#moonlight cafe

[arimiaromage]

Strange house - DGM doujin fangame guide book scans

so in January I found a physical copy of a 2010 d.gray-man doujin visual novel called Strange house by the doujin group MOONLIGHT CAFE. the game is a romance visual novel where you play as Lavi and can date Kanda while out on a mission with him to, you guessed it, a strange house.

the game is completely in Japanese and almost all mention of it online has gone away as it's a 14 year old game, so suffice to say finding anything about this game has been difficult. it won't be a complete mystery now though as I have the game and the guide book!

so... let's look inside this guide book!

before we crack it open, here's the scans of the DVD cover slip. the outside is similar to the guide book (see above) but the inside is an adorable collection of chibis.

now let's look at the guide book! all of these scans are at a high dpi so open them up in a new tab if you'd like to see them up close. also, most of this is in Japanese and I won't be able to translate a majority of it. if you'd like to translate it, please feel free to and add it to the post!

D.Gray-man LaviYu Only

Windows only sound novel type adventure game

(side note- visual novels are usually called adventure games in Japan. sound novel is another term for them that was more popular to use years ago)

The next two pages go over the system menus- the main menu, the CG gallery (where you can view cut scene artwork), in game menu, save & load, and the options menus.

Now that we've gone over the system, it's on to the character bios! Lavi is up first as he's the player character followed by Kanda and the finder Doma.

(somehow Kanda ends up in a bridal gown in this game)

(she has doll arms and legs? it says she's the other guy's sister)

(I have no clue what her name is suppose to be. Yuno Moreta? Yunoo Moreeta?? I'm guessing it's trying to be like Yu Kanda??? Allen's bio here mentions him being the 14th and that he doesn't appear much as he wasn't assigned to this mission)

(Lenalee's basically says that she's an exorcist and Komui's younger sister, but mentions that she might be seen on the mission in front of Lavi? the guy on the right was apparently meant to be something like a love rival in the MVP [think beta build] for the game)

after the character bios is the route guides!

while not every visual novel has choices or multiple endings, visual novels that do have multiple endings refer to them as "routes" or "scenarios", i.e. the series of choices you make to reach each ending. this game has 4 routes, each with a different artist.

scenario A is called Dolly and written by 響夜 and illustrated by Guriko.

scenario B is called Coming Home and written by 響夜 and illustrated by Seiko and others.

scenario C is.... something about a bracelet? it's written by 秋吉 and illustrated by Bonnu.

scenario D is called lonely travels / loneliness while traveling and is written by 木花 and illustrated by ネコ科ノコ.

to be honest this is a lot more than I was expecting! we're already at 7 team members and haven't touched the programming or music aspects. I also have no clue how long this game is - there's only a few choices listed here to get each route so each ending could be 5k words (short) or over 50k words (long).

now onto staff!

sadly, I won't be able to translate these as it's a majority kanji, but here they are.

and that's it! there's a lot of cute art here that I hope will be saved on the internet now that the sites for MOONLIGHT CAFE's games are mostly defunct.

personally as a visual novel developer I find it amazing that they were able to not only make such a good looking fan visual novel in 2010 with multiple endings but to get so many people on board and make it all work out. and then to make a physical release of it! (side note- I'm still unsure what engine this was made in! I'm thinking kirikiri but I'm not sure)

I have the game set up and am able to play it, so at some point I'll share some footage of it on this tag on my blog. I'm hesitant to put the exe online as this was a paid game at one point and the doujin circle seems to be disbanded, but I might if there's interest (is this considered a no-no for doujins? I'm unfamiliar on etiquette for doujins, so some advice on that would be appreciated if you have any)

[cafe-au-lait-21]

Who is the most likely to kidnap and get kidnapped of the Moonlight, Treehouse, and CBB peepos?

“Wow, really getting right into the important questions, huh? You guys are lucky I’m not bound by any contract to keep my mouth shut. I think it’s pretty obvious though that Drip, Joe, and Bicerin are… the most likely candidates to kidnap someone. But you didn’t hear that from me!

From Treehouse though? Definitely Sweet Pea. Although, with how genuine and sweet he usually is, it was probably an accident. Emphasis on the probably…

As for the bakery, well you’re in luck, none of them would kidnap you… but don’t make Creampuff mad, he has a way of making people disappear from the city. At the same time, Cloud’s been kidnapped before, mostly because he fell asleep and drifted off and someone mistook him for their own Sans, hah!” - DW. C.

[kafkasapartment]

Paris Cafe, c. 1904. Alfred Maurer. Oil on canvas

[nectar-cellar]

girls and gays.... new conversions from the legend herself @sim-songs are on the way 🤤

[khaopybara]

Phim and Alan sit at same table !! 🥲

anon, why would you do this to me?

but seriously, even though phim and pang were together for a considerable less number of years if compared to alanwen, phim and alan do feel like two peas in a pod now that you mention it.

two people who are so attached to the idea of their lover and the life they would have together but they can't have it, one because one of the parts felt out of love with them, and the other because one of the parts just never let go of the idea of having something with someone else. it's just so sad.

hopefully they'll have the means to heal and get together with their respective little balls of sunshine.

