#twewy meta

[zyzix]

There's this aspect of Joshua Kiryu's character arc that I'm sort of flabbergasted to realize might be basically un-analyzed these past 15 or so years. I still kind of expect someone will pop up and point to something they've already written, but i'll talk about it anyway. This might also create some analysis ideas for NEO?? Ideally, anyway.

Essentially, I think it's really likely that Joshua misunderstood way more about his situation with Hanekoma, Minamimoto, and Neku than people tend to think. Not only that, but the idea that he had these misunderstandings kind of colors his relationship with Hanekoma. It also adds to him and Neku being foils. Where do I even begin.

I guess just with this scene that always made me go "hm, that's weird." Joshua: Think he's got a thing for you, Neku? Neku: What!? How the hell do you figure that? Joshua: Oh, please! The way he follows you around? Neku: That's just because I'm a Player. Joshua: I don't see him chasing after the other Players. Neku: (He's right… So why me?) Joshua: …Or is it my fault? Neku: (What? That's right… He might be tied in with the Reapers.)

So, what's so weird about this? Am I actually proposing that Joshua really thought Minamimoto was following Neku when he asked this? YES. I AM. That might sound nonsensical, and that's because it kind of is! But there's a reason for that.

When you know what happened in the Udagawa back alley a week and some change prior to that scene, it's reasonable to ask "why would Joshua think a Reaper was after some random RG guy?" Minamimoto came at him with a gun! But then why did Joshua even ask Neku if Minamimoto was following him? If he's trying to trick Neku into thinking this, he wouldn't immediately propose the truth afterwards. Maybe he's trying to make Neku distrust him as he does earlier (Neku scanning him, general sketch behavior perhaps) but not only is that redundant, it still doesn't answer why he asked about Neku in the first place.

So what happens if we take Joshua at face value here? Are we to assume Joshua thought he was the target at Udagawa, but Neku is the target now? I have no idea what the thought process would be behind that. Are we to assume that Joshua thought Neku was the target the whole time?? That still seems illogical, but maybe instead of asking why Neku would be the target, we should shift our focus and ask "why would Joshua think he isn't the target?"

I find that a lot easier to answer because we have Hanekoma. And Joshua thought he did too, basically.

We know from Secret Report 9 that the only person who should know Joshua's RG identity here is Mr. H.

SR 9: Minamimoto knows the Composer's RG identity (secret even to the Conductor), and has chased him to the Realground. The Fallen Angel may also have supplied him with this information.

Even in this report, it's proposed (by Hanekoma's misdirection) that someone else, some other Angel perhaps, could know Joshua's identity. We know that there isn't another Angel who told Minamimoto this information though. It was just Hanekoma. The only person in the story for Joshua to suspect is Mr. H.

Yet he doesn't. Or, I don't believe he does anyway. Let's take a look at our options.

Why does Joshua not seem to be wondering who sold him out? We have two branching options to start with: "He already knows who did it" and "he doesn't realize he's been sold out."

Lots of people assume Joshua already knows Hanekoma revealed his identity to Minamimoto. Because like… how else would he have known? Literally what else is Joshua supposed to think after being shot at? I mean, I've been explaining what else Joshua could have thought, but the point is it's a fair assumption. The only issue is that Joshua doesn't behave like he knows Mr. H betrayed him until Week 2 Day 5.

That is a long delay between then and when Joshua should have first known this information (before the story even starts.) I don't know when definitively Joshua put it together, but W2D5 is the first time we can say we KNOW he knows. And it really might have been that moment, because what happens right afterwards?

Well, Neku and him get attacked by Beat and Joshua learns about Kitaniji's "special op." But what happens right after THAT?

Joshua tells Neku that Hanekoma is CAT. An eye for an eye, I guess.

Part of the idea that Joshua did know Mr. H betrayed him from the start is that maybe Joshua was just putting up with that fact. That maybe Hanekoma was too useful, and couldn't do more harm anyway. Or that Joshua really didn't have any other options. I can understand why people think that, but I don't think we can bet on any of those. There's no reason for Joshua to think Hanekoma couldn't do way more harm than just tattling on him, especially as the week goes on and Taboo Noise crop up. Also, while it's impossible to prove one way or the other, there's no reason to think Joshua couldn't have built his game plan sans Hanekoma from the start if he thought he'd betrayed him. All of this assuming that Joshua gives a shit about what Mr. H did, admittedly.

