Aylinn

[aylinnworld]

Ombria in Shadow

I have finished this one and it is another good book by Patricia A. McKillip with her nice, dreamy prose and soft magic.

I like the idea that under Ombria there is another underground, shadow city with a powerful sorceress who lives there. How there are secret passages and ghosts in forgotten rooms.

[aylinnworld]

The Emperor in Baldur's Gate 3

Beware of spoilers if you didn't finish the game.

I am surprised that there is a discussion whether the emperor manipulates or not or if he is a good guy.

He obviously manipulates you. He appears to your Tav, who fights for survival, as a knight in shinning armour. And probably would have never dropped the act if he didn't have to, but he is forced at the beginning of act 3.

Early on, what is really telling and made me suspicious of him is that he tells you he protects you, but never wants to tell you HOW he is doing it. His motivation remains unclear and it comes across as suspicious. From the beginning he felt slippery.

Plenty of things he hides from you and only tells you when forced, like the fact he is Balduran. This is revealed because of Ansur. That pattern repeats throughout the game: information is revealed when it becomes impossible to hide, not because he believes Tav deserves the full picture.

If you push for finding more information, you will often find how the emperor is feeding you with half-truths and omits what is not convenient for him.

To me he is extremely well-written manipulator. The most dangerous kind of manipulator that is intelligent, charming and subtle. A one that knows that doing favors when it doesn't cost him much or can be good for his plans is a way to make him look better.

The Emperor asks for trust, but the moment Tav stops following his plan, he abandons them. It reveals he wanted obedience, not trust.

As for Orpheus vs. the Emperor

Orpheus is willing to sacrifice himself, willing to become the thing he hates to save everyone and once the battle is done, if he is the mind flayer, he keeps to his word and asks you to kill him. He doesn't prioritize his hatred for illithids, like your Tav, over the possibility of defeating the Netherbrain. He sacrifices the possibility of living free and taking revenge on Vlaakith.

While the emperor on the other hand joins the Netherbrain, the moment you don't want to play his way. He prioritizes his own survival over defeating the Netherbrain.

[diximixy]

Oh dear, you have never engaged with a good mystery narrative before and it shows.💀

A character witholding information is not an inherently malicious activity! Or I guess then Father Jud from Knives Out 3 as well as Keiichi, Rena, Mion and Rika from Higurashi are all evil manipulators too.

This entire post reaks of trying to give a Watsonian reason (ie in universe explaination "the Emperor manipulates") for something that has a much better Doylist (ie meta explaination "it's a mystery narrative"). No I'm not saying that a Doylist explination is always more important than a Watsonian one. I just want to drive home that both are important to fully understand a story. Stories are narratives made by people to convey something and characters are devices for that goal.

The Emperor pretanding to be the Dream Guardian is 100% justified imo. You and your entire party were just kidnapped by mind flayers and got infected with mind flayer tadpoles. After all of that would you trust a mind flayer showing up in your dream and telling you that they are protecting you, 'trust me bro'? That's not a likely scenario, especially with how quick this fandom is to demonize the Emperor simply based on the fact that they are a mind flayer.

The final choice is dumb the way it's handled in the game duh. But it is that way because the people at Larian really wanted it so. Again blaming the Emperor with Watsonian logic while there is a more important Doylist explination. The basic question of bg3 as said by it's creators is that "Would you become a monster if it would save the world?" (this ign interview) and the game backs out of this question in the end in a frankly deeply embarassing way. By it letting you to shove the Emperor 'the monster' aside and condemning Orpheus to a fate he considers worse than death you only learn of monsterhood as something to be avoided and pushed ontu others (sentence semi plagiarized from this amazing essay on the Emperor). That is an embarassingly bad way to handle the thesis they've set up.

Also the Emperor "joins" the Netherbrain because first off you betraied them (the game literally says that btw "betray a recently forged alliance" inspiration point for Charlatan background) and they fully believe that Orpheus will simply kill them. Which Orpheus can confirm (it's dumb it's so dumb as this is in the game god, yeah let's just take two characters brain cells hostage so the plot can "work"😭). They can either stay and get killed by Orpheus or leave the astral prism and get reenthralled to the Absolute and maybe live. Oh no having a sense of self preservation, wanting to live!😱 The most evil of things to want, Ryland Grace the most evil man and Rika Furude the most evil woman! /sarcasm sooo much sarcasm with that last part💀 As well as characters not being omniscient generally speaking.

And last but not even a little bit least. I recommend this quote to ruminate on:

Also for you (if) and anyone else who wants to experience some good to amazing masterpiece mystery stories watch the Knives Out movies especially the 3rd one god (literally lol) it's a good one. Play the Ace Attorney games, Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc just to start with (class trial 4 lol with all that lying I love it), maybe Ai the Somnium Files I heard it's good. And maybe (pls pls pls try out my snake oil😭) read the Higurashi When They Cry visual novel the first arc Onikakushi is free on steam.

[aylinnworld]

Oh dear, you have never engaged with a good mystery narrative before and it shows.💀

Yes, dear, you are the special snowflake in this world. The only one knowledgeable about mystery stories. The only person in the world who reads and likes them. It must be your superior reasoning that brought you to this truth. Apparently all my time reading for example Agatha Christie books were just a misunderstanding, because I failed to achieve the level of mystery enlightenment required to agree with your Emperor interpretation.

