#Cybird Crafts

[judesmoonbeauty]

Gilbert von Obsidian - Shadow Box

Let’s kick things off with Gilbert. Black and red suits him. Don’t you think?

About this box:

I upcycled this from one of those money saver piggy banks "Life is a Journey", that I never used LOL.

Following his color-theme, the box was repainted black and gold-leading.

Everything in the box includes something from his route. (Spoilers). I used several layers of paint, cardstock and various inks and paint mediums to achieve the back drop.

The miniature books, letter, his cane, and the rose are all handmade products. The rose is actually made from seashells. I live near beaches, so I often go shelling and use these in my crafts. The can is made of modeling wire, aluminum foil and clay. Books are from card board.

It's difficult to see, but there is an antique clock key that I picked up years ago from an antique shop. There is a significant black key in his route, so I repainted it and used a lacquer to give a metallic finish.

Poison is often referenced in his events and even in his route, so I simply painted a small vial that I had on hand, and stained some scrapbook paper for that 'old label' look.

This was my first otome craft project and it took weeks because of all the detailed work. This was also my first attempt at mixed media and I'm happy with the results. I have lots ideas and projects that I'm currently working on, but I started with Gil simply because he is the LOML.

[soraofflitter]

💘 More Fanmerch Madness - IkeVamp Sanrio Instax/Chekis💘

Thanks to @stellaepluviae bringing up this fabulous idea, I dug out my Instax Share 2 printer and went to town.

The wet Arthur one (^_-) with the water bubbles was actually the first one I printed and a happy accident! But it’s my favorite and instantly got attached to my current daily purse!

Not sure who else to to print for the last five exposures, maybe Victor or Elbie from IkeVil 🖤

Blood Dupre & Elliot March were kind of a test print, but also like Blood was the biggest otome crush of my teens and still will not let my heart go ♥️

Villains amirite 😉

[rjthirsty]

Time for some Ikemen Prince theory crafting! Today I will be talking about Kagari, a future character that has been revealed in Japan and hinted at in English with a very unfortunate sprite malfunction in Leon's sequel.

This post will not contain any spoilers, as it is all my own theories rather than anything that has yet to be released, but the theory itself is a possible spoiler if it turns out to be true, so I'll be putting it under the cut. It will also contain pictures of promotional material for an upcoming (probably now released) event in Japan, but nothing you can't already find on social media.

Let's get to it!

First, let me show y'all the promotional post for the event with Kagari in it so we're all on the same page.

Look at this man. I fell in love with his design when he was first revealed. Red hair, green eyes, a collar with a bell - he's the cat man we always needed.

Then this card was released and I think my soul left my body.

But someone pointed out something odd about this card (and I'm so sorry tumblr user, I can't recall who it was and I follow 250 people, and I don't think we're even mutuals) and that's that the Kagari in this picture has BLUE eyes. Weird, right? I mean, Cybird definitely has some issues with color consistency with someone like Clavis' hair, but the green his eyes usually are are VERY green. And the blue in this picture is pretty blue, I can't see them accidentally mixing them up.

Then we get this from the same event.

Guys, look at his eyes! They're blue in this photo of the avatar items! He has never had blue eyes! What in the heck? That's really weird. So I went back to the first picture and zoomed in on the avatar there, and....

Kagari's eyes are definitely green! And while this picture is grainy and gross, take note that his facial expression is different between the previous picture and this one. It's not common for avatar items to change between one post and the next a few days later. As you can see, the female items are all exactly the same, and the only thing that has changed is Kagari's smile and eye color.

Which led me to go on this crazy idea that Kagari is two different people.

First, I thought perhaps a body double. Not unheard of. And apparently there's a lot of fighting in fake Japan Kyogoku. It would make a lot of sense to have someone appear in public with the possibility of fighting, and have the real Kagari only making appearances in safe places like inside his own home, or in foreign countries.

But this is Cybird. Cybird loves twins. (I also love twins.) This is probably not as easy as a body double, but instead a set of twins. That's my theory. Kagari is really two brothers whose only distinguishing feature are their eye colors being blue or green. And since twins were once considered bad luck in several cultures (we've seen them do this whole thing with the Klein twins, so we know they're running with that in IkePri), and Kagari is royalty in a place where "chaos" and bloodshed is very common - wouldn't it make sense to keep both children alive until the time comes that one takes the throne?

That's my take, guys. That's it. One card with a different eye color, and one avatar with a different face, and that's all I needed to decide they're twins and they're both going to be mine.

[cirilla-fiona-riannon]

These translations are not intended as a replacement for the game. Please support Cybird by buying their stories. Expect grammatical errors.

While walking around town on a date with Prince Silvio, I saw a corner bustling with activity.

Silvio: "It's an event where you can enter a raffle based on the total amount you spend shopping."

Emma: "So that's what the ticket I got when I shopped earlier was for?"

Townsman: "The first prize is this one-of-a-kind gorgeous tea set!"

In the center of the crowd, a beautiful, delicately crafted, blue color tea set shone brightly.

(Wow, you can win that in the lottery!?)

Emma: "Prince Silvio, can I try?"

Silvio: "You look like you're having a lot of fun with this lottery. Go on."

Emma: "I'm going to win the first prize!"

I lined up at the back of the crowd, and after a few minutes of waiting, it was finally my turn.

Townsman: "You're next. Go ahead, draw one of these."

(Which one should I choose? This is making me nervous.)

I picked one of the tiny shells from the box offered to me.

Emma: "This one! What's the prize?"

Feeling anxious, I checked the underside of the shell and found the words "8th" written on it.

Townsman: "Ah, too bad! The 8th prize is a participation prize. Here, it's a discount coupon you can use in town."

Emma: "Thank you!"

After the drawing, I rushed over to him.

Emma: "It was a participation prize!"

Silvio: "Getting the first prize is not that easy, you know?"

Emma: "I thought I could win it since you're with me."

Silvio: "You've got a lot of guts to make me your lucky charm."

As a punishment, he roughly tousled my hair.

Silvio: "Do you want to draw again?"

Emma: "No, once is enough."

Silvio: "I thought you wanted it?"

Emma: "Of course I wanted it, but I'm more interested in the thrill of not knowing what I'm going to win."

Silvio: ".........."

Emma: "What's wrong?"

Silvio: "I just thought it was a typical thought from someone who is not materialistic."

Silvio: "Let's move on to the next store."

Emma: "Got it! Thanks for sticking with me."

Emma: "Then, let's go to..."

I spread out the map I had marked and returned to our date.

A few days later, he came to my room carrying something mysterious.

Emma: "What's that expensive-looking box?"

The excessively decorated box made it difficult to gauge its purpose just by looking at it.

Silvio: "It's a raffle. You drew it the other day, right?"

Silvio: "I thought maybe I could come up with some clever business idea using this. So go along with me."

I couldn't keep up with the sudden turn of events, but the last words reminded me of something.

(Did he make it because I mentioned I enjoy it?)

(But then again, nothing is impossible with this guy.)

I spoke up to cover up my smile.

Emma: "If that's the case, I'm happy to help!"

Seeing him smile with satisfaction made me happy, too.

Silvio: "Drawing alone would be boring, so I've also prepared some prizes."

Emma: "It's not something expensive, is it?"

Silvio: "Ha? It's not like that. You wouldn't accept it even if I prepared it for you."

Silvio: "It's something you're more likely to enjoy."

Emma: "What is it?"

Silvio: "Well... you know, things like roses, sweets... ah, something like that."

(He suddenly started slurring his words. And I feel like he's getting restless.)

(I guess I'll find out if I draw one.)

Silvio: "Tch, forget it! I changed my mind!"

Emma: "What? Why!?"

Emma: "You even prepared prizes, so at least let me draw once."

Silvio: "No. Let's do it next time."

(He's getting so agitated it's making me even more curious!)

(Is there something strange or unusual among the prizes?)

(But if he's not letting me draw even once for that reason, then perhaps the prizes aren't things in the first place.)

(Considering he knows I'm not materialistic, he'd probably choose...)

Emma: "Could it be that the prizes are somehow related to you?"

