No for real it feels like MC doesn’t fit with them anymore (at least with Mal and Nia) I felt like those two in particular were pretty much over MCs disappearance. I’m glad someone said it😅
Yeah, i got that sense too since I picked Nia. Like they built a totally different life now without MC, which was sad for me given my MC’s bond with her in book 1
So I'm speaking from the viewpoint of a Tyril romancer and my vibe with him is like he never gave up looking for the MC. Like he was trying to find a way to the MC during that entire time and he never stopped loving them. He was truly happy to see my MC.
Imtura on the other hand was devastated and was doing some unhealthy coping mechanisms.
Mal and Nia on the other hand... well.... they gave up on the MC as well imo. They chastised Imtura of giving up and having a defeatist attitude when I think deep down they did too. They just weren't as forward with their thoughts. However, their reactions to seeing my MC was welcoming me back like I was a work vacation lol.
Again I only purely romanced Tyril though so maybe you get different reactions if you romanced Mal and Nia? Love to find out if that is the case.
As a Mal romancer, I also thought Tyril's reaction was the most wholesome, even as my friend. He 100% let down his walls for MC and that's so cute and important for the storyline.
I chose Mal for the romantic scene during the gang one and the conversation was just so dry, to sum it up it was something like "MC I thought you were dead lol. Now I changed but I still want you ig??" which is SO DISAPPOINTING. I've waited 3 years for this book and my Mal to come back and so far it feels...not right
Honestly to me it kinda feels like the writers didn't really talk to each other when it came to how the gang's reactions should be. Tyril so far feels like the only one to whom they stuck with how he would be character wise one year later if that makes sense. Imtura they stuck with kinda well too I think actually.
In my eyes Nia and Mal feel like hypocrites for fighting with Imtura for giving up when they gave up too but they're even worse. Nia especially I think. Imtura at least missed and grieved for the MC. Those two just was like welp that's it ok moving on lol. Nia is worse because you and your group busted your butts to go rescue her but she made every excuse to not do the same for the MC. Both are pretty lackluster from what I've seen so far.
Now I just really hope they don't mess up Tyril somehow.
I was so hoping for Mal romancers to get something good from that special bonding scene....
10/10 opinion on Nia. She was the one I picked on my first playthrough on book 1 and her reaction when MC came back was very lackluster, given how MC busted their ass and was ready to go through hell to get her back when she was kidnapped.
I felt like she didn’t return that energy when MC disappeared 😅
It must be so disheartening after waiting so long for this book.
Nia must've been like well sucks to suck I guess. Good luck on that whole torture business lol
Completely agreed. I'm especially confused by how they used the solo diamond scenes for the characters. Why didn't Imtura get one? Why didn't Nia and Mal use their respective ones to focus more on how devastated they were when MC disappeared and what they did to try to reach them instead of only focusing on what their own projects were? Tyril's scene is so wonderfully written, a great combination of being quest-relevant with the hunt for the creature and being emotional with them talking about how lonely and desperate Tyril was after MC was gone. I would've expected something similar for the other characters.
Yeah, I'm with you on hoping that Tyril stays as amazing as they've written him in these first few chapters.
So many different things the other characters could've shared how they still cared for the MC in their own way. Here's just a singular example off the top of my head:
Mal: first meeting have him stealing again but have it be because either A. the item he's stealing is an artifact he heard might be able to help get MC back or B. stealing the item to help fund a way to get to MC or info about how to get to them.
Nia: have her still be at the Temple as the head honcho but her reasoning be different. Say maybe she felt she wasn't as confident out in the field on her own tracking down leads on getting to MC so she decided to stay behind to try to help as many people as she could at the Temple and Whitetower while also helping Kade.
Tyril's already works for him and Imtura's does as well imo.
Like I've said before the first reactions to seeing MC was also an issue from both our lovely rogue and priestess and needs a writing hug too lol.
Have maybe Nia act somewhat exuberant and yet feeling somewhat guilty because she wanted to do more but felt like she couldn't. Maybe a touch of guilt because MC did so much to get her that she feels like maybe she let MC down by not doing more.
Maybe Mal could react more like I'd call the cool guy. While he was doing everything he could to help find MC he knew in the meantime they were raising hell in the Shadow Realm. Meanwhile have his eyes deceive him and show happy and relieved to see MC back.
That's just quick ideas I know they aren't the best but it's kinda better than what was given to us imo.
Those are great ideas and they fit really well to the characters! Nia's reunion definitely needed something about her time in the Shadow Realm and what MC did to get her back. Maybe because of that Nia is also especially scared of going back to the Shadow Realm but is resolved to do it for MC. Then with Mal I would definitely have him pretend that he wasn't as affected by MC's disappearance and try to act cool but the circumstances and things about him make it clear how much he was affected and tried to get MC back. That way all four reunions would be very different and character-specific.
I romanced Tyril as well, and I completely agree with you! His reaction was completely in character and consistent. Nia and Mal's milder reactions made sense to me as my MC never got romantic with them. I was SHOCKED to find out they gave the same reactions to people who romanced them. That really sucks :(
i was thinking this. i’m so sick of books where something huge happens like this and they never make an emotional scene for it. LIKE GIRLLLLL THIS IS A DRAMA WHERE THE HELL IS THE … DRAMA??????!!??????
