Tumgik
#i think euden really likes to learn new things
valeriefauxnom · 1 month
Text
Interesting(?) Corollary on Aroarce!Euden
So, I've kinda already dug up the more obvious scenes that hint that Euden seemed to be Aroace (as seen here if you missed it).
But as I was spamming Dragalia to my friend today, I found another thing that I think is an interesting addition to this previous evidence.
Specifically, Orion's stories. His base form doesn't exactly give out any flags, aside from his continuing absolute blind spot re. romance...
Tumblr media
...But his Valentine's alt has an interesting line in it indeed.
The exchange is as follows:
Tumblr media
Again, pretty innocent. Euden thinks he's 'too young' essentially, to be worrying about that, etc. Fair enough.
But this concept seems to be echoed again all the way later in Summer Mym's story.
Tumblr media
I'll stress the 'not mature enough to understand what it means to be in love' part for this one.
Here's where it gets hypothetical, but to me, it almost comes across as if Euden, growing up, has learned to associate 'romantic love' with 'maturity' in some fashion. It might stand to reason: kids are often told that, when they see couples behaving certain ways that are weird to them, etc, 'you'll understand when you're older/an adult/when you find that special someone/etc.' So child!Euden might have had a similar moment or three, and associated that romantic love=maturity.
The mere omnipresence of romance as a major theme in society probably doesn't help to dissuade the notion that it's the 'normal' state in the world, and that he is the weird one as he grew up to never having that spark of 'oh now I get romantic love'. Combined with the aforementioned connection he's made, Euden might believe that since he still doesn't feel it, it means he's not mature/too young.
Combined with his other comments over the years like flat-out stating to Naveed he doesn't understand the kind of love he's talking about (romantic) to Malora's story where he says "(romantic love/'capturing someone's affections') [is] just not the kind of thing [he] think about", Euden is consistent on the notion that he just flat out doesn't understand what people mean and feel regarding romance and the corresponding love.
At the very most, he can echo some of the trope sentiments people commonly say word-for-word in media, but even that kinda reinforces that he can at best throw out the most common tropes when trying to come up with what 'romantic love' is: this fanciful 'love at first sight' devotion where one puts absolutely everything about their partners ahead of anything else.
Tumblr media
Even then, he doesn't mean a word of it and doesn't really understand why Elisanne is acting all weird about it, because he understands it was an act, she knows that, why would anyone react to having that spoke to them? He was just mindlessly repeating tropes from romance books to upset a dumb fiend. At most, he could see why it was uncomfortable - because it is uncomfortable having that kind of stuff professed to you when you don't like someone, which Euden would perceive Elly as feeling (Heck, he doesn't even really know Elisanne is big into romance novels, thinking 'it's not like her'). In fact, he more bases this comment on making her uncomfortable from a religious sense with the whole 'undying love of Ilia' thing she's forsworn above all else.
Tumblr media
So yeah. Valentine's Orion provided an interesting prequel to Summer Mym's story that I felt added a new little layer of elaboration about what Euden thinks of love. All in all, it's surprising just how consistent they were in the messaging some of Euden's thoughts regarding romantic love and its associates.
Bonus round:
Also, apparently the dev team was being funny, and decided to add a running joke for Orion's anniversary lines that Euden just immediately starts walking away and ignoring him whenever he starts waxing poetic about love:
Tumblr media
Which, as my friend said, "Honestly what a mood for Euden to walk away/zone out when it comes to things he doesn't experience, aka romance. If he doesn't know what it's like then it's hard to focus or even relate"
The idea of Euden just getting a glaze over his eyes and meandering off whenever somebody starts talking like this is a funny one, though!
8 notes · View notes
Photo
Tumblr media
@ the anon who @ me because I was upset everyone forgot everything.
Yes, I do want them to remember. Honestly, their bonds that they had before the new world mean so much more since they worked hard to keep it in the first place. But now that bond is just all gone? It feels so empty unsatisfactory to me.
With the Zethia thing, I'd personally want to remember those bad experiences so I can learn from them and grow stronger. But I also don't know if that's what I'd actually want if I was Zethia as I'm just basing my opinion on traumatic past experiences I had. Back then I did wish I could forget everything, but now that I'm stronger and made progress and had good experiences because of those traumatic experiences, I no longer wished to forget those things and accepted they are a part of me. There are some things I think about like how I'd be like if those bad things never happened to me and where I would be now if they didn't happen, but then I think about the people I wouldn't have ever met if and all the good things that came from those bad experiences that I would've never had experienced if I didn't have those bad experiences to begin with. All in all, that's just my opinion though and I'm not Zethia but that's what I would've personally wanted.
And yeah, I know Midgard remembers... but think about it, once he dies, no one will ever remember what happened before. That's just forgotten forever. And not only that, since he's the ONLY one that remembers, he is literally like Zhongli from Genshin Impact. "Osmanthus wine tastes the same as I remember, but where are those who share the memory?" Even if he does meet them all again, he literally can't talk about the experience because no one would believe him. Poor Midgard is all alone with these old memories. 
