caffedrine

[caffedrine]

Chevalier can sparkle like a pretty princess too

[caffedrine]

New background and music in Ikepri

[caffedrine]

Book of Hours is an utterly hilarious videogame, when you think about what the mechanics actually mean in-universe.

You are a librarian! You have taken on management of a Mystical House full of secrets, which you must slowly reveal room by room. But! A catastrophe struck before your arrival, so you gotta clear the rooms out as you go.

Except you're just one person, you gotta go get your neighbors to help out.

Most of the people will charge me money to help out, but the towns blacksmith, my old war-buddy Denzel, he'll help for free.

"Denzeeel!" I pound on his doorway at the break of dawn. "Come up to the big spooky house, why don't you?"

He comes to the house. And I show him the best time. We drink a smoky tea, feast upon rare pears that only bloom in the fae seasons, I gift him some metal and encourage him to look at it's cool magic properties. Dawn to morning to afternoon, we have a wonderful time. And then, as the day grows dark and he's thinking about heading home, I stop him.

"before you go, can you do me a quick favor?" And then I walk them into the basement, through some caves, and point to a room with roughly one billion bats.

"you can clear out roughly a billion bats, right? I really need to get in there."

And then my sweet, long-suffering friend goes into the room filled with roughly a billion bats to clear it out for me. Good man, I think fondly, as he stumbles home to his smithy after.

And then, as night turns to morning, I contemplate the next room, deep in the library's secret prison, burning with an eternal flame of the monstrous prisoner that broke his chains.

"you know who can help me handle this?" I say cheerfully as my skin reddens and cracks as I reach my hand toward the door. "My good friend Denzel!"

[caffedrine]

I think it’s reasonable to take a break and reassess the relationship. No one wants to be a side character in someone else’s true love story - even if they’re an imaginary side character 😋

I love my archenemy (Matias)

This story is a kind of parallel world. Emma works in a bookstore (during the day) and steals from the nobility (at night) in some town of Acroite. And Mathias is a detective in it. So Emma has never been Belle, and I have no choice but to call her Emma. It's a little sad.… I like to call her Belle.… The plot is multi-layered. There are flashbacks, but they are very cinematic… to make the story more impressive. Some details will become clear later. I think even the narrative is very different from the usual one. And, to my great happiness, Emma is not as annoyingly righteousness as usual. She knows she's doing something wrong, but she doesn't see any other way. The summary cannot convey the full complexity of the story… it is extremely primitive. But I did my best.

Not bad start, isn't it?

She tries to think of a way out, but nothing comes to mind. There is no trace of warmth in his gaze, so she already knows what awaits her…. Matias stretches out his hand to the mask on her face, and she begins to resist again. She doesn't want him to see her face.

3 days before

Matias went into the store where she works (during the day), and she was very happy to see him.

Emma recalled that they met by chance at an orphanage, where she donated the books. And since then, they have remained good friends and often meet to chat. But she understood that it was temporary.

Emma asked him if he was okay, he looked tired. He replied that there were some rumors. But his main problem is the Phantom thief. Just the other day, they broke into the mansion and stole jewelry. It's "absolutely unacceptable." She agrees that stealing is wrong. She said that sometimes they buy expensive books, and she is afraid that they may be stolen. Matias asked her to inform him if she received a warning, and he would protect her and her books "at the cost of his life." How melodramatic.

As always, he's very straight… Actually he's surprisingly animated. Each screenshot has a new facial expression…

She thought it was a warning from him not to be overly sympathetic.

Suddenly Matias bends down to the floor. She asks if he dropped something. He didn't. A moment later, he stood up and told her not to worry about it. I didn't really pay much attention to this scene when I read it for the first time. But this will be explained in the epilogue.

At night, Emma goes to a cave located far from the city. Although it is quite cold outside, it is warm inside the cave. In the shadow, behind some rock, there is a chest filled with jewelry and accessories. She stole them from the nobility.

Originally it was "what kind of face (expression) would he have," but the second line is obviously about his emotions, so I changed the first line to match the second one.

She thinks she's his enemy. But she still thinks of him as a friend. Suddenly, a strong wind blew, and she felt like she was going to be punished for what she was doing, but she couldn't stop.

Acroite is a fair country where the law rules, but there are poor people who cannot be helped by the law.

Despite the fact that she understands that stealing is bad, she still wants to help people who are suffering. A typical Belle.