Emma: "Maybe a coupon to have a drink with you?"

Silvio: ".........."

Emma: "Or like words of love from you."

Silvio: "Hey, I said it's over already!"

(This mix of embarrassment and anger confirms it!)

Emma: "You really know what I want."

(He probably thought hard about it and made it while feeling embarrassed.)

Just the thought of it made me smile. I felt like I might even burst out laughing.

Emma: "Fufu, thank you."

I kissed his cheeks several times to express my joy and gratitude.

Silvio: "You always do things so suddenly..."

Emma: "Well, now that I know what's inside, I'll draw!"

Silvio: "When did you get the box!? Hey, give it back!"

Emma: "Nope!"

(There's no way I'd let go of it now that I know it's a box full of his love.)

I put my hand inside the box while evading Silvio.

Feeling more excited than any other previous time, I carefully selected a single seashell.

[xinimartsy]

It’s a mobile game made for the Japanese audience not foreigners. They will never make Belle or any of their MCs change and be strong. It is different with Switch games where MCs might be that way. You should look for games made by Americans or something because it will never change, it is just a cultural difference

Oh, I know, anon. While I do complain about little things that make me feel iffy, I greatly enjoy the games and believe me, I do not expect astounding writing from a mobile game. The game is harmless fun and so are my critics towards it.

Though I do disagree on the front that it's a cultural difference and more of a general genre thing, because there are plenty of ocidental visual novels in which MC falls in the same damsel in distress category, while we can see from anime, manga and dramas that Japan is no stranger to strong female characters.

Mai herself, from Cybird's Ikemen Sengoku, for example, she insisted in working on her craft and making her own money despite Nobunaga guaranteeing her easygoing life, in most routes she picked up some skill from her suitor, she learned medicine from Ieyasu in several routes, learned how to ride a horse, learned negotiation in Mitsuhide's route, she even rode a horse into the battlefield to butt heads with an unhinged Kenshin in one of his routes. Yes, she had to be saved several times, but they never made her look inappropriately clueless (there were things that were logical that she didn't know and things that she knew, like everyone else), she never paled in comparison to her suitors and was always witty within her own capabilities. She never had to master the blade or become stronger or smarter than the warlords to be strong, she brought her own qualities to the negotiation table, and at least I hardly ever felt helpless or like the MC was unbearable while playing, actually, she's my favorite specially cus of her snark hehe

Emma is not all bad, tho, I think it very much depends on the route. In Clavis' route, I particularly find Emma delightful, because since they want to portrait Clavis as being, well, eccentric, they gave his Emma a more grounded personality to contrast his, while making her brave and adventurous enough to keep up with Clavis' bullshit. They exaggerated aspects from the character to emphasize the other, which in this case works, Clavis' weirdness vs Emma's common sense and their willingness to meet halfway through for each other.

But that same tool doesn't work in routes such as Jin and Chev. In Jin's route they wanted to emphasize his maturity as an older man who fooled around a lot, so they made Emma uncharacteristically innocent and almost childish. And in Chev's, they spent half of the word count telling us that Chevalier was a genius instead of showing us, and whenever they did show it, that was done by dumbing everyone, SPECIALLY Emma, down as to emphasize his geniality, making characters uncharacteristically dumb, not understanding basic concepts that they should very much understand, only so Chevalier could basically spell it out for them, call us "fools" and have everyone in game in awe of his geniality while us as the player feel unsatisfied cus, duh, that was the logical answer, are all these characters really THIS dumb?

Therefore, rather than "cultural differences", I think what we're seeing here is just.... Well, lousy writing.

[destinyumechan]

I made some cord holder chibi's of 4 of my fav characters 😍 Leonhardt, Kennyo, Timo, and best boi Assad 💓 Would you sweets like to watch me make one like these cuties in a craft video? ꪔ̤⸝⸝- ̫ -⸝⸝ꪔ̤

[acrispyapple]

Mitsuhide Akechi Crochet Doll ♡

my friend @dialoversotaka​​ loves mitsuhide, so she made this doll to accompany the previous jonah doll she made! like last time, she asked me to share it with everyone! (°◡°)☆

[lil-creatorwritings]

So you’ve done Mitsuhide’s route, eh? Do you want to cry even more over his route?

Warning: Major spoilers for Mitsuhide's route, at least until finishing Chapter 10. I have warned you right off the bat, so don't come complaining to me that you didn't know.

Disclaimer! I have no formal education about Japanese culture. I am not Japanese either. I don't know if Cybird did these details on purpose.

So this came around while I was yelling about Mitsuhide's route with @plumpblueberry and she was the one who pushed me to make this post. With the combined history facts taken from ye ole Google search and my brain's overthinking ability as if I had just rolled a natural 20 on a DnD dice, here is potentially more reason to love and appreciate or cry a river over his route! I mean I'd like to think that this is canon but if it's not, then just enjoy this fictional trail of thought with me! Also if you're knowledgeable about Japanese history, culture and the symbolisms in it, please don't murder me if I'm wrong. ;;

So if you've made it this far, I'm assuming that you've done Mitsuhide's route to completion (wherever ending you chose to do first doesn’t matter). I think we can all agree that one of the most loved parts of his route is around Chapter 8, when he climbs up to MC's room to "tease her one more time" and give her a present--the beloved kanzashi (or hairpin in English).

Back then, it was said that it had magical powers to ward off evil spirits and was used as somewhat of a good luck charm. These things have different kinds depending on their shape and about a million designs, from flowers, nature, animals and such. And bellflowers, in the flower language, often mean "affection" and "everlasting love". It can also be given to express gratitude. 

So that's easy to associate--Mitsuhide's telling her how much he loves her and that he'll love her for all eternity with a pretty good luck charm. But another thing about bellflowers is that, as Kyubei says in the next chapter, it is also the Akechi kamon (family crest).

He says that it's an Akechi's way of praying for you. "To wish for your victory, regardless of what trials you face." Mitsuhide has recognized that she's come to rely on him and since he isn't there anymore (at least, for the time being), it's also a reminder from him of how strong she's become as a person. That she'll survive and eventually be able to return back to her time period.

Now at face value, the gesture itself is sweet. Receiving a gift from someone you love is always heartwarming. But that isn't the only thing that I mean.

Remember how in Chapter 5, Mitsuhide surprises us by saying that he wanted to marry her? Of course she doesn't believe him, but I would not be surprised if he was 100% serious. We all know that he's madly in love with her at this point of the story. Plus it's obvious that he enjoyed playing as her husband back in that western village a little too much for it to be fake.

Way back in the Edo period (and I assume even in the Senguko as well), marriages were 99.9% political since they were commonly used to form and solidify alliances. Elders in the family would play matchmaker (omiai) and set a meeting with a potential suitor. Insert classic trope of marrying within your social status and being banned from marrying someone with a lower social status as your family. If the woman is available and the man would like to propose, the next step would be an engagement ceremony (yuino), where the family would exchange symbolic gifts. And these gifts, ranging from dried fish to a special thread to actual money, can also be an accessory.

Like, say, a hairpin. A special hairpin.

It isn't uncommon for a man to gift a woman a kanzashi during the yuino (or outside of it, like just as a legitimate present). It's like an engagement ring, in a modern view. But there's another special detail--its design. As I said, kanzashi can have several designs, which yes, can include a kamon. And back then, when a woman wore a kanzashi with a specific kamon, it's highly likely that it is the kamon of her lover.

And you have to remember that not everything was ready to buy back then! Today, you can buy a ring at any time you want and have it in your hands within minutes or immediately. Things were being crafted from raw materials and were hand made back then, which need time and for someone to put the labor in to making it. Kyubei said that Mitsuhide had already prepared the gift even before they left for the village. He had already decided then, even before he even thought of having the hairpin made for her. This isn't on a whim--this was done with purpose and intent, to follow up on his word to marry her.

So yes, it appears (at least to me) that he had essentially proposed to her with that hairpin. For real.

