oh responding to just talk about the update, SEVERE SPOILER WARNING!
aight so... who's with me and thinks Jester got a good shot of being a shapeshifter? Idk why I doubt him when I like his character so much but that last scene, why would they take his form? what purpose would it serve? did they know we were watching and they were trying to sow disorder and distrust in the group that was able to escape by faking his being there? was it to cause Gunnar trauma if he somehow survived so he wouldn't go back to them if he gained more information? also is Gunnar dead for real? he was removed the log and it seemed pretty plausible.... but something tells me he's just been captured since Northcrest has no knowledge on where Seth is atm. however something that confuses me if I'm right about Jester being a shapeshifter is why he didn't snitch right away on where Seth was? was it because they thought Seth was harmless and that he couldn't do anything, so they just had Jester watch him in case something that was a threat DID appear/he figured a way to become a threat? I still feel like Jester is a shifter, but I am very conflicted in my reasoning... like it wouldn't make sense, but it also could? also, since we know Gunnar SHOULD be alive but is no longer interactable since he had a relationship bar and heart event, where is he being held? or is Hyao planning on adding something later that allows us to save him then but currently is not added in game yet since it wouldn't make sense atm.... also with the shape shifters, we have seen Gunnar next to Gunnar because of the fight so we know they can shift into anyone they have seen or some other criteria without having them dead, which begs the question, what is the criteria? a relationship? eye contact? physical contact? an exchange of words? also, how many more shapeshifters are ruling Northcrest? obviously not Everett because his personality is rather regular and I doubt a shapeshifter would risk anything involving being found out just for sexual pleasure like Everett is risking his career and public opinion of him with Booner, Dulrig and the MC now. also, will the nameless reveal anything more if we assist him? will he do what the witch is doing and seek us out for favors even if we got the amulet? and if we didn't get the amulet and instead sided with him, I wonder if he will potentially just outright reveal what's going on if we side with him enough.... or if he'll reveal even he knows not what's going on in Northcrest. which if that's true, would mean things are a lot worse than we originally thought because the Nameless not knowing things would mean it's pretty much deity level power at play there. I doubt that will be the case, but what if? also would the witch being able to like divine/do whatever she does and see what's going on in Northcrest and in exchange for a favor or some random thing she needs at the time like with the egg will inform and assist us? would she even be willing to do so? also are the Shapeshifters somehow involved the war against Orc's? did they start it? are they the ones who cursed the shamans with visions and some strange magic? how will everyone react when we return, will they have something special and be like "YOU'VE BEEN MISSING FOR A FUCKING MONTH WHAT HAPPENED???" or will everyone be chill like the other times I avoid them for a year because I got carried away trying to unlock some random book without cheating for cute scenes with Roushk and Tao. if so, I wonder if anyone would lose Like for not alerting them, that would be really annoying if true but might make sense for certain characters. I also wonder if that could start a requirement to warn people if we disappear for a while else we lose like next time we speak lmao. also, completely random and off topic, is Nameless aware of Hyao's self inserts? does he not question it or does character Hyao scare nameless or something where nameless understands the characters potential power in the world lol. also is Hyao's character a god in game that no one mentions/knows about (except maybe like the witch, deities and the nameless) and is just kinda always watching or is he just a chill dude from another world in other characters eyes, but no one mentions the other world bit about him. also will Hyao ever make a horny scene where MC gets to sleep with him? or like any other character sleeps with Hyao? will Hyao make it so certain characters could join the scene and it would be like a threesome with MC Hyao and another character just Hyao and another character or just Hyao and MC? no idea where the last bit came from, prolly horny brain after remembering sucking off Dulrig in the mission. oh yeah also Gunnar. oh my god. I glossed over him because of what occurs, but jeez. feels like just last week I was joking about not liking him since he was a dick, but we still screw cause he's hot and now... now we know how he feels, and he's gone. character death in this is completely new so I wonder how many more friends we might lose later on? I still have faith in my earlier mention of Gunnar coming back/prolly is in jail or something because they need info from him, but it doesn't mean the here and now won't cause me to feel guilt or sadness for him. it was great placement too because it just added to the realism of the situation because nothing anyone there could have done would have saved or changed anything other than maybe add more losses and showed how serious the Northcrest situation is. the lore dump was a heavy read both in time spent and the heart strings it pulled, HELLA entertaining and giving me WAYYY more shit to think about. I have a new way to pass my time while waiting now, thank you Hyao! your story is so fucking good it has become something I look forward to more than a triple A game I've been waiting and a fan of since I was a child. you do amazing and I cannot stress this enough, thank you for giving the internet this masterpiece.
(last thing, after checking to see how much I typed, holy shit lmao.)