On the other hand, if we posit that Joshua found out later about Mr. H, and that he'd give a shit about that, there should be some kind of change in his behavior towards him. This seems a little hard to to prove because that scene on W2D5 is the last time we see them interact (or even see Mr. H at all) until the ending of the game. That said, it's probably very telling that in TWEWY Mr. H is Joshua's sole confidant, and in NEO Mr. H has no idea what's going on with Joshua at all. I find that very interesting, but we're gonna put a pin in that for later.

Aaaaaaaaaall of that's to say that I don't think it's very likely that Joshua knew Hanekoma told Minamimoto his identity from the start. He shares information with Mr. H too easily for me to think that's the case. What's our next option?

It's possible that Joshua believed he already knew who told Minamimoto, but he was mistaken. However, I said before that there isn't any other suspect in the story and I don't think we can give Joshua another suspect to focus on without just making stuff up. Haz and Coco come to mind as people who might be able to share Joshua's identity, but we can't escape the fact that neither of them even existed at the time Joshua's main character arc was written. We would probably also have to invent some connection they'd have to this particular Game despite them being absent. I think this option is less likely than Joshua knowing about Mr. H the whole time, so I'm striking it off.

What we have left is the "Joshua didn't know he'd been sold out" option. Aside from what I've been arguing, the only other option is "Joshua thought Minamimoto found out on his own somehow." There's no solid reason for Joshua to think this, but it's possible he did anyway. The only reason I think this is less likely than the possibility that he didn't realize Minamimoto was after him is because of how Joshua talked to Neku back there. We have evidence that Joshua might have thought Minamimoto was after someone else; we don't have evidence that Joshua might have thought Minamimoto was able to discover his identity on his own. That said, after the conversation Josh had with Neku W2D2 it's possible his assumption shifted from one to the other as he was trying to figure things out.

So yeah, I believe it's most likely that Joshua didn't realize he'd been sold out at all because that would require him to think Hanekoma would do that to him. Because of that, he believed for more than a week that Neku was Minamimoto's target when they were all in the RG.

You might think that this idea would run into a lot of inconsistencies but I've found it to be shockingly coherent. (Honestly the whole background plot of this game is shockingly coherent for how overt it's themes are. I guess that's beside the point.) Like, let's look at the scene in Udagawa.

It starts with Neku looking up at the tag mural. Then Joshua runs up with a gun from Neku's left. It appears as if Joshua may have been looking behind him. Then Joshua fires in Neku's direction. Neku falls to the ground, but he is unhurt. Then Minamimoto is revealed to be behind Neku with a gun. He is clutching his shoulder. Minamimoto raises his gun, and Neku shields himself. Then several shots are fired towards Joshua. Joshua stops the bullets with his powers, and silently threatens to shoot Minamimoto again. Minamimoto runs off, and Joshua shoots Neku while he is looking after him.

If Joshua already believes that his identity is safe, none of that would clearly contradict that idea to him! Why did Josh think Minamimoto shot at him? Because Joshua already shot Minamimoto. Why was Joshua running if he didn't think Minamimoto was chasing him? To get to his target before the Reaper.

Conversely, why would Joshua be running from Minamimoto if bullets aren't going to hit him?

To us it's obvious that Minamimoto was chasing Joshua and tried to cut him off at the other end of the alley. But to Joshua at the time, he thought Minamimoto was going for the guy in between them.

This does raise some other questions, but there's enough of a case here that I think it's worth speculating off of. Did Joshua even have a theory as to why Minamimoto would be after someone in the RG? Maybe he thought Kitaniji sent one of his Reapers after his potential proxy. Why would it matter to Joshua if Minamimoto killed Neku instead of him if he needs the guy dead? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Joshua only leaves that extra Player Pin-- his trump card-- on Neku after Minamimoto leaves.

Kind of wild so far, right? Well we're not done because I think this idea that Joshua may have had created ANOTHER oversight for him.

Week 2 Day 7: Minamimoto: I was hoping for a little reenactment. Same spot, same setup as last time… Neku: (Last time? Nrrgh! Not now!) Joshua: You OK, Neku? Neku: Waaaugh! [incomplete Neku death cutscene] Neku: It… it was you? Joshua: Neku… Neku: You killed me… You stole my life!

What's with Joshua's reactions here? Did he not realize that Neku was getting headaches around Minamimoto?

