#how alkaid's route in eden will be:

[celiciaa]

Lars: You like Alkaid? Mc: Yes... thoughts? Lars: And prayers, girl what

[ad-hawkeye]

a big list of my favorite little alkaid moments

[modern] being found absolutely conked out in the snow on the mountain. that's one way to have a meet cute i guess.

[modern] alkaid's "morning call service" where he calls mc each morning pretending to be a hotel help desk staff member reminding her to wake up... only to keep it short sometimes because he can't bring himself to wake her up

[modern] whatever sort of Beep inside joke they have going on where they pretend to make a reservation or selection for each other

[modern] alkaid requesting to do the ET finger touch thing when talking about aliens with mc

[modern] mc claiming that she's the dangerous one of the two when it comes to her and alkaid.

[modern] beanie and sparkles having cat play dates. alkaid also using "sparkles would like to see beanie" as an excuse to see mc.

[modern] the only time this alkaid had a murderous look in his eyes was when someone tried to hurt sparkles.

[modern] "hey don't feel down! as long as you try your best, you can definitely become a horrible person!" "......! well if you really think so, then i'll give it a try."

[modern] alkaid being a natural flirt to the point where he doesn't even realize he's doing it sometimes, but being unable to take what he dishes by getting blushy or bashful when mc flirts with him instead.

[modern, halloween] alkaid absolutely struggling to put on the angel wings for his costume and needing mc to help him get the second wing on.

[modern, halloween] mc lamenting that she can't resist eating some of the candy she makes and alkaid being like. oh no. no, that's not falling to temptation, that's just taste testing. and it is Totally your duty.

[modern, halloween] alkaid apologizing for being too forward even though all he did was say he liked mc's bouquet for him the most. someone lock this man up, we are NOT safe with him on the streets.

[modern, princess day] alkaid being "deathly terrified of screwing up" bartending for princess day for mc so he practices.. for hours…. and hours…

[modern, love day] if mc chooses to look at the scenic photos alkaid took at the carnival, alkaid will jokingly claim the ones of him and her are now his and yoink them away from her

[modern, love day] alkaid saying mc can act like a cat when she visits his place, only for her to meow at him and step on his foot

[godheim] alkaid asking for a hug before he overexerts his magic and then goofily proclaiming that he's "so scandalous!" before giving mc another side hug.

[godheim] mc and alkaid's banter where alkaid initially says "good girl" to her for keeping her eyes closed during his magical overexertion, only for mc to say "you're being such a good boy" to his frozen body in the carriage, where his eyelids just barely twitch in vague annoyance.

[godheim] speaking of being frozen. he heard and saw everything mc did while he was in that state. so that was definitely him responding to her. he also remembered her kissing him. he refuses to answer mc when she asks if he was conscious.

[godheim] zack calling alkaid out on wearing his old mage outfit simply bc mc likes it. alkaid just smiles and is like hey. quiet. you might wake her up and she'll hear. that's not how you treat the guy who saved your life 🥺🥺

[godheim] alkaid's support for ayn and mc during ayn's route and helping the two of them escape.

[godheim] during the hunting event, alkaid has to be forced into participating by lars' orders. even then he still doesn't participate and proceeds to buy all of the meat at the market place with the money he and mc made off of his magic tricks. he claims this is definitely not cheating. mc agrees.

[eden] there's not a ton for eden since that world's alkaid is the equivalent of a sopping wet pitiful cat, but there's something endearing about alkaid learning all of his social graces and dating etiquette from old books. the prefect had to sit and watch all of this like some sort of long suffering older brother forced to play dolls or whatever

[eden] alkaid panicking and running off when mc asked him to find the missing boy who called for help.

[eden] out of all of the things he could have chosen to wear, alkaid picks out this like. coquette?? pretty boy tuxedo? WITH a cunty little earring? good for him... good for him!

[eden] he also makes a bunch of little model dioramas with houses, gardens and people in them. if he ever went to the modern world he would LOVE michael's.

