Book VIII Discussion Thread

[Mercakete]

21 hours ago, ARMADS!!! said:

 @Mercakete, I'll answer your latest post prior to everything to avoid making you scroll my whole post and possibly spoiling yourself (maybe you'll notice that I quoted things you said about the previous chapters here too, but don't read it yet cause I might have added remarks about the newest chapter or mentioned things I'd have said earlier on the post, which can be about the new chapter):

 I actually liked your "reaction" posts (it refreshed my mind a lot about chap 3 which allowed me to avoid having to replay it just to write my post, but mostly because I played chapter 3 a month ago and forgot to write about it...) though if you feel lazy about making them or feel like you have to delay playing the new chapters for too long cause you have no time to do them, then it's alright too, I honestly don't feel any big preference between the way you normally write posts on story book chapters vs these reaction posts, either is fine. If you go throught the work mostly because you feel there's some additional benefit in doing these instead of the sort of analysis that you normally do on the chapters, I'd say it mostly doesn't (in my opinion at least) as your comments were already pretty complete analysis of the chapters and with a good chunk of theories, but if you do it mostly because you prefer doing like that then keep doing these, they're just as fun to read. I'll read them either way cause long analysis are my cup of tea, the big difference is that we see you forming (and abandoning) the theories as the chapter goes by, keeping some of them at the end, rather than an analysis about the conclusions you had on the chapter after you already played.

 Basically, I liked the posts like this but since I don't have a preference of one way over another, I don't wanna convince you to keep doing these always, cause you said they are a lot more work to do (but don't wanna convince you to do them as you did before if you like doing it as you started to do now, either). So I'd say keep like this only if you think the extra work is worth it cause you like it better to do them this way, because the end result is not that different in terms of information, it's mostly just the format.

I'll respond to this right now since it's too noisy right now where I am to play the chapter. First, thanks for being so considerate and for responding to my uncertainty! 🙂 I like doing both, but if I write up a play-by-play reaction, then it shows my steps on how I reached my conclusions, like you said. This way, I don't miss details in the chapter as I'm writing it. However, it's more casual and less easy to follow, probably (since it's not as structured in form.) Anyway, I'm just glad that there's still someone out there who appreciates what I have to say on these things. ^_^ I'll try to get to it sometime after rollover tonight (providing the internet doesn't crap out again.)

Anyway, I appreciate everything you said here. Thank you! I'll read your responses in the rest of your post after I've played the chapter. 🙂

----

Well, going through the chapter now. Kind of fun how the Black Fang theme is playing as Nidhoggr and Hrae are talking. I also find it fun how Hraesvelgr talks about "completing the operation" since she's designed after a surgeon. Huh. That's a new one... The map starts and the one with a meaningless thing to say is Sharena this time. Well, people keep saying they want her to get more lines in the main story (not that it's really any different from all the times she speaks in FB's...)

Oh. Interesting. So, Veronica is aware of an assassination plot against her mom. "I will refrain from asking how they obtained their intel." Have to say, that's diplomatic of Anna not to push for the Curse Directive's intelligence networking, despite the tenuous situation.

"The count at the head of their house would never allow the duty to pass to anyone else nor willingly accept help." Uhhh you're the next empress. Just overrule the guy.

Hmm this plot point about "I'm afraid that my mom's going to be killed but no one will listen to me and my mom is cold toward me" feels a little... Hmm the story hasn't built up enough backing to support its weight, and it comes off as another "be sympathetic towards this girl -- this is sad. Trust us" thing. I get that the story hasn't quite followed Veronica individually much, but there haven't been any scenes showing the two of them and I feel like something like this needs at least 3 prior interactions or something to show it. It's just dumped on the reader otherwise. It also cheapens Anna not prying into the Curse Directive, making all this feel like rushed plot convenience. "This way, we don't need to develop how the Curse Directive got their intel. Also, we don't need to show Veronica and her mom or the innerworkings of their governing system." (Granted, the first half of Book 6 was basically all about this (without actually showing much of it at all, though.)) Too much tragedy without enough buildup makes a work cheap and overly dramatic. Sharena beginning to cry and stuff only made it worse. It just felt way overblown. Keeping the dialogue tense and strategic would have been a better move. This kind of chat, however, would be more fitting about a month after Veronica's mom died, not with impending doom. And you know what? Why not just go to the count who's not doing his job and slap what Order of Heroes intel we have down in front of him? We have the commander right here; she should be able to corroborate the Curse Directive's intel in order to convince the guy to beef up security. As it stands, this just feels too "we want tragedy so we're setting up for it."

