#Variabeauties

[waterpixelart]

neo twewy DS edition: Kanon, Motoi and Fuya I plan on making sprites like these for all characters from neo twewy.

[bravadoting]

I’ve been thinking about Kanon’s relationship to the Variabeauties and I believe she does enjoy their company, but much more as friends than teammates.

She knows they can carry out her orders but doesn’t fully trust in their individual capabilities, unlike the W3 Wicked Twisters (top-down vs bottom-up leadership). It’s most likely a subconscious choice on her part, but it does shape the responsibilities and roles they have as leader and followers.

On W3D3, she perishes by insisting they act separately, shouldering everything herself and not believing in their collective strength.

(My best analogy for it is that she joins a group project with friends, but gives herself the brunt of the workload, not trusting that everyone will finish their parts. By doing this, she denies them the opportunity to prove themselves beyond the doing bare minimum.)

[vilmublue]

R.I.P. Deep Rivers Society guy.

Fun NTWEWY fact: Just as how the Purehearts and Variabeauties had Sumio and Maito respectively as direct assistants for their team leaders, the Deep Rivers Society also had a right hand man for Fuya but he isn't named.

On W1D5 at the end of the scramble slam, these three specifically show up to face down the Wicked Twisters. We learn later that the top two are the second-in-command guys for the Purehearts and Variabeauties, and although the guy at the bottom never gets properly named or introduced like Sumio or Maito, we can get from context that he probably fills the same role for the DRS.

This is further supported by how in just the day prior when the Wicked Twisters kick DRS's ass and Fuya has a breakdown, it's that guy specifically who shows up to report to Fuya and try to give him some consolation.

Anyways I'm mad this guy never gets a name and that he's not a part of the Social Network as a result LOL. Sumio and Maito are underrated enough as it is but shout out to this unnamed guy with exactly 2 scenes

[goldensunset]

i talk about favorite twewy songs all the time but what’s y’all’s least favorite (lyrical or nonlyrical). i’ll go first i can’t stand junk garage and i’ve never really liked the one star

[thestimendswithyou]

Noisepedia #74 / #75: Variabeauty

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[purplelea]

Hi, it's @beatgrooves ! Just sending on anon bc my blog is a sideblog >_< Do you remember when someone shoplifts in neo twewy :o? I don't remember it and i definitely want to go back through and see the general reaction /gen

Hi!! Yep, it's one of the urban legends on week 2, day 4. One guy keeps trying clothes on and then walking out of the shop, disappearing immediately. It's in the Center Street area, if you want to check!

[thehandwixard]

i will say. im like. i love neotwewy a lot im pointing firmly at the devs like what circumstances prevented you from making a female player enemy type. theres like 4 fucking women Tops playing this game b/c u didnt bother to make sure there were some generic female players one could encounter in battle or just while doing missions. so i have to pretend theyre there

like u didnt really fight other players in twewy so whole different ball game there u fought reapers. but nao-rin was there. she was a player who existed ambiently. whats the deal

[labuna]

Fret Edit!

Eather Variabeauties fret,where he joined Kanons Team and changed His Outfit to Match With her

OR

Post Neo Twewy, where he got an Outfit similar to Kanon to pay homage to her.

+Different Facial Expressions. (please ignore the plague noise one, i was just experimenting around)

[mageknight14]

Dissecting the Femme Fatale Archetype: A Dive into Kanon Tachibana's Character

Kanon Tachibana is one of my favorite TWEWY supporting cast members. Probably not a truly unique opinion, as she's one of the more positively-received characters I've seen when it comes to online opinions on the game, but she's one of my favorites because she’s a perfect example of NEO’s more subtle character writing and gets the perspective flipped on her twice when you initially play through the game and then replay it. So, with that, let's get into her character and what makes her tick in particular.

When we first meet her, she doesn’t make the best first impression, what with her stealing the hard-earned victory pin from Rindo/Fret’s noses and sweet-talking them into letting her keep it (I also love how she glares at Shiba’s announcement, having seen this old song and dance).

Combine this with what the Social Network says about her leading other teams to their doom thanks to her honeyed words and sweet disposition and what we seemingly have is a classic case of the femme fatale character, someone who’s NOT to be trusted.

However, as we progress through the game, we can see that there’s actually a lot more to her than meets the eye. Even after point-sniping them, she still comes forward to give the Twisters advice from time-to-time when it comes to matters regarding the Game. Encouraging them to take on more team members, warning against going up to fight the Ruinbringers (Susukichi in particular), all that jazz.

At the same time, however, she also takes care to reaffirm that she’s also suspicious of the Twisters and their capabilities, often showing surprising amounts of protectiveness when it comes to the other team leaders. These switches between friendly teasing and hard-hitting accusations understandably unnerve the team a bit.

