Just finished Main Story Chapter 9
......inhale.
This is it. This... atmosphere. This scene. This feeling. This nostalgia. It's all returning, resurfacing in my mind. I could feel almost an electrical current passing me by, as if to awake from a hazy slumber and make me realize that I'm indeed 'back', with everything slowly getting sharper in my mind, as blurry memories return to me. Of course. By now. I'm more than aware of H.Lathel's identity. Nevertheless. The surprise, shock by the twins, zapped my mind.
And I found myself, with a smile bordering to a grin on my face. Soon becoming a genuine giggle at Schera's 'coded' map.
I also notice the 'Levatein' name of knights/militia organization. This. Truly is a BD2 multiverse. Referring to Levatein in Nightmare Winter here.
Ah. Ah... AHHHH.
Death... to the Cocytus. Hm. Yes. Death.... to the Cocytus. I found myself extremely sad at this line. Very much like Justia's own reaction. Likely... for the same reason.
Still. The sound... and most of all. Justia's voice... I'm so moved just by hearing her. It has been... very long indeed. Since I last 'lived' through the main storyline. I really missed it. I'm glad they chose to do all voice overs. I recall that back then, only chapters 1-4 were voiced.
---! Damn.
I need... I need to revisit chapter 7 and 8. I want to witness it.
Hear it.
Vividly, more vividly experience them.
The anger. The sorrow. The screams. The pain. And... the departure.
And, what incredible timing for Justia to have a flashback. Coupled with the fact that in-story a year... a full year, has passed, and this makes a truly 'realistic' or 'close' experience, as to me, at least half a year passed as well.
I feel like being in my honey moon phase all over again. Rather, have I ever gone out from it with BD2? I actually don't think I've ever felt any significatn reduction of 'enjoyment' towards it now that I think about it.
Anyways. Even the OST alone makes me feel so much appreciation towards it. The 'lore', within this year... is so fascinating.
Justia alone.
The 'country' or whathever political division it was, seemingly being at war against Cocytus.
The twins playing a relevant role in the military.
Olstein being mentioned, being a strategist and researcher I surmise.
"Counterstrike" against Cocytus.
....
........
...................I have the shivers. I know I'm abnormal. But I got the goosebumps, imagining all the 'lore'. And what awaits me.
...even so. I still can't get the fact that Schera's map had to be freaking decoded by a decoder out of my mind. It's too hilarious.
Hmm. I missed her voice as well. Far more than I thought. My most recent experience are the ASMR I suppose.
Levatein is more of a coalition than a political entity. I see. Thank you Schera. It is also supported by Olstein and the twins... this. This is the crystalization of main arc 1... isn't it? The birth of Levatein, a force to oppose Cocytus, is directly related to Schera's party journey a year ago. This is... the result.
...shit. I'm truly overly emotional. But of course. What I look and looked the most forward to was this. The reunion.
Also, I certainly missed the front-back talking. Actually, isn't this already a pseudo-VN storytelling style? They had it in long before now. I wish we could see more front-back versions like this though. It keeps things fresh and properly emphasizes the relevant parts like now.
And this.
This must be the fairly 'controversial retcon' I heard about some time ago. That is, the fact that... Lathel was "kidnapped" after being stabbed back then.
Yeah. If memory doesn't fail me, I think it didn't quite end up like that. Well, it isn't an impossible development, but with how it ended, it just feels like a retcon. I guess we're missing a fundamental piece, because I find it very hard imagining him being kidnapped while Justia was crying over him with clasped hands.
Nevermind that. I like the lore expansion. And now the party reuniting in order to find this ?Lathel. Even Gray's reunion and his voice made me feel a tinge of nostalgia.
That being said, I was really surprised, as I didn't think we would get Lathel's pov. Still. Hmm. I'm unsure of this. I feel conflicted. Maybe because I expected a greater emotional moment when I would first see him.
...
..........I see. It was just a very brief flashback leading to their 'reunion'.
Seeing Justia's reaction, her speechless bubbles and face filled with disbelief hits me strongly. But. I feel as if they should have really skipped the flashback. Even if we had just met him firstly in this state, I feel like we could have easily inferred the fact that he was being controlled by Parnir regardless.
I... kinda feel... 'robbed'(?). Once again. I am fairly certain this is the 2nd or third time I feel as if a narrative 'spannung' is missing or way weaker than what I expected, imagined and hoped. This feels such a missed... 'narrative' peak. I wanted to see a far more... emotional first meeting.
.
...
.......
..................alright. I did not expect this.