............ Uh, Rosado? We're in Embla.

At the very least, by the way, this is establishing that Veronica's mom is still alive and ruling Embla (though she's totally about to bite it.)

Ugh, Anna's being really dumb. You already know that the goal of the enemy is to ruin peace between Askr and Embla. But you, Askrans, want to convince the emperor that there's a real threat...by making an attempt on the emperor's life (even if it's a fake one.) This is going right along with the goals of the enemy. All the Emblians would need to do is find out half of the truth and there go your peace talks. They'll shut their ears and open fire. They already hate you. The enemy may have even already anticipated that you'd do this and could be setting you up to act in this very way (unrealistic for it to be this specific, but I could see the plot going that way since the boss of the Healing Hands is supposed to be really good at foreseeing how things will go down.) They could even just raise the Emblians' awareness and blow your cover and make it look like you were behind all the issues with the peace talks all this time. Don't do dumb things. Just present your evidence and corroborate your testimony with the Curse Directive's.

And then there's shock that the count was an agent of the assassins. Again, not enough buildup. If we'd gotten to know the guy over time instead of just "here's a list of qualities Anna knows about him and why this is shocking" it would have had a LOT more impact. It feels like IS was trying to do too much with this chapter without having properly set it up. At least they got some worldbuilding in and reestablished things like Rat's spy work. It was also good for them to include elements like the Curse Directive instead of letting them fall off the map.

All in all, the chapter was shoddily built, but I kind of get why. The format they have for releasing chapters isn't very good for building a solid piece. However, again, they did a good job at giving us a better idea of how Embla's government is structured and how Askr and Embla interact (both in the present and historically.) It also gave some interaction between Veronica and the Askrans, but that could've gone a lot better. It was overdramatized. Veronica was being in character, at least (in how she was handling things in a measured way, even though she was sad and uneasy), but... Yeah... "No one listens to me even though I'm the next ruler. Oh how lonely I am. My mom is cold towards me and would only think I'm the one behind her assassination attempt. The whole world is against me and everyone should feel sorry for me. Poor, poor victim me. Don't you feel like you want to protect me?" Ugh, it just comes across like this without the story building it out properly. Like, spotlight one element at a time, and establish this with citable, shown instances over time.

Anyway, I'm just waiting for Veronica to get poisoned now. Not because I hate her at all, but because that looks like the next thing from the trailer to happen. Now I'll read what other people wrote here. 🙂

Edited February 24 by Mercakete

[ARMADS!!!]

.

On 2/24/2024 at 6:35 AM, Mercakete said:

I'll respond to this right now since it's too noisy right now where I am to play the chapter. First, thanks for being so considerate and for responding to my uncertainty! 🙂 I like doing both, but if I write up a play-by-play reaction, then it shows my steps on how I reached my conclusions, like you said. This way, I don't miss details in the chapter as I'm writing it. However, it's more casual and less easy to follow, probably (since it's not as structured in form.) Anyway, I'm just glad that there's still someone out there who appreciates what I have to say on these things. ^_^ I'll try to get to it sometime after rollover tonight (providing the internet doesn't crap out again.)

