Talking to animals sounds very useful to me. Even the most innocuous of them has information/gossip on the people and places they're most often around, so MC gets to be a little bit like a reconnaissance and information gathering specialist, if you think about it.
I'm also a little curious if the ability itself would mean animals and beasts would have some favor towards MC... Going full Disney's Snow White/Sleeping Beauty in a forest sounds like a fun time to me.
Tangent, but this somewhat led me thinking about Celine and her relationship with MC. To what degree does the player have control over it? Will we get options about how we feel about her? Some modicum of resentment is undeniably present, but I can't help but think that their sibling dynamic isn't quite black-and-white... Perhaps I'm being too optimistic 😅 crossing my fingers to hope this doesn't evolve in a manhwa-like situation where she lets the attention get to her head lol.
Yesss for sure! And you'll deffo have the ability to gather info from them, but while some animals may be friendly and offer information willingly - others you might have a little more trouble with since they are very loyal to their owners or wild, and will only give you info info inf you prove yourself! I'm hoping to add a timer mechanic to those interactions too (although you'll have the opportunity to turn it off if you need)
I don't think the ability would mean any inherent favour toward the MC, as all it enables you to do is talk to and understand animals, but if you are kind to them they will repay you and become loyal to you. I love the idea of going full Disney Pricess in the game and calling on animals to help you <3
The relationship between Celine and MC is very fluid, but at the point where the player enters the game the relationship between the two has become estranged. I'm not entirely sure yet how much autonomy the player will have over their relationship with Celine as one of the key stories I'd like to explore is how Celine and the MC rebuild their relationship.
Celine and MC were brought up very close, and so they both love eachother greatly, however, in their youth MC did get overshadowed a lot by their twin (mostly due to their father) and as such MC will have a complex about this - this does not mean they hate or dislike Celine, but just that they are jealous of them which has estranged their relationship.
However, Celine themself also has some issues with sacrifice and other emotional burdens that they will need to work through, alongside some strong feelings about the MCs jealousy. So definitely not black and white. I'm very excited to tell the Twins' story, thank you for the ask :)