@hulloitsdani I HAD TO. ROTATE THIS. IN MY MIND. SO MUCH. CAUSE HERE'S THE THING I think on the surface it COULD make sense and has SO much potential writing-wise and I have hardly thought about that before -- but!!!!
While I have been goofing on Ratatoskr and how she's just a poor little thang, upon meeting she DID tell Alfonse this:
Which gives you SO much information actually. Like. She knows a lot more than she lets on -- not because she's lying outright or even putting up a front, but because she's just. So overwhelmed and emotional and sensitive (LOUDLY so) that may be the only thing you notice, maybe even underestimating her. But I feel Alfonse took this information and did the opposite -- it's an odd position to be in, to be known presumably very well by someone who's a stranger to you. But I think he takes this in, and takes his first impression of her and her personality, motives, the conflict within her, and decides to put his faith in her.
I think ALSO he could be viewing her as a valuable ally, acknowledging:
I think, he sees she has potential, if he can win her over and have her fight on his side. I THINK. Primarily his motivation is practical. Making a quick judgement of her, coming to the conclusion she could be a valuable asset and could help the Heroes even more (going back to, him saying "She can even tell them I asked her to get us more information on the assassination plot" and "If our enemy thinks like I do... they'll see a similar opportunity in front of them.")
AUGH INTERRUPTING THAT THOUGHT THOUGH!!!!!! I FEEL LIKE!!!!!! PART OF THE GAMBIT IS "She would be a valuable ally" AND on the flipside "She could pose a considerable threat if she changed her mind and strengthened her resolve in the opposite direction (to kill me)" so winning her over is part of defusing the threat. AND it's an extra win to have all that information if she does choose the Heroes. AND it's an extra LOSS if she does leave, since she takes all that information with her AND has the advantage while the Order is left scrambling in the dark. Plus also!!!!!! Her having that intimate knowledge of his routines!!!!!! If he loses Ratatoskr, he Knows he's gonna suffer severe consequences.
ALSO. ALSO!!!!!!!! I FEEL LIKE!!!!!!!!!! That is WHY him letting her go and EMPHASIZING she can do whatever she deems necessary, EVEN giving her sisters inside knowledge on the Heroes. I FEEL LIKE. THIS IS ACTUALLY. VERY MUCH (on a much smaller scale!!!!) another Letizia moment. HEAR ME OUT
Right before The Moment, he's judging Letizia's character, what he knows to be true about her, her PERSONALITY and the way she thinks. Which leads him to go sicko mode on her (because! That Was the course of action to take with her!!!!)
THIS TIME. He's met with a very emotional, very distressed and conflicted assassin who seems to have a moral compass and is conflicted about what she's been ordered to do. In one way, she's almost like a bomb that has to be defused -- she Does pose a threat, and the threat needs to be addressed before it goes off/is out of his hands. And in this case, appealing to her emotions IS the answer!
AND. I THINK. PART of that appeal WAS to place That Much trust in her. ESPECIALLY communicating to her, she's not Required to remain loyal to the Heroes. Giving her a choice, between them and her sisters. He's heavily relying on Ratatoskr's internal conflict and also (surely it hasn't been missed on him) her attachment to him, or at very least her respect for him as a person she's come to admire. It's an extreme chance to take, but I think he knows if Ratatoskr can 1) Feel like she made the choice herself, and 2) He can catch her on another emotionally driven motivation (When she requests a favor in return, which is for the Heroes to Save her Sisters) -- I think he's fully confident he can win her over without forcing her to do anything.
WHICH. ALSO. HELPS WIN HER OVER BC her MAIN conflict she's struggling with is Being Forced To Do Something She Doesn't Want To. By NOT being forceful with her, by EMPHASIZING she can take any action she deems fit, he's set up a situation WHERE the Order of Heroes is the preferable option. He leaves her with the impression that her feelings matter, that she has agency, and ultimately it's up to her.
I FEEL LIKE........ I am talking in circles LMFAOOO BUT. I think Another thing (before thought interruption) was Alfonse's lines saying, "It's a gamble on our part, but if our enemy thinks like I do... they will see a similar opportunity in front of them." ESPECIALLY into:
WHICH stood out to me SO much because I think it really captures how practically motivated he IS here. He is using her. He's acknowledging, that if their enemy is Like Him, they're using her, too. He's creating a situation with a desired outcome, making the Order of Heroes the more desirable option to align with, giving her the feeling that she Can choose -- and, this is true! He's entirely put the choice in her hands. But in DOING that, it strengthens the possibility of her seeing the Heroes AS the desirable option. Which is the goal. Which is what he wants. He Is prepared, most likely, for the event this backfires, but also he's fully confident Ratatoskr Will choose them. (Also, as I say he was "most likely prepared for backfire"..... honestly that may not even be the case. Alfonse bluffs and bullshits his way around and out of things so much it would make Phoenix Wright blush).
