Wow, I didn't expect a new update so soon. My thoughts, theories, and spoilers are below. Warning: there's a lot of text and screenshots down there.
I absolutely loved the new update! I literally couldn't think of anything else until I finished it. AAAA it was so good!
I somehow accidentally lost my Chelsea save with Avery's skyscraper, so I decided to replay it while exploring the update, and I actually got lucky, as I was able to get some interesting character interactions.
I've always been interested in Gwylan, and I was very surprised and happy when I learned that this update was dedicated to her. And besides, Gwylan could become a new love interest! Honestly, I didn't think there would be any new LIs at all, but I'm glad they did, and I'll continue to wait for the plant-human LI I once heard rumors about.
At first, Gwylan was so sweet and kind, I started to like her. But then she revealed her kinky side, I fell in love with her <3 Gwylan is definitely on my list of favorite Lis.
I really liked how Gwylan was written, her doubts about her feelings for PC, her desire to get closer to PC, and at the same time her fear of getting attached to PC. What can I say, I really love angst. I especially liked the moment when she got angry at PC for breaking the rule and kissing her. Gwylan kicked PC out of the shop and became unavailable in the game for a while. I checked the shop every day, but it was still closed, so I decided to check on the brown fox in the pub (I was really lucky that the old save disappeared and I'm back with Avery's skyscraper and can interact with the fox in the pub), since I was sure the brown fox was Gwylan. And I was right.
She's so distressed by what happened that she's even abandoned her disguise. It's hard to see Gwylan in such a state T_T
We can also find her in the pub, alone and sad. Interestingly, this scene of Gwylan and PC meeting in the pub is reminiscent of the meeting between the witch and Winter in the pub from the story "Bleeding ward."
I also had a theory about this: what if witches have the ability to pass their memories down through generations? At the end of the "Hopeless cycle" story, Nona develops a Stockholm syndrome: Fayne trait. If we ask Gwylan about the chain tunic, she'll have a very strange reaction.
It seems this is the very same tunic of Fayne's, and Gwylan inherited a strong attachment to him from her ancestor, which is why she treasures it so much. Witches not only pass on their memories, but they are also all connected (I still hold on to the theory that Gwylan is Winter's grandchild).
And also this
Perhaps she's talking about losses from her "past lives," not from her current one.
And I have an even stranger theory! What if all witches are one person, constantly reincarnated? A witch is born, grows up, becomes pregnant, gives birth, dies, and her consciousness is transferred into the body of her newborn child, and this cycle constantly repeats. In the "Hopeless cycle," ending D:
It's explicitly stated here that the witch needed a new body, and that this new body is her child. Ending B:
The witch's body was severely damaged by the curse, so she transformed into a snake (as in the ending F), and then she shed her shell and became a child. Apparently, a witch doesn't need to give birth to a child to undergo the cycle of reincarnation; she can reincarnate herself. This is precisely what is depicted in the painting "Hopeless Cycle"—a girl reincarnated from a snake.
"Bleeding ward." I posted this screenshot earlier.
If Winter is female, then the witch in his story will be male. At the end of the story, Winter becomes pregnant by the witch, they separate, and wandering alone through the winter forest, the witch feels himself with Winter, surrounded by warm walls. It sounds as if his mind has slowly begun to transfer into a new body, into his child inside Winter.
Also, we never saw two witches at the same time. The witch who saved young Winter died, after which a new witch appeared in the story, with whom Winter had a relationship. Gwylan talked about her grandmother, but we never saw her. Of course, she mentioned that her grandmother was gravely ill and might die soon, but then why did Gwylan act so casual? Perhaps it was simply a lie to avoid admitting that she was grieving so deeply for PC and that her grandmother had long since passed away.
And if this theory is true, then that's why Gwylan pushed away her feelings and feelings of PC, because one day she too will need to be reborn and leave PC behind.
Theories aside, I don't want to think about a possible sad ending to PC and Gwylan's romance just yet; I want to praise Gwylan, she is truly one of the best LIs out there. She's so sweet and caring, she spoils my PC Chelsea so much, she gave her a dog bowl embedded with jewels and engraved with her name, and then she gave her a special collar that deprives Chelsea of free will and allows her location to be tracked. I love it, hehehe :^3 I hope Chelsea gets a doghouse in Gwylan's garden in the future. I really love their "mistress" and "pet" relationship.
Gwylan's other advantages are that she protects PC from other people's hypnosis and saves them from Ivory Wraith and Eden. I want to talk more about Gwylan and Eden. When Eden tried to find PC in the store, Gwylan said some interesting things to him
Crumbs of Eden's lore! What have you done in the past, Eden? By the way, thanks to Eden I got bug lol
This bug has already been fixed, I checked.
Just like last time, I decided to replay the game and not help the brown fox, so Avery finished the skyscraper and performed the ritual successfully. This hurts me so much…
The shop is open, but Gwylan isn't there. Thankfully, after some time (about a month, I think?) she returned. But now Landry doesn't remember the brown fox. It seems she used her magic to erase Landry's memory. Perhaps Gwylan won't work as the brown fox anymore.
Now I want to talk about some other interesting details. If we unlock Gwylan as a LI, her title will change from "the shopkeeper" to "the curious." Who else is curious? A curious presence in the prayer room.
These visions in the prayer room are reminiscent of visions during one of the Gwylan rituals.
I also want to say how much new clothing has been added. So many temple outfits! Cornelia's wardrobe has been expanded, hurray! I'm also glad that there's a version of the nun's dress with a long skirt; I like this version better than the previous one.
I'd like to point out the names of the colors for the chain tunic. They all reference various elements from the "Hopeless Cycle" story; it's such an interesting detail.
But the most important thing... I never even dreamed about it... A straitjacket! I wanted a straitjacket for Strawberry so badly! I once managed to get Strawberry out of the asylum through the tentacle world without damaging the straitjacket, because I really wanted Strawberry to keep it as a reminder of Harper. But then I discovered that the straitjacket can't be removed; you can only rip it, and it disappears. I tried many ways to take it off and put it in the wardrobe, but all to no avail. For example, Strawberry went to Niki's photo shoot, which didn't help, then she went to Leighton's office, which also didn't help. But at the same time, in the game files, I saw an untied straitjacket, although I couldn't untie it in the game. But now it's in the store! I'm happy!
