#it was awesome. i need to play more otome games again so many have been released in the past couple years

[bmpmp3]

how did i not know there was an amnesia: memories musical..... an entire decade ago...................................................

[twistedtummies2]

Oh, Not YOU Again...

SO! Some of you may recall our old pals of Genius Inc. They're the publishers of the games "A Villain's Twisted Heart" and "Lullaby of Demonia," among many, MANY other otome-style games. Yeah, been a while since I talked about 'em, right? Well, I have looked into several Genius Inc. games since those two, but none of the others I checked out could really keep my interest. HOWEVER, the company just announced a new game that's coming out soon and...well...

...Okay, is...is this some kind of joke? Oh, not the game itself, I mean...have I been cursed, or something? This is, the fourth or fifth time I've come across an "anime boi hottie" version of Sherlock-bloody-Holmes. And only one of those four or five was really absolutely awesome beyond belief, with the rest so far ranging from "okay," to "nah," to "I need to play more of Fate/Grand Order to really decide." Have I just been put under a spell that announces I shall spend the rest of my bloody life finding anime boi Sherlocks and judging them (partially with kinks in mind)? I...guess I COULD complain, if so, but...I'm more just rather confused. o_O Also, I swear to God, if either of the other gents on display here turns out to be Moriarty...this really IS a curse. I've already got two Moriarty crushes, I don't need a third strike! XD

[pissfizz]

Random Sk8 headcanons

Warnings: (everything in this section takes place in the section between the bolded bullet point and the line of asterisks. Everything else is fluff type stuff. Feel free to scroll past) mentions of past s*lf-h*rm, depression, eating disorders, helicopter parents, a little homophobia

Joe likes to be the little spoon every now and then

The first time Langa’s mom met Joe, Cherry, and Shadow, two thoughts went through her mind: 1) Langa had gotten caught up in some weird gang stuff or 2) these poor men had gotten stuck babysitting her son and his friends (she was relieved to find it was closer to the latter)

Reki’s favorite anime is probably some shounen thing like My Hero Academia or Jujutsu Kaisen, but he also has a secret soft spot for shows like Fruits Basket and Horimiya

Langa absolutely despises pineapples

Unlike Joe, who likes being both big and little spoon, Shadow is exclusively little spoon

Shadow may be a cis/het man, but he loves women exactly the same way lesbians do (you know exactly what I’m talking about). He worships the ground Ms Manager walks on but he’s also the biggest most respectful simp out there.

Not a headcanon but Oka is a dilf and I love that wonderful man with my whole heart

Inspector lady brainrot—she can skateboard in heels which is like physically impossible but she’s literally immortal and invincible and magic because she’s got the power of millions of lesbians and feminists fueling her

I have brought Water Bottle up in a couple other posts, but yeah she’s Miya’s cat and she’s super fluffy and black and white and perfect

Just a little warning I’m gonna do some darker headcanons here scroll to the bullet point with the line of asterisks to avoid it :)

Reki used to s*lf harm when his depression got really bad. His mom found out after seeing blood seep through the upper arm of his shirt sleeve and immediately jumped into action to get him the help he needed before it got worse. He only relapsed once since then, and has been clean for a little over a year now!! (I’m very proud of my boy T^T)

He also got a lot of depressive episodes. Because of this, when the gang first started noticing Miya slipping into them as well, Reki made sure to stick by his side and help him through anything.

His mental health had worsened noticeably when he was about fifteen, so it’s been around two years since then. He’s doing leagues better than he was back then and he’s really proud of himself (as is his family)

Miya has undiagnosed depression and he doesn’t really recognize it for what it is. He thinks most of how his mind works in such a way is normal and so he doesn’t actively seek out help.

Miya also has an eating disorder. It kind of started because his trainer always told him he needed to lose weight when he first started working with him and eventually it morphed into something more aggressive and harmful and full of intrusive thoughts. He’s partially aware of it and distantly knows somethings wrong but he’s too scared to admit it out loud and doesn’t ask for support.

But don’t worry, the others have noticed and are trying their best to help him out

Cherry had helicopter parents as a kid and they made life a living hell for him. If you’ve seen hoshiai no sora, think like nao’s mom. He obviously got really rebellious in his later teenage years and his parents hated him for it, they were blatantly aggressive and forceful with him and when he came out as gay they finally disowned him. He moved in with Joe until he was old enough to live on his own.

************** angst ends here!! <3

Miya has practically no bones he’s just super insanely flexible and liquidy like a cat.

Shadow paints his finger and toe nails. He usually sticks to black, purple, green, or orange, but he has tried other things before.

Langa is a todoroki kinnie and Reki is a Midoriya kinnie (please tell me you guys can see how they’re similar)

Reki and Miya both have a love for stuffed animals. Reki is the type to sleep hugging all of them “so no one feels left out” and Miya is a nester and builds himself nests of pillows and blankets and stuffies. He usually picks just one (usually an ugly but soft purple cat) to cuddle with but sometimes Water Bottle will take the spot of a toy.

Water Bottle’s collar is neon green with a bright purple pendant. Her name and the contact info is engraved and painted an obnoxious orange, and there is an led push light hanging next to it.

Reki took dance classes when he was little. (You can decide what type of dance, I think ballet or something would be great) He quit when he was eight.

Miya does not play fortnite you uncultured pigs. He plays a lot of other rpgs tho, ones like genshin impact or elsword, but he also probably likes rhythm games a lot (especially project DIVA), I also believe he likes idol raising games and occasionally he’s into otome type style games.

Langa can’t do a somersault or cart wheel

Cherry has cross dressed exactly one time, on a bet, and gave Joe a sexuality crisis, and he refuses to ever do it again (he looked hot as shit let me tell you)

Shadow was the biggest mommas boy. He also has a lot of siblings. His mom was the one who got him into flowers and gardening. She would blast death metal as they worked. She’s also the one who taught him how to do his makeup.

Joe’s dad was a “let’s play catch, son” type of dad and his parents were honestly lovely. They’re super accepting and loving and are awesome.

Miya hates orange flavored anything. And bubble gum flavored things (except bubble gum flavored bubble gum is good, because it’s the original)

Miya has gotten self conscious in the past because he doesn’t have fangs before remembering no one else does either and effectively feeling like an idiot

Langa knows all the words to Dont Lose Your Head from the Six musical even though he’s never even seen it

Joe feeds everyone and offers a place for them to stay should the need ever arise. People have taken up the offer more than once, whether for something as simple as it started storming and here was closer than home or because there was a problem with their family.

Reki went through a phase in middle school where he read those more obscure lgbtq+ mangas (that are either perfect or really....not) like he read so many of them specifically because he was just figuring out who he was and they made him feel seen

Reki’s grandma is snarky and an icon and she loves Miya. (Everyone in their family loves Miya there’s a reason he’s an honorary Kyan)

Langa doesn’t like spicy food

[entamewitchlulu]

so i did a reading challenge this year and i wanna talk about what i read

transcription under the cut

i did Popsugar 2019 and wanna talk about what i read:  Book Reccs and Anti-Reccs 

1.) Becoming a Movie in 2019: Umbrella Academy (vol 1) by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba

4/5. A fascinating take on superpowers, dysfunctional families, and the apocalypse. Can get pretty gory, confusing here and there and you have to pay close attention to panels for lore, but overall an entertaining romp.

2.) Makes you Feel Nostalgic: Circles in the Stream by Rachel Roberts

4/5. Middle grade novel about the magic of music, belief, and of course, friendship. Definitely written for kids, and has some unfortunately clumsy Native rep, but overall an absolute joy to dive into once again.

3.) Written by a Musician: Umbrella Academy (vol 2) by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba

4/5. Ramps up the confusion to ridiculous degrees with some absolutely bonkers, unexplained arcs, but still fun to watch this dysfunctional family do its dysfunctional thing.

4.) You Think Should be Turned into a movie: All That Glitters by Rachel Roberts

4/5. Continuation of Circles in the Stream, but with more unicorns, more rainbows, and more fae, which makes it automatically even better than the first.

5.) With At Least 1 Mil. Ratings on Goodreads: 1984 by George Orwell   

1/5. I understand why it's important and all but wasn't prepared for some of the more graphic scenes and the overall hopelessness of the message.  Would not recommend or read again.

6.) W/ a Plant in the title or cover: The secret of Dreadwillow carse by Brian farrey

5/5. A fantasy world where everyone is always happy, save for one girl and the princess, who set out to solve the mystery of their kingdom. Poignant and great for kids and adults.

7.) Reread of a favorite: Cry of the Wolf by Rachel Roberts

4/5. Yet another installment in the Avalon: Web of Magic series, which clearly I am obsessed with.  Please just read them.

8.) About a Hobby: Welcome to the Writer's Life by Paulette Perhach

5/5. A welcome kick in the pants, chock full of great advice told without condescension, and full of hope and inspiration for writers both new and old.

9.) Meant to read in 2018: The Poet x by Elizabeth Acevedo  

4/5. Absolutely beautiful coming of age novel told in verse.  Do yourself a favor and listen to the audiobook version.

10.) w/ "pop," "sugar," or "challenge" in the title: Black Sugar by Miguel Bonnefoy

2/5. I think maybe I just don't understand this genre.  Or maybe the translation was weird. I was confused.  

11.) w/ An Item of Clothing or Accessory on the cover: Our dreams at Dusk by Yuhki Kamatani

4/5. It had a lot more slurs/homophobia than I was prepared for, but otherwise is a very touching, relatable collection of queer characters living in a heteronormative world.

12.) Inspired by Mythology or Folklore: Ravenous by MarcyKate Connolly

3/5. A girl goes on an impossible quest to save her brother from a child-eating witch. Really wanted to like it more because I loved the first one, Monstrous, but it dragged a little.

13.) Published Posthumously: The Islands of Chaldea by Diana Wynne Jones

3/5. I adore Diana Wynne Jones, but this one was missing some of the magic of her other books. Not sure if it was because it had to be finished by someone else, or if I just grew out of her stories.

14.) Set in Space: Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

4/5. Powerfully written story of a girl straddling tradition and innovation, who wields power through mathematical magic, surviving on a spaceship alone with a dangerous alien occupation after everyone else has been killed.

15.) By 2 Female Authors: Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

2/5. Ostensibly a story about a revenge pact in a small island town, but leaves far too many dangling threads to attempt alluring you to the sequel.

16.) W/ A Title containing "salty," "bitter," "Sweet," or "Spicy": The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith  

3/5. It's okay but I literally just never know what anyone means at any time. Are they being reticent on purpose or do i just not understand communication

17.) Set in scandinavia: Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura

2/5. Technically and historically accurate and well made, but the story itself is not my cup of tea.  Very gory.

18.) Takes Place in a Single Day: Long WAy Down by Jason Reynolds

4/5. A boy goes to avenge his murdered brother, but ghostly passengers join him on the elevator ride down. Stunning and powerful character-driven analysis.

19.) Debut Novel: Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

4/5. Charming and then surprisingly heart-breaking comic about Nimona, a shapeshifter who wants to become a villain's minion. Really love the villain/hero dynamic going on in the background, along with the dysfunctional found family.

20.) Published in 2019: The Book of Pride by Mason Funk  

4/5. A collection of interviews with the movers, shakers, and pioneers of the queer and LGBTQ+ community.  An absolutely essential work for community members and allies alike.

21.) Featuring an extinct/imaginary creature: Phoebe and her Unicorn by Dana Simpson

4/5. Incredibly charming, Calvin and Hobbes-esque collection of comics featuring the adventures of Phoebe and her unicorn best friend.

22.) Recced by a celebrity you admire: The Emerald Circus by Jane Yolen

2/5. Recced by my fave author Brandon Sanderson. An unfortunately disappointing anthology proving that any story can be made uninteresting by telling the wrong section of it.

23.) With "Love" in the Title: Book Love by Debbie Tung

4/5. One of those relatable webcomics, only this one I felt super hard almost the entire time.  Books are awesome and libraries rule.

24.) Featuring an amateur detective: Nancy Drew: Palace of Wisdom by Kelly Thompson

4/5. REALLY love this modern take on Nancy Drew, coming back home to her roots to solve a brand new mystery. Diverse cast and lovely artwork, though definitely more adult.

25.) About a family: Amulet by Kabu Kibuishi

4/5. Excellent, top tier graphic novel about a sister and brother who have to go rescue their mother with a mysterious magic stone. LOVE that the mom gets to be involved in the adventure for once.

26.) by an author from asia, Africa, or s. America: Girls' Last tour by Tsukumizu

4/5. Somehow both light-hearted and melancholy. Two girls travel about an empty, post-apocalyptic world, and muse about life and their next meal.

27.) w/ a Zodiac or astrology term in title: Drawing down the moon by margot adler

3/5. A good starting place for anyone interested in the Neo Pagan movement, but didn't really give me what I was personally looking for.

28.) you see someone reading in a tv show or movie: The Promised NEverland by Kaiu Shirai

4/5. I don't watch TV or movies where people read books so i think reading an adaptation of a TV series after watching the series counts. Anyway it was good but beware racist caricatures

29.) A retelling of a classic: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Rey Terciero

5/5. We can stop the Little Women reboots and retellings now, this is the only one we need. In fact, we can toss out the original too, this is the only one necessary.

30.) w/ a question in the title: So I'm a spider, so what? by Asahiro Kakashi

4/5. Cute art despite the subject matter, and a surprisingly enthralling take on the isekai genre. Love the doubling down on the video game skills.

31.) Set in a college or university campus: Moonstruck (vol 2) by Grace Ellis

2/5. An incredibly cute, beautiful, and fascinating world of modern magic and creatures, but unfortunately falls apart at the plot and pacing.

32.) About someone with a superpower: Moonstruck (vol 1) by Grace Ellis

4/5. Though nearly as messy plot-wise as its sequel, the first volume is overwhelmingly charming in a way that overpowers the more confusing plot elements.

33.) told from multiple povs: The Long way to a Small, Angry Planet by becky Chambers

4/5. Told almost in a serial format, like watching a miniseries, a group of found-family spaceship crew members make the long journey to their biggest job ever.

34.) Includes a wedding: We Set the dark on fire by Tehlor kay mejia

4/5. Timely and poignant, a girl tumbles into both love and resistance after becoming one of two wives to one of the most powerful men in the country.

35.) by an author w/ alliterative name: The only harmless great Thing by brooke bolander

3/5. Much deeper than I can currently comprehend.  Beautifully written, but difficult to parse.

36.) A ghost story: Her body and other parties by Carmen Maria Machado

4/5.  It counts because one of the stories in it has ghosts. A sometimes difficult collection of surrealist, feminist, queer short stories.

37.) W/ a 2 word title: Good omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

4/5. Charming, touching, and comical, probably the best take on the apocalypse to date. Also excellent ruminations on religion and purpose.

