( repost, don't reblog. )

“A single arrow, right between the eyes? Who else could make a shot like that? No one, that’s who!”

To the Greil Mercenaries, Path of Radiance ch. 2

Shinon's entrance is brash and dashing--with astonishing deftness, he rescues the better part of the company from a hostage negotiation that's careening toward failure. It's intensely cool--and were it any less so, nobody would grant Shinon any credence whatsoever. They'd write him off as a bastard with nothing to offer.

But Shinon isn't just a bastard. He's a bastard with the skills to pay the bills--and this scene is our bombastic introduction to this. Here we see, with efficiency and style, the line that Shinon walks.

"What do you care, you snotty whelp?! It's none of yer business! AND another thing! About the command of the company. If you refuse to give it up…at least change the name! Yer NOT…Commander Greil! Just because you're his son…That doesn't…give you the right…to use his name…"

To Ike, Path of Radiance ch. 23

This is the first time we see Shinon crack. He's been angry, he's been hateful, but we've never seen him like this: sodden with drink, unable to stifle his grief. And this grief... is not only for the loss of Greil. Here, we come to understand why Shinon hates Ike so completely--because Ike was brought up well. Because Ike's father cared for him, and afforded him opportunities in life.

Shinon doesn't say all this, but it's implicit--and it fills in our picture of the man. We understand why Shinon is such a bitterly posturing bastard: because he never had someone like Greil.

Shinon so doggedly insists upon his own superiority because he's always had to prove himself: because he's always had to make it on his own.

"You know, I’m not very sentimental. My mother never hugged me."

To Sanaki, Radiant Dawn A-Support

Here, Shinon says the quiet part out loud: to the thirteen-year-old, orphaned empress of Begnion, during a desperate battle for the fate of all life on the continent. His ability to read the room is truly legendary.

But it reinforces my point. Shinon is really just a streamlined, stripped-down killing machine fueled by the purest of unresolved childhood trauma.

"But, Caineghis, I gotta say, you are one bad laguz. In a good way! Hang in there."

To Caineghis, Radiant Dawn A-Support

The support system in Radiant Dawn is godawful, so not a lot of people know that this conversation even exists. But to me, it speaks volumes. Along with the line to Sanaki, it serves as a quiet, fumbling resolution to Shinon's arc: here, at the very end, Shinon is able to extend himself to others.

Moreover, these are people from groups that Shinon has been amply shown to despise: royalty and a laguz. And he's still here, awkwardly rubbing shoulders with them! He's laying aside his devil-may-care persona, and is legitimately trying with another person--and not even Gatrie, Rhys, or Rolf.

This is what Shinon is capable of, in the end. And it sucks that, because of the way the game is structured, a lot of people don't see that.

"If you want to pay me back, then be better than me! Doesn’t matter if it’s at using a bow or making one. Just do it better. Then I can point at you and tell people “That’s the best student I ever had.”"

To Rolf, Radiant Dawn Endgame

Throughout both games, Shinon has been... gruffly supportive of Rolf. He clearly cares for the kid, but can't express it with anything other than tough love and begrudging affection.

But here--again, at the very end--Shinon is able to tell Rolf why he's doing all this. Why he's trained him, why he cares so damn much.