Really enjoying this. I chose to travel with Agate near the start, and I've really enjoyed watching both him and Estelle develop as characters.
Estelle seems much more confident, more willing to take the lead, which fits her perfectly not just in terms of character development, but also the career she wants. The Bracer training section was great in terms of a bit more info on how the guild works as an ad-hoc network of adventurers, when senior bracers are off doing something, they are glad of other bracers being around to pick up the slack. Even the way Agate refers to sidequests as 'board-work' is great writing in that it implies a level of familiarity, that he and loads of others obviously see it as an everyday job, and that's why he sleeps through the airship sections. Also, Olivier, who can afford to travel in style, is obviously more comfortable travelling in style too, while younger characters are more likely to be up on deck. I must have played a hundred rpgs by now but this kind of world-building is just awesome, it makes the country and the guild feel 'real'.
Agate has gone from being harsh but capable in the first game, to being more of a mentor now. It seems like he's incredibly loyal to his friends, is far more thoughtful than he looks, and his general 'get stuff done, but do it right' demeanour is actually a pretty good role model for younger bracers. The way he talks with obvious warmth towards characters who are genuinely asking for help, with brisk professionalism to his colleagues, but takes no shit from those who are clearly lying or wasting time or incompetent always makes me laugh. During the hotel sidequest in chapter one, I loved how, if I suggested that my intuition was enough to call out an npc as the criminal, he says to go and do it properly! Even his relationship with Olivier has developed, I'm just starting chapter two, and it was cool to see him recognise Olivier's skill with firearms and as a combatant, even if he clearly finds him annoying and their personalities are completely different.
I think my own thoughts on Olivier have changed over the course of the story too. He initially comes across as tedious (I dislike the 'comedic romantic pest' characters in rpgs) in that he hits on everyone and from the position of being very wealthy and powerful and not sharing their everyday concerns, but after seeing his actions in Ruan, his personality as a poet and dilettante comes across more. I think that when it was only expressed via the medium of trying to chat up everybody who collectively had an important job to do, I found him annoying, but now I find his softer personality actually balances out the raw physicality of the Bracers quite well.
And HOLY FUCKING SHIT indeed at that Fading Light of the Sealed land.
