#because that's kind of obvious given everything that happened in that route

[yamameta-inc]

okay so. i've always thought it was obvious that yoshiwara in flames arc's main relevance to gintama's overall narrative is as the prelude to rakuyou. like it's not thematically very interesting on its own, right? but it exists mainly for kagura and kamui's sake, establishing the sort of parallelism that gintama lives off of. it isn't really that connected to the red spider arc even though at first it might seem to be.

but i had no idea about the meaning of the name "rakuyou" until i saw @suchira 's post about it earlier today. and before that i also hadn't thought about utsuro's connection to the sun, which they've also talked about.

given everything that happens in rakuyou, this has expanded my thoughts quite a bit! i'm going be thinking through this as i go, so this is going to be me rambling.

housen is one of the few big arc villains who don't feel related to gintoki. jirocho, jiraia, oboro, takasugi--these kinds are obviously meant to be foils to gintoki. isaburo functions differently as a character, but even he gets directly compared to gintoki by nobume. but housen isn't really there for gintoki--he's there for kamui. he isn't a particularly interesting character, nor is his death very satisfying because of the wishywashy writing about hinowa showing kindness to him at the end. previously i'd thought that his thing with the sun was just a weaker example of craving something that would destroy you, and/or running away from one's weaknesses and vulnerabilities to the point that you become a sort of husk.

that's probably still a thing, but the introduction of the sun motif on the much more meaning-dense end of gintama adds so much more. because now the pre-existing thematic framework of gintama can do the heavy lifting for housen (who is, again, a pretty uninteresting character), hinowa (who is cool, but suffers from both Woman and Mom in shounen), and tsukuyo (who is very cool, but suffers egregiously from Woman in shounen).

so what is housen, really? he's the guy kamui chose to go with when making his very bad life decisions, the end result of the path he decided to pursue. for simplicity let's call him kamui bad end, though they aren't very comparable in canon itself because housen doesn't come across as nearly self-destructive enough. but the basic logic is that housen is one of those characters who gave up everything in single-minded pursuit of power--he's a flat character because he already "emptied himself out", as kamui says, before the series started. (but then he got scared and lonely, and all that.)

what's funny is that if housen is a bad end, then the guy who he considers his rival automatically comes to mind as an opposed route. i think it would be a serious stretch to call umibouzu the "good end" for kamui, and that's definitely part of the point in how the yato are written. but in any case, kamui clearly looked both ways (insert roads leading to two castles meme) and saw housen stereotypical villain bad end on one side, and his dad on the other. so obviously he chose housen.

rakuyou is a planet where it's always overcast. you could say that kamui chose to leave that "safety" in order to pursue something that shone much brighter to him, even if it would disintegrate him in the end. or, since rakuyou's name invokes the sun, you could say that he chose to flee the place of his weakness and pain, where his family was, like housen deciding to flee the sun and build an underground paradise.

when i go over my gintama cast tarot assignments, i always hesitate over hinowa. is she the Sun? or the Empress? how can i choose? and i think this is essentially the same conundrum. and i think the fact that she's both (thankfully, actual gintama storytelling isn't restricted to 1 character = 1 arcana) also provides us with the best answer here. hinowa is the object of yearning of both housen (as the sun) and of seita (as a mother). obviously, as i said before, the whole seita-hinowa thing is meant to lay the groundwork for kamui's motivations, and is also why he's introduced in this arc in the particular way that he is. but kamui is both seita and housen. he's the child yearning for his mother, but also the warlord who fears the sun so much he'll lock not only himself but countless others into the dark forever. but housen also desperately longed for the sun. kamui looks down on seita for being weak, and he looks down on housen for choosing to drown himself in vices at the end of his life. in the end, he doesn't kill either one of them.

if the sun is what kamui yearns for, he wants to leave rainy "rakuyou" behind--and/or he misses his home, his childhood, his family, even if these things feel like they will destroy him. or, if the sun is what kamui seeks to avoid, he wants to turn away from "rakuyou", all the things that hold him down so that he can throw himself into single-minded pursuit of self-destruction--and/or he's afraid of the weakness and pain that the sun inflicts on him, and desires to be strong enough that he won't feel them. see, a whole lot of words to say the same thing over and over.

i've always assigned housen the Emperor arcana. and i've often wondered, should it be umibouzu instead? should it be utsuro? and that, i think, is another illumination. thank you tarot for being an icon. it's so effective here because gintama is predictably built on parallels, and overlapping arcana assignments are bound to make you think: why?

in the end, housen builds a city underground in order to avoid the sun, but he also severs hinowa's ankles so that he can hold her, the sun proxy, captive in his grasp. he can't bear to feel sunlight, but he can't bear to let it go either. kamui is much the same, but he's young--he thinks he can let it go, his fears and regrets haven't caught up to him yet, because he still has so much to reach for. housen attained the peak of his strength and notoriety, and then there was little left for him.

what else happens in rakuyou? well, oboro and takasugi fight. oboro is sort of a seita figure in his own right, if seita had burned down yoshiwara in hopes that it would drive hinowa running to him. of course, seita didn't know that hinowa couldn't run; and oboro didn't know that shouyou couldn't, either.

but aside from seita and housen, there's another character in yoshiwara who yearns for the sun--not to possess it, but to protect it, to serve it. tsukuyo is an interesting character heavily let down by the realities of living in shounen jump. from my own understanding of sorachi's character, i don't think the following was intentional on his part. but i do think there are real reasons why these parallels are textually present (mainly through gintoki).

tsukuyo is the closest oboro has in this series to someone similar to him. not in the sense of a reflection in the mirror or hole-sided adjacency, but as in someone who sort of has a similar job and background to him. or had, anyway. as i implied earlier, the few, specific, clearly intentional similarities she has with gintoki (hello red spider) bleed over into her similarities with oboro, of course, because gintoki and oboro are... you know. just look at them.

tsukuyo swore herself to hinowa, but technically she was working under housen. she led housen's paramilitary force--fortunately, the hyakka loved her a lot more than the naraku were probably ever able to have an opinion about oboro. i don't think tsukuyo and oboro would ever get along--but they did have the same job. oboro did it in the heavens, tsukuyo did it underground. anyway, hinowa "saved" tsukuyo by teaching her about fighting from inside one's cage, and so tsukuyo gladly walked into the cage, just like oboro returning to the naraku without shouyou. because they thought it would be worth it. and also because tsukuyo had been groomed from a young age for the Hole (apologies to those who haven't read my ouroboros essay), to give up on her selfhood, and also to kill her sensei (hello gintoki). but hinowa remained around, unlike shouyou. tsukuyo never thought she could really free her--but protecting her, being able to see her, was enough.

oboro's life problem is a bit like if hinowa and housen were the same person. but kamui would see in that pairing only a reflection of his parents. and also, kouka is a bit like if hinowa and utsuro were the same person. but utsuro is already like if shouyou and utsuro were the same person--because oboro's actual life problem is that shouyou and utsuro are the same person.

i've spoken a lot about tarot, but the moon in gintama has little to do with the Moon arcana. in gintama it's the backdrop, the symbol of promises--promises made, promises fulfilled, promises held on to dearly whether they can be fulfilled or not. i don't truly think that the sun as represented by hinowa interacts directly with this. but tsukuyo and oboro share moon-related names, and their promises (or rather, their vows of devotion) towards hinowa/shouyou are one-sided. one-sided promises aren't a problem in gintama--our silver-haired protagonist wouldn't be alive if it weren't for them.

if the naraku, if utsuro, if oboro under utsuro is associated with the sun through the yatagarasu, perhaps it's because of the evaporation of the promise through the eclipsing of the moon. shouka sonjuku, after all, burned down, and utsuro emerged from a pyre. and though i think that the sun is overall a motif much more strongly associated with the yato--that which they avoid, are weak to, and secretly long for--i don't think that's incompatible with the crow-meaning.

rabbits can die of loneliness, you know--or they can die from overheating in the sun. i think the question here is, is this a trick question? are those two the same thing?

#i love starting a post with no idea of what my conclusions will be. thoughts can only be sharpened through writing #gintama #kamui #tsukuyo #oboro

[ieatsmallorphansnamedtom]

Bachelor/ettes When They Aren't Asked to the Flower Dance

Number 4 of the prompts I was given by a very kind someone. Other/s can be found in my new masterlist (pinned post).

Bachelors:

Sam

He'd been working up the courage to ask you to dance all month. He was sure you would accept his invitation (or at least that's what he told himself). Despite having two left feet, he did his best to practice the dance with the help of Jodi. Finally, after weeks' worth of practicing, he was ready.

That said, he was still extremely nervous. The Flower Dance has never really been his thing, with his (as I said) two left feet and allergies. But still, he tried to put on a happy smile when seeing you come his way. Little did he know, he was in for a sad surprise.

"Sam," you said, running over to him, "[bachelor/ette] asked me to dance!"

"Oh, that's great! You two have fun."

Oh, that poor boy. All that hope and training for nothing. He was devastated, as anyone would be. He ended up messing up the entire dance with his partner because he was looking at you and [bachelor/ette] the whole time.

Elliott

Elliott was sure he'd get your hand in the dance. He'd wowed the townies since his first ever Flower Dance there. He was just too good at all that old-timey stuff. And with this knowledge, he just knew he'd get to be your partner. He was just waiting to write the experience down in his diary.

And eventually the dance came. Elliott had made sure his suit was in perfect condition with the help of Emily. He got there extra early to A), help with the setting up, and B), make sure he got to you first. Little did he know, that would be his downfall. While he was waiting patiently in the field, you were being asked to dance by someone else.

"Wow, Elliott, you're early," you said.

"Yes," he replied, "now I was wondering if you'd-" [bachelor/ette] joined you side, taking your arm in theirs.

"You were wondering if you could ask me...?"

"Never mind. Enjoy the dance."

He's pretty upset afterwards. I mean, who wouldn't be? He put in all that effort to get up early and spill some of the punch on his suit setting things up only to find out it was for nothing. He vents to Leah and gets drunk on that same punch (now spiked by Pam).

Sebastian

Sebastian was super nervous asking you to dance. He had practiced his lines over and over and over in the mirror, just hoping everything would go right. He had every possible route of conversation planned out in his mind and was memorising every line possible. Robin caught on pretty quick and found it cute.

He was one of the last people to arrive at the Flower Dance. Partly because he was having trouble saving his work and refused to leave before being sure it was absolutely 100% saved, but also because he was doing everything in his power to delay a bad outcome. Walking up to you was terrifying. He could feel his heartbeat lodged in his throat.

"Hey, Y/N," he said, leaning against the wooden fence keeping out all the weeds and shrubbery. "You got a dance partner yet?"

"Yeah, [bachelor/ette] asked me as soon as I got here. What about you?"

"Nah, not yet. Well, um, glad to see you got a partner."

Well, this is all his fault now, isn't it? If he had just gotten here sooner this wouldn't have happened. No, that's stupid. He wouldn't have been able to ask anyway. Yoba, what was wrong with him?

Harvey

Harvey's nervousness is on par with (if not exceeding) Sebastian's. He's a blushing mess whenever he thinks of dancing with you. He just can't help it! He's actually a pretty good dancer, especially with the older dances, so he doesn't really need to practice for it. He just has to focus on his lines.

Once he's actually at the dance, somehow, that anxiety gets even worse. Just seeing you in that outfit has him on his knees. He's all awkward walking up to you, and it's pretty obvious to most people what he's about to ask. He's so nervous he doesn't even see you eyeing another townie.

"Hey Y/N. How are you?" he says, not even trying to look you in the eye.

"Oh, hey Harvey!" you reply, "I'm good. You got a dance partner yet?"

"No, not yet. Have you?"

"No, but I'm hoping to get with [bachelor/ette]. What about you?"

"Oh, that's nice. Um, I don't know."

His heart is broken. Absolutely shattered. All that nervousness for nothing. He tries not to look at you for the rest of the day. It just makes him too sad.

Shane

Shane was not looking forward to the dance. Under no means did he intend to have fun there. If anything, he was only doing it for Jas and you. But even you were on thin ice. Still, Jas was begging him to go. And so, he needed a date. Why not ask you?

Well, you see, the funny thing is he doesn't know how to do that. He's exactly like that scene of Shrek in the first movie where he's practicing his confession to Fiona. He's trying to work everything out as he goes along.

During the festival, he's a little grumpier than usual. But that's just because he's nervous. Walking up to you with a few flowers hiding behind his back.

"Hey Y/N," he says, "quite the festival, huh?"

You laugh and reply, "yeah, it is something! You got a date?"

"Uh, no. No, I don't. You?"

"Oh, I got asked by [bachelor/ette]. Good luck to you, though!" you say as you walk off.

Well, that went just swimmingly now, didn't it? He bought those flowers for nothing. Well, unless you count being able to give Jas a fairy rose. But it still cost money!

Alex

Alex, Alex, what do I think about Alex? Well, he's absolutely freaking out inside, but he's not letting it show. He's spent years putting up a front, and he's not letting it crack because of some stupid dance. Most of his evenings after dinner are spent practicing his words in front of a mirror. Evelyn ends up catching him one night and the two have a bit of a training session together.

Anyways, the dance itself. Wow, what a day. For a start, you look absolutely gorgeous and it's driving him insane. Who knew that confident persona could crack so easily? Either way, he's still going to ask you to dance. He walks up to you with the biggest, most 'look at me I'm good at dancing please ask me to be your partner' smile possible when all of a sudden, the news hits him like a brick.

"Alex! You won't believe this: [bachelor/ette] asked me to dance!"

"Oh, that's great! I'll probably go with [Alex's partner]."

Poor boy. Still, he's not going to give up now. He asks you to practice dancing with him, and if that doesn't work, then he'll just sit out of the dance so he can put all his attention on you.

Bachelorettes:

Penny

Penny doesn't even want to begin practicing her lines. The levels of absolute mortification she would feel if someone caught her would have her crying. Even just repeating the lines in her head she feels there's someone watching her. Due to this, she's completely unprepared.

So yeah, the conversation is awkward. She's pushing herself to her very limit just trying to grasp the concept of asking you to dance. But it all comes crashing down when you tell her the truth of what's really going on.

"Penny, I have to ask you something," you say.

"Oh- yes?" she replies.

"Do you think [bachelor/ette] would want to be my partner?"

"Oh... Of course, they would. Of course."

She's really sad. She probably sits out of the dance for that one. Still, she's happy to see that you're happy. And it's not like she'll lose anything if she sits out.