She started writing.

It's the stupidest thing ever. But she's like Captain Blood, very noble and honest… give them a chance to prepare for her arrival. Or…. she just likes playing with fire. Maybe she has an adrenaline addiction?

She already has one of the four stones, so she thinks the other owners are more vigilant now.

Next day

She slipped into the mansion, but there were no guards there. They were standing outside the building, but not inside. She heard a familiar voice…

They're so silly. One prepares the owners for the fact that she will rob them, and this one tells her to be ready to be caught… Who's talking like that, guys?

His gaze was cold. Right now, he only sees her as an enemy. It has always been so. But it was only now that she realized.

She didn't understand what he meant, and he didn't explain anything to her either. She thought that now was not the time for chatting, it was time to run. So she took a step back, and Mati took a step as well. He looks more determined than usual, and she thought she needed to be careful. The sudden appearance of the owner of the mansion distracted Mati and Emma fleeded.

Already with the stolen stone, she runs through the still empty mansion. She's disappointed. She's definitely adrenaline addictive. She hears the voices of the guards outside, but Matias no longer follows her…

Shortly after she stole the stone. Outside of the mention, Matias is talking to his man. The guard reported that the phantom thief had escaped, and wondered why the nobleman had not let them into the building. Mati mumbles that it's because of the jewel that the thief decided to steal. And again, no explanation.

The guard asked if he knew where they had gone. And Mati replied that he had a guess.

Emma returned to the cave. She took out the stolen gem. It was a sparkling diamond-shaped crystal. Emma remembered Matias' question and began to examine the stone more closely…

The moment she turned the stone towards the light, she felt the movement of the wind and ducked. A sharp pain shot through her shoulder, as if it had been scratched by a knife. Clutching her shoulder, she stepped back, wondering who it could be… In front of her stood a man whose face was covered with a cloth. His eyes are a different color than Matias'… Assassin. How she noticed the color of his eyes. It's a night cave… I doubt there was any light… And as we all know, all cats are black at night, and so are people's eyes (pupils dilate).

She can't escape, the man is standing in front of the only entrance. While she was thinking about what to do, a man with a knife approaches her… She closes her eyes…

....

But nothing happened. She opened her eyes.

The Savior! Stand still, don't talk. Let me imagine the Prince Charming instead of you……………………. Okay, we can continue.

She was confused… how Mati appeared in this cave. She's not surprised by the killer, but by Mati……… This place is not as secluded as she thought.

Mati didn't kill that guy like I thought he would. Of course, he didn't, he's on the side of the law, and kill is wrong. He was just holding the guy, so he didn't made the final strike to kill Emma.

The guy turned to face Matias and tried to kill him instead. But Mati knocked him to the ground and pulled out a knife. He immediately handcuffed him. Everything happened so fast that the assassin didn't even have time to react.

After making sure that the assassin was calm down, he headed straight for Emma. And again… she has no way to escape. Why are these guys so wide? She can't slip out.

One more time… Stay still, don't talk. I'll dream a little… I think your habit of daydreaming is getting to me… On the other hand, you never say anything about your dreams here. So… I'm kind of replacing you…

Emma thinks he can't worry about her… He snatches out the stone that she is still holding. And explains his previous questions. She will face justice and it is unacceptable for her to be injured or even killed before her trial.

Of course, he can't worry about her. Now he sees her only as a criminal. And he finally explained…

And since she has already stolen one of the stones, they send assassins to hunt down her hideout. To take the stones and kill her if she finds out the code. Matias said he would definitely bring nobles to justice. Now he has this evidence… She's a victim in a way, but that doesn't erase her crimes. He would judge her, too. "All crimes must be dealt with fairly and according to the law." This guy is really something… He can write slogans for politicians.

He takes her by the hand and leads her to the exit.

She jumped up to him and caught his arm. He stopped falling, but she couldn't pull him up. What about adrenaline, which helps us do much more than we expect from ourselves? No? It probably only works with mothers saving their child.

