Do you ever wonder if painted Verso was actually remarkably similar to original Verso in personality?

Sure, the characters in-game say how he's different — how he's not really Verso — but what do we know of the original Verso at the start of it all? He was painted by his mother, they were a close family to begin with, there's a shard of his soul already she has for reference.

We know vaguely how the real Verso was; he was kind, he joked with family, he was soft and comforting and self-sacrificing. He "hid truth with lies".

Sure, he (most likely) wasn't proficient at swordsmanship. He didn't want to die.

... That's probably exactly how he was 67 years ago. Before fighting and hurting and dying became commonplace. Before he was betrayed and tortured by friends, before he had to kill those that had trusted him, before Julie. (In his journal I dare say it seems he had hope; and no small amount–)

Ever think about how he was before the canvas forced him to be only sharp edges and dangerous charm, elusive and manipulative, pragmatic and calculating?

She was not part of expedition zero. She was sent with the rest of her team as the “Search and Rescue” to find other survivors, along with Verso and Renoir, after their encounter with Clea. Hence why Verso was warned by Renoir that she was “Clea's creation” (though she wasn't).

“I think they're lying about what happened to expedition zero”. She doesn't know. All she knows is Verso and Renoir survived without a scratch.

Who survived the first encounter with Renoir? Gustave, Lune, Maelle, and Sciel. Now, there were probably a few others, namely Leo, who made it to the tree but got distracted at a very inconvenient time (Gustave, I'm not blaming you, I'm just saying-).

We know why these guys survived. Lune has her magic, Sciel is literally the best fighter in the expedition, Verso was protecting Maelle.

(Quick appreciation for this moment.)

But how did Gustave survive? He's not a particularly good fighter, he froze up in the moment more than once; he couldn't even run.

There's something so painfully cruel about Gustave's character, because he was not meant for this world. He is friendly and kind and funny and charmingly awkward. Everyone in expedition 33 was friends with Gustave.

Everyone was looking out for him. To the point that people literally threw themselves in the way to block attacks directed at him, to the point where every single time a new danger presented itself, they thought of Gustave. It didn't matter how much of a liability he was in that moment, he was their friend, and he was worth it.