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beevean · 5 months ago

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Today I feel much more charitable, so I decide to bring a more neutral comparison than usual.

I see a parallel between N!Hector trapping Lenore in a cage, ready to let N!Isaac kill him but pleading him to spare her, which means condemning her to a fate of being the only survivor of the fall of the castle and the death of its Lady and the knowledge that she failed and everything she worked for was completely pointless and her sisters were right in thinking she was just a stupid girl...

... and Hector sparing Isaac in their fight while crawling away to die alone, forcing Isaac to witness the ruins of the castle and realize he has lost his home, his Lord, his powers and his friend, tormented by the knowledge that he failed and he disappointed his Lord once more and he will never be able to rise from Hector's shadow.

It's an interesting scenario. Cruel mercy to the highest order, at the expense of one's own life, made worthless.

Of course, Hector's decision to spare Isaac is much more interesting to think about, because it's never explained nor hinted why he did it, and we can only rely on context and subtext. Isaac, being Isaac, sees it in the worst way: "Is this the arrogance of the superior one?" He thinks Hector, the favored General, wanted to rub his victory in his face. "My body is the proof of Your expectations for him." He fears Dracula's disappointment that, once again, he wasn't able to match Hector: his inferiority complex is gnawing at him. "Had you cut off my head, I wouldn't have to see this!" It's obvious that Isaac would have killed himself first thing if the thought of getting revenge didn't give him the strength to live on; he sees being forced to live as being forced to feel pain and humiliation, and this is why he decides to make Hector suffer as much as he can.

But these are only Isaac's thoughts, and he's obviously biased: did Hector really want to humiliate his former friend, is he truly that spiteful? Or perhaps he lacked the courage to finish him off, moved by a misplaced sense of mercy? Did he think he'd die on his own, and he didn't want Isaac's blood on his hands? Or did he simply not care, because his priority was getting away as fast as possible and damned all the consequences?

And why does Hector want to die? Didn't he get what he wanted, freedom from Dracula, the freedom to live as a human being? Was the guilt of killing so many innocents so heavy, that he didn't have the strength to live on in the world of humans that already rejected him when he was still sinless? Or perhaps it was the guilt of nearly killing his former friend, the only person who could remotely understand him? Was it only a matter of pride, dying as far away from Dracula as possible, choosing death as a free man rather than a cushy life as a weapon?

We have no answers, and we don't need them, because we can put the pieces together by ourselves. My personal interpretation is that yes, in some part, Hector cared about Isaac: their relationship was strained and they were already diverging in personalities and morals, but we still see Hector seeking empathy from Isaac when he brings back the severed hands ("You're human too, aren't you?"). When Isaac intercepts him, he expresses his anger against the humans who have chased them away, something Hector can still relate to despite his choice to throw it all away. And despite wanting to kill him, Isaac was noble enough to bring Hector a sword, so that they could fight fairly: he, too, cares to an extent, even if he's eager to punish the traitor. All of this considered, I can imagine that Hector didn't have it in him to give him the coup de graçe. Dracula's most efficient, coldest General still has a hint of softness in him. Which means that yes, he chose to let himself die out of guilt both for his sins and for Isaac, having at least achieved the symbolic freedom to die as a man. But if someone wants to see it as Hector not even caring enough about Isaac's fate, only selfishly concerned with himself, maybe even as a final show of how much stronger he is so he better not be underestimated, it's not impossible.

With N!Hector it's all much more straightfoward. He likes Lenore: if his previous sarcasm and the snappy way he reminded her of the way she "solved his problem" could have hinted at simmering resentment, this act shows that there's no spite in his heart. He has fully forgiven her for her betrayal, and doesn't consider her Carmilla's accomplice after the talk they had previously; charitably, he could see her choice to check on him rather than Carmilla as proof that she has switched alliances, or maybe he empathizes with her as both of them felt lied to by their Lord/Lady. This is not payback to him, shown by the fact that after Carmilla kills herself, he admits he only wants Lenore in his life, either out of genuine fondness or because he has nothing else. If Hector fully freed himself of Dracula's and Isaac's influence, rejecting his power, the safety of his castle and position for the sake of his principles, N!Hector's decision to stay in the castle and with Lenore of his own free will, even after severing the bond that forced him with her, sends the clearest message: "I love you despite everything".