38.) based on a true story: The faithful Spy by John Hendrix

4/5. Brilliantly crafted graphic biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and his assistance in fighting back against Nazi Germany.

39.) Revolving around a puzzle or game: the Crossover by Kwame alexander

4/5. The verse didn't always hit right with me, but the story is a sweet, melancholy one about family, loss, and moving on.

40.) previous popsugar prompt (animal in title): The last unicorn by peter s. Beagle

5/5. Absolutely one of my all-time favorite books, it manages to perfectly combine anachronism and comedy with lyricism, melancholy, and ethereal beauty.

41.) Cli-fi: Tokyo Mew Mew by Mia ikumi and Reiko Yoshida

4/5. Shut up it counts

42.) Choose-your-own-adventure: My Lady's choosing by Kitty curran

3/5. Cute in concept, a bit underwhelming in execution. Honestly, just play an otome.

43.) "Own Voices": Home by Nnedi Okorafor

3/5. The storytelling style was definitely not my style; while the first book was slow, too, it felt more purposeful. I found my attention wandering during this installment.

44.) During the season it's set in: Pumpkinheads by rainbow rowell

3/5. Cute art, but precious little substance.  The concept simply wasn't for me in the first place.

45.) LITRPG: My next life as a villainess: All routes lead to doom! by Hidaka nami

5/5. An absolute insta-fave! Charming art, endearing characters, an incredible premise, and so much sweet wholesome fluff it'll give you cavities.

46.) No chapters: The field guide to dumb birds of north america by matt kracht

3/5. It started out super strong, but the joke started to wear thin at a little past the halfway point.

47.) 2 books with the same title: Unfollow by Megan Phelps-Roger

4/5. A brave and enduring personal story of growing up in and eventually leaving the Westboro Baptist Church. Really called to me to act with grace and kindness even more in the future.

48.) 2 books with the same title: unfollow by rob williams and michael dowling

1/5. How many times do you think we can make Battle Royale again before someone notices

49.) That has inspired a common phrase or idiom: THe Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

4/5. Definitely good and deserves it's praise as something that pretty much revolutionized and created an entire demographic of literature.

50.) Set in an abbey, cloister, Monastery, convent, or vicarage: Murder at the vicarage by agatha christie

3/5. I just cannot. physically keep up with all of these characters or find the energy to read between the lines.

ok that's all i got, what did y'all read and like this year?  (oh god it’s gonna be 2020)

[fusselmietz]

The sad part about Eldarya

Eldarya could've been a great game. I remember the teasers for it and was pretty hyped. A fantastic world that needs saving and is falling apart? A destined heroine with a mysterious lineage with a connection to an powerful oracle? Hostile creatures and problems within the world with moraly Grey characters? I was on board! The first few episodes give me some wierd vibes, but I thought: "Well its just the Frist three episodes. Maybe I need time to get into it. Maybe the story is more of a slow burn." I was pretty annoyed withe the treatment of Guardy aka Erika. Most of the guards treated her like shit, wich was tolerable at first because they didn't trust her yet. I was confused that everyone except Jamon has mostly human features and yet they bullied Erika for being human, but I just write at of as a conventional attractive character design choice. I mean Ez and Nevra have pointy ears, Miiko has a tail and fox ears, but Valkyon (whose route I followed at first) looks like a regular, muscular human. So I don't really get it? However, that was just a dumb little thing that only bothered me. After 8 episodes or so the story didn't really go anywhere. I thought the focus would lie on finding the crystal pieces, like in Inuyasha of some sorts, and we had two of them in the first episodes. Then the focus shifted more on helping the people of eldarya wich was fine to me. But the longer I played the more problems came up. I haven't warmed up to any of the LIs by now, since I follow the cute shy boy route in other games, so I hoped that Kero would have been an option. But even if I didn't really enjoy the LIs I could enjoy the would of EL right? Well, as many people wrote much more detailed as I ever could: The lore of El is complicated, confusing and broken. Especially the food issue and the stuff with the humans. It got so bad, that the players have to ignore this stuff so that the world and story could still function. In its defense: Harry Potter had his fair share of plot holes too, but the story and characters where so enjoyable and awesome that everyone, including me, looked past it. I was willing to do it for EL, but it wasn't so easy. Instead of ignoring the dumb stuff they wrote themselves into a corner with, they bring it up again and again, twitching it slightly trying to make sense. However, this can not work. EL, as a world, has to be coherent and functioning in itself. You can't retcon the rules in the universe, like in SpongeBob or another silly feel good cartoon, it takes more of an Last Airbender approach to story telling. If you establish a rule in this universe, you have to follow through with it. It is there. One thing plays into the other. If they would ignore it, maybe the players would forget about it and if it had been just a one time thing, I wouldn't be so harsh in it. However, the plot holes are so extreme, that the world is completely broken. Many people wrote essays about it, better than I ever could, so I won't repeat how stupid the whole food issue is. The worst problem, however, started in the now infamous episode 13. I was actually excited after learning what happened. What a horrible, yet brave move from the writers! I've never seen something like this in an otome before and was totally on board for the drama. I remembered thinking: "Oh God! What will Erika do now? Will she go Rouge and betray the guard? Will she join the humans and find a way home? Will she ever reverse the potion effect? Will she explore this hostile world and gain new LIs and allies? Will she join the masked man? Will there be a civil war in El? Is all lost?!" But then she just slapped some characters and locked herself into her room, later reluctanty forgiving anyone. I can't describe my disappointment and that was the reason why I stopped playing and just watch let's plays or reading post on tumblr. The writers had such an interesting concept with many possible plot threads and they choose the most boring one. Until this day I'm convinced that they thought the potion thing wouldn't be a big deal and they weren't prepared for the backslash that lasts until today. They could retconned it if they want to. Bringing up some kind of antidote or maybe it turns out it was all a bluff. It wouldn't been great, but it's something. I don't understand why they couldn't make Erika travel between those worlds or why she has to be a human in the first place. Why not make her a citizen of EL with an unclear heritage, maybe an orphan, who wants to join the guard? So many problems could've been avoided. Now it seems the story goes nowhere, the pacing is all over the place. Either everything happens at once or nothing at all happens (except for Erika and her LI doing the devils tango ~). It seems the writers wanted everything at once. They wanted a destined heroine with a connection to ELs version of a deity, yet they constantly set her up to fail. They wanted a rich world with detailed lore, yet they didn't bother to check their own work and be coherent with their own rules. They wanted a huge cast of characters, yet they couldn't handle all of them and now kill them off one by one. They wanted moraly Grey characters, yet they write them despicable with no real redemption arc. They wanted a dark and mature world, yet they abdone the most interesting story threads and focus an shock value and sex. This game could have been so good and unlike most otome games on the market, but now it's just an generic fantasy game, that confuses players more that it entertains them. I really wanted to like this game, honestly. And if you like it, that's great! I'm happy you can enjoy it and I don't want to take the fun away from you. However, I couldn't hold my disappointment in after learning what the new episode has to offer and needed to get this off my chest.

[socutesoevil]

Opinions™ on MCL UC Beta

Well then! Got my beta pass today. Curiosity satisfied. Bad taste left over, (and not just from the mojitos.)

I was on the fence about Campus Life and wanted to give it a try, but I'm edging my feet over towards no now. Yes, it’s just one episode, but when it’s not right, you just know. I’ve put down books after reading a chapter or two because they held no interest. And that’s okay.

To be perfectly honest, my interest in the MCL universe has been fading for a while now. The past few episodes were pretty meh. They felt rushed and generally unsatisfying, like someone roughly pushing you out of the house because they don’t want you to see the body in the closet 'Thanks-for-coming-see-you-later-okay-bye'. Episode 40 aka the Finale was just... the cherry on the sour sundae. And that sex scene! I like a nice big helping of sin, but it has to flow with the story. (I like my porn with plot, is that so much to ask?) And this was... awful and super-forced like the 'now kiss' meme. Especially sweet Lysander's. Here's this angel baby, talking about antiquing, and poetry, and how he's a pure unicorn who's never had a girlfriend before, and how much he loves and treasures Candy and she's like 'mm-hm, that's nice, let's bang'. Seriously girl?! I would just cuddle the hell out of him and call it a successful night. (Sex is neat-o and all, but cuddles FTW.)

And while that episode left a bad taste in my mind, I was still excited for the University sequel. I didn’t mind a break up ‘cause I assumed (a safe assumption in an otome game, yes?), there would be a make up. I was curious to see the new settings, how the characters grew up, how they changed or not, their new redesigns, their new stories, etc.

Which brings me back to the beta. (Sorry, took the scenic route there.) The graphics are truly beautiful. The animations are... amusing. A lot of the old supporting cast is here. We find out what happened to the guys who are not there. It has a familiar vibe, like watching a once-fave show after it jumped the shark in season six and became utter shite.

For me personally, there are two cementing factors why I most likely won’t be continuing with the game if it stays as is:

1) The new AP system. Movements are free, but every line of dialogue you click on costs 2AP. Seriously. The first episode was just under 1k for me. It would take a really long time to collect that many points naturally and the story is in no way interesting enough for me to pay real money for.

2) Quite honestly, none of the datable characters caught my eye... in this dating game.

Here’s the buffet on offer:

Hyun - Will probably be the most popular new character. (That's my bet anyway). He's got that whole soft cinnamon roll thing going on which is totes on trend right now, but that has never been my thing. I like cinnamon rolls for breakfast. For my pixel harem I like angst with a dash of sin.

Rayan I-have-a-last-name-I'm-so-fancy The prof who looks like he's mentally undressing you with every arch of his brow and has young ladies gathering around him like fruit flies on a rotten apple. Now, I have nothing against the whole hot-for-teaching meme. Hell, my Candy would be down for it 'cause it works with her rebel child personality. However, while someone like our favourite bumbling history teacher, who was charming in his awkwardness, would be fun to romance, Rayan the undead lounge lizard is sketchy fucker. (By the way, the whole trend of loafers with no socks? Needs to die. And button up your damn shirt, man! You're a professor! Ugh.)

Priya - I don't even want to be friends with this girl. *shrug* So... yeah, no.

Castiel - The notorious Cassychu, the one of the perma-scowl and bad-boy tats and poor hairstyle and lifestyle choices. Candy already dumped him once. Will she want to take him back?! Probably. She clearly has major issues when it comes to understanding how relationships function.

Mysterious fifth character to be revealed at a later time. (Do we get to vote on which one of the lost boys we get to bring back? Oh wait, no, that's democracy. Sorry! Forgot myself for a moment.) My guess? Most likely it will be Nathaniel who became a dude-bro likes a bit of a party now. Rock on, Nath. Rock on.

*pulls an Eldarya and sets crush to no one*

It was fun while it lasted but now it's time for something new. And by new I mean re-reading the SLBP Shigezane route. My precious <3

That’s about it! Some more randomness below.

random comments from my play-through + points of interest

Rosa and Candy lost touch 'cause this is the dark ages of communication before phones. (JK. Candy is a lazy fuck who can't be bothered. Relationships are not cacti, Candy!)

After four(!) years of silence, this little shit Candy appears back on the scene again to pursue her lame degree and everyone just accepts her back into the fold like nothing happened. The hell?! I'm not saying give me telenovela levels of drama, but c'mon!

The only happy ending Lysander got was in Episode 40. That sweet child. </3

These animations are... hilarious. (They can be turned off). The randomly jiggling boobs are the best thing! Any girl will be standing there and outta nowhere boop-boop. *snort* Did they look at any breasts before animated these, or did they use a custard as inspiration?

Chani is precious.

Why is Melody here? Oy... Still a teacher’s pet. (Yet she gets annoyed when I say she hasn’t changed? Lie to yourself much, Melody?) Probably still holds a torch for Nathaniel but won’t admit it. Mean-funny scene if you invite her but not Chani to drinks. Your pals are not excited about seeing wet-blanket Melly.

Our roommate has a stick so far up her ass she's sitting on top of the Eiffel tower. Dunno who spat in her oatmeal, but I left the spilled paint on her bed and called it karma.

The Cozy Bear Cafe sounds like some sort of sweet lolita place... but it isn’t... False advertising much?

Rayan stop staring at me, you zombie creeper.

Mojitos or beer. Those are my sedative options. Awesome. Can’t even get a decent drink around this joint. (If you ask why mojitos, it doesn’t translate as ‘where’s the wine’. You get lemonade instead. -_- )

I will say this, the backgrounds are gorgeous. They don't match the art style of the characters, but they're stunning. The park is incredible.

The black in the outfits is true black, so you can satisfy your inner goth child or chic Parisienne all you want. The hair is still a blue-black though, like a raven’s wing.

The petal game is still there. You will need it.

[cococrazies]

Lovestruck Series Review: Starship Promise (Season 1)

Personal playing order: Orion - Jaxon - Antares - Nova - Atlas

Warning! Minor spoilers ahead for Antares’s/Nova’s/Atlas’s routes, as well as CGs under the cut.

Orion: I’m torn on this one. I really enjoyed the story -- a lot more than I thought I would, given my lack of enthusiasm for the series concept -- and Orion himself. (If anyone ever wanted Shang from Mulan but in outer space, this is it.) The writing also had a very natural cadence and flow; it pulled me in easily, never getting too heavy-handed with sudden plot twists and cliffhangers... except for one instance, but more on that below.

And the MC! She was a pleasant surprise. I hadn’t been too impressed by her in the first-ep sneak peeks we get in each route, but she’s really cute -- she can be a bit of a space cadet at times (sorry, bad pun intended), but she isn’t dumb. Furthermore, she really develops over the course of the route, which is impressive given everything else stuffed into these mere 12 episodes.

So now to the things I didn’t like about this route: for one, the romantic development. It seemed really sudden and almost shoehorned-in as a result of the route length, which was jarring given how well-paced everything else had been up to that point. 

Also, the Antares plot twist; it felt cliché and gimmicky, especially since I could see it coming from a mile away. I think I would’ve preferred for it to be a Season 2 reveal, or at least presented to us right from the start -- as it was, it just seemed like it was there for the “shock factor” + to forcibly give us a reason to care about the antagonist if we didn’t already. But since this was a pilot season, I guess I can understand how they wanted to tease at an intriguing backstory as early as possible to get players invested.

Overall, they still did succeed with the latter, because now I’m pretty curious about where they’re going with this. And also because I need more Orion/MC in my life; rushed or not, those two are simply way too cute.

Jaxon: Whoa, this story was jam-packed with action scenes and chemistry between the OTP. The pace is hella fast, but you never get the sense that we’re skipping past important details; the writing makes the most of every episode it has got. Not a single scene is wasted or filler-like.

