#and very motivated to play otomes

[oneemasan]

i gave her a blazer and a proper bow because she's my favorite daughter

[threepandas]

Bad End: Stolen

I was furious.

Terrified. Completely enraged. Sick to my stomach. Overwhelmed and yet expected to function. To keep my shaking hands smooth and screaming thoughts orderly. All I wanted to do want scream. Cry. Destroy and destroy, weep and RAGE.

Then hide in a closet under blankets until the monsters went away.

But... but he wasn't going too, was he?

"Ah, my honored Sister, how good of you to join me." Greets the murderer before me, voice cool and smooth like the scales of a snake. There is a gleefully victorious lilt to that voice. A curling possessiveness to the title.

I am not his sister. We are not ever REMOTELY related. It is not even a matter of me disowning him for what he's down. It is simple truth. We are not, by blood, related. We were not RAISED together. Our relation? A farce. A legal machination by my... my Father, oh gods... No! Don't get swallowed by the memories! T-The blood. Focus!!

Fafnir is... WAS just one of many promising, talented, ambitious young men with no father's that DEFINITELY were my Father's bastard sons, no really. He most certainly wasn't COLLECTING meritorious youth into our house, under his name, and training them up with his wealth and influence. To bypass the bullshit class system and give them a chance at better lives!

Maybe suggest they pay it forward.

My father would never be so duplicitous. No, no, he was just a very lustful man... that no one ever saw going out to have sex. Who's wife had never been the least bit upset with him. And to whom he was fiercely loyal. Yes. Very, very lustful my father... w-was.

It was just while the family continued it's work on opening up opportunities for the lower classes. Jobs and better quality of life. Hospitals and schools. Fighting against those who benefited from nothing changing. It was slow. Like pulling teeth. The work of lifetimes, he'd said. I... I was expected to help continue it.

I'd been GLAD too. So utterly RELIEVED I was reborn into a house with some fucking sense of RESPONSIBILITY. Duty and honor and taking care of people! Building up social services! I had grand plans. Even after recognizing, a little alarmed, that I was on the fringe of a god damned OTOME game of all things.

One I barely remembered. Had played, loved most likely, as a preteen. A literal lifetime ago.

It didn't effect me, right? I wasn't here for boys or parties. Politics or fanciful dreams. Let someone else have their lace filled, flower coated, high drama adventures of love. I had late night paperwork and community research. Surprise to orphanages and hospitals to insure their was no corruption or mischief going on.

That one health clinic in Oakworth that took forever to get going.

Except...

Except??

Fafnir was a capture target! Which is why it took me forever to realize. As he had been so very small and filthy at first. Then merely small and in poor health. Short hair because his poor hair had been beyond saving. We passed by each other. Nodded, maybe exchanged pleasantries, but did not truely interact.

He lived in the dorms. I lived in the main house. He was basicly a student my father was paying to have taught, using our name. I was my father's actual daughter. We may have LEGALLY been related. LEGALLY brother and sister. But in actuality? We were no such thing.

Honestly, most of the "Sons"? Kept their original last names in day to day life.

Or at least... they did.

I.. I think I had shit taste, as a preteen. That or my luck has finally run out. Maybe it was my family's fortune, that finally could no longer best the odds. After all, there is always one. That ONE soul. Who sees something good and doesn't care about anything or anyone but themselves. Ruins things for everyone.

As long as they get their's, right?

A sea of motivated and ambitious young men. Trying to change their station in life. Have Better and MORE. Change the world around them. Leave their marks. Is... ha! Is it any wonder, in hindsight, that our luck eventually gave out? It was always going too. I guess Fafnir just wanted MORE.

He was supposed to go to the Royal Academy, fall in love. Compete against prince's and duke's, knights and heirs to merchant companies. All for the heart of the only daughter of a Ducal house, that had been (of course) raised by peasants. A carriage accident and presumed death cliché.

I honestly couldn't even remember his route. I might have read about it. But had never PLAYED it. He had had short hair, all but two had. So I played the foriegn prince route, even though he was kind of an ass. He was a handsome one at least. At least to me. It was just, I had never... still never...

I liked men with long hair.

Something which I had never told anyone.

Yet? As Fafnir grew? He did not transition into the character I remembered, like the others had. He grew his hair out. Became not only fiercely protective of it, but invested in higher quality products to care for it. Discovered my favorite perfume maker and commissioned a cologne for himself, that would mix well with the scent I always wore. Systematically tracked down each and everything I've ever liked, behind my back, to consume and memorize every facet of them.

I was blind to it.

My Father was not.

And... a-and... it cost him his life.

Father was not pleased with want he saw. But assumed it was a crush at first. We were young after all. Young people do weird, awkward, over the line things. Are learning about boundaries even as they grapple with sudden floods of hormonal shifts. A terrible time, really. It could be excused. As long as it didn't go TOO far. So long as someone sat Fafnir down for a talk.

They did.

He got more subtle.

A cycle developed. One my Father was not pleased to see. Fafnir would cross boundaries, be caught, get scolded, and contritely apologize... then get more subtle in his approach. Be more clever. As though all he had learned was "don't get caught". and "if you want to get, what you want to have, you need to have the skills to get passed us."

He grew concerned. Eventually, alarmed. I had thought nothing of it, back then, because "of COURSE he was supposed to go" to the Royal Academy? But... we honestly, really, Truely? HADN'T sent anyone there before. And there HAD been far more skilled boy then him. Prodigies.

But... my favorite ribbon necklace had gone missing.

From the room where I slept.

Overnight.

My Father took one look at Fafnir's pleased expression amongst the chaos and needed no further proof. He would not kick him out. Far too dangerous, he thought. But he WOULD send him away. Now?

Now I wish he'd risked it. Because... because everyone was dead. Struck down by the monster we let into our home. And by ancient law, which we both KNEW he was planning to exploit? This was a... a "family matter". Because, after all, we WERE legally family. Members of the same House.

"Such hesitation, Sister. You'd think I was a threat." He muses into his cup of tea, swirling it lightly. His eyes flit back to me, lips curling just slightly. "Don't worry, though. I understand completely. I would never hurt you."

But he would hurt others. He already has. Most of them didn't survive it. Ha ha... like a brutal yank on some unseen leash. I want to cry. Not sure if this is what shock feels like. But yes, thank you, for the lovely remind, Fafnir. That you have filled my home with bodies. The corpses of those I loved.

I use what little dignity I have left to walk forward and sit down.

Oh look, he has utterly ruined all my favorite things in one blow. There, my favorite tea. That, my favorite flower. Across the table my favorite snacks. Even a few favorite fruits. A dish or two. My favorite cup. And now? N..NOW? All I will every be able to associate with them is death. The stench of copper and the horror of this moment.

The joy of them is gone.

"See? Isn't that better? No more standing awkwardly to the side. Now we can sit, face to magnificent face. I've brought you a few things I know you'll enjoy. Isn't that nice? I've wanted to do this for the longest time." He sighs in contentment, as though this were no more then a matter of busy schedules and social anxiety. "And now? Now we are finally together. Siblings for now, but I am working to fix that. And if i can't, well..."

His smirk was a thing of nightmares.

"I'm head of the house now. You're finally Mine."

[ataleofcrowns]

First time I played your game I hated your ROs but now I'm here searching for more games with characters that feel alive and not cardboard cutouts for the mc to interact with, you did a great job on fleshing out your ROs I love the fact that they have their own lives outside of the mc ❤

Wow, I'm glad to hear you turned around on them!

I'm honestly not surprised whenever some readers get annoyed with the love interests, because the overall dating sim/VN/otome game genre tends to have very straightforward interactions between MC and LI, traditionally speaking (idk if that was the case for you, just commenting in general!).

The MC tends to be a blank slate for self-inserting purposes, the LIs tend to revolve around the MC, etc. Not to say there is anything wrong with this, I also love playing wish fulfilment fantasies and have played games like this since I was a teen. But then that's what the expectation for some readers ends up being, and the AToC LIs don't fit in that box.

