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felassan · 4 years

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Some DA4 BTS vid analysis

The sentiments in PW’s recent word on concept art applied and were sensible to bear in mind before the tweet thread was made, and are of course still important to remember now. Dissecting and overanalyzing what we’re given is still fun as hell though, so now that I’ve slept and had yet another pass at it with fresh eyes and a non-vibrating mind, and with the caveat flagged, here are some more thoughts on and speculation about the DA4 BTS video. For context and contrast, here’s some of my initial main thoughts. Cut for length.

Yes in places it veers into wild speculation bc why not

The domes and domed architecture here and here don’t say Tevinter to me. Tevinter architecture has strong horizontals and verticals; it’s more about spikes and boxy blocks than domes and curves. I'm reminded more of Rivain

or Nevarra.

The figure here is dwarven in build. I want this place to be something dwarfy in nature. What kinda technology are we looking at here? The structures actually remind me of the Vaults in Mass: Effect Andromeda. It’s different enough to Orzammar-style structures that I’m hoping we can finally go to Kal-Sharok.

This isn’t Dorian. :[ Crow-style armor (the distinctive metal segments on the arms and legs), sword at his waist. I’m not fussed about this fact though because Dorian is still clearly shaping up to be in the game anyway from the Trespasser slides, TN etc. This guy is instead reminiscent of Mr Longhaired Rogue. Compare the hairline, hair color, length, rogueishness, general clothing style. I think this is the same guy, and I still think this guy is Lucanis.

I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out that third from the right “Ezio” from the lineup is him too - assassin’s hood, AC-style belt insignia.

The brunette here could be a dwarf from her build and the fact that the swordsman next to her (who incidentally has Inquisition insignia on his chestpiece?) is kneeling. She’s reminiscent of the Harding-like woman in the underwater shot, and indeed of Harding. Compare the cape and bare upper arms. Not a surprise, given Harding’s presence in the Trespasser postcredits.

Elsewhere in this shot, the architecture is Tevinter (that doorway and corner). As for the big guy, his clothing style bears a resemblance to Archon Radonis.

This and this follow in succession and look to be of the same place just from different angles. Wings, griffons, blue pennants, the desolate brown rocky environ. I think we’re looking at Weisshaupt in the Anderfels and I hope this means we can finally go there. The dangling Warden plot thread is begging attention what with the civil war, the Warden weirdness in TN, the return of the griffons, etc.

I’m not convinced that the presence of floating objects means the Veil has already come down. We’re going north, and in Tevinter there are buildings which float, so the magic capacity for buildings and similar objects to do is in the mundane world is established already. The boats are reminiscent of aravels though, and funnily enough, Dalish Keepers use their magic to allow aravels to move through forests. In Last Flight, Isseya remembers tales of how Dalish used their magic to float their aravels through forests, and fashions improvised aravels which are held aloft by magic and pulled by griffons.

Zooming in here, the silhouettes of these nearby animals have antlers. These are straight up halla (so they’re horns, not antlers), not horses. I think this image is of an elfy place, perhaps from ancient times, or like the places we travel through in Trespasser (the hills and landscape reminds me of what we can see in the distance in there in the elfy bits), or one of the mysterious ancient elven enclaves which still persist in Thedas to this day, or in the heart of Arlathan Forest.

Our new reptilian pal is potentially along the lines of a lurker, deepstalker or dracolisk (and Tevinter is fond of its dracolisks!). Compare the body structure to lurkers.

The pillars here look dwarven. I wonder if the snowy environment in that shot connects to the snowy environment from the now-infamous tree teaser, which is what follows next. This is unmistakeably dwarfy architecture too, but daylight in the upper levels? Somewhere like Kal Repartha, or perhaps upper halls of the Ambassadoria in Tevinter? The main part of the Ambassadoria is underground so the dwarves who work there don’t have to become surfacers, but there would have to be a part connecting it to the surface so that Tevinter diplomats and so on could go in to do business.

This guy bears a resemblance to previously seen dwarven statues (DAO, dotted around in DAI).

The Crow on the left here isn’t Zevran, I’m afraid. It’ll be another one like the blond lady in Crow-like armor, Lucanis, “Ezio”, etc. For the lady as an example, compare the waist sash and other aspects.

Moving on, there’s a flimsy similarity in this lady.

This place reminds me somewhat of DAI Temple of Mythal concept art.

“Ezio”?

The candle bois in this clearly-Tevinter scene strike me as wisps bound to the candlestick bodies by Magisters for the purpose of serving, like the lil spirit the Mortalitasi had bound to stir her tea in TN. People do that kind of stuff in Tevinter, see Dorian’s banters with Solas. Also in this image the machine-hand form of transport is super notable in terms of implications for technology and accessibility in Thedas (note: I don't mean like there will be a plotbeat based around this or a 'hand', I just mean I find it notable lore-wise that Thedas has tech/magic that can do this and find that important when thinking about accessibility as with Neve's prosthetic etc).

If this person isn’t Maevaris I will cry. The outfit in the middle’s color theme and shoulder features reminds me of her comic appearance, and the one on the right reminds me of her Trespasser epilogue slide appearance. The leftmost image is the least Maevaris-y, but the other two definitely strike me as Mae.

On guns: Not out of the realm of possibility for this world. Dwarves have lyrium-based explosives. Qunari have gaatlok, which is safer to use, and cannons. Varric’s Bianca is a repeating crossbow. An old Iron Bull concept has him with an arm-cannon. With technology like that in Thedas, guns aren’t far behind. Possibly a very recent invention in Thedas and still new to the vast majority of the population? In addition, the Sha-Brytol Earthshakers can manipulate lyrium into a unique explosive (though this is because they’ve drank lyrium and lyrium-infused armor has fused to their skin). Sha-Brytol Crossbow Bolters’ crossbows look very gun-like too, although they’re definitely crossbows, not guns (it’s in the name).

I’m curious about the plot implications of guns in the setting, if they are indeed a thing now. I don’t want them to be too OP or too modern, don’t want the high/dark fantasy vibe diluted, but curious about how they might level the playing field in a world with magic, or might turn the tide in one of the setting’s neverending battles (like the Qun vs Tevinter war). From the look of the possible gun in the lineup, it gives me a “guns in Fable”-gun vibe. Also, I wonder what Varric would think, considering how his past was much concerned with the issue with the secret to making a repeating crossbow and everything that entailed.

Second from the right in the lineup looks like a hornless qunari.

The skeleton entity appears 3 times, almost certainly the same entity in each appearance, and imo from its multiple appearances likely a companion. It’s not Cole (I’ve seen that suggested). If a companion it would be the designated ‘notable’ one on the roster in the way that Shale, Justice-in-dead-body and Cole were. If it’s a spirit inhabiting a body I’m glad the body is a skeleton, because we’ve had a spirit inhabiting a rotting fleshy corpse before already (Justice in Awakening), so that’s been done. I don’t think the green flame is Veilfire or Fade magic; in TN it’s noted that the Mortalitasi Myrna’s necro/Mortalitasi-type magic is emerald green. I like the notions that this is Audricuriosity from TN, a char a la Fane in Divinity, or a Mortalitasi that’s undead in that they (or a spirit mimicking them) have managed to ‘remain’ ‘in’ their skeleton after death, as opposed to just “this is a spirit inhabiting a skeleton”. Anyway, the focus we had in TN on Nevarra, the Mortalitasi and the undead is continued in this video - the dragon dissection looks like it’s taking place in the Grand Necropolis. Or maybe the Fade? The windows in the background at the top look upside down. Btw there is great dissection of the dissection image (ehue) which I recommend to check out here.

