#this got away from me quite a bit im sorry alkjlgkjdsljgfdsg

[torao-chan]

Do you think Leander has connections with the Abbess? Mostly because it ties into the divine feminine part of his theme where Myth Leander convinced Hero that Aphrodite wouldnt want to be worshipped by a Virgin.

Which leads me to believe that Kuras telling MC to go to Leander and him being the first to touch MC could serve as a catalyst for every other route thus follows. Leander seems to be oddly possessive and wants to play himself up as much as possible, so his insertions could lead to bad endings in the game if you don't set the right boundaries with him.

Also his disdain for how Senobium treats Vere which, I feel, has something to do with his route and how he dislikes those who rob others of freedom [tying into his Robin Hood role] but will possibly stifle MC's attempts at a cure.

The tower of Senobium and the river that divides Eridia will probably play a huge part as you've said, I just wonder if Leander can swim.

you're good, don't fret lmao. i ended up rambling quite a bit in trying to answer this and because i'm half asleep but shh but the tldr is this;

i think there is an undeniable connection between leander and the senobium, and i wouldn't be surprised if it reached all the way to the top/abbess. i don't believe, however, the connection to the senobium is why he could withstand the curse- but i do believe why he could stand the curse is indicative of his involvement level with the senobium. i also solidly believe we will need puzzle pieces of his behaviour from [potentially interfering with] other routes to reach a Best End with him.

the long rambly version [typed first], however, is as follows;

there are a lot of things that, in my mind, connect leander to the senobium. whether its because he’s working with them, attempting to undermine their rule, potentially helped found them, or something else entirely- i think it’s too early to say. we know kuras was there when leander was a child... but we don’t know when that was, either.

we also know that leander does not outright state an opinion on the senobium, even though his bloodhounds outright hate them. mind you, he doesn’t outright state an opinion on much unless trying to sway the mc one way or another, carrot-and-sticking-ing us through out most of the prologue. and he certainly says the senobium isn’t an option for mc, blatantly. but worth noting, nonetheless; on his actual opinion on the establishment, leander is silent.

leander’s background in the trailer video makes me curious. that’s a very fancy stained glass there, and i’m curious about where this takes place.

leander is the most obviously adept at using information as a currency- something that is clearly a result of the senobium’s influence on eridia- as he displays behaviours of both hoarding, manipulating, and drip feeding the information in his possession. one has to wonder how he learned these behaviours; perhaps just a result of being eridia bred and born?

leander is a notably strong mage. as you mentioned, the alchemist route comments on how he doesn’t use any incantations or spell circles to cast. (the theory of borrowed magic could possibly explain this, or perhaps it’s just magical storage he’s created for himself? and if so, how does this play into the several glowing parts of his outfit- and the differently coloured lamp on his belt, too.)

it’s curious, though. his gilded boots put him in wealth, as does his position and ability to run the bloodhounds. it could be wealth accrued from the gang, or from a history with the gang. he could be a founder or a product of the senobium- but it’s also not unknown for mages from the senobium to leave; much like MC’s teacher in the alchemist route.

but if he grew up in lowtown, left to join the senobium, and then came back to form a gang that hates the senobium- well, with how they reacted when the MC just mentioned it’s name- if it did happen, it’s certainly not common knowledge. and that wealth needs to be explained somehow.

(i’m also curious about the faction with the violet sashes noted in ais’ section near the end of the prologue. what do they denote, and where do they fall into this faction war that seems to be forming?)

i think realistically, we have too little info on the abbess to make much conclusions on anything- we have even less than we have on leander, and he’s left us with only dregs to draw conclusions from.

whatever relationship leander had with the senobium, however, i believe fully it is soured now. but i do believe there is a very relevant connection there.

all that connection fodder aside, however, i do agree that leander will be the catalyst for a lot of things. the flowers supposedly granted good luck- and repeat audience members to his show seemed very eager to receive those flowers. the line in his bio isn’t that his magic won’t save us, it’s that it can’t.

leander seemed to connect with us immediately, but i don’t believe for an instance it was a matter of just a new face in town. in a city with no walls? even surrounded by soulless as it is, i have no doubt- new faces are common enough in eridia. and yet he picked us out of the crowd. why?

aaah, i’m loosing my trail of thought here. i’m wondering what involvement leander had with our curse, if we’re looking at a hero and leander resurrection/reenactment. if it’s designed for him to withstand. or perhaps his insanity is already so present that the change was minimal for his state of mind. the devs did say the LIs are already the worst versions of themselves, come the time of canon.

someone noted that leander may be a good first route, since it was easy to unlock his red text. personally, i think leander will be the easiest to get a Good End in, because he wants to reach a Good End with us, but i think he’ll be the hardest to get a Best End in, because it means facing truths he is actively hiding away. i think we're going to have to be very particular, right from the first interaction with him, to really unlock the Best End for leander- perhaps even to the point of not unlocking the red text that's so easily available in the demo.

anyway asdlkjgfdlskf

i'm now going back and double checking what i've left unanswered asdlkjlgkdf. i wonder if he can swim too, or if perhaps he had a magical intervention to prevent himself from drowning again. perhaps a bracelet?

i think that's everything aslkjglfsdlkgjfd wow that got away with me. i'm still v disjointed with my brain thoughts at the moment, but there are so many pieces in play- and we only have the prologue to go off of. i'm very excited to see how it'll all come together adljgklf. for now, i think i'll put a tldr up the top as best i can. but yes, i have many thoughts, and no answers atm i'm afraid ;w;

(also i find it fascinating that mhin is the other potential leander eye-catcher, and their nickname from ais is dove. fascinating fascinating how the pieces fall into place.)