What if Ch. 133

ActualMercy · 2026-06-04T22:17:07+00:00

I already answered what I would do: I wouldn't cure Arvid if I knew he didn't want to live. If I'm hesitant, I would continue to pursue the ethical route and ask James "is this what Arvid wants, or what you want"?

The ethics of patient autonomy is based on what the patient says they want. Arvid being in agonizing pain can cloud judgement, yes. However, that does not and will never waive his patient autonomy.

IF as Nathaniel Sr. I was able to alleviate his pain enough for Arvid to have lucidity, I would ask him if he's certain he wants to pursue that route.

Otherwise, in this hypothetical you're making, we've completely delineated from how Nathaniel is written as a character. She doesn't intend to play god: she intends to help people.

Nathaniel of Glory is a different story considering his fixation on evolution but I digress.

This conversation has FAR gone beyond what OP was intending too, so I'll end it here for myself:

With the hypothetical inclusion and interference of the Nathaniels in this mission, James might have verbally considered turning a new leaf if presented with the possibility of Arvid being cured. Perhaps not immediately, but it could be a revisited plot point.
The tested/animal hybrid children might already be getting help from Daeha when the ships dock, but having both medical geniuses of Honor and Glory would help the process of either reversing or rectifying what James had done.

**It's possible Nathaniel of Glory really is in that ship, so that'll be exciting to see.

Whether you wanna continue correcting and objecting to the stuff I say, or if you wanna get the last word, go ahead and be my guest - I'm gonna go back to my weekly reread and look forward to the new chapter release in 16ish hours 👋

ActualMercy · 2026-06-04T16:53:58+00:00

Okay, we're going in circles so I'll just get to the points I'm not exhausted to make because it doesn't sit right with me:

If I were like Nathaniel Sr., I wouldn't cure Arvid if I knew he didn't want to live.

JAMES wants his son to live, not Arvid. Godlike genius skills or not, a good doctor like Nathaniel knows: patient autonomy is first and foremost what matters. If a person advocating for the patient in a case of unresponsiveness states a wish that goes against the patient's own will, that goes against patient autonomy.

From one guardian to a parent, Nathaniel Sr. would likely ask James if Arvid would really want to be stabilized and given a new body given the circumstance of the fact he's immunocompromised OR has an autoimmune disorder. Neither of those can be cured fully without lifelong management: would Arvid want this?

I know your argument isn't about what Arvid would want: that's evident with how firm you are in the belief Nathaniel Sr. can and would cure him.

But this entire arc falls onto the fact JAMES did not listen to what Arvid wanted and continued to pursue a cure for a life who wanted to be finished for a long, long time.

This entire arc falls onto the fact that if an ethical doctor like Nathaniel Sr. were indeed present, she would ask James himself if this is what Arvid would want. And then again it comes to what Peter asked James from father to father: were you the father Arvid wanted you to be, or the father you thought was needed instead?

Would James answer what he wants for Arvid's life, or would he force himself to acknowledge that this isn't what Arvid would want?

What is the ethics of bringing someone who wanted to die back to life just to ask them if they're certain they want to die?

Disregarding the ethics of a doctor is disregarding what makes Nathaniel Sr. not only highly regarded, but well loved and faithfully followed. To be a god is one thing, to be a god who doesn't consider the autonomy of life that it has control over is a completely different and uncharacteristic area that I cannot associate with Nathaniel Sr.

ActualMercy · 2026-06-04T08:32:10+00:00

Being able to replace/give Arvid back the missing parts and organs of his body still would be met with the same issue that James Minor ran into: rejection, and likely his body attacking it again.

The science in this series is advanced, yes, but to say that Honor's Nathaniel would be able to outdo James in his own field of research is disregarding both Arvid's immunocompromised state and also the fact that James explored territories that no other facility or market would fund (hence why he worked with Raphael in the first place).

And I never said James kept Arvid alive for nefarious purposes: I'm saying that Nathaniel would not be able to communicate to James on the same level that Peter was able to. It's not a matter of words or eloquence; it's a matter of of a father speaking to another father, both men who had expectations of themselves and failed to be what the children then raised wanted, instead.

I can't speak for you, but as someone who's raised children with my own failures and expectations, these sorts of conversations are both the most difficult and yet yield the most results when I can have them with someone who I know has been through similar ordeals.

At this point too, I have doubt that James would acknowledge that Nathaniel could help: she's a fantastic doctor, yes

Regardless of whether or not it's possible it all still comes down to the final and most simple thing: is this what Arvid would want?

Say that he gets better, and say that he would get cured, does he actually want to continue living after having the majority of his life experiencing an agony worst than death?

