[Report This]Date: December 08 2023 9:05 AM Title: The Temple of Serenity
Finally! I've been waiting for three-and-a-half chapters for that big reveal, but it was well worth the wait.
So Gloria Chesterfield just asks for her big scoops. I can see now why the Nekos haven't been able to catch her yet!
But seriously, it does make drill home the point that every cat-girl not named Emilia is too focused on the "big picture" and therefore misses some of the most obvious things. That particular theme has been a fun one throughout this story, especially with Yukia.
Not only that, but it also makes somebody like Charboneau, who's worthy of gracing Natasha's memory, much more intriguing simply because of that fact. So while the silliness is fun, it was great to see that theme inverted to the benefit of the larger story.
I also really found Natasha's reaction to Emilia's "betrayal" really interesting. More specifically, I found myself comparing her order to kill Emilia with the archivist's "order" to kill Natasha. While we had the benefit of the narrative coming from Emilia's point of view during the latter, seeing Natasha without that benefit raised some questions as to exactly how she feels about it.
Emilia obviously didn't want to initiate a plan to kill her princess, but she was resolute in that decision because she felt as though it had to be done. I kind of got that same vibe from Natasha. It was just the little things: her slight hesitation at being able to stomach Emilia being "gone." the need she has to speak with the archivist one last time before the deed is done, and even the fact that she wants Charboneau to kill Emilia (I kind of thought she would want to do it herself, especially if they could replicate her little blood experiment from a couple chapters ago).
But whereas Emilia thinks Natasha has to go for the sake of her people, I do think Natasha's motivation for wanting Emilia dead is more selfish, i.e. she's going to get in the way of the princess's plan to eat all the humans. But still, I was drawn to this comparison as I was reading that scene.
I also enjoyed the bits of foreshadowing sprinkled into this chapter before the big reveal that Emilia is the reason Mika couldn't remember what happened to his parents or the reason for his connection to the South American temple and Chloé.
The way Emilia compliments Oklahoma for remembering what she had erased from her memory, that it would normally take a person years to do that, seemed like a nice little throwaway line at the time, a kind of nod to Oklahoma's grit and determination but ultimately meaningless in the grand scheme of things. But that mention of her power's longevity seemed much more relevant after the big reveal (I mean, it took a literal snake goddess for him to actually remember).
Then there's the way it was casually dropped by Natasha that Emilia was there when Mika's parents were killed. Of course, it's not directly stated at that point that this is when his parents were killed, but it's pretty easy to draw that conclusion from simple context and what we already know about his parents. But the fact that Emilia was present for this life-altering event for Mika was told to us so seamlessly that I didn't really think much of it at the time.
These two things combined helped to make me feel like an idiot for not figuring out Emilia's role in Mika's memory problems sooner. Personally, I enjoy it when works of fiction can make me feel that way (I really like drawing back to previous parts of a story and seeing them in a new light), so I really appreciate the effort you put into not only working those things in but also finding unassuming ways of doing so.
As for the twist itself, while it isn't quite earth-shattering, it's still pretty relevant and meaningful. More importantly, the timing for it is perfect, in my opinion. I think most people would have been tempted to put this off until later in the story, after Emilia had ingratiated herself into the group and formed a bond with them, as this would heighten the drama around the the reveal and create more conflict within Mika and Chloé.
However, I don't think this would have worked here. First, it's been established over the last few chapters that Emilia isn't good at this sort of thing, so it wouldn't have been believable that she could convince Mika and pals to trust and befriend her while keeping these secrets from them. Second, Mika and Chloé have shown themselves to be pretty smart people. Sure, Chloé can be a bit naive at times because of her limited social interactions (and, you know, the fact that she's not human), but she doesn't seem the type to be easily manipulated, either. And Mika has been pretty sharp throughout the story, so suddenly falling for Emilia's clumsy efforts to hide the fact that she's a cat person who has already manipulated his memories would seem out of character for him (I like that he caught Emilia's slip up about her mapping out the trees when they existed but wasn't quite sure what the slip was. I mean, I don't think it would have been normal for him to assume that she was immortal).
I also like the reveal taking place now, before they all buddy up, because we get to see more "honest' reactions from Mika and Chloé about it. Instead of Mika dealing with a sense of betrayal and not knowing what to think about Emilia, he's clearly pissed and we immediately know exactly what he thinks of her in that moment. I think seeing the hypocrisy in Mika, who has been a monolith for every life being important and not on the menu, suddenly finding comfort in the thought of Chloé eating Emilia speaks more to his emotions than any direct words could. And it's also good to see him fail to uphold his own convictions, if only briefly, in such a trying moment; characters without flaws are boring, and while Mika hasn't been flawless throughout this story, this moment of weakness makes him easier to relate to, as we all have those moments.
But Chloé's reaction was also pretty interesting. I wouldn't say she's quite pro-Emilia at this point, but I feel like she actually moved a little more that way after the vision. She becomes the voice of reason, reminding Mika that Emilia saved his life and expressing her belief that Emilia legitimately wants to help them. It seems like not that long ago Chloé would have jumped at the opportunity to decide Emilia was bad just for being there and wanted to eat her, especially if Mika was ready to give his blessing for once. Now, she's able to actually recognize that Emilia seemed upset about the death of Mika's parents and that she saved Mika from sharing their fate, which I think she probably actually appreciates.
This moment showed some real growth from her, and it was set up really well with her development over the course of the past few chapters. Not only that, but I loved the role reversal here, with Chloé having to talk Mika down for once. It plays into that character growth quite nicely.
Well, I've droned on for a while already, but I did want to briefly note that the trust theme tied into these temple tests has been emphasized really well so far, particularly the truly unique vore scene in this chapter.
Author's Response:
Yes the temple tests are a series of trust falls, combined with some tests of will for the Naga you might say.
Emilia and Natasha's falling out is several thousand years in the making at this point, and even if they're no longer friends I don't think you could know even an enemy that long and be totally impartial to their passing.
As far as Chloe, Emilia, and Mika, they're obviously not totally open to her yet, but the vision does prove that, whatever else, she's not a monster. If anything it adds a certain amount of credibility to her claims that she wants to help.