#ana does stuff

The first stanza is mainly about both their individual traumas and shared traits, whereas the second and third talk about them slowly opening up a bit more. A and X already have a great deal of trust in each other in the main story, and I see their relationship as both a sort of qpr and a possible courtship. Labels are difficult – point is, they do care for and like each other already, and are now starting to go deeper. The last two stanzas are about that.

blood of the crown // i can't wash it off // a whisper among the hollow bones:

(this has spoilers for both of their routes!)

Blood of the crown ties to both A’s blood connection to Crown Piruz and X’s hatred of the very same Crown, because his actions led to the deaths of X’s entire village, so X has been hunting down the people Crown Piruz ordered to burn the village.

Hollow bones does in part refer to the deaths caused by both of their hands – A in relation to how they blame themselves for their father's countless murders, and X’s own assassinations. Aside from that though, hollow bones are very common in birds, which is something (at least I personally) associated with both A and X (look at past official asks for this lol).

for one of fire // i am a liar:

Fire in ATOC is connected to the truth! It’s endlessly fascinating to me how X hides their secrets behind a veil of honesty, when they deflect so much and have zero qualms about lying. It’s the same for A – it’s not that they’re dishonest, per se, but they are actually. Like, they haven’t told X and R about them being Crownsblood. When X literally has the mot hatred for their father. Not that A knows that, because they’re lying too. Absolutely fascinating dynamic.

does the water sooth you?:

Water is A’s affinity, representing self-reflection!! Reflection is also briefly mentioned in the first stanza (sins of so long ago– // are reflected within my heart. // just as you are) so.. idk, do what you want with that

you don't have to let me in // just know that i'm still here:

This is a Florence + The Machine song, Hiding. One of my personal favourites from them, as well as a song mentioned by the official tumblr before I believe? That was mostly a coincidence since I was listening to it as I wrote and remembered it was quoted somewhere, making me jot it down. It is also rather probable I'm imagining it, but there's the thought process behind this line haha.

beneath that green hidden between smirks // even further down; in the brown earth // something is blooming, something incorruptible:

Aside from the correlation with eye colour (X with green eyes; A with hazel, aka green and brown), this line is about a lotus. Roughly paraphrased, X said that A was impossible to bribe, and many other characters mention that A is hard to corrupt. Which is something interesting to me considering their background of being raised so privileged, or perhaps it’s a result of that very same upbringing. Lotuses are also associated with growing even in the most dirty environment, which fits both of them pretty well imo.

am i sorry // sorry, you never called:

At the end of TON, Apollo says this about Zeus:

[...] Given his awkward self-consciousness at the moment, he might even have let me get away with it unpunished.

But it would not have changed him.

Ultimately, whether Zeus, in his heart of hearts, was apologetic or not, he wouldn't ever show it -- not by words, not by actions. No one, definitely not Apollo and probably not even Zeus, would really know whether Zeus really was sorry or not.

the one you never called to blame:

Apollo was totally Zeus' favourite child, guys. He did mostly everything his father wanted, and up until TOA, he wouldn't even directly blame Zeus for being a bad parent.

Sure, he'd sulk about the smaller things, and his true thoughts of his parentage would show sometimes, but we can see it in how he would've burned bandages in the Jackson's fricking sink to thank Zeus for, idk, letting him heal faster?? that he doesn't know how to accept it.

but i care, though i know i cannot break:

As the King of the Olympians, Zeus can't show any favouritism or weakness -- it's his excuse for not being a good father, I guess. Maybe he isn't actively malevolent, maybe he does acknowledge his children, but we'll never be told.

YOUR FAULT. YOUR PUNISHMENT.

These words seem familiar to you? Of course they do. Zeus said this when he cast down Apollo. Despite the similar connotations of the words, they have drastically different meanings. Which is why the last 2 (or 4?) lines could be interpreted differently:

is this burden my punishment // my fault who's to bear?

My fault here could connect to the two lines before it (your hate, our cycle). Apollo is the one who is at fault for the war against the giants, according to Zeus. But is Apollo really the best person to be faulted here? He's the one being punished, that's for sure.

is this burden my fault // my punishment who's to bear?

Now burden here becomes a different meaning -- Zeus, in this poem, mourns his and Apollo's relationship. And yes Zeus the fact that your son kinda hates you is also kinda your fault lmao.