Something that fascinates me about Lichen in particular is that while she isn't as Heinous™ as Shin (that's to say she's not 'stand there while a ship of people descends into cannibalism' or 'manipulates ship crew into turning on the captain' bad), she's, to me, a far more startling hoodwink than Shin was. And I think it's because of this CG.
This CG is a bright, beaming, gentle smile and might actually be the most bright, beaming, gentle smile I've seen in a gacha. This is something straight out of a formative childhood memory like a kid looking up at their big sister. Or maybe it's the smile of someone you missed your chance with and you remember them as the one who got away for the rest of your life. That's how lovely it is.
Shin's version is this smile:
And it's a very pretty smile! But it doesn't really reach her eyes like Lichen's does. Beyond a standard 'gentle maternal' impression, Shin's smile doesn't move me. It makes for a beautiful expression but it doesn't feel like this smile is really tugging at any facial muscles to form, and thus to me it doesn't feel genuine. I don't know if this was a consideration when they were doing the art for Abyssal Tentaculum, but it's actually true to Shin's character. Like eerily so.
Shin's presentation as the 'gentle motherly type' is important to where she stands in the narration because that archetype is one that the rest of the casts traditionally finds security in. But Shin performs an archetype more than she actually lives it and I think this CG where her smile doesn't reach her eyes encapsulates that.
Shin's misdeeds are more dire than Lichen's, but Lichen's bamboozle parses as the greater personal betrayal because she was able to present herself as genuine. Chief was already burned by Shin, was skeptical of Lichen, warmed up to Lichen, and then Lichen leveraged her ongoing, established protectiveness of them to give them a trojan horse of a charm that 'protected them' by forcibly piloting their body and then forced them to open up the coffin...like...
how are you going to flash me this BRIGHT, BEAMING GRIN and then usurp my autonomy. when I'm in a fake af contest and my opponent is Lichen from Path To Nowhere (I don't know what happens in Chengxiao's chapter so maybe this is reconciled, but for now......)
anyway I guess this was a roundabout way of glazing of the PTN art team and I hope they get their flowers
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