Kind of funny the guest would mention that about Yukino. Isn't OreGairu being about people being more than meets the eye? She's not just a waifu, and she's not perfect either. And speaking of, I had this same problem over SB. Yukino's been disregarding her health for some time, as told in Michael's cutscene.
As for FILWTV... There's very little worldbuilding, tbh. Probably because it's a game world and we're supposed to see only what the player does, but in any case anyone that reads this story is not really missing out key elements. You wouldn't even recognize what I've introduced if I didn't point it out. But again, this has been covered over SB since the forum allows for more engaging interaction.
Cutscene: The Kingdom on Fire (Olivia Clockford)
The capital of the great Gran Flamm Kingdom… On fire. The situation could have been comical in how ironic the report sounded. Not only because being the heart of a whole country it should have been better protected, but because their whole shtick is supposed to be the noble flame carried by the Highland bloodline.
For someone like Olivia Clockford, second princess of the Merica kingdom, this news should've sparked joy or at least some form initiative. After all, it's not an everyday occurrence that their northern neighbors get such a fatal blow delivered right at their doorsteps. And in fact, the jubilation in her voice conveyed just that.
Except, deep within her, she could only cower with the strength she had left. That thing, though? It forced her smile to grow wider as the black bird that had perched itself on her head came down to get its treat.
"You're such a good boy, yes you are." The Other made her speak, Olivia not able to offer any sort of resistance. Her sense of self beginning to dissolve into what she knew would be an episode of unconsciousness.
When she discovered the Other possessing her, Olivia had done her best to keep it at bay. And she succeeded, at first.
With time, the Other began gaining strength. Whispering in her mind knowledge different from anything she knew or understood. It guided her to perform better and win even more favor from the king's subjects than even her eldest brother. Like a devil waiting for their opportunity to strike.
Even if Olivia had never truly lowered her guard, the Other still managed to get a hold of her body. The Other couldn't hold the command for long, at first. It wasn't until recently that It managed to exile Olivia to the corner of her mind It had resided for so long in.
Having begun a war within the country with no one knowing just made Olivia's fears stronger. In the end, her reliance in the Other to sort things out sealed the princess' fate. Trapped in a corner of her own soul where she could neither warn nor cry for help from someone outside. Imprisoned in her own body.
With no one the wiser.
"So Viscount Aguerel will be moving to Bandeaux? I see, I see. We'll be able to move forward sooner than expected." The black bird cawed at her. Olivia detested the sound, but now she could barely recognize it as the pet crow of the Other. Her strength leaving her so quickly would have instilled fear if her mind could recognize the fact "Greedy fellows are so easy to move around. Hey, hey. Olivia-chan? Did you contact him? That was quite the smart move!" Her cheer halted, waiting for a moment where Olivia had a glimpse of consciousness "Ah, guess not. Well. Whoever did must be pretty smart."
Disdain bled from her face with each of the Other's words. Her body moved and the crow opened its wings and moved to its place besides the bed. The Other threw herself onto the mattress. Apparently happy about something.
The small, juvenile giggles would've made Olivia's stomach turn in how awfully gross those were.
"Annnd… Well, the new Viscountess is one of a kind, huh." Olivia's diluted attention was picked. She had read the man's reports about a young girl that knew no rest and apparently wanted to usurp his power.
Still, the man was a noble. He played the game of smokes and mirrors and didn't really talk about it much in his letter. Saying that the girl was a non-factor and she wouldn't find out about his connection to the Merica kingdom.
But now that she not only had a title compared to his, but apparently the scope of her enterprising surpassed even his expectations he came begging for some sort of help to sort her out and escape to Bardeaux safely. The fact that the Other got her curiosity picked by the Viscount's information on the girl made Olivia shudder even in her half-unconscious state.
"Oh. My…" The Other's smile came as close as true excitement as she could muster. Olivia didn't know whether that'd be a good or bad thing.
Ah, who are we fooling? It's a bad thing.
"This is Yukino-chan!" The Other's jubilation bled into Olivia's consciousness. For some reason, the princess would have smiled if she was in control "My, my! Did you hear that, Olivia-chan? It's Yukino-chan! Remember? I told you about her!" Yes, all the time. The princess knew about that woman even if she hadn't meant to "Oh, is Christmas early this year? These are truly good news!"
