#there's dialogue actively contradicting this after all

[sumwan]

I feel like it wasn’t just to get the disc, exile was too in-depth and complex to be all to get one disc. There’s other ways he could have done to get it. And c!tubbo had the disc, c!tommy didn’t. C!clingy were seperated with c!dream wanting that so I’m not sure how c!tommy could get c!tubbo to hand over the disc to c!dream. If c!dreams goal was to trick c!tommy, get the disc and then do evil monologue he did to c!tubbo but to c!tommy instead and betray him, then his line in staged finale “Tommy we were friends” to me that sounded partly genuine. Like I feel like not to ignore any of the harm done in exile, but the way c!dream is written it seemed like he had different goals. But, in that case, staged finale would have to be with someone else at the vault so I guess it wouldn’t make sense. There’s also later on when c!discduo are in prison c!dream brings up exile, and this is well past staged final. And the whole “we can revive people together” which is either saying that out of how mentally out of it he was and craving allies from being lonely, or to mess with c!tommy. I think it’s hard to know c!dreams mind 24/7 and know when his lying and when his not or when he’s emotionally driven. Correct me if I’m wrong

Thank you for bringing this up! I get what you're saying, and I do agree that it's hard to know what went through Dream's mind all the time, especially without seeing his POV. What we're shown, however, is that one of Dream's goals at the time was to obtain the disc that Tubbo had. And we know that at some later point, his goals were to get himself locked up in Pandora's Vault (staged finale, for which he needed both discs) and to secretly test the Revival Book with Punz. We're never shown any other concrete goal during this time besides these.

As far as we know, Dream never wanted or planned to be actual friends with Tommy. By that point, he generally saw Tommy as being the main source of all problems on the server and the one who had ruined everything for him. So I don't really think that Dream was "partly genuine" when he said that he and Tommy were friends when Tommy was killing him during the staged finale (also because he wanted to get himself into that situation and most of what he said was for show anyway).

What Dream said to Tommy after reviving him in the prison is also something that Dream himself admitted was "just messing" with Tommy [link]. He had to let Tommy go as otherwise Sam would "cut off [his] visitors", "feed [him] less", and "do all these things". I don't believe that it was ever Dream's intention to actually test the Revival Book together with Tommy, he did that with Punz and they purposefully kept those experiments secret from the rest of the server.

Ultimately, it's still possible that Dream had some unseen, unknown goal at the time of exile. But since this is never mentioned or hinted at in any way, I think it's hard to reach any other conclusion besides assuming that Dream wanted to use Tommy to get the disc.

[dopaminepump]

While I never expected a good game, I at least hoped that some of the remaining veterans on the writing team would make sure that the game stays consistent in terms of lore.

It's not hard, I said, as someone who keeps a wiki of their OCs and worldbuilding, so I don't contradict myself. It's not hard to give even incompetent gig writers you hire for the job a guideline. You've had over a decade to write it, of course!

WRONG.

On top of glaring incompetence in something as basic as keeping a logical flow in dialogues and scenes, somehow you manage to break your own canon every couple of minutes of spoken content?

How did any of this go through review? Was there even a review? Did anyone care to make this game at least consistent?

And at the same time, somehow, they managed to actively avoid adding new lore to the game. Everything that Veilguard reveals has already been foreshadowed or half-revealed in the prior games.

And the plotlines that DID have unresolved mysteries? The titans, the world outside of the effects of the veil? The elven uprising, the flocking of Dalish from all over Thedas to Solas' cause in Tresspasser? The hints of a war about to break between Tevinter and qunari? Briala's countermeasures in the eluvian guerilla warfare between the factions? The grandiose mystery that has been hinted at, with Morrigan's sisters, the ancient dragons, all being connected to the "blood of the earth" and the Titans, and the blight, AND qunari? The plotline hinting at the death of the archdemons somehow damaging the world irreconcilably and being something to be avoided? Enchantment? Kieran?

Damn it, even just the real and gruesome picture of Tevinter slavery and the existence of the Black Divine and Minrathos' policy of worshiping solely the maker and considering the worship of Andraste s heresy!

Off all these the only thing that hasn't been chucked out of the window and into abyss is a wheel of cheese.

Edit I: Oh and if you thought drug addiction of the Templars is still a theme in the game, don't worry, they forgot to write that in.

Edit II: I was wrong! They didn't forget to write it in. They deliberately wrote it out for the Northern Templar order and turned them into cops.

Edit III: After going through Codex entries, I would like to make mention that there IS a Codex that talks about the differences of worship between nations. However it does not change that the writing outside of the Codex entries is breaking that lore.

Additionally I made mention that they forgot about the outside world. Again, there is a Codex entry that mentions that lore, but it seems to be incomplete as it erroneously states that people have been turned back and there are wild stories circulating. People have in fact died in storms, and survivors that made it back were all driven insane. There is no mention of it. My speculation over the years was that the effect of the Veil is local and I was expecting THAT alongside the "veil measuring devices" and the Orb to play into the study of the Veil by the Inquisition remnants and other interested parties. Alas, this plays 0 role in the plot.

As does the mechanic of belief as a power source, in fact! You know, the one mechanic they hinted heavily as something that could easily change the nature of beings closely connected to the Fade? Remember the Avvar?

Or the Chasind? Hello? Does anyone remember the Chasind? (Who, I notice now after rereading the wiki page on them, are written in an archaic form of xenophobic stereotypes towards northern eastern europeans. Wow.)

[mukimokai]

having "childlike wonder" doesn't mean a character is "childish" or a little baby

childlike wonder is an attitude: of finding joy in the mundane and enjoying the simpler things in life. Having an inherent interest and excitement in new things, places, and experiences. Wanting to take in every detail of something, even if it's something small. It drives exploration and discovery, wanting to know how the world works and figure it all out. Having inquisitive minds. Being fascinated by the world around oneself. Being open to new perspectives.

childlike wonder doesn't mean "childish."

Yeah. I believe Alhaitham can see Aranara. It makes perfect sense because he has every quality listed above.

Yes: Alhaitham has childlike wonder. No, he is not childish. There is a distinction between "childlike wonder" and "being childish"

So can he see Aranara? Most likely yes, it's probably canon: Web events have always been that way anyway, always introducing you to the characters and their respective personalities and interactions if there are any. Web events are canon in the sense that: if the scenario happening in the event took place, this is how the character would act in said scenario.

Yes, I do think there is enough evidence he can see them just looking at his character as a whole: plus why else would the Sumeru lobby have us turn into Aranara if almost the entire Sumeru cast were adults that the Aranara don't inherently trust? The only character who would've been there in that case would've been Nahida but we had Alhaitham and Nilou as well? And it makes sense for them to be able to see the Aranara so like. I was actually completely unsurprised that Alhaitham and Nilou could see them so uhhh-

oh and also. to the ppl who say "Kaveh can't see the Aranara bcz he's traumatized" girlie. the one child in Yoimiya's quest was going through such a traumatic illness and she could still see them.

Kaveh can't see the Aranara not because he's traumatized or whatever. but because he's pushed away his past. Kaveh is actively removing himself from childlike wonder in favour of idealism: he is constantly chasing after his goals, constantly trying to do more and more, constantly striving for perfection that he forgets the mundane, everyday things in life due to the sheer amount of stress he is putting on himself on a day-to-day basis. Kaveh is also not open to new perspectives; following his own ideals to a point and shutting away anything that contradicts his ideals. He is not an inherently curious character either; we've only seen him comment on a few things that pique his curiosity (i.e. the one voice line abt lightning) but as a whole, he's not interested in much else if it doesn't have to do with the arts or things he is passionate about which is unlike Alhaitham who seems to take an interest in literally everything other than gossip.

again: childlike wonder and being childish are different things, PLEASE understand that...

i might have 50 million people come at my throat for my take on all this but like ykw idgaf: I'm entitled to my opinion and this is how i see the whole situation.

