible growth to other humans is the best possible thing that could've ever happened to Xadia.

Sol Regem says that "no one can save" Xadia or fix what is deeply broken. The Cosmic Council said that Leola had broken the Cosmic order and had to pay the price. Rayla has repeatedly been willing to pay the price for both hers and other's actions in hopes of making things right, of sparing others' pain. Sometimes to her detriment, but—if Rayla as Callum's one Truth could fix the darkness within him, if she's the lynchpin for breaking the Cycle, for bringing back Runaan and fixing her family's souls, in opposing and presenting mercy amid the Council's lack of mercy, in the face of Xadia's violence—

Then Rayla's act of mercy in 1x01, and potentially beyond in S7 with Callum, will be what fixes Xadia.

Leola's gift of magic is what 'broke' Xadia, and her execution is what literally did so, leading to the division of the continent. She wrongly paid the price in the absence of mercy and love. Rayla is therefore her thematic successor — welcomed this time as Light and Truth — as the carrier of Mercy and Love, and she will 'fix' Xadia through her ripples and dynamics. She will mend them back together. There will, at last, be no price to pay.

Misc. Thoughts / Predictions

One thing I was always curious about going forward into future seasons was the prospect of a 'trial' or reunification of the Silvergrove. It felt like a no-brainer the Silvergrove would have to change in order to reflect Runaan's character arc, much the way we see Katolis and the Sunfire elves change to better accommodate the new, more compassionate world order. Pre-S4 a trial felt a little strange as an idea, though post-S4 the parallels it could provide to the Lucia tribunal made more sense about why include either (or both).

However, Leola's trial seemed to hammer home the almost necessity (as this is still a prediction, after all, that may not happen) of Rayla and/or Runaan saying their peace to the Silvergrove leaders. This would be a great opportunity to provide a contrast to the Cosmic Council, reaffirming that Xadia is ultimately better than them because the Moonshadow elves and everyone else can change, and the Cosmic Council seemingly cannot or will not. But I guess we'll have to wait for S7 or beyond (#GiveUsTheSaga) to find out if this'll come to fruition or not.

I also wanted to touch on what we see with Leola ("I'm so scared!") and the repeated emphasis on "recognizing fear as a moment of empathy and personhood" and the horror that can come if you don't have that moment of recognition. This is something I've touched on before most notably as a striking difference between S1 Rayla and S5 Claudia, but I thought it was worth mentioning as S6 added to it specifically with Viren towards Soren and Lissa. This is another point in the "Rayla is an inversion of the Council's lack of mercy" column, as Leola's — a child's fear, and Aaravos willing to pay the price and take her place — earns her no mercy. Rayla, meanwhile, sees someone innocent that she has 'every right' to execute is afraid of her, and that strays her hand; it steadies her sword, and she spares him. Because if someone is afraid of you, it's worth asking yourself why, and what you might want to do instead.

Last but not least I wanted to talk about Leola's parallels to Callum and Ezran as well, since they are very much there (though yet not perhaps to the same extent).

Ezran has Leola's friendliness to animals and soft heart. He too is a child whose death is called for as a means of Justice, and he is granted mercy through Rayla and the discovery of the egg, able to live and grow and help usher in peace. He is, I think, what Leola might've been allowed to be if she'd lived in different times. Callum, meanwhile, carries the gift giving motif through his cube, staff, and tokens he both gives to (moon-phoenix bracelet) and receives (the moon opal necklace) from Rayla, and previous 'human-Leola' magic dynamic. Callum being able to break free fully from Aaravos' and dark magic's control in S7 and turn his eye instead to primal magic will be what helps bring true justice to Leola and hope for humanity / Xadia in righting the Cosmic Council's fundamental wrongdoing. Hopefully, anyway.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this deep dive into some parallels and potential narrative goings-on between Leola and Rayla as characters. TDP loves its historical and ironic layers in TDP (Ez and the Orphan Queen, Viren's arc from S1 to S6) and I think this layered thematic dynamic between the two merciful young girls was a good, brilliant choice by the creative team. I'm excited to see where this thematic thread goes in the future and how it may continue to be woven into the story. As always, thank you for reading, and I'll see you in the next one.

[will80sbyers]

Mileven is endgame, proof (let's see if you dare to respond):

1- Mike was scared of losing Eleven, that's why he made that face at the end of s3, he is so in love he cant even handle it!

2- Mike tried to help el when she got bullied and went looking for her, until you know who decided to make that moment about him. When El hit Angela, he was in shock, but the next day he tried to apologize empatizing with her and forgave he for lying inmediatly

I do think Mike likes Will, but he is in love with Eleven and that is a fact

Be honest are you a Byler pretending to be a mileven?

Because even for a mlvn there's no coherent train of thought here in any way so I hope it's someone saying random shit lol it's actually a trainwreck of "logic" from start to finish to the point that it's funny

Baby, if Mike "likes Will" then byler is endgame 100% because writers don't write bisexual characters or make a character like another if they don't intend to do anything with it, if you think in any capacity that Mike is bisexual then mileven is done lol

1) You're right, Mike is scared of losing El from his life, that's why he's still clinging to her even if the relationship is not good for them anymore... and I don't think he has realized his feelings for Will consciously yet, he's still trying to repress them, in the season 3 finale the reason he makes that face after the kiss is because he's shocked and they wanted to replicate the kiss in the IT saga between Bill and Beverly, note that they have also made a OBVIOUS parallel between byler and benverly...which will both be endgame 🌈❤️🤗

If you were talking about this shot right here

this is because he also has feelings for Will and it's directly connected to Will because that's his house and we had another shot before of Mike looking at the cars go away so they didn't need to repeat a shot of Mike like that, it wouldn't make sense if it was for Eleven, it's pretty obvious Byler is being constructed and mileven is being destroyed and it's been a few seasons of this...

They even made him find her choice of breakfast weird for literally no reason at all except focusing on how much they aren't really that much compatible as a couple

+ not liking her milkshake, not liking skating, not liking the pizza with pineapple, dressing up in a completely different style only because he feels so insecure with her that he feels like he needs to pretend to be cooler than who he really is and being with her makes him feel like he has to be in the "boyfriend role" instead of being just Mike... like El feels like she had to lie for months about her whole life just because she felt like Mike wouldn't love her if she wasn't normal enough... They don't understand each other fundamentally anymore and it's okay, you grow and you change and relationships stop working sometimes!

2) At rink o mania MIKE is the one that starts their argument taking away the focus from finding Eleven... just because he's pissed that Will wasn't acting happy that he was there being a 3rd wheel for their date... And Will clocked that and asked him to explain himself lmfao

Mike doesn't know what true love is yet... exactly like Laurie from Little Women didn't know shit about true love and was idealizing Jo

Mike is doing the same to El because he's a 14yo kid... He'll understand as he grows up 😚

[geese-in-a-frock-coat]

What's your evidence for Watts and Murdoch being autistic? (I totally agree btw)

Hello, internet stranger. Buckle up cause I've thought too hard about this.

Ok disclaimer I have not really sat down and watched the whole thing for a hot minute. Its past nine, you're just gonna have to trust me this one.

Credentials: Mega autisitc

Murdoch:

Does not understand social conventions. Like this ones pretty obvious. He doesn't understand why people keep dogs. Raises his kid in a completely non traditional way. Frequently doesn't get why people care about something that he sees as not being worth it (sports and popular trends and so forth).

Doesn't like small talk

Cares about justice NOT the law. The thing that really makes me think he's autistic is that he cares about things being just and is prepared to break the rules to do so. The main example being he lets that woman out of prison depsite the fact that he could go down for it. He turns a blind eye to Watts and lets Giles go even though they're both criminals in the eyes of the law. And on the flipside he sends George to prison because I think that's what he percieves as justice (if anyone's seen the bridge this really reminds me of Saga at the end of season 2)

Sees through hierarchy. There are so many epsiodes that play out like "I think Mr X is the killer." "But Mr x is extrememly important and influential!" "I don't care he killed her."

Interest in science and inventing. Look I know we joke about stereotypes but like, its a stereotype for a reason. He builds things with an autistic brain. He uses pattern repition through learning about previous inventions and applying them to his own devices.

Visual learner. This is not autism exclusive but he solves cases in such a unique way that it screams ND to me. Murdoch often literally builds a case. They make a joke about clue/cludo but he literally has to make the model of a house to picture where everyone is. He makes all those model of the ladies that were covered in metal. And let us not forget his famous chalk board.

Buzzkill. I say this as a long-term sufferer of leaves parties at 8:45 syndrome. He does 'boring hobbies' which autistic people often have because we don't feel the need to take up traditional ones.

Remember that scene where he attempts to read out his and Julia's book and just absolutely cannot tell that no one gives a single toss about anything he's saying.

Wears the same thing for nearly 20 years. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

Refused to let his wife cut his hair because he didn't want to change from the lady who used to do it.

breather. Part 2: watts.

Cannot read social cues: Frequently insults other station house four people. Pretty sure he called someone's baby ugly but I might have hallucinated that. "You're face is symetrical." Got chucked out of station house because he didn't get on with any of them

Disregard for societal norms: doesn't feel the need to be polite or tactful with anyone or to really follow police protocol. Acts very 'improper' a lot of the time. Only got one shoe shined that one time because that was all he needed. Puts his feet on the sofa, lies on the desk and leans over tables.

Makes limited eye contact.

The man will fidget with anything: Look this is clearly a character decision from Daniel Maslany but its an autistic character decision if ever I saw one. We're talking pencils, cups, fabric, anything. If it is on the set, he will find a way to play with out. And I don't normally like to assign autistic traits onto behaviour implemented by actors but it's basically stimming at this point. I dare you to keep an eye on this man's hands for any scene and I garuntee you they will not stay still.

Disorganised, but not: He always has tiny bits of paper and whatnot in his pockets but always seems to know where everything is. organised but doesn't have to time to be tidy. Same whenever we see his flat, it's equally disorganised. as an autistic person I find things end up all over the place because I don't have the capacity to keep them in order.

