#hakuoki ramblings

[viktoriamagrey]

"Sannan Keisuke's problems are not actually really his arm or the Water of Life, bro just has self-esteem issues and is prone to depression/spends most of the game depressed" is arguably the truest and most accurate piece of unmentioned canonical lore about Hakuouki. Change my mind.

[fuckyeahbakumatsu]

Always obsessed with how Souji had always found comfort in the impermanence of everything, especially his own existence, and through Chizuru he actually ends up wanting to truly live and all of the sudden he's confronted by fears he'd never confronted before because none of those things had ever mattered to him before. HE had never mattered to him before. And all of the sudden he's living life for the first time and it's terrifying. It's one of the things that makes him so familiar to me. People just live their lives without thinking too deeply but when you spend most of your life as more of a ghost than a person, not planning at all for the future because you don't plan to live that long, living never stops being remarkable. Waking up every morning and realizing you're alive, that you're actively living, never stops being surreal.

[scuffle-with-spirals]

Chizuru mentally during Hakuoki 3D: no wait no I just got hit with the most traumatic shit don't Sun-Dappled Afternoon.wav me

[eleiyaumei]

Breaking Souji's Heart in KW

So... I played through Souji's route in KW because I wanted to record the whole journey to his Unrequited Love Ending... [You can find the edited video here.]

(Why, yes, I do sometimes have masochistic and sadistic tendencies, how did you know?)

I chose only to get affection when the choice is between him and another guy (in order to get his route) but whenever my choice would only lead to (not) getting affection, I chose to pick the wrong answers.

This way, I thought, I would gain the "low romance" that you need to start Chapter 5 with to then choose 1 wrong and 1 right answer to get the Unrequited Love Ending.

Turns out, the romance was too low and I ended up with the Bad Ending instead and had to use the Records of Service to get the ULE...

Why did I want to do all of this in the first place? Because this ULE feels pretty unique to all the others. It's not just a simple "Chizuru gets left behind by her love interest because it didn't work out and he wants her to be safe". Souji doesn't make Chizuru leave the Shinsengumi or completely abandons her. He just tells her to never cross his sight again because she was the reason he couldn't avenge Kondou and she has the face of the person that caused Kondou to get shot. This has so much more gravitas than a simple "we didn't make it as a blossoming couple" because it deeply relates to Souji's character.

(But I guess there is some gravitas in Harada's ULE too because Chizuru there fails to be the humble, shy, soft damsel in distress that he desires and wants to protect. Gosh, how pissed he is when Chizuru tells him to get to safety!)

It was pretty painful to choose some of the wrong answers, I have to admit... Like behaving like Hijikata, being worried but in an accusatory way and using punishment instead of understanding to get him to do something. (Ha! Even more parallels between Hijikata and my father. As if I needed any more reasons to understand Souji's dislike towards him...)

The worst thing was hearing/reading this, though:

Like, yes, the way I played Chizuru made her and Souji incompatible but DAMN, as someone who relates so much with him that he feels like a soulmate or other version of me, this broke my heart... (Which was the point of this in the first place, hehe ^^')

[kon-konk]

On the list of character design elements that I’d love to see more of is eyelashes that match the color of the character’s eyes.  Or match the color of their hair (more specifically when the hair isn’t blonde/light.  give me warm browns and funky greens and pinks and purples)

[inthegardensofourminds]

I don’t want this to seem like I’m coming for the Hakumyu costume designers. I appreciate their work. But I don’t know if it’s the lighting for the photos I’ve seen, but is it just me or do the different shades of green in Okita’s western costume clash?

In the top photo, I don’t notice it as much, but in the close-up we’ve got in the promos where he’s talking to the camera, like in the second photo, I don’t know if it’s the lighting but the green on the kimono is more of a warm brownish green, and the green accents on the jacket are a cooler green. I don’t think they go together.

And I know this is based on the Edo Blossoms version of the outfit, but the greens are not so starkly different in that version.

The colours are just generally darker in this 2D version. I guess the accentso n the jacket are still cooler than the green underneath, but because they’re darker they don’t contrast as much. I think it made sense to make the colours brighter for a stage show, since you want the characters to stand out from each other and from the set. But I’m not sure the colours they used go together that great.

I never took visual arts classes beyond elementary school, so I don’t really have a strong background in colour theory, but am I the only one who thinks this or does anybody else have thoughts? Or does everybody else just not care? (It’s possible I’m the only one who cares or thinks this)

I looked up some images from Hakumyu Live 3, where they also wear these versions of the outfits, and it doesn’t seem quite as striking in every photo, but I still kind of see it.

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Hakuoki Drama CD Hijikata Biyori Track 26 Eng translation

Got distracted by some reading today so this is a tad late... also I should really go read Tevinter Nights. And maybe The Last Flight since there was a griffon in the Veilguard trailer...?

Hakuoki - Hijikata Biyori Track 26: Early Morning Training

Translation by KumoriYami

Toudou: Hei! Ha!

Harada: Hey! Whoever it out there, shut up! Don't be making so much noise this early in the morning!

Toudou: Ah, Sano-san! Sorry, sorry. I got carried away.

Harada: Ah? What, it's Heisuke. What are you doing this early in the morning?

Toudou: I ended up waking up for some reason, so I started morning training.

Harada: Oh~ that's a really big deal! But that doesn't mean you should disturb other people's sleep. It's not even dawn yet.

Toudou: That's why I apologised. Harada: In that case... you should make breakfast for me today/you should be in charge of making breakfast today, Heisuke.

Toudou: Hah? Why did things turn out that way!

Harada: Why not?! What if it's because I got woken up while it's still dark, that my division ends up getting hurt because of my lack of sleep?!