My mind was blown with that realization too. Because I can't help but wonder--why would Mitsuhide risk jeopardizing his whole scheme and get caught just to deliver it to her personally when he could have tasked Kyubei to deliver it to her? And it is a mere coincidence that he chose a bellflower as a design, which also happens to be his family crest? Mitsuhide isn't the type of person to do something without reason as the route has shown us, so I don't think his choice of design was random by any means. And say, for argument's sake, that Mitsuhide had no deeper intention with the design (maybe he chose bellflowers because it was pretty), why would Kyubei bother to talk to her about the crest, that he had prepared it much earlier and that out of all the things his lord could have asked to be brought to him when he was imprisoned--it was this one specific thing he absolutely had to get?

Again, this is just my personal interpretation and should be taken with a grain of salt. I'm in no way saying that this is canon. I'm not saying that my personal association with the history facts is accurate because a lot of things and meaning change over time. But even if Cybird didn't intend it, I think it gives more weight and meaning to his actions and the scenes that surround it.

[incorrect-ikevamp-quotes]

@theeyethatbinds​ Girl SING IT. SING IT LOUDER FOR THE GIRLS IN THE BACK, SWEAR TO GOD.

Like I’m gonna be real wit y’all I was looking forward to le Comte for a while, but I was always side-eyeing Jeanne. He’s a blunt hermit and grump and 100% mood, so I hoped his route would give me more insight into how I feel about him.

Ladies. When I tell you. It was EXCELLENT. I mean there are so many gr9 routes in the game, I don’t want to take away from them, but there was just something about his that hit me so hard???? (MY KOKORO BROKORO)

More under the cut since his route won’t be out for a little while (we still got Isaac, then Theo, then Jeanne), as a little treat. As usual, pls don’t read if you don’t want spoilers, thanks!

Okay so going into this route I was fully expecting the big sads. I mean, if history has taught us anything it was that Joan D’Arc was a badass but good lord, that doesn’t mean the people of her time were kind to her. (I need to do more thorough research on her, so if I’m getting any of her pronouns wrong or neglect something, I do apologize.)

That being sad, I was like aight DECK MY SHIT WITH TRAGEDY, JEANNE. And at the beginning it’s p fascinating. He’s very ornery and resistant to any kind of consideration or attempts at friendship MC extends. But eventually, after a good deal of persistence, he relents little by little.

I’d also like to level with y’all for a sec. Being someone who knows a great deal in regards to the kinds of mental and emotional shit Jeanne struggles through, I think they handled that part of the route so, so well. Granted, I’m not the kind of person to launch a crusade over different writing styles--but for me it just feels all the more poignant when it makes sense; when certain dispositions or trauma are conveyed with that depth. To me, it made 100% sense that Jeanne would be so against accepting other people into his life immediately.

He and Mozart vibe because they’re so similar, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s comfortable letting just anyone in--much less a complete stranger. I think it’s more that Mozart and Jeanne share a kind of indelible bond/mutual recognition through their talent, actually. They were both prodigies, absolute geniuses in their fields (military vs. music) but their social skills were shot to hell for the very same reason. To be brilliant--beyond one’s potential posthumous legacy--tends to mean being hated. Plus, they’re both principled to absolute extremes. When they’ve decided on something, they will not waver. They’re stubborn and austere, but behind those walls lies a molten core of sensitivity.

This is important to understanding him, I think, before I move forward.

While one could argue that their reaction is a result of that deficiency of emotional and social support (which I entirely concede does contribute to the matter at hand, it shouldn’t be overlooked) I think the real crux of the matter here is control. Think about it. Among the oldest residents in the mansion (let’s say that were born more than 100 years within the range of the present period of the game) are Mozart, Jeanne, Isaac, and Shakespeare. What do they all have in common?

Extremity. For Mozart, it comes in the form of a kind of OCD, as perfectionism. For Jeanne, it is generalized anxiety and PTSD. For Isaac, it is primarily social anxiety--but it’s still noticeably severe. And Shakespeare runs around with a knife, insecurity through the roof, literally unable to trust anything or anyone (psychosis? schizoaffective? I’m really not sure, these are all ballpark assessments based on the evidence I have). In order to adjust to their new surroundings, there was a cost--and in some ways their coping mechanisms become noticeably maladaptive. They were born into eras that were mercilessly unpredictable, and the only way they knew how to cope was to was to either take the blame--make it a personal failing that tragedy struck--or try to immerse themselves into their craft. They all seek to regain some kind of control (this is even visible in Vincent, to a degree--painting was an escape from his emotionally turbulent world).

Granted that’s not to say that the others don’t struggle with such issues at all, I just feel like the characters from more unstable time periods tend (as a general trend) to mirror that instability within their personalities.

All that being said, (I apologize I am a tangent-monger and love meta), Jeanne’s self-imposed isolation is only partially caused by the above dynamic. Yes, he is unwilling to let people into his heart for fear of betrayal. (It’s almost like an entire nation clamoring to watch you burn for something you didn’t do after spending your entire life and talents trying to protect them would do that to you, but I digress >:| ). But there’s another devastating and potentially less obvious reason for keeping people out.

He thinks he deserves it.

Loneliness, melancholy, aimlessness. These are all the punishments that he incurred on himself after a life of what he conceives to be considerable sin (hahaha battlefield enemies go ripppp). Whether or not he was operating purely out of a sense of duty, even if he felt sympathy for his enemy combatants, it’s not enough. And the condemnation of his king, of his entire nation, only served to magnify that self-loathing to a dangerous degree. (Don’t get me started on his parents I’m still so angry >:| they more or less disowned him since he was constitutionally weak as a young boy, and thus could not serve as an adequate farmhand. Don’t work? Don’t eat/live).

It’s hard enough living in a reserved way because you’re afraid of getting hurt, but to think that you deserve it when hurt finds you, no less? And my favorite part, that he’s so profoundly sure that it is an extension of a personal, fundamental failing? That for a person to survive, they must be strong, that there can be no other way--that there is no time or space for ruminations on fairness or unfairness, there are only those who manage to survive and those who die.

Now my friends, esteemed comrades, legendary sluts. Is that enough for us, Cybird asks, are we feeling enough pain quite yet? Fuck no.

Most of his route after we get over the hurdle of his hesitation is just him. Being. Bashful and gentle as all FUCK. Like he is the definition of “I'll kill you, but also I’m babie.” For instance, she insists on teaching him how to read and write at night when she finds him trying (and not succeeding) to read “The Ugly Duckling”. Yes I mean the children’s book. I CRIED THE FIRST TIME AND I’M CRYING NOW. So, naturally, MC buys him a notebook to practice with and he puts his name in big letters on the front. When MC sees this, she asks him about it--wondering why he would given he’s so self-conscious of his own writing (boy writes all squiggly like a little kid because he’s never done it before ;-;).

The scene goes a little something like this:

MC: Wh....whatcha go there Jeanne? Jeanne: ? My notebook? MC: I...mean that you wrote your name on it? Jeanne: Yeah? MC: Why? Jeanne: ._. It was a gift from you, and I figured it'd be hard to practice if I lost it...so I put my name on it... (HE WAS SECRETLY TOUCHED I BET AND IM--) MC: Why such big letters? Jeanne: So people can spot it quickly, obviously MC, inches from crying and laughing: Jeanne: Mademoiselle??? Why are you laughing? MC: Because you’re cute, Jeanne!

Like. They start out so rocky and Jeanne is so SIGH. I guess I’ll agree if it’ll get her to stop looking so sad and ask me to join her for stuff. But then he just can’t help but go full softe at how patient and kind she is, starts feeling comfortable just...being who he is deep down. A man that’s always hoped for better in life, a person that only ever takes up his sword to protect--that has an incredibly pure and clear heart, despite so much pain.

