I might as well make some commentary on Lone Trail as well. Not anywhere near to a review, mind you. Just some notes
Please note that as an event, it's similar to how I entered Zwillingsturme im Herbst. I haven't gone into any of its prequels. But I do think it's more interesting to go into some events in a non-accurate chronological order, because then you look at the writing differently. You look for all the info to piece together the context. You see how friendly it is to newer players. For that reason, I don't have enough info to go off of for Kristen. But I'll note a few impressions. And then I guess I'll overview some thoughts on Rhine Lab's directors? Not sure what to comment on for Ferdinand, so I will refrain. Same goes with the Banshee director (Nasti, who has a funny name I keep reading as "Nasty") and anyone else I haven't mentioned. For sure I am not completely sure how Rhine Lab operates yet, though it seems to be pretty sketchy, hence I'm particularly hard on the playable director characters. I really liked the climax. With how critical I am on Rhine Lab (despite not knowing much about it...you can't blame me though, it's hella shady), I felt the hypocrisy of anticipating what would happen when the actual launch happened. It parallels how humans will celebrate achievements that were maybe built off of less-than-ethical methods. Not that they won't condemn those methods when presented to them, but those achievements will be recognized in some form, and then built off of. That was the vibe that this event's climax brought to me. That I'm just as hypocritical in that sort of way, for feeling awe at this achievement. It was fictional, but also paralleling reality. My biggest criticism would probably be the logic of what Kristen was doing to preserve the lives of the remaining directors. I mean, even assuming her technology didn't explode and become debris just splattering all over the citizens below, and with all her talk on wanting the remaining directors to lead the future she wouldn't be a part of, Saria nearly just...splattered all over the ground because there was no escape pod. Not to mention, Muelsyse was, y'know, in an escape pod that didn't even work and hadno way to be tested. Like idk man. Yes, most of the directors were on the ground, and Saria/Muelsyse seem very persistent. But those were her co-founders lol. I can't comment on the Doctor's character arc. I think the bulk of it will come from Main Story, so I won't say anything about that for now.
One, she's a stellar (pun intended) antagonist. I think she really embodied all the themes relating to science and progress in this event. Her motivations stem from a very human incident, of losing her parents, yet you could say that the way she reacted--culminating into all that happens in the present--is inhumane and scary. Normal people grieve and move on. Kristen made her entire life from that moment, as she watched her parents die from far away. Just like how scientists toil away their lives searching for an answer to a single question, when "normal" people wonder and then move on. In that way, she's the pinnacle of what a scientist seems to be, or even is.
Two, I think her design is also very notable. When I saw her, I thought, "This woman looks so ordinary." She looked like a human to me, and if not for her name mentioned a few times marking her as the antagonist, I probably would've skipped over her because she doesn't really seem all that special. She's a Perro (dog-based race, a reference to Laika from Russia), but her ears blend in with her hair. She has a very ordinary face to me, not particularly cute or pretty, and with a sort of standoffish vibe to her. Her costume very strongly evokes the same vibes as Voyager (3rd Ascension) from F/GO, which was a nice similarity, but still, it didn't really strike out to me as being out of the ordinary. It was nice. Just "any other lady" who turns out to have all these ambitions, not completely known even to the best of her friends.
It was nice seeing who Muelsyse actually is. I get her character to an extent, but I'm not completely sure if there was more info on her in previous events. I guess I do like characters who are nice but have their own overarching objectives (such as saving their species). They're interesting, but in Muelsyse's case, I'm not completely sure how she's helped handle Rhine Lab's many morality problems, for instance, so she's not completely off the hook for me.
It was also nice finally being able to "meet" Saria. Albeit, she's already quit Rhine Lab for a while now, and I dunno when it was. I think I'm meeting her near the end of her character arc. I like how she's protective over Ifrit. Actually, I will fight anyone who threatens the lil found family that Ifrit has with Saria and Silence. But again, I'm not too sure how culpable she is for Rhine Lab's moral deterioration. It was only touched on in this event, and I'm guessing there is much more elaboration on what happened in previous ones. Refraining from judging her whole character for now.
Silence--I love her. I don't know everything about her either, though from what I can tell, she was a minor researcher? Not a director or anything. And ik her morality probably irks some people; it's probably a bit blatant for those who prefer greyer moralities. But I like her for trying her best. Glad she's the welfare. Cute owl.
As for Loken and Parvis...man idc if I don't have more information, screw them (: no elaboration required. If you wanna fight me on this you can, but Iwilljudge. So glad I was able to canonically punch Loken
Btw do not loop Babel OST (I am still doing it, more or less), it makes you ill in a mental sort of way. Would recommend