The funniest part is that you are explaining mystery conventions to someone while making the most basic mistake in literary analysis: confusing "I understand why a character did something" with "therefore the character was morally justified in doing it." Mystery stories can have liars whose motivation for lying is reasonable. That does not make every liar morally innocent.

Just because something can be explained does not make it morally justified.

But congratulations, you've explained why the Emperor lied. Nobody was confused about the fact that characters usually have reasons for their actions. The existence of a reason is not the same as moral justification.

The Emperor's actions make sense, but it doesn't mean he did the morally right thing.

Also the Emperor "joins" the Netherbrain because first off you betraied them (the game literally says that btw "betray a recently forged alliance" inspiration point for Charlatan background) and they fully believe that Orpheus will simply kill them.

It shows he prioritizes obedience and would not trust Tav's judgment.

Before freeing Orpheus, the Emperor has just discovered that his entire plan failed and was manipulated by the Netherbrain. Forgive me if My Tav doesn't treat his latest prediction as infallible.

The Charlatan inspiration isn't objective truth, the Emperor was betrayed. It's a roleplay reward based on how a Charlatan character views the situation. That's not the same thing as the game itself declaring "the Emperor was objectively right." Besides, truly nothing says "objective truth" like a background-specific XP reward in a game. XDDD

[diximixy]

Sorry didn't know that the mystery genre died with Agatha Christie. So the genre just died and stopped evolving there I guess then, rest in piece.

>The funniest part is that you are explaining mystery conventions to someone while making the most basic mistake in literary analysis: confusing "I understand why a character did something" with "therefore the character was morally justified in doing it."

No I didn't lmao. What do you think the "imo" was there for? Why do you think that was the only thing I called "justified"? You are literally explaining one of Higurashi's core messages to me. Yes I understand the distinction and I was only refering to the dg disguise as justified in my opinion. Idk but it might have been you who didn't understand what I wrote just a thought.🤷

You talk about 'moral justification' a lot. As if fiction and reality subscribe to the same moral standards. As if somehow liking a character reflects your real world morality in any way. News flash irl the Emperor having to kill people just to survive would be a deal breaker for me but thankfully they are not a real person. Fiction also exists to explore ideas that would be harmfull, taboo or toxic in the real world in a safe manner. And if you are unable to distinguish between fiction and reality this way that is a you problem, not an everyone else is immoral problem.

>It shows he prioritizes obedience and would not trust Tav's judgment.

Then why can you make a deal with Raphael and lie to the Emperor about it? Why can you convince them to protect Minsc? And why can you persuaed them to take over the Netherbrain in the 'evil' ending?

[aylinnworld]

My point was you don't know what I have or haven't read and you seemed to be under impression that I misunderstood the Emperor because I am not into mystery genre.

Yes, fictional characters are not real. Thank you, Captain Obvious.

So let's make it clear, I think the Emperor is a well-written manipulator. It is good storytelling. All I care about in fiction if a character is interesting or make the story interesting. I do not care about their morality. The Emperor does make the story interesting. No problem here. In my original post, I merely pointed out he is a manipulator and that I was surprised to encounter people who claim otherwise. The story supports he is a manipulator. He will never tell you important things about himself unless the circumstances push him to do it. It is a pattern.

The dream visitor - It is understandable why the Emperor hid being an illithid at the start. But why not do it in act 2? By that time, Tav knows the only thing that prevents her or him from turning into a mind flayer is astral prism.

Fiction absolutely does allow moral analysis. In fact, that's one of the main reasons people discuss fictional characters. You can enjoy a character and still say "this person is doing morally questionable things." I have certainly enjoyed characters like this.

By Act 3 Tav proves themselves by defeating Ketheric and obtaining a Netherstone. At that point Tav is too valuable an ally to throw away simply because they spoke to Raphael. What would the Emperor gain from abandoning an ally like this? A manipulative person can tolerate choices they dislike if the relationship is still beneficial.

The Emperor doesn't trust you after the original plan to dominate the brain with the Neterhstones failed and just acts like following him is the only reasonable decision and not a total gamble. It is even revealed that the Netherbrain was manipulating him. After being proven spectacularly wrong, I don't see why Tav should treat the Emperor's judgment as infallible? And why should Tav at that moment follow the Emperor without any questions?

[aylinnworld]

The Emperor in Baldur's Gate 3

Beware of spoilers if you didn't finish the game.

I am surprised that there is a discussion whether the emperor manipulates or not or if he is a good guy.

He obviously manipulates you. He appears to your Tav, who fights for survival, as a knight in shinning armour. And probably would have never dropped the act if he didn't have to, but he is forced at the beginning of act 3.

Early on, what is really telling and made me suspicious of him is that he tells you he protects you, but never wants to tell you HOW he is doing it. His motivation remains unclear and it comes across as suspicious. From the beginning he felt slippery.

Plenty of things he hides from you and only tells you when forced, like the fact he is Balduran. This is revealed because of Ansur. That pattern repeats throughout the game: information is revealed when it becomes impossible to hide, not because he believes Tav deserves the full picture.

If you push for finding more information, you will often find how the emperor is feeding you with half-truths and omits what is not convenient for him.

To me he is extremely well-written manipulator. The most dangerous kind of manipulator that is intelligent, charming and subtle. A one that knows that doing favors when it doesn't cost him much or can be good for his plans is a way to make him look better.

The Emperor asks for trust, but the moment Tav stops following his plan, he abandons them. It reveals he wanted obedience, not trust.

