#LOVED rindo and his character development | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

strawberry-barista · 2 months

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GET TO KNOW THE MUN

𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐮𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 ? Usually witnessing them in action and then just deciding that I neeed them. Aku was my self-insert, but everyone after that was just this deep and overfull love that I felt for the character and just really wanted to explore them. I... Also seem to have a thing about picking up old men. I dunno, y'all, I collect the old guys. It's a wonder why I never picked up Clavell. But Hanekoma, Byron, Saguaro, Cryano, Souan, and Rindo all got picked up for this reason. Abe was someone I created as a result of wanting to flesh out my Hanekoma's background and just grew from an NPC into his own thing. And as for all the folks over at @networkscrambled, I picked them up because I felt like there were a ton of characters in TWEWY that just didn't get enough love. I need more research to properly flesh the blog out, tho. OTL

𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 ? Mm... Probably just smut. I think that's the biggest thing. And even then, there's stuff there I want to explore even though I don't like it. In some very rare instances I'm willing to go with it, with people I have talked a lot to and really trust. When the situation calls for it and the muses are ready for that step. When it comes most to anything else, I have no trouble. Angst, whump, etc. Oh, but of course, there are the obvious unmentionables things I won't write. Minor x adult, non-con, incest, etc. I won't touch those with a ten-foot-pole. But I feel like those were fairly obvious.

𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 ? I'll be honest, I really enjoy writing ships. Platonic ships, familial ships esp., romantic ships, hate ships. Whatever. I really love exploring the dynamics between two or more characters and seeing how they perceive each other and explore each other and develop together as they grow and change and confront themselves. Character connections is always what gets me hyped for books and tv series and movies and any kind of storytelling and I just really love doing it. I really love writing any kind of genre that can bounce off of those, be it sad or happy. But really, any time I get to write at all is a good time.

𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 ? Hm. I think I'll take something really small that I notice and then just run with it as far as I can, stretch it out as much as I can until that one thing becomes the foundation of that character. I remember reading a transcript for an interview in which it was explained (roughly, because I can no longer remember), that Hanekoma was designed as a character that was on the up and up but was still messy. Or... something to that effect. I won't use quotations because I can't remember the exact quote, but it was like that. And I also remembered that Hanekoma called himself a gambler. And so using that information, I built Hanekoma as a man who in life had had a gambling addiction that ruined him, but that he was "on the up and up but still messy". And that became an anchor to how I built every headcanon after that. Similarly, I noticed Saguaro was the only teacher to continue to use honorifics with your name (Master or Miss) even after befriending you as well as noticing his insistence on cleanliness, and that was how I decided he was a butler in his past, which then lead to be the foundation of every other headcanon for him. It's admittedly a strange process, but it works for me!

𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 ? I write better when I play music, by far, but I almost never do. And this is simply because I forget every single time to start it up before I start writing. And even if I do remember, I usually then go on to pause it to do something and forget to turn it back on. It's the worst.

𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 ? I tend to wing them. The only planning I ever do is when I see and read my partner's reply but am unable to reply when I get it. So I spend all of the time until I get to it daydreaming about how I'm gonna respond. I think, as a reactive sort of roleplayer, I just want to be able to feel the emotions of my muse as they're feeling them, going through the reply and feeling how they'll react to it right away. With a lot of pre-planning, I feel like I kind of lose a sense of my character, and it feels more detached, so I can't get those real heavy emotions in my reply. So I think I do wing it as much as possible.

𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 ? Oh ho. Oh, yes. I think shipping is like my bread and butter. I did mention that in one of the questions above. All types of ships are all so good to me, and I love love writing them. I have so much fun squishing little guys together in various ways.

𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐬 / 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 ? My name is Kohitsuji, or Kohi for short. When I first joined tumblr I went by Aku, however, so it wouldn't be uncommon to hear someone refer to me by that name. I stopped using Aku because people were confusing me for someone else, but I really like the wordplay between "lamb" and "coffee" for this blog especially, so I'm actually kind of glad I changed it these days. ^^

𝐚𝐠𝐞 ? I'm 29 now, and I'll be turning 30 at the end of this year.

𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲 ? December 1st.

𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫 ? I'm not super great with picking favorites, and color especially. I really love colors of all kinds. And I love iridescents and holographics and things like that the most.

𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬 ? Again, this is difficult for me to pick. I'm pretty sure there isn't a single genre of music I haven't found something to like in. So trying to name ones I like most... I feel like it's impossible, even trying to narrow it into bands. That being said, Sibling brought home two new records and one was Badger and the other was Alexander Rabbit which were both excellent bands.

𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 ? I'm pretty sure the last movie I watched was 101 Dalmatians, the ah, Disney animated version.

𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 ? Forever. I'm still reeling. What a good show.

𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 ? Look Through Me by Alexander Rabbit.

𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 ? Anything sweet, really. I'm having such a hard time keeping myself from eating my Easter candy. I really need to stop eating sweets, but. I love them. OTL

𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 ? Fall definitely. Autumn, whatever ya call it. I love the spring-like weather without all the pollen coming with it. The beautiful colors of the clear sky and the dappling leaves. I love how the air starts to smell different and how the temps drop low enough for me to start wearing sweaters again. I love the spicy smells that come with fall, from foods to perfumes. I love fall the most, it's very cozy.

𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐭𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 ? So many! Well. I worry about calling people my friends and best friends when I don't 100% know for sure that they feel that way about me or would even appreciate me saying that about them. I have a lot of people here that I really really love. And I hope they care about me, too. But I might just stick with a very small number of names that I know for sure they feel the same way. First, there's @mundanemiseries who tagged me in this in the first place~ ^^ Kellin is so so sweet to me and has been such a help to me and I really love their muses. Joel and Hanekoma are so sweet together~ @wrongtrain is another. Morton has been my friend here for such a long time, and they're the one person I feel like can actually unlock my brain to understand what's going on with me most of the time. I never feel quite so understood as I do when I'm talking to Morty. I love them so so much and I love writing with them when they're around to do so, whoever they've got the space for that day. And I would be remiss not to mention @justiceburst, who was one of the first Joshua muns I ever interacted with and soon became my canon Joshua. Dusty may be writing new characters now, but they're no less engaging of a writer and they're still such a close friend to me. I care so deeply for them and everything we've been through together. ^^ Then there's @fangedstories. Roxy has been consistently active with me since meeting me, which is something that still surprises me. XD I'm really grateful to her for putting up with me so much. @lollipopsandgunshots is another. Katee talks to me so much and we've clicked so well together ooc. I love the work we've done with our muses, too, and especially that Katee is one of the few folks that I can actually get ideas for Aku with. ^^ There's also @phoenix-flamed, who has been so kind and caring towards me since the moment we met. I am so grateful to be able to have Vonny to talk to when I need it, though I admit that I don't poke them nearly enough. Still, I have them to thank for Hanekoma's whole FFXVI verse, so they continue to be a big inspiration to me regardless. ^^ And last but not even remotely the lest, @rubiesintherough has become such a dear friend to me. I used to be so afraid of Ruby, wanting to interact and never really knowing if I could stand up to her impeccable writing. But I am so so glad I finally reached out to start talking to her because she's so nice and so fun to talk to and I love all of her muses so so much. I feel like I've been thoroughly blessed with an abundance of friends~!

tagged by: @mundanemiseries tagging: Please steal it from me!

