#and 2) still HORRIFIC This is still shown as just a silly mistake.

[starlight-bread-blog]

"I've stalked you to protect you against your consent".

[creatxn]

Let’s take a moment to consider dark!verse Baron.  Because that is one of my favorite AUs I’ve come up with and I love the interactions I’ve had with @haruxyoshioka in it.  

But consider:

A lot of things led to Baron going the way he did in the dark!verse.  He saw the horrors that humanity came up with during WWII first hand.  While searching for Louise he saw bombings, executions, people being driven from their homes and treated worse than livestock.  He was, also, relatively very young during this time.  If he was Created in 1935, he would have been 2 years old when the war started in the Pacific, with Japan invading China.  Then it starts in Europe another 2 years later.  Baron, regardless of his emotional and mental age, has only spent only 4 years alive and experiencing things. 

Regardless of when Japan entered the war, the minute Baron heard about what was going on he would have known that Mr. Nishi’s sweetheart was not returning with Louise.  So he left the quiet comfort of Mr. Nishi’s home and went out on his own, experiencing the world for himself for the first time.  Seeing the world for the first time.  And he sees the ugliest that mankind can offer.

Let’s say he searches for years.  Has time to see each and every horror of the war.  He tries to save some people, tries to lessen the suffering where he sees it, and sometimes he succeeds.  But sometimes he doesn’t, and he’s forced to watch the consequences of his failures. 

He grows more desperate to find Louise.  The war is so awful, and she’s out there on her own and he can barely stand it on his own.  He thinks she must feel the same way, that she must be heartbroken by all the suffering and disgusted by the atrocities.  But if they’re together, he thinks, they can weather it.  If they’re together they can survive this storm.  They can keep each other safe.  They were made for each other, after all.  They were supposed to support each other, balance each other out, make each other better.

Baron follows leads and finds dead end after dead end for years.  Then, in 1942, he goes back to Germany.  Again.  He hates going back, because they started this damn war.  They’ve done horrific things.  But he finds some clue or other that makes him think that maybe Louise is back in their home country.

In the main verse, Baron never finds her.  He instead comes upon another dead end, and looks elsewhere.  He searches and searches until his soul is too wearied by the horrors of war and he returns to Mr. Nishi and falls still for nearly half a century.  He stays that way until Shizuku comes along and breathes new life into him with her story, with her inspiration and her dreaming and her vivid imagination that, in turn, inspires him.  To be a worthy muse of this young girl with a story in her heart.

He is still affected by his time during the war, of course.  He is so afraid to lose someone again, to fail the way he had with Louise, that sometimes he looses sight of things.  Like he did when the Cat King made the mistake of offering one too many obstacles to Miss Haru’s freedom, and the Baron in turn threatened to eradicate an entire world.  All so he would not fail someone else.

But the quiet defeat and decades of depression was not something Baron in the dark!verse was gifted.  He was given far worse when he returned to his home country to search for Louise.

He found false hope.  He found Louise.

They’re reunited, if briefly.  But 1942 is when the British start bombing Germany back.  They don’t even get to hold each other before they’re separated again in the chaos.  Baron searches again, finds her, sees her off in the distance.

And sees a bomb drop.

He searches for her afterwards in the wreckage, desperately.  Maybe she’s still alive.  Maybe she needs his help.  If there’s a merciful God let him at least hold her one more time.  Let him give her the burial she deserves.

He finds her hat.  He finds splintered and burnt wood.  He cries, he screams, and he departs.  He doesn’t know where to go, so he just continues to travel.  Watching the rest of the war run its course, not interfering because he has lost the will to care.  He’s spent seven years alive and his young soul is damaged.

The war ends in 1945 with a bomb even worse than the one that took Louise from him.  Baron later sees the destruction it wrought, and thinks to himself that humanity does nothing but destroy.  True, he and Louise were created by a human.  He would not exist were it not for humanity.  But just as humans brought him and his love into this world, they took his love away.  They destroyed her.  They destroyed themselves.  They destroyed the world that gave birth to them. 

Humans, he decides, are a disease.  A plague upon the earth.  And he has so much anger and resentment and rage and self loathing within him, that he cannot possibly contain it without bursting.  So he directs it outwards, at humans, and starts picking them off.  

