#re zero tonchinkan

[sufferu]

I’m really excited for Arc 2 in Dog show since Rem is still erased and I don’t think that’s a concept that’s really been explored before in reaction fics. What’s shown on screen would be completely different to how the old Roswaal Mansion residents remember it to be, even without RBD on top of it. They only have Subaru’s perception of Rem and what he’s told them of her to go off on, so seeing how she actually behaves in Arc 2 AND 3 would be like extreme whiplash , “Subaru you didn’t mention ANY of this”. (Probably the same way some people must’ve felt after watching Re: zero for Rem seeing how she was widely loved in the anime community only for her to bash Subaru’s head in)

And not only that but the surprise factor. No one knows Rem carried a Morning Star (not even Rem herself!) who murdered Subaru would probably be a genuine mystery (I’m imagining that since she was the driving force for wanting Subaru dead, with her gone that while Ram is still not the most peaceful person, she’d probably not have the idea of killing Subaru herself). Even the fact he died in the mansion would be shocking in of itself, since while dying in the capital first day in is still realllly bad, it’s Elsa’s fault at the end of the day. But everyone probably thought he was safe in the mansion, him dying 4 times would stun them (especially Emilia who would definitely blame herself, it all happened without her knowledge).

Adding on to that, It’s the first time someone they (kinda) know killed Subaru (I’m not counting TonChinKan) and now they have to deal with the knowledge that he’s most likely insane from dying but also insane for regularly interacting with his murderers (Subaru’s a forgiving person sure and yeah they’re given explanations for why but still, interacting and hanging out with people who killed you or tried to is straight up crazy). Some uncomfortable conversations are gonna need to happen.

I just love Arc 2.

You’re spot on. There’s a reason I’m looking forward to Arc 2 almost more than Arc 3 ;)

[thecolourpurple123]

Sympathy for the Damned is still one of my favorite re zero fics. The way you and pidgie wrote Heinkel and Joshua there just broke my heart, and while that's precisely why we like sad fics (the more it hurts, the better the fic is) i keep wondering if there is a way to make the ending "happier."

Let's imagine that Subaru does loop and meets the appa man again. Does he get to save everyone as he promised he would? I feel it would lead Subaru to a very "Greed If" scenario.

Dunno. What do you think? How would you make the ending happier?

Well, realistically speaking, it would start out closer to Pride IF than anything. Subaru would probably rush ahead to the loot house out of a sense of manic guilt, and imo the TonChinKan trio would mug and beat the shit out of him the moment he steps foot into the slums (given the fact that they were following him for awhile and that Pride IF has him kill them every time, I imagine they would be an obstacle he can't just ignore, hence why I think they'd follow him to the slums).

They probably wouldn't kill him, just take all his stuff, but Subaru would resist enough due to his frantic headspace that they'd leave him unconscious similar to the very first loop, except he has no one to heal him. So he wakes up hours later, too late to save Emilia, and then bumbles over in the direction of the loot house in denial about his failure. It starts to get cold and snowy, Subaru gets flash frozen by Puck, end of loop.

Next loop, Subaru would notice the TonChinKan trio trailing him. This time, he turns around to confront them directly. He hands them his belongings to their utter confusion and runs off to the slums. Need to save Emilia before all else and he doesn't have time to waste on them. This time, he considers going to Emilia first on her way to the loot house, but remembering the loop where he called her Satella, decides against it. He has to be the hero to save her, and he has learned from experience that he can't avoid the loot house. It's fate that she gets there. But it can't be fate that she dies there.

So he presses onward for several unsuccessful loops, starting each time with effectively bribing his muggers to leave him alone. He tries manipulating/working with Felt, he tries negotiating with Rom and Felt, he tries and tries and fails over and over. Each time is especially painful because he learns more about these people, grows attached to them, sees the quirks of their personalities and the depths of their bonds and no matter how much foresight he has there's no beating Elsa.

He does not consider any option besides pushing forward, refusing to ever turn back like he once did and create a world so wretched, but each time he dies takes a toll on him. He mutters those names he learned at the end of Sympathy each time he dies and comes back. Julius Joshua Juukulius Louanna Heinkel Astrea. He adds Felt and Rom to the list, and eventually Emilia after learning her name through the loops.

