Epithet

For other uses see: Epithet (Disambiguation)

“	Epithets! Rare powers! Some people got 'em! Some people don't!	”
—Mera Salamin, "Quiet in the Museum!"

Epithets are special powers emitted from a single word tethered to a person's soul. People possessing epithets are referred to as "Inscribed", while those without them are called "Mundies". About one in every five people has an epithet, although epithets grow more common every year.

Inscribed can use their epithet for a variety of different things, depending on how they perceive their word and how high their creativity is. For example, Giovanni's epithet (Soup) not only makes a delicious dish, but can also make a "Demon Energy Aura" (steam is formed and rises off of Giovanni's body, dispelling anything in the air around him; introduced in Episode 2) among other things.

If a person has intense mastery over their epithet, then they can imbue an object with their power (ex: The Arsene Amulet). This is called “transcribing” or “embuing”. Zora was able to do this temporary.

Rules

What qualifies as an "epithet"

• While the characters in-universe are unaware of this, but epithets exist in the Epithet Erased world because everyone in this world speaks the exact same language. The in-universe rule is that once every member of a species speaks the same language, the words of that language begin to manifest physically because everybody understands them. This means that any word with a widely understood meaning can become an epithet.
• Yes, this includes slang. Yes, “Yeet” can be an epithet. (Jello has literally gotten over 100 people asking him if “Yeet” could be an epithet.)
• A word needs to enter the collective public’s understanding before it can be an epithet. This means a word that only you and your friends use cannot be an epithet, but a slang term common across a major metropolitan area could be.
• Brand names cannot be epithets. Your epithet cannot be “Wal-Mart”.
• There is a small exception to this rule: If a brand name becomes so synonymous with a concept that it eclipses the brand itself and becomes a general term all on its own, THAT word can be an epithet. For example: “Thermos” is a household term for a specific object. That object is technically called a vacuum flask, but nobody knows that. So “Thermos” would be the epithet.
• If a word acquires new meaning over time, that meaning can be used in an epithet’s powerset.
• Once a word becomes a viable epithet, it never loses that status. This means that slang words from the 1920s nobody uses anymore like “horsefeathers”, “bushwa”, and “spifflicated” can still be someone’s Epithet. This means that a lot of “mundies” have epithets they don’t know about, but their words are so archaic that they’ll never realize it.
• The Epithet cast doesn’t speak English, they speak a sort of “fantasy Esperanto” language formed by combining all their world’s languages together. This means that words in any language can be an epithet.
• Epithets are traditionally *one* word, but there are exceptions. For instance, the term “Ice Cream” means something very specific that can only be expressed in English by putting two words together. Meanwhile in other languages such as Spanish it’s just one word, “Helado”. We can assume that any “two-word” epithets are represented by one word in the Epithet language.
• Epithets consist of two parts: The word itself, and the concepts attached to that word.
• If a word has multiple concepts or associations (such as Molly’s ‘Dumb”) then the user may tap into as many of these meanings as their creativity allows. Oftentimes users will tend to drift towards one specific connotation of their Epithet. For instance, Molly associates “Dumb” with the inability to speak, and thus her powers manifest as the ability to mute sounds. She can also use the other definitions, but she is not as skilled at these and typically does not tap into them unless she is under duress.

How does “having an epithet” work?

• Inscribed people are born with their epithet attached to their soul at birth. It is completely randomized whether or not you will have one, and what your word will be.
• Everyone’s epithet starts at “Level 1” and is extremely weak. To “level up” your epithet, you have to use it more. Epithets are primarily based on the user’s creativity and self-understanding, so they need to understand and experiment with their powers if they want to strengthen and diversify them. This means that a baby will not come out swinging with the ability to breath fire. The baby does not understand “fire” and will have no chance of unlocking their epithet until they can comprehend basic concepts.
• Genetics do not affect epithets. For example: Molly and her sister have epithets, but both of their parents are mundies. The reverse is also fairly common.
• Under no circumstances can two people have the same epithet at the same time, even identical twins. Similar epithets are allowed to exist though and depending on how the users train them they may end up having near-identical power sets.
• Derivatives of words such as “Burn”, “Burning”, and “Burned” all count as the same epithet.
• If an epithet user dies, their epithet becomes obtainable again and, in the future, someone may end up with the same epithet. This is extremely uncommon, but possible.
• Epithets may affect or reflect their users mental or physical state (EX: Mera), or they may not (EX: Molly). It’s all in the luck of the draw.
• Epithet powers are present whether the user is aware of them or not. This means that inscribed can feel the effects of their epithet or even accidentally use their own powers without knowing they even have them.
• Similarly, inscribed can “level” their epithet without ever knowing they have one.
• The stronger your epithet, the more it manifests on your body. This usually starts on or around the eyes, but not always. (EX: Zora’s “tattoos”, the crack in Mera’s irises).
• People cannot “misinterpret their own epithet" and get a different power by, for instance, thinking their epithet is another word. Epithets are only “up to interpretation by the user” so far as the word actually works. For instance, Molly can use the word “Dumb” to stop people from speaking or to “dumb things down” (two definitions of the same word), but she cannot misinterpret her own word as “Drum” because it sounds similar and use her epithet to make a marching beat.