Compare his design with Nevarran styles.

Davrin? Suitably heroic, Warden-esque.

Rapier lady is surrounded by crows which reminds me of Leliana’s raven motif (not saying I think this is Leliana). She looks rogueish and assassiny so with that + the crows it wouldn’t be wild to assume Crow. However Mark Darrah retweeted this tweet which compares her mask to this Orlesian fashion.

The insignia on Solas’ new outfit in his concept art looks like the Mask of Fen’Harel from Felicia Day’s DA: Redemption.

This looks like the snowy environment from the tree teaser. Notice the statue of Andraste [?] in the background. The entity’s weapon looks like it would fit right into the Red Lyrium Weapons pack for DAI. Question: What happens when red lyrium infects a corpse or a corpse inhabited by a spirit?? Is that what we’re seeing here? elsewise it’s a darkspawn and red lyrium darkspawn.. [Mordin voice] Implications.. disturbing.

Davrin’s name is one letter off Davri as in Bianca Davri. Curious choice.

Hands-spider and the other Cetus-like monsters: Ghilan’nain, her original creations, and the Horror of Hormak.

The red lyrium tentacles being modeled look like what these guys are fighting off. Incidentally, with the sleek gold armor and advanced weapons/powers, maybe these guys are ancient elves.

The red lyrium environment from the tree teaser now returns. Remember the spirited discussions about whether these tendrils were deep mushrooms corrupted by red lyrium? :D

Then it jumps back to the ominous snowy environment with the statues of Andraste [?]. The statue does however also remind me of the elvhen statues in the Raw Fade in DAI. Note the sky here in the corner which looks kind of like a breach. As for the red lyrium egg - now where have we seen red eggs before? In the Crossroads in Trespasser. iirc Inky uses them to extend bridges in the Crossroads. The egg in the vid even seems to have bits of gold on it. Does the egg have something to do with the weakened Veil here? Is it red lyrium?

This shot is the same dwarven hall as before (see above speculation on the Ambassadoria, Kal Repartha etc). This time we can clearly see that the ceiling is open with ‘skylight’-type windows to the sky above. Possibly reaching, but the foreground structure looks like a dwarven take on the DAI elf tree statue asset. Some elves and dwarves did dwell together for a time in Cad'halash, and we find elven statues in the Deep Roads in Trespasser.

But this particularly sticks out to me because of the nature of Kal Repartha, how it was built on the surface (daylight from the ceiling), trees + Mythal, Mythal striking down the pillars of the earth and what some of the ancient elves did to the dwarves, Mythal + dragons, Kal Repartha + the urtok:

[quoting me] The scholar who was investigating Kal Repartha in the Hissing Wastes found pictures on walls of weapons with dragons (the urtok) worked into the decorations on them as part of an ancient crest. These were accompanied by an inscription of a verse that was passed down by Fairel’s ancestors for generations, from long before Fairel ever led his house to the surface and would have encountered dragons in the sky and from long before dwarves would ever have encountered Archdemons in a Blight. Curious. I suspect these are a holdover from when Mythal struck down the Titans and the ancient elves’ conflict with the dwarves/Titans. Given those events, it’s no wonder the dwarves of that time period had folktales about a dragon scourge.

Still with me??

Now here we are inside Weisshaupt or the Warden fortress from before. Note blue banners with the Warden griffon sigil again. I want to believe there are big open archways in the walls/out to landing-pad style ‘balconies’ in the way it’s suggested that it’s built here because in ye olden times you’d have Wardens on their griffons flying to and from the fortress. Is that Davrin? It looks like it could be the same warrior guy as before, only this time it’s definitely a Warden. What’s happening outside? Why is the light/sky outside sickly Fadey green? Reminds me of the sky in the corner of the egg pic. And of Fade Weisshaupt from DAO.

If he’s not a Lord of Fortune, perhaps a Raider of the Waking Sea. Might tie into why Isabela is there in the underwater picture, or why there’s an Isabela-esque pirate-type lady in that pic at least.

now

#dragon age 4 #the dread wolf rises #dragon age #bioware #video games #tevinter nights #tevinter nights spoilers #tevinter nights spoiler #spoilers #spoiler #solas #cole #spirit boy #gpoy #mj meta

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commentaryvorg · 4 years

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Danganronpa V3 Commentary: Part 5.14

Be aware that this is not a blind playthrough! This will contain spoilers for the entire game, regardless of the part of the game I’m commenting on. A major focus of this commentary is to talk about all of the hints and foreshadowing of events that are going to happen and facts that are going to be revealed in the future of the story. It is emphatically not intended for someone experiencing the game for their first time.

Last time in trial 5 (trial 5!!), Kaito was incredibly confused about who the hell Junko was supposed to be, called Shuichi distrusting with his own mouth, apologised for lying and claimed he did it to help someone (two things Kokichi would never do), hated the way Kokichi pretended to enjoy this game and never told anyone anything, felt horrendously helpless watching Maki attack Shuichi about his supposed distrustfulness and eventually broke it up by saying something vaguely Kokichi-esque that really isn’t remotely what Kokichi would say if you think about it for two seconds. During all this, there was also an actual case being discussed, albeit rather a fillery part of it, involving Himiko being way too antsy about being suspected, Shuichi frustratingly not telling everyone she couldn’t have done it until the last moment, and Kaito being a dick to Himiko, but only just enough of a dick to keep up the charade and not a single bit more.

As Shuichi finally explains that Himiko shouldn’t have known how to use the crossbow, Maki is briefly hesitant to confirm that she didn’t teach her how.

Himiko: “Wh-What’s wrong? Are you… mad about before?”

Maki: “…”

Himiko: “S-Sorry… I thought they were gonna suspect me, so… I lied.”

Exisal Kokichi: “I really have to question your morals if you’re blaming Maki for your lie, Himiko!”

If Himiko really was doing that, then, phrasing and intonation aside, this actually wouldn’t be a sentiment that’s out of character for Kaito. If you’re apologising for having lied, then of course you shouldn’t try and push the responsibility for it onto anyone else – you’re the one who chose to lie, so you need to take responsibility for that. Questioning someone’s morals for pushing responsibility onto others is again not really something Kokichi would do, because he was constantly deflecting his own responsibility all over the place. …Though to be fair he did also deflect his deflection a lot, so maybe that isn’t completely far-fetched.

Himiko’s not actually blaming Maki at all, though – so the part where “Kokichi” has decided that’s totally what she did is definitely all from Kaito’s idea of the kind of thing Kokichi would do (he’d always assume the worst of everyone, of course), even if the line said in response to that idea is maybe more from Kaito himself.

Himiko: “I’m sorry, Maki… Please… can you tell them the truth?”

Maki: “Fine… I’m not going to lie.”

…Not about this, at any rate.

Keebo: “I do not think she would bring it at Kokichi’s request…”

Himiko: “Of course not! Why would I ever listen to Kokichi?”

Exisal Kokichi: “Cuz I know you like meeee.”

Himiko: “Nuh-uh! I hate you!”

Exisal Kokichi: “But I like you.”

Why. Why even.