(and I'm not even considering that the sin N!Hector was ready to be executed for was betraying Dracula, long after he should have understood that it was not a mistake - although I can be even more generous and think that after all the torture he went through, after he was made to feel like a failure of a human being good only to be kicked around, no wonder he'd lose his will to live)

I would like to draw a parallel between his actions here and the fact that ever since he was a child, N!Hector forced dead animals to live on so that they could keep him company, a childish definition of love that fits well in vampire society. On one hand, it would make sense and greatly combine kindness and selfishness which is the main reason I find N!Hector compelling; on the other, it would be yet another proof that all this time, he didn't grow up - until Lenore decides to kill herself to escape the pain, and then he finally accepts he can't force creatures to stay with him. Problem is, since during the raid he was fully convinced N!Isaac would kill him, this is a moot point: he didn't care about Lenore's company until he was made to live. It was fully for her sake, to protect her life regardless of his own. This theme could have been touched upon in the last episode, when Lenore is still kept captive for apparently no reason other than the fact that N!Hector wants her with him, even if she is miserable, but much like N!Hector, Lenore doesn't seem to hold any resentment against the man who betrayed her (deservingly or not), destroyed her life and forced her to go through it. Her lack of reaction is especially blatant when you compare her to Isaac's seething hatred for Hector for the exact same reasons.

The other parallel I could draw is that this is more or less what Lenore had done to him. Lenore in S3 wanted to keep N!Hector safe from her sisters, who didn't see the point in keeping him and were ready to replace him with mercenaries. Her way to make him needed was to force him into the position of her pet, and by doing so, he lied to him, betrayed him, raped him by deception (the story forgets about her intention of repeating the experience for the sake of making her redeemable), and forced a cursed ring on him that would bring him pain if he thought of running away or rebelling. And sure, N!Hector got a good deal in that he was allowed freedom of the castle and nice quarters, but at first he was obviously devastated that he was trapped and made into a tool by the woman he trusted. Likewise, N!Hector protected her life from N!Isaac's rampage, but he did so by going behind her back and aiding the man who killed Carmilla and conquered the castle. If Lenore, in theory, held no malice, N!Hector didn't either. However, needless to say, karmic punishment was the furthest thing from his mind for all the reasons I said above; and besides, the moral exposed by N!Isaac was "revenge is for children and it's time to grow up", so this is more of a narrative parallel than a character parallel.

The only conclusion that can be drawn is simply that N!Hector thought Lenore, and only her, was too good to deserve death, and didn't consider the emotional toll that forcing her to live would cause her until she sunned herself and he had to let her go, the only character development he has in the very last minute of his arc. I would have loved if he had shown more resentment and confusion towards her for the bipolar way she has treated him, to make the choice more poignantly ambiguous and less... well, what I always complain about.

Nevertheless, this brand of accidentally cruel mercy is an inherently cool concept. It's just that, like many good ideas in NFCV, the game series did it better.

#long post #castlevania #netflixvania thoughts #akumajou dracula #prelude to revenge #netflix castlevania #not sure if i should tag the ships #not tagging it as anti because for once i'm not bitching #(well... not too much)#this is a serious analyses of the two scenes #now i hope brain lets me go #analyzing is fun but i feel obsessive lol #i just. the story. the themes. the narrative.#prelude of revenge my entire beloved <3

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ironunderstands · 1 month ago

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Sunday’s worldview sucks, his outlook and perception of himself and others sucks… and that’s why he’s so interesting

In honor of his drip marketing releasing tonight (or maybe yesterday for you depending on when I get this out), I’d like to talk about why I think Sunday’s beliefs and perspective is very, very flawed and how his own biases rather than the actions of those who oppose him are what led to his downfall.

Sunday is entirely responsible for his own failure, and that’s exactly why he’s incredible.

This contains mentions of leaks and spoilers for the Penacony quest line… you have been warned

To start with, oh my lord do Sunday’s preconceived notions kick him in the ass.