It starts perhaps nobly enough.  He goes after remaining Nazis, he puts them down.  But the bomb that killed Louise was not a German bomb.  No human is blameless.  So he goes after British officers next, and continues to move until he does not discriminate between which side they were on the war.  If they cross his path, if the behave wrongly in his eyes, then they are as good as dead.  He is judge, jury, and executioner all in one.

He does this for decades, his slow spiral into becoming what Haru eventually meets when she is trapped in the Cat Kingdom: a Creation tainted and warped who has forgotten how to love in a sea of grief and hate.

He has, however, also become tired.  Decades of hating will weigh on the soul, and so Baron takes odd jobs from the Cat King.  To amuse himself, to take a break from constantly hating.  

But then she shows up.  Then Haru is there.  This human girl who should have every reason to be as bitter and hateful as he is: she was torn from her home and turned into something she wasn’t.  She is relentless pursued by a suitor she despises.  She will likely never see her family again.  She knows that the world is cruel.  But she remains resilient, and doesn’t lose sight of who she is.  If anything, she’s become stronger because of her suffering.

Baron does not admit it, but he does not hate Haru because she is a human.  Rather, she shames him.  Because she has shown herself to be far more resilient in the face of great suffering.  She did not allow her circumstances to twist her into something she loathed.  She is a reminder to Baron that he has failed in more ways than one.

Furthermore, she is not scared of him, like so many others are.  She is undeterred in her attempts to know him.  She challenges him where most would cower and run, and turns him into the one who flees.

And little by little, she changes him.  Brings out parts of him he thought died sixty years ago.  She starts to, in her own way, heal him, though it is by no means a gentle process; she heals him by force, by refusing to let him wallow in self loathing and telling him very sternly that he is not beyond hope and that he needs to stop being so silly.  ( some time down the road, he may look sheepishly back at himself and admit that he was being very silly and dramatic about the whole thing. )

Haru turns his world upside down.  With her challenges and refusals to back down makes him, ever so slowly, reconsider and reevaluate who and what he is.

Of course, Baron’s entire being is again shaken and shattered.  

Because one day he looks up

And discovers Louise, alive and well. 

[eastbridge-sb]

Veikkausliiga Asian Handicap Previews – 6th October Sunday

FC Lahti v KPV

In the previous preview I expected Lahti and HIFK to struggle scoring against each other. However, my analysis was completely wrong, and in hindsight it is rather easy to see why.

FC Lahti pressed rather aggressively with several players about fifteen yards on the opposite half, which led to both opportunities and risks. The opportunities Lahti used well, by gaining possession from the rather clumsy HIFK defense. Long balls were also a good option against insecure defenders.

However, it did come with a great cost that HIFK, who move the ball extremely fast forwards, used well. Lahti’s defense was similarly, at times, very shaky and insecure. HIFK showed offensive maturity, which comes quite late in the season, but I will get more into that later in the preview.

As VPS went on to lose at Rovaniemi, KPV basically secured avoiding a direct relegation with their win at OmaSp stadium in Seinäjoki. The greens were struggling during the first fifteen minutes when SJK had at least some enthusiasm in their play. KPV struggled getting past their hosts’ high pressure and especially the central defense was having a rough time.

After the initial inertia, KPV took control of the game and truly ran over an extremely apathic SJK. The positive mood in KPV’s camp is visible and offensively they do look pretty ok, too. However, the defense has not exactly been challenged in the two recent games, where the opposition has struggled all season long with scoring.

I expect this to be a quite eventful match where both sides are prone to mistakes. That should also lead to a fair amount of goals.

Asian Total Goals Betting Recommendation: Over 2.50 goals at 2.230

VPS v HIFK

Good Lord it has not been an easy season for VPS. Losing at Rovaniemi was the last nail to seal the coffin, although there is still a slim theoretical chance to avoid direct relegation.

VPS created a little something in the first half against their very lackluster hosts but not really enough to score. The collective work in offense is simply not there anymore, instead, VPS offensive hopes rely on individuals or a couple players combining their skills for the moment.

Sure, it has resulted in a fair share of goals under Christian Sund, however, the problems in defense are so immense. There is the obvious lack of quality, but I think the amount of different defensive line-ups VPS have been forced to start with this year has not gained the amount of attention it should.