The Other jumped out of the bed and rose her arm. The crow jumped onto it, and then to her shoulder.
"Of course we'll help!" Beginning to write, the Other sounded way more energetic than usual. Gross "You'll be just perfect cannon fodder to help Yukino-chan's goals!" The Other always claims being no sadist. But Olivia would like to differ. She got her personal guard killed during the civil war. Which needed a lot of cruelty since the war was fought in secret. Among the nobles, a war could be fought over a game of chess or even at a tea party.
The princess' outrage managed to win her some control. For a time. It still wasn't enough to kill herself so the Other wouldn't take over ever again.
Why do you say it out loud? Olivia's question didn't even make the other stop for a moment.
"I'm talking to you, silly." The Other chuckled "I know how lonely it is down there. Don't worry. I'll make you company for as long as it takes."
For as long as it takes what?
The Other didn't answer. Instead, she used Olivia's body to deliver the letter to the crow, to send it off towards the Gran Flamm kingdom. Those birds were bad omens, so it didn't surprise the princess the Other could tame them. What surprised her the most was the willingness of the military to take on her suggestions. Olivia already had standing as the "War Goddess", but for customs of thousands of years to be ignored was… Preposterous.
If this Yukino person has even half of the Other's knowledge and skills, then she's a true threat to the Merica kingdom. Someone who has to be erased off the map before Gran Flamm can wave her around like the tools of genocide the Other remembers from her otherworldly knowledge.
She has to… Push forward…!
Her body did not move an inch. The Other simply sat watching her bird of misfortune fly into the horizon. She didn't seem to notice Olivia fighting for control over her body.
"Now then!" The Other stood as Olivia wanted, went along out of her room and followed the halls and stairs until her direction did not push her off the palace's third floor "Time to see our boys. Don't you think?"
The Other led them to the stables. Massive buildings that resembled the place livestock lives in the Other's world. But instead of cows and pigs being tended to, huge creatures were locked behind shining cages of mineral composition.
"Ah, my princess!" The man that looked closer to elderly than to youth had the strength to grovel on the floor in spite of his thin and slouching body. He fixed his glasses once he stood back up with a manic expression of pure glee. Olivia knew him. A madman that had a fixation a bit too strong for demonic beasts. Of course he'd grovel, since the Other approved and financed his… Dreams.
"Good night! So, how are these good boys doing?" The Other offered a hand to shake. The man declined, though Olivia knew it wasn't out of respect but because he cherishes touching the beasts more.
"Amazingly! The Ebon Wolves already recognize the chain of command of the soldiers you sent my way. The breeding program is an absolute success, as per my lady's anticipation, but now they're…"
"I'm sorry." The Other shook her head, a bit amused "They already did this. What changed?"
"Ah! I forgot to send the memo!" The man's beard was wet with saliva. Olivia wished to go unconscious faster.
"That you did." The Other didn't sound angry. In fact, Olivia knew she wasn't expecting anything from the man. With this line of thinking, any progress at all came as a pleasant surprised "But I am here already, why not explain to me directly?"
"Right. This way, please." The man led her through the prisons of diamond and into the back door. Where half a dozen black wolves were playing around with armored knights. The men stood straight when they noticed Olivia's body, and she couldn't help marvel when the mutts sat down and rose a paw as if to salute "These are the spawns of the domesticated ebon creatures. Once the first were tamed, their strength began to recede with each passing generation."
"Until they were about as powerful as a mule." The Other nodded "These are still quite small compared to the original demonic creatures."
"Indeed." The madman nodded vigorously "That's because I bred them with ebon wolves of those who were unrulier yet still tame."
"So, they're reverse evolving?" The Other sounded bored, but still humored the man "And this is the result?"
"They are more powerful than the final product of fully tamed ebon creatures, milady." The man fixed his glasses with a manic expression "Yet they are as powerful as the ones three generations prior. My goal is to make them tough enough to breed with the original beasts."
"Ah." The Other clapped her hands "I see! Well, good thing they reproduce like hares." She chuckled a bit "When do you think we'll get the first samples?"
"Soon." The man exhaled a mouthful of breath "I'll… Make sure of it."
