Revelations from Patch 2.55 [SPOILERS]

[Cilia]

Cilia... everyone has different levels of natural or conditioned empathy. I have low empathy and what little I have, I make sure to refrain from displaying. Overt emotionalism is exploitable weakness. And I am not alone - this is my culture. There are many like me. We may in fact, be Legion.

We are fighters. We've seen death. We've lost friends. We've killed - many times. We are creatures who act. Grief? Well... "I ain't got time to grieve."

Maybe later.

Maybe not.

That aside was in reference to you stating your real-world personality is similarly lacking in empathy. You can construct whatever in-game persona you want, realistic or otherwise, but lacking empathy in the real world is kind of known as sociopathy. It's not cool.

I am going to go into Heavensward with bated breath to see what plays out next, but I still HATE being railroaded. Railroading is why I never finished XIII or bought its follow-ons. And for what it's worth... I replayed VII six times, trying to figure out what I'd done wrong, trying to save Aeris.

If you hate railroading, don't bother with (MMO)JRPGs. That's what they're... well not quite built on, but they have a story to tell and you don't get to determine the outcome of many events. Railroading? I guess... but as I pointed out earlier (and you so graciously ignored), SE does not have enough time and resources to develop branching story paths based on each player's wishes (for whatever reason). A generalization, accurate or otherwise, is the best they can do.

Rewatching "The Parting Glass" I was able to find a weakness in Ilberd's account of the events... he says "The poison took her swiftly. Her handmaiden can attest to that." There hadn't been nearly enough time for an autopsy, and there were no eyewitnesses to Namamo's death besides the PC - Teledji comes in a few moments after Nanamo dies, with the Handmaiden in tow behind the Brass Blades, and declares "I see no other suspects, and the room has but the one entrance!" So there's no way the Handmaiden or Ilberd could know that without knowing what the poison that killed her was.

It's small... but it's a start.