Leah

Leah's pretty excited to ask you to dance! Elliott had been helping her practice her moves every day in the week leading up to the dance, and she had gotten pretty good at it by the time rolled around. Contrary to popular belief, not all introverts are shy, and that is especially true for Leah! She has no major concerns when it comes to asking you. Except for being turned down, of course.

The day finally comes, and she looks pretty good! She spent the morning finding the perfect flowers to put in her hair to make sure she looks her best. She really wants to impress not only you, but herself, too! She walks up to you confidently with a smile on her face only to hear the news.

"Hey, Y/N!" she says, running over to you. "You got a partner yet?"

"Oh, yeah! I got to go with [bachelor/ette]. I'm really happy about it." you reply.

"Oh, that's great!"

Well, what can she do now? There's no point sulking about it. Might as well pick herself up and move along. Elliott wouldn't want her to waste all that practice.

Abigail

Abigail's been pretty confident in asking you to dance. She doesn't need to practice her lines, and only requires a little bit of practice for her dance moves (she really needs more, but she can't be bothered). She hangs out with you a lot more in the weeks leading up to the dance to try and coax you into thinking about her.

The day of the dance comes and things are looking good. Abigail walks you to the dance to make sure nobody asks you to dance before she does. Little does she you've already been asked.

"Oh, Abby, I forgot to tell you," you say, "[bachelor/ette] asked me to the dance!"

"Oh, that's great!" she replies. "You know what?"

"What?"

"I'll race you to the dance. See ya!"

She just wanted an excuse to get away for the moment. But it was still funny hearing you yell and try to catch up with her.

Maru

Maru's pretty nervous to ask you to dance. Most people would be, after all. She plans to buy you flowers at the dance and ask you, but things don't go that way. She spends most of her time practicing her lines either out loud or in her head.

In fact, she's still practicing her lines at the dance. And you catch her in the act. She's right about to say your name when you overhear and walk up to her with a smile on your face.

"So, who's the special person?" you ask.

"Oh! Uh..."

"Just kidding. You know, I think you would go well with [Maru's partner]."

"Really?" she replies, "who told you?"

"[bachelor/ette], my partner."

Oh... So, she was too late. That's no good. Of course, she's still going to dance. Maru loves getting involved with the community and she's not going to let your 'rejection' get in the way. You two dance side by side, and in the end, she really isn't all that upset. There's always next year.

Emily

Emily had been looking forward to asking you to dance for a while now. She'd always thought of you as a wonderful person, and what better way to show that than to ask for your hand in a dance? She's quite the dancer herself, though she doesn't mind if that's not your forte. Still, she wanted to shoot her shot.

The day of the flower dance came, and Emily was, quite honestly, really looking forward to it. She and Haley had practiced the dance together for a good while and she was confident she had mastered it. Walking up to you, she gifted you a sweet pea and was about to pop the question when you told her the news.

"Oh, Emily," she said, looking down at the flower in her hands, "I'm sorry, I can't accept this."

"Why not? It's a gift," she replied.

"Oh! I thought you were asking me to dance. Sorry, of course I'll take this!"

Emily only laughed and said, "well, you enjoy yourself then. I'll go and find a partner."

So, that didn't go as planned. Yes, she was upset, but she also wasn't going to let it get in the way of her plans. Emily respected that you had just as important of a say in the matter as she did, and wasn't going to push your boundaries like that.

Haley

Haley had been obsessed with practicing the dance for you. Despite being the Flower Queen for many years in a row, she still felt the need to be just certain of her ability to dance. Her plan was to woo you over while practicing at the festival, but we all know it didn't quite go according to plan.

The festival day came, and her plan was in action. She had already perfected her moves, but that just meant her wooing ability was even greater. She was dancing in front of Alex, watching you get closer out of the corner of your eye when you talked to her.

"Hey, Haley." you waved her attention over to yourself.

"Huh? Oh, hey Y/N," she said, faking her surprise at your decision to talk to her, "did you like my dancing?"

"Yeah, actually, I was just looking at it. I was gonna say, I think you'd be a great match for [Haley's partner]."

"Oh, I don't know." she rubbed the back of her neck. "[Haley's partner] isn't really my type. Who are you going with?"

"[bachelor/ette]."

"Neat. Well, I'm gonna get back to practicing. See you."

Well, that was fucking useless. Now what? She doesn't want to go with [Haley's partner], but who else is there to choose? I suppose there's no point letting that practice go to waste. She can't try to woo you over like that and then to nothing about her skill. That would be a waste.

-~-~-

Hnghghgmnfn this took so long to get out I don't know why. I like the prompt a lot I guess my brain has just got low battery or something. Anyways, yeah, so activity might be a bit sporadic if you haven't already noticed. I've got five WIPs going on all at once (A+ organisation I know) which I'm constantly switching between, so this blog isn't really my focus right now. Hopefully I'll have the energy and brain power to get back into it soon!

#sdv #stardew valley #sdv hcs #stardew valley hcs #sdv headcanons #stardew valley headcanons #sdv bachelors #stardew valley bachelors #sdv bachelorettes #stardew valley bachelorettes #sdv sam #stardew valley sam #sdv elliott #stardew valley elliott #sdv sebastian #stardew valley sebastian #sdv harvey #stardew valley harvey #sdv shane #stardew valley shane #sdv alex #stardew valley alex #sdv penny #stardew valley penny #sdv leah #stardew valley leah #sdv abigail #stardew valley abigail #sdv maru #stardew valley maru

[zvaigzdelasas]

So who’s your money on to succeed Zaluzhny, Budanov or Syrski? I kinda lean Budanov just because his current role makes him favorable looking to the CIA and State Department as an “intelligence” guy

Currently the Ukr govt is denying that Zaluzhnyi has been fired but the sources of the rumors are getting closer and closer to people with official classified information so 🤷‍♀️ wouldn't look great to say "no that's a lie" right before saying "anyway we fired Zaluzhnyi btw" but who knows

In a normal situation, Syrskyi would be the obvious pick but he has occasionally had his moments of being similarly critical about particular choices of western arm supplies as Zaluzhnyi has (particularly the obsession over the F-16 as opposed to the much cheaper & less flashy A-10) so if Zaluzhnyi were to be fired I'd figure that's kind of a yellow flag for similar criticism of the head of state/foreign policy. Possible tho, would be much less disruptive to normal military operation so everything else being equal that would prob b smartest

Especially given Zaluzhnyi's apparent popularity amongst troops (& broader Ukr public), firing him could also be a potentially major instigator for some mutiny by either the officer class or even lower down the ladder...if so I'd expect some kind of purge of Officers in the lead up, specifically before Zaluzhnyi would be fired. That could potentially be the impetus behind the recent procurement scandal but that also looks pretty bad for the political leadership so 🤷‍♀️

If that were to be the case, then Budanov taking direct control of the armed forces would be a pretty logical next step, trying to keep a tighter ship & exert more explicit political control over the armed forces. Would also expect more of direct accusation of complicity by Zaluzhnyi - something to try to damper his popularity & impact his image, more direct than "it happened under his watch" bc ppl can always write that off as just not having tight enough control over the Officer class. This route would also probably greatly increase resentment amongst rank and file troops, rly a matter of if Budanov can either exert control through force or through immediate shift in tactics that make tangible gains against the enemy

TLDR: 🤷‍♀️

[masschase]

Losing my mind over my SR3.5 concept again. Like it was a lighthearted thing I was thinking out in the summer but now it's spring and I am thinking about it like... seriously.

I think I need to make the areas smaller but I like the idea of a city heavily based on DC and the surrounding areas, rather than just using DC itself. Partly because I want to use that Y-shape of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers to split the city up. For a name I'm thinking maybe Samdon.

The grey areas are a mix of press-dominant, Saints-controlled and completely locked out depending where you are in the game. The other colours are controlled by each gang until the Saints take them.

Yellow is looking to be called The Marquis. No-one's quite sure if that's the plural or singular to get a few "The Los Carnales" esque jokes in. The name comes from the fact a Marquis test is a drug test, and the Marquis(es?) are in a very long feud with the Reagents. Also "marquis" as in noble because the Marquis control a lot of the covert crime going on in Samdon. They keep control with excessive wealth, mostly.

The Reagents are the cyan gang, and as mentioned, and probably obvious by the name, are the least subtly named. Their focus is drugs, poisons, chemical weapons, and they mostly operate from meth labs. There is a slight stealth pun- cyanide! But there's also an implication of a similarity to regents, as in second in line AND regent as in governing bodies because there's very much a sense that if the Marquis are the monarchs, the Reagents are more of a symbol of democracy. They're the largest gang and the poorest, they act as the proletariat to the Marquis as bourgeoisie. They're probably the most sympathetic gang and they mostly originate from the equivalent of DC's Ward 8. Like the MCR Killjoys they are encouraged to "die with their masks on".

Torque and Anteros's cowboy/biker gang (original concept credit to @whoredmode) have a name! And it's not the Barebacks after all(but I still think that's hilarious and Casey will spend the whole game calling them the Barebacks, the Brokebacks, etc)! Their name is The Vicinals! Given the whole "The Cooler" thing and the chemical theme for the other two gangs, as well as the gang riding motorbikes, I looked into motorcycle coolants. No straightforward "OK that could be a gang" names there, but ethylene glycol/antifreeze is a common component, and that is a vicinal diol. Vicinal in its straightforward translation meaning neighbouring or adjacent, and the gang are from Stilwater! Literally the Saints neighbours that have just travelled different routes! They've not been in Samdon that long and this is part of why they occupy the area based more on Arlington than Washington. They're also already disrupting the order of things before The Saints get there, whereas the Saints... almost need to take things down in a less disruptive way? I think Casey has a fair degree of jealousy towards Torque in that regard. They're really interesting foils to the Saints.

The Press are still the Saints biggest adversary of course. I can't remember how much I got into this last night but they're represented by monochrome, or perhaps more accurately, the black/grey against the Saints goal of The White House. This reflects their physical appearance; paparazzi in suits with black cameras flashing white, newspapers etc. but also the way they're judging the Saints as black, white or grey.

Obviously I have... more, so much more but I think that summarises my thoughts for now except that IF they were going to use the President plot point in SRIV? It should have been this. This is kind of like my rewrite, I just happen to have managed to slot it into existing canon since we have that little gap between disabling the nuke and official election.

So with that in mind, IF this was to close the series out... well it's super cheesy, but at least it's cheesy in a way that rounds everything out...

Whichever ending you get, the Boss will end up back in Stilwater at the end; on a visit or disgraced back home. Some kid asks them how they made it all the way from Stilwater to be President OR how they managed to fall so far. Whatever happened, their answer is always "Wrong place, wrong time.".

#i have to stop because i'm so obsessed with it that i will get nothing else done tbh #i've not been this excited about a big concept like this for a while #saints row 3.5 #saints row #in terms of positioning this covers the late 2015-early 2016 period of time #also I already have songs for a playlist from this #also to be clear this is not the map #this is what the map will be based on

[acourtofthought]

Normally I try not to be overly controversial in my posts and I do try to stick with what I think SJM would do based on her patterns.  I like to analyze the books as they’ve been written rather than saying “well I think this should happen because it just seems the right way to go about it”.  

This one sort of goes against all that though because it’s basically narrowing the characters down to their traumas and "what” they are on an observable level rather than considering who they are despite all of that (and acknowledging all the other factors that contribute to their entire self).  I also don’t claim that SJM shares this same view.  It’s completely my opinion and my opinion alone.  This post simplifies things in a way that I normally don’t like to do when it surrounds things that are considered TW.    

There are a million other reasons I think Elucien is endgame.  They are written in a way that’s beautifully compatible and share similar core values and that’s already enough to convince me.  Without that though, Lucien is a SA survivor, a disabled Biracial male, and a sort of Domestic Abuse survivor too (considering Tamlin threatened him with his power on multiple occasions and has also physically assaulted him for no good reason and he experienced abuse at the hands of Beron and his brothers).  I’d be surprised for an author to give her MMC a backstory with so many things that are considered sensitive subjects only to have his “Cauldron Given” Mate (the thing that is supposed to be the most sacred to these Fae) reject him for a Male who really doesn’t seem to care whether he kills him or not.  

Anti’s always says, “it’s Elain’s choice!” but Elain’s choice could still include her Mate by the end of things.  Our choices change as we grow so trying to box her into one decision before she even knows who she is is a bit odd.  

And Elain is not the only character SJM cares for.  Lucien has been a MAJOR player in nearly every book so he’s not in this series to end up a casualty of one of the FMC.  And having Elain reject her Mate who is a SA survivor, DA survivor, and a disabled biracial Male for Az who is not her Mate (and will therefore not be subjected to live the rest of his life feeling the pains of an unfulfilled Mating Bond) would be really disheartening. 

In the same vein, Gwyn is not only a SA survivor.  There is so much more to her beyond something that happened to her so her story shouldn’t be decided based off that and that alone.  But, I do think creating a storyline where the first (non taken) Male she interacted with after her assault was Azriel, where she shows obvious comfort being near him alone though she’s still hesitant to leave the library, where she’s shown flirtation toward him, only to have him end up with Elain over her in the end would read as a little callous towards Gwyn. 

Maybe I’m not understanding where SJM is going with everything but to me, she doesn’t seem like the kind of author to put those things into her book only to be like, “sorry, no Mate for you” in the end.  She loves HEA (as most of us do) and having a character like Lucien, for the rest of his life, being forced to accept that his Mate rejected him doesn’t seem like her style.  

Now, if SJM does go the route of E/riel, I’m not going to come after her with a pitchfork and accuse her of being disrespectful towards those sensitive subjects because at the end of the day, these are fantasy books and difficult things happen to every character.  In the end, she’s going to write about whatever felt right for her, regardless of who she wrote certain characters to be or the backstory’s she’s given them.  And I get that, she shouldn’t have to base who ends up with who on what we consider morally acceptable. 

But for Elain and Lucien to have a happy Mating Bond (which is still a very real possibility)? To have Gwyn and Az share the same? Why wouldn't you want to see that for characters who have struggled so much?