Jaxon himself is a bit of a harder sell. His gargantuan ego, jokester personality, and YOLO take on everything make him one of those characters that you either love or hate -- although for me, he fell somewhere near the middle of the spectrum. I like his concept and find him a refreshing addition to Lovestruck’s character lineup, but he’s not really my type as far as romance goes; and sometimes he toes the line for being near annoying.

(The fact that I constantly seemed to make the wrong choices -- at least judging by the sheer amount of weird looks or lukewarm responses he gave me after 90% of my choices -- didn’t help. Heads-up: don’t try to play it cool. This MC really, really can’t do cool. I had several near-death experiences from sheer secondhand embarrassment while playing this route.)

That aside, he makes a surprisingly good team with MC. Except from some cringey non-heart options (which were brutal this route, by the way), they naturally eased into working as a combo. I like how they both are able to pull each other out of their respective emotional ruts, as well as complement the other’s shortcomings. Jaxon’s character turnaround near the end felt a little sudden, but I like the teased insight on his past, and am looking forward to learn more about it.

Antares: Oh, MC. Trust me, I of all people totally understand crushing on the hot, mysterious, and possibly noble anti-hero holding you captive for unknown reasons, but even so. Being constantly unable to focus on anything but your attration to him -- and using it as a basis for your foundation to trust him almost straight away despite how he works for the Big Bad, and is literally using you as a tool(-fixer) for whatever evil purposes the Empire has in mind for the galaxy -- is like a whole new level of uncool.

(Also, how is a sheltered colony girl’s reaction to seeing a military leader telling his troops not to leave a single ship standing “swoon, he’s so charismatic” instead of “holy shit, he kills people”? Priorities, MC.)

Beyond that, Antares’s route was very intriguing to me. Out of Lovestruck’s villain routes so far this is the one that has done the least to paint the love interest as less of an antagonist, or the side he sympathizes with as more morally grey. I also appreciated seeing another side of Antares himself that actually knows the definition of the word chill  isn’t perpetually dressed in bunny-ear mecha armor  that’s not completely absorbed by his thirst for vengeance against his brother.

Similar to Orion’s route, the romantic development also dropped on us out of the blue here... but strangely, I didn’t mind. In a way, it seemed to make sense for Antares’s emotionally dysfunctional personality (to the point that it gave me Chance S1 in GiL flashbacks). I think I almost preferred this to him doing a sudden 180 and going all mushy on MC when any potential romantic build-up outside of premium choices has been minimal. I’m holding my thumbs now for a gradual turnaround -- much like Chance got -- in his future seasons.

Nova: I keep going back and forth re: how I feel about this route. To again start with the positive -- I’d been worried that Nova would be a Space Medusa 2.0, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that she wasn’t. For all the kuu in her kuudere demeanor, Nova still spends a fair amount of the route bonding with MC through actual conversation, and unlike Orion’s/Antares’s routes this season the romance didn’t even seem that rushed. Furthermore, I was intrigued by Nova’s backstory (not to mention that she’s hot as hell).

But to be entirely honest, this story is also the most formulaic, “typical otome”-esque route I’ve read so far in Lovestruck -- not so much in concept as in execution. It reminds me of one of those Voltage JP fantasy routes where we spend the first 1/3 of the route with semi-slice-of-life scenes interspersed with action, the middle 1/3 of this route discovering the LI’s angsty past and them distancing themselves to protect MC, and the final 1/3 with MC dissolving into hysterics/apocalyptic depression, stupidly running after LI alone, and declaring their undying love for them after having known them for a couple of days in the middle of a life-or-death situation.

Since I do play Voltage JP games I’m not saying it’s necessarily a terrible thing, just... jarring. I might seem like I’m awfully hard on Lovestruck’s writing a lot of the time, but that’s because I have high expectations of it. In a sea of near-identical mobile otome clones Lovestruck stands out with a more Westernized and creative take on standard otome tropes, hence often avoiding common pitfalls associated with the genre. The writing in general is a cut above what I expect from mobile games as well, hence all my criticisms; I don’t balk (as much) at LIs doing sudden 180s or MCs being stupid in a Solmare game, but I do with Lovestruck because I know -- and have seen firsthand -- that they can do better.

So this route was confusing to me. Because, if I were to go for my usual standard from what I would expect run-of-the-mill Voltage JP route, for example, or a Shall We Date? one -- then I’d think it’s fine. Or even good. But for Lovestruck? I don’t know. I wouldn’t say it’s bad, just not... good. (The GiL-esque Pokémon-battle narration for action scenes -- yes, this is my official pet peeve now -- didn’t help.)

With all that said though, I didn’t dislike Nova’s route. (Hence the confusion.) And definitely not Nova herself. I just don’t really know how I feel about its writing direction, and how it measures against my expectations of a Lovestruck route.

Atlas: I fell head over heels for this route. Seriously, this was Astraeus-in-season-3-of-AFK level instant love, except without the devastating angst and with a decent helping of fluffy feels on top. Not that it was all fluff -- we had our share of prospective angst here too, if less literally earth-shattering. And hell of a lot of action, character development, and tons of other goodies tightly stuffed in a 12-episode-package of awesome.

Similar to my review for Astraeus, I don’t even know where to begin talking about this route’s good points. The prose, for one -- there were just so many beautifully worded narrative transitions, and the dialogue didn’t lose out in that aspect, either. The sass, sarcasm, and the humor were well-timed, but didn’t go overboard/seem out of character for MC or the rest of the cast.

Then there’s Atlas himself. Breaking down tsunderes is one of my favorite otome pastimes, and doing exactly that to our resident grouchy pilot was no different. First of all, I love that he maintains a healthy balance between insults that are obviously all bark and no bite, and genuinely worded criticism that should logically be voiced. In fact, there’s so little unnecessary tsun here that he could almost pass for a kuudere. 

Regardless of whatever mold he’d better fit into, finally crumbling down that cranky demeanor of his and seeing him dere was a sweet, sweet reward. (I actually caved and went premium twice despite my agonizing wallet because I couldn’t resist seeing more of it.)

Or heck, even the platonic moments building up to that were great. Because the romance with Atlas was really well-paced; I love how we went from almost-hate (my favorite trope!) to begrudging respect, then to friendly equals/teammates, and finally something more -- all the while there was obvious chemistry between him and MC interlacing every interaction. I was kind of worried whether we’d get some last-minute romantic confession slapped on near the end, but thankfully we got a development that, for all its unrealistic corniness, still had me squealing. Especially with that cliffhanger; dammit, how am I even supposed to emotionally last until I get to his second season?

The main plot was really interesting, too -- probably my favorite premise out of the ones we’ve been offered so far. Even though it starts out similarly with MC on the run, I like how 1) we see the Union as evil right from the bat, avoiding having another MC-gets-out-of-her-naïve-colony-girl-mindset mini-arc; 2) rather than being perpetrated for some valuable information/artifact that the Starship crew might benefit from, MC is in a situation where they actually have no reason to keep her around, adding more tension to the intro; and 3) how all of this tied into Atlas’s own personal character arc. (Not that I minded how the other premises played out, it just made for a fresh change of pace.)

To wrap this gigantic word-vomit ramble up, I’d just like to conclude by gushing one last time how fantastic this route is -- I’d warmly recommend it to anyone interested in giving Starship a chance, because after this, the series personally had me hook, line, and sinker.

Final character ranking: Atlas > Orion > Jaxon > Antares > Nova

....This got a little longer than I intended it to be, oops. Kudos to anyone who has made it to the end of this season review. (I’ll try to be a little more concise in my next one, i.e. GiL S7.)  You can follow my tag #coco reviews lovestruck for more reviews of Lovestruck games, or check out the ones I’ve done so far on this list.

[obeymeshallwedatecheats]

Obey Me Shall We Date Cheats

Obey Me Shall We Date Guide

Obey Me Shall We Date guide is a guide for warm new sport. In tasks dance battles you'll always win due to the fact your opponent will now not be capable of use his skills whilst you could, it's going to come up with smooth wins all the time because you can score high effortlessly however make sure you furthermore may improve your group, do now not proceed in the sport with low-level playing cards, the mod resides inside the opponent no longer being able to use his abilties while its charged. Are you able to please update this sport into three.zero.6 model and make the whole lot possible (like ap/ coins/ Devil Points) limitless please? This isn't always me. I sense extra cozy in my very own body with my character than an mc who's the complete opposite of me (that is the purpose why i now hate placing my call on the mc). A variety of different games have the choice to exchange your look (physically, like pores and skin, frame kind, and many others.) However otome games almost by no means do, which receives on my nerves. I get it. They make default mcs to make cgs like top notch and they can't exchange her appearance on it to keep cash. You have been selected to emerge as an change scholar at rad, a school for demons. Watching for you are 7 demon brothers and a mountain of obligations...?! Evil demons inside the devildom are after your soul! With the assist from the 7 brothers, you may defeat them in an interesting card conflict. Pick your personal group and spot the unique chibi characters appear on-screen as you listen to the tune that varies each stage. Acquire cards, level them up, and win the battles! It would be an awesome concept to feature the cards that match the stage characteristic. ⇒all of the cards have special skills that improve appeal and can help you earn more points. For the duration of the dance warfare, characters will rate up and while their strength is complete, you could tap on them to unharness the special competencies. It is better to wait till all of them are complete and chain their special abilities for combination consequences. ⇒there are five ranges of playing cards in the sport; ur-tier, ssr-tier, sr-tier, r-tier, and n-tier. © internet media network restrained, 1999 - 2020. this site is not affiliated in any manner with microsoft, sony, sega, nintendo or any video game publishers. #obeyme #obeymemasters #obeymejp #shallwedate #solmare #nttsolmare #otome #otomegame #datingsim #sport #romance #visualnovel #japanesevoiceactor #lucifer #mammon #leviathan #satan #asmodeus #beelzebub #belphegor #diavolo #anime #otaku #japan #devil #angel #demon #app #obeyme #obeymemasters #obeymejp #shallwedate #solmare #nttsolmare #otome #otomegame #datingsim #sport #romance #visualnovel #japanesevoiceactor #lucifer #mammon #leviathan #devil #asmodeus #beelzebub #belphegor #diavolo #anime #otaku #japan #satan #angel #demon #app after lifestyles is a korean-based totally otome cell sport in which you play because the manager for those grim reapers, purifying and sealing wandering spirits into kaleidoscopes. As you progress via the classes, you'll be facing aggressive teams which can rating extra than your crew. It is better to maintain strengthening the cards so you can clean all of them - gamers can play the lesson stages within the project mode again and again once more. This helps you grind the items, exp, and grimm. Tap on the stage which you cleared with all of the stars -> quick clean - get rewards immediately. You stumble upon the surprise guests after winning the dance warfare level. If you do not have the objects, faucet on the head, palms, hand, and so on. That surprise guest could be one of the essential characters; lucifer, mammon, leviathan, devil, asmodeus, belphegor. Reward them and boom their intimacy level. That surprise visitor receives intimacy factors while you praise him. At the chat display, faucet the intimacy option at the top-proper to check the intimacy stage progress of every character. If all matters go remarkable, the surprise visitor might come up with a present. On the primary display screen, faucet the to-do button -> daily responsibilities. It will take you to the duties display screen where you entire the training. In each lesson, you have got plenty of levels to finish. Players can play this mode in ordinary and difficult issue tiers. There are over 20 instructions in the game. On each stage, you compete with different characters in dance battles. It charges ap to play dance battles. You could get demon or memory cards, grimm, gem stones(card strengthening cloth), character exp, participant exp, etc. Via playing those tiers. ⇒inside the dance battles, the crew with the very best rating on the quit of the warfare wins. In case you are at an office or shared community, you can ask the network administrator to run a experiment across the community searching out misconfigured or infected gadgets. The page you requested couldn't be located. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to find the post. Contact us privateness technical help niafinder shop telecourses customer service screw ups we found out tiny hole in server of this game and thanks to it, now we can add to Obey Me Shall We Date unlimited Devil Points and grimm. As you progress via the training, you'll be facing aggressive groups that may rating more than your crew. It's higher to hold strengthening the playing cards so that you can clear they all - players can play the lesson levels in the mission mode time and again again. This facilitates you grind the objects, exp, and grimm. Faucet at the degree that you cleared with all the stars -> quick clean - get rewards without delay. You encounter the wonder guests after triumphing the dance conflict degree. Some of these characters post their tales on devilgram. On the house screen of the sport, on the top-proper corner, you will see the devilgram choice. Tap it and you may see the account of all these characters; lucifer, mammon, leviathan, devil, asmodeus, belphegor. Tap on any man or woman icon and you'll see his memories. You may unlock their new tales and get phone calls from them via increasing the intimacy degree. Navigate returned to the house display screen and on the left side, you may see the chat option. It keeps saying "connection error" within the "input username / birthday " part but my connection is nice . I'm never played this game before but saw it here and very like it 😊 thank you so much vipmod your mod is working great 😁 i just tired with incognito as per another comment and no luck. Here's a screencap of the error on the app though, when you click the box it takes you to the app store with the only option being "open" and no update listed: http://imgur.com/a/lpmzrhp i just tried to install the game myself and test it out to see the update, but i am not getting the force update popup, maybe this app is limited to certain countries. It features an intimacy system; as you interact with the characters, their intimacy level will increase and you will unlock their stories on devilgram and you might get phone calls from them. Other than these main characters, you can get demon characters or cards from the nightmare. You will be using those demon cards or memory cards in the tasks/dance battles. From these battles, you get the items and currency that you will need to strengthen the demon cards. First things first - your ultimate goal is to befriend all the characters by raising their intimacy level and unlock all their new stories in devilgram. Choose your own team and see the different chibi characters appear on-screen as you listen to the music that varies each stage. Collect cards, level them up, and win the battles! What if the characters could come by your side, laugh and cry together with you, and become your friend? There is an intimacy level system in the game. The way you interact with the characters will affect your relationship with them. Become the master who brings the handsome demon brothers down to their knees and enjoy life at the academy in the devildom! ▶　there is an intimacy level system in the game. The way you interact with the characters will affect your relationship with them. Become the master who brings the handsome demon brothers down to their knees and enjoy life at the academy in the devildom! You have been selected to become an exchange student at rad, a school for demons. Awaiting you are 7 demon brothers and a mountain of tasks...?! Evil demons in the devildom are after your soul! With the help from the 7 brothers, you can defeat them in an exciting card battle. If you re-create the game interface using resource bundles flash back, it is recommended to download from the store, and then create a game, so as not to flash back! Features / features: -wall / noclip -water jump -explode obb: no need / not needed work all game / work in all games what if the characters could be by your side, laugh and cry together with you, and become your friend? - or even a lover? Obey me! Is a brand new otome dating simulation game in which the characters become a part of your everyday life. Or is it different from obey me's? Https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.elex.paper.lovegp&hl=en help !!!!!! " 1. Click on the picture you see and a random website will open (wait for it to fully load) " i fully understand what i need to do but there's no picture 😭 i re-downloaded the page many times but there is no picture i only see advertisements i will cry for real help please thank you for the mod, i love it! Unfortunately vip don't work for me either 🙁 also it would be amazing if you could do something about energy, it's running out really quick the vip works however not all features from it work because i guess some features are checked on their server thats why it wont work. I thought he's the reincarnation of lucifer, but then i realize sebastian is lucifer (it's just my interpretation, i don't know if it's correct). So who is the boy actually? Most likely the reincarnation of the hero/someone who was close to lucifer. A lot of players do believe that sebastian is lucifer and i do think it has grounds. But at this point, it's set up to the player's imagination. Hey there! I just wanted to say your guides for the love story otome game series have been really helpful and i appreciate the time and effort you put into them. Praise them and increase their intimacy level. That surprise guest gets intimacy points when you praise him. On the chat screen, tap the intimacy option on the top-right to check the intimacy level progress of each character. If all things go great, the surprise guest might give you a present. On the main screen, tap the to-do button -> daily tasks. Complete the daily tasks to get free Devil Points. You can earn x18 Devil Points or tickets by completing all the daily tasks.

