"Sandbox" feels like a good topic for analyzing games.
And when you break it down it becomes something like "player expression"
and every game could be put on this scale for how much expression the game allows.
And gamers can be lost when allowed to express themselves.

Should games be blamed when the developer expects the player knows how to have fun?

I think of a line from this KBASH video all the time
I'm going to get it a little wrong but it's something like:
"The worst thing this game does is gives you a brush and tells you to paint."
youtu.be/n5T_3e9xO40

Impossible to know
They could be shaking you around in a capsule😵‍💫

I've now worked on a film set for the first time and I appreciate set photos in a way bigger way now
❤️Thanks Jimmy

They are guild who's singular goal is to help people in whichever form that is, which keeps them small but nimble and their past has shaped what it looks like as well as their very philosophy and existence influences other law enforcement and legislation.

Because they are private with a main goal of basically odd jobs and protection of civilians as their top priority there are certain freedoms and limitations it comes with.
No hierarchical influence
No interfering with government
Able to act without bureaucratic red tape

Though the bracers have officially left, their influence has still inspired the department that Lloyd is a part of in Crossbell and Class VII in Thors Academy.

One of my absolute favorite aspects is the Bracer Guild
A Private guild not controlled by any government but largely only exists in Liberl as it's been pushed out by the Erebonian Empire for the most part.

Everything you look at in these games are layered with different factions with different histories and goals that influence whats happening now
The Civil War was a year ago the annexations are 'over' but the fallout is still active as well as tensions with a nearby strong country thats always active

...of North Ambria just months ago is still someone that we can potentially trust because we see through her actions that there is a misalignment in her values and the governments

Because she bought Club supplies

In Cold Steel, despite being a member of the Imperial military it's the Government that is the greatest potential enemy of what our main characters value as 'right'
So Aurelia, despite being someone who sides with the gov and holds mysteries of her own, and being a leader during the annexation...

Conclusion
-The Gov has control of the school but Aurelia still has a large amount of influence in what actually happens at the school, and it's not necessarily in line with the Government despite her being on the Imperial side during the Civil War.

-she values them enough that she is even willing to fund them outright and let the students have absolute control over which clubs are available as long as it has two members

-the new branch was funded by the gov which we know has shady alternative motives all the time
-the gov gave incredibly high budgets for what it deemed necessary for a military school despite the small number of students
-because there are clubs anyway it means Principal Aurelia values clubs

-In CS3 the principal foots the bill for the club equipment.-
That's the small detail.
But what's incredible is how much can be extracted from this detail and the other things we know about Thors Branch Campus.

That's really that part I don't get about pods
Like how are they so popular when they're so cost inefficient and require a huge amount of detergent by design with each cycle.
I wasn't that messy, my clothes don't need that much heavy duty cleaning every time.