#king itzal

[fallinginaforrest]

"If you saw what I did... You'd believe"/"And Belief is priceless"

Phantom Pain Vs. Belief

Anyway this evil evil man is my favourite because he's just like my dad except this guy has a Hobby.

[its-short-for-jackalope]

click for quality!

my first scribbles of King Itzal! you guys don't understand just how hyped I was to find out that Dylan Saunders is playing him. I had been dreaming of this since we first heard Kal mention his name in TGOA, and Dylan absolutely killed it. SO excited to hear Itzal again in future episodes. worst dad in the cosmos. <3

[snarky-wallflower]

This is what happened between the royal family and also Kal, and no one can prove me wrong.

[nabwastaken]

dylan saunders was such a perfect choice to be itzal because he sounds so sweet yet just so sinister during phantom pain

[thearcanecat]

I forgot I had a tab where I zoomed in really close on Itzal’s art to see his eye color. So when I was clicking through I just got jumpscared by this

[awigglycultist]

Itzal: Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy. Both. I want people to fear how much they love me.

[man-down-in-hatchet-town]

Okay so I trust Matt Dahan with all of my heart, I am sure whoever he picks will be INCREDIBLE, but I'm gonna go ahead and start my Dylan Saunders For King Itzal campaign Right Now.

[chaotic-goodsir]

Pulp 4 spoilers:

Sure, we're all thinking about Kal calling Dakkar 'Dak', but what about Sia calling him 'Nemo'?

It's not just a reference to the character he's inspired by, but also a translation of 'Nobody', which is how he introduces himself to Rose! Sia and Dakkar must know in-universe that 'nemo' means 'nobody', because it's Latin, same as 'Mobilis in Mobili.'

So, is Sia calling him that some kind of in-joke between them? If Kal and Dak are on nickname terms, why doesn't Kal use it at all? How did Dakkar get that nickname in the first place? If he's the King's son, then a nickname like 'Nobody' could have a lot of potential implications.

And while I'm at it, what did it mean when Sia told Kal 'you were once a man that I trusted' and 'I will always be that feeling burning under your skin'? And when Kal made that comment about being Itzal's favourite?

Dakkal divorce or no Dakkal divorce, something is definitely up with these three.

[paranormaltheatrekid]

I’m sure there’s an actual explanation, but I’m imagining that king Itzal woke up one day and I went, “what if I just fucking killed all of my subjects lmao?”

[haminamibami]

Listening to Damn the Torpedoes and just now realizing why Kal had AJ drinking the gunpowder and rum when they made the initial deal. That's how Kal found them on the Sargasso. The fog was inside of AJ for ten years, just waiting for Kal to track him down, and by extension the Ellen Austin, the Antikythera and the orrery.

It also means that Kal had to know about Sia's vision, and that he knew at least ten years in advance. The other option is that Itzal had the same vision as Sia, which is a valid possibility considering what Kal said during The Beginning of the End ("How I wish King Itzal was here to witness this. Or did he already know?" Which is practically a confirmation that Itzal has both perception and illusion.). If Itzal didn't have the same vision, and Kal knew about it from Sia, it could mean that she possibly had the vision even before Itzal's spell was cast, and she had to live with it for YEARS not knowing the meaning.

This story is so layered and I love this so much.

[arcofagamotto]

I'm having some thoughts after The Searcher in the Shadows.

In The Ghosts of Antikythera, Kal accuses both Margaret and Sia as "the two biggest traitors in history".

With the new information of Margaret being the daughter of Itzal, this accusation makes sense (from his perspective).

But what about Sia? Why would Kal lump her "betrayal" together at the same level of the daughter of their king?

I don't know why, but ever since Ghosts I've had this notion that Sia and Kal have stronger history together than is being let on. There's this vibe that when it comes to Kalfu, she has a bigger chip on her shoulder about the man she once trusted compared to other Blazing World peeps. It's like there's a desperation in her demeanour throughout the first half of The Beginning of the End.

And then in Searcher when she protects Ahlaam against Kal's illusions, she is Extra pissed off (but to be fair, what he was doing was super messed up).

