Ok *cracks knuckles* I'm gonna make an attempt to make my version of Samos at least a little sympathetic. Asshole Samos is always fun to make fun of but ill try to make this work just for fun
One thing first, I'm adding a bit of lore about eco. So, using dark eco can lead to corruption, but the same thing can happen with all eco types, its just is less aggressive/slower. If you use one type of eco constantly over a long period of time, you'll start suffering from effects/mutations.
So to start, young Samos is a loser. He naturally has an affinity for green eco and nature, but due to what Haven becomes and how rarer eco is to track down, he's not a strong sage. That being the case he puts more work into wits and tactical planning, gaining him the position of 'the shadow'. His smarts is the only thing that gets him this role, as he's a complete toss when working with others. When he's told by Onin about how important it is to track down Mar/baby Jak, he does it for the sake of the revolution, as well as to prove is abilities to a powerful sage. He didn't really like being a babysitter, but did have every intention of putting Mar somewhere safe (mostly so the kid was out of the way and not something Samos had to worry about on top of everything.)
When he's sent to the past with baby Jak, he's totally thrilled about being in a world overflowing with eco, and goes abit overboard with using it as much as he can. At the start he did start growing fond of Jak, which is what initially made him soft enough to let Keira live with them, but using so much eco while being as untrained as he was led to him becoming detached (got stuck in a mind set of needing to do anything for the sake of the timeline/keeping the balance/sage mumbo jumbo) and he went back to thinking he just needed both Jak and Keira close by so he was sure they were with him when they returned to the future. (is also why he's more cruel with Daxter as he see's him as a chaos point/anomaly in the timeline)
When they all do end up in Haven, Samos is put in prison where the branches attached to him are removed, and he slowly loses the connection to eco he had gained in Sandover. Without this power making him a little bit crazy, he comes to the horrifying realization that he basically became what Gol and Maia were, and his nulled emotions lead him to sending a bunch of children into a war-torn city. Samos tries to warn is younger self about what he'll become, but is meet with a much more arrogant version of himself, who has no interest in heeding the warning of a very frail, weak and powerless Samos. "I'll do better than you" which is how everything ends up repeating. He also get to witness first hand his younger self verbally abusing Daxter (he's already seen how much Jak suffered from all of this and how important Daxter is to keep him grounded) and finally realizes 'omg, all I was doing all this time was watching over someone else's destiny, all I had to do was make sure no one died, and I did it in the most egotistical, unpleasant way possible. what is wrong with me?'
The end of the second game also marks the end of Samos's knowledge of the future. He doesn't know if anything will happen next. During all of the third game Samos is the one who puts the most work into getting Jak out of the desert. He feels like not doing everything to protect them now will just prove he only ever saw them as a means to an end, so if he at least ensures the three are safe and happy now, maybe he'll deserve some forgiveness.
A big thing is that he outright apologizes to Daxter. Its slightly awkward and Daxter thinks he's messing with him at first, but he tries and that's more than anything OG Samos did.
So to summarize, Samos is a sad little nobody in his youth so acts really know-it-all to compensate for his lack of self image. When exposed to a high amount of eco, he lets his want for status turn him into the worst version of himself. Only when he's severed from this power does he become aware of how similar he was to Gol and Maia, which sends him spiraling into damage control for the sake of the kids he cares for. yes, that includes Daxter.
Jak X is where he acts less like an overprotective father stopping Keira from racing, more like an estranged grunkle who loudly supports all his kids throughout the championship.
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No, the world is not ending. But I understand your bafflement.
How come I, probably one of the biggest Aurora haters out there, have anything positive to say about her?
Well, the truth is that I never found it too hard to make her a more compelling character. Granted, no matter the route the show chose, I may have never liked her. You see, I can be quite the rabid stan and Amalia is my bias. I was never going to take kindly to a woman that was introduced seeing and treating my fave as little more than a political pawn for her own gain. Especially one who was intended to be bad news all along.
But I digress.