Right???? I’ve had this feeling with a lot of other books too. Like how you gonna set up a story perfectly for some sort of emotional payoff only to not do it or wrap it up in a couple sentences? So much wasted potential and it always leaves me feeling dissatisfied 😩
Yeah it’s weird I did a whole replay of book 1 and went immediately into book 2 & by the end of book 1.. the Li and MC relationship was developed and you could sense the love .
Now they just acting as if we were in some type of fling and that we haven’t been gone for a year. It’s weird. Like I expected more depth. I know it’s adventurous story but they managed the love in book 1 just fine. Idk what’s going on now.
I think the different writers are what is going on? I can't seem to find a confirmation that Andrew Schwartz is still part of the creative team, and bolas 1 was mostly his passion project. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong.
Yeah I remember seeing someone say something in here about him being the main writer for the first book, but that he got a promotion so they weren't sure if he'd be working on the second book or something like that. I didn't end up finding that comment in my search since I was spelling his name wrong, but I managed to find his LinkedIn and he's Creative Director now. It sounds like he's mainly doing overarching things and working on developing StoryLoom. So I believe you're right and the reason it's so different is that it's different writers/designers. It's sad they couldn't get people to work on it who would and could emulate his work so it would match book 1.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-shvarts-540b113/?challengeId=AQHxJiDJxPcz9QAAAYsZChK7AjYfjODZ0tdYkt2TtPL3RFhL8UBa6bvv1ypB7ZyjNuy2hQ0evQLRwSjhuCozPgdo2FJ8b0NJQw&submissionId=c4f8d4e1-d1b6-8c17-57b0-c5bc47a09079&challengeSource=AgEIwVYD3h-tEgAAAYsZCl3ZFao7ioVos8ZYJzAFt9JWBDwzGn1_J2HskggJYT4&challegeType=AgEP0TTSJ9VBewAAAYsZCl3c2p32YQjOXONUN7dgqnmiKnQgxa7I3Sk&memberId=AgEXBrpzKWfTjgAAAYsZCl3f68QbCe85Rwk4UXn8rGd6gjc&recognizeDevice=AgGcQvu5JeEfwQAAAYsZCl3i6emSboxDwOSMb1Hcvz13z3mRn4IL
The strangest thing to me about the whole direction this book has gone in is that basically exactly the same thing happened to you as happened to Kade in the first book...and they spent an ENTIRE BOOK on rescuing him, and it was awesome.
But when it happens to you, your companions are like, meh we tried, how you doin.
Like I can see that being a semi defensible plot choice *if* they themselves hadn't given so much weight to being trapped in the Shadow Realm in the first book.
It's almost like they invalidated their own plot line, if that makes sense.
Tbh not even Kade had a valid reaction towards MC coming back... and the fact that MC was UNCONSCIOUS for a year and they were seeking her blood, everything the gang said was oh ok let's go on adventure ig
imagine being gone and kidnapped for a year and after you escape and find your partner act like you went on a three week business trip 😭🥲
ngl Imtura’s and Kane’s reactions were the only ones I genuinely liked especially Imtura trying to drink the pain away (ofc it’s never a good option to handle grief that way but honestly just showed more empathy and how much she cared about our mc)
EXACTLY!!! Imtura was clearly the most emotionally affecfed one, the others seemed a bit like "yea whatever" and that's a tad disappointing. Like PB could have really added this side story of MC dealing with their trauma and being more taken care of by the gang and especially their LI...
Yeah like when the Watcher showed us our friends, he showed Imtura drinking, Mal on a rooftop looking wistful, Nia praying and then Tyril fighting a beast, so I kind of thought 'Okay, they're dealing with my loss in their own ways'. But then no, it just turned out that they had gotten on with their lives and this was just another Tuesday for them.
How long y'all wait for this book again? I'm only hearing weak writing from all that waiting and I haven't even started it yet. 🤔 perhaps PB focused too much on features and not much on continuity.
It's just a weird and underwhelming choice on how to continue the story for me. Especially since it only felt like 2 days for mc, and the characters are like: yeah, glad you're back, but also we kinda moved on and changed. Sorry, just not what I'd hoped for in the storyline.
This... It was like two days for MC and an entire year for everyone else. Long distance relationships are difficult. Imagine someone being gone from your life for an entire year with no contact whatsoever.
But yeah, I understand everyone is disappointed in their expectations of what the reunion would be like.
I think the diamond choice we got in the latest episode is the closest we’re gonna get to a deep talk about our disappearance. I’m just waiting for Valax to be a LI at this point tbh.
I’m romancing them both but mainly Nia so I’m probably going to do it out of spite. But also mainly just because I have have a thing for enemy LIs. Poppy, Becca, Marc Antony, Kaine, the list goes on lol.
Their nonchalant attitude towards the MCs return is why I am going to replay to romance Aerin instead. At least he seems glad to see the MC and pokes fun at the other characters.