I appreciate the interactive fiction genre on itch.io and Tumblr a lot for this reason, because devs and writers get to break out of some of those tropes and do their own thing with it!

But yeah in AToC the LIs all have their own motivations and agendas, their own character arcs, their own judgments, and their relationship with the MC has more complexity as a result. Sometimes it ends in conflict and friction, but that's all part of the ride! I'm happy to hear you found appreciation for it 💖🙏🏼

[railedbyuyu]

Contents are suggestive 👀, so minors please DNI.

A/N: It is recommended that you are 18 and above to play any otome games, despite the game's warning being 12+ or 16+ due to a lot of dark themes that may border on gore, violence or even sexual themes such as domestic abuse, rape, and so on.

Someone pointed out that this Yunho looks similar to Zayne from LnDS/LADS and also Artem from Tears of Themis...

SO.. what if? Yunho as an LI from an otome game... let's just say the game's called Strange Mansion or something.

Certified yearner, ice-cold and stern but a whole puppy underneath? Soft boi but he can get really jealous and dirty. Blossoming relationship with MC, there's a lot of tropes but in my opinion, rivals to lovers is actually a good trope for this...

Our anecdotes and memories with him are mostly doing hobbies, travelling, exploring — I'm thinking of soft memories/cards like Artem's Dreamful Memories, Two Hearts as One, Zayne's Heart Within Reach — but also equally angsty cards like most of Zayne's *coughs* history, and also some of Artem's *cough* alternate universe cards.

But he would also have his fair share of dirty cards— Just like Artem's Atmospherics, or Zayne's Hidden Motives — Yunho would have some very very intimate cards that are strongly implied. Such as intimate hand-holding that could lead to rounds and rounds of sex, drunk kabedons (pinning someone to the wall) while loosening his tie or heavily implied makeouts and more through audio — like any secret times audio and some of Tears of Themis' questionable MR cards.

From artwork to audio, there is intimacy but also heat coming from the cards/memories. Whether or not it's making out in front of the lift to a penthouse or shaving on a rocking chair. (iykyk 😉).

[strunmah-mah]

So I saw this interesting post discussing the bashing of otome heroines, and the person i saw it from had some tags comparing the OBSCURA and Touchstarved mc's and the different fan response to them. Which go me thinking, but reposing to it there felt like it would have derailed that post, some I'm putting my thoughts here instead.

Basically the tags were an observation that OBSCURA's mc gets treated as their own character (Vesper) whose popularity is comparable to that of all the different love interests. Meanwhile Touchstarved's fandom doesn't seem to rally around one singular MC with everyone having own OC instead. This despite the fact that their both gender neutral blank slates you never even really see.

I'd noticed that too and got thinking of why that is, so here's my theory.

Name. Notice that I referred to OBSCURA's mc as Vesper, but didn't give a name to Touchstarved's mc? When asking what your name is OBSCURA auto suggests a name. There's a not insignificant number of people that when given an auto suggested name won't go to the effort of changing it. (ex My first time playing a Legend of Zelda game it didn't even occur to me to change Link's name despite it definitely being an option.) And despite still being a reader insert just the act of giving them name makes Vesper feel like a more defined then Touchstarved unnamed MC does.

Origins. Vesper is Vesper. Who they were before the start of OBSCURA doesn't really matter, no matter what you might hc they were like before the start of the story, they still enter the mountain with the skill set no matter what. Touchstarved's mc is deliberately fluid. They have three different possible backgrounds and which one you pick does effect the mc's skill set. Make your own oc is literally built into the game.

Presentation of information. Touchstarved is very upfront about their mc's motivations. You are cursed. It's very isolating and has caused you to hurt others unintentionally. You are looking for a cure. What your curse is is never really a question. That's a very different experience from playing OBSCURA. The games hook is "people don't go under the mountain unless they have a good reason, unfortunately you have a great reason" it does not say the reason, it's a great hook. So you play the game, you go under the mountain and you find out what you're looking for is . . . blue moon ichor. You have no context for what that is, it's not initially explained, but it makes people pity you. It's not until you meet one of the LI's that it's revealed you want the ichor. You only only learn about Vesper's motivations as they chose to reveal that information to others. It's an interesting story telling choice. For me, it was more engaging to have Vesper being just as much of a mystery as everything else, than Touchstarved approach of giving that information upfront, but it comes at a cost. The MC's are both supposed to be self inserts, but hiding that information puts distance you and Vesper again making them feel more like their own character than a self insert.

Choice. Atleast as far the demos go Vesper's choices matter more. Your choices change who you meet, if you get a partner to help you face the future, or if you fail to achieve your goal chapter one. The Touchstarved mc makes choices too, it gives you slightly different dialog and you then you move on with your day. The TS MC is a vehicle to meet that game's LI's, your choices change what side of them you get to see. In Obscura your choices affect Vesper first and fore most, which again gives Vesper a stronger sense of character.

Just to be clear, I don't want this to sound like me dunking on RedSpringStudios and say they can't make good characters. Boy can they! All five of their love interests are full of character and intrigue. It's like I said in point two, the "build your own oc" approach seems very purposeful. It's a fan response they've encouraged, even releasing bio templates that match the official bios of all the LI's. This is what they wanted.

What amuses me is that RottenRaccons did not seem to realize what they had done. They seem very surprised but pleased by how much fans are latching onto Vesper as their own character.

[sailxrmxrs]

hello i really love your writing! if you're taking requests, i've been thinking about the infinite blue boys in a typical office setting with the MC and what that would be like? thank you!!~

this has been sat in my inbox for SO LONG I AM SO SORRY TO THE PERSON WHO REQUESTED THIS SDKFDGS but!! better later than never right??? right?????? anyway now is the perfect time to finally get around to this bc my brain has been so occupied lately playing sympathy kiss so office based otome is right at the forefront of my mind hehe. it's like it was meant to be. ALSO thank u so much!! i don't think too much about what i write after it's been posted so i forget people actually look at it sometimes sksjfkf TY FOR REQUESTING THIS WAS LOVELY TO THINK ABOUT also incredibly funny looking at the last post of me being like 'i want to get back to writing more regularly!!' as if i didn't slink back into the shadows again for four months this was also the first thing i've written since getting my new keyboard which is really taking some getting used to especially with nails dsklfsg still, enjoy office time gamers o7

♡ leo ♡

Leo definitely seems like the type to bring the energy to his office department, especially on a Monday morning when everyone wants nothing more than to have had just one more day to spend at home before work started all over again for another week. He'd be the only one with a spring in his step as he went about his morning, filling his water bottle, getting situated at his desk. Speaking of his desk, Leo's workspace would be the definition or organised chaos. Post-it notes are scattered across the bottom of his monitor, there's a pile of loose sheets covered in haphazard notes scrawled across them, and there are definitely more than a few pens with no ink left strewn across the desk. They also happen to be mixed in with perfectly usable pens so Leo would have to scramble for a pen when someone from another department came to brief him on a project he was working on. Every time, without fail, he is grabbing pens and scribbling on a notepad until he finds one that works enough to make notes clear enough for him to reference later on. You ask each time why he doesn't just go through and throw away the empty pens to which Leo jokingly scoffs about how he finds the right pens first time every time. He does not.