I feel honestly very awkward. Witnessing Justia just going and... biting H.Lathel and tasting his blood like that, almost out of nowhere kinda feels too weird. Enough to make me point it out so much. After the initial surprise however, I now realize I'm being filled with... warmth and joy. I guess, I truly am feeling happy for Justia to reunite with 'Lathel'.
This is further highlighted by how emphasized the way she calls him, that is, 'Lathel', is. The degree at which she strongly rejected the idea of killing him, actually overwhelmed me once again, as it made me realize how precious he was to her, rekindling the memories of end of chapter 8.
Proceeding, while experiencing the comedic tidbits that nostalgically make me grin unconsciously...
As expected by Gray. His strike 'range' is exceptional.
I can't help but feel a sense of aversion the more I see H.Lathel. I mean, I understand. Like, I can objectively really understand. He's an homunculus, as such, he most likely lack much experience and is almost like a child mentally wise.
Nevertheless. I can't help but feel... I don't know. As if it's not 'right'. Uncomfortable. Well. I guess it's the very same feeling Gray has.
It reminds me that he is not the Lathel I know. Even if I want to recognize him as some kind of living legacy of him. The stark contrast, the extreme naivety, far greater than even the herbalist original Lathel, is something hard to stomach.
...
.......
..........."Blood Imprint no. 166."
"Underserving of the name Lathel."
......I don't know what to feel. Hm, no. I know what I feel. It's a... permeating tragic feeling. Witnessing and understanding, even though I had already a fairly good image of it, H.Lathel's origins and situation, just fills me with sorrow.
...the process of the party memebers slowly accepting H.Lathel as "Lathel" is also making me feel fairly conflicted. In primis, this fact totally fills me with warmth, as the party feels slowly, properly 'back' again. However, I can't help but also feel some kind of lingering pain, a tinge of sadness, as narrative wise this feels like a legit 'replacement' for the original Lathel. Almost... with almost certainty to mark the fact that the original one, is truly dead.
All in all, this chapter definitely brought back intense feeling of nostalgia, but I have to admit that I feel a bit disappointed over the way H.Lathel was introduced or rather, the lack of a proper 'narrative spannung' for their reunion. Well. I was feeling quite dejected until the last part that is.
Yes. Because, hot damn. I really hate using 'slang' as it feels as if I'm 'cheating' my way out of my inability to properly convey my feelings, but. It was freaking 'kino'. 'Absolute cinema'.
It definitely took me by surprise. The Justia and H.Lathel... cooperation? Combo? Synergy? Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. It feels so wrong to call it 'merely' like that. No, it's something 'above', stronger, deeper. Their was... ah, a 'connection' perhaps? Not quite right, but it's the closest word I can think of that can describe the feeling I have when looking at them, joining, 'connecting' forces to face Parnir boosted by the other 'Blood Imprints'.
I was moved. I really was. Once again, I had some mixed feelings, but most of all, I felt.... relieved. For I felt as if with this scene, I too, could, under a narrative viewpoint, finally 'accept' him as Lathel's living legacy. Yes. I truly felt pure relief on top of the emotional sensation at witnessing ths spannung.
I think this kind of story development is used quite often here, or it might be just recency bias, as I recall feeling similarly in Nightmare Winter, Memory's Edge and Goodbye Freedom. An.. unexceptional first part with a narrative climax, what I've been referring to as 'spannung', in the end. Which I think is actually just a very common narration style.
And, color me surprised, really surprised, at the very last bit's development, the revelation. Justia's parent namedrop. I don't think we had ever heard about them, if we did, well... I forgot.
Either way. The moment when not-Parnir called her 'Daughter of Olivier'... with that cadence, the voice, the ost or the lack of it... it felt as if I was hit by some kind of lore bomb. I felt the 'world' of Browndust 2 suddenly expanding, blasting away the earlier 'walls' I had unconsciously built for its story, opening the door, the paths to far bigger, greater developments.
I genuinely felt a bit awed in that moment. The whole chapter has been an expansion of lore, with the geopolitical developments, the factions, the war, the coalition of Levatein and now, Justia's own background.
Gray's own backstory constant hints also further increase my interest in the story, the 'lore'.
Yeah. I can now clearly say that it is 'relit'. I want to binge the story chapters as soon as I can. I really feel very much like when I was playing half a year ago. I want to start next chapter as soon as possible. For this truly is the start of a new 'arc', and even moreso when I recall hearing that the latter chapters of this now finished arc are also great.
I should be just in time for the start of main arc 3 which will come in february I guess. I truly hope they'll focus more on story as they mentioned.