I do think people who said it's "out-of-character" for Alhaitham to see Aranara are either mischaracterizing him or they don't understand what exactly it takes for Aranara to be seen by adults. Maybe it's both; i know a lot of people skipped the Aranara quest dialogue, and, for the longest time, Alhaitham has been one of the most wildly mischaracterized characters in the fandom (and still is being mischaracterized to this day unfortunately) so idk tbh.

and ppl always say Nilou is bland so like... i don't think ppl pay much attention to her at all which is unfortunate because she's really silly actually. Nilou stan number 1 right here tbh.

idk it's just my thoughts on it: yeah I do think it can be seen as "basically canon" but I don't think it should be used to justify "omg!! hahahahah they're so childish lmaoo!! alhaitham and nilou are such babies ahahah!"

like. gen. nuh uh. what.

yes i call them babies because they're my babies but that's just bcz i like their characters, i called them that even before this whole fiasco with the aranara... so like. uhm.

this was way longer than i planned it to be. sorry for the yapfest holy.

considered not posting this but eh who cares, it's just my take lol

[vryfmi]

there's one major thing that's been nagging on me about l&co adaptation ever since my first watch: if we were to get season 2, how would they set up the conflict of THB?

i can get behind some of reinterpretation of characters and their mannerisms, character traits (i.e. Lockwood dressing less formal and not being a know-it-all, Lucy being less hateful towards George, seeing Kipps as he's actively losing his talent, George Karim being iranian and being very close to his culture in a form of cuisine), some are good, as a fan of books i'd be eager to get to know these characters along side their book counterparts.

but alas, i can't see these characters as the same characters in both medias because too much of their characterisation was changed, and it's really hard to blame on pacing or the lack of screen time. it's the writing. some changes going as far as making me question, what were they supposed to do with this groundwork in the second season.

how would runners set up a conflict of L&Co overworking themselves after gaining fame over solving the bone glass case and accepting all calls they were getting, if show!Lockwood out right says in episode 4 that he's not interested in boring cases? not only does it get rid off of a major characterisation of Lockwood as someone who's, yes, in it for fame, but most importantly he became an agent to "avenge" his family. avenge isn't even the right word, i think. he doesn't want others to be fallen victims to a visitor, doesn't want to see other people lose their loved ones, lose their family to ghosts. not only does it make show!Lockwood rather vain and only fame driven, instead of someone dealing with deep personal trauma, but also loses one of the key points of Holly's introduction to the team. (i also love the reading of LW naming his agency Lockwood&Co as something less selfish and more about him paying a tribute to his family, that without them and visitors taking them away from him, he wouldn't start his agency and wouldn't be able to help other people.)

speaking of Holly's introduction, what exactly would have been her role at the start in the show? L&Co don't seem overworked from the 4 cases they had (2 related to TSS out of 4 in the book, Wimbledon gallows + Bickerstaff's, not counting Wilberforce's ghost and a bunch of not mentioned in dialogue cases i. e. Mrs Barrett's tomb). that already solves the problem of trio not having free time to do chores around the house. but say show says "and now they're overworked" instead of showing, sure, but it doesn't get rid of George's stress cleaning habit.

Holly was introduced as a help, as a support to the way L&Co was already running and over the books she became more than just an assistant but a beloved part of the team. without proper reasoning as to why Lockwood & Co had to get an assistant, Holly's introduction could be messy and unprompted, something like checking a box in the list of what has to happen instead of making it story driven. something like what happened to skull's character.

and a final thing that im iffy about is the ending of the first season. somehow show rushed through and speedran Lockwood's suicidal arc as well as managed to call it out by the end of show's TWS storyline, where books didn't show any progress even by the end of TEG.

but im saying call it out, not resolve. i'd actually appreciate it if show made an effort of showing that such tendencies and lack of self-preservation aren't just resolved in a second, someone saying "stop being suicidal" doesn't magically fix everything. and yet, show still speedran things, especially given that events of the show happen in only 10 days instead of a year, and Lockwood's already made very aware of his reckless behaviour aka throwing himself in danger for people, and, what's even more questionable, for people he barely knows. which, again, contradicts his character and the way he navigates trauma.

these character and plot deviations and inconsistencies may not seem critical at first, but they might build over the course of the series and lead to a complete shift in overall narrative and spirit of L&Co as a story. which i wouldn't want to see as a fan.

to put it simply, i can see why fans want for show to be picked up for a second season, but i can't see how writers could make it coherent because they wrote themselves into a corner.

[thegoldenhoof]

After reading multiple metas on all sides, I think the biggest problem with OFMD, specially Season 2 is that it is almost entirely built on tell don't show. Worse sometimes it is hint, don't tell or show. This is not great writing in itself but it is made worse when the POV characters are all shown to have a rather unstable relationship with reality and memory.

Stede is self-centered enough to just not acknowledge or even notice things around him that don't actively interact with his focus which is mostly just Ed. He is self-centered to the point of being delusional about other people and reality of circumstances. Season 2 sees him doing better and his rescue of the crew is his highest point. But we see this even through Season 2 in his interactions with Lucius and during Ed's apology his interactions with Zheng Yi Sao.. Basically anyone not Ed.

Ed is shown to have a negotiable understanding of truth - seen with his Ed/Blackbears/Kraken split, his "I didn't kill them, the fire killed them" dissociation with his own actions, his rewriting of the context of his own memories (Knife parade) or just straight up forgetting shit (Talent show). And yes all of these are trauma responses but that does not dismiss the fact that his perception is far from objective.

Izzy is straight up shown to be lying in his first interaction with Ed regarding Stede. He is aware of his surroundings better than Stede and Ed but he is also supremely blind to himself and his interpersonal relationships. Where Stede is delusional about the world he can be interpreted as delusional about himself.

We as the audience ofcourse can put context to their words from their actions and this worked ok in season 1 (not always but mostly and that becomes important later) But Season 2 leans much more heavily on tell without show. (Yes yes budget cuts...but that doesn't change the final product).

Where season 1 added some flavour of back story with tell dont show, Season 2 expects dialogue to do all the heavy lifting (none more than Izzy's death speech) without this dialogue being backed up by action. Worse (or better) this dialogue isn't exposition which makes the scene better but which also means more often then not it is merely hinting at a meaning.

So we have half explained dialogues, sometimes with dubious context, used as a substitute for action given to us by characters with established unreliable perspectives. The heavy lifting of understanding the meaning of these dialogues, their significance and weigtt, has then been shifted to the audience interpretation. This interpretation is of course done per individual interest and bias. This is not bad in itself but remember this has been happening since season 1. Which means the new interpretations are being built on older interpretations. Those little flavour back story hints have now become the lens through which the entire season 2 is meant to be understood.

We are all watching a different show in a sense and that us not a failure of the audience. It is, rather, an accidental byproduct (and a failure) of the show's design because of the combination of all the above factors which was (made worse by the budget cuts leaving less time/space for action)

The show then unfortunately comes down to whose POV are you accepting (and certain fans have turned this into an exercise of moralizing self righteousness.) and to what extant.

A true understanding, imo, can only be by accepting that none of their perspectives are absolutely true and trying to center the objective narrative between all of them in a way that best fits all their perspectives AND accounts for all their blind spots, rather than lift any one POV as the absolute uncritical truth. (And fans on all sides have been guilty of this)

(P.S. I think this may also have worked positively towards making this show so huge is season one because it left enough ambiguity for us all to project on it multiple complex and sometimes contradicting interpretations creating an Illusion of much greater complexity that was more in our collective heads than in the actual show.)

[fierrochase-falafel]

"All the names are changed to protect the innocent"- an analysis of Marvin's use of names

So y'know how in In Trousers, Marvin is the only named character who actually has screentime and all the women in his life are nameless (ignoring his teacher, Miss Goldberg). It's pretty clear this is, to an extent, a sign of Marvin not seeing the women in his life as people in their own right as he appreciates the affection of no woman actively giving him any, and that he only focuses his attention on unattainable women (such as Miss Goldberg) as a form of compulsory heterosexuality and men (Whizzer).

