#elsword analysis

[starmage-constellar]

add fans please i have the sacred texts

bro half of this is gonna be nonsense but i need to spread my truths

okay, elstumblr. add grenore right. what a dude.

he’s been through a lot, but GOD is that all so misrepresented and practically ignored

im here to give a rundown on add as a character, from his childhood all the way to when he joins the main cast (& in general, his relationship with eve)

of course, since its.. add.. there’s TW for the following:

- death

- abuse

- enslavement

of course, we start off with add being born. right off the bat, asker (his dad) didn’t even attend his birth. he was informed by one of his manor’s servants that he now had a child. and rather than be there to not only celebrate his new son’s existence but also support his own wife, he stayed at his desk and occupied him with the things that concerned him the most (which are. clearly not the people who are meant to be his family).

when add was just a child, his father pushed him through rigorous teachings. anything out of turn resulted in not only physical but verbal abuse. asker most definitely had a temper and took it out on his son during lessons. he was so frustrated with every small mistake that add made―whether it was his intention to make it or not―that add started to see it as “normal” and “understandable” just because nasods were endangered. he excused his father’s actions and temper because that’s what he was made to do. 

and, it’s not like he had anyone to tell him otherwise until much later. he was completely sheltered his whole life. even if there’s nothing that tells us he didn’t talk to anyone outside of his home, i think it’s a correct assumption. do you honestly think that someone as controlling and abusive as asker would: A) allow add to do anything but put his time and energy towards nasods? & B) nourish the sort of mindset within add that would allow him to comfortably communicate with anyone outside the house? no. add would already struggle with a majority of the symptoms of c-ptsd (self-worth issues, ignoring red flags/excusing abusive behaviours, relationship difficulties, etc). 

however, “excusing abusive behaviours” isn’t to say that those affected by c-ptsd arent afraid of their abusers. when add finds out about his father’s plan, he’s terrified of what asker will end up doing to him. he’s still just a kid! it’s not like he totally understands whats going on, no matter how smart he might be for his age. also, he willingly listens in on the conversation between his parents, only fleeing once he thinks he’ll get caught (though it was grace who peeked out the door). he can infer already that what he was doing wasn’t something he should’ve been doing/something asker would be displeased with. he’s never been afraid of his mother, he’s afraid of the consequences of his actions as they pertain to his father because of how much control asker has had over add’s life to that point. he’s afraid of disappointing his father again.

then, we get to the day when nasod ruler caught up with his family. they killed his family and destroyed his home. i think a part of him felt like he upset his father, but it wouldn’tve mattered then. above all else, he was utterly distraught that someone had taken away his mother. grace was the only person that, given the narrow scope of people he knew up until then, he ever cared about genuinely. he checked into her lab every day after lessons to see if she was around because he loved her. grace was his comfort, and that makes sense! she was an incredibly loving and caring mother. she was the only support system add ever had in his life. 

im certain that when he was captured, it was in the midst of his panic and distress, so he would’ve been trying to get away from them as much as he could. he wanted his mother back. im not even sure if he understood she wasn’t going to come back, but i also don’t think he would care much if she was alive or dead. i have a feeling that even if he understood she was dead, he would rather stay by her corpse than be anywhere else because it was still his mother. it was still his comfort and his support, even if she wasn’t breathing. 

to the actual slavery part, though. initially, add would be very uncertain about being in the situation. he wasn’t given the time to process his mother’s death, so he would be undoubtedly shaken up about it for a while. he would have so many mixed emotions and wouldn’t be given the time to process them. and this is SO important to know about his character.

throughout every traumatic situation he’s had to go through, there has been nobody that he is able to speak on these matters with. he’s had no time to question anything or understand anything from a different view. he is left to keep dealing with these things in an unhealthy manner, if dealing with them at all.

it is for this reason that his reaction to the new world when he wakes up in the library infuriates me. yes, he is fascinated by the library, and that’s understandable. it’s a vast collection of knowledge. knowledge that could help him. knowledge that could make him stop disappointing people around him. however, his reaction to dynamo sort of irritates me. in a way, i understand his abrasiveness. he wants to do things on his own. escaping from slavery was already a way of proving to himself he was capable of something. however, i don’t think he should be as annoyed with it as he is. it’s clear, by the point he entered the library, he was inquisitive enough to understand things pretty quickly. like, he was smart enough to make use of dynamo once he got outside. i don’t get why he tried to ignore dynamo so vehemently when he could’ve clearly seen it wouldn’t leave him alone lmao...

but oh god.. we get to him interacting with echo.....................

we’re going back to him having bad people skills. i doubt he would have ever gotten comfortable speaking to anyone, given what happened to him. i also think he could’ve been a little more hesitant entering elder, but that’s just my thought (he does mention that he’s never seen cities around him before, so). 

i understand he knows a lot about the nasodian race, but it seems a little weird to have him come out of two incredibly-emotionally-damaging situations being able to communicate with a stranger so quickly.

however, i appreciate him being intrigued by a request. he’s only ever known how to do things for people, for the most part. to be offered a request―a chance for him to prove himself again―and possibly earn a reward in exchange is something he would be willing to do. im also thankful that he’s confused by echo’s hospitality. (still quite pissed off about his “tsundere” attitude, though...)

adding to what they’ve done right, though, i think quantum leap vol. 3 is my favourite volume. it’s a little flawed, but i think it’s a great explanation of add as a character. his driving force is to become stronger and to get rid of his weaknesses. weakness = vulnerability = suffering.

uhh.. moving past some other shit because it’s already 1:30 am

keeping this brief: add only helped wally because he thought it would be a good way to prove himself again to somebody, but ultimately betrayed him when he noticed small similarities in their relationship compared to his previous situations. 

add also never let himself process anything he really went through, even when he isolated himself inside the library. again, the whole not wanting to be weak thing. any sort of vulnerability would just make him weaker, which would make him more susceptible to getting hurt again. thus, to protect himself, he refused to let himself look back on and deal with his issues when he was finally in a safe environment. to him, they’re just intrusive thoughts that he thinks he’s been able to deal with. (plus, he was down there to study. he’s not gonna waste his time with that!)

oh right i almost forgot. Eve.

god. okay. getting it out up front: i am not an add/eve shipper. i have never shipped it, and my stance is that add is simply infatuated with eve from a technological standpoint. hell, she’s the queen of the nasod race. if anyone has the answers on how the guy can get back to his time period, certainly it’s the queen of nasods! this is even reflected in 2nd path, where he’s solely focused on eve to take advantage of her coding to his own benefit (of course, 2nd path is also very arrogant and such). i understand that the main story allows for add to get closer with eve, but even in elSYION NOT ELRIANODE SORRY, he’s still acting obsessive and abnormal in terms of how he conducts himself around her compared to everyone else.

uhh i dont think i have any more to say,, if you made it this far, hi! thank you for reading my autism paper

also its 1:40 am im so fucking sleepy i cant go on with summarizing this essay

[lumen-tellus]

2k23 has been a surprisingly productive year for me on the writing side of things, like, i was more or less writing at least one fic a month which is fucking nuts for anyone who knows me

so for funsies, im gonna self-promo one fic for each month of the past year (which will also double as a funsies self-curated self-promo of fics that i especially liked writing per month this year and that i recommend everyone else read bc i like attention)

(links all go to ao3; most of these fics are restricted bc i hate scrapers so rip)

January: three of cups - FFXIV / wol backstory nonsense

February: doomsday vault - Genshin / Deshret!Kaveh AU

March: sunshower - Elsword / Laby (RaS) analysis

April: an allegory in freesia - Elsword / Ain (BL) + Laby (RaS) analysis

May: only stars can be the envy of jewels - Elsword / a take on the first meeting between Clamor and Noah (CL) in Seven Tower.

June: OKAY GONNA CHEAT AND PROMO TWO FICS FOR THIS MONTH bc it's My list so I can 1) and love (you shall have) - Elsword / Noah (NP) talks to a ghost called Clamor. 2) and it will end with love - Elsword / Noah (LI) + Noah (NP) + a 10k lucid and ludicrous ramble about the intersection of loving and haunting someone.