 However, I do agree that your points are completely valid though. Especially the Euden thing. Looking at it again, if they all didn't get their memories erased, some of the bad guys like Volk and Beren wouldn't have gotten a happy ending. And some of the dead ones like Mordecai and Gatov's kingdom wouldn't come back. It doesn't show in the main story, but we can assume everywhere else is also fine as well. Saiga's wife is alive, and he didn't kill his master. Aldred lives a normal happy family life with his sister and parents. Hawk didn't have to kill his friends. Maybe Xander and Nefaria get their kingdoms back too. Leviathan doesn't accidentally kill a lot of people before meeting Euden. Epimetheus doesn't get abandoned. Etc etc.
My opinion now is that some of the really close ones should've been allowed to keep their memories and know the truth of what happened before the "good times." Like a secret between them and only them. That would've been a nicer ending.
In response to this confession
8 notes · View notes
ranzal · 2 years
Text
some of my favourite dragalia characters (Long post teehee)
ranzal: he's hot and i am a hoe for his character archetype
euden: i'm so glad they made him a real character because so many gacha games just make their main character a no one character but euden is a real, fully fleshed out character with flaws that have EXTREMELY DAMAGING consequences that we get to see a lot. for the other arc, he is so, so obsessed with saving zethia that he is fully willing to sacrifice himself and everyone else if it means she can live, and this ties into zena's struggle. in almost every single world, he does this. he lets the other possess him so that zethia is released, and then the other exploits the pacts that he has forged with the dragons, and kills euden's allies and ends the world. and even in the main story's timeline, he is Literally still about to do this, even aware of the fact that he did this a million, million times and it ended the same way every single time. and then even though he is stopped by beren's interference, there are still consequences, because all of his allies were there to watch him almost throw everything away and condemn them all to death. like Holy fuck dude. SO fascinating
zena: she is SO interesting her struggle with her own identity in a world that isn't her own and her bonds with everyone even knowing that it might not even bear fruit for saving her own was genuinely so well written. also the conclusion of her arc, with her finally returning to her own world to kill her brother of her world, was so good, and the art for it (blows up)
laxi: i'm weak to android characters learning to be human
elisanne: i LOVE her arc with just being a blind follower of the church to turning away from the church's doctrine because of her faith in euden and new alberia's cause. her becoming the grand paladyn and getting a fucking gala alt just to almost immediately say "Actually FUCK being the grand paladyn all my homies HATE the church" is so funny
harle: Fucked up little man. he's a komaeda/kokichi/dazai sort of archetype and he's so interesting. he will do absolutely anything to achieve his goals and does not give a fuck about who he has to kill to get it done, even if it is another world's version of him. and his already twisted personality being utilized by loki so that loki could take his place in order to execute his own plans is literally so fascinating. even harle's closest allies didn't find it fully unbelievable that he'd betray alberia to serve dyrenell. also harle is trying to implement socialism do i REALLY have to say anything else.
shingen: he's a bit of a hottie. thank you dragalia lost for giving us shingen in the last ever new years event before saying "Bye" and ALSO making him a great character and also have a great kit
chelle: very, very interesting character. constantly looking for ways to exploit a situation, even if it's at the detriment of her own brother. a true girlboss
basileus: i'm weak to characters who do terrible things on their lonesome in the pursuit of their ideals even while understanding that they are only causing misery but can't possibly stop because if they did, then how could they ever live with the choices they made and the lives they ruined. like fuck dude go off
midgardsormr: a true homie. i am so glad that he was there with euden in the conclusion like fuck dude. their little conversation as they alone approach xenos's domain, looking back on the start of their journey gave me such goosebumps like MAN!!!
noelle: i love a good socially awkward and highly earnest character and she's so endearing
zhu bajie: hottie AND a wifeguy!! he's so great i wish he showed up in more stories
zethia: i don't really have as much to say about zethia as i do about zena, but i do still think zethia was a very interesting character. i am so glad that they gave her more agency, and her choosing to go with nedrick was SO interesting. just as she is freed from the other, she is stolen away by nedrick, but then as euden finally meets her again as she is with nedrick, she chooses to go with nedrick. like fuck dude that's so interesting. i definitely still feel like the end of the story kind of still had too much of her character revolve around euden, but she was still pretty good
ilia: GIRLBOSS i love how the story was like Ilia, the goddess, founded the church after quelling the threat of the Other and saving the world. and then you meet her and she's just like FUCK OFF MOM!!! IM TRYING TO DO SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS!!!!! HI MOM!!!! LOOK AT MY BOYFRIEND I JUST PULLED HIM OUT OF THE SPACE BETWEEN WORLDS and meene's just like Please. Please what the fuck are you doing. also her and mordecai are so cute. speaking of which
mordecai: CUTE i love him. stupid little curious man who could do no wrong paired with stupid and insanely intelligent scientist. like this is phenomenal cygames you are onto something here. also him accidentally creating an insanely powerful being capable of destroying the world just because he thinks his girlfriend died is iconic. slay
nedrick: EXTREMELY GOOD i love his entire character concept. euden, the false prince, and then nedrick, the true prince... it was so great watching him slowly accept the power of bonds and stop relying solely on his own power from his wyrmpact with bahamut like God yes good shit. also his gala art being a flipped, dark version of euden is genuinely fucking awesome
alex: i love redeemed assassin characters and her showdown with leonidas was awesome. also she is slaying with the outfits that give that ambiguous gender swag they should've made her pronouns they/them
audric: i am once again apologising for my liking of Punished-type characters. i love how he is so fucking edgy he's awesome. also fractured futures is still easily one of the best events in the game
gozu tenno: I am so weak to big men with scary faces who are actually very gentle it's not even funny. call me gay if you must but he's so my type that it's genuinely pathetic
bonus characters that i think are cool and/or cute that i don't have enough to say about to warrant anything bigger: mitsuba, waike, irfan, taro, marty, sophie, curran, gauld, catherine, eugene, uriel, maritimus, jeanne d'arc, vodyanoy, zodiark, michael
1 note · View note
mxdotpng · 3 years
Note
use this space to give more p5 and dl gang headcanons pretty pls
I HAVE SO MANY im so glad its not just me thats interested i could talk abt them for hours
today all i've been thinking about is akira and haru introducing them to minecraft. i think luca and ranzal would be good at fighting monsters but if they even HEAR a zombie when theyre mining they run for the hills. those 2 live in dirt huts and have full diamond gear. cleo and elly have built a full scale halidom. euden has been lost since he started the game. akira told him to use his coordinates and he mixed x and y up twice, got even More lost, and then somehow ended up in a cave system.