[ace-of-hearts-and-spades]

Got tagged by @pondslime to list my top first-time watches of 2024 that weren't released in 2024 or 2023! Thank you for the tag my darling friend!! 🥰🥰🥰

Each of these have had a deep and irrevocable impact on me and I regret not seeing them sooner.

No pressure tags: @spookyscaryslashy, @fatal-feast, @bluecoolr, @cyanide-latte, @ace-disgrace-on-the-case, and ummmm whoever else would like to share some great movies you watched this year!! Feel free to do this as well, I tag you!! 💜

[baltharino]

Chiemi Tanaka performing Beautiful Moonlight QU4RTZ ~Sweet Cafe~ LIVE & FAN MEETING

[yang-jin-seo]

[honeylight-abroad]

Tonight I’d like to walk alongside a moonlit beach with Him.

Our heads bent towards one another as we joke about silly things that sometimes bump up against serious things.

I want us to drift into a partially empty cafe and giggle quietly and snort loudly. We could watch the drizzling rain as it glides slowly down a window pane.

I want to drown in the sea of his eyes.

Tonight I want to dream us into the life that could have been and just exist there for hours.

I want to be home.

~SB~

[blmpff]

papangpt on ig 13.05.2023

[arimiaromage]

Strange house - DGM doujin fangame scenario A

So this weekend I reached the true ending for the 1st scenario / route in Strange house, a doujin LaviYuu game I found made by MOONLIGHT CAFE. you can see the entire guidebook for it as well as more details here.

and now I'm going to show it off to you!

I finished scenario / route 1, titled "Dolly". in visual novels, when it has multiple endings or ways the story can play out, those are typically called routes. in Strange house it has 4 main routes with multiple endings for each route, though every route is still about Lavi x Kanda.

this is the route in the guidebook, where they give you a brief glimpse at some of the CGs (cutscene artworks) for the route and which choices you need to pick in order to get the true ending.

basically, the route starts by you (playing as Lavi) out on a mission with Kanda and Toma.

after you wrap up, Lavi says that it's too far to travel back to headquarters that night (this game set sometime right after Allen sets up the Ark doors for travel as the 14th but before Lavi is captured by the Noah) and insists you find shelter in the nearby town (because he wants more time outside the Order with Kanda).

in town, Toma hears there's a mansion nearby that will provide shelter to them, so they head there and are greeted by its owner, Ralph (ラルフ).

one of the main choices for this route is...... whether you introduce Kanda to Ralpha as Kanda or Yu??? I went with Yu for my first playthrough (I didn't consult the guidebook, I just wanted to play it naturally) and that apparently locked me out of the true ending. there's several endings if you called him Yu, but you can only get the true ending by calling him Kanda.

Ralph shows them to their rooms with some small chat - Ralph lives alone in this mansion after the passing of his parents and then his sister. Lavi and Kanda stay in adjoining bedrooms and try to get some sleep.

however.... a ghost has other plans.

the vision of a ghostly woman wakes Lavi up. he goes to Kanda's room to tell him about it only to find that Kanda isn't there anymore. his bags are there, and the bed looked slept in, but Kanda was missing.

at this point you return to Lavi's room and can either investigate on your own some or immediately call Ralph in. regardless, you have to call Ralph to investigate.

when Lavi investigates on his own, he finds a bloodied and town fabric, which definitely doesn't sit well with him. he informs Toma that Kanda is missing and tells him to sit tight, that he'll solve this.

after Lavi calls Ralph to inform him that Kanda is missing, Ralph is initially skeptical (maybe he went to the bathroom? out for a walk?) but agrees to help Lavi.

the two search the mansion but come up empty. the only location inside the manor they haven't searched is the attic which has been locked up since Ralph's sister died.

Lavi is surprised it's in such a nice shape despite Ralph claiming he hasn't been in there for at least months and the mansion doesn't have any maids/butlers. there's also a portrait on the wall that Lavi notices looks similar to the ghostly woman he saw earlier that night.

you have 2 options, either inspect the portrait on your own while Ralph opens up the attic window or ask Ralph directly about the portrait. if you inspect it before asking about it, the game continues. if you ask Ralph about it, he immediately shoots Lavi in the face.

I believe this is the first bad end in the route. Lavi later wakes up at the Order with only partial memories of what happened. apparently, Kanda found him bleeding out and managed to get him back there before it was too late, though he was heavily injured. however, Ralph had escaped by that point and Kanda refuses to talk about the night at all.

if we inspect the portrait, Lavi thinks how similar it looks to the ghost he saw but before he can remark out loud, Ralph calls him over to the window.

(yeah, they just took the front of the manor and skewed the image to simulate Lavi looking downwards from the attic)

Ralph says there's something outside, to which Lavi looks out but sees nothing. Ralph then pushes Lavi out the window but he's saved by extending his hammer. once he hits the ground unscathed, Ralph opens fire on him. at this point Lavi is very confused and runs off to the forest.