Bad handwriting and can't spell

Physicality: Most autistic people will have some sort of problem with co-ordination. He walks uneavenly. He has an odd posture. I always think about that scene where he steps in sick and moves around like a dear on ice. He's clumsy, can't sit straight and has a strange posture.

can't think when being interrupted

can't focus on two things at once.

George realised he'd been possessed by aliens because he was acting normally.

pretzels: dare i say safe food. If not, they're bland, usually the same everytime and take little mental effort to consume.

Strong sense of justic: see william murdoch.

SPECIAL MENTIONS:

Dr Emily Grace: didn't become a doctor becuase she didn't want to adopt a 'cheerful bedside manor.'

Dr Julia Ogden: Married to Murdoch (like calls to like) and sees through the bullshit of victorian society.

Susannah Murdoch: has those two as parents and I have the full confidence of genetics on this one.

In conclusion:

There's probably so much more I could talk about that I just don't remember because there is a lot more of this show than most others. But anyway. Murdoch is autistic because he has to be for the show to work and becuase he often comedic-foils far too close to the sun. And Watts is autistic because there is no way on God's green earth a man who stands like that is neurotypical.

Thank you, internet stranger, I am here all week.

[zuko-always-lies]

You post a lot criticising Zuko. Do you like Zuko or not?

(genuine q)

Well, let me break that down a bit:

Do I think we should have sympathy for Zuko?

I think as a 16 year old abuse victim he deserves a lot of sympathy and should get support.

Would I enjoy being around him?

No, I think the Zuko we see is a deeply unpleasant person and I doubt I would enjoy it if I were around him. However, I suspect I would also find Azula, Mai, Ty Lee, and Toph quite unpleasant to be around too, so that's hardly unique to Zuko.

Do I think Zuko is an interesting character?

I think Book 1 Zuko is actually quite interesting and in his own way quite likeable, even if he's a terrible person. Book 1 is where Zuko's writing peaks for me.

Beyond that, I honestly think Zuko becomes much more boring. The writers started leaning entirely on having viewers closely emotionally identify with Zuko and feel personal emotional catharsis when he "achieves redemption." If you don't, Zuko becomes much more boring and the flaws in his writing become much more apparent.

I also think Zuko isn't a particularly interesting or unique character in general. Azula, Ty Lee, and even Mai all manage to be way more interesting and unique than Zuko, despite getting vastly less character development time. At their core, Zuko's arc and themes amount to rejecting an abusive father in favor of a better surrogate father, which feels pretty standard to be honest. By contrast, I can think of only one character the least like Azula in any Western media, Miles Vorkosigan from the Vorkosigan Saga.

Honestly, the most interesting thing about Zuko is analyzing the difference between how the narrative frames him verses what his actions actually suggest about who he really is. That's probably why I write so many "Zuko critical" posts, because I find analyzing the difference interesting.

Do I think Zuko's arc was well-written?

No. The writers were very good at tugging at the heartstrings but beyond that I think "Zuko's redemption arc" is not nearly as good as people make it out to be. In particular, the way that the narrative after Book 1 stops holding him accountable for anything he does weakens his arc badly. That, along with making Iroh the center of Zuko's arc at all costs, made things drastically worse than the original writing plans for Zuko.

Do I think Zuko is the morally pure perfect Firelord the narrative tries to sell him as?

The finale tries to present him that way, but it falls flat for me. Zuko is a very badly flawed person who never addressed most of his flaws, and he's not the least bit suited to be Firelord. The narrative needs him to be the perfect, rightful prince who will redeem the Fire Nation from darkness, and if Zuko had been written differently and his arc had been taken in a different direction, he could be that, but he's not. I could never buy the person we see at the end of the show being a good ruler, and I could never buy him being happy as a ruler.

Could Zuko be an interesting character?

Hell yes. If the narrative had been less prone to gloss over Zuko's many flaws, and more inclined to force him to address them and deal with the consequences of his actions, he could be very interesting. Even if the narrative was willing to seriously acknowledge Zuko's flaws without having him ever improve on them, things would be more interesting. The Zuko-Azula relationship is actually super-interesting if you think deeply about it, but you need to ignore everything about how the narrative frames them for it to be interesting. "Good boy tormented by evil demon psycho younger sister" is boring as hell.

[beauty-and-passion]

And finally... the Ithaca Saga

We did it. We reached the end.

And we did it this year, in 2024! I suppose the moral of the story is: if you're truly passionate about something (and have big plans), you can do anything.

And by "anything", I don't mean just "finishing the concept album": I mean fighting against weather, bad luck and probably the gods themselves, to do what you planned.

I imagined everything, except that Mr. Jorge's plan for the final stream of his entire album, was to go to the goddamn island of Ithaca and stream there.

But, you know, it was right. It felt right. It was a very poetic choice, to bring a modern version of the Odyssey back home. To let the musical reach its artistic birthplace. And it's even more impactful that it wasn't just Odysseus' voice to (figuratively) return home: it was the entire story, through the voices of all artists involved.

However, since it's the Odyssey we're talking about, the trip to Ithaca couldn't have been simple either: what kind of boring story would it be, if everything went smoothly from start to end?

Greece's weather is overall warm, even in winter. However, there are the occasional storms/typhoons/rainfalls that last for a couple days and drown or destroy parts of the cities. And Jorge faced them not at the end of his trip, not in the middle: at the beginning, just in time to stop him from reaching Ithaca too easily.

And I believe this is all Ithaca's influence, because something similar happened to my father and brother. Last summer, they were supposed to visit Ithaca as well, but first found no available ferries, then the rain started to pour down, their car died on the nearby island, there was no available mechanic and when they finally found one, their car got fixed just in time for my brother to go to Athens and get his flight back home.

Sooo... it looks like Ithaca doesn't want visitors at all, no matter if it's summer or winter, and it does everything to keep people away - or at least, to make them have a small personal Odyssey before reaching it. Also because, according to the last shorts from Jorge, it looks like the weather changed into the usual warm, greek temperatures now. And he seems to enjoy his stay too, so I suppose the true obstacle is just reaching the island.

But enough about Ithaca, let's talk about Ithaca: there were huge expectations for this Saga. This is the final one, this is supposed to wrap up Odysseus' story and the last loose threads.

And it does. It takes its time to wrap up the last characters and it does it organically and coherently. There are no OOC moments - and this is a huge point for me, because my main complaint in the last Saga was that Odysseus moved too quickly from "let's try to discuss" to "stabbing time": here you can see and understand why he gets so angry and he even takes a few lines to further clarify his emotions.

The pace of this Saga is good too: there are no dead moments and the songs move smoothly from one event to the next. It surely helps that they cover a period of 24 hours more or less, but still.

__________________

The Challenge: this is the first time we actually hear Penelope. Not the one from Odysseus' memories, not a siren, not a vision, but the real one.

And the real one is truly the perfect woman for a clever man like Odysseus: she's intelligent, she's resourceful, she reads the signs and does the right things to buy more time. That's what she did in the Odyssey too, so it's nice to see this trait of her character here as well.

And even though the events here happen for slightly different reasons (in the Odyssey, the bow challenge was just another attempt to buy more time, while here it's something Penelope proposes right after the storm, as if she feels things are going to change very soon and her husband is coming back), it still doesn't sound forced or unnatural. It fits Epic's narrative, without damaging or going against the spirit of the original work. That's how you do a good rewrite.

One last thing about Penelope: I love how, with one single song, we can see her pride, her strength, her cleverness... and her love too. She herself says she didn't expect to end up like this, but for love, she's ready to do anything. Even waiting 20 years for a husband she doesn't even know if he's still alive, buying him time in every possible way and keeping on hold 108 dangerous, younger men who need just an excuse to rise against her and her family.

__________________

Hold Them Down: what did I say about that excuse?

Jokes aside, this is some powerful villain song and I ADORE it. The rhythm? Great, majestic, terrifying. The drums and the chorus are chilling.

But even more than them, it's the entire song, to be terrifying. And not because of its themes: it's because of the details.

Antinous doesn't just say "We will kill Telemachus and rape Penelope": he describes step by step what he wants to do. He presents a clear, precise plan of what he wants to do and how he wants to do it.

That's what makes it so chilling: how careful he is with the details. How he pondered about everything. His willingness to do all the things he says, without an ounce of doubt or fear.

And what's even more terrifying, is how Antinous' words are welcomed by the chorus of the other Suitors. There is no coldness, no shock, no fear: there is this palpable, growing excitement, that grows stronger the more he describes his plan. The chorus accompanies his words, anticipates them eagerly: they cannot wait to hear what he wants to do next.

And when Antinous says Penelope will be at their mercy after Telemachus' death, silence drops for a moment and the line: "And then we'll" is welcomed by pure silence. This perfectly shows how all Suitors held their breath, for one second, waiting for Antinous to say it out loud, to push his plan further and say what they were all thinking: without a man in the house, they could've had access to the queen's bedroom and body. They were waiting to hear it. They wanted, needed to hear more.

This is how you make a great villain song. This is how you build a terrifying villain: it's not just Antinous, who can stir up an entire crowd, by pushing on their primordial instincts. But it's the crowd itself, that welcomes the terrible images he proposes, because they were already in their minds. They were already thinking all of that: all they needed was someone to propose it out loud.

Of course Odysseus goes into full rampage mode after that: who wouldn't?

One last detail I appreciated a lot: the allusion about how the prince was on a diplomatic mission. Sure he was, that's how Odyssey starts: Telemachus leaves Ithaca to search for more news about his father, visits Sparta, Menelaus tells him about the Troyan horse and so on. It was a nice reference.

__________________

Odysseus: a song better known as "Odysseus cleans his house from 20 years of filth".

I've already talked about the first lines and I appreciate them a lot, not just because they further clarify Odysseus' thoughts and actions, but also because they imply he spent some time in Ithaca before this moment, enough to see how the Suitors treated his palace. There's a huge lack of Argo, the only dog who lived something like 20+ years and died right after seeing his owner one last time, but I suppose that his dog's death would've sent him into ultraviolence mode instantly.

I lovelovelove the ensemble chanting Odysseus' name. It's solemn, it's ineluctable, it reminds me of old church hymns and I am a sucker for that stuff.