[nobume-date]

Ikemen Sengoku - The best one of Otome game from CYBRID’s Ikemen Series

Since Ikesen English version was released on June 2017, no way the real Otome gamer’d miss it. In the other hand, the amateur me who’ve just stepped into this Otome world only for a year just knew and started playing it around the end of 2017, very late bird.

Anyhow after I’ve been playing for 2 months I found it is real good. Both artwork and story are just right to me. Plus there are many attractive things in this game. And I love it so much that can’t help but have to release my overflowing feeling by blabbing on this blog.

As I mentioned on my blog’s header, I’m not English speaker and still be a newbie blogger since this is my first English blog, so pls spare me for my weird English. Why I have to desperately wrote English blog then? The main reason is for my personal entertainment and creating a room to chat with my game’s pal who share the same interest with me. 

Okay, leave that boring things and let’s me tell my though of this amazing game.

Art : CG & Costumes

Ikesen’s art is gorgeous, painterly style artwork cached my eyes at first glance. Characters faces and body-build are balance and look good in every angles. In some Otoge, we’d found characters faces or organs look weird or creepy in some CG. I salute Yamashiro-sensei, an illustrator, for creating these fabulous work pieces. 

Costumes designs are very creative, not be boring conservative like the other Samurais Otoge. And still remain the hints for gamer to guess who they are by using clan’s crest. Each characters have their own themes and colors which perfectly match their personalities. There are 3 types of attire per character, casual kimono, formal attire and war suit. I heard Ikesen creative team hired Thai’s creative to help them for characters’ design. Wow, they really did it awesome 😎

Characters

This game is the one of CYBIRD’s Ikémen series, with a brand Ikemen, of course, all characters MUST be HOT & HANDSOME. There are 11 hotties for us to choose; 9 warlords, 1 ninja, and 1 abbot. Nine of them are Japan’s most famous Sengoku warlords who were real existed in Japanese history, excepted the part of hot and handsome. Most of them also appear as the characters in many manga, anime and games. 

Isn’t it sounds challenge and fun to conquer their heart?

Plot and Story

After accidentally went back to Japan’s Sengoku period in 1562 through the wormhole, MC saved Oda Nobunaga who nearly die in Honnoji Incident by chance. As the life-saver and lucky charm, MC earned the favor from him and was assigned to be a chatelaine of Azuchi castle, where MC were surrounded by those famous, hot and handsome Sengoku warlords. While struggling in this turbulent and war state period and waiting for a chance to back home, MC have to learn and does many things for the sake of survival. Even though she promised herself not to get too close to anyone, but the fate still bring her to him and fall in love. 

”Back to the past” plot seems non creative, but the story lines really are very interesting, nothing more or less. MC and love interest slowly developed their feeling in reasonable and acceptable way, made me moved so much. The writer did an impressive job to compress those details and emotional things into just 13 episodes.

My favorite part, erotic scenes are not that straight but still give a sexy, mature and alluring vibe. I found myself was attracted to their different charms and wanted to know them more and more. How nice we could have THINGS with various types of guys without a REAL physical relationship, so convenient. Plus, this is the Japanese famous WARLORDS we’re talking about, not typical guys who we could found anywhere.

Avatars Dressing for Fun and Points

As same as the other online Otoge, there is avatars for the player who love girly-doll-dressing in “Your Room”. The avatars here; avatar itself, attire, accessories, wallpaper and all decoration items are really awesome, very detailed and creative. We can get the regular items by buying them from shop and special limited items by joining the events which are held quite frequent. 

Not only your room but there is also a “Castle” where we can be with our suitor in adorable chibi form. every things are uber cute! (๑˃v<๑) Here we can get a lot of decorating items from gacha, standard items from daily free gacha and special limited items from events.

Advantage Thing

The most I love, character’s HOT VOICEs!! (๑>◡<๑) Normally we can hear his greeting in different 3 lines whenever we feel like by just push a speaker icon right at “His Room”. In his room we can set any guys as wallpaper even we are playing a different guy’s route, which mean we can two timing our suitor openly. When we passed the challenges in main or event story, he’ll appear in chibi form to praise or even give some gifts or rewards to us, sounds cool, isn’t it? （╹◡��）Not only that, they are giving out some voice clips on occasions which we can save in our game’s memory to listen anytime we want. Hearing their hot and sexy voices in cheesy lines make my imagination gone wild (*≧∀≦*)

Negative Thing

The only minus point, it’s quite pricey if we compared to VOLTAGE’s which we can buy the whole main story including epilogue by the same amount, and just a half price when they hold a sale campaign. But for IkeSen, if we want to play in Premium, we have to spend around 27 USD for just 1 route!! (O_O) And if we want to play both Romantic and Dramatic route for 1 character, we need more 9 USD. Not to mention a lot of interesting and fun events which will release a ton side stories and items for our avatars. Most of them were free if we were the active players. But of course, we still have to pay for an Early Bird’s and premium epilogue stories anyway (⌒-⌒; )

Of course, this is basically a free game, if you don’t mind much about the longer and sweeter premium bonus stories, you can just go for the normal stories. But could you really just be satisfied by the normal stories? As my direct experience, it’s a real hard to resist their charms. Those hot and sexy warlords will enchant you to blindly fall for them. When you become to your sense again, both of your heart and purse were already robbed away. (´⊙ω⊙`) The most mysterious thing is you’d somehow can manage your money and continue this expensive hobby anyway.

That’s said and I still addict to this game. If you don’t want to fall hard, don’t dare to step in. I-WARNED-YOU-WITH-LOVE (^з^)-☆

[otomequeen]

Transfer Nightmare

This post ended up a lot longer that I intended. I needed to rant and get it off my chest, otherwise it would fester and get into my land of slumber. I would have nightmares about it and I just want peaceful sleep. 

For those of you that know I’m trying to restore my transfer data on Kissed by the Baddest Bidder. (make sure the stories I’ve purchased don’t ask me to buy them again) So I can take all of them to Love 365. 

Also a information nugget that some may or may not know, transfer data wasn’t a thing until I wanna say mid 2016. Because when it became announced I went through all my apps and sent the transfer data to myself and the earliest dates start somewhere in 2016. Before they got all cool and hip with emails and passwords, they used to send you two numbers. Well numbers with letters mixed in with them. Something like

App ID: 3kfc49df03kd Sub ID: 33kgfd9xzn3

Note those aren’t real. I literally just pushed keys at the same time on the keyboard. They are just examples of that it looked like

So the idea behind transfer ID is that if you don’t play the game for a while you can put in your id and get all your shit back. Which is cool. I never really worried about progress, I would always reread the stories to read the stories and get cgs back. But it was nice having the backup for my purchases. 

I’m an android user, and using google play if you purchased something and it asks you to buy it again and you click purchase. It will go black for a second as I assume it looks through your order history, and if you have already purchased it you can continue on your merry way without paying for anything else. I know that tech isn’t 100% full proof. So even through I didn’t care about my progress within the games, I cared about the purchases and got those transfer ID’s ready.

NOW

Kissed by the Baddest Bidder was released overseas in February of 2014. Cool. New game, sprites where you get their back, awesome. I try not to get super far into a game because I want to dip my toe into all the characters in all the games. I’m not made of money, so I stick to season 1 stuff. Main stories of course, pov if they have them. I’m not huge into epilogues, and rarely go into sequel territory. So between the day is was released and right now, after going through my history, I own 14 routes and 6 sub stories. If you are doing the math, and I can see how many epilogues/mains/etc there are. It’s roughly $60.00. 

Now that doesn’t seem like a large number. I could get food for a week with that amount. But it’s been small amounts that have been accumulated over the span of almost 4 years. And I’m ok with that. I planned my money and decided I have a few extra dollars here and there to spend each month and that’s exactly what I did. 

So Love 365 comes out, and you can now transfer all your shit from the stand alone apps to the super app. Cool. This will free up space on my memory card, all for it. But when I opened KBTBB none of my purchases were there. Guess it’s been a while since I’ve opened the app. Fair enough, I mean I moved half way across the world twice in the span of 7 months. I’ve been pretty busy I haven’t played much of anything. But putting in the transfer ID they had sent me wasn’t working. I kept getting an error message. I tried typing it in slowly, I tried seeing if maybe I was reading some of the zeros as ‘o’ and vice versa. I copied and pasted it in directly and it wouldn’t budge. So what do I do, obviously I send an email. I don’t want to lose my shit. 

And I know voltage has a bad rep for their customer service. I get that it’s a large company. I’m honestly impressed that I generally got a reply within a day. But instead of going, ‘huh, that’s odd. I don’t know why your code that we provided you isn’t working. Maybe there is a bug preventing it, lets see what we can do to fix it.’ They decided to go with. 

Dear , Thank you for contacting us. Same title apps can transfer your data from old app. Please take a look following steps: 1.) Go on the old app TOP page and tap news button 2.) There is a banner says "How to Transfer Data to Love 365" so tap it 3.) You can find your token IDs so please copy it 4.) Go to Love 365, you can find "Transfer from old apps" button on Start page or Transfer page as well *Please note that Token ID can be used only once. Also before use it, please make sure to restore your ALL purchases otherwise you will lose them. Please feel free to contact us again if we can be of any assistance.

I mean alright. I guess they are getting a lot of emails about transferring to love 365, and in my initial email they just saw the word transfer and assumed it was about that. So I replied along the lines of. ‘sorry no, that’s not what I meant. I want to get my transfer data back before I moved to 365 so I don’t lose any of my purchases’

I got a mixed response. Because for those that remember KBTBB didn’t have that coin system. It used to be old fashioned like the rest of them. So first they gave me a solution for if I made purchases with the coins. Which I appreciated the information. And then they told me that they really couldn’t do much about if it was before the system change. I would have to send them screenshots of my order history, showing proof I purchased stories and they would give them to me through the system. Manually. I don’t know how that end works. 

Alright fine. I’m okay with that. I had to do with with lovestruck and castaway love’s adventure because that just wasn’t working for me either. Not a stranger to extra work I opened up my history to hit a small problem. Looking on my computer I found that I couldn’t go further into my order history beyond January 2015. Now if you remember the game came out in February 2014. So on my laptop I couldn’t prove that I purchased anything between February 2014-January 2015. I sent the screenshots I could get and told them the same thing. The response was we can only give you what we see, which was 2 sub stories.

UM. WHAT.

There was no way I was going to settle for that. There had to be something. Anything that would work. I tried sending them my transfer info sent to me from the game when I registered to see if they could use that. Didn’t really get a response from that idea. So at this point I’m trying anything. Remember how I was looking on my laptop through my order history. I don’t know why but I decided to try my phone, or maybe my laptop was in the other room and I just wanted to mess around with settings to see if I could go further. Either way I ended up on my phone through my history and it went back! 

Huzzah!

Kinda. Even though it went back far enough and I could screenshot everything, it doesn’t show prices. Everything before January 2015 just has a big old 0 as the price. Great. Now I’m worried they are going to think I’ve edited an order history to fake receipts to get these routes. In the hopes they don’t think I’m trying to scam them I take a screenshot of where you can see this change take place. The top have shows prices next to everything and the bottom half shows 0.00. I also explained that in the email in hopes that it all goes well. 

I felt a small wave of relief when it looked like everything was going to be ok. I got an email saying they gave me the stories and if I was missing any just send them the name and a receipt of purchase and they will get them to me. That’s wonderful news. I mean I hate making people work more than they have to, but something wasn’t working right and I didn’t want to lose anything. They could understand that, right?

I checked the app to find that nothing has changed. Then I thought maybe they just meant the games where you can see the prices. So I went to the sub story section and they weren’t there either. Which is kind of what prompted this rant, and a few other things that have been slowly building. 

I’m slowly losing my patients. I have tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. Lots of changes, I’m sure lots of people are getting a hold of them all the time for different things. They are a big company after all, and I feel that the international market’s is low on their priority list. As far as happiness, customer service, not screwing us over by making us repurchase apps like Seduced in the Sleepless City (let’s all agree that was a hot mess. I can’t wait for round two when pirates join in) 

But for an app to glitch, and bug out with an error message that a code provided by the game doesn’t work. And then telling me it’s not the game, and they will only restore some of my purchases, and then not even restore those purchases saying they already have. That’s really pushing it for me. 

I sent an email with a full list of routes I have purchased, copies of my order history that show it (maybe they couldn’t read the names?), copies of my otome id email folder, showing emails from other games, and then from KBTBB. I provided my game name, my device information, the email linked to my account. Everything is now in their corner and depending on the response I really might just lose it. 

I don’t want to cut my losses but I feel like I’m talking to a wall. Nothing is getting through and I keep getting the same repeated copied and paste replies back. I don’t know what else to do other than give up if this turns up nothing. No way in hell will I be purchases routes I’ve already paid for again, so it might be it for me and the bidders. 

[ryougimonogatari000]

Character Spotlight: Ayaka Sajyou

Today, I’m gonna shed some light on Fate/Prototype’s main female protagonist Ayaka Sajyou! (because I feel like it lmao.) More under the cut.

