There are currently two of your letters in the queue, and they’re right next to each other -- one to Apollo, and one to Klavier. We can delete either or both of those if you’d like us to. It’s hard to say how many letters are from the same people, but we definitely have a few consistent writers -- some who send them at least every other day. (I can’t blame them, of course, since I used to do the same thing.)
Also, I honestly didn’t realize how changing one word in this blog’s name would give it the same initials as the Wright Anything Agency. It’s too late to actually change it at this point, but that’s still pretty fun to think about.
Glad you brought this up, because that’s one of the last things we want to convey about ourselves or this blog. Sexuality is a topic I generally try to steer away from when answering letters, partly because it’s one that I only have a limited understanding of and I want to avoid saying something that can be easily misinterpreted (again), and partly because it’s a fiercely debated topic, and I don’t want to perpetuate that debate here.
And partly because it’s a discussion I’ve rarely come out of without some serious sparks flying...
With that in mind, unless a character’s sexuality, political views, religion, etc. has been explicitly defined in the game(s) they’re from, we can only make our best guesses about them. In Athena’s case, judging by what we’ve seen of her in the games (her reaction to Hugh O’Conner’s claim that she likes him, her history of getting love letters meant for Junie, etc.), she seems like a guy kind of girl to me. There’s every chance that I’m wrong, of course -- in fact, she may not even know herself -- but I imagine that’s at least how she views herself.
...Woah, that got Persona-esque all of a sudden.
In any case, if anything we post here comes off as homophobic, you have my word that it isn’t meant to be. We also don’t want to emphasize one headcanon over another (whether it’s mine, yours, the Modthorne’s, or the Mod’s), but sometimes we just have to pick one and stay consistent with it. If it disagrees with yours, then it’ll just have to disagree, but that’s our reasoning behind it.
Really? Huh... That was how it looked when I found it in the queue, so unless you’re thinking of a different letter, I have no idea how that happened. Sorry.
I always assumed it was something the Mod came up with for Apollo’s hair. I can check to see if it’s based on an actu--
Please do! And thank you very much for helping to increase our audience’s scope this way. It’s very considerate and humbling for us when someone offers to do something like that. Much appreciated!
My physical response to this letter was way more emotional than that, by the way. It looked something like this:
(Only without the hair-touching.)
I didn’t realize who you were, actually. Good on you for joining Tumblr!
I do my best to keep an open mind with how Capcom develops its characters, but if I were in charge of how Athena’s life and career continued on from Spirit of Justice, it’d probably be something along these lines:
We’d see her a few months after the events in Khura’in, looking as cheery and confident as ever, but slightly older and more mature-looking. As we heard her voice narrating, she’d shove the doors of the courthouse open with a look of pure confidence, wave to the policemen as she climbed the stairs (being extra careful to watch her step), and wait for her moment to enter the courtroom. She’d then walk up to the defense’s bench with a smile, slam her fist into her hand, and announce proudly, “The defense is ready to go, Your Honor!!”
Then Widget would ruin the mood by blurting out, “I’m so sleepy!”
During the trial, she’d learn that her defendant is from somewhere in Europe (whatever country you prefer), that he/she is a friend of her family there, and that some unusual things have been going on with them. This would lead her to request a leave of absence so she can visit them, perhaps taking Phoenix or Simon along as a chaperone. From there, she’d find herself in a series of new situations, including (but not limited to) having to defend a member of her family from murder charges, having Widget stolen from her and being forced to do a therapy session without him, discovering a hidden crime ring (that a member of her family might be involved in), and so on. In the end, she’d come out of it with more knowledge about herself, being a lawyer, and holding on to her faith in others until the bitter end.
It could be that I’m just anxious to see what sort of people she’s related to and if they’re as wild and energetic as she is, but I’d also love to see how Athena handles herself in a new environment, especially one as culturally (and visually) diverse as Europe. That’s just my idea of a good Athena-centered game, though -- I’m sure there are plenty of others out there that would be just as exciting to see. I mean, it is the Cykester we’re talking about here.
Here are a couple of letters that I found particularly heartfelt, plus another that was heartfelt and silly at the same time. There are plenty more that were written before I got here, of course, such as this one and this one. I love how this blog gives us a chance to see how some touching non-canon character conversations might take place.
You’re correct. They’re called Happy-Happyists, which is probably the most ironic name possible for a cult that wanted to “paint the town blue.” Or maybe that was on purpose. Who knows?
The tag was actually referring to the cult of Athena, which apparently existed in different parts of ancient Greece. I was completely unaware of the Aum Shinrikyo cult and the parallels that could be drawn between them and the one in Earthbound. Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction, isn’t it?
Yep, it has the link in there. Thanks for asking.
P. S. The Modthorne’s on vacation, in case you’re wondering. She’ll be back next week!
