#also will never forgive BabyBirdMane for making me go through Huntsmans route in that way

[kittykatinabag]

I'm not completely done digging around Doppleganger after my initial run but I have a few thoughts on the characters.

I find it interesting that the Huntsman is less of a reflection doppelganger than the other not-Tempus members.

Reflection as in the same but flipped.

Altare is a hero who's always protecting but his doppleganger is a demon king (aka a villain) who is prone to torture. Axel has a heart of gold and deeply cares for the people around him but his doppleganger is fine with discarding, using, and sees nothing wrong with blatantly lying to those around him. Hakka is a generous sweetheart buzzing to be around others but his doppleganger is haughty, stuck up, rude, and selfish. Flayon is a bit tsundere but his self confidence is strong and he is particularly good at understanding many different viewpoints but his doppleganger is clingy, thinks something is wrong with him, and unable to comprehend the reason his master abandoned him (even if ultimately it probably wasn't anything to do with him in the first place). Bettel is considerate, but still an entertainer and goes to lengths to always provide a good and interesting show for the audience but his doppleganger plays for a captive audience with overworked stagehands to fulfil some sort of contract he made.

But the Huntsman? There's not much flipped about him. The most flipped thing is that he's apparently wanted in a bunch of kingdoms. But who knows maybe Shinri was wandering for a similar reason, as far as I know he hasn't dropped much lore beyond surface stuff but I'm also not a loremaster (because I am old and cannot be perpetually online watching everything anymore). Perhaps Huntsman also takes the self sacrifice thing too far, but that's not too out of character for Shinri either. They're both kind, willing to go to great lengths to help others, wanderers, and a bit too used to the loneliness they feel. It's odd that Huntsman is the one character that isn't flipped.

You would think he'd be a cold and calculating person, seeing an opportunity to use the protag to further whatever his goal is. It would make more sense if Huntsman was the one desperate for the keys and to escape the temporary world rather than Regis. Sure Regis wanting the keys makes sense too, demon king and all, but I can also see him content with ruling the Ice Plane and battling it out with Syrios. But Huntsman? He's wracked by loneliness. That sort of isolation drives people to desperate lengths to feel any sort of lasting connection. "Oh but the memory link with Shinri, Kristen! Shinri's experiences and memories must have fixed Huntsman!" Idk I find that too deus ex machina, and why wouldn't that make a twisted version of Shinri even more desperate to escape his world to obtain those experiences for himself?

It's just odd. Maybe I'm overthinking what is a fun project the StarsEN team and the boys whipped up.

But it's also a visual novel. And this genre is always laden with subtext and secrets.

#late night ramblings #holostars tempus #doppleganger #also will never forgive BabyBirdMane for making me go through Huntsmans route in that way #im also 60% sure the game did something ddlc-ish with writing stuff to game files cause my file explorer popped up once i got the 6th key #but im not nearly knowledgeable enough to figure out if that's true or if my computer was just freaking out #i only had time today to do a 6 key run through Regis' route (it did unlock new dialogue because i initally did his route 1st with no keys) #and there was an Easter egg a la old Darkiplier style but it jump scared me a bit i accidently hit my spacebar and skipped the dialogue #so ill go back and view it again and probably see if anything else changes on the other routes with 6 keys