#but i found all these little bits of visual information so inspiring. i see it as her way of getting to her ideas for the menu

[picspammer]

"Sydney searches Chicago for culinary inspiration" The Bear S2 E3 Sundae | Directed by Joanna Calo

[beyondthesefourwalls]

Remember You Even When I Don't (3)

Summary: A training accident, the doctor had told him. A nasty one that led him here, laying in a hospital bed with a splitting headache and an inability to remember the woman sitting beside him. What he did know, though, was that you were the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and you felt important to him. That, as it turns out, would become an understatement.

Words: 4.7K

Pairing: Bradley Bradshaw/Reader (no use of y/n, so can be read as unnamed oc)

Warnings: angst, hospitals, memory loss, language.

Notes: The response for this continues to blow me away. Thank you all so much! Hearing your thoughts about these two makes me so happy and is so encouraging to write a little bit faster. Please continue to comment and reblog, and my inbox is always open!

This was inspired by a one shot by the lovely @roosterforme and would not exist without her assistance. If you haven't read any of her stuff, please check out her masterlist - you won't be disappointed!

Part Two

_________

He dreamt of sparkling lights and cobblestone streets. When he roused consciousness, he thought he could smell pumpkin candles and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. 

He woke slowly, chasing after the smell and the visuals as they evaporated from his view. He blinked several times, adjusting to the fluorescent light and white walls of his hospital room. 

“Well well well, look who decided to wake up.” 

It took a moment for the words to register in his mind. He looked to his left, where he had grown accustomed to seeing you sitting, only you weren’t there this time. Instead, he saw someone he recognized very well, smirking at him like only she could. 

“Sorry for keeping you waiting,” he grunted out as he adjusted himself on the bed and raised it up so he wasn’t lying down as far, making it easier to look at her. 

“You look like shit,” she continued. 

Bradley snorted. “Thanks, Phoenix. Appreciate that.” 

The smirk on her face fell into a soft smile. She reached out and laid her hand on his, squeezing gently. “It’s good to see you, Rooster.” 

“Yeah, it’s good to see you too,” he nodded, and he meant it. “How…long has it been?” 

Like she usually did, Nat knew exactly what he meant, and he was grateful he didn’t have to explain. “For me? Five days. I hear it may be a little longer for you, though. Based on the date you told the doctor, it’s been six months since I was sent to Korea without you.” 

“Five days? So…” 

“I was in the air with you when you went down,” she confirmed. “We’ve been stationed here together for almost three years.” 

“Lucky you,” he murmured as he rolled this new information over in his head. Learning that he was stationed in San Diego, Fightertown of all places, as part of a permanent detachment at Top Gun was a lot for him. The last place he remembered was D.C. But learning he had been with Phoenix here the whole time, for three years, brought another question to his mind. He took a glance around the room, even though he knew they were alone. 

“We finally talked her into going home and taking a shower about an hour and a half ago. One of the guys might con her into taking a nap, too.” 

The coffee cup from the day prior flashed in his mind again. “We?” 

“Mhm,” She hummed, meeting his eyes again. “It’s not just you and me anymore, Bradshaw. We found ourselves a whole, big ass family here. Imagine that, huh?” 

He could always count on Nat to never beat around the bush with him. He never knew how much he appreciated it until now, when he had never felt so out of the loop before. 

“Anyone I know?” 

She barked out a laugh, her eyes shining with something that looked like mischief. “Oh, Rooster. I don’t know that you’d even believe me if I told you.” 

“That bad, huh?” 

She was still laughing when she leant forward, speaking like she was sharing a secret with him. Bradley supposed that in a way, she was. 

“What would you say if I told you Bagman has been here to visit you everyday?” 

Bradley’s face scrunched up in disbelief, “Good joke.” 

“I told you that you wouldn’t believe me,” she said, her voice very much taking on the I told you so tone that she was so good at. She picked her phone up from her lap, scrolling for a few seconds before handing it over to him. There was a picture displayed on the screen of a group of people all donning their traditional green flight suits with an F/A-18 in the background. And there, right in the middle with his signature smug grin, was Jake fucking Seresin, arm wrapped around Bradley’s own shoulders like it was completely normal to do so. 

“Well I’ll be damned.” 

“Tell me. What’s more shocking? Hangman being your best friend, or finding out you have a wife?” 

She was teasing him, Bradley knew, trying to ease some of the obvious tension in the room. He looked at the picture again, trying to place names with faces. He recognized Payback and Coyote, and Harvard and Yale, but the rest were unfamiliar to him. He studied it for another moment, but no memories came with it. There was a flash of disappointment when he handed her phone back to her. 

“Pretty even, I guess.” 

Despite his words, they both knew it wasn’t really even. He had known Hangman for a decade and the rivalry had never really been more than that. But you, on the other hand…you were something Bradley never anticipated or thought he’d have. He’s still in shock at your existence, still something more than perplexed at how you made him feel even if he knew little more than your name. 

“This is….a lot, Nat. I have a wife. A wife and a whole life I don’t remember.” It was the first time he had said it out loud. His voice cracked, and his eyes stung, but he knew she would never use it against him. “This is crazy.” 

Her face was sympathetic now and she reached back out to hold his hand again. “You’ll get through it, Bradley. I know you will. We’ll all help you. Especially her.” She said it with such certainty that he almost believed her. 

“Can you tell me about her?” he asked her tentatively, and Nat shrugged in response. 

“It’s not my place to tell you your entire love story with her,” she said. Bradley couldn’t hide his disappointment. 

“What I will tell you though,” she continued, and he perked up just the slightest bit, “is that you two are ridiculously happy. And you love one another more than I’ve seen two people be capable of loving one another, and my parents have been married for like 40 years. You, her, and Florence are the perfect little family and we all make fun of you for it on a regular basis but it’s just because we’re jealous.” 

Her words made him feel better, but then he replayed them in his head and felt panic course through his body. The heart monitor beeped a little faster. “Florence? Who is Florence? Nat, do I have a kid?” 

By the way she bursted out laughing, he assumed that no, he did not, or her sense of humor has seriously changed in the last four years that she would find his panic at the thought funny if it were true. 

“No,” she snorted, “not as far as I’m aware. Florence is your cat. You call her Florry, most of the time.” 

His sigh of relief was so deep that it hurt his still very broken ribs, but it was worth it. Waking up to a wife he didn’t remember was one thing. He didn’t know if he could handle forgetting a child on top of that. Hell, he could barely handle all of this as it was. 

“I don’t remember her,” he started, and despite him stating the obvious, Nat was quiet as he worked out his thoughts. “But I feel like I know her. That’s…that’s crazy, right?” 

“I don’t think so,” she shrugged, “You do know her. Better than anyone. Your mind may not remember her, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t.” 

Bradley considered her words for a moment, feeling like he got punched right in his broken ribs. 

“Yeah,” he croaked, “I feel like I do.” 

Phoenix smiled at him sadly, giving him a moment to breathe before she started talking again. She spoke about the last four years of his career. He was stationed in D.C. when he was sent on a six week deployment to Belgium, only to be pulled out of that halfway through for a special mission out of Top Gun. It led to all of those that were called back to form a new unit with this as their homebase. 

“The Dagger Squad?” he questioned with a snort. Natascha hit him gently in his arm, but he winced anyway just to mess with her as they’ve always done. “Ow.” 

“Jokes on you, asshole. You were the first one to say it and it stuck.” 

He groaned. “Of course I was.” 

She talks him through how he was promoted in 2020, nearly a year after being stationed here. Lieutenant Commander Bradley Bradshaw, she had teased. She had since been promoted as well, but he got it before the rest of them. He felt a certain level of satisfaction in that. They had done additional missions together, deploying for mostly short stints when necessary, and had taught a few Top Gun classes of their own. 

Their crew was close, like family. Some of them had been in the air with him when he went down days prior, while the others remained in the tower. They all searched for him and made sure he was found, unwilling and unable to leave him behind.

They had been here everyday since his accident, rotating out in shifts so that you were never alone, staying until the nurses kicked them out at the end of the night. Bob, one of the ones in the photo that Bradley didn’t recognize, had been down in the cafeteria getting you both food when he had woken up the previous morning. It warmed him, knowing you had people here for you when he had been unconscious. That there was someone making sure you ate and drank water and slept. It was important to him that you weren’t alone. 

Coyote and Hangman had been the ones to drive you home this evening. You had agreed only if Phoenix stayed in case he woke up, so that he wasn’t alone. 

“She thought you would appreciate seeing a face you recognized,” she explained, and the thought that you were that considerate nearly took his breath away. He did appreciate it, more than he thought. The two of them talked for a long time, but Bradley felt himself missing you. There was an ache in his chest that was getting harder to ignore. He found himself looking toward the door and at the clock near the window. The sun had gone down hours ago. When the nurse came in a little while ago to check on him, she had warned Nat that visiting hours were almost over. 

“Everything alright?” Nat asked him, noticing how his gaze was wandering and he was taking longer pauses between responding to her. “Pain okay?” 

There was an ever present ache in his head and his ribs hurt, but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle. It wasn’t what he was focused on right now. 

You were upset when you had left the room earlier. He still wanted to know who you were talking to and what the doctor had said to you and to just know you. He was starting to get anxious that you weren’t coming back. 

He didn’t like the thought. Your presence soothed something. Anytime you were in the room with him, he felt a little less outside of his own skin. You had said the day before that there was nowhere else you would be than beside him, so he had to believe you wouldn’t leave him alone tonight. 

“Fine,” he muttered, deciding to keep the thoughts to himself, too embarrassed to ask after where you were and when you were coming back. He suspected that Nat saw right through him, but gracefully, she moved on. Even when another thirty minutes had passed and the nurse came in again, informing the two of them that visiting hours were over and she was hugging him goodbye as gently as she could, he didn’t say anything. 

When the door closed behind her, he realized it was the first time he had been alone since he woke up in this bed the morning before. Being on his own had never bothered him before. He had always preferred solitude over anything else, yet this felt strangely empty. Lonely, even. Your face was there at the forefront of his mind. He found himself wondering what you were doing right now. If you had ended up taking that nap at home and if you were okay. His heart ached remembering the broken look in your eyes yesterday when he didn’t know who you were and how distraught you looked with the doctors and nurses earlier. 

He wished he would have had the thought to ask Phoenix for your phone number. He had no idea where his own cell phone was, but the old corded phone in the hospital room could certainly dial out if he needed to reach you. 

He wondered if this same sense of longing had happened so quickly the first time around, too. 

He wasn’t sure how much time passed as he thought about you, but his ears picked up on hurried footsteps making their way to his door. They barely paused before it was thrown open, but grabbed before it could hit off the wall. 

The tightness in his chest eased when he saw you. You paused in the doorway when you saw he was awake and looking at you. 

You looked more frazzled than he had ever seen you, not that that was a lot, but it still unsettled him. 

“Are you-” 

“I’m so sorry,” you blurted, making your way into the room after you gently closed the door, almost as to make up for your brash opening of it. The notion almost made him smile. “I went home to take a shower so you could talk to Nat and I ended up falling asleep. I didn’t mean to be gone for this long.” 

“It’s alright,” he assured you, but the frazzled look didn’t go away. Seeing it made him forget all about how distraught he almost was that you weren’t here. “Try and convince me differently all you want, but I bet an actual bed was a lot better than this chair. I’m glad you got some sleep.” 

You gave him a small smile and it made him feel something akin to pride to be the cause of it. 

The smile slipped after a moment. You twisted your ring on your finger, your eyes cautious. You looked small, and he didn’t like that. You cleared your throat before speaking. 

“Your doctor, he uh, he told me I should give you some space. That I might be overwhelming for you? But I didn’t want you to be alone. That’s why I had Nat come, but non-family members can’t stay overnight so…”

A flash of anger hit them then. He had known when you walked back into his hospital room when the doctor had requested your presence outside that he had said something to you. He should have known after he had made the comment about you leaving the room during his consultation that it was something to do with that. 

“He didn’t have a right to say that to you.”

“Bradley-“

“Just because I don’t remember you doesn’t mean you don’t exist,” he said, his voice firm, and he heard the breath you sucked in. 

His tone softened with his next words, “And even if I don’t understand it, I want you here. I mean…as long as you still want to be?”

It didn’t occur to him, before, that maybe this was too much for you. He was your husband who had been in the hospital for a week who woke up not remembering who you were. Maybe you needed some space. But you were nodding your head before he could overthink it too much. 

“I do. I told you, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. But I want to do what’s going to be best for you more, okay? I know you don’t know me enough to trust me right now, but I need you to promise me that if it ever is too overwhelming for me to be here, you tell me, okay?” 

That was the thing. He did trust you. It was a feeling deeply rooted in his bones that he could trust you with anything. 

“I promise,” he said instead of telling you what he was really feeling. The emotions were too raw, too jumbled, and he hadn’t made sense of them yet. 

“Alright,” you nodded. You finally made your way from where you had been standing at the end of his hospital bed over to the chair beside it. A pressure lifted off of him when you sat down. 

Yes, he thought, that’s better. 

“How was your visit with Phoenix?” you asked, kicking your tennis shoes off and curling your legs up underneath you. You were in another pair of black leggings and another oversized pullover, UPENN displayed across the front of the dark gray material. Your hair was down again, and he decided he liked how the color looked against your skin as you pushed it out of your eyes. You raised your eyebrows at him and he realized he must have been staring. 

He cleared his throat, fighting off reddening cheeks. Damn. 

“It was good,” he admitted. “She caught me up a lot; told me about being stationed out here and the squad we’re on. She kinda laid out the last four years of my career for me.” 

“Congrats on your promotion,” you joked, and Bradley found himself letting out a surprised chuckle at your humor. 

“Did she say anything specific? About the mission you were called for that got you stationed here?” you asked. Bradley shook his head. 

“She didn’t go into many details. Why?” You let out a long, low breath, and Bradley felt his stomach knot. “Is there something else I should know about it?” 

“Yes,” you nodded, “and it may not be easy for you to hear, but..well, it’s important. Kind of a big part of the last three years of your life.” 

That could mean a lot of things. He tried to stamp down all the worst case scenarios that played around in his head and watched you fiddle with the phone in your hand. You paused, took a breath, and then handed it over to him. Your fingers brushed against his when you did and the spark it sent through him made him take a second to realize what it is he was looking at. His breath caught in his throat when he did. 

Staring back at him was the two of you. You were both smiling, clearly happy, with you tucked into his side like you belonged there. On his other side, he had his arm thrown around the neck of someone he hadn’t seen in years. At least that he could remember. He couldn’t pinpoint what he was feeling. A decades worth of anger and bitterness, he supposed, but the underlying hurt and regret that he always tried to not acknowledge were there too. If he focused hard enough, there was even the smallest flicker of hope. 

“I don’t understand,” he muttered, still staring at the picture. 

“You asked me earlier who Pete was, when you saw the name on my coffee cup,” you reminded him, “not many people call him that, but I do.”

You went on to tell him an abridged version of what sounded like a mission report. Mav was their mission leader and he was his wingman. He got shot down trying to save him, and Bradley disobeyed direct orders to go find him, where he was then shot down trying to save him. It ended fine. They clearly made it out, with some assistance, and had taken a lot of time to work through things. They had completely rebuilt their relationship in the last three years and by the looks of them in this picture, it was hard not to believe you when you said they were stronger than ever. 

“I know how badly he hurt you, and that hearing this might bring up those feelings,” you whispered, your voice sympathetic but not pitying, which was something he appreciated more than he could say, “but the two of you love each other so much. When the time came, you were ready to forgive him. It may be hard to believe, but I wouldn’t lie to you about this. I promise. He’s family. To both of us.”

“He’s been here?” Bradley brought himself to ask, and though he already knew the answer based on the sharpied evidence on a plastic coffee cup, the nod you gave him in response winded him. 

“Everyday,” you confirmed. 

Bradley nods slowly, processing your words. 

“I don’t…know that I’m ready to see him,” he finally said. 

“That’s okay,” you assured him immediately, “you don’t have to right now. But I didn’t want to keep it from you, okay? I don’t want to keep anything from you.” 

He looked away from the phone he had been staring at to meet your eyes, and he knew that you were being sincere. Your eyes were earnest, your expression open, and he was blown away that anyone so beautiful would look at him like that. He let out a breath that was shakier than he would want to admit before he handed your phone back to you. 

“Are you tired?” you asked him, and he shrugged his shoulders. He was, truthfully, but this was the longest conversation the two of you have had; he wasn’t ready for it to end. 

“Tell me something else,” he said instead. 

“What would you like to know?” you asked, clicking your phone off and setting it on the table near his bed. 

“You,” he said instantly, not needing any time to think and not second guessing his honesty, “I want to know you. Us.” 

Your smile was shy, and your cheeks bloomed again, drawing your bottom lip between your teeth as you nodded. His heart raced in his chest again. “Alright.” 

______

Listening to your voice had quickly become one of his favorite things. The two of you talked for a long time that night, and he grasped onto every detail you gave him. 

You were a few years younger than him. You worked in journalism, covering politics and policy, for the most part completely remote from your home here in San Diego. You grew up in Philadelphia (the Eagles sweatshirt was yours) and were the only child of only children. You weren’t overly close with your parents, but you didn’t seem bothered by it, either. You loved spicy food and sour beers, and things always got a little interesting when you indulged in too much white wine. You had adopted Florence, the adorable brown tabby that you proudly showed him pictures of, when you moved to DC all on your own, and Bradley was apparently the only man the cat tolerated. 

The two of you hosted board game nights or dinner parties on a regular basis, and it had surprisingly only ended in a physical fight between him and Hangman once in the last three years. 

The night nurse came in for her rounds and was surprised to see him still awake, but he refused additional pain medication when she offered it because he wasn’t ready for how they would inevitably put him to sleep. 

He wanted to know everything about you. 

“Tell me how we met?” He requested. 

Your smile was soft, like you liked how the memory made you feel. 

“We were both subjected to the ‘single guest with no date’ table at a wedding,” you revealed. Bradley wracked his brain and remembered a save the date he had sloppily stuck to his fridge in his DC apartment. He asked if that was the one you were referencing and your smile grew as you confirmed it. 

“We met in Philadelphia?” 

“We did,” you laughed, “which is incredibly ironic, considering we were both living in DC at the time.”

It sounded more like fate, but Bradley kept those thoughts to himself for now. 

“Did I ask you to dance?” he asked, almost certain of the answer considering where they ended up years later, but to his surprise, you shook your head. His eyes widened. “You’re kidding.” 

“I’m not,” you swore with a chuckle.

“I was at the same table with you and I didn’t even ask you to dance?”

You threw your head back with a full laugh, and Bradley was sure if they pulled the data from the monitor he was still hooked up to, it would show that his heart skipped a beat at the sight. 

“The rest of the people at the table were admittedly not that nice, and when we realized that we weren’t that bad, we ended up escaping and sitting outside at one of the cocktail hour tables for the majority of the night.”

He wished he could remember what you looked like that night. He wondered what color dress you wore, and if you had your hair up or down, when he was apparently not dancing with you.

