sorry for double post, but i have an update. Apparently the hotfix made its way to pc at some point between my last post and now, but thanks to it being a hotfix, i never saw a version update for it. my saves appear to be unbricked so the problem "should" be resolved for everyone now.
EDIT: nevermind, it bricked itself again at a later spot. I give up.
EDIT2: not the save, my computer. yay for having an old computer with corrupted files...