As for Orpheus vs. the Emperor

Orpheus is willing to sacrifice himself, willing to become the thing he hates to save everyone and once the battle is done, if he is the mind flayer, he keeps to his word and asks you to kill him. He doesn't prioritize his hatred for illithids, like your Tav, over the possibility of defeating the Netherbrain. He sacrifices the possibility of living free and taking revenge on Vlaakith.

While the emperor on the other hand joins the Netherbrain, the moment you don't want to play his way. He prioritizes his own survival over defeating the Netherbrain.

[diximixy]

Oh dear, you have never engaged with a good mystery narrative before and it shows.💀

A character witholding information is not an inherently malicious activity! Or I guess then Father Jud from Knives Out 3 as well as Keiichi, Rena, Mion and Rika from Higurashi are all evil manipulators too.

This entire post reaks of trying to give a Watsonian reason (ie in universe explaination "the Emperor manipulates") for something that has a much better Doylist (ie meta explaination "it's a mystery narrative"). No I'm not saying that a Doylist explination is always more important than a Watsonian one. I just want to drive home that both are important to fully understand a story. Stories are narratives made by people to convey something and characters are devices for that goal.

The Emperor pretanding to be the Dream Guardian is 100% justified imo. You and your entire party were just kidnapped by mind flayers and got infected with mind flayer tadpoles. After all of that would you trust a mind flayer showing up in your dream and telling you that they are protecting you, 'trust me bro'? That's not a likely scenario, especially with how quick this fandom is to demonize the Emperor simply based on the fact that they are a mind flayer.

The final choice is dumb the way it's handled in the game duh. But it is that way because the people at Larian really wanted it so. Again blaming the Emperor with Watsonian logic while there is a more important Doylist explination. The basic question of bg3 as said by it's creators is that "Would you become a monster if it would save the world?" (this ign interview) and the game backs out of this question in the end in a frankly deeply embarassing way. By it letting you to shove the Emperor 'the monster' aside and condemning Orpheus to a fate he considers worse than death you only learn of monsterhood as something to be avoided and pushed ontu others (sentence semi plagiarized from this amazing essay on the Emperor). That is an embarassingly bad way to handle the thesis they've set up.

Also the Emperor "joins" the Netherbrain because first off you betraied them (the game literally says that btw "betray a recently forged alliance" inspiration point for Charlatan background) and they fully believe that Orpheus will simply kill them. Which Orpheus can confirm (it's dumb it's so dumb as this is in the game god, yeah let's just take two characters brain cells hostage so the plot can "work"😭). They can either stay and get killed by Orpheus or leave the astral prism and get reenthralled to the Absolute and maybe live. Oh no having a sense of self preservation, wanting to live!😱 The most evil of things to want, Ryland Grace the most evil man and Rika Furude the most evil woman! /sarcasm sooo much sarcasm with that last part💀 As well as characters not being omniscient generally speaking.

And last but not even a little bit least. I recommend this quote to ruminate on:

Also for you (if) and anyone else who wants to experience some good to amazing masterpiece mystery stories watch the Knives Out movies especially the 3rd one god (literally lol) it's a good one. Play the Ace Attorney games, Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc just to start with (class trial 4 lol with all that lying I love it), maybe Ai the Somnium Files I heard it's good. And maybe (pls pls pls try out my snake oil😭) read the Higurashi When They Cry visual novel the first arc Onikakushi is free on steam.

[aylinnworld]

Oh dear, you have never engaged with a good mystery narrative before and it shows.💀

Yes, dear, you are the special snowflake in this world. The only one knowledgeable about mystery stories. The only person in the world who reads and likes them. It must be your superior reasoning that brought you to this truth. Apparently all my time reading for example Agatha Christie books were just a misunderstanding, because I failed to achieve the level of mystery enlightenment required to agree with your Emperor interpretation.

The funniest part is that you are explaining mystery conventions to someone while making the most basic mistake in literary analysis: confusing "I understand why a character did something" with "therefore the character was morally justified in doing it." Mystery stories can have liars whose motivation for lying is reasonable. That does not make every liar morally innocent.

Just because something can be explained does not make it justified.

But congratulations, you've explained why the Emperor lied. Nobody was confused about the fact that characters usually have reasons for their actions. The existence of a reason is not the same as moral justification.

The Emperor's actions make sense, but it doesn't mean he did the morally right thing.

Also the Emperor "joins" the Netherbrain because first off you betraied them (the game literally says that btw "betray a recently forged alliance" inspiration point for Charlatan background) and they fully believe that Orpheus will simply kill them.

It shows he prioritizes obedience and would not trust Tav's judgment.

Before freeing Orpheus, the Emperor has just discovered that his entire plan failed and was manipulated by the Netherbrain. Forgive me if My Tav doesn't treat his latest prediction as infallible.

The Charlatan inspiration isn't objective truth, the Emperor was betrayed. It's a roleplay reward based on how a Charlatan character views the situation. That's not the same thing as the game itself declaring "the Emperor was objectively right." Besides, truly nothing says "objective truth" like a background-specific XP reward in a game. XDDD

[thoughtfulstudentsalad23]

GAIDEN SPOILERS

When Kye-sook says that Hak's role is worthy of a name... what is that, I wonder? King-consort? There is an implication that his status will rise...

[merrilyshadowymentor]

Formal title: Grand Herald of the Roads and Eyes of Her Majesty

Short form: Royal Eye of the Roads

Official description

A dignity granted to the person who travels across the Five Tribes in the name of the Crown, listens to the people, inspects roads and settlements, proclaims royal decrees, and reports directly to Her Majesty everything he has witnessed.

