A sad farewell

 Dear Arryn and Barbara,

 

               I am sorry I cannot follow your characters’ journey any more.  I am too plagued by the thoughts that every time you will be together, you will be ripped apart once more for Heaven knows how long, through some hellish storm or temptation.  I can’t watch the show any more, it’s too painful.  But I will always treasure the memories.  The day Yang told Blake she’d save her a dance and Blake accepted stirred something in me, like I could tell it was the start of something special.  And throughout Seasons 4 and 5, I saw the little and not-so-little hints they were aching to be together once more, from even Yang looking forlornly at a stack of books, Blake wanting to be alone and reflect on the hurt she blamed herself for, Yang, the greatest badass I know, reduced to tears at admitting her loneliness to Blake calling out Yang’s name amongst all the combatants in the room, it felt spelled out, you belonged together, no one else in the series had such a commitment.  Ilia also rose, becoming another icon for the LGBTQ+ community, voiced by Caeda/Lucy Heartfilia/Makoto Niijima herself; Cherami Leigh.  This would be the first of two times I would see her butt heads with Tara Platt, but more on that when it’s appropriate.  Then season 6, the “I’ll protect you moment,” where the depth of the feelings were first touched on, seeing the first actual openly LGBTQ+ couple in Saphron and Terra, and the triumphant moment of Protecting Each Other, defeating Adam and embracing in love, finally confirming years of speculation.  After the next season, when I saw them echo a lesbian couple from my congregation, Blake’s Mom, Tara Platt, added more fuel to this fire by playing one of the first openly LGBTQ+ Nintendo Characters, the lone surviving Emperor’s Daughter from a twisted “experiment” to see if two crests would make a better leader, Edelgard Von Hresvelg.  Playing the Black Eagles route, I saw that behind her apparent ruthlessness is a sad little girl trying to make a fair world and life the childhood that was robbed from her.  Only the protagonist, Byleth, can grant her this, and I chose a woman protagonist.  Much like Bumbleby, they were two hard-fighting young women trying to make the world better for the whole, relying on their friends for support and needing each other.  The split of the team last season was painful, every week I would find the little joys, but ache, hoping Yang and Blake would be together again.  That embrace made me cry jubilantly.  Two weeks later, I was told Yang was cast into an infinite abyss, despite Blake’s best efforts.  I was destroyed.  That the reunion would be so brief and there would be probably a whole season, maybe more, before things could be made right…it was too much to bear.  I can’t go through another story arc of pain, knowing another similar arc could be right around the corner.  I’m sorry.  I have to leave.  I will play with Mii Fighters based off Yang and Blake in Smash Bros. Ultimate and the characters proper in BlazBlue CrossTag Battle, but I can’t go through endless, painful, story arcs where you’re separate.  So I have to leave.

 

Good luck in your future and with your series,

               Daniel S.