“That seems like a crime,” you flushed at the words he mumbled mostly to himself. 

It was difficult for him to comprehend that he had someone in his life like you, but it wasn’t hard at all to see how he fell in love with you as quickly as he must have. You were beautiful outwardly, but he was seeing you were even more so inwardly, as well. You were funny and witty and kept him on his toes, and he was sure he hadn’t even scratched the surface of you yet. 

The more he learned, the more infatuated he became. 

It was nearing two in the morning when your yawning became more frequent amongst your conversation. Watching your face scrunch up every time it happened was adorable, and he wondered if you were as unwilling to go to sleep as he was. The bubble of storytelling you had found yourself in was warm and comforting, but he finally took pity when you started rubbing your eyes under your glasses. The urge to somehow take care of you was brewing inside of him. He wanted to be selfish, but he had kept you up long enough. 

“We should get some sleep,” he murmured. Your hair fell in your eyes when you nodded and he found himself wanting to tuck it behind your ear for you. 

“Are you in any pain?” you asked. You were worrying for him, despite how tired you obviously were. He had been shown more concern in the last 48 hours than he could remember getting in the last decade; his heart ached at the thought. 

“It’s not so bad right now.”

“I can get the nurse.” You were already rising to do so, and before he could stop himself, he reached out to grab your arm. You froze from your position half raised out of the chair. Your wide eyes flickered down to his hand before meeting his again. 

Bradley swallowed deeply, but didn’t let go. He couldn’t stop his thumb from gently rubbing your skin through the thick material of your sweatshirt. 

“I’m okay,” he whispered, “promise.”

The breath you let out was shaky, but you nodded. Without disconnecting from him, you pulled your chair just the slightest bit closer to his bed with your other hand, but you didn’t move to sit down yet. Instead, you took a step closer and leaned down to press a gentle kiss against his forehead. Your scent invaded his senses and he suddenly felt dizzy again for a completely different reason. You lingered for a moment and he reveled in it.

“Thank you,” he didn’t quite know what he was thanking you for, but he needed to say it. His voice was thick all of a sudden, feeling overwhelmed with the influx of emotions he was feeling. 

You just smiled at him, and he released the hold he had on your arm so you could settle back into the chair that had become your temporary residence for the last week. 

“Goodnight, Bradley.”

-------

Notes: Things are starting to pick up with these two! The next part is when we really get into the fun stuff, I think :)

Tagging those who asked or interacted. I think I caught everyone, but I'm very new to this so apologies if I missed you! Please let me know if you'd like to be added or taken off this list :)

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[arimiadev]

Developer Interview — Making A Date with Death

6 months ago, a brand new self-insert romance visual novel hit the market called A Date with Death, created by visual novel veterans Two and a Half Studios. Coming off of the success of The Divine Speaker, they dived into the chat sim space in visual novels with a huge splash. A Date with Death is currently sitting at over 5,000 positive reviews on Steam with a Kickstarter for an after story launching this week.

Read the interview on my blog or read it below.

Arimia: Hi Gabby, thanks for sitting down to talk about A Date with Death! Both of us have been into visual novels for quite a while, but what got you into them?

Gabby: I feel like my introduction to visual novels was probably similar to a lot of people my age…. and that was being on Tumblr too much and being introduced to Dramatical Murder much too young, and installing the fantranslation for myself and all of my friends, hahaha. From there I played the rest of the N+C games, and then moved to things like No Thank You! since it had a translation. After that I moved further to Japanese games that didn’t have a translation. These were 95% BL as well – I’ve played one or two otome games in my time but never really been super into them.

Actually, when I first got into development, I hadn’t played any Western visual novels yet. It was only after I started in game development that I tried more indie visual novels in general.

As for my favorite VNs, I have a few favorites! My first favorite and it’ll always have my heart is Lamento. It was kind of the culmination of a lot of different things I love in media, and I still love the game. There’s another untranslated game I really like called Pigeon Blood. I actually helped with some editing of translations for some of the routes a looong, long time ago. A more recent favorite, and probably my favorite overall, is MAMIYA! MAMIYA is a Japanese indie visual novel by KENKOULAND which I will happily shill over my own games (LOL) about a group of people at the “end of the world”. The way the story is presented, I don’t think I’ve ever played anything like it, and I found it very inspiring. I was lucky enough to work with the creator Kokoroten on an animation for my own game Dreambound, which was fantastic.

Arimia: Would you believe I’ve never played DMMD? Definitely cut from the same cloth though about being exposed from too much Tumblr time and hearing about all of these Japanese VNs that would never get localized over here, but now Fate/Stay Night is coming to Steam in a few months…. the visual novel landscape has changed so much.

You’ve worked on several boys love and girls love titles before A Date With Death that are more in the fantasy historical realm – how did you come up with the idea for ADWD?

Gabby: Well, we’d actually been wanting to try something more modern for awhile now, despite our love for fantasy settings, and we only happened across a screenshot from another developer’s chat sim and I kind of fell in love with the format. I’ve been really wanting to try my hand at something “cozy”, and though A Date with Death doesn’t really sound cozy on the box, we have a lot of features that I think set well with that crowd. I’m a very big fan of the informal aspect of the writing. I think even in my more serious games, I always lean into humor a little bit and I really enjoy writing banter, so the chat sim format was perfect for that.

(I styled my MC after my character Rose. he’d probably wind up in a shady chatroom like this)

Arimia: Having played some of A Date with Death, I can definitely see how it’s more “cozy” than some of your other games, and I think a lot of the player reactions I’ve seen have shown that too. The overall scope of the game is also on the smaller side, despite the player customization. How did you go about deciding the size of the game? Were there any parts/features you wanted to include but didn’t?

Gabby: Actually, the size is a lot BIGGER than we originally planned. Being our first free to play game, it’s always a little bit of a risk to put a lot of money into something when visual novel development is your livelihood, and obviously with a free game there’s no guarantee of a return. We originally planned for each “day” of the game to be only around 2000 words, for a grand total of 14,000 words for the game. Very short and sweet. Over the development we realized we had a lot more words than originally planned that we wanted to tell, and part of that is owing to just how many choices and options there are. There’s some conversations in the game which people are honestly surprised about because they’ve never managed to get them on any of their playthroughs. The game actually ended up being around 60,000 words, and this should be near doubled when Beyond the Bet releases.

We also included a lot of other things that weren’t originally planned when we concepted the game. We knew we wanted character creation and some degree of room decorating, but we also added a lot of small missable content – like interacting with your pet, watering your plant, reading books on your bookcase, minigames and websites on your computer, eavesdropping on your neighbor… the one thing we had originally planned but cut was voice acting. It’s something we really wanted to do, and we wrote Casper’s character with a very talented voice actor in mind, but it was a bit too much of a risk with the price of it and the unknown of releasing a free game but still making money on it. We don’t believe in having people work for us for free, even on free projects or jam games, so it wasn’t something we were prepared to have someone do for free even though I’m certain we could have.

Luckily, in the end we decided to hold a Kickstarter for the project, and that allows us the possibility of adding voice acting if it goes well!

Arimia: Yeah, it’s definitely a risk to spend so much time and effort on a free project, but I’m glad it worked out in the end. When announcing the game, what was your strategy? Did it differ any from how you announced and marketed your previous games?

Gabby: It was a little different! This is the first time we’ve had TikTok as one of our platforms when announcing a new project, and we knew we wanted to focus a lot of our attention there. Video content is very strong performing we’ve found, but it is definitely a skill in and of itself. We spent a lot of time honing down on our hook and how we could make people get it in a single line. On a platform like TikTok, you have a split second to catch someone’s attention.

We also had a much shorter amount of marketing time than our usual multi-year projects. We knew we wanted it out within a few months of announcing it, so we needed as much impact as possible in a short amount of time. We knew we wanted to get an animated opening since it can be a very powerful piece of marketing material, and I think that was a great idea and we’ll likely continue it going forward.

At the time of announcement, we had less than 10,000 followers on Twitter. Twitter is probably my favorite platform, but it was kind of falling off for us a little when we were ready to announce A Date with Death – but it just took off after we announced the game. We had a multi-month document with marketing beats and announcements we’d make over the few months we had, but with everything taking off much more than we expected we added to it a lot. I think you always have to be ready to adapt to change quickly in this field.

We actually never planned to market the game as “tease the babygirl”, but it’s something fans latched onto, and you can’t make that kind of marketing yourself, I think. We really leaned into our audience and what THEY thought of the game, and used that to our advantage in a way. I’m very thankful for whoever first asked if he was a babygirl.

Arimia: Twitter (was) probably my favorite platform too, mainly because it’s so easy to just make a quick post or update. TikTok has so much reach but it’s just so much easier to tweet a meme out somedays.

A little side question- with the name having the word “death” in it, were you worried about SEO / being censored on social media, or did it affect you? When I was creating Drops of Death years ago, I was worried social media platforms would suppress posts about it but ultimately went with it because it fit with the serial killer theme.

Gabby: Actually we weren’t too worried about that – we’ve definitely used words like death, kill, murderer, etc. in relation to our other games before and haven’t have much trouble. There ARE certain words especially on TikTok that it’s best to censor, but I haven’t had any problem using the name anywhere and we were prepared to risk it to use the name we wanted.

Arimia: It’s definitely a catchy name that summarizes the experience well. Back to the part where when people were first getting exposed to the concept and came up with Grim being a babygirl— how would you advise other devs to understand what keywords and pitches work better for their games?

Gabby: My first suggestion is to look at similar games to yours and the words they use. Look at the concept of your story and try to boil it down to a paragraph, then a sentence. Look at what makes your game unique, or how you can lean into what fans will get out of your work. Give your players elements that they can recognize instantly without a lengthy explanation.

“A romance chat sim where you flirt with and/or bully the Grim Reaper”

“Compete against the Grim Reaper to keep your soul… or die trying”

“Create your custom MC and flirt with the man trying to take your soul”

I use all of these in our marketing, because even though there’s a lot more to the game we’re not talking about, this is a hook that can capture someone’s attention straight away and then you can funnel them to your game.

Arimia: Getting hooks down can be such a difficult part but it’s so, so important. What do you think helped you most marketing-wise?

Gabby: It’s a tough question. We did a lot, and had huge amount of attention from all over the place and it just snowballed more, and more, and more. I think honestly what started the snowball was TikTok. Once we had one video go big, we were having multiple a week go 30k-400k views. We were getting 500-1300 wishlists per day for months. A lot of people joined our Discord from there and went to follow us on Twitter. TikTok is hard and the format is a lot to handle when you’re new to the platform, but it was absolutely worthwhile for us. Another thing I’ll quickly note – reuse your content. I just repost my TikToks to Insta Reels and they get a similar, if not more views, for no extra effort.

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A post shared by Two and a Half Studios (@twohalfstudios)

Arimia: Yeah, it’s wild how quickly TikTok can blow up for someone. I’ve had posts get 100k+ views and then a few posts later they’ll struggle to hit 1k.

Side note: Gabby has written about her experiences with TikTok on her blog. You can also read about my discussions on TikTok marketing for visual novels here.

What do you think was the least effective thing you did for marketing?

Gabby: I suppose Steam events this time around kind of paled in comparison to our own marketing efforts. They’re always worth doing though – any Steam events you can get into, participate in them! You’ll always see some kind of return. But for us, an event giving 200-300 wishlists was just a drop in the water. Not at all not worth doing, but certainly it wasn’t a huge focus for us this time around.

[A]ny Steam events you can get into, participate in them!

Apart from that, I posted also to some other social media sites like bluesky, but I didn’t find it very worthwhile and stopped rather quickly. There’s only so much time in a day, and as the only person handling all of the marketing, it just wasn’t worth it.

Arimia: For newbie devs, what would you recommend they focus on? TikTok, Twitter, or something else?

Gabby: I think TikTok is the easiest platform to hit it big on “fast”. I say “fast” because it’s not guaranteed that you’re going to hit it big, it really depends how well you adapt to the platform, but your content there has a chance of being seen, even without any followers at all. That’s probably why I recommend it as a platform for new and old visual novel devs alike.

I think you’ll also find that once you pick up the format, it can be pretty fun to make. I think platforms like Twitter are easier to use, but getting started on them is hard. VNs are so visual heavy so we already have so much content that works well on TikTok. Of course, there could be problems in the future with using TikTok in the US, so we’ll see how that goes.

It’s best to focus on a few places though, and not to put all of your eggs in one basket. When you’re putting your audience in places that can go away, it’s always a risk, so it’s good to spread them between places like TikTok, Twitter, Tumblr, etc.

Arimia: Yeah, I think one thing devs forget is that these social media platforms are ran by big tech that don’t care about the little guys – if your account gets banned or falsely flagged, what are you going to do if you can’t get it back? Always best to have more than one site you’re posting on, but you don’t want to spread yourself too thin.

At what point in ADWD’s development cycle did you start marketing it? It was a pretty short development cycle to begin with.

Gabby: We started working on the concept of A Date with Death January of last year, and announced it on the 5th of July. This wasn’t really 6-7 months of dev time though – we were working on two of our other games at the time. By that point, we’d finished maybe half of the game and announced the game in time for the Steam Visual Novel Fest a month later.

This was actually pretty successful for us, and gave us a decent boost to start from. We then released the demo at the end of September in time for Steam Next Fest, which was a bit more meh for us despite going in with a high wishlist velocity. We then released the game at the start of December. But, like I said, we were working full time on Dreambound and The Divine Speaker: The Sun and the Moon, so I think we could have made it in much less time if we didn’t have other games on our plate.

My suggestion is to announce the game and start marketing early, but not so early you run out of content you can post. My strat is usually announce the game at the same time the Steam page is ready, so you can use the announcement to drive people straight to it. A trailer can be another marketing beat, and then lead up to the demo release. Going in with a solid marketing plan is a great idea, too.

Side note: despite the short amount of time to market the game, they were able to enter it into at least 2 different Steam-ran festivals! That’s a great boost to wishlists and they usually don’t require much work from yourself.

[A]nnounce the game and start marketing early, but not so early you run out of content you can post.

Arimia: Once you’ve worked on a few games it’s a lot easier to gauge when that sweet spot is, but when you haven’t it’s definitely hard to figure out. I usually go with how much progress I have towards something playable like a demo. When ADWD was ready to release, how did you reach out to press?

Gabby: Actually, I didn’t sent out any press releases for the full game! I can’t tell you exactly if this was a good thing or not – but the way I’ve done it for all of my other games is that I send out a press release and streamer keys for the demo only. Especially for A Date with Death, we already had a lot of press and streamer interest naturally, so we decided to use our time for other forms of marketing and polishing up the game instead.

For the demo though, we curated a list of ~70 people to send out early keys to. I think this is quite worthwhile in hyping up the demo release, and it’s quite easy these days with tools like sullygnome.

Arimia: What lessons learnt from your previous games did you bring with you when making ADWD?

Gabby: We’ve been very lucky to work with our amazing artist Fuyuure for over six years now, so we came in with a great team who worked incredibly well together. I think that was a big bonus – working on something like a big character creator can be a difficult task for many artists, because of the sheer amount of assets you need. So, I would say coming in with a talented team who were ready for their tasks was a massive boon.

I think working on so many games beforehand prepared us to make the game in the time we did. We usually work on bigger, multi-year projects, and this was our first proper commercial endeavor into a smaller game. Our experience helped us to pinpoint exactly what we would need, which is a lot less than our other projects. The game actually only has 5 CGs, which is less than usual for us, but I think we managed to do it in a way where it doesn’t feel lacking, either. Getting scope right is a difficult thing and it’s easy to want to include anything and everything, but we were very particular about what we wanted and how long it would take.

Arimia: I can definitely see how that helped – working with people you’re already comfortable with can alleviate a lot of stress. For the A Date with Death: Beyond the Bet Kickstarter, how did you prepare the marketing campaign for it? How long did that pre-planning take you?

Gabby: We really started planning the new DLC the day A Date with Death launched last December. We knew we wanted to make more content, and with Dreambound nearly complete it was a good time to start thinking of running a new campaign. I would say the preplanning took a couple of months – working on a good date, working with lots of artists on new merch, setting up the page, getting the page to our graphic designer to make some images up for it… running a Kickstarter is definitely a lot of work! Even organizing the tiers takes some time.

We prepared mostly by getting the prelaunch page up as early as possible and getting the word out on all of our socials – Twitter, Tumblr, TikTok, Reels, Steam itself, Discord, our email list, itch…. basically, did a big blast out everywhere and we had a huge amount of people come and prelaunch straight away. We also really enjoy doing countdown images the week before launching – it lets us work with a bunch of amazing artists, and we use the art for rewards during the campaign too (as prints). Being our third campaign, we came into it knowing what we had to do, which is a big timesaver. For new developers, I’ll say don’t sleep on the prelaunch time – it’s not a good idea to put up a Kickstarter and instantly launch it. You need to bring an audience with you and get as many pledges lined up on that first day as possible.

Honestly, the support so far has blown our mind. With a similar amount of prep, Dreambound launched with less than 300 followers on the page, but as of writing this we’re already over 4500 on A Date with Death.

[I]t’s not a good idea to put up a Kickstarter and instantly launch it. You need to bring an audience with you and get as many pledges lined up on that first day as possible.

Arimia: Even though I’ve helped run and advised several Kickstarters before, there’s always something I forget or push off until the last minute. Was there anything you learned from the Dreambound KS that you used/did differently for the ADWD KS?

Gabby: Oh, for sure. I learned a lot about my tiers and page organization from our past Kickstarters. We actually have a lot more tiers than usual on this Kickstarter and I don’t think we’d be able to manage that without our past experiences.

If I had to pick one thing from the Dreambound Kickstarter that I’ve changed for A Date with Death’s, we decided to have all of our stretch goals viewable from the get-go. I enjoyed the “unlocking” of stretch goals we had before, but with the amount of attention I think we’ll get, it’s just easier to lay everything out for everyone.

Arimia: Yeah, I imagine you’ll probably be hitting stretch goals pretty early on with how many people are excited for the KS. Aside from social media like TikTok and Twitter, how do you keep your audience interested?

Gabby: I think one of the things that mobile games have as an advantage is continuously adding more content and patches. That really keeps people interested and coming back to your game and characters. Obviously we don’t really have a big enough team or enough time to be adding more and more content, so keeping people interested can be quite tough. We were very conscious of this when deciding WHEN to hold a Kickstarter in the first place – if we wait too long, people will move on. It’s already been 6 months since the game released, after all.

There’s multiple ways we’ve kept people interested during these months. One is that we funneled a lot of people to our Patreon, where we have exclusive art every month from the game, as well as behind the scenes stuff about the new DLC. We then can tease these on social media too, and drip feeding content works pretty well to keep people interested.

Another is we now have near 8000 members in our Discord, and these people become some of your core audience. We encourage interaction with each other and the game by weekly game questions that players can answer. If you had enough time to organize it, I honestly think even doing daily questions would be a really great idea. Anything to kind of keep people chatting and thinking about the game.