Even though it would be better for her to let go of his hand… She can't do that. He's a dear friend of hers. Even more than that…

Matias warned her to look back. A shadowy figure is approaching… Another assassin. But what can she do? She can't let go of Matias' hand. The sound of a knife being pulled out. And… something… Fly through the air to the assassin. A heavy thud and the sound of a falling body. Something shiny fell off the cliff… Now I'm curious how big this stone was… to knock a man down…

Anyway, she now has enough strength to lift him up. Perhaps the adrenaline was finally starting to work. And she picks him up. And we are finally getting back to what was at the very beginning. He reaches for her mask to reveal her face… But he stopped in mid-movement to ask her why she had saved him.

Without answering, she asked him why he was helping her at the risk of his own life. The same as before. He had to hold bring her to justice… in perfect condition.

(hysterical laughter) Do you even hear yourself???

She asked him why he sacrificed an important evidence to save her. If he hadn't, they would both have died… It's a pretty convincing explanation. And there are 3 more stones, and one of them is most likely still in this cave. She thought it was true, she hadn't sold it yet. He asked her to answer his question. Why did she save him, what is her goal?

She thought that if she had a goal, she wouldn't feel that way because of how complicated their relationship was. She just succumbed to her emotions. And that's the most painful. She was silent for too long, and Mati asked her why. She replied that she loved him.

Why? Does your wife not allow you? But you don't have an imaginary wife here.

No, she wasn't trying to seduce him. He asks how she can love her enemy… That may be true for the phantom thief, but she's not the only that.

His hands, which were still holding her mask, were trembling slightly. She thought there was no way they could be friends again… And that's for the best.

Taking advantage of his momentary hesitation, she slipped out of his grip and increased the distance between them. She lowered her mask and looked at him. She told him that he was right, her actions were illegal, and she, like any other criminal, should be judged. But she can't let herself be caught.

So now they're arch enemies. She wouldn't be able to spend peaceful time with him in the bookstore anymore. She will run away from him with all her might, and he will do everything possible to catch her. If he catches her, she will be punished as a criminal. She's fine with that.

There are conflicting feelings in Mathias' hostile expression.

Epilogue

Half a month has passed since this story.

Matias is in the courtroom as a prosecutor of the nobles who owned the "tears of the snow mother." Accusing them of concealment and conspiracy. In addition, he mentioned the killers they sent to kill Emma, which is also a crime.

They used the code from 3 of the 4 gems and found the money. And thanks to this, it became possible to bring charges against these nobles.

One of the accused nobles tries to accuse Mati of helping the phantom thief back there in the cave. After all, he had saved her. Perhaps they were in cahoots.

Originally they sentence was more complex. Like… A court is a place where people are judged based on evidence… etc. But I decided to shorten it to make it sound sharper. I see Matias as calm and collected but at the same time very prickly. His words hit the nail on the head, right on the topic. Without any preliminaries…

No, really, he has a talent for making up catch phrases…

After the trial, he visited the place where Emma's bookstore used to be. The store remains the same inside, but Mati this place feels empty (lonely). Immediately after the incident, Emma closed the bookstore and disappeared. He visited the orphanage where she had given the books, but they haven't seen her since.

He remembered a conversation they had once had. She went out in the rain to buy medicines for sick customers. He asked her to take care of herself, and she noted that she's stronger when she looks. If necessary, she could even turn over a big man. Mati asked her not to do this to him. And she replied that she would never do that… he's a kind man. He replied that it was good…

So cute...

Emma blushed at this remark of his…

He's sad that he can't be Emma's friend anymore. If he hadn't been to her bookstore last time, he wouldn't notice her secret. Moss on the floor… It is rare in the Arcolite and grows only in some caves. And thanks to that, he was able to find the phantom thief's hideout. As a result, he saved her life, but… The friendship was ruined. He corrected himself that he couldn't possibly have a friendship with a phantom thief from the beginning. They are destined to be archenemies…

A sudden shout caught his attention… He rushed towards the mansion. The nobleman showed the letter they had received… a warning… Mati thinks she hasn't run away from the country after all…

At night

A dark figure jumps out of the window. The soldiers waiting outside the building to give chase to her. Their eyes meet. Even though she was far away, he was sure of it. Matias orders his men to follow her… someone on the street, someone on the roof. And people follow his instructions… He thinks… "he will definitely catch her and bring to the justice for her crimes."..

A few of my thoughts

Matias believes in what is right and what is wrong, absolutely. He is like a solid rock, unchanging, immobile. And in this story we see Emma, who also has very strong beliefs. And she also refuses to back down from them. And their opinions are so different that they seem completely contradictory.