Actual description

Hak continues travelling across the kingdom, solving problems and acting as an intermediary, but now Kye-sook has given the position a title so that it looks as though Hak has been promoted.

[thoughtfulstudentsalad23]

Yep. I don't see people discussing this either but wtf were the 5 tribes doing? Are they not looking out for their respective tribes? What was the tribal meeting even for? Why isn't Hak working with the Earth Tribe, Geun-tae, Joon-gi etc. and just suffering through this solo?

[merrilyshadowymentor]

Yep. Ngl I don't see people discussing this either but wtf were the 5 tribes doing? Are they not looking out for their respective tribes? What was the tribal meeting even for? Why isn't Hak working with the Earth Tribe, Geun-tae, Joon-gi etc. and just suffering through this solo?

I think we may be left without an answer, honestly. There are so many basic questions about how the tribes and the kingdom are supposed to function that I’m not sure it is worth trying to make sense of it anymore.

[thoughtfulstudentsalad23]

Yeah there's no substance remaining in this series. It's just the aesthetic larping of a political fantasy. Everyone just naively believes "everything will be fine with Yona as queen". It's dead to me.

Su-Won and his loyalists should have at minimum been faced formal trial during the transition of power, and he should have publicly acknowledged what he did to the kingdom and explained to the people why he did it. Ugh that would have been SO good and a step forward for his character which was all about deception! Carrying out a coup d'état can't just be glossed over like that. He gets to just keep it all some personal secret until he goes to his grave? Fuck that, that bastard needs some accountability.

Historically, the way Yona handled this transition was very unrealistic. Rulers don't just absorb people who tried to murder her multiple times without political consequence, that's how you invite future coups. She should have confronted them explicitly about the coup, the assassination, investigated everyone involved, made an official record of its planning, the events, and given terms. She had zero agency in this matter, though, Su-Won called all the shots and she was his yesman.

[matcha-chai-latte]

Welp Yona is an unrealistic person in general. To be fair, no matter the good Soo-won did, what kind of daughter forgives her father’s murderer and now chats with him over tea with honey? Why is Hak still more angry than she ever was? She forgave and surrounded herself with people who spat in her face and wiped their feet on her, I’m not sure it’s something to be proud of.

Yona wouldn’t win any trial though if she tried that, the whole country hates her father, all the nobles, all the generals. No one gives a shit about him and many people were helped out by Soo-won. I don’t think anyone would want Soo-won punished for killing him, even though it was kinda rude lol. Deserved tho

The whole forgiveness trope made it a bit too far in this story overall imo. I think Yona not killing Soo-won and them peacefully parting ways would’ve sufficed, and would’ve been better in general for both of them. But I get that Soo-won never wanted Yona or Hak dead, and he went very far for them. I also see no other place for Soo-won than an influential political figure, he was born for that stuff. To Yona his knowledge is super useful too as she’s now only learning, and he likes what he’s doing soo🤷‍♀️

Same with Keishuk and the other plotters, Yona normally should’ve gotten rid of them. You rule alone surrounded by people you can realistically never trust. If we’re real they’re just using Yona because she’s useful to them, they NEVER were kind to her or in any way proved they mean no harm, on the contrary made it crystal clear - one mistake and you’re dead. But the story didn’t show any substitution for them, I guess Yona simply doesn’t have a choice but to stick with them. Thats why her end is kinda hopeless, it feels as if she had no choice but to go along with this.

[merrilyshadowymentor]

Yona did have an alternative: she could have refused the throne.

She was not being compelled by a law of nature, an irresistible prophecy, or an assembly crowning her at spearpoint.

She could have said:

“I do not want the throne under these conditions.”

“I will not govern by relying on the same men who tried to kill me.”

“I will not accept a crown handed to me by the man behind the coup without a clear transition, an investigation, or any conditions.”

But she accepted it. From that moment on, she cannot be presented as someone with no options who was simply swept along by circumstances. She chose to enter that structure.

Even after accepting the throne, Yona still had alternatives. She could have dismissed Kye-sook. She could have refused to keep Su-Won as an adviser. She could have replaced those involved in the coup and formed her own government.

That would have meant actually exercising power. But she would also have needed her own competent people, administrative knowledge, a political network, experience, and a transition plan. She had none of those things.

Then it would have become obvious that Yona was not prepared to govern without relying on Su-Won’s political and administrative machinery.

A kingdom does not remain standing because its queen stares intensely at the reports until they arrange themselves.

So it is not true that she “had no choice.” She had choices, but the alternatives would have exposed her lack of capacity:

Refuse the throne, and give up the ending the narrative wanted for her.

Accept the throne and purge the court, risking serious collapse because she had no competent replacements.

Accept the throne and keep Kye-sook and Su-Won, allowing the kingdom to function while undermining any claim to genuine independence.

Agency does not mean having a comfortable option. It means choosing between difficult alternatives and accepting the consequences.

Yona chose the third option. It may have been pragmatic. It may even have been the least harmful option. But it was still a choice, and it should be called what it was: Yona inherited the crown, but she also inherited Su-Won’s government, including his officials and his knowledge.

She did not build a government of her own. She placed herself at the top of the existing one.