Anyway, I appreciate everything you said here. Thank you! I'll read your responses in the rest of your post after I've played the chapter. 🙂

----

Well, going through the chapter now. Kind of fun how the Black Fang theme is playing as Nidhoggr and Hrae are talking. I also find it fun how Hraesvelgr talks about "completing the operation" since she's designed after a surgeon. Huh. That's a new one... The map starts and the one with a meaningless thing to say is Sharena this time. Well, people keep saying they want her to get more lines in the main story (not that it's really any different from all the times she speaks in FB's...)

Oh. Interesting. So, Veronica is aware of an assassination plot against her mom. "I will refrain from asking how they obtained their intel." Have to say, that's diplomatic of Anna not to push for the Curse Directive's intelligence networking, despite the tenuous situation.

"The count at the head of their house would never allow the duty to pass to anyone else nor willingly accept help." Uhhh you're the next empress. Just overrule the guy.

Hmm this plot point about "I'm afraid that my mom's going to be killed but no one will listen to me and my mom is cold toward me" feels a little... Hmm the story hasn't built up enough backing to support its weight, and it comes off as another "be sympathetic towards this girl -- this is sad. Trust us" thing. I get that the story hasn't quite followed Veronica individually much, but there haven't been any scenes showing the two of them and I feel like something like this needs at least 3 prior interactions or something to show it. It's just dumped on the reader otherwise. It also cheapens Anna not prying into the Curse Directive, making all this feel like rushed plot convenience. "This way, we don't need to develop how the Curse Directive got their intel. Also, we don't need to show Veronica and her mom or the innerworkings of their governing system." (Granted, the first half of Book 6 was basically all about this (without actually showing much of it at all, though.)) Too much tragedy without enough buildup makes a work cheap and overly dramatic. Sharena beginning to cry and stuff only made it worse. It just felt way overblown. Keeping the dialogue tense and strategic would have been a better move. This kind of chat, however, would be more fitting about a month after Veronica's mom died, not with impending doom. And you know what? Why not just go to the count who's not doing his job and slap what Order of Heroes intel we have down in front of him? We have the commander right here; she should be able to corroborate the Curse Directive's intel in order to convince the guy to beef up security. As it stands, this just feels too "we want tragedy so we're setting up for it."

............ Uh, Rosado? We're in Embla.

At the very least, by the way, this is establishing that Veronica's mom is still alive and ruling Embla (though she's totally about to bite it.)

Ugh, Anna's being really dumb. You already know that the goal of the enemy is to ruin peace between Askr and Embla. But you, Askrans, want to convince the emperor that there's a real threat...by making an attempt on the emperor's life (even if it's a fake one.) This is going right along with the goals of the enemy. All the Emblians would need to do is find out half of the truth and there go your peace talks. They'll shut their ears and open fire. They already hate you. The enemy may have even already anticipated that you'd do this and could be setting you up to act in this very way (unrealistic for it to be this specific, but I could see the plot going that way since the boss of the Healing Hands is supposed to be really good at foreseeing how things will go down.) They could even just raise the Emblians' awareness and blow your cover and make it look like you were behind all the issues with the peace talks all this time. Don't do dumb things. Just present your evidence and corroborate your testimony with the Curse Directive's.

And then there's shock that the count was an agent of the assassins. Again, not enough buildup. If we'd gotten to know the guy over time instead of just "here's a list of qualities Anna knows about him and why this is shocking" it would have had a LOT more impact. It feels like IS was trying to do too much with this chapter without having properly set it up. At least they got some worldbuilding in and reestablished things like Rat's spy work. It was also good for them to include elements like the Curse Directive instead of letting them fall off the map.

All in all, the chapter was shoddily built, but I kind of get why. The format they have for releasing chapters isn't very good for building a solid piece. However, again, they did a good job at giving us a better idea of how Embla's government is structured and how Askr and Embla interact (both in the present and historically.) It also gave some interaction between Veronica and the Askrans, but that could've gone a lot better. It was overdramatized. Veronica was being in character, at least (in how she was handling things in a measured way, even though she was sad and uneasy), but... Yeah... "No one listens to me even though I'm the next ruler. Oh how lonely I am. My mom is cold towards me and would only think I'm the one behind her assassination attempt. The whole world is against me and everyone should feel sorry for me. Poor, poor victim me. Don't you feel like you want to protect me?" Ugh, it just comes across like this without the story building it out properly. Like, spotlight one element at a time, and establish this with citable, shown instances over time.