And this story shows us that Mati is starting to falter. Her absolute confidence, her desire to go to such an extreme to follow her own path, makes him doubt…

I believe that this is what will be on his route. And you can't imagine how excited that makes me.

Two contract concepts that collide and change to… something completely different. Right in front of us. It's like the birth of a star… I have goosebumps.

I have already mentioned that at first the story seemed boring to me, but now, after rereading it, I see much more. As I said at the beginning, it is layered and not as simple as it seems.

Both characters find it difficult to come to terms with their feelings because of the state their in… archenemies. It's like a line they can't cross. And if Emma understands her emotions well, she just suppresses them. Matias has no idea. He really looks like a stone, it's very difficult to move him, but he's moving… but slowly.

And his obsessive desire to condemn her seems very familiar to me, but I can't remember where I saw it. The righteous character feels that he needs to catch her, he is fixated on this idea. It's not just a desire to punish a criminal, it's very personal. Only he has the right to catch her, only he has the right to even chase her. At least that's how I see it.

And I like her desire for him to look at her… It's a very emotional part. If she just wants to help the poor, they are everywhere. So she could move to another city and never see him again. But she refuses to do it because she wants him to look at her… I really like this concept. I would like to see the continuation of this story.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

🔝 𝕊𝕋𝔸ℝ𝕋 ℙ𝔸𝔾𝔼 🔝

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[caffedrine]

Pretty cool event. I think they were going for an Arsène Lupin - the Gentleman Burglar - feel for having the phantom thief leaving all those calling cards.

It does make me even more excited for Matias’ route release.

Also

His imaginary wife and he are having marital problems - for some reason she thinks he’s cheating on her. He still loves his imaginary wife - they’re just on a break 😭😭😭

I love my archenemy (Matias)

This story is a kind of parallel world. Emma works in a bookstore (during the day) and steals from the nobility (at night) in some town of Acroite. And Mathias is a detective in it. So Emma has never been Belle, and I have no choice but to call her Emma. It's a little sad.… I like to call her Belle.… The plot is multi-layered. There are flashbacks, but they are very cinematic… to make the story more impressive. Some details will become clear later. I think even the narrative is very different from the usual one. And, to my great happiness, Emma is not as annoyingly righteousness as usual. She knows she's doing something wrong, but she doesn't see any other way. The summary cannot convey the full complexity of the story… it is extremely primitive. But I did my best.

Not bad start, isn't it?

She tries to think of a way out, but nothing comes to mind. There is no trace of warmth in his gaze, so she already knows what awaits her…. Matias stretches out his hand to the mask on her face, and she begins to resist again. She doesn't want him to see her face.

3 days before

Matias went into the store where she works (during the day), and she was very happy to see him.

Emma recalled that they met by chance at an orphanage, where she donated the books. And since then, they have remained good friends and often meet to chat. But she understood that it was temporary.

Emma asked him if he was okay, he looked tired. He replied that there were some rumors. But his main problem is the Phantom thief. Just the other day, they broke into the mansion and stole jewelry. It's "absolutely unacceptable." She agrees that stealing is wrong. She said that sometimes they buy expensive books, and she is afraid that they may be stolen. Matias asked her to inform him if she received a warning, and he would protect her and her books "at the cost of his life." How melodramatic.

As always, he's very straight… Actually he's surprisingly animated. Each screenshot has a new facial expression…

She thought it was a warning from him not to be overly sympathetic.

Suddenly Matias bends down to the floor. She asks if he dropped something. He didn't. A moment later, he stood up and told her not to worry about it. I didn't really pay much attention to this scene when I read it for the first time. But this will be explained in the epilogue.

At night, Emma goes to a cave located far from the city. Although it is quite cold outside, it is warm inside the cave. In the shadow, behind some rock, there is a chest filled with jewelry and accessories. She stole them from the nobility.

Originally it was "what kind of face (expression) would he have," but the second line is obviously about his emotions, so I changed the first line to match the second one.

She thinks she's his enemy. But she still thinks of him as a friend. Suddenly, a strong wind blew, and she felt like she was going to be punished for what she was doing, but she couldn't stop.

Acroite is a fair country where the law rules, but there are poor people who cannot be helped by the law.

Despite the fact that she understands that stealing is bad, she still wants to help people who are suffering. A typical Belle.

She started writing.