But I am also a very bad person, so when I listen to Eurymachus saying "hey, what if you spare us and welcome the world with open arms instead" and he gets slaughtered with a "no" as a reply, I laugh.

Yes, I am a bad person.

Okay, fine, we can acknowledge how this wasn't what Polites meant with open arms and how no one has been able to fully understand his mentality... but also, it works perfectly to show how Odysseus changed. In the past, he would've been tricked by these words - and it would've led to him losing more people he loves.

But after going through so much shit, he's not willing to trust others anymore. The time of open arms is gone forever. As he says, "And as long as you're around / My family's fate is left unknown".

And so, it's ruthlessness time. Because, as Poseidon told him, ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves. And Odysseus would find peace, only if he gets rid of all the dangers around.

Because come on, we know the Suitors would've found a way to still try to kill or hurt him and/or his family. They don't play fair, they said themselves. Sparing them would've only hurt Odysseus in the long run.

And if we consider the time period, killing all the opponents was all Odysseus could do, to regain control over Ithaca.

Think about it: he has been away for 20 years, leaving the island without an adult male ruler. Of course this led all other, younger men to become restless and prideful and do things they would never do, without a strong leader: like trashing the leader's palace or trying to hurt his family.

Odysseus' only way to regain control was to show everyone he was still the strongest. And the only way he could do it, was to get rid of all the people who were undermining his authority. This way, he got rid of the dangerous ones and taught everyone else a lesson: do not even try to oppose my authority again, because I am still the strongest man of this land - and therefore, the only leader.

__________________

I Can't Help but Wonder: so, right after showing everyone he was still the ruler and the stronger and so ruthless, Odysseus takes his time to softly listen to his son and tell him how much he loves him.

No, I am not crying, I got this song stuck in my eye.

But seriously: the softness, the love, the affection he holds for his son. And how this is all beautifully portrayed through Jorge's voice.

I know others already said it, but the way he modulates his voice is incredible. He really sounds older here, an old man talking to this young boy who is so confused and full of doubts about his own strength... and like the father figure Telemachus always wanted, Odysseus reassures him: he's sure his son is strong, he understands his pain and the troubles he experienced. And he loves him, with the unconditional love a father has for his child.

I said I am not crying.

The Athena part has been a surprise: honestly, I feared Jorge forgot and we would never see a closure for them, but we actually got it!

And it was a very good one: Athena asks if there is a world where empathy is stronger than fighting. A world where people can understand each other more and not always resort to violence and ruthlessness.

There's an implicit invitation in her words: would Odysseus help her pursue this world? Would he still be her warrior and work for this new, greater tomorrow?

And Odysseus refuses. He's too old, too tired. This world is too far beyond his reach. We are still trying to reach it and we are getting glimpses of it in our everyday lives.

Athena, thanks to her immortality, can live long enough to see this far-away future, but Odysseus? Maybe in the past, when he was younger, he would've loved to see it. Now he's had enough of adventures. All he wants is to finally see his wife again.

And Athena proves her growth, by that simple "very well". You can hear a smile in her tone. She's not angry at him, she's not resentful: Odysseus made his choice and she's okay with it. Their paths divide forever, not with bitterness but with understanding.

__________________

Would You Fall in Love with Me Again: better known as "I am not crying, I said I am not, I just got the Odyssey stuck in my eye".

Odysseus reveals his wife all the awful things he did, he insists he's not the same man - Tiresias told him too, he's not the same kind and gentle husband he was and he will never be anymore: he's a man marked by hardships, by the war, by the world.

By saying it, he reminds me of the war veterans, the people who faced horrors and survived, to come back as changed people. Odysseus is one of them: the war left a mark on him and the following 20 years deepened that mark, made new ones, scars and terrors that will haunt him forever.

So of course he's not the same and he will never be: life and its hardships changed him too much to come back to the naive, younger man he was.

And yet, despite everything, Odysseus is still the same man. And Penelope proves it, through the bed trial. Again, I love how it has been used here: in the Odyssey, it was Penelope's way to be sure the weird beggar-looking guy who just killed everyone truly was her husband. Here it's her way to prove to him first that yes, he still is her husband. He may be rougher, more ruthless, filled with more regrets and anger than before... but he's still him. And she doesn't care what he did: all she cares about is that he's finally back.

Does that make Penelope a bad person too? Personally, I think it makes her more human. She spent 20 years imprisoned in her own house, with 108 possible predators trashing her place, desperately trying to buy more time for a husband she didn't even know if he was still alive, all while trying to hold the predators down as long as possible, so they wouldn't hurt her or Telemachus. Can we really blame her, if she doesn't care about what her husband did to come back, as long as he's finally back?

__________________

A truly passionate project

Epic the musical is a project overflowing with love. Every artist, every voice, every song is filled with passions and emotions and they shine here, in the final Saga, more than ever. Jorge's voice has been incredible, the way he went from sounding like an old father, to a younger man again. How we shifted from love and affection, to anger.

Penelope? Amazing, brilliant, incredible. All female voices are A+ and she's no exception.

The instrumentals? Always on point, they highlight the emotions and the mood of every song perfectly.

All the artists? Incredibly fitting, superb voices. Each of them did an amazing job with their characters, each of them brought their own spin to it and made them iconic. I don't think we'll easily forget characters like Hermes, Circe, Calypso, Athena, Scylla, Tiresias or Zeus. I know I won't.

And yes, I will fondly keep this version of the Odyssey close to my chest. It's so hard to find good modern versions, now that I found one, I won't forget it so easily.

__________________

The end?

The concept album is done, but that doesn't mean Epic is over. Jorge already said he wants to make videogames and, hopefully, give the musical some live adaptation.

So it's now right to say this is the end: this is the first step of a bright future for this series. And I personally can't wait for what it will bring.

In the meantime, as always, do not forget to stream the Ithaca Saga (and the whole musical for that matter), support Jorge and show love to all the people involved: they deserve it. Every last bit of love. It would be only fair, considering how much love and commitment they poured into this project.

That's why I would like to thank them all again for their hard job. It has been a truly wonderful journey and I can't wait for what 2025 will bring them - and us.

[tobiasdrake]

FUN FACT: Did you know that Chi-Chi got off Gohan's back about studying for the three years of the Android and Cell Saga?

A key thing to understand about Goku and Chi-Chi's relationship is that they don't have a traditional marriage. The anime went to great lengths to try and heteronormalize them as a typical couple who are together because they're madly in love.

But they're not. Goku is very much an aroace character. Like. He's not sex-repulsed, obviously; Gohan and Goten's existence proves that much. But romance and sexuality don't mean anything to him. They're not factors he considers when he's making his life choices. He's not interested in pursuing them in any meaningful way.

Goku and Chi-Chi's marriage is largely contractual. It exists because these two backwoods hicks made a deal when Goku was a child, that he didn't even know the context of what he was agreeing to.

Goku then left and never saw her again for six years. He had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.

Fortunately for Goku, Yamcha was nearby to explain in Goku Terminology what it means to be married.

And that was that. Goku agreed to the terms of living in the same space as Chi-Chi, and their domestic life began from there.

Goku and Chi-Chi's relationship is, effectively, a pantomime of domestic life. They're two adultchildren playing house, moreso than a loving married couple. They had literally spent one day together before they wed; They had no idea who the other even is as a person when they started down this road.

Naturally, this resulted in a lot of friction when Gohan entered the picture. It'd have to, right?

This contractual marriage born of childish stupidity has not gone well.

Still, despite everything, Goku and Chi-Chi managed to reach an... interesting compromise in the Android arc... after a bit of really gross slapstick violence that has not aged well.

Yikes, Toriyama.

Nonetheless, Goku gets his way but only with conditions. Chi-Chi backs off on Gohan's studies and lets him train in martial arts for the next three years. But after that, it's done. Gohan will leave martial arts and become a scholar.

Once the agreement is forged, Chi-Chi's entire behavior changes. She becomes downright supportive of them.

Because they have a deal. She abides by the terms, fully expecting that Goku will abide by it as well.

This is something that the anime aggressively missed the point on. Like. They even rewrote existing scenes from the manga to show Chi-Chi violating the agreement.

Chi-Chi, what the fuck are you doing? You're breaking the deal. You don't do this in the manga. You just chill in the plane.

After things get messy in the Android arc, Goku and Chi-Chi revisit their agreement. Goku wants to add an addendum to their deal. Chi-Chi agrees... with an addendum of her own.

Goku asks to take Gohan into a pocket dimension for an entire year. Chi-Chi grants him that, but adds that after he and Gohan quit martial arts in accordance to the previous agreement, Goku has to get a job.

With that settled, she resumes backing off on Gohan's academics and being fully supportive of their temporary martial arts lifestyle.

Once Cell is defeated, their deal goes into effect. Per the agreement, Gohan quits martial arts and refocuses himself into academia.

Though Goku, at the very last second, manages to cheat on the agreement and prance away like a magnificent poof.

Goku, you cheeky dickwaffle.

[be-it-so]

Opinion on Epic musical?

Thanks for the ask!

Well, when i only started to listen to Epic, I liked it very much. I loved the songs, i loved the way Greek mythology was treated, the characters, and even epic Odysseus's arc with this monster stuff.

I was pretty okay with the changes in the story I guess it was because I've first read the odyssey just a couples of weeks before I found epic so I didn't have this much attachment to the story of the Odyssey and Odysseus himself as I do now, so changes in it didn't bother me this much. Like, yeah, I would prefer if they didn't whitewash Circe like this and if they made lore accurate sirens and other things like this, but overall, I liked the way the whole setting was made.

My first big problems began with the wisdom saga when suddenly gods started to act not only like humans but also like clear heroes or villains. I really didn't like Athena in this saga, the way she was presented as very human and also i really didn't like all of this "I've no respect for bullies/ Those who impose their will", it was just too much of a "good guy" speech, if you understand what i mean and very not Athena-like.

And, yeah, of course the way Zeus was treated in this saga made me so sad, because he again was simply reduced to "bad arrogant and vile tyrant" and I'm so tired of this trope. Zeus is so much more than this, like, yeah, he can be vile, he can be arrogant, but he is never so pointlessly bad. He can threaten other gods (and make this threatens true in some cases), but he is not doing it just because he can nor just because something did not please him, he is keeping an order this way, he shows others that he is the king of the gods (who he is) and nobody should challenge his authority and etc. It is not about pleasing his ego. it's about ruling and keeping everyone under his control.