He's very much the epitome of a work best friend. Someone who will text you on the weekend like 'I know we spend every day sat next to each other but can we hang out together pls'. He enjoys your company okay!! You are very fun and he wants you to know that!! Will find himself getting into a bit of trouble for getting distracted talking about weekend plans with you but can you blame him? It's a Friday afternoon and his brain has logged off. Unfortunately for Leo, despite his brain having logged off, his computer is very much logged in so he has to force himself to keep going for that last stretch of hours between him and the weekend. Will whine and complain to you about how Fridays should be half days which, given Leo's usual demeanour at the start of the week, is an amusing shift in tone. Cut to a couple of hours later and Leo is shutting down his computer the second the clock ticks over to 5pm. He'll swing his chair around to face you, staring you down until you finally close everything down to get ready to leave. Think puppy watching and waiting for you to take them on a walk. Sometimes if you have plans for the Friday evening, he'll offer to pick you up on the way to work to save you the drive too. Also because it gives him an excuse for being late like oh no there was just so much traffic leaving their place I definitely did not stop for coffee on the way here not at all!! He absolutely did but don't worry he didn't forget to pick up your favourite order too~

I think Leo would be a really good motivator in the office too. If a day was going particularly bad, or if a really busy period struck he would be the perfect person to help keep your mood in balance. He's very encouraging for you to step away from your desk. Take a break, have a drink, maybe get a little snack to energise yourself. But he doesn't do it to distract you nor does he overstep any boundaries. He will offhandedly comment on how hard you've been working and make a gentle suggestion that a break is needed. He'd also offer to lend a hand if there was anything particularly pressing that was weighing you down. Try and say no. Try it. Never works. Leo's always happy to help because he knows you would do the same for him and have previously done so in the past when he was newer to the job and hadn't quite gotten his bearings yet. He makes the long days pass by quicker. Truly the best person to work with.

♡ milo ♡

Milo is absolutely that one coworker who keeps to himself a lot and develops this really cool and mysterious reputation. No one really knows what he does for work and no one ever asks him either because they're a little too intimidated to talk to him. It's not that he's had any particularly bad run-ins with anyone else in the office but more so that he no one really knows a whole lot about him. Any conversations about his weekend plans or what he did the evening prior are met with the most normal responses someone could muster. He's going grocery shopping, he's visiting family, he stayed in last night to watch tv. No one knows anything about his life outside of work and no one's bumped into him anywhere but in the office. The only reason people don't speculate that he lives there is because they see him drive in and park in the same spot at the same time each morning. Him keeping to himself isn't really an antisocial thing, but more so that he's there to work so would rather just get on with whatever he has to do with minimal distractions. He's an efficient man and doesn't like people stealing his attention away from any sort of deadline.

Then along comes this slight change in the office layout and suddenly your desk has been moved directly next to his. Surprise had left you stunned for a moment when Milo greeted you that first morning before sitting down and getting himself set up for the working day. He still never offered much conversation, just the usual 'good morning' and 'have a good evening' as you both left the office. It wasn't until you both stayed behind a little late one Friday evening to finish some paperwork before the weekend and he'd stricken up a conversation while walking back to your cars. It was mostly small talk, nothing of too much substance, but it was far more than he gave anyone else. If you ask, he simply answers that until the clock hits around 5pm, he's at work. Once he's left the office building, he's just normal Milo again. It's his way of separating work and his personal life. Honestly, his work/life balance is enviable.

Over time, as you grow closer, he'll start to chat more during office hours. Asking what you thought of a recent episode of a show, if you'd seen the news about an upcoming game. And your closeness wouldn't go unnoticed. You'll get coworkers whispering to you on your lunch break asking to share some information since they'd barely seen Milo speak with anyone else so openly before. You'd always politely decline, telling them he never really shared anything special and it was mostly just work related things—a white lie, of course, but what they didn't know didn't hurt them. Milo would appreciate it too, often voicing his complaints about the busybodies in the office not so subtly whispering about him. He didn't care too much about their speculations of him until they started dragging you into it too. Grumpy Milo grumbling into his coffee cup asking why they cared so much anyway. Who cares who he speaks to at work (He cares. But he won't tell you that).

♡ rory ♡

Rory at any given moment in time will take the opportunity to complain about something that has happened in the office that day. Whether it's someone not submitting documents on time or somebody emailing him with any extra set of tasks on top of his already stacked workload, he will be sending you a string of messages to blow off some steam. The first time it'd happened, you were sitting in the break room enjoying your lunch when Rory slumped into the chair next to you and signed so heavily you thought something terrible had happened and he was barely keeping himself together. As it had turned out, a new intern had done something without running it by anyone else first and caused a particularly big problem. One that Rory's manager decided would be his responsibility to resolve before the day's end. As well as meet his own deadlines for the same evening. To say he was stressed was an understatement. So Rory had taken solace in your quiet presence and let out his frustrations. Once he'd gotten it all out of his system, he apologised for the outburst and introduced himself, realising the two of you had never actually spoken before. He then offered to lend a listening ear for your own work annoyances, attentively taking it all in while you spoke. Once your lunch break came to an end, you exchanged contacts with the promise that you could be each other's dedicated work therapist whenever someone or something had pissed you off.

From that point on, you'd receive the odd message here and there throughout the day from Rory with the latest complaint. At first, it was just a way to get the annoyances off your chests but as time went on, conversations started to meander and before long you were becoming closer and closer. You didn't see each other much while working—only ever in passing if you needed to deliver a document to a different department or if there was a meeting you needed to attend. Your texts were your main point of contact with Rory until he suggested you start coordinating your lunch breaks so that you could actually hang out face-to-face rather than via text message. Coworkers would definitely start to speculate how and why these two individuals from completely different departments became friends or if there was something more to the relationship. Especially considering Rory, much like Milo, was more reserved and didn't really show much of an effort to become friends with the people he worked with. He was amicable enough but kept the colleague boundary up like a wall. Except with you, anyway.

I think Rory would want to extend your work friendship beyond office hours and would start wanting to text you later in the evening but is so nervous to come across as being too forward. He likes to act as though he's a very nonchalant person but he really isn't at all. Especially not where you are concerned. So you'd definitely need to be the one to nudge and initiate more of a friendship between you both. It wouldn't take much. All you'd need to do was text him one Saturday morning and mention how you were planning for a bookshop trip and as if he wanted to come along. He texts back almost instantly with a big 'YES' followed immediately by a 'glad you've finally recognised my superior taste in books' purely to save face for how eager he must have seemed. Would come into the office on the Monday with red cheeks once he saw you in the staff car park and try to sound as normal as possible commenting on how he had a good weekend. For his own sanity, just go along with it. He begs.

♡ alexei ♡

Alexei is the new starter who doesn't have a whole lot of office experience under his belt. He's bright eyed and eager to learn on the job but is also somewhat nervous to make mistakes or ask too many questions. It takes him a little while to settle in and feel fully comfortable with his surroundings but once he does, Alexei starts to really flourish. Once he knows you're happy to answer all of his questions and won't scold him for not understanding something straight way, he will come to you with an entire monologue of queries he wants to clarify. Literally rambles this long stream of consciousness before reaching the end of his list and looking at you all expectantly for your response. Listens so intently while he's perched on his desk chair, scribbling down notes as you run through everything he'd asked. Then turns back to his computer screen with a 'thank you' and then doesn't say another word for like two hours. He'll just be typing and clicking away with this intense focus until you have to tap on his shoulder and remind him to take a break from the screen for a few minutes. Will struggle to pull himself away for breaks because once he's in the zone he is IN. He only really likes stepping away from his desk when he has reached a good stopping point and he absolutely hates leaving a task partially finished.

I don't think Alexei would be a super social person at work. It wouldn't be for any particular reason other than the thought didn't really occur to him? He prefers to take his breaks at his desk because his chair is comfortable enough so the only people he really talks to on the regular are the people he works with directly. Being new, he hasn't had much of a reason to visit the other departments nor has he been brought on to any big projects that would have him meeting and working with anyone else around the office. Even after he's been there for a little while, he's reached a point where he feels awkward introducing himself because he's not exactly new anymore but he also doesn't know a lot of names. Whenever there's an office party or holiday event, Alexei will turn and whisper to you asking who that was or to remind him of a name. He could have had a good ten minute conversation with someone who and not had a single clue as to what their name was. It makes for some funny encounters, especially if it's someone not well liked within the office. They'd strike up a conversation just for Alexei to clearly not know who they are. We love to see it.