Obtainment

Everybody is born as a “mundie”. People have no idea if they have an epithet or not until they stumble on it. This moment is called an Epiphany. There are a number of ways an epiphany can happen:

Usually, when somebody hears their epithet spoken aloud or if they read the word written down somewhere there’s a sort of… "click" in their head. It’s a 6th-sense thing. You feel drawn to that word, and often to its synonyms. Think of it like a magical game of hot-cold where your brain is a metal detector, beeping louder the closer and closer you get to your epithet.

• Of course, this also creates false positives. Sometimes people just enjoy certain words, and they go “Ooh! The word 'Archipelago' really resonates with me! I’m going to spend 2 months trying to figure out how to use island-based powers!” but nope, they just like the word. It’s not their epithet. It’s impossible to tell if you’ve got the right word until you finally snag it. Kind of like fishing! You keep imagining nibbles until you really feel the bite. And remember it’s more likely that you don’t have any epithet at all, so you might never find it. Some Inscribed people never do.

• It’s a common thing for little kids to try and sit down and go through the entire dictionary to slowly figure out what their word is, but this rarely pans out too well. Epithet’s world doesn’t speak English. It speaks a sort of magic Esperanto-type language that combined all the languages that used to exist in the Epithet world into one, so there are way more words than just for one language. Not only that, but you need to consider archaic words no longer in use, which you often won’t find in a dictionary. Slang words also count. The only real metric for whether a word is fair game or not is “Does this word successfully encapsulate a specific idea?”

• There are cases where people discover they have an epithet, but they don’t know exactly what it is. Sometimes it takes months or years to discover the right word. For instance, a person might be able to generate little clouds and affect the weather slightly, but it could take them quite a while before they find their specific word is "Stratiformus".

• Another (significantly less common) way of discovering your epithet comes in the form of an Epitome. An Epitome is the strongest, absolute, most powerful use of an epithet you can possibly squeeze out of your word. A few Nova-class Inscribed can use their Epitome at will (Zora has one). Very rarely, in situations of extreme danger, a person who previously thought they were a mundie will unlock their epithet by way of unleashing an Epitome through the sheer need to survive. Think of it like the Inscribed version of an adrenaline rush.

Development

Template:Citation Needed Once somebody has their epiphany, they need to figure out how to actually do things with it, and what they’re able to do is heavily tied to what the word evokes for the user. For instance, if your epithet is the word “Beach”, your powers would develop differently based on what you associate with the beach. One person might think of the beach and picture themselves building sandcastles, and so they develop a sand-based power. Another might have a deep fear of the ocean and gain the ability to summon sharks and storms. A third could’ve grown up near a shore-side boardwalk, so for them beaches are associated with Ferris wheels and terrible hot dogs. That’s not to say that any of those people couldn’t learn how to do ALL of those things eventually, but they will have something they gravitate towards first when they think of the word “Beach.”

There are cases where people use their unknown epithet by accident, either passively or actively. Mera, for instance, was affected by her power from an early age and accidentally used it many times before she even realized she was Inscribed. Mera just thought she had really terrible luck when it came to breaking things. You can see this in EP4 the window begins to crack because subconsciously she wants to break it and be on the other side with the kids playing in the snow.

Your epithet is trained by using it over and over again and finding new applications for your word. It’s not unheard of to accidentally train an epithet without even knowing you have one, then by the time you realize you’re Inscribed you’re already Class 2.

Politics

Template:Citation Needed It is hinted at throughout the series that, within society, Inscribed are on average better off than Mundies:

• The Banzai Blasters have yet to show any Blasters that aren't Mundies while all the officers shown so far are all Inscribed.

• Gorou Shimizaki was chosen as the Sheriff of Redwood Run, entirely because he was Inscribed. This is despite the fact that Gorou is completely incompetent as a sheriff. Ramsey mentions that it's common for Inscribed to get special positions or benefits entirely on the fact that they are Inscribed, regardless of their actual merit.

• Howie Honeyglow has a rivalry with Percy as a result of him being a Mundie: Howie was forced to build up his physique through merit in order to be a skilled carpenter, while Percy can simply use her Epithet whenever she worked construction. Howie has an open dislike for Inscribed as a result. Zora, despite being Inscribed herself, has a similar view about how unfair Epithets are: which is a primary reason why Zora wants the Arsene Amulet for herself.

It is actually common for Inscribed to underestimate Mundies. Ramsey remembers that it was a Mundie that damaged his right eye. Ramsey also pointed out that Percy did not bother to handcuff or restrain Ramsey in any way when Percy believed that he was a Mundie, despite the fact that Ramsey admitted to being an imprisoned criminal: Percy admits that she thought that if Ramsey was a Mundie then he would be literally 'powerless'.