My point is that canon Aurora is simply insufferable and two-dimensional. A glorified background character with one very particular purpose whom the writers chose to give more "relevance" to without actually knowing what to do with her.
She and her father are easily the most despicable characters in this entire franchise, and it's us, the audience, that have to pay for it by having them and their machinations constantly "haunt" the already flawed writing of The Great Wave.
Aurora doesn't work simply because she isn't a character; but a caricature of a villain. She doesn't actually have any traits or complexity, she's just terrible because she's Amalia's main and most personal opponent and ToT can't be bothered to give anything related to Amalia that isn't a man any real depth.
But the truth of the matter is that Aurora's character is very easy to fix. Just make her more interesting and give her some better-balanced traits that don't reduce her to "overgrown spoiled brat on a power-trip." Better yet, canon actually gives us plenty to work with. They just don't do anything with it.
So here's how I'd write Aurora. Keep in mind, this is with the objective of keeping her as an antagonist for the Great Wave. So she will still be villainous to different degrees, but at least she won't be as flat. I have three alternatives on how I'd write her: one in a more positive light, the other two keeping her more unsavoury aspects from canon, but actually exploring her character.
And without further ado, let's dive in.
Aurora: Decent Person, but Morally Flawed
@silveyn once pointed out how Aurora is basically ToT's discount Echo. And they are right!
After all, both are manipulative horned women with the ability to turn into harpies, and... That's pretty much it, actually.
Because while Echo is a beloved character precisely because of her charisma, her genuine love for the people close to her, and that perfect balance between angelic and demonic that is so prevalent even in her original design; Aurora is easily one of the most despised characters because she's just hateful, and she only gets more hateful each time she opens her mouth.
So, why not take the similarities a little further by making Aurora as morally flawed yet likeable as Echo?
In this particular instance, I'd take her original role as mediator, but make sure she actually fullfils it.
Remember? The season 3 artbook describes her as a "mediator" between Armand and Amalia, but I put that in between quotation marks because that description immediately contradicts itself by clarifying she only ever sides with Armand. Which is not how mediation works.
In other words, it was an early indicator that Aurora is only in it for herself and, thus, will always side with whatever is more convenient for her (in this case, her husband), rather than actually try to listen to both sides of the story.
You already make her more likeable by playing this role straight rather than subvert it.
If I were to write the dinner scene from season 3 with this in mind, I'd have it so, after Amalia storms off because of Ashdur, rather than call Amalia a weed and assure Armand that they'll eventually take care of her, Aurora would take the time to get him to ease up on his sister.
She could tell him that maybe they should wait until things with their father have calmed down (either because he recovered or passed away) before bringing up the possibility of another arranged marriage to Amalia. To give her time, rather than spring up suitor after suitor to her while she's worried sick about the king.
Likewise, Amalia and Aurora's relationship would be less antagonistic as a result. With Eva gone unless there's a crisis, Amalia's sister-in-law could fill the role of older sister figure for her. And Aurora could try to get Amalia to see the importance of political alliances without being self-serving and pushy about it.
There could be a scene after the Ashdur fiasco where Aurora reaches out to Amalia, promises to respect her wishes, but also points out that every kingdom needs allies, and marriage is usually the most surefire way to achieve that.
Maybe Amalia could admit she's right, but what happened with Harebourg is still far too recent for her to trust anybody else. Coupled with her father's declining health (and her feelings for Yugo), she is just not ready to look for a husband yet.
Aurora could say she understands, but ask Amalia to give what she said some thought. With the scene ending on a lighter tone by having Aurora joke that she's glad she didn't pick Ashdur in the end. He's a bit of a bonehead; she doesn't know what she was thinking when she called for him.
Maybe it's my Amalia-loving ass talking, but I think that already improves Aurora's character by a million percent.
More importantly, since we said the aim is to have Aurora still filling the role of antagonist in the manga but not being a pain about it, this new characterisation would add a new level of personal tragedy to her eventual betrayal during the war.
Amalia's (understandable) resentment and hatred of her after she ran away wouldn't just be anger because a political alliance fell through when they needed help the most, but because someone she trusted and was beginning to truly consider family failed her and her brother.