There are a lot things to say about Zeus and his depictions in modern media, but for now let me just say, that he would never smite his favorite daughter, who he forgave so many things and let her do so many things that it almost funny compared to his attitude towards some other gods Ares, just because she followed his orders and did exactly what he told her to.

So i was disappointed, especially considering that I loved how Athena and Zeus were presented in previous sagas. Zeus in "Horse and the infant" was wonderful, Athena in "warrior of the mind" and "my goodbye" was fabulous, exactly due to the fact that she was presented as goddess, the fact that while she was still good, she wasn't human. The lines "i see you changing from how I've designed you" and "I don't know where i went wrong," implying that Odysseus was more of a failed project than anything else, were my favorite. Yeah, i had some problems (the whole conflict between Athena and Odysseus was pretty strange, because Athena knows humans long enough to understand their emotions and to understand that these emotions can be useful and can't be suppressed while Odysseus should understand that killing your enemy is pretty useful thing to do) but as I said, I wasn't too upset with them, as I didn't have this much affection towards Odyssey and Odysseus as I do now, so it was okay for me.

But, you know, even after wisdom saga, I still had some of my expectations because even with all of the problems with that saga, it still didn't cross some line. Like, making Zeus a simple asshole, while making Athena noble hero is not something new, it was done before epic it will definitely be done after.

(I even loved "Thunderbringer ", this level of jerkiness for Zeus was something I expected in a modern adaptation at some point, so I wasn't surprised with him acting like this, it stayed in my tolerance boarders so again, i loved it)

While in vengeance saga... well, I've already expressed my emotions on this in some of my previous posts, but if I were to sum up them, I would simply say that I was deeply disappointed again.

My main problem with this saga and therefore with whole musical is the way Poseidon was treated. He wasn't only turned into "final villain" for Odysseus but also in someone who can't even stand up for his words. It is just so disrespectful. Poseidon is one of the main three, he is the god of the sea, the earthshaker, his powers shape the landscape, he rules over the domain equal to the ones of Hades and Zeus, and you telling me a mortal with a bag of winds from a minor god was able to beat him?

At least in the wisdom saga, it made sense power wise. Like, yeah, it makes sense that Zeus can easily smite Athena, he is the king of the gods, and she is his daughter, so, yeah, if he would want this, he could have done this (again he would never do this, but he definitely had all the power to do so).

While here, even with help from some other Olympians, like Athena and/or Hermes, a mortal had no chances to overpower Poseidon.

And then Poseidon begging for mercy? One of the big three begging mortal for mercy? Calling him a monster? Are we still in Greek mythology?

I mean, gods are the most important part all of the myths are based on.

I know that there is a very popular take on Greek gods, that they seem so realistic because they are "just what humans would be with the power of gods" but it seems for me, that onse you get into greek mythology deeper then Wikipedia, you understand pretty fast that this is not the case. Gods are not simply humans with superpowers. They are the forces of nature, the embodiments of powerful concepts such as love, death, wisdom and etc. They were never seen as villains to fight against, if only because you can't be able to defeat them.

Look, I'm not religious, I'm probably as far from the religious as a person can be and I'm definitely not the one to tell you that you can't discuss certain religions to not offend people or that you can't even dare to change a thing in them to fit a story.

And I probably wouldn't have any problems with Epic if it all was like the vengeance saga from the very beginning. But it wasn't. First, sagas were great they really were a good example of how you can adapt something both staying loyal and respectful to the source material while also bringing up something new and adding some modern views in the story.

If Epic started on the same note, vengeance saga ended. I would simply say, "Oh, another strange modern adaptation of the Odyssey," and moved on.

Amd that's the reason why i was so angry when the last saga only came out and why I am so sad about Epic now. I feel like I was fooled into believing that we're finally getting good modern adaptation faightful to the source material, which, even considering that this is my own problem, since no one promised me this, and I just came up with these expectations on my own, still feels shitty.

So, my main opinion on epic, that i thought it had the potential to be this wonderful adaptation of greek myths, we waited so long for. I wanted it to be a good example of what a modern retelling needs to be to both introduce new modern topics and be respectful to the source material. Well, it seems the creator wanted it to be something else.

[rin-solo]

Now that Jorge posted the trailer, let's talk about my hopes for the Ithaca saga

I didn't really do this for the Vengeance saga, despite that being the first saga I actually watched on release day. But for that saga, my expectations were a lot vaguer; I kind of just went into it expecting nothing and everything ... and honestly, by this point enough time has passed that I can confidently and without recency bias say that the Vengeance saga is my favorite saga to date.

Honestly, I could sit here and talk about expectations such as "let Athena reappear and reconcile with Odysseus", "flesh out Penelope and give us insight in her yearning for Odysseus", or "give us more background and characterization on Antinous and the suitors" but honestly, that feels a bit superfluous because I trust Jorge to do those things anyway (especially the last two.)

So, I'm going to talk about some expectations that are a lot vaguer and bolder instead ... Which is why I call them "hopes" in the title, rather than expectations.

Before anything else, I'll talk about my thematic expectations here. Namely how, if I were to guess the theme for the Ithaca saga, I would guess "the necessity of forgiveness and acceptance", contrasting the Vengeance saga's "the unnecessity of vengeance and resentment."

This would make the last two sagas two sides of the same coin, in the same way that Thunder and Wisdom are (one explores a formerly merciful character trying out ruthlessness, the other a formerly ruthless character trying out mercy.)

There is also so much room to explore this theme, not just in terms of how Odysseus' family receives him. In the way he might have to accept the changes in his family and his life since he left, in how he might start showing signs of accepting himself and his own changes, and also in the way he might interact with the suitors.

First, I actually want to talk about a character from the Odyssey who I, against all odds, really hope shows up because his inclusion would be so perfect for EPIC's themes and exploring the complexity of Odysseus' character: Amphinomus.

Disclaimer: I haven't read the Odyssey in ages and while I did some research for this post, please correct me if anything I say is wrong.

Now, in case you don't know, in the Odyssey, Amphinomus was one of the suitors, and specifically described as the most decent man among them. He would occasionally try to restrain the other suitors from their more aggressive or inappropriate behavior, showed kindness to Odysseus when he was disguised as a beggar, and demonstrated better judgment and more respectful behavior compared to the other suitors.

Because of this, Homer's Odysseus actually tries to warn him, and convince him to leave while still disguised, so that he wouldn't get caught up in the slaughter. However, he does not heed this warning and stays ... because of divine intervention: Homer apparently specifically mentions that Athena had "bound him to death".

It is ultimately Telemachus, fighting at his father's side, who kills him along with all of the others.

Now, again, if any of that recount was wrong, please correct me, but also ultimately it doesn't matter that much because EPIC isn't the Odyssey. I don't expect or want it to play out the exact same way in EPIC ... Actually, I'd be pretty disappointed if it does. I want him to be included in EPIC for a completely different reason, on which I will elaborate shortly.

For the Odyssey, it makes perfect sense for it to end badly for him. From what I know, in the moral framework of the ancient Greek world, his participation in the suitor's actions and his being part of their group, regardless of his personal character, made him culpable along with them. Individual accountability wasn't a focus of ancient Greek stories the way that it is in modern stories.

In EPIC, however, he could be such a great example specifically to portray individual accountability and complexity. Now, in terms of how it plays out for him, it could go a couple of different ways.

He could straight up survive, either by being warned or spared in the end by Odysseus, to show Odysseus' dual nature as both merciful and ruthless. For EPIC's Athena it would make no sense to condemn him to death since she has embraced mercy, and for EPIC's Odysseus it would make no sense to kill him if he conveys that ruthlessness isn't required to deal with him.

I'd personally be very much for this route since it provides a great opportunity to show Odysseus showing mercy in a moment otherwise dominated by ruthlessness (the suitor slaughter); this is probably how I would write it.

He could be killed by the other suitors instead of Odysseus and Telemachus. This route falls more in line with the tragedy, but it could be a great way to escalate the dynamic among the suitors and portray them as individuals as opposed to just a unanimous group with one mind. Honestly, his sheer inclusion would already do this, but an outcome like this even more.

He could be killed by Odysseus or Telemachus for a justifiable reason, as opposed to divine intervention. Maybe it would be self-defense, or maybe Amphinomus himself is portrayed as more morally gray. While having some decency he still does something that makes it clear that ruthlessness is necessary to deal with him ... such as, for example, not heed Odysseus' warning of his own accord and instead of begging for mercy, insist on wanting his throne and Penelope's hand either way.

He could be killed by Odysseus or Telemachus because of divine intervention from another god. This is honestly my least favorite option because it takes agency away from the characters, when we seem to have reached a point in the story where agency has seemingly been reclaimed. It could probably be made to work, but at that point it would almost be a wasted opportunity.

Honestly, I could probably come up with a few more of these scenarios, all of which depend on how exactly he would be portrayed in EPIC. But ultimately, these are the main few that I can think of. We'll just have to wait and see.

Overall, I'd just think not including him in a story as heavily focused on moral complexity and nuance as EPIC would be a missed opportunity since his entire existence is kind of an expression of complexity—specifically among the group of suitors who are, in my opinion, in great need of more nuance.

Amphinomus and the suitors aside, something else I am hoping to see very much is a nuanced and satisfying portrayal of Odysseus' newfound dual nature.

Something that makes it absolutely clear that Odysseus is neither "just a man" nor "a monster" anymore, but rather something in between. A being capable of both ruthlessness and mercy. For example, a scene showing him be merciful in one moment and ruthless in the next, both being entirely justified and correct approaches to two separate cases.

At least a hint toward a beginning of a self-acceptance arc. So far, we've only seen Odysseus blame himself, demonize himself, judge himself more than he has ever judged anyone else (I talked about this a little in my "Monster" analysis essay, if you're interested.) It feels like a natural final step in his character arc to at least attempt giving himself more leeway, maybe with the help of his family and their acceptance (also oddly in line with the "Next to my wife" line, if you think about it.)