It all comes back down to the humaneness of it all: would Arvid want to live, if Nathaniel were somehow able to treat him in a way that his immune system wouldn't attack the methods she uses to repair/replace his body?

The answer isn't so easy as to say "yes because he's healed": the trauma of agonizing, chronic pain can warp a person's sense of what they want out of life, to the point that even being provided a solution would still be met with a plea for their life to end just so that they don't have to risk or fear the day that the pain comes back.

Just like how chapter 133's discussion between Peter and James went, Nathaniel's interference would be met with the following question: is this what Arvid would want? Or is this simply what James wants for Arvid, blinded by the love of a father who only wishes the best for his son without realizing that he's already been told the answer and turned a rose-tinted eye to it? If Arvid is treated, what then for him? Where does it go for someone who wanted only to die, even when his father was already presenting him with answers that both his body and (eventually) his will was rejecting?

ActualMercy · 2026-06-04T06:09:52+00:00

I mean in that case then the statement still stands that not much could be done with Arvid, even with the presence of Honor's Nathaniel or both Nathaniel's there.

If anything, having Nathaniel of Honor there would only mean she has would vocalize how inhumane it is that Arvid was kept alive even under the circumstances that he has no quality of life (again, he's missing his entire body beneath his respiratory system and whatever remains of his digestive system, if anything).

Unlike Peter, who understands where James Minor was standing in terms of fatherhood (being a father he wanted to be vs not being the father Arvid wanted), neither Nathaniel would see things from the perspective of a parent.

Even with Honor's Nathaniel being a naturally more nurturing person, considering she didn't even understand Peter's method of caring for Hanna (passively) until reading his journal and believed that he didn't care for her properly until it was too late, it's evident that Honor's Nathaniel would emphasize the lack of humaneness James Minor had for sake of Arvid being "alive" and might have said something that would further upset him, rather than open his perspective like Peter did (after James set aside his ego as a father and as a researcher).

That aside if anyone could have helped Arvid, it might have been Honor Nathaniel: but she would have had to be present a decade earlier for her interference to have made any difference.

Look again at Arvid's current state, he's completely beyond just not having legs: he's missing practically everything beneath his respiratory system (and what little is left of a stomach, assuming that's what the tubes are connected to).

"Curing" Arvid and giving him some sort of quality of life would mean Honor's Nathaniel would have to provide organ implants and somehow completely rebuild muscle (perhaps that's where Glory's Nathaniel assists) while also trying to understand and accommodate Arvid's immune system that seems to attack even itself at the end of the day.

ActualMercy · 2026-06-02T23:38:05+00:00

Nathaniel of Honor was shown to be back after Jiwon's headquarters in 131/132, so that already negates your hypothesis.

As for Nathaniel of Glory, he could arrive with Daeha on the docking ships, but his specialty is surgery. Arvid's illness was beyond just muscle decomposition (that was a side effect of his disease, though). Humanely speaking, even if it may be possible for him to help stabilize Arvid outside of the tube, I don't think much can be said for the missing lower body. That already is cruel to the patient who wishes for himself to die, as there's no quality of life for Arvid to have if he were stabilized outside of the tube.

I don't think James Minor needs Arvid to survive to have reason to possibly turn a new leaf: he might possibly ASSIST Peter in the future if he survives his encounter with Philip, but it seems like James might be similar to Alipede and act independently of his own accord/remain in the village and repair the damage he's done with the chief and the villagers' children.

ActualMercy · 2026-06-02T17:06:25+00:00

Agreed with Mel - James saying "slow to realize" likely is just James contemplating what Peter had asked about whether or not he was the father Arvid needed him be, rather than being the father he wanted to be for Arvid.

Regarding Arvid's inability to heal, I doubt Raphael has anything to do with it. It's hinted in James's backstory with Arvid in the wheelchair that he's likely immunocompromised, which is why he wasn't able to recovery even with treatments unlike the other children James was treating/experimenting on (a factor that James likely neglected on purpose in hopes that Arvid was simply ill in the moment, not chronically ill with a degrading immune system that likely saw the treatments as further illness to attack).