And good lord, they are GOD TIER romantic slow burn???? Swear to everything holy, I was BEGGING for them to make out by like chapter 10, I was just suffering for most of the route until the bangarang premium. Here’s probably my favorite moment in the entire route:

Basically Sebastian and Mozart pull out all the stops trying to bring Jeanne and MC together (once they see Jeanne show some interested in her). And so Jeanne asks her to join him in the courtyard the next morning, and they’re playing with Cherie (Jeanne’s pet baby white tiger). Besides being ungodly adorable--because Jeanne invited her for the sole purpose of hoping to see her delightfully surprised--Mozart begins to play a love song nearby. They don’t name the tune, but Jeanne canonically starts singing along (I wholeass cried, I WANT TO HEAR HIM SING????). And so she asks what the song is about, and he explains that Mozart once played it for him, but he couldn’t make out the words at first. Mozart explained that it was a love song that speaks to the difficulties of being in love (the worry, the strife) but also the beauty of the intensity and passion. He goes on to say that even when he learned the words, it never made much sense to him back then--it never resonated.

He’s singing softly with a fond look, and so she asks, does he understand it now? And he looks her dead in the eye, and says “...I think I’m starting to.” Like. AM I SUPPOSED TO NOT LOSE MY MIND AT THE TENDERNESS????? WHAT A SMOOTH MOFO????? MAN RAISED TO BE A SOLDIER, NO KNOWLEDGE OF ROMANCE OR WOMEN, AND KILLS ME IN MILLISECONDS?????? I DEMAND JUSTICE. (Or it’s just me thinking sincerity is the best aphrodisiac, but that’s beside the point.)

This has been your quarantine 2d boy meta and yelling, provided by your local mod Minnie. Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to get to the things I’ve been procrastinating on while reliving/dissociating about one of my favorite rts in the entire game. Stay safe and well out there y’all, peace out!

[judesmoonbeauty]

100 Followers!

Wow! When I woke up this morning, I didn’t expect to find that my blog reached 100+ followers!

I am extremely excited about this achievement (though it may seem insignificant to some), it is a milestone for me. As much as I’d love to celebrate this by blogging with something special, the reality is that I simply don’t have as much time as I’d like to prepare something, as I work full time and am in school.

But, as I mentioned in a previous blog, this year I’ll do my best to polish up my blogs into something more than disorganized chaos, and promise to continue to provide event translations and common route semi-summary translations when I can!

Tbh, this was originally only intended to used to follow others for fan fics and Cybird translations, and it kinda of (?) blossomed into whatever this is.

Fully expect me to continue to spam about my faves: Gilbert, Silvio, Chevalier, Jude, Liam, Elisa, Ayn, Clarence and Cael. As well as, my Iképri and IkéVil craft projects.

Anyway, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, so much for your support!! Please feel free to interact, reblog or ask me questions. 🖤🖤🖤

[soraofflitter]

Justice for Wet, Drippy Ikemen! 💦 - The Making of a Harry Keychain 🦊💖

𖤐 ៸៸ ⁺‧₊ ‧₊˚ ⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.✮⋆˙꩜⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚‧₊˚✩彡˚୨୧⋆｡ Lately, I've been really into Oshikatsu crafts of the Ikemen crowd.💖 So when I saw that there was an Etsy shop selling card-sized prints of the IkeVil boys, I just HAD to get some!

Card-sized art is ideal for keychains. One of the easiest display methods is basically just a toploader (plastic card protector) with the card inside.

You can just leave them blank like this, though that's not really my style. I prefer a more ✨maximalist✨ approach! 𖤐 ៸៸ ⁺‧₊ ‧₊˚ ⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.✮⋆˙꩜⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚‧₊˚✩彡˚୨୧⋆｡

Most of the time I post about Alfons, but in actuality - I love them all. 😄 Therefore, it was just someone else's turn this time...

Ultimately, I decided to use a Daiso acrylic keychain set (item 3281) for Harry's Chapter 13 CG.

Once again almost all the supplies came from Daiso. 🫶 The only exceptions were the holo stickers (kpop store) and the label maker tape. Aaand super glue because I messed up the back of the keychain kit. 🤠

[dear-mrs-otome]

Can you spoil more about Theo's route? After reading Vincent's route I can't wait to see his route in English server. I wish I knew Japanese...

I can.

I’ll give you a summary of Theo’s route below the cut, so for those zooming past BE WARNED. SPOILERS FOLLOW.

SPOILERS INCOMING!

STILL DOWN FOR HAVING THE WHOLE ROUTE SPOILED IN DETAIL???

SERIOUSLY - A GIANT WALL OF TEXT EXISTS BEHIND THIS CUT, ALL SPOILERS…

Theo’s route begins as I’ve mentioned before, with Theo convincing MC that her dream is just a dream and vampires aren’t real. She gets roped by Sebastian into taking food to Theo’s room the next day and catches a glimpse through his open door of a horrific scar on Theo’s back. When she tries to leave he catches her and tells her that since she’s seen his ‘secret’ (the scar nobody know about, not even Vincent) he’s going to make her work as his assistant for the month she’ll be staying so that he can keep tabs on her and make sure she isn’t going to blab.

The next chunk of his route is spent with her reluctantly tagging along as his helper as he goes about his business as an art dealer, drumming up interest for Vincent’s paintings and even sussing out a forgery (in a scene carefully crafted to make you go, ‘Wow I had no idea art dealers could be so badass’ - I appreciate the effort at least, Cybird) MC isn’t entirely excited about this arrangement or seeing the appeal of Theo’s work until he takes her to a studio of independent artists and talks a bit more about his mission to help them, and then he has her choose a painting from their works for him to sell, all on her own.

The thrill of doing so and seeing the artist’s situation definitely sparks her interest in his job and at the end of the day, he tells her to keep the painting and hang it in her room to remind her of this.

Things continue in this way, with her spending every day at Theo’s side and coming to understand a bit more of who he is and what he does, when one night he comes home late bloodied and beat up after an altercation with the Royal Academy’s art goons. As she presses him into letting her patch him up, he talks more about his dream for the future of the art world and how badly he wants to make it come true, and MC offers to help him with his vision however she can, clearly touching him.

They land a solo showing for Vincent and spend a lot of time preparing for that, picking out works and setting up the gallery, growing closer. At one point, they witness a robbery and hear a gunshot and Theo has a full-on anxiety attack, passing out, and when he comes to he finally admits some to MC how difficult of a time he’s had his whole life trying not to be envious of his brother having what he wanted - talent.

Eventually, Shakespeare comes around and manages to spill the beans to MC while Theo has stepped out that they actually are indeed vampires. She races home to test Shakespeare’s claims, finding that the rouge she thought was red wine is blood after all - and when Theo comes to find her she confronts him about his lie. He maintains that she didn’t need to know, and they argue, with MC eventually running out in near tears at her perceived lack of trust in the man she’s come to love.

Things are tense for a few days as he avoids her, but she keeps working towards their mutual goal of Vincent’s show. Then one morning, a few days before she’s set to go home, she finds the entire gallery on fire much to her horror. She runs in hoping to save at least something of their dream, and finds and rescues one of the paintings of a wheatfield that had seemed dear to Theo - but the building is engulfed in flames and she can’t get out. Then she sees Theo who has rushed into the fire, and he carries her out to safety and outside he crushes her in a hug and admits how terrified of losing her he was.

As he patches up her burns, they clear the air about their argument, and Theo drops a bombshell - he admits that he lied not just about the vampire thing (to keep her from being afraid) but also about the scar. He used it as a convenient excuse to keep her close and protect her while she was stuck there for a month, because he admits he feels responsible for her presence. He confesses that it was HIM, and not Napoleon, that saw her come through the door to the mansion first - and that he tried to get to her before it closed, so he could send her back home right away, but failed and has blamed himself for this ever since.

Some things about the gallery showing, the number of paintings, and other inconsistencies start to add up for MC though, and she eventually confronts Theo about them, leading to him confessing finally in a very emotional scene how he witnessed his brother’s death at the hands of Paul Gauguin and that he actually came back to life to seek revenge. The gallery showing, the places he disappears to on the weekends alone, all of it has been him trying to lure out the man he suspects is still alive (since this isn’t that long after their own ‘deaths’). They exchange a tearful kiss when MC confesses that she likes him and hopes he can move beyond his vengeance, and Theo admits he wants to as well.