WHICH ALSO LIKE..... AAAUGHGHHHH rotating him in my mind forever. You can See his traits and tendencies, see how he uses them for the benefit of his allies and those he cares about, but also SO clearly you can see. How A Lot of That is deeply rooted in his own moral compass (which is good!) and his own perspective (which is limited and sometimes flawed) and you can see. EXACTLY how these things can twist and turn and get really ugly LMFAOO
And man I haven't even gotten to Alear yet but I have THOUGHTS about his interactions w her too I need to make a separate post about LMFAOO 😅 (hit image limit and also feels like another topic entirely 🫡)
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I kinda like but dislike that Rumiko and Sunrise (and fans) have never even mentioned that miko (priestesses) are virgins. And that their shinto ability to tend holy places comes from being unmarried virgins. In modern day I guess it is not really required but I kind of wish more people analyzed Kikyo, the dark priestess, Kaede and Kagome in that light.
Personally I think that due to the era Kagome would not be allowed to remain a miko after getting married and having a child. She would still be one of course due to her spiritual ability, but I think she would no longer be allowed to remain in that societal role.
Kagome is so spunky though that I see her rebelling against it. I think Kagome's strength in being outspoken is another great contrast between her and Kikyo. While Kikyo was confined by society and was only freed from expectation when she became an impure monster. Kagome was outspoken and loud to where she didn't have much of a societal role and yet remained 'spiritually pure.'
There is a huge theme of 'societal expectation' in Kagome, Inuyasha, and Kikyo that I think being a miko is a part of.
Personally I'm torn on Kagome loudly choosing to get married and have a child VS remaining a Miko and Kagome choosing to attempt to do both.
More thematic headcannons in the tag below..
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https://www.tumblr.com/beatingheart-bride/716259973868486656/theheadlessgroom-beatingheart-bride
@beatingheart-bride
“It’s okay,” Randall assured her gently, seeing how unsettled she was by all the attention being on her all the sudden, while Wilhelm found himself smiling as he looked between his wife and son, saying, “That’s...that’s incredible! She must have the memory of an elephant-better than an elephant, even! A-And that sound, it’s...it’s...!”
“Beautiful,” June finished, trying to settle down her excitable husband so as not to ruffle their guest’s feathers (or scales, perhaps, would be the better comparison) too much, her too noticing how nervous she was at having an audience-to try and calm her, she gave her an honest applause, saying, “You have a very lovely voice, Emily.”
“Y-Yes, you-you do!” Wilhelm stuttered out, smiling to her as he paid her this compliment, saying, “I, uh, I’m not much of a singer myself, I just play this...”
“Oh, Wil, you’re a lovely singer!” June replied, kissing his cheek as Randall, smiling as well, encouraged, “Why don’t you show her your voice, Pa, I’m sure she’d like to hear it!”
Although Wilhelm good-naturedly protested, he just couldn’t say no to his family, and so, he smiled lightly to Emily as he once again began to play, his low, warm voice filling the room as his fingers ran along the strings:
“…Well, I'm sorry for the things that I told you, but words only go so far,
and if I had my way, I would reach into Heaven and I'd pull you down a star
For a present, and I'd make you a chain out of diamonds, and pearls from a summer sea,
But all I can give you is a kiss in the morning and a sweet apology...”
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Btw, what are your feelings on the idea of Oshus and Wind Fish being the same deity, just in different timelines?
I... kind of hate that idea? It just rubs me the wrong way. I kinda of dislike the general idea of similar deities in the Zelda series being the same thing simply because they're a little too similar. There's three separate whale deities in Zelda and I wholeheartedly believe that they're all distinct, separate entities.
Plus, while there are similarities, being that both of them lord over a sort of alternate dimension, where the outsiders enter via dreams, there are also some differences that make them differ too much for them to just be alternate timeline versions of each other. For one, they look different, which isn't much, but is enough for me.
How they generally work is also the biggest reason why they just. Are not the same thing. The Wind Fish seemingly only holds power over Koholint, while Oshus's domain includes pretty much an entire alternate Great Sea. The Wind Fish is more or less alone as the sole deity of Koholint, while Oshus operates along with the three spirits, that frog, and the thing that upgrades the spirits.
Another similarity is the respective enemies, the different bosses pretty much being extensions of the main villain, but Nightmare and Bellum are... certainly not the same, either, and I'm bringing these two up since they're pretty tightly connected to the Wind Fish and Oshus.
PLUS when the Wind Fish 'wakes up' everything goes away. The only exception being Marin if you win without dying. (I don't know what the Wind Fish has to do with that and I do not have enough investment in Link's Awakening to go into it.) Oshus is awake the entire game and the condition for Link and the others to leave is simply just. Oshus letting them go home after seemingly deciding the amount of time that has passed for them. (I very very strongly believe that Linebeck is originally from the same world as Tetra and Link and there's a lot more to this but that is not what I'm talking about here)
Even further, Koholint seems to be contained within the Wind Fish itself, since after it disappears Link seems to see it afterwards. On the other hand, Oshus seems to be within his own world instead, the inverse, especially since it's implied he and other entities within can reach out and interact with the worlds it is connected to. (Bellum creating the Ghost Ship and it showing up in Link's Great Sea)
I just feel like they operate too differently and the things and entities surrounding them are too separate and too different for them to just be. Alternate versions of each other.
There also isn't much evidence to suggest that an entity could work differently than an alternate version of itself, and it really just doesn't make a whole lot of sense anyways, since Oshus and the Wind Fish are generally pretty separate from the main Hyrule, so whatever goes down there won't really impact them a whole lot.
Also I think that whatever goddess creates the minor deities within and related to Hyrule just really likes having whales as protectors of small worlds.
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