(yes)

It's understandable if you think Joshua is faking it here, but if you're with me about this so far you also have to admit that Joshua's surprise can be pretty genuine. I'll be honest, I thought this way before I thought anything else I've put in this essay so far just because Joshua and the situation seemed sincere to me. Why wouldn't Joshua notice this, though?

See, there are four times that Neku, Joshua and Minamimoto are all in the same scene. Neku gets a headache from all of them, and this is what they look like:

Maybe this is just me, but the sprite direction in all of them but the last one makes it seem like Joshua stays between Neku and Minamimoto, and that he does not take his eyes off of Minamimoto the whole time he's around. And compare day 1 to day 7. Even though Neku's sprite is the one in the middle, he retreats backwards when he gets the headache, giving the suggestion that he's actually sort of behind Joshua. That doesn't happen on day 7 though, meaning Neku is definitely far enough in front that Joshua can see him-- and that's when Joshua finally reacts.

How could Joshua misunderstanding Minamimoto's target contribute to this? Regardless of the misunderstanding here, it's clear to me that Joshua views Minamimoto as enough of a threat that he doesn't even glance at Neku while he's having a memory migraine. But the fact that Joshua does notice on W2D7 seems a little less random if that misunderstanding had cleared up for him and caused him to be less zeroed in on Minamimoto. Keep in mind that these four events split evenly into "before W2D5" and "after W2D5." That means that the first two, Joshua would have thought Neku was the target, and the last two are when Joshua knows he was the target all along.

It makes some sense that Joshua might be so focused on Minamimoto that he doesn't notice what's going on with Neku if he thought Neku was being targeted, but what's going on W2D6? Joshua should know by then it's not Neku that Minamimoto was after. Hell, Minamimoto saved both of them earlier that day so why is he so focused on him then but not the next day? I suspect it's because this was Joshua's first time talking to Minamimoto while knowing he tried to kill him, and he was very absorbed in it.

So on days 1 and 2, Joshua was totally focused on Minamimoto because he viewed him as a threat to his proxy. Day 6 Joshua is focused on Minamimoto but it's not about him being an immediate threat, and on day 7 Minamimoto is at his most dangerous, but Joshua thought he could relax more because he was the target and not Neku.

There is one more thing that might keep this from the list of "Shit Joshua Did Not Know About," and it's the fact that Neku… talks? He talks while he's in migraine pain. Joshua may not spare a glance Neku's way but he can hear. Would that not tip him off earlier than W2D7 if he wasn't just ignoring Neku? Funny that-- the dialogue is actually sort of clever here.

Neku talks a decent amount when he's getting that memory migraine around Minamimoto, but the most suspect lines Neku has aren't spoken by him out loud.

Week 2 Day 2: Minamimoto: You fractals have no future! QED. Class is dismissed! [Minamimoto leaves] Neku: (Finally… The pounding's stopped. What language is that guy speaking?)

Week 2 Day 6: Neku: !? Zetta… Neku: (Nrrgh! My head… again…) […] Neku: (The pain's fading… Are he and I connected or something?)

Earlier on (as in the two days Joshua is most focused on Minamimoto as a threat) Neku does also speak out loud about his brain suffering. If Joshua isn't looking at him as well though, they're all things he could interpret as Neku simply complaining about the Weird Math Guy Who Says Confusing Things Through A Megaphone. Neku doesn't like people being loud or people speaking nonsense after all, and uh… Joshua also didn't have the highest opinion of Neku's sociability. Assumptions are a hell of a thing.

So Joshua went into his Game with Neku completely unaware that Hanekoma betrayed him and that Minamimoto was trying to kill him specifically. Then he carried on for nearly the majority of this game without knowing that Minamimoto-- or perhpas the combination of him and Minamimoto-- was giving his proxy debilitating headaches. What does that mean for his character?

Little, but interesting things, I think. I find it pretty compelling that Joshua missed something big about Neku because he was so self-involved even while trying to protect him. It's a neat thing to point at and go "yup, Neku's not the only one who looks stupid for writing people off." I think it also lends well to the idea that they were both getting to know each other in week 2.

Also-- we're coming back to that pin from earlier-- I think it helps flesh out a difference between Neku and Joshua's situations at the end of the game.

Neku: I'm glad I met you guys. You made me… pick up on things, I probably would've just gone on ignoring. Trust your partner… and I do. I can't forgive you, but I trust you.

