u/RedDeathSwayOverAll

The two main characters of u/ConversationSea1684's new novel 'Wildfire' go head to head.

Amazing novel so far, world-building is great and the characters (especially Sigerson) surpassed my expectations. I would highly recommend checking it out if you haven't already, easily accessible through the pinned fan novels section for the sub.

I've tried to put some justifications next to my takes from what I can remember, so if you want me to try and explain my thoughts, or perhaps the author thinks I've misunderstood something, please let me know.

[The Elusive Detective VS The Harbinger of The Wildfire]

General Intelligence:

CPI) Sigerson (Eden memorisation + Bowers gamble)

VSI) Sigerson (Crime scene visualisation)

VCI) Sigerson >= (Letter decoding)

FRI) Sigerson (Towns Murder Reasoning)

LA) CGEW (Blight: Academic Narrative, highest national score multiple times/Sigerson: Eden learning, gambling learning)

Overall) Sigerson

Theory of Mind:

Cognitive) Sigerson (Crime scene recreations, Percy Enforcer concealment reasoning, Brook prescription reasoning)

Emotional) Blight (Fake Journalist reading, Knightley reading, Evelyn reading)

Reactive) CGEW (Blight: Towns blackmailing, Sigerson Crowne Hotel escape/Sigerson: Mayor framing to catch Brook, Bowers pressuring)

Overall) CGEW

EQ:

EU) Blight (Same as emotional TOM)

EP) CGEW (Blight: Police Journalist daughter conflict, Evelyn pride, Knightley patriotism reading/Sigerson: Percy Enforcer, Turner, Bowers, Elena, Harvey readings)

EE) Blight (Justice pursuit after Charlie's death, Mr Stone Mansion burning)

EM) Sigerson >= (Home raid, criminal status, theatre bomb threat, Thomas saving, Bowers cheating + threat of debt)

Overall) Blight

SQ:

Social Understanding) Blight >= (Rebellion incitement, crime proxy gathering)

Social Skills) Blight (Self-explanatory)

Social Integration) Sigerson >= (Eden integration, gambling integration)

Social Engineering) Blight >= (Theatre child suicide bombing, Crowne assassination attempt, fake journalist pressuring)

Leadership) Sigerson >= (Investigation leading, Turner and Harvey leadership)

Charisma) Blight (Self-explanatory)

Persuasion) Blight >= (Fake Journalist suicide persuasion, Rook representative persuasion, Knightley train murder persuasion)

Negotiation) CGEW (Blight: Wensworth company contract, lookout negotiation, landlord 60 sovereign negotiation/Sigerson: Bowers bet raising negotiation, Percy negotiation, Turner and Harvey negotiation)

Overall) Blight

AC:

Stress Tolerance) Sigerson (same as EM)

Pain Tolerance) Sigerson >= (Freezing river endurance)

Cognitive Discipline) Sigerson >= (Brook arrest planning)

Composure) Blight >= (Interrogation composure, Charlie death composure)

Perseverance) CGEW (Blight: Mr Stone takedown pursuit, rebellion incitement/Sigerson: Blight takedown pursuit, Enforcer evasion)

Overall) Sigerson

Thinking:

Convergent) Sigerson (Forced boiler explosion thinking, Towns Murder thinking, Blight as mastermind)

Divergent) Sigerson >= (Theatre bombing prevention, Harvey and Dexter hiring, Elena seduction for info gathering)

Linear) Sigerson (Barn murders thinking, Towns Murder thinking, Grock tracking thinking)

Lateral) Sigerson (Brook glasses trap, seeing through locked room Towns Murder)

Critical) Sigerson (Bowers cheating identification, boiler coin bending, Whist game cheating identification)

Applicative) Sigerson >= (Footsteps stride profiling, dust displacement profiling, hotel room setup)

Holistic) Blight (Revalty and Ecclesia war initiation, rebellion planning)

Metacognition) Sigerson >= (Simply more thoughts shown atp)

Overall) Sigerson

Reasoning:

Deductive) Sigerson (Letter decoding, blood splatter deductions; neither really have too many deductive feats)

Inductive) Sigerson (Barn murders reasoning, forced boiler explosion, Whist cheating, Bowers cheating etc)

Abductive) Sigerson (Airgun reasoning, accidental crate drop reasoning)

Abstract) Sigerson (Blight wider conspiracy and mastermind)

Overall) Sigerson

Manipulation:

