#like for instance i do stand by my belief that jorge just didn't really know what to make of casey before like. 2010-ish

[batsplat]

OOH I am not the anon who first asked for a post about Casey & Jorge’s overall relationship …but if you are so moved I would b V interested in reading one 👀👀👀 lmao Jorge is my favorite alien bc he cracks me up (mostly unintentionally, but I do think as he got older & more settled in himself he’s actually surprisingly witty) but also takes me to previously unknown depths of despair (I just read the quote from him about how if he has a son he will do everything in his power to make sure he doesn’t end up a motorcycle pilot & I got so sad I had to like…lie down). WEIRD SET UP FOR THIS QUESTION SRY but I just watched Assen 2013 where he races 36 hrs after breaking & getting surgery on his collarbone (insane. They are all just…insane) and this sent me off googling motogp major injuries which has lead me to a question I was not expecting to have: WHY IS DANI PEDROSA SO INJURY PRONE OH MY GOD???!!!??? Is it bc he’s like…so small??? Did he have bad luck??? Was he on fuck ass teams with messed up bikes???? I’m realizing Dani is the alien I actually know least about so when I find out wild facts like this about him I’m like 🤯🤯🤯

as always, thank you sm for what you do <3 you are a poet and a scholar and a Mother to many <3

this ask is sooooooo sweet and it's mainly gone unanswered because i've been trying to think of a better answer than 'he just got injured a lot'. luck of the draw unfortunately!! i do think it's partly a height thing but i also don't have any great sources for that... he has talked about wanting a more robust body

but yeah. he really was injured an insane amount, and it cost him a serious shot at several championships. 2008, 2010, 2013... and that's just the one where he wasn't already carrying some serious early in the season. this graphic is obviously quite popular

so yeah. unfortunately it's just like that - big part of the genetic lottery and massively influences success. so you've got dani who didn't crash much but got injured extremely easily, and on the opposite end of the spectrum you've got someone like marc who could afford to crash way more because his body allowed him to weather more blows. there was an interesting piece about a related topic (whether all the motocross training is worth it if these guys keep getting injured) from 2020:

and from later that piece:

idk, i do think stuff like that is important to keep in mind. not JUST in the direct way of 'wow these injuries really fucked dani over in xyz season' but even just... the fundamental question of how much you can get away with pushing in every race, every practise session, qualifying etc - because of what the cost might be if you crash. risk management is such a key thing in the sport and it's like... the game is already unfair from the start... idk it's always interested me how all these somewhat intangible factors play into perception of talent, in ways people don't really like to acknowledge. 'talent' is such an artificial construct anyway, so circumstance-based, so arbitrary in how it's measured, but stuff like this is a good illustration of that. if such a thing as talent is even a meaningful concept, then dani had a lot of it - but he didn't have much in the way of luck

[inkbirdie]

no longer you analysis/interpretations

After seeing Jorge's overview of No Longer You and what he intended the lyrics to refer to, I thought I'd share my interpretations of what Tiresias sees! (Long post, so I out them under the cut). Be sure to watch his video, it was very eye-opening for me.

First of all, I saw everything Tiresias said as something that could be in the past pr future (I see past and future running free). I also didn't see it as chronological since Tiresias is not explicitly showing Odysseus the progression of his story since he is not helping him get home. However, I really like that it is chronological, this whole song is very well written, it's definitely in my top three favorite songs of the entire musical.

'I see a song of past romance'

The reason why I never thought Tiresias' predictions were chronological was because I thought this referred to Would You Fall In Love With Me Again! I still think this applies, but it is also a song of future romance.

Before NLY:

⁃ Odysseus refers to his love for Penelope many times (Just A Man is the best example)

After NLY:

⁃ Calypso expresses her feelings for Odysseus, though she likely still has feelings for him in the moment (Not Sorry For Loving You)

⁃ Jorge's intention (more literal): the siren in Suffering is actually singing about Odysseus' romance with Penelope. This line is difficult because Epic is obviously a musical, and the only time we know a character is canonically singing is in Suffering.

