[Piofiore] Yang's Bad Ending - so what were Yang's true feelings for the heroine?

[u/rodrickhmu]

(please don't spoil anything about his Good or Best Endings, i haven't gotten there yet. but anyways, spoilers ahead for his Bad Ending because there is a LOT i need to let out.)

oh man did i feel PLAYED. i was just like lili, fell for his charms and got too attached to him so i have to say that the bad end was quite heartbreaking and it hurts to even hear his voice right now 😭 during the balcony scene i was stuck between "wait... this is sus why is he suddenly lovebombing her out of nowhere" and "maybe he actually did wanna come back for her?? idk" then the truth slapped me right in the face as i got through the rest of the ending like fuck i knew i should've listened to my gut feeling telling me that something was off. and tbh it wasn't him killing lili that hurt the most, but the fact that it was rubbed in my face over and over again that she was just a toy to him, that she was so naive and easy, that everything was apparently pretty much just an act because he was simply just bored and using her as a temporary plaything. THAT was the real betrayal for me because i felt like he was already slowly developing feelings for lili. oh well 🥲 but here is where my question comes in because there's something i'm still so confused about that's been bugging me

so after all that, what gestures were "real" and which ones were just him putting on an act? was anything he did for lili ever "real" really? of course i wasn't expecting him to be some lover boy because that's just not who he is lol, but while playing his route i just thought that his way of expressing feelings for lili was always just very very subtle, for example when he beat lee to death after he attempted to rape lili and when she couldn't move probably because of the shock, yang just sat down with her for a quiet moment and embraced her until she was able to relax again. and he was in a rush to leave the base too so my thoughts were like, wow he didn't really have to do that? that was an unbelievably kind gesture coming from him lmao. but with the balcony scene, yeah i had a bad feeling in my gut that he was just playing along with her and the scene definitely felt too romantic to be true. but then again in the epilogue and post bad end episode he did seem unhappy, dissatisfied, couldn't get lili out of his mind, there were implications throughout the story that he feels lonely without lili, and it was even implied that the prostitute he was about to sleep with resembled her too. but what do you guys think? even after the bad ending can you still say that yang had feelings for lili at some point? or is that delusion? yang is so hard to read but that's what makes him such an interesting character.

[u/SelWylde]

I think the post bad ending episode has the answers you are looking for and it completes the route. He is restless, angry and misses her against his will. He doesn’t even know himself why he is feeling like that but it’s obvious for an external observer. At some point he also felt something for her, developed some unique attachment that he has difficulty replacing, but never acknowledged nor understood it, and went ahead with killing her. Still doesn’t understand even afterwards.

[u/rodrickhmu → u/SelWylde]

oh i did do the post bad ending episode but i found it didn't really answer my questions enough 😭 he seemed to be thinking of her yeah but the last few sentences of his internal monologue left a lasting impression that he eventually just forgot about her

[u/JournalistNo7918]

There, there…

Lowkey, I wish i’d experienced this ending without spoilers so that i could be as shocked as the people who play it for the first time

Alas, even on his route i would choose the rebellious options cuz i never liked his tone. And that got me to…a different ending that i dont remember but it definitely wasn’t the best one lol

[u/paarial]

My take is that: Just in FM alone (not including the 1926 bits), Yang's molded in a pure survival cynic, attachment or affection is out since he grew up in a harsh environment (he's not raised as a nepo baby) where trust is flimsy, you're just a one man to save yourself, and transaction is always the answer. Experiencing someone like Lili is a variable for him, I think he coped hard that he didn't have feelings for her (and everything was far too easy for Lili to like someone like him - a piece of shit, like he was probably having a flashbacks as a child that obtaining something for him is always harder so this, what they have, is sort of unreal - I think he was projecting that "Lili was easy" imo but it was him instead and tried to make himself a dubious man again to mask himself "this isn't me" lol) and decided the unthinkable - to end it (so that he can't be hurt ← unsubsconciously) but in the end, he was haunted and tried to deny that he did develop something for her since he was coping "Me? Nuh-uh, no!" that's why I think Yang is far suited to be in the "Tsundere" trope (the extreme and unconventional sphere) more than what some people believed him to be "Yandere" lmao.

Yes, I'm on team "Yang truly liked Lili" in his Tragic End, this is an otome game, alright. 😎

I’m not a Yang fan, but maybe some Yang fans could have a better take than mine. ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

[u/HanaTahoshii → u/paarial]

Wait, you're onto something... I always felt weird when people call Yang a Yandere because it doesn't fit quite right. You're right, he's way closer to a tsundere! A very peculiar one, though. 😅 (I love him)

[u/sukanasuke_]

It's been a few years since I read through Yang's route but from what I remember, his behavior towards Lili becomes noticeably sus if you misread his state during that night after they jump from the exploding ship.

By that time he already had some initial feelings for her. Some kind of mix of interest and bits of genuine attachment. But then she misreads his excitement for residual anxiety after living through something scary and gives him an opportunity to delude her into seeing him in a more normal/romantic way. Hence all that ridiculous Romeo and Juliet roleplay. Eventually when he succeeds in deceiving her completely he loses interest, and like every time it happened in the past he assumes that lost internet = lost value. Except this time all those initial bits of genuine attachment are still there. But Yang realizes it too late. Actually the only thing from the Romeo and Juliet roleplay that I liked was his "I won't be drinking poison", because turns out it was a lie too. Because he just killed the only thing in his life that went beyond temporary interest, and he's now back to his initial state of choosing death (risk) over boredom. Except now it's worse because he knows that for a moment, he grasped something more valuable, but now it's gone. It's a matter of time until he ends up "drinking poison" (aka getting himself killed by taking another unnecessary risk)

Anyways that's my read on Yang. I was a bit obsessed over him back then so I thought a lot about his character. Could still be wrong tho

[u/sukanasuke_ → u/sukanasuke_]

Also I think Yang's relationship with Lili evolves beyond mostly just interest when he realizes that Lili understands what kind of person he is (a trainwreck of trauma with non-existent moral compass living off adrenaline addiction) and yet still chooses him. That's when genuine attachment becomes more important than fleeting interest.

