Fjunryu

First of all:

I FUCKING KNEW IT!!!

I know we're all getting rapid sequel fatigue 'cause of the new stories all being sequels/spin-offs. I am too, but my only gripe is that said sequels/spin-offs may not feel like a genuine continuation or expanding of the previous stories & more like cash-grabs *coughHSUcough*.

But I thought it was very obvious that this took place in the same universe from the trailers & the teaser image. I'm guessing it's cope 'cause of the sequel fatigue. If I'm the only person happy that this story takes place in the world of Heart of Trespia, then so be it.

Like when I finished Moonborn, I was so happy with the ending I got and got very curious about the other continent Ai-Ling came from. I hoped there would eventually be a spin-off or even a sequel taking place there.

AND I GOT IT, NO MONKEY'S PAW CURLED!

And even though this is a continuation of the story, it feels so fresh & unique that it doesn't feel like a copy or something worse than before. In fact, it feels better!

I really love this new setting too! The only depiction of Imperial China that I'm familiar with is The Apothecary Diaries, so...I know barely anything & then some jackshit. 😭 However, I really am vibing with this setting! It's so pretty & intriguing - I wonder how much inspiration Wincy drew from historical C-dramas & actual Imperial Chinese history.

My most favorite part of this setting though is the racial diversity! We've seen plenty of European-inspired fantasy settings, so it's a breath of fresh air to see it in something Asian-inspired! Ziya isn't a completely Imperial Chinese-inspired country, though they seem to be the majority. From Aisha's different sprites & a select few characters, there's a lot more different people in Ziya than even in the other continent! I love that! I wonder if there are others in the Imperial palace...

The plot is starting off a little interesting to me. The birds of a feather that are the main sisters have two of them handpicked by the actual Emperor of Ziya himself for his harem & it looks like there will be palace intrigue afoot. Oh, and there's a revenge plot against what seems to be one of his men by one of the sisters. Again, I like it. I'm not blown away, but Wincy's stories never blew me away on the first impression. Heart of Trespia & Soulless are a couple of my most favorite books in the app anyway, so I know she's gonna cook here!

So, the characters...let's start with:

I couldn't resist titling the CG that, I'm sorry-

Aisha (yes, I've kept her default name) is an interesting character to me. She's not blood-related to Fei-Fei & Yi-Yi, but she was sworn into their family after a tragedy in her past. She also had a young love that was murdered back then. Already, the poor girl's had it rough, but she seems to be a strong-willed person. She also doesn't let bullshit negate her humanity, though she can be impulsive & act improper at times.

I'm playing her as an Idealist. I like her, I really like her! I'm sure she'll be an excellent MC! I also agree with One's sentiment about her being like my girl from HOT, Sade (yes, I named her after the legendary Ms. Adu herself). I'm sure she'll also develop herself like she had!

I'm also sure she's probably the main MC, as in she gets the most screen-time & probably the most LIs. Personally, I'm okay with that, especially since she's an interesting character so far. But I hope the others get their times to shine too!

LOOK AT HER! LOOK AT MY FEI-FEI!

Maybe it's the biracial kinship I feel with her, but yeah, I love her already. I'm playing a balanced path for her. She seems kind & soft & affable. She's also struggling in fitting in & being seen as a person in Ziya 'cause...yeah, not too many black people over here. My poor girl. 🫂 Regardless, it's not like she's a complete pushover or anything. She seems to be also strong-willed in her own way. I hope she'll develop it in the future!

She doesn't seem to have romantic options yet, but I hope she does! She deserves all the love in the world!

Also, as y'all can see, I chose for her to look more Trespian. Why? 'Cause I take more from my father IRL & I thought it'd be cool for her to also take more from her father too. Cheesy, maybe cringe, but I couldn't let an opportunity like that pass me by!

Yi-Yi's a cutie too! She's not as strong of a character as the other sisters, but she seems very sweet. Albeit, she's also pretty insecure too, being the older sister that doesn't leave a strong impression on others. But yeah, she's okay. I like her.

Unfortunately, she's not the 3rd MC, which shocked the hell out of me. I was under the impression that we would play as all 3 of the sisters, but no. She's an NPC.

Instead, the 3rd MC is actually:

I thought that was an interesting choice to make.

I know folks in this fandom will have choice words about playing as a male MC, but I'm all for it, regardless of what they say! Also, props to Rui for being the first MC that's also an LI. 🤭

Anyways, his character is eh. I don't feel much for him yet, he's just an emperor doing emperor things. I get Louis XVI vibes from him, but I hope he doesn't piss me off as much as he did. I'm playing him on a balanced path too, so I hope he'll get interesting down the line.

...yeah, I took one look at this cute glass of water & thought, "Him. IDGAF which girl I romance him with, him."

Feng looks to be the story's green-flag LI. I like him! He hasn't had too much time to shine, but I'm interested enough to pursue him. He just seems to be a sweetheart, giving me Seong-hwa vibes so far! And his scene with Aisha is so sweet!

I really like their chemistry so far! I hope to see more of it in updates to come!

Aaaaaaah, it's so good to see them again!

Ai-Ling is far from the helpless "tribute" she was back in HOT. Now she's a caring yet headstrong mother of three! It's awesome to see more of her in these episodes! It does look like we're not gonna see more of her & One in the upcoming episodes, but still, it's nice to see her at her best, caring for her daughters as a mother should & being stern when need be. It is a shame that her renounced name still made her daughters chosen for the draft...she handled that the best any mother could.

Sooooooooo, One is now old...and a DILF.

That aside, he's still the One I remember from HOT: stern yet caring. It's awesome to see him as a dad & uncle here and how he's treated and seen in Ziya. It's also cool that he's taught Aisha the ways of stealth, just like in the past, but no killing until it was time for her to depart with her sisters. That's a bit interesting to me, seeing how being with Ai-Ling changed him though he remains the same.

They're also very cute together - I'm happy to see them being happy together with a family in real time!

Interesting to see disabled folks in a setting like this.

Alestrio's clearly blind while I haven't seen much of Elenara, I'm guessing she's a mute. She can make noise, so I'm guessing she doesn't have her tongue removed or anything. But I like them too. Elenara didn't make a huge impression on me, but I'm sure she'll be a good character on her own right. Alestrio reminds me of Garret from Quest of Camelot if he was a lot more serious. He also seems to be an LI for Aisha, but I'm not pursuing him when Feng exists. I hope we can be friends though!

I don't have a screenshot of her, but Consort Cloudfeather already intrigues me. She has very little screentime, but the way she is & the way she talks to Rui has caught my interest! Here's to hoping we see more of her in the next update!

I think that's all the characters that left an impression on me. There ain't one I hate so far, so good!

My only issue with this new story (which might just be me having a skill issue) is how the romances are gonna go. I chose to be straight as always, so I dunno if it's the same for sapphic/bi players. But it looks like Feng & Alestrio can be romanced by Aisha while Rui can romance one of his consorts. Fei-Fei hasn't had any options yet.

I wonder how that's gonna work, especially since Rui's also classified as an LI himself. Is this all the LIs that can be romanced? Can they be romanced by any of the three (sans Feng by Rui for obvious reasons)? Can you hoe around? Can you romance the same LI with different MCs?

It's a lot of questions, but I'm sure Wincy can answer them in due time.