#but overall what works in the game I find REALLY works and I'm satisfied with that

[emblemxeno]

Apologies if something like this has been asked before, but what would you say are your favorite things about Fates? I’m curious because I actually like the games quite a bit, and I also enjoy hearing what other people like about them.

No worries, anon!

1-The Characters

Fates, imo, has a very stellar cast. Characters like Corrin, Xander and Takumi I've gone over already in how much I adore them, but honestly the vast majority of the cast is great! There's a few I'm only neutral towards, and only one I actively really dislike, the rest I'm at least pretty fond of. The first gen cast in particular I think does a good job at having strong character interactions, especially cross kingdom supports; the big differences between how citizens of Nohr and Hoshido respectively go about their lives is crafted with a very deliberate dichotomy that is initially platformed as something forever incompatible, but is then subverted in various points in all three routes.

2-The Gameplay and Content

The mechanics and game flow introduced in Awakening I think was finely tuned in Fates. Pair up being more player controlled leads to satisfying strategies, and reclassing and skills are less centered around grinding. I like how the cast more often than not have min-maxed stat lines with clear strengths and weaknesses, as to me, that supplements an already important aspect of how FE plays regarding it's classes. That being said, classes like bow users and Armor Knights got very good niches that were very needed to not be completely outclassed. Class sets being varied by supports not just for the children but also the first gen cast was a fantastic choice as well, as it encourages other combinations beyond just getting extra stats in pair up. Dragon Veins were an amazing interactive gameplay element, and added an extra way to interact with the maps beyond navigating around terrain. Lastly, each route has a bevy of unique content, mostly maps, but Revelation has lots of exclusive supports as well!

3 The Music

The game's ost is phenomenal. An underrated aspect of the FE series is how its music is used to convey the games' stories through sound. With map themes alone, there's progression and intent. Birthright, for example starts with the light and spirited "Past Light" track, before shifting to "Justice RIP" and "No Justice", both signifying that things are getting more serious and dangerous, the latter being notable in that it's a Nohrian track to go along with how you're now in Nohrian territory. Then the triumphic "Alight" only starts when you're in the homestretch, facing familiar enemies whom were beaten before and can be beaten again. And, again, that's just four tracks! The entire ost paints a picture, be it in gameplay, story, or supports. There's even an entire track that only plays when a character's about to die in gameplay, and only gets brought in cutscenes to show how dangerous a particular foe has gotten! It's immaculate. And of course, Lost in Thoughts All Alone is an amazing lyrical track.

4 The Art style and Designs

People can rag on how certain characters or classes are designed in this game, but one thing that I think can't-or shouldn't-be denied is that the cast and setting have presence; they're recognizeable and give a taste of what's what. Besides Hoshido and Nohr being the typical "white" and "black" kingdoms, Hoshido has more spiritual or outside the box classes; they have the resources to experiment and hyper-specialize in certain crafts, even having religious classes, merchants, and blacksmiths available for options. Nohr, meanwhile, has more armor and mounts; it's a kingdom trained to be effective at competition and warfare in order to survive, and must forgo experimentation for practicality. The game is also just very pleasing to look at, where the muted but varied color palette makes characters and locales visually distinct without being too loud. There's also a lot of neat animations that characters do in battle, many that lots probably didn't notice or haven't even seen, which to me showcases a deep care and passion put into the little things.

5 The Story

While of course, not everyon'e cup of tea, I'm extremely fond of Fates' narrative. Mostly because, in storytelling media, there's always more than just words to convey a story. It's why I listed the other points before this one, because they all contribute to Fates' narrative construction. Pull from map music to hear what the story wants you to take from it from that point in the campaign, pull from character designs and portraits to see what to expect from a character's personality at a glance, see stats, classes, and personal skills to see and put into action how that unit plays and interacts with the map they join in, take a moment to really examine the terrain of maps both for strategy and to take in the kinds of environments in the game's world. Fates has a lot to say-probably too much for its own good-and so efforts were made to say things without words being necessary.

Beyond that, I think the story itself is gripping and involves themes and symbolism very easy to get lost in though (tee-hee) about. Individuality and authenticity, rejecting status quo, pacifism, the cycle of hatred/vengeance, commonality and understanding amongst opposites, etc. Hell, I tend to get into my own head about how characters are written or how moments are utilized in the story to tie back into a theme of some kind, because there's just that much to unpack.

So yeah. That's that.

[chrysanthemumgames]

An Update - August

Hey everyone!

It’s been a bit since I’ve written a proper update here, so just to let everyone know, here’s what’s going on with FoA/etc, right now.

First, the TLDR version:

I’m working on the sequel, Blood of the Living. I probably won’t be releasing a public demo until I have a few chapters, but Blossom-level patrons and up can check out the Build-in-Progress (BIP) on Patreon.

FoA itself has been sent off to the HG for the final time; release estimate is 5 September.

The longer version is this: Blood of the Living’s first chapter is nearly finished. It’s not a terribly long one, sitting around 35k words right now and perhaps likely to hit 45k by the time it’s done, but I’m reasonably happy with it so far.

My plan is to make this game overall a little bit shorter than FoA. I’m aiming for 600k words in total, with an average playthrough length of hopefully around 120,000. In some ways, this game is a lot of smaller stories rather than one larger one, and the aim is to make it a satisfying resolution to character arcs and romances without bloating it too much.

That said, I really have no idea whether that length estimate is terribly realistic or not. I think it is, but I try to leave room in my writing process for improvisation and changes and inspiration as well, so we’ll see how it goes. There’s also quite a bit of variation to account for, even before the fact that there are six RO/POs (and a possible poly) is considered.

I’ve decided I don’t want to release a public demo until there’s a sizable chunk of material there, probably around three chapters. That said, if you want some sneak peeks at what's upcoming, my Patrons (those who have access to the BIP) are able to read what I'm working on, so if you find yourself with a few extra dollars to throw my way, that is certainly an option.

I hope to have BotL finished by the end of 2025, though again, this is only the roughest estimate (and very optimistic about my daily writing success).

As for FoA, I received the edits back recently, and fortunately there weren’t a huge amount of continuity notes to get through, so I was able to finish my final changes in a few days and get them back to HG. I am told that if all goes to plan it will release on 5 September. I still have no knowledge of the price.

I’ll keep you all updated as I go.

[ilovetheriddler]

Denial of Infatuation.

(Arkham Games) Edward Nigma x F!Reader

(Declaimer: I don't condone or approve of the actions taken in this story. It is purely a work of fiction.)

Word Count: 837.