A callback to "I am neither man nor mythical", the line first brought up by @glisten-inthedark as likely having been foreshadowing (I agree with this heavily.) You might even adjust this slightly, to be "I am neither man nor monster" and it gives us exactly what he has become now. Don't give me another "Just a man" reprise, and don't give me a "No longer you" or "Monster" reprise either. Give me a "Remember them" reprise instead.

If you have to give me a "Just a man" or "Monster" reprise, make it clear that he is neither anymore. He's not the man who would use "I am just a man" as an excuse in act 1, and he is not the monster who would act ruthlessly in every situation. Similarly, if you have to give me a "No longer you" reprise, please make it finally clear that Odysseus is most certainly still "himself". He may no longer be the same man he was when he met Tiresias but putting it like that is highly misleading and I just have a personal problem with "No longer you" for this reason. Objectively, it's a great song. Subjectively, I can actually not stand it.

Alright, I think that's enough setting up expectations that can now be disappointed for myself for one essay 😂😂 I hope you enjoyed! And if any of these won't happen, well I might be disappointed, but Jorge might also give us something entirely different that will be surprising in a good way as well, so I'm definitely open for anything.

Please feel free to share your thoughts down below through a reblog or comment and see you all in Ithaca saga!

[aitadjcrazytimes]

It's been a good run

But it's time to bring this to a close!

The saga is over, C, T and I are all together. T and I are in the swing of it, C approves as much as it is possible for him to approve of anything, everyone knows about the blog and is chill.

C is back at his rightful place of walking his sister down the aisle.

I'm getting everything I want, and we're all free to make each other miserable until the day we die.

I'm not going to be updating this blog anymore! Nobody else involved with the situation will be submitting any more AITA posts either, because they are either not on tumblr or agreed it would be annoying.

I will say that there is some stuff on here that I've alluded to that isn't necessarily 100% in the spirit of things, so I've included some stuff below the cut for the folks who have caught onto that. I would not suggest reading it if you like how all of this played out and want to keep it that way. I know that's incredibly vague, but I'm not sure how to phrase it without making it weird?

Thank you all for listening and talking to me over the past few days! That's where I'm leaving it!

...

...

...

...Is everyone who wants to keep believing in the disaster polycule gone? Yes? OK!

So, this was fake. I made up the whole thing. TK and C and T and everyone else are fictional characters. Did I lie? Yes. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

Q: All of it? Even the og AITA post? The followup AITA post? The screenshots?

A: All of it.

Q: Wh... Why did you do this...?

A: Well, first this all started as a Red vs Blue fanfic for the ship Chexer (Church/Tex/Tucker)-

It started as a fanfic for Chexer. However, I was already working on a different fanfic for RVB that was totalling about 15k words at this point (+ at least 90k to go), and I knew I would never have the time or energy to write this one. I thought: yknow. this would be really funny as an aita post.

Q: It was a fanfic of a Halo fanfic series.

A: Yep!

So, I submitted Tucker's perspective. I did not expect for it to get more than maybe 100 notes at most. I totally thought someone would call it out right away.

The funny part is, if I'd dedicated all this energy to a fic instead of this blog, I'd probably have about 15-20 thousand words of fic already, but whatever, can't ruin my personal day!

Also, I wanted to see how many people would figure it out/how long it would take for it to become too obvious that this was a fandom thing. I was dropping names and RvB lore since the beginning. A few people did figure it out, and I DMed them in private to let them know.

Q: But why make the blog then?

A: Because I love to lie and be a nuisance to the general populace! <3

It was always my intent to wait until Carolina's perspective got posted (i am honestly still shocked i got away with "Carey/Georgia/West Virginia/Alabama/Miss Louisiana 1988"), let it simmer for about a day, then come clean. Which is what I'm doing now!

The reason I'm coming clean now instead of dragging it out is because I don't want anyone to feel stupid or like they got duped. You're not stupid! You were a part of this story! This was, as one anon said, a creative writing project. It was a collaboration! Thank you so much for helping me!

That said, I'm sorry to anyone that finds this disappointing! I had a blast doing this, but I will not be doing it again. I have gotten my fill. I have had my taste of being an influencer, and now I can go on with my life without ever feeling like I need to start a youtube channel.

Q: How did you keep up with a consistent timeline?

A: I didn't, especially at first. But in my time as a liar who lies about things, I have found that usually people are willing to believe you when you say "yeah, i lied about that".

Q: Wait, what about the thing with your kid?

A: Yeah, I fucked up on this one. In the other fic I was/am writing, Tucker was around 33. So, when I was saying what Junior's age was, I subtracted it from 33 and got 18. It wasn't until I was showing my partner the blog and they said "Wait, he had his kid at 13??????" that I realized I had fucked up. Oops!

Q: Was it really ALL fake?

A: For the most part. I will say that I did actually drop chocolate cake all over my tits that one time and had to shower by myself like a fucking loser. That one was true. I did also get my nails done for the first time ever, which did actually affect my typing. And I am in a band (but so is Tucker, canonically)! There are a few other things as well, but I don't want to list all of them.

Q: DID you ever read homestuck?

A: Nope. And I never will.

Even the title, though I will say that the title I came up with was "Leonard "Alpha Bitch" Church's Decidedly Not Lo-Fi Beats to Get Nasty and Get Clean To: The Movie"

Q: So there was never a combination sex/bathtime playlist?

A: Maybe! But perhaps more accurately: the combination sex/bathtime playlist was inside of you all along. You can make it. There are only three songs on there that are canon to the lore of this blog. Those are No Children by The Mountain Goats, Take It Out On Me by Thousand Foot Krutch, and one unknown song from the album Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV by Coheed and Cambria (Yep, the call was coming from inside the house, I gave Church my music taste). I had intended this to be Wake Up, but it's out of my hands now. The rest is yours to fill in.

Q: What's your main blog, so I can follow you?

A: Hi, this is aitadjcrazytimes. You're not getting that.

Q: Your AO3 handle?

A: Nope, not that either.

You will never find me. And that's the way I want it. You will see me in every blog. Every new follower. Every stranger you meet on the street. You will look into your discord kitten's eyes, and you will absently wonder if he was the one behind aitadjcrazytimes. And you will never know for certain.

Q: But-

A: Let me live on in your memory. The only person who knows both who I am and the fact that I did this is my partner, who is not into RvB or commonly on tumblr. I am not a RvB blog. I am not a writing blog. I am a nobody on the fringes of tumblr society who's been here long enough to know how to remain in the shadows.

And, even if you do manage to find me, against all odds:

No one will ever believe you.

I am closing my askbox. I am also closing my messages. If you have anything to say to Tucker or Me (tumblr user aitadjcrazytimes), you are welcome to do so in the replies or reblogs, but you will not be receiving an answer. I'll keep this blog up for anyone that wants to go through after the fact and do a deep dive or what have you.

Thanks to everyone who made this into the wild ride it was! Live long and get fucked or whatever! Xoxo <3

[zaceouiswriting]

Fairy Prince - Hearts of Leviathans - Ch.43

Character: Sky x male reader, Riven x male reader, Brandon x male reader, (OC) Callisto x male reader

Universe: Somewhere in Winx Club/Saga

Warnings: None

(Callisto)

I groan in annoyance as I try to loosen the tie Callisto put on when he forced me out of our room for more than just food. I didn't want to walk around this school any longer than necessary, with the last visit still seared into my mind. Yet here I am, in the same halls that still give me goosebumps, with this idiot by my side. I can stay calm for a while, but not forever, not in this place.

"Why did you drag me out of the room? I felt so comfortable!" I whine almost like a little child, but I don't care. I want nothing more than my bed.

All I hear is a deep chuckle. I shoot Callisto a glare that I hope might open a hole beneath his feet, but instead, I catch him with his eyes closed. My cheeks heat up as I see his almost divine smile, strong jaw, and prominent cheekbones in the rising sunlight. This is all complemented by his curly hair that bobs back and forth merrily as he lets his laughter flow. I can't take my eyes off him, even in his school uniform or especially in it. He looks so much better like this, although the skin-tight fighting suits are better in... other aspects as they leave nothing, and I mean nothing, to the imagination. Whenever I see him in it, my mind stops functioning.

The button-up shirt of our school uniform seems to be about to rip with every movement he makes, but honestly, although the sight is delicious, I don't like him showing it off to everyone. We may be at an all-boys school, but I know other boys are very interested in him and maybe staring at things they shouldn't.

Something is brewing inside me, and soon, I can't take it anymore. I walk faster than him and step before him, forcing Callisto to stop abruptly. He looks down at me with an amused, raised eyebrow. But instead of saying anything, I grab his blazer's sides, pull them together, and close them. I step back with a smug grin, feeling justified in making him seem more modest. But when I see what I've done, I become even more dejected; I immediately step back closer to Callisto, unbuttoning his blazer and looking at it again, only to pull it back together. The frustration inside me grows, and a soft groan escapes my lips. Out of the blue, I become painfully aware of the questions glittering in the gaze directed at me.

"What are you doing?" he asks, visibly holding back another chuckle, but I see something else there, too, a complacency that would make me furious if I saw it on other boys' faces.

I look at him disapprovingly, glaring, while trying everything to hide his 'goods'. But my frustration quickly bubbles over. I throw my hands in the air, frustrated because even after several attempts, I still can't manage to make his body look decent. "Couldn't you just get a bigger uniform?" I cross my arms over my chest. My lips twist into a pout, making me feel even more pathetic, but I feel comfortable showing my feelings to someone for the first time.

Callisto's eyes widen in astonishment, immediately moving down his body as his hands glide up and down his perfect muscles. "Are you telling me I'm getting fat?" His voice is laced with so much worry it opens a pit in my stomach. I try to tell him that I didn't mean it that way, but all I see is the hint of a smile.

Seeing that mischievous grin, I know he's just teasing me again. Rolling my eyes, I turn away from him and continue walking, only to hear his footsteps behind me. I can distinguish them from many others because he has a peculiar walking rhythm. Before I know it, I'm being pulled into his arms. "Come on, I'm only kidding, you know that!" Suddenly his voice is gentle, even caring, different from the arrogant, cocky guy he is with most other people.

