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On the Road to Elspar [Book 1] (Dryad Mercenary Schoolgirl Quest)

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[x] ...Azalea, Wilhelmina, Nikki, and Squad Seven.

Azalea scenes are always fun and perhaps Wilhelmina might have some good advice on leadership (or at least on Liz and Sieglinde).
 
[x] ...Lucille, Melanie, and Ashlyn.

i think Lucille could use a friend, and talking to someone she can actually get some emotion and response back from would be a bit cathartic for our heroine. A conversation that she walks away from thinking "Ok, I *can* do this!"? Yes please.

Melanie also needs to be checked. Cute little psycho who can and does materialize wind blades that'll cut wyvern scales/bloody princess archtype? She can do better than that, and a lot of it is going to come from more people to care about. We should live up to our heroine's idea that we are friends.
 
[x] ...Azalea, Wilhelmina, Nikki, and Squad Seven.

It seems to be a theme of the second year - acknowledge flaws in some of your friends and decide how to deal with it.
 
[x] ...Vesna, Emilie, and Mia.

Huggy squad would understand social and the nature of brooders in their travels.
 
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Kei said:
She isn't looking directly at you as one of her pale, slender fingers flips a page in the library book in her hand. "Why is she displeased with you?"
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*distracted* Sorry, was she talking?

Kei said:
But this whole thing also comes on the back of a month and a half of unimpressive, inspiring performances as squad leader.
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uninspiring?

Kei said:
You're not sure why you're so irritated.
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*opens mouth*

*pauses*

*closes mouth*

No, too easy.

Kei said:
But there's also Squad Two with Aphelia Meredith Tresier at its head, and Squad Seven with Wilhelmina Adelaide Marienberg as its leader.
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As if it was really going to be anyone else.

Kei said:
Never mind whether or not people are accustomed to facing this kind of weapon; there's very little that can stop a slab of iron being swung at sufficient velocity.
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*narrows eyes* What you did there, I see it.

Kei said:
"Your body remembers it. Those posh girls at Llyneyth? They've only ever fought in very controlled duels. Teach them how it really feels to fight on the battlefield."
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Drag them down into the mud, kicking and screaming. Claw, bite, rend, and tear your way to victory?

Alternate response: Yeah, that's right, teach their body what it feels to fight. Teach them long and hard. :V

Kei said:
Which is as far as you get before your instructor flicks your forehead. Hard.
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Now go practice your Great Fireball Technique? :3

---

[x] ...Vesna, Emilie, and Mia.

Cheerful merch buddies therapy time for moetree, please! No pressure socializing, easy acceptance, (best girl time).
 
commando2341 said:
Azalea is the noble dryad, correct?

Sorry, the cast gets wide at times. I'm fairly sure I'm right, though.
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Gazetteer said:
Yes, that's correct.
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@Gazetteer has known me long enough to become accustomed to the Standard Kei Sprawling Cast.

...That, or we play Fire Emblem a lot. >_>

Axel Fones said:
She

them
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Spectrum said:
uninspiring?
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fixed fixed fixed thank you im so sorry T_T

Varder said:
It seems to be a theme of the second year - acknowledge flaws in some of your friends and decide how to deal with it.
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Yes, I alluded to such at the end of Arc One, and I'm pleased to see that this is carrying over, although I am beginning to wonder if I'm overcompensating a bit. Remember: None of the characters were ever going to be perfect, just like none of us are perfect. None of your friends or loved ones are perfect, but they're still your friends and loved ones. So please don't sweat this too much. ^_^;

This being said, it's not only your friends and loved ones who are beginning to show serious flaws...

RubberBandMan said:
And finally we see Nieanne coming to realize that for all her talk about doing better, Sieglinde doesn't seem to actually want to do anything but complain about how others are doing it. Seeing her idealized Sieglinde isn't actually as great as she once thought can only help her in the long run, although finding out now of all times when she needs help most is... typical really.
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Zaealix said:
As I see it Sieg's probably just apathetic. Or lazy if you want to go there. She DOES see problems and places where the system needs fixing, but she also doesn't necessarily want to be the person DOING the fixing, tis' a thankless job, and very hard.
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Sightedjt said:
Note- readings of characters may not be accurate.

[...]