It's the stupidest thing ever. But she's like Captain Blood, very noble and honest… give them a chance to prepare for her arrival. Or…. she just likes playing with fire. Maybe she has an adrenaline addiction?

She already has one of the four stones, so she thinks the other owners are more vigilant now.

Next day

She slipped into the mansion, but there were no guards there. They were standing outside the building, but not inside. She heard a familiar voice…

They're so silly. One prepares the owners for the fact that she will rob them, and this one tells her to be ready to be caught… Who's talking like that, guys?

His gaze was cold. Right now, he only sees her as an enemy. It has always been so. But it was only now that she realized.

She didn't understand what he meant, and he didn't explain anything to her either. She thought that now was not the time for chatting, it was time to run. So she took a step back, and Mati took a step as well. He looks more determined than usual, and she thought she needed to be careful. The sudden appearance of the owner of the mansion distracted Mati and Emma fleeded.

Already with the stolen stone, she runs through the still empty mansion. She's disappointed. She's definitely adrenaline addictive. She hears the voices of the guards outside, but Matias no longer follows her…

Shortly after she stole the stone. Outside of the mention, Matias is talking to his man. The guard reported that the phantom thief had escaped, and wondered why the nobleman had not let them into the building. Mati mumbles that it's because of the jewel that the thief decided to steal. And again, no explanation.

The guard asked if he knew where they had gone. And Mati replied that he had a guess.

Emma returned to the cave. She took out the stolen gem. It was a sparkling diamond-shaped crystal. Emma remembered Matias' question and began to examine the stone more closely…

The moment she turned the stone towards the light, she felt the movement of the wind and ducked. A sharp pain shot through her shoulder, as if it had been scratched by a knife. Clutching her shoulder, she stepped back, wondering who it could be… In front of her stood a man whose face was covered with a cloth. His eyes are a different color than Matias'… Assassin. How she noticed the color of his eyes. It's a night cave… I doubt there was any light… And as we all know, all cats are black at night, and so are people's eyes (pupils dilate).

She can't escape, the man is standing in front of the only entrance. While she was thinking about what to do, a man with a knife approaches her… She closes her eyes…

....

But nothing happened. She opened her eyes.

The Savior! Stand still, don't talk. Let me imagine the Prince Charming instead of you……………………. Okay, we can continue.

She was confused… how Mati appeared in this cave. She's not surprised by the killer, but by Mati……… This place is not as secluded as she thought.

Mati didn't kill that guy like I thought he would. Of course, he didn't, he's on the side of the law, and kill is wrong. He was just holding the guy, so he didn't made the final strike to kill Emma.

The guy turned to face Matias and tried to kill him instead. But Mati knocked him to the ground and pulled out a knife. He immediately handcuffed him. Everything happened so fast that the assassin didn't even have time to react.

After making sure that the assassin was calm down, he headed straight for Emma. And again… she has no way to escape. Why are these guys so wide? She can't slip out.

One more time… Stay still, don't talk. I'll dream a little… I think your habit of daydreaming is getting to me… On the other hand, you never say anything about your dreams here. So… I'm kind of replacing you…

Emma thinks he can't worry about her… He snatches out the stone that she is still holding. And explains his previous questions. She will face justice and it is unacceptable for her to be injured or even killed before her trial.

Of course, he can't worry about her. Now he sees her only as a criminal. And he finally explained…

And since she has already stolen one of the stones, they send assassins to hunt down her hideout. To take the stones and kill her if she finds out the code. Matias said he would definitely bring nobles to justice. Now he has this evidence… She's a victim in a way, but that doesn't erase her crimes. He would judge her, too. "All crimes must be dealt with fairly and according to the law." This guy is really something… He can write slogans for politicians.

He takes her by the hand and leads her to the exit.

She jumped up to him and caught his arm. He stopped falling, but she couldn't pull him up. What about adrenaline, which helps us do much more than we expect from ourselves? No? It probably only works with mothers saving their child.

Even though it would be better for her to let go of his hand… She can't do that. He's a dear friend of hers. Even more than that…

Matias warned her to look back. A shadowy figure is approaching… Another assassin. But what can she do? She can't let go of Matias' hand. The sound of a knife being pulled out. And… something… Fly through the air to the assassin. A heavy thud and the sound of a falling body. Something shiny fell off the cliff… Now I'm curious how big this stone was… to knock a man down…

Anyway, she now has enough strength to lift him up. Perhaps the adrenaline was finally starting to work. And she picks him up. And we are finally getting back to what was at the very beginning. He reaches for her mask to reveal her face… But he stopped in mid-movement to ask her why she had saved him.