Toudou: Sano-san, you aren't getting enough sleep, right? You should just go to bed instead of going out to play around.

Harada: Huh? You shouldn't be waking people up and saying that!

Hijikata: What are you doing so early in the morning!… Hey, what's going on. It's you guys.

Harada: Oh, it's Hijikata-san. I'm sorry for bothering you so early in the morning.

Hijikata: Seriously. Don't fight this early.

Toudou: It's not fighting, it's early morning training.

Hijikata: Morning training? It doesn't seem like that you were doing that to me.

Toudou: I was training this morning, but Sano-san was rambling over there...

Harada: What? That's because I came to warn you that your training was too loud!

Toudou: But it's a fact you yelled at me! Hijikata: You guys really never learn your lesson. You guys will be cleaning the barracks today. Good.

Toudou: Huh? Why! This is Sano-san's fault... Why should I...

Harada: No, no, it was you, Heisuke who…

Hijikata: Just shut up! Whether you train or argue, that's all up to you, but don't go bothering the people around you! If you think a bit, you'll understand that. If you still don't get that, just go take on cleaning duties together!

Harada/Toudou: That's why, Hijikata-san!

(door opens)

Hijikata: Oh? What's wrong, why are you all getting up so early this morning?

Harada: EH? Because our arguing was so loud...

Toudou: Ahah... everyone else woke up....

Three of them:…Ahahahahahaha…

Hijikata: Sorry, I’m sorry to both of you.

---end---

[wisewastelandandnotsowisesimp]

Hakuoki Ramblings (Part 2):

A couple of days ago my friend and I decided to play Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds to celebrate the end of his exams. After much consideration, we decided to continue Souma's route since we left it off at Chapter 2 the last time we played. As such, we were brought back into the world of the Bakumatsu period and the shinsengumi, or as my friend called them, the "gumi-shinsen". Also, I finally got the hang of the post editor thing.

sen is a really interesting character -> her dynamic with chizuru was quite nice as she showed that she does care for chizuru but also doesn't push chizuru if chizuru refuses her help. also, her adaptability to situations really must be commended. i believe my friend put it best when he said that "sen is what chizuru should be"

harada -> gives me flynn rider vibes. nice, gentlemanly (all i gots to say is that this is no surprise)

*"thank you for asking, father" hits different*

the whole souma picture thing -> i would admit that it was an overreaction on the shinsengumi's part. they jumped to conclusions too quickly and disregarded souma's protests of innocence (but then and again, nagakura was involved). but with that being said, i did get my friend headcannoning souma as gay (although since he is a route, it could be argued that he is multisexual but i digress). i think the fact that souma had the image ("oh damn, it's a Fury") and asked if Chizuru is a warrior sold it.

sannan -> i did talk about him in the last ramblings but since some time had elapsed since i had last played it, i had forgotten what it really was like interacting with sannan. one thing i find intriguing is how sannan pre-arm-injury was seen as "kind" and "warm" by chizuru when he was indifferent at most. but the arm injury really showed sannan's insecure side (the passive aggressiveness, the depression, the feeling of uselessness). but i suppose one could say that compared to depresso sannan, the old sannan was nice. the player, regardless of the amount of affection they may have for the guy, would think "worry about yourself, hun".

*bonus: when we first saw sannan, my friend deadass went "oh my god, it's san-nyan *

kimigiku -> hawt, amazing, 10/10. if there was a kiku route, would definitely play.

*gay panics*

chikage kazama -> the whole kidnapping for wifey plot makes me laugh (it shows just how romantically inept he is, which is such a mood). the cockiness, the arrogance *insert italian hand gesture here*. his route was really interesting because it provided a different view of the whole shinsengumi-fighting-for-the-shogun-and-the-bafuku thing, and essentially exposed their flaws and shortcomings that are characteristic of humans. it also highlighted just how naive and stupid chizuru was. nonetheless, the man cemented himself onto our hearts and has my loathes-the-nickname-daddy friend scream "daddyyyyy" whenever he shows up.

nagakura pt 2-> another one that we did last time. but i just couldn't resist. to sum it up using my friend's words, "shut. sometimes, i want to shank the man". but apart from that, i got some golden quotes this time around:

Chapter 1-4:

- after we, the players are told that Harada and Shinpachi subdue the ronin

"in other words, nagakura sat on him."

*note: my friend, who has high levels of despisal for nagakura sees him as a baboon for various reasons which i might list down sometime*

"you're saying nagakura is a thug, which he is. good job, nagakura"

Chapter 2-1:

- when Nagakura comes to grab the interrogation tools and tells chizuru ignorance is bliss

"ignorance is not bliss, bliss is bad."

Chapter 2-2:

when nagakura is in the room and asks iba if he'll be staying

"everyone's not a freeloader like you, nagakura."

Chapter 2-3:

when nagakura first appears

"nagakura is the biggest mistake the creators made"

when nagakura is asked if he found something exciting

"he probably found Shimabara"

the iba-chizuru childhood friend dynamic -> Seeing their first interaction in this route amazed me. THE WAY HE RECOGNISED HER THE MOMENT HE SAW HER!!! Also, when he said "nice to meet you officially"... (rendered speechless) The whole interaction between hijikata, iba and chizuru was also nice (everyone loves iba) especially how iba just says "she's a girl, is it safe for her here" and chizuru just pulls the

*"excuse me, she identifies as male, respect her"*

the whole 'how does he know i'm a female' panic attack was also entertaining, made better with a nonchalant "nah, he already knew". having played iba's route and seeing this, both me and my friend felt salty (?) about how chizuru didn't recognise her childhood friend who also taught her to protect herself and kept her company when no one else would play with her (HOW???). in short, "chizuru, you bitch. damn I feel bad for him." yeah, it really rubbed salt on the raw wound for us.

anyways, if you read this far, thank you so much. i hope to add more to this list. and please remember, just because one is hot does not mean they are absolved of their flaws (unless they're fictional... and you can set a clear boundary between fiction and reality like Catherine Morland by the end of Northanger Abbey).