On top of that, throughout the weeks, she also shows a talent for picking apart Fret's surface-level compliments/attempts at flattery, herself being an expert when it comes to that sort of thing as noted by her Social Network profile.

While she is mainly looking out for herself and the Variabeauties, she also does have a sense of honor/fair-play when it comes to be able to fight on an even playing field, which she showcases in her alliance proposal to the Twisters on W2D3.

In the span of one convo, she was able to:

-Pick out that the Twisters are the biggest wild cards in the structure of the Game and note them as such, giving them incentive to look into their own capabilities and find her offer more appealing when weighing their options.

-Play into their doubts regarding the Game and reaffirm to them that this is really the only option they have left at this point if they want to have any hope of actually escaping.

-Blow away Fret’s preconceptions that she’s just as ingenuine as he is as shown by his nervous laughter

-Emphasize that if they’re able to pull it off, it’s a win-win for everyone involved.

It’s made apparent that Kanon is an incredibly skilled negotiator, though understandably Rindo still has her doubts about her because she’s been equal parts threatening and supportive, which sends a mixed message. Who’s to say where her allegiance truly lies?

However, a surprisingly strong affirmation on her convictions comes from no one other than Motoi himself, who actually vouches for Kanon’s intentions and belief in the Twisters being genuine on her part. This along with Swallow’s prodding later on gets Rindo to change his tune. Now, there’s a dozen different interpretations on why Motoi would go out of his way to vouch for Kanon’s character but the fact that he was actually right on the money is a pretty subtle hint that they know about each other and how they tick more than people realize…

Then we go into W2D7, where Kanon’s recounting of the Ruinbringers’ activities and her muted reaction towards Motoi’s erasure emphasizing that she’s been at this for a long, LONG, horrifying while, becoming practically numb to it all.

And when Sudden Death in Week 3 comes around, she starts to kick up her critique of Fret and his issues into overdrive, wanting to see him grow for the better knowing full well that she and the Variabeauties might not make it at the end of the week. And unfortunately for her, Fret, and the Beauties, that fear ends up becoming a reality.

The following day, Fret flat out tells the others about how he felt about Kanon: that he wanted to BE like her, finding her genuine nature and confidence in who she is as something to aspire to, and wanted her to see him reach that level.

By then, our perspective on Kanon has flipped: a scheming femme fatale who turns out to be an intelligent, real, and loyal soul. Someone who starts off cold towards the Twisters before coming around to genuinely like and appreciate them (note the little smile in image 2!)

However, this is only half of the real Kanon we get to know and when we take a look back at some of convos within the game, the Reports, and see past Fret’s idealized image of her, we get to see a much more deeper side to Kanon than what was already there.

First, we need to talk about two aspects of Kanon; her hidden resentment of the Twisters/the system she’s trapped in and her trust issues. As noted above, Kanon is quite curiously protective in regards to the other Player teams, even accusing the Twisters of sabotaging them at some points, and this is for one particular reason: she and the rest of the Beauties are in an unspoken alliance with both teams. One where the top 3 teams (besides the Ruinbringers of course) keep their footing by sending new players and other teams to last place. This is something that’s actually alluded to on W2D3, with the Beauties and Purehearts corroborating together to take down the Twisters.

I also want to draw your attention again to these scenes here, where in the second timeline Rindo has Replayed to, Kanon already knows about Fuya challenging the Ruinbringers whereas before in the first timeline she didn’t, hence why she’s a bit more antsy this time around.

The reason for this is because, due to the Wicked Twisters screwing up the balance of powers between the teams with their sheer existence and sending the DRS plummeting to last place on W1D5, Fuya has become more daring/reckless, desperate to etch out a win against Susukichi. While Fuya is noted by in the Social Network to have surprisingly strong Imagination, there's a reason why he and the the DRS are mainly in dead last.

Kanon and Motoi are the most powerful of the (non-Ruinbringers) teams solely because of their ability to manipulate things in their favour despite both being weak in psych/Imagination. In that regard they’re the most "successful" within the constraints of the rigged game. Fuya, on the other hand, while having strong psychic powers, isn't as wily as the other two in regards to their social prowess and failed to keep his team properly motivated and prevent them from feeling demoralized, which is shown most prominently on W1D5 where Rindo uses his time travel to reroute them from fulfilling their duties by playing on their desires in their moments of weaknesses.

With this in mind, it's no wonder that Fuya became so desperate to risk it all against Susukichi. And while the Twisters do almost bring about change by beating the Ruinbringers, it ultimately doesn’t matter in the long-run due to how incredibly rigged the Shinjuku game is and as a result, the DRS are eliminated, getting rid of the Beauties’ and Purehearts’ safety net.

