#rubi does a write

“Ren, hey. Hold on a second.” Lugina called out.

“What now?”

“Before we head back to the city, I need to talk to you about something.”

Ren turned and walked back towards him. “Yeah?”

“Uhm...” Lugina fidgeted; he crossed his arms and uncrossed them, put his hand on his hip and scratched the back of his head, hunching over and straightening his back, and tapped his foot frantically, done in no particular order. All the while, he did not even look at his coworker save for passing glances, and she was quickly growing impatient.

“Lugina.” Ren said sternly.

“Give...Give me a minute here!” He shouted. “I-I just lost what I was about to say, that’s all!”

“Well, hurry up and find it. We’re burning daylight.” She started walking away. “This doesn’t sound like an emergency, so you can tell me back home instead.”

“Shut it! Don’t make this harder than it already is!” When he heard Ren’s annoyed growl, he immediately pulled back. “Wait, shit, no. I meant--” He exhaled harshly. “Look. I just want to say I’m so--I want to apologize.” He said, slow and strained, clenching his fist and struggling to even look at her.

Ren turned around, crossed her arms, and raised an eyebrow. “Okay? For what?” Her eyes were trained on his, no matter how many times he averted them; critical and watchful, like her death-glares, but also patient, awaiting his answer.

“For...everything...Fuck, since...” He met her gaze again, and stayed. “Since Nebulous, I’ve been having these fucking thoughts...Shitting on you and Karl back then...That...” He closed his eyes and exhaled. “That was just fucking uncalled for. I regretted saying what I said then as soon as I got back to Elgaia. Right after...I just brushed that thought aside, but it kept fucking coming back. Every time I saw you two together, and every time I saw you pissed at me, what I said kept eating at me. It...It’s just that--Aw, gods, this is all gonna piss you off so much...” He groaned.

“You say that like you haven’t already before without even giving a shit. Go on.” Ren replied matter-of-factually. Her expression softened slightly. “I’m still listening.”

Lugina ran his hands through his hair. “It...pissed me off seeing that little--him already with a girl before me, and one who got her fame by fucking killing all the Fallen Gods no godsdamn less. He already has Old Man Grahdens, and nobody shuts up about how ‘great and perfect’ he is. Meanwhile, even though I’m so talented as fuck, I still had to work my ass off to get his level of recognition. So of course I’m gonna shit on him when something goes wrong in his life. And you’re his girlfriend, so I went after you, too. Before Nebulous, I thought all I would ever need are power and connections, and that’d be enough to get me anywhere and anything I wanted. But after, I’ve been doing a lot of rethinking: the Federation I grew up in taught me a lot of harsh lessons, but...I think that’s because of how much Rahnas controlled and influenced by the time I was born; gradually building itself into a war machine with the power to take over the Empire just to show that you fucking can. I saw his shit first-hand when I used to work under him, and I was still a teenager back then. But today’s people in Randall? They’re different. It’s not just power and connections that’ll get you noticed. So, I guess that’s why everyone likes your boyfriend so much; why you like him so much. It’s so clear as day how much you two fucking love each other.” He chuckled. “It’s almost too much to even look at. You deserve to be happy together.”

Silence fell between the two of them after he had finished. Ren had closed her eyes to process his apology, only to open them when she was about to reply.

“It’s nice to see you be actually sorry and full of regret,” Ren finally said, “but, I won’t accept your apology--”

“What the fuck? Come on, I’m shit at this stuff!” Lugina groaned. “I go out of my way to apologize for all the times I’ve been a fucking dick, and--”

“Oh my gods, let me finish!” Ren shouted back. They stared at each other until they both had calmed down.

“I won’t accept your apology until you apologize to him, too.” Ren said evenly. “Also, you’re an idiot if you really thought he was so perfect and had an easier life. I’ve known him much longer than you have, and he has his flaws, too.” She locked his eyes into hers. “He’s a sweetheart, but he keeps his distance with people he doesn’t know well, and has some awareness when people are trying to get close to him for...certain reasons. He can be emotionally dense, but he’s learning to get over that. When he wants to avoid a topic, he gets dodgy. You know that one. And...He saw from the sidelines what I went through when we were kids. Just by choosing to be my friend, it painted a target on his back. His saving graces were that he just is a good person to everyone, and that he had Grahdens, who everyone in our hometown knew was an Elder Summoner.”

Lugina rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, I guess...i guess that’s fair.”

A few moments passed.

“You know, Lugina,” Ren said, “you could use more positive reinforcement when you decided to actually swallow your pride and not be a complete asshole. So, I’m proud of you for going out of your way to apologize. Verbally.”

“Yeah. You’re...being a lot more mature about this than I was expecting. You’re not making any jokes...innuendos...bullshit.”

Ren shrugged. “Give me immaturity, and I’ll give it right back.”

“Yeah, that’s also fair. Explains a fuckton, now that you actually said it. Uh, you’re not like this with your students, are you?”