[quixoticemo]

did they ALL cut their hair???

[blackcatanna]

Tale of the Demon Arms of Horniness Part ??? IDFK it's been a month and I am sick of Iba and Chizuru's SHIT just kiss already or leave each other alone

Last time I played this, I remember getting drunkish and spending a long-ass time ranting at the weird purity complex that this route seems to have but now I don't have any alcohol to numb that pain so I'm going to maybe read more, rant less because I am ONLY ON CHAPTER THREE and I am so done already. I remember parts of this route being fucked up but I didn't remember how much of it was just plain boring. Now that Sen is here and Iba is injured with silver bullets, I'm not looking forward to ANOTHER stretch of Iba and Chizuru being cooped up in a house together doing nothing but being awkward and refusing to agknowledge their feelings.

Also, I am writing this on my laptop for once, so I might fuck some stuff up. Let's goooo...

Okay, ushering these two incredibly hot women into the Repression Den. I feel like a Sen or Kimigiku route would have been so much more fun than this... Although, do I trust the devs to not cock it up?

"Iba's piety showed" yeah, he's such a fucking saint, we get it, SHEESH.

"Iba, there are only two men against whom your power must be used: Takeda and Kodo." YUP.

"I ask that you take her along with you." YES. PLEASE. FUCK. TAKE ME AWAY FROM THIS NONSENSE TO LESBIAN DEMON PARADISE.

"I suppose, like I had feared, my welcome with Iba had been overstayed, and I kept my mouth shut." THE COMMUNICATION IS NON EXISTENT.

Fuck, I'm about a minute in and already pissed off >_<

Omg, he's having to explain the horniness to Sen XD Omfg! I hope she tells them to get over it and fuck already!

"Not only am I appalled by their single-mindedness, but also their disrespect towards women of our kind." Oooh, snap! Sen is coming for Kazama and Takeda on this day. But why aren't Iba, Takeda and Kazama horny for Sen and Kimigiku?

"Sen, do you have any idea what kind of changes are happening within Iba and Takeda's bodies right now...?" Omfg, Sen is about to give us the Demon Puberty Talk. X_X

"A human's force of will pales in comparison to a Demon's," I feel like this a concept that is 100% not supported by the rest of the game. Like... BITCH, WHERE???

Omfg, the game is really trying to explain why Sen and Kiku aren't affected, "must clearly take root in feelings that already exist." AS IF Takeda looked at Chizuru for a second with lust in his heart. I refuse to believe! Maybe he was turned on when she tried to stab him. That wasn't meant to sound euphemistic.

Oh, OH, omfg. So, she's saying that TAKEDA'S horniness is a DIRECT RESULT of him being linked to IBA via the demon arms XD Ffs. This just gets stupider and stupider.

There's so much exposition in this route (and Sen is the lucky bitch in charge of giving a lot of it) in an attempt to justify this batshit insane plot. Like... JUST LET SEN BE A CHARACTER, NOT AN EXPOSITION MACHINE/ DEUS EX MACHINA.

WOW, Sen really came and said, "Why are all you dudes so insistent on fighting a losing battle?" and I kind of agree with her... Like, the only reason Iba is citing is "loyalty" but none of them in the route's I've played so far explain why they are so loyal to the Shogun specifically... I feel like being loyal and noble and blah blah is great and all except they're literally killing people and destroying lives... Is it just for the sake of their pride? PEOPLE ARE DYING KIM IBA. I feel like this would make so much more sense if we got more of their backstories, especially characters like Souma and Iba who were added later. They feel woefully underdeveloped. I feel like there IS more to it but I feel like by the point they wrote these routes, we were just expected to accept that SHINSENGUMI SHINY AND GOOD, EVERYONE ELSE STINKY AND BAD AND DESERVES TO DIE.

"Those who would abandon their cause and their people in times of strife aren't warriors in my eyes." Maybe their cause is different to yours, Iba. Also, what even is your cause? Seriously, what is it?

"Wathcing Iba wax poetic about his duty was truly awe-inspiring," UGH -_-

"In life and in war, victory isn't all that matters. What matters is preserving what we deem precious." YES BITCH. Sen is one of the only sane people in this game, omg.

"How are you so obtuse not to understand that women are capable of bearing the same burden...?" YES SEN. GET HIS ASS. EVISCERATE HIM!

"she has dedicated her life to you," well... hang on...

"I decided to express my honest feelings." FUCKING FINALLY, HOLY SHIT X_X

"although I'd wanted to shout affirmatively, I feared that doing so would only hurt him more. My answer was timid but resolute." because she's the perfect, uwu delicate maiden. She must not hurt the man with her aggressive expressions! Ladies, take notes! This is the epitome of femininity! Note how long she held back her vulgar, hysterical emotions, lest they impose upon the tranquility of her man.

"As long as I'm with you... I don't care what happens to me." Hmm. Is this healthy?

"am I merely at the mercy of your pity?" FUCK RIGHT OFF, IBA. Actually, it is probably healthy for him to express this now rather than letting it fester. But I feel like every time he says some self deprecating shit like this, Chizuru does nothing to encourage him, and vice versa. Hopefully, it'll be different this time...

"It's because... I love you, Iba." HOORAY, CHEERS, CONFETTI, CAKE! FUCKING FINALLY!

"Suddenly, Iba jolted as if he were struck by a bolt of lightning, and his eyes illuminated with light." XD What is this beauty and the beast shit? Is he about to transform into a hideous monster and Chizuru has to reaffirm her love or he eats her?