After Alexei has been working in the office for a few months and has gotten nicely settled in his job, I can see him being really welcoming to a new starter. In the same way you answered all his questions and helped him along with his training, Alexei would do the same for the new person. He might come across a little too excited with how forthcoming he is with explanations or offers to help out with anything they're struggling with but it's clear that he means well. He's just a little enthusiastic!! Would also start to add little decorations on his desk. He doesn't do anything too special, but he might have a tiny figurine of a jellyfish sat under his monitor and would have themed notepads and matching pens to go with them. If he's going to spend most of his day there, he wants it to feel like it's his personal little corner.

♡ brooklyn ♡

Brooklyn is the high ranking manager CEO businessman who is also one of the most likable people around the office. Despite him always being seen in his signature suits and ties with some sort of important document in hand at any given moment, he was genuinely pleased to speak with anyone working there. He has his moments of being the stern business type, particularly when in stressful meetings to discuss the company's performance for the quarter and their targets for the next quarter. Overall, however, he remains a generally calming presence. If you were his assistant, he'd try to alleviate as much of the pressure of the role as he could. He knew he was a painfully busy man and that you had no end of meetings to schedule, companies to contact for collaborations and partnerships. There was never really an end to your workload for which he felt a tad guilty. Anytime you entered his private office, reeling off the schedule for the afternoon or informing him of a visitor who had arrived to meet with him, Brooklyn is offering to make you a cup of tea or coffee no matter how many times you insist that that's your job, not his. He never listens.

I think he'd take a lot of interest in you as a person too, not wanting there to be this distinct barrier of boss and employee. He would much rather you both felt you stood on equal ground. That mindset had gotten him into some mild altercations in meetings when other company executives had made some sort of snide comment regarding your involvement in the discussions. Brooklyn wasn't going to stand for one of his most trusted and hardworking colleagues to be taken for granted. The strained tension never left the boardroom until a few minutes after the meeting ended and Brooklyn stormed out looking angrier than you'd ever seen him. Would be silent as he poured himself a cup of tea and then give you this serious talk about how if that were to ever happen without him around report it to him immediately. His expression was much sterner that you'd experienced from all your time working directly with Brooklyn, but it was evident that it came from a place of respect. And he explained as much as he leaned against his desk, pinching the spot between his brows as if the encounter had given him a headache.

There had never been any repeat instances following that afternoon, though you had overheard some whispers about the incident. Mostly from people surprised to hear that Brooklyn had raised his voice. Anytime you commented on it while presenting him with new paperwork, Brooklyn would adjust his tie awkwardly, face heating at the lack of composure he'd now exposed to the office. He took pride in coming across in a well-presented and calm manner so this one lapse of his self-restraint made him feel a touch embarrassed each time he was reminded of the event; in those moments he seemed less like the important business figure and more like a close friend you could playfully tease in passing moments between the busy hours. It was a comfortable and welcomed dynamic for the both of you.

♡ tobias ♡

Tobias is without a doubt the office socialite. He's always popping his head into the different departments with a request or to catch up after the weekend. He reminds me of someone I work with who is incredibly easy going and is friends with basically everyone in the office. Tobias can have a tendency to cause disruptions in that his voice will carry in an office room and he doesn't really realise how much of a distraction his presence can be sometimes. He doesn't mean to pull people away from anything important! But he also can't really help himself when it's the middle of the week and he's got all kinds of work adjacent stories to be shared. Will perch himself on your desk and start rambling away about something, not really noticing if you were paying him your full attention or not. It's only after he asks you a question and you noncommittally answer with a vague 'yes' that he'll start whining about how you're not listening to him. As much as we'd like to chat, some of us have work to do, Tobias. When you question him about his own work, Tobias will conveniently remember he needs to be somewhere else, dodging the question entirely and scampering away to a different department. There is usually a shaking of heads that follows after Tobias whenever he dashes off somewhere else—it's always from a place of endearing acceptance.

I can see Tobias being involved in the marketing side of a business. Definitely the one to organise big events and staff parties. He needs someone to rein him in though because some of his ideas aren't quite workplace or coworker friendly. He hears office party and thinks hell yeah time to go wild go crazy but no Tobias please the last time that happened you broke multiple office chairs we can't afford to keep replacing them every time. Would enlist you for help too because you're his favourite person to bother at work. Whether you humour him and play along or tell him to, light heartedly, leave you alone, Tobias will find his way to your desk for some quality catchup time. What do you mean it's Monday and you're busy? He needs to tell you about this movie he saw on Saturday that he thinks should be the theme of the next work event. He's also the type to bring food to your desk too. Will sometimes just buy lunch for you and pry your hands away from your keyboard so that he can slide a salad or pot of pasta into your grasp. Tobias takes lunch breaks very seriously. He'll also get treats for people in the office too! Buys little cakes or chocolates just because. This is part of the reason why everyone likes him so much; can't say no to a man who keeps you well fed.

Despite poking fun at Tobias being a bit more lax around the office, I think he genuinely would be full of solid ideas and he does feel pretty passionate about certain aspects of the job too. His work/life balance isn't perfect in that he tends to prioritise life a little more than he should sometimes but there's little harm in it. He's a very good person to be around if you're the type to get a bit too wrapped up in working. Tobias is NOT letting you overwork yourself. Not on his watch!! He's a surprisingly perceptive person and can very easily tell when you're stressed or not getting as much sleep as you should. Will take it upon himself to text you at the weekend to hang out and have a movie night with him. That way he can make sure you're relaxing and not spending your limited time off working your brain. Will steal your phone directly from your hands if you're staring too hard, eyebrows furrowed, and will replace it with a snack and gently remind you that it's the weekend time not work time. He has his uses sometimes.

[batensan]

what got you into visual novels & otome?

I was always into shoujo/romance from a young age!! I just like feeling the dokis lol! so I naturally stumbled upon otome stuff (i was 12 or 13 at the time!)

back then, english VNs and otoge were virtually nonexistent, so i read a lot of summaries from english reviewers. i was really into the Alice no Kuni series for the concept, art, and charas, but i think i would semi rage if I actually played it today lol

the sentiment of "there's no good food!! dang well i'll just make it myself!!" was a big motivator for me to write and draw! the landscape is very different now, with a million games and comics and webtoons, so i wonder if i would've just become complacent if i had been born a bit later lol

[strawberry-bubbatea]

🍓 got around to finally playing one of the many games she got this year and boy was it worth it. She is currently obsessed with it right now.

So for context on how she started playing the game, 🍓 was talking about otome games/dating sim/visual novel with a coworker and her coworker brought up Our Life: Beginning & Always

And so 🍓 talked with her coworker about it, telling them that she never played but got the whole bundle and the coworker said she should. And well, since she got sick recently with the flu and then rona now, she figured why not start the game.

And she regrets starting it because she is obsessed with it. Like she's clocked 32 hours in the past 3 (?) days she's played!

(As you can imagine, 🍓 is very bored during her covid isolation as evident from her playtime 😶‍🌫️)

She still hasn't gone through Derek and Baxter's DLC yet because her heart has been set on Cove and she can't find it in her to say not to him.

Also 🍓's been very embarrassed because Cove canonically has a thing for anklets/ankle bracelets and she wears them fairly often.

🍓 might start writing for OLBA just because it is her current brainrot/hyperfixation but she will see. Motivation to write has been few and sparse.