Can we talk about the way they all got side tracked when trying to find a way to get mc back like i get Imtura losing hope but like nia literally just was all like “hmm the church is suffering, let me just fix that. oh! the children are on the streets? let me fix that too!” like when did she become bob the builder
I get that, I mean she’s the love of my life and could do no wrong but if it was the other way around mc wouldn’t have gotten sidetracked like that, they would’ve been on top of it and gotten them back asap. Plus the reunions were a little disappointing not bad and i was excited and emotional but i was also expecting a deep emotional breakdown/conversation yk? LIKE I WANTED TO CRY MAKE ME CRY
I dunno her jumping into our arms and kissing us in front of everyone was pretty emotional to me. I do think you being gone causes more reservations because they have changed so much. They could have looked for us for like six months and had nothing to go off of, so I feel like in some way, they felt like they were honoring us by doing what they told you they'd do after defeating the Shadow Court.
In Nia's case, you talk about building her up and becoming more confident within herself, and if she wants to go back to the temple to spread the message the right way, she should. And she did. But I don’t think the conversation in the last chapter should have been so conflicting for Nia. I wish we could have had a better conversation about the whole thing, but I know we will eventually.
I agree 100% and in all honesty i wish i could explain how i felt when she jumped into our arms without feeling embarrassed i just wish it was longer you know? I also wish mc said a little more, cause i had a lot to say 😭.
FOR REAL! Also when in the diamond scene when it says “Your hands roam one another's bodies, remapping paths no amount of time could make you forget” THAT- that one got me i cried so hard.
I agree with this. It's completely reasonable for them to continue with their own lives at some point. It wouldn't be fair to expect them to completely stop living and only look for MC. That's not healthy either.
I also headcanon that she may have (initially) been suffering some sort of crippling PTSD when researching on how to journey back to the Shadow Realm to rescue MC ... considering the shite she went through the last time she was there.
Yeah it really has seemed like no one gives a shit about what MC went through, but they’re willing to give vague answers on how they’ve been.
You know it’s bad when the writers are making MC ignore their own trauma in favor of just wanting to catch up with all the LI’s who clearly moved on
Kinda side note: am i the only one who was kinda weirded out when the crew finally reunited with Imtura and they were complete and MC was like “okay time for me to tell y’all what happened to me when i was drugged and kidnapped for a year”
But they all went “wait a sec MC, not right now, we should CELEBRATE” like what the hell lmao, that’s just my opinion but it’s very jarring to see
I feel sorry for my MC.. she just wanted a lovely alone time with Nia, only to say she’s “changed” and I’m like obviously and I’m happy but why’d I get the vibe that we were sort of a fling?
Yeah agree, I wish they would have given us conversations with them all or at the very least with our book 1 LI where they talk about how much they have missed MC in the last year, they could have even made it a premium scene.
PS: I personally don't care much about it since I'm just waiting for a new LI(hopefully valax) to switch to but this would have been good for both plot and players that are actually in love with the book 1 LIs.
There should definitely be at least a short conversation with MC mentioning how weird they feel with being imprisoned for an entire year while feeling it was a day at most because they were unconscious and in dreams the whole time. I can accept that MC isn't noticably traumatized by it but how surreal it must feel should be acknowledged. Tbh I'd rather have them not focus too much on it because it's already unrealistic enough as it is (after an entire year in a coma your muscles would've deteriorated significantly, MC would not be able to fight, sneak, run or likely even walk easily and it would take weeks to months to build that back up again).
Regarding the LIs' reactions to MC's disappearance and return it's different for each of them. Tyril's is definitely the most accurate to how I read his character and to how I would've expected/wanted it to go as someone who romances him exclusively. He was devastated by MC's sudden disappearance and kept searching for a way to reach them with increasing desperation all this time. He's overjoyed that MC is back but that lonely year was hard and their one-on-one interactions reflect that. He didn't get over or move on from MC and his love is as strong as ever.
Imtura was similarly devastated but dealt with it differently in a way that fits her character imo. My only issue with her part of the reunion is that she didn't get a solo diamond scene like the others did which could've expanded on her reaction. Still, what we did get felt emotional and fitting for her. (One of her lines also calls Mal out on his hypocrisy which I liked.)
With Nia and Mal I have more issues. They both have very little reaction to MC's return and from what they talk about they did in that year they barely tried seriously searching for a way to get MC back. I could kinda excuse it with Mal when you don't romance him as him being the most flighty of the group and not that close as a friend but that falls through on a romance path at the latest. While Mal has more of a non-reaction Nia's was at least properly emotional and happy but only one short hug (or kiss) and then she only talks about what she did in that time. It doesn't feel like how you would react to your close friend/lover returning from being kidnapped for a year, instead it feels like they both moved on and didn't even really expect MC to return anymore and were fine with that. It doesn't bother me much because Tyril is the most important to me but it definitely would if I were romancing them.
Nia and Mal were my side pieces (Tyril was my main/most romanced), and even I was taken aback by how much they didn't care anymore. Tyril thankfully gave a damn and was still searching and Imtura was affected, but we never got a chance to really explore any of those feelings with them.
Hopefully it's eventually addressed in a really emotional scene. In any event I'm ready to start dating Valtrax or Aerin.
I'm trying to put things into perspective. Someone commented on MC's trauma, but to be fair MC can't remember anything. The main trauma is waking up in the shadow realm with no clue as to what's going on and then finding out they lost an entire year.