'I see the sacrifice of man'

This line could refer to many things! It could be the things that Odysseus or someone else (who is not a god) sacrifices. It could also be the instances where human lives are literally sacrificed. Here are some of the sacrifices made in Epic:

Before NLY:

⁃ Odysseus sacrifices the life of the infant to protect his family (Just A Man)

⁃ Odysseus sacrifices his connection with Athena to do what he believes is right, but also because of his pride (My Goodbye)

After NLY:

⁃ Jorge's intention: Odysseus sacrifices six men to Scylla (Scylla)

⁃ Eurylochus sacrifices the chance for him and the crew to go home (and sacrifices a cow. rip cow) (Mutiny)

⁃ Odysseus sacrifices the life of his crew for a chance to go home (Thunder Bringer)

⁃ Odysseus sacrifices his morals and belief in goodness to get home (Monster, 600 Strike)

⁃ Odysseus sacrifices his way home to defeat Poseidon (Six Hundred Strike)

'I see portrayals of betrayal'

There are a ton of betrayals in Epic, both done by and to Odysseus!

Before NLY

⁃ Odysseus betrays his morals/goodness by killing the infant (Just A Man)

⁃ Athena betrays Odysseus by abandoning him (My Goodbye)

⁃ Eurylochus mistrusts Odysseus (Luck Runs Out)

⁃ Eurylochus betrays Odysseus by opening the wind bag (Keep Your Friends Close)

After NLY:

⁃ Odysseus betrays his morals and Polites by becoming the monster and decidedly not having open arms (Monster, Different Beast)

⁃ Odysseus betrays his crew by sacrificing them (Scylla)

⁃ Jorge's intention: Eurylochus and the gang betray Odysseus by mutinying

⁃ Odysseus double betrays his crew by sacrificing them (Thunder Bringer)

⁃ Up to interpretation: either Odysseus' mind or loved ones (Polites, Eurylachus, his mom) betray him by allowing him to nearly commit suicide (Love in Paradise)

'A brother's final stand'

There are a few possibilities for this. I think the best interpretations involve Eurylochus, because he is by Odysseus' side the longest and is literally his brother-in-law in the Odyssey.

Before NLY:

⁃ Polites' death against Polyphemus (Survive)

⁃ 551 men (6 died during Survive, Elpenor dies offscreen during the Circe saga to make 558 during The Underworld) die at Poseidon's hand (Ruthlessness)

After NLY:

⁃ 6 more men die when Odysseus sacrifices them to Scylla (Scylla)

⁃ Jorge's interpretation (and mine): Eurylochus and the remaining crew try to take Odysseus down with them when he chooses for them to die (Thunder Bringer)

'I see you on the brink of death'

I always thought this went with the following line and didn't think about what it could mean on its own! Here are some times Odysseus almost dies:

Before NLY:

⁃ Up until he opens the wind bag and escapes Poseidon (Ruthlessness)

After NLY:

⁃ Before he chooses if he or his crew will die (though I don't think he ever would've chosen himself to die) (Thunder Bringer)

⁃ Jorge's intention: When he stands on the edge of a cliff and nearly follows the ghosts of his loved ones to his death (Love in Paradise)

⁃ My interpretation: When Odysseus is underwater (after taking his final breath) (Get In The Water)

'I see you draw your final breath'

This really only has one interpretation: when Odysseus 'dies' and fully becomes the monster to get home (Six Hundred Strike). Tiresias sees 'you' or the Odysseus in front of him, draw his final breath. Tiresias cannot help Odysseus get home because he doesn't get to make it home, the monster does. Tiresias refers to the other Odysseus only as 'a man,' reflecting the idea that some of the greatest monsters are human (which we see more of in the Ithaca Saga). Tiresias' other predictions really only apply to what we see in the Ithaca Saga, so I won't be analyzing those for now. The only saga I didn't find any connections to was the Circe Saga. The closest I can think of is Eurylochus still not telling Odysseus about the wind bag in Puppeteer. I feel that saga is generally disconnected from some of the themes in Epic, particularly because the only person who dies is Elpenor (of his own drunken accord and offscreen) and Circe is the last obstacle he spares (aside from Charybdis) but this is not a mistake (Odysseus makes good decisions throughout the saga, which is also important for introducing Hermes and getting the gang to the underworld. Circe as a character isn't very important thematically imo and her songs aren't referenced in any other song except Love in Paradise). Let me know if you see any connections to Circe and her songs! Also if you had any more interpretations different from mine.