Without answering, she asked him why he was helping her at the risk of his own life. The same as before. He had to hold bring her to justice… in perfect condition.

(hysterical laughter) Do you even hear yourself???

She asked him why he sacrificed an important evidence to save her. If he hadn't, they would both have died… It's a pretty convincing explanation. And there are 3 more stones, and one of them is most likely still in this cave. She thought it was true, she hadn't sold it yet. He asked her to answer his question. Why did she save him, what is her goal?

She thought that if she had a goal, she wouldn't feel that way because of how complicated their relationship was. She just succumbed to her emotions. And that's the most painful. She was silent for too long, and Mati asked her why. She replied that she loved him.

Why? Does your wife not allow you? But you don't have an imaginary wife here.

No, she wasn't trying to seduce him. He asks how she can love her enemy… That may be true for the phantom thief, but she's not the only that.

His hands, which were still holding her mask, were trembling slightly. She thought there was no way they could be friends again… And that's for the best.

Taking advantage of his momentary hesitation, she slipped out of his grip and increased the distance between them. She lowered her mask and looked at him. She told him that he was right, her actions were illegal, and she, like any other criminal, should be judged. But she can't let herself be caught.

So now they're arch enemies. She wouldn't be able to spend peaceful time with him in the bookstore anymore. She will run away from him with all her might, and he will do everything possible to catch her. If he catches her, she will be punished as a criminal. She's fine with that.

There are conflicting feelings in Mathias' hostile expression.

Epilogue

Half a month has passed since this story.

Matias is in the courtroom as a prosecutor of the nobles who owned the "tears of the snow mother." Accusing them of concealment and conspiracy. In addition, he mentioned the killers they sent to kill Emma, which is also a crime.

They used the code from 3 of the 4 gems and found the money. And thanks to this, it became possible to bring charges against these nobles.

One of the accused nobles tries to accuse Mati of helping the phantom thief back there in the cave. After all, he had saved her. Perhaps they were in cahoots.

Originally they sentence was more complex. Like… A court is a place where people are judged based on evidence… etc. But I decided to shorten it to make it sound sharper. I see Matias as calm and collected but at the same time very prickly. His words hit the nail on the head, right on the topic. Without any preliminaries…

No, really, he has a talent for making up catch phrases…

After the trial, he visited the place where Emma's bookstore used to be. The store remains the same inside, but Mati this place feels empty (lonely). Immediately after the incident, Emma closed the bookstore and disappeared. He visited the orphanage where she had given the books, but they haven't seen her since.

He remembered a conversation they had once had. She went out in the rain to buy medicines for sick customers. He asked her to take care of herself, and she noted that she's stronger when she looks. If necessary, she could even turn over a big man. Mati asked her not to do this to him. And she replied that she would never do that… he's a kind man. He replied that it was good…

So cute...

Emma blushed at this remark of his…

He's sad that he can't be Emma's friend anymore. If he hadn't been to her bookstore last time, he wouldn't notice her secret. Moss on the floor… It is rare in the Arcolite and grows only in some caves. And thanks to that, he was able to find the phantom thief's hideout. As a result, he saved her life, but… The friendship was ruined. He corrected himself that he couldn't possibly have a friendship with a phantom thief from the beginning. They are destined to be archenemies…

A sudden shout caught his attention… He rushed towards the mansion. The nobleman showed the letter they had received… a warning… Mati thinks she hasn't run away from the country after all…

At night

A dark figure jumps out of the window. The soldiers waiting outside the building to give chase to her. Their eyes meet. Even though she was far away, he was sure of it. Matias orders his men to follow her… someone on the street, someone on the roof. And people follow his instructions… He thinks… "he will definitely catch her and bring to the justice for her crimes."..

A few of my thoughts

Matias believes in what is right and what is wrong, absolutely. He is like a solid rock, unchanging, immobile. And in this story we see Emma, who also has very strong beliefs. And she also refuses to back down from them. And their opinions are so different that they seem completely contradictory.

And this story shows us that Mati is starting to falter. Her absolute confidence, her desire to go to such an extreme to follow her own path, makes him doubt…

I believe that this is what will be on his route. And you can't imagine how excited that makes me.

