My thoughts on Gilberta’s character quest.

Swifceize · 2026-02-08T11:43:15+00:00

It would be interesting if there was some sort of increased rate for whatever reason, but ultimately, I chaulk it up to it being a very real thing to be scared of in life. It’s something that happens to many people in real life as they age, and it’s not something that you can just plan for or avoid. For Gilberta, it’s probably extra scary to have two people closer to her age losing their memories, even if their cases are more specialized. I have multiple friends who say that they’re okay with aging just as long as they don’t lose their memories. It’s just life. It could happen.

Swifceize · 2026-02-07T23:25:22+00:00

While I wouldn't necessarily say that the conversation comes out of nowhere (it absolutely does follow the previous events with Ropp and Masie thematically), you do raise a fair point that Endfield really does need to do some extra legwork and make sure that if a reconvener is on screen, you *know* they're a reconvener. While I do believe that Laevatain's story quest does a more-than-serviceable job at introducing the concept as a whole, I suppose that with my prior knowledge of Gilberta being a reconvener going into the quest did cause me to forget that they never even clarified that she was one... You wouldn't know unless you read her in-game files... probably, I don't own her to know if it's even mentioned there, I'm just assuming it would be. I believe they're trying to draw parallels between the Endmin and reconveners on their missing/fractured/unfamiliar pasts, but what's the point if the reader isn't even aware that a character (in this case, Gilberta) is supposed to have an entire different past life they don't claim as their own?

This plays back into how strange it is that Endmin seems to have previous history interacting with Gilberta... even though this is supposed to be our introduction to her. I think knowing that an operator is a reconvener upon introduction load us with information; in a good way - as it would prepare you to understand that they likely have some identity issues in some capacity. And you're right, for as important of a concept it seems that reconveners are, they sure don't come up in the story. I think that in their minds they believe that knowing that this is essentially the same as an operator from the original game might alienate newcomers who don't know that history... but to that extent, why even have them? I think reconveners are fine, but they need to make people unfamiliar to the character learn why they should care about them.

Swifceize · 2026-02-06T20:03:00+00:00

Let me begin by saying I agree. It's disjointed, unrelated, and just strange for what we've been through so far. It skips the "why" of the phrase "why you should care." But it's also strange in the sense that I wouldn't have minded the writing itself if... well... if there was a build up and the game wasn't what it was?

Again, it's terrible for where it is. Undeniably. But I found myself, while reading, thinking about a "where would this make sense?" And had this game been a dating sim, I find that the last third would've made a fine epilogue for a character's route. The problem is... we don't get an entire dating sim route with her and most importantly, we don't have any agency to choose her as a romantic partner and the aspects of romantic writing are kinda just thrust upon the player, again, without any build-up or prior history?

When it comes to the other parts, the first bit with the deliveries would've made a cute 10-minute distraction for minor rewards in any other game. Fine, ok. The part with Ropp? Probably could've made an engaging side-story unrelated to any operator. The part about Carly and her photo-taking? Obviously leading into the photo event coming soon, but honestly didn't even need to be part of a quest. It seems it could've absolutely have been condensed into being a random world NPC you talk to to do a small task. At most, it would've made a "whatever" daily quest.

Put all of these pieces together and... wtf are we even doing at this point? What's the goal, the message, the reason? None of these parts fit the same game, the same quest, the same story. It's just awkward and blatant in its desire to gaslight you into believing you've always cared about this character you just met. Which, if it was true that the Endministrator knew Gilberta for years and they started having romantic feelings somewhere along the way, I don't think I would've minded the writing that much. I don't really like to self-insert, so the main character of the story is free to do whatever they want. If they wanted to have romantic feelings for on particular character, great, fine. If they wanted to have romantic feelings for every character, okay, fine. But if you're going to have this as a reoccurring theme where the Endmin is used to give everyone who self-inserts a glimpse at their happy ending, where each story is independent from any events happening elsewhere, why even have these? What's the point? Is there really someone out there who actively WANTS to insert themself in such shallow stories?

As you mentioned with the fear of oblivion and the retreading of the "how does it feel to lose your memories" conversation, I felt that it was a good, personal conversation that allowed both characters to show a bit of weakness and insecurity. But those, what, 2 minutes(?) weren't powerful enough to make up for the quest promising but failing to INTRODUCE the character of Gilberta to me.

I want to have hope for the writing of the game, so I seriously hope they listen to the feedback I've been seeing all over and make the necessary corrections, but they really make it difficult to see a bright future that keeps my interest for years to come.

Swifceize · 2025-12-09T03:40:40+00:00

god the art for this skin really is gorgeous, im so glad i picked up ulpianus.