Jamaican winger Ricardo Morris started as a fullback at Rovaniemi and did an absolutely horrific job. He caused the first penalty by being clumsy and could not mark his man in the second goal. There were not high expectations, but he still managed to disappoint me.

I already partly analyzed partly HIFK’s previous match as they drew 2-2 in Lahti. The offensive maturity I mentioned has shown as the scoring load being more evenly spread in the squad. Earlier this season they were rather dependent on one individual, whteher it was Jakob Dunsby, Tiquinho, or Luis Henrique. Now, they produce plenty more chances for more options.

HIFK lost last time in Vaasa, being the only team to do so thus far this season together with IFK Mariehamn. VPS defense will still leak badly but I do still see them producing quite a lot of offensive threats against HIFK’s defense.

Asian Total Goals Betting Recommendation: Over 2.50 goals at 1.860

HJK v FC Inter

IFK Mariehamn’s curse as HJK’s guests continued, as expected. Despite having about an hour to score against a home team whose defense continued doing the exact opposite of impressing by doing incredibly silly mistakes and showing absolutely no unity, Mariehamn’s inefficiency in front of goal kept the scoresheet empty.

HJK ended up winning 3-0 which most certainly does not tell the truth of the whole 90 minutes. The typical issue was present once again, as HJK’s offense had its 30-minute period of very active and dangerous football. During the first 60 minutes it was as if the offensive players simply were not there.

Just like for VPS, it has been a very rough season for HJK, who also have lost their collective foundation which they were known for under their former manager. Now it is as if all the three sections of the lineup live in their own worlds, midfielders being in purgatory – like Tottenham Hotspur, or champagne without the fizz. The offensive players have their moments of divine experience, while the defensive lineup is taking a guided tour in hell with Dante.

Inter’s title hopes took a massive blow when they lost home to Honka. The hosts were unlucky with hitting the post thrice, but they did struggle more than I expected in offense. Defensively Honka were rather harmless, although they clearly pulled back after the opening goal.

The main reason for Inter’s struggles against Honka was one man only, Anthony Annan. I have rarely seen such an inept player in a top team. When the Ghanaian ex-international was signed, I first saw it as a great addition to the squad for the final sprint in the season. However, he had not played for a while which is visible on the field. What is even more obvious is how he has not understood his role on the field, like at all.

Thanks to his idiotic behavior in the final minutes against Honka, Annan will not face his former team in Helsinki. This is definitely more of a blessing than a curse for the visitors, who look to keep their hopes for the title alive. Inter are seriously undervalued here.

Asian Handicap Betting Recommendation: Inter +0.50 at 1.850

Preview by: @konformisten.

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The post Veikkausliiga Asian Handicap Previews – 6th October Sunday appeared first on Eastbridge.

source https://eastbridge-sb.com/veikkausliiga-asian-handicap-previews-041019/

[robdelamortereviews]

Steam: Fox Hime (VN)

I can’t get into too much about this one’s backstory. It was originally developed by one group (Under the name ContactS) and then changed to another one under suspicious, secretive terms. ContactS was pulled from steam completely, replaced by this VN instead which, aside from the characters and some CGs, is TOTALLY different. Not that there’s more than two videos of the original. Hm.

Anyway it’s overall a pretty normal, casual romance VN. You’re some dork who lives, goes to school with and works with a fox girl spirit who is essentially like a guardian/friend. There’s some kind-of flirting between you and talk about finding a girlfriend. This is actually a core part of the VN, to it’s detriment; every conversation is directly about getting a girlfriend or flirting. With maybe two or three exceptions, it’s always one and/or the other.

Additionally, there are some VERY silly spelling/wording mistakes which clearly point towards the translation being machine-based and not checked afterwards. Among other things including: talking about the teacher “Liyaving” the classroom, the girls randomly saying “Fuck” two or three times which is utterly out of tone with the VN and their personalities, and Mori’s name being changed to “Molly” at least twice.

Aside from that and a few words not really fitting, the translation DOES do the job though. It’s certainly readable, don’t let the “bwaa muh Nippon translations must be perection!” crowd throw you off with their bitching. Having said that, I really feel like they chopped out at least 70% of the content in this VN; there is a character with a moving sprite like the two main girls who is introduced and shown for all of a minute, never to be seen again. And the story pacing is...