i think haru and euden would be friends bc theyre both from important families and have a legacy to live up to + were sheltered so long they dont know what Normal people do. euden knows what fun is yeah but he doesnt. know how to do it. meanwhile haru can make a lot out of any situation but she doesnt know what normal kids her age do.
on the other hand yusuke and cleo would Not like each other, which is funny bc they have similar mannerisms and speech patterns. yusuke's. Personality. would rub off on her the wrong way (all i can think abt is her going "im hundreds of years older than you!" and yusuke saying, as yusuke does, "ah, that makes quite a bit of sense considering your demeanor.")
i want more ann and elly i want more ann and elly so bad i loved their character story so much i just want them to be best of friends and go on girls nights. please. elly and alex go on a double date with ann and shiho. please. do you know how funny it is to put a paladyn, an ex assassin, a model, and an ex volleyball player in the same room? so much potential
i ALSO want luca and ryuji to be put into the same room bc they would drive mona CRAZY. their conversations would be so funny. "yeah so he was like, kinda off-putting. didnt say much. was... a little bit of an airhead?" "yeah. that sounds like marth fire emblem." "i dont think thats his surname, dude" "youre wrong ❤"
AND RANZAL! ranzal my beloved. i dont actually know his age but to me he looks like he's in his mid 20s so hed see this group of delinquent teenagers and silently wonders when he was put up on babysitting duty. lowen and the younger kids are one thing but a bunch of 18 year olds? but then he ends up in sojiro's cafe talking with futaba about the differences in foods from their worlds and he's fine again. this is funnier if theyre in the halidom bc futaba would be all over the place.
also more akira and euden content bc i love they. euden's learning more abt their world (he Specifically finds the differences in pop culture and life science Very interesting) and while he's learning about their marine life akira and mona decide to take him to the aquarium and euden immediately goes !!! there are FISH !!! on LAND !!!!!! he really likes petting the manta rays
#me: is it funnier if theyre dragged into tokyo or is it funnier the otherway around#me: yes ❤#i usually only think abt euden ending up in shibuya bc ❤ and thats that thats the reason#but i think both groups fully meeting each other is so funny. theres so much potential#these are the exact same but two entirely different groups meeting together#elly sighing frustratedly for the 7th time in one conversation bc of ryuji alone: this :) is fine :)#mona: i thought we came to an agreement last time! youre supposed to listen to me and i said STOP THAT#luca putting ribbons all over him: that was when we were in danger and also youre a cat. what will you do to stop me.#mona: i will remember this.#:") luca and ann fixing up each others hair#luca and cleo ending up in shibuya is so funny they have to deal with human ears#euden: okay.... headcount... is everyone here? anyone hurt?#luca and cleo: MY EARS ARE GONE????????#dl#.text#i think euden really likes to learn new things#which is why a lot of stuff i talk abt stems from him learning stuff abt their world#he would LOVE the aquarium#also back to ann and luca. luca has the LONGEST hair she's ever seen and has the time of her LIFE braiding it.#i think this stuff is like second nature to luca bc of sarisse so he's like having a rant on smth and he's only half paying attention to -#- ann's hair but it ends up so pretty she immediately calls shiho for a surprise date.#sojiro is sitting in the cafe with 14 other people there. only 6 of which being actual adults (and just Barely in like 3 of those cases)#and he's wondering when it had come to this. phantom thieves. metaverse. talking cats. other worlds. dragons.#he takes a sip of his coffee while mona tries to claw luca's face off. akira is recording it in the background. ranzal is near sobbing -#- from laughing. this is normal.#I FORGOT ABT MAKOTO but she would be constantly asking questions abt alberia and taking notes but its abt -#- THE WEIRDEST SHIT. like. what greetings are and arent respectful? what breakfast foods do you eat? do you have giraffes.#(they dont have giraffes. they struggle to wrap their heads around the concept of giraffes)#IM SO SORRY NOTTE IM OUT OF TAGS#ill post abt notte later i promise i promise. im a fake fan i forgot abt notte 😔😔😔
4 notes · View notes
zephyr-paladyn · 2 years
Text
masculaxi character analysis/appreciation
it's been over a year since gala masculaxi's release and i'm still not over it
Tumblr media
(heavy dragalia lost spoilers ahead)
(gala mascula does not exist btw) i just love how mascula and laxi are designed as two parts of a whole, basically one half of the same ideal/same person. you can't have one without the other. if you heavily favor one over the other i dont trust you... only half joking. when laxi went berserk and mascula had to save her by giving her his heart in their debut ch11, that was just... such a moment... it shows them at their most "separate" (laxi in berserk/annihilation mode, and mascula stopping at nothing to disengage combat.) which sets us up for their development as two hearts in one body. in masculaxi (flame blade)'s story, they're still at odds but they begin to learn to cooperate in the same body, and this is the beginning of their "convergence." in ch14 of the main story is when we see the beginnings of eden mode. when all the androids sacrifice themselves for euden and co to advance, mascula realizes it his empathetic heart that influenced them and led them to