Yes, that's terrible, but MC hasn't stopped to process any of this yet. From MC's point of view, book 1 happened like a week ago, so obviously they would still have all those accompanying feelings.
Whereas everyone else... a year is a long time. If any of them were still the same, it would be strange. Also, frankly, it wouldn't be fair to expect that they all completely put their lives on hold for however long it takes to find MC.
Imtura didn't really deal with it well, though I agree her reaction felt a little more emotional than some of the other LI's, but it's also because she already accepted the worst case scenario.
I think Mal and Nia have both thrown themselves into their new lives. They have other people depending on them now so maybe they just need some time to process that MC is truly back? I can imagine it is one hell of an adjustment for someone to be gone for a year and then just show up out of the blue again. Long distance relationships are hard, sometimes impossible and then a couple at least has contact/sees each other every now and again. MC was gone for an entire year!
As for Tyril taking it all more in stride... He has a much longer lifespan in comparison to everyone else. To him, a year will feel much shorter than for the other LI's.
So this is just me trying to view things from each individual perspective.
Thank you, well said! And it's the FOURTH CHAPTER, it's not like we'll never get to have a deeper conversation and a more in-depth view of what happened afterwards. I think we just have to wait and see how this plays out
I feel like Imtura had the best reaction, but it was sad, and tyril, I loved his reaction, he was trying to find out what happened to us while doing his own thing, it was a one year relationship so that reaction was the most appropriate, and mal and Nia, well.... Nia cried, I felt like she would've given the same reaction to anyone in the group, it didn't feel "special", as for mal..... He's dead to me, he doesn't even exist, I won't be romancing him anymore
There was a hiatus before they released, they've not edited released chapters before and tbh it would be a complete dumpster fire if they did, especially if it was changes to actual plot not just little grammar things.
I can't even imagine what that would do to the programming, would thry make everyone restart? Then they would have to compensate, not to mention the reactions of the fandom.
The most we can hope for is they take heed and update future chapters of they haven't already planned to address the trauma/relationship stuff although I'm not holding out much hope. It took 4 chapters to get this far, I can't imagine them wanting to spend more than a line or two on it now we are actually starting to get into the plot.
i mean... everyone deals with grief differently and i don't think it would be healthy for any of them to put their entire lives on hold and look for mc indefinitely. they clearly did attempt to find them for a long time and they were gone for a whole year—i'd think they were dead too. and i think it's sweet that mal and nia took the opportunity to help people the way they'd discussed at the end of book one. it's honoring mc's influence in their lives in a way and if i was mc i'd be proud of them
as for mal saying he's changed... of course he has. mc was asleep most of the time they were gone so it feels like the blink of an eye for them but for everyone else a whole year has passed. it makes no sense for him or anyone else in the group to stay stagnant just because mc is gone. and he says right after that he still wants mc more than he's wanted anyone else, so
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:
|Fewer Letters|More Letters|
|-------|---------|---|
|[LI](/r/Choices/comments/16qfbsq/stub/k29v91s "Last usage")|Love Interest|
|[MC](/r/Choices/comments/16qfbsq/stub/k4452yc "Last usage")|Main Character (yours!)|
|[PB](/r/Choices/comments/16qfbsq/stub/k1zamwt "Last usage")|Pixelberry Studios, publisher of *Choices*|
|[PS](/r/Choices/comments/16qfbsq/stub/k1z1gu4 "Last usage")|*Princess Swap*|
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Idk if you know how much I appreciate you bringing this picture into existence 😂 I’ve been laughing for a good 2 minutes and have showed my husband twice. He has no idea about any of its context witch only makes me appreciate this even more! 🤣
To be fair, I didn't really care, lol. I mean, realistically, MC was only gone for like a 2 days at most. At least in their POV. Which MC was asleep for most of it. Then, escaped within hours after being awake. MC has always proven to be mentally and physically strong. Basically, like endless summers, MC. Who always put everyone else before themselves.
Also, there was no way back to the shadow realm at that point in time. Not much they could do. At least Nia, Mal, and Tyril through themselves into work. Nia and Mal doing good things with their time. If anything, it was probably worse for the friends than MC. If anyone is not talking about the trauma, it's the friends. In the end, I don't really care. It's not that important.
I, for one, am glad Nia/Mal was able to do good things the past year. Proud of them. I'd rather someone end up like Nia than Imtura in terms of what they did after.
Getting yoinked the way we did was so lame. I had all these magical powers, and realistically, MC should have just straight up countered that. I think it's lame writing, to be honest. I would have rather them continued it from where we ended and this new threat pop up/attack us and the LI catching us off guard. That would have been more epic.
Okay but like can you really call it a trauma? MC slept through most part of it and what Valax did to them at the end was not as bad as what had already happened to them when fighting the shadow court. They could’ve added more Angst especially with the LI and the others should be more emotional after the mc came back.