I do, though, think it's interesting to note that in Love is Blind (in March of the Falsettos), Marvin says "Love reads like a bad biography, all the names are changed to protect the innocent". Marvin's experience of love so far has been women whose names he has left unsaid. Given Whizzer refuses to acknowledge he loves Marvin, and Marvin says he loves Whizzer "sorta, kinda", their relationship isn't taken fully into account as love Marvin has experienced. Marvin does admit he loves Whizzer to Mendel later in the "sorta kinda" conversation, but says he would only concede it if Whizzer loved him back, meaning that he refuses to fully accept that love unless Whizzer said he loved him first: Marvin's inner dialogue does not really see Whizzer as part of his vision of 'love' (albeit ironically the only true romantic love he has experienced). Hence, Marvin's experience of love, at this point, really has had his previous lovers' names changed, perhaps to protect them from people recognising them as having engaged with him at all.

Who this decision is protecting, though, depends on who is innocent. Maybe Marvin had some amount of sympathy for both his high school sweetheart and his wife as being innocent victims of loving him when he didn't love them in return. However, in March of the Falsettos, Marvin does say his wife's name for the first time (I think!) in 'Marvin hits Trina', and he says it not 1, not 2 but 8 TIMES. In quick succession. This song takes place immediately after he gets an invitation to Trina and Mendel's wedding. Trina having her own life makes her no longer 'innocent' as he sees her as having betrayed him, so he addresses her by name repeatedly in anger at this.

I think it's also worth noting that from a point of view of innocence, the first whole name revealed in the musical is that of Whizzer Brown. Whizzer is someone Marvin is very well aware of being sexually experienced, which contradicts the idea of innocence as someone naive to concepts such as sex. He sees Whizzer as someone who is not innocent, and so his name is left in fully throughout. The multiple meanings of 'innocent' to both imply sexual inexperience and having done nothing wrong, can also group together having a lot of sexual experience with being guilty of it. The negative connotations of these together subtly shows Marvin's internalised homophobia and conflicted views on Whizzer and his unapologetic flamboyance. One could also say Whizzer is basically a walking pride flag in how he seems unashamed of his personality and life, and his name is also very obviously on display as such as he has nothing to hide or stash away. Arguably that is innocence, but I don't think Marvin sees it that way. Anyways, this is getting a bit convoluted.

Through this one line, even though it seems strange-sounding and just a pretty odd throwaway at first (atleast it did to me on the first few listens), you get a distinct idea of Marvin's view of what is innocent and what is guilty, and who he deems to be innocent in a world where he sees himself as the highest power. Trina and Whizzer, as individuals who disagree with Marvin's views of what is right on a particular front, are guilty. While trying to hide their names initially when mentioning "his wife", "his child" and "his friend" in Tight Knit Family, his opinion of their lives comes out on top in this love-biography he has in his head. He writes the bad biography (even he admits it's bad, funnily enough), and to him they aren't innocent. Obviously he goes through major character development at the end of March of the Falsettos, and this seems to make his use of names less distinct. He says Whizzer's name more softly, with emphasis on love, and I don't think he says Trina's very much at all, maybe letting go with his anger and view of her as 'guilty'. This is last part is largely conjecture though! I'd love to hear more people's takes on this.

Edit: I just realised! In terms of innocence, Miss Goldberg's name being revealed is probably also representative of her adulthood when Marvin's in school, making her seem more 'mature' to him and thus not innocent (given how childhood often connotes innocence.

[fieldsofbran87]

Okay post number 2 I’ll actually explain myself.

Every time I think about Impa I go bonkers but ESPECIALLY when I think about Impa and Ganondorf/Demise. These two are having a full on SAGA off screen and Nintendo is just too afraid of the raw energy their dynamic would bring. They would steal the show if let loose. Zelda and Link’s soulmate bond would pale in comparison to their absolutely fucked up 8D chess eternal rivalry. They’ve been playing the “too different to ever be friends, too similar to hate each other” game for centuries and it’s high time we addressed it lmao

Despite having about one scene of on-screen interaction and no dialogue together, Impa and Ganondorf are pretty clearly set up to be narrative foils. Impa is the servant of the goddess, the protector of Zelda, and guide to Link. Ganondorf is the rebel, the Demon King, and the opponent of the Princess and the Hero. Impa is defined by her selflessness, time and again devoting her life to serving Hylia and the Royal Family, even at a price for herself. Ganondorf, in contrast, is characteristically selfish; seeking to fulfill his own goals at the expense of others.

The Sheikah and the Gerudo are foils too. Both suffer the subjugation of the Royal Family, and both are the only other two human races besides Hylians. However, the Sheikah for the most part conform to their roles, serving the Royal Family, (therefore labeled as “good” by the Hylian narrative), while the Gerudo actively resist that regime (and are hence labeled as “bad”).

(The Yiga Clan is also a very curious facet of this issue, but that’s a whole other can of worms I don’t really feel equipped to discuss right now.)

Impa and Ganondorf are also tied together through their game appearances. Impa does not appear in a game without Ganon, and while Ganondorf sometimes appears without Impa, two of those occasions are Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. The same man as OOT, who has already met her. (FSA idk what’s going on there lmao. She wanted a break and that’s valid.) Timeline wise, they also return together after SS, both appearing in OOT after not being present during Minish Cap or FS. Intentionally or not, if one of them is there, the other will be too.

Impa and Ganondorf are undoubtedly paired together in the cycle, although less explicitly than Zelda and Link. They balance out the four, with Link and Zelda being destined always to find each other and work together, whereas Ganondorf and Impa are destined always to work against each other. Ganon attacks the kingdom, and Impa facilitates the resistance.

For all their differences, Impa and Ganondorf often operate in very similar ways. Throughout many of the games, they’re both working behind the scenes; nudging the heroes or their minions in the direction they want like chess pieces on a board. Ganondorf is more explicit in this (ex: Zant, Vaati, etc) but it’s important to remember that Impa is more than a passive side character. In Skyward Sword, she is directing Zelda down the path that leads to pretty much every major event in the game, and in Ocarina of Time, she raised Sheik and almost certainly sent him out to find Link. (Honestly, as much as Zelda is Hylia-incarnate, Impa is really the one pushing the Goddess’s agenda.) From these roles as orchestrators, they share a level a power over the narrative that the other characters don’t possess. Power that exists to contradict the other.

There’s also the scene in OOT where Impa escapes with young Zelda, pursued by Ganondorf, and it’s entirely possible they duked it out before the drawbridge bit. If so, then Impa’s escape implies a level of combat/magical power that is reasonably comparable to Ganondorf’s. I think it’s reasonable to say that Ganondorf likely outweighs Impa in raw strength, but she holds her ground surprisingly well. Ex: surviving the Calamity, escaping the castle in the OG game, also probably surviving the initial fight with Demise as Hylia’s guardian.

The icing on the cake to all of this is that when developing the lore, Impa was originally supposed to be a bearer of the Triforce with Link and Zelda. I checked the Hyrule Historia after seeing a post about Impa initially wielding Power and it’s true. She was originally supposed to be a guardian alongside Link and Zelda, not Ganon. And I just… oh my gosh the implications of that.

Looking at Impa through the lens of not necessarily someone who was destined to wield Power in canon, but someone who conceivably could is so fascinating. It makes her connection to Ganondorf all the more potent, not just as foils, but as two people who could just as easily be each other as oppose each other. In Ocarina of Time, for example, it’s not hard to picture an Impa who took a similar path as Ganondorf. Her people have been brought to the brink of near extinction, mostly thanks to the Royal Family. It’s entirely conceivable that she might find herself drawn to the Triforce just as much as Ganon was, seeking not coveted wind, but the undoing of so many lost lives.