"It's not about the teasing," I murmur, hoping he doesn't hear my words. But I know he heard me when I felt a rumbling in the chest I was being pressed against.

"Are you a little jelly?" He sounds so calm when he asks me this question, but his voice penetrates my bones, coating my cheeks with yet another blush.

Desperately, I try to downplay it, but Callisto is already onto me. He looks down at me with a look of pure lust. I swallow hard, and the whole atmosphere changes completely; it has become charged with something between us, but neither of us really wants to address it. I mean, how could we? After all, we both know that I'm still attached to my one true love. But slowly, it feels like I can at least try to love again.

I cling to him and discreetly pull the collar of his blazer closer to my nose to inhale his strong, woody scent. I don't know what it is, but it's sweet, but not too much.

His arms around me make me feel safe, even in a place like this. "No," I finally mumble indistinctly, his collar still too close to my lips. Out of the corner of my eye, I see confusion spreading across his usually confident face. With my lips hidden, I allow myself a small smile. "You've gotten too muscular in the last few months, and I don't want anyone else to see much of it." Thankfully, my face is mostly covered already because this blush I can feel coming on is so much worse than the ones before.

"Ohhh, you're so sweet," he whispers, his deep voice even more sensual than before. His arms tighten around me, pulling me closer until I'm lying flat against his muscular chest and rock-hard abs. How much I enjoy the feeling of his trained body. "You know that I belong only to you. No matter how long, I'll wait for you."

A pang of guilt overshadows my feelings. How can he say something like that? We don't even know each other that well, or maybe we do; after all these last three months, neither has left the other's side for more than a few moments; we've even showered together. Somehow, he feels the same as he did back then; he even has a similar personality. Just as that thought shimmers in my mind like a beacon of hope, it reminds me that Callisto is not him; even though they are similar, it's not fair to him to compare him to a dead person.

"Callisto," I murmur just as quietly as he did before. He looks into my eyes so lovingly that my heart beats twice as fast. All I want is to finally feel his perfectly soft lips on mine.

Loud laughter in the distance disturbs our moment of peace. But before we can really react, someone interrupts us directly. “Dudes!” someone suddenly calls out to us. The proximity of the voice forces me to acknowledge this brute, the one who is brave enough to sacrifice his life just to interrupt us. But when I open my eyes, still pressed against Callisto's hard chest, I immediately see a mischievous pair of shimmering green eyes. "Aren't you two cozy?" The glint in his eyes says more than a thousand words.

"You're too loud!" Callisto suddenly interjects teeth clenched and anger clearly visible on his face. Vinok opens his mouth again, probably to further annoy Callisto since he could never stop even if he lost the ensuing wrestling match. But Callisto's large hand covers most of Vinok's face before he can. "If I were you, I would think twice before speaking." His words sound tame, but the tone is almost murderous.

But even after all that, I can clearly see Vinok's signature grin behind the hand. "If you don't take your hand away, I'll lick it!" he threatens, amused.

At that moment, my attention is diverted from the two idiots by an arm around my shoulder. The next second, I am being dragged along with the person. Confused, I focus again, only to find Daniel, our last roommate, beside me. He carries his weapon over his shoulder despite wearing his normal uniform. Just as I want to ask about it, Daniel starts talking, complaining about Vinok's enormous energy in the early morning hours and further confessing that he would have killed him in about a minute or two if Callisto hadn't distracted him.

I watch him speak intently, the large scar on the right side of his face moving with every movement of his lips. He can't see me on the right side because his eye was badly injured in a fight with a monster, or so he told us, but he still flicks the side of his head as a warning not to stare at his scar for too long. I whisper a quiet “sorry,” but he starts talking again, complaining endlessly about Vinok, even though we both know he would give his life to protect him, just like he would for all of us.

While Callisto and I quickly developed some romantic feelings for each other, Daniel has no such interest in anyone. Instead, these feelings somehow flow into his friendships, of which he doesn't have many, but somehow, he clicked with everyone in our little group of idiots.

"You have to stop flirting with Vinok," Daniel tells me out of nowhere, pulling me out of my thoughts. Before I can even say anything, he sighs deeply. "His ego has gotten way too big; he's starting to think he can get with people; just imagine little clones of him running around; I'd go on a fucking rampage!"

While he was speaking so annoyed, the swear word must have slipped out. My mouth hangs open as I listen to him. "Language, Daniel!" Although I try, I can't hide the sarcasm in my voice. I quickly put a finger on his mouth and look around conspiratorially. "Don't forget there are children here!"

"Fuck off!" he yells, pushing me away from his arm as he rolls his eyes, but I can still see a crooked smile. Instantly, I return to his side, and he puts his arm back where it was before. "You really are the only tolerable one in this place."

I put my hand on my chest and look straight at him, my eyes as gentle as possible. "You mean you love me? I mean, I'm honored, Daniel, but I don't know if-"

“What are you talking ab-“

Suddenly, a dissatisfied click of the tongue sounds behind us. "I can't believe it!" The voice is deep and threatening. "Daniel, are you shamelessly flirting with him again? I thought I made myself clear last time!" Callisto's dark eyes turn to me and soften. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," I tell him with a more than fake teary sound. "I couldn't believe it myself; he just-" Before I can continue our little game, I feel Callisto's body freeze behind me.

"You little shit!" Callisto shouts over our heads. The next moment, I only see him running after Vinok, yelling at him that he told him that if he didn't stop licking him, he would beat his ass.

At this sight, I can no longer hold back my laughter. I almost fall to my knees to let it all out. Up until this moment, I really believed that school life would not only be boring but shitty. But how could it be with a group of friends like this? I doubt a day will ever be boring with them.

"You're not even going to apologize this time for almost giving me a heart attack?" For a moment, I think Daniel's voice sounds like a pouting child. But that can't be right, can it? After all, he is the ice-cold, mysterious Daniel, every girl's dream, with his ash-blonde hair perfectly styled and his always neutral face, which is rarely seen with a smile.

But when I look over at him, I actually see it. A rarity. A pout! Unable to look away, I force both of us to hold a steady hand again. I can feel him getting uncomfortable, but who cares? It's a sight from a millennium!

"Don't stare at me like that," he mutters uneasily. I still don't understand why he hates his scar so much; it makes him look so much better, more fierce, like the monster hunter he is.

Unable to formulate words to calm him down, I simply grab the left side of his head from behind and gently pull him down. Without giving him a choice, I press a kiss to the side of his head. "Don't take it so personally, Daniel. We love you, and we show that partly by teasing you. We know you don't feel the same way we do, but we still want to include you in our little games."

However, I would argue that Daniel is even better than the others. At least I don't have to worry about him falling in love with me like my old roommates. And Vinok is far too interested in women to really consider being with a man, and yet he is the frontrunner whenever we are playing our teasing game. He once almost kissed me just to win against Callisto.

I must have broken something in Daniel. He's still red and can't even look me in the eye anymore. So I take the initiative, putting my arm around him and pulling him with me. But it's never easy with these guys. Out of nowhere, Vinok almost slams into us, trying to hide behind me in particular, knowing Callisto will never hurt me or, for the Leviathans to help him, I would crush more than just his soul.

Despite my protection, Vinok goes too far, nearly knocking Daniel off balance. Before I know it, I have Daniel's sword in my hand, and before anyone can react, the blade tip is under Vinok's neck.

"If you want to play hard so bad, get outside, or I'll show you what a real beating is, and not that little roughhousing Callisto gives you. I wouldn't even stop if you cried or begged the Leviathans for mercy on your life!"

His eyes widen and his left ear twitches, showing his nervousness. It tells me I've done enough. I lower the sword and move it until it points in the direction of the outside, but when I see him looking nervously in Callisto's direction, all I can do is roll my eyes. As soon as I see him moving, I pull Callisto towards me and shout to Vinok to run away.

Although I see Callisto looking down at me in displeasure, even shock, his expression quickly changes. At first, I don't know why until I notice myself mindlessly chewing on my lower lip as I stare at his beautiful face. His eyes flicker a little, but a satisfied, if arrogant, grin quickly appears on his lips. Suddenly, he is so close that not even a sheet of paper fits between us. His breath is so warm and emits the scent of fresh mint. Like a douche, he shows me his pearly white teeth, which sparkle right before my eyes.

As if out of nowhere, I feel his large hand pulling me by my side closer to him. "Callisto, not here; breakfast is any minute. The halls will be full soon."

But before I even said anything, I already knew that my words would be useless against a force of nature like him, like the wave of a tsunami that sweeps away everything.

His arrogant grin extends as he brings his lips even closer to mine. "You know very well that there is only one thing I want to eat deliciously for breakfast."

I feel the blood rushing to my head before I've even internalized his words, just because of his closeness and the way he treats me as if I have little say in our relationship.

Although I want nothing more than to drag him into the next room and do things to him that he can't even dream of, I take a deep breath and instead whisper to him what happened with Daniel.

I see the disappointment glistening in his eyes, but like the master seducer he is, he doesn't let it show. The mask of the mysterious, aloof crush and seducer sits perfectly on his face, as always.

But it all disappears when, with one swift movement, he pulls Daniel into a surprise embrace between us. But that's not all. Oh no, Callisto can't stand someone beating him at his own game. He pulls Daniel's head to his chest, forcing him to smell his shirt while simultaneously setting a prolonged kiss on the top of his head just before running off, probably to chase Vinok.

Right after Callisto's checkmate move, Daniel looks even more flustered than before and stops working completely. He only stands there, his cheeks getting redder as the seconds pass. Even though I don't mean to, I can't suppress a small giggle. Before Daniel can overthink, though, I pull him closer to me again and lead us behind the other two to ensure no one gets killed, at least until the evening.

[Masterlist]

[insane-thoughts-oftheday]

A (not) so small philosophical interpretation of Odysseus in epic

Disclaimer: I'm doing this analysis for fun, please don't take everything I write as truth, because this text is based on my interpretation and, even though it took some academic research to do it. It's worth remembering that I don't have a degree in philosophy yet, so I can still make mistakes on some points. Another point I want to highlight is that I wrote this text in a language other than English, and there may be some translation errors by Google, so I apologize if anything is confusing or if you have any questions about something, feel free to comment or send an ask, I'll do my best to explain.