MC and Theo begin dating, and Theo seems determined to try and forget his vendetta, but he can’t quite seem to - and when Shakespeare stirs the pot and tells Theo that Gauguin absolutely is alive and that he can’t have his revenge if he has any regrets, Theo decides to break things off with MC. He comes to her room and tells her she should go home when the door opens in the next couple of days, bluffing about how brief and shallow their relationship was, and she realizes she can’t make him want to be with her - but she asks him for one night together regardless and he sorrowfully agrees. They sleep together, and he tells her he hopes she’ll be happy, and after she’s asleep he leaves - but admits to her sleeping self that he does love her and can’t bring himself to involve her in his terrible plan.

The morning of Vincent’s show (which is now being held in a public park since the gallery was destroyed) MC and Vincent discover Theo is missing, and after seeing a lone painting of Gauguin’s set up, Vincent seems to understand everything. He and MC race to the cliffs where they find Theo murderously confronting a vampiric Gauguin, who gleefully admits to killing Vincent out of envy for his talent - and then accuses Theo of harboring the same horrible emotions. A distraught Theo finally admits to his brother that sometimes he hated him, and how lost he was when Vincent died. Vincent and MC try to talk Theo out of his revenge but it seems futile…and then Gauguin shoots Theo and he collapses, bleeding horrifically.

Vincent begs MC to give Theo some of her blood and she does, cutting her hand and feeding him enough for him to revive in a tearful scene as she berates him for breaking his promises to her. He confronts Gauguin again but this time admits that he doesn’t want to let hate rule his life anymore, and sends the man off. But he’s still grievously wounded, and as Theo tries to tell Vincent and MC how he really feels he collapses again, unconscious.

Shakespeare appears and as thanks for the ‘excellent show’ he helps Vincent carry Theo back to a doctor. As he’s being attended, SG and MC have a long conversation about what she wants to do when the door opens and her feelings for Theo, and after he wakes up Theo asks to see her and Vincent. He and Vincent clear the air after Theo’s heated admissions of envy, and then he sends his brother away to have a conversation with MC where he apologizes formally for breaking his word and lying to her, and begs her forgiveness.

We see Vincent’s show going off as planned with great success, the public setting accomplishing the van Gogh brother’s hopes of letting anyone see art, and Theo even drags himself there with a cane to see the results. Arthur reminds him to tell MC how he feels, before she leaves, and the next morning Theo comes to her room and takes her out to a place special to him (the wheatfields that remind him of where he and Vincent spent time as children) and admits how important she is to him and how he had always lived his life for someone else, never valuing himself until she came along, and that he knows he’s not the easiest person to love but he needs her. 

In his romantic ending, MC tells him she plans to stay, and Theo proclaims he can’t let her give up everything important in her life for him just like that. He insists that he will go to the future with her, for her sake and his own to see this brave new art world she lives in, and after an emotional parting between the brothers we see him adapting to the modern world no problem. He works as an art dealer still, and there is a cute smutty scene where MC asks him if he has any regrets about the choice he made and he assures her he doesn’t - he loves her and would always choose her.

In his dramatic ending, she tells him she’ll stay and he is surprised, but accepts. She continues her work as his partner, taking on more responsibility as they run the business together, and even running afoul of the Academy. Theo vows to protect her no matter what hardships they face as they work towards their dream, and compares her to one of the ‘life-altering masterpieces’ he’s searched for his whole life.  

[yooleestruck]

in which lee rambles about how great writers are

I don’t really know what this is. I don’t know if now is the right time to do this, or a really bad time, or if it makes any sense, but I want to talk about it! I feel like a broken record saying ‘the writing matters most, the writing matters most’ but maybe I need to show what I mean by that? So, here is an attempt. 

I’m sorry not all of these are the same length and not everyone is here, because every time I see that someone is a writer I do try to follow but I don’t always know/remember! Also I am weird about this sort of thing and don’t want to tag people in a monster-long post, so I’m just going to link. I also don’t want to make this a producers vs writers thing, it’s not, it’s just, when I say I notice writer-stuff, an explanation of what, specifically, I mean. 

Writers have a style fingerprint. I’m sure someone with an actual creative writing or English background could describe it all academic-ly, but my ex-chemist ass is just going to call it a fingerprint. 

My first game in Lovestruck was Starship Promise - I love Firefly, I’m a bisexual disaster scientist by education, it fit. But I had been REALLY put off by GIL when it first came out (this was back when they released stories in parts? And the heroine, which I will get to) and though I’d glanced at AFK, I mistrusted it after GIL and Medusa, who was who I was interested in, wasn’t out yet. So I resisted a LONG time.  I finally picked up LS and SP and played it explicitly because a friend said, you need to give this another chance, for a list of specific reasons. 

And when Atlas’s route came out, I read it a stupid number of times. I must have re-read his season 1 & 2 at least eight times apiece (he is still my most read route, despite the fact I have not read his last season because I want to leave the story open-ended)  so when I read Neil Dresner’s route, I recognized the fingerprint. Not only that, when I was reading Jett and the episodes with the paint scene (YOU KNOW THE SCENE) came out, my breath caught with how lovely it was, a particular in-between moment and touch, and even though it wasn’t a phrase I had seen, the style of it, had me re-reading (because it was gorgeous) again and again from the log for like five minutes and I thought, “I bet Melissa wrote this” AND SHE DID. 

Physical touch! (& in-betweens)

Melissa-grey has a particular way of writing about physical touch in very emotional moments that is very real and grounded and ironically the effect is just magical. It creates these so skillful “in between” moments, those little things that aren’t dialogue and aren’t metaphor but SHOW you that this closed off person is cracking for their little ray of sunshine. They are SO subtle and so beautiful, like, the heroine noticing the scent of a pillow, or a softening of an aborted hand movement.  She sets up and executes these moments of physical touch as a conduit for emotional touch with characters who aren’t ready to admit he latter and it’s DELICIOUS. Those little in-betweens are what I live for in story - and it includes all the supporting cast moments, who swell up to make the world feel lived in, and balanced (I loathe love stories where no one else exists! That’s a recipe for disaster, people need networks) I noticed when she stopped writing, and because I missed it, I went and bought the entire Midnight Girl series, as well as Rated (I hope that is flattering and not creepy!) and that style of writing is so unique, that without KNOWING, I picked it up in four separate routes (noticed in Sev’s s1, too!) 

Pacing (& friggen heartache)

Another fingerprint! Ripping your heart out! Arthoure has had me in tears, MULTIPLE TIMES and I get very grouchy about it every time because I am the least sentimental and romantic person that I know (I once MOVED STATES to avoid an ‘I love you’ conversation. I once said ‘yikes’ in response to an ‘I love you’ and I once broke up with someone because I thought he was going to propose. I’m a bitch) but I think it’s because of pacing! I know that producers play a role in that, but that actually makes it more impressive, because making each bit of story feel like it fits precisely the amount of space it needs when you don’t really get a say in how much space that is has got to take a MASSIVE amount of effort. Every little hint, every emotional beat, every character tell, they drop at a consistent build so the emotional payoff is just brutal (in a good, cathartic way?) every time a route makes me cry I wait and see and YEAH ITS ALWAYS ARTHOURE. The sweep and sentiment of Remy’s season 2 is unparalleled. Across Time is gutwrenching, and I actually stopped reading Renzei at one point because I was so emotional over it I had to like, LEGIT TAKE A BREAK to recover. Pacing and heartache. I have to stop and wonder - is it because the routes themselves are so gut-punching? OR is it because she knows how to wring every last emotional drop out of whatever story framework is handed to her? Because, Ezekiel’s villain costume is a bit silly (there I said it, it is) I get the cobra helmet shape in theory but in practice, ooof, but POINT BEING despite being skeptical I’d be able to take his story seriously as a result, I was hiccuping from crying so much (and I am gosh darn adult, in my thirties, with three degrees and a high-stress job at pretty major company. I DON’T CRY EASY)

 Dialogue (& heroines!)

