#i love this vn so much

[ghostoftheyear]

What is DRAMAtical Murder?

I’m actually a little surprised to be writing this myself, in the year of our lord 2023, but why not? I didn’t know about it myself until recently, and now that it’s available with an official English translation, it’s a lot more accessible.

First of all, DRAMAtical Murder (or DMMd for short) is a visual novel that came out in 2012 in Japan. It was published by Nitro+CHIRAL, features art by Honyarara, and has some amazing music as well (the theme song is by Goatbed, with ending songs by them, Itou Kanako, VERTUEUX, and Seizi Kimura). It is a boys’ love or BL visual novel, probably the softest of the Nitro+CHIRAL titles; since its publication, it has received several additional pieces of media: a fandisk (Re:Connect), a sanitized version for the PSVita (Re:Code), and even an anime which... is certainly one way to get into it.

In 2021, Jast Blue made an official translation which was released both on Steam (censored) and their own website (uncensored). A patch is available on their website to restore the uncensored content for those who purchased it on Steam, which still allows the player to receive all the achievements. There was also a fan translation lovingly created many years ago, and the controversy over which version is better rages on. I won’t comment about it here; just know that whichever version you prefer, that is your right.

But what is DMMd about? Well... this is gonna get long, so let’s buckle in.

DMMd is set in a near-future cyberpunk setting, generally positive and colorful rather than dystopian. The story takes place on an island off the coast of Japan, Midorijima (literally “green island”), where many of the residents have been forced off the island due to the building of a gigantic sort of adult playground, Platinum Jail, where the rich and elite party like there’s no tomorrow. The remaining residents of the island live in what’s left of the city, though the owner of Platinum Jail, Tatsuo Toue, seems to be trying to grasp the remaining land as well for his own purposes.

Some of the residents have taken to forming gangs called Ribstiez, which control different parts of the Residential District. Others play a virtual game called Rhyme that takes place entirely within the players’ minds. This is facilitated through the use of Allmates, small robotic creatures that can look like anything the user desires and have multiple functions -- some manage social media, some help their owners with their daily schedules, etc.

Our protagonist is the young man known as Aoba Seragaki.

Aoba, 23 years old and single at the start of the game, works at Heibon Junk Shop. He is demonstrated to have an unusually persuasive voice when he chooses to, but -- aside from that, and his hair having sensation in it -- he seems to be an ordinary young man just trying to live a simple life. He lives with his grandmother, Tae, as his parents left Midorijima when he was young, and he has an Allmate: a small, fluffy, blue dog resembling a Japanese Spitz, named Ren.

Aoba has four potential love interests (plus a secret one whose route is unlocked as you play through the others’ routes).

First up is Koujaku.

Koujaku is an old childhood friend of Aoba’s. He had to leave the island when they were young, but came back around three years prior to the start of the story. He leads the Ribstiez gang known as Beni-Shigure and has a red sparrow Allmate named Beni. To supplement his income, he works as a wandering hairdresser and sets up on the street to cut hair. He and Aoba have a comfortable friendship that gets tested in his route.

Next, we have Clear.

Clear is a mysterious stranger who literally falls out of the sky the first time he and Aoba meet. He refers to Aoba as “Master” and refuses to take his gas mask off under any circumstances. To say any more about him would spoil literally his entire route.

Next up is Noiz:

Noiz appears first when he challenges Aoba to a match in Rhyme, insisting that Aoba is an old player of the game despite the fact that Aoba doesn’t remember ever having played Rhyme in the past. Noiz is part of a Rhyme gang known as the Ruff Rabbitz, and his Allmate is a small black-and-green cube called Usagimodoki. It’s entirely possible he has several of them, since they can be seen hanging in chains from his belt. Noiz works as an information broker to earn an income on Midorijima, but he’s not originally from there, as we learn on his route.

Finally, we have Mink.

Mink is a complicated character, as he doesn’t speak too much and when he does, it tends to be in riddles. He’s also not originally from Midorijima; while it’s not specified, his aesthetic is very much Native American. He has a pink cockatoo Allmate who is not named during the main game. Mink runs a Rib gang called Scratch made up of escaped convicts. His reasons for wanting Aoba on his side are his own, only revealed far into his route. His is the darkest of the routes, and I would say a trigger warning is in order for this one.