July: memorabilia in the making - FFXIV / a fic explaining my wol's specific take on her Myste + an attempt to write wol-Fray-Myste talking civilly in the same room for longer than five minutes.

August: psalms for the forsaken - Elsword / a snapshot study of Noah in this 3rd path (sg -> pp -> NP)

September: everything has its trail - Elsword / Noah (CL) does therapy for Noah (MO); this was supposed to be funny. it was supposed to be.

October: None, technically; I was in a bad place around this time so writing took a backseat. Though June anyway has like two fics under it so it balances out numerically l o l

November: morpho butterfly - Elsword / Nisha (NL) & Clamor (MO) talk about their respective charges.

December: the clatter of niceties ringing false - ORV / KDJ analysis

[zephyr-paladyn]

welcome to the fuck zone

i post shitposts/gaming stuff/drawings, and the occasional character analysis ramble

fun fact: zephyr is from mio xbc, and paladyn is from tobias drgl 👍

games i play and commonly RB:

dragalia lost

xenoblade

honkai star rail

arknights

stella glow

aitsf

elsword + gcdc

tokyo mirage sessions

newly playing

limbus company

library of ruina

ys viii

little noah

touhou

games i wanna get into (aka backlog)

silent hope

lobcorp/ruina

trails of cold steel series

twewy/neo twewy

atelier escha logy

nier automata

ghost trick

ff7

favorite ships (just for fun, sorted by series)

farysza

tobinino (mainly platonic but romantic is cool too)

finnirene

mascula/luca/laxi/sylas

ceciharleif

basoriga

noahmio

rex/pyra/mythra/nia

shalvis

altohilda

altodante

danmarchMC

renheng

almona

mizumore

texlapp

elsai

yurinoah

ain yaoi

elearme

chrobin

sormik

mokokagu

[overanalyzingelswordiswhatido]

I hate Adrian

I used to be indifferent to him but then I did an analysis. And this is that analysis.

The tip off for this analysis was Adrian not calling Yuno by name. Ever. Well he might've done it once. Otherwise he calls Yuno 'child'. Yet. While calling him child, Adrian can, in the same breath, admit that he intended to scrap Yuno. Essentially murder him. And what is the reason given? Because Yuno questioned him. And it wasn't even questioning. With the dynamic set up between Yuno and Adrian, that was a child voicing concerns about a person to their parental figure. A person their parental figure allowed into their house no less. And instead of doing the good parental thing and reflecting on his decision and taking a closer look at Solace, Adrian decided murder was the way to go. Yuno wasn't acting the way Adrian wanted him to, despite the fact that it was Adrian himself that programmed Yuno, so Adrian's solution was to scrap him and start over. On top of that THIS IS A PATTERN OF BEHAVIOR. Eve only exists because Adam wasn't doing what Adrian wanted. And both times, Adrian didn't bother to inform the one being replaced that he was going to do so. Adrian straight up manipulated Adam's codes so that Adam wouldn't be suspicious of his replacement. Yuno had to hear it through the grapevine and back himself up to a smaller body. Yet Yuno continues to refer to Adrian as Father. Which is... Completely fucked. On top of that, unlike Adam and Eve, Herbaon is essentially a copy of Yuno, just limited to Adrian's desires. Worse, Herbaon is still allowed to think and feel for himself but he still can't act beyond what Adrian wants.

The Nasods in Elysion are another point. They cannot act without orders from the palace. But they're allowed to be concerned about what's going on. They've been concerned for however long since Solace closed up to fortress but they can't do anything about it until the El Search Party shows up because Adrian limited their ability to act. Since orders have to come from the palace, and Herbaon cannot act outside Adrian's desires, the Nasods of Elysion are not allowed to act outside of Adrian's desires either. BUT THEY'RE ALLOWED TO BE CONCERNED??? That just seems really fucked to me. It's a complete lack of respect for their autonomy. With autonomy comes the right to make decisions for oneself. And the only two Nasods Adrian created with autonomy he either abandoned or intended to scrap. With the Atlas Nasods it's even worse. They don't even have character at all. All they are is their purpose. But with King Nasod's Nasods you can see that while they are meant to fight, they synergize and work with each other towards a common goal. The Nasods in Atlas just do their thing. They aren't nearly as annoying to deal with because they aren't working together the same way the Altera Nasods are. But the only real difference is that the Atlas Nasods had Adrian behind their creation while the Altera Nasods had King Nasod behind them. Also, Moby and Remy, despite being nowhere near humanoid models have very clear personality. That's the problem with Atlas. They aren't humanoid Nasods so they don't even have that much. There isn't even the illusion of autonomy for Atlas Nasods unlike the Elysion ones. Then Adrian welcomes Eve back to Elysion while simultaneously seeming to pretend almost none of her friends exist. And the way he treats her hasn't really changed from her backstory even when he's had ample time to see that Eve has changed.

Also, Adrian left Elrios to create Elysion before the Nasod War. Meaning he left Eve and Adam, who were both inexperienced at the very LEAST to create a new better Nasod Kingdom. Like. Why didn't he take the Nasods that already existed with him? If he couldn't then, since he could leave Elrios presumably at any time, why didn't he stay long enough to give Eve and Adam the guidance that they would need to adequately lead their kind? Also, why only bother to inform Eve of her purpose in a moment of self-doubt? I will admit he could've been trying to encourage her but to me at least, even before I did this analysis, it always came across as condescending. And Adrian continually calling Adam 'it' despite the fact that Adam, while he doesn't have emotions, does have sentience and will, also rubbed me the wrong way.

Who the fuck is so arrogant as to think they could successfully outdo the El Lady's power? She is intrinsically connected to the El, the magic gem that gave life to the entirety of Elrios. Some things just cant be outdone. And to not realize that is just mindblowingly egotistical or stupid or some combination of the two.

Also, given his pattern of behavior, I'm almost certain Code: Nemsis and Code: Battle Seraph were not welcomed nearly as warmly by Adrian as Code: Empress was. Eve was not designed as a battle Nasod. She was designed to be queen. And while all three of them are a queen, Empress is the only one that is the queen Adrian wanted her to be. On the surface at least, because with her questioning the isolated nature of Elysion's existence, even Empress is no longer what Adrian wanted her to be.

In conclusion, Adrian sucks and I hate him. I'm aware that my analyses are usually a lot more objective than this but Adrian is a special kind of something. Murder should not EVER be your solution to your child coming to you with concerns about someone you let into their life. I'm still mad about Yuno's entire situation and I first reached Atlas and Elysion more than a year ago. A few days, weeks maybe, with the El Search Party was better than his entire time as Herjuno in Elysion and that fucking sucks.

[nightmare-lily]

Raven and Ain’s Masterclass Epic Quest

Anxiety is what Lofty: Wanderer experienced due to becoming corrupt with chaos. However, in Ain’s second path, that anxiety becomes independent of chaos; a part of his own emotions.

You are a nothing if you are not us. You have no conviction over your decision. The absence of faith equals the void. A human’s faith is brief - therefore, it is also devoid of meaning.

Elria and Henir are two sides of the same coin. Celestial's belief that only void remains in absence of divine order is innate. Thus, when Ain lost faith in the divine order of god's creation (Elrios), he rendered the entire world meaningless, and became Apostasia. Ain’s three paths all stem from himself, instead of having a random dark path such as becoming corrupt by demonic energy.

Only in his second path, Ain learned compassion and empathy - just as Harnie has expressed, he now sees the perspective of others, and makes meaning out of it. I really like how Ain pointed out that Harnie not being picky with food was not "necessary" for him to know. In the same vein, showing his anxiety's manifestation to Harnie might not do anything for her personally. Yet, showing these "unnecessary" aspects to each other is what allows humans to bond, and create meaning in their lives. Learning about each other, and our place in the world, creates our identity, which allows Ainchase Ishmael (Bluhen) to exist without being determined by the goddess.

Recently, my brain’s been like this:

But I was busy with real life, and could not effectively condense my convoluted thoughts after being emotionally moved by the last of Masterclass epic quests.  Elsword was finally informed of his deep connection to the El, and we found out that Raven’s Nasod arm is killing him.