Xekstrin is the gosh damn master of dialogue. Clever, witty banter that doesn’t go where you expect it to, meandering but natural topic changes that are delightful to follow and feel real, and--special shoutout for this, okay--the navigation of viscerally important topics like consent, kink, self-worth, power in relationships, self-sacrifice, and apologies in a way that is not stilted or forced at all (listen, I know Viv & Lyris are the most recent and they are amazing but I remember this first hit me when I was reading Astraeus, and I spent half the route with my jaw on the floor going, oh shit,  oh shit. The communication! The navigation of the complexity of emotion going on, chef’s kiss! Casual isn’t the right word, but, natural, maybe?). I don’t actually take that many screenshots of the app--it’s usually single lines that get me--but when I do, they are almost always conversations from one of her routes, because they’re so damn good, and often so unexpected, and yet always make such perfect sense for the characters involved. Dialogue is SO HARD OKAY. Actually try and transcribe a conversation sometime, it’s nuts how people talk vs how most people write people talking. Xekstrin also writes some of my absolute favorite MCs, and going back to fingerprints, I was reading Lyris s1 and right there in the first tavern scene, as we were following along with the heroine’s thoughts I went, ah, yes, I know who you belong to and I am SO EXCITED. Being able to give the heroine unique thoughts and quirks, to make her genuinely relatable, without overriding the necessary template of the genre dictates, is a skill all of its own. But I love her MCs! There is a beautiful balance of compassion, competence, and dash of bratty, wild, fun mischief. I can actually cheer for them. I can actually get behind them. I WANT the love interest to flop at their feet for who they are, not just because the story says so. And that comes from how the heroine’s thoughts are written, from her phrasing in conversations, how she sees situations, not just a producer saying ‘she is a strong lead who is self conscious about her ears and she’s nervous in the council meeting’ or whatever. I AM REALLY STRUGGLING to articulate this if you can’t tell from how long I have been blathering. Maybe this - the heroine is the same across every route, presumably, yes? Everyone has the same base. I NEVER question, when xekstrin is writing, why the love interest falls in love with her. Side note - I had hard written off GIL after a bad experience with the standalone app. I only read Aurora BECAUSE I learned she wrote it, and I would have SO MISSED OUT otherwise.

A complete aside in which Lee grumbles about heroines and not writers!

(Complete side vent: Often, the heroine is, if not a blank slate, a sort of collection of assigned traits, and she often remains so unless the story demands she become otherwise. Which is fine! I don’t personally, but I know a lot of folks self-insert, and so erring towards that makes sense. Almost all the otome I’ve played were originally written for a Japanese audience. When I played original Voltage games, starting back in 2014, I always had to remind myself - different culture, different culture, different culture, and it was not possible for me to relate to most of the heroines. I still enjoyed the stories, but I rarely cheered for the heroine’s romance, especially in some of the slice of life stories. I understood her, but I rarely wanted her to get with the love interest, I wanted her success to come in other ways! Another game company, Cybird, tried to ‘Americanize’ their heroine to IMO disastrous effect - it was such a stereotype, and made no sense since they didn’t also Americanize the context, so she come across as, frankly, ridiculous. And frankly, Voltage’s GIL heroine REEKED OF THAT. When they first posted her on social media I was legitimately annoyed about it, like could you lean into this more? I think not. So when I talk about being able to relate to and cheer for the heroine, it’s a big deal, because my blatant mistrust of Voltage and their ability to craft a heroine I could tolerate was a BIG factor in how long it took me to give Lovestruck a try. I was willing to tolerate it in translated stories, I was so skeptical of -en only ones.) 

Metaphors (& balance)

literacouture writes beautiful metaphors for connection between humans! I’m really bad at keeping track of who writes what, but I purposefully kept an eye out on tumblr after reading Cal’s route, because there were some lines that were pure poetry, and I wanted to keep an eye out for more. It is HARD to spin metaphors prettily without delving into trite, painful, purple prose cringe territory, and it’s navigated beautifully in Cal’s route. There’s a balance between those spin-out moments and things that are tangible and anchoring and make it feel authentic and unique to the two characters involved, instead of just ‘I am trying to make this sound romantic and this is a romantic phrase so here it is’. That balance is really necessary. You NEED the mundane alongside the metaphor or it doesn’t feel authentic. Also. Trying really hard to write this without throwing any authors or producers under the bus, but...listen. I love Sin with Me. But the world logic (or LACK THEREOF) drives me up a wall. I don’t read Cal because of his character traits or sprite or (sigh) his story. I read him because literacouture writes a beautiful romance.

 So anyway...

There are more! When I am less tired and don’t have meetings, I will try and write them up (Please know there are so many routes I love, and so many things I do recognize across chapters! I don’t even HAVE words for what theivorytowercrumbles accomplished with Helena’s story not to mention how much I adore Cyprin,  SummerLightning’s handling of Onyx’s past relationship was so deftly done when it could have so quickly become ‘milk abuse for plot’ and joidecombat gave Sev a fresh, mischievous energy and navigated the dream/reality line with SUCH skill, and so on and so on.)

I’ve written a lot of reviews. And I try to give nods where I feel they’re due - sometimes, it really is obvious that the whole team’s work came together to makes something great, the world, the plot, the arc, the art, the words, and the music all fit into place in a  well-crafted tour de force. And sometimes one piece or another is lacking, and I’ll admit I’ve left some...less than kind reviews to that end (I try and soften it, because I know there are humans on the other side of everything, but I’ve been harsh more than once with my opinions).  I’ve read routes with plots that made me want to tear my hair out because I DO value consistency and logic to a degree, even if I’m going to accept at face value that, say, space travel is a thing or demons turn to sand when stabbed. 

In the end, these are romance stories. So I will let a lot slide when it comes to plot. What sells a story are the words - not the outline.

And if Voltage doesn’t believe that - just remember that Hamlet existed long, long before Shakespeare wrote it. His was the version that lasted, because the people liked it best. The plot, the world, the characters, they all existed a hundred times over. Even just look at fan translations of manga. Why do people keep translating, even if someone else has? Because the words someone else picked don’t do the story justice. 

I don’t know. I’m talking in circles because I don’t know my own thesis! 

Maybe it’s just - the worlds these stories in are nice. But when I say I’m a fan of something, the premise is like. 10%. The rest is the writing. 

[xinimartsy]

Yes there are mangas, animes and etc. with strong female MCs but as I said, mobile otome games are specifically targeted towards helpless women. I’m half Japanese, been living here half my life and all of my Japanese friends are like that in terms of personality, they prefer more dominant boyfriends (also why the most popular suitors are those types). They mostly prefer to have a gentle and “pure” image. Ikemen Sengoku might have that MC because of the setting

First of all, hi ❤️ good to see you here again, anon. Second of all, very interesting, I do enjoy hearing your first hand experience with the subject and I do resonate with it. As a Brazilian, someone who can be considered a latina, I'm no stranger to the cultural aspect of it: that our women are fiery and seductive, which.... Fair.

And while I don't deny that many pieces of media, otome games included, might present these characteristics for this reason (I'm looking at you, Shoujo heroines), I don't think it's the case for the subject of our debate: Ikemen Prince and Belle's autonomy in it. And I stand by my opinion that, in this game in particular, it stems from lousy writing.

I don't know how familiar you are with writing, if you partake or take interest in the craft, but there are a few rules to writing a consistent story. The two rules I'll be referring to are Chekhov's Gun and the Consistent Characterization.

"Chekhov's Gun" is a writing principle that says a writer mustn't add anything in that doesn't serve the narrative. If the narrator mentions a gun on the wall in the first act, said gun must be useful in a later act, otherwise it'd have been an useless information which Chekhov describes as "false promises" to the audience.

While Consistent Characterization means that the actions the characters perform throughout the story must be reasonable within their prior characterization. A character can't simply possess a convenient skill that was not priorly foreshadowed, the same you can't ignore something you've established without good reason. A character with no knowledge of street smarts can't suddenly know how to lockpick just because, while if a character had a known past as a thief and was suddenly faced with a lock to pick, you can't simply ignore that they would know how to pick it, instead giving a good explanation as to why in that moment, they weren't able to lockpick this specific door.

Why do I raise these two aspects of writing? Because that's exactly what I complain about Emma in Ikemen prince.

