Nothing really, im all in for ilya my beloved and saine, leon as a friend died with my mage at the pyre, now theres only the king of param and just like i didnt give a fuck about the previous kings i wont give a fuck about him, only polite and pragmatic in the few meetings we’re bound to have, though if he starts something i will end it and not only end It but end It with a Bang.
Talking about our companions of param, does anyone feels annoyed by how easy our relationship with arcadia crew goes up? i was living day in day out with the param bros at the white fangs, was in a romance with ilya, fought in a brutal war together and ten minutes in the people of arcadia are already at 55-60% relationship, give me a break man.
I suppose that’s the point of the rewrite: To give the Arcadian crew a fair chance. I didn’t like Tahlia before, and was just ok-ish with F (still didn’t like them much), and was just amicable enough with Yu. The only person I really liked was Eli, but they clearly aren’t a full-fledged Arcadian.
Admittedly, it’s a bit unfair to these characters because they’re introduced after the Parami crew, and most of us are still attached to them, or at least still attached to Ilya and Saine (and Aunt Bess). It certainly didn’t help that Tahlia before the rewrite had terrible social skills on top of being tyrannical. And I think it is fairer now that when it finally comes to the time when the Mage is no longer bound by the Song of the Dead, we’ll have to decide which side we’re going to choose.
Honestly, they failed to convince me. A pretty prison is still a prison. And I do miss the tension and antagonism of the previous version. The Arcadian feel too perfect for me and there’s no option we’re you refuse to trust their good nature (my mage is emotional and cynical). Everything about the deal feel fake. Like you really will let me go, the openly Param loyalist after a year and risk you entire nation if I leak out all I learned. Or that an weak apology will erase the horror they set in motion by giving Mireil the power she need and NOT stopping her when they found out her true intentions (assuming Talia say the truth which I doubt. She’s seem the type that tell people what they want to hear). But that just me. I feel more restricted in my choice than before since my character seems to trusting for his personality and allegiance. More option to act suspicious or insubordinate would really be nice.
The end of the demo actually raises an important question: how are different religions treated in the Diocese? Considering that it’s a theocracy, do they forcibly convert people? Or just make various allowances for religious minorities? What about the holy orders that exist in newly annexed territories? There’s an order of knights stationed in a city that’s about to join a country with a different state religion.
A couple of people already mentioned this, but I really, really, really hope that there’ll be a heartfelt callback to the line “I’ll always come back to you” when we Leonmancers finally reunite with him. I might actually bawl if that happens
“I am sure we will meet again. At the far end of our Journey, once adorned by darkness and the brilliance of the stars up above, we will meet once again. I will wait until that day comes. I promise you I will. Wait for me. You must wait for me too”
I know I’m just ripping of Priestess’ quote from Arknights but I love these kind of romances. It’s just so powerful.
・・ ・ー・・ ーーー ・・・ー ・ ー・ーー ーーー ・・ー
“Alexa, play Eclipse by Aimer, and then play “Sirius’ heart” by Joucho.”
Forever 7 Days jumpscare but yeah, 100% my fav kind of romance. You can even kind of glimpse the last moment between MC and him in Theresa’s last words to the Doc. Only, Leon doesn’t have the convenience of induced amnesia. His aftermath in Sunblind reminded of this quote:
“And I pray one prayer–I repeat it till my tongue stiffens–Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living! You said I killed you–haunt me, then!..Be with me always–take any form–drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you!” –Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights
Considering that they’re settling people based on their heritage, they probably exclude those who don’t share their faith or convert.
Alternatively, they may simply forbid any other religions in an official capacity, but allow the people to settle. They can practice their faith, but the government won’t acknowledge them or allow them to construct places of worship.
As for the new city, It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for conversion to be a part of their annexation. That used to be fairly common.
Of course, I can also see Tahlia making an exception for the city purely out of spite for what was done to them. Their background echoes that of Arcadia in a lot of ways.
Observing others’ readiness to absolve Saine and Ilya is… curious. My mage will remain reluctant to forgive them. Their efforts to prevent execution are noted, as is their lack of direct culpability. Yet they remain entrenched in the systems that orchestrated his death. It’s a betrayal of expectation. My mage expects “true loyalty” and in his eyes true loyalty demands defiance of institutions, not compliance. To claim friendship while clinging to titles and power? Unacceptable. Ideally he would’ve wanted them to abandon their positions and go back to just being the White Fangs again. As my mage sees it, their refusal to abandon duty will reveal their true priorities.
Regarding the whole Arcadia vs Param thing, my mage rejects both factions. Nobility and clergy—Arcadian or Parami—are parasites feasting on the labor of others. His allegiance lies with the common people, those who till fields and mend roofs, regardless of their ethnic background. Let kings and bishops scheme; their games hold no interest for him.
And as for the new cast of B2? I don’t have much to say about them except for one. Falco. A blight. If admiration exists for that man, the world has gone mad. If he has no haters then I am dead. Every day I wake up and pray that plague be upon Falco. Let drought parch his lands. May his crops wither and his harvests never be bountiful. Let locusts descend upon his fields in biblical multitudes. May his every endeavor crumble to ash. My disdain for him remains unwavering.
It would be nice to create our own faction and go about recruiting everyone that vibes with us, i dont like arcadia but i wont stay in param either (just visiting leafs end ocasionaly) something like a diplomatic group of elites.
Saine’s role in the institution is that he’s an heir to the throne of a kingdom. That’s hereditary. He cannot change who his parents are. He COULD theoretically abdicate but for what? To make a statement? He’s be better off aiming to inherit the throne to enact reforms.
Illya would literally lose everything if she quit her job and I think someone who’d ask their friends to throw away their family’s lands and her own life’s work preventing their seizure purely to make a symbolic point for them after they’re dead is undeserving of loyalty. And the church also did not order our execution.
My mage is unreasonable. He doesn’t care about all of that
Saine’s birthright is not in question; his choice to wield it is. To ‘reform’ from within is still to legitimize the machine. A crown retained, even with noble intent, is a crown that upholds the scaffold. Abdication is the statement, one that rejects complicity. My mage wants the entire system burned down and if Saine is still part of said system by the time the reunion happens, my mage will not hesitate to burn Saine down with it.
If I remember correctly, and pardon me if I’m getting details wrong, but was she not already dangerously close to getting herself in trouble in the previous demo before the rewrite? Of course this is subject to change when we get to that point in the rewrite, but I’m pretty sure she was already ruffling feathers within the church. So my mage is not expecting her to take risks that she’s not already willing to take on her own.
I think it’s a bit naive to think that the church did not have a hand in pressuring Leon into executing the mage. I’m pretty sure a lot of us can safely assume that were it not for forces like the nobility and the church breathing down his neck, he would not have been so quick to execute the mage. I’m willing to wager that if it were up to Leon alone, he would have either kept the mage locked up a while longer or opted for exile instead of execution. The church need not wield the blade to bear culpability.