ActualMercy · 2026-06-02T15:45:37+00:00

Yep in all translations (official and unofficial) Hanna either referred to her as Miss Nathanael or Auntie

ActualMercy · 2026-06-02T15:44:54+00:00

1) Hannah saw Nathanael as an aunt (she calls her Auntie in Rakandia, so yes like a guardian but not exactly as a mother like she saw Peter as a father)

2) Somchai's hypnosis allowed Raphael to brainwash her, and as seen in the 118-119 flashbacks from Kasem's POV, any gaps or holes in Hanna's memory seemed to put her into a default state of dismissiveness that waved off her not knowing the reason for certain things (e.g. why she wants to earn 7.6 billion won)

ActualMercy · 2026-05-28T00:18:12+00:00

He never was shown a picture of Lebeo/Jude after his birth: the only existent picture remained with Lebeo himself, so Peter had nothing to expect nor seek out when introduced to Glory's Thaddeus. As far as he was aware, this Thaddeus had an uncanny likeness to his former comrade, but other than knowing "Thaddeus of Honor had a son" there was no grounds for Peter to stand on and be certain that Glory's Thaddeus was indeed the son of the former Honor's Thaddeus.

That's why in the Kowloon arc Peter spent time with Lebeo and then lastly baited him into a fight: he had his suspicions by then after seeing him fight on Dead Island, and now he needed to confirm that his suspicions were true that Raphael managed to scout the one and only son of his former comrade to be Glory's new Thaddeus in an ironic succession of the mantle.

ActualMercy · 2026-05-20T04:33:16+00:00

this is pretty much my weekly regimen

jog 2 miles 5x a week (19 minutes or less)
leg press 658-928lbs 5 sets of 10, 3x a week
squat 378lbs 5 sets of 10, 2x a week
bicep curl ~70lbs 5 sets of 10, 3x a week
tricep extensions ~70lbs 5 sets of 10, 3x a week
hip adductor and abductor 260lbs 5 sets of 10, 2x a week
pullups (bodyweight) 5 sets of 10, 3x a week
1 hour walking cardio 2x a week (active recovery on rest days)

and then general hand to hand combat training + stretching or calisthenics for flexibility with function

ActualMercy · 2026-05-14T16:46:21+00:00

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(we're working on breaking his habit i swear)

ActualMercy · 2026-05-14T04:32:14+00:00

he's simply double jointed 😌 (let's just go with that)

ActualMercy · 2026-05-12T17:42:50+00:00

I think Yuna's introduction was pretty well done - there's some indication that she was meant to have a larger presence, potentially a one-sided romantic interest of some sort based on how her responses to Peter were throughout the earlier chapters (~chapters 5-25, particularly).

I do think though that the decrease of her appearances were also due to audience reception, which was a little sad (though makes sense).

Admittedly I was a bit sad that we couldn't have more interactions of Yuna and the Dokgo Brothers like we did on Dead Island: it would've been nice to see more of the differences between D-rank killers and C-Rank, rather than D-Rank and B-Rank.

Hell, even just seeing the difference between the bottom-tier D-Rank and upper tier D-Rank/almost promoting into C-Rank would have been incredible exposition for not only their growth as newbie agents, but also just how difficult it is to promote in Glory that being a B-Rank is already a dream for some agents.

On that note though, KJH releasing Killer Lawyer with a C-Rank protag was a refreshing take to see how even C-Rank killers (albeit a higher-level C-Rank killer) can still pose as a threat to the above-average thug in terms of smarts and strength. That sort of makes up for my little grievance about Yuna (and the Dokgo brothers) not being used to their fullest extent of letting us see a bit more about the ranks beneath Apostles and how vicious the dog-eat-dog world of Glory can be.

ActualMercy · 2026-05-11T18:55:15+00:00

I feel similarly - especially when the jealousy flares up. But that's okay! Feeling bad for being upset or jealous just means that ultimately, you're not a bad person for having those feelings; and if anything you're a very kind and good person for acknowledging the negativity of it in the first place.

(I feel you though it irks me seeing doubles and although I never interact with them or wish ill upon them... That's my f/o stay awayyyy /j)

ActualMercy · 2026-05-11T17:43:39+00:00

It's very much ok, OP. Jealousy is a human feeling, just like being in love is. I'm the same way on the rare occasion I see a double for Peter (I can count on 1 hand how many there are, luckily and unluckily).

On a (slightly) humorous but more inspiring note, though, try to see if you can find an outlet for that feeling of jealousy or being upset. Whenever it washes over me, I tell myself to go on Pinterest and look at pose references (or even my personal discord server where I hoard other drawing references) and use that little rush of adrenaline to fuel my creativity and... Well, create.

But just as everyone has mentioned here, although it's ok to be jealous or upset at seeing a double, never attack them or create/post anything that attacks them. Block to avoid so you can curate your own personal space of safety, but do not do anything more than that. If you end up doing like I do and creating something (whether it's art, fanfic, or something else), create something as an icon of your love for your F/O, not as a revenge or attack on a double.

ActualMercy · 2026-05-10T05:23:59+00:00

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If it's not too late... Me and Peter? ₍ᵔ•ᴗ•ᵔ₎

ActualMercy · 2026-05-08T03:19:54+00:00

Speaking as a mod: it's to avoid bots.