Contents: Very Suggestive content, Kissing, Obsessive Behavior, Intensely Possessive Behavior.

Edward found these thoughts he often had of you troublesome and quite annoying. The fact that he couldn't keep you out of his mind and it was starting to impact his work was pissing him off. What exactly made you so special? Why did you deserve such a huge part of his thoughts? He wasn't sure, and if there was one thing he hated more than his work being disturbed, it was him not being aware of something.

There were some nights were he found himself walking into your room during the middle of the night, simply so he could stare at you, watch you sleep and rack his brain trying to come up with an answer to these... feelings he had.

Ultimately, he came to a conclusion that overall satisfied his need to know. He concluded that these pesky feelings weren't anything like... love or infatuation, no, he was too important of a man to feel those pathetic things! It was obviously acknowledgment that you, as his assistant, were almost his equal, as close as anyone could come to being that is, and as a result he clearly felt a desire to treat you better than he treated everyone else, maybe even reward you for all your hard work.... he decided that perhaps some compliments were in order.

"... You look adequate today..."

"Huh? Um... Thanks, I guess?"

"The fragrance that your body is currently giving off is surprisingly pleasant..."

"... Do you mean the soap I use? I'm not really wearing any perfume right now, so...."

Needless to say, his attempts didn't often go too well. He was just so used to degrading people that he viewed as beneath him that he genuinely struggled to give decent compliments. He didn't need those to show you his... appreciation, though, maybe actions would assist him where words failed?

He started leaving you little metal flowers that he made out of scrap parts for his contraptions. His heart would beat rapidly in his chest whenever you'd find them. It was an annoying and unfamiliar feeling for him, but he slowly grew to like it.

So, of course, how else was he supposed to react when you told him that some guy asked you out on a date? How dare he! No one.... no one else deserved you, no one other than him. He couldn't allow this to happen, not on his watch. Some idiot wasn't going to just waltz in and lay claim to someone that Eddie viewed as His.

He got rid of the foolish man without any real difficulty. However, the fact that you kept getting asked on dates boiled his blood. So he kept disposing of any man who tried to win your heart, and every time you'd be in tears, wondering why those men always stood you up, and he'd take every chance to comfort you, which shocked you each time because of his usual behavior. But he'd wait, sooner or later you'd realize just how lucky you were to have earned his... interest.

"You know, you don't need those archaic Imbeciles! I mean... you already have a perfectly eligible bachelor right in front of you..."

"H-huh? What do you-"

"Me. Why don't you just put to rest all of these... foolish ideas of being with some boring, unintelligent, incompetent man, and be with me instead?"

"E-Eddie... I don't know... you're my technically my boss, wouldn't that be a bit weird?"

He stared at you in silence for a few moments before resting his hand on your cheek, caressing it surprisingly gentle.

"I promise you, My dear.... that it'd be perfectly fine... in fact, I'd make sure you were happy with me.... trust me..."

"Okay then.... I guess I could um... give it a try?"

You were then startled slightly by his lips suddenly crashing into yours, a desperate sense of need, passion, and repressed desires evident with how forceful and rough the kiss was, his tongue lightly ghosting over your bottom lip, almost demanding that you open your mouth for him. You're too dazed to really respond, though, which leads to him reaching up and yanking harshly on your hair, causing you to let out what sounded like a mixture between a gasp and a whine, he took this opportunity to slide his tongue into your mouth, exploring it thoroughly, as if trying to map out everything. After what felt like quite a bit, he pulled away, wipping a bit of saliva off of his lips. His gaze met yours, a somewhat concerning glean in his eyes as he pulled you closer to him, his breath fanning your neck as he spoke.

"Say that you love me, tell me that I'm the only man that deserves you!"

"Y-you're the only man that deserves me, Eddie...."

You let out a surprised yelp as he picked you up in his dirty, grease, sweat, and dirt covered arms, quickly carrying you towards his room. He clearly was hoping that tonight wouldn't just end at a kiss for him.

[maleyanderecafe]

Close to Obsession (Visual Novel)

Created by: Unknown Hermit

Genre: Horror

I'll be doing some recommendations for the #72 Hour Murderboy Mayhem since they do have quite a lot of yanderes (and some from creators you may know!) This one is made by @you-and-him who of course is working on the You and Him game and I do like the yandere's design in this one, (plus, pink haired male yandere, which is fairly rare). This one is fairly short as a demo, but hopefully it will be expanded on in the future.

The story starts out with the MC talking to a police officer about a sudden murder that happened in front of them. Clearly still affected by the situation, they start to recount it. While having a Hinder date with someone, they watched as a man came in and killed them. The MC is freaking out while the man seems satisfied with his work, he reveals that the two had actually dated once before from Hinder, though the MC doesn't remember it. The man gives the MC a piece of paper before leaving, leading to them calling the police. The officer offers to drive the MC home after this traumatizing event, remembering the note that they got, stating that they should meet up next Saturday, signed Max.

We then get a more in depth look at how Max thinks. We see that Max was inspired by the MC, and believed that killing the man is viewed as art in his eyes. He believed he needed something bold so that the MC would remember them, holding out a ring that he will presumable give to the MC in the future.

I will say that Hermit always does a good job in putting the MC in the most impactful situations at the start, which really lets you get into the meat of the action. In this game, we start out with the aftermath of the MC experiencing murder something that really traumatizes them. It is always cool to see a more realistic reaction to murder, and I think it would be neat if this carries throughout the entire game, where the MC kind of has PTSD from this moment, as it's something that they are clearly very shaken over. I'm curious if the MC will decide to go to meet Max, or if perhaps there's a branching timeline for something like that.

I always find it fun when creators have multiple yandere vns because they get to explore different types of yanderes with each one and we can see how they differ. Compared to Adam, Max is a lot more lucid about his obsession with the MC, even very blatantly going out of his way to kill their date in front of them just so that they will remember him. It's also cool to see more of the muse kinds of yanderes since the way that they view love and their definition of love is often different than how other types of yanderes view love. From more reluctant yandere to a more abrasive one, that's always fun! I have no idea how he was able to get away with simply murdering someone and running, like was there no other evidence besides leaving a witness? I guess only time will tell. I do think Max's design is pretty fun though with his side bun pony tail to his collar, he feels more like someone who would probably like animals. I'm wondering if that will be part of his characters, or if the collar is actually referring to more...kinkier parts of his personality.

Overall, a cool first shot of what the game is going to be like. From the time writing this, it doesn't really seem like Hermit has a full idea of what the game will be like, but I'm excited to see what direction they end up heading in as they continue to work on the game.

