Emblem Analysis: Matthew and Continuation of a Dream.
Surprise.
Not Tellius. But actually...Matthew.
See, in FE7/8/9/10, you have characters that are similar to Legault, or Rennac, which is more like the traditional "thief." Then you've got Matthew, which is more spy. Not an assassin, but a spy. Something like Luchino-dono, if you really want to think about it.
To me, the spy's always more....I don't know, mysterious, cool, impressive. Maybe it's due to all the time I've seen entire teams backstabbed and sapped by one single really good spy in TF2. But I think the difference is that Matthew isn't a thief...he's a spy. He doesn't steal nearly as much as he should be doing. I mean, look at Leila's position, and then...you'll see.
Matthew's personality is a hard nut to crack. He doesn't show himself very easily, and despite how tight his lips are, he really have a tendency to lure others so they talk first, and then he starts talking circles around that particular topic as they slowly get to know him. A good example is his support with Guy. As a friend had pointed out. Guy is very skilled, but very naive. Maybe it's because of the things he had seen, Matthew isn't nearly so naive. So, what did he do?
Why, he ignores Guy's challenge, of course, and then sneaks into his room late at night and places a sword at his throat. Everything he does for his friends - from something like that, designed to teach the naive Guy about the acute dangers of the world, to his string of questions lobbed more or less nonstop at ...mostly everyone, shows a caring heart.
And what about Serra? Or Legault? In these supports, they inadvently hit a few points that Matthew's really sore about - and I would guess, that he never really gotten over. But Legault's "erh, you're a good kid. You're wasted as a spy" in the C-script really struck me as interesting as well. Legault is like the classical Robin-hood thief. He fought for JUSTICE, and I always thought that the Hurricane would be a pretty good read for character.
As for the rest of his personality, I think it's what you could see through Leila. To Jaffar, he's merciless. (Makes this particular archivist cry MANLY TEARS every time he gets to that part). The hatred, anger, and just the extreme degree of emotions he show is NOT something that other people see.
Time and after time, the guy goes after Jaffar, seeking only revenge for Leila. Even during their B support, where I think Jaffar actually intercepted Matthew. Even though Matthew KNEW he wasn't a match for Jaffar (Could give BAS-level Hokuto-Shinken wielding Volke a run for his money, I think), he still stubbornly went after him.
This reveals a lot about Jaffar than he'd think. In that sense, Jaffar has learned to become more human. He really don't see a point in killing matthew. However, Matthew did. All of his pent-up emotions ... he had no other source to release them on, except for Jaffar. That revenge...the loss of composure and going straight into berserk mode, is not something you see often.
Look at this line.
"You killed Leila... You stole her life. Her voice, her smile... You stole everything! You'll pay for that! I'll make you pay!!"
That line above showed his reckless stubbornness, but also a deep, deep pain that could not be described in words. Can you just picture him, usually so laidback and calm, SCREAMING that in Jaffar's face? I admit, I have a habit to anime-fy everything.
But Jaffar spares him. He does nothing.
" If you're not going to kill me, I'll make you regret it. I will dedicate my entire life to bringing you to your grave. Remember this one truth, Jaffar."
So, then, he continues. Again, shows how much he had been hurt. As a spy, he and Leila had their lives on the line, all the time. Of course, they'll be strongly attracted to each other - because oftentimes, they'd be the only companions and safe havens for each other. W, as writers and readers can never really understand Matthew's loss - seeing that most of us probably aren't spies and hadn't experienced something to that level. But we can see his love for Leila through his pain and loss...in that sense, perhaps...
I mean, in the A support, he took Nino (Friend thought he was bluffing. I am inclined to agree.), but then, when he saw Jaffar surrendering, he didn't do anything. Nothing. "Leila stopped me" - that was his excuse. Whether or not Leila really did...is up in the air. I prefer to think that somehow, she did. But Matthew understood something. Jaffar was only carrying out an order. It was Nergal, and not Jaffar, who had Leila killed.
What it really shows about Matthew is his growth, kindness, and really, merciful nature. Matthew, the Shadow of Ostia. It's hard to describe him, but I think... at the end, look at his last lines with Jaffar.
"Matthew...it's your name, isn't it?"
"How.... did you know?"
"It's Leila. That woman, the last moment of her life...she said your name."
....
....
Ah, can you sense the silence there? The silence is like the shadows. Dust we are, and dust we returneth. All the joys and sorrows, the pains or bliss...Of love, and loss...Everything. Just....
Matthew is one such figure. A complex, deeply passionate shadow. I think it would be accurate for my friend's words, so I'll quote her again.