Direct) Blight

Indirect) Blight (Rebellion incitement, proxy murders, Brook location trap)

Emotional) Blight

Individual) Blight (Custodian train murders manipulation)

Mass) Blight (Charity donations to protect image, coal monopoly through Wensworth contract, Revalty Vs Ecclesia war, Enforcer distrust)

Logical) Blight >= (Towns locked room murder,)

Overall) Blight

Deception:

Misdirection) Sigerson >= (Hotel room setup, Mayor framing)

Concealment) Blight (Towns assassination, proxy crimes, Mr Stone wallet theft disguise)

Fabrication) Blight (Fake Journalist suicide fabrication, boiler explosion fabrication)

Bluffing) Blight

Acting Skills) Blight

Overall) Blight

Strategy:

Effectiveness) Blight (Mr Stone wallet theft, Mr Stone mansion infiltration, Wensworth contract)

Efficiency) Sigerson (Intentional exposure strategy, Hotel room setup, bet raising strategy)

Alignment) CGEW (Blight: Home raid trap/Sigerson: Brook arrest trap)

Complexity) Blight (Brook location trap)

Resilience) Blight (Sigerson elimination)

Shielding) Blight (Proxy murders)

Overall) Blight

Planning:

Aim) Blight

Contingencies) Sigerson >= (Brook Arrest)

Coverage) Blight (Revalty VS Ecclesia war, Ecclesia politician assassination framing)

Versatility) Blight

Intricacy) Blight (Brook location trap)

Invincibility) Blight

Overall) Blight

Insight:

Observation) Sigerson (Coin bending observation, door fibres, Eden Observation)

Perception) Sigerson (Forced boiler explosion, intentional fireplace message identification, Blight-Rook coded letters)

Pattern Recognition) Sigerson (Bowers cheating fingerprints, Theatre bomb threat identification)

Analysis) Sigerson

Intuition) Sigerson (Suspicion of Blight being mastermind since Boiler incident)

Cold Reading) Sigerson >= (Harvey reading, Percy reading)

Overall) Sigerson

Foresight:

Anticipation) Blight >=

Prediction) Blight (Prediction of Sigerson solving barn case, Eden travel prediction, Crowne Hotel prediction)

Trap Setting) Blight >=

Overall) Blight

Field Skills:

Information Gathering) Sigerson (Crime scenes, Cooper interrogation, Turner connections)

Information Control) Sigerson >=

Overall) Sigerson

Adaptability:

Mental Flexibility) Sigerson

Situational Awareness) Sigerson >= (Grock awareness, Blight involvement, Enforcer movements, Evelyn mental state, Harvey cunning)

Strategic Adaptation) Sigerson

Trap Evasion) Sigerson (Grock hotel evasion, Crowne assassin identification, Eden + Alms travel methods)

Overall) Sigerson

Overall Tactics) Blight

Overall Countering) Blight >=

Overall Counteraction) Sigerson

Feat Framework:

MAC) Sigerson (same as situational awareness)

OC) Sigerson (Self-explanatory)

Scenario Width) Sigerson

Novelty) CGEW

Overall) Sigerson

Overall Outcome) Sigerson High – Very High Diff

Maybe a little bit unfair since I think Blight is due to recieve some pretty significant feats in the upcoming chapters, but while the opportunity is fresh I thought I would be nice to start up some discussion. Once again, massive W for ConversationSea 🙏🌹

Almost forgot to post a doc here again smh 😔

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VgPTfBgLTDyX50E4CpNGKwx0UIyz05JglKZUd0LNzJQ/edit?usp=drivesdk

This goat is probably the second most important character (behind Baku obviously) in the first half of Usogui. Easily the most versatile character in the series whether it be fighting or outsmarting or aura-maxxing. Guiding Baku towards using the L-File to obtain 50 Billion Yen for STL, the entire setup with Sutegama + his fake gamble with Fukurou, his manipulation of Kuramagumi and his traps during TOK all showcase his insane potential and planning capabilities. If Lalo had Billy during Protoporos, I dread to imagine what the Protoporos Nightmare arc would be like then 💀

Oh yeah Ideal Forever 💎🙏

This took a bit longer than I expected, but it's all worth it for the Caracal upscale 🙏

[The Kaiser VS His Most Beautiful Diamond]

General Intelligence: PSI) Lalo >= WMI) Lalo VSI) Lalo VCI) Lalo FRI) Lalo >= LA) Lalo G-Factor) Overall) Lalo

