#eight stands in the doorway wearing an oversized JADUS FOR EMPEROR tshirt

[eorzeashan]

Thoughts about Echoes of Oblivion: I consider Eight to be cosmically insignificant. That he's just a blip in the giant lifeform that is the Force. It doesn't make him any less important than the next character, but he's not some grand savior or even anything next to say, the Hero of Tython. He doesn't even show up on Force radars half the time. This obviously clashes with a major portion of KOTFE/ET and after that keeps trying to make you somebody, but he is literally nobody. The fact that he matters so much to someone like Jadus who is a gigantic presence and galaxy-shaker delights the hell out of me, but it only makes him special to their relationship, not the rest of the world.

To that end, I think not even Arcann would remember him. Senya would still be angry; she deserves to be and they both made and accepted their choice with him as their murderer. He holds nothing against her if she wants him to suffer for the rest of his life. Given the tweaking of his role as Outlander however, I'm unsure of whether Arcann would hold the same grudge. He might, given this nobody killed his entire family-- but Eight barely spoke, and I think Arcann's vitriol is much more directed at an Outlander who... has a presence at all. Eight might have appeared as just an unknown soldier to him. But I suppose even he needed someone to hate, if he could never reach his father. It's hard for me to imagine him doing so for Eight however, as he did promise he'd defeat him in his stead.

Oddly enough, this time Vaylin had no objections compared to a LS playthrough which is very sad given she must have just wanted to be free of her life of pain and misery, so it made me sigh in relief a little. She deserved a bit of catharsis. It's ironic that the path most would assume would heal her made her more overcome with rage. As mentioned before, it's strange how she and Eight sometimes would silently see eye to eye like that. Maybe that's just how those mired in endless violence are.

I also don't think they needed him to be there for this one given a huge chunk of the vital Force-users there were like uh.... we hate this guy for killing us. Made it really awkward.

It's nice to think of Eight as one of those nameless phantoms in the back who show up just to get a good hit in for Valkorion though, and while I don't think he couldn't do such a thing, he's more of the whimsical surprise character who shows up mysteriously out of nowhere to wreak havoc while simultaneously being helpful and acting on his own agenda (Jadus sends his regards!).

It still got me though when Valkorion pulled him to the side alone and asked him if he really did kill his entire family without being controlled-- I was very curious about the point of lying about it, which I imagine would've been good for RP purposes, but Eight would never shirk the responsibility or the weight of his decisions-- his kills. Valkorion laughed and said he must have enjoyed it if he was so steadfast in his conviction, but Eight would never. Not that him or his family could understand, as they've only known emotions that lead to murder their entire lives. The curse of being empaths, I suppose.

Though I had to pick the apology button to Senya, he wouldn't do that either. He didn't do it then. He couldn't do it now, and she knew it was too late for feelings (it always is. at some point you give up on justifications. you accept this as who you are) and so she brushed past him saying his time would come, and Arcann saying he would suffer eventually.

Ironically, he'd never turn that on them had their situations been reversed. Not that the game had any neutral options for this expac, haha.

He probably wished he got to stay outside Satele's head with Theron. There's something symbolic about him finding the loneliest, coldest vistas of Valkorion's barren mind filled with darkness as comforting, like it's the only place in the galaxy where he could ever be. KOTFE/ET... really made it apparent how other people became his hell, when all they could see was a tool for their victory and a bloody knife to blame.

He was oddly happy when Valkorion didn't remember him. He was grateful. Thank the stars. I should wish to be forgotten.

Then the arc tied off with a cheeky nod waking up to the same Lana with a stim like the PC does first leaving carbonite, but it was more bittersweet than anything to once again jet off...somewhere with her knowing Eight's history with the one he deferred to this entire expac. He tiredly went "I don't care," when she asked him where to go next, just the two of them in a shuttle again. No further words were exchanged and we don't know where she picked, but that summarizes their relationship pretty well: being dragged off not even half-awake by Lana without asking lol. He's still her agent even now, huh?

...Though given the garbage fire and lots of dead people that resulted because of their disastrous power dynamic, I could very clearly hear the frantic holocall from Theron ringing 30 minutes later asking where the kriff she's taking him and to put him back right now.