I think the best example of this is his conversation with Dr. Ratio in which Ratio pretends to betray Aventurine, selling out his plan to Sunday. Now, what’s incredibly interesting about this exchange is that Ratio doesn’t fully lie to Sunday once in this exchange, rather he says half truths and makes vague statements which Sunday himself interprets as being in support of him.

Take what Ratio said the whole, “A scholar knows their position and wouldn’t forsake it for the sake of petty pride.” In retrospect, we know this line is actually referring to Aventurine- aka Ratio is saying he’s not just going to sell him out to Sunday for the sake of information about the Stellaron (which he would get anyways if the IPC attained Penacony, plus Mr. Incredibly Dedicated Knowledge Spreader probably has other means of gaining it then through The Family).

However, since Ratio answered the invitation Sunday gave him, Sunday assumes that Ratio is on his side, believes his cause is righteous, and that he won Ratio over with offering him information about the Stellaron, therefore making that previous statement of Ratio’s null, because Sunday interpreted it as, “convince me this is worth my time + prove to me you’re correct,” when it really meant, “there is no way in hell I’m about to sacrifice my friend to you, and there is nothing you could offer me to make me do so you crazed lunatic.”

But why did Sunday not weigh the options? Why did he unquestioningly believe his perception of the situation was the correct one?

Well- partly it’s because Ratio and Aventurine were doing their damndest to make it seem like they hate each other and that their plan was going off the rails.

But the more important part is that even without Ratio saying a word or even accepting the invitation, Sunday already believes he’d be on his side.

Let me demonstrate this through Sunday's perspective:

I am a righteous person, I am doing the correct things, my worldview is the correct one. Dr. Ratio is also a righteous person who seems to be doing the correct things. Therefore, since we are both on the side of good, and Aventurine is clearly not on that side considering his status as Stoneheart and his negative relationship to Ratio, then Ratio will naturally want to be on my side. After all, the good guys work together, do they not?- and together will vanquish this evil villain.

This perspective is a simple one, but Sunday’s unshaking belief (up until the end of 2.2) that he is 100% in correct and in the right, that any and everyone who he also perceives to be in the right (like Ratio) would believe/side with him without truly needing to be convinced. Sunday doesn’t come out the gate offering the Stellaron information- he only keeps it as a backup just in case.

However, this is complicated because Sunday is also not an idiot, and he’s extremely paranoid, so he’s going to make sure that the way he views the world is 100% correct on the off chance he’s wrong which could foil his plans- which is why he invited Ratio in the first place. Nevertheless, this isn’t him hunting for new perspectives, but rather him desiring to prove himself right again, which is a bad thing because Sunday is very much not right.

A perfect world is a perfect pris- *gets shot*

Reference that approximately 2 ½ people will get beside, Sunday’s ideology that he is fully confident in.. sucks. It sucks ass, it’s terrible, and let me explain.

I’m not going to try going over all the little intricacies to how the dreamscape works because I a) don’t know and b) don’t particularly care because they aren’t relevant to the argument I will be making- which is that Sunday’s ideology is inherently flawed and immediately falls apart under scrutiny.

Essentially, he desires to create the perfect fake reality, enveloping the whole galaxy in Ena’s dream and fulfilling their every desire and whim within it, with himself as the sacrifice to allow it to exist. The seven rest days, no illness, no pain, no challenge, you get the idea.

And, this perfect world paradoxically sucks ass because of its perfectness.

Improving society is great, eliminating hardship is great, increasing quality of life is great.

But declawing reality itself- absolutely not.

I’m going to try to explain this through my favorite strangely specific anecdote- the process of obtaining diamonds in Minecraft.

Stay with me now.

You essentially have two options- go out and mine them yourselves the hard way, which takes hours, gives you less diamonds per the amount of time spent on it, and likely with you exhausting some of your resources like food, torches, and tools which you will need to replenish.

Or.

You can just.. get them from creative mode or commands, and you can get as many as your heart desires.

However, despite the fact that option one is harder, gives you less diamonds and takes significantly more time, I, as well as hopefully you, would pick it every time (at least in a survival world, although honestly idk why you would even need pure diamonds in creative).