#elucien #gywnriel #pro elucien #pro gwynriel #lucien vanserra #gwyneth berdara #pro lucien vanserra #pro gwyneth berdara

[glavilio]

i also think the blatent mischaracterization of the first fallen human/"chara" as an evil mastermind rather than a troubled and traumatized child has helped lead to a lot of people making the kind of dumb assumption that kris and chara are completely separate entities (or that kris is somehow a fusion of frisk and chara) when i'd say its pretty obvious that kris is "chara" in the world of deltarune. chara isn't even really their name in undertale you know. so seeing kris's "chara-like" behavior/attributes as evidence of something sinister rather than just details about their character does both stories such a disservice. people don't characterize all aspects of asriel as evil just because of what he did as flowey, but its easier to blame everything that happens during the murder route on something other than the players own actions. given that deltarune is playing up to be all about the responsibility of the player and the distinction between them and kris, i hope i don't see the same misconceptions take root again. over and out

#undertale #deltarune

[stargazer-sims]

Journal Entry 55 (part two)

Journal Entry #55 (part one) // STORY INDEX

Victor

To say I'm devastated by this latest development in Yuri's health situation would be a major understatement.

Logically, I know Dr. Kasongo is right. Given Yuri's history, it's not likely his challenges with food and eating will resolve without some sort of intervention. And I know the treatment plan she proposed is in his best interests, but the idea of him requiring a feeding tube is a reality I'm struggling to accept. It feels so much like defeat to me that just thinking about it makes me want to cry.

As awful as this may sound, it's kind of a blow to my own self-perception too. I like to think of myself as a protector, someone who finds solutions and keeps people away from harm, but this is a reminder that regardless of my desire to shield Yuri from everything painful or scary or sad, there are some things I'll never be able to protect him from.

As for Yuri, he seems oddly calm about the whole thing, which leaves me a little taken aback. I'd overheard him tell his mother he'd be okay with a tube, but I really hadn't imagined he was serious. I thought, when it came right down to it, this would be something he absolutely would not want.

I'll confess, being wrong in my prediction about Yuri's reaction is bothering me. On one hand, I'm glad he didn't seem overly upset or frightened by the prospect of having a feeding tube, but on the other hand, I feel ashamed for presupposing he would be. Like, I thought I understood him pretty well, and it's eye-opening to find out that might not be the case. There's a lot about his disability and how he copes with it psychologically and emotionally that I really have no clue about, and it's becoming obvious I don't comprehend the daily challenges he faces with his illness as well as I thought I did. Let me tell you, that realization is hitting me hard.

Maybe the most sobering thought of all is how much I've taken my own health for granted. I've always admired Yuri's courage and resilience, but seeing it now makes me question how I'd handle everything if I were in his place. I could barely cope with the pain of my broken arms or the inconvenience of my temporary vision loss. There's no way in hell I could keep going if I had a chronic illness like his, and I know I'd be a total wreck if some doctor said she wanted to cut into my belly and put a tube in there, and that all my meals would be liquid formula going directly into my stomach for the next three to six months.

Yeah, that's what Dr. Kasongo ultimately concluded would be the best option; a gastrostomy tube, or G-tube. I thought she might suggest going the least invasive route, which would've been a NG tube, which is the kind they insert through a patient's nose, but she explained that sort of tube is for short-term use only, like four weeks or less. She said there'd be a lower risk of infection with the G-tube, and because she thinks Yuri could be using it for up to six months, she wanted something that'd be safer for him and wouldn't interfere too much with his quality of life.

The drawback of that kind of tube is that it has to be placed surgically. I didn't like the idea of Yuri needing an operation, but Dr. Kasongo explained to me that it's not major surgery and that there shouldn't be anything to worry about. It's a routine procedure with a very small incision, she said, and it only takes half an hour to forty-five minutes, not counting time spent in the recovery area.

I wasn't all that reassured, and I think she could tell I was anxious, but I did my best to put on a brave face and thanked her for trying to lay my fears to rest.

She went on to tell me about what would happen after the procedure, too. Later in the day, once Yuri was fully awake and alert, a nurse would teach us how to prepare and administer the formula, and how to clean the tube, and pretty much everything to do with taking care of it. And then the doctor told me that if all went according to the plan, Yuri could go home the following day. That seemed hasty to me, but I didn't comment. After all, she's the doctor and she's done this loads of times. It's not up to me to question her professional judgment.

In the estimation of the doctor, it should only take a couple of weeks for Yuri to heal from his surgery. She said once the incision is healed, he'll be able to do most of the activities he was doing before, including — to my amazement — swimming. He won't be able to do any exercises that use the abdominal muscles extensively, but that's okay. We can modify his fitness routine.

It might not be obvious to everyone who first meets him, but Yuri is an active person. He's not hardcore like me, but when he's feeling well, he likes to go hiking, do yoga, skate, swim, dance and go snowboarding. I'm not sure if dancing and yoga are going to be particularly G-tube friendly, but as long as he can stay active, that's the main thing.

Also, I learned that he'll still be able to eat and drink normally with this type of tube, which I guess makes sense considering the goal is to slowly reintroduce him to eating. For the first couple of weeks, it's supposed to be formula only, and then we're supposed to add real food and decrease the amount of formula over time until he's eating like a typical person. I think it's probably going to be a battle, at least in the beginning, but Yuri seems uncharacteristically committed to the plan, so we'll see.

One thing that concerns me, which I haven't talked about with the doctor yet, is how all of this is going to impact our move. We'd been focused on other things that might've interfered with our plans, such as my recovery, and the ongoing legal drama with Ren, and possibly now more legal issues with Hana. I'm sure we both realized Yuri's health could be a factor as well, but for some reason, we've never brought it up.

But, here's the thing. The closing date for our new house is the eighteenth of May, and our flight is scheduled a few days before that. If Yuri's going to be doing his nutrition rehabilitation therapy for the next several months, the date of our flight is going to fall right in the middle of it. He can't interrupt his therapy, and even with Dr. Kasongo calling in a favour to get him on Dr. Kim's patient list, I don’t know how long he might have to wait for an actual first appointment. Plus, even if Dr. Kim could see him in May, I doubt we'd get referrals to a nutritionist and a psychologist back home quickly enough for him to just resume it seamlessly when we get there. Depending on what's involved, he might be able to do it remotely over video chat or something, but with a literal twelve-hour time difference between Japan and eastern Canada, I'm not sure if any healthcare professional here would be willing to go for it.

All of that is assuming he can even travel at all. If he can't, I'm really scared that we're going to have to be apart for a while because one of us has to be there to sign the papers for the closing on our house, and there's no way I'm missing my mom's wedding. What might end up happening is that I'll go home alone in May, stay there until after the wedding, and then come back to be with him until we can finally move to our new home together. Obviously that wouldn't be ideal, but it might be the only viable solution.

I decided I'd talk it over with Mom and Julian to get their thoughts. I'd need to tell them in any case, and break the news that they might not have a violinist for their wedding after all. They wouldn't be as concerned about their wedding music as they would be about Yuri himself, but they'd still need time to adjust their plans.

I made a mental list of who else I'd need to inform of this change in circumstances. Fortunately it was a short one, consisting of Yuri's boss, or maybe the HR person at his firm, and his parents.

Yuri's parents...

As if I didn't have enough on my plate, it fell to me to explain everything Mr. and Mrs. Okamoto. I didn't picture them taking it well, and unfortunately, I wasn't too far off with my guess.

Mrs. Okamoto seemed outwardly calm, but that was nothing less than I expected from her. She's not the sort of person who shows her emotions publicly. Somebody who knows her really well might know what to look for, but I'm not acquainted intimately enough with her for that. Judging by the way she was squeezing her husband's hand while I was describing everything to them, though, I'd say she was a lot less tranquil on the inside than she appeared on the outside.

As for Mr. Okamoto, he was clearly very upset, but he was trying his best to hide his feelings from me. I think he could've learned a thing or two from his wife about how to put on a stoic expression, because he wasn't doing a particularly good job of it. The way he hunched in on himself, and how his face got slightly red and the muscles at the edges of his mouth visibly tightened were almost an exact mirror of how Yuri looks when he's trying not to cry.

It came as a bit of a shock when it occurred to me that I could read my father-in-law's face and body language just as well as I can read Yuri's. I was even more stunned when my first reaction to his distress was compassion.

I mean, not that I'm an unsympathetic person, but up till recently I hadn't had that many positive feelings about my father-in-law. He'd never been particularly kind to me and showed every sign of not liking me, and I'll admit the dislike was mutual.

Up until my accident, I figured that's how it was always going to be. Or maybe it's got more to do with this recent serious flare-up of Yuri's illness than with my injuries, but whatever prompted the change, I'm not complaining or questioning it. It's been a relief, not being in a constant state of walking on eggshells around him. He's been much nicer to me lately, and we've been getting to know each other better, which is a comfort given our current circumstances.

Dr. Kasongo did Yuri's surgery this morning, and Mr. Okamoto came to the hospital to wait with me.

They put us in a nice waiting room with vibrant art on the walls and comfortable blue sofas to sit on. There were non-perishable snacks and a variety of teas, but neither of us had anything. I can't speak for Mr. Okamoto, but I was too stressed to think about matcha or spicy rice crackers. We sat next to each other on a sofa, engulfed in the most weighty silence of all time.

I thought we were going to pass the entire morning like that, but then Mr. Okamoto cleared his throat two or three times like he was trying to work up the nerve to say something. I turned slightly to look at him.

"Uh... are you okay?" I asked. It came out sounding shaky and weird, and I briefly wondered if somebody should be asking me that exact same question.

He raised his gaze to meet mine. Several heartbeats later, he said, "i owe you an apology."

I'm not even gonna pretend I wasn't shocked by that. Caught completely off-guard by the abrupt declaration, I stammered, "What? I mean... like, what for?"

He sighed and looked away from me again. "For a lot of things, if we're being perfectly honest. You're a good man, Victor. I'm sorry that I was too proud and too set in my ways to see that before now," he said. "I misjudged you without even truly knowing you, and I'm sorry for that."

"It's okay," I said, even though it kinda wasn't.

The truth is, his blatant prejudice, dislike and disapproval had hurt both Yuri and me, but Yuri especially, and I was not okay with that. Yuri and I have both been making an effort to rehabilitate our relationship with him, but trust and forgiveness are processes, and neither is achieved instantaneously just because somebody says sorry. He has a lifetime of broken trust to mend with Yuri, and although I've only known him for a few years, it feels like a lifetime for me as well. Maybe it's my proximity to Yuri and my love and empathy for him that makes it feel so personal, or maybe I'm just too sensitive. Either way, Mr. Okamoto's apology wasn't like some magic spell that'd repair everything in the blink of an eye.

Still, he seemed sincere, and I wanted to trust him. The trouble was, I had no idea how I was supposed to respond to this sudden outpouring of contrition from him. I said, "Live and learn, right?"

"Indeed," he said. "I think that was something I'd forgotten for a while. To live and learn. It was you and Yuri who helped me remember. The two of you, and your parents."

"How'd we do that?"

"No way in particular," he said. "Perhaps that's the most ironic part."

I was thoroughly confused at that point and had to admit, "I... kinda feel like I'm missing something here, Okamoto-san."

"Kenji," he said.

Again I blurted, "What?"

"My name is Kenji," he said, as if I didn't already know. "I think you've earned the right to call me that, and besides, we're family."

Dumbfounded, all I could do was stare at him.

"You're supposed to thank me," he prompted gently.

"Right. Uh... thank you." I dipped a little bow as best I could while sitting. "I'm honoured."

"It's fine if you're not comfortable with it," he said.

"It might take some getting used to," I told him. "But, I really am honoured. Back home, when we're adults, we pretty much just call most other adults by their given name, you know? I had to learn a whole new set of rules when I got here, so I get how big of a deal this is."

"I understand," he said. "I do a lot of business with people in North America, so I've had to get used to new social customs too. But, you've done very well, integrating into our way of life. I used to think foreigners could never do that."

"Because you thought we weren't willing to adapt?"

"That, and because some of you seem to think your way is superior," he said.

"Some people probably do think that," I agreed. "I don't. Just because somebody else's culture isn't the same as mine, that doesn't make it bad or inferior. Plus, it's interesting to learn new stuff. You know, to see things from other people's point of view."

He nodded. "That's something I learned from you and Yuri. To see things from somebody else's perspective. How else could the two of you come together the way you have if you didn't know how to be open to other ways of life and points of view?"

"I'm not sure I ever thought of it that way," I said. "I didn't fall in love with him because he's Japanese, and I didn't fall in love with him despite that either. I love him because... well, because he's Yuri. All I saw was him. And yeah, I do know we're different, but literally everybody's different from everybody else, so..."

"You see, that's something else I've learned from you."

I raised an eyebrow. "Something else?"

"Open-mindedness. Selflessness. How to love without prerequisites or conditions," he said. "I'll confess, I was surprised how much of that I saw in my son when I finally opened my eyes and started paying attention." He offered me a tiny smile. "Maybe he learned it from you as well."

"He already knew all that," I said.

"Perhaps," Mr. Okamoto said. "In my experience, Yuri has never been very good at putting other people ahead of himself. Neither am I, honestly. But he does it for you, even to his own detriment sometimes."

"Yeah," I said. "Sometimes I wonder if he understands his limits."

"I think he does," he said. "It's simply that there are people who become so important to you, people you love so deeply, that you're willing to ignore your limits for them. The downside, of course, is that you become more vulnerable to being hurt."

"I'd never hurt Yuri. Not on purpose."

"I know," he said. "That's not what I meant. My point was, Yuri trusts you so completely, he's willing to give himself just as completely to you without being afraid of getting hurt."

"Because he knows if I do hurt him it's not intentional, and I'll always try to make it right. I'll always protect him and take care of him," I said. "As much as anyone can protect another person, anyway. There's some stuff..." I let the sentence fade, because if I started talking about the reason why the two of us were sitting there in a hospital waiting room, I knew I'd end up bawling my eyes out. No way did I want to do that in front of my father-in-law.

"There are things no one can keep anyone safe from." Mr. Okamoto finished the thought for me. "No matter how much we want to."

"It's hard," I said. "Not being able to. And realizing I can't is just... I don't know. It doesn't matter that my brain understands I can't, 'cause it still feels like a stab to the heart. It still feels like I'm failing somehow."

He didn't respond to that right away, and a lull of several seconds stretched between us. The silence was less tense than when we were first shown into the waiting room, but it was little uncomfortable for me nevertheless.

Just when I was about to say some random banal thing to break the quietness, Mr. Okamoto did something unbelievable. Well, okay... by objective standards, it wasn't all that incredible, but it was nothing short of remarkable for him.

He put his hand on my shoulder.

"You're not a failure, Victor." He said it so softly that I might not have caught it if we hadn't been sitting next to each other. "You're extraordinary, in fact."

I looked up at him. "I—" I began, but language totally failed me.