"Any FE7 player...who had played through the whole thing. If it could be said that Eliwood and Ninian's the happy fairytale, then Matthew and Leila will forever be our heartache..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think my motivations for writing Continuation of a Dream is quite clear, there. As everything I do, it's to showcase the central theme of love, and also to subtly sneak in a little bit of my own values and beliefs. But most importantly, this particular one... was about healing. Matthew. Leila, and a sort of ...I don't know, the continuation of a dream, I guess?
I ... tried, and failed to accomplish such a feat, but I really wanted to see what I could do. Originally, I was going to write a long piece with the two of them as the central characters, but I'm afraid I couldn't - not with BAS and another piece in the works. But I wanted to write about them, so I did. Please forgive me if it wasn't meeting your expectations. I don't know how to write oneshots, though I could try.
Both of the endings carry each other's elements, and I think they're both happy endings. In a sense, the two endings of Continuation of a Dream is ... just that, two ways of Matthew growing up.
In one of them, ending A, he embraces the reality (Leila's gone), and spreads the story on - the idea that he'll see Leila again. Pent is the mentor figure here. A figure representative of humanity as a whole - in truth, Pent has no idea if Matthew could see her again, either, but again, Pent is subtle. I admit, there is a bit of real-life faith worked into Pent's dialogue, but it wouldn't be a stretch, as Etruria as a whole is rather religious, and I see it doing no harm to characterization as a whole. The dragonfly line is exactly what it sounds like - do not fear the unknown. The "miracle" Matthew witnessed, even for a short time, of Leila,
In the second ending, ending B, Bramimond is the mentor figure. In a sense, Matthew, instead of embracing the reality, fully embraces his ideals. He grows by understanding that things do happen, and by accepting it, he is able to move on. The scene was heavily influenced by the central theme of the Count of Monte Cristo, which is just that - wait, and hope. Bramimond acts as an agent of the divine, in this sense, and brings Leila back to life for him for good, citing that it was at first, due to curiosity, but now, he would prefer to do something a little more worthwhile with his life - perhaps, do the same as some of his fellow heroes have done.
The second ending, then, is a miracle of another sort. It also echoes some of the ideas reflected in the first, but much more obvious. It's the exact type of mecha-esque happy endings that I would have liked.
I admit, it's a little too fast, but I could not have built it in the same way as I have built Beneath Azure Skies. In the end, whichever ending that you pick, it doesn't matter. In both cases, Matthew and Leila are reunited - whether in this physical world or the next, one thing is certain. They'll forever be in each other's hearts.
Not Tellius. But actually...Matthew.
See, in FE7/8/9/10, you have characters that are similar to Legault, or Rennac, which is more like the traditional "thief." Then you've got Matthew, which is more spy. Not an assassin, but a spy. Something like Luchino-dono, if you really want to think about it.
To me, the spy's always more....I don't know, mysterious, cool, impressive. Maybe it's due to all the time I've seen entire teams backstabbed and sapped by one single really good spy in TF2. But I think the difference is that Matthew isn't a thief...he's a spy. He doesn't steal nearly as much as he should be doing. I mean, look at Leila's position, and then...you'll see.
Matthew's personality is a hard nut to crack. He doesn't show himself very easily, and despite how tight his lips are, he really have a tendency to lure others so they talk first, and then he starts talking circles around that particular topic as they slowly get to know him. A good example is his support with Guy. As a friend had pointed out. Guy is very skilled, but very naive. Maybe it's because of the things he had seen, Matthew isn't nearly so naive. So, what did he do?
Why, he ignores Guy's challenge, of course, and then sneaks into his room late at night and places a sword at his throat. Everything he does for his friends - from something like that, designed to teach the naive Guy about the acute dangers of the world, to his string of questions lobbed more or less nonstop at ...mostly everyone, shows a caring heart.
And what about Serra? Or Legault? In these supports, they inadvently hit a few points that Matthew's really sore about - and I would guess, that he never really gotten over. But Legault's "erh, you're a good kid. You're wasted as a spy" in the C-script really struck me as interesting as well. Legault is like the classical Robin-hood thief. He fought for JUSTICE, and I always thought that the Hurricane would be a pretty good read for character.
As for the rest of his personality, I think it's what you could see through Leila. To Jaffar, he's merciless. (Makes this particular archivist cry MANLY TEARS every time he gets to that part). The hatred, anger, and just the extreme degree of emotions he show is NOT something that other people see.
Time and after time, the guy goes after Jaffar, seeking only revenge for Leila. Even during their B support, where I think Jaffar actually intercepted Matthew. Even though Matthew KNEW he wasn't a match for Jaffar (Could give BAS-level Hokuto-Shinken wielding Volke a run for his money, I think), he still stubbornly went after him.