Which makes the idea that everyone now depends on Yona’s extraordinary political ability rather amusing. If she dismissed the administrator and rejected the former king as her adviser, she would probably be left without a kingdom within two days, and without any subjects capable of appreciating how incredibly “fortunate” they are to have her as queen.

The crown is hers. The machinery of government still belongs to them.

[freewilllife]

That would have meant actually exercising power. But she would also have needed her own competent people, administrative knowledge, a political network, experience, and a transition plan. She had none of those things. Then it would have become obvious that Yona was not prepared to govern without relying on Su-Won’s political and administrative machinery. A kingdom does not remain standing because its queen stares intensely at the reports until they arrange themselves.

Indeed. Yona had no effective strategy on her own how to raise the country out of its ashes. Yona is responsible for this statue as well.

Therefore it is the more logical conclusion to use the given resources, because strife would hurt the whole country further.

If she had wished to get killed sooner than later, she could have tried to eliminate Soo Won, but this would have led sooner or later either to her murder or to Hak´s.

Agency does not mean having a comfortable option. It means choosing between difficult alternatives and accepting the consequences. Yona chose the third option. It may have been pragmatic. It may even have been the least harmful option. But it was still a choice, and it should be called what it was: Yona inherited the crown, but she also inherited Su-Won’s government, including his officials and his knowledge.

I think, it goes even further. How many people of the entire Sky Tribe had collaborated? Basically all the guards. How deep is Soo Won´s rule established? I think, it would be difficult if not completely impossible to remove Soo Won. Or she may call herself "Bloody Mary". The Tudor daughter had tried to reestablish the former belief and remove disobedient people with disastrious consequences.

Should she let Jon Gi, Lily´s father, who has also collaborated also be killed? What about Geuntae, who has a little son? Does she wish for the son to take revenge on her? Or even become like Soo Won´s father, kiling the baby?

Then she would hurt Lily the same way, she was hurt. I think, that this girl has greatly helped Yona to see the possible consequences.

Which makes the idea that everyone now depends on Yona’s extraordinary political ability rather amusing. If she dismissed the administrator and rejected the former king as her adviser, she would probably be left without a kingdom within two days, and without any subjects capable of appreciating how incredibly “fortunate” they are to have her as queen. The crown is hers. The machinery of government still belongs to them.

Indeed. Like in the example I have provided with Japan´s history. Yona was lucky, that Soo Won bent the knee in front of her, as she was also responsible for the disaster in the first place.

The former japanese emperor, the "compassionate" collaborated with the Eagle, because they spared his life.

[merrilyshadowymentor]

I never argued that Yona should execute every person who collaborated with Su-Won. Accountability does not automatically mean bloodshed. There were many possibilities between keeping the entire existing power structure unchanged and carrying out a violent purge: investigation, public acknowledgment, selective dismissal, limitations on authority, formal conditions, and gradual institutional reform.

Naturally, none of that could be achieved in a single day. Then again, this is Yona, who became a god-tier archer in a couple of months, so perhaps rebuilding the state apparatus before lunch would not be beyond her.

But I agree with one thing you said: Yona had no effective strategy or administrative structure of her own, so keeping Su-Won and Kye-sook was the pragmatic option. That is precisely my point. She had choices, but she chose continuity because she was not capable of governing without the machinery they had built.

It may have been the least harmful choice, but it was still her choice, and it does not demonstrate political independence.

[freewilllife]

I never argued that Yona should execute every person who collaborated with Su-Won. Accountability does not automatically mean bloodshed. There were many possibilities between keeping the entire existing power structure unchanged and carrying out a violent purge: investigation, public acknowledgment, selective dismissal, limitations on authority, formal conditions, and gradual institutional reform.

If she had the resources yes, but most of the government served under Soo Won. Yona lacks the literal possibilty to perform this trick. Yona needed the literal education to come up even with this. I think, she might be clever enough, but she surely lacks much methodical knowledge on how to run a country.

Even though I believe, the people involved are all so strickingly and unnaturally nice, that they would have removed themselves.

Naturally, none of that could be achieved in a single day. Then again, this is Yona, who became a god-tier archer in a couple of months, so perhaps rebuilding the state apparatus before lunch would not be beyond her.

If you practice archery, it is not impossible to shoot successfully in a couple of hours, actually. Not on moving objects at the beginning, but later it would be likely possible. Since I have at least a little experience with archery, I believe it is not unrealistic for Yona to become good at archery in a short time frame.

Kusanagi however, was not so unrealistic to establish, that Yona could literally run a country on her own in a short time.

But I agree with one thing you said: Yona had no effective strategy or administrative structure of her own, so keeping Su-Won and Kye-sook was the pragmatic option. That is precisely my point. She had choices, but she chose continuity because she was not capable of governing without the machinery they had built. It may have been the least harmful choice, but it was still her choice, and it does not demonstrate political independence.

Indeed. Japan could only stand on its feet after years after the Second World War. 1952 they became independant.

[merrilyshadowymentor]

If becoming an accomplished archer only takes a couple of months, apparently we have all been wasting our Olympic potential.

[freewilllife]

Maybe you have. I know, you consider my words not true, likely. But I tried it out myself. I was astonished, when I was able to shoot the aim within mere 2 hours.

Did I became a master at shooting? Certainly not. But I was able to hit the aim - an unmoving object - not too far away from the centre. Why should Yona then not be able to learn archery in a short time frame?

If Yona trains for months for several hours, she certainly might be able to shoot moving objects. Yoon taught her how, additionally. She had to take into consideration, how her opponent would move.

