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After School Affairs: Sera Hidetaka

After School Affairs: Sera Hidetaka What Lies Beneath

What Lies Beneath

Love 365 had a whole bunch of stories for free to celebrate their anniversary, among them Sera Hidetaka’s from After School Affairs. Hidetaka looks like your run-of-the-mill, charming outside, rotten inside, manipulative bastard. Needless to say, I must have a look. (more…)

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After School Affairs

After School Affairs: Hot for Teacher

Hot for Teacher

Voltage Inc. are giving us a whole slew of stories for free this month, and one of them is from the After School Affairs series. I’ve actually read a few stories from that continuum, and while I’m not overly fond of teacher-student relationships, teacher-teacher stuff is fine by me. Also, the stories of this series like to tackle sometimes profound social issues. I find most of…

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It Takes Two

I’ll be honest: I have not been looking forward to Dui’s story, which is why I let it lie for so long. On the surface, there is obviously nothing wrong with Dui, quite the contrary. He is by far the kindest god of the entire bunch, a quiet person who genuinely cares about his friends and the MC. But I’m not new to the Japanese approach to mythology, and there is one thing that is simply a given: the Gemini sign will always have the evil twin and/or split personality problem. Always.

My favourite anime show, Saint Seiya, managed to combine both concepts: Saga, gold saint of Gemini, did not only have a dark side within himself, but also an actual evil twin brother, Kanon. Now, in Saint Seiya, Saga was (and is) my most beloved gold saint, and in terms of favourite character, second only to Phoenix Ikki. But what I’m looking for in an action show is radically different from what I’m looking for in a romance story, and a split personality is pretty high on my List of Nope.

  Saga’s split personality

Saga and Kanon

In everybody else’s route, Dui is depicted as a soft-spoken, friendly god who has everybody’s best interest at heart. As sweet as he is, I expect his evil twin to be all-out evil. And while I know that a story needs an antagonist, and that a fair amount of drama is to be expected, I really prefer enemies that are not, you know, oneself.

Okay. I’m sure everything will come up roses in the end. Let’s have a look.

Synopsis

This time, the choice makes sense: when the MC falls off that roof, she calls upon the kindest of the gods she has encountered, Dui. He catches her and teleports her to the mansion. He is nice to her, and concerned for her well-being. When the other gods arrive, he tells them not to scare the MC.

Alone in his room, however, he suddenly hugs the MC, much to her surprise. He is gentle and playful, and he smells amazing… And the MC’s heart is just about leaping out of her chest. But surely, he doesn’t mean anything by it? He is an exceedingly kind god; when there is a disturbance in her apartment complex, he offers to stay in her room to watch over her while she sleeps. Without the ulterior motives Ichthys or Teo would certainly have in this particular situation.

Things proceed as usual. Since the MC needs to be present for Dui to do his job in the Department of Punishments, she helps him cast his punishments by the reflecting pool. When he hands her a piece of paper, she cuts her finger on it. The tiniest bit of blood is visible – and here we meet Shadow Dui.

Look at this innocence.

Shadow Dui is, of course, the Evil Twin. His existence was hinted at by the other gods, especially Scorpio and Ichthys. Shadow Dui takes a dim view of the MC and her “meddling” in Dui’s life. In no time flat, he decides to find a definitive solution for this problem and attempts to drown her in the pool. Just as the MC is about to hit the water, though, Shadow Dui falls to the ground, unconscious. This is when Scorpio and Ichthys show up, who take Dui up to his room, and explain the situation to the MC. Apparently, something severe happened with Dui, and his shadow personality was created. Clearly, it must have something to do with the great sin that got Dui exiled to earth in the first place…

Of course, once he comes to his senses, normal Dui urges the MC to stay away from him, as it’s far too dangerous for her to risk triggering the shadow self. Naturally, the MC, already in love with Dui, refuses. She intends to make him whole again, instead. The next time Shadow Dui appears, the MC is actually sensing that she is making a kind of headway: Shadow Dui exists to protect normal Dui, whom he considers a weakling. He will go to any lengths to keep normal Dui safe. In the meantime, however, he will help Dui with his work, replacing the soft punishments the latter had devised with, basically, horror and mayhem. Yet again, it takes Scorpio’s and Ichthys’ intervention to stop Shadow Dui before he kills the MC. Scorpio tells her to stay away from Dui in the future, but she can obviously not give up on him.

Epilogue

Ugh, mom, I don’t wanna, do I have to? Well. I guess I already bought the epilogue (for all the stories, for the sake of consistency), so I might as well read it. But if the main story is anything to go by, I won’t have much fun with it.

Quite typically, we’re at this juncture where the MC and the god of choice are together, but haven’t had sex yet. Partheno is the notable exception to this rule, and his purpose was nefarious. Things being as they are here, Dui and the MC have not done the deed, but the other gods don’t know that. Teo’s and Ikky’s wild speculations and inquiries on what it’s like between a human and a god make our MC blush furiously, of course. Ichthys’ assertion that Dui can tie cherry stems into knots with his tongue are not helpful. Oh, not normal knots; heart-shaped knots. Our besotted couple ends up fleeing the scene.

