Jul 11, 2025
Author's Commentary #463:
Time to talk about Chapter 463: Second thoughts.
This is one of those chapters I feel I can't talk about until future events in the series take place. I can talk about all the new characters introduced. First up, a PSA. I realized that back when a majority of the Dutch women's team debuted in Chapter 357: Party People, I forgot to do the bios for them. I've since rectified that, so feel free to go check it out again if you want to see their bios. I also would like to reveal that I actually had this full commentary typed out, but accidentally deleted it, so I had to retype everything, which put me in a sour mood. If some of the descriptions for the characters feel a little rushed, that's why. Now onto the bios for the Moldovans.
クリナ・マタソス (Crina Mătăsos) is how Crina's name would be spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is February 19th, which she shares with this very series, EPGM, and Moldovan grandmaster, Vladimir Hamițevici.
Her favorite piece is the queen.
Out of all the characters I added in this "final batch" of women's teams, Crina easily has my favorite design of the bunch. She's soft-spoken and humble too, adding to her cuteness. Her surname is actually not her given one, but one she chose for herself which is the Romanian word for "silky".
ドゥミトリツァ・イオニタ (Dumitrița Ioniță) is how Dumitrița's name would be spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is December 14th, which she shares with Moldovan grandmaster, Victor Bologan.
He favorite piece is the knight.
Dumitrița is another one of my favorites in terms of design. She's pretty chill, but loves a good dare.
イオニカ・フランチュ (Ionica Frâncu) is how Ionica's name would be spelled in katakana.
He birthday is June 21st, which is International Day of Yoga.
Her favorite piece is the queen.
Ionica is a yoga practitioner who hates wearing socks, as she feels they are an unnecessary garnet. She also likes the feeling of shoving her bare feet into he sneakers after a yoga session, and thinks they look stylish on her. She also likes going on jogs and race walks.
ユリア・イオルガ (Iulia Iorga) is how Iulia's name would be spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is July 25th, which she shares with Moldovan grandmaster, Dmitry Svetushkin.
Her favorite piece is the bishop.
Iula was actually inspired by Tina Isemi from Rock Is a Lady's Modesty. It's more in the loose sense, but it is there if you look close enough.
ビアンカ・マリア・イオン (Bianca Maria Ion) is how Bianca Maria's name would be spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is January 4th, which she shares with Moldovan grandmaster, Ivan Schitco.
Her favorite piece is the pawn.
Bianca Maria is a Crina fangirl, who can't stop fantasizing about the rumors surrounding Crina. She does have a crush on her, but hasn't confessed her feelings. Like all the characters of "the final batch" she won't have much screentime in this arc, mainly due to her and the others being added last-minute.
ティナ・シフト (Tina Schift) is how Tina's name would be spelled in katakana.
Her birthday is December 13th, which she shares with American Singer-songwriter, Taylor Swift.
Her favorite piece is the queen.
In case it wasn't obvious, Tina is a parody of Taylor Swift. She has actually been mentioned earlier on in the story, notably in Side Story 3. I'm still unsure what I fully plan to do with her though.
Speaking of which, this chapter used to originally be two separate chapters with one being called, Lkz69's discord. No, it wasn't about the band's discord server, but there is a mini story behind the title. I originally had it as "The fallout of Lkz69" but changed it as technically, no falling outs occurred. Donka is always like this with Radina. That's pretty much the main purpose of the chapter. I was originally going to feature the music video, but burnout struck, and I didn't want to sit down and write out an entire song. There is a chance I might showcase the full song in a future arc or Side Story, though for now that seems unlikely.
And with that, I've actually typed out more than what I originally typed. As for this next chapter, it's the long-awaited Okisato backstory chapter. After that, the next chapter will be a special one. All I'll say is that it's a retelling of a spin-off of this series that was originally released months ago as it's own story.
That's all for this commentary. I hope you enjoyed it.