[eden] in his epilogue, alkaid remade his little lantern with him and mc in it because she was the only one who could stir any kind of feeling in him after losing his emotions. he gets very embarrassed if she finds this out.

[namelessgakusei]

Clarence Route is basically Naledi (Lin) Route

AS IT SHOULD

In all seriousness, the way that Lin worries for us, thinking that they're burdening us is so alike the Naledi of the Modern world I'mcrying

PLEASEEE LET IT BE THAT SHE DOESN'T DIE THIS TIME AROUND

And when Alkaid appeared, Lin came to the rescue like how a male lead will do HAKAJAHS OTL NALEDI ROUTE WHEN—

The siblings are fightingggg

The awkwardness the mc must've felt upon seeing the (formerly) siblings (in Godheim) try to intimidate one another in Eden

The love interest vibes radiates from this scenes WHY IS THIS NOT HER ROUTE

Imagine this, your friend died in your world and you got transported to a parallel world because of that, only to see her self of that world dead. Now after trying again for many loops to try and save her, she appears in your dreams telling that she appreciates all that we've done for her and that we should stop now.

Then we tried to move on. But disaster struck in our world that we were forced to try and save it due to us being the (presumably) only one who can travel to another world, excluding Cael. We learn that the new world is also a parallel world and we met the counterparts of our other friends. And then. And then we see her. In all of her glory, she's alive! Albeit, not the same friend we had in our own world. But she's here. She's alive. She's safe. And amidst all of what happened, she has the same caring disposition that our friend had towards us.

But her world is dangerous yet she still tries to protect others. She might not be the same person. But we'll save her this time.

She's not Naledi. But we'll make sure she's safe. In a selfish way of atonement for our failure to save our own friend.

[anjinghangat]

Eden Alkaid's route got me sitting on my chair staring into air

I don't talk a lot about other LIs apart from Ayn but Eden Alkaid hits different fr. For the entirety of part 8-9 basically where he and MC are in their Time for love and then goes to the cinemas, it was so exhausting for me to finish the story because of how he's literally just like me. Though not so much about Alkaid as his usual self but the one in Eden specifically.

So as I'm going through the dialogue, the things that goes on on his mind is literally the same thoughts that I have on an average basis HELP?!??

So I started to feel pity for him once knowing the way he thinks and feels but then wouldn't I just be feeling pity for myself since I relate to him A LOT?

Firstly having no friends, no reliable social skills since all of what he has was either influenced by someone else or skills in theory. Then idealising love because he has never felt it and wants to die to end his pain. His loneliness made him crave ever being loved by anyone at all, even if it wasn't real. So he already had a whole death plan with a three day situationship of pretend dating. Even then, he still doubts her loyalty. Just one misunderstanding when she was with another man drove him to assert himself by intimidating and hurting everyone in her vicinity. But then he doesn't even know whether his love is true or just the need for possession which is subconscious. He doesn't even trust anyone and would always think of the worst possible ways the relationship would end (she leaves him for someone else).

I kinda hate how he's so real to me because I know damn well that if I ever got into a relationship I my thoughts and actions would resemble his. Fortunately or unfortunately I don't think I can ever get into one (and as I'm writing this I just realised I'm already saying the same shit that he would think what the hell)

Like this is how the story generally goes but I don't want to elaborate why I relate to him because it'll sound like a vent so ya that was just what I was trying to say

[youshiai]

Lovebrush Chronicles, Thoughs on Story and route ranking type of thingy

~ Disclaimer: These are personal impressions ~

Now that I've completed Eden in its entirety, I've been wanting to compile some of my thoughts about the story, and even rank all the routes, according to my personal preference as well as my opinions about this game's narrative quality.

I'm in no way a professional writer but I would consider myself at least decently knowledgeable about what makes a story memorable, and what does not (Questionable).

So, without any further ado, lesss goo~~

In a general sense, my favorite world was, no doubt, Godheim!