As for the final love interest, I won’t talk about it here. More fun to find out for yourself, right? Just remember: there’s some weird shit in this game.

Lest I forget, I must mention some other important characters. First up, Aoba’s friend Mizuki.

Mizuki runs the largest Ribstiez gang on Midorijima, Dry Juice. He’s a tattoo artist and owns a combination tattoo parlor and bar, the Black Needle.

There’s also Virus and Trip.

Virus and Trip (who are emphatically not twins) are a pair of yakuza who seem to show up a lot around Aoba. They claim to be his biggest fans.

Of course, there’s also Tae, as well as Aoba’s boss Haga (who has a robotic Allmate named Junker), Yoshie (who runs a courier service and owns a sleek dog Allmate, Clara), and a trio of young siblings who torment Aoba at his work - Mio, Nao, and Kio. In addition, one of the most corrupt cops on the island, Akushima, regularly pops up to bother the characters.

As the common route progresses, Aoba learns more about himself and his past -- and realizes he has to stop what’s happening before it’s too late. He eventually heads into Platinum Jail no matter which love interest’s route is chosen; the events that unfold change depending on which route you’re on, but playing through all of them and unlocking the secret route will finally reveal the truth of it all.

Re:Connect, as befits a fandisk, explores more with each of the love interest routes after their good endings (and also a bit more of the bad endings). It also has a route specifically to fill in Aoba’s backstory and youth. Re:Code is basically the same game, but sanitized -- all of the sex scenes were removed and given “cleaner” CGs. It did add a route for Mizuki, which involved more of Aoba’s backstory. Finally, the anime was passable, though it compressed all the love interests’ stories into an episode each and went with the secret route for the ending. It is absolutely unwatchable in dub, except for laughs and memes. Re:Connect can be found and played with the fan translation online, and is absolutely worth locating. Re:Code, unfortunately, is still only available to play on the PSVita and has not been translated at all.

Oh, and there was also a stage play! Remarkably, they produced a butai in 2019, well after the games had come out, with the different love interest routes portrayed on alternate days. I would be happy to make a post babbling about that if there’s interest. Apparently the original run did well enough that a new production was announced earlier this year, which will be happening at the end of April. A new route was added for Virus and Trip, and the whole thing is supposed to be a “supercharged” version, not just a retread of the original.

OH I FORGOT there are also drama CDs that continued all of the love interests’ stories and had even more new music, as well as some other fun things like a special drama CD for the anime release, an April Fool’s game that basically parodied Mother (Earthbound), and manga. And there’s a webtoon now. And lots of merch. And figures. Basically there’s just a lot of fun stuff to find.

And that’s DMMd! I obviously love it quite a bit, but I certainly acknowledge that it has its flaws and difficult scenes. I’d still recommend it, though. I think the writing is very well handled and the sex scenes are hot as fuck.

[noreemii]

MYCHAEL MY BELOVED 🍄🍄

I wanted a wallpaper of him, hell yeah. ✨

🍄I REALLY LOVE HOW @deerspherestudios DOES THE BACKGROUNDS, AAAAA!!! ✨✨✨

[starhoodies]

I had someone on my art blog ask about the soriku panels in my background collage! Never realized I hadn't posted it here. It was a redraw originally planned for an old soriku week prompt, but I never got to finish the full page!

The comic itself was for the soriku zine I in 2018 (the full thing can be read in my soriku mega pdf) and was a super great learning experience! I've always wanted to do a mini sequel.

[deerspherestudios]

Thank you for mushroom oasis^_^ ! It’s my hyper fixation right now lol. The art, music, and story is amazing and I love it so much. I had to draw Mychael. This is my first digital drawing so I hope it’s okay >:3

[mustardd]

Everyone SHHHHH he’s learning

[sunshine-and-her-ikevil-stuff]

Do I need to go see a therapist? Why do I find this hot?