#anonymity annoying me ⤙ooc⤚⚄#read by someone taken as a good one ⤙dash⤚⚄#mentioned: rubiesintherough #mentioned: phoenix flamed #mentioned: lollipopsandgunshots #mentioned: fangedstories #mentioned: justiceburst #mentioned: wrongtrain #mentioned: mundanemiseries #long post tw #long tags tw #ask to tag

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arimiaromage · 4 months

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I'm back with more dgrayman doujin fangame updates! after last time where I found Kanda x Lavi fangame that got a physical edition, I decided to keep digging to find the other games the developer made while waiting for it to come in. well, I've found another!

(if these interest you, I'm going to tag all of these posts as "#dgm fangames")

I was able to find & order a disc for their first dgm fangame, Infinite Melody (also called unendliche Melodie). like before, this game was so old (from 2007!!!) and only in JP that I basically haven't been able to find anything on it. and when I got the disc in...

...it was a preorder bonus for the game that's just a strategy guide! a bit of a letdown haha, but still interesting nonetheless. (side note: the site I found it on had translated part of the kanji as "attack"- but if you add 本 to the end of it, it suddenly becomes... strategy guide!)

so I loaded it up and found a 16 page pdf by the creator that is a guide for how to play the game. and now I'll share it online for preservation/archival purposes.

A bit of a shoddy translation-

Hello, nice to meet you! My name is Rindo, the owner of moonlight cafe. Thank you very much for choosing the sound novel type adventure game "Infinite Melody" produced by our circle!!

They then go on to say that this is their first (?) work for dgm and that they've published several works before (other games?) so they're more familiar with that than making manga. From their experience this game isn't that hard but they wanted to make a strategy guide just incase for the people who didn't want to keep retrying. After that they talk a bit more about the game structure itself- it sounds like Kanda is the main love interest and there are 2 scenarios, one for Allen and one for Lavi. It also sounds like there's a CG gallery in the game.

So, a bit of explanations for those not used to visual novels- in Japan (especially in the 2000s) they were referred to as sound novels or adventure games rather than visual novels (nowadays you'll see them called adventure games). A love interest is a character that's romanceable for you, the player character. A route is a set of choices that leads you down a particular story, usually just meant to signify a specific character- so if you have a game with multiple love interests, then saying "the Kanda route" would mean you're talking about the storyline that happens when you romance Kanda (but "route" is not specific to just romance).

The next section is character bios! This game is set in modern times with Allen as some sort of apprentice working for a magazine company.

a brief translation summary-

Allen is a newbie reporter for the music magazine "Asian Music". He heard Kanda's songs over the radio years ago which got him interested, but this turned into disgust the more he learned about Kanda. That doesn't stop him from buying Kanda's new CDs, though. He lives alone in a very cheap apartment.

Lavi works for an entertainment production company (Rozenkuroitsu? Rosenkreuz?? (????)) and Kanda's manager & music arranger. He's supposed to only be his manager but Kanda insisted on him doing arrangements too. There's more here about Lenalee being the younger sister of the company's president and her and Kanda are childhood friends with Lavi.

(side note- the oval at the top of these says "character [number]" followed by their name, and Lavi's lastname is still listed as Bookman, even in modern times. just a funny little detail)

Kanda is a singer-songwriter who's very popular- his songs always reach the top of the ranking charts. Despite this, people fixate on his looks when mentioning him. He's currently under a lot of stress due to his increasing workload and his popularity. He's a bully who loves Perrier (the water??), quietness, and the sky.

top one- Bak Chan (yes, that's Bak!)

Bak is the editor-in-chief for "Asian Music" and Allen's boss. He's old friends with Komui Lee, the president of the studio Kanda and Lavi work at, but he refuses to ask for special interviews because pride (?).

bottom one- Lenalee Lee

Lenalee is the younger sister of Komui, the president of the studio Kanda and Lavi work at. She's also the one who writes the lyrics for Kanda's songs. Her, Lavi, and Kanda are all childhood friends.

next is a few screenshots of what the game looks like! lots of CGs, too bad we can't see any fully. (a CG is basically cutscene artwork)

the next section is a quick strategy on how to get the good ending for each route. it looks like this game has a different way of setting it up- usually a "route" is for a love interest, but in this game you're able to play as Allen or Lavi and date Kanda as either of them, so the "routes" are for Allen and Lavi (despite playing as them).

Allen route

the creator listed some of the important choices in the game and gives a small idea of how to answer them to get the best ending. for players this would be a helpful guide, but for us it'll help us get an idea of what the game covers.

the first choice is set in Kanda's office where you choose a drink. Allen hates alcohol so that's a no-go, but if you remember from Kanda's bio he love Perrier.

the next choice is when Kanda asks Allen out on a date. despite wanting to go, it might be better to decline him so both of you can focus on work.

the next choice is where to take Kanda on his day off. it should be somewhere where Kanda doesn't have to use a microphone (as that's his day job) and somewhere where people won't be staring at him (as he's basically a celebrity).

the last choice is a bit hard for me to understand- the author said they left some of these vague, and this one is basically "Kanda asked me directly!!". maybe it's a love confession? once you reach this part, the creator says you can rest easy (and maybe bully him a bit).

Lavi route

Lavi is Kanda's manager so several of his choices are related to, well, managing Kanda.

his first choice listed is whether or not he should interrupt Kanda and Allen arguing in a room together. even if you might be in the way, Kanda might appreciate you being by his side.

his next choice is about going to Los Angeles (a vacation?). Kanda is Kanda and will be grumpy, but lying to him will make things even worse. (I'm not sure if this is Lavi trying to convince Kanda to go to LA for a vacation or Lavi going alone to LA and Kanda ends up going)

the next choice is Kanda insisting on going back home to Japan. work is important, but Kanda's health is even more important (especially as you're his manager). after persuading him, indulge in what he wants for a bit.

the last choice is.... where should Kanda sit on the plane?? if you made it this far then the creator says you can relax. they say Kanda may be stubborn but he's not a child- you don't have to always take care of him.

you can play either route in whatever order you want, but if you get the true ending in either route, you'll get bonuses! the creator really encourages you to play both routes.

this is a mini skit between Lavi and Allen with Kanda interjecting. It's basically Allen and Lavi arguing who Kanda likes more.

last but not least is a final credits page for the doujin circle.

...and what's that? a new website link? let's check it out!

surprisingly.... the website is still active!!

on the website there's this description for the game, which we already kind of understand from the character bios:

見習い雑誌記者アレンは、メディア嫌いで有名なミュージシャン“神田ユウ”の取材をすることになった。同じく、神田のマネージャーのラビは多忙を極める神田の、心労を解消させる方法を模索していた。取材当日、生理的に嫌いだと思っていた神田を前にアレンはとんでもない失言をしてしまう……。　みたいなノリです。詳しくは体験版をお試しください。　最初の選択肢でアレンルート（神アレ）とラビルート（ラビュ）に分かれます。

basically- Allen works as an apprentice reporter who is assigned to interview Kanda, a popular singer who hates reporters. Lavi is Kanda's manager who is trying to find a way to relieve Kanda's stress. on the day of the interview, Allen said something (improper/embarrassing/a slip of the tongue) even though he thought he hated Kanda.

even more surprisingly, there's still a trial file on the website?! I'm not brave enough to download this lzh file right now, but maybe soon once I get an isolated environment... if you press the Trial page and then the first line under the image, there's a lzh file (a type of zip file) you can download. please only do this with virus protection on your computer or in a virtual machine, don't download strange files with no protection!!

yep, that's about it. I'll be on the lookout for this game's physical release (that's not the guide book haha) and the developer's other games, but I hope this was interesting!

