OHH gosh, this was a very interesting read! Thank you for leaving such a long and insightful review~ (I'm sorry that it took me so long to reply!) I'm really glad you enjoyed the writing, and still felt immersed even if these aren't problems you usually struggle with 🤔
I agree, the VAs did an absolutely fantastic job 🤔 I really wanted this game to be voiced in particular, just because I knew that Geist's lines would be so much more impactful if read aloud. Regarding his lines, it was actually the VA's interpretation! I initially was envisioning him to sound a lot more cruel (almost bully-like), but Shaun's ended up reading the lines a lot more gentle and slow and close to the mic, which gave a much more "intimate" feeling, like you mentioned - and ended up fitting the character much better. I'm really grateful for his diligence in reading the script 😊
And ohh you noticed Kalei's accent!! Since he's Hawaiian, I did really want a Hawaiian VA (he uses Hawaiian pidgin sometimes too), and working with Noah was such a treat! I really concepted Kalei to be Geist's antithesis in basically every way 😂 (and I'm glad you enjoyed the ukelele tracks 😂😂😂 I couldn't help myself, when will I ever have the chance to use them again?? And they ended up fitting Kalei really well too)
And LOLLL yes, I wanted to experiment with kind of a different kind of yan with Geist! I actually did (half-jokingly) consider an ending or two where he somehow killed Kalei but it just felt so out of place LMAOOO and I thought that having a yan who exclusively plays on the MC's insecurities would be an interesting writing challenge. (And well, I do like soft yans myself in general, I describe most of mine as having the energy of sad wet dogs 🤣) Your interpretation of his character is spot-on, though - he does genuinely love the MC, and that's why he does what he does - he thinks that he's protecting their fragile self from a world that will shatter them (even though he's the reason they're so fragile in the first place.) And that "protectiveness" is no less toxic than pure "possessiveness."
🤣 Honestly I never thought of Geist having the ultimate victory of Kalei but honestly you're right 🤣 (the thought of Geist constantly third-wheeling the two of them makes me chuckle...) I mean, he did say he would never leave the MC... and he didn't lie 🤣
Thank you again for playing and taking the time to write up your thoughts, I really enjoyed looking through them! 🥰