And that’s because the first option is rewarding.

You did not earn the diamonds you easily and magically summoned into your inventory, there is no struggle, no journey, no challenge to it, therefore it feels entirely unremarkable, as compared to the feeling you (hopefully) get from mining diamonds, which makes you happy because you earned it. Yeah, it was harder, but the process itself is fun- the anticipation of not knowing when you’re going to find them, if at all, the danger, the fighting and digging and mauvering you will have to do in the process.

And with this unconventional example, the fatal flaw with Sunday’s ideology is revealed- it’s boring.

It’s boring as shit.

Yeah, for the first few months or even years it might be enjoyable- having everything you could ever want served on a silver platter. However, humans are a) inherently a bit greedy and b) desire challenge, and this scenario fulfilles neither of those things. Naturally having everything means your desire for more can never be fulfilled, leaving the wanter forever unsatisfied, whereas in the real world, things are truly out of your reach, meaning that even if you never end up getting them, they are still a tangible thing just out of reach… as strange at it sounds, we like being tantalilus-ed more than you think. After all, if what you want is so easy to get, you will never run out of things to want, and eventually that gets draining.

Continually, if everything is easy, if everything is just right there whenever you want it- existence itself no longer has stakes.

And that’s the problem, because much like how a story with no stakes is extremely hard to find compelling, a life with no stakes feels boring at best and downright pointless and meaningless at worst.

I’m just saying, there is a reason why the Nihility was such a strong presence and problem in Penacony.

Anyways, like with the diamond problem, a lack of stakes means that nothing you do feels rewarding, because you didn’t truly earn it.

Which is where the Sunday’s idea of a “perfect” reality falls apart, because the most enjoyable reality for humans to live in is not one literally devoid of any possible flaw.

So why does he believe in it? When it’s so clearly flawed?

Well, it’s because Sunday doesn’t think a better alternative exists.

The world made you this way.. and you chose to continue what it started.

I’m sure I don’t need to repeat the story of the Charmony Dove all over again because trust me, we’ve all heard it before. Nonetheless, it reveals something important both about Sunday’s personality and his ideology- he’s fundamentally a defeatist.

He doesn’t believe that there is any alternative for the dove, that it could ever be able to fly again with its deformed nature, so instead of being “cruel” and letting it “inevitably fall to its death,” he’d rather keep it in a cage all its life where it has no freedom, but at least it would he alive and “happy”.

And this is where his defeatism reveals itself- Sunday doesn’t believe reality itself can get better because improving it when there are so many factors and things out of your control is hard at best and impossible at worst. Therefore, he resorts to creating an escapist, false version of it- a perfect golden cage, because constructing that is far, far easier than trying to help the dove fly again.

The universe has endless possibilities, if Robin and Sunday had tried hard enough, they probably could have found a solution. Sure, they were both children, so the capabilities necessary to even attempt that were likely far out of their reach. However, it was still possible, but Sunday doesn’t believe in possibilities- he believes he’s right above all else, which is where that stubbornness and arrogance comes into play again.

Sunday doesn’t think better solutions than his exists, and he believes everyone would could possibly stand in his noble way are either villains, or horribly misguided; so it’s his job to show them the light.

This is why he lets the Express Crew + Firefly try to change his mind- Sunday wasn’t actually interesting in shifting his perspective, or really what they wanted to say. Rather, he just wanted to let them say there peace, because well, Sunday’s a good, righteous person (at least from his perspective), and good, righteous people listen to others. Good, righteous people will let these poor, ignorant souls offer their foolish words before exposing them to the harsh truth- or at least that’s how Sunday sees it.

Moreover, this also explains his arrogance. If he believes his worldview is the sole correct one, then why listen to anyone else? He’s this world's savior, or at least he’s been raised to believe that- so why not relish in it? He enjoys punishing Aventurine, enjoys the bastard who stood in the way of Sunday’s plans, shrinks away in “defeat” and get what he “deserves.” Despite how miserable it sounds, Sunday also takes pride in having to be a martyr to bring about his beautiful dream. The belief that he is a selfless, good person is a selfish desire of his, even if a genuine one, and it’s what leads to his downfall.