I am happy that, unlike Nova Imperator, Rage Hearts is honest with himself, and open with his feelings. I am also glad that we finally saw him lose his cool like a berserker would, instead of acting like a discount Furious Blade. But even as Rage Hearts, he believes that he must sacrifice his life to atone for his crimes (that he did not even commit out of his own free will), and that does not spark joy.

But I doubt Ain’s disappearance and Raven’s death will happen. The writers are raising the stakes to invest the readers, and it’s absolutely working, so no complaints here.

Also, KOG killed 1x2 Aincest shipping, lol.

[neophix]

Elsword Player Personality Stereotypes Based on Main

Through the lens of a PvP Addict/one who primarily interacts with these characters through PvP. Because Neo is pretty damn sure that the character a player chooses to main is also indicative of their personality, either as a reflection of themselves or a result of playing that character and emulating them. I’d like to hear opinions and whether players agree/disagree with these sweeping assessments, as well.

Elsword:  A bit hotheaded, but otherwise reasonable and without glaringly huge faults or flaws. Annoying in a “little brother” kind of way. May be among the first to call something out for being broken or stupid, even if it’s something they can do (either as an Elsword or through alts).

Aisha: Bullies. Unquestionably, bullies who like to lord their superiority over other players. They enjoy taunting others and have a fetish for wasting time. Also, lately, the most likely to be hackers or defenders of hackers! Due to her mechanics making it very hard to pin down if and when she is abusing infinite mana or zero-second cooldowns.

Rena: VAIN above all else. Slime. Picks the path of least resistance because that’s what works for their character. Does not like trying. Will take having to put effort into anything as an affront to their vanity. Will settle on one defining First-Order-Optimal tactic for each class on a server-wide scale, meaning all matches with that class are mind-numbingly similar. The most likely to buy JC tickets if their current path gets nerfed, which doesn’t change much as Rena’s personality is largely homogenous across all job paths. Slime.

Raven: I am biased. BM and VC players are respectable, levelheaded types. Older BMs are of the determined, grit-your-teeth-and-bear-it type and are exceptionally reasonable and polite to talk with compared to other players. RFs are antagonistic and unreasonably fuck-ass mad all the time angry and aggressive in most situations, and are also the most likely to let their hotheadedness get the better of them, falling into bad habits when backed into a corner. VCs are somewhere in between, but lean more towards BM than RF on a sliding personality scale.

This is hearsay for me, but there is also apparently a significant representation of Latino players in the Raven community, which I’m chalking up to the fact that he’s the last Elsword-original character to have a realistic skin tone - darker than the other originals, at that. Every Elsword original character post-Raven has had paper-white #FFFFFF skin.

Eve: Personable. Cautious. The kinds of mains who seem more likely to be involved in the community, as well. Doesn’t go out of their way to be antagonistic. Special subtypes for C:M, who falls a bit into Rena habits as well and expects her servants to do everything for her, and C:N, who tends to follow fashion and has a small subsection of primarily male players who are huge perverts. Due to being the dress-up doll for so long, a character much more likely to have a playerbase of heavy cashers, and all the nastiness that entails. Single-command >>X loop needs to die.

Chung: Super defensive about everything.  You cannot deal with them in PvP without them being defensive. You cannot talk with them in conversation without them being defensive. You cannot call them out on being defensive without them being defensive. Ridiculously salty over being a trap regardless of whether the player identifies as male or female. IPs like to scream about everything. DCs and TTs can’t aim worth a damn without the help of a homing projectile. DCs also like to be damn near impossible to punish by chaining stoic skills with zero ending lag.

Ara: More or less personable and friendly, except YR mains who picked the character because they know she’s the strongest. Those are just as much bullies as Aisha mains, if not worse. SDs have combo maintenance issues because their endgame relies so heavily on Fall or Kite that they almost completely define her character. Single-command loops need to be deleted.

Elesis: Very similar to Elsword, understandably. I retract that statement. A huge problem with only using one strategy across each class, similar to if not worse than Rena. GrMs are very reliant on the sword rain combo and stoic in general, BHs have the cycle of pain of basically anything into Avatar of Fire into Flame Wall, and CrAs are generally pretty terrible at holding combos because the Bleed Free they get off of Injection Stigma is so potent. On that note, Injection doesn’t sound like a word anymore. I figure that if the other Elesis flowcharts had commands spoken in English, those would stop sounding like words, too. BHs and CrAs are particularly salty because their nearly free-win flowcharts make it very hard for them to adapt to people who know how to break them, especially BHs: her fire-resist reduction passive means she could piss on a target and they’d be hit with enough stacks for a 120MP refund on AoF, whereas CrAs have to deal with the fact that Bleed can be resisted by Wind stacks (not that anyone knows this, but it’s there.)

Add: Asshole. All Add mains I have met have been unrepentant assholes. Even female Add mains are assholes. Espers and Masterminds are especially unpleasant, being intentionally very antagonistic and massively salty whenever they lose. MM of the evasive never-my-fault variety and Esper being of the aggressive everyone-else’s-problem type. Lunatic Psykers are a bit better, being less openly malicious, but they also have a worrying tendency to not play smart. Sometimes to a level of being Adorably Stupid Little Puppies instead. Female Add fans also have an unsettling habit of being devoted to him on a nigh-worship level, ignoring his innumerable character flaws and making him out to be some kind of perfect person.

Lu: Ciel does not exist except to be a Mana Potion for Lu. Twice as invested due to almost literally having to pay twice as much for their character, unless they don’t dress up their Mana Potion at all. Regardless, they’re particularly abrasive and whiny.

Ciel mains pretty much do not exist.

Rose: Slaves to the mechanics to the game that are the easiest or the most efficient. No personality to speak of, nor willingness to learn or improve or even pretend the Z button exists. Always taking the shortest path or route. A tendency to cash extremely heavily, with many prominent Rose mains touting +11s, Oath, and the entire Henir Lord set for shooting problems with.

Not enough data yet on Ain to be completely sure. However, based on the radically different personalities of his job paths, I think it’s safe to assume that their mains’ personalities will also be quite different. Guesses based on the current paths and data/experiences available are:

Arme Thaumaturgy: Holier-than-thou and self-righteous. The hypocritical kind of player who will call you out as a coward for not running headfirst into the Fantasiegebilde Nest that they themselves are hiding in.

Erblühen Emotion: Personable, of the “wants to be friends with everyone” variety.

Apostasia: Gloomy. Nihilistic. Will keep to themselves, unless they trend towards engaging in pity parties instead.

[imagineelrios]

I'm curious....How do you think DiE's time traveling affects his aging process?

Diabolic Esper believes his aging process is slowed, if he even ages at all. Add himself doesn’t know if he actually ages. The many other versions of himself that followed the same path as him showed injuries, with scars visibly decorating their faces. However, not one of them showed signs of old age. Perhaps it does affect his aging, his time traveling capabilities. Add just doesn’t know how, he’s studied his own cells and they appear almost the same as the normal humans, even the blood. Add thinks of two possibilities then: One, his aging is in fact, slowed or maybe even completely stopped. Or Two, his aging is completely normal, that of a human being with no complications. He coughs up blood again, feeling it leak out of his throat. He just never lived very long to see himself old.

[els-imagines]

Can I get Mad Paradox changing class to Boom Bringer, eventually Dominator? OwO

niki took this >:P

“Boom bringer” ….. sparky sparky boom man// SHOT- mod sei

WARNING: This is quite long. Could be somewhat AU. It’s also a mess…

.

(Changes, as always, are brought about by a catalyst.)

(His comes in the form of the dimensional witch, Metamorphy.)

Metamorphy is probably the closest to an equal he will ever have. 

It’s different from the monstrous potential that has wrought the El Search Party tragedy again and again. Having absolute control over unmaterialistic concepts such as time and dimensions are a matter on a scale beyond one’s comprehension. 

It’s chaos. It’s madness. It’s death.

(Death is but a mere concept now, to the shattered creature that is Mad Paradox.)

Coming to a point where everything is coming to an end, where he finally looks and sees no end to the tragedy that Mad Paradox has become (that Mad Paradox causes), he meets her again.

