It’s either they heal you, or you die, so it’s not exactly a hard choice for Eli
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You need to go mad to do it which is obviously a huge downside, which means mc will probably kill Aunt Bess too, which I do not want mc to do. Also in the teaser you still couldn’t kill Eli on that route, which, if I go that way my mc would actually want to do.
Except it really shouldn’t be Eli’s choice to make.
Yes, it is Eli acting selfishly, for their own benefit, not the mc’s. As you say it can go explicitly against the wishes of the mc.
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Eli does care. I think they only do that and act as MC’s jailer because they don’t want to see MC get hurt or die. It’s just their overprotectiveness, even if it goes against the MC’s wishes.
I wouldn’t necessarily call it selfish, though. Like, @Sujan_Dhakal said, Eli’s only other choice would be to just let MC die trying to escape. I’m inclined to believe that if (or when) the MC actually finds a way to escape that doesn’t end in certain failure, Eli would help them.
That being said, I’d be pleasantly surprised if Eli does start acting selfishly and work towards their own interests, instead of just being a puppy who always puts the MC first.
Unless I’m being stupid and just remembering wrong, I think Eli doesn’t really have any part in that torture? They didn’t know Tahlia was capable of doing so, and only healed the MC afterwards.
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I love her as well that I don’t want to do it but after seeing the hypocrisy on both sides and the flashback to the guy who became the Earthsworn makes me think that this cycle will never end unless there is something drastic that happens. So I’m just gonna go full out Eren Yeager and in his own words “I’ll exterminate them all”
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Being tortured doesn’t tickle.
I’m just glad my mage isn’t going that route. I think it would piss me off to no end to be forced to either be Thalia’s tortured slave, with Eli assisting to keep the mage enslaved, or to hope the people who fucking murdered my mage will “rescue” her and, maybe not murder her again, with the only other viable option being that she goes completely nuts and kills everyone indiscriminately. I prefer she kill her enemies in a very discriminating fashion. The kumbaya route, with the mage being fine with being murdered by her friends and people she bled for doesn’t sit well either. A statue and festival doesn’t make up for what she suffered, so screw them.
Not really find anything all that redeemable or likable about any of these bastards, save for Aunt Bess. And maybe F and Yu could be reasoned with, after the MC gets to know them.
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But is it still justified, at this point? Thalia’s reasoning to me smacks a little bit too much of “because I said so.”
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A very big IF and the only when we know of is when it is too little too late on the count of mc being batshit insane by then.
Because that is exactly the way she runs things.
Thalia is doing it for her own power, she wants to rule the world as a god-empress who brooks no dissent and really tolerates no opinion but her own (see Yu) and she isn’t exactly subtle about it.
Whatever real injustices were inflicted on the Arcadians over the last three centuries or so it is very clear Thalia is just using that as a fig leaf in her own quest for power.
I mean Thalia basically gloats about everything Thaubal and sister did to the mc’s face and then expects them to still join her?
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I like Tahlia anyway but I’ll be honest seeing just one artwork on Patreon and I’m ready to let her be Queen of Everything
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bro turn on heel turn 2 by the mountain goats rn you’re gonna love it
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True. Though I’d also hope that if MC goes down the Param route and breaks free from Arcadia, Eli would help with that.
I think Eli is just as much a victim of their circumstance as the MC is. Tahlia could very well torture them if they defy her, so they’re also basically a prisoner. There’s nothing else that Eli could do that won’t result in more pain for the MC, so I don’t think it’s really fair to fault them.
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My mage went along with Thalia because she’s broken. She was emotional before she was murdered by the man she loves, and now she’s just numb. The way she sees it, Param abused Arcadians and Param abused her, so she’s fine with helping Arcadia. At least they haven’t tried to murder her yet.
She’s beginning to feel things again (in the demo, the scene with F at the fireworks made her feel stronger, and like she can start to heal), but some of those feelings are anger toward her murderers, particularly Leon and Ante. She’s not fond of the church right now, either. But she’s starting to care about the people in Arcadia and has a purpose. She’s always been noble, and is still that way.