Arimia: To wrap this up – what advice would you give to other visual novel devs?

Gabby: There’s so much I’d like to say, but I’ll just give a few pieces of advice that I think could help newer developers. Don’t think of marketing as a bad thing, or an annoying thing. I see a lot of new developers come in and say “I won’t market. I feel like a shill and my game will speak for itself”. I think this is a huge mistake, because people won’t play your game if they don’t know it exists. Marketing can be fun! Share your little stories with the world proudly, don’t feel bad about that.

If you want to do game dev as just a hobby, then that’s absolutely fine – but it’s totally possible to do this as a profession, too. My partner and I have been working on visual novels full time for over two years now. A lot of people tend to think that’s there’s no money in visual novels, but I would say that’s not true at all. It’s hard work – like all small businesses are – and not every game is going to be wildly profitable, but it’s totally possible with a good game and good marketing. Keep making the games you love, doing market research to see what other people love, and you might be able to find a good crossover.

-------------------

And there you have it, some insight into the development and creation of A Date with Death! If you haven’t already, check the game out – the base game is completely free to play on Steam and itch.io. You can check out their social media here:

Twitter – TikTok – Tumblr

Support their Kickstarter!

[suzuran777]

Lamento stageplay news + visuals

Just one more day left until the live performancs of the Lamento stageplay start! The stageplay was of course already announced last year, but as they finally started tweeting the countdown pictures, I wanted to write a blog post about the visuals and information they've released so far, comparing some of the stageplay visuals to the official game illustrations!

Similar to the DRAMAtical Murder (DMMd) and sweet pool stageplays, the Lamento stageplay will also have different routes for each main character, Asato, Bardo and Rai. I'm going to assume that the first half of the stageplay will be some kind of common route, while the second half focuses on the route of each different character. Something that is new is that this time the stageplay will have "musical elements" as well, so I'm not sure if I should call it a stageplay or a musical (I'm just using "stageplay" this time as the official account also seems to call it that). Even though in the game Konoe's song is just a melody, the actors did tweet about singing, so I am curious what they will do!

Ohyama Yoh, who composed 19 of the 37 songs of the Lamento original soundtrack also tweeted that there will be 11 new songs (+ addictional background music). I think it's super cool that they're working together with the original composer again to create new songs for the stageplay! I remember the DMMd stageplay also had a new song by GOATBED, which they even performed live a few times at the end of the show. The previous stageplays were about two hours long, but this time they mentioned it will be at least 3 hours, which makes sense because Lamento is a lot longer than sweet pool and DMMd.

I'm really impressed by the costumes and wigs so far, the ears and tails also look so fluffy... I really wonder what they will look like in motion and what the battle scenes will look like. Most of the visuals of the individual characters they've released so far seem to be based on the in-game sprites, but what I found interesting is that Rai's, Asato's and Bardo's pictures seem to have the same pose as the Kotobukiya figurines! You can see the comparison below, the pictures of the figurines are from the Kotobukiya official website.

Another new visual which was released quite recently seems to resemble another official illustration, which I've seen in the artbooks before and which was also the cover of magazine B's Log, specifically the December 2006 issue. Some of the details are a bit different, for example Konoe is not holding Leaks' mask in his hand anymore, and this time they added Shui to the illustration as well, but some other things such as Bardo's pose make it quite obvious this picture was their inspiration. The way Shui and Leaks stand next to each other kind of reminds me of the Rhapsody to the Past drama CD as well? One thing I noticed is that they're not really trying to hide Leaks' face this time, which was actually quite a big reveal in the game.

Next are some of the other illustrations they recently showed us during a short livestream which was available on Twitter for a limited time. Luckily they also posted the pictures on the official account! These won't be sold as merchandise, but they're given away as a bonus for those who attend all three versions of the show. I guess one thing I never noticed before is how little promotional/extra art Bardo got back then, so in this case they had to use one of his in-game CGs. For the other characters they mostly seem to use some of the extra/promotional art. Anyway, you can see a comparison below! I think it's fun to see how they re-created the pictures with the actors.

The last picture they recently showed during the Twitter livestream uses the cover illustration of the official world guidebook! Unfortunately no Bardo in this one either. This is one of the items they are selling as merchandise, it seems to be some kind of booklet (they call it a "pamphlet" but it's 32 pages long). I really wish they would sell the merchandise online, but for now it's only accessible for those who have a ticket and who buy it inside the venue. Maybe if they have any extra stock they might sell it online?

Update: The stageplay will also be livestreamed on DMM TV! The ticket to watch all three routes is 10000 yen (about 66 USD, which is cheaper than the in-person tickets at least!) which also gives you some special bonus videos to watch. First is Bardo's route on February 24th, followed by Asato's and Rai's routes on February 25th. Be aware that it is region locked and not all VPNs work, so unfortunately I can't help much with that! For any further updates you can check the official Twitter account!

Cast list: Konoe: Maejima Yoh Rai: Kato Sho Asato: Hiraga Yusei Bardo: Seto Yusuke Razel: Kimisawa Yuki Kaltz: Okamoto Yuki Verg: Iwata Tomoki Froud: Muramatsu Koki Kagari: Asaba Maya Tokino: Fukuzawa Taiga Firi: Kita Tsutomu Kil: Yoshun Sakamoto Ul: Arai Yuya Shui: Osaki Natsuki Leaks: Matsui Yuho

[sunnythesillygoose]

Narrator Design Process (so far (I need a second opinion))

Hello and welcome to this design journey of the Narrator from The Stanley Parable of course (this game is holding me hostage). Im going to take you through my process step by step. Why? Why not?

First I thought it would be fun to look at what the fandom has cooked up. Get a bit inspired and all that. I havent really looked into the fandom before, just saw a couple compilations that convinced me to buy the game. 

(I linked all of the artist at the end of this mess. Am I making this more complicated than it should be? Probably.)

I love the creativity of the fandom, there are so many different designs for the Narrator. I picked ones I found interesting or are somewhat similar to what I had in mind.

The next step was research, a lot of it actually. I read the fanwiki for information about the narrator, there might be hints at what he actually looks like that I simply missed. Turns out there isnt much, nothing to be precise. I refused to give up yet, so I decided to look up the voice actor of the Narrator: Kevan Brighting. The issue is there arent many pictures of him online(that I could find), which makes it hard for me to guess a bodytype. None the less I used Kevan Brighting as the base for my design. Judging from his twitter he likes being the Narrator and he did a phenomenal job in the game, so I think its fitting to honor him this way.

Since there arent many visuals to go off of I tried to guess more things about the Narrator based off of what he says, how he behaves and how he constructed the game. From here on out its heavy headcanon territory. The story the Narrator wrote takes place in an office building. In the first rooms it all seems normal, but the further down you go things get messy. Messy in the way that no actual building is built like that. In my headcanon the Narrator works in an office building where he spends a lot of time.mainly at his desk somewhere. He wants to be free of that job but somehow cant, so he wrote a little story about the office and the mind control facility and freedom. Through Stanley he can live out this freedom he cant have. If we boil this down to something that can be used for a design, its that the Narrator is an office worker, his outfit should reflect that. In the confusion ending you can also hear the Narrator rustling with paper, so I thought it would be fun to give him a clip board with paper where he organises his story. At the same time he forgets he has a clip board, so he writes on his arms. Many see this as rather childish, it reflects how childish he can be.

The idea I def wanted to adopt from the already existing designs is the headset. I find it very creative and fitting, as the Narrator is well, a narrator.

This is my second ref board. Here I also started to think about colors, and what else would be more fitting than the game itself? When I design something for myself I use colors I like and I bet the Narrator did the same, so I want to use the colors of the office building for his design. Here Id also like to state that in my headcanon the Narrator is left handed, because he wants Stanley to go trough the left door cuz it might come more naturally to him (because he is left handed).

The thing Im the most unsure about is the Narratos tie. In many designs its yellow, a great spot for an accent color and its a direct reference to the Adventure Line. And thats the thing- its the Adventure Line. The Adventure Line is its own entity with its own will, and Im unsure if I want to make it part of the Narrators design. On the other hand it is genius character design.

Here are my sketches so far (The sketches with arrows are the ones Im going with). As you can see the hair was a struggle, because I wanted it longer which did not work out as intended. The body type needed a bit too but I am satisfied with how it is in its current form. (I swear he is shaped like my religion teacher)

Just to make it clear, he scribbled on his arm but cant read it afterwards.

Okay Im not actually finished with the design yet because I want a second opinion. So please, if you have any suggestions, ideas or things youve noticed do let me know.

https://www.tumblr.com/spookyspeks/694040150380101632/finally-made-a-proper-final-ref-of-my

https://thinking-outside-the-giftbox18.tumblr.com/post/696308843115954176/the-stanley-parable-stanley-and-narrator-designs

https://vega-482.tumblr.com/post/704296923697446912/my-stanley-and-narrator-refs-plus-more-info

https://cym-k.tumblr.com/post/700050862599471104/unauthorized-fucking-thing-send-them-to-the-void

https://www.tumblr.com/marsalta/713334348855869440/duketod-s-narrator-design

https://www.tumblr.com/scooterofficial/713357064372731904/more-narrators-idek

https://www.tumblr.com/entorandy/713377431714725888/heres-some-stanley-parable-narrator-stuff-i

https://sketchy--d00dles.tumblr.com/post/713528541321494528/sad-wet-creature

[saskiamcc]

One More Day - set moodboard and planning

As soon as I joined the project, the director, Alfie, sent me a link to a milanote, where him and the rest of the team had been putting any information relevant to the film up for all of us to access. This was really useful for me to catch up on all the work that had been done, and access any important changes such as script updates and team additions. Additionally, we can see updates from all other departments, even if they don't affect my job completely, it is still really interesting to have a look at where they've got to.

When I joined the milanote, there was already a section made for production design so I got started planning out my jobs for the next few weeks. For set inspiration I created a moodboard and using shot deck, I found photos which correlated with how I imagined the set to look. Since visiting the location myself, I can imagine scrap material boarding up the "windows", mats/sleeping bags laid out messily on the floor, a makeshift bucket table and cans thrown around everywhere.

Set Inspiration:

The Last of Us

Children of Men

Trainspotting

The Pianist

The Maze Runner

I got inspiration from mainly post-apocalypse and adventure films, which I think all accurately capture the sense of desperation and survival that our characters experience. I want the room to look unclean, not looked after, with the character's belonging's scattered all over the place. At the same time I would like for there to be a clear divide between the two characters - for it to be clear who's belongings are whose and where they sleep, to show that they have been squatting here for a long time, waiting just one more day to get out.

set moodboard - I am still planning to add to this moodboard until the actual shoot.

From here, I went through the most updated script and made a props list. This was rather limited at first, however after going through it with Alfie, we were able to come up with much more ideas to make the room seem lived in.

Alfie mentioned that he wanted them to sit either side of a makeshift table with a chessboard on it to show how they've been trying to keep themselves busy. I really like this idea and if we can, I'd like have some of the pieces be broken or missing - as if the characters have just found them and have to play with what they have.

Something that was not included in the script but I thought might make the space more visually interesting, is the use of a ripped bedsheet as a divide between the characters. This sheet would be hanging from the ceiling, loosely fallen during this scene. These characters have to spend every second of the day together, hence I thought it would be a good indicator that they want their space at night. Additionally, I like to think that John would have thought of this idea of making this little divide using bedsheets, since he had a little sister (Sarah, mentioned in the script), who he used to make bedsheet tents with before the disaster that put our two characters in this position. I discussed this with Alfie and Duncan and they both thought it would be a good addition. Ideally, I would use a lighter colour to contrast the dark walls in the room, but I would stain it with paint to make it seem used and found.

A little bit like these make-shift tents from Hook (1991), I Am Not A Witch (2017) and Stranger Things (2016-present).

For the dog food brand to put on the tin, I have talked to India - our art department - to ask if they could create a label to put on one of the tins. We have been discussing some designs and I am quite excited to see it brought to life.

Making this moodboard and discussing ideas with Alfie, Duncan, Finlay and India has made me increasingly excited to create this world for our characters to live in. My next steps are to make costume moodboards for each character and discuss with Alfie the personalities of each character in order to incorporate these into their costumes.

[celebrating-silent-film]

Music Videos & Silent Films (80's Edition)

Through my countless YouTube clicks and scrolling on community sites, the amount of music videos inspired by silent films during the 80s is very little. Even so, the few I did find are timeless gems.

"Drop the Pilot" by Joan Armatrading

Released in 1983, "Drop the Pilot" is a fun music video with an original silent film plot. On my initial watch, I assumed the silent film bits were clips extracted from other works out of copyright. It begins with a traditional silent film title card introducing the three actors. The band and singer are on the stage, the silent film playing in the background and the theatre is packed. This choice alludes to traditional silent film screenings and how they would often be accompanied by live music. As the film begins playing, the story unfolds into one of love and jealousy. Our main girl is not interested in the soccer player, instead, she is entranced by a pilot caught in the trees. However, as the music video plays out, the soccer player breaks off the date between the pilot and his girl. Interestingly, the pilot breaks the fourth wall by literally jumping through the screen at the back of the band's stage. He then makes his way to a girl in the audience who has been admiring the actor's performance and wishing he was real. Luckily for her, he is. Although I have never heard of this song before this project, it is very endearing to see musicians create music videos with original silent film content, especially in the 80s. I wish I could have found more information about the creative process of his production but the song appears to be a one-hit wonder with little to no information. Despite this, I am glad it exists in web spaces.

2. "Radio Gaga" by Queen

Turning to one of the most well-known and loved groups of the 80s, Queen, they too dived into silent film. Their music video for "Radio Gaga" is a clear nod to the critically acclaimed German Expressionist sci-fi silent film Metropolis (1927). While the music video includes footage from the film, Freddie and Co. are seen traveling through Metropolis (inside a radio); preparing to perform for the underground workers. The music video, like the film, expresses sociopolitical issues. Particularly the need for people to listen to others rather than focus on solely the visuals. Doing so only narrows your perspective of the world. This is best represented by the father turning off the radio as Queen sings the chorus. In retrospect, this discussion is contradicting. It is a music video centered on a silent film trying to relay the lyrical message that listening to others is essential. Mayhaps I am misreading the message, but that is what makes this project so neat: trying to wrap my head around the possible messages Queen is conveying with a stellar film choice.

3. "Express Yourself" by Madonna

Like Queen, Madonna uses Metropolis as its point of inspiration for her single 1989 single, "Express Yourself". Straying away from Queen's sociopolitical message, Madonna takes a female-empowering approach. Madonna assumes the role of a powerful city leader with a masochist lifestyle. Lyrically she is encouraging female viewers to never settle for a man that approaches them; as a woman pick the man you want. This message is relayed visually in the video with the underground male laborers. All men are the same until they differentiate themselves by "expressing themselves". In retrospect, this does relate to Metropolis thematically. In the film, the underground workers are encouraged by a woman (Maria) to speak up for themselves and against the tyranny they have been subjected to. Regardless, at the end of the film, the nod to Metropolis is made clear with an ending title card reminiscent of the one in the original film.

(ending title card for Madonna's music video)

(ending title card for Metropolis)

For such big musicians like Queen and Madonna to focus on Metropolis in their music videos (within the same decade) must have reeled the interest of many fans to look into the silent film. More so, it highlights how timeless silent films can be and universally versatile in thematic interpretation to fit songs.

[biglisbonnews]

Delilah Belle Breaks Free on 'Nothing Lasts Forever' Nothing lasts forever, not even the wait for Delilah Belle's first single. The daughter of Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin gained international prominence on the hit Bravo show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and managed to turn that stint into a fashion career alongside her sister Amelia. Together, they've walked for the likes of The Blonds and Tommy Hilfiger. But Delilah Belle is ready to grow beyond the course of a fashion it-girl and has secretly worked on music for a few years now. Her debut single "Nothing Lasts Forever" is the culmination of that work. It features a video that delves into the realm of Belle's interior mind. "Nothing lasts forever/ the pain can't stand the weather" the song declares, with various visual metaphors for depression and heartbreak.But the message at the core of the song is one of hope and resilience, like Belle's own public journey with her health. Check out our interview with Delilah Belle — and the PAPER premiere of "Nothing Lasts Forever" — below.Congratulations on the new single. You’ve teased your transition to music for a bit — how does it feel to finally put this song out in the world?I’m so incredibly excited to share this song and its meaning with the world. However, with the excitement comes a bit of fear, since it is something I’ve been working on silently for so long. It feels like once it’s out my life will change, and I’m so excited because this is what I’m truly so passionate about.Who are some of your inspirations right now when working in the studio?Strong women and men who have opened up about their mental health struggles and who make me feel something when listening to their music. There are so many, but for example, I’d say Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish, Noah Cyrus, John Lennon, Montell Fish and Kina.The video has a strong visual metaphor for depression, and you’ve talked about your own journey with mental health in the past. How did your experiences inform the songwriting process and your musical development?I want to be as real, open and vulnerable as possible. While co-writing I bring my journal, and I literally will read entries from it and express deep things with the other creatives in the room, which I think is a beautiful thing to be able to do. It’s also a form of therapy for me.You’ve lived much of your life in front of cameras, which can lead people to feel like they know everything about you. Have you found that music has been an outlet to express parts of yourself that people might not know about?I do feel like music is an outlet where I can tastefully express myself through sound, lyrics and visuals. People often say to me, “You’re so different in person,” and I take it as a compliment because people are seeing me: my light, my personality and all that I come with. Not just a photo or a little clip from a reality show.Your mom, Lisa, is famous both on and off TV for being something of a business mogul. What sort of advice did she give you while working on your debut?Be kind to everyone. She always continues to support me and reassures me that what I’m putting out is great.She also danced to a preview track on TikTok, which is something of a trademark for her. How did it feel to see that and know it's your music?She’s too funny. I think my first response was, “Thank you so much for doing that dance but are you going out brunching with the girls?” She makes me laugh, the outfit and the dance were both so Lisa because it didn't fit the song, but I loved it.What’s next for Delilah Belle?I’ll leave you with: "You'll see!" And working on my EP.Photography by Amaury Nessaibia https://www.papermag.com/delilah-belle-nothing-lasts-forever-2659607365.html

[2023-512kaylawilliams]

wk 3_SDL_ Birth certificate redesign

These are the [framed] versions of my thumbnails that I whipped up before the end of class today. I added in some of the text in Chakra Petch, the font I used in the class activity last week because I really like the structure of it.

This was the design i ended up making >

I went with something quite similar to the original but streamlined some features as well as reordering and creating some new visual elements.

This design is more centred around Māori with the lines in Māori first and English second. As well as around the idea that the child does come from a history/is connected fundamentally in Māori culture to place/land/whenua and family. I put the Mother and Father first (an iteration of this could be simply having an iwi/hapu box instead). I also reordered the contents of each section, with (just like your pepeha) place and family comes before yourself.