As I mentioned when Kokichi once presumably-lied about liking Himiko way back in chapter 2, either he was attached enough to that stupid lie to put it in his script (this part could be scripted, as just a general “something to say if Himiko is hostile at you” thing), or Kaito heard that back then, happened to remember it, and figured it’d be another way to be believably Kokichi and technically kind of a dick without being especially cruel.

Shuichi: (But to think that Kaito asked Himiko to do that… Maybe Kaito is trying to keep the promise we made yesterday…)

Of course he was! He just needed a little time to actually think of a “plan”, but asking for a crossbow was absolutely part of the doing something about it that he was totally going to successfully do because he has totally always been successful in such endeavours in the past.

Also, I see your pointed use of present tense there, Shuichi. Which is massive amounts of wishful thinking, but also not wrong! Kaito is still trying his hardest to keep that promise, right now!

Himiko: “Well, Kaito… sorta asked me to keep it a secret…”

I wonder why exactly Kaito wanted it to be a secret anyway. Maybe he was just hoping to surprise everyone when he showed up in front of them the next morning having heroically escaped all by himself (if he even survived for that long). Or maybe he knew that if they heard he was about to do something that haphazard and reckless on his own then they’d try and stop him. Or maybe he just didn’t want to get their hopes up for his early escape if the plan failed and he ended up with nothing to show for it. …Probably a bit of all three.

Himiko: “Then Kaito died and… I got scared. I thought I was gonna be next.”

Exisal Kokichi: “You’re the worst for trying to pin the blame on Maki just for that reason! Maki, teach this dumb monkey the true terror of human beings!”

This time he’s not wrong, because while Himiko didn’t blame Maki for her lie, she did try and push the culprit-blame onto Maki while she was being accused. It is still of course a dick move for him to have a go at Himiko for that… but it is a dick move which is on Maki’s side. Kokichi was never on Maki’s side. Kokichi would have been joining Himiko in pinning the blame on Maki.

Kaito is at least trying to make Maki sound scary and dangerous while being on her side, but… it’s a bit of a half-hearted attempt.

Himiko: “So I took a walk near the hangar, and that’s when Kaito called out to me.”

Kaito, who had thought up his brilliant, elaborate plan of “uhhh threaten him with a crossbow I guess” but took long enough to do so that Shuichi was long gone and he was looking at spending the entire night pointlessly crossbowless if nobody else came along, must have been really glad that Himiko just happened to show up.

Tsumugi: “So if Kaito asked for a crossbow, does that mean he was going to kill Kokichi?”

Himiko: “No, he said it was to disable Kokichi. I wouldn’t have helped him otherwise. I trusted Kaito and took a crossbow from Maki’s lab.”

This really is a testament to how trustworthy Kaito is. The request to have a weapon delivered, when the only potential target of that weapon is the supposed evil mastermind, is super suspect even if the requester is claiming they’re not planning to kill with it. But she trusted that Kaito really didn’t want to kill anyone, not even Kokichi! Kaito might have asked for only one arrow partly as a way to show good faith, that he really did mean it about only wanting to injure and not kill. (Even though you totally could kill with a single arrow, but.)

As soon as they start discussing what happened once Kaito had the crossbow, Shuichi very quickly and confidently asserts that Kokichi was shot too. Where was this certainty about that back when we were claiming the culprit totally shot Kaito through the bathroom window, hm?

Tsumugi: “Then it was Kaito who shot him, right?”

Exisal Kokichi: “Hmmm, I’m not suuure. I don’t remember anything like thaaat.”

None of this crossbow stuff was in the script, so Kaito genuinely Is Not Sure how he should be responding to this and who he should be claiming shot Kokichi to best achieve the goal. So he just works that unsureness into his act and figures that’ll do, hopefully? (Shuichi’ll figure it out in the end anyway.)

Maki is very insistent that it doesn’t matter exactly how the fight played out because obviously Kokichi killed Kaito somehow as a result, end of story.

Maki: “Then, let’s hurry up and vote—”

Shuichi: “No, it’s too soon. There are still mysteries—”

Maki: “Who cares about that? We already know who the culprit is.”

Monokuma: “You sure about that?”

But of course, Monokuma also very much doesn’t want to do the voting yet.

Monokuma: “As the one running this trial, it bothers me when anyone says mysteries don’t matter. It affects the overall entertainment value, so I encourage you to reaaaally think about things.”

This is a plausible reason why he’s bothered, and it is part of it – it’d be a disappointing trial if it just went to the vote right here, before they’d actually figured out the whole story of what happened (and Monokuma knows there’s a lot more to the story than what they’ve figured out so far, because he knows everything that Maki did). But of course, it’s really because Monokuma himself doesn’t have a clue who did it yet and doesn’t want the vote to happen until he’s become sure of it.

Monokuma: “After all, there should be some mysteries that still matter… For example, is Kokichi really inside that Exisal? Stuff like that…”

And this is pretty telling as to the real reason why Monokuma interrupted. If he was only annoyed because they’re giving up without fully explaining the mysteries, then he should want them to focus on the mysteries they were busy talking about: exactly how the crossbow fight played out and who shot who. If they talked about that enough, that should get Himiko to mention that she only brought one arrow and let them unravel things further from there.

But that’s not really what’s bothering Monokuma the most. He’s probably been super antsy during this whole discussion of the boring bits involving the crossbow that he already knows about, when the real question on his mind is who is even dead, and he was really hoping that Shuichi would turn his Ultimate Detective skills towards that topic a bit more.

Exisal Kokichi: “…”

Awkward silence. He might be afraid Monokuma already knows and the plan is pointless. Or perhaps he’s just realising that the conversation is about to move back to things that are in the script and is frantically trying to find the right page.

(Or he’s having an inconveniently-timed coughing fit and couldn’t respond to this even if he knew how to.)

Himiko: “His voice is even coming from the Exisal and everything.”

Come on, Himiko, you heard Kaito’s voice, too! The reason Kaito started out as himself may well even have been specifically so you guys wouldn’t write things off this easily!

Monokuma: “But we heard it speak in Kaito’s voice earlier, didn’t we?”

I wonder, if Kaito hadn’t started out as himself, whether this would be the moment in which Monokuma would have told everyone anyway that the Exisals have a voice changer. He’s allowed to give them information that’s necessary to solve the case, after all! If Kokichi had wanted Kaito to be him the whole time in order to hide the voice changer, it really wouldn’t have helped the plan at all.

Exisal Kaito: “Yeah, don’t rely on that. After all, this Exisal has a voice changer.”

Kaito is probably very happy that this discussion has given him an excuse to be himself again, even if it’s only for a short while. I also wonder if this switch is scripted or not. I suppose it’s more likely that Kokichi might have scripted one for after it gets revealed that there’s a voice changer, just to demonstrate it while still messing with them.

Also, can we talk about the Exisal’s voice changer? Obviously it’s really there from an out-universe perspective simply because it’s utterly vital to this case’s premise. But I still couldn’t help but think about why an Exisal would even have something like this, which can apparently perfectly impersonate the voices of… all sixteen students here? When none of the students were ever meant to even get inside an Exisal? It’s a bit much.

What would be slightly less much (albeit admittedly still a lot) would be if the voice changers weren’t already programmed with all sixteen students’ voices, and instead they just could be programmed with anyone’s voice if someone spent the time to do so. Meaning that Kokichi had to spend several hours in the hangar talking into the Exisal until it learned to emulate his voice patterns perfectly, such that currently the only voice it can do is Kokichi’s, not Kaito’s.