All of this just sets the ground work for an absolutely fascinating relationship, and it drives me nuts that the games never explore it. Impa and Ganondorf both share a great deal of ambiguity regarding their intentions, motives, and overall feelings, and focusing on the two of them would open the doors to aspects of their character we haven’t seen. Being non-Hylian, older, and typically more world weary than Link and Zelda, they have a perspective on the cycle that is intriguing, and almost certainly not as positive. I think that would be neat to see.

Demise and Impa also have some interesting potential, especially considering how much time they spent in proximity. Like she spent centuries guarding the Imprisoned, as well as the sword he was sealed in. Did they ever speak? Did she know him from before he was sealed? Did he respect her skill and power the way he respected Link’s? There’s so many brain worms there.

Anyway, I have so many more thoughts on these two but honestly they’re better expressed via creative writing lmao. I can’t even begin to describe the absolutely insanity that their interactions would be. They’re like mortal enemies and begrudging friends and bitter exes and strangers in the same sad situation and hot messes all at once.

[doodlin-deer]

Okay, has anyone else tried connecting the dots between the Cooper Clan members? Because recently I just started and in doing so, by putting them on a timeline, I’ve noticed that many of them are probably direct relatives to each other

Now bear in mind, this is me operating under the understanding that all of these Coopers are directly descended from one another (because that’s what an ancestor is, not an uncle, an aunt, or a distant cousin once or twice removed), plus Sly himself has said more than once that he’s from a long LINE of thieves, so let’s just work with that in mind.

I’m also basing this off of all available information from all of the games, primarily Thieves in Time

Some examples:

Rioichi and Henriette

In Thieves in Time, we learn that Rioichi was alive and already well-established during the chapter “Turning Japanese” (roughly in his 30’s or 40’s at the time) in the year 1603.

Later in the game in the chapter “40 Thieves” Sly discovers treasure that would later be stolen by Henriette in the year 1616, thirteen years after Rioichi, making her more than likely his daughter. Though it does make me wonder why a Japanese guy would give his daughter a name like Henriette. But then again this is a family that has a thieving reputation dating back to the dawn of time and a centuries old book with seemingly unlimited pages to record it so let’s not think too hard here about logic.

Thaddeus and Tennessee

We also learn I n Thieves in Time, “Go West Young Raccoon” that “Tennessee Kid” Cooper was active in the year 1884, during the Wild West (which for any non-Americans was roughly around 1865 to the 1900s, though that’s a matter of debate for some). Let’s assume he’s somewhere in his late 20’s or early 30’s, putting his year of birth in either the 1860’s or 1850’s.

We also know, thanks to dialogue from Sly 3, that Thaddeus Winslow Cooper the III was active during Victorian London which lasted from 1837 to 1901. From here, things get tricky. In “Goodbye my Sweet” we get a look at Thaddeus’ section of the Thievius Raccoonus, which gives us two different contradicting dates to work with. His chapter is shown to have been penned in 1839, however, the included picture of Thaddeus is shown to have been made in 1893, roughly nine years after the Cooper Gang’s encounter with Tennessee.

Based off this, my preferred theory is that Thaddeus is Tennessee’s grandfather, or (and I can’t think of a single reason why Clockwerk would allow this fly) Thaddeus and Tennessee are cousins in some way.

And before someone brings up the Cooper Vault, and how Tennessee’s shrine comes before Thaddeus’, I’d like to point out that also in the vault, Sir Galleth’s shrine comes before Salim Al-Kupar, despite Salim having lived some 300 years before him.

Otto and Conner

And here is where the Cooper record comes to its blurriest. While we do have an idea of when Conner was born (with him having died in 1992, and his birth year suspected to be around the 1960s, maybe the late 50’s), we know next to nothing about Otto, besides that he was an ace pilot and skilled mechanic. It is generally accepted that he was active during WW1 or WW2.

If Otto was around for WW1, then at the very least he was born in the 1890’s, but there’s a small snag named Tennessee that says otherwise. If he was born in the 1890’s then he’d almost certainly be Kid Cooper’s son. Which raises the question of why Otto is presumably European (seeing as his surname is Van Cooper) while Tennessee is unashamedly American.

Now if Otto was around for WW2, it would put his year of birth around the 1910s, putting some room between him and Tennessee, while also closing the distance between him and Conner, at the latest, Conner would have likely been in his late 40’s if Conner was born in the 1950’s, maybe he was even in his 50’s. But what really cinches this for me is that Otto and Conner were both technologically savvy, with Otto and his planes, and Conner with computers. As for how Conner is (presumably) American and how Otto is European, well……. I got nothing. I guess Conner must’ve changed it for whatever reason

Thoughts or headcanons?

[araneitela]

"Destiny has thousands of faces, why does it choose to wear this one?"

/rattles at bars /rattles at bars more firmly

Are we supposed to take this at direct face value? Tell me something, Kafka, what exactly is Spirit Whisper, and where does it come from? Does everyone from Pteruges-V possess it? I just double checked to see if I can find anything at all in any reference, and there's nothing that seems to indicate it to be the case. But also, I find no 'odd references' to any other instance of its use anywhere else, or by anyone else? I'm having a big brain moment, humor me for a moment: what if she actually is directly tied into Fate itself? Okay, let me bundle up some of my thoughts here:

Any showcasing of Spirit Whisper indicates that it doesn't seem to even remotely drain her of anything to use (I know we're speaking game mechanics here, but remember there are drawbacks to other things in this same game), regardless of the targets in question. In her trailer, she subdues (read: pit them against one another) a large number of men without doing as much as blink, the Jepella Rebellion had her very intricately control (and since this was a 'mock trial' of sorts— I do assume a lot of its dialogue to be genuine, but still?) 4 judges. But most importantly, when Kafka (of course) accompanies Blade to the Xianzhou, she likely knew exactly who to expect upon arrival due to Elio, she must've, it would also explain why she was perfectly calm and anything but unnerved. But the ones on the scene there? They're all very big players: Blade himself, Jing Yuan, Yanqing, Dan Heng who ultimately found his High Elder form; and Kafka didn't seem to flinch nor grow concerned even once. That means she was likely prepared or able to possibly intervene through SW, that means it's inherently capable of handling very significant 'foes'. Now of course, one can say that the script would have possibly reassured her, but through her SQ we know that she actively believes that fate is not by default predetermined, which tells me that there must still be an element of preparation or a 'safety net'. Yes, I know, I'm making an argument for fate, but it's very specific. Any way, it's strong and she seems to never flinch. What on earth is it?

Now, here's one thing about it: it is able to take people's choice away from them, isn't it? Isn't that on some level directly contradicting fate? Or in other/better words: is that not directly controlling fate?

The entire trailer ends on the premise of what No Country for Old Men presents, and to elaborate for those who don't know it: the entire story narrows down on the narrative that destiny is encroaching on all of us, you can't outrun destiny, any choice that you believe you have is an illusion because there is no second-guessing fate. In that final sequence, Kafka presents the final man with a coin flip, 'as for the ending, wanna take a guess? Some might think he stood a 50/50 chance of surviving this if he guessed correctly, but he doesn't,  and he never did. It's even in the way that she speaks, she never actually offers him a chance. If anything, she's simply presenting fate as inevitable. And when the scene proceeds, you hear the gunshot following almost immediately. Within this trailer, the one who controls all of their fates and how they are led to it, is Kafka herself. Throughout all of this, Kafka is in full control of their fate.

I'm talking nonsensically here, as in I'm just putting out thoughts almost maniacally, but I feel as if I'm connecting dots, I really feel like there's something here. But let me present you with the dialogue that I noted at the beginning one more time, and reread it after what I just talked about:

"Destiny has thousands of faces, why does it choose to wear this one?"

Not only that, but look at the shot that accompanies it. Yes, we know it's her spirit whisper due to the glow in her eyes (although I'm now also wondering, because at the beginning of the trailer, I don't see it as firmly; does it possibly grow fainter if its use is lighter?) but the entire moment is so immense, so overbearing. And the fact that this specific shot also feels as if it's a callback as well to Rorschach Inkblot's Fear Card, which is just perfect use of it by the way. But any way, let me point you to the other dialogue:

"Stealing a glance?"