[gffa]

I was wondering if you could share your thoughts and feelings on Felonys takes over the years overall? I know a lot of people see him as this grand savior of star wars without much more to it so I wanted to hear your take on how he handles the pre-established world he writes for and the dissonance with what George Lucas established/said before

Honestly, I think a lot of Felony's appeal is that he writes a very polished story and that's appealing to audiences (no shade, I'm part of that audience!) and that he has at least given some thought to what the Force means. There are a lot of takes he has that I agree with, I still quote what he says about the characters at times, but I think he has a big central problem and that's characterization drift-slash-the inability to let go. Well, two big central problems: He also can't write/finish a narrative arc to a satisfying conclusion. I have such a hard time getting into the Mandalorian storyline because it's been told in snippets for like 10+ years now and it's never really coherently come together, it still has huge gaps in it, it doesn't have a strong narrative central theme that he sticks to, but instead told through cameos and mini-arcs in separate shows. And when you examine a lot of his work, it often doesn't hold up to scrutiny because I'm not sure he has a solid thematic throughline that's driving him--like, some of the choices he made in season 7 of TCW are baffling--Ahsoka walks right by people who need her help, then says, "In my life, when someone needs help, I help them."??? When she wants the Jedi to help Mandalore instead of Coruscant, she says the Jedi aren't helping the people who really need them, despite that Coruscant is under attack and that's where Trace and Rafa are, the characters we just spent an entire arc on?? Ahsoka and Bo-Katan want the Republic to literally invade Mandalore, this is brought up in the arc itself, and then never mentioned again because it's inconvenient and the author doesn't want to deal with the established worldbuilding?? I also don't think he knows how to end a story, like I love Ahsoka as a character, but he very much does favor her and a lot of her appearances are starting to feel like she's only there because Filoni can't resist. She just never ends, there's no conclusion to her, what's even her character arc over the course of her life after the Jedi genocide? She's obviously dealing with trauma about it and now she's looking for Ezra to find him again, but what's the character arc on a personal level? Is she still dealing with letting go of Anakin, ~30 years after it happened? Did she not put that to rest in Rebels finally? @david-talks-sw has a great post about the differences between George Lucas and Dave Filoni here, illustrating that I do think Dave misses some really key points about characters that he has personal biases against. And, you know, I'm not getting after him for that, I disagree with him and I think he's wrong about a lot of stuff that Lucas directly established, but I also think a lot of people dismiss criticism of him because, oh, he worked with George and therefore he's an extension of George! No, he's a different writer with his own strengths and weaknesses, one I think who makes very popular (often for a reason) Star Wars, but I think misses the heart a lot of times. But I also often think of that he doesn't try to see himself as the grand lord of Star Wars, either, even he himself says:

He's not the ultimate authority on Star Wars, he's just as fallible as anyone else is, and always should be. I think he made Star Wars shows that a lot of people loved, he has a very polished style, and he has given thought to the characters he loves. He just also has biases and directly conflicts with George Lucas' established story and I think that's fair to point out. Maybe you like those better, I'm not trying to talk anyone out of that, but it's still fair game for me to point out that I think he's wrong about Star Wars just as often as he's right. (And that, as time goes on and The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett became more and more of a hot mess, I grew less charitable. This is a major overview, I don't want to get too into the weeds on this, I've gone over a lot it in past meta, and it would be exhausting to dig it all up again, but basically this is why I'm on the fence about Felony. He has a lot of weaknesses as a writer and I don't find I like his strengths more than I dislike his weaknesses sometimes.)

[sleepingsims]

hiii. I love the way you do your cc. could you posibly give me some tips about how you do cc braids ( do you mesh it or start from 0 ?). Thanks !!!

hi! i have used the same method to mesh all of my braided styles since 2020, starting with my bria braids. i mesh them from scratch using curves!

i'll include some tips and little things that i do along with some blender screenshots below the cut :) ⬇️

most of these tips will make sense if you've used blender before, but feel free to ask me any questions about any of the tips, curves in general or anything like that!

i do all of my meshing in blender 2.79. i always start with my braid base of choice + some references!

this is a current wip as curves ⬇️

you can see my curve settings on those screenshots as well. i find that using any mesh resolution above 2 is overkill. another tip is to use the "auto texture space" option. if you have a horizontal braid texture, you can have a live texture! you no longer have to look at gray curves and i also find that this helps me identify clipping.

i also set my bezier curve handles to "automatic" initially, and then when I'm satisfied with the overall shape, I change them to "manual" to better fine tune the braids. i achieve the "look" by starting the bezier curves inside of the sim's head so the braids look more like they are attached to the scalp and there's less cleanup work to be done.

⬆️ using that texture space feature also sets up the uv map but i take it a step further and unwrap the uv map again (using active quads) to get more proportional texturing (notice how on the curves the texture is really tight near the roots?). make sure to mark a seam so the uv mapping actually works.

this is the result ⬇️ notice how the braids are consistent all the way down?

from here i make edits to make the hair more "game ready." this involves moving things around the face, ears, shoulders, etc. to avoid clipping and adjusting anything that looks off. from here there are two specific things that I do:

⬆️ i select the middle vertical edge(?) of each braid and remove it, by dissolving those edge loops. i find that this not only reduces the poly count, but also gives the braids a more realistic, flatter look.

⬆️ to "close" the ends of the braids i select all of the bottom edge loops and simply scale them to zero. this can be easily done with a clean uv map and setting the pivot point to individual origins. i also tend to do this with proportional editing on, so that the braids have a little bit of a taper at the end.

⬆️ here's a before and after of what those edits do to the hair. from here it's weights, morphs, playtesting, hat chops, lods, etc.

[kafkaoftherubble]

pitching akudama drive to you, without relying on cutthroat's cuntiness to get me through it

SO the basic premise is that it's a cyberpunk retro future world of Japan, years after a devastating war between cities. criminals in this world are dubbed the Akudama and ranked according to the severity of their crimes, most of our main cast are the highly sought after S-rank. there's also a task force of executioners, who are like... the American police 😍 they can kill criminals

this here is miss 一般人 (yes everyone's got a code name and they are all very on the nose, say hello to Ordinary Person. she is very ordinary)

after a small misunderstanding, she's arrested and accused being a swindler. and without explaining too much of the plot, she essentially gets forced into pretending that she too, is an akudama, as an entire group of them is forced to work together to complete a job. eventually her false persona of being Swindler becomes who she truly is and I could not convey just how satisfying that character turn around is

the strong theme here though, seen especially near the end, is how criminals are human. how they all have different reasons and motivations for committing their crimes, and how they're people beyond just that, yet they're being hunted down and executed for it.

it's about how the government can be corrupt, and if they have the power to kill criminals... well then, it's just a matter of deciding who the criminals ARE and killing them (that foot in the door to be allowed to kill anyone you dislike because Oh Well they're a Criminal)

it's about carving your own path in life with tooth and nail, to not let yourself be held down and killed or have your life stripped away from you. fighting for a better future.

anyways it's only 12 beautifully animated episodes long, every character is a delight and it's just got a fun story in general

also cutthroat will be sad if you don't watch it

Okay, the sci-fi setting is a big plus point because I like sci-fi in general! Also, the part about the American Police deadass made me laugh!