I apologize for the shoddy translations, if you'd like to translate the parts here feel free to add it as a reblog/comment. I've posted every single page from the PDF so there's nothing additional I have. if you have any more info on the developer/doujin circle feel free to add those as well.

or, maybe.... you're brave enough to try the trial version for yourself? 👀

#dgm #dgrayman #d gray man #dgm fangames #allen walker #yu kanda #lavi bookman #kanda yu #dgm fangame #ari rambles #this is not how I expected to indoctrinate more people into visual novels but here we are

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voicefromthecorner · 2 years

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...What.

WHAT!?

SHOKA IS SWALLOW!?

...SHOKA IS SWALLOW!

Okay, let’s back up here! Everybody be cool! Give me a sec to process this!

Alright, so to touch base on Swallow theories, I had been almost completely convinced Swallow was Joshua until someone told to me I was misgendering Swallow the one time I forgot to refer to them as “they/them” as a result of being convinced Swallow was Joshua.

So as a result of that, I became almost immediately convinced that Swallow must be Coco. My logic thus far has always been “Swallow = major character from behind the scenes” because if Swallow was someone close by, we’d obviously know that, right? Right!?

But then we actually met Coco in the story and I realised at once what a blitheringly stupid theory that was of me to have because there’s obviously no way it’s her. The same encounter discounted the idea that it could be Tsugumi somehow.

Honestly, after that, I just kind of stopped thinking about it. Almost forgot about Swallow with everything else that’s been happening. But I never would have thought for a second that it’d be someone in the party, let alone Shoka! I mean, “Rindragon”? It can’t have taken her long to figure out that it was Rindo she was talking to. The coincidences would have piled up. She’s definitely known for a lot longer than Rindo did, since he’s just finding it out now. I had always assumed that if it was someone in the party, they would have said something, and Shoka in particular became really close to-

Oh.

Oh......

Oh Rindo and Shoka’s relationship just got so much better.

Shoka’s motivations were always a set of conflicted feelings about her love for the city and her family dynamic with the Reapers. She was definitely inspired by the success of the Wicked Twisters and that led her to betting her career as a Reaper on them for sure.

But in the midst of those conflicts and feelings was her dynamic with Rindo, which started off as a bunch of barbed teasing that always seemed to have led to her developing an honest liking for Rindo, maybe even a crush, that caused her friendship with him to seem particularly personal from the start.

That always seemed believable enough on its own, but now it makes even more sense! Somewhere during Week 2 at the latest, she figured out that Rindo was her FanGO friend, a longtime friend of hers for the three years that she’s been in Shibuya! She switched sides and developed a very close bond with Rindo because she knew what Rindo’s learning now - that they already had a bond!

And of course she didn’t tell him. She’s Shoka. The awkwardness of it aside that she’d likely want to avoid, she was probably hoping to save it for after they were in the clear, if she said it at all. Though from what she says here, it sounds like she was hoping the two of them could play it together IRL. A humble hope for the future like that is honestly so sweet!

I always thought Swallow being Rindo’s friend starting from 3 years ago was suspicious and made it likely that Swallow was a Joshua-like figure in the story that was manipulating Rindo. But it’s better than that. It is a coincidence, but Shoka/Swallow found Rindo on FanGO shortly after coming to Shibuya while looking for a new friend in her new city. And that new friend happened to be a friend that Rindo really needed in his life.

And now the two of them in their respective circumstances have met in real life, fought together until they’re the last two standing and are currently dying together in the destruction of the city that they met in.

I’m not sure when I’ll be getting over all of that, but today is not that day!

#neo twewy #twewy #neo the world ends with you #gamefromthecorner #playthrough #liveblog #rindo kanade #shoka sakurane #swallow #neo twewy week 3 #neo twewy spoilers #neo final day

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sho-minamimoto · 2 years

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(neo twewy spoilers)

I love neo but I’m still unconvinced that a new day needed to happen for neo to exist tbh. it robs twewy of its perfect ending and spits in the face of it for the sake of sequel bait that isn’t even fully necessary. All it does is knock neku back in the UG, this time for 3 whole years (!??!?) and is there just to give neku a glorified cameo in neo while adding a bunch of baggage that his character didn’t need. Sure, if neku wasn’t brought to the UG again, it changes some things, but they’re really easy to write him out of imo. For one shibas motive for handing out player pins was to locate neku as a failsafe so he could eliminate the supposed strongest player in the UG so no one could possibly stop his plans, and ended up bringing in the wicked twisters by accident. If his goal was to eliminate the strongest possible players in general then neku wouldn’t be needed here (and they never did succeed in luring him out anyways.) also, Coco wanted neku by her side to help save shinjuku but that never amounted much to anything either. She already has sho, and I think they could’ve given their partnership/dynamic more screentime than they ended up having, and also having sho rejoin their team at the end would’ve tied a nice bow to that (or if they really wanted to add a different party member coco could’ve joined since they share the same goal and it would’ve been funny as hell to see her interact with more members, or they couldve found some way to write rhyme into the team. idk) and also neku was a part of the final operation where he synced with everyone in the city, but that also feels like a way to write neku into the climax rather than a reason he’s actually needed in the story narratively. The most important thing he does thematically is set rindos character development back a few steps simply by being present so that rindo can leap forward when the time comes for him to make an impossible decision. I feel like in general I really dislike how much neku is hyped up to be a legendary player when he’s just some guy who had the worst month of his life at 15 years old and deserved to have a break from that instead of everything that happened to him after he won the game. And they credit him so much for saving the city when ultimately that isn’t even technically what happened but that’s kinda pedantic lol

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remmammie · 2 years

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Hello, Rem! I'm the one who requested the headcanons with Chiaki-like reader. I will do another one.

Can I request Rindo, Fret, and Nagi headcanons with reader who acts like Maki from Danganronpa? (romantic)

I know I forgot to put either put platonic or romantic on the last request.

Try to remember Maki's personality.

I'm sorry this took so long! I actually had a real load of fun writing this because of how close Maki is to my heart as a character. She's so interesting and a real treasure... I hope you enjoy what I've written and thank you once again for requesting!

Rindou, Fret, and Nagi (seperate) x Maki-like!Reader HCs

Rindou

If you met during the Reapers’ Game then Rindou will be incredibly wary of you at first. Someone with violent tendencies and a mysterious attitude is dangerous to be fraternising with when everyone’s lives are on the line.

Still, you two keep running into each other and, oddly enough, you keep protecting Rindou and his team. Even you can’t explain the emotional connection you’ve developed for the blond nerd and his friends. So, you eventually gain Rindou’s trust.

Even after you two start dating, he’s still sometimes taken aback by the sudden cold comments you make towards some people. Rindou’s definitely the type of boyfriend that reigns you in when it’s necessary. He doesn’t want any blood on your hands even if your hands are itching for it.

Still, he admires the confidence you have to speak your mind: it’s something Rindou has never really been able to do well. In a lot of situations, you speak Rindou’s mind for him, telling annoying people to screw off and shutting down morons who try to manipulate him. This is one of the many things he admires you for.

Your determination is another one. He doesn’t know how you have such an integrity to exercise and practice with weaponry…it’s just above him.

If you let Rindou in on your practice sessions, he won’t quite know what to do besides sit there with your drink. He might read off a few motivational quotes he likes if he scrolls past them during one of your workouts.

Rindou likes to recommend you music too and I think it would be one of the main ways you two reveal your deeper feelings to each other. Heck, it was probably how Rindou confessed to you in the first place.

Rindou’s not great with expressing his emotions in a way other people can understand since he…doesn’t really understand them himself. But, through music, he finds a balance. Sometimes other people just have the words he wants to say but couldn’t think of.

So, you two might spend nights exploring different artists, their music, and their lyrics. Through this and the chats you two have late at night, swamped by emotions and the lethargy of insomnia, Rindou starts to understand that this hard-as-nails character he knows is a facade for the loneliness and fear that comes with being so defensive of oneself.