Anyway, I'm just waiting for Veronica to get poisoned now. Not because I hate her at all, but because that looks like the next thing from the trailer to happen. Now I'll read what other people wrote here. 🙂

 Oh you're welcome :). One thing I do too when I don't want to miss details on my post is: I play the chapter normally with my notes app opened on the phone and write some quick bullet points when someone says or does something I wanna rememberm then I write the post with what I remember and check the notes for the more missable points. Anyway, I think you're doing good anyway, it's not harder to follow and I think you're structuring these well.

------

 (still answering to your post):

Hmmm I think Anna said she won't ask how the Curse got their intel just for saying it, in a "y'know, I'm showing I'm not dumb by voicing that I think they got the info by some shady way, but I won't press further cause it's not relevant now anyway and cause I know you wouldn't know the answer, but it's food for thought" way, cause Veronica isn't part of the Curse (like Alfonse and Sharena are part of the Order of Heroes) so she probably wouldn't even know, I think that Veronica can't just overrule the count too since he works directly under her mother. I do agree that Veronica's relationship with her mother should've been slightly more explored though, for this reason I hope she don't actually die now so we can see her talk to Veronica. For me it didn't feel like a cheap trick to make us sad too, instead felt like a very cheap trick to show how dangerous the Healing Hands' assassins are, but I'll excuse it cause I liked that they showed us that Askr can lose some battles in the war, it'd be bad if we were always one step ahead, specially since it's a battle of wits sort of thing, and cause it moved the plot forward. I felt like Sharena crying over Veronica's mom was a bit much too but I rather believe that it was because she sympathized with Veronica (as she too, had lost a parent) and was fearing for what would be of the peace deal now that the attempt wa suceed but that was probably not their intention. I actually think that Veronica's mom might not actually die now, not sure if they'll want to make Veronica the empress just yet, or maybe they will but I'll like it way better if they use this plot as introduction to her mother, well... Whatever way they choose, it'll never be more cheap, out of the blue and convenient than Nótt's death, at least Veronica's mom is a Fire Emblem parent so she is bound to die early (even if not NOW) Oh! Another reason for me to think that she will live for now is cause I think Henriette will die on this book and I'm not sure if they'll want to kill both of the regents now, and also cause I think that if they really wanted her to die, she'd have died now instead of surviving, I doubt that they'll make a whole sprite for her just to have Veronica have a sob conversation with her mom on her death bed and then die and never show up again.

 Oh yeah... They made Rosado comment on Askr's landscape but shoved him on the chapter we were at Embla. lol. I hadn't noticed that.

 If you put it like that if feels dumb but I think there's enough not being said to fill the spaces and turn it into a good idea, I assume that they at the very least changed clothes (like the we're gonna need disguises thing) but that the sprites didn't reflet it, they could've mentioned it briefly though to make it not sound dumb. Also the people of Embla didn't even see them and the empress would likely not assume it came from Askr (since she straight up didn't want to believe the thing was happening at all) and the Curse Directive (probably the only ones who could know they're from Askr) wouldn't disclosee, if anything, the curse directive could probably assure the empress that it wasn't Askr and maybe reveal a bit of the "secret info" that they gathered (and where they got it) to back it up. In the end the plan was useless, yeah, as the boss of the Healing Hands had a way to make the assassination happen anyway (whether he foreshought Askr's plan or not) but I doubt that the Askrans and Veronica would know this so I think they made a smart move, specially since it looks like Anna knows her stuff in black ops stuff. What I find weird is that the empress doesn't wanna hear the Curse Directive, they could've gone there to try to talk to her without Veronica being present, though I guess that'd end badly anyway since the count would probably put in her head that the thread wasn't real. Speaking of the count, I already said this in my other post but I really really reeealy wonder how he was used on the assassination plot, did Hraesvelg thretean him? Did Nidgoggr gave him some "mind/body control" like poison to make him obey her? Did one of them shapeshift into him or some shit? Maybe their Older Brother had been working infiltered in Embla as the count for years? Or is the count allied with the Healing Hands? Hope that's explained at least.

