Jona/Karma

So I finally locken in and played Episode Ardyn, and to be honest my initial reaction is… no… I don’t like it…

I’ve been trying to gather my thoughts on it but

So far for me it kind of reads as the writers saying “well he was basically bullied into fate and so none of the things he did are actually his fault” which to me kind of cheapens his story

I might be burdened by the fact that from the discussions I saw about it online it seemed like the story of Episode Ardyn would follow the tale of a man who was born to do good and then show us exactly how he was set up for destruction to the point where it corrupted him and blackened his soul (okay yeah they kinda did that but in a weird in your face way, I don’t like him talking with Bahamut in the end, they really didn’t balance exposition and show-don’t-tell well in this in my opinion)

I think I’m not a big fan yet since my reading of Ardyn is kind of a different flavor and even within the DLC it seemed like th writers were indecisive on how sassy and snappy vs almost innocent they wanted to make him, it overall feels a little not well rounded and like they could’ve benefited from adding a few extra hours to the story line

But that’s just me

I like Aera, she’s a darling, I guess I just kinda thought we’d see more of ancient Lucis, and the Ifrit attack in Insomnia seemed a little random and almost contradictory to the lore I found in game when I was investigating the volcano the other day, so I guess for half the dlc I was just waiting for the second shoe to drop and a “it’s all a dream/illusion” plot twist

But like I said that’s just me

Yeah no your read is entirely right. The DLC as well as the changes to main game got progressively more contradictory to the original lore because they were taken over by a different director who *kinda sucks*. Meaning he added a ton of very IN YOUR FACE exposition that wasn't needed because the info was already there and it just ruins the pacing, and he included a ton of stuff that straight up contradicts preestablished lore.

The take that was prevalent in the fandom prior to EpA and based on what the game originally told you was that Ardyn probably spent most of the two millennia roaming the world, plotting. The fact that he entered Niflheim politics 30ish years before the game means nothing, because it's not like he could've been involved forever and not had people question the fact that he's not aging.

And we generally all believed that while the initial betrayal must've seriously pissed him off, it was pretty damn obvious that spending two millennia with daemons in your head, unable to die and unable to share that life with anyone would be the real main reason why he would come up with the whole overly elaborate murder-suicide plan.

And honestly? I loved it

I feel like in the DLC itself they were far too focused on providing action gameplay with that rampage through insomnia, I honestly disliked hat entire sequence from a story perspective, but the gameplay was fun (if a bit clunky) and I enjoy Ardyn being a vindictive little shit, so that was honestly great

The exposition with Bahamut at the end was however by far the most useless part of that entire DLC and I Really Wish They'd Stop Doing That (^TM)

As for the additional story presented through Episode Ardyn (especially what's shown in the prologue)? Ohg my god. I love it.

Sure, Aera is a bit of a nothing burger of a character, but I do really like her, and the scenes between her and Ardyn are genuinely sweet.

I didn't mind the imprisonment, what I minded was the game's indicisiveness when it came to his character after awakening, I'm choosing to disregard this on the following basis:

What's shown to us is what's in Ardyn's head, and Ardyn is an unreliable narrator. As long as I don't replay episode Ardyn I can choose to interprit that as him playing the victim.

Ardyn's story as presented in the animation isso compelling tho. A savior turned villain. A healer with the power to cure a cursed affliction, not by healing it, but by absorbing it into himself. A god given blessing, and a curse, as a truly pure and good man who seeks only to help people is corrupted by every soul he saves until he's on the edge, one final disaster pushing him over and filling his heart with nothing but malice.

It's compelling, it's tragic, it's the gods toying with the fate of humans.

I generally think if the gods, especially Bahamut, actually specifically Bahamut, were less present (and less talkative) in the game, then the whole equivalent exchange sacrifice plot would be execute dmuch better

Breaking news! Local artist reappears after MONTHS of radio silence with a new hyperfixation

Guess what game I got into THIS time :D

Timelapse and reference under cut

It actually approaches disasterpiece levels. What if we had a boyband road trip, but it’s actually a royal convoy, but it also makes zero sense as a royal convoy cuz the convoy is an idiot boyband. What if you spend the entire game rolling around a dying world with these idiots, and you get really attached to them in spite of yourself because you spend all your time fishing and camping like normal people. What if the game was just an ad for Coleman. What if you stay up all night fishing while the demons swarm you while your Coleman camping gear is safely enshrined in holy light. What if there’s a resort that’s also the only port in a bajillion miles, and that’s apparently normal and also it’s always busy but nobody uses it. What if the villain isn’t a villain at all but just the broken half of your savior narrative because the villains are the gods actually and you’re going to act out their fucked up sacrificial narrative no matter what. What if there’s a train to nowhere and everything is demons. What if the heroine is the most important character and we don’t even make her a character. What if we don’t even put the story in the base game at all.

Oh and the combat is a frustrating mix between hold-button simulator and a genuinely innovative and fun teleportation magic system. Good luck.

Cuz I don’t think he’ll stop this behaviour once daylight is restored. They have a world to rebuild after all and he’ll be damned if he doesn’t help every step of the way!

Ignis is begging him not to take on every side quest.

I didn't used to have any interest in post-game fics, but I've since become so obsessed with post-game Kokichi.

My headcanon is that due to him experiencing one of the more traumatic deaths in the simulation, Kokichi’s body sustained an excess of stress and trauma. The result:

- Significant nerve damage and chronic pain,

- Severe muscle atrophy from extended comatose state,

- Limited lower body mobility, making him wheelchair dependent,

- Fine tremors his in hands when overexerting himself,

- Requires a feeding tube due to swallowing complications,

- On an extensive cocktail of medications (antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, anti-anxiety meds, painkillers, sleep aids).

His personality and headspace shifts dramatically from day to day, sometimes even multiple times a day. This is a mix of:

- The sudden and panicked extraction from the simulation left Kokichi experiencing persistent derealisation and psychosis-like symptoms.

- A more regressed and childlike state due to the stress and trauma of the experience overall. Innocence aside, this is when he acts most like his carefree and mischievous self in the game.

- Neurological shutdown. Times where he completely shuts down, doesn't speak and barely acknowledges those around him. They're unsure if this is due to the meds he's on, if he's overstimulated, or he's having flashbacks.

When it comes to Shuichi, Kokichi is both comforted by and terrified of him. On one hand, Shuichi is so patient and forgiving when it comes to anything. However, he's also the only person capable of "seeing through him," and that scares Kokichi more than anything.

No matter how many times he's mocked Shuichi, how many times he must've re-traumatised Shuichi when he wakes up convinced he's still in the game... Shuichi never yells at him, he's always so calm when explaining that his delusions are false and that they're free from the game. Even when Kokichi yells that he hates him, Shuichi still comes to his room the next morning as usual to help him with his feeding tube.

Shuichi just wants to protect Kokichi and make him feel comfortable enough that he's finally able to let his guard down and truly be himself for the first time ever.