Rune Factory 5 Theory
Something that has always bothered me about RF5 aside from the fact you can’t marry Terry or Radea, the furniture placement system, the fact that Cecil never found his and Martin's parents, and the inability to skip events or the credits is this glaring plot hole: how could Livia have been awake in Rigbarth for decades if Ares/Alice accidentally woke her up—and saved Priscilla—during their youth?
After thinking long and hard about it, I’ve come to the following conclusion: time travel.
Hearmeouthearmeouthearmeout We already know that runic disruptions can mess up people and nature, but perhaps it can mess with time and space, too. Perhaps Ares/Alice were originally from the time of Gideon’s youth and were in the Belpha Ruins around the time he tried to wake up Radea (Time Period 1). Meanwhile, during Priscilla’s childhood in her time, she wandered into the Belpha Ruins (Time Period 2). In Time Period 1, Gideon attracted Ares/Alice’s attention with his attempt to wake up Radea, and something either Gideon or Ares/Alice did caused a runic disruption that pulled Priscilla into Time Period 1. (Alternatively, Gideon’s actions in the present caused a runic disruption that rippled across time and dragged Priscilla into Time Period 1.) Then, Ares/Alice’s Earthmate powers woke up Livia, who blasted through her seal. Ares/Alice had just enough time to shield Priscilla before they were yanked forward to Time Period 2 by that same (or perhaps even a different) runic disruption, during which they got her to safety elsewhere within the ruins (where Lucy and the other citizens of Rigbarth later found her), before they were yanked forward in time again by that same (or again, another) runic disruption to the start of the events of the game--which is why we first see them near a rune circle.
It would also help explain 1.) why Ares/Alice don't remember anything, 2.) why Gideon doesn't recognize Ares/Alice, despite them having thwarted him in the past (Assuming it wasn't hard to see within the ruins at the time of Livia's escape, how would he know or even believe that they had been displaced through time? He probably would chalk up the resemblance to coincidence.), and 3.) why Terry mentions that he learned some interesting things about Ares/Alice but doesn't elaborate (because, again, it would be very hard to believe that they somehow traveled through time. Hell, Terry, down to earth as he is, is probably baffled by what he's found and doesn't know what to make of it, so why confuse Ares/Alice too?).