Ralph follows him there but Lavi knocks him out. there's the sounds of something rustling nearby, to which Lavi can either inspect it or take the unconscious Ralph back to the manor to search for Kanda.

if he searches for the sound, he finds it's a group of akuma waiting for an ambush. Lavi easily destroys them.

when Lavi comes back from fighting, Ralph is gone. Lavi goes to the basement and finds a dying Kanda sitting with a doll that looks just like the ghost he saw. however, this is another bad end - Kanda slowly wakes up but the two go home without fully understanding events.

what you're supposed to do is ignore the sounds and immediately take Ralph back inside. Lavi heads to the basement with him where they find a dying Kanda sitting with a "doll".

because Ralph is here, he freaks out and runs away at seeing the doll. Lavi stays by Kanda's side until he's able to move. once he regains consciousness, the two leave to chase after Ralph one more time.

Kanda is still injured, but they both know he should be fine thanks to his recovery speed. Kanda thinks Ralph thought he was dead and couldn't believe he was still alive. Lavi knows Kanda was dead from those injuries but his recovery abilities saved him.

Kanda goes on to explain that Ralph is a broker for the Earl and that the woman who saved him was Ralph's sister, Lyra (ライラ). he had heard a knocking on his window and saw the woman. she told him her name and that her brother was a broker. he had wanted to sell his soul and his sister's soul to revive their parents when they died, but she was so against the plan she locked herself in the attic.

depending on if you introduced Kanda as Yu or Kanda (yep remember that choice at the beginning?) determines if you get the final bad end or the true end.

if you called him Yu, then the two run around the mansion but find Ralph dead. akuma have already found him and killed him. Lavi and Kanda destroy the remaining akuma but still go home unsatisfied as they don't fully understand what happened to Lyra.

if you called him Kanda, then the two immediately run to Ralph's study where they find him about to make a phone call. they pull him out and force him to confess.

Ralph admits to being a broker, but there's one problem - his sister is dead. he swears he wasn't lying about that, saying that she killed herself when he was adamant that they revive their parents. so who saved Kanda...? at this point, even Lavi is confused.

they go back to the basement to see a lifeless doll there, covered in Kanda's blood. Ralph confesses the rest.

this is the true end for Dolly.

Lavi and Kanda take turns staying up to make sure no more akuma attack (and that Ralph doesn't escape) and Kanda brings out the—grape juice.

cue makeout session.

the next day, they hand off the manor to a group of finders to secure it and head off back to the Order. Lavi says he's sad he didn't get to see Kanda's sleeping face (Kanda woke up before he did that morning) and hopes he gets to see it at the Order.

still, Kanda brings him in for one more kiss before they go home.

and that's only one scenario / route out of the entire game! each route was written by a different person with different CG artists.

here's the ending credits as well.

this was pretty nice! it felt like one of the side story episodes from the original anime - they venture into a creepy but ultimately inconspicuous manor at night only to find it's connected to akuma, with its own broker and ghost story. this route was probably only around 2~ hours of playtime but took me much longer as it's in JP.

also, most of the character sprites are slightly animated and it's really cute, like Lavi's blushing happy sprite when he realizes Kanda wants to drink with him.

I'll be playing through the rest of the routes at some point and sharing that as well.

[merotwst]

You + Me = you getting married to someone else but me objecting at the last moment confessing my love, and then we run away together in a beautiful apartment, making coffee for each other and eating breakfast at out small table with flowers for decoration in the center overlooking the busy city streets, and we come together to cook pasta and dance in the kitchen together.

[obstinaterixatrix]

ultra is really good at hitting weird dreamy vibes. we're in the middle of z and one of the episodes has the main character, haruki, go like 'haha I love eating this tuna :) I wish I could eat it again and again' right when some 4th dimensional being shows up and traps them in The Weird Zone and he ends up having this minute-long timeloop like five times and his coworker yoko ends up getting the info and manages to get through to him like 'oh my god it's drawing on Your Desire, if you want to break out of this you have to really focus on where you truly want to be (at the robot loading bay so you can fight the kaiju)' and haruki's like 'okay! I'll think really hard about where I really want to be (at the robot loading bay so I can fight the kaiju)' and he takes the next step beyond the timeloop and ends up in front of his dad 10 years ago right before his dad gets killed while trying to save people from a monster attack and haruki's like. 'h. hi. you. person I don't know. so like. what did you fight for.' the vibes are Really Something

[majokkoradio]

“Yume no Tamago-tachi” - Hime-chan no Ribbon - BGM

[fracturedporcelaindoll]

Beautiful~

You see, dearest creature, I could sit up all night: we might go to moonlight ruins, cafés, dances, plays, junketings: converse forever; sleep only while the moon covers herself for an instant with a thin veil;

Virginia Woolf, from a letter to Vita Sackville-West wr. c. September 1928

[avixthecat]

it's funny because i can be the best person with names ever in the world ever

and then i'll sit here and name a sylveon metabolism and a leafeon protein what wonderful names, ☼! how nice and meaningful!