The visual elements that i made to section of the areas that need to be filled (cut-cornered boxes) were inspired by the typeface (which i used in last weeks task - Chakra Petch). The typeface is very clean and simple enough as a sans serif font whilst bringing in a form that for me emulates weaving. The characters themselves have cut corners (45 degrees) making it a very symmetrical and geometric typeface.

I made sure that the box titles had enough contrast to create more of a visual hierarchy than i found the original b/c had. Making the title larger, moving the titles closer to the lines of text (so you can clearly see what section is being filled out), made bold sections of text at the bottom that i thought were imporant.

Layout-wise i kept all of the text left aligned as the right aligned text of the original was a little hard to follow (thought it did have a clean entry point for writing). When being filled out, if the text could be bolder or italicised, that way the important information would stand out.

I also made a water mark (though i know they are typically more detail than this) it is made of four strands and made to look like they are weaved together. The four symbolises Whenua (land), Whaea (mother), Matua (Father) and the Tamaiti (Child).

I feel like this design could be taken to various cultural backgrounds, with use of different colours, languages and patterns. However, i do like how at least at a conceptually visual level this captures a bit of New Zealand and Māori identity.

[ninoisntluka]

A Deep Dive of the Kaoruko-Futaba Revue in the Movie, or why you should really talk with your partner before deciding your plans for the future

So the Revues in Revue Starlight are super complicated. They’re left a little vague and there’s so much visual and auditory information on screen at once, that it’s hard to explicitly say what’s going on since most of what we register is subconsciously understood.

Plus the fighting is cool and that can be distracting.

Revues are even more confusing in the movie, since unlike the in the episodic format of the original show, where we could easily set up the conflict in the school half of the episode and resolve it in the revue half, this one has all of the set up for the fights occurring for every single character at the same time, so it’d be easy to forget some important context since there is just so much going on at once. Plus the extra animation budget means they go all out on the fight scenes, so there’s even more to take in!

So this is my attempt to kinda lay out everything that’s happening and do a deep dive on each of the Revues. And since the movies start with the Kaoruko-Futaba Revue, I will too.

There’s a joke about how it’s the two of them getting a divorce, and honestly that’s pretty close to the truth.

The revue is basically a PSA about why healthy communication is important since literally everything would be solved if the two of them would just put aside their egos for a bit and listen to each other. What they really should have done is resolved this in couple’s counseling, but no, they just had to be dramatic about it and settle it with a literal duel. But they’re theater kids so it makes sense.

Anyways, the whole reason their fight escalated so far is because they were so focused on themselves that they didn’t take a moment to touch base with each other to figure out if they were on the same page.

Take Futaba for instance. She’s applying to the New National Theater Troupe.

Back when Futaba applied to Seisho, she had the lowest score of all the accepted applicants, which makes it tough since New National only has a 2% acceptance rate. That’s even lower than Seisho’s 3.3% acceptance rate! Because of all this, Futaba doesn’t think she’ll make it.

After all, Futaba still couldn’t beat Kaoruko when it counted in a Revue, even though she learned from Claudine and practiced everyday. Futaba doesn’t think she’ll actually make it into New National, this is a reach for her. The only reason she did that is so she can aim high, hit low. Futaba is constantly amazed and inspired by everyone else around her, so she knows that this is the only way she can keep up.

I mentioned the low acceptance rates of both Seisho and New National before, and I think that it was intentional that they were so similar. They are both considered the pinnacle of their fields, with Seisho being one of the best theater schools in Japan, and New National being one of the best troupes in the world! So New National is a lot like Seisho, and Seisho was great for Futaba. She did struggle, but she met so many stage girls who inspired her to be better. And it was at Seisho that Futaba found her own star, so New National is a great place for Futaba to bloom.

But despite acting like she’s fine with getting rejected, she is hyped to go to see New National on a Field Trip. And according to Mahiru, Futaba’s list of questions is even longer than her’s, which shows that they’ve been excitedly learning about the troupe together. So it’s likely Futaba does really want to get in. 

On the train too, the girls who end up going to the troupe are having a blast acting out the play they’re going to see New National Perform! (A neat little detail is that they are all practicing the line the top star says! All of them are aiming to become the lead!)

But on the other hand, Kaoruko is straight up not having a good time, since if Futaba goes to New National, then they won’t be together anymore.

Admittedly, she starts off in a much better place than last year. Even though she is returning home next year, this time it isn’t a sign of failure. Last time, she was going to return in an attempt to ignore reality, but she’s grown since then. Now she’s going to take the lessons she’s learned at Seisho, and continue to apply them while she journeys to be the best dancer in the world! She’s no longer running away from the expectations put on her, both as an heir as well as her promise to Futaba, and that’s awesome to see since that was her big thing that she had to deal with in the show!

But it’s interesting that while Futaba is unsure about whether or not she can get into her top choice, Kaoruko only has one idea on her career survey, since she’s the heir, so she’s guaranteed to become the next head of the Senka-Ryu dance school. She’s so certain that that is her future, she doesn’t need backup options.

Although, despite maturing from last year, Kaoruko’s still a pretty self centered person, so if things aren’t going the way she likes, she is pretty harsh with her criticisms. And this is most prominently seen when Kaoruko plans on ditching the New National Field Trip.

She says she’s in a bad mood because today’s the anniversary of the auditions, but a part of me thinks that it’s mostly because she doesn’t want to see New National, the Troupe that Futaba would rather be with than her.

But clearly the lack of auditions this year is taking a toll on her. Kaoruko’s goal is still to be the best, as stated in her career counseling session. But I think she also genuinely missed what the Auditions made out of her. She says that the auditions and the competition to be the top star pushed all of them to be their best self, and it’s not hard to see why. After all, if it wasn’t for their Revue, Futaba may have lost faith in Kaoruko, and left her. And now that there is a chance that Futaba may leave her again, making her jealous of herself from last year who took part in the auditions, the one who could make Futaba stay. And so, Kaoruko lashes out at them for not caring about becoming the top star of the audition. 

But none of them agree. They look at her with a mixture of concern and confusion. Because they aren’t aiming for that stage anymore. It’s not what they need right now. Also because winning an audition means stealing everyone else’s radiance or trapping yourself forever like Hikari. I’m not 100% sure if Nana ever explained what was going on with her time loops, but what I’m trying to say is that they really don’t want to be the top star of those auditions anymore, since they all know it only brings suffering. 

So Kaoruko storms off and calls them all useless for not agreeing with her, for not wanting to be the top star from her warped perspective, but in private, Kaoruko knows that’s wrong. She admits it when she comes face to face with Claudine, who stares her down.

She doesn’t actually want to be the top star. But her promise with Futaba is that she would become the best, and that Futaba would be right by her side and would be the first to see it. Just like the rest of them, she doesn’t want to be the top star of that audition, but unlike them, she can’t explicitly say what she wants.

I think the reason Kaoruko can admit this to Claudine in particular, is because Claudine is almost a foil to Kaoruko. I know in the show they draw explicit parallels between Maya and Claudine as well as Kaoruko and Futaba, with the former of the pair being the leader and the latter being the follower. Both pairs of them push each other to be the best, with the leader having a duty to meet the follower’s expectations, and the follower having to push themselves in order to make sure the leader can’t rest.

But Claudine and Kaoruko have been in the spotlight since they were young. And while Kaoruko became spoiled, Claudine remained a hard worker, even after hitting the roadblock that is Tendou Maya. There’s also the fact that they are both teachers to Futaba, who looks to them both for guidance. Which is why, in the Revue later, Kaoruko expressly blames Claudine for Futaba leaving her, since she was the one who offhandedly suggested that Futaba aim for the troupe.

Also, earlier I said my theory that the real reason Kaoruko didn’t want to go to New National was because that’s where Futaba was applying, and my reasoning is because while Junna and Claudine talk about Futaba applying their on Claudine’s suggestion, we get a close up of Kaoruko looking disgruntled.

And then while listening to the others talking about their future plans, Kaoruko gets annoyed at them, calling the next station useless, with an overview shot of New National’s stage, or the future.

Because for Kaoruko, the next station won’t have Futaba, so it’s useless to her. She’s getting pissed because everyone’s excited for the future, but it sounds terrible to her.

Anyways, Kaoruko eventually gets what she asked for on the train, and she is ready for the audition, despite the fact this isn’t anything like the previous auditions considering it’s literally everyone against Nana, and there is no giraffe to officiate.

This incredibly lucky break for her distracts Kaoruko enough to the point where she ignores Futaba, even after Nana pins Futaba to the ground with her sword, which is a sign that Kaoruko is so hung up on the idea of the top star that she forgot why she wanted it in the first place.

This is in contrast to Futaba on the train, since she’s super concerned with Kaoruko. In fact, Futaba was worried about Kaoruko earlier too when she stormed off.

Anyways, while the stage girls are moping around at the pep rally after the train, I think it’s interesting to take a look where they are standing, since that can give a good idea of their mindset and what they want.

Futaba is self conscious about her skills as a stage girl. She doesn’t think she’s as good as everyone else. She’s watching the party from afar, and the spotlights shining on it makes it look like a stage. But Futaba’s not there. She’s in the dark. She’s the audience, who can only admire, but can’t stand beside them.

Kaoruko meanwhile, is waiting at Futaba’s bike, like all those other times they went home together. But Futaba isn’t here and she isn’t coming.

Anyways, now it’s time to get to the most underappreciated scene in this movie! When the director and scriptwriter from Class B reveal they don’t know what they’re doing, but everyone supports them anyways.

The 101th production of Starlight is a big deal for the 99th class. This is going to be the last play they put on together as high schoolers. They’re scared and they don’t want it to end here. But everyone is scared too. And by working together, they’ll make a stage that surpasses all their previous stages.

Imma level with you, I didn’t really understand this scene on my first time watching it. Mostly because I was so excited for all the homoerotic duels, so I don’t think I paid too much attention.

But this scene basically encapsulates the whole movie.

The Scriptwriter isn’t finished by her deadline, but the director doesn’t blame her. Even though she isn’t ready and is scared that her next stage won’t surpass the last one they did, the director tells her that they have to present it, since everyone is waiting.

Just like how the stage girls aren’t ready for their futures, it’s coming for them regardless.

But this is the moment that everyone listening realizes that they can share their struggles with their classmates in the revue. That they don’t have to go through this alone since everyone else is going through it too, and they all want to help each other become the best stage girl they can be.

Also, if you’re rewatching the movie, you really should pay attention to the lines of the play that are read when they focus on certain characters, since they feel significant.

Futaba’s main struggle is that she doesn’t feel good enough, and it’s this moment that helps her explicitly understand what she needs to do in the future. 

And Kaoruko needs to stop idolizing the top star. Also this could mean another thing in the context of the revue, but we’ll get to that later.

And during the same speech, when they erect the new set, the start of the next stage, Kaoruko has this to say:

Despite the fact that Kaoruko is scared of the future, it still entrances her, setting up the seeds of the resolution at the end of the Revue.

So with this newfound resolution, the stage girls have the chance to take a good look at their failures. Specifically their loss to Nana on the train.

To be honest, I’m not completely sure what this is about, since it’s a little too high concept for me. But what I think is going on is that these are all dead stage girls. Like metaphorically of course. This is what happens if they refuse to move onto the next stage. I only think this because it literally happens when Karen refuses to move onto the next stage right before her revue, and she just fucking dies. Like she goes limp and it’s super disturbing, especially with how broken up about it Hikari gets.

Anyways, this is a crossroads for all of them. They are seeing the future if they continue as they are now, since currently they can’t make it to the next stage, at least according to Nana, but she’s wrong like 30% of the time so take that with a grain of salt. But the stage girls can make a choice now to determine their future.

Futaba isn’t looking at her double, but she is laying it across her back, so she acknowledges its presence. I think it’s interesting that Futaba is in the dark again, like in that scene at the party. Maybe this is showing that she can’t shine if she’s supporting someone else, or maybe that in order to shine before, Futaba had to rely on others, like Kaoruko or Claudine.

Meanwhile Kaoruko is lying down, mirroring her double. Maybe this is because Kaoruko is the closest to dying as a stage girl. After all, she came very close to giving up last time since Futaba wasn’t staying at her side and things weren’t going her way, and her current situation is mighty similar to that as well.

As for what they’re saying, Futaba talks about putting an end to it, which sounds like putting an end to her and Kaoruko’s relationship, but when you consider the next line is Kaoruko’s and she finishes it by saying “it” is her spoiled self until now.

Futaba was spoiling herself by sticking to Kaoruko. But she can’t improve if she stays with what’s comfortable. And Kaoruko lashes out like a spoiled child when she thinks that Futaba is going to leave, but the point of their next Revue is to come to terms with that.

In the end both of them bite the tomato, the first step in accepting that it’s time to move onto their next stage. And sorry that I’m not explaining why eating the tomato means that, but it really doesn’t matter much in this revue, so that’s a topic for a future essay.

Although don’t ask me why they aren’t wearing shoes. I have literally no idea what that’s supposed to mean. Maybe it’s because they were full of tomato juice so it would make their socks soggy if they put it on? I don’t know! Not everything has to be symbolic! Sometimes the curtains are just blue!

And now that we finally get to the actual revue, I feel a little bad that I’ve written so much and am only just now getting to it, but I think context is important for understanding why Kaoruko and Futaba are so completely pigheaded in this revue.

Before this fight, they have been so focused on themselves that they’ve completely ignored the other’s wants and needs, as well as the effects of their actions on each other.

Anyways, the Revue begins in typical Kaoruko fashion with her avoiding responsibility by blaming literally anyone other than herself for her and Futaba’s imminent separation. Specifically Claudine. But claiming she’s actually talking about Claudine messing with Kaoruko’s candy box.

But Claudine cuts straight to the chase and ignores the metaphor, just like before in the dorms.

Anyways, then Futaba comes in by destroying the wall, along with any hopes of a Claudine-Kaoruko revue. I mean I get it. I understand this was more appropriate for the character journeys and whatever, but let me dream!

Anyways, I’m not going to go into too much detail here, but whenever you see a character in a costume that isn’t their Revue Outfit, that means the character isn’t being genuine. They’re putting on a performance, they’re acting, it's just a front.

Like right now! Kaoruko is dressed up like the older sister of a yakuza clan and Futaba is dressed like a delinquent, a yankee specifically. Or at least I think that’s what they’re wearing. I’m not entirely sure since as an American, I’m not up to date on the latest Japanese Fashion trends.

But my point is they are both acting tough.

After they do their introductions, you can see here that both Kaoruko and Futaba are on the same page about what happens here, even though we know that neither of them actually want to let go of the other forever. I’m gonna use the assumption that after a character does their introduction, they say exactly what they want from this revue. 

In this battle, Kaoruko isn’t going to try to convince Futaba to stay with her. This is them figuring out how they’ll say goodbye.

But while they both seem unaffected by this conclusion, the song they sing in the background is wistful, regretting that they have to part after all this time. 

Admittedly, the reason I’m not going to go into too much detail on how the outfits are just a performance is because the two of them immediately change into their revue outfits and just ditch the betting house setting entirely to beat each other up instead. It feels like a callback to their first revue, where they completely hijacked their audition to settle their own arguments instead of fighting to be a top star.

And I guess Claudine fucks off to go play animal shoji with Maya, since they both just literally forgot she was there. Honestly, first the mobile game had the Revue of Gemini where the Yumeoji sisters make Claudine play mediator, and now Kaoruko and Futaba drag her into their revue! If I were her, I would be exhausted. 

Anyways, the fight starts out with Kaoruko reminding Futaba of their promise that Kaoruko would become a top star, and that Futaba would stay at her side. Kaoruko wants Futaba to know that she betrayed her, and that Kaoruko won’t forgive her for this.

But Futaba tries to tell Kaoruko that she’s only leaving for a bit to stay by her side in the long run, since Futaba needs to be more independent if she is ever gonna bloom into a top star in her own right.

Because Futaba doesn’t think she’s good enough. That’s what she’s been struggling with since the first half of the movie. It’s what she’s been struggling with the entire series. So Futaba is desperate to do anything that can get herself up to par with everyone else. So much so that she doesn’t mind being separated from Kaoruko for a little bit while she goes on her own path, but wants her to understand why she has to go.

She understands that Kaoruko might feel saddened, but she doesn’t really understand how much her leaving would affect Kaoruko. Futaba thinks that if she left, Kaoruko would be fine, but it’s basically the end of the world in Kaoruko’s perspective.

And while Futaba was genuine in that she flat out stated what she wanted and what she needed, Kaoruko has too much pride to just lay herself bare like that, which is why when we get Kaoruko’s perspective, we switch into a performance.

So the two of them are now in a nightclub, or at least some kind of bar. Again, as an American, I am not familiar with the Japanese nightlife scene, so I can’t be too specific.

Futaba is caught on the backfoot, and is nervous, but still tries to be genuine. She talks about how she felt she wasn’t good enough. How she saw everyone else excelling around her. And how she didn't have the qualities that all the better stage girls had.

But Kaoruko acts the role of a high maintenance girlfriend who is dismissive of Futaba’s concerns, which throws Futaba off. Or maybe it’s a pair of lovers where the one in the dress caught the one in the suit cheating, since it’s Kaoruko leveling accusations at Futaba the entire time. I can’t say because I literally have no idea. This feels like a movie reference, but I’m not cultured in cinema in any way shape or form, so I have no clue what it’s supposed to be.

But I think the real reason Futaba isn’t too confident here is because she knows she messed up.

Kaoruko directly asks why Futaba didn’t talk with her about her future plans, and Futaba, like in the rest of the revue, gives the honest answer: that she knew Kaoruko would be against it. 

Futaba knew her leaving would hurt Kaoruko, but she didn’t want to think about it, so she ignored it. But it’s not like Futaba can just stay with Kaoruko, since that would make her stagnate, which is equivalent to death for a stage girl. 

Futaba knows that she has to go on her own. That’s the only way she can improve. If she stuck with Kaoruko, her life would be guaranteed as the aide to the head, but instead Futaba is aiming for auditions at a competitive troupe, which gives her the chance to fail, and Futaba thrives in competitions. It’s why Seisho was so good for her, because it forced her to try harder to keep up, instead of just being dragged along by Kaoruko like before.

She’s focused on herself right now, and what path is best for her, but Futaba is also accidently ignoring what this path means for Kaoruko.

Despite not talking about it with Kaoruko, Futaba was pretty open about going to New National, so it wasn’t like she tried to hide the fact. And it’s not like Kaoruko asked about Futaba’s future plans either. So while they both knew what was going on, they both put off the hard conversation which anxiety in both of them. 

This is reflected in the song, where Kaoruko complains that Futaba is being self centered and isn’t properly facing Kaoruko. Meanwhile Futaba sings there’s nothing they can really talk about, since Futaba has to do this. It’s a little interesting that they echo each other's lines, maybe a sign of how they are only now starting to understand each other. Although they sing in harmony the next part, of how they long to be as close as they once were again.

And this is what led to the tense situation now, where Kaoruko is assuming the worst from Futaba, and isn’t giving her a chance to explain herself.