Romantic (though not sure now due to the whole "Dak" thing going on), familial, or just very close friends, who knows. I know a lot of people are thinking they're another doomed sibling pair, but personally I'm partial to lovers-to-enemies for them. But there's still a lot of Sia's personal history that we actually have not heard about, she's not forthcoming with information about herself.

And this is mostly based off of what we've seen of Sia. Aside from the accusation and calling her a friend, that's pretty much it from Kal's end that I can recall. His interaction with Dakkar screamed *something* too, so that kinda threw me on a loop.

[jamjarjiminy]

After seeing his portrait I can officially say King Itzal would make me worse. Sorry not sorry

[starlightsparrowfox]

interesting thing to add, I think. a (very quick) Google search of the four new names meanings gives us some fun stuff we can maybe consider if it has any meaning to the plot/characters.

Sia means victory or wisdom.

Ahlaam means dreams.

Itzal means shadows.

Kalfu seems to mean crossroads(?).

idk if this would have any significance to anything but it was kinda neat to lookup real quick to add something.

WOW! THAT WAS SOME LORE, HUH? :D

reposting this meme bc it's true and bc I really like it, lol

I have quite literally been scribbling notes on a scrap of paper like a madman while rewatching TGOA part 3 as many times as possible, just jotting down all the mindboggling information we've been given, and some less direct stuff that I could be reading too much into but is fun and neat even if it doesn't amount to anything crazy and galaxy-brained, lol.

So click/tap below the cut for rambles about the final part of Pulp Musicals episode 3

The Ghosts of Antikythera ⚓️

Names, Names, Names!!!

Hey, might as well start with all the new names we've gotten!

The captain of the Antikythera — the ghost ship from 'someplace else' — is Addison Arvad.

Kal (my beloved/beloathed ❤ ) is Kalfu

The Traveler we met in TBS is Sia 💖💖

Ahlaam is another Traveler. I adore her already, and not just because she saved Rose.

Dakkar is... somebody. As expected, I've been going crazy in my dms with @man-down-in-hatchet-town, and she believes Dakkar is probably inspired by/based on Captain Nemo? 👀

King(?!) Itzal is... probably bad news! Kal's the one who calls him a King and he is obviously pretty loyal and devoted to him, and wants to impress him (aww), so methinks Itzal is maybe not so good???? (I am also a proud supporter of Brooke's Dylan Saunders as Itzal campaign, lol)

The Blazing World is home. It's where the Travelers and the Antikythera's Searchers (rip) are from, it was destroyed once—but is being rebuilt?—and Kalfu and Itzal seem to want it gone for good.

Lincoln Island is the mysterious island our heroes on the Ellen Austin are approaching at the end of the episode, the place Ahlaam sent Rose and the Antikythera to via orrery.

Quick *Approximate* Timeline

Eh, what can I say? We got numbers and I decided to do a tiny bit of math about it.

1874 — the Antikythera & the Ellen Austin

🔴 YOU ARE HERE

🎶 When are we? 🎶 Well, Morgan Reese informs our time-traveling heroes that, uh yeah lol, last he checked the year was 1874. What a funny question from a bunch of rapscallions!

Captain Arvad's logs from the Antikythera start in January 1874, so we know the Searchers were out and about in this same year. Their disappearances were recent and the ship hasn't been empty for all that long, I don't think.

1865 — may this monument stand forever

On this site in 1835, Sir John Herschel and Anna Hanover launched the first brick satellite, the Sagitta, in what was known as Township Number Nine. Erected to commemorate their bravery, to thank them for their gift to all mankind, may this monument stand forever.

Dedicated August, 1865.

1864 — the dark angel appears

A desperate AJ makes his ill-fated deal with Kal in exchange for his crew's safety during the Battle of Mobile Bay.

Damn the torpedoes.

1835 — the beginning of our adventure

🎶 IT IS EIGHTEEN THIRTY-FIVE 🎶 and the Great Moon Hoax and The Brick Satellite both happen in this year. Things were so simple back then!

1829 — the Blazing World is destroyed

In 1874, we are told (first by Arvad's journal, and then by Sia) that their home, that the Blazing World was destroyed 45 years ago. If my math is right and they're not hippity-hopping too much in time (they have time travel capabilities so idk for sure) that would put the destruction of the Blazing World in 1829.

