EPTReading some more of the Scarlet-Stained Memoir. I've advanced from the point where + Show Spoiler +
Farmer decides to go with Nathaniel to see Ran
Farmer, Cirno, and the others begin to play Risk
+ Show Spoiler [Thoughts on transpired events] +
- THANK THE LORD, SOME ANSWERS AT LASSSSSTTTTT
- Lol, nerd waaaaars! A lot of the questions in that battle were really just basic memorization, but I like how Farmer resigns himself to never being as smart and just letting the titans of the mind duke it out. If only Patchy got in the mix... But aside from the humor in this scenario, we know from the nerd war that the present time period is some time after October 4, 1957. Part of knowing where one is located is knowing when one is located. Farmer last remembers it being 1887, so in coming to (what we can deduce as being) modern-day Gensokyo, he'll have had to jump at least seventy years forward, most likely more.
- Well... uhhh... Hi, Cirno... >_>
- At last, the esteemed Flandre Scarlet joins us in our stay. But this "Adam" that accompanies her is a godsend. Of course, a new Scarlet is an interesting idea, but more importantly, his presence answers a boatload of burning questions. We know now that Adam was the Nameless Prisoner, and possibly a dragon; it's clear that Flandre was the mystery entity that accosted us in the basement last night when we attempted to sneak away with our loot. We understand now that the dragonblade is Adam's, and that Nathaniel may in fact be searching for the sword. "Where is Justice?" may hint at the "Equitas" inscribed upon the weapon. Adam's monstrous state last night can be attributed to some sort of punishment as well.
Though clarity has finally presented itself in myriad aspects of the story, one all-important fact stands out:
Flandre and Adam cannot be trusted. Adam in his "lisp-form" perhaps, but not Flandre. Never Flandre. - As a side note, fuck Risk. Fucking hate that piece of shit game.
+ Show Spoiler [New questions + puzzling over them] +
+ Show Spoiler [Remember, no answers please] +
- Nathaniel's spectacles. He claims that his vision is suffering, but perhaps the pair he possesses has similar qualities to those of Farmer's broken ones. And he says "No one can know but her." Who is "her"? What must no one else know, and why?
- That Latin conversation between Ran and Nathaniel is intriguing. They clearly spoke in an archaic language to mask their words and thoughts from Farmer, and what they had to say apparently shouldn't have been heard by Remilia or Sakuya. Because I'm an genius, I've attempted to cook up as good a translation as I can via the ever-(un)reliable Google Translate.
+ Show Spoiler [Attempt at translation] +Nathaniel: Malus Fortuna mos nunc attero totus.
Ran: Fortuna vox est pallens foedus ut alius.
Nathaniel: Haud. Fortuna attero totus per satus vicis.
Ran: Quis succurro operor vos postulo?
Nathaniel: Tantum mancipium mos solvo mancipium. Commodo, Ego precor vos. Vigilo, tamen operor non factum.
Nathaniel: This bad luck will soon destroy us all.
Ran: Fortune pales in comparison to the other. (Least sure of this line)
Nathaniel: No. Luck turns the tables on us all, in time.
Ran: What help do you need?
Nathaniel: Only a slave can free slaves. Please, I beg you. Watch, but do not act.
My guess is that Ran, as Yukari's shinigami, is a "slave", much as Farmer is currently a "slave" to Remilia. Nathaniel wishes for Ran to observe Farmer, and wait for... something, lest this "bad luck" (Remilia's fate?) consumes them all. - At first, I thought that Cirno's spirit had been broken by Sakuya/Remilia, but it seems that the real Cirno is still there, and is being suppressed due to threats from Sakuya. Perhaps Sakuya threatened the safety of Farmer, a character Cirno seemingly cares for greatly.
- Sakuya herself is very confusing at the moment. Many of her actions can be construed as subtly assisting Farmer, but those are balanced out both by the violent streaks (such as when Sakuya flies into a rage when Cirno visits Farmer after the ice impalement) and her devotion to the Scarlet Mistress. Her motives are impossible to guess at for now, but aside from Flandre and Adam, I would say Sakuya is the most suspicious and most dangerous entity in the manor right now.
- Adam claiming to be a dragon? That seems... unlikely. Firstly, he said that he was not brother to Flandre by birth, but by "b-". The interruption there doesn't disguise what he meant to say: "by blood". If what one of the readers in the thread said about Adam's heterochromia is correct, then the one red eye and one green eye he possesses indicates flawed vampirism. Perhaps Adam fell victim to Flandre in the classic vampire way: being bitten and transforming. This flawed vampirism would also explain why he looks physically older than either Scarlet sister, despite being younger: while vampires do not physically age, a half-vampire most likely still can, albeit very slowly. Finally, the "control" that Flandre apparently holds over Adam might be attributed to the vampirism dealt by her.
That lisp, though... He says that he can only be trusted when he lisps, but why? It's his "true self", but what does that mean?
I just thought the sudden contrast was funny.