Don't tell me that's not more compelling!
On Aurora's side, something as simple as making Aurora more self-aware yet conflicted already does wonders.
For context: we're keeping my theory that she was lying about them knowing about the baby beforehand and Armand telling her to run in order to protect it as canon.
Indeed, she returned after shamefully abandoning her late husband's kingdom because she is pregnant with his child and considers it's her duty to honour Armand's legacy and fight for her child's right to the throne. However, this time around she is also keenly aware that she lost the Sadida and Amalia's trust, and that things might have been different if only her father had kept his word and sent help, or if she simply defied his wishes and chose to remain in the kingdom after Armand died.
So this time around, while still an antagonistic force with a very personal rivalry against Amalia, Aurora is also filled with resentment towards her father, and self-loathing because, despite everything, she is still incapable of going against him.
(Don't tell me this shot of her crying helplessly doesn't hit harder if she's angry at her father or herself or both over what happened, c'mon).
What's the point in giving her a clearly emotionally neglectful father if she's just going to happily go along with his schemes as he uses her as a political chess piece?!?!?
This way, you get a still antagonistic yet much more developed and, dare I say, likeable Aurora.
Now, onto the versions that keep her as a more unpleasant individual, but also aim to make her a more interesting character by actually exploring certain aspects and her background.
Aurora Related a Little Too Much to Armand
If you've ever seen my content, then you probably know those two are my Wakfu NOTP, in no small part due to the fact that it comes completely out of nowhere and it's not even explored, just... established out of the blue.
Sure, they're married, but watching their interactions in Falling Down and Far From the World back to back... It doesn't flow at all.
In season 3, the general vibe between them is that they're shady business partners who happen to be married, and if Aurora has Armand wrapped around her little finger is because of her manipulations, not genuine love. Then season 4 rolls around, and suddenly they act like they're hopelessly in love and so thankful for their marriage, and I'm left like, "...is there a secret season 3.5 that I somehow missed, or something?"
The more I think about this, the clearer it becomes to me this is a change brought on by their last-minute plans for Armand. Rather than trying to give them any depth for Aurora's benefit, they suddenly turned them into a happy couple for Armand's sake. So it'd be even more impactful when he died because he was finally happy at last.
Because when you come down to it, their "happy" relationship isn't all that deep either. There's nothing tangible that hints at those two having grown really close during their time together.
I can count with one hand the number of onscreen conversations they've had, and they revolved around politics (Armand's coronation, the Eliaculus, Aurora leaving for her kingdom) and how much they love each other despite everything. And that's just a tad too... performative for me to become invested in it?
Which is a pity, because people in arranged marriages who genuinely fall in love with each other is a trope that sells like hot cakes. My favourite fanfic of all time follows that exact premise! (@tipolover22 the GOAT that you are 🥰).
But Armand and Aurora are just... there, and all because of Armand's eventual sacrifice.
In other words, there ain't nothing cheaper than the "Redemption Equals Death" trope. Change my mind.
So, if I were to rewrite Aurora while keeping her flaws but focusing on her role as Armand's widow and Amalia's most prominent political opponent, I'd focus on her hatred of Amalia being because of Armand.
The way their relationship is written in canon, you understand why Amalia hates her, but not why Aurora would go from seeing her as a bit of a nuisance she'll have to bend to her will to an insufferable brat she actually dreams of getting rid of for good.
As I said, use Armand!
Aurora was written as a manipulative femme fatale, that much is a fact. Meaning, it is not unlikely that she originally tried different tactics to get closer to Armand in order to have him under her thumb. Such as the aforementioned "mediator" role she had.
Well, why not have it so she presents herself as a willing ear to the burdened prince so he'd lower his guard around her, only to find out she can actually relate and understand many of his struggles?
Especially when it comes to his father favouring Amalia over him.
While never touched upon, it is canon that Aurora has several brothers. And, given how the possibility of Armand becoming King Consort of the Osamodas Kingdom is never brought up, then it's clear one of them will inherit the throne. For all we know, Aurora may actually be the eldest child, but come from a patriarchal society that passed her up in favour of the first younger brother she got.