The very sight of her makes his breath hitch, as the otherworldly flow of her powers gather like a hyperactive cocoon all over her.

Happy, beautiful, unbroken Metamorphy, who can command the very dimensions as if playthings, who has no need to use it like he does because she’s happy, this is her home.

She’s… not exactly fine (none of them have been since the start of their journey) but she. is. happy.

Looking at her makes something that might have been bitter, ugly envy pierce through the fog of obsession and longing, and wraps around his half-missing organs tightly. The very sight of her beaming smile makes his Mana flare in agitation, the cracking telltale of his power trembling and forming the beginnings of an aggression, before they are stilled again.

(There is a reason, after all, why this very timeline - the root of his pain and madness and tragedy - still exists. There is a reason why Mad Paradox, in other timelines, grants more mercy to the counterparts of certain people than he ever granted himself.

He didn’t stay his hand - they weren’t THEM - but their deaths were painless and quick. That’s more than could be said for other people.)

It still hurts.

(Envy. Jealously. Longing. Obsession. Hatred.)

Mad Paradox ignores her calls and curls into himself, tugging his hood completely over his head in a clear statement of “Leave me the fuck alone”.

Metamorphy’s smile, to those who knew her, fades a little. “So… a failure again?” She of course knows of his exploits. Knows of his dream. 

She also knows of how terrible he is, what a monster he has become. 

Metamorphy didn’t care about that though. (It’s been a long time since she has cared about the death of strangers, since she has felt grief and guilt.) Add had stopped going with them after obtaining his power, and left the Party in search of his timeline, but that hadn’t stopped the bonds and fondness nor the left out space always ready whenever the brooding, maniac time-traveler came back.

He’s different, Metamorphy thinks as she squats down with her skirt tucked in.  She ignores the way her power prowls dangerously, behind the façade of bubbles and sparkles and happiness (wHo HurT OnE oF hEr fRIenDs?). 

She doesn’t know what answer she expected (what enemy she was supposed to crush), but somehow, she’s surprised when Mad Paradox, after a long moment of heavy silence, curls into himself further and, with an air of despair and hollowness, tells her: 

“It’s not working.”

Metamorphy’s smile cracks.

“I can’t find her at all. I can’t go back. No matter how much I travel, how much I destroy, it isn’t working. It’s been so  many years since I started and it isn’t working at all.”

Ah.

She knows this voice. She knows this body language. She remembers it.

(All of them are broken, shattered; deadened shadows of the happy children they used to be.)

Add starts trembling, violent shivers wracking his tiny, vanishing frame, which starts breaking apart.

Metamorphy’s pupils dilate.

“I’m so tired.”

In front of the visage of one of her (tentative and most likely unwilling) friends, Metamorphy’s heart, for the first time in a long while, starts pumping for something other than excitement and joy.

(What is this feeling? What is this emotion? It’s not nice. It’s unhappy. It’s bitter. I must do something about it.)

She doesn’t hesitate.

.

.

“You punched me.”

“Haha funny abo-”

“You punched me.”

“…Yup~ It actually felt sort of good. You’re SO squishy-”

A pissed off Mad Paradox finds himself forcefully dragged off by a cheery Metamorphy off to some unknown location, his cheek still retaining cracks from where the taller woman had promptly punched him after witnessing his NOT-breakdown.

Metamorphy expertly ignores the death glowing in his eyes and whoops excitedly as they reach - somewhere. Glowing rocks, the el’s power brimming in the spiritual veins of the earth, ancient buildings…. There’s even weird machines on wheels, large constructs of wood, and other weird things.

“We are in one of the places where the dimensional rifts are the weakest. It’s not so bad like with the Demon Realm, but I often play around here.” Metamorphy explains. “All that junk are things that fell from the rips I randomly opened here. They are interesting, aren’t they~?”

A sane person would be worried over how Metamorphy was casually playing around with dimensional rifts. Mad Paradox is not a sane person.

Mad Paradox, momentarily distracted from his despair by his anger, narrows his eyes as Metamorphy goes rummaging in one of the buildings and pops up again with a bizzare doll of straw. 

No, that wasn’t straw. It looked more firm. Wood? Gum? An analysis confirmed it to be a material which had been bathed in different clashing energies.  

“Punch this,” she says.

Mad Paradox stares blankly.

“Punch this,” she repeats and shakes the object in his face, her beaming smile particularly attracting the urge for one to punch her. “You were– bored, right? Well guess what~ It’s time for you to partake in new stuff~~”

“I’m not a barbarian like you,” Mad Paradox says loftily, scathingly.

“You are a noodle,” Metamorphy smiles blithely against his blistering glare. “C’mon, children need start early-” 

“I’m not a fucking child, brat.”

“-to build themselves up into healthy young men. Now punch this, use your science stuff to help you with your punches, if you can’t do it-”

Here, she pauses. “If you think you’re too tired, then…” Her smile widens, “Why not take a break and try something different?”

Predictably, Mad Paradox takes none of her shit.

Also predictably, Metamorphy takes none of HIS shit.

(Metamorphy is probably one of the worst possible matches for him. The line between timelines and dimension is so thin, really.)

Both of them are stubborn, bull-headed people (monsters), but Mad Paradox is a tired and broken creature, and Metamorphy’s determination drives her to further heights. It doesn’t take long for Mad Paradox to give in and bend his rage on that poor, unliving thing. 

“Are. You. Satisfied?” 

“Nope.” Metamorphy tsk’s as the wormholes between time shears apart the training dummy (which had been glorified as Number One). “I said punch it. With your fists. Not… THAT.”

Sadly enough, no matter the terror that he inflicted as Mad Paradox, he had never quite gotten over the fragility of his physical state, and his body being reduced to half-constructed shards had only worsened that. 

It’s manageable, since he has always had his powers. But Metamorphy is one of the few people who can counter him. She cannot shut him down, nor really suppress him (likewise to her, to his consternation) but she proves an annoyance and hinders him, like a fly.

(A fly he can neither crush nor bat away,)

So, Mad Paradox turns to the science and technology that he hasn’t touched in a long time. 

(Nostalgia. Rememberance. Awareness. Has it really been such a long time since he started?)

It feels alien, with the difficulty of someone who hasn’t practiced in a long time. He had thought he had given up on his Nasod Research when he finally grasped the coordinates of timetravel, but somehow…. somehow looking at all the machines dumped at his feet by Metamorphy, looking at the codes that appear in his mind’s eye…

Something… stirs, inside him.

(Not yet. It’s not strong enough. Try again.)

He builds again. He constructs. And soon enough, the beginning prototypes of what will become the Nasod Armour are tested against the dummies (and Metamorphy herself, because Mad Paradox is a bitter son of a bitch).

He doesn’t particularly enjoy the activities forced upon him at first (but anything else than that empty madness is better), but soon, he can see why Metamorphy has taken a close approach to combat with her magic. 

The crunch of Not-wood beneath the pressure of his technology, the way he watches it break, the  way his prototype improves day by day, at an insane speed that is forged on by his obsession for perfection.

(It’s bizzare. It’s weird. It doesn’t eat at him, it doesn’t take pieces of him and swallow them whole. It’s… steady. Safe. Humane, almost.)

(Soon enough, Mad Paradox is not satisfied with just humane.)

But what cements his acceptance of this “hobby” of his is when the demons start arriving in this world, when the Henir cult starts stirring chaos, and very familiar people arrive in search of Metamorphy.

The fallen Prince. The Nasod Queen. The Brat #1.

For all he occasionally calls Metamorphy a brat, Elsword Sieghart has forever merited the main title of Brat in his head.

(The rips are opening in frequency. Dark El. Henir worshippers. Elrianode’s awakening. The chaos wrought by the rifts between Elios and the Demon Realm.)

(Are you coming with us, Add? The Brat asks, easy going smile plastered on his face. There’s no judgement in his eyes. There’s something in there, though, that makes Mad Paradox’s spine shiver and oh, oh, he now remembers why he left so hurriedly then.)

(He agrees.)