Two contract concepts that collide and change to… something completely different. Right in front of us. It's like the birth of a star… I have goosebumps.

I have already mentioned that at first the story seemed boring to me, but now, after rereading it, I see much more. As I said at the beginning, it is layered and not as simple as it seems.

Both characters find it difficult to come to terms with their feelings because of the state their in… archenemies. It's like a line they can't cross. And if Emma understands her emotions well, she just suppresses them. Matias has no idea. He really looks like a stone, it's very difficult to move him, but he's moving… but slowly.

And his obsessive desire to condemn her seems very familiar to me, but I can't remember where I saw it. The righteous character feels that he needs to catch her, he is fixated on this idea. It's not just a desire to punish a criminal, it's very personal. Only he has the right to catch her, only he has the right to even chase her. At least that's how I see it.

And I like her desire for him to look at her… It's a very emotional part. If she just wants to help the poor, they are everywhere. So she could move to another city and never see him again. But she refuses to do it because she wants him to look at her… I really like this concept. I would like to see the continuation of this story.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

🔝 𝕊𝕋𝔸ℝ𝕋 ℙ𝔸𝔾𝔼 🔝

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[caffedrine]

Are you excited for your upcoming sequel to be released in English? Anything you want to say to your fans to hype it up?

Excited? Naturally. I do love a dramatic entrance. To my darling little bunnies: brace yourselves. Secrets, scandals, and seduction await. Shower me with your love, won’t you? Let’s make this sequel unforgettable.

[caffedrine]

Just be glad he’s not dropping the bodies off at your door step like a kitty cat.

Excuse me, sir?? Perhaps you need different hobbies?? I can't handle this level of responsibility 😅🤦‍♀️🤣

[caffedrine]

I don't know, in all the replies I'm getting

vibes from Chevalier.

Question for all my ikepri peeps

Does Chevalier know that Rio exists?

I have seen a few screenshots of them standing side by side, but I can’t remember if Chevalier has actually ever said anything to Rio or vice versa.

[caffedrine]

[caffedrine]

I now imagine every time Rio and Chev interact, Chev is just wondering who he is. And then he decides it’s not that important and forgets everything he’s learned.

Question for all my ikepri peeps

Does Chevalier know that Rio exists?

I have seen a few screenshots of them standing side by side, but I can’t remember if Chevalier has actually ever said anything to Rio or vice versa.

[caffedrine]

In a world where alot of the birthday cards are hits, I think this one is especially neat. Almost as neat as Keith's.

oh god i wish i had money to get his birthday card CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW GORGEOUS IT IS

[caffedrine]

Thank you for your ramblings, they were helpful ^^ and ah i agree with your thoughts. Idk why but I initially thought of how usually otome games prioritize the popular LIs more, i’m glad it seems like it’s pretty fair in ikepri (even if it’s mainly to introduce the other new LIs and plots). I appreciate your keith translations, he really needs more love in the fandom🥹 and yess now I’m excited for clavis’ sequel since you said it’d be good 🙌

I get where you're coming from - I was also suspecting that Cybird would make sequels to, say, the top half of the popular LIs. But then they released Sariel, and I realized everyone is probably getting a sequel.

I'll admit, I thought they were going in order of release for the princes, which did explain why they jumped from Licht in Tanzanite to Nokto in Benitoite, but then they just skipped Jin and Luke and went straight for Clavis. Hence why I started the (kinda) story arc theory.

I'm hoping guessing they're trying to make Jin's sequel really good, and just need extra time to polish him up. And maybe put him in Achroite. So, we might not see his route for a while.

I don't know, I just get the feeling Cybird's writers keep on forgetting about Jin. I'm still sad at how dirty they did him in Gilbert's route.

But I am also happy that they're giving the less popular princes some love. I'm guessing they're trying to mix them up a little also so the less popular princes aren't all released at the same time, and the releases are broken up with the popular princes. So, Silvio when?

And oh, they did such a good job with Clavis' route. One of the things I appreciate about him and his routes is that they can have a bunch of the side characters participate and shine in unique ways without stealing the show from Clavis.

[caffedrine]

The crimes they do to Kenshin.