Sunday could have actually listened. He could have reevaluated his loss to Aventurine and realized it was not through the others clever deception, but through his own biases. He could have actually taken the Express’s and Firefly’s advice. He could have looked for other avenues to help the people he truly does care about.

Despite Gopher Wood’s manipulation- Sunday’s decision to go forward with the pain is entirely his own, because he truly believes- even with all the evidence for the contrary- that he is correct.

And that’s why he fails. Not because of the Express. Not because of Ratio. Not because of Aventurine. Not because of Gopher, or even the rest of The Family.

No, Sunday fails because he is flawed, and he is wrong, and he is the arrogant, selfish and biased one, and his worldview is wrong.

So what now?

This might have seemed like I think Sunday is pure evil and irredeemable, but I think it’s quite the opposite.

He has very good intentions, and he does genuinely care about it the well being of other people around him. He gives Aventurine a chance to prove his innocence, even if he never intended on changing, he does listen to what the Express + Firefly have to say. He pauses when Robin shows up, as she’s the one person (until the very end) he’s actually willing to accept the perspective of. The whole reason he ended up here in the first place is because Gopher Wood twisted Sunday’s good intentions into a fatal arrogance and utmost belief in a flawed worldview.

However, what really sells me on Sunday’s goodness is when eyes widen at that final moment, the light draining from him as he realizes he is wrong.

And once Sunday realizes he is wrong, those flaws that bind him can finally be examined and improved upon, as they all stem from that worldview he no longer believes in.

His whole life, Sunday has been enacting out someone else’s plan for him, even if he’s come to internalize it over time, at the end of the day- it was never his, and without it, he’s empty.

Which is exactly why the only place he can go now is the Express, and the only thing left for him is redemption and growth.

Dan Heng is right- Sunday has a noble soul, and now that he has stopped believing in himself, he’s no longer shackled by the past either. Improvement or utter demise (in a likely nihility-flavored manner) are his only options remaining.

I understand a lot of people want to see him become a Stellaron Hunter, but imo, that just does nothing for him. He’d still be following someone else’s path/script, and Mr. I Will Sacrifice My Whole Existence To Become The Sun To Illuminate These Wandering Souls probably wouldn’t be so on board with the whole.. terrorism part of being a SH. Like yeah, they are our friends (kinda), but they absolutely kill innocent people and cause millions of dollars in property damage to people who don’t deserve it.

Also, being on the Express Just Makes Sense. This is a game about choices, a game about accepting the mistakes of your past, but not letting them define you in order to move on and forge a better future for yourself and others- with the Astral Express + Trailblaze as a concept being the literal embodiment of it. There’s a reason when you switch to the Trailblazer’s POV in stories, it includes Kafka’s most important words to us- “When you have the chance to make a choice, make one you won’t regret.”

Therefore, I hope the choices Sunday will make in 2.7 are ones he’s proud of, and I can’t wait to see how exactly they get him on board with the crew, because there still is a LOT of development he needs to do before then.

Anyways, thank you so much for reading, and if you have any thoughts I’d love to hear them. This was a stream of consciousness mess, but I hope it was still valuable nonetheless! Also if you are reading this on the day it was written, I hope we don’t get disappointed by his drip marketing!

#Highkey did not proofread this to make sure it flows well so if it gets a bit messy I apologize #I had to somehow turn the disjointed musings of my brain into an actual analysis and it probably shows #Somehow managed to make this damn thing 2.2k+ words because of that though #That I wrote in like an hour and a half LMAOO #I’m unstoppable once I am hooked on a topic #Again thanks for reading!#Sunday #hsr Sunday #Sunday hsr #sunday analysis #Yes I should have mentioned Gallagher in this but I forgot and by the time I remembered him #He’d only serve as just another example #Sunday fans might annoy the hell out of me a lot of the time #But he’s a great character #I just wish they would actually acknowledge his flaws… that’s literally the whole point of him #No Sunday was not onto something 😭 he was very far from something infact #Hsr #honkai star rail #hsr analysis #More tags than the amount of hatred I have for [redacted] Sunday ship #ifkyk #anyways

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