If you've collected all the secret reports, after Neku's ending monologue and the credits, there's the secret ending. And I feel like the idea of "trust vs. forgiveness" is a palpable element when the ending is viewed as a whole like this. TWEWY doesn't touch upon the idea of forgiveness nearly as much as it does the idea of trust, but I can't help but see a distinction between the two in Joshua just as much as Neku. Only where Neku trusts Joshua but doesn't forgive him yet, Joshua forgives Hanekoma but doesn't trust him yet.

Think about it, doesn't "forgives but does not trust" perfectly describe all of Joshua's future behavior towards Hanekoma? He'll hang around Mr. H in the Room of Reckoning and 104, or talk with him casually about the destruction of a neighboring city. But he wont talk to him if he's upset, or tell him any of his plans anymore. He doesn't seem to hold any of it against Mr. H but he refuses to confide in or rely on him. That turnaround feels really strong if you look at how much Joshua relied on him beforehand. Or if you view his impression of his assassination attempt as contingent on his trust of Mr. H.

The crumbs of information we get about Joshua and Hanekoma's relationship after the betrayal might seem sort of circumstantial. Joshua doesn't want to talk about his feelings for Neku in the secret ending. That carries over into A New Day, and seems to be about Neku. And then in NEO Joshua doesn't give any information to Mr. H for… unknowable NEO plot reasons. But there's something else between og TWEWY and NEO to suggest that Joshua doesn't trust Hanekoma with shit.

A New Day- Hanekoma (over the phone): If that kid is who I think he is, then he probably doesn't know a thing. If he's who YOU think he is, then he probably won't say a thing.

At first this reads fine because Joshua spent his week with Neku tight lipped and evasive as hell. But still, isn't it a little weird for Mr. H to be saying this? He tells Mr. H stuff, doesn't he? Not anymore! It feels like this Hanekoma is talking pretty universally despite having been the exception. But he doesn't know shit and he doesn't propose he can help them know shit if it's about Joshua. And maybe Coco's fake Shibuya has something to do with that, but it's hard to say.

Honestly, aside from gaining the perspective to not destroy a whole city (important), it's easy to look at this and wonder if Joshua came out of TWEWY worse off. And… yeah, NEO really doesn't seem to help that. But I'm going to end this off with some really vague NEO speculation.

What if it's REALLY just Hanekoma who doesn't know shit about Joshua now? It's probably impossible to know the extent of this, but for some reason Shiki and Beat seem to treat Joshua with a slight sense of familiarity now…? The fandom also (quite reasonably) assumes that the real final day of NEO is the first time Neku has seen Joshua since the final day of TWEWY but we don't actually know that. Some food for thought.

[dj-of-the-coven]

ripping this beatneku rant from discord to tumblr because I feel like the world needs to know about this. feel free to add ur own takes!!

[endlayer]

I LOVE DIVORCE

[lapinparka]

One of the things I really love about Neku is how I feel he's written as person first and a playable character second.

This is obviously clear in the beginning, where a lot of his actions or thoughts will end up frustrating the player, or outright making them hate him. But I think it comes back at the end too, during the final duel, at the point where his development has made a lot of people forget the kind of person he was at the start.

There's a lot of cases where people don't understand why Neku lowers the gun, or complain about him doing it. I've actually seen instances of people either mad that he doesn't shoot, try to rationalise it by believing his final entry fee is the bullets in his gun (despite this contradicting the outcome of the scene), or at one point, in the comments of a YouTube video, claim that the scene should've had two choices, which allows the player to pick whether he pulls the trigger or not.

These kind of reactions fundamentally miss the fact that Neku is not the player. He is not a self-insert character. There are points in the game when he is conflicted, where you can choose between two things and he'll do either - but when he's truly set on something, there's nothing you can do to make him stray from that path. He won't abandon Sota. He won't join Megumi. And he won't shoot Joshua. You're not even given a choice in the last situation, because it was never about you.

Many other games would have the option to shoot, and moreover, would have the choice to lower the gun result in the Bad Ending. This is why people are fine with him aiding Sota or turning down Megumi - because those are the classically "heroic" options. Choosing one boy over a city of people - the same boy who just revealed he caused Neku's death - is not generically, universally relatable, or feel good, and the scene itself reflects this too. It's sombre, painful, accompanied by tears. It's Neku making a choice that he believes will result in Shibuya's destruction, a choice the average player absolutely would not make, and that's what causes the confusion or anger. It also really serves to reinforce how Neku understands Joshua in a way both people in Joshua's own life and people watching him through the screen don't.

