I appreciate you taking the time to read the peice and your sincere feedback! I won’t make any changes to the piece now, as I consider it finished (even if flawed), although I will incorporate your feedback into my future writing; especially the bit around tenses and perspectives, something I need to work on across all my writing.

I can see how the references to Arcadia may be perceived as pretentious, was a risk. The original reference comes from the title of the painting “Et in Arcadia ego,” which is the first chapter’s title. Specifically, the second popular interpretation regarding nostalgia.

“…this second version shifted the focus from a warning about the inevitability of death to a contemplation of the past and a sense of nostalgia.”

Plus, yes, it sounds like Arcade (lol) and it’s used in a similar fashion in a manga/anime I enjoy titled “Space Captain Harlock: Arcadia of my Youth.” In the essay’s sense, we view our youth as Arcadia – the golden age of splendor when everything was grand and intoxicating; a place in our mind we try to get back to.

The second chapter is a reference to ‘unaware’ (or maybe ‘ignorant’), and refers specifically to Jake living in my (or maybe his own) Arcadia but being unaware of it (considering his condition), the third chapter title simply continues the Latin naming convention with “My Golden Years.” So, yes, maybe a bit pretentious.