Yona must be certainly pretty strong herself, since she is used to draw the bow. You need quite a fair amount of muscle to perform that trick.

[merrilyshadowymentor]

Maybe you have. I know, you consider my words not true, likely. But I tried it out myself. I was astonished, when I was able to shoot the aim within mere 2 hours.

I do not consider your words untrue. The same thing happened to me the first and only time I tried archery. I hit the target, quite a few times, actually.

But, like you, I certainly did not become a master. No matter how lucky or naturally competent I may have been that day, I would still be incapable of hitting a small moving target, travelling away from me, at night, from a moving boat in the middle of a battle. And I certainly would not expect to acquire that ability within two months.

Besides, a modern recreational bow used under controlled conditions is also not automatically comparable to an older bow intended for practical combat and made from different materials.

Yoon explaining that Yona had to anticipate her opponent’s movement does not solve the problem either. Intellectually understanding that a target moves does not grant you the physical and technical ability to hit it. I understand perfectly well that playing the piano requires reading music and coordinating both hands. Carnegie Hall is still not reserving me a date.

Yona must certainly be pretty strong herself, since she is used to drawing the bow.

But being able to draw a bow is not the same as being able to shoot it well. I can draw a bow too, but there is a very long distance between physically pulling the string back and using the weapon with consistent accuracy.

More importantly, we do not actually see Yona gradually developing the strength and technique required. The manga simply tells us, through the results it gives her, that she can do it. Using those same results as proof that her progress was realistic is circular reasoning.

That is precisely what I am criticizing: the manga gives her this level of ability without sufficient preparation. The disputed result cannot be used as proof that the process was believable.

[aylinnworld]

Well, the story needed her to become competent. If she took realistic amount of time to learn, it would be boring to read about Yona who cannot do anything and is constantly saved by Hak.

Yona's mastery would have of course be easily solved if her backstory was changed and for example it was shown she was secretly practicing archery without her father’s knowledge. So it would not be from zero to hero.

Probably it would also look better if she missed in some less serious situations when confronting someone and it didn't look like it always works.

[aylinnworld]

The Emperor in Baldur's Gate 3

Beware of spoilers if you didn't finish the game.

I am surprised that there is a discussion whether the emperor manipulates or not or if he is a good guy.

He obviously manipulates you. He appears to your Tav, who fights for survival, as a knight in shinning armour. And probably would have never dropped the act if he didn't have to, but he is forced at the beginning of act 3.

Early on, what is really telling and made me suspicious of him is that he tells you he protects you, but never wants to tell you HOW he is doing it. His motivation remains unclear and it comes across as suspicious. From the beginning he felt slippery.

Plenty of things he hides from you and only tells you when forced, like the fact he is Balduran. This is revealed because of Ansur. That pattern repeats throughout the game: information is revealed when it becomes impossible to hide, not because he believes Tav deserves the full picture.

If you push for finding more information, you will often find how the emperor is feeding you with half-truths and omits what is not convenient for him.

To me he is extremely well-written manipulator. The most dangerous kind of manipulator that is intelligent, charming and subtle. A one that knows that doing favors when it doesn't cost him much or can be good for his plans is a way to make him look better.

The Emperor asks for trust, but the moment Tav stops following his plan, he abandons them. It reveals he wanted obedience, not trust.

As for Orpheus vs. the Emperor

Orpheus is willing to sacrifice himself, willing to become the thing he hates to save everyone and once the battle is done, if he is the mind flayer, he keeps to his word and asks you to kill him. He doesn't prioritize his hatred for illithids, like your Tav, over the possibility of defeating the Netherbrain. He sacrifices the possibility of living free and taking revenge on Vlaakith.

While the emperor on the other hand joins the Netherbrain, the moment you don't want to play his way. He prioritizes his own survival over defeating the Netherbrain.

[wrenanigans]

Since you tagged this with the Emperor’s main tag, I assume you welcome discussion from fans of the character. If that’s not the case, you may want to consider changing your tags.

I don’t believe that the Emperor is a “good guy.” But I also don’t think that manipulating Tav for his survival makes him a “bad guy,” either.

As the dream visitor, declining to explain the source of his protection is a very rational decision. If he revealed from the start that he was an illithid — the very creature that abducted and tadpoled everyone — and that he was using Orpheus’ power, would the party have ever willingly cooperated with him? Would Tav? Would Lae’zel? He had every reason to be just as suspicious of us.

The same philosophy is applied to other omitted information. Whether “Tav deserves the full picture” or not is irrelevant. He can’t predict their reaction to new knowledge with complete certainty. It would be an unnecessary risk with the entire universe at stake.

What I believe makes the Emperor a compelling character is how he was written as a foil to Tav. As he says, he’s an adventurer, just like them. His manipulative statements are Tav’s persuasion checks. His desire for obedience is Tav’s decision-making for the party, with similar consequences for companions who go against them. His hidden truths are a Dark Urge Tav’s concealed compulsions. His priority of survival at all costs is Tav asking Orpheus to become illithid instead of them.

To me, the question asked here isn’t whether the Emperor is a “good guy.” The question is: are we?

[aylinnworld]

I don’t believe that the Emperor is a “good guy.” But I also don’t think that manipulating Tav for his survival makes him a “bad guy,” either.

From his perspective it can be reasonable, but the fact stands it is a manipulation. So yes, he is a bad guy. Just because something can be explained does not mean it is justified and morally right.