"A man is only a failure if he stops trying," my father-in-law said. "Maybe he can't protect the people he loves from everything, but he hasn't failed unless he stops letting them know he'd move the Earth itself to keep them safe if he could." His voice dropped to a near-whisper again, "He fails if he forgets to tell them he loves them. But you... I think you'll never forget that."

"I hope I never will," I said.

"So do I," he said. "My son needs you."

"He needs you too." The reply slipped out before I even fully recognized the thought was in my head. I panicked for a second, fearful Mr. Okamoto would take it as a rebuke.

To my absolute astonishment, I saw tears in his eyes. "I know," he said. "I lost sight of that, but I'll do better."

I studied him for a moment, and he didn't shift his gaze from mine. Everything about his demeanour was earnest. I said simply, "I believe you."

He nodded, maybe more to reassure himself than to acknowledge my expression of faith in him. Then, he uttered three words that never in a million years would I have imagined him directing towards me.

"Thank you, Victor."

#writing #victorsworldadventures #victor nelson #kenji okamoto #yuri okamoto #tw chronic illness #tw medical procedures #tw hospital #stargazersims

[shuttingupwards]

Mae’s issues. (NITW SPOILERS)

I should preface that I am a huge Mae fan, she is my favorite character. So there may be inherent bias however there are concrete things in the story that don’t have bias that I’d like to point out in the complexion of her own character. To start let’s say that Mae has many issues that kind of go under worked on. It’s obvious that she’s reckless, adventurous, and a little oblivious. However core issues seen in her is her lack of mindfulness, apathy, and general privilege.

Her black and white vision is troubling as she doesn’t think clearly on what is correct or true about other people. She lacks filter, she doesn’t have consequences and this is a huge part of her character. Her lack of consequences is due to her childish like nature and her privilege she has unlike characters like Bea, Angus, and Gregg. She is of course aware of some things, similar to how she is aware about the fact that her friends just deal with her because she is all they can get.

She’s learned not to ask for help, and this is mostly through some form of miscommunication through childhood. We see her parents to be extremely supportive. They talk to her and ask her caring questions, but It could be the possibility that she through her extreme tunnel vision was never clearly taught what to do. This is common in every parent to make, even small mistakes, but specifically with Mae was she grew up surrounded by reckless people and wanted to stay in that childhood. Where she could smash things and have fun, and not deal with the consequences from her parents. This is especially normal throughout people you see growing up.

However one of her largest flaws is her ineptness to ask for help. We see her rot away often despite the support she has, however this recklessness could quite be the same answer to explain this conundrum in her character. When characters grow so used to something, it becomes that coping mechanism. It could be very well that she genuinely believes help just isn’t something she needs. Just because it’s an option doesn’t mean a character is comfortable to take it. Mae likes short, easy things. She doesn’t like the long route, and because people around her have enabled her to have it she doesn’t see the point in reaching out. That even means helping others, which is why she’s so apathetic.

Mae is another thing, incredibly blunt. Not only does her black and white thinking interrupt any form of interaction with other people, she has odd dialect and views everything as something not as serious as it is til it effects her personally. She thinks Bea is “badass” for her moms death, or dealing with the shitty situation she’s in. This is a harmful mindset that she applies to herself. She’s extremely self destructive and stuck in her own head about her own fantasies.

This is most likely a cause of her dissociative disorder she seems to have. Dissociation is a feeling more then just feeling outside your body, it’s like being stuck in it as well. Even when your thousand of miles away you’re still stuck in your own bias. Mae realizes things often, but chooses to stay ignorant to them til it hurts. Like her knowing half the time her friends only stick with her because they are all they can get. They know her for her childish and dangerous attitude and know that it’s something that she needs to move on from.

Mae holds extreme privilege from everyone else in her life. Bea is poor and has to work emotionally and physically constantly for her father and the business, Gregg works a bad job with constant fear that he’ll lose Angus, while Angus is still dealing with his own emotional turmoil of his trauma but also his want for something more then where he is. All of them have that theme, wanting more then what they have but having to cling onto what they have no matter what happens. Which funny enough happens to be each other. They rely on what they are given, and they are given Mae who is to ignorant to be a genuine person around them. Half the time she’s a clueless asshole, but apart of her is charming in that it helps reflect a newer perspective to others. Which is half the reason the three stick around her.

Not only does Mae lack social cues with other people, but mindfulness of her own actions. She’s constantly self destructive and hating herself that little does she realize the pain she causes herself. It’s a painful process of self harm that affects other people in ways she’s not aware.

Now there’s the elephant in the room, which is her dissociative break in high school where she attacks a student almost to death. She doesn’t have consequences for this, rather is shifted into shitty solutions that heightens and again, enforces her mental anguish. She does not have the resources to help herself and doesn’t even know how to obtain them because of lack of understanding of how being a person works. This is definitely an important thing to remember about her is that she’s only broken the shield of ignorance when everything gets the worst that it gets.

Finally, when her consequences catch up to her and she meets the weird cat god and the cultists, does she have her realization. While in a realistic situation, having the realization after all of this isn’t recommended. Having to make sacrifices to realize something about yourself is an extremely destructive thing to do, but it fits Mae’s narrative and that’s why it works. It shows the theme of her own self destruction build up and finally bite her back down. As a story plot, it works that she only comes to the epiphany here. Then, does she apologize and work towards a better self. She feels bad for her actions and the way she’s been affecting Bea and Gregg especially. Bea seems the most affected as she has her always tagging along, and Bea has her own situation that with Mae’s blunt force doesn’t help.

I think what people forget about Mae is that she’s not a comedy joke and nor is she a good person. She’s done awful or just mean things to people because of her own mental issues, but that’s what is so important about her character. Is that she’s such a complicated and working person, that from there one does she realize her need for help and how she could help her friends.

#mae borowski #nitw #analysis #analyzation #nitw analysis #night in the woods

[fleshing-out-fodlan]

Crimson Flower Lysithea Story

I think the Three Houses writing is really held back by 1. the lack of impact non lord characters have on the story post time skip and 2. the lack of in depth unique development for characters on different routes. I understand why this was done from a game play perspective (perma death and also giving every single character 3-4 unique story lines is a lot of work and just unrealistic) but from a story telling perspective it definitely isn't ideal. So I wanted to take a swing at giving a non lord a unique story on a route that isn't their own a way that makes sense from the perspective of the developers.

Crimson Flower Lysithea is probably the most obvious place to start, she was also experimented on by TSWITD so there's so much potential for where her story could go. In Crimson Flower, you are working with TWSITD, something that will stir up strong emotions in Lysithea, even if she knows the plan is for the alliance to be temporary. I think this can tie into Lysithea's need to rush everything. We all know Lysithea's life span is shortened, so maybe she's afraid she won't live to see TWISTD destroyed. TWISTD is what destroyed her family and if they're still so powerful when she dies, she has no way to ensure her family is safe from their torment. So, she comes up with all these plans to prematurely bring them down. We get a cutscene at some point of her talking to Hubert, saying she has to have a meeting with Edelgard and Hubert refusing to let her through because he believes it will be a waste of Edelgard's time so he instead tells Lysithea to just tell him whatever she wants to tell Edelgard and he'll pass the message along if it's worthy of her time. Lysithea tells Hubert her plans but he quickly shuts them down, pointing out some flaw that will hurt their team's chances at succeeding. Lysithea gets frustraed and starts hurling her immature insults at Hubert (I'm imagining similar vibes to her Ignatz support here) but Hubert hardly reacts, finding her more amusing than offensive, causing her to get angrier and just storm off. I imagine this cut scene happening after chapter 14 (so right before the battle where you meet Cordelia). After this, you get the explore dialogue for chapter 15. Lysithea's original dialogue here isn't that important in terms of character development (it doesn't really tell us anything new about her character, generally just that she wants to protect her family which is also established by the stuff I'm adding anyways). So, her explore dialogue will now involve her mumbling to herself about Hubert being an idiot and how she knows what she's doing. Then, she notices you listening and gets annoyed, commenting on how eavesdropping is a childish activity.

Then, we have the "Seige at Arianrhod" battle. If Lysithea and Linhardt are both on the field you'll be given an optional quest (kind of like in Remire where you have a quest to save all the villagers but can still win the battle if you fail that quest). The quest is to have Lysithea be the first on to attack Cornelia. If you don't do this quest, nothing else will happen in Lysithea's story. If you do this, it will trigger a mid battle cut scene showing Lysithea attacking Cornelia but Cornelia is much stronger than she initially thought. After putting up a good fight, Lysithea gets severely injured. Edelgard steps in and stops Cornelia from landing a fatal blow and calls Linhardt over and he then teleports away with Lysithea. You then go back to normal battling mode but you can no longer use Lysithea or Linhardt. There will be two options for what happens after the battle.

Option A. Linahrdt and Lysithea did not reach their A support: In this timeline, Linhardt is not able to save Lysithea. In a cutscene where the battle is being discussed, Edelgard asks Linhardt about Lysithea's status and he says that she died. In the midst of the mourning Edelgard makes a comment about how Lysithea didn't seem like herself, how she's usually so well calculated but in this moment seemed to be driven purely by her emotions. The camera zooms in on Hubert's face, showing one of his more contemplative profiles, as Edelgard announces that they can't dwell on the past and must get back to working hard to secure the future Lysithea was fighting for in honor of her memory. All the characters disperse except Byleth and Hubert. Byleth makes a remark about how Hubert seems like he's thinking about something and Hubert makes a comment about how Lysithea had mentioned a desire to take down TWISTD as soon as possible but that he had stopped her from talking to Edelgard. You're then given two dialogue options. You can either say he should've let her talk to Edelgard which will cause you two to lose support points and Hubert will say something about how Lysithea's actions today proved she was not worthy of Lady Edelgard's time. The second dialogue option is remarking on how Lysithea had so much potential. Hubert will respond to this by somberly agreeing and then the cut scene will end.

Option B. Linhardt and Lysithea did reach their A support: In this timeline, you will see a cut scene between Linhardt and Lysithea before seeing one with Edelgard and the Black Eagles recapping the battle. This scene takes place just after Linhardt finished healing her and Lysithea makes a comment about being so exhausted she's about to pass out. Linhardt then says something about how he's going to pass out too after seeing all the blood. Lysithea simple respond with a "..." and Linhardt realizes something is wrong. He makes a comment about how Lysithea's actions were stupid and how she was unnecessarily risking her life and asks what she was thinking (but he does it in his Linhardt way where he's not saying it angrily just very matter-of-factly). Lysithea talks about how she wants to see TWISTD destroyed in her lifetime to make sure they can't torment her family anymore. Linhardt makes a comment about how powerful groups can never be overthrown quickly (maybe he could make some reference to a similar event in Fodlan history but I'm not knowledgeable enough about the history to think of an example off the top of my head) and also says that her dying early to accomplish this goal would be counterproductive. She asks what he means and he explains how she's one of the best mages on the side and how Cornelia was only one person. Even if she succeeded in taking down Cornelia, there'd still be the rest of TWISTD and the black eagles would be at a major disadvantage without Lysithea. He says she may not live to see the end of TIWSTD, it's possible none of them will, but if she focuses on taking multiple, smaller steps, she can make a greater difference than if she just tries to make one giant, risky leap.

After this, you can now unlock the Lysithea Byleth A support. This support will stay pretty similar, I like how it discusses her feeling a need to rush things due to her shortened life span. The main change would be that now she would mention what had happened in the last battle and discuss it and how it ties into the her desire to rush things and how she's starting to make peace with the fact that she may not be able to accomplish everything she wants.

This is where I imagine Crimson Flower Lysithea's arc ending. There are only six post time skip Crimson Flower chapters I believe, so I didn't want to add too many new cut scenes, especially considering that Lysithea is a side character who isn't even native to this route. I wanted the story I wrote to be one that could realistically be added into the game while maintaining good pacing, so I left out some scenes I would've liked that narratively just didn't fit in as well. If anyone has any head cannons for their version of Crimson Flower Lysithea, whether that be a written out story or just small head cannons you like to imagine, I'd love to hear them either in a reblog or an ask!

#fe3h #black eagles #crimson flower #fe3h au #fe3h lysithea #lysithea von ordelia

[inlocusmads]

I really hope Blades 2 (in case there's no set up for #3) lets us choose our own ending, be it continue adventuring, settle down, etc. let me explain:

(Spoiler alert for Blades Book 1 and 2, Guinevere, Across the Void, Distant Shores, Endless Summer, Bloodbound, Perfect Match and some light spoilers for TC&TF, TPA, RCD, HSS:CA, AME, The Elementalists and Kindred. Phew.)

A lot of the times choices hammers down like this inescapable endings of Weddings as a Final Resolution which suffice to say isn't bad inherently, but is used to conclude in books that don't really call for it (such as the really underwhelming LI confession in TPA, a book largely unfocused on romance; Maggie's wedding conclusion in Kindred and MC's own speculations over whether or not they'll say yes to their LI proposing; the weird Ms Match ending when it was really supposed to be about MC and Jack/Jacqueline looking past their rivalry and be able to work together).

Marriage, wedding and kids work in books that have some kind of long-term set-up and payoff such as in TRR, TFS and to an extent, two-part and three-part books. In books with lesser chapters and not a lot of lore-building (TC&TF and TRR both outweigh Blades in terms of lore that we're aware of), it would be just.. strange, in my opinion to have a mandatory Wedding As A Final Resolution ending as a last-minute hail mary option because other endings the writers could've thought of, weren't feasible.

It is preassumptive of me to speculate about the ending with little to no information given, but I have been pretty sceptical of the way PB writes their endings. Often times, they just throw 16+ chapters of worldbuilding and characterisation out the window and scramble up to conclude it in the most plausible way they can - sitcom-style with all the friends gathered for one last adventure or have weddings, babies and a romantic ending 90% of the time. This is in itself, decent enough for a book about romance, but for books like Blades where the main character isn't a blank slate and has some discerning powers that sets them apart from the other characters, a half-put together happily ever after doesn't seem to do them a service at all.

Books like Distant Shores relies largely on a halphazardly put cliffhanger with MC meeting a figure from the past, while raising the LI's baby (I'm not sure how it is with Charlie's and Oliver's routes, but I do remember vaguely that the F!MC could have a baby with Edward) with this weird set-up for a book 2 that never came and simultaneously leaving readers in speculation as that was the conclusion they had to work with, when MC literally had time-travelling powers from the compass and a better ending could be written off, without having to turn MC as an audience surrogate character overnight.