Eden unfortunately became way too formulaic. The first three routes had a very defined pattern between the days going by and how MC's relationship with the particular boy would develop as well as its conclusion. Not much information and perspective was given on the overall plot between these routes, with the exception of maybe, Lars's. Still, I did not particularly enjoy how Alkaid was treated be it on Lars's route or any other in Eden, for that matter. I personally think they failed in showing, in a more engaging manner, his struggles and shortcomings. And I also don't like how in the exposure we would get at the end of each route, he would always be seen and treated in such a nonchalant black or white manner. It made him feel like such a cartoonish villain at times.

Another point I did not particularly enjoy is how MC's personality, drive, decision making, and observation skills would get watered down whenever she had a romantic interest. The relationship or just attachment is developed too fast and from that point onwards she puts way too much focus on the particular boy or group safety/companionship, almost completely disregarding the reason that made her get to that particular planet in the first place. The way she simply forgets or never wonders much about the boy that called her to Eden, personally drives me insane. He is so obviously Alkaid. And if he's not, the Master of Eden should be her priority, as she needs to get closer to people in positions of power in order to understand the truth of the world better.

The prologue and the Final Route gives us more of her seasoned traveler side, which absolutely makes sense, since she's got an absurd amount of experience in Godheim with all the time travel she did in order to fully understand how to resolve everything in that world.

About Eden's final route, I think our big reveal and conflict (Luminary Prefect and Alkaid's price to pay for saving his world by accepting and healing the resentment that came from a world being basically absorbed by another), fell way too short on presentation, logic sense and emotional weight and because of that felt unengaging and boring, mostly. Still, it was very interesting to see more people from The Empire and understand a bit more of their M.O.

All these things said, I enjoyed Eden quite a bit! Looking back at it, I can see it being rushed. I know they have competent writers, but maybe they didn't have enough time to freshen up some ideas and make them more polished, concise and impactful.

Still, I loved everything involving Clarence my beloved or Cael, also my beloved (biased much xD). What can I say? I adore their characters so every chance to see more about them is absurdly engaging and precious to me, even when surrounded by a not as polished of a plot.

On to Godheim!

Godheim is my favorite because everything that happens feels way more connected and rich in that world.

From the Prologue to the Last Route, we are met with incredibly captivating revelations. The existence of different worlds, the possibility of travel between them, the parallel world known faces, MC's unique abilities, Silver Knight's identity and his personal conflict with us, Clarence's past present and future and how we were the one shaping it. Everything is rich, meaningful, connected and not forgotten. Heck, all routes are canon, even, as MC did countless voyages until she could understand what needs to be done. Godheim is just... *chef's kiss* An impeccable first act for an ongoing and ever expanding game!

Now, on to my personal ranking for all routes! (so far)

1- Clarence (Godheim)

I am a sucker for destined love types of narratives, and I also love time travel used as cause and effect for someone's existence and connection with another, be it romantic or otherwise. Their execution of this troupe is absurdly memorable and heart wrenching. The way they involved real world Clarence and showed his trust towards MC is extremely moving and transcendental, in a way, it was really lovely. My favorite! This route has it all. Excellent writing, characterization, revelations, conflicts, conclusion, consequences. I love it tremendously.

2- Lars + Cael Hidden Story + card stories context (Godheim)

I couldn't separate these, they go together in my head. I'm sorry to say the reason Lars's route is my favorite is mostly because of Cael. His conflict with MC and subsequent confusion and heartbreak has been, so far, my favorite and most engaging moment in the entire game. I've written this, during the days I was experiencing these moments:

"There is something about this dynamic (Cael x MC), something I really love.

I believe it is because it involves key characters in the story showing a side we were not familiar at all with, and usually don't expect or wish to see...

It is a conflict between those that even while holding a lot of love and care for one another, and, in a way, acting mostly out of this deep love/care, are forced to confront one another and possibly grow distant. Because they can't agree the way this love might continue to exist while being authentic with very important personal values and vows.

It reminds me of Yuzuru Saeki, mostly, and even Ukyo.

It has those narrative and relationship connections floating around them.

A close relationship with the heroine we at first think nothing of, but begin to question as we explore the different timeline possibilities. The shock, hurt and betrayal we feel, as does the heroine, when we discover a dark and twisted side of someone we have learned to love and trust unconditionally.