Short post but since 🍓 is sick, this will have to do. She needs to rest and being awake at 3:30am is not helping 草

[misc-obeyme]

i need more sibling angst w all the seven bros. i keep getting those siblings/brothers slideshows on tiktok and it’s killing! me! ☹️☹️☹️

especially between mammon and lucifer,,,,,,their relationship is actually sad. the game kinda plays it off as a joke and makes mannon the comic relief by spiting him as a fool 24/7, which i get. like ok. it’s an otome game first and foremost. they’re not gonna go super hard with lore and interpersonal relationships. but if you take a step back and see it beyond that, there’s much to dissect AND digest. lucifer plays this stereotypical authoritative role and mammon is the opposite. i know lucifer means well and he truly loves his family, but he has a heavy hand. the trauma of losing lilith? he can’t fathom losing another, so he’s sworn that he’d protect the rest even if it meant despising his own father. mammon feels the same way, but he copes differently.

i feel like both the two eldest are just trying to keep things together. where lucifer is so scared he doesn’t realize he sometimes hurts his brothers, mammon picks up all the pieces and holds it together. they mean a lot….😢

here’s some songs i think would fit:

“shame” by mitski (also “real men”)

“neptune” by sleeping at last

“kyoto” by phoebe bridgers (her song “i know the end” is also very good)

“not strong enough” by boygenius

also i would recommend fiona apple in general! one of my fav artists 😋

Okay, anon, I had to go on TikTok to look up those slideshow videos 'cause I haven't seen them (I rarely use TikTok and when I do it's all cake decorating videos because I have a problem). So I was seeing a bunch where it's a picture of the siblings as kids and then switches to one of them all grown up?? Can you imagine something like that with our bros??

But you happened to touch upon a subject here that I have opinions about. You're right. It's an otome game and the point is for the MC to be able to have all these hot guys fall for them. I get that. But it means that I'm never sure what they're going to sacrifice in the name of silly otome vibes.

The Mammon/Lucifer dynamic is a perfect example.

In fact, I would argue that just by himself, the "Lucifer as authority figure" concept is a disservice to his character. It sets him apart from all of his brothers in a way that makes it so they don't get to fully flesh out his relationships with any of them. He's too strict, too overbearing, and too often puts himself apart from the rest. It's annoying because all of the brothers indicate that they love Lucifer. They love him and that's why they followed him to the Devildom to begin with. Satan loves him, too, albeit with far more complexity attached. But Lucifer can only express his love for them through strictness. He's trying to ensure he never loses them and I get that, but he also never allows himself to be soft with them. We only get very rare glimpses of that. Lately in NB I feel like they tried to help with that, as evidenced by the way the first season ended. But generally speaking, they too often play to his role as authority figure, in my opinion. And yet he's the star of the show. The way he's always last like they think MC is going to choose him over the rest every time. The way we get more insight into his history, the way he has a far more involved and complicated character, where other brothers are just regulated to very simple personalities. I don't get why they do that, personally.

As for Mammon specifically, that whole thing confuses me still. I went through a hardcore Mammon phase where he was actually next to Barbatos in my ranking (this was before I figured out how much I love Solomon lol). And I really had an issue with Lucifer constantly punishing Mammon all the time for things that seemed relatively minor. If we consider that it's actually Lucifer's fear that is the motivation behind his tendency to be strict, though, it changes the meaning. Mammon gets punished the most because he's the one Lucifer cares about the most. But that doesn't make it okay in my mind. If anything, that's just even more fucked up. But the annoying thing about all of this is it's only our fan interpretation. It is far more likely that the only reason Mammon is the one who gets strung up all the time and so on is because it's funny. Or it's supposed to be. I'm pretty sure they just wrote it that way to be a joke, not because they're making some grand statement about Lucifer's relationship with Mammon and how he deals with the trauma he's endured.

Mammon is often depicted as kinda silly and moronic, but that's also a disservice to his character the way Lucifer being the strict one is to his. Because you're completely right. Lucifer doesn't realize he hurts his brothers and Mammon is the one keeping things together. It always struck me as far more likely that Mammon is playing a role for his younger brothers' benefit. We get enough flashes of insight from Mammon that indicate he understands things far more than he lets on. He deliberately acts out to draw Lucifer's attention because Lucifer's fear of losing his brothers makes him too harsh on them. And if Mammon is always Lucifer's top priority, then he's more likely to leave the younger ones alone. This is also fucked up. And again, this is all just outside interpretation because I don't think any of that is something they meant to imply with their Lucifer-always-punishing-Mammon joke. That's just how it comes across.

The problem with these jokes is that if you take them in any kind of serious context, you get analysis similar to the unfortunate three paragraphs I just made you suffer through. Because these jokes, if looked into more deeply, imply all of the complicated stuff I talked about. But I don't think they meant to imply any of that, which is why it's kind of fucked up when you look too closely at it.

That's how a lot of it goes with this particular game and that's why I always have such a hard time trying to figure out what's going on. Because they definitely have all this lighthearted nonsense sitting right beside some actual deep character development. So what are we supposed to take seriously and what's meant to be just silly stuff? (Another example is my issue with the reason behind Barbatos being angry with Solomon all this time - I took the joke as something serious lol.)

I apologize for the length of this response, but it's just something that I have a lot of thoughts about! I have a tendency to come at everything from a storytelling perspective where I want everything to have a reason and to make sense. But I think some of the stuff in this game really isn't meant to have a deeper meaning, so I'm just creating extra analysis where there is none. I've had to kind of balance my expectations and even then I end up with moments like the Barbatos reveal where I get annoyed lol. But that's on me, I really should know better by now.

Anyway! Thank you for the song recs, I'll have to listen to them all! I loooove "Not Strong Enough" by boygenius, I've been listening to that song a lot lately! So I'm sure I'll enjoy the others you've recommended as well!

And again I'm sorry about how long this response ended up being! I never realize I have so much to say until I've written four or five paragraphs and then I'm like ohh oops.

[herotome]

i'd like to know more about what you mentioned in the tags then, about taking inspiration from outside media! i remember when i first played the demo it hit just right cause i'd just watched the boys and i was hungry for more hero cynicism lol

Aw hell yeah!!

Okay so actually - I take very little inspiration from modern hero media, if any. I did grow up watching Justice League (2001-2004), Static Shock, and Batman the Animated Series and take some tonal inspiration from my memories of them (in which heroes generally try their best and it isn't always enough, villains tend to have sympathetic motives, also Mr Freeze is there and he's my big favorite), but that's about it.

When I started taking an interest in game design, I took deep inspiration from games with stories and mechanics that really resonated with me:

Mystic Messenger: I took heavy inspiration from how the love interests talk to each other, and how they all participate in every route. And the banter!! This game genuinely made me feel a personal connection to all its characters, and a lot of the player's dialogue choices were pretty damn funny for an otome game. (I have since learned that many, many indie otome games are similarly charming and I wrote a whole big list of recommendations, but didn't know they existed back in 2016-or-so.)

Undertale: Its sense of humor and meta commentary blew my mind. You could just do so much and have the game remember and react to your actions/choices, such as taking too much candy and making the whole bowl spill to the floor, or having the Mad Dummy rant about how you treated the dummy from the beginning of the game. Undertale is probably responsible for my deep interest in variable-tracking, and having characters respond to different things. (Dammit, Undertale, it's been so much work... but it's worth it I guess.....)

Disco Elysium: I played this a short while after MM and UT, and it just solidified my idea of what "my favorite game" would look like. Because I'm trying to make Herotome into my favorite game, that's my secret cap, etc etc. Anyway... Disco Elysium is fucking crazy. It's full of heart and camaraderie and also you can loudly beg for money and punch a literal child in the face and sing karaoke really badly and joking that if you find three racists you will be granted three wishes like??? It's unhinged. I haven't even mentioned the stellar atmosphere, plot, and how you have a bunch of voices in your head suggesting various courses of action and how you play as a recovering addict and you can go right back into your addiction with smoking alcohol and drugs... Describing it like this, it feels like an impossible game, that there's no way a game like this exists, but goddamn it do. And I take inspiration from a small.. SMALL aspect of it, because if I tried to fully emulate Disco Elysium I would probably die. It's just so much. And it's beautiful. Anyway DE inspired me to be more unhinged.

Dragon Age Origins: I'm listing this last because I actually played it well, well before I started game development, but it was such an impactful game for me that I'd never forgotten its scenes, characters, and how it made me feel. The CHARACTER BANTER... The sheer wealth of choices, and the emotions involved!!! There was such a general sense of world building and gravitas and then you find this mystical holy urn that's been important to a major religion and one of the characters quips "Nice vase. I should get one for my house." like??? Gah. I guess it inspired me not to take my own game too seriously, but the characters are also very,veryvery charming while also being quite diverse - everyone has a unique sense of humor and a unique background. The player can ALSO have a unique sense of humor and a unique background, which is super cool. I am absolutely not doing separate Origins for Herotome because that's way too much work-- but the diversity of the love interests did inspire me a great deal. Oh-- and the APPROVAL SYSTEM. I loved how you could get characters in the negative and have really, really interesting dialogue from antagonistic interactions, so DA:O really taught me early on that I didn't have to shy away from such things.