Theory of Mind: Cognitive) Billy >= Emotional) Lalo Reactive) Lalo >= Overall) Lalo

EQ: EU) Lalo EP) Lalo >= EE) Lalo EM) Lalo Overall) Lalo

SQ: Social Understanding) Lalo Social Skills) Lalo Social Integration) Lalo Social Engineering) Lalo Leadership) Lalo Charisma) Lalo Persuasion) Lalo Negotiation) Lalo >= Overall) Lalo

AC: Stress Tolerance) Lalo >= Pain Tolerance) Billy Cognitive Discipline) Lalo Composure) Lalo Perseverance) CGEW Overall) Lalo >=

Thinking: Convergent) Lalo Divergent) Lalo Linear) Lalo Lateral) Lalo >= Critical) Lalo >= Applicative) Billy >= Holistic) CGEW Metacognition) Lalo Overall) Lalo

Reasoning: Deductive) Lalo >= Inductive) Lalo Abductive) Lalo Abstract) Lalo Overall) Lalo

Manipulation: Direct) Lalo Indirect) Billy >= Emotional) Lalo Individual) Lalo Mass) Lalo >= Logical) Lalo Overall) Lalo

Deception: Misdirection) CGEW Concealment) Billy >= Fabrication) Billy Bluffing) Lalo Acting Skills) Lalo >= Overall) CGEW

Strategy: Effectiveness) CGEW Efficiency) Billy Alignment) Lalo >= Complexity) Billy >= Resilience) Lalo >= Shielding) Billy Overall) Billy >=

Planning: Aim) Billy >= Contingencies) Billy Coverage) Lalo Versatility) Lalo Intricacy) Lalo >= Invincibility) CGEW Overall) Lalo >=

Insight: Observation) Lalo Perception) Lalo >= Pattern Recognition) CGEW Analysis) Lalo >= Intuition) CGEW Cold Reading) Lalo >= Overall) Lalo

Foresight: Anticipation) Billy >= Prediction) CGEW Trap Setting) Billy >= Overall) Billy >=

Field Skills: Information Gathering) Billy Information Control) Billy Overall) Billy

Adaptability: Mental Flexibility) Lalo Situational Awareness) Lalo >= Strategic Adaptation) Lalo >= Trap Evasion) Billy Overall) Lalo

Overall Tactics) Lalo >=

Overall Countering) Lalo

Overall Counteraction) Lalo

Feat Framework: MAC) Lalo OC) Lalo Scenario Width) Lalo >= Novelty) Lalo Overall) Lalo

Overall Outcome) Lalo High - Very High Diffs (Both annihilate Sutegama)

Billy Craig Doc:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VgPTfBgLTDyX50E4CpNGKwx0UIyz05JglKZUd0LNzJQ/edit?usp=drivesdk

Deku Transformation Strategy:

In his Deku form, Link is only recognised as a child by the guards of Clock Town, so is unable to leave within the First Three Days cycle. Furthermore, in order to confront Majora on top of the Clock Tower, Link would have to use a Deku flower given his small proportions. However, the only one nearby is owned by a Deku businessman, who would only give his place up for a Moon Tear, a very rare item that can only be accessed via the Astral Observatory, which in itself is blocked off on both sides by the Bomber Kids group and and large metal gate surrounding the perimeter.

As such, even within the first cycle, Link is forced to befriend and integrate himself into the Bomber Kids group to gain access to the observatory and reach Majora to retrieve his Ocarina; should Link fail to do so (and also if he fails to recover the Great Fairy and regain his magic, he can't attack Majora anyways), he is trapped with no means to prevent the Moon from crashing into Termina.

[Fabrication, trap setting, mass manipulation, prediction, VSI, WMI, anticipation, mass manipulation, individual manipulation, planning aim, planning contingencies, planning invincibility, strategy efficiency, abductive reasoning, info control, divergent thinking]

Area Isolation Planning:

Majora uses its power to influence the four regions of Termina in distinct ways that would make them more difficult to traverse. Majora's aim is to cause as much internal strife as possible, as seen from Monkey Framing at the swamp (tbf the monkey could speak English so Majora isn't completely a fraud), or the Pirate-Zora conflict at Great Bay that was instigated by Majora.

