@auburnflight I'd have sent this in an ask, but the finished post ended up too big and I felt like it wouldn't fit an ask. But here are my thoughts about System Rover!
Ok, I will disclaimer this by saying that I've started playing it less than a week ago. I just first met Scar today, if you want a reference to where I stopped.
But, I did look a bit into spoilers on Rover's lore, so I know they used to be the Extremely Powerful Resonator™ who was trying to save the world. And that after 10.000 years of no progress, loss, and failure, they sacrificed their own memory to start anew, with a new perspective in battle.
My ideas for system Rover aim to consolidate what I see as an unintenional metaphor for plurality into actual plurality.
On the metaphor front we have Abby, who didn't split from Rover despite sharing a body with them. On a more nebulous front, we have Rover's past self, who still manifests here and there, and still influences their actions. So in the fanfic front, I wanted to write Rover having split between the two appearances we get to choose from in-game, and have a more literal representation of plurality too.
I'm calling it they split after waking up without memories in the Tacet Field, but definitely didn't notice until a long time afterwards. Mostly because they were amnesiac as hell and dissociating at the start of the game.
Ever since I started playing, I didn't spend more than 2 days as only the F version or only the M version. And none of the characters batted an eye when I changed out of my boobs into a flat chest. So, I'm thinking, initially Rover is able to shapeshift their appearance. That being one of their Resonance skills.
The idea of adding the M and F versions to the system came when I kept seeing them together in the loading screen, and the game trailers switching between them in animations.
I don't know if I'll make it so the F body for example is specifically only ever used by the F alter. To me, the whole system just gets two bodies to pick from. Just so I can work it with my own fanon of Rover's gender being a big whatever even before the amnesia (that headcanon is to be expected when I play this game constantly switching between appearances tbh). I personally use she/her for both of them, but pronouns don't have to mean anything for gender.
But, I feel like I'm rambling, so I'll let you read this and tell me what you think. Hehe