Kaoruko doesn’t want to let Futaba go. So she doesn’t want to listen because if she does, that means Futaba would leave her. But the fact that Futaba keeps insisting even though she doesn’t want to hear it pisses Kaoruko off, making her imagine the worst case scenario.

And that’s why it’s Kaoruko who ends the scene, telling them to take it outside, which brings us back to the beginning with the Semitrucks, but this time they are on the rooftop, where Kaoruko seems to have made up her mind.

And while Futaba says she doesn’t want that, she does agree that they can’t be together anymore.

From the beginning, they both knew this was true. It was their first statement in the Revue Outfits. This Revue is about on what terms they will part. The fact that no matter who wins this revue, it will end in them separating is in stark contrast to their previous revue, where no matter who won, they’d stay together. They were instead fighting over who would be in charge.

Actually, a lot of things in this current revue resemble their previous revue as well. There’s a scene in both revues of Futaba listing everything she does for Kaoruko. But while the first time it was to show how Kaoruko took Futaba for granted, in this Revue it was about how Futaba cared so much for Kaoruko that she was willing to do all that. 

And the Revues were even caused by the same issue: Futaba becoming more independent and Kaoruko wanting things to stay the same...

But they do touch on similar themes. Futaba mentioned how inadequate she felt compared to her classmates in both revues, and unlike this time, Futaba is the one mad that Kaoruko broke her end of their promise, since she had given up on aiming to be a top star.

But honestly this entire fight is basically a word for word remake of what happened in Episode 6.

Just like when she didn’t get a spot in the audition, Kaoruko insisted that she never wanted it in the first place. So now that Futaba might leave, Kaoruko insists that actually Kaoruko is the wants to cut ties, in a pitiable attempt to save her own ego.

But just like with the train at the last second, Futaba stops Kaoruko. She doesn’t want them to cut ties. And here she insists that they shouldn’t just throw away all the good times they had together.

And just like their last revue, they are about to charge towards each other.

But in the last Revue, Futaba didn’t fight back at the end. She saw that brilliance that had entranced her when they were younger, and couldn’t swing her halberd.

So back to the actual movie this deep dive is about, if you look at Kaoruko’s semi, it says that “I am angry” and “Futaba’s become a you that I don’t know.” This is mirrored in the song in the background, with Kaoruko singing that she wants to keep that Futaba away from her. This is why Kaoruko wants to cut ties with Futaba, and why Kaoruko is taking this so personally. Because Futaba changed without Kaoruko.

The song has them both sing that they’re passing by each other at 100 km/h, and we’ve seen this in how they both have been so self centered, that they aren’t taking the time to properly listen to each other. Kaoruko alone is cutting off ties because Futaba changed, ignoring what Futaba had to say about why she’s changed. After all, at the core of it, Futaba is trying to change to become worthy of staying at Kaoruko’s side.

Meanwhile, Futaba’s song portion is about how she couldn’t be satisfied with their old dream, since only Kaoruko was becoming a star in that one, and now Futaba doesn’t want to just be near the star, she wants to become one herself. She’s changed since they attended Seisho, and now, like her own truck says, she doesn’t need Kaoruko’s opinion. 

And this time, when Kaoruko charges at Futaba, she’s ready to fight back.

Kaoruko is just as dazzling this time, but still Futaba reached a point where her own convictions as a stage girl allows her to fight back with her own brilliance. Both of them can see it. And this Futaba is dazzling. So maybe that’s why Kaoruko gives up. Just like Futaba in the last Revue, Kaoruko is blinded and can’t fight back anymore. 

Like that line at the pep rally, she turns her back at the top. She doesn’t fight, and instead passes Futaba by and lets her truck go over the edge of the rooftop, giving up on the top.

You can tell that it's Kaoruko truck since it’s pink and has the dragon motif.

Before, Kaoruko called them all useless for giving up their ambition to be the top star in the auditions, but seeing Futaba’s full potential, Kaoruko thinks she should give it up too. After all, the last Revue had Futaba setting Kaoruko straight in order to become a dazzling star, so this Revue is about Futaba now, and she needs to be free to become that dazzling star.

So Kaoruko lets go, but Futaba holds on.

At this point, they’re not fighting anymore. The Revue is over. They understand each other and can’t be mad anymore. 

Kaoruko is regretful that she almost cut ties with Futaba, and is uncertain of their futures, leaving it in Futaba’s hands. Meanwhile Futaba complains that Kaoroku’s being unfair, like she did not too long ago before their final clash, but now it’s bittersweet.

But eventually the wooden board Futaba was holding has too much stress, and it snaps, and they fall.

Now in general, falling is pretty bad. Especially from a rooftop. You can get hurt!

But just like how no one gets hurt in the fights in Revue Starlight (physically at least), no one ever gets injured from falling! Although just like how the fights are symbolic, so is falling.

And I know this is about Kaoruko and Futaba, but I gotta talk about Karen for a bit so we can discuss what falling means in Revue Starlight.

The first time Karen falls is in the weird dream she has in the middle of class right before reuniting with Hikari. While falling Karen realizes that at her current rate she can’t fulfill her promise anymore. Although it’s vague, later on we realize that Karen is talking about her promise to be a star with Hikari. And in the first episode, we see people constantly criticizing Karen’s work ethic, and while it’s mostly lighthearted teasing from her classmates about her tendency to sleep in and give extra work to Mahiru, it’s used as a legitimate reason to bar Karen from the Auditions by the Giraffe. And we see in the second episode that Karen struggles to do stretches and hit high notes, showing that she needs to polish her technical skills more. It’s only after losing her Revue to Maya that Karen realizes she needs to make a change and sacrifice more for the stage if she wants to be a top star with Hikari.

And much later in the series, we see the role Karen wants to play in Starlight, Flora. Flora is a tragic character whose promise with Claire goes unfulfilled after Flora herself falls from the Starlight Tower, giving another signifier that falling is a sign of someone being unable to keep their promise.

And falling in general is the opposite of what a Top Star wants after all. Since they are supposed to be at the very highest point, constantly progressing upward. And if your cape falls, you lose in the audition.

But in order to join the auditions, you have to take an elevator to the basement. Karen joined the auditions by literally falling onto the stage. And everytime Karen goes through her “I am Reborn” transformation sequence, she falls from the top of the frame. And in the rewritten Starlight, Flora has to make her way up after falling from the tower. And in order to save Hikari from the Eternal Stage, Karen had to descend the stairs in the basement to reach Hikari.

So falling is both necessary to becoming a top star and keeping promises, yet it is also antithetical to it. It is a sign of failure on the path to success, but you can’t even start that path until you brave the fall.

At first it seems like the difference between the two is intent, like whether you accidently fell vs whether you meant to jump into the unknown, but later on we see Karen climbing back onto the stage even when Hikari forcefully knocks her off the stage in their final (show, not movie) revue.

So what’s really important in relation to falling is what they do afterwards, which I think sends a nice message: That even if you fail, it’s just the start of your next attempt.

I swear I’ll circle back to the meaning of falling in a sec, so I didn’t just go off on a tangent for no reason. 

So luckily the two manage to land in the semi truck’s container that was carrying a bunch of flower petals, so they’re safe. And once they’re there, Futaba softly asks Kaoruko to wait (as opposed to all the shouting from before), but Kaoruko says she can’t guarantee she will. It’s a little funny that the song she’s singing in the background says the exact opposite though. That’s pretty common in this revue, especially with her.

After all, who knows how long it’ll take Futaba to come back to Kaoruko. There isn’t a set timeframe to look forward to. Plus, what if someone else is dazzling enough to make Futaba forget about Kaoruko?

But none of that matters since that thing in Kaoruko’s hand is Futaba’s motorcycle keys, with a position zero keychain.

Position zero symbolizes the end in Revue Starlight. After all, it’s the goal they’re all aiming for in becoming the top star. It’s what ends every revue, as well as the very last frame of the show.

And so as long as Futaba is a stage girl, she’ll end up with Kaoruko, who Futaba gave her position zero to.

After all, Kaoruko is Futaba’s goal. She’s aiming to become a better stage girl, since she has to do so to remain by Kaoruko’s side. It’s what Futaba had been saying all along in this revue.

Also it’s super sweet. What the heck. I’m not crying, you’re crying.

Now circling back to the falling from before, Futaba and Kaoruko give up on being the Top Star in the auditions, since instead they have their own position zero to achieve: their promise and each other. This is confirmed by the both of them agreeing that they’re useless, which before Kaoruko called anyone who gave up on the auditions.

It also shows that they’re both ready to move onto the next station, since Kaoruko also called that useless too. And the next station means their futures in this context. Just to say it explicitly.

So when Futaba wins this revue, there’s no bitterness. They don’t need to use their weapons against each other. Futaba just picks up a piece of broken mirror from the crashed truck and uses that to cut Kaoruko’s jacket. And unlike before, Kaoruko and the song don’t contradict each other.

Okay but for real don’t pick up broken pieces of a mirror with your bare hands. Futaba should know this. She’s usually way more responsible than this! You could hurt yourself since it’s hard to see the sharp parts! And also the glass fragments! Use proper gloves!

Anyways, for some closure on the Revue, here’s a friendly reminder that of the characters watching from afar at the final revue, Kaoruko is the first to throw away her jacket since being the Top Star in these auditions doesn’t matter to her anymore, which is a far cry from what she was saying at the start of the movie! After all, they’re done with the auditions. They have to go onto the next stage.

Also Kaoruko was pretty obviously lying when she said she wouldn’t wait for Futaba, and it’s nice to see her in the credits with the motorcycle that Futaba will be back for. Even though she tipped it. She’s so dumb, I love her.

And Futaba made it into New National! I knew she could do it! I always believed in her! I mean I already saw the movie before so I already knew it would work out, but still! Go Futaba! 

In the end, the revue helped Kaoruko understand what Futaba needed to do, and it gave Futaba the chance to let Kaoruko know that she’d be back, eventually. Honestly if they had been talking to each other properly before this, they wouldn’t have needed a whole 10 minute song and dance number with fight choreography, but it was fun so I can’t complain. 

Anyways, now that that’s over, it’s time for a bunch of cool things I found while watching that I wanted to share, but not enough to break off into unrelated tangents to explain them in the middle of my deep dive!

At the very start of Revue, there is a frame with a Hannya mask, before transitioning to Kaoruko’s face. From my 5 seconds of googling, this is a mask used to represent a Jealous Female Demon in Japanese Noh Theater, which feels very fitting for Kaoruko in this revue.

So first off, they’re betting using those buttons, which are used to clasp their jackets. And if they lose them, they lost the revue, so those buttons are the pride of stage girls. 

Also I think it’s a nice touch how the knife is separating them. 

And initially, it’s Kaoruko blaming Claudine for taking her candy box. Candy is pretty important to Futaba and Kaoruko. As kids, part of the deal was that Futaba would buy Kaoruko candy. Also when Claudine and Maya helped sort out their first fight in Episode 6, they were gifted candy boxes from Futaba and Kaoruko, so maybe that has some significance to the two of them. And Futaba called their relationship candied when she breaks in later. She also calls it rotten but whatever. 

One more thing though, is Kaoruko referring to Futaba as her property? Kinda yikes if you ask me.

Also don’t take my word for this, but I think I heard somewhere that Futaba speaks with the same Kyoto dialect as Kaoruko. I’m not sure if this is for the entire revue or just for her introduction, but it’s still nice to hear, since Futaba is originally from Kyoto too, but sounds like she’s speaking in the Tokyo accent most of the time, probably to fit in with everyone else. But now it’s just these two, so she doesn’t need to worry about the others. Or maybe she’s talking like this specifically to get Kaoruko to understand her, to speak the same language and all.

A neat little detail is that Futaba has Tiger heads on her jacket and Kaoruko has a dragon tattoo on her shoulder. Also their semi trucks from later will also have a dragon and tiger on it, but if you look closely, you can see the other person’s animal too, showing how much they shaped and impacted each other, even when they’ve been torn so far apart in this revue. This is a longstanding thing for them too, since it’s referenced in their first duel, with their respective animals in the artwork behind them. 

The Tiger and the Dragon is kinda like a yin yang thing from my quick google. They are strong in different aspects, like the Tiger is more straightforward and the Dragon is more cunning. You should look it up if you’re interested, since a ton of eastern media has pairs with this motif.

It’s interesting that they have this argument while climbing up a staircase. Since Futaba and Kaoruko are going up, with Kaoruko a little higher than Futaba, but Futaba is the one pushing them upward, kind of like how Futaba keeps Kaoruko on her toes to become a better actor as they aim to be the top star. Also interesting since staircases are often associated with the sets of Takarazuka Revue.

Anyways, minor tangent, the Takarazuka Revue is a real life, all female Japanese Musical Theater company that has the actors compete to be the all important top star. Another fun fact, Seisho is based on a real life school, which happens to be the alma mater of literally every member of the Takarazuka Revue.

In this scene, Kaoruko complains that Futaba’s reasoning is of a grown up, despite Kaoruko being more comfortable in the adult environment, showing how both of them have what the other lacks. In the end she admits they’re both just kids though.

Funnily enough, Junna and Maya beating Kaoruko in revues convinced Kaoruko to drop out of school in episode 6, so maybe that’s why she singled them out by name when complaining about Futaba mentioning other women.

Google tells me that the tower that’s being projected is called the Toji Tower, a famous landmark of Kyoto. It’s famous enough that in the end credits, this is the landmark used to show that Hikari is visiting Kyoto. No clue about the other buildings though. That’s not due to them not being significant enough, but rather me sucking at geography.

I remember hearing once that Kaoruko’s name means flowers and Futaba’s name means branch, so together they’d be the flowers on the branch that Kaoruko twirls around in Futaba’s memory of her. But it’s a little sad that they are lying on a bunch of flowers that have fallen off their branches. 

I didn’t mention this before, but the motorcycle also has a position zero on it, since it’s a Tonda brand. And explicitly Futaba said she’ll be back for the motorcycle, but we all know she’s talking about Kaoruko. So the scene where Futaba tells her to take care of the motorcycle, she’s telling Kaoruko to take good care of herself, because they’re in love and Futaba wants her to do what’s best for herself.

Also I feel like the motorcycle has some symbolic meaning here, since Futaba initially got the motorcycle to give Kaoruko a ride to school since her legs get tired, but also developed bike riding skills on her own, which is kind of what happened when Kaoruko brought Futaba to Seisho so they wouldn’t be apart, but then Futaba found her own path to becoming a star.

The endings of the Revue of Malice and the Revue of Promises are pretty similar, which is nice. (They also hold hands on the right picture too, it’s the shot immidiately after!)

So yeah, that’s my thoughts on the Kaoruko-Futaba Revue! I like that their issue was very straightforward and easy to digest, since the other ones are way more vague because of all the conflicting and nebulous motivations of characters coming into their Revue. And while everyone else had to confront hard truths about themselves in order to continue being a stage girl, Futaba and Kaoruko were single mindedly focused on the issue of what’s gonna happen to their relationship in the future, and honestly that just goes to show you how important they are to each other. 

Although I am a little worried I got too caught up in surface details and missed something major, so feel free to correct me or add something on if you feel like it.

But I think the straightforward nature of this match is a good reason for this to be the first revue of the movie. Like the show’s revues, it starts with the characters' introduction and ends with the loser’s button coming off. But in the rest of the movie’s revues, this format is broken all the time. And each time, It’s a subversion of both our and the characters’ expectations in the Revue, so it’s good to set the stage with a revue that follows the proper steps.

(Masterpost for the other Revues)

[sellyoursoulforagoodfic]

What Do You See, Mirror? Chapter 1

John Constantine x reader

Word Count: 867

Summary: That mirror above the fireplace dredges up memories John would rather forget, no matter how good they might have been at the time.

Note: AAAAAAAAAAAAAnd here’s another 10k (10 chapters, roughly 1k each), this one about my man John Constantine because I started watching the show again and got bit by the plot bunny. Tell me your thoughts if you like it! I love reading some rambling comments from you guys xp

“Time’s out of joining in that mirror,” Constantine’s words echoed through Liv’s ears as she found herself gazing into it for the second time that day. Again, she was alone. John and Chas were out getting . . . something for dealing with her little problem, so she’d taken to roaming around the old millhouse by herself.

Just like last time, she started in alarm when the mirror didn’t reflect her (or even her father), and instead chose to show her something different that happened at some point in the past.

It was a familiar form on display, this time. Well, at least half of the couple shown in the silver surface was familiar anyway, because it was none other than John Constantine himself. Only this version of John was smiling without the sarcastic, biting edge to it that it usually had. He seemed, for lack of better word, happy. It seemed like he was talking to someone that was only partially in frame.

The other person was a woman, that much she could tell. Liv couldn’t see much more than that because her back was to the mirror. A flash of a bottle in the woman’s hands meant that she was pouring her and John drinks. Not someone like Liv who just needed his help, then.

John in the past laughed--it was clear just from the visual that it’d been a loud, boisterous one--and his hands came to grasp the woman’s leather jacket to pull her closer to him. Now, Liv would never claim to be good at lip-reading by any stretch of her imagination, but she felt confident enough in her skills that she was certain John told the woman something that included the words, “Love you.”

“What’s that blasted thing showing you n--” the current John, the real one that just walked into the room with her, was asking before cutting himself off the second he could see the mirror with his own eyes.

“Who is that?”

He snorted. “You shouldn’t pay too much attention to the past, luv.”

“You look happy,” she pointed out, trying a different tactic to get information.

His frown made his already thin lips thinner. “We have more important things to deal with. We have to trap Furcifer before he gets even more out of hand.”

“What h--”

“What happened?” He gave an almost manic sounding laugh. “No. I’m not talking about that. We’re leaving. Now.”

~

John was impressively not in the mood to deal with the gang that was so obviously following him, and it certainly didn’t help that his hands automatically started doing something inspired by you to scare them off. It did nothing but bring up memories of you, and that was never a good thing for him. The whole ‘dunking his hands in oil and lighting them on fire’ thing was a gag he’d developed with her as his muse, after all. A little magic to keep his hands from burning, and most mortals would go running at the sight of a madman lighting his own hands on fire.

It worked like a charm this time just like all the others.

Once alone again, his mind started turning over and over the events that led him here, most of all his time in Ravenscar.

~

The shrink just hadn’t been able, or willing for that matter, to let the concept of John’s ex-wife go once he accidentally let her name slip past his lips. That man nagged John about her every session after for the entire two months he’d been in Ravenscar afterwards, right up until he checked himself out and strolled out the door. Her and Astra had been that man’s favorite bones to pick when discussing John’s various traumas. Their existences haunted his ‘therapy’ like they haunted his nightmares. He just couldn’t escape.

One thing led to another in both instances involving those two, after all. The divorce, however consensual it might have been, left him lonely, and a lonely John Constantine was never a good thing. He wasn’t good at handling it. Just ask anyone he ever called ‘friend’. Hell, you could probably get a similar answer from those he called ‘enemy’. 