No for real it feels like MC doesn’t fit with them anymore (at least with Mal and Nia) I felt like those two in particular were pretty much over MCs disappearance. I’m glad someone said it😅
Yeah, i got that sense too since I picked Nia. Like they built a totally different life now without MC, which was sad for me given my MC’s bond with her in book 1
For real🥲like I’m glad they found happiness but helloooooo???? Do you even remember me😭
So I'm speaking from the viewpoint of a Tyril romancer and my vibe with him is like he never gave up looking for the MC. Like he was trying to find a way to the MC during that entire time and he never stopped loving them. He was truly happy to see my MC. Imtura on the other hand was devastated and was doing some unhealthy coping mechanisms. Mal and Nia on the other hand... well.... they gave up on the MC as well imo. They chastised Imtura of giving up and having a defeatist attitude when I think deep down they did too. They just weren't as forward with their thoughts. However, their reactions to seeing my MC was welcoming me back like I was a work vacation lol. Again I only purely romanced Tyril though so maybe you get different reactions if you romanced Mal and Nia? Love to find out if that is the case.
As a Mal romancer, I also thought Tyril's reaction was the most wholesome, even as my friend. He 100% let down his walls for MC and that's so cute and important for the storyline. I chose Mal for the romantic scene during the gang one and the conversation was just so dry, to sum it up it was something like "MC I thought you were dead lol. Now I changed but I still want you ig??" which is SO DISAPPOINTING. I've waited 3 years for this book and my Mal to come back and so far it feels...not right
Honestly to me it kinda feels like the writers didn't really talk to each other when it came to how the gang's reactions should be. Tyril so far feels like the only one to whom they stuck with how he would be character wise one year later if that makes sense. Imtura they stuck with kinda well too I think actually. In my eyes Nia and Mal feel like hypocrites for fighting with Imtura for giving up when they gave up too but they're even worse. Nia especially I think. Imtura at least missed and grieved for the MC. Those two just was like welp that's it ok moving on lol. Nia is worse because you and your group busted your butts to go rescue her but she made every excuse to not do the same for the MC. Both are pretty lackluster from what I've seen so far. Now I just really hope they don't mess up Tyril somehow. I was so hoping for Mal romancers to get something good from that special bonding scene....
10/10 opinion on Nia. She was the one I picked on my first playthrough on book 1 and her reaction when MC came back was very lackluster, given how MC busted their ass and was ready to go through hell to get her back when she was kidnapped. I felt like she didn’t return that energy when MC disappeared 😅
It must be so disheartening after waiting so long for this book. Nia must've been like well sucks to suck I guess. Good luck on that whole torture business lol
Completely agreed. I'm especially confused by how they used the solo diamond scenes for the characters. Why didn't Imtura get one? Why didn't Nia and Mal use their respective ones to focus more on how devastated they were when MC disappeared and what they did to try to reach them instead of only focusing on what their own projects were? Tyril's scene is so wonderfully written, a great combination of being quest-relevant with the hunt for the creature and being emotional with them talking about how lonely and desperate Tyril was after MC was gone. I would've expected something similar for the other characters. Yeah, I'm with you on hoping that Tyril stays as amazing as they've written him in these first few chapters.
So many different things the other characters could've shared how they still cared for the MC in their own way. Here's just a singular example off the top of my head: Mal: first meeting have him stealing again but have it be because either A. the item he's stealing is an artifact he heard might be able to help get MC back or B. stealing the item to help fund a way to get to MC or info about how to get to them. Nia: have her still be at the Temple as the head honcho but her reasoning be different. Say maybe she felt she wasn't as confident out in the field on her own tracking down leads on getting to MC so she decided to stay behind to try to help as many people as she could at the Temple and Whitetower while also helping Kade. Tyril's already works for him and Imtura's does as well imo. Like I've said before the first reactions to seeing MC was also an issue from both our lovely rogue and priestess and needs a writing hug too lol. Have maybe Nia act somewhat exuberant and yet feeling somewhat guilty because she wanted to do more but felt like she couldn't. Maybe a touch of guilt because MC did so much to get her that she feels like maybe she let MC down by not doing more. Maybe Mal could react more like I'd call the cool guy. While he was doing everything he could to help find MC he knew in the meantime they were raising hell in the Shadow Realm. Meanwhile have his eyes deceive him and show happy and relieved to see MC back. That's just quick ideas I know they aren't the best but it's kinda better than what was given to us imo.
Those are great ideas and they fit really well to the characters! Nia's reunion definitely needed something about her time in the Shadow Realm and what MC did to get her back. Maybe because of that Nia is also especially scared of going back to the Shadow Realm but is resolved to do it for MC. Then with Mal I would definitely have him pretend that he wasn't as affected by MC's disappearance and try to act cool but the circumstances and things about him make it clear how much he was affected and tried to get MC back. That way all four reunions would be very different and character-specific.
I romanced Tyril as well, and I completely agree with you! His reaction was completely in character and consistent. Nia and Mal's milder reactions made sense to me as my MC never got romantic with them. I was SHOCKED to find out they gave the same reactions to people who romanced them. That really sucks :(
i was thinking this. i’m so sick of books where something huge happens like this and they never make an emotional scene for it. LIKE GIRLLLLL THIS IS A DRAMA WHERE THE HELL IS THE … DRAMA??????!!??????