Majora's core influence over the swamp area is poisoning the waters, making traversal difficult especially for the Link. Furthermore, Majora assaulted one of the Witch sisters that runs the boat cruise for the swamp and drained her energy, leaving her abandoned in the lost woods near the potion shop. As such, it is nigh-impossible for Link to reach the Deku Palace on his own. Majora also anticipated that the Deku Princess would try and enter the Woodfall Temple with the help of the monkeys to try and purify the waters, only for the princess to be abducted, resulting in the Deku King framing the entire situation on the monkey that accompanied the princess instead of helping to access the Temple, concealing the existence of the Sonata of Awakening needed to access the Temple after the monkey is captured.

For the mountains, the entrance to the area is blocked off by ice, requiring Link to possess the bow and arrow to pass through. The Goron Village itself has its movements restricted in that the Gorons struggle to move through the intense cold. An additional effect of the cold weather is the freezing of the weapon's forge, which prevents Link from upgrading his sword until finding spring water from Darmani's grave, which can only be found using the Lense of Truth hidden in an isolated cave away from the village.

In the Great Bay, the murkiness of the waters and infestation of sea snakes makes it impossible for the Zora tribe to contact the rest of Termina. The only reason Link was able to learn about the events in Zora's domain was through Mikau, who by coincidence washed up on the shore of the Great Bay after being attacked by the Pirates. Additionally, Great Bay is only reachable by horseback, and since the beginning of the game Epona has been abducted and placed in Romani Ranch, which in itself is another strategy.

And finally, in Ikana kingdom, the upper village is only accessible via hookshot, which is an item concealed within one of the temples. Should Link get past this obstacle, the route to Ikana Castle is locked behind the labyrinth underneath the well. As a result of Majora's curse on reviving the dead in Ikana, Link must obtain the Gibdo mask from healing Pamela's father, whom Majora has turned insane after drawing him towards research of the Gibdos in the canyon.

[Tactics, anticipation, info gathering, info control, concealment, mass manipulation, individual manipulation, indirect manipulation, situational awareness, EU, planning versatility, planning contingencies, planning coverage, planning intricacy, strategy alignment, misdirection, VSI, WMI]

Epona Abduction Strategy:

Epona (Link's horse) is abducted by Majora very early on into the game, with him bluffing about killing Epona to get a reaction out of Link. Majora then takes Epona to Romani Ranch and blocks the path to the ranch off with a boulder, one that can only be broken with either a powder keg, or by letting a Goron break is open over the three days. A powder keg is a high power explosive that can only be purchased after receiving a use permit from Biggoron in Goron village after a competency trial, which in itself can't be carried out until Link defeats Goht in Snowhead Temple.

Simply put, there is very little chance for Link to access Romani Ranch within the first three day cycle except for on the Third Day. Next is the involvement of Romani, and her abduction by the 'Aliens' (Hal reference) if Link doesn't protect the ranch sufficiently. In order to retrieve Epona, Link must learn Epona's song from Romani. The problem with this is that, assuming Link cannot access the powder keg, Romani is abducted and has her memories erased, leaving her in a disoriented state on the third day and this being unable to teach Epona's song to Link.

Given Majora's knowledge and overall awareness over Termina, it is very likely that Majora was aware of the 'Aliens' that visit the ranch annually, meaning it predicted the entire Alien invasion and how Clock Town would respond to blocking off the ranch, timing things perfectly such that Link would have wait until defeating Goht before he could access Epona, which severely limits his progress throughout Termina, and prevents access to seashore, linking to Majora's best Plan of Great Bay Temple Concealment, which I'll either make a separate analysis on just dedicate a section to it in the overall feats doc.

[Bluffing, concealment, tactics, strategy alignment, strategy shielding, strategy effectiveness, strategy efficiency, strategy versatility, info gathering, info control, prediction, anticipation, mass manipulation, indirect manipulation, logical manipulation, planning coverage, planning contingencies, perception, pattern recognition, trap setting, misdirection, abstract reasoning]

Screw it, I'm just gonna analyse random characters I like now, and even if they aren't SCD material, I will make them be.

Majora is a major antagonist from the very niche indie gem series called 'The Legend of Zelda', with this particular installment aptly named 'Majora's Mask'. I am praying at least a few people are familiar with it, imo best atmosphere in a video game OAT.

The basic premise of the game is that you're trapped in a three day time cycle revolving around the Moon slowly approaching Termina (the land name) and eventually crashing into it and wiping out all life there. Majora takes the form of (guess what) a mask, that possesses a young Skull Kid and allows him to wreak havoc onto Termina.