And Rindou respects that. He can’t ever know how that feels, but swears to help you express yourself more and accept yourself for who you are.

Fret

Now, gonna go out on a limb here and say that Fret would be absolutely terrified of you at first. Don’t get me wrong, Fret loves the confidence and the concept that you can handle yourself since he doesn’t consider himself a massively strong guy…

But the way you cut people down with your words and that intimidating stare of yours-! Fret can’t handle it sometimes!

Still, there’s something very admirable in the way you present yourself, especially if you bring that into the Reapers’ Game. Even if it takes you a good, long while to warm up to Fret’s clashing, eccentric, and loud personality, you eventually feel this confusing yet intense need to protect him from Noise and Reapers and so on.

And I guarantee that, while you’re out there using pins to kick Noise into the next plane of existence, Fret is watching you with dinner plate eyes and hearts swirling around his head. He’s obsessed, what more can I say?

If you give him the opportunity to watch you train your mind and body, Fret will definitely take the chance! He’s your biggest fan and he’s pretty vocal about that fact. When you ask if he’d like to join you for the first time, he’s ecstatic! It’s another way to spend time with you and that’s all he ever wants!..but Fret quickly finds out your training is far too strenuous for him and he sticks to running you cold water and food filled with protein whenever you need it instead.

He really enjoys finding the little things about him that make your cold, serious, and composed exterior crack. Fret often drags you shopping for clothes he thinks will look great on you and, if this gets you to fluster, he considers it a win.

Fret is pretty good at seeing past the cold comments you might spit as a defense to your real feelings. Honestly? He knows the feeling too well, hiding your true emotions behind some sort of facade. This means there are a couple of peaceful nights you and Fret spend together opening up. Whether you're speaking over dinner, chatting while watching a film, talking while you do some cardio, or cuddling together, there’s always a time in your life together that you can only speak the truth because Fret absolutely needs the outlet every now and then - and he knows you need it too.

If Fret wants to help you a little more subtly, he might end up using Remind on you. This is his last resort if you really aren’t feeling great, though… He just wants to remind you of how much he admires you as a person, as his partner. And Fret won’t rest until you feel comfortable with who you are.

Nagi

Nagi…is your biggest fan from the very beginning - that cold exterior which she knows is hiding a compassionate and protective heart inside; your undeniable strength in both mind and intelligence; your harsh words and unshakable attitude…she loves it all.

Any and all interest she had in Minamimoto (or rather his fictional counterpart) disappears when the two of you finally begin dating and she couldn’t be happier! Of course, she won’t give up Elestra, but she likes to indulge in an OC she’s made for you. If she knows any kind of modding techniques, she might add you into the game so she can date you virtually too!

I think Nagi would want you to sit beside her while she plays games. You always have these deadpan and serious reactions to them which she can’t help but find completely hilarious. If you get protective over her when she plays visual novels/dating sims, Nagi becomes so flustered and practically swoons.

Now, whenever you train, Nagi insists on being there by your side. Not participating, but having her own little workout of wiping your brow with a towel, using her phone to time your sprints, and counting your reps. She’s a little cheerleader when she’s not drooling over your attractive form and incredible determination.

Whenever the two of you go out together, there’s usually some sort of issue. If someone catcalls either you or Nagi, maybe at a convention, and you pull out some sort of weapon or harsh glare, Nagi practically melts. She adores your protective side and genuinely feels so safe by your side. Sometimes people try to pick on Nagi for all of the Elestra merch in her ita bag or just calling her out for her looks and it’s not something you take lightly. Nagi shows equally less mercy by simply cheering you on while you threaten the guilty souls.

She often gives you game recommendations, pointing out characters that are like you or her. She’s totally the type to point at the “Badass + Nerd” couple in a game or anime and text you saying “us.” It’s very cute. This might lead to you doing matching cosplay or getting matching merchandise…

Nagi would absolutely write fanfiction of the two of you in different game or anime universes. She’s never just a damsel, but you definitely always end up being her hero.

As for the loneliness and guilt hidden beneath all of the threats and sharp objects, Nagi likes to help you with calming techniques. You’ll sit down and simply feel the air around each other, just breathe, hold one another, maybe write down your feelings so you can better express them because Nagi is not too great with being sympathetic or empathetic.

#neo twewy #twewy #neo the world ends with you #twewy rindo #twewy nagi #twewy fret #nagi x reader #rindo x reader #fret x reader #twewy x reader #neo twewy x reader #twewy headcanons

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bravadoting · 1 year

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Obligatory twewy ask!

Favorite male character: Beat

Honestly words alone can’t describe how much I love him!! Beat has a lot of qualities I really admire like his determination and strong sense of justice. Plus, there’s so much more I could say about his love for his sister; entertaining dynamic with Neku, Rhyme, and the Twisters; and deeply emotional story but I’d be here all day. Needless to say, he’s one of my favorite characters ever, not just in TWEWY

Favorite female character: Kanon

Right after I finished NEO, I knew Kanon was among my top three characters but I wasn’t aware of how much she’d get to me after.

On my first playthrough, I really appreciated her dynamic with Fret and getting to ally and befriend her in Week 3. However, it was others’ observations that got me to take a closer look and see from her perspective. The majority of Kanon’s character isn’t spelled outright and has to be pieced together from different interactions and the context of the Long Game.

You can say so much about how the game has permeated her entire sense of self: difficulty trusting people, deep resentment of the Ruinbringers, and constant composure needed to be a good leader and role model. I’d love to discuss some more specific instances on here in the future 😁

Favorite pairing: Nekubeat or Rindoka

I am a complete sucker for ride-or-die duos, especially when they go to drastic lengths to protect each other. It’s hard to articulate but a strong friendship first and foremost, especially one with familiarity and playful banter, is what I gravitate towards in a pairing.

Least favorite character: Ai

I’m sorry Ai but your introduction deeply rubbed me the wrong way. I do understand her perceived betrayal by Mina. However, being needlessly aggressive instead of communicating is a huge red flag. Once she called her friend a tramp mentally, all goodwill I had towards her was gone 😬

Who’s most like me: Nagi or Rindo

For Nagi, there’s always the superficial similarity that we’re both passionate about the games we like. However, how much she learns by just observing others and her efforts to include and welcome others online are pretty much one-for-one me. (At least, that’s what I strive towards hehe).

For Rindo, I don’t have as much to say but his disposition is pretty similar to mine. His relationship to Swallow also reminds me so much of my own friendships.

Three more characters I like: Shoka, Joshua, Uzuki

I’ll group Shoka and Josh together cause I like them for similar reasons. Both characters gripped me right off the bat with their personalities and dynamics with the protagonists. However, it’s through their respective reveals and recontextualization that I came to appreciate them all the more.

As for Uzuki, I adore her development across both games, relationships with Beat and Kariya, and parallels to Shiba.

#twewy #neo twewy #ask #bravadoting

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sparkys-ec-corner · 2 years

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リンド＝ブルム

Rindo Blum

#evillious #evillious chronicles #rindo blum #doodle #hi guys here's a new minor character that ive been developing for fic purposes #rindo is very good in my hc. very bean much soft #she loves to stargaze (this was a unintentional reference to Reach for the Stars) and doodle constellations on notebooks #in my head she's voiced by rin sweet append (again a reference to riliane in her later years)#rindo herself is a nun as a reference to riliane's later years so i'll take the opportunity to make parallels and similarities #while still making rindo her own person

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y-umiko · 2 years

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TOKYOREV BOYS WHEN THEY REALIZE THEY LOVE YOU P.2

CHARACTERS: Ran . Izana . Kakucho

WARNING/S: Swearing

Part 1 . Rindo . Hanma . Kazutora

Part 3. Mitsuya . Draken . Chifuyu

Ran’s love would start small, it starts with curiosity, something about you catching his attention. you were his brothers' friend, who he only heard from his brother mostly, whenever you're in the same room or you’re within his sight, he always finds himself turning his head towards you. you were like a magnet he can’t stay away from.

eventually, it develops into an interest, he would subtly ask his brother about you, no matter how mundane his brother tells him, he finds it interesting and sometimes amusing. you become an addiction.