"Good. I'm planning on invading Gran Flamm, so we'll get grounds to test them out."
"Surely! But I doubt we can train them soon enough…" The man's excitement was picked by the creatures, who ran towards the two adults in happy yelps while the knights remained still.
"Ah, don't worry about it. You're not abandoning production of these, right?" The Other scratched behind the ears of one of the black wolf creatures. Its happiness told Olivia it wasn't aware of the Other's disdain for it, or for everything else at all. It obediently felt happy when its master gave it a bit of attention, like a dog.
The fact the Other's plan to tame demonic beasts succeeded made Olivia shudder mentally, as she couldn't do it physically.
And they were getting more shipped from Gran Flamm's borders?
"Of course not." The man chuckled like Olivia was being silly. The man was one of the few she wouldn't mind the Other getting killed. So the feeling was quite unpleasant "In fact. We might just be able to release the other beast types. They've not been as successful as the wolves, forgive me my lady, but at least we should be able to send them to maul our opponents instead of our own troops."
"Great, excellent. I knew I could count on you." The Other's hollow words made the man spark up. Olivia knew he felt no attraction to her, yet reacted so positively to the Other nonetheless. Olivia didn't get it, nor did she want to.
Olivia pushed out. Her soul gaining a bit of consciousness as she reached out to reconnected to her body. The Other kept talking to the man. Going through the other cages and what the man had to say. Greeting guards and keepers alike with no sign of any sort of strain. Olivia needed to push harder.
A spark in the dark made her mind clear out of the mist that swallowed it. She felt the Other strain to keep Olivia away from coming to the Light. The spot that would give her the control of her body.
The spark became stronger. Suddenly, Olivia felt like divine intervention finally answered her prayers and helped push for control. The Other kept acting like nothing happened, but Olivia felt the Other's mind wrestle with her for the Light. With the spark, Olivia won terrain ever so slowly, but gaining momentum. The Other chose to cut the visit short and retreated towards the castle.
Take that, bitch. Olivia made her stop. Getting one leg at a time, the Other's grip began to recede. Her face contorting when Olivia finally gained the ability to blink on command.
"Everyone…" She was so close to the guards. A single order would have the madman and the Other's machinations burned to the ground. A myriad of things would revert to normal. Olivia simply needed to come closer… To shout louder "Destroy… That bastard is…"
Olivia felt when the Other's grip on her body failed. She fell to the ground, caking her face and gowns in dirt and weeds. The noise alerted the guards, who quickly came to her aid.
"My princess! Are you unhurt?" Olivia had no time for that. She needed to tell them. Immediately!
"The beast project…" Olivia could barely breath, had it been so strenuous for her body to be so out of air?
"Milady?" The knight sounded perplexed, worried that she indeed got hurt. No matter, she needed to be fast.
"Burn it to the ground… I…" She took a lungful of air, almost coughing because of her own saliva. Her heart pounded in her chest as reminder of how little time she still got "It's the product of a demon!"
"Milady, I don't understand…" Gods! How could they?! "Milady…"
Olivia took the torch from the man's hand and half-walked, half-stumbled back into the breeding grounds. The guards' protests unheard. She didn't know if the Other would be able to retake control, but every second waster was a second that her only chance could be gone forever.
She called for the elementals, but they did not answer. Seems like they could recognize she wasn't the Other. No matter, she can chant.
Don't do it, silly. Ah! It's her! It's her again!
"Shut up. This ends now." Olivia gritted her teeth. The night air not even registering in the princess' mind "Your reign of terror ends tonight."
I'll get mad at you. Olivia knew the Other would be able to feel her shudder at those words. But so long she destroyed the projects… Well. The only thing to take from the Other would be her life.
But Olivia Clockford is a princess. She's always been ready to give her life for her country's sake.
Her left foot stopped.
"Don't be silly." Olivia couldn't even begin to feel panic when her moth opened. She wasn't back in the dark, yet her body stopped obeying her altogether "We're in this together, remember? The world cannot separate us." She turned around and gave the torch back to the guard. Saying she might have hit her head.
The World didn't take kindly being mocked by the Ravenous, but Olivia couldn't know that. She could only see her body act under the strings of someone else's hands, screaming for someone to realize and kill the Other.
Olivia became numb to the world.