It wouldn't surprise me if her father had neglected her her whole life in favour of his male heirs, only caring about turning her into someone else's queen they can use to benefit their kingdom from the shadows.
I mean, despite his casual condescension towards the Sadida Kingdom, the Osamodas King was still more interested in what his son-in-law had to say than his own daughter...
Yikes.
So hearing Armand bitch and moan over King Oakheart favouring Amalia despite the fact that she prefers to travel the world over carrying out her duties could hit a little too close to home for Aurora. Thus, leading to husband and wife becoming closer because they have something to bond over for real, and explaining why Aurora would hate Amalia so much and see her as little more than a little brat, even though Amalia never did anything that bad to her.
In other words, you get a better foundation for their supposedly loving marriage and her bone to pick with Amalia if you just explain Aurora projected her family issues onto the Sheran Sharms more than she should.
And speaking of projecting, that's our third point:
Aurora's Hatred of Amalia Was Born Out of Envy and Projection
As I said, you get the distinctive feeling that the Osamodas Kingdom is more patriarchal than the Sadida Kingdom, as well as the fact that the Osamodas King is far more neglectful than King Oakheart, especially towards his daughters.
That kind of environment can be extremely stifling for women from nobility and royalty, as more often than not, they will be reduced to the role of someone's wife and mother of his children all for the sake of continuing their bloodline. Even when they're the rightful heir to their respective titles, it's usually their outsider husbands who will become head of the house and manage state affairs.
Seeing how Aurora entered a political marriage to strengthen her kingdom's hold over Sadida politics... I'd say it's safe to say the same applies to her.
So I imagine someone from such a restrictive and unfair background would find it mindnumbing upon discovering another princess, someone who should be in the same boat as her, has actually been granted much more freedom and support her whole life.
For someone who didn't leave her court until it was time to be married off like Aurora, Amalia's reputation as a rebellious, adventurous princess is completely unheard of. Moreso when you remember King Oakheart came to fully support his daughter's unorthodox lifestyle.
If you ask me, you alreadly make Aurora more compelling if it turns out that, much like Armand, she would have liked to be granted more freedom, but was never given the opportunity by her traditionalist (*cough*misogynistic*cough, cough!*) father. With her hatred of her sister-in-law being a result of the envy and resentment she dares not voice to her father because he could never love and support her unconditionally like Oakheart did with Amalia.
Which, again, allows you to actually give Aurora relatable reasons why she would come to hate Amalia, and explore the fact that she isn't happy with her father either. Instead of her blissfully letting herself become his political puppet like in the manga.
Or if you don't think it fits Aurora to be jealous of Amalia because she wanted to see more of the world too but couldn't, then keep her jealousy over her loving relationship with King Oakheart but have Aurora, a woman raised on more traditional values, be appalled by the fact that her fellow princess would prefer rough and tumble endeavours over fulfilling her (objectively outdated) role as a woman.
(I've said it before, but just compare how cold and stiff the Corvus' interactions are compared to Amalia and her father).
There you go, folks.
An in-depth analysis of how Aurora's character could be salvaged if only ToT gave a fuck about giving Amalia an actually compelling opponent and wasn't just treating giving our queen an arc as something he has to cross out of his to-do list.
Can't wait to hear y'all thoughts. Do you agree with my takes? Any suggestions? I'm all ears.
Haven't had much motivation or interest to remake helluva boss. I've rewritten and remade some characters, but no coherent story has fully clicked.
As for some of Fiz's lore, and envy imp lore, they all either have a sibling or twin to represent the duality of envy itself. Fiz didn't have any. As an outcast he attached himself to Blitz, who already had a sibling, and slowly began to copy him.
Hiya! I’m bringing all the characters from the very original Bomberman. I really like all the nostalgic characters for my familiarity ever since they showed up. Their designs were memorable, and simple from the original looks. In my version, here are most of these characters that I decided to revamped them for a change and some extra details.