It made it to the point that he asked his brother to introduce you two, with the lame excuse that he should know all his little brother's friends. Rindo didn’t believe any of it., nonetheless introduced you two.

Ran can still remember your eyes shining so brightly upon meeting him, the look of amazement in your eyes at his height, yet he buried his feelings, brushing them off, shrugging them off as a crush that would eventually fade off. or so he thought.

“Rin, your brother is staring again” you amusedly mumbled to your friends who furrowed his eyebrows and look behind you and sure enough his brother was there shamelessly staring at you from behind.

“Ran! you’re making Y/n uncomfortable” Rin shouted after his brother, Ran lazily shifted his gaze away from you to his brother, giving him a look before shifting back to you.

“that fucker” Rin mumbled, realizing Rin can’t do anything about it, you turned around and met Ran’s eyes, his calm demeanor softened upon making eye contact with you.

“Do you need something from me, Ran?” you coaxed, your voice so calm that Ran thought he was hearing an angel, it made him furrow his eyebrows in confusion since the feelings were once again coming back to him and all you did was speak his name.

due to his height, he took a few strides and had reached you in no time, his height towering above you. he took hold of your cheeks with both his hands, cupping your face on his. Ran couldn’t describe it, that feeling inside him, foreign and different from when he was fighting.

“oi don’t tell me you’re gonna-” He heard his brother say, but before he can even finish his sentence Ran was already leaning down, a quick peck on your lips, an act to test his feelings and when he saw your widen eyes and red face, he knew there's no way it was just a crush.

He got a taste of you, there's no way he can stay away from you now.

Izana is more detached from his feelings, it would take a lot of effort to make him acknowledge you. at first, he didn’t really care about your presence, you’re just one of those disposable subordinates of his. but comes a day when he felt the most alone, you stayed beside him, a few meters away from him claiming no one should spend their Christmas alone.

no words were spoken between you two, yet for the first time, Izana didn’t feel that lonely as he watch the snowfalls. after that day, Izana finds himself constantly looking for you, demanding to know your whereabouts almost every hour.

He cared for you, but he never admitted it to himself, fooling himself that you’re just useful that’s why he's constantly looking for you to do his biddings. but comes another day, when his so-called feelings are tested.

He watches with vacant eyes as you converse and laugh with something Kakucho said. he watched with an indifferent expression, not sure what to say or do, yet before he knew it he was already walking towards you and grabbing into your arms.

you turned around, confused who had grabbed you so abruptly. your features softened when seeing it was none other than Izana.

“Izana?!” Kakucho yelp in surprise, seeing the indifferent expression on his friend's face.

“Follow me” Izana’s usual cold tone had an edge to it that made you follow after him in a confused daze, his hold on your arm unusually tight, that when you slightly groaned he drop his hold down to your wrist and drag you up the rooftop, where you had stayed with him last time.

Upon reaching the rooftop, Izana drops his hold on you, stuffing both his hands in his pockets. a comfortable silence ensues.

“Do you need me to do something?” you carefully asked after a good minute of just standing there. Izana had been overthinking the exact same thing, he spends too long thinking about it that he just froze there, blinking in front of you.

What was it that made him act like that? what was it with you that he can’t seem to shake, you’re just a pawn and he the King, you’re nothing but a subordinate he looks down, yet he was constantly reminded of your smiling image whenever he thinks of disposing of you.

It bewildered you, yet you don’t dare to ask him, no ounce of explanation coming from him why he would just whisk you away and then not say anything. then it dawned into him, why he was constantly looking after you, why he was desperately seeking your presence, all if it was whenever he was feeling lonely.

you were a company he had always been looking for, just then, little by little snow had fallen once again.

“oh, it’s snowing, are you planning to stay here? I’ll go get you some coat or something” you made an attempt to leave but his voice quickly stop you.

“...Y/n,” he asked, a little gentle that he had intended.

“Yes?”

“Stay”

and you did, still silent but this time a lot closer than before.

Kakucho rarely trusts others, other than Izana, but then you came from nowhere, crashing into his world and turning everything upside down. He doesn’t trust his guts at all, even though it was telling him that he cares for you more than he shows.

He's the type to realize he's in love when the desire to protect you resurfaces whenever you're in trouble, to him you are weak, not a fighter like him, fragile like a glass that should be protected.

It started when you accidentally cut yourself with a paper, a small yelp from you and he was already coming to your rescue.

“let me see, does it hurt?” he concernedly asked, all the while you are grinning from ear to ear at his serious expression like it was gonna be the end of the world.

“Kaku-chan it’s just a paper cut” you chuckled and he would blink at you for a few seconds then let go of your hand, and turn around so you wouldn't see his red face but the tinge of red on the tips of his ears say otherwise.

It was painfully obvious to the others how much he cared for you, but Kakucho would continue to deny it and say he only cares about you as a friend should. but the day comes when even he would admit to himself that he in fact was in love with you.

when he saw your eyes red from crying, bruises on your body, and a little cut on your cheeks. Kakucho saw red, after making sure you were okay, he beat the shit out of those delinquents who made a mistake to touch you.

“I’m gonna kill you!” he mumbled as he relentlessly punches the leader on the face non-stop, he has no intention of stopping any time soon but the moment he heard your voice, he stop.

“Kaku-chan! stop! you’re gonna kill him!”

Kakucho lift his head to you, and he swore to his life he would do everything in his power to never see your expression like that again. he stood up away from the delinquent and made his way towards you, when you were within reach he pulled you towards him and engulf you in a hug.

He's totally in love with you.

#TokyoRevengers #tokyorev x reader #tokyo rev fluff #Tokyo revengers Ran #ran haitani #Ran Haitani x reaader #tokyo Revengers imagines #tokyo revengers izana #Kurokawa Izana #izana x you #Izana x Reader #Izana Kurokawa x reader #Tokyo Revengers Kakucho #Tokyo Revengers Kakucho x reader #Kakucho x reader #Kakucho Hitto x reader #Tokyo Revengers Scenarios #Izana Kurokawa #Kakucho

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ystrike1 · 2 years

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My Perverted Stalker - By Minmi (6/10)

This is long, and basic. The author throws in a few plot twists, but the world building in this is non-existent. Nobody makes sense. Half the characters exist to be yandere. The rest of the cast exists to be cute or in love with the main characters. The colors are nice, but I'm sorry all of the male side characters are more attractive (appearance wise) than the main love interest. If you specifically like male crossdresser yanderes you'll like this one.

Hey,

Wanna read about a unique character?

No?

Then keep reading.

Rindo is a nice, easygoing dude. He works in a piercing shop. All of his ex girlfriends are crazy, and he loves cute girls. He doesn't have alot of money, but he's got plenty of friends. He is easy to manipulate.

Amane is a cute girl. She is obviously his stalker. He knows he is being stalked. He keeps getting letters and phone calls from an aggressive stranger. His stalker loves him very much, and that stalker knows where he is at all times. "Amane" confesses to Rindo as soon as she meets him. Rindo accepts her confession and tries to sleep with her on the first date.