Perhaps most importantly: I like these games a whole lot, they are probably my favorite games. I want to like Herotome in the same way, or at least a very similar way.

A quote I try to think about a lot is "I'm surprised at the success of the show, I'm... I'm not surprised by people liking it that watch it, because... even though that makes me sound like a dick, like, that [sounds like] I knew people would like it, that's not quite what I mean-- I just mean, when you write something, you have to... if it's gonna be good, you have to be, like, its first fan, you have to be like... I don't care if I'm the only person who ever watches this, I love this. So when a second person says 'this is awesome!' You're like, stoked, but you're not shocked[...]"

... Okay I don't think about that entire stuttering quote (it's from Dan Harmon, regardless of how one might feel about him as a person he is an undeniably successful writer); but I do try to internalize "I don't care if I'm the only person who likes this" as often as I can.

I also make an effort to trust in the universe and that Herotome will reach "its people" and resonate with them in the same way my favorite games resonated with me...

... Anyway.

Outside of game design, I also try to pick out enjoyable aspects from everything I watch and read. If a book has a particularly well-written scene, I'll jot down some notes about why I liked it even if I didn't enjoy the book overall. Same with VNs and other games. While watching movies/shows I'll try to remember how they make me feel, and remember scenes that are particularly powerful and why they affected me. Yeah it's a lot of English homework, but it's how I work and indirectly feed Herotome and keep it alive in my day-to-day. I even have a playlist of random youtube videos I might reference while working on the game. Oh, and video essays -- I watch video essays religiously and make mental notes... let's plays, too, are a great way to experience how a game is designed and saving some time--

Uh, point being, you don't have to go hardcore categorizing and note-taking like I do. I just truly believe that every piece of media has something to share that can be molded and used to your own devices... even if it's "what not to do," in situations where I really, really don't like something. I'll just make a mental note to do the opposite thing. (eg, when Mystic Messenger let you choose your PFP and then randomly showed you the default MC kissing the love interest - so much whiplash, so awful, still one of my favorite games but whyyyyyy)

I actually did a meme about characters-who-inspired-my-characters a while back too, so there's that... same logic. Many many games and stories and characters inspired me, very few of them directly concern superheroes.

Thank you for the ask!!!

[nintendowife]

I finished Piofiore: Episodio 1926 on Nintendo Switch a while ago. I enjoyed it a lot and it might be the best otome game I've played so far. There's a beefy amount of content in Episodio 1926 - I reached 100% completion in 70 hours. There's 6 love interest routes, each with two endings. In addition there's an "Alternativa" story route.

In this sequel we return to the city of Burlone, Italy. The game continues from the events of Piofiore: Fated Memories. The three competing mafia families Falzone, Visconti and Lao-Shu still hold control in the city but are facing an uncertain future due to political developments in the country. A religious relic has been stolen and the mafia families must join forces to fight a common threat. The protagonist Lili has a special role in the events as many parties' interests relate to her. This time you can freely choose from a menu which character's route you want to start playing (with exception of one that unlocks only after playing through the Alternativa story).

The story was pretty good and as a whole I liked it more than the first game. Episodio 1926 had its share of sleep inducing routes but some were really good. Nicola's and Orlok's routes with great story/lore portions rose above the others in my eyes. I recall Gilbert's route had some good stuff too. There was a decent amount of historical references and a lot of nice action scenes too.

I especially enjoyed the parts with depictions of violence and murder - which I assume is usually not the reason someone would pick a game of this genre. If you're into that kind of content too, Piofiore is a nice pick. At times it felt like the flow of the story/dialogue was interrupted with "Aria" (flashbacks from the prior game) and "Meanwhile" stories too frequently.

The dialogue was written nicely and I enjoyed the exchanges between the competing mafiosos. They're sort of friends, yet enemies and it creates some delightful dynamics and humor. However, there was one specific part in dialogue that felt out of place: Dante being worried that they possibly couldn't violate on someone's human rights. It made him look like a hypocrite - I've seen what happens in the Falzone basement. Henri's route had some really ridiculous dialogue that made me and my husband laugh in disbelief. Henri apparently thinks he's hung like an elephant.

The characters got a lot more depth in the sequel and Nicola ended up surprising me. I didn't care for him much in the previous game but here he got to shine. His actions really highlighted his intelligence and I liked his playful, mischievous attitude. In that regard he is similar to Yang who likes to rile up others for his entertainment. Yang is still Yang (thankfully) but he was a lot more docile here. Still an entertaining character and my favorite out of the love interests. Gilbert was my husband's favorite. Lili is still a kind-hearted damsel in distress but she's got the smarts to navigate difficult situations. She overcomes her fears and is ready to act to defend herself and the people she cares for.

What comes to side characters, there are plenty of new ones along with returning characters. They help build the lore and world by expanding on past and current events. Emilio's motives and backstory was a very welcome addition to the game as he was a mystery that intriqued me already in the first game. I liked all of the character designs and Lan ended up being my favorite side character with her energetic attitude. There was one particularly funny/good moment where Lili was upset with Yang and Lan got upset on her behalf too and encouraged Lili to display her irritation and act on it. That actually led to a heartfelt scene with some nice character development as well.

The Japanese voice acting for the characters is top notch and helps flesh out the characters' personalities. Emilio's and Yuan's voices annoyed my husband, haha. Gilbert's "yo Dante!" will forever live in our heads. Unfortunately the protagonist Lili is not voiced.

Music is mainly the same as in the first game. It would have been nice to get more new music but at least the tracks are pleasant and fit the events.

The game's visuals are a treat. From the beautifully crafted user interface to backgrounds and character portraits. Sadly there's no portrait for Lili when she talks. The CG illustrations are some of the best in the market. What really delighted me was the effort they've put into designing the clothing, jewelry and hair. We get to see Lili sporting various kinds of attire with incredible detail and her hairstyle varies too.

There is one thing that bothers me in the artist's style however: Lili's comically large eyes didn't quite fit the art style in my opinion.

I was pretty happy with the localization of the game. Now I don't know enough Japanese to judge the accuracy of the translation and I'm not a native English speaker but the text seemed well-written. Not much typos or errors. I remember a few occasions where a word or two were missing but luckily it didn't affect my ability to understand the gist of the sentences.

The biggest offender in the game was poor contrast. There were these memoir parts called "Aria" occurring throughout the game where white text was displayed on top of a background image without a dialogue box. It made it nigh impossible to read parts of the text when the text appeared on top of white/light parts of the image. Another pet peeve of mine was that the sequel continues with the grave sin of talking about food and never showing it. I just love looking at masterfully drawn food in games and not getting any of that left me sour.

I had such a good time with the game that I double-dipped on physical copies of both Piofiore: Fated Memories and Piofiore: Episodio 1926 after playing through the digital versions. I adored the characters and their interactions and I especially enjoyed the darker parts that helped with worldbuilding. Now that I've finished both games I feel slightly melancholic due to having to say goodbye to the characters. If that is not a sign of a good game, I don't know what is.

I think my husband became a Piofiore fan as well! He was partially watching me play through both games. During my Episodio 1926 playthrough he was inspired to start a new game in Rimworld where he created the Piofiore main characters and assigned suitable traits for each.

If they ever decided to make a third game in the Piofiore series, I'd buy it in a heartbeat! If Piofiore caught your interest, I recommend playing Piofiore: Fated Memories first, even though it's the weaker game out of the two.

[courtofmatchups]

First of all, I apologize for my slightly weird English, google translate helps me to read what you guys post on Tumblr.