When we are finally face to face we don't know who they are or how to feel about them anymore. Is it love still? Hate? Sadness? Despair? Disappointment? Confusion?

It is heartbreaking for both characters, heartbreaking for the readers when they get attached to them... a recipe to a very dramatic and soaked in tragedy relationship.

Ahh, I love it! Keep going hahahah."

3- Common Route (Godheim)

The introduction to the game comes with a bang! Godheim's prologue is very well made, bringing in a sense of adventure, wonder, danger, mystery, curiosity, tragedy, love... It has it all in a condensed manner. Personally I see this one as more of an Alkaid route than his own in Godheim and I love it a lot!

4- Clarence (Eden)

This is my favorite Eden route! As I'm not a big fan of how the plot was developed in Eden, this self contained story ended up being my favorite! As a Clarence enjoyer, there is so much to love here. We have Clarence a bit (!) less traumatized and closed off than his previous counterpart! We can see so much more of his sense of honor, emotional maturity, responsibility, friendship and unconditional respect! We have Naledi/Lin our beloved, being best girl, protecting us and letting us protect her in turn. We have pouty Alkaid being shooed, my poor misunderstood lonely angel. We have Clarence refusing to bow down to the world's established punishments and laws and simply overcoming them, being the first of its kind. A king! A king! In Clarence we trust for maturity, emotional security, respect and real companionship.

5- Common Route (Eden)

The common route to Eden is so engaging! Coming right after Godheim's superb ending, we are eager to see a new world, understand its problems, see our MC's progress, and discover more about Cael and The Empire. So many questions and a renewed sense of adventure! Truly captivating start and an opening with so many possibilities!

6- Ayn (Godheim)

It may not look like it, but I like this route a lot! As the very first one we experience, it helps us understand what this game goes for as far as characterization, interactions and romance goes. Ayn (I call him Ayn-Ayn) is a very good first partner as his character is quite charming and attractive! So it was a joy seeing his relationship developing with MC as they open up and depend more on one another!

From here onwards, I have mixed feelings towards the remaining routes.

7- Alkaid (Eden)

I honestly love the starting phase of this route. We see a more proactive MC, an adorable and protective Ayn-Ayn and finally the meetup between the child asking for help and the one that heard his cries and intended to offer it. MC's interactions with Alkaid are all adorable, even more so at the start, and it is very interesting to uncover more about his desires, the secrets of Eden and the personal inner turmoil and demon he has to constantly deal with. Unfortunately, when we finally get Prefect Luminary's big reveal, the story does fall considerably in its quality, in my view. I get what they intended to do and I believe they had good ideas, but the execution and presentation falls so short it is sad even, I wanted Alkaid from Eden to have more agency. Not even because he needed to do more, I believe he did his best, but at the same time it doesn't feel satisfying enough. One point I can bring up that may help understand my frustrations is the fact they tend to explain with words too much. His motivations, what he is feeling, thinking, what he plans on doing. Instead of showing us as he is going through these difficult times. The lack of visual aid during key moments of his character arc and struggles didn't help either, and they were linked to key plot points such as Eden's creation and rebirth.

I basically don't believe they have done his character justice with what we were shown. He is way more multifaceted and deep than what our interactions and explanations we've gotten would lead us to believe. Justice for Eden Alkaid!

Okay... trying again (what I've written from this point forward in this post has been sent to the void once, rip my time and all the ideas and meticulous observations I've shared then, let's pray the gods of inspiration come back to me sometime).

8- Lars (Eden)

I like the importance this route has on the overall plot, but I'm not a fan of how Lars was characterized, personally. His constantly going back on his word about being with us/guiding us/being our partner... ticked me off. But I can understand the appeal if you have different values and preferences from mine, so I can see it being someone's favorite.

(image limit, rip.png)

9- Ayn-Ayn (Eden)

Forgettable. At this point, Eden's formulaic nature was tiring me a bit and seeing as Ayn's personality is not particularly different from what we've been used to so far, I didn't feel much for this route. Although I liked the fact Ayn loves or at the very least feels a connection towards the MC from the very beginning, it is sweet. It is a nice one but held back by following the formulaic nature + not bringing much new/important. Cute for what it is tho, I love Ayn!