“Of course not. Only with peers, because my peers ought to know better. Students don’t, that’s why they’re students. And in training. Not everyone’s a born prodigy, you know. You’re gonna have to buck up and slow down if you ever decide to take on a trainee.”

“Yeah, I get it.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “Do you?”

“I don’t know? I’ve never...taken one on before. I left behind all that ‘Zelban’ shit and thought I wasn’t gonna pass on anything. I only take the best and brightest from your Academy; ones who seemed like they already know how shit goes.”

“Oh, and one more thing.” She waited to have Lugina’s full attention, her eyes full of severity. “Just because you apologized doesn’t always mean you’ll be forgiven, especially if whoever you’ve wronged doesn’t think you’re worth it. Getting angry makes you seem less genuine to anyone who doesn’t have a critical eye like me.”

Given the fact that the whole reason that catalyzed Raz’s existence was to give Memoria a fail-safe in case anything on the level of literally the whole plot behind ReXona happened, Raz does go through the ups and downs of an existential crisis after learning the “synthetic human whose DNA was converted into code and uploaded into Memoria only to be activated in the event of a massive malfunction/crisis” part of their true nature.

When Memoria is finally completely restored, Raz suddenly just shuts down, like they fainted and fell backwards. Inside their consciousness/hardware/something to that effect, Raz gets treated to a “Thank you” message from Marena, telling them that if they are receiving this messages, then their mission is complete, and that she’s so proud of them for what they did. After some heartfelt words, Raz is given an option on whether to continue existing. A “Yes/No” window pops up in their mind. Of course, after their own character development, Raz chooses “Yes”.

Raz just basically rebooted themself after a software update. They come to pretty confused but alright. Content.

Because I’m anticipating this going in the same direction as the other two main series games, it’s most likely gonna end w/ the Player and Renka going world-hopping. First destination: Find Raz’s mom.

So, they find Marena doing her thing or whatever. Marena immediately recognizes Raz. There’s introductions, explanations, stories, but eventually, they do go to where Marena made Memoria and Raz. After having a look around, Marena produces a flashdrive with tape on it and hands it to Raz.

On the tape is Raz’s name.

Once Raz is finished being overwhelmed by the fact they’re holding themself in the palm of their hand and that everything fundamental about them is stored in this little thing, they hand it back to Marena. Marena keeps Raz and Renka’s attention on the flashdrive...

...And crushes it to dust in her bare hand.

Marena explains that Raz as they are now is irreplaceable. Even if she were to use the flashdrive to produce another “Raz”, that Raz wouldn’t be the same as the Raz who saved Astra. Therefore, it’s useless to keep the flashdrive around. Plus, Raz is immortal thanks to Marena’s bloodline, so they don’t have to worry much about needing to make a new Raz if they died to something otherwise simple.

Now, why would that be? It’s simple, really. All users of a Geo Vision have applied a sort of “contract” to how they live their lives; a “life-contract”, if you will. Noelle aiming to be the Best Knight Ever in the Knights of Favonius, Ningguang for the prosperity and well-being of Liyue, Itto trying to change common preconceptions of Oni, Albedo searching for the truth of the world through Alchemy.

Now, to those of you who haven’t played or don’t remember, there is a Story Quest in BF2 where in a flashback sequence, we see Hansu as a boy in Ohbanahara declaring that his life’s goal is to be the strongest Shinobi and to serve a strong master. By the end of that Story Quest, he comes to be under Lugina’s wing.

Now in the era of BF2′s start, put simply and plainly, some of Hansu’s Unit quotes revolve around protecting his family (his older sister, and there is at the very minimum a 10-year age gap between them, is Lugina’s wife and Sasha’s mother, making him Sasha’s uncle) no matter what...or how. At this time, he is already the right-hand of one of the strongest Summoners. That would be one “life-contract” applied and fulfilled. And then protecting his family, that is another “life-contract” that he has applied.

Thus, Hansu would most likely have a Geo Vision.

Marena cracked one eye open as she roused herself from her nap, seeing the sun still peeking through the leaves of the tree she was under.

“Mornin’, Sunshine. Sleep well?” Liam asked. He stretched next to her, having just woken up from his own nap.

Marena sat up and stretched as well. “As well as I could. Is our ‘glorious’ captain back from Ishgria yet?”

Liam laughed mockingly. “No, our fearless leader has yet to return, much less send anyone a message or an update.”

“So, same shit as always? Great...” Marena grumbled. “I’m so bored.”

“Hey, why don’t we call your dad and see if he’s got anything?” Liam suggested.

Marena blushed. “N-No way! Besides, he’s probably too busy with a lot of other things right now. Hey, I know! Let’s call your aunt!”

Now it was Liam’s turn to be flustered. “Oh, hell no! She fucking scares me.”

“Sure she does.” Marena scoffed.

