#y4 is an evil game

[dinoclawsz]

I wonder if you ever think of me

Redraw of this piece by Joe Bowler ^_^ can’t find the painting’s name oops

[helioshellion]

hello helioshelion.. i wonder what ur thoughts are on majima's (absence of) backstory up until age 20 and how u deal with it canon compliant-ically or in aus. i find it frustrating like everyone else but at the same time any kind of explanation people come up with to fill in the gaps doesnt land for me... i am unsure why. maybe becuase theres so little to go off so its basically entirely made up? or maybe because its not in the vein of his character? anyway i think you are the yakuza man so i would like to know what u think happened in that time. snake eyes is kind of narratively satisfying to me because patriarchs being father figure adjacent and imparting traits and shaping their subordinates is the closest thing to kind of. growing up i think?? that majimas story has. so having sagawa and shimanos influence transposed onto his actual developmental years actually feels like the most character accurate backstory to me even if it is removed from canon. (i dontknow very much sorry if i got anything wrong) butyeah anyway love ur models im like OH SHIT!!!! HES FUCKING MAKING!!!!!!!! ok thats it have a good daaaaayyy

I think what's important and vital to this narrative is for Majima to not be the central focus. Of course I believe the most interesting concept for Snake Eyes is Majima's exploration and coming into his own in a way that justifies who he is within what we DO know of his past, aka Y4 and 0. I believe it is within Dead Souls' cabaret where Majima tells the hostess that if he could go back to any time to redo things, it'd be 14, and therefore it's where I landed on a timeframe- the moment Majima meets Shimano. I believe Majima is at his best as a character who is reactive, but not focused on. He is entirely a character who is shaped by the people around him, both within the lore and within the meta itself, he is not the main character. He is swayed and changed by the events around him, with little to no control in changing this, because he is simply an NPC, and that's the small tragedy of Majima. A character who is so strongly tied to the idea of control, of shaping his own future, when really he has no agency, not within the narrative, not within the game. Anyways, that is the central focus on Snake Eyes. What kind of man Shimano Futoshi is, and by extension, what that says about Majima Goro as a boy. Is there any parallels I can make between the men Majima would later on follow in life and the man he swore his name to? I wrote earlier about agency, and that's something I think that's very important to Shimano's character as well. Present day, you wouldn't exactly compare Shimano to Kiryu, or Saejima, but that's what I find to be the most interesting thing to explore- if I can make a case that there are those similarities, what would change so drastically that Shimano would become the man you see in the series. Sagawa is merely a pawn in this exploration, just the same as he is a pawn in 0. I really enjoy connecting narrative within gameplay. Majima's a stone in the tide, I'd say, stuck on the bottom to be shaped over years and years and years.

So yeah! Snake Eyes is about Shimano, and how he changes the people around him, and how that changes him. Uroboros or whatever.

I think what's funny is that despite being the AU guy, I try to keep myself strictly to canon compliancy, and the things I do change I need to justify. Like me making the decision to have Sagawa be Yasuko Saejima's birth father. We knew her dad was an Omi man in Sotenbori, and that he was money focused. It was a loose comparison, but the idea of exploring that was so interesting to me. Yakuza is all about fatherhood sometimes, so why not.

Majima's character in Snake Eyes, again, meant to justify who he is later on, but also I do not want this idea of Majima being wholly good and brought into evil. I do not think it's black and white. There's something in Majima that was probably there long before Shimano, something that brought him to the point that men like him were to be followed. In the right light, even the worst actions can be seen as heroic, justified, admirable, especially to a kid. Kind of like Ichiban, I guess!

Another funny thing is that I tend to steer away from the idea of Majima needing a backstory. I believe how he is is perfectly suitable and fine for who he is. I do not want to see where he grew up, but I do like using implications to paint an idea of how and why he is who he is. It's sort of why I have an OC who exists as Majima's birth father in Snake Eyes, meant to sort of paint this all literally. Discarding this past for the sake of the role you are meant to play. Maybe it's a nihilist perspective, but I believe Snake Eyes is a nihilist's story. It's a perfect parallel for Forever Yours, an optimistic exploration of fatherhood and how that shapes a person.

This was a lot. hope you enjoy to read.

[archoneddzs15]

Super Famicom - Ys 4 Mask of the Sun

Title: Ys 4 Mask of the Sun / イースIV マスク・オブ・ザ・サン

Developer: Nihon Falcom / Tonkin House (Tokyo Shoseki)

Release date: 19 November 1993

Catalogue Code: SHVC-Y4

Genre: RPG

No. of Players: 1

This is the other Ys 4 in this tangled tale. The first one was The Dawn of Ys, and this is the second one. Both share the same premise.

After having defeated the ultimate evil in his previous adventure in the magical land of Ys, the red-haired swordsman Adol Christin returned to the town of Minea. Suddenly, Adol notices a bottle, thrown onto the shore. It contains a letter, written in a foreign language, in which an unknown person asks Adol to come to the land of Celceta and save it from a mysterious evil. Adol decides to accept the offer, and thus his new adventure begins.

Uh.... Mask of the Sun is decent overall. But the rush to release first has hurt it. Most of its gameplay ideas fall flat but at least its core makes up for it. In a vacuum, it is solid if flawed. But compared to its PC Engine counterpart The Dawn of Ys it is lacking. That game is superior in almost every way and the one I would go to first. Perhaps that is what is most disappointing; you can see the game it could have been with more effort. Mask of the Sun is still worth playing but only after the many better action RPGs on the Super Famicom. The core is there, it's just not had more time in the gaming equivalent of the baker's oven.

Apparently, there was supposed to be a Mega CD version of this from Sega Falcom but that did not end up materializing.

[missnight0wl]

Don't you ever get annoyed how the game literally deleted Bill Weasley in y6 and y7? I thought that since Bill is an actual professional Curse-Breaker he'd be more involved with the MC and the cursed vaults especially since Griphook knew the MC and her adventures with the vaults and I expected him to ask Bill to investigate these vaults especially since he was in every vault in from years 1 to 5 with the MC. but nah the game decides to forget about Bill and shove Merula into our face along with Ben (no hate I love Ben, I have no objections about him). It broke my heart going to the final cursed vault in y6 without Bill. He's been here for us ever since the beginning, we went to every single vault with him, we should've finished what we started together with Bill 😭. I didn't mind Ben and Jacob being present at the final vault since I love them both (don't murder me for loving Jacob since we know he's a fugly slut for you 🤣)

So how do you feel about Bill being less involved after his graduation, do you think it makes sense?

People “apologising” for liking Fugly Slut never fails to make me cackle 😂 It’s fine, guys! Like I don’t exactly approve of it… but you do you! 👍🙂

As for your question though – I think it makes absolutely no sense. I actually even ranted about it in my longer commentary about the Sunken Vault in this post. It covers more problems than just Bill, but yeah, Bill’s absence is just a misunderstanding.

That being said, I have to point out that Bill wasn’t necessarily with us in all of the Cursed Vaults. HOWEVER, he was the only character who had a chance to be in all of the Cursed Vaults. Bill was a set companion for the Vault of Ice and the Portrait Vault, and one of the options for the Vault of Fear and the Forest Vault. And personally, I always felt that it might be meaningful in the future. You know, even aside from the fact that he actually ends up being a professional Curse-Breaker.

Also, the thing that makes it even worse is that it’s not even that he was totally forgotten after he graduated. The writers went through the effort of bringing him back for our private DADA classes in the evenings. And sure, it could be simply explained by: “Oh, JC didn’t want to get rid of DADA classes and so they needed a teacher”. But no! It can’t be the only explanation! Because Bill was actually pretty damn involved in the main story after Rowan’s death! Like, remember this?

For a short time, Bill became the brain for this group of idiots – the brain that we really needed. And sure, our return to the crimes scene led to absolutely nothing, but still. Bill showed that he could be our PROPER leader. But nope! After that point, JC totally forgot about any plans they might’ve had for the eldest Weasley brother.