The art style looks like something I've seen but I don't remember what it is. It's like... the style used in Persona! The video game, I mean.

Hmm... "Becoming the mask" as a trope is a bit of a neutral thing for me, to be honest. I think the Past Me had a fill of this with Durarara!! back then, haha. Being a swindler is a bit of a plus point, though, because I love stories about noble-hearted confidence people. Does this Normal Person Girl actually pull off really wild, big-brained insane cons like the French show Lupin or the anime Great Pretender? If she did, it would be a very big plus point! I dig that stuff so much because I love trying to figure tricks out!

As for the part about humanizing criminals—it's a wee bit reminiscent of Psycho-Pass, which I really enjoyed. I'm also currently reading Ajin, which has shades of this in its themes. Since I'm currently being fed, I'm quite neutral about this specific theme for now.

Overall, it is quite an interesting premise! I will hold onto it and wait for its Interest Meter to be filled even more.

Weird that I have never heard of this anime before! I mean, sure, I don't consume fiction a gargantuan lot compared to most people on Tumblr, but I still fancy myself a wee bit more learned than actual casuals! So how is it that I have never heard of this? Is your fandom big?

Also, Cutthroat can cry but I find it a bit suspect if he can cry. I mean, this guy's name is screaming "funky happy serial killer" so much!

[cowboycannibalism]

I seen this 3 weeks ago but I'm barely posting it because I forgot lol work got crazy

okay some immediate thoughts on The Menu (2022), I literally just got out of the theater so it's very fresh and jumbled in my mind. ⚠️some spoilers included⚠️

Definitely a slow start and requires paying attention to little details to really get a read on the individual characters but I really enjoyed that. It makes you uneasy throughout most of it

It could have used a little more gore/blood but honestly the kills that happened were so jarring and unexpected it made up for the lack of blood

my sister ( a person who went to culinary school), and I (a person who went to art school) both enjoyed the aesthetic of the movie very very much! especially the close ups of the individual courses and descriptions that went along with them. they were beautiful and an interesting way to break up scenes

the characters were all so well done in terms of making you not root for them lol. a group of stuck up, rich people who just right off the bat were people I knew I wouldn't like

that being said the casting was wonderful! everyone played their character so well!

Tyler was so annoying! He had hyperfixated vibes at first where it was very relatable that he was so obsessed with the restaurant and the chef and everything. But as the movie went on he treated Margot like shit for not being as interested even though he was fucking paying her!! like bro you just spent half of the beginning of this saying she was so cool and being cutesy with her and also oh yeah she's an escort so quit being a dick you had to pay her to be there!

I will say Tyler's death definitely hurt me in a weird way. Watching Slowik humiliate him in front of everyone and then say something so cruel that he goes to kill himself...oof.

Also Tyler knowing for 8 months about everything!!! fuck dude.

Lilian and Ted were so realistic in the way that food critics(or any high end critics)talk about the dishes put in front of them. They could never just enjoy something, they always had to find the negative, never could be pleased or satisfied because that doesn't make an interesting review

Margot standing up to Slowik and making him make her a cheeseburger because of his past was so beautiful. Her push back to him being both disrespectful and firm while also giving him back that memory of being a line cook at a burger place from his youth. Of reawakening that love of cooking in him for just a moment.

the overall theme of an artist losing their love for their craft not necessarily it being their fault but because of the community that surrounds that medium was very rough for me to watch as an artist. The art world(any form of art) is so full of classicism and the further you get, the more praise you receive, the more known you become, the harsher it is to you. Not for the sake of bettering you or the craft, no its often just a game of egos and money and fame. Slowik had started off a line cook with a love of what he was doing and then to please the community that surrounded him he changed, and the thing that he loved, that he cherished, it became a chore. a punishment.

Everyone had a reason to be there and I can't find any pity for them except maybe the workers in the kitchen.

the scene with the tortillas had me screaming!!! the exposure of the misdeeds was mwah!!!

Also the fact that no one really tried their hardest to get away was really interesting. they protested things happening to them, they screamed and yelled and tried to escape a few times but it never felt frantic, it never felt like they were desperate to live.

that ties into the way that they eventually accept their fate at the end. they know why they're all there and they know it's pointless to fight or scream about their status or offer money/fame/etc.

they also all in their own way had lost their way in life and the whole menu was designed to show them that as well as how they ruined Slowik's love of his art

[riaaanna]

Queen Fanclub Convention 2023 Part 7: the rest of the fun!

I'm done with all those long transcripts so this post will be more of photos and vibes! While the guest panels were the bulk of the main event during the Convention, there were a lot of other things going on parallel and in-between. I'll just be posting a few things with somewhat interesting contents - to me at least!

Marketplace

Can't really capture the whole atmosphere in one shot but as the name suggests, this is where Queen fans put up their stalls to sell their Queen-related things. They range from handcrafted works to rarity bootlegs, so it was all quite a mix! It was honestly like walking through a hoarder's den lmao, but in a somewhat organized way. Anyone I've seen or heard about as Queen collectors online, they were probably there, or at least their stuff were. Just to give you an idea here are people putting up their Sotheby's purchases right there.

I was mainly a woman on a mission for rarities, but this was Saturday morning before the panel and I didn't want to lose my spot at the good table, so I had to go about it quickly and efficiently. I didn't want to fall for obvious scams either which there are a lot! So my right hand was browsing through items while my left was on the phone scrolling through file folders and chats (£60 for a 1984 bootleg?? I have that in a freakin OneDrive link 😭). I bought something cheap that, in panic, I thought I didn't have, but it turns out I did. Not a big loss and it was a much nicer quality so it was fine...

MPT also had their own stall inside the hall (not part of the Marketplace), this was just a small selection. And you can hear a trivia quiz running in the background lol.