…I had a point to this thought when I planned to say it, probably something about how this could mean that Kokichi had to have Kaito pretend to be him and not the other way around. Except I just now realised that, if all this were true, it’d mean that Monokuma would know about this and would have seen only Kokichi talking into it to program it, which would mean that he’d know the truth the moment he heard Kaito’s voice come out of the Exisal. So never mind, scratch that. I guess the Exisal really does just have all sixteen students’ voices for some reason even though that makes very little sense and is Team Danganronpa shooting itself in the foot again.

So yeah, in the end: it is a pretty big stretch to believe that the Exisal just randomly happens to have a voice changer like this. But it having one is absolutely vital for the premise of this case, and the premise of this case is so good that I do not remotely care what narrative contrivances were necessary to make it possible in the first place.

Shuichi: (…It what?)

Shuichi! You heard it speak in both voices, too! Did that really not occur to you as a possibility, when it’s one that leaves open the chance that Kaito could be alive?

Exisal Kaito: “Hah! Cuz of that, nobody realizes I’m pretending to be Kokichi!”

Heeee! That’s precisely the truth! Kaito must be delighted to just get to be honest for a moment. And sure, it’s something that he intends for everyone to eventually conclude was a lie, which is why he’s able to safely say it, but in this moment, he is not making himself sound insincere. That’s got to be so refreshing.

Exisal Kaito: “But no more! Sorry for the wait, guys!”

[the Exisal leaps over into Kaito’s spot]

Exisal Kaito: “The Luminary of the Stars has arrived! This time for real!”

He’s being such a dork and so himself. Of course the hero should have a dramatic entrance, right?

…And he’s still technically lying slightly, because he doesn’t intend this to be “for real”. He knows this is most likely going to be very temporary. But still.

Exisal Kaito: “I told you, I’m Kaito. I was just pretending to be Kokichi is all. There’s a bit of a situation going on, so I didn’t really have a choice…”

Technically not an incorrect reason why he was pretending. Just a really, really vague one. He obviously can’t tell them the full truth about why he was doing it, but he also doesn’t want to outright lie here.

Although, he says he didn’t really have a choice, but he absolutely had a choice in whether or not to participate in this plan. It’s just that this is the only choice Kaito would ever have made. One might think that’s why he says he didn’t really have a choice… but no, it’s not, because framing things that way would make it sound like his actions aren’t his responsibility. Even if he knows he’d never have chosen anything else, Kaito would never shy away from the fact that this was his decision. So that bit’s just part of the lie.

Exisal Kaito: “Sorry about tricking you guys like that. My bad!”

He really is sorry for tricking them! And yet, this apology still comes off as insincere, because he doesn’t sound like he feels bad about it. He appears to be apologising for something he was doing until half a minute ago and apparently just stopped doing on a whim. Kaito would definitely also disapprove of apologising when you don’t really feel sorry at all, making people think you’ve learned from your mistakes when you actually haven’t, which is how he’s making himself sound right now. But, of course, that’s because he’s still pretending to be Kokichi pretending to be him – if he made himself sound truly sincere and showed genuine pain over having deceived them, it’d make it too clear that he’s the real deal.

Maki: “How many times are you going to be tricked by him? That’s Kokichi pretending to be Kaito.”

Last time Kaito spoke as himself, Maki believed it for a brief, shining moment. But that was because she hadn’t heard both voices. Now that she knows about the voice changer, she is certain this has to be Kokichi pretending, because Kaito is definitely dead.

Exisal Kaito: “Hey now, Maki Roll. Don’t you believe me?”

Maki: “Don’t… *ever*… call me that!”

Exisal Kaito: “Whoa there! Chill! You really think I’m Kokichi?”

Unfortunately, Kaito can’t not call her that, because it’s very definitely what Kokichi would do while pretending to be him, especially since doing so would hurt her. He absolutely does not want to cause Maki any more pain than he already has… but in this situation, he had basically no way to avoid it.

Unless Kaito just didn’t even realise how much hearing that would hurt her. It’s possible he was still hoping she might not be completely convinced that he’s Kokichi and might be able to start believing he could be alive after all, especially if he acts like his usual self and calls her Maki Roll. He’s optimistic enough that that’s absolutely what he’d do in her shoes, so he might not realise she definitely wouldn’t.

Or maybe it’s that Kaito just doesn’t realise how much that nickname has come to mean to her and therefore that hearing it from “Kokichi” would even hurt her at all. Maki hasn’t done a lot to properly show how much Kaito means to her at this point, and Kaito does after all have a tendency to be An Idiot when it comes to realising how important he is to his sidekicks.

Exisal Kaito: “I mean, I guess I understand. Sorry I can’t really get outta this thing right now.”

It’s also very not-Kaito of him that he just shrugs it off when she clearly doesn’t think it’s him. The real Kaito, if he was truly only being himself, would desperately want them to know that it’s him and would do whatever it took to convince them, even assuming he literally couldn’t open the Exisal cockpit to show them. There would be plenty of ways to prove it’s him, too! He could offer that Shuichi and/or Maki ask him something only the real Kaito would know the answer to – stuff they talked about while training! His favourite spaceship!

Even though Kaito isn’t offering, this could also be something Shuichi could challenge him with to try and prove or disprove his identity. But even if he did that, it wouldn’t actually work, because Kaito is pretending to be Kokichi pretending to be him, so he’d deliberately get the questions wrong.

Exisal Kaito: “I can’t move because of the injury I got from Kokichi… It’s so bad I can’t even stand. That’s why I’m in this Exisal.”

Ah, yes, that incredibly vaguely-defined “injury” that, wherever it is, really shouldn’t be preventing him from standing since he was standing up to have that window conversation with Shuichi yesterday and it shouldn’t have gotten any worse since then.

And even if it’s true that he can’t stand, he could still open the cockpit to show them it’s him, since if it really is him then Maki won’t be trying to murder him! It’s a little awkward that nobody points that out, but not a huge deal since they’re soon going to be concluding that he really is Kokichi after all.

Exisal Kaito: “But if you guys don’t believe me, then we can’t move on…”

The way Kaito talks about “moving on” here is interesting. The ultimate outcome of this whole being-Kaito-for-a-bit escapade is that Shuichi is going to finally conclude and accept that he’s really Kokichi and Kaito is dead. This line suggests that this is what Kaito’s trying to achieve here – to get Shuichi to settle on who the victim is once and for all so that he can continue the trial with a firmer premise in mind. It’s most likely also what Kokichi intended for this, if he did indeed script Kaito switching to his own voice once the voice changer was mentioned; he’d want to remove that ambiguity as soon as it appears and convince everyone that even though the voice doesn’t prove anything, he’s still definitely Kokichi anyway.

Exisal Kaito: “So, you’re up, Shuichi!”

Shuichi: “What!? Me!?”

Exisal Kaito: “Explain to everyone how I wasn’t the one that died!”

Kaito is encouraging Shuichi to explain his deductions, just like old times!

Despite what I just said about how the point of this is to make Shuichi accept that Kaito’s dead, I think Kaito could also genuinely believe that Shuichi might be able to prove he’s alive. Kaito has unending faith in Shuichi’s awesomeness and knows for certain that he’ll reach that truth eventually – but he has also been known to overestimate Shuichi’s abilities in terms of how much he’s figured out, so he might think it’s possible that Shuichi can prove it already. The usual problem, as far as Kaito sees it, is less Shuichi not having figured things out, and more him simply not having the confidence to be sure about what he’s figured out and explain it.

