Yeah, sorry to keep you waiting this long just to get an interlude. It was my intention to finish writing my top ten games of 2022 countdown, which I'll begin posting on DeviantArt on February 1st, then return to write the next chapter, but when I returned and was reading through the last chapter to refresh my memory, I kind of realized I'd unintentionally wrote the perfect spot to end the arc and prepare to set in motion the final events that will culminate in the final war for Amestris.
One thing I wanted to avoid in this story as compared to Book of the Shadows especially was to tone down the use of Vine. Maybe this time, I can avoid reaching a point where I'm genuinely debating killing him, but only time will tell.
Yeah, that was something I was honestly considering. The last major thing that happened was him getting skewered with an ice spear, but I had no intention of having that be what killed him. The two ideas I was entertaining at the time was either to resolve his rivalry with Baldren by having them ultimately kill each other, or, alternatively, have Vine outright lose, dying to Baldren who would have later been defeated instead by Aliasse.
With the original well and truly abandoned now, left up really as little more then a reminder so I always remember where I've come from to reach where I am, those plans are more or less moot at this point, but while I'm not above writing badass moments for Vine any more then for other characters, he'd best not get to comfortable. I was divided on whether or not he even had a place in Re:Birth, but ultimately decided he offered an opportunity to break FMA from it's canonical events, so I gave myself another shot using him. His continued existence, however, hinges on whether or not I can avoid doing the bad Original Character thing with my Original Character. Hopefully, that's worked out so far, but I'd be curious to hear everyone else's thoughts on the matter.
You'll probably be pleased to learn, however, that I finally convinced myself to press the pillow down on that harem idea. I still stand by thinking it would be fun to write, but this isn't the story for it, especially given my aforementioned objective of deemphasising Vine.
Alright, I think I've rambled enough for one Interlude. I'll be working on a SA ALTERNATIVE story next, then the war for Amestris begins in earnest.