Charity Auction and Raffle

I didn't participate in the auction and I only spent a little on the raffle (and didn't get anything lol, lots of people bought huge amounts of raffle tickets), but there were some interesting things! List of the auction items on the left (📸 Ian Knight) and list of the raffle items on the right.

I loved seeing the handwritten things up for auction, again all the images below were taken by Ian but cropped by me.

From left to right. First is #6, Roger's handwritten letter for the fanclub magazine in 1994, talking about his song "Nazis 1994".

Next is #10, a lyrics sheet of Say It's Not True with Roger's handwritten note: "This is a sad song about a horrible situation anyone could find themselves in! 46664!"

Last is #21, Brian's "favourites" questionnaire, handwritten and signed. He loves Queen II and The Works (what a combo) and writes Anita Dobson under favourite actress 🥰

Party vibes!

The rest of the party is just good fun! Some of the calmer parts are team games and trivia quizzes, both Queen and non-Queen related, for the brainy fans! There is also a caravan decorating competition and a fancy dress competition for the crafty fans! (I didn't take many photos of them myself and I've already used too many of Ian's lol, so sorry for the lack of photos...) There's also a crazy golf competition somewhere but I did not check that out at all I was not there for that. Lots of music (tribute bands and DJs) and dancing which I could only indulge in for a small amount of time before I drained my entire social energy lol. Here's a tradition at the Convention which they call the Breakthru train, lots of fun!

Overall a really fascinating first-time experience at the Queen Fanclub Convention! It was very satisfying content-wise and, while I was wary (a party for 3 days? my God) it was also very fulfilling social-wise! I'm glad I decided to give it a go before returning home. It wouldn't have been the amazing experience that it was without everyone who was there with me but especially Ian, Rob, Cilla, Reece, and of course everyone else I met up and chatted with. Meeting fellow Queen fans irl is always a highlight that just hits different.

If you're still here that's incredible! Thank you for reading!

[sunderwight]

watched castlevania nocturne! thoughts:

this show is nearly nothing at all like the games. as an adaptation it is not very good on that front, but then again if it was a faithful adaptation I wouldn't like it, so personally I'm not bothered about that

annette, edouard and olrox are the best parts. I was also pleasantly surprised by richter, who I expected to be kind of insufferable or just boring (he's neither!)

richter reminded me a lot of sypha and of alucard rather than just doing the usual macho protag descendant thing and being a near-clone of trevor. it was really good, I ended up liking him quite a bit

annette and edouard were amazing, even though I kind of laughed at edouard's singing. I wonder if annette could teach richter how to get into contact with his ancestors, and I wonder if richter could find her some kickass weapons/artifacts/books from a magic belmont storage facility somewhere (alucard probably knows at least one)

I really like annette and richter, they're young and cute but also relating to one another on the dead mom trauma and trying awkwardly to offer comfort and getting frustrated and forgiving and it's just really good ship material

I wonder if olrox was made into a vampire by spanish conquistadors or if vampires are also a phenomenon of the americas, but I also suspect he might not really be a "vampire" as such and that drinking that rich guy's blood was more of a show for drolta's sake. he seemed awfully comfortable walking around in the daytime while he was chatting with mizrak. it was in the shade but still

on the other hand, erzsebet got her powers by drinking a god's blood. maybe olrox did the same thing with quetzalcoatl. quetzalcoatl is a sun god, so that would explain why olrox was so unsettled about erzsebet's solar eclipse (might also mean that he can go out in sunlight). even though he's a vampire, a threat to the sun would constitute a threat to him too

olrox acknowledging to richter that it was awkward for both of them to try and interact in a non-hostile way was hilarious. man never foresaw that he'd ever need a belmont for anything, now he has to deal with the fact that he is the personal nightmare bad guy of the only one he knows about

I love how annette killed the vampire slaver who murdered her mother. how she specifies that the crosses work because he fears them, and she's not averse to using that against him, literally caging him with the symbol of the religion that colonization pushed onto the rest of the world. how he tries to get her so angry in hopes that she'll let him out just to attack him, because he has no other possible escape route, he knows he can't convince her any other way. how it utterly fails and he just burns helplessly in the sunlight. that whole scene was excellent and so narratively satisfying

also really like how angry annette got at richter, and how quickly she forgave him when he apologized. because she knows exactly what he felt when faced with his mother's killer, and she had to make herself push past it. that the real problem is that she had to push past it, could never really be a child who was afraid, rather than that richter panicked

edouard's monster design was also excellent, I was riveted every time he was on screen

in fact the vibes overall were pretty good, like vampire hunter d meets hellboy

[maybe-not-a-robot]

Media Log 2024 Entry 3 - De Blob - 4/5

I remember very few things about this game from when I was a kid. the overtly anti-imperialist message was not one of them.

To preface this, I will tell a little story about myself: De Blob, the original game on the Wii, was a game I had and loved as a kid. Though, I had a strange relationship with it: I never played past the first level even once. Every time I booted up the game, all I did was play the first level. If I'm remembering correctly, it was because I was afraid of the enemies that appeared for the first time in the second level. My, how I've grown!

Anyway, this game is pretty damn good! To start with the positives, the gameplay loop of painting buildings and doing missions in ambitiously large levels is very enjoyable (and it ties into a scoring system so I'm obligated to like it at least a little bit). This gameplay loop is made much more enjoyable by what I consider the game's highlight feature: the entire in-game OST is adaptive! As you paint the levels, the music goes from a very simple percussion line to a full-track alongside other changes like the sky going from gray to blue and the ground getting more colorful. On top of that, it's just a really good OST all around, which is always a plus.

The game also oozes (like paint. Haha.) charm and style, which becomes readily apparent as you paint buildings from blank grays to vivid colors and patterns. The entire game is about revolution against an oppressive government and its graffiti-inspired style works well to sell that! The character designs are also very charming and use shape language well to convey their vibes.

Speaking of the revolution against an oppressive government - the weird thing about this game is that it's very overtly leftist. It's not like it's winning awards for discussing theory like Disco Elysium, but it goes farther than I'd expect a Wii game published by THQ to go. Besides this, the story isn't anything to write home about, but it's funny when it wants to be and weirdly fucked up when it wants to be. Ink is rarefied liquid misery, by the way.

Anyway, onto the negatives - mostly, the controls. While the movement feels good in open spaces, precision platforming is a major struggling point. The slippery controls make moving across smaller platforms or making tight jumps a chore, and wall jumps are even worse - you either stick to every wall you brush against or you don't stick to walls at all.