 I think that there was little buildup to the whole thing too but I think that it's because they want this to not be a major part of the story anyway, of course it'd be better if they (the empress and the count) had showed up for longer but I still think that the writing quality of the book is being excellent and that they're finding good ways of "bypassing" the limitations they imposed on themselves as writers (like making a decent story for this chapter with satisfactory worldbuilding in the minimum amount of time as possible since they have to use this 5-part-13 chapters- format), I'd rather what we got than if we were to linger on this part of the story for like 3 whole chapters.

While Veronica's thing does look a bit of a sob show, I liked that it's extremely coherent with how her character was stablished back in book I, she was always alone and angry because no one paid attention to her (to the point of summoning heroes from other worlds to be forced to "play" with her by attacking Askr and then got extremely sad when they left her and went "I'm alone, no one likes me, please don't abandon me") so it makes sense that she's treated like that by her mother. Speaking about that, was her mother the peaceful ruler that disagreed with Veronica's invasions or that was her father? And was she Bruno's mother too or it's the father that they share?

 

 Again, this is being my favorite book for now, only behind book III but I think it's possible for it to surpass it too. I'm already excited for the next chapter. Wonder if this book will also have a random mcguffin that the askrans will have to get to defeat Father.

[DefyingFates]

Not too much story in this one but it's still more story than other Books had at this point. I... actually like where this is going! Veronica wanting to attend the peace meeting despite being poisoned and coming to terms with all the trouble she caused in the past is some nice character development on her part too. I'm looking forward to what comes next and hope whoever wrote the plot this time around does a good job with the rest of it too!

[Etrurian emperor]

I compared Veronica to Bowser in the past but there's also some Vegeta in her. Namely the rival who spends most of the story getting beaten up by the villains so the heroes can save the day. Beaten up and kidnapped by Surtr, being nearly beaten up by Fafnir until Alfonse shows up, beaten up and captured by Letizia, beaten up and possessed by Embla, beaten up by Gullveig and now beaten up by the local drunk. 

Also nice to hear Xander is still sticking around in Embla even if he was sleeping on the job. 

[Mercakete]

Going through it now. I'm glad they're smoothing over the plot points, giving them more detail. For example, Anna bringing up "the people favor you and you have authority over the court, so they should listen to you." That was (half) something I'd brought up, myself.

"Askr is not the only beneficiary of the peace." I like this line. 🙂

Hey, nice! We get to see Veronica's room again! I think we've only seen it in animations so far.

"It numbs the senses and dulls the pain." Well, if she's planning to assassinate her, then at least that's not the cruelest way to go about it. Oh. She just used it to drug everyone guarding Veronica. That's too bad. Oh wow, Xander gets namedropped again. Ah, he was sent to protect her mom. That's nice, but, uh, that this is getting said by Nidhoggr makes you wonder if those two are still alive. Nicely written in.

"It seems...you're all alone." Well-written cruelty there. That's the thing that's been haunting her for...well, ever (mostly.) It was one of the things she had in common with Embla (bat.)

"The wicked deeds of your past are far too great to simply ignore, you know, Princess Veronica..." That's got to be another insecurity she's picking on (while also justifying the assassination and convincing Veronica to stop struggling and accept her fate.) Dang, okay, this lady is poisonous in every way. Also, this scene is very well-written. It's already really surpassed my expectations.

"But that is why I must change." Way to go Veronica, taking ownership and trying to make things better! Dang; nice!