their painful deaths. he then shuts down his ego circuit out of guilt. when the team is in a tight spot, and only masculaxi can save the day (since their body is unaffected due to the miasma only affecting organic lifeforms,) laxi goes into their heart to search for mascula and plead him to help her. all this time, laxi had envied mascula's heart for being "more human," but realized that maestro had written the fear of death in all of the android's hearts, and as such, laxi understood the weight of their yearning for peace, with the act of their self-sacrifice for euden. (later we do learn with gala masculaxi that mascula had been influencing laxi more. here we see laxi's influence on mascula to urge him to fight.) laxi gets mascula out of the gay baby jail zone, releases her limiters, and activates annihilation mode hastily. mascula then guides her attacks to the correct targets, which is the first instance we see of mascula engaging in any sort of fighting. in this state of laxi's annihilation mode combined with mascula's guided assault, a new mode beyond annihilation mode becomes available to them: eden mode, when their hearts become one. this mode concentrates all the mana around them inside their body's mana kiln, and gives them even more power. mascula still dislikes fighting and does not want to do it as much, but has a newfound conviction and will not run away when he is needed. an interesting line here is mascula saying this: ▷It's as if he knew our hearts would one day become one. But how...?◁ indicating that from the start, they were truly two halves of a whole ideal. shortly after the release of ch14, we get the release of the flame dagger gala masculaxi unit, which contains eden mode in their gameplay, and expands upon the "two hearts acting as one" deal they have going on. laxi, mascula, and luca head to the ruins of maestro's lab in order to gain more clues on how eden mode works. laxi equips a new armament meant to accommodate eden mode (and demands praise of how good she looks, lol. also laxi is much more snarky in this story which is a treat. she's so funny. but also this shows mascula's emotional influence on her!!!!!) laxi learns of how eden mode works, and essentially it's a release of all limiters and rerouting all circuits to their internal mana kiln, but elimination protocol is activated automatically as well which does not make any distinction between friend and foe. it enhances laxi's combat ability, but mascula has to take care of elimination protocol since he has access and control of it. hence, in eden mode, laxi goes all out in attacking, while mascula controls the body's movements and targets. however this is only possible if their hearts act as one. the two are attacked by dyrenell forces and activate eden mode against them, but mascula temporarily loses the will to fight in the middle of the battle, destabilizing and deactivating eden mode. luca is captured and a villager shields them from an oncoming attack, believing in mascula's peaceful ideals. laxi engages tactical retreat and they escape. they engage in a plan to save luca but are attacked by imperials again. they try to go into eden mode but mascula once again disengages eden mode. mascula tells laxi of his regrets and frustrations that he keeps holding her back, but laxi tells him that she found herself synchronizing with him. with the villager (that mascula had saved before and in turn protected masculaxi earlier,) laxi found the value in mercy for enemies. by having laxi bend towards mascula's will, they're able to take on the imperials who chased after them with a truly synchronized eden mode. ▷Laxi, give me the strength to fight!◁ Granted. Now give me the kindness required to temper my actions. ▷Heh. Take all you need!◁ their system strain falls, and they're able to defeat the imperials. laxi, mascula, luca, and euden talk together after all is done. laxi takes interest in a cat, while mascula teaches her how to interact with it. Euden: Laxi and Mascula say the maestro who made them was a peace-loving man, but... Luca: No, I getcha. Why would some peacenik give something THIS much power? ch14 and their gala story really shows how the two embodied different sides of the same ideal -- "fighting for peace," and how they begin to converge upon that ideal. initially laxi only focused on "fighting" and mascula only focused on "peace," but A compassionate heart. ▷The courage to fight.◁ -Eden Mode, activate!- their character development after this is a bit wonky at times because it sets up for gala mascula who is really poorly written and doesn't necessarily align with the ideals established within ch14 and gala masculaxi, or even the development directly before it either. with ageless artifice and ch18 (when the team first enters the faerie kingdom and gets lost,) we get teasers of mascula with his own body. in ageless artifice, eirene steals mascula's body and intends to use it against masculaxi, but mascula takes control of his body and proclaims that his body isn't necessarily him, but what IS him is his resolve to fight for peace alongside his friends. (stays in line with gala masculaxi, right?) in ch18 we also see mascula having a "nightmare/illusion" in which he gains his body back but at the cost of laxi going berserk once more, showing that they truly cannot function at their "fullest ideal" without each other in the same body. laxi asks mascula if he wants his own body back, and mascula says he sometimes misses it but overall he wants to continue fighting with her the way they are. this is echoed in ch19, take this exchange for example: Mascula, I know you were thinking of your own body while lost in the mountain's illusions. You gave up your body to save me, and I owe you an apology for that. ▷Don't apologize—I wanted to do it. Plus, being with you makes me happy.