Neku will connect with people you dislike. Neku will make choices you disapprove of. Neku won't shoot Joshua, ever. The game itself asks you to try and understand why he does this, like Neku himself tries to understand those around him, but some players just won't make that effort.

Neku is such a good character because you can relate to him, you can try to understand him, but he isn't and will never be you.

[goldensunset]

‘the world ends with you’ is a great title because it makes it sound like the world is set to end and it’s because of you, oh no this game is gonna be edgy. but no actually that phrase just means ‘your world begins and ends with you; it’s only as big as you’re willing to expand your horizons. so go out there and meet new people :).’ the title of the game is actually the wholesome moral of the story that gets namedropped about halfway through by a friendly character. the kicker is that the game IS edgy and the world IS heading towards destruction and you ARE unwittingly playing a part in it but that’s just a coincidence. it’s not related to the title actually

[joshnekuu]

A fun thing I've noticed over time with how I interpret JoshNeku is that it's gradually shifted from 'Neku is tsundere around Josh and usually annoyed the whole time he's around' to 'Neku is the one who is more honest with his feelings and is open about wanting Josh around and Josh does NOT know how to handle it'

Like. Neku still gets annoyed with him of course, Josh is Annoying and does it On Purpose. But also Neku will just casually yet earnestly affirm their friendship and that he wants Josh around, and Josh just Blue Screens because he's so caught off guard that he doesn't even know how to respond sarcastically.

And it's just interesting to me specifically from an observational standpoint, this gradual flip in how I view their dynamic, the realization that Neku is the one taking initiative while Josh is the one who struggles to reciprocate because he is too emotionally constipated to know how to respond with sincerity when he doesn't fully understand WHY Neku wants anything to do with him.

[quinoa-adjacent]

I know it's a dead topic but the whole games as art thing really shows it'd teeth with bangers like Outer Wilds and In Stars and Time

Like yes they both tell a story you can tell through text or film

But to experience that? Personally?

To have to trudge the same halls and kill the same enemies and find the same items? The pay off at the end it's so much better than just Watching someone experience that and have the abridged maybe 3-5tops looping scenes with ~~slight differences~~ in either editing or acting

But to watch the sun explode every 20 minutes or to Feel the impatience of dialogue boxes grow within you as a person is significantly different

It's another layer of nuance that's executed PERFECTLY

[amcdrawnon]

hanekoma decides to tweak the black planets after getting wombo combo'd by the black uranus setup (you know, the one that reduces its already low reboot speed even further down)

The Blacklit Planets are now banned to Anything Goes

[alto-tenure]

Neku will always try to kill Shiki, and Neku will always spare Joshua.

Neku doesn't trust easily. He doesn't bond easily. This much is shown to the player throughout the first week -- he's not going to get along with Shiki that easily just because they have to trust each other. It's only after the attempted murder that Neku decides that he can fully trust Shiki, and Shiki chooses to forgive him in that moment. We can't tell him not to, despite our common sense being that we should stick with her. He will always fall for Uzuki's manipulation, and very nearly eliminate his own partner from the Game.

At the same time, at the end of the game, Neku will always choose mercy.

Trust your partner.

And he trusts Joshua in the end to not destroy Shibuya despite the fact that Joshua killed Neku for the sake of his own agenda and games -- just like Shiki trusted Neku after he nearly erased her himself.

It's about trust. It's about love.

And when both Shiki and Neku trust their partners after a betrayal, their partners trust them in return. Shiki becomes so vital to Neku that she's held hostage for most of the rest of the game, and Joshua brings everyone back from the dead.

Neku has his own bubble that he's not very inclined to let people into. But ultimately, when it comes down to it, he breaks them out of their bubbles, and lets them all into his.

It's about trust. It's about love.

[kimium]

I asked @m34gs what she thinks the Twisted Wonderland house warden's favourite video games are. She answered in this ask and prompted me to give my thoughts. So, here I am!

Here are a few ground rules: I'm going to pick games I've personally played or had experience with. Also, if a game is in a series and I think they're very similar, I'm listing them together.