Honesty, that’s a big reason why I still claim that after Rowan’s death, JC started changing the original plans for the story in general, mixing Y6 and Y7. I still believe we weren’t supposed to reach the final Vault in Y6 yet. So, because the writers stopped following the set course, they also started forgetting things and messing everything up. And we got a dumpster fire as a result. I mean, look at this scene from before Rowan’s death:

Yes, Bill still wasn’t involved in the end (even though it'd make sense), but at least it was addressed. Before the Sunken Vault, we didn’t even acknowledge Bill’s existence – which is simply ridiculous.

Another thing that makes me believe that Bill was supposed to play a much bigger role overall is actually his relationship with Rakepick, which got quite a lot of attention in Y4 and Y5 and then never had any conclusion. For example, Y4:

And then Y5:

And sure, it might be just a fanservice referencing Bill’s future, but if you ask me, it got way too much screen time to be just that. The problem is that it makes absolutely no sense for Rakepick to be so invested in Bill if she was always evil. Like, she only wasted her time, really. It’s not even like it could’ve helped her manipulate MC or whatever because Bill was never like: “I trust Rakepick, so you should too”. In fact, he’s pretty chill about your different opinion if you choose that option in Y5Ch21:

So… What was the point of building that background relationship between Bill and Rakepick??

And you know what makes it even worse? When we go to see Bill in the DADA classroom after the Portrait Vault, he admittedly is very upset about Rakepick’s betrayal, but then we talk about his job at Gringotts, and he’s like… totally happy??

But like… YOU GOT THIS JOB THANKS TO RAKEPICK! AND WE DON’T EVEN MENTION IT!

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m certain that Bill’s own talent and hard work also played a big role in getting this job. But he literally said earlier: “She’s even getting me a job at Gringotts”. And now we’re pretending it didn’t happen??

So, to sum up, I believe that both Bill and his job at Gringotts were originally supposed to play a much bigger role when it comes to the final Cursed Vault. Interestingly, when Diagon Alley was added to the game, Gringotts was a location to open in Y7. They changed it much later when they decided to make the Adventures in Curse-Breaking TLSQ taking place in Y6. And look at that, it happens that this quest was released after Rowan’s death, too – so when I suspect they started really changing the original plans for the story.

[twinvictim]

Vibing with Kido way more on my 2nd y4 run. Imagine if you're this guy in a tiny yakuza family and your boss is just too busy hiding from the money lender so you have to talk to said money lender who is just so fucking insufferable and smug. The only people in your family are some guy who the money lender is in love with I guess who killed somebody and vanished and two generic thugs. A different family is after your head for that guy who got killed and on top of all that a mass murderer finds you and starts interrogating you about shit you don't know and then chases you around town when you try to run. Body slams you into the concrete and then tells you to take your balls out in everything you do. I don't even remember what Kido does that's evil in this game yet but I'm just saying I understand

[watasemasaru]

for the wakaba ask game: 👪🎂🌋🕷️🙈📣✂️ i could go on but i worry that i'm askin too many questions hahaha

👪 FAMILY - what is their family like? what is your ocs relationship to them?

They're a loud and loving family! Let's see how best to map this.

-Majima & Jyou (never married) had Wakaba September 3, 1983

-Majima & Makoto (married) had Ryuko March 21, 1996 (Ryuko is @nikkiswiki 's oc <333)

-Kashiwagi & Jyou (never married) had Kyrie August 10, 1996

-Jyou is currently with her long time friend and bassist Shobu (wlw bisexuals stay winning)

So it's kinda big! Wakaba is a very loyal to the point of devotion type of person, so for her; family is everything. Wakaba LOVES to dote on her younger sisters and adores Makoto, you couldn't land a better stepmom.

To differentiate between everyone the names Wakaba uses for the parental units

Majima; Dad or Otochan

Jyou; Mama

Makoto; Okasan

Kashiwagi; Osajisan (combining Osamu & ojisan)

Shobu; Shobu-chan

The parents get along really well, they're all like friends. Jyou and Majima weren't ever a serious couple it was more like a fwb type of thing. Makoto is a bit more grounded than Jyou who tends to go where the wind takes her so Makoto fills that role when Jyou can't. Wakaba definitely has a cohesive family that she loves and loves her.

🎂 BIRTHDAY CAKE - when is their birthday? do they like celebrating it?

September 3, 1983. She's a virgo through and through ;3 she does like celebrating and isn't the type to worry about getting old. A nice dinner with family and friends is her idea birthday.

🌋 VOLCANO - how bad is their temper? is it a slow boil, or a instant explosion?

Wakaba is a slow boil. It takes a lot to get her to blow her stack. She has that mad dog bite when she's at her limit. When pushed that far; watch out!

🕷️ SPIDER - what is their biggest fear? do they have any irrational / mundane fears?

Her biggest fear is losing someone she loves. Be it family or friend. A more mundane fear is she gets really wigged out by caterpillars.

🙈 SEE-NO-EVIL - whats a side of your oc that they don't want to show other people?

Wakaba as a person who always seems put together and has everything under control, being vulnerable is hard for her. She doesn't care in the slightest is someone sees that vicious side of her, but sad or insecure - that's what she doesn't like for people to see.

📣 MEGAPHONE - how loud are they? what do they speak like? got a voice claim?

Wakaba is usually even keel, her voice is soothing to others. She's not much of a contraction user so she speaks formal, but her demeanor is friendly. Her voice claim is Megumi Ogata, that deep sultry pitch is Wakaba to the letter.

✂️ SCISSORS - what is the "last straw" for them to cut someone out of their life? how easily do they let go of people?

It would take great betrayal for Wakaba to cut someone off. some examples are;

-Daigo having Majima take the fall in Y4 (she is a daddy's girl so, even as we speak, Daigo is in the dog house with her)

-Watase dumping her before he went to prison because he figured there was no point in her waiting around for him. She took that as a great insult against her character, like she wasn't capable of being faithful or loyal with his absence.

PLEASE ask more questions! it's a lot of fun to answer them <33

[woundedheartwithin]

Yakuza fandom

send me a fandom and i'll tell you…..

the first character i ever fell in love with: honestly, I played y0 first so it was Nishiki, but Majima was the second one lol

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not: I honestly can’t think of one. These games are great at doing the opposite actually lol

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not: can’t think of one

my ultimate favorite character™: gotta be Majima tbh

prettiest character: Haruka! Or Makoto. Or Akiyama. Or just all three of them tbh 😂

my most hated character: the big bad of Y4 was cartoon evil so probably him

my OTP: majimako! Also a big fan of kazumaji

my NOTP: any of the ones that involve kyodai, like Majima/Saejima or Kiryu/Nishiki. It’s not that I’m against them and if you ship them that’s cool, they’re just not my thing

favorite episode: I’ll do chapter of any game here, uuuuuuuummmmmmmm… the one where you start it by taking Makoto to get takoyaki in y0. A quick search tells me that’s ch 16: The Proof of Love, and the whole chapter is just 🥺

saddest death: this is a massive spoiler so I’ll just allude to it. The big one in y3. Y’all know. Y’all know.

favorite season: I’ll do game for this one, and that’s definitely y0. If you don’t play any other yakuza game, play y0. It is an absolute masterpiece

least favorite season: probably y3. I loved the game and the characters and the story, but the substories were kinda boring. Weakest installment imo but far from bad

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate: honest to god can’t think of one

my 'you're piece of trash, but you're still a fave' fave: lol Ryuji

my 'beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this' fave:

DAIGO

my "this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it' ship: Hmmmmmmm… I can’t think of one

my 'they're kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i'm not too invested' ship: any of the ones that don’t involve my faves, I guess?

[majimemegoro]

C2, C8, C15, D1, D6, and D9 for ask meme!

C2 Which game had the worst plotline?

y4.. or honestly the first game/kiwami. just.. what. in general I think these games have bad plots but some are... slightly less bad.

C8 What was the worst plot twist?

*Y5 SPOILERS* mirei park dying. but also every evil twin reveal.

C15 Who has the most tragic story?