Because of the unique abilities Epithets grant, many Inscribed characters want to avoid losing their Epithets to become a Mundie. Molly did point out to Mera that the latter can remove her fragility and constant pain by having the Arsene Amulet take her Epithet away: but Mera stiffly opposed this, not wanting to get rid of her power she spent so much time training. Sylvester desperately begged for his Epithet to be returned when it was temporarily stolen by the Amulet. Molly actually considered allowing her Epithet to be stolen, but was convinced by Giovanni that her Epithet was special and more useful than Molly originally thought.

List of Known Epithets

"Just gonna out me like that, huh? You're no fun."
This article or section contains heavy spoilers for Epithet Erased. Read with caution.

Molly Blyndeff: Dumb - Can simplify and mute objects, sometimes even able to dumb down objects out of existence.

Giovanni Potage: Soup - Makes tasty soup that has a range of possible abilities.

Mera Salamin: Fragile - Can increase an object's frailty until it shatters. Unfortunately, this also affects the user. Meaning that if the user were to accidentally bump into someone, their bones would easily break.

Indus Tarbella: Barrier - Creates barriers of varying sizes and shapes.

Dr. Sylvester Ashling: Drowsy - Has a collection of sleep-based abilities, such as lulling enemies to sleep and bringing nightmares to life.

Percival King: Parapet - Creates small magical buildings with a variety of special effects.

Ramsey Murdoch: Goldbricker - Allows the user to transmute objects into solid gold and back. The user can also use this on themselves or others.

Zora Salazar: Sundial - Allows the user to manipulate the process of time, allowing them to speed up, slow down, or even freeze time for individual objects.

Arnold Markdown: Coupon - Allows the user to use coupons that gives their allies stat boosts.

Bugsy Pugsler: Bellybutton - Converts consumed food into randomized attacks from ice blasts to rubber duckies, activated by pressing the bellybutton.

Gorou Shimizaki: Bluster - Allows the user to blow very slightly harder than average blowing.

Rick Shades: Soulmates - Allows the user to gain the abilities of their friends.

Lorelai Blyndeff: Augment - Gives the user the power to create augmented realities.

Creator of the Arsene Amulet: Copycat - Allows the user to steal other people's epithets.

Trivia

• Whether any given person gets an epithet or not is mostly up to chance.
• It's possible for Inscribed to only learn their epithet very late in their life, or not at all.
  • Although a slim chance, an Epithet can still affect a user even they have not known it yet.
• You can never change your epithet once it has been established.
• The same epithet can occur more than once, but no people can have the same epithet at the same time.
• All grammatical derivatives of a word are included in a single epithet, even if this greatly alters the meaning of the word.
• Epithets can be verbs, nouns, swears or animals. They cannot be multiple words (unless they mean one specific thing together) or proper names.
• Animals cannot have epithets.
  • There is a reason for this but it has not revealed because it might end up being a spoiler.
• Homophone epithets can give the user the powers of both words as long as they are spelled and pronounced the same way. If two words are not spelled and/or pronounced the same way, they would be separate epithets. Along with this, if the user's epithet had two definitions, the user would be able to use both definitions of the word.
• Epithets cannot be words that have not come into existence yet.
• Epithets have existed for around 250-300 years and used to be very uncommon. They grow more common every year.
• There are tiers for each stats ★ (Star), ⍟ (Orbit), & ✦ (Nova).
  • ★ is Class 1, ⍟ is Class 2, and ✦ Class 3 the highest of them all.
  • Tier 1 is level 1-40, Tier 2 is level 41-80, and Tier 3 is level 81-100.
  • 95% of people are in the Star class, less than 4% of people are in the Orbit class, and Nova class people are exceptionally rare and stupidly powerful beings who only appear once in a lifetime.
  • Epithet users can get stronger through growth or even intensive training, so their stats are not always permanent.
• At least one character that is planned will discover their epithet mid-series.
• At least one character that we have met so far will unlock their epithet using an Epitome.
• Many concepts revealed by the Epithet Erased crew will be explored in the show.
• Eraser Cuffs remove your memory of having an epithet. If you never had an epithet, or if you had one but didn’t know what it was, they would just glow and then do nothing, since no memory would be removed.
  • Although the arrested may have difficulties remembering their epithets if they are cuffed, they will still have blurry memories about the circumstances, and the epithets side effects will not be erased either.
• Epithet supremacy exists in the universe of Epithet Erased. Any epithet-based discrimination is called Lexism. Jello explained that it mainly inhibits Mundies.
• As everybody in the Epithet Erased universe speaks the same language, epithets can be non-English words.
• The effects of an epithet can be demonstrated by changing the physical appearance of a user.
• The process of giving objects with the effects of a user's epithet is called "imbuing". The stronger the user, the more imbuing they can make.
• Most inscribed figure out their epithet sometime between ages 8-18. A fair number of inscribed figure out their power in their 20s or 30s. A few figure it out late in life, and many never figure it out at all.
• If an Inscribed used up their stamina, they would simply pass out.