"I am... undeserving of your love." well, you have it so suck it up. If you don't feel the same, that's fine but if you do, stop bitching.

"I committed myself to my training, hoping that, in the process, I would become worthy of your love." Wow... WOW. Okay, lot to unpack here... Firstly, that's INSANE. Like, dangerously obsessive. Secondly, she was a TINY CHILD, even younger than Iba. Thirdly, WHAT DO YOU EVEN LOVE ABOUT HER, IBA??? LIKE, SERIOUSLY, WHAT??? Fourthly, no woman EVER wants the object of her affection to spend a huge amount of time AWAY from her in order for him to become more "worthy" of her love. If she's ever gonna love you back, she wants you to stay and be with her! No amount of fancy sword play is gonna convince her to love you after you haven't interacted in years. At that point, you're in danger of falling for a sunk cost fallacy because you HAVE to maintain your affection for this woman, even though she may very well have grown into a completely different person from the LITERAL CHILD you knew her as. This is WEIRD. AH.

"...even if you had already chosen another suitor in my stead." O_e

"It is drawn to you in a way that is unlike how I'd felt about you as a young boy." .... I smell this game's weird purity complex rearing its head again... Gross. Surely no one wants to be loved like a young boy loves a little girl, right? Is this weird? Like, people grow up and go through puberty and are horny sometimes. That's okay! Seriously! Obviously, having a second entity living in your head must be AWFUL and traumatic, invasive, all the bad things but there's not just "pure and innocent like a child" and "horny rape monster" ... there is a middle ground!

Like, I KNOW that the story in this game involves Iba and Chizuru resolving their weird puritanical hangups about love and sex and whatever so maybe the game itself is not pushing the "purity is good" angle at me but I came here to keyboard smash at 2D anime sprites and I shall continue to do so as long as they continue to say stupid things.

"If this keeps up, I'm afraid that it would conquer my true feelings for you, and that the difference would escape you entirely." tbf, that is a legitimate concern that I understand.

"Iba's eyelids trembled to the beat of his anguish." XD I'm sorry, fucking WHAT WAS THAT??? XD

"my love for you isn't dependent on whether or not you're fit yo protect me." You tell him, queen.

"I fell in love with you because of the sunshine in your eyes. That kindness, that laugh..." This is legit. I hoppe that Iba responds in kind or I shall remain baffled!

"My heart is yours to keep. That's a promise." Awe :D :D Chizuru is being a sweet li'l bean!

SMOOCHIN'!?!?! IN THIS GOOD CHRISTIAN HOUSEHOLD??? Omfg, this game loves to use the word "supple" to describe a character's lips. Everyone has supple lips and slender fingers, apparently. I was very squicked out just now playing through Souma's bad endings and the narration describing the "supple lips" of Souma's literal corpse after he was run through by Miki. Like, wtf??!?

Iba still hasn't given any indication about what he likes about Chizuru, other than, I guess, her vulnerability... which, uh, okay... I may be wrong, though. I get that she's supposed to be a stand in for the player, so she doesn't get to have too many personality traits but I liked the bit in Saito's route where he looks into her eyes and comments on how honest she is.

This scene is cute, though :D YUS, SMOOCH >:)

"we were beginning to question if it could ever happen." HONESTLY, SAME. Thank fucking god...

"Then, something peculiar occurred.." Oh no, is this gonna be weird arm shit X_X

THE VOICES HAVE BEEN APPEASED.

I don't know who the biggest shipper is in this fucking route: Sen, Motoyama, Hijikata or Iba's Demonic appendage...

"Could you please summon Sen and Kimigiku?" XD Iba wants to conduct a post-makeout breakdown with his bestest girlfriends!

"Iba began recounting what had happened with boundless enthusiasm." XD This is AWKWARD (but cute)

"Interesting..." XD I love you, Sen

"The force of your emotional resolve has earned the respect of the Demon soul" XD omfg, until now, was it just screaming, "OMFG, YOU PUSSY! YOU WANT HER, STOP BEING SUCH A DRIP ABOUT IT. GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER. DO BETTER." WAIT... That sounds like me...

"What?! Don't mock me!" XD Chizuru, this is why you literally have no friends. Well, until recently...

"Hm, he's really taking his time." IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO MOTOYAMA, I AM GOING TO BE VERY UPSET >:(

Here comes the boy-ooooy!

"It's unfortunate that we've given you men's attire," I too wish that Chizuru could play dress-up more often. Although, I always find looking at her character sprite jarring because of how absurdly big her eyes are. She looks like a goddamn child or a character from a different game... (or a porg...)

"We're friends, after all." I guess but it feels quite lopsided...

CHAPTER 4 BABY!!! FINALLY.

RIP The Shinsengumi: In which our heroine gets used as a meat shield!

"Hey! Y'know, if you were alive this whole time, you coulda sent us a letter or somethin'!" omfg Chizuru, you are THE WORST XD Again, why you have no fucking friends!

Bless Nomura, he seems really upset XD Chizuru and Iba are kind of thoughtless, huh...

It's especially sad given that he's about to DIE HORRIBLY :'(

Omg, Iba's voice when he sees Hijikata XD I feel like if he hadn't made that stupid vow to himself about Chizuru as a child, he would have realised his strong feelings for Hijikata. YOU KNOW WHAT, I SHIP IT. I GENERALLY DON'T PARTAKE IN SHIPPING BUT I WILL MAKE AN EXCEPTION THIS ONE TIME. After putting up with him and Chizuru for hours and then seeing him with Hijikata, I am SWAYED.

Otori looks like a child too... He looks like a gentleman detective in a point and click game and Enomoto looks like his butler.