10- Alkaid (Godheim)

All last three spots could have been interchangeable. They are my most "mixed feelings" trio.

What I love about this route is my sweet Alkaid but he spends a lot of time unavailable, sleeping. What I dislike about this route is the silly snake man subplot, and he's here for too long. I like how we get Lars and Clarence on board for our naive plan that ends up working. To me, the real Alkaid route is the friends we made along the way Godheim's Commom Route !

So, in the end, I guess what I may want to say I consider important, all things considered, is characterization, case by case.

When characters are engaging and multifaceted, their interactions carry weight and make the moves the plot needs to make and its consequences way more interesting and memorable individually! So, the less the characters are engaging, or the less they are even present, the lower I feel impacted or moved by what is happening.

Ps: I had 35% of what was originally written here sent to the void, so I can't guarantee the quality from Lars's portion ahead, I had said some good things I'm not sure I can explain again the same way Y_Y

I also wrote this more because I wanted to vent out my opinions and have them on my personal archive, not much for sharing. But if anyone finds it, enjoy!

[shiawase-rina]

Spoilers for Eden Alkaid's route!

Welp, at least you're not the necrophilic type of Yandere lol

It is funny how later on MC insists that Alkaid would never hurt her despite him very much strangling her in this scene!

MC I love you, but strangulation is abuse lol

(not that I haven't been through much worse in otome games)

[sarayashikis]

so many people did alkaid's eden route in like the same day it released meanwhile i'm taking my sweet time through the routes (chronic fatigue oh how i hate you)

[haruichi-mamiya]

okay so apparently the solution to "how do you not get kidnapped and Tea'd by eden alkaid in his route" is to just spy on him from up above and stay away from him for who knows how long 😭

[ad-hawkeye]

y'all got me thinking about eden alkaid... cruelty... i genuinely adore his character and now i'm EMOTIONAL again.

one thing i really like is how the game goes out of its way to note that alkaid is simultaneously both childish AND hardened. it feels like such a refreshingly realistic outcome for someone with his backstory.

he's basically been alone since he was a child (not including lars, who he kept at arms length out of guilt, and the prefect luminary, who was manipulative and acted as a corruptive force in his subconscious) so his social skills are that of a child's, with any additional 'skills' coming from the books he read on the harmonious period.

but he's also been forced to do terrible things to survive, and has grown despondent over "becoming someone he's not" and losing himself due to the prefect's influence. he sees it as his price to pay for keeping his world alive.

alkaid's motivation for the countdown is to find a replacement who can make the decision of whether or not to continue destroying planets - in this case, earth. he feels dying will be the way to finally ease this and all of his pain.

and then he meets mc.

he's terrified that his feelings for mc truly are just possessive. that he's a danger. because for the last decade, he's been told he paid the ultimate price and that he shouldn't trust anyone, and that no one should trust him. that this is his fate.

and yet. there's still this part of him who's hopelessly and idealistically attached to the concept of good, and of true love. and for the first time, he hopes that it could overcome all.

there is a sort of realism to his actions. alkaid freely cries, he gets angry, he gets despondent. the underlying theme of his route is one of trust. and once he sees that his trust in mc was not betrayed (for the first time in YEARS), she offers her trust in him. and with this support, he manages to forcefully remove the prefect's influence in his mind. as mc says, his pain will end, but not in death. they're in this together.

and even after this, alkaid still gets scared; he is pointedly terrified of not only losing his emotions, but of losing the one person he was finally able to trust and have that feeling of "true love" towards. and mc gets one last chance to lose her trust in him... to be asked: what if he really was just that possessive and a danger, even without the prefect's control? or if not, would he falter? let his doubts and fears result in him falling back under his control? but mc immediately brushes this notion off, and for good reason: alkaid powers through with the plan regardless of his fears. he does nothing to hurt her and does nothing to stop her from leaving. he just wants a few last moments of comfort before he loses his emotions, because god knows he hasn't had any semblance of that in so many years.

anyways. eden alkaid. you agree.