To those who are familiar with her, she’s known as Shirou’s prototype from before Nasu conceptualized the now widely popular Fate/Stay Night visual novel together with Takeuchi even before Type-Moon’s earliest days. But that’s just lightly touching on her character. In truth, she’s closer to a fusion between the three main Masters of Fate/Stay Night, eventually splitting into what would become Shirou, Rin, and Sakura for the final product. She shares Shirou’s role and position in the story as Saber’s Master (who is also King Arthur but is a completely different person and is not a genderflip unlike his FSN counterpart); has elements of Rin’s backstory, appearance, tsundere personality (see her quote above. TL: “Are you an idiot?!“) and relationship with her Servant (though Arthur’s much less cynical than both Archer and  Artoria), while also sharing Sakura’s attitude (namely, feeling inferior to her supremely talented older sister), status as a younger sister, as well as some elements of her generally passive personality. Though she was eventually unused in favor of those three and FSN in general, she wasn’t forgotten and her would-have-been story was also animated as a short OVA special by Lerche, the guys behind Carnival Phantasm (of all series). Though Prototype’s story is incomplete (because all info we have of it is just a draft) we at least have a prequel novel that’s basically Prototype’s answer to Fate/Zero.

Background

(Disclaimer: Haven’t read much of Sougin no Fragments so some info about what Ayaka did there that wasn’t mentioned in the main work is a little incomplete)

When she was younger, Ayaka Sajyou had lived together with her father and older sister, Manaka Sajyou in a magus household. Both she and her sister Manaka are half-British by descent thanks to their British mother, who died before the events of Sougin no Fragments, and purely Japanese father, Hiroki Sajyou (this explains why Manaka’s features are noticeably more western compared to her sister’s). Thanks to the way magi families work (think Sakura’s position in the Tohsaka family minus being given away to the Matous), Ayaka always saw herself as average and inferior compared to her ludicrously talented older sister, and their father (seemingly) ignoring her while continually supporting Manaka thanks to the Grail War that was happening at the time sowed the seeds to her low self-esteem by the time Prototype’s story rolls in. Her completely average stats and magic circuit quality (grade C) don’t exactly help her case.

But what cemented her pessimistic outlook towards herself and her reluctance to participate in her Grail War eight years later were her older sister’s last words to her before Saber literally stabs Manaka in the back just moments before Manaka nearly sacrifices her to the Grail:

Manaka: “Because, Ayaka, you're ordinary. Being an ingredient is the only thing you're good for.“

Of course, being traumatized to the point of losing her memories regarding that incident thanks to seeing her nutty older sister brutally killing their father and other young girls in front of her while knowing she’s next probably reinforced her reluctance to participate a lot...

By the time of Prototype’s Grail War, she contracts with Saber and is given the title of Princes for her rank as the 7th Master.

Personality

As mentioned, Ayaka’s personality traits are a combination of the Tohsaka sisters’. While she’s passive and pessimistic toward herself, often seeing herself in low regard, she’s also surprisingly tenacious and fiery when she’s being teased, and becomes more courageous over the course of her story (sadly, unless Nasu or Sakurai made a complete reboot of the main Prototype work, we don’t get to see just how she grows). In the official drama CD where she and the main cast celebrate Christmas together, she gets a hammy side to herself thanks to playing the only sane man there (and her topnotch KanaHana voice acting is a big bonus in itself).

While she’s already a tsundere when it comes to Saber whenever he teases her like I said, she becomes even more aggressive when she takes her glasses off and is much more confident as a result, becoming even closer to Rin in personality as a result (but since Rin is the tsundere queen, Ayaka’s not quite at that level yet). According to Nasu and Takeuchi though, this haughty personality of hers (though less confident and much more childish than Rin’s) is actually her true personality albeit one she hides at home.

Apart from her personality, taking off her glasses changes her appearance a little: her hair and eyes basically glow, and she’s honestly gorgeous when her glasses are off. While there’s no real confirmation over this whatsoever, it’s heavily implied that she’s more powerful when she takes her glasses off, if her final confrontation against Sancraid Phahn (Proto’s equivalent of Kirei but whose personality is more reminiscent of Alba from Kara no Kyoukai) is anything (P.S. She wrecks the room they’re in and we only get to see the aftermath where Phahn is already beaten). Then again, that was after her character development came into full circle, where she sheds her self-esteem issues in exchange for her hotter, adrenaline-makeover self.

Naturally, Proto-Gilgamesh finds her really attractive without her glasses, and her feistier attitude doesn’t hurt much either (tbh, i don’t really get why she needs to wear glasses. She looks great without them and it doesn’t look like she has eye problems either since Sougin no Fragments shows her without them at all so why). 

Speaking of her character development btw, her growth is much more straightforward than Shirou’s, though that’s a given since her work was originally supposed to be a light novel and not a visual novel like Shirou’s. So in terms of characterization, she’s much more basic than Shirou, her development being much more linear thanks to the nature of her story.

Abilities

Pre-character development, she uses her family’s Witchcraft using an unidentified form of black magic that uses crow’s feathers as weapons, which she puts to great use during her “fight” against Lancer in the OVA. During and post-character development, she takes Saber’s advice and begins to train in Formalcraft, a.k.a. “Thaumaturgy for dummies”. What the specifics are behind these abilities is unknown so we don’t really get a complete picture of what she’s capable of doing as a magus. The one thing we can confirm however, is that while competent in using black magic, she isn’t particularly good at it, and like Shirou’s Projection magic, Formalcraft is something not many mages would consider practicing but is something she discovers she excels at and has high aptitude for.

By the way, as a magus, her stats are completely average. She’s a flat C in terms of magecraft and magic circuit quality, so while she’s not as bad as how Shirou started out as before his awesome upgrades in UBW and HF, she’s not impressive either, and constantly has to rely on her Saber to fight for her when needed. Like Shirou, her status as a below average Master sets her Saber back too, just not to Shirou’s level when he first started his War thanks to actually being raised in a magus household. Manaka, Saber’s original Master in the previous War, had rank EX quality circuits, so uh, yeah, quite the downgrade for Saber. But hey, at least Ayaka’s sane.

Final Words

To end this article on our Proto-protag, let’s list down the number of appearances she’s had in the Nasuverse outside her story (including all those drama CDs and 4koma shenanigans). Naturally, since it’s a prequel, her younger, eight year old self appears in Sougin no Fragments, and she plays a small, but very crucial supporting role in that LN series. She’s in the Fate/Hollow Ataraxia PS Vita port’s hanafuda mini-game together with her Saber where she meets Kiritsugu and his Saber (which leads to a funny convo right after), she’s a boss fight in Capsule Servant which was also included together with Hollow Ataraxia, she cameos in Fate/School Life as a Homurahara student (though technically that’s not her per se, but her alternate universe counterpart in the Stay Night universe), and is the first boss Satsuki and the Back Alley Alliance (plus Saber Mysterious Heroine X and Ciel) have to beat in Type-Moon’s 2013 April Fools event, representing the rat of the Chinese Zodiac.

In Fate Strange Fake, Ryogo Narita mentions very early on that the blonde “Ayaka Sajyou” who appears in that series as a main character and also the Master of a Saber who happens to look a lot like Proto Saber is not her or even an alternate universe counterpart of hers since her true counterpart there is name-dropped by El Melloi II and Rohngall as someone who was in Romania during the events in Strange Fake. Think of the blonde “Ayaka” there as being similar to Fate/Extra Rin. Having the same name with another known Fate character, but is not quite them or their counterpart either. 

So there you have it folks! Here’s hoping that she and her series get rebooted either as an LN series or as an otome game (it’s got reverse harem vibes so it’s possible). Of course, Nasu should get the Tsukihime remake out first before he continues to milk the Fate franchise further since it’s taking him waaaayyy too long to finish it.

[emergencysquid]

50 More interesting questions

Rules: fill this out and tag at least one person you’d like to know more about! Or just fill it out! Or don’t! Answer only some of them! Make up your own questions! “What kind of requirement is that”, you ask? A reasonable one! Who am I to tell you what to do? Anything goes!

(I was tagged by @cgleome! Thank you, I like filling these things out. :D )

1. What kind of food can’t you stand?: I hate onions, peppers, and tomatoes. I think it’s half and half a taste and texture thing.

2. If you could choose one minor inconvenience to never have to deal with again, what would you pick?: Slow/lagging internet, I’m pretty easy going but having my internet be extra slow always pisses me off.

3. Have you got any useless talents?: I can quote a lot of MST3k and The Simpsons. *shrug*

4. If you could be really really good at one thing, what would it be?: Aside from drawing/painting, I suppose music since I’ve never been very good at it.

5. Name a few people you think are extremely good-looking: Atsushi Sakurai, Liv Tyler, Cody Rhodes, a few other wrestlers, Chris Evans, Mike Colter.

6. What was your favorite way to pass the time as a kid?: Watching TV or reading.

7. What is something you’re proud of?: How I’m almost entirely self taught in crochet.

8. What’s one character flaw in people that you just can’t tolerate?: Being purposefully rude.

9. Do you consider yourself to be more of a leader or a follower?:  I usually don’t care enough to want to lead, so follower.

10. What kind of student are/were you?: I was a good student but I got bored easily and didn’t really apply myself.

11. Butterfly effect question! Has there ever been a seemingly minor decision you’ve made (at the time) that ended up having a profound influence on your life?: In hindsight, I suppose so. If I had decided not to talk to someone on a certain website (not this one, a shittier one), I wouldn’t have been in an abusive relationship for about 5 years.

12. Name your most irrational fear/aversion: Dying on the toilet/in a bathroom.

13. Are there any fictional characters you find especially relatable?: I’ve found different characters relatable at different points in my life, right now though none come to mind.

14. If you drink, what kind of drunk are you? Alternatively, what sort of person are you at parties?: I feel like I’m kind of obnoxious when I’m drunk but I’ve been told I’m fun to be around. At parties, unless I know most of the people there I’m very shy and quiet.

15. Do you fall in love easily? Or does it usually take a long time for you to trust someone?: Not really, it usually takes some time for me to warm up to people.

16. Would you rather have one close friend or 100 casual friends?: One close friend.

17. Do you consider yourself to be more of a slob or a neat-freak?: I try to keep things clean but depression makes that hard sometimes.

18. Describe a place (imaginary or real) that you would find incredibly cozy:  A cabin in the mountains... With internet.

19. Do you have kids? If not, do you want them someday?: I don’t have and I don’t want.

20. What was your favorite book as a child? As a very small child, “Ferdinand the Bull”. In later elementary school I started reading a lot of historical fiction.

21. Name one thing you just don’t get what all the hype is about: Sriracha, but to be fair I have a garbage stomach.

22. Name one thing that you think is tragically underrated: Aside from all my Voltage faves... *shrug* I don’t know.

23. If you had to be glued to a person for a month, real or fictional (who you have never met), who would you choose?: Mitsunari Baba from KBtBB

24. What’s something you’d like the chance to do someday?: Travel all over the world.

25. Do you typically speak your mind when you have a controversial opinion? Or do generally prefer to not rock the boat?: If it’s something that I firmly believe in I’ll say something.

26. What’s the dumbest fad you’ve been caught up in?: Gel pens.

27. What’s something you thought was cool as a kid/adolescent, but now cringe at yourself for?: Being a total Hot Topic goth kid.

28. What’s a trait you consider to be very admirable?: I’m very loyal.

29. Is there a particular kind of item people always tend to give you as gifts? (For instance, people always get you things with ducks on them because you like ducks, etc.): Pokemon or Hello Kitty stuff.

30. Do you speak multiple languages? Which ones?: No, but I’d like to learn more.

31. Would you rather live in the big city or the countryside?: Big city, I’m getting really tired of countryside.

32. Has there ever been something you were certain you’d hate, but ended up loving?:  Otome games. >>”

33. Do you mind being the center of attention, or do you prefer the spotlight to be on someone else?: I’d rather not be the center of attention.

34. Favorite holiday?: Christmas, I like making/giving gifts.

35. Are you a more go-with-the-flow type of person, or do you need to have things planned meticulously?: I’m a go-with-the-flow person.

36. Is there something you loved so much you wish you could forget it and experience it all over again? (A tv show, book, series–anything.): Watching MST3k like it was new all over again would be fun.

37. What hobbies do you have?: Crocheting, drawing/painting, and reading.

38. If you could have a superpower, but it was only mildly useful, what ability would you want to have?: Flight over relatively short distances?

39. Something people are always surprised to learn about you: How knowledgeable I am about so many different subjects.

40. Something that took you way too long to figure out: That I shouldn’t be around my family too much, they’re not good for me.

41. Worst injury you’ve had?: Black eye and a concussion.

42. Any morbid fascinations?: Taxidermy and dissections.

43. Describe your sense of humor: Mostly dry and sarcastic.

44. If you had to be born in another era/place, which would you choose?: The future?

45. Something you are irredeemably bad at: Music, playing it, reading it, pretty much everything.

46. Something that sucked but you’re glad you went through: Getting my gallbladder removed.

47. Would you rather have a really godawful ugly tattoo in a place that is only slightly inconvenient to conceal with clothing (upper arm, thigh, etc.), or the coolest, most beautiful tattoo ever in the middle of your face? (Neither tattoo can be removed or concealed with makeup, and the ugly tattoo will deeply offend anyone who sees it.): Awesome one on my face.

48. Are you more of an optimist or a pessimist?: Pessimist to and about myself, optimist for others.

49. What would be the most flattering compliment someone could give you?: That I’m a good person, I suppose.

50. Something you feel people often misunderstand about you: People tend to misunderstand how much I care about things.  Either thinking I care much more than what I do or being confused as to why I care so much about something.

I’ll tag: @starlightmagika, @letstalklikefangirls, @josiesparklelove, @sparklypistachio, and who ever else wants to do this.

[shenanigumi]

20 Questions Tag Meme

I was tagged by @lanaya-lavellan​! Putting it up here first, since this blog was the one that got tagged.

1. How tall are you? 5 feet 4.5 inches at last count.

2. What color and style is your hair? Brown, except it’s the kind of brown that can’t really make up its mind—streaks of lighter and darker, sometimes bits of gold, mostly almost copper. It’s wavy and kinda bushy and falls past my waist at this point, so I should really have my mom trim the ends. It gets in the way all the time, but literally the only thing I know how to “do” with my hair is put it up in a ponytail. A low ponytail. I can’t even do the high ones like Chizuru’s got.

3. What color are your eyes? Boring brown. But I like to think it’s kind of a nice brown. A clear, chocolate brown. Not the dull brown I’ve seen in other people.

4. Do you wear glasses? Yeah, have for the past 15 years. When I was six, my mom took me to the San Jose Opera production of Die Zauberflöte and we found out I couldn’t see the subtitles without binoculars, so we hooked me up with glasses as soon as possible after that. My eyesight has been getting steadily worse ever since. Literally everything farther than 3-4 inches from my eyes is blurry without my glasses.