Even Crimes 2's conclusion had Trystan telling MC they love them, when a lot of time could have been dedicated to exploring and expanding on Trystan's character, instead of them just being this traumatised child and writing up some obvious parallels to MC rather than treat them as a character on their own. Everything seemingly goes back to normal, the bullet from the Chekhov's gun never really hits them and it becomes somewhat of a joke to critique the Thornes as this murderous clan as opposed to a real family with fucked-up issues. It cheapens the whole storyline. It's the last-minute resort to sort of write a conclusion and what better than to rely on the age-old picket-fence cottage scenario, even when the situation doesn't call for it?

In my opinion, only a handful of books had the right ending given to them and by 'right', I mean consistent with the other 90% of the book. Such as Queen B ending with the most normal thing that happened in the university - a graduation. ACoR featured the MC reuniting with her family after all that she's fought for and carve out her own path from then forwards. Even Open Heart, which butchered everything else about its story, gave MC the choice of staying in Edenbrook or moving on - which is honestly the only good thing about the books. Endings that acknowledge the MC's role in things besides being a pair of eyes for the reader to navigate, give them personalities and make it fit with the chapters before it are rather few in number since the advent of single-LI stories wherein a majority of the focus was on MC and LI's relationship than the plot, so it was just this cheap reason that made PB overly rely on Weddings As The Final Resolution trope even when it didn't call for it.

I am.. sceptical to say the least, about the way Blades is set up to end. It is clearly one of the only stories in the recent past that has 6 love interest paths to choose from (Valax and Aerin included) and has provided a lot of well-rounded storytelling enough for us to be invested in the LI's backstories, the skills they brought to the table and the dynamics with MC. However, the MC themselves is slowly morphing into the audience surrogate character from before. Back in Book 1, albeit them only showing flaws and vulnerabilities (thanks to the Kade plot), the MC was a real person, as capable as the LIs and their niche set of skills and their personalities.

By Book 2, the plot which is supposed to focus on MC, ends up accumulating a large mass of characters, giving MC the hero's treatment without actually giving them chances to be humanised, for the lack of a better word.

We only get to see them comfort characters, adopt cute animals and share some sparse moments with them, be indestructible in the face of death and that's it. While MC is the beating heart of the story, take them away in Book 2 and it spares a lot of time for the LIs to not have to chickenfight Valax and hop between realms aimlessly and.. that's it. What happened to MC's sincere motivation to rescue their brother in Book 1? What happened to how they overcame the fish-out-of-the-water situations, all in a fight for family?

Book 2 doesn't really have any callbacks to that. Kade, who was MC's primary motivation to meet Mal, Imtura, Nia, Tyril and Aerin, is sidelined heavily. MC becomes the sort of therapy aunt, when they've been deeply traumatised themselves.

To slap that with a 'romance solves everything!' ending would be an actual slap in the face to MC, who'd gone to hell and back just to come back home. If the answer were really that simple, why didn't MC settle down instead? Why should they continue questing?

Weddings as a resolution can be executed well if the payoffs are done. For eg, in Guinevere, a book largely centered around MC's marriage to Arthur/Artura and her growing feelings for Lancelot, as the myth goes, a wedding cements MC's choice as final. No matter how much Arthur/Artura can fight their best friend (with Merlin in the background being the puppeteer), it is ultimately MC's choice and it feels definitive to end with it.

But Blades doesn't force a romance now, does it? It doesn't force you to choose between 2 things. A grandeur wedding may or may not be in the cards, right? So clearly WAAR as an ending is just a really bad take, right?

Fair, but what about stories that have meh endings if you don't choose a romance option at all?

As in, without the element of romance, there is no definitive conclusion and it's very chaotically written?

Honestly a fraction of books can fall into that category, if they don't tell the players to choose a mandatory love interest.

Perfect Match is one such story with multiple romance routes, wherein you can deny diamond options. The ending follows the saving of the president, stopping Eros from taking over and having this weird 'calm after the storm' ending where Nadia and MC ruminate about being superheroes and eh, it kind of spiralled from a serious commentary on AI and everything to just really campy sci-fi by the end of it. The non-romance route has this welcomed found family set-up but doesn't really do much.

Personally I felt it was just a whiplash from doing Secret Service work to retiring to a domestic life, which the initial set up for the book didn't really call for it. MC's role in things slowly dimmed down to being a pair of eyes for the audience and largely in association with their friends and romantic relationships. Taking a romance route with Hayden, Damien, Sloane, Alana and others offers the Wedding As A Resolution as a solution, wherein the chosen LI confesses to MC and that's -- the ending when there's literally so much potential, so many themes being introduced in the book.

The found family trope also didn't sit well with me, considering it had just been like, two books since we met the characters and a lot of them were sidelined to bring focus to the moneymaking LIs. Even platonic routes went down the drain and there was nothing keeping the friend group together besides their mutual connections, shared trauma-bonding and the only people to have ever known the Truth.

(An example where this isn't compromised is TC&TF's ending where Kenna can stay single and instead of having a wedding in the end, she has a 'victory celebration'. The conclusions don't change or lose their meaning if you play a romantic route; Kenna gets her happy ending as a leader and peace returns to Stormholt.)

However it can't be said for books like The Unexpected Heiress which asks you to pick and suitor and charges you 30 DIAMONDS to MARRY your chosen LI and if you didn't choose it, MC leaves England to go back home, likely and THAT'S the conclusion. (If you did choose the premium option, the scene doesn't differ much, except you get to travel with your LI- I guess, it could be like a honeymoon kind of situation).

The It Lives (books 1 and 2 on the app) series is probably the only fantasy-adjacent series where romance takes a passenger seat and focuses more on MC and their journey. ILB's ending in all its ambiguity still does a decent job of wrapping up the series with no bias towards romance routes compared to books about romance with many choices and paths to take!

Even Across the Void forces MC into a last-minute romance to conclude the book somehow. Red Carpet Diaries shoe-horned in a Wedding As A Resolution plot much like how America's Most Eligible does too. PB doesn't really explore a lot with fantasy and sci-fi in its entirety, rather tackles it with modern times - sort of like a magical realism story, say in the widely talked about supernatural-series Bloodbound (which also forces a romance route + a wedding/moving-into-together ending by Book 3).

This isn't to say it cheapens the ending, rather it says there's no meaningful ending if you don't pick a romance route. The case is prevalent for a lot of multi-LI stories. The single routes kind of.. just end with a celebration of the hurdles overcome and a look into the future - a constant staple for literally every PB book out there. It becomes oversaturated to the point where the narration ends up forcing you to pick a goddamn route, like in HSS: CA even when the situation really doesn't call for it (I don't even remember what happens in the end of the trilogy) and in LoA where you end up having to choose between Aislinn and Gabe and the ending is the romance that follows.

Blades's role:

Now I really hope that isn't the case with Blades. Lots of things are still unknown about MC's history besides some Orc and Elven lore here and there and maybe it is kept that way to make some sort of big reveal at the end. Maybe it's a Bloodbound situation where MC is a descendant and that makes her the Chosen One. Maybe it's an Endless Summer situation with the whole, well, if you know you know. Maybe Raine is in fact the descendant of the Mother of Grey, maybe the Mother of Grey's the balance between the Light & Shadow realms from eating into each other - there are tons of possibilities.

But it shouldn't be at the cost of PB using their old patterns to write up a chalky romance ending. While It Lives and ES are exemplars at treating platonic routes with equal importance as romantic routes - well, as equal as it gets, really and not forcing the audience to make a decision, Perfect Match still exists as one where the ending is just.. "yeah.. so yeah that happened, man that's a fever dream" and with PB's recurrent problem in newer books with wrapping up a storyline and writing an ending (often resorting to a grand wedding even in Surrender, when the LI and MC have barely KNOWN each other! Even in the Princess Swap, one of the MCs gets proposed to, to have this illusion of some ending - I know it is technically a 'single LI' book but they could have waited, jeez)

Still, it makes me a lot more sceptical on how PB would handle the non-romance route, or more importantly how they can discern romance from MC's personal journey and their own powers. It is different from It Lives, Bloodbound and Endless Summer despite them all having some versions of the Chosen One trope. It features a MC who's determined to save their loved ones and figure out things along the way, but is sadly subjected to being a passenger in their own story. It's been 16 chapters in Book 2. By 16 chapters in Book 1, we'd seen MC 'break down' and race against time to save their brother out of desperation. (There's this disconnect I feel with the whole Watcher plotline and the realmwalker thing, but that's a different story).

I for one would be just so disappointed if they worked on 2 (or 3) books just to have MC say, "I found my perfect life with you, you're my home, LI." and call that a fitting ending.

***

Honestly these were just a lot of jumbled thoughts and I had to get it out of my system somehow, so no hard feelings! I'm just sort of tired of PB constantly demeaning their platonic routes and kind of putting 0 effort into it in the recent years. They are indeed heading towards a whole different direction w their single li books but still, I've been holding out some hope for Blades and I just hope it isn't squashed.

#mads rants about romance because she has the aro-ace pass/jk #choices book club #blades of light and shadow

[danwhobrowses]

3 Ways I Think One Piece Could End

Well, since Shonen Jump has forced a break out of One Piece, I thought I'd throw another rare theory video into the mix.

Aside from the Pan D. Aman joke post I made a while back, I haven't wanted to think about how One Piece would end, but with Wano looking to wrap up next chapter and the final saga beginning, the final chapters will soon be upon us before we know it.

So, in the times I have thought about One Piece ending, I'm throwing 3 ways I feel One Piece could end, and be satisfying doing so

Potential Spoilers up ahead, probably best to be up to date with at least the anime (ep.1028), probably as early as Ep.1000 tops

To start I'm going to point out that I firmly DON'T believe that the story will end with Luffy finding the One Piece, I think there will be a little bit after that. This is mainly because Whitebeard and Rayleigh have noted that finding the One Piece will turn the world upside down, so there will likely be a considerable fallout from finding the One Piece too.

With the likes of the Yonko and at the least Kid also gunning for the One Piece, there will likely be a convergence when the Straw Hats arrive to Laugh Tale anyway, which will potentially lead to the grandest and greatest battle of the series.

With that in mind, I will rank the 3 in which is most satisfying to me as a finale, so let's start with No.3

3 - Luffy Bets his Straw Hat on the Next Generation

I'm sure we all expect that Luffy is 98% likely to not be able to return his hat to Shanks as he intends or that he will still manage to keep it under some circumstance, and will then pass it onto another like him to pass on his will. I see this probable within a timeskip of probably aged 40 Luffy in the good timeline hanging with his crew all still happy and well, so the recipient is unlikely to be Momo or Tama or Makino's son.

It works story-wise as a cyclic ending, much less bittersweet than the possibility of Luffy repeating Roger's antics that triggered the era in death, but I rank this the least because it'd feel too obvious, too tidy and would imply that all the things we don't see the Straw Hats achieve were simply achieved off-screen. I'd also worry for the fan peer pressure Oda may be subjected to if he left the possibility of a legacy sequel.

2 - The Straw Hat Pirates Disband

A sad ending it may be, but I could clearly see Luffy imitating Roger's pose in this part of the manga having completing everything he set out to do. There would be a finality in the adventure ending, not just for Luffy, but for Oda and the audience.

This would very much be a 'smile because it happened, not because it's over' kind of endings, but I rank it higher than Luffy giving his hat away because of it being a proper ending, preventing the sequel threat the previous had while also maintaining the cyclic nature of imitating Roger rather than Shanks.

1 - The Adventure Doesn't End

A cheat you say? Wishful thinking you accuse? Well I told you this was ranked on most satisfying to me, didn't I?

Finding Laugh Tale and the One Piece is a given, but do we expect Luffy to achieve his dream of Pirate King, become the freest person in the world, and do nothing with it? There's also the matter that other crewmates' dreams don't simply end by finding Laugh Tale; Nami's map of the world would be incomplete, Chopper would have diseases still to cure, there will still be more history for Robin to discover, more sea to sail for Franky on his ship, more joy to spread from music for Brook and food for Sanji, and more stories for Usopp to regale.

This is why I like this option the best, because the end of one story, one dream, one voyage, isn't the end of everything, the crew are now free to seek more; more dreams, more islands, more lies to come true

The story of 'One Piece' may be over, but an open-ended finale of the Straw Hats setting sea again, plotting a new route around the world this time, would probably be my ideal ending for them, and something more on brand for Luffy to do. While the sequel pressure is still there, in a way the open end allows the fans the freedom to make the crew's next journey(s) their own way

And on to a New Adventure.

#one piece #monkey d. luffy #straw hat pirates #roronoa zoro #one piece nami #one piece usopp #vinsmoke sanji #tony tony chopper #nico robin #one piece franky #one piece brook #one piece jinbe #one piece theory #shanks one piece #gol d roger

[manofmanymons]

Honestly while I don't HATE Harmonious I still vastly prefer Wrathful because it just PUNCHES you much harder, which is why I always recommend it for a first playthrough. I feel like it's cause after a while you kinda get exactly how Kaito and Miu are gonna go- one is gonna die and the other falls off the deep end cause of it. With Aoi and Saki while you still get something bad is gonna happen I don't think anything prepares you for just how BADLY she breaks in Wrathful.

YEAH I think that was my other problem with the Harmony route like

Nothing happened that I couldn't have told you myself would happen

Kaito did literally everything I expected him to given his established character, and while obviously that's not a bad thing—if anything I'm very fond of straightforward and predictable characters, and the fact that he was that predictable just tells me he was written consistently and I understood him correctly—it also made it kind of...boring.

Forgive me for what I'm about to say but honestly I think they should've killed him first. His feelings for Miu were always very clear and he didn't have much purpose outside of protecting her. Most of Miu's feelings about him, on the other hand, she left unsaid + she cared about herself and her own life way more than he ever cared about his, so exploring a) how she would act if she lost her brother before getting to tell him she loved him and b) how her own will to live on would be impacted by his loss would've been a lot less obvious and a lot more interesting.

The Wrathful route was actually genuinely creepy and unsettling because, as you said, I literally could NEVER have seen that coming. Like yeah I knew Aoi would be broken up over losing Saki but holy CRAP? And I'm not saying she was ooc by any means so much as...the Wrathful Route showed off a new side to her that was previously hidden and therefore was both shocking and made her more interesting. Like you LEARN something about her from what happened to her. You don't learn ANYTHING about Kaito from what happened to him.

#digimon survive #aoi shibuya #kaito shinonome #miu shinonome #saki kimishima #digimon survive spoilers #wrathful route spoilers #harmony route spoilers

[sealofreconciliation]

Fates: was the story as bad as people say? a response/debunk (finale part 1: Themes)

Link to original post here.