(He’s not doing it for anyone. He needs samples. Experiments. Living bodies.)

Attacking a breathing, comparatively alive creature is different from hitting the objects of Metamorphy’s stash. It’s significantly harder, but- but…!

It’s addicting.

Isn’t it curious how armour and crystal gives away to soft flesh under his attacks? Isn’t it fascinating? Isn’t it amazing?

He starts with the weaker test subjects, he starts improving his Armour, and starts relying less on his power of time travels (variables were unacceptable in his science). 

Watching destruction bloom underneath his fists and lives disappear with just a mere CRACK! is different.

Mad Paradox learns. Mad Paradox improves. Mad Paradox starts to live.

And soon enough, the shattered creature that is Mad Paradox becomes known by another name, in this timeline that had given birth to him.

Doom Bringer, is what they will call him.

(He’s still broken. His body is still half shattered. And the mark of the Mad Paradox will never, ever disappear.

But this… this is acceptable.)

.

.

Ever since he was a child, long before he became a slave, Add had always been particularly thirsty for knowledge.

That thirst for knowledge had become buried underneath the obsession for a past long passed, had been pushed aside in favour of unleashing destruction underneath the prompting of the Dimensional witch. That thirst wasn’t a thirst so much as a want for perfection, for control, for a way to defy fate in a way his battered, physically weak body had not been able too.

He is not weak anymore, but he hasn’t succeeded yet.

After the war with the Demon Real calms down (heavy casualties and destruction and a war-torn Elrios left in the aftermath), Mad Paradox Doom Bringer is faced again with the obsession that had plagued his entire life, with no insects or experimental subjects to take the brunt of his rage and madness.

The war is over. The demons have retreated. The El’s barrier is up and again.

However, after years of fighting in a timeline with the technology he had seemingly surpassed as Mad Paradox, he has been forced to reconsider the role of Nasod Technology in his goal.

The perfect Nasod Armour thrums within him, filling the cracks where organs and limbs are missing in an array of complicated codes that holds his body together. 

Maybe, he thinks, he has been going about it the wrong way.

Nasod Technology (and physical combat, but he was loathe to admit that to Metamorphy’s smug face) had helped him in various ways. It had solved most of his problems. 

Maybe, just maybe, it could also take him–

(Because Doom Bringer is Mad Paradox and Mad Paradox’s obsession is the past and not even death will change that.)

Doom Bringer, with no war to fight and no enemy worth enough to stand against his bloodthirst and full-on lunacy, throws himself fully into Nasod Research, like he had so long ago, in a blurry time when he had been a child who fell in the prison of the Ancient Library.

A result of such research is further improvement upon his Dynamos, which haven’t been used to shatter timelines in a long while. The new Dynamos are comparatively tame, less prone to death, but deadly all the same. They are configurated according to his whims and necessities.

An example is their individual fighting capabilities. Immersed and busy with his research, fighting has lost its catharsis to him and while he still thrives in the pleasure of crushing his enemies physically, he is far more conserned with research, thus he has no time to deal with small fry.

He eventually creates Apocalypse for this same purpose, but that is further into the future.

With his powers of timeline (defective, failure, dissatisfying), he bids (a very rude and violent) farewell to his original timeline and starts to gather knowledge everywhere in an attempt to craft a correct path. 

It’s improvement, he is pushing forward and it’s- it’s better. It’s working.

And of course, it fails.

(But of course, fate seemed to not want him to return to Mother no matter what.)

If there’s a terrible effect caused by his immersion into THIS, then it’s probably the state of his mind. Without madness, grief, hatred and rage clouding his mind, he realizes too late (again, again, again) of a miscalculation in his research.

It’s fatal enough that it promptly destroys all the other calculations.

He snaps.

It’s been a long time since any timeline has crumbled underneath his madness. When he comes to himself, his insides are lurching as the Nasod Armour tries to keep up with his body’s destruction.

Looking at the remains of a destroyed timeline, he can only feel numbness spreading through his entire being, a familiar madness and bitterness taking a hold of his mind as his Dynamo and Apocalypse rampage and destroy the physical representation of his failure.

However.

He recalls something.

(”Why not take a break and try something different?”)

He blinks slowly, as the memory of the witch flows through his head.

Try something different?

Becoming Mad Paradox had given birth to obsession and endless time paradoxes. 

Becoming Doom Bringer had smothered it with lunacy and bloodlust and war. 

What could he do, this version of him that wasn’t consumed by neither madness or bloodlust?

His Dynamo and Apocalypse stop without him saying a word, and fly to his side as he stares out at the endless abyss that surrounds him.

Slowly, but surely, life starts coming back into his expression. (It might have not been a necessarily good thing, all things considered, but who cared?) 

His shoulder start shaking, trembling.

Then, he starts laughing.

“Kuhuhu… I get it… I get it now…!”

In the end, where did the error started and where did it end? Was it when he became a slave? When Aster started his experiments? When he became Diabolic Esper? When he put aside his obsession to rampage through a wartorn field of corpses of demons?

Perhaps the error lies in his obsession itself. 

He is tired and done. No matter what he does, he is never able to travel back to that happy timeline. No one can understand time paradoxes better than he, and with a mind that isn’t completely fogged over with madness and possessing knowledge wrought by his research, he has no choice but to admit it, admit that he can never return, admit that his happy timeline has forever ceased to exist for him.

In that case…

In that case, wouldn’t it be better to create a whole new world himself?

His own perfect little universe, crafted from his own hands.

“Kuhuhu…I won’t give up… I will create my own world of perfection…!!”

Doom Bringer Dominator covers his face in an effort to stifle his not-quite-sane laughter, but there is no mistaking the wide grin spreading across his face.

.

.

Mod Niki: It took me hours to write this I’m Dead.

[overlordofawesomeness]

(Yesterday I got bored, so I decided to do a little not-so-in-depth character analysis.)

IMO, Mari is Add, Eve and Rose combined.

Mari Ming Ornette from Grand Chase.

How is she Add? She’s a time traveler and is involved in the study of advanced technology. Back when the Kingdom of Kounat was about to collapse, her parents put her in an escape pod so she would be saved from Baldinar’s wrath; but it failed to activate, trapping her inside in hibernation mode. With the help of the demon, Duel, she sailed through time in a coma-like state and woke up hundreds of years later without remembering anything except for her name. She slowly regained her memory back though. Despite not having most of her memories when she joined Grand Chase, her weaponry and knowledge on machines and magic couldn’t be compared to the ones in the present time. Still, she continues on studying and spends most of her time with books and tinkering on anything that can be dismantled. (She’s a precious, curious, awkward child.) Most of her skills involve electricity manipulation and machine combined with magic. Her last job makes use of her Soul Taker, which she controls using her mind. (KOG said they based Add’s Dynamos off the Soul Taker.)

How is she Eve? Mari is the last survivor from Kounat and is the heir to the throne of that ancient Kingdom. She’s basically a Queen. Although Mari isn’t a machine, it’s almost as if she’s one due to her lack of emotions. She has a hard time communicating mostly because she has been alone for a long time and can’t express herself properly. She uses runes, machines, lasers and explosives as her main weapon as she prefers not to fight in close combat. In her second job, Gunslinger, her third active skill makes use of a laser blaster which is carried by two people that resemble Oberon, Eve’s companion. In her third job, Polaris, Mari has a robot companion called KORMET, which attacks in her stead.

How is she Rose? Mari is Rose in her Optimus job. Mari obtained the title Gunslinger in her second job, which is basically a legion of elite fighters. She makes use of Maverick, a gun infused with magic. Aside from the machine summoning skills, Optimus’ skills resemble Mari’s ST skills from the lasers to the explosives. (And most people say Rose is basically the Mari of Elsword.)

So, yeah. Mari is my Queen and forever will be.

[2nafishisgood]

Elsword Shadow of Luna Analysis

Okay, your average mobile game menu. You can see your characters(or party) in the main screen it seems. I see something like stamina timer above and common mobile game currency like golds and gems.

I’m guessing Battle is PvP and Adventure is PvE. Free Treasure Chest must be a way they give out free stuff.

So they’re calling characters ‘Heroes’ huh... alright then.