When he was lonely, he got dangerous. He got nasty and had a tendency to drink. When he was drunk, John either got sad, horny, or over-confident. Unfortunately for Astra, he knew he’d been the latter during the disaster with Nergal. Then he was left with a whole new reason to drink, plus the lovely addition of his soul being thoroughly being damned to Hell when he eventually (or not so eventually) kicked the metaphorical bucket.

~

He shook his head to clear away the memories. Dwelling would do him no good now (or ever, if he was being perfectly honest). Still, he didn’t like the fact that the mirror had shown that specific evening (their anniversary, not long before everything went sideways) to Liz. It could be nothing. It could bloody well be a coincidence--maybe the mirror felt like reminiscing because the date was coming up or something, John didn’t know, he made a point to avoid calendars at this point--or it could be a sign.

And John wasn’t sure he believed coincidences anymore.

[mybeingthere]

Deb Garlick is a Canadian artist and illustrator. Her cosy warm houses in the wild nature speak of happy and protected stay. Deb's story is so interesting and inspirational that I would like to post it in its entirety.

"My parents were a huge influence on me. They said from the start, we don't mind if you don't go to university, we do, however, want you to travel. So I traveled and found out I'm a little bit of an adrenaline junky. Not sure where that comes from, perhaps it was being allowed to stay up and watch James Bond movies when I was little. My most memorable adventures include: repelling down a very dark 80ft shaft into a bat-infested cave in Belize, wreck diving in Cuba, cage-diving with Great White Sharks in Isla Guadalupe, and swimming with Whale Sharks in the Baja. I've sailed the Mediterranean Sea on a Catamaran and jumped off cliffs into aqua water, hiked the Cinque Terre in Italy, and participated in a proper Tea Ceremony in the middle of a bamboo forest in Kyoto, Japan. I've floated on a very narrow boat through a Thai river market, seen an opera at The Met, NY, and teared-up in a 12C Castle in northern Italy because the frescoes were so beautiful. Not that those are all adrenaline fueled exploits but the experiences were powerful.

So it is in my blood and I traveled a lot which is why it took 10 years to graduate with a BA Double Major in Art History and Visual Art. I eventually realized I needed to stay put to finish my degree, so I did. I loved being at university and having a huge studio to paint in and I loved studying art history, the Renaissance in particular. I still have, and reference, my diabolically expensive student texts. After I graduated, the references to all that gorgeous art was too much and I wanted to see the real thing.

I moved to the UK after I finished my degree (finally). I lived in Bristol for a year then to Bath where I bought a wee cottage in a tiny village and zipped around in a Mini called Phoebe. When I could, I went to London and Paris on weekends to visit galleries. Sounds exotic but it's so easy to travel once you are there. My parents had a canal boat in England and for three summers they would cruise and I would visit them at different points in the landscape. It was wonderful to get a call saying, we're in Stratford, can you make it for tea?  

I continued to travel from the UK throughout Europe and also went to Thailand and Mexico for family reunions. My family was scattered around the globe so it was great fun to meet up somewhere different. I remember traveling with my parents in Cambodia, I remember watching my parents swim around a rocky point every morning in Puerto Vallarta. They were intrepid folk. Getting together was always a lark with lots of laughing, photos and when it was over, we'd smile, say see you soon and go 'home' to our different countries.

I could talk here about working. Hard. I worked full-time while I was at university to fund my way through two degrees without debt. To finance my tickets. To pay rent. To eat. When I moved to England, I worked at the University of Bristol, I worked at an estate agents, I worked at a graphic design company. My priority was experience so that is where my savings went. The best was being hired as a voice-over artist for a variety of radio advertising and informational videos. I loved doing voice-overs and continued with it when I returned home.

After 6 years post university it was time to come back to Canada. Home is Victoria, BC and it's beautiful. I love the West Coast and I wanted to see more of my family who were all migrating back here for one reason or another. I wanted to settle and I desperately wanted to paint again. It had been years since I picked up a brush, so I switched from living abroad to visiting abroad and started painting again. With intent. I strove towards having a body of work that felt strong, to be accepted into a gallery, to have a show. I succeeded in my goals and then it went beyond that. It became a part of who I am. My art matured along with me and has brought me to this time and place where I paint and I love everything about it."

https://www.debgarlick.com/about

[whatwillyoudodifferently]

Look, Louts! Lilies! - Yuri For A Hope-Flung Present and Hopeful Future

Look, I’ll be frank. I typically try to keep to a more formal tone when I write for this blog. I’m not in a formal mood. It is June October 2020, and I, like the rest of you, have been under quarantine for a little over three almost seven months now due to the Covid-19 virus. Throw in a eensy, teensy bit of massive political movements and change in response to police violence and racism, and an increase of police violence and racism in response to those movements, and I think it’s fair to say it’s been a tumultuous couple of months. Except, strangely, it also hasn’t been, because so much of this time has been characterized by ennui and isolation. Stressful, yet soul-numbing. In short, it’s been a very weird place to be in.

So, we’ve all found our different ways to cope. My sister’s way has been getting really into succulents(?), and my way has been buying digital manga and video games. I’ve finished stuff I’ve put off for literal years and bought stuff I had heard was good but wasn’t that hyped to get into. And somehow, the one thing I’ve really gotten into has been yuri? 

Now, yuri has a very long and rich history, as well as its own sets of conventions and nuances, so it is with a great, great, GREAT deal of respect that I say that I’m going to simplify it for this essay as “Japanese media with a particular focus on romance between women” for brevity’s sake. If you want to know more, there’s actually quite a lot that’s been written about it in English, but I’m aiming this essay at English-speakers who have had at least a little experience with yuri and more than just passing knowledge.

Because you see, I’ve found that yuri fans have a lot of things to say about yuri! And a lot of those things really bug me!! “Yuri is only fetish quasi-porn written by men,” “yuri is only bland wholesome fluff,” “yuri is only high school drama,” so on, so on. It made me mad, but it also made me realize something: a lot of people simply must not know how big this field of lilies truly is! How else can we get people saying “yuri is oversexualized” and “yuri is sexless” as gospel truth? Something’s not adding up here, guys!

So, all that is to say I’m doing something different for this blog: I’m writing up a recommendation list of yuri. A large chunk of it will be stuff I’ve read and can officially give my seal of approval to, while some of them are just titles I’ve heard of that I think will interest others. All of them have been specifically chosen to counter common untrue things I’ve heard about yuri as a whole. I hope you can find at least a few things on this list that you will enjoy and help you keep your head as the encroaching darkness lurches yet a few inches closer!

1. “Yuri is all schoolgirl stuff! Where’s the sci-fi, the period pieces, the action, the fantasy?”

Otherside Picnic

What It Is: A light novel series written by Iori Miyazawa (illustrated by shirakaba). Ongoing, four volumes at time of writing. The story is being adapted into a manga by Eita Mizuno, and an anime adaptation directed by Takuya Satou will be airing in January 2021.

What It’s About: It was on her third trip to the Otherside that Sorawo Kamikoshi almost died, and it was on that same trip she was saved by an angel. Toriko Nishina is a beautiful and confident young woman who also happens to have intimate knowledge of the Otherside, a dangerous yet captivating world that Sorawo can’t help but being drawn to. Toriko convinces Sorawo to join her on her expeditions to the Otherside, fighting off bizarre creatures that have somehow been ripped out of Japanese urban legends and finding strange artifacts in order to make a little extra cash-- all the while keeping an eye out for someone dear to Toriko’s heart.

What I Think: Otherside Picnic is heavily inspired by the novel Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky and features several creatures and scenarios from ghost stories, net lore, and-- there’s no other way to put this-- creepypasta. On paper this sounds deeply unoriginal, so it’s pretty surprising that OP has an incredibly strong identity. The idea of fusing horror with a yuri love story excited me enough the moment I heard about it, so when I finally got to read it for myself, I was delighted to find that the horror elements and the romance elements are both quite strong. 

I will say that thanks to the author’s commitment to following his sources of inspiration to the letter sometimes causes him to undercut his own writing (good example: in one arc there’s an ominous train that keeps being mentioned, causing the reader to dread its arrival with each passing page, but seeing what’s on the train will inevitably fall flat in comparison to the reader’s imagination), but those moments are made up by the more original moments-- the things that are left unseen and unexplained.

The place where the story truly shines is the relationship between the two leads. Sorawo and Toriko are great characters, both incredibly charming and deeply flawed, and they achieve a great chemistry with each other right off the bat. Sorawo is a very interesting protagonist, one who turns out to have a deeply tragic past that has made her into a reclusive, somewhat selfish young woman. What’s great is that Toriko, vivacious and confident, everything Sorawo isn’t, accepts this part of her, in a way. Toriko flat out admits she’s not looking for a particularly virtuous person to accompany her, but an “accomplice.” A big part of the appeal of OP is seeing these two “accomplices” bounce off each other, and eventually come to care about each other, all playing against a background of some genuinely spine-crawling horror. Otherside Picnic is a truly underrated series, and I deeply hope that the anime adaption next year will finally get it all the eyes it deserves (menacing phrasing very much intended).

Where To Get It: The light novels are published by J-Novel Club and can be found via various digital platforms and bookstores. The manga will be published by Square Enix Books starting May 2021. The anime will start airing on January 4th, 2021.

Goodbye My Rose Garden

What It Is: A manga by Dr. Pepperco. Three volumes, complete. It inspired a stage play that ran for a while in Japan, but not much information is available about it in English. 

What It’s About: Hanako has two goals: to meet Victor Franks, the mysterious author who pens the books she adores, and to become a writer herself. Despite having the mettle to travel to England on her own to pursue her dreams, she soons finds that it’s difficult for a young, unwed Japanese woman to dream in 20th century London. However, her luck seems to turn around when she meets Alice Douglas, a noblewoman who offers her a job as her maid-- as well as a surprisingly warm friendship. Alice even offers Hanako a way to meet her idol… but at the price of a horrifying request.

What I Think: In the afterword of Volume 1, Dr. Pepperco openly admits that Goodbye, My Rose Garden was the result of them trying to marry all of their favorite tropes (“Victorian maids! Loads of frills! An English family manor!” are some standout items), and this is apparent in the best way possible. GMRG is a lush period piece that will likely appeal to fans of movies like The Handmaiden and Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, with loving attention paid to details like clothes and settings. 

The relationship between Alice and Hanako is quite charming, with Alice supporting Hanako as much as she can while still taking every available opportunity to tease her, while Hanako constantly surprises Alice each time she shows her moxie and strength. It’s an adorable, sweet dynamic, yet a dark, melancholy weight lurks in the background in the form of Alice’s request-- in short, it’s a relationship that feels tailor made for me. Still, I believe this “darkness” never threatens to overwhelm the story, only enhance it in such a way that the reader will soldier on, hoping for a happy ending for our two leads. With an engaging plot and gorgeous art, this is a great manga for both longtime yuri fans and newcomers looking for an introduction to the world of yuri.

Where To Get It: Seven Seas Entertainment has translated the first two volumes, with the final one coming to English soon all three volumes into English.

Seabed

What It Is: A visual novel by paleontology, a Japanese doujin circle.

What It’s About: Mizuno Sachiko is a designer who is haunted by visions of Takako, her vivacious childhood friend and former lover. Narasaki Hibiki is a psychiatrist who wants to help Sachiko make sense of these hallucinations. Takako is… confused, trying to figure out why she keeps losing her memory and why she and Sachiko drifted apart despite being so close. Seabed is a story that spans the pasts and presents of these three women as they attempt to find and understand the truth.

What I Think: At first glance, Seabed seems simple, but it’s a bit of a hard story to explain. In a way, there isn’t much to explain-- it’s a very slow, down-to-earth story that gets almost tedious at times. I think it would be a hard sell to someone who isn’t used to visual novels, but I could imagine it being challenging even for fans. All I’ll say is this: if you give Seabed a chance, it will draw you into a surreal, gentle, melancholy tale akin to slowly sinking beneath the water of a strange, yet not unfriendly sea. For its simplicity, it’s got quite a few surprises in its long, long runtime, and any attempt to explain further will just ruin an experience that’s meant to wash over the reader over time. The only thing I’ll say is the one thing I think everyone knows: the climax will make you cry.

Where To Get It: Seabed is published in English through Fruitbat Factory and is available on Steam, Itch.io, and Nintendo Switch.

SHWD

What It Is: A manga by Sono. Ongoing.

What It’s About: Sawada is one of the few women working for the Special Hazardous Waste Disposal, and the only one in her office. But that changes when the stunningly-strong yet staggeringly-sweet Koga is hired, and the two become close in no time. Sawada trains Koga and soon the two go on their first mission to dispose of the “hazardous waste” left after a recent war… the dangerous, organic anti-human weapons known as the Dynamis.

What I Think: SHWD opens with several close-ups of Sawada’s arm muscles as she works out. I have found that page alone is sometimes enough to convince someone to read SHWD, and if not, pictures of Sawada and-- especially-- Koga are often enough to do the job. In all seriousness, what I love about SHWD can be summarized by something Sono said in an interview about the manga:

‘The first motivating force was "I want to write a yuri manga featuring strong women." I was very drawn to strong female characters by watching "PERSON of INTEREST" and "Assassin's Creed Odyssey." However, I felt that I should differentiate myself by doing something other than a "strong woman" and "weak woman" dynamic. So, I thought about coupling women with different types of strength. This is why all of the SHWD main characters are "strong women."’

It’s a mindset I love a lot. Koga is remarkably strong in a physical sense, but her mental fortitude is fragile due to her past experiences with the Dynamis, and as such, it’s Sawada who uses her immense mental strength to support her. Indeed, every character in SHWD so far bears intense trauma born of the Dynamis in some way, and it’s hard to see how their pasts still hurt them in the present. But that just makes it satisfying to see these women come together to support one another. SHWD drew me in with a unique and often dark action-oriented story with horror elements, but it’s this idea of “strong women” who make up for each other’s weaknesses that really makes it dear to me. 

Also, it can’t be stated enough that Sono is so so so so so (etc) good at drawing muscular women. 

On a completely unrelated note, there’s a side story about Koga and Sawada playing sports together. This includes judo. I am saying this for no reason.

Where To Get It: The English translation of the manga is released in chapters by Lilyka Manga.

Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out, So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress!

What It Is: A two volume light novel series by Ameko Kaeruda, illustrated by Kazutomo Miya. Possibly complete.

What It’s About: Tanya Artemiciov is an absurdly talented Mage. So why the hell was she kicked out of her adventuring party? Her leader and former friend sums it up in four words: “You’re a woman, Tanya.” In a fit of rage, Tanya channels her anger into a “venting” session that involves swearing her head of and casting a volley of Explosion spells into the wasteland… and accidentally releases a legendary sorceress! Luckily, Laplace is actually quite nice, and just as powerful as the legends say, so the two decide to team up so Tanya can have her revenge!

What I Think: So, this is a silly one, but after a couple of darker entries I think it’s a good palate cleanser. Sexiled is a loud, not-even-remotely subtle, unabashedly feminist take on the “power fantasy” light novel, especially the “revenge fantasy” subgenre-- and even if that sounds awesome on paper to you (ex. me), it will probably feel over-the-top at times to you (ex. me). But in a way, that’s actually kind of its charm. 

I like that Kaeruda utterly refuses to let up on what she wants to tell you, especially because the story was inspired by a real case in Japan. One may be tempted to think “this story is ridiculous, no one would ever be this cartoonishly sexist!” and then you read a news article about how in a famous Japanese medical university was found rigging the test scores of women, and you realize, “oh, people are still this cartoonishly sexist.” So I’m fine with Kaeruda letting it all out in this story. At the same time, I think Sexiled is best when it’s focused not on Tanya’s revenge but on her kindness, and the way her compassion, her strength, and yes, her anger inspires the women and girls around her. 

Sexiled is a fun and often very funny romp about assholes getting theirs, with some surprisingly deep and nuanced moments hiding in a very unsubtle story.

Where To Get It: The light novels are published by J-Novel Club and can be found via various digital platforms and bookstores.

BONUS: Other titles with sci-fi/fantasy/action elements that may interest you!

The Blank Of Describer: A one-shot manga by kkzt about a pair of two dream-builders. They’ve taken all kinds of commissions in the past, but one job they recieve throws them for a loop: a request for a shinigami that can predict and report death. And then comes the kicker: the customer asks the two of them to give it features that the both of them “adore the most…” (Published in English by Lilyka Manga)

A Lily Blooms In Another World: A light novel by Ameko Kaeruda (illustrated by Shio Sakura), author of Sexiled, about Miyako, a Japanese wage slave reincarnated into another world based on her favorite otome game. However, she’s not interested in her would-be love interest, but in Fuuka Hamilton-- the game’s villainess! After Miyako confesses her love, Fuuka decides to give her a challenge: if Miyako can make her say the words “I’m happy” in fourteen days, she’ll stay by her side! (Published in English through J-Novel Club, available on various platforms)

Superwomen In Love: An ongoing manga by sometime about the sentai villainess Honey Trap and her infatuation with the masked superheroine Rapid Rabbit. After being kicked out of her evil organization, Honey Trap decides to team up with her former nemesis to fight evil-- and hopefully, find romance! (To be published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment, coming in April 2021)

2. “Yuri is all stories about teenagers! Where’s the stuff about adults?”

Take a look at the previous section: there’s the stuff about adults! Otherside Picnic, Goodbye My Rose Garden, Seabed, SHWD, Sexiled, The Blank of Describer, A Lily Blooms In Another World, and Superwomen In Love are all stories with adult-aged protagonists! But if you’re searching for a more down-to-earth romance, I’m happy to report there’s quite a bit of options to look into!

Still Sick

What It Is: A manga by Akashi. Three volumes, complete.

What It’s About: Makoto Shimizu is an office lady with a secret: she’s a yuri fan who draws doujinshi. She’s able to keep her two lives separate, all until the day she comes face-to-face with her co-worker at a convention! To Makoto’s horror, Akane Maekawa is amused by her nerdy secret, but Akane may have some secrets of her own...

What I Think: This one was a roller coaster for me: I loved the premise of the manga, but wasn’t sure about the dynamic between the leads… that is, until near the end of the first volume, where something happened and everything changed. Without giving too much away, I implore people to give Still Sick a chance-- it has a much deeper story than one might initially guess, as well as an interesting character dynamic between the two leads with some surprising turns.

Where To Get It: The first two volumes of Still Sick are published in English by Tokyopop, with the final one coming soon All three volumes have been published in English by Tokyopop.

After Hours

What It Is: A manga by Yuhta Nishio. Three volumes, complete.

What It’s About: After being ditched by her friend at a club, Emi Ashiana is ready to write the whole night off. All that changes when she meets Kei, a DJ who seems to be everything Emi is not-- cool, confident… employed.... But Kei and Emi hit it off and Emi’s life changes as Kei draws her into the world of Japan’s club scene!

What I Think: It’s hard to explain exactly why I like this manga, but I reeeeally like this manga. 