In Ikemen Sengoku's prologue, we get some insight on Mai: she loves fashion and is on her way to her dream job, finally. This little piece of information established that Mai was passionate and driven enough to chase what she wants. Characteristics that remain throughout the game in every route. Mai checks out both Chekhov's Gun, by making use of her skills throughout the narrative, as well as Consistent Characterization, by acting accordingly to how she was established to be in the beginning of the game: driven, passionate, and modern.

Mutsuki (ikemen vampire) and Alice (ikemen revolution) are other two main characters from cybird that, despite being very much the pure, gentle and innocent archetype and mostly lacking agency, they work because they act accordingly to how they were established to be: Mutsuki a simple woman with a love for writing and Alice a cheerful and friendly patisserie who's content with life. They both are thrown headfirst in situations in which they find themselves helpless, much like Mai, but while Mai faces it headfirst like the headstrong girl she is, Mitsuki and Alice are more mellow, which doesn't make them bad characters since that's how they've been made to be.

And that's exactly the problem with Emma. The prologue tells us that Emma is optimistic towards the world, has a strong sense of justice, as well as courage to do what she thinks is right. Though Chevalier is known as the "Brutal Beast" and strikes fear in the hearts of people due to his ruthlessness, Emma still jumped in and slapped the drunk man to make sure the prince wouldn't cut him down, even though she likely knew that his sword could just as easily have turned towards her. She wasn't so innocent as not to know that prince Chevalier WOULD cut the man down, and that's why she stepped in. And although it was said for giggles, Sariel did comment on Emma's slap when explaining his reasoning towards his choice for Belle. This prologue tells us Emma has a most fiery personality and won't hesitate to do something she judges correct, regardless of the possible consequences.

However, many routes strip her of the qualities given to her by the writers themselves, which makes Emma fail in both Consistent Characterization and Chekhov's Gun, seeing as she's both not acting accordingly to her previously established traits as well not using her previously established skills to advance or assist the plot.

That happens because they change Emma's personality depending on her suitor as to enhance him, which is why it's most noticeable in the suitors considered more "dominant" (really the most popular ones), because instead of doing the hard and difficult work of writing someone dominant and astounding enough for someone as fiery but kind as Emma to rely on and fall for, they do what? They make her act uncharacteristically in order to emphasize those traits on him, much too pure to enphisize how they're tainted or much too kind to enphisize their darker side, much too innocent to enphisize how they're mature/dominant, much too clueless to enphisize how they're smart, that's why sometimes it seems that the Emma we read in the prologue and the Emma we read within a route are completely different characters.

That's what bothers me, not her passiveness in itself, but the fact that it seems misplaced in someone like Emma given how she was originally characterized. Emma should not be a character only reacting to what the other characters do to her. Within the world of the game, she's a PERSON. Her experiences and personality should not fluctuate depending on the suitor she's pursuing.

And given that she was priorly written as a more fiery gal, we can somewhat discard the excuse of "cultural difference" because Cybird themselves wrote the prologue and cybird themselves gave Emma those characteristics. They're just failing at upholding it.

Thus.... Lousy writing

[emeraldtawny]

Dazai Osamu Character Analysis: How Human Is He?

Before I get into this, allow me to preface this with a disclaimer: I AM NO EXPERT IN ANY OF THE TOPICS I AM ABOUT TO DELVE INTO, THIS IS JUST WHAT I INTERPRET PERSONALLY. This is just a fan of the character rambling about him and his real-life counterpart for the sake of sharing the thoughts rattling around inside my brain. However, I will link all sources that I used at the end of this so you may wish to investigate further if what you read piques your interest.

Okay, so… Dazai Osamu. This man is as much of an enigma as he was in real life (which… makes sense). Whether Cybird did this on purpose for a gradual build-up to his route or because he just wasn’t as popular a character, who knows? (I like to believe the former just for hope’s sake gbsdukgdx). Because we know very little about him in-game, the majority of what I will be mentioning will relate back to IRL Dazai. If you know little or nothing of Dazai Osamu, please proceed with caution if discussions of substance abuse, depression and suicide upset or trigger you. Consider this your disclaimer. Now then, let’s dive in.

History of Dazai Osamu

Born in 1909 into a wealthy family as Tsushima Shūji, that didn’t ease his early life from burdens. His father was a politician and often spent long periods away from home. His mother was often sick so he was mostly cared for by his aunt and the family’s servants. His father died of lung cancer when Dazai was 13, but he seemed mostly unhindered by the death of his father and continued through schooling before being accepted into the literature department of Hirosaki University in 1927.

Things started taking a more outward effect on Dazai around this time, the linchpin likely being the death of his idol - author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa - who committed suicide. He started losing interest in his studies, investing more time into alcohol and prostitutes. He also experimented in Marxism, even joining the Japanese Communist Party. His first suicide attempt was in 1929 - right before his school exams - by an attempted sleeping pill overdose. This wasn’t enough to kill him so he subsequently survived. He graduated from Hirosaki the following year, then moved to Tokyo University in 1930. There, he met a prostitute that he ran away with, prompting him to be disowned by his family. 

His second attempt at suicide came that year - an attempted double suicide with a young woman he barely knew. They threw themselves into the ocean. Sadly, she died, and Dazai was rescued by a passing fishing boat. He was suspected in the woman’s death, but his family’s influence saved him. He then married the prostitute he ran away with.

It was after this that Dazai began networking with established writers and started publishing his own works, his pseudonym of Dazai Osamu being established with his short story ‘Ressha’ in 1933. In 1935, he attempted suicide for the third time by hanging, failing once again. That same year, he suffered from appendicitis and was admitted to hospital where he developed an addiction to a morphine-based painkiller. He was admitted to a mental institution in 1936 and was forced off of his drug addiction. When he was getting treated, his wife had an affair with his best friend. With their marriage deteriorating, both Dazai and his wife attempted a double suicide - Dazai’s fourth attempt. They both consumed sleeping pills in an attempted overdose. Both survived and Dazai divorced his wife after this.

The 1930s and 1940s were Dazai’s golden years literature-wise. He wrote many novels and short stories. When World War II rolled around, he escaped being drafted due to tuberculosis. He continued writing through the war period and met and then married his second wife in 1941. They had three children together.

The last years of Dazai’s life produced his most infamous works - ‘The Setting Sun’ and ‘No Longer Human’ - in 1947 and 1948 respectively. Around this time, Dazai met a woman who he left his wife and children for to take as a mistress. On June 13, 1948, Dazai and his mistress committed suicide by drowning in the Tamagawa Reservoir in Tokyo. In a cruelly ironic twist, their corpses were discovered on what would have been Dazai’s 39th birthday - his fifth attempt was the one that succeeded. An unfinished novelette eerily titled ‘Goodbye’ was left behind, many believing this as his last will.

Dazai’s works became a cult classic after his death, his undertones of nihilism in a postwar society greatly appealing to the masses. ‘No Longer Human’ became his most famous piece, eventually being translated into many languages and is among the most popular books in Japanese literature. He inspired different movies and anime (and otome) with the story of his life and the works he crafted from his experiences.

(All info in this section is derived from Source 1)

No Longer Human’s Effect

When you think Dazai Osamu, it’s not uncommon to immediately think of his novel ‘No Longer Human’. Whether you’ve read the book or not, worry not, as I will not be discussing any plots in the book; I will instead address the overarching themes and (the lack of) conclusion and message the novel leaves you with.

Many consider ‘No Longer Human’ - and many other of Dazai’s works - as semi-autobiographical, as he took many of his story’s ideas from his own personal experiences. This is illustrated through the way in which he wrote his stories; focusing on first-person perspectives to an excruciatingly analytical degree. This was and still is known as the “I-Genre” in Japan and became a staple for Dazai, the viewpoints and mindsets he wrote his characters in portrayed very vividly in a way that made you question how much of it is the character, and how much of what he wrote was the author’s own words and feelings to the world.