5. Do you wear braces? *shudders* Please don’t ask about my teeth. I had braces for a year and a half, from sixth to eighth grade. Apart from that, I’ve technically had retainers since second grade, but it’s been literal years since I’ve worn them and now my teeth are subtly starting to shift again so all my suffering may have been for naught ughhhh

6. What is your fashion sense? You say “fashion sense” like I have any kind of sense for fashion. Alas, I do not. Most often it’s a.) 1 of about 5 pairs of almost identical skinny jeans, each of which I wear repeatedly until obviously dirty; b.) whatever t-shirts are clean; c.) an extra layer of some sort if the weather calls for it, typically a zipper hoodie; and d.) boots or sandals. I have exactly one functional belt, and though I own multiple pairs of shoes, I wear exactly one pair of boots and two or three identical pairs of sandals to death. I do adore dresses and skirts, but they’re so much effort I hardly ever get/take the opportunity to wear them.

7. Do you have any siblings? No, thank gods.

8. What kind of student were/are you? The kind that was above average when she was a kid, so she developed expectations of natural aptitude—the kind that panics whenever she gets a C or lower on any given assignment due to a phobia of disappointing her parents—the kind that started struggling to do her assignments because of the weight of her own unrealistically high standards—and the kind that learned to really, genuinely hate school because of it, yet still feels obligated to participate. Don’t even talk to me about school, seriously. I'm strung out so tight I’ll snap if you touch me.

9. What is your favorite subject? I really do hate school. I don’t even like my past Creative Writing classes, for gods’ sakes (blame the teachers I’ve had). I’m okay with my small press editing class because my classmates are chill and one of them legit runs the class, but like, I literally don’t have a favorite subject. Unless you count my independent study on Bakumatsu Japan, because that’s fucking awesome.

10. Favorite TV shows? I don’t watch TV alone, but I’ll watch some things my family puts on, like certain dumb game shows or Project Runway whenever it’s in season. I also sometimes get hooked on Law & Order (especially Criminal Intent), even if I usually can’t watch the first several minutes due to general squeamishness. Oh, and if RWBY counts, I guess I like that too, although my enthusiasm has waned somewhat as the series progresses.

11. Favorite books? Sorry, but for all my love of writing, college has totally ruined my appetite for reading, as well as my ability to read for pleasure. I can’t even remember the last book I read all the way through, let alone ones I actually like. I suppose the longtime favorites that have stood the test of time include The Thirteen Clocks by James Thurber and A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I also seem to remember liking the Pippi Longstocking series by Astrid Lindgren.

12. Favorite pastime? Writing, first and foremost (and, more prominently, bouncing ideas around!!); dancing, at least whenever I remember I like it; and playing video games, more for the plot than the experience. Seriously, I am such a casual gamer. I’ll be on the easiest of modes and I’ll still probably have a hard time. That’s a big part of why I like otome… no actual gameplay required…

13. Any regrets? This is depressing enough already, come on! But I don’t really have any long-term crushing regrets, so moving right along…

14. What is your dream job? I'm technically already a writer, since I write constantly, but getting paid for my passions would be awesome. My ultimate goal is to be able to sustain myself just by writing fiction, whether novels or short stories… but in the meantime, I’d love getting a day job as an editor. Frustrating as it usually is, it brings me a strange sort of enjoyment, and I like to think I’m good at it.

15. Do you want to get married? Being only demisexual and grayromantic, I’m not entirely sure marriage and I agree with one another. Besides, marriage is more a side effect than a life goal, wouldn’t you say? Lots of prerequisites, don’t you think? I’ve only checked one box, so… I mean… we’ll see. But if anyone gets me any diamonds, fuck that, I’m saying no till I get a better ring. Amethyst is where it’s at. Nobody gets enslaved and worked to death over amethyst.

16. Do you want kids? How many? In my current state, I absolutely could not handle kids, and it’s difficult for me to think of not being in my current state, so I can’t give a solid answer. See, I feel like in order to truly be said to “want kids”, you have to be okay with all the possibilities. If it were possible for me to have a single blood-related daughter without having sex, artificially inseminating, or being pregnant at all, I might consider it. Maybe. Until then, nahhhhhhhh.

17. How many countries have you visited? Just the one I’m from. Might consider exploring more now that a certain “mangled apricot hellbeast” (to quote someone on Twitter) has been elected president, though. Think some of my family members can hook me up with an Italian citizenship if I ever need to make an escape…

18. What’s the scariest dream you’ve ever had? There was a super-symbolic dream that really upset me (fear, anger, sadness, you name it, I felt it) back in eighth grade, all about how so much sexism and racism in America has been swept under the rug instead of getting fixed, and how the same people have ultimately been in power for centuries. It was really deep and unsettling, and I was only like 13-14 so I didn’t know how to process it. I’m still not totally sure.

19. Do you have any enemies? Nah. There used to be people I hated, and I’m fairly certain people hated me too, but I haven’t had anyone I’d call an enemy since roughly high school. The last person I hated was one of my Creative Writing teachers. I refer to him only as “Professor Jackass”.

20. Do you have a datemate? …Hey, ain’t that a planner? Or are you referring to a significant other? (And if that’s the case, if you marry your datemate, do they have the potential to become a housespouse?! I might even consider getting married now!!) Anyway, I do have a planner, but never learned to use it. I also happen to have a boyfriend of just over two months, and I don’t really know how that happened, or what I should be doing with him, but he somehow manages to make my life brighter—so I hope I can do the same for him, in my own inimitably clumsy way.

Tagging: @doodlethewhiteraven​, @sabinasanfanfic​, @impracticaldemon​, @shell-senji​, @kazama-hime​, and @queen-mizera​ if you haven’t gotten this already! But please feel free to NOT do it.

[furederiko]

After a brief detour through Shanghai, London, and Berlin, it's time to land on Dai Teikoku Gekijou once again. The stage is set for our main cast to take the spotlight! Furthermore, these 5 songs (Track 7 to 11), are representative of each character's personality, traits, or even backstory (so... SPOILER alert?). Basically, the meat of this album. You'll likely hear these tunes in full once you've successfully secured their solo endings, right? And throughout, the BGM version usually accompanies them during the playthrough. Let the song show begins!

Otome Nandesu yo (I'm a Maiden) by. Sakura Amamiya (Ayane Sakura)

First on the lineup, is the leading lady herself, Sakura. And, I'm not sure how to put it, but from a purely subjective viewpoint, it's my LEAST favorite of this set. Elise left a big shoe to fill following her one-woman Opera. And Sakura just couldn't keep it together, that we had to step down into an idol-mode or some sort. Sorry, no offense to idol fans out there! Different people, different tastes, and my idol phase had gone over the rainbow. If I have to be honest, I only heard the short MV I posted above (first one released) only a few times, before forgetting about it completely. I can't really understand why. Perhaps, it sounded generic? Sakura Shinguuji's image songs weren't a stand out in "Sakura Taisen" and "Sakura Taisen 2" either. Nevertheless, I enjoyed both "Sakura" and "Haru ga Kuru". I have even recorded my own covers for those two songs! They told the tale of naivety and sincerity, of a country girl who went to the big city and burdened with the fate to be a hero. Comparing those to New Sakura's solo is unnecessarily unfair, but it also can't be helped. What is the message of this song? It's about a girl who reunites with her childhood friend (Captain Seijuurou, who else). But she's no longer fond of the idea of him seeing her as a younger sister figure. But she couldn't say it, because *drumrolls*, she's now a maiden. My memory is fuzzy, but I believe Kouhei Tanaka-sensei had already confirmed that this is, in fact, an "Imouto" song. Hence the reason why my interest is not that high. Fortunately, the song took a delightful tone the moment that harmonica came along (which was after the first chorus, on the 1:30 mark). I actually DID enjoy it more because of it. I also liked the bridge part, and how the final result sounded less like a pop song. But that final line? Why did it feel needy and/or desperate? *sigh* Oh well, at least Sakura already did wonders with "Shin GEKITEI". I admit Part 3 doesn't really start off on the right foot. But worry not! It definitely gets better...

Onna!! Matsuri no Kokoro Iki (Woman!! The Spirit of the Festival) by. Hatsuho Shinonome (Maaya Uchida)

Time to get fired up again! And seriously, I dare you not to shake your body or smile as soon as this song begins. Because you certainly would! On a glance, this sounded and showed the traces of being the Kanna Kirishima's style of the new generation. But with one obvious twist: It's... AWESOME!!! Kanna is a good character, but her solo numbers rarely appealed to my taste. Suffice to say, this song took the best parts of her numbers and blended it into one spot. I've always loved this song ever since the MV came out. And this full, almost-5-minutes, version with extra arrangements just sounded... MINDBLOWING. One would argue that a bulk of this song was instrumental, with Maaya Uchida as the Matsuri's (Festival) Miko shouting her commanding cues. That is undeniably true. But listen closely, and you'll get why I or anyone would dig this. If you have been keeping up with me, you'll know that traditional tunes from various countries fascinate me. So it should come natural that I'm a sucker to festival songs like this. Especially with that mix of heavy metal rock guitar building up towards the dynamic duo of the energizing Taiko beat and an iconic whistling of Shakuhachi that added the authenticity of things. Wagakki Band, anyone? Aaaaaahhhhh... and Kouhei-sensei just HAD to slip in that speedy CRAZY-sounding piano bit! *applause* Just like Lancelot's song, this made me feel like I was being transported to Tokyo or Kyoto, attending and witnessing an actual Summer celebration. Uchida, a good singer, didn't perform this in her smooth vocal style. But she shouldn't! This is something you sing at ease while plainly having fun. Being all out and letting loose is basically the key! For the first time in Sakura Taisen's music history, I've bumped into a song that I simply don't want to sing along. Instead, I would DIE for the chance to participate in that Taiko play. Oh my, I need to see this in a live performance. You TOTALLY need to hear this! And dance along if you will... PS: If there's any gripe about this, it's when Hatsuho and the background voices are yelling "Oisa!" (literally means "Hey!"?). It tends to sound "Oisa, Osa, Usa, USO, USO, USO!". "Uso" means "Lies", and ends up giving it a misogynist feel by accident. The message of this song is that a woman is the spirit of the festival. Girl power! Feminism! But then there's these choir of ALL MALE that seemingly shouts "Lies, Lies, Lies!". That's pretty contradictory, eh? I know I'm totally making too much of a big deal out of this, but it honestly bugs me out...

Ninja Azami (Azami the Ninja) by. Azami Mochizuki (Hibiku Yamamura)

We haven't left Japan, as indicated by another tune of Shakuhachi and Koto, preparing us for the next performer. It's a familiar tune that many have heard in "Naruto", "Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger", or other feudal Japan-themed series. And the title had already said it all. This is the biographical description of Azami, as Shin Hanagumi's resident ninja-in-training. But as soon as it entered the verse (as you could hear in the MV), the sensation changed pretty significantly. No longer a serious Shinobi song, it morphed into the franchise's usual playful little girl song. Yes, even though Azami is technically older than Iris Chateaubriand, Coquelicot or Rikaritta Aries! She mentioned her hobby on practicing the various ninja scrolls, and even her love to eat snacks like Manjuu during breaks. Yare yare... With just 3:28 minutes, this is the second shortest song after "Shin GEKITEI". Obviously, the tempo does play a role in that. Hibiku Yamamura is a Sakura Taisen fan, yet she had the shortest solo number in the album. Somewhat ironic, isn't it? Nonetheless, she did a fantastic job. In fact, her unique voice remains consistent throughout the album, and that's worthy to be praised. I liked the traditional Japanese feel in this, but it also had too many speaking lines for my taste. Still, I'll gladly take this bouncy and head-bopping fun tune over Sakura's anytime. PS: Both Yamamura and Ana's VA made guests appearances more than once during the monthly Teigeki Report, which apparently will still going next year (probably until the TV series airs?). So you can hear them sharing personal experiences and stories on those videos. It's insightful, that's for sure!

Kaereru Basho (A Place to Return to) by. Anastasia Palma (Ayaka Fukuhara)

Goodness! I've been itching to arrive to this song. A good song is one that tells a story. Just like the previous songs, this one does the same, but with a deeper meaning and values. Ana is most definitely the "sexy Onee-san" archetype of this game, complete with having a curvaceous figure (reminds me of Rangiku in "BLEACH", wait a sec...). But personality-wise, the Greek lady gave off this mysterious, unpredictable vibe. She's like a mix of mature Maria Tachibana, with a vibe of Glycine Bleumer and Soletta Orihime's European presence, but with a cloudy past of Hanabi Kitaouji, and the hidden sides of Reni Milchstrasse or Subaru Kujou. If I had to describe it in one word, she's puzzling. However, there's one trait that she's been constantly identified with: she's an actress. It thoroughly commanded the message of the lyrics. But I digress. Was the whole song really all about Ana's passion for acting? There seemed to be more than meet the eye. From what I gather, there's an underlying hint of a journey of sadness, past events or eras that had emerged and faded, beloved people that had come and gone. In short, she basically acted her way through the ups and downs of her life. A coping mechanism, perhaps? Laughing away loneliness, a facade of her true emotions. And what did she mean by "A Place to Return to"? Was it the stage, or acting, or just like many of previous Sakura Taisen's heroine: someone to go home to? Or someone who can finally discover and understand her real self? I need to either play the game or watch the TV series to confirm that. Now that I'm older (and wiser? Naaaah), this is my idea of a good song. It asks you to listen, pay attention, and also feel challenged to try to figure it out. This was the longest Shin Hanagumi and solo song of the album. You'll understand why it needed to be that long to be good. The moment that alluring piano intro kicked in, and the violin started to seep in, it's classy and elegant as hell. Ayaka Fukuhara stated that this was a challenge to sing, and indeed it is. It should be. Even though the vocal range wasn't as demanding as Elise's opera, the pitch work was exceptional! She gradually went from a lower tone to higher and higher. It sounded like the aura of the room changed every time another verse began (due to the modulation, as well as the flow of passion and emotions), seemingly depicting Ana's many masks. And those sharp notes? Oh my, oh my, OH MY!!! No wonder Subaru's VA, Mie Sonozaki (who is a prolific singer herself) congratulated Fukuhara on doing such a fine job. This is another highlight of the album for me and my favorite Shin Hanagumi character song by far. Now, where can I get the off-vocal version? Because I totally want to try singing this song... PS: Similar to Elise, voice-wise, Ana is one of my favorites due to her range and distinct pronunciation style. She can go mezzo-soprano and heavy, but also high and soprano. I strongly enjoyed that versatility is utilized wonderfully in this song.