If the world being destroyed is also the Event that Kal alludes to in Gunpowder and Rum, pt. 3 ("Your powers are returning and you still don't remember what happened? 😒") AND it's the one that left Margaret without her memories and powers, then... could Margaret have been feeling lost, alone, and disconnected with her phantom pain in New York for 6 whole years before the Stratfords wrote the hoax that would bring the quartet together??? 🥺

And while we're on the subject of time passing!

If Sia and Kalfu and everyone besides the quartet has gotten to 1874 the long way 'round... (which I think is the case if Kal snarked at Sia for hiding Margaret in the future—if he has a sense of the future in relation to the world and time, I'd say this also implies he & the others have a pretty consistent present?) ...have they aged? Or does their magic also lengthen their lives? I imagine it would be mentioned if Sia was visibly older, and since Samuel described Kal as looking ~40 years old, then how could he be younger than the war he's been in? lol. But idk, this is just food for thought!

Kal Loves His Lore Dumps, Doesn't he? This one's mostly about Margaret <3

"You've proven quite elusive over the years... We've searched across the seven seas... I suppose it's only fitting that I find you here by chance, looking for an orrery! I'd have settled for the ship, what's its name? An-ti-ky-ther-a. But you will be quite the prize. It's you that will seal our victory! A ship from the Blazing World would have been quite the quarry. But you? That could end things once and for all!"

"The ship, the orrery, they don't matter now. Not when I can dispatch the two biggest traitors in history with just one blow!"

Seems like our girl is pretty special~ 🥰

I mean, of course she is, she's our Margaret, but if Kal is willing to let the Antikythera go to get her instead, and he's so convinced that taking her out will win the war... our girl is Pretty Special™ right? Maybe she's a princess or something, or maybe her Radiance is just that heckin' strong. idk, but I'm excited to find out either way.

I'm also wondering if there's a connection between Margaret and the orrery/orreries... If Kal thought it was fitting to find her when he was after the orrery, does that mean something more? Could Margaret have created the orreries and/or the magic behind them? 👀

...actually maybe this isn't such a good and fun thing. 😅😟 Things don't usually go very well for special and important characters—what is the saying, tragedies love heroes? I mean, Margaret has lost her powers and memories once already, as well as her home and whatever family she may have had before. I know all our pulp blorbos have been in dire straights a few times now, but I don't want them to get MORE DIRE than this!

Kalfu, Sia, & Margaret's history

Kal: High marks for cloaking the fleet, but seriously—

...

Kal: Come on, it's a Traveler reunion.

...

Kal: Just a drink between three friends.

...

Sia: Oh, you were once a man that I trusted. Tell me, where has he been?

...

Sia: Itzal poisoned your mind!

Kal: Itzal opened my mind!

...

Sia and Margaret: *powering up*

Sia: Hey, Kalfu!

Kal: Huh? Ugh, not again.

Kal: *team rocket fog's blasting off again*

I think it's pretty safe to say that, once upon a time, these three were once close. Maybe they were friends and peers, or maybe Kalfu was once Sia and/or Margaret's mentor with that "high marks" comment. Whatever the case, they used to be allies who trusted each other.

I think it's also safe to say all three of them are/were Travelers. Obviously Sia is, and Margaret probably is/was one as well, since she and Sia have a badass combined attack (that I'm betting they used against Kalfu ~45 years prior). As for Kal... I don't know how the radiance and the fog fit together exactly, whether they've always been separate or the fog is a dark bastardization of the radiance, but it seems like he is on equal footing with Sia as far as magic powers go, and he can teleport like they do—AJ witnessed this at the Battle of Mobile Bay, and Samuel did (kinda) on the deck of the Ellen Austin. I don't know if that's the only qualification for being a Traveler, but it's worth mentioning.

It seems like Itzal was a pretty big factor in this trio splitting up—for whatever reason, Kal turned his back on Sia and Margaret to follow him, or perhaps Sia and Margaret left Kal behind when he wouldn't leave with them. I don't know, but I want to—I have questions!!!

Sia and Itzal — Future sight?

