Fic Update: "between the motion and the act"

[mark_asphodel]

With apologies to TS Eliot.

So, back when I first uploaded "Will" for fe_contest , I mentioned that I was on a "Grust kiddies" kick.  This is the other half of that spurt of Grust twins interest.  It's basically Marth wangsting over being a failure and trying to get himself back into heroic never-say-die mode, with the dilemma at hand being his total inability to save or protect or mitigate the circumstances of Yubello and Yumina.

That's right.  He botched that mission.  Completely.  Oh, sure, it was all part of Hardin's Grand Plan and the wheels of fate were set against him blah blah, but a) Marth didn't know that in Chapter Two and b) I doubt that cut much ice with the kids.  Especially Yumina.  How much are you going to warm up to a dude who shows up to "help" when all he does is protest a bit over your plight and turn away... after he stood by and watched while your Regent/guardian committed suicide?  Assuming that this fancy-dressed bystander didn't "help" Lorenz along in some capacity.  Which Yumina definitely appears to believe.

And yeah, Marth (and Jagen) vow to come back and rescue the kiddies as soon as they've put down the rebellion in Macedon.  Great plan.  Especially given that Lang is boasting about how he's going to promptly execute his two little prisoners of war.  It's not like Marth has ever been part of a rescue mission that got there too late, right?  

It's not like there's any sensible reason to believe this whole chain of events is going to work.

The Grust kiddies subplot is nasty on its face and even worse-- incredibly so-- when placed into context of both games.  I guess I'm kind of glad that FE12 didn't try to put a happy face on this one and just left all the questions dangling.

As penandpaper71  and sarajayechan  both observed-- FE12 didn't make Archanea any less bleak.  Just more twisted.

ETA: Reviews are loved, but someone telling me "Keep writing!" is like telling Charlie Sheen to keep freebasing.  Fanfic is as much a compulsion as it is a hobby.  I don't actually play any of the new games I've bought, or watch the DVDs I've bought, or anything.  Sigh.

Comments

[sailorvfan10.livejournal.com]

FE12 didn't make Archanea any less bleak. Just more twisted.
And that's what makes it AWESOME

but then the MyUnit thing takes the awesome points away

BUT Archanea is still interesting because of it.

I always liked the Grust kiddies, especially Yumina. She...she had a bit of a 'kick' to her personality. Well I thought she did.

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

but then the MyUnit thing takes the awesome points away

I guess Michalis Lives! and the rest would be easier to stomach if MyUnit weren't the one coming up with the attack plan against Pales, yes. That detail just especially galls me.

she had a bit of a 'kick' to her personality.

Yes. Oh yes.

[sailorvfan10.livejournal.com]

Michalis Lives! and everything would've been easier to stomach if MyUnit had his own damn game instead of being a parasite in Marth's.

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

Of all the changes to FE12 that I resent, near the top of the list is Marth's sudden inability to function as an army commander. Despite having already successfully commanded an army over much of that same continent.

[sailorvfan10.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's kinda like Marth got hit on the head with a blunt object and woke up with selective amnesia. "Oh well I remember everything except...how to command an army. Oh dear. Now what do I do?" And MyUnit parts all of the units and says, "FEAR NOT, SIRE, I CAN COMMAND THE ARMY--I mean--HELP YOU COMMAND THE ARMY." And he drowns out Jeigan's, "Sire, I am your tactician, until you get your memory back, you can lean on me for assistance."

And instead of Marth asking, "Oh, since when did you have any tactical or strategical experience?" he goes, "OH OKAY." -_-

[sarajayechan.livejournal.com]

And instead of Marth asking, "Oh, since when did you have any tactical or strategical experience?" he goes, "OH OKAY."

Marth: Sure, n00b with no tactical experience, you lead the army to victory. I'll just sit here in a corner and get high.

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

Heh. You just reminded me of my Marth-on-Drugs hypothesis for "explaining" FE12.

I mean, given the chance, many seventeen-year-old boys with A) a large house, B) lots of money, and C) no parents would sit in the basement and smoke weed incessantly.

:/