[ad-hawkeye]

Holds your hands. I understand. That trope is fanservice to us because of the extreme restraint and respect exhibited by Alkaid. The amount of times I've had men IRL complain or try to have their way after finding out I wasn't interested in sex or a relationship... but, in terms of Alkaid, it's clear he knows exactly what "no" means. He would likely be patient and understanding if you were ace or whatever. Not even extreme supernatural means could make him disrespect your boundaries.

AUGH. YEAH. THIS IS IT ANON. i genuinely don't know how i could put it any better HAHAH.

and the game very clearly treats the prefect luminary taking control over eden alkaid as a very bad thing, in like, all of the eden routes. it isn't romanticized. i dunno, it's just really nice. also helps that mc is the kind of character who doesn't exactly put up with bullshit. i always remember the part in alkaid's godheim route following the whole spell scene where alkaid is like, "i don't know if i could have forgiven myself if i hurt you" and mc is like "me neither."

[ad-hawkeye]

LARS ROUTE WAS SO GOOD HELLO? ik recommended order is to do ayn’s before his but i could not wait and it paid off because his lore was actually insane

RIGHT?? IT TOOK ME BY SURPRISE. GRABBED ME BY THE THROAT AND THREW ME ACROSS THE ROOM.

incoming spoilers because i gotta talk about it.

literally all of it was so good. wtf. proper romantic build up. lars' character growth from a coward who runs, to a brave man who stays. the perfect amount of humor, the perfect amount of drama. lars' ocean motif coming in FULL play this time around.

i really liked the over arcing ideas too. the "three questions" bit. lars finally getting to see a real amusement park in mc's memories.

also speaking of spoilers, YEA??? can we just?? talk about that lore????? the reveal that lars was also dragged to eden from another world, just like the mc. LIKE DOES THIS MEAN there was an original eden lars?? also the tie in with his "bad" memories being blocked out by alkaid, just like what happens to mc in all of her bad eden endings. like. his background with alkaid, and how even alkaid (who very notably Does like mc) is like wow. shit. you two. okay yeah im not even mad this is just straight up fate or something.

ALSO LIKE IDK?? something about lars' personality just fit so perfectly with the setting, even more so than usual.

also glad to see we're following the trend of au lars always having his family killed off by one of the other boys, either on purpose or accidentally. hope this keeps up somehow if only because i need to see how long this goes on for

[ad-hawkeye]

hi addy how is eden route going

HI ANON!!! oh you KNOW it is going !

i started off with clarence's route because that's apparently the recommended one to start with and MAN.. eden is WILD SO FAR. the setting reminds me of some weird fusion of mad max and fallout (plus gem magic??)

i said this before, but clarence's route REALLLLY felt so much like naledi/lin's route as well. which as the resident naledi fan, i was genuinely hyped as fuck about. sorry clarence girlies! i think i liked clarence's godheim route better, but tbh his eden one was SUPER sweet so i cannot complain at all.

a little weird how easily the whole "this world will end in disaster if [REDACTED SPOILER] doesn't happen" was brushed aside in the epilogue but i'll have to see what else happens in the other routes... i plan on doing lars' next hehe

as for alkaid - i LOVE fucked up and evil alkaid. they did this really cool "socially stunted and traumatized weirdo who only knows what being a gentlemen is from his books" which is a super fun twist on his usually genuine and thoughtful self. gotta love a well-intentioned extremist too. im saving his route for last so im genuinely curious how they'll go about it...

also extremely funny that there are cuck endings if you choose to go to alkaid's garden in the other boys' routes. alkaid sweetie i love you with my full heart - even your fucked up and twisted au self - but this isn't your route. patience.

[ad-hawkeye]

the whole "time for love" thing in alkaid's eden route was already a little sad because like man. how lonely must this guy be. but it just becomes tragic once you remember that alkaid's plan was to pass on his role as the master of eden and die by the end of the countdown