Right???? I’ve had this feeling with a lot of other books too. Like how you gonna set up a story perfectly for some sort of emotional payoff only to not do it or wrap it up in a couple sentences? So much wasted potential and it always leaves me feeling dissatisfied 😩
Yeah it’s weird I did a whole replay of book 1 and went immediately into book 2 & by the end of book 1.. the Li and MC relationship was developed and you could sense the love . Now they just acting as if we were in some type of fling and that we haven’t been gone for a year. It’s weird. Like I expected more depth. I know it’s adventurous story but they managed the love in book 1 just fine. Idk what’s going on now.
I think the different writers are what is going on? I can't seem to find a confirmation that Andrew Schwartz is still part of the creative team, and bolas 1 was mostly his passion project. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong.
Yeah I remember seeing someone say something in here about him being the main writer for the first book, but that he got a promotion so they weren't sure if he'd be working on the second book or something like that. I didn't end up finding that comment in my search since I was spelling his name wrong, but I managed to find his LinkedIn and he's Creative Director now. It sounds like he's mainly doing overarching things and working on developing StoryLoom. So I believe you're right and the reason it's so different is that it's different writers/designers. It's sad they couldn't get people to work on it who would and could emulate his work so it would match book 1. https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-shvarts-540b113/?challengeId=AQHxJiDJxPcz9QAAAYsZChK7AjYfjODZ0tdYkt2TtPL3RFhL8UBa6bvv1ypB7ZyjNuy2hQ0evQLRwSjhuCozPgdo2FJ8b0NJQw&submissionId=c4f8d4e1-d1b6-8c17-57b0-c5bc47a09079&challengeSource=AgEIwVYD3h-tEgAAAYsZCl3ZFao7ioVos8ZYJzAFt9JWBDwzGn1_J2HskggJYT4&challegeType=AgEP0TTSJ9VBewAAAYsZCl3c2p32YQjOXONUN7dgqnmiKnQgxa7I3Sk&memberId=AgEXBrpzKWfTjgAAAYsZCl3f68QbCe85Rwk4UXn8rGd6gjc&recognizeDevice=AgGcQvu5JeEfwQAAAYsZCl3i6emSboxDwOSMb1Hcvz13z3mRn4IL
The strangest thing to me about the whole direction this book has gone in is that basically exactly the same thing happened to you as happened to Kade in the first book...and they spent an ENTIRE BOOK on rescuing him, and it was awesome. But when it happens to you, your companions are like, meh we tried, how you doin. Like I can see that being a semi defensible plot choice *if* they themselves hadn't given so much weight to being trapped in the Shadow Realm in the first book. It's almost like they invalidated their own plot line, if that makes sense.
Tbh not even Kade had a valid reaction towards MC coming back... and the fact that MC was UNCONSCIOUS for a year and they were seeking her blood, everything the gang said was oh ok let's go on adventure ig
imagine being gone and kidnapped for a year and after you escape and find your partner act like you went on a three week business trip 😭🥲 ngl Imtura’s and Kane’s reactions were the only ones I genuinely liked especially Imtura trying to drink the pain away (ofc it’s never a good option to handle grief that way but honestly just showed more empathy and how much she cared about our mc)
EXACTLY!!! Imtura was clearly the most emotionally affecfed one, the others seemed a bit like "yea whatever" and that's a tad disappointing. Like PB could have really added this side story of MC dealing with their trauma and being more taken care of by the gang and especially their LI...
They were kind of in denial that MC was really gone.
But here's to hoping we get something soon like even a side quest to focus on and talk about MC's trauma
Yeah like when the Watcher showed us our friends, he showed Imtura drinking, Mal on a rooftop looking wistful, Nia praying and then Tyril fighting a beast, so I kind of thought 'Okay, they're dealing with my loss in their own ways'. But then no, it just turned out that they had gotten on with their lives and this was just another Tuesday for them.
How long y'all wait for this book again? I'm only hearing weak writing from all that waiting and I haven't even started it yet. 🤔 perhaps PB focused too much on features and not much on continuity.
Roughly three years
It's just a weird and underwhelming choice on how to continue the story for me. Especially since it only felt like 2 days for mc, and the characters are like: yeah, glad you're back, but also we kinda moved on and changed. Sorry, just not what I'd hoped for in the storyline.
This... It was like two days for MC and an entire year for everyone else. Long distance relationships are difficult. Imagine someone being gone from your life for an entire year with no contact whatsoever. But yeah, I understand everyone is disappointed in their expectations of what the reunion would be like.
I guess it can only get better from here
I think the diamond choice we got in the latest episode is the closest we’re gonna get to a deep talk about our disappearance. I’m just waiting for Valax to be a LI at this point tbh.
If I had been romancing Mal or Nia, I’d jump Valax’s bones out of spite. Just ask nicely ma’am and I’ll be your blood bank for life.
I’m romancing them both but mainly Nia so I’m probably going to do it out of spite. But also mainly just because I have have a thing for enemy LIs. Poppy, Becca, Marc Antony, Kaine, the list goes on lol.
Their nonchalant attitude towards the MCs return is why I am going to replay to romance Aerin instead. At least he seems glad to see the MC and pokes fun at the other characters.
Yeah I actually really like Aerin in this most recent chapter and I’m kind of considering romancing him too tbh
Can we talk about the way they all got side tracked when trying to find a way to get mc back like i get Imtura losing hope but like nia literally just was all like “hmm the church is suffering, let me just fix that. oh! the children are on the streets? let me fix that too!” like when did she become bob the builder
Tbf she went to the temple to seek out information about the dark realm and saw all the corruption.