MOST tragic? most tragic? how do I answer that... one possible answer is haruka. because shes SO YOUNG and shes had to deal with so much. being lowkey abandoned by her mother. her biological father trying to kill her. getting kidnapped 1 million times. having to grow up so fast and take care not only of 9 younger siblings but also try to manage the emotional wellbeing of her faster father, because she DOES try to do that. and she has to live with the constant worry that hes going to get himself killed by accident or ON PURPOSE. and no child should have to deal with that. my heart goes out to haruka.

D1 Who’s the most overrated character?

hm.. I don't get the allure of akiyama, but i like him a lot more after playing as him!! scissor kick go DRDRDRDRD

D6 Do you think Kiryu was a good father figure to Haruka and Daigo?

man. he tried his best, and I think he did a lot of things that were good ! he gave haruka unconditional love and sacrificed a lot for her and that means something! but he also hurt both of them so much. Probably in the aggregate it was better off for them that he DID have that relationship with them, but "was kiryu a good father figure?" No one's going to use him as an example in the manual my dude.

D9 Any hot takes?

best written queer subtext in the series is genuinely, unironically, 100% mr okdeura and his hunting partner.

[draayder]

You said to ask however many I wanted for the yakuza ask game so!!

A8, B1, B4, B5, C5, C11, D9, F3

sweet! I just answered B1 so I'll skip that (especially cause it was already a hard question lol)

A8) Favorite song(s)?

Zetsubouchou Pride is my fave karaoke song, Ichibanka is SO good, and I love most Receive Yous but Receive and Bite You is my fave of those

B4) Who would you like to post more about but you don’t? Why don’t you?

<Banging my fists on the table> I want more Yasuko!! I want Yasuko content from other people! I've written just a teeny tiny bit of her but I really do love her as a character, and I do intend to expand on the Yasuko content in the world once I finish the behemoth that is The Devil He Knows

B5) Which character do you think you would bump heads with most if you knew them in real life?

Discounting the villains, if I had to work with Akiyama I would strangle him.

C5) Which character would you like to see as an antagonist?

Oh it would shatter me into a million emotional pieces but we've had protag Saejima fighting Majima, so let's have a protag Majima fighting Saejima.

C11) Which character has the best taste in clothing? Who has the worst?

MAJIMA. He has the trans masc swag. I also love Zhao's look. Special mention to Kido also, I love both his goon jacket and his Evil Suit. I wish I actually knew what Saejima's taste in clothes is, because he literally just wears whatever is required or given to him, and never changes. Akiyama has the worst taste for shilling a very ugly watch.

D9) Any hot takes?

Park inspired no strong feelings in me. Y4 has more coherency to its story than Y5, also rubber bullets is not some horribly written ass-pull thing Hamazaki is just as down bad for Saejima as the rest of that man's kyoudai.

F3) Who are you inviting to karaoke?

Any combination of Majima/Saejima/Kiryu 🥺👉👈 but if I just get one then probably Saejima because I would run out of energy long before Majima and he seems like he'd be more laid back about it

[akiiyamashun]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥

My muse is:  canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless

Is your character popular in the fandom?  YES / NO

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO (I mean, he’s often called ‘pretty boy’ or ‘handsome’ and is implied to be attractive in-game)

Is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO

Are they underrated?  YES / NO

Were they relevant to the main story?  YES / NO

Were they relevant to the main character?  YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG.

Are they widely known in their world?  YES / NO.

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL.

How strictly do you follow canon?

I try to incorporate all canon bits into my writing, but mostly weave these parts together with a lot of my own headcanons and interpretations of the things that I think could lead Akiyama to ultimately be who he is and act the way he does. He’s a very interesting and unique character - the one civilian who’s constantly dragged into Yakuza business and who lives in this very much gray zone in terms of morality but who is one of the good guys at his core.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutual.

Akiyama’s charisma is off the charts - it’s impossible not to like him! I try my best to bring his sense of humor and how smooth he is to the writing, because to me that’s one of his trademarks - a lot of charm, very skilled conversationalist and overall likeable person who entrances others quite easily. It makes a lot of sense that during his chapters in Y4 you can enlist others as your ‘allies’, because he just makes connections that fast.

His adaptability to life - he doesn’t shy away from the period of homelessness and how it ultimately freed him? He goes as far as thanking the man who framed and destroyed his (once) brilliant career for this. Akiyama becomes someone so comfortable in his own skin and so genuine - he’s one extremely resilient person even if sometimes it looks like blind luck (it’s not - his strength is less tangible and physical).

He has plot reasons to be mostly anywhere and do everything - I mean, he ended up babysitting idols, waltzing right into evil lairs of badass yakuza to accuse them of crimes and using his own fortune to bait others. He’s a super unpredictable but devoted individual who will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of things or protect the town he loves while being a civilian - so he’s not bound by the Tojo hierarchy at all. Nothing is really out of character for this man. Not even dance battles.

Brains over brawn for once - Akiyama can fight (and does so with style!), but that is not his preferred way of solving problems. By nature he’s diplomatic and very intelligent, and he will try to to avoid unnecessary fights if possible - but if all comes down to kicking the bastards where it hurts, he’ll do it. I think his approach to things in a franchise built on Kiryu punching his way through problems is super refreshing - and adds a lot of variety. :)

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).  

Akiyama being seen as the ‘humorous’ character or someone just ‘lazy’ and incapable of doing his job correctly. I have a LOT of feelings here - and I disagree with this overall idea that Akiyama is a ‘joke’ - but I can see him being considered some sort of walking meme and leading people to believe he’s just not worth their time to build an interesting plot (despite the fact he’s the protagonist of 3 games and a supporting character in at least other 2).

The fact he’s not as strong when compared to other protagonists of the franchise - and this is true; if you put Akiyama side by side with most guys who have been given the spotlight over the years, Akiyama is probably stronger than Tanimura only (or maybe it’s a tie). He doesn’t look like your typical Yakuza protagonist - he doesn’t even punch others when fighting, it’s just kicking! I can see this being something that would rank him ‘lower’ or as someone ‘less interesting’ or ‘less important’ because he’s not hitting others like a derailed freight train such as Saejima or Kiryu.

What inspired you to rp your muse?  

I was smitten with Akiyama after five minutes with him, really. I loved how fresh his interactions with Hana sounded, and the way he talked to people was so open and fun for once (Kiryu is not a great conversationalist, let’s face it). Then his introduction by Kido, where he gets described so mysteriously and yet with these obvious pointers towards the way he fosters other people’s dreams and his unpredictable behavior? An immediate win for me. 

Akiyama is so entertaining - his charm, his lines, his voice (thank you Yamadera Koichi for this AWESOME job), his substories, the fighting style, the dancing battles! Honestly there is nothing about Akiyama that I don’t adore - he’s hard to read, smooth like silk, good guy at his heart, awesome sense of humor, devilish handsome, looks like he knows how to please a woman and leave them craving for more, incredibly smart to the point of being complimented by an actual police detective - hell yeah. What’s not to love?

What keeps your inspiration going?  

Akiyama does it by himself, haha. Honestly, the games and the existing lore have done plenty, and I’ve gone really deep into what I perceive as his motivations/drivers. The second thing in addition to canon sources is the interest/discussions with partners? Really, @sixthxchairman has played a fundamental role here, from giving me a space to run him as a test muse to listening to a lot of incessant yelling about all things Akiyama. Having someone else interested in him makes me want explore all the sides of the muse. :)

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO (I mean, I have PAGES written about Akiyama and everything, I hope this is coherent?).

Do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO.

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES / NO.  

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day?  YES / NO.

Are you confident in your portrayal?  YES / NO / More like getting to ‘yes’ with each passing day?

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO / Increasingly getting to yes?

Are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO.

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?

Yes, to a degree. Akiyama is not my character so of course there are a lot of things I’ve built and developed/fleshed out that may be different from what the creators intended or even other muns would have imagined/explored with him. I will say I do not oppose criticism if it’s rooted in actual canon and happens to be something that heavily contradicts what Akiyama does in such official sources - I do not write him as canon divergent, after all. 