And this line appears during the 'fulfillment' of the fate of the man we then see, at her hands, and let me show you the glimpse we're given of his final moments, just as she speaks those words. Stealing a glance at what, exactly? His fate? Or... fate? Is it her? Or part of it? — And lastly, there's another few lines that I want to point out, and they're at the beginning. And this, to me, is more so interesting because of the odd phrasing that was chosen for this. I do so wish I knew Chinese, because I'd love to know the source text and its weight/significance:

"Don't be afraid. Listen to me, wasn't it you, who invited me?"

Kafka. Kafka. Kafka. I need answers. Who are you talking to; to all of them? Why would they be inviting you? Unless we're talking quite literally, but then I present the question again: why?

Ugh. The Greek Fates, destiny. The Moirai, they weave the (silk) threads of fate. And then there's the spider, the arachnids that are all over her design. Silk, a spider weaves silk, fate could be, in part, represented by a spider within this universe (all en-compassing, coaxing, and yet not forcing), a spider that weaves silk, silken threads of fate. Am I overthinking this? I probably am, but this is so on the nose to me, that I can't imagine it to be a coincidence. Mihoyo doesn't do anything without meaning to. Ugh. Now if she is tied to fate in any capacity, that gives me something extra to hook into in terms of that 'humanity' that we're given glimpses of. No one knows better than fate itself that life will end, that it is therefore precious, that it is fragile, as all things within it are. And man, the sheer amount of references that she makes to very mortal things being beautiful is almost unnerving, especially this following one: "The human body is beautiful in its fragility"; there's also an odd sense of detachment from humanity when she speaks, and yet at other times, an odd sense of intricate connection (ie: her empathy towards Blade and the TB, her 'musicality'—).

Guys, I just have many thoughts.

[stellaluna33]

this will be an unpopular opinion but I really wished that jess had been in another serious, healthy relationship between the end of the series and the revival. he mentions that he’s been in relationships that weren’t permanent (and most likely casual). asp has heavily hinted about what she intended to do with their relationship if it continued, but that last look that jess gives her is really sad when it’s also their last official scene in the series. jess is fulfilled with work and he’s emotionally healthy and mature and to me all of that is cheapened because despite all of that he’s still somehow pined after rory for fifteen years (!!) and has never loved someone else - which is deeply sad when we don’t see it resolved. i would much rather have had him move on and fall in love with someone else that happened to not work out and then finally find rory when they’re both ready but she doesn’t need to literally be the only women he’s loved in his lifetime. if you met someone in real life who still pines after a five month HS relationship that didn’t work out over a decade and a half after it happened we would think it was tragic and ask them to attend therapy and that they’ll find someone! not talk about how it must mean it’s true love and to just wait it out another five years until they’re finally ready for you. if he loved someone else in that time, it wouldn’t tarnish the love that he does have for rory - it would only deepen it. as it stands, his last moment in the series shows that he’s still haunted by a mistake he made at 18 that he’s never been able to fully move on from

Hey! I think there are a lot of people who agree with you, actually. (I certainly saw a lot of people saying similar things right after the Revival came out). But, I don't know, it doesn't bother me! And part of that is that we don't KNOW that he's "never" had another serious relationship. We don't KNOW that he's never loved anybody else. There were NINE YEARS in between! And the only thing they said in the Revival was that Jess wasn't in a serious relationship AT THAT TIME. At the time he was talking to Rory at the SH Gazette, he wasn't seeing anyone. That's all! We actually have no idea what his personal life has been like during the rest of those 9 years! It's entirely possible that he HAS had at least one serious relationship during that period of time. There's nothing in the dialogue that contradicts that possibility. All we know is that he hasn't found "the One" yet, or whatever. (And neither has Rory, so... That's ok, that's fine imo!). From a writing standpoint, it would have seemed unnatural and weird for him to have given Rory a complete rundown of all his relationships over the years (and Rory didn't tell HIM those details about herself, either. All he knows is that she needs to "break up with P"). In my experience, people (especially introverts who might have a romantic history) usually don't tend to offer up all of those details when chatting with an old acquaintance. I suppose if they REALLY wanted to make a point of it, they could have had him say, "Well, So-and-so and I broke up about a year ago," or whatever, but I suspect they didn't think it was that important.

But also, if he's generally happy with his life and career and his friends, WHY does it have to cheapen it if he hasn't met anyone else he's had a strong romantic connection with (besides Rory) yet? I mean, I'm a Hopeless Romantic and I think Love and being "In Love" is great, but it's entirely possible for people to have a fulfilling life without it. A lot of people do? He shouldn't HAVE to have a serious dating relationship in order to "prove" that he's emotionally healthy or whatever. And maybe I haven't made this clear enough, but I DON'T think that Jess has been actively, miserably pining for Rory the entire time. Even IF he's never loved anyone else, I think he's spent most of his life doing other things, and I actually think that's FINE. He hasn't been making it anybody else's problem and he hasn't been expecting anything from her, so I'm not going to begrudge him a few moments of private regret! The idea of a lot of people having "the One the Got Away" in their past used to be a fairly common concept! A person who was special, and about whom you always feel like you wish you could have another chance with them. I don't think that's "weird" or "unhealthy!" ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯ If I met a person irl who otherwise had a healthy and fulfilled life, but regretted a lost love from their past, I wouldn't think that was that "weird" either, honestly. Most people have regrets of one kind of another! I actually tend not to trust people who say they DON'T have any regrets, because I tend to think they're either lying or don't care about any of the people they might have hurt. Jess wishes he had done things differently with Rory, yes. But I think that's made him a better person. He's living his life, and I think he's fine. And even if it WAS unhealthy? My goodness, the Revival portrayed him as nearly PERFECT in almost every other way, so surely he can have ONE "tragic flaw?" 😉. I'm not worried about him, but I confess I DO love pining, haha. I think loyalty and steadfast love are rare and beautiful things. But you are welcome to your own opinions, and I'm sorry if I was overly vehement in stating any of mine!

[fayesdiary]

Congrats on beating 3H !! So what are your thoughts of the complete Fodlan experience ?

Jokes aside, honestly I'm not sure I can give a straight answer.

Overall I'd say it's been one of if not my least favourite Fire Emblem, but that really doesn't sum it up.

A more accurate description would be that it had a good chunk of things I loved (above all the Nabatean fam, Dimitri and his story and Claude as a character)... But it's buried beneath a mountain of boredom to slog through, decisions I just don't vibe with and The Bullshit™. Sooo much tedium and Bullshit in this game, and the fact I was kinda done halfway through VW and only persevered through the end out of sheer spite doesn't help.

And it's such a shame because when I liked the game I REALLY liked it and think it has some of the best/most interesting ideas of the entire series... But was it really worth slogging through hundreds of hours playing the same mediocre at best maps and story beats over and over and having to constantly bear that. Fucking. Monastery? Right now I'm inclined to say no. As much as I love those things, it was not.

Playing all the routes one after another really lays some of the biggest issues of this game, like the repetition. SOOO much of this game is recycled between routes and also in a single route to honestly insulting levels, and it doesn't get that much better in Part 2. The fact the devs somehow didn't think people would want to play more than one route is just. Baffling.

Something I realized in the final playthrough is that they also recycle maps for what are supposed to be completely different locations. So you get shit like Brigid somehow looking the exact same as a forest in the Alliance filled with Demonic Beasts, or Rhodos Coast and a beach in the Sreng Peninsula perfect copies of each other. Complete with the monuments for Cichol and Cethleann. Also like damn, Seteth's wife was so dead they had to bury her twice. In two different locations.

The writing is all over the place as a result of the chaotic development where not even the devs could agree on what the story was, and the whole game could be used as a test study on the sheer damage scope creep can do as well as the obsession with lore and worldbuilding that they contradict as soon as it's convenient over making an actually coherent narrative. And also why you don't throw literally any idea you can come up with to the wall hoping something sticks.