Before anyone asks, yes, the original post is enough of a shitshow to necessitate me having to split this response into multiple parts; blame u/Odovakar, not me.

> The reason why I didn't discuss themes in the main story is simple: it's subjective. Now, you might argue that everything I've said is subjective but for the main routes and DLC campaigns you've at least got to base the discussion on the script.

Wouldn't everything in this series, including discussion of themes, have to be based on the script, due to being where someone would have to get evidence for their claims from?

Also, if you're trying to argue that most, if not all, of your arguments in the main posts were written on the basis of you talking about the internal consistency of the script, which is the only thing i can gather from this line and the rest of the post; lol no. You're so far removed from that standard of discussion it's insane to even imply you were basing your analyses on that.

To give some examples, let's take a small look at the kind of “tangible”, “script-based” criticisms you made throughout the posts:

Complaining that Corrin didn't stay and ask Azura or Yukimura for more information on the Yato or the dragonstone, not because it would make sense for them to do so (it would be a massive character assassination for Corrin to do that, as a matter of fact), but because you personally wanted more of an expostion-dump on those things than the game gave (prologue); assuming developer intentions in order to accuse the game of “forgiving” Corrin of their moral wrongdoings (prologue and part 1 of Conquest); criticizing the game for the cast being “Corrin-centric” without giving any in-universe reasons as to why that's illogical or bad (prologue); criticizing the way the game was *sold*, proceeded by immediately conceding that said criticism has little to do with the game's writing and that it was only brought up due to a personal dislike of the split (ending of prologue); criticizing the Hoshidan/Nohrian siblings for talking about Corrin in their battle/defeat quotes during the route split, which MUST be personal bias against Corrin given how obvious the counter-argument of “Corrin literally just betrayed them, of course they're still going to be thinking about them and being upset about their treason a few minutes after the fact” is (part 1 of both BR and CQ); saying that Xander's obedience to Garon being more understandable if you look at it from the lens of how japanese parent/child relations work is a stupid and silly argument because Xander's from Europe, giving no evidence whatsoever that Nohr shares it's child-raising culture with that of medieval Europe (BR part 2); criticizing Corrin for not killing themselves trying to fight Hans's troops and their own for no other reason than because he found it personally distasteful for someone to let bad things happen (part 1 of CQ); criticizing Corrin and Azura for being happy that the royal families negotiated a temporary ceasefire instead of whining 24/7 about a war that hasn't started yet (part 2 of CQ); dedicating roughly a fifth of part 3 of your Conquest analysis to addressing defenses for why the Nohrian siblings, especially Xander, are loyal to Garon, with all of the responses boiling down to “yeah but we're not shown Garon being nice to his kids, therefore all the plentiful evidence people have found for why the Nohrian sibs would have a strong emotional attachment to him are automatically null and void, also them being afraid of him is invalid because the game portrays them as heroes”. Which is not only pathetic, given how much time he's had to formulate counter-arguments, but also has nothing to do with the script. (CQ part 3)

Tl;dr you should have read your own posts better before claiming they were focused on the story and/or were “tangible”.

> Pointing out that Corrin should logically ask Azura more questions about the crystal ball, for example, has a basis in something very tangible.

The only basis it has is that it's something that happens in the story and can be discussed about, in the exact same way that estabilishing a theme and discussing whether it's well-developed or supported by the plot is based on the fact that said examples show up in the story through various ways and can be discussed about; you really don't understand thematic analysis or discussion, don't you?

Also, the crystal ball point sure as fuck doesn't have a basis in logic or character consistency, if that's what you were trying to imply; Azura uses it immediately after bringing it out and it breaks as soon as it's done showing Corrin Garon's true self. It's use case is obvious, and Azura already explained who could and couldn't use it; at most, it's weird for Corrin to not ask Azura where the ball came from, but she'd already told them they couldn't talk about Valla in the outside world; assuming that they'd already guessed that it came from Valla and, as such, that it'd be a bad idea for them to talk about something so heavily related to the place when they don't know the full extent of the curse, coupled with the fact that they're going to be busy thinking about the new information they just got and contemplating the fact that they'll have to join the war in order to dethrone Garon, it's pretty reasonable for them to not ask Azura for more information about the crystal ball.

> Themes, on the other hand, seem to mean whatever is convenient for the person arguing about something.

> This is a pretty straightforward definition of what a narrative theme is and yet there's so much room for people to say basically whatever they want without technically being incorrect, and therein lies the main problem.

It means a repeated message that a story is trying to estabilish, develop and talk about. It can be estabilished by how many examples of it there are throughout a story and how relevant it is, which can be debated about by people with differing viewpoints, much like the kind of narrative analysis you've been trying to make. Someone trying to claim something is a theme in a story without any evidence to back that up is likely to be ignored, just like when someone tries to claim something happens in a story without providing any evidence to back it up. Isn't it fun to learn about a narrative concept you should have already known since grade school?

> Even so, I figured I should at least give discussing the themes of Fates a shot since using themes to defend a work is very popular because it's easy. "I think it's about this and that's fascinating to me" is simple to say and hard to dispute; the debate has by that point already devolved into vague, subjective interpretations, and even if the theme in question is only tangientally relevant, you can't convince someone to feel a certain way about something.

It doesn't seem too hard to dispute; just provide counter-arguments as to why something isn't like that, which you should be able to do if you think they're wrong with their stance.

Also, stop trying to pretend like your analyses are any different or have any more depth to them than some random fuckwit on the internet saying something is good because it made them feel good; as i've already proven, large portions of your criticisms are just cleverly-worded ways for you to say that Fates is bad because it made you feel bad.

> If you've read my previous posts you'll probably not be surprised when I say Fates doesn't handle its themes well at all. Why? Well, first, let me ask a question: what would you say Fates' themes are? Family? Anti-war? Finding the truth?

Birthright is trusting in your allies, Conquest is finding what justice is and what must be done to achieve it, Revelation is being true to oneself, and the main theme of the game overall is cooperation and setting aside differences for the sake of the greater good. You managed to go 0/4 on Fates' themes; that's morbidly impressive, i must admit.

> The theme of family is undeniably heavily pushed by trailers and really the game itself, but I'd say Fates actively works against that theme at every possible opportunity.

It was pushed by the trailers, not the game. I want you to give me a single instance of family being a theme anywhere in the game, let alone a big enough one for you to claim that it's the major theme of the game overall.

> First, the big one: Corrin can S support all the Nohrian and Hoshidan siblings, as well as their own cousin. Being able to S support every single character in the game seems to have taken priority over letting Corrin find out about the lie that they're not related to the Hoshidan siblings, as the protagonist never once reacts to this in the game. In Revelation, Corrin says nothing about this, while in Birthright, should you S support a sibling, they're just happy to be able to have sex without people raising an eyebrow.

Corrin doesn't care about their relation to the Hoshidan siblings and barely sees them as family already, which is why they don't care about the revelation. The only reason they side with Hoshido in BR is because they know Garon needs to be stopped, and are willing to side with a bunch of strangers they don't know or even particularly care about in order to do so. What does it say about a theme when it's existence is never estabilished, developed or supported by the game?

> However, that's not all there is to it. Azura routinely gets ignored by the Hoshidan siblings despite growing up with them. Even though the "betraying your family aspect" is played up a lot with Corrin no matter the route, I'm not sure Azura doing the same in Conquest even gets acknowledged outside of optional battle dialogue.

The Hoshidans don't care as much about Azura as they do Corrin, plus the “family betrayal” aspect is mostly relegated to Birthright, since the Nohrians are the ones with an actual relationship to Corrin, not the Hoshidans. The Hoshidans barely try to use the “we're your birth family” argument anywhere in Conquest, mostly guilt-tripping them for siding with Nohr in the first place, and it shows up again for a *very* short amount of time in Revelation as part of Xander and Leo's character arcs there, which is resolved by something that has nothing to do with family (Garon telling them he wants to burn Nohr).

> What does it say about a theme when a character whose backstory mirrors the protagonist's is all but excluded from it?

That said character has a different theme in order to differentiate them from the protagonist due to their being wildly different people.

> And then there's Lilith, who's *technically* Corrin's *real* half sister, but this is relegated to a snippet of a DLC campaign and is never made relevant or acknowledged outside of it.

Anankos made Lilith out of magic; this is the equivalent of claiming that a desk is someone's half-sibling because their father was a sculptor and made said desk.

> You have to pay for this information, but what does it add to any character,

It adds to Lilith's character by expanding on her motivation for protecting Corrin.

> and to repeat a similar question asked above, what does it say about a theme when it locks something like this behind a paywall?

That the theme was developed further later on in the story in paid content. These little gotchas aren't nearly as smart as you think they are.

> Speaking of not adding anything, as /u/Warlord41k put it in an earlier post of mine, the twist that Corrin's biological father is Anankos has no bearing on anything. Corrin's draconic powers are never made relevant in the main story

Their draconic powers and/or heritage are the reason they're able to drive the Vallite army and Sumeragi out of Hoshido, the reason they're able to visit Valla in Conquest, kick-starting the rest of the plot, the reason Anankos tries to corrupt them into becoming his new vessel throughout Conquest and Revelation, and is the reason why they can transform into a dragon despite the royal bloodline being so dilluted they can't even remember the last time someone could do that. It's pretty fucking important.

> This might have been to give Anankos a more sympathetic backstory, and if you're being *very* generous you could see this as Corrin's true parents not mattering and that the family you choose is the one that matters.

It's there to add tragedy to Anankos by having him have a child he's never going to be able to properly meet and that will spend the rest of their life thinking he was nothing more than some random evil dragon, along with providing an explanation for Corrin's draconic powers. Why should it be anything more than that, and why is it bad that it isn't?

> However, for that to make sense or have any sort of impact, I think Corrin themselves would have to acknowledge that fact, as well as the lack of any blood relations with the Hoshidan siblings. Corrin doesn't do that, however, and these things become mere setpieces for fanfiction authors.

Explain why Corrin not caring about their blood family needs to be spelled out to the audience to make sense (?) or have impact, and especially explain how you're not being hypocritical for making such a request and still daring to criticize Fates for apparently not having any subtlety.

> All of these points lead me to believe that when the theme of family isn't ignored, like with Azura, Lilith, and Corrin's lack of reaction to finding out the truth about not being related to the Hoshidan siblings, Fates is actively sacrificing the theme in order to appeal to certain players by allowing you to marry the siblings and Azura.

It could also mean that you took the trailers way too close to heart, internalized that as the main theme of the game, and failed to realize that pointing out the multiple ways in which the theme doesn't exist in the game proper is you debunking yourself. Just some food for thought.

> This is without getting into the utter lack of chemistry between the Hoshidan siblings in particular and how they remain strangers to Corrin in all routes, including Birthright.

Seriously, how in the actual fuck do you not realize that maybe, *just maybe*, the fact that there's little to no evidence to support family being a theme in Fates means it isn't a theme, especially when, by your own admission, Corrin's relationship to one of the two families in the game is, at best, them being respectful allies to each other, even in the route where they spend the most amount of time together? How can you write this and not realize how easy this is to debunk?

Also, nice to see you being as tangible as ever. “I don't personally see chemistry between a group of characters” is absolutely not a vague, subjective and undefined point that's going to be very hard to properly discuss, unlike estabilishing what the themes of a story are with evidence; bury the thought.

> You could argue that the important theme isn't family, but rather loyalty vs. justice in the form of Conquest and Birthright respectively, but that carries with it its own issues, chiefly that Revelation merely existing renders that theme completely moot.

Firstly, while justice is basically the reason Corrin chooses Hoshido, they choose Nohr due to a combination of not wanting to kill their own family and friends plus wanting absolute confirmation that Garon was responsible for the attack on the Hoshidan capital. If anything, i'd say that their reason for choosing Nohr is more out of hopefulness.

Secondly, Corrin's initial reason for picking a side isn't a theme of the game at all; It's Corrin's motivation for choosing their side in the first place, but they are never developed, estabilished or mentioned nearly as much as either of BR or CQ's actual themes (“trust” and “where justice lies” respectively), therefore it can't be considered a theme, or at least not a major one worth mentioning in this post.

Thirdly, why does Revelation render that moot? The Corrin from BR and CQ couldn't have known that refusing to take sides was the best option and, as such, chose either justice or hope; why does the fact that a better option existed render different thematic explorations null for a Corrin that didn't know that?

> There is a right choice to make here, but even if Anankos weren't a thing, the game is so heavily morally in favor of Hoshido that Corrin going back to Nohr *should* be portrayed as a strictly selfish and stupid choice, but the script goes out of its way to forgive the protagonist for everything they do.

I already debunked the “muh forgiveness” point in my Conquest responses more times than i care to count, so instead i'll ask you to explain what about Corrin's choice to go back to Nohr was stupid or selfish, especially when they had every reason to believe they'd be rewarded for their stellar performance, no real proof Garon wanted them dead, and a dream that they'd be able to stop the war from ever even happening by changing Nohr from the inside.

Also, how very tangible of you; “yeah, maybe the theme is something else, but they're still broken because the game doesn't portray a character as being solely stupid for following their heart instead of their head in one of the stories and a tiny minority of characters forgive them for their actions, therefore it's not about loyalty”. Not only is this a complete non-sequitur, not only does it blatantly not make any sense on it's own merits, this is very clearly based on your own personal feelings, not the story; why did you ever think it would be a good idea to try and claim that your posts are mostly based on what happens in the story at the start of these posts?

> It becomes less about loyalty and more about "Corrin can't make a wrong decision".

Going back to Nohr is the worst choice Corrin can make, but that doesn't mean they can't try to fix their mistakes or make something good out of the bad situation they put themselves in, which is the entire point of their monologue at the end. Not only is it still very much about loyalty/hope, it's also about “some choices are better than others, but that doesn't mean you can't at least try and make the best out of a bad situation even if you make a mistake”.

> I find the argument for this being a central theme interesting, because Fates is in no way more anti-war than any other entry in the series. It is astoundingly easy to include lines that the vast majority of players can agree with, like "killing is bad, peace is good", or "don't steal from poor old people", but the inclusion of such lines doesn't mean there's a deep theme there.

I don't see what it being deep or not has anything to do with it being a central theme of the game. I could write a story that had all the characters say “war is bad” every five paragraphs and never delve into the inticracies of that, and it'd still objectively be the central theme of the story. This is a massive non-sequitur.

Also, where did the “Fates is more anti-war than the other games” argument come from? You just proposed that it was a central theme of the game, not that it did so more or less than other games; is there some argument you had that i'm not privy to that would explain this bizzare leap in logic?