The House Warden's Favourite Video Game

Riddle - Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland

Wow, I'm really outing myself with how many Kirby games I've played, huh? Well, I'm not sorry. When I was a child I LOVED Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland. I loved the simple world design, the fun, easy mechanics, and the bright colours/music. It's also a fast game. Even as a child I think I beat it in like six hours. Anyways, I think Riddle would enjoy this game for those reasons. It's something he can lose himself in briefly and have fun. I know there are probably better Kirby games out there and newer ones at that, but the childhood nostalgia wins in the end.

Leona - Tetris

I really love your pick of Mahjong for Leona. Honestly, the desire to just go "yeah, what M34GS said" or pick another tactical game like Chess, Checkers, or even Go. But, I decided Tetris is also a good pick for Leona. As you said, Leona isn't one to care too much about video games, so he isn't going for one with story... like I do. He needs a low risk game with just enough puzzling. So, Tetris. It's fun to arrange things, does require some level of strategy, and is very satisfying when you win. Leona can also put it away at any time, so this means he can nap when he's bored or done.

Azul - Don't Starve Together

While I sort of wanted to pick a murder mystery game with Azul, Don't Starve Together has resource management. Which, I think is right up Azul's alley. Sure, the game has a "survive in the wild" vibe, but Azul is there trying to optimize his strategy, gather everything, and not die. He can also play with Jade and Floyd if he wishes, but there is a high chance those two would sabotage him. Azul will take that risk though, and I think those three would have a lot of fun. It's also a casual game, so he can put it away without worry of story or progress.

Kalim - Harvest Moon (any of them)

I agree that Kalim deserves a relaxing, slow game, without much conflict or objectives in it. While I think a game franchise like Animal Crossing also works, since I've never played an Animal Crossing game myself, I'm picking Harvest Moon. I think Kalim would find it very fun to build his farm, befriend the locals, solve whatever problem is occurring, and marry his favourite NPC. I didn't pick a specific Harvest Moon game simply because I only have experience with two: the original and The Tale of Two Towns (I think... I can't check right now). Besides, Harvest Moon all has the same "flavour" so to speak, so I don't think me specifically stating which game is necessary.

Vil - Super Smash Bros (any of them)

I agree that Vil would love a co-op game that he can play with his close friends. I also agree it has to be easy and with low stakes. Sure, SSBs has "meta units" and an entire competitive video game scene with the game, but I think Vil would play this as a party game. It's casual with everyone just picking their favourite characters and stage. There may be some sabotage (a must) and items on (deadly) but in the end, everyone is just playing to have a good time. Who Vil mains is up to you.

Idia - TWEWY/Neo TWEWY

The urge to pick a mobile game like Genshin Impact or an open world game like BoTW or TotK is high, but I want to avoid gacha games in my list and... I've never played BoTW or TotK. Sorry. So, I picked a personal favourite of mine: The World Ends with You and the sequel. I picked this because I think Idia is the kind of person who gets into the story of a game and enjoy the characters. TWEWY has some amazing characters, great story, amazing music, and of course, the essence of Shibuya packaged into the entire game. I also think Idia would love the game play, enjoying swapping his pins out for better ones, and enjoy the extra challenge modes.

Malleus - Pokemon Yellow/Red/Blue (or Green)

Okay, here is the problem: I think any sort of pet simulator game is great for Malleus, however, I dislike pet simulator games. I'm here for story and lore... which I think is the opposite for Malleus. But here is the thing while Pokemon has a narrative and many components it started off super simple: go around and catch Pokemon and go to the gyms. While newer Pokemon games have introduced so many things like Beauty Contests or an open world design, I think the old games are perfect for Malleus. He'd enjoy creating his team and nicknaming them. I bet he'd be delighted to learn that there are dragon type Pokemon in the world too. Sure, he may struggle with some more "meta" components but at least in the older games we didn't have Mega Evolution or newer Gens and BST to worry about.

There you have it! I hope you like my list! I had fun picking the titles while also trying to keep in line with the characters!

[zyzix]

i should've probably put it on record that these two ideas are most likely supposed to go together

(images link to the posts they're from)

I don't have any grand, sweeping conclusions to make from this, but I am wondering if more of us were meant to be scratching our heads over first being shown a scene where Joshua can stop bullets and then watching him give Neku a gun. Considering both of those together, it seems apparent that Joshua set up the duel so that Neku could defeat him regardless of the bullet reaching it's target.