Amane takes of her shirt and reveals that she's a guy. The beginning of this story is kind of terrible. Amane rapes Rindo and he kind of gets over it after like a day. Then they become a couple after some wacky things happen. The plot doesn't really matter. The author writes everything comically. Nothing about this is serious.

Amane was a crossdressing prostitute before he met Rindo. He did the job because it made him alot of money. He didn't respect himself or his body. A drunk Rindo told him to cherish his own life one time and then bang. Instant yandere crossdresser. I'm glad the author included that explanation, even if it's not very complicated.

Rindo has a crazy ex-girlfriend named Mio...I think. Mio is one of the most annoying characters I've seen in a while. She calls herself Moe-chan and she speaks in an overly cute way on purpose. She is not a yandere. She's a narcissist. She cheated on Rindo because she wanted more attention. She tries to get him back because she wants attention. She doesn't love any of the men she seduces. She is a good villain, but she doesn't get used enough. Rindo is not afraid of her. He treats the clear threat like an annoying child. Amane knows she's a threat, and his scenes with her are the most interesting part of the webtoon.

Also a sexy tattoo artist model is obsessed with giving Rindo a tattoo. Yanagi the punk model is married, but his wife sees him as an object. So, she doesn't really care when Yanagi develops an obsession for Rindo. Amane does. He saves Rindo after Yanagi ties him to a chair to give him a tattoo. Rindo forgives Yanagi for no reason, and they remain friends.

No, it doesn't make sense.

Yanagi exists to make Amane look better.

Amane isn't a very scary yandere. He's kinda smart but Rindo is too stupid to manipulate. Amane seals the deal with Rindo by showing off how mature he is. After Amane stopped crossdressing for money he got a really good job. Rindo is only a part timer, so Amane isn't the worst possible husband. His other girlfriends were emotional leeches anyway, so trying to date Amane doesn't seem too crazy.

But it is.

He shouldn't be dating Amane...but he's a chill guy so it happens. The yandere stuff in this is a joke. If that's your thing enjoy it, but I find the characters in this impossible to enjoy. They do not feel like characters.

Amane and Rindo become a happy couple... even though the first five chapters are all about rape.

Listen. It's really hard to find crossdressing yanderes. If you're starving try this. If Secret Alliance brought you into the yandere fandom try this. Just don't expect good writing, or anything but a few good jokes and art panels.

#yandere #male yandere #yandere male #yandere boy #recommendations #rec #recs #recommended #webtoon #yaoi #My Perverted Stalker

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beolh · 2 years

Photo

My little focus and hc on Ran’s necklace we see in that small flashback in Tenjiku Arc. I want it to be something he keeps over the course of his life. Maybe it’s something Rindo gave him or a trophy of the brother’s very first victory. And Rin probably asks him why he doesn’t “get rid off this ugly thing” but Ran simply smiles and keeps wearing it. I think i just love useless looking items that don’t serve the narrative in any way but are little easter eggs that help us better understand a character's personality or imagine a part of their story (hence the fact that I loooove the plans of the bedrooms that we see in the character books), especially on under develop chara like the s62 boiz.

So here are 3 little headshot sketches of 13, 18/20 and 30 Ran.

#tokyo revengers #tokyo revengers fanart #tr #ran haitani #sketch #don't even get me started on the haitani tatoo #me ignoring current manga event to draw my comfort character #no i cannot represent 13 yo Ran without a splach of blood on the face #he is just so cute i need to reafirm how much of a menace he is #and 30 yo ran is a hoe you can't convince me otherwise #30 yo ran hairstyle is also a pain to draw I hate short hair #but at least now i have a ref for every stage of his life #exept the emo skrillex phase

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greysfall · 3 years

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My 4444-word review of NEO TWEWY (with personal illustration + heavy spoilers)

My overall critical score for the game is 7.5/10, while my personal enjoyment score is 8.5/10. This review is posted as I have 80% completed the game, got the secret ending and achieved the Angel psychic rank. I’ll first start with the main pros and cons as follows.

PROS:

- Enjoyable as a whole, still upholding the first game’s spirit in world building and sharing the same backbone - which was mostly revealed in the Secret Reports, it’s impossible to grasp the story without reading them.

- The new cast and new game is charming in their own way

- The old cast’s return is one of the biggest highlights for sure, it was fun and impactful. Everyone stays true to themselves and also had their own stories wrapped up nicely.

- Boss designs are cool, new pins are fun to use and collect

- The connection between the old and new cast is well written and executed, including but are not limited to the tension between the old and new protagonist, the weird but fun interaction between the 2 Composers, the new friendships revealed and formed

- Sho being in the main cast is something so uniquely TWEWY and uniquely Sho

- Still good music

- Still many fun side quests, some of them really uphold the same quirky spirit of the old game and some are surprisingly touching

- Many new nice stores and yummy looking foods to explore

- The map is really easy to memorize for me, it’s fun to travel around the “current” Shibuya to see all the differences compared to the past

- The social network is crazy and interesting to read through

- Has an anti-frustration system to help 100% complete the game more easily and earn money faster, so post-game is relatively managable.

- Overall, I really feel the efforts the team poured into making this as their passion project, not just during the development process but for all the last 14 years. They showed the vision of what they wanted to make, at the same time giving something to both the old as well as new fans.

CONS:

- The biggest problem with the game is scenario writing. The story is so heavily back-loaded. The director himself thought it would be better to balance out the tension flow by adding more at the beginning but gave in to the scenario writer in the end, probably due to time pressure. This results in an underwhelming execution of characterization and lots of wasted potentials for the first half of the game.

- I struggle to view it as a stand-alone game, since the backstory and the old cast both play such an important role in the core of the game. If someone plays this game without having played the OG, they can only enjoy it on surface value at best.

- The new cast is nice but most of them aren’t quite as intriguing as the old cast, maybe it’s cuz they’re all too nice deep down that they lack a little bit of an edge, of that batshit craziness that everyone in the OG used to have? I think some characters (Fret, Nagi) ended up weaker in terms of characterization because the writer is too afraid of making them unlikeable – which kind of backlashed cuz they only became likable in the most expectable way to cater for a specific group of fans. I would have wished for the other team leaders to be more crazy too, had they not suffered 30+ loops of the Game…

- The CAMERAWORK IS HELL.

- Gameplay does get tedious at certain points with all the time travels.

- Shiba is so badly written as a villain, some Shinjuku characters should be given more screentime cutting into Shiba’s– like Hishima or Kaie or even, Hazuki (though his limited presence also solidified his importance).

- Some of the main character designs, for example Beat’s hairstyle and his food reactions are hilariously bad. What’s the point of covering up most of his unique facial features?

- Some of the minor/side characters’ design are too cool for them to have such a small role (eg: Ayano, Eiru). Ryoji did get much screentime but is nowhere as fun as Makoto was.

- Overall the scope of this game is made a little too big for the team to handle as perfectly as the last game that was very compact, it felt somewhat rushed in development too so the missing pieces are clearly there in the final picture

The entry fee versus paying for it all in the end

An important difference between the Neo game and the original Shibuya game was that the Shibuya rule asked for an entry fee that is the Player’s most important asset, stated as a chance the Composer gives them to reexamine themselves. Meanwhile, the Shinjuku rule neither encourages nor allows personal growth and ultimately aims to erase as many Players as possible. It’s a pity we were never introduced to the full Shinjuku rulebook, as it seems like the system there focuses more on building up power and a grand government to compare with the individuality-driven system of Shibuya.

When you have to compare the new game and the original game (OG), this is an important factor to consider. Also, the OG has a serious storyline running through and through, locked with a different partner/GM creating unique atmosphere for each week and you don’t get to see your old partners again until the end. NEO’s team system does not allow such deep insight and communication between the Players. All of your teammates are always there throughout, the dynamic does change with each new addition but it is not as prominent as a partner change.