And then a quick message from our sponsor, Rat, to give a reason for the Askrans to go there. XD Well, it worked, and worked well! This may be the part in the opening movie when she bursts through the window, but if the Askrans are camped nearby like I thought they were (so they can go to the nearby peace talks) then not?

Ah. Have to say, it must be hard running away when drugged like that. Thankfully, the assassin also is constantly eating that fruit so she's not in the best shape to give chase. And I'm glad they showed that. XD Not a bad little scene there. Pff-! Nidhoggr's in-map (humanoid) idling animation is all swaying and tottering. XD Nice touch. Ohhh and she's an armored unit. Okay, her previous chase with Veronica is throwing me back to that running (haha) joke where armored units can't hurry so well. X3

YES! She's a naga. I'd hoped so after seeing Hraesvelgr was a harpy! Also, I feel like my earlier theory just gained more credence: Nidhoggr hates having turned to assassination, and is always drunk because she wants to inhibit her memories/feelings on it. The new bit I'm talking about is her defeat quote: "Let me forget..."

Ah, Rat's reprising her role as a member of the healing hands, eh? Yes! Heal her, nurse squirrel! "My sister's poison has no mortal cure." Man, that's useful knowledge.

"When the ceremony comes, I will...show no sign anything has happened." I bet she could, too. She's been hiding pain for the sake of her role for a long time now. Man, this is such good development/exploration for Veronica this chapter.

OKAY all in all, fantastic chapter! I don't really see anything that needs to be changed, though I do wish that this chapter could have a whole animation. There's a lot in this one that, while implied, would do well to have its actual actions shown. But dang, Veronica recognizing her past mistakes and making peace with them and trying to move past them, asking a favor of fellow royals for the sake of peace between their countries and foreseeing how that's what is being threatened right now... You really get that feeling of duty, growth, and responsibility here, and that's fantastic.

I have to say, I'm curious about what will happen with these peace talks. Seems like we're getting close to Rat being discovered as a triple agent. Will a new character be introduced during the ceremony? Will the assassins stop with the pretenses and make their presence known? Will they target Henriette while peace talks are going on? Any of these could happen, and all of them would be big statements/plot points. It's about time for something heavy like that to drop.

Anyway, this one was nice! Veronica's really come a long way from being the self-pitying lonely girl with tea parties, dolls, and jealousy. She's downright regal now. Nice. 🙂

[Suzann25]

Hey guys, I've been diving into Book VIII lately and I have to say the story is getting more intense! Does anyone else feel the same? Also, if anyone needs help with literature reviews, I came across this great resource where experienced professionals can do literature review dissertation help for small time. They have been a lifesaver for me when I'm knee-deep in research papers. Anyway, back to discussing theories about the last chapter!

Edited April 25 by SunnyGuy1054

[DefyingFates]

And another chapter down! Not much happened this time, but we still got some meaningful developments and confirmation that Yggdrasil and the Askran + Emblians' power are similar enough to work together. Neat!

Also a bit of development from the Healing Hands. While Nidhoggr's line to Ratatoskr is a bit on the nose on the surface, the reveal earlier that she keeps trying to numb her emotions means it still says something about her regardless. Also their dad is getting involved. I assume he'll get teased next month and properly revealed with the midpoint trailer/ banner.

[Mercakete]

Alright, this time I played through the chapter and am now going to give my impressions instead of doing a play-by-play.

So, the plot's next big point is progressing as I expected. Like I predicted, it looks like the big guy himself is going to show up smack in the middle of the peace ceremony for a power play. Granted, this hasn't actually happened yet, but it sure looks like that's where it's headed. I have to wonder if Henriette will show up too, and maybe finally reveal the power she's been hiding. It'd be cool if she managed to stop whatever big move the big bad tries to drop during the ceremony.

I'm also glad that we FINALLY got to see some more of the Emblian royal line's power in action...complete with a pretty neat incantation. Have to say, I didn't see that one coming. It was a good plot move. (We have yet to see the Askrans open gates apart from the very first-ever FEH trailer (the trailer opens up with it -- it's that blue outline that reveals the trailer), but eh.)