[silvershadow1711]

"All I ask is that you stay with me until the end of the world. It doesn't matter if it's a month, a week, an hour from now- I want to spend the time I have left on this mortal coil with you, Sunshine."

Teaser image/soft cover for my next Binary Star Hero fanfic (it's taking forever because life and also, I've never written slice-of-life fluff before?). It's an epilogue/after story for the immediate aftermath of my first fic, Syzygy.

(Went with a different inking style because while I like digital sketching just fine, I just can't find a rendering style I'm comfortable with. I need a brush and ink in my hand😭)

[myosotislotus]

[gurlgallade]

Hi! Haven't been able to do much progress on this because we fucked up our wrist a little, but there's embroidery and a presentable amount of Four's assets have color now!

[nifreti-ii]

Tenten… please tell me that’s just a prop…

WOOOO YAAAA DAKLJWHDAL:KWJDH WHAT CAN I SAY I LOVE THESE TO BEANS

I really love keith and tenebris and god do they occupy my thought often :) My brain has been… off and this took alot longer BUT DAMN was the wait worth it.

I honestly have been wanting to attempt to draw this scene from the vn in my style from the moment that I saw it, but I never thought I was good enough to try. Finally said fuck it and did it :,) didnt help that i added the Uh oh face ten makes when he sees us and had to go and mess around with the shadows (so many layers…)

Kinda of took this as practice for my VN cause I do plan to add face-change versions of the cgs (will I shade them… maybe… I do really hate myself so I might… and yes shameless self plugin @our0nlylove-vn)

I SAY THIS NOW, I am on a HIGH the fucking feeling of doing an awesome drawing is the best eheheheheh. And again, I LOVE THEM OMG AAAAAAAA OOMFIES dont worry my sweet night, Im just gonna pretend it’s fake and give you lil kisses. Fuck man I love them so muuuuuuch UGH. Im really tired now -dies- (side not- while putting the tags, I automatically got duality game LMAO)

Check out my Masterlist for my art and (limited) writing! >:D

[aru-art]

she touch on my starved till i uhhhh (incorrect buzzer)

more under cut that i didnt have time to draw but really had to get the vision Out There so they just look like shitty adventure time storyboards

[14dayswithyou]

I can see you, saint... ^^

Is it okay to make fan comics and such about Ren and angel???

✦゜ANSWERED: aaaa of course!! Everyone is welcome to create any kind of content for 14DWY so long as it's not offensive or illegal. And thank you very much for considering making a fancomic for da game! I really appreciate it ;v;

Tagging me (either @14dayswithyou or @cutiesigh) will also give you a better chance of having me see + reblog it!! ^^ I also encourage everyone to look at and follow the #14DaysWithYou and #14DWY tags to see all the amazing content from people in the community!

[klauvy]

made a fully rendered version of mychael from mushroom oasis (again) (⁠；⁠^⁠ω⁠^⁠）i was inspired to draw him in this pose bc of that one scene in day 1 when he revealed his whole face

[mara-phelion]

so i finished my first playthrough of seekL and got the seekLove ending

person a (edited as odxny): "i was gonna say i'm from dc i got pajamas on at 2am-"

person b (edited as thrim): "i'm gonna be honest, i'm ONLY looking at your titties right now"

[deerspherestudios]

Not really an ask, but more of a direct statement to you: thank you! Your games have been a godsend to me and they've helped me when I'm feeling really, really low. You're an extremely polite indie dev and rarely do I meet devs who actually treat their fans like people(I unfortunately met bad devs in the past, so you are a breath of fresh air)! So thank you, thank you so much for making Lift Your Spirits and Mushroom Oasis, for giving this world Alma/Vida, Laika, and Mychael! Thank you so much!

Aaa I'm always happy to know my works have been a source of comfort to many. Knowing that really helps give more meaning to what I'm creating; it really does boost my motivation and helps me intent on finishing what I started!

I'm sorry you've had bad experiences in the past, I try my best to be cordial to the people supporting what I do! So thank you too!! <3

[rosynova]

played seekl a few days ago and odxny's been latched onto my brain ever since