Which brings me to what they did with it.

The heat rod being one big piece on the runner is amazing. The way the wings fold in and out is super satisfying. And the transformation feels like sorcery. (Forgive the poor posing.)

I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of detail. It wound up being less structurally complex internally than a MG (not that I have much experience with those, either), but a big step up from the HGs I've done.

The wings especially were very fun (and very frustrating, but that's wholly user error.)

If not, then what? I haven't been consuming much new media lately, though maybe this could be motivation...

I guess if all else fails, I could just do Gunpla photos or something?

Also, 3.4 has reinforced to me that voice acting, at least in English, plays such a huge role in deciding what characters I get attached to. The story was great, but the VA work really sold it.

(Also, the 5*/rate-up luck is higher than it should be -- there's a missing chunk of pulls from back when I first started. Jing Yuan took forever to come home.)

... I really need to start digging deeper into nerdcore again.

This actually feels complementary to HalaCG's Gambler, down to the instrumentals -- his bravado vs. the vulnerability at his core, but both showing his strength of will.

youtu.be/P_D8HLg7Y1Q

I'm sure it's a cliche at this point to relate to Siffrin, but I genuinely don't think I've seen so many of my own anxieties described with such uncanny accuracy. There were multiple lines that made me have to step away for a minute to absorb them.

It's... bittersweet, feeling seen in that way.

Well. That put me through the wringer in multiple ways.

The game is a fantastic experience, wonderfully well-written -- I'm torn between wanting to go back and 100% it and not wanting to trivialize it by turning it into an exercise in achievement-hunting.

By the time Veritas's eyes had cleared, he could do no more than helplessly follow Aventurine's lead, and offer a light to — he hoped — guide his partner back.

---

I don't typically do these outside Aventurine's POV, but I couldn't resist a bit of Champion Yearner Veritas Ratio.

The tricks behind his verbal sleight of hand might be clear in hindsight. Yet in the moment, with a simple waltz and a few words that cut Veritas to the quick, Aventurine had made his misgivings disappear in plain sight as surely as any chip.

But he would *be there*, chiding him for his recklessness, affection and worry poorly concealed behind a sharp tongue.

It couldn't be real. If it was, it couldn't last. But he'd savor it while he could.

It never mattered how ruffled his carefully groomed plumage had become, how stained his hands might be (whether with his blood or another's).

Ratio might have Words for him, to be sure -- their relationship didn't stop the constant arguments about his methods.