Could I get a matchup for Tokyo Debunker?

Pronouns: She/her Sexuality: Bisexual Zodiac/MBTI: Sagittarius, INTJ Appearance: Short curly dark brown hair. Dark skin, freckles on cheeks. I'm 1.65m tall, slim body, small bust and butt and wide waist. Brown eyes, slightly round nose, thin eyebrows and medium-sized lips. Personality: Introverted, occasionally moody, but when I get confident I'm playful/a bit childish and my social battery runs out very quickly. My sense of humor is broken, it's easy to make me laugh. I'm stubborn, I always try to avoid unnecessary conflicts. Sometimes I tend to procrastinate, I don't like asking others for favors/help, even less if I'm capable of getting it/doing it myself. Surprise displays of affection make me tense.

Likes and dislikes: I like desserts; watching movies, mainly horror/thriller/romantic comedy; I enjoy interactive stories and otomes; I like watching videos of people putting on/taking off makeup, trying on clothes and giving reviews, about hair and skin care products… Oh, I also like braiding. I don't like insects; noisy places; disloyal people, liars, and people who don't value their friends; alcoholic drinks and similar substances; I don't like spicy food. I don't like being helped without asking for it first, nor do I like being told that I'm not capable of doing something (the only person who decides whether I'm capable or not is myself). Hobbies: Listening to music, watching anime, playing cell phone games, lately I'm learning crochet, so I think I'd add that as a hobby too.

Extra information: I am agnostic; I'm not a big fan of physical contact, in any case, I prefer to be the one who initiates the contact and that it doesn't last so long; I think head caresses are very cute; I like to give gifts to my loved ones; I'm somewhat disorganized for some things and organized for others, I think it depends on my mood and motivation how organized I can be; if someone yells at me I get angry easily; according to the MBTI internet test I'm INTJ and to this day I still don't feel identified with the result; I don't know if it affects the answer in any way, but I'm from Latin America, although I don't fit the stereotype at all, I'll just say that there is no worse dancer than me LOL. People say I'm a delicate and laid-back person when I'm in a good mood, and somewhat sarcastic and passive-aggressive when I'm in a bad mood.

Thank you very much in advance, kisses and hugs.

It seems to me, you've capture the heart of...

Kaito Fuji!

Let's be real, he'd be down bad for you the minute you're in his vicinity, but if you give him a chance, you will not regret it.

Hear me out: even if he is a lot more energetic than you, he's still super attentive, so if you ever feel uncomfortable, he'll pull you aside for a breather. He will tease you about your broken humour, but he will also laugh at stupid things with you. And you'll also have to tell him about the things that make you uncomfortable, he will respect that.

Your likes align with his quite well. When you tell him you like sweets, he'll make you all the best treats he can make. And if you crochet him a sweater, or a plushie, he will burst into tears. Kaito puts a lot of work into his looks, and you learning about fashion and skincare through videos could really help him also. He'd absolutely love if you'd pick out an outfit for him.

As for your dislikes, he understands your discomfort with these things, though I can't guarantee he'll be able to fully overcome his own fear of insects for you. And he will apologize for involving you in some crazy plot to escape Romeo's wrath, especially since he had to lie in the process. He will try though to overcome his fears and anxiety. He doesn't mind you needing to initiate the physical touch or things of the sort. Even if he has read in magazines that girls would rather the guy initiate it, he'd rather the tables be turned on him. Heck, he'd be over the moon.

Overall, your calmer nature can balance out his more excitable and anxious energy, making for a well-rounded dynamic.

[bjorkshire-pudding]

Hi, Valerie. I hope you're doing well. I read your intro/pinned post and got curious. Can I ask why you're moving away from writing for otome games? I found your blog through that and love your writing <3

Hi Anon! 👋🏾

First of all, thank you for stopping by. It makes me really happy to know you enjoy my writing. I've been trying to do a better job of complimenting work that I like, because I know how it feels to have someone say nice things about something you've put a lot of time and feeling into creating. So thank you! 💙🥹

There are a few different factors that influenced my decision to stop writing for otome games. I'm sorry this is going to be such a long answer, but I hope you can stick with me and see it through.

The first, and probably the most influential reason, is that I'm not consuming the media that much anymore. It's been a long time since I've played any of the games with any regularity. Part of that is because I've used some of that time consuming new, different media... but if I'm being honest with you, the other part is that I've simply sort of lost interest. In order for me to be able to enjoy the thing I'm creating about a piece of media, I need to be able to see myself in that world. And I realize that because I was always seeing the world through the eyes of the in-game MC - whom I couldn't relate to on many levels - I wasn't able to fully immerse myself in those worlds the way I know some others can. Which leads me into my second reason.

I have never liked writing in second-person, but when I first started writing for the otome fandom I very quickly learned that that is what people liked to read. I know things have changed recently, but years ago, no one really wanted to read fics written with my self-insert OC (or any other OC). And who could blame them? Again, otome is about the reader being able to immerse themselves in the game, and that's harder to do when you're reading about someone else's character having the experiences. I tailored my writing to fulfil that fandom-wide need for second-person fics, but I never really enjoyed writing that way. And that, my friend, leads me to the third reason.

I was lucky enough to have readers that enjoyed what I wrote and would follow my work, and I am forever grateful for that. But as time went by, I felt that the general mood of the fandom shifted from "we are all sharing what we've created with each other, encouraging each other and interacting with each other's work" to "there are a few writers who seem to get most of the support and attention, while perhaps less popular or newer creators (or even the writers who don't write in a specific style) get overlooked at best and downright ignored at worst." The community started to feel very much like a club, and I was sad to see a lot of the writers I'd become close to who didn't fit into a certain category with their style get discouraged and stop writing because of this. We all know how fanfiction and fanart works: engagement encourages people to continue creating things for the media they love. A person can have a great amount of love for a piece of media, but if there's no engagement with the work they create for it, eventually they will become discouraged and stop wanting to share what they create. Even if you are primarily writing for yourself, there is nothing wrong with wanting to know that others enjoy what you've made. That's human, and don't let anyone tell you it isn't normal or healthy. An environment that lacked that communal engagement and support for everyone, not just a few, wasn't the kind of environment I wanted to create things in, and that put a damper on my motivation to create things for that fandom.

The last reason goes hand in hand with what I said about not solely creating for other people. It was not the most influential reason, but it turned out to be the most important one: I wanted to get back to writing things I enjoyed. Not just things I would enjoy writing, but things I would enjoy going back to read for myself. I wanted to get to the point where it didn't matter that no one else wanted to read fics about my self-insert Black OC, because I enjoyed reading her and was proud of what I'd written. It's a lot easier to do that for a media that has no template. There is no MC to compare my self-insert OC to, and I am not trying to write something that other people can see themselves in. I can write her the way I want to see her, instead of feeling like I have to build her a certain way in order for people to want to read her. It's nice to write about the struggles I have with my hair type and texture, or to incorporate my body shape and size and my skin color into a fic without worrying that my readers won't be able to identify with her. Because I'm assuming that my readers go into my current and future works knowing this female lead is not for them to relate to, it gives me the freedom to write her in a way that I can relate to. And I can tell you that that has been one of the most satisfying, fulfilling, and freeing experiences I've ever had.

My otome works will always be there for anyone who has enjoyed them in the past and would like to continue enjoying them. But I won't be writing any new otome-based works for the foreseeable future - I have other things in the works that bring me more joy to write. I hope you'll stick around for those, but if not I understand! Either way, you are always welcome here, Nonny.

-Val 💙

About Me | My Fics | Ask

[eternalwritess]

Hiii <3

Could I get a matchup for JJK?

Pronouns: She/her Sexuality: Bisexual Zodiac/MBTI: Sagittarius, INTJ Appearance: Short curly dark brown hair. Dark skin, freckles on cheeks. I'm 1.65m tall, slim body, small bust and butt and wide waist. Brown eyes, slightly round nose, thin eyebrows and medium-sized lips.

