I’m not sure how else you’d be happy with this series of books.
You can outright say you’ll kill Prodigal, punch her, let her get beaten up, not empathize with her, and make her legacy to the world post-mortem to be known as a ‘horrible person’.
Also not sure what you mean by back-up plans? Outside of the ‘Fake Death’ ability and ‘MeChip’ ones which both are heavy-Resurrection devices that I can see being sour; not sure what else she had planned?
Only other one I can think of is ‘escaping home’ but she set that up to begin with to force your hand. ;p
Also I seriously think Sergi was trying to go for one of those ‘Joker and Batman’ team up type of deals. It’s probably one of the hardest things to do in a narrative.
And while you don’t get to ‘fight’ Prodigal, I don’t find it too bad myself? Like she turns a new leaf over in HeroFall, going so far as actually dying by saving you from being DePowered, even if you don’t call her to the scene.
I don’t cast her in that ‘villain’ light as much. More chaotic-good or chaotic-neutral. Depends on how self-serving you see her as.
You can say these things, but where do they get you? The same place you’d end up with the others.
The game even (stats and legend point wise) punishes you for these paths.
The story bends over backwards to keep you, for example, from just having grandma snap her neck and then go about the rest of the story without her (something perfectly possible with the code).
I can’t agree with the ‘new leaf’, as in the grand total that bit seems more a box on the ‘tragic story’ checklist than anything, all striking me more as being there ‘for the fans’ than having actually been planned.
/shrug
EDIT: I do agree there are glimpses of an interesting character that shimmer through, but it’s, to me, drowned out by the (to use the word again) checklist-y approach to how the story proceed.
Don’t get me wrong, I like the character underneath, but this almost stubborn-seeming clinging to standard plots… eesh…
Well, doesn’t the story say something along the lines of, “Prodigal is how you could have turned out if you didn’t have Jenny, Grandma, etc.”? I feel like she is supposed to be something of a mirror image of our character. Something to show us that we could have turned out much differently. This makes her essential to the way the author wants to tell the story. I don’t think killing them off would be compatible with the story. Of course this is just my thoughts and opinions. I can’t say for sure.
Well we didn’t try to use a doomsday device on the city so…I think so? After all we can still make our characters pretty upstanding heroes. Plus we’re alive and Prodigal isn’t so we did better off in the staying alive department.
We could have turned into a living doomsday device unwittingly, all cause Grandma and Jenny withheld vital info from us.
And one could argue that PG is now more alive than we are.
But seriously, I think it is an interesting question:
If PG is meant to be the ‘bad path’ of what could have happened to the MC… is the MC really better off?
After all… PG has her freedom and general independence. the MC is still ‘below’ their own family, having put them on a pedestal of infallibleness.
Even in OS the relationship with our family seems less being equal with each other and supportive, but a ‘support’ in return for obedience and, in lack of a better term, worship. They say jump, we ask ‘how high’. that kind of thing.
The moment that Infini-power info dropped in their lap?
Access to said powers.
Pretty sure that was the intent of the secret Jenny and Grandma kept, especially because the protag is a basic rookie.
Also creating a story devoid of Prodigal in HR3 just seems a bit boring to me? Like it’d be a grand-undertaking, but it feels like the end result would be just removing Prodigal scenes.
Also do you hold any love for the series? xD I swear you tear into it like you’re a ravenous piranha. It’s not perfect, but I worry you don’t enjoy anything about it!
Plot-convenience for the new MC, and the bit with granny and jenny hinges, cause Jenny sends you on a case far out of your league, while granny pushes you into taking a sidekick after you botched said case overwhelmingly.
So, no, that you are a ‘rookie’ doesn’t really seem to matter to them.
And I don’t know if the english language has a word for my sentiments for HR.
It’s not hate, it’s more… desperation over seeing what could be very easily.
It’s, to me… a bit liked a painting hanging crooked. Or seeing someone wearing their shirt inside-out
You know the feeling?