So I wonder if Kaito could be doing this while thinking that if Shuichi has already figured it out, then he really might as well reveal the whole truth right now. If that happens, then it’s not a huge loss, since Shuichi was almost certainly going to reach that point eventually anyway, and at least having it happen sooner rather than later will save everyone an hour or two of painful deception.

(However, there are a couple of specific things Kaito is aiming for, things that he will eventually achieve, that require the trial not to end so soon. So even if he thinks it’s possible, he shouldn’t be hoping for this too strongly.)

Shuichi: (Kaito is alive after all… No… maybe… that’s just what I want to believe. Is it really true?)

It seems like having spent a while sort of more or less entertaining the idea that Kaito is dead (even if still not acknowledging it completely), Shuichi is able to catch his wishful thinking a little more now that he’s being shown this glimmer of hope again.

Shuichi: (What story does the evidence tell?)

It might also be because “Kaito” is here, encouraging him to use his detective skills like always, that Shuichi is finally able to accept that he needs to look at things objectively with those skills of his, even if they end up proving that the Kaito encouraging him to use them isn’t really Kaito at all.

Shuichi: (Does that story end with Kaito or Kokichi being the victim?)

I really love how he describes it as a “story” here, and in particular, the way he talks about the story’s “end”. It draws attention to the fact that, despite how things might seem like they could go either way right now, this story has already been written and the end has already been set in stone.

Which one would be the better story? There’s only one correct answer to that. But Shuichi can’t use that as an argument, because that’s a narrative argument.

And if you’re a first time viewer of this story who has only shaky faith in Spike Chunsoft’s writing skills because the writing in previous Danganronpa games has disappointed you before (not always, but sometimes)… you can’t use that argument either. I so, so desperately wanted to be watching a story where Kaito wasn’t the victim, because that was so obviously the best possible story to tell about him here, but I just couldn’t trust that that would be the case. Especially not when they’d also been spending this game building up the impression that Kaito was expendable and liable to get himself pointlessly killed off and that they didn’t really care about his story.

(As it turns out, they very much do care about it, so much – but all of the indications of that are fairly subtle and not something I picked up on first time around.)

Shuichi: (I need to give a well-reasoned answer to that question, and soon. …I can’t look away from the truth.)

Shuichi is so clearly trying to talk himself into facing Kaito’s death here. The whole time, he’s really known deep down that that has to be what the truth is because it’s where all the evidence points. This is him finally telling himself he needs to stop running away and face that already, partly because it’s hard to make deductions when you haven’t even properly established the premise of who the victim is, but mostly just because it’s the truth.

Shuichi hasn’t been explicitly objecting to the idea of Kaito’s death for a while, but he only actually acknowledged the concept out loud once, and very indirectly at that. While they were discussing the crossbow, Shuichi was only ever talking about it in terms of “who shot Kaito”, as a convenient excuse to stop him from thinking about how the real question is “who killed Kaito”. This is the moment when he finally forces himself to accept it.

Shuichi: (I’m trying, I really am, but I can’t think of anyone other than Kaito…)

This is a really awkward way of him phrasing it here, most likely due to the localisation. This was never a question of “who other than Kaito could be the victim?” – obviously the only other option is Kokichi; that’s not the problem. His line should be something more like “I can’t think of any way it couldn’t be Kaito”.

Exisal Kaito: “Hey, what’s the matter, Shuichi? Just hurry up and tell everyone why I’m not dead! Should be easy!”

…As much as I like to think Kaito might believe it’s possible Shuichi could prove he’s alive already, I doubt he thinks it’d be easy. So even if part of him was hoping for something less painful than this, what this mostly is on the surface is Kaito trying to push Shuichi into accepting that he’s dead, if he really doesn’t have any way to prove otherwise. And he does that not while being a dick as Kokichi, but while being himself. That has to hurt.

Shuichi: “No… I won’t. Because you’re not Kaito.”

He doesn’t say “I can’t”, even though that’s true. He says “I won’t”, as if he thinks that Kokichi was tempting him with false hope into continuing to try to deny Kaito’s death, and he’s choosing not to fall for it. (When actually that’s completely the opposite of what Kaito was trying to do.)

Shuichi: “Kaito is already dead!”

And he’s finally, directly accepted it. Right in front of Kaito being Kaito at him. That’s got to be the most painful way this could have been done, for both of them. And yet, something like this was probably necessary to get Shuichi to even accept it at all.

Monokuma: “Puhuhuhu! Good, good! This is already more entertaining!”

I mean, it is – you just got some quality despair right there as Shuichi finally put the lid on his baseless hope – but entertainment value isn’t really why you did this, is it, Monokuma?

And then suddenly Monokuma jumps into a Debate Scrum, even though there is no obvious split opinion at all. Himiko, Keebo and Tsumugi are about to get put on the “Kaito is alive” side, when their only reactions to Exisal Kaito here have been vague confusion, and not “welp I guess Kaito really is alive after all, awesome”.

The opening cutscene for the Scrum is technically incorrect, because the Exisal is shown standing in Kokichi’s spot when it should currently be in Kaito’s. Apparently they made this cutscene while the script of exactly how this would go down still hadn’t been finalised and they didn’t know Kaito was going to be being himself during this moment. Or they did know, but the person making this scene didn’t get the memo.

Monokuma’s decisions of which death portrait to put on which side of each Debate Scrum are usually pretty arbitrary. But of note this time is that he put Kaito’s portrait on the “Kokichi is dead” side, and Kokichi’s portrait on the “Kaito is dead” side. I guess he was thinking of that in terms of “this is what they’d think if they were alive”, rather than “this is where they should be if they really were death portraits”.

Joke’s on you, Monokuma. In reality, they’d both be on the “Kaito is dead” side.

Monokuma doesn’t try and make the Exisal participate in the debate either, partly because the morphenomenal trial grounds don’t work for something that huge, of course… but also partly because Monokuma doesn’t have a goddamn clue which side he should be on anyway.

So, on the one hand, I really enjoy that they highlighted the importance of this moment of Shuichi forcing himself to accept Kaito’s death by making it the subject of a narrative-driven trial minigame. But it awkwardly doesn’t quite work as a Debate Scrum, which are supposed to be about the entire class being unable to agree on something. Right now, the only one whose opinion is relevant to the narrative is Shuichi, and to some extent Maki. The other three are getting forced by the writing into acting like they firmly believe Kaito is alive just so Shuichi and Maki can have opponents, even though that’s not how those three really feel.

What this moment is really, meaningfully a split opinion between is the two sides of Shuichi. His Ultimate Detective side has finally outwardly admitted that all of the evidence says Kaito is dead, but Shuichi Saihara who just doesn’t want to lose his best friend would still be fervently fighting against that. It would be really cool if the writers had decided to make this moment truly about that by throwing out all preconceptions of how a Debate Scrum should usually, physically work and just getting incredibly metaphysical, forcing you to play as the Ultimate Detective side of Shuichi as he faces the truth by shooting down his own desperate, flimsy protests as to why Kaito totally isn’t dead. It wouldn’t make much sense in terms of how that’s actually happening, but it would be such good storytelling for this moment that I wouldn’t care.