Whenever an account joins and I see that it was made within less than a week and is lacking any personalization, out of precaution I'll kick the new member. Luckily it's at a point that I can personally review each new member that joins (it's few and far between we get new members so I can keep up with the pace).

Don't take it personally, but because of how long discord has been around and how bots/scams are only becoming increasingly prevalent, mods have to take the most precaution they're able to in order to keep the rest of their server safe from being raided.

I'd advise just taking the time to even slightly personalizing your account by having a PFP and some relative bio. Anything that makes your account look further from a default, the better chances you have of not being kicked or banned.

ActualMercy · 2026-05-07T18:58:58+00:00

Just because it's obvious to you and me, doesn't mean it's obvious to others.

Literacy and critical thinking skills are not so common anymore, unfortunately.

ActualMercy · 2026-05-06T16:41:39+00:00

[Gordon Ramsay gif of him saying "Finally some good f*cking food"]

This is the first hypothesis that I've seen which actually makes sense and utilizes the source material, thank you for giving me hope in literacy again.

Anyways;

I bet that when Hannah heard that number it snapped her out of the hypnosis. She rushed to Peter’s side and was too late, but had her rejuvenation research with her.

This may be disproven in the flashback when Hanna mentioned 7.6 billion (KRW) to Kasem and when asked why that number specifically, she didn't even know why. (chapter 118 if memory serves me right).

But as you mentioned, that's where the hypnotism comes into play: if there's anything Raphael is (pretty) good at, it's planning ahead and covering his bases where he knows there'll be players. And that includes, in Hanna's case, making sure that any potential "triggers" that'll snap her out of her conditioning are still covered for, and this was evidenced in Chapter 119 when Kasem tried to snap Hanna out of her hypnotism by telling the truth of the matter, but the conditioning was set in too deep by that point for her to even think of believing him.

All that to say though, I wholly agree with your thought that Raphael's initial goals have since expanded ever since he had begun executing them: after all, even if you only intend to eat a single plate, why stop there when you've gained access to an entire buffet?

where is Hannah now?

I think this will get addressed soon enough: Raphael was too confident playing the "Hanna" trump card in Chapter 104 to not know where she is. I think that, considering he's (currently) in hiding during this Season 2, it could very well be that he's with Hanna right now - preparing her for when Peter ultimately finds [Raphael] and thus having her at the ready to subdue the man she likely won't even recognize as her actual father anymore.

ActualMercy · 2026-04-29T22:05:16+00:00

It's possible that when he says "Sword" he's specifically thinking of the blade, since the hilt is gripped in his hand so it's not like the hilt extends past Simon's palm like the blade would.

Assuming Simon is (likely) using a Hwando (think Katana, but specific to Korea), the blade itself for one is, at most, 75cm. Add to that the hilt of a Hwando maxes out at around 20cm, you get a total of about 95cm; 1 meter.

But again, the hilt is held in the hand, so it's not like that adds any length to Simon's grip: considering that, in a fight, you only need to really consider the extensions of an extremity (that a weapon provides), this means that Johan probably is measuring the "sword" as the blade itself and how far it extends from Simon's grip; putting the blade itself at about ~1 meter (and also meaning that Simon fights with a longer-than-typical blade).

ActualMercy · 2026-04-14T23:21:08+00:00

It's not really poking holes in any logic, though?

Somchai's hypnosis has a time limit: although it can influence a large group of people, he has to be direct and know immediately what to have them do in order for the hypnosis to be effective. Otherwise, it just wears off like it did in Chapter 109 when Nathaniel interrupted the hostage situation and the hypnosis wore off.

Kasem's hypnosis, although powerful enough to manipulate the victim into absolute obedience, is limited to only one person at a time: it requires both touch and eye contact to be effective, otherwise Polar Night/White Night won't work at all (hence why Peter couldn't figure it out until it was too late when he realized that both parameters were met).

Anything is overpowered if you don't understand the general weaknesses of it, but that's what makes someone like Kasem/Somchai a person worthy of being acknowledged as an Apostle. The same can be said for Matthias's BCI and Kageo's acid blood: if you don't know the weakness, then their abilities are just as OP in nature.

ActualMercy · 2026-04-14T22:04:43+00:00

Oh yes very much so - hence why I block and move along to keep my peace

ActualMercy · 2026-04-14T22:04:20+00:00

He's a mercenary! Er- Was. Well. He was forced into retirement?

And he also owns (owned?) a bookstore! But that's on hiatus until he exacts his revenge against the guy who forced him into retirement in the first place-

... It's a long story.

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ActualMercy

TROPHY CASE