Kal (to Sia): You know, for someone with precognitive abilities, you sure like to cut things close. 😒

...

Kal: How I wish King Itzal was here to witness this. Or did he already know? Eh.

There's not much to say about this, really, I just think it's interesting.

But it does make me wonder if Sia *knew* that sending Margaret and the others to Hanover in 1874 would lead Margaret to the Antikythera and help her regain her memories, even if Sia couldn't see much more than that. Like, if she knew that Kal would be there, I don't think she would have put Margaret at risk like that when she was still vulnerable. Unless she was betting on Margaret figuring things out before Kal could make his move... gah, who knows! (Matt. Matt knows.) We do know that Sia can't see everything, though—she knows that the crew of the Antikythera are gone but has to ask Kal what he did with them.

Also, obligatory "yikes 😬" at the idea of having an enemy (King Itzal) who could possibly see your attacks/plans before you make them. That can't make this war any easier!

Fogging the vortices, you say?

Kal: We've been fogging the vortices for decades. There was bound to be an Antikythera sooner or later.

Vortices.... plural for vortex, yeah?

"A mass of whirling fluid or air, especially a whirlpool or whirlwind."

Is one of these vortices located here in the Sargasso Sea? Is that why Rose already knows plenty of ghost stories about these waters, why this is a strange place that'll one day be dubbed the Bermuda Triangle? Where are the other vortices??? How many are there??? What are they, exactly???

Okay, but what about the gates?

Kal: A war for a world of power and might

Sia: A war for a world of courage and light

Kal: Fought over decades

Sia: Over ascension

Kal/Sia: No chance of surrender, no chance of redemption

I'm just throwing darts here, but I feel like 'ascension' has to do with the gates that have been alluded to a few times now?

First, in TBS, Sia told Margaret that she couldn't take her to the gate until her memories were back. Then in part 2 of TGOA, Kal said something about the Antikythera's orrery leading him to the first gate.

I don't think these gates are the same thing as the vortices—if the bad guys have already been 'fogging' them, then Kal wouldn't need an orrery to find them.

The gates probably lead to the Blazing World, right? Kal and Itzal want to destroy the Blazing World for good, which is why Kal was trying to get the orrery, to get to the gate, to ascend to the Blazing World and turn it to dust once and for all.

Travelers and Symbols/Elements/Associations

To finish up, here's one of the things I've noticed more recently. We have four magical characters now who seem to be at similar levels of power and might all be/have been Travelers, and maybe it's just a fun bit of flavor rather than anything Extremely Vital to the plot, but they each seem to have their own kind of... niche?

Lemme run through 'em real quick.

Kalfu—

● Want a drink?

● Gunpowder and rum, too strong for some! 🎶

● And poison... is kinda my thing.

● Non-lethal fog, my latest brew

Kal's easy to figure out—he's been pretty clear with his gunpowder and rum (delicious!) and once he revealed it he's been very cheeky and upfront about his use of/preference for poison too. He also stands out as the only person wielding fog, but I'm sure that'll change as we delve further into the dark and into this war we're learning about.

Sia—

● "Was that sunlight shining in the sphere?"

● We're here to light the fuse

● Lay another hand on her and you'll go down in flames

● I will always be that feeling burning under your skin

hehe okay, Sia is the reason this whole section of my post exists lol. I noticed the references to fire in enough of her lines/lyrics in part 3 that I thought it couldn't be a coincidence, and then I looked at the others. I just think it's neat!

Maybe these lines are just nods to the fact that light can burn as well as illuminate—Kalfu would probably know, hah—but it is fun to think that maybe we could see our first and dearest Traveler friend whip out some cool fire magic later on—when she's not duking it out with somebody on a wooden boat, lol.

I'd love that for her, tbh.

...especially because alcohol is flammable. :)

Ahlaam—

Narrator: In a blinding flash, a woman materialized, and with a single motion, she pushed the water of the room with her mind

Okay, I fully admit this is mostly just a reason for me to make another waterbending joke. Ahlaam's appearance in this episode wasn't really long enough to give us much information about her, but I mean we also haven't seen anyone else do anything with water until she came along, so... if we see her do more stuff like this and she has more associations with water in episode 4 onwards, I will feel pretty smart. 😌

Margaret—

● the moon

● the sea

● astronomy

we might not know much about Margaret's magic beyond how brightly it glows—which isn't unique to her—and what she's been able to do with it, be we do know that she has a connection with the moon, of course.