They decide to take a day trip to a cherry orchard together – cherries are Dui’s favourite food – where the MC realises that she really has two boyfriends, in a way. While Dui and Shadow Dui now get along and can apparently communicate with each other, they do not share the same memories. After repeatedly confusing the two, the MC walks away to clear her head and promptly gets lost in the orchard. After the mini-crisis is resolved, there is the usual hemming and hawing about being naked together, because of course she wants it, but cannot bring herself to admit it. It’s tedious. At least Shadow Dui talks the straight talk. There’s sure more chemistry here than in the main story.

The Chemistry

Dui is everything we’re looking for in a person: sweet, considerate, thoughtful, polite, not to mention quite handsome, as they all are. How is one not to fall in love with him? One very positive aspect is that the confession comes early on, and from his part. There is much emphasis on his purity and innocence, and it’s actually lovely. What follows, though, is the MC being far too lenient with Shadow Dui’s behaviour, especially once she concludes that he must be “misunderstood” because he’s only trying to protect Dui. Which means that she starts taking crazy-stupid risks in order to save them both, of course.

My man Scorpio is in control of the situation.

Everything is kind of predictable: she falls in love with him, because he’s really easy to love. He falls in love with her, because the story demands it. Shadow Dui is evil, but is he really? Must he not be redeemable somehow? Scorpio is being Scorpio, Ichthys is being Ichthys, and they’re both really good at it. At chapter 10, I was wondering when Zyglavis was gonna drop by. And the King. Then Zyglavis makes an appearance. And the King.

And yet, there’s no… I don’t know. No palpable, chemistry, if you will. It’s all telling, no showing. In other stories, there was a rawness of emotion about the characters, that I feel is completely missing here – except where Shadow Dui shows up. And that’s just not enough.

The Love Meter

I suspected as much: I couldn’t get out of the Forbidden zone. Really, I’m not surprised. Sometimes, characters just aren’t for me. But sometimes I chose the answer that I really thought would push the needle back into Blessed, only to have it go deeper into Forbidden. I guess I should have been more accepting of Shadow Dui, but I have trouble getting into people who are repeatedly trying to murder me with their bare hands.

Bottom Line

I’ll be honest: it took me eternities to finish this story. Not only was I not really engaged, I also find this trope a bit more problematic for me personally than a lot of others. That’s because we see a lot of that in real life: women who stay with abusive men for the times when they are treated nicely, or to save the men in question, or both. Now, I know, here it is not within Dui’s control when Shadow Dui appears. I know. It’s just not a trope I enjoy. Also, Scorpio blaming the victim is not my favourite thing, even if it is in keeping with his personality. Apart from the above, I just have to admit I didn’t really feel it, if you know what I mean. Yes, Dui is super nice, and loyal to a fault. (No, really. You have no idea.) But there is not enough friction there that is not Shadow Dui. Look, I’m gonna say it: this was boring. Not out-of-my-mind boring, but just not interesting. Pity.

Star-Crossed Myth: Dui It Takes Two I'll be honest: I have not been looking forward to Dui's story, which is why I let it lie for so long.

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Irresistible Mistakes: Maki Yukihisa

Irresistible Mistakes: Maki Yukihisa

Love is for Fools

Dr. Maki is a recent addition to the cast of Irresistible Mistakes. He is present in the stories of the other employees of Addison & Rhodes, especially in Toshi’s and Shun’s routes, and I lamented the fact that he wasn’t available as a love interest. UNTIL NOW.  So, yes, I definitely wanna see what’s up with him, and I have no idea which way it’s gonna go. I have often seen…

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Star-Crossed Myth: Huedhaut

Star-Crossed Myth: Huedhaut Sometimes love is forever, and not even death can stand in its way.

Everlasting Love

I “saved” Huedhaut for last on the Wishes side of things, because I didn’t really know how I felt about his premise. I’ll tell you about the premise after the jump, although it’s not actually that much of a spoiler.

This is my last Wishes god. I did not expect to finish Wishes first, because I’m far more partial to the Punishments side of things, where I have two gods left.

(mor…

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The Walk of… Shame?

Now, this is a welcome change! You know how most otome games err terribly on the side of chastity? Well, not this one. This one starts with a supremely drunk and perfectly ill-advised one night stand. I love the premise. Obviously, the MC is beyond embarrassed by her own behavior, and since the other party must be someone from work, she is also mortified because she will a) see this person again and b) totally not remember who it was. Which is hilarious, since she comes across all the possible candidates, and, not knowing who she slept with, doesn’t know what to do with herself around them.