I have, sorry if it does come across as such, no ill intend against the books, the fans nor the author. But it’s honestly a thorn in my side to see how he’s… I said it before, I wrote like that.
And dear heavens, I know now how much it sucked and I hate myself for being that… I dunno.
It’s prolly that I see a lot of myself in this, and, as bizarre and pretentious as it might sound… A great part of me wants to help.
No worries. Just my own view. I do think you offer great insights; but at times can feel merciless.
Also your issues with the series seem to be a grand bit more than just a ‘crooked’ picture, because it would require a massive upheaval in certain ways to fit the vision you’ve given at times. Not a bad vision, but sometimes could be tempered.
Glad to have a better understanding where you come from now! My apologies too if at times I’ve been abrasive. I enjoy the books a lot, flaws and all. Tis why I defend some of their failings as interpret-able or such. But thank you for the discussions. Really do enjoy the insight.
As much as I enjoy having Prodigal back, I wasn’t to big a fan of MeChip/Processor Prodigal. She could have been a martyr and (in my opinion) redeemed herself but then its like “nope I’m back”. It kind of diminishes her sacrifice. And when I talked about the bad path I kind of just meant like becoming a villain instead of a hero. A black and white good guy or bad guy like you see in a lot of comics. I wasn’t really thinking about a whole “who’s more free” type of thing. More of winding up as Harvey Dent the DA instead of Two-Face the villain. If circumstances were different we could have become a villain instead of a hero.
I found Prodigal’s return, and ‘Miss Art had two more kids’ to be greatly unneeded.
Do I like what was done? Sure, it’s ‘alright’.
But that’s like knowing we could’ve had lobster, and instead got a BigMac. xD
Prodigal’s demise as it was written, was nice enough to cap off the character. MeChip Prodigal was fanservicey as hell, and then the resurrection was a bit too much.
One way to approach the bit with PG differently in HR2 and HR3, for example, could have been having her first message be scrambled, and then have her show up at the mansion when the second one doesn’t go through at all, to tell you just wtf is going on.
Maybe move rexford asking you about Null before that, with an option to ‘try and find things out’ (as you try to warn Jenny).
Or have her show up after you got kicked out, keeping you from going to the finale and revealing what’s up just as another infini goes haywire (in your place)
Or have her show up at the finale and get your bacon out of the fire there already instead of in a cliffhanger.
Have her be fully honest with the MC. Forget about ‘plooooottwiiissst’ reveals down the line. Have her directly state how she survived, that she’s dying, why, what happened, what she found, etc.
Jokes aside; if Prodigal told you everything; she’d have no pull on you. Also you wouldn’t have become as iconic as you did. Also if you stayed home instead of attending the finale, you would’ve been in breach of contract and probably fined/sued for loads in cash, probably jailing you.
IIRC they didn’t had that at that time.
Also, at the finale of the show the ‘anti powered sentiments’ were still ‘too low’ for him to justify anything.
Those rose after you went haywire.
So, your presence at the show and its finale are essential to the plan (i think that’s even said in the game at some points)
If PC No Show = Don’t Pull Infini-Stunt, sue their pants off for not coming.
Either way win-win. Can’t really out you’re working with Prodigal, as seen by reactions. So I’m kinda scrambling for hypothetical approaches to void the legal contract.
Or wouldn’t they find someone else? Keep in mind, there’s a number of Infinis present IIRC. If Rebellion already pulled that shite to begin with, would they really not ‘sacrifice’ themself ‘for the good cause’, or heck throw Diva under the bus for it?
We should get on the same page though:
I’m musing about a cause of events in which the MC is NOT the center of the universe, but one (replaceable) gear in the machine.
Rebellion’s not Infini last I checked, and Diva wasn’t at the presentation?
Also MC-wise, I don’t know if that’s the best choice?
I mean plenty of stories have worked out well with a central focus on a ‘chosen one’ character and not suffered for it, even going on to be immensely popular.
That and do you really wanna feel like a replaceable gear in a CYOA? That your choices don’t matter?