◁ I want to see a peaceful world just as we are in this body now—together. ▷I feel the exact same way.◁ ▷No more hesitation. You and I are going to fight with Maestro as a team.◁ And together... ▷...we will bring peace.◁ reaffirming their ideals together and keeping in line with their development, right? mascula doesn't WANT his own body back. he wants to keep fighting with laxi, that's THE WHOLE POINT OF THEIR CHARACTERS. which does not make sense when we get the remote control BS IN THE SAME CHAPTER??? (teased from the ending of ageless artifice with chelle) and mascula has his own body again as a remote control system. now the portrayal in the main story wasn't AS bad but... the real problem comes to gala mascula as an adventurer with his stories and voice lines. this "mascula" proclaims of how much he loves/misses his body and how he "doesn't need laxi dragging him around anymore." like sure he sometimes feels being in laxi's body with her is bothersome but overall, at his heart, he wouldn't really say something like that??? mascula your voice lines are so contradictory to what just happened in the main story and what you said in ageless artifice what happened!!!!!!! his adventurer story lacks the cooperative laxi-mascula dynamic we knew and loved, and instead pushes mascula front and center to try to push him to do things himself. we didn't really need mascula getting his own body back anyways, but you COULD'VE AT LEAST written it so that they have more emphasis on cooperation with each other?? god im sorry i just. AUGH he's so OBVIOUSLY hastily pushed into their development arc and he loses his characterization. it's obvious gala mascula wasn't intended to be a thing in the initial plan for masculaxi... i am not forgiving every single one of you who sent in feedback for playable mascula. once again only half joking... maybe only a quarter joking. 1/8ths joking. radioactive decay graph joking. (also just a tiny nitpick: you can apparently run gala mascula and laxi/gala laxi on the same team. lore compliancy who? eden mode can't be activated while the remote control unit is active. but whatever) though another interesting plot point is brought up in his story though? maestro's origins, the writing of "seek peace" on mascula and laxi's bodies being in a language that only the sky city ark people would know.. with such an elaborate plan for such a complex android duo, and everything else mysterious about this man, just who is he? his master plan of masculaxi was really amazing to see come to fruition... maestro fought on the side of dyrenell, against dragons -- against elysium you could say. although ex machina seeks the destruction of terrestrial life because they "allied with the dragons" (a misconception,) on the contrary maybe maestro aimed to create an ultimate weapon for terrestrials to defend themselves against the dragons. however this weapon had to also understand the value of what it was fighting for -- learning for itself how to go about "fighting for peace." thus, the creation of the twins mascula and laxi; two halves of a whole. by having a compassionate and adaptable heart, they can change with the times, understand the people around them, and decide on their own what the best course of action is in various situations. i love love LOVE masculaxi and how they're written!! (for the most part.) two of my faves in the game and i love them and their characterization so much, i just wish more people could see the intricacies of their relationship and how they're literally like. 1/2 of the same thing. it's such a beautifully written dynamic and development, and i want others to appreciate it too.
Tumblr media
a little bonus, in this character art, you can see the "star tetrahedron" shapes. in sacred geometry symbolism, the "star tetrahedron" is the sixth shape enclosed within "metatron's cube." these shapes, and this cube, are said to maintain the balance of the world itself and its flows/processes. as for the "star tetrahedron" itself, it represents duality: physical body and spiritual self; male and female; and heaven and earth. this ties into mascula and laxi's characters: mascula controlling the "mind" in eden mode while laxi focuses on the attacking "body;" and mascula and laxi being of different genders. as for "heaven" and "earth," this could represent maestro coming from the sky city ark, and masculaxi being technology intended to aid humans. alternatively for "heaven" and "earth," the fact that the star tetrahedron is enclosed within "metatron's cube" may be a pointer to metatron in-universe. the archangels all have white hair, a trait shared by masculaxi. additionally, sandalphon is somewhat mechanical/technological herself. masculaxi being man-made (of the earth,) versus their potential connection to the angels (of the heavens.)
8 notes · View notes
astarion · 4 years
Text
I have gone through chapter 15 in Dragalia Lost and the metaphorical hammer has finally dropped! (Chapter 15 spoilers ahead):
First, a little correction from my previous post. I realized I had mixed up Ciella with Cibella. Ciella’s the water Agito, a church heretic who wants to kill all bonds, while Cibella’s a starting adventurer character, a church priestess who wants to avenge the children of an orphanage she ran that got destroyed by fiends. Two drastically different characters, but only 1 letter of difference between the names... kinda surprised that I can’t think of any others in this game this applies to yet. But now, on to the main impressions and thoughts on the chapter, with spoilers!
