Saw this on twitter (art by @/akuicia) and I literally thought they were r1999 OCs, until I checked the artist's account and saw that they actually do these kind of art in general.
They really do look like awakened arcanist from Apeiron tho with the title "Transcendental Functions" (6 says that word a lot) and the different math concepts, and Manus Vindictae because of the white, blue, black, and gold colors.
I literally only have Romance cookie left and 13 pulls left for the guarantee (hoping I'd get Romance on it as well)
The game is literally about a phenomenon that erases people and remake them into a completely different version of themself in different eras. We have seen this implied (confirmed at this point tbh) with Mr. Duncan being Mr. Karson. We've seen it with Urd too and all of her different identities and jobs. So why are people mad at BluePoch for doing the same thing to Merel?
I mean, I get that you got upset because you've grown fond of Merel and got attatched to her character, given that she's appeared in multiple patches. But don't you think that maybe BP has thought this through all along and intentionally set her character up to be at the point where she's at in 3.7?
Idk, maybe I'm just not completely understanding the reactions. What I do understand tho is that this game has proven time and time again that it will deliver tragic and depressing stories, and Merel's story just happens to be one of those.
Plus, we've seen this before, where people get mad at BP over something that's only available in CN but then eventually switch when that something finally arrives in Global and people experience it themselves.
Edit: after reading the comments, I do understand now (I think). It's mainly because Rhiannon was released immediately as playable and a limited one at that. People felt forced to pull for her given that she's limited and a very versatile support without getting to know more about her. If she had only been revealed and stayed as an NPC for now and only become playable later on, people wouldn't be as upset.