How did you feel about Jay's portrayal in Dragons Rising S3 P2? If you were given free rein, how would you have done things differently?
Hm. My biggest problem with Rogue occurs only when his Jay is showing.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Jay in any way he comes or goes, but when I think about it, my most hated moment of his was at the end of the Thunderfang battle in P1, where he hurt his leg, and he started out as Rogue, and within a second switched to that ol’ pitched voice, with a whiny tone, and childish behavior. That moment just made me cringe so hard, I was really sad when it came up. Especially since I love Rogue very, very much.
They’re quite inconsistent when it comes to switching between Rogue and Jay. I didn’t research, but last time I checked amnesia doesn’t cause DID. Nobody can switch as fast as he does. Granted, in P2 he spends time with Nya and opens up slowly, which we then see he regrets doing because he still feels misunderstood by her (which later later we see him willing to give them a shot anyways which I just. Ughhhh. Would he go back to Ras if he simply had a feeling that being with him makes him want to become a better person? His soul is shattered, the whole point is him being a worse person. I wouldn’t even be as mad if Rogue was actually evil for him to earn some redemption arc, but everything he did was justified. If anything, I think their situation could’ve been a perfect storyline for Nya to learn to let go, after having years of him chasing her (which we learned he shouldn’t have done. Thanks Skybound), they’re basically repeating that with her, and it works the same wrong way it did in Skybound)
Anyways, his portrayal. In my opinion? Not what I wanted it to be. Not exactly ‘terrible’, because I could understand what the writers think, but it’s not what I want for him. Even the little detail annoy me so much. Like those drawings they did in the Land of Lee? While Nya’s was of watercolors and artistic, actually beautiful, Jay’s was cartoon-ish. Loved the money ideal! But why did they have to ruin it?
If it were up to me, I would have kept him as a bounty hunter, who’s always on the run from the administration (which, a little justification that I brought them up; first thing Jay remembers was waking up in the administration, already suited up, working. In a little scared that the amnesia was caused by the hit he got, which is the start of the scene of his first memories because that would be a huge disappointment, but I’d like to theorize the administration had something to do with his memories because they want him specifically (dk why, but it’s the same reason to why they removed his memories in the first place).
He meets up with clients all over the merged realms, never in the same town twice. He doesn’t see them as monsters, humans, or animals, only as money bags he’ll drain.
I would keep up his loner behavior which he won’t notice (because of work) until later on. No idea what would snap the idea of being a lone wolf from being his ideal lifestyle, maybe targeting a couple and seeing a few months later (accidentally since like I said— he doesn’t travel to the same place twice) that the partner is still going through bereavement, maybe even managed to grow a beard?
Which then he’ll start searching for more in his life. While searching for his client’s target, he’ll notice the public more. Two women walking by, holding hands and laughing. He can feel the genuine emotion all the way from where he’s watching. And it angers him. Why does he want that? Why does he care?
Now he starts cornering his targets, instead of sedating them or giving them a choice to come with choice, he violently attacks them until they beg him to stop, or pass out. If the client doesn’t mentions, maybe until they’re dead. He also focuses more on targets who do have loved ones, so he’ll feel better about himself. (Lmao this was supposed to be the PG 13, realistic answer)
Now that he’s become violent, he becomes one of the ninja’s worries. Going through the crossroads, there’s rumors of a masked person targeting helpless people, and the ninja won’t stand for it. They look around, but until they’re manage to figure out who it is, they’re too late, and Rogue already left for the next town.
What I’m trying to say is that I want him to continue his journey alone and evil. Show that his soul is shattered, show how much impact lying has on a helpless person.
For the less child-friendly version of what I have in mind, let’s add a drug problem to all of this, turning a blind eye on other dubious crime, targeting people when they’re most vulnerable (going to the bathroom, while sleeping, ‘saving’ the from a bad person only to become a worse one, etc.), and maybe even going after whoever lied to him. As in, targeting them to death. Does he start with the administration, going for the administrator? Or starts with easier targets like the ninja?
