This is a hard one to rate, especially with my "by the vibes" kind of style. I have critiques, but I also really enjoyed it. First the sprite art and CGs are phenomenal, especially the jumpscare CG art. I didn't do much May Wolfing prior to 2025, but Sikyu's art style really appeals to me. I don't know if he was in charge of the outfits, but I love them. Raimondo's plum paisley hoodie is iconic. Out of the way Fede, I'll fuck him. I love the expressions, ":<" and ":3" are peak cat faces, and every expression Rai has, including his gagging on it face, are ridiculous and endearing. And the CGs add so much! I mean the Blowjob is really hot, but I think the scene especially with Anna stumbling in on Fede playing... sigh... Michael Buble... really does a lot to make up for some of what's missing from her POV.
Which is where we get into some of my critiques. It's a coming out story, at least partially, which I think is hard to write, and it's a bit disastrous if you do it wrong. I don't think it's done... badly. I just don't know if it's done super well either. The problem really just lies with the imbalance of Fede vs. Anna. Fede has a lot of inner dialogue, we get his pov, we get to understand him pretty well. He's a caring boyfriend, he's a relatively decent friend. Anna is our opening point of view, and we get that she's this careful and thought out woman, she seems to be considerate, and like she chews her food (and her thoughts) before she swallows. But then we kinda lose her for awhile in exchange for all the set up, and when we get her back, we soon swap out for the Rai blahblahblah scene, which is good. But it's just a lot of lost opportunity to flesh her out more, give more of her own backstory, and history of the couple. It feels out of nowhere when she has this homophobic crashout, which I get is partially the point. We get little hints that she probably has some upbringings that play against her, the corinthians and priest reference, the parents mention, the worrying about idolatry etc, but like. Come on, she likes modern art. And I do love the conversation she has with the polyhedron.
I think her parts are really interesting! It's just we're missing the rest of it. It feels like she hasn't been fleshed out enough. I don't think the solution is par down Fede's part, because I can't necessarily think of any section that feels superfluous. We just need more Anna to help justify her issues, and her personal journey and how it's reflected in the experience of Lady Giuditta. Why does she love him enough to overcome her base homophobic gut reaction. And then when she shows back up she just leads with "I love you"? That feels out of character. She lead with that instead of an apology? I also think Lady Giuditta's story is underutilized. I think it's sweet that we get this truth behind her story, which means she didn't even benefit from her own legend. BUT THEN ANNA DESTROYED ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE PIECES OF THE COLLECTION AND DOESN'T BOTHER TO MENTION THAT TO POOR RIO??? Maybe we can blame the cleaning lady? Also, I want to know the wishes. We sorta bring it up, and we forget about it with Anna and Fede, since it's clear that they don't need it (since we at least know Fede as wishing for his reveal to go well) and they leave the house. But Rio, Rio stays behind. Don't worry Rio I'll be your rebound 😏 But it does leave me wanting more after the denouement at the end. For all those reasons.
BACKGROUNDS the backgrounds are great. Thanks Kerche and Nate for taking such good pictures that also lend themselves to this faux chateau. Loudo's photoshop magic is impressive, but it's one singular flaw is the portrait of Lady Giuditta. I would rather look at nothing than the 19th century fursuitter. It's just genuinely unpleasant to look at, and it distracts from the important lore we're getting. Because otherwise it's really good! Love the bit about the wolf pack, the three of them, the potential friendship between Anna and Rio... deSPITE ONCE AGAIN DESTROYING A HISTORIC RELIC. Ugh it's one of those cases where I have so much to say because it's so good. I just want it to go a little farther. The music for instance is well done, and making sure to put the tonal cues on the sound layer. It's got great presentation, and the prose flows easily between the two authors, and I really can only recognize it because I read a lot and am familiar with the two authors. You both did great work, and you should be proud of what you've done. GO FINISH YOUR PREVIOUS WORK YOU GODDAMN BASTARDS, STOP TAKING ON NEW PROJECTS AND FINISH YOUR FUCKING MEALS!!!!