#actually i guess it was a romantic visual novel? otome? ish

[themoonsbeloved]

I actually think the "giant river that flows by the city" might be a reference to the Euphrates and/or Tigris rivers in Iraq, since Disney's Aladdin was originally supposed to be in Baghdad, but they re-ordered the letters to Agrabah because it was around the Iraqi war. So anyways Iraqi Kalim and Jamil supremacy.

same anon, so I just saw the map and it definitely looks like a place you will find in pre-war Iraq (I'm actually kinda mad about how realistic that map is? It's like oh so you CAN put effort into cultural accuracy if you want to? Where was that before?)

Aladdin is literally just an amalgamation of so many countries/regions/cultures made to be this one homogenous group, its no wonder so many people from every single region can find SOMETHING that links to their specific culture(s)/home country sdbslakndlasjdns.

But YES the map???? so fucking detailed I'm astonished....my favourite thing is to decide which building is a mosque and which is something else lmao. Like I'm not gonna give credit to twst since they've done below the bare minimum but you really can create fantasy worlds and cultures inspired by real cultures in a way that isn't disrespectful.

[notjonahclemence]

This post is long and I do not apologize.

Okay y’all quiz time! I’m curious, pay attention to me. Bored? Me? Never. IkeSen, IkeRev, IkeVamp or all three (max out the word limit, do it!). Feel free to answer all of these questions or whichever ones you like. 

I’ll go first and subject myself to the mortifying ordeal of being known so I hope you will do the same!

I’m gonna answer about IkeSen!

1. When did you start playing?

I have absolutely no concept of time and cannot remember dates but it was between Kenshin and Mitsunari’s routes. 

2. Who’s route did you play first/why?

Nobunaga’s route. I knew enough about the game to know his was one of the original routes and I wanted to start the game from ‘the beginning.’ 

He interested me and I could tell he was just enough of a 'bad boy’ for me to fall for. I am, unfortunately, cripplingly attracted to bastards. 

That’s why I play otome games instead of dating real men.

3. Before you started playing/towards the beginning who was your favourite guy and why? Do you have one ultimate guy or absolutely cannot choose between multiple. Kinda ties in with questions 2, 4 & 5 I guess.

Though I liked Sasuke, I’ve never been hugely romantically interested in him, I guess my favourite guy (romantically) has always been Nobunaga. And that’s terrible.

4. If their route had been out when you first started playing would you have picked somebody else? Who? Why?

*Naruto voice* SASUKE!!!! He seemed interesting, handsome, funny(ish), KIND, and was the only one who wanted to help me. 

He was also the only character in the prologue who wasn’t a jerk or Mitsunari (never been attracted to the ‘gentle angel’ type character) so he really seemed like the only option... but his route wasn’t out and thus I was forced to pick Nobunaga like I’d originally been planning anyway.

5. If that guy’s route is out now did it live up to your expectations? Why/why not?

Sasuke? Yes in both a good and bad way. The route was more interesting and entertaining than I’d expected it to be but I was not particularly into him before, I did not expect his route to change that and it didn’t. 

6. Your favourite guy NOW. Is it the same person as it was at the beginning? If not, who is it? Why? How many favourite guys have you had? Do you keep changing your mind or are you irrationally devoted to one guy? And I mean romantically, not guys you like for other reasons.

Still. Nobunaga. Send. Help.

7. Did a guy you expected to like disappoint you? Who? Why?

Masamune. I never thought he would be my all time favourite but I expected him to be one of my more liked guys both romantically and just as an interesting character. He isn’t. But it’s not like I hate the guy or anything he’s just not a fave.

8. Did a guy you never thought you’d fall for blow you away? Who? Why? Even if he didn’t ‘sweep you off your feet’ was there someone/a route you liked a lot that you didn’t expect to?

Route: Mitsunari. His route just kept me entertained, there weren’t bits where I lost interest or anything.

Person: Yukimura. I actually really liked him a lot in his route. Sweet, cute, romantic, interesting. Which is weird because I used to (and still do!!!) see him as one of the more boring characters.

Me, before *reading a different guy’s route, sees Yukimura*: Boring.

Me *reading Yukimura’s route: AAAAAAHHHHH! OMG! DJBQWHFIVIF!!!! *heart eyes*

Me, after *reading a  different guy’s route, sees Yukimura*: Boring.

9. Does one of your favourite guys not fit your ‘type?’ (Eg; your fave guys are Kenshin, Shakespeare and also Fenrir). Even if you’re only answering for one game, feel free to include guys from other games for this question.

Favourite IkeVamp guy: Shakespeare, fave IkeSen guy: Nobunaga, fave IkeRev guy: Lancelot... and Fenrir. Jerk, jerk, jerk... Fenrir.