"President...? That's a rather important position, isn't it?" I know that Chizuru knows shit all about politics (despite being embedded in the Shinsengumi for so long) but does she have to sound stupid every time she opens her mouth? I know that Queen Sensposition isn't here to explain everything for us, so I guess someone needs to prompt the exposition train to get going... I just feel like she's so child like... I do not like... Maybe I am getting ooooold (I'm 25)

"Say, I haven't seen Kondou, Saito, or Okita anywhere..." ... The stupidity intensifies... If she actually gave a fuck, she could have written to the Shinsengumi at any point... But it's all IBA IBA IBA...

She didn't mention Harada or Nagakura but bless Hijikata for imagining that she cares. I just... I feel like Chizuru is one of those people who declares herself SUCH and empath but never makes any effort to look out for the people she professes to feel for.

Iba, why are you comforting Chizuru? Didn't you know these guys growing up? Tbf, he didn't write to them either...

Chizuru third wheeling in on Hijikata and Iba's moment "alone" -_-

"Who's after her...? Is it Kazama or Amagiri?" XD How dare you slander Amagiri like this? Also, clearly even Hijikata gets gay vibes from Shiranui.

"In truth, this is a little hard to believe," RIGHT?!? Hijikata knows that this plot is far-fetched bullshit.

"He craves offspring." XD Wow, what an unbelievably offputting way of explaining that, thank you. Also, you neglected to mention that the reason he's after Yukimura is because of your own desires, Iba XD

"I guess if Yukimura's not whining about it in usual form then you're probably right." XD Exqueeze me, Hijikata?!?! How dare! Is he wrong, though? I feel like Yukimura isn't a whiner in general but when she does, it's about stupid stuff to do with her own maidenly modesty and shit.

Is Iba gonna defend her... I guess not! To be fair, she did her fair share of whining about not being good enough for Iba, not wanting to be a burden, blah blah blah.

"it's a load off my back because now I can't order you to your death." bless Hiji-mama.

"Just do me a favour and take all of this in. Hold onto our memories if you can. I want everyone to remember how we lived." :'( Hijikata, you're gonna make me cry, oh my god D:

"Fury powers are nothing to fuck with," XD Hijikata, I have dearly missed you!

Just casually dropping in that Heisuke and Sanan died, not that Chizuru or Iba ever asked...

"Heeeey! Hijikata, Iba! Just how long you guys gonna chat for?!" DAMMIT, NOMURA! Let the manly compassion blossom! Chizuru, you gtfo too! Distract everyone!

MOTOYAMA PLEASE GO EASY ON THE SAKE

"Always with the Sake around here." I guess that's one way of coping with your inevitable demise :( I hope that they are having some fun! :D

"I mean, who knows how long we've got." :) :) :,) :,(

"Have you ever drunk whisky before, Iba...?" NGL, I REALLY want to see Iba DRUNK. ANYTHING to make him loosen up a little.

"Care to try some, Chizuru?" YUS >:D

"Don't be an idiot, Nomura. Can't you read context clues...?" Souma, you are definitely asking too much of this boy. Although, both of you idiots thought that Chizuru was a MAN for WAY, WAAAAAYY too long...

"Souma, you waste your time." XD I love how Otori is always keen to join in the roasting! At least he isn't meowing this time, nya!

"It may take Nomura another ten years before he begins to comprehend the nuances of romance, and another ten afterwards until he can use them." WOW. Jesus. Poor guy's gonna be dead soon and you just came for him so hard! Maybe he's ace! Maybe he's gay!

"I s'pose his simplicity just ads to his charm." XD That's sweet, Shimada. Poor Nomura... Tbf, I have seen people asking for routes for Takeda and Miki, Kimigiku and Sen and Shiranui and Amagiri but never anyone asking for routes for Nomura and Motoyama...

"Hey, are you guys makin' fun of me!" X_X

OoooOOh! Iba and Chizuru are sneaking off alone...

"If I'm not mistaken, your room is... here, I think?" Uh-huh... :) "Looks like it. I think your room is to the left of mine, and mine is right here." Uh-huuuuuh! :) :) "Pretty convenient, huh...?" Uh-HUUUH >:D >:D >:D "So... they're right next to each other, eh...?" OMFG XD come ON!

"Say, Chizuru... May I invite you to chat in my room for a bit...?" Uwu! Ye olde Netflix and chill ;)

C'mon, girl! Climb him like a tree!

This session has actually been more enjoyable than the previous ones, now that the weird repression and horny demon arm stuff has stopped being so prominent...

"Huh? As in..." Oh, we have all seen Mama Mia! We know what DOT, DOT, DOT means ;)

"For a split second, I wondered if there were ulterior motives in his invitation, and I froze up." Uh... I don't know what to tell you, girl... I also don't entirely know what you mean by "ulterior motives" girl, you can stop at any time or back out, it's okay. You do not have to fuck him. You can have a nice, cosy time.

Oh no, she's actually having flashbacks to him on top of her D: TRAUMA! GET THIS GIRL TO A THERAPIST! D: Poor Chizuru :(

"my back dimples tensed." XD Uh, what?

"So, we're just going to talk, right...?" YES GIRL, ESTABLISH BOUNDARIES! CONSENT IS SEXY AF! Make SURE that you're both on the same page! Of coyrse, he should NEVER assume that you're dtf just because you agree to chill with him but a girl's gotta be careful and it's very telling how someone reacts to that question. If they get defensive, RUN!

"Yes, I promise... As long as my sanity holds, at least." IBA XD That is not encouraging. Well, it is in that it's very honest. Bless him for that.