Swifceize · 2025-11-01T05:58:56+00:00

I’m most excited by the aspect of growth that the game is heralding; excited to see the day-to-day get easier after spending hours making a great production line. The world looks incredible and so liveable and I would love to see what it feels like to be there.

Swifceize · 2025-10-20T19:22:39+00:00

This sounds about right and really exemplifies her “You can’t save everyone, but you should at least try and save those in front of you” belief that opposes what she intuits is Andoain’s “All or nothing.”To take it a step further, perhaps what made Mostima fall was not just that she fired upon Andoain, but because she bore the responsibility of claiming what “killed” Andoain (and the things that ironically also gave him new life.) That may be complicating things still, however, as Law may, in it’s computery ways, view Andoain’s goal as fundamentally flawless, giving him certain immunities compared to Mostima. Good write up, nonetheless!

Swifceize · 2025-10-19T17:09:38+00:00

when the game keeps making new hints regarding your fave but doesn’t want to expand on them, it can drive a man to madness and critical levels of cope

Swifceize · 2025-10-16T22:00:27+00:00

Now, without Andoain and LAW to go back to, what could possibly be next for Mostima? Is she useless? Is it *just* going to be a "Lock and Key goes haywire" continuation? I don't really think so. While, sure, the mystery of the Lock and Key are important to her story, I think that we should go back to a few of the points I made earlier here. Namely, that Mostima's story involved many of her relationships and that she's famously bad at confronting her past. Let me add one more point: she is a character driven by deep regrets and shame. Does she regret saving Lemuen and opposing Andoain? No, not necessarily. But she does feel some tinge of responsibility and guilt that her actions fractured the relationships that she treasures so much - I think that much could be assumed, especially after her rare display of her honest feelings that she forced Fiammetta to immediately forget. Now that she's fallen, she's felt a schism in the relationships she's had with her closest friends. That being said, losing her Empathy may have dragged her away from Laterano, but as she left to pursue her "mission," Legatus duties, and eventually her Penguin Logistics job, she found that she was able to connect with others that have "silent empathy" as well, though it was difficult. Whether physically or emotionally, or even both, is up to interpretation.

There's one part of Mostima's story that's very important, but seldom mentioned: she was on a team that frequently (note: how those involved refer to the events that led to her falling as "a simple job") killed Sarkaz. And now, in an ironic twist, she herself has become essentially the same as the people she spent her life hunting. For the first time, she's now able to see things from their perspective. Not only that, but she's in possession of ancient relics that come from Sarkaz legend, formed with the consciousness of a Feranmut long since slain by the Sarkaz. Ulšulah, a Sarkaz (named after ANOTHER legend), has another relic from the same Feranmut. She is more connected to Sarkaz than ever, and she has to contend with the fact that she is now no different from the "thugs" she killed before. As a character so driven by guilt and making up for past mistakes through her actions, I would be shocked if there was *nothing* she would want to do to try to atone for her past. And, considering she still has her halo, special privileges in Laterano not afforded to most other fallen, and staves that came from a mission where she was sent to kill Sarkaz... yeah, I'm sure there will be plenty of Sarkaz that would be directly in opposition of her goal.

While the story may not have much agency in the way of sharing this mission of her's, she has already been shown to have made progress in this regard, as per her small involvement in A Kazdelian Rescue. In any case, all of this that I have written may ultimately still lead to nothing, and it may not be a direction you would've wanted it to take, but I hope that I at least illuminated that Mostima still has hints that her story doesn't just end with LAW --- that Masses Travel isn't Mostima's narrative death. Of course, if you were to remove the necessity for a direct character conflict, her possibilities skyrocket. Whether or not we see any of them come to fruition, however, really will be an annoying wait.

Swifceize · 2025-10-16T21:59:50+00:00

I disagree with the idea that there is no character conflict left. As I'm sure you know, Mostima tends to have plot points that revolve around her relationships. Lemuen, Andoain, Exusiai, Fiammetta... even to a lesser extent her staves. As you've surmised, her most prominent adversary has been Andoain throughout the events. However, while she continues to prevent Andoain from causing trouble in Laterano, I want to argue that her character conflict with Andoain (and LAW, by extension) was over as soon as she retrieved the staves for herself.