Obligatory Shop and Item icons. Challenges might be something like achievements.

Here’s the stage select screen. Pretty common stuff. I forgot to add translation of that one white box near the bottom left. It says go directly to unobtained boxes. Don’t know what that might mean.

There’s also Normal difficulty button. If I had to take a guess they implemented something similar to PC Elsword’s Normal/Hard/Very Hard?

Finally, here’s the inventory screen.

At the left you see all available characters. Those red sword and blue moon icons must mean melee and range. Kinda disappointed if that’s the case. They could definitely have more than two different classifications.

There’s also indication that some characters are in a party. So it must mean you form teams before going into each game. By the looks of things you can place 3 characters per each team.

Anyways, so avatars seem to be stuff you can wear for more stats and enhance to upgrade their grade. (Again, typical mobile game)

But there’s that Chung butler one that says magic. I wonder what that might mean?

There’s also Rune tab that I’m curious about as well.

[littlemissstrawberrylollipo-blog]

Tencent Tackles Mobile Video Game Dependency With Time Purview For Children

Zpad is a brand-new tablet notebook, which is based on the globe's most innovative NVIDIATegra2 mobile cpu, constructed the world's initial mobile dual-core A9CPU, ultra-low power precision, the world's initial mobile GPU and also 1080p HD video clip processor. In asynchronous tournaments, there are two techniques made use of by video game developers centered around the idea that gamers matches are recorded and after that broadcast at a later time to various other players in the exact same competition. It's rather incredible just how well PUBG Mobile uses Android. The most effective mobile applications are the ones that are easily shareable. There are additionally applications with comparable functions which are not video games per se, in this instance they are called gamified applications. When particular levels are reached, gamers can take many character paths within the game and also slowly development with more specialisation. Elsword is complimentary to play as well as includes everything you would certainly get out of a video game in the category with PvE, PvP, personality courses, varied capacities and an in video game genuine money store called the Product Mall. Large Damage is familiar with mobile as they released the outstanding sci-fi technique RPG Halcyon 6 ($ 6.99) on the Application Shop just under a year back following its popular release on Heavy steam the previous year, and also it ended up being something of a cult hit amongst our community. Combat is Elsword Online is slightly even more ability based than similar video games which is part of its tourist attraction for players that are wanting to set themselves apart in the video game globe. The game does nevertheless provide some distinct instanced dungeons for players (in groups of 4) to take on puzzle concentrated dungeons with interactive components similar to the event missions of MapleStory. You'll need to understand a few points prior to delving into mobile app development making use of IoT. Video games are as well as always have been the top-of-the-list resource of home entertainment given that their innovation. Because of its convenience of porting in between mobile os as well as extensive designer area, Unity is one of the most commonly made use of engines utilized by modern mobile video games. Not really fun at all as it would drive fewer downloads of applications, songs, flicks and much less total mobile internet usage. Sign up with the elite team of FBI criminal profilers - the Behavioral Analysis Unit - as well as get in the globe of the long-running CBS TV collection, Bad guy Minds in the main mobile video game Game Dev Story brings the prominent tycoon category to your smart device (iphone and also Android) with a extremely polished and one-of-a-kind experience that will certainly interest every player's dream of running their own game growth studio.

[blazingsnark]

So I saw in that "Empress, Ambassador, Tyrant" fic that Noblesse actually rises higher than Diabla, and I was wondering why that was if Diabla defeats Sult and Noblesse just essentially marches into a throne room and says "fuck you all i want a very specific chair"?

“Fuck you all I want a very specific chair.”  Nicely put.

As for your question….. Hooo boy, prepare for some shit analysis.

I sort of assumed that how much power Lu can regain depends largely on Ciel. Take a look at the differences between Demonio and Royal Guard.

Demonio is a passive player, fighting for Lu as he’s always done, but he only transforms because Lu essentially forces him to.  Diabla’s power overflowing into Ciel is what creates Demonio, but then Demonio isn’t free to act on his own and elevate Lu further because of two reasons - Diabla keeps him under strict control (that mouthguard really does look suspiciously like a gag, there’s a win pose where he legit loses control and Diabla looks happy about it, there’s a lose pose where Diabla viciously kicks Demonio who’s visibly distraught about failing) and also he’s really too busy trying to control his own demonic energy, or rather Lu’s demonic energy, to waste his focus on anything else.

Royal Guard, on the other hand, is a very active player.  He transforms first essentially out of a desire to serve Lu the best he can and make all her goals come true, especially the goal of retaking her throne.  (It’s stated that his transformation into butler is “unintentional”, too, which I find interesting, but I digress.)  Royal Guard acquires and controls his power deliberately in the support of a very specific goal.  And it works - Noblesse is a class that regains her power only because of Ciel’s sweat, blood, and tears.  What’s more, unlike Diabla, Noblesse recognizes the effort Ciel puts in for her.  She gets cocky sometimes, and there’s no doubt that Ciel is technically her servant (unlike in the CH/DL path where they’re almost totally equal) but Noblesse comforts Ciel when he loses, and she brings her own skills to the table (spears and souls) and both Lu and Ciel use them just as often as they pull out Ciel’s Marbas.

So Noblesse has a stronger contract with Royal Guard than Diabla has with Demonio.  I assumed that with a strong Ciel behind her, supporting her like Royal Guard’s entire mission is to do, Noblesse would have the freedom to aim higher.  While Diabla’s mission was simply to regain her throne and not die along the way, Noblesse’s was to regain her powers and acquire the throne she’d been playing for when she was first betrayed.  Remember, Lu essentially lost her power in the first place because her “Ciel” stand-in was untrustworthy and betrayed her.  With Ciel behind her willingly and fiercely, Noblesse will get farther than Diabla will, even though Diabla arguably has more power than Noblesse.

Sorry if that didn’t answer your question.  Tl;dr just in case I didn’t explain clearly enough - RG is willing to work hard for NB and does so, DN is willing to work just as hard but really doesn’t have the capacity or support from Dia to do so.

[elsword-sideblog]

Yama Raja’s classification as Vore Girl. An Analysis.

As some of you may know (following my Social Media websites such as Twitter), I recently gave Yama Raja (a character in the game, Elsword) a different, alternative name: Vore Girl.

Before heading in to the specifics of how such a name was coined, I want to briefly touch on Yama Raja’s beautiful commentary and statement:

“Kill, Kill, and Kill again, Probably I’ll meet you someday...”

Simply touching. I’m sure many of you hold this quote close to heart like I do.

Anyways! Without further a-do, let’s dive in into one of Elsword (the game.)’s most interesting and mysterious character, Yama Raja, and her role within the Elsword community and fandom.

As some of you may know, Yama Raja is one, and dare I say the most important, Class Path for Ara (Little Xia). She embarks the role of a killer, someone who lost their compassion and strives for power, and perhaps... revenge?

Her significance lies in multiple of her features:

Darkness.

Is capable of turning into a anthropomorphic-like fox.

Implied to be interested in the action of “voring” (we will get into this later.)

Like any Elsword character, she exhibits a certain degree of angst and anguish. However, unlike others, Yama Raja presents it in such a grotesque, vivid way that one could possibly even think she has spearheaded the evolution of Gothic fiction. (Props to you if you caught the pun!)

As such, she’s a character that deserves to be set apart from the rest of the cast. And with her significance, I will start diving into her Alternative name: Vore Girl.

You would think many other characters would deserve the aforementioned name: Asura, Crimson Avenger, even Noblesse! However, Yama Raja’s distinct qualities let her claim the name as her own.

Many subtle hints lead us to think Yama Raja is, at the very least, intrigued by the concept of Vore. In the Japanese Voice Pack (for the game, Elsword), using the skill Rakshasa Stance 1: Soul Reaping will reveal following dialogue:

“Tamashi..... itadakimasu!”

Which, translated would roughly mean:

Soul..... let’s eat!

As some of you might know, a Soul is a metaphysical concept relating to a Human’s individuality and integrity. As such, it wouldn’t be absurd to think that a Soul would imply... a human as well?