The other negative is the enemy design - honestly, mostly just the Elite Inkies. Having to go out of your way to find the right color to deal with them is a fine gimmick... until the game starts really overusing them. Then it gets really annoying really fast. The combat in general is fairly weak, really - I feel like combat doesn't suit the gameplay the best, and that focusing more on hazards would have been the best, as satisfying as slamming Inkies into little black stains is.

Overall, De Blob is a very charming and unique game (with a great port to PC from the Wii!) held back by some major flaws, but nothing so bad as to sour the experience. I'd recommend giving it a shot if you get the chance!

Also, like the Portal series, it's apparently a game that started out as a school project. Funny how that keeps happening.

[crescentfool]

5, 9 and 16 for that artist ask meme!

5. favorite little detail in a drawing you did

this one was kind of hard to answer because i lean so much more to simplification over 1:1 detail... that said, i really loved these ones!

the bag from the top photo is from here, minato nui on left is from some con-related draws, the ballpoint splatling on right is from a vintage draws compilation!

i just really enjoy drawing little objects and props, and as much as i'm allergic to backgrounds, i hope to overcome that next year because my friends know i love getting obsessed over random objects for a few days...

9. any new art mediums youve tried (or overall styles if you havent tried new mediums)

i haven't gotten to do much mediums outside of digital art unfortunately.... but i would say this year was the year of chibification! i turned so many characters into little guys this year (shoutout to the nui tree!). which is really ironic because i also realized this year i find full illustrations more satisfying to work on throughout the process, despite the "simplicity" of chibis.

i did some limited color styles too! (blue, purple, and red + b/w). hopefully i can do more deliberate color palette stuffs though. i think it'd be a great exercise.

stylistically wise i think i could've tried more, but. its ok! thats what 2024 is for. yipee!

16. favorite piece of art from someone else (if you have one)

it feels like a cop out answer to say this but any gift art i got of my splatoon character... LOL... i didn't expect to get so attached to him (i changed my name in game to minatoast a JOKE!!!!). um. drops this gallery link here and scuttles away. im so very grateful. you're telling me people actually took time out of their day to draw my little guy? incredible!

ocs aside, i'd like to take the time to highlight some art from people on twitter (kitaro havers rise up!), since i do consider the things i reblog to be art i'm very fond of...

this art from tin of ryomina with flowers is so. oh my god. i was SO BEWILDERED AND HAPPY!!! i was minding my own business and then saw this rt'd on one of my friend's pages... i forget who lol but i was like "WAIT TIN Kick_TheeCan DREW RYOMINA??? I LOVE THEIR ART OF THE P3 PROTAG WHAT." i feel like i got pushed down a staircase in tartarus (positive)

and this art from chris (str3wberryy), my god, the composition fucks severely. i want to eat it. he also has an alt account on twitter (@/makotoyukilover) if you want to see more of their p3 protag arts :D

i also enjoyed seeing p3 arts from yamad_125, BSZZOWL, and elulit2. im so serious if you like ryominaigis you'll probably like taking a gander at these artist's media tabs! i find my way to see the twitter arts one way or another, nothing can stop me 👁👄👁

[peemanne]

Yakuza 3 Review: Shining "Black Sheep"

Hey, it's Pee again. I actually finished writing the first draft of this AND my Yakuza 4 review months ago on my notebook, but I didn't get around to transcribing it digitally until now. Ended up rewriting a lot more than I was expecting haha

Also I still need to finish my 0 review but I'm a little caught up on making my 6 review first, since I'm kind of just dying to talk about it. Anyways, here's Yakuza 3. It's so cool.

This review contains MAJOR SPOILERS.

Reviewed on April 10, 2024. Last completed on March 5, 2023

Completed on PC (Remastered)

Rating: 8/10 (4 Stars)

Yakuza 3’s become something of a black sheep within the community. It might be because of the jump from Kiwami 2 or the lack of a proper port of the original 2, but a part of the community seems to be so adamant about bashing 3, usually because of the combat, the story, or some mix of both. That being said, I’ve noticed that we’re kind of backtracking from that, as more and more people come to praise and appreciate 3, some even calling it one of the best. Personally, I do find myself liking Yakuza 3 quite a bit, though there are definitely a few missteps that hold it back from really sitting there with the other greats in RGG’s catalogue. 

I just want to get one thing immediately out of the way as I get into the game’s combat: “Blockuza” is an overblown exaggeration. Kiryu has a lot of tools to get past something like that. With that being said though, Yakuza 3’s early game combat can feel a little miserable at times, especially with some egregiously bad boss fights like Tamashiro 1 and Rikiya. Once you grab the Komaki abilities though, it all really starts to open up for the player. Wall bounding with Kiryu’s moveset is fun, counterattacks like the Komaki Parry and Tiger Drop feel especially beefy in this entry, and 3’s engine allows for some neat off-the-ground tech if you know what you’re doing. While I don’t think it’s quite as satisfying as its predecessor Yakuza 2, Yakuza 3’s hits still feel hefty and impactful, with the aforementioned counterattacks being the big winners here. The sound design in the combat is still really solid, and I believe is something that usually goes underappreciated during discussions of this game’s combat (and in general, really). I also just wanna bring up the weird messed-up faces that appear after you use heat actions on the generic street goons. It’s very funny just how absolutely horrible they look after a fight, and it’s even funnier that this carries over to 4. One aspect that I do feel is a little lacking though is Kiryu’s damage in this entry. It’s weirdly lacking? And it’s not like bosses take too long, that’s not really my problem, but it makes heat actions feel oddly weightless despite the good animation work. Getting everything right for a heat action only for it to barely dent the poor soul you’re beating the snot out of just doesn’t feel the same. For comparison, Y4’s Kiryu feels like he does way more damage with his heat actions, and I think they feel better there because of it, which is interesting when you remember Y4 Kiryu is almost identical to his depiction in 3. Yakuza 3’s combat overall is pretty solid save for the early game. It’s far from the strongest this series has seen, but Kiryu’s moveset feels strong and is just pretty fun to mess around with. Props to Richardson for being the only actually enjoyable gun boss fight in the series. With that being said, please keep Lau Ka Long away from me. 

Yakuza 3’s story arguably has Kiryu at his best. He finally gets to breathe in between constant Tojo feuds with some dad slice-of-life stuff at the orphanage, and all of it is just so, so cute. It’s a little slow, sure, and that might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I found myself so charmed by it all. My heart melts seeing Kiryu, who’s gone through so much, get to be happy with his little scamps. The characters really come through here, the stars of course being the Ryudo family. Rikiya’s the brightest one, a fun companion throughout who both contrasts and bounces off of Kiryu well. Then there’s Nakahara and Saki, a sweet encapsulation of the game’s themes of fatherhood. And there’s the kids themselves, all distinct and fun to simply watch run around with their Uncle Kaz. My favorite one is Taichi because he’s awesome. 

