occasionally i see people raising the question of like, if you had to live on terra, where would you pick
and for me the answer is a slam-dunk Sami every time. the thing about Black Forest is that... it shows us an incredibly welcoming place, people excited to meet strangers and share their cultures with them, dangerous things but all things where there are Rules for handling them. yeah, there's eldritch shit going on there. but there's eldritch shit going on EVERYWHERE in terra.
it's a funny little part of arknights and it's honestly a theme i wish they'd SHOW more; the idea that the colonized people need to find something new to live for rather than wallowing in hatred does keep coming up but it's Sami that feels like it's really focused on the indigenous joy? pudding's operator record is a great example of this, as is the Sunrise short story from IS4's second ending.
i think we REALLY need more of that in AK no great chief returns not you. we see so much of what they've had taken from them and the struggles that they make, but Black Forest/IS4 are the ones that really ram home that yeah, there's space for everyone in the future, the role of the indigenous person is not to be doomed to colonization and suffering but can live and love and be loved, something rare across ALL media tbh. and... that happiness, that freedom from colonial norms and prejudices that spans the rest of terra means that that answer is a no brainer for me.
does help that down south they have wi-fi though