[officecyborg]

I was talking with my sister about Trace Memory/Another Code and how stoked I was to play the remake and she was like “I thought you hated that game?” No, but let me regale you with my tale of woe.

I got the game at Christmas, and was playing it throughout the day. Had a great time for ~4 hours (it’s not long), loved the characters and the mood. Puzzles were fun. The thing is, like the other Cing games, it has incredibly finicky requirements for getting the true ending—specifically, one of the flags is seeing the HINT for one of the first puzzles in the game. iirc it was one of the puzzles that involves DS meta mechanics.

So I think they assumed any player would need a hint: they’d leave the puzzle and look around for clues and get this conversation. But there’s no actual requirement that you see the hint to solve the puzzle, and you can’t see the hint after you have. So the thing is, I go in after playing later DS games with similar puzzles (like TWEWY), and having seen a picture of this puzzle in Nintendo Power, so when I hit it, I immediately think, “oh, it must be this,” and stumble into the answer. Get to the end. Realize that this was not the true ending (I knew some vague spoilers about what D’s history was). Oh shit, I’d better restart.

Now if you’re trying to replay a game very quickly, what do you do? If you said “not look around for the solution to puzzles you already know the answer to,” you have found my problem. So I went through the game again. And again. And again.

Anyway in conclusion, I liked it a lot the first time I played it and less so by the third or fourth time in a row LMAO. But it was still good overall, it’s just that that flag tripped me.

[endlayer]

just. screenshotting bc i wrote a shit ton in the tags but as im going thru the secret reports yeah they're literally playing by shinjukus rules. anw joshua retaining his humanity (shown by how his games are an attempt to get people to grow + him wanting to erase shibuya for the good of the entire planet. and then his connections to humanity are furthered by his experiences with neku causing him to not erase shibuya and yadadadada) vs haz being the "ideal" angel (erasing his domain at any sight of impurity)

[batfamscreaming]

with the understanding that sometimes 'the point' is different for different people, reblog with which meta/fanfic trope keep making you go "did you miss the entire POINT?" I keep doing this with twewy fanfic that goes, "They didn't need words to understand each other~ " like, the game is about how you can't know another person fully, but if you don't at least try to communicate you're gonna assume your guy is down to rapture the city when he is not; did you miss the entire POINT?

[composeregg]

I need to do more twewy meta posts

I also still need to do that kh heart hotel plurality post

I should probably do Joshua & Shibuya plurality because I wrote fics about that before I even knew I was a system

[verathena14]

Alright it's time I do a real intro here aslfjekfl

I'm Athena! You can call me Vermilion or Ver if that's easier to remember tho <3

I am nonbinary and use they/them pronouns, but I don't usually mind she/her too much. I am also pan and acespec!

I am a minor so please be respectful of that!

I'm neurodivergent (diagnosed autism, probably adhd as well)

DNI: T3RFs, transphobes, homophobes, aphobes, bigots, conservatives (honestly why are you on tumblr lmao), p3dos, queer exclusionists, akrk shippers, anti-sorikus

My main fandoms: - KH (honestly if you dont like kh then dont even follow me cuz thats the majority of what i post about lmao) - TWEWY - Wings of Fire (occasionally) - Warrior Cats (tbh i may make a couple of passing remarks, im not really active in the fandom anymore, im only listing this here for the expansive OC lore) - Twisted Wonderland! This one's a new one and i am currently only on book 4 so no spoilers plsss and thank you 😊

I do: art/animation, video editing (specifically gmvs), fanfics, the occasional big-brain meta analysis

I ship: soriku, leaisa, xehaqus, rokunamixi, vanplinami, roxner, kailette, aquarella, and like. maybe zemyx. and sometimes terraqua. for my kh ships. i'm usually pretty open to most ships unless it gives me Weird Vibes (tm). oh and i also ship beatneku (or nekubeat or skullphones or whatever we've decided the ship name is), frindoka, cocogumi, and hishiba for my twewy ships

im the president of the t4t soriku club <3

i wouldn't say im in any music fandoms but i do brainrot over: Imagine Dragons, Halsey, Billie Eilish, Glass Animals, Marianas Trench, and Fall Out Boy

sometimes i draw kh characters as cats! those guys are tagged with #(cat)dom hearts and they're all free to use with credit (please tag me i love seeing kh cats)