#whew.

. . . There seems to be a slight misunderstanding, my friend. At this table, you are the challenger. Because, unlike the house, the gambler knows exactly what they want.

Good grief I need to rant about some of the takes I've seen regarding how 2x2's scenarios and story 'should' go, and why Komaeda is still going to be important whether you like it or not.

I have seen some people saying that Komaeda should die early, that he's had too much time in the spotlight, that other characters deserve to have the attention and be the antagonist instead, etc etc.

...And it chews me up that people dont understand the point of his character at all. Don't get me wrong; I want other characters to get more attention too. But artificially directing the conflicts Komaeda incites into other characters just for the sake of having someone take his place... is such a naive take. I think that people are thinking way too surface-level when it comes to how the plot will unravel and develop, and what characters it will 'need' to do the things it wants to do. I don't necessarily want the story to focus on nothing but Komaeda, but I don't think anyone can just Be him.

Just how damn forced would it feel to have one of the underdog characters suddenly freak out and become the centerpiece antagonistic force in his place? He will be a major aspect of 2x2 whether he is alive or dead. We already know this based on the interview translation, and, well, uh...

janosh uher

hungarian? slovak? both...?

there's been some speculation on whether it's correct to call janosh hungarian or slovak considering the history and geography of hungary in 15th century, so i thought i'd lay down some basic information about janosh that we do know about him, including his appearance.

here's some things we know canonically:

— he’s from trencsén (modern-day trenčín, slovakia, in 15th century kingdom of hungary) — specifically keselőkő

— in the game, he refers to himself as hungarian

— janosh (or jános) is (most commonly) a hungarian first name

— 'uher' means 'hungarian' in slovak and czech (archaically), pointing to a hungarian ethnicity

due to slovakia not existing as a modern ethnic nation at the time, calling him slovak borders anachronistic, at least in my opinion. however, there are some things that point at a slovak influence so it's not all black and white. let me elaborate!

let's start with the obvious:

Lukáš Latinák is a slovak actor, and is the reason why janosh speaks slovak in the czech version of the game rather than czech, which may reflect a localization decision rather than historical accuracy.

another fun fact i found while researching all this is juraj jánošík, a slovak type of a 'robin hood' legend. and guess what, he participated in the battle of trencsén! janosh, trencsen...we get it.

now, his green caftan and why they may have changed it:

^ the original version of janosh's caftan (left) featured a chernigov motif, which point to eastern slavic influence. on the right, i found a modern recreation of a caftan with the same chernigov motif.

^ i have also found another modern recreation of a caftan with chernigov motifs (left). does janosh's caftan look familiar yet?

the caftan on the left features chernigov motifs, just as the older version of janosh's caftan did. however, they decided to change this in the newer versions of the game:

^ the new version features a mirrored motif of a bird. initially i thought it might've been a depiction of the hungarian national symbol turul, a mythological bird, in an attempt to better solidify his hungarian identity. however, in my research i have discovered this to be a byzantine motif of a bird. here is a wonderful modern recreation of this pattern. this is a motif which appears in decorative silks by otto von falke. (pg. 123)

also, if you're wondering about the influence of chernyakhov culture and that particular choice, i assume it has to do with the archaeological site that was found in hungary (present day romania) which contained remains of chernyakhov culture.

i personally believe that this choice of a depiction of a byzantine influence rather than the previously more distinctly slavic one was an intentional correction in the attempt to better depict janosh's descent. the reason i believe that is because it was magyars (not cumans!), an ethnic group native to hungary, who wore this type of clothing. it was especially present among magyar nobility, which could also be another pointer towards janosh's real origin. however, it wouldn't be odd at all for him to have obtained this caftan through robbery either. but i definitely think it opens things up for interpretation!

so like i said, i think that could reflect the fact that they updated their research or a desire to represent a more distinctly magyar identity more accurately with respect to their real cultural sphere of influence at the time.

and since i mentioned the turul, i think it's possible for it to also be an attempt to visually connect janosh to the turul, without directly using the specific (and possibly politically charged?) turul bird itself.

^ there is also a distinctly hungarian item on janosh's person; a fokos or a 'hungarian axe'/shepherds axe'. while it is an item present in cultures that appear in the area of the carpathian basin, it is traditionally more commonly known as a hungarian item. however, in some places it was popularized by juraj jánošík! man, this is getting tiring.

image credit: telafel

“I thought we’d have more time.”

The expression on her face claws at Finnick. The betrayal, the barely concealed rage there, boiling under the surface, that had briefly left, and now he’s brought it back.

“I’ll come back to you,” he says, a little helplessly.

“You’re arrogant,” Annie says, curling in tighter on herself, pressing her back into the wall. “And you’re a liar.”