#tbf motd is probably still belle's pov for at least the void beyond talk but

[nerice]

protag becomes side chara in next installment is probably my favourite thruline of interconnected story hell nd sometimes i like to indulge thinking abt how it would read to someone with completely fresh eyes and no context,,

the black cat story featuring reina as pov for all except one chapter, ending on the destruction of nerice, her desperate flight into the next world cycle where she is met by the songhost trio...

roa starting with jumie wandering the halls of crownpoint, full of rage and full of grief, only to stop short as she catches stray laughter. reina and [mindsong user] sharing a private little feast & jumie detests her lighthearted spirit. [qs essay cut for time] but u know they spend most of the book antagonizing one another and only soften up towards the end of it, even if it's a far cry from...

lhnh where jack claims his songhost heritage nd waits 2 be collected. recognizing reina on instinct, and instantly running afoul of jumie who accompanied her, who calls reina 'my queen' now [QS ESSAY CUT FOR TIME] nd on the flipside of the dual protag setup, sky causing an international incident at the war gathering only for her nerves to dissipate the instant jumie defuses the situation. actually the "jack is fully convinced sky is jumie's secret lovechild" red herring is impossibly valid from this perspective lmao. after a book of jumie grieving the death of her daughters, the way she steps in to protect sky despite keeping an air of distance for appearances sake. yeah. YEAH [r*bbit essay redacted for time and content] LOL

jack is on vacation thereafter dw abt it [offscreen getting tortured by faye] for a while but

shadow revenge where raiu giddily pulls lucie aside bc she's about to 'witness something cool' as sky drops in absolutely decimating a collection of shadows. and half the greenhouse. (the more things change, the more they stay the same) except sky with her hair braided and dyed dark now, flawless strength control, the long gloves get-up, [FAV OC ESSAY AVAILABLE FOR PREMIUM MEMBERS ONLY] i digress i digresssss

dream game is sort of an outlier bc it was part of the original book 1+2 combo so it retains lucie as a protag before it switches to belle halfway thru. notably jack does make his re-appearance here though and while finding a puppy with a mutilated paw means nothing to lucie, when he resumes his human form it does mean the world to belle to be reunited with her parents [tide family essay redacted for. u get the joke]

motd pulls a very funny bait and switch actually by making faye the protag and belle, post red hurting sun, into a side chara, though povs are fast and loose bc i genuinely don't know what the plot structure will be other than the linn/faye showdown lmao

and llf is a free for all that wraps up everybody's story :3c