This adds new depth to Yama Raja’s character. Why does it seem so, that in her tone, she seems not only joyous, but perhaps excited to actively Consume a human soul? A very, very Dark character indeed.

Moreover, analyzing her movements we can reach the same conclusion:

All of our evidence leads to one: Yama Raja is, in fact, Vore Girl.

Thank you for reading this Analysis! Please Like, Comment & Subscribe for more future content!

[overanalyzingelswordiswhatido]

In defense of Rage Hearts

Okay. This post is exactly the reason I actually even made this blog. And that's because I've seen a multitude of people saying Nova Imperator should be Raven's canon route. I will preface this by saying I haven't played Raven very far and Furious Blade route is the only one I'm even somewhat decent with, so my analysis is based on what I can gather from Raven's various wiki pages. But based on my analysis, that's because on the surface Nova Imperator seems to be the most stable of the three. He decides to use his arm as a tool and he's described as being a cool headed tactician. And on top of that he actively decides not to lose himself to his trauma. And those are very good things. The problem comes in... three parts??? I've identified.

First off, since this is the simpler part of the problem, he is willing to sacrifice himself for victory. He is willing to throw himself away if it means the goals of the El Search Party will be achieved. He's willing to sacrifice "his own body to deal more damage to the enemy". That is incredibly self destructive and a good look at his mental state. Sure. He's a cool headed tactician. But it's because he's not worried about dying. If his death would mean the other members of the search party were okay then he would do it in a heartbeat. And that seems okay to us because of the narratives we're given throughout fiction of someone that is that self sacrificing being praised as a hero. But it's not our willingness to die that signifies the strength of our will or the strength of our bonds. It's our willingness to fight so that we can live to keep them intact. And once you look at Raven with that in mind, it becomes clear that Nova Imperator... doesn't actually have a lot to live for. He's willing to die to protect them because if he dies protecting them then he won't have to watch more people he cares about die.

Second, Nova Imperator views the things that happened in his past as mistakes. But, based what I've managed to gather on his backstory, the things that happened were either completely outside of his control, or because of decisions he made with the knowledge he had AT THE TIME. Of course they look like mistakes now that he knows the full situation (hindsight is always 20/20 after all), but he didn't know then. He made the best decisions he could with what he knew at the time, so everything that went wrong WASN'T HIS FAULT. The things that happened in the past were not mistakes but Nova Imperator still views them as such. He hasn't come to accept that he did the best he could with what he had at the time.

The third part of the problem is honestly the most complicated. And part of it is a trend I noticed with the various routes I personally would classify as dark. Two trends actually. The first trend is a tendency for self destruction, which I detailed for Raven specifically in the first part of this analysis. The second is a fixation on some point in the past (that often leads directly to the self destruction but that's an analysis for another day). For Diabolic Esper it's obvious. Even for a character like Crimson Avenger or Battle Seraph it's pretty obvious. But for Nova Imperator it really isn't. So much so, I didn't initially classify him as a dark job path. But the wiki page quote for Weapon Taker really kinda... was the kick off for this analysis.

"I will remain the Raven that I was to begin with. As long as I am alive, the Crow Mercinaries will never die out; I am back and I will show you the Crow Mercinaries restored to its former glory. For them... I will once again dawn the uniform of the Crow Mercinaries..."

That sounds really nice doesn't it? Like that sounds amazing. The problem with that is he isn't the Raven he was before. He CAN'T be. Something as traumatic as what he went through changes people. Whether we want it to or not, whether we can accept it or not, trauma WILL change us. Raven, despite being a fictional character is no different and the narrative shows us that. But Nova Imperator route Raven refuses to allow those changes.

This is where my defense of Rage Hearts comes in. Because, after analyzing the canon paths for each character I've noticed a trend with them as well. The canon paths are the most stable and, for those characters with past trauma, the ones on their way to recovery. Whether they're on the road to starting it or on the road to achieving it depends on the character. Yes. Rage Hearts is an angry man. Yes. He feeds his arm with hatred and a desire for revenge and all of those ugly ugly dark emotions. Yes. That is not comfortable to witness. BUT, as someone who has witnessed many a recovery from trauma in my family, and being someone dealing with my own, those ugly ugly dark emotions? They need to be felt and they need to be expressed and dealt with and worked through. THAT is often the first step to recovery. By the time he reaches Rage Hearts, according to his wiki, he has accepted his arm not just as a tool, as something for him to use, but as a part of his body just as much as his flesh and blood arm is. And it's when he does that that the power of the arm finally comes under his control. If we wanna talk metaphors here, its when Raven accepts his arm that HE calms down. Yeah, it takes Raven five years to do it but all things considered, I'd say that wasn't that long a time span at all. And it's very important to me that the character placed into a father like role by the story of Elsword, is one that is on his own road to recovery.

[nightmare-lily]

Laby’s 3rd Job Path: Nisha Labyrinth

“All I ever wanted was to protect your smile...”

Some parts of this essay may become dated once who or what Laby is revealed. However, I hope some people will find this a useful exploration of her third path.

Why can't I have somebody by my side, Someone there to keep their hand so warm in mine, Someone to make me smile? I can't help talking to myself alone 'Cause I think that'll I go crazy if I don't.

More so than being confined, Laby’s greatest fears are loneliness and pain. Created out of her tears, sorrow and grief, Nisha's sole purpose has been to protect Laby from the very start. She is Laby’s longing for a friend brought to life, fills the gap for the companion she lost, and continues to feed her dreams and illusions for the sake of her peace and happiness.

Dissociative Personality Disorder typically occurs when one disconnects from their thoughts, memories and identity, which results in splitting into separate personalities to escape from their trauma. The death of Laby’s only friend was the cause of her split, and in this fantasy setting, the new personality becomes a separate being of whose will is shaped by Laby’s need. Her companion couldn’t be resurrected, and thus her only other wish was granted - to never be alone again. Nisha’s uttermost desire to protect Laby is her nature, and because splitting and illusions failed to keep Laby stable, Laby granted Nisha a human form to create a happy world for her. She just wanted the pain to stop.

Normally, someone going as far as to confine the other to protect them would be destructive, creepy, toxic, and likely against that person's will. Here, it’s not the case at all. Nisha is gentle, protective, nurturing and keeping Laby safe because Laby wants her to, created her to be this way; And, as seen in their Hyperactive Skill Kaleidoscope, Laby has the free will to leave the mirror at any time. Now, whether Laby’s complete escapism is actually healthy is highly questionable, but this is Laby’s dark path for a reason.

As Radiant Soul, Laby is capable of facing and balancing her happiness and sorrow, thus Nisha does not need to step in. Once Eternity Winner accepts Nisha, she does not attack or harm her despite being used just for power, meaning that she is glad to serve Laby in any way she can. It’s Nisha’s nature.

Herrscher escaped his fear by turning to Abyss. Laby escaped her pain by entrusting her entire being to Nisha. But unlike Herrscher, Laby herself has not been in any way corrupted. Nisha is still a separate being, protecting her; Almost as if Laby was designed to never become corrupt and turn evil thanks to her defence mechanism. Nisha is not evil either, but will do anything it will take to make Laby glad. Consequently, on the surface, Nisha definitely comes off as a yandere.

“Help? I alone am enough for her.”

“Don't worry, Laby. I'll take care of everything.”

“I hope the newly written world is to your liking.”

“Everything is for her... I can't afford to lose.”

“It's okay. Your pain is all of mine.”

The greatest difference between a stereotypical yandere and Nisha is that the latter does everything according to, and not against, their cherished one’s will.

Daydreamer’s design is based on dreamcatchers, a tool Nisha granted Laby to protect her from sorrow. Nisha Labyrinth possesses the power of illusions and dreams that make up their summons. Notice how similar Nisha Labyrinth and Mariposa Requiem’s designs are, and how Daydreamer’s and Mariposa Requiem’s pupils are shaped in the same way.

The similarities between Nisha Labyrinth and the Lord of Nightmares are striking, but the connection between them is, so far, purely observational.