Overall, I did my best to figure it out while I’m struggling to revamp them, but it turned out this is the result. Thanks for enjoying!
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A while ago, I made a rant about how Phoenix felt OOC in Dual Destinies, although at the time of that post I was only in the second case, I not only still agree with it, but I think the situation worsened in Spirit of Justice (HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA *dies*)
I'll touch on this subject at the end of the post. Because I also want to talk about Apollo now
First of all, I'd like to address the obvious: Apollo deserved to have his name in this game's title. Not Phoenix. It's literally his trilogy, Phoenix doesn't get ANY development as the main character. Why not just… not make him playable and have him only be this game's Mia? And like, have him only be playable on the last case and on the first case ever since he got his badge back (I honestly hate how Turnabout Reclaimed turned out a comedy case. Really, Phoenix's return deserved to be something more serious. But I didn't even play that case simply to get rid of Dual Destinies quickly, so I have no right to comment.)
Second… he's so boring during this whole game. Maybe I'm being picky but I feel like he lost his personality. He's… he's emo now and during cases you play as him it doesn't feel like past game's Apollo. I guess...
Well, now for what I would have done if I would rewrite it:
Dual Destinies really lost the opportunity to explore further of how complicated Phoenix's and Apollo's relationship was after Phoenix (Speaking superficially) using him for an year
Some people have suggested that Phoenix's more cheerful personality might be a persona, so he could be a better boss for Athena
Imagine Apollo, always remembering the past year, watching the new girl get along to Phoenix the way he wanted to. Feeling envious, but trying to suppress it. It was precisely envy that caused his mentor to start doing the horrible things he did.
But he understands that it's not her fault; she didn't know and isn't obligated to know what he went through. How Mr. Wright was. Over time they grow closer, and just when he feels comfortable enough with her… Clay dies.
And after he vents about how powerless he feels over his death, Athena and Phoenix have some kind of sweet moment together and he… can't take it anymore. The suspicions make him feel betrayed by Athena. He remembers the feeling of discovering that Kristoph, his mentor is a murderer. And then he asks for a leave. With no explanation of why. Phoenix never explained anything to him all last year, why does he owe him an explanation now?
On a related note, I hate the lack of appearances from both Clay and Kristoph in this game. Doesn't his mentor haunt him? The idea of being like him? How betrayed he felt?
Couldn't this game be in a fucking chronological order, having the first case be Clay's trial of something that isn't a murder? (The ONLY case on the first trilogy that starts with a crime that isn't murder for once ends with a death that nobody cares about, WOW.) Like, I don't know, something like data theft on the space station or something like that? Shitty example but whatever. And then Clay spends some good time hanging with Apollo so his death actually hurts like Mia's
Welp Athena, Simon and the two last cases carried this game. Apollo deserved more.
Finally, here's a little more about Phoenix!
On a less important note, on my last post I commented on how weird The Magical Turnabout is, and honestly just made Phoenix feel more mischaracterized. Like yeah Capcom of course I'll buy your idea that Phoenix would not be present at his daughter's first magic show and instead would abandon her to go to another country to see a girl he's not even able to meet for the next two weeks. After he bought her a lot of expensive Gavinners merch while they were still in a difficult financial condition. After everything he went through with Maya.
ALSO did Maya's kidnapping not affect him like, AT ALL? This is a complaint I have about Trials and Tribulations, honestly! After everything they went through, he really let Armstrong, a man they didn't know, just take her away somewhere? He had so little resistance to her being alone in the temple? Oh, and about the temple, guess what happened! She almost died! And after that?
HE LET HIS DAUGHTER RUN SOMEWHERE WITHOUT HIM, WHERE THERE'S A MURDERER AROUND, TO STAY WITH APOLLO, WHO'S NOT REALLY TRUSTWORTHY ON THAT MOMENT LIKE, AT ALL! AND GUESS WHAT??? SHE WAS KIDNAPPED. AND HE BARELY REMEMBERED HER WHENEVER THE HOSTAGES WERE MENTIONED.