"I couldn't discern whether or not Iba was being truthful, and I felt a little uneasy in his company." Daaaamn, Chizuru! You're so valid! I feel like they have some serious issues to work through in their relationship. If you don't believe someone when they say that they won't rape you (because that's what it is, let's be real), the two of you definitely need to build trust, definitely take things slow.

"I, too, have had intimate thoughts about you..." Uwu. Good, liking this. He's being open about his feelings, not trying to hide them to spring them on her later when she's in his room like so many manchildren do.

"Especially now... I must admit, I am somewhat inebriated." XD Girl, run! Unless, you're confident you want to hit that, say goodnight!

"I cannot" or "You are all I care about." Ah yes, the old "To fuck or not to fuck" :) Let's try both! Not to fuck first... (side note: does anyone else feel like they can't fuck someone until they've rejected their sexual advances at least once to see how they'll react? Like, otherwise, I'd be wondering the whole time how they'd react if I didn't give them what they want. Is that fucked up?) Let's see how Iba reacts...

"I really like you, Iba. I do, but..." Omg, "like"?!?! what happened to "love"?????

"...I'm only kidding." BITCH, YOU WERE NOT! I SEE YOU LIEING TO ME. HMMMMMM. CONCERN >:(

"Your feelings take precedence above anything, so I shall honor your wish." Okey dokey! This is what I like to hear! NOW we can fuck >:D

Chizuru is SHOOK that he accepted her response and, tbf, he does seem a bit pouty for my liking.

WAIT, WHAT?!?!? HOW DID THIS HAPPEN??? "We were bundled next to each other, wrapped up in our cotton sheets in one bed." ????

Wait, not only did they somehow end up in bed together, now Chizuru's sitting here thinking about dead people to punish me for chosing the non-horny option XD

Oh wait, we still get the cute, cuddly cg! I still cannot fathom how we ended up in bed together XD Is it going to be exactly the same if I click the horny option...?

"My heart galloped like a stallion in my chest." XD Okay...

"You're trembling. How precocious of you." The fuck does that mean?

"I mean, this is my first time." Time for The Sex, y'all...

"I won't rush you." the four sexiest words in the English language! To be clear, I am not being sarcastic. Consent is sexy :D It frees us!

"His cool, calm demeanor was so coaxing..." Go get that ass, Chizuru!

Ah yes, montage of sadness! "Are you thinking of your friends right now?" BITCH, I THOUGHT THEY WERE YOUR FRIENDS, TOO! Or do you only have eyes for Hijikata?

Chizuru, ffs, your feelings are valid. Stop saying you have "no right" to feel this or that. It's stupid.

"I felt like a little girl again, and I felt gratified by his supple, ambrosial kiss." Uh... Okay...

"You never have to apologize for crying." YES, TELL HER, IBA >:D

"I accept you, all of you, and this will never change." But can you tell me who she is, though, babes?

"Iba's upbringing was well-represented by his regal demeanor, and I couldn't help but blush." XD Girl, control yourself.

"A naive part of me believed that we could neglect the concerns of the outside world," naive indeed X_X How could you think this? There's a war on. Sorry, I'll leave the poor girl alone.

"Swagger bellowed from Iba's stern voice, almost as if he were convincing me to fight Takeda myself." XD Now, THAT I would love to see! Remember how well it went last time? Tbf, Chizuru wasn't killed and it was very funny!

"his tender lips wrapped around my cut." Omfg, the writers found a thesaurus!

"I had to halt the urge to laugh as his longue flicked droplets of blood, as it tickled me." XD Chizuru, laugh away! It might help assuage his pointless guilt!

"I am thrilled to savor the taste of your blood, and no one else's." O_O Okay, that's... a lot! But I'm calling that positive character growth! I guess it's a kink thing now! I can absolutely get behind that! This is a kink positive space!

"There was a keen pleasure to be taken in being Iba's sole proprietor of blood, and as long as he had use of me, I was his for the taking." And the intensity gets dialed up even more, holy cow! As I said, kink positive space! I feel like there's a lot of kink in this game, ngl...

"Nomura was a lively and curious sole" everyone in this game is a cat

"For those with severe lacerations, or dismembered limbs, we were ordered essentially to offer comfort in their final moments, which was a depressing task." War... war never changes... Good for you guys, though!

"If I were an outsider to their organization, I would have thought it foolish--suicidal, even." I see you calling my shit out, Chizuru!

"To tell you the truth, I've been wondering for years... why men fought unwinnable wars." I feel like, for me, it's not that it's unwinnable that's confusing to me. It's more why this is the cause they have chosen to die for. Interestingly, I feel like it's personal for each character, even though they're fighting under the same banner. Maybe I'll get more of the bigger picture if I play Hijikata's route and watch the anime prequel with Ibuki.

That being said, when I did GCSE Religious Studies (XD), we were taught that a "just war" is one where there is a reasonable chance of success... but that's very hard to establish because you never know what alliances can potentially be formed with more powerful factions... idk this is more than I signed up for in this VN XD I love it, though!

"They are imbued with purpose beyond their own fragile existence. We have reason to honor them." See, I get where he's coming from. BUT I feel like there's a problem here and that's the glorification of warriors in this game. I feel like... a lot of important things come secondary to their ideal of bushidou. Like, precious human life. A lot of killing goes on. Killing of faceless men who we're encouraged to hate or think of as sword/plot fodder. It's like what Sen says to Iba about how stupid he must be to not realise that women can also have strong resolve. The people who are collateral damage in this war also probably had their own purpose, their own goals. Why do some people defect to the winning side? Perhaps their goals aren't politically aligned and rely on them staying alive to complete them. I feel like there's a lack of respect for those people from certain characters (Souma, Iba, I am squinting at you).