Let me put it like this. I cleared this VN in an hour flat, and that was taking my time. From when you first meet the purple haired girl, Liya, she’s pretty much romantically interested in you from the get go. Not only that, but her and Mori get along super well amost immediately, something that would absolutely never happen between two girls who cared about the same guy. It just feels super compressed and rushed.

Still, I DID enjoy the story and stuff even so, even with all the rushing. Unfortunately, the lead up to and the ending almost totally ruined everything for me. I’ve said so before but for me, even the most brilliant story and journey can be utterly ruined by a horrible ending. I don’t even like sad endings to begin with, but if it’s well writen I can at least accept them. This one though...

Basically the whole deal with the MC and Mori is that due to a wish his mother made when he was a baby, Mori ended up as his kind of guardian and literally grew up with him from when he was a child all the way past twenty years of age. They’ve been together all this time, with the caveat that Mori said she would leave when he “Wasn’t a child anymore”. This apparently translates into “When you fall in love with someone, I’m out.”.

Disregarding the very obvious issue I have with such an arbitrary reason to leave forever, this damn reason and her actions contradict themselves. >_< She acts like she’s happy being with you and teases you early in the story, and yet she directly sets you up with Liya, knowing full well that’d spell the end of your life with herself. Also she doesn’t even seem to consider the obvious loophole of “What if I love you instead, then you can���t leave right?” and, even though she’s shown to have some feelings, never makes a move of her own towards that end.

It gets much worse than this though. Near the end, the three of you go hiking together and Liya ends up spraining her ankle and having to be carried back to camp by you. This is the exact moment that Mori decides you’ve “grown up” and leaves, for good. This is despite the fact that 1) She told you she would say when she had to leave, 2) That she’d become fast friends with Liya and leaving like this is betraying her too and 3) She had a job, and current education. I guess dropping that all without notice won’t matter much.

It gets worse. ¬_¬ The idiot MC does the very natural thing and chases after her, to her shrine and meets with her. They have a very brief dialogue where she basically tells him it’s over and they might never meet again, and they part ways. This is where I lost my shit though;The MC proceeds to mope about somewhat for a single fucking day, before recovering after spending an afternoon at a carnival with Liya and accepting her confession. Roll credits, before showing a final scene explaining how they’ve gotten married and had a child together, and repeating the cycle by wishing for Mori to look after their baby.

Okay, that last fucking part offended me on a personal level. You mean to tell me that this guy, who has literally grown up all his life for over two decades close friends with this fox girl, you mean to tell me that he was only willing to try that one single time to convince her to come back? In fact he didn’t even do that much, he just sort of whinged about how he didn’t want her to go and then left. Really? Really. Fuckin... REALLY THOUGH!?

20 fuckin years childhood sweetheart, couple in all but name. They lived together, learnt together, worked together. And just because he kind of likes this new girl he’s known for not even a week, he’s just okay with letting Mori go? Fuck RIGHT off! This isn’t even shattering of immersion, this is... I don’t even know what this is!

Fucking hell. As someone who has never had a true friend in person, certainly not a pretty girl, I can’t even begin to describe how offensively fucking DUMB this is. Even if you loved the other girl more, you don’t just spend ONE fucking day being mopey and move on from losing a literal lifetime companion! >_< In real life, any normal person would be fucking heartbroken for WEEKS!

Not to mention him barely trying just once to see her. If it were me you can bet your ASS I’d camp that shrine day and night until she relented and rejoined us, or I died. Literally one or the other. Any possible immersion anyone has in the story up to this point is utterly shattered by this. I have no clue if they were rushing the story for reasons or it was a deliberate choice, but either way this utterly KILLS the story dead. I can live with it being a single-route story, but I can’t forgive giving such a horrifically written ending.

I’d better wrap this up here, it turned from a review into a rant about the ending. >> Anyway if you can look past that goddamn ending, for the asking price of like £1 it’s pretty disgustingly overvalued. The main girls’ art is incredible, the music is nice enough if mostly forgettable, (There’s a nice song though.) and yeah aside from the VN focusing super hard on boyfriend/girlfriend talk it is a pleasant experience. I just wish it had been longer, or more true to the original VN.

I’d say it’s worth a buy. You’ll enjoy it if you like these kind of light romance VNs, but it won’t be one you’ll talk about much or really remember a few weeks later. Overall score: 6/10