Acting rationally to secure someone's cooperation isn't the same as building trust.

I am not saying the Emperor is irrational. I am saying he is intelligent and this is why his manipulation is effective.

As for the Emperor he also puts universe at stake.

Once the plan to dominate the Netherbrain fails and freeing Orpheus is one of the options. The Emperor is like 'let's know kill the guy who has power to oppose the brain and hope my plan works. I told you earlier that I keep Orpheus alive as I think it is a risk to kill him. His power may be gone once it is done. But now, let's just hope everything is going to be all right.'

And what has Tav's morality anything to do with the Emperor?

If other creatures/people do evil things, I should be allowed as well?

If others do evil things, then it is all right/justified to do evil things?

The fact that Tav may not be a paragon of virtue doesn't change the fact that the Emperor is a manipulator.

[aylinnworld]

The Emperor in Baldur's Gate 3

Beware of spoilers if you didn't finish the game.

I am surprised that there is a discussion whether the emperor manipulates or not or if he is a good guy.

He obviously manipulates you. He appears to your Tav, who fights for survival, as a knight in shinning armour. And probably would have never dropped the act if he didn't have to, but he is forced at the beginning of act 3.

Early on, what is really telling and made me suspicious of him is that he tells you he protects you, but never wants to tell you HOW he is doing it. His motivation remains unclear and it comes across as suspicious. From the beginning he felt slippery.

Plenty of things he hides from you and only tells you when forced, like the fact he is Balduran. This is revealed because of Ansur. That pattern repeats throughout the game: information is revealed when it becomes impossible to hide, not because he believes Tav deserves the full picture.

If you push for finding more information, you will often find how the emperor is feeding you with half-truths and omits what is not convenient for him.

To me he is extremely well-written manipulator. The most dangerous kind of manipulator that is intelligent, charming and subtle. A one that knows that doing favors when it doesn't cost him much or can be good for his plans is a way to make him look better.

The Emperor asks for trust, but the moment Tav stops following his plan, he abandons them. It reveals he wanted obedience, not trust.

As for Orpheus vs. the Emperor

Orpheus is willing to sacrifice himself, willing to become the thing he hates to save everyone and once the battle is done, if he is the mind flayer, he keeps to his word and asks you to kill him. He doesn't prioritize his hatred for illithids, like your Tav, over the possibility of defeating the Netherbrain. He sacrifices the possibility of living free and taking revenge on Vlaakith.

While the emperor on the other hand joins the Netherbrain, the moment you don't want to play his way. He prioritizes his own survival over defeating the Netherbrain.

[rondinella]

i freed the moon maiden and shadowheart appeared out of thin fucking air to leave the group (and i couldnt even rob her first 😭) i was like girl??? i am doing my best?? and she didnt give a DAMN I also thought the other companions would say something about it but nope, complete radio silence

[aylinnworld]

This is how it is Shadowheart will leave you if you go to do Nightsong quest without her. It happened in my first playthrugh too. I just ended it last weekend.

To be honest, I found Shadowheart rather annoying with her attitude, so when she came complaining telling she is leaving the party, I rolled my eyes and decided that it is not a big loss.

Listening to her made me see her like this, so I didn't want her in my active party.

[aylinnworld]

Baldur's Gate 3 first playthrough

Oh, this is so good! I really liked this game and I am not much of a video game player.

This game has a really solid fantasy story to tell and plenty of possibilities to decide how you want to proceed. It must have taken a good deal of effort to code all of this.

I especially liked how it subverts the "chosen one" trope. Usually, being chosen means you are destined to be a hero and save the world. Here, being chosen can mean you are chosen by an evil god.

I liked the companions, most of them. Gale, Jaheira and Karlach. The one I didn't like is Shadowheart. Her inability to question the beliefs she had been taught was annoying and then she got upset I didn't take her to nightsong and left in act 2. I didn't care.

Also, I can see the game was giving me options to romance her, which I find uncomfortable. I know that generally in popular fiction you can fix/heal/change/repair the person you love and it always works wonderfully and supposedly never becomes dysfunctional like described here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karpman_drama_triangle

But I find it yikes.

However, I get it is part of wish-fulfillment that you can heal/fix/change someone. Damaged person who can be saved trope never gets old I suppose.

Anyway Shadowheart reminds me of Tenar from Le Guin's book The Tombs of Atuan. Someone whose was brainwashed and manipulated by religious beliefs. Only Tenar's story of change was better written to me. In hindsight, I am damn thankful to Le Guin that The Tombs of Atuan does not turn that situation into a romance.

Shadowheart just seemed like another example of "I love you for your potential and what you can become" rather than loving someone for who they already are. Healing through love. There is already plenty of that in popular media. I find it rather boring.

To sum up, I enjoyed myself a lot. There are plenty of other companions to go with, so the one I disliked could just be left in camp.

[aylinnworld]

Witch Hat Atelier

I have watched all episodes and it is a nice story and even nicer visuals. I hope tit gets a second season.

I suppose it got its time to shine thanks to Frieren's popularity and otherwise the manga would be passed over for other types of anime. As I like magic, I am thankful if Freiren's popularity will help stories like this one to be considered for animation.

I am also happy that Witch Hat Atelier didn't end like Silent Witch that starts good, but then becomes a mediocre slice of life in school. And even the part of Witch Hat Atelier that can be considered slice of life was better than what was in Silent Witch.

[under-my-pillow]

No Lili in the final chapter?! Really?