The rest of the plot though, I’m a little mixed on. There are some genuinely great stuff here: Mine’s an amazing antagonist despite his small amount of screentime, seeing the Tojo so broken down after Kiryu’s shenanigans in 1&2 was interesting (the Nishikiyama family having KANDA as its patriarch is my favorite example of this), Majima’s characterized shockingly well, this game marking the start of him being taken more seriously, and Joji’s honestly a cool ass character despite being an asspull and a half. Unfortunately, Yakuza 3 has a few egregious mistakes that impede it from being an all-timer story for this series. For one, 3 falls victim to a lot of early writing habits that this series eventually broke out of over time. A lot of characters unjustly die for no good reason, Mine and Kashiwagi being the biggest offenders. It also has the big ol’ “Kiryu forgets to disarm the bad guy and said bad guy kills a valued ally” schtick, and it’s as infuriating as ever. Then there’s the “giant exposition dump” chapter, with Yakuza 3 having by far the worst case of it ever with Chapter 9: The Plot, which is almost entirely dedicated to Kiryu and Date sitting down and listening to some politician explain what the hell is even going on. Despite all of this, Yakuza 3’s story is still very enjoyable, and I think it’s very much worth it to endure all of its little shortcomings to appreciate its amazing characters, both new and returning faces. 

Side content is decently well-rounded for the most part in Y3. It introduced the series to Karaoke, for which we are all eternally grateful, of course. I really like the hostess songs in this entry, and it’s a shame that most of them don’t return for later games. 3 also has the hitman missions, which is a cool side-activity throughout. Additionally I hate Yakuza 3’s golf and everything it stands for Yakuza 3’s substories consist of a lot of filler substories where not much really happens, but the ones that stand out REALLY stand out. You have a really unique substory that spans from Chapter 9 until the finale in Murder at Cafe Alps, you have some silly gag substories like Kiryu having to cross the street with 2 massive ice-cream cones. You have substories that flesh out characters from the main story, like the amazing Dotting the Eye with Rikiya, and the sweet Date’s Pride substory. You can also have Kiryu say “H e y ,  s w e e t c h e e k s” in English, if you so please. I love it! 1-4 all have substories that occasionally use full-on cutscenes, and you can tell how much care they put into them. Yeah, it still has that annoying thing from other early games where you can flat-out fail a substory and lock you out of them, but still. Quality selection of substories. 

Lastly, 3’s soundtrack. I’m absolutely a sucker for this series’ soundtrack, so I’m not even going to pretend that I’m not biased. Yakuza 3’s music bridges the gap between the roughness and raw power of the original Yakuza 1 & 2’s almost grungelike style with the cleaner compositions of the later games, and I think it works out pretty well! You have your badass tracks like FM-Sound’s Storm, Bruise, and Hear this in the game. You have your intense, climactic songs like the fan-favorite Fly, the beautiful Lyricism Without Tears (which, as a bonus, gets one of the coolest track names this series has ever been graced with), and the underrated End Point. I find Yakuza 3’s OST isn’t really talked about all that much outside of the justified praise of Fly, which is a real shame, because there are some real quality tracks on display here. 

Yakuza 3 stands as a very solid game in its own right, even with a few annoyances bogging it down. I don’t think it deserved all of the unending slander it seems to receive. I love my dad Kiryu, I love seeing him hang out with his kids, and, despite all the bad, I still love this game. Also, Albert Wesker’s in it, and I think that’s pretty funny.

[coraniaid]

For the fic ask game, 5, 10, 20 please!

Fanfiction author ask game

5) The fic you’re most proud of writing?

I think the answer has to be Coexist, my season 3 rewrite.

It was the first fic I started writing in the Buffy fandom; it's the (completed) fic that took me the longest to finish [the first chapter was posted in February 2021, but I'd been planning it and drafting it for a while before then, and the last chapter wasn't posted until April 2023]; it's (by some distance) the longest single fic I've written [it's a bit over a quarter of a million words long].

And, now that I've had some time to think about it, I think it holds up pretty well? There are certainly a few sections I'd be tempted to rewrite slightly, and probably some bits which I should have just edited away, and (because I hadn't quite planned things out in as much detail as I thought I had) there's a few moments where the wider timeline doesn't quite work [secondary characters will say things that are meant to be cryptic references to events that I later decided hadn't happened yet], but overall I think I did a pretty good job capturing the story I'd been daydreaming about for a while. I'm still really pleased with the chapters The Price, Reactions and Undertow in particular, and I think the overall story is surprisingly coherent, both structurally and thematically, for something I spent more than two years writing.

10) Best/funniest comment you’ve ever gotten on a fic?

It still kind of amazes me whenever I get ... well, any comments at all, really, but especially comments that take the story I've written seriously as something worth engaging with and analyzing? I'm especially grateful to anybody whose leaves detailed comments or reviews on each chapter as they go, or who leave additional comments to point out things they noticed or enjoyed on a reread (not naming any names but you know who you are). Not to be sappy, but those are the types of comments that I go back and reread when I'm struggling with writing something new and trying to motivate myself to finish a difficult section.

Funniest comments, in hindsight, are the reactions to ... well, there is a certain chapter about a third of the way into Coexist where a Thing happens. I remember being really nervous about posting that one, and I still feel a little guilty if anyone really did stop reading at that point, but looking back the reactions (which included repeated variants on things like "damn" and "what the fuck?" and "I'm so angry right now" and "... ow :(" and "this is some real game of thrones shit") are exactly what I was going for.

20) Hardest character to write/get the characterization correct for?

I think Jenny Calendar is basically impossible to write 'correctly' because she just doesn't have a consistent characterisation in canon (is she a capable practicing technopagan who has a perspective on the supernatural that challenges Giles' own assumptions, or is she Giles' cool teacher girlfriend who helps with research in the library but is hurt and betrayed when the magical side of Giles' past endagers her safety, or is she a walking racist stereotype who [sort-of, somehow] betrayed Giles and Buffy [in ways that never quite make sense] and who has the bad luck to be written by a group of writers who ... well, let's just say that Angel doesn't ever attribute his soul to a Romani curse).