Because of the overreliance on telling over showing, what with the bland recycled maps and all, that Garreg Mach almost feels like the only real location in Fódlan, and that's something no amount of in-game libraries or novels worth of lore if those ten thousand years of lore are even real and didn't just make it up

Speaking of Garreg Mach, dear Sothis I hate that place now.

The monastery was fun the first time around, but then it became a chore to something I actively dreaded doing. It's monotone, you do the same shit every time, it lasts FOREVER compared to, you know, the ACTUAL Fire Emblem gameplay I'm playing for. And while you can technically skip it, you're losing on so much stuff to progress your units if you use it, so it feels like the option is just there to mock you. Getting into Persona and realizing how well the calendar system can work if done properly did nothing but sour me even more on the monastery.

The characters having new dialogue every chapter is really neat and something I wish got properly carried over to Engage, this game manages to turn even that into a chore.

And like - I really want to like this game, and in a sense I do, there's quite a bit of it I love. But so much of it makes me actively groan that I don't think I'm gonna replay it for at least a year. And if I do it will be with the No Monastery mod.

[yanderefairyangel]

What would I do to improve Engage

I said I would redo the post where I go into what I think in Engage is flawed, so here we go.

But rather then listing the flaws, I'd make it about what could make Engage even better

1- The story is too fast paced for the characters

I said the story rushed the character too much and I do stand by that. Having support was always the solution but after 3H, I do think creating characters paralogue would help not only giving more screentime to the characters and could also serve for more lore and worldbuilding info. Also I love exploring Engage's world so that would give more area to investigate as well.

2- the models

I already explained countless time my problem with models and hate love relationship I have with them. Well, first, have the in game model look like the cutscenes one. And then, have them MOVE. It hurts so much the pacing. And it would also require a lot of rework regarding the animation mistakes

3- Chapter 10/11 escape

Following the main idea, if you recall when in chapter 10/11 we have to escape, there is a fade to black and it makes the pacing so wonky. So instead of this, I'r rather place another map. Yeah, 3 maps in a row. In this map, you can't control Alear, they are a green unit and your goal is to reach them before they try to fight Veyle and the Hounds and then to escape the cathedral. And then we end up with the map of chapter 11.

4- More cutscenes

Thinking about it, and while it IS indeed ambitious, I'd like to have some cutcenes unlocked depending on your choices. For example, in chapter 10 if you choose to kill King Morion with Diamant or Alcryst, it unlocks a scene where they bid him farewell (it can't hurt to much the pacing cause after all right after there is the scene with Hyacinth getting killed)

Same with Ivy and Hortensia if they kill Corrupted Hyacinth in chapter 17

5- Bond support

I only think they should be longer

6- More dialogue and activities in the Somniel

The title explain itself. An example of an activity that could be added would be a mini-game that consist in Vander testing Alear's knowledge about the world of Elyos under the form of a quiz

7-Let us pet the animals we adopt

8- Some scenes can be weak

I think we should let Alear cry more. For example, in the scene of chapter 5, when it fades to black, have Alear cry to make it hit right where it hurts. Same for chapter 20.

Instead of what happened, when Sigurd tells Alear the truth, they run away and trip, and then they stay crying thinking they are an impostor. But their friends arrive and tell them their birth don't matter they are still who they are. Alear tell them they are useless because without a real Divine dragon, they can't save the world. Sigurd then tell them about Lumera's sacrifice and the dialogue folllows as what happened in game. Also, because people don't check the cutscenes title, I'd have Alear mentionned the dream of the prologue and say "I made a dream where we were all fighting together to save the world : let's make this dream come true!"

9- Chapter 24

I would change the compass of time travel where instead of the army travelling back in time, it's the scenery that travel back in time to bring back the Shard, however it results in Past Alear who was guarding it to appear. Like in the canon game, you defeat them and create a time loop when the spell cease to work and that they go back to the past.

10- Yunaka and Alear's C support

In their C support, Alear ask Yunaka if she is a mercenary which contradicts a bond they have with Byleth. I would keep this line but simply have Alear ask "so what do mercenaries do ?" and Yunaka answer "oh my Divine one ? Do you not know what a mercenary is ?" Alear : " Yeah, I have never meet any and I can't remember much". Yunaka briefly explains and when Alear thanks her for explaining her job, Yunaka ends up feeling guilty and confessed she lied.

That or the simplier way "were you what people call a mercenary ?" implying Alear doesn't know which workd with their character

11- Make either Vander, Lindon, Mauvier and Saphir appear younger to fit their age or be older to fit their design

and that's all I have to add for now

[intuitive-revelations]

Thinking more about the Eighth Doctor / War in Heaven / Time War timeline, and I remain convinced that the Doctor is in Gallifrey's future timeline for the near entirity of the EDAs.

What's more, I think it's possible to pinpoint the exact moment the protocols of linearity broke and the Doctor got thrown out of sync with Gallifrey's relative time. This may also be the exact moment where the Great Grey Eminence makes his deal to rewrite Romana's presidency.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it all comes down to the TV Movie.

In the beginning of the movie, we have the Doctor explicitly travelling from Skaro to Gallifrey, 5725.2 RE. What's more, it's the "Local Dateline" so we know that's the actual date there, and not just the Doctor's own relative time.

This is following on from Lungbarrow, where President Romana enlists the Doctor with retrieving the Master's remains as part of the "Act of Master Restitution".

Now, we don't see a different RE date in the movie, but do we get a glimpse of Gallifrey at the end, and something is...well...off...

Incidentally, have you ever paid attention to the dialogue here? First of all there's the contentious line about Gallifrey being "250,000,000 ly away" on the other side of the galaxy, contradicting the usual placement of Gallifrey 29,000 ly away at the centre of the galaxy. But there's something else the Doctor says first:

DOCTOR: So, let's see where we are. There. The future. LEE: Wow. DOCTOR: Look over there, on the other side of your galaxy. That's home. GRACE: Gallifrey. DOCTOR: Two hundred and fifty million light years away. That's a good ten minutes in this old thing. GRACE: So, where are we? DOCTOR: December twenty ninth. Do you want to get off here?

Note, the Doctor simultaneously says the TARDIS is in 'the future' and still on December 29th. Seemingly, the "future" the Doctor is referring to is Gallifrey's, and his own. In other words, the planet we see isn't 5725.2 RE Gallifrey, but 6916? RE (estimated based on Romana III being 150 years into her presidency in The Ancestor Cell) Gallifrey.

It should also be noted that the TV movie seems to be the one time in the series where Gallifrey's present and Earth's present are actually synced up, at least roughly. Technically previous Gallifrey stories all take place in Earth's past, whereas later stories take place in Earth's future.

This can actually be inferred from the TV Movie itself, based on the TARDIS console, even before the Master starts meddling. It's seen aiming for December 30th, despite present-day Gallifrey being the target. Though granted, it could be that the RE time control - bottom right in the left image - is disconnected from the other date controls.

Considering the time between Greyjan's presidency and the TV Movie for the Doctor/Gallifrey and the Earth, roughly 250 years for both, also supports this, further cementing that the 'future' line can't make sense if it's meant to be a present-day Gallifrey.

My personal take is that the Nine Gallifreys project has already been initiated by this point in the future. It's ambiguous whether we're looking at the original planet, moved and disguised, or one of the cloneworlds, although given it's the Doctor who shows us, I assume the prior. Either way, if the project is active then it's another sign we're in the future, as according to the Book of the War, it's not initiated until 400 years after Greyjan's death, in contrast to the 250 years previously mentioned. (I do have some issues with Book of the War's timeline, but this isn't necessarily one of them.)

We also see history has changed in The Eight Doctors, which takes place directly after the movie's events where we do actually get to see the present-day Gallifrey monitoring the Doctor as he continues unstuck from his own time, albeit in his past rather than future. In contrast to Lungbarrow, Flavia is now president once more and seemingly has been since the Doctor's trial, with Romana's presidency now having seemingly never occured. This concurs with Big Finish's stories, where Romana doesn't become president until 6776 RE. On Flavia's Gallifrey, there is no mention of the Doctor's mission to recover the Master's remains.

