this will be an AROMANTIC story like none before

The first scene we get with Mitya is him talking to Vodyanitsa at a restaurant. He immediately embarrasses himself by letting slip that he wasn't acting paying attention to her performance, then lets slip some important information about Project Stuzha, only to be muffled by his own scarf for talking too much. And then, on top of that, he flees his bodyguard who we learn has to track him down to stop him from slacking off.

It sets up the image of a silly, airheaded goofball—Certainly not someone you'd expect to be entrusted with such an important project.

And then, in the very next scene, the entire conversation is recontextualized by the fact that he was fully aware of the traveler and Alyosha's presence. This immediately dismisses any idea that he is an open book, as he was able to carry on conversing with Vodyanitsa without any indicator that he was aware of our presence.

It also makes the traveler question: Was his "slip of the tongue" regarding Project Stuzha really just that? Or was he deliberately giving away information knowing they would overhear?

His introduction immediately sets him up as someone who seems airheaded on the surface but is actually far more intelligent than he lets on.

And the game repeatedly follows up on this.

Of course, we know he's incredibly intelligent—A breakthrough he made was literally the inciting incident of Act 2.

But the game also follows up more on Mitya being someone who keeps his cards close to his chest.

During much of the Murder Mystery segment, compared to the other cast members, Mitya does not show much outward distress. We don't get a vulnerable late night chat with him. There's no point where he breaks down or openly shares how he's feeling.

The closest thing to this is his reaction when Valeriy dies. This, I would say, is when the reality of his predicament hits him.

When he comes across Valeriy's death, he says the following:

Mitya: I've been a real thorn in your side, haven't I, Mister Valeriy. Now you can rest in peace.

Mitya: But for me, life will be all the duller for not having to run away from you, my friend.

This scene, coupled with his notable differences in behavior afterwards (see: Him snapping at Chugunov) make it clear that Mitya is very much moved by Valeriy's death.

But despite that, he tries not to outwardly show it. Ultimately, this is a rather muted reaction for witnessing the death of one's close friend.

Mitya keeps his true distress hidden. But of course, again, we see his true upset when he faces off with Ronova.

Mitya: Grim Reaper, you really know how to get on my nerves.

Ronova: I care not to ingratiate myself. I kill merely because your deaths are unnecessary.

Mitya: Oh, you've made that quite clear. But humans don't take well to being scorned... Not even by the gods!

This, plus his line about teaching Ronova to have some respect for the dead, is the instance where he reveals the most about his true feelings. He's outraged. He's more than willing to face off against the Shade of Death knowing full well how futile it is. He even calls her 'Grim Reaper', knowing full well just how much it pisses her off.

But even here, he still seems to try and maintain some degree of composure. No screaming or sobbing or voice cracks or crying. His voice is more of a quiet, simmering outrage—Again, indicating that he is trying to hold himself together.

Mitya has a much better hold of himself than you'd expect from seeing a lot of his more comedic moments, something that reframes these moments for me.

Now, of course, I don't think that him being a goofy, bubbly, extroverted guy is an act, and that his entire personality is actually a facade. Of course not—These things don't negate his personality. Venti hiding the truth of him being Barbatos doesn't change the fact of his personality, only recontextualize it.

But it is quite interesting to think about: Just how much of his airheadedness is genuine?

A minor example of this, for me, is when you jokingly suggest "The Slumbering Heavenly Principles" as a play name.

Mitya claims to have no understanding of this joke (implying he knows nothing about the Heavenly Principles). But... Mitya is literally the lead researcher on a project to create a weapon meant to target the Heavenly Principles. There's no way he doesn't know who they are.

Meaning... He lied about not getting the joke. For some reason.

And now comes another question: What could that reason be? What motivates him to be so secretive? What could he possibly be hiding?

Frankly, I don't think I could really pinpoint the answer to that. There's definitely other things that are suspicious about him, doubly so for me in tandem with this: The seelie/angel symbol on his hair, the nature of his scarf that seemingly has to stop him from saying too much, his magic resembling Skirk and Dottore's, and even smaller things (that might just be me overthinking), such as him referring to humans in the third person.

Whatever it is, though, I don't doubt he's got something hidden up his sleeve, and I am so ready for him to drop some absolute bombshell on us in either later AQ acts, or the Snezhnaya Story Quest.