(Notice that's basically me as far as you decide to read this blog)

EPIC:the musical is a work that is very present in my life and in the lives of many other people who are reading this little fan outburst; And if you've just stumbled upon this craze and are hearing about it for the first time, a brief summary is that it's a musical, more addictive than drugs, that tells the story of Odysseus, that guy from Greek mythology who spent 20 years trying to get home after the Trojan War, also known as Simp by his wife Penelope. We have moments of joy, sadness, introspection and many fan outbursts caused by the owner of it all, Jorge Rivera-Herrans, who is not only the creator but also the lead singer of this masterpiece, playing Odysseus and a few others.

But let's get back to the analysis here because I could talk about this for hours without stopping.

A few months ago, when the Underworld saga was released, I remembered the phrase:

"If you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you."

This phrase was written by Nietzsche in the book Beyond Good and Evil, and it reminds me a lot of the Odysseus we see in EPIC, although the phrase is incomplete in the previous quote, even though it is the most common one we see being spread around. The original is:

“Whoever fights monsters should take care that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”

And I also remember thinking about that phrase by Heraclitus, which I think everyone has heard, probably incompletely, at some point in school:

“No one can step into the same river twice, for when he steps into it again, the waters are not the same, and the being itself has already changed. Thus, everything is governed by dialectics, the tension and the alternation of opposites. Therefore, reality is always the result of change, that is, of the struggle between opposites.”

In my opinion, I think that both phrases fit well with the version of the character that we see starring in the entire musical, since most ancient myths and poems have different versions and translations and of course Jorge took some artistic liberties; Odysseus is a Greek hero who fights against many monsters, both mythical and internal, taking into account his ethics as a person while trying to survive and return home.

I think it's interesting to point out that from here on I'll use some different terms, but I'll do my best to explain them.

We can see that throughout all the sagas Odysseus is describing the line of what it is to be human and how one can easily slip off it; this line is located between the definition of gods and monsters/animals and is known as Metron, which gave rise to the word measure, and here we will use it as a synonym for limit for something. It's also good to say that metron has nothing to do with a person's morals/character, because it's a question of ethics.

Morals are the set of rules that concern good and evil, right and wrong. These standards refer to values ​​that are passed down from generation to generation and guide the conduct of individuals in their daily lives. (personal)

Ethics is a field of philosophy whose object of study is the principles that guide morality. In this sense, ethics is a philosophical reflection on morality, approaching the universal principles that govern the common good and coexistence between human beings in general. (common sense)

In my opinion about the musical, the issue of gods and monsters is not so different. For me, in that context, monsters and gods are the same thing, since they are outside the ideal of humanity, but this point may be mentioned later.

Metron is not a knowledge, it is, above all, the limit between impossibility and weakness.

We can see in several Greek myths that human beings like to cross this line, most stories end in tragedy because of this, human beings can also be called “Hybris” which is an excess, it is being hybrid, having two natures, acting in two ways, it is being in the Metron and trying to be something that one is not, because thinking that we can be more than men is arrogance, and arrogance is a human emotion, another story that exemplifies this well is the myth of Oedipus who tries to overcome his destiny given by the gods and ends up fulfilling it anyway.

Hybris is a Greek concept that can be translated as "everything that goes beyond the measure; "immoderation" and which currently alludes to excessive confidence, exaggerated pride, presumption, arrogance or insolence (originally against the gods), which often ends up being punished.

It is worth noting that hybris would in no way be a sin, in the concept of the word and the ideal current translation for it would be "Hamartia", which by chance is also no longer used in its original meaning because of the Catholic Church.

Now going to the interesting part because I was just giving context of terms.

In The Horse and the Infant, we 'meet' our beloved version of Odysseus, where during the Trojan War he states that everything he is doing is for his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus, using this as a way to inspire his men to carry out the massacre that he himself did not want to participate in, I think because of his moral nature, the proof is so much that in Homer's original Odyssey, he pretends to be crazy so as not to show up when called, unfortunately he is unmasked and forced to go.

We also see here that up until now Odysseus is still a very moral character, he has his reasons for being there, he, like the other warriors, has a family and his deepest desire is to return to them. So with this we can conclude that he is still just a man, he is human.

In the same song we see how far his morality goes, as he receives the divine mission to kill the young Trojan prince, Astyanax, who is just a baby, due to the threat that one day he will want revenge on him and his kingdom.

All of this creates doubts in Odysseus, about the morality of gods and men. Here we see him crossing the line and this whole text begins to be about ethics, as it is common sense that killing a child is a monstrous act, but for him not to kill means that his family will die in a more horrendous way later and he cannot let that happen.

Then we have the monologue in Just a Man, the best song, where we can really see the doubts mentioned earlier. And one detail that I find very interesting and that will be important for this text is that in Gigi's animatic, we can see Odysseus' "monster" being 'born' and its source is the baby and his doubts about whether he would really be a monster just for that, even though at that moment the baby is still just a human, the mission to kill him little by little makes him a monster due to the possibility that one day he himself will commit several atrocities.

It's fun for me to think that representing 'the monster' as a tree could be an allusion to the fact that trees take as long to grow as a monster takes to be formed by man.

I think you now understand part of Nietzsche's quote. Odysseus looking at his own reflection and not recognizing himself, seeing the monster he will become if he crosses the metronome is very well treated in several animatics, but the most visible is in Gigi's where he is not only referenced but shown as a completely different being both in attitudes and thoughts.

I'll just pause to say that I love how Gigi did the work of showing the tree growing in the shape of a skull, which could be the deaths that the monster will bring or that it is a macabre thing to do, I don't know, I just love this detail for some reason.

And also how I think that makes a point of showing that the real problem is not the baby but rather Odysseus' unethical thoughts developing because of his doubts.

Ok, end of the pause and start of a mini explanation.

I didn't think this analysis would be so long and in my original thought I was only going to end up mentioning a few songs and focusing more on "No Longer You" and "Monster" but it ended up getting out of control and listening to the musical again it seems like I can make a lot of connections that I hadn't thought of before but now I can't express them properly, so from now on there will be a gigantic gap in content that I might fill later in another post or by editing this one, but at the moment thinking too much about it is giving me a headache and I really wanted to be able to post this now along with the Wisdom Saga because it's something I did for fun from fan to fan and I know that now the fandom is busier. One day I swear I'll do a complete analysis relating song by song, but not today for the sake of my mental health.

End of explanation, subject change.

Going through his entire journey, Ody goes to the underworld after Tiresias who reveals that he will never return home, which makes him indignant, I think any human would be, how much he suffered to get there for nothing. Here we can see how Heraclitus fits into the prophet, and as much as I hate cutting philosophical phrases in half, I don't think I need to use the whole thing to make sense of it here, because the most well-known part of it is enough to get to the point discussed here, since it really won't be him who returns to Ithaca, but rather another man, a man haunted by his own past and by the ethics of his people.

There is no way a man who spent 20 years away from home, suffering for the divine and for his own mind, can be the same, because this is a human characteristic, humans are hybrid beings, which implies that we can change our own nature while gods and monsters will always follow the same line of thought, since they are perfect they do not need drastic changes to live as they are.

That's it. So finally we have the mental breakdown where Ody begins to accept that it doesn't matter if he is a monster to everyone, he did what was necessary. He looked into the abyss and was looked back. He becomes the monster, even if he compares himself to the other divine creatures, which I think he never really learned to differentiate from humans, because Ody my friend there is no way you can really reach the level of a cyclops or a god with a wounded ego, or a traumatized nymph, time makes things very trivial for them and let's face it you will not live even half as long as they do because you are just a mortal.

And I don't know how to make gifs so here are some prints to illustrate the last paragraph. But before that I wanted to thank you if you read this far, I know the ending was kind of bad but I'm emotionally tired, I hope I at least conveyed the idea that was in my head. Thank you and stream the new saga!!!!

(All arts belong to gigi!! go check out this amazing work!!!)

[moongothic]

This is gonna turn into some Crocodad Propaganda eventually but putting the man aside for a little bit

Let's be real for a moment. Regardless of who Luffy's other biological parent is, regardless of if they're relevant to the story or not, no matter what has become of that person, if they're dead or somewhere out there alive, etc-- I believe Oda "knows the truth".

Although it took One Piece until post-Enies Lobby to reveal some of Luffy's blood relatives to us, Oda had technically introduced both Garp and Dragon to us all the way back in the East Blue saga. And Ace was introduced not too long after in the Baroque Works saga, along with his tattoo which held that secret tribute to Sabo all along. (Also he was introduced as "Portgaz D. Ace" meaning Oda must've intended to make the two non-blood brothers from the get-go.) All this means that Luffy's family, both adopted and blood relatives, have been in Oda's mind from the very begining of the story. And so if Oda had figured out Luffy's grandfather, father and at least one brother (if not both) from the begining, then why would he not have decided what became of the person who gave birth to the idiot as well? Like considdering how detail-oriented and meticulous Oda can be, would it not be unusual for him to essentially forget about a character that important (in the sense that Luffy literally would not exist without them) and just handwave them away without much thought? Would that not be out of character for Oda? As such, I don't think it is not unreasonable for us to believe that Oda would know what happened to Luffy's other bio-parent. Mind you, it really could be just something like "Luffy's mother died of The Disease when Luffy was a baby", or "the mom fell down the stairs" or "was eaten by a bear in the woods" or something, anything, whatever. Even if it truly does not matter to the story one bit, I'm sure Oda knows the truth of what happened and why that character wasn't a part of Luffy's life.

But at the same time, if the identity and the fate of Luffy's birthing parent truly did not matter to the story at all, then why wouldn't Oda just tell us who that was and what happened to them? In an SBS or an interview? It's not like people haven't been asking about it, because fans and staff alike have been asking about it for years. If the information really would not change anything, be it the direction the story will take or how we view the characters, if it really is just worthless trivia, then why keep it away from us?