There’s just something about the sleek art, the amazing atmosphere of the scenes set in nightclubs, the chemistry between Emi and Kei, the focus on more mature topics.... it’s a manga that’s remarkably magnetic for how down-to-earth it is. It’s also just interesting to read stories about subcultures that don’t normally get a spotlight in comics. To sum it up, After Hours is just a lovely manga that’s severely underrated that’s perfect for someone who’s looking for a story that’s both fun and mature.

Where To Get It: All three volumes are published in English by Viz Media.

How Do We Relationship?

What It Is: A manga by Tamifull. Ongoing, five volumes at time of writing.

What It’s About: Miwa and Saeko’s first meeting is… interesting. But despite that, and despite their clashing personalities, the two of them become fast friends. Well… actually, perhaps more than friends. You see, pretty soon the two of them learn that the other is into women. With that in mind, Saeko suggests they try dating each other-- might as well, right? “Might as well” seems like a strange place to begin a relationship, but perhaps even something like that could end in true love?

What I Think: “Why do romances always end when they decide to start dating?!” That’s the question Tamifull poses in the afterword of Volume 1. And it’s a great question! What makes How Do We Relationship? an interesting manga is how oddly realistic it is, highlighting things like the compromises people make in relationships, people who get into relationships for pragmatic reasons rather than love, the whole “thing” about sex… as well as highlighting the additional issues queer people have to deal with. That may sound like a heavy story, but it’s actually quite light-hearted, as well as very, very funny at times. With a cute art style and surprisingly deep premise, HDWR is a great manga for older yuri fans who are craving a more mature story.

Where To Get It: The first volume has been published in English by Viz Media, with more on the way.

BONUS: Other titles with adult protagonists that may interest you!

Even Though We’re Adults: A manga by Takako Shimura about two women in their thirties. Ayano and Akari meet each other in a bar and almost immediately feel a sense of chemistry between them. There’s just one problem: Ayano is married to someone else. (To be published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment, coming in January 2021)

Doughnuts Under A Crescent Moon: A manga by Shio Usui. Uno Hinako wants nothing more than to be seen as a normal young woman, but she just can’t seem to make a “normal” romance work. But maybe Sato Asahi, a woman who works at the same company as her, can show her a new kind of normal? (To be published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment, coming in February 2021)

Our Teachers Are Dating: A manga by Pikachi Ohi. Hayama Asuka is a gym teacher, Terano Saki is a biology teacher. One day, they come into work both looking suspiciously happy… because they’ve started dating! (Published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment)

I Married My Best Friend To Shut My Parents Up: A one-volume manga by Kodama Naoko. Morimoto is sick and tired about constantly being badgered about finding a man to marry, so her kouhai from her high school days offers a solution: marry each other to make her parents back off! (Published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment)

Now Loading…!: A one-volume manga by Mikan Uji. Takagi has just snagged her dream job at a games publisher, but being put in charge of a mobile game that’s barely pulling in any attention isn’t exactly what she was hoping for. What’s worse, she’s drawn the attention of her strict higher-up Sakurazuki Kaori… who also happened to design her most favorite game of all time?! (Published in English through Seven Seas Entertainment)

3.  “Yuri is all schoolgirl stuff! Where’s- wait, didn’t we already do this one?”

Yes we did. And you know what? I’m making a stand! There’s a lot of really, really good yuri stories set in high schools, and I think more people need to give them a chance! Here are some high school titles that I think are worth a second look for one reason or another!

Bloom Into You

What It Is: A manga by Nakatani Nio. Eight volumes, complete. A twelve episode anime aired in 2018, covering about the first half of the series. A three volume spinoff light novel series written by Hitoma Iruma was also published.

What It’s About: Yuu Koito has long dreamed of the day she’d find That One, Storybook Romance that would make her feel like she was walking on air, but the day that a boy confesses to her, her feet remain firmly planted on the ground. When she meets Touko Nanami, a girl who seems to have the same strange, distant relationship to romance as she does, Yuu feels like she has found a comrade. But what will happen when the next person to confess to Yuu… is Touko?

What I Think: What can I say about Bloom Into You that hasn’t already been said? There’s a reason it’s basically considered a staple of yuri despite being only five years old. The art is beautiful and delicate, the story has a deft mastery of comedy, drama, and romance, and the characters are deeply loveable. Really, the only reason this one is here is to tell you to get to reading this manga (or watching the anime) if you haven’t already. So get to it!

Where To Get It: The entire series-- as well as the spinoff light novel series Regarding Saeki Sayaka-- has been published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment. The anime is currently streaming on HiDive.

Yuri Is My Job

What It Is: A manga by Miman. Ongoing, seven volumes at time of writing.

What It’s About: Hime wants nothing more than to be adored by everyone and to someday bag a rich husband. Of course, being loved by all takes a lot of work, and she prides herself in keeping her perfect, adorable facade so well-maintained. But of course, the one time she slips up, she ends up injuring the manager of a local cafe! Hime finds herself strong-armed into working for this cafe under their star employee, a kind, graceful girl named Mitsuki. But things aren’t quite so simple-- you see, this cafe has a gimmick in which all the employees are constantly acting out yuri-inspired scenes for the customers, so in a way, the employees also have their own facades. And under her facade, Mitsuki… hates Hime’s guts!

What I Think: Yuri Is My Job is an odd duck, but in a good way. It’s advertised and initially framed as a comedy, but it becomes a surprisingly thoughtful drama about the personas people adopt and why they do so (though, luckily, the comedy never truly goes away). There’s an interesting web of relationships between the girls, and having those interactions take place in a setting where they must act out a completely different sort of drama adds an extra level of drama and intrigue. The cute, polished artwork is just the icing on the cake. YIMJ is a good manga for those who are already familiar with yuri tropes and those who are interested in a drama that doesn’t get too heavy.

Where To Get It: Six volumes have been published in English by Kodansha comics, with the seventh on the way.

Riddle Story of Devil

What It Is: A manga written by Yun Kouga and illustrated by Sunao Minakata. Five volumes, complete. A 12 episode anime aired in 2014.

What It’s About: At Myojo Private School, an elite all-girl’s academy, Class Black has a secret. Twelve of the thirteen girls are actually assassins who have been offered a dark deal-- one wish will be granted to whoever manages to kill Haru Ichinose, the thirteenth student. But there’s still hope for Haru in the form of Tokaku Azuma, one of the assassins who has decided to defect to Haru’s side-- and defend her from the other girls at any cost.

What I Think: I’m not sure… if I can say Riddle Story of Devil is “good.” It’s definitely something. Although its premise is vaguely similar to Revolutionary Girl Utena, its tone and atmosphere remind me a lot more of the Dangan Ronpa series. It’s schlocky and ridiculous and often over-the-top and at times exploitative. It’s pure junk food, basically… and I believe that’s where the charm comes from. It’s my guiltiest of guilty pleasures. It may not exactly be good, but more often than not, it’s fun. It’s hard not to be immediately interested in a yuri battle series, you have to admit. 

And if it does have one undeniably good element, it’s Tokaku and Haru’s relationship. They contrast each other nicely, and while one might expect Haru to be boring and helpless, she’s actually quite proactive at times, and some of the most interesting, engaging parts of the series come from seeing how the two work together to fend off the latest assassin. It’s a short read and if anything, it’s worth it to see how each girl ends up. I recommend it for older viewers who are okay with violence and ludicrous battle scenarios.

Where To Get It: All five volumes are available through Seven Seas Entertainment. The anime can be watched through Funimation.*

*Please don’t watch the anime.**

** At the very least, please don’t watch the anime unless you’ve read the entire manga. Riddle Story Of Devil was one of those unfortunate cases where the anime adaption was produced before the manga reached its conclusion, and as such it has a very strange, rushed ending that includes none of what I enjoyed about the actual ending. Several scenes were also changed, and if I recall correctly, fanservice was added in several places where there was none previously. All in all, I’d really only recommend it for big fans of the series.

Side By Side Dreamers

What It Is: A light novel by Iori Miyazawa, illustrated by Akane Malbeni. One volume, complete.

What It’s About: Saya Hokage has been suffering from insomnia, but one day finds relief in the form of Hitsuji Konparu, a strange girl who can put people to sleep. As it turns out, Hitsuji is a person who has the special ability to move freely in their dreams, known as a “Sleepwalker.” The Sleepwalkers have been battling beings that possess people through their dreams, and it turns out they want Saya to join them in the fight.

What I Think: Side By Side Dreamers is short and… well, dreamy. I really enjoyed the premise and I think it’s a good novel for people who think Otherside Picnic may be a little too much for them. I also enjoyed each dream sequence-- I tend to find that the writing in light novels is a little dry, so the use of figurative language to describe these scenes was really refreshing and interesting. SBSD is a fun oneshot that I think is especially ideal for newcomers to yuri.

Where To Get It: Side-by-Side Dreamers is published by J-Novel Club and can be found via various digital platforms and bookstores.

Cocoon Entwined

What It Is: A manga by Yuriko Hara. Three volumes, ongoing.

What It’s About: Hoshimiya Girls' Academy is a strange, almost otherworldly paradise with a peculiar tradition. For all three years, each girl grows out her hair to absurd, breathtaking lengths, in order for it to eventually be cut and weaved into uniforms for future students. Perhaps it is these strange uniforms that seem to whisper about the past that makes the school seem frozen in another time… picturesque, yet stagnant. But one day, a shocking incident shatters the quiet peace of the academy, and the tumultuous feelings that have long been hidden in the hearts of these girls come rushing into the light.

What I Think: Cocoon Entwined is, in a word, eerie. It’s not marketed as a horror story, and I don’t think it’s intended to be one, but I’ve seen some that say they get horror vibes from it. I definitely understand that-- there’s a deep sense of unease that permeates the entire story in a way that’s a bit hard to articulate. The running thread of uniforms made from human hair definitely doesn’t hurt (it does-- I’ve seen many people understandably turned off by this element), but it’s more than that. It’s the sense that everything at Hoshimiya feels frozen and fragile. It’s the sense that everyone is burying their true feelings under countless layers. It’s the fact that in one scene, Saeki reaches out in a dark room full of uniforms and feels her arm touched by countless hands made of hair. 

Cocoon Entwined is a strange manga, and I feel it’s not for everyone-- besides the way many are put off by the central premise, the way that the story jumps around in time can be a bit confusing to follow. But in my opinion, I love it for these elements: the uniforms and their marriage between beauty and grotesque, the sense of frozen time, the delicate artwork that feels like it might be shattered by the weight of your gaze, the strange, airless atmosphere, the girls and their clear exhaustion of having to be ideal women. It’s a strange little series that I think should be given a shot, particularly if you want something a little more out there, or a darker take on Class S tropes.

Where To Get It: Yen Press has currently published two volumes in English.

BONUS: Other high school titles that may interest you!

A Tropical Fish Yearns For Snow: A manga by Makoto Hagino. Konatsu Amano has just moved to a new town by the sea, and must deal with her new school’s mandatory club policy. Luckily, she meets Koyuki Honami, an older girl who runs the Aquarium Club. Recognizing her loneliness, Konatsu decides to join her club. (Published  in English by Viz Media)

Flowers: A four-part series of visual novels published by Innocent Grey. Flowers focuses on Saint Angraecum Academy, a private high school that prides itself on overseeing the growth of proper young ladies. One notable thing about the academy is the Amitié program, a system that pairs students together in order to foster friendships between the girls. But friendship isn’t the only thing blooming… (Available in English from Steam, J-List, and JAST USA)

Adachi And Shimamura: A series of light novels written by Hitoma Iruma and illustrated by Non that has recently received a manga adaptation and an anime adaption. Adachi and Shimamura are two girls who encounter each other one day while cutting class. Little by little, the two girls become a part of each other’s lives, and feelings begin to form. (The light novels are published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment, the anime is licensed by Funimation)

And there we go! 24 different yuri titles. I didn’t even go into the series that I tried but personally didn’t like that still might interest other people. I primarily made this list to gush about yuri that I liked, but I also tried to include a fairly wide range of things so that, hopefully, any random person who read this whole list could find at least one new title that interests them. And I hope that includes you!

The yuri scene is quite large and wonderful if you know where to look, and it too often gets a bad rap. I hope that this list could give you a new perspective on what kinds of titles are available, and I hope it gives you something new to try. And remember: if you want something specific, try looking for it! There’s a good chance the story you’re craving is already out there, waiting to be discovered!

[blackcherrykiss]

BLOOD BOUNDARIES - Enhypen OT7 Fanfic (ch.4)

[CH.1] [CH.2] [CH.3]  previous chapters

[CH.5] next chapter (NOW AVAILABLE!)

genre: vampire au, romance, drama, mystery, thriller

note: written inspired by enhypen's storyline, given-taken lyrics & teasers. please keep in mind all members are apart of this fanfic and the main theme is mystery/drama!

...

"Y/N?" Jungwon blinks between wide stares.

You immediately move off of Jaeyun, pushing him aside in a race toward Jungwon, "I was just about to head to the dining hall... I just happened to stumble into Jaeyun..." You lie to upsell the situation. You were actually relieved to see Jungwon, feeling somewhat safer now that he was around

"Are you alright?" He tilted your head in every direction, scanning every angle of your profile up and down.

"Why wouldn't I be...?" You grab ahold of his ice-cold hands and pull them away from your face, "It's not like I got in some fistfight with him. I'm just really hungry right now so don't stop me unless you're coming with me." You whine, glancing back to where Jaeyun stood, seeing nothing but an empty space.

"My class isn't even over, I just went to go to the bathroom." He stretched a hand up to hook onto the nape of his neck, "Just go eat, I'll catch up to you later."

I

You're checking every other person who enters the dining hall, impatient to see Jungwon as you eat quietly. You only see your roommates enter the hall, approaching your table after picking up some food along the way.

"Y/N! Where did you eat this morning? We saw you go off to some boy. Do you have some secret relationship?" Your roommate Dahee gushes, interrupting your bird watching.

"No? I didn't even get to eat breakfast. I had some business with Jungwon." You say, hoping to clean up the painted picture she must've had. You turn to look at her, seeing your two other roommates in the distance; Hyesun and Nana.

"Oh, that was Jungwon?  We couldn't see his face from where we were." She tapped on the bottom of her chin to think, "Jungwon huh? You should be careful with him, he's getting really popular amongst the lower classman." She said as both Hyesun and Nana sat down with their steel trays that clung against the table.

"Yeah, I noticed that too... Wonder why." You tilted your head from side to side, trying to come up with any logical explanation. It's obvious Jungwon was visually attractive but if that was the reason, wouldn't he have been popular a long time ago?

"Probably because he's recently been seen with those guys." Nana side-eyed to her left, signalling all of you to turn your heads and focus on exactly who you were expecting; Jaeyun, Heeseung and Kim Sunoo.

Immediately you looked away from the table full of boys, trying to make zero eye contact with any of them. "But Jungwon has always been associated with them? Right?" You second guess yourself.

"Has he? I've only seen him hang around with them recently..." Nana looks at you with a funny remark.

"But Jungwon told me they're roommates, so I'm sure they were close from long ago." You chuckle in confusion.

"Wait what? Jungwon is roommates with Heeseung? But you can only be roommates with people in the same year as you." Nana pinches at the bottom of her lips, "That's very interesting," She scoffed in amusement as she pieced the puzzle pieces together for you. "I don't know what kind of person Jungwon is but he must be lying to you. Heeseung is a senior, Jungwon is a freshman."

You could only ask yourself how and why Jungwon was truly associated with those boys, was it that complicated that he needed to lie about it? Combing your fingers through the roots of your hair, you bury your head tightly into your arms in an attempt to shut your thoughts off.

Nana sighed in pity while wrapping her arm around you, "I never trusted those pretty boys and the people involved with them anyways. They've got some dirty secret, I just know it."

You think about what Nana had just said, trying to comprehend the scenario in your head full of mush. "I think I need to ask Jungwon about this... He's been keeping so many things from me, I'm gonna go look for him and sort things out. I'll explain what's going on later with you guys." You excuse yourself from the table, straightening out your skirt as you stood.

II

You strut across the dim corridors towards the hushed library at the very end of the passage. You usually found Jungwon in the library if he wasn't with friends, reading all alone at the same table between the shelves where he wasn't visible to the naked eye. You stand tall as you peer through the glass window and into the seemingly soulless library. Creeping through the wide-open doors, you squeeze yourself along the narrow shelves in search of Jungwon before you hear a quarrel.

"Not right now Sunghoon! I have a volleyball practice meet right now!" You recognize the voice that shouts in a whisper. You instantly duck your head down, peaking through the crevices of the thick wood bookshelves, letting your eyes adjust to see through the thin space.

"But I need it. I need you." You see Sunghoon tug Kyungeun closer. You began to blush a bit at the cheesy line. So this is the guy who gave her a hickey? Could this be her boyfriend?

Whatever you had walked into, it was dramatic and probably something you should have been listening to. Your thoughts continue to switch between whether or not to turn back around to leave the two "lovebirds" alone or stay until they left.

"Sunghoon, was yesterday not enough?" Kyungeun huffed, shaking off his grip. "I thought we agreed this can't be happening during school." Kyungeun controlled her volume.

"But I'm telling you that I'm impatient right now!" Sunghoon rubbed his forehead in annoyance as you reverse your steps back out of the entrance of the library. Trying your very best not a single step or trace of you was seen.

"Sunghoon I have a practice in a few minutes! What if you get caught?!" She repeated this time louder, making you feel awful for listening to their argument.

Running out the last few steps away from the door, you finally breathe normally, exhaling properly after sneaking out so quietly. Still amazed by the fact Kyungeun was seeing Sunghoon you look up to see Jaeyun leaned up against the wall right beside the window of the library. Before you gasp, you cover your mouth in terror. You blink in disbelief as you pull Jaeyun to a safer spot in the hallway, away from the crime scene so that Sunghoon and Kyungeun couldn't suspect what you both had heard.

"Spying on somebody?" Jaeyun smirks while sucking on the side of his lower lip.

"No? I was just looking for Jungwon! What are you doing here?!" You snap defensively out of the great startlement he had just caused you.

"Saw you leave the dining hall and followed you here." He admits casually, "It's funny how you keep running into this kind of stuff, isn't it?"

"Hm? Kyungeun and Sunghoon?" You question his choice of wording, "I just happened to bump into a couple arguing so I felt bad." You say a little unconfident about what you had just heard.

"Couple? Mmmm... Wouldn't call it that," He said in the midst of choking up on laughter, "You just don't get it, do you?"

"So they're just friends? Or are their feelings just mutual?" You don't even bother to look into Jaeyun's eyes when you say that, embarrassed at your second assumption. You were paranoid that Kyungeun and Sunghoon could've heard you both even from such a far distance.

"It'll all make sense once you connect the dots. Do you want to know our secret that bad?"

"Look, you accused me of spying but you're the one spying on me. Are you worried that I'll find out?" You spit, hiding how flustered you actually were. "Let's just get out of here before one of them exits the library." You cut him off before he can even begin a sentence. "Whatever you say, darling." He spins his head around, already making a move back to the route you both came. You follow him shortly, contemplating whether or not to ask Kyungeun about her relationship with Sunghoon.

