Guild Wars 2

I mean they’re a race of plant people that reproduce through a giant tree. Clearly they aren’t the ones getting pregnant or responsible for their own life cycle in anyway so would they even have the parts? I doubt it.

So essentially they have no need for attraction, probably don’t have the equipment, or really ANY instincts that would explain them needing to pair off or distinguish between a new friend and a new “friend”. They might have the concept of an absolute best buddy that they’d go to the ends of the earth for but I’m not sure I’d call that romance. So why is Romance such a big part of their story routes?

So I think I’ve said this before but there is only a small percentage of the human population that’s susceptible to the sort of brainwashing that changes ones entire allegiance and ideology. Sure on those people it has a 100% success rating but still. Only a very small percentage of the population even under torture are susceptible to completely changing who they are. They might do anything to stop their captures from hurting them they might come to be stockholmed but stockholme for an IDEA rather than a person? Nope. That’s rare.

Sooo…with that in mind, why are the Sylvari so easy to brainwash? It’s pretty clear Sylvari in the Nightmare Court aren’t just doing what the Court says to avoid getting hurt, the Nightmare Court is constantly exposing converts to pain and fear and cruelty. So if you wanted to avoid pain, escaping would be the better option rather than identifying with the aggressor.

It’s also not Stockholme syndrome, because when you talk to people who’ve converted they’re not saying “I love X and they aren’t as bad as you think” they’re saying “Actually these guys were right all along.” They identify with the ideology not their captors.

So my question, is there something metaphysical about the Nightmare court that actively corrupts Sylvari? Or is there a more mundane explanation? Like the nature of Sylvari makes them susceptible to accepting outside influences (this would make sense given their essentially implanted with knowledge before their even born) another explnation that could coexist with the first is that they don’t have enough experience to back up their beliefs, they might have the knowledge of an adult but they haven’t actually earned it and so they don’t yet know how to protect themselves against outside influence. Being essentially children they are easier to brainwash.

What do you guys think?

…the hell do their names come from? Are they named in the dream? Do they decide on a name after a certain period of time? Does the Pale Tree name them? What?

I mean IRL we the player name them, but every other race is born normally so it’s generally assumed they were named by their parents…if the Pale Tree DOES name them all can you imagine doing that in a world without an internet connection and direct access to baby name websites? She must be really stuck for ideas right about now.

And why it reflects badly on the Sylvari…

See, I was raised by a psychiatrist so I was taught that the percentage of people that are realistically beyond redemption is actually quite small if enough time and resources are spent helping them find the root of their issues. Spending that time and resurces is another matter and one most real world organizations responsible for housing criminals seem to have little inclinaton to exert but I digress.

With this fundamental fact understood, if I still choose to take Caithe at her word about the irredeemable nature of the Nightmare Court and not simply assume that she’s biased and ignorant of the concept of therapy (a likely possibility given she’s in a medieval fantasy universe) but if I DON’T assume that and instead take what’s being said at face value.

Then…the problem doesn’t lie with Caithe it lies with the Sylvari as a race, if Nightmare Court Sylvari are truly irredeemable then it makes the race as a whole less human, more corruptable, less sapiant. If a Nightmare Court Sylvari is truly incapable of changing their mind, then it stands to reason that Sylvari are ticking timebombs. If all it takes is a few days of torture to make Sylvari (see the light) then they must have the resolve of marshmellows and a sense of self with more holes than a termite nest. Strong willed individuals have lasted through alot worse and you’d think that the Sylvari being literally born with a purpose would have a resolve score so high that everything else would be a dump stat.

But NOPE they betray their loved ones, they betray their allies, they turn heel so fast you’d think they were looking for an excuse to betray those people. And thinking on the fact that they were originally engineered to be Dragon servants I can’t help but wonder if that’s not because they’re NATURALLY more inclined to a Nightmare disposition.

And yes I know brainwashing is a thing, but REAL brainwashing does NOT work that quickly and it also ONLY works on a certain percentage of the human population, the fact that the Nightmare Court almost ALWAYS yields results indicates that Sylvari are more susceptible to brainwashing on average than is sane. They’re a security risk, a ticking time bomb, forget about the Tree being purified! With willpower like this they might as well have been sleeper agents all along!