participation trophies

first, the moment where Boldir is poisoned and trying to tell the MC why they’re important. she doesn’t succeed, though, because before she can, the entire game window darkens and warps around MC, which in-universe is described as their senses leaving them. the game itself even points out that there’s no explanation for it in-universe by having MC notice they weren’t poisoned. reality just fucks up, at either a very convenient or very inconvenient point

second, the moment where the player is grieving over Boldir. this could be taken as just regular grieving, but it’s phrased...really oddly. rather than acknowledging that another friend dying is the most likely reason for being upset, the MC seems confused and upset that they’re feeling at all, degenerating into the beginning of a breakdown at the last line. it doesn’t feel like the MC or the universe we’ve come to know