Personality: Introverted, occasionally moody, but when I get confident I'm playful/a bit childish. Short-lived social battery, I prefer to do things on my own rather than ask for help (I only ask for help if I see that I can't solve a problem). I am impulsive when I get stressed. Some people think I'm usually angry, when in reality I'm just serious and I don't like pretending that I find their jokes funny.

Likes and dislikes: I like desserts; watching movies, mainly horror/thriller/romantic comedy; I enjoy interactive stories and otomes; I like watching videos of people putting on/taking off makeup, trying on clothes and giving reviews, about hair and skin care products… Oh, I also like braiding. I like true crime shows

I don't like insects; noisy places; disloyal people, liars, and people who don't value their friends; alcoholic drinks and similar substances; I don't like spicy food.

Hobbies: Listening to music, watching anime, playing cell phone games, lately I'm learning crochet, so I think I'd add that as a hobby too.

Extra information: I am agnostic; I'm not a big fan of physical contact, in any case, I prefer to be the one who initiates the contact and that it doesn't last so long; I think head caresses are very cute (my mom said I looked like a dog LOL); I like to give gifts to my loved ones; I'm somewhat disorganized for some things and organized for others, I think it depends on my mood and motivation how organized I can be; if someone yells at me I get angry easily; I sometimes lose interest in things quickly if they don't seem stimulating enough; I'm used to being alone, so I sometimes get bored of interacting with people; I don't know if it affects the answer in any way, but I'm from Latin America, although I don't fit the stereotype at all, I'll just say that there is no worse dancer than me LOL. I get tired very quickly, I don't like carrying heavy objects.

Thank you very much in advance, kisses and hugs.

i match you with... 𝓜𝓪𝓴𝓲 𝓩𝓮𝓷'𝓲𝓷 ██ 20% _ ████ 60% _ █████ 80% _ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ 100% ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇᴛᴇ!

♛ You'd meet her at Jujutsu Tech, you're most likely a second year like her and the first time that you met she didn't think that much of you at first, she had a long ways to go at the time and still does to actually achieving her goal. The head of the Zen'in clan but she was the first person Gojo introduced you to. Why? Because you're both girls probably

♛ Before you could even train with your technique Maki demanded to fight you first, wanted to see where you and she stood on when it came to physical combat and it was safe to say that she was better than you. Panda cheered you up though the moment he saw it all go down and told Maki that she should've went easier on you

♛ In response she just said that she would teach you how to fight better next time... yeah you still got your ass kicked, but this time she actually helped you out through it entirely

♛ Soon enough as the two of you began to hang out more she realized just how hard she had fallen for you and soon enough wanted to ask you out. Problem was that she didn't know how and didn't know if you even liked her like that. Not to mention that she was worried that a relationship would affect her training in a negative way

♛ Soon after a long conversation with Panda and Inumaki, which went no where she confronted Yuta who said that she should just go for it, and she did. She asked you out one day when the two of you were in your room watching some sort of movie

♛ When you agreed she thought she had heard wrong

₍⸍⸌̣ʷ̣̫⸍̣⸌₎

♛ You bring out a more chill side of her, constantly getting you to relax and not overexert herself on something when it's clear that she's not going to get it for a while and just needs to take a break

♛ Movie nights in your room are a common occurrence and that's just a fact, you guys get all the junk food you can find and then turn on a long movie and then another and another. She likes enjoying your quiet company. She doesn't even really care if the movie itself is bad. She just loves you

♛ Your more 'girly' side definitely balances out her more masculine one. She loves watching you try new outfits and try on new makeup, she finds it entertaining and always wants to see what you come up with next

♛ When she first saw you confident and more childish and playful she got excited, immediately indulging in it and messing around with you. She loves seeing you excited and happy, she thinks its really cute

♛ You try to get her to crochet with you every now and then but it doesn't always work sadly but she does hang out with you while you do it, probably trying to train or something like that

[dialovers-translations]

On yui hate, even if she has dumb moments, i feel like it’s not enough reason to hate her? Like, a person being dumb is not a reason to hate her right? A person being bad may be a reason to hate her. But dumb? We are all dumb sometimes… and if we hated people for being bad not for being dumb, we would hate on the boys instead

I think otome heroines are just kind of doomed in that regard. ^^;; I have always played DL with the mindset of 'I am playing as Yui' rather than 'I am playing as myself', but those who actually want to place themselves in the heroine role, might get somewhat irked by Yui because her behavior/reactions might not always match with what they themselves would do.

Still, DL is just that type of game which wouldn't work with a very generic/bland MC who has 0 backstory. The boys have so many mental traumas, I find it difficult to imagine that they could grow attracted to just about any personality. Not to hate on people who prefer female characters who are headstrong or rebellious, but the Diaboys simply don't have the patience for that sort of stuff lol.

Imagine Kanato tells you to get him something sweet from the kitchen in HDB and you reply with 'Are those legs just for show? Get it yourself.' You can bet you would be joining the rest of his 'dolls' in the wax doll room.

That being said, if people want to write their own stories with more badass MCs and still have the boys fall in love with them, that's totally fair! That's the beauty of fanfiction, RP, etc. We can create alternate universes and aren't always tied to the canon.

But 'realistically' (and take this with a grain of salt because it's still DL) speaking, it is much more believable for a kind-hearted, compassionate individual to motivate the boys to better themselves and learn to feel love/affection, than it is for someone who gives them sass and attitude.

Then again, I'm just one person on the internet and this is my opinion. You're free to disagree, but let's stay respectful, okay?

[otome-crow]

So I finally beat Corpse Factory. Despite me reviewing it here, it’s definitely not an otome. It is, in fact, one of the more fucked up VN’s I’ve ever played. Psychological horror done (almost) exactly right. (Mostly) terrible people doing (completely) terrible things.

Basic plot: Cool website, Corpse Girl. Send in someone’s photo and phone number, and they’ll get texted a picture of their own corpse…hours/days before they die. And they will die. There’s Noriko, a bored, stoic goth girl who runs the site. Tomoe, a walking “blonde slut” stereotype (even if she kind of isn’t) who has no problem playing messenger with dead bodies. Kojiro, a morgue attendant a little too obsessed with corpses. And Aoi, the girl Noriko’s in love with, who can’t seem to take control of her life.

TW: If any of this intrigues you, PLEASE BE AWARE that this is psychological horror for reasons that go WAY beyond mere corpses and death. There’s very (VERY) frank discussions of mental health issues, anorexia, body dysmorphia, depression, suicide, self-hatred, child abuse and neglect, and more.

That being said….all of it is treated with a shocking amount of sensitivity. And I mean that in a good way. You watch the characters spiral, but for some of them, you also watch them build themselves back up again. (The good ending made me cry in a good way at one part.) They’re all motivated by their mental illness, following the current of their lying brains, and that’s why they do what they do. Reason, not excuse. As some of them start to regain pieces of themselves, they’re horrified by the things they’ve done.

You’re watching someone trying to manipulate people into killing themselves, and you still somehow feel bad for her as she believes that three bites of food a day and a few cans of coffee is enough to live on. That’s some good writing, IMO.

Also, I can’t say enough about the art and CGs. Each character has a significant number of sprites to show a variety of emotions. The art on the CGs is great, and there’s a LOT of them.

And the voice acting OMG the VOICE ACTING. Normally I speed through VN’s and listen only to important lines. Once I have the character’s voice in my head, I read far far quicker than they speak. But in this game, I wound up listening to a large majority of it because I just couldn’t get enough of everyone’s voices!

Pros: Excellent writing, characters who are sympathetic even as you hate them, AMAZING art, CGs, and voices!

Cons: Can be triggering, dragged in some places, and one particular part of the true ending came out of NOWHERE with very little foreshadowing. It’s something I guessed, but only because I’ve been obsessed with horror for 30 years now. And it was a guess - it was kind of a random “oops, we need to tie up all the loose ends and fixing this one will take another 1-2 hours until we do it this way” ending.

Overall, definitely worth playing if this is your thing and your mental health will stand for it!!