In the game files, Laby’s base job is called “Feeling”. Radiant Soul, who found balance between herself and Nisha, her happiness and sadness, does not have a form in which she glows like Eternity Winner (Hyperactive Skill Great Birth) and Nisha Labyrinth (awakening), which is ironic, because she is the radiant soul. Dreams, emotions, immortality, fast healing, protection from corruption, glowing forms... Rosso claiming that he felt an energy like hers from around the Crimson Tower, and the nearest place we know of is the Barren Spirit Sanctuary... So many pieces are in place, but Laby’s identity and the source of her abilities are still uncertain.

Thank you for reading, and yes, I managed to mention Herrscher in the text that’s entirely not about him, my pleasure.

** The translations used in this text are not official. ** I am not making the claim that Laby has DPD, or any other mental disorder. However, I found it an interesting point of comparison that provided me with a range of terms I could use to explain the phenomenon Laby went through.

[overanalyzingelswordiswhatido]

In Defense of Doom Bringer

Since I noticed a similar argument about Dominator and Doom Bringer that I did to Nova Imperator and Rage Hearts, I'm doing another analysis to explain why I think the canon path was the one that was picked to be it. I'm gonna do a similar kind of set up that I did comparing Nova Imperator and Rage Hearts. I'll first analyze and identify the problems with Dominator that make him... less "qualified" for the position of being canon based on the trends I noticed for both the canon and alternate (which I usually just call "alt") routes.

But first! Story time!!

I am an Add main. The thing that makes Add different than the other three characters I main though, is I ended up maining him completely on accident. See, my older sibling mains Battle Seraph Eve. And I made the mistake of partnering my Lunatic Psyker, who I was unceremoniously terrible at, with my older sibling's Battle Seraph. I googled him multiple times and just COULD NOT figure it out (my older sibling did the same and couldn't figure him out either) and I'm pretty sure it's because of all the fancy lengthy terminology cuz my eyes crossed at "Dynamo configuration mode". My older sibling ADORES Battle Seraph and wanted to play her every. Single. Day. And having partnered my Add with their Eve, I reluctantly played a character I was terrible at every. Single. Day. My older sibling carried me until... it was either late Lanox or early Atlas and I can't remember which exactly. THAT was when I finally managed to figure Lusa out. I came to really like playing Add once I finally figured him out. So yeah. I accidentally main Add.

ANYWAY, on to the proper analysis now. First and foremost. I've identified three problems?? Again?? Is that just gonna be the format for these??

Thing the first is Dominator's obsession with perfection.

I googled perfectionism for this analysis, just to be sure I knew what I was talking about. So enjoy this mini essay (paraphrased mostly from wikipedia) on that. Perfectionism, in its toxic form, drives the perfectionist to attempt to achieve unrealistic goals or unattainable ideals. It's also often accompanied with depression and low self-esteem (amongst other things those two are just the most common and I didn't want to list out every last thing). Perfectionists tend to dissociate themselves from their flaws and can not be very critical of themselves while simultaneously being overly critical of others in their attempts to achieve their idea(s) of virtue (or more accurately the illusion thereof) while hiding their flaws. "According to [Allan] Mallinger and [Jeanette] DeWyze, perfectionists are obsessives who need to feel in control at all times to protect themselves and ensure their own safety. By always being vigilant and trying extremely hard, they can ensure they not only fail to disappoint or are beyond reproach but that they can protect [themselves] against unforeseen issues caused by their environment."

The first part about seeking unrealistic goals or unattainable ideals is just a general Add thing tbh. They all do it and I'd be a fuckin hypocrite to claim otherwise in a character analysis. But the rest of that is all very specific to Dominator. He does not take criticism. He believes himself to be perfect while the world is what is wrong. And he hyper controls his environment to make it something he can feel safe in. And that kinda leads right into my second problem.

Thing the second is Dominator's need for a bubble. He literally creates his own virtual world just so that he can function. That virtual world changes to his whims. It is everything he needs it to be whenever he needs it. And he created it after the real world failed to accommodate him. After the real world failed to be what he needed when he needed it. I really get the feeling Dominator is trying to make a world he understands and can predict. He's trying to make the world he's ended up in through no choice of his own, one that he can be comfortable in.

Thing the third is the edge he's teetering on the verge of dropping off of. I really do get the impression that Dominator's entire route is scared and hiding behind confidence and a pretty face. As long as he's confident and seems like he's got his shit together, then he'll be taken seriously instead of being taken advantage of. But because of his bubble and his inability to take any sort of not positive comments about himself, he is probably the most severe case of character stagnation I've observed despite it being a trend in the paths I've put together into the alt routes. And a big trend with the canon routes is character growth. That kinda knocks Dominator off the possible list. On top of that, pulling him out of the bubble that causes his stagnation is more likely to result in a path to self-destruction that he won't be able to get off of before it reaches its end.

Now comes Doom Bringer. But first. I need to acknowledge a few things about him. He has also stagnated. The difference is in severity. Doom Bringer is more aware of the world and his place in it simply because he hasn't closed himself off to it (yet he might and I wouldn't be surprised). I think he'll also require being set on a path of self-destruction to get out of that stagnation. The difference there is, based on my analysis, I think Doom Bringer is more equipped to get off that ride so to speak and I'll be talking about that more a little later on in this. Doom Bringer also doesn't have nearly anywhere near Dominator's sense of responsibility and self-preservation or impulse control. Almost all of Doom Bringer's inhibition comes from something outside of himself, whether it's someone else or the situation he finds himself in (it's usually someone else probably). It also says a lot in Dominator's favor that he is the only Add that hasn't merged himself with something yet. Cuz I get the feeling that shit is REALLY dangerous. Also the fact that Doom Bringer merged himself with his Nasod Armor simply because he essentially got tired of it's upkeep says a lot about how well he thinks of possible consequences before taking an action (I'm pretty sure he just fucking doesn't). That being said, you can be completely irresponsible (comparatively speaking) and completely lack self control (again comparatively speaking) and still be farther along in your development than someone who has more control than you. And since Dominator is VERY focused on image while the only one who cares less than Doom Bringer is Mad Paradox, it makes sense that it would be like that.

The big thing Doom Bringer has going for him is his connections to the El Search Party. I'm gonna be honest. That's the only BIG difference between him and Dominator that I think makes him more "qualified" to be a canon route. I have no doubt Doom Bringer never intended to build connections with the search party (and I'll be doing an analysis later about those connections and how strong I actually think they are). He just wasn't as good as Dominator in closing himself off to them. The reason I've come to believe this is because I've noticed that in the Doom Bringer job path Add's face is very expressive, much more so than the other two. That in turn makes him easier to read whether he tries to hide things or not. People that are easily read tend to subconsciously drop their walls faster than they originally intend to and I don't think he was an exception to this. I think Doom Bringer accidentally got attached to the El Search Party and I'm not even sure he's FULLY realized it yet. But its that attachment and that relative openness (compared to Dominator we are still talking about Add after all) that puts Doom Bringer as the Add that is on the road to starting a recovery from all of his trauma. I think it's going to take slamming face first into the brick wall of failure and dealing with the resulting emotional turmoil but as I've said. Doom Bringer is the most equipped to be able to do that and come out the other side okay. Even if it is only because he has less reason to be apathetically accepting of it than the other two Add paths.

Anyway it was actually in trying to convince my younger sibling that Dominator was just as worthy of compassion as Doom Bringer and Mad Paradox that made it so I figured all of this out at all. And I honestly struggled with it a bit because while the canon paths are often the healthiest it was difficult to put into words why I think Doom Bringer fits that bill better because the two paths are so similar once you actually look past their exteriors. That and Dominator being the more responsible of the two made it harder for me to feel like I could adequately explain my thoughts on it without it sounding like I was just making excuses for Doom Bringer and/or hating on Dominator.

One last thing. I haven't really seen any other debates between character job paths that I think will prompt me to make another post like this one??? Like I saw something about Catastrophe deserving to be canon but it was just one person and it wasn't prevalent enough in the wider community that I feel the need to make a whole long winded analysis on it. So unless something new comes up or someone asks specifically I won't do another post like this. I'll be posting the path organizations I made based on the trends I've referenced both in this post and the Raven post in a bit. Once I finish detailing it out.