This reveals a lot about Jaffar than he'd think. In that sense, Jaffar has learned to become more human. He really don't see a point in killing matthew. However, Matthew did. All of his pent-up emotions ... he had no other source to release them on, except for Jaffar. That revenge...the loss of composure and going straight into berserk mode, is not something you see often.
Look at this line.
"You killed Leila... You stole her life. Her voice, her smile... You stole everything! You'll pay for that! I'll make you pay!!"
That line above showed his reckless stubbornness, but also a deep, deep pain that could not be described in words. Can you just picture him, usually so laidback and calm, SCREAMING that in Jaffar's face? I admit, I have a habit to anime-fy everything.
But Jaffar spares him. He does nothing.
" If you're not going to kill me, I'll make you regret it. I will dedicate my entire life to bringing you to your grave. Remember this one truth, Jaffar."
So, then, he continues. Again, shows how much he had been hurt. As a spy, he and Leila had their lives on the line, all the time. Of course, they'll be strongly attracted to each other - because oftentimes, they'd be the only companions and safe havens for each other. W, as writers and readers can never really understand Matthew's loss - seeing that most of us probably aren't spies and hadn't experienced something to that level. But we can see his love for Leila through his pain and loss...in that sense, perhaps...
I mean, in the A support, he took Nino (Friend thought he was bluffing. I am inclined to agree.), but then, when he saw Jaffar surrendering, he didn't do anything. Nothing. "Leila stopped me" - that was his excuse. Whether or not Leila really did...is up in the air. I prefer to think that somehow, she did. But Matthew understood something. Jaffar was only carrying out an order. It was Nergal, and not Jaffar, who had Leila killed.
What it really shows about Matthew is his growth, kindness, and really, merciful nature. Matthew, the Shadow of Ostia. It's hard to describe him, but I think... at the end, look at his last lines with Jaffar.
"Matthew...it's your name, isn't it?"
"How.... did you know?"
"It's Leila. That woman, the last moment of her life...she said your name."
....
....
Ah, can you sense the silence there? The silence is like the shadows. Dust we are, and dust we returneth. All the joys and sorrows, the pains or bliss...Of love, and loss...Everything. Just....
Matthew is one such figure. A complex, deeply passionate shadow. I think it would be accurate for my friend's words, so I'll quote her again.
"Any FE7 player...who had played through the whole thing. If it could be said that Eliwood and Ninian's the happy fairytale, then Matthew and Leila will forever be our heartache..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think my motivations for writing Continuation of a Dream is quite clear, there. As everything I do, it's to showcase the central theme of love, and also to subtly sneak in a little bit of my own values and beliefs. But most importantly, this particular one... was about healing. Matthew. Leila, and a sort of ...I don't know, the continuation of a dream, I guess?
I ... tried, and failed to accomplish such a feat, but I really wanted to see what I could do. Originally, I was going to write a long piece with the two of them as the central characters, but I'm afraid I couldn't - not with BAS and another piece in the works. But I wanted to write about them, so I did. Please forgive me if it wasn't meeting your expectations. I don't know how to write oneshots, though I could try.
Both of the endings carry each other's elements, and I think they're both happy endings. In a sense, the two endings of Continuation of a Dream is ... just that, two ways of Matthew growing up.
In one of them, ending A, he embraces the reality (Leila's gone), and spreads the story on - the idea that he'll see Leila again. Pent is the mentor figure here. A figure representative of humanity as a whole - in truth, Pent has no idea if Matthew could see her again, either, but again, Pent is subtle. I admit, there is a bit of real-life faith worked into Pent's dialogue, but it wouldn't be a stretch, as Etruria as a whole is rather religious, and I see it doing no harm to characterization as a whole. The dragonfly line is exactly what it sounds like - do not fear the unknown. The "miracle" Matthew witnessed, even for a short time, of Leila,
In the second ending, ending B, Bramimond is the mentor figure. In a sense, Matthew, instead of embracing the reality, fully embraces his ideals. He grows by understanding that things do happen, and by accepting it, he is able to move on. The scene was heavily influenced by the central theme of the Count of Monte Cristo, which is just that - wait, and hope. Bramimond acts as an agent of the divine, in this sense, and brings Leila back to life for him for good, citing that it was at first, due to curiosity, but now, he would prefer to do something a little more worthwhile with his life - perhaps, do the same as some of his fellow heroes have done.
The second ending, then, is a miracle of another sort. It also echoes some of the ideas reflected in the first, but much more obvious. It's the exact type of mecha-esque happy endings that I would have liked.
I admit, it's a little too fast, but I could not have built it in the same way as I have built Beneath Azure Skies. In the end, whichever ending that you pick, it doesn't matter. In both cases, Matthew and Leila are reunited - whether in this physical world or the next, one thing is certain. They'll forever be in each other's hearts.