I don't think it's a coincidence that the timeline begins to change at the same time the Doctor gets thrown out of sync with Gallifrey.

OK, so the Doctor's linearity with Gallifrey seemingly breaks during the events of the TV movie, but when exactly?

The answer's pretty simple, actually. For the TARDIS to have jumped in relative time, it must have skipped a time track, hence also the changes in history. Usually when a time track is skipped we see some turbulence in the TARDIS and usually some damage causing sparks, maybe some monitor glitches. See the beginning of The Empty Child as an example.

And what do we see at the beginning of the movie?

Now obviously some of the damage is likely from the Deathworm!Master's sabotage, but things are clearly getting weird even before he starts meddling, none of which is ever explained beyond cinematic flavour, even by the books which went out of their way to explain the Master's survival.

We even see the record literally skipping, exactly the same analogy used for jumping time tracks.

And so the Doctor gets thrown out of his own place in time for the next century or so...

[paperpeter]

Nagoya arc in manga and anime: Guren edition.

At one time, it was a big surprise for me how differently the scene with the possessed Guren looks in the manga and anime. Despite the differences, the essence of the scene in both works remains the same and the changes in no way affect the plot, but the presentation and expressiveness itself have a strong enough impact on perception, which allows us to conduct a comparative analysis. In my subjective opinion, Guren's condition was much better demonstrated in the anime than in the manga. Let me tell you why.

Staging.

Compared to the manga, the anime Owari no Seraph looks much more lively and dynamic. The point here is not even in the imaginary fact that the default animation is more dynamic than a static image, but specifically in a more visual and expressive setting. A variety of angles, transitions, demonstration of different sides of the conflict — all that the manga, for some reason, is deprived of in this chapter.

We can clearly see this difference in the example of Guren's appearance in front of the Shinoa squad. While this moment is highly standardized in the manga, in the anime Guren appears before his subordinates after Yu cuts an extraordinary vampire in his path, which briefly confuses the viewer and adds surprise to the scene.

Also, contrary to popular belief, dynamism affects not only the perception of action scenes, but also the feelings of the character, which can be demonstrated both in dialogue and emotions, and in thoughtful directorial techniques. We can already observe a similar thing during the activation of Owari no Seraph in the face of Narumi.

Immediately after Guren impales his subordinates and knocks Yuichiro back, God's Punishment begins to unfold in the blood-drenched sky, riveting the eyes of everyone on the battlefield. At this time, Guren, possessed by Mahiru, peers into the reflection of his eyes in the blade of a demonic katana, drenched in the blood of people and vampires, whom he personally killed. The whole scene is accompanied by manic laughter and tears flowing from his eyes.

This scene works on several levels:

1) Through the contrast of tears and laughter, the viewer realizes Guren's pain from harming his subordinates;

2) Guren's look at himself through the blade shows only his eyes, which builds a kind of dialogue between Mahiru and Guren, and also speaks of his obsession with the goal of killing and inability to cope with it;

3) The demon's sick laugh that accompanies what is happening, shows how absurd the world is, in which in order to save humanity it is necessary to kill people and cause God's wrath.

Just a few seconds present several new readings of the scene, not to mention the wordless disclosure of the inner contradiction of Guren's soul.

Emotions.

So we smoothly move on to the point of demonstrating emotions. I'm not lying if I say that anime Guren is much more charismatic and emotional, which is perfectly illustrated by the example of this scene.

From the beginning of the battle, an inappropriate wide smile adorns his face, which accompanies him until the end of the series and remains on his face even at the moments of the murder. It's the smile of the demon, Mahiru, and the dissonance between her and the usually moral and honorable Guren adds to the viewer's discomfort when watching what's happening on screen.

At the moment when Yuichiro tries to refute for himself the betrayal of such a dear person as Guren, he also smiles while tears flow down his cheeks. At the same time, in the manga Guren also cried, but there was no smile on his lips, which somewhat weakens the transmitted effect of lack of control and weakness in relation to his obsession. Also missing in the anime is Guren's request that Yuichiro run away from him, which I think is right, as the presence of this phrase and others like it knocks down the tension created and confuses the viewer as to who is in control of Guren's body at the moment.

I also add that the external image of Guren works much better in the anime: disheveled, covered with wounds and blood, he seems much more out of his mind than usual, which is why his actions look contradictory than in the manga.

Shinya.

Perhaps the most important thing I wanted to talk about.

Do you ever get the feeling that in OnS manga, Shinya is much softer than in Catastrophe or the anime? It has happened to me, countless times. It seems that in the manga, Shinya is simply not allowed to prove himself on the battlefield or in relationships with friends, and therefore he often seems to be the most spineless secondary character, though he is not.

In the manga, when Guren kills a few dozen subordinates before his eyes and attacks the younger squad, Shinya threatens him with a weapon and demands answers from him, and then tries to convince himself that it was not Guren, but his demon, which you see looks kinda hopeless.

«But in the anime, Shinya does the same thing!» Not really.

Why is the scene from the anime so different that it manages to demonstrate the essence of Shinya's character much better?

First, staging. The opening shot doesn't immediately show us who pointed the weapon at Guren, and the slow camera zoom in on Shinya's face that follows adds tension and drama to the scene. Also, during the conflict, we observe not only Shinya's side, as it was in the manga, but also Guren's reaction to his words, which sets the tone for the atmosphere of conflict and opposition of friends to each other.

Secondly, emotions. While in the manga, Shinya seems overly agitated, confused, and Guren aloof and unemotional, in the anime, Shinya looks angry. Angry at Guren, at his betrayal, and not so much the betrayal of the army, but of him personally, because Shinya always believed that Guren, his selfish Guren, really puts the lives of his loved ones above anything else. This is dissuaded not only by Guren's actions, but also by Kureto's earlier comment, amazed that Shinya still has no idea who his friend really is. That's what makes him doubt, and that's why in the anime, Shinya hits Guren. Hits for a dumb smile on his face that is completely inappropriate and belittling his own feelings of resentment and betrayal, hits for breaking a promise, and this is exactly what Shinya Hiiragi would definitely do in a situation like this.

Guren laughs, and Shinya's face shows a look of disappointment similar to the one he felt back in high school when he thought he overestimated his fiancée's lover. At the same time, the fear that then follows him demonstrates his awareness and true horror at the possibility of losing Guren. Shinya is no longer angry, he is scared and that is why he gives up his position — not so much because of worries for a loved one, but from the understanding that Guren needs help, not condemnation. Not just because he succumbed to the expression of his emotions, as it was in the manga.

Thus, in the anime, Shinya appears as a strong and strong-willed character with a clear worldview and principles, while at the same time having a weakness towards his friend, while in the corresponding chapters of the manga, his image is much more blurred and ordinary.

Results.

Summarizing the above, the characters of Shinya and Guren during the battle in Nagoya are demonstrated much better in anime due to competent directing, script revision and expressiveness of emotions.

This article is only a reflection of my opinion, you can either agree or disagree with these conclusions in the comments ~

[2hoothoots]

I’m probably off base here, but the implication I got from the game was that Gristol WAS the Delugionists. As in, he alone was it in the entirety, the only one funding it, and the Psychonauts just assumed it was multiple people.

There’s probably something in the game that contradicts that but that was my first impression

see, i like that interpretation a lot, but i don't know if it lines up with what we see in game. when we're first introduced to the Delugionists in the cutscene after Loboto's mind, Sasha has these lines:

[transcript: "She was a monster - a ruthless, power-hungry psychic who drowned hundreds of her own countrymen. Nevertheless, she still has her loyal followers to this day. This file documents recent activity believed to be the work of these modern day "Deluginaries".]