"In that way, they are samurai more than bakushin could ever be." NOW, I feel like, as a samurai, you have a certain level of responsibility to your people and, often, (not always) that might mean not sending them off to die... The freedom to die for the cause you choose is something I would associate with ronin (which is, apparently, a dirty word in this game).

"he waxed poetic" AGAIN. THIS is my problem with Iba and Souma. They talk a lot about ideals and honour and bushidou and not enough about their own personal drives. All these pretty words are not enough to justify taking all of the lives they have done. Please tell me more about what you, YOU fight for, less about what you believe a warrior SHOULD fight for.

MOTOYAMA NOOOOOO

I mean, obviously, HIJIKATA NOOOOOO but I knew he would die whereas I had forgotten about our Moon Boy, Motoyama. :(

Awe, poor Iba :( He is so sad D,:

AN UNSETTLING MAN, YOU SAY???? >:D

FEASTING ON BLOOD, YOU SAY 8D

"Let's go" FUCK YEAH >:D

Wow, Iba intimidation checked the fuck out of that soldier! :O

OOOOOH! SPOOKY MUSIC! Last time I heard this was when Souma and Nomura left Chizuru to get kidnapped and brought to her gross dad...

TAKEDA! Eating people as usual, I hope?

"A sloppy mess of blood coated Takeda's lips and cheeks, and he slurred his words like a drunkard" Yaaaay! :D Why is Takeda so fucked up XD I love him and his terrible life choices

OMFG I JUST SAT AND CACKLED FOR, LIKE, 30 SECONDS. "He dropped a half-eaten arm to the ground, which hit the floor with a dull, sickening thud." MY DUDE. WOW. Like, I feel like he didn't need to go that hard. All the Rasetsu drink a little blood but this guy was fully munching on some poor dude's arm. THIS IS WHAT I MEAN WHEN I TALK ABOUT TAKEDA EATING PEOPLE. NOT LIKE THE OTHER RASETSU DO. FOR SOME REASON, HIM AND HIS SQUAD ARE FULL-ON CHOMPERS. IT'S FUCKED UP AND I AM OBSESSED. It's definitely not sexy and I love that.

"At Takeda's feet was a gruesome array of scattered remains," DISSAPPOINTED that they elected not to insert the word "buffet" here... or SMORGASBORD!

"he was off, gathering fresh prey for me" Takeda has made Kodo his cannibal chef. LOVE THAT FOR HIM.

"Saito found him and gutted that senile fuck." YES SAITO!!! COME THROOOUGH!!! LOVE THAT FOR YOU, YAASS QUEEN. Also, love that Takeda refers to Kodo as a "senile fuck." bit ageist but Kodo is definitely a "fuck".

"Father had been... murdered by Saito." WOAH BITCH, CALM DOWN. I feel like killing some creepy dude on the opposing side in a war rounding up victims to be feasted upon is not a "murder".

"And, so long as a precious morsel like you exists, the possibility of creating offspring does as well." ... Does Takeda not know how heterosexual sex works??? Is he going to EAT US???

"I grow tired of hearing your meager attempts at heroism buzz in my ear." Honestly, same (sorry, Iba)

"Show me how 'different' you are then, bastard." Iba claims he is not like other girls, Takeda is intrigued...

I feel like Takeda pulls off the red eyes and white hair look better than Iba (sorry again, babes)

"an ominous, toxic miasma floated inches from the surface of his skin, making it so that I couldn't stand to stare at him for long." Oooh! Neato! This route could've been so much better if there was more of this horriffic shit! Less Chizuru and Iba sitting in a house together being repressed and awkward, more body horror >:D

Takeda opens with an excellent villain laugh, automatically scoring him additional points!

Na...ni? THAT'S RIGHT, BITCH! IBA HAS THE POWERS OF LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP ON HIS SIDE NOW >:D

"This is inconceivable!" alright, guy from The Princess Bride! Tbf, how the fuck is Iba suddenly able to keep up with him? He (Iba) seemed so confident, too... Has he been snacking on the side? Is Chizuru's blood strengthening him? It would be HILARIOUS if their strength was shared between the two arms, much like horny daydreams are...

CAN I JUST SAY, I LOVE the nails that these two queens are sporting on their demon hands! I feel like Iba could have used his during the blood drinking scenes like Lady Gaga does in AHS...

"Y-You were born with a silver spoon in your mouth! H-How could you possibly w-win?!" Maybe those two things are related. Takeda weakened himself by toiling in the fields to pay off his student loans and also pay rent.

"As of now, I am just a man. A man of purpose." ... Is this all the explanation we're gonna get???

"Besides, what's status to you anyway? Don't you think you are a little obsessed?" OMFG IBA XD IBA IS CANCELLED, EVERYONE! Check your privilege, slut! How the fuck would you know what it's like to be born without the advantages you have? To have to constantly fight for everything you want, or even need to survive?

"The Demon's arm has chosen its victor, and it knows that I am who's destined to protect her." D: Omg, that actually makes sense but also, idk... It makes me feel bad for Takeda (YES, THE GUY WHO STILL HAS VISCERA FROM THE ARM HE WAS JUST CHOMPING ON SMEARED ALL OVER HIS FACE. DON'T JUDGE ME, OKAY). Like, he was abandoned (murdered, historically) by the Shinsengumi, rejected by Itou and now even this freaky demonic arm is rejecting him, despite all of the delicious, nutritious blood he has been feeding it. :( AND ALL OF IT IS 100% JUSTIFIED. HE IS FULLY AN ASSHOLE WHO SHOULD BE STOPPED. I still feel kind of bad, though XD

"He began cackling,i and went into a series of taunts." YAS, VILLAIN, GO OFF! This is what I came to SEE!! 8D

Hey, where's the blood on his face :( I get why they didn't add it to his sprite but I feel like they could've in this cg :(

"Aw, what's wrong, Hachiro Iba?! You'll have to stab the both of us at the same time, won't you?!" BOLD of Takeda to assume that this will be a problem for these two demonic babies!