Mei-nyan but no Lili?!!!

[aylinnworld]

Mei-nyan was in final chapter? XD

The more comments I read, the more I am convinced, it was the right decision not to read this gaiden stuff.

[aylinnworld]

Od Magic

This is a pleasant read. A story about a school started by a mysterious sorceress. The story explores the tension between political power and wizards. Not so long ago I watched Release that Witch, where I found killing of witches illogical. I find the story of Patricia A. McKillip to tackle similar problem but it goes in the more sensible direction. The king of the country is interested in having wizards under his power and controlling the school rather than killing them. There is however discontent among wizards as some of them resent being so restrained while others are 100% loyal to the king. This is a behavior I expect and which makes sense.

However, just to make it clear Od Magic does not turn into a big political story. It is not that long in the first place. It doesn't become Game of Thrones with wizards, the atmosphere isn’t heavy with scheming, it has the potential to go in such direction, but it is not Patricia A. McKillip style.

Other than that I keep reading slowly and falling behind Witch Hat Atelier because I am playing Baldur's Gate 3. This game is so good. I haven’t been this hooked on a game in a long, long time.

[freewilllife]

I truly hope, we are not supposed to feel sorry for Caleb/Bren. What a disgusting piece of shit. What a shame that he is unlikely to die.

[aylinnworld]

It doesn't seem so. It would be hard what he did was was beyond redemption.

But then it is a possible background for your spell-caster character when playing DnD. I am not sure what kind of manipulation was chosen here. Regular or magical? It can depend on the player who chose to play Celeb/Bren. Or perhaps it depends on the DM (Dungeon Master) in this case?

I guess magical manipulation can possibly throw him into still redeemable category, but that depends what was chosen here.

[aylinnworld]

Release that Witch Episode 1

After watching one episode, I have some questions. Some things seem like not well-though out. The witches have real power are hunted and killed? Really? I could understand this happened in our world where they had no real magical power at all and it was all a made up bullshit to kill unlikable women or women who might have been in the way. But for the same to happen in case of real power? So in this story world a witch has the ability to burn someone to death and no one in the world sees the possibilities and opportunities? For example, to use them during attack? For how long have witches been around? Only after some dude I suppose from the future was isekaied into the prince body he is the only smart one? The longer witches were present in this world, the more weird and stupid it is that no one thought that someone who can control fire so precisely would be a fabulous person to have on their side either as a bodyguard or as a cannon during attack. And the more witches, the greater the fire power.

Also, this girl from the first episode basically was able to free herself, why did she not do it earlier? I can understand she might have a death wish, but other witches should be able to help other witches and be able to free them with that kind of power. But what is said in the story makes it sound like they are killed despite having power to free themselves. If she can control fire so precisely with no formal training, why are witches presented as helpless victims?

To be honest it makes no sense to me that witches are hunted if they have a real power. It is like getting rid of strong warriors because they are strong and one can fear them, ridiculous right?

If witches have been long in this world, I would expect them to rather get some position for themselves.

Is it a story that explains it properly or is a story where a boy supposedly from a future is made to look smart because of how stupid everyone else is fro not thinking about the obvious implications and possibilities? And he is the savior of the witches because witches themselves for some strange reason cannot think for themselves and make a position for themselves in their world?

Also, the idea that a medieval-like society wouldn’t think pragmatically about using powerful individuals doesn’t really hold up. Historically, rulers were often quite strategic, for example, the Byzantine emperors employed the Varangian Guard, foreign Viking warriors, precisely because they were strong, reliable, and less entangled in local politics. That shows a clear awareness of how to use powerful but potentially outsider groups effectively, which makes it harder to believe that no one in this story’s world would see the obvious advantages of having witches on their side.

[aylinnworld]

Witch Hat Atelier episode 4

It is nice to see it is going into a proper fantasy rather than school life like Silent Which that in the end was neither a good fantasy nor a good school slice of life or drama and wasted its potential. I hope Witch Hat Atelier is not going to make the same mistake. This episode Agatto was not nice, but she made a good point. Coco is reckless and doesn't think before she does something. Instead of following this guy, she could have waited to inform Qifrey she saw him. And what would Coco do if she got him? If he gave her a book with forbidden spells there is a good chance he knows them himself and she would be in trouble if he got her.

Speaking of Silent Witch, I wonder why the author of Silent Witch thought a school life will be a good idea? The school life was so average there, if I wanted a good school drama I would like to see something like My youth romantic comedy is wrong as I expected rather than school life in Silent Witch that is just run-of-the-mill.

[aylinnworld]

Song for the Basilisk

Another good fantasy story I read by Patricia A. McKillip about music and revenge. I just like her dreamy style and here how she manages to show how playing instruments is magic. Interesting and not typical fantasy with spells to cast and reading books to make magic.

[aylinnworld]

Witch Hat Atelier

It is a nice laid-back fantasy so far about a main heroine who wants to be a witch. The art is really nice and different from a generic manga. Easy to see that the author must be interested in art.

I hope it keeps being a proper fantasy and will not be like Silent Witch that started well, but then become a story with not so interesting school life. It would be sad if it became just another story about cute girls doing cute things in this case I guess drawing cute pentagrams. Also, I really hope the author was just unaware how it would appear that an adult male is taking care of four underage girls.

[aylinnworld]

The Mighty Nein

It is another nice plot-driven fantasy with some character development that is not in the way of plot and action. I think I like this one better than the Vox Machina.