(side note, is it Delugionists or Deluginaries? the game can't seem to make up its mind.)

to me this implies that a) there have been small cells of pro-Maligula supporters for a long time, and they've long been a thorn in the Psychonauts' side; and b), they're very widespread. it's not a great screenshot, but there are five locations on that map, spread all over the world.

i dunno - i guess it's possible, but i look at how the Psychonauts are apparently tracking multiple global cells of Delugionists (i don't have screens/transcripts to hand, but some of the idle dialogue in the Nerve Center has the agents discussing the different groups they're monitoring)... and then i look at Gristol. i'm gonna be honest, the impression that i get from him is that he couldn't mastermind his way out of a paper bag :P his plan is laughably terrible, and from figments and the absolute mess his suite in the casino was in it seems like he spends most of his free time lazing around and eating caviar.

i don't think there's anything in the game that directly contradicts it, but i don't know if there's any direct support for it, either. i can definitely imagine Gristol meeting up with other Delugionists, maybe even wielding a sizeable influence with them due to his status, but he doesn't seem like the kind of guy to be able to orchestrate a one-man show like that is the vibe i get. (it probably also depends on how much faith you put in the Psychonauts' intel capabilities, too! it feels like the game wants you to think they're a cool and competent spy organisation, but then it keeps portraying them as just absolutely useless and incompetent as soon as you start looking any deeper, and i've never been able to work out whether that's on purpose or not.)

[novankenn]

Plague Doctors (3)

Four more months of stalled peace negotiations and a dozen more attacks by the Plague Doctors upon smaller, less defended settlements and facilities, had made the Haligan Republic withdraw from the table. They issued a declaration of Total War against the Confederacy less than 24 hours later. In tactics that reminded the Confederate military forces of 20th century island hopping, the Republic began to systematically move further into Confederate held space.

The blatant slaughter of whole settlements, men women and children incensed the Confederacy. They had openly derided the tactics of the Plague Doctors. Suing for a cessation of hostilities so they could focus on his apprehension. The Republic ignored those pleas. To those outside the conflict, the doctrine of the Haligans was clear. Genocide. 

The Galactic Senate attempted many times, as the conflict between the two minor powers continued to escalate, to engage both sides in a civil dialogue in seeking a peaceful resolution. The attempts all failed in utterly spectacular fashion. So the Senate changed their tactics. Instead of resolution, where both species could be saved. They turned their considerable might to containment. They blockaded both Confederate and Republic space along all common borders. 

The Confederacy didn’t waste any energy on an official declaration. Instead, they turned all their focus and drive into the enhancement of their industrial complex, and the adoption of a Bleed them Dry philosophy. The Haligans were more advanced, though be it by a small margin. But that margin was still wide enough that the Confederate forces were slowly and routinely being driven back.

Unable to meet the Haligans on an even field of battle, they moved to embrace another facet of Humanity. Dogged determination, pure vindictive stubbornness, and innovative adaptability, soon robbed the Haligans of their desire for a glorious battle. Instead, miring them in a prolonged, destructive, and frustrating conflict punctuated by guerilla tactics. The Confederacy moved from large scale battles to hit-and-run tactics, ambushes, and straight up terroristic actions.

Settlements along the collapsing border were abandoned, and trapped, with all manner of horrifically maiming contraptions. Decoy actions and contradicting information was openly broadcast, furthering the chaos that was quickly enveloping the conflict. At first, the Haligan Republic pushed past several of the abandoned outposts and settlements. Intent on driving the Human Confederacy back to their home world. It had been a disastrous mistake. Hidden combat cells now behind enemy lines struck. Disrupting supply convoys, and attacking unprotected infrastructure with horrific weapons.

This stalled the Haligans, forcing them into a ponderously slow advance as they now needed to physically clear each former Human controlled facility, or settlement. Which exposed them to the insidious traps the Humans left as presents for the invading forces. In quickly became apparent after multiple disastrous clearing missions that the Confederate instead of decimation had elected to use methods that would overwhelm Republic medical and industrial civilian resources.

Hundreds of thousands of refuges flooded the Haligan home world and more robust colonies. Driven from their homes by various malicious Human tactics. Skimmers, small four man FTL capable ships designed to appear close to planets and planetoids, bounce along the atmosphere and release various chemical payloads, had become the norm.

Herbicides. Pesticides. Caustic Agents. Defoliants, and even Respiratory irritating agents, replaced the world razing attacks of the Plague Doctors. Human initiated atrocities continued to grow in number and frequency, stalling the Haligan advance… turning the conflict from an active battle into a stalemated slog, and that’s how it remained for almost a full Sol system year. A true peace came a few months later.

/==/

In the end, peace was what Arthur D’Rivere had desired. It was to force peace that spurred his insidious and horrific actions. It had been achieved, at a staggering cost of both military and civilian lives. Out of his compliment of twenty ships, only eight remained. The rest lost to ambushes, orchestrated by Haligan military forces. It was over, and now the monster, the devil, needed to face his final judgement.

Facing the main tactical screen, split between a Haligan delegate and a Human officer, D’Rivere stood tall. He had always made the claim if peace was made, he would turn himself in. He would face judgement for his crimes. That time was now.

The Peace Treaty had the Republic concede all taken Confederate territory. The Confederacy in return was required to prosecute all leaders of splinter factions, that existed prior to the formal declaration of war, and to chemically neutralize all the substances they had unleashed upon Haligan settlements.

D’Rivere stood on the command deck of the Regretful Purpose, surrounded by the officers that had joined his cause, and followed his doctrine. All the enlisted men had been offloaded, and detained by the Human task force arrayed around him.

“So it is agreed?” D’Rivere asked. “Those men will be given fair trials on Confederate soil, not extradited to the Republic.”

“It is agreed.” the Haligan delegate replied.

“The enlisted will face trial and maximum allowable sentence will be life imprisonment.” informed the Human officer.

“Very well. Under these terms, the Regretful Purpose stands down.” D’Rivere felt the hand of Dr. Carver take his. It was not a romantic gesture. Just one made to convey her agreement with his plan of action. A symbol that she, like the men and women standing on the command deck, accepted their fate.

“Prepare to be boarded.” the Human Captain, informed, as she made a motion to someone off-screen.

“I would delay that order, Captain.” D’Rivere offered. “We already all know what our sentence will be… so… to the individual, we have chosen to enact that sentence upon ourselves.”

“What?” the Haligan yelled. “That is not part of the agreement! You were to surrender yourself and your crew to prosecution and sentencing!”

“Why bother. We have not denied our crimes. We have transmitted signed confessions and official records of all our actions. There is nothing else to do.” D’Rivere raised his left hand, making visible the remote denominator he was holding. “You have everything you need to convict us, and ending this out here… gives you time to concoct a feasible story to prevent our martyrdom.”

“But, your officers! The Doctor! Her research!” the Captain exclaimed.

To the individuals, the officers on the command deck all moved from standing at ease to standing at rigid attention. Their chins held high. Their faces Stoic, and fixed with a grim, silent declaration that they have accepted their fate.

“My research should not exist. It does not belong in the hands of a civil species.” Dr. Carver responded. “And it is an affront to even have you refer to it, Captain.”

“To a lasting peace between the Confederacy and the Republic.” D’Rivere spoke, his voice staying strong and unwavering. “To becoming a forgotten footnote in a regretful conflict.”

His finger depressed the activation trigger. Milliseconds later, the incendiary White Phosphorous charges strategically placed about the ship. The Captain and the Delegate watched in abject horror as flames washed over the small group, incinerating them instantly. With in the confined space of the orbital bombardment gunship, the temperature rose rapidly, reaching a peak heat of over 2500 degrees Celsius. Internal structure and components melted into slag, becoming completely unsalvageable.

Five minutes after the initial denotation, the heat finally breached the FTL drive core. The resulting explosion vaporizing the Regretful Purpose.

/==/ Original Works /==/

(A/N: So this came about from listening to those HFY Sci-fi stories on Youtube. I thought I'd try my hand at one. No idea if this is any good, and I know I departed from the traditional way the stories are done. But anyway feedback is appreciated and hope you enjoyed.)