Okay, I was just half-joking about Fay's infatuation for Temesia, but it IS actually the case; she even confessed. lol Plus, the HC I had regarding Lucius knowing about girls liking Temesia is actually canon; he said it himself: "It's no surprise Temesia's still a hit with the girls!" 😂
That little skippy "😍💕" she does at the end was actually what she also did the first time they met when they rescued her from being imprisoned by the bandits. I've only known about it when I rewatched what I screen-recorded around that scene. I didn't notice it the first time; I was preoccupied with something else while playing (I screen-record whenever my Goldfishy attention span won't cooperate). (≧▽≦)
Marilee had a subtle crush on Temesia, but this girl really fell in love at first sight. Good for her! 😂👏💕
Today I noticed that Valen's Affinity Tales were reworded! Dang, I didn't save the old ones, now I can compare them only with my memory. They didn't change the content of each tale, but they feel more specific now.
This post spoke about some beta backstory for Valen and even though none of that is mentioned in his tales and no interaction between him and Fay... I really like to accept as my headcanon that they are siblings. Their designs are too similar: same hair and eye colour, even their personality is similar. They have also been shown together in the first AFK Journey trailer! xD So...
Valen and Fay are siblings
He's eight years older
Due to his habit of "taking strolls" outside the castle/home rather than staying for lessons or whatever else, he's actually got little to do with his sister. He is not all that much interested either, given the age difference.
Fay is aware of her brother, and while she is quite fond and attached to him when he is around, she is very young and only 8 years old when he leaves. She's a little bad with faces and after his departure she doesn't study family photographs enough to ... remember or recognise him straight away so many years later.
Since Valen left an 8 year old girl behind, he's got trouble recognising her also, even though she sure as heck looks familiar.
In order for this to work, I imagine that Valen might actually have a different birth name, but introduced himself as "Valen" whenever outside his home and it stuck ever since. Fay wouldn't know that, only his "real" name. Something like Ferdinand or Viktor ... xD
In turn, Valen probably met too many "Fays" to even give it another thought when they meet. He would never expect his sister to be anywhere else than on his home island, too.
Since the circumstances of their meeting is tense and the threat of the golems prominently on their minds (as well the drama between "the two girls") ... even if Merlin or anyone else saw the similarities between them, they were too distracted to follow up on that.
I do hope that the devs get back to their attempt to make them siblings and show us future interactions between them. Hopefully Valen will continue to be a returning companion, with some chances to reveal more about himself or, in this case, also Fay's background. <3