Okaaay, now I did it! Finished the current WIP!
I’m glad the issue with Masa was solved!
Though, there are some (well, a lot, actually) issues with their pronouns even now - these are of the missing variable kind of issues.
I DO hope I did catch them all with the choices I was going with (and some variants I tested out), but I didn’t check ALL choices avaible when interacting with Masa, so I was bound to miss some. Still, I’m sure that’s a massive chunk of these!
I’ll try to go by segments in order to make it more palatable.
In the parts following the first introduction to Masa:
- You hear her walk away, footsteps fading as he does, however Akio does not relent and he knocks on the door once more.
- The man bows low. “Forgive her,” he says, raising his head. “It’s been a rough couple of days.”
A bit later, after visiting the music room:
- Your companions walk closer to the window, wide open. Hazuki reuniting once more with the rest of you, dragged back by Masami.
Once Hazuki's estate changes:
- “My horse!” Masaru exclaims. She runs to Miwa’s side, but it’s too dark outside, there’s nothing but the sky and the greenery. “Don’t worry, Ai, daddy is going to save you!”
- “We’re not really in any position to be picky. We’re this close to freezing to death.” Masaru shivers, her skin losing color. "We’ll split up, we won’t go too far. "
After selecting Masa for the exploration:
- And so, at the end of the hall, next to a broken statue, lies the door she chooses.
- And so you don’t question her about it, simply accepting it as fact. “What is he doing here?”
If choosing to say his father must have had a reason, a bit later:
- “He must have had a reason, Masaru.” So many from which to choose from. Not to mention, it must not have been an easy topic for a father to talk about with his daughter.
- “Of course, I’m sure.” Though he attempts to keep her voice composed, you can see him reaching for his sword’s hilt, only to touch an empty space.
After the vision ends:
- Desperate for comfort he she wraps his arms around himself, his shoulders trembling slightly. - this time it’s both he and she
In chapter 3, once MC meets the duo again:
- Masaru is the first to rise, his sleeping gown hidden behind the haori atop it. He lets his hand cover his face before you can take a look at it. - A gown is female clothing, so I assume this wasn’t intended either?
- “Oh, do I?” He lifts herself up a little, to reach for the kettle and fill his cup once more. “In my eyes, you’re as much a criminal as he is.”
A bit later, during the morning:
- Perhaps it would be better to leave him alone, to let him have her moment of peace.
- “So, what brings you here?” he asks, arms crossed around _mhim chest. “What reason do you have to pester me so early in the morning.” - not exactly a misplaced pronoun, but an error in coding the male pronoun.
- You look back to Masaru, tying his boots, preparing himself for the day ahead. He stares right back as she stands up, tapping her heel on the floorboards.
- “Well, you’re no trophy either, Masaru.” Hazuki tries to sound hurt, annoyed by her rejection, however, he soon breaks into a snicker at her sudden silence.
After selecting him to spend the day:
-
Masami’s pace is fast.
- He doesn’t wait for an answer, instead she walks over to another group, dressed in all black with hints of green.
During and after training:
-
She’s only interested in women? - that one’s a choice
- Without even realizing it, you look back towards him. She’s too far for you to make out what they’re saying, yet even from where you stand, it’s obvious he is no longer in the terrible mood he was in before.
- “They said they knew you when they were younger,” you add. But Masaru shakes her head, a short laugh follows.
- “I think,” Kasuga starts, sounding tired. “We better change topics before Masaru starts losing her temper.”
- “I’m in service of Lord Sakuma.” Masaru’s answer is swift, proud. he smiles so openly, something so rare for her, however, soon that expression is wiped from her face, replaced by a frown. “Or at least I was…”
- “How about you, Kaito?” Kasuga stammers over his words, in an attempt to distract Masaru from her bad mood.
- Shake my head. No way, I can’t go against her! - it’s a choice too
- Let her win - that’s a choice too
- You try and steady your breathing, attempt to control the quickened heartbeat. And on his next attack you copy her movements, at a different angle, managing to push him back.
- It’s only a second. It lasts only a second, and yet you can’t help the heat that starts to traverse to your face as you stare into her eyes, rich shades of brown.
Once back at the estate:
- When you arrive, Ai trots excitedly towards his master, nuzzling up to him. She laughs at the gesture, his stoicism broken for a minute.
- “I missed you too,” she says, guiding the horse back to the fenced area of the house. His tone is sweet, loving. “But we have to get back into the house, I’ll come play later.”
- He hold backs a sigh, hands balled into fists in an attempt to quell her anger.
Also, Hazuki's description on the relationships screen:
- Hazuki Tamashiro: Lord Sakuma Tamashiro’s son. Hazuki was raised in seclusion, only accompanied by his family, Masami, and the occasional nanny.
Ooookay, I thiiiiink that’s all the issues I stumbled upon with Masaru!
Now… onto the other errors I’ve spotted, I guess? 
When Akio argues with Masa, during the first meeting:
“I remember, that should be the guards’ and knights’ job, shouldn’t it?”
But you said “knight” was replaced by “samurai”, so that means it’s a knight that slipped your watch, right?
When inspecting Hazuki's estate and selecting which room to visit:
If Hazuki’s room is visited first, then Masa’s, once you get back to the selection, Hazuki’s reappears as an option.
Later, when discussing things with Miwa before sleep (in Hazuki's estate):
The topics don’t disappear once asked - at all.
When talking with Kasuga:
While I assume it’s only because it hasn’t been polished yet, I prefer to mention that during the outing with Masa, one selection of choices is very rough, in the phrasing (especially comparing to almost all other choices in the game - the first two ones are okay, but then the tone changes):
- “What about Hazuki?”
- “Those rumors…”
- “Masaru’s love life”
- Masaru’s type
- About Kasuga
- Your job
- Move on
And also, these don’t disappear either once you ask them.
Relationships screen:
The relationships with both Hazuki and Masa are “frozen” - neither the Friendly/Rivalry bars nor the Flirt counters move (well, I didn’t try any romantic option with Hazuki, but it didn’t go up with Masa).
Weeeell… now I think that’s it!
Sorry, it was A LOT!
But at least it’s done?
Also, I wanted to mention I adore MC’s relationship with Miwa, if the player selects to be nice and genuine with her. I just love the dynamics between them and their chemistry.
In other circumstances, I might have said it’s a shame she isn’t male or gender swappable because I would have chosen the male version as RO, but no, not in this case. Even if she was male, I wouldn’t have picked a romantic relationship. I just adore their budding friendship.
I’ll also admit I’m even more glad about Masa being gender swappable now that I have progressed in the story. I was very interested in Klaus from the very start, and at first he basically was my only option since I’m not really into Hazuki (at least, it didn’t feel like that from the character descriptions - I’ll see if that changes when I know him better). Klaus is still lovely and I can’t say if I prefer Masaru or him, considering we didn’t see much of Klaus as of now… and that’s exactly my point! If I had decided to go for Klaus, I would have waited a looong time without content with him, and it would have been frustrating. As it is, I can do Masaru’s romantic “route” first, and then I’ll be able to go for Klaus once I know the story (and don’t have to wait for updates to see him). It’ll be easier that way.
Aside from that, nothing much to say. I love the story, and that’s it!