“Then, who else could we talk to that’s here?”

“You’re asking me?”

“You’re the one whose parents are both Elder Summoners.” Liam stated matter-of-factly.

“And my mom is on a mission herself right now.” Marena shot back with the same tone.

They stared at each other for a moment, waiting for the other to suggest something.

Liam reached for his communicator and pressed some buttons. “I’m calling Lord Karl.”

“Don’t!” Marena tried to snatch the device from him while he kept it as far away from her as he could while remaining seated. The holographic screen appeared in front of him with a phone symbol and the words “Dialing Lord Karl” up above it. After a few seconds, Karl answered the call.

“Hello, Liam. Is there something you need?”

“Heya, Lord Karl!” Liam greeted cheerfully as he kept Marena away from being visible on-screen. “I was just wondering if there’s any new missions to take.” Liam was suddenly pushed aside by Marena.

“I’m so sorry, sir!” she cried. “I know you’re very busy; I tried to stop him!”

Karl chuckled. “Mari, relax. He’s not interrupting anything.” Marena removed her hand from Liam’s face, allowing him back into the shot. He glared at her for a moment as he rubbed his cheek. “But, I’m sorry to say that I don’t have anything for you two at the moment.”

“Aw, man...” Liam groaned.

Marena huffed and crossed her arms. “Dammit...”

“But, I’ll keep you two posted if anything comes up, okay?” Karl checked his watch. “I have a meeting in a few minutes.”

“Alright, thanks, Lord Karl.” Liam said.

In the Persona series, according to the wiki, characters who bear the Magician Arcana have similar traits of “strong vision and aspiration for the future, and fulfilling their inner potential. Because of this, they might often have the tendency to live inside their minds... This helps them show a strong sense of confidence, but this only serves as an attempt to shield themselves from a serious inferiority complex (or an identity crisis...”

How does all this apply to Alric? Well, he starts out with a dream of being a Summoner strong enough to surpass both of his parents and cites the powerful fighters in his bloodline as the reason for his confidence that he will succeed one day. But then add the fact that said parents are the son of one of the most powerful demons in Ishgria and a woman who was once fused with an omnipotent energy being, and an older sibling who has had almost too much power unlocked and was regarded as a prodigy in school, and that vision starts to look more like a pipe dream as the inferiority complex sets in to the point of being compelled to suddenly run away to Ishgria in the hopes of gaining and unlocking more power in order to “keep up”.

Then, his bloodline and abilities earn him enough status/notoriety to go on a power trip in Ishgria, only to be called out by his demonic grandfather on the grounds by which his apparent “power” was founded on: a weak foundation born from fighting apparently weaker opponents too much, and having no confidence in his abilities and the dragon-demon bloodline of Fal Nerga otherwise; deigning to instead use his powers as “a child’s plaything”. These accusations anger Alric, but because Barion was spot-on, he literally can’t use his own power to prove him wrong the Ishgrian way. So, Alric flees and continues as he was, ignoring his grandfather’s criticisms and any others who try to reason with Alric.

At the time Alric came home at the start of BF2, he initially acts confident and cocky that he’s definitely gotten so much stronger in the year he was gone, but it quickly fades when his own insecurity that his own power still won’t be enough to compare to anyone else’s. All that drama and talk, only to seemingly come up empty. He is immediately locked out of his own higher powers for half the Seltavia Arc and he’s pissed off about it until it clicks for him that he doesn’t have to rush his own growth as a Summoner and as a person and what he has now actually is something to be proud of, and even if it doesn’t seem like enough now, he has people to rely on so that it is. And that’s when he does finally tap into greater power in the nick of time to help his friends.

The year that Alric was in Ishgria until his mental breakthrough falls in line with what the Reverse Magician means in Tarot cards: wasted potential, lack of energy, missed opportunity, obsession with power, lack of mental clarity, using abilities purely for selfish gain.

Both can manifest in childhood, but elemental abilities become trainable during puberty ages while Summoning can theoretically be trained at any time after awakening. It’s just that it’s easier within the system to train them simultaneously. The nature of one’s elemental powers can be traced through their genetics, and is most likely to be the same element as one of their parents. From which parent is a 50/50 chance, though there are also those who claim that there is still more likelihood in a child inheriting the element of their opposite-sex parent.

As for the Summoning ability, it is known to be obtained via receiving a vision from the Sealed God Lucius, though as of the god’s death, this is no longer applicable. Other known ways is through accompanying one with the Summoning ability through Lucius’ Gate into Grand Gaia and through training, but these methods have shown to not always work. 

This calls into discussion theories about other ways the Summoning power is obtained. It is theorized that the Summoning ability could be passed onto a child if their parent receives it before they are born. It is also theorized that the Summoning power could be bestowed in-utero if the mother passes through Lucius’ Gate before the child is born. However, with the many different ways tried to obtain the Summoning ability, with varied successes, there is still not enough evidence to support these.