Another important factor is how the OG was built from scratch for a new platform as “something no one has ever seen before”, while Neo recycled a lot of old unused ideas from the previous development (check out this interview for more details). The development team for NEO lacks 2 key members and had a change of writer so the final product is not as strongly bound together as the last game.

The new cast is definitely inspired by today’s teenagers (from the view of creators), compared to the old cast they’re more sociable and always seem to take whatever works for them despite feeling unstable inside. They are all innocent and genuinely nice kids, avoiding to hurt each other to a degree that they end up keeping some sort of distance. They’re also unable to communicate at deeper levels, always stagnant at this half-baked stage of equilibrium without any motivation to get to the core of things. That is the cost of entering the game without an entry fee, without even dying or having a reason to be there/to fight seriously. These kids were stolen from the RG into a Game that was decidedly the worst environment for them to change or develop, just wandering around cluelessly to find a way “out” until tragedies started to unfold one by one and they ended up being charged the total sum of the price for their actions – ultimately losing everything in the end.

That is, I believe, a story arc which can resonate more to the youth of today rather than of my generation. If the message of the old game was to “listen”, enjoy life to the fullest and accept to trust others, the message of the new game is to “speak up” from the inside, trying to understand yourself and take actions instead of just going with the flow and finally, to take responsibility for such actions.

If Neku was handpicked by the Composer for being the special one with an all-dense soul to ensure victory of the game then Rindo was just a normal kid chosen out of random by Kubo to be his back-up plan, who just happened to have a high enough imagination to awaken the incredible power from his pin. Rindo was then officially chosen by the Composer as Josh picked up and handed the pin to him again, this time not as Josh’s personal Proxy – but as the Proxy to represent the normal people of Shibuya and via whom he could gamble if humans can fight for their own fate.

The underworld heroine and the hero with little of his own

Shoka is for me a refreshing and layered heroine. She’s the kind of character that took at least 3 trials of creators to form as a complete individual – that included Nomura who gave her the base design and Reaper background, Gen who gave a more cunning touch and the writers who made her English dialogues more punchy. Dishonesty equals “tsundere” is such a cliché, so the English writers tried really hard to avoid that trope in my opinion, while still letting her good intention come through.

She serves as the character who is informed of everything the players should have known, and there was almost nothing she could do about it. Almost. Until she met Rindo.

They were drawn to each other by sharing a state of “not having anything of their own”. They both started out with not being able to truly know themselves, Shoka even hated her RG life but also managed to mature from that stage before Rindo. She must have vibed with Shiki’s love and passion in the Gatto Nero threads, initiating her connection with Shibuya and understanding herself more. With Shoka as Swallow, they were able to open up to each other and offer mental support… but was still not getting to the centre of their problems because for all this time, Shoka could not tell Rindo the most important things about herself.

How did Shoka feel when she met Rindo at the UG? She probably didn’t want to hope that he would live the day until she witnessed the Twisters’ potentials. From the very beginning, they were both incredibly conscious of each other and also constantly frustrated that the person they happened to “notice” was such a condescending bitch/a clueless loser. The Shinjuku Reapers are overall quite drunk in power and uncompassionate to Players, Shoka included. She is also a master of dissociation, which results in her constant boredom, tone swings, haughtiness and subconsciously distancing herself from the friend – the boy she cares about – from false hope, as she judged from facts that it was a hopeless situation where nothing could ever be. Maybe she is naturally a bit of a chameleon just like her name suggests (Shoka 紫陽花 = hydrangea, the color-changing flower), so putting on an act and always dissociating herself from what’s important was easy, while hiding her contradiction was impossible. It was the ex-Reaper Beat who broke it out to her, that she should decide whether she really cared and wanted to do something for a change. He knew how it felt like to cross that line, and knew she wanted to too.

Shoka is endeared by many of the Shinjuku Reapers and has shown independent acts of kindness (the Shinjuku ghost), proving that her kind and truthful side is as real as her harsh and dishonest side – which makes her a nice mirror to the previous heroine Shiki, who also embraced a dichotomy of self-complex and self-love within her character. In the end, she was the first of the new cast to ultimately accept all that is important to her and independently made the decision to help save Shibuya despite all costs.

She was jealous at Rindo’s interaction with Tsugumi and Kanon but remained silent cuz she wasn’t at a place to have any say about it. She also didn’t reveal about Swallow because that would only add an awkward irrelevance to their current situation, as she was too ready to face erasure at the end of the Game. She only wished to “play a game” with him, be it FanGo or the Reapers’ Game. The tension that the team could only feel at the end, she’s felt it the entire time. The song “DIVIDE” is applicable to not just one bond in the game, but it always makes me think of theirs. There is always a “divide” between her and Rindo throughout the course of their journey, as the living and the dead, as a Player and Reaper, as someone who has a place to return to and someone who doesn’t, someone who knows little but wields too much power and someone who knows a lot despite not being able to do much.

“If only I had the chance to connect with you on the other side

But time goes on, and without us realizing it

The battle is getting heated

Time goes on, and without us realiazing it

Divided again”

To be honest, maybe I didn’t grow any affection for the new main cast from Rindo’s perspective but from Shoka’s. Since I started to sympathize with Shoka, I started to see the boy in a more “real” way. The real Rindo, behind his peaceful façade with others, would lash out on Shoka for her unfairly harsh attitude while none of the others cared. He could also subtly feel that mantle of unspoken secrets from her, her own contradictions, the unresolved chemistry between themselves – and not knowing what to do with it rather than to feel angry with all the unfairness he could not process. (As a Libra too, he’s triggered the most by unfairness!)

It is actually a positive development as he’s at least “reacting” to something strongly now rather than to keep evading his problems. During my replay, I clearly saw the difficult situation Shoka was in, her remaining harshness after the Motoi incident was due to her internal struggle with a mission to save her own life, versus a chance to really be with the team. Her decision was to do both at the risk of losing favour from both sides. Rindo started to accept her layer by layer, as the person who resonated the most to her contradicting nature from the start and knew that via learning her resolve, he has learnt his too.

Later into the game, she even got too much of his attention. Maybe even without knowing she’s Swallow, he’s familiar with her thinking direction and Swallow had always been closer to him than any other friend. It was only after she had to betray her important ones twice that she could start being truly honest. The scene when she died a 2nd time left a strong impression in me, the little reveal let Rindo know that he is also losing Swallow as he’s losing Shoka – and that only death could drive the last secret out of her. Her final “Later, loser” echoed through Rindo as it was the final truth, with only him remaining to hear it: they had actually, already lost everything.

Rindo was the boy who never dared to face all that matters to him until he lost it all, fighting an unfair battle in the faith that they would somehow still win. Shoka was the girl who always knew what was dear to her, but never dared to think she could be together with them ever after and still threw her all into a battle she knew was losing. I think they stir each other on naturally to fill out their gaps, similar to what the Shibuya game partner systerm would have aimed for. The end reward was a little divine intervention to help close up the divide between them once and for all.

During the game there was not enough space to process anything personal so at the ending when they officially became “friends”, it was an important affirmation of their bond. Some people complained it was friendzoning but it’s not, they just have arrived at the perfect place to start something more. “From now on, we will truly be together” – I read it as that kind of message.

The heroine from a lost battle, with her story taken away

After reading the secret reports and playing the game to be surprised of how small a role Tsugumi had in the main game despite being the “Hype-chan” thought to be a major character of the next TWEWY installment, many fans would feel sad at a missed opportunity to see the Shinjuku arc in full depiction.