Was it too personal to ask? Or perhaps Kyungeun wasn't telling you for a reason.

"You're still thinking about them?" Jaeyun interrupts your thoughts, breaking the silence created from deep concentration. His steps slowed down a bit, giving you time to catch up and walk beside him.

"Yes! I'm still thinking of them... I'm close with Kyungeun and she never mentioned she had something going on with Sunghoon, that's all."

"Secrets are secrets for a reason." He commented mysteriously as you both reached the entrance doors of the dining hall, the journey coming to a quick end.

"Hey, I'm going to continue to look for Jungwon, you should go." You insisted. "I really don't want people to see us together, don't take it personally..." You say in a mellow manner. Although Jaeyun had been cocky and nosy toward you, in a way you were drawn to his subtle company. You weren't going to keep up the rude act, you wanted a decent relationship with Jungwon's friends. Maybe if you befriended him, you could get more information.

...

You decide to check the courtyard for Jungwon, forgetting what exactly you needed to ask him along the way. You step out into the quiet outside, searching for Jungwon under the ash sky. The smell of an oncoming storm fills the passing breeze in the humid air as you scanned the surface-level of ground.

"Jungwon?" You whisper unsure of the black-haired boy who sits on the stairs peacefully admiring the soft forest in the distance.

Jungwon turns toward your direction, the blazer of his uniform off to the side while his charcoal bangs and collar sway in the gentle wind. You're relieved to see the familiar pair of cat eyes that could only belong to him glimmer like pearls under the reflections of the clouds.

"I've been looking all over for you..." You laugh at yourself while taking a seat on the step-up stair from his. "It seems you didn't eat at all today, you okay?" You adjust yourself and fix your eyes forward to where he was looking before.

"I'm just not hungry. Sorry I didn't go to you at lunch as I said I would." Jungwon leaned his broad shoulders back until they rested against the step you sat on.

"You always say you're not hungry." You stretch out your legs, tucking your cold hands under your thighs while the bright periwinkle sky slowly disappeared.

"The sky is pretty, isn't it?" Jungwon whispers while looking over his shoulder to look at you, the corners of lifting just a millimetre upwards.

"Really pretty." You reply looking at his face that lit up into a creamy lilac colour under the sky. His eyelids relaxed lazily along with the rest of his features. His delicate blush face bringing you a small bit of joy. "I-I think we should go inside before it rains." You suggest, jarring your fluttering heart from his sweet face.

"We still have a few minutes." Jungwon closed his eyes, sinking himself into a position comfortable enough to sleep in, "Why'd you come looking for me?"

You finally remembered what you were going to ask but you felt it would ruin the mood. You knew too well if you spoke of the roommate situation with Heeseung or what you had witnessed with Sunghoon, it would only take away from the calm moment Jungwon was living in. "It's not that important, I'll ask another day."

Jungwon changed the subject after a short pause, not questioning you any further, "Are you going home for the long weekend?" In your boarding school, you frequently got long weekends to go home and see your family although some kids would stay on campus and hang around.

"Oh, the one in 2 weeks? Yeah, I'm thinking of going home. I miss my family a bit... You?"

"That's great, you should really go home." You took his answer as a way of him trying to avoid talking about himself. "I'm kind of tired... Sorry if I'm dozing off." He admitted in a sad lazy tone with his eyelids pressed together.

"Need a pillow?" You say while moving down so you were now sitting on the same step as him.

Jungwon lazily winked an eye open, "Pillow?"

"Y-you can rest your head on my lap for a few minutes..." You removed your bag, not daring to look him in the eyes when you said that, "Not sure if it'll be any more comfortable..." You felt embarrassed offering the gesture, but you could tell he was down by the way he spoke. He was less energetic than usual so it was clear to you that something was upsetting him.

He let out a lazy chuckle without opening his mouth, sitting up straight to look at you.

Before you could even catch being face to face, you took his laughter as a rejection toward the offer, burning with embarrassment, "Nevermind... I think I'll go to my next class early, don't be late for yours.." You quickly slung back on your bag, ready to take off that moment.

"Don't go... Just stay..." Jungwon held onto the side of your bag, moving his hand until it pinched at your fingers.

You felt a certain sickness eat at the bottom of your stomach as you hesitated to sit back down, but it wasn't sick with awkwardness or embarrassment.

"I was just surprised you offered." Jungwon covered his face with the back of his hand shyly as you turned toward him.

"Well, I'm about to take my offer back." You sat back down slowly, shaking off the random feelings that were flying between the two of you.

Jungwon instantly scooted over to you, shifting all his stuff with him. He spent no time stalling as he laid his head onto your lap, his dark chocolate hair tickling your knees.

"You must be really tired." You mutter. Your eyes watching as strands of his hair dance across his forehead from the soft breeze. You were tempted to brush the hairs away but felt you would be overstepping the line you had as friends. Instead, you reached over to his scrunched up blazer and draped it over him as a blanket.

A few minutes passed as you started to feel a wave of tiredness wash over you. You starting to become tired enough to fall asleep as you existed in the ambient noises of the courtyard. It seemed he nice sounds of the olive trees brushing against one another or the dandelion coloured birds that flew between them were a lullaby. Time had just felt too easy on you at that given moment.

A cold droplet of the sky's tears hit the back of your hand, a clear indication of what was to come next. "Jungwon it's beginning to rain, we should head inside... You know how fast it takes for the rain to fall harder." You shook him a bit, knowing he most definitely could not be in the REM stage of sleep.

He groaned, still not batting an eye open until a droplet hit his upper cheek near the side of his temple. He began to sit up in a haze, the back of his head in shambles and his blazer half covering him. "Let's go?" He said stretching his arms up, still settled on the staircase while you stood on both feet.

The rain started to slowly intensify into a shower, the droplets still thin. "I'm not trying to get soaked here..." You sigh, lifting your bag above your head as a shield from the rain as Jungwon finally stood up properly, putting on his blazer instead of using it to cover his head. "What are you doing? Use your coat to protect yourself from the rain." You nagged like a mother as you could feel the rain hit your bare legs.

"No, it's too late. It will dry." He slid on his backpack as you patiently waited for him. "But if I'm going to get rained on, shouldn't you as well?" He said while trying to pull your bag off from its placement over your head. "HEY! No! Let's not do that?" You held tighter onto the bag, sprinting off toward doors.

"I was just joking!" He yelled from the distance as you took cover under the entrance roof. ... "Did you not know it was going to rain?" Your teacher poked her head from behind an unfamiliar student.

"I sort of did, I just stayed a little too long outdoors," You mentioned while you sat down at your respective seats.

"Well now that everyone is here, I'd like to announce we have a new student who just transferred here."

[beesbeesbees]

On art direction, part 1 of Who Knows

You may have noticed (or probably not noticed) that it’s been a bit since the last post!

I’ve been in a weird spot for a few weeks. I think it’s important to be honest about my struggles - and there was a bit of trouble with my ADHD meds and the pharmacy. My neurochemistry is what some might charitably call “sensitive”, and fucking up my meds didn’t just mean fucking up my concentration! Whoops.

As a result, I didn’t get much of anything done for a while. But my meds are back in order, so I’ve been slowly clawing my way towards some measure of normalcy, and am currently feeling a fair bit better!

So, what HAVE I been doing?

A little bit of everything. I wanted to center programming, but unfortunately, I didn’t really feel up to it for a while. So I’ve tried to focus on other things. Particularly, art direction.

It’s a little early on in the project, but as an artist, I’d like to figure out what my game might look like, what its characters might look like - even a really vague idea would be nice. It makes it easier to come up with more ideas from there.

One of the game dev tutorials I watched mentioned using PureRef for creating collections of references for your game, which I thought was inspired. It’s a free program I’m familiar with as an artist for building reference to create a single picture, but I hadn’t really thought to use it for more broad concepts like that. Things like setting the mood, art styles that you aspire to, scenery, UI, et cetera.

So... here’s my reference board. Zoomed out because, well, I don’t want to responsible for unsourced art floating around the internet, and also it’s a little embarrassing. It’s largely a great big soup of things I’ve found inspiring over the years, well before the idea for this game came into my head. I just finally tidied up my “art I think is cool” folder and picked out whatever felt like it could lead to some inspiration on the project.

Sorting files and looking at cool art is blessedly low-energy, so it was a good task to handle while I felt like shit. I also started searching for and adding pictures more focused on the direction of my game, not just the prime cut of three years of accumulated cool (but miscellaneous) art.

While Pinterest is controversial for how much art gets passed around without credit, it can still be a very good place to gather visual resources, and its algorithms are good enough that if you find something you’re interested in, it’s not hard to find more. I recommend it. Just don’t repost, and don’t share unsourced art!

Anatomy of a reference

One common misconception people have that I’d like to address - from both artists and non-artists! - is that using references is “cheating”.

Any sufficiently skilled artist who is not up his own entire ass will inform you that this is Bull Shit.

(Pictured: an example I made of how many references went into a single dumbass shitpost. A shitpost of a Twitch streamer doing a rap squat next to a banana wrapped in toothpaste and foil, left to rot there for 54 days.)

As you can see, while the reference images give direction, it is not a 1:1 copy. You could not place this image over any of the references used and have it look as if I’d traced it. The bottom left picture is the closest comparison, but even so, a large amount of it is improvised, and all of it is in my style. His hands kinda ended up looking more like the Trade Offer guy.

See, a picture is often an amalgam of references so far removed that it becomes its own beast. Typically a completed picture will resemble NONE of the pictures it was referenced from, or only in small parts. A foot referenced here, a hand referenced there. Like some kind of beautiful ransom note.

Of course, it’s entirely possible to reference a picture so closely that it nearly looks traced. The term I always heard for this was “eyeballing” something. Like, “I drew this while eyeballing a manga cover”. This can be morally and legally dubious. I think this is where part of the confusion comes in, vis a vis references being “stealing”.

(Don’t be this fucking guy.)

But it’s not necessarily bad! Maybe you’re drawing an ultra-realistic portrait from a photo reference, or you have permission to use the reference in whatever way. A lot of free stock photo artists put thousands of pictures out there for that purpose alone, and you can reference them, trace them, etc to your heart’s content.

There’s also 3D models, if you’re especially paranoid of someone recognizing your source material. (But they are a pain in the ass.)

But this is a bit of a long preamble to get to the idea of referencing character designs. This is a contentious subject and I wanted to clarify what I typically do and how I do it, so that nobody sees “I look at Pinterest for ideas” and thinks “get a load of THIS guy”. I also wanted to set a good example for any aspiring developers reading this.

Yes, I will look at the designs of other artists as I work. But I try to only take one or two things I find interesting from a design, do this with a number of designs, and then put my own spin on it - and iterate further if it still looks too close to any one of the references. The goal is that it becomes unrecognizable.

Here’s a very simplified example of the idea. In a fullbody shot, the design would look even further removed from any of these three, because it would incorporate a lot more design traits.

So, despite all of this buildup, I haven’t actually started designing any characters yet. Races, I’ve been playing with the visuals of (I’m liking the idea of raising monster girls). I’m hoping to build out my reference library for the game even further, and have a really broad amount of ideas to pull from. But it’s a good start.

I have a bit more to talk about vis a vis art direction, hence the post title, but this post is long enough already, so I’m cutting it here!

[hopeymchope]

Parascientific Escape: The sci-fi “escape room” visual novel-style series nobody talks about

I can’t help thinking that Parascientific Escape would probably have an active fandom somewhere on the Internet if it wasn’t TRAPPED ON THE 3DS ESHOP.

I mean, it’s an escape room-centric visual novel-style sci-fi Japanese game that is clearly inspired by Zero Escape and very anime in its style. There are endearing characters, including optimal waifus/husbandos, plus a gradual buildup of an interesting fictional world full of political intrigue, its own countries, its own companies, and of course... psychic powers. Because you can’t have a trilogy of Japanese visual novel-style games featuring escape room puzzles without mental powers, now can you?

But as I said... they’re trapped as download-only titles for the 3DS. That’s fucking brutal. 

Even so, there’s a pretty big 3DS/2DS user base still in existence. It’s not like they’ve never been translated or something, so at least we have the capability to play them. So if you look into them, what are you getting?

A basic overview: Parascientific Escape is a trilogy of anime-style games about solving escape room mysteries and tracking down evildoers via the use of psychic powers (obvious Zero Escape influences). There’s an overarching plot about a mysterious mastermind who believes it’s time for the recently emerged psychics of the world to take their place as the next evolution of humanity and get their own nation (obvious X-Men influences).

They don’t work very well as standalone stories; each story relies on information from the last one, culminating in a game that stars the protagonists of both parts 1 and 2 together as they finally unravel the motivations behind the events of the whole series and face off with the people behind everything. In addition, the escape room puzzles start out pretty easy in the first game build to be pretty frustratingly obtuse by the tail end of the third. And on top of all that, each game taken on its own only contains about 3-4 escape rooms. So when you bundle all three together, that’s when it all works as a single satisfying package. 

Don’t worry about burning a lot of cash to play the whole series, however. The three games are $5.00 US each on the 3DS eShop and are usually on sale for $2.50 each these days. I got the entire trilogy for $7.50 US!

So let’s break down the gameplay and setup in a little more detail. Don’t worry; I won’t give any spoilers that go beyond the first five minutes of any game in the series. The twists and turns are part of the fun here.

The first game is Parascientific Escape: Cruise in the Distant Seas. You play as  Hitomi Akeneno, a high school girl (because of course she’s a high-schooler) with the dual abilities of mild telekinesis and a type of clairvoyance that lets her peer past barriers or into the insides of objects. She finds herself trapped on a sinking cruise ship where some mastermind keeps systematically locking her into isolated sections while she’s trying desperately to escape. 

I really liked how you could look inside of an object with clairvoyance and then use her telekinesis to manipulate the various switches and levers within, gradually pulling some object you need out from within a maze. I also thought it was clever how the solution to a new escape roomight require you to backtrack to a previous escape room to investigate some object or area that wasn’t relevant to that previous room’s original puzzle. 

(One of the things I found most fascinating about this one is the ethical debate raised by Hitomi’s friend Chisono regarding how Hitomi got herself involved in all this. Chisono offers a perspective that is extremely unusual to see in most fiction. You can even say it’s pretty cold, but it’s not without having some merit to it. I don’t want to say too much about what I’m talking about, though; it’s better left as a surprise.)

The second title, Parascientific Escape: Gear Detective, almost seems standalone at first. You play as Kyosuke Ayana, a private detective and actual adult (!) who is 22 years old. A young woman shows up at his office and asks to hire him for protection. See, there’s a serial killer on the loose, and she believes she’s the next target.

We are swiftly told that Kyosuke was once in an accident that necessitated the replacement of his left arm and right eye. He volunteered to be a guinea pig for some very special prosthetics that granted him artificial psychic powers. As such, he now has “chronokinesis” — to the power to look back in time. However, he can only look back for five days, and he only has limited ability to move or manipulate the things he sees in the past. 

Naturally, Kyosuke’s investigation winds up trapping him within some escape rooms that require use of his unique abilities to solve. Some of the hints at the proper timestamps or exactly where you should be looking when you peer into the past are a little vague, though, which can cause momentary frustration. Because I like to always be making forward progress, I actually preferred Hitomi’s telekinesis/clairvoyance powers from the first game. Still, Hitomi had some pretty basic puzzles in her rooms. I can’t deny that these puzzles took more thought.

Outside of the escape rooms,  everything is undeniably a huge improvement. The first game presented strictly linear segments of storytelling between the rooms, but this one is more of an adventure game. You can choose where you go, select from a limited menu of things to do when you get there, and do all of it in any order you like. There’s usually a correct sequence order to progressing the story, but it’s typically pretty clear what the next step is, so it’s not like you’re just flailing about and trying a bunch of locations blindly. Besides, there’s no way to get stuck, so don’t stress it. There are even a lot of actions you can take that have no impact on story progression at all — they’re just there to generate additional dialogue that further develops the characters. 

The tradeoff is that you actually get fewer escape rooms overall. The first game had four, but the second only contains three. This is also the first game in the series to introduce multiple endings; you get a number of dialogue choices throughout, and unfortunately, it’s far too easy to trigger the “bad” ending. There are guides online to help you trigger the Gold Star “true” ending, however. Just hit up GameFAQs. You might want to use the guide on your first playthrough, because I can say from experience that it’s annoying to have to replay all the dialogue sections just to make the correct choices. (Luckily, you can skip over any irrelevant sections of each chapter — including the escape room puzzles.) 

In spite of my above whining, the second one is probably my single favorite story in the Parascientific trilogy. It’s a lot of fun.

The final game in the trilogy is Parascientific Escape: Crossing at the Farthest Horizon. Mysterious characters who were plotting offscreen for the previous two games are finally given faces, locations that were talked about extensively in both are finally visited, and the two protagonists of the first couple games finally meet and team up. It’s absolutely a culmination of what they set up in the first two.

The narrative jumps around from the perspectives of many different characters, but the most time is undoubtedly spent with Hitomi and Kyosuke. Sadly, there is no gameplay usage of Hitomi’s powers this time; the escape rooms are all done with Kyosuke, and they are more devious now than ever before. Personally, I found the next-to-last one to be incredibly obtuse and frustrating. I ultimately had to consult a video playthrough on YouTube for that. (The YouTuber in question didn’t seem to have the same issues figuring things out that I did. So I guess your mileage may vary.)

The “adventure game” segments make a return here as well, although they’ve also become a bit tougher to figure out. There are a couple of times when you might find yourself wandering the various location options, clicking on every possible action to try and progress. Luckily, there aren’t so many default options that you’re left flailing for very long. Even the longest period of clueless wandering lasted me a maximum of 15 minutes.

Once again, you have to make the correct dialogue choices if you want a positive ending. And once again, GameFAQs is your friend and co-pilot.

Ultimately, even the gated endings and occasional puzzle frustrations did little to curb my enthusiasm. I really had fun with these characters and their stories, I greatly enjoyed the majority of the escape rooms, and I was pretty satisfied with how it all wrapped up. The character designs/artwork get better and better as the series goes on. The selection of music tracks may be the same throughout the whole series, but I really dug on them, so I can’t complain. Do I have any other misgivings? Well, just one; the English localization is pretty sloppy. There are a pretty large number of typos, and the dialogue can sound stilted and awkward at times due to being a direct translation. It’s actually at its worst at the start of the first game. Luckily, after about 30 minutes of playtime, it settles in and finds its voice.

Seriously, they should really figure out a way to re-package these games for another system that doesn’t use the the dual-screen setup. Put all three of them together, and it’d easily be satisfying as a full retail release!

But for now, if you have a 3DS/2DS, they’re only $7.50 in total most of the time (and $15.00 at the worst). Do you like adventure game-style mysteries and visual novel-esque progression and, of course, escape rooms? You should give these a shot! And I hope these devs get to make games with bigger budgets and better localizations in the future.