Now of course, I'm sure you'd want to point out that one time Oda told Mayumi Tanaka that "A young boy's adventure begins after he leaves his mother's arms. I want to tell this young boy's adventure story, so his mom is not part of it." And Oda isn't known for lying, we do kind of want to take what he told Mayumi Tanaka at face value. At the same time though. If Luffy's other parent did become a plot relevant character in like the final 200 chapters of the story, after a 1100 chapters, they and their potential connection to Luffy would not have mattered to the story for 90% of its run. For an overwhealming majority of Luffy's adventure, that person would not have been a part of it. So if that character did become relevant, and Oda was lying, then it'd be a white lie at worst. But also, if Oda did intend to reveal that other parent eventually, when the time was right, then surely he wouldn't want to get people hyped up about it way ahead of time. If it did turn out to be a big plot twist or an otherwise important plot point, Oda would want to keep it under the wraps and a secret until the right time, you don't want to spoil something like that. Not to mention it could end up working like a distraction and make people not focus on the more important things happening in the story currently. So really, I think we'd all forgive him for a white lie there. Not to mention, technically speaking, if Luffy doesn't even have a mom but two dads, then Oda wouldn't really be lying either.

But that does bring up an important thing to considder.

If Crocodile does turn out to be Luffy's other dad, when did Oda get that idea, and when would he have committed to it?

Because, keep in mind, One Piece began back in 1997. Twenty seven whole years ago. Which means there's two things to considder; the evolution of queer rights over the past near three decades, as well as the fact that One Piece has more than surpassed Oda's original plans for the series. We must not forget how for a manga to remain serialized in Weekly Shounen JUMP, you need to perform well in the popularity polls consistently; if your manga starts dropping in popularity, JUMP can cancel it and force you end it prematurely. Of course, Oda arguably does not have to worry about those polls anymore after all these decades, there's no way in hell JUMP would ever cancel fucking One Piece in this day and age. But that might not have been the case 15 years ago, that was not the case 20 years ago, and that was absolutely not the fucking case 25 years ago. Like we all famously know that Oda originally planned One Piece to maybe run for like a year, then five years, then ten etc etc. That really is because at the begining of his career he had no quarantee he'd be able to tell the full story he was slow cooking at the back of his mind. Back in the early days, One Piece could've been canceled and ended prematurely, so Oda smartly chose to write it focusing very specifically on what mattered to the story at that moment, in the short term. Yes, he did start laying out the groundwork for things to come, but he did it so subtly that had OP been forced to end early, the series wouldn't have been left with too many massive, gaping plotholes or unresolved sidestories. Another thing to keep in mind is how comic artists for JUMP do have editors etc who can have a say in what goes into the manga (famously, Sasuke only existed because Matashi Kishimoto's editor suggested it). So again, while Oda might be able to do whatever the hell he pleases in One Piece at this point, that wouldn't have been the case 20+ years ago. He would have been more or less at the whims of his editors back in the day.

So would Oda have thought about giving Luffy, the main character of the series, a transgender father back in the year 2000? Could that really have been the secret plan from the start? And would Oda's editor(s) at JUMP have allowed that? Or, did Oda maybe come up with the idea later?

Now just so we're clear, I am NOT suggesting Crocodad was Oda's original intent and that his editors didn't let him do it or anything like that, my tinfoil hat isn't on that fucking tight. What I do want to suggest, is that it is plausible Crocodile being Luffy's other dad was an idea Oda was playing around with at the back of his mind from the begining, but wasn't sure he'd ever get to, mainly due to the uncertainty of series' future and partially because he could've been unsure if his editors would even allow him to write that story. And IF this was the case, Oda may not have even started committing to to the idea until around the CP9 saga. Or, it's possible Oda only got the idea sometime after the completion of the Alabasta arc/during Skypiea saga, and started laying down the groundwork for during Summit War so that, if he ever got around to it, he'd be able to commit and tell that story.

Regardless, let's be real.

It is interesting and kind of suspicious how Crocodile does just happen to be introduced around the same time the rest of Luffy's family was first shown to us, even if we didn't know Garp and Dragon were Luffy's family yet (this was also the same time the first canon queer character was introduced; Oda was playing around with queer characters during Crocodile's introduction, possibly testing the waters to see what he could get away with?) During the CP9 Saga we got the Miss Goldenweek cover story, where we see what's become of Crocodile after the fall of Baroque Works. This is of course adding to the world building of the CP9 Saga (where we're told the criminals who go through Enies Lobby are either sent to Impel Down or to Marineford; so us finding out Crocodile's gone to ID is playing off of what we knew would become of Robin and Franky and the Strawhats not come to rescue them. AND it's foreshadowing for the Summit War Saga), but also, soon after we were reminded of Crocodile and told where he's been sent off to, we were finally formally introduced to Garp and Dragon (Garp having already been mentioned by Aokiji at the begining of the Saga). And we close off the Saga watching Ace and Blackbeard have their fateful match. So again, Crocodile was on Oda's mind around the same time the rest of Luffy's family was. And indeed, after Thriller Bark we then move onto Summit War proper, where Oda does all The Things we would considder The Groundwork for Crocodad, most important being the introduction of Ivankov and their Devil Fruit. But again, just like before, Crocodile just happens to be there at the same time as this saga, which really heavily focuses on Luffy's family, plays out. While we learn about Dragon's secretive nature and connection to Iva-chan, Garp's feelings for the boys, Ace's struggle with his heritage and Luffy's love for him, Sabo and Garp... Yeah, Crocodile's just... Also there.

Whenever Oda starts dwelling into Luffy's family, Crocodile is always there. It's a bizarre coincidence if nothing else.

(And oh won't you look at that, Crocodile has once again become a plot relevant character, just in time for The Final Saga where Dragon has also started becoming actually plot relevant as well)

All of this to say, again.

The fact that Oda has refused to tell us anything about Luffy's other parent is sus, and to me indicates that either although unusual for him Oda genuinely just doesn't give a damn about Luffy's other parent, or he's been trying to play it safe for years so that if he ever got the opportunity, he could give Luffy two dads. (Or maybe there's some other twist that has nothing to do with Crocodile, that is possible too, I just feel like if that was the case then why hide it for 27 years?)

Whatever the case, I'm sure Oda knows the truth.

And I'm sure we will find out the truth eventually, be it on the pages of the comic or in the SBS.

[missempanada]

I'm gonna say something that is probably gonna get me in hot waters but: the whole discourse around Nico di Angelo's race is painfully US-centric. Race doesn't really matter in the original Percy Jackson saga, however in Nico's case, the place and time he was born and raised in is an integral part of his character.

Do I have anything against the actor chosen for Nico being a POC? No, I wouldn't. But we need to keep in mind that's a child who spent his formative years in fascist Italy. A country where very strict racial laws were kept in place.

The Leggi Razziali were the first racial laws passed in Italy and that was in 1928 - Nico would've been 4 years old when that happened. And the Manifesto della razza published 10 years later prohibited marriages between Italians, Jews and Africans, as Italians were seen as descendants of the Aryan race. Also most Africans that lived in Italy in the 1930s came from colonized areas. RR wasn't even able to get into all the nuances of Nico growing up gay in fascist Italy and this would add on another topic that needs to be carefully discussed. Can it be done? Of course. But considering how changing Medusa's story ended up being a hot mess (in my opinion), I wouldn't have much faith in it.

I've seen some kids on Twitter saying Nico's race doesn't matter because "this is a fictional story about greek gods and about how them fighting led up to WW2". And while yes, that may be fictional and kind of ridiculous, Italian fascism is very much real. It's something that real Romani, African and Jewish Italians were affected by. It's also something that White Italians were affected by if they were gay or leftist. And it's something that keeps on affecting people nowadays especially with the rise of neo-fascism we have got going on in Southern Europe. Just because it doesn't affect YOU as a USAmerican it doesn't mean that these issues shouldn't be tackled carefully. To cast a POC boy to play Nico and not explain any of this would be a disservice.

Which leads me to the next thought: I've barely seen any people call for a Roma or Sinti Nico, which would make much more sense geographically and historically than, let's say, an "East Asian Nico" (unless he was Japanese which, again, leads back to fascism). And I can't help but wonder if the reason for this is that there's much less Roma and Sinti people in the US compared to Europe. That would be proof to me of how a lot of USAmericans aren't able or don't want to understand how the world works under a race system that isn't their own.

I feel sorry for the kid they cast as Nico because depending on what race he is he's gonna see either racists or "woke" people complaining about his casting.

[honestlyvan]

I do kind of wonder if the implicit assumption that Door is mad at Alan for involving Saga should be re-examined a little bit.

The game is very careful to not frame any of Saga's relationships as paternalistic. Like, repeatedly, with emphasis, especially among the relationships with people who are close to her and have reasons to act protective over her. Having Door primarily be motivated by a sense of righteousness over someone messing with his protectorate goes against theme with her, and would single him out as the only male character whose help Saga does need.

Furthermore, we know Freya didn't seem to think that highly of Door, never telling Saga anything about him and being firm in not wanting to discuss the topic. Her considering Door a potential danger to Saga just like her powers and choosing to hide the truth to protect her wouldn't make sense if she, too, could use her seer powers to confirm that Door did have Saga's best interest at heart, and with Door existing outside of time, I don't think there's adequate signalling that this would be something he would have had a change of heart about.

Furthermore, while Door is very likeable and definitely not a villain or even an antagonist... he is very trickster-like, and seems very cavalier with how he chooses to interfere and when. From his interactions with the Old Gods, spending fourty years on kill-on-sight terms with them only to happily fanboy over having them on his show and collaborate with them to mess with Alan, to the way he almost deigned to let Alan create a hint for Saga about how to use her powers rather than letting Saga and Tim just work it out amongst themselves, he's playing the long game in every situation and seems to enjoy making the story take twists and turns because of his involvement.

So Door is in a weird superposition of meddlesome/hands-off largely because I almost got a sense that with Saga, he's keeping his distance on purpose. Keeping himself concealed and out of the conversation, despite much of her story being discovering her origins and discovering her own supernatural influence. Outside of letting Alan create a single manuscript page about him, he doesn't even hint at his own existence while Saga is in the Dark Place, theoretically right there for him to reach out to.

And if Door does ultimately think that surely any daughter of his can handle herself, there is one another innocent that has been involved in this all by Wake I could see him getting worked up over instead.