It feels like it’s been teased for so long now but it finally happened, Euden finally learns the secret that he has been a fake royal the entire time. And, as I had been thinking would be the case, the only one who really takes it hard is Euden himself.
Still, even when he fell into despair, he didn’t just immediately give up like other characters probably would have. Instead, he fell back onto the one constant in his life: Zethia, and doubled down. It’s been shown, to a worrying degree now, that he’d give up everything for her, and in this case he’s reduced to blind rage and desperation in the face of Nedrick’s power.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
And when brute force fails him, he even lashes out at at his friends for retreating and leaving Zethia behind when there’s no other choice. And Euden doesn’t swear much, so even how he says a simple hell to Notte feels like a big deal, coming from him.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Still, he’s able to be talked down soon enough, realizes what a jerk he’s being, and with a good pep talk, while he is certainly not okay (and does let his team know this thankfully,) he is able to put himself together enough to start taking that next step with his friends at his side, ending the chapter on at least a semi-positive note. The next chapter seems to be promising a meetup with Leonidas so we may find out what it was Aurelius wanted him to know and get that next piece of the puzzle soon. And again, this likely is new information that we don’t already know. I think we’ve gone as far as we can with the documents that have been plaguing us for so many interludes now.
And speaking of which... that Nedrick is one slick, slippery serpent for getting away with that tome/seal trick. I’m not doubting the seal’s authenticity and that he got it to glow, but I am saying this doesn’t prove anything about his lineage. Why? Because he dodged the most important question about the 7th scion that only the real one could answer: How is he still alive?
Tumblr media
Instead of addressing Cleo’s critical point, Nedrick uses the activation of the seal as his proof. Making the association fallacy of, “Since the seal reacts for me and not your precious Prince, who else could I be but the 7th scion?”
Tumblr media
Nedrick certainly talks big throwing around the term “incontrovertible proof”, but he’s talking just like an Ace Attorney culprit whose claims are built upon a throne of lies. And my thoughts in how he’s getting away with it involve exactly how the seal is activated: royal blood!
This could mean that he is royalty, as he claims, but what if any royal blood just has to be present on whoever holds the book? What if just having some royal blood smeared on the holder’s hands, or drinking it like some kind of vampire, is enough to trick the seal into working, like getting around a biometric lock? If so, Nedrick could’ve gotten all the blood he needed to pull this off while he was beating down Valyx earlier at the start of this chapter. Nedrick certainly seemed assured that the seal would’ve worked for Valyx even in his injured state when he mocked Euden after it didn’t work for him. I’m thinking that’s exactly how he pulled it off, just to make a statement and to crush Euden’s spirit.
Though in the end, even if I’m holding fast to my own theory on Nedrick, just as it doesn’t truly matter in the grand scheme of things that Euden isn’t royalty (he can still make dragonpacts and shapeshift and his friends have his back no matter what,) it also doesn’t matter if Nedrick is a faker or not. Now that he’s stolen Zethia, shaken Euden’s faith, and turned his attention to outside the country, he doesn’t need to uphold the ruse any further as he’s gotten all he needs from Alberia. I suppose the Agito could react horribly if they learn their leader’s a liar, but given their insane worldviews and that he is the source of their powers they probably wouldn’t care either if it meant they could still wreak all the havoc they desire.
Regardless, we also finally have a glimpse of Nedrick’s plan. It involves Zethia, and one of the Shards holding the evils of the world at bay. And while Nedrick did mention how there are other factions scheming right now including the Phares/Beren duo and the Illian Church, it’s sounding like he’s picking right back up where Morsayati left off if he’s messing with a holy shard. Oddly enough, he didn’t mention Harle in that list of schemers, which means to me that either Harle’s helping him out a bit (which would explain how the Agito knew where to find the tome, since Harle had originally taken it from the palace in the first place, and might’ve even handed it to the church to jumpstart their supposed schemes too), or he’s gone unnoticed/is considered irrelevant. Either way, it means to me that the likelihood that Harle is continuing to play everyone for saps as he steadily creeps closer toward his own ambitions is getting higher and higher with every update.
I’m looking forward to seeing how the game will continue to grow. The plot really could go anywhere from a point like this, and not just in the main story. Even if they don’t cross into the main plot, each new adventurer and event have tons of things going on with all the variety in their individual stories, as well as the longer overarching ones like the political intrigues of the Hinomoto clans, the Qilin relics, the Eldritch Horror gang (Heinwald, Curran, Lathna, et al.), the nefarious Syndicate, possibly reformed fiends eventually (like Mei Hou Wang and Barbary), the collab events... the possibilities feel endless! With the second anniversary coming up at the end of September I’m sure they’ve got some big plans brewing. And given how last year’s anniversary event turned out, I can’t wait to see what comes next!
13 notes · View notes
valeriefauxnom · 6 months
Text
Leonidas may seem like a brute sometimes, always charging forward in pursuit of his ideals, but he's actually pretty sneaky and cunning. Take this from him here:
Tumblr media
"Three great powers", he says. New Alberia is Euden's, under Leonidas' proxy rule, Dyrenell is Emile's and not a threat, but by claiming that the Kingdom of Alberia is a power by itself, he's implying that he's declared Valkaheim the new capital of the old Alberia. So technically Leonidas did 'ascend' a throne instead of leaving the titles of King and Emperor for his youngest siblings.