10. Are you a romantic person or a dramatic person?

Dramatic. Even when I don’t want to be. 

11. If you’ve read both a romantic ending and a dramatic ending for the same character is there any where you noticed one being significantly better than the other?

Kenshin’s dramatic ending is so much better than his romantic one it’s not even funny.

12. Do you feel any character is significantly less loved than they deserve? Why do you think that?

Stop sleeping on Hideyoshi! Cowards!

13.  Do you feel any character is significantly MORE loved than they deserve? Why do you think that?

Kennyo. Mostly because I don’t much care for him at all so any love is Too Much.

Also Masamune, but again, it’s not like I HATE Masamune. I just don’t get the hype. Everyone’s different I guess.

14. What routes have you read? 

Nobunaga: Dramatic, romantic, eternal. Kenshin, Ieyasu, Mitsunari, Yukimura: Dramatic, romantic. Hideyoshi, Sasuke: Romantic. Shingen, Masamune: dramatic.

15. WHO’S ROUTE ARE YOU ON RIGHT NOW?! What do you think of it? Have you read it before? Etc.

Mitsuhide’s. Predictably I have not read it before. I’m enjoying it but not as much as I thought I would. Mitsuhide’s was the route I was looking forward to most so anything less than complete perfection would be a letdown. And while it’s good, it’s not complete perfection.

The main character is my real issue. She seems more childlike than I ever remember her being. Is it just me? 

Also tying into that, this is the only route I can remember her being consistently referred to as a ‘girl.’ Never a ‘woman’ always a girl. I know it happens SOMETIMES in other routes, Masamune calls you ‘lass,’ etc. But this time both the narrative and the characters seem allergic to the word ‘woman’ or something. That with her personality infantilize her a bit too much for me.

16. Fave route? Is it your favorite guy’s route or is there just a plot that you REALLY F*CKING LOVE even if the guy is not your favorite?

I actually really enjoyed Mitsunari’s route but I’m not romantically interested in him at all. Hideyoshi’s route was also a favourite.

17. Who’s route are you most looking forward to? Why? Again, you can answer for any game.

Shakespeare from IkeVamp. As for IkeSen... I’m not. Mitsuhide was the one I wanted. Don’t really like Kennyo, pretty neutral about the new guys.

18. Which guy are you most like? Why?

Jonah Clemence from IkeRev. But from IkeSen, Ieyasu. Because I’m salty. Though he’s really smart and I’m a complete dumbass.

19. Three guys/routes you love the most, why?

1. Nobunaga: bastard man, love of my life. The main character in his route does almost exactly what I’d do in her situation so it was a believable romance for me and he’s someone I could actually see myself falling for if I was magically transported into IkeSen rather than some of the others who I like but only because its a game and if I met them in real life we’d probably hate each other.

2. Shingen, another character I never expected to love, not big on flirts either, but he won me over. Still not sure why.

3. Hideyoshi. Just a damn good guy and a good route.

19. Three guys you like the most if they’re not the ones above, not necessarily the guys you fell in love with, just characters you like.

Number 1 guy is still Nobunaga both romantically and platonically.

2. Ieyasu. We’re too similar for a relationship between us to work but I adore him. That’s probably why

3. Kenshin. Funny 50% of the time, heartbreaking 50% of the time, interesting 100% of the time also just pretty to look at. An incredibly complex character with an interesting personality/relationships. But if you were to put a gun to my head and say “date Kenshin or die” I would say “pull the trigger.” Not romantically into him (or Mitsunari, or Kennyo) at all.

19. LEAST favourite three guys. Why?

1. Kennyo

2. Kennyo

3. also Kennyo

No, I don’t take constructive criticism. 

20. Any other romantic visual novels, books, games, songs, movies, tv shows or other media you would recommend?

The psy-changeling series by Nalini Singh. A paranormal romance series. There are like, 20 books and still going with it’s own worldbuilding so it’s not light reading but I thoroughly enjoyed the books and I hope others will too. It’s written in English but you can also get it in at least a handful of other languages, Spanish and German at least.

Also the song Fire meets Gasoline by Sia is Nobunaga x MC’s song.

21. MEEEE!!!!! Is there anything I’ve said that you totally agree with/blatantly disagree with? What/Why?

Well I can’t really answer this but please go ahead!

22. If you do read IkeSen, how do YOU feel about Nobunaga?

I’ve made my opinion pretty clear. If you actually answer any of these questions please feel free to put in your answer what guy/route YOU would like other people’s opinion on, that way we can get a bunch of different opinions on different guys.

Okay! That’s everything guys! If you’ve got any other questions you want to ask people add them to your answers. Other than that, I hope to see your replies *HINT HINT*