However, a lot about my Akiyama portrayal is my own; there is a heavy influence of my headcanons in relation to his hobbies, likes & dislikes, preferences, tastes, etc. These details are all very fundamental in how I write him and will show up in my replies - his disregard for hierarchy, the way he likes to be underestimated, the way he talks to and acts around people etc. On these aspects of my interpretation, I’d prefer not to get any criticism on simply because there is no right or wrong; I just appreciate that there are different views on what makes Akiyama who he is and I’d rather not be compared.

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character?  

Yes! These are always fun and often directed at stuff I haven’t yet thought about, so I love working on these headcanon asks. :)

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?

I am willing to listen, sure - especially if it is rooted in canon sources, as indicated above. I don’t care much for someone arguing something like ‘Akiyama cannot play the violin because he’s obviously a trumpet player’ - there is no way either of us will know for sure unless the creators one day say something about it. But other than that, I welcome good discussions and how we may view the same scene differently (for instance, the ending of Y5 when Watase and the other families bowed to Akiyama - I interpreted that scene in a way, other people may be able to see it in another direction).

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?

As long as this doesn’t translate to anon hate (which simply gets blocked), then I have nothing to say about it! I think everyone has the right to disagree with my views and perceptions of Akiyama, I just don’t see the point of lingering around and following me if that is the case. I’m always excited to yell about him and discuss plots/interactions with willing parties - but if my version of Akiyama isn’t someone’s cup of tea, I’m sure there are other takes on him that will work well for these people.

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it?  

I would frankly be surprised because, at least online, Akiyama sounds like he’s a REALLY popular fella with a very good fanbase - and I personally think that Akiyama is a fucking delight and I worship the ground he walks on - but to each their own? Again, I disagree with some of the takes I see on Akiyama where he’s reduced to some sort of failure or joke who’s incapable of doing anything by himself, but as long as the hate for Akiyama does not translate in anon hate/actual fandom war, I have no issue with that.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?  

YES, ALWAYS. IN FACT, PLEASE DO. I am not a native English speaker and while I do check spelling/meaning of certain words sometimes, there is always a typo or some random word that escapes my review and makes me groan when reviewing my replies later. I will always appreciate anyone helping me correct and grow as a writer. :)

Do you think you are easy going as a mun?

Yes! I have no anxiety in terms of approaching first, offering ideas, etc. In fact, I’m super talkative and I love meeting other muns, so unless you are not into typing lots (because I do it all the time!), I’m pretty positive I’m not intimidating/shy and generally referred to as a friendly mun? I hope my mutuals were not lying about it, haha.

[cryingcow]

Concept: A Yakuza AU where EVERYTHING takes place in December 2005

- The 10 billion yen goes missing, and the Omi immediately catch wind of it so Ryuji’s like “hey this is the BEST time to invade Kamurocho!”

- The Okinawa military base/resort deal is proposed. So on top of the Omi, the Triad, and the MIA, the CIA and Black Monday are also in Kamurocho. Shit gets confusing fast

- Kiryu gets released from prison, and somehow accidentally breaks Saejima out

- By the time they arrive in Kamurocho together, Kiryu’s picked up 8 orphans. Reina adores them, but also tells Kiryu “what the fuck”

- Majima tries to ambush Kiryu but nearly gets a heart attack at seeing Saejima

- They make friends with Hobo Akiyama in their quest to find a place to sleep because Reina’s bar is only barely enough for 8 kids, she can’t accommodate 2 whole adults too

- Kiryu, while meeting with Nishiki at Serena: “Bro, bro I know you’re evil and all, but listen: I have 3 boyfriends now! :D “

- Nishiki stops being evil just to grill Kiryu for juicy details on how the fuck he managed to obtain 3 boyfriends as soon as he leaves prison. They forget to discuss Yumi’s pendant

- Katsuragi tries to claim revenge for Arai killing the Ueno Seiwa lieutenant, but Shimano is like “oh my god who the fuck cares, we have real issues here!” and it never comes up again

- Kiryu: “Dad, I respect you and all, but you gotta admit, Uncle Joji is much cooler”

- Every single boss fight takes place on top of Millenium Tower at the same time. It’s . . . really cramped. Half of the fights are immediately resolved because the antagonist accidentally gets elbowed off the roof

- Halfway through the Omi invasion, someone releases zombies a la Dead Souls. Ryuji becomes a playable (and romanceable!) protagonist at this point

- The whole game is 100 hours long, but it takes you 500 hours to finish it because every single karaoke song is available and Kiryu can have a karaoke date with anyone he wants

Feel free to add more, I’m only halfway thru Y4 so idk much beyond that

[zevzevarainai]

ok like i dont want to start shit or attract it so i am going to leave this Discourse(TM) under a read more because with more people playing y5 mixed with my unyielding hatred for that game’s writing i am going to get this off my chest: i cannot understand why people like m*rei park and here is why

Case #1: she is essentially the most evil toward kiryu, our protagonist, in any of the games

Beside maybe the people who wanted to kill his grandson for existing, park does something so much worse than attack Kiryu or the tojo clan. First, she attacked all the growth he made in yk2, y3, and y4. It took Kiryu so long to accept himself in the role of a father figure for the morning glory orphans and then Park comes in and destroys it with a few choice words. She is very good at getting what she wants and persuading people in her favor. She’s able to hit Kiryu where it hurts. Then, she convinces Kiryu that he isn’t worthy of being the father to his daughter because she isn’t blood and he was a yakuza, so he can’t possibly ever be redeemed. Worse yet, she convinces him to leave the orphanage. There’s really no reason for this besides the chance of tracking Haruka back to them. We’re expected to just be okay with the fact that he runs away and takes a cab driving job after 2 games of attaching us to the orphanage plot and 4 games of attaching us to he and Haruka’s father/daughter relationship. She rips Kiryu from his family. You can beat the shit out of Kiryu physically all you want, but if you truly want to hurt him, do what Park did. If you played the games in chrono order and adore Kiryu, why do you like Park?

Case #2: Going off of this, Haruka’s actions make zero sense

To begin, there is no indication in any of the games of her wanting to be an idol other than in this game. I didn’t play the original version so im not sure this happens then but in yk2, there is an entire cutscene dedicated to how Haruka does not want to be a star because she knows she will be alone and she wants to stay with Kiryu. This is crucial to Kiryu’s character development going into y3. This is were he begins to get over his self-doubts of being her father.

Cut to the scene where Park is telling Kiryu off, we see that Haruka eavesdrops on the entire conversation. Haruka is extremely socially and emotionally intelligent as a result of having to grow up far too fast. She has a strong sense of right and wrong. There is no way she does not comprehend that this woman is emotionally manipulating her father, or at least that what she is saying is not fair at all. The idea that Haruka would hear all this and still allow Park to take her is unbelievable.

Case #3: The “every girl needs a mother” quote is not women empowering or whatever people see in it, and further dismisses Kiryu

The quote in context is literally a result of Park STEALING Haruka from Kiryu. Park is her MANAGER. The fact that she is placing herself in a maternal role is inappropriate and creepy.

It also dismisses the idea that girls can be raised by a single father. This isn’t even a two dads issue, although I could go there. Kiryu works his ass off for Haruka. Is it good for girls to have a positive female influence in their life? Absolutely. But it doesn’t have to be in the form of a mom. Aunts, family friends, teachers... an idol’s manager could be one of those people, yes. But she’s jumps straight to “I’m your mom now.” Worse, this is after she’s completely wiped Kiryu from her life. You can’t be a positive influence after you’ve ruined the life of her father. Can someone report a kidnapping or something jesus christ

Case #4: The Sloppiest Plotline- The Majima Arc

I will never stop complaining about this. As a disclaimer, this is in no way a “SHE’S GETTING IN THE WAY OF MY SHIP!!!1!” situation. The marriage makes absolutely no sense. Just the fact that he was even married was completely out of left field. He's supposed to be this crazy asshole who can't be tied down. Literally the only reason they had majima have an ex-wife is so they could tie in Haruka to their messy-ass plot and that is what makes me mad. It's lazy ass writing. Literally just make up a yakuza figure to be her ex instead of butchering Majima's character. 

