All Scars and Starlight

Wish I could write a more eloquent review, but I was literally yelling throughout the course of this VN and it's a disservice to the game not to mention that first. If only I could link the unhinged live reactions I was spamming my friends with! I've been looking forward to All Scars and Starlight. It is a canon-universe AU of All Ashes and Illusions that (imo) depends on having played it much more than All Idleness and Ephemera (another canon-universe AU). I would say that this is a successor to Ashes while Idleness can somewhat be played as a standalone game. If you're at all interested in Yuel's original story, please check out Ashes first, as Scars will heavily reference scenes from/outright spoil what happens in that VN. Scars' narrative also holds less impact without the context of Ashes. Because I loved the original storyline so much, I had high hopes for Scars, and yet I was still pleasantly surprised by all the love put into it! The art is gorgeous with accompanying vfx. I loved how dreamlike the cg work was, and sprites were expressive down to the highlights of their eyes. Backgrounds were beautiful too. I never found myself bored while looking at the screen. Music is fitting and pulled from the same soundtrack of Ashes, along with 2 new tracks. Bought the theme song off the composer's bandcamp because it is Just That Good™. Unlike other installments of the Yuelverse, Scars has branching pathways with a handful of very significant choices. I wouldn't say every single choice dooms you to a certain outcome and that paths are rigidly set, but endings do seem to hinge on some specific choices and groups of some others. It was somewhat confusing to get all of the endings because assigning choices to outcomes wasn't exactly intuitive, but I did manage to finish all routes after some trial and error. All of the endings are very different and deeply impactful in their own ways. Length was pretty good for the price. About the characters... Wow, the characters! Scars is Tavi-centric; it revolves around his POV instead of Yuel's, which I found refreshing in the series. It is an angsty story with angsty characters at heart. There may be some moments of hope and connection, but they are often transient and mired in much uglier events. It felt like a good kind of hurt to read Tavi's musings, but please heed the content warning as many scenes focus on heavy topics and are emotionally taxing in nature. I'd say my main gripes with Scars, which may just boil down to personal preference, is that some dialogue is repetitive and Yuel stuttered so much in between words that it was kind of difficult to read the sex scenes. The sex scenes in particular are my least favorite part of this VN because of the stuttery, moany dialogue lol. All in all would recommend, especially for those who like a lot of misery and malefailing.

My lovely sweet cousins again (●♡∀♡))ヾ☆*。I've read several novels about them and still can't get enough :) I've just finished this game but already miss them T_T The story has a familiar setting but with the opposite outcome after the coup. But this time it's not a kinetic novel, there're several endings \o/ That's an awesome feature to see where your choices lead, to what kind of doom :) Seriously, I feel like if not that silly otome game I'm reading simultaneously I would need some professional help to recover. But then again I thought how actually healing it is after tragic ending to start all over again and try new paths. That planted the seeds of hope in me that everything could be changed. There's even one happy ending! I wish I got it last though T_T Now a guide is created, so it's possible to finish the game with some positive aftertaste, not like me T_T https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3277933973 Seriously, it hurt so much I felt not just on the verge of tears (it happens with me occasionally reading sad stuff) but I actually wanted to sit in some corner and wail hysterically how unfair this world is and why ppl just can't be happy and let others be happy. Everyone deserves that. As usual, though the story is not too long, as it was too painful it took me a lot of time to read it, I just couldn't finish it in one go and had to experience all that trauma in small doses. But then again when I had to stop as the story was unfinished, my mind kept returning to it again and again during my ordinary routine. That was torturing, agonizing! Reading through that tragic novel I kept questioning myself why I even read such stories, if they make me suffer:( I always self-insert. Reading about several suicide attempts, torture, murder & other heavy topics...I can't help but live through all that with the characters. Perhaps I should learn about some distancing but then what's the point of reading:( https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3278177705 So, it was an emotional reunion with my adorable cousins. This time Tavi was the main character and despite that fact that his strong feelings resembled Yuel's obsession, he kept saying such right things it was some kind of surprising, unexpected pleasure! [table] [tr] [th]More thoughts about the game in a [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/readingnook/discussions/0/4337608846037815964/] Reading Nook [/url][/th] [/tr] [/table]

Я ОБОЖАЮ ЭТУ НОВЕЛЛУ И СОВЕРШЕННО НЕ ЖАЛЕЮ О ПОТРАЧЕННОМ ВРЕМЕНИ И ДЕНЬГАХ!!!!!!!!! Купила потому что мне слишком сильно понравилась эта пара в To Have And To Hold. Невероятно красивые рисунки, музыка из предшествующей ей All Ashes And Illusions всё такая же чудесная, наличие выборов и нескольких концовок... как грустных, так и счастливой. И имхо вам стоит пройти хотя бы несколько из них чтобы распробовать вкус стекла и счастья. У Юэла и Тави разворачиваются очень сложные и напряженные отношения в сложившейся ситуации, и, казалось бы, как сюда можно запихнуть яойчик??? однако я осталась довольна тем, что прочитала. Грустно и вкусно. Прописанность сложного характера Юэла как всегда на высоте, однако, в этот раз мы читаем историю от лица Тави, что позволяет получше узнать его и понять как он относится к своему младшему драгоценному кузену. По идее, All Ashes And Illusions является предысторией с некоторыми изменёнными деталями, однако читать ее вообще не обязательно, тк здесь всё прописано и разъяснено. От меня жирнющий лайк за историю, персонажей и за визуал. Люблю их <3 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3318100307