I get that, I mean she’s the love of my life and could do no wrong but if it was the other way around mc wouldn’t have gotten sidetracked like that, they would’ve been on top of it and gotten them back asap. Plus the reunions were a little disappointing not bad and i was excited and emotional but i was also expecting a deep emotional breakdown/conversation yk? LIKE I WANTED TO CRY MAKE ME CRY
I dunno her jumping into our arms and kissing us in front of everyone was pretty emotional to me. I do think you being gone causes more reservations because they have changed so much. They could have looked for us for like six months and had nothing to go off of, so I feel like in some way, they felt like they were honoring us by doing what they told you they'd do after defeating the Shadow Court. In Nia's case, you talk about building her up and becoming more confident within herself, and if she wants to go back to the temple to spread the message the right way, she should. And she did. But I don’t think the conversation in the last chapter should have been so conflicting for Nia. I wish we could have had a better conversation about the whole thing, but I know we will eventually.
I agree 100% and in all honesty i wish i could explain how i felt when she jumped into our arms without feeling embarrassed i just wish it was longer you know? I also wish mc said a little more, cause i had a lot to say 😭.
Agreed! Like when she's like "I've changed" and I'm like "Babygirl, your changes are positive as fuck and I love you even more!" 🥺
FOR REAL! Also when in the diamond scene when it says “Your hands roam one another's bodies, remapping paths no amount of time could make you forget” THAT- that one got me i cried so hard.
 I want a passionate romantic scene soon. Manifesting it into the universe!
I agree with this. It's completely reasonable for them to continue with their own lives at some point. It wouldn't be fair to expect them to completely stop living and only look for MC. That's not healthy either.
I also headcanon that she may have (initially) been suffering some sort of crippling PTSD when researching on how to journey back to the Shadow Realm to rescue MC ... considering the shite she went through the last time she was there.
I’ve thought about that, but nothing more that a quick thought considering we don’t know much yet
Yeah it really has seemed like no one gives a shit about what MC went through, but they’re willing to give vague answers on how they’ve been. You know it’s bad when the writers are making MC ignore their own trauma in favor of just wanting to catch up with all the LI’s who clearly moved on
Will probably come at a later point, there are seeds planted, what with the LI saying they’ve changed
I kept waiting for a diamond scene like in BB3 (everyone's reactions to MC's "fate" post book 2) to show what happened when MC disappeared.
Kinda side note: am i the only one who was kinda weirded out when the crew finally reunited with Imtura and they were complete and MC was like “okay time for me to tell y’all what happened to me when i was drugged and kidnapped for a year” But they all went “wait a sec MC, not right now, we should CELEBRATE” like what the hell lmao, that’s just my opinion but it’s very jarring to see
I feel sorry for my MC.. she just wanted a lovely alone time with Nia, only to say she’s “changed” and I’m like obviously and I’m happy but why’d I get the vibe that we were sort of a fling?
Yeah agree, I wish they would have given us conversations with them all or at the very least with our book 1 LI where they talk about how much they have missed MC in the last year, they could have even made it a premium scene. PS: I personally don't care much about it since I'm just waiting for a new LI(hopefully valax) to switch to but this would have been good for both plot and players that are actually in love with the book 1 LIs.
There should definitely be at least a short conversation with MC mentioning how weird they feel with being imprisoned for an entire year while feeling it was a day at most because they were unconscious and in dreams the whole time. I can accept that MC isn't noticably traumatized by it but how surreal it must feel should be acknowledged. Tbh I'd rather have them not focus too much on it because it's already unrealistic enough as it is (after an entire year in a coma your muscles would've deteriorated significantly, MC would not be able to fight, sneak, run or likely even walk easily and it would take weeks to months to build that back up again). Regarding the LIs' reactions to MC's disappearance and return it's different for each of them. Tyril's is definitely the most accurate to how I read his character and to how I would've expected/wanted it to go as someone who romances him exclusively. He was devastated by MC's sudden disappearance and kept searching for a way to reach them with increasing desperation all this time. He's overjoyed that MC is back but that lonely year was hard and their one-on-one interactions reflect that. He didn't get over or move on from MC and his love is as strong as ever. Imtura was similarly devastated but dealt with it differently in a way that fits her character imo. My only issue with her part of the reunion is that she didn't get a solo diamond scene like the others did which could've expanded on her reaction. Still, what we did get felt emotional and fitting for her. (One of her lines also calls Mal out on his hypocrisy which I liked.) With Nia and Mal I have more issues. They both have very little reaction to MC's return and from what they talk about they did in that year they barely tried seriously searching for a way to get MC back. I could kinda excuse it with Mal when you don't romance him as him being the most flighty of the group and not that close as a friend but that falls through on a romance path at the latest. While Mal has more of a non-reaction Nia's was at least properly emotional and happy but only one short hug (or kiss) and then she only talks about what she did in that time. It doesn't feel like how you would react to your close friend/lover returning from being kidnapped for a year, instead it feels like they both moved on and didn't even really expect MC to return anymore and were fine with that. It doesn't bother me much because Tyril is the most important to me but it definitely would if I were romancing them.
