#if anyone tags this as val/jun i will bite you /hj... that's MY wife!! MINE!!

[evanox]

Finally went through Valen's 4 heart event after putting it off because I couldn't handle that being the last I see of her until the next update... and of course I took screenshots of almost every line. Anyway here are some ThoughtsTM under the cut bc it's a Little lengthy

SAY LESS!! also now I feel a little bad I didn't let Mae's hair down before the cutscene,,, gotta look her best for her future wife,,

I mean this would've felt more serious if you had preserved organs or meth down there but sure we can keep your lil pharmacy lab a secret

Maehwa would've gladly let you vivisect her if you asked; drinking dubious medicine is the least she could do for you

Sorry the simping was mandatory; here are my actual thoughts--

unfortunately, we did not get strapped to an experiment table.

I had hoped there would be something very wrong with her but it turns out she's pretty chill. Deep down I knew a game as wholesome as FOM wouldn't get that dark, but even if it didn't give me what I was hoping for it still gave me lots to think about!

Before I got this event, Valen had already brought up coming from a long line of prestigious doctors a few times, which makes me wonder whether she went into medicine because she wanted to or because it was Expected of her to continue the family's legacy. That, along with how she feels like she has to keep her work a secret until it's finished, makes me wonder if she developed some sort of anxiety towards high expectations, even if she doesn't let it show. She doesn't want to give her fellow villagers the hope that she can create the Perfect Medicine only to absolutely let them down.

It's also interesting how, despite her insistence on keeping the basement a secret (and irritation when questioned about it), she casually asks you in the 2-heart event to fetch her the medicine from said basement. Makes me wonder if she, just like Juniper, saw something special in the Farmer and wanted to extend an invitation to help her... only far more subtly than Juniper lol.

Speaking of Juniper, it's such a funny contrast how she sees the villagers as disposable guinea pigs for her experiments, while Valen this whole time has been using herself as the test subject for her experiments. I wonder what adverse effects she had previously suffered since she seemed fully prepared to get sick during this experiment. I just want to hold my baby :((((

Also when Valen mentioned the word Panacea I thought it was some sort of bacteria genus until I googled it. Apparently, it's "any supposed remedy that is claimed to cure all diseases and prolong life indefinitely." That doesn't sound exactly scientific... it sounds more like magic, which makes me wonder if Valen's ancestors were actually familiar with witchcraft.

It would be very ironic since she seems to persistently reject magic and Juniper's methods, just as Juniper rejects Valen's... which is funny because Valen and Juniper seem to be working towards something similar (I assume, since Juniper's using the hot spring waters for a base w/ "restorative powers") but with entirely different approaches and very little success. If my ancestor theory is true then perhaps in future events they'll realize that what they're seeking can only be achieved by putting aside their differences and combining science and magic together... or maybe i'm thinking about this too deeply lmao.