> Here is the problem: Conquest goes so far out of its way to forgive Corrin for their role in the war that they even get absolved from the guilt they're meant to feel by characters who've already died.

No they don't; Azura was the one to comfort Corrin and convince them to keep fighting after they had a mental breakdown after witnessing Ryoma kill himself, and Ryoma had already told them he trusted them in his dying moments. The Ryoma, Mikoto and Takumi pep talk was entirely centered on telling them to not give up now that the war's basically over, which would make their sacrifices all be in vain, along with upgrading the Yato so they could beat Takumi.

> We're told over and over again that Corrin is basically a messiah who will bring about a new era of peace, and Corrin keeps saying that they're doing this for everyone's sake. After sacrificing Hoshido and killing off the evil leadership, all problems are swept away.

Because they're going to change Nohr from the inside and bring everlasting peace by killing Garon and (accidentally) Anankos; the war was just a means to an end, not the end itself.

Besides, Hoshido would have lost the war no matter what Corrin did; they spared the nation a worse fate by at least minimizing the bloodshed. Saying that they sacrificed it is a gross misrepresentation of their motivation for joining the war.

> There's a peace treaty and Hinoka and Sakura still love Corrin and will work hard so that they can visit Hoshido whenever they like (Hinoka says she'll address "misconceptions about Nohrians").

Firstly, the Nohrians line is a fabrication from Treehouse; in the original jp, she just says she'll try to get her people to stop hating Corrin and Xander.

Secondly, prove that she succeeds at that. Someone trying to do something is not proof that they'll succeed at it, let alone something as difficult as trying to amenize tensions between victims of war and the people that conquered them; if anything, due to the tone of that conversation, it's pretty clear that Corrin's never going to be welcome in Hoshido again after what they did, which seems like a pretty big consequence to me.

Thirdly, i'm not so sure the peace treaty was by choice; Nohr just finished effortlessly bodying Hoshido while it was in it's own home turf. Hinoka probably just accepted the fact that trying to fight back at that point, or ever, given the strength of the Nohrian military, would be a terrible idea and just counted her blessings that Xander regretted the war and wanted to make amends.

> Basically, Conquest portrays the war as a necessary sacrifice for peace.

No it doesn't; Corrin joining the war was a last resort after their original plan to gain enough favor with Garon to change Nohr from the inside fell through, a plan that would have very likely worked and led to peace in a non-violent way were he not possessed and wanted nothing more than to watch the world burn. Even when they join, they don't say that the war is necessary, only that Nohr winning is a foregone conclusion and, as such, the only thing they can do to help Hoshido at this point is try and minimize the collateral damage of Nohr's victory by trying to spare as many Hoshidans as they can during the war, which they can only do if they're in a leadership position. This is a massive strawman.

> Am I saying that Fates is pro war? No. But I am saying that arguing there's a deep anti-war message is giving the game too much credit.

Again, who said anything about a central theme needing to be deep to be a central theme?

Also, Fates is lot more anti-war than you're trying to portray it as being, not that it's a major theme of the game anyway; both countries have pretty reasonable reasons for engaging in warfare (Nohr's land is infertile and they would all starve to death if they didn't do it, and Hoshido, being an isolationist paradise, doesn't care to try and understand the issues plaguing Nohr, leading to them having to defend themselves after Nohr finally goes after them directly after centuries of letting the country starve while they hoard all their plentiful resources for themselves), but the conflict is still portrayed as a terrible thing for all the people involved that's only solved by achieving a mutual understanding between the leaders of the two countries, allowing them to work together for the sake of a brighter future (which happens in all the routes).

It's still more subtext than actual text, therefore i wouldn't argue it's a major theme of the game, but there's more depth there than you're giving it credit for.

> If I were to choose a Fire Emblem game which really managed to sell the theme of war being bad it'd be Radiant Dawn, as it focuses on the plight of civilians and the losing side of a war through Daein, and demonstrates how keeping the peace even after a victory is difficult but worth the struggle through Crimea. Fates lacks any of these nuances.

Stop dickriding Radiant Dawn and talk about Fates. Those two games are so wildly different there's basically no point in comparing the two, even if this was a sensible comparison, which it isn't; if you're going to analyze a piece of fiction, do so by it's own merits, not by complaining that it's not another piece of fiction you like more when the first one probably doesn't even want to be like the second one.

> **Finding the truth**

> Like I've said, this is the argument I've seen the least, and I think there's a good reason for this. Why? Because Azura already knows everything worth knowing about the conflict. You've just got to pay for the right version and she'll let you in on the secret.

In truth, Corrin just needs to appeal to her emotionally and earn her trust in order to be let in on the secret, but yeah, “finding the truth” isn't a theme of the game in any way. Glad you could at least see it that way, unlike your other two examples.

> And really, how is this portrayed in Revelation? Corrin spends 10 chapters running around the entire continent flailing their arms around and that manages to convince their siblings to jump into an abyss with them.

Bullshit. They spend 10 chapters going around convincing people that there's more to worry about than their petty grievances, which convinces their siblings after they're given ample reason to believe in their claims and follow them; anyone can make any story in existence sound stupid when they reduce it down to such a basic level and remove so much of the nuance and context of said story.

> “Finding the truth" sounds good. It sounds deep, like you've grasped what Fates is *actually* about.

Yet again, explain why a central theme needs to be deep to be a central theme.

> It's also completely defeated by the payment model of the game so that even if it *were* expertly written, it would be seen as a cash grab to sell you the right answer as an extra DLC route which you can't buy on its own anyway.

Irrelevant; i don't give a fuck about how a piece of fiction was marketed or sold in relation to it's content, and neither would anyone actually interested in analyzing Fates purely based off it's writing. Just say that there's not enough evidence to support truth-finding being a major theme of the game and prove it with examples, of which there are plenty of, and leave it at that; there was no reason for this section to have gone on longer than it's first paragraph, and it's all the worse for trying to stretch it out like this.

> I don't think every game needs themes, or at least ones present in every facet of the story.

The vast majority of games with even the barest hint of a story have themes, and even some that don't have a story have themes explored through their gameplay.

> However, a game that does want to really convey something likely makes its message more obvious and prioritizes trying to make it resonate with the players. If players can barely even figure out what the themes of a game are, or if themes are sacrificed in favor of something more superficial, then they were never important to the game in the first place, and using themes to defend the game is giving it more credit than it's due.

It's not the game's fault that you're incapable of picking up on themes as on-the-nose as “whether or not to trust in your allies”, “what justice is”, or “staying true to yourself”, decided to make up new themes that the game never had any intention or promise of exploring, then called it badly-written for not doing what you wanted it to do.

Also, “theme didn't resonate with me/was hard for me to figure out/wasn't spelled out/wasn't important, therefore bad”; regretting your opening statement yet?

> Fire Emblem is also extremely character focused. The units have names and a unique portrait to make you care about them. Support conversations are there to deepen your understanding of the character and make you like them more. This doesn't mean Fire Emblem can't have themes, but given the way Fire Emblem is structured, the story and characters making sense takes priority.

Not necessarily; which aspects of a story take priority are entirely dependent on what the writer wants to do when writing said story. I fail to see the correlation between “characters in Fire Emblem are given depth” and “the most important thing for any FE story is the plot and characters”; this is another non-sequitur.

> I think this is an important point that is often ignored by people who value themes above all. Themes may convey something the writers want to tell you, but they are still a narrative tool.

Without themes, there wouldn't be much of a point to story-telling as a concept; it's extremely easy to argue that a thematic throughline is one of the most important aspects of a narrative, if only because of how heavily integrated it always is into a story.

> What I mean by this is, for example, the Nohrian siblings' loyalty to Garon. They seem to be loyal to someone we rarely see them interact with and never hear talk about positively. This could be boiled down to "he's their father!" which is what they say at the end of Conquest, but nothing has been done to earn that reaction; Garon is ostensibly the symbol of everything the Nohrian siblings hate about Nohr.

What the fuck does this have to do with themes? You're talking about characterization right now; the Nohrian siblings liking Garon isn't a theme, it's a fundamental aspect of their characters that drives the plot forward.

Also, Elise praises pre-game Garon as a kind and wise man in Birthright, there are multiple lines throughout all the routes of the Nohrian siblings excusing his increased temperament as his old age getting to his head, Camilla says that none of them can afford to disobey him if they want to live, and Xander tells Slime Garon to his face in Chapter 27 of Conquest that he's nothing like the man that raised him and his siblings and that he only obeyed for as long as he did because he held out hope that Garon could return to his senses one day and they could go back to being a happy family; the game beats you over the head with the fact that the Nohrian siblings are obeying him both out of sentimentality/wishful thinking and because they're not strong enough to stop him from doing what he wants. Your ignoring important story and character details to push an agenda of Fates being poorly-written isn't the game having bad writing, it's you being disingenuous.

> Leo executes two people for being blemishes on Nohr's "grand legacy" and earlier in the game talks about how often and skillfully he and the other Nohrian siblings undermine Garon's authority by limiting the damage caused by his evil orders.

The “grand legacy” line was added in the localization; JP Leo only says that it sickens him to think that someone like Zola was a part of Nohr's military, and tells Iago that he's a disgrace to Nohr, not it's legacy. Even going with the localized script, what's wrong with him thinking that Zola and Iago's cowardices are blemishes on Nohr's legacy, which would be winning battles via direct confrontations?

The undermining point is completely irrelevant; just because they disagree with Garon's actions doesn't mean they're going to dislike the man who raised them and who they have a bond with.

> I'm not saying they have to be thrilled over killing Garon, but I am saying that the game using "he's their father!" to excuse their lack of spine isn't just unearned, but also reflects poorly upon how the Nohrian siblings are characterized.

I'm incredibly curious about how much of a spine you would have if you were forced to work for an all-poweful tyrant under threat of death if you ever disobeyed even the slightest order, especially when said tyrant is someone you have a deep personal connection with.

Also, explain how it reflects poorly upon the Nohrian siblings' characterization.

> The game hasn't earned using the theme of family as an excuse,

It doesn't use the theme of family as an excuse, because it's not a theme of the game; it uses the characters' estabilished relationships and history with Garon as an excuse for why they remain loyal to him.

> and all of these theories about the mental state of the Nohrian siblings have practically zero basis in the main story.

Xander's cutscene confronting Slime Garon begs to differ, as does my rant a few paragraphs ago. Stop dismissing well-supported theories solely because they cause you to look stupid for being wrong about a game's story and characters.

> Simply put, themes shouldn't be something you use to defend a game's writing with, but rather something which enhances the overall experience. That takes skill and effort and requires prioritizing on the side of the developers.

Does it? What authority do you have on how game development works to make such a claim, especially game development as it pertains to adding themes to a story?

Also, explain why people shouldn't be allowed to care more about a theme than about the plot or characters.

> There is no hidden theme or subtle brilliance which turns everything on its head which only a handful of enlightened people can understand and appreciate; themes just weren't a priority for the developers and they didn't have the skills to pull off a thought-provoking narrative.

Funnily enough, this entire response is me proving that you fundamentally misunderstood what Fates' themes were, so yes, there unironically were hidden messages and brilliances in Fates that you simply weren’t enlightened enough to understand and appreciate. Hubris before a fall, i suppose.

#fire emblem fates #fire emblem #reddit #corrin fire emblem #story analysis #ryoma fire emblem #xander fire emblem #fe conquest #fe birthright #fe revelation #anankos #thematic analysis #character analysis #debunk #response

[ascalonianlightbringer]

In the quasi-conclusion to Gwen's "Order Neophyte" arc, I pointed out that the dialogue suggests it happens back to back with the next arc, but that one isn't actually unlocked for another ten levels. So I headcanon that the scene combines two different conversations that "actually" would happen a few days apart, given those ten levels.

And as a member of the Order of Whispers, Gwen would need to have some kind of cover for her activities and not just run missions 24/7. And she does have to sleep. I can see why the game doesn't go into that kind of minutia, but I imagine it's a thing.

So this post is not a personal story-with-amendments recap, but pure headcanon (ETA: that mostly slides into fic).

In my imagination, Halvora gruffly tells Gwen to get some rest, act normally in Divinity's Reach, and return to the Chantry in exactly three days at such and such an hour for their next mission. Gwen agrees, and she and Tybalt leave the Chantry.

She half-expects to be attacked on the spot again, but they're fine without Demmi's hunters on the loose. I imagine Tybalt stands a bit awkwardly and is like "well ... uh ... thanks. I'm sure it's been a bit rough."

Gwen feels she's handled herself with great aplomb, actually, given the multiple reasons she's had to be upset, and politely says, "Rough? I wouldn't say that, unless I missed something that went wrong." It's not hard to sound anxious as she thinks back. "Did it?"

Tybalt says something to the effect of "No! No! It was great, we did great."

She relaxes, but at that point, she's just going to wait him out to figure out what he's getting at.

"And I really appreciate you wanting to work with me again, especially with me being like this"—he glances at the left paw—"and, well, you know, who I am, and you being you. Can't be easy."

He's not looking at her, clearly uncomfortable about whatever it is he's trying to say, as if he'd like to avoid a difficult subject. Gwen doesn't really know anything about him that he hasn't told her, except the obvious basics, but he's got to know how little information she has on him. And she realizes: he doesn't mean "who I am" so much as "what I am."

A little flatly, she says, "You mean, because you're a Charr and I'm a human."

He gives an uneasy nod.

"An Ascalonian human," she goes on—not aggressively, but not backing down. "You knew that the whole time, didn't you?"

By silent assent, they start making a meandering way towards Lion's Arch, avoiding the most direct route.

"Yeah," he says. "Our mutual friends told me what I needed to know."

They fight off some random skale or something without needing to say much, and as Gwen is cleaning her sword, she says—less urgently than she feels— "I'm curious about what they thought you needed to know."

He hesitates.

She presses, "We're partners, aren't we? It helps to be upfront with each other, unless there's something you're not supposed to tell me. —Oh, I think this is the best place to cross."

They swim across the channel on the way to Lion's Arch, but continue their indirect route, keeping alert for threats or listeners. Gwen is starting to doubt he'll say anything more, until he abruptly says,

"Well, they said you're not a Separatist."

She actually laughs. "True. Separatists are fools and traitors."

She expected him to agree with her. He just seems more uncomfortable than ever.

"But," he goes on, "you don't like my kind."

She stops smiling.

"I didn't expect you to hide it so well, honestly. The Order's been watching you a long time. They said you grew up hungry and without shelter most of the time because your sire and your mother were fighting us in Ascalon. You had your—your sort of fahrar instead."