[i] This review might contain spoiler but honestly? you should've played it by now lol [/i] After a few months of waiting, All Scars and Starlight is finally released and has instantly become my favorite VN out of Yuelverse. It's closely related to Ashes (Saffy is making a comeback!) while offering alternative endings for Yuel and Tavi like Idleness and more. The story has more depth with a bit of politics and lots of emotional (and physical?) suffering. I got 3 endings within 2-3 hours and spent some time savoring it. I found the worst ending so tragic yet beautifully written, mirroring Ashes. The less bad ending has a CG that almost made me tear up as it reminded me of the ending of Brokeback Mountain, while the 3rd ending is a decent, happier outcome. Those 3 endings in that order, gave me so much satisfaction that I contemplated NOT looking for the last 2 endings. But I have faith in ebi-hime's VNs, so I powered through. I'm glad I did because the last 2 endings can only be found after finishing Act III, which is a significant amount of story on its own. That means if I had stopped at the first 3 endings, I would've missed half of its content, lol. The last endings are satisfying as well, with one of them probably counting as a truly happy ending for Yuel and Tavi. Probably :) The visuals are amazing and dramatic, 100% fitting the story. The few months of waiting and being anxious over the sneak peeks were WORTH IT. I feel like I finally understand why ebi hypes Yuel so much and why it's crucial to put him through so much stress, lol. Tyrant Yuel is the cutest <3 10/10 peak fiction, highly recommended. I wish this experience could last forever.

I’m on my third Yuel/Tavi VN! The boys are back, in a story with choices. Which low-key terrified me due to my notoriously poor play skills. Yet, for the first time ever, I got the happy ending on the first try??? Whoa!!! Every time there was a choice, I asked myself “What would THaTH!Tavi do?” and this mentality did not steer me wrong. [i]All Scars and Starlight[/i] is a second spin off AU from [i]All Ashes and Illusions[/i] and the final entry in the All trilogy. This time Tavi succeeded in his rebellion, deposed Yuel, and hid his cousin away in the Middle Eastern fantasy version of the cold palace, (or like a Gothic spouse in an attic if that’s your genre du jour). While [i]All Idleness and Ephemera[/i] was a pleasant standalone read, [i]All Scars and Starlight[/i] pretty much requires playing or looking up a plot summary of [i]All Ashes and Illusions[/i]. Otherwise you’ll spend a majority of the story going “Yuel did WHAT?” hahaha Being a longer game with branching paths, [i]All Scars and Starlight[/i] has more plot and goes more in depth with the setting than its immediate predecessor. It’s in this review that I’ll admit what held me back from devouring Yuel/Tavi stories before. Basically, Middle Eastern fantasy settings have burned me before with their racism and Islamophobia. To ebi-hime’s credit, while some elements are based on Richard Burton’s fantastically incorrect opinions, her characters are visibly of color and any direct indictment of Islam is swept away with Yuel and Tavi’s polytheism. There’s not zero cognitive dissonance—Tavi’s third wave feminism regarding sex workers clashes harshly to an advisor referring to women as baby-making property—but I squirmed much less. Onto the yaoi. This game is some top quality yaoi. As other reviewers noted, the art style makes painfully clear how vulnerable and young Tavi and Yuel are. The soundtrack contains familiar and new bangers. Narrative-wise, [i]All Scars and Starlight[/i] is a reckoning of Yuel’s character, an exorcism of his twisted insides that can cost Tavi his. It feels like a bridge between Yuel’s rapist yandere origins and his grumpy depressed boi self in happier games. He is condemned to living, to redemption, and to be loved. I very much enjoyed Tavi’s POV. In other games, Tavi appears to Yuel like a mind-boggling miracle lover. The new lover resembles his cousin, but is almost a new person with his charm and maturity, a being from on high. With the spotlight on Tavi, we see that he is beautifully, viscerally human from head to toes. Tavi wants to care for his loved ones, but he and his loved ones live in a world that refuses to foster caring. Even as the king, Tavi has limited ability to heal what, and who, has been broken. Having so much power yet being unable to help is special kind of experience. Such rich, fertile loam could have been dug into deeper, and I’m hoping ebi-hime returns to the topic in a later Tavi-centric VN. [i]All Scars and Starlight[/i] is a character study laced with sexy times wrapped in a political drama and I ate it up. I highly, highly recommend the play to people who enjoyed [i]All Ashes and Illusions[/i] and fans who want meatier, but still romance-centric, BL with extreme enemies-to-lovers.

I enjoyed this darker and bloodier spin-off of All Idleness and Ephemera. There is fluff in one ending but the other endings hit you like a truck in your feelings. Just warning you that death & suicide are present in the game. Overall, I liked it more than I would have because I was genuinely curious about how things would play out between Yuel, the deposed king who is supposed to be dead, and Tavi, the one who took his place as king after launching a coup. There is bound to be juicy conflict in that.

I didnt know i needed Tavi obsessed with Yuel until now tysm ebi ITS SOOOO GOOD I LOVE THEM TwT

Long time Ebi fan and I'm writing a review because visibility is important! Numbers go up! I haven't gotten around all this Yuel saga madness but support it fully and follow it closely on Twitter.

I really like the premise of this being and AU of Ashes where the rebellion succeeds. Reading from Tavi's POV is interesting as well! Overall very sad and angsty. Reading about Yuel recognizing the full scope of what he did in Ashes and having to sit with that is a really interesting way to explore his character. Onto the DLC, which I'm interested to see how things work out. Still fairly new to Yuel/Tavi, but I'm really enjoying seeing how their dynamic changes in different settings.

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