‘No Longer Human’ is not a happy story. It follows the story of a man through childhood, university and finally adulthood - the story written in three parts as notebooks to show his progression of age. Without spoiling the contents of the novel in case you wish to read it for yourself, the story focuses on an overarching question: is being a human the solution, or the problem in and of itself? Throughout the novel, it’s clear of how questioning the main character is of this, almost to the point of obsession and compulsion. However, his language always shows how unconvinced he is; a “mundane and dream-like writing, incessantly miming the words “I think … ,” “I am … ,” “I could … ,” “I should … .” Dazai’s characters are never quite convinced.” (Source 2).

The character Dazai portrays is relentless in his self-examination, which leads to his estrangement - not just from those around him, but to the very species he is meant to be a part of. Estrangement is common throughout the story and “It is this fundamentally unhuman feeling that, paradoxically, reveals to Dazai’s characters exactly how human they are.” (Source 2). The inner monologues and conversations can be unsettling if you find yourself relating, alien if you don’t, but ultimately leave you walking away from it questioning even an inkling of what you thought was innate and normal. 

‘No Longer Human’ is not a story designed to tie up all of the loose ends it produces. Dazai leaves it up to you - the reader - to interpret for yourself. The character is infuriatingly, yet ultimately in character, indecisive in how he wishes to perceive the world; “To be a nonentity strangely indifferent to all the accoutrements of human life and society, and yet strangely drawn to the unhuman world of sky, rain, sand, sea, this is where Dazai’s novel ultimately leads, and it’s at this point that it has to end.” (Source 2).

Depression and Nihilism

I mentioned earlier that Dazai was admitted to a mental institution. From the sources I found, I couldn’t find anything concrete about why he was admitted aside from battling his drug addiction. However, mental illness was prevalent in Dazai’s life and it’s widely believed depression was a large part of this. Few recounts of people who talked with Dazai recalled his dark, wry tone in his writings, yet found his humour witty and oftentimes exaggerated (hmmmm…). Since I found nothing credible for this discussion beyond this, I’m going to step away from psychology and instead have a look at philosophy, specifically Dazai’s philosophy on life.

Again, this is just assumptions. However, I find this more comfortable theorising about over sensitive topics like depression and mental health (plus, I find this incredibly interesting, personally). You could argue that Dazai believes in sophistry - the use of clever but false arguments, especially with the intention of deceiving - but I’m inclined to disagree simply because of how deep Dazai digs himself into his own deception; if he himself believes what he tells others, I think it’s a more deep-rooted philosophy than false arguments. I mentioned nihilism earlier and this is what I ultimately believe is the philosophy in how Dazai saw the world. What type of nihilism is the question.

Most people think nihilism and assume the whole “God is dead, I feel nothing” hypothetical; I know I used to always assume so. But, of course, it’s not as cut and dry as that (nothing is simple…). There are different types of nihilism, but I will only talk about the one I think applies to Dazai. Throughout his stories, despite the gloomy atmosphere, there’s usually a(n attempted) glimmer of hope - a snag in the character’s mindset that draws them back into their repeating thoughts of what they should and should not perceive and believe in. Because of this, cosmic nihilism (also called cosmic pessimism) can be eliminated - Dazai’s characters don’t renounce everything they feel and take meaning in as illusions to make existing easier, they’re slightly more lenient in believing what they perceive.

I offer the type of nihilism I believe Dazai’s mindset for writing - and subsequently his actual mindset - falls into: existential nihilism.

Existential nihilism operates on the premise that there is no inherent meaning or purpose; “existence itself–all action, suffering, and feeling–is ultimately senseless and empty.” (Source 3). While not denouncing beliefs like faith and love like cosmic nihilism, existential nihilism relies on values being created and sustained lest they risk falling into the mindset that there is no hope, the world is truly empty and there’s no point in existing in a world that doesn’t even try to give you a reason to hold on. Existential nihilists don’t believe that happiness doesn’t exist; they simply believe that “miseries vastly outnumber pleasures, happiness is impossible” (Source 3) and, therefore, are constantly at odds with themselves over striving for this impossible happiness or simply leaving it behind to find something else to root themselves to reality. Many of Dazai’s character’s internal conversations echo this philosophy; they either despair over being who they are, or they despair because they can’t be who they think they are. In a specific example, they feel estranged and uneasy about how they think - being what they deem “not human” - or they feel trapped and alone in believing that they can’t be who they think they are, so they’re forced to play a character - a facade - for their entire life so as not to be discovered.

Search up ‘Dazai Osamu quotes’ on Google and you’ll find a plethora to read that seem to portray this very idea. Constantly battling within himself over what he should believe, what he should feel and, ultimately, never voicing his pain to the world itself. These two screenshots from the game seem to mirror this sentiment. 

Soo… what does this mean for Ikemen Vampire Dazai?

… Who knows? I don’t work for Cybird so I couldn’t possibly tell you sorry :3. The PV for his route had heavy implications of atonement and death being the only true salvation, so I’m intrigued on what angle they’re going to tackle that from, since Dazai’s reasoning for being revived was “well, death wasn’t what I thought it would be lol”. (Unless it’s a red herring… who knows with this eccentric man gbdukgdfx).

So… yeah. I just wanted to ramble and with his route dropping in Japan before April is done, I thought it was a good time to just ramble into the Tumblr void. Please feel free to broach further conversations about this, correct me if I slipped up anywhere or to just say you’re excited for his route (because I know I am huehuehue). 

Sources can be found here (Source 1 | Source 2 | Source 3)

[apfleur]

EN Cybird team, please.

Masamune, please finish what you are saying.

Is this a multiple choice dialogue?

Sigh.

Ranting behind the cut. It’s a long string of rambles. I just need to vent. If you are somehow reading it and have a different opinion, please feel free to tell me. I would love to hear about it.

There are more errors, but I’m just highlighting the above. The QC is non-existent in the Battle of Fates AU event. Did they just quickly did the first draft and published it straight away without checking? That must be. I see the EN team has not just become greedier, but they have become lazier as well. If you don’t have enough people to check, hire more or just simply take more time to look through before releasing the event. It wasn’t like that in the beginning (or at least when I started to play about 2 years ago). Very disappointing, really.

I had wanted to do the ECB bonus for the background, but then I thought to myself, ‘what am I doing this for? is it worth it?’. So even though I purposely waited to enter the event during the first triple fever, I had decided not to participate at all. But then some kind players with super high glamour extended a friend slot to me and I was very touched. T__T THANK YOU SO MUCH. Whatever did I do to deserve it? So I decided to play this event. (the glamour was high enough that they carried me through 4 routes O_O )

Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this story event and it’s not just because of those errors I pointed out above. I’m really glad I did not spend any more effort than is required to do this event, which means no buying of sets or even using my existing inventory of stamina items (not a lot to be honest). It’s not worth it. I find this event to be subpar. I read Kenshin’s, Mitsuhide’s and Masa’s route and I felt underwhelmed. How do I describe it? It’s like there’s not much...substance to the story. It’s overly simple and everything resolves so easily (yes, I’m aware that IkeSen stories are always more lighthearted and less serious than SLBP and there are never truly any real conflicts involved but even so...). I don’t know why it bothered me so much this time. It doesn’t seems like there was much effort put in when the team crafted the story for this event (well, it’s the JP team who wrote this, yeah?).

The last route I read was Nobunaga’s and his was the only one that I like better than the rest, mainly because of Yukimura and his conflicts between serving Nobunaga and having to fight Shingen (didn’t have enough glamour and time to read Ieyasu’s). But even than, I have something to pick on about his route. Yukimura told MC that his opinion of Nobunaga has changed because he was able to see Nobunaga differently through MC’s eyes. Ok, I accept that. But later on, he also told MC that it was because MC loves Nobunaga so much that it contributed to the change in his attitude towards Nobunaga. At this point, I’m like, ‘Nonononono~~’. Why is credit being given to MC just because she loves Nobunaga a lot? What if it so happens that the Nobunaga that MC loves is an evil tyrant? Than it wouldn’t be a valid reason for Yukimura’s change of perception. I just find it stupid that they had to put in this reason just to show how great MC was. (눈_눈)

Ok, I’m done. Ranting is actually tiring.