I'll probably make a full game analysis one day, but this just Majora's overall plan involving the Moon and Skull Kid for now.

Host Seeking Strategy:

For the entire time that The Happy Mask Salesman travels around Hyrule and Termina, Majora was actually aware of its surroundings, and merely concealed it's evil (proof for this is that Inside the Moon, the Moon Children took on the appearance of the mask salesman, suggesting that Majora is imprinted upon by it's bearers; furthermore, only after Majora's Wrath is defeated does the salesman note that the evil has disappeared from the mask).

At the boundary between Hyrule and Termina, while the mask salesman was travelling, he was ambushed by the Skull Kid. Majora manipulated Skull Kid to put on the mask, meaning that Majora read Skull Kid's insecurities, troubled past and corruptible nature before he even put on the mask, determining him to be an ideal candidate for a puppet. As such, Majora had essentially been using The Mask Salesman as a vector to search for vulnerable hosts while concealing its own malice.

[Concealment, cold reading, EP, indirect manipulation, individual manipulation, strategy effectiveness, strategy efficiency, strategy shielding, prediction, tactics]

Giant Sealing:

Majora understood Skull Kid's troubled relationship with the giants, knowing that while he was vengeful towards them, the giants could also serve to break Skull Kid out of Majora's control if they appealed to his emotions and their friendship. In order to avoid this, Majora sealed each giant in their respective area of Termina. This also served a double purpose: the giants are the only beings that could hold up the Moon and prevent Majora's Moonfall plan to wipe out Termina, so by sealing them away, it is essentially impossible to free all giants within the 3 days Time Limit since Link arrives, so Majora's Moonfall plan would theoretically be impossible to stop if Link didn't have time travel.

[EU, planning aim, planning invincibility, planning coverage, planning intricacy, strategy shielding, strategy resilience, indirect manipulation, tactics, anticipation, trap evasion, situational awareness]

Moonfall Plan:

Majora is a sadistic, childish creature which delights in the suffering of others. Majora's aim by gradually causing the Moon, warped into a disturbing human face, to crash into Clock Town is to induce hysteria throughout Termina. This effectively creates mass panic and internal conflict, particularly within Clock Town, and brings out the individual fears of its residents (i.e revealing Swordmaster's cowardly nature and fear of death, causing him to hide away during the final hours).

As discussed before, this plan is essentially impossible to stop, and by creating such a panic and state of disarray in Clock Town, evacuation orders are heavily delayed and the incoming Moon is even denied by the Builders until it is too late to escape. Majora also primarily lets Skull Kid control its actions during the first two days, acting as a prankster as normal to conceal the true power of the mask.

Majora also has the ability to possess the Moon, which proves effective even against the strength of the Four Giants, despite Link theoretically having no way to free all of the giants in time, meaning Majora specifically chose this plan to ensure his victory even against magical interference. When necessary, Majora can abandon its host when they begin to resist the mask and operate on its own agenda.

[Planning aim, planning coverage, planning invincibility, planning contingencies, strategy alignment, strategic adaptation, EU, EE, mass manipulation, indirect manipulation, emotional manipulation, social engineering, social understanding, fabrication, prediction, acting skills, concealment, lateral thinking]

Understanding of Skull Kid:

As seen from Inside the Moon, the personality of the host imprints heavily on Majora itself, meaning that Majora adapts its own behaviour to form a more cohesive pair with its host. While disconnected from Skull Kid, Majora is able to represent different aspects of his psyche through the Moon Children, asking questions to Link about the true meaning of friendship, morality, what a being is beyond their mask.

Majora plays on Skull Kid's immature mind and feelings of alienation from others, also addressing Link in the matter, perceiving his precociousness through his resolve and the fact that he too, has never been able to live out a comfortable childhood.

[EU, EE, EP, mental flexibility, psychology, metacognition, direct manipulation, emotional manipulation, individual manipulation, analysis]

It is unclear how much of Majora's influence comes from supernatural sources, or from its own merits, so take this with a grain of salt. As such, I wouldn't consider this even in the top 5 of Majora schemes, with his manipulation and foresight of the dynamics in each area, with his Great Bay Temple concealment strategy being the best imo, and involving minimal supernatural manipulation of the people involved.

Hopefully this sub has a few Zelda fans who will appreciate this, Majora actually has really solid potential if analysed properly.