In my point of view, the elves' use of changeling-child is a deeply serious violation against humanity. It's not just a matter of sending spies to gather intelligence of cause sabotage ---- it's an act that can spiritually end emotionally destroy families, and it also reflects a grave irresponsibility toward the changeling-child themselves. The MC happens to have supportive friends and family, but what if they weren't so fortunate? And what about the replaced human child, what kind of life they lead in the elves' world, what status do they hold there, and how do they view humanity after being taken away? Truly hope this topic will be explored in greater depth later on. No matter which routine the story takes -- perhaps especially in the "peaceful" one -- this feels like a can of worms that can't stay closed forever.
First of all, thank you so much for your indepth comments. There's no greater honour than having someone engage with your work on such a level. Your perspective is giving me something to think about, and that's very helpful when it comes to improving my storytelling. Also, awesome that you're graduating grad school!
I find it so interesting that your perspective is perhaps the complete opposite of some of the other readers. I've gotten comments about how clearly humanity is in the wrong because they are colonisers stealing the fae's native land, taking their resources, etc. I'm not going to offer up any arguments either way - I want to facilitate the debate, not sway it with 'authorial intent'.
It's just so fun to see the different responses to the same story. Of course, depending on what route you play you'll get different information and it'll inform your view, but also, depending on your view, different routes will open up to you. I noticed you said "1. try to resolve the conflict peacefully and 2.prioritizing the protection of the kingdom" but of course there's also option 3: side with the fae. I wonder if you just didn't mention it, or if you didn't unlock that option because it didn't align with your MCs opinions.
As for the route split feeling sudden, depending on how you played your MC, there's some truth to that. If I had more time, I think it'd be worth expanding on it. That's the main criticism I've been getting in general - that there just aren't enough choices for what players would like to do, or for how they would like to characterise the MC.
Moving on, I wonder if I should point out any misconceptions you have... If it's because you simply haven't come across that information in your playthrough, then it'd ruin the point if I tried informing you about it now. Though I think Maeve did mention early on that most fae aren't a part of either of the two courts, but rather acting as individuals. If that wasn't clear I think it's be worth pointing out again.
I will say, I do hope every route/ending will end up being satisfying in its own right. You can only get the big picture by playing through multiple routes, there's no getting around that, but I do hope every route will at least be internally coherent. It's sometimes difficult to keep track of everything I now, and everything a reader of a particular route knows.
Either way, I hope you'll continue enjoying where this story goes in the future!
Thanks for not spoiling anything! Might start a new save later to try different choices, interact more with M/L, and see the story from other perspectives! Currently got little information about the "human steals land" others mentioned. The information I’ve gathered so far suggests that the kingdom has always existed in this land rather than having come from elsewhere — it’s just that as the population grew, so did the territory. Do the fae see this territorial expansion as colonization? But if the land doesn’t expand, where are the surplus people supposed to go? Besides, it doesn’t seem like the fae have ever agreed to communication— instead, they resort to acts of destruction. But again, maybe it's a different-view thing. A new save we go~
Anyway, looking forward to seeing where the story goes next! Big thumb-up for this excellent work~