Tsumugi: “Is is possible that Kokichi got crushed instead of Kaito?”

…

Keebo: “But there was an arrow hole on Kokichi’s shirt.”

…

Himiko: “I want to believe Kaito is still alive and defeated the mastermind, but…”

All of these lines are arguments that Shuichi tried to make himself at some point earlier while trying to deny Kaito’s death. (Even the last one; that was the promise Kaito made to Shuichi in which he totally already had a plan, right?) Just imagine if this Debate Scrum really was Shuichi versus himself, pushing back that desperately hopeful side of him and forcing himself to face the truth. It would work!

Keebo wins the arbitrary honour of being the only character who has been on the correct side of every single Debate Scrum, since this is the one time Shuichi is not. For this one, though, it’s definitely more by luck than judgement (and by being awkwardly forced by the writing into acting adamant that Kaito is alive even though he really wasn’t so sure).

Shuichi: (Damn that Exisal… Why would he confuse us like this?)

It’s ironic that Shuichi phrases this as being about the person in the Exisal, even though he specifically means Kokichi – because phrased this way, it also applies to the person who’s really inside the Exisal. That person definitely is being infuriating and confusing them a lot, isn’t he.

Shuichi: “I don’t… want to believe it… In a way… I still can’t…”

Of course he can’t! Accepting it on an intellectual level is one thing, but it’s going to take much longer than that for it to properly sink in that his best friend is gone. With all the other victims, there was at least a bit of time after the body discovery to just sort of process the fact that they were dead and grieve a little before having to focus on the investigation. But here, Shuichi has only allowed himself to acknowledge that fact right now, and yet he’s now got to immediately press on with the trial without any time to deal with it. And that’s bad enough without the fact that Kaito was closer to him than anyone else who’s died before, even Kaede. Just… ouch. They were friends. (Are friends.)

Shuichi: “I hate it… I hate it so much, but it’s the truth.”

I know you hate it, Shuichi. Of course you do.

(It’s still not actually the truth, but he’s now completely certain that it is and aaaagh.)

This whole thing of having had a Debate Scrum to determine this is also a very importantly misleading narrative trick. Shuichi’s side of a Scrum has always been correct before, so this makes first time players more likely to assume that apparently Kaito being dead really is the truth after all, even if they’d been doubting it up until now. It also seems reasonable, narratively, that the point of keeping things ambiguous for so long could purely be for the sake of emphasising Shuichi’s struggle to accept the painful truth because of how strong his friendship with Kaito is, an arc that focuses on two things that have been very prominent themes throughout the whole story. First-time-me was completely taken in by this, specifically because there was a Debate Scrum about it. I lost all hope for a while from this point on, just like Shuichi has.

Exisal Kaito: “…”

Oh, hey, look at the camera panning to Kaito saying nothing. On a first time, this would seem like it’s Kokichi thinking “welp, you got me”. But no. It’s Kaito, doing what he’s usually doing when the narrative makes a point of the fact that he’s saying nothing. How must he be feeling to hear the pain Shuichi is in right now because of him. (“Because of him” in two very different meanings of the phrase at the same time. Because of how much he means to Shuichi; because of what he’s doing to Shuichi.)

It’s also relevant to note that from where the Exisal is standing right now, in Kaito’s spot, Shuichi is most likely too close to be in the angle of the Exisal’s camera if it points straight forward, meaning Kaito can’t see Shuichi’s face. He’s… probably kind of glad about that, really.

Tsumugi: “Then the one here is…”

Exisal Kaito: “Heh, looks like I messed around too much.”

This line here is my main reason for the idea I presented earlier that part of Kaito was hoping Shuichi could already prove he was alive. Out of all the things he could have said as the last word as himself before switching back to Kokichi, it’s this. Admittedly, this is probably intended to be spoken as Kokichi already, before turning the voice changer back on, but even so, this sounds ad-libbed – I’m sure the real Kokichi would have said something more dickishly flippant, rather than thinking he messed with them too much. This isn’t just, welp, everything according to plan, had some fun being Kaito for a while, convinced everyone he’s dead, now let’s get on with the rest. If it’s an ad-lib, it’s still partly drawing from how Kaito’s feeling right now – and it sounds almost… disappointed. Like Kaito was hoping to have achieved more with this, and he realises now that he was “messing around” (being a little too optimistic about Shuichi’s abilities) to have thought he could do so.

Exisal Kokichi: “Soooorry! That was just a little joke!”

And look who’s apologising for (supposedly) lying to them, again. Also evidently not scripted.

Maki: “You’re still an asshole…”

Maki only ever uses language this strong towards Kokichi, and only during this case. Pretending to be Kaito just to toy with their emotions sure is an asshole move, and the person who did that asshole move definitely knows it.

Shuichi: “True, and I can’t forgive him… but we still need to stay calm, be rational. Because we need to get to the truth of Kaito’s death.”

Monokuma: “Y-Y-Y-Yeah! Just keep calm and carry on!”

Monokuma was really, really hoping that this whole endeavour he prompted would have actually unravelled the mystery, like, at all. All it did was get them right back where they started, still without any more proof of it than Monokuma’s already seen. He still isn’t sure that’s the real truth of the matter, but he’s not going to find out more about that if Shuichi isn’t thinking about it any longer. He’d love to tell them to keep thinking even more about if Kaito really is dead, maybe poke them to look at the video more closely, but that’d make his intentions too obvious at this point.

It seems that despite wanting to know who the culprit is, Monokuma is also trying not to let them realise that he needs to know who the culprit is. He does not want them to figure out there’s an audience, does he.

---

[Next post]

#danganronpa #danganronpa v3 #drv3 #ndrv3 #chapter 5 #class trial #commentary

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fire-emblem-heroes-supports · 5 years

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Summoner/F!Robin C-S Support

Written by robluu321

C SUPPORT

F!Robin: Um, excuse me, (y/n).

(y/n): Uh?… Oh, Robin, good afternoon.

F!Robin: Good afternoon. Would you mind to answer me three questions I have?

(y/n): Sure. I may have work to do, but I’m not in a hurry. What do you want to know?

F!Robin: First… where did you learn your tactics?.

(y/n): Ah, that’s an easy one. Well, after I was summoned, I read a lot of books about military strategy… That’s how I learnt most of what I know about it.

F!Robin: Wait, so… you didn’t know anything about being a tactician before that?

(y/n): I had a little “experience”, I guess… since I played things called “video games”… but yeah. If we compare my knowledge now to my knowledge when I was in my world… there’s an abysmal difference. Part of the problem is, where I come from, magic does not exist.

F!Robin: Wow… weird… so you had to adapt to understand tactics with mages?

(y/n): Indeed. Honestly, all this stuff – dragons, magic, medieval life style… It’s all strange to me. There are legends and stories about it, but I never lived anything like this until now.

F!Robin: That brings up my next question. Many Heroes here say you describe stuff that we’ve never seen, many say you may be… um… crazy, and you just imagine them, actually… You said something about having played a… video… video game.

(y/n): It’s understandable. It’d be hard for anyone here to picture what a video game is, and I’d have a hard time myself explaining what it is. They don’t have to believe me if they don’t want to. The only way I could get you to understand would be to open a gateway to my world and bring back a video game and a console, or to bring you to my old house but… Well, I can’t do that.

