Did the right thing for Maelle and became convinced it was the wrong thing.

!Pretty much the title. I turned out the lights on the way out, felt good about it, but Recto's certainty rubbed me the wrong way. Someone so dishonourable, so callous, and so manipulative shouldn't get what he wants no matter why he wants it, and denying Maelle her agency bothered me, but I rationalized it was all in service to her well-being. Started a new playthrough for cheevos. Now the thing is, Recto does a lot of flirting with Lune and Sciel, and Maelle is 16, so I'd never approached her in camp to talk. But there's an achievement, so I went for it.

Going through that stuff, I learned about Alicia, and that she asked for death, and saw Recto whine about that and then admit he'd let Gustave die. That locked it for me. Under no circumstances should that person get what he wants.

So this time I chose Maelle, and saw him beg for release and instead be bound to a life wherein the thing he chose, that mattered to him most, was now the anchor around his neck. And then he hits the wrong note/scare chord.

I was delighted. So efficient. Truly, dog heaven is squirrel hell. Is it the ideal ending? No, eventually he'll still escape, and for his betrayals he doesn't deserve rest for a thousand years. But it'll do, it's bittersweet.

tl,dr Recto sucks and dog heaven is squirrel hell<!