I find it really interesting the ways in which Kihel is loathed in the context of teredio. Chewing on this for a while. There's the very obvious/popular takeaways that "kids are part of the patriarchal hetero stereotype where a relationship is only complete if children are present" and "parenthood is more valued / the top tier evolution of a relationship; not having kids is "less than," (true in many ways, thank you government + religion) and more frustratingly, though less plain, classic misogyny, "the woman/girl is in the way of the male ship," sigh!
For a game that's largely about characters departing from a class system and having value in people that are poor, magical, or obsolete/replaceable, Kihel being disliked because her character is read as imposing on Dion and Terence's dynamic largely misses the point. Their relationship already defies convention very explicitly (lower class noble partners with Bahamut + the crown prince who has a leg in the gutter and both are homosexual in a traditional hetero patriarchal universe) and there is the suggestion that Dion could very likely be dead in a world where Terence is tasked to care for Kihel. The decision of "parenthood" (as we understand it contemporarily *and* as it exists in game) isn't on the table when Dion sends Terence to Kihel; it's not a premediated group decision where "parenthood" means 'let's expand our dominion'; it's a plea for help when it happens.
Dion isn't directing Terence to care for Kihel because he wants to see Terence *become* a father, Dion does it because he's desperate to get Terence away from himself and the war front so he may depart for a battle he thinks may be his end without the added concern of abandoning his partner and the girl who cared for him, who he was deeply touched by (the guy who openly and very plainly values The People, of which Terence and Kihel are both representative of, and of whom's Attention and Care he is undeserving of--). The concept of parenthood really isn't transparently on the table for these characters; I think that's in line with this story, and specifically Dion and Terence's, who defy Sanbrequois convention regularly.
I think it's worth remembering what the context is for having/rearing children in Valisthea and especially Sanbreque for upper nobility: it's about bloodlines, marriage, and solidifying power through reproduction. Not for Dion and Terence!
Dion isn't charging Terence with the duty of parenthood, but guardianship, they're war veterans, and the previous may evolve from the latter; as the game concludes before we learn more, the takeaway is that Terence becomes Kihel's guardian at Dion's behest (and his own agreement -- Terence can say no anytime, as we see Multiple Times as Dion gives him opportunities for honesty and rejection to his commands; saying yes to Dion's plea is another thumbed nose to the crumpling world order; 'yes, i will go, i will do as you ask' is a punch at Dion's plain self loathing, but not the confidence and trust Terence holds in him and follows through on).
I think it's far more helpful to consider Kihel not as an infiltrator or add-on, but an extension of values already present within Dion and Terence'. If Kihel is loathed because her presence symbolizes emotional care in male characters (that already existed previously) and is despised for its feminine associations in men (projection, misogyny, misnomer!) that have evaded the het homosexual stereotype, the better question is to ask what parenthood/caretaking/guardianship *means* for men, and why it's a detriment to one's understanding of Dion and Terence as well established conventionally male scripted characters to reject Kihel on the basis of 'ruining' what is not changing, but becoming more transparent: they are compassionate men.
There are more interesting questions to interrogate, such as, what will it be like for Terence to have agency over an orphaned young Dhalmekian woman/youth in the context of guardianship, class/employment, religion, character assassination, and his relationship with Dion where his care (even while acknowledged) was secondary to Dion's duty and Giving Himself to Pieces to the imperial machine. Etc etc.
prguitarman
2087
vaporwave
stormborns
kianamaiart
yousharknotpass