F!Robin: That’s… convenient… but maybe it has something to do with my third questio Alfonse said you didn’t want to return to your own world… why?… don’t you have loved ones there?.

(y/n): I do. But opening a gateway to my world would be… Let’s say that, in my world, we have what we call… petroleum. It’s a mineral oil that we use for fuel, and very important for our economy. And… as you might suspect, it’s becoming rarer and rarer… I fear that if we open a gate, people would end up discovering Askr and come to steal its resources…

F!Robin: …Are you shaking?

(y/n): …Honestly, I am happier to be here… But you don’t have to believe me if you don’t want to. I guess that answers your three questions. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.

F!Robin: Wait!… They left…

[(y/n) and F!Robin have reached support rank C.]

SUPPORT B

(y/n): If only I could understand this better… Damn.

F!Robin: (y/n)!

(y/n): Robin? What a surprise.

F!Robin: I still had another question. Please don’t run away this time.

(y/n): …What is it?.

F!Robin: Why did you say you were happier here than in your home world?

(y/n): Well… Here, I’m more important than I am at home… Unlike all of you Heroes, I’ve never fought an evil empire trying to conquer the world nor an evil dragon trying to destroy humanity… I was just a regular person, like any villager.

F!Robin: So you were like Donnel before he joined the Shepherds, and your life here is more exciting.

(y/n): Pretty much, yeah… Okay, now may I ask you something as well?

F!Robin: Of course. (y/n): I don’t wanna sound rude but… why are asking me so many questions?

F!Robin: Let’s say… I feel a special connection with you.

(y/n): Connection? What do you mean? F!Robin: I’m not sure… It’s just, we’re very similar in some aspects: we’re both tacticians, working along a blue haired prince who has a cute younger sister and wields a legendary sword, our clothes are similar… The fear you displayed when you talked about an army from your world… It’s similar to the fear I had when I faced Walhart and his men… and…

(y/n): And? F!Robin: And we both worry too much about others, to the point we overwork ourselves to ensure their safety. We also both prefer to stay with the friends we made along the way than to live the destiny we were suposed to live before our adventure began.

(y/n): I see… let me test ask you something else. Did you decide to kill Grima, despite knowing it would kill you as well, because you couldn’t have lived the rest of your life in peace? Because it would have been selfish? Because it might have allowed the future where Lucina came from to happen again?

F!Robin: …I’m just one woman… Chrom and all the others didn’t understand that. My life is nothing compared to many lifes.

(y/n): But life does not care for what we want or what makes us feel better. For what it’s worth, I think you made the right choice, Robin. Even if it was a hard decision. Remember this: the hardest choices require the strongest will.

F!Robin: …Thank you for being so understanding, (y/n).

(y/n): You’re welcome. I’m gonna have to cut our chat short though… I still have a lot of working to do.

F!Robin: Would you like some help?

(y/n): Haha. Yes, why not?

[(y/n) and F!Robin have reached support rank B.]

SUPPORT A

F!Robin: You know, when you said you had too much work to do, I thought you meant making tactics, but all these… the telescope, compass, thermometer… They are just wonderful.

(y/n): They truly are. A shame the vast majority of people would be unable to explain how they work, let alone build them.

F!Robin: That makes sense, I suppose… After all, I would be unable to build a ballista. So you really are from a completely different world, aren’t you?

(y/n): Mhm. Feels weird to live in a medieval setting.

F!Robin: What do you mean by medieval?

(y/n): A long time ago, my world was very similar to Askr or Ylisse. Well, without magic, pegasi, wyverns, dragons and all that stuff, of course.

F!Robin: Ah, that’s right, no magic. Then it must have been pretty difficult to do certain things, and I guess battles were more simple, only melee fights… (y/n): Oh, no, actually. In modern society, we have weapons that allow us to fight from a distance.

F!Robin: Like archers?

(y/n): Sort of? I guess you could think of such weapons as evolved bows and arrows… Wait, I think I can explain. You see how Breidablik works?

F!Robin: Yes. You load it with orbs and then you push that thing here, and it fires. Like a crossbow.

(y/n): Haha, I didn’t think about it, but it does work a bit like a crossbow. To me, it’s more similar to one of the weapons I just mentioned – a gun.

F!Robin: Interesting… So, instead of orbs, you’d load a “gun” with another kind of projectile. Similar to cannonballs, but smaller.

(y/n): Exactly. We call them bullets.

F!Robin: Um… Would have been pretty convenient if Breidablik could do that.

(y/n): Ha! Yeah… I could have headshoted Surtr or Veronica and we’d all be happy right now. Well, in theory.

F!Robin: Such efficient yet deadly new weapons… I can see why anyone from your world coming here with ill intentions would be worrisome.

(y/n): Yes… The mere idea this could happen makes me… makes me… urgh…

F!Robin: You’re trembling again. Are you okay?

(y/n): Yes, yes… Sorry. I worry too much, don’t I? After all, there’s no way this could happen. As long as I’m using Breidablik with good intentions in mind, this will never… urgh.

F!Robin: …You know you’re not alone, right? Everyone here is your friend. We can support you. There’s no point in getting sick with worry. That’s what my own friends taught me.

(y/n): Thank you, Robin. I appreciate the thought. But as my duty-

F!Robin: Oh, please. Don’t give me the “duty” excuse. I’ll help you, everyday! I know how it feels to work restlessly… so please, just let me help you.

(y/n): In that case… Alright, friend. Thanks a lot.

F!Robin: Don’t mention it.

[(y/n) and F!Robin have reached support rank A.]

S SUPPORT

F!Robin: You!

(y/n): Argh!

F!Robin: Stay right here! Don’t try to run away!

F!Robin: You owe me an explanation, and I want it now!

(y/n): R-Robin? I… Um… I have to–

F!Robin: Work to do, yes, I know. That’s the problem! What’s gotten into you? All of a sudden, it’s like I’m not allowed to work with you anymore! I just wanted to make sure you’d be fine, as a friend, and now you are overworking yourself again! Why?

(y/n): I know, I just… You’re… distracting me.

F!Robin: Distracting you…? So you’re saying it’s my fault then.

(y/n): I mean… Do you have any idea how hard it is to focus on skills sets or strategies for Tempest Trials when there’s someone as kindhearted and pretty as you always standing near me?!

F!Robin: …Excuse me?

(y/n): You gave me a hand when I needed it the most… and after that, every time you helped me, the only thing I could think about was how smart and beautiful you are. Sheesh, I even spilled tea all over me the other day because I was thinking about your smile.

F!Robin: (y/n)… I had no idea…

(y/n): I know. I’m sorry I changed my mind about working together and gave you no explanation. Well, here’s your reason. I love you. It’s just… In order to stay focused on my duties, I needed you to stay away from my job.

F!Robin: …You are such an idiot. Instead of taking such a rash decision, you should have told me. Who’s to say I don’t feel the same about you? Geez… I hadn’t confessed and I still thought you had rejected me.

(y/n): I-I’m sorry… I never expected I had a chance. But… maybe we can try.

F!Robin: What do you mean?

(y/n): If we both feel the same, maybe I won’t have any problem being in love with you and working at your side.

F!Robin: Now that sounds like a good decision. Here, let me tell you something.

[(y/n) and F!Robin have reached support rank S.]

Confession quote:

F!Robin: “Your dedication to help everyone, your kindness, your intelligence… I love it all. You opened my eyes to wonders I would have never imagined. I can not imagine how my life would have been like had I never met you. Let’s stay by each other’s side, for the rest of our lives.”