This kind of stuff is what I mean by Kanon being a perfect example of NEO's subtle character writing. At first glance, Rindo's nonchalant note of her behavior in the second timeline isn't anything to write home about, but it's when you look at all these individual pieces and start lining them up all together, a clear picture starts to be formed. It's what makes NEO so fascinating as a work to explore everytime I replay it.

The Reports make it especially clear that the teams have been through this experience for 30 LOOPS, which has left them teetering on the brink of despair and coping with the situation in anyway they can, with W1D5 (as noted before) and W2D4, as well as other segments, exploring this in more detail.

Imagine going through what is essentially a never-ending hell for weeks on end with no opportunity for rest so you come up with a system to at least stall the inevitable before a couple of kids come around to throw that system out of wack but it all ends up amounting to nothing. With this in mind, it’s honestly no wonder that a part of Kanon resents the Twisters for what happened, with her Dive on W3D3 bringing up all of these lingering feelings to the surface.

However, Kanon knows that the Twisters realistically wouldn’t know about any of that. How could they, after all? She knows that they’re fundamentally good kids at their core and knows that her feelings towards them aren’t fair so she keeps them buried to focus more on her tasks. She tries to take all of the responsibility upon herself and not let anyone else get caught up in the crossfire but this leads into one of her fatal flaws: her inability to trust in the capabilities of her team.

Throughout the game, it’s made pretty apparent that both the Twisters (Fret in particular) and the Beauties idolize her, with the latter propping her up as their Kween. And to their credit, Kanon IS a genuinely good leader, one worth looking up to. However, with all of those expectations comes a sense of isolation, a feeling that you HAVE to take on all of the burdens because if you don’t, who else will? This is shown when she splits up the Beauties when the threat of the Plague Noise comes around, not trusting their capabilities. However, all this did was leave the Beauties as slim pickings for the Noise, including Kanon herself. This is actually foreshadowed all the way back in Week 1, where she declines potentially recruiting Nagi because she doesn’t want to ruin the dynamic she and the Beauties have going.

This is also a reflection of how Rindo himself initially acts, not wanting recruit more team members because he’s afraid of getting dragged down into failure and having no faith in his or his teammates’ capability to achieve things for themselves. What’s interesting is that Kanon does it because she wants to shoulder the burden/responsibility by herself whereas with Rindo, he does so because he wants to AVOID having to take responsibility for any potential fallout, relying on someone else to do it for him. However, as the game progresses, Rindo gets better about this, learning to let his barriers down, reach out to others more, and trust in himself and his friends’ capabilities.

In fact, when trying to save Kanon, Rindo nearly makes the same mistake as her by asking Fret to split up, but when Fret shows up, Rindo and co. are down to support him. And although they didn’t succeed in saving her, they were able to grant her the opportunity to die as herself and gain valuable information on combining Fret and Nagi’s powers to combat Shibuya Syndrome that helps them out in the following days.

Overall, Kanon is an incredibly interesting character with a lot going on underneath the surface (in a way, she’s basically Fret’s Hanekoma) and I hope that this analysis on her was able to at least shine some light on her various nuances.

[dj-of-the-coven]

7 10 and 20 for the ask game!

7. Favorite Team

I have to hand it to the Variabeauties, assuming that the Wicked Twisters are off the table here. This is mostly through the process of elimination because I find the River Society guys to be insufferable weirdos and the Purehearts give me a bad rep as a polyglot; however, I think Kanon is an amazing character, so I'm biased towards her team. I also think a lot of the interactions with the Variabeauties are fucking funny. Y'all remember when Beat just kidnapped a bunch of them

10. Who had the biggest glow-up with their Neo design? (Bonus: Who wore it worst?)

Literally not a single person would be surprised to hear me say Beat. Objectively speaking, Neku was probably the one who got the best fashion upgrade, but I just HAVE to hand it to Beat as the best dressed. He killed it in the original and he's fucking slaying in Neo--skull jacket, chains, emo hair, headphones, soulful eyes and a winning smile. Look at him go!! Beat is fashionable without trying. He's an icon. He's the moment. The details that went into his Neo design are amazing, particularly due to the fun lore implications of the medical bracelet on his wrist. He's got swag and intrigue in SPADES. Name another returning character who serves cunt half as effectively.

I will nominate Minamimoto as the worst because he chose sweatpants with that coat. He woke up and made that decision in his own mirror.

