now ill preface this with the fact that niklaus LOVES fucking with peoples heads and is also a massive liar. but in 56 he tells chip he needs him to make sure he saves arlin No Matter What. and we've all heard about "the guarding giant" from the legend lore, and widely assumed thats arlin! but. the guarding giant "awaits to be inevitably free." what, am i supposed to think nik did KNOW what the map led to? didnt know what it said? no, what i think is that nik doesnt believe that arlin is the guarding giant.
now what would that MEAN for us? absolutely nothing, because if its not arlin, then its jug. if the giant WAS arlin, then him being freed would be an inevitability. which would be nice, but then why would nik put emphasis on making sure chip got him out?
...hang on. different angle forming. what if nik doesnt believe in destiny? what if he thinks its malleable? or requires guiding? he has said that he views the world as a story, and its been said he knew in advance how things would play out.. but hes also not above jumping in to throw in an obstacle, or offer a helping hand. nudging them in the right direction. maybe he only said that to ensure that that "inevitably" really is inevitable.
which, of course, brings it right back to square one. he only said that to fuck with chip. and hes been nudging them in the right direction- towards the hole in the sea. thank you for coming to my nothingburger tedtalk