I think we could also argue that she has a pull to the sea—mostly because of the view from her window and the rooftop, overlooking the water. Learning about the Searchers and the fact that Kal was looking for Margaret on the sea supports this connection, but again, that doesn't really single her out from the others.

Margaret does have an appreciation for astronomy, but even that might not be super unique, if her people have orreries on every ship and they all look up to the sky. However... my brain is still chewing on a possible connection between Margaret and the orrery, because of what Kal said. It would be pretty rad if she was the one who designed and crafted them, figured out that magic. So idk, that could be something.

If her memories are returning, maybe we'll see her really start to shine amongst her fellow Travelers as she recalls more about herself and brings together the person that resides in her memories and the person that losing her memories made her into.

phew, okay! this is a long post and I am now very sleepy, lol. I'm sure I missed a few things—I didn't take any *literal* notes during parts 1 & 2 and it'll be a few days before I get the album and lose my mind again—but maybe there's a few things I managed to catch that y'all will enjoy.

As always, feel free to reply/reblog with your own thoughts!!!

[snarky-wallflower]

Searcher Part One Spoilers

hi yes I can’t stop thinking about A Spell Is A Rule Made With Magic, and the implications of what Kal said back in TGOA.

ONLY A COUPLE THOUSAND. Out of MILLIONS. How did the virus hit so hard? How did Itzal make it spread so fast? The sheer scope of it is horrific.

…And did he have help (willing or unwilling at the time) from a certain virologist, who would know a great deal about the spread of diseases and how to amplify it?

[nabwastaken]

Part 2 thoughts

Searcher in the Shadows part 2 spoilers below!

Its almost 2 in the morning and I am VERY incoherent with my thoughts rn. Like that was insane

DAKKAR AND MARGARET SIBLINGS???? HOLY SHIT??????

AND ALSO

PAPER STARS KISS PAPER STARS KISSS PAPER STARS KISSS-

ahem now that I got that outta my system

I have a theory.

Illusion magic is said to control thoughts and stuff in the mind.

It was said in part 1 that Itzal mind controlled a bunch of the travelers on the Blazing World. So I think Itzal had illusion magic and was so good at it he mind controlled his people

BUT ALSO

What if it impacted not just thoughts, but memories? You can see where I'm going here.

What if Itzal took Margaret's memories?

[iturbide]

i'd love to hear some tidbits (fun facts???) abt amber and itzal if you're willing to share!!

OH I WOULD LOVE TO SHARE TIDBITS ABOUT THE BOYS 💖

Amber

The Bright Prince, second in line for the throne of the Radiant Court after his older sister Bertine

(White-haired anime boy but he's a himbo)

Little bit of a party boy, mostly just wants to have a good time and make sure his friends are having fun too

0 interest in the actual workings of the Radiant Court, really only does social facing public outreach stuff to help out his sister

Has lived in the capital his whole life with occasional visits to other major cities

Has a sword and knows how to use it, even if it is supposed to be mostly ornamental

(Deeply prejudiced where it comes to rural culture and country beliefs, dismissing it as superstition or tall tales)

(He means well though and he can change his mind, it just takes a bit of a hard knock to get him going in the right direction)

Itzal

The Shade King, appointed leader of the Shrouded Court now that his mentor has stepped down and named him her successor

(Maybe has a death wish but won't admit it)

Awkward conversationalist, often loses his train of thought and tends to be a little scattered

Tends to be very careless with his health and safety and has a reputation among his friends as an unrepentant daredevil

Was very frail in his early childhood, narrowly survived several bouts of grave illness

Got more hale once he hit his teenage growth spurt, but still believes he's living on borrowed time

(Has a lot of deep-seated and justifiable anger toward the Radiant Court for their treatment of their country 'vassals')

(Also has a lot of prejudice against magitech on the whole and is pretty resistant to changing his mind about that)