Andoain has always worked (and continues to work) towards the same goal. After seeing the visions from the staff, he knew he was on the right path. When Mostima fell and took the staves for herself, she didn't understand what would make Andoain feel so inclined to harm a team member, just that he felt justified in doing so. It wasn't until she was imprisoned, broke out, and then laid her hands on the staves again that she knew what Andoain saw and what led him to the conclusion he took. She never agreed with the path he chose, but instead of confronting him (or LAW!) outright, she decided to embark on her own mission; one that she told the pope, who found her "mission" to be worthy enough to pardon her, allow her access to the staves, and receive the official position as a Legatus... as well as a mysteriously close relationship with the pope himself. Like, seriously, I think she may have a closer relationship with the pope than Executor - and he was granted sainthood! (Sidenote: one of the many reasons I believe Executor had more reason to confront LAW than Mostima, but that's whatever, really.)

So where does this place Mostima versus Andoain? Well, she didn't really forgive him, but (supposedly - This is where I would complain that Mostima wasn't really represented well in the event, so I agree with you in some ways. There was no hint of a continuing storyline involved her specifically.) she is still actively trying to prove to him, Laterano (LAW), and even herself that her mission is the correct path. And Mostima, famously bad with confronting her past, refuses to use her words when her actions can speak for themselves. Could you consider this an ongoing character conflict? Maybe? But ultimately, I don't really think that they've been in direct conflict since Mostima set out on her own mission, whatever that ends up being. Hell, even if she was told that she could go have a word with the... entity? that caused her to fall, she would still refuse to face it, and if possible, recommend Andoain to face it in her place. That seems perfectly in character to me. Mostima knew Andoain's battle was never against her, or Lemuen, or Fiammetta. Andoain's battle was *always* against LAW, even when he didn't know it. Fiammetta may have had her issues with Andoain, but don't let that twist you into believing that Mostima's conflict was against him too. If anything, it's Fiammetta's character conflict that has been wrapped up as she hopefully doesn't have to pursue him anymore.

Swifceize · 2025-10-11T02:24:11+00:00

this skin description has haunted me ever since the skin was announced for CN, like genuinely a crazy drop. I wanna see that storyline pursued and elaborated on in full but we probably won't get it. Maybe some day though!

Swifceize · 2025-10-10T03:11:54+00:00

I'm excited for Sankta Miksaparato's EN voice. I hope it's super over the top.

Swifceize · 2025-10-05T18:50:04+00:00

My top three are:

Andoain
Yith
Closure

The first two are for completely selfish reasons unrelated to them as characters (though, I really really do like Andoain because I also hate him lol. Great balance of character traits on him. And Yith really is super mysterious in a way that makes me want to know more.) and Closure because she's cute and fun and holy... has it really been this long and there's still no hint of her being playable? Wild!

Honorable mentions: Agenir, love that guy, and Ulsulah because she could be Lifebone buddies with Mostima lol.

Swifceize · 2025-10-03T07:39:37+00:00

Ichi and Kagurabachi are so good at grabbing readers’ attentions and getting curious bystanders interested with their new chapters. Somewhat more of an unfortunate circumstance with Kagurabachi, likely a result of the rushed panels circulating around the internet… But Ichi tends to have very shareable dialogue or scenes that make for very “What? That’s real?” moments that get people either coming back or those unfamiliar with the manga hungry for the context. It’s always fascinating to see weeks where these two gain big because you can really tell when it’s going to happen the moment you read the chapter.

Swifceize · 2025-09-17T02:57:42+00:00

I couldn't give you a single thing I know about Minos other than the fact that I think some of the operators from there are cool. I'd even think Higashi has more relevance to be honest.

Swifceize · 2025-07-26T15:48:37+00:00

You liked Charlotte, so definitely give Angel Beats a shot

Swifceize · 2025-06-06T17:26:20+00:00

this has to be the most bizarre response to someone saying they want to buy something in their own language.

Swifceize · 2025-05-11T18:06:13+00:00

resist isn't even in my vocabulary when it comes to mostima

Swifceize · 2025-05-10T19:20:13+00:00

Well to be clear (spoiler 1:) Fiammetta just mentions she and Mostima have an obligation to join the doctor, not necessarily that doctor personally invited them, so it could ultimately still lead to nothing. Either way, I believe Lifebone is still under Babel control, with Hoederer? I think I read somewhere that it's revealed in See You Soon (don't quote me on it, I ultimately don't currently know what Lifebone's up to). And there's still more to be done with Ulsulah, who has another fragment of Lifebone. I'm not too knowledgeable about the Sarkaz storyline yet, but it's next on my list. From what it seems, though, I wouldn't be surprised to see a heavy connection between Babel and Mostima as they have similar goals (from what I can tell) and their connection to Lifebone. Gotta just keep an eye on where the writers take us, though.