#male and female heroes #fire emblem awakening #submission #y'all have no idea how much time i spent proofreading this #in the end i changed so many things T___T i hope the writer can still recognize their support chain #i'm sorry writer i hope that's okay and sorry it took me so long

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therevolutionhasbegun · 7 years

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'The Spoils of War' Reaction Post

The best episode of Season 7 so far. I'm hoping most people have seen it, but either way, spoilers underneath the cut. :)

1. Cersei recovering belongings? When speaking with the gentleman from the Iron Bank, he mentions something about a group of people (I think?) who are good at pressuring people/recovering people's debts, to which Cersei replies there are a few things that belong to her that she will need help recovering too. I'm really curious as to what those belongings are. Are they people that have wronged her? The North itself? Other rebelling kingdoms? Or actual tangible items themselves?

2. Littlefinger/Bran So we all know to be wary of Littlefinger by now whenever he is around. What was there for him to gain by giving the dagger to Bran? Perhaps nothing, but I think what he is trying to do is act as kind and helpful as he can around the Stark kids to gain their trust, and then manipulate that trust whenever it suits his ambitions.

3. Bran/Meera Up until this point, I was pretty pissed at Bran for being so emotionless and cold. But now, I understand why. Being able to see everything and anything, relive anybody's memories, be anywhere at any time...Bran really is not Bran anymore. There is no Brandon Stark anymore, just a vessel that sees, and knows, everything. I know if it were me, I wouldn't feel like a person anymore. I would probably feel just as dead inside, too. And so my heart goes out to both him and Meera, for all that they've seen and all that they have been through, with no real happy resolution at the end of it all.

4. Arya/Sansa My inner happily-ever-after persona really wanted to see a tearful, joyous, emotional reunion between Arya and Sansa. It was the reunion that I was anticipating the most. So I was a little disappointed by the stiff and somewhat awkward reunion that was presented. But in all honesty, it made sense. Sansa and Arya were never close; they even borderline loathed each other. Being apart for so long and all the horrible ordeals they both had to go through was what fueled any type of fondness that was displayed between them. Either way, I was happy to see them together again after so long.

5. Daenerys/Missandei It was so sweet to see them talking to one another as normal girls would about their boyfriend(s) instead of a queen talking business to her advisor. :)

6. The carvings I mean...I wasn't too impressed? Again, it just didn't make sense to me. I thought the First Men and the Children originated from beyond the Wall and then eventually made their way south? How did they get to Dragonstone? I dunno, I just thought it was a little strange and didn't really seem to fit what we know already about the history of Westeros.

7. Daenerys/Jon Jon STILL won't bend the knee. Dany has not only agreed to aid him with mining the dragon glass, she has now proclaimed that she will fight for him, for the North, and he STILL won't give her what she wants. I guess he really, truly does not trust her yet, even though she seems to have a soft spot for him. I LOVE LOVE LOVE how she used his own words against him. The same words he said to Mance when he refused to bend the knee to Stannis. You can't have your cake and eat it too, Jon. If you want the North to be so independent, then how can you expect Dany to help you? But if you submit and become ONE kingdom and work as a team, you'll have a valuable ally against the white walkers AND still be able to keep the peace with the presumable new queen whenever the war is over. I just don't get his thinking.

8. Be a fucking dragon Yes, Daenerys is in quite the predicament. She has lost a lot of valuable allies. Why? Because she’s playing the game way, way too conservatively. Tyrion and the others are good strategists, don’t get me wrong. But this just isn’t Dany’s way; it’s not what she is good at. I might have the unpopular opinion here, but Olenna’s words were sound. Being a dragon is who Dany is; she and her dragons share the same soul, the same fire. Using her dragons to attack the Red Keep and conquer Westeros does NOT make her a mad queen like her father before her. Does she enjoy killing innocents? Of course not! She truly wants to make Westeros a better place. But she won’t ever get there if she keeps listening to the sheep and doesn’t stay true to herself. It’s gotten her this far, and it will continue to carry her forward if she continues to listen to her heart and follow her intuition like she has been.

9. Arya/Brienne What an engaging, fun scene! Seeing two powerful women go up against one another like that was exhilarating. And Arya’s little sword dance at the beginning? She’s too cute. It is absolutely amazing to see how far she has come; how being a faceless man for a short stint has helped her grow in impossible ways. However, you can still see Syrio’s influences in her fighting style as well. Others around her may find it slightly scary, but I find it to be truly awesome.

10. Sansa jealous? So I’ve seen quite a few people say that the expression Sansa had upon her face while watching Arya train with Brienne is that of jealousy, my dear friend Danielle included. When I watched the scene, jealousy was the farthest from my mind. What would Sansa have to be jealous of? Combat was never her thing; she and Arya are two completely different individuals. She’s already received many compliments on being a good leader. No, what Sansa was feeling in that moment is much more complicated. I think she is troubled. Troubled by what Arya must have seen and gone through in the process of becoming such an experienced fighter. Worried about what this might mean for Arya’s future; is she on a dangerous path? And I think a slight bit of hidden pride to see that her sister is indeed a survivor and can hold her own.

11. Davos/Jon/Missandei Oh, this scene made me so mad. Everyone under Daenerys’s sanction has been more than friendly and accommodating to Jon and Davos, maybe even a little more than necessary. They are essentially strangers, yet the people of Dragonstone trust them enough to let them in on their strategies involving conquering Westeros. Yet, Jon and Davos continue to stir the pot. What was to be gained by making Missandei question her loyalty and Dany’s motives? They want them as allies yet they still refuse to treat them as such. I just don’t understand.

12. Theon/Jon This was a reunion I was not expecting to happen so soon. I was so scared that Jon was gonna beat the shit out of Theon on the spot similar to how he pummeled Ramsay. (RIP </3) Just looking at the sadness and despair in Theon’s eyes communicates that he still hasn’t forgiven himself for the crimes he committed against the Stark family, he probably never will, and that he doesn’t really want anyone else to forgive him either.

13. The Battle I don’t think I really need to do much explaining on how awesome this sequence was. Seeing Daenerys and Drogon in action, in battle, in Westeros was so satisfying; literally something we have all been waiting to see since season one. And I don’t think I am the only one who was intensely stressed during these scenes. If you’re like me, and love basically every character on the show, it was so hard to watch but also impossible to turn your eyes away. I was so convinced Bronn was going to die, but was relieved that he didn’t; I was so convinced that SOMEBODY major was going to die, but nobody did, at least not that we know of. Jaime’s fate is still up in the air; personally, I don’t think he will die - yet - but you never know with this show. Seeing Drogon injured was rough, but I knew slaying a dragon would not be very effective with that monstrosity of a crossbow; it is just too clumsy to maneuver and slow. Seeing Tyrion’s anguish as he watched Jaime in battle was emotional and bittersweet, but I think his loyalty to Dany will still remain regardless. The major battles on this show are my absolute favorite parts; D&D are so amazing at putting the focus on individual characters and their emotions while still capturing the bigger picture. I’ve never been one for big battle scenes; I’ve always found them to be a bit tedious and boring. But Game of Thrones is a completely different ballgame and has given me a new, engaging perspective on them.

Overall, a stunning episode, and I am excitedly looking forward to episode 5 on Sunday night.

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