Sieg is... I vaguely feel part of her thing is theory vs practice with a side of ideals / practicality. She's gotten focussed on the problems and has all the ideas for how to solve them, but isn't as great when it comes to trying to get that into practice, and all that focus on the grand scale has left her a little detached
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So typically speaking, I leave a lot of room for questers to have their own interpretations and theories of characters, because I guarantee that Stephanie is not the only apprentice in your social circle with her secrets. But since this is one aspect I pointed out at the end of the Sieglinde segment - or at least I shared Neianne's read of it - I feel obligated to point this out more explicitly than I already have, or at least my intentions. Or at least my intentions of what I have Neianne interpret. Interpretive fiction is fun. =3

Sieglinde's primary issue is not that she doesn't want to solve problems or that she's lazy, at least by Neianne's best reckoning. Neianne instead suspects that Sieglinde's own antipathy towards people - if not a mild case of outright misanthropy - means that her standards of micro-level problem-solving is whether or not Neianne herself thinks it's the right choice; it's not necessarily what others think of you.

Neianne is basing this interpretation based in major part on two aspects (beyond, you know, knowing Sieglinde). In "1.6 The Roldharen Field Exercise", Sieglinde points out:

Kei said:
Sighing slightly, the elf continues with a sudden sense of somber quiet, "Being a 'prodigy' is a strange burden. Aphelia and I have carried it as well as we could, whereas I suspect Elizabeth ignores it entirely. There are always expectations we have to meet, regardless of whether or not our skillsets are actually relevant in meeting those expectations. So, for the lack of other options, I simply play to my strengths. It is not within my means to command affection from others in the way Aphelia does. I must then strengthen the ways in which I may command respect. Becoming a Caldran mercenary is one way of doing so."
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And in "1.20.7 Summer Vacation (Part 7)", Elizabeth adds:

Kei said:
"She is, yes. And I do hope she succeeds." Catching your mildly skeptical look, the tiny elf smirks and insists, "I really do, preferably in my lifetime, even if I won't hold my breath. It's progress, and it'd be nice to suffer fewer fools. But no one will thank Ravenhill for what she wants to do. Not Penelope. Certainly not Treiser or Charmaine and people like them either, highborns who have created systems where a poor girl's best bet to learn how to read is by learning how to make war with our Caldran mercenaries. One side doesn't know what a solution looks like, and the other doesn't even know they need one. And yet Ravenhill persists, like the world's least enthusiastic martyr, dragging all of them kicking and screaming to a better society or system of government. She's willing to do this because she doesn't like people, because she doesn't trust them or consider them to be part of the solution to begin with, and she doesn't need to care about their opinions or feelings so long as Caldran society becomes better. It's funny to watch her try - she may even succeed! - but it's also a little difficult to watch."
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So fundamentally, Sieglinde's perspective on leadership really depends on how strongly you believe this is the right choice (and, most likely, how empirical your solution is), and that while the input of others who are better than you in other areas is important (and that you don't fall prey to arrogance), what other people think of you and the "correct" choice you made is not really that important (beyond some basic concerns like morale and mutiny and stuff). She knows she's bad at dealing with people, but instead of trying to get better at it, she's seeking other ways to earn their respect. Like becoming a Caldran mercenary.

Basically, Neianne's anxiety has to do with how she manages interpersonal relationships as leader (as opposed to a leadership decision-making outcome per se) and Sieglinde - with her super-pragmatic problem-solving attitude - is just about the worst person to ask about this kind of thing.

Spectrum said:
*narrows eyes* What you did there, I see it.
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im sorry T_T
 
Kei said:
Yes, I alluded to such at the end of Arc One, and I'm pleased to see that this is carrying over, although I am beginning to wonder if I'm overcompensating a bit. Remember: None of the characters were ever going to be perfect, just like none of us are perfect. None of your friends or loved ones are perfect, but they're still your friends and loved ones. So please don't sweat this too much. ^_^;

This being said, it's not only your friends and loved ones who are beginning to show serious flaws...
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Yeah, Neianne is going to grow flaws too.
She becomes more acerbic and short-tempered already, no?

And all too anxious to assert her leadership; she is overcompensating for perceived not-being-taken-seriously-as-leader. Which is fine while it is not being taken seriously, but I don't think it's going to stop there.
 
So I just burned through this entire quest in two days instead of reading the 50-ish pages of history book that I'm going to be writing a paper on for tomorrow.

This quest is awesome, 10/10 would fail history for again.
 
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