I am aware that this game was made after y0 and the majima saga, but jesus christ the choice makes NO SENSE!!! Y0 Majima we get a CRYSTAL CLEAR view that Majima CHUGS respect women juice. This is mostly seen in the cabaret club minigame but can be seen elsewhere as well. The fact that he hits her because she aborted a fetus without telling him? Completely out of character.

Majima loves Makoto and because of this, he leaves her as to not drag her into yakuza shit. Park was 18 and Majima would have been almost 30. That's way too much of an age gap. Park could have loved him, sure, but I don't think Majima did. And even then, she's 18; what does she even know at that point. If Majima loved her even a little, he would have wanted to protect her, not marry AN 18 YEAR OLD as a MAN IN HIS 30's. He's a dumbass, but he's not stupid. He's not protecting her at all by marrying her. The point of her dying in Y5 is because of her connection to the yakuza-- exactly why he refused to stay with Makoto, despite the fact he broke his own heart doing it. I sincerely believe that Majima did not love Park (in my fix-it fanfic it is a greencard marriage), but even then he wouldn’t hit her. He’s not “programmed-to-avoid-your-girl-companions” Kiryu level. He absolutely would fight a girl, but only if she was at the same level of skill and strength as he is.

To quote gaigethemech on ao3, a comment on my fic: “park implies he joined the yakuza after their marriage ended, and she couldn't follow him down that path, but since Y5 is set in 2012 and she states they were married 20 years ago, that would've been 1992 and he would've already been yakuza (well, rejoined since we have to include 0's story in this)” WHAT KIND OF WRITING IS THIS!!!! Not only is the lore over/watch levels of all over the place, but you are telling me Majima doesn’t want to pursue Makoto-- a woman who has been through hell and back, traumatized, beaten, shot, r*ped, watched loved ones die-- but Park is okay because she’s TOUGHER THAN MAKOTO??????? MY GIRL MAKOTO????????? PARK IS AN 18 YEAR OLD WANNABE POP STAR. Makoto has the STRENGTH to remain soft and kind in a world that continuously chewed her up and spit her out. How does any of this make sense. They should have hired me to write this game.

Case #5: The Dreams Theme of the Game

Haruka can’t stop being an idol because Park wanted to be an idol when she was her age and she has to carry her dream on??? WHAT???????? How TOXIC a mindset is that??? This bitch tore you from your family you do not owe her shit!!! If that concert didn’t end with her quitting, I don’t know what I would have done. I would have gone absolutely bonkers.

To Conclude

Did Park deserve to die the way she did? No, not at all. But I do not understand why people like her. Yeah, Park is complex, but honestly she comes off as more of an antagonist than someone I'm supposed to sympathize with. And it sucks because these games have very few female characters. Luckily they’ve begun to do better by women in y7, which hopefully they keep up.

[majimanowhere]

So you finished Y4 and your favorite characters were Akiyama and Saejima? By any chance, would you have many thoughts on Kido? 👉🏼👈🏼

ooh this is a good question!

spoilers for y4 and y3 under the cut ;)

i really like kido! him turning out to be an antag was such a surprise to me, but also kind of pleasant in a weird way?? like he wasn’t “evil” or anything like that, he’s just a stupid kid who accidentally saw all of akiyamas dough and got greedy and thought he could get rich. then he got his ass beat and went 🤔🤔🤔 and even before all that, he was just really helpful and it was really enjoyable (?) when he was on screen. tbh i was CERTAIN he was gonna die bc he was one of those like young-inspired-side-characters that always seem to die. i think i might’ve still been fucked up from rikiyas death in y3 tho bc i really liked him, and i KNEW he was gonna die from the moment i saw him and between this and how kiryu reacted, his death hit me hard and it’s probably the hardest i’ve ever cried bc of a game. and when kido got shot by arai i was like “SEE I FUCKING TOLD YOU” and then got trolled (thankfully).

[firebrands]

stony bingo masterlist (round 1, 2020)

four bingos! three months! 18 fics!

S1: (returning the shield in endgame):  forgive him for not forgiving 

S2: Kink: Multiple orgasms: shy, simmering

S5: AU: Bounty hunters: flirting with disaster

T1: Games: the enormity of my desire

T4: Off the record: the mind-body problem

T5: Long-distance relationship: modern epistolary

O1: Unconsciousness: chances are

O2: writing format: slice of life: all I want is a room up there and you in it 

O3: Free: mahina lang ang boses mo, ngunit bumibilis ang puso

O4: Power outage: the adventures of rogers and stark

O5: Last times/farewells: me voy pa'l pueblo 

N1: iron man comic book cover: speak easy

N5: Kink: Light bondage: a shift in the light

Y1: Writing format: non-linear: sound and color

Y2: Kink: loss of virginity: finally, then once more

Y3: Evil exes: bad blood 

Y4: Chronic hero syndrome: save, saving, saved 

Y5: Tension: come into the light 

like my work? buy me a ko-fi

[missnight0wl]

Let’s talk about the Cabal. The Rogues theory update

First things first: whenever I talk about “the Cabal”, I do not mean R. I always refer to the Cabal Jacob mentioned in his notebook in Y5Ch15. I explained in detail why he had to mean some other organisation then: here. I really recommend checking it before you continue reading this post below as it’s a relatively short analysis, and it’ll help us get on the same page.

Furthermore, I concluded that the Cabal is probably dedicated to protecting the Cursed Vaults, and that’s why they wanted to kill the siblings. I believe that the siblings are necessary to open the final Vault, so if they’re dead, the treasure should theoretically be safe forever. Also, since they want to protect the treasure, they probably wouldn’t like R who wants the power for themselves.

I know the game keeps using “R” and “a cabal”/“the cabal”/“the Cabal” interchangeably, but for the longest time, I thought it’s either misdirection or Jam City simply changed their original plans once again. I started leaning towards the second option, especially after coming up with “the Rogues theory”, but I’ve been thinking about it lately, and I realised that... the Cabal and the Rogues might be one and the same group.

Now, if you’re not familiar with the Rogues theory, I encourage you to read this post. This one, however, is much longer, so I understand if you want to skip it, and therefore, I’ll give you a summary:

“The Rogues” is the name I gave to a group of three people: Rakepick, the Wizard in White, and Verucca. In my theory, they don’t work for R, or at least they’re not loyal to them. Their real goal is to make sure MC KNOWS R is evil and won’t be swayed if R tried using any kind of manipulation to make MC join them. Now, Merula is truly the mole, and she wanted to join R to be a double agent or some shit. However, the Rogues are aware that she’s just a stupid kid who’d get killed right away, so they staged the meeting in Y6Ch45 to expose Merula. Therefore, Merula has to focus on MC knowing that she “betrayed them” instead of trying to play a hero with R.

Also, Rowan is alive.

And just to be clear, we’re talking about these people:

(Did I simply want an excuse to use this gif again? Maybe.)

Alright, so having these two pictures, you can see they have one thing in common: they don’t like R. Unfortunately, there’s one big difference between them, too: the Cabal wanted to kill the siblings while the Rogues are rather helping them (or at least MC). So, how they could be the same? Well, we just have to assume that something changed in their approach at some point. And the person behind it was probably…

MEPHISTO!

Just kidding. It’s Rakepick. Of course it’s gonna be about Rakepick. Spoilers up to Y7Ch29.

Alright, so here’s the thing about Rakepick: she’s an anarchist. No, really, even Snape called her that after Rowan was put under the Imperius Curse:

More seriously though, when you look at the beginning of Y4 when Rakepick was introduced, we heard quite a bit about her being a rebellious student.

Y4Ch1:

Y4Ch2:

She doesn’t really show much respect to the authorities.

Y4Ch1:

Y5Ch10:

And she doesn’t really like the Ministry.

 Y5Ch1:

Y5Ch2:

Sure, in the last example, she has a good reason to doubt the Ministry might be successful, but she also still sounds like she doesn’t think highly of them in general, especially considering the previous scene.

In other words: if I told you that Rakepick wears the “Fuck the system” T-shirt after hours, would it really be that hard to believe?