It makes sense: Euden comments early in the game Leonidas commands one of the largest armies in South Grastea, and his was only a part of Alberia's forces before. He has the might to establish himself a country, and it's not like Emile or Euden is able or willing to challenge him much.
Oh, Leo. What's more, he's not simply twiddling his thumbs atop Euden's throne waiting for him to come back, either, but using his resources to full advantage for his own kingdom. He uses Euden's troops to help quell riots in Valkaheim, and also uses Euden's diplomatic ties to establish ones between his lands and Hinomoto.
I think that's one of his more dangerous traits that distinguishes him from a big source of Emile's incompetence: Leonidas is adaptable and quick to seize upon whatever befalls him instead of trying the same thing over and over again.
Chelle reintroduces guns, er 'manacasters' back to the field, he quickly adopts one as a weapon of choice. His brother proves some of his behavioral tendencies are better at building strength and winning fights? He starts copying some of Euden's behaviors (even if they aren't for the same reasons). And there's few things more dangerous than somebody that is always learning and adapting to your strategy.
I really do think it could have been interesting to see the relationship between Leonidas and his siblings develop further, as Leonidas has not really changed in his ultimate goals, merely the means. And his goals are very much in opposition to Euden at least, who wouldn't take kindly to a would-be conqueror who wishes to assimilate not just South Grastea but the world together under his lead, to say nothing of his opinions regarding dragons.
I think both Euden and Leonidas would be fighting to shift eachother more to their own point of view, as Euden doesn't like fighting with siblings and Leonidas has recognized Euden as a capable force and one he might like to use to further his aims now that he's also acknowledging him as a brother regardless of blood. In general, I think Leonidas might have tried a 'I'd really prefer you aiding me voluntarily, but with or without your aid I will continue along my path.' to the siblings at large, just waiting to pull the trigger in demanding they fall under his reign as eldest.
But alas, amid all the other plot threads that had to be hastily resolved/abandoned, his went under the 'abandoned' category as Dragalia more used his time in highlighting the developing personal relations with his siblings. Which is great, don't get me wrong, but with how scary Leonidas is as a threat it's a shame he never got to fully re-debut into the conflict scene, since they definitely didn't resolve it completely.
Tumblr media
12 notes · View notes
valeriefauxnom · 5 months
Note
i just caught up to your post canon dragalia fic in one day and hollyy shit dude. i am on the edge of my seat!!!! its so enjoying and well versed and i cannot wait for the next chapter
Ahhh! I always am ecstatic to hear reviews or even just random thoughts of any kind regarding my work, but hearing people like my work on Scaling enough to binge it is even crazier! I will forever be more and more amazed people have done that as the length increases, like don't they say an average novel is like about 50k words?? That would mean you've just binged 3 novels of my crazy assortment of thoughts on a possible post game scenario for a dead game in 1 day, which is nuts!
With Scaling in particular having such long chapters I worry sometimes that I'm getting a bit too lost in all my thoughts for it and getting too wordy, so it's always nice to see people are still enjoying it after it has grown increasingly complex, even if we are starting to get closer to a more definitive break in the case, were it a proper mystery novel.
You're the first person to send anything on Tumblr about it (or anything in general really), too, so this message is precious in another way! I'm always glad to field questions (though of course would shy away from spoiling my own works) or explain more about why x decision was made because boy I think I should just make 'overthinking' my hallmark at this point!
As a treat for how much this makes my week, here's a little snippet of a dragalia fic in progress that will probably be a long time in the making yet if it ever does see the light of day on AO3 properly, (so I don't get distracted by yet another thing instead of working on Scaling and/or finishing Control). It's a tentative collection solely based around the concept of the siblings finding out just how weird the Halidom is, especially Leonidas and Chelle since he was in charge of it for all that time and she's always poking about for info.
---
But when he looked back up to the expenses log, all the expenses listed were sky-high as well. The food expense, dragon expenses, aid expense, equipment expense, everything was all exceedingly high for such a small nation (as they should be, given what he knew about Euden’s governance). But to still draw a profit if expenses weren’t being understated meant an even more ridiculous income. 
Sure enough, the few categories under income were even more egregious. Tax revenue was relatively moderate, but other revenue sources like ‘precious gems/mining products’, ‘gifts’ and ‘tourism income’ were far, far beyond what was rational in a kingdom engaged in war for its entire history. 
Just as he was about to start demanding explanations for the inflated income, he spotted yet another egregious, incomprehensible bit to the income column. “Pipple?” He said, almost hostile, “What exactly is a pipple, and why is it on the income statement, let alone for such riches it is supposedly bringing in? No, no, I think I understand now.” Not waiting for an answer, Leonidas began to speculate. He’d never heard of anything sounding like ‘pipple’ before, and Leonidas boasted quite the vocabulary as crown prince. He was expected to have a suitably verbose and eloquent bank of words with which to communicate with foreign heads of state and domestic nobility alike. That meant this was likely something of a new invention in language.
A new invention, and something that brings in exorbitant funds…something very well hidden, if Chelle did not report on its trade or presence in a service business when we made joint moves on the Halidom, and it’s that sizable of an industry in New Alberia…Ah. 
