#UGH I ALSO HAVE SO MUCH BEEF WITH GAIUS

[gd-dollopole]

I believed I was the only one who thought this! OP, this is genius. I rooted for him from start to end, and when Edwin tried to kill Gaius? Honestly, I wanted him to do it even then, because Gaius participated in the murder of Edwin’s parents. I also agree on everything you said about Gaius. He is as responsible and as guilty as Uther.

Gaius was such a manipulative character, I swear.

They’re never going to make me hate you Edwin (or Kilgharrah, my beloved)

one of my favorite minor "disposable villains" in Merlin who tried to kill Uther is Edwin from 1s6e.

seriously, he was so good, I was rooting for him the whole episode. if it wasn't for his rush at the end, one slip up with gwen and trying to kill not only Uther but also gaius and merlin, (trying to kill merlin I honestly didn't understand. I'm sure he would have succeeded and could have gotten away with it. it was a very clever plan, you can't give him credit for it.

him being a Horrible Dark Sorcerer is not what I'm focusing on at all, because there are so many scenes in this episode that just…. kill me.

the way merlin is happy to use magic for everyday things and what a relief it is for him to share it with someone other than gaius. someone who tells him that his magic can be good and supports him (what a devastation it was to find out everything afterward)

how after edwin said "you watched my parents burn at the stake" gaius replied "they practiced black magic, and now you're practicing it too!" because it's such a convenient excuse - even though they were his friends, even though he watched thousands of innocents die who had nothing to do with black magic, and he knows it, knows he's to blame, but it's so much easier to redirect his anger at someone else than to face his mistakes.

the way the return of gaius is not happy at all, because really edwin is right, and gaius is too old and blind, and in the last scene one old blind man swears allegiance to another blind man, washing himself in blood

it's scary

[wolfmaw]

So I just finished Chapter 1 of Trails of Cold Steel and I just wanted to share some of my first impressions of some of the characters in tier-list format

Waifu tier:

Towa - She’s cute and cheerful and seems like a nice person to hang out with if it weren’t for the fact that she’s so god damn busy all the damn time (thus making hanging out in the first place rather difficult). Needless to say, she’s incredibly hard working.

Instructor Sara (!?) - Normally the “big tiddied, mature lady with a drinking problem” isn’t really my type, but she’s also the “batshit but also surprisingly wise” type of character that is just a delight to behold every time she’s on screen. Nearly every line of her dialogue garnered a chuckle out of me with just how enthusiastic and eccentric she is.

Rean Schwarzer (!?) - A competent male high school protagonist? In my high school anime!? It’s more likely than you think! He’s still every bit the optimistic, care-free anime protagonist you’d see in some high school rom-com or something, still falling for a few anime tropes (like that time early on that he got a face full of boob, swiftly followed up with a face full of slap), but with the exception that he’s not a complete doormat and knows what he’s doing.

Bro tier:

Gaius - This dude knows what’s up. Both Rean and Gaius are skilled warriors and they seem to bond rather quickly over this.

Laura - Her interactions with Rean are really interesting I find, having mostly the same dynamic as Gaius, but with a more technical mindset, respecting technique and combat styles more than just raw skill.

Elliot - Slightly cowardly on the surface, but overall a sweet guy who does his best to overcome his timidity in battle.

Meh tier:

Alisa - As is usually the case with “canon” love interests, she seems to be one of the less interesting beyond her rather obvious lineage. A typical tsundere through-and-through, though her antics can be amusing at times.

Fie (!?) - I liked her design, and thought I’d like her much more than I currently do, though she did get a few laughs out of me with her almost aggressively lazy attitude. (”Ugh, laaame”). I think this particular placement suffered most from a lack of screen-time in the first chapter.

Shit tier:

Jusis - A pompous prick, but I’ve seen this song and dance often enough to know that he’s gonna redeem himself eventually. Might move up to Bro tier when that happens, but his entirely unnecessary beef with Machias, in the context of this first impressions list, lands him solidly in Shit tier.

Machias tier:

Machias - He’s Machias tier. You’ll get what I mean if you played the game. He’s the kind of guy who would unironically tip his fedora and say “m’lady”. I sincerely hope he moves up this list later on, as if he stays the same through out the entire game, I feel like he’d be a major blemish on an otherwise amazing game. Machias? More like, Mock His Ass amirite?

Patrick - He should know his place. And that place is Machias tier (and also as an unimportant NPC). Machias thinks he’s yelling about Jusis, but he’s actually yelling about this dude.

... Emma who?