Instruments you play?

[Arynielle]

But he's so funny. XD And the conversations between him and Rolf are so cute.

[P-chan]

Not Kurth, Dhesigna or something. There, I attempted to spell it. >.>;;

...And I also hate Shinon. >.>;;

[Arynielle]

Bwahah, am I the only one who at least likes him even partially? I really don't think he's as bad as he seems. He's... just a jerk but so are many of the guys I meet in RL.

[Jukka]

But Shinon's an uber jerk.

[Arynielle]

He is an uber jerk but underneath that layer of jerk, I don't think he's that bad.

[Jukka]

Hm I have to disagree. He was a total jerk when Ike t ook over in PoR, and then he hates laguz, which is just stupid. And he still hates laguz. And. Bleh.

[P-chan]

The moment I decided he was a jerk was when he abandoned Ike after he took over Greil's Mercenaries. He hasn't gotten my respect back since. :<

[Jukka]

Yeah. I mean, we probably just feel that way cause he's the main character of the game. I guess in real life, I'd probably feel the same way...but I don't think I would totally abandon.

[Arynielle]

Well, Shinon never respected Ike as a commander. Neither did Gatrie. Wouldn't you leave if you didn't respect someone as a commander? Why fight under someone who you don't respect? The circumstances were quite bad, I understand, but if you didn't believe that your commander was noteworthy or even adequate, why stay?

And the laguz thing... there're lots of characters who hate the laguz just because. I think that it's a cultural thing that takes getting used to. If you were raised to think "OMG vicious sub-human eww I'm going to die!" then you're not going to get rid of that culture split for some time. I mean, Shinon doesn't like most people much less laguz.

I think that Shinon does have his quirks. I mean, first of all, he's more than kind to Rolf. He's the one who taught him archery for no other reason than the fact that Rolf wanted to learn. There's merit in that. Also, that one scene where Shinon makes a bow for Aimee and then refuses payment? He told Aimee to give the blue gem to Ike which is quite the sum of money. I think he's antisocial and apathetic in some situations but he's not entirely bad.

[Jukka]

Hm...you bring up good points.

I'd want to see how the commander, who I don't think should be in that position, actually handles himself on the field. Yes, I'm aware that Ike had command over Shinon in a chapter or two before Greil died and he took over, but it's different to try out being in charge and actually having to be in charge. I don't know if that sounds weird or not..? Like, if you're trying something out, you're bound to be kinda nervous to push the limits of your new power because you know you still have someone above. When you know you're the highest up though, you have more confidence in what you can do. This is all how I would feel of course, so I would see how he handled himself with Greil dead.

I don't know too much about Shinon...was he raised in Daein? Or Crimea? Because if he was raised in Daein that could explain his laguz hatred. But if he was born in Crimea..I dunno. I know there's hatred against them in that country as well, but not everyone would be raised to be like "kill subhuman!"

I saw the blue gem as apology - look how kick ass Ike turned out to be. Shinon was stupid for leaving XD But yeah..he does act oddly kind at times.

[Arynielle]

But that's all personal input-- your personal input and you're nothing like Shinon. [Which is a good thing. XD] Shinon's self-interested, stubborn and totally narrow-minded. He wouldn't think like that. When Greil died, what went through his mind? The person that Shinon possibly respected most in the world is now gone. Greil's son is inexperienced and, in some ways, very rash. What good would it have done him to stay around? He could easily be killed by Ike's lack of honed instruction. I would think that he simply didn't want to see the legacy die, Greil's legacy. Greil was an amazing, a respected man. With him gone and his son running the mercenary group, would its reputation be ruined? Very possibly. I don't think Shinon wanted to see that; he wanted to move on.

Actually, we don't know that. The only point of view we had from Crimea of laguz was Princess Elincia's, and as we all know, it was her own uncle who had petitioned the fair treatment of laguz. We do know that many opposed it which means that there is hatred which exists in Crimea. Even in Radiant Dawn, there were a good amount of nobles who didn't like her policies with the laguz. And culture varies from town to town, city to city, family to family. We don't know where Shinon grew up, although I do assume that it was Crimea. People don't go hating whole races for no reason-- I believe that racism isn't necessarily a choice. There are those who hold on to the values they are raised with whether logical or not. For example, I know that there are many people in the South who still hold grudges against African Americans. Logical? No. Supported by facts? No. Morally right? Of course not. Values and beliefs are simply passed down.

Shinon leaving wasn't very welcoming but I don't believe it was a stupid course of action coming from his stance. It was an investment. I think that he was looking out for himself [he's not the most selfless man after all XD]. He lived off of this mercenary work. If Ike didn't turn out to be as BA as he did, then Shinon could have possibly lost his life, money, honor, everything. The blue gem may have very well been an apology; in fact, I agree with you on that. Either way, it was an act of kindness and generosity, yes?

I still view Shinon as a kind of softie with a callous exterior, especially by the way he treats Rolf. XD It's so cute.

[Jukka]

I know that was all my personal input, I was just saying all that because that's why I don't like Shinon XD But yes, with his personality your explanation obviously fits just right.

And yes, also true about beliefs being passed down and such, but hey I believe in things my parents don't. Then again, that's me XD Still, you'd think time with Greil would kinda..mend the whole hate against laguz thing. O.o

And I suppose that Shinon has his nice moments, but I only think that because he feels bad that he abandoned. Although it really does still baffle me that he ever taught Rolf anything. O.o

[Arynielle]

What can I say? He's a self-interested man. XD

I don't think Greil ever talked about laguz. Remember when Ike returned to Gallia, he didn't even know how to address them. He even used "sub-human" at first before Ranulf told him otherwise. I really doubt that Greil did anything to mend the relations between laguz and beorc.

And now that I think about it, I don't believe that Shinon is as racist as he seems to be. If you've ever read any of his support conversations with Janaff, you'll realize that he actually came to respect him by support conversation A. Shinon doesn't even respect some beorc so there's no way he'd be pleasant to the laguz population in general.

Well, Ike proved him wrong which probably annoyed him more than anything. XD Against all odds, Ike prevailed. [I've never really liked Ike though 'cause he's got a personality comparable to that of a cardboard box. >.>] You're right; I think Shinon was feeling apologetic. He would never say that he was sorry though so he did the next best thing. It takes decency to apologize, regardless of what form that apology comes in. The gift seemed sincere enough to me.

Shinon really likes Rolf. Their support conversations are entertaining, and their last one was really touching.

[Jukka]

Wow, I never even thought about that, when Ike said sub-human. Really good point! That's odd that Greil never would have said anything...maybe because he didn't want Ike to know that he was from Gallia? O.o Who knows.

And I wouldn't know..I never used Shinon or Janaff..I'll have to go look up the convos though. Those are always fun to read.

And it looks like I'll have to read Rolf and Shinon's too. *goes to gamefaqs to read*

[Arynielle]

Greil confuses me. Too bad he died. >.> There's a lot about him I'd like to know.

XD I love reading random conversations. I just recently read Zihark's and Brom's. That was hilarious! Now we all know where Meg comes in! XD