The problem is that we don’t see much of that rebellious Rakepick later in the story. In fact, I’d say it’s almost the opposite – and I’m thinking mostly about her involvement with R. Moody told us at the beginning of Y6 that she’s a minor member, and we’re supposed to believe that she’s the one at least since Jacob’s time, but… it doesn’t make much sense. Like, am I really supposed to believe that this rebellious and insanely ambitious woman just stays obediently at the very bottom of this silly organisation?

Moreover, I don’t even see why would she want to join R. It’s still the system. And sure, you could say it’s beneficial for her, but… HOW? R didn’t help her get back to Hogwarts – it was Dumbledore himself who wanted her to come. Nothing suggests that R was helping her later on. She did it all on her own, including creating her small army of apprentices. Why the fuck would she need R? Not to mention that it’s just bizarre that R would want to keep her around… I mean, she totally screwed up with Jacob. Why didn’t they eliminate her then?

Now, as you might know, I believe that Rakepick joined R only around Y5Ch20 and a big part of her story presented in the Portrait Vault was a lie. And while it explains some things I pointed out in the previous paragraph, we still don’t really see the rebellious Rakepick. Right? Unless… Patricia rebelled against her family – and it had an enormous impact on the story.

The Eye of Ra and the Rakepick family

So… I know the idea of the Eye of Ra being the symbol of R got pretty popular in the fandom, but… it just doesn’t make much sense. Sorry. I explained it properly in this post (it’s a rather short one again, so I recommend checking it out). In a nutshell, though: there’s enough evidence to believe that Rakepick wasn’t a member of R in Y4, so why would she wear their symbol then?

On top of that, in my opinion, it’d be a bit messy writing decision, to be honest. I mean, we have the Cursed Vaults located at Hogwarts, in Scotland. We have the Dark Scroll connected to Japan. And now the main evil organisation would originate from Egypt? Sure, it is possible. I just feel it’d make more sense to keep things more cohesive. Of course, this one is quite subjective, and my main arguments in this discussion are still the ones in the post linked above.

Anyway, I do believe that the Eye of Ra is connected to the Rakepick family only, seeing that both Patricia and Verucca wear the pin with this symbol. And it means that yes, I assume that they are related. Personally, I think that Verucca looks a bit too old to be Patricia’s mother, and my bet is rather on great-aunt, but it’s not super relevant. The relevant part is that they both belong to the Cabal. And that’s quite important because that’d also explain why Rakepick became a member despite her rebellious nature – because she was born into it. Alright, so what about that rebellion?

A bit earlier, I said that the Cabal wants to keep the Cursed Vaults safe by killing the siblings, right? Well, I believe it might be a fairly recent approach. I assume that at first, they were supposed to protect the Cursed Vaults and everyone involved with them. And by “everyone”, I mean families like Torvus’s who had the arrow to the Forest Vault as an heirloom for generations. Another family could be responsible for keeping the vault portrait etc. The point is that eventually, someone from the Cabal was like: “Hey, instead of protecting them, let’s kill them. They’re gonna be dead, but the Cursed Vaults will be safe forever”. And honestly, I suppose it could’ve been Verucca herself who came up with this idea some years ago. However, Patricia had a different vision…

I never was convinced by Rakepick wanting to get the treasure, so I don’t think it’s as simple as that. But in my own story, she actually wants to destroy the Cursed Vaults, and it can be applied in this theory as well. For her, it’d be a challenge. Still, I imagine that she needs to reach the final Vault to do that, so she’d need the siblings. And this is where her cooperation with Jacob might’ve started. Rakepick needed Jacob to reach the final Vault to destroy it. Jacob, on the other hand, would agree to work with her because no Cursed Vaults means that nobody would try to use him or his little sibling in the future. Sounds pretty fair, doesn’t it? 

Of course, the problem was with the Cabal because Verucca wanted to kill Jacob... So, what now? Well, let me remind you of one important line from Jacob’s notebook:

What if Rakepick wasn’t afraid but rather worried – because she didn’t know if Verucca would agree to her plan? Jacob might’ve misinterpreted her emotions. And here’s the thing: you might be a fearless Curse-Breaker, dealing with Manticores, Sphinxes, and whatnot. But standing up to your family? That might be intimidating. Now, I don’t want to compare it to Encanto…. but it’s kind of like Encanto. It might’ve taken years before anybody got the courage to tell Abuela Verucca that she’s not doing the best job. Apparently though, Patricia had to convince her somehow in the end, seeing that MC is still alive (I’m not so sure about Jacob, but I assume it wouldn’t be the Cabal’s fault…).

Oh, and I want to point out that Rakepick being connected to the Cabal would explain even better why R didn’t want her to get involved.

Y4Ch3:

Y4Ch5:

It’d possibly even explain Dumbledore’s claims:

The Cabal and the Cursed Vaults

Let’s move to an explanation of how the Cabal might be connected to Dai Ryusaki. And to put it shortly: very closely. 

See, I actually believe that Dai Ryusaki wasn’t that bad at all and that he wanted to protect the wizarding world from his Dark Scroll. That he recognised how dangerous it is and that nobody should use it. I also assume that it is in fact in the final Cursed Vault, we just didn’t deal with it properly at the end of Y6 (so we’re probably gonna return there before the end of the game). Why I believe Ryusaki was innocent, though? Because, like I said before and I’ll keep saying, that’s basically the theme of the story.

I guess that the best example to illustrate this is actually Jacob. At the very beginning, we were told that he was obsessed with finding the Cursed Vaults. Only later, we started slowly learning that he was worried about students getting hurt. That R was manipulating him, threatening him with hurting his loved ones, and basically forcing him to do all of that. Jacob wasn’t a madman with dangerous obsession – he was a victim, and he was trying to protect other people.

We can also kind of see it with Ben in Y4 when the game tries for the whole year to make him look suspicious, only to reveal that he was controlled. We hear it almost all the time in Y7: things are not what they seem to be. Corey was introduced with the story about Emeric the Evil about how people might do bad things for various reasons – not always bad morally.

Moreover, I believe that it could’ve been very similar with the Wizard in White. Ever since we heard about him for the first time in Y5, he was presented as someone dangerous, attacking Mundungus with some unknown incantations and whatnot. Then, we learnt about him being expelled for using Dark Magic. And… doesn’t it sound like the beginning of Jacob’s story?

On top of that, I wouldn’t be surprised if the WIW is somehow related to Dai Ryusaki. I mean, if the only reason for making him a former Mahoutokoro student was to say: “Oh, he got expelled because he was looking for the Dark Scroll”… it’d be rather disappointing. But if the WIW is related to Ryusaki, it totally makes sense that he’d be a part of the Cabal now. And that the Cabal continues Ryusaki’s mission: to protect the world from the Dark Scroll.

It’s all about protection

Let me ask you something. What was the very first thing Rakepick did when she was alone with MC in Y4Ch1? She taught us Protego.

Moving on…

Y4Ch14:

Y5Ch10:

I’m not gonna talk here about saving us from Ben in Y4 or saving us in Knockturn Alley in Y5 because my point is rather about preparing MC to defend themselves. Even breaking our wand was sort of a part of it because MC needed that damn new wand. And I’ll use here a comparison from my old analysis as I still think it explains my point well:

Imagine that magic skills are similar to drawing skills. You go to school, you get a pen, a pencil, maybe some crayons. You learn to make some simple patterns, to write, sometimes you draw. And every now and then, there will be a person who’s particularly good at drawing. They will practice, they will get better, and especially if they have talent, they’ll be able to create amazing art, even if only with a ballpen. And for most people, the basic school supplies will be enough. Even our artists can do well just with that. But they can also become better by getting better supplies, by learning new media etc. It will take more time at first for sure, but the end result will be more impressive.

The basic supplies are obviously MC’s first wand. It doesn’t mean there was something wrong with it, and it had to be changed. If you give just a simple pencil to an artist and to a “regular” person, the first one will still create something better. But then came Rakepick, and she recognised that MC can do more. That not only they went through a lot of changes and a different wand might be more suitable for their personality now, but most importantly that they have extra potential to improve. This was ultimately a good thing for MC.