OMFG OMFG YES, "Takeda wielded me like a meat shield," !!!!!! BEST LINE IN THIS GAME, HANDS DOWN. TAKEDA. WIELDED. ME. LIKE. A. MEAT. SHIELD. THIS IS PEAK NARRATION AND I AM SO HERE FOR IT.

"Gah! Let go of me!" The fuck does anyone ever think this will accomplish?

"Ha! You think me stupid, girl?" that's a generous interpretation...

This is almost a smart move from Takeda but I feel like he underestimated just how unappealing the prospect of a life with him is to Chizuru... Like, he understandably did not anticipate her response of, "Fuck it, just stab him THROUGH me..."

"Iba! Iba, I'm fine! Just stab through me and Takeda!" XD

"You don't have the guts to do it!" XD You might think so AND YET...

"And then everything went black" ROLL CREDITS... LITERALLY, THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS XD These bitches want me to think I got a bad ending (does Chizuru die if I don't choose to fuck him?)

OMFG I ACTUALLY FINISHED THIS! JUST THE EPILOGUE AND BAD ENDINGS TO GO!

Final Chapter: It's a Girl! In which our heroine is NOT DEAD and also finally gets to wear her preferred clothing style again!

You know, when I see this lovely shade of blue smattered across the sky, I'm reminded of something. Do you want to guess what it is...?" :O Could it be... a Shinsengumi uniform? Also, this is giving me Kingdom Hearts vibes for some reason... Probably all the blue and tranquility juxtaposed with some fucked up chaos...

Omfg, XD, why does he look so SHOOK that she's opening her eyes... Wait, is this the first time since he STABBED her almost to death?

"Wh-Where are we?" HELL! My sword got stuck in your hefty demon spine and Takeda stabbed me while I was trying to yank it out >:D

HE TRIMMED HIS NAILS!!!! Oh no. I am NOT here for this! They're still long and red but I feel like he should have grown the nails on his other hand more, to match! :D And PAINTED THEM :D

This meadow is very Howl's Moving Castle...

"Wh-Where's Takeda...?" AND HE'S HERE TOO! He choked on a finger bone and came down here to join us! We're best buds now :) ... I am aware that this is not funny. Can you imagine, though, if Takeda just popped out from behind a bush, like, "Hey girl! Don't worry! I'm good now! AND I have been keeping your bf company ^_^ ;)"

"No one is left to stand in our way." ... Iba, has the demon arm been giving you world domination-y thoughts?

"Would you mind not calling me 'Iba'? Now that we're lovers, and all." and also since you, apparently, renounced that name and the responsibilities that come along with it, due to possession of the demon arm... Whenever I read through Japanese history and see how many name changes people go through, I can't believe how intolerant people are of people changing their names these days... (It's usually because of transphobia, I guess... DO BETTER)

"our boundaries were now entirely gone." Uh... Did the stabbing do that or did you go through some sleep thereapy?

"When we were children, this is what I had called him," GOD, they really love hammering the innocent childhood love bullshit home, don't they?

"Hachi...ro..." "Well done..." o_e HMMM... THIS IS MAKING ME A WEE BIT UNCOMFY. WHY IS HE TALKING TO HER LIKE SHE IS A CHILD?

"Just you and me." HMM... Seems a bit unhealthy... Both of them need to get some FRIENDS! Doesn't Iba have a family? What about the surviving Shinsengumi boys?

"Every whim you desire, I shall cater to you." Come through, love butler!

PHEW!

ALRIGHTY! Now for the fun stuff! I will make a seperate post, I think! HOLY FUCK, IT IS COMPLETE! I mostly remembered the fucked up bits from this route like Takeda chomping on limbs and Iba's freaky horny outbursts but I feel like those were the best bits... I can't wait to play through the bad endings because I haven't got any of them yet, I don't think 3:)

[rennarenofao3]

This past weekend I was at OMGcon. While I was there I commissioned some art of Kanda and my oc Grace from my D Gray-man fic Bloodstained Bonds, from @filromeroart I’m really happy with the way it turned out.

I also got some pictures taken of my Sannan cosplay in the fury version of his look. (which basically is just changing my wig) since I didn’t have any pictures of that yet. Photos are by Pense Productions.

[decembermoonskz]

I have a fucking type how is it that both sword and wielder are so gorgeous and they’re from two different series 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

[firebirdsdaughter]

My take by the end of the musical…

… And a quick peek at Edo Blossoms.

[scuffle-with-spirals]

"There is nothing wrong with me." Sanan said while looking like something was wrong with him

[eleiyaumei]

Currently reading @hakuogakuen‘s translation of Kazama’s route for my “Grooming in Hakuoki SSL: Kazama” analysis but I slowly get the feeling I should do a “abusive relationship” analysis instead or on top of that...

[has-gilgamesh-doneanythingwrong]

This may be a bit strange, but I kinda liked seeing Heisuke's emotional turmoil close-up in his route...? Not in a sadistic way, but I could totally relate to him. When he's second guessing himself, when he's lost on which side to take in all the chaos, and the way in which he grapples with his identity as a rasetsu- unsure whether he's human or a monster.

It meant that he had a lot of angst in his route, but I really appreciated seeing that angst. I think it made him quite different from some of the others, who put on a grim mask and power through their emotional conflict by putting on a strong face.

Well lol I also like the routes of the guys who did that as well. But by playing Heisuke's route, it felt like Chizuru got to chat to him about his feelings and struggles as a rasetsu which for me was so interesting.