Rondo (Round Dance) by. Clarissa Snowflake (Saori Hayami)

You're watching a European-based fairy tale romance. What happens at the end, when the one true love has been found and all evil that stands in the way has perished? They hold a gala, where everyone waltzes into a happily ever after... That is the core of this whole song, a composition that Kouhei-sensei described it as feeling "like a movie". As a character, Claris fancies herself reading books (nerd alert! Hahaha), and I think many of her scenes in the game takes place in the library. But she also writes stories and loves to fantasize about a paradise filled with mermaids and magical elements. Perhaps because she alone wields a magic book. And her dream is to dance with someone while surrounded by those things. Those are the essence of the simple but poetic lyrics. I admit, when I first heard it, I was taken aback by the decision to putting this track as the final Hanagumi song. But now it makes perfect sense. It easily serves as a calm and astonishingly perfect capper to a series of solo songs, a grand celebration to conclude a colorful parade. My knowledge of reed or woodwind instruments is poor, so I couldn't tell if it was an Ocarina or another type that played in the intro. I'm not sure if that's native to Luxembourg too. One thing for sure, the medieval melody would naturally pierce through your soul, until that graceful combo of Lute or acoustic guitar (again, sorry if I'm bad at names) and harp soothed you into a more familiar space. Then suddenly, the song changed tone halfway through and turned into full folk song mode. Yes, the Kouhei-sensei style I told you before. Someone on Youtube mentioned that this reminded him/her of Disney's "Tangled". Well, I can attest that the catchy interlude was very true to that notion. To think that this song arrived while "Frozen 2" is still playing. Such a great coincidence! Saori Hayami is a great singer, known for her gorgeous legato siren-like vocals. Just like Ana (oh hey, fellow non-Japanese Shin Hanagumi), I'm beyond happy that this song fully made use of her unique charm. Especially once it got into that royal ballroom dance chorus, reminiscent of Orihime's image song. It didn't take long for me to imagine Claris as the protagonist, dancing with her prince (or princess, if that's her thing. Right, Hallmark?) in a grand finale of her fictional story. Speaking of which, I'm still confused as to why Hayami's name is always placed at the end. Even though the promotions clearly showed that Claris is one of the first members of the team. Could it be that she's a "special cast member" type, like in Hollywood movies? That would make sense... Another highlight of the album, another personal favorite (that I've been humming and singing unconsciously on repeat), this clocked as the second-longest solo of the album. But just like the previous number, I doubt anyone would complain. You only need to close your eyes and just start swaying left to right, back, and front. Take your beloved person's hand, embrace him/her tightly, and just follow the musical flow. Dance the day or night away, with much joy and passion! PS: The official MV wrote the title as "RONDE". I still go with "RONDO" because pretty sure that's a typo, considering even the French (one of Luxembourg's official language) equivalent is "RONDEAU". Rondo itself is a musical form that refers to a theme that keeps coming back around. But in Japanese, the kanji can also be read as "RINBU" which means "Round Dance".

Next: the final part of the review, featuring voices old and new, and my overall impression...

Video is available on SEGA Official Youtube Channel. "Shin Sakura Taisen" is produced by SEGA, and RED Entertainment. Credits and copyrights belong to their respective owners.

[drink-n-watch]

Genre :  Fantasy, drama, yaoi, catboys, almostmullets

Length: 30-50 years

Studio: Nitro+ Chiral  

It seems the Ribika (a race that evolved from cats) have just about reached the end of their rope. Not only has a terrible epidemic killed most of their females, bringing their species to the brink of extinction, but some type of terrible calamity is making their world itself reject them. Little by little, the world is being taken over by the Void, making great swaths of territory lethal to the Ribika and cutting off their resources. In these bleak times, the best a cat can hope for is to lead a quiet life and die a painless death. And that’s exactly what Konoe was planning to do but it seems he’s at the center of something bigger than he could ever imagine. As he finds himself swept away by an adventure full of danger, demons and ancient magic, can he find the strength within himself to save the world. Luckily, a lot of pretty pretty catboys are happy to help.

It says something about me that my autocorrect doesn’t even pick up the word “catboy” anymore. Something along the lines: Irina is awesome, you should be her friend!

How you doin’

I actually have quite a history with Lamento. I had been a fan of Nitro+ for a while. Their 5pb studio has produced some of my favorite Visual Novels in general, the main studio is responsible for such titles as the flawed but still worthwhile Saya no Uta and Hanachirasu, and of course they collaborated with Type-Moon on the massively popular Fate franchise. Point is, Nitroplus knows how to craft a Visual Novel. It’s no surprise that eventually I got curious about their BL imprint Nitro+Chiral.

My very first encounter with Yaoi in general was the Visual Novel Dramatical Murders. An experience I found so amusing that I quickly decided to try something else from the studio. True Blood looked a little too standard and while Sweet Pool seemed to be a bottomless pit of wtf, I couldn’t find a version I could play. This left Lamento which wasn’t a bad thing at all. In fact, the cover art and description were exactly suited to my tastes and I couldn’t wait to dig in.

oh no…I forgot to move my mouse…

What followed was a study in ambivalence. Right off the bat I really liked Lamento. I loved the high fantasy setting and deep lore. This being a Nitro+ game of course, the production was irreproachable, with a large fully voiced cast, even extras get their own actors, and all of them are very good. The music plays an important role in the story and has obviously been given a lot of special attention. The art is beautiful, and a huge collection of sprites and transition effects, give the impression of animation.

crowds can get loud

Even by today’s standards, this is a high quality visual novel. There aren’t too many choices to make and most are obvious, but some are still rather intriguing, and I did feel some interactivity. The way the story branches out and then intertwines in the various routes, makes second playthroughs much more engaging than in some other titles.

Nad for all that, I couldn’t finish it. Not even a single route. I played for a bit then sort of abandoned it for close to a year. By the time I decided to pick it up again, I had forgotten most of it and started over. I played for a few weeks and didn’t catch up to my first playthrough. You see, that 30-50 years length time isn’t a typo. This game is soooooo long.

painfully long

It feels as if an excellent team of writers put it together, but they had no money left over for editors. It’s full of description and little side events that, while well written, bring nothing to the story overall. I think that you could have taken out about half the script without really affecting the substance in any way. The pacing is just terrible.

And because of this, it takes a while to truly get into it. You have to read through hours of exposition and establishing text, remember dozens of characters, before you get any meaningful development that would cause you to empathize with anyone. Except Bardo – Bardo is the best from minute one but of course he only shows many hours into the game and you’ll need a few more before you can get on his route and actually get to know the character at all.

the best I tell you!

Of course, once you’ve finished one route, you can skip previously read text in subsequent playthroughs but, as this is an older game, you don’t have an autoskip button. You have to hold down the shift key (at least on my version). There are a few around this, like playing in window mode, holding down shift then bringing a different window in front (like Youtube for instance), then you can let go of shift and it will go on skipping (which is really just fastforwading) on it’s on. It’s still a bit of a hassle. Without exaggeration, I believe my second playthrough consisted of at least 30 minutes of skipping. That should give you an idea of the gargantuan size of this thing.

bigger isn’t always better

So time and time again, despite liking every single element of Lamento, I ended up getting discouraged and dropping it before it truly got the chance to start. For some reason, after finishing a few VNs and Otomes in a row, I decided to give it another go a few weeks ago. I figured I would control my completionist tendencies and skip over bits I remembered and concentrate only on scenes I had zero recollection of. This helped a bit. It still took a while but, possibly having gained patience with age (Ha!) I stuck it out, and boy am I glad I did.

Nitro+ knows how to put together a visual novel. A few days in, I had caught up to my first playthrough and was firmly on adorably idiot Asato’s route. It took me another week to finish the game mind you, I know, cause I didn’t sleep for 5 days… Catboys…

who’s the cute kitty

The story is classic fantasy stuff, a few routes seem to have some plot holes and you will need to play everything to get the whole picture but it’s decent. I would like to see an anime version of this. I enjoyed how fleshed out and interesting all the supporting characters were, even minor ones. The dramatic aspect of the story is undercut by frequent humorous interactions and the devils are always good for a laugh.

Although explicit consent is a little iffy, there no actual rape scenes (except two of the very bad endings) and at most suitors will pester Konoe into romantic situations but never force him. Probably one of the most respectful BL games I’ve played in that regard.

there was a lot more trust building than snuggling…

The power dynamics are excellent as well, and different in every route but consistent with the characters’ personalities. As for the sexy times, they are pretty sexy indeed. Just ridiculous enough.

As an aside, there’s frequent touches of cat behavior – i.e. grooming, purring, playing with grass blades or chasing mice, that are just adorkably hilarious.

unfortunately I have no screencaps of those – so you get a hug

I’m not going to put a full playthrough here, but if you’re interested in that I refer you to domshiki’s fantastic, marvelous, I wish they would start posting again but that’s probably not happening blog. Warning, very NSFW and spoilers (duh).

I will however give you a taste of those fine catboys that have made my local coffee shop a fortune:

Konoe

That’s me! Nice huh. It could be you too! Konoe is a BL game protagonist. He’s pleasant and down to earth. Usually the straight man…um, well, you know what I mean…. He was however a bit more tsundere and prone to lashing out that the average, a trait majorly brought out in Bardo’s route. Konoe is in way over his head but he’s pretty rational and doesn’t play the damsel in distress much. In every route the characters sort of take turns helping each other out and I really like this. I enjoyed being Konoe quite a bit.

Rai

I think he’s the main route. His is the longest in any case and has the most CGs. (And they were almost all naughty, that’s why you guys get these…) I remember hating this guy the first times I played. Again, I’m not sure what happened in the last few months, but I really didn’t mind him this time around, at least at first.

He’s the stoic, super arrogant, cold type and it takes him forever to warm up but when he does, it’s pretty gaaahhhh. He’s not abusive though, just very distant. Oddly, I found him more annoying towards the end of the route when his arrogance seemed to go up yet one more level. It was already too high.

Konoe is the closest to a stereotypical MC in this route. Strong headed but still generally submissive and hopelessly devoted to his partner. This said, he does put Rai back in his place a few times and make fun of him, so not entirely hopeless. At the start of the game (for the first 2871443825t86 hours) I thought this would be the one route I have to drag myself through for the sake of completion, but I did end up enjoying quite a bit of it. Not just the CGs… I mean they didn’t hurt…

Asato

Asato is a big ol puppy dog in kitty form. He has some serious trauma in his past which I suspect involves getting dropped on his head a lot. He’s a little slow but brimming with good will and madly in love with Konoe. His voice actor does a tremendous job really bringing out both the slow and the love.

Since he’s nothing but a big ball of adorableness, Konoe can’t help but to get a bit protective of him in this route and you end up taking a more dominant, leading role. For some time, Asato is obviously much more interested but Konoe eventually starts sharing the affection and the natural development of their relationship is really very sweet.

Both characters go through a huge amount of growth and this would be my favorite route except..

Bardo

I loves me a troll. Always have.

Bardo is the dirty ol man with the big mouth. He’s super easygoing and endlessly teases, well pretty much everybody, but Konoe in particular. As the older more experienced one he tends to take the lead in situations and seems to relish in embarrassing Konoe as much as possible. Which makes the younger kitten lash out every two seconds.

This is by far the funniest route for the most part but of course we eventually get a strong dose of dark and troubled past! This is sort of the opposite of Rai, as Bardo seems to have fallen deeply for Konoe while the latter tends to ignore and push him away for the most of the run. However, it’s also the only time we get any hint of jealousy out of Konoe which was fun.

Bardo mixes all the playfulness with a good amount of comforting and he is by far the most reliable partner for Konoe. In quieter scenes, when his voice actor went for a tired or worried tone, he was so delightfully attentive, it actually comforted ME.

As I said there are a ton of fantastic side characters, antagonists and demons, all of which are really just a delightful.

See even my post for this game went on FOREVER.

TL:DR Lamento is a very good game with very bad pacing. If it weren’t for the length, it would probably be one of my favorite Visual Novels. I miss my catboys already.

Favorite character: Firi (I didn’t even get to talk about Firi…) and Bardo

What this VN taught me: PATIENCE

Suggested drink: a Devil’s Cat

Every time Konoe gets snappy – take a sip

Every time Asato says Konoe – take a sip

Every time a Devil makes an appearance – take a sip

Every time kuims are mentioned – get a snack

Every time Rai tchs – get some water

Every time Froud or Verg laugh – take a sip

Every time Firi makes an appearance – raise your glass

Every time Leaks is mentioned – take a sip

Every time we see the poet – take a sip

Every sexy time– put the glass down, you don’t wanna spill

And here are all the screencaps I couldn’t even fit in this monster post!

Lamento Beyond the Void or How to Ruin Your Sleep Schedule with Catboys Genre :  Fantasy, drama, yaoi, catboys, almostmullets Length: 30-50 years Studio: Nitro+ Chiral   It seems the Ribika (a race that evolved from cats) have just about reached the end of their rope.

[todokori-kun]

(Random but I think your reply was a little later than normal? Was it the internet again? Anyway it’s nice to be talking with you again queen :D

Also just in case you didn’t get the other messages I sent (I sent them a few days ago so I guess tumblr ate them again), I was basically trying to say that the CP aesthetics are gorgeous and that I found the real Hamilton’s last letter to Eliza and was wondering if you’d like to see it too if you haven’t already. I think I was also trying to ask if you got the new pics I sent you)

EXCUSE me how is it even possible to not be impressed with Hamilton (ok, ok, so I guess you’d be pretty unimpressed with Alex after Say No To This…but ELIZA. ANGELICA. AND PEGGY. WASHINGMACHINE. And of course the entire hecking cast is awesome). At least they acknowledged the Frenchfryette…

(jk, jk, we all have different tastes so I guess even Hamilton might not be the right thing for some people ^^)

HE AIMS HIS PISTOL AT THE SKY-

“WAIT!”

(Burr. You should know by now that the whole ‘talk less, smile more’ and ‘wait for it’ theme doesn’t really work out for you most of the time. It’s certainly not gonna stop a bullet you already fired ;-;)

According to my parents I was a really bubbly, well-mannered kid who never whined or threw tantrums…but, BUT, I was as much of an airhead then as I am now, and I ended up causing a lot of trouble XD Other than the bathroom flooding incident, once when I was tiny my mom left me playing in the hall while she was making dinner. When she came to check on me I’d turned one of the walls into a piece of modern art (like Carnage Kabuto did to Genos, only better/worse). With permanent markers.

And once when I was even younger, mom woke up to a strange sound coming from outside the bedroom, and she realized I wasn’t in bed with her. She found me in the living room, plucking the rocks out of a plant pot and rolling them across the floor like marbles.

I also remember that I had a habit of doodling all over my arms and legs and cutting up my pajamas to make them look 'cool’. Literally any time I rolled up my pants you’d see giant, brightly colored marker lines/dots/swirls all over my legs, and all of my pajama shirts and pants were starting to fall apart because I kept snipping at them (I remember grabbing my craft scissors and hiding behind the sofa to redesign my clothes in peace without my parents seeing and being all “Evans, those are for cutting PAPER, not your clothes” lol).

I was a weird kid.