It was shown clearly that, a Shinjuku arc was very carefully planned out and is a vital part of the whole story, yet it could not be made due to various circumstances behind the development scene. I would assume, that the team were not able to make a TWEWY game that ended on a despairing note, but it already happened in their mind, thus becoming a mental burden that forced them to break away from it and started the game anew with NEO. A significant part of NEO became the healing arc for the Shinjuku characters, especially for Tsugumi though I really wished more emphasis should have been placed on her rather than Shiba. We didn’t even get to see her brother – Shinjuku’s Conductor who had a vital role and instead was given the clueless Shiba, who had absolutely no idea what’s going on all the way until the last day in NEO. It’s as if Tsugumi has had her story stolen away from her, because her own battle ended with a saddening loss.

I think every time the game creators look at Tsugumi, they would feel that sadness too. Maybe to them, she is a bigger character than what is seen by the fans, as despite their failed effort to depict her story, she’s lived in their mind for all these years through periods of destruction, healing and rebuild. Though it is a pity we could not get to experience the full scope of the Shinjuku story, the creators was clear about the place they wished for it to arrive at.

Individuality, connection and the social network

The team system adapted from Shinjuku rulebook does not allow much room for personal development, as the team dynamic is closer to a work relationship forced to bear results, than a spiritual bond to max out all corners of understanding as found in the partnership system. The old Shibuya system allowed only 1 winner and 1 week limit per game, while the new rule declares for a 1 winning team and only the team at last place will be erased – the other teams will enter another loop. Furthermore, whichever team to challenge the unwinnable Ruinbringers will face the risk of ending up dead last followed by erasure. As a result, the longest-standing teams are most likely not the strongest ever recorded, but the ones who have figured out a strategy to simply survive until something changes, enjoying their newly found social constructs while they are at it. Basically, it is a system to hypnotise players into the illusion that they are still “living”.

Therefore, we as players would not get to the core of each Player individually as fast and directly as we did in the last game. The Twisters were able to stand out not because they’re powerful, they only started to have a real chance after growing enough to each form a meaningful and personal connection to another teammate. It did not come as a team, nor did it intiate from the existing friendship between Rindo and Fret. In fact, I did not find much solidity or anything truly note-worthy about the main team and new characters within themselves until they started clashing with other team members, Reapers and new recruits from week 2 onwards. Rindo found his personal development with Shoka (via a clash with Motoi and pretty much a mini dating sim between them), then via the confrontation of his role with Neku; Fret found his with Kanon then Nagi, the team learned about the real Neku via Beat, Neku entered the UG via Coco’s wish to save Tsugumi… it was not the team but their personal links that empowered them to fight and solve each of their problems.

The other team leaders may have failed because they did not form such personal links, after 30+ hopeless loops Fuya’s team all fell apart to pursue their own interest even at the cost of erasure, Motoi quit his KOL façade to work like a dog for the Reapers (probably to save just his own ass not his team), while Kanon dropped her tricks to find changes via honest cooperation in acceptance of a fair loss. The despairing note in that is huge without making much of a scene because their failure didn’t happen at their best effort to “win”, but in their last attempt to find a way “out”. Even Shiba got his way “out” in the end thanked to his personal friendship with Hishima and Tsugumi.

Something has shifted in the mindset of the game creators in the last 14 years, as both games are about “connection vs individuality” but the last game focuses more on connection between just individuals and this one on the overall network that is formed out of those individual connections.

The introduction of Beat into the main cast was truly the bridge between old and new, they helped each other out in several turns before officially recruiting him. Beat is a character whom a lot of fans including myself have felt somewhat concerned about after Neku disappeared from the RG, so when the new kids welcomed Beat with warm and organic interaction and Beat seemed happy, I started to feel like I wanted to help them out too! I think the overall team chemistry is enjoyable enough for new players, but I could warm up to the new kids more from the pov of a returning character – whom I’m glad to be Beat, as the older brother figure who is genuinely kind, fun, serious and upbeat at the same time; who is needed and needs the kids in return.

The social network is a fun and refreshing feature. You can read all of the crazy tidbits about Shibuya and the links each character have formed with the town people, it’s also fun to visualize how the characters act off screen. Characters’ profiles provide extra insight into their background too, like how it reveals Tsugumi has been friend with Coco during her time in the RG. During the game when not all characters have showed up, you can sometimes guess which empty spot will belong to whom. For example there is a 1 character linking to Neky that is not linked to anyone else, so I could guess that was Joshua, and that another character linking only to Joshua was probably Hazuki, hinting that the 2 Composers are related before either of them even showed up.

Hazuki only showed up for 5 minutes, but his presence is so vital and true to the game that I think he is the most memorable out of the new cast. The two Composers have such an intriguing bond, with their yin/yang or phoenix/dragon themes, opposite color design, the sempai/kouhai tone and the way they keep some sort of distance/work relationship as if it’s mandatory between Higher beings, yet at the same time they can talk so casually because they are truly equal – and different from one another. I have written a separate meta on them here.

Some people pointed out, that all Shinjuku characters’ names and themes are based off Hanafuda cards and the Phoenix in Hanafuda belongs to the Paulownia suit – which is Joshua’s name flower. This is so interesting because it feels like the creators somehow saw it as a sign to interweave the Shibuya and Shinjuku storylines together. Though it doesn’t come out much on the surface, it’s fascinating nonetheless considering both Josh and Haz had at some point interfered with the other town’s affairs.

“Shibuya tour with Haz” was such a special scene, as it happened between 2 characters who do not/no longer have a reason to care about Shibuya, on the subject of what is worth saving about Shibuya. Hazuki carried out the purification of Shinjuku and stepped in to restore Shibuya just as part of his job and unlike Hanekoma or Joshua who both possess profound understanding of humanity, he really didn’t know humans at all. Rindo’s irrational wish invoked in him a sense of curiosity, to try gambling on something irrationally and learning a bit of what his senior have experienced. With all the pieces put together, it provides an overview on Higher beings as a whole, and that Joshua and Hanekoma are really the odd ones out with Hazuki being somewhere in between them and the rest.

The old friends

It’s easy to have returning characters overshadow the new cast as they have already matured out of their personal story arc and stayed in our hearts for all this time. In the end, I have managed to enjoy both the old and new cast separately and altogether, and they will both find their own place in our memory of this game for the long term.

Sho is truly as crazy as ever, the game wouldn’t be the same if Sho is any less of what he is. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like Neky or Beat is younger than Nagi at all, with moments when it seems like Neky has aged 14 years instead of 3 years. His friendship with Coco surprised me pleasantly, and their interaction together with Beat was fun to watch. Rhyme’s found a new dream and her friendship with Kaie is precious too, especially considering that she can still talk to him online after the game ended. Josh and Neku’s interaction suggested that they have resolved the past and are on equal terms now, they even parted ways in good spirit and I don’t feel any worry about them like I did before.

Neku and Shiki’s reunion scene was beautiful, theirs is such a special bond that it has grown and supported them even without being able to see each other. I am so happy to see them all again and that they stay true to who they are, albeit looking more grown up, cooler and happier than ever before.

Overall, NEO can’t become a classic on par with the OG, but is definitely a good sequel and a good game in its own rights. I’m happy with whether or not there will be a 3rd game to complete the 3 monkeys theme, but if there will be – I hope the creators can really find the time to learn from the last 2 games and start over with a fresh mindset and strong core.

#neotwewy #neotwewyspoilers #ntwewy #ntwewy spoilers #neo the world ends with you #twewy #review #meta #neo twewy #shoka sakurane #rindo kanade #tsugumi matsunae

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