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prince-kallisto · 24 days

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Idia’s video explaining how to defeat the “evil, terrifying Demon King” had me thinking. Idia’s video greatly mischaracterizes Malleus, and I’ve been reading over some criticisms of his plan being all to similar to the fate of Meleanor with the Silver Owls. And as I was thinking it over, the parallels between Idia and Malleus really striked me in this recent update. (Translation credits to GasMask💖🐦‍⬛)

Throughout the story, we can see how Idia’s curse and family history has affected him greatly. Viewing himself as a monster, someone who is ‘unnatural’ compared to his peers and subject to gossip. The “monster in some tragic tale.” His two lines of getting driven out of town and being poked by a stick reminded me so much of Lilia and Malleus.

Lilia was constantly being driven out of towns and cities after the war, as Fae were viewed as monsters- even though Lilia was just trying to find a way to hatch an egg and meant no harm to anybody. And Malleus was quite literally poked, as in the first Halloween event, the “Draconia Challenge” had the Magicam Monsters poke, touch, and grab Malleus without his consent purely for a ridiculous test of courage. (Translation credits to Otome Ayui💖🐦‍⬛)

And Idia’s fretting over all the potential rumors about him is what actually happens to Malleus- where if you look at him wrong, or even get too close to him, you’ll get cursed and eaten- a similar way to Idia imagining rumors where he’d pass on his bad luck and family curse. Although I think this part of their parallels is fascinating to me, as most of it from Idia is from his own anxiety and self-esteem, but Malleus it is all reality.

However, I think Book 6 and 7 is truly the parts in the main game where a deliberate connection is made- and I will go over 3 specific instances. This first one was the one that truly caught my attention, because the River Lethe is a system that erases the memory and data of the Shroud family. Their existence is known in some lore, but it’s very little, and most of their history is erased from the rest of the world. They are urban legends at best, and Idia resigns himself to being forgotten by all his classmates, seeing no point in making friends when he will be erased in the end.

Several chapters later, we have a scene of Malleus finding comfort in abandoned buildings, as he finds them a “pleasant reminder we’re not the only ones history has left behind.” Lilia is said to be seen in some of NRC’s history books, but so little is know about Meleanor and Levan, the fate of Wildrose Castle, the war, everything. It was all forgotten so easily as human generations went by, but many of the Fae from that time period are still alive and remember it all. Pretty much all of his classmates don’t really understand Fae, creating repeated misunderstandings and conflict between them. But Malleus finds himself left behind in history the same way Idia does. Both of their families are “meant” to be lost in time through some twisted hand of fate. I also find it EXTREMELY relevant of how long back the Shroud family goes- all the way back to the Age of the Gods, and where mages were known as witches and wizards. I think there is a very high possibility of the Draconia’s and the Shroud’s to be connected from all the way back then.

This one is a bit more of a minor case, but it’s similar to the one above. Idia’s fate was sealed the moment he was born- or even before that, as his mother and father would know that he would inherit the Shroud’s curse, Unique Magic, and Watchman title. Not only does it ring similar to how Malleus was dehumanized by the rest of the world *while he was still an egg,* but it reminds me of the accidental curse Meleanor put on Malleus. He would be a blessing to the Fae, but a curse on the humans…Idia’s role of Watchman is technically a “blessing” because without the continuation of the Shroud family, the phantoms would be unleashed on the entire world- but his overall fate is meant to be a curse nonetheless (Translation credits to Otome Ayui💖🐦‍⬛)

And finally, I found the reoccurring theme of fighting for your own dream in Book 6 to be very relevant to the plight in Book 7. At first, the groups in Book 6 are rushing to defeat and knock the sense into Idia and Ortho, like they’re just final bosses. But as they get closer and closer to the Underworld, they begin to stop and empathize with them, beginning to figure out that Idia and Ortho are trying to escape their nightmarish reality to fulfill their own dreams- not matter how selfish it may be. Both sides have entirely valid reasons to fight for their own wishes, but this moment of empathy felt very important.

