Bozja: enjoyable lore, a GREAT start...

[HaveAltWillFun]

Oh, but we did recognize them; we recognized EXACTLY what they did, and it genuinely upset at least Mikoto. By all appearances, the fear tactics worked, they just didn't work well enough. But again, you're falling into the same mistake: you're declaring that they could have done better, rather than that they would have. I think they're perfectly consistent, it's just that every member of the IVth Legion is consistently flawed. Misija would've transformed them because it makes them 'better' while also being pretty horrifying, and Lyon would've let her because he broadly approves and kept her on a loose enough leash that he wouldn't have been around for that decision anyway.

Also, Bajsaljen and Marsak actually aren't in Gunnhildr's Blades! The Blades were a small group of the Resistance, basically elected entirely for political reasons. Bajsaljen is the leader of the Bozjan Resistance as a whole, but not a member of the Blades, and Marsak is his right-hand man. They also don't wield the resistance weapons themselves (which would for their respective jobs have been Ingrimm and Crownsblade). Apparently, their weapons are actually custom models we don't get at all, but I believe there's 'close enough's. The Blades themselves don't appear to have an internal leader, probably because a lot of them were solo fighters, but the most capable of them at leading would probably have been Adis, who was a commander before being tempered and became the Queen's Knight (the PLD among the Queen's Guard).

While I admit I was mistaken about the weapons they wield, both Bajsaljen and Marsak are leaders of the resistance. However, given Bajsaljen founded the Blades and Misija's personality, there's no reason why she wouldn't have tempered him and reasons why she would both irrational and rational. This is not a matter of thinking she could have done better, this is a matter of how people with her personality would act.
As a side note: the Blades were not elected entirely for political reasons, if I recall correctly: they were meant to act as leaders for the Resistance and during the rebuilding of Bozja as well as being recognized as masters of their respective arts. That means that Bajsaljen or the members of the Resistance in general would have to at least have some level of trust in them before they'd be in such a position.

We recognize them, yes, Mikoto recognizes them - but both the WoL and Mikoto have the Echo. How would the rest of the Resistance recognize them? There is nothing recognizable about what they become, they may as well be oddly-designed magitek deployed by the Empire. I have no doubt Misija would transform them (if the Blade/ focus had sufficient aether to do so), as that's entirely consistent with her character. But Lyon keeping her on a loose leash is debatable: he still was present for a minor operation where Misija ambushed three Resistance members out in the field.

[HaveAltWillFun]

Oh, but we did recognize them; we recognized EXACTLY what they did, and it genuinely upset at least Mikoto. By all appearances, the fear tactics worked, they just didn't work well enough. But again, you're falling into the same mistake: you're declaring that they could have done better, rather than that they would have. I think they're perfectly consistent, it's just that every member of the IVth Legion is consistently flawed. Misija would've transformed them because it makes them 'better' while also being pretty horrifying, and Lyon would've let her because he broadly approves and kept her on a loose enough leash that he wouldn't have been around for that decision anyway.

Also, Bajsaljen and Marsak actually aren't in Gunnhildr's Blades! The Blades were a small group of the Resistance, basically elected entirely for political reasons. Bajsaljen is the leader of the Bozjan Resistance as a whole, but not a member of the Blades, and Marsak is his right-hand man. They also don't wield the resistance weapons themselves (which would for their respective jobs have been Ingrimm and Crownsblade). Apparently, their weapons are actually custom models we don't get at all, but I believe there's 'close enough's. The Blades themselves don't appear to have an internal leader, probably because a lot of them were solo fighters, but the most capable of them at leading would probably have been Adis, who was a commander before being tempered and became the Queen's Knight (the PLD among the Queen's Guard).

While I admit I was mistaken about the weapons they wield, both Bajsaljen and Marsak are leaders of the resistance. However, given Bajsaljen founded the Blades and Misija's personality, there's no reason why she wouldn't have tempered him and reasons why she would both irrational and rational. This is not a matter of thinking she could have done better, this is a matter of how people with her personality would act.
As a side note: the Blades were not elected entirely for political reasons, if I recall correctly: they were meant to act as leaders for the Resistance and during the rebuilding of Bozja as well as being recognized as masters of their respective arts. That means that Bajsaljen or the members of the Resistance in general would have to at least have some level of trust in them before they'd be in such a position.

