I guess nobody likes it when the heroine is defeated and injured by the villains in a treacherous way. But Celeste knows a powerful healer who can help, though they're not good friends. And Sidra is ready to give all of her cider as a payment.
I was there in the theater and remember the shock that ran through the audience when Luke Skywalker lost his hand, just before his world view was shattered.
I, too, found it challenging to understand the overall story arc. Individual scenes were legible once I got used to the writing style and in-world lingo, but even after finishing the current content, I don't think I could describe to you the goal of the story...
As an observer/reader, all I can say with certainty is that there are at least four edge lords (some or all of whom may be dating each other) in a broken, beautiful world that seems to hate them all for reasons that I can't identify. To put it bluntly, I'm not sure what any of these women are trying to do, to whom, or why, other than to fight against some vague enemy because they're the bad guys.
To break it down:
1. Who perpetrated these offenses? Was it the Mainlanders? The Islanders? The cyber-ninjas that cut off the MC's hand?Who or what is the antagonist? And what do they believe in that makes them oppose the protagonist?
2. What is the MC trying to do, exactly? There's been some spying, some fighting, some arguing, and some fucking, but what does she want? What is her goal?
3. Why is the MC doing it? Why is she trying to achieve this goal? Is it for revenge, redemption, self-discovery, survival, or something else?
As an aside to all of that: the arc with Megaman (Meg) was adorable and heartwarming, albeit slightly confusing. It seemed for the longest time like they were destined to be playfully platonic... up until they started banging and claiming that they had been (banging) for a long time. I love the best-friends-to-lovers archetype, so that was awesome, if a bit jarring. A+ on the romantic(?) and sexual tension there
All-in-all, you've got some cool characters, even if I don't know what they're doing yet! Good stuff!
That's an intriguing idea! It's true, Aysu and Metz would make much more natural vehicles for presenting and exploring the world since they are as unfamiliar with the city as we are. On the other hand, that would be a tough ask for the author since you'd have to rewrite much of what's already there, and Namco would have to answer some tough questions about the foundations of their story...
Is Celeste still the main character?
Does the player still make choices for her, even though we're driving a different car, so to speak?
What happens when she's offscreen? (she often would be from the player's perspective)
Ultimately, it would require a relatively large sacrifice since it's clear Namco wants to tell Celeste's story, which could be challenging/unsatisfying if we're not inside her head.
Mainlanders: different kingdoms and Empires but all have in common a single religion, most are ruled by nobles who genetically seek superiority over others.
In this world genetic manipulation is accepted, yet the "technology" is repudiated by almost everyone in power in these nations.
Reading and writing on the mainland is only for the nobles, imagine the rest.
Ghost team: They are teams formed by no more than seven members, but with the migration to Carthage Nova of the best warriors, the current teams are formed by witches who would not be accepted if it were not an imperative need.
What is the MC trying to do, exactly? There's been some spying, some fighting, some arguing, and some fucking, but what does she want? What is her goal?
I hope it is clear that Isilynor's family was attacked and that night "Celeste" witnessed something that made her lose control, I already gave a lot of clues as to who, but future updates will reveal what happened that night.
When she loses control she loses her memories "Bad Memories" and they are only recovered when she is able to confront her sorrow.
Being a green-eyed she was supposed to turn into a "creature" when she lost control but for a great reason of history she didn't, in future updates it will be revealed why.
Celeste living on the mainland is notified that one of her brothers disappeared without a trace forcing her to return to the city prematurely.
Remember that someone created a nation that is creating chaos in the south of the continent and that is why the Republic sent a team of ghosts to find out if it wasn't an islander behind it all.
"Celete's" captain obviously lied when she said they found nothing, why did she lie? in future updates
When "Celeste" was in the south of the continent she met a girl with whom she started a sentimental relationship, this made Shadow jealous and she realized what she felt for "Celeste"...Future update
When the main facts of the story are revealed I will explain more in detail the families and their members and so on, but for now even if it frustrates more than one I prefer that "you" try to discover things by yourselves.
As I said in another comment in the menu image you can see "Celeste" apart from the others while "Isilynor" offers her hand, I will try to let the players decide for themselves whether "to take the hand" or follow a different destiny.
When I said to be patient with the timing of the updates I also meant to tell the story, things are not there by laziness, the names are part of the story, the memes are part of the story, they have a good reason and not fantasy but scientific.
How did those four girls survive when they were sent to the mainland, when no one expected them to come back alive? Maybe they met someone who helped them?
Very good stuff so far ( I'm mid 0.3 ). Impressed by overall production. Team or Lone Rider?
Intrigued by it being more of a mystery puzzle than outright muff diving fest.
It is almost better with the teasing half covered tits, seethrough knickers and almost visible pussies and to keep the tension of the viewer at an almost boiling point ( Dione's sudden arrival put a hold on the "wet sex" ) as cliffhangers.
Storywise it's still a bit confusing to get a grip on where one's at on a timeline as it jumps back and forth in space and time as well as the characters appearance changes a lot from child, teen to adult. I think I'm slowly but surely getting a grip on what's going on.
I, unlike several other male posters, have no problem with this being, so far, a strictly FF novel apart from the fact that there are male characters around ( not many so far ) as fathers. I have to assume that their biology classes in school do not differ too much from our earthling education.
Another reflection: If the Silver eyed Witches are it's own ethnic group then are the males called witches as well?
Very, very beautiful production though some transitions are a bit slow.
The different characters are just that! Different body types and facial forms makes this VN a very nice R&R from the otherwise majority of "super model" VN's around F95.
Excellent fucking brilliant job you've done!!!
Edit: There was a noticable difference in language when 0.3 started as you yourself mentioned earlier in the transition.
Slight mistakes also occur when "he" is adressed as "she" and vice versa which made me wonder at first if the males also were "fake" females.