Just thought about putting it out here as well.
Quiet’s path is extremely underrated.
If anyone has played through S2 wholly, has your opinion on Noontide changed? I thought, it may be an interesting discussion.
For instance, to me, for my first two playthroughs at least, Noontide was the best faction, and i was completely on Strider’s side. I have heard that some people even crave a whole Noontide story route, where you are able to save Strider and help his faction develop. And i mostly have shared Strider’s ideas in the beginning. Especially, the “we are free men, who are able to choose their own path”. And theoretically it sounds great. Though, the way Strider implemented it rubbed me the wrong way when i saw the full picture.
We, of course, are told by the story, that Strider simply wants to protect his people (which, don’t get me wrong, i absolutely can understand), but the problem begins when they develop isolationist views. Repentance and all of that. It definitely makes sense, most of them feel guilty despite the amnesia. They want to redeem the camo and the symbols of their past. But this “freedom” in Noontide… how free is it? Even though anybody is allowed to leave, they are definitely advised against doing so, which definitely strangles any attempts of exploration.
Especially it is seen with Jumper and Bluish, who Dubny summons mercs to protect, since he doesn’t know any better means of doing so. And exactly this is an issue with Noontide. They don’t know any better, and they are afraid of mistakes, of gaining experience. It makes their story so much sadder. Inexperienced people who are afraid to grow. A cut-off commune (which can be studied as an interesting case of religious residue)
And Strider himself as a leader. He definitely has nice qualities, like protectiveness and courage. But he doesn’t have an actual goal, or an actual plan. Noontide is akin to a project in development hell: liminal, always somewhere but not at a steady place.
To Strider’s defense: the isolationism of Noontide definitely is caused by Faust. If we look at Strider’s supporters, we clearly see how much more open-minded they are about a stalker coming into Shelter. Unlike neo-Monolithians. They were the ones giving the most bitter of looks
It isn’t that i’m trying to convince anyone that “Noontide bad”. No. Definitely not, as i was the No 1 Noontide fan at the time. It is just interesting to observe how your own perception changes over time. I would like to read what you think about them, or what you think about this chunk of text i had posted here 🪬
And as i further delve into this topic, the worse i feel about Jumper. “We could be happy now, we just need to live like regular people”. Leave the symbols. Put a ‘sunrise’ on, and leave into your free sailing, oh free Noontider.
As i feel a lack of discourse in my veins…