We recognize them, yes, Mikoto recognizes them - but both the WoL and Mikoto have the Echo. How would the rest of the Resistance recognize them? There is nothing recognizable about what they become, they may as well be oddly-designed magitek deployed by the Empire. I have no doubt Misija would transform them (if the Blade/ focus had sufficient aether to do so), as that's entirely consistent with her character. But Lyon keeping her on a loose leash is debatable: he still was present for a minor operation where Misija ambushed three Resistance members out in the field.

[Cleretic]

We recognize them, yes, Mikoto recognizes them - but both the WoL and Mikoto have the Echo. How would the rest of the Resistance recognize them? There is nothing recognizable about what they become, they may as well be oddly-designed magitek deployed by the Empire.

...because they have the same voice, the same techniques, the same weapons, and also outright identify themselves. If you check the dialog, even Mikoto doesn't actually make any sense of the Trinity Seeker's aether until it speaks to give her context, so the Echo didn't help her.

Forget the WoL and Mikoto having the Echo to help them (even though it doesn't really). How did you, as a (presumable) human being on (presumably) Earth, who doesn't have magic powers, recognize them? I know I noticed something fishy the moment I saw Seeker wielding Woeborn in pre-release screenshots. However you realized who they were is how someone like Rostik would've.

Also: the Blades actually were a political move. Kind of a brazen one, too, and outright stated: the Resistance needed something to rally around, and absent a legitimate heir to the throne or anything like that, they instead revived a legendary fighting force, electing warriors that the Resistance already trusted. They were all fairly capable warriors, of course, but the entire endeavor was flatly a political decision to legitimize the Resistance and increase morale; 'we're the real Bozjans, you can tell because we have Gunnhildr's Blades!' (Which incidentally also explains why everyone in the Legion was on board with Misija's ploy, so they can say 'we're the real Bozjans, you can tell because we have Gunnhildr herself!') The political nature of it is outright stated in the field notes for Aggie, the Monk, who actually wasn't the most capable fighter, but was very popular. Politics isn't a dirty word, especially when you're trying to liberate a nation!

[HaveAltWillFun]

Also: the Blades actually were a political move. Kind of a brazen one, too, and outright stated: the Resistance needed something to rally around, and absent a legitimate heir to the throne or anything like that, they instead revived a legendary fighting force, electing warriors that the Resistance already trusted. (...) Politics isn't a dirty word, especially when you're trying to liberate a nation!

I agree, politics isn't a dirty word and I didn't intend to treat it as such, I just pointed out that the Blades were not selected for entirely political reasons - and we agree: the Resistance needed something to rally around, people they knew and trusted, who could inspire them. We aren't really disagreeing there: I just said there's reasons beyond politics.

...because they have the same voice, the same techniques, the same weapons, and also outright identify themselves. If you check the dialog, even Mikoto doesn't actually make any sense of the Trinity Seeker's aether until it speaks to give her context, so the Echo didn't help her.

Forget the WoL and Mikoto having the Echo to help them (even though it doesn't really). How did you, as a (presumable) human being on (presumably) Earth, who doesn't have magic powers, recognize them? I know I noticed something fishy the moment I saw Seeker wielding Woeborn in pre-release screenshots. However you realized who they were is how someone like Rostik would've.

That's going to depend on the individual. For myself, yes, the voices (well, actually the labels, but that's because I had my earphones off so there was nothing to hear) - but other players didn't realize the Blades were less than simply pilots until they read the field notes.
In the end analysis, that's probably a good partial breakdown of the response: the transformations would create a variety of them - denial's a powerful force, but some will see them for what they are. Those who do will likely have secondary reactions ranging from fear to being all the more determined to bring the IVth down - because they'd conclude that a similar fate awaits them.
You'd get the same effect by having the Blades themselves take to the field, and whether Lyon would stop Misija from carrying out the transformations or not can go either way, given their circumstances, personalities and motivations.

Though it was a bit of a sidetrack from my original points, because of that I did find the conversation interesting, thank you.