20. Did you have any theories that turned out to be true? Which ones do you wish came true?

I instantly recognized Beat the second he showed up. Call that blorbo intuition. Shoka being Swallow was also pretty easy to guess, and I remember joking about it to myself pretty early on in the game. Then there are fan theories... I like sync theory a lot, but I never expected it to be nor cared if it was canon. It's probably my favorite one.

[scramble-crossing]

Kanon 1, 7, 20, 24

Kanon joins pathetic man hours <3

My first impression of them

Man that would've been when I played the demo...I don't actually remember that much about my first impressions, but from the way she's initially presented I think I was less-than-enthused because I wasn't sure if she'd get any depth beyond being Fret's one-sided love interest and eventual character development canon fodder. And I mean...kind of! I wish she got more, but I'm fond of what she turned out to be

A quote of them that you remember

I straight-up bawl every time I see "Fret if you see me I need you to end it." I think she's the only character death in the series that I've cried at. Mentally gripping Fret screaming "YOUR NARRATIVE DID THIS"

A weird headcanon

Idk if this is "weird" per say because it makes narrative sense, but I think she had a few younger brothers that she saw a lot of in Fret and Rindo and that's why, after she steals their pin the first time, she's unable to sabotage them any further even though it would be so easy to do so. She can't ignore the fact that they're only children. For all the game has taken from her, she refuses to let it take her last shred of compassion.

What do you think is a secret they had that they never told anyone

I think she's sabotaged teams before. It was never solely for her own gain because she had her Variabeauties relying on her, but that doesn't do anything when she's reminded of the people she's had a hand in erasing.

[gamereaped]

❝ ↪ @yinbug requested a starter !!

" I gotta say, you have a spunk that I'd truly adore seeing join the ranks of my Variabeauties. ♥ "

She finds herself peeking over the female's shoulder, finger pointed to her lips in a growing contemplation before space is granted once more.

" If you ever find yourself wanting to switch teams, or wish to expand your options - don't be afraid to hit me up. "

[bravadoting]

I wonder who ruined things so badly that Kanon closed recruitment to the Variabeauties.

Was it a disaster she witnessed in another team or something she experienced personally? How do you deal with someone acting as a deadweight in a life-or-death situation?

It’s gotten to the point where she would say, “Thanks but no thanks” to the Legendary Player himself — seemingly one of her best options of escape — because of her trust issues.

Bonus:

[chariflare]

let’s go girls

[goldensunset]

thinking about the variabeauties and just how tragic their story was…

they played the game well for months, maybe years, never falling into last place or falling apart, only to lose it all… they fought well! they were a strong team! (i know i had the hardest time with fighting them of any other group) they loved their leader so dearly!

they made it to what would be the last week ever of the game and finally got to confirm that awful feeling that it was all rigged from the start. finally, the nature of the game was laid bare and they didn’t have to play through stupid games and quests that ultimately meant nothing. that alone is an achievement-that they lived long enough to learn the truth.

it meant a lot to kanon, even if she was still going to die. she had already lost most if not all hope of escaping, but she still wanted to go out in a fair fight that felt like a satisfying end to her. regardless of this despair, she never stopped working with her team or rindo’s - a brave and strong leader till the end.

but the thing that absolutely crushes me is just how far they made it, only to fall too- and in a considerably more awful way. the other teams were all erased as a group by shiba, comrades to the end. not saying it was painless, but at least it was quick and they had each other.

the variabeauties weren’t officially erased because they lost according to the game’s ridiculous rules. they got out of that. instead, they succumbed to the plague noise, one by one. the reverb destroyed them slowly- first they were initially hurt, then they began to lose their minds and turn on each other, infecting and probably even outright killing each other, then they themselves finally crumbled.

what a way to kill any last shred of morale that either remaining team had. kanon had to watch it happen. she tried to protect them but couldn’t. and then she was next.

the wicked twisters just got lucky. it could’ve been them. it was them, in the timeline rindo destroyed. but the variabeauties didn’t have any op time travel ability. there was nothing they could do. they got to see the light at the end of the tunnel after an eternity in the dark- and they stumbled and fell. they deserved to make it out.

[voicefromthecorner]

Detail that’s made better with new context: in the day where you’re trying to find “neku” in week 2, remember that variabeauty who asked the wt to help his friend who was possessed by noise bc she was grieving the variabeauty’s death? After that dive when the variabeauty thanks you, rindo and nagi respond with ellipses and serious expressions but fret says nothing and just has a very saddened expression, and then is the first to break the silence by going “hey at least she’s good now right?”

I'm actually speechless at this one. I thought that scene was dead sad already, but dang! That's... That's amazing. And so sad.

In fact, with the Variabeauties apparently wiped out after the most recent day, that guy's gone completely now too. It only gets sadder.