Eventually, he does it loud enough that Kadomon is like "wtf bro why are you saying the names of a bunch of nobles??" and Subaru is like "do you know where any of them are???" Kadomon is obv hesitant to give this random weirdo stranger kid info, so Subaru hones in on one person. Not the drunk mercenary or his wife, not the noble guy who tried saving his life, but Joshua's brother. The Finest Knight.

Kadomon is like "Idk man, have you tried asking a guard? Worst case you can try the barracks on the other side of town maybe? But what business do you have with someone like that anyw---" "WHERE IS THAT BARRACKS" and Subaru asks that in a near shout loud enough to make Kadomon flinch. Kadomon gives him directions, despite his reservations, and Subaru runs off.

Subaru runs straight past the TonChinKan trio trailing him, keeps to the main roads as he heads toward the barracks, and he's feverishly saying those names on loop in his mind over and over. Julius's name comes out of his mouth. He mutters it as he goes until he's out of breath, he can't keep up. For them, for those people, he needs to give everything he has to save them. And everything he has isn't enough, has never been enough, so the only choice left is to seek out another hero. Someone with the right role in this twisted fucked up fantasy world to do what Subaru can't. No one can survive the goddamn ice nuke that happens after everyone's dead, but maybe the Finest Knight can do something about Elsa. Elsa is terrifying, death incarnate, but the ice is a calamity. It is the end of the world and even Elsa herself can't escape it. Which means she can be beaten. There must be someone who can beat her too, even if Subaru is too pathetic to do it himself.

In his mad dash, he collapses, pushing his body too far past his limits. From the ground, his eyes dart to the sky. The sun. He knows exactly at which height it must be for him to be too late, for the ice to be inevitable. But looking up it's blocked out. Someone is standing over him, their head in front of the sun, the light wreathing their hair like an angel's halo.

"My maiden's informed me you were calling my name," Julius says, and Subaru scrambles up to stand. He stares at Julius while breathing heavy. A knight... the regalia, the sword, the floating orbs of light like the spirits Emilia showed him so very long ago... this guy must be the hero. Subaru is in awe of Julius until Julius asks him what's the matter. Subaru hastily and formally explains the situation. They have to get to the loot house. Elsa is there, the bowel hunter. Julius does not stop to question the information due to how serious and certain Subaru is, and agrees to go along.

From there, Julius will help drive Elsa back (TonChinKan never attack because Subaru is right next to a knight). With In to increase his speed and perceptions and Nes to decrease Elsa's, no one gets hurt. Subaru did it at last, but he doesn't feel safe. He's dreading the ice. Fears that it will come. Everyone starts to question how Subaru knew about Elsa, and Subaru tries to admit the truth only to get stopped by the taboo. Subaru tries to push through it until Julius is like stop that dude you're clearly hurting yourself.

From there, Subaru's reward from Emilia is to have her stay with him until the next day. He wants to make sure she's safe from the ice, if nothing else. Julius suggests taking them to the knights barracks. No safer place in the capital besides the castle itself and Julius has to report this to Marcos anyway. They take a brief detour to meet Ram otw, who accepts Emilia's insistence to stay one more day.

And thus ends arc one with everyone saved. Subaru is substantially more fucked up mentally, in a position where he idolizes Julius massively and has no presumptions of staying with Emilia beyond keeping her safe from the ice nuke, and is struggling to process everything that's happened in his first moment of true calm since the start of his isekai adventure. He would probably go on to stay at the Juukulius estate for a time (Julius offers) while they try to figure out wtf is wrong with him physically that he can't explain himself, and Emilia would return to the Mathers Estate a day later having not died.

Naturally, this would put Subaru in a position where he would encounter Joshua as his host, and they would be on the same page about how amazing and perfect Julius is. It would nearly be a Cecilus-Joshua kind of dynamic where Subaru gets some levity by indulging in stories and literary habits with Joshua while both praising Julius highly at every turn. And of course, they both understand how worthless they are in comparison.

Could also easily lead into Heinkel content long-term, but that's far beyond the scope of Sympathy's premise and this ask both. Hope this satisfies your curiosity, Zei!

[mariannedulaksartblog]

Felt-chan's happy family picture day and Aubrey from Omori.