I don't think you can really reconcile those three contrasting versions of the character -- at least not in a way that I personally find satisfying -- so you just have to pick one to be the 'real' version and gloss over the other stuff as best you can. (And I think my summary above makes it clear which version of Jenny Calendar I like.)

[uselesslilium]

Eh, what the hell. Potential list of fics I'm thinking about writing once Mimesis is wrapped up, to organize my own thoughts:

ExValk Hunger Games AU, Part 3 Pros: Last part in the trilogy, finally wrapping it up would be very satisfying. Will not be longer than maybe three chapters. I still feel bad about how I left Mika in part 2, so getting him off that cliffhanger would be great. More ensemble cast scenes, and a chance to write Rinne+Shu interactions. I’ll finally get to write ExValk OT3!!!! Cons: Mimesis was largely a stressful downer all in Shu’s POV, and this would be Even More Of That. I think I could use a break from that vibe before going back to it. Still no Mademoiselle. Also would have to reread Mockingjay to make sure I got District 13 down, which means I can’t write right away.

Scum Villain AU Pros: I have been thinking about this fic on and off for like over a year now and I still want to write it, so I’m motivated. A balance of silly and serious. Would be fun to play around with fantasy genre conventions and the meta of ‘Eichi as the author’. A bit of a dynamic flip where Shu has secret knowledge about Mika rather than the other way around. Huge ensemble cast and lots of POV options! Can write Mado-nee as her own person! Have full narrative justification to write Mika’s kink awakening! Cons: Dear fucking god would it be long. I haven’t even begun outlining. Huge ensemble cast and lots of POV options. Fight scenes.

Arranged Marriage AU Pros: Fluff! I can write fluff again!!! Still with a nice undercurrent of angst and drama, of course, but it would definitely be lighter in tone overall. Could start off in Mika’s POV right away. Never written an arranged marriage AU before, and honestly I’m hankering for it. Potential for fun Seiya+Mika awful mentorship. Cons: Would have to think about politics. Have not really sorted out the plot at all. Possibly too much thematic overlap with Awakening Hermitage?

Momo leaves to work for Ryou AU Pros: Ohhhh I could make everyone soooo miserable. :) I want to dig into Ryou and Momo’s weird awful friendship so bad. Want to dig into Momo’s terrible self-sacrificial tendencies and his fawning reflex and how he’s the worst person to try and fix Ryou. Want to examine Yuki’s passivity and self-loathing and then make him actually Do Something. And I have actually managed to outline it, so there’s a solid base to start with. Cons: It would take at least 8 hefty chapters to finish, and that is a long time to stew in abusive relationship dynamics. No getting around what a huge bummer it would be to write. Also, haven’t written for i7 yet, worried about whether I know the characters and Japanese entertainment industry well enough to pull something this messy off.

Ciel AU Pros: It’s a Ciel AU!!! The characters would let me play with the setting in interesting ways. Gender. The mythology allows for really fun canon parallels. I have an outline planned, and have actually written the first chapter already! Cons: Maybe two people would get it lmao. Can I stop myself from letting it bloat? Didn't know The Truth about Grandpa Itsuki when I started and that'd need serious adjustment.

Shape of Water AU Pros: Mika finally gets to be a monsterfucker. Shu is the focus of the misery for a change. And also a beautiful octopus mermaid. Pure Mika POV would be interesting. If I try hard and believe in myself, this could possibly be a one-shot. Cons: Another very limited cast and setting. Would be hard to work in the parts of their relationship I find most compelling.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hi Ms Raven! I just wanted to ask what're your thoughts on the new twst manga chapter?? Personally, I'm not the biggest fan, but give credit where credit is due; the art is gorgeous and I love the Leona's characterization. I still have gripe with the MC change and I still feel it was unnecessary, I feel Yuuken would've been the same in the role if he wasn't replaced by Yuuka. I can't help but think that the MC change was for self insert purposes than anything else 💀

I believe I went over my initial impression of the Episode of Savanaclaw’s first chapter in this post. To summarize: pretty art (especially the eyelashes) and nice visual storytelling that expands on what the visual novel format of the game laid out as groundwork. (However, if I had one minor qualm with the artwork, it’s that I don’t believe the mangaka’s style necessarily suits TWST in all scenarios; for example, sometimes the characters make expressions that, while beautiful, make them appear like completely different characters for like a single panel.) Overall, I thought the chapter was pretty good, if not a tad bit long due to all of the exposition and recap we had to go through again.

One element that I didn’t really discuss in that reaction post was our new Yuu, Yuuka Hirasaka. This is largely because I personally don’t have an vested interest in the Yuus 💦 and quite honestly, the introduction of another one (which replaces a previous one) made me equal parts excited and disappointed. I don’t have anything against a new character, but I’m disappointed that no manga!Yuu will ever receive a fully realized character arc; each one will (assumedly) be cut short to make way for a new Yuu, which means I can never see myself getting invested in one of them (since I know they’ll just go away at the end of the episode). It just doesn’t feel satisfying to me, and I’m moderately concerned about how reintroducing the Yuu and the episodes leading up to the current point in the plot will work for future episodes which get continuously lengthier, more complex, and build on the relationships established in previous episodes.

Yuuka is also just at a point where it’s too early for me to judge whether I like her or not (though I know many are excited at the prospect of a Yuu that is a “strong independent woman that takes no one’s shit”; this seems to be the popular fandom interpretation of her). I’ll reserve my judgment for now; I want to see more of how she interacts with the characters and the world first.

I understand that everyone may have their own reservations about Yuuka (and it’s totally fine if you find yourself not enjoying her), but let’s be careful not to point fingers about it 😅 For all we know, the changing of Yuus per episode could be a very deliberate and story-driven move (a la the popular “time loop” theory). We can’t make assumptions about the intent behind it, especially when we don’t yet have the context of the entire main story being completed.

Additionally, while it may be validating for the (largely) female fanbase that self inserts to have its representation in a female Yuu in official TWST media, I don’t think the change was just to appease a demographic. It may be such that it opens up interesting avenues for engagement with Leona (who, canonically, “respects women”). As I’ve stated in a previous post though, I don’t think the change will be that big, but it could expand more on Leona’s character by demonstrating how exactly he interacts with women whom he supposedly “respects”. We’ve only really had vague information and fandom speculation on this point, and I, for one, welcome any and all new lore 😌

Yuuka offers a slightly different perspective than Yuuken because of little details like this, and that is one advantage of changing the lenses through which we view the story every episode. Again, not everyone will be happy with the direction of the manga, but let’s try to look at the positives ^^ Lots of Yuus also means lots of possibilities, yeah?