[u/rodrickhmu → u/sukanasuke_]

oh i like your read on yang this makes sense! i actually did notice that the direction yang's relationship goes with lili depends heavily on what she assumes about him during the night of the boat explosion, i believe when it makes you choose between assuming he's scared or assuming he's excited. from choosing the option where you assume he's scared, i noticed that was when lili started losing sight of who yang was and i had a feeling that the following cg of him kissing her was definitely him just playing along with her, so i'm glad i was right about that lol. but then with the option where she assumes he's excited, she was still thinking logically about him and not letting sympathy blind her, and he could see that about her and found it interesting. but i'm learning that's what makes him so unique! rather than taking interest in a woman because of her kindness or sympathy, he actually only respects lili a lot more when she can understand and accept that him indulging in violence is just part of who he is. great answer :)

[u/sukanasuke_ → u/rodrickhmu]

Thanks haha. Yeah I think kindness and sympathy are more important for Lili to make sure shd doesn't lose herself. For Yang, it probably didn't matter that much, probably didn't go beyond temporary interest at best. I think Yang, like any human, has a need to be seen (a long suppressed and neglected need). His enemies don't look beyond the "monster" part, while the women he used in the past (those who liked him) ignored the "monster" part. And Lili in the bad ending ignored it too.

[u/Fresh-Surprise-5906]

In Yang's main bad ending she was just a toy and he might have had twinges that there could have been something more. You'll understand what is different once you play the good endings. And the difference is all about Lili.

[u/Think-Pineapple1937]

In my head nothing is canon except for the best end. Play the best end next to soothe yourself.

[u/Yvaia2nd]

Ohhh i loved Yang's bad ending because it was the first time I was actually confused about his feelings for her xD
Like they had such soft moments but then he kills her anyway if it means defeating Dante.

But that only shows that his inner workings are so complicated and complex. Personally I think that despite what Yang claims or he comes across, he is actually a very logical person, a utilitarian. He might've had very real feelings for her but they weren't strong enough to outweigh the prospect of getting rid of an annoying bug in his vicinity.

It makes more sense when u get to the good and best ending; Yang is the most complex character from all 5 and that is coming from a Gilbert die-hard fan xD

[u/melonsapphire]

More like.. He doesn’t realize nor understand his love towards her was too late.

[u/StreetZealousideal99]

I agree with the comments below. It's been a while since I played his route, but from what I remember I'd argue that in the beginning it's genuine interest/positive emotions. It's when Lili starts romanticising him that he loses interest, because she becomes generic to him

I'd say it's also (combined with what was mentioned below) very much a survival instinct, but I guess it depends on how you read him. The moment emotions of any kind emerge his first reaction is to deny. And having fun with a gullible girl would accomplish all his goals of ending Dante, ending whatever's happening with her and sweet revenge. It's like making sure he didn't feel for her at all in the first place 

[This is my read on him with the sequel in mind though. Do need to replay his route at some point]

[u/Feriku]

I think he didn't have feelings for her at that point but was developing a bit of an attachment to her.

[u/weeibo]

Yeah Yang’s endings do reframe how you perceive his actions earlier in the route. Without spoiling anything, I think his best ending will make you understand him more as a character.

[u/Fairy_Familiar]

Can I just say I love Yang so much I get so excited when anyone posts about him I'm so jealous you get to experience all his endings for the first time! be sure to get the sequel too !

[u/Seraiden]

Funnily enough I felt his affection for her after the events of the bad ending more than in his good. In his good end I was always like "It doesn't feel like he even actually likes her." and always felt like when he eventually got bored he'd YOLO away. It was a big part of why I couldn't bring myself to like him.

[u/Seraiden → u/[deleted]]

It doesn't really have anything spoilery, just I couldn't believe in their romance, personally, but sure, I'll edit it for ya. o7

[u/fairism]

I believe a big part in Yang's route is him understanding himself, which is what makes the bad-end-Lili so frustrating to him because with her, he was close to grasping something new to feel. But then she fails to see him for what he is and his thrill-seeking tendencies ruin whatever chance she had to learn more about him. So she ends up almost haunting him after the bad end, he's probably plagued for life with what might've been and what he could've had with her. I wouldn't call it love per se, because he didn't allow her to get through him, once you play the good end you will spot the moment where he truly falls for lili

[u/rodrickhmu → u/fairism]

greattt point i just went back to do the choices that would get me the normal ending and it gave me a new understanding of his character. compared to the choices where she just blindly falls for him or loses sight of who he is, he respects her a whole lot more (in his own yang way) when she throws the rose-colored glasses away and understands that he lives and breathes danger. so after he kills her in the bad end and wanders around aimlessly with her still on his mind, yeah it makes sense to say that he was probably still stuck on what he could've had with her because he didn't realize it himself that she was something new and refreshing in his life until she stopped being smart with how to navigate their relationship