Quite devious of you, brother. I never expected for you to become so involved with such a shady industry, but it explains a great deal of their surprising shadow wealth.
There was only one thing this ‘Pipple’ could be: some sort of newfangled illicit drug his brother was putting to market as a supplier, raking in rupies hand over fist as people learned the effects of whatever potent cocktail this Pipple was composed of.
Desperate times called for desperate measures, and a new nation in war against a vastly more powerful, established land was desperate indeed.
---
So yeah, thank you again for your message! Not to toot my own horn too much, but if you're eager for maybe a bit more dragalia fic from me as you wait, I've got another fic up on AO3, though it's not connected with Scaling or even canon in general as a bad-end au what if! It's also likely not quite as polished, being written in like 2 days, but hey I'm just too happy about the two artworks my best friend made for it and now am legally obligated to try and show the art off at any given moment!
8 notes · View notes
astarion · 4 years
Text
So, I know I haven’t really made posts for ramblings in forever, and almost everyone’s moved to twitter, but this would be too long for tweets and I originally made my tumblr to have fun with things I like, so here goes. Just played through and have some thoughts about the new chapter of Dragalia Lost, Chapter 14.
(A read more would go here if the phone could do it but it can’t so... yeah.)
So, that’s a big swerve that the story went and did. The main villain the story had been gearing us up to fight for the entire game just got snuffed out by the people behind the scenes, the Agito have arrived with Volk first and their master is the new bad guy to watch out for while Phares and Beren do their own thing, and then there’s whatever the heck Harle is up to... at least some steps are being taken forward with Alt!Zethia joining the party finally!
Though two things are very concerning. First is Euden quickly giving up when there was no other way to save Zethia. He really does seem to want to be help the world but it’s clear that his concern for Zethia trumps all else. He did fall to Cronos’ ploy for the exact same reason so it shouldn’t be unexpected, but when everyone else is saying “Dude, DON’T!” and he still does the sacrifice thing is very concerning, even if he had no other choice to keep Zethia alive. But to sacrifice everything for her... what if he was raised to do so? This goes beyond natural care for family and friends... he doesn’t go that far for anyone else.
And then there’s Elisanne, who really did just hand Zethia over to the Agito leader willingly. She said it was by force but she’s been nervously lying about the secret documents this whole time and it seemed the same here, even if the game speaks in just text. But from what we’ve learned from Volk and Agito Leader at this time I think I finally see her reasoning...
According to the documents, the 7th scion, original Euden, died and was replaced by an heir from a foreign kingdom, (Where a “Finlorda” is the ruler) means that the one we know as Euden is not Alberian, (as confirmed by Phares and Beren,) so ever since this was learned we all thought that he was this other country’s royal since he shares the name.
But then, if the document is true and Euden is the fake, then why were Volk and them talking about Zethia being returned to her true brother... what if... what if It’s not Euden who’s that foreign heir at all, but instead Zethia? That’s the only reason I can think of that would explain why Elisanne would just turn her over to the new guy. Because it’s her true blood family who’s asking.
Euden’s still not Alberian royalty either though, as confirmed by Beren through sensing it in the previous chapter. But if combined with the possibility that Zethia, the Auspex of the Church, basically the spiritual guide of Elisanne’s religion, also had falsified origins? It wasn’t in the document that Harle gave her, but if the new guy had undeniable proof to persuade her all alone. That would definitely be enough to shake up everything her faith tells her is true, on top of the whole Scrolls of Perdition issue from before... although she knew it was going against all that they were fighting for, she alone would know that not only is Zethia’s siblinghood with Euden based on a lie, but her ties to Alberia entirely!
If that is the case, then this just makes more questions. Our Euden is Zethia’s “twin”, but is that just because he’s the same age and a convenient excuse to match records? Did Zethia also get replaced by foreign royalty? Then if Euden’s not Alberian royalty or foreign royalty, then just who is he?
There’s also thoughts I’ve been seeing that the new guy is somehow Original Euden having survived his Wyrmscale like Phares did, but if that’s the case then how the heck did they not realize he was actually alive!? That’s a bigger stretch of disbelief than my own theory, crazy as it is. Plus, the secret intel came from Harle, and Harle’s a schemer who hasn’t dealt his full hand yet. We have no confirmation that his truth is the real truth that all the other conspiracy people know. Although it goes against all rules of logic, the secret documents could be updated like Miles Edgeworth’s infamous “updated autopsy report” from the first Phoenix Wright game. Which could roll into him being the “true 7th heir” but I’m going with my own theory until it is deconfirmed!
I’ve rambled on for way too long, so just leaving it with this: Am looking forward to the next Agito fight, Chapter 15 had better give some REAL answers since it’s teasing the reveal of our Euden’s illegitimacy, I wouldn’t be surprised if the only ones of the main cast who are deeply affected by the whole royal secret train are only Elisanne and Euden, and maybe Zethia, Zena, and Notte a little bit (since Ranzal, Cleo, Luca, Mym, and Laxi don’t give a damn about royal bloodlines, and Alex believes more in actions anyway), there’s sure to be more events to keep things interesting between now and the next chapters, and Emile may return... eventually.
16 notes · View notes