At the same time, she wants more power. And she’s starting to want her freedom, which Thalia is keeping from her. As she heals, it’s going to grate on her and she’ll feel like she’s a slave (she is). At that point, she’ll want to kill Thalia, along with Leon and Ante. She doesn’t really give a damn about Param anymore, because they all turned on her, so if they need help, they shouldn’t look to her. I don’t think she’d piss on most of them if they were on fire and she just had ten Big Gulps. Save for Aunt Bess. The island away from all this shit, with Aunt Bess and, possibly, F and Yu, sounds good to her.
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I can forgive Eli because Eli can do no wrong.
And also because her only incentive is to prevent perhaps her only remaining family from dying. Besides, as far as jailing goes she isnt really in a position to do so properly and is probably too emotionally compromised to prevent any real attempts.
Ive said this before, but my big beef with Tahlia is she had every opportunity not to behave like a tyrant to an untrusting Mage and STILL chose the might makes right route.
That said, for folks who dont like Tahlia an Arcadia without her has been stated as a possible path.
Meanwhile, im just gonna keep writin that Eli/Ilya/mage fanfic where they take Aunt Bess and live happily ever after away from Param and Arcadia.
(If i had my way id core Arcadia of its spies and Tahlia and Core Param of the secret society and Ante, call it a day, and leave with no explanation.)
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Double post, i apologize, but F’s emotional constipation over Thaubal and Tahlia’s flippancy over him was the huge tipping point for Kyr’s decision to write Arcadia off entirely.
If the Arcadian leaders outright ignore torture of fellow Arcadians, regardless of their faith in their bloodline (Kyr actively wants to get rid of all 4 of those bastards, and another deciding to hop on is a big trigger point), they dont deserve her time or effort.
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On the subject of Eli, it’s worth noting that when Tahlia lets you suffer excruciating pain during your potential escape, Eli’s first instinct is to put a knife to Tahlia’s neck and tell her to stop whatever she’s doing. Literally the only reason Eli agreed to act as a jailer is because you would’ve been stuck in agony until Tahlia fixed it, and killing her might’ve left you stuck like that. I mean sure, having your closest friend and maybe lover ensure you don’t try anything does suck, but it’s not like Eli had much of a choice in the matter either…until there’s an actual chance to take Tahlia out of course, then Eli will probably immediately side with you considering they already died for you once.
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Which means mc is now wholly dependent on external factors, aka, dumb random luck, for another opportunity since they can plan for nothing. By then it will likely be too late.
Considering insanity seems to be a requirement for that by then it will be too little too late.
If escaping would have killed the mc, well that was still the mc’s choice to make, or should have been. Eli “saving” mc was still, ultimately a selfish act.
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I don’t exactly disagree, but it’s kinda hard to say “Don’t listen to her, I’d rather die than stay here” when you’re busy screaming in pain and probably having organs fail. I certainly can’t blame Eli for their call, but I can see why others do.
On another note, if an MC didn’t want to come back to life in the first place and would rather have stayed dead, why exactly haven’t they just die again? I mean it’s not like they can’t just jump out a window or something.
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i get where you’re coming from here, especially since this is kinda the only real choice that mc has the option to make other than to just go along with it all, but it seems tough to expect eli to conclude that mc really truly wanted to die there. if they’re wrong and mc wants to live and just failed at escaping, there’s no going back on that decision. and even then, if your friend was gonna jump off a bridge, do you let them? i know it’s their choice, but i don’t know if i could blame eli for doing what he can to keep his friend alive.
edit: i also don’t really?? get the impression that eli has any particular loyalties to the arcadians i think he pretty much just joined up to find you, right?
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That’s because the author doesn’t want to write about the mc being suicidal can’t really blame them for it since it’s a really rough subject. The only books that I know here that allows you too is Sabres of Infinity and Fallen Hero Retribution though the latter only allows you to try for now. I won’t be surprised if there is a option to really go though with it though suicide by cop(or in this case hero) in book 4
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How is that the first interesting thing I’ve heard about the Infinite Sea stories?
You know I’m surprised that reasoning didn’t occur to me sooner. It would be cool if that’s an issue MC has to work through (being given a second chance they didn’t ask for; having to adjust to living after making peace with the end of their life and in a sense the end of their struggles), but I’m certainly not begging for MC to off themselves or anything.
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