About those first 3 chapters (spoilers)

[drollittle]

I speculate . . . I celebrate . . . I congratulate those with more willpower who haven’t read the sample chapters on Apple Books yet, but I really want to get my thoughts and feelings out, and no one else has started a thread, so let’s talk.

[Spoiler (click to open)]According to google translate, the Greek word for pigeon is peristeri. Pheris. I was imagining a fairly

Comments

[freenarnian]

Interesting about the Greek word for Pigeon. I'm curious to find out if he's unable to speak, or if he choses not to, or perhaps a little of both? I already suspect he has other ways of communicating and it would be really touching if he and Gen formed a bond. We were discussing what we know of his condition/symptoms over on Discord and the predominant theories are cleft lip/palate, perhaps some kind of palsy or club foot. The text suggests it runs in the family, so it's probably a genetic condition? My parents were special ed teachers as well, and my heart was breaking for Pheris and his nurse. But HUZZAH for Philologos and his kindness

[drollittle]

Huzzah indeed for Philologos, Petrus, and Gen (do you think we can infer that it was Gen who visited Pheris at night?).

[freenarnian]

The accent and the specificity of using the same hand in that scene is certainly supposed to make us believe that it is Gen. I think it is. (I'm just. Never entirely certain when it comes to MWT.) And the fact that Gen is just being himself while checking in on Pheris... aaah, my heart.

[ninedaysaqueen]

I think Pigeon has survived by pretending he is much stupider then he actually is. He is clearly quite sharp mentally. His physical disability may affect his speech, which would be why he was being taught how to write at the end of TaT.

One half of his body seems to be disabled by some sort of genetic birth defect, it sounds like. He keeps referring to a "bad leg" and a "bad arm." Also, that would be why he was writing with his left hand in TaT. Something Gen and him can bond over, no doubt.

I know very little on the subject of genetic disabilities, so I can't guess what this would be.

I will join you in holding a "Sejanus is a good person" torch. It's mentioned in the preview that Sejanus is still in prison.

[freenarnian]

I don't know if Sejanus is a good person but I think he may be on his way to becoming one, or there is still more to be revealed about his character.

ROTT sample spoilers!

[freenarnian]

I JUST HAD A THOUGHT. What if Sejanus told Gen about Pheris?

RE: ROTT sample spoilers!

[drollittle]

Ooooooh, I love this theory!

[ninedaysaqueen]

Yes, I agree. I mostly hold this torch in the hopes that he will become a good person. Where we left him was a not quite evil person. XD

Possible diagnosis?

[drollittle]

I found this. I believe there are a wide variety of rare genetic conditions, though, plus this is fiction, so who knows.

https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/weismann-netter-stuhl-syndrome/

Of note: it does not mention any speech impediment.