And what about the other members of the Rogues/the Cabal? Well, one of my theories as to why the WIW “attacked” us in Y6 is that he was trying to protect MC from someone else’s attack. You know, just like MC did during “The Quibbler” TLSQ to protect Chiara from Ismelda’s attack:

And yeah, I still insist that the WIW’s real intention back then was to talk to MC. It wasn’t about kidnapping MC and that whole leader bullshit because the WIW doesn’t even work for R.

Now, I don’t have much for Verucca, but I do want to talk more about Burke. A while ago, I gathered all of our interactions with Healer Burke at St Mungo’s. Please, take a moment to check it here because if you really look at it, Burke was like… the sweetest person ever. And something very prominent about him is phrases like: “Try not to worry”, “Don’t worry, we have it under control” etc. Burke was quite literally trying to protect MC’s mental health. Sure, you can say that it’s just an act. But that’s not all I have to say about Burke.

In Y7Ch29, Burke had that mysterious line about “coming home”, right?

I know people assume that it’s a reference to the whole leader thing, but I still think it makes no sense. I explained it already here. However, I have a bit different interpretation for you instead.

If the Cabal was always about the protection, it’d make sense that some members (like Burke, for example) weren’t fully supportive of Verucca’s decision to kill the siblings. After all, they were supposed to protect both the Cursed Vaults and the families connected to them. In a way, they could see the siblings almost like the Cabal’s family. They don’t have to be all literally related – it’s more about… community, I guess. You know what I mean? In such a case, it’d make sense that Burke talked about home. Because “home” is a very emotional word that makes you think about safety. And that’s what the Cabal originally was about.

Another thing that might prove that Burke wasn’t talking about R is R’s letter they sent to Jacob after Duncan’s death.

So… R’s mentality is that “there are no friends”, but then Burke suddenly talks about “HOME”...? Yes, because Burke belongs to a totally different organisation that has an entirely different mentality. R is corrupted, and they care only about power and the treasure. That’s why there are no friends for them. Emotional attachments make them weaker. But for the Cabal, a more emotional approach helps them stay true to their mission of protection.

Oh, and I keep using “the Cabal”, but to be fair, I assume they might have a different name – Jacob just didn’t know it when he wrote about them in his notebook. In fact, I believe that R and the Cabal might’ve been one organisation once, but they got separated at some point because of different views. So, technically, they both might have the same name.

One last problem…

One of my main assumptions in the Rogues theory was that the Rogues acts against R, and they want to make sure MC knows R is evil. That’s why Rakepick made it absolutely clear that Rowan is dead because R wanted it (while they wanted to have nothing to do with Duncan’s death – even though we know it’s ALSO their fault). And that’s why the WIW was so off-putting when telling us that R doesn’t give a fuck about what MC wants, and we’re gonna be their leader no matter what. However… wouldn’t R realise by now that someone gives them a bad rap?

Well, yeah, they would. In fact, I suspect they already did. I think that the Cabal got compromised after Y6Ch35 when they staged the meeting for MC to learn that R has a mole at Hogwarts. That’s why Merula was surprised to see Rakepick in the Sunken Vault. Rakepick was hiding from R at the time, so R couldn’t tell Merula they’re sending her to the Vault – because they didn’t send her. Moreover, if I’m right about the WIW and Victor being related (which would be another parallel between Jacob and the WIW), I suspect that R might be behind turning Victor into a vampire as a punishment for the WIW.

The conclusion

So, yeah… that’s pretty much it! As always, do I think it’s too complicated for Jam City? Absolutely yes! Do I care? Not at all! I believe it might be what was planned in the original story, though. My goal at this point is basically to explain the plot holes in the simplest way possible without ignoring things, even if I’m aware that JC won’t address these issues properly. Therefore, if you see some inconsistencies or something isn’t clear – feel free to hit me up!

Oh, and one more thing… While you might say that having two groups is too complicated and whatnot, the idea of “R and someone else” is not entirely new for the game.

Y3Ch6:

Y4Ch4:

Y4Ch10:

Of course, it might be viewed as an early foreshadowing for the reveal that R is a secret group… But what if there’s even more to that?

[retphienix]

I did it :)

So, I cried. That's a given.

Also this might be the most overwhelmingly happy ending in the series so far, you know, if you're used to every entry ending with "KIRYU DIE?????"

Bonus points because this ending DID NOT immediately reveal that he lives! I know my intro here is all unserious and the like but genuinely, that does a lot for making the scene so much more impactful and it worked here even though I know he returns for Y6.

So, I'm gonna do this post like the last big post because there's too many thoughts to expel.

Timestamps as I rewatch so I can share my thoughts. Then a short conclusion because honestly? This game has taken all my words multiple times.

I just want to calmly and happily say my final piece at the end :)

0:39 - Spoiler, this ending SUCKS because it doesn't include a final rhythm battle for Haruka! Now I think I read somewhere that there's a member of that assassin clan she can dance battle as a final challenge but I clearly didn't do that right and missed out and that's beside the point- THERE'S NO RHYTHM GAMEPLAY IN THIS FINALE >:(

9:00 - I EARNED IT, I'M USING IT!

13:00 - Spoiler for later, Shinada doesn't get to say this from what I recall. Instead Baba gets a different wake up call, but that works out :)

17:00 - Not now, but this will come up, I offer to you my johns for what happens in the first boss fight. My eyes were dry as hell so I missed some QTEs which means I didn't get the flashiest stuff to happen. This actually happened at the end of Y4 also but I restarted just to capture good footage- not this time.

17:30 - MOUSE. MOUSE MOUSE, A LITTLE RAT, MOUSE. Love to see it.

19:00 - The audible sigh I let out when they played the same song I've heard like 40 times in my playthrough was palpable. I do dig the song! But there are what? 4 Idol songs? They really needed more or to not saturate their use so much :(

19:40 - I legitimately gasped and went "Oh no... of course it's you!" at Baba's role in this. It added a lot of weight to the way he practically begged Haruka not to show up.

20:50 - So here's the gist. Majima's plan didn't work out, we know that. Majima has a REALLY good line and motivator moment where he says he's following orders now to protect Haruka because she means more to Kiryu than anything (and that's how Majima rolls), Majima then reveals some shit which can be amounted to "I think you've gotten weak and wanted to protect you!!!!" which does ring slightly hollow since we saw Majima at a ridiculously low point earlier. So either his low point was him contemplating Saejima's survival chances, or his low point was sincere (it sure sounded it) and his worry over Saejima being weak was just also happening at the same time. I don't really mind either way to be honest, we beat him up. I fail some QTEs.

33:00 - Baba deciding not to fulfill his orders on his own accord is actually extremely important and good as hell. It shows that all this changed him and gave him the motivation to forge his own path- or rather it began to though he's overwhelmed with doubt. It's extremely good.

33:50 - The fact he intentionally leaves evidence shows how much doubt he has though, he's giving up entirely more than forging his own path, he's just refusing to follow the orders of another but hasn't found the strength to continue on his own. It's really good is all.

38:00 - This was the first cry I had beating the game x.x Shinada is just a phenomenally likeable character, and watching him accept where his life has gone and what it's meant to others is way more touching than I'd assume considering it's a tale of a baseball star.

40:50 - THIS WAS HYPE AS HELL AND LEAD TO MY SECOND CRY. THIS PRISON FAMILY HAS NO RIGHT BEING THIS ENDEARING. Also, more or less, they get to deliver the message Shinada was supposed to lol.

42:50 - THIRD AND BIG AS HELL CRY. SHINADA YOU FOOL, YOU'VE A FOUND FAMILY AFTER-ALL!!! I genuinely adore this moment so much is all. It's such a wonderful payoff for this loveable fool. After all the runnin' away he has a home.

43:36 - I love Shinada so much the silly fuck.

46:00 - I got a laugh out of Akiyama KICKING ASS in the news footage (didn't mention but the first brawl cutscene was rather lacking wasn't it?) and Kiryu just like... punches a guy. It's hilarious to me. Also you best believe- I UNLOCKED IT, I'M USING IT!!!