Claim Your Throne | English Ikémen Series 10th Anniversary

Kenshin, Isaac, Silvio, Victor

okay i’ll give it to you straight… this is sen’s first miss… WHAT IS THISS?? they gave the others such beautiful outfit that showcase authority and power and now we have this.. he’s a high authority plus the sides are referred to as the oda and uesugi side … so why is said leader of the uesugi looking like this.. nobu looked so good.. even yuki????? guys i’m sorry i had a feeling this would happen after i praised sen for no miss last post. now isaac… you know what it could’ve been worst. bringing it back to the simple white fit like napoleon but this time with a curtain draped around his shoulder. does comte know you stole his curtain for this fit isaac? and to silvio… im looking away. closing this app… WHY?! maybe if i just cover the bottom.. silvio why are you in a gown… its so pretty… if mc was wearing it … if you’re going to wear a gown then commit to the front too not the back.. i will say the inside is beautiful though - it looks like the galaxy. and stop clavis posing are you guys in a contest to see who can out sass? also he has small ankles- ANYWAYS victor please save us! the more i like at this the more it grows on me, like it’s not my type but i think it fits him?? anyone else thinks so?

[caffedrine]

Silvio looks absolutely fabulous.

Maybe the problem is with me after all…

They're both wearing dresses… It's cute... They look gorgeous… The color palettes suit them perfectly. But… I can't unseen it.

At least their cloaks (or whatever it is) have the same length on both sides…

Why are they holding their heads? It's like they missed hats… It was blown away… And they tried to catch it…

Silly, Vivi, are you all right? You don't have a headache, do you?

I still hope that new guys will be next… Kagari, Nica, and someone new from Vampires… something like that.

Pictures from the official X/Twitter of developer

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🔝 𝕊𝕋𝔸ℝ𝕋 ℙ𝔸𝔾𝔼 🔝

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[caffedrine]

Question for all my ikepri peeps

Does Chevalier know that Rio exists?

I have seen a few screenshots of them standing side by side, but I can’t remember if Chevalier has actually ever said anything to Rio or vice versa.

[caffedrine]

i’ve been out of ikepri loop for a while and i found out keith has a sequel?? i’m pleasantly surprised but also i thought silvio would get it first since he’s more popular (?) thought you’d know more about it ^^

I know nothing - I wish Cybird would whisper their secrets to me as well.

Apologies for the stream of consciousness ramblings below

As much as I like Keith, he seems like the dark horse of the series. His routes are great (IMO) but he doesn’t get a lot of love from the fandom. I would have also thought they’d go for a similar order with the initial release - with Silvio’s sequel released before his.

So my theory is that they’re trying to tell a story about the mystery of the tri-country alliance, and they’re mostly going by region in which the routes take place.

The first three routes were set in Obsidian - where they shore up the alliance with Gilbert and introduce the political ramifications of making an alliance with Obsiidan. They also introduce the mystery of the tri-country alliance between Tanzanite, Kougyoku, and Achroite.

While I’d like to say next they move to Tanzanite - they kind of jump around with Clavis’ and Nokto’s sequel routes which do not take place in Tanzanite. In fact, unless I misread Nokto’s sequel route - it doesn’t even touch on the mystery of the alliance. Clavis’ does (and oh boy, his route is a treat! Look forward to it!)

I, uh, skipped Sariel’s, but it happens in Tanzanite as well, and I guess we finish our Tanzanite chapter with Azel.

Unless someone comes back to Tanzanite. To be honest, I was betting Silvio’s sequel would be in Tanzanite - maybe we will come back with him? But - following this theory - is why I agree that I was expecting Silvio’s route first

I’m guessing they’re setting up the Kougyoku arc - Keith was a surprise to me - but we got a good introduction to Kagari’s character - and keep in mind that Kagari likes Keith, so he might have been on his friendliest behavior. I’m betting the next route will also be centered on the Kougyoku arc. I’m wondering who else will show up in Kougyoku.

The final arc I’m betting will be in Achroite - they’ve hinted that Matias is focused on Obsidian - so I’m betting we will get Gilbert’s sequel in that arc as well. They’ve also hinted at the friendship between Jin and Matias, so I’m wondering if Jin’s sequel will take place in the cold north as well.

To count whom we have left - Jin, Luke, Rio, Silvio, and Gilbert for sequels.

[caffedrine]

My goodness - I thought it wouldn’t be until fall.

But yay!!!

Forgor to share here

Clavis sequel teased