"My what?" she says politely, welcoming the tangent because she's actually unsettled by him just laying it out like that, even though she asked.

"It's a Charr thing," says Tybalt, and Gwen stiffens. "It's the people you grow up with, who become your warband if everything goes right. But sometimes it doesn't and—anyway. That's not the point. The point is, they said you had a sort of fahrar, growing up, but not enough of one to keep you safe. You hid a lot, but not that you hated the Charr and blamed us for your parents being gone."

"I don't blame you specifically," she says at last, and looks up at him. He seems as absurdly nonthreatening as ever, and it takes all her resolve to keep her hands from fidgeting, or clenching, or something. At last, she lifts her chin. "But they're right. I did blame your people."

She hesitates, not quite willing to risk 'And I still do' to his face. It would be foolish, jeopardizing their tentative partnership and the good will of a friendly superior. And she's torn between the stifled resentment she feels and a certain—well, it's hard to hate Tybalt. She can't, really. But she doesn't think he understands.

"I was surprised to meet someone else with my last name," she says carefully, "because half the family died in the Searing, and most of the rest were killed as they tried to escape the Charr. They'd just been merchants in Ashford before. They weren't soldiers, they weren't threats, and my family only became fighters because your people wouldn't stop hunting us."

She's astonished to hear her voice rise, to hear words freely tripping out of her mouth. With Tybalt, of all people!

"It was our home, too," Tybalt says quietly, "and that was a long time ago."

"It hadn't been your people's home for longer than that," she says, figuring that it doesn't make much difference, now. "And it wasn't such a long time ago that my mother died. She said she was going to bring us home—my sister and me. But we can't ever go back to Ashford, and Kryta will never truly welcome us. I only have a roof over my head in Divinity's Reach because my sister and I have been useful to the Seraph, but it's not home. Nowhere is. Deborah's noble enough not to resent it."

I'm not goes unspoken.

"Well, you could," he says. They can see the entrance to Lion's Arch, and slow down.

"I could what?" says Gwen, calming. She doesn't lose her temper much, and she doesn't like the feeling when she does. She takes a steadying breath, hoping she hasn't obliterated her entire future in the Order.

"Go to Ashford," Tybalt says. "There's a cease-fire now, after all. And we'll see that there's peace between our peoples—like it or not."

"I do want peace," she says earnestly. "It's just—" She straightens, deciding she's betrayed enough weakness for one day. "Anyway, a human mage alone in Ashford? That's just asking for trouble."

He hesitates, then says, "I have to go back to Lion's Arch. It's where I live these days. But I'm not exiled or anything. Technically. If you promise you won't—I don't know, murder anyone, I could take you to Ascalon. You've never actually been there, have you?"

Gwen stares at him. As lovable as he's been, she's still utterly shocked by this.

"No, I haven't," she says. "I always wanted to, but I needed the gate fee money for food, and..."

She's babbling again. Gwen snaps her mouth shut.

"I can pay it," he says. "Oh, you can murder Flame Legion, by the way. Magic 'em to death to your heart's content." He sounds nearly gleeful, in fact. "It'll just make them madder! But you'd better be sure you really want the peace treaty to go through—and that you don't mind fighting ghosts or Separatists."

The ghosts of her people, perhaps her own ancestors. The Separatists—her kin, however foolish and disloyal and vicious.

But seeing Ascalon, at last. It had grown back, people said: the kertch trees, the sunflowers. She could see them, touch them. She could set foot on the same land that her foremothers and forefathers had, back when they were prosperous tradesfolk instead of starving beggars on the streets or desperate soldiers in Ebonhawke.

"You don't have to go see it," he adds. "Maybe you'd rather pray or something."

Gwen actually laughs again.

"You can believe this," she says. "I don't hate you at all, Tybalt. I'd be glad to see Ashford with you."

He claps her on the shoulder with his good paw, and her knees nearly buckle.

"Good to hear," he says. "I don't hate you either, Gwen. Tomorrow it is. Meet you in the Trader's Forum?"

"I'll be there," says Gwen.

#t: greetings friend #h: everyone has a secret #long post #f: lightbringers of the order of whispers #c: gwen velazquez #c: tybalt leftpaw #espionage brotp!

[dragonnan]

Molly Hooper headcanon:

And this is something I’ve believed about her for years - NOT influenced by recent horrid policies.

I have never believed she wants children.  At all.  She is driven, much like Sherlock, to research and investigation and advancing in her chosen career.  She loves her independence and while she certainly craves love she is not broken by solitude.  She likes having fun.  She likes to go out to clubs to drink with friends.  Sherlock is aware of that since he brings it up in “The Sign of Three”. 

She enjoys casual dating but I think has uncertainty about actual marriage.  In spite of the Tom story-line - or possibly BECAUSE of it I feel it solidified that she really doesn’t want marriage.  Digging a bit deeper I’d argue that Tom was the one who had pushed for marriage and Molly, maybe feeling somewhat lost and adrift after everything that happened with Sherlock and Moriarty, agreed.  But what she had truly wanted was “normal” and “stable” and maybe seeing John and Mary going that same route had nudged her that direction. 

It’s clear that at least Mary had cultivated a friendship with Molly and I can imagine lots of chats about their significant others and Mary seems the type to have helped convince Molly that marriage would be tremendous fun and then “they could all do things together as married couples” (to clarify given this hellsite I’m not talking about “swinging”).  And Molly would want to be part of that.  The idea of being a member of that small group would have been almost addicting.  And maybe there was a part of her, too, that somehow possibly saw it as a way she could console John in his grief while dealing with her guilt of keeping such an enormous secret from him.  Most of that, of course, is speculation.  A lot of it is derived from the few interactions with Tom and/or discussing Tom.  She first openly talked about him (on screen) to Sherlock.  She talked about Tom’s dogs and family and how she met him through friends.  She talked about how normal he was (not a psychopath - which she later whispered that maybe she likes “psychopaths” - which, interestingly, reflects a later conversation Sherlock had with John regarding Mary).  She never said she loved him - nor did she look happy when Sherlock pointed out her ring.  There followed the actual first meeting of Tom at the flat and the obvious resemblance to Sherlock.  And then Molly had another conversation about Tom, again with Sherlock, where she emphasized a fantastic sex life.  I’m divided on how I interpret that.  On one hand it strongly reads as deliberately screwing with Sherlock because Molly knows he’d feel awkward and it was funny to mess with him.  I also can see it as overly asserting that she’s moved on and her life couldn’t be better.  It’s probably a little bit of both.  Then there’s the wedding and the fork stabbing and there HAS to be so much more going on that we don’t know.  One just doesn’t stab their loved one - no matter how awkward and foolish they may be acting.  Not only does that scene tell me how miserable Molly is with Tom but that Tom may not be the angel Molly initially presented.  I don’t read him as abusive.  I think he always was a gentleman and kind towards Molly.  However, I also think he had something else to his character - possibly an affair or gambling or money laundering - the fanfic brain goes wild on possibilities.  The last indication of Tom, of course, is in TLD when Sherlock was grateful Molly no longer wore her ring when she slapped him.  If I wanted to let my ADHD run wild and follow a rabbit trail I’d dig into how Sherlock went from kind and supportive about Tom to abrasive and sarcastic but that’s a contemplation for a different post lol.

The only family member Molly was close to/loved was her father.  She never mentions her mother so either her mother died or, as I tend to believe, ran out on her family when Molly was young.  And while there’s no mention one way or the other I also think Molly was an only child.  This is supported by Sherlock’s observations in TFP that Molly is all alone. 

I think Molly has so much kindness and love because she is awfully familiar with being without.  I think she’s incredibly strong but as susceptible as any given person to the allure of love which is how Moriarty was able to manipulate her.  I also think Molly had been aware of something that triggered a red flag with Jim well before Sherlock suggested he was gay.  If she had zero concerns about Jim she’d never have been so hotly defensive.  She may not have known WHAT was off about Jim but as perceptive as Molly is about Sherlock there’s zero chance she didn’t feel a chill in his presence that she very stubbornly tried to dismiss.  I think when she told Sherlock he “spoils” everything it wasn’t outrage talking but fear.  He’d exposed what she’d been trying so hard to deny.

I think Molly hated loving Sherlock, at times.  He hurt her repeatedly.  But her soul absorbed the pain and gave back support and kindness and love.  And this wasn’t some accidental thing, either.  Someone else once pointed out that love like that is deliberately and carefully cultivated.  So much more than that - though - is that it was self-sacrificial.  She never asked the same in return until Sherlock literally asked it of HER in TFP.  It actually frustrates me how many people get mad at Molly for that single moment of demanding respect after at least a decade of loving this man without any expectation of a return in kind.

Bonus:

I think Molly likely has seen a therapist a few times but overall would rather deal with her issues on her own.  The two times she saw someone were - after the death of her father - and after she broke things off with Moriarty.  I mean tell ME a person wouldn’t need therapy after realizing they’d been dating a violent murderer and criminal overlord.  

#Molly Hooper meta #Molly Hooper headcanon #Sherlock

[fma03envy]

How are NM Frisk & Chara naive?

Hi anon tysm for asking! I'm putting this all under the cut since it's a bit long

[Disclaimer here that these are all just headcanons and while I am citing canon to support my reasoning if you're going exclusively off what's presented in canon there's no way to prove/disprove any of this]

First, I'd like to say maybe naive wasn't quite the right word there, it's more that each is treating a different solution that could come to pass but that they have no guarantee of as if it's certain to happen. This is more of a what-else-can-I-even-do-to-cope-with-this strategy than actual naivety, but each being misguided makes them seem naive in the eyes of the other.

Now for Frisk and Chara the main problem to deal with obviously is. The fact that the player is possessing Frisk and making them kill people. Of course this is devastating to Frisk, who is allowed very little free will here, and instead is forced to harm innocent people and watch as the survivors (not unfairly) come to revile them. But it also is for Chara, bound to Frisk, as the narrator even more powerless to intervene (near the end ofc it become a bit of an unreliable narrator but that's the best it can do) yet obligated to describe as their subjects, family, and often in a way friends are killed. (Reminder here, we know for a fact that Chara can remember stuff after true resets but Frisk can't).

As I interpret it, Chara's "strategy" is mostly just to stew in righteous anger. I think I've sort of talked before about my headcanon for why Chara specifically instructed Asriel to go to their old village to kill people instead of just asking him to kill any random human- this sort of works off the same principle. In each case, sure, Chara's primary goal is to help the monsters of the underground, but also if you seriously wrong Chara or its friends (as the player does in this route), their mind absolutely will become overrun with fantasies of revenge.

Chara can't actually enact said fantasies for most of the route- mostly its powerless to do anything other than narrate increasingly passive aggressively. But it's canon that as our LOVE increases, Chara gets stronger/wakes up from death more, and of course at the end of the run Chara IS able to confront/kill/stop us. So I think up until that point Chara just copes with seeing Literally Everyone Die by waiting with anticipation for when they'll be able to stop you. You can't tell me that whole sequence at the end where Chara gets to play god wasn't practiced 30 million times in their head.

Sidenote: I think this ties into why Chara calls Undyne a hero, aside from the obvious. Righteous anger is kind of Undyne's whole thing in her battles. Undyne: *Kills the player over and over through the power of determination* Chara, who wants to do the same: Yes! Yes!!!!! (Chara, like Undyne, smiles as they confront us).

Now, Chara cares about Frisk. It's relevant here that I interpret Chara as 13 and Frisk as 11, so Chara kind of feels obligated to protect them. Chara sees a lot of Asriel in Frisk, and so in some ways interacts with Frisk as they would with Asriel. That is, saying that everything will be ok, that they'll put an end to the current problem, telling Frisk/Asriel enough about how they plan to do so that it will be reassuring.

The issue is, Frisk isn't Asriel. Just because Asriel would supposedly never doubt Chara, does not mean the same can be said of Frisk.

(To be clear, I'm not trying to say Frisk thinks Chara's actually maliciously lying or anything of the sort. I do think Frisk was suspicious of Chara at the beginning- given that both Chara and the player would appear to Frisk almost at the same time one can't fault them for that. But slowly Frisk started to trust Chara more. First it was just a "what other options do I have; what other friend can I make who I can't be forced to hurt" but by like mid-waterfall they started trusting Chara more genuinely).

For most of the run, Chara seems a benign yet powerless ghost to Frisk. So as Frisk knows that gaining LOVE has had no impact whatsoever on their own ability to resist the player, they highly doubt it will be of use in Chara's case. It's a logical conclusion to come to, even if it's not correct. (And Chara's strategy is in reality still marred by the fact that if the player spares even one background monster, Chara won't win. Its hope is based mainly on our whims).

Frisk doesn't tell Chara how naively optimistic they find Chara's promises of protection. There isn't exactly much happiness to be found in this timeline, so if Chara likes seething in sadistic revenge daydreams, who are they to deprive it of that, even if the likelihood of Chara's dreams coming true is questionable. Instead, Frisk voices unwavering faith in Chara, not wanting to worry it. This positive attitude (relatively positive at least, considering the circumstances) in turn sufficiently convinces Chara that Frisk is the innocently oblivious one, and makes it want to protect/help them all the moreso.

As for Frisk's actual strategy, it's mainly just to try to get out of the underground as fast as possible. The player had no hold on them before falling down, so it'd stand to reason that if they leave the underground we will no longer be able to control them. (Of course this is a long shot, but it's one that presents Frisk with a more tangible illusion of power). This is why in NM they walk towards battles- to try to get through them faster.

This "let's just get this over with" view also contributes to how Frisk copes in the meanwhile. Just as Chara's seeming invincibility, tied to Frisk's own soul, makes Frisk feel safe befriending them, Frisk tries to keep everyone else at arms length, not wanting to get attached to anyone they may be forced to kill. Obviously, Frisk ignoring Papyrus' puzzles is the clearest example of this. They basically just try to shut out their emotions as much as possible. (With inconsistent success, one must assume, given Sans being able to tell how many times he's fought Frisk from their expression).

(Important note here: Fundamentally, both plans amount to nothing. Neither can stop the player from just resetting the game and doing it all again. With Chara's you have to make a deal with them first but like. Who cares that means nothing. Everyone in this game is utterly at our mercy).

So yeah that's my interpretation

#ty for listening to me rant about Undertale lore I made up #I hope I did an at least ok job putting this into words; I care so much abt both these kids #asks #utdr #Frisk #Chara #headcanons analysis au ideas and such