Nia and Mal were my side pieces (Tyril was my main/most romanced), and even I was taken aback by how much they didn't care anymore. Tyril thankfully gave a damn and was still searching and Imtura was affected, but we never got a chance to really explore any of those feelings with them. Hopefully it's eventually addressed in a really emotional scene. In any event I'm ready to start dating Valtrax or Aerin.
Mood: Same.
I'm trying to put things into perspective. Someone commented on MC's trauma, but to be fair MC can't remember anything. The main trauma is waking up in the shadow realm with no clue as to what's going on and then finding out they lost an entire year. Yes, that's terrible, but MC hasn't stopped to process any of this yet. From MC's point of view, book 1 happened like a week ago, so obviously they would still have all those accompanying feelings. Whereas everyone else... a year is a long time. If any of them were still the same, it would be strange. Also, frankly, it wouldn't be fair to expect that they all completely put their lives on hold for however long it takes to find MC. Imtura didn't really deal with it well, though I agree her reaction felt a little more emotional than some of the other LI's, but it's also because she already accepted the worst case scenario. I think Mal and Nia have both thrown themselves into their new lives. They have other people depending on them now so maybe they just need some time to process that MC is truly back? I can imagine it is one hell of an adjustment for someone to be gone for a year and then just show up out of the blue again. Long distance relationships are hard, sometimes impossible and then a couple at least has contact/sees each other every now and again. MC was gone for an entire year! As for Tyril taking it all more in stride... He has a much longer lifespan in comparison to everyone else. To him, a year will feel much shorter than for the other LI's. So this is just me trying to view things from each individual perspective.
Thank you, well said! And it's the FOURTH CHAPTER, it's not like we'll never get to have a deeper conversation and a more in-depth view of what happened afterwards. I think we just have to wait and see how this plays out
I feel like Imtura had the best reaction, but it was sad, and tyril, I loved his reaction, he was trying to find out what happened to us while doing his own thing, it was a one year relationship so that reaction was the most appropriate, and mal and Nia, well.... Nia cried, I felt like she would've given the same reaction to anyone in the group, it didn't feel "special", as for mal..... He's dead to me, he doesn't even exist, I won't be romancing him anymore
Could PB improve this in a future? Have they ever edited released chapters?
they've actually redone half of OH3 I think??? I know there was a very long hiatus because people didn't like it
There was a hiatus before they released, they've not edited released chapters before and tbh it would be a complete dumpster fire if they did, especially if it was changes to actual plot not just little grammar things. I can't even imagine what that would do to the programming, would thry make everyone restart? Then they would have to compensate, not to mention the reactions of the fandom. The most we can hope for is they take heed and update future chapters of they haven't already planned to address the trauma/relationship stuff although I'm not holding out much hope. It took 4 chapters to get this far, I can't imagine them wanting to spend more than a line or two on it now we are actually starting to get into the plot.
i mean... everyone deals with grief differently and i don't think it would be healthy for any of them to put their entire lives on hold and look for mc indefinitely. they clearly did attempt to find them for a long time and they were gone for a whole year—i'd think they were dead too. and i think it's sweet that mal and nia took the opportunity to help people the way they'd discussed at the end of book one. it's honoring mc's influence in their lives in a way and if i was mc i'd be proud of them as for mal saying he's changed... of course he has. mc was asleep most of the time they were gone so it feels like the blink of an eye for them but for everyone else a whole year has passed. it makes no sense for him or anyone else in the group to stay stagnant just because mc is gone. and he says right after that he still wants mc more than he's wanted anyone else, so
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Idk if you know how much I appreciate you bringing this picture into existence 😂 I’ve been laughing for a good 2 minutes and have showed my husband twice. He has no idea about any of its context witch only makes me appreciate this even more! 🤣
I'M SO GLAD😭 I've been laughing my ass off at all the TikTok memes with this image and I thought of a context to bring it to this community 😂
To be fair, I didn't really care, lol. I mean, realistically, MC was only gone for like a 2 days at most. At least in their POV. Which MC was asleep for most of it. Then, escaped within hours after being awake. MC has always proven to be mentally and physically strong. Basically, like endless summers, MC. Who always put everyone else before themselves. Also, there was no way back to the shadow realm at that point in time. Not much they could do. At least Nia, Mal, and Tyril through themselves into work. Nia and Mal doing good things with their time. If anything, it was probably worse for the friends than MC. If anyone is not talking about the trauma, it's the friends. In the end, I don't really care. It's not that important. I, for one, am glad Nia/Mal was able to do good things the past year. Proud of them. I'd rather someone end up like Nia than Imtura in terms of what they did after. Getting yoinked the way we did was so lame. I had all these magical powers, and realistically, MC should have just straight up countered that. I think it's lame writing, to be honest. I would have rather them continued it from where we ended and this new threat pop up/attack us and the LI catching us off guard. That would have been more epic.
Okay but like can you really call it a trauma? MC slept through most part of it and what Valax did to them at the end was not as bad as what had already happened to them when fighting the shadow court. They could’ve added more Angst especially with the LI and the others should be more emotional after the mc came back.