48:00 - Now this is a, well, it's a bad reveal. Like look, there is a metric ton of good going on in this finale- but the reveal that Aizawa is his son and is evil and is the final boss is just too much zero-build-up-payoff. It's the worst part. It's not like extremely detrimental or anything- like it doesn't take away from the good stuff- but it's just entirely uninteresting and bad. It makes Aizawa's interest in Morinaga bizarre and uninteresting since he got no payoff, he had buildup with Saejima and then in the final scenes he's just like "Yeah, Mori was nice but who gives a fuck I am the one who killed him (I think he said) and I aspire to be strong as fuck because all of YOU IDIOTS have FRIENDS and CHARISMA >:(" and like, who fuckin' cares bud.

52:00 - Now I'll more or less sum up all of Akiyama's payoff here. 1- I unlocked it so I'm gonna use it! 2- He offhandedly says he wants to be a legend in this town, which in Y4 he already was- he was a myth, a city mystery- but of course he means like Kiryu not the loch ness monster. 3- He gets to be a legend by being the only civilian (or person in general) the Omi would bow to. It's kind of not built up at all and is a bit lame, but to be honest Akiyama has a pretty bit part in this entire game. He's kinda just a convenient returning character with motivation to assist Kiryu and a career that allows motivation to get involved through Park. To be blunt, his part in the story is weak. I wish it was stronger. But it's inoffensive and he at least gets something- as minor as it is. Getting to say he's king of the world is something, you know?

56:00 - I will say that the build up of "Oh shit, these are Kanai's men!" and the reveal that "Oh shit! They are WATASE'S men and all the clans who the Tojo were seeking alliances with!" is a good one. Watase is a fine enough character which I bring up only because I was told he was a standout- but he wasn't for me. His scenes are great, his growth with Katsuya is nice, but he's barely in the game and really only exists to be betrayed and then to be like "I'm one of the good yakuza despite being a war-lusting one because being a good yakuza is just complicated enough to allow this overlap" which is interesting for sure, but I don't know. Unless he does stuff in the subsequent games I didn't catch much in this one. Maybe he does- I assume he runs the Omi now!

1:00:00 - I kinda summed it up but yeah. Here's the final boss, Aizawa, a character we were mislead on and who's motivation is empty as fuck. It's, whatever. It's not the good part of the ending. The good part is everything prior and directly after. Like his entire deal is anti-silver-spoon talking points but also he includes being charismatic or capable as silver spoon-isms??? He pretty much just wants to be leader because he's strong. He'd arguably be more interesting if he just said it that way.

1:11:00 - The lyrics to Dream are anything but subtle and I love them and I love Haruka. Sliding this in here- Majima gets no payoff >:( Park's dream is accomplished in seeing her star on the stage, but no Majima moment? No sight of him accepting her loss? Lame.

1:14:00 - I genuinely LOVE that Aizawa focuses in on Kiryu's gunshot wound. He still accepts it as a fair fight because Kiryu presents it as one, but even then he pays mind to it as you'd expect someone wanting to fight at their strongest would- he wants to fight Kiryu at his best and he's accepting this because Kiryu presents as his best even when wounded- it's pretty cool. Fight happens. It's fine stuff, flashy and fun. Still maybe the weakest final boss yet because he has no build up. I'd be the first to admit without looking it up I can't list every final boss thus far, but like, Nishi was built up, Mine was built up, Goda was built up, I just, in this moment, don't recall having a big "WHO THE FUCK, THIS MEANS NOTHING?" fight in yakuza and this is certainly one of those.

1:25:00 - I cried AGAIN. Haruka just hit me with a truck of emotion here is all.

1:41:15 - This is a beautifully shot, emotional, and tragic looking ending. Heck, at 1:43:00 I initially thought he was being awoken in a hospital bed and I was like "Heh, there's the old Kiryu dies fakeout!" but no! They hammer home, they go for broke, they give a TRAGIC AS FUCK bitter ending on top of an ending that's like 99% happy as fuck in terms of offering everyone involved hope for the future. This was a good end :)

So then, some overall thoughts I maybe didn't get out- I mean there's no way this post touches everything but I want to at least try to because I like sharin' the experience and what I got out of it.

The fighting styles were mighty uneven as far as strengths or fun factor. To be blunt,

Kiryu has an overpowered counter attack and heat mode and since heat mode is underwhelming as hell that means he has JUST a counter attack- his strikes don't really hit all that well considering the improvements other characters saw this time around, so he's a bit one note here.

Saejima feel even meatier than before, nothing particularly 'stands out' but the fact that he has super armor as long as he has heat is a pretty big factor in making him feel good to use.

Akiyama got the short end of the straw this time around. His new gimmick is the launch combos and they are... well... less than shit at least from what I could feel during gameplay. They don't hurt much, they burn heat like crazy, and they can MISS, all while being a move that targets just one enemy- has no counter to blocking or armor- and provides no armor in turn.

Despite not losing anything, he kinda got screwed.

(I'm lead to believe Akiyama is invulnerable during his aerial combos which my blurb in my finale post complained felt worthless and cited that as a reason.

If so then I was wrong but I still hold all my other complaints towards it, just not the 'it has no armor or invuln' bit assuming that's true.)

Shinada wins out for being unique and being a weapon oriented character that actually does well with weapons. Weapons have always been something I pretty much ignore in Yakuza and the series itself has always desperately tried to make them interesting with things like weapon skills, Kamiya works, and the like. But other than the god weapons like the golden gun weapons just never felt good to manage.

Using them, sure, that's fine, but managing them? Durability and skills and limited movesets and all that? Nah. But Shinada really does a lot to make them less shit! His innate abilities that raise durability a metric ton REALLY make weapons feel better to use with him- and his unique movesets with weapons are pretty damn good (mostly. The pipe/'normal one hander pole size object' moveset is worthless as heck, it regularly misses).

He's fun.

===

Revelations were a miss this time around for me. Since you couldn't have seen them if you tried on my blog let it be known- I ONLY got the quest related revelations for each character- which is to say- ONE rev per character.

Revelations in 5 are weapon based, and not just 'bat or pole or gun' or whatever- they are DISPOSABLE TEMPORARY weapon based.

What you are supposed to do is go to the specific place on the map where that one revelation weapon spawns, hope like hell you find an enemy, and wail on them like crazy. If you use a weapon x amount of times then you'll get a revelation according to the internet. This is beyond ridiculous and means a normal playthrough will get none of these, while a focused one will be bored out of their mind GRINDING to get these.

I did not bother.

===

Now.

Yakuza 5.

This might be my favorite Yakuza overall.

I still think 0 is probably the best overall for most people, it has the best style, it has from what I've experienced the best gameplay, it's story is tear jerking and exciting and fun.

But as a yakuza game overall, I really have to give it to 5 personally. Because 0 tried to work within its bounds- it made itself a great entry point to the series or a great addition to Yakuza 1 / Kiwami as background.

But 5 is building on 4 previous games and it does so fucking phenomenally.

There's something to be said about a later entry in a series gaining extra payoff thanks to multiple entries of build up and character depth and 5 fucking does it.

I just. It explores the motivation of some fan-favorites so well, it expands characters so fucking well, I know I've harped on about it but just Saejima- man! Saejima goes from a run of the mill "Decent" character to a fully fledged and explored entity! And I LOVE him!

And no he's not the only shining spot, like hell he is, but he's such a posterchild for what 5 does right in my eyes- take something that's already good and breath some life into it. Also I adore it's laser focus on a singular theme and all the ways it wanted to explore it.

Like. I think Kiwami and Zero take the cake for the most fun I've had " 'playing' Yakuza so far, but 5 takes the cake for the most fun I've had 'in general' like gameplay and me just thinking about it because there's so much to think on.

More time will tell as I compartmentalize my thoughts and perhaps forget some details as one does, but right this moment- this might be my favorite Yakuza game.

I love it.

Also, woot! I beat Y5 before Monhun Rise came out :D Now I can start that game without putting a story on hold!

...

Except I also told my sister that I'd start Omori after Y5. So I guess alongside monhun I'll be playing through a game with a hefty and wonderfully done story. Which is what I didn't want to do with Y5.

I just can't win, lol.