You’re right- at the place where they finally got the thing out, I think the doctor just had me lie down and got it out with pincers(?). No pain, no blood, it was over pretty quickly. I do think I remember being told that the heel of the shoe had gotten buried in the inside of my nose, though, and that was why it was so difficult to get out…

As for the nosebleed, idek. I remember some people holding this blue, rubbery pump-thing to my nose and trying to get the shoe out with that??? And then blood just suddenly started pouring from my nose? LOL it didn’t hurt, though, and there’s always the chance that it had nothing to do with the shoe. I got a lot of random nosebleeds as a kid, I’d literally just get up in the middle of the night, decide I needed to go wipe my nose because it felt runny, then turn on the light to see blood plastered all over my nose and around my mouth…I probably looked like something out of a horror movie XD

I RELATE TO THAT. There are still a few toys I’m super attached to even if I don’t play with them anymore, and I get sorta…upset?…when people touch them the wrong way (also my dad keeps talking about how we need to throw some of the old dolls away soon and I haaate it ;-;).

Yeah, that particular kid (let’s call her Friend A) is a bit of a brat lol. She smacks her own mother when she’s upset and screams her head off whenever she doesn’t get her way. It’s pretty uncomfortable to watch because her mom never really does anything about it…

(also, some context for the kicking: the boy she kicked (let’s call him Friend B) has been friends with my little sister for a few years now so they’re closer with each other than they are with Friend A. But Friend A got upset about that and came to the grown ups to tell on them; everyone tried to calm her down and suggested that maybe she should try asking them nicely, but she ended up throwing a tantrum. So Friend B’s grandma jokingly said that if Friend B kept being rude to her she could just fight back, give him a punch (she was laughing while saying it, so even to a kid it should have been pretty obvious she was joking).

After we found out what Friend A had done and tried to talk to her about it, she was like 'his grandma told me I could so I did it.’ and refused to apologize.)

OH NO. IS THIS ANOTHER ONE OF THE DREADFUL FANDOMS WHERE YOUR OTP NEVER, eVEr, HAPPENS?! That settles it, I’m never watching or reading Fairy Tail 0.0

Well, sure, most mangas have at least one hiatus at some point…but HxH is on a whole different level. The hiatuses are LEGENDARY.

just imagine what would happen if a manga artist tried to keep up with Ishida’s TG schedule (one chapter every single week except on holidays). An artist who apparently has no assistants. An older artist who has health problems. Tbh you can’t really be upset with HxH for the hiatuses…but it’s still a really, REALLY long wait whenever it happens, and sometimes it goes right back on hiatus barely a few months after the last hiatus ended ;-; I’m lucky I joined the fandom so late (and right after the hiatus ended, too! :D) but I can’t be sure when it’s going to happen again..

Ok, ok, so in case you haven’t searched what Feitan looks like he is LITERALLY Levi. The narrow eyes. The murderous stare of disinterest. The hair.

Then there’s absolute loyalty to a leader. Levi ->Erwin, Feitan-> Chrollo (Chrollo=manipulative spider thief who actually managed to troll HISOKA, of all people). Feitan is also one of the stronger characters as far as I know, and he’s just as blunt and rude and Levi. And he’s a thief; Levi used to be a thug.

Also, also- Levi=160cm. Feitan= 155cm.

Feitan is Evil Levi. Actually, maybe Thug Levi could have turned out like Feitan if he never met Erwin…that’s a scary thought 0.0

(as for Hisoka and Saitama, well. Hisoka realizes that even his Nen (his special power), Bungee Gum, has absolutely no affect on Saitama. He proceeds to Schwing. Very hard.)

(I doubt I’ll ever be over Old Man Fu because Iiked him a lot ;-;)

Saitama is my fav tbh, though Genos comes close..and from what I know about Metal Bat, he’s also a really cool dude. (Also I love Amai Mask/Sweet mask. I love to hate on him.) I like Sonic, but I can’t take him seriously most of the time because he feels like a parody of Sasuke from Naruto (also I keep thinking of Sonic the Hedgehog lol)…his smile is adorable though :3

I’m neutral towards Tatsumaki because her powers are super cool and I like her design but her attitude is a bit annoying to me. Still, I think I read that she’s gotten more development and backstory in the manga/webcomic, so I’ll wait until I can catch up with canon :)

OH NO. Apparently Bert’s death can still hurt me even after all that’s happened since then (also AoT’s new chapter hit me straight in the Annie/Bertl feels. I guess it’s basically one-sided canon now).

YES. I’m seriously so hyped for Ragnarok. I’m just as hyped for the fanfic as I am for the actual movie. And the FANDOM. Can’t wait to see what tumblr’s gonna be like when the Loki fans realize their king has returned XD

I can’t drop TG because there are too many things I want to see/know (like the whole deal with Kimi and Kanou, what’s going to happen with the whole Human vs. Ghoul thing in the end, what’s going to happen to the Touken kid, if Kaneki will live, if Shuu will ever actually get angry at Kaneki, the OEK’s true identity, Eto’s return…). And SPOILERS FOR NEW CHAPTER

after this chapter I definitely can’t stop until we see how Urie gets out of this situation (plus I sense character development/backstory/reveal time, which is always cool). Maybe I should be scared for Urie but I’m still not that worried. Death cliffhangers in TG almost never come true, and like I said, Urie just CAN’T die now when his character arc is nowhere near finished.

But I totally get your frustration, queen.

I’m probably gonna play it tomorrow :D I’ll let you know when I do!

Yep, I know what happens in his bad end. I don’t want play it XD

I did play Fritz’s bad end a few days ago, though. WHY DID YOU HAVE TO SAY GOODBYE VARG

I ship Queen Luna with too many people and I don’t even care

(DON’T YOU DARE WRITE MORE FRITZ HCs THOUGH, PLEASE. HAVE MERCY. IT’S TOO FLUFFY FOR ME TO HANDLE)

Also: I have a game to recommend! :D If you haven’t played it already, The Blind Griffin by Asphodel Quartet is awesome. I downloaded it from Itch.io :) it’s set in America, in the 1920s. The MC is looking for a job and happens to stumble into a speakeasy run by magicians.

Review so far:

pros:

-great MC! She has a fun personality- not the flat heroine most Otome games have, but not a super cold Ice Queen type either. I really liked her.

-Diverse cast! From the main cast there’s the MC, who’s Chinese-American, Vivienne, who’s African-American, Alexei, who’s Russian, Giovanni, who’s Italian, and Emilio, who’s Spanish. Then Marie, who’s transgender, and her gender identity is handled very well! Also a lot of different body types and facial features.

-Lovable characters. I didn’t expect to like everyone so much but there is literally nobody in the main cast that I dislike. I thought I wouldn’t enjoy Giovanni’s route after I played Alex’s and decided he was my fav, but turns out I was wrong. Gio was great too.

-everything is quite realistic and fits well with the setting. There’s even a glossary for slang.

-Art and music are gorgeous

-several different endings! I’ve only played the romance routes so far but I think there’s a friendship ending as well as a sad ending for each character. The romances were really sweet so I can’t wait to see what happens with the other routes!

Cons:

-it was made for NaNoReNo, so the story does feel a little rushed because of the time limit and the game is really short ;-; it feels like there should have been more but they just didn’t have time to finish the story.

-not a lot of choices.

And random note: do you know, I actually wanted to make an Otome Game myself a while back. I had some plot, choices, routes and characters all planned out and even downloaded a program to try and teach myself how to make a game…but then I realized I suck at it and it was just too much for me to handle on my own XD I’ve been working on the ideas I had for that game though- mostly the characters, I’ve thought of a lot of Love Interests ;) maybe someday I could actually make this work as a collab with someone else when I’m older…for now I think I might try writing down the script and drawing some more concept art for the characters because I have too many ideas and I need to let them out LOL

I’M ALIVE. The internet was absolute shit, yay. Sorry about the long wait OTL

Aaah, right, I got those, I just noticed them after posting ^^;;; They were buried in the asks from my other blogs ^^:::: Thanks a lot about the aesthetic compliments! I’m glad you liked them! I definitely enjoyed making them ^^ And wow, the feels ;-; Best of Wives and Best of Women.

The drawings you sent me are gorgeous!! Dead Fish Eyes Family tho XD

The thing is, from the start, even before we reached My Shot, they were like ‘meh’. But I still forced them to listen anyway muhahahahaha HOW COULD THEY NOT LIKE THE SCHUYLER SISTERS? THE ABSOLUTE QUEENS??? I am disappointed in them T^T

I STRIKE HIM RIGHT BETWEEN HIS RIBS I WALK TOWARDS HIM, BUT I AM USHERED AWAY THEY ROW HIM BACK ACROSS THE HUDSON I GET A DRINK

((I’m writing those lyrics while listening to one of the most happy songs I know XD))

I’m guessing Burr needed a real life lesson about bullets and their negative effects on humans, especially if they’re fired at someone else. Welp, hopefully he knows now.

We were opposite as kids XD My parents once decided to make a small experiment. They told me to sit down and stay like that for as long as I could. Then, they started measuring how long it took me to start fidgeting, then how long until I stood up and ran somewhere. Barely a minute before fidgeting, a bit more than 3 until I stood up and ran away. I wasn’t joking when I said everyone thought I had ADHD.

Thankfully, I knew the consequences of drawing on walls well enough from my sister’s example (I still remember how mad my mom was when she found out she’d been writing an walls) to do anything, but for some reason, I always broke everything I touched. I was not to be trusted with the dishes and if anyone got me a snow globe (which was surprisingly often), it wouldn’t last a month unless it was placed on the highest shelf, out of my reach. Even then, I would still manage to break it sooner or later.

((Random, but my playlist is on shuffle and just played 98% of my Christmas songs, one after other. I am slightly worried XD (even tho I sang along)))

I didn’t do it to my clothes, but I had a knack for redesigning barbie clothes/hairstyles/makeup. And my sister would usually help, despite being 6 years older XD She was always so artistic, she even sewed some clothes for them! They were actually pretty good, despite her being 10-12 yo.

To be honest, I’m fascinated. I am genuinely fascinated. Partly at the fact that the shoe managed to get buried in the inside of your nose, partly at how much fuss you went through to get it out XD  I think I would’ve cried regardless of pain or not, had I gotten a nosebleed as a kid. I just couldn’t stand blood (still can’t tbh)

I’m slowly running out of space on my shelves, because I keep adding new books there, and yet I never move any of the trinkets or toys that are there. My mom keeps insisting we at least move some stuff to the basement, not throw it out, but I never give in XD I mean, I’m very happy with how the whole thing looks right now, and it would be empty without the stuff. For some reason, I have no problems with dolls now, but plush toys and small figurines are what get to me… For example, horses have always been among my favourite animals, so I have a shitton of horse toys, and they honestly take up a lot of space, and yet I feel like I’d be betraying my hobby (horse riding) by throwing them away ;-; Until I have no more space for books, I’m not moving anything XD (unfortunately, that’s gonna be very soon, even now I always have to move stuff around a lot to fit them in)

Wow. Well, I’m gonna be a stiff and say ‘Kids these days…’ Im only halfway joking. I went to visit my old elementary school last year and, boy, did the first years (7yo) annoy me. Now, I was a brat, but I wasn’t a brat with a smartphone who didn’t socialise with others at all. And my old teacher told me stories of their parents… I’m slowly changing my mind about wanting to be a chemistry professor in the future XD I think imma just be a researcher. Thing is, parents aren’t strict enough. True, my mom was a bit too strict, but one of the girls I went to elementary school has parents who always let her do anything she wanted, and even when they grounded her, they’d ‘un-ground’ her half an hour later. And guess how she turned out! Today, she smokes (cigarets and weed), goes out at least 4 times a week and gets wasted every time, I don’t even want to start on her grades and, most of all, she’s an ungrateful brat who’s used to getting everything she wants. Life’s gonna be fun for her. 

YES, YES IT IS. I mean, in the last chapter, almost all of them were heavily implied, one of them even had an actual love confession a few chapters back, but nothing was said in the last chap, except for this:

WHAT’S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN??? THIS IS MY 2nd ULTIMATE OTP IN THE SHOW; WHAT THE FUUUUU

AND THEN THERE WAS ANOTHER ONE, WHERE BOTH OF THEM DIED IN THE MANGA, BUT THEY WERE THERE IN THE LAST CHAP, APPARENTLY AS REINCARNATIONS??

BUT MY OTP. THE SHIP I CARED ABOUT SINCE DAY 1. THE ONE I SHIPPED FOR AS LONG AS I’VE BEEN READING THE MANGA (which is, admittedly, quite long, I’d say more than a year and a half) IT WAS THE MOST ??? ONE.  OKay, here’s the story: He’s originally a bad guy, but he was manipulated, so he repented of his sins, did some good shit and was still locked in a prison. Then, there was  a huge war arc and he was freaking helpful and did a lot of good stuff, so now, in the end, he was pardoned. AND THE LAST CHAP; HERE’S WHAT WE FIND OUT: HE WAS PARDONED; AND EVER SINCE,  SHE’D BEEN DOING HER HAIR EVERY DAY (implying she’s happy or seeing him, I guess???) AAAAA I’m lowkey debating posting the entire last chap here for you to read, even without context, just so you can see how much it’s only implication and nothing real (;_;)

Ouch… Well, I’ll have to think about it then ^^

Tbh I can’t imagine Levi with Feitan’s hair. It’s too messy XD

Ahahahahahah Idk if I’ll ever get over Schwing, despite not watching/reading the manga…  Schwing.

I think most of Metal Bat’s personality comes through in the manga, because he has a few omake in the manga, where he goes to strenuous lengths to protect/keep his sister pure. It’s adorable, really. His sis is a bit of a brat tho. Amai mask. I can not stand that guy. 

Oh yes, the beautiful, murderous smile. You can practically hear the panties dropping.

I still have 15ish chaps till I’m caught up w the manga, but both she and her sis have very… interesting personalities XD Im pretty sure she’s like that on purpose, though, to bring more humour into the manga (as if it needed that XD)

AoT Will keep hurting me as long as it can. Basically, until I either drop it or until it ends. 

Oh, you don’t think they’ve realised yet? From the amount of gifs I’ve seen, I’d say the fangirls are very well informed XD 

Oh joy… Please keep me updated XD And come screaming if Urie does die, cause I gotta read that for myself XDDD

OYAOYAOYA SO HAVE YOU PERHAPS STARTED WALTZ??

Ahah, I warned you… I still wanna cry when I think of Varg. #stillnotoverit

huehuehueheuhueheuheuheuehueheuheuheuehuehueheue ill spare you for now. no telling what comes in the future tho~

Alrighty, i’ll check it out ^^ it seems interesting enough!

Oh, yeah, I forgot to add, but I’m trying to start a love live dance cover group here in Zagreb! It’s harder than you think =3= It seems like I’m the only one who likes the show. Hopefully, I manage to find people ^^