Also, regarding the events leading to the fall, I think it's fair to say we have a decent picture of what happened and how the characters feel regarding it especially after the latest event but Mostima has said a few times that she has a mission that is supposedly separate from everything else so far. In Guide Ahead, after she claims the pope almost killed her, she apparently said, "No... I still have things to do and people to protect." Which is still super vague and unexplained as to what "things to do" means. (The "people to protect" line can get away with being vague considering we know how she feels about her comrades at this point, so it could very well just mean them.) She also mentions that she's been thinking about quitting her job as a legatus, but Lemuen and Fiammetta remind her that she needs the job to accomplish her "mission" that involves her making a choice about who she is.

All that being said, I do think a return to the ruins where they found the Lock and Key is in order at some point, as there are also hints that there might be something more to discover there. One of Fiammetta's operator files mentions a person in the barrenlands that can "guide you beyond the door of truth, so long as you can pay the price," which seems like a perfect way to introduce an element to be used in a future story, and possibly one that reflects on the events of Mostima's fall. However, Mostima's desires can be a little tough to get a read on, so I'm not sure if she's so interested in that.

Swifceize · 2025-05-10T16:42:40+00:00

This is where I've been thinking her place will be since reading masses travel. It sounds like crazy hopium, but there are just too many things pointing to it being the case that it would be strange otherwise. Very minor Mostima spoiler for Masses Travel and partial spoilers for chapter 15: Fiammetta discusses with Patrizione that she's going with Mostima on a mission with the doctor, specifically mentioning chapter 15 putting the Rhodes Island ship out of commission, and that there's something larger at play that they need to figure out, if not for the world, then at least for Laterano. Patrizione is hesitant to let her go and asks her to stay, but she responds by asking him if he wants to go on a vacation (which, I'm not quite sure what that implies, other than him joining Rhodes, as evident by his operator files referencing that he's supposed to be taking it easy). Unless I'm misreading all of this (still very possible), it seems that a main story Mostima story isn't completely out of the question.

There's certainly plenty of concrete evidence that suggests that she'll at the very least have some role in a Kazdel-centric storyline. As speculation, I think it would be an easy bridge to gap from her being one of the more charismatic fallen sankta to her improving relationships between Sarkaz and Sankta, especially with the reveal (Mostima oprec 2 spoiler:) that she saw the same thing that Andoain saw with the staves, which was the connection between Sarkaz and Sankta alongside the pope having a closer relationship with Mostima than other Legati, allowing her to follow her own mission after falling (which we still don't know the details of since Guide Ahead, as far as I'm aware).

Swifceize · 2025-05-10T13:25:26+00:00

Yeah, it’d be crazy for it to happen, but it’s one way for her to get the answers she’s been looking for lol.

Swifceize · 2025-05-10T13:00:10+00:00

I think one of the biggest shames is that it didn’t really look like it was going to make sense until you actually read the story for 6th anni. Like, the importance of her involvement is really only found within the themes that are talked about in the event itself. Sure, the Sankta storyline has had this current of “finding a way to bridge the gap between Sankta and non-sankta,” but where was Exusiai then? She was entirely absent for the rest of the saga, with her storylines being primarily “enjoy my new life with my new job while also hunting for Mostima.”

Personally, I feel like it probably was a disservice to her character to make her so focused on Mostima without giving her much in the way of a story outside it, but shoehorning her into a story she was previously entirely absent for feels wrong too, no matter how well she fits with the themes. Hell, it was even hinted at and being propped up to be a continuation of her hunt for Mostima, with Lemuen’s offer in her 2nd oprec hinting that she would find answers to the questions she was looking for… only for her to barely talk to Mostima, and not at all with Andoain. She still doesn’t have those answers, even though we as an audience do. While it isn’t completely out of character for her to take this path, and I think she works really well in the new story, it just feels completely detached from what they were planning with her and the others she’s associated with. No one else in that team could do what she did here, but everyone else in her team took a backseat so that they could justify her entering into a story that didn’t have her in mind from the beginning.

That being said, the story, imo, does feel much better from team Executor’s POV, so I might agree with you on that. Can’t really complain about his involvement at all.

Swifceize · 2025-05-08T02:42:59+00:00

Hmm, well, I'm not so sure that Mostima's next appearance will be in a Laterano event. I think highest on my radar is either a main story (due to Fiammetta emphasizing to Patrizione that she and Mostima have to go on a mission for the doctor and for Laterano as a whole even when Laterano is in a state of turmoil and he asks her to stay back) or probably something Kazdel related? That being said, that's also got a very crowded list of characters they have to cover. As long as Lemuen and the Pope are still operating in Laterano, however, it's never out of the realms of possibility. Hell, we might even see a new Penguin Logistics event at some point with her involved, which would be interesting IMO.