Book 7 centers around Malleus putting everyone in a “world without sorrow,” in dreams where he *thinks* is their ideal world, even though many of the characters in the present have realized their own strengths and don’t need to rely on their drama anymore (e.g Epel being distraught at his dream, since he has fully accepted his role as being the ‘Poison Apple,’ growing out of his more stereotypical ideals of strengths). However, this is also about Malleus wanting to keep the ones he loves close to him, not wanting to be abandoned again- even if it means stopping time and keeping the entire world in an eternal sleep. His power is on a very similar scale of Idia and Ortho, who planned to reset the entire world and cover it with blot and phantoms- where the Shrouds could be on top of the world since their curse incinerates blot. Even the language used is VERY similar, with being reborn, becoming the protagonist…

So…all in all, I think it’s very fascinating that Idia’s plan and the way he speaks about Malleus is ironically similar to the way he himself fears others talking about him. Reduced to some evil, cursed monster, a final boss to be defeated and nothing more. I have read some other analysis’ (although this is my Silidia brain talking too BSXJD) where Idia is akin to Prince Philip in Sleeping Beauty, the prince who slays Maleficent with the Sword of Truth. The Sword is represented by Silver, where in the current update, STYX is directly working with and examining Silver’s Unique Magic as essentially a secret weapon to defeat Malleus. But I think about Yana’s line in an interview, where she wonders about the viewpoints of the items in fairytales- like the apple wouldn’t WANT to become a poisonous apple. And Silver wouldn’t want to be the “sword” that “defeats” Malleus- his older brother.

Even though it is upsetting that Idia so badly mischaracterizes Malleus, I think it is exactly the point. It is not only a reflection of Idia himself, but will lead to the subversion of Malleus’ “defeat.” History keeps repeating itself through Maleficent and Meleanor, but I think this is the time where amends can be made. Idia and Malleus have the very strong capability of seeing each eye-to-eye, as their plights are very similar. It feels like it boils down to the desire of being recognized and connecting not only with their peers, but also with family- especially in Malleus’ case where he, Silver, and Lilia had yet to truly acknowledge each other as family. Malleus doesn’t, or rather, shouldn’t be treated as the evil final boss, or be defeated solely through technology and brute force the way his mother was.

Showing Lilia’s dream sequence and Silver’s battle with himself in Book 7 is reemphasizing the point of family and connection, and how all of them need to talk it out and recognize each other as a true family. But of course, we are the viewers of the story. The story sets up the value of family and talking it out, but then it is purposefully backtracking as more and more NRC students band together. The other characters have no idea of all this backstory and connection, so everything is far more two-dimensional and they are making their judgements based on what Malleus has done to them. It is a continuous style of retribution.

But this is where a moment of empathy like in Book 6 is need. To stop and think if what they’re doing is right, and what Malleus truly needs in his moment of suffering and isolation. He IS in an Overblot state, so a battle is inevitable, but…I think it is what STYX said. We can’t just beat him down through brute force- someone has to bring him out of his form willingly. I find the clash of ideals and viewpoints of these characters to be incredibly well written, and as Yana said, they’re aren’t exactly traditional hero’s of fairytales. And I’m hoping that if Idia and Malleus’ parallels are as intentional as I think they are, I’m hoping that in the end there is more of a mutual understanding between each other and a breaking of a long cycle.

Edit: forgot to mention it, but this is not to say that Malleus hasn’t done anything wrong to his classmates. I think HE DOES need some form of confrontation- which is where Ace may play a role in since he’s repeatedly not been afraid to call others out, even Malleus. Malleus has a lot to learn and grow from, just like everyone else in the story. And I wonder even though the Draconia’s and Shroud’s are opposites at their surface, I hope there can be a reconciliation and mutual relationship between technology and magic in the future!

m(_ _)m Hm I hope this generally made sense lol, I’m not very good at explaining what I mean. I’m really excited to see where this is all going 👀👀👀👀🐦‍⬛

Also a huge thank you to @/YuuRei20, for their compilation of Malleus and Idia facts 😭💖💖💖💖💖

(Also, back to my brief mention of the Shrouds and Draconia’s being tied back far in the past, I’m still stuck on my theory about what may have happened between STYX and Levan 👉👈)

#this entire post is me struggling to fit in all my screenshots with mobile photo limit Zndjjcf #twisted wonderland #twst #twst analysis #twst theory #twst idia shroud #twst idia #twst malleus draconia #twst malleus #twst spoilers #twst book 7 spoilers #twst jp spoilers #twst shroud family #twst Draconia family #long post #kallistopost

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