Also, I feel like the positive response to Rat's funny freaked out pose may have gotten to IS' head a little. It feels like they're overdoing the "skittish and stuttering" aspect of her to the point of it getting gimmicky and out of character.

That family talk was sweet. I'd feel a lot worse if it wasn't for the fact that Rat's only betraying them in order to save them. Also, Nidhoggr going off on a tangent and forgetting her point was so realistic. Very nice. It's not too hard to see that she's only mean as a way of expressing the opposite of how she really feels, too. She appreciates all that Rat does for the family, and finds it sweet how she stayed at her bedside when she was unwell that one time...but since Nidhoggr's trying to pretend like she doesn't feel connections to people right now (because of the assassination stuff) she expresses her sentiments condescendingly instead. Disassociation.

I like the play on words with the Hand vs showing their own hand, too. That was a good line.

[Lemmy]

If there was a chance for the stuff Alfonse said in I Killed Him to haunt him, this would be the start of it.

Once again, Ratatoskr may be able to solve both the poison and the possession, but Heroes is not afraid to kill characters

[Diovani Bressan]

Random ideas I had:

• Henriette is on the Mid-Book Banner next month, as a normal hero like (Letizia in Book 6) or as a Attuned/Rearmed Hero.
• Henriette is May's Legendary Hero, as a Green Tome legendary.

[Etrurian emperor]

Given her valentine lies I doubt the queen will die quiet yet. 

And yeesh. Poor Veronica can't catch a break from villains trying to beat her up.

[Mercakete]

Well. I called most of that... As soon as I saw that it was Henriette who was going to be representing Askr in the peace meetings, it became fairly obvious that something was going to take her out of the picture. And with how she was acting around Veronica (and a little before, I think), I figured that Henriette wasn't Henriette. I admit that I didn't call the "taking over her heart" thing, but I wonder if the overarching story for the current FB is about that. If that's the case, then I haven't finished that yet, so I couldn't have had any guesses there. Another tell that things were going horribly wrong: the Askr trio's confidence that everything was going well. Their guard was dropped way too low (to the point of feeling a little out of character for Alfonse and maybe Anna.) Also, the huge gap in story advancement between the first and last parts. It was so quiet that it was obvious that the enemy was right where he wanted to be.

Anyway, Henriette drank poison, but that doesn't mean she'll for sure die. They left room for a "we have to find the cure" quest. However, if this means she'll rep Askr in these peace talks, then yeah, she's not surviving this book. Plot dictates that it's about time for the next generation to step up, so it'll be Alfonse and/or Sharena who concludes the book with Askr and Embla finally finishing this ceremony and gaining peace for their countries. (IS could try to pull a fast one and off Alfonse as well as his mom, but he's very much their main character, so I find this unlikely. HOWEVER, Alfonse being missing from some scenes in the opening movie makes me wonder if they're not using this book to prep Sharena as the new main character. She'd suck at it, though, so I hope not. If she became the new main character, all her solutions would be "let's befriend them!" and it would turn into a gross "by the power of our feelings with no thought or logic at all!" resolution to everything every time.)

[Etrurian emperor]

1 hour ago, Mercakete said:

HOWEVER, Alfonse being missing from some scenes in the opening movie makes me wonder if they're not using this book to prep Sharena as the new main character.

I remember IS prepping Sharena to be the focus of a book....and that they seemingly instantly changed their mind about that. So I certainly won't be expecting Sharena to take center stage anymore. 

Though recent developments would give a reason for Alfonse's absence. If Henriette's in a coma then someone must represent Askr at the peace gathering. 

[DefyingFates]

So we went back to just two cutscenes per chapter, but I admit using the second to pull an "Omae wa mou shindeiru" on Henriette was cool. Just don't make a habit of this Book VIII, you have a good thing going here!