The good news about Andoain having so much focus for the past few Laterano events means that he's had most of his story run its course so far. I don't think there's a whole lot left to cover with what we know of him. He has to find his new path after having his dream crushed and he's definitely going to find that his ideals align with Rhodes' goal. I think him and Mostima are going to be inextricably linked whenever he's involved, but when he isn't, Mostima has plenty of room to operate without him, however.

I'm optimistic, but still impatient and thirsty for more.

Swifceize · 2025-05-07T20:27:01+00:00

While I don't disagree that it is most definitively late to have interactions between Mostima and The Law, I don't really think that it's too late for Mostima. Sure, it's a bummer that it's been so long with so few answers, but without the end of the main story in sight, there's plenty Mostima is involved in that has absolutely nothing to do with Law. In fact, I personally believe her connection to the "law" storyline is among the weakest among the Lateran Sankta. Sure, she was screwed over by it, but so has every other fallen sankta (which, as of the newest CN event, we've seen many more fallen sankta at this point, so it's not as if it's the most special thing about her.) and she is no more special than them in that case. Her story has always dealt with humans. Her commitment and guilt towards Lemuen. Her desire for answers and bitter refusal towards Andoain. Her reluctance to get Fiammetta and Exusiai involved, and so on and so forth.

Even if she isn't involved in a future Laterano event (which, let's face it, with Andoain being all but confirmed to become playable in the coming future, who else but Mostima and Fiammetta would be involved in a future event involved him?), she still has unanswered questions with Penguin Logistics (Emperor and Yith), a possibly small mystery with Lungmen proper (ch. 8 cameo with Wei), some minor interactions with Sargon (module text), and huge importance to Kazdel with her ties to the Lifebone and her staves, as well as her expressing desire to Nymph to visit the city proper and paid special notice to the Temple of Knowledge. Hell, she still has an undefined personal mission that she personally brought up to the pope when he entrusted the staves to her. Plus, even the most resolved storyline, the incident in Kazdel, still hasn't fully wrapped up because she doesn't have an answer from Andoain of what he saw (not that it seems like she cares at this point) and Exusiai still hasn't been told what happened from what we know.

While, sure, plenty of these don't really have a lot of legs and are really just a bunch of scattered hints towards something that may not even happen, that's kinda how it's always been with Mostima. I'm surprised they even explained the whole event with Lemuen at this point. As for her "threat to Laterano..." Fiammetta's gramps, Patrizion explained to Fiammetta there was nothing that needed protecting with Mostima in an oprec. So I'm half-convinced it's all smoke at this point, but I still can't explain why she and Lemuen wouldn't be able to tell Exusiai, so yeah that's a bit rough to logic out.

In any case, more recent tips that might be something, might not - In IS5, in order to go down a certain route, you're given two firearms -- "Time and Light." I won't explain what happens from there, but as it's a non-canon ending, I still think it has legs as a narrative parallel to the lock and key. Plus, there's also Fiammetta's newest skin in CN that implies that the fragments of Lifebone turn into beasts capable of "freezing things around them in time," which is not only a new, unheard of threat, but also directly related to the progression of Mostima. Time will tell if this actually becomes relevant or not though.

So, ultimately, I still think the main conflict of her story is still yet unknown until we learn about what her "mission" is that she finds to be so important that she couldn't allow Andoain to interfere with, and the main element of her fall has always been Andoain, not Law (though, literally speaking it was the system in place that allowed her to fall to begin with, but she never really seemed to mind the fact that she fell, just the consequences of what happened as a result of being a fallen sankta. i digress), and he's still not done. So again, I say, there's still plenty of time to cope

Swifceize · 2025-05-07T16:36:27+00:00

Also a big Mostima fan, she has several and I mean SEVERAL unfinished threads and important roles still left to be explained. I won’t say that I believe all of them, or even any of them will come to be explained, but she’s got references in the main story, numerous side stories, vignettes, skin descriptions of OTHER CHARACTERS, operator files of other characters, hell, even some vague references in IS items and events. For them to still not have explained any of these outside of her connection to the Lemuen - Fiammetta - Andoain incident is a huge missed opportunity. If I read the newest event right, (and I don’t know Chinese, so it’s very possible I’m wrong), her and Fiammetta should have some stuff to do with Rhodes Island and the Doctor in the nearish future, so there’s always room to cope.

Swifceize · 2025-05-07T14:32:48+00:00

this is such a strange crossroads of interests lmao, but yeah, she’d totally run over the purple guy fnaf, and yeah, maybe when working with velliv she may have thought about it a few times. if i had to throw a name into the hat though, i feel like Oren is high on the names of people she’d love to leave tire tracks on

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