Now, again, we have the sticky issue of consent, or, more to the point, its absence in this story. Reader, I am aware, as mentioned here. At this stage, I guess, if you’re into otome games at all, you will have resigned yourself to the circumstance that consent just isn’t a thing that’s gonna happen here. As did I. Apparently, the MC did have a good time, though, so, er, okay.

It’s also funny that she worries quite a bit about what the men in question might think of her. You know, those men who did the exact same thing she did? Nice double standard you’ve got there, Voltage/Japan/world.

What’s the Story?

The MC works at an important advertising company, the number two in the country. She loves working there; when she was young, she saw a commercial, written by the impressive Mr. Tachibana, that touched her so deeply, she decided she wanted to go into advertising and make a similar impact on people.

One night, when celebrating with her company at a bar, she gets exceedingly drunk. The next morning, she wakes up in a hotel room she doesn’t recognize, with clothing generously strewn about, and a man who, at present, is taking a shower. She vaguely remembers having had sex – presumably with the person in the shower – but she has no idea who that could have been. Mortified, she gets dressed and flees the scene before she has to deal with the man in question.

Things being as they are, she has no time to go home and get changed, so she hurries to work in her slightly disheveled state. Throughout the day, she comes across most of her possible paramours.

Now, apparently the prologue was changed to accommodate the addition of Dr. Maki to the cast. What remains is the MC’s panic every time one of the men makes a suggestive comment in her general vicinity.

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The Guys

Tachibana Shunichiro is the MC’s superior at the advertising firm. It’s one of his early commercials that inspired the MC to choose a career in advertising in the first place. He is a superstar, people are in awe of him; could he possibly have taken an interest in the MC, a simple employee? He is good friends with Toshiaki and Maki, with whom he hangs out on the rooftop.

Kijima Toshiaki is cold as ice. His behaviour is professional and distant at all times. He is the head of Accounting. It is unthinkable that he would lose his composure and have a one-night-stand.

Kiriya Toma is the hot shot copywriter. Young, talented, and aloof, he knows that a base one-night-stand can never lead to true love. He seems to know Taku from earlier in his life. The two have a weird rivalry going on.

Asaoka Natsume is the MC’s childhood friend. He is very dependable. He also turns into an old lady at the drop of a hat, admonishing the MC on how to behave in her personal life.

Okubo Go is the cute and very young bartender at the joint where the MC got so unbelievably drunk. Could it be…?

Hayama Taku is a regular at that same bar. He appears to know the MC somehow, but she cannot recall having met him before. Surely she wouldn’t bed a total stranger?

Maki Yukihisa is the in-house doctor at the advertising firm. He is friends with Shunichiro and Toshiaki. His route is also very new, so I basically have no idea his deal is.

Why would I date you?

FINALLY a premise where the MC gets some action right up front! I believe this title was even rated 17 and up in the English version, due to all the sex. Spoiler: there is ALL the sex in some of the routes, but really not all. While the MC has her usual bouts of embarrassment, they are not for the usual reasons, and I enjoyed that. I mean, of course she is discomfited when she has to share an elevator with the stone-faced Toshi the morning after, but wouldn’t we all be?

I choose you!

My first was Toshi, because I love thawing the hearts of stone-cold men. His story is touching, even if the source of his reluctance is a trope as old as time. Shunichiro’s story is surprisingly engaging. It’s also the one with all the sex. Toma was a bit weird, but that’s because the character is a bit weird. In Natsume’s story, the MC did not actually have the ONS with Natsume, because that would have been a little bit icky. The story is not predictable, precisely, but a bit tame. There’s only one guy who doesn’t interest me in the least, and that’s Taku. He comes across as fairly creepy in Toma’s story, so I decided to give him a wide berth. I haven’t purchased Go’s route, but I might. I have recently acquired Yukihisa’s route, and I can’t wait to find out who that guy is! I’ll keep you posted.

Irresistible Mistakes The first Voltage game I encountered that deserved the label "mature". To a point. The Walk of... Shame? Now, this is a welcome change! You know how most otome games err terribly on the side of chastity?

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I had a great time yesterday night with @amvaillan at @kraftwerk_zurich’s event "Ode to the Patriarchy". A bunch of fantastically talented women sang the most heinously sexist songs in existence. We’ve given your farewell song, #patriarchy. Now, we’ll have to smash you. . . . . #zurich #igerszurich #züri #livemusic #concertphoto #newmusic #livephotography #musiclife #rockphotography #concertphotography #concertjunkie #musicphotography #audioloveofficial #livemusicphotography #musicphoto #mkexplore #shotzdelight #rsa_streetview #vscoportrait #urbanandstreet #inlovewithswitzerland #exploremyswitzerland #igersswitzerland #ig_switzerland #exploreswitzerland #internationalwomensday #smashthepatriarchy #womeninmusic (at Kraftwerk Zürich) https://www.instagram.com/p/BuyZ6n7Apx5/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=7790imocss22

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