Very true. At least Akka doesn't seem to have faced the same kind of prejudice over the relationship he had with his cellmate Sancla (and other male lovers he might have had). (Mentions of Akka's bisexuality do seem to disappear completely after PON, though.)

No, but then again, he wasn't raised by the Scylvendi. Proyas does face similar prejudices as Cnaiur, but not as openly and it's only evident in TAE.

I wish someone who had read both TSA and Berserk would make a short crossover comic or something. Griffith meeting Conphas and/or Kellhus, Cnaiür meeting Guts...I'd love to see that.

Oh wow! That would be pretty cool, especially if it turns out that they somehow shared the same world.

Does that make Cnaiür the Guts of TSA?

I actually think that. In fact, a lot of Cnaiur scenes make me think of Guts, especially the imagery. It made me wonder if Bakker ever read Berserk. His answer? "No. Sounds cool though." Heh.

I do know that, but it seems so strange that her family's contribution to the marriage would be the burning of the Harem, don't you think? It's possible that Bakker did mean bride price. It makes sense that you'd have both Istriya's family paying the customary dowry to the Ikurei family and Istriya then asking her husband to have the Harem burned. I can definitely imagine the Emperor being so in love with/easily manipulated by his beautiful young wife that he'd do that for her, making the statement that she would be the only woman in his life.

Yup. I think Bakker meant bride price too. I would just love to know more about this.

This is kind of a tangent, but I've been toying with the idea of making a "top x" (was thinking of top 10, might end up being more) female characters in TSA I'd like to know more about. Characters that seem like they'd have interesting backstories just from the tidbits we get. If I ever get around to doing that in the near future, I'll post a link somewhere

I'd be interested. Especially about Proyas's mother as she was considered "legendary" and probably the reason why he turned out the way he did. Female consult members too, like Ieva.

Every time I see Conphas, I picture this:

He's quite similar to Berserk's Griffith, imo.

Anyway, Xerius is certainly smarter than people give him credit for and I actually enjoyed him a great deal. Excellent comic relief. Birds don't care about your station. LOLOL! Loved his mother too. Wish there was of her, despite how she treated him.

This is one of those examples of the "Mandela effect" for me. I thought Proyas yelled at Achamian here. He didn't, but he was very angry. From the moment his name was even mentioned, I knew that he would be a favorite character for me.

I guess this is why some people read books again. Anyway, when we first meet my baby, he is weeping. Yea, he's meeting the Shriah, but Proyas was never afraid of shedding tears.

As for the Shriah, yea that was creepy how he noticed what Achamian was. I actually thought that Maithinet was Consult. Seemed obvious to me at the time, especially given what he asks at the end.

"I submit to your Word, God. I commend my soul to the fierce task that you have laid before me. I shall make a temple of the field of war."

Okay terrific!

I've been really addicted to Dragon Quest Builders lately. ]

I know how that feels. I played it after well...TUC went south so I could feel better.

Played Persona 5. Love this game. Easily the best of the series in terms of battle, looks and music. Playing NG+ now. TBH, the final boss reminded me of Kellhus and Satanail rolled into one.

You should finish it!

It's unlikely I ever will.

As for FFX, I didn't really bother with many of the extras. FF8 was the only one where I did everything.

Whether or not an ending bothers me simply depends on the story itself. I do tend to expect happy endings in safe, traditional games like Dragon Quest. I DO NOT expect it in more nuanced games, like Skyrim or Final Fantasy(FFX, for example, is actually bittersweet). Happy endings in grimdark would really be one hell of a subversion, imo, unless they are very much earned.

Given how Kellhus made is pretty damned clear that he wanted to possess, like every one, a happy ending in THE SECOND APOCALYPSE would most likely be a esoteric sort of happy ending. So, even if Kellhus DID succeed in stopping the Consult, unless something was done about Damnation, I can't help but think that not much would change beyond that, especially if he knows that those that he wants "saved" would be saved. The Ciphrang would be just another tool. Hell just another kingdom to rule. Every one would be equally enslaved, except poor Achamian, I bet.

I think TUC ending in general was pretty damned fitting and certainly NOT bittersweet, despite some survivors. "Downer ending" certainly fits and I LIKE IT(yea, for the wrong reasons, but still...)! An ideal ending just plain wouldn't happen and I know that. I do, however, agree that an Ajokli ending would